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Golden Knights’ William Karlsson Won’t Be Healthy For Olympics

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Bad news has come through for a potential core memebr of Team Sweden’s 2026 Winter Olympics squad. Despite hoping to return before the tournament, Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson won’t be healthy enough to play per TSN’s Darren Dreger. Karlsson is recovering from a lower-body injury sustained in Vegas’ November 8th loss to the Anaheim Ducks. He appeared in 14 games and scored seven points before the injury.

Karlsson has run into a streak of bad injury luck stretching back to the start of last season. He didn’t make his season debut until Vegas’ ninth game of the 2024-25 season and fell back out of the lineup for 21 games in late January. Those absences, and 23 missed games this season, give Karlsson more than 50 absences since October 2024.

That injury luck has left Vegas with a major hole in their center position. Tomas Hertl has stepped up to help fill the hole – posting a 58.0 faceoff percentage on 584 faceoffs. That success rate puts Hertl near the bottom of the top-10 faceoff takers this season. Hertl also has 29 points in 37 games this season, putting him on pace to narrowly pass his 61 points last season. Those impacts have helped Vegas lean on Colton Sissons and Brett Howden as their bottom-six centers. Both have posted faceoff percentages north of 50 percent though they only have five and 11 points respectively.

Karlsson is routinely challenges 50 points  when he’s at full health. He scored 30 goals and 60 points in 70 games during the 2023-24 season, the highest marks he’s reached since posting career-highs with 43 goals and 78 points in 2017-18. Karlsson was scoring well below his career-average to start this season. Now, he won’t be able to right that ship until Vegas returns from the NHL’s Olympic break on February 25th, at the soonest. That return date would force Karlsson to miss 20 more games.

More than hurting Vegas’ lineup for the start of the new year, this news will pull Karlsson’s first chance to play for Sweden’s Olympic roster. He has seldomly played for his country over the course of his NHL career, largely thanks to Vegas’ success in the postseason. An appearance at the 2025 World Championship, where Karlsson posted one point in four games, was his first international tournament since the 2017 World Championship. Karlsson has won a Gold medal at the World Championship and World Junior Championships with Team Sweden.

The former SHL ’Rookie-of-the-Year’ would be a reliable center for Sweden in the Olympic games, even though he has only scored four points in 14 World Championship games in his career. Sweden leaned on Mika Zibanejad, Joel Eriksson Ek, Leo Carlsson, and Elias Lindholm as their centers at the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off. This news could help cement those four down the middle when Sweden heads to the Olympic games in Milan.

Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews Out Day-To-Day

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The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that star forward Auston Matthews will miss Tuesday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils and will be out day-to-day due to a lower-body injury. Matthews sustained the injury on a blocked shot in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings. He missed Tuesday morning’s practice and was designated as a game-time decision before being ruled out.

The Maple Leafs are already down forward Dakota Joshua and defenseman Chris Tanev due to injury. Defender Matt Benning and forward Jacob Quillan were recalled to fill-in for those absences. Calle Jarnkrok will step back into the lineup for Matthews after four games on the shelf.

Even with the committee effort, and a quiet year from their star, Toronto is still going to face a steep test trying to make up for Matthews’ absence. He snapped a four-game scoring drought on December 27th and has four points in two games since. That brings Matthews up to 27 points in 33 games this season, good for fourth on the team in scoring. He is riding a 11.7 shooting percentage this season – roughly four percent lower than his career average of 15.6 percent. Matthews’ shooting success has dwindled over the last two seasons after he managed a career-high 18.7 percent – and 69 goals – in the 2023-24 season.

Quillan and Jarnkrok will fill out the fourth-line on Tuesday night, while Scott Laughton earns a bump up to the third line. Laughton has stepped up as a responsible veteran over the recent stretch, bringing some support to a Maple Leafs offense that has leaned more on their depth as of late. His defense-first approach has helped multiple depth players step up their scoring. Toronto has scored 16 goals over their last three games, with multiple points from Matias Maccelli, Bobby McMann, and Nicholas Robertson. Those players will need to continue stepping up to keep the offense firing without Matthews in the lineup.

Blue Jackets Place Isac Lundestrom On IR, Recall Dysin Mayo

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have made a minor roster adjustment ahead of tomorrow’s game against the New Jersey Devils. The Blue Jackets announced that they’ve placed forward Isac Lundeström on the injured reserve, and recalled defenseman Dysin Mayo on an emergency basis in a corresponding roster move.

In the announcement, the team added that Lundeström sustained his injury during a team practice and is expected to miss the next few weeks, which was already reported yesterday. The 26-year-old center is in his first year with the Blue Jackets and has missed the team’s last two games due to the lower-body injury.

Even with relatively low expectations coming into the year, Lundeström has had mixed results with his new club. He has scored one goal and five points in 35 games, pacing for four fewer points than he had last year with the Anaheim Ducks.

Still, outside of his tepid offensive production, Lundeström is one of the best faceoff takers on the team with a 53.7% success rate, and is maintaining a respectable 90.5% on-ice save percentage at even strength, offering solid defensive value.

Even with Lundeström on IR, and the status of Sean Monahan up in the air after being a late scratch yesterday, the Blue Jackets have 12 healthy forwards on the active roster, which wouldn’t have triggered the necessity of an emergency recall.

However, the team only has six defensemen on the roster, with Zach Werenski and Erik Gudbranson on the IR, meaning Mayo’s recall is related to a defenseman being unable to go tomorrow. That blue liner is likely veteran Brendan Smith, who sustained an injury toward the end of Columbus’s game yesterday.

It’s not the first time Mayo has been recalled this year, though it is the first time on an emergency basis. Throughout his two previous recalls, Mayo appeared in one game for Columbus, skating in 7:33 of action and earning a -1 rating. He’s had a respectable year with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, scoring two goals and seven points in 19 games with a -2 rating.

San Jose Sharks Injury Updates

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Ahead of tomorrow’s matchup against the Minnesota Wild, the head coach of the San Jose Sharks, Ryan Warsofsky, issued a multitude of injury updates. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many positive updates.

Regarding the forward core, and likely the most optimistic of all the updates, Warsofsky relayed to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News that both Philipp Kurashev (upper body) and Will Smith (undisclosed) skated this morning. Additional reporting suggests that they skated before the team’s full practice, and they’re still both considered week-to-week.

Warsofsky also shared with Pashelka that Adam Gaudette is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury, which explains Pavol Regenda’s recall earlier today. Still, the impact of being without Kurashev and Smith for the next few weeks can’t be overstated. Despite being out since December 13th, the latter remains the second-highest scorer in San Jose with 12 goals and 29 points in 33 games. Kurashev is ninth with 15 points in 31 contests.

Furthermore, the Sharks will be playing with a banged-up defensive core, too. Max Miller of Sharks Hockey Digest reported that Timothy Liljegren will not suit up against the Wild tomorrow and remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The former 17th overall pick has not played since December 18th and has registered four assists in 28 games this season while averaging over 20 minutes per night.

Additionally, the team doesn’t expect Vincent Desharnais to return anytime soon. Miller added in the same report that Desharnais is still considered week-to-week, which could push his games lost past 20. Desharnais, who, like Liljegren, is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, has only appeared in 20 games for San Jose this season.

The only injured member of the team’s defense that hasn’t been ruled out tomorrow is Shakir Mukhamadullin. Still, Pashelka noted that Mukhamadullin is questionable, meaning the Sharks could be down to six healthy blue liners. Fortunately, their only away game until January 15th is against the Los Angeles Kings on January 7th, meaning they’ll have easy access to additional bodies for the next few weeks if needed.

Lightning Place Scott Sabourin On Injured Reserve

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will be down at least one forward for their upcoming road trip through the Pacific Division. According to Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times, the Lightning have placed Scott Sabourin on the team’s injured reserve.

It’s not difficult to assess what Sabourin’s injury stems from. One day after accruing 26 PIMs and a fine against the Florida Panthers, Sabourin took on Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj in a heavyweight tilt.

Xhekaj ultimately won the exchange handily, which assuredly caused Sabourin’s placement on the IR today. It appears that Xhekaj knew Sabourin was injured mere moments after the fight concluded, as video shows him and the linesman urgently calling the Lightning’s medical staff to attend to Sabourin.

Unfortunately, it’s the price of doing business for how Sabourin plays the game. Although the ’enforcer’ class is slowly dying off in the modern game, Sabourin has respectably carved out a career path as a tough guy. This season with Tampa Bay, he’s already racked up 63 PIMs in just nine contests.

Since he isn’t relied upon to help put pucks in the net, though he does have three points on the year, the Lightning’s lineup won’t need too much shifting around ahead of their upcoming road trip. Sabourin was typically found on the team’s fourth line, so the team could easily replace him with fellow enforcer Curtis Douglas, who was a healthy scratch in the contest against the Canadiens.

Sharks Recall Pavol Regenda

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The Sharks announced they’ve recalled winger Pavol Regenda from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. They had an open roster spot after sending Ethan Cardwell down last week.

Regenda’s recall comes after center Adam Gaudette sustained a lower-body injury in last night’s win over the Ducks, Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports. It’s unclear if the 29-year-old, who had three points in his last three outings, re-aggravated the same lower-body injury that held him out for a game earlier this month.

The Sharks weren’t carrying an extra forward, so if Gaudette can’t go against the Wild tomorrow, Regenda will enter the lineup unless they opt to dress seven defensemen. The 26-year-old was added to the roster for a three-day stretch at the beginning of the month and was quite valuable in a bottom-six role, notching a pair of goals while averaging 12:43 of ice time across two contests.

Acquired from Anaheim last season, Regenda has been a well-established power forward in the AHL since signing with the Ducks as a free agent in 2022. The 6’4″, 212-lb winger arrived in North America on the heels of a strong showing at the Olympics and World Championship for his native Slovakia, and he’ll presumably be on his way to Milan in February to suit up for them again alongside a forward group led by young stars Dalibor Dvorsky and Juraj Slafkovsky.

In 28 games for the Barracuda this year, Regenda has four goals and eight assists for 12 points with a -3 rating. That’s his worst point-per-game output since arriving in the AHL, where he’s routinely paced at or above half a point per game.

Kraken Reassign Jani Nyman

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The Kraken announced they’ve reassigned left winger Jani Nyman to AHL Coachella Valley. With no immediate need for a roster spot, it looks to be a performance-based demotion for the 21-year-old. Matt Murray and Jaden Schwartz are due for IR returns at some point soon, though, so they won’t need to open a roster spot for one of them when it happens.

Nyman, 21, has had a relatively quick ascension since being selected in the second round of the 2022 draft. While the 6’4″, 220-lb winger may look like a power forward on paper, he’s not all that physical. It’s his goal-scoring ability that led to his pickup, recording over a point per game in Finland’s second pro division in his draft year.

After two successful campaigns in Finland’s top flight post-draft, Nyman arrived in North America for the 2024-25 campaign. He led Coachella Valley with 28 goals in 58 games, earning a late-season call-up to Seattle. He didn’t look out of place at all with the Kraken, putting up three goals and six points in 12 games down the stretch.

That led to Nyman capturing an opening night job with Seattle in the fall as he entered year two of his three-year entry-level deal. However, ice time has been harder to come by compared to last year’s recall, averaging 10:42 per game with a spattering of different linemates, although he’s seen most of his time with Shane Wright down the middle. The production hasn’t been there as a result, limited to four goals and six points through 24 games.

Nyman had also been a healthy scratch for the last three games, not a great use of development time for a player who still profiles as a potential long-term top-nine piece. Instead of 10 minutes per game in the NHL, he’ll now be ticketed for closer to 20 in the minors.

Joshua Ho-Sang Signs In Russia

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Former Islanders first-rounder Joshua Ho-Sang is attempting to restart his professional career. Salavat Yulaev Ufa of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League has signed him to a two-way deal through the end of the season, the league announced.

Ho-Sang, once viewed as New York’s top prospect following his selection at 28th overall in 2014, has appeared in just 18 regular-season games over the last three years. He suited up once for Salavat in 2022-23, recording an assist, before spending the last two years on and off duty with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. He racked up 19 points in 17 games with the Everblades and led the Kelly Cup Playoffs in assists in 2024, proving he can still be a top-flight contributor in a lower-tier pro league.

Now 29, Ho-Sang only ever got into 53 NHL games with the Isles, scoring seven goals and 24 points, with his final appearance coming in December 2018. He’s since spent time in the minors in the Maple Leafs’ system as well as stints in Sweden during the 2020-21 campaign.

Ho-Sang contemplated retirement following his short stint with Salavat last time around. They’re now bringing him in off another lengthy bout without a contract to suit up alongside Canadiens 2025 first-rounder Alexander Zharovsky, who leads the club in scoring with 28 points in 32 games.

Flames Sign Devin Cooley To Two-Year Extension

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The Flames have signed goaltender Devin Cooley to a two-year extension, according to his agent, Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein. The deal carries an average annual value of $1.35MM for a total value of $2.7MM, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports.

Few goaltenders have seen their stock rise since training camp as much as Cooley’s has. The 28-year-old entered Calgary’s camp with just six games of NHL experience to his name, coming with the Sharks in the 2023-24 season. He was viewed as a challenger, but not the favorite, to Russian free agent pickup Ivan Prosvetov to begin the season as Dustin Wolf’s backup.

Neither performed exceptionally well in the preseason, leading Calgary to opt to keep Cooley and waive Prosvetov – a move made more out of familiarity than anything else. He’s in the back half of a two-year, league minimum deal he signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2024 and served as the starter for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers last season, going 21-17-7 with a .905 SV%, 2.94 GAA, and three shutouts en route to an All-Star Game nod.

Not only has Cooley since emerged as one of the better backup options in the league, but he’s also outperformed Wolf by a significant margin – albeit in a lesser workload. In 10 starts and three relief appearances, he’s 11th in the league in save percentage (.914) and goals against average (2.40). He is second in the league with 1.046 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes among qualified netminders (≥12 GP), per MoneyPuck.

As Wolf continues to recapture his game following his spectacular rookie effort, he’ll have Cooley as a fine No. 2 option behind him at a highly affordable cap hit. The 28-year-old Cooley, instead of testing free agency next summer, locks in early to land the first six-figure cap hit of his career.

Image courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.

Stars Assign Nathan Bastian On Conditioning Stint

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The Stars announced they’ve loaned right winger Nathan Bastian to AHL Texas for a conditioning stint. Bastian will remain on the active roster and can spend up to two weeks in the minors before Dallas must either keep him in the NHL or place him on waivers.

Bastian was in the lineup for Saturday’s shootout loss to the Blackhawks, but before that, he’d been a healthy scratch in nine consecutive contests. He’s only made seven appearances since Nov. 4 and has dressed in just over half of Dallas’ contests this season.

This wasn’t entirely unforeseen for the 28-year-old. He landed a one-year, one-way deal with the Stars over the offseason for the league minimum and was widely projected as a 13th forward option from the very start, only getting consistent playing time in the early stages of the year due to Jamie Benn’s and Matt Duchene’s injuries.

When dressed, the veteran of nearly 300 NHL games has contributed three goals and 48 hits but is still looking for his first assist. An injury-prone fourth-line fixture with the Devils for most of his career, Bastian has averaged a career-low 8:17 of ice time per game.

Bastian’s debut with the Texas Stars will mark his first minor-league action since suiting up with the now-defunct Binghamton Devils in 2019-20. A second-round pick by New Jersey in 2016, he ranks 32nd from that draft class in games played.

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