Devils’ Arseny Gritsyuk Done For Season
According to a team announcement, New Jersey Devils forward Arseny Gritsyuk will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season due to surgery. The Devils didn’t specify the type of surgery Gritsyuk underwent, but it’s believed it’s related to a recent upper-body injury.
Gritsyuk, 25, hasn’t played for New Jersey in several days. His last game with the team, and now confirmed to be his last game of the season, was on March 24th against the Dallas Stars, in which Gritsyuk tallied an assist on a Connor Brown goal.
All in all, it was a solid campaign for the first-year Russian. One year after scoring 17 goals and 44 points in 49 games for the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg, Gritsyuk wraps up his rookie season with 13 goals and 31 points in 66 games with a -3 rating.
Although the top-heavy Devils are led by the likes of Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier, Gritsyuk became a solid secondary scorer for the club. Although he may be usurped in New Jersey’s seven remaining games (after tonight), Gritsyuk will likely finish seventh among Devils forwards in scoring.
Furthermore, he proved to be a valuable asset for New Jersey in terms of maintaining possession of the puck. At the time of writing, Gritsyuk is first on the Devils in CorsiFor at even strength with a 58.8%, almost a full percent higher than Bratt. Furthermore, among the 14 Devils that have played in more than 700 minutes for the team this season, Gritsyk ranked second with a 51.9% xGoals%, according to MoneyPuck.
Unfortunately, his solid introduction into the NHL has left New Jersey in a tricky spot with Gritsyuk for the offseason. He is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, as his one-year, $925K contract expires on July 1. Given that the Devils don’t have a lot of money coming off the books this summer, they’ll likely need to make a move to sign Gritsyuk to a multi-year deal.
The team had been attempting to move Dougie Hamilton for much of the regular season, and will likely revisit that this summer. If they manage to clear his entire $9MM cap hit off the books, the Devils should have no issues keeping Gritsyuk around. However, if they’re unable to, he may become an impromptu non-tender candidate, giving New Jersey additional breathing room moving forward.
Lightning Place Victor Hedman On LTIR
April 2nd: According to PuckPedia, the Lightning have placed Hedman on long-term injured reserve. Per the requirements for activation, Hedman must miss 10 games and 24 days before he’s eligible to return. That means that Hedman won’t be able to play until their penultimate regular-season matchup against the Detroit Red Wings on April 13th.
March 25th: The Lightning announced Wednesday that captain Victor Hedman will be out for at least one additional game as he takes a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons.
Hedman has already missed Tampa Bay’s last three contests. He left their game against the Canucks last Thursday after less than five minutes of ice time and didn’t return due to what the team labeled an illness.
That, plus a whole host of other injuries, has limited the usually durable Hedman to under half of the Bolts’ games this season. He has only managed 33 appearances, currently tracking for a career low, including lockout and COVID-shortened seasons.
Hedman, who finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting just last year, hasn’t had nearly the same effect when dressed, either. At 18:52 of ice time per game, he’s averaging under 20 minutes for the first time in his 17-year career, and his 0.52 points per game is his worst output since his early 20s.
The Bolts have maintained a 27-7-3 record without Hedman dressed this season, including a 2-0-1 stretch in their last three without him. They certainly miss his presence, even lower in the lineup, with depth options Declan Carlile and Maxwell Crozier sidelined, but they’ve been able to keep their system rolling and intact this season amid a bevy of other injuries on defense.
At this point in the season, the Lightning have essentially locked up home ice in the first round with a 89.5% chance of finishing in the top two in the Atlantic Division, per MoneyPuck. A playoff spot is all but clinched, but the race with the Sabres for the division title is still wide open.
Sabres’ Sam Carrick Out Week-To-Week
Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Carrick will miss several games after squaring off against the captain of the New York Islanders, Anders Lee, the other night. According to Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio, Carrick will miss the next few weeks due to the arm injury, but hasn’t been ruled out for the rest of the regular season.
Before exiting Tuesday’s contest against the Islanders, Carrick had an otherwise strong start to his tenure in Buffalo. The Sabres acquired the fourth-line forward at the trade deadline from the New York Rangers for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick.
In his 13 games with the Sabres, Carrick had registered five goals. Playing with the Rangers, Carrick had scored only four goals in 60 games. Additionally, his 51.0% CorsiFor at even strength, albeit in a small handful of games, shows that he’s mixed in quite well with Buffalo’s offensive strategies.
Unfortunately, there’s a very real chance he won’t manage to expand on those totals. In two weeks, the Sabres’ regular season will be over, and the team will be preparing for its first playoff run since the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. If he returns after next week, Buffalo will only have the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars left to play.
Still, with all respect to Carrick, it won’t be a difficult void for the Sabres to fill. Although they are dealing with a few additional injuries to their forward corps, the team has plenty of depth to fill out the fourth line. Tonight, Buffalo is using Joshua Dunne in Carrick’s place, who has scored one goal and four points in 31 contests this season.
Cruz Lucius Won’t Sign With Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t be signing one of their better collegiate prospects. According to a report from DK Pittsburgh Sports, forward Cruz Lucius has notified the Penguins that he won’t sign his entry-level contract with the team, and will become a collegiate free agent later this summer on August 15th.
Lucius, 21, recently finished his senior season at Arizona State University. He was originally drafted 124th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2022 NHL Draft, before having his signing rights traded to the Penguins in the Jake Guentzel trade.
The Lawrence, KS native burst onto the scene in his freshman season, scoring 11 goals and 34 points in 34 games, then at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his collegiate career with the Badgers the following season, scoring 13 goals and 34 points in 36 games in a nearly identical stat line.
Moving to the transfer portal, Lucius landed with the Sun Devils. His junior season was unfortunately affected by injuries, resulting in two goals and 10 points across 19 games. Back to full health this year, Lucius had his best personal campaign, scoring 15 goals and 46 points in 36 games, finishing 11th in the nation in scoring, just one point behind James Hagens of Boston College.
In the report from DK Pittsburgh, they included a quote from the Penguins’ President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, saying, “(Lucius and his agent) informed us that that he was not going to be signing in Pittsburgh for a few reasons that’s up to him to share. It’s a personal thing for him. We felt we had a great opportunity for him, and the proof is in the pudding on the development side, but players are entitled to make their decision, and I don’t think we’re at the position here anymore where we have to beg people to come.”
Now, Lucius will spend the next few months choosing where his next landing spot will be. He should get decent interest from around the league, as teams wouldn’t lose much outside of a roster spot by offering him an opportunity. Fortunately, Lucius is seeking a new organization after a successful conclusion to his collegiate career.
2026 Hobey Baker Award Finalists Announced
The NCAA has announced their Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalists. University of Michigan senior T.J. Hughes, University of Minnesota-Duluth sophomore Max Plante, and Universty of Denver junior Eric Pohlkamp will be the last in the race to win college hockey’s coveted MVP award. Hughes and Plante sit second and third in national scoring with 56 and 52 points respectively, while Pohlkamp leads all defenders with 39 points.
All three were true number-ones for their teams. Hughes’ veteran presence and ability away from the puck helped a young Michigan squad rival the top ranking in the country for most of the season. Plante, a Detroit Red Wings prospect, was the motor behind one of the most explosive offenses in the country – in tandem with his brother, Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Zam Plante. Pohlkamp, a San Jose Sharks prospect, embraced the top defender on a perennial National Championship contender and added onto it a starring role on the Spengler Cup’s U.S. Collegiate Selects lineup. Hughes and Pohlkamp remain have also reached the Frozen Four, set to kickoff on April 9th.
All three have strong cases for being named college hockey’s top players. It was another difficult year for the selection committee after having to decide between Isaac Howard, Ryan Leonard, and Zeev Buium last year.
Even with the pedigree on the ballot this year, the talent left in the Top 10 is suprising. Quinnipiac University winger, and Calgary Flames prospect, Ethan Wyttenbach leads the nation in scoring, as a freshman, with 59 points. He had a breakout year on the top offense in the country, one that he will be returning to next season. Michigan State University teammates Charlie Stramel and Trey Augustine also had standout years serving as the veteran leaders on a newly-assembled Spartans squad. Even Boston College, and Boston Bruins, center James Hagens and top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Gavin McKenna had strong cases for MVP honors. The 2025-26 season, and the first year of CHL eligiblity, brought a wealth of talent to the college flight.
Panthers Assessing Injuries To Aaron Ekblad, Dmitry Kulikov
The Florida Panthers have even more injuries to sort through after Tuesday night’s win over the Ottawa Senators. Defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Dmitry Kulikov were both injured in the matchup. Ekblad sustained a broken finger after blocking a shot with his right-hand, while Kulikov sustained a broken nose after a puck deflected into his face per George Richard of Florida Hockey Now. Ekblad will be reassessed in 10 days – just three days before the end of Florida’s season – while Kulikov may only need to miss Thursday night’s game against the Boston Bruins, head coach Paul Maurice told Richard.
Ekblad could join a long list of Panthers stars declared out for the rest of the season. Florida’s list of injuries includes Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand, and Niko Mikkola – all set to miss the final eight games of the season. Ekblad has filled a heavy role in the wake of their injuries, averaging more than 22 minutes of ice time each night through 15 games in March. He scored five points and a plus-four in those minutes, helping the Panthers piece together a 6-9-0 record despite their heap of star absences.
Ekblad has been one of Florida’s few consistent lineup pieces this season, so far only missing two games to injury. But that consistency didn’t help him avoid the down year that hit many Panthers. Ekblad has racked up just 26 points and a minus-five in 72 games this season. That is the second-lowest scoring pace (0.36) of Ekblad’s 12-year career in the NHL, behind the 2023-24 campaign that saw him score 18 points in 51 games (0.35). The 29 year old still filled a crucial role on the Panthers blue-line all season long and should continue to hold a core role, even if his season ends with Tuesday’s game.
Kulikov has been much more limited this season. He has only appeared in 17 games on the year thanks to a hip injury that required surgery, and a five-month absence, sustained in Florida’s second game of the season. He was out of the lineup from October 10th to March 1st. Kulikov hasn’t managed any scoring in his few games this season, to go with a minus-five and eight penalty minutes. He has two years remaining on his four-year, $4.6MM contract signed with Florida in 2024. That should help ensure that Kulikov has a chance to return to his bottom-pair role with some more consistency next season. He will face lineup pressure from Donovan Sebrango, who scored four points in 32 games while helping to fill-in for Kulikov’s absence. Sebrango also left Tuesday’s game early due to injury but is expected to be okay, per Richard.
Florida sits well outside of a playoff spot with only a few games left on their schedule. Their disastrous season continues to face blows in the form of star injuries. Kulikov is expected to begin playing through his injury as soon as Saturday. He will be a part of a handicapped Panthers lineup attempting to pull together a few more wins before the year comes to an end.
Golden Knights To Activate Carter Hart From LTIR
The Vegas Golden Knights are expected to activate goaltender Carter Hart off of long-term injured reserve, and award him the start in Thursday night’s game against the Calgary Flames, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review Journal. Hart has sat out of the last 33 games due to an extended lower-body injury sustained on January 8th.
Hart signed a two-year contract with Vegas in October and returned to NHL ice in early-December. He went on to appear in 12 games with the Golden Knights over the next month, posting six wins and a .871 save percentage in the process. Vegas deployed Hart as their starting goaltender through that month, defaulting Akira Schmid to the backup role while Adin Hill worked his way back from a multi-month leg injury. Hill returned to the lineup one week after Hart’s injury.
Vegas has turned towards Hill and Schmid to fill their goaltending room in the near-three months since Hart went down. Hill has carried the bulk of the weight, recording nine wins, one shutout, and a .865 save percentage in 21 games since returning to the lineup. Schmid has recorded four wins and a .889 save percentage in 12 games. Carl Lindbom also stepped into one game – an 18-save win – after Hart’s injury.
With Hart’s return, freshly-cristened Vegas head coach John Tortorella will now have to juggle three goalies at the NHL level. He could have some favor for Hart, who he coached on the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Those campaigns stand as some of Hart’s best. He tallied 22 wins and a .907 save percentage in 55 games of 2022-23, and 12 wins and a .906 save percentage in 26 games of 2023-24. His only season with more wins and a higher save percentage came in his breakout 2019-20 season, when Hart tallied 24 wins and a .914 save percentage in 43 games.
A familiar face behind the bench could help Hart turn a disastrous season – marked by court cases, a slow return, and injury – into a positive swing when Vegas needs it most. The Golden Knights ranked in the middle of the league – 17th, to be exact – in goals-against per-game over the month of March. That is despite the team also facing the second-fewest shots-against in the same span. Those struggles led to the firing of Stanley Cup-winning head coach Bruce Cassidy and a turn towards the experienced Tortorella. Now, Vegas will test if they hve found the goaltending needed to hang onto their third-place spot in the Pacific Division, through a trio of Hart, Hill, and Schmid.
Kings Sign Hampton Slukynsky, Grant Slukynsky To Entry-Level Deals
April 2: The Kings announced both Hampton’s and Grant’s signings on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Hampton’s is a three-year deal while Grant’s is for one year, both beginning next season. They’ll go to AHL Ontario to suit up on amateur tryouts for the remainder of 2025-26.
March 30: The Los Angeles Kings are expected to sign one of their promising goaltending prospects. According to Alexander Legget of Mayor’s Manor, the Kings are expected to sign netminder Hampton Slukynsky to his entry-level contract.
Slukynsky, 20, has spent his collegiate career with the Western Michigan University Broncos. Los Angeles selected the Warroad, MN native out of high school in the 2023 NHL Draft with the 118th overall pick. Slukynsky spent his post-draft season with the USHL’s Fargo Force before officially joining the Broncos.
Even after winning the USHL’s Clark Cup and Goaltender of the Year award in 2023-24, few would have expected what Slukynsky would do in his freshman campaign. Slukynsky was integral to Western Michigan University capturing its first National Championship in program history. He finished the year with a 19-5-1 record in 25 games with a .922 SV% and 1.90 GAA.
Earlier that season, he added more championship wins to his resume. Although he wasn’t the team’s starter, Slukynsky helped Team USA capture gold in the U20 IIHF World Junior Championships, winning both of his starts with a .933 SV%.
This season, despite the Broncos not defending their title, Slukynsky continued to post elite numbers. He finished his sophomore season with a 27-11-1 record in 39 games with a .915 SV% and 2.30 GAA, including four shutouts.
Not only are the Kings expected to sign Hampton, but they’re also expected to sign his brother, Grant Slukynsky, who is an undrafted collegiate prospect. Like his brother, Grant, 24, spent the last two years with the Broncos, scoring 20 goals and 76 points in 81 games.
Combined, their resumes speak for themselves. Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, the pair have combined for two separate Clark Cup championships, a National Championship, and a World Junior gold medal. The Kings will maintain hope that the brothers can continue their winning ways in the professional ranks.
Lightning Recall Mitchell Chaffee
The Lightning have recalled right winger Mitchell Chaffee from AHL Syracuse, per a team announcement Thursday.
Chaffee, who has been in Syracuse since clearing waivers in late October, will make his first NHL appearance in over five months tonight against the Penguins. He and Oliver Bjorkstrand are entering the lineup in place of Scott Sabourin and Brandon Hagel, who both sustained undisclosed injuries in Tuesday’s loss to the Canadiens but aren’t expected to miss more than a couple of games at most.
It wasn’t too long ago that Chaffee had made himself a bottom-six regular in Tampa. The 28-year-old made a career-high 66 appearances last season, notching 12 goals and six assists along the way. He was a welcome physical presence, ranking third on the team with 133 hits, and the 6’1″ righty was one of their most efficient scorers with a 17.6% shooting percentage.
Chaffee slipped down the Bolts’ depth chart after they acquired Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde from the Kraken at last year’s trade deadline and signed Pontus Holmberg in free agency last summer, though. Through seven games in October, he went without a point and was averaging only 9:29 of ice time per game. The Bolts opted to waive him, in part due to wanting to give Dominic James an extended look.
Since returning to a high-leverage AHL role in Syracuse, Chaffee has been spectacular. He ranks fourth on the Crunch in scoring with 24 goals and 31 assists for 55 points in 52 games.
He now projects to get another look in a fourth-line role with Nick Paul and Corey Perry while Sabourin, Hagel, and the IR-bound James all remain unavailable. He should stick around until the day-to-day Hagel and Sabourin can get back into the rotation.
These could be Chaffee’s final games for the Lightning. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent wrapping up a two-year, $1.6MM extension he signed in 2024.
Flyers To Activate Tyson Foerster From Injured Reserve
The Flyers will activate winger Tyson Foerster from injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Red Wings, the team announced. He underwent arm surgery in mid-December and wasn’t expected to be an option until mid-May, making his return roughly six weeks ahead of schedule.
Things couldn’t look much brighter at the moment for the Flyers, who have made themselves a late entrant in the Eastern Conference playoff push. They’ve gotten some help with the Islanders, Blue Jackets, Red Wings, and Senators all cooling off, but have done their job to make themselves competitive, going 7-2-1 in their last 10. They’re now just two points back of Columbus for the playoff cutoff with a game in hand, but still have Detroit and Ottawa to leapfrog, too. The crowded field still has the Flyers’ playoff odds down at 22.3%, per MoneyPuck, but that’s still a tangible chance this late in the year.
Foerster returning only stands to boost their chances. A strong two-way piece who looks to be a consistent 20-goal man for years to come, he started his season with 10 tallies in only 21 games before sustaining the fracture.
The 23rd overall pick in 2020, Foerster is scoring at a 25-goal, 42-point pace per 82 games so far in his NHL career. With only 187 games under his belt, there’s plenty of room to grow. The 24-year-old inked a two-year, $7.5MM bridge deal before reaching restricted free agency last summer but was rewarded with plenty of ice time to begin the year, skating on the left wing in a familiar top-nine slot with Noah Cates and the now-traded Bobby Brink while averaging a career-high 17:27 per game.
Head coach Rick Tocchet has done a good bit of line shuffling since the last time Foerster was available, and they’ve also welcomed a pair of rookies, Denver Barkey and Porter Martone, into the regular forward rotation. Even with that, they trialed Foerster as their first-line left wing at this morning’s practice alongside Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett, per Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports, so it doesn’t appear he’ll be limited at all despite his early return.