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Avalanche Expected To Activate Devon Toews, Assign Chris Wagner

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The Colorado Avalanche are expected to soon activate defenseman Devon Toews off of injured reserve and assign forward Chris Wagner to the AHL, per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. Colorado placed Toews on IR on October 20th, retroactive to October 14th, with a lower-body injury. It still isn’t clear when Toews picked up the injury. He played through 22 minutes of ice time in Colorado’s second game of the year, but appeared as a late scratch in the subsequent game and continued to be downgraded until he was formally placed on IR. Wagner was recalled on October 20th, after Colorado placed winger Jonathan Drouin on IR with an upper-body injury.

Toews returned to his usual top-pair role and recorded one assist, two penalties, and three blocks in the first two games of Colorado’s season. He spent the bulk of that time next to Avalanche superstar Cale Makar. The two spent a team-leading 1,031 minutes of even-strength time together last season. Toews managed to reach the 50-point mark for a third-straight season in the role, adding double-digit goals (12) for the second time in his career.

Samuel Girard has stepped into the top-line role in Toews’ absence, recording one assist in four games with the boosted role. That won’t be enough to sustain the top role with Toews returning, likely moving Girard back to a pairing with Josh Manson and giving Colorado a choice between two of Calvin de Haan, Sam Malinski, Oliver Kylington, and John Ludvig for their bottom pair.

Meanwhile, Wagner will return to the minors after working into the lineup twice on his recall. He didn’t do much with the chances – recording three hits, three shots, one penalty, and a -1 while averaging fewer than seven minutes of ice time. Wagner’s departure will open more room for rookies Ivan Ivan and Matthew Stienburg to continue carving out a role, though Ivan’s sole assist in six games is the only scoring between the two. He’s one of six Avalanche forwards with just one point on the year, alongside linemate Joel Kiviranta and popular rookie Calum Ritchie – who each have one goal.

Flyers Reassign Emil Andrae, Activate Nick Seeler

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Oct. 22: Seeler is officially off IR and will play tonight, the team announced.

Oct. 21: The Flyers have returned defense prospect Emil Andrae to AHL Lehigh Valley, a move made official this morning but reflected in the AHL’s transactions log over the weekend. It’s a strong indication that Nick Seeler, who’s yet to play this season after taking a puck to the knee late in their exhibition schedule, will come off injured reserve ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Capitals and will enter the lineup, per Adam Kimelman of NHL.com.

Andrae, 22, had a strong training camp by all accounts but fell just short of making the opening night roster. The 2020 second-round pick has four NHL games under his belt, all coming with Philly last season. He was recalled to give the Flyers injury insurance on the back end earlier this month, shortly after Seeler landed on IR, but he hasn’t played. He sat in the press box for all five of Philadelphia’s games this season.

The Swede will get the chance to hit the ice soon in Lehigh Valley, where he had 32 points (5 G, 27 A), 66 PIMs, and a -10 rating in 61 games last year. It was his first full campaign in North America after spending parts of four seasons in the Swedish Hockey League and HockeyAllsvenskan with HV71 and Västerviks IK. He won the latter league with HV71 in 2022, posting 33 points in 41 regular-season games and 11 points in 10 qualification games to lead their blue line and help them gain promotion back to the top-level SHL.

Andrae will likely get a legitimate NHL look later on in the season. In his four appearances with the Flyers last year, he posted a -1 rating, six blocks, and five hits while averaging 13 minutes per game. He still has one season left after this one on his entry-level contract and won’t be an RFA until 2026.

Meanwhile, Seeler’s return gives the 1-3-1 Flyers a much-needed boost. He’s expected to anchor the team’s second pairing alongside Jamie Drysdale, according to Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The 31-year-old was deployed in top-four minutes at even strength for the first time last season, posting a career-high 12 assists with a +9 rating and 78 PIMs in 71 appearances. He averaged nearly 17 minutes per night and had some of the best possession quality metrics on the team, logging a 56.0 xGF%. That performance earned him a four-year, $10.8MM extension back in March, easily the richest deal of his career.

That stable presence will aid a Philly squad that’s really struggled to keep the puck out of their own net, allowing 4.20 GA/GP. Their possession play hasn’t been great, only controlling 47.5% of scoring chances and an abysmal 40.4% of high-danger chances at even strength. Seeler’s return will help get those numbers closer to 50 if his performance over the last two seasons is any indication.

Blackhawks Activate, Reassign Artyom Levshunov

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The Blackhawks have taken 2024 second-overall pick Artyom Levshunov off of season-opening injured reserve and assigned him to AHL Rockford, per a team release today. The move signals that he’s ready to return from a right foot injury that kept him out of rookie camp, preseason, and the first two weeks of the regular season.

Levshunov, 19 next week, should get a fair amount of runway with the IceHogs before being considered for NHL minutes – if he’s called up at all this season. The Belarus native did dominate the collegiate ranks last season, posting 35 points and a +27 rating in 38 games with Michigan State. That performance earned him multiple Big 10 honors, including an All-Rookie Team nod, the Defensive Player of the Year award, as well as Rookie of the Year. He was the Spartans’ nominee for the NCAA-wide Hobey Baker Award for the top collegiate player, and his freshman year showing helped Michigan win the Big 10 regular season title and the tournament championship.

Jumping from USHL to NCAA directly to NHL play is a tall task for anyone, though, especially for a teenage defenseman. Plopping him into a still-rebuilding environment likely isn’t the best thing for his development, and it’s unlikely the Blackhawks’ front office envisions doing so. They’ve been tentative with their defense prospects in recent years and making efforts to shield them from tough NHL minutes before they’re ready, including sending recent top-10 pick Kevin Korchinski down to Rockford after he spent all of last year on the Blackhawks roster.

If Levshunov fails to play 10 NHL games this season, his entry-level contract will slide to the 2025-26 campaign.

Blues Place Nick Leddy On IR, Activate Alexandre Texier

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The Blues announced today that they’ve placed defenseman Nick Leddy on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. It’s presumably retroactive to his last appearance on Oct. 15 against the Wild, so he’ll be eligible to return whenever he’s cleared to play. He remains day-to-day, so his absence shouldn’t stretch for too much longer. They’ve filled his roster spot with forward Alexandre Texier, who’s coming off IR and will play tonight against the Jets, he told NHL.com’s Lou Korac.

Before Leddy’s injury, it was a tough start to the season for him. The 33-year-old went without a point and posted a -3 rating in four appearances, including a team-leading eight giveaways at the time of his injury. While he averaged over 22 minutes per game, he’s arguably already been usurped as the team’s top left-shot defender by Philip Broberg, who’s on an early-season tear with six points and a +6 rating through six games.

Texier, 25, will suit up tonight for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury in St. Louis’ season opener against the Kraken two weeks ago. The offseason trade pickup from the Blue Jackets had an assist and two shots in 13:03 of ice time in his Blues debut. He’s coming off a career-high 12 goals and 30 points in 78 games for Columbus last year.

Senators Recall Leevi Meriläinen

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The Senators have added goaltender Leevi Merilainen to their roster ahead of tonight’s game against Utah with Linus Ullmark not quite ready to return from a muscle strain, the team announced. Left-winger Cole Reinhardt has been reassigned to AHL Belleville to keep the roster at the 23-player limit.

Ullmark was projected to make his return to the lineup tonight after the team sent No. 3 goalie Mads Søgaard back down to the minors over the weekend. But he’s evidently not quite 100%, and he’ll be held out again tonight in line with previous reports that the Sens are operating with an abundance of caution in returning their new starter to game action.

That’s left Anton Forsberg in charge of the crease for now, and his underwhelming showing last season has continued. Forsberg has a 1-1-0 record in three starts and has struggled to the tune of a .863 SV%, 4.16 GAA, and -2.6 GSAA. Søgaard didn’t do any better in his brief look, conceding four goals on just 17 shots in last week’s wild 8-7 win over the Kings. He then sustained an injury in a game with Belleville after being returned there Sunday, so it’s now Merilainen who gets the call to back up Forsberg tonight against Utah.

Merilainen, 22, has just two games of NHL experience. The Sens’ 2020 third-rounder got into a pair of contests in 2022-23 when injuries decimated their goaltending depth, and it was certainly earlier in his development than they anticipated him seeing NHL ice. He managed a .878 SV% and 4.23 GAA, conceding 1.3 goals above average.

Last year was the Finn’s first in North America full-time. He did okay in an extended run with Belleville, logging a .906 SV% and a shutout in 24 appearances. But he starred at the ECHL level for the Allen Americans, where he posted a .926 SV% despite seeing a heavy workload shot-wise in 13 games.

The 6’3″ netminder has a good glove hand and helped Finland to a silver medal back at the 2022 World Juniors. So far this year for the B-Sens, he has a 3.47 GAA, .852 SV%, and a 2-1-0 record in three appearances.

Reinhardt, meanwhile, has been between leagues this season as roster flexibility allows. He hasn’t yet managed to make an appearance for Ottawa in 2024-25, but he has torched the minors with five points in three games for Belleville. The 24-year-old passed through waivers unclaimed during the preseason but remains an intriguing depth scoring option, so Ottawa won’t hesitate to have him in the minors whenever necessary to delay the expiry of his temporary waiver exemption.

Sharks Reassign Thomas Bordeleau, Shakir Mukhamadullin

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Sharks prospects Thomas Bordeleau and Shakir Mukhamadullin, who started the year on the injured non-roster list, have been cleared to return to play and were subsequently assigned to AHL San Jose, per a team announcement. The move opens up $323,975 in cap space, per PuckPedia.

Bordeleau is no stranger to the Barracuda. That’s where the 22-year-old has spent most of his time since turning pro out of Michigan in 2022. A second-round pick of the Sharks in 2020, he has worked his way into 43 NHL games over the past three seasons, a career-high 27 of which came last year. The center/winger has posted six goals and 12 assists for 18 points, an 11-goal, 34-point pace over 82 games. That’s decent production for a young forward in a middle-six role, especially on a rebuilding club without much support. His possession metrics last season were also exceptionally strong, logging a 5.9% relative Corsi share at even strength. He’s also been decent on the scoresheet in the AHL, posting 33 goals and 69 points in 102 appearances there.

Those numbers generated optimism that Bordeleau could crack the opening night roster this season, but instead, he sustained a lower-body injury early in training camp that knocked him out for most of the exhibition schedule. He’ll now get back up to game speed with the Barracuda before looking to challenge for a call-up in the coming weeks. The Sharks are down a forward with first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, so there should be an opportunity for Bordeleau if he earns it with his play in the AHL.

Mukhamadullin, meanwhile, was dealing with a lower-body injury dating back to rookie camp. The defenseman was a first-round pick of the Devils in 2020 and headed to San Jose in the Timo Meier trade. He made his NHL debut last season, posting an assist with a whopping 11 blocks and five hits in just three games during a brief call-up to the Sharks. He didn’t look entirely out of place while averaging north of 20 minutes per game and, like Bordeleau, should be in line to get NHL action this year after getting his feet wet in the minors.

Senators Reassign Matthew Highmore

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Oct. 22: Highmore has cleared waivers and will be on his way to Belleville, per Friedman.

Oct. 21: Senators depth forward Matthew Highmore is on the waiver wire today, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. That’s a sign he’s ready to return from an upper-body injury sustained late in preseason that landed him on season-opening injured reserve.

If he clears, he’ll head to AHL Belleville. That’s where the 28-year-old spent most of last season, serving as an alternate captain while recording 31 points (9 G, 22 A) in 43 appearances. That was enough for the Sens, who initially signed Highmore to a two-way deal in free agency in the summer of 2023, to offer him a one-year extension to remain in the organization for 2024-25. The two contracts are identical, paying him $775K in the NHL and $400K in the AHL.

Highmore has 146 NHL appearances under his belt, seven of which came in an Ottawa sweater last season. He can play any forward position, although he’s stuck mainly on the wings at the game’s highest level. A fine fourth-line presence and fringe penalty killer, Highmore has 29 career points (12 G, 17 A) with a -8 rating and averaged 11:22 per game. He’s seen much more success offensively in the minors, where he’s got 59 goals and 97 assists for 156 points in 208 career AHL games. He’s also suited up for the Blackhawks, Blues, and Canucks organizations since signing as an undrafted free agent with Chicago out of QMJHL Saint John in 2017.

Per PuckPedia, the Nova Scotia native currently counts $238,151 against the cap while on SOIR. That will be wiped out tomorrow, whether he’s claimed by another team or clears waivers and is assigned to the B-Sens.

Erik Gudbranson Had Shoulder Surgery, Out Indefinitely

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Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson underwent successful surgery yesterday to address the shoulder injury he sustained last week against the Panthers, the team announced. He was already placed on injured reserve. There’s no timeline for his return to the ice.

Unfortunately for Columbus, they’ll be without another veteran leadership fixture for most of the season. Captain Boone Jenner also underwent shoulder surgery earlier this month, which could cost him the entire campaign, general manager Don Waddell said at the time.

While frequently on IR earlier in his career, the 32-year-old Gudbranson has largely managed to stay healthy since inking a four-year, $16MM deal with the Jackets in free agency in 2022. The stay-at-home defender has been severely overtaxed in largely top-four minutes, though, posting a -38 rating and a poor 43.4 CF% at even strength in 151 appearances as a Jacket while averaging north of 20 minutes per game.

Through three games this season, Gudbranson had no points, an even rating, four hits, and three giveaways while also taking a minor penalty. While a relative non-factor on the ice thus far, he’s an invaluable part of Columbus’ leadership team and was the third-oldest player on the active roster behind newcomers Jack Johnson and James van Riemsdyk.

The right-shot blue-liner’s long-term absence surely means that 2022 No. 6 overall pick David Jiříček will see more minutes than he has to begin the season. The 20-year-old has sat in the press box for most of the campaign thus far and only just made his season debut over the weekend against the Wild, paired with Johnson and recording an assist and a +1 rating in 11:23 of tice time.

Stars Activate Matt Dumba From Injured Reserve

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The Stars will have defenseman Mathew Dumba’s services again starting tonight against the Sabres. He’s been activated from injured reserve and will dress in Buffalo, relays the team’s Mike Heika.

Dumba has skated less than a half-hour’s worth of game action this season. After signing a two-year, $7.5MM deal to join the Stars in free agency over the summer, he sustained a lower-body injury in just his second game of the year against the Islanders on Oct. 12. It’s an awfully quick turnaround time for the injury, which was initially feared to require surgery and had him downgraded from day-to-day to week-to-week. All in all, the 30-year-old only misses about a week and a half and four games’ worth of action.

Also returning to the ice against the Sabres tonight are forwards Tyler Seguin and Sam Steel. Neither was on IR, but Dallas returning Matěj Blümel to the minors over the weekend was still a good indication they’d be back in the fold. Seguin had a lower-body injury that had kept him out for three straight, while Steel missed just one contest with an undisclosed injury.

The Stars are looking to get Dumba back on track after back-to-back underwhelming seasons. The former top-four fixture with the Wild was let go in the 2023 offseason and signed with the Coyotes, where he struggled to the tune of 10 points and a -13 rating in 58 games before being flipped to the Lightning at the trade deadline. He was a non-factor in a bottom-four role in Tampa before signing his multi-year deal with Dallas a few months ago.

In a small sample, early signs weren’t promising. The right-shot defender logged top-pairing minutes alongside Miro Heiskanen, but the duo struggled to control play with an xGF% of just 33.3, per MoneyPuck. Dumba was held off the scoresheet in his brief stint in the lineup and logged three giveaways, but he did end up with a +2 rating and four hits.

The Stars will go back to the Heiskanen-Dumba experiment tonight, per Robert Tiffin of D Magazine. How long it remains past Tuesday’s contest remains to be seen.

Rangers To Activate Ryan Lindgren From Injured Reserve

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Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren will make his season debut tonight against the Canadiens, head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters, including Peter Baugh of The Athletic. He’ll need to be taken off injured reserve in the coming hours, but since he was already counting against the salary cap and the Rangers have an open spot on the 23-man roster, there’s no corresponding transaction necessary.

Lindgren won’t be entering the lineup in his usual top-pairing role, however. Laviolette added that he’ll pair Lindgren with rookie Victor Mancini, who’ll be playing in just his sixth career game tonight. The 2022 fifth-round pick out of Nebraska-Omaha was a surprise inclusion on the opening night roster after a strong training camp and has a goal, an assist and a +3 rating through five appearances this season. He’s averaged 15:03 per game, playing a third-pairing role alongside either Zachary Jones or Chad Ruhwedel.

It’s not entirely surprising to see Lindgren taken off his usual top-pairing home, even if it’s just temporary until he gets back up to speed. The 26-year-old is coming off a difficult season that saw him log the worst possession impacts of his career, posting a 47.8 CF% and 48.6 xGF%. Meanwhile, K’Andre Miller has flourished early on this year after being bumped up to first-pairing duties alongside Adam Fox. The two have controlled 71.3% of expected goals when deployed together, per MoneyPuck, and he’s got a goal and an assist to his name thus far.

Lindgren had been out with an upper-body injury he sustained in a preseason game against the Islanders nearly a month ago. It’s a delayed start to what will be an important season for the injury-prone defender, who narrowly avoided arbitration this summer with a one-year, $4.5MM agreement to walk him to unrestricted free agency next year. With Miller’s continued emergence and Lindgren’s declining defensive impacts, it’s unlikely he’ll be brought back if he can’t turn things around quickly.

While a 2016 second-round pick of the Bruins, Manhattan is the only NHL home Lindgren’s ever known. He was part of the return that sent Rick Nash to Boston at the 2018 trade deadline, and he’s since scored 10 goals and 70 assists for 80 points with a +99 rating in 333 games for the Blueshirts.

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