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Kraken Place Jared McCann On IR; Brandon Montour Returns To Team

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The Kraken appear to be set to welcome back a key blueliner to their lineup tonight against Edmonton.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Brandon Montour has returned to the team after stepping away last weekend on a leave of absence to attend to a family matter; Montour revealed soon after that his brother passed away following a battle with ALS.  To make room for him on the roster, forward Jared McCann has been placed on injured reserve.

Montour had gotten off to a strong start before his leave, notching four assists in his first four games of the season while logging nearly 23 minutes a night of playing time.  That usage was in line with how he was deployed in 2024-25 in his first season in Seattle, one that saw him record 18 goals and 23 assists in 81 appearances while averaging 22:59 per night.  That was a particularly strong showing in the first season of a seven-year, $50MM contract signed last summer.

The Kraken only had six blueliners on their active roster which is why it made sense for McCann to be the corresponding move instead of another defender.  With Montour returning, Cale Fleury will likely lose his spot in the lineup.

As for McCann, he has missed the last week with a lower-body injury.  Assuming that Seattle has back-dated that placement, he’ll be eligible to be activated at any time.  He had also gotten off to a strong start to the season before the injury, picking up three goals and an assist in his first outings, producing at largely the same rate he has offensively over the past several seasons.

Calgary Flames Assign Dryden Hunt To AHL

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Saturday: Hunt’s stint on Calgary’s roster was short-lived as the team announced that they have sent Hunt back to the Wranglers.  He didn’t wind up playing against Winnipeg.  They’re now back to carrying an open roster spot.

Thursday: The Calgary Flames announced today that they recalled forward Dryden Hunt from their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. The move brings the Flames to a full 23-man active roster, with the full slate of 14 forwards and seven defensemen.

Today’s recall puts Hunt in a position to potentially make his 2024-25 debut tomorrow when the Flames play the Winnipeg Jets. The Flames have gotten off to an extremely poor start to 2025-26, sitting 31st in the NHL with a 1-6-1 record through eight games. Should the San Jose Sharks defeat the New York Rangers tonight, the Flames will end the day in last place in the NHL.

The most significant reason behind their struggles has been a lack of offense – they’ve scored just 13 goals so far this season. They’re generating a fair number of shots (they took 37 in last night’s overtime loss to Montreal). Still, they simply have not been able to generate high-quality looks or reliably finish the high-end chances they do manage to generate.

Recalling Hunt, 29, won’t solve those problems on its own. Although Hunt has proven to be a quality AHL scorer (he has 251 points in 322 career games) he hasn’t translated that scoring ability to the NHL level. He has one season as a full-time NHL regular on his résumé, coming in 2021-22 with the New York Rangers. But even though he won’t solve the Flames’ offensive woes on his own, there are definitely worse players a team could call up to help fill a bottom-six role.

Hunt has gotten off to a fast start in the AHL this season (six points in just four games) and does bring 235 games of NHL experience. He can be a tenacious player and has worked his way from being an undrafted WHL star and someone who was playing in the ECHL as a rookie pro into a solid NHL/AHL bubble forward.

2023 first-round pick Samuel Honzek has not registered a point through six games this season, and after managing just 21 points in 52 AHL games last season, it’s possible he could be well-served getting a stint in the AHL to help build his confidence as a pro scorer. If the Flames take that view, Hunt could land on the team’s third line in Honzek’s spot, on a line with Morgan Frost and Connor Zary.

Although this recall has some financial implications for Hunt, the raise he’ll receive for his time spent on the NHL roster compared to his AHL salary will be relatively limited. Hunt’s two-way contract has one of the higher AHL salaries in the league, containing a $450K base salary and $500K total guarantee. Depending on how long he can manage to spend on the NHL roster, this recall could go a long way in helping Hunt surpass his $500K guarantee by the time the season concludes.

Patrik Laine Out Three To Four Months

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A tough start to the season for Canadiens winger Patrik Laine just got even tougher.  The team announced that he has undergone surgery to repair a core muscle injury.  As a result, he will miss the next three to four months.

This is Laine’s second season with Montreal after he was acquired from Columbus in the 2024 offseason.  It’s also now the second straight season that he has sustained a significant injury early on.  Last season, a preseason knee injury cost him a couple of months of action and this one could keep him out for twice as long.

While Laine got through training camp healthy this time, it didn’t take long for him to drop down the depth chart.  While he started the year on Montreal’s second line, he was down to fourth-line minutes at five-on-five within a couple of weeks.  As a result, he was limited to just one assist through five games while averaging just 12:36 per night, a career low in that regard.  He didn’t accompany the team on their four-game Western road trip while getting a second opinion on his injury; clearly, that second opinion concurred with the first with him undergoing surgery soon after.

Last season, Laine made an immediate impact when he returned to the lineup, tallying 15 power play goals.  In doing so, he was among the league leaders in that regard despite missing 29 games while he helped Montreal’s power play get closer to the middle of the pack.  However, his playing time and effectiveness waned down the stretch and into the playoffs where he was injured partway through their series against Washington.

This is a contract year for Laine, who carries a cap charge of $8.7MM, tops among Canadiens forwards.  It’s fair to say his hopes of a big payday next summer have taken another hit as he’ll now miss more than half the season; that, coupled with his struggles at full strength, don’t bode well for him on the open market.  That said, because he should wind up missing 100 days because of this injury and has more than 400 career NHL appearances, Laine should be eligible for a one-year contract with performance incentives next summer.  That might be the best route to go for him, one that would allow him to maximize his compensation should he stay healthy while providing the signing team – be it Montreal or someone else in free agency – with less risk in signing him.

For Montreal, since they have over $4MM in cap space at the moment per PuckPedia, an LTIR placement wouldn’t make any sense for them.  Since Laine is expected to return this season, the maximum amount of LTIR space they could amass is $3.82MM, not his full cap charge so, barring a rash of further injuries, don’t expect him to be moved to LTIR.  As of yet, the Canadiens haven’t moved him to regular injured reserve although that is merely a formality for whenever they need to open up a roster spot.

Golden Knights Sign Carter Hart To Two-Year Deal

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Oct. 25: The Golden Knights have registered the contract, PuckPedia reports.  The deal carries a $1.45MM signing bonus this season with a league-minimum salary of $775K.  In 2026-27, Hart will make $1.775MM in salary with no signing bonus.

Oct. 24: Vegas will be converting Hart’s tryout into a two-year contract as expected. It’ll be worth $4MM with an average annual value of $2MM, Darren Dreger of TSN reports.

Oct. 16, 12:31 p.m.: The Golden Knights announced that Hart will be joining the organization, although there isn’t a guaranteed contract yet – he’ll begin his work on a tryout with AHL Henderson, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports. Vegas’ full statement is as follows:

Following the reinstatement decision agreed on by the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association, goaltender Carter Hart will be joining the Vegas Golden Knights organization. The Golden Knights are aligned with the process and assessment the NHL and NHLPA made in their decision. We remain committed to the core values that have defined our organization from its inception and expect that our players will continue to meet these standards moving forward.

Oct. 16, 8:30 a.m.: The Vegas Golden Knights are nearing a deal with free agent netminder Carter Hart, insider Frank Seravalli reported on his Victory+ show yesterday. Seravalli said, “I’d expect Hart’s deal to be two years,” a bit north of the league-minimum salary.

Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson seconded Seravalli’s report and provided a little more detail, stating that Hart’s deal is expected to be a two-year, $1.8MM AAV pact. Hart, who Wasserman’s Judd Moldaver reps, became eligible to sign an NHL contract yesterday but is not eligible to play until December 1st.

That Hart isn’t eligible to play until December is notable given a recent injury to starter Adin Hill during the team’s road win against the Calgary Flames two days ago. There has been no further update on Hill’s status, but since Hart remains ineligible to play for the next month and a half, the Golden Knights will have to look elsewhere to reinforce their position in the crease should Hill miss any time.

While no deal with Hart has been officially announced to this point, Vegas’ interest in Hart has been widely reported, even going back to September, when The Athletic’s Chris Johnston called the team a front-runner to secure the netminder’s services.

It was reported earlier that month that Hart would receive interest from multiple NHL teams, which is notable as the other four Hockey Canada players acquitted of charges this summer in connection to an alleged sexual assault have been met with more muted NHL interest.

Center Michael McLeod was at one point expected to sign a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, but ultimately agreed on a three-year extension with Avangard Omsk of the KHL, the side he played for in 2024-25.

A month ago, Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios commented that both his organization and forward Alex Formenton agreed that “a fresh start” would be the best option for both sides. Still, thus far, Formenton hasn’t been able to secure another NHL team to play for. He is currently playing out a four-month contract (that contains an option to extend for the rest of the 2025-26 season) with Swiss National League side HC Ambri-Piotta.

The final two players involved in this past summer’s trial, defenseman Cal Foote and forward Dillon Dube, remain free agents. Foote spent 2024-25 with HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas of the Slovak Extraliga, while Dube played for Dinamo Minsk in the KHL. There has not yet been much reporting indicating serious NHL interest in either player. The only notable report that was issued regarding either player came from The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, who noted that the Toronto Maple Leafs would not be interested in signing Dube.

As a result, it appears Hart is, by far, the most likely candidate of this group of players to receive an NHL contract in the short-term future. Hart is also, among the group, arguably its most accomplished NHL player.

The 27-year-old was once one of the more promising goalies in the sport, playing to solid results (.906 career save percentage across 227 games) for the Philadelphia Flyers. While the Flyers mostly struggled during Hart’s tenure, especially later on, he did backstop them on one playoff run, posting a .926 save percentage in 14 games during the 2019-20 season. That Flyers team fell in seven games to the New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

In Vegas, Hart would potentially have the opportunity to get a real chance to play games for one of the NHL’s leading Stanley Cup contenders. The Golden Knights, who currently sit first in the Pacific Division with a 2-0-2 record, are loaded with high-end veteran talent, including center Jack Eichel, defenseman Shea Theodore, and wingers Mitch Marner and Mark Stone.

Hill, the team’s starter, backstopped the team to its first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 2023, but the 29-year-old doesn’t have an extensive resume as a number-one goalie. While he started to achieve real success on a Stanley Cup-winning team, he has also made 50 starts in a season just once in his career.

Whether Hart has a path to being Vegas’ long-term number-one goalie is unclear at this stage.

Hill was signed to a six-year, $6.25MM AAV contract extension in March, signaling the Golden Knights’ commitment to him as their top netminder moving forward. But the Golden Knights have shown a willingness to make aggressive moves to maximize their competitive chances in the past, especially in net, such as when they acquired and extended netminder Robin Lehner despite the presence of Vezina winner Marc-Andre Fleury on their roster.

As a result, assuming Hart does sign in Vegas, and assuming he can play well upon his return to the NHL, a potential long-term future in Vegas cannot be counted out, even though Hill has signed that hefty extension. If the Golden Knights feel, down the line, that Hart gives them the best chance to win long-term, everything they have done and accomplished as an organization thus far suggests they won’t hesitate to re-sign Hart, even with Hill signed. Worth noting here is that under the reported terms of Hart’s expected contract (two years, $1.8MM AAV), Hart would become eligible to sign a contract extension on July 1st.

Bringing that up may be getting a little bit ahead of things, though, as the reality is Hart has not played competitive hockey since he left the Flyers in January of 2024. While he was once seen as a promising young netminder, it’s difficult to project how a player will perform, especially a goalie, after missing so much time. The Golden Knights, though, based on all of the available reporting, clearly believe in Hart’s NHL future, and appear poised to sign a two-year contract with the player that reflects that belief.

Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Caleb Jones To Miss Eight Weeks

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After spending most of last season in the minors, Caleb Jones was off to a nice start to his season with Pittsburgh, playing largely a regular role on their third pairing.  However, that early momentum will be on hold for a while as the team announced (Twitter link) that Jones has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury that will keep him out of the lineup for roughly eight weeks.  He suffered the injury in the third period of Thursday’s victory over Florida.

The 28-year-old is in his first season with the Penguins after signing a two-year, $1.8MM contract with them in free agency, securing a one-way commitment despite his limited NHL action the year before.  Jones has suited up in seven of eight games so far this season, picking up an assist along with 15 blocked shots and 10 hits in a little over 17 minutes a night of playing time.

Jones has 255 career NHL appearances under his belt over parts of eight seasons with five different organizations.  When he has been in the lineup, it has typically been in the role he had with Pittsburgh to start the year, spending time on their third pairing with a bit of penalty killing action when needed.

With seven other healthy blueliners on their active roster, the Penguins don’t necessarily need to call anyone up to replace Jones on the roster.   However, fellow blueliner Harrison Brunicke can only play in three more NHL games before a decision needs to be made about burning the first year of his contract.  If they decide to send him back to junior, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a recall come within the next week or so, earlier if they decide they want to take more time before making that choice.

Avalanche Assign Ronnie Attard To AHL

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Colorado’s injury list has been pretty full in the early going this season with three players on injured reserve (one on LTIR) plus several others on season-opening injured reserve who are destined for the minors when they’re cleared to return.  The latter has been shrunk by one as the Avalanche have assigned defenseman Ronnie Attard to the minors, per the AHL’s transactions log.

The 26-year-old is in his first season with the Avs after signing with them as a Group Six unrestricted free agent this past summer, inking a one-year, two-way deal.  He cleared waivers early in training camp but was recalled for a game after that, sustaining a lower-body injury that ultimately kept him out for the better part of a month.

Last season, Attard split the season between the AHL affiliates of Philadelphia and Edmonton after the latter acquired him in an early-season swap of minor league defensemen.  Between the two squads, he put up seven goals and ten assists in 66 games.

Attard has 29 career NHL appearances under his belt, all with the Flyers, tallying six points altogether.  However, he didn’t see any time on an NHL roster last season, meaning there was no lingering cap charge associated with his SOIR placement.  He’ll now join the Eagles in the hopes of playing his way into a recall as the season goes on.

Sharks Maintaining Faith In Yaroslav Askarov

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As the Sharks work through a trying time in their history, one key story so far this season has been Yaroslav Askarov and his performance in net. Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now shared earlier today an article published by fellow member, William Espy, on how the organization holds strong faith in Askarov through ups and downs. 

Despite a 5.72 GAA and .838 SV% going into tonight, Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky emphasized that Askarov remains very young, raw, and has faced a lot of pressure. San Jose has more bright spots on the ice than previous years, but the job between the pipes in teal is still not exactly an easy one, as the team continues their hardcore rebuild. 

Last summer GM Mike Grier made improving his back-end a key point of emphasis. Although players such as Dmitry Orlov, John Klingberg, and Nick Leddy are no longer what they once were, it is a considerable improvement, even just by veteran presence alone. Askarov’s interests were likely a factor. 

Drafted 11th overall in 2020 by Nashville, Askarov was one of the most hyped up goaltender prospects in recent memory. Despite posting strong numbers in the AHL, the Predators, known for their keen ability to develop goalies, were not sold on the Russian and his electric yet sometimes polarizing style. They opted to lock up Juuse Saros long-term, and understandably, Askarov requested a trade.

San Jose, putting together a formidable young core, swooped in and added to it, dealing fellow goaltender Magnus Chrona, prospect David Edstrom, and a first round pick (originally owned by Vegas) for Askarov. While Nashville hopes Edstrom can become a top six forward, if Askarov can reach his potential, which is still absolutely possible, it does not feel like a lot to give up; goalies like him do not come along often. The Russian is the whole package: size, athleticism, and a bit of a unicorn catching right. 

Many netminders take time to develop, going through growing pains, especially in an environment such as San Jose. The biggest challenge for Warsofsky is making sure Askarov, along with many of his young skaters, are not overwhelmed and therefore hurting their development, along with simple patience. 

Sure enough, tonight, Askarov played much better in New Jersey, stopping 26 of 28 shots including several highlight reel saves. Despite the efforts, the Sharks took the loss, unfortunately a result he will probably have to face often for the foreseeable future. 

Sabres Notes: Kozak, Mrtka, Mogilny

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The Buffalo Sabres announced mid-game that center Tyson Kozak will not return due to a lower body injury, playing just 1:49 before exiting. Buffalo, winners of three out of their last four games, has seemed to find some momentum but now will have to hope Kozak’s injury is not serious. 

Originally drafted in the seventh round of the 2021 draft by Buffalo, the 22-year-old Kozak has impressively become a solid defensive center, appearing in 21 games for the Sabres last year, and six so far in 2025-26 where he has netted two goals. 

Elsewhere from Buffalo:

  • Earlier today in advance of tonight’s game vs Toronto, the Sabres announced that Radim Mrtka was reassigned to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. Drafted 9th overall by Buffalo in last summer’s draft, the defenseman did not appear for the big club but made his professional debut with AHL Rochester, skating in 4 games, posting one assist and mixing it up a bit with 7 penalty minutes. At just 18-years-old, the Czech and his 6’6” frame will be a welcome addition back for Seattle, as Buffalo looks to set their prospect up for success in 2025-26 before a potential pro return next year.
  • A former Sabre confirmed that he will not attend the 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in person. Alexander Mogilny, finally being elected this year after 16 years of eligibility, will instead deliver an acceptance speech through video message, as confirmed by Kelly Masse, Director of Media Relations for the Hockey Hall of Fame. The legend, who scored an unreal 76 goals for Buffalo in 1992-93, also made tremendous impacts in Vancouver, New Jersey, and Toronto. Although known of having a fear of flying, Mogilny is President of the KHL’s Amur Khabarovsk club, their season in full swing on the other side of the globe. 

Alexander Kerfoot Undergoes Procedure, To Miss 8-10 Weeks

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The Utah Mammoth announced that center Alexander Kerfoot underwent a successful procedure stemming from his lower body injury, and will miss the next 8-10 weeks. 

Kerfoot’s ailment was first noted last month which kept him out of training camp. Now Utah, off to an impressive 6-2 start this season, knows the fate of the veteran and will look to keep up the momentum in his absence. As noted by the team, the medical procedure was to repair a core muscle injury.  

The Vancouver native was inked to another year in Utah last March, at a value of $3MM. Originally arriving to the organization after several years in Toronto on a two-year deal, Kerfoot was a valuable member of the Coyotes in their final season, posting 45 points, setting a career high in total ice time, and even receiving votes for the Selke (top defensive forward) as an honorable mention fringe candidate.

Since then in Utah, Kerfoot’s role fell slightly last year, due to the emergence of several young talented forwards in the organization. However, obviously as the team brought him back, the Mammoth value the 31-year-old’s leadership and two-way prowess. On such a new team with youth throughout, he is actually among the team’s oldest and most tenured NHL forwards. 

A highly durable player who had missed just one regular season game since 2020-21, the hope will certainly be that Utah can continue to excel without Kerfoot, and that he will join in mid-late December set to hit the ground running into 2026.

Evening Notes: Reichel, Sharangovich, Lightning

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Having been dealt today to Vancouver in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick, Pierre LeBrun of TSN had an interesting note on Lukas Reichel, that the former top prospect had asked for a trade out of Chicago. Lebrun added that according to Reichel’s agent, it had been a long-time discussion, but that things were amicable as both sides worked peacefully through the process. 

As has been discussed, a fourth-round pick may feel underwhelming for Chicago fans, but the German native has just not been able to establish himself, never surpassing the 22-point mark in a season. On the flip side though, Reichel, still just 23, seems like a very solid low-risk addition for Vancouver. Even if the change of scenery does not pan out into Reichel becoming a true top-six forward, his skating ability and effort level could be useful in any team’s bottom six. Many in his mold have evolved and simplified their games to stick in the NHL, and it will be interesting to see what comes of the former first-round pick. 

Elsewhere across the league:

  • Derek Wills, voice of the Calgary Flames, shared today that Yegor Sharangovich is expected to draw back into the lineup tonight in Winnipeg. The forward was scratched for the last two games, after putting up just one assist in 6 games. Given the brutal start for Calgary so far, currently last in the league, there is perhaps nothing to lose to try and get the skilled winger going, who broke out two years ago as a Flame, scoring 31 goals. Especially as Sharangovich seems set in Calgary for the foreseeable future, in year one of a five-year contract worth $5.75MM per year. 
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-assigned Scott Sabourin to AHL Syracuse, and in a corresponding move, they welcomed back Zemgus Girgensons, who has been activated, as Head Coach Jon Cooper told Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. Girgensons is expected to make his season debut tomorrow. Meanwhile Sabourin, 33, will bring a veteran presence and a physical edge to the Crunch. He did not appear in a game for the Bolts, but the undrafted grinder has 47 NHL games to his name. Off to a poor start, Tampa Bay will look to turn the corner and silence any early speculation that the club’s long sustained success may be on the downturn. 

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