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Anthony Duclair

Islanders Notes: Duclair, Horvat, Barzal, Varlamov

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Veteran winger Anthony Duclair was among the centerpiece additions of the New York Islanders’ 2024 offseason, signing a four-year, $3.5MM contract with the team. His first campaign on Long Island fell well short of expectations, though, and today Duclair shared some more detail on what happened in 2024-25 with The Hockey News’ Stefen Rosner. Duclair said that he tore his groin “right off the bone” in the fifth game of last season, and was initially given a four-to-six week timeline. But after almost four weeks, Duclair’s injury still had not healed, and according to Duclair, he “ended up playing too early.”

As a result, Duclair said the injury “hindered [him] the rest of the season,” to the point where he says he “basically played on one leg.” Duclair’s box score numbers last season were well below his career standards – his seven goals and 11 points across 44 games is a far cry from the 24 goals, 42 points he managed the year prior. Thankfully for Duclair, he told the media today that he feels he is at 100% health heading into Islanders training camp, and the Islanders will need him in his best form if they’re going to be able to return to the playoffs after falling short in 2024-25.

Some other notes from Long Island:

  • Islanders head coach Patrick Roy spoke to the media today, including team reporter Rachel Luscher, and shed some light on how he views his team’s lineup heading into camp. He told the media that his plan is to begin camp with Bo Horvat centering new offseason additions Jonathan Drouin and Maxim Shabanov. Roy’s comments are notable due to the fact that Horvat had previously spent significant time centering star Mathew Barzal. Drouin, 30, signed a two-year, $4MM AAV deal in New York and scored 11 goals, 37 points in just 43 games last season. Shabanov, 24, is entering his first pro season in North America and managed 23 goals and 67 points across 65 regular-season games in the KHL.
  • With Shabanov and Drouin occupying spots alongside Horvat, that leaves Barzal likely to begin training camp back at his natural position of center. While Roy did emphasize that lineup decisions, especially so early in training camp, remain fluid, Barzal is expected to begin camp centering captain Anders Lee and veteran Kyle Palmieri. Barzal has done some of his best work in the NHL at the center position, including Calder Trophy-winning rookie campaign that saw him score 85 points in 82 games.
  • Roy also updated the media of the status of veteran netminder Semyon Varlamov, who remains under contract through 2026-27 at a $2.75MM cap hit. Injury limited Varlamov to just 10 appearances last season, and the Islanders turned to SHL import Marcus Hogberg in his absence. Roy said today that while Varlamov has begun skating, his status for training camp remains to be determined. Should Varlamov be unable to resume his role as the club’s backup, Hogberg will compete with offseason addition David Rittich for the spot behind starter Ilya Sorokin. Although Hogberg has the advantage over Rittich in that he has already spent a year with the Islanders, Rittich is the more NHL-experienced netminder of the two and his $1MM cap hit suggests he should be viewed as the front-runner to win the role entering training camp.

Morning Notes: Price, Leivo, Duclair

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Despite not having played since the 2021-22 campaign and being unofficially retired, Carey Price’s contract could become a trade chip for the Montreal Canadiens in a few weeks. In a new report from RG Media, the Canadiens are already gauging interest in Price’s $10.5MM cap hit, especially for teams looking to create a significant gap between themselves and the salary cap floor, with any hypothetical deal taking place after September 1st.

The significance of the September 1st date lies in the structure of Price’s contract. Despite carrying a $10.5MM cap hit, Price is only receiving $7.5MM in actual salary for the final year of his contract, with $5.5MM of that being paid out via signing bonus on September 1st. Furthermore, with only $2MM remaining, $1.2MM of that will be paid by insurance, leaving the acquiring team on the hook for $800K assuming Montreal pays the first signing bonus.

However, the number of trade partners is thin, as only the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, and San Jose Sharks would be the only teams to truly benefit from acquiring Price’s contract, although it’s even difficult to make an argument for the Ducks, given that they’re trying to compete this upcoming season. Hypothetically, either the Blackhawks or Sharks could take on the $10.5 million salary cap hit. This move would provide them with greater flexibility to trade higher-priced veterans next season at the trade deadline, such as Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, or Jason Dickinson, without risking falling below the salary cap floor.

Other morning notes:

  • Earlier this morning, Patrick Williams of FloHockey reported that Josh Leivo’s contract with the KHL’s Salavat Yulaev Ufa had been terminated. A few moments later, Williams shared that the KHL is not allowing the termination of the agreement, but Leivo is dealing with significant visa issues. Given the global political climate, it’s nearly impossible to enter Russia from a Western country without a visa, which has caused Leivo to miss a decent chunk of training camp. Leivo was one of the best players in the KHL last season, scoring 49 goals and 80 points in 62 games with a +26 rating.
  • Last season, an end-of-the-year feud between New York Islander Anthony Duclair and head coach Patrick Roy caused the former to step away from the team. Still, Duclair is coming into the 2025-26 season more motivated than ever. In a new article from Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News, Rosner quoted Duclair saying, “The Islanders right now are my team. I love them. I love playing for them. I love the fans. We got a great hockey rink. It’s been a joy, and  I’m looking forward to a great season. And I’m looking forward to bouncing back and hopefully getting into the playoffs.“

East Notes: Duclair, Marner, Marchand

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After being limited by injuries through much of the 2024-25 campaign, New York Islanders forward Anthony Duclair took a leave of absence from the team for the remaining eight games of the regular season due to a relatively public conflict with head coach Patrick Roy.

Still, in an interview with Andrew Gross of Newsday, new General Manager Mathieu Darche doesn’t believe Roy’s comments and Duclair’s leave from the team will have any long-standing implications. Gross quoted Darche, saying, “I have a little bit of a relationship with him. I did talk to him. He was in a good mood. We’re going to sit down, like I do with every other player.”

Darche went on to say that he’s hopeful Duclair will be ready for training camp in September. Regardless of his relationship with Roy, the Islanders’ front office will be expecting more from Duclair next season after scoring four goals and 11 points in 44 games shortly following a four-year, $14MM agreement with New York on the free agent market.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • Being the only team that can offer Mitch Marner an eight-year term before July 1st, Cam Robinson of EliteProspects has indicated the Toronto Maple Leafs could entertain a sign-and-trade scenario with Marner this offseason. The motivation behind the idea would be for Toronto to recoup some trade assets for Marner, rather than seeing him leave for nothing. However, a sign-and-trade at that level hasn’t been recorded since the Calgary Flames signed and traded Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in 2022 for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar. Given that any interested team could sign Marner to a seven-year deal, without having to give up any prized players, means this scenario is highly unlikely to play out this summer.
  • A few days ago on The Chris Johnston Show, TSN’s Chris Johnston shared his belief that Panther Brad Marchand will get a raise this summer. Aside from the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, and the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, Marchand has played fewer than 70 games in one season since his sophomore campaign, showing a quality level of longevity entering his age-38 season. Coupled with his impressive run to the Stanley Cup Final with the Panthers that’s seen Marchand score seven goals and 17 points in 19 contests, Johnston believes Marchand will earn an AAV of $8MM on his next contract, albeit on a shorter-term deal.

Islanders’ Anthony Duclair Takes Leave Of Absence

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Islanders winger Anthony Duclair is out indefinitely after taking a personal leave of absence from the club, head coach Patrick Roy told reporters today (including Stefen Rosner of NHL.com).

Duclair wasn’t at this morning’s practice. After the Isles dropped a 4-1 game against the Lightning on Tuesday to extend their winless streak to six, Roy called Duclair’s performance postgame “god-awful” and said he was “lucky to be in the lineup.” Today, Roy told the media that “Anthony and I had a very good conversation, a very positive one, and Anthony asked me to take some time off and reflect. So, obviously, I agreed to that, and we’ll give him all the time that he needs.”

The 29-year-old simply hasn’t meshed on Long Island and with Roy, his head coach from his junior days with the Quebec Remparts. He negotiated himself a four-year, $14MM deal last summer to join the Isles on the opening day of free agency and even started the year on the top line alongside Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat. A leg injury sustained in his fifth game of the season derailed his campaign, though, keeping him on the sidelines for two months. Horvat inferred today that Duclair had also sustained a groin injury – either on the initial play or during his recovery today – that’s bothered him since his return.

As a result, Duclair’s production has been the worst of his career, even when grading it out on a per-game basis. He’s scored just 7-4–11 through 44 games with a -15 rating, the worst among Islanders forwards, while averaging a shade over 15 minutes per game.

Now in his 11th NHL season, Duclair’s shown the ability to be a strong complementary top-six winger when given other offensive weapons to play with. He excelled down the stretch in a top-line role for the Lightning last season after they acquired him from the Sharks at the deadline, posting 8-7–15 in just 17 games. He’s three years removed from a career-high 31-goal campaign in Florida, splitting time on the Panthers’ first and second lines that year. New York hoped he could provide that level of production in a first-line role, but injuries – not just to him, but to their shallow group of top-level offensive talents – have taken away that dream, at least for 2024-25.

With three years left on his deal, a reset in the relationship between the organization and Duclair is paramount. He carries a full no-trade clause through the 2025-26 campaign, although beginning July 1, 2026, Duclair can only block a move to 16 teams.

With eight games left in the Islanders’ season and their playoff chances down to 2% (per MoneyPuck), it stands to reason that Duclair is done for the year. That should mean extended top-six opportunities for wingers like Simon Holmström and Maxim Tsyplakov over the last couple of weeks of the campaign.

Metropolitan Notes: Haula, Malkin, Duclair, Edstrom, Stillman

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It has been one of the busiest weeks of the season for the Metropolitan Division. Five of the division’s eight teams have made trades in the last few weeks, and all eight clubs are dealing with multiple injuries. That’s sparked plenty of news and updates – starting with the New Jersey Devils, who plan to bring centerman Erik Haula on their upcoming two-game road trip despite already ruling him out for Sunday’s game against Buffalo, per team reporter Amanda Stein. Stein added that Haula will practice with the team on the road trip and be questionable for Tuesday’s game against Pittsburgh. Haula suffered an ankle injury on January 5th and has been out of action ever since. He’s missed 11 games and was placed on injured reserve on January 17th. He resumed skating four days later and was upgraded to out day-to-day on January 29th.

Haula is now one step closer to returning. Having already been ruled out of Sunday’s game, he’ll have three more opportunities to get back into the lineup before the team goes on a two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off. Whether or not he’ll be able to return before that break will be notable, as Haula has been selected to represent Team Finland at the tournament. He has so far made no indication that he won’t be able to play – but the thought of his absence will weigh on a Finnish club that recently lost top defenseman Miro Heiskanen for the tourney. Haula is in the midst of a down year, with just 11 points in 42 games – his lowest scoring pace since the 2016-17 season. But he’ll still be an important addition to the Finns’ lineup should he return back to full health, likely to slot in as a middle-six winger with Sebastian Aho, Roope Hintz, Aleksander Barkov, and Anton Lundell manning the middle lane.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are gearing up for an even more notable return, after franchise legend Evgeni Malkin has returned to practice in a non-contact jersey on Saturday, per Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Malkin has missed Pittsburgh’s last four games and is still expected to miss a few more with a lower-body injury. He will be hard-pressed to return before Pittsburgh’s 4-Nations break begins on February 8th. The Penguins have lost two of the games that Malkin has missed. They were outscored 9-2 in the pair of outings. With that in mind, Pittsburgh will hope their future Hall-of-Fame Russian can get back to full health ASAP – and get back to building on the 34 points he’s scored in 47 games this season. Malkin continues to play a pivotal role on the team’s second line, averaging north of 18 minutes of ice time this season.

While New Jersey and Pittsburgh gear up for returns, the Islanders will have yet another lineup vacancy to fill, with winger Anthony Duclair set to miss Saturday’s game due to illness, per Andrew Gross of Newsday Sports. Duclair missed over two months of action earlier in the year, sitting out from October 20th to December 21st with a lower-body injury. He scored three points in his first three games back, but has been ice cold ever since – with just two points in his last 14 games. Duclair has held onto top-nine ice time despite the scoring drought, giving the Islanders a hardy role to fill as he misses yet another game. Marc Gatcomb has returned to the lineup to fill the vacancy, earning another chance to find scoring after playing in his first seven NHL games, and scoring his first goal, earlier this season. Gatcomb will fill a fourth-line role, while Simon Holmstrom has been promoted into the top-nine.

Joining the list of Metropolitan absentees is New York Rangers forward Adam Edstrom, who suffered an apparent injury in the team’s Saturday loss to the Boston Bruins. No specifics of Edstrom’s injury or timeline have been revealed. It’s terrible timing for the towering forward, who’s scored two points and seen a boost in ice time over his last five games. His absence will force the Rangers to fill a hole on their fourth line, likely opening the door for Arthur Kaliyev, Jimmy Vesey, or top prospect Brennan Othmann to earn a spot start. Vesey notably voiced concerns over his ice time recently – and could now have a golden chance to prove he can make a lasting impact with minimal minutes.

Closing out the littany of Metro updates – the Carolina Hurricanes have reassigned depth defenseman Riley Stillman back to the minor leagues. Stillman was recalled for his season debut on Friday. He played in just under eight minutes of ice time and recorded one shot and two hits. He’ll now return to the minor leagues, where he’s scored two goals and five points through 15 games.

Islanders Activate Anthony Duclair From LTIR

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Dec. 20: Duclair is indeed off LTIR ahead of today’s game against the Leafs, per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News.

Dec. 19: Islanders winger Anthony Duclair will be a game-time decision for the Islanders’ next game against the Maple Leafs on Saturday, head coach Patrick Roy said (via Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News). He’ll need to come off long-term injured reserve to play, which Roy said he has an “extremely good chance” of doing. As such, the Isles shifted goaltender Semyon Varlamov from standard IR to LTIR ahead of tonight’s roster freeze to free up additional cap room for Duclair’s activation. That means the netminder will miss at least three more games with his lower-body injury, keeping him out through Dec. 29 against the Penguins.

Duclair, 29, has been out of action since falling awkwardly while attempting to create a scoring chance against the Canadiens back on Oct. 19. His return comes a couple of weeks later than the team initially anticipated when they issued him a four-to-six-week return timeline. Still, they’re nonetheless happy to get his services back. Roy stuck him on the top line alongside Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat to begin the season after the club signed him to a four-year, $14MM pact in free agency, awarding him a good bit of trade protection as well.

The 5’11” winger had two goals and an assist through five appearances before landing on LTIR. He was averaging a career-high 16:30 per game, a figure that would have been higher if not for leaving the game against Montreal in the third period. Duclair generated eight shots on goal, and his line with Barzal and Horvat controlled a team-high 64.6% of expected goals when deployed together, per MoneyPuck. The Isles will be thrilled to get that level of possession control back this weekend as they look to climb back to a .500 record in the month of December. They’re 3-4-1 this month and 12-14-7 on the season, sitting seventh in the Metropolitan Division.

Varlamov, 36, hasn’t played since allowing five goals on 26 shots in an overtime loss to the Canadiens on Nov. 29. He backed up Ilya Sorokin for the next two games until sustaining an injury in practice that necessitated the recall of Marcus Högberg from AHL Bridgeport to be the No. 2 option. Högberg has yet to start a game, but since he’s stopped all 17 shots he’s faced in two relief appearances, that might change to give Sorokin a rest after starting nine games in a row.

After posting a .918 SV% in 28 appearances last season, his highest mark in three years, Varlamov has a career-worst .889 mark through 10 starts this year. He’s posted a 3-4-3 record with a 2.89 GAA and allowed 1.1 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. If that figure stands, it would mark Varlamov’s first season finishing in the red in terms of GSAx since his 2018-19 campaign with the Avalanche.

The Isles will have $437K left in their LTIR pool after adding Varlamov, moving defenseman Grant Hutton off the roster later today after his waiver period is over, and activating Duclair, PuckPedia projects. They’ll have a full 23-player active roster.

Islanders Place Grant Hutton On Waivers

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Before yesterday’s game, Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said that winger Anthony Duclair had been medically cleared to return from his leg injury but is still working up to game speed. Defenseman Grant Hutton has landed on waivers in a corresponding move for his pending activation, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Hutton getting sent down isn’t much of a surprise. With Adam Pelech and Alexander Romanov returning to full health on New York’s back end, he’s played sparingly in recent days, serving as a healthy scratch five times in their last six games. The minor-league mainstay averaged 14:09 worth of ice time across 12 appearances during his call-up, which began after Pelech sustained a jaw injury in early November. He recorded two assists, a +1 rating, 11 blocks, and 12 hits in his first NHL action since November 2023.

An undrafted free-agent signing out of Ohio’s Miami University in 2019, Hutton has been a usual suspect on AHL Bridgeport’s blue line since turning pro. He’s made 30 NHL appearances dating back to his first-ever recall in 2021, posting three points. The defensive-minded defender has posted pretty underwhelming possession numbers when given a chance, only controlling 42.8% of shot attempts at even strength despite an even split of offensive and defensive zone starts.

Before his recall in November, Hutton had two assists and a +3 rating in nine games for Bridgeport, where he’s likely set to return, barring unexpected interest from another NHL club on the waiver wire. In 236 games with Bridgeport over the past seven seasons, he has 80 points (22 G, 58 A) with 115 PIMs and a -5 rating.

Hutton, an Indiana native, is in the final season of a three-year, $2.33MM extension he inked in 2022. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer and is unlikely to find a contract replicating the one-way structure he’s had since the beginning of 2023-24.

Evening Notes: Gustavsson, Dahlin, Duclair

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Joe Smith of The Athletic tweeted that Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson did not practice today with the team. Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News also reported that Gustavsson will miss his second consecutive game tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers. Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start with Jesper Wallstedt backing him up. Although Gustavsson will miss tomorrow night’s game, Joe Smith tweeted that Wild head coach John Hynes believes it will be a short-term injury.

Gustavsson has returned to form in 2024-25, bouncing back from a difficult stretch last season. Thus far this year, Gustavsson has posted a 14-5-3 record, along with a 2.24 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage in 22 appearances.

In other evening notes:

  • Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reported today that Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff is optimistic that the team will get defenseman Rasmus Dahlin back into the lineup very soon. Dahlin could practice as early as Thursday and depending on how that goes, he could suit up Friday when the Sabres take on Toronto. The 24-year-old has been dealing with a back issue that initially flared up in training camp and has missed seven straight games.
  • New York Islanders forward Anthony Duclair didn’t play tonight against Carolina but has been medically cleared to return and will do so whenever he is comfortable to return (as per Ethan Sears of the New York Post). Duclair has missed 28 straight games with a lower-body injury and has played just five times this season, tallying two goals and an assist in those games. The 29-year-old signed a four-year deal in the summer as a free agent and will likely occupy a top-six role for the Islanders when he does return.

Metropolitan Notes: Islanders, White, Kolosov, Stillman

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Islanders star Mathew Barzal practiced Thursday for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury at the end of October, relays Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. He was joined by fellow IR-bound impact pieces Anthony Duclair and Adam Pelech, all of whom weren’t carrying any contact restrictions, per Rosner.

None of the trio will play tonight against the Blackhawks, but head coach Patrick Roy told Rosner that they’ve all been upgraded to day-to-day. Barzal is at the end of his four-to-six-week return timeline from his UBI, while Duclair is already a week past his projected four-to-six-week return window from a freak leg injury in just his fifth appearance of the season. Pelech never landed a specific timeline in his return from a jaw injury he sustained against the Sabres on Nov. 1.

Today marked the latter two’s first time skating with the team without a non-contact designation, although they’d both returned to practice within the last week. The Islanders must make a few roster moves to activate their pair of top-six forwards and top-four defender. Their active roster is full with Barzal and Duclair on LTIR and Pelech on standard IR, so they’ll need to make three reassignments to be compliant. One should be goaltender Marcus Högberg, who’s up from AHL Bridgeport on an emergency basis while veteran backup Semyon Varlamov deals with a lower-body injury. Rookie defenseman Isaiah George is waiver-exempt and will likely be the second demotion, but all other likely candidates for reassignment require waivers. Winger Hudson Fasching, who’s averaging just 8:39 per game through 10 appearances this season, seems like the best option to expose to the wire.

While Barzal was averaging a career-high 21:12 per game before his injury, he was off to a slow start offensively, with two goals and three assists for five points in 10 games. His and Duclair’s nearing returns will allow Roy to reunite them on the top line with Bo Horvat, a new-look unit that dominated play with a 64.6% expected goal share before injuries struck, per MoneyPuck.

There’s more out of the Metropolitan:

  • The Devils’ demotion of defenseman Nick DeSimone yesterday wasn’t a paper move. They’ve opted to give a different minor-league mainstay a stint on the NHL roster as an extra defenseman, announcing the recall of Colton White from AHL Utica. White, 27, was a New Jersey fourth-round pick in 2015 and returned to the organization last offseason as a free agent on a two-year, two-way deal after spending the prior two years in the Ducks organization. He hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since skating in a career-high 46 contests with Anaheim in 2022-23, during which time he recorded six assists and 34 hits with a -17 rating while averaging 14:32 per game. The 6’1″ lefty has eight points and a -2 rating in 20 games with Utica this year, matching his point total from last season with San Diego in 53 games.
  • Flyers netminder Aleksei Kolosov has temporarily cemented his spot as No. 2 on their goaltending depth chart behind Samuel Ersson, head coach John Tortorella told reporters today (including Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports). The 22-year-old Belarusian has battled it out with fellow rookie Ivan Fedotov this season, and both have gotten extended looks with Ersson missing significant time last month with a lower-body injury. Philadelphia has carried three goalies since Ersson returned to health, though, a plan that doesn’t appear to be imminently changing. Kolosov has a 3-5-1 record in nine showings this year with a .881 SV% and 3.29 GAA but leads Flyers netminders with 0.1 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. That’s a testament to the quality of chances he’s faced – the Flyers are allowing 3.13 xGA per game with Kolosov in net compared to 2.23 with Ersson. His numbers also clearly exceed those of the 28-year-old Fedotov, who has a .877 SV% and -3.5 GSAx through 10 games.
  • The Hurricanes have again swapped extra defenders, adding Riley Stillman to the roster today from AHL Chicago after having Ty Smith fill that role for their past couple of games. Stillman, 26, has been rostered twice since being activated from injured reserve in November but has yet to suit up for Carolina, which inked him to a two-way deal over the summer. The veteran of 158 NHL games with the Panthers, Blackhawks, Canucks, and Sabres has two assists and a +1 rating in seven minor-league contests in 2024-25.

East Notes: Chinakhov, Duclair, Pelech, Kozak

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Columbus Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov has missed the team’s last six games with an upper-body injury, and doesn’t seem close to a return. Head coach Dean Evason told NHL.com’s Jeff Svoboda that Chinakhov is “progressing, for sure” but that he hasn’t yet returned to skating, making a return to the lineup hard to predict.

Chinakhov has 14 points, split evenly, through 21 games this season. He’s playing the best hockey of his career – scoring at a career-high pace, recording a positive +/- for the first time, and working his way into 17 minutes of average ice time each game. They’re all very positive signs of life for the 23-year-old winger, who’s bettering the 16 goals and 29 points in 53 games last season: an 82-game pace of 45 points. Improving on those numbers is helping Chinakhov justify his 21st-overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft – a shocking pick at the time, despite Chinakhov was one of Russia’s top junior scorers entering the draft. He made the jump to the NHL less than two years later and has since recorded 70 points and 34 penalty minutes in 166 career games. He’ll look to continue producing when he’s finally able to return to the lineup, though Evason suggests he’ll have to hit multiple checkpoints before that occurs.

Other notes from out East:

  • Both Anthony Duclair (lower-body) and Adam Pelech (upper-body) returned to the New York Islanders practices today, each wearing a no-contact jersey, shares Newsday’s Andrew Gross. It’s a timely step for both players, who were designated to miss one-to-two months in late October and early November respectively. Duclair landed on long-term injured reserve on October 26th, while Pelech was placed on standard IR on November 2nd. Duclair scored two goals and three points in five games before falling to injury, looking like a stout addition to New York’s top-six. Meanwhile, Pelech’s spot on the top pair likely remains unrivaled. He’s averaged north of 20 minutes of ice time through 11 games this season, recording four assists along the way. The duo are pacing to return to the lineup before the holiday break, though it’s yet to be seen if that timeline will actually come to fruition.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have sent young winger Tyson Kozak back to the minor leagues. It’s unclear if this is a means of accruing daily cap space before Wednesday’s matchup against the Rangers, or if Kozak’s assignment is expected to stick. Kozak received the first three NHL games of his career on this recall. He scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game – but it got called back after a coach’s challenge from Jets head coach Scott Arniel. Not to be denied, Kozak managed to score again in his second game – this time cementing his first goal at the top flight. He served in a fourth-line role throughout his recall, and could be at risk of formally losing an NHL spot with the return of Jordan Greenway and Sam Lafferty from injury.

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