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Connor Brown

Metro Notes: Devils, Carlson, Borgen, Mitchell

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Despite recent injuries affecting the New Jersey Devils, there is light at the end of the tunnel. According to team reporter Amanda Stein, the Devils are expected to welcome back defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Connor Brown to practice on Monday.

Hamilton, who’s tied as the highest-paid defenseman on New Jersey’s roster, hasn’t played since November 6th due to an undisclosed injury. The injury to Hamilton has left the Devils’ blue line relatively devastated, as they’re also without Brett Pesce and Johnathan Kovacevic on the right side. Despite missing the last few games, Hamilton is third on the team in scoring among defensemen with three goals and seven points in 14 games.

Meanwhile, Brown was just recently placed on the team’s injured reserve yesterday with an undisclosed injury. Since his injury designation was retroactive to October 30th, Brown is eligible to return whenever healthy. He’s scored five goals in his first 11 games with New Jersey this season.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • On the flip side of New Jersey’s game tonight, the Washington Capitals are playing without their longest-tenured defenseman. Before the game, Bailey Johnson of the Washington Post reported that blueliner John Carlson is dealing with an upper-body injury, and he didn’t participate in tonight’s contest. Fortunately, there’s no indication it’s expected to be a long-term issue for Carlson, who could return to the action in the Capitals’ next game.
  • Staying on the blue line, the New York Rangers are also without a usual defenseman tonight. The Rangers announced that William Borgen, who’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury, would not appear in tonight’s contest. In his first full year with the Rangers, Borgen has scored one goal and three points in his first 18 contests, averaging 18:43 of ice time.
  • On the other side of New York, the New York Islanders announced that they’ve returned defenseman Travis Mitchell to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. Although he participated in warmups before last night’s win against the Utah Mammoth, Mitchell has yet to debut in the NHL. He’s registered three assists in 12 games for the AHL Islanders this year.

Devils Place Connor Brown On IR, Recall Shane Lachance

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With today’s news that the New Jersey Devils will be without Jack Hughes for at least one game due to a freak accident at a team dinner, the Devils needed another body for their upcoming game against the Washington Capitals. To that end, New Jersey announced they’ve placed Connor Brown on the injured reserve (retroactive to October 30th) and has recalled Shane Lachance from the AHL’s Utica Comets.

The move is status quo for Brown. He didn’t join the team for their five-game road trip due to an upper-body injury, so a placement on the IR won’t alter his recovery timeline at all.

New Jersey has not provided any updates on Brown’s return, but we should receive more clarity once the team returns home. Brown has already missed the Devils’ last six games, so he’ll miss a minimum of 10.

Brown signed for a relatively cheap four-year, $12MM this past summer in an attempt to add some goal-scoring punch to the team’s middle-six. He did just that to start the season, scoring five goals in 11 games before going down with the injury.

Meanwhile, Lachance will have the opportunity to play in his NHL debut during the recall. The 22-year-old forward was signed as a collegiate free agent last season out of Boston University, where he was the team’s captain. Lachance scored 12 goals and 30 points in 40 games throughout his last year with the Terriers. Still, he’s had a disappointing transition to professional hockey, tallying only one assist in 11 games for AHL Utica so far this campaign.

Evening Notes: Devils, Chabot, Olympics

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Amanda Stein, Devils team reporter, shared updates ahead of the team’s five game road trip. Dougie Hamilton and Connor Brown did not travel. Hamilton was noted over the weekend as out for around a week due to an undisclosed injury, after leaving mid-game against Montreal on November 6th. Brown has yet to appear in November, apparently hampered by an upper-body injury, and has missed the last five games. 

Unfortunately such injuries have become common for Hamilton, 32, at this point in his career. Currently in year five of his seven year deal signed with New Jersey, his unscathed 82-game campaign in 2022-23 was far and away his best as a pro with 74 points, but since then he has not managed to play in more than 64 games in a season. 

Brown, signed last summer to a four-year deal, was off to a start worthy of the eyebrow raising contract, with five goals in 11 games. In his absence, Dawson Mercer has stepped up and provided great secondary scoring, currently just shy of a point-per-game pace, and eight goals in 16 games. 

New Jersey remains third in the league, and the five game road trip will be a test, as they’ve handled business at home, 7-0-1. As noted by Stein, the club will split the trip into two legs, so perhaps Brown or Hamilton could rejoin the team by the end. 

Elsewhere across the league:

  • The Ottawa Senators shared mid-game that defenseman Thomas Chabot will not return tonight versus the Stars, due to an upper-body injury. The skilled defender was seen attempting to return for the second period, but quickly going back down the tunnel before puck drop. Further details have not been provided, but considering that Chabot nearly returned, hopefully the ailment is not serious. The 28-year-old has not missed a game so far this season. 
  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared earlier today an interesting article: NHL representatives are headed to Milan next week to check progress on the 2026 Olympic Games arena in person, as the main hockey arena is behind schedule. Such a situation is not unheard of in the Olympic Games, considering the scale of such projects, but we may find out if there is real concern shortly, with February rapidly approaching. As mentioned by Friedman, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been reassured continuously, however, for representatives of the league to make the trip upon the completion of the Stockholm Series, it is a situation worth monitoring. 

Metropolitan Notes: Devils, Fensore, Berni

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The Devils should soon be getting some help on the injury front.  Head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters today including Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that winger Connor Brown is a possibility to return Thursday against Montreal.  He has missed the last two games due to an undisclosed injury, putting on hold what has been a strong start to his season with five tallies in his first 11 outings.  Meanwhile, center Cody Glass and winger Zack MacEwen are skating and while Keefe suggested they’re unlikely to play tomorrow, they’re likely to skate Friday and are also nearing returns.  Glass, who has missed a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury has a pair of goals in six games so far while MacEwen has made one appearance thus far and has missed the last three weeks with an upper-body issue.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Hurricanes have once again assigned defenseman Domenick Fensore to AHL Chicago, per a team release. Recalled on Sunday, he didn’t see any action this time out, keeping him at one NHL appearance on the season.  The 24-year-old has three goals and four assists in five games with the Wolves this season and will have to suit up for them at least once before being eligible to once again be recalled as injury insurance.  In the meantime, his roster spot could be earmarked for K’Andre Miller, who is believed to be nearing a return from a lower-body injury.
  • It’s fair to say that Tim Berni won’t be returning to the NHL anytime soon. The Blue Jackets RFA defenseman will be staying in Switzerland as Zurich of the NL announced that they’ve signed the 25-year-old to a six-year contract beginning next season.  This season, Berni has three points in 20 games with Geneve-Servette.  He previously saw action in 59 games with Columbus back in 2022-23 but even with close to a regular role on the roster, he elected to return home after that season.

Metropolitan Notes: Panarin, Brazeau, Luchanko, Brown

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At a time when several prominent pending unrestricted free agents have re-signed, one of the notable exceptions is Rangers winger Artemi Panarin.  It doesn’t appear that will be changing anytime soon.  In his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun reports that the sense is that New York isn’t in a particular hurry to engage in discussions, wanting to better assess how they’re faring under new head coach Mike Sullivan.  Panarin just turned 34 so there’s a good chance this will be his final contract, meaning term will be important.  If the Rangers aren’t willing to offer up a longer-term pact, Panarin could find himself the subject of plenty of trade speculation leading up to the trade deadline in March.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Penguins winger Justin Brazeau is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, relays team broadcaster Josh Getzoff (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has been one of Pittsburgh’s top offensive performers in the early going this season, collecting six goals and six assists in his first dozen games.  That outcome was something few would have seen coming considering he entered the campaign with just 29 points in 95 career NHL games.  He has provided plenty of value already in the first season of a two-year, $3MM contract but that will be on hold for now.
  • The Flyers recently sent center Jett Luchanko back to junior but if the youngster has his way, he’ll be on the move again. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic mentions (subscription link) that the 19-year-old is hoping to be moved from his current OHL team in Guelph, with an eye on joining Brantford, an early-season contender.  Luchanko, the 13th pick in 2024, has made Philadelphia’s roster out of training camp in each of the last two seasons but this time, he only got into four games before being sent back to the Storm where he had an assist in his first outing back with them.
  • Devils winger Connor Brown will miss tonight’s game against Los Angeles with an undisclosed injury, notes team reporter Amanda Stein (Twitter link). However, it doesn’t appear he’ll be out too long as he’s listed as day-to-day.  Brown is off to a strong start in his first season with New Jersey, picking up five goals and an assist through his first 11 games.

Devils Sign Connor Brown

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After citing Sportsnet’s Gene Principe, Elliotte Friedman reports that the New Jersey Devils are finalizing a four-year, $12MM contract with free agent forward Connor Brown. The Devils later announced the deal, which PuckPedia reports carries a no-move clause through 2026-27 and a 10-team no-trade list in 2027-28 and 2028-29.

Brown will join the Devils after spending the last two seasons with the Edmonton Oilers. He joined the club on a one-year, league-minimum contract ahead of the 2023-24 season — seemingly intent on filling the role of bruiser rotated into Edmonton’s top-six. But his first year was marred by slow play, ending in Brown netting just 12 points, four penalty minutes, and a minus-eight through 71 games. He averaged under 13 minutes of ice time a game in that span. But despite the quiet year, Edmonton saw enough to re-sign Brown to a one-year, $1MM contract last summer, folding him back into a team that added multiple other supporting pieces. In a more assured role, Brown climbed back to the productivity that headlined his earlier career, ultimately finishing the season with 13 goals and 30 points in 82 games. He added an additional nine points in 20 playoff games.

While his surge back to the scoresheet is encouraging, Brown still fell well below his previous career-highs this year. He was once a hot depth scorer through four years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and three years with the Ottawa Senators. Brown scored 20 goals and 36 points in his rookie season with Toronto in 2016-17. He continued to rival the 30-point mark through two additional full seasons in Toronto, before moving to Ottawa and discovering another layer to his scoring. His first season with the Senators featured 16 goals and 43 points in 71 games — a mark Brown emphasized with 21 goals and 35 points in 56 games of the shortened 2020-21 season. He capped off his time in Ottawa with 39 points in 64 games, seemingly setting up a strong ramp to his time in Edmonton.

Brown may not have discovered the same scoring with the Oilers, but he brings to New Jersey a veteran presence and hefty style that should slot into the team’s bottom-six. He’ll be an imposing role player who could offer 15 or 20-goal upside with the right swing. His role should come alongside Dawson Mercer at the team’s third-line center role, though Brown will have to earn that spot over Nolan Foote, Nathan Legare, and Juho Lammikko.

Connor Brown Will Reportedly Test Free Agent Market

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As the Edmonton Oilers continue to create the necessary cap space to retain defenseman Evan Bouchard on a long-term deal this summer, more cap casualties will be had. According to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, one of those casualties will be winger Connor Brown, who’s expected to find a new home on the free agent market.

Brown joined the Oilers ahead of the 2023-24 season, reuniting with his linemate from the OHL’s Erie Otters, Connor McDavid. After being snakebitten for much of his first year, Brown will likely conclude his Oilers tenure with 17 goals and 42 points in 153 games, averaging 13:27 of ice time per game.

Although he wasn’t one of their top secondary scorers, Brown became a quality tertiary option for Edmonton, especially in the playoffs. Throughout the Oilers’ back-to-back run to the Stanley Cup Final, Brown chipped in with seven goals and 15 points in 39 games with a +5 rating, averaging 13:51 of ice time.

Interested teams will be hopeful that Brown’s yips and injury issues are behind him, and he can return to being a multi-digit goal-scorer in consecutive years. In his defense, it wasn’t all that long ago that Brown found a comfortable home in the Ottawa Senators’ top-six, scoring 47 goals and 117 points in 191 games over three years.

Unfortunately, even though he’ll command a comfortable deal on the open market, Brown shouldn’t expect to be paid like a typical 20-goal scorer this summer. He does have that upside, but many teams will likely view him as a bottom-six scorer rather than a middle-six option.

Pacific Notes: Brown, Dean, Suter

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While it originally appeared Connor Brown would return to the Oilers’ lineup for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, his availability is again in question. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters Tuesday that Brown is now a game-time decision for the contest due to an illness, reports Chris Johnston of The Athletic.

Brown missed the last two games of the Western Conference Final after being hit in the head by Stars defenseman Alexander Petrovic during Game 3 of the series. During the regular season, Brown posted 13 goals and 30 points while skating in all 82 games. He’s contributed a strong five goals and eight points over 14 playoff games.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Conference:

  • The Vancouver Canucks and new head coach Adam Foote continue to overhaul the coaching staff and are expected to hire Kevin Dean as an assistant coach, per Thomas Drance of The Athletic. Dean, a former assistant for the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins, is known for his ability to coach defense, something that Foote is clearly familiar with as well. With Vancouver having a host of young, talented defenders, it makes sense that they would go after Dean, who Drance notes was highly sought after this spring.
  • While defensively responsible forwards like Yanni Gourde and Noah Cates are landing lucrative deals around the league, there appears to be no progress between the Canucks and pending free agent Pius Suter on a new contract, Drance reports. Suter, who recorded a career high 25 goals and 46 points this season, is perhaps best known for his strong defensive play, highlighted by receiving Selke Trophy votes for the first time in his career. Coming off his first 20-goal season, Suter now brings the kind of versatility that could make him one of the more sought-after names on the open market. While Vancouver has a little more than $12 million in cap space (per PuckPedia), they will likely have to cut that figure in half if they hope to retain Suter.

West Notes: DeBoer, Brown, Caggiula

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A coaching controversy is brewing in Dallas. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Dallas Stars players were displeased with Pete DeBoer’s coaching tactics during the Western Conference Final and his postgame remarks after Game 5.

Pagnotta correctly noted that DeBoer’s contract concludes after the 2025-26 NHL season, so it could be some time before they make a move on DeBoer’s future, assuming they turn their players’ feedback into actionable consequences. It seems that much of the frustration is stemming from DeBoer’s treatment of netminder Jake Oettinger, whom he unceremoniously pulled in Game 5 after allowing two goals on two shots.

DeBoer’s comments after the game did nothing to help. Chastising Oettinger to the media after being eliminated from the postseason, DeBoer said, “I didn’t blame it all on Jake, but the reality is if you go back to last year’s playoffs, he’s lost six of seven games to Edmonton. And we give up two goals on two shots in an elimination game. … That’s a pretty big sample size.” Whether DeBoer is correct in his assessment of Oettinger, it was not a professional comment to make publicly, and the Stars players are responding in kind.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • The Edmonton Oilers will have one of their depth forwards back for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Earlier today, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector passed along a note from Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch, indicating Connor Brown will return on Wednesday. Brown missed the last two games of the Western Conference Final (and much of Game 3) after being hit in the head by Stars defenseman Alexander Petrovic.
  • According to a team announcement, now-former Oiler forward Drake Caggiula has signed a one-year contract with the NL’s Lausanne HC. It’ll be the first time that Caggiula has played abroad in a professional setting. He spent much of the 2024-25 season with Edmonton’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, scoring 24 goals and 52 points in 62 games.

Connor Brown Out For Game 4, Calvin Pickard Questionable

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The Edmonton Oilers are confirmed to be without one forward as they look to take a commanding lead in the Western Conference Final in Game 4. According to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, head coach Kris Knoblauch shared that Connor Brown won’t be in the lineup tomorrow, but netminder Calvin Pickard may return in a backup role.

Brown left the Oilers’ Game 3 victory on Saturday after being hit by Dallas Stars defenseman Alexander Petrovic in the second period. Edmonton listed Brown as having an upper-body injury, but it was clear from the hit that the injury could be isolated to the head. The 10-year veteran had been enjoying the best playoff run of his career, scoring five goals and eight points through the Oilers’ first 14 games of the postseason.

Luckily, Edmonton has a few effective options to replace Brown in the lineup. One of Viktor Arvidsson or Jeff Skinner could get the call, with the former being the likeliest option. Arvidsson has already appeared in nine games for the Oilers this postseason, scoring one goal and four points while averaging 11:06 of ice time per night.

Meanwhile, Pickard could get his first opportunity since Game 2 of Edmonton’s Round Two matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. Although he wasn’t great, Pickard was exactly what the Oilers needed when starting netminder Stuart Skinner began to falter, managing a 6-0-0 record in seven games with a .888 SV%.

Still, it’s unlikely the Oilers will need Pickard to hurry back from injury if Skinner’s recent play continues. He’s been exceptional since reprising his role as the team’s starter in Game 3 against the Golden Knights, posting a 4-2-0 record in six games with a .936 SV%, including three shutouts.

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