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Darnell Nurse

West Notes: Nurse, Hintz, Connelly, Wakely

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According to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety isn’t expected to bestow supplemental discipline to Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse for slashing Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final. Nurse was assessed a minor penalty on the play.

The news is disconcerting for a few reasons. The penalty was retaliatory, and Hintz was visibly injured after the play. Not only did Hintz leave Game 2 early in the third period, but it’s unknown if he’ll play in Games 3 or 4.

According to independent writer Robert Tiffin, Dallas head coach Peter DeBoer was noncommittal when asked if Hintz would travel with the team to Edmonton. Hintz’s absence would likely prove a major loss for the Stars, as he’s scored five goals and 11 points in their 15 postseason contests this year.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • One of the Vegas Golden Knights’ top prospects is on the move in the WHL. The new Penticton Vees selected Trevor Connelly from the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL Expansion Draft and will own his rights for the foreseeable future. It won’t matter much, however. Connelly played for the NCAA’s Providence College last season before signing his entry-level contract on the first day of April. Since he will not be returning to the NCAA, it is highly unlikely that Connelly will move back to the Canadian major junior leagues anytime soon.
  • Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reported that Oilers prospect Dalyn Wakely has secured a school in the NCAA. He’ll join the University of Massachusetts-Lowell after spending one year with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. The former 2024 sixth-round pick scored 23 goals and 58 points in 55 games for the Colts this past season.

Snapshots: Merzlikins, Nurse, Atkinson, Puljujarvi

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The Columbus Blue Jackets will have to stick with alternative options in net as starter Elvis Merzlikins is not expected to be healthy for the team’s season finale on Thursday per NHL.com’s Jeff Svoboda. Merzlikins has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury. He’s not far off from a return and has already returned to practice, should Columbus find a way to extend their season. To make the playoffs, the Blue Jackets will need to win their final game, and hope the Montreal Canadiens lose their finale against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Columbus has utilized red-hot goaltender Jet Greaves in the wake of Merzlikins’ injury. The 24-year-old fill-in has been stellar over his recent stretch, winning each of his last four games and recording two shutouts. In total, Greaves has posted a .975 save percentage over his last stretch. The performance has been a continuation of Greaves’ dominant season in the minor leagues, where he’s recorded a .920 save percentage in 40 appearances – sixth-highest in the NHL.

The Blue Jackets will face a tough decision should they break into the postseason. Merzlikins has a quaint .892 save percentage and 26-21-5 record on the season. That’s been enough to perform above backup Daniil Tarasov’s .881 save percentage, but it’s hardly been enough to boost the squad’s playoff odds. With Greaves having one of the hottest gloves in the hockey world over his last four games, Columbus could opt for the youngster as they pursue their first playoff bid since 2020.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse has been suspended for one game for cross-checking Los Angeles Kings forward Quinton Byfield, per an announcement from the Department of Player Safety. No details on if Byfield is injured have been released, though he was a scratch in Los Angeles’ final game of the season. Nurse will miss Edmonton’s season finale – an ultimately inconsequential game with the squad already locked into a First Round matchup with the Kings. As things stand, both Nurse and Byfield are expected to return for Game 1 of the postseason. Nurse will look to find a spark after netting 33 points in 76 games this season, while Byfield will continue his lead of the Kings’ lineup, after scoring 23 goals and 54 points in 80 games. Byfield ranks fourth on the Kings in scoring.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled veteran depth forward Cam Atkinson. The move comes after fourth-line forward Mitchell Chaffee was banged up in the team’s Tuesday win over the Florida Panthers. Atkinson has been assigned to the minors on multiple occasions but hasn’t played in any AHL contests. His only hockey this season has come from 38 games in the Tampa Bay lineup, where he’s recorded nine points, eleven penalty minutes, and a minus-four. Atkinson may need to fill Chaffee’s depth role in Tampa Bay’s Thursday finale against the New York Rangers. Chaffee has 12 goals and 18 points in 66 games this season.
  • Speaking of Chaffee, Florida Panthers winger Jesse Puljujarvi is set to have a DoPS hearing for an illegal check to the Lightning forward’s head on Tuesday. Puljujarvi hasn’t yet received any discipline from DoPS in his eight-year NHL career. He’s playing with his fourth NHL club in the last three years in Florida, and has one goal and 15 penalty minutes in five games. Puljujarvi earned his call-up to the Panthers lineup after recording 12 points in 20 games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. He’ll be one of many options the team has as they enter the postseason, though any lineup role would be minimal.

Transactions Notes: Hurricanes, Jones, Carrick, Bjarnason, Copponi

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Having already clinched the second playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division, the Carolina Hurricanes had the opportunity to rest a few players for tomorrow night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. Keeping that in mind, the Hurricanes announced they’ve recalled forwards Skyler Brind’Amour and Bradly Nadeau and defensemen Domenick Fensore and Riley Stillman from their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, to fill in for the resting players.

Brind’Amour’s recall is significant for a few reasons. He’ll make his NHL debut tomorrow night against the Canadiens and will be the first NHL player to be coached by his father at the top level since Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry was briefly coached by his father, Dave Lowry, for 54 games in the 2021-22 NHL season.

Meanwhile, Nadeau and Fensore (who will also debut tomorrow night) are two of Carolina’s top prospects already playing in North America. Nadeau led the Wolves in scoring this season, managing 30 goals and 56 points in 63 games, while Fensore scored nine goals and 32 points in 66 contests.

Other transactions from around the league:

  • According to a team announcement, the Los Angeles Kings have recalled defenseman Caleb Jones from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, on an emergency basis. Although he won’t be filling in for a defenseman, Jones’s recall is likely in response to Quinton Byfield sustaining an injury in last night’s contest against the Edmonton Oilers. Per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, Oilers’ defenseman Darnell Nurse will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety for cross-checking Byfield, leading to his injury.
  • In another emergency recall, the Oilers have promoted defenseman Connor Carrick to the NHL level. Carrick’s recall could be due to the five defensemen injured on the Oilers’ blue line or because of the expected suspension looming for Nurse. The 31-year-old defenseman has scored 17 goals and 39 points in 60 games for the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors this year.
  • Per the AHL transactions page and publicized by Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Flyers have reassigned goaltender prospect Carson Bjarnason to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Bjarnason was the fourth netminder taken off the board in the 2023 NHL Draft as the 51st overall pick and recently produced a 22-15-3 record in 40 games with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings with a .913 SV% and 2.93 GAA.
  • In another move by the Oilers organization, their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield announced they’ve signed forward Matt Copponi to an amateur tryout agreement for the rest of the 2024-25 AHL season. Copponi, drafted by Edmonton with the 216th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, recently lost the 2025 NCAA National Championship with Boston University. Still, he was an effective secondary scorer for the Terriers’ program, putting up eight goals and 24 points in 40 contests this season.

Pacific Notes: Olofsson, Nurse, Arvidsson, Miller, Wright

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The Vegas Golden Knights should only be a few days away from the return of an injured forward. The organization announced they assigned forward Victor Olofsson to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, for a conditioning loan. This confirms the Golden Knights are quickly expected to activate Olofsson from the long-term injured reserve.

Olofsson has only been on the team’s LTIR for approximately a week but hasn’t suited up for a game in Vegas for over a month due to a lower-body injury. He had scored three goals in his four games before succumbing to the injury while averaging 15:03 of ice time per game.

It’ll be interesting to see how much playing time Olofsson can manage once he returns from injury despite the strong scoring pace to begin the season. The Golden Knights will have a clearer picture of their roster construction once Mark Stone returns to the lineup but Olofsson may become a healthy scratch upon activation. He projects as an upgrade on the right wing as the lineup is currently constructed but the team might prefer continuity as they’ve risen to the top of the Pacific Division standings.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Jack Michaels, the play-by-play commentator for the Edmonton Oilers, confirmed today that defenseman Darnell Nurse is only expected to miss five to 10 days from the illegal check to the head from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves this past weekend. Thankfully, the Oilers have a five-day break at the beginning of next week which should give Nurse ample time to recover. The Oilers will have a difficult time without him this week should he miss all four games with Edmonton deploying a subpar supporting cast behind Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard.
  • In the same update from Michaels, he shares that the Oilers will also be without forward Viktor Arvidsson tonight. Tonight will mark the third straight game Arvidsson has missed with an undisclosed injury. When healthy, he’s scored two goals and five points in 16 games in his first year with the Oilers organization.
  • Through the first 16 games of the 2024-25 NHL season for J.T. Miller, he had been averaging 18:49 of ice time. It’s dropped by more than a third of a minute thanks to getting benched in the Vancouver Canucks’ loss to the Nashville Predators last night. In an explanation of the benching, head coach Rick Tocchet said, “I went with the guys I thought could get us back into the game.” (X Link)
  • Miller wasn’t the only notable benching last night with Seattle Kraken forward Shane Wright also enjoying some time on the pine. According to Kate Shefte of the Seattle Times, head coach Dan Bylsma said, “As the games have gone along here, I think Shane’s game has been trending in not the best direction. Really the message is: Take a reset, watch the game tonight, which he did, and get back focused on playing the way you can play.” Wright has only scored two points in 18 games for the Kraken this season and the recent message from Bylsma isn’t exactly a vote of confidence for the former fourth-overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft.

Maple Leafs’ Ryan Reaves Suspended Five Games

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3:04 p.m.: The league’s Department of Player Safety announced a five-game suspension for Reaves.

9:04 a.m.: The NHL has announced that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves will have a player safety hearing for his illegal hit on Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse in last night’s 4-3 overtime win. Reaves was assessed a match penalty and a game misconduct on the play after his shoulder caught Nurse in the head as the Oilers defenseman circled behind his own net with the puck. It’s a phone hearing, not an in-person one, so his pending suspension won’t last more than five games.

Nurse hit the ice hard after the hit and appeared stunned as he looked around. Blood began to pour from a sizeable cut on Nurse’s head as the Oilers training staff attended to him. He remained on the ice for a few moments before he was assisted off the ice. The hit occurred at the 2:41 mark of the second period, leaving the crowd in silence as Nurse left the game and did not return. Reaves was escorted off the ice and had a heated verbal exchange with Oilers captain Connor McDavid before he exited the game.

The league has an interesting decision to make with regard to Reaves, the initial point of contact on the hit is Nurse’s head and it would meet the definition of a blindside hit. The Department of Player Safety will consider an illegal check to the head suspension but does retain the right to change course when they review the infraction.

Reaves does have a history of supplemental discipline during his career, having last been suspended during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs while he was a member of the Vegas Golden Knights. Reaves caught a two-game suspension for roughing and was also suspended one game during the 2020 postseason for an illegal hit to the head against Tyler Motte of the Vancouver Canucks. Reaves was also suspended three games back in 2016 for boarding.

As for Nurse, his status has yet to be updated, but he is out right now with an upper-body injury. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweeted that he’s heard from Oilers play-by-play announcer Jack Michaels that Nurse was joking with the team’s trainers and walking around after the game, which is certainly encouraging.

Injury Notes: Nurse, Johnson, Savard, Edvinsson

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In a scary incident from tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs, Darnell Nurse was on the receiving end of an illegal check to the head from Ryan Reaves. Reaves was given a five-minute major penalty on the play and was ejected from tonight’s contest.

Nurse was visibly shaken up after the hit and was bleeding from his head. The Oilers quickly announced that Nurse wouldn’t return to tonight’s game. Nurse will likely miss some time which hasn’t happened in his career since the 2021-22 NHL season.

It’s also likely that Reaves will face some supplementary discipline from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. Reaves has been suspended three times in his career with the most recent suspension coming in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs while a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Other injury notes:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets should get a jolt to their 14th-ranked offense next week. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that Kent Johnson will return next week from his shoulder injury. Johnson was off to a solid start to the 2024-25 campaign with two goals and five points in four contests before succumbing to the shoulder injury on October 17th.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman David Savard wouldn’t participate in tonight’s matchup against the Blue Jackets because of an upper-body injury. He was present with the team in today’s practice and wasn’t ruled out until after warm-ups. He’s managed four assists in 17 games on the year and will miss his first game of the season.
  • Just before taking the ice against the Los Angeles Kings, the Detroit Red Wings announced Simon Edvinsson wouldn’t be in the lineup due to a lower-body injury. The injury is likely connected to Edvinsson taking a shot off the foot in last night’s loss against the Anaheim Ducks. It’s a major loss for the Red Wings on their blue line with Edvinsson leading all Detroit defensemen with a 48.6% CorsiFor% on the year.

Pacific Notes: Nurse, Jarventie, Lehner

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Edmonton Oilers reporter Tony Brar tweeted that Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse will most likely play tomorrow. Nurse has missed Edmonton’s first six preseason games to rest an undisclosed injury. Nurse might have missed some games, but he has been on the ice skating during his absence as he can ill afford to start slowly this year after a difficult 2023-24 season.

The Oilers are firmly in their Stanley Cup window and need everything they can get from the 29-year-old especially when he is counting $9.25MM against the salary cap. Nurse has historically been a solid two-way defenseman for Edmonton but struggled considerably last year, especially in the playoffs where his even-strength play fell off a cliff.

In other Pacific Division notes:

  • Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic tweeted that Oilers forward Roby Jarventie will be out for a few days beyond the season-opening rosters being finalized and then will go to the AHL. The 22-year-old has been dealing with a knee injury that has kept him out of training camp and will be looking to build on a successful albeit brief AHL run last season with the Senators. Jarventie had nine goals and 11 assists in 22 AHL games last season with the Belleville Senators and a single assist in seven NHL games. Edmonton acquired Jarventie (along with a fourth-round pick) in a trade that sent Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson to Ottawa.
  • ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski tweeted that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says there will be more information about Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner later this week. Lehner was deemed unfit to play just two weeks ago and didn’t report for training camp. At the time, Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said that “”There are unique circumstances surrounding this situation that the NHL, the NHLPA and the club are currently working through. Collectively, we are assessing our next steps and when we have more to say, we will.” One would have to assume that the news later this week will be a follow-up to McCrimmon’s comments from September 19th.

West Notes: Lehkonen, Fowler, Nurse

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Whether Avalanche winger Artturi Lehkonen will be in the opening night lineup remains to be seen, reports John Matisz of The Score.

After a comment earlier in the week from Nathan MacKinnon suggesting Lehkonen wouldn’t be “starting the season” in the Avs’ lineup flew under the radar, Matisz reached out to the team for confirmation, receiving a response that there’s still no firm timeline for his return. During exit meetings in May, Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said that Lehkonen needed offseason shoulder surgery but that his absence wasn’t expected to stretch into the regular season.

That assumption was challenged by head coach Jared Bednar last month, who confirmed Lehkonen wouldn’t be ready to start camp and cast doubt about whether he’d be cleared for Colorado’s season opener.

The 29-year-old Finn has broken out as a bonafide top-six winger in Denver since being acquired from the Canadiens near the 2022 trade deadline. Injuries have limited him since his arrival, though – especially last season. A neck injury kept him to 45 appearances on the year, but he still managed to pot 16 goals and 18 assists for 34 points while averaging over 18 minutes per night.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler acknowledges most of what Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said was true when he reported last week that both parties were looking to find him a new home on the trade market. “I understand that I’m on the second half of my career and these guys are just getting going,” the veteran blue liner told Eric Stephens of The Athletic, referencing Anaheim’s rebuild. “Those are the people that are going to push this team to where they want to be.” Stephens listed the Red Wings, Maple Leafs, Jets, and Stars as some speculative trade destinations.
  • The injury putting Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse’s availability for the beginning of training camp in jeopardy was sustained in the Stanley Cup Final, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reports. The lingering effects are directly related to the hit he took in Game 2 from Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues. The blue liner sat out much of the rest of the game after taking the hit in the first period but didn’t miss any action in Games 3 through 7.

Oilers Notes: McDavid, Draisaitl, Kane, Nurse

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Oilers star Leon Draisaitl doesn’t think he quite maxed out his value when signing his recent eight-year, $114MM mega-extension with the Oilers, he told Michael Russo of The Athletic.

Draisaitl and teammate Connor McDavid spoke about their recent and pending record-breaking contract extensions at this week’s NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas. “I don’t think I necessarily pushed my contract all the way to the limit,” Draisaitl said. “I’d like to state that. But I am very happy with it. I’m content with it. I think, compared to other sports, we probably don’t get paid what we deserve or don’t get paid what they get paid, right? But that’s the sport we’re in.”

McDavid was far more coy in his responses to questions about his next contract – he’s eligible to sign an extension starting July 1, 2025 – stating he’ll do what he feels is best for his family and his chances of winning a Stanley Cup.

But Draisaitl hopes his league-record $14MM AAV is a significant step in the right direction for high-end NHL talent. “I think each one of us, if we can bump it up and get more money into hockey and get the players some higher salaries, I think every player would probably say the same and they’d all be for it,” he told Russo.

There’s more from the Oilers:

  • Evander Kane is projected to be unavailable at the beginning of training camp, according to Tom Gazzola of Edmonton Sports Talk. It’s not a surprise – the team’s Bob Stauffer said last month that Kane was likely to have an undisclosed surgery and start the season on long-term injured reserve, likely related to the sports hernia he played through for a good chunk of last year. But nothing indicates he’s undergone the procedure yet, and Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said on a radio spot last week that they were hoping to have clarity on his return timeline by the end of next weekend.
  • Defenseman Darnell Nurse is also likely out for the beginning of camp, per Gazzola. Gazzola says that the 29-year-old is still nursing a lingering injury he sustained during last season’s playoffs but isn’t likely to miss any regular season action. He’s been on the ice this month for informal skates but doesn’t appear ready for full contact. The Oilers will be looking for a big rebound campaign from the 2013 seventh overall pick, entering the third season of an eight-year, $74MM deal.

Oilers Won’t Renew Ken Holland’s Contract

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10:32 a.m.: The Oilers won’t be renewing Holland’s contract, CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson confirmed. The organization didn’t say when the search for his successor would begin, nor did they name an interim GM ahead of tomorrow’s draft.

8:17 a.m.: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Edmonton Oilers will likely allow general manager Ken Holland’s contract to expire on June 30th. Holland would become a free agent at that point, and the expectation is that multiple teams will pursue him to gauge his interest in hockey operations positions. Holland and the Oilers came within one win of the Stanley Cup, which would have been Holland’s fifth had they been successful.

If the Oilers let Holland walk, they will be without a general manager at the most critical time of the year, and as Friedman points out in his article, they could choose to go without a GM in the interim.

Holland has his detractors and had a very uneven run in Edmonton, signing several questionable contracts with Jack Campbell, Darnell Nurse, and Cody Ceci. However, Edmonton never missed the playoffs during Holland’s five-year run and made two Western Conference Finals appearances and one Stanley Cup Final. Holland also made some very savvy moves, notably the signing of 50-goal scorer Zach Hyman, trading for defenseman Mattias Ekholm, and the trade deadline move for Adam Henrique.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reported earlier this week that Holland would have a role in Edmonton if he wanted it, but it remains to be seen if he will look for new challenges or simply retire. If this is the End for Holland in Edmonton, he will finish his time there with a 220-121-32 record.

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