Pacific Notes: Karlsson, McCann, Bahl
Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson has been out since November with a lower-body injury, but isn’t particularly close to returning according to Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon. McCrimmon told the media, including Jesse Granger of The Athletic, that Karlsson won’t be able to start the team’s playoff series against the Utah Mammoth and would likely need Vegas to make a deep playoff run to have a chance at returning to the lineup in 2025-26.
Karlsson, 33, already lost the chance to compete at the Winter Olympics for his native Sweden as a result of his injury, and could now end up missing a Golden Knights playoff run as well. Vegas has been in fine form under new head coach John Tortorella, and would surely get a boost from adding one of the team’s best original expansion draft selections. Karlsson scored 30 goals and 60 points in 2023-24, his most recent healthy campaign, and had 29 points in 53 games last year. This season, he scored seven points in 14 games before suffering his injury.
Other notes from around the Pacific Division:
- Seattle Kraken winger Jared McCann told the media today at the team’s exit day that he had a surgical procedure yesterday to “clean some things up” and address the injury that he had been managing over the course of the 2025-26 season. He added that the surgery was related to something he has been also dealt with last offseason, and noted that he expects to be available for the start of next season. Injury took its toll on McCann, who is typically Seattle’s top scorer. The 29-year-old was still productive, scoring 40 points, but was limited to playing in just 52 games. Next season is the final year of his $5MM AAV contract, placing greater stakes on his recovery and ability to author a healthy, productive platform season before potentially hitting unrestricted free agency.
- Calgary Flames defenseman Kevin Bahl told the media, including Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg, that he sustained an MCL injury during the team’s overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on April 7, an injury that cost him the last five games of Calgary’s season. According to Bahl, he won’t need to undergo surgery to recover from the injury. The 25-year-old recently concluded the first season of his six-year, $5.35MM AAV contract extension. He was a top-four defenseman for Calgary this season, averaging 21:56 time on ice per game, including 2:35 per game on the penalty kill.
Kraken’s Jared McCann To Miss Rest Of Season
The Seattle Kraken announced today that forward Jared McCann will miss the final three games in the team’s 2025-26 season due to a lower-body injury.
The 29-year-old has been limited to just 52 games played this season as the result of injury. He dealt with a lower-body injury early in the season, one that landed him on IR. He left a game in December with a lower-body injury, one that put him out of commission on a week-to-week basis. He also missed three games in March as the result of a lower-body injury.
It’s unclear at this time whether those lower-body injuries are connected, and since nothing has been confirmed, all one can do is speculate. But the persistence of McCann’s lower-body injuries this season lends credence to the idea that this may be something he has had to manage over the course of the 2025-26 campaign.
Despite the nagging injury trouble, McCann was his usual self when healthy. He was Seattle’s most productive scorer on a points-per-game basis, scoring 20 goals and 40 points in 52 contests.
That’s a 63-point 82-game scoring pace, a total that would have cleared the team’s current team scoring leader, captain Jordan Eberle, by eight points.
This is the first year in Kraken franchise history that McCann has not finished the season as the team’s leading scorer.
With Seattle eliminated from playoff contention, the move to shut him down for the rest of the season won’t have any major on-ice implications. Missing McCann will make it more difficult for the Kraken to collect points in the final three games of the season, a factor that could improve their draft lottery odds. The team sits at 79 points as of writing, good for 27th in league standings.
The Kraken could conceivably drop as low as 30th in the standings, giving them the third-best odds in the draft lottery, though that would take very favorable out-of-town results. A far more realistic possibility is Seattle drops below the Toronto Maple Leafs (78 points) for the No. 5 slot in the lottery. That would be particularly relevant for the Maple Leafs, as their first-round pick for 2026 is owned by the Boston Bruins unless it falls within the top five selections in the draft.
In any case, that’s unlikely to be McCann’s focus. What’s more important to him is next season for the Kraken, who will be under considerable pressure to return to the postseason after three straight playoff misses. McCann is also entering the final season of his $5MM AAV contract, and could line himself up for a big new contract with another consistent, productive campaign.
Photos courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Kraken Activate Jared McCann
The Kraken will see Jared McCann return to the lineup against the Flyers tonight, teammate Matty Beniers told reporters (including Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times). The team subsequently announced he’s been activated from injured reserve. With an open roster spot, there’s no need for a corresponding move.
McCann’s return comes a few days ahead of schedule. The 29-year-old sustained a lower-body injury against the Kings on Dec. 10 that was expected to keep him out for three weeks. That would have put his return late next week.
Lower-body issues have kept McCann on the sidelines for much of this season. His latest seven-game absence teamed up with a weeks-long one earlier in the year. All told, he’s been limited to 11 appearances but has kept up his longstanding role as the Kraken’s top offensive weapon, totaling five goals and eight points.
Seattle’s woeful offense, 31st in the league at 2.54 goals per game, now gets back its franchise-leading scorer on the heels of a three-game win streak leading into the holiday break. The Kraken were 11-5-5 through their first 21 games, putting themselves in the playoff conversation, before undoing all that work with a 1-9-1 run over their next 11. That win streak has them back above .500 and three points back of the Sharks for the wild-card cutoff with three games in hand, though.
For a group that’s been without Jaden Schwartz for several weeks due to a lower-body injury and lost Mason Marchment when he was traded to the Blue Jackets earlier this month, getting McCann back in on the wing is a true needle-mover. Seattle has gone 4-5-2 with McCann in the lineup this season.
The Kraken will also be getting top-pair staple Vince Dunn back in the lineup on the back end, head coach Lane Lambert said (via Alison Lukan of NHL.com). He missed Seattle’s last game before the break with an upper-body injury but, along with McCann, was a full participant in yesterday’s practice. With 19 points in 34 games this season, he leads Kraken defenders in scoring and is fifth on the team overall but has a team-worst -15 rating.
Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.
Pacific Notes: Kraken, Carlsson, Kuemper, Chytil, Coghlan
The Seattle Kraken, who have been bitten by the injury bug as of late, may be returning a few high-end players soon. Earlier today, team producer Scott Malone reported that forward Jared McCann and defenseman Vince Dunn had returned to practice in regular jerseys.
There’s no indication either will return to the Kraken’s game tomorrow against the Philadelphia Flyers, though it is encouraging. McCann has been limited to 11 games with Seattle this season, scoring five goals and three points, with his last contest coming on December 10th.
Still, Dunn only missed the Kraken’s game on Tuesday due to an upper-body injury, and he’s not on the team’s injured reserve, unlike McCann. If there’s any silver lining to what’s shaping up to be another disappointing season for the Kraken, is that Dunn has been healthy for much of the season. Over the last two years, he had played in less than 75% of Seattle’s games due to injury. He has scored five goals and 19 points in 34 games this season.
Other notes from the Pacific Division:
- In a positive update for the Anaheim Ducks, center Leo Carlsson‘s lower-body injury from earlier in the week will only cost him one game. In an article this morning, Derek Lee of The Hockey News confirmed that Carlsson would return to the lineup tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. Aside from an external addition, there truly couldn’t be better news for the Ducks, who are tied for the lead in the Pacific Division after several difficult seasons. Carlsson is leading that effort, scoring 17 goals and 41 points in 34 games as Anaheim’s leading scorer.
- On the flip side of tonight’s matchup, netminder Darcy Kuemper will miss a fifth consecutive game for the Kings due to an upper-body injury. Fortunately, that absence shouldn’t last too much longer. Team reporter Zach Dooley shared earlier that Kuemper had returned to practice for the Kings, joining the team for their morning skate.
- Moving to the Western portion of Canada, host of Rink Wide: Vancouver, Jeff Paterson, reported earlier that Filip Chytil had returned to practice for the Vancouver Canucks in a non-contact jersey. Chytil has not played since mid-October due to what is believed to be another concussion in his nine-year career. Unfortunately, despite the positive update that Chytil has returned to the ice, there’s no timeline for his return.
- On the transaction side, the Vegas Golden Knights quietly reassigned defenseman Dylan Coghlan to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. The Golden Knights exit the holiday break on a three-game homestand, so they likely have little need for a depth defenseman, unlike they would on a road trip. Coghlan didn’t feature in any games throughout the duration of his recall.
Kraken Place Jared McCann On IR, Recall Jacob Melanson
The Seattle Kraken have once again placed their top forward on the shelf. Center Jared McCann has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury that is expected to hold him out for three weeks. With the available roster spot, Seattle has recalled forward Jacob Melanson from the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds.
McCann has only appeared in 11 of Seattle’s 29 games this season. The Kraken have found a way to squeak by in McCann’s absence – with an 8-6-4 record in games he’s missed – but it’s clear how much the lineup misses him. Seattle only scored 44 goals in 18 games without McCann, the sixth-fewest in total and second-lowest on average in the NHL on the days that he’s missed.
The slowing offense is no surprise. McCann has led the Kraken in scoring in every season so far. He scored a then-career-high 50 points in 74 games with Seattle during their inaugural 2021-22 season. That was followed by a 40-goal, 70-point season in 2022-23 that still stands as McCann’s personal best. He’s continued to rival 20-to-30 goals and 60 points over the last two seasons. Even better, McCann had only missed 13 games in Seattle’s first four seasons, stamping him as the focal piece of the offense on a nightly basis.
That focus has been broken up by injury this year. Seattle has instead turned towards Jordan Eberle, Matty Beniers, and Vince Dunn to command their scoring – though none of the three have reached 20 points through 29 games this season. That’s pushed the Kraken to try and find a spark out of rookies like Berkly Catton, Jani Nyman, and Oscar Fisker Molgaard.
Melanson would be another rookie in the lineup, though he’s more likely to find a spot on the other side of the scoresheet. He ranks fourth on the Firebirds with 26 penalty minutes through 23 games this season. That’s been balanced with seven goals and 14 points, already more than Melanson scored in 42 games of last season. He has also posted a plus-five, up from the minus-three he carried through 104 career AHL games entering the season. He’s found a spot as a checking-forward and should give Seattle another option for their fourth-line wings.
Kraken’s Jared McCann Out Three Weeks
The Kraken announced today that forward Jared McCann will be out for the next three weeks with a lower-body injury. He remains on the active roster for now, but will be the top candidate for an injured reserve placement if Seattle needs a roster spot.
McCann sustained the injury against the Kings on Wednesday. He left that game late in the third period after an awkward tie-up with Los Angeles goalie Anton Forsberg. All things considered, his being back in the lineup around New Year’s is close to a best-case scenario.
A three-week timeline puts him back in the lineup on Jan. 2 against the Canucks. That has him in for a 10-game absence weeks after returning from a 17-game one. That was also a lower-body issue. All told, the 29-year-old has only been available for 11 games this season. He’s been his usual productive self, racking up five goals and eight points. If not for the missed time, he would be on pace for his fourth straight 60-point season.
Seattle is scoring the fewest goals in the league at 2.50 per game. Already down a top-six piece in Jaden Schwartz, missing the franchise’s all-time leading scorer for another extended period is far from ideal. It also brings to an end a stretch of good health, particularly during his time in Seattle. Entering this season, he’d yet to miss more than 10 games in a season and played a full 82 last year.
A pair of high-profile absences for a retooler/rebuilder like the Kraken would usually mean a promotion for their brightest young players. They won’t be able to do that with 2024 No. 8 overall pick Berkly Catton, who’s out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Instead, it’ll be names like Kaapo Kakko and Mason Marchment shifting up on the wings.
Kraken Activate Jared McCann, Reassign Oscar Fisker Molgaard
The Seattle Kraken will welcome back their franchise-leading scorer tonight. Seattle announced they’ve activated Jared McCann from the injured reserve, and reassigned Oscar Fisker Molgaard in a corresponding roster move.
McCann returns after being away from the team for over a month. The 11-year veteran has been recovering from a lower-body injury suffered in the Kraken’s October 18th game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. His absence, originally designated as a day-to-day issue, kept him out of the lineup much longer than expected.
Regardless, he’ll be an important reintroduction for Seattle’s offense. Before the 2025-26 campaign, McCann had scored 118 goals and 243 points in 315 games as a Kraken while on an exceptionally affordable $5MM salary. This season, before succumbing to the lower-body ailment, McCann had scored three goals and four points in five games, averaging 17:17 of ice time per game.
Although they aren’t the worst offensive team in the league, they aren’t far off. Seattle has averaged 2.59 goals per game through their first 22 contests — even while averaging a nearly 20% success rate with a man advantage. Still, the Kraken’s goaltending and defense, while at even strength, have kept Seattle in the playoff conversation as we approach American Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, Fisker Molgaard will return to the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds after appearing in a couple of games for the Kraken. The 20-year-old former second-round pick was extremely limited in his two contests, scoring one assist while averaging 6:00 of action. He’ll attempt to continue where he left off with the Firebirds, where he scored three goals and 10 points through his first 14 contests.
Kraken Issue Several Injury Updates
The Kraken have had more than their fair share of injury issues over the first six weeks of the season. Head coach Lane Lambert provided some updates on that front today, via team reporter Alison Lukan (Twitter link) and there is both good and bad news.
The good news is that center Frederick Gaudreau is getting close to returning from an upper-body injury that has sidelined him for close to a month while winger Jared McCann (lower body) is making progress and could travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. However, the bad news is that winger Kaapo Kakko is listed as out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Gaudreau is in his first season with Seattle after being acquired from Minnesota over the offseason. The 32-year-old was injured in the fourth game of the season and hasn’t returned since then. Gaudreau had an assist in those four outings but struggled at the faceoff dot, winning just 18 of 51 draws. He has 61 goals and 92 assists in 414 career outings and should return to the bottom-six role he had last month once he’s officially activated off injured reserve.
As for McCann, he only lasted one more game than Gaudreau did, getting injured in the fifth game of the campaign. He was off to a strong start before being sidelined after tallying three goals and an assist while logging over 17 minutes per night. The 29-year-old has surpassed the 60-point mark in three straight seasons so getting him back potentially sooner than later would be a real shot in the arm to an offense that ranks 30th in goals scored heading into Saturday’s action.
Kakko, meanwhile, has had a rough first full year with the Kraken. After a solid showing in the second half of last season landed him a three-year deal over the summer, he broke his hand late in training camp, missing the first few weeks of the regular season as a result. The 24-year-old has struggled since returning, notching just one point – a goal – in seven games with that tally coming in his last outing against Winnipeg before departing with this injury. Now, he’ll be forced to sit for a while once again which certainly won’t help his chances of making Finland’s roster for the Olympics in February. He remains on the active roster for now but will likely be shifted to IR once Gaudreau is ready to return.
Kraken Place Jared McCann On IR; Brandon Montour Returns To Team
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.
Injury Notes: Gostisbehere, McCann, Liljegren
This afternoon, Carolina Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour told Michael Russo of The Athletic that the team believes Shayne Gostisbehere’s injury is not serious, and that he remains with the team on their trip west.
The offensive defenseman has been off to a dynamite start so far, with 7 points in just 5 games. Just two days ago, Gostisbehere left in the Canes’ win over Los Angeles due to a lower-body-injury.
Despite the good news, Gostisbehere will be absent tonight vs Vegas, as Charles-Alexis Legault is expected to make his NHL debut. The 6’4” defenseman was drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 draft by Carolina, turning pro last season with AHL Chicago, where he was a steady presence in 63 games for the Wolves.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The Seattle Kraken announced earlier today that key forward Jared McCann would not play in tonight’s game at Philadelphia, due to a lower-body-injury. It is expected that the 29-year-old will be day-to-day, thankfully not worse as Seattle is currently missing Kaapo Kakko, Frederick Gaudreau, and Ryker Evans due to injury. In McCann’s place, top prospect Berkly Catton has made his NHL debut.
- Max Miller, San Jose’s beat reporter, noted earlier today that defenseman Timothy Liljegren returned to the ice as a normal participant. The Swede remains on the team’s injured reserve, having been placed last week with an upper-body injury, however, he seems to be ramping up for a return on Thursday as the Sharks travel to take on the Rangers.