Snapshots: Blue Jackets, Slavin, Guhle
New Blue Jackets Head Coach Rick Bowness is missing two key defenders in his first game behind the bench tonight, as Denton Mateychuk (upper-body injury) and Damon Severson (illness) are unable to play against Calgary, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.
If he’d been able to go, Mateychuk would have tied his rookie season total’s 45 games played in last season, but will have to wait for now. The 21-year-old left early on Sunday against Utah, and will be getting a second opinion, as the club recalled Dysin Mayo this afternoon. Their 12th overall selection in 2022 has progressed nicely this season, averaging 20:20 of ice time with 21 points in 44 games.
Severson, 31, has recorded 17 points in 45 games, tonight being the first contest of the season he has had to miss.
Coming in tonight is Jake Christiansen, along with Mayo. The former has served as the Jackets’ seventh defender often this year, with one helper in 26 games, in year five with the Columbus organization.
Mayo, recalled for the fourth time of 2025-26 today, was once a regular with the Arizona Coyotes. The 29-year-old has just seven points in the AHL this season with Cleveland, but he is a conservative right-handed option, capable of jumping into the NHL lineup seamlessly at a moment’s notice.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Shortly before their game in St. Louis, the Carolina Hurricanes announced that Jaccob Slavin will miss tonight’s game due to “injury rehab protocol”. Given that he played 21:41 last night against Detroit, leading all defenders, Slavin will sit out of the second of the back-to-back. Clearly, Carolina is taking no chances with their elite shutdown man coming back from an upper-body injury, who already was re-injured early in his last return in December. The difficulties have limited him to just seven games so far, where he’s notched one assist. Mike Reilly re-enters the lineup tonight, but Slavin figures to be gearing up for full-time duty before long.
- Similar to Slavin, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle will also sit tonight, as noted by Marco D’Amico of RG Media. The 23-year-old is in early stages of returning after a groin injury sidelined him for nearly three months. He managed to play just shy of 20 minutes last night in the win over Vancouver. In his absence, Jayden Struble has jumped back in against Washington. The physical depth defender has averaged 14:28 a night in 35 games this season. Meanwhile, Guhle should return by Thursday as the team travels to Buffalo.
Canadiens To Activate Kaiden Guhle Off LTIR
The Canadiens will welcome back a key part of their back end tonight against Detroit. The team announced that defenseman Kaiden Guhle will return to the lineup, meaning he will be activated off long-term injured reserve.
The 23-year-old has been limited to just five games so far this season before a mid-October groin injury sidelined him until now. In those five outings, Guhle had a goal and an assist along with 16 hits in a little over 19 minutes per night of playing time.
In the first season of a six-year, $33MM contract, Guhle has been a very important part of Montreal’s back end. At least, that is, when he has been in the lineup. He has logged more than 20 minutes per game in each of his first three NHL seasons while averaging just shy of 20 points in each. However, he’s now missed 116 of a possible 290 games since his rookie campaign, meaning he has been out 40% of the time.
With Guhle’s return, the Canadiens now have their full defense corps available to them. The same can’t be said up front, however, with the team still without Josh Anderson, Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, Patrik Laine, and Alex Newhook with recovery timelines ranging from day-to-day to multiple months away from returning.
Earlier this week, Montreal assigned defenseman Adam Engstrom to AHL Laval with no corresponding roster move made at the time. As a result, the Canadiens had an open slot to activate Guhle so no other roster moves are required.
Atlantic Notes: Tkachuk, Matheson, Carlo, Canadiens
As much as he would have liked to, forward Matthew Tkachuk won’t play in the Winter Classic tomorrow for the Florida Panthers. The Panthers announced the news earlier today from team reporter Jameson Olive.
Still, it shouldn’t be too much longer for the two-time Stanley Cup champion. Tkachuk has been working his way back from a groin injury for the first half of the 2025-26 campaign, and has been skating in a non-contact jersey for the last handful of practices.
Although it won’t come in the Winter Classic, the return of Tkachuk will be a major boost to the defending Stanley Cup champions. Despite being outpaced by the red-hot Buffalo Sabres in the last few days, the Panthers are only one point back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Returning a player of Tkachuk’s caliber, who’s scored 88 goals and 254 points in 211 regular-season contests, should help them recoup some lost ground in the standings.
Other updates from the Atlantic Division:
- The Montreal Canadiens have a little bit of a different look to their defensive core tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Before the game, the Canadiens announced that defenseman Mike Matheson would miss the game due to an upper-body injury, and rookie Adam Engstrom would take his spot in the lineup. Matheson’s injury has caused some controversy, as it’s likely linked to being elbowed by Panthers forward Brad Marchand in yesterday’s overtime win. Marchand was penalized on the play, but didn’t receive any supplemental discipline.
- Although they’ve lost veteran defenseman Chris Tanev for the foreseeable future, the Toronto Maple Leafs may have a different right-handed defenseman return this weekend. Earlier today, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun highlighted in his article that Brandon Carlo could be activated from the injured reserve for Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders. Carlo, in his first full season with the Maple Leafs, has been largely disappointing this year, registering two assists in 18 games while being injured for much of the year due to lower-body concerns.
- Back in Montreal, Sportsnet’s Eric Engels provided a few injury updates on Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle. Engels suggested that the Canadiens are remaining cautious with Dach, who has missed the last six weeks with a fractured foot. He’s expected to return soon, but could need additional time before he’s fully ready to return. Meanwhile, Engels stated that the team is far more optimistic about Guhle, who could return when Montreal returns from their current road trip, which would be on January 7th against the Calgary Flames.
Canadiens Place Kaiden Guhle And Kirby Dach On LTIR
When the Canadiens acquired Phillip Danault a little before the holiday roster freeze, they added a $5.5MM price tag to their books. Even after assigning Jared Davidson to the minors, they still weren’t cap-compliant. As a result, GM Kent Hughes revealed during his media availability today (video link) that the team has placed defenseman Kaiden Guhle and center Kirby Dach on LTIR.
Guhle has been out of the lineup since mid-October due to an adductor injury. The original plan was to simply rehab it but after returning to the ice a few weeks later as he tried to work his way back to full health, the decision was made to have the surgery. The recovery timeline for that procedure is eight to ten weeks, meaning he’s still four to six weeks away from returning. Guhle has averaged over 20 minutes a night of playing time in each of his first three NHL seasons and, when healthy, is a top-four fixture on Montreal’s back end.
As for Dach, he has missed the last month after sustaining a fractured foot. The initial recovery timeline was six to eight weeks and it appears he’s on track as he has resumed skating. Hughes indicated that the 24-year-old won’t be back before the holiday break but shouldn’t be out much longer than that. Dach has five goals and two assists in 15 games this season, his last one before becoming a restricted free agent with a $4MM qualifying offer and arbitration rights next offseason.
With the two placements, Montreal now has around $2.5MM in its LTIR pool, per PuckPedia. That gives them ample room to afford recalls if more injuries strike in the short term. Meanwhile, if they still need LTIR room when Dach returns, they can transfer either Patrik Laine or Alex Newhook on there; both are out for multiple months as well.
Canadiens’ Alex Newhook Out 4 Months, Kaiden Guhle Out 8-10 Weeks
The Canadiens announced that Alex Newhook underwent surgery to repair the fractured ankle he sustained last night against the Stars. He’s expected to miss four months, putting him out through the trade deadline. In a corresponding move, the Canadiens announced they’ve recalled forward Jared Davidson from AHL Laval. They’ve been operating with a pair of open roster spots since sending Marc Del Gaizo down last week, so there’s no need to open space. Montreal also said defenseman Kaiden Guhle, who’s IR-bound and hasn’t played in nearly a month, underwent an additional procedure on a partially torn adductor muscle and will miss an additional eight to 10 weeks.
Newhook’s ankle fracture was sustained after getting tangled up with Dallas defender Ilya Lyubushkin and colliding with the end boards early in the second period. He needed help from teammates to get off the ice and he didn’t return to the game.
Montreal now gives Davidson the first recall of his career. The 23-year-old middleman was a fifth-round pick in 2022 after being passed over in the 2020 and 2021 drafts. He was selected out of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, whom he guided to a championship in his post-draft season and was twice a First Team All-Star. The 6’0″ sniper tallied 80 goals in 124 games across his final two junior seasons before turning pro.
Initially, Davidson didn’t land an NHL contract. He spent the 2023-24 campaign on a minor-league deal with Laval while the Habs, who had two years after drafting him to decide whether to extend an entry-level contract before losing his rights, mulled whether or not to sign him. Injuries limited him to 38 appearances, but he was productive when healthy with 11 goals and 16 points. That was enough for Montreal to ink him to a two-year entry-level deal in May 2024.
The Edmonton native was healthy last year and delivered something of a breakout campaign. He finished the year third on Laval in scoring with 45 points (24 goals, 21 assists) in 69 games, adding a team-high +25 rating to boot. He’s kept the momentum rolling this year with a team-high nine goals in 13 games, including a six-game point streak that came to an end Wednesday night.
With no other healthy extra forwards available on the roster, Davidson will make his NHL debut on Saturday night – in primetime – against the Bruins. It’s quite the test for a name that was listed all the way down at No. 24 in this offseason’s prospect pool rankings by Elite Prospects, albeit in an exceedingly deep Montreal pool.
Where he slots in the lineup remains to be seen. What’s clear is that he’s not expectedly to directly replace what Newhook had been doing in the early stages of the season. A long-term injury couldn’t carry worse timing for the 2019 first-round pick, who was finally finding his footing in a top-six role in Montreal. Through 17 games, he’d rattled off six goals and 12 points and a +7 rating with nearly all of that production coming at even strength, averaging 14:38 of ice time per game on the Habs’ second line alongside Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.
On paper, the Habs would need major breakthroughs from multiple players in their middle-six forward group to have success this year. Newhook was doing just that, already reaching nearly half of his total output in 82 games last year. He’s the team’s fifth-leading scorer as he exits the lineup – one that the Habs, now 1-2-2 in their last five and on the heels of being outscored 12-1 in their last two games, will struggle to replace. More is needed out of veteran Josh Anderson, who has just four points and a -9 rating in 17 outings despite averaging more ice time than Newhook.
As for Guhle, his initial four-to-six-week recovery timeline was assuming he would be able to rehab his adductor issues without surgery. He’d just gotten back skating but wasn’t adjusting well, leading the Canadiens’ medical staff to pivot, Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports.
In the meantime, Jayden Struble will continue to skate in his place in the top four alongside Lane Hutson. The 24-year-old has made 13 appearances this season, posting three points with a -3 rating while averaging 15:29 of ice time per game. They’ve had the worst defensive results of any Habs pairing this year, controlling 43.2% of expected goals with a team-high 2.77 xGA/60, per MoneyPuck. Hutson and Guhle were allowing just 2.00 xGA/60 together and controlling 48.6% of expected goals overall, making Struble’s elevated minutes a challenge for the club to overcome defensively.
Canadiens Announce Multiple Injuries, Recall Owen Beck
While the Canadiens pulled off a comeback victory on Thursday against Nashville, it came at a cost as three players are now injured. The team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Kaiden Guhle will miss four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury while center Kirby Dach and winger Patrik Laine are day-to-day with lower-body injuries as well. In a corresponding move, center Owen Beck has been recalled from AHL Laval on an emergency basis.
Guhle had gotten off to a solid start to the season, playing alongside Lane Hutson on Montreal’s second pairing. He had a goal and an assist through the first five games while adding five blocks and 16 hits in a little over 19 minutes a night. Guhle has missed at least a dozen games due to injuries in each of his first three NHL campaigns and that streak will now be extended with this injury. After being scratched on Thursday, Arber Xhekaj will take Guhle’s place in the lineup while the Canadiens will likely recall a defenseman in the near future to give them a seventh option.
Dach, meanwhile, is working his way back from a knee injury that ended his 2024-25 campaign prematurely. After managing his usage in the preseason, the Canadiens have limited his minutes a bit early on as he’s logging just 14:29 per night where he has a goal and an assist while anchoring their third line. As for Laine, he’s off to a quiet start in his contract year with just one assist through his first five appearances while predominantly playing on the fourth line. That’s not an ideal start but now this day-to-day injury will give him a quick reset.
Beck was one of Montreal’s final training camp cuts for the second straight season after Oliver Kapanen beat him out for the final spot on the roster. He has played in three games with AHL Laval so far this season, picking up a goal and an assist. Beck had 44 points in 64 games with the Rocket in his rookie year while also getting into a dozen games with the Canadiens where he had one assist.
Injury Notes: Dobson, Reinbacher, Guhle, Rifai, Anderson
Things are not going well for the Montreal Canadiens’ defense in their preseason contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening. After failing to appear on the bench for the third period of tonight’s game, the Canadiens announced that recently acquired Noah Dobson will not return, without specifying any injuries.
Shortly after, Senior Editor of RG Media, Marco D’Amico, shared that defenseman David Reinbacher had also gone to the dressing room with an apparent injury. Each of these injuries comes on the heels of Sportsnet’s Eric Engels report from earlier, that defenseman Kaiden Guhle was held out of tonight’s contest for maintenance purposes.
In all fairness, there were no specific injuries alluded to in any of the updates, and teams are quicker to pull players in preseason due to precautionary reasons. Still, it is cause for some concern as Montreal ramps up for the 2025-26 campaign. Despite earning a playoff spot last season, the Canadiens learned there’s little wiggle room in postseason eligibility in the Atlantic Division. Fortunately, even if there are mild injury concerns to start the new season, the Canadiens only have two matchups against postseason teams from a year ago in October.
Additional injury notes:
- On the flip side of tonight’s contest, the Maple Leafs are also dealing with injury concerns on their blue line. During the game, Toronto announced that Marshall Rifai was removed due to an upper-body injury. Unlike his opponent counterparts, it was unlikely that Rifai would have cracked the Maple Leafs’ opening night roster regardless of availability. The Beaconsfield, Quebec native spent all of last year with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, scoring three goals and 13 points in 67 contests.
- Moving to another Original Six organization, any chance for the Chicago Blackhawks to gauge forward Joey Anderson‘s potential for a depth role has passed. Earlier today, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio reported that Anderson underwent a procedure for a chronic issue, which will cost him the rest of the preseason. Despite playing in 18 games for the Blackhawks last year, Anderson had long odds of making Chicago’s opening night roster, spending much of last season as an assistant captain with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.
Canadiens Notes: Armia, Savard, Dvorak, Guhle
In an interview with Pierre LeBrun for The Athletic (subscription link), Canadiens GM Kent Hughes acknowledged that he was initially approaching the trade deadline as if they’d be selling. But the team went on a run after the 4 Nations break, resulting in a change of plan. In doing so, he noted that he started to move the goalposts on his asking price for winger Joel Armia, his most notable pending unrestricted free agent. Hughes admitted that while he wouldn’t say a flat-out no to acquiring teams, he readily stated that it would take a big overpayment to get him. Earlier this month, it was reported that the Canadiens had a second-round pick on the table for Armia but clearly, the adjusted asking price came in higher than that.
More from Montreal:
- Also from that interview, Hughes stated that he went into the deadline not expecting to move center Christian Dvorak or defenseman David Savard. He noted that with mid-round picks being the potential return for each of them, it wasn’t worth doing to add those while weakening their farm team in Laval which has been in a close battle for first in the AHL in recent weeks. Also, with one of the deeper prospect pools in the league and with 21 selections over the next two drafts, there wasn’t as much of a need to add extra picks to the cupboard. Both Dvorak and Savard are slated to be unrestricted free agents this summer and are likely facing pay cuts from their cap charges of $4.45MM and $3.5MM respectively.
- Defenseman Kaiden Guhle took part in today’s morning skate in a non-contact jersey, relays TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 23-year-old is working his way back after suffering a lacerated quad tendon in late January. He’s still likely a little while away from returning to the lineup but if Montreal can hang around the playoff picture a bit longer, they could get a nice boost to their back end for the late push with Guhle being a big part of their top four, logging more than 21 minutes a night before being injured.
Atlantic Notes: Domi, Jensen, Guhle
Toronto Maple Leaf head coach Craig Berube stated today that forward Max Domi has taken his game to “another level,” per The Hockey News Toronto’s Nick Barden.
While Domi has struggled this season to the tune of 28 points in 59 games, he has shown signs of offensive improvement of late. Since March 1, Domi has recorded five points in eight games. This pairs with his usual tenacity, hitting prowess, and solid 51.2 faceoff percentage on the season.
Aided by his improved play, Toronto’s third line of Domi, Bobby McMann, and Nick Robertson are beginning to click as the playoffs loom. The three combined for seven points in Monday’s game against the Flames.
Domi, a veteran of 720 games, has scored 445 points in his career, including 47 points over 80 games last season. He has added 26 points in 50 career playoff games. Domi has three years left on his contract and comes with a $3.75 MM AAV, so his improved play is a welcomed sight for the Maple Leafs as they look ahead to this year’s playoffs and beyond.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- The Senators’ Nick Jensen missed his second straight game tonight due to a lower body injury, per The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie. The 34-year-old defender has been a key figure in his first season in Ottawa, posting 19 points and a plus-17 rating. He averages a hefty 20:20 average ice time per game and has recorded 74 blocked shots. Ottawa received Jensen and a 2026 third-round pick in a trade with the Capitals that saw defenseman Jakob Chychrun head to Washington. Jensen’s availability will be key to Ottawa as they fight for a place in the playoffs down the stretch run. Prior to tonight’s 6-3 loss to against the Canadians, the Senators were winners of their last six games and find themselves in the first wild card spot in the east.
- Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle skated prior to the team’s practice today, per TSN. The 23-year-old underwent surgery for a lacerated quadriceps muscle in late January. He returned to skating on March 7, but he remains out indefinitely. In 44 games on the season, he recorded 14 points, 100 blocked shots, and 67 hits.
Canadiens’ Kaiden Guhle Out Indefinitely With Quadricep Laceration
1:12 p.m.: Guhle sustained a lacerated quadricep muscle that was surgically repaired overnight, the team announced. He’s been released from the hospital but will be out indefinitely.
10:09 a.m.: In a corresponding move, defenseman Jayden Struble has been reinstated from his conditioning loan to AHL Laval. The 23-year-old lefty was held without a point and took two minor penalties with a plus-one rating in a pair of contests for the minor-league club.
8:10 a.m.: The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Kaiden Guhle has suffered a lower-body injury and will need further evaluation. Guhle sustained the injury in the third period of last night’s 4-1 loss to Winnipeg when he fell into the corner awkwardly. He appeared to catch an edge on the play as he was trying to pinch in from the blue line, his right leg fell behind him and jammed into the boards, suffering the full weight of the impact. Guhle required assistance to get to the dressing room and did not appear to bear any weight on his right leg.
The 16th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft is in his third NHL season and has become a huge piece of Montreal’s back end, averaging over 21 minutes a night of ice team and seeing the third most deployment at even strength on the team. Guhle has also been tasked with taking on some of the most difficult minutes in Montreal, starting nearly 60% of his shifts in the defensive zone and taking on the toughest assignments.
Montreal does have some good young defensemen in the AHL right now, however, none will be able to make the jump up from Laval and handle the duties that Guhle has been taking on.
Montreal is in the thick of the Eastern Conference’s race for the Wild Card spots, and losing Guhle for an extended period would be a big blow to their playoff hopes. However, there is a break in February for the Four Nations Face-Off, which could allow Guhle some recovery time, should he need it.
Montreal could also look outside the organization for help as they have 12 draft picks in this year’s draft and will have almost $6.5MM in cap space to work with at the NHL Trade Deadline.