Avalanche’s Valeri Nichushkin, Nicolas Roy Back From Injury
The Colorado Avalanche will have to shake up their lineup in Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Forwards Valeri Nichushkin and Nicolas Roy are both set to return from their upper-body injuries per Corey Masisak of The Denver Post. Roy was knocked out of the lineup before March 24th’s win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was not clear when he sustained the injury, though head coach Jared Bednar emphasized that the team was being careful to not rush him back. Nichushkin sat out of Sunday’s loss to the Blues but has otherwise had a healthy stretch as of late.
The pair of additions will bring Colorado up to a fully healthy roster, except for one crucial piece. Star defenseman Cale Makar isn’t expected to return for “a few more games” Bednar told Masisak. Makar is still expected to return before the end of the season, which would set his return as one of Colorado’s three games next week.
Colorado will wield a fully-healthy offense, plus Trade Deadline additions Nazem Kadri and Roy, for the first time with this news. The top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Artturi Lehkonen is likely inseparable, which would leave Colorado’s middle-six as the housing for Roy and Nichushkin. The latter has spent much of the year alongside Gabriel Landeskog and Brock Nelson. The trio have recorded nine goals-for and six goals-against in their time together – but Kadri’s recent run of seven points in his last 10 games could force Colorado to bump him into the top-six. If it does, Nichushkin will move to Roy’s wing on the third line, likely across from Ross Colton.
That would bring some serious firepower to the Avalanche’s bottom-six. Nichushkin has scored 15 goals and 45 points in 66 games this season. That is a 56-point scoring pace across 82 games, a mark that would narrowly beat out Nichushkin’s career-high 53 points set in 54 games of the 2023-24 season. Roy has notched three goals, 13 penalty minutes, and a minus-two in nine games since joining the Avalanche at the Trade Deadline. The combination of skill and aggression between the pair could be a secret weapon as Colorado looks to make another deep run in the playoffs.
Injury Notes: Makar, Roy, Ekman-Larsson, Gudas, Gauthier, Mintyukov
The Avalanche have received largely good news so far on the status of injured star Cale Makar and trade deadline pickup Nicolas Roy. Head coach Jared Bednar made it clear on Wednesday that Makar will be back before the playoffs. He said the same about Roy earlier in the week after he shed his no-contact designation at practice. However, neither will be re-entering the lineup during their back-to-back this weekend, Bednar told Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. They will not travel to Dallas for tomorrow’s tilt against the Stars but could accompany the team as they head out to face the Blues on the road next Tuesday. They were tossed around by the Canucks 8-6 in their lone outing without Makar so far as he deals with an upper-body injury, while they’ve managed a 3-2-0 record in five games without Roy since he went down with an upper-body issue on March 22.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson could miss a game because of an injury designation for the first time all season. Toronto was eliminated from playoff contention with last night’s loss to the Sharks, and they also lost Ekman-Larsson midway through the game with a lower-body injury. He hasn’t been ruled out entirely for tomorrow’s game against the Kings but is highly doubtful to play, Luke Fox of Sportsnet relays. The 34-year-old has been good for eight goals and 38 points through 73 games, leading Toronto defenders in scoring while producing his best point-per-game total since 2020-21, his final season with the Coyotes.
- While Ducks captain Radko Gudas hopped back into the lineup against Toronto earlier in the week after ending Leafs captain Auston Matthews‘ season with a knee-on-knee hit, he wasn’t fully recovered from a lower-body injury of his own that he sustained back on March 26 against the Flames. After racking up 17 penalty minutes against the Leafs, he bowed back out of the lineup for Wednesday’s loss to the Sharks. He won’t be able to go tonight against the Blues, either, head coach Joel Quenneville said (via Derek Lee of The Hockey News). Neither will fellow rearguard Pavel Mintyukov nor leading scorer Cutter Gauthier, for that matter, a blow for their hopes to gain some separation from the streaking Oilers for the Pacific Division title. Mintyukov has also missed two of the last three with a lower-body issue, while Gauthier will miss his second straight game with the upper-body injury he sustained against Toronto in an early collision with teammate Leo Carlsson.
Avalanche’s Nicolas Roy Will Return Before Playoffs
The Colorado Avalanche are slowly assembling their playoff roster after a wave of acquisitions and injuries. They’ll soon add another piece back to the depth chart, with center Nicolas Roy progressing back from an upper-body injury sustained on March 22nd. He has already missed three games with the injury, but returned to practice in a regular jersey on Monday. That progress will put Roy on track to return to the lineup within Colorado’s final 10 games of the season, head coach Jared Bednar told Corey Masisak of The Denver Post.
Roy appeared in nine games with Colorado before going down with injury. He recorded three goals and 13 penalty minutes in those appearances. Despite taking 556 faceoffs with the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to his Trade Deadline move, and winning 52.9 percent of those draws, the bulk of Roy’s minutes with Colorado were spent on Brock Nelson‘s wing. The duo recorded a 66 expected-goals percentage (xGF%) per Natural Stat Trick.
Roy was a productive third-liner for the Maple Leafs prior to his move. He scored 20 points in 59 games with the Maple Leafs, after joining the team in a summer swap with the Vegas Golden Knights for the rights to star winger Mitch Marner. Roy filled a similar depth role with Vegas for six seasons prior to his move. He rivaled 30 points in his final four seasons with the Golden Knights, including posting a career-high 41 points in 70 games of the 2023-24 campaign.
Colorado built out a deep depth chart with the additions of Roy and Nazem Kadri at the Trade Deadline. When Roy is back to full health, the two will compete with Nelson for a spot at their natural center position, while the odd-man-out likely moves to the a top-nine winger role. Roy could be the one to land in that position, alternating faceoffs with Nelson who has a 50.7 faceoff percentage this season. His return will add another pillar to Colorado’s league-best offense just in time for another run towards the Stanley Cup.
Avalanche’s Nicolas Roy To Miss Time
Avalanche forward Nicolas Roy will be held out of the lineup “for a little bit” with the upper-body injury that caused him to miss last night’s win over the Penguins, head coach Jared Bednar said on Altitude Sports Radio this morning (via Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette).
Bednar said that his proclamation has more to do with the fact that they won’t be rushing him back into the lineup rather than the immediate severity of his injury. It’s still unclear what happened to Roy, who missed some shifts against the Capitals last Sunday and played a season-low 8:40 but never left the game for good.
Acquired at the trade deadline from the Maple Leafs for a first and a fifth-round pick, Roy has been a natural fit defensively thus far in Colorado’s bottom six. He was relied upon as a shutdown presence in Toronto through the first chunk of the season, and with his offensive-zone usage increasing a little bit after the trade to a 42.1 oZS% at 5-on-5, his possession numbers have jumped to a 56.1 CF% and 54.0 xGF%.
He’s yet to notch an assist in the burgundy and blue, but he does have three goals in nine outings, 60% of his goal output in Toronto this season in nearly 60 games. He won’t continue finishing at a 17.6% clip, but the chance generation numbers are way up – 1.89 shots on goal per game for the Avs compared to only 0.93 per game for the Leafs.
Faceoffs have been a struggle, though. He’s normally below average but was quite stout with the Leafs at the start of the season, winning 52.9% of his draws. Post-trade, he’s gone 17-for-41 (41.5%) and has seen a good bit of time on the wing, bouncing around a bit but seeing a good bit of time as high as the second-line right wing slot with Nazem Kadri and Brock Nelson.
Colorado got a pair of key bottom-nine forwards back in Ross Colton and Logan O’Connor last night, so that helps offset Roy’s loss a bit. For now, there’s no indication they expect him to be unavailable for Game 1 of their playoff run next month. With him and Artturi Lehkonen sidelined, that’ll just mean more reps for depth names like Zakhar Bardakov and Joel Kiviranta last night.
Injury Notes: Malkin, DeAngelo, Roy
Pittsburgh Penguins legend Evgeni Malkin’s upper-body injury is unrelated to the previously nagging one which sidelined him in the winter, according to head coach Dan Muse, as shared by Josh Yohe, team beat writer.
Earlier today it became apparent that Malkin would be day-to-day, with forward Ville Koivunen recalled as a result. The 39-year-old is still fifth in team scoring despite playing just 50 games, coming in just above the point-per-game mark with 52.
A future Hall of Famer, there’s little doubt he will be an impact player until the end, but Malkin’s 2024-25 performance seemed indicative of decline. Instead, Malkin has turned back the clock this year under Muse as a huge part of the Pens’ resurgence. He will finish 2025-26 under last year’s 68 total games, but it’s by no means shocking for any player nearing 40.
Losing their star against the league’s top team in Colorado creates a tall task, but thankfully it doesn’t seem serious and Malkin could be back as soon as Thursday in Ottawa.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The New York Islanders announced mid-game that Tony DeAngelo won’t return due to a lower-body injury. The defenseman’s night came to an end after six shifts which totaled 6:09. DeAngelo has become a journeyman, but the 30-year-old still plays a key role for New York with power play time and top four minutes, all on an expiring contract worth just $1.75MM. The New Jersey native has 33 points in 71 games, not missing a single game for the Islanders to this point. He seemed to skate gingerly after hustling back in an attempt to catch a Blackhawks rush which led to a goal. If he has to miss an extended period, it would be a tough blow for the Islanders’ hopes to hold onto their Wild Card berth in a season which has surpassed expectations.
- Before tonight’s game in Pittsburgh, the Colorado Avalanche revealed that Nicolas Roy wouldn’t play due to an upper body injury. Additional details aren’t clear, but the forward played just 8:40 on Sunday against Washington, well below his normal usage as a third liner. In nine games with Colorado since being acquired from the Maple Leafs, Roy has three goals, after finding the back of the net just five times in 59 games prior. The 29-year-old could return as soon as Thursday in Winnipeg, his new club closing in on the Presidents’ Trophy as long as they can maintain their current pace.
Colorado Avalanche Acquire Nicolas Roy
The Colorado Avalanche have acquired forward Nicolas Roy from the Toronto Maple Leafs, in exchange for a conditional 2027 first-round pick and a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick. The conditions on both picks read as follows:
In the event Colorado’s 2027 first-round selection is in the top-10 of the 2027 NHL Draft, Colorado will send its unprotected 2028 first-round pick to Toronto. Colorado currently holds three fifth-round selections in the 2026 NHL Draft; the lowest of those three picks will be transferred to Toronto as part of the transaction.
Yesterday, Frank Seravalli reported that the Maple Leafs’ asking price of a first-round pick plus a prospect for Roy had “held steady,” and that Toronto was unwilling to retain salary at that price. The Maple Leafs ultimately got the first-rounder they sought, though the fifth-round pick will have to suffice in place of a prospect. 
The move ends what was a brief tenure in Toronto for Roy, who was acquired over the summer as part of the Vegas Golden Knights’ acquisition of star winger Mitch Marner. Roy had been a solid middle-six center in Vegas, scoring 15 goals and 31 points in 71 games in 2024-25 and 41 points in 70 games in 2023-24.
His numbers took a tumble in Toronto, where he has just five goals and 20 points in 59 games, but his resume remains strong nonetheless.
That’s especially true considering he’s under contract for an additional year at an entirely affordable $3MM cap hit. Roy was also regularly playing on the penalty kill in Toronto, ranking No. 3 among Maple Leafs forwards in short-handed time on ice per game.
Roy is likely to slot in as Colorado’s No. 3 center, lining up behind Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson. As previously mentioned, he excelled in a similar role in Vegas, and given the team control afforded by his contract, it appears the Avalanche have their top three centers locked in for the next two playoff runs, at the minimum. His addition could also help the already-stellar Avalanche penalty kill.
While a first-round pick isn’t a cheap price to pay for any player, it looks to be a fair one for Roy. While his numbers are down, he should be able to capably occupy the No. 3 center role with some special teams value. That’s not an insignificant role whatsoever, and adding Roy now is more valuable to the Avalanche than selecting a player with that first-round pick likely would be. Colorado is looking to maximize its odds of winning another Stanley Cup with core players such as MacKinnon and Cale Makar in their prime, and adding Roy certainly helps in that pursuit.
From Toronto’s perspective, this trade begins what could be a larger effort to sell players and regroup with an eye to the future. The offseason loss of Mitch Marner, among other factors, helped destabilize what has been a consistent regular-season juggernaut over the last decade. Toronto looks more likely than not to miss the playoffs for just the second time since 2015-16, the year they earned the No. 1 pick and right to select franchise face Auston Matthews.
Landing a first-round pick for Roy will allow the team to bolster its prospect pool, which entered the season ranked No. 27 in the NHL by Elite Prospects. The team could also flip the pick for a younger player who is at or near NHL-readiness, in order to better support a competitive timeline centered around its existing stars.
In any case, this move is one that makes considerable sense for both involved teams, and it will be interesting to see what decisions Toronto makes moving forward as it navigates a wholly uncertain future.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Maple Leafs To Activate Auston Matthews, Nicolas Roy From IR
Maple Leafs forwards Auston Matthews and Nicolas Roy will be activated from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Blue Jackets, per Mark Masters of TSN. Toronto needs to open up a pair of roster spots before it does so. One of them has been opened by reassigning center Jacob Quillan to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, David Alter of The Hockey News reports. Also returning to the lineup is top-line winger Matthew Knies, who’d missed the last three games with a lower-body issue but never landed on IR.
Matthews returns after a two-week absence. The Leafs captain sustained a lower-body injury when Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov leveled him on Nov. 11. He sat out the last five games, during which time the reeling Leafs went 1-2-2. Their lone win in that period, a 3-2 overtime victory over the Blues on Nov. 18, is their only victory in the last three weeks.
Without Matthews, the Leafs, who have relied heavily on their offense to outscore their defensive shortcomings this season, only managed 2.4 goals per game. While the two-time 60-goal scorer hasn’t performed to that level of dominance this season, his return remains a legitimate needle-mover as Toronto looks to string together some solid two-way efforts with five games left on its road trip. Through 17 appearances, Matthews was finishing at a 13.8% clip – the third-lowest of his 10-year career – for nine goals and five assists.
The most concerning aspect of Matthews’ performance pre-injury was his possession play. Over the past several seasons, he’d emerged as a Selke-level defensive threat in addition to his elite scoring ability, finishing as a finalist for the award in 2024. The Leafs are still outscoring opponents 16-8 at 5-on-5 with Matthews on the ice this year, but the under-the-hood numbers have taken a significant step back. Matthews had controlled 52% of shot attempts or better for seven consecutive seasons, but has just a 46.9 CF% in 2025-26.
Joining Matthews in the lineup down the middle will be Roy, who sustained an upper-body injury against the Blackhawks on Nov. 15 and had missed the last three games. Aside from his work in the faceoff dot (52.3% win rate), there hasn’t been much to like from the 28-year-old, whom the Leafs acquired from the Golden Knights in last summer’s Mitch Marner sign-and-trade. He’s been limited to just one goal and four points in 19 appearances, and his deployment as a defensive specialist at even strength has greatly limited his two-way effectiveness. He’s averaging fewer than two shot attempts per game for the first time since 2021, and the Leafs have been outscored 13-8 with him on the ice at 5-on-5.
Quillan had gotten the call-up in Roy’s absence but, as one of two waiver-exempt skaters on the Leafs’ roster, was the logical choice to be the first one sent down when Toronto needed a roster spot – especially considering he was a healthy scratch for Saturday’s loss in Montreal. The 23-year-old second-year pro earned the look after a scorching start to his season with the Marlies, rattling off two goals and 12 assists in 14 appearances for a point per game.
In two appearances, he was deployed as the Leafs’ fourth-line center between Dakota Joshua and Matias Maccelli. He didn’t record a point but did manage a +1 rating while averaging 8:39 of ice time per game. The undrafted free agent out of Quinnipiac laid six hits as well.
Maple Leafs Activate Scott Laughton, Place Nicolas Roy On IR
The Maple Leafs have activated Scott Laughton from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Blue Jackets, David Alter of The Hockey News reports. The team placed center Nicolas Roy on IR in a corresponding move to open up a roster spot.
Laughton, 31, returns from his second injury absence of the season. He hasn’t played since Nov. 8, when he sustained an upper-body injury against the Bruins in just his second game back in the lineup after a lower-body injury he suffered during the preseason had him out of the lineup for nearly a month to begin the campaign. In 17:10 of total ice time against Boston and Utah three days prior, Laughton recorded a -2 rating, two shot attempts, and seven hits while going 9-for-14 on faceoffs (64.3%).
As Toronto contends with a long list of injuries, it’ll be looking to a 13-year veteran in Laughton to help stabilize its bottom-six forward group. According to TSN’s Mark Masters, Laughton will center the Leafs’ third line in his return between Steven Lorentz and rookie Easton Cowan. That trio was paired together throughout the preseason, and until Laughton sustained his injury late in camp, most thought it would start the year as Toronto’s fourth line. They’ll be getting their first look during the regular season tonight after Max Domi took Cowan’s spot on the right wing during his previous brief stint in the lineup, as Cowan was assigned to AHL Toronto to make room for Laughton rejoining the active roster last time around.
Laughton, a Toronto-area native, is in his first full season in the blue and white after being picked up at last season’s trade deadline from the Flyers, who’d drafted him No. 20 overall back in 2012. While brought in primarily as a two-way conscience for the bottom six, Laughton had routinely been a 30-to-40-point producer over the last several years in Philadelphia. That hasn’t been the case in Toronto, where the 6’1″ pivot has just two goals and four assists for six points in 35 combined regular-season and playoff games since his acquisition. With Roy, Matthew Knies, and Auston Matthews all unavailable, they need more offense out of him to help revitalize an offense that’s been limited to three goals or fewer in four straight.
Roy’s IR placement is retroactive to his last appearance on Nov. 15, so he’s only been ruled out of tonight’s game and will be eligible to return Saturday against the Canadiens. The 6’4″ center sat out Tuesday’s win over the Blues with an upper-body injury after logging a season-high 19:45 of ice time against Chicago three days prior. Acquired from the Golden Knights in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade over the summer, Roy has struggled to produce in a third-line role and has just one goal and four points through his first 19 appearances as a Leaf.
Atlantic Injury Updates: Bruins, Maple Leafs, Sabres
The Boston Bruins have had to deal with their fair share of injuries so far this season, but that hasn’t stopped the club from continuing its longstanding tradition of consistent regular-season success. Through 21 games this season, Boston sits first in the Atlantic Division with a 12-9-0 record, including a 8-2-0 record in their last 10 games. On Saturday in Montreal, though, the Bruins were dealt their most significant injury blow to date this season: Charlie McAvoy took a Noah Dobson one-timer to the face and had to leave the game immediately. Today, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm provided a small update on McAvoy’s status, per Conor Ryan of Boston.com, stating that McAvoy will not travel with the team on its upcoming road trip. In addition, he also said that veteran center Elias Lindholm would travel with the team.
It should not come as any surprise that McAvoy isn’t ready to play just yet, and Sturm did add that an official update on McAvoy’s health will likely be issued either today or tomorrow. In any case, adequately replacing what McAvoy brings to the Bruins will be very difficult. McAvoy averages nearly 24 minutes of ice time per game (good for the team lead) and has 14 points in 19 games. While it won’t help their defense, the fact that Lindholm is nearing a return to the ice should help soften the blow of losing McAvoy. He’s a reliable two-way center whose return should help alleviate some of the pressure the Bruins’ center injuries have placed on veteran Pavel Zacha and rookie Fraser Minten.
Other injury updates from the Atlantic Division:
- Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving confirmed today, per The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, that team captain and franchise center Auston Matthews won’t play today or on Thursday due to the injury he suffered Nov. 11 against the Boston Bruins. Matthews did begin skating again today, but still needs some time before he’s ready to return to game action. The 28-year-old has scored 14 points in 17 games this season, and had 33 goals, 78 points in 67 games in 2024-25. In addition to speaking on Matthews, Treliving also said that veteran defenseman Chris Tanev‘s health status will be re-evaluated in a week or two, and head coach Craig Berube confirmed that center Nicolas Roy will miss a few games with an injury of his own. Tanev suffered his injury Nov. 1 while Roy, who has four points in 19 games this season, played in the team’s last game on Saturday.
- Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff announced today that defenseman Michael Kesselring suffered an injury in the team’s game Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings, and “an extended period of time” as a result. The nature of the injury is not yet clear, but Ruff said that Kesselring’s absence would be “on the longer side – weeks.” The big 25-year-old right-shot blueliner, who was acquired this past summer from the Utah Mammoth in the J.J. Peterka trade, has played in nine games this season. In better injury news, Ruff also announced that forward Zach Benson will return to skating in a non-contact capacity
Maple Leafs Camp Notes: Domi, Roy, Benoit
The Toronto Maple Leafs received a wave of positive injury updates on Sunday morning. The good news kicked off when winger Max Domi stepped onto the ice for the first time in training camp, captured by TSN’s Mark Masters. Domi joined the Leafs’ non-playing group, indicating that he won’t be a part of the team’s first preseason game later in the day.
Domi has been dealing with a lower-body injury sustained during off-season training. The injury has been dubbed minor, with Domi designated as day-to-day, but its nonetheless become a focal point of camp as many expect Domi to take on a top-six role. With Sunday’s practice, he’ll take the first step towards vindicating those expectations – and break camp in a top-line wing role vacated by Mitch Marner earlier this summer. Domi scored eight goals and 33 points last season, though he also managed 47 points in his first year with the Leafs in 2023-24.
Other notes from Toronto’s camp:
- Also returning to the practice sheet was recently-acquired forward Nicolas Roy, who sat out of the team’s Saturday skate with a lower-body injury, per Masters. Roy is another candidate for a growing role in the Toronto lineup, after being acquired as the sweetener in Toronto’s sign-and-trade of Marner with the Vegas Golden Knights. Roy scored 15 goals and 31 points with Vegas last season, and 41 points in the year prior. He’s a toolsy forward who can fill a role at center or right-wing. That standing could help him earn a pivotal role behind Auston Matthews and John Tavares, or an important grinder role beside them.
- Away from the positives, defenseman Simon Benoit was absent from yet another practice on Sunday. He is facing an upper-body injury, per David Alter of The Hockey News. Head coach Craig Berube shared that the Leafs will be taking all of their injuries day-by-day, though he didn’t mention Benoit’s injury or prognosis directly, per Alter’s colleague Nick Barden. Benoit played through 78 games in a Leafs uniform last season. He tied his career-high in scoring with 10 points, to go with 59 penalty minutes and a plus-12 on the full year. Benoit is a strong candidate to fill a daily, bottom-pair role this season – though an extended injury at camp will give newcomers like Henry Thrun and Dakota Mermis a chance to catch up. Both Thrun and Mermis will take the ice for Toronto’s first preseason game on Sunday.