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Shayne Gostisbehere

Metro Notes: Panarin, Gostisbehere, Hamilton

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The New York Rangers had a difficult first month of the 2025-26 season, and the primary reason has been the team’s inability to consistently put the puck in the net. They rank last in the NHL in goals scored per game with just 2.21, and a notable reason for their struggles has been the performance of star winger Artemi Panarin. Panarin is usually the Rangers’ offensive engine, but he has just seven points in 14 games this season, with four of them coming in a single game. The Athletic’s Vince Z. Mercogliano reported on Panarin’s struggles in more detail, with Panarin telling the reporter his struggles have “really kind of snowballed.” He said “I missed training camp, had a couple (injury) issues. I wasn’t feeling right from a conditioning standpoint in the first couple games. I started getting frustrated right away, and then it kind of goes into the contract and all that stuff in my head.”

As Panarin himself noted, his contract status as a pending unrestricted free agent looms large over his 2025-26 season. Mercogliano reported that “there have been brief negotiations” between Panarin’s camp, led by Paul Theofanous, and the Rangers, but that those talks have “stalled” lately. It’s been reported previously that the Rangers are “in no rush” to make a commitment to Panarin, who at 34 years old is staring down the possibility that this could be the last big contract of his NHL career. In order for him to maximize that deal, he’ll need to step up his production. Panarin ended the 2023-24 season with 120 points, so he’s shown recently that he can be among the top scorers in the NHL. For him to position himself best for his next contract, he’ll need to find a way to rediscover that form.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has been placed on injured reserve, and that the IR placement is retroactive to Oct. 28. Gostisbehere was injured in the team’s Oct. 28 game against the Vegas Golden Knights, and hasn’t played since. The veteran was off to a strong start to the season before his injury, scoring seven points in six games. There remains no firm timeline for Gostisbehere to return, and without Gostisbehere to run the team’s top power-play unit, the team has had to rely on veteran Sean Walker, who has five points through 13 games.
  • New Jersey Devils star blueliner Dougie Hamilton left last night’s victory over the Montreal Canadiens with an injury, and no further update on Hamilton’s status was provided. Today, Devils team reporter Amanda Stein relayed word from head coach Sheldon Keefe that Hamilton remains under evaluation today, and there is at this point no additional detail on the player’s status. Hamilton is a key contributor to what has been a strong Devils team so far this season. He ranks No. 2 among Devils defensemen in ice time, just behind Luke Hughes, and is tied with Hughes for second on the team in defensive scoring with seven points in 14 games. The 32-year-old is playing out a $9MM AAV contract that runs through the 2027-28 season.

Hurricanes Recall Charles-Alexis Legault, Place William Carrier On IR

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The Carolina Hurricanes’ defensive core continues to suffer injuries. Needing yet another blueliner to sustain a roster, the team announced they’ve recalled Charles-Alexis Legault from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Carolina placed forward William Carrier on the injured reserve, and he isn’t expected back for some time.

Legault’s recall corresponds directly to the injury sustained by Shayne Gostisbehere yesterday against the Vegas Golden Knights. Gostisbehere returned after missing the previous 10 days on the injured reserve, but skated in 7:19 of last night’s loss before exiting the contest. Team reporter Walt Ruff shared earlier that Gostisbehere suffered a midsection injury, and the team is hopeful he won’t be out long-term.

Still, that leaves Carolina without their three top defensemen for the foreseeable future. Jaccob Slavin is already on the team’s injured reserve after participating in only two games to start the year, and K’Andre Miller has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury.

Now, without Gostisbehere again, that leaves the Hurricanes with rookie Alexander Nikishin and Sean Walker as their top available pair. Both players have performed well this year, but they are not the top options needed to stay competitive, as evidenced by their performance against the Golden Knights last night.

Today marks the second call-up of Legault’s young career. He’s skated in three games for the Hurricanes already this season, going scoreless while averaging 11:53 of ice time. The former fifth-round pick spent the entire 2024-25 campaign with AHL Chicago, scoring three goals and 14 points in 63 games.

Hurricanes’ Shayne Gostisbehere, Joel Nystrom Leave With Injury

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Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere exited Tuesday’s loss to Vegas at the end of the first period due to a lower-body injury. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour revealed post-game that the injury was separate from the lower-body injury that held Gostisbehere out of the last three games, and forced a brief stint on injured reserve. Brind’Amour described the new injury as to Gostisbehere’s midsection per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff.

Shortly after Gostisbehere exited the game, fellow Hurricanes defender Joel Nystrom was forced to leave after blocking a slapshot from Golden Knights defender Brayden McNabb with his face. Nystrom was not on the bench to start the third period, forcing Carolina to play the final frame with just four defenders. Their last-four-standing included Domenick Fensore, who was making his season debut and playing in just the third game of his NHL career. He posted a minus-two.

Both Nystrom and Fesnore were recently called up to help Carolina address injuries to K’Andre Miller and Jaccob Slavin. Miller’s injury is luckily considered short-term, though Slavin was placed on injured reserve and could miss “a while”. That will make any further blows to Carolina’s blue-line hard to bear. Extra defenseman Mike Reilly will step back into the lineup in Gostisbehere’s spot, giving him a chance to build on three assists in six game so far.

Carolina could also recall prospects Dominik Badinka, Aleksi Heimosalmi, or Gavin Bayreuther from the AHL. Heimosalmi and Bayreuther have three points in four and five AHL games respectively, while Badinka has one point in five games.

But no mix of prospects will make up for Gostisbehere’s absence. Even after missing three games, he continues to lead Carolina’s battered blue-line in scoring with seven points in six games. He also led the defense in scoring last season, with 45 points in 70 games. Gostisbehere has proven a capable, and reliable, offensive threat in Carolina’s system. In his absence, much of that responsibility will fall on rookie Alexander Nikishin, at least until Miller is back to full health.

Hurricanes Activate Shayne Gostisbehere, Place Eric Robinson On IR

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The Carolina Hurricanes are getting a major boost to their defensive core ahead of tonight’s marquee matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Hurricanes announced that they’ve activated Shayne Gostisbehere from the injured reserve and have placed forward Eric Robinson on it in a corresponding roster move.

Despite missing the team’s last three games with a lower-body injury, Gostisbehere is still leading the team in scoring among defensemen. Before going down with the injury, the Pembroke Pines, FL native scored one goal and seven points in five games with a +9 rating, averaging 16:01 of ice time per game. Although his ATOI appears relatively low, it’s essential to note that Gostisbehere only skated for 4:06 in his most recent game on October 18th.

One of the most noticeable differences in Gostisbehere’s game has been on the defensive side of the puck. He’s had a pair of quality offensive campaigns between the Detroit Red Wings and Hurricanes since the 2023-24 season, but has hovered around an 88.0% on-ice save percentage at even strength (oiSV%).

This season, albeit in far fewer games, Gostisbehere got off to a great defensive start, averaging a 66.7% CorsiFor% (CF%) at even strength, and a 94.1% oiSV%. His CF% remains the highest on the team for players who have appeared in five or more contests, while his oiSV% is second on defense behind rookie Alexander Nikishin. In no uncertain terms, Gostisbehere was a primary reason the Hurricanes got off to an undefeated start through their first five games.

Meanwhile, Robinson heads to the IR after suffering an upper-body injury against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. According to an update from the team a few days later, Robinson isn’t expected back with the team anytime soon. He scored one goal and four points in seven games to start the 2025-26 campaign, averaging 9:57 of ice time per game.

Metropolitan Notes: Luchanko, Gostisbehere, Wood

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With his usage being limited thus far, the odds of Jett Luchanko spending the full season with the Flyers are dropping.  However, Daily Faceoff’s Anthony DiMarco suggests that Philadelphia will at least look to drag the decision out a little longer by assigning him to AHL Lehigh Valley on a conditioning stint at some point.  While he’s ineligible to play for the Phantoms full-time, he is allowed to play on a conditioning stint for up to two weeks.  Luchanko won’t officially burn the first year of his entry-level deal until he plays in ten NHL games this season.  He’s at four so between his five games he can still play without starting the deal and a possible conditioning stint, he could remain with the Flyers for a while yet before returning to junior.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • While the hope was that Shayne Gostisbehere’s lower-body injury wasn’t serious, it will hold him out for at least the next two games. The Hurricanes announced that they have sent him back to Raleigh for further evaluation, meaning he will miss the last two games of their road trip.  The 32-year-old got off to a hot start before the injury, picking up a goal and six assists in his first five games this season, notching at least one point in his first four outings.
  • There’s a chance that Blue Jackets winger Miles Wood could return by the end of the month, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link). The 30-year-old was injured a little more than a week ago after taking a high stick to the eye.  GM Don Waddell indicated that Wood is now able to see out of that eye but that further testing is required once all of the blood clears.  That testing will ultimately determine if he’s able to come back quickly or if he’ll be out longer term.

Injury Notes: Gostisbehere, McCann, Liljegren

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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. 

Injury Updates: Gostisbehere, Stone, Lundkvist

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Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere left last night’s victory over the Los Angeles Kings with a lower-body injury, according to a team announcement. After the game, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told the media, including team reporter Walt Ruff, that Gostisbehere “tweaked something,” and could add to the list of injured Hurricanes defensemen – one that already includes star blueliner Jaccob Slavin, who is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury of his own.

If Gostisbehere is to miss any games with this injury, beyond just the portion of the game he missed last night, it would be a serious blow to the Hurricanes defense. Despite playing in the fewest even-strength minutes per game of any Hurricanes blueliner so far this season, Gostisbehere quarterbacks Carolina’s top power play unit and is tied for the league lead in points by a defenseman with seven in five games. In Gostisbehere absence, offseason addition K’Andre Miller took over the team’s top power play unit, and in terms of who could draw into the lineup in the case that Gostisbehere misses game action moving forward, rookie Charles-Alexis Legault is in position as the team’s current spare blueliner.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone left last night’s victory over the Calgary Flames with an apparent wrist injury, reports Mark Anderson of the Associated Press. According to Anderson, Stone left the ice midway through the third period, clearly dealing with something. After the game, head coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t have a further update on Stone’s status, but said they’d likely have more information to give on Monday. Stone, 33, ranks second in leaguewide scoring at the moment with 13 points in six games, and it’s worth noting that he has been injury prone for much of his NHL career. Stone hasn’t hit 70 games played in a season since 2018-19, and played in 66 games last season.
  • Dallas Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist suffered a lower-body injury in the team’s Thursday contest against the Vancouver Canucks, an injury that limited him to a season-low 11:18 time-on-ice. Last night, Stars coach Glen Gulutzan provided an additional update on Lundkvist’s status, telling the media (including the Dallas News’ Lia Assimakopoulos) that Lundkvist would be out for “a little bit” with the injury. Lundkvist, 25, has scored three points through four games so far this season, and saw his spot on the team’s second pairing alongside Thomas Harley filled by veteran Ilya Lyubushkin.

Metropolitan Notes: Thompson, Protas, Hamilton, Carrier, Gostisbehere

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Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson began on-ice recovery today as he nears a return from an upper-body injury, Emily Kaplan of ESPN said on today’s broadcast of Washington’s loss in Columbus (via Tom Gulitti of NHL.com). He skated today along with the NHL’s new all-time goals leader, Alex Ovechkin, who stayed home to rest with the Caps’ place atop the Eastern Conference clinched. The presumptive Vezina Trophy finalist has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury and remains questionable for the beginning of Washington’s first-round playoff series against whichever team ends up in the second wild-card spot. Backup Charlie Lindgren hasn’t been particularly inspiring in his absence, posting a .866 SV% since taking over for Thompson when the latter left an April 2 loss to the Hurricanes. Lindgren was not in the crease today for the Caps’ 7-0 defeat; third-stringer Hunter Shepard was. Winger Aliaksei Protas is also expected to skate Monday for the first time since sustaining a laceration from a skate on his left foot on April 4, Kaplan said. “There is some concern about how the location of the skate cut (under skate tongue) will impact the rest of Protas’ foot, but they’re hopeful he’ll be ready for the start of the playoffs,” Gulitti relayed. The 24-year-old remains an invaluable part of the Caps’ league-best offense, erupting for a career-best 30-36–66 scoring line in 76 showings.

Elsewhere in the Metro:

  • Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton continues to inch closer to a return but won’t play tomorrow against the Islanders, head coach Sheldon Keefe told the team’s Amanda Stein. Initially expected to be out until the second round of the playoffs after sustaining a lower-body injury in early March, he’s been upgraded to day-to-day. He will almost certainly be an option to begin their first-round series against the Hurricanes. He’s a key return amid a blue line missing Jonas Siegenthaler and a forward group missing star center Jack Hughes. Hamilton’s 40 points in 63 games rank seventh on the Devils and second among rearguards behind Luke Hughes’ 42.
  • The Hurricanes had winger William Carrier in the lineup against the Rangers today for the first time since he underwent lower-body surgery in January. An important depth add to their bottom six ahead of the postseason, the 30-year-old had an assist, four hits, and a plus-one rating in 10:48 of ice time in his return. They were without top backend point-producer Shayne Gostisbehere, though, who Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal relays is dealing with a lower back injury. It’s his second straight absence. The 31-year-old has 44 points in 68 showings this year, his fourth straight season above 40 points. He ranks fifth on Carolina in scoring while averaging 18:29 per game. He remains day-to-day and should be back for Game 1 against New Jersey.

Hurricanes Activate Shayne Gostisbehere Off IR

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The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to get defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere back from injury on Sunday, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. He was activated off of injured reserve, per Rotowire and the NHL media site. Gostisbehere has missed Carolina’s last seven games with an upper-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve on January 5th.

Gostisbehere has been one of Carolina’s top defenders through the early season. He’s posted notable stats across the board, leading the Hurricanes’ blue-line in goals (6) and points (27), and ranked in the top four of hits (30) through just 35 games. Should he appear in all of Carolina’s remaining 39 games, Gostisbehere would be on pace for 57 points on the season – just enough to surpass his career-high of 56 points set in 81 games with the Red Wings last season. He’s aged like a fine wine, carrying his two-way impact and solid production through stints with four different clubs over the last five seasons, including two separate tenures in Carolina. Gostisbehere has been strong through it all, starting the spree with a 51-point season with the Arizona Coyotes in 2021-22 and now set to outperform it four years later.

This move will bring the Hurricanes’ loaded defense back to full-strength. Gostisbehere will likely slide back into his role next to fellow summer-addition Sean Walker, and should also regain his spot on the team’s top power-play unit ahead of Brent Burns. Those additions will give the Hurricanes a difference-making defender in every role, hopefully enough to spur them out of a 5-4-1 record over their last 10 games.

Hurricanes’ Shayne Gostisbehere To Miss Extended Time

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Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere appears ticketed for a longer-term absence due to his recently sustained upper-body injury, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters Monday (via Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer). The lefty missed Saturday’s win over the Devils after leaving Friday’s loss late in the third period, missing his final three shifts alongside usual defense partner Sean Walker.

It’s a tough blow for Gostisbehere, who’s tracking at 0.77 points per game through 35 contests – the second-highest such rate of his career. He’s quarterbacked the team’s top power-play unit with Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Martin Nečas, and Andrei Svechnikov, all the while ranking third on the team in scoring with 27 points and ranking second in the NHL among defenders with 18 power-play points. Needless to say, it’s been a happy marriage so far between the 31-year-old and the Hurricanes, who signed him to a three-year, $9.6MM contract over the summer.

Picked up after a 10-goal, 56-point campaign in Detroit last year, Gostisbehere doesn’t log enough even-strength usage to warrant Norris Trophy consideration but has firmly re-established himself as one of the top power-play specialists in the league. His 0.72 points per game since the beginning of 2023-24 rank 13th among defensemen with at least 40 games played. He’s also an incredibly efficient producer. Among defenders who have also averaged fewer than 20 minutes per game over that span, he ranks first in points per game, with the Kings’ Brandt Clarke coming in a distant second at 0.52.

Gostisbehere’s injury forced Ty Smith to make his season debut on Saturday, making him just the seventh different defenseman to suit up for Carolina in 2024-25. They’ve been exceptionally healthy on the blue line. Smith, who hadn’t played in the NHL since January 2023 and had 10 points in 13 games while on assignment to AHL Chicago this season, took Gostisbehere’s spot on the top power-play unit.

The length of Gostisbehere’s absence could have a small influence on the Canes’ deadline plans. Despite their high-end depth with everyone healthy, things drop off sharply on the depth chart past the No. 6 position. Rolling for a long period of time with Smith and Riley Stillman as the No. 6/7 options isn’t desirable and could convince general manager Eric Tulsky to add some more experienced bottom-pairing depth.

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