Injury Notes: Konecny, Eberle, Parekh
The Philadelphia Flyers announced mid-game that star Travis Konecny would not return due to an upper-body injury.
Konecny has yet to miss a game this season, recording 37 points in 41 games, and notching the team’s only tally of the night as they lost in overtime to Toronto. Although he did not return for the third period, the forward was seen doing a television interview at the intermission beforehand, which hopefully indicates that his injury is not serious, and the decision was for more precautionary reasons.
Philadelphia has continued their winning ways of late, impressively second in the Metropolitan, and they will cross their fingers that their second-leading scorer will not miss any time. The team is right back in action on Saturday, hosting Tampa Bay.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Shortly before their home tilt against Minnesota, the Seattle Kraken shared that forward Jordan Eberle will not play, with an upper-body ailment. The team will be missing their captain for the first time this season, who somewhat surprisingly has turned back the clock in 2025-26, on pace for his best season with the Kraken. The 35-year-old has 15 goals in 41 games, after finding the back of the net just 26 times in the last two seasons combined. Eberle could return as soon as Saturday in Carolina, as the team hopes to fend off competitors in the Pacific Division and earn their second-ever playoff appearance.
- Zayne Parekh’s return to the Flames lineup will be delayed, as the defenseman has been listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury, as reported by Eric Francis of Sportsnet. Although not immediately clear, it is most likely that the ailment comes from Parekh’s time leading Team Canada in the World Junior Championship. With just one point in 11 games so far in the NHL, Calgary is in no rush with their 19-year-old prized prospect, and in the meantime, Hunter Brzustewicz will hold his spot in the lineup. Parekh could return Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
Flames Place John Beecher On IR, Recall Zayne Parekh
The Calgary Flames announced two transactions today, placing forward John Beecher on injured reserve and recalling Zayne Parekh from his loan to the Canadian National Junior Team. The two moves keep the Flames at 23 players on their active roster.
The Flames announced that Beecher has suffered an upper-body injury and is expected to miss time on a week-to-week basis. Beecher suffered the injury during the Flames’ Jan. 3 loss to the Nashville Predators. Beecher earned a one-game suspension for roughing in that game, a suspension he served during the Flames’ game yesterday against the Kraken.
When he was last in the Flames’ lineup, Beecher was the team’s fourth-line center. He has two points in 19 games since the Flames claimed him off of waivers from the Boston Bruins, and he is averaging 9:38 time on ice per game. That includes just under 90 seconds per game of short-handed ice time.
This injury comes at an unfortunate time for Beecher, as he’s a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights. Presumably, he’s been playing out this season with the hopes of earning a spot in the Flames’ long-term plans.
With his size, faceoff ability (he posted a 53% faceoff win rate as a Bruin) and above-average speed, Beecher has many of the qualities teams want to see out of bottom-six centers. But so far in his career, the 2019 first-rounder hasn’t been able to firmly establish himself as a quality NHL defensive center.
The Flames, as well as Beecher, were likely hoping that a change of scenery away from Boston would help him take the next step in his career, but so far, that hasn’t really happened. This injury will only further decrease the odds that he’ll be able to take that step forward as a Flame.
As for Parekh, this move allows him to re-join the pro ranks after a solid run at the World Junior Championships. Parekh led the tournament in scoring by a defenseman with 13 points in just seven games. While the Canadians had to settle for a Bronze medal after falling to Czechia in the semifinals, the tournament nonetheless gave Parekh the opportunity to restore some confidence in his abilities as an offensive defenseman.
Widely seen as one of the most dynamic offensive defensemen prospects in the sport, Parekh only managed one point in 11 games after making the Flames out of camp. Parekh got used to scoring nearly two points per game during his days in the OHL, so getting the chance to once again compete against his peers could allow the 2024 No. 9 pick to return to the pro ranks ready to hit the ground running. The Flames, who rank No. 30 in the NHL in goals scored, could certainly stand to benefit if Parekh can find a way to translate his dynamic ability to the NHL level.
Flames Activate Zayne Parekh From IR, Recall Dryden Hunt
The Flames announced a pair of roster moves on Friday. Rookie defenseman Zayne Parekh was activated from injured reserve and subsequently loaned to Canada’s national junior team ahead of the 2026 World Junior Championship, which begins on Boxing Day in Minneapolis and St. Paul. They also added forward Dryden Hunt back to the active roster after reassigning him to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers yesterday – something they’re eligible to do because he played for the minor-league club last night.
Parekh, 19, is still finding his way in his first professional season. It’s unclear whether he’ll be added back to Calgary’s roster after the tournament or if they’ll opt to have him finish the season with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. He’s ineligible for a full-time AHL assignment this season as a teenage player under the NHL-CHL transfer agreement.
His underwhelming first few games in the NHL don’t change his stature as the Flames’ top prospect, though. Selected ninth overall in the 2024 draft, Parekh led the OHL in points by a defenseman in back-to-back seasons before making Calgary’s roster out of camp this fall. Last year, he became just the 15th defender in OHL history to record a 100-point season and the first since Ryan Ellis hit 101 in 2010-11. But through 11 appearances in Calgary after scoring in his debut in Game 82 last season, he was limited to one assist and only averaged 14:46 of ice time per game.
Whatever momentum Parekh had ground to a halt on Nov. 7 against the Blackhawks when he sustained an upper-body injury. He hasn’t played since. Instead of an AHL conditioning stint or a direct reinstatement, he’ll get his feet wet again in Canada’s WJC training camp over the next couple of weeks after he was one of the most notable tournament snubs in recent memory last year.
As for Hunt, the 30-year-old is settling into a role as Calgary’s 13th forward with Samuel Honzek out for the season and Martin Pospisil still stuck on injured reserve. The journeyman has found some stability in the Flames organization, now in his third year there after he was initially acquired from the Maple Leafs in 2023. He’s got an 18-36–54 scoring line in 237 games for his NHL career, but has suited up just seven times for the Flames since the beginning of 2024-25.
Nonetheless, he remains a reliable, no-fuss press box option who lights up the minors when he’s there. He had a two-assist performance with the Wranglers last night against Coachella Valley to give him 18 points in 16 games on the year, looking to lock in his second straight season at or above a point per game. While more intriguing names long-term, like Matvei Gridin and Rory Kerins, are also lighting up the AHL circuit, Hunt’s development isn’t going to be interrupted by long spells in the press box if he’s not needed in the lineup.
West Notes: Bjugstad, Parekh, Askarov
Blues center Nick Bjugstad will miss at least the next five days due to an upper-body injury, the team announced. The injury occurred in the second period of their game against Boston on Tuesday. The 33-year-old has had a quiet start to his career in St. Louis, putting up just four goals and one assist through 25 games while splitting time between down the middle and on the wing. The oddly specific timeframe isn’t quite enough to make Bjugstad eligible for injured reserve at this time as that requires a minimum of a seven-day absence. However, should the team determine that he’ll be out for a little bit longer, they’ll be able to backdate the placement if they need to put him on there to open up a roster spot.
More from out West:
- Flames defenseman Zayne Parekh has been cleared for contact, notes Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun (Twitter link). The rookie has missed more than a month due to an upper-body injury. However, it’s unlikely to be Calgary who immediately benefits from his return to health since Parekh will soon be joining Canada’s entry for the upcoming World Juniors. If he doesn’t go to their camp right away, he’d be eligible for a conditioning assignment with AHL Calgary, somewhere he’s ineligible to play for this season on a full-time basis.
- Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov didn’t play last night due to illness but he has rejoined the team at the next stop of their road trip in Toronto, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. As expected, it has been an up-and-down year for San Jose’s top goalie prospect but he has posted a respectable 3.14 GAA with a .901 SV% in 19 starts so far. The Sharks used an EBUG as the backup on Tuesday in Philadelphia and the fact no netminder has been recalled since suggests they expect Askarov will at least be able to serve as the backup on Thursday.
Pacific Notes: Oilers, Walman, Poehling, Parekh
It has been a consistently inconsistent season for the Oilers who have shown flashes of dominance at times and have struggled mightily at others. The end result has been a middling 9-9-5 record to start the campaign. Despite that, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic suggests (Twitter link) that management isn’t quite ready to start making moves yet and would like to get closer to the 30-game mark which would allow them to ideally have a healthier roster to help them better assess what they need to do. More specifically, the better assessment might be what they can afford to do as they’ve been operating in LTIR all season and will have very limited cap space when the team is fully healthy, putting them in a money-in, money-out situation when it comes to the trade market.
More from the Pacific:
- Still with the Oilers, defenseman Jake Walman is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, notes team reporter Tony Brar (Twitter link). Head coach Kris Knoblauch suggested that the blueliner should be back within a week, meaning an IR placement is unlikely. Walman is in his first full season with Edmonton after being acquired near the trade deadline last season and has been impactful, collecting 10 points in 17 games while logging a little more than 20 minutes per night of ice time.
- Ducks center Ryan Poehling took to the ice today for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury a week and a half ago. However, it will still be a little while before he’s cleared to return as head coach Joel Quenneville told reporters, including Derek Lee of The Hockey News, that the earliest that Poehling could return is next weekend. The 26-year-old is in his first season with Anaheim and had a goal and five assists in 16 games prior to the injury.
- Flames defenseman Zayne Parekh has resumed skating as he works his way back from an upper-body injury, relays Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike (Twitter link). He has missed the last couple of weeks due to the injury and even if he’s cleared to return sooner than later, he won’t be with the team for long as he has already been confirmed to be going to the World Juniors if healthy by then. Parekh is in his first full professional season after recently surpassing the nine-game threshold and has an assist in 11 outings so far while averaging a little less than 15 minutes per night of playing time.
Flames Will Loan Zayne Parekh To Team Canada For World Juniors
Flames defenseman Zayne Parekh will be on Canada’s roster for the World Junior Championship when it’s announced in December, Eric Francis of Sportsnet reports. First, he’ll need to recover from the upper-body injury that’s kept him out since Nov. 7 and has him listed as week-to-week.
Parekh has already been ruled out through the Flames’ ongoing road trip, Francis writes, but the team is targeting an early December return for their 2024 ninth overall pick. They have a four-game homestand to kick off the month and will look to get him into a couple of those games before letting him join the Canadian national junior team, which commences its camp in Niagara Falls on Dec. 12. He’s also eligible for a conditioning stint with AHL Calgary as a result of his missed time, something Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 reports is under consideration.
The ultimate deadline for Parekh’s inclusion on the Canadian roster is Dec. 20, though, according to Francis. Even if Parekh can’t get on the ice before then, that would at least leave him enough time to get into a couple of exhibition games in Minneapolis and St. Paul, the host cities of this year’s WJC.
The injury has dotted what’s been a trying adjustment to pro hockey for Parekh. As a result of the 19-year-old being ineligible for a full-time assignment to the AHL, he’s been stuck operating as a No. 6/7 piece on the Flames’ NHL roster and hasn’t gotten extended playing time. He was a healthy scratch on multiple occasions before sustaining his injury. He was only averaging 14:46 of ice time per game when in the lineup, limiting him to one assist through 11 appearances.
Calgary’s only other option was to send him back to junior hockey for the remainder of the season. That was never something the Flames were seriously considering, though. Parekh has won back-to-back OHL defense scoring crowns with the Saginaw Spirit, putting up back-to-back 33-goal seasons from the blue line and logging 107 points in just 61 games last season. But depending on the state of their defense after Parekh returns from the World Juniors, letting him finish the season in Saginaw – where he’ll at least get back to playing top-pairing minutes – might be a better outcome for his readiness heading into training camp next fall.
Flames Recall Daniil Miromanov, Place Zayne Parekh On IR
6:00 p.m.: Huska provided some more clarity regarding Parekh’s timeline today, according to Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike. Huska told the media that Parekh’s injury is considered “week-to-week.” Pike also noted that while Parekh is on injured reserve, games played by the Flames will still “count” for Parekh regarding the 40-game threshold that would see him accrue a year of service time towards unrestricted free agency.
While there’s still a long way to go before the Flames have to begin seriously thinking about any looming UFA status for Parekh, who is just 19 years old, Parekh’s UFA timeline could come into play in future extension talks. It is generally viewed as more expensive for a team to sign a contract covering a year where a player would be eligible for unrestricted free agency compared to restricted free agency. As a result, even though any unrestricted free agency for the player seems to be far away at this point, it is still an aspect of this injury news that is notable.
11:57 a.m.: After losing defenseman Zayne Parekh to an upper-body injury last night against Chicago, the Flames are bringing up a replacement for him. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled blueliner Daniil Miromanov from AHL Calgary. To make room on the roster, Parekh was placed on injured reserve.
Miromanov broke camp with the Flames but playing time was rather difficult to come by as he was in the number eight role. As a result, he was placed on waivers a little under three weeks ago and after clearing, he was sent to the Wranglers. In seven games with them so far, the 28-year-old has done relatively well, picking up a goal and three assists.
Miromanov has 94 career NHL games under his belt, one coming this season. He got into a career-best 44 games with the Flames in 2024-25 where he had nine points and 55 blocked shots while averaging 17:41 per night. In the final season of a two-year, $2.5MM deal, he’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and might be staring down a possible salary reduction.
As for Parekh, head coach Ryan Huska told reporters postgame including Postmedia’s Daniel Austin that the rookie was set to miss some time, even though they don’t yet know the full extent of the injury. With this placement, he’ll be out for at least one week. Parekh recently officially began the first season of his entry-level contract once he eclipsed the nine-game mark and has one assist in 11 outings in 2025-26 while playing a little under 15 minutes a night.
Rookie Notes: Parekh, Connelly, Henry, Spellacy
As expected, given the reporting from a few days ago, Wes Gilberton of Postmedia confirmed that Calgary Flames’ top prospect, Zayne Parekh, will not participate in the team’s rookie camp for precautionary reasons. Parekh has reportedly been dealing with a nagging lower-body injury that has lasted for much of the summer.
The expectation is that Parekh will be ready for the start of the Flames’ training camp in a few days, suggesting he is in the latter half of his recovery. Still, it would significantly impact Calgary’s defensive core if Parekh’s injury continues to limit him during training camp, as he aims to make the Flames’ opening night roster.
Drafted with the 9th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Parekh has not only solidified his positioning as the Flames’ top prospect, but is considered one of, if not the best, defensive prospects not currently a full-time NHLer. Before making his debut with the Flames at the end of last season, Parekh put together a pair of rather ridiculous seasons with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, scoring 66 goals and 203 points in 127 games with a +81 rating, with another four goals and 20 points in 18 postseason contests.
Additional rookie notes:
- In an unfortunate update for the Vegas Golden Knights, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that prospect Trevor Connelly is not with the team for the opening of rookie camp. Webster reminds that Connelly suffered a leg injury earlier this summer at the World Juniors showcase, likely leading to his absence from the team’s rookie camp. There haven’t been any updates regarding Connelly’s availability for the team’s training camp, though he was likely destined to start with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, regardless.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have already lost one defenseman from the team’s rookie camp. According to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, defenseman Ty Henry went down with a supposed knee injury during today’s practice, leading to his departure from the ice. Chicago selected Henry with the 163rd overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, and he spent last year with the OHL’s Erie Otters, scoring one goal and 17 points in 63 games with a -5 rating.
- As it turns out, the Blackhawks almost lost another player from rookie camp. Pope originally reported that forward prospect A.J. Spellacy also left the team’s practice after being accidentally cut by Aidan Thompson‘s skate. Fortunately, it appears that the cut only required minor repairs, as Tracey Myers of NHL.com updated that Spellacy had returned to practice.
Flames Notes: Wolf, Andersson, Parekh
The Flames announced a seven-year, $52.5MM extension for premier young netminder Dustin Wolf this morning ahead of the final season of his entry-level contract. The deal, which carries a cap hit of $7.5MM, will make him among the league’s 10 highest-paid goalies when it takes effect in 2026-27.
Now, PuckPedia has the full breakdown of the contract. The deal will be paid out almost entirely in base salary, with only one up-front $2MM signing bonus in the first year. That will be paired with a $6MM base salary to give him $8MM in total compensation out of the gate. From 2027-28 through 2031-32, he’ll earn an even $7.5MM per year. The difference between his first-year compensation and the $7.5MM average annual value will be made up in the contract’s final year in 2032-33, when he’ll take a small pay cut to $7MM.
Wolf’s deal also includes relatively limited trade protection. He’s not eligible for it until 2028-29, when he’d otherwise be eligible for unrestricted free agency. From that point forward, he’ll have a 10-team no-trade list, but no full movement protection is included in the deal.
There’s more out of Calgary today:
- While all parties have acknowledged pending UFA Rasmus Andersson will be traded at some point this season, the defender rebuked claims over the offseason that he was only willing to extend with one team – believed to be the Golden Knights. That would obviously have handcuffed Calgary from moving him elsewhere or even landing market value from Vegas, something Andersson said he’d never do, according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960.
- Top defense prospect Zayne Parekh isn’t fully recovered from the lower-body injury he sustained earlier this summer, general manager Craig Conroy told Steinberg. “The hope is that he’ll be ready for training camp,” Conroy said, indicating he likely won’t participate in any rookie camp activities in the days leading up to full camp beginning at the end of next week. He did skate today, Conroy confirmed, a welcome sign ahead of a pivotal camp that could lead to him carving out a roster spot. The 2024 No. 9 overall pick scored in his NHL debut last year and has led the OHL in scoring among defensemen in back-to-back years, although he’s still ineligible for a full-time assignment to AHL Calgary.
West Notes: Oilers, Parekh, Nielsen
While a significant chunk of extension speculation surrounding the Oilers involves Connor McDavid, there are other notables also entering the final year of their respective contracts, highlighted by defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Jake Walman along with their goaltending tandem. Earlier this week in an appearance on Oilers Now (audio link), GM Stan Bowman indicated that there have been a couple of preliminary talks with the agents for some of their pending UFAs and that he feels those discussions will pick up over the next six weeks or so to see if there’s something that lines up for both sides heading into training camp. Edmonton has around $45MM in cap room for 2026-27 per PuckPedia, with a big chunk of that earmarked for McDavid’s next contract. However, there will still be ample space for them to re-up some of their other key expiring deals while still allowing for a bit of flexibility to reshape their roster next summer.
More from out West:
- Earlier this week, the Flames announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Zayne Parekh wouldn’t take part in the World Junior Summer Showcase due to a lower-body injury. However, the injury isn’t believed to be significant and he’s expected to be a full participant in training camp. The 19-year-old scored in his NHL debut back in April and has tallied 33 goals in each of the last two seasons at the OHL level while amassing 203 points between 2023-24 and 2024-25. He’s still ineligible to play in the AHL but his offensive production with OHL Saginaw should give him a real chance to make Calgary’s roster in the fall.
- The Avalanche’s AHL affiliate has announced the signing of forward Tristen Nielsen to a one-year deal. The 25-year-old became an unrestricted free agent after being non-tendered by Vancouver back in June. Nielsen spent last season with AHL Abbotsford and was a capable secondary scorer, notching 15 goals and 13 assists in 67 regular season games while chipping in with nine points in 24 playoff contests on the way to their Calder Cup title.