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Late Night Notes: Tanev, Makar, Wutzke

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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev was taken out of Saturday night’s game on a stretcher, following a collision with Philadelphia Flyers winger Matvei Michkov halfway through the third period. It wasn’t clear exactly where Tanev took the bump, though he was fitted with a head immobilizer.

It is a terrible outcome in what was meant to be Tanev’s first full game back from a previous injury. He was activated off of injured reserve earlier on Saturday, after missing 11 days and four games with a concussion sustained on October 21st.

Tanev remained a core part of Toronto’s blue-line prior to his October 21st injury. His plus-three through seven games is the second-highest among Toronto defenders. He also leads the blue-line with four takeaways on the year.

Toronto could be pushed to recall Dakota Mermis, who was assigned to the AHL to make room for Tanev’s return. Mermis has no scoring through one appearance in the NHL, and two in the AHL, this season. He could continue to fit outside the lineup, should Toronto continue leaning on Philippe Myers and Simon Benoit in a nightly role.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have assigned forward Taylor Makar to the AHL. Makar made his NHL debut on Saturday. He posted one hit and no shots in just six minutes of action. The night was also Taylor’s first chance to play alongside brother Cale Makar at the NHL rank. Despite playing for the same junior and college programs, the two hadn’t formally played together, largely thanks to Cale being three years Taylor’s senior. With this move, the younger Makar will now return to the AHL ranks, where he’s already accrued four points and 14 penalty minutes in nine games. He’s playing through his rookie AHL season, after earning a five-game sample in the league following the end of his senior year last season.
  • Minnesota Wild goalie prospect Chase Wutzke has been traded in the WHL. He moved from the Red Deer Rebels to the Moose Jaw Warriors in a lofty trade – with one first-round, two second-round, one third-round, and two fourth-round draft picks headed back to Red Deer. Wutzke will bring starting upside to the Warriors. He’s posted a .889 save percentage in nine games so far this season, a that mark sits above both of Moose Jaw’s goaltenders. That should earn Wutzke the starter’s crease sooner rather than later, and give Moose Jaw one more piece to help push towards a long season.

William Nylander Out Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury

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The Toronto Maple Leafs announced tonight that star forward William Nylander would miss their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with a lower-body injury, and is considered day-to-day. That Nylander is managing a lower-body injury isn’t a new development; he was previously reported to be a game-time decision for the team’s game yesterday against the Calgary Flames, and the Swedish star ultimately played in that game. He wasn’t able to play tonight against Columbus, though, dealing a significant blow to the Maple Leafs’ hopes of winning the game.

Nylander has been the Maple Leafs’ best player so far this season, leading the club in scoring with 15 points in just nine games played. The offseason departure of Mitch Marner turned up the pressure on Nylander to keep the Maple Leafs’ high-powered offense running, and so far he’s done so, picking up the slack as captain Auston Matthews (eight points through 10 games) navigates a slower-than-usual start to the season. The injury that has kept him out of tonight’s game appears to be a relatively minor one, which is certainly good news for a Toronto team that will need Nylander on the ice if they’re going to build momentum in the Atlantic Division playoff race.

Injury Notes: Wood, Bogosian, Nylander

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Blue Jackets winger Miles Wood will be in the lineup versus the Sabres on Tuesday, head coach Dean Evason said. It’s Wood’s first outing in over two weeks after leaving an Oct. 13 game against the Devils because of a stick to the eye. He never landed on injured reserve, in part due to Columbus carrying a bare-bones roster to start the year, but was ruled out for at least a week by the team anyway at the time of the injury. It was a significant injury that caused Wood to experience remarkably inhibited vision for multiple days due to blood in his eye. However, he underwent testing last week after it cleared, which indicated he avoided any permanent damage.

The 30-year-old had a goal and two hits in his first three games as a Blue Jacket after he was acquired from the Avalanche over the summer. Zach Aston-Reese will be scratched to accommodate Wood re-entering the lineup alongside Isac Lundeström and Yegor Chinakhov, Evason said. It will be Aston-Reese’s first scratch of the young season; Chinakhov started the season as the extra forward before Wood’s injury created an opening for him in the lineup.

There are more injury notes from around the league:

  • Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian’s status has been downgraded from day-to-day to week-to-week, head coach John Hynes said Tuesday (via Joe Smith of The Athletic). Minnesota already placed Bogosian on injured reserve last week, so he’s eligible to return at any time, but it doesn’t appear they’re going to need to worry about activating him soon. After a decent start to the season in bottom-pairing duties, the 15-year veteran sustained a lower-body injury against the Capitals on Oct. 17 and has now missed five games. Bogosian posted a plus-three rating with nine blocks and six hits in five games before landing on IR, controlling 48.2% of shot attempts at even strength in the process.
  • Maple Leafs star William Nylander remains a game-time decision ahead of tonight’s game against the Flames, per head coach Craig Berube (via Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun). Nylander was banged up with a lower-body issue last Friday against the Sabres and was a late scratch for the second half of their back-to-back with Buffalo after taking warmups. The 29-year-old, now in his 11th season, still leads the team with 11 assists, 14 points, and five takeaways through eight games.

Injury Notes: Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, Blackhawks, Sharks

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Carolina Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News that K’Andre Miller could be back shortly, however, Jaccob Slavin could be absent for “a while”. Miller has not played since October 20th, but has been off to a great start in his Carolina tenure with four points in six games. Meanwhile, Slavin was placed on IR last week with a lower-body injury, appearing in the Canes’ first two games before going back down. The ailment has bothered the star defenseman throughout October, and the team has been vague on further details. 

Carolina has been great so far despite missing both defensemen, with a 6-2-0 record. Based on Brind’Amour’s comments, it seems a real possibility Miller could be all set when his Hurricanes go to Madison Square Garden to take on the Rangers next week, after an offseason blockbuster sent the talented 25-year-old to Carolina. 

Elsewhere across the league:

  • Nick Barden of The Hockey News Toronto updated earlier today that William Nylander and Calle Jarnkrok could play versus Calgary tomorrow, as both are dealing with lower-body injuries. Additionally, veterans Scott Laughton and Chris Tanev could rejoin the team later in the week ahead of Saturday’s tilt in Philadelphia. Nylander, who missed just his second regular season game since 2020-21, has dazzled with 14 points in 8 games so far. Laughton was injured in the preseason and has yet to debut in 2025-26, as he looks to get more comfortable as a Leaf, having put up just 4 points in 20 regular season games after being traded to Toronto. 
  • Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times shared this morning that two Blackhawks veterans, Ilya Mikheyev and Tyler Bertuzzi, did not appear at practice. Mikheyev left Sunday’s game versus Los Angeles after crashing hard into the boards. Thankfully, he is considered day-to-day as it appears a more serious issue was avoided. Meanwhile, Bertuzzi missed yesterday’s game altogether, and is also thought to be day-to-day. Chicago hosts Ottawa tomorrow, and they will hope to have their wingers back before long, as they try to stay above the .500 mark. 
  • Sunday’s big shootout win for the Sharks at Minnesota came at a cost, as Adam Gaudette left due to an upper body injury and did not return, as per the team. His status is unknown as San Jose hosts their in-state rival the Kings tomorrow night. The 29-year-old center has 3 goals in 9 games. 

Calle Järnkrok Listed As Questionable With Lower-Body Injury

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  • According to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun, forward Calle Järnkrok is questionable for the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow night due to a lower-body injury. Järnkrok missed the team’s practice today and has dealt with lower-body injuries over the past few years. He’s registered three goals in eight games for the Maple Leafs this season, but has already sustained a -5 rating in the team’s middle-six.

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Maple Leafs Reassign Dennis Hildeby

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10/26/2025: As was expected due to the nature of yesterday’s call-up, the Maple Leafs announced Sunday morning that they reassigned Hildeby back to the AHL. Hildeby  backed up Primeau for the team’s 4-3 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres yesterday, and now returns to the AHL, where he’s expected to spend most of the season.

In Hildeby’s absence, Artur Akhtyamov started the Marlies’ game yesterday, saving 19 of 23 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Belleville Senators.

10/25/2025: Heading into the back half of a back-to-back set against Buffalo, the Maple Leafs have added some extra goalie depth.  The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Dennis Hildeby has been recalled from AHL Toronto.

With Joseph Woll away from the team to start the season, it looked as if the 24-year-old would serve as the backup for Anthony Stolarz.  However, when they claimed Cayden Primeau off waivers at the end of training camp, that was the end of that idea as instead, Hildeby was sent down to the Marlies while Primeau served as the backup.

Hildeby hasn’t received much playing time with the Marlies either, getting into just two games where he has allowed just two goals on 53 shots.  Toronto has played just four AHL games in the early going with Hildeby splitting time with prospect Vyacheslav Peksa.

There isn’t a notable injury situation between the pipes for the Maple Leafs as instead, the plan is to simply give Stolarz a rest day after a heavy workload to start the season in Woll’s absence.  Toronto doesn’t have an open roster spot so it appears they’re using a CBA exception that allows them to bring up an extra goalie as a 24th player.  It’s something that can only be used twice in a season and for a maximum of 48 hours each time so Hildeby’s time with the big club will be short-lived as he’ll likely be sent back down following the game or sometime on Sunday.

Maple Leafs Attempted Summer Trade Of Nicholas Robertson

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Winger Nicholas Robertson will serve as a healthy scratch for the first time this season when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Robertson’s move out of the lineup comes after he recorded just one assist, and a minus-four, through the first four games of Toronto’s season. He’ll be replaced by rookie winger Easton Cowan, once again sparking concerns over Robertson’s ability to stick in the everyday lineup.

Those worries have led to plenty of trade rumors in the past. Now, it’s been revealed that the Leafs tried to bring those rumors to fruition this summer by offering Robertson to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for fellow trade-block winger Yegor Chinakhov, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in the latest 32 Thoughts article.

The move was ultimately rejected – for good reason. Chinakhov is a former first-round selection, going 21st-overall to Columbus in a shocking move at the 2020 NHL Draft. He’s since racked up 34 goals and 72 points in 178 games in the NHL. His best year so far came in 2023-24, when he scored 16 goals and 29 points in 53 games. Those numbers trump Robertson in both longevity and peak. A former second-round pick, Robertson has since recorded 57 points in 163 NHL games, with a single-season high of 27 points in 56 games also recorded in 2023-24.

Looking beyond the stats still favors Chinakhov in a direct matchup. Both players are volume shooters who don’t rack up many hits, blocks, or takeaways – but Chinakhov’s 6-foo-1, 200-pound frame helps him win space more frequently than the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Robertson. That imbalance would likely force Toronto to include an added incentive to swap the two wingers, which could have been the barrier that ended trade talks. Chinakhov also walked back his requests for a trade after a conversation with first-year Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason.

While news of a rejected trade won’t help Toronto moving forward, it does make the vision around Robertson’s market a bit clearer. He isn’t tempting enough to sit at the same value as other struggling, young wingers – surely in part thanks to his struggles to hold a nightly role. As he heads back to the press box for the first time this season, the Maple Leafs will no doubt continue their search for a change of scenery for their depth shooter. Robertson has averaged 16 goals and 29 points per 82 games played – modest numbers should if he can maintain them through an 82-game season.

Joseph Woll Returning To Maple Leafs From Personal Leave

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The Maple Leafs announced Friday that goaltender Joseph Woll will begin the return-to-play process after missing more than a month while on personal leave. He was retroactively placed on long-term injured reserve yesterday and will remain there until the club’s doctors clear him to return to game action.

Woll took an indefinite leave of absence to deal with a family matter less than a week into training camp. He never entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program during his absence, so his return can be managed entirely at the team’s discretion. The team clarified at the time that Woll’s absence was not substance-abuse related but did not issue any further comment.

Having Woll’s return on the horizon is a welcome sight. The Maple Leafs haven’t gotten great performances out of starter Anthony Stolarz or waiver claim Cayden Primeau in his absence. Stolarz has seemingly struggled with a higher-than-normal workload, starting six of seven with a 2-3-1 record, .894 SV%, and 3.01 GAA. Those below-average numbers translate to a similarly unimpressive -1.6 goals saved above expected figure, per MoneyPuck. That’s still not as subpar as the -1.7 GSAx that Primeau put up in his lone appearance, a 7-4 win over the Predators on Oct. 14 that saw him allow four goals on 30 shots.

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Woll has yet to have a below-average showing in any of his four NHL seasons. He was especially excellent last year, starting a career-high 41 games with a 27-14-1 record, .909 SV%, 2.73 GAA, and 16.8 GSAx. He was 11th in the league in that latter stat, proving his three-year, $11MM extension he signed in 2024 to be one of the better-value deals among goaltenders.

Getting that type of play out of Woll in his return would help buoy a Maple Leafs club that’s struggled on both sides of the puck to begin 2025-26. The team ranks in the bottom half of the league in both shots for and shots against per game, although above-average finishing still has them scoring 3.43 goals per game for 10th in the NHL.

Maple Leafs Shift Woll From IR To LTIR

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  • PuckPedia noted today that the Toronto Maple Leafs shifted injured netminder Joseph Woll from standard injured reserve to long-term injured reserve (LTIR). Puckpedia also noted that after their recall of defenseman Dakota Mermis today, the club has $3.63MM in cap space remaining with 23 healthy players on its roster. Woll took a personal leave of absence in September, and no further update on his status has been provided, nor has there been any further reporting on the matter. Today’s roster move does suggest the Maple Leafs could be without Woll for some time, though. The 27-year-old was expected to share a tandem with Anthony Stolarz this season after putting together a solid 2024-25, a year where he posted a .909 save percentage in 42 games. Woll’s absence prompted the club to claim Cayden Primeau off of waivers before the season, and Primeau has won his only start as a Maple Leaf thus far – a 7-4 victory on Oct. 14 in which Primeau saved 26 of 30 shots.
  • Former Maple Leafs GM and Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee Brendan Shanahan has taken up a role with the NHL’s Hockey Operations department, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. Dreger added that he “would expect Shanahan would be a leading candidate if a team makes a significant change and an opportunity presents to lead another NHL club.” There is a precedent for such a move – Ken Holland worked for the league office for a relatively brief period before his hire as GM of the Los Angeles Kings. This isn’t the first time Shanahan, who ran the Maple Leafs’ hockey operations department for 11 years, has worked for the league office: he previously served as head of the NHL’s Department of Player Safety from 2011-12 through 2013-14.

Maple Leafs Place Chris Tanev On Injured Reserve

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The Maple Leafs announced they’ve placed right-shot defender Chris Tanev on injured reserve, retroactive to the club’s 5-2 loss to the Devils on Tuesday. Tanev is dealing with an upper-body injury and will be ineligible for the next three games at a minimum. Lefty Dakota Mermis was called up from the AHL to take Tanev’s spot on the active roster.

Tanev is no stranger to injuries, although he’s had a healthy run in the past few years, playing 70-plus games in three of the last four seasons. Today’s news doesn’t necessarily put that mark in jeopardy. Head coach Craig Berube only called Tanev questionable for Friday’s game against the Sabres when he spoke yesterday and said he was feeling better. While he obviously won’t be playing now, it indicates he’s not expected to miss much time past the seven-day minimum.

Tanev, 36 in December, only logged 5:57 of ice time against New Jersey before leaving the contest. Early in the second period, he was on the receiving end of incidental head-to-head contact with Devils forward Dawson Mercer during a net-front scrum and immediately headed to the locker room (video via TSN). Removing that outlier from the figure, Tanev is averaging around 19:40 of ice time per game – right at the mark he saw last year, his first in Toronto. The 16-year vet landed with the Leafs in free agency in 2024 on a six-year, $27MM pact and has been a top-four fixture ever since. He’s spent most of that time on a pairing with Jake McCabe. The duo is controlling 45.9% of expected goals through seven games, per MoneyPuck, yet they’re still outscoring opponents 3-2 at 5-on-5. That’s down sharply from their 55.1% mark last year, which ranked 14th among 41 pairings to log at least 600 minutes together in 2024-25.

On the scoresheet, the Toronto native had one assist, a plus-three rating, and two hits through seven outings. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has been playing on his off side in third-pairing duties with Simon Benoit, will be the leading candidate to replace Tanev in top-four duties alongside McCabe for the next few games.

It’s unclear if Mermis will get a shot in the lineup. Toronto has been carrying righty Philippe Myers as a healthy extra since the start of the season, but he hasn’t played. Losing a righty to injury would seemingly give the edge to Myers to make his season debut in Buffalo tomorrow.

Mermis, 31, comes up after clearing waivers late in training camp. He re-upped with the Leafs this summer on a two-year, league minimum contract after initially signing a one-year deal with Toronto in 2024. He spent a brief chunk of last season in Utah after they claimed him off waivers, but Toronto grabbed him back when he was exposed on the wire again. He got into four NHL showings, three of which were with the Leafs, with one assist and a minus-two rating. He has 78 career games since debuting with the Coyotes back in 2017-18, carrying a 4-9–13 scoring line with a plus-three rating while averaging 14:30 per game.

Mermis can remain on Toronto’s active roster for up to 30 nonconsecutive days or play 10 games until he needs to clear waivers again to return to the AHL. He’s without a point in two minor-league games to begin the season but has a plus-two rating.

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