Maple Leafs Place Max Pacioretty On IR With Lower-Body Injury
The Maple Leafs have placed winger Max Pacioretty on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury, per a team announcement. Pacioretty sustained the injury, which appeared to affect his left hamstring, after he fell awkwardly following a cross-check from Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson on Saturday.
He’s listed as week-to-week, a positive sign given that he needed help getting to the locker room after exiting the ice. As David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period notes, that timeline indicates it’s a pulled hamstring rather than a tear, which could have sidelined him for the rest of the season. As such, it’ll likely be a simple rehabilitation period for Pacioretty over the next few weeks without involving anything surgical.
That’s a welcome bit of news for Pacioretty, who’s been under the knife more than his fair share over the past few years. A pair of Achilles tears and a trio of surgeries limited him to 52 appearances over the last two seasons with the Hurricanes and Capitals. A PTO signing by the Leafs late in the summer, a successful training camp earned him a one-year, $1.5MM contract at the beginning of the month – one that likely had been agreed to in principle throughout his tryout.
Thus far, it’s been a worthy gamble from Leafs general manager Brad Treliving. Through 13 games, Pacioretty had two goals and four assists, although he’d gone without a point in his past five. He’d been scratched on a couple of occasions earlier in the season for load management purposes, although he’d played in eight straight games before getting hurt. Pacioretty had also worked his way up Toronto’s left-wing depth chart, recently skating in second-line minutes alongside John Tavares and William Nylander.
Pacioretty’s absence makes the recent reinstatement of Connor Dewar from long-term injured reserve all the more important. The 25-year-old was scratched against Montreal, but with Pacioretty unavailable, he’ll likely make his season debut tomorrow against the Senators, especially if captain Auston Matthews remains out with his upper-body injury. That’s possible after Matthews did not participate in today’s practice, per David Alter of The Hockey News.
The Maple Leafs will likely use Pacioretty’s vacated roster spot to activate defenseman Jani Hakanpää from LTIR. At the beginning of the month, he and Dewar both headed down to AHL Toronto on conditioning loans after offseason surgeries. While their activation didn’t come simultaneously, multiple reports indicate that Hakanpää was at practice with the NHL club this morning, signaling his Maple Leafs debut likely isn’t far away. They’ll have enough cap space, albeit by less than $500K, to remain compliant with Calle Järnkrok and Dakota Mermis still on LTIR. However, they’ll still need to free up roster spots when Matthews and Pacioretty are ready to return from their respective IR stints.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Penguins Recall Samuel Poulin
The Penguins announced that they have recalled right-winger Samuel Poulin from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Center Kevin Hayes was transferred to injured reserve to open an active roster spot.
Poulin, now 23, was Pittsburgh’s first-round selection in the 2019 draft. They selected him 21st overall, a tad higher than the consensus at the time, ahead of names like Connor McMichael and Shane Pinto. He’d been taken second overall in the QMJHL Entry Draft by the Sherbrooke Phoenix just two years prior, and he’d started his major junior career on the right foot with 45 goals, 76 assists, and 121 points through 122 appearances over two seasons before being plucked by the Penguins.
After another two years of high-end offensive performances in the Q, Poulin turned pro and began the 2021-22 season on assignment to WBS. Injuries and a lengthy leave of absence to focus on his mental health have limited his games played and overall performance significantly since then, though. 2022-23 was a low point – while he did make his NHL debut that season amid a three-game call-up, he was limited to just four goals in 15 AHL contests. Last year, though, he seemed to gain some traction back with 31 points (16 G, 15 A) in 41 appearances with the Baby Pens, the best point-per-game showing of his AHL career by a wide margin.
In 2024-25, Poulin was waiver-eligible for the first time, leading to a fair amount of speculation that he’d make the team out of camp purely out of fear of losing him on the wire. That didn’t happen, though, and Poulin cleared waivers without incident in early October and began the season back in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He’s got three goals and six assists for nine points in his first 11 games, tying him for second in scoring.
Poulin now looks to see NHL ice for the third year in a row after three-game showings in each of the last two seasons. In those combined six appearances, he has one assist, a -4 rating, four shots on goal and eight hits while going 13-for-29 on draws and averaging 8:53 per game. He’s no longer among the league’s top 100 prospects, but McKeen’s Hockey still ranks him as the seventh-best up-and-comer in the Pens’ system. He can remain on Pittsburgh’s roster for up to 30 days or play 10 games before he requires waivers again to head back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
As for Hayes, he was downgraded to week-to-week yesterday with an upper-body injury. The IR placement only rules him out for tonight’s game against the Stars, but he’ll miss more time than that.
Hurricanes Recall Tyson Jost And Ty Smith
As their West Coast road trip continues, the Hurricanes have added a pair of reinforcements. The team announced that they’ve recalled center Tyson Jost and defenseman Ty Smith from AHL Chicago.
Jost signed a one-year, $775K one-way deal with Carolina on the opening day of free agency after being non-tendered by Buffalo, giving him guaranteed NHL money and the Hurricanes an experienced center. However, he failed to make the opening roster and cleared waivers last month, getting sent to the Wolves soon after. The 26-year-old has played in eight games in the minors so far this season, picking up a goal and two assists. For his career, Jost has 140 points in 456 career NHL appearances between Colorado, Minnesota, and Buffalo.
As for Smith, it’s his second stint with the big club this season after spending ten days up with Carolina last month but didn’t see any game action. The 24-year-old has played in three games with the Wolves so far in 2024-25, picking up a pair of assists. The Hurricanes acquired Smith last season at the trade deadline as part of the Jake Guentzel trade but left him with Pittsburgh’s farm team, meaning this is his first year in their system. Smith has 123 career NHL games under his belt with 47 points, the bulk of those coming a few years ago while with New Jersey.
With Carolina sending down Spencer Martin today (at least on a paper transaction), Carolina’s active roster currently stands at 22 players.
Blue Jackets Claim Dante Fabbro Off Waivers From Predators
2:15 PM: Columbus has moved Kent Johnson to injured reserve to make space for this waiver claim, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. Johnson hasn’t played since suffering a shoulder injury on October 17th. Columbus will be able to make this IR placement retroactive to that date, making this move purely a paper transaction and Johnson eligible to return as soon as he’s back to full health.
1:00 PM: The Blue Jackets have claimed defenseman Dante Fabbro off waivers from the Predators, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Columbus’ assignment of Kent Johnson to IR opens the roster spot to make this possible.
Fabbro, a 6’0″ right-shot defender who was a first-round pick out of Boston University in 2016, is now in his seventh NHL season and had been a fringe top-four option for most of his time in Nashville. But after signing a one-year, $2.5MM extension in March to keep him off last summer’s restricted free-agent market, Fabbro tumbled down the Preds’ depth chart and was a healthy scratch in five straight games before landing on waivers yesterday.
In hindsight, 2023-24 marked the writing on the wall for Fabbro’s tenure in Nashville. He was a healthy scratch on more than a few occasions last season, too, only making 56 appearances and averaging a career-low 16:21 when in the lineup. This year, Fabbro went scoreless in six games with a -3 rating and set a new career-low with a 13:06 ATOI before hitting the waiver wire.
Some thought Fabbro’s $2.5MM cap hit meant teams would stray away from submitting claims, but Columbus has the second most cap space in the league, at $22.92MM, per PuckPedia. It’s not a challenge to fit him on the roster financially, although they now carry eight defensemen. With Erik Gudbranson potentially out for the rest of the season after shoulder surgery last month, there likely won’t be a ton of roster movement regarding Columbus’ back end from here on out unless more injuries strike.
Fabbro’s addition does give the Jackets another experienced name on the back end, and he has decent career possession numbers with a 50.0 CF% and 49.5 xGF% at even strength. However, his presence on the roster means additional competition for 20-year-old right-shot defender David Jiříček, who’s been a healthy scratch for all but five games this season and has averaged under 12 minutes per game in the lineup. It’s not a promising sign for his development after Columbus selected him sixth overall in 2022.
Since Nov. 1 is in the rearview mirror, waiver priority is determined by reserve standings order in terms of points percentage. That means the Canadiens, Sharks, Blackhawks, Ducks, Flyers, Kraken, and Penguins all passed on Fabbro.
Snapshots: Tynan, Prishchepov, Quenneville, Ahcan
The Avalanche reversed a pair of paper transactions, recalling forwards T.J. Tynan and Nikita Prishchepov from AHL Colorado ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Hurricanes.
With the moves, Colorado is back to having a full 23-man active roster. The injury fill-ins have been frequently shuttled between the NHL over the past week-plus, in Tynan’s case, delaying his temporary waiver exemption.
The 32-year-old Tynan has made four appearances for the Avs while they remain without the services of Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, Jonathan Drouin, Ross Colton, and Miles Wood. Arguably the AHL’s top playmaker of the past decade, he’s still yet to make much of an impact at the NHL level. That hasn’t changed this season, as Tynan has gone without a point and is averaging only 8:24 per game.
Prishchepov, 20, is also looking for his first point of the season. It’s unsurprising – a seventh-round pick just a few months ago, the Russian pivot is making his first NHL appearances way ahead of schedule and out of necessity, given Colorado’s injury situation. He’s averaged 9:15 per game and gotten involved physically, logging six hits and controlling play quite well with a 79.6 CF%.
More from around the hockey world:
- Former NHL left-winger John Quenneville has landed a one-year deal in Finland with Tappara for the remainder of 2024-25, the team announced. Now 28, Quenneville last suited up in the NHL with the Blackhawks in the 2019-20 season. In only 42 career appearances with Chicago and New Jersey over four seasons, the 2014 first-round pick managed two goals and three assists. The Edmonton native has plied his trade across the AHL and Europe in the past five years, suiting up for AHL Rockford and Belleville in addition to stops in Switzerland and Sweden. He spent last season with HC Lugano of the Swiss National League, logging two goals and eight assists in 20 appearances.
- The Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, have re-upped forward Roman Ahcan on a one-year deal for the rest of the season. He’d previously been with Cleveland on a PTO and more than earned his spot on the club with seven goals through his first 10 games. That’s a huge jump in production for the 25-year-old, who had nine goals and 19 points in 52 games with Cleveland last year. The Minnesota native has been with Cleveland ever since graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 2022 but has yet to land an NHL contract.
Kraken Recall Ales Stezka On Emergency Basis
Saturday: As expected, Seattle has returned Stezka to Coachella Valley. He dressed as the backup last night but with the Kraken now off until Tuesday, there’s no need for them to be carrying three goaltenders.
Friday: Late last night, the Kraken announced (Twitter link) that they recalled goaltender Ales Stezka on an emergency basis from AHL Coachella Valley. The roster move was officially registered earlier today. They had three open roster spots so no corresponding move was necessary although it did push them into using LTIR for the time being.
The 27-year-old is in his second season with Seattle after signing with them as a free agent last year. He was originally drafted by Minnesota back in 2015 but didn’t sign with them.
Stezka had a solid rookie year in the minors last season, posting a 2.48 GAA with a .914 SV% in 27 regular season games with the Firebirds. He didn’t see any playoff action with them though as Chris Driedger played every minute in their run to the Calder Cup Final. However, things haven’t gone as well for Stezka this year. Through his first six appearances, he has put up a 3.61 GAA with a .881 SV%, only winning one of those outings.
This should be a short-lived recall for Stezka. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer missed practice yesterday but took the morning skate today; he’s listed as day-to-day. While it’s possible that Stezka will dress as the backup tonight, it’s likely that he’ll be sent back down after that, allowing them to exit LTIR and go back to banking cap space.
Capitals Make Three Roster Moves
The Capitals have shuffled things up roster-wise in advance of their game tonight against St. Louis. The team announced that they have activated defenseman Jakob Chychrun off injured reserve. Additionally, winger Sonny Milano has been placed on IR while center Michael Sgarbossa has been recalled from AHL Hershey. Washington’s roster now stands at the maximum of 23 players.
Chychrun has missed the last couple of weeks with an upper-body injury but appears poised to return tonight. The 26-year-old is in his first season with the Caps after being acquired on the opening day of free agency from Ottawa and it’s fair to say he has made an early impact. Chychrun has four points in eight games so far this season and was logging over 21 minutes a night before getting injured. A pending unrestricted free agent, Chychrun has helped bolster the left side of Washington’s back end so his return will certainly be a welcome one.
As for Milano, it has been a rough year for him thus far. He played less than six minutes in the season opener and then was scratched for nine straight games before returning to the lineup two games ago. However, he suffered an upper-body injury in his most recent outing, one that will keep him out for the next week at least. He hasn’t recorded a point in his three appearances this season after putting up 15 goals and 23 points in 49 games in 2023-24.
Sgarbossa, meanwhile, has been up and down with Washington in recent days. The 32-year-old has suited up twice with the Capitals this season, averaging a little over eight minutes a night. Meanwhile, with the Bears, he’s off to another strong start, recording a goal and eight assists in seven appearances with them. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Washington continue to shuffle him back and forth between there and Hershey, allowing them to delay his waiver clock in the process.
Predators Place Dante Fabbro On Waivers
Dante Fabbro has been a speculative trade candidate in Nashville for a few years now and it appears he could be on the move although not via a trade. Instead, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Predators have placed the blueliner on waivers.
A few years ago, the 26-year-old looked like another fixture on the back end for the Preds. He had three seasons averaging more than 19 minutes a night (primarily on the second pairing) between 2019-20 and 2021-22, even putting up a breakout 24-point effort in the 2021-22 campaign, making his then-$2.4MM price tag look like a bargain.
However, things haven’t gone as well since then. Fabbro’s playing time has dipped since then, dropping to 17:27 per night in 2022-23 and then 16:21 last season. This year, it’s even lower when he has been in the lineup as he has logged just 13:06 per game in his six appearances where he has been held off the scoresheet thus far. In Nashville’s other eight games, Fabbro has been a healthy scratch.
Fabbro is making $2.5MM this season on a one-year deal he signed at last year’s trade deadline, locking him in at the same rate as the year before without any potential for uncertainty in what would have been his final year with arbitration eligibility; he could have very easily been a non-tender candidate had he been unsigned heading into late June.
That price tag would be difficult for quite a few cap-strapped teams to absorb but even so, it’s possible that Fabbro could be claimed. A rebuilding team might want to get a look at him to see if he’s worth keeping around longer-term or to try to build up his value and then flip him (possibly with salary retention) closer to the March 7th trade deadline. With over 300 NHL games under his belt, he could be a worthwhile pickup for some teams looking for depth and experience on their back end. Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim on him.
Kings Recall Samuel Helenius, Place Alex Turcotte On IR
The Kings have made a pair of roster moves leading up to their game tonight against Columbus. The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Samuel Helenius from AHL Ontario on an emergency basis; to make room on the roster, forward Alex Turcotte was placed on injured reserve.
This is the first recall for Helenius in his young career. The 21-year-old was a second-round pick by Los Angeles back in 2021, going 59th overall. Standing 6’6, the hope was that Helenius could become a solid checking piece and now in his third professional season, things appear to be on track.
This season, Helenius has three points in eight games along with 22 penalty minutes for the Reign. That’s a small improvement in offensive pace for him after he put up 19 points in 69 contests last season. Helenius should take Tanner Jeannot’s place in the lineup as he begins a three-game suspension tonight.
As for Turcotte, he was injured back on Monday against Nashville, suffering an upper-body injury. However, it’s not supposed to be a long-term issue as he has already resumed skating, albeit in a non-contact jersey. The 23-year-old has done relatively well in his first full NHL campaign, notching five points in 13 games while logging a little under 12 minutes a night.
Canucks Recall Nils Aman And Arshdeep Bains
The Canucks have been quite busy on the transactions front over the last couple of weeks, shuffling players back and forth to save cap space and, in some cases, pause the waiver clock of certain players. But with Friday’s trade of Daniel Sprong, they had a roster spot to try to fill on top of the usual paper moves. They’ve done so by announcing (Twitter link) the recalls of center Nils Aman and winger Arshdeep Bains from AHL Abbotsford.
Aman cleared waivers last weekend after spending the first few weeks of the season in the NHL. The 24-year-old had a very limited role over that stretch, however, only getting into four games and being scratched for the rest. He had two assists in those outings on the fourth line but is more known for being a defensive player than a point producer at the top level. Aman got into two games with Abbotsford following the demotion, picking up a pair of helpers there as well.
As for Bains, he has been no stranger to the shuffle as this is his fifth recall of the season already. The 23-year-old has a goal in seven games so far this season while collecting 12 hits and averaging 11:40 per night. Despite the frequent assignments to Abbotsford, Bains has played for them just once so far; he had a goal and two helpers in that contest.
With the promotions, Vancouver is now back to a full 23-player roster. That said, with the frequency of their moves over the first few weeks of the season, that’s unlikely to be the case for too long.