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Sharks Activate William Eklund From IR, Reassign Ethan Cardwell

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3:04 p.m.: The Sharks have indeed reassigned Cardwell to AHL San Jose to make room for Eklund’s activation, according to Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group. Cardwell scored once and averaged 12:21 per game during his four-game call-up.

12:28 p.m.: Sharks winger William Eklund will be in the lineup against the Wild tonight, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports. He will need to come off injured reserve. They don’t have an open roster spot and will need to make a corresponding transaction. Since no injuries are lingering on their active roster, that will likely be an AHL demotion – presumably for the waiver-exempt Ethan Cardwell, who projects to exit the lineup with Eklund returning.

Eklund’s IR stint was brief. He only landed there on Saturday to create a roster spot for Ryan Reaves’ activation. He’s missed the last four games after sustaining a lower-body injury against the Avalanche on Nov. 1. During that stretch, the streaking Sharks went 3-0-1 without the services of their third-leading scorer.

One of the first high-end picks in San Jose’s rebuild, the 23-year-old Eklund is in the early stages of his third season as a full-time NHLer. He’s rattled off five goals and six assists for 11 points through 12 games, on pace to breach the 70-point plateau for the first time if he stays healthy the rest of the way. He’s done so without seeing much ice time next to Macklin Celebrini at even strength, instead serving as the top scoring piece on the Sharks’ second line with Philipp Kurashev and Alexander Wennberg.

Collin Graf got the bump in minutes alongside Wennberg while Eklund was sidelined, and the young adept penalty killer managed two assists in four games during the elevation. He should be ticketed for a return to third-line duties next to Ty Dellandrea as San Jose attempts to extend its win streak to four and its point streak to seven. The Sharks haven’t strung together four wins in over four years, last doing so in October 2021.

Lightning Place Dominic James On Injured Reserve

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The Lightning have placed forward Dominic James on injured reserve, per Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider. He sustained an undisclosed injury in Saturday’s game against the Capitals. Thanks to Tampa’s light schedule, he’s only been ruled out for tomorrow’s game against the Rangers as a result of the backdated placement.

James and the Bolts hope it’s only a light interruption as he works through his first taste of NHL action. The 23-year-old pivot was a sixth-round pick by the Blackhawks in 2022 and spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, but he became a free agent this year on Aug. 15 after failing to come to terms on an entry-level deal with Chicago. He landed one from Tampa at the beginning of camp. He didn’t crack the opening night roster but got off to a hot start with AHL Syracuse, rattling off three goals and five points in his first four professional games. That earned him a recall to the Lightning’s roster in late October, and he’s stuck there for a few weeks now.

The injury is particularly tough timing as he was beginning to find his groove. After going without a point through his first seven games, James had a three-point effort, including his first NHL goal, in their 6-3 win over the Golden Knights on Nov. 6. He followed that up with an assist over the weekend before sustaining his injury. His last two showings leave him with a 1-3–4 scoring line through his first nine NHL games, averaging 12:46 of ice time per contest and going 46.4% on faceoffs.

James has gotten an extended look centering Tampa’s third line between Gage Goncalves and Oliver Bjorkstrand while Nick Paul remains on injured reserve following offseason surgery. The trio has been the Bolts’ best so far at controlling play at 5-on-5 with a 65.3% share of expected goals in 53 minutes together, according to MoneyPuck. With James out, veteran Yanni Gourde will get more consistent top-nine deployment.

Sabres Activate, Reassign Carson Meyer

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Nov. 11: Meyer has cleared waivers and has been reassigned to Rochester, the team announced.

Nov. 10: Sabres forward Carson Meyer has landed on waivers today, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. That’s an indication he’s been cleared to return after starting the year on the season-opening injured/non-roster list. Assuming he clears tomorrow, he’ll get his campaign started with AHL Rochester.

Meyer, 28, last appeared in the NHL with the Blue Jackets in April 2024. The 5’11” winger has 41 games of NHL experience, all with Columbus, which drafted him in the sixth round in 2017. He’s got two goals and four assists to his name with a -4 rating, averaging 9:03 of ice time per contest.

The Ohio State product and Ohio native spent last year in the Ducks organization. He’d signed a two-way deal with Anaheim for 2024-25 after reaching Group VI unrestricted free agency, playing outside of Ohio for the first time since spending the 2015-16 season with Nebraska’s Tri-City Storm in the USHL. Meyer cleared waivers and was productive for the Ducks’ AHL affiliate in San Diego, recording 21 points in 29 games, but had his season cut short by an ACL surgery.

His recovery from that surgery was why Meyer was a non-participant in Buffalo’s camp and why he was on SOIR. He inked a two-year, two-way deal with Buffalo this past offseason that pays him $350,000 for 2025-26 and $375,000 for 2026-27 if he’s in the minors the whole way through.

He’ll be relied upon to be a top producer for a Rochester side that’s been stretched thin offensively due to a rash of injuries in Buffalo. Three of its six top scorers, Zachary Jones, Noah Ostlund, and Isak Rosen, are currently up with the Sabres.

Avalanche Sign Gavin Brindley To Two-Year Extension

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The Avalanche announced they’ve signed winger Gavin Brindley to a two-year extension through the 2027-28 season. The cap hit of the deal is $875,000, Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now reports. He’ll earn an $850,000 NHL salary in a two-way structure in 2026-27 before it converts to a one-way deal worth $900,000 in 2028-29. He was set to become a restricted free agent next summer following the expiration of his entry-level contract.

It’s hard to imagine a better start to the season for Brindley. The 21-year-old winger was an early second-round pick by the Blue Jackets in 2023. He was one of the more offensively explosive prospects in their system with an extremely strong collegiate and international track record. While his 5’8″, 172-lb frame was always going to limit his stock, he had a spectacular post-draft season that saw him record 25 goals and 53 points in 40 games for the University of Michigan. He was the Big 10’s scoring leader in conference play in addition to racking up six goals and 10 points in seven games for the United States en route to a gold medal at the World Juniors.

That was enough for Columbus to offer Brindley his entry-level contract at the end of his sophomore season with the Wolverines. He accepted and turned pro, making his NHL debut in the Jackets’ final game of the 2023-24 season. That was the only game he’d play in a Blue Jackets sweater. Brindley didn’t crack the opening night roster the following season due to a finger fracture that delayed his season debut until November. When he got around to playing with AHL Cleveland, the adjustment to the pro game hit him like a truck. In 56 regular-season and playoff appearances for Cleveland, Brindley had just six goals and 11 assists for 17 points with a -10 rating.

With the Jackets already carrying one of the league’s brighter young forward groups, they were comfortable using Brindley as trade bait. So, after just one full pro season in the organization, they sent him to the Avs over the offseason in the deal that landed them veterans Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood.

Thus far, Colorado is happy with its return. Brindley snagged a roster spot out of camp and has quickly established himself as a regular on the Avs’ fourth line, offering a more offensively inclined counterpart to his rotation of linemates in Zakhar Bardakov, Parker Kelly, and Joel Kiviranta. He’s yet to be a healthy scratch and only missed a pair of games earlier this month due to a concussion. In 14 appearances, he’s rattled off his first five NHL points – three goals and two assists – despite not receiving any special teams deployment and averaging just 8:58 of ice time per game. His possession metrics aren’t spectacular, controlling 47.9% of shot attempts at 5-on-5, but Colorado is nonetheless outscoring opponents 7-5 with him on the ice.

There’s still plenty of room for growth in Brindley’s game, though. He’s less than three years out from his draft day and was ranked as Colorado’s top forward prospect and No. 4 overall by Elite Prospects over the offseason. With Colorado’s top nine gelling well offensively, there isn’t a ton of upward mobility for him this year. Victor Olofsson is a pending unrestricted free agent, though, and Brindley could conceivably push for a third-line job next season if he’s not brought back.

The Avs will still have four years of team control left when Brindley’s extension expires in 2028 – he won’t be eligible for unrestricted free agency until after the 2031-32 season.

Image courtesy of Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images.

Hurricanes’ Charles-Alexis Legault Undergoes Hand Surgery

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Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere “appears set to return” from his stint on injured reserve and will likely be activated before tonight’s game against the Capitals, according to the team’s Walt Ruff. Carolina does not have an open roster spot and will need to make a corresponding move to get Gostisbehere off IR. That will likely mean an IR placement for depth call-up Charles-Alexis Legault. He underwent surgery yesterday to repair multiple torn extensor tendons on his right hand after sustaining a skate cut against the Maple Leafs on Sunday and is expected to miss three to four months, the team announced.

Gostisbehere has had a rough start to the campaign health-wise. He hasn’t played a full game since Oct. 16. He left the following contest with a lower-body injury and, although he subsequently returned after a three-game absence, skated just 7:19 in his return on Oct. 28 against the Golden Knights. He suffered an abdominal injury in that game and has missed the last six games as a result. He was only moved to IR last Friday, but since the placement was retroactive, he was eligible to come off at any time.

Those injuries stunted what had been some incredible momentum from Gostisbehere through his first few games. Despite logging under 10 minutes of ice time in two of his six appearances, the 32-year-old has a goal and six assists for seven points – six of which came at even strength. Carolina’s top power-play quarterback also managed a +8 rating and controlled 67.4% of shot attempts when he was on the ice at 5-on-5, a 12.2% bump compared to the team’s CF% without him.

His return is a crucial one for the Hurricanes’ blue line, which has been decimated by injuries in the early going. On top of Gostisbehere’s in-and-out status, Jaccob Slavin’s absence is closing in on the one-month mark, while K’Andre Miller was also recently sidelined for a six-game stretch. Jalen Chatfield also landed on injured reserve last week due to a concussion and is out indefinitely. That’s left Carolina without half their regular defense corps for multiple games.

Their depth has stepped up, though. The Canes remain second in the Metropolitan Division with an 11-4-0 record and have a +17 goal differential to lead the Eastern Conference. The play of names who started the season in the minors, like Legault, have played a significant role in that. The righty is still just 22 years old and is two years removed from being a fifth-round pick in 2023 after being passed over in 2021 and 2022. Through his first eight NHL appearances, the 6’4″, 220-lb rearguard has a goal and an assist with a +4 rating and saw 13:16 of ice time per game.

Legault was still set to be on the outside of the lineup when Carolina’s blue line was fully healthy again, but for now, they’re without a quality third-pairing replacement option who might have long-term staying power if his development progresses at its current pace.

As for Gostisbehere, he’ll make his return in second-pairing duties on his off side next to rookie Alexander Nikishin. He should also usurp Miller, who had been filling in on Carolina’s first power-play unit in the past few games, as the top man-advantage quarterback.

San Jose Sharks Activate Nick Leddy

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According to a team announcement, the San Jose Sharks have activated veteran defenseman Nick Leddy from the injured reserve. A few hours ago, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News was the first to report that Leddy would be returning to the active roster.

It’s been nearly three weeks since Leddy last suited up with the Sharks. In the Sharks’ overtime win against the New York Rangers on October 23rd, Leddy left the game after one shift with an upper-body injury and hasn’t played since.

Leddy has skated in seven games for the Sharks this year, including the short game against the Rangers. He’s registered two assists in that brief timeframe with a -4 rating, averaging 17:12 of ice time per game.

It’s important to note that injuries have recently become a recurring theme for Leddy. In his first two full seasons with the St. Louis Blues in 2022-23 and 2023-24, Leddy skated in 160 out of 164 potential games, but only managed to appear in 31 last season due to injury issues.

Still, his importance in a lineup has decreased over the last few years. San Jose claimed Leddy in the early part of the offseason largely as a salary anchor to keep them above the salary cap floor. Understandably, given that he is a pending unrestricted free agent, and making a fairly modest $4MM salary this season, it would be unsurprising to see Leddy moved at the upcoming trade deadline in March.

Regardless, we’ll know tomorrow if Leddy will return to the lineup. The Sharks have played relatively well of late, so they may not be inclined to change things up despite Leddy returning to the active roster.

Avalanche Reassign Daniil Gushchin

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Nov. 10th: Gushchin’s first recall of the 2025-26 campaign will end without an NHL appearance. Earlier today, the Avalanche announced that they’ve reassigned Gushchin to AHL Colorado. Per the new rules regarding paper transactions, Gushchin will have to play in one game for the Eagles before he’s eligible to return to the NHL.

Nov. 8th: The Avalanche have brought up some extra forward depth heading into their game tonight in Edmonton.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled winger Daniil Gushchin from AHL Colorado.  They had two open roster spots prior to the move.

The 23-year-old was acquired from San Jose back in late July in exchange for winger Oskar Olausson in a change-of-scenery swap for a pair of players who had slid down their former employer’s depth chart.  Gushchin then signed a one-year, two-way contract that same day that pays $775K in the NHL and $150K in the minors with a guaranteed payout of $200K.

It’s the second recall of the season for Gushchin although the first one only lasted two days and he didn’t see any NHL action during that time.  He has been quite productive with the Eagles in the early going this season, notching nine goals (tied for the league lead) and two assists in a dozen games.

Gushchin has 18 career NHL appearances under his belt over parts of three seasons with the Sharks.  In those outings, he has a respectable two goals and three assists while averaging 13:14 of playing time.  We’ll see if he has a chance to add to those totals on this recall.

Devils Activate Zack MacEwen

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The Devils announced that they have activated right-winger Zack MacEwen from long-term injured reserve. To open a roster spot for him, Brian Halonen was assigned to AHL Utica yesterday. MacEwen will play in tonight’s matchup with the Islanders, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed.

MacEwen, 29, was acquired from the Senators for Kurtis MacDermid in the final days of training camp. He was waived the following day and was reassigned to Utica, but got a recall back to the NHL roster before playing a game in the minors. MacEwen then sustained an upper-body injury in his season debut against the Lightning on Oct. 11, leaving him out indefinitely.

While not an earth-shattering move, the Devils could use the help at the bottom of their lineup. Evgenii Dadonov remains on long-term injured reserve after sustaining a fractured hand way back in the season opener, and they’re also slated to be without Connor Brown for the fifth straight game due to an undisclosed injury. New Jersey’s other fourth-line options in Brown’s absence, Halonen and Juho Lammikko, have combined for one goal in 15 games.

MacEwen won’t be a fix to the Devils’ tertiary scoring issues, but he does offer much more physicality and experience than either Halonen or Lammikko. Now in his eighth NHL season, MacEwen has 17 goals and 34 points in 238 career appearances to go along with 323 penalty minutes. He’s routinely had decent enough possession impacts for his limited roles, averaging 9:20 of ice time per game for his career, and has a decent minor-league scoring record.

Oilers Place Ryan Nugent-Hopkins On IR; Activate Mattias Janmark

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The Oilers announced Monday that they’ve placed forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on injured reserve and activated Mattias Janmark in his place. The team also increased their LTIR pool by $1.3MM by shifting winger Kasperi Kapanen from standard to long-term injured reserve, putting them within reach of compliance when they activate Zach Hyman from LTIR as expected in the coming days.

Nugent-Hopkins’ injury, which head coach Kris Knoblauch said won’t keep him out longer than the week required for IR, comes as the Oilers are reeling from a 9-1 loss to the Avalanche on Saturday. The 32-year-old has been the least of Edmonton’s worries through their 6-6-4 start, though. His -11 rating and declining possession metrics through 16 games are something of a concern, but he’s third on the team in scoring with five goals and 11 assists for a point per game. He’s averaging 18:49 of ice time per game and picking up the slack left by depth names like Trent Frederic, Isaac Howard, Matthew Savoie, and David Tomasek, who have a combined nine points despite all being expected to see tryouts higher up in Edmonton’s lineup to help replace the names they lost to last offseason’s cap crunch.

It wasn’t clear when exactly Nugent-Hopkins got hurt, but it most definitely happened during that Colorado drubbing. He played a season-low 14:50 in that game, in which he was held off the scoresheet and posted a -4 rating.

Janmark, who turns 33 in December, is entering his fourth year in Edmonton after initially signing as a free agent in 2022. The 2013 third-rounder had just two goals in 80 games last year but has found a consistent home on the Oilers’ penalty kill. He and Nugent-Hopkins formed the nucleus of that group last year, at least in the forward department, on a unit that finished right around league average at 78.2%. The Oilers have gotten off to a fine start shorthanded without him, killing at an 81.8% rate for 12th in the league. With that in mind, it would be understandable if the Oilers were hesitant to give a regular role to someone with just six goals in the last two seasons, given their existing depth scoring issues.

Still, the Hyman, Kapanen, and Nugent-Hopkins injuries figure to give Janmark a chance at capturing consistent minutes again. Kapanen had two assists through his first six games before sustaining an undisclosed injury in mid-October that has him out week-to-week.

Predators Recall Joakim Kemell

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The Predators announced they’ve recalled right-winger Joakim Kemell from AHL Milwaukee. He’ll be on hand for this evening’s game against the Rangers. Nashville has an open spot on the active roster, so no corresponding move is needed.

The Preds haven’t had an extra forward on hand since fellow recent call-up Zachary L’Heureux sustained a lower-body injury in practice over the weekend. With the team’s confirmation that he’ll miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury, Nashville needed another option on hand in case of further injury. Nashville can move L’Heureux to injured reserve at any time if they need to, but since they were operating with an open spot anyway, there’s no rush.

His absence opens the opportunity for Kemell’s second stint on the roster this season after he initially broke camp with the club. The 5’11” righty was the 17th overall pick in 2022. He had already broken into a regular role with Finland’s JYP organization as a teenager. He continued there in his post-draft season before Nashville brought him to North America late in the spring of 2023. Kemell’s results in the AHL have been something of a mixed bag, particularly on the defensive side, but he’s still one of the team’s highest-ceiling scoring prospects. Nonetheless, his stock has dropped – Elite Prospects ranked him 14th overall in the Nashville system during the offseason. They credit his strong all-around offensive mindset, but he hasn’t yet shown the explosiveness in the pros to compete for a top-six job, and his utility beyond being a tertiary offensive contributor and power-play specialist is questionable.

That makes this season a big one for Kemell, now 21, to prove he’s still on track to warrant a first-round pick. Cracking the opening night roster was a good first step, but he only played in two of Nashville’s first four games before they sent him to Milwaukee for more consistent playing time. He’s only scored once through six games, but has added five assists to average a point per game. He’s posted similar stat lines in his two full seasons on the farm, logging a 16-25–41 scoring line in 67 appearances in 2023-24 and a 19-21–40 line in 65 games last year. His NHL sample has yet to yield a point in four career appearances.

It remains to be seen how much playing time Kemell will get on this recall. He’s best suited for a top-nine job, but his options there are limited. Rookie Matthew Wood has all but locked down a spot, scoring three goals and seven points through 10 games. Unless the Preds shift Steven Stamkos back to center and demote the struggling Fedor Svechkov to fourth-line duties, it’s hard to see Kemell getting significant playing time.

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