Penguins Place Erik Karlsson On IR, Recall Two
The Pittsburgh Penguins made a series of roster moves this morning. Most notably, defenseman Erik Karlsson has landed on injured reserve due to an undisclosed injury. He will miss at least two weeks of action per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. The Penguins have recalled defenseman Ryan Graves in place of Karlsson. Pittsburgh has also recalled winger Tristan Broz and reassigned Rafael Harvey-Pinard.
This will be Karlsson’s first time missing games for the Penguins. He is riding a team-best 208-game ironman streak that dates back to Pittsburgh’s trade for the former Norris Trophy winner all the way back in 2023. Karlsson has filled a major role on the Penguins’ blue-line since joining the team but his importance has seemed to only rise this season. He leads Pittsburgh’s defense – and ranks third on the team – with 33 points in 44 games this season. He also leads the blue-line in shots on goal (94), takeaways (21), and power-play ice time (135 minutes).
That level of offense from the blue-line will be impossible for Pittsburgh to replace. Kris Letang is the blue-line’s second-highest scorer with 22 points in 44 games. He has matched a 0.5 point-per-game pace for much of the season and will certainly take on top offensive-defenseman duties in Karlsson’s absence. But who steps up for Letang is less clear. Ryan Shea has 16 points and 37 shots on goal this season, while Parker Wotherspoon has 15 points and 43 shots on goal.
Neither are known for their offense but may be called upon to fill heavy minutes with Karlsson on the shelf. Some focus will also land on Graves, who has an impressive nine points in 13 AHL games this season. That scoring hasn’t risen to the NHL level just yet – Graves has five points in his last 78 NHL games dating back to last season – but an open opportunity could be what changes that. Pittsburgh could also turn towards AHL prospect Owen Pickering, who leads the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ defense with 15 points in 33 games. He has only appeared in four NHL games this season – setting no scoring and a minus-three. He did manage three points and a minus-five in 25 NHL games last season.
The Penguins will also swap out depth forwards on the roster. Broz leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring with 11 goals and 24 points in 33 games. He is the only member of the team with double-digit goals this season. He made his NHL debut earlier in the year and recorded no scoring and a minus-one. Back on the NHL roster, Broz will offer a nice bit of skill and scoring upside while Pittsburgh faces injuries to Bryan Rust and Rutger McGroarty. Broz would likely step into the lineup over high-speed bruiser Connor Dewar, in a bottom-six role. Meanwhile, Harvey-Pinard will return to the minors where he has already posted 13 points in 32 games.
Pittsburgh will be without Karlsson for at least seven games. That’s a big window to try and keep their ship sailing straight, after curbing an eight-game losing streak in early December with a 7-3-0 record since December 21st. The Penguins have averaged 3.7 goals-per-game on that recent win-streak, a number that could quickly dwindle with a future Hall-of-Fame, offensive-defenseman on the sidelines.
Gerard Gallant Steps Down From KHL Coaching Position
Longtime NHL head coach Gerard Gallant has decided to bring his tenure in Russia to an early end. He will be stepping away from his role as the head coach of the Shanghai Dragons – the KHL’s newest club – for personal health reasons per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Gallant will be returning to Canada to recover at home, LeBrun adds.
Shanghai posted a 13-17-0 record with Gallant at the helm. The team ranked ninth in their 11-team conference and seventh-to-last in the league outright. They were led by former Calgary Flames prospect Spencer Foo and Vegas Golden Knights prospect Jake Bischoff serving as captain and alternate captain respectively. Nicholas Merkley leads the team in scoring with 33 points in 43 games.
It was a quiet year for China’s newest representation in the KHL market. Through the fog of a down year with a new club, Gallant’s move to Russia will be remembered as an interesting right-turn. He has not coached in the NHL since leaving the New York Rangers after the 2022-23 season. Before then, Gallant had 10 seasons of head coaching experience in the NHL under his belt. He was among the cemented veterans in the coaching circuit, but opted to take those talents across the world after losing interest in North America.
Now, the question of when and where Gallant will coach next will return. He recently turned 62 years old, plenty young enough to return to the bench when he’s back to full health. The nature of Gallant’s ailment isn’t clear but he should be a prime coaching candidate when he’s ready to put himself back on the market.
Blackhawks’ Teuvo Teravainen Leaves With Upper-Body Injury
The Chicago Blackhawks lost a key winger early in Monday night’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Teuvo Teravainen was ruled out of the game due to an upper-body injury after the first period per a team release. There was no noticeable play where Teravainen was injured. Head coach Jeff Blashill emphasized postgame that Teravainen was injured – not a victim of the flu bug going around the Blackhawks – and that the team will know more about his status on Wednesday per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Teravainen will move forward with an unofficial day-to-day injury designation. With Chicago’s next game not until Thursday, there is a chance he won’t need to miss any time. That will be the outcome Chicago hopes for, as they’re already down Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard due to injury and illness respectively. Teravainen takes his reps right alongside those young stars, often serving as the veteran stop gap behind them. That role has earned Teravainen nine goals, 21 points, and a minus-12 in 45 games this season.
The 31 year old ranks fourth on the Blackhawks in total scoring. He finished third on the team in scoring last year – his first in Chicago – when he totaled 15 goals and 58 points while playing in all 82 games. Before his time in Chicago, Teravainen was a core piece of the Carolina Hurricanes’ top-six, where he challenged 60 points in scoring every season.
Losing Teravainen to injury would deal yet another blow to a Blackhawks lineup that seems to change every game. The veteran played off of rookies Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis on Monday, bringing an important bit of experience to the high-skill line. If Teravainen can’t go on Thursday, the Blackhawks could move veteran Tyler Bertuzzi into that role, and hope that Bedard can return to his top-line spot next to Ryan Greene and Andre Burakovsky. If Bedard is still under the weather, Chicago will have to bring Sam Lafferty down from the press box. Lafferty has two points in 17 games this season and would take on a bottom-line role.
Lightning Assign Curtis Douglas To AHL On Conditioning Loan
Earlier this evening the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that Curtis Douglas has been assigned to AHL Syracuse for conditioning purposes. The forward has been a healthy scratch for each of Tampa’s last six games. Even when dressed, he has played very sparingly this season, averaging 5:58 a night.
Claimed off waivers from Utah in October, the 25-year-old may not make his mark in the stat sheet, but his road to the show has been impressive. Selected in the fourth round back in 2018 by Dallas, Douglas spent each of his past five seasons in the AHL across three different organizations, never getting a look at the highest level, and regularly recording over 100 penalty minutes each season. The 6’9″ center then caught the attention of Tampa Bay, who inherited the final year of his contract worth $775k at the NHL level, ending in unrestricted free agent status this summer.
In 27 games, Douglas has two assists and 75 penalty minutes. 25 years ago or so, this may be business as usual, but such output in today’s game is a testament to the Ontario native’s work ethic. He has managed to make an impact, on one of the league’s top teams, no less.
Although Douglas is back to the AHL for now, he will retain his full NHL salary, and the loan can last no longer than two weeks. Syracuse, currently 10th in the AHL, will enjoy having the hulking forward in their lineup for the time being. Tampa Bay won their 10th straight game tonight, as they won’t exactly miss a beat without their enforcer, but Douglas will get some game action and be ready to return when needed.
Snapshots: Stolarz, Konecny, Samuelsson
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz reached another milestone as he approaches his return. David Alter of The Hockey News revealed that Stolarz skated with the regular group today.
The 31-year-old will be eager to get back into action after what’s been a trying 2025-26 so far. Unable to play since November 11 after an upper-body injury, even beforehand, Stolarz struggled a bit. His .884 SV% and 3.51 GAA are below expectations from the upcoming four year extension worth $3.75MM per year, in which Toronto is banking on the late-bloomer to hold down their crease for his first true #1 role.
Winners of seven out of their last 10, the Leafs have turned the corner after it appeared their season was in serious danger. Just shy of a Wild Card spot for now, the team could finally have two-punch stability between the pipes. Joseph Woll has exceeded expectations since coming in for Stolarz, with a .921 SV% and 10-4-2 record.
There’s not yet a specific return date for Stolarz, but he and Woll figure to give Toronto a formidable duo entering the final push of the season.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Philadelphia Flyers star Travis Konecny has had an eventful last few days, but returned to the lineup tonight, shared by Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Enquirer. Konecny missed Saturday’s game after an upper-body injury from the day before, and came back to practice yesterday, which seemed to be a good sign. The 28-year-old then left yesterday’s skate with another injury, unable to catch a break. Thankfully back tonight without a hitch, Konecny was ejected from the game for abuse of officials, as reported by Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The Flyers top forward will look ahead to next Wednesday’s game in Buffalo.
- Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson was shaken up late in tonight’s loss against Florida, and Head Coach Lindy Ruff had no immediate update postgame, per Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News. Samuelsson has missed just two games on the year, his play as a top pairing blueliner a huge part of Buffalo’s revival of late. The 25-year-old appeared to be favoring his right arm after taking a spill. The Sabres are back in action Wednesday, hosting Konecny and Philadelphia, hopefully not sans their lefty minute-eater in the midst of his best campaign yet.
Lightning’s Brayden Point Leaves With Injury
10 PM: There is no postgame update on Point, as Head Coach Jon Cooper told reporters, including Eduardo A. Encina of Tampa Bay Times, but he will travel along with the team to Pittsburgh tomorrow.
8 PM: A star forward named to Team Canada in the upcoming Winter Olympics may have suffered a significant knee injury tonight, as Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point was helped off the ice in Philadelphia, and will not return, as confirmed by the team.
The incident was a strange play, in which Point banged home a rebound for the power play tally, putting Tampa up 3-0, but immediately after, Flyers defender Cam York landed on Point, making him come down awkwardly. York had been sprawling to try and clear the rebound.
Point immediately shook off his gloves and grabbed at his right knee, subsequently being helped off the ice.
The center missed seven games across November-December to close out 2025, but otherwise has been durable over the last three seasons, absent for just five regular season games over the previous last three campaigns. Turning 30 in March, Point has taken a step back from his usual elite scoring pace, with 29 points in 36 games, but still ranks fifth on the team in scoring. The Alberta native anchors the team’s first line as well as their top power play unit. He needs just seven more games to reach the 700 mark with Tampa Bay.
Returning from the injury in December, Point has been on a tear, with 19 points in his last 16 games, figuring to be fully healthy before tonight.
Currently second in the Atlantic, winners of nine in a row, Tampa has shown off their remarkable resilience despite missing players such as Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh. They seem to be a lock to reach the playoffs for the eighth straight season, seeking to make another run after three straight first round exits. If Point has to miss significant time, it may force them to enter the center trade market, but the club lacks trade capital along with cap space, and may be forced to lean on more offense internally from Anthony Cirelli and Yanni Gourde.
Also impossible to ignore are possible implications for Team Canada, as the Olympic Games are set to start next month. If needed, the group would have an embarrassment of riches to choose from down the middle, the likes of Connor Bedard, Sam Bennett, Wyatt Johnston, or Mark Scheifele. GM Doug Armstrong would have no shortage of talent to choose from, but would need to select the player best suited for bottom-six duty.
Although the hope is that the star has avoided a major injury, there is reason for both Tampa Bay and Team Canada to be fearing the worst. Updates will be watched urgently, as the Bolts are back in action tomorrow at Pittsburgh.
Central Notes: Bedard, Wild, Blues
Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard will not play tonight against Edmonton, as noted by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, as the star is dealing with the flu.
The bug has ravaged the team of late, as several players have been affected, most notably both goaltenders, Spencer Knight and Arvid Söderblom, leaving Chicago with AHL call-up Drew Commesso to handle a back-to-back last week. He managed to steal a game, shutting out Nashville on Saturday, but now the face of the franchise has to sit out tonight in a big home game against the Oilers.
Bedard leads the Hawks with 46 points, despite playing in 33 of their 45 games. He has surpassed the point-per-game mark for the first time in his young career, as well as avoiding a sunk +/- rating as the Hawks have had success this season. The hope is that he will be feeling better by their next game, Thursday against Calgary. In the meantime, grinder Colton Dach slots back into the lineup on the fourth line, who has posted eight points in 44 games on the season.
Elsewhere across the division:
- Joel Eriksson Ek and Zach Bogosian skated earlier today, as shared by Michael Russo of The Athletic, but neither are playing tonight against the Devils. Eriksson Ek was injured against Seattle last Thursday, missing Saturday’s contest against the Islanders, the first time he was unable to go this season. The center plays a vital role on both ends of the ice, with 32 points in 45 games, and hopefully can return by Thursday against Winnipeg. On the other hand, Bogosian is on injured reserve. The 35-year-old hasn’t played since January 3, dealing with an undisclosed ailment.
- St. Louis Blues Head Coach Jim Montgomery told reporters, including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, that Robert Thomas is “probable/questionable” for Tuesday against Carolina. Thomas has a lower-body injury, missing practice today as a result, but he hasn’t lost any game time, posting a goal and an assist on Saturday. Playing in 42 of the club’s 46 contests so far, Thomas leads the Blues in scoring by a wide margin, with 33 points. Losers of three in a row, St. Louis currently ranks dead last in goals scored, in obvious need of their top center to try and make the postseason this spring. Meanwhile, teammate Mathieu Joseph is also day-to-day with an elbow infection, as reported by Rutherford. Joseph has 10 points in 35 games as a bottom six forward.
Jets Recall Isaak Phillips From AHL, Place Colin Miller On IR
Back in action tomorrow, the Winnipeg Jets announced this afternoon that Isaak Phillips has been recalled from AHL Manitoba, while Colin Miller has landed on injured reserve.
Winnipeg, finally finding their game after an 11-game winless streak which possibly has sunk their season, has to reach deep into the organization’s defense stock for Phillips, especially with Haydn Fleury out, and Miller now banged up. If able to suit up this week, it would be Phillips’ first action as a Jet.
Miller, who has struggled considerably in what will likely be his third and final season with the team, left mid-game against New Jersey with a lower-body injury. At this point it is unclear when he will return, but with the 33-year-old a healthy scratch often, playing in just 15 games so far, it is not the biggest impact for the Jets as they desperately look to turn things around.
Phillips, 24, was acquired from Chicago just three days shy of exactly one year ago, as the team gave up prospect Dmitri Kuzmin last January to in exchange for a respectable NHL-capable depth defender. The Ontario native was a fifth round choice of Chicago in 2020, making 56 appearances for the team from 2021-2025, recording 12 points. After solid contributions for the rebuilders despite being a former fringe prospect, Phillips became expendable as he was passed up in favor of prospects with higher upside.
Since then, Phillips has yet to appear with the Jets, playing in 72 games for Manitoba over the last two seasons. A physical lefty standing at 6’3″, he earned a two year extension with Winnipeg last summer, which will keep him around through next year, followed by restricted free agent status. Interestingly, he gets the nod over other notable defenders in Manitoba. Prospect Elias Salomonsson, who last got a look in early December, will remain in the AHL, along with former standout prospects Ville Heinola and Kale Clague.
For now, Winnipeg will move forward with Phillips as a seventh defender, as Luke Schenn has re-entered the lineup, who is eager to prove himself to suitors as last week it was noted that the 36-year-old pending free agent would be open to a trade.
Naturally, Phillips figures to be the best option to come up as depth, without rocking the boat in Manitoba. The Jets will host the Islanders tomorrow, looking for their third straight win.
Sharks Issue Injury Updates On Four Players
The San Jose Sharks have sorted out their injuries ahead of a four-game road-trip through the Eastern Conference. Winger Philipp Kurashev will not join the team on the trip, but could return at the tail-end, if he is able to recover from an upper-body injury sustained on December 13th. He was deemed week-to-week at the time. San Jose will have defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Vincent Desharnais on the trip after both recovered from upper-body injuries. Finally, top forward Will Smith will be questionable for Thursday’s game against the Washington Capitals pending a return to full-contact practices. All updates were captured by NHL.com’s Max Miller.
Kurashev will continue to sit out of the lineup for at least a couple more games. He has already missed San Jose’s last 12 games, on top of a brief two-game absence in October. Kurashev was among San Jose’s hottest players through the turn into November. He racked up 11 points in 13 games between October 26th and November 20th – enough to earn top-six minutes through mutliple games. He cooled off significantly in the time since, with only three points in his next 12 games before going down to injury. Returning soon would give the Swiss winger a chance to get his legs back under him before going off to join Team Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics. It will be Kurashev’s first Olympic games, though he has notched 15 points in 32 World Championship games, across four appearances. Kurashev will slot into San Jose’s bottom-six when he’s healthy enough to return.
The Sharks will have two more options on defense through their next stretch. Desharnais has been out since late November but returned to practice on January 4th. He has served as one of many veteran bruisers and fighters on the Sharks lineup and should maintain a low-usage role if slotted back into the lineup. Mukhamadullin will be a more interesting watch, after missing the last four games. The 24 year old was continuing to struggle in his depth role prior to his injury. He posted no scoring and a minus-six in his last five games, bringing his year long totals to six points and a minus-four in 23 games. A return to the lineup would be a chance to continue earning minutes on an increasingly-crowded Sharks blue-line.
Smith will bring the most excitement back to the lineup. The 20 year old hasn’t played since sustaining an injury on December 13th. He has been skating on the side and didn’t rejoin San Jose’s team practices until last Friday. The Sharks will certainly want to ensure Smith is back to 100 percent before slotting him into the lineup – but his impact will be hard to wait for. Smith has 12 goals and 29 points in 33 games this season, good for fourth on the team in scoring despite missing the last 12 games. He has proven a dynamic and capable driver of the offense, able to play with or behind star center Macklin Celebrini.
The Sharks have seen the emergence of rookie Igor Chernyshov – who has nine points in his first 12 NHL games – since Smith’s injury. That will bring up some interesting questions as the Sharks juggle young players at the top of their lineup. Smith should return next to Alexander Wennberg and Tyler Toffoli, which would push Pavel Regenda back into the bottom-six. When those changes will occur will depend on how soon Smith can return to full-contact practice.
2026 NHL Draft Will Be Held In Buffalo
1/12: The NHL has officially announced that Buffalo will host the 2026 NHL Draft on June 26th and 27th per NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman.
1/9: The NHL Draft could be returning to Buffalo, New York this year. The Buffalo Sabres have made an earnest push to host the First Round of the 2026 NHL Draft, sources told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. A potential return to draft day in Buffalo was first teased by broadcaster John Buccigross on Thursday.
Buffalo has hosted three other NHL Drafts. It became the third American city to serve as host in 1991, seven years after the NHL moved away from a yearly trip to Montreal. The Quebec Nordiques drafted centerman Eric Lindros first-overall in Buffalo, but the future Hall-of-Famer refused to sign with the club, prompting a trade to Philadelphia in 1992. Meanwhile, the NHL Draft didn’t return to Buffalo until 1998, when the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted Vincent Lecavalier with the top pick. By then, the league had begun traveling to a new city every year for the Draft, which kept the league from returning to Buffalo again until 2016, when Auston Matthews landed with the Toronto Maple Leafs at first-overall.
The 2026 Draft will be unlike any previously held in Buffalo, though. NHL general managers voted to decentralize the NHL Draft beginning last season. This format is more in-line with other professional sports leagues, like the NFL, and saw NHL management teams stay in their home city while draft prospects were greeted on stage by league personnel. The change in format was criticized by fans and media after the 2025 Draft wrapped up but NHL managers voted to uphold it headed into 2026.
That places a unique challenge on the next host to try and spark a format that landed flat last year. The heap of talent set for the first-round in 2026 could make that task a bit easier. The hockey world is in the midst of debating the first-overall chair after hopefuls Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Keaton Verhoeff, and Chase Reid dueled out at the 2026 World Junior Championships. Stenberg – a standout in Sweden’s top pro league – earned the last laugh of the tournament with a Gold Medal win. Whether that trend will continue through June – and into host city Buffalo – is yet to be seen.