Injury Updates: Maple Leafs, Greenway, Blues, Hedman, Ristolainen
The Maple Leafs have placed defenseman Dakota Joshua and defenseman Chris Tanev on LTIR, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). Joshua is dealing with a lacerated kidney that has kept him out for the last month and while he has started light skating, he’s not expected to return until after the Olympic break. Tanev, meanwhile, has missed the last month with a groin issue. There’s no timeline for his return but he has already missed the required 10 games and 24 days so if he returns – something that is in the air with him reportedly uncertain about surgery – so he’s eligible to be activated at any time.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Sabres winger Jordan Greenway has been limited this season after undergoing two sports hernia surgeries over the last 13 months. He doesn’t play in back-to-backs and practice time has been limited. Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald mentions that the veteran is expected to meet with doctors on Thursday to determine if what he’s dealing with in terms of discomfort is something that can be fixed or if it’s something he just has to keep playing through. If any sort of procedure is needed, now would be a good time with the three-week break coming up which would limit the amount of time Greenway would miss.
- The Blues announced (Twitter link) that wingers Jordan Kyrou (upper body) and Jake Neighbours (lower body) are listed as day-to-day after undergoing further evaluations on their respective injuries. Head coach Jim Montgomery was unsure if either player would be available for Thursday’s game against Florida. Both Kyrou and Neighbours left Tuesday’s loss to Dallas but it appears it’s the best-case scenario for both of them.
- Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman took part in practice today for the first time since being sidelined with an elbow injury nearly seven weeks ago, relays Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. The 35-year-old has missed 33 of the last 36 games and has a dozen assists in 18 games this season while averaging just over 21 minutes per game. Hedman has long been targeting a return that would allow him to play in the Olympics and it appears he’s on track to do so. Notably, head coach Jon Cooper didn’t rule out the possibility of the captain returning for Sunday’s Stadium Series game.
- The Flyers announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen left tonight’s game against Columbus due to a lower-body injury. He played 1:01 over two shifts before exiting. The 31-year-old missed more than two months to start the season due to a triceps injury, then missed six more this month to an upper-body issue, one that he just returned from on Monday. Ristolainen has been limited to just three assists and 25 blocks in 15 games when he has been in the lineup. Notably, he’s set to play for Finland in the Olympics so if this injury is set to keep him out for more than a couple of weeks, that could cause him to miss the event.
Islanders Open To Moving A First-Round Pick
The Islanders were busy in the first round of the draft last season, adding Matthew Schaefer first overall while making back-to-back selections in the middle of the round as part of the trade return for Noah Dobson. Thanks to the Brock Nelson trade last season, they have an extra pick on the opening night of the draft again this season.
But it appears that their goal might be to turn one of those selections into some win-now help. Speaking with reporters today (video link), GM Mathieu Darche indicated that the team is open to moving one of their first-round selections.
Darche has been busy in recent days, utilizing his LTIR space to add defenseman Carson Soucy and winger Ondrej Palat (plus two draft picks). They effectively serve as replacements for Alexander Romanov and Kyle Palmieri. However, Pierre Engvall is also out for the year and on LTIR while Semyon Varlamov hasn’t played at all this season and a return is unlikely. He’s also on LTIR and if the team knows he’s not returning, his LTIR room can be used. Combined, the team has around $6MM in space, per PuckPedia. That gives Darche lots of flexibility to work with.
A willingness to part with a first-round pick should only pique the interest of rebuilding teams or those who decide to become sellers in the coming weeks. Speculatively, Darche’s preference would be to move Colorado’s selection rather than their own since the former will be in the back few selections of the round while New York’s at the moment is closer to the late teens or low 20s.
Every year, several buyers move out a first-round selection and that pick can often yield an impact performer. With the Islanders being willing to part with one of those picks, they could be shopping in a higher tier of the market than their last two moves.
Pacific Notes: Coleman, Terry, Masse
The Flames will be without one of their better forwards (and potential trade chips) for a while yet. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Blake Coleman won’t return until after the Olympic break. The 34-year-old has missed the last eight games with an upper-body injury. Coleman had been skating for the last week in a non-contact jersey but head coach Ryan Huska indicated that they’ve now decided to shut him down for the time being, meaning that his first possible game back will be four weeks from now. Coleman was Calgary’s team leader in goals before being sidelined, collecting 13 while adding eight assists in 44 games.
More from the Pacific Division:
- Ducks winger Troy Terry has rejoined the team on its road trip and took part in practice today, reports Patrick Present of The Hockey News. The veteran has missed the last ten games with an upper-body injury. Terry was quite productive before being sidelined, picking up 13 goals and 29 assists in 43 games and has been among Anaheim’s scoring leaders all season. Considering that Thursday is the final game of the road trip, it stands to reason that Terry will be activated for that contest as otherwise, he’d have had no need to fly to Vancouver simply to take part in a practice.
- Still with Anaheim, prospect winger Maxim Masse is electing to go to the NCAA next season. He announced on his Instagram page that he will go to UMass starting in 2026-27. Drafted 66th overall by the Ducks back in 2024, Masse is in the middle of a strong season with QMJHL Chicoutimi where he has 35 goals and 28 assists in just 43 games. With this announcement, Masse’s signing rights will be extended instead of being set to expire on June 1st.
Hurricanes Activate, Reassign Juha Jaaska
According to a team announcement, the Carolina Hurricanes have activated forward Juha Jaaska from the non-roster injured reserve. As expected, the team quickly reassigned Jaaska to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.
Jaaska, 27, is in his second professional season in North America. Before signing with the Hurricanes, Jaaska spent several years with the Finnish Liiga’s HIFK, scoring 51 goals and 142 points in 310 games with a +44 rating.
His first season with Carolina went well, particularly in the AHL. It can take some time for players, especially those who have played multiple years overseas, to adjust to professional hockey across the ocean. Jaaska immediately contributed to AHL Chicago, finishing fifth on the team in scoring with 12 goals and 33 points in 53 games.
Unfortunately, that didn’t translate to the NHL level right away. The Hurricanes gave him multiple opportunities, and he finished with only four assists in 18 NHL contests, averaging 8:56 of ice time per game. Still, his possession metrics were particularly solid (61.7% CorsiFor%), though that’s true of nearly every player in Carolina.
His career took a hit in October when Jaaska underwent groin surgery, keeping him out of action until now. He’ll return to a familiar environment where he’ll likely remain until the end of the season. If the Hurricanes clinch either the Metropolitan Division or the Eastern Conference, the team could give Jaaska another opportunity toward the end of the year.
Rangers Sitting Artemi Panarin For Roster-Related Reasons
6:42 PM: Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports that Panarin is seeking a contract extension before he’ll sign off on any trade. With the Rangers committed to holding him out through the Olympic break if needed, Panarin now has ample time to try to work out a deal with his next team.
5:28 PM: According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, the New York Rangers are healthy-scratching Artemi Panarin for roster-related reasons. Not only will Panarin sit tonight against the New York Islanders, but Walker shared that he won’t be back in the lineup before the upcoming Olympic break.
That means, at least in the short-term future, that Panarin will miss the next four games for the Rangers. In all likelihood, he has played his last game for the Rangers.
Still, there’s no indication that a Panarin trade is particularly close. Because of the no-movement clause included in his contract, Panarin would have to greenlight any trade out of New York. It is believed that the Rangers have asked Panarin to provide a list of teams he would be willing to join, and today’s news suggests that Panarin has at least offered them a few options.
It’ll be interesting to see how long New York is willing to keep Panarin on the sidelines. Because there’s no indication a trade is close, and not every team linked to Panarin has sufficient cap space to acquire Panarin (though they would by the time the trade deadline rolls around), there’s a possibility that a deal won’t materialize until closer to the deadline. It would be unlikely, but that worst-case scenario could have Panarin without game action for over a month.
Regardless, if he has already played his last game with New York, he has finished as one of the organization’s best offensive players ever. Since joining the Rangers ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, Panarin has scored 205 goals and 607 points in 482 games with a +68 rating. He has consistently maintained a CorsiFor% above 50.0% at even strength and was a top-five scorer in the league as recently as the 2023-24 season.
Much of the concern regarding Panarin’s tenure with the Rangers has stemmed from a perception that he “disappears” during the playoffs. This claim is wholly unfounded.
Although Panarin hasn’t maintained his regular-season scoring pace in the postseason, he has recorded 19 goals and 53 points in 62 playoff games since joining the Columbus Blue Jackets before the 2017-18 season. Exclusively with the Rangers, he’s registered 12 goals and 35 points in 46 games while averaging more than 20 minutes per night, helping the team reach two Eastern Conference Finals.
It’s an evolving situation, but Panarin should be with a new team relatively soon.
Maple Leafs Reassign Henry Thrun, Dakota Mermis; Recall Marshall Rifai
The Toronto Maple Leafs are making a few changes to the bottom of their defensive core ahead of a four-game roadtrip through the Pacific Division. According to a team announcement, the Maple Leafs have reassigned Henry Thrun and Dakota Mermis to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and recalled Marshall Rifai to the NHL club.
Thrun, 24, was on his second recall of the year. In his first season with the Maple Leafs organization, he has served exclusively as an injury replacement. Throughout his two recalls, Thrun has gone scoreless in four games with Toronto, averaging 14:52 of ice time per game.
He’s understandably been more productive with AHL Toronto. In his first significant playing time in the AHL since the start of the 2023-24 season, Thrun has scored three goals and 14 points in 28 games with the Marlies, with a -2 rating. That’s good for second on the team in scoring among defensemen.
Expectedly, Mermis heads to the AHL after being placed on waivers yesterday. He has played more NHL games this year than Thrun, scoring one goal in 11 appearances and averaging 13:02 of ice time per game. Unfortunately for Mermis, he has been out of action since early December as he suffered a long-term lower-body injury. Assuming his current demotion goes well, it’s likely that he’ll return to the active roster relatively soon.
Meanwhile, Rifai will join the Maple Leafs for the second time this season. The 27-year-old began the year on Toronto’s long-term injured reserve as he recovered from a wrist injury. Since the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign, Rifai has appeared only for the Marlies, scoring three goals and 17 points in 75 games with a +15 rating. In his only NHL action back in the 2023-24 campaign, he went scoreless in two games.
Canucks Notes: Kane, Buium, Hoglander
It’s already known that winger Evander Kane won’t finish the year with the Vancouver Canucks since the team allowed his agent to negotiate a trade to another organization. Still, Kane has yet to be moved.
Most of the interest in Kane is coming from the Western Conference, where he may prefer to remain. The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars have already been linked, with beat writer Robert Tiffin confirming the latter team’s interest earlier today. Additionally, Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reported today that the Los Angeles Kings have entered the mix for Kane’s services.
Multiple outlets have claimed that the Canucks were willing to retain some salary on the remainder of Kane’s contract and are only looking for a prospect or draft capital in return. Throughout his career, Kane has achieved at least a 20-goal campaign more often than not, though he has struggled to put the puck in the net this year, with nine goals in 52 games. Still, interested teams have likely placed more value on his playoff performance the past two years, scoring 10 goals and 20 points in 41 games, with 159 hits, helping the Edmonton Oilers reach back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.
Additional notes from the Vancouver Canucks:
- After losing netminder Thatcher Demko for the remainder of the season, Vancouver may also be without one of their top young blue-liners for the foreseeable future. Passing along a note from head coach Adam Foote, Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre reported that defenseman Zeev Buium has a broken cheekbone and that surgery has not been ruled out. The Canucks are wholly expecting him to remain out through the upcoming Olympic break. Buium has scored two goals and six points in 20 games, while averaging 20:25 of ice time per night, since being acquired from the Minnesota Wild in mid-December.
- The injury concern doesn’t end there for the Canucks. According to Sportsnet’s Randip Janda, forward Nils Höglander is being evaluated for a lower-body injury from yesterday’s game against the San Jose Sharks. It’s not the first time Höglander has dealt with injury concerns this year, missing the first two months of the season due to a separate lower-body ailment. He has registered only two assists in 18 games since returning.
The Trade-And-Extend Move Is Becoming A Gamble
Stars forward Jason Robertson is having another terrific season at just the right time. He’s set to become an RFA this summer and should be handsomely rewarded on his next contract.
One wrinkle with his next contract is that it could come with a team other than Dallas, given that they already have so much big money committed to members of their core (just $16.4MM in cap space available next year, per PuckPedia). If Robertson is moved, it would likely be via trade to a team hoping to sign him to a long-term deal. But given that many of these types of transactions have failed in the past, should teams be doing it?
The trade-then-sign isn’t an official title for a series of moves in which a team trades for a player and then locks them up shortly after the trade, but that’s effectively what it is. A few recent examples include the Senators trading for Linus Ullmark and then signing him shortly after, or the Flames and Panthers linking up on the infamous Jonathan Huberdeau-for-Matthew Tkachuk trade that launched Florida on a potential dynasty while effectively slamming the door on Calgary’s contention window.
Therin lies the risk with these kinds of moves. Trading for a player and then signing them immediately to an extension leaves you open to the possibility that they aren’t a good fit, and you end up with a Huberdeau situation instead of a Tkachuk one.
The Flames and Senators are hardly the only teams to fall victim to this kind of thing. In fact, the Senators have dealt with it before with Bobby Ryan. Ottawa traded for Ryan in 2013, a move in response to Daniel Alfredsson leaving the franchise to sign with Detroit. The trade effectively boxed the Senators into signing Ryan to a long-term contract, which they did, resulting in an albatross contract that was eventually bought out.
Vancouver is learning a similar lesson with defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who was a top-pairing defenseman in Pittsburgh but was dealt to the Canucks last year, before the trade deadline, and has never been a fit. Vancouver was quick to ink Pettersson to a six-year deal last year, shortly after acquiring him, and, like Ullmark, Huberdeau and Ryan, he has not worked out as planned.
The list could go on and on. Timo Meier in New Jersey, Seth Jones in Chicago, Matt Murray in Ottawa, and Pierre-Luc Dubois in Los Angeles. All of these moves had a few things in common. The teams signed the players to extensions before the fit was ever stress-tested.
Take Huberdeau, who was acquired in late July 2022. Within two weeks, he signed an eight-year, $84MM extension to remain with the Flames. Pettersson had a similar trajectory in Vancouver, as he was acquired in early February 2025 and signed his six-year extension less than a week later. The same story with Murray and the Ottawa Senators, as he was acquired in early October 2020 and re-upped within two days, having never played a game in Canada’s capital city.
Again, the examples are endless, and the failures in these situations appear to share several common traits. In the three examples of Huberdeau, Pettersson, and Murray, they had essentially never played for the teams they were signing with, meaning no one knew whether they would work out with their new teams, making it a gamble for the acquiring team. But the trades themselves, and the players’ contractual status, essentially forced the team that gave up the assets in the trade to lock up the player or risk “losing the asset for nothing.”
It’s something that happens in every sport, where teams acquire pending UFAs. For whatever reason, some teams have felt compelled to extend the player before they even have a look at how the player will work out with their new team. And make no mistake, most of the teams that have extended the player right away probably regret their decision. There is no way Ottawa was happy with the Murray era, and Calgary has another five years of headaches with the Huberdeau deal.
Often, a player’s signing is a move to protect a GM’s short-term reputation rather than to focus on long-term projections. In fact, most of the time, the GM never lasts the length of the deal he is handing out, as was the case with Brad Treliving in Calgary and Pierre Dorion in Ottawa.
The thing about rushing to sign a player you really don’t know, beyond scouting their on-ice performance, is that once you ink the deal, there is no easy escape, or do-overs. You are locked into a player you don’t really know, and outside of asking mutual friends, acquaintances, or previous employers, you don’t have first-hand experience with the person in most cases. It would be like running a business and then hiring an employee you’ve seen on television but never spoken to.
But in hockey, as in all sports, market and ownership pressures, egos, and reputations can all play a role in transactions, contracts, and player management. As much as it probably stings for GMs to ink a bad contract with a player, they would probably all do it again if given another opportunity.
The truth is that trading for a player is always risky, while trading for a player and immediately extending them is often how NHL GMs try to save their jobs. Usually, it’s the move that leads them to the unemployment line.
Blue Jackets Reassign Zach Aston-Reese, Brendan Gaunce
Jan. 28: Both cleared waivers and are headed to Cleveland, per Friedman.
Jan 27.: The Blue Jackets have placed forwards Zach Aston-Reese and Brendan Gaunce on waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The open roster spots will allow Columbus to activate defenseman Denton Mateychuk from injured reserve before tomorrow’s game, as expected. Forward Miles Wood will also be coming off IR, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports.
Aston-Reese, 31, is in his ninth NHL season. He’s become a bit of a journeyman as of late after breaking into the league with the Penguins, also making stops in Anaheim, Toronto, and Detroit since 2022. With 102 career points and a +17 rating in 415 games, he was once regarded as one of the league’s top low-usage defensive forwards in Pittsburgh, but has since been mired in year-to-year inconsistency. He spent most of 2023-24 in the minors with the Red Wings before breaking back into a regular role with Columbus last year.
After appearing in 76 games for the Jackets last year and earning a one-year, league minimum extension, playing time has been tougher to come by for Aston-Reese in 2025-26. He’s played in just over half of Columbus’ games this season and has now been a healthy scratch in six of eight. He’s scored a goal and five points in 26 outings, recording a career-low 0.65 shots on goal per game (aside from his three-game sample size in Detroit). He’s still blocking shots and hitting with aplomb, but with ice average ice time now back under 10 minutes per game and his possession impacts dwindling, he hasn’t been much more than a 13th forward – especially with offseason signing Isac Lundeström taking some of Aston-Reese’s penalty-kill minutes.
Unlike Aston-Reese, Gaunce didn’t start the year on the active roster, but has logged roughly the same amount of playing time anyway. He cleared waivers in camp and headed to Cleveland, but has been up with the Jackets since November. In 25 showings, the 31-year-old has been moderately more productive with two goals and six points. He’s been especially valuable on draws, where he’s winning a team-high 56.9% of faceoffs. Nonetheless, with Lundeström back after missing a few weeks, he’s been in the press box for the last two games.
For now, Danton Heinen has earned the honor of serving as the Jackets’ 13th forward while Aston-Reese and Gaunce head back to Cleveland or get claimed by another squad. Since being acquired from the Penguins in the Egor Chinakhov deal last month, he’s put up two points in 11 games with a -1 rating and 21 hits.
Wood, 30, has been out of action since New Year’s Eve because of a leg injury. Between that and some previous ailments, he’s missed 19 of the Jackets’ 51 games but has still churned out an 8-4–12 scoring line in 32 outings. That’s twice as many goals as the speedy winger had last year in a similar number of games for the Avalanche, and with Charlie Coyle now up to 33 points in 51 games on the year, it’s safe to say Columbus is happy with the investment they made when bringing them both in via trade from Colorado.
Hurricanes Place Noah Philp On Waivers
The Hurricanes have placed center Noah Philp on waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. He had been on injured reserve with a concussion; now that he’s healthy, he won’t be back with Carolina. He’ll either be headed to AHL Chicago or another NHL club if he’s claimed off the wire.
Philp, 27, was claimed off waivers from the Oilers just last month. If Edmonton submits a claim for him and is the only team to do so, they could send him directly to their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield without having to waive him again.
The Alberta-born pivot sustained the concussion in just his second appearance for Carolina on Jan. 6 against the Stars. He logged just 18:26 of total ice time across the pair of contests in a Canes sweater, notching two shots on goal and six hits while going 11-for-21 (52.4%) on draws. Including a 15-game run with the Oilers earlier in the year, he has a 2-1–3 scoring line with a -7 rating in 17 showings in his second NHL season.
There are red flags in Philp’s possession game. Even accounting for his deployment as a shutdown center at even strength, his 41.6 CF% at 5-on-5 is ghastly for a center who played in two extremely favorable possession environments in Carolina and Edmonton. He had a 54.8 CF% in 15 games with the Oilers last year, but in far more sheltered usage. There’s been some intrigue in the 6’3″, 200-lb frame he brings to the table, but it will be hard to continue justifying deploying him in a grinder role at the bottom of the lineup if he continues to be a significant drag on his team’s ability to control play.
Signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Alberta in 2022, Philp does have a nice 38-34–72 scoring line with a +13 rating in 130 career AHL games, all with Bakersfield. That includes a 35-point effort in only 55 games last year after he took a leave of absence for the entire 2023-24 campaign. The Oilers are likely hoping they’re the lone interested party in retaining him, either for familiar fourth-line depth or an AHL needle-mover.