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Evening Notes: Neighbours, Kemell, O’Connor

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The St. Louis Blues will get leading goal-scorer Jake Neighbours back on their current five-game road trip, per head coach Jim Montgomery. Neighbours has been out with a right-leg injury since St. Louis’ October 25th win over the Detroit Red Wings. He scored two goals in that game, bringing his year-long totals up to six goals in eight games. That mark was double any other Blues’ goal total at the time, and is still tied for the team lead despite him missing the last 11 games. He has seven points in total.

The Blues will be anxiously anticipating the return of their hot hand. They have posted a 3-4-1 record since Neighbours’ exited the lineup – the fifth-lowest point-percentage in the NHL in that span. It’s been a brutal stretch, marked by St. Louis averaging over four goals against per game. Neighbours’ confident offense, and chemistry with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, should help spur the Blues’ offense; while his physicality supports the defense. The 23-year-old could return as soon as Thursday’s game versus the Philadelphia Flyers.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Nashville Predators have reassigned winger Joakim Kemell to the minor-leagues. Kemell was recalled on November 10th, but didn’t appear in any NHL games over the last week. His only NHL action this year came in two games at the start of Nashville’s season. He managed no scoring, one shot on goal, and four hits in the pair of outings. Kemell has managed six points in six AHL games this season, making him one of three Milwaukee Admirals scoring at a point-per-game. He’ll now bring that productivity back to an Admirals team that’s 5-1-0 through November.
  • The Colorado Avalanche will have to wait a bit longer to get depth forward Logan O’Connor back into the lineup. He has sustained an soft-tissue issue that will delay his return from a hip surgery he underwent in March per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. This new injury is unrelated to the surgery, per Rawal, but has still pushed back O’Connor’s original return date of early November. The 29-year-old right-winger appeared in 80 games, and scored 21 points, with the Avalanche last season. He’s become a fixture of the team’s fourth-line, and has managed at least 20 points in each of the last four seasons.

Sharks’ Jeff Skinner Out Week-To-Week

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The San Jose Sharks will continue on without one of their veteran wingers. Jeff Skinner is set to miss about two weeks with aa lower-body injury, head coach Ryan Warsofsky told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Skinner was placed on injured reserve on November 15th, and won’t be eligible to return until November 22nd at the soonest.

Skinner sustained his injury in San Jose’s November 13th loss to the Calgary Flames, after getting tangled up with Flames winger Rory Kerins and tumbling into the boards. He appeared to be in immediate pain and needed help off the ice. Luckily, he avoided the worst of injury, with Warsofsky quiping that San Jose got lucky with Skinner’s timeline.

Skinner has had an up-and-down start to his tenure in San Jose. He started the season with a four-game scoring streak, but followed it with a four-game scoring drought that ended with a healthy scratch on October 26th. Skinner returned from the press box to three points in five games, but was riding a three-game scoring drought prior to his injury. On the year, he has recorded four points, a minus-four, and 29 shots on goal in 16 games.

That’s a far fall for a winger who is only four seasons removed from back-to-back 30-goal seasons, and a career-high 82 points in the Buffalo Sabres’ 2022-23 campaign. His scoring tumbled to 46 points in the following year, then to only 29 points with the Edmonton Oilers last season.

Skinner will need to find a way to spur that scoring when he returns in December. Meanwhile, Warsofsky also shared that 2025 second-overall pick Michael Misa – also week-to-week with a lower-body injury – will take a bit longer to recover per Max Miller of San Jose Hockey Digest. Misa sustained his injury during practice and hadn’t carved out a role in the Sharks’ lineup prior. He has three points through his first seven NHL games. A longer-than-two-weeks designation will put Misa on track to return just before the holiday season – or, just before the 2026 World Junior Championships, which the star prospect wasn’t selected for last season. He would be a true X-factor for Team Canada if San Jose used the tournament to spur Misa’s return from injury.

Blackhawks Place Nick Foligno On IR With Hand Injury

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10/17: The Blackhawks have placed Foligno on injured reserve after learning he’ll miss four weeks of action. Chicago has iced 11 forwards and seven defenseman – bringing Louis Crevier into the lineup – in Foligno’s absence. They’ll face one of three options now that their captain is on IR – stick with seven defenders every night; recall a forward like Toninato; or wait for Dickinson, who said he won’t return until he’s back to a full 100% per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.

10/16: The Chicago Blackhawks will be without captain Nick Foligno for the next month, head coach Jeff Blashill told Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Sports. Foligno sustained a hand injury after blocking a shot in Saturday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He left the game with a few minutes left in the second period and did not return.

On top of the moral weight of losing their captain, Chicago will lose yet another forward in their middle-six with this news. The team is already without Jason Dickinson and Tyler Bertuzzi, who are both carrying day-to-day designations. Now, Foligno will fall out of the lineup as well, leaving a major hole on the wing. Foligno has filled any role Chicago has needed over the course of the season. He had two points, one fight, and a plus-three in his last five games entering Saturday’s matchup. Those marks brought him up to six points, all assists, in 15 games on the year – to go with 16 penalty minutes, 11 blocked shots, and 41 hits.

Chicago has rotated Foligno between the wing and center based on need. With no extra forwards on the roster, the Blackhawks will need to make a call-up to fill Foligno’s shoes. Unfortunately, the team is also without top call-up option Nick Lardis, who is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury per the Rockford IceHogs. Lardis leads all AHL rookies in scoring with 14 points in 15 games. He could quickly receive his first NHL call-up once he’s back to full health. Until then, Chicago will likely turn towards Dominic Toninato, who has nine points in 15 games for Rockford.

Drew Doughty Expected To Miss Weeks With Lower-Body Injury

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10/17: The Kings have confirmed that Doughty is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury per the team’s Manager of Editorial Content Zach Dooley. No details were provided on the injury, though they did clarify that it is unrelated to the ankle injury he sustained last season. Hopefully that will help him recover quickly, with a winning Kings season and Winter Olympics both at stake.

10/16: The Los Angeles Kings could be in store for a major absence. Veteran defender and alternate captain Drew Doughty was seen in a walking boot after Saturday night’s match against the Ottawa Senators, after leaving the game in the second period following a blocked shot. He appeared in pain right away, and gingerly returned to the Kings’ bench without putting weight on his left foot. The team expects to know more about his injury alter today, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. He is expected to be out week-to-week, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

Doughty only played through 11 minutes of ice time before exiting the game. He has been heavily leaned on over Los Angeles’ recent stretch, averaging more than 22 minutes of ice time over his last five games. He’s rewarded that usage with four points, eight blocked shots, and two hits. Those numbers brought Doughty up to eight points, 30 blocks, and 11 hits in 18 games entering Saturday night.

An extended absence would be dismal news for the 36-year-old Doughty. He fractured his left ankle in a preseason game in September 2024 on an awkward hit from Tanner Pearson. The injury required surgery, sticking Doughty with a month-to-month injury designation. He didn’t return until January, and only managed 17 points in 30 games before Los Angeles’ season ended. Doughty’s health has fluctuated wildly over the second-half of his career. He enjoyed an ironman streak from 2014 to 2019, but missed 15 games in 2019-20 and 43 games in 2021-22. He returned to good health, only missing one game between 2022 and 2024, until injury derailed him last season.

Doughty was named to Team Canada’s preliminary roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics in August. He was one of 42 skaters, and 13 defenders, named to the squad – putting him under a microscope for the rest of the year. This season will likely mark Doughty’s final chance to stand as an Olympian. He has already won two Olympic Gold medals, while posting eight points in 13 games. Doughty also represented Canada at the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off, where he scored one point in four games.

Winnipeg Jets Make Multiple Roster Moves

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The Winnipeg Jets’ forward core is going to have several differences for their upcoming contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Winnipeg announced that they’ve activated forwards Morgan Barron and Cole Koepke from the injured reserve.

Additionally, the team shared that forwards Nikita Chibrikov, Parker Ford, and Brad Lambert had all been reassigned in a corresponding roster move. All three forwards were exempt from waivers, making it much easier to activate Barron and Koepke.

Barron has been out since the Jets welcomed back their captain, Adam Lowry, in early November. He had assumed the third-line center duties in Lowry’s absence, scoring three goals and six points in 12 games, averaging 12:33 of ice time per game.

The fact that Winnipeg can now safely play Barron on the fourth line is a credit to their bottom-six depth this season. Barron is a well-above-average defensive center, averaging a 93.3% on-ice save percentage at even strength throughout his time as a Jet, and a 50.5% success rate in the faceoff dot.

Joining Barron on the active roster will be Koepke, who may not immediately step back into the lineup. Fashioned as a fourth-line winger, Koepke had only tallied two assists in 14 games before going down with his undisclosed injury.

Still, he remains in the team lead for physicality with 40 hits (2.86 per game). Regardless, there’s no questioning that Koepke doesn’t have the offensive ceiling of veteran wingers Tanner Pearson and Gustav Nyquist, who are expected to play next to Barron on the fourth line tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, none of Chibrikov, Ford, or Lambert were overly impressive throughout their time on the Jets roster. Ford and Lambert led the way in scoring with one point in 11 games and four games, respectively, while Chibrikov went scoreless.

It stands to reason that the AHL’s Manitoba Moose will benefit from today’s move. The Moose are currently in fourth place in the Central Division with a 7-6-2-0 record, and have now added three top-six forwards back into the mix.

Vancouver Canucks Reassign Victor Mancini

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The Vancouver Canucks have opened up a roster spot for the newly signed David Kämpf. Earlier today, Vancouver announced that they’ve reassigned defenseman Victor Mancini to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks.

Mancini’s reassignment is expected to serve as a form of a conditioning loan. He had missed the Canucks last eight games due to an undisclosed injury and was only recently activated from the injured reserve a few days ago.

Since Vancouver already has seven healthy defensemen on its active roster, it stands to reason that it’ll allow Mancini as much time as he needs to ramp back up and eventually rejoin the lineup. He’s skated in five games for the Canucks this season and one with AHL Abbotsford, going scoreless on both teams with a -2 rating on each.

Assuming Mancini returns to form in the AHL, it’ll be interesting to see how the Canucks rework their defensive core to recall him. Tom Willander and Elias N. Pettersson are the only two defensemen on the roster outside of Mancini who wouldn’t require waivers to be reassigned. However, each has played more games than Mancini and has played better up to this point.

Additionally, the team could risk sending Pierre-Olivier Joseph on waivers to open up a roster spot for Mancini. Joseph has tallied one assist in nine games throughout his first season in Vancouver, though he doesn’t hold as much long-term value to the organization like Mancini does.

Montreal Canadiens Recall Marc Del Gaizo

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The Montreal Canadiens have brought up some injury insurance ahead of tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Canadiens announced earlier today that they’ve recalled defenseman Marc Del Gaizo from the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

Although he’s expected to draw into the lineup this evening, Montreal only has six healthy defenseman on the active roster. As an away game, teams typically ensure they have an additional forward and defenseman on hand in case of an unexpected absence.

The former Nashville Predators draft pick is in his first season with the Canadiens, registering four assists in 11 games with AHL Laval with a +4 rating. Despite being recalled by Montreal on two separate occasions this season, he has yet to suit up for the Canadiens.

Before this season, the New Jersey native and University of Massachusetts alumnus had spent the first five years of his professional career with the Predators organization. He was drafted by the Predators with the 109th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and signed with the organization after his junior collegiate campaign.

Throughout his time with the Predators organization, much of Del Gaizo’s time had been spent with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. He scored 25 goals and 105 points in 248 games with the Admirals with a +24 rating, and two goals and 12 points in 55 games with Nashville as a depth defenseman.

Dallas Stars Place Matt Duchene, Adam Erne On LTIR

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Dealing with several injuries on their blue line, the Dallas Stars have opened up some cap space to recall a defenseman. The Stars announced they’ve placed forwards Matt Duchene and Adam Erne on the long-term injured reserve.

Technically speaking, Duchene is already eligible to return from his LTIR placement since it was made retroactive to October 18th. Duchene’s undisclosed injury has limited him to just four games this season, during which he has scored one goal and one assist.

It’s been an unfortunate beginning to the 2025-26 campaign after signing a four-year, $18MM contract with the Stars this offseason. The former third-overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft was a point-per-game player with Dallas last year, scoring 30 goals and 82 points in 82 games. He was expected again to be a contributing middle-six center for the Stars this season.

Fortunately, the long-term loss of Duchene has been offset by the exceptional play from Wyatt Johnston and Roope Hintz. The pair has combined for 15 goals and 37 points for the Stars this season in 33 games, with the former contributing offensively nearly every game, scoring 11 goals and 21 points in 19 contests.

Meanwhile, Erne’s eligibility for return has been pushed back a few weeks. Dallas placed Erne on the injured reserve a few days ago, and he won’t have satisfied the requirements for return from LTIR until December 5th.

Still, the Stars didn’t allude to a potential return date for Erne when they placed him on the IR, although today’s news gives additional clarification. The nine-year veteran had scored two goals and three points in 14 games for Dallas before suffering the lower-body injury.

Placing both players on LTIR allows the Stars to activate Jamie Benn, who’s very close to returning, at some point over the next few days. Additionally, Dallas will also have the flexibility to recall a defenseman — likely Vladislav Kolyachonok.

Anaheim Ducks To Activate Radko Gudas

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The Anaheim Ducks are expected to welcome back their captain this evening. According to Derek Lee of The Hockey News, the Ducks will activate defenseman Radko Gudas tonight, and he’ll be in the lineup against the Utah Mammoth.

Gudas has hardly played in the last year of this three-year, $12MM contract. Due to a lower-body injury suffered against the Boston Bruins on October 23rd, Gudas has missed Anaheim’s last 11 games.

In the seven games he has played in, it was more of the same for Gudas, tallying two assists with 12 blocked shots and 23 hits while averaging 15:35 of ice time per game. Although his CorsiFor% had shown some improvements from last season, Gudas’ on-ice save percentage at even strength had been significantly lower than his career average.

Regardless, even in the twilight years of his career, the Ducks know what to expect from Gudas. He’s one of the most physical defenseman in NHL history, sitting at 3,081 hits over the course of his 14-year career. That places him with the 10th-most hits in NHL history (since the stat had began to be recorded), and is likely to pass Brooks Orpik this season and potentially Milan Lucic.

The Ducks should also benefit from his leadership upon entering a trying time of the NHL calendar. After winning seven consecutive games at the end of October into early November, Anaheim has lost three straight in regulation. Fortunately, the Ducks’ next six games are at home where they’ve only lost once this season. Currently in second place in the NHL’s Pacific Division, Anaheim’s postseason odds will only climb if they remain in playoff positioning by American Thanksgiving.

Flames Recall Dryden Hunt, Sam Morton; Reassign Rory Kerins

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The Calgary Flames have made a few changes to their active roster. Calgary announced that they’ve recalled forwards Dryden Hunt and Sam Morton. Additionally, the team has reassigned forward Rory Kerins to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in a corresponding roster move.

Today’s recall presents an opportunity for Hunt to play in his first NHL game of the season. Despite seeing his role reduced over the last three years in Calgary, Hunt re-upped with the Flames on a two-year, $1.65MM contract this past summer.

Regardless of seeing his opportunity drop at the NHL level, Hunt has become an exceptional offensive force for the Wranglers. Since coming to the organization in a minor swap with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline during the 2022-23 season, Hunt has scored 33 goals and 102 points in 104 games for AHL Calgary. Unfortunately, this has not resulted in NHL success, as Hunt has contributed only three goals and 11 points across 33 games while averaging 11:13 of ice time since his move to Alberta.

Likewise, Morton is another depth forward in the Flames organization who’s been highly successful at the NHL level. Calgary signed Morton as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State University in the 2023-24 season. Since then, he’s scored 29 goals and 64 points in 99 games with the AHL Wranglers. Still, he’s hardly gotten an opportunity at the NHL level. He’s only played in one game for the Flames up to this point, a game in which he scored his first NHL goal.

Meanwhile, Kerins returns to the Wranglers after participating in a couple of games for the Flames. He did average 15:51 of ice time over his recent recall, but went scoreless with a -1 rating. He’s scored five goals and 14 points in 13 games with AHL Calgary this year.

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