Flames Place Blake Coleman On Injured Reserve
As expected, the Calgary Flames announced they’ve placed forward Blake Coleman on the team’s injured reserve. The transaction opens up a roster spot for tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, though the Flames haven’t shared a corresponding roster move.
Assuming he remains on a day-to-day recovery timeline, Coleman should return by the weekend. The Flames likely made the transaction retroactive to his last game on January 8th, meaning Coleman will be eligible to return on Saturday against the New York Islanders. He’s dealing with a minor upper-body issue.
The 34-year-old forward has been the topic of much conversation this season, though not on the injury front. There is a growing expectation that the Flames will trade Coleman ahead of the trade deadline. He has recently been connected to the Montreal Canadiens.
Still, Coleman holds some of the power in any trade negotiations as the owner of a 10-team no-trade list in his contract. Additionally, he’s signed through next season at a $4.9MM salary, giving Calgary plenty of time to pull the trigger one way or another.
When healthy, he’s been his consistent self with the Flames, scoring 13 goals and 21 points in 44 games. Being one of the most consistent goal-scorers on the team throughout the duration of his contract, Coleman is only eight goals away from 100 in a Flames uniform. For any team looking to add more firepower to their secondary scoring, Coleman fits the bill.
Oilers Activate Tristan Jarry, Jake Walman
The Edmonton Oilers are nearly back to full force. According to a team announcement, the Oilers have activated goaltender Tristan Jarry and defenseman Jake Walman from their long-term injured reserve.
The moving parts don’t end there either. In the same announcement, Edmonton shared that they’ve moved veteran forward Adam Henrique to the long-term injured reserve, and have converted netminder Connor Ingram‘s emergency recall into standard one.
Despite being acquired a month ago, the Oilers have seen very little of Jarry. In only his third game with the team, Jarry left the contest with a lower-body injury and hasn’t played since.
Throughout his brief intro to the team, he played relatively well, being credited for three wins in his three starts. However, much of that had to do with the performance of the team in front of him, as Jarry only managed an .887 SV%, 3.08 GAA, and -0.7 Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA).
It is still too small a sample size to accurately predict his future performance in Edmonton. Before the trade, Jarry had managed a 9-3-1 record in 14 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins with a .909 SV%, 2.66 GAA, and 4.8 GSAA.
Meanwhile, the Oilers will get a major boost to their defensive core with the return of Walman. The 29-year-old blueliner hasn’t played since late November due to a lower-body injury, missing the team’s last 23 games.
Before the injury, Walman was his typically steady self, scoring three goals and 10 points in 17 games while averaging more than 20 minutes per game. Still, Edmonton will want more stability from him on the defensive side of the puck, as he’s only managed an 85.4% on-ice SV% at even strength this season.
On the other side of the transaction, the Oilers have expectedly moved Henrique to the LTIR. The 16-year veteran suffered an undisclosed injury on January 6th and isn’t expected to return until after the Olympics.
Lastly, Edmonton will surprisingly move forward with three netminders on the active roster. Despite having a disastrous performance with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, Ingram has provided some stability in net for the Oilers of late. In his first year with the organization, he has managed a 4-2-1 record in seven games with a .904 SV% and 2.70 GAA. If he continues his success, fellow netminder Calvin Pickard‘s days with the team could be numbered.
Flames Assign Martin Pospisil To AHL On Conditioning Loan
According to a team announcement, the Calgary Flames have moved forward Martin Pospisil to the long-term injury list, and have loaned him to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers on a conditioning loan. Pospisil has been on the Flames’ injured reserve for the entire 2025-26 campaign.
There haven’t been many reports specifying Pospisil’s injury. Still, it’s known that he has been dealing with an undisclosed upper-body injury dating back to the preseason, and he has been ramping up skating over the past few weeks.
Once he returns, he should provide additional scoring to Calgary’s bottom-six, and could even find his way into the middle-six if the Flames trade from their forward core leading up to the trade deadline. Throughout the past two years, Pospisil has scored 12 goals and 49 points in 144 games, averaging 13:20 of ice time per night.
Outside of being a playmaker, Pospisil is one of the most physical forwards in Calgary’s arsenal. He’s led the team in hits over his past two years, averaging 3.74 hits per game. Additionally, he’s been a solid analytical player for the Flames, averaging a 54.4% CorsiFor% and 92.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength.
Meanwhile, another team stands to benefit from Pospisil’s expected return. Pospisil was named to Team Slovakia for the 2026 Winter Olympics, being one of their best international players over the past few years. In the summer of 2024, Pospisil scored three goals and seven points in seven games with a +5 rating during the IIHF World Championships. Additionally, he helped the team reach the Olympic Games this year, registering three assists in three games during last year’s Olympic Games qualifiers.
Blues Activate Nick Bjugstad, Place Mathieu Joseph On IR
According to Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis Blues have activated center Nick Bjugstad from the injured reserve. Additionally, the Blues have placed winger Mathieu Joseph on the injured reserve in a corresponding roster move.
Bjugstad’s upper-body injury kept him out for more than a month. He last skated on December 9th, and he’s missed the Blues’ last 15 games. Initially, he was only expected to miss five days.
Still, although it’s never positive when a player is injured, Bjugstad was highly in need of a reset. The 33-year-old forward signed a two-year, $3.5MM contract with St. Louis last summer, and the deal hasn’t proven fruitful for either side.
Throughout his first 25 games with the team, Bjugstad has scored only four goals and one assist, averaging 11:27 of ice time per night. His faceoff percentage has been a benefit to the team, particularly because most of his shifts begin in the defensive zone. Still, the Blues were likely hoping for more offense when they signed him.
There was reason for optimism, too. Two years ago, while playing for the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes, Bjugstad had the best season of his career, scoring 22 goals and 45 points in 76 games, along with a +11 rating. Last season, he experienced a significant drop in performance, finishing with eight goals and 19 points in 66 games with the Utah Hockey Club. However, much of this decline was attributed to injuries.
Meanwhile, Joseph lands on the injured reserve due to an infection in his elbow. He was originally given a day-to-day recovery timeline, though he has already missed the Blues’ last three contests.
Unlike Bjugstad, Joseph is on pace to usurp last year’s totals, his first season in St. Louis. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with four goals and 14 points in 60 games, and has already scored two goals and 10 points in 35 contests this season.
Assuming he remains on a day-to-day timeline, Joseph should return relatively soon. Once he returns, the Blues will have to shed another forward from the roster, given that they’re at a full 23-man roster.
Kraken Activate Chandler Stephenson, Reassign Oscar Fisker Molgaard
The Seattle Kraken have returned to a fully healthy forward core. The Kraken announced that they’ve activated Chandler Stephenson from the non-roster list and have reassigned Oscar Fisker Molgaard in a corresponding roster move.
Stephenson was placed on the non-roster list only three days ago, as he and his wife were expecting the birth of their child. He missed two games for Seattle, and the team earned a split decision, losing to the Carolina Hurricanes before beating the New York Rangers.
He’s expected to reprise his role as the team’s second-line center, where he’s played relatively well this season. He’s third on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 27 points in 42 games, averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game. Additionally, he’s been the best faceoff taker on the team, winning 52.4% of his draws.
Still, there is reason to believe that his production may dip relatively soon. Stephenson is averaging a 38.6% CorsiFor% at even strength, far and away the worst output of his career. However, it’s not an issue unique to Stephenson, as the Kraken themselves are 31st in the league in terms of possession quality, ahead of only the San Jose Sharks.
Meanwhile, Fisker Molgaard returns to AHL Coachella Valley after failing to appear in a game with Seattle throughout the duration of his recall. He’s skated in two games for the team this season, registering an assist while averaging 6:00 of ice time per game. He’s understandably been far more productive with the Firebirds, scoring six goals and 18 points in 30 games with a -5 rating.
Quinn Hughes Wanted To Go To Red Wings
In yesterday’s iteration of 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman claims that defenseman Quinn Hughes wanted to go to the Detroit Red Wings when the Vancouver Canucks were entertaining trade offers. However, Friedman indicated that General Manager Steve Yzerman was unwilling to pay the lofty price if an extension wasn’t guaranteed.
Hughes was eventually traded to the Minnesota Wild for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren, and a 2026 first-round pick. Detroit was known to be one of the speculative suitors at the time. However, many pundits believed that defenseman Simon Edvinsson was the major sticking point in negotiations, as being a player the Red Wings were unwilling to part with. Yesterday’s report from Friedman certainly alters that narrative.
Additionally, given that he’s not scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency until after the 2026-27 season, Hughes isn’t eligible to sign an extension until July 1st, 2026. Friedman’s report indicates that Yzerman was hoping for a verbal commitment from Hughes and his agent, Pat Brisson, that the former Norris Trophy winner would sign a long-term contract with Detroit. Although Hughes can’t sign an extension until the upcoming summer, he’s able to begin negotiating one whenever he pleases.
While it ultimately didn’t work out with Detroit on the trade front, they will certainly be a team to look out for if Hughes reaches free agency in 2027. However, that’s a big if.
There’s no doubting the connection. Hughes played for four years in southeast Michigan with the United States National Team Development Program before attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for two years. Still, he’s had a seamless transition to the Wild organization, scoring one goal and 16 points in 15 games while averaging nearly 28 minutes of ice time per game.
It appears that the lack of extension could be a major sticking point for Yzerman leading up to the trade deadline. In the same episode on Monday, Friedman discussed the recent speculation connecting the Red Wings to Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson, noting that Detroit would likely avoid him if he is not willing to commit long-term.
Regardless, it’ll be a breath of fresh air to a Red Wings fan base that has been starving for a big-time addition by Yzerman, particularly on defense. The team is on pace to get over the playoff hurdle, sitting in first place in the highly competitive Atlantic Division with a 28-15-4 record. However, it’s important to remember that Detroit has played the most games of any team in the division.
The Red Wings should be comfortable with their top pairing. The combination of Edvinsson and Moritz Seider is one of the league’s best at even strength, averaging a 55.2% xGoals%. However, there’s a stark drop-off in performance from the second pairing. Veteran Ben Chiarot and rookie Axel Sandin Pellikka have combined for a 45.8% mark, which ranks 81st out of the 99 defensive pairings that have played in 200 or more minutes together.
If Detroit can remain healthy after the Olympic break, all rumors suggest a significant addition to their defense. However, regarding the rental market, the quality of potential trade candidates is thin. Given the desire to stay away from a player who isn’t willing to stay with the team long-term, the Red Wings could look to the market for defensemen signed beyond this season.
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.
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.
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.