Injury Notes: Werenski, Konecny, Gibson
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that star defenseman Zach Werenski has been sidelined for tonight’s game against the New York Rangers due to an illness. The exact nature of his absence, beyond that he is ill, has not yet been disclosed, but based on prior cases of players being sick for games, it is unlikely Werenski will miss too much time. Regardless, the news is still significant, as there are few players who are more valuable to his team on a nightly basis than Werenski. The 28-year-old has scored 65 points in just 54 games this season, and averages 26:26 time-on-ice per game, including 2:49 on the power play and 1:30 on the penalty kill. He ranks No. 2 in the NHL in scoring by a defenseman (behind only Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard, who quarterbacks a power play featuring Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl), and No. 2 in the NHL in time-on-ice per game, behind only Olympic teammate Quinn Hughes.
For as long as Werenski’s absence persists, the Blue Jackets will likely increasingly rely on veteran Ivan Provorov, who occupies a role that on other teams would be considered a No. 1 defenseman’s workload. Provorov, who has 20 points in 56 games this season, is averaging 25:11 time-on-ice per game, including playing on the second power play unit, and averaging 3:06 per game on the penalty kill. Despite not even leading his team in the stat, Provorov ranks No. 5 in the NHL in time on ice per game, ahead of several star No. 1 defensemen such as Cale Makar, Jake Sanderson, and Rasmus Dahlin.
Other injury notes from around the NHL:
- The Philadelphia Flyers announced tonight that forward Travis Konecny will miss tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, and will be sidelined on a day-to-day basis. Konecny occupies a first-line role in Philadelphia, playing alongside No. 1 center Christian Dvorak and star winger Trevor Zegras. While he was unable to parlay his spot on Canada’s victorious 4-Nations Face-Off team into a spot in the Winter Olympics, 2025-26 has still been a strong year for Konecny. Through 58 games, he has scored 23 goals and totaled 57 points, which gives him a chance to set a new career-high in scoring. Replacing Konecny on the top line, per Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer, is speedy winger Owen Tippett, who has been elevated from the second line.
- Detroit Red Wings starting goalie John Gibson left today’s road win over the Nashville Predators with an upper-body injury, according to a team announcement. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press relayed word from head coach Todd McLellan postgame, who told the media that he believes Gibson is “OK,” but added that he’ll be evaluated when the team returns to Michigan. Gibson has been a good fit in Detroit this season, his play helping lift the team into playoff position in the Eastern Conference. In 39 starts, Gibson has gone 23-12-2 with a .906 save percentage and 2.57 goals-against average.
Minnesota Wild Place Marcus Foligno On IR
The Minnesota Wild placed veteran forward Marcus Foligno on injured reserve today, according to an official announcement. Wild head coach John Hynes told the media yesterday, including The Hockey News’ Dylan Loucks, that there was no update on Foligno’s status other than he wouldn’t be able to play on Sunday.
Even with a designation retroactive to the last time he played (Feb. 27 against the Utah Mammoth), Foligno will have to miss at least the team’s next two games, coming tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Friday against the Vegas Golden Knights. Foligno is dealing with a lower-body injury, but the full extent of the injury, or a more detailed recovery timeline, has yet to be provided.
Foligno’s injury costs the Wild a key veteran leader in their forward group. Although his offense isn’t what it once was (he scored 14 goals and 29 points last season, but has just six goals and 11 points this year), he remains a key defensive forward and penalty killer for the team. This year, Foligno has resumed his role on the penalty kill, averaging 1:29 time-on-ice per game while short handed.
While the addition of Fabbri to the roster provides some experienced reinforcement, he’s not an exact, or even approximate, replacement for what Foligno provides. The 34-year-old has appeared on Selke Trophy ballots four times in his career, while Fabbri, on the other hand, has rarely killed penalties in his career.
If Foligno’s injury keeps him sidelined for an extended period, it’s possible the Wild could be motivated to add a veteran defensive winger before the trade deadline, or perhaps a penalty kill specialist. With Foligno out, his minutes on the penalty kill are likely to trickle down to two other veteran contributors: Yakov Trenin and Marcus Johansson.
On The Athletic’s trade board penned by insider Chris Johnston, several depth wingers with varying degrees of defensive ability were listed, including Vancouver Canucks pivot Teddy Blueger (1:49 per game on the penalty kill), Chicago Blackhawks winger Ilya Mikheyev (2:47 per game short-handed), and former Wild deadline addition Gustav Nyquist.
Edmonton Oilers Acquire Connor Murphy
5:00 p.m.: Both the Oilers and the Blackhawks have now officially announced the trade.
As mentioned previously, significant roster maneuvering was necessary to facilitate the deal. According to Puckpedia, after Janmark’s placement on LTIR earlier today, and the expected reassignment of Howard, the team was able to create enough cap space to fit in the $2.2MM cap hit brought by Murphy. With 21 active players and Janmark on LTIR, the Oilers will have approximately $200K in cap space remaining after this deal.
As for Janmark, he’s out with an undisclosed injury. As relayed by Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch characterized Janmark’s injury as “a chronic injury that needs some rest,” and said he’d be out “long term.” So far this season, Janmark has gotten into 43 games for the Oilers, scoring eight points. He’s averaged 11:51 time-on-ice per game, including 1:30 per game on the penalty kill. The Swedish forward is under contract for another season at a $1.45MM cap hit.
3:23 p.m.: The Edmonton Oilers are in the process of completing a trade for Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy, a league source tells Chris Johnston of The Athletic. Chicago will acquire a second-round pick in return and retain $2.2MM of Murphy’s $4.4MM cap hit per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. The trade was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Edmonton won’t be able to acquire Murphy’s $2.2MM cap hit until they send a player to the minor leagues per PuckPedia. The Oilers recalled Josh Samanski and Isaac Howard earlier in the day, after placing Mattias Janmark on long-term injured reserve. Howard is expected to be the man reassigned per DailyFaceoff’s Jason Gregor. The deal is not expected to be completed until after 5 P.M. ET, the beginning of the 3/3 business day for cap purposes.
This move will mark a reunion between Murphy and Oilers general manager Stan Bowman. Bowman served as the Blackhawks’ GM in 2017, when Murphy was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes alongside Laurent Dauphin in exchange for Niklas Hjalmarsson near the end of his career. Murphy stepped into an immediate role in the Blackhawks’ lineup, taking on a third-pair role while Erik Gustafsson, Jordan Oesterle, and Gustav Forsling vied for a second-pair role.
Murphy notched 14 points, 34 penalty minutes, and a minus-three in 76 games of his first season with the Blackhawks. He proved to be an impactful rush defender who didn’t get in the way of Chicago’s star forwards as they drove up the ice. But Murphy began to run into routine injury beginning in the 2018-19 season. Via injury and healthy scratches, Murphy missed out on 85 games between the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons. He racked up 57 points and a plus-one in 217 games across those four seasons.
More notably, he worked his way back to full health for the 2022-23 season. By then, Murphy had emerged as one of only a few veterans on a rebuilding Blackhawks defense. That standing pushed him up into tough, top-four minutes often in relief of Blackawks’ top defender Seth Jones. In the heavy role, Murphy racked up 13 points and 69 penalty minutes in 80 games of the 2022-23 campaign. Injuries and scratches came back to bite him over the last three seasons, pulling Murphy back into the swing of routine absences. He tied his career-high 19 points in 68 games last season but has so far only totaled 13 points in 60 games this season.
While luck hasn’t been on his side in Chicago, Murphy has shown an ability to once again stick in the lineup through much of this season. He has returned to a defensive-defenseman’s role, operating from the bottom pair but routinely tapped to play more than 20 minutes against strong offenses.
Murphy will bring a robust, defensive ability to a high-octane Edmonton blue-line. The Oilers found a cohesive top-pairing in Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard but haven’t yet found the right match for Darnell Nurse, who has spent significant time with six different D partners this season. Murphy could become the seventh man to stand by Nurse, bringing a bit more veteran certainty than previous partners like Spencer Stastney or Ty Emberson. That pairing could move Emberson back to a bottom-pair role and free up Jake Walman to rotate throughout the lineup.
That flexibility will be welcome as Edmonton eyes another long postseason run. Murphy has only appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once in his 13-year career – when he played nine games and scored four assists in the 2020 postseason. He should be headed for his second playoff bid now with the Oilers, and could prove to be an X-factor addition should his defensive focus free up Nurse, or Walman, to drive the offense a bit more.
Photo courtesy of Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports.
Stars Place Tyler Seguin On Season-Ending LTIR
3/2: Seguin has officially been moved to season-ending, long-term injured reserve per PuckPedia. This will provide his full, $9.85MM cap hit as salary cap relief, adding $6MM in savings ahead of the Trade Deadline.
2/27: The Stars have filed paperwork declaring forward Tyler Seguin out for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Under this season’s new rules regarding long-term injured reserve, that declaration increases the Stars’ LTIR pool from its current $3.67MM to roughly $9.7MM ahead of next week’s trade deadline, unlocking more than $6MM in additional cap space.
Seguin, 34, underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL back on Dec. 16, but the Stars did not issue a recovery timeline. Later that week, Dallas said they’d re-evaluate him following the Olympic break and make a determination on his status from there. Evidently, this week’s testing revealed he’s at least around four months away from returning, ruling him out of a potential Stanley Cup Final run.
Seguin, whose contract ends following the 2026-27 campaign, will have played just 47 regular-season contests over the past two years, a hair over 25%. He had hip surgery in December 2024 that took out most of his regular season but permitted him to return for the playoffs. He’ll have no such luck this time around, though.
Even as the 2010 second overall pick deals with several severe injuries in the latter half of his career, he’s maintained his status as a consistent top-six producer in the Lone Star State. Since sustaining a hip injury in 2020 that nearly ended his career, he’s averaged 26 goals and 57 points per 82 games while skating around 17 minutes per game. He’s not sniffing the consistent 70-to-80-point production that defined his prime, but he had 17 points in 27 games this season before the ACL tear and produced over a point per game in his truncated showing last season.
It’s a definite blow to a Stars team that isn’t scoring as much as they’d like this season, but it does allow them to address that issue in earnest by next Friday afternoon. After finishing top 10 in the league in goals in each of the last three seasons, they’ve dropped back to 11th place at 3.33 goals per game this year. In The Fourth Period’s latest trade board, David Pagnotta noted Dallas general manager Jim Nill has at least worked the phones on names like Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman, and Brayden Schenn up front while displaying interest in Luke Schenn, Tyler Myers, Justin Faulk and others to address their relatively weak right-shot depth on defense.
None of those pickups would have been possible without moving significant money the other way if they didn’t make Seguin ineligible to play again this season. They were already eating into about half their LTIR pool to stay compliant as things were, leaving them with just under $1.94MM in deadline cap space. That number now jumps to nearly $8MM by shifting Seguin to season-ending LTIR.
Panthers’ Luke Kunin Clears Waivers
3/2: St. Louis has lost Fabbri to a waiver claim from the Minnesota Wild, while Kunin has cleared waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Kunin has now been assigned to the AHL.
3/1: Today has become a busy day on the wire, as the St. Louis Blues have waived forward Robby Fabbri, and the Florida Panthers placed Luke Kunin on waivers. Both were reported by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Fabbri and Kunin are both former first round picks with at least 450 games of NHL experience, although they’ve become journeymen at this stage in their careers.
For Fabbri, the news is not much of a surprise, as Robert Thomas was activated from injured reserve earlier today. A top prospect of the Blues a decade ago, Fabbri found himself back where he started, signing a one year deal worth $775k back in December. The agreement came after the 30-year-old’s unsuccessful PTO bid with the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with a brief tryout agreement with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Since then, Fabbri appeared in 15 games with St. Louis, finding the back of the net once to go with three assists.
The Ontario native netted 18 goals in 68 games just two years ago as a Red Wing, but his 18.6% shooting percentage was never thought to be sustainable. Fabbri continues to have lackluster possession metrics at even strength, currently at the 45.5% mark.
With such a low cap hit, it’s not out of the realm of possibility, but a claim seems unlikely. If that’s the case, Fabbri will head to AHL Springfield, a league which impressively, the veteran has played just nine games in his career, otherwise in the NHL. He still offers organizational depth, but the 31st ranked Blues are in a position where playing younger players is in their best interest. If this is the beginning of the end for Fabbri in the NHL, he’s had an impressive 457 game career with 220 points, and his name on the Stanley Cup.
Meanwhile, Kunin also brings a very reasonable $775k cap hit which expires this summer. Once a first rounder of the Minnesota Wild with top six upside, the Missouri native has become a fourth liner with gritty attributes, as he has just four points in 44 games. He caught on with the reigning champions last August to provide depth, which has been needed, considering the team’s glut of injuries this year.
After some solid play with Nashville from 2020-22, Kunin was sent to San Jose. Over the next three seasons wearing teal, Kunin got to enjoy a larger role and help lead on a rebuilding Sharks squad. However, he never recorded more than 18 points, and fully embraced a more physical brand of hockey.
Between Fabbri and Kunin, the latter seems to be more likely of a claim. Players in Kunin’s mold are often targeted by buyers at this time of year. At last year’s trade deadline, Kunin was dealt to Columbus for a fourth round pick. His stock hasn’t improved after unremarkable play as a Panther this year, but teams will have the chance to bring in the 28-year-old with a minimal cap hit for nothing in return, and he could benefit from a fresh start.
Image Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Canucks’ Guillaume Brisebois Clears Waivers
3/2: Birsebois has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
3/1: In the midst of several notable NHLers waived earlier today, another name is set to run through the wire. Canucks defenseman Guillaume Brisebois has landed on waivers, per the team, although according to GM Patrik Allvin the transaction is with the intent to reassign him to AHL Abbotsford.
Brisebois, 28, was drafted in the third round by Vancouver back in 2015. Rarely seen in today’s league, the 6’2″ lefty has managed to stick with the organization for the long haul, mainly in the AHL but appearing in 30 games over the years with the Canucks, where he’s recorded three points. He got into three games back in January, not recording any stats and averaging 15:48 a night.
Brisebois debuted with Vancouver in February 2019, an entirely different era where Alexander Edler and Loui Eriksson were still wearing the blue and green, so it’s impressive for him to still be around. Summoned at times over the years when they’re thin on the back end, Brisebois has skated in more than eight contests in an NHL campaign just once, 2022-23, where he played in 17.
The Quebec native is a free agent at season’s end, but until then, a claim seems unlikely. Whatever comes next for the veteran, it has been a nice run in the Canucks organization, a 2025 Calder Cup champion, and still in the mix as part of a 2015 draft class headlined by stalwart Brock Boeser. With the Canucks at the bottom of the league, and Abbotsford hardly faring better, it would be nice to see Brisebois get some more action this spring considering his contributions to the organization over the past several years.
Oilers’ Andrew Mangiapane, Alec Regula Clear Waivers
3/2: Both Mangiapane and Regula have cleared waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. They can now be assigned to the minor leagues, opening up more cap space for Edmonton to leverage at the Trade Deadline.
3/1: This afternoon the Edmonton Oilers revealed that Andrew Mangiapane and Alec Regula have been placed on waivers. With the Trade Deadline just five days away, the moves give the team much needed cap space.
Efforts to trade Mangiapane throughout the season have not proven successful. His $3.6MM cap hit through 2026-27 and a no trade clause are stumbling blocks for the usually steady secondary scorer who hasn’t been a fit with the Oilers. Last July, the idea was that the former 35-goal man could revive his offensive game alongside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. Edmonton had moved on from Evander Kane and Viktor Arvidsson, so Mangiapane figured to be a worthy replacement.
Instead, to date, the soon to be 30-year-old has 14 points in 52 games and is a -19. It’s the first time he’s been in the negatives since a 10 game audition as a 21-year-old rookie with Calgary in 2017-18. Mangiapane’s 50.0% corsi for at even strength is indicative that he just doesn’t move the needle. Rather, Jack Roslovic has filled the role, making the most of his opportunity to play on Draisaitl’s wing. Mangiapane has been a healthy scratch at times, unable to find his footing in head coach Kris Knoblauch‘s system.
As recently as late February, it was noted that several teams have varying levels of interest in Mangiapane. Ottawa, Detroit, Anaheim, and Winnipeg have been linked, with the Senators known as having real trade talks for the forward. Now they’ll have the chance to bring him into the fold for nothing in return, although it would be doing a favor for their opponents in Edmonton, who are clearly handcuffed to the player for now.
In all likelihood, he will clear, still taking up at least $2.45MM against the Oilers’ salary cap, where they will have to add further incentives in a trade this week. At least for today, they’re dangling him on the wire, as one of the more notable players waived this year.
On the other hand, Regula was claimed off waivers by the team in December 2024, coming from the Bruins. He subsequently earned an extension through next season, at a more friendly $775k AAV, but now may find himself back on the move soon.
The former Red Wings draft pick is a coveted righty with size (6’4″) and is still just 25 years old. While GM Stan Bowman hopes to move on from Mangiapane, it’s not necessarily so much the case with Regula, whom Bowman himself acquired for his old franchise, Chicago, in 2019. Regula has simply been passed on the depth chart by Ty Emberson, as he hasn’t played since January 20. If any team is to consider a claim, they’ll have to look past Regula’s unfavorable possession metrics. Yet as far as seventh/eighth defensemen go, he is a viable option whether it will continue to be in Edmonton, or if claimed, which would become his fifth organization.
Currently third in the Pacific, Edmonton will be one of the most fascinating teams to watch this week. Their big acquisition of goaltender Tristan Jarry hasn’t evoked confidence yet, and Bowman will try to add more pieces to solidify the group’s spot in the postseason this spring.
Image Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Predators’ Adam Wilsby Out Week-To-Week
Nashville Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby will be unavailable for Monday’s afternoon matchup against the Detroit Red Wings. He has been designated as out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Wilsby left Nashville’s Saturday loss to the Dallas Stars in the second period. It was not clear when he sustained his injury.
The Predators will have to shake up their blue-line with Wilsby on the shelf. Nicklaus Perbix and Nicolas Hague earned extra minutes to fill the gap on Saturday but it will be Justin Barron who benefits most from the lineup hole. Barron only appeared in two games in the month of February. He recorded one assist, a plus-two, and three shots on net while filling a bottom-pair role. On the year, Barron has racked up five assists and a minus-four in 32 games. Those marks are a slight dip from the 12 points and minus-14 that Barron managed in 45 games with the Predators last season, after a December trade moved him to Nashville from the Montreal Canadiens.
Barron should be able to match Wilsby’s scoring production if he rediscovers last year’s totals. Wilsby has 12 points in 45 games of his own this season, coupled with a minus-three. He has proven to be an impactful defensive-defenseman down Nashville’s lineup, using a big frame and active stick to defend the rush and spark breakouts. Wilsby is in his first season in a full-time, NHL role after breaking into the league last season. He split 2024-25 between 23 games in the NHL and 13 games in the AHL, netting five points in each league. Nashville will get a chance to test the younger Barron in the short future but will likely move back to Wilsby once he’s back to full health.
Devils Sign Matyas Melovsky To Two-Year, Entry-Level Contract
The New Jersey Devils have signed forward prospect Matyas Melovsky to a two-year, entry-level contract. Melovsky is playing through his first pro season with the AHL’s Utica Comets on a minor-league contract. He has three goals, 13 points, and a minus-eight in 35 games.
Melovsky, 21, was a sixth-round pick to the Devils in the 2024 NHL Draft. He earned his selection on the heels of a standout year with the QMJHL’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Czechia’s international U20 team. Melovsky recorded 42 assists and 60 points in 53 QMJHL games that season – but caught the most attention during the 2024 World Junior Championship. Playing on a line with Buffalo’s Jiri Kulich and Seattle’s Eduard Sale, Melovsky racked up 10 assists and 11 points in seven tournament games, good for second on the team in scoring behind Kulich’s 12 points. That mark helped push Czechia to a Bronze medal finish and earned Melovsky a must-buy status late into the draft.
The bump-and-grind forward followed his draft selection with 26 goals and 83 points in 57 games with Baie-Comeau last season. It was a stellar encore, even without a return to the World Juniors after Melovsky aged out of eligibility. With three point-per-game seasons in the QMJHL and a sizable, 6-foot-1 and 190-pound frame, Melovsky had stamped his right for a pro role. He has slotted into Utica’s top-nine this season. He has found his scoring touch recently, after a quiet start to the year, racking up seven points in his last 14 games. The Devils will acknowledge that hot streak by signing Melovsky to the first NHL contract of his career, set to begin in the 2026-27 season. That deal will give the bulky forward a chance to compete for NHL minutes as soon as his second pro season.
Latest On Vincent Trocheck
Heading into Friday’s trade deadline, there is growing confidence that Vincent Trocheck will be traded from the New York Rangers. However, if you’re a fan of a Western Conference team, don’t expect Trocheck to be joining your club.
According to Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic, Trocheck confirmed that he prefers to stay in the Eastern Conference. Mercogliano quoted Trocheck, saying, “It’s no secret. (West teams) are on my no-trade list.”
Trocheck’s comments indicate that every team on his 12-team no-trade clause is in the Western Conference. That theoretically leaves the possibility for four Western Conference teams to pursue Trocheck, as well as the entire Eastern Conference. Given that he’s also committed to winning, that could leave the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild as potential options, as they’re both in the Central Time Zone.
Any team interested in Trocheck will know exactly what they’re getting. He’s been remarkably consistent and healthy throughout his career, particularly during his tenure with the Rangers. Since signing a seven-year, $39.83MM ($5.63MM AAV) contract with New York in 2022, Trocheck has scored 85 goals and 238 points in 291 games, averaging 20:40 of ice time. Additionally, even though his cap hit will remain $5.63MM through the 2028-29 season, Trocheck will only have $14.5MM ($4.83MM/yr) remaining on the last three years of his contract.
There is nothing in Trocheck’s game that has suffered a steep fall off since entering his 30s. He remains physical, a quality performer in the faceoff dot, and defensively sound. For any playoff-bound team, there are few options better than Trocheck built for the postseason.
The two notable Eastern Conference teams that have been heavily linked to Trocheck are the Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings. Trocheck should be comfortable with either club, given that both are competitive this season and he has ties to both. He played two and a half years with the Hurricanes before ultimately signing as a free agent with the Rangers.
Additionally, despite being born in Pittsburgh, Trocheck spent his amateur hockey days with the Detroit-based Little Caesars hockey program before joining the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. Furthermore, Trocheck’s wife, Hillary, grew up in the Saginaw, MI area.