Avalanche Reassign Daniil Gushchin
Nov. 10th: Gushchin’s first recall of the 2025-26 campaign will end without an NHL appearance. Earlier today, the Avalanche announced that they’ve reassigned Gushchin to AHL Colorado. Per the new rules regarding paper transactions, Gushchin will have to play in one game for the Eagles before he’s eligible to return to the NHL.
Nov. 8th: The Avalanche have brought up some extra forward depth heading into their game tonight in Edmonton. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled winger Daniil Gushchin from AHL Colorado. They had two open roster spots prior to the move.
The 23-year-old was acquired from San Jose back in late July in exchange for winger Oskar Olausson in a change-of-scenery swap for a pair of players who had slid down their former employer’s depth chart. Gushchin then signed a one-year, two-way contract that same day that pays $775K in the NHL and $150K in the minors with a guaranteed payout of $200K.
It’s the second recall of the season for Gushchin although the first one only lasted two days and he didn’t see any NHL action during that time. He has been quite productive with the Eagles in the early going this season, notching nine goals (tied for the league lead) and two assists in a dozen games.
Gushchin has 18 career NHL appearances under his belt over parts of three seasons with the Sharks. In those outings, he has a respectable two goals and three assists while averaging 13:14 of playing time. We’ll see if he has a chance to add to those totals on this recall.
Five Key Stories: 11/3/25 – 11/9/25
After a flurry of long-term deals were handed out last week, this week was much quieter on the transaction front. However, there was still some news of note from the past seven days, recapped in our key stories.
Barnes Promoted: Even hockey fans who aren’t entirely familiar with advanced statistics have likely heard of the terms Corsi rating and Fenwick rating. Those were created by Tim Barnes, under the pseudonym Vic Ferrari. Barnes joined Washington’s front office more than a decade ago and he now has a new role with the team as he has been promoted to Assistant GM. He becomes the third AM under Craig Patrick, joining Ross Mahoney and Don Fishman. The Capitals are no stranger to getting creative with some of their front office moves; late in the spring of 2024, they purchased the former cap-tracking site CapFriendly, adding the staff from their site into the fold as well.
Back To Russia: Vitali Kravtsov’s return to North America didn’t go as well as he had planned. A so-so preseason saw the 2018 ninth overall pick land on waivers and after passing through unclaimed, the Canucks sent him to AHL Abbotsford. Things didn’t go better there as he managed just four points in ten games and with several others getting an NHL look before him, he requested and was granted a termination of his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. He won’t be unsigned for long as it’s expected that he will sign a three-year deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL, returning to the team he spent the last two seasons with, including putting together a 27-goal, 58-point performance in 2024-25.
Dubois Out Long Term: Pierre-Luc Dubois had a strong first season with Washington in 2024-25, posting a career-high 66 points while helping lead them to the Eastern Conference regular season title. Year two didn’t start strong with no points in six games and it has gotten even worse. He recently underwent surgery to address injuries to his abdominal and adductor muscles; the estimated timeline for a return is three to four months. His absence will be a big one for a Washington team that has been slow out of the gate, sitting seventh in the Metropolitan Division heading into tonight’s action. Dubois will be eligible for regular LTIR which would give them up to $3.82MM in additional spending flexibility. However, since they have more than that in regular cap room per PuckPedia, it’s unlikely they’ll be dipping into LTIR.
Kampf Suspended By Maple Leafs: After deciding he wanted to step away from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies to ponder his playing future, the Maple Leafs suspended David Kampf without pay, further fueling speculation about a change being on the horizon. Believed to be a key issue here is the $1.325MM signing bonus paid back in July. If Kampf requests a contract termination, Toronto could be seeking repayment of that while the NHLPA would argue that it should remain with him. Kampf has been away from the Marlies for more than a week now so it feels like this should be coming to a conclusion in the near future.
Kyrou Scratched: One of the bigger stories of the week came from St. Louis. With the Blues struggling to start the season, head coach Jim Montgomery sent a message to his group by scratching Jordan Kyrou. The winger has had an okay start to his year with nine points in 15 games but after being in trade speculation over the summer, this could get him back in the rumor mill. Speaking of that rumor mill, reports are beginning to surface that the Blues could be looking to retool or at least shake up their roster so they could be a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks. One of those retooling moves won’t involve veteran winger Milan Lucic, at least for now, as he was released from his PTO and signed a PTO with their AHL affiliate in Springfield where he’ll continue his NHL comeback efforts.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.
Malcolm Subban Signs In Czech League
While it took a while, veteran UFA goaltender Malcolm Subban has found a place to play this season. After no early-season opportunities came up in the AHL, he has decided to head overseas as HC Dynamo of the Czech Extraliga announced that they’ve signed him to a deal for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.
The 31-year-old was a first-round pick by Boston back in 2012, going 24th overall but only got into parts of two games with them. He has also spent time at the top level with Vegas, Chicago, Buffalo, and Columbus, most recently in 2023-24. However, despite seeing NHL action in parts of eight different seasons, Subban has only played in 87 games overall, posting a 3.10 GAA and a .898 SV% while recording three shutouts.
Subban has been a regular at the AHL level for the bulk of his playing career. He split time last season between Grand Rapids on a PTO and Belleville, where he posted a 3.13 GAA and a .883 SV%.
Over his eight AHL seasons, Subban has posted a 100-84-37 record with a 2.70 GAA, a .909 SV%, and eight shutouts. However, he wasn’t in training camp with an NHL team and an opportunity didn’t come around like it did with Belleville last season so it’s no surprise he looked overseas. He’ll be aiming to perform well with Dynamo in the hopes of securing another North American opportunity next season.
Ducks Activate Ryan Strome, Place Radko Gudas On Injured Reserve
The Ducks have made a pair of roster moves heading into their game tonight against Winnipeg. Patrick Present of The Hockey News relays that Anaheim has activated center Ryan Strome off injured reserve. To make room for him on the active roster, defenseman Radko Gudas has been placed on IR.
Strome has yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury sustained in practice during the preseason. In 2024-25, the 32-year-old put up 41 points for the third season in a row after tallying 10 goals and 31 assists in 82 games while averaging over 16 minutes a night of playing time as a middle-six center.
It would be surprising to see Strome have a similar role this season. Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish are their main two pivots while Mikael Granlund – when healthy – will be anchoring a line as well. That should push Strome to the wing, a role he might be better suited for given his struggles at the faceoff dot; he won just 41.7% of his draws last season. Still, his return will be a welcome one to an attack that’s already among the NHL’s best in the early going; they enter play tonight with the second-most goals in the NHL.
As for Gudas, he has been out for a little more than two weeks with a lower-body injury. Assuming that the placement is back-dated, he’ll be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s cleared to play. The 35-year-old has played in seven games this season, picking up two assists, 12 blocks, and 23 hits in 15:35 per night of playing time.
Sabres Looking To Move Alexandar Georgiev
It has been a rough run over the last year and a bit for veteran goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. After struggling mightily between Colorado and San Jose last season, his first trip through unrestricted free agency didn’t yield much interest. Instead, he had to wait until just before the start of training camp to get a contract as he signed a one-year, $825K deal with the Sabres as an insurance policy with some uncertainty surrounding Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen heading into camp.
However, after a poor training camp, Buffalo elected to bring in a different insurance policy, claiming Colten Ellis off waivers from St. Louis. As a result, Georgiev was placed on waivers and was sent to AHL Rochester after passing through unclaimed. Meanwhile, Luukkonen has returned and the Sabres appear to be intent on carrying three goalies this season.
Meanwhile, Devon Levi is Buffalo’s preferred goaltender in Rochester. While he hasn’t had the immediate NHL impact they were hoping when they signed him a few years ago, he’s still a decent prospect and needs to be getting the bulk of the playing time. As a result, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported earlier this week that Buffalo is now trying to find a new home for Georgiev.
The 29-year-old has respectable career numbers at the NHL level despite his recent struggles. In 303 games over parts of eight seasons, he has a 151-108-26 record with 2.99 GAA, a .903 SV%, and 15 shutouts. However, the last time he posted a save percentage over .900 was back in 2022-23 so it’s fair to suggest that anyone who might be looking to add him would be viewing him more as injury insurance than someone who could come up and play in the NHL right away.
With Levi getting the bulk of the workload, Georgiev has been limited to just two appearances in the minors through the first month of the season where he has allowed seven goals on 67 shots in a pair of losses. That said, a chance to play more regularly might result in a better performance moving forward.
The fact that Georgiev’s contract is a one-way pact will also limit his value. While more teams are now willing to pay NHL money to a third-string netminder, quite a few still try to avoid doing so while those who have an AHL netminder on a one-way deal likely won’t be looking to add another. However, as goalie injuries pick up, Buffalo might have a chance to move him for a future considerations type of return over the coming weeks. For someone who was a number one NHL goalie to start last season though, this is quite the fall from grace for Georgiev and his value.
Sharks Assign Zack Ostapchuk To AHL, Send Down Vincent Iorio On Conditioning Loan
With the team off until Tuesday, the Sharks have made a pair of roster moves. The team announced this afternoon (Twitter link) that forward Zack Ostapchuk has been assigned to AHL San Jose. Meanwhile, blueliner Vincent Iorio has also been sent to the Barracuda on a conditioning stint.
Ostapchuk’s stint with the Sharks was short-lived as he had only been recalled on Thursday and didn’t see any action after his promotion. Acquired from Ottawa at last year’s trade deadline as part of the Fabian Zetterlund deal, the 22-year-old played somewhat regularly down the stretch, getting into 13 games. However, with the option of having limited playing time in the NHL or a bigger role in the minors, the Sharks have opted for the latter this season while he remains waiver-exempt. In nine games with the Barracuda this season, Ostapchuk has two goals and an assist.
As for Iorio, he was claimed off waivers from Washington midway through last month when the Sharks were dealing with some injuries on the back end. He played regularly for about a week and a half, getting into six games where he was held off the scoresheet while posting six blocks in 16:20 a night of playing time. However, he has been a healthy scratch in seven straight games as some of their injured rearguards have started to return. With this being a regular conditioning loan, it can last for up to two weeks.
While two players are coming off the roster, the Sharks are only gaining one roster spot with these moves. Iorio will remain on San Jose’s roster while on assignment, meaning that they still have 22 players on their active roster.
Flames Recall Daniil Miromanov, Place Zayne Parekh On IR
6:00 p.m.: Huska provided some more clarity regarding Parekh’s timeline today, according to Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike. Huska told the media that Parekh’s injury is considered “week-to-week.” Pike also noted that while Parekh is on injured reserve, games played by the Flames will still “count” for Parekh regarding the 40-game threshold that would see him accrue a year of service time towards unrestricted free agency.
While there’s still a long way to go before the Flames have to begin seriously thinking about any looming UFA status for Parekh, who is just 19 years old, Parekh’s UFA timeline could come into play in future extension talks. It is generally viewed as more expensive for a team to sign a contract covering a year where a player would be eligible for unrestricted free agency compared to restricted free agency. As a result, even though any unrestricted free agency for the player seems to be far away at this point, it is still an aspect of this injury news that is notable.
11:57 a.m.: After losing defenseman Zayne Parekh to an upper-body injury last night against Chicago, the Flames are bringing up a replacement for him. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled blueliner Daniil Miromanov from AHL Calgary. To make room on the roster, Parekh was placed on injured reserve.
Miromanov broke camp with the Flames but playing time was rather difficult to come by as he was in the number eight role. As a result, he was placed on waivers a little under three weeks ago and after clearing, he was sent to the Wranglers. In seven games with them so far, the 28-year-old has done relatively well, picking up a goal and three assists.
Miromanov has 94 career NHL games under his belt, one coming this season. He got into a career-best 44 games with the Flames in 2024-25 where he had nine points and 55 blocked shots while averaging 17:41 per night. In the final season of a two-year, $2.5MM deal, he’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and might be staring down a possible salary reduction.
As for Parekh, head coach Ryan Huska told reporters postgame including Postmedia’s Daniel Austin that the rookie was set to miss some time, even though they don’t yet know the full extent of the injury. With this placement, he’ll be out for at least one week. Parekh recently officially began the first season of his entry-level contract once he eclipsed the nine-game mark and has one assist in 11 outings in 2025-26 while playing a little under 15 minutes a night.
Zachary L’Heureux To Miss Four To Six Weeks
Things were looking up were Predators winger Zachary L’Heureux earlier this week. He was recalled from the minors on Tuesday although he didn’t see any game action. It turns out he won’t be playing anytime soon as the team announced (Twitter link) that he will miss the next four to six weeks due to a lower-body injury.
The 22-year-old spent most of last season with Nashville as an early-season recall following a strong start with AHL Milwaukee turned into a permanent promotion. L’Heureux wound up playing in 62 games in his freshman NHL year, picking up five goals and ten assists along with 198 hits in just over 12 minutes a night of action, becoming a key part of their physical bottom six.
With that in mind, it was expected that L’Heureux would break camp with the Predators and pick up where he left off. However, he only played in two preseason games and then was sent to the Admirals at the end of training camp, becoming a somewhat surprising training camp cut. He did well in the early going with Milwaukee though, collecting four goals and two assists in seven games to earn his promotion.
L’Heureux is in the final season of his entry-level contract and was hoping for a strong platform year to give him a sizable raise from his current $863K AAV. Instead, he’ll wind up going without any NHL action for more than two months which is hardly the outcome he or the Predators were hoping for.
Capitals Activate Ethen Frank, Assign Spencer Smallman To AHL
The Capitals have made a pair of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against Tampa Bay. The team announced that they have activated winger Ethen Frank off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, forward Spencer Smallman has been sent back to AHL Hershey.
Frank didn’t make Washington’s roster out of training camp but was recalled less than two weeks into the season. However, the 27-year-old sustained an upper-body injury in his third game of the year, landing on IR soon after. Frank has an assist in those three outings to go along with four goals and three assists in 24 games with the Caps last season in his first taste of NHL action. He also had two goals and three helpers with the Bears prior to his recall.
As for Smallman, the 29-year-old received the first recall of his career last weekend. However, he will have to continue to wait to make his NHL debut as he was the reserve forward for Washington while on recall. Smallman had two goals and an assist in six outings with Hershey before the recall and has ranged between 21 and 34 points in his last four minor league campaigns.
With these roster moves, Washington’s active roster remains at the maximum of 23 players.
Metropolitan Notes: Hamilton, Foerster, Keller
Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton left Thursday’s victory over Montreal with an undisclosed injury and he’ll be out for a few games at least. Team reporter Amanda Stein relays (Twitter link) that the veteran will be out for a minimum of a week, which suggests that he’s likely to land on injured reserve before long with New Jersey carrying the maximum of 23 players at the moment. The 32-year-old had been off to a solid start to the season before the injury, picking up four goals and three assists in 14 games while logging nearly 21 minutes a night of playing time. Colton White will take Hamilton’s spot in the lineup for the time being after being recalled earlier this week; he suited up this afternoon against Pittsburgh for his first NHL game since April 13, 2023.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Flyers winger Tyson Foerster skated before practice yesterday as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, notes Gabriela Carroll of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 23-year-old landed on IR earlier this week retroactive to November 1st, meaning he can be activated at any time since he has now served the minimum of one week. Foerster was off to a good start before the injury, collecting four goals and three assists in 11 games while logging over 18 minutes a night of playing time.
- Capitals goalie prospect Antoine Keller has terminated his minor league deal with Washington to head back overseas. HC Ajoie in Switzerland announced that they’ve signed the 21-year-old to a two-year contract. Keller was a seventh-round pick by Washington back in 2023 and spent last season in the NL, albeit in a backup role with Lausanne where he only played in 13 games. Keller was also on France’s roster at the most recent Worlds and could be part of their group for the upcoming Olympics as well. Washington has until June 1, 2027 to sign Keller to an entry-level deal or they will lose his rights.