Atlantic Notes: Kane, Bryson, Lindholm, McCue
Red Wings winger Patrick Kane suffered an injury late in Friday’s victory over Tampa Bay when he crashed hard into the boards. He’s now set to miss at least one game due to the injury as Max Bultman of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the veteran has been ruled out of playing tomorrow against Edmonton. The 36-year-old is off to a strong start to his season with two goals and three assists in his first five outings, good for third on the team in scoring but he won’t be adding to those totals for at least a few days. There’s no word yet on if he’ll miss any more time beyond Sunday’s outing.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- The Sabres announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Jacob Bryson suffered an upper-body injury this afternoon against Florida. The injury occurred on his first shift of the game after taking a hit from Jonah Gadjovich. Bryson came into the games with an assist through his first four games of the season while averaging a career-low 11:31 per game, an ATOI number that’s certainly going to take a dip after today’s contest. Zach Metsa is the only other healthy blueliner on Buffalo’s roster so if Bryson is set to miss any more time, Metsa should be in line for his NHL debut soon.
- After missing the last three games with a lower-body injury, Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game against Colorado, notes team reporter Belle Fraser (Twitter link). When healthy, Lindholm is a top-pairing impactful blueliner but staying in the lineup has been a challenge lately; he missed 65 games last season due to a knee injury.
- Maple Leafs prospect Sam McCue announced on his Instagram account earlier this week that he has committed to Bowling Green State University. The 20-year-old was a seventh-round pick by Toronto back in 2024 and is off to a strong start in his final season of major junior, putting up four goals and two assists in eight games with OHL Brampton.
Joel Kiviranta Out Indefinitely; Avalanche Assign Jack Ahcan To AHL
The Avalanche will be without a veteran winger as they take on Boston tonight. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Joel Kiviranta is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. In a separate move, the club also announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Jack Ahcan has been reassigned to AHL Colorado.
Kiviranta is coming off a career showing in 2024-25. After only reaching the double-digit plateau once before (an 11-point effort in 2020-21), the 29-year-old potted 16 goals last season along with seven assists while also averaging a career-high 12:31 per game of ice time. That helped him eventually earn a new contract with a small raise as he re-signed a one-year, $1.25MM deal back in August.
However, he has been quieter in the early going so far this season. Through five games, Kiviranta has been held off the scoresheet and has managed just three shots on goal while his playing time has dipped by nearly two minutes a night despite still taking a regular turn on their penalty kill. Now, he’ll be waiting a while to put up his first point on the season as head coach Jared Bednar clarified to reporters including Aarif Dean of Colorado Hockey Now that Kiviranta will be out several weeks at a minimum.
As for Ahcan, he was recalled from the Eagles on Sunday following a strong start that saw him put up four points in his first two AHL appearances. However, he didn’t see any action during this recall, keeping his career NHL total at 11.
With these moves, the Avs have just a dozen healthy forwards and six healthy blueliners. While that’s optical from the perspective of accruing as much cap space as possible, it’s a strategy that certainly carries some risk as well when it comes to injury exposure. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the team make at least one recall from the minors before too long.
Senators Expected To Resume Shane Pinto Extension Talks Soon
With Senators center Shane Pinto heading into the final year of his contract this season, the team and his representatives held extension talks over the offseason but were too far apart in terms of his value. As a result, those discussions were put on pause with Pinto’s camp wanting to get through the start of the season without any possible distractions.
It appears that will soon be changing. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that there’s an expectation that the two sides will meet again soon to rekindle those talks.
There have been some interesting moments in contract talks with him before. When he was a restricted free agent back in 2024, there were suggestions that his camp was hoping to solicit an offer sheet in the hopes of landing a contract that was closer to the value they were seeking from the Sens. Considering he wound up signing a bridge deal soon after, clearly one never materialized.
That bridge agreement was a heavily backloaded two-year, $7.5MM pact. The deal sees Pinto receiving $5MM in salary this season. With the qualifying offers being the lower of either his current-season salary or 120% of the AAV ($3.75MM in this case), he’s already set for a raise in his cap charge with his qualifying offer checking in at $4.5MM with salary arbitration rights next summer.
Pinto’s performance and the quickly rising salary cap ensure that he’ll be getting a higher number than that on his next deal. Last season, he picked up a career-best 21 goals and 37 points in 70 games while largely playing in their top six.
This season, he’s off to an even better start. The 24-year-old is tied for the league lead in goals with six through five games and while a shooting percentage of 40 is clearly unsustainable, both sides are certainly hoping that another career year offensively is on the horizon.
Garrioch relays word from a league source that suggested that Ottawa’s offer to Pinto’s camp was a longer-term offer in the $5MM to $5.5MM range, one that would lock him in as their third pivot for years to come. With Tim Stutzle now moved to center and the acquisition of Dylan Cozens at the trade deadline last season, the hope is that those two will lock down the top two center slots for the foreseeable future.
But with that offer coming in not too high above the qualifying offer, it’s understandable that Pinto wouldn’t have wanted to sign that type of deal this early. Meanwhile, a league executive suggested to Garrioch that Pinto might be looking to land a contract with a price tag between Cozens ($7.1MM) and Stutzle ($8.35MM). While his offensive production to-date wouldn’t necessarily justify that, it’s also reflective of the expectation that salaries are set to jump quickly in this new cap environment.
There is definitely some risk in restarting discussions while Pinto is in the middle of a hot streak and Ottawa’s offer certainly won’t be pegging Pinto to keep producing at his current level. But if he has done enough for the Senators to up their original proposal, it might be enough of a step to see if the two sides can get something worked out.
Brandon Montour Taking Temporary Leave Of Absence From Kraken
The Kraken will be without their top defender for the next little while. The team announced (Twitter link) that Brandon Montour will be taking a temporary leave of absence from the team to tend to a family matter. No further details will be provided by the club.
The 31-year-old had gotten off to a strong start for Seattle this season. Through four games, Montour leads the team in assists with four through four games while those four points are tied for the team lead. He’s also their team leader in playing time, averaging just under 23 minutes per game. That comes on the heels of playing a similar role last season when he notched 18 goals and 23 assists in 81 games while logging 22:59 per contest, a solid first season with the Kraken after signing a seven-year contract with them as an unrestricted free agent.
With Ryker Evans yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury, Seattle’s defensive depth is going to get tested a little more now. Cale Fleury has been the reserve defender for each game so far and in the short term, it makes sense that he would take Montour’s place in the lineup.
If Montour’s absence winds up taking some time, the Kraken might want to recall someone from AHL Coachella Valley to ensure that they have some depth available, especially with four games to go on their season-opening eight-game road trip. While they have a full 23-player roster at the moment, they would be able to designate Montour to non-roster status to open up a slot to recall someone into if they decide to go that route.
Canadiens Announce Multiple Injuries, Recall Owen Beck
While the Canadiens pulled off a comeback victory on Thursday against Nashville, it came at a cost as three players are now injured. The team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Kaiden Guhle will miss four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury while center Kirby Dach and winger Patrik Laine are day-to-day with lower-body injuries as well. In a corresponding move, center Owen Beck has been recalled from AHL Laval on an emergency basis.
Guhle had gotten off to a solid start to the season, playing alongside Lane Hutson on Montreal’s second pairing. He had a goal and an assist through the first five games while adding five blocks and 16 hits in a little over 19 minutes a night. Guhle has missed at least a dozen games due to injuries in each of his first three NHL campaigns and that streak will now be extended with this injury. After being scratched on Thursday, Arber Xhekaj will take Guhle’s place in the lineup while the Canadiens will likely recall a defenseman in the near future to give them a seventh option.
Dach, meanwhile, is working his way back from a knee injury that ended his 2024-25 campaign prematurely. After managing his usage in the preseason, the Canadiens have limited his minutes a bit early on as he’s logging just 14:29 per night where he has a goal and an assist while anchoring their third line. As for Laine, he’s off to a quiet start in his contract year with just one assist through his first five appearances while predominantly playing on the fourth line. That’s not an ideal start but now this day-to-day injury will give him a quick reset.
Beck was one of Montreal’s final training camp cuts for the second straight season after Oliver Kapanen beat him out for the final spot on the roster. He has played in three games with AHL Laval so far this season, picking up a goal and an assist. Beck had 44 points in 64 games with the Rocket in his rookie year while also getting into a dozen games with the Canadiens where he had one assist.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
The 2025-26 NHL regular season is now underway. As is often the case, we saw a flurry of extensions before the season started, plus one more early on in the year while there has been some interesting action early on. With that in mind, it’s a good time to once again open up the mailbag.
Our last call for questions yielded enough questions for a pair of mailbags. Topics in the first included one of the early CBA changes regarding paper transactions, getting out the crystal ball when it comes to non-playoff teams, and the Hughes brothers. Meanwhile, included in the second column were thoughts on what’s next for the Flyers, what type of impact Jonathan Toews could have with Winnipeg this season, and why we don’t see a lot of prominent players signing short-term contracts compared to other leagues.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run this weekend.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Buffalo Sabres
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Atlantic Division, next up are the Sabres.
Buffalo Sabres
Current Cap Hit: $93,341,521 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Zach Benson (one year, $950K)
F Josh Doan (one year, $925K)
F Jiri Kulich (two years, $886.7K)
Potential Bonuses
Benson: $650K
After a strong rookie year in 2023-24, Benson’s sophomore campaign was largely the same. While he didn’t take a step back in his development, he didn’t really progress either. While he’s someone the Sabres clearly feel will still be a part of their long-term plans, finding a price point low enough for them to be comfortable with and high enough for Benson to be happy with will be tough. With that in mind, a short-term bridge deal around the $4MM territory might make the most sense for both sides. He has three ‘A’ bonuses in his deal and if he stays in their top six all year, he could hit some of those.
Doan was one of the pieces coming to Buffalo in the JJ Peterka trade this offseason. He held his own in a bottom-six role for the bulk of last season with Utah but that’s not the type of player that typically signs a long-term deal at this point. A short-term bridge pact makes sense here, potentially in the $3MM area if he has a similar showing this season. Kulich showed some promise last season despite a relatively limited role. They’re hoping he can be a top-six center of the future and if it looks like he’ll be there at the end of this deal, a long-term pact could be on the table. The rate for that could be in the $8MM territory, even if he’s on the second line given the inflation coming to the cap.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
D Jacob Bryson ($900K, UFA)
D Michael Kesselring ($1.4MM, RFA)
F Peyton Krebs ($1.45MM, RFA)
F Beck Malenstyn ($1.35MM, UFA)
F Alex Tuch ($4.75MM, UFA)
Tuch’s contract situation is one of the biggest discussion points in Buffalo right now. He’s a local player who has publicly stated that he wants to re-sign but no agreement has been reached just yet. Seeing the recent explosion of the winger market, it’s likely that Tuch’s camp is seeking to more than double his current price tag. He has only passed the point-per-game mark once in his career but with two 36-goal efforts over the last three seasons, he’s still producing enough that he could very well surpass the $10MM mark on his next deal. If Buffalo continues to struggle, his name will come up in trade speculation quickly so it wouldn’t be surprising to see both sides plug away at this in the coming weeks.
Krebs bounced back last season after a tough 2023-24 campaign but he still hasn’t progressed to being a consistently reliable producer; he has yet to reach 30 points in a single season. However, given that he plays a premium position and has arbitration rights, he should be able to double this price tag next summer. Malenstyn wasn’t anywhere near as impactful in his first year with Buffalo compared to his 2023-24 season with Washington. However, with his physicality, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him pass the $2MM mark next summer, even as a pure fourth liner.
Kesselring was the other part of the return for Peterka and is someone Buffalo likely views as an important building block on the back end. He hasn’t become a full-time top-four piece yet but as a coveted right-shot defender with arbitration rights, he should be in a position to push for $4MM on a shorter-term deal while a long-term pact would likely run past $5MM per season. Bryson has been a depth defender for the last few seasons and is likely to remain in that role moving forward. That should keep him close to the minimum salary for next season and beyond.
Signed Through 2026-27
D Bowen Byram ($6.25MM, UFA)
F Justin Danforth ($1.8MM, UFA)
G Colten Ellis ($775K, RFA)
F/D Mason Geertsen ($775K, UFA)
F Jordan Greenway ($4MM, UFA)
G Alex Lyon ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Jack Quinn ($3.375MM, RFA)
D Conor Timmins ($2.2MM, UFA)
F Jason Zucker ($4.75MM, UFA)
Zucker and Greenway found themselves in similar situations last season, players on expiring contracts who were likely to be moved if they didn’t sign extensions. Instead, both worked out short-term deals that gave them some stability and kept Buffalo’s long-term options open. Zucker’s trips through free agency haven’t always proven fruitful but if he stays in the 50-point range the next couple of years, he could land a small raise and a multi-year pact, even as a 35-plus contract. As for Greenway, he has been the beneficiary of the power forward premium. When healthy, he struggles to reach 30 points and even staying in the lineup has been a concern. But given his size, physicality, and defensive acumen, there’s a high enough floor that Buffalo was willing to pay a premium on. He’ll need to produce a bit more if he wants to beat this by any sort of significant amount.
Quinn wasn’t quite able to live up to offensive expectations last season, resulting in this bridge deal getting signed back in June. Both sides will be hoping that he will be able to take that step forward and become a legitimate top-six piece. If that happens, he could plausibly push past $6MM or more two years from now. Danforth came over from Columbus in free agency as a versatile piece who can move up and down the lineup. But he will have to find a way to produce more if he is going to have a shot at beating this in his next trip to the open market. Geertsen hadn’t played in the NHL since 2021-22 before surprisingly making Buffalo’s roster in training camp. Unless he can establish himself as an every-game player, he’s likely to remain at the minimum salary in the future.
To avoid any risk of an offer sheet, the Sabres filed for arbitration with Byram this summer, setting him up for a two-year deal that took him right to unrestricted free agency. While they settled before the hearing, they couldn’t get any additional team control, meaning he’ll hit the open market at 26, in the prime of his career. Given how much salaries have exploded, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he pushes for a deal in the $10MM range on a max-term agreement. Timmins, acquired in a swap of third-pairing defensemen this summer, also managed to avoid arbitration with this deal. He has shown flashes of offensive upside over the years but has been more of a fifth or sixth option for most of that time. There’s a fine line to navigate for players in his situation as if he remains a lower-producing piece, the offers two years from now might not get to this level. But a few more points could propel him past the $3MM mark.
Lyon became a full-time backup goaltender over his two years with Detroit, getting into 74 games overall. However, his save percentage dipped to .896 last season which hurt his chances of getting a bigger deal this summer. Still, he did enough to get his biggest guaranteed contract. At this point of his career, it’s hard to see him moving into that top echelon of backups so while another small raise could be doable, he’s probably not going much higher than that. Ellis was claimed off waivers and has yet to make his NHL debut. Buffalo feels he has some upside as evidenced by the claim but when everyone’s healthy, he’s no higher than third on the depth chart. This doesn’t feel like a situation where he’s going to get a chance to play into a big contract but if he does well in limited action, he could land where Lyon is now.
Signed Through 2027-28
D Ryan Johnson ($775K, RFA)
F Tyson Kozak ($775K, RFA)
Both Johnson and Kozak are on identical three-year deals. However, with the minimum salary moving to $850K next season and $900K in 2027-28, their cap hits beginning next season should jump to $841.7K.
Kozak made his NHL debut last season, getting into 21 games where he did okay with limited playing time. He wasn’t a big point producer with Rochester either but the security of a three-year pact with two one-way years was enough to get him to sign. He’ll need to establish himself as a regular and make a bit of an impact to help his cause for a new deal as if he winds up with minimal production, he’ll become a non-tender candidate to avoid arbitration eligibility.
Johnson, a 2019 first-round pick, has had a limited role so far when he has played, including a 41-game stint in his rookie year. He also opted for the security of two one-way years while he looks to establish himself as a full-time defender. Like Kozak, he’ll want to be more established by the end of this deal to avoid being a non-tender candidate to avoid arbitration eligibility. If he’s a regular third-pairing option by then, Johnson could move up into the $2MM range on a contract.
Snapshots: Cooley, Davidson, Dubois, Wood, Didier
While the Flames didn’t claim any goaltenders off waivers this fall, it appears they’re not completely sold on Devin Cooley being the backup. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Calgary has been talking to teams to see what other options might be out there. However, they plan to give Cooley a look between the pipes, potentially on Wednesday, in the hopes that he can play his way into securing this position. If the Flames were to trade for (or sign) another netminder, that would give them four on one-way contracts, typically not an ideal situation to be in. Friedman added that as Calgary searches for another goaltending option, teams are asking for an incentive to take on one of those extra one-way goalies, something they’re resisting. If Cooley does well and earns the trust to be the full-time backup, this will work out okay but if he struggles, expect to see them looking around the market some more in the coming days.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- It has been nearly four years since the Blackhawks promoted Kyle Davidson to GM with the team posting a 107-187-35 record with him at the helm. Despite their struggles, team owner Danny Wirtz gave Davidson a vote of confidence in an interview with Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, saying that “Everything Kyle set out to do, he continues to deliver on”. Chicago has been stockpiling draft picks and prospects for several years now in the hope that a contender can emerge from this group and it appears Davidson will have a long leash from ownership to see if that will happen down the road.
- Capitals forward Pierre-Luc Dubois left Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury, notes Bailey Johnson of the Washington Post (Twitter link). An update on his status is expected on Tuesday. The 27-year-old had a career year last season in his first year with Washington, notching 20 goals and 46 assists in 82 games during the regular season. He was off to a slower start before this injury though, being held off the scoresheet in his first three appearances in 2025-26.
- Blue Jackets winger Miles Wood left tonight’s game against New Jersey with an upper-body injury, the team announced (Twitter link). He took a high stick from Dougie Hamilton in the first period and did not return. Wood is in his first season with Columbus after being acquired from Colorado in the offseason and scored in his second game of the campaign.
- Veteran defenseman Josiah Didier has signed a PTO deal with AHL Laval, the team announced (Twitter link). The 32-year-old was drafted by Montreal (who is Laval’s parent team) back in 2011 but he didn’t sign with them. Didier has spent parts of 12 seasons in the AHL, totaling 496 games overall where he has 83 points and 530 penalty minutes. With his experience, he’ll count towards their veteran limit whenever he suits up.
Brett Leason Signs AHL PTO With Charlotte
Last season, unrestricted free agent winger Brett Leason saw some regular action with Anaheim, primarily slotting in on their fourth line. However, no firm contract has come his way just yet so to get back on the ice and playing, he has signed a PTO contract with AHL Charlotte (affiliate of the Panthers), per a team release.
The 26-year-old played in 62 games with the Ducks last season where he notched five goals and 12 assists in just under 13 minutes a night of playing time. That output was a little below his 2023-24 output when he had 11 goals and 11 helpers in 68 contests. While Leason was non-tendered at that time to avoid arbitration, he quickly re-signed a one-year, $1.05MM contract. This past summer, Anaheim simply non-tendered him and moved on.
Leason took part in training camp with Minnesota on a PTO agreement and got into four games with them where he was held off the scoresheet before being let go at the end of September, sending him back to the open market.
This will be Leason’s first taste of AHL action in a while. The last time he saw time in the minors was back in 2021-22 with Hershey when he was still in Washington’s system. He has 18 goals and 29 assists in 114 games over parts of three seasons at that level and will look to have a strong showing there to help lock down a guaranteed contract for the rest of the season.
Josh Norris To Miss A Significant Amount Of Time
Oct. 13th: According to Sabres correspondent Heather Engel, head coach Lindy Ruff suggests that Norris is expected to miss eight weeks of action. Still, he is receiving a second opinion on the injury. Should the second opinion agree on the recovery timeline, that would project Norris’ return in the first week of December, costing him over 25 games of the 2025-26 campaign.
Oct. 11th: On Friday, the Sabres were still evaluating Josh Norris‘ upper-body injury to determine how long he might be out for. The evaluation appears to be ongoing still but the outcome is not ideal as head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters, including Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News (Twitter link), that Norris will miss “a significant amount of time” due to the injury.
It is a tough but all-too-familiar blow for the 26-year-old as injuries have dogged him throughout his seven NHL seasons. The injury occurred late in Thursday’s season opener against the Rangers off a faceoff and while he was eventually able to get up and go to the bench under his own power, he didn’t take a shift after that.
Norris was acquired by Buffalo in one of the bigger trades near the trade deadline last season, coming over from Ottawa with Dylan Cozens being the most significant piece going the other way in a swap of centers that might benefit from the change of scenery. However, Norris wasn’t able to get a chance to prove that as he suffered a season-ending mid-body injury in just his third game with the team. Now, he’s suffered another serious setback in his fourth game more than six months later.
Norris was coming off a 21-goal season in 2024-25, the second-best output of his career only coming behind the 35 tallies he had in 2021-22 with Ottawa. The hope was that he’d be able to bring some extra firepower to their top six forward group and while that still could be the case, it clearly won’t be happening anytime soon. Fortunately, Ruff later clarified to reporters, including WGR 550’s Paul Hamilton (Twitter link), that the injury isn’t related to any injuries he has had in the past.
If it’s determined that Norris will miss at least 10 games and 24 days with this latest injury, he will become LTIR-eligible. However, with Buffalo having a little more than $2.2MM in cap space, per PuckPedia, they’re not necessarily in a spot where they should need to use that. In the meantime, it’s likely that the Sabres will place him on regular injured reserve in the near future, opening up a roster spot for a recall from AHL Rochester.