Injury Notes: Jarvis, Lindholm, Nyquist
Carolina Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour told Walt Ruff, Hurricanes team reporter, it “doesn’t look great” for Seth Jarvis, who left tonight’s game in the third period. Jarvis caught a hard shot in the ankle area, needing help off the ice. The injury occurred late in Carolina’s convincing win over the Islanders, unfortunately, at a point when the game was already seemingly out of reach. The Hurricanes are already missing several players, most notably Jaccob Slavin, K’Andre Miller, and Shayne Gostisbehere.
Although further updates should come tomorrow, Brind’Amour’s comments are quite concerning, if the 23-year-old is set to miss an extended time. Jarvis has been elite so far this season, over a point-per-game, with an eye-popping seven goals in ten games.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Bruins forward Elias Lindholm left tonight’s game due to a lower-body injury, and the team has not provided updates, but Head Coach Marco Sturm told Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub, “it’s not typically a good sign”, that the forward had to be helped off the ice. Lindholm went down hard after running into Sabres forward Jordan Greenway at center ice. Lindholm’s absence will hopefully be limited, as he has looked much better so far in year two of his Bruins tenure, with nine points in 12 games.
- The Winnipeg Jets announced during tonight’s game that forward Gustav Nyquist would not return. There are no further details at this time, but the veteran was seen limping down the tunnel midway through the first period. Nyquist, 36, has yet to notch a goal with the Jets in 10 games, but he brings steady playmaking to the team’s middle six. Winnipeg went on to defeat Chicago in his absence.
Bruins’ Jordan Harris Undergoes Surgery, Out For Two Months
Oct. 30th: Harris and the Bruins have opted for surgery. Boston announced that Harris “underwent successful open reduction and internal fixation” surgery on his right ankle, which was fractured. He’s expected to miss the next two months.
Oct. 25th: The bad news continues to roll in for the Boston Bruins. Depth defenseman Jordan Harris is set to miss “a bit” with a lower-body injury, after stepping up to fill in for the injured Hampus Lindholm. Now, it appears Harris’ path to recovery could involve surgery, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm told Scott McLaughlin of WEEI. Boston placed Harris on injured reserve on October 22.
After placing Harris on IR and considering surgery, very little has emerged about the exact nature of the 25-year-old’s injury. He played in 15 minutes of ice time in Boston’s October 21 loss to the Florida Panthers and didn’t appear to sustain a noticeable injury. Nevertheless, Harris has sat out of Boston’s last two games, and could be due to miss quite a few more thanks to this injury.
A long-term absence would stain Harris’ first year in the Bruins organization. He signed a one-year, one-way, $825K contract with Boston on July 1st, and has two points in five games to start Boston’s season.
The move continued Harris’ journey around the Eastern Conference. He was originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the third-round of the 2018 NHL Draft. Harris made his NHL debut four seasons later, after a hardy career at Northeastern University. He scored just one goal in his first 10 NHL games, but proved reliable enough to earn a daily presence at the bottom of Montreal’s lineup. He played 131 games with Montreal between 2021 and 2024 – totaling 32 points, 56 penalty minutes, and a minus-five.
The moot production made Harris expendable when Montreal was faced with the chance to acquire Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets. A deal was struck in August 2024, sending Laine and a 2026 second-round pick to Montreal for Harris. His tenure with Columbus was lined by a long string of healthy scratches, with Harris ultimately scoring just five points in 33 games with the club. That was scant enough to leave him unqualified at the start of the 2025 summer, opening the door for a deal in Boston.
After a few healthy scratches in Boston, Harris seemed to have a hardy grip on a bottom-pair role. Instead, he’ll have to once again face an extended period outside of the lineup. Harris has 39 points in 169 games in his NHL career, and has never played in the AHL. He will be a capable depth defender once he’s back to full health, though he may face a tough time getting into the lineup once Lindholm is back from injury.
Bruins To Activate Hampus Lindholm, Reassign Michael Callahan
The Boston Bruins will have most of their defensive core intact for their upcoming contest tonight. According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, the Bruins have activated Hampus Lindholm and assigned Michael Callahan to the AHL’s Providence Bruins in a corresponding roster move.
Lindholm has already missed eight games for Boston this season due to a lower-body injury. He originally suffered the injury against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 9th, leaving the game after only 4:26 of ice time. He has been skating with the team regularly since and managed a full game against the Colorado Avalanche on October 18th, but has had some lingering concerns since.
Still, considering his injury history from last year, the Bruins are likely being extremely cautious with Lindholm’s health. After scoring 13 goals and 79 points in 153 games with a +67 rating with Boston from 2022 to 2024, a fractured patella limited him to only 17 contests during the 2024-25 campaign.
The fact that he’s already missed eight games should be concerning. He’s been relatively unnoticeable in the three games he has played in, going scoreless with two shots on goal. His possession and defensive metrics have been particularly poor, managing a 34.2% CorsiFor% at even strength, and an 85.0% on-ice SV% at even strength.
Meanwhile, Callahan returns to Providence after three games with Boston. Like Lindholm, he went scoreless while averaging 16:27 of ice time, but managed much better possession metrics. Callahan was originally recalled when the Bruins placed Jordan Harris on IR, meaning Jonathan Aspirot will retain his spot on the roster for the time being.
Bruins Place Jordan Harris On IR, Recall Michael Callahan
The Bruins announced they’ve placed defenseman Jordan Harris on injured reserve. His roster spot is going to Michael Callahan, who’s been called up from AHL Providence in the corresponding move.
Rarely does an IR announcement come before any sort of injury designation, but that’s the case with Harris. He played in last night’s loss to the Panthers and, with 15:20 of ice time, shouldered his usual workload. The 25-year-old is averaging 15:38 through five games in his first year in Boston. The Massachusetts native signed a one-year deal worth $825,000 over the offseason and won the job as the Bruins’ extra defender out of training camp, but has drawn into action frequently over the past couple of weeks while Hampus Lindholm has been in and out due to a lower-body injury.
So far, he’s been a pleasant surprise. He’s scored a goal, something that no other Boston defender other than Nikita Zadorov can say this season. He’s recorded three blocks and four hits with strong possession impacts at even strength, leading the Bruins’ rearguards with a 57.1 CF% at even strength. He’s routinely comprised the third pairing with Andrew Peeke, a duo that’s controlled 53.5% of expected goals but has been outscored 3-2, according to MoneyPuck.
Now, they’ll be without him for at least seven days. Boston has a tight schedule to close the month and will have played four games by the time Harris is eligible to come off IR next Wednesday. His earliest potential return date is Oct. 30 against the Sabres.
If the Bruins continue to sit Lindholm, Callahan will be in line for his season debut tomorrow versus the Ducks. The 26-year-old is entering his sophomore season after skating in 17 games with the B’s last year, scoring once with a minus-five rating. The 6’2″ lefty managed nine shots on goal and projects as a semi-reliable, unassuming No. 7/8 option long-term. Considering he started nearly three-quarters of his even-strength shifts last year in the defensive end, his subpar 43.8 CF% is understandable. In four games with Providence this season, he’s still searching for his first point but has a plus-one rating.
Hampus Lindholm A Game-Time Decision Tonight
- 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.
Injury Notes: Klingberg, Liljegren, Lindholm
A trio of Swedish defensemen have been banged up, but are not expected to miss much time. First, out of San Jose, Sheng Peng of NBC Sports California updated earlier today that John Klingberg and Timothy Liljegren are out day-to-day, and are questionable for Friday, when the Sharks go to Utah. Both players were hurt last night, as San Jose was drubbed by Carolina, although each played high minutes. Liljegren is considered upper-body, which aligns with when he appeared shaken up after going down hard in an attempt to pin a Hurricane along the boards.
Peng also added a key note, that fortunately, given that it was listed as lower-body, Klingberg’s ailment is not related to his ongoing hip trouble. For now, the Sharks could turn to Vincent Desharnais to make his season debut, along with the more intriguing young Shakir Mukhamadullin, who posted two assists in his only game this season.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm recently told Belle Fraser, Multimedia Producer of the team, that Hampus Lindholm is also day-to-day, but is expected to resume skating tomorrow. The veteran enjoyed a major career resurgence in Boston in 2022-23, but unfortunately has been chasing it since, especially with an injury riddled 2024-25. Thankfully, Lindholm has managed to skate in two games for Boston so far, as he looks to get back on track and hope to help lead the team back to the playoffs come spring.
Hampus Lindholm Out Day-To-Day With Undisclosed Injury
- Another defenseman in the Atlantic will be sidelined, though not as long as Kulikov. According to Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald, Boston Bruins blueliner Hampus Lindholm is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed ailment. Lindholm left the team’s overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks after having only skated in 4:26 of the action.
[SOURCE LINK]
Hampus Lindholm Leaves Game With Lower-Body Injury
The Boston Bruins announced tonight that veteran defenseman Hampus Lindholm has suffered a lower-body injury and will not return to their game against the Chicago Blackhawks. While there is obviously no further information on Lindholm’s status beyond that update, it is nonetheless far from encouraging news for one of Boston’s most important players.
It’s especially unfortunate for Lindholm to be forced out of a game due to injury so early in the season given the injury issues he faced in 2024-25. Injuries limited Lindholm to just 17 games played last season, the fewest of any year thus far in his 763-game NHL career. Lindholm is the Bruins’ clear number-two defenseman behind star Charlie McAvoy, averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time last season including significant time on each of the two special teams. The hope will be that Lindholm’s removal from this game is more of a precautionary measure, and that this lower-body injury turns out to be something relatively minor, as much of the Bruins’ hopes for this season rest on the availability of one of their top blueliners.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Boston Bruins
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, first up are the Bruins.
Boston Bruins
Current Cap Hit: $93,323,333 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Fraser Minten (two years, $816.7K)
Minten was brought in last season at the trade deadline as part of the return for Brandon Carlo. While his ceiling might not be overly high, he’s viewed as a potential third-line middleman and those players can carry some value. If he can establish himself as a full-timer over the next two seasons, a bridge deal should surpass the $2MM mark while a longer-term pact – if warranted – could run closer to the $5MM territory. Given that it’s risky to sign lower-scoring players to long-term deals, a bridge deal feels like the most probable outcome at this time.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
F Viktor Arvidsson ($4MM, UFA)
F John Beecher ($900K, RFA)
D Jordan Harris ($825K, RFA)
D Andrew Peeke ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Jeffrey Viel ($775K, UFA)
Arvidsson was Boston’s biggest splash of the summer in terms of trying to add some extra scoring help to their roster, acquiring him from Edmonton in what amounted to a cap dump from the Oilers. Despite that, he’s only a couple of years removed from a 59-point campaign but he has managed just 42 points in 85 games since then. That’s still respectable production but he’ll need to bounce back a bit if he wants to get a raise next summer. Otherwise, another short-term contract in this price range should be doable.
Beecher was a regular last season but didn’t produce much, notching just 11 points in 78 games while mostly playing on the fourth line. That led to this deal, one that came in just above his qualifying offer. Assuming his role is similar this season, arbitration rights should push him a little past his qualifying offer but it’s likely to be just over the $1MM mark. Viel has seen very limited NHL action in recent seasons and is likely to remain at or near the minimum moving forward.
Peeke had a decent first full season with the Bruins. While he wasn’t a full-time top-four player as he was at times in Columbus a few years back, he did spend a bit of time there while stabilizing the third pairing at others. Right-shot blueliners are hard to come by so even if he stays at this level moving forward, another multi-year deal and an increase into the $3.5MM territory is attainable. Harris took a cheap contract after being non-tendered by Columbus in June and appears to be their seventh defenseman to start the season. Given his track record with Montreal in the past, he seems like a strong non-tender candidate for next summer, simply to avoid giving him arbitration rights. Meanwhile, unless he can play somewhat of a regular role, he’s likely to stay close to the minimum salary as well.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Mikey Eyssimont ($1.45MM, UFA)
F Marat Khusnutdinov ($925K, RFA)
F Sean Kuraly ($1.85MM, UFA)
D Mason Lohrei ($3.2MM, RFA)
F Casey Mittelstadt ($5.8MM, UFA)
F Pavel Zacha ($4.75MM, UFA)
It has been an eventful couple of years for Mittelstadt. The Sabres decided to move him for Bowen Byram at the 2024 deadline in a swap of younger core pieces. Colorado then inked him to this deal, feeling he could be their longer-term solution as their second center. However, he struggled with them, leading to this move to the Bruins back in March. Still just 26, Mittelstadt is young enough to still potentially be an impact player offensively and has two seasons of more than 55 points under his belt. If he can get back to even that level, a jump past $7MM per season is reasonable. However, if his struggles continue, not only will he likely be on the move again within these next couple of years but he’ll also potentially be looking at a dip in salary.
Zacha was the focus of some trade speculation this summer after a dip in production from 59 to 47 points last season. Still, that’s decent second-line production from a position that’s always in high demand. Even if 47 is the new range for his output moving forward, Zacha should be in a spot to get a raise past the $5MM mark and a long-term agreement in 2027. Kuraly is back for a second stint in Boston after signing with them this summer. He has been a solid fourth liner for most of his career but this price tag provides a reasonable reference point for what his next contract should be; unless he can lock down a bigger role between now and then, it’s going to be hard for him to beat this by any sort of significant margin.
Eyssimont was also brought in via the open market in July with a deal that is his personal best. A little younger than Kuraly, there could be a bit more earnings upside for him as he only has a couple of full-time NHL seasons under his belt so far. That said, given that he’s a winger instead of a center, the ceiling for him might check in around the $2MM mark. Khusnutdinov was brought in from Minnesota last season with Boston hoping that a fresh start could unlock some of the offensive potential he showed in Russia. He’ll need to show it on this contract as he’s not a prototypical fit in a bottom-six role; if the production doesn’t improve between now and the 2027 offseason, he becomes a non-tender candidate.
Lohrei wound up playing a much bigger role than expected last season due to injuries and showed lots of offensive upside but some defensive warts as well, making a bridge deal like this one the inevitable outcome. If he can build off that and clean up some of his in-zone concerns, a long-term contract could wind up doubling this price tag.
Signed Through 2027-28
D Henri Jokiharju ($3MM, UFA)
F Mark Kastelic ($1.567MM, UFA)
G Joonas Korpisalo ($3MM, UFA)*
*-Ottawa is paying an additional $1MM per season on Korpisalo’s deal.
Kastelic came to Boston as part of the trade that netted the Sens Linus Ullmark. He was supposed to simply be a depth fourth liner for the Bruins but wound up playing a few extra minutes per game while being their leading hitter among forwards, earning him this extension in-season. While this is more than a lot of fourth liners make, the fact he’s a center who wins faceoffs at an above-average clip also helped his value. That said, given his offensive limitations, there’s going to be cap on his earnings upside that’s pretty close to this.
Jokiharju was added at the trade deadline to see how he might fit in with this group and the early returns were positive enough to land him this contract just before free agency opened. Still just 26, he has shown flashes of top-four upside but consistency has been an issue. If he can become a steady 18-20-minute player, he could see a pretty big jump on his next deal, especially as a coveted right-shot player.
After a rough year in Ottawa, Korpisalo was also in the Ullmark trade last year. His first year with the Bruins was a bit better although his overall numbers were still a little below league average. Even with the Senators paying down part of his deal, he’s on the pricier side for a backup without above-average play. He’ll need to turn things around if he’s going to have any shot at a raise on his next contract.
Boston Bruins To Retire Zdeno Chara's Number 33
- The Boston Bruins announced today that former captain and Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Zdeno Chara will see his number retired and raised to the rafters of TD Garden this season. Chara ranks third all-time in scoring by a Bruins defenseman, behind only legendary blueliners Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque. “Big Z” won the Norris Trophy in 2008-09 and also played for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, and Washington Capitals across his 1,680-game NHL career.