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Canucks Place Derek Forbort On Injured Reserve

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The Vancouver Canucks will be without some defensive depth for at least the first two games of their upcoming road trip. The team announced that they’ve placed Derek Forbort on the injured reserve with an undisclosed injury, retroactive to October 11th.

Forbort’s placement on the IR gives context to youngster Victor Mancini’s inclusion in the lineup for Monday’s loss against the St. Louis Blues. Mancini went scoreless across 15:24 of action, while the pairing of him and Marcus Pettersson combined for an xGoals% of 38.5% according to MoneyPuck.

Although Forbort is eligible to return for the Canucks game on October 19th against the Washington Capitals, there’s no guarantee he’ll do so. He was particularly ineffective in his first two games before the injury.

Even with little responsibility as a bottom-pairing option, Forbort went without a point to start the year, averaging 13:56 of ice time. He’s already in last place among Vancouver defensemen in CorsiFor% at even strength (29.2%) and helped muster a brutal 15.4% xGoals% alongside Elias Pettersson.

Regardless, the Canucks will likely have him on the roster until the trade deadline, unless they’re willing to expose him on the waiver wire. Although he’s coming off a relatively disappointing campaign in which he scored two goals and 11 points in 54 games with a -7 rating, Vancouver signed Forbort to a one-year, $2MM extension in early June. Assuming Mancini continues producing better than Forbort, albeit in a small sample size, it’s unlikely the Canucks will put him back in the lineup over their road trip.

Kings Return Erik Portillo From Emergency Recall

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4:00 p.m.: Already in contention for the shortest emergency recall of the year, the Kings announced they’ve loaned Portillo back to AHL Ontario after reacquiring Copley from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

1:04 p.m.: The Kings announced they’ve recalled goalie Erik Portillo from AHL Ontario under emergency conditions. As he’s an emergency call-up, the Kings don’t have to open a roster spot for him – although they wouldn’t have had to anyway with an existing opening.

L.A.’s next game is tomorrow against the Penguins. Neither of their two rostered goalies, Anton Forsberg or Darcy Kuemper, is carrying an injury designation. That’s likely to change in the next 24 hours, even if it’s just downgrading one of them to questionable. Kuemper is going to be absent from today’s practice, according to the team’s Zach Dooley.

Kuemper has shouldered the bulk of starts thus far, as expected, getting three of their four games. While the veteran had a resurgent 2024-25 campaign that made him a Vezina Trophy finalist for the first time, he hasn’t kept up that momentum through the first several days of 2025-26. He’s yet to hit a .900 SV% in a single outing and has a .868 SV% and 3.35 GAA through his three starts, recording a 0-2-1 record. His -2.0 goals saved above expected are 50th out of 57 goalies to suit up so far this year, according to MoneyPuck. Forsberg, signed to a two-year, $4.5MM deal in free agency last summer to replace David Rittich as Kuemper’s backup, hasn’t been any better. He allowed five goals on 35 shots in his lone start last week against the Golden Knights, although it resulted in L.A.’s only win of the season – a 6-5 shootout victory.

Meanwhile, Portillo could now be in line to at least dress for a game. The 25-year-old Swede is the Kings’ unchallenged No. 3 for the moment, particularly after losing Pheonix Copley on waivers to the Lightning a couple of weeks ago. The former University of Michigan standout made his first NHL start early last season, only allowing one goal on 29 shots (.966 SV%) for a 2-1 win over the Ducks.

Unfortunately, his recent minor-league body of work hasn’t been nearly as impressive. After recording a .918 SV% in 39 appearances as a rookie for Ontario in 2023-24, he sputtered to the tune of a .889 mark with a 2.82 GAA and 15-5-4 record in 24 appearances last year. In two showings for the Reign in 2025-26, he has a 3.50 GAA, .854 SV%, and a 1-0-1 record.

He’ll be eligible to play in up to nine games before the Kings must return him to Ontario or convert his recall into a standard one. They’re hoping they aren’t faced with that choice and can return him hastily.

Los Angeles Kings Acquire Pheonix Copley

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The Los Angeles Kings have brought in a familiar face to serve as the team’s third-string netminder. After losing him on the waiver wire a few weeks ago, the Kings announced they’ve traded for netminder Pheonix Copley from the Tampa Bay Lightning for future considerations.

Further, despite recalling him on an emergency basis only a few hours ago, the Kings also shared that they’ve loaned Erik Portillo back to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Assuming he can make it to Los Angeles before tomorrow night, Copley is expected to serve as the Kings’ backup tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins behind Anton Forsberg.

The reasoning behind the trade is simple. The team’s Editorial Content Manager, Zach Dooley, reported earlier that Darcy Kuemper and Anže Kopitar are dealing with lower-body injuries. While Kopitar has been deemed ’questionable’, Kuemper has already been ruled out for tomorrow night’s contest.

Copley’s status as a veteran and familiarity with the organization likely played a big part in the Kings reacquiring him from the Lightning. Over the last three years, starting as a backup and transitioning to a third-string role, Copley had managed a 28-7-5 record for Los Angeles with a .897 SV% and 2.75 GAA. While playing for AHL Ontario last season, the 33-year-old netminder appeared in 42 contests, earning a 24-17-1 record with a .904 SV% and 2.49 GAA.

Although he was rostered on the Lightning to start the year, he had yet to appear in a game for them. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gotten off to a disappointing start to the campaign, but the team relied on Jonas Johansson as the next man up instead.

Egor Afanasyev Clears Waivers; Reassigned By Sharks

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Oct. 15th: Indirectly confirming that Afanasyev passed through waivers unscathed, the Sharks announced that they’ve reassigned him to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

Oct. 14th: The Sharks have placed winger Egor Afanasyev on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He began the season on injured reserve but is now healthy and will head to AHL San Jose if he clears.

With the Sharks comfortable carrying eight defensemen to start the season, that only leaves one extra forward spot on their roster. Keeping Afanasyev around would have meant waiving or reassigning a member of an offense that’s scored nine goals in two games so far, something they weren’t willing to do. It’s a testament that despite scratching 2025 No. 2 overall pick Michael Misa for both of those games, they’re intent on keeping him around and will give him a look tonight as their third-line center, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. They’re also reluctant to reassign the waiver-exempt Collin Graf, who’s coming out of the lineup to make way for Misa’s NHL debut.

Afanasyev had a good preseason showing for San Jose, posting six scoring chances in three games and converting on one of them. His chances of making the roster, however, were stifled by a minor lower-body injury late in camp. The 24-year-old signed a one-year, $800K contract with the Sharks back in May, attempting an NHL comeback after spurning their qualifying offer last year and opting to sign with CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League. The 24-year-old remained on San Jose’s reserve list and returned to them following a seven-goal, 21-point showing in 53 games for the army-affiliated team.

He was only on their reserve list after they acquired his signing rights from the Predators for Ozzy Wiesblatt early last summer, though. He’s never played a game in either the NHL or AHL for San Jose, ending the 2023-24 regular season as a member of the Nashville organization, which drafted him in the second round in 2019. The 6’3″, 200-lb winger has 19 NHL games under his belt for the Preds, although he only scored one goal and had a -8 rating while averaging 11:04 per game.

Summer Synopsis: Detroit Red Wings

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With the regular season now upon us, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective.  Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled.  Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team accomplished over the offseason.  Next up is a look at the Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings’ rebuild has not gone as planned, at least not yet. Given their summer and the progress of their division rivals, it’s hard to see this being the year they break their playoff drought. The once-proud franchise is approaching a full decade without playoff action, and it seemed poised to turn the corner on its rebuild, but it has stalled and now appears stuck in mediocrity. Detroit isn’t a terrible team, but they’ve finished just outside the playoffs for a few years and haven’t been bad enough to secure top picks. Fans and media alike are questioning the direction GM Steve Yzerman has taken the team, and it’s hard to say Detroit made any progress this offseason.

Draft

1-13 – F Carter Bear, Everett (WHL)
2-44 – F Eddie Genborg, Linköping HC (SHL)
3-75 – G Michal Pradel, Tri-City (USHL)
4-109 – RW Brent Solomon, Champlin Park High School (USHS-MN)
4-119 – F Michal Svrcek, Brynäs IF J20 (J20 Nationell)
5-140 – D Nikita Tyurin, Moscow Spartak Jr. (MHL)
6-172 – D Will Murphy, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
7-204 – F Grayden Robertson-Palmer, Phillips Academy Andover (USHS-Prep)

The Red Wings had a full slate of draft picks this past summer, enabling them to make eight selections across seven rounds. Their top pick, Bear, is a two-way forward with abundant offensive talent that could become a top-six player with some improvement in his skating and consistency. At the very least, he seems destined to be a top-nine forward, but it will take some time for him to reach that level. Bear has a lot of pace in his game and plays a high-energy style that can frustrate his opponents. He won’t shy away from contact and is relentless in his effort to get to the front of the net. He dealt with a serious injury last season, but it shouldn’t hinder his development moving forward.

Genborg has all the physical tools to develop into a power forward. He is strong on the forecheck and can make life miserable for opposing defensemen in his pursuit of the puck. He isn’t afraid to battle for position in front of the net and has good puck skills in tight spaces. At the very least, he should be able to develop into a checking line forward, but if he continues to develop his offensive tools, he might become more of a scorer than an energy guy.

Picking Pradel in the third round could prove to be a real steal, especially if he fills out his 6’5” frame. Pradel reads the play well and moves smoothly in the crease without scrambling as he dodges screens and traffic in front of him. He doesn’t seem to panic or get overly tense in the crease, which bodes well for the Red Wings if they reach the playoffs and need a big-game goalie. Pradel has some flaws, like rebound control, but if he improves that, he could develop into a top-notch netminder.

With their first pick in the fourth round, Detroit selected Solomon, who posted impressive goal-scoring numbers in high school and scored six points in eight USHL games. He is on the smaller side and will need to fill out significantly, but despite that, he has no trouble battling to the front of the net and isn’t afraid to take a hit if it means a scoring chance. He has a good shot and instincts for shooting, getting to the soft areas of the ice for open looks or the gritty areas when needed. He will need to adapt to faster levels of hockey, but at this stage, he looks ready to score goals at any level.

Trade Acquisitions

G John Gibson (from Anaheim)

Gibson was finally traded to the Red Wings at the NHL Entry Draft after years of speculation. Detroit was directly linked to Anaheim in all those trade rumours, with whispers following Gibson for most of the past five seasons. Gibson had a bit of a bounce-back last season in limited action, which prompted the Ducks to finally make a move while his value was at its peak.

Gibson was a force early in his career, posting elite numbers from 2015 to 2019 and signing an eight-year, $51.2MM contract extension in August 2018 that almost immediately turned into a disaster for the Ducks. Gibson produced below-average results from 2019 to 2024 before his rebound last season, when he played 28 games, registered a .911 SV%, and a 2.77 GAA. Those numbers don’t exactly stand out or scream ’starter,’ which makes the move for Gibson a risky one for Detroit, especially given the revolving door they’ve had in the crease over the past decade.

Detroit didn’t give up much for Gibson, but they’re also betting on a return to the playoffs with a veteran goalie who hasn’t played well for seven years and has only one average season since the start of the decade. There’s a chance Gibson regains his form when given a fresh start, but there’s also a chance that last year was a fluke and the Gibson from 2019-2024 was the real version traded to Detroit. If that’s the case, the Red Wings’ playoff drought will likely hit the ten-year mark.

UFA Signings

F Mason Appleton (two years, $5.8MM)
D Jacob Bernard-Docker (one year, $875K)
D Travis Hamonic (one year, $1MM)
F John Leonard (one year, $775K)
D Ian Mitchell (one year, $775K)
F James van Riemsdyk (one year, $1MM)

*-denotes two-way contract

Despite having plenty of cap space for a big addition, the Red Wings were relatively modest in free agency this summer. Reports later in the offseason indicated that Detroit was ready to make a sizeable offer to defenseman Aaron Ekblad, although he eventually re-signed with the Florida Panthers. Instead, the Red Wings added around the fringes of their lineup.

Appleton turned out to be the biggest fish Detroit brought in this offseason, and the reasoning is two-fold. Outside of J.T. Compher, the Red Wings didn’t have another right-handed forward to put in the bottom-six, and Yzerman has historically appreciated a balanced handedness across the lineup. Furthermore, given that he averaged a 92.6% on-ice save percentage across all situations during his time with the Winnipeg Jets, Appleton was brought aboard to assist the Red Wings’ penalty kill, which finished dead last in the league last year.

Outside of Appleton, Detroit added a few veterans in van Riemsdyk and Hamonic, as well as took a flyer on Bernard-Docker. The former was brought in to replace the lost offense from Vladimir Tarasenko, while the latter two are expected to stabilize the defensive core. Unfortunately, the Hamonic signing has sprouted more questions than answers, given his disastrous play in the team’s season opener.

RFA Re-Signings

F Jonatan Berggren (one year, $1.825MM)
D Albert Johansson (two years, $2.25MM)
F Elmer Soderblom (two years, $2.25MM)
D Antti Tuomisto (one year, $813,750)*

*-denotes two-way contract

Detroit moved quickly in re-signing two of its best defensive forwards from last year, Berggren and Soderblom. Both youngsters recorded an on-ice save percentage above 91.0% during even-strength play last season, marking two of the best performances on the team. Unfortunately, unless the Red Wings receive more offense from Berggren this year, it may become his last season with the team that drafted him.

He was relatively productive on that front during the 2024-25 campaign, scoring 12 goals and 24 points in 75 games, averaging 12:59 of ice time per game. Unfortunately, that’s well below the point-per-game average he managed during his time in the AHL and SHL. If he isn’t able to find another gear offensively, he could become a trade candidate for Detroit during the deadline season.

Meanwhile, Johansson earned himself a two-year deal after a solid debut last year. He offered little offensively, scoring three goals and nine points in 61 games, but was much better on the defensive side of the puck. He was one of Detroit’s most physical defensemen last year and managed a 90.2% on-ice save percentage at even strength. Unfortunately, he’s lacking the talent to work into a top-four role. Still, he’s an effective spark plug that the Red Wings can utilize at the bottom of their defensive core.

Departures

F Timothy Gettinger (signed in DEL)
G Alex Lyon (signed with Buffalo, two years, $3MM)
G Petr Mrazek (traded to Anaheim)
D Jeff Petry (signed with Florida, one year, $775K)
F Joe Snively (signed in SHL)
F Vladimir Tarasenko (traded to Minnesota)

Not only was Tarasenko the most disappointing signing for the Red Wings ahead of the 2024-25 season, but he was one of the most disappointing league-wide. Before joining Detroit, Tarasenko scored 23 goals and 55 points between the Ottawa Senators and Panthers in the 2023-24 campaign, winning the second Stanley Cup championship of his career after scoring five goals and nine points in 24 postseason contests for Florida.

Unfortunately, the Red Wings didn’t get anything close to that level of production. Tarasenko finished the year with 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games, far and away the lowest output of his career across a full season. During last year’s trade deadline, Tarasenko found himself in trade rumors, though Detroit waited until the offseason to finalize the much-needed divorce.

Aside from Tarasenko, the Red Wings didn’t lose too much this offseason, nor did they stand to do so. Detroit is gambling that Gibson can effectively replace the lost value of Lyon and Mrazek, though the former is dramatically outplaying him to begin the 2025-26 campaign. Meanwhile, there was little chance of the Red Wings pursuing an extended relationship with Petry this summer, as he, along with Ben Chiarot, were the only two defensemen on the team last season to not average higher than a 50.0% xGoals%.

*-denotes two-way contract

Salary Cap Outlook

Because Detroit didn’t hand out any big-ticket contracts this summer, the team has ample cap space for the 2025-26 season. According to PuckPedia, the Red Wings have $12.37MM in cap space, the fifth-most in the league. That flexibility is expected to grow dramatically next summer.

Assuming the upper limit of the salary cap only reaches $104MM for the 2026-27 season, the Red Wings will enter the summer with approximately $42MM in cap space. They’ll need to use some of that for Simon Edvinsson and Kane if there’s mutual desire for a reunion. Regardless, Yzerman will have plenty of cash to pursue high-tier options, such as Artemi Panarin, Adrian Kempe, and Martin Necas, among others, if they make it to the open market.

Key Questions

Is John Gibson The Answer In Net?

Over the past several years, the Red Wings have utilized several different placeholders in the crease, like Alex Nedeljkovic, Ville Husso, and James Reimer, among others. The team is clearly waiting for the emergence of prospects Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine, though there’s no guarantee they’ll reach their ceiling at the NHL level. They took a swing at Gibson this summer, hoping that his 2024-25 season wasn’t a fluke. Unfortunately, Gibson had been relatively disappointing in the five years prior, managing a 74-129-33 record with a .900 SV% and 3.36 GAA with the Ducks. Further, it would have been difficult to have a worse debut than the one he had with Detroit, allowing five goals on 13 shots before getting pulled in the second period.

How Will They Fare Under A Full Season Of Todd McLellan?

After getting off to a 13-17-4 start through the first three months of the campaign, the Red Wings fired former head coach Derek LaLonde. The team performed much better under McLellan (26-18-4), though it wasn’t enough to overcome the hole they had already dug for themselves. Still, although the team performed much better offensively under McLellan, their defense remained weak after the transition. McLellan has previously found success in his career, particularly with the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers. However, given Detroit’s roster makeup, there’s no guarantee he’ll find success with this current iteration of the Red Wings’ lineup. This season is an important litmus test of whether Yzerman hired the right man for the job.

Is Axel Sandin Pellikka Ready For Top-Four Minutes?

Given their brief pursuit of Ekblad this summer, there’s no question the Red Wings are looking to bolster the right side of their defensive core behind Moritz Seider. Since Detroit is compelled to pair Chiarot with Seider, as he is the only one capable of compensating for the veteran’s defensive weaknesses, Edvinsson swiftly becomes the prime candidate for Detroit’s second unit. Still, the Red Wings are taking a significant gamble by thrusting Axel Sandin Pellikka into a top-four role alongside his countryman. There’s no questioning his talent, as the former first-round pick scored four goals and 10 points in seven games as the captain for Team Sweden during last year’s IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, and another 12 goals and 29 points in 46 games for the SHL’s Skellefteå AIK. Still, Sandin Pellikka only had two games of professional experience in North America before this season, and there’s no guarantee he’s ready for top-four minutes at the NHL level. He’s gone scoreless through three games to start his rookie season, though he’s averaged a 54.2% CorsiFor% at even strength, and a 90.0% on-ice save percentage at even strength while averaging 21:02 of ice time per game.

Photo courtesy of Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports (Gibson).

Photo courtesy of Brett Holmes-Imagn Images (Tarasenko).

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed to this article.

Capitals Place Vincent Iorio On Waivers

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The Capitals have placed defenseman Vincent Iorio on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to AHL Hershey, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet relays Wednesday afternoon. Iorio’s active roster spot will likely go to fellow rearguard Dylan McIlrath, who’s expected to come off injured reserve later this week, head coach Spencer Carbery said (via Katie Adler of Russian Machine Never Breaks).

Iorio, 23 next month, was a second-round pick by the Capitals in 2021 and made his NHL debut with Washington in 2022-23. He’s only made nine NHL appearances in the years since, none of which came last season. In those nine games, the 6’4″ righty has managed an assist with a +1 rating while recording six blocks and five hits. He averaged just 11:20 per game but was looking to advance the puck, posting 18 shot attempts and getting half of them through on goal. His raw possession metrics weren’t promising, only controlling 41.8% of shot attempts at even strength despite seeing advantageous offensive zone deployment.

Waiver-eligible for the first time this year, Iorio brings an intriguing profile to the wire. He made Washington’s opening night roster as a healthy extra – and presumably the Caps felt they had a greater chance of sneaking him through if they avoided waiving him during the late-preseason rush. His recent minor-league performance, though, offers insight into why they’re comfortable taking the chance of losing him. His offense hasn’t developed since turning pro three years ago, recording around 20 points in 65 appearances each year. He had a 5-15–20 scoring line in 67 games in 2024-25 with a career-worst -4 rating. Should he clear successfully, he’ll be looking to build on those numbers in Year 4 in Hershey.

He’ll make way for McIlrath, who continues to stick around on Washington’s NHL roster. The past couple of years have been a rebirth for the former top-10 pick, who spent the bulk of his prime in the minors and was even Hershey’s captain from 2022-24 but stuck with the Caps’ top group all of last season. He was used sparingly as a No. 7/8 rearguard, recording two assists in 17 appearances, but that was still the most time at the top level he’d seen since making a career-high 34 appearances for the Rangers way back in 2015-16. The 33-year-old is effectively Washington’s enforcer and has 161 career penalty minutes in 92 games since making his NHL debut in 2013-14.

Panthers Claim Donovan Sebrango

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The Panthers have claimed left-shot defenseman Donovan Sebrango off waivers from the Senators, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. Their active roster is full, so they must make a corresponding transaction.

Sebrango, 23, has just four games of NHL experience. All of them have come with the Senators this calendar year, making two appearances in 2024-25 and playing in their first two games of this season. He hasn’t been involved on the scoresheet, going pointless with a -2 rating and one hit while averaging 12:46 of ice time per game. Ottawa controlled 51.1% of shot attempts while he was on the ice at even strength despite two-thirds of his shifts starting in the defensive end, which are some promising early results.

This is Sebrango’s first season being waiver-eligible. Florida will be his third organization. He was a third-round pick by the Red Wings in 2020, but only recorded AHL and ECHL time in the Detroit organization before being sent to Ottawa in 2023 in the Alex DeBrincat deal. He’s a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights after signing a two-way contract to return to the Sens late in the offseason.

The intrigue with Sebrango lies in his minor-league progression. En route to working his way onto Ottawa’s opening night roster for 2025-26, the 6’2″ lefty had a career year on the farm with Belleville last season. He served as an alternate captain for the AHL club with an 8-12–20 scoring line in 50 games. The hard-hitting rearguard also had 79 PIMs and a -4 rating.

There’s no coincidence that Florida’s claim lines up with their announcement earlier today that Dmitry Kulikov will be out through the trade deadline after undergoing shoulder surgery on a torn labrum. Sebrango will now get a crack at competing for Kulikov’s vacant spot on the left side of the Cats’ bottom pairing with Jeff Petry. Uvis Balinskis has that role for now after starting the season in the press box and appearing in all but six regular-season games for Florida last year, though, so he isn’t walking in uncontested.

Jacob Markström Out “A Couple Of Weeks”

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The Devils announced that goaltender Jacob Markström will be sidelined for “a couple of weeks” after sustaining an injury in Monday’s win over the Blue Jackets. It’s a lower-body concern, per the team’s Amanda Stein. The starting netminder appeared banged up after being caught in a pileup during a Columbus goal with 21 seconds left in the contest. He stayed in the game, which backup Jake Allen started but left after the second period due to cramping, but was visibly ginger while leaving the ice.

Markström was not present at this morning’s practice. The team already recalled Nico Daws from AHL Utica this morning to serve as Allen’s backup while the veteran takes over the starter’s crease for the time being. The latter was a full participant today and looks clear to play against the Panthers tomorrow despite his early departure from Monday’s game.

Markström, a one-time All-Star and Vezina Trophy finalist, made 49 starts last season en route to a 26-16-6 record, .900 SV%, 2.50 GAA, and four shutouts. He hadn’t been out to as strong a start this year. While he’s been the goalie of record in all three games for New Jersey’s 2-1-0 start, allowing that goal in his relief performance brought his individual numbers down to a .845 SV% and 3.89 GAA, allowing nine goals on 58 shots faced. The injury comes in a contract year for Markström, who was reported to be in extension talks with the Devils earlier this month.

In the interim, the Devils shouldn’t be too uncomfortable with an Allen-Daws tandem, providing the former can stay healthy. The 24-year-old Daws was exceptional when called upon in similar situations last year, posting a 3-1-0 record and .939 SV% with a 1.60 GAA in six appearances. With that in mind, it might behoove the Devils to give them a split workload for the time being instead of overrelying on the 35-year-old Allen, ensuring they don’t lose both of their top two goaltending options to injuries.

Behind Daws, New Jersey doesn’t have a ton of available depth and would need to make a trade, signing, or waiver claim if someone else gets hurt. Their first recall option would be 23-year-old Jakub Málek, a 2021 fourth-round pick in his first season in North America. Behind him on the depth chart is 22-year-old Tyler Brennan, a 2022 fourth-rounder who’s starting his season down with ECHL Adirondack and has zero games of AHL experience through two pro seasons.

Panthers’ Dmitry Kulikov Out Five Months Following Shoulder Surgery

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Oct. 15: Florida’s doctors have determined surgery is required for Kulikov’s injury. It was actual a labral tear in his shoulder, not a wrist issue, per the team’s Jameson Olive. The procedure carries a recovery time of five months, head coach Paul Maurice told Sean Shapiro of DLLS Sports. The team ended up recalling Björnfot from AHL Charlotte a few days after Kulikov’s IR placement, and it’s now clear he won’t be heading back to the minors anytime soon while he and Balinskis fill Kulikov’s shoes for what will be the vast majority of the regular season. A five-month return timeline puts Kulikov back in Florida’s lineup in mid-March, shortly after the trade deadline.

Oct. 11: The Panthers have placed defenseman Dmitry Kulikov on injured reserve due to an apparent right wrist injury, via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The team hasn’t made any comment on his status, so his return is unknown. They haven’t made a corresponding transaction, either.

Kulikov left Thursday’s game against the Flyers midway through the second period and did not return. He left the ice holding his right wrist after it got crunched while trying to check Philadelphia winger Bobby Brink against the wall in the neutral zone. The IR placement is backdated to then, meaning he’ll be eligible for activation on Oct. 16. Florida plays the Devils that night, but Kulikov has been automatically ruled out for three games in the interim.

It’s yet another blow to a skater corps that’s been decimated early in the season. The Cats survived preseason injury scares for Aaron Ekblad and Anton Lundell but didn’t avoid LTIR placements for Aleksander Barkov (ACL and MCL tear), Tomas Nosek (knee), and Matthew Tkachuk (adductor) to open the season. The defense started fully healthy to help compensate for the loss of forward depth, but they’ve now lost half of their veteran third pairing with Jeff Petry for at least a few games, if not more.

Uvis Balinskis will step into Kulikov’s spot as the lefty on that bottom pairing alongside Petry. Balinskis is a quality option to pull from the press box. He spent most of last season as Nate Schmidt’s partner until the acquisition of Seth Jones near the trade deadline pushed him down the depth chart and out of the regular playoff lineup. That wasn’t before the 29-year-old Latvian made 76 appearances in the regular season, posting a 4-14–18 scoring line with a -7 rating in 14:51 of ice time per game. Florida signed the 6’0″ lefty as an undrafted free agent in 2023, and he played in only 26 NHL games the year prior.

As for Kulikov, the 17-year veteran looks on track to continue posting stable results in a depth role for Florida. He only had a -1 rating and one hit through one-and-a-half games but posted good possession results on his unit with Petry, controlling 60% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck. Florida has also outattempted opponents 17-16 with Kulikov on the ice at even strength so far.

Kulikov will be 35 in a few weeks. The first-round pick by the Panthers back in 2009 isn’t the minute-muncher he was during his first stint in Florida, but he’s been a strong support piece and frequent penalty killer since returning to the club in free agency in 2023. He’s beginning Year 2 of a four-year, $4.6MM deal he signed last summer.

The IR placement leaves Florida with an open roster spot but doesn’t change their cap picture. The Panthers have $2.27MM remaining in their LTIR pool, though, more than enough to make a corresponding recall from AHL Charlotte. Atop their minor-league depth chart, particularly among lefties, is former Kings first-rounder Tobias Björnfot.

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