Capitals Recall Spencer Smallman
On the heels of Pierre-Luc Dubois suffering a lower-body injury in last night’s game against the Islanders, the Capitals have added some extra forward depth to their roster. The team announced that they’ve recalled winger Spencer Smallman from AHL Hershey. Washington had an open roster spot so no further moves were needed.
The 29-year-old is getting the first recall of his career in his second season with the Capitals. Smallman has been a consistent producer at the AHL level, notching between 21 and 34 points in each of the last four seasons with the latter number coming last year, helping to earn Smallman a two-year, two-way contract back in April.
This season, Smallman is producing at a similar clip, picking up two goals and an assist through six games with Hershey.
As for Dubois, he suffered his injury late in the first period (his second lower-body issue of the season) on Friday night in a collision with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and needed assistance to get off the ice. There was no immediate update postgame but given the difficulty he had putting weight on his leg following the injury, it’s reasonable to infer that he’s going to miss some time, necessitating Smallman’s promotion.
Central Notes: Zuccarello, Kantserov, Aamodt
The Wild could soon be getting a needed boost up front. On Friday, head coach John Hynes indicated (Twitter link) that winger Mats Zuccarello is within a week or so of returning to the lineup. The 38-year-old has yet to suit up this season due to a back injury that also caused him to miss training camp. While Zuccarello isn’t a major scoring threat, he’s one of Minnesota’s better playmakers and is coming off a solid showing in 2024-25 that saw him record 19 goals and 35 assists in 69 games. His eventual return would go a long way to giving them a second scoring line, an area that has been an issue in the early going this season.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov is in the final year of his KHL contract, leading some to hope that he will come to North America for next season. Speaking with RG’s Sergey Demidov, the 21-year-old indicated that he’d like to test himself in the NHL but isn’t planning on making a decision on his future until next year when his deal expires. A second-round pick in 2023 (44th overall), Kantserov had 38 points in 47 games last season and is off to a better start in 2025-26, notching a league-high 13 goals and eight assists in 21 appearances so far.
- Wyatt Aamodt’s stint with the Avalanche was short-lived. Just two days after recalling the blueliner, the team announced (Twitter link) that they have sent him back to AHL Colorado. The 27-year-old didn’t play on this recall, keeping his career NHL appearance total at two and his point total at one, a tally in last season’s final game. Aamodt has a goal and five assists in nine games with the Eagles so far this season. The move leaves Colorado with just six healthy blueliners at the moment but Samuel Girard has been skating in recent days and is thought to be nearing a return.
Max Willman Signs In KHL
It took a while but veteran Max Willman has found a team for this season. The KHL announced that the winger has signed with Barys Astana for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign.
The 30-year-old was originally drafted by Buffalo back in 2014, going in the fifth round but he ultimately never signed with them. After playing out his college career, he signed with Philadelphia’s farm team, eventually playing his way into an NHL contract two years later for the 2021-22 campaign.
Willman wound up getting into 41 games with the Flyers that season, seeing more time with them than he did in the minors with AHL Lehigh Valley. However, his playing time at the top level was much more limited the following year as Willman got into just nine games with Philadelphia.
It took some time for Willman to get a guaranteed deal as he played through a training camp tryout in New Jersey before inking a two-way contract for the 2023-24 campaign. However, he performed well enough in the minors to earn an 18-game stint with the Devils plus a new contract well before free agency, giving him some extra security heading into last season. However, he didn’t see any NHL action last season, instead potting 10 goals and 20 assists in 69 games in Utica.
Over his three NHL stints, Willman has seven goals and three assists in 68 games while being considerably more productive in the minors, notching 54 goals and 65 helpers in 244 games over parts of six seasons. With his professional games played total likely to surpass 320 once he gets into some KHL contests, he’ll qualify as a veteran for AHL purposes beginning next season which could significantly affect his chances of returning to play in North America with AHL teams only being allotted five skater slots for veterans in their lineups.
West Notes: Hyman, Nyquist, Reaves, Blackhawks
When the Oilers placed winger Zach Hyman on LTIR to start the season as he continues to recover from wrist surgery, the hope was that he’d be able to return as soon as he was eligible, that being November 1st. However, that won’t be the case. Earlier this week, head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters including Gerry Moddejonge of the Edmonton Journal that the veteran’s return will be at least another week away. Knoblauch was quick to note that this isn’t an indication of a setback but rather that they’re being cautious to try to avoid any setbacks down the road. Whenever Hyman does return, his addition will be a welcome one as he has scored at least 27 goals in each of the last four seasons.
More from out West:
- After being injured on Thursday, Jets winger Gustav Nyquist isn’t expected to play tonight versus Pittsburgh, notes Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press. Instead, head coach Scott Arniel indicated that they expect a more detailed update on Nyquist’s situation after the weekend. The 36-year-old hasn’t scored in his first 11 games in a Winnipeg uniform but has collected five assists despite averaging a career-low 12:19 of ice time.
- Sharks winger Ryan Reaves is expected to receive further testing on his lower-body injury today, relays Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). There is some concern that the injury, sustained on Thursday, is believed to be serious. Reaves is in his first season with San Jose after being acquired from Toronto in an offseason swap and has two goals and 37 hits in ten games this season but is averaging just 6:43 per game of playing time.
- The Blackhawks have deployed the unconventional 11-forward, seven-defensemen lineup in all but two of their 11 games this season. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times examines the logic behind head coach Jeff Blashill’s logic, noting that the new bench boss is already thinking in terms of season-long load management, not wanting to overload his young blueliners. Five of their seven defenders are 24 or younger so their goal is to not overwork them by going with an extra rearguard most nights over a 12th forward, hoping that the strategy will pay off as the season goes on.
Ilya Samsonov Signs Two-Year Deal With HC Sochi
Free agent goaltender Ilya Samsonov is returning home on a two-year contract with Sochi of the Kontinental Hockey League, the league announced. Sochi had to acquire Samsonov’s KHL signing rights from Metallurg Magnitogorsk, who drafted and developed him before his arrival in North America in 2018, which they did so in exchange for cash.
Samsonov, 28, had held out as long as possible while waiting for a suitable NHL offer to materialize. The 28-year-old was a UFA for the second summer in a row after landing a one-year, $1.8MM deal from the Golden Knights on his second go-around on the open market. He was previously a UFA after being nontendered by the Capitals in 2022. The 2015 first-round pick underwhelmed as Adin Hill‘s backup in Vegas, recording a .891 SV% and 2.82 GAA in 29 starts with a 16-9-4 record. The Knights didn’t shelter him very well defensively, though, meaning he still saved 0.6 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck.
While that last number should have created at least some intrigue on the market, particularly with someone whose raw talent level is as high as Samsonov’s, it didn’t result in a deal. Teams looking for a reliable backup option were likely scared off by his poor overall save percentage over the last two years. He dipped to a .890 mark for the Maple Leafs in 2023-24, bringing his numbers down to a .890 SV% and even 3.00 GAA over 69 starts in the last two years.
It’s been a relatively quick fall for Samsonov, who emerged as Toronto’s 1A option in 2022-23 and backstopped the franchise to its first playoff series win in 19 years. That career year saw Samsonov post a 27-10-5 record in 40 starts while logging a .919 SV%, 2.33 GAA, four shutouts, and 18.0 GSAx that placed him 10th in the league. Samsonov’s league-wide GSAx rank for the following two seasons, however, was 87th in 2023-24 and 46th in 2024-25.
The 6’3″ netminder returns home after playing six seasons in the NHL, the first three coming with the club that drafted him in Washington. He leaves the NHL for now with 200 games played, a 118-48-25 record, 15 shutouts, a 2.77 GAA, and a .902 SV%.
He now joins one of the KHL’s most consistent bottom-feeder clubs in Sochi. They’re 4-12-2 out of the gate this season and haven’t secured a playoff berth since 2019. He comes over as the club’s starter and only capable option between the pipes, Pavel Khomchenko, is out with an undisclosed injury.
During Samsonov’s first stint in the KHL, he won a Gagarin Cup with Metallurg in 2016 and recorded a 33-16-9 record, .929 SV%, 2.20 GAA, and seven shutouts in 73 games over four seasons.
Wild Believed To Be Looking To Add A Middle-Six Forward
Heading into last offseason, there was an expectation that the Wild would be busy with much more salary cap space at their disposal. Instead, their spending was relatively tempered, headlined by the additions of winger Vladimir Tarasenko and center Nico Sturm. They also re-signed center Marco Rossi to a bridge deal after a prolonged period of trade speculation. The end result was them entering the season with much more cap space than they’ve been accustomed to.
At the moment, Minnesota has over $4.2MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. That amount is lowered a bit by the fact that they have 15 forwards counting against their cap thanks to injuries to Sturm and winger Mats Zuccarello, neither of whom have played this season.
It appears they’re looking to put that cap flexibility to use sooner than later. Anthony DiMarco of The Fourth Period reports that Minnesota is believed to be looking to add a middle-six forward. While they’ve been known to be coveting center help for several years now, they’re not limiting their search to just that position; they’re open to adding on the wing as well.
Entering play tonight, the Wild sit 21st in the NHL in goals scored despite having three forwards (Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Rossi) all averaging at least a point per game. While that line is producing, they’re not getting a ton of help elsewhere. Tarasenko has only scored once, Joel Eriksson Ek has just two goals, and Marcus Foligno is still looking for his first point of the season.
With that in mind, it makes sense that GM Bill Guerin appears to be looking at what might be out there on the trade front. On top of having some struggling veterans, top prospects Danila Yurov and Liam Ohgren have seen very limited playing time; it might be more beneficial for their development to play a bigger role with AHL Iowa over fourth-line ice time in Minnesota. Adding a middle-six forward could push one of them off the active roster, allowing for that extra playing time to happen while ideally giving their offense a bit of a boost as well.
Having said that, this is still a little early in the season for teams to start parting with proven talent. While there has been plenty of speculation around players like Nicholas Robertson (Toronto) or Yegor Chinakhov (Columbus), there’s no guarantee that adding one of them – or someone like that – would come in and give their attack the shot in the arm that they’re seeking. But if they’re looking for someone with more of a track record, they may have to wait a while yet before the market really starts to open up.
Avalanche Recall Taylor Makar
A pair of brothers could soon be getting a chance to play together in the NHL for the first time. The Avalanche announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Taylor Makar from AHL Colorado. They had two open spots on their active roster, meaning no corresponding move needed to be made to bring him up.
It’s the first recall of Makar’s career. The 24-year-old, the younger brother of star defenseman Cale Makar, was selected by the Avs in the seventh round back in 2021, taking him 220th overall. Makar went on to spend four years in college, three with UMass before transferring to the University of Maine for his senior year, one that saw him record 18 goals and 12 assists. For context, he had a total of 22 points over his first three college campaigns.
That improvement was enough for Colorado to sign Makar to a one-year, entry-level deal for this season. He’s off to a decent start with the Eagles, picking up one goal and three assists in nine games so far this season.
Makar’s recall is likely tied to the fact that winger Gavin Brindley left today’s game against Vegas after taking a hit from Ivan Barbashev and didn’t return. With the Avs only carrying 12 forwards on their active roster before this move, it would appear that Makar would be in line to make his NHL debut if Brindley can’t suit up on Saturday against San Jose.
Devils Sign Jacob Markstrom To Two-Year Extension
After New Jersey re-signed Luke Hughes at the beginning of the month, their focus shifted toward keeping one of their pending UFAs in the fold in goaltender Jacob Markstrom. Those efforts have paid off as the Devils announced that they’ve signed goaltender Jacob Markstrom to a two-year, $12MM contract extension.
The 35-year-old is in his second season with New Jersey after being acquired from Calgary a little before the 2024 draft in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick (used on Cole Reschny) and defenseman Kevin Bahl. The hope was that acquiring him, coupled with the addition of Jake Allen a few months earlier, would help stabilize a goaltending position that had been in some flux for a while.
Mission accomplished on that front. After allowing 281 goals in 2023-24, the Devils cut that amount by 61 last season, allowing the fifth-fewest goals in the league in the process. Markstrom played a big role in that success, posting a 2.50 GAA and a .900 SV% in 49 regular season starts while also putting up a 2.78 GAA and a .911 SV% in their first-round playoff exit at the hands of Carolina. He’s not off to a great start this season, however, with a 5.13 GAA and a .830 SV% in four appearances but he’s also just coming back from a lower-body injury.
Over his 16-year career between Vancouver, Florida, Calgary, and New Jersey, Markstrom has a 243-214-63 record with a 2.72 GAA, a .908 SV%, and 24 shutouts. He has typically been one of the more consistent goalies in recent years, providing a strong return on his current six-year contract, one that expires next summer and also carries a cap hit of $6MM per season. However, the Devils will be responsible for that full amount, unlike now, where the Flames are picking up $1.875MM of Markstrom’s price tag as part of the swap.
A few months ago, New Jersey signed Allen to a five-year deal, a surprising term for someone just a few months younger than Markstrom. But the benefit in doing so was that the cap hit came in at $1.8MM, well below his market value when many expected he’d get more than twice that much per season. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Markstrom’s camp appeared to be looking for something similar, a fixed sum of money but they were open to spreading it out over a longer term like Allen. However, the Devils were firm on a shorter-term agreement, even though it means a higher AAV.
With this deal done, New Jersey now has their goalie tandem intact for the next couple of seasons at a combined $7.8MM price tag, just 7.5% of the projected $104MM Upper Limit for next season. That’s a solid price tag for a capable and experienced tandem, giving GM Tom Fitzgerald a bit of flexibility to work with. With this deal now done, the Devils have a little over $10MM in spending room for next season, per PuckPedia, with pending RFAs Simon Nemec, Arseny Gritsyuk, and Paul Cotter highlighting the list of players in need of new deals over the next ten or so months.
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan was the first to report the signing.
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images.
Sabres Recall Isak Rosen, Place Zach Benson On IR
6:34 p.m.: The corresponding move is an injured reserve placement for Zach Benson, who left last night’s loss to the Bruins late in the third period with an undisclosed injury, per Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News. The IR placement rules him out for the Sabres’ next three games, making him available for activation on Nov. 8. A previous injury has limited the 20-year-old to eight appearances this season, but he’s clicking at a point per game with eight assists.
6:12 p.m.: The Sabres have recalled winger Isak Rosen from AHL Rochester, the team announced. With no open roster spots, there’s a corresponding transaction still to come.
Regardless of whether he’s coming up for an injury concern or another reason, the recall is more than earned. The first month of 2025-26 has marked a breakthrough for Rosen, who’s otherwise failed to establish a clear path to an NHL job since being drafted No. 14 overall in 2021. The 6’0″ winger is currently the AHL’s scoring leader with five goals, seven assists, and 12 points through eight games for Rochester.
That’s not to say Rosen never made any progress in his development. His scoring numbers have steadily increased since arriving in North America in 2022. After posting a 14-23–37 scoring line in 66 appearances in his first season in Rochester, he upped his output to a 20-30–50 line in 67 games in 2023-24 and again to a 28-27–55 line in 61 games last year. It’s been a bit of a slow burn for the talented scorer, but he’s now pushing for a job in a way Buffalo can’t ignore without giving him at least one more chance at making an NHL impact.
But during Rosen’s recalls over the last two years, the Sabres haven’t given him much of a leash. He’s averaged only 9:09 of ice time per game and has only one assist in 15 career appearances as a result. When or if he slots into the lineup this time around, it’ll be telling to see whether head coach Lindy Ruff still buries him in fourth-line minutes or gives him a legitimate look at top-nine duties that he’s better suited for.
Mammoth Explored Trading Nick Schmaltz Over The Offseason
Nick Schmaltz‘s monstrous start to the 2025-26 season almost didn’t happen. The Mammoth explored trading the pending unrestricted free agent over the offseason after their initial round of extension negotiations were unproductive, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
The most complete trade that was discussed was with the Hurricanes around the draft and the beginning of free agency, Pagnotta writes, but those talks broke off once Carolina landed Nikolaj Ehlers in free agency. Schmaltz was involved enough in the process that the Mammoth asked him for a list of teams he’d be willing to sign an extension with if a trade went through, per Pagnotta.
Evidently, the 29-year-old didn’t let that uncertainty about his future affect his game. With an increasingly slim free agent class, he’s putting himself in position to be a top-five name on the market when it opens in July. He’s currently on an eight-game point streak and has rattled off seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points in 11 games to start the year. That’s tops on the Mammoth and tied for third in the NHL overall in both raw points and points per game. He’s done so while posting the best possession numbers and highest time on ice of any Utah forward at 19:39 per game.
Even keeping a fraction of this play up makes his current $5.85MM cap hit one of the best bargains in the league. Of course, he’s in the final year of his current contract: a seven-year, $40.95MM extension signed with Arizona in 2019. His hot start, plus the Mammoth’s early position tied atop the Western Conference, makes the thought of exploring a trade now inconceivable. The effect it has on any future extension negotiations remains to be seen, though.
Utah’s hot start, combined with a premier prospect pool still waiting to churn out multiple high-end names, may convince Schmaltz that sticking around is one of his best bets to play a key role on a championship-contending club, and he could be coerced into taking something of a discount to stay. Conversely, his playing such a large part in it drives up his market value dramatically as part of an ever-thinning UFA class.
From the Mammoth’s perspective, it might make the most sense to keep him as an in-house rental for the playoffs and not budge too much in contract talks. He’s been a key part of their top-six forward group for the life of his deal, dating back to his Arizona days, but he’s in the latter half of his prime, and the value proposition isn’t ideal by matching what he’ll now likely receive on the open market. With a trio of anticipated top-nine forwards in Daniil But, Caleb Desnoyers, and Tij Iginla still yet to graduate from their prospect pool and multiple core pieces signed longer-term, their long-term contention outlook isn’t affected much by his potential departure, either.