Bruins’ Elias Lindholm Out Multiple Weeks
Bruins center Elias Lindholm will miss at least a few weeks with the lower-body injury he sustained in Thursday’s overtime win over the Sabres, head coach Marco Sturm told reporters today (including Adam Pellerin of NESN). He’s having an MRI today to more finely pinpoint the severity and recovery timeline.
Boston is not making a corresponding recall from AHL Providence at this time, Sturm said. They had 14 healthy forwards on the active roster, so they still have a healthy extra on hand with Lindholm sidelined. John Beecher will enter the lineup on Saturday against the Hurricanes after serving as a healthy scratch in three straight games and sitting out 10 of 13 contests this season, according to Sturm.
Lindholm was involved in a knee-on-knee collision with Buffalo forward Jordan Greenway near center ice just short of the halfway point of regulation. He needed assistance from trainers to leave the ice and didn’t return to the game.
Now in his second season in Boston, Lindholm has been stapled in as the Bruins’ top-line center with David Pastrňák on his right wing since opening night. They’ve had a rotating cast of left-wingers that’s included Marat Khusnutdinov and Pavel Zacha, but have mainly been deployed with Morgan Geekie at 5-on-5. Lindholm, 31 in December, is averaging 17:42 per game and has won 57.5% of his faceoffs. He’s fourth on the club with nine points (four goals, five assists) in 13 games, but despite his line’s offensive success, they’re giving up far more than they’re generating. He has a -3 rating while Geekie and Pastrňák have a -5. The trio has controlled just 38.1% of expected goals, by far the worst in the league among the nine forward lines that have spent over 100 minutes together this season, per MoneyPuck. They’ve been outscored 8-4 and out-attempted 134-103.
Boston’s offense has come out of the gates slightly better than expected, sitting just around league average at 3.31 goals per game. That’s largely been fueled by an early-season shooting bender from Geekie, who’s tied for the league lead with nine goals and is finishing at a 33.3% clip. Losing his middleman isn’t great news, but it won’t be the worst opportunity for Sturm to trial different names in the first-line pivot spot between him and Pastrňák to try and boost their two-way numbers. It will be Khusnutdinov getting the first crack at the job, according to the team’s Belle Fraser, fresh off an overtime winner against the Sabres.
With Lindholm out for at least seven days, the Bruins can retroactively place him on injured reserve if they need a roster spot. With over $1.6MM in cap space, they won’t need to do anything other than that to facilitate a recall.
Wild Activate, Reassign Cameron Butler
The Wild announced yesterday that they’ve activated forward Cameron Butler from season-opening injured reserve and assigned him to the AHL’s Iowa Wild. They did that in conjunction with demoting Michael Milne after he cleared waivers. Only defense prospect Stevie Leskovar remains on the non-roster list that Minnesota submitted at the beginning of the month.
Butler will now begin his first season in the Wild organization. They acquired the 6’4″, 209-lb winger from the Blue Jackets in June in exchange for depth forward Brendan Gaunce. The checking-oriented Butler signed with Columbus as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and is in the final season of his entry-level contract, so he may be one-and-done in Minnesota and Iowa if they opt not to issue him a qualifying offer at the end of the season.
Things haven’t gone well for Butler on the offensive side of the puck since turning pro. The 23-year-old has just four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 91 career AHL games, all of which came with the Blue Jackets’ affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. He wasn’t a regular in their lineup last season, limited to 37 appearances. He’s racked up plenty of hits and penalty minutes, but his lack of offensive acumen and contribution has led to a -18 rating for his career. In fact, Butler has never been a plus player in a single season on record in his junior or minor league career.
He was still a semi-capable scorer in juniors, though, and Minnesota hopes he can regain some of that confidence in a new environment this season. Butler does have one NHL game to his name, coming in March 2024 with Columbus. He skated just one shift in a shootout win over the Penguins before being returned to the AHL the next day.
It’s not clear what injury was keeping Butler out of the lineup, but he’s now been cleared to return. Whatever it was, it kept him out of entering a preseason game for the Wild as well.
Islanders Recall Calum Ritchie, Assign Marshall Warren
The New York Islanders have swapped promising prospects on the NHL roster. Top center prospect Calum Ritchie has been officially recalled, while defenseman Marshall Warren has been loaned back to the AHL. Ritchie was expected to make his Islanders debut in place of healthy scratch Mathew Barzal on Thursday, but had his travel impeded by weather conditions.
News of Ritchie’s recall will put the Islanders in an interesting position. The rookie had a clear path to an NHL role with Barzal out of the lineup for disciplinary reasons. But New York head coach Patrick Roy is very unlikely to keep his lineup star, and second-highest scorer, out of the lineup for consecutive games. With Barzal back in, the Islanders will need to scratch another forward to make room for Ritchie. Fourth-line centerman Kyle MacLean seems like the most reasonable option to step out, after posting no scoring, 19 penalty minutes, and a minus-five in six games this season. New York could also try to use this as a chance to spur underperforming scorers like Maxim Tsyplakov (one point in eight games) or Anthony Duclair (three points in 10 games).
No matter who they scratch, it’s hard to argue that Ritchie doesn’t deserve a hardy NHL look. He has scored in all three games he’s played with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders this season. That productivity continued even through a day-to-day injury that knocked Ritchie out of the lineup last week. He’s proven to be clearly capable in his first full pro season. Ritchie broke camp with the Colorado Avalanche at the start of the 2024-25 season, and scored one goal in his first seven NHL games before being reassigned to the OHL. His first game with the Islanders will be the two-way centerman’s next chance to prove he can stick in the NHL.
Meanwhile, Warren will head back to the minor-leagues after an exciting start to his pro career. He recorded two assists in his NHL debut last Saturday, and followed it up with a stout, bottom-pair performance on Tuesday. Warren leads Bridgeport in scoring even after a week with the NHL club, with five poitns through four games this season. He’s made confident impacts on both blue-lines this season, using a strong stick and decisive playmaking to take advantage of chances many other depth defenders would miss. Warren scored 17 points in 53 games of his AHL rookie season last year. That makes his jump this year a bit of a surprise, though certainly a welcome one amid an Islanders blue-line that’s struggled to score. A move back to the AHL will give Warren a chance to show he can hold onto his hot scoring beyond a couple of weeks. Should he remain on top of Bridgeport’s scoring, it’d be hard to imagine Warren staying in the minor leagues for long.
Logan Cooley Extension Setting RFA Market
The Utah Mammoth became the first to cave when they signed pending-restricted free agent and star center Logan Cooley to an eight-year, $80MM contract extension. Mammoth owner Ryan Smith said after that the deal gives both team and player the assurance that Cooley will be able to plant his roots. For teams across the league, the move could have a deeper impact. With fellow young stars Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, and Adam Fantilli all on expiring deals of their own – Cooley’s $10MM annual price tag could be the start of negotiations, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.
That’s great news for Bedard, who is the only on the list to outscore Cooley through their young careers. Cooley boasts 53 goals and 121 points in 168 career games, including this season, while Bedard has managed 51 goals and 142 points in 161 games. There’s no doubt that Bedard has facen the tougher test as well, looking to buoy a desolate Chicago Blackhawks club while Cooley’s rebranded Mammoth look to make their first playoff push.
The heavier load should earn Bedard a boost when negotiations roll around. His yearly cap hit could match Cooley’s $10MM on a shorter deal, potentially four-to-five years, or could go as high as $12MM on a max-term, eight-year deal per LeBrun, who points out that Bedard holds all of the leverage in negotiations. The 20-year-old centerman is a pillar of Chicago’s nightly lineup, and could even be a candidate for their captaincy on his next deal. With no salary cap concerns in sight, Chicago won’t be pressured to spoil Bedard’s importance by trying to save a few extra bucks.
Negotiations could be a bit tougher for Fantilli, who has elevated his play to a true top-line level but hasn’t yet taken over the top forward role for the Columbus Blue Jackets. That title has to stand with right-winger Kirill Marchenko, whose 10 points in 10 games is double what Fantilli’s five points on the year. Part of that scoring dip comes from Fantilli moved away from centering Marchenko, one season after the two played together more than any other Columbus forward pair. Fantilli scored a career-high 31 goals and 54 points, while shooting at a manageable 16.2 percent, in the elevated role last season. This year, he’s been tasked with commanding the team’s second-line, to mixed results.
Signs of continued growing pains does separate Fantilli from the dominant roles of Cooley and Bedard. With those two rivaling for eight-figure contracts, it seems Fantilli would have better luck pushing for a deal in the realm of $9MM each season. Blackhawks winger Frank Nazar recently signed a surprising seven-year, $46.2MM contract after carrying Team USA to a World Championship Gold alongside Cooley. The deal carries a team-friendly $6.6MM cap hit, but pays Nazar $9.1MM and $8.66MM in salary through the first two years respectively. Those numbers could be significant markers for Fantilli, as he looks to sign his own deal as second-fiddle. Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell shared that Columbus doesn’t plan to negotiate a new deal with Fantilli until after the Olympic break, per LeBrun.
Just like at the 2023 Draft, Carlsson’s fate lies somewhere between Bedard and Fantilli. The Swedish-native has taken on a major role for the Anaheim Ducks, offering both top-end impacts both on and off of the puck. He scored a career-high 45 points in 76 games last season. That’s the lowest personal-best on this list, though it came with a Ducks squad that scored the third-fewest goals in the 2024-25 season. Anaheim was led in scoring by Troy Terry‘s 55 points last year, a mark that Carlsson could reasonably clear with some bolstered roles around him. He’s proving as much early on this season, with a team-leading 11 points in nine games while playing alongside Alex Killorn and either Cutter Gauthier or Chris Kreider.
Carlsson appears to have taken a big step forward through the early year. Anaheim won’t have to look far for a comparable deal, after signing Mason McTavish to a six-year, $42MM contract extension in the weeks before the season. The resulting $7MM cap hit is likely a bit cheaper than McTavish could’ve managed on a seven-or-eight-year deal. That should well support Carlsson’s push towards a $9MM contract next summer, especially if he can continue to outscore McTavish through the rest of the year.
The NHL salary cap is presently skyrocketting. It is up $7.5MM this season, and expected to rise another $18MM before the 2027-28 season. That growth has made projecting new contracts a much tougher task – which is where timely extensions like Cooley’s help set the market. He’s been awarded $10MM to man his team’s top-forward role for much of the next decade. That’s set a price tag for the role – one that some 2026 restricted free agents could live up to, while others need to keep trying to play their way into a bigger payday.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
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.
Adrian Kempe, Kings Remain Far Apart
In yesterday’s episode of the DFO Rundown Podcast, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period brought up Adrian Kempe and the ongoing conversations between him and the Los Angeles Kings, as the star becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season. Especially as a major player came off the market earlier today, Martin Necas, eyes turn to Kempe. As Pagnotta mentioned, he wants to stay in Los Angeles, but with each falling domino, his price keeps going up along with the potential allure of going to free agency.
Pagnotta said in the episode that the two sides remain far apart, and that it looks to be a “grind” if they are to reach a resolution. Kempe, who was signed to a steal of a four year contract worth $5.5MM per year, will be due for a hefty raise. In the first year of the deal, he broke out as a 40-goal-scorer, and since then has been a consistent 70+ point producer. At 29, the Swede could set new heights in his contract year, already having posted 14 points in 11 games.
Originally drafted 29th overall back in 2014, the Kings were very patient with Kempe, and it paid off. Through his first 5 professional seasons, he had yet to break out, not reaching 40 points. Many teams look to move on from such late first-round forwards on that path, but instead, Los Angeles has reaped the benefits of the long game. Kempe is on track to surpass 700 games with the black and silver in 2025-26. With legend Anze Kopitar set to retire after this season, along with his $7MM cap hit set to come off the books, giving them much needed space, the Kings hope to keep another player around for the long hall in Kempe.
Along with Pagnotta’s thoughts, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet discussed Kempe last week on The FAN Hockey Show, saying he could command north of $10MM. Currently, AFP Analytics projects a seven-year deal worth $9.175MM, but with Necas all set at 8 years, $11.5MM per season, Kempe’s price has likely gone up, and will continue to do so.
With the Kings off to a respectable start, 5-3-3, the group’s goal of making one final run for Kopitar will dominate their headlines for months to come. However, Kempe’s status will also be a huge one to monitor; not only in Los Angeles, but also from other teams eagerly awaiting the possibility to sign him in July, especially if he can surpass the point-per-game mark this season for the first time.
Evening Notes: Couturier, Boeser, Blue Jackets, Avalanche
Two notable players have left their respective games after taking hard shots: Sean Couturier and Brock Boeser. First, the Flyers announced mid-game their captain Couturier will not return vs Nashville. The 32-year-old’s injury was not disclosed, but he appeared bothered after blocking a shot in the first period. Couturier has been off to a great start so far this season, with nine points in nine games, looking like his old self after two straight seasons not passing the 45-point mark.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks confirmed Boeser will not return after being struck in the midsection point-blank from his teammate Elias Pettersson (defenseman) on a slap shot just 33 seconds into the game vs St. Louis. It’s an extra tough blow considering that the team is already missing Conor Garland, Quinn Hughes, and several other forwards.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets recalled defenseman Dysin Mayo from AHL Cleveland, per the team. With veteran Erik Gudbranson day-to-day, having already missed time this season, Columbus has called upon the 29-year-old with 82 games of NHL experience in advance of Saturday’s game vs St. Louis. Although Mayo is likely just insurance, if he is to appear, it will be his first NHL game since 2022-23, all 82 of his so far as an Arizona Coyote. The right-hander leads the Cleveland Monsters in points, with four helpers in five games.
- In what has been a big day for the Avalanche, after locking up Martin Necas, the team announced that they have recalled defenseman Wyatt Aamodt from AHL Colorado. While Samuel Girard remains sidelined, Jack Ahcan has drawn into the lineup for the last two games, but Aamodt will be added depth if needed, as the Avs head to Vegas, then San Jose, on a road trip this coming weekend. The 27-year-old has spent the last four seasons with the Colorado Eagles, earning a two-game stint with the Avalanche last year.
Sharks Place Adam Gaudette On IR, Activate Shakir Mukhamadullin
Earlier today, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reported that the San Jose Sharks have placed forward Adam Gaudette on the injured reserve. A few minutes later, Pashelka shared that defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin would be activated from the injured reserve and return to the lineup this evening.
It was a likely outcome for Gaudette considering his expected recovery timeline. After sustaining an upper-body injury against the Minnesota Wild, multiple reports indicated that although he is considered day-to-day, the Sharks expect him to miss at least a week. Assuming that the IR placement will be made retroactive to October 26th, it’s likely that Gaudette will return next Wednesday against the Seattle Kraken.
The 8-year veteran is in the first year of a two-year, $4MM contract signed with the Sharks last summer. He earned himself a notable payday after an impressive 2024-25 campaign, scoring 19 goals in 81 games for the Ottawa Senators. Gaudette quickly became a prime candidate for San Jose to scoop up on the free agent market to add quality goal-scoring potential in their middle-six.
Meanwhile, Mukhamadullin returns after missing the last three weeks with an upper-body injury, only participating in one contest this season. Still, he made a notable difference in that one appearance against the Vegas Golden Knights, tallying two assists while skating in 12:45 of action.
According to line rushes this morning, Mukhamadullin is expected to skate on a defensive pairing with fellow youngster Sam Dickinson. The two are both high-end defensive prospects in San Jose’s system and could offer a glimpse into the team’s future this evening.
Islanders Activate Alexander Romanov, May Recall Calum Ritchie
6:00 p.m.: Ritchie’s debut with the Islanders will have to wait another day. According to ESPN’s John Buccigross, Ritchie’s flight from Bridgeport to Raleigh was cancelled due to inclement weather. Still, there’s a decent chance that Ritchie will be recalled by the Islanders tomorrow night against the Washington Capitals.
3:57 p.m.: The New York Islanders will have a few additions in their matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes this evening. The Islanders announced that they have activated defenseman Alexander Romanov from injured reserve. Additionally, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that forward prospect Calum Ritchie will be recalled and make his Islanders debut.
Assuming that Friedman’s report is accurate, New York will have to make another corresponding transaction to fit Ritchie into the active roster. Ritchie’s recall, along with Romanov’s activation, would put the Islanders at 22 skaters and two goaltenders, one over the 23-man roster limit.
In all likelihood, New York will likely reassign defenseman Marshall Warren, given that he’s one of only three waiver-exempt players on the team. He’s had a solid debut with the Islanders over the last two games, tallying two assists while averaging 12:08 of ice time.
Meanwhile, Romanov has missed the team’s last five games with an upper-body injury. He was eligible to return last Thursday, although recent reports indicated that Romanov would return to the lineup at some point during the team’s current road trip. In his four games before the injury, Romanov went scoreless while averaging 18:12 of ice time, collecting 12 blocked shots and 15 hits.
The most interesting portion of today’s roster moves is the reasoning behind Ritchie’s recall. According to Ethan Sears of the New York Post, the team is benching Mathew Barzal tonight due to his late arrival to the rink. It’ll be the first game that Barzal has missed this season, and he’s currently second on the team in scoring with two goals and eight points in nine games.
Still, the news is fairly bittersweet given that Ritchie is expected to debut. He’s been dealing with a mild lower-body injury recently, but has scored one goal and three points in three games for the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. During preseason action, Ritchie tallied one goal and one assist in four games, averaging 15:24 of ice time. He was the main piece acquired last year in the trade that sent Brock Nelson to the Colorado Avalanche, and New York is hopeful that he’ll become a high-scoring fixture in their top-six.
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.