Senators Reassign Hunter Shepard, Recall Leevi Merilainen
Sunday: The Senators have reversed yesterday’s roster move, reassigning Shepard back to AHL Belleville and recalling Merilainen. Merilainen made the most of his short AHL stint, saving 38 of 42 shots in the AHL Senators’ 7-4 win over the North Division-leading Syracuse Crunch yesterday. Merilainen’s win gives Belleville a 4-4-1 record through nine games.
Saturday: The Senators continue to swap out their backup goalies. The team has recalled Hunter Shepard from AHL Belleville to serve as the benchwarmer behind Linus Ullmark tonight against the Canadiens, per a club announcement. Leevi Merilainen has been returned to Belleville in a corresponding move.
The impetus for the transaction is playing time for Merilainen, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. The Senators only have two games in the next seven days following today’s contest. Merilainen is expected to get the start for Belleville tonight before being recalled again for Thursday’s game against the Bruins.
Ottawa continues to ride Ullmark as they try to get their high-paid starter out of his early-season funk. Luckily for him, he’s gotten plenty of goal support in his 10 starts to contribute to a 5-4-1 record. He’s strung together a few quality starts recently, but has still underwhelmed on the whole with a .863 SV% and 3.36 GAA. His -7.0 goals saved above expected rank last in the NHL, according to MoneyPuck.
Merilainen has only gotten two starts in the meantime. His first one was a disastrous outing against the Sabres back on Oct. 15, allowing seven goals on just 26 shots. He rebounded nicely nearly two weeks later with a 26-save performance and .929 SV% in a dominant win over the Bruins, though. He also has a .897 SV% in two games so far with Belleville this season on previous short-term demotions.
His waiver-exempt status is something the Sens are taking full advantage of early in the year. Shepard has already cleared waivers, doing so back in September, so he can be rostered for up to 30 days before he needs to clear them again. It’s the second time in a few days the Sens have recalled him to serve as a backup. He sat on the bench for Merilainen’s start against the Bruins while Ullmark got the night off entirely. The 29-year-old has a .909 SV% and 3.02 GAA in four appearances for Belleville, his first in the Sens organization after spending the previous five years in the Capitals’ pipeline.
East Notes: Volokhin, Guryev, Greenway
Montreal Canadiens goalie prospect Yevgeni Volokhin has signed a new three-year contract with his current club, Spartak Moscow of the KHL, covering this season and running through 2027-28. The 20-year-old was a 2023 fifth-round pick out of the MHL (Russia’s top junior hockey league) and has played pro hockey in each of the last two seasons. The 2023-24 MHL Goalie of the Year played in 28 KHL games during his age-19 season, posting a .901 save percentage despite playing behind a very poor team. He posted that save percentage alongside a 4-17-1 record.
Volokhin was traded to Spartak for monetary compensation in June, and has since been Moscow’s No. 3 goalie behind Dmitry Nikolayev and former Calgary Flame Artem Zagidulin. Volokhin saved 20 of 21 shots in his first KHL start of the season but struggled in his second. He has spent most of the season in the second-tier VHL, posting a .935 save percentage in 14 games. Due to this extension, the earliest the Canadiens will be able to sign Volokhin and get him to make his North American debut will be for the 2028-29 season. As Volokhin is a prospect under contract in Russia, the Canadiens will still hold the exclusive rights to sign him to an entry-level deal upon the expiry of his current contract with Spartak.
Other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- Philadelphia Flyers prospect Artem Guryev, who was acquired in the October trade involving Carl Grundstrom and the contract of Ryan Ellis, appears to have lost his spot with the club’s AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 22-year-old was reassigned to the ECHL’s Reading Royals yesterday. Guryev began the season in Lehigh Valley but went scoreless through four games, prompting this reassignment. The 2021 fifth-round pick began his pro career in the AHL in 2023-24 but spent most of 2024-25 in the ECHL, so it’s possible he continues that trend in 2025-26. Guryev isn’t the only Flyers prospect in Reading: former University of Denver star scorer Massimo Rizzo, who scored 18 points in 46 games as an AHL rookie last season, has begun 2025-26 in North American pro hockey’s third-tier league.
- On Thursday, there were reports coming out of Buffalo that Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff was potentially set to test Jordan Greenway at the center position upon his return to the ice from an injury. It appears Ruff ultimately elected not to try Greenway, a career winger, in such an unfamiliar position, as he skated as a left winger in each of his two games played in 2025-26. The 6’6″ veteran forward has registered one assist in his two games back from injury, and it appears the choice was a good call from Ruff – Greenway’s play in his familiar left wing position has helped the Sabres collect three out of four possible points in the games he’s played in.
Injury Notes: Benson, Strome, Nylander
Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson has been among the team’s best players in this early portion of the 2025-26 season, but despite his brilliance, he’s had some trouble staying on the ice. Injuries forced Benson to miss the first three games of the Sabres’ season, and since his return the club has bounced back from its 0-3-0 start to record a 5-4-3 record. They’ll have to sustain that momentum without Benson, though, as the forward was placed on IR yesterday with a lower-body injury. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff provided some more detail on Benson’s absence, via Buffalo Hockey Beat’s Bill Hoppe, stating that Benson is likely to miss just a week and therefore isn’t likely to see his absence extend beyond the timeline mandated by his IR placement.
Ruff did note, per The Hockey News’ Michael Augello, that Benson has been managing his injury for the past few games, and it’s gotten to the point where he’s unable to play and needs that time to recover. Benson has been very good to start the season, registering eight assists in eight games. He had occupied a spot on the Sabres’ top line and first power play unit, and in response to Benson’s absence, Ruff shook up the lines for the team’s shootout victory last night. The player who Buffalo recalled to take Benson’s spot – 2021 first-rounder Isak Rosen – scored his first NHL goal to give the Sabres a lead late in the first period of yesterday’s game.
Other injury updates from around the NHL:
- While the Sabres were forced to manage the absence of one of their top scorers in yesterday’s game, the Washington Capitals dealt with the reverse: the return from injury of one of their top offensive talents. Center Dylan Strome made his return last night after a lower-body injury cost him the chance to play in two Capitals contests. Strome is Washington’s most important center, and he led the team in scoring last season. The 2015 No. 3 overall pick scored 82 points in 82 games last season, has 11 points in 10 games this year, and also scored a goal last night in Buffalo.
- Toronto Maple Leafs star winger William Nylander missed another game due to his lower-body injury. The 29-year-old has been managing the injury for some time, his classification originally beginning as a game-time decision on Oct. 27 before deteriorating to an “out” designation for each of the Maple Leafs’ last two games. Nylander has been Toronto’s best player early this season with 15 points in nine games. While last night was a difficult one for Toronto sports overall, the Maple Leafs managed to register a strong 5-2 win in Nylander’s absence.
Flyers Recall Jacob Gaucher, Reassign Emil Andrae
Sunday: Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed the reasoning behind Andrae’s reassignment is roster management more than anything else, relays PHLY Sports’ Charlie O’Connor.
Tocchet said that with the uncertainty surrounding Couturier’s readiness to play, the Flyers needed additional forward reinforcement, and in order to bring up Gaucher, Andrae needed to be reassigned. Tocchet did note that he believes Andrae will be back on the NHL roster in short order.
Couturier is managing an upper-body injury and missed the Flyers’ loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs yesterday. The 2019-20 Selke Trophy winner has gotten off to a strong start to his 2025-26 campaign, scoring nine points in 10 games while winning nearly 55% of his draws and playing a big role in what has thus far been the league’s second-best penalty kill.
Friday: The Flyers announced they’ve recalled forward Jacob Gaucher from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms and returned defenseman Emil Andrae to Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move.
Gaucher comes up amid an injury concern for captain Sean Couturier, who left Thursday’s win over the Predators in the first period with an undisclosed injury sustained while blocking a shot. There hasn’t been an update on his status yet. However, sending Andrae down as the corresponding move for Gaucher’s recall, rather than placing Couturier on injured reserve, suggests there’s optimism that his absence won’t be more than day-to-day.
The 24-year-old Gaucher is in his fourth professional season, all of which have come in the Flyers organization. Undrafted, he’s made the climb all the way up from ECHL regular to NHL call-up option. He signed with Lehigh Valley out of juniors in 2022 but spent his first season entirely on loan to the ECHL’s Reading Royals. He was a training camp standout in 2024 and, after getting off to a hot start with the Phantoms last year, received his first NHL contract in December and his first call-up in February. He made four appearances for the Flyers before being sent back down, going without a point and averaging just 7:21 of ice time per game. However, he impressed in the faceoff dot (10-for-15) and managed two blocks and four hits.
Gaucher checks in at 6’4″ and 225 lbs and can play both center and right wing. He’s off to a slow start this season with Lehigh Valley with just one goal and one assist through eight games, but he’s coming off a 20-goal season in 2024-25. The Flyers are only carrying 13 healthy forwards with Couturier’s injury, so there’s a decent chance Gaucher, who has utility down the middle, makes his season debut on Saturday against the Maple Leafs in a familiar fourth-line role. The organization hopes the confidence from an NHL call-up can help jumpstart his production when he’s inevitably returned to the minors.
Andrae’s demotion is a product of his waiver-exempt status more than anything else. The 2020 second-rounder has been ferried between Philly and Lehigh Valley twice this season now, but has averaged just 12:44 of ice time in two NHL appearances. The 23-year-old Swede is continuing to pressure the Flyers to give him more minutes with strong minor-league performances, which include five assists and a +4 rating in six showings for the Phantoms this year. In the interim, his demotion means more opportunities for Adam Ginning and Egor Zamula, who have rotated in as the club’s sixth defenseman.
Late Night Notes: Tanev, Makar, Wutzke
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev was taken out of Saturday night’s game on a stretcher, following a collision with Philadelphia Flyers winger Matvei Michkov halfway through the third period. It wasn’t clear exactly where Tanev took the bump, though he was fitted with a head immobilizer.
It is a terrible outcome in what was meant to be Tanev’s first full game back from a previous injury. He was activated off of injured reserve earlier on Saturday, after missing 11 days and four games with a concussion sustained on October 21st.
Tanev remained a core part of Toronto’s blue-line prior to his October 21st injury. His plus-three through seven games is the second-highest among Toronto defenders. He also leads the blue-line with four takeaways on the year.
Toronto could be pushed to recall Dakota Mermis, who was assigned to the AHL to make room for Tanev’s return. Mermis has no scoring through one appearance in the NHL, and two in the AHL, this season. He could continue to fit outside the lineup, should Toronto continue leaning on Philippe Myers and Simon Benoit in a nightly role.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- The Colorado Avalanche have assigned forward Taylor Makar to the AHL. Makar made his NHL debut on Saturday. He posted one hit and no shots in just six minutes of action. The night was also Taylor’s first chance to play alongside brother Cale Makar at the NHL rank. Despite playing for the same junior and college programs, the two hadn’t formally played together, largely thanks to Cale being three years Taylor’s senior. With this move, the younger Makar will now return to the AHL ranks, where he’s already accrued four points and 14 penalty minutes in nine games. He’s playing through his rookie AHL season, after earning a five-game sample in the league following the end of his senior year last season.
- Minnesota Wild goalie prospect Chase Wutzke has been traded in the WHL. He moved from the Red Deer Rebels to the Moose Jaw Warriors in a lofty trade – with one first-round, two second-round, one third-round, and two fourth-round draft picks headed back to Red Deer. Wutzke will bring starting upside to the Warriors. He’s posted a .889 save percentage in nine games so far this season, a that mark sits above both of Moose Jaw’s goaltenders. That should earn Wutzke the starter’s crease sooner rather than later, and give Moose Jaw one more piece to help push towards a long season.
Evening Notes: Liljegren, Dubois, Fensore
San Jose Sharks defenseman Timothy Liljegren exited the team’s Saturday win over the Colorado Avalanche in the first period after a deflected puck hit him in the face while he was on the bench. The injury looked painful, but Liljegren isn’t expected to miss the long-term with a serious injury, head coach Ryan Warsofsky told Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka.
Liljegren recorded seven minutes of ice time and a minus-one before exiting. The injury forced an end to a red-hot streak for the veteran defender. He scored three points across his last three games, prior to Saturday, and averaged over 24 minutes of ice time across his last five. He’s begun to show some sea legs after being thrust to the top of a young Sharks blue-line in the early season. Liljegren and defense partner Dmitry Orlov have outscored their opponents three-to-one – the best mark on San Jose blue-line. That will make him tough to replace, even though he’s only managed three assists in eight games.
The Sharks are currently carrying Sam Dickinson and Vincent Iorio as their extra defenders. Right-shot Iorio would likely be the preferred fill-in, though Warsofsky wouldn’t committ to either defender yet.
Other notes from around the league:
- It seems the Washington Capitals have avoided serious injury with centerman Pierre-Luc Dubois, who sustained an injury in Friday’s game against the New York Islanders. He’s been designated as out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. Dubois was playing his third game back from a previous injury that held him out for two weeks. His struggles to find the scoresheet stuck around, though, pulling the reigning 66-point scorer through a sixth game with no scoring this season. He will miss Washington’s Saturday match against the Buffalo Sabres, but should return to his hunt for a score in the first week of November.
- With K’Andre Miller nearing a return from injury, the Carolina Hurricanes have assigned defenseman Domenick Fensore back to the minor-leagues. Fensore played in his first game of the NHL season, and third of his career, on October 28th. He recorded two shots on net and a minus-two. He’s been far more productive in the AHL, where his seven points in four games still leads the Chicago Wolves in scoring, despite the team playing two games without him. Fensore will now return to his cushy top-defender role, where he’ll look to bolster a Wolves offense that’s only scored three goals across their last three games.
Kraken Expected To Activate Kaapo Kakko
It has been a tough season on the injury front for Seattle with several key players missing time already and several players still on injured reserve. That number will be dropping by one, however, as Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic relays (subscription link) that winger Kaapo Kakko is expected to be activated off IR and suit up tonight against the Rangers, his former team. Officially, he’s listed as a game-time decision, per team radio host Mike Benton (Twitter link).
The 24-year-old suffered a broken hand late in training camp that was expected to keep him out for six weeks. Assuming he’s indeed activated for tonight’s game after being a full participant in practice Friday, he’ll come in slightly ahead of that target.
Last season was a mixed bag for Kakko. Re-signed to a one-year, $2.4MM contract before qualifying offers were tendered, it looked like it was shaping up to be his last chance in New York. That turned out to be the case. After putting up just four goals and 10 assists in his first 30 games, the Rangers decided to pull the trigger on a move, sending him to the Kraken for defenseman William Borgen, plus 2025 third and sixth-round picks.
After the swap, Kakko found himself with a more consistent opportunity in Seattle’s top six and he made the most of it. Over the final 49 games, he notched 10 goals and 20 assists while his ATOI jumped by nearly four minutes a night, showing some of the promise that made him the second overall selection back in 2019.
That showing was also good enough to give him enough leverage for a multi-year deal this summer. In his final season of RFA eligibility, Seattle tendered Kakko a qualifying offer and the two sides eventually avoided arbitration with a three-year, $13.575MM contract that gave Kakko the security he was seeking and the Kraken a couple of extra years of club control. Now, after missing the first month of the season, it looks like he’s set to try to get back to the same type of role he had down the stretch.
Kings Place Warren Foegele On IR
The Los Angeles Kings have moved forward Warren Foegele to injured reserve with an upper-body injury. The move is retroactive to Foegele’s last appearance on October 26th, making him eligible to be reactivated as soon as November 2nd. It seems he’ll be out for longer than that, though, with head coach Jim Hiller telling Mayor’s Manor that Foegele “isn’t close”.
Foegele was injured on an awkward hit into the boards from Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno. The hit seemed to jam up Foegele’s shoulder, though his injury hasn’t been specified beyond “upper-body”.
This absence brought an end to a 174-game ironman streak that Foegele had been riding since the 2023-24 season. He posted a career-year in his first year with the Kings last season, setting a career-high 24 goals and 46 points while averaging 16 minutes of ice time. Both his role, and his production, have dwindled this season. He has just one goal in 10 games on the year, while averaging 13 minutes.
His role has been much more defensive-oriented. The line of Foegele, Phillip Danault, and Trevor Moore has recorded the second-lowest expected-goals-against per-60 (xGA/60) of any routine Kings line. That hard-nosed, high-IQ, and defensive style has underscored Foegele’s game even as he struggles to find the back of the net.
The Kings have turned towards Jeff Malott, Alex Turcotte, and Joel Armia to fill Foegele’s minutes. Malott has one goal, and Turcotte has one assist, in two games in that span. The Kings have been better helped by 40-year-old winger Corey Perry, who has three goals, four points, and a plus-five since Foegele’s injury. That surge has helped move focus away from the Kings’ bottom-six, and away from less-experienced company filling in. Los Angeles is likely to continue rotating through depth wingers as they wait for more news of Foegele’s timeline.
Of note, the Kings opted to move Foegele to IR, and clear a roster spot, after placing defenseman Kyle Burroughs on waivers. The move leaves them with an open spot that could be used to recall the Ontario Reign’s leading scorer, Taylor Ward, or prospects Andre Lee or Francesco Pinelli.
Oilers Hire Andy Slaggert As Director Of North American Recruiting
The Edmonton Oilers have brought a prolific college hockey coach into the fold. Longtime University of Notre Dame assistant coach Andy Slaggert has joined the Oilers as their Director Of North American Recruiting. He leaves behind over 30 years with the Fighting Irish. The University held a ceremony for Slaggert before Friday night’s loss to longtime the rival University of Michigan.
Slaggert will leave behind a true legacy with Notre Dame. The Saginaw, Michigan native joined the Fighting Irish as a player in 1985. He was part of the men’s hockey team through four years at the school, then returned as an assistant coach in 1992 – just three years after graduating. He’s served on the team’s bench in the 32 years since, filling 19 seasons as an assistant coach and 12 as an associate head coach.
Over that time, all three of Slaggert’s sons earned a chance to play for their dad. Graham Slaggert spent four years at the University before signing with the Toronto Marlies for two seasons. He’s spent the last three years in a nightly role with the Rochester Americans. Middle-son Landon Slaggert was a third-round draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in the year before he attended Notre Dame. He turned pro with Chicago after four years in South Bend, and has since appeared in 53 NHL games. Youngest son Carter Slaggert is currently in his junior year at Notre Dame, and plays with the grit and heads-up IQ that’s become trademark to Slaggert hockey.
Through his decades at Notre Dame, Slaggert was often front-and-center in the recruiting process. He was involved early and often in player development, and worked to ensure players were just as comfortable off-ice and around campus. Former Irish head coach Jeff Jackson said about Slaggert:
He is the best recruiter for Notre Dame… [He] is also extremely important to our players, from the time they are introduced to Notre Dame to long after they become alumni. He is more than a hockey coach to our young men, he’s a life coach to them. Andy has been immensely loyal to Notre Dame and the Irish hockey family
Through Slaggert’s time with the club, Notre Dame has seen 25 players suit up for Team USA a the World Junior Championships and 70 have been drafted into the NHL. That includes first-rounders Ian Cole, Kyle Palmieri, and Riley Sheahan. Nine of those draft picks, including Landon, are in the NHL this year. Cole (919), Palmieri (911), and Anders Lee (852) lead Slaggert’s former players in NHL games played, while Palmieri (535), Lee (515), and Bryan Rust (447) lead in NHL points.
While the details of Slaggert’s role with the Oilers weren’t fully revealed, he’ll bring uniquely deep insight into the college hockey landscape to the Canadian club. Reeling in one of the strongest, and most experienced, collegiate recruiters will give Edmonton a strong hand as the junior hockey world approaches a new landscape, where CHL players can play collegiate hockey. That advantage could be shrewd ahead of additional changes to the CHL and USHL, and incoming upgrades in the talent of collegiate free agents.
Metropolitan Notes: Panarin, Brazeau, Luchanko, Brown
At a time when several prominent pending unrestricted free agents have re-signed, one of the notable exceptions is Rangers winger Artemi Panarin. It doesn’t appear that will be changing anytime soon. In his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun reports that the sense is that New York isn’t in a particular hurry to engage in discussions, wanting to better assess how they’re faring under new head coach Mike Sullivan. Panarin just turned 34 so there’s a good chance this will be his final contract, meaning term will be important. If the Rangers aren’t willing to offer up a longer-term pact, Panarin could find himself the subject of plenty of trade speculation leading up to the trade deadline in March.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Penguins winger Justin Brazeau is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, relays team broadcaster Josh Getzoff (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has been one of Pittsburgh’s top offensive performers in the early going this season, collecting six goals and six assists in his first dozen games. That outcome was something few would have seen coming considering he entered the campaign with just 29 points in 95 career NHL games. He has provided plenty of value already in the first season of a two-year, $3MM contract but that will be on hold for now.
- The Flyers recently sent center Jett Luchanko back to junior but if the youngster has his way, he’ll be on the move again. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic mentions (subscription link) that the 19-year-old is hoping to be moved from his current OHL team in Guelph, with an eye on joining Brantford, an early-season contender. Luchanko, the 13th pick in 2024, has made Philadelphia’s roster out of training camp in each of the last two seasons but this time, he only got into four games before being sent back to the Storm where he had an assist in his first outing back with them.
- Devils winger Connor Brown will miss tonight’s game against Los Angeles with an undisclosed injury, notes team reporter Amanda Stein (Twitter link). However, it doesn’t appear he’ll be out too long as he’s listed as day-to-day. Brown is off to a strong start in his first season with New Jersey, picking up five goals and an assist through his first 11 games.