Canadiens’ Kirby Dach Out Four-To-Six Weeks With Fractured Foot
The Montreal Canadiens have announced that forward Kirby Dach will miss the next four-to-six weeks after fracturing his right foot. In his place, Montreal has recalled winger Joshua Roy from the AHL. This marks the third-straight season that Dach has sustained a long-term injury, after facing season-ending knee injuries in each of the last two years.
This injury is luckily not related to any of Dach’s prior absences – but the hits keep on coming for the oft-injured 24-year-old. He was working his way back into a core role in Montreal’s offense this season, with five goals and seven points through 15 games so far. That scoring pace is well above last season, when Dach scored 20 points in 57 games. He is now seven years into his NHL career, but hasn’t yet appeared in more than 70 games in a single season. That healthiest year came in 2021-22, when he scored 26 points with the Chicago Blackhawks. Dach’s career year came in the following season, when he potted 38 points in 58 games in his first year with the Canadiens, before late-season injuries cut his year short.
Montreal was showing restraint with Dach’s minutes, even as his scoring grew. He has only averaged 14 minutes of ice time this season, despite routinely filling a second-line, usually rotating between center and left-wing. That’s proven especially conservative deployment, considering Dach has also appeared on the second power-play unit. But the added care will prove for naught, and Dach will land on the sideline once again.
This could prove a lucrative opportunity for Roy, who hasn’t yet received an extended chance at NHL minutes. The Quebec-native has scored seven points in 10 games for the AHL’s Laval Rockets, good for fifth on the team in scoring. Despite that, he’s only appeared in one NHL game this season, with no notable stat changes. Roy has also received NHL minutes in the last two seasons. He was productive in his first year, netting nine points in his first 23 NHL appearances, but followed it with only two points in 12 games last year. He’s been much more productive in the minors, where he’s totaled 74 points in 98 games across four seasons. If Roy doesn’t stick in the NHL, the Canadiens could turn towards prospect Sean Farrell as their next man up.
Rangers Recall Scott Morrow, Reassign Gabriel Perreault
The New York Rangers have swapped prospects on the NHL roster. Defenseman Scott Morrow has been recalled once again, while winger Gabriel Perreault will return to the minors in his spot. Perreault played in his first NHL games of the season over New York’s last three games. He recorded one assist, a plus-two, and four blocked shots.
Despite the meager scoreline, Perreault’s return to the NHL was largely encouraging. He played top-line minutes next to captain J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad in his first game, then worked well off of fellow rookie Noah Laba from New York’s third line for his next two games. The outings proved Perreault’s ability to meet multiple needs in the lineup. Now, he’ll return to a starring role for the Hartford Wolf Pack. Perreault currently leads the AHL club in scoring with 10 points in nine games. He’s the only Wolf Pack scoring above a point-per-game through the early season.
While Perreault continues to grow in the minor-leagues, Morrow will return to the NHL hoping to finally debut with the Rangers. The 23-year-old has been back-and-forth between the NHL and AHL all season long, but has so far only taken the ice for Hartford. He has two points in 11 games with the AHL club, far below the scoring pace that led him to 13 goals and 39 points in 52 games with the Chicago Wolves last season. New York acquired Morrow as part of the deal that sent top-four defender K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes this summer. Prior to the trade, Morrow recorded six points in 16 games with Carolina.
This move could mark the best of both worlds for the Rangers. Hartford is in the midst of a seven-game losing streak that could be snapped with the return of their top scorer. Meanwhile, Morrow stands a reasonable chance to step into New York’s roster after William Borgen sat out of the team’s Saturday matchup with an upper-body injury. Borgen is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings.
Maple Leafs Attempted To Acquire Rasmus Andersson, Brayden Schenn Last Season
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to already have a pulse on the asking price for two of the trade market’s top names. General manager Brad Treliving made a push to acquire Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson and St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn, through points of the 2024-25 season, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast.
Toronto couldn’t put together a deal that enticed Calgary enough to move Andersson, while the asking price for Schenn ended up richer than Toronto’s other moves. Friedman added that he didn’t believe Schenn, who has a modified no-trade clause, would accept a trade to Toronto unless they also acquired his brother, Luke Schenn.
Instead of the top names, the Maple Leafs landed defender Brandon Carlo and center Scott Laughton at the Trade Deadline. The moves cost the Maple Leafs two first-round picks and two top prospects, with Fraser Minten headed to the Boston Bruins and Nikita Grebenkin headed to the Philadelphia Flyers.
The thought of paying even more for a pair of veterans was surely a reasonable deterrent, but it cost the Leafs a good bit of offensive oomph. Schenn finished last season with 50 points, marking the third season in the last four years that he’s crossed the half-century mark. He also led the Blues with a career-high 194 hits and posted a stout 52.3 faceoff percentage. His scoring has taken a massive hit on a struggling Blues squad this season – but Schenn is still on pace for 25 points and 173 hits, serviceable numbers from a 34-year-old.
Instead, Toronto landed Laughton, who has four points, 56 hits, and a 55.4 faceoff percentage in 22 games with the Maple Leafs. Health has proved a limitation for the 31-year-old. He is currently on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and carries a day-to-day designation. He’ll bring responsible two-way play back to the team’s bottom-six when he returns – though he lacks the offense to help turn the tide. Laughton’s career-high came in 2022-23, when he scored 43 points in 78 games with Philadelphia.
While Schenn and Laughton – former teammates – bring similar gritty styles, the difference between Andersson and Carlo is staggering. Andersson has been a linchpin in the Flames’ offense, routinely stepping up as the main driver of play from the blue line. He scored 11 goals, tying a career-high, and 31 points in 81 games last season. Those marks were backed by a team-leading 196 blocked shots and 36 hits. He continues to do much of the same this year, with seven points and 33 blocks in 20 games so far.
That’s far from the staunch, defensive style that Carlo brings to the table. The 29-year-old has five points, all assists, and 72 blocked shots across 38 games with Toronto. He’s been a welcome addition to head coach Craig Berube’s hard-nosed, old-school style – and even intermittently earned top-pair minutes. But in a struggling Leafs offense, Carlo’s setback style has failed to create any sparks from the blue line.
Toronto appeared to find a balance between value and costs with their deadline acquisitions – but it’s not clear how that will affect their presence in this year’s trade market. Both Andersson and Schenn remain available, and Toronto remains in need. But they could struggle to offer much more than they did last year, especially without a first-round pick until 2028.
With that standing in mind, Friedman emphasized that Toronto should remain patient and wait for a true difference-maker to hit the market. The Trade Deadline is a little under four months away, and the list of high-profile names on the block should only grow as teams sense their fates.
Charlie McAvoy, Viktor Arvidsson Hurt In Bruins Win
The Boston Bruins left Montreal with a win on Saturday night, but could pay the price with two veteran injuries. Star defenseman Charlie McAvoy sustained an upper-body injury after being struck in the jaw by a shot from the blue-line. He was helped off the ice by a trainer and did not return tot he contest. Meanwhile, winger Viktor Arvidsson sustained a lower-body injury later in the contest. Arvidsson is expected to miss “some time” while McAvoy will undergo further testing, per head coach Marco Sturm (via WEEI radio).
McAvoy’s importance to the Bruins can’t go understated. He had averaged more than 25 minutes of ice time across his last six games entering Saturday night, and rewarded the heavy usage with six assists. The Bruins set a 5-1-0 record in that span. McAvoy has worked his way up to 14 points, all assists, in 19 games on the year. That mark leads all Bruins defenders in scoring, with Mason Lohrei (10 points) the only other with double-digit scoring. McAvoy also leads the Bruins’ blue-line in shots on goal (25), average ice time (23:46), and ice time on both the power-play and penalty-kill. He would leave massive shoes to be filled. The Bruins would need to lean on a committee approach in his absence, likely looking to Lohrei stepping up as a vital piece of the offense and Nikita Zadorov growing into an even bigger defensive role.
Arvidsson may not carry the same lineup role, but his role will be just as tough to replace. The 33-year-old has scored three points across his last four games, including the game-winning goal on Saturday prior to his injury. He now has 10 points in 20 games this season. Arvidsson also ranks second on the Bruins in shots on goal (52) behind star scorer David Pastrňák. He has provided shrewd depth scoring to a Bruins team that sorely lacked that last season. With his help, the Bruins have leaped from the fifth-fewest goals-for last season, to the second-most so far this season.
Boston is already facing a littany of injuries. Elias Lindholm was placed on injured reserve in early November, and both Casey Mittelstadt and John Beecher are nursing injuries from the press box. That will force the team to call someone up form the AHL to fill Arvidsson’s bottom-six role. Former first-round pick, and 6-foot-6 winger, Riley Tufte co-leads the Providence Bruins in scoring with 16 points, split evenly, in 13 games. He’s tied with 10-year pro Patrick Brown, who has six goals and 10 assists. Both players would be strong options to bring up, though Boston may want to reward top prospect Fabian Lysell, who has 12 points in 12 games while working through a shifting lineup role.
Penguins’ Ville Koivunen Out Day-To-Day
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced early on Sunday that rookie winger Ville Koivunen is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He will be out of the lineup when Pittsburgh takes on the Nashville Predators in the second game of the NHL Global Series in Stockholm. Koivunen left the Penguins’ Saturday practice early, with no indication as to why, until this injury announcement.
Koivunen has recorded one assist and six shots on net through his last four appearances. Those marks bring him up to two assists and 14 shots on goal in 11 games this season. He has operated out of a fourth-line role, which will make his absence easier to address. Danton Heinen is expected to draw back into the lineup for the fourth time this season. He has no scoring, a minus-one, and one penalty in those appearances.
Pittsburghs hould turn quickly back to their first-year Finn when he’s back to full health. Koivunen may still be finding his stride in the NHL, but he remains the leader in points-per-game in the AHL, with 11 points in six games (1.83 per-game). He posted a similar season last year, netting 21 goals and 56 points in 63 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, to go along with seven points in eight NHL games. Koivunen was also a scoring star in Finland’s Liiga, where he posted 113 points in 164 games and three seasons. He’s a volume shooter who knows how to drive the puck down the ice. It seems a question of when, not if, he’ll finds a scoring breakout this season.
Hurricanes Recall Bradly Nadeau, Assign Gavin Bayreuther To AHL
10:00 p.m.: Shortly after their overtime loss to the Oilers, the Hurricanes announced they’ve reassigned Nadeau back to AHL Chicago. He did not play in tonight’s contest.
2:33 p.m.: The Hurricanes have made a pair of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against Edmonton. The team announced that they have recalled winger Bradly Nadeau from AHL Chicago. To make room for him on the roster, defenseman Gavin Bayreuther has been returned to the Wolves.
It’s the second recall of the season for Nadeau. The 20-year-old got into six games in his first stint, picking up his first career goal while averaging 11:30 per game. It’s already the third straight year that Nadeau has received NHL action as he got into one game in 2023-24 after being drafted 30th overall and made two appearances with them last season.
Nadeau has been quite productive in his limited action with the Wolves this season, picking up three goals and four assists. That comes on the heels of an impressive rookie showing in 2024-25 where he had 32 goals and 26 assists in 64 games with Chicago. If he gets into the lineup again on this recall, it’s likely that his minutes will be managed in a bottom-six role as it was in his first stint.
As for Bayreuther, the 31-year-old didn’t see any game action with Carolina after being recalled last weekend. He has three goals and three assists in nine AHL contests with the Wolves and has 122 career NHL outings under his belt with a total of 28 points. He returned to North America this season after playing with Lausanne in Switzerland in 2024-25.
Metro Notes: Devils, Carlson, Borgen, Mitchell
Despite recent injuries affecting the New Jersey Devils, there is light at the end of the tunnel. According to team reporter Amanda Stein, the Devils are expected to welcome back defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Connor Brown to practice on Monday.
Hamilton, who’s tied as the highest-paid defenseman on New Jersey’s roster, hasn’t played since November 6th due to an undisclosed injury. The injury to Hamilton has left the Devils’ blue line relatively devastated, as they’re also without Brett Pesce and Johnathan Kovacevic on the right side. Despite missing the last few games, Hamilton is third on the team in scoring among defensemen with three goals and seven points in 14 games.
Meanwhile, Brown was just recently placed on the team’s injured reserve yesterday with an undisclosed injury. Since his injury designation was retroactive to October 30th, Brown is eligible to return whenever healthy. He’s scored five goals in his first 11 games with New Jersey this season.
Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:
- On the flip side of New Jersey’s game tonight, the Washington Capitals are playing without their longest-tenured defenseman. Before the game, Bailey Johnson of the Washington Post reported that blueliner John Carlson is dealing with an upper-body injury, and he didn’t participate in tonight’s contest. Fortunately, there’s no indication it’s expected to be a long-term issue for Carlson, who could return to the action in the Capitals’ next game.
- Staying on the blue line, the New York Rangers are also without a usual defenseman tonight. The Rangers announced that William Borgen, who’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury, would not appear in tonight’s contest. In his first full year with the Rangers, Borgen has scored one goal and three points in his first 18 contests, averaging 18:43 of ice time.
- On the other side of New York, the New York Islanders announced that they’ve returned defenseman Travis Mitchell to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. Although he participated in warmups before last night’s win against the Utah Mammoth, Mitchell has yet to debut in the NHL. He’s registered three assists in 12 games for the AHL Islanders this year.
Blue Jackets Place Boone Jenner On Injured Reserve
For the second time in as many seasons, the Columbus Blue Jackets will be without their captain for some time. The Blue Jackets announced that Boone Jenner has been placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
Jenner isn’t expected to have a short stay on the IR either. Head coach Dean Evason indicated that the injury wasn’t expected to be a short term one. It’s more of the same for Jenner, who hasn’t played in a full season since the 2016-17 campaign.
The injury stems from the Blue Jackets’ contest on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken. Despite winning the game by one goal, Jenner left the contest after one shift in the second period.
It’s an unfortunate blow to Columbus and Jenner. He had gotten off to a solid start to the 2025-26 season, scoring three goals and 10 points through his first 16 games. After returning from an extended injury last season, Jenner had scored 10 goals and 29 points in his last 42 games.
That kind of production over the last little while, as well as his career performances, has made Jenner a speculative trade candidate of late. Unfortunately, if the Blue Jackets had any idea of trading Jenner in his contract year, the new injury concern has a chance of impacting their potential return.
Central Notes: Benn, Lundkvist, Tarasenko
The Dallas Stars are only a few days away from the return of their captain. Team radio host Bruce LeVine reported earlier that Jamie Benn has been upgraded to a day-to-day recovery timeline, and there was even a brief discussion of him playing this evening.
Dallas has been without Benn through the first quarter of the regular season. The longtime captain has missed due to a collapsed lung suffered during the team’s preseason. It’s highly uncharacteristic of Benn, who had only missed two regular-season contests since the start of the 2021-22 NHL season.
Even without their captain, the Stars have gotten off to a solid start to the 2025-26 season with an 11-4-3 record. Dallas quickly signed Benn to a one-year, performance-laden contract in what could be the last of his NHL career. Last season, Benn finished sixth on the team in scoring with 16 goals and 49 points in 80 games.
Other notes from the Central Division:
- Staying in Dallas, Owen Newkirk of DLLS Sports reports that defenseman Nils Lundkvist is expected to resume skating fairly soon. Unfortunately, despite the positive update, Lundkvist remains a ways away from returning to the active roster. The 25-year-old blueliner has been sidelined for the past month with a lower-body injury, and has one goal and three points in four games on the season.
- Moving to where the Stars originated from, the Minnesota Wild are dealing with some injury troubles up front. The Wild announced that veteran winger Vladimir Tarasenko will miss tonight’s contest with a lower-body injury. The two-time Stanley Cup winner has gotten off to a relatively decent start, scoring two goals and 10 points in 18 games.
Devils’ Cody Glass Out Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury
The New Jersey Devils ‘ center core continues to be depleted. A few hours after sharing that Jack Hughes would miss the next two months after hand surgery, the Devils announced that Cody Glass is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
It truly couldn’t be worse news for New Jersey. Staying mostly healthy to start the year, the Devils have gotten off to an expectedly solid start, sitting atop the Metropolitan Division with a 12-4-1 start through their first 17 games.
Unfortunately, without Hughes and Glass for the foreseeable future, New Jersey will again be tested up front, as they have been so often in recent years. Although few teams would be upset with Nico Hischier as their first-line middleman, the Devils are now incredibly thin behind him.
According to the line rushes this morning, the Devils have shifted Dawson Mercer to the second-line center, with Luke Glendening and Juho Lammikko as the remaining options in the bottom-six. Last season, when New Jersey’s depth was tested after Hughes went down for the season around the trade deadline, the Devils stumbled into the postseason. The Carolina Hurricanes quickly dispatched them.
This isn’t the first time that Glass has dealt with injuries this season. He missed a few games with an upper-body injury in late October and returned for four games before the subsequent injury. Throughout his first 10 games this season, Glass has scored three goals with a 48.4% success rate in the faceoff dot while averaging 11:59 of ice time.