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Sabres To Activate Jason Zucker From Injured Reserve

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The Sabres are expected to activate winger Jason Zucker from injured reserve before Friday’s matchup with the Blackhawks, according to the team’s website. Head coach Lindy Ruff said earlier in the week that they were targeting Friday as Zucker’s return date, and Buffalo placed Mason Geertsen on waivers yesterday to open a roster spot for his reinstatement.

Zucker has been out for three weeks with what turned out to be a particularly nasty viral illness. He went over a week without being able to eat solid food and lost considerable weight in the first several days of his absence, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic reported earlier this month. He’s been on the mend for a while now, but needed additional time to build his conditioning back up to game shape.

With the Sabres missing a long list of other forwards, though, they wanted Zucker back in the lineup as soon as possible. As such, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his workload reduced in his first few games back before returning to the consistent top-nine duties he’s held throughout his time in Buffalo. Even with Zucker back in the picture, the Sabres still have four other forwards on injured reserve, a list that includes two-thirds of their top line in Zach Benson and Joshua Norris.

Zucker arrived in Buffalo in the 2024 offseason on a one-year, $5MM contract and signed a two-year, $9.5MM extension at last season’s trade deadline to extend his stay in western New York through the 2026-27 campaign. The 33-year-old has been a highly serviceable middle-six piece under Ruff and even had one of the best years of his career in a Sabres uniform last year. While a few minor injuries limited him to 73 appearances, he cracked the 50-point plateau for the second time in his 15-year run in the NHL and finished with a 21-32–53 scoring line while averaging 16 minutes per night.

The Sabres’ never-ending parade of injuries to their forward group this season has meant a lack of consistent linemates for Zucker. He still churned out four goals and seven points through 12 games before contracting the illness and landing on IR, and his 0.58 points per game are good for seventh on the team.

His return will add some juice to a Sabres offense that’s generated 2.63 goals per game in his absence, 22nd in the league since he exited the lineup after Nov. 1. Perhaps the most interesting storyline regarding his return is how much his presence affects Isak Rosen’s deployment. The 2021 first-rounder has finally pushed for an extended audition in a top-nine role and has answered the bell with three goals and six points in nine games since being elevated from AHL Rochester on Halloween. His second-line job with Ryan McLeod and Jack Quinn should be safe for now with Zucker presumably being eased back into the lineup, but long-term, it’s something to monitor.

Blues Reassign Hunter Skinner

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The Blues announced Friday that they’ve reassigned defenseman Hunter Skinner to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. No corresponding move was announced, leaving them with an open roster spot.

Skinner, 24, replaced the struggling Logan Mailloux on the roster earlier this month after clearing waivers to begin the campaign. A fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 2019, he was acquired as part of the 2023 trade that sent Niko Mikkola and Vladimir Tarasenko to New York. His summons from Springfield on Nov. 9 marked his first-ever stint on an NHL roster.

The 6’3″, 195-lb righty didn’t get much of a chance in the lineup, though. Without Mailloux in the picture, the Blues have rolled with a third pairing of Matthew Kessel and Tyler Tucker for most of the month. That left Skinner relegated to the press box aside from a 6-5 shootout loss to the Flyers on Nov. 14 that served as his NHL debut. The Michigan native recorded a +1 rating, one shot attempt, one block, and four hits in 10:45 of ice time. The Blues were outshot 5-4 and outchanced 4-3 in Skinner’s 5-on-5 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick.

While the Blues’ top six defenders have been healthy all season long, it’s still peculiar to see them shed a healthy extra from the roster in the middle of a lengthy road trip. That road trip, though, is currently in New York and isn’t far away at all from the Thunderbirds’ Massachusetts base. The T-Birds have a light schedule – they’re in action at home tonight and don’t play again until next weekend – so the demotion could just be for Skinner to get his game legs fresh tonight before he or someone else rejoins St. Louis’ roster tomorrow as injury insurance.

Now in his sixth professional season, Skinner has a goal and an assist with a -6 rating in 11 appearances for Springfield this year. He’s coming off a career year across the board in 2024-25, when he recorded an 8-15–23 scoring line and a +2 rating in 71 games.

Connor Hellebuyck To Undergo Arthroscopic Knee Procedure, Out 4-6 Weeks

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Jets superstar goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will undergo a minor arthroscopic knee procedure that will keep him out of the lineup for four to six weeks, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. Winnipeg announced they’ve recalled Thomas Milic from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose in a corresponding move. The Jets have an open roster spot and do not need to move Hellebuyck to injured reserve to accommodate Milic’s addition.

It’s an unanticipated bit of news for Hellebuyck, who’s evidently been playing through or aggravating a knee issue through the first several weeks of the season. While he didn’t start the Jets’ last game on Tuesday against the Blue Jackets, he’s shouldered his normal heavy workload this year by starting 14 of Winnipeg’s 19 games. That put him squarely on pace for his fifth consecutive season with 60 or more starts, but he’ll fall short of that mark now.

Hellebuyck being unavailable is extremely rare. The 32-year-old has only missed six games combined since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, all due to illness or personal reasons. In his 11-year NHL career, he’s only missed one game due to injury, which occurred for undisclosed reasons in May 2021.

The back-to-back Vezina Trophy winner has been on something of a cold streak, which could explain the timing to shut him down – combined with a light schedule interrupted by the holiday break that will still get him back in the lineup in time for the Olympics, where he remains the United States’ projected No. 1 option. Hellebuyck peaked with a year-to-date SV% of .932 following his sixth start of the year back on Oct. 23. Since then, he’s produced a more pedestrian .899 SV% and 4-4-0 record in his last eight appearances.

Entering this season, Hellebuyck had posted a SV% of .920 or better in three straight campaigns. Through his 14 appearances in 2025-26, he’s down to a more conservative .913 mark. A deeper look shows that’s more attributable to the team in front of him than his individual play. According to MoneyPuck, Hellebuyck has still saved 12.5 goals above expected, ranking third in the league. That’s done heavy lifting to cover up a Winnipeg defense that’s arguably been a bottom-10 group in the league so far. They’re allowing 28.9 shots per game, 22nd in the league, and their 3.56 expected goals against per 60 in all situations is sixth-worst. That’s a catastrophic drop from last season, when the Jets’ 2.78 xGA/60 ranked third-best in the NHL.

With Hellebuyck still performing at an elite level, the Jets have a 12-7-0 record and are on pace for 104 points, after finishing with 110-plus points each of the last two seasons. They’ll need to do some major defensive clean-up – and quickly – to help them stay above water as they navigate a stretch of 7 of 11 games against teams that made the playoffs last year.

A four-week timeline as a best-case scenario puts Hellebuyck back in the lineup no sooner than Dec. 19 against the Avalanche. That results in a minimum absence of 14 games, but could stretch to 20 if he misses a full six weeks. With Hellebuyck’s earned reputation as arguably the league’s most durable netminder, Winnipeg understandably hasn’t invested much in its goaltending depth. If he’s out for a quarter of the calendar, that could pose a serious issue as the jockey for playoff positioning in a tough Central Division.

Eric Comrie, who’s coming off a career-high of just 20 starts in 2024-25, is now Winnipeg’s No. 1 option until Hellebuyck returns. He was a perfectly passable backup option last year, recording a .914 SV% and 2.5 goals saved above expected with a 9-10-1 record after a pair of difficult seasons in similar deployment with the Sabres. This season, he’s been similarly effective in spot starts with a 4-1-0 record, .908 SV%, 2.60 GAA, and 3.8 GSAx. He’s never been tested in an extended stretch of starts, though, and has been below-average over his 82-game career sample with a .899 SV%, 3.08 GAA, and 37-37-4 record.

If he falters, the Jets don’t have another option in the organization with NHL experience. Acquiring a veteran third-string option, even if there’s a risk of losing him on waivers when Hellebuyck returns, is a prudent move that general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will no doubt pursue.

In the meantime, Milic steps up from the minors to get his first taste of an NHL bench. The 22-year-old is in his third season of professional hockey after the Jets selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. The former Western Hockey League goalie of the year and World Juniors gold medalist had yet to gain a foothold on a full-time AHL job, splitting each of his first two years between the Moose and the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals.

Early this year, though, Milic hasn’t just locked down an AHL job; he’s won the wide-open competition to serve as the organizational No. 3 behind Comrie. He’s been given nine starts in Manitoba to fellow youngster Domenic DiVincentiis’ seven and has been the far superior option, logging a .921 SV% and 2.14 GAA with a 5-2-2 record and one shutout. His limited track record makes him a risky choice for extended deployment, especially considering he had a .877 SV% in 21 AHL games just last year. Nonetheless, he’s flashed enough promise through the first few weeks of 2025-26 to earn the initial recall.

Suppose the Jets roll with Comrie and Milic for the time being and limit the latter’s usage to relieving Comrie in back-to-back situations. In that case, his NHL debut won’t come for another week until the Jets play Carolina next Friday before traveling to Nashville on Saturday.

Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

Minor Transactions: 11/20/2025

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It’s a busy day around the hockey world, but especially on the NHL schedule, with 12 games on the docket. The highlights include a rematch of the 2025 first-round playoff series between the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals, as well as two of the more positive surprise teams of the season (the Chicago Blackhawks and Seattle Kraken) facing off.

While the NHL world is busy with games to play, player movement has been slower. That’s not the case outside the NHL, where a multitude of transactions have been made across the European pro leagues and the North American minors. Here, we’ll run down notable player moves from those leagues:

  • Former NHL defenseman Christian Wolanin has signed an AHL PTO with the Providence Bruins, the AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins. It’s been something of a surprise to see Wolanin, 30, linger on the free agent market so long. He won the Calder Cup this past spring with the Abbotsford Canucks, playing a key role for the club. He scored 40 points in 58 regular-season games and added 10 points in 17 games during Abbotsford’s playoff run. While finding a place to play in the AHL becomes considerably more difficult for veterans once they are no longer considered “development players” per the AHL’s development rule, it was still surprising to see the 2022-23 Eddie Shore Award Winner (given to the AHL’s Best Defenseman) wait until late November to sign with a team, and especially on a PTO rather than a full-time deal. Beyond being a quality AHLer, Wolanin also brings 86 games of NHL experience to the table.
  • Nikita Artamonov, one of the better prospects whose rights are owned by the Carolina Hurricanes, was loaned from his KHL team, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, to Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. Artamonov was one of the top young wingers in the KHL last season, scoring 22 goals and 39 points in 63 games. His production, and overall usage, has declined sharply this season, as he has just one point through 15 games with Torpedo. That appears to have prompted this loan move, where he figures to get a better opportunity. Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk currently sit fifth in the KHL’s Eastern Conference, but are one of the lower-scoring teams of their caliber. The addition of Artamonov should help them in that area, and a more consistent diet of KHL-level minutes is likely to aid Artamonov’s development.
  • Former Ottawa Senators netminder Kevin Mandolese was released from his AHL PTO with the Charlotte Checkers today, per a team announcement. Mandolese, who began the year on an NHL PTO with the Montreal Canadiens for training camp, played in just one game for the Checkers while on this PTO. In the team’s Nov. 8 contest against the Syracuse Crunch, Mandolese saved 28 of 30 shots to backstop Charlotte to a 3-2 victory. Now he’ll have to find his next place to continue his pro career. Mandolese has played in 86 career AHL games, and has an .898 career save percentage.
  • Former Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins and Texas Stars forward Oula Palve has transferred from EHC Kloten of the Swiss National League to Djurgardens IF of Sweden’s SHL. Per a team announcement, Palve will join Djurgardens on Nov. 30 on a contract running through the end of the 2025-26 season. Palve got off to a slow start with Kloten, scoring just five points across 15 games. He’s been moderately successful in the past in Sweden’s top league (he scored 35 points in 2021-22) but has been at his best in his native Finland. Palve was Liiga’s top scorer in 2023-24 with 64 points in 60 games, a performance that landed him a contract in Switzerland’s top league. But after bouncing between three Swiss clubs during his time in the NL, Palve has now landed back in Sweden where he’ll look to help Djurgardens push to climb the SHL standings.
  • 2022-23 Liiga rookie of the year Niko Huuhtanen, a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, was reassigned from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch to the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears today. The 22-year-old, who was the 224th pick in the 2021 draft, looked to be one of Tampa’s more promising prospects just a few years after his selection. He scored 46 points in 52 Liiga games in 2023-24, a significant number for a league that has fewer point-per-game individual scorers compared to North American leagues. There was hope that his success in a top European pro league would allow the 6’3″ winger to translate easily to the North American pro game, but that hasn’t occurred to this point. Huuhtanen only managed 20 points in 51 games as an AHL rookie, and while he has three points in five games so far this season, he spent a month injured and two of his three points came in a blowout loss to Belleville on Nov. 1. The Lightning are likely looking to help Huuhtanen rebuild his game, and now he’ll have the chance to do so in the ECHL.
  • A trade was completed in the KHL today, with Sibir Novosibirsk trading cash considerations and young blueliner Yaroslav Belyakov for veteran KHLer Yegor Zaitsev. Zaitsev, 27, is the big prize for Sibir in this deal. He’s a 2017 New Jersey Devils draft pick who has skated in over 400 KHL games in his career. Belyakov has just 18 games of KHL experience to his name but is a 19-year-old who scored 20 points in 31 games at the MHL (junior league) level last season.
  • Veteran Czech netminder Jakub Kovar has signed a one-year contract extension to remain with HC Sparta Praha through 2026-27. The 37-year-old, who is a 2006 Philadelphia Flyers draft pick, has played for Prague since the 2022-23 campaign. He’s a former star goalie in the KHL for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, reaching the KHL’s All-Star game three times and leading the league in shutouts in 2020-21. Kovar has been his usual reliable self so far in 2025-26, posting a .926 save percentage across 12 games in the Czech Extraliga. Besides the Extraliga and KHL, Kovar also has some experience in the Swiss National League, thanks to a 14-game stint with ZSC Lions in 2021-22.
  • 287-game Liiga veteran Otto Makinen has signed a one-year contract extension with his current club, JYP. The 27-year-old pivot has been a revelation so far in 2025-26, scoring 16 goals in 18 games. For a player normally lauded for his two-way ability rather than his offensive production, and as someone with a career-high of 27 points in Liiga, this level of production is almost entirely unexpected. While it remains to be seen if Makinen will be able to sustain that points production over the course of a full season, this contract extension shows JYP have seen enough and would like to keep him around for at least another year.
  • Just a short period into his second ECHL campaign, forward Adam Robbins has elected to transfer overseas. The 25-year-old forward, who is a former USHL champion with the 2020-21 Chicago Steel, has signed a one-year contract with the Coventry Blaze of the EIHL, the top tier of pro hockey in the United Kingdom. Robbins began his pro career in 2024-25 with the Tahoe Knight Monsters, signing there after a solid final NCAA season with Princeton University. Robbins had scored 29 points in 30 games as a senior at Princeton, but only managed 13 points in 51 games as an ECHL rookie. Now after struggling to find a place in the Cincinnati Cyclones’ lineup in 2025-26, Robbins has decided England will be where he continues his professional career.

Injury Updates: Stolarz, Durzi, Cernak

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Toronto Maple Leafs starting netminder Anthony Stolarz has been out with an upper-body injury for a little over a week, and at the moment it’s unclear at what point he’ll be fit to return to the ice. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told the media today, including the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan, that Stolarz’s injury was “worse than we thought” and that at this point he does not have a timeline for Stolarz’s return to the ice.

While Berube did go on to add that “maybe tomorrow” Stolarz will be back on the ice, it doesn’t sound as though anything related to his recovery is set in stone. The Maple Leafs could certainly use a healthy Stolarz back on the ice and playing at his best. The team currently sits 27th in the NHL with a 9-9-2 record and averages the second-highest goals-against per game. Stolarz has an .884 save percentage in 13 games this season, but performed much better last year with a .926 save percentage in 34 games.

More injury updates from around the league:

  • The Utah Mammoth are set to get one of their better defensemen back from injury. Cole Bagley of KSL Sports relayed word from head coach Andre Tourigny that injured blueliner Sean Durzi is now considered out on a day-to-day timeline and is nearing a return to the ice. Durzi returned to practice in a regular jersey today, having missed all of the Mammoth’s games since their Oct. 11 contest against the Nashville Predators. Injuries also limited Durzi significantly in 2024-25, as he got into just 30 games. The year before that, he was highly effective, scoring a career-high 41 points in 76 games.
  • When Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak stepped onto the ice for practice this morning, most observers assumed he’d be fit to play in the team’s game tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. That didn’t come to fruition though, as his injury kept him from taking on the Oilers tonight, meaning he’ll miss a second game with an undisclosed ailment. Cernak has been Tampa Bay’s No. 4 defenseman in terms of ice time this season, averaging 19:05 time-on-ice per game including 2:48 on average on the penalty kill, second-highest on the team.

Colorado Avalanche Activate, Reassign Nikita Prishchepov

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The Colorado Avalanche announced today that they have activated forward Nikita Prishchepov off injured reserve and reassigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.

Prishchepov has been on injured reserve for all of 2025-26 due to an undisclosed injury. With this transaction, the Avalanche have returned the 21-year-old to the team he spent most of the 2024-25 season with.

2024-25 was Prishchepov’s first season as a member of the Avalanche organization, as he was selected in the seventh round, 217th overall at the 2024 draft as a double-overage player. He had scored 22 goals and 67 points in 63 games with Victoriaville of the QMJHL in 2023-24, and had scored at decent but not stellar rates in the two seasons prior to that.

Due to his status as a seventh-round rookie playing his first year of professional hockey, expectations for Prishchepov’s rookie season were low. He exceeded them by playing in 10 NHL games and scoring 23 points in 51 games in the AHL.

Now healthy and back in the minors, Prishchepov will be tasked with building on his solid rookie season and making a more concentrated push for an NHL call-up over the course of 2025-26.

Penguins’ Philip Tomasino Clears Waivers

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Nov. 20: Despite now being eligible for assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre, Tomasino was present for practice with the NHL Penguins today and appears to still be on the club’s NHL roster.

He will remain eligible to be reassigned to the minors without needing to be placed on waivers until he plays in 10 cumulative NHL games since when he cleared waivers, or until he spends 30 cumulative days on an NHL roster.

Nov. 19: Tomasino went unclaimed on waivers and can now be assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, per Friedman.

Nov. 18: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Philip Tomasino on waivers today.

This move could end Tomasino’s tenure in Pittsburgh, just one year removed from when the team traded a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Nashville Predators to acquire him. The Penguins likely viewed Tomasino as a player who could potentially benefit from a change of scenery. The 2019 first-round pick was once viewed as one of the Predators’ top prospects. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked Tomasino No. 2 in the Predators’ system in 2021, writing at the time that he saw “clear top-six upside” and a player who was a “multi-faceted play-driver” that could still find a way to impact games even without consistent puck touches.

After Tomasino’s rookie season in 2021-22, it looked like Tomasino was still on track to live up to the hype he’d garnered as a prospect. He scored 11 goals and 32 points, providing useful secondary scoring to a Predators team that reached the playoffs. Tomasino would go on to score 38 points across his next 72 NHL games in 2022-23 and 2023-24, but those numbers didn’t tell the whole story.

Tomasino’s propensity for defensive lapses and inability to consistently win puck battles or play through the middle of the ice cost him the trust of Predators head coach Andrew Brunette, who took the team to the playoffs and won 47 games in his first season at the helm in Nashville. Tomasino averaged 15:36 time-on-ice under John Hynes the year prior, but his ice time fell to just 12:34 per game under Brunette.

After Tomasino scored just one point in 11 games to start 2024-25, the Predators traded him to Pittsburgh. Initially, the Penguins’ bet seemed to be paying off, as Tomasino scored three goals and four points in his first five games with the Penguins. The rest of the way, it was a relatively similar story to Tomasino’s time in Nashville. He had decent box score numbers (23 points in 50 games, a 38-point 82-game pace) but a lackluster all-around impact.

While it’s come on an accelerated timeline, Tomasino’s time in Pittsburgh appears to have followed a similar track to his time in Nashville. There were those aforementioned early flashes, followed by passable scoring numbers and a sense that he consistently left fans and coaches wanting more.

So far in his second season in Pittsburgh, Tomasino’s time has gone similarly to his later tenure as a Predator. A coaching change happened, and he’s not nearly as trusted by the new head coach, Dan Muse, as he was under former coach Mike Sullivan. Tomasino’s ice time has again declined to just over 12 minutes per night, and he’s found himself a healthy scratch on some nights, just as he was in Nashville.

Over the last few weeks, there was a growing sense in the media that Tomasino’s days on the Penguins’ NHL roster could be numbered. The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reported on Oct. 27 that the Penguins were “not thrilled with Tomasino’s current play,” and that when he was still in Pittsburgh, Sullivan “believed that Tomasino concerned himself too much with his statistics and the scoresheet and not enough with the finer aspects of the game.” Yohe also wrote that Tomasino had been “painfully invisible” in games so far in 2025-26.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Matt Vensel wrote earlier this month about how Muse had implored Tomasino to find a way to consistently “impact the game” and forge his own identity as a player at the NHL level. Vensel wrote at the time that Tomasino “would presumably be on a short list of players they would consider sending down” in the event that the Penguins needed to clear a roster spot if his play did not improve dramatically, and if he remained unable to impact the game in the kind of way Muse wanted him to.

Based on his placement on waivers today, it appears the Penguins may feel Tomasino is not likely to discover that identity or find a way to consistently impact the game in Pittsburgh. It’s important to note, of course, that Tomasino remains just 24 years old, and despite his struggle to establish himself as an NHLer, remains a player with legitimate offensive talents. While things haven’t worked out in Pittsburgh, there are only so many players going around who possess the ability to dazzle with puck skills and offensive ability. While Tomasino has only been able to show off those talents on an inconsistent basis at the NHL level, it’s possible another club could look to claim Tomasino and see if their coaching staff can unlock the potential Tomasino wasn’t able to realize with his prior two teams.

Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Ducks’ Pavel Mintyukov Potentially Seeking Trade

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In his recent 32 Thoughts blog, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Anaheim Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov is upset with being scratched in back-to-back games. So much so, in fact, that Friedman indicated that Mintyukov would like to be moved if the Ducks aren’t going to play him.

Mintyukov, 21, isn’t helping his case too much. The former 10th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft got off to a decent start to his career during the 2023-24 season, scoring four goals and 28 points in 63 games while averaging 18:51 of ice time per game. He finished 13th in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Still, concerns remained about his defensive game, evidenced by his -20 rating and 88.9% on-ice save percentage at even strength. Over the next two years, including 18 games during the 2025-26 season, Mintyukov’s defensive play has improved while his offensive contributions have cratered.

Since the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign, Mintyukov has scored five goals and 22 points in 86 contests, averaging 17:07 of ice time per game. Additionally, he’s blocked 109 shots and added 91 hits during that time frame. Further, outside of his boxcar stats, his on-ice save percentage at even strength has improved, averaging around 91.0%.

Struggling to break out in any meaningful fashion, it’s unsurprising that other prospects such as Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger, and Ian Moore have passed Mintyukov on the organizational depth chart.

That adds to the difficulty of hypothesizing a reasonable return for Mintyukov if the Ducks even made him available. It’s relatively rare for a recent top-10 pick to request a trade in the last year of their entry-level contract. It’s much more common for top prospects to request trades before signing their entry-level contract, such as Isaac Howard, Rutger McGroarty, and Mintyukov’s teammate, Cutter Gauthier, as recent examples.

The closest example to Mintyukov’s situation would be netminder Yaroslav Askarov. Drafted with the 11th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft, Askarov requested a trade from the Nashville Predators in the final year of his entry-level contract after the team brought in Scott Wedgewood as the backup netminder and signed Juuse Saros to a long-term extension.

Despite playing in far fewer games than Mintyukov at the time, the Predators were able to recoup Magnus Chrona, David Edstrom, and a conditional 2025 first-round pick from the San Jose Sharks for Askarov. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to argue at this point that Mintyukov is worth that price tag.

Furthermore, without arbitration rights, Mintyukov has little power in his situation. His General Manager, Pat Verbeek, is one of the most patient front office leaders in the league, and won’t feel pressure to make a move anytime soon. If Mintyukov is moved at any point during the current campaign, Verbeek will need to be blown away by the offer.

Winnipeg Jets Permit Brad Lambert To Seek Trade

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Despite typically being one of the first forwards recalled in case of injury, Winnipeg Jets forward prospect Brad Lambert is reportedly disgruntled about his position within the Jets organization. To that end, insider Frank Seravalli shared that Winnipeg has permitted Lambert and his representation to seek a trade partner.

It wasn’t all that long ago that Lambert was considered one of the best prospects available in the 2022 NHL Draft, with some scouts indicating he could be selected second overall behind then Kingston Frontenac, Shane Wright. Unfortunately, due to a horrific start to the 2021-22 season with the Liiga’s JYP, Lambert was cut from the team only to land with his hometown Pelicans. He finished the season with four goals and 10 points in 49 games with a -16 rating.

Still, Lambert’s previous projections cause him to stay in the first round despite the disappointing season. The Jets selected him with the 30th overall selection and loaned him to the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds for the 2022-23 campaign. He played well in Seattle, scoring 17 goals and 38 points in 26 games with a +27 rating, and finished the year with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, scoring two goals and three points in 14 contests.

Lambert’s production in the 2023-24 campaign led some to believe that he may have turned a significant corner in his development. In his first full professional season, Lambert scored 21 goals and 55 points in 64 games with the Moose and even earned his NHL debut, where he registered an assist. Despite being one of the youngest players on the team at the time, Lambert led Manitoba in scoring.

He slipped last season. Although the team around him wasn’t altogether great, Lambert took a huge step back in his production, registering only seven goals and 35 points in 61 games with a -30 rating. The Moose themselves finished second-to-last in the entire AHL and had the lowest-producing offense of any team.

Lambert’s primary concern has become his NHL experience. In the last two years, including the first month and a half of the 2025-26 campaign, Lambert has scored one goal and two points in nine games for the Jets, averaging 10:28 of ice time typically in a fourth-line role.

Clearly, Lambert believes he has earned an extended look at the NHL level, and the Jets are seemingly willing to grant him that, albeit with a different team. Several contenders are seeking a second-line center, though there’s no argument that Lambert has worked himself up to that stature quite yet.

Whether through injury or another reason, the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Vancouver Canucks could all serve as a potential destination for Lambert. Assuming the Jets aren’t looking to receive anything close to a first-round pick, which they used to select Lambert three years ago, they should have no significant hurdles to clear in swinging a deal.

Maple Leafs Activate Scott Laughton, Place Nicolas Roy On IR

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The Maple Leafs have activated Scott Laughton from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Blue Jackets, David Alter of The Hockey News reports. The team placed center Nicolas Roy on IR in a corresponding move to open up a roster spot.

Laughton, 31, returns from his second injury absence of the season. He hasn’t played since Nov. 8, when he sustained an upper-body injury against the Bruins in just his second game back in the lineup after a lower-body injury he suffered during the preseason had him out of the lineup for nearly a month to begin the campaign. In 17:10 of total ice time against Boston and Utah three days prior, Laughton recorded a -2 rating, two shot attempts, and seven hits while going 9-for-14 on faceoffs (64.3%).

As Toronto contends with a long list of injuries, it’ll be looking to a 13-year veteran in Laughton to help stabilize its bottom-six forward group. According to TSN’s Mark Masters, Laughton will center the Leafs’ third line in his return between Steven Lorentz and rookie Easton Cowan. That trio was paired together throughout the preseason, and until Laughton sustained his injury late in camp, most thought it would start the year as Toronto’s fourth line. They’ll be getting their first look during the regular season tonight after Max Domi took Cowan’s spot on the right wing during his previous brief stint in the lineup, as Cowan was assigned to AHL Toronto to make room for Laughton rejoining the active roster last time around.

Laughton, a Toronto-area native, is in his first full season in the blue and white after being picked up at last season’s trade deadline from the Flyers, who’d drafted him No. 20 overall back in 2012. While brought in primarily as a two-way conscience for the bottom six, Laughton had routinely been a 30-to-40-point producer over the last several years in Philadelphia. That hasn’t been the case in Toronto, where the 6’1″ pivot has just two goals and four assists for six points in 35 combined regular-season and playoff games since his acquisition. With Roy, Matthew Knies, and Auston Matthews all unavailable, they need more offense out of him to help revitalize an offense that’s been limited to three goals or fewer in four straight.

Roy’s IR placement is retroactive to his last appearance on Nov. 15, so he’s only been ruled out of tonight’s game and will be eligible to return Saturday against the Canadiens. The 6’4″ center sat out Tuesday’s win over the Blues with an upper-body injury after logging a season-high 19:45 of ice time against Chicago three days prior. Acquired from the Golden Knights in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade over the summer, Roy has struggled to produce in a third-line role and has just one goal and four points through his first 19 appearances as a Leaf.

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