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Florida Panthers’ Jonah Gadjovich To Undergo Surgery, Will Miss Three Months

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Florida Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich will undergo surgery as part of his recovery from his upper-body injury suffered on Oct. 25 against the Vegas Golden Knights, relays Katie Engleson, the Panthers’ rinkside reporter.

It’s a tough break for Gadjovich, who had played in all 10 of the Panthers’ games leading up to his injury. Gadjovich skated in just 42 regular-season games in 2024-25, but the injuries the Panthers have already suffered up front looked to have paved the way for Gadjovich to play a more regular role in 2025-26. Now, due to this injury, he’ll miss that opportunity to get to play NHL games on a more regular basis than he has had in the past.

The 27-year-old has been part of the Panthers’ back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams, originally arriving in the organization on an AHL contract before he was signed to a full NHL deal.

He subsequently earned a two-year, one-way league minimum extension, and signed an additional two-year, one-way $905K AAV contract extension on Oct. 12. That deal included a $10K signing bonus for its first year, the first signing bonus Gadjovich has received since the standard bonuses included in his entry-level contract.

A grinder by trade, the 6’3″ winger ranks last in time-on-ice per game among all Panthers forwards this season, averaging under eight minutes per contest with no special-teams usage. He does have three assists, though, and despite his limited ice time ranks fourth among Panthers forwards in hits with 30.

Gadjovich provides a relentless, physical element to the Panthers’ fourth line, one they’ll now have to be without for the next few months. In Gadjovich’s vacated fourth-line right-wing spot, the Panthers have played forward Noah Gregor. Gregor is playing just about the same amount of ice time, although the Panthers did utilize him on the penalty kill on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4.

This unfortunate injury suffered by Gadjovich does have potentially significant implications for Gregor. The 27-year-old entered the season on a PTO, and parlayed that into a one-year, two-way deal carrying a $775K NHL value and $450K AHL salary. With Gadjovich, who is Gregor’s primary competitor for NHL ice time, now sidelined for a few months, Gregor has a clear chance to play regular NHL games for the Panthers.

With that opportunity, Gregor, who has not played in the AHL since 2021, could very well earn the right to remain an NHL player for another season. By putting forward solid performances in this fourth-line NHL role, he could even position himself to once again receive a one-way contract next season. Gregor played on one-way deals from 2022-23 through 2024-25.

The Panthers have struggled with significant injuries in 2025-26, and have not looked nearly as dominant so far as a result. The loss of Gadjovich is a far more manageable one for the team to absorb compared to the injuries suffered by Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, but this is nonetheless an unfortunate development for a team that is badly in need of some positive luck when it comes to injuries.

Photos courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Kings To Activate Warren Foegele

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The Los Angeles Kings will activate forward Warren Foegele off of injured reserve tomorrow, team reporter Zach Dooley revealed today. Dooley also shared that Foegele says he’s “feeling really good” after missing almost two weeks with an upper-body injury. The Kings have an open spot on their active roster, so the Kings are not under any pressure to make an immediate corresponding roster move.

The 29-year-old winger hasn’t played since he suffered his injury early in the Kings’ Oct. 26 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Although Foegele had been playing a solid third-line left wing role alongside Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore, he had struggled to find the scoresheet through ten games of the season. He has just one point to his name in 2025-26, a notably slow start for a player who set career highs in goals (24) and points (46) last season.

With scorer Andrei Kuzmenko now occupying Foegele’s former lineup spot, Dooley reports that Foegele is “expected” to return to the lineup on the Kings’ fourth line alongside Corey Perry and Alex Turcotte. If that ends up being the case, undrafted veteran forward Jeff Malott appears set to become a healthy scratch.

The 6’5″ winger earned an NHL role after a strong 2024-25 with the AHL’s Ontario Reign (he had 23 goals, 51 points in 61 games) but has just two points through 13 NHL games this season and is averaging under eight minutes of ice time per game, with zero penalty-kill contributions.

Even if Foegele isn’t scoring, the penalty kill is where he can still make valuable contributions to the Kings’ overall efforts to win games. He ranked fourth among Kings forwards in short-handed ice time per game in 2024-25, helping the Kings to a No. 8 finish in the league’s overall penalty kill success rate standings.

With Los Angeles looking to claw its way to the top of a hotly-contested Pacific Division, Foegele’s return from injury is a helpful development, further fortifying the team’s bottom-six.

Seattle Kraken To Activate Ryker Evans

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The Seattle Kraken have activated defenseman Ryker Evans off injured reserve today, per an official announcement. They also placed netminder Joey Daccord on injured reserve in a corresponding move.

Daccord sustained an upper-body injury in the team’s loss on Nov. 5, and will now be out at least a week due to this IR placement. The Kraken have carried three goalies on their roster this season, so they are uniquely prepared to absorb Daccord’s absence. While he recovers from his injury, the Kraken will rely on a pair of veterans: Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray.

A one-time Vezina Trophy finalist, Grubauer has struggled immensely in Seattle, and has played in just two games so far this season. Murray, 31, is a two-time Stanley Cup champion who has also played in just two games this year, posting a .889 save percentage. Murray is playing out a one-year, $1MM deal while Grubauer has an additional season remaining on the six-year, $5.9MM AAV deal he signed in 2021.

As for Evans, this activation lines him up to play his first game of the 2025-26 season. He’s been out since the preseason with an upper-body injury. The 23-year-old 2021 second-round pick broke into the NHL as a full-time player in 2024-25. He got a run of 36 games in 2023-24, scoring just nine points despite playing nearly two minutes of ice time on the power play per game.

The Kraken’s signing of Brandon Montour from the Florida Panthers knocked Evans off of the Kraken power play, but he nonetheless managed a solid first season in the NHL, scoring 25 points in 73 games.

With Montour and Vince Dunn set to man the Kraken’s top power play units for the foreseeable future, Evans will have to find a way to maximize his effectiveness at even strength. That’s especially true seeing as his impact on the penalty kill last season was limited.

As for where he could slot into the Kraken lineup, the clearest opening would be for Evans to unseat 27-year-old Josh Mahura on the team’s third pairing. Mahura, who is also a left-shot defenseman, has two points in 13 games this season and is averaging 15:10 time-on-ice per game.

Zachary L’Heureux To Miss Four To Six Weeks

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Things were looking up were Predators winger Zachary L’Heureux earlier this week.  He was recalled from the minors on Tuesday although he didn’t see any game action.  It turns out he won’t be playing anytime soon as the team announced (Twitter link) that he will miss the next four to six weeks due to a lower-body injury.

The 22-year-old spent most of last season with Nashville as an early-season recall following a strong start with AHL Milwaukee turned into a permanent promotion.  L’Heureux wound up playing in 62 games in his freshman NHL year, picking up five goals and ten assists along with 198 hits in just over 12 minutes a night of action, becoming a key part of their physical bottom six.

With that in mind, it was expected that L’Heureux would break camp with the Predators and pick up where he left off.  However, he only played in two preseason games and then was sent to the Admirals at the end of training camp, becoming a somewhat surprising training camp cut.  He did well in the early going with Milwaukee though, collecting four goals and two assists in seven games to earn his promotion.

L’Heureux is in the final season of his entry-level contract and was hoping for a strong platform year to give him a sizable raise from his current $863K AAV.  Instead, he’ll wind up going without any NHL action for more than two months which is hardly the outcome he or the Predators were hoping for.

Capitals Activate Ethen Frank, Assign Spencer Smallman To AHL

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The Capitals have made a pair of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against Tampa Bay.  The team announced that they have activated winger Ethen Frank off injured reserve.  To make room on the roster, forward Spencer Smallman has been sent back to AHL Hershey.

Frank didn’t make Washington’s roster out of training camp but was recalled less than two weeks into the season.  However, the 27-year-old sustained an upper-body injury in his third game of the year, landing on IR soon after.  Frank has an assist in those three outings to go along with four goals and three assists in 24 games with the Caps last season in his first taste of NHL action.  He also had two goals and three helpers with the Bears prior to his recall.

As for Smallman, the 29-year-old received the first recall of his career last weekend.  However, he will have to continue to wait to make his NHL debut as he was the reserve forward for Washington while on recall.  Smallman had two goals and an assist in six outings with Hershey before the recall and has ranged between 21 and 34 points in his last four minor league campaigns.

With these roster moves, Washington’s active roster remains at the maximum of 23 players.

Rangers Place Matt Rempe On IR, Send Connor Mackey To AHL

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Nov. 8: The Rangers announced that Mackey has been sent back down to Hartford.  He didn’t see any game action while on recall.  They now have one open roster slot.

Nov. 3: The New York Rangers have recalled defenseman Connor Mackey from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. They have also placed enforcer Matt Rempe on injured reserve, per the NHL media site. Rempe is expected to be out long-term after sustaining an injury in a fight with San Jose Sharks bruiser Ryan Reaves.

Mackey has bounced between the NHL and AHL lineups this season, but has still found his way into all nine of Hartford’s games so far. He’s posted two assists, one penalty, and a minus-five in those appearances, and also serves as one of four alternate captains. Despite the routine call-ups to the Rangers roster, Mackey hasn’t appeared in the NHL since December 2024, when he appeared in two games and recorded no points and one fight. He’s played just three NHL games since 2023, and 42 across a five-year career. He’s posted 11 points, 80 penalty minutes, and a minus-one in the NHL.

Mackey will serve as an insurance option for New York’s extra defenseman Urho Vaakanainen, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury per Stephen Whyno of AP News. Vaakanainen has played in 10 games and recorded one assist, eight penalty minutes, and a plus-one this season. He is expected to be replaced in the lineup by fellow left-shot defenseman Matthew Robertson, who has one goal in seven NHL games this season.

To make room for Mackey’s recall, the Rangers will now move Rempe to the inactives list. The 6-foot-9 bruiser managed one goal, seven penalty minutes, and a plus-one in nine games before going down with injury. He looked noticeably more impactful when play was moving this season, taking a stride towards impact that helped round out his enforcer presence. New York has turned towards Jonny Brodzinski to fill Rempe’s fourth-line role. Brodzinski has two points in five games this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Hamilton, Foerster, Keller

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Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton left Thursday’s victory over Montreal with an undisclosed injury and he’ll be out for a few games at least.  Team reporter Amanda Stein relays (Twitter link) that the veteran will be out for a minimum of a week, which suggests that he’s likely to land on injured reserve before long with New Jersey carrying the maximum of 23 players at the moment.  The 32-year-old had been off to a solid start to the season before the injury, picking up four goals and three assists in 14 games while logging nearly 21 minutes a night of playing time.  Colton White will take Hamilton’s spot in the lineup for the time being after being recalled earlier this week; he suited up this afternoon against Pittsburgh for his first NHL game since April 13, 2023.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Flyers winger Tyson Foerster skated before practice yesterday as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, notes Gabriela Carroll of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 23-year-old landed on IR earlier this week retroactive to November 1st, meaning he can be activated at any time since he has now served the minimum of one week.  Foerster was off to a good start before the injury, collecting four goals and three assists in 11 games while logging over 18 minutes a night of playing time.
  • Capitals goalie prospect Antoine Keller has terminated his minor league deal with Washington to head back overseas. HC Ajoie in Switzerland announced that they’ve signed the 21-year-old to a two-year contract.  Keller was a seventh-round pick by Washington back in 2023 and spent last season in the NL, albeit in a backup role with Lausanne where he only played in 13 games.  Keller was also on France’s roster at the most recent Worlds and could be part of their group for the upcoming Olympics as well.  Washington has until June 1, 2027 to sign Keller to an entry-level deal or they will lose his rights.

Wild Assign Tyler Pitlick To AHL

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The Wild have opened up a roster spot as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Tyler Pitlick has been sent down to AHL Iowa.  They now have 22 players on their active roster.

The 34-year-old was recalled last month and got into nine games.  That’s particularly noteworthy as had he suited up one more time, he would have needed to pass through waivers to return to Iowa.  By sending Pitlick down now, they can hold onto his waiver exemption a little while longer.

In those nine outings, Pitlick was held off the scoresheet offensively but added 24 hits and 22 penalty minutes in 7:23 per game of ice time.  20 of those penalty minutes came on Thursday against Carolina after he was given a match penalty for a hit on Carolina’s Jalen Chatfield.  It appears the league rescinded that penalty as no supplemental discipline came his way.

In his career, Pitlick has played in 429 NHL games over parts of 11 NHL seasons and has 56 goals and 53 assists in those appearances.  He had two goals in three games with Iowa before being recalled last month.

Hurricanes Claim Cayden Primeau Off Waivers From Toronto

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2:02 PM: The Hurricanes announced that Primeau has been assigned to AHL Chicago, meaning they were the only team to put in a claim.  Meanwhile, the team also confirmed that wingers Eric Robinson and William Carrier were activated off injured reserve as previously reported earlier today.

1:04 PM: The Hurricanes have plenty of goaltending depth in their organization and they have just added a bit more.  Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Carolina has claimed goaltender Cayden Primeau off waivers from Toronto.

It’s a return to the Hurricanes for the 26-year-old.  Carolina acquired him from Montreal in late June for a seventh-round pick and quickly signed him to a one-year, one-way contract at the league minimum salary of $775K.  The thought was that he’d serve as the third-string option for them this season.  However, those plans changed late in training camp when they picked up Brandon Bussi off waivers from Florida to fill that role, meaning Primeau was waived soon after.

With the Maple Leafs not having Joseph Woll to start the season after he took a leave of absence, Toronto claimed Primeau and had him spend the first four weeks of the season as Anthony Stolarz’s backup.  He won two of his three starts but struggled, allowing 13 goals on just 80 shots in those outings.  With Woll now on a conditioning stint in advance of his return, the Maple Leafs elected to waive Primeau.

Primeau has played in 58 NHL games over parts of seven NHL seasons with the other 55 outings before this season coming with Montreal.  While he has shown some flashes of upside along the way, he has struggled overall, posting a 15-25-7 record with a 3.73 GAA and a .882 SV%.

It’s fair to say that Carolina isn’t claiming Primeau to take over Bussi’s spot as the third-string option or serve as a number four on the NHL roster.  They’ll be hoping that no one else claimed him and if that’s the case, they will be eligible to send him to AHL Chicago as they originally intended to a month ago.  While Primeau hasn’t fared well in the NHL, he has been a top goalie in the minors and is coming off a 21-2-3 showing last season with Laval where he had a 1.96 GAA and a .927 SV%.  With Amir Miftakhov and Nikita Quapp playing to a combined 3.61 GAA and a .862 SV% in eight games so far this season, he’d be a huge addition for the Wolves if the Hurricanes can send him down.  If another team put a claim in though, Carolina would have to either keep Primeau on the NHL roster or put him right back on waivers.

Maple Leafs Recall Dennis Hildeby

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With Joseph Woll (conditioning stint) not yet ready to rejoin the Maple Leafs and Cayden Primeau’s performance as the backup landing him on waivers where he was claimed by Carolina, they need a new short-term second option.  That will be netminder Dennis Hildeby as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been recalled from AHL Toronto.

Hildeby appeared to be set to be the backup heading into the season following Woll’s absence and James Reimer being released from his late-camp PTO but Primeau’s claim at the end of training camp ended those plans.  Instead, the 24-year-old was sent down to the Marlies with an eye on seeing more playing time than he otherwise would have received as the backup to Anthony Stolarz.

That hasn’t gone quite to plan, however.  Hildeby has only made five starts for the Marlies (Primeau made three for the Maple Leafs over that same stretch) so he didn’t wind up seeing much extra action.  Over those outings, he has a 2.74 GAA and a .890 SV%, a step back on his career averages of 2.54 and .908 respectively over 78 AHL appearances.  Hildeby has six career NHL outings under his belt, all coming last season when he posted a 3.33 GAA and a .872 SV%.

With Toronto kicking off a back-to-back set tonight, it stands to reason that Hildeby will likely get the nod on Sunday against Carolina.  But that might be his only action while on this recall with Woll likely to rejoin the big club and come off LTIR within the next week or so.

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