Flyers Expected To Activate Jamie Drysdale, Samuel Ersson
The Philadelphia Flyers will have both defenseman Jamie Drysdale and goaltender Samuel Ersson available on Sunday night, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Drysdale has missed Philadelphia’s last 12 games after suffering an upper-body injury on November 9th, while Ersson has missed 11 games with a lower-body injury susatined on November 11th and reaggravated on November 13th. Hall adds that neither player is guaranteed to step right back into the lineup, though their activation from IR is certainly an encouraging sign.
Drysdale was a go-to defender for the Flyers before his injury. He averaged over 20 minutes of ice time and a consistent power-play role through Philadelphia’s first 15 games – but has so far only recorded three points, 12 shots, and a -10 to show for it. He ranks second-to-last in scoring among the Flyers’ blue-line, just ahead of Erik Johnson‘s two points in 15 games. Drysdale was drafted sixth-overall in the 2020 NHL Draft and recorded 32 points in 81 games as a rookie with the Anaheim Ducks in 2021-22. But the injury bug caught him soon after. He’s missed a combined 122 games over the last two seasons and hasn’t looked the same when healthy, netting just 10 points in 42 healthy games between 2022 and 2024. Philadelphia attempted to buy-low on the recovering defender last season, sending Cutter Gauthier to Anaheim for Drysdale and a second-round pick. That trade has yet to come to fruition for the Flyers, though Drysdale’s potential return on Sunday could start the streak that turns things around.
Meanwhile, Ersson will return to a goaltending room eager to have him back. He’s the only Flyers netminder with a save percentage above .900 – recording five wins and a .902 in 11 games before going down with injury. Philadelphia has turned towards Aleksei Kolosov and Ivan Fedotov in Ersson’s absence – though neither netminder has managed a winning record or save percentage above Kolosov’s .881 in nine games. The Flyers have found a way to stay productive despite that, actually dropping their goals-against average from 3.50 to 3.10 in Ersson’s absence. That could be an encouraging sign now that their true starter is back to full health.
Blackhawks Place Petr Mrazek On IR; Recall Kevin Korchinski, Drew Commesso
The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled defenseman Kevin Korchinski and goaltender Drew Commesso, per Charlie Roumeliotis of Chicago’s WGN Radio. The duo will help fill in for starting goaltender Petr Mrazek and top-four defender Alec Martinez. Both players left Chicago’s Saturday game early with injury – Mrazek after getting his legs swept from under him, and Martines after a deflected shot found its way under his visor. Roumeliotis adds that Mrazek has been moved to injured reserve with a left-groin injury.
With Martinez joining top Hawks defender Seth Jones on the list of injuries, Chicago will give top prospect Korchinski another chance to establish an NHL role. The 20-year-old spent the entirety of last season on the NHL roster amid a severe lack of defense depth. He recorded five goals, 15 points, and a -39 in 76 games – prompting Chicago to start him in the minors this year. That’s proven the right move early on, with Korchinski leading Rockford IceHogs defenseman in scoring with two goals and 11 points in 21 games. He’s served a top-line role for Rockford and seems to be gaining more and more confidence on the puck, with routine highlights showing him driving play from end to end.
This call-up likely won’t guarantee Korchinski minutes. He’ll have to first earn a role over Nolan Allan and Wyatt Kaiser – assuming Chicago doesn’t play any of their defenders on their off-hand. Allan has proven a stout fill-in amid injuries, with four assists and a -5 through 20 games this season. Kaiser has been far less productive, boasting just one assist, 14 penalty minutes, and a -1 in 25 games. Korchisnki’s scoring upside could be enough to earn minutes, but he’ll likely have to quickly take advantage of the opportunities he’s provided.
Commesso has spent the last two seasons splitting starts in Rockford. He found his way into the role of de facto starter last year – his first professional season – stepping into 38 games and recording 18 wins and a .906 save percentage. He narrowly beat out Jaxson Stauber in ice time and save percentage – with Stauber posting a .902 in 31 games – but Commesso hasn’t found the same success this year. He’s lost the majority share of starts to three-year pro Mitchell Weeks, who has a .901 save percentage in 12 starts to Commesso’s .879 in 10 starts. Both netminders have four wins.
Mrazek’s forced week-long absence should give Commesso a chance to earn his NHL debut. Meanwhile, Rockford has recalled ECHL starter Benjamin Gaudreau to help support the AHL lineup in Commesso’s absence. Gaudreau – another top goalie prospect in his draft year – has set a 5-5-2 record and .907 save percentage in his first 12 pro games this season.
Morning Notes: Provorov, Kucherov, Dahlin
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic writes that Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov could play tonight when the team takes on the Winnipeg Jets. Provorov left Friday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks with what was called an upper-body injury, which was later revealed to be an injury to his thumb. Photos circulated online of the 27-year-old’s thumb, and it certainly looked painful, however, Portzline is hearing that it’s possible he could play.
Provorov is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and has two goals and seven assists in 26 games so far this year. He will likely become a trade candidate at some point later in the season as the Blue Jackets are unlikely to be a playoff team.
In other morning notes:
- Tampa Bay Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov could return to the lineup today when the team takes on the Canucks (as per NHL.com). The 31-year-old has missed two games due to an undisclosed injury and hasn’t played since November 29th. Tampa had a quiet week last week with just two games and would be fortunate if that is all the time the reigning Art Ross Trophy winner misses. Kucherov is having another stellar season with 12 goals and 22 assists in just 22 games.
- Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin missed last night’s game against Utah due to back spasms (as per NHL.com). The 24-year-old missed Thursday night’s game against Winnipeg and only played a single shift in the third period of Tuesday night’s game against Colorado before he left. Dahlin dealt with a back issue during training camp in September and missed five days before rejoining the team for practice. Despite the issue, the former first-overall pick is still having a good season with six goals and 13 assists in 25 games.
Ducks To Place Trevor Zegras On IR, Activate Brock McGinn
12/7: Zegras will undergo additional testing on Monday to determine how long he’ll miss, per Sporstnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Saturday Headlines. This could be a chance to learn more about what seemed to be a low-contact injury. Zegras underwent surgery in January to repair a fracture in his left ankle – the same ankle that he seemed to injure on Wednesday – though it’s unclear if the two injuries are related in any way.
12/6: Trevor Zegras‘ game-ending injury from a few nights ago will now extend over at least a week. The depth chart manager for The Hockey News and PuckPedia reported that the Anaheim Ducks would place Zegras on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and activate Brock McGinn (X Link).
Zegras quickly left partway through the second period of Wednesday’s contest and couldn’t put any weight on one of his legs. The Anaheim youngster finished the game with a -1 rating over 6:08 of ice time.
There have been no further updates regarding the severity of Zegras’ injury. Still, it was expected he wouldn’t play in the Ducks’ next game after Derek Lee of The Hockey News reported he wasn’t at practice this morning. Zegras will only miss two games should he miss the minimum seven days on the injured reserve. It may be a chance for him to reset on the season as the former 65-point scorer only has four goals and 10 points through 24 contests this year.
McGinn’s return to the active roster might not be Anaheim’s only positive injury development. Lee also shared that Robby Fabbri was back on the ice for the team’s practice this morning despite being on week three of a six-week recovery timeline. Lee’s fellow writer at The Hockey News, Patrick Present, additionally reported that Leo Carlsson was back on the ice in a non-contact jersey.
Anaheim has had a fair number of injury concerns through the first quarter of the 2024-25 NHL season but that appears to be ending soon. The Ducks are on a pathway toward a fully healthy lineup in the coming weeks combined with today’s acquisition of defenseman Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers.
Blackhawks’ Petr Mrazek, Alec Martinez To Miss Time With Injury
The Chicago Blackhawks lost both the game and two lineup pillars, in Saturday night’s matchup against the Winnipeg Jets. Starting goaltender Petr Mrazek suffered a lower-body injury just 10 minutes in after getting his leg inadvertently swept from under him by Jets forward Mason Appleton – captured by Charlie Roumeliotis of Chicago’s WGN Radio. Mrazek was in pain immediately and left the game after a few minutes of trying to play through the injury. Two periods later, defender Alec Martinez seemed to suffer a face injury on an Adam Lowry shot that deflected under his visor. Martinez went to the ice immediately and was helped to the locker room by trainers.
Interim head coach Anders Sorensen shared in his first post-game press conference that both players would miss “a little bit” of time, per Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times.
It’s polarizing injury news for both players, for opposite reasons. Mrazek has been an iron-man in Chicago’s net, not suffering a notable injury since a groin injury limited him through the first half of the 2022-23 season. He was placed on injured reserve twice that year but still played in 39 games – recording 10 wins and a .894 save percentage. With a bill of full health, Mrazek did much more to embrace Chicago’s starting role last season, netting 18 wins and a .908 save percentage in 56 games. He was on track to repeat those numbers this year, with seven wins and a .906 in 20 games so far, but could now be headed for another extended absence due to a lower-body injury.
Mrazek’s absence would bump Arvid Soderblom into the Blackhawks’ starter’s crease, giving the 23-year-old a chance to build on his .915 save percentage through eight games this season. It’s Soderblom’s first NHL season with a save percentage above .900 – though he has a measly 1-6-1 record to go along with it. A chance at the starting role would be a chance for Soderblom to gain ground over Mrazek and injured backup Laurent Brossoit, who isn’t expected to make his season debut until late January due to a knee injury. Brossoit posted a .927 save percentage in 23 games with the Winnipeg Jets last season.
Meanwhile, Martinez is once again set to miss time with injury. The 37-
year-old defender spent just under a month on injured reserve with a groin injury earlier this season, forcing him to miss 12 games. It’ll be a second year of multiple injuries for Martinez, who missed 27 games of the Vegas Golden Knights season last year with lower-body injuries. He signed a one-year, $4MM contract with the Blackhawks this summer, set on providing a much-needed veteran presence on the Chicago blue-line. He’s been heavily utilized when healthy, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time through 15 appearances this season, though he only has four points to show for it. That includes Martinez’s first goal as a Blackhawk, which he scored in the first period of Saturday’s game.
Chicago will need to lean even further on their young, depth defenders with Martinez set to join top defender Seth Jones on the absentee list. Nolan Allan has stepped into the lineup for Jones, while Louis Crevier will likely be the first to receive minutes in place of Martinez. Chicago could also call-up Wyatt Kaiser, Ethan Del Mastro, or Kevin Korchinski to fill-in, depending on how much time Martinez is expected to miss. Allan leads Chicago’s injury fill-ins in games and scoring, with four assists through 20 appearances this year.
Snapshots: Tomasino, DeAngelo, Tracey, Stephens
Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has shared that red-hot winger Philip Tomasino will be held out of Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury. Seth Rorabaugh of Pittsburgh’s Tribune-Review Sports adds that Tomasino is out on a day-to-day basis.
Tomasino has been on fire since joining the Penguins. He’s on a four-game scoring streak, netting three goals and four points along the way. Tomasino has already lapped the one assist he managed in 11 games with Nashville to start the year – likely thanks to the near-four minutes more in average ice time he’s received in Pittsburgh, jumping from 11:18 a night with Nashville to 15:00 with Pittsburgh. Tomasino is one of seven Penguins rivaling point-per-game scoring over the last four games. That standing will earn him a quick return to the Penguins’ top-six when he’s back to full health.
Other quick notes around the league:
- Polarizing defenseman Tony DeAngelo shared that he’s not optimistic about an NHL return with Larry Brooks of the New York Post. DeAngelo signed a contract with Russia’s SKA St. Petersburg this summer. He’s managed four goals and 24 points in his first 23 games with the club. He told Brooks that his goal is to return to the NHL, but didn’t specify what’s limiting his hopes. DeAngelo played through eight NHL seasons, mostly spent between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes. He stood as a high-scoring, but minimal-defense option for both teams. With no NHL deal in sight, DeAngelo moved to Russia over the summer and may be kept there despite scoring above a point-per-game. DeAngelo is joined on the SKA roster by former NHL players Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nikita Zaitsev, and Mikhail Grigorenko.
- Brayden Tracey, the 29th-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, has signed a one-year contract with Jukurit of Finland’s Liiga. He’ll move over seas after starting this season with no points through four games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Tracey has spent the bulk of the last five seasons with the Anaheim Ducks’ minor league affiliate, totaling 84 points through 188 games. He’s received just one NHL game over that tenure – recording nine minutes of ice time and no scoring in a win over Detroit in January of 2022. He was returned to the minors immediately after, and hasn’t earned a look since. Tracey will now try to prove his worth, and earn another NHL contract, with a strong year in Finland’s top league.
- The Seattle Kraken have returned forward Mitchell Stephens to the minor leagues, per the AHL Transaction Log. Stephens slotted into Seattle’s last four games, recording six shots on net but no scoring while operating on the Kraken’s fourth line. He’ll return to a middle-six role in the AHL, where he currently has three goals and four points in 11 games. Stephens split time between the Montreal Canadiens’ NHL and AHL roster last season, recording three points in 23 NHL games and 35 points in 49 AHL games.
Metropolitan Notes: Provorov, Rangers, Stillman
It appears the Blue Jackets may be without a key defenseman for the foreseeable future. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch notes that Ivan Provorov left Friday’s game with an upper-body injury. The injury occurred early in the second period when he dove for a puck with his hand hitting the boards; his thumb took the brunt of the impact. There’s no word yet on how long he might miss. Provorov has nine points in 26 games so far this season while logging over 23 minutes a night of playing time. A pending unrestricted free agent, he’s widely expected to be a key trade chip for Columbus in the second half of the year as long as this injury doesn’t keep him out for an extended period of time.
More from the Metropolitan:
- With the Rangers trading Jacob Trouba to Anaheim yesterday, they now find themselves without a captain. However, don’t expect that vacancy to be filled right away. Head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters including NHL.com’s Dan Rosen (Twitter link) that the team is not planning to name a new captain. They’re open to appointing another alternate (to join Adam Fox, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, and Mika Zibanejad) but that won’t happen right away. New York has now moved its last three captains in midseason swaps with Trouba joining Ryan McDonagh and Ryan Callahan in that category.
- The Hurricanes announced that they have re-assigned defenseman Riley Stillman to AHL Chicago. The 26-year-old has been sent back and forth a few times in recent weeks but he hasn’t seen any game action yet with Carolina. Stillman has been limited to just six games with the Wolves after starting the season on injured reserve and has two assists in those outings. With the move, the Hurricanes now have two vacancies on their active roster for the time being.
Rangers Sign Igor Shesterkin To Eight-Year Extension
Saturday: The Rangers officially announced that they’ve signed Shesterkin to an eight-year extension. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds that the deal contains a full no-move clause and $85MM of the contract will be paid in the form of signing bonuses.
Friday: The New York Rangers have used their new-found cap space relatively quickly. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports the Rangers have signed goaltender Igor Shesterkin to an eight-year extension paying the netminder between $11.5MM and $12MM a year. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed it will be an eight-year, $92MM extension for Shesterkin.
Once the deal is finalized it will usurp Carey Price‘s record-breaking eight-year, $84MM extension with the Montreal Canadiens by $8MM. Shesterkin and his camp have been adamant about setting the market for goaltenders and he appears to have done just that.
New York will get Shesterkin back on a cheaper deal than Price from a certain point of view. Price’s contract accounted for 13.2% of the cap when it took effect starting in the 2018-19 season. Shesterkin’s contract, assuming the reports are accurate on an $11.5MM salary, will only account for 12.4% of the cap should it rise to the reported $92.5MM for the 2025-26 season.
The Moscow, Russia native landed his desired salary despite having a depressed season compared to the rest of his career. He’s produced an 8-9-1 record in 18 starts for the Rangers with a .908 save percentage and a 3.05 goals-against average.
It’s difficult to disagree with the price point. He’s arguably been one of the league’s top netminders since the 2020-21 season and the Rangers are now rewarding him for his efforts. He took over as the Rangers starting goaltender in the 2021-22 season and the team has failed to miss the playoffs since.
His career records speak for themselves. Shesterkin boasts a career winning percentage of 63.2%, a .920 SV%, and a 2.48 GAA over 226 career starts. The only goalie to post even similar numbers to Shesterkin through their first six seasons is fellow top-netminder Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets. 
New York’s competitive window begins and ends between the pipes with Shesterkin. He’s produced tremendous value for the Rangers over the last six campaigns and will now continue to do so for the next eight beyond this season. The eight-year extension will take Shesterkin to the 2032-33 NHL season when he will be 38 years old.
If today is any indication, the Rangers will be a very active team up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline. General manager Chris Drury will likely pivot toward extending his young crop of expiring talent including Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller, and William Cuylle over the next few weeks so the pieces are in place for the team’s future.
Still, Drury and the Rangers are focused on moving out high-priced veteran talent such as Chris Kreider to create serious change toward the top of the lineup. New York has failed to make it beyond the Eastern Conference Final since the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs despite consistently being one of the better teams throughout the regular season. Drury has been aggressive in his pursuit of re-tooling the roster and today’s moves may only be the beginning.
Photo courtesy of USA Sports images.
Injury Updates: Faulk, Thomas, Red Wings, Vaakanainen
The Blues will welcome back a key blueliner tonight against Edmonton. Team reporter Chris Pinkert reports that Justin Faulk will return to the lineup after missing the last two games due to an upper-body injury. The 32-year-old has been more limited than usual offensively over the first couple of months as he has just one goal and six assists so far in 25 games. However, Faulk is carrying a big workload, averaging a team-high 23:26 per night, his highest ATOI since the shortened 2020-21 campaign.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- The Kings announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated forward Akil Thomas off injured reserve. The 24-year-old had missed the last week due to an undisclosed injury. Thomas has been limited to just ten games so far in his first full NHL season and has a goal and an assist while logging a little more than 11 minutes a night of playing time. Los Angeles had two open roster spots so no corresponding move was needed to bring Thomas back to the active roster.
- The Red Wings won’t have goaltenders Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon available for a little while longer. MLive’s Ansar Khan relays (Twitter link) that the netminders will likely miss the next two games as they continue to deal with lower-body injuries. Talbot has posted an impressive .915 SV% in 15 games in his first season with Detroit while Lyon is only a few points lower at .911 in his first nine outings. Ville Husso will continue to serve as the starter for the time being while prospect Sebastian Cossa is back with the team after being papered down on Friday for cap reasons and will serve as Husso’s backup.
- New Rangers defenseman Urho Vaakanainen took part in the team’s optional practice today in a non-contact jersey, notes NHL.com’s Dan Rosen (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has missed more than three weeks with an upper-body injury and is still likely a few games away from being cleared to return. Vaakanainen has played in just five games so far this season, those coming with Anaheim before being part of yesterday’s Jacob Trouba trade.
Brendan Lemieux Clears Unconditional Waivers
Saturday: Lemieux has cleared waivers, reports James Mirtle of The Athletic. In the team’s announcement of his waiver placement yesterday, GM Eric Tulsky indicated that Lemieux requested the release to pursue a new opportunity. A report from Puck Empire in Switzerland suggests that Lemieux is likely to sign with HC Davos of the Swiss NL.
Friday: The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to place forward Brendan Lemieux on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Lemieux signed a one-year, league-minimum contract in Carolina this summer but has spent the entirety of the early season in the minor leagues. He has just two goals, 30 penalty minutes, and a -4 through 12 AHL games this season. He’s the lowest-scoring forward among Chicago Wolves with 10 or more games this season.
Lemieux made a name for himself as a sharp-edged bruiser with the drive to play at the NHL level. That’s what kept him in the top league from 2017 to 2024 – through trips with the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, and Carolina. He served a fourth-line role at every stop, making more noise with his penalty minutes than his scoring. Lemieux has 548 penalty minutes through 307 career games, with his statement year coming in 2019-20 – when he posted 111 PIMs in 59 games with the Rangers. He’s only added 74 career points – 36 goals and 38 assists – in those outings, with 18 points in 2019-20 also standing as a career-high.
This season marks Lemieux’s second in the Carolina organization, after playing through last year on a separate one-year contract. He earned 32 games on the deal, recording five points and 64 penalty minutes. That wasn’t enough to stick in the Hurricanes’ lineup with the emergence of top youngsters Jack Drury and Jackson Blake, pushing Lemieux to the minor leagues this season – his first time playing AHL hockey since 2017-18. With both scoring and meaningful penalties hard to come by this year, Lemieux will now look forward to more productive minutes in his next landing spot.