Mantha sustained the injury nearly a week ago, but the team had been silent about a potential timeline for his return. He suffered the ACL tear, likely a complete tear given the return timeline, after falling on his right knee following a hit from Canadiens forward Emil Heineman last Tuesday. He landed on injured reserve Thursday, at which point Flames head coach Ryan Huska said Mantha was still being evaluated.

It’s devastating for Mantha, a veteran looking to prove that last season’s resurgence was no fluke. Various injuries have plagued Mantha for much of his career, but never costing him as much time as this ACL tear will. After breaking the 20-goal plateau twice in his career early on with the Red Wings, Mantha seemed to rediscover his form last year, potting 20 goals in only 56 games with the Capitals before they were able to get a pair of draft picks from the Golden Knights at the trade deadline for his services. He finished the campaign with three goals and seven assists in 18 games for Vegas before hitting unrestricted free agency, where he landed a one-year, $3.5MM prove-it deal from the Flames.

This year, Mantha had four goals and three assists, although he also recorded a career-low 1.15 shots per game. He averaged 13:54 per game, his lowest as a full-time NHLer, and recorded eight blocks and 16 hits.

Mantha, 30, will now have plenty of time to recover before testing the UFA market again next summer. He’ll be on injured reserve for at least 100 days this season, meaning he’ll be eligible to sign a contract with performance bonuses.

Meanwhile, the Flames lose a veteran presence who they hoped would help add some punch to their depth scoring. Calgary, which has dropped to 7-5-3 following their early-season tear, are clicking at a 20th-place 2.80 goals per game, and even with Mantha not shooting the puck as much as they’d hoped, they’ll need to get more out of their young players to replace his production.

2021 first-round pick Matthew Coronato, who was assigned to the AHL for a brief period earlier this season, seems to be the one who stands to benefit most from the increased opportunity. He’s quickly heating up with five goals and an assist through 10 games, recording 18 shots on goal while averaging 14:12 per game.

Thanks to his earlier IR placement, Mantha is already off the active roster, but his $3.5MM cap hit is still in full effect. Given their $23.5MM in current space, it’s unlikely, but if the Flames need increased financial flexibility, they can move Mantha to long-term injured reserve at any time.

Given his IR placement is retroactive to his last game (Nov. 5), Mantha will miss Calgary’s next three games and can return as soon as next Tuesday against the Canucks. The organization has yet to give him an official injury designation, so it’s unclear how much time, if any, he’ll miss past the mandatory minimum.

Mantha suffered the injury on Tuesday versus Montreal after falling awkwardly on his right knee after a hit from Emil Heineman. He got up under his own power and skated off the ice, albeit slowly, without the assistance of a trainer. He didn’t return to the game.

It’s been an inconsistent start in Calgary for Mantha, who inked a one-year, $3.5MM contract in free agency. The 6’5″ winger had two goals and two assists in his first three games but has gone cold since then, limited to three points in his last 10 appearances.

He’s averaging only 1.15 shots on goal per game, something Huska recently said has to change. “You saw tonight, there were multiple times he was standing right in front of the net,” Huska told reporters (including Gilbertson) after Sunday’s loss to the Oilers. “That’s how he scored his goal. And for a guy that is his size and has his ability with the puck, that’s what we need out of him.”

Kevin Rooney will enter the lineup in Mantha’s place after sitting as a healthy scratch three times in the last seven games, per Derek Willis of Sportsnet 960. Hunt comes up to serve as an extra body in case the Flames sustain any more injuries up front and need a last-minute fill-in. The 28-year-old had eight points in 28 games for Calgary last year and has 10 points in 12 AHL games so far this season.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

They’ve also promoted former NHLer Warren Rychel to their director of pro scouting. Edmonton didn’t have that role in the organization last year – it was included in assistant general manager Brad Holland’s responsibilities. But they needed to fill Holland’s duties by committee after mutually parting ways with him on Tuesday. Rychel had served as a pro scout with the Oilers since the 2022-23 season and will have his job filled by Kassian.

Edmonton also added Dominik Zrim, a co-founder of the now-defunct CapFriendly, as their director of hockey strategy. He’s held similar roles with the Blackhawks and Sharks over the past few years as well.

More from the Pacific Division:

• 2024 Jack Adams Trophy winner Rick Tocchet has no worries about his future in Vancouver despite not having a contract past this season. He said on a radio appearance today that his “strong relationship” with GM Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford leaves him “not at all concerned” (via Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor). The 60-year-old worked closely with the pair as an assistant coach with the Penguins from 2014 to 2017. He’s guided the Canucks to a 70-35-13 record (.648%) since taking over for Bruce Boudreau midway through the 2022-23 season.
• The Flames expect Anthony Mantha to be one of their top scoring chance generators this season after inking him to a one-year, $3.5MM contract in free agency. He said to reporters today that head coach Ryan Huska told him he’ll likely be among Calgary’s leaders in ice time among forwards and wants him to “shoot almost 300 pucks,” per Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Mantha, 30, had 23 goals and 44 points in 74 games between the Capitals and Golden Knights last season and has started camp in Calgary on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil.

Additionally, Calgary is closing in on a two-year deal worth under $2MM annually for defenseman Jake Bean, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. TSN’s Chris Johnston clarifies the AAV is $1.75MM. Milstein also adds they’re signing Devin Cooley for goaltending depth on a two-year deal worth $775K annually. It’s a two-way deal in the first year with a $400K AHL salary.

Mantha is looking to rebound off a disappointing finish in what appeared to be a strong season. In 56 games with the Washington Capitals to start the season, Mantha put together 20 goals and 34 points before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights for a pair of draft picks. Unfortunately, the experience in Vegas did not pan out for either side as Mantha collected three goals and 10 points in 18 games after the trade before finally being scratched in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

After a season of change in Calgary, Mantha will be looking to provide a full year of quality production with increased opportunity. The Flames top six has seen multiple changes over the last calendar year and Mantha represents a capable option to plug into the team’s top-six. It’s a low-risk contract for a team that will likely attempt to move on from Mantha at next season’s trade deadline.

In addition to Mantha, the Flames organization made a sizeable commitment to Sharangovich a year after the team acquired him from the New Jersey Devils. Sharangovich played extraordinarily well in his first season in Alberta as he scored 31 goals and 59 points while appearing in all 82 regular season contests. With the extension kicking in July 1st, 2025, Sharangovich will not need a new contract until after the 2029-30 NHL season.

The Flames also pounced on Bean after the Columbus Blue Jackets decided not to tender him a qualifying offer — making him an unrestricted free agent. Bean is set to get more of an opportunity in Calgary as the team could slot him next to Daniil Miromanov in the team’s top four.

Lastly, the Flames organization adds Cooley from the San Jose Sharks organization as a third-string goaltender. Getting his first taste of NHL action last year, Cooley put up a 2-3-1 record over six starts and held a .870 save percentage and 4.98 goals against average.

Friedman hadn’t spoken to Goodrow directly but noted that the 31-year-old wasn’t happy with the situation as the Rangers hadn’t told Goodrow he would be placed on waivers until the last second. Goodrow had a 15-team no-trade clause and could have worked with the Rangers to find a suitable trade, but ultimately the Rangers elected to take the easier path with Goodrow and let him go for no return through waivers.

In other Western Conference notes:

• Catherine Savoie of RDS is reporting that the Vegas Golden Knights have told pending unrestricted free agent Anthony Mantha that they will not be re-signing him before July 1st. The trade deadline acquisition was acquired from the Washington Capitals for a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a 2026 fourth-rounder. The 29-year-old tallied 23 goals and 21 assists in 74 games with Washington and Vegas and is unlikely to match the four-year, $22.8MM contract he signed with the Detroit Red Wings back in 2020. Vegas has just $6.2MM in available cap space going into the summer and still needs to sign a couple of players.
• The Dallas Stars have signed depth forward Emilio Pettersen to a one-year, two-way contract extension (as per PuckPedia) that will cover the 2024-25 season. The new deal will see the 24-year-old collect $775K at the NHL level, while he will pocket $120K in the AHL. Dallas acquired Pettersen back in March from the Calgary Flames in exchange for forward Riley Damiani. He then joined the Stars AHL affiliate and posted four goals and four assists in 12 games. The former sixth-round pick has yet to make his NHL debut and will likely provide AHL depth for the team this season.

More from the Pacific:

• Speaking of Golden Knights pending unrestricted free agents, Anthony Mantha told RDS that the team has told him he will not be offered a deal for next season. The winger was acquired just before the trade deadline from Washington after putting up 20 goals with the Caps but he struggled with his new team, eventually being scratched in their first-round exit to Dallas.
• Flames goaltender Daniel Vladar is expected to be ready for training camp after undergoing hip surgery back in March, relays team reporter Ryan Dittrick. The 26-year-old struggled this season, posting a 3.62 GAA with a save percentage of just .882 in 20 appearances.  However, he’s now the veteran netminder on Calgary’s roster as it’s expected that he’ll team up with top prospect Dustin Wolf as their tandem for next season following the trade that saw Jacob Markstrom go to New Jersey today.
• Vancouver’s farm team in Abbotsford announced that they’ve signed captain Chase Wouters to a two-year contract extension. The 24-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Canucks’ affiliate and posted nine goals and 14 assists in 66 games in 2023-24.  Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the deal pays the forward $225K per season.

Amadio is a tough loss after being arguably their most cost-effective depth scorer over the past three seasons. After being claimed off waivers from the Maple Leafs early in the 2021-22 campaign, he enjoyed the best run of his career in Sin City. The 28-year-old has played nearly 200 regular-season games in a Vegas uniform, posting 41 goals and 72 points in less than 13 minutes of ice time per game. He’s also been quite the playoff performer, posting 10 points in 16 games en route to their Stanley Cup win in 2023 and logging a goal and an assist in their first-round elimination against the Stars this year. Amadio has made the league minimum salary each season, but he could likely land close to $3MM annually this summer.

Carrier, 29, is an original Golden Knight. Selected from the Sabres in the 2017 expansion draft, the Québec native has been a serviceable fourth-line winger, and his 372 appearances rank sixth in franchise history. He struggled with injuries this season, limited to eight points in 39 games, but had a career-high 16 goals in 56 games the year before. Carrier has shining career possession numbers at even strength – a 53.6 CF% and a 55.9 xGF% – making him one of the better two-way options in the entire league for his role.

He likely won’t land much of an increase, if any, on his expiring $1.4MM cap hit. Still, Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon needs every inch of flexibility possible to keep Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson from heading to market.

Giving up a pair of draft picks for Mantha at the trade deadline may have been a rare ill-advised move from McCrimmon. The 29-year-old winger seemed to fit nicely into their top nine down the stretch in the regular season, posting three goals and 10 points in 18 games. However, he fell out of the lineup once Tomáš Hertl and Mark Stone were ready to return from their injuries and only played in three of their seven playoff games against Dallas without recording a point. He’d been making an average of $5.7MM annually for the past four years on a deal signed by Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman in the 2020 offseason, and while he won’t earn that much again on his next deal, he might get close after his first 20-goal season since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Golden Knights are also unlikely to re-sign veteran defenseman Alec Martinez, who likely wouldn’t have been in their opening night lineup next season after Noah Hanifin’s acquisition. But they haven’t informed him of anything like the others, Pagnotta said, and it’s unclear if he’ll test the market in July. After winning the Cup with Vegas last year and twice with the Kings in the early 2010s, the 36-year-old is “evaluating his options” as the end of his career draws closer.

And while Marchessault is the higher-priority extension target, McCrimmon hasn’t closed the door on a Stephenson re-signing. Pagnotta reports he’ll speak to Stephenson’s camp in the next two weeks to gauge his price. Still, if he heads to market, he’ll have plenty of suitors as the second-best center potentially available after Elias Lindholm. As such, his market value could very well eclipse a $6MM AAV – a prohibitively expensive figure for Vegas unless significant cap-cutting trades are made.

Luukkonen unexpectedly found his way into the starter’s net this season, appearing in 54 games despite competition from Levi and Comrie. He performed well with the chance, recording 27 wins and a .910 save percentage. – serving as the only Sabres goalie to record a save percentage above .900. This season marked Luukkonen’s first year in a full-time NHL role, after splitting the last three years between the major and minor leagues. And while he performed well, he wasn’t the starter many Sabres fans expected entering the season. That weight was instead on 22-year-old Levi’s shoulders – but he quickly lost the role after posting four wins and a .887 save percentage through his first 10 games. Luukkonen stepped in as relief and didn’t let go of the role.

At 25, Luukkonen seems poised for at least another chance at a starting role, though Levi’s presence could make a long-term extension challenging for the Sabres to commit to. How they decide to organize their goaltenders for next season could be very telling into Buffalo’s long-term plans.

Other notes from around the league:

• Anthony Mantha returned to the Vegas Golden Knights practices on Saturday, donning a no-contact jersey, per The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (Twitter link). Mantha has been red-hot with Vegas since the Trade Deadline, scoring 10 points in his first 18 games with the club – though he missed the team’s season finale with an undisclosed injury. Still not taking contact, Mantha will likely be on the fringe of the lineup as the Golden Knights prepare for Monday’s Game One.
• Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson shared that it’s time for the team to build up, says Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). Chicago finished second-last in the league this season, on the back of a forward group that looked desolate when it lost Connor Bedard and Taylor Hall to injury. Finding offensive support will likely be the focus of their building efforts, as the Hawks prepare to weaponize their $38MM projected cap space this summer.
• Both Evander Kane and Mattias Janmark are expected to return to the Edmonton Oilers lineup for their Monday Game One against the Los Angeles Kings, per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Kane sat out of the team’s final three games of the season with injury, capping his year off at 24 goals and 44 points in 77 appearances. Meanwhile, Janmark was able to finish out the season but missed the team’s Saturday practice. Neither injuries have been disclosed.

Mantha, who Vegas acquired from the Washington Capitals during this past trade deadline season, has played in 18 games for the organization up to this point. In those 18 contests, Mantha has been serviceable even though his goal-scoring rate has decreased, putting up three goals and 10 points altogether.

Joining Mantha on the list of Golden Knights expected to reach unrestricted free agency this summer, Stephenson has once again been a massive return on investment in Vegas. Making a salary of only $2.75MM this season, Stephenson has put up 16 goals and 51 points in 65 games overall, sitting fifth on the team in scoring.

Other injury notes:

• As the Winnipeg Jets look to clinch second place in the Central Division for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, they will have to do so without forward Morgan Barron as the team announced he would miss the rest of the game tonight with a lower-body injury. During the game, Barron was only able to register 2:23 of ice time and registered zero points but did reach a 100% faceoff rate in the game.
• In a similar fashion to Barron, the Montreal Canadiens will be without forward Michael Pezzetta for the remainder of their game and the season with an upper-body injury (X Link). As a depth forward for the team, Pezzetta was only able to register 25 seconds of ice time over one shift, and left the game after the end of the first period.

Since being acquired in a deadline deal from the Detroit Red Wings three years ago, Mantha has had an up-and-down tenure with the Capitals. Highlighted primarily by the numerous injuries suffered throughout his career, Mantha has been unable to suit up in a full season since 2017-18.

Because of those injuries, Mantha has been unable to procure any sort of sustained success in Washington, failing to score more than 11 goals in each of his first three seasons with the organization. This disappointing stretch of play from Mantha has led to numerous trade rumors surrounding his exit from Washington over the last few years.

However, Mantha has taken his offensive game back up to his previous expectations, already hitting the 20-goal mark through 56 games this season. Even while averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time each night, Mantha currently sits second on the team in goal-scoring.

By placing captain Mark Stone on LTIR, not only did Vegas have the cap space to acquire Mantha, but they also opened up a sizeable need to add scoring at this year’s deadline. Mantha should be able to fit nicely into the team’s top six in Stone’s absence, allowing the Golden Knights to move Michael Amadio down the lineup.

Hanging on by a thread for third place in the Pacific Division, Vegas has struggled with putting the puck in the net nearly all season. Currently, in all situations, the team is sitting 15th in the league with 3.18 GF/G, a far cry from 3.56 GF/G coming from the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers this year. Furthermore, the powerplay has not been a benefit to the team at all, as it currently sits 20th in the league with a 19.50% success rate.

If Mantha continues his current pace with the Golden Knights, he should be able to help the team dramatically in both aspects of the game. As another important note, the Capitals will be retaining 50% of Mantha’s salary, indicating that Vegas may not be done adding to their forward core.

Before this trade, Washington did not have a second-round pick in the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft, using it to acquire Connor Brown from the Ottawa Senators nearly two years ago. Now, they will have six total selections in their cupboard for this year, with another eight ready for the 2025 NHL Draft.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report that Vegas had acquired Mantha. 

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the return going to Washington. 

Mantha, 29, had a disastrous campaign last year, dropping a career-worst points-per-game pace with 27 in 67 games and falling out of the lineup entirely at points. He’s rebounded somewhat in 2023-24, at least in the goal-scoring department. His 18 markers in 52 games rank second on the team, although his overall point production of 29 isn’t what you’d hope for at his price tag.

His possession numbers have seen a massive jump, though, posting a +7.1 expected rating and 51.3 CF% at even strength, the latter of which leads all Capitals forwards with more than 10 games played. He’s done so in easier minutes, averaging only 13:51 per game. While he does see some defensive usage 5-on-5, making 54.7% of his even-strength zone starts in the defensive end, he hasn’t seen any penalty kill usage with Washington this year. Most of his time has been spent on a line with youngsters Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas, whose unit leads the team with a 57.4 expected goals percentage among Caps lines with over 100 minutes together, per MoneyPuck.

The Capitals sit eight points behind the Lightning for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but they have four games in hand on their former Southeast Division rivals. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN reported Friday that Washington was undecided on their trade deadline strategy and would wait until further down the schedule before deciding to sell off their pending UFAs and hamper their chances of making the playoffs. The math isn’t in their favor despite the games in hand, however – a tough schedule and poor advanced numbers have the Capitals with just an 11.1% chance at the playoffs, per MoneyPuck, behind other wild-card hopefuls such as the Devils and Penguins.

Washington is 4-3-3 in their last ten games, a pace they’ll need to improve upon. With injuries piling up to depth forwards like Nic Dowd and T.J. Oshie, plus multiple games against key playoff competitors like Pittsburgh and Detroit in the coming days, they’ll need some big performances from core pieces Alex Ovechkin, Dylan Strome, and John Carlson to make a miracle happen. Mantha himself is dealing with a lower-body injury and will be a game-time decision tonight against the Senators, the team said. However, head coach Spencer Carbery said there’s a “good chance” he draws in after leaving Saturday’s overtime loss to the Panthers prematurely.

A Mantha move would likely start a domino effect of Washington’s other major pending UFAs – defenseman Joel Edmundson and wingers Nicolas Aubé-Kubel and Max Pacioretty – finding new homes by the March 8 deadline. Pagnotta says multiple teams have called about Mantha, namely the Avalanche, Maple Leafs and Oilers. All three teams would need Washington to retain a solid chunk of Mantha’s cap hit to swing a deal, which the Capitals are free to do with all three retention slots open. Colorado has extremely limited space, even with captain Gabriel Landeskog on LTIR, and would likely need to move money out and have a third team retain money in a Mantha trade to make an acquisition work.

With the Capitals still in the playoff race, albeit barely, they’re likely still in the “taking calls” stage on Mantha rather than actively shopping him. They still have 11 days to make a decision before the deadline.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Häman Aktell, 25, didn’t make the Capitals’ opening night roster this season after signing a one-year, $870K entry-level contract in free agency. However, the former Predators prospect earned a recall just a handful of days into the year after notching a goal in two games with AHL Hershey and has remained on the roster since. The Swedish two-way puck mover had a strong preseason but earned only a limited look at the NHL level during his call-up, notching an assist and a -2 rating in six contests while averaging 10:38 per game.

Washington opted to sign Häman Aktell in free agency after he won two Swedish Hockey League championships in the last three seasons with Växjö Lakers HC, finishing second on the team in points with 36 in 51 games last year. As he does not require waivers, he was a logical choice to take off the 23-man roster, with both Anthony Mantha and Trevor van Riemsdyk being activated from IR ahead of tomorrow’s game versus the Blue Jackets, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.

Mantha, 29, had missed the past three games after taking a puck to the ear on November 8 against the Panthers and is projected to play a fourth-line role with Nic Dowd and Beck Malenstyn. Signed to a $5.7MM cap hit on an expiring deal, Mantha’s had another rough go of things to start 2023-24, recording just four points in ten games and seeing his ice time dip below 13 minutes per game. The 6-foot-5, 234-pound winger has played just 128 games with the Capitals since they acquired him via trade from the Red Wings three seasons ago, recording 62 points.

Meanwhile, van Riemsdyk is also returning to the 23-man roster after missing the past four contests with a lower-body injury sustained on November 4 against the Blue Jackets. The 32-year-old signed a three-year, $9MM extension to remain in D.C. last March and has one assist and a -1 rating through ten games, averaging 17:35 per contest. The nine-year veteran will form the right side of the team’s third pairing tomorrow with 2018 first-round pick Alexander Alexeyev on his left flank.

Mantha reportedly lost hearing in that ear for six days and has only now started to get it back. He reported feeling dizziness initially, but according to Tarik El-Bashir, he should be well enough to play on Saturday when he is eligible to come off the IR.

Mantha has three goals and an assist in ten games this season with the Capitals and has been a healthy scratch at times as he hasn’t been able to find his game in Washington. He had two of his goals in the Panthers game when he suffered the injury but was knocked out of the game before he could complete the hat trick.

In other notes:

• Boston Globe writer Conor Ryan is reporting that Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told the media today that he expects defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to be cleared to return to the Bruins lineup by this Saturday. The 29-year-old has been out of the lineup since October 30th when he suffered an upper-body injury in an overtime win against the Florida Panthers. Grzelcyk played just 3:29 in that game and left during the third period of the win. The native of Charlestown, Massachusetts has dressed in nine games this season and has a single assist but has looked off his game when in the lineup. His average ice time is down, as are many of his defensive numbers which could lead one to speculate if he was dealing with a nagging injury prior to sitting out these past few weeks.
• The Colorado Avalanche have announced that they’ve essentially reversed yesterday’s roster moves. The Avalanche sent Sam Malinski and Caleb Jones to the Colorado Eagles yesterday and today decided to recall both players. No word yet on why Colorado opted to change course, but both players are back on the Avalanche’s NHL roster as of this morning. Jones has an assist in his one NHL game this year while Malinski is pointless in one game.

Aubé-Kubel, 27, could make his season debut tonight when the Capitals face the New Jersey Devils. As a winger, he’s a more direct replacement for Mantha, who will be out for at least one week after taking a puck to the ear in Wednesday’s game against the Florida Panthers.

The gritty forward was a surprise omission from the Capitals’ opening-night roster, passing through waivers unclaimed early in October. Washington signed him to a one-year, $1.225MM extension last March after claiming him off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs early in the 2022-23 season.

Aubé-Kubel provided solid depth production after the waiver claim in the nation’s capital, notching four goals and 12 points in 47 contests while averaging 11:39 per game. 2023-24 hasn’t been kind to the 2022 Stanley Cup champion, who has just three points in 11 games with AHL Hershey this season.

Shepard comes up without a clear injury designation to starter Darcy Kuemper or backup Charlie Lindgren, although Lindgren did not participate in an optional skate yesterday, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. The 28-year-old made one appearance for the Capitals earlier this season, stopping 18 of 22 shots for his first NHL win against the Devils on October 25.

He’s also off to a solid start with Hershey, recording a .910 SV% and a 4-1-0 record through five games. Shepard’s .914 SV% and three shutouts in 20 postseason games last year earned him the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy for the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs MVP, helping the Bears to a league championship.

Dowd will return tonight from an upper-body injury that’s kept him out since the team’s second game of the season, causing a nine-game absence. The veteran center did not record a point in two games this year but is coming off a career-best 13 goals and 25 points in 2022-23. The 33-year-old from Alabama is in the second season of a three-year contract with a $1.3MM AAV. 21-year-old Hendrix Lapierre seems a likely choice to sit after going pointless in four games this season, averaging just 7:28 per night.

The Capitals confirmed Thursday that Mantha would miss at least the next two games with an upper-body injury, meaning his move to IR is no surprise. Mantha, 29, had registered three goals and one assist through ten games.

Mantha is facing an upper-body injury after taking a shot to the ear on Wednesday. Dowd and Edmundson (hand) are also listed with upper-body injuries, while van Riemsdyk has a lower-body injury.

Mantha and van Riemsdyk have both appeared in 10 games for the Capitals this season. Mantha has scored three goals and four points while averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time. He’s been the focus of a handful of conversations through the early season, facing a healthy scratching earlier in the year and continuing to appear in trade rumors. Mantha is in his third full season in Washington, where he’s totaled 62 points in 128 games. van Riemsdyk is also in his fourth year with the club, although he’s managed to carve out a bit more of a role with the club. The 32-year-old defenseman only has one point this season but recorded a career-high 23 points in 75 games last year. He’s continuing to serve in his modest role with the club this season, averaging 17 minutes of ice time.

Dowd has only played two games this year, while Edmundson has yet to make his Capitals debut, as both players are dealing with nagging ailments.

Other injury notes from around the league:

• New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert declared Bo Horvat a game-time decision for the team’s Thursday night game against the Boston Bruins. He’s facing a lower-body injury after blocking a shot off his ankle in the team’s Saturday matchup against Carolina. The 28-year-old has nine points through 10 games this season.
• Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery shared that Derek Forbort is “probable” to play the Islanders. He is also battling a lower-body injury. Montgomery said that the team will use warmups as the indicator of if Forbort can play.
• Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch has been announced as day-to-day, with the Sabres hopeful that he can play in their Friday bout with Minnesota. He missed practice on Thursday with an upper-body injury. Top draft pick Matthew Savoie took line rushes with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner in Tuch’s place.