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Evgeny Kuznetsov Signs With KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk

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There will be no NHL return for Evgeny Kuznetsov, at least for now. The veteran of 11 NHL seasons had been the subject of rumors for most of the summer but has now signed on to remain in his native Russia for another season with the Kontinental Hockey League’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk, according to a league press release.

Kuznetsov, 33, returned to Russia last summer after a short-lived tenure with the Hurricanes. He managed six goals and 13 points in 30 combined regular-season and playoff games for the club after they acquired him from the Capitals at the trade deadline. The one-time All-Star had cleared waivers days before after exiting the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. On the whole, his scoring line for 2023-24 read 8-16–24 through 63 appearances. That was by far the worst point-per-game production he had, marking a sharp decline after having managed nearly a point per game for the Caps just two years prior.

Seeking stability, Kuznetsov accepted a mutual contract termination with Carolina last summer and promptly signed a four-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg. The move home allowed him to rediscover his once-consistently top-six caliber offensive skill set, flourishing alongside young NHL prospects like Ivan Demidov and Alexander Nikishin, and recording 12 goals and 37 points in 39 appearances. That resurgence rekindled his desire for NHL success, and he obtained a release from SKA back in April to facilitate it. There were still two undisclosed teams interested in signing him at the beginning of September, but training camp has now mostly passed without a contract being signed.

Another KHL season at or near a point per game could make Kuznetsov’s transition back to North America easier next summer, but for now, it’s still prove-it time. Kuznetsov joins a hot Metallurg squad off to a 7-1-2 start to rank fourth in the league, fueled by an early-season breakout from Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov, who has five goals and 10 assists through his first 10 games.

Kuznetsov was a first-round pick by Washington in 2010 and was dominant in their run to the 2018 Stanley Cup, leading the league in postseason scoring with 20 assists and 32 points in 24 appearances. His 568 points in 723 regular-season appearances for the Caps rank seventh in franchise history.

Training Camp Cuts: 10/1/25

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There’s less than a week until the first game of the 2025-26 NHL season. Outside of a handful of teams, most clubs have around 35 players remaining on their training camp rosters, leaving plenty of work to do before opening night. As always, you can keep track of every team’s current iteration at our Training Camp Rosters tracker. Today’s cuts are as follows:

Boston Bruins (per PuckPedia)

D Billy Sweezey (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)

Colorado Avalanche (Per team announcement)

D Wyatt Aamodt (to AHL Colorado, pending waivers)
F Daniil Gushchin (to AHL Colorado, pending waivers)
F Maros Jedlicka (to AHL Colorado)
G Mathis Langevin (to QMJHL Rimouski)

Detroit Red Wings (per PuckPedia and team announcement)

F Carson Bantle (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Carter Bear (to WHL Everett)
F Alexandre Doucet (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Sheldon Dries (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)
G Carter Gylander (to ECHL Toledo)
D Alex Kannok Leipert (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
D William Lagesson (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)
F John Leonard (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)
D Ian Mitchell (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)
F Jakub Rychlovský (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Gabriel Seger (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Dominik Shine (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)
F Eduards Tralmaks (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Jacob Truscott (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Austin Watson (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)

Florida Panthers (per PuckPedia)

F MacKenzie Entwistle (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
F Nolan Foote (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
F Wilmer Skoog (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)

Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)

D Samuel Bolduc (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Logan Brown (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Martin Chromiak (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Kenny Connors (to AHL Ontario)
G Pheonix Copley (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
D Jakub Dvorak (to AHL Ontario)
F Glenn Gawdin (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Liam Greentree (to OHL Windsor)
F Cole Guttman (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
D Joe Hicketts (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
D Kirill Kirsanov (to AHL Ontario)
F Andre Lee (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
D Jack Millar (to AHL Ontario)
F Francesco Pinelli (to AHL Ontario)
G Erik Portillo (to AHL Ontario)
D Tim Rego (to AHL Ontario)
D Otto Salin (to AHL Ontario)
G Isaiah Saville (to AHL Ontario)
F Akil Thomas (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Taylor Ward (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Jared Wright (to AHL Ontario)

Nashville Predators (per PuckPedia and team announcement)

D Andreas Englund (to AHL Milwaukee, pending waivers)
F Reid Schaefer (to AHL Milwaukee)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team announcement and PuckPedia)

F Jacob Gaucher (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Lane Pederson (to AHL Lehigh Valley, pending waivers)

San Jose Sharks (per PuckPedia)

F Patrick Giles (to AHL San Jose, pending waivers)

Tampa Bay Lightning (per team announcement)

F Nicholas Abruzzese (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Dylan Duke (to AHL Syracuse)
F Boris Katchouk (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Jakob Pelletier (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Scott Sabourin (to AHL Syracuse)
D Roman Schmidt (to AHL Syracuse)
F Wojciech Stachowiak (to AHL Syracuse)

Utah Mammoth (per team announcement)

G Jaxson Stauber (to AHL Tucson, pending waivers)

Washington Capitals (per team announcement and PuckPedia)

D Louis Belpedio (to AHL Hershey, pending waivers)
G Garin Bjorklund (to AHL Hershey)
F Graeme Clarke (to AHL Hershey, pending waivers)
F Henrik Rybinski (to AHL Hershey, pending waivers)
F Bogdan Trineyev (to AHL Hershey, pending waivers)

Winnipeg Jets (per PuckPedia and Murat Ates of The Athletic)

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan (to AHL Manitoba, pending waivers)
F Colby Barlow (to AHL Manitoba)
D Kale Clague (to AHL Manitoba, pending waivers)
F Samuel Fagemo (to AHL Manitoba, pending waivers)
G Thomas Milic (to AHL Manitoba)
D Elias Salomonsson (to AHL Manitoba)
F Brayden Yager (to AHL Manitoba)

Waivers: 10/1/25

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With less than a week to go until the regular season, waiver season is in full swing. According to PuckPedia, the largest waiver placement of the preseason has taken place:

Boston Bruins

D Billy Sweezey

Colorado Avalanche

D Wyatt Aamodt
F Daniil Gushchin

Detroit Red Wings

F Sheldon Dries
D William Lagesson
F John Leonard
D Ian Mitchell
F Dominik Shine
F Austin Watson

Florida Panthers

F MacKenzie Entwistle
F Nolan Foote
F Wilmer Skoog

Los Angeles Kings

D Samuel Bolduc
F Logan Brown
F Martin Chromiak
G Pheonix Copley
F Glenn Gawdin
F Cole Guttman
D Joe Hicketts
F Andre Lee
F Akil Thomas
F Taylor Ward

Nashville Predators

D Andreas Englund

Philadelphia Flyers

F Lane Pederson

San Jose Sharks

F Patrick Giles

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Nicholas Abruzzese
F Boris Katchouk
F Jakob Pelletier

Utah Mammoth

G Jaxson Stauber

Washington Capitals

D Louis Belpedio
F Graeme Clarke
F Henrik Rybinski
F Bogdan Trineyev

Winnipeg Jets

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan
D Kale Clague
F Samuel Fagemo

Nashville Predators Claim Tyson Jost Off Waivers

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Nashville Predators have added to their forward depth off the waiver wire. Friedman reports that the Predators have claimed forward Tyson Jost from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Heading to Nashville, Jost will join the fifth team of his career. Undoubtedly, the former 10th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft has fallen well short of expectations.

Throughout his first six years in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche, Jost was fairly productive, scoring 45 goals and 103 points in 321 games, averaging 13:29 of ice time in a third-line role. Still, he failed to break through in any meaningful fashion, and the Avalanche traded Jost to the Minnesota Wild for Nico Sturm, who became a key depth piece for the franchise’s third Stanley Cup banner.

After failing to find a consistent role in the lineup with Minnesota, Jost was placed on waivers in mid-November of the 2022-23 season. He was subsequently claimed by the Buffalo Sabres, finishing the year with seven goals and 22 points in 59 games. Buffalo rewarded Jost’s efforts with a one-year, $2MM contract the following offseason.

For the third time in a row, Jost quickly fell out of the team’s lineup due to poor performances. Buffalo sent Jost through waivers in late December, and he spent the rest of the season as an oft-taxied depth forward from the Sabres to the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

Last season, Jost joined the Hurricanes on a one-year, $775K prove-it contract, which he turned into four goals and nine points in 39 games. Still, he showed signs of life, finishing the year with the highest CorsiFor% at even strength of his career.

The Hurricanes quickly re-signed Jost to an identical contract this summer, though he won’t play it out in Carolina. Now, after today’s waiver claim, he’ll likely compete for the next week for a fourth-line role with the Predators.

Morning Notes: Demidov, Avalanche, Drouin, Benoit, Jets

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In one of the more violent preseason contests in recent memory, the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens combined for 150 PIMs yesterday evening. Unfortunately, after multiple fights broke out between Hayden Hodgson, Arber Xhekaj, Jayden Struble, and Jan Jenik, it was Montreal’s sensation, Ivan Demidov, who would leave the game with an injury after a malicious slash from Senator Nick Cousins.

Fortunately, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, there doesn’t appear to be any long-term injury concern for Demidov. The Canadiens may hold him out of the team’s next contest on Saturday, again against Ottawa, though he should be ready to start the season on time. The odds-on favorite to win the 2025-26 Calder Memorial Award has recorded three assists in three preseason contests with Montreal.

Understandably, the Canadiens’ admonishment of Cousins’ actions was clear. In an article from Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, head coach Martin St. Louis was quoted as saying, “There’s no need for that. It’s an exhibition game; both teams are trying to get ready for a long season. I don’t think there’s any need for that in the game.”

Other notes from this morning:

  • After recalling five players for their preseason win against the Vegas Golden Knights last night, the Colorado Avalanche have sent nearly the entire group back to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. The Avalanche announced that Tye Felhaber, Jason Polin, Alex Gagne, and T.J. Tynan, who were all recalled yesterday, have been reassigned. Additionally, Jayson Megna and Tristen Nielsen will join them en route to the Eagles, while Ronnie Attard will remain on the roster for today’s contest.
  • One of the New York Islanders’ freshly signed forwards missed today’s practice. According to Andrew Gross of Newsday, Jonathan Drouin missed this morning’s practice due to illness. The veteran forward has gone scoreless in three preseason contests for the Islanders, averaging 19:02 of ice time per contest.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs got some positive news this morning regarding one of their injured defenseman. David Alter of The Hockey News reported that Simon Benoit has shed his non-contact jersey, indicating he’s nearly recovered from his upper-body injury. The heavy-hitting blue liner skated in 78 games for the Maple Leafs last season, scoring one goal and 10 points with 204 hits.
  • Moving to Manitoba, the Winnipeg Jets announced they’ve extended their ECHL affiliation with the Norfolk Admirals through the 2025-26 season. The new campaign will be the Admirals’ third as the ECHL affiliate of the Jets. The team has qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs in each of the last two seasons, losing in the Division Finals both times.

Edmonton Oilers Acquire Connor Ingram

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After clearing waivers last week, netminder Connor Ingram is headed north. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Utah Mammoth are trading Ingram to the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers subsequently announced the trade, confirming they are acquiring Ingram for future considerations and that the Mammoth will retain $800K of his $1.95MM salary.

Given that Ingram was exposed on the waiver wire a few days ago, it was surprising that the Oilers waited until now to make a trade. However, with Utah lowering Edmonton’s financial burden to $1.15MM for the 2025-26 season, the trade becomes more understandable. The Oilers can now send Ingram to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, while being able to bury his full salary until they may need him during the regular season.

Still, there are some question marks on exactly what version of Ingram the Oilers are getting. From the 2022-23 season to 2023-24, Ingram was excellent for the Arizona Coyotes as a backup and the starter, managing a 29-34-11 record in 77 games with a .907 SV% and 3.08 GAA, with a respectable 8.1 Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA).

Unfortunately, after the Coyotes closed their doors and Ingram joined the new Utah Hockey Club, his production cratered. Last season, he earned a 9-8-4 record in 22 games with a .882 SV% and 3.27 GAA, including a dismal -10.1 GSAA. He decided to leave the team in early March to enter the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, and he was not cleared until late August.

Shortly before training camp, the Mammoth shared their intentions of placing Ingram on waivers, allowing him a fresh start to his career. He’ll now get that opportunity in AHL Bakersfield, and potentially the Oilers at some point during the regular season.

For better or for worse, Edmonton appears adamant on leaving Stuart Skinner in the starter’s crease for the 2025-26 campaign, with Calvin Pickard as his backup. Still, should Ingram regain his form with the Condors, the Oilers shouldn’t have any hesitation giving him a look at the NHL level. Last year, Skinner and Pickard combined for a .897 SV% throughout the regular season, and a .888 SV% in the postseason, despite the Oilers reaching the Stanley Cup Final for a second consecutive year.

Devils Sign Luke Hughes To Seven-Year Contract

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the New Jersey Devils are closing in on a seven-year, $63MM contract with their lone remaining restricted free agent, Luke Hughes. The Devils quickly confirmed the contract, also sharing that Hughes will join the team for practice tomorrow.

Shortly after New Jersey’s confirmation, PuckPedia announced Hughes’ contract details:

  • Year 1: $8MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
  • Year 2: $8MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
  • Year 3: $9MM salary
  • Year 4: $9MM salary
  • Year 5: $9MM salary
  • Year 6: $9MM salary, 10-team no-trade clause
  • Year 7: $9MM salary, 10-team no-trade clause

After forward Mason McTavish agreed to a six-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, the contract dispute between Hughes and New Jersey became the longest one from the offseason. Recently, there was concern that the standoff might prevent Hughes from starting the year on time. After this morning’s announcement, we know that won’t be the case.

The $9MM AAV will tie Hughes with Dougie Hamilton as the highest-paid player on the Devils. Additionally, the seven-year deal makes Hughes the only player on the team signed beyond the 2030-31 NHL season.

Most importantly, it’ll take Hughes through most of the prime years of his career. He’ll have the opportunity for another payday upon the deal’s expiration after turning 29 years old, though the Devils will reap all the benefits from his age-22 to age-28 seasons.

Over the past two years, similarly to his brothers Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes, Luke has shown a keen ability to move the puck and generate offense. Since the beginning of the 2023-24 season, the former fourth-overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft has scored 16 goals and 91 points in 153 games, with four goals and 41 of those points coming on New Jersey’s power play. A gradual introduction to the NHL was unnecessary for the offensive-minded defenseman, as Hughes is already averaging more than 21 minutes of action a night.

Still, the Devils will hope for some maturity on the defensive side of the puck as he progresses through his career. Despite averaging a 54.3% CorsiFor% at even strength, Hughes’ 88.7% on-ice save percentage at even strength leaves much to be desired. Still, New Jersey has offset most of Hughes’ defensive shortcomings by placing him next to Brett Pesce, who’s been one of the most defensively acute blue liners for the past decade. The pair combined for a 53.1% xGoals% last season, according to MoneyPuck.

The Devils still have some work to do with their available salary cap space. The team is expected to place defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic ($4MM AAV) on long-term injured reserve to start the 2025-26 campaign, who is recovering from offseason knee surgery. As James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now points out, the Devils will only save approximately $3.8MM of Kovacevic’s salary per the new rules of the CBA, projecting them $183K over the upper limit to start the season.

That financial gap is more than manageable, and it’ll give New Jersey time to work out a larger cap-clearing deal. The two likeliest candidates are Hamilton and Ondrej Palat, though both have limited no-movement and no-trade protection in their contracts. Still, by having Hughes in the mix for the next seven years, the Devils are in a much better position than they were yesterday.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images. 

Training Camp Cuts: 9/30/25

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There’s now one week to go until the regular season opens, meaning six days until opening night rosters are due. Most teams have gotten their last round of sweeping cuts done and now only have a handful of names to trim to get down to 23 players. We’ll keep track of additional cuts as they roll in today:

Carolina Hurricanes (per team announcement)

D Gavin Bayreuther (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Noel Gunler (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Tyson Jost (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
D Oliver Kylington (released from PTO)
F Kevin Labanc (released from PTO)
D Bryce Montgomery (to AHL Chicago)
F Bradly Nadeau (to AHL Chicago)
D Joel Nyström (to AHL Chicago)
G Nikita Quapp (to AHL Chicago)
F Justin Robidas (to AHL Chicago)
F Ivan Ryabkin (to AHL Chicago)
F Josiah Slavin (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Ryan Suzuki (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Gleb Trikozov (to AHL Chicago)
F Felix Unger Sörum (to AHL Chicago)

Calgary Flames (per team announcement)

F Clark Bishop (to AHL Calgary pending waiver clearance)
D Hunter Brzustewicz (to AHL Calgary)
D Nick Cicek (to AHL Calgary)
D Artem Grushnikov (to AHL Calgary)
F Samuel Honzek (to AHL Calgary)
F Dryden Hunt (to AHL Calgary pending waiver clearance)
D Yan Kuznetsov (to AHL Calgary pending waiver clearance)
F Sam Morton (to AHL Calgary pending waiver clearance)
G Owen Say (to AHL Calgary)
F William Stromgren (to AHL Calgary)
F Aydar Suniev (to AHL Calgary)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team announcement)

D Kevin Korchinski (to AHL Rockford)

Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)

D Parker Berge (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
F Aatu Jämsen (to AHL Ontario)
F Kaleb Lawrence (to AHL Ontario)
F Koehn Ziemmer (to AHL Ontario)

Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)

F Brett Leason (released from PTO)

New York Rangers (per Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic)

F Anton Blidh (to AHL Hartford)
G Talyn Boyko (to AHL Hartford)
F Brendan Brisson (to AHL Hartford, pending waivers)
G Dylan Garand (to AHL Hartford)
D Blake Hillman (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
D Connor Mackey (to AHL Hartford, pending waivers)
F Bryce McConnell-Barker (to AHL Hartford)
F Brennan Othmann (to AHL Hartford)
F Dylan Roobroeck (to AHL Hartford)
D Brandon Scanlin (to AHL Hartford)
F Carey Terrance (to AHL Hartford)

Nashville Predators (per team announcement)

D Kevin Gravel (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Jake Lucchini (to AHL Milwaukee)
G Matt Murray (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Navrin Mutter (to AHL Milwaukee)
D Jordan Oesterle (to AHL Milwaukee)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team announcement)

D Emil Andrae (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Denver Barkey (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
G Carson Bjarnason (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Alex Bump (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Alexis Gendron (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Helge Grans (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Devin Kaplan (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
G Aleksei Kolosov (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Hunter McDonald (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Ty Murchison (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Anthony Richard (to AHL Lehigh Valley pending waiver clearance)

San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)

F Filip Bystedt (to AHL San Jose)
G Gabriel Carriere (to AHL San Jose)
F Igor Chernyshov (to AHL San Jose)
D Cole Clayton (to AHL San Jose)
G Matt Davis (to AHL San Jose)
D Jake Furlong (to AHL San Jose)
D Braden Hache (to AHL San Jose)
F Kasper Halttunen (to AHL San Jose)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (released from PTO to AHL San Jose)

While not listed in today’s cuts by the team, forwards Shane Bowers, Jimmy Huntington, Oskar Olausson, and Pavol Regenda along with goaltender Jakub Skarek are on waivers today.

Washington Capitals (per team announcement)

D Cam Allen (to AHL Hershey)
F Terik Parascak (to WHL Prince George)
F Patrick Thomas (to AHL Hershey)

Mats Zuccarello Out “Minimum” Of Seven To Eight Weeks

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While the Wild ensured one top-six winger will be staying with the club long-term earlier today, they’ve lost another in the short term. The team confirmed Mats Zuccarello will miss a “minimum” of seven to eight weeks with the lower-body injury that’s sidelined him for all of training camp so far.

There was concern Zuccarello would miss the start of the regular season back at the beginning of camp. This is a bit more significant than just the start of the season, though. A seven-to-eight-week timeline from today puts his most optimistic return date on Nov. 18, by which Minnesota will have already played a quarter of its season. In all likelihood, it could be Thanksgiving or even further down the calendar until he’s able to make his season debut.

Now 38 years old, the 5’8″ Zuccarello has kept up his reputation as a consistent top-six scorer in what should be his twilight years. The Norwegian forward ranked fourth on the team with a 19-39–54 scoring line in 69 appearances last year, his sixth in Minnesota after first signing there as a free agent in 2019. While injuries have remained a concern – he hasn’t hit the 70-game mark in the past two years – he’s clicked above expectations since signing with the Wild and has scored at a 70-point clip per 82 games during his time there.

That’s a sizable absence in the scoring department, especially considering he still averaged over 19:30 of ice time per game last year. While he’s spent a good portion of his tenure in St. Paul opposite Kirill Kaprizov on the top line, Matt Boldy ended up getting that job in the playoffs last year after Kaprizov returned from surgery. Zuccarello dropped down to a middle-six role with Marcus Johansson and Frédérick Gaudreau, the latter of whom has since been traded to the Kraken. Since he hasn’t been in camp, it’s hard to predict where the Wild planned on slotting him this season, but it likely would have been in second-line duties while keeping the top line loaded with Boldy.

Zuccarello’s top-six vacancy could mean increased opportunity for veteran Vladimir Tarasenko to start the year. The Wild picked him up from the Red Wings for future considerations over the summer after the four-time All-Star had just 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games for Detroit. The Wild are now his sixth team in the last four years, but he could get a shot at second-line duties with Joel Eriksson Ek as his centerman. There’s also a clear path for one of the Wild’s recent first-rounders, namely Liam Ohgren and Danila Yurov, to snag top-nine roles as they look to establish themselves as full-timers.

One player who won’t be getting an opportunity in the lineup is 220-game veteran Brett Leason. He was released from his PTO today, the club announced. He had a 5-12–17 scoring line in 62 games for the Ducks last year before being non-tendered.

Hurricanes Release Oliver Kylington, Kevin Labanc

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The Hurricanes released defenseman Oliver Kylington and winger Kevin Labanc from their professional tryouts, according to a team announcement. The duo is part of a good chunk of camp cuts from the Canes today, although fellow PTO invitee Givani Smith remains with the organization for now.

Kylington signed a PTO after splitting the 2024-25 season between the Avalanche and the Ducks. The left-shot rearguard missed over two months with a lower-body injury in the middle of the season, which, combined with declining play, contributed to him only making 19 appearances. He managed a 1-4–5 scoring line with a -2 rating while averaging just 12:18 per game, recording 18 blocks and three hits.

A second-round pick by the Flames back in 2015, Kylington once looked like a potential top-four piece. He broke out for 31 points and a +34 rating in 73 appearances for Calgary back in 2021-22, but he then missed over a year and a half while on mental health-related leave. His return to the game in January 2024 made him a Masterton Trophy finalist at season’s end. Unfortunately, it looks like that lost time means his days of being an everyday NHLer might be behind him. He was competing with other reclamation-type depth puck-movers like Mike Reilly for an NHL job in Carolina’s camp, but Reilly, along with preseason standout Charles-Alexis Legault, bumped him out of consideration.

Labanc, 29, was in an NHL camp on a PTO for the second straight year. Last season, he attended New Jersey’s camp on a tryout basis and landed an NHL deal with the Blue Jackets immediately after getting released. He’ll hope a similar outcome awaits him this time around.

The New York native was also limited by injuries last year, missing the last two months of the campaign due to shoulder surgery. When healthy, he got into Columbus’ lineup 34 times and scored two goals and 10 assists for 12 points.

The club has 23 skaters left in camp, leaving only two cuts still to make. The final forward spot is likely down to Smith and Juha Jaaska, while Legault is still in the mix to upset Reilly and start the year as Carolina’s seventh defenseman.

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