The Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League have signed goaltender James Reimer to a professional tryout contract.
With Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury and Joonas Korpisalo’s lower-body injury that’s expected to keep him out for one month, the New York Rangers’ goaltending depth suddenly became thin at both the NHL and AHL levels.
Dylan Garand and Spencer Martin, both called up by the Rangers, left the Wolf Pack with Callum Tung and Gabriel Carriere at the goaltending position.
The addition of Reimer provides the Rangers with more goaltending depth and a potential backup option for Garand until Korpisalo is activated from injured reserve, if the team decides to call him up in place of Martin.
Reimer has 16 years of NHL experience playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators.
The 38-year-old goaltender most recently played for the Senators during the 2025-26 season, recording a 7-4-2 record, a .886 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average.
Already this week, amid the team's dreadful 0-5-3 start to the 2026-27 campaign, it has been reported that many clubs around the NHL have been calling the Philadelphia Flyers for trade talks, presumably looking to buy low from the Eastern Conference's only winless team.
The Flyers have been hit with a swath of injuries early, too, which never helps things, especially when two top-four defensemen, Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen, are out, along with top-six winger Travis Konecny.
All the early adversity aside, the Flyers and their front office are not ready to pull the plug on the season, nor are they ready to begin selling off any quantity of their many struggling players.
But for as long as the winless slide continues, the Flyers will keep getting calls from other NHL teams, and one player, in particular, seems to be a hot commodity around the league.
According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, in a recent article for Sportsnet, rival clubs are pondering the possibility of getting 24-year-old winger Tyson Foerster from the Flyers in a trade.
"While vultures circle the Philadelphia Flyers amid their franchise-worst start, rival teams have been wondering: Is there any way we could get our hands on Tyson Foerster? He seems to be on a list of untouchables. Really impressive player," Seravalli wrote.
Foerster, the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 2020 draft, has one more year on his current contract remaining at a $3.75 million cap hit before his eight-year, $56.8 million extension ($7.1 million AAV) kicks in on July 1.
Tyson Foerster's big contract extension with the Flyers will kick in on July 1. (Photo: Kyle Ross, Imagn Images)
Notably, Foerster does not have trade protection of any kind until the 2029-30 season, when he'll have a modified no-trade clause that permits him a 10-team no-trade list.
Until then, the Flyers can, of course, trade Foerster wherever and whenever they want to, but as Seravalli noted, the Flyers still consider the 6-foot-2 winger untouchable, even with his injury history and recent struggles.
Foerster played just 29 regular season games for the Flyers last season, dealing with upper-body injuries at the start and middle of the season, and while the 24-year-old scored 13 times in those 19 games, Foerster has just two goals - his only two points - in his last 18 games played, including the playoffs, at the time of this writing.
Such struggles before and after a lucrative contract extension could conceivably give any team a bit of reason for pause, though the Flyers, according to Seravalli's latest, are holding strong on the promising winger.
The Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs have made a trade. Vancouver has sent forward Aatu Räty to Toronto in exchange for forwards Brandon Buhr and Jacob Quillan. At the time of the trade, Buhr was assigned to the ECHL, while Quillan had been playing in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies.
Seeing Räty traded is not unexpected. The 23-year-old center had been a healthy scratch multiple times this season and cleared waivers on Thursday. The return, however, is intriguing, as Vancouver was able to pick up two 24-year-old forwards.
Starting with Buhr, he wrapped up his NCAA career last year and has made the jump to pro. He was assigned to the ECHL and is waiting for the season to start. Buhr, who is from North Vancouver, was over a point per game last year with Union College and made his AHL debut with the Marlies last season where he recorded two assists in five games.
Buhr's game revolves around physicality. He is listed at 6'2", 205 lbs, and can use his size to not just throw hits, but win board battles at a high rate. Buhr is also a decent skater and, based on his time in the NCAA, isn't shy about shooting the puck.
As for Quillan, he already has some experience in the NHL. He has played 24 games for the Maple Leafs, where he has scored one goal and recorded two assists. Before making the jump to the pro level, Quillan spent three years at Quinnipiac University and also had a stop in the BCHL with the Penticton Vees.
Quillan projects as a bottom-six forward who has decent speed and plays a physical brand of hockey. Over his 24 NHL games, he has recorded 47 hits and won 42.0% of his faceoffs. Quillan is listed at 6'1", 204 lbs, and was part of Toronto's Calder Cup victory in 2026.
Ultimately, this is an intriguing bet by Ryan Johnson. Both Buhr and Quillan have potential, but also need to be re-signed at the end of the campaign. Overall, it will be interesting to see how both develop and whether either gets called up later this season.
Sep 25, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jacob Quillan (26) looks on during warm-up before the game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Aatu Räty from the Vancouver Canucks in a trade Thursday after the one-time top prospect cleared waivers hours earlier.
Toronto sent fellow forwards Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr to Vancouver for Räty.
“We want to thank Aatu for all he has done for the organization, and we wish him well in Toronto,” Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson said. “By acquiring Jacob and Brandon this move gives our group two new young players to work with as we continue to look for ways to improve our overall depth.”
The Leafs are the third NHL organization for the young Finn, who was drafted in the second round by the New York Islanders in 2021. The Islanders dealt Räty to Vancouver in the winter 2023 as part of the return for Bo Horvat.
Räty, who turns 25 next month, has struggled to produce in the league with just 29 points in 118 games.
Raty was drafted by the New York Islanders in 2021 with the 52nd overall pick in the second round.
The 23-year-old has played a total of 118 regular-season games in the NHL. He scored 14 goals and 15 assists in those appearances across parts of five seasons.
Raty played his first full NHL season in 2025-26, featuring in 66 games. He went on to score four goals and 14 points and averaged 12:01 of ice time.
He's played four games this year with Vancouver, recording one goal and averaging 10:10 of ice time.
His greatest strength comes in the faceoff dot. Over the past two campaigns, Raty has taken 821 draws (the second most on the team in that span) in 70 total games, winning his faceoffs at a 60.2 percent rate, which led the team among forwards to take more than one draw.
Toronto gives up Quillan, who has played 24 NHL games with the Leafs, 23 of which came last season. He scored one goal and three points in 2025-26, averaging 10:16 of ice time.
The 24-year-old put up great numbers in the American League, registering 14 goals and 36 points in 40 games, as well as becoming a Calder Cup champion with the Marlies last year.
In other news, Miles Wood, left winger acquired in the Kirill Marchenko trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, has been placed on IR. He has yet to play a game for the Maple Leafs or the Marlies.
See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Räty, 23, who was selected by the Islanders in the second round (No. 52) of the 2021 NHL Draft, was dealt to the Canucks along with forward Anthony Beauvillier and their 2023 first-round pick in exchange for Bo Horvat, who is now the Islanders' captain.
The Finnish forward, who had just one goal in four games this season, was placed on waivers Wednesday but went unclaimed.
In 118 NHL games, Räty has 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points.
When the Florida Panthers pulled the trigger on a Seth Jones trade, fans around the NHL had mixed reactions.
While Jones was a highly touted prospect heading into the 2013 NHL draft and was stellar in the early parts of his career, Jones failed to live up to expectations with the Chicago Blackhawks. Blackhawks and NHL fans heavily scrutinized him before the trade, which is why reactions were so mixed.
But since joining the Panthers prior to the 2025 trade deadline, all Jones has done is arguably perform as the Panthers' best defenseman.
Jones has taken over the top power-play unit and is the team's best offensive threat on the man advantage and at 5-on-5 from the blueline. In 80 regular-season games since joining the Panthers, Jones has notched 10 goals and 48 points. He also leads the team in average time on ice in that period, playing 24:12.
In 2026-27, his 25:52 of ice time ranks seventh in the NHL and leads the Panthers by more than four minutes. While Gustav Forsling deservedly earns praise for his defensive game, Jones has morphed into the team's No. 1 defenseman.
On Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a former team of Jones, the 32-year-old recorded four assists, matching a franchise record.
This was just another great night in what's becoming quite routine for Jones.
“I’ve played with a lot of great players this year,” Jones said after the win. “I try to do my part and be the best player I can be out there – whether it’s 5-on-5 or special teams. I’m making some plays to some great players, and they’re putting the puck in the net.”
While Jones was modest in his response, coach Paul Maurice and teammate Brady Tkachuk were quick to acknowledge his stellar start to the season.
“He had a great summer of training with Aaron Ekblad,” Maurice said. “They spent the entire time here, for the most part, in Florida. They trained hard. He’s a fit, fit man. He’s a little faster with everything he does and has got a little more confidence.”
“He's been excellent all year,” said Tkachuk. “He's played some big minutes for our team.”
Jones has been eating up minutes for the Panthers, and he's had a positive impact. He's recorded one goal and seven points in seven games, ranking tied for fifth in points among defensemen.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source.Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Somehow, some way, the Philadelphia Flyers need to find a way to win a game, especially after squandering a golden opportunity to come back against Seattle before ultimately falling to 0-5-3 on the season.
On Thursday night, the Flyers will face the 1-3-2 Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit at 7:30 p.m., a squad just one point ahead in the standings despite a -6 goal differential that is significantly better than Philadelphia's -21.
The Flyers are expected to return an unchanged lineup from Thursday's 3-2 shootout loss to Seattle, with the exception of Joseph Woll starting in place of Dan Vladar as the goalie rotation continues.
Of note, defensemen Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen and forward Travis Konecny remain out for the undermanned Flyers due to injury, while the Red Wings will be without Marco Kasper, J.T. Compher, Mason Appleton, and Simon Edvinsson (RFA).
The Flyers are 2-3-0 in their last five games against the Red Wings, getting out-scored 20-16 across that span.
Alex DeBrincat - Emmitt Finnie - Michael Brandsegg-Nygard
Andrew Copp - Michael Rasmussen - Lucas Raymond
Andreas Englund - Sheldon Dries - Keegan Kolesar
Ben Chiarot - Moritz Seider
Anton Johansson - Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Albert Johansson - Justin Faulk
Daniil Tarasov (S), John Gibson
Flyers special teams
Power play: 2-for-24, 8.3% (31st)
Penalty kill: 25-for-31, 80.6% (16th)
Red Wings special teams
Power play: 4-for-20, 20% (16th)
Penalty kill: 14-for-21, 66.7% (28th)
How to watch the Flyers game
Thursday night's Flyers game can be found on Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, and Sportsnet+.
Flyers player to watch
First-line forward Trevor Zegras played a big part in the Flyers getting at least a point against Seattle on Thursday night, scoring a goal, recording five shots on net, and starting beef with goalie Philipp Grubauer that injected some life into a lifeless team.
While head coach Rick Tocchet has already moved the 25-year-old back to left wing with Sean Couturier playing center, Zegras has shown that he can remain effective when provided with ample opportunity... and when his teammates are at least somewhat on their game.
In his career against the Red Wings, Zegras has five goals, six assists, and 11 points in 10 regular season games while averaging 18:50; Zegras played 21:43 against Seattle on Thursday.
If the Flyers are to ever get going offensively, Zegras, Matvei Michkov, and the dreaded power play will have to lead the charge.
Matching up with a mediocre Red Wings team that boasts an awful penalty kill unit, the Flyers are in as good a position as ever to earn their first win of the season, but they need to play like they smell the blood in the water.
With additional injury updates to Jared Spurgeon and Olli Maatta, the Wild have elected to recall an extra defenseman rather than an extra forward.
Kirkland is a 6-foot-3, 30-year-old center with 50 games of NHL experience. In his NHL career, he's scored 3 goals and 10 points. This season in the AHL, Kirkland has recorded two assists in four games.
As for Lambos, he will likely serve as the seventh defenseman tonight and until an injured defenseman is ready to return. Lambos has scored one goal and two points in four AHL games this season. The 23-year-old has only played one NHL game in his career and lost the battle for an NHL roster spot to fellow 23-year-old David Spacek.
With the injuries and call ups, the Wild's lines are a bit all over the place. The Wild's projected lines could appear as:
Kirill Kaprizov - Joel Eriksson Ek - Matt Boldy Blake Coleman - Danil Yurov - Maxim Shabanov Rieger Lorenz - Ryan Hartman - Bobby Brink Tyler Pitlick - Michael McCarron - Yakov Trenin
Quinn Hughes - Jonas Brodin Matt Kiersted - Zach Bogosian Daemon Hunt - David Spacek
The Wild take on the St. Louis Blues at home tonight, looking to get back in the win column.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source.Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The Calgary Flames are back in action Thursday night as they travel to Las Vegas to take on the Golden Knights.
Calgary is coming off its first win of the season, a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. After opening the year 0-5-0, the Flames finally got rewarded for a more complete effort, showing better consistency at both ends of the ice.
Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
They will look to build on that performance against a much tougher opponent in Vegas. The Golden Knights enter Thursday’s matchup with a 6-2-0 record, sitting atop the Pacific Division.
The Flames will also see a familiar face on the other side of the ice in defenceman Rasmus Andersson. The longtime Calgary blueliner was traded to Vegas last season and will face his former team for the first time this season.
Thursday’s contest marks the first of four meetings between the Flames and Golden Knights during the 2026-27 season.
Projected Flames Lineup
Calgary held an optional morning skate at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. With limited lineup information available, the Flames are expected to stick with the same combinations, according to Derek Wills.
Optional morning skate at T-Mobile Arena, but it looks like #Flames will stick with same line-up vs. #VegasBorn ⬇️
For Dustin Wolf, the focus will be on building off the team’s first win and finding some stability early in the season. Meanwhile, the matchup against Andersson adds another storyline to a game that will test Calgary against one of the Pacific Division’s early frontrunners.
The Flames have their first win behind them. Now, they will look to turn it into something more.
There’s a sense of déjà vu in what’s happening with the Montreal Canadiens this season. As in the last campaign, the guy labeled the number-one choice goaltender just isn't delivering. Last season, Martin St-Louis and co. gave Samuel Montembeault plenty of opportunity to find his footing before finally turning to Jakob Dobes. So much so that by the time they turned to him, Dobes himself was going through a crisis of confidence. By the end of the season, though, he had regained his confidence and had wrestled the starting job away from Jacob Fowler.
Fast forward to the current season, and Dobes emerged as the number-one choice, the guy earmarked to start. Montembeault looked good in training camp, certainly good enough to be the backup, and Fowler, on his ELC, could be sent down to the Laval Rocket, so that’s what the Canadiens did.
Dobes had a strong first game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but for some reason he struggled afterward. He posted a .929 save percentage on opening night and followed it with two subpar performances: a .800 SV against the Pittsburgh Penguins and a .844 against the Carolina Hurricanes. At that stage, the plan was for the backup to get a start, because your number one netminder can’t play 84 games, but Montembeault was injured.
As a result, Fowler was recalled and stepped into the crease, since Dobes wasn’t meant to start anyway. However, two nights later, Dobes didn’t get his net back; after losing his first game against the Nashville Predators, Fowler got a second straight game against the Detroit Red Wings and shut them out through 65 minutes and a six-round shootout. After that performance, St-Louis decided to put Fowler in net once again, and the youngster won again.
With a second game in as many days, the coach went back to Dobes on Wednesday night, and unfortunately for the Czech netminder, he struggled again. Giving up five goals in just 24 shots. With the next game only on Saturday, Dobes will probably have time to reset before the Habs take on the Sabres for a second time this season, but it seems the Canadiens have learned from last year’s debacle. They want to go with the hot hand; they won’t give Dobes as long a leash as they gave Montembeault because, in the end, the Quebecer ended up hanging himself with it, which Dobes won’t have the opportunity to do.
The Canadiens are no longer a rebuilding team; it’s not about development or the process anymore, it’s about getting the two points, climbing the standings, and ultimately being in as good a position as possible come playoff time. Come Saturday night, they need a win, so who are they likely to go to? The masked man oozing confidence right now, or the one who can’t seem to make the big saves when he needs to? The answer seems simple enough, but what happens when Samuel Montembeault returns from injury?
Kent Hughes said at the golf tournament that he didn’t want a “ménage à trois” this season. Sending Fowler down at the end of September was easy because he was on his ELC and hadn’t outplayed the others in training camp. Now, though, for a second season in a row, Fowler came to the rescue and grabbed his opportunity with both hands. Can Hughes really send him back down if he’s the one giving the Canadiens the best chance to win every night? It seems doubtful.
Having three goalies is far from ideal, but both Montembeault and Dobes would have to go through waivers to be sent down to the AHL. Fowler's play may force Hughes to move faster to solve his goaltender conundrum. The GM signed Dobes to a new contract; Fowler is earmarked as the goaltender of the future, and Montembeault’s contract expires at season's end. The answer seems simple enough…once he’s healthy, Hughes will ne need to find him a new home, because Fowler has now shown that he is the hot hand, the one who gives the team the best opportunity to win, and at the end of the day, this is a results-based league.
Could things change before Montembeault returns? Perhaps Dobes could rebound, but it seems unlikely Fowler will falter. As St-Louis often said about Montembeault last season, Dobes hasn’t forgotten how to play goal. However, the Canadiens have the luxury of a young netminder waiting in the wings to step into the number-one role; they shouldn’t hold him back. Will the pressure be too much when chatter about him as the number-one goaltender picks up? Time will tell, but he had no problem starting three games in a row…
To the surprise of very few people now, Joel Hofer is off to a fantastic start for the St. Louis Blues.
In four games, he's posted two wins, a .921 save percentage, a 1.76 goals-against average, a shutout, and 2.5 goals saved above expected. Hofer outduelled Jordan Binnington for the No. 1 role last year and is showing no signs of giving it up.
Hofer has been praised by St. Louis fans for quite some time now, as since the 2023-24 NHL season, Hofer hasn't posted a save percentage below .900. That's serving as the backup, then a tandem and now the No. 1.
But finally, the 26-year-old is starting to receive the nationwide respect his game deserves.
On Wednesday, after the Blues' dominant 7-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, former NHL goaltender and current TSN analyst Jamie McLennan sang Hofer's praises.
“A little bit of recency bias, but I’ve liked this kid since last year; Joel Hofer is Canada’s next goaltender,” McLennan said on TSN's radio show, Overdrive. “I had the chance to visit with Jordan Binnington, who is Canada’s goaltender right now. So St. Louis has Canada’s goaltender of right now, and I think of the future. This kid’s a player.”
Hofer has represented Canada internationally a few times now. Notably, he won a gold medal at the 2020 World Junior Championship, posting a .946 SP in six games and taking home goaltender of the tournament and All-Star Team honors. He's also played for Canada at the World Championships, winning gold in 2023 despite playing just two games.
But Hofer has proved to be a star at every level. His international success is well known, and he was a star in the WHL and AHL before making his way to the NHL.
“This kid, I’m telling you, O (Jeff O’Neill), this kid's a player," McLennan continued. "6-foot-5, handles the puck like Hextall and makes great saves. I’m telling you, he’s a player."
Selected in the fourth round (107th overall) in 2018, Hofer has developed into an NHL star. Although the competition for Canada's international goaltending spot is notably weak right now, it's still nothing to scoff at. This is serious praise from a respected NHL analyst.
The next best-on-best events are the 2028 World Cup of Hockey and the 2030 Olympics. If Hofer shows he can consistently perform among the NHL's elite, he could very well find himself as one of the three goaltenders named to the rosters.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source.Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The Chicago Blackhawks (2-5-0) are set to host the Winnipeg Jets (4-1-1) at the United Center on Thursday night. This will be the third game at home in a row for Chicago, as they look to improve on their 2-1 home record early in the year.
Winnipeg will be the second division rival to visit the United Center in the early going, and they are off to a much better season than anybody anticipated. It will be a tough match for the young Blackhawks, but not one that they see as an impossible feat.
Scouting Winnipeg
The Winnipeg Jets won't have Jonathan Toews in their lineup, as he famously retired after his one season playing for the hometown team. He has mostly been with the Blackhawks since his short stint in Winnipeg.
Toews' absence is not the reason that most saw the Jets as a non-playoff team coming into the year, however. It isn't only their lackluster season that they had a year ago, either. They are without superstar goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
Hellebuyck, who is one of the greatest goalies of all time, has requested a trade and is refusing to report to the Jets. He was respectful and private about the situation at first, but he felt the need to go public with it ahead of training camp starting.
Instead of letting this adversity get to them, the Jets have come out incredibly strong to begin the year. Is it possible that the wheels fall off at some point? Certainly. However, nobody told the players who did report that they must have a bad year.
Connor - Scheifele - Perfetti
Niederreiter - Björck - Vilardi
Rosén - Lowry - Iafallo
Namestnikov - Barron - Koepke
Samberg - DeMelo
Ferraro - Pionk
Fleury - Bauer
Skinner
Stevenson
Mark Scheifele, Cole Perfetti, and Kyle Connor are the usual suspects when it comes to their most dangerous players, but there are a couple of other faces involved that have been helping them get the job done.
A guy to keep an eye on is Viggo Björck, who was selected 8th overall in the 2026 NHL Draft. Some people had him as an option for the Blackhawks at 4th overall before they traded it to the Buffalo Sabres in the Bowen Byram deal.
Björck doesn't have an NHL point yet in six games, but it's coming soon. In this game, he'll be on a good second line with experienced veterans against a Blackhawks team that has been known to give up some chances.
Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg's most dynamic defenseman, is not expected to play after missing the last couple of games. He is an important piece for the Jets, but he is dealing with a wrist issue that has hindered him. As of now, consider him week-to-week.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks are going to be without Bowen Byram in this game. He is dealing with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day. Frank Nazar is back after serving a two-game suspension, which will get him right back into the mix as a center on the team.
Kantserov-Bedard-Kane
Bertuzzi-Frondell-Teravainen
Moore-Nazar-Donato
Smith-Greene-Greenway
Del Mastro-Levshunov
Vlasic-Cole
Kaiser-Rinzel
Knight
Nazar is notably not in the top six. While he was out, Anton Frondell was magnificent with Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen. Also, Connor Bedard came back, so this will be the first game with both Bedard and Nazar in the lineup.
With Oliver Moore and Ryan Donato (who was fabulous against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday), this trio could give the Blackhawks the much-needed depth they were anticipating before the season began. Dominic Toninato is coming out of the lineup in favor of Nazar, and the fourth line will remain exactly the same.
Bedard sticks with Patrick Kane and Roman Kantserov. At even strength and on the power play, this trio got the job done against the Penguins.
Frondell's line saw a lot of Crosby last time out, and now they have the challenge of dealing with Mark Scheifele, who is also an incredible two-way center. Blashill will try to match those lines up a lot as the home coach.
With Byram out, Ethan Del Mastro is expected to draw in his place on the top pair with Artyom Levshunov. If Levshunov can keep up his much-improved play, especially in the offensive zone, they won't miss a beat. The other two pairs remain the same, which is what a team wants when one guy goes out for whatever reason.
A defenseman will not take Byram's spot on the power play. They are going to go with five forwards on the top unit whenever they draw a penalty and play 5-on-4, which is becoming a trend in the NHL lately.
Teuvo Teravainen, who is coming off his best game of the season, will quarterback the top unit. It's a lefty with experience running a man-advantage group, and a chance for Teravainen to continue feeling good about his offensive game. This move gives them the best chance to carry on the momentum that the top unit built in the win over Pittsburgh.
Spencer Knight will start again, making it his third straight. This breaks the mold of Arvid Soderblom going in every Thursday game, but the Blackhawks do consider Knight the number one who will play when they feel he is rested enough.
How To Watch
You can hear the game locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. You can see it locally on CHSN. Nationally, you can stream it on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 7:00 PM CT.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.
The Detroit Red Wings made a major move on Wednesday, officially inking forward Alex DeBrincat to a seven-year, $91 million extension, taking care of one of the most important matters of business they were facing.
However, there still remain multiple other issues that remain unsolved, the most pressing of which is the status of unsigned RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson.
Edvinsson, who completed his three-year entry-level deal, is in the midst of a stalemate with the Red Wings despite reporting to Training Camp without a contract; Edvinsson returned to his native Sweden, reportedly frustrated with the lack of progress on an extension.
However, the Swedish blue liner has since returned to North America, but as of now, there haven't been any reports of the two sides bridging their gap.
Interim Red Wings GM Shawn Horcoff, who held a media availability session in the wake of DeBrincat's extension on Wednesday, made it clear that he has "no intention" of trading Edvinsson despite the defenseman's alleged preference to be moved.
As far as what kind of deal that Horcoff prefers to ink Edvinsson to, he indicated that they have to be open-minded to all possibilities.
“I think we’re open to anything,” Horcoff said. “I think the details of it we’ll still keep to ourselves, but again, when you’re trying to sign a player, you have to be open-minded to kind of all options. And we certainly are.”
Horcoff also reiterated in no uncertain terms that the preference of the club, who selected Edvinsson with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, is to get him signed.
"I think Simon is someone that’s very hard to come by," Horcoff said. "We’ve spent a lot of time developing him, we drafted him. And again, he’s a player that we value here, that I value especially, and I know everyone in that locker room does as well."
So far in his NHL career, Edvinsson has skated in 175 games, and has tallied 19 goals with 41 assists, while racking up 158 penalty minutes.
His size and reach make him a valuable commodity for the Red Wings - and naturally, there are plenty of other NHL teams that would line up to acquire him if given the chance.
The Red Wings have until December 1 to extend Edvinsson, as they still own his rights as an RFA; otherwise, he'll be ineligible to play in 2026-27.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Matias Maccelli will start the New York Islanders' game against the Ottawa Senators on the top line alongside Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri. That's how the Islanders ended their Tuesday night on Long Island with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
The 26-year-old recorded his first goal as an Islander while also earning the primary assist on Kyle Palmieri's go-ahead tally at the 5:38 mark of the third period:
“Maccelli started on the fourth line, and he was buzzing, so we moved him up, and he created the winning goal," Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer said on Tuesday night. "
Maccelli takes Emil Heineman's spot up there, with the Swedish forward skating alongside Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom on their fourth line.
The 26-year-old, whom the Islanders signed July 1, is riding a four-game point streak into Thursday's game, with a goal and four assists over that span. He was held scoreless in the Islanders' season-opening 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs and in their home-opening 6-0 win over the New Jersey Devils a few days later at UBS Arena.
The Islanders didn't change any other lines, including the defense, as they'll keep Matt Kessel in there for a second straight game. He recorded a point in 13:51 minutes of ice time, earning the primary assist on Palmieri's opening goal on Tuesday.
Semyon Varlamov will make his second start of the season:
Varlamov to make second start of the season.
Thought he was off his angle a few times vs. #NYR.
Still looking to find his game after so much time away. Reps is the only way to do that. #Isles have to tighten their game up a bit. https://t.co/k1jn1JQqSz
