Category: NHL

In recent weeks, the Philadelphia Flyers have finally found their way into the win column, led by their growing youth movement, though not all contributions have been equal.

By and large, forwards Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, and Porter Martone have led the way offensively, while Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald have impressed replacing the likes of Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York.

But, aside from the top dogs, and Cole Knuble, who scored his first two NHL goals in a 3-1 win over Buffalo last week, the Flyers could find themselves interested in getting more out of their middle six.

Although he made the NHL roster out of training camp, Alex Bump was a healthy scratch by the fourth game of the season, earning himself a demotion to the AHL before exploding for seven goals, an assist, and eight points in just five games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Bump, 22, returned to the Flyers in short order amid a rash of injuries, with Tyson Foerster, Owen Tippett, and Travis Konecny all going out of commission.

Despite his individual skill, which is at times electrifying, and accurate shot, Bump has yet to record a goal or assist for the Flyers in six games this season, regressing quite a bit from his nine points in 17 games in the regular season last year.

Without consistency and end product, it's hard to envision Bump's role at the NHL level in the long-term.

And if Bump has found himself in the background of the Flyers' short- and long-term plans, there is another young winger in the Metropolitan Division worth adding for some competition, so long as the price is right.

Why Ivan Miroshnichenko fits the Flyers

Elsewhere in the division, the Washington Capitals have given 2022 first-round pick Ivan Miroshnichenko and his camp permission to seek a trade in search of a greater NHL opportunity, though the team won't trade him away for pennies or place him on waivers, either.

Given that the Flyers are on the upswing, even with all their youth, they're a logical landing spot for the talented Russian winger, who doesn't quite fit on a Capitals team that has been trying to compete for a Stanley Cup in the twilight years of Alex Ovechkin's legendary career.

As mentioned above, Bump's game at the NHL level has been a slow burn despite a strong start, and maybe his style of play doesn't quite mesh with the higher difficulty compared to the AHL.

Miroshnichenko, who has played just 55 career NHL games and scored only six goals, eight assists, and 14 points, is in a similar boat, though he brings a package of skills and traits to the table that make him more suited to a middle-six role than Bump.

A buccaneering right-shot left winger, Miroshnichenko is at his best going north and south, attacking downhill with his speed and blistering shot while threatening opponents with heavy hits on the other side of the puck.

Flyers Key Defenseman Suffers Another InjuryThe Philadelphia Flyers announced some truly unfortunate injury news on Monday afternoon.

Despite being a somewhat modest 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, Miroshnichenko embraces the physical, more competitive side of the game, and he's got some offensive talent to boot. The 22-year-old has done what he can in a limited role, having played his career-high 21 NHL games way back in 2023-24, when he was a teenager on opening night.

With further development and a bigger opportunity, though, Miroshnichenko can establish himself as a workhorse checking winger with scoring upside, especially as a weak-side trigger man on a power play unit.

Naturally, the Flyers would more than likely have to pay the Capitals a tax for a potential in-division trade, but a pair of early Day 2 draft picks and a similar fringe NHLer could do the trick. Notably, the Flyers have their second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, as well as two third-round picks and two fourth-round picks.

Even if and when Tippett and Konecny return, Miroshnichenko would give the Flyers an injection of speed, and perhaps more importantly, physicality in addition to his untapped scoring potential.

And even when the Flyers had Tippett and Konecny, their transition and rush games were lacking, and it's an area the Flyers should consider investing in going forward, with or without Bump, Tippett, or Konecny.

Former Avalanche prospect Calum Ritchie is going to miss some time with the New York Islanders.

The 21-year-old was placed on injured reserve Monday with a lower-body injury. He’s expected to be out for four to six weeks. The Islanders announced the injury last week, and the IR move is retroactive to Oct. 17.

Colorado selected Ritchie 27th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. He appeared in seven games with the Avalanche early in the 2024–25 season, scoring his first NHL goal against the New York Islanders before being reassigned to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals.

A few months later, Ritchie was on his way to New York. On March 6, 2025, Colorado traded him, defenseman Oliver Kylington and two draft picks to the Islanders for Brock Nelson. Forward William Dufour was also part of the deal and went to Colorado.

The Avalanche brought in Nelson to help with another Stanley Cup run. He scored 33 goals during the regular season, but his playoff production dropped off. He scored twice in the postseason, with both goals coming into empty nets. Nelson also won Olympic gold in Milan.

Ritchie had a good first full season with the Islanders, putting up 13 goals and 17 assists in 65 games. He started this season with one goal and one assist in eight games before the injury. Mitchell Chaffee is expected to get a bigger role while Ritchie is out.

Ritchie spoke with The Hockey News in November before the Islanders played Colorado at Ball Arena. Asked if playing against his former team gave him extra motivation, he made it clear he wasn’t spending much time looking back.

“I’m just trying to focus on myself and stay present,” Ritchie said. “I mean, I’m with the Islanders and not focusing on the past and what happened there. I’m just really excited to be a part of the Islanders, like I said, and staying present.”

The Islanders will have to wait a few weeks to get him back. Until then, Ritchie’s focus will be on getting healthy and returning to the lineup.

The seasonlong layoff ex-Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette had after he was relieved of his duties in New York in April 2025 was the longest he’d spent away from the NHL since the lockout season. 

He went to Scotland to watch his daughter Elisabeth’s fiancé play golf. He visited the historic coastal university town of St. Andrews and attended a couple of weddings he otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. 

The 61-year-old spent time with his wife Kristen and his family, and was able to watch his son Peter play in his final season in the East Coast Hockey League. 

It was obvious how much Laviolette relished that time as he reflected on it from outside the visitors locker room in his return to Madison Square Garden as head coach of the Kings on Monday. 

The whiplash of his first season to his second in Manhattan — going from winning the Presidents Trophy and losing in the conference final to missing the playoffs — certainly required some recovery. 

“It was kind of a tale of two years,” Laviolette said of his tenure with the Rangers ahead of his new team’s clash with the Blueshirts on Monday night. “The first year was really good, I mean, most wins and most points and a very storied franchise. Took it to three rounds to Florida and lost in Game 6, and that was disappointing. Not to win a couple more games and get that chance to play for the Cup. But, overall, looking back at that year, it was a year that was really good. It was something that I’ll remember being here in New York. Obviously, the second year was not as smooth and had problems inside of it.” 

Los Angeles hired Laviolette in June after relieving D.J. Smith of his interim responsibilities behind the Kings bench. 

The hiring ensured a Rangers reunion out West between Laviolette and Artemi Panarin, who decided he wanted to go to LA after he was informed by president and general manager Chris Drury that he wouldn’t be re-signed in January. 

Drury eventually traded Panarin to the Kings in exchange for prospect Liam Greentree and a conditional 2026 third-round pick that became Slovakian center Tomas Chrenko. 

In addition to former Rangers associate coach Phil Housley joining Laviolette on the West Coast, one-time Ranger Erik Gustafsson also signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Kings on July 1 to play under the veteran coach for a third time. 

“I really enjoyed being here,” Laviolette said. “I love being at Madison Square Garden. I mean, the New York fans were just awesome. I can’t tell you how many times I was around the country and somebody would come up to me and say, ‘I’m the biggest Rangers fan ever.’ And I’m like, ‘They’re all the biggest Rangers fans ever.’ And I think they are. They talk about the history of how their grandfather took them to a game like 50 years ago, and they’re 60 years old and now they’re taking their grandkids. Because it’s been around for 100 years, you get stories like that. 

“You can feel the passion from the people and the fans, and it’s pretty cool to be in a city like this. It’s one of the greatest cities in the country. It’s a huge sports market. It’s Madison Square Garden. It’s the New York Rangers. There was a lot of things that I loved about being here and part of New York.” 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Despite the stated desire from coach Pete DeBoer to be careful with Matthew Schaefer’s workload, the 19-year-old’s minutes are up by over 90 seconds per game from last season, enough that he’s now fourth in the league at an eye-popping 26:13 per night.

That, however, is not an issue for either Schaefer or the Islanders, albeit for different reasons.

For Schaefer’s part, he simply likes playing, feels his body is fine and is never going to ask for fewer minutes.

And for the Islanders’ part, DeBoer pointed at the breakdown of those minutes — namely, taking Schaefer off the penalty kill this season — as the team’s way of managing him, rather than the raw number.

“I think 26 minutes isn’t necessarily all the same type of minutes,” DeBoer said after the Islanders practiced on Monday at Bridgestone Arena. “If you’re defending all night, if you’re killing penalties, those are different minutes [than] power play and offensive situations, things like that.”

Through Schaefer’s first year and change in the NHL, there’s been little reason to suspect that his workload has had a massive effect on his day-to-day output. He’s yet to experience an extended slump in the NHL, and doesn’t tend to fade late in games, even when the Islanders lean on him heavily.

To the extent there’s a worry, it’s less about the here and now and more that the mileage Schaefer accumulates as a teenager could affect him in the future.

“Obviously sometimes [DeBoer] will check in and be like, make sure you’re resting the body, taking the option you need and things like that,” Schaefer told The Post. “At the end of the day, I think he knows I love to be out there. I’m still young, so try to burn some energy out there. It’s fun.”

The Islanders moved Matias Maccelli (lower body) and Calum Ritchie (lower body) to injured reserve, clearing two roster spots with which they called up Kashawn Aitcheson and Pierre Engvall as paper transactions.

Neither Aitcheson nor Engvall are expected to play or even to join the team, but adding their cap hits allows the Islanders to get closer to the salary cap ceiling and maximize their long-term injury pool, if and when Alexander Romanov is added to LTIR. Paper transactions in the opposite direction — that is, sending a player down on paper to maximize cap accrual — has been legislated out of the NHL, but doing so with a call-up is still allowed.

Moving to IR doesn’t affect the time frame for Maccelli or Ritchie, as both have already missed the required seven days.

Maccelli is expected to begin skating on his own Tuesday.

In 2025–26, the Vancouver Canucks tied their franchise’s third-longest winless streak when they hit 11 consecutive games without a win. This streak began on December 30 when the team suffered a 6–3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, and finally ended after they recorded their first win of the calendar year on January 21 against the Washington Capitals. 

While outside expectations for the Canucks weren’t substantial heading into the 2026–27 season, things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing to start the year. Vancouver is already inching dangerously close to a winless streak like last season’s less than a year after. After registering their 10th consecutive game without a win on Sunday against the Minnesota Wild, the Canucks are only one game away from tying last year’s team for the winless-streak record. 

To specify: an NHL winless streak consists of games that have seen a team not register a win, including overtime or shootout losses. The NHL defines a losing streak as a stretch of games in which a team has not even registered a point — thus negating losses that go past regulation. 

Vancouver’s last win came against the Calgary Flames on October 3 nearly a month ago. The last time they went past regulation was in a 3–2 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on October 15, putting their current losing streak at four.

Towards the start of this winless streak, the Canucks arguably played with enough effort to produce at least one win, though the results didn’t end in their favour. Most of Vancouver’s best efforts have been on a period-by-period basis. 

Any loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday will tie this year’s Canucks team with last year’s (as well as the 1979–80 team) for the third-longest winless streak in club history. The franchise’s longest winless streak is currently held by the 1973–74 team, which went 13 consecutive games without registering a win. 

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The St. Louis Blues have condemned what they called an antisemitic protest during a game last week at Enterprise Center.

Blues chairman and governor Tom Stillman says arena staff and law enforcement removed activists who displayed anti-Israel banners during Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Activists displayed banners, including one reading “Israel Kills” with a crossed-out Star of David surrounded by red markings resembling blood. The banners appeared in at least two locations: rinkside seats and a private box overlooking Sections 111 and 112.

Other signs displayed from the private box read “Free America From Israel” and featured images of the Statue of Liberty.

On Monday, the Blues released a statement from chairman Stillman on X.

“The St. Louis Blues organization — and I personally — condemn antisemitic rhetoric in all forms,” said Stillman. “The vile messages of hate briefly displayed at our game last Thursday were unfortunate and unforgivable, and not remotely representative of our fans or our hometown. Our arena staff and local law enforcement responded immediately to confiscate the prohibited banners and eject the offending individuals. Antisemitism has no place in our community, and we will never allow it in our building.”

The Blues remain on home ice for the next two games, concluding their five-game homestand against the Boston Bruins on Thursday, Oct. 29.

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Blues have condemned what they called an antisemitic protest during a game last week at Enterprise Center.

Signs that read “Israel Kills” and “Free America from Israel” were held by fans in the stands Thursday when the Blues played the Vegas Golden Knights.

In a statement on Monday, Blues owner Tom Stillman called the signs “vile messages of hate” that were “unfortunate and unforgivable.”

Stillman said the fans who held the banners were ejected from the arena.

The 2026 Freedom Convoy, which said it was responsible for the protest, disagreed with Stillman's characterization of the signs.

“Criticizing Israel is in no way, shape or form antisemitic,” the group said in a statement.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

CALGARY — John Chayka offered strong support for head coach Jim Hiller’s management of 18-year-old forward Gavin McKenna’s ice time while also raving about the early-season contributions of Easton Cowan.

Speaking at the club’s morning skate ahead of their game against the Calgary Flames on Monday, Chayka addressed the Leafs’ handling of McKenna, who has seen reduced minutes in certain late-game situations as the coaching staff prioritizes defensive reliability when protecting leads. Chayka described the approach as healthy development rather than a setback.

“I know Jim and the coaching staff loves working with him. I think he’s gotten better pretty much every game. There’s been ups and downs like any player, but a lot of good trends. I think when it comes to protecting a lead, you know, as a coaching staff, trying to win hockey games at the NHL level. And, you know, for all of Gavin’s offensive gifts, again, coming into the league, playing without the puck, when you’re used to having the puck your whole life,  you’d probably guess there’s players on the roster that they get paid to play better defensively.

"For a coaching staff, being on those players more heavily probably makes logical sense. But, you know, as we work through the development process with Gavin, and that’s what it is, I have no doubt that, you know, his time will come, and he’ll continue to build up trust and confidence with the coaches, and I think that’s all really healthy, actually. I think it’s actually the right thing for his development, and candidly, I thought Jim handled it well and continues to build a relationship with Gavin, and I think it’s going to be a really good relationship over a long period of time.”

Hiller came under fire from fans and media when McKenna was benched for half of the second period and the entire third period and overtime of a 5-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 15 where he logged a career-low 6:36.

During Toronto’s current four-game winning streak, McKenna’s ice time has hovered around the 11-minute mark.

Turning to Cowan, Chayka said the young forward has exceeded early expectations and brings the type of complete game the organization values.

“It’s tough to say he hasn’t exceeded expectations. At the same time, he’s a good player. He’s a really good player that impacts the game a lot of different ways. And, yeah, he’s been great. And any time you get young players like that, progressing like that, it gives you a shot in the arm. We saw a lot of these flashes at the American League level. To do what he did at that age was pretty special. But then to go elevate at this level, it’s been nice — found money for sure.”

When asked whether Cowan has become untradeable, Chayka was direct.

“I don’t think any player is untradable, but he’s a good player. He’s everything you’d want at Toronto Maple Leafs. He loves the Leafs, is passionate about it, plays a 200-foot game, does whatever it takes, in the gym, doing extra on the ice. It’d be tough to ever improve on a player like that.”

It’s clear the Leafs are high on Cowan right now, who has fit in well on the first line with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic. Cowan has five goals and seven assists in 13 games.

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It's no secret that the Florida Panthers play physically and walk a fine line in terms of what is legal and illegal on the ice. 

They don't back down from anyone and want their opponents to have a certain level of fear, but are the Panthers pushing it too far?

Through 12 games, the Panthers rank 32nd in the NHL in average penalty minutes with 15.1. The Calgary Flames, who rank 31st in the NHL, average just 12.8 penalty minutes. There is a clear gap.

With a 6-4-2 record and 14 points on the season, the Panthers haven't been overly affected by it, but they're still in sixth place in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers have the sixth-ranked penalty kill in the NHL, killing 84.9 percent of their penalties, but this path is a recipe for disaster. 

So far, the Panthers have played three teams that rank in the top 10 in power-play percentage: the Carolina Hurricanes, San Jose Sharks, and Minnesota Wild. The Panthers lost two of those three games. They defeated the Hurricanes in the season opener without allowing a power-play goal, but they lost 4-3 to the Sharks and gave up a power-play goal, and they allowed one power-play goal in a 4-1 loss to the Wild. 

With the in-your-face approach and personnel the Panthers deploy, they'll never be at the top of the penalty minute rankings, but they could be smarter in how they approach their physical play.

'Arrogance And Softness': Paul Maurice Blasts Panthers Following Second Straight Lopsided DefeatFuming after back-to-back blowouts, Florida's bench boss takes the blame for his team's sudden identity crisis. Now, a looming practice session threatens to shake the resilient roster awake.

Offsetting penalties and fights aren't an issue. If players like Bokondji Imama, Garnet Hathaway, and the Tkachuk brothers rack up penalty minutes through fights, they don't hurt the team. But players like Radko Gudas, Dmitry Kulikov, Niko Mikkola, and Aaron Ekblad have all taken at least four minor penalties. 

That puts the Panthers at a disadvantage too often and puts too much pressure on the penalty kill and goaltending. 

The Panthers have played only two divisional games so far, and in November and December they'll face many Atlantic Division opponents. Those teams will capitalize on their power-play opportunities if the Panthers give it to them. 

This isn't to say the Panthers need to change who they are, but they can definitely play smarter and take fewer penalties. 

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The Detroit Red Wings wrap up their four-game road trip on Monday evening with a clash against the Edmonton Oilers, and it will be a milestone night for goaltender Michal Postava.

Postava, whom the Red Wings recently called up from the AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins because of an injury to Daniil Tarasov, will get his first career NHL start at Rogers Place, as announced by head coach Todd McLellan. 

Per @DetroitRedWings head coach Todd McLellan, Michal Postava will make his first NHL start in net tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. #LGRW

— Jonathan Mills (@JonathanDMillsy) October 26, 2026

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

Before being called up, Postava continued to build on what was a stellar first year in North America in 2025-26, going 4-0 with a strong 1.25 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage.

Last season, Postava, who had been signed as an undrafted free agent, took hold of the starters reins from now-former Red Wings prospect goaltender Sebastian Cossa, finishing with a 17-6 record.

Deadline For Unsigned Red Wings' D Simon Edvinsson Getting Closer By The Day The Detroit Red Wings have until Dec. 1 to sign RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson to a new contract, or to trade him to a club that will sign him; otherwise, he'll not be eligible to play this season.

He also was the starter for Grand Rapids in the Calder Cup Playoffs, posting a 4-4 record with a 2.09 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. 

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Mark Jankowski - Carolina

The Stanley Cup champions have four former Sabres on their roster, including Taylor Hall, who missed the last two weeks with an upper-body injury. Jankowski, who split time between the AHL and NHL in 2021-22 and played 19 games in Buffalo, had his best offensive season in seven years last season with 21 points and has been on fire this season, with six goals in nine games. 

Evan Rodrigues - New Jersey

The 33-year-old played parts of five seasons in Buffalo and has been well-traveled since, with stops in Pittsburgh, Toronto, Colorado, and Florida. He was dealt to the Devils last summer in the deal for goalie Jacob Markstrom and has five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in 11 games.  

Logan Stanley - NY Islanders

The big blueliner was acquired from Winnipeg along with Luke Schenn last March, and had five assists in 25 regular season and playoff games with the Sabres. Stanley remained unsigned until late September, when he hooked on with the Isles on a one-year, $1.5 million deal. In 11 games, he has equaled his offensive output in Buffalo, with five assists.  

Other Sabres Stories

Mrtka Looking To Take The Next Step Towards The NHL  

James Reimer - NY Rangers 

The veteran journeyman played 22 games with the Sabres in 2024-25, and after a stop in Ottawa last season, is joining his ninth club, signing a one-year veteran minimum deal with the Rangers after earning a shutout in Hartford on an AHL deal last week. 

Rasmus Ristolainen - Philadelphia

The former Sabres first-rounder has been oft-injured in recent seasons, but was impressive for Finland at the Milano-Cortina Olympics and down the stretch for the Flyers on their playoff run. This season, after playing three games, the 31-year-old missed three weeks and returned for one game before suffering an upper-body injury that is expected to keep him out for two weeks. 

Alex Tuch - Washington

If you could not see Tuch killing the Sabres in his first meeting with them, then you don’t know hockey. The 30-year-old winger was sent to Washington in a sign-and-trade with the Sabres in June. In the first year of his eight-year deal with the Capitals. Tuch leads the club with seven goals, including a pair in a 4-3 overtime victory over Buffalo on Saturday. 

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Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacob Fowler has been playing excellently for the Original Six club.

Now, Fowler has been rewarded by the NHL because of it.

The NHL has announced that Fowler has been named the league's Third Star of the Week from Oct. 19 to Oct. 25. When looking at how well Fowler played during this past week, it is easy to understand why.

In his two appearances this past week for Montreal, Fowler had a 2-0-0 record, a 1.00 goals-against average, and a .964 save percentage. This included him stopping 20 out of 21 shots against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 23 and saving 33 out of 34 shots against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 25.

Fowler has been very good for the Canadiens this season in general, too. In six appearances this campaign with Montreal, he has a 5-1-0 record, a .924 save percentage, a 1.79 goals-against average, and one shutout.

With this, Fowler is only continuing to impress as he gains more NHL experience. It will be interesting to see if he can stay hot for the Habs from here.

The Chicago Blackhawks brought 8 defensemen to their NHL roster out of training camp. Two of them, Ethan Del Mastro and Kevin Korchinski, have mostly been rotational players if they are needed due to injury or performance.

Bowen Byram has missed the last handful of games with an upper-body injury. For the first few, the head coach tapped Ethan Del Mastro to come into the lineup. However, Kevin Korchinski was used on Sunday against the Florida Panthers. 

Kevin Korchinski, like most of his small sample size in the 2026-26 training camp, preseason, and regular season, played very well against the Panthers. In a lot of ways, he was the best defenseman on the team for 60 minutes. 

NHL Game Score Impact Card for Chicago Blackhawks on 2026-10-25: pic.twitter.com/aEJObmwVrQ

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) October 25, 2026

This is the type of performance that makes you question the point of him sitting out at all. He seems to be one of the six best defensemen in the organization at this time, but he's not treated like it. Even after this game, it doesn't sound like head coach Jeff Blashill was as impressed as one would have thought. Blashill had his compliments for Korchinski, but there was plenty of "coach speak" with critiques as well. 

"I thought he did a lot of good things," Blashill said of Korchinski. "He's going to want the change back, but I thought there were moments where he did good stuff. He's got a habit of drifting back when he's got the puck in the neutral zone. We want him to plant his feet and go North. He played solid. His pair with Rinzel - both of them did a lot of good things. It's unfortunate he had the tough change."

It is hard to tell, based on Blashill's postgame quotes, whether or not Korchinski will get to follow up this game with another. Sure, he had the tough change, but that doesn't change the fact that he was the team's best defender over the course of the 60 minutes. That may be true even if you include the forwards.  

There is no easy way to approach Korchinski's situation, and he knows that. It has been a very up-and-down start to his NHL career, but he certainly has the tools to become an everyday contributor. He is aware that one good game doesn't mean he'll even get to dress in the next. Whether that's fair or not, he has accepted it and will continue to work until he is an everyday player. 

"Every day you have to earn it," Korchinski said about getting to play again after a good showing. "It starts with showing up the next day and proving myself again. The past doesn't matter. You want to be good in the present and help the team win. You have to be good every day. It's a hard league. That's the approach you want to have to be a difference maker and have a long career." 

Korchinski has the right attitude. Everything he said is spot on. However, if he doesn't play against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, the Blackhawks are announcing to the world that his being in the lineup has nothing to do with his prior performance. Would he like the one bad line change back? Sure. But other defensemen have had way worse plays that didn't result in being scratched. 

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Despite their current 10-game losing streak, not all is doom-and-gloom for the Vancouver Canucks organization at the moment. Down in the AHL, the Abbotsford Canucks have won their past five games — and, for the most part, Jacob Quillan has been part of it all.  

Quillan, 24, has had a hot start to his time as part of the AHL Canucks. Previously part of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, the forward joined Abbotsford for their home-opener on October 17 after being moved with forward Brandon Buhr for centre Aatu Räty. Since his first game with Abbotsford, Quillan has registered at least one point in each of his four games. 

Quillan’s most recent outing saw the forward score a hat-trick against the Calgary Wranglers, helping his team along to a 4–2 win. This was Quillan’s second-career AHL hat-trick — his first came in the 2025–26 season against the Belleville Senators — and now brings his season total up to four goals and two assists with Abbotsford.  

“It’s been pretty good — just pretty standard stuff, just getting a feel of the systems and the players, and getting to know the guys and stuff,” Quillan said after the game regarding the move to Abbotsford. 

Notably, Quillan has spent his past two games centering Abbotsford’s top-line, consisting of himself, Kole Lind, and Trey Fix-Wolansky. 2025 first-round draft pick Braeden Cootes previously held the role, but has been absent due to a lower-body injury that is likely to keep him out of his team’s upcoming road trip. 

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The Buffalo Sabres now have to deal with questions about their immediate future and their sluggish start to the 2026-27 season without the possibility of bringing in  goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, as the saga involving the Hart and Vezina Trophy winner and the Winnipeg Jets ended on Friday with the deal to the New Jersey Devils for center Dawson Mercer, goalie Nico Daws, 2026 first rounder Alexander Command, forward Nick Bjugstad, and a pair of draft picks. 

The Sabres were reportedly among the leading contenders for the 33-year-old, going back to last June and the NHL Draft, but they were not alone in their interest. On the most recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, 

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman detailed what the various clubs offered for Hellebuyck, but he admittedly could not specify what Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekalainen was prepared to give up. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was reportedly part of a trade for Hellebuyck before July 1, but once his five-team no-trade clause kicked in, moving him to another club to clear his salary and recoup or obtain some assets likely became a complicating factor.O 

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Another factor that killed any chances of a trade before the draft was the Sabres ask of swapping the fourth overall pick, acquired from Chicago in the Bowen Byram deal; for the Jets eighth overall selection. Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff had targeted Swedish forward Viggo Bjorck at #8, and wanted the fourth overall outright as part of the trade.

Friedman mentioned Sabres center Josh Norris, but he had heard that the Jets were concerned about his injury history. Ryan McLeod was the subject of some

speculation as being part of the deal, but was not a name that Friedman had heard. He also assumed with it well known that Winnipeg was looking for young centers or young retainable forwards that they would have asked about Noah Ostlund, Konsta Helenius or Jack Quinn. 

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