The St. Louis Blues and Springfield Thunderbirds announced they have released forward Milan Lucic from his AHL professional tryout (PTO).

Lucic signed a PTO with the Blues in training camp and recorded two points in four pre-season games before suffering an injury.

The 37-year-old joined the Thunderbirds on another PTO and recorded one assist in five AHL games before

Originally a second round selection of the Boston Bruins in 2006, Lucic has 233 goals and 586 points in 1177games. He won the 2011 Stanley Cup with the Bruins and the gold medal at the 2023 World Championship with Team Canada.

Milan Lucic has been released from his AHL tryout with the @ThunderbirdsAHL. https://t.co/nsE9LH4qGS#stlblues

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 25, 2025

He last played in the NHL in Oct. 2023 before taking an indefinite leave to enter the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Lucic was arrested in Nov. 2023 and had a domestic violence charge dropped in Feb. 2024.

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It appears as though the Vancouver Canucks are in the initial stages of preparing to sell off assets as they've slogged through yet another subpar start to their season, and the Detroit Red Wings could be in prime position to right a wrong from 2018. 

As you may recall, the Red Wings selected forward Filip Zadina with the sixth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. The Canucks followed by selecting Hughes, who was bred in the nearby suburb of Ann Arbor by playing for the University of Michigan Wolverines.

As a freshman, he set a school record with 24 assists, the most ever by a first-year defenseman, and earned selections on both the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and the All-Big Ten Second Team.

Hughes also played for the U.S. National Team Development Program, based in Plymouth. 

While Detroit's selection of Zadina seemed like a steal at the time, both players could not have gone in more opposite directions during their respective NHL careers. 

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

Zadina never panned out as expected and ultimately finished his time with the Red Wings having scored just 28 goals in 190 games. He played a lone season with the San Jose Sharks in 2023-24, scoring 13 goals in 72 games before returning overseas, where he now plays in Switzerland with Davos HC. 

Meanwhile, Hughes has blossomed into not only the best defenseman in Canucks history, but also one of the most talented blue liners in recent NHL memory. He has already become the franchise’s all-time leader in both assists and total points by a defenseman, and set a new NHL record for a defenseman by reaching 300 career assists in just 376 games.

Most points by a defenceman, #Canucks history

Quinn Hughes 410
Alex Edler 409
Mattias Ohlund 325 pic.twitter.com/eRhlv3Jsji

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) October 12, 2025

He also won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman in 2024. 

Hughes, who is under contract for one more season at a reasonable $7.85 million cap hit, was linked to the Red Wings amid the uncertainty facing the Canucks. The speculation came from Insider Tyler Yaremchuk during a Daily Faceoff Live segment with fellow Insider and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton.

Yaremchuk said the following: 

"If you were to go get Quinn Hughes in the middle of this season, maybe a team like Detroit would be willing to pay a lot for him, going, 'You know what? We're going to be ablde to get him in our organization for a year and a half. Even if he walks at the end of it, we get two playoff runs out of him, or we have 18 months to convince this guy to stay and show we're serious about contending.'" 

It’s open for business in Vancouver, as the Canucks have announced they’ll be listening to offers on several veterans.

While they aren’t looking to move Quinn Hughes at the moment, is it more a question of when than if they move on from their captain?

Daily Faceoff Live -… pic.twitter.com/1IYHNv4tGW

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) November 25, 2025

The Red Wings, who have not played beyond the 82nd game of the regular season since 2016, would benefit significantly from Hughes’ presence on their blue line. His ties to the metro-Detroit area could make a potential move appealing to him, and his addition could provide the substantial boost needed to push the club over the top in its pursuit of a playoff berth.

Detroit also has ample salary-cap space to facilitate not only a trade for Hughes, but also a contract extension for him ahead of the 2027-28 season. That, combined with the expected rise in the salary cap and several contracts set to come off Detroit’s books by then, makes the scenario all the more feasible. 

However, it would be contingent on what kind of package the Canucks would request in return, which could potentially include rookie defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka. 

While Sandin-Pellikka has the potential to become a top-pairing defenseman later in his career, Hughes has already established himself as one of the best players at the position in the NHL today.

The Red Wings are likely keeping close tabs on the situation in Vancouver, and acquiring Hughes would be the crown jewel of GM Steve Yzerman’s NHL player-acquisition repertoire.

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DOVE VALLEY — As The Hockey News reported on Sunday, Joel Kiviranta appeared to be progressing well from his lower-body injury. Well, that’s because he has.

Coach Jared Bednar confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that Kiviranta is ready to go and will return to action Wednesday night when the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche take on the San Jose Sharks at Ball Arena.

I reckon Kivi should be good to go by the next home stand.#goavsgo#avs@TheHockeyNewspic.twitter.com/3h8zYjZ7AF

— Ryan O'Hara (@OHaraSports) November 23, 2025

One of the Avalanche’s three remaining injured forwards was on the ice at Tuesday’s practice. Valeri Nichushkin skated ahead of the group in a red non-contact sweater, working through skill drills before staying out for the start of the session. He looked sharper than he has in recent appearances, though there were still moments where he appeared hesitant to put full weight on his lower body. However, Bednar said he is progressing.

Gavin Brindley/Logan O’Connor

As The Hockey News noted on Sunday, Gavin Brindley joined the injured-skate session alongside Kiviranta but did not participate. Wearing tennis shoes, he stepped onto the ice briefly to work through light stickhandling and a few casual shots, offering encouragement to Kiviranta before heading back to the locker room. It was a welcome show of support from the rookie, but Brindley remains far from a return to game action.

“Still ways away. No update,” Bednar said when asked about Brindley.

The 21-year-old has recorded four goals and three assists in 18 games for the Avalanche this season. He suffered his lower-body injury in the first period of Colorado’s 6-3 win over the New York Rangers on November 20. 

The 21-year-old has posted four goals and three assists through 18 games for the Avalanche this season. He sustained the lower-body injury in the first period of Colorado’s 6–3 win over the New York Rangers on November 20.

Logan O’Connor underwent a second hip surgery in the offseason and was on track for an early November return, but recently suffered a setback and has not been on the ice lately. Like Brindley, O’Connor won’t be back for some period of time. 

Sharks vs. Avalanche 

With Kiviranta returning, the Avalanche will require only one call-up for Wednesday’s game. Tristen Nielsen and Jason Polin both dressed over the weekend, so that could potentially mean another start for Taylor Makar, who has already made three NHL starts this season, but has played well.

Kiviranta is expected to slot into one of the wing positions on the fourth line alongside rookie center Zakhar Bardakov. Meanwhile, Parker Kelly has been elevated to the third line with center Jack Drury and winger Victor Olofsson. This move was made to fill Landeskog’s spot as he was forced to move to the second line to fill in for Brindley, who was initially elevated from the fourth line to the second to replace Nichushkin. With both men hurt, it’s been the hockey edition of musical chairs.

The Avalanche (16-1-5) take on the Sharks (11-9-3) Wednesday night at Ball Arena. Coverage kicks off at 7 p.m. local time. 

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

The Buffalo Sabres have won four of their past five games, and they’re finally out of the Atlantic Division basements. And by the sounds of it, the Sabres are going to get some more good news, as veteran center Josh Norris is nearing a return to action after missing every Sabres game since being injured in Buffalo’s first game of the season, missing the next 21 games.

But let’s be real here – given Norris’ unfortunate history of injuries, you can’t rely on Norris until such time as he proves he can stay healthy for long stretches of time. And even then, considering that Norris has only played as many as 66 games just one time in his NHL career, there are going to be skeptics he can do that. (And he won’t do that this season.)

“It’s never easy being out, and there’s only so much you can control,” Norris told media Tuesday. “You just come to the rink every day and do the things you can do, and stay on top of things that come up and just be a pro. Unfortunately, I’ve been on the wrong side of it for a little bit now, so that’s really frustrating personally.”

If it’s frustrating being Norris right now, imagine how tough it is for Sabres fans right now. They’ve been hopeful the moves Sabres GM Kevyn Adams were going to pan out, but the final judgement has yet to be made on the Norris trade that sent Dylan Cozens to the Ottawa Senators. Cozens is thriving as a Senator, with eight goals and 16 points in 22 games. 

Despite Sabres' Surge, Buffalo Faces Long Road Back To RelevancyThe Buffalo Sabres' playoff drought looks like it will extend for another year. But Sabres fans want more from the team than that. No more promises. Every game now dictates their fight for survival.

Norris is always going to be measured against Cozens, and at the moment, and while things can change, as it stands right now, you’d have to say that Ottawa is the winner of that trade.

That said, if Buffalo does get Norris back this coming weekend, the Sabres are clearly going to be a better team. Buffalo’s strength down the middle wasn’t great even with Norris in the lineup, but without him, the Sabres’ lack of depth at center was exposed. And there was no way Adams was going to be able to acquire a proven pivot of a high-end caliber. 

Sabres Win Again, But Buffalo Fans Need To See Many More Wins Before Getting ExcitedThe Buffalo Sabres' recent win streak is a spark, but a long, tough schedule demands sustained excellence to truly ignite their playoff hopes.

We should remember that Norris has played exactly four games with the Sabres. With expectations that are managed for him, he can be an effective player for Buffalo. But the durability question is always going to linger for Norris, and the Sabres desperately need him to be a difference-maker and needle-mover – and above all else, to stay in the lineup. 

If he can do that, all this waiting around for Norris will be worth it.

As he sprints down the corridor of the American Airlines Center’s bowels, Beckett Sennecke’s ball cap flies off his head. The 19-year-old curses softly under his breath as he bends down to pick up his headwear. Upon resuming his course, he realizes that his guide to the team bus, teammate Nikita Nesterenko, has deserted him. Fortunately, the Ducks' broadcast crew is just around the corner to help lead young Sennecke to his destination.

It’s far from the first rookie moment that Sennecke has had this season as he continues to navigate the NHL, both on and off the ice. On the ice, he’s taken the league by storm, currently second in the NHL in rookie scoring and tied for first in rookie goalscoring.

Off the ice, he’s now living on his own in a house, which is habitually visited by housemate Sam Colangelo, who is currently in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls. Sennecke doesn’t have a car just yet (it’s on the way), so he has a rotation of teammates whom he plays passenger princess for when he needs a ride to practices or games.

Sennecke is the youngest player on the Ducks, but he’s accompanied by a cohort of teammates in the same age range as him. He began the season on a line with 21-year-old Cutter Gauthier and 22-year-old Mason McTavish, and has since been shifted to a line with Gauthier and 20-year-old Leo Carlsson. Sennecke is rooming with Carlsson on road trips.

“It’s good, can’t complain,” Sennecke said. “He doesn’t snore.”

“It’s been fun,” Carlsson said. “Great guy. Kind of similar, but (also) not really. It works out fine. He doesn’t disturb me at all, I don’t disturb him. But we talk a lot, too, so it’s been good.”

Carlsson said that the two of them don’t talk about hockey very much in their room and Sennecke couldn’t contain his laughter when asked about what they talk about instead.

“We’re young,” Sennecke said. “Typical kid stuff, I guess. Sports. Not too much about hockey, honestly.”

Though Sennecke isn’t yet old enough to legally drink in the country that he plays in, he’s been playing a grown man’s game. A somewhat unimpressive rookie faceoff showing, followed by a vanilla performance in preseason, posed the question of whether Sennecke was ready for full-time NHL duty. But he quickly silenced those doubts with a goal in his NHL debut and a multi-point outing in his second game.

“He did a lot of good things out there today,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said following Sennecke’s debut. “I think he had the puck a lot. Strong in the puck areas and sustained some possession. I still think there’s some good things that he’s going to bring to our team game. We can use him in a lot of different ways and different areas as the game progresses. It was a good start for him.”

There’s been growing pains, for sure. Every so often, Sennecke will try a move that works in juniors, but gets snuffed out in the NHL. Take his turnover against the Dallas Stars, which led to a goal against. At the end of a shift, Sennecke attempted to dangle his way past defenseman Miro Heiskanen instead of getting the puck deep. Heiskanen swatted the puck away with ease, with Tyler Seguin eventually receiving an outlet pass and scoring to give the Stars a 3-2 lead.

Sennecke missed a few shifts and was even demoted to the third line briefly, but he was returned to his usual line later in the game, helping set up two goals in a 7-5 win.

“Draws the power play, makes a huge play on that power play,” Chris Kreider said after that game. “Apologized to the group, and then went out and got one for us. Instrumental in getting one for us. That’s super mature of him. 
Kudos to him for doing that, that was awesome to see.”

“I know that that's kind of a tough play to make, especially in that time in the game,” Sennecke said. “(The coaching staff) basically told me that ‘We know that you know.’ Missed a couple of shifts there. I'm glad I had their trust to put me back out there in the third.”

The flip side of Sennecke attempting moves that may cause Quenneville to pull out his remaining hair is that when those moves do pop, they have helped set up optimal scoring chances. A neat series of dekes to avoid pressure from both Brett Howden and Shea Theodore during Saturday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights almost led to the overtime winner.

Sennecke with an absolutely ridiculous move outnumbered at the blue line. Couldn’t finish the sequence, but what a play. #FlyTogetherpic.twitter.com/VqictCif04

— Aren Dakessian (@agdakessian) November 23, 2025

Sennecke has also been a forechecking force and is improving his work around the boards. Areas where he was often dumped to the ice or shoved aside without much pushback are becoming spots where he is muscling off defenders and sticking with plays.

“I think that his overall game is getting more consistent as far as how we play in our own end,” Quenneville said. “Positionally aware, how you use your stick, how you get in shooting lanes. The offensive side of things, he’s got it, so get out of the way and let him go.”

The Ducks’ overtime win on Nov. 17 was capped off by Sennecke freezing all three Utah Mammoth skaters—and goaltender Karel Vejmelka—before sliding a pass to a wide-open Olen Zellweger for the game-winning tally.

“That was great patience on that play, great play recognition,” Quenneville said. “He had the goalie coming out, two guys coming at him down the barrel. He sees the play, you’re sitting there just looking at the goalie and you’re thinking, ‘I’ve got to shoot this thing.’ Then, he has the presence of mind of making a beautiful pass, and (it) ended in a nice play.”

“(He has) a ton of skill,” Kreider said. “Speed, confidence, desire to make plays. Desire to get better and have an impact. Off the ice, pretty goofy kid, fun to be around. 
Enjoys coming to the rink. He definitely brings a lot of energy.”

“I think he's just getting better and better,” Frank Vatrano said. “Playing in this league at 19 is no easy task, and I know he's got the swagger and the confidence to do it. For him, just keep growing and just keep taking it day by day. You can't look too far. 
There’s going to be ups and downs throughout the season, but now we’ve got a good group in here and we're here to help the young guys out in any possible way.”

While there were expectations that Sennecke could be on a load management plan this season, similar to what Carlsson went through during his rookie season, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek revealed on Ducks Stream that Sennecke’s testing was more advanced than expected and that his ‘modified’ load management plan setup does not force him to miss any games.

“He’ll tell us how that's all going to play out,” Quenneville said. He’s a big kid, he's a strong kid. 
We'll see how he handles it. I don't know how much ice time on a game-to-game basis, I'd say he's gonna be (at) the numbers he's playing at right now. I think we're probably playing our top guys offensively a little bit more in those games. 
Every game's different, but I don't expect him (to be) playing close to 19 minutes on a game-to-game basis. But, we'll see. He'll tell us.”

“You can kind of watch, especially what the older more experienced guys do out there,” Sennecke said regarding taking care of his body during a compact schedule with plenty of travel. “You can pick up little things by just watching.”

“The travel's long, being in a hotel so much. 
It's kind of something that you're not quite used to, because most times in the OHL, you bus back the day of. But, they’re nice hotels, it's not too tough.”

Several Ducks veterans were queried about which players they learned from when they were first coming into the league, like Sennecke now. Names like Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Sami Salo, Ryan McDonagh, Brad Richards, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chára were produced.

While perhaps there isn’t a veteran with that caliber of resumé on the team, there are still plenty of valuable resources that Sennecke can pull from on this Ducks team. There’s also a wealth of knowledge on the coaching staff, which contains three former head coaches behind Quenneville himself. 

After every Ducks home goal, their goal song, ‘Coming For You’ by The Offspring, blares from the Honda Center speakers. It’s then followed by a goal song personally chosen by the player who scored. When Sennecke scored on Nov. 2 against the New Jersey Devils, Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Manchild’ emitted. This wasn’t Sennecke’s doing. He hadn’t even chosen a goal song. But now it’s his, and it perfectly encapsulates the Gumby-esque teenager with the voice that sounds like it’s been modulated.

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