Roebuck and Steward injuries likely to trigger major England reshuffle against Fiji

  • Smith, Arundell and Lawrence in frame to start

  • Borthwick faces dilemmas to backline selection

Injuries to Tom Roebuck and Freddie Steward look likely to trigger an eye-catching reshuffle in England’s backline for the Test against Fiji on Saturday. Marcus Smith, Henry Arundell and Ollie Lawrence are all in contention to be involved, with Manny Feyi-Waboso potentially the solitary starting back-three survivor from the win against Australia on last Saturday.

The head coach, Steve Borthwick, had been hoping to announce his starting XV early this week only for that plan to be mothballed when Roebuck limped out of training prematurely on Tuesday with an ankle problem. Steward has not trained so far this week after sustaining a finger injury late in the win against the Wallabies, opening the way for Smith to replace him at full-back.

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Dvorsky's Goal Highlights What's Been A Strong Start To His Blues Career

In a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers that snapped a seven-game losing streak, rookie Dalibor Dvorsky scored his first NHL goal.

With the Blues trailing the Oilers 2-0 in the second period and possibly on the verge of losing an eighth consecutive game, their top prospect and 2023 10th overall pick stepped up to shift the momentum. 

The Blues were looking for Dvorsky to show off his excellent shot, and finally, after patience from Robert Thomas and Justin Faulk, Dvorsky got the puck in his wheelhouse and ripped it into the top of the Oilers' net

“Obviously, it was awesome,” Dvorsky said. “Nothing else to say. Great pass from Faulk there. Just tried to shoot it, and I'm happy it went in.

The goal came in Dvorsky's third game of the season, and due to his play, the goal always felt near. Whether he was paired with Jordan Kyrou and Mathieu Joseph or Dylan Holloway and Oskar Sundqvist, the 20-year-old was continuously finding ways to affect the game at both ends of the ice. 

Despite his time dropping a bit each game this season, coach Jim Montgomery has given Dvorsky opportunities elsewhere, as he did last night by placing him on the flank of the top power play unit. The move clearly paid off.

Dalibor Dvorsky and Robert Thomas (Jeff Curry-Imagn Images)

Although the goal is the main talking point and will probably be the main reason he gets another game in the NHL, Dvorsky's overall effect on the game has been very positive, especially at 5-on-5. 

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Blues own 67.14 percent of the expected goals with Dvorsky on the ice, 57.14 percent of the high-danger chances (4-3), and have a Corsi For percentage of 61.40 percent. Although the sample size is small, those stats are among the best on the Blues. 

What adds to the intrigue or makes the stats more impressive is that he is doing it while playing center. The Zvolen, SVK, native is a natural center who claims he feels more comfortable playing down the middle. Center is a difficult position to play in the NHL, but so far, Dvorsky has shown he's up for the task and is excelling. 

Dvorsky hasn't locked down his role in the NHL quite yet, but if he continues to perform at this level, Montgomery will be pleased to write Dvorsky's name into the lineup each and every night.

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Observations from Blues' 3-2 Win Vs. OilersObservations from Blues' 3-2 Win Vs. OilersDvorsky's first NHL goal fuels comeback; Thomas return was crucial; right place, right time for Suter game-winner; Broberg's challenge to take on McDavid keys to breaking seven-game losing skid for St. Louis

Canucks To Terminate Contract Of Former First-Round Pick Vitali Kravtsov

Only a couple of months after signing a new deal that could help him return to the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks have put forward Vitali Kravtsov on unconditional waivers with the intent to terminate his contract. Kravtsov was brought back to the Canucks organization in hopes of bringing some middle-six offensive depth to the team, though the forward was unable to crack the lineup out of training camp and has only played with the Abbotsford Canucks this season. 

Kravtsov is a former first-round pick, selected ninth-overall by the New York Rangers in 2018. He was traded to Vancouver back in 2023, playing in 16 games and putting up a goal and an assist. After his contract expired that year, he returned to the KHL where he spent the next two seasons with Traktor Chelyabinsk. 

Kravtsov’s 2024–25 season was fruitful offensively speaking, as he scored 27 goals and 31 assists in 66 games, leading the Canucks to take one more shot with the forward by signing him during the 2025 off-season. He participated in Vancouver’s training camp this season, skating in a couple of pre-season games, but ultimately didn’t make the impact that the Canucks had hoped he would and was sent down to the AHL. Kravtsov had a goal and three assists in 10 games played with Abbotsford this year. 

Sep 26, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Vitali Kravtsov (92) skates against the Seattle Kraken in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

The Canucks conduct this move with both their NHL and AHL clubs suffering from depleted lineups. With Vancouver still missing Conor Garland, Teddy Blueger, Filip Chytil, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Nils Höglander, Victor Mancini, and Derek Forbort, the team has needed to pull from an Abbotsford lineup still missing players like Jett Woo, Guillaume Brisebois, and Nikita Tolopilo. With Kravtsov’s contract terminated, the AHL Canucks will look to fill yet another spot in their lineup. 

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.

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NHL's Eastern Conference Has Incredible Historic Parity

It might be hard to believe, but November is already here. With this, the first month of the NHL season has officially passed.

Normally, at this point in the season, fans are starting to get a clearer idea of which teams are likely to make or miss the playoffs. However, this is certainly not the case in the Eastern Conference right now.

Every team in the Eastern Conference currently has a points percentage of .500 or better. That has never happened by Nov. 4 in the history of NHL conferences, which were established in the 1974-75 season.

Even the Philadelphia Flyers, which are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, have a 6-5-1 record and .542 points percentage.

The Boston Bruins once had a 3-6-0 record after losing six straight games in regulation. Yet, they have now improved to a 7-7-0 record after winning each of their last three games. Going by points percentage, they're last in the East at .500.

The Tampa Bay Lightning also struggled out of the gate, but they have turned things around. After starting the campaign 1-4-2, the Bolts are now 6-4-2 after winning five straight. 

And the Pittsburgh Penguins, which many expected to be among the NHL's worst clubs, have instead been one of the league's top teams early on. They have an 8-4-2 record and are second in the Metropolitan Division standings. 

Every Eastern Conference team having a .500 points percentage or better has also led to the standings being very close early on.

The Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Lightning, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators and Bruins each have 14 points.

Meanwhile, the New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Flyers round out the Eastern Conference standings with 13 points each.

At the top of the conference, the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Detroit Red Wings and Penguins have 18 points each. The Habs have played only 12 games and have a .750 points percentage, while New Jersey and Detroit have played 13, and Pittsburgh has played 14.

Five points separate first and last in the East, so things are incredibly packed, and one hot or cold streak can completely change a team's position in the standings.

On Nov. 4, 2024, the Penguins, Islanders, Sabres, Canadiens and Flyers all had points percentages below .500. The year before that, the Flyers, Blue Jackets, Pens and Senators were in that category.

The Western Conference, meanwhile, does not have the same parity.

The Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets lead the way with 19 and 18 points, respectively. While the East has six teams with a points percentage of more than .600, the West has seven. And five squads sit below .500: the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames.

With all of this, there is no question that parity in the Eastern Conference is incredibly high right now. While things will almost certainly change on that front, fans are being treated to some exciting, very competitive hockey early on.


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Kings reportedly to sign veteran big man Precious Achiuwa for frontline depth

Sacramento has an All-Star level center starting in Domantas Sabonis, but when he goes to the bench coach Doug Christie has had to turn to 6'9" Drew Eubanks, who is undersized for the role.

Enter veteran big man Precious Achiuwa, who the Kings are about to sign, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and since confirmed by other Kings writers (Jake Fischer was first in reporting Sacramento’s interest on Monday).

Achiuwa has played for Miami, Toronto and New York in his five NBA seasons, averaging 7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds a night. He is also undersized at 6'8" but plays bigger than that. He was in training camp with the Heat this season, but was never expected to make their already full roster.

The Kings are expected to waive little-used big man Isaac Jones to create the roster spot for Achiuwa, Charania reports.

Sacramento is off to a 2-4 start this season, ranked in the bottom 10 in the league in both offense and defense.

Kevin Durant claps back at Draymond Green for Warriors offense vs. defense claim

Kevin Durant claps back at Draymond Green for Warriors offense vs. defense claim originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

“Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships,” legendary football coach Bear Bryant famously said.

Enter Kevin Durant. 

Durant, on Netflix’s “Starting 5” series, argued offense wins championships.  

“You have to score baskets if you want to win a championship,” Durant said. “Playing defense, we can get any one of y’all in here to bend your legs, not touch the basketball, slide left and right, and contest the shot. That’s easy. But when we’re talking about winning at a high level against the best of the best, you cannot just do that and win a basketball game.” 

Enter Draymond Green. 

In an interview with The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Green was asked about Durant’s view on defense. 

Amick: …Then you have the messaging from some of your peers, like when Kevin [Durant] shares his views about defense and how, in essence, he thinks anybody can do it. 

Green: I think when you look at any team that won a championship, they had a great defense. And if you look at most teams that couldn’t quite get over the hump, oftentimes it’s [because] they couldn’t get stops. That fact still remains, and I think that those who don’t believe it, don’t win. It’s very simple. Those who don’t believe defense is as valuable as it is, they simply just don’t win. I don’t think anyone’s ever really been hell-bent on caring about the opinion of those that don’t win, because your opinion equals zero. 

Amick: So I hear you, but Kevin has won. 

Green: He won here, [and] the defense here was… 

Amick: It was incredible. 

Green: Absolutely.

Durant, responding to the quote from Green’s interview on X, clapped back with a follow-up question. 

The offense also was incredible in the back-to-back championship seasons with Durant on the team. The Warriors led the NBA in offensive rating each of the three seasons he played with Golden State from 2016-17 to 2018-19. 

But, the 2016-17 team was a defensive juggernaut as well. Their 101.1 defensive rating that season was second-best in the league. Coupled with their league-leading 113.2 offensive rating, they ended the season with a whopping 12.1 net rating.  

It’s the second-best net rating since the statistic was calculated starting in the 1996-97 season, only outdone by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship team this past season (12.6).  

OK, so maybe both offense and defense, together, win championships?  

Green, later in his interview with Amick, noted that he and Durant have different opinions on basketball, and that offense is also highly important in his own play. 

“But me and ‘K’ have had a million basketball conversations. So again, I know how he thinks about the game of basketball. His opinion didn’t surprise me one bit,” Green said. “But like I said, I also don’t view myself as a guy who just defends. I’m great at that — absolutely phenomenal at that — but I know that’s not all I do. Like, I’ll f— your offense and your defense up, and make your coaching staff have to go ponder, like, ‘Huh, how do we figure that out?’” 

So, perhaps the question of “offense vs. defense” is a bit more nuanced. 

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Andre Burakovsky Scores In His Return To Seattle But Kraken Defeat Blackhawks 3-1

After Saturday's loss to the New York Rangers, the Seattle Kraken were in desperate need of a bounce-back performance.

The result against the Rangers wasn't bad; picking up a point in any game is vital, but the process of getting the point was poor. They were thoroughly outplayed and were almost no threat offensively outside of the two goals they scored. 

Against the Chicago Blackhawks, they were able to flip the script.

The Blackhawks threatened more frequently than the Kraken did, but the Kraken took their chances well and beat the Blackhawks 3-1.

The final shot total was 30-24 in favor of the Blackhawks, but despite holding a two-goal lead in the third period, the Kraken outshot the Blackhawks 9-6. The Blackhawks had the advantage in high-danger chances at 5-on-5 (14-12) and the expected goals (3.16-1.78) according to Natural Stat Trick. Still, an outstanding performance from Joey Daccord and timely goals were enough.

Jamie Oleksiak started the scoring in the second period with a seeing-eye shot from the point. Berkly Catton was centimetres away from deflecting in his first NHL goal. Matty Beniers would add to the lead on the power play about five minutes later, scoring his second goal of the season.

About halfway through the third period, former Kraken winger Andre Burakovsky scored his fifth goal of the season to cut the lead in half. Burakovsky was ravaged by injuries during his time in Seattle, and it played a big part in why the Kraken felt the need to deal him away in the off-season. With five goals and 10 points in 12 games playing alongside Connor Bedard, the move has seemingly paid off for both sides.

The Blackhawks' attempt at a comeback was stymied by captain Jordan Eberle's fifth goal of the season.

With the two points, the Kraken have sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division, but the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights have a chance to regain their claim tonight as both teams are in action.

The Kraken are back in action on Wednesday when they host the San Jose Sharks in the final contest of their current five-game homestand. 

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The Toronto Maple Leafs Came Back From The Dead: 'It Shows How Good We Can Be'

TORONTO - If you want to win a hockey game in the NHL, you gotta play all 60 minutes. Or, in the case of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night, a good 20 will do.

The Leafs came back from the dead against the high-flying Pittsburgh Penguins for an improbable 4-3 victory after being down 3-0 after two periods of lifeless hockey that saw them being outshot 25-8.

A pessimist would say the game was a symptom of a flawed Toronto team that just isn't the same since Mitch Marner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights over the summer. An optimist might say the Leafs found themselves in that third period.

"It shows how good we can be," said right winger Bobby McMann, who scored the game-winning goal. "That third period is how we need to play all the time. We need to be smart with our puck decisions, continue to work hard and with speed, be competitive and hungry."

Outside of McMann, Toronto's other goals came from their superstars: Auston Matthews got the comeback started, while William Nylander notched the next two to stun the Penguins, which had been sailing along through 40 minutes.

Nylander had returned to the lineup after a brief injury, and his presence was obvious.

"He's a gamer," McMann said. "He knows how to play in those big moments and contribute and he did just that tonight."

Just as impressive was Matthews' performance. Not only did he help offensively, but he was a demon on the PK during a crucial kill in the third period, one which could have turned the tide back in favor of Pittsburgh. Matthews was tenacious on the puck-carrier and used his big frame to bully Pittsburgh's point man out of the zone to relieve pressure.

"He's blocking shots, snapping draws back, getting his stick in lanes and disrupting plays," said goalie Anthony Stolarz. "For him to lead by example is huge for us."

Penguins' Ben Kindel Is Playing His Way Off The Canadian World Junior TeamPenguins' Ben Kindel Is Playing His Way Off The Canadian World Junior TeamPittsburgh Penguins rookie Ben Kindel continues to strengthen his case to stick around in the NHL, which could be bad news for Canada's world junior squad.

So what happened between the second and third period? How did the Leafs turn things around so dramatically?

"Just energy, passion and emotion," Matthews said. "The first two periods weren't pretty, we couldn't really get much going on either side of the puck. The message for the third period was 'Go work, get one goal and see what happens.' I'm proud of the way we fought back, but obviously you don't want to put yourself in that position to begin with, so that's something we want to clean up right away."

That second intermission also featured players and coach Craig Berube voicing displeasure regarding what had occurred to that point.

" 'Chief' came in and said a few things - you can use your imagination on that," Stolarz said. "We're big boys, we knew that wasn't our game."

So now the Maple Leafs find themselves top-three in the Atlantic Division after a scuffling start to the campaign.

Will they take the lessons they learned in the Pittsburgh win and build off them? That would certainly go a long way in helping this particular Toronto squad establish an identity.

There's a lot of hockey to be played, but if the Leafs have begun to figure out who they are and what will make this cast successful, they'll be playing more than just regular-season games once again.


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Mets' Frankie Montas exercises $17 million player option for 2026

Right-hander Frankie Montas has exercised his $17 million player option to remain with the Mets for the 2026 season.

Montas underwent elbow surgery in September and is expected to miss the entire 2026 season, though his $17 million salary will count against the Mets' payroll number for CBT threshold purposes.

Signed by the Mets last offseason to bolster the starting rotation, Montas had a disastrous first season in Queens. After a lat strain delayed his season debut until June 24, Montas struggled mightily. In seven starts, Montas pitched to a 6.68 ERA while allowing seven home runs. He then lost his spot in the rotation and made two relief appearances before he was shut down with what the team called a significant elbow injury.

In all, Montas made nine appearances with the Mets in 2025, pitching to a 6.28 ERA with a 1.603 WHIP.

Montas exercising his option was one of a handful of Mets roster moves announced on Tuesday morning. 

Mets acquire reliever Joey Gerber from Rays

The Mets have acquired right-handed reliever Joey Gerber from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Gerber, 28, has a 3.60 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 10 strikeouts in 20.0 innings in two big league seasons.

He appeared in 17 games for the Mariners in 2020, and did not pitch in the majors again until 2025, when he tossed 4.1 innings over two games for the Rays.

In 153.0 innings across five minor league seasons, Gerber has a 3.47 ERA and 1.28 WHIP with 12.2 strikeouts per nine. 

The Mets have lots of work to do this offseason when it comes to putting the bullpen together.

Aside from A.J. Minter (who exercised his player option for 2026 on Monday) and Brooks Raley (whose club option for 2026 was picked up on Tuesday) there are no 2025 bullpen members who are a lock to be back.

Edwin Diaz opted out of his contract on Monday to become a free agentthough it stands to reason that the Mets will make a strong push to re-sign him.

Trade deadline acquisitions Ryan HelsleyTyler Rogers, and Gregory Soto are all free agents.

Members of the Mets' 40-man roster who could be relief options next season include Huascar Brazoban (who is arbitration-eligible), Jonathan Pintaro, and Dylan Ross.

Reed Garrett, who has been a mainstay the last two seasons, is expected to miss the entire 2026 season due to Tommy John surgery.

Former Blackhawks Forward Shining With New Team

Pius Suter (© James Guillory-Imagn Images)

Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Pius Suter had a career year with the Vancouver Canucks in 2024-25. In 81 games with the Canucks this past season, he set new career highs with 25 goals, 21 assists, and 46 points in 81 games.

Due to his strong season, Suter landed a nice two-year, $8.25 million contract with the St. Louis Blues in free agency this summer. So far, he is off to a good start with his new club. 

In 13 games so far this season with the Blues, Suter has recorded five goals, three assists, eight points, and a plus-2 rating. He also has been heating up as the season rolls on, as he has two goals and four points over his last four games. This included him scoring the game-winning goal for the Blues in their most recent matchup against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 3.

With all of this, Suter is certainly making an impact during the early days of his Blues tenure. This is especially so when noting that he is currently on a 31-goal and 50-point pace. 

Suter kicked off his NHL career with the Blackhawks during the 2020-21 season. In 55 games that campaign for Chicago, he recorded 14 goals, 13 assists, and 27 points. This would be his lone season with the Blackhawks, as he signed with the Detroit Red Wings during the 2021 NHL off-season. 

Fantasy Basketball Stock Up Stock Down: Jonathan Kuminga taking a leap to begin fifth season

Welcome back to “Stock Up Stock Down.” Now into November, we’ve got a still-small, but larger sample size of games to react to with Week 2 officially in the books. There have been some pleasant surprises, and also more than a few worrisome trends that are worth discussing.

Let’s talk about them.

NBA: Golden State Warriors at Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee has found its answer at point guard, and Rollins is a must-add after a monstrously productive week.

Watch the NBA Coast 2 Coast Tuesday on NBC and Peacock:The Magic take on the Hawks at 8pm ET, followed by the undefeated Thunder at the Clippers at 11 pm ET. Both games are available on Peacock. Check your local listings for the NBC game in your area.

STOCK UP

Ryan Rollins, PG, Bucks

Ryan Rollins is one of the hottest names in the NBA, and deservingly so. In his six starts following the Kevin Porter Jr. opening-night injury, he’s scored in double figures each time, including two games with 25 or more points. He’s also tallied at least seven assists in four of the starts, while draining 11 three-pointers over the past four games. Porter Jr.’s Game 1 ankle injury preceded a recent knee injury suffered during a team workout that led to surgery and will sideline him for around another month. Rollins will keep his spot in the lineup for at least the time being, which could make him one of the trendier roster additions in fantasy leagues.

Jonathan Kuminga, SF, PF, Warriors

While we've only reached November, about two weeks of basketball is enough for me to feel confident that this version of Jonathan Kuminga the Warriors are currently getting is not a fluke. The three-point shooting appears to be a real improvement, while the rebounding and slight step forward as a playmaker are nice additions to his game that have provided slight boosts to his fantasy production. More importantly, however, is that it appears his fit with the Warriors is there, which was rarely the case a season ago. He’s one of the younger players in Golden State’s rotation, which is valuable alone when considering the ages and wear on the bodies of a lot of the Warriors’ main guys. I like the path Kuminga has started on and am looking forward to seeing where it can take him. Stock up.

Jrue Holiday, PG, Trail Blazers

Given the age and the usage over the past two seasons in Boston in a complementary role, it was likely very easy (and understandable) for fantasy players to close the book on Jrue Holiday’s time as a productive point guard. But instead of closing the book, he’s turned back the pages and transformed back into a true lead guard with the potential to stuff the stat sheet on a nightly basis. Up until Monday’s loss to the Lakers, the 17-year veteran had tallied the most threes (2.5) and assists per game (8.7) of his career, while averaging his most points per game (18.2) since his time in Milwaukee. He had one of his least productive games of the season on Monday, but the Trail Blazers have been good to start the season, with Holiday’s contributions on the court playing a massive role. If they remain good, there’s a high likelihood he continues functioning as a high-usage guard.

NBA: Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls
“Ice Trae” will be sidelined for at least four weeks after spraining his MCL last week.

STOCK DOWN

Trey Murphy, SF, PF, Pelicans

If we’re looking solely at the two most recent Pelicans games, Murphy might not make a ton of sense as a “stock down” player. But even with a slight upward trend of late, those two recent performances aren’t coming close to the type of lines many expected the versatile two-way forward to consistently put forth in his fifth NBA season. His current scoring averages are at their lowest since his sophomore season, while the shooting splits from the field and from beyond the arc are career lows at the moment. Given how the 2024-25 campaign went for Murphy and him still being a young player, it doesn’t seem likely that his production will remain insignificant for an extended period of time. However, the Pelicans are 0-6 as I write this, with negative discourse surrounding the state of the organization and its outlook. Murphy rounding back into form isn’t an inevitability.

Jakob Poeltl, C, Raptors

The start to Poeltl’s 2025-26 season has been an unideal one. He’s dealt with a back injury that’s kept him in street clothes for Toronto’s last three games, but even before the injury, he’d been significantly less productive statistically than he had been a season ago. He’s currently down 8.0 points and over 4.0 rebounds per game while playing fewer than half of the possible 48.0 minutes per game across his four appearances. The good news for those fantasy managers who may have Poeltl rostered is that the four-game sample size is incredibly small for a proven veteran, and he’s remained Toronto’s starting center despite seeing fewer minutes. Still, what to expect moving forward feels hard to predict.

Domantas Sabonis, C, Kings

It’s been a rough start to the season over in Sacramento. The Kings own a 2-5 record, one of the worst defenses in the league, and their best players are failing to make a substantial impact. More specifically, Sabonis is struggling to make land his usual production on offense. He’s scoring his fewest points (14.5) and tallying his lowest amount of assists per game (4.0) since his third NBA season, back when he had yet to become a full-time starter in this league. If it weren’t for his sustained dominance on the glass, the concerns from a fantasy basketball standpoint would be even greater. The season is still young, however, a pessimistic view going forward for a player on a team that doesn’t seem to have a great plan of action moving forward seems fair.

NHL Rumor Roundup: Struggling Wild Seeking Help, Sabres' Levi Might Need A Change Of Scenery

The Minnesota Wild began this season looking to take the next step toward Stanley Cup contention.

That hope was buoyed by their pre-season re-signing of superstar left winger Kirill Kaprizov to an eight-year contract extension.

Entering November, however, the Wild find themselves near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They still have enough time to regain their footing, but GM Bill Guerin has reportedly turned to the trade market to find some help for his struggling roster.

On Oct. 31, Daily Faceoff's Anthony Di Marco reported a team source claimed Guerin was shopping for a forward to add some scoring punch among the Wild's middle six forwards. Di Marco suggested Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri and Boston Bruins forwards Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt as trade targets.

All three have surfaced in recent trade speculation, especially Kadri and Zacha. However, the Flames and Bruins haven't gone into sell mode yet as they hope to salvage the season.

Zacha and Mittelstadt would be the more affordable in terms of salary. They're also younger than Kadri, making them better potential long-term fits than the Flames center. If any of them become available, it'll likely be in the second half of the season. However, that could be too late to help the Wild.

The Athletic's Joe Smith and Michael Russo expressed doubt that Guerin will find a suitable impact trade that can provide immediate help to the Wild. Given the limited talent available, they feel that this club has little choice but to look within to improve their performance.

NHL Rumor Roundup: Updates On Bruins' Zacha, Blue Jackets' Chinahkov And BluesNHL Rumor Roundup: Updates On Bruins' Zacha, Blue Jackets' Chinahkov And BluesThe Bruins' struggles continue to make Pavel Zacha the subject of trade speculation, along with Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov. The Blues, meanwhile, remain patient with their core players.

Turning to the Buffalo Sabres, their goaltending logjam had Daily Faceoff's Carter Hutton and Jeff Marek recently pondering the future of Devon Levi. The 23-year-old was considered the Sabres' goalie of the future, but he's had difficulty cracking the lineup.

The Sabres podcast After The Whistle (hosted by former NHLers Craig Rivet and Andrew Peters) claimed that Levi was rumored to have asked to be moved before he was returned to the Sabres' AHL affiliate in Rochester.

Since then, there's been no additional reports claiming Levi wants a trade, or any indication that the Sabres are entering trade offers for the young netminder. Nevertheless, this could be a situation worth watching given the limited depth of available goalies in this season's trade market.


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