Around the Hockey World — Friday, October 9
The day's hockey news in one place — and somewhere to talk about it.
For more granular team coverage, check out the team pages.
34 items · updated 1:05 AM
Top stories
- NHL expansion to Texas on the ‘backburner’ — TSN
Excerpt
Despite the NHL showing significant interest in expansion, including adding a second team in Texas, the league is in no rush to make it happen, according to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger. During Thursday’s edition of Insider Trading , Dreger mentioned expansion has been put on the “backburner” for the time being due to concern from owners regarding competitive balance.
- Nazar to have Player Safety hearing for actions in Blackhawks game — NHL.com
Excerpt
Frank Nazar will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday. The Chicago Blackhawks center is facing discipline for an illegal check to the head against New York Islanders center Bo Horvat on Thursday.
- Matt Dumba announces retirement from NHL — Sportsnet
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Daily Faceoff, NHL.comExcerpt
Dumba appeared in 748 career games for the Minnesota Wild, Arizona Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins. He totalled 85 goals and 176 assists for 261 points across his NHL tenure. The 32-year-old spent the bulk of his career with the Wild from 2013-23 and was with the team for eight playoff appearances. He also won the 2019-20 King Clancy Award while in Minnesota.
- Nazar suspended two games for actions in Blackhawks game — NHL.com
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Sportsnet, Daily Faceoff, TSN, ESPNExcerpt
NEW YORK – Chicago Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar has been suspended for two games, without pay, for an illegal check to the head of New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat during NHL Game No. 62 in New York on Thursday, Oct. 8, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
News
- Golden Knights’ historic sellout streak ends against Maple Leafs — the Las Vegas Review-Journal
Excerpt
The announced attendance at T-Mobile Arena for Thursday’s game between the Golden Knights and Maple Leafs was well-below capacity. There were more empty seats than normal at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday, especially for a Vegas Golden Knights game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- Cam Talbot sets goaltending record by playing for ninth team — Sportsnet
Excerpt
The veteran goaltender suited up for his ninth NHL team on Friday when he started in net for the Columbus Blue Jackets . That sets a new record for the most different franchises a goaltender has played for.
- Nurse ready for 'weird' matchup against Oilers with Sharks — NHL.com
Excerpt
SAN JOSE -- Darnell Nurse knows it will be strange facing the Edmonton Oilers for the first time, but the new San Jose Sharks defenseman is looking forward to taking on his old team here Saturday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, SNW, SN1).
- Canadiens send Jayden Struble to Predators for second-round pick — Sportsnet
Excerpt
The Montreal Canadiens traded the defenceman to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick, the teams announced Friday. Struble, 25, has appeared in three games this season for the Canadiens, going pointless and playing 12:05 minutes per game.
- Wild place G Gustavsson on LTIR after offseason hip surgery — TSN
Excerpt
The Minnesota Wild placed goaltender Filip Gustavsson on LTIR on Friday in a move that many had expected after the netminder had hip surgery during the offseason. The team recalled defenceman Matt Kiersted from the AHL’s Iowa Wild in a corresponding move.
- Maple Leafs’ John Tavares to miss game vs. Avalanche after birth of son — Sportsnet
Excerpt
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without centre John Tavares for at least one game — for good reason. Tavares and his wife, Aryne, welcomed a new addition to their family Friday: baby boy Tucker.
- Celebrini to be game-time decision for Sharks against Oilers — NHL.com
Excerpt
Macklin Celebrini will be a game-time decision for the San Jose Sharks when they host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, SNW, SN1) after missing two games because of a lower-body injury.
- Blue Jackets’ Damon Severson to make season debut against Penguins — Daily Faceoff
Excerpt
The Blue Jackets announced that they have activated defenseman Damon Severson off the injured/non-roster list, which will allow him to make his season debut in Friday’s home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins . Severson, 32, suffered a shoulder injury in March, and underwent surgery that forced him to miss the end of last season and Columbus’ first two games this season.
- NHL Status Report: Islanders' Horvat still being evaluated for injury — NHL.com
Excerpt
Bo Horvat continues to be evaluated after an illegal check to the head by Chicago Blackhawks center Frank Nazar in the closing moments of a 4-1 win at UBS Arena on Thursday. Horvat, who scored twice in the game, did not return after the infraction at 18:27 of the third period. Nazar received a five-minute match penalty on the play. Horvat was scheduled to be examined by doctors on Friday. The cent
- Panthers’ Brad Marchand to miss six weeks with leg injury — Daily Faceoff
Excerpt
On Friday, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice revealed that winger Brad Marchand will be out for six weeks with a leg injury, and that he should be back skating in three weeks. Marchand, 38, suffered the injury during Tuesday’s 2-1 road win over the Los Angeles Kings . Late in the second period, Marchand drove to net and awkwardly twisted down to the ice after seeming to trip over the skate of King
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- Senators’ William Eklund out indefinitely with ankle injury — Daily Faceoff
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ESPNExcerpt
Coach Travis Green announced Friday that forward William Eklund will be out “for an extended period” with an ankle injury he suffered during Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers . There’s no timeline for his return.
- Jets’ Josh Morrissey day-to-day with upper-body injury — Sportsnet
Excerpt
The star defenceman is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, head coach Scott Arniel told reporters Friday before the Jets' game against the Anaheim Ducks (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT). Arniel added Morrissey was feeling better Friday after exiting Wednesday's game against the Colorado Avalanche.
- Habs’ Montembeault (LBI) out 10-14 days — TSN
Excerpt
Head coach Martin St. Louis announced on Friday that Sam Montembeault will be sidelined 10 to 14 days with a lower-body injury. A native of Becancour, Que., Montembeault has yet to play this season. Jakub Dobes had started the team’s first three games of the season before Jacob Fowler, called up in Montembeault’s absence, started in goal in Thursday night’s 5-2 defeat to the Nashville Predators.
- NHL Rumor Mill – October 9, 2026 — Lyle Richardson of Spector's Hockey
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Which clubs could the Red Wings target as potential destinations for defenseman Simon Edvinsson ? What’s the latest on Bruins center Pavel Zacha ? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill. SPORTSNET : Ryan Dixon looked at which players the Detroit Red Wings might target in any trade involving restricted free-agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson .
- Veteran coach Sutter shares wisdom in book, doesn’t rule out NHL return — TSN
Excerpt
Only a specific set of circumstances would get Darryl Sutter off the family ranch and behind an NHL bench or into an owner’s box again. He’s a walking NHL textbook after 45 years in the league as a player, coach, general manager and advisor, with two Stanley Cup titles under his belt buckle as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings .
- Report: Bruins Among ‘Long List of Teams’ Interested in Simon Edvinsson — Boston Hockey Now
Excerpt
On Thursday evening, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the Bruins are “among a long list of teams” showing interest in Detroit Red Wings RFA Simon Edvinsson . The 23-year-old left-shot defenseman remains unsigned and returned home to Sweden after spending training camp on a PTO with Detroit.
- Insider Trading: Hellebuyck trade remains only option for Jets — TSN
Excerpt
Gino Reda : The Jets are just about a week into the regular season and Connor Hellebuyck is already hundreds of thousands of dollars in the hole. Speaking on that and more, here are the Insiders, Chris Johnston, Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun. So Dregs, any news on the Hellebuyck front?
- Tonight's games — Friday, October 9 — NHL
- Franz Reindl: A Sit-Down with the New IIHF President. Part 1: Looking Back, Looking Ahead — the IIHF
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Just hours after being elected President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), Franz Reindl sat down with IIHF.com to reflect on the journey that brought him to the helm of international ice hockey and share his vision for the future of the sport. As the IIHF enters a new chapter, Reindl discusses the achievements and foundations established under his predecessor, Luc Tardif, the impo
Columns
- Oilers Notebook: Healthy Hallander eager to make most of fresh start — Sportsnet
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SAN JOSE — Filip Hallander (pronounced HAUL-and-er) hails from Sundsvall, Sweden, the gulf town of roughly 75,000 that gave the hockey world such names as Henrik Zetterberg, Fredrik Modin and Vancouver centreman Elias Pettersson. Hallander arrived at Edmonton Oilers practice and skated on a regular line Friday, looking forward to a new start in a new town with a new team.
- Will teams give Alex Ovechkin retirement gifts? — Daily Faceoff
Excerpt
The 2026-27 NHL season will be the last one that Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin plays in the NHL. The NHL’s all-time leading goalscorer made that official with an announcement earlier this week, and now a big question looming over his final NHL season is whether or not he will join the likes of Derek Jeter and Kobe Bryant to be showered with gifts from opposing teams as he embarks on a
- Are the Larkin, Hellebuyck situations the most awkward in NHL history? — Daily Faceoff
Excerpt
If you’re a follower of the NBA of NFL, players ‘holding out’ for either a trade or a new contract is nothing new. In the NHL, though, it hasn’t been as commonplace to see players use their leverage to induce a desired outcome. That was, however, until this past offseason, when Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin and Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck requested trades from their respecti
- ‘Definitely didn’t see that coming’: Do NHLers regret signing before Carlsson offer sheet changed landscape? — TSN
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Player salaries took a sudden and significant jump in the NHL this summer, sparked by the five-year, $90 million offer sheet Leo Carlsson signed with the Philadelphia Flyers on July 3. The Anaheim Ducks matched on Carlsson and signed defenceman Pavel Mintyukov to a five-year, $36 million contract as the threat of another offer sheet loomed. The Ducks later signed winger Cutter Gauthier to a six-y
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- Five ways the early NHL season is altering pre-season predictions — Sportsnet
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Part of the reason hockey media and fans alike make pre-season predictions is to establish a baseline for our expectations. When my co-host Nick Kypreos picks Utah to represent the West in the Final, it’s less of a “prediction,” and more of a statement: “I, more than most other people, believe Utah is going to be genuinely very good this season.”
- Why re-signing Edvinsson remains top priority for Red Wings — Sportsnet
- The Hockey News Morning Skate: Golden Knights Storm Back Vs. Maple Leafs, Saros Stands Tall vs. Canadiens — The Hockey News
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In this edition of The Hockey News Morning Skate, Eric Cruikshank and Michael Traikos break down the Vegas Golden Knights' comeback over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Juuse Saros' standout effort against the Montreal Canadiens, and more.
- Which early season NHL waiver claims can be the most impactful? — Daily Faceoff
Excerpt
Of them, Carolina’s Justin Robidas, Colorado’s Fabian Lysell and New Jersey’s David Rittich all found themselves on the wire but went unclaimed. The other two – Boston’s Matthew Poitras and Chicago’s Ethan Del Mastro – remain in the NHL, and both have seen some NHL duty. According to PuckPedia , nearly 250 players have been placed on waivers since the start of the season. A total of six have been
- Friday Four: Which early season injury will be most impactful? — Sportsnet
Excerpt
If you wanted to put together a strong core of an NHL team, you could do pretty well just by selecting players who are on the sidelines with an injury right now. We’ve seen a rash of injuries across the league already and the season is barely a week old. Whether it’s due to the short pre-season or simply bad luck is anyone’s guess, but it’s hard to remember a time when so many big names went down
- Ovechkin final season has Capitals energized to win another Cup — NHL.com
Excerpt
ARLINGTON, Va. -- The beginning of Alex Ovechkin 's farewell to the NHL provided another memorable moment for the Washington Capitals with a 5-3 victory against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins is his final home opener on Wednesday.
- Will the 2027 NHL Draft be weaker than normal? — Daily Faceoff
Excerpt
It’s becoming an annual tradition at this point for the start of the regular season in all levels of hockey to be a time where some cold water is poured on the hype of the upcoming NHL Draft class.
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