New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery on a torn pectoral muscle, the team announced Friday.

In addition, forward Tomas Nosek is also set for a spell on the sideline after re-aggravating a foot injury that caused him to miss 10 games earlier this season. Neither player has a set timeline for when they'll return.

Hamilton was injured during Tuesday's win over the New York Islanders. He's put up 16 points in 20 games this year while averaging nearly 21 minutes per contest.

With Hamilton out and fellow blue-liner Brendan Smith serving a two-game suspension, the Devils recalled 2022 second overall pick Simon Nemec from the AHL for Friday's contest against the San Jose Sharks.

The 19-year-old has yet to play a regular-season NHL game but has managed eight points across 13 games in the minors in 2023-24.

Along with Nemec's debut, head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed forward Timo Meier will return to the lineup against his former club after missing seven games with a lower-body injury.

The Devils have been hit hard by injuries so far this season, previously losing star forwards Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes for extended periods of time. New Jersey has managed an 11-9-1 record so far despite the absences.

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The Vancouver Canucks acquired defenseman Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames for a fifth-round selection in 2024 and a third-rounder in 2026, the teams announced Thursday.

The fifth-rounder is the pick Vancouver received in Tuesday's trade that sent forward Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Zadorov is under contract for the remainder of the season at a $3.75-million cap hit before hitting unrestricted free agency. He requested a trade out of Calgary through his agent earlier in November, citing a lack of playing time.

The 28-year-old has registered six points in 21 games this season while averaging 18:24 of ice time. He's highly regarded for his physicality, logging 100-plus hits in all but two of his 11 NHL campaigns.

Zadorov was a first-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2013. He also suited up for the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks before joining the Flames in 2021.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said Wednesday that his club is seeking help on the blue line. Vancouver is 15-7-1 and on track to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the bubble in 2020.

The Flames were widely expected to be an X-factor in trades this season given their numerous prominent pending UFAs. They traded Tyler Toffoli in the summer and still have Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, and Chris Tanev on expiring contracts.

Calgary could look to offload more pieces if its season doesn't turn around. The club is currently 10th in the Western Conference at 9-10-3.

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The Florida Panthers thought they won Tuesday's clash against the Toronto Maple Leafs after Evan Rodrigues appeared to score a shootout winner, but the celebration was premature.

The would-be goal was taken off the board after video review determined Rodrigues double-tapped his attempt.

Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor, who also scored Toronto's only regulation goal, netted his next attempt to set up a 2-1 victory. Players from both teams had to return to the bench after the dramatic twist.

"Have not seen that," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said postgame, per Bally Sports Florida.

He added, light-heartedly: "Especially that fast. You know what I do think: It's important they have rules."

The win snapped a two-game skid for the Maple Leafs, who are now 11-6-3 on the year. Florida's loss was its third in its past four games.

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Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness will be behind the bench for Friday's clash against the Florida Panthers following a month-long leave from the team after his wife, Judy, was hospitalized by a seizure.

Bowness told media that Judy is doing "as well as we could expect" in her recovery.

The 68-year-old bench boss is in his second year with the Jets and holds a 57-38-5 record with the team.

Winnipeg associate coach Scott Arniel took the reins during Bowness' absence. He guided the Jets to a 9-2-2 record as interim coach, including seven wins in their last eight games.

"The staff did a great job, the players are playing their hearts out," Bowness said.

The hot streak has propelled the Jets to third in the Central Division, only two points back of the first-place Dallas Stars.

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Wednesday's game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets involves two clubs at the bottom of the standings, but it also features two electrifying rookies who are eager to go toe-to-toe for the first time at the highest level.

The debut clash between Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, who were selected first and third overall, respectively, is on the mind of many across the hockey world, including the phenoms themselves.

"It's super exciting," Fantilli said. "We're both competitors. We're both going to play our best tonight. It's gonna be fun. I know I'm excited to play against him."

Bedard and Fantill were the first- and second-ranked North American skaters heading into the 2023 draft. The Blue Jackets finished the 2022-23 season with the highest odds to draft Bedard but fell to third after Chicago won the lottery. The Blackhawks selected Bedard, and Fantilli slid to the Blue Jackets two picks later after the Anaheim Ducks chose Swedish forward Leo Carlsson.

"It should be fun going against him," Bedard added, according to Bally Sports' Dave Maetzold. "Obviously someone that I follow really closely, with his success in his career so far. We're obviously friends as well. It should be fun, it's always fun going against people you know, but it's not me versus him. It's the teams playing tonight."

Both Bedard and Fantilli's NHL careers are off to strong starts. Bedard paces all rookies with 15 points in 16 games, while Fantilli ranks seventh among freshmen with four goals and five assists. However, Chicago and Columbus have struggled to find the win column on the backs of their new talents, ranking 31st and 29th, respectively, in the league standings.

Since Bedard played in the WHL and Fantilli suited up in the NCAA, the pair didn't cross paths on their way to the big leagues. They did, however, take the ice together for Team Canada at the 2023 world juniors, where Bedard won tournament MVP after leading his country to a gold medal.

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Columbus Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson isn't keen on making any big changes to the club at the moment despite a tumultuous start to the 2023-24 season.

"No rash moves right now," he told The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

"We just keep riding this, keep pushing. No white flags. No sense of 'Woe is me.' 'Woe is me' does not work. It's an emotional game, a hard game. But we need the improvements we're seeing with some of our younger players - Alexandre Texier, Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli, these guys - to continue, and we need our best players to start playing like they're capable of playing. That's what we need, and that's what we're waiting to see."

The Blue Jackets sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division at 4-11-4 and are stuck in a nine-game losing streak to start a season in which many expected the club to progress from a 31st-place finish in 2022-23.

Columbus has drawn plenty of attention of late due to the lack of production from star forwards Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine. Both players have been benched recently, and Laine was a healthy scratch for Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

"We don't have too many of our best players playing at the top of their games, and that's where the problem lies," Davidson said. "It's pretty simple. Your best players have to be your best players. If they aren't, it's hard."

Gaudreau and Laine rank 12th and 16th, respectively, on the Blue Jackets in scoring this season, each managing just two goals.

The Blue Jackets' next game comes Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

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Edmonton Oilers superstars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid find themselves in unfamiliar territory early in the 2023-24 campaign, out of a playoff spot and mired in concurrent scoring slumps.

Draisaitl leads the 5-10-1 Oilers with 21 points but sits at only six goals after bagging 50-plus each of the past two seasons, while McDavid is fifth on the team with 13 points in 14 games after setting the league ablaze with a career-best 153 last year.

"We were saying that the other day," Draisaitl said, per Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "This has never happened, that both of us have felt this way.

"It's a bad time."

Draisaitl and McDavid finished first and second in scoring in three of the past four seasons. The Oilers made significant progress on the backs of their dynamic duo, reaching the Western Conference Final in 2022 before racking up 109 points - their highest total since 1985-86 - in 2023.

Edmonton ranks 28th in goals this season, and its usually dominant power play is operating at a mediocre 22.8%.

"Certainly not to our standard," Draisaitl said. "Things are seemingly a little harder right now than they normally are, and that spirals a little bit. You know, we're human beings, and we care a lot. I'm working on finding my game as soon as possible."

Although it's been a difficult start, McDavid is optimistic he and Draisaitl will return to the form to which they're accustomed.

"Listen, we've done it for a long, long stretch of time. And we'll get back there again," he said. "We don't stop believing, even though everyone else might. We believe, not only in ourselves but in each other, in our group."

The Oilers' next game comes Monday against the Florida Panthers. They're 2-1 since replacing Jay Woodcroft with Chris Knoblauch behind the bench.

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Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin is calling for more from his roster after a 5-8-4 start to the season.

Prior to Sunday's loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Stockholm, Guerin shared his feelings about the current state of the club.

"I'm not happy. I'm not happy with where we are," he said, per The Athletic's Michael Russo and Joe Smith.

The defeat to Toronto was Minnesota's fifth in a row and eighth in 10 games. The Wild currently sit sixth in the Central Division and are four points out of a wild-card position in the Western Conference.

"My biggest thing is our compete level," Guerin said. "And look, guys work hard every night and they care. I know that. But it's a different type of compete and focus. I just don't think we've had it.

"It's everything from faceoffs and 50-50 puck battles to just pure execution, being in position, being in the right places to tape-to-tape passes. It all needs to be better."

Guerin orchestrated a team meeting before it flew to Sweden and voiced his displeasure in the wake of a 8-3 loss on home ice to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 12.

"It was kind of a kick-in-the-ass, figure-our-shit-out kind of meeting," forward Ryan Hartman said.

Guerin avoided placing blame on head coach Dean Evason and mentioned he wants to see more from the Wild's top players.

"It’s that old saying. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink," he said. "I think Dean’s doing a good job. And you know what? He can’t go out and play for the guys. He can’t have them execute. They have to do that. They have to do that."

The Wild have reached the postseason four years running and have put together back-to-back 100-plus point campaigns. Their next game comes Friday against the Colorado Avalanche.

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William Nylander was the star of the show during the Toronto Maple Leafs' two-game sojourn to Sweden, and he received nothing but praise from his head coach after scoring the overtime winner Sunday against the Minnesota Wild.

"He's got such confidence and swagger there now that he's just feeling like he can turn the game at any point in time," Sheldon Keefe said postgame, per David Alter of The Hockey News.

"I don’t think he'd look at these two games, but he stepped up in big moments. It was a huge part of why we got four points here."

Nylander also registered an assist in the contest and extended his season-opening point streak to 17 games. In Friday's game against the Detroit Red Wings, the Swedish winger recorded a goal and two helpers to engineer a Toronto comeback win.

As one of the biggest names to travel to his home country for the NHL's Global Series, Nylander faced several off-ice obligations on top of regular hockey duties. His ability to handle the added pressure impressed Keefe.

"I just think he’s unflappable, that’s really it," he said. "Whether it’s the spotlight of playing in Toronto and the media and all the different things that come with being a Maple Leaf, I don’t think that phases him. I think he loves it and enjoys it. He lives here in Sweden’s biggest city and you can see he's a bit of a rock star here and we learned that."

Nylander's performance in Stockholm brought him to 27 points this season, good for a second-place tie with Nikita Kucherov and David Pastrnak in the league's scoring race. The Leafs' forward is in the final year of his contract and is currently on pace to shatter the career highs in goals (40) and points (87) he set in 2022-23.

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NHL general managers have discussed changing the current three-on-three overtime rules to prevent teams from continuously exiting the offensive zone in order to retain possession, league executive Colin Campbell told TSN.

Potential solutions include a shot clock or not allowing teams to cross back over the blue or red line after entering the attacking zone.

"We haven't got to whether (overtime) should be longer or whether we should get rid of the shootout," Campbell said. "We don't mind the format. The one thing we don't like, the one thing that teams have done on their own, players have done on their own, is decided that possession is key. You get those boot-back, kick-backs all the time. Sometimes overtimes get going, but until then, sometimes they don't want to give the puck up from opening faceoff."

He added: "What is the answer? We don't want more whistles. We don't want more faceoffs."

Changes aren't imminent and will be tabled until GMs convene for their annual meetings in March.

The NHL introduced five minutes of three-on-three overtime prior to the 2015-16 season in an effort to cut down on shootouts.

Players and coaches have voiced support for longer three-on-three sessions in the past. The ECHL implemented seven-minute overtime periods in 2019-20.

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