NHL Buzz: Ekblad returns for Panthers against Sharks

Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Each day during the regular season, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.

Florida Panthers

Aaron Ekblad had a goal and an assist as returned to the lineup in a 7-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

The defenseman missed seven games with an upper-body injury sustained in a 4-1 win against the Utah Hockey Club on Jan 8.

"Aaron's in tonight, and thankfully. We've missed him," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "He's a big part of all pieces of our game, our penalty kill, [and] maybe more than anything, the power play. He also plays against the other team's best, but it also structures the rest of our back end out."

The Panthers were 3-3-1 without Ekblad, who leads the team's defensemen in points with 22 (three goals, 19 assists) in 42 games. -- Max Miller

Carolina Hurricanes

Forwards Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall each made his debut for the Hurricanes at the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Rantanen was acquired in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Friday for forwards Jack Drury and Martin Necas, along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Hall was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks for a third-round pick in the 2025 Draft.

Rantanen has 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in 49 games this season. He has played all 619 games of his NHL career with the Avalanche and has 681 points (287 goals, 394 assists). Hall has 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 46 games this season, and 721 points (275 goals, 446 assists) in 878 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Devils, Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Bruins and Blackhawks.

The trades came the same day the Hurricanes announced that forward William Carrier is "going to be [out] long-term now."

Carrier, who has missed the past 10 games because of a lower-body injury, is recovering from surgery.

"Not sure how long, but it's going to be, I would say, a couple months," Brind'Amour said. "... They just don't know how long the recovery is going to be."

Brind'Amour said the hope is Carrier, who last played Jan. 4, will be able to return before the end of the season.

Carrier has nine points (four goals, five assists) in 39 games, and leads Carolina with 136 hits.

Ottawa Senators

Linus Ullmark is nearing a return from a tweaked back but missed his 15th consecutive game when the Senators defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 on Saturday.

Ullmark, a goaltender who was a full participant during the morning skate Saturday, has not played since leaving after the first period of a 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 22. Coach Travis Green said Ullmark's status has been upgraded to day to day, but he also won't play Sunday against the Utah Hockey Club.

"The fact that he's on the ice with us in a team setting, he's a lot closer than he was three days ago," Green said. "I expect him to play sooner than later."

Defenseman Travis Hamonic made his return from a lower-body injury after missing 10 games and had 22:08 of ice time while playing with Thomas Chabot on the second pair.

"I'm excited," Hamonic said. "I obviously want to play, and I've been watching games. We did some good work here with the medical staff. I think we've got one of the better medical staffs in the league; they help us get back up to speed. I'm ready, I'm excited and I just want to try and come in and help."

Defenseman Jake Sanderson also returned Saturday from a lower-body injury that kept him out of a 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday. He had an assist in 23:38 on the ice. Defenseman Nick Jensen did not play against Toronto and is out for Sunday's game against Utah as well due to an undisclosed injury, but could return next week, Green said.

"He's been playing banged up a little bit, so hopefully the weekend will reset him," Green said of Jensen. -- Callum Fraser

San Jose Sharks

Ty Dellandrea was placed on injured reserve Friday because of an upper-body injury the forward sustained during a 6-5 loss to the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

"It is still very fresh," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "I'll probably know more tomorrow."

Forward Scott Sabourin was recalled from San Jose of the AHL, and forward Collin Graf was sent back.

Sabourin has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 35 AHL games. If the 32-year-old plays against the Florida Panthers on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, NBCSCA), it would be his first NHL game since Jan. 16, 2024.

"At the end of the day you've got to earn it," Warsofsky said. "If you play well enough, we'll call you up. If you don't play well enough, we won't call you up and the other guy will come up. I think you need some inner competition."

Graf has two assists in 10 games with the Sharks, and 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 29 AHL games.

"His skill set is to make plays and we just didn't see enough as the games went on with him," Warsofsky said. "We wanted him to go down there and get back to making plays."

Vitek Vanecek (broken cheekbone) practiced for the first time since he was hit in the face with a puck while sitting on the bench during a game against the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 17. Warsofsky said the goalie is day to day and needs to get up to speed with more practice time. -- Max Miller

New York Islanders

Tony DeAngelo signed a one-year contract for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Financial terms were not released.

The defenseman was be in the lineup against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, on a pair with Alexander Romanov.

DeAngelo had 32 points (six goals, 26 assists) in 34 games with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League before he and the team mutually agreed to terminate his contract Jan. 14.

He had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 31 games with the Hurricanes last season. In 371 regular-season games with the Hurricanes, Flyers, New York Rangers and Arizona Coyotes, DeAngelo has 210 points (48 goals, 162 assists). -- Stefen Rosner

Colorado Avalanche

Miles Wood could return to the lineup against the New York Rangers on Sunday (1 p.m. ET; MSG, ALT, SN, TVAS).

The forward, who has missed 26 games because of a back injury, accompanied the team on their road trip, but did not play in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

"Right before playoffs last year I kind of dealt with it, and then the offseason came and I felt great because I wasn't playing hockey," Wood said Thursday. "And then it just kind of sparked up again. It's very frustrating because I thought it was healed and then I tweaked it again, and then kind of went back to square one. So hopefully I don't have to deal with that again."

Wood practiced Thursday, splitting shifts on the fourth line with forwards Juuso Parssinen, Jere Innala and Chris Wagner.

"Probably ease him in a little bit here. He's been out a long time," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar Thrusday said. "That's only his, I think, second practice with our team, just because we've had all these days off, and I think the last one was last week. So it's been long enough that he's been feeling good enough to join our team, but we just haven't had a bunch of skates, just with the schedule.

"So, I wish he'd been with our team for another five, six skates even, but he's feeling good. I'd rather have him in the lineup, even if it's limited minutes."

Wood has three points (two goals, one assist) in 16 games this season. He also missed seven games earlier this season with an upper-body injury.

"I hope to be back [at] 100 percent, but knowing back problems and talking to players that have dealt with the same thing, it's going to be something I'll have to take care of throughout probably the rest of my career," he said. -- Ryan Boulding

Toronto Maple Leafs

Connor Dewar was placed on injured reserve Saturday, retroactive to Jan. 20.

The forward sustained an upper-body injury in a 5-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday and did not play in a 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

Dewar has three assists in 29 games this season.

"It's going to take a little bit of time," Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. "I can tell you that from past injuries I've seen, the same. It's hard to put a timeline on it because you think it's a week and then it's two weeks and then it goes on. I'm not saying that is going to be two weeks; I'm saying it's hard to figure that one out, that injury. It's a feel thing. Once he gets on the ice, when he starts to get on the ice and get practicing a little bit, we'll know a lot more about where he's at."

Nikita Grebenkin was recalled from Toronto of the AHL on Saturday prior to Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Senators but was not in the lineup. The forward has no points in seven NHL games this season. -- Callum Fraser

Columbus Blue Jackets

Boone Jenner practiced Saturday for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery Oct. 9.

The Blue Jackets captain had been skating on his own for several weeks

"Definitely a good step in the process," the center said. "Feels like it's been a long, long time and it has.

"Obviously, it's a morning skate so a couple practices next week will, I think, be a bit more helpful with getting some 5-on-5s, stuff like that."

Jenner was injured during a preseason practice Oct. 4. He had 35 points (22 goals, 13 assists) in 58 games last season.

His goal from the onset of his recovery was to return by the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium on March 1, when Columbus plays its first outdoor game against Detroit.

"I'm definitely hoping to play that one, no doubt," he said. "But just day by day right now, and this was a big step today, getting back to practice."

Forward Sean Monahan is expected to be sidelined for an additional six to eight weeks as he recovers from a wrist injury suffered against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 7.

The Blue Jackets placed Monahan on injured reserve on Jan. 9.

"Do we want 'Monnie' in our lineup? Absolutely," Columbus coach Dean Evason said. "But he'll get fixed up and people will continually step up in his absence. We look forward to him coming back."

The 30-year-old is in his first season with Columbus after signing a five-year, $27.5 million contract ($5.5 million AAV) on July 1. In 41 games this season, Monahan has 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists).-- Craig Merz

Chicago Blackhawks

Connor Murphy practiced for the first time since playing in the Discover NHL Winter Classic on Dec. 31, but the defenseman will be out when the Blackhawks host the Minnesota Wild on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, CHSN, SN1).

"Out for tomorrow, but it's a good sign," coach Anders Sorensen said Saturday. "We'll see here how the next couple of days progress."

Murphy logged 19:39 of ice time when Chicago lost 6-2 to the St. Louis Blues in the Winter Classic, but was ruled out of practice two days later with a groin injury. He has missed the past 10 games.

The 31-year-old has 13 points (one goal, 12 assists) in 38 games this season.

"He's a huge leader on this team and even if he's not playing in the game or whatever, it's nice to have him out there in practice and just around the locker room," defenseman Alex Vlasic said. "He's a good leader, leads by example and he's vocal and brings a new type of energy to the rink." -- Tracey Myers

Buffalo Sabres

Ryan McLeod returned for the Sabres in their 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday and had one shot on goal in 19:00 of ice time.

The center had missed the past three games with an upper-body injury.

"He was playing well before he went out and now, getting him back in, obviously, we've had some big minutes from some young guys in the middle and he'll help out with that," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Friday.

McLeod has 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 46 games this season, his first with Buffalo. He returned to Rogers Place and faced his former team for the first time since being acquired in a trade with Edmonton on July 5.

Sabres forward Jason Zucker returned to the lineup Saturday after missing two games with an illness and had an assist in 15:05 of ice time. He is second on the team with 16 goals (behind Tage Thompson, 22) and is tied for second with JJ Peterka with 36 points (Thompson, 40) in 47 games.