NHL Player News

Hicketts has agreed to a two-year, two-way contract with the Kings on Thursday.

Hicketts has three goals, 27 points and 37 PIM in 52 outings with AHL Ontario in 2024-25. The 28-year-old defenseman has appeared in 22 career NHL regular-season games, but he hasn't been in a lineup at the top level since the 2019-20 campaign.

Bryson signed a one-year, $900,000 contract extension with Buffalo on Thursday.

That means Bryson will earn the same salary in 2025-26 as he has been for this campaign. The 27-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer before inking his new deal. Bryson has seven assists, nine hits and 47 blocks in 42 appearances in 2024-25.

Orlov (upper body) will be in the lineup versus San Jose on Thursday, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal reports.

Orlov will return to action following a five-game stint on the shelf due to his upper-body issue. The veteran blueliner is currently mired in a 10-game pointless streak during which he has registered 20 hits, 13 shots and 11 blocks. Even with the slump, Orlov should be capable of reaching the 25-point threshold for the second straight season.

Vlasic has been ruled out for Thursday's game against Carolina due to an upper-body injury, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports.

Vlasic had suited up for each of the Sharks' last 10 games, and he was held without a point while recording 20 blocked shots, a hit and a minus-6 rating. Jimmy Schuldt will take his place in the lineup Thursday, while Vlasic's next chance to suit up will be Saturday against the Bruins.

Petry (undisclosed) won't be in the lineup against Vegas on Saturday but is traveling with the team, Max Bultman of The Athletic reports.

Petry has been sidelined since Jan. 2 versus the Blue Jackets, a stretch of 30 games on the shelf due to his undisclosed injury. When healthy, the veteran blueliner has struggled to produce offensively with just one goal and five assists in 34 games. At this point, Petry will almost certainly miss the 20-point mark for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign when he was with Montreal.

Jensen (lower body) will be unavailable for Thursday's clash with Colorado, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.

Jensen will be on the shelf for his third consecutive contest due to his lingering lower-body injury. In his last 12 appearances, the 34-year-old blueliner has recorded a lone point to go with nine shots, five hits and 16 blocks. Even once cleared to play, Jensen is unlikely to offer more than mid-range fantasy value given his offensive limitations.

Gustafsson wasn't on the ice for Thursday's practice session after suffering an undisclosed injury versus Washington on Tuesday, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Gustafsson managed just 13:34 of ice time against the Caps before being forced to exit the game due to his undisclosed injury. The 33-year-old defenseman was mired in a 26-game goal drought during which he generated a mere 26 shots while recording seven helpers. With extra time off, Gustafsson could still be an option to play in Saturday's clash with Vegas.

Romanov (illness) is set to be sidelined against Montreal on Thursday, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

Romanov will be shelved for his second straight game due to his lingering illness. The blueliner will have to wait at least one more game to try and break out of his seven-game pointless streak. In his stead, Adam Pelech is poised to see increased minutes on the blue line.

Bogosian logged two assists and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Kraken.

Bogosian ended a 12-game point drought when he set up Ryan Hartman on the opening goal at 2:47 of the first period. In the third, Bogosian fed Matt Boldy for the empty-netter, which gave the former his first multi-point effort since Nov. 23, 2021 when he was with the Lightning playing against the Flyers. The 34-year-old has been a constant in the Wild's lineup this season aside from one absence for a lower-body injury at the end of February. He has 14 points, 66 shots on net, 73 blocked shots, 69 hits, 39 PIM and a minus-1 rating over 68 appearances.

Makar notched a power-play assist, two shots on goal and four blocked shots in Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the Maple Leafs.

Makar has four points over his last two outings after he endured a rare three-game slump. The 26-year-old defenseman continues to lead all NHL blueliners in points with 79 (25 goals, 54 assists) through 69 outings, 10 points ahead of the Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski. Makar has earned 32 of his points with the man advantage while adding 209 shots on net, 104 blocked shots and a plus-24 rating. He needs 11 points over the Avalanche's last 13 games to match his career-high total of 90 points from last season.