The injury bug continues to plague the league.
On Friday, it was reported that two players in Canadian organizations require surgery. Moreover, an important member of the Winnipeg Jets franchise signed a one-day deal to retire with the team.
Let’s dig into all that in the latest NHL Notebook!

Bryan Little signed a one-day contract to retire as a Jet

On Friday morning, the Winnipeg Jets announced that they’re signing Bryan Little to a one-day contract so that he can retire as a Jet. They’ll honour the forward ahead of an October 20th game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Little was selected 12th overall in the 2006 draft by the Atlanta Thrashers and spent his entire playing career with the franchise. His career-high in goals came in 2008-09, as he potted 31 with the Thrashers, while his career-high in points came in 2013-14 with the Jets.
In his entire National Hockey League career, Little scored 217 goals and 521 points in 843 games, most recently playing in 2019-20 when he scored two goals and five points in seven games. However, Little was hit in the side of the head by a shot in Nov. 2019 and eventually underwent surgery to fix a perforated eardrum. He never played another game.
The Jets traded his contract to the Arizona Coyotes in Mar. 2022, with Little becoming a free agent after the 2023-24 season. What a sad way to end a career for an important franchise player.
There are just three former Atlanta Thrashers players remaining in the league. Evander Kane of the Edmonton Oilers, Zach Bogosian of the Minnesota Wild, and Blake Wheeler, who is an unrestricted free agents.

Jets’ Logan Stanley set to miss at least a month due to knee surgery

Speaking of the Jets, they’ll be without defenceman Logan Stanley as he’ll miss four weeks due to knee surgery.
The 18th overall pick in the 2016 draft hasn’t had much of an opportunity to play for the Jets in his career. Last season, he was healthy scratched many times, only playing 25 games as the Jets finished second in the Central Division. The season prior, he only played 19 games and missed time with a foot injury and a lower-body injury.
In his career, the 6’7” defenceman has four goals and 22 points in 139 career games, most of which came in 2021-22 when he scored a goal and 13 points in 58 games.

Drew Doughty will undergo surgery to repair fractured ankle

There’s some unfortunate news regarding Los Angeles Kings defenceman Drew Doughty, as he’ll receive ankle surgery and be out month-to-month.
Doughty was injured in a game earlier this week, crashing into the boards ankles first and needing help getting off the ice. It’s a big blow for the Kings, as Doughty scored 15 goals and 50 points in 82 games last season.
For the third consecutive postseason, the Kings were bounced in the first round of the postseason by the Oilers, falling in five games. However, Doughty scored two goals and three points in those five games.
Hopefully, he can return at some point during the season.

Maple Leafs’ Dakota Mermis out week-to-week

The Toronto Maple Leafs will miss a depth defenceman for some time, as Dakota Mermis underwent jaw surgery and is considered week-to-week.
Mermis was undrafted but started his professional career with the Arizona Coyotes, playing his first game with the organization in 2017-18. Mermis played 10 games for the New Jersey Devils in 2019-20, before spending the last four seasons with the Minnesota Wild.
After years of jumping between the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, Mermis filled in as a seventh defenceman for the Wild in 2023-24, playing 47 games while scoring three goals and eight points. The 30-year-old turned that into a one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the league minimum.
While he wasn’t expected to make the Maple Leafs opening day roster, he very well could’ve been one of the first defencemen the team calls up from the Toronto Marlies if the Leafs face injuries.

Lightning postpone a game due to Hurricane Helene

Steven Stamkos’ potential return against the Tampa Bay Lightning will come at a later time, as Friday’s game between the Lightning and Nashville Predators has been postponed until Oct. 7 due to Hurricane Helene.
The third Lightning preseason game will now be set for Saturday in Nashville, as the two teams were supposed to play a home and home. Tampa have already played two games this season, including an insane 8-7 game against the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, on Wednesday.
This game was also supposed to be Nashville’s third of the preseason, as they faced the Panthers in a split squad game on Sunday.
It’s only preseason for the National Hockey League, but the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets’ had two games postponed on Wednesday and Thursday, with the make-up games coming on Monday as a doubleheader. The Braves currently trail the Mets by a game with five games left this season.
Helene lost most of its momentum on Friday afternoon, weakening to a tropical depression as it left the coast. Unfortunately, more than 40 people have lost their lives because of the storm, the Associated Press reported.

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