Quick Shifts: Where should Maple Leafs look for defence trade? - Sportsnet.ca

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but winter is coming. And the winter Olympic sports season arrives even sooner, with the top-end tours in curling and figure skating getting started over the next couple of weeks. Here's a quick overview of when things get going and some storylines to anticipate in a few sports where Canada excels. We'll get into more detail in future newsletters as the various seasons come on line. CurlingThe Grand Slam season begins next week with the Invitational in Victoria and will include a total of five events, culminating with the Players' Cup in mid-December. Then it's time for the Rock League, which is owned by the same company that now controls the Slams. The fledgling Rock League debuted last April with a one-off event in Toronto after nixing its plans for a six-stop international tour. Its first full season will be made up of five tournaments in Canada and the United States, beginning in early January in Moose Jaw, Sask., and ending in April in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Rock League differentiates itself from the Slams by featuring six "franchises" made up of 10 players (five men, five women) from different countries, a novel format and some quirky rules.

Published: October 17, 2026 at 11:06a.m. EDTKeep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips. FilterOttawa SenatorsNikolas Matinpalo appears to be set to return for the Ottawa Senators on Saturday following a two-game injury absence. Matinpalo skated on Ottawa's third pairing next to Carter Yakemchuk, with head coach Travis Green rolling out the following lines at practice ahead of Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Halliday-Stutzle-BathersonBurakovsky-Cozens-GirouxCousins-Pinto-AmadioFoegele-Greig-ZetterlundHodgsonChabot-ZubKleven-SpenceMatinpalo-YakemchukCrotty UllmarkErssonJake Sanderson remains sidelined for the eighth straight game with a lower-body injury, while Nikolas Matinpalo makes his return for the first time since being forced out of Monday's game against the New Jersey Devils in the first period with an upper-body injury. Matinpalo, 28, was injured after being driven into the boards by Devils forward Anthony Mantha, who was handed a five-minute major for the hit. The Finnish defenceman logged just 2:19 of ice time before exiting, but appears set for a return Saturday.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, the team announced on Saturday. The week-to-week designation means that he is expected to miss up to six weeks, according to the team. Tavares was injured during the team’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday in the third period after awkwardly colliding with Sabres forward Josh Norris. The 36-year-old centre remained down on the ice after the collision before skating off while favouring his left leg. Nick Paul slotted in as the team’s No. 2 centre during Saturday’s morning skate in Tavares’ absence in between Easton Cowan and Kirill Marchenko. Additionally, rookie Gavin McKenna took Tavares’ spot on the top power-play unit with Darren Raddysh, Auston Matthews, and William Nylander. Tavares has two goals and seven points in seven games early this season. He led the team with 31 goals last season to go along with 71 points and appeared in all 82 games for the first time since his first season with the Maple Leafs in 2018-19. The Maple Leafs sit sixth in the Atlantic Division with a 3-3-2 record as they get set to take on the New York Islanders on Saturday night.