NHL Injuries Gut Toronto, Carolina and Ottawa

NHL injuries are piling up fast in mid-October, and three contenders took the hit within days of each other. Toronto lost its shutdown defenseman, Carolina lost a forward on a night it already looked thin. And Ottawa added a young forward to the list in the same week it finally got a body back.

Only the Senators are smiling, sort of.

How Long Is Chris Tanev Out?

Chris Tanev is week to week for the Toronto Maple Leafs with an upper-body injury, per the NHL's status report. The defenseman was placed on injured reserve Monday, retroactive to Oct. 10.

The damage happened in Toronto's 6-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. Tanev left that game at 11:08 of the first period and never came back.

Here's why this one is sneaky: the Leafs still scored six without him. And wins can paper over a missing shutdown guy for a little while.

They can't forever. "Week to week" is vague by design. But October is the kindest month to be vague in. Toronto can let this heal instead of rushing him back to chase points.

Why NHL Injuries Hit Carolina Hardest

Taylor Hall sustained an upper-body injury in Carolina's 4-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, and it sounds ugly.

Hall left the game in the second period after playing just 4:17. Coach Rod Brind'Amour's first read: the injury "doesn't look good."

That quote should scare Hurricanes fans more than anything else in this story. Coaches downplay everything in October. When a bench boss volunteers bad news minutes after a win, the timeline usually gets measured in weeks, not days.

And Hall isn't even the headliner on the Carolina injury list.

Captain Jordan Staal is already out 1-2 months with a calf tear.

So the Hurricanes recalled forward Bradly Nadeau from the AHL's Chicago Wolves on Wednesday to plug the hole up front.

That is a lot of forward depth gone from a team that wins by rolling lines. The one silver lining: if this had to happen, a 4-1 win in mid-October beats the alternative.

Senators Get Zub Back, Lose Ridly Greig

Ottawa's week is the mirror image. Ridly Greig did not play the final 9:09 of a 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, finishing with one shot on goal in 14:08 of ice time.

Coach Travis Green kept it blunt: "He has a strain.

So we thought it was best to keep him out."

A strain in a blowout loss is a nothing-burger in isolation. In context, it thins a Senators lineup that was already waiting on its blue line to heal.

The good news arrived Thursday morning. Artem Zub and Jake Sanderson both skated with full contact at practice, per Pro Hockey Rumors. And Zub was expected to return Thursday after missing time with a knee injury sustained during the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. Sanderson was expected to sit out once more, with his next chance coming Saturday against the Flyers. Cameron Crotty also returned to full practice Thursday after being out since the 2026 postseason with a lower-body injury.

NHL Injuries FAQ: What to Watch Tonight

When does Jake Sanderson return? The Senators defenseman was expected to sit out Thursday's game, with his next chance to play coming Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Is Artem Zub playing against the Islanders? Yes. Zub was expected back when Ottawa hosts the New York Islanders on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, his first game back from the knee injury.

What did Brind'Amour say about Taylor Hall? Only that the injury "doesn't look good." No timeline has been given beyond that grim first impression.

So the mid-October ledger: Toronto down a shutdown defenseman, Carolina down two forwards, Ottawa down Greig but finally getting whole on the blue line. Watch Zub's first shift back Thursday night. If the knee holds and Sanderson follows Saturday, Ottawa could be the one contender that ends this brutal stretch in better shape than it started. Which of these three teams best survives the week?