In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we look at the Toronto Maple Leafs and a potential blockbuster deal with the Calgary Flames surrounding defenseman Rasmus Andersson. We then move on to the Montreal Canadiens and look at the injuries piling up and what they may do in the meantime. Finally, we look at injury updates for Jack and Quinn Hughes.
Leafs and Flames Discussed Massive Deal for Andersson
On the Leafs Nation’s Morning Take, Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill were discussing the Maple Leafs, and Rosehill stated that the team is looking to acquire Andersson from the Flames.
Andersson is in the final year of his contract, and is looking for a long-term extension, which will help dictate where he ends up being traded to. The Flames are struggling, and will be much better off moving him than talking about an extension.
While any deal for the star defenseman will likely be classified as a blockbuster, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun notes that when talking trades, teams are asking about Matthew Knies and Easton Cowan. Koshan notes that there are two players who must stay and should not be traded. (from “Can Maple Leafs recover from bad start? Don’t bet on it”, Toronto Sun, Nov. 14, 2025)
The Maple Leafs have seen some significant struggles in the defensive group, with Morgan Rielly and Brandon Carlo being particularly frustrating to watch on the back end. The absence of Chris Tanev sure doesn’t help, but bringing in Andersson isn’t going to be a magical solution to fix all of the problems.
After a difficult start to the season, the fanbase is completely divided, and there are some calling for Craig Berube’s job, some starting to think about projected first-overall pick Gavin McKenna, and some who think they need to ride out the storm, similar to the way the Edmonton Oilers have over the past few seasons.
Making a huge deal, even with an extension, could hurt the team even more. They don’t have a ton of young assets or draft picks, so the deal would almost certainly need to include Cowan. The only way that the Maple Leafs should be considering a trade of that magnitude with the assets they have would be if one of Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman, or another forward piece is coming the other way.
Canadiens Staying Involved in Forward Trade Conversations
After losing both Alex Newhook and Kaiden Guhle long-term, the obvious question is to ask what the Canadiens will do about that.
For the time being, they have recalled Jared Davidson from the American Hockey League (AHL), and still have both Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble to play the role on the left side in Guhle’s absence.
Apron Basu of The Athletic wrote about the injuries and believes the Canadiens are not going to be very aggressive on the trade front for a defenseman, as they have strong depth, even beyond the six quality defensemen on the roster. The forwards, however, could see a bigger addition. (from ‘Canadiens will be without Alex Newhook, Kaiden Guhle for extended period after both undergo surgery’, The Athletic, Nov. 14, 2025).
Basu reports that the Canadiens were already “scouring the trade market for help at forward”, but with Newhook out for four months, returning roughly around the trade deadline, the Canadiens will certainly be looking at the trade market still, with more ambition to make a deal.
Newhook’s 12 points in 16 games to start the year were a great step forward for him, and he was on pace to blow his career-highs out of the water. With players like Ryan O’Reilly, Brayden Schenn, and Nazem Kadri being all around the trade rumours, there has to be a question about whether the Canadiens go to one of them, or if they look for some smaller, but still impactful additions like David Kampf, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, or others.
The Canadiens have some great internal options, too, with Oliver Kapanen playing well, and Owen Beck could get a call-up if needed.
Jack & Quinn Hughes Injury Updates
One of the biggest stories from the hockey world on Nov. 14 was about Jack Hughes at a team dinner, reportedly slipping and cutting his hand.
Related: Devils’ Star Jack Hughes Injured Hand at Team Dinner (Report)
Many believed the report meant that he was cutting his food with a knife and sliced his hand open. The Hockey News’ Kristy Flannery reported that that was not the case, but rather he “leaned on some glass, which broke it and “leaned on a glass, and it broke, causing the cut…” and referred to it as a freak accident.
Jack is expected to miss the game against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 15, but there is no clear timeline on his return.
As for Quinn, he left the game with an injury on Nov. 11 against the Winnipeg Jets after appearing to get twisted up in a puck battle with Mark Scheifele. It was a very innocent play, and probably happens a dozen times per game, but this one tweaked Hughes the wrong way. He later returned to the game, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Ahead of the Nov. 14 game agaisnt the Carolina Hurricanes, head coach Adam Foote said that Hughes was not going to play, stating, “He looked like he was gonna be okay…then when he had his nap and woke up he didn’t feel like it was right where he needed it to be.”.
There haven’t been any more updates since.
