Welcome to the Fantrax NHL Injury Report for December 31, 2025. In today’s report, we discuss more Maple Leafs injuries, Zach Werenski, and Ilya Sorokin. Read all about this and more in today’s NHL Injury Report from Fantrax.
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NHL Injury Report for December 31:
Toronto Maple Leafs
Dakota Joshua still in Detroit
Took a hit or went into boards “or something.” Kidney injury. Wish all the best to him
Nylander day-to-day still
Tanev will have a better idea later today/tomorrow. Again, not related to previous injury — but could be some time
Matthews…
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 30, 2025
William Nylander tweaked a knee in Ottawa on Saturday night and is listed as day-to-day. The Leafs play on Thursday, and he may miss his third game in a row.
Auston Matthews was a game-time decision last night and is now listed as day-to-day. I expect him to be ready to go on Thursday against Winnipeg. His last couple of games have been the best he has looked all year. It would be great to see him get his mojo back. It’s been a while. His elite shot is still AWOL, though. I’m not sure when that will return.
Dakota Joshua isn’t really a fantasy asset, but he’s been one of the Leafs’ most consistent players over the past month. He brings the truculence Brian Burke was looking for a decade ago.
Brian McMann and Nick Robertson stepped up in a big 4-0 shutout victory last night. These depth pieces could be sneaky fantasy adds moving forward.
Zach Werenski – Columbus Blue Jackets
#CBJ now 3-0 since the Zach Werenski injury. Not that the Jackets weren’t committed before, but it feels like the kind of adversity that’s made everyone grab the rope a little tighter. A weird day today, but they get it done without Sean Monahan too. Feels like some things are…
— Jackets Insider (@JacketsInsider) December 30, 2025
Werenski was lucky to avoid broken bones on the blocked shot that has kept him out of three straight. However, his day-to-day status has now moved him to injury reserve. He is eligible to return right away. Perhaps this is more roster management than a specific sign that the injury is more serious than first thought.
Pyotr Kotchetkov – Carolina Hurricanes
Pyotr Kotchetkov will miss the rest of the season after surgery on his lower-body injury, the Canes announced pic.twitter.com/sNzsbXKhu3
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 29, 2025
This marks his third and final trip to the injured reserve list this season. Yep, he’s done for the year. He will undergo back surgery, which ends the Hurricanes’ goalie carousel.
Frederik Andersen was lit up for five goals last night, so expect Brandon Bussi to see the lion’s share of the starts. One thing to keep an eye on, Bussi hasn’t played more than 42 games in a season since 2018-19. Load management is a thing these days, so expect Andersen to spell him more than we would like.
Ilya Sorokin – New York Islanders
Ilya Sorokin (IR) has officially missed a week with his lower-body injury.
He's skated, and there was a chance he'd be ready to go today vs. #Blackhawks — not the case.
It seems to be pretty minor. Again, why rush when Rittich has been so good?
— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) December 30, 2025
He skated before the game yesterday but did not play. That marks three games in a row he has missed. The next Islanders game is tomorrow against Utah, but until we see him taking shots in practice, assume David Rittich will continue to get starts.
Linus Ullmark – Ottawa Senators
🏒 INJURY REPORT ➡️ Linus Ullmark (G) personal reasons, sidelined indefinitely.
Likely to see Mads Sogaard or Hunter Shepard up in a tandem with Leevi Merilainen for the Senators moving forward.
🗒️ Senators depth chart: https://t.co/9Ujfpn6iuW#NHL #GoSensGo #FantasyHockey pic.twitter.com/R876Cmfyoc
— Sports Forecaster (@SpoFo) December 28, 2025
Is away from the team for personal reasons, and not for injury-related reasons. We’ve seen personal leaves range from one game to over a month this season. Leevi Merilainen will see more playing time during his absence.
With one win in his past seven games, you’d be better off finding a replacement elsewhere. Merilainen has not been reliable of late. Hunter Shepard was called up from Belleville and will serve as the backup. I’d be tempted to take the over in any Senators game while Ullmark is out.
That will do it for this week’s NHL injury report for December 31. Thanks for reading.
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