The story of the Vancouver Canucks season has been injuries. They have probably been the most injured team all season, which is one of the reasons they are where they are in the standings – third last, just one point out of dead last. Which, of course, has led trade rumours to take over the market’s focus as fans look toward the future.
However, in this NHL Notebook, we have a trade and injuries that don’t surround the Canucks this past week:
Blues/Kings swap forwards
The St. Louis Blues announced on social media that they acquired forward Akil Thomas from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Nikita Alexandrov.
Thomas, 25, was drafted in the second round (51st overall) of the 2018 NHL draft. He spent the following two seasons in the OHL before heading to the AHL for the 2020-21 season. Since making the jump to the professional ranks, Thomas has dealt with several injuries. Through his first four seasons, Thomas has been in and out of the lineup with injuries, playing 157 of a possible 288 games.
The Toronto, Ontario native’s best season came in 2023-24, where he scored 22 goals and 46 points in 64 games with the Ontario Reign. His efforts earned him a seven-game stint in the NHL, where he scored three goals and four points. Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Kings were hopeful Thomas could run away with a bottom-six role. However, that didn’t pan out as planned, as after his struggles, Thomas was a regular healthy scratch that season. He scored just one goal and three points in 25 games, finishing with a minus-four rating in sub-10 minutes of average ice time.
Through 19 AHL games with the Reign this season, Thomas has four goals and nine assists for 13 points. He will now join the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Blues’ AHL affiliate.
Alexandrov, also 25, was drafted in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2019 NHL draft. His draft-plus-one season with the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL was his best in junior, as he scored 23 goals and 31 assists for 54 points. After playing the following two seasons in the AHL, Alexandrov split his seasons between the NHL/AHL. He played a depth role in his first season, scoring three goals and adding seven points in 28 games in 2022-23, but struggled to contribute offensively in 2023-24, recording just a pair of assists in 23 games.
The German-born centre has not been given another opportunity in the NHL since then. However, he finished 2024-25 with 21 goals and 28 assists for 49 points in 48 games, and is off to a decent start in 2025-26, scoring three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 18 games with the Thunderbirds.
Just a change-of-scenery move for both players and teams, hoping to prove that they can make the jump to a more consistent NHL forward.
Injuries
Adam Fox
The New York Rangers placed defenceman Adam Fox on long-term injured reserve on November 30.
Palimeri gets tangled up with a Philadelphia Flyers defenceman on a race for the puck in the corner, which is when the injury took place. In agonizing distress, the Islander forward toughed it out, got back to his feet, and glided to the bench.
However, on his way there, Emil Andrae was backpedalling with the puck in his own zone. Palmieri stick lifted him from behind to steal the puck, and sent a backhand saucer pass to Jonathan Drouin, who then drops it for Emil Heineman, who roofs it on Samuel Ersson.
Hockey players are built different.
At the prime age of 34, Palmieri was off to the best scoring pace of his career, with 18 points (six goals and 12 assists) through 25 games, good for a 0.72 point-per-game. The Islanders have not yet announced if this injury will completely end his season. However, the 6-8 month timeline would have Palmieri return at the end of May/beginning of June.
Tyson Foerster
The Philadelphia Flyers announced that forward Tyson Foerster will be out 2-3 months with an upper-body injury.