Ice Chips: Blues' Thomas (broken ankle) set to return vs. Wild

Keep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.

St. Louis Blues

Forward Robert Thomas took line rushes centreing a line with Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou and will return Tuesday from the broken ankle that has sidelined him since mid-October.

The Blues (8-10-1) host the Minnesota Wild and will be looking for a much-needed spark from Thomas' retrun.

The 25-year-old Thomas has one goal and five assists in six games so far this season. He had 26 goals and 60 assists for 86 points in 82 games last season, making the All-Star team for the first time in his career.

The No. 20 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft has spent his entire seven-year career with the Blues and is in the fourth year of an eight-year, $65 million deal that carries an $8.13 million cap hit.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Centre Brayden Point will return Tuesday after missing the previous four games with a lower-body injury.

Point centred a line with Jake Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov during the team's gameday skate ahead of facing the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Earlier, the Lightning recalled forward Gage Goncalves from the AHL's Syracuse Crunch on Tuesday.

Vancouver Canucks 

Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team for personal reasons, general manager Patrik Allvin announced on Tuesday.

"Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him," Allvin said in a statement. "Out of respect to J.T., we will have no further comment at this time."

The 31-year-old Miler has scored six goals and 10 assists over 17 games with the Canucks in 2024-25, his sixth season in Vancouver and 13th in the NHL.

In other news, forward Brock Boeser skated for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury against the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 7.

Winnipeg Jets

Despite two straight losses, the Jets will be staying the course and sticking with their usual lineup for Tuesday's game against the Florida Panthers.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens assigned forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard to the Laval Rocket on a long-term injury conditioning loan.

Harvey-Pinard underwent surgery for a broken leg in July, when he was given a timeline of four months for recovery.

The 25-year-old winger appeared in 45 games for the Canadiens last season, scoring twice and adding eight assists.

Originally taken in the seventh round of the 2019 draft, Harvey-Pinard has 17 goals and 14 assists in 83 career games.

Ottawa Senators

Noah Gregor was on the ice for Tuesday's optional skate, sporting a non-contact jersey.

Gregor was absent was Monday's practice and missed the team's 4-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. He has two goals and one assist in 16 games this season.

The Senators will host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night, with Linus Ullmark getting the start in net.

Head coach Travis Green noted that defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker will remain out of the lineup as a coach's decision. He added he's been pleased with the play of Travis Hamonic.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs recalled forward Fraser Minten from the AHL's Toronto Marlies on Tuesday and announced that centre David Kampf has been placed on injured reserve.

Kampf is dealing with a lower-body injury, with the move to IR being retroactive to Nov. 16, when he logged 14:22 of ice time in Saturday's overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers.

The 29-year-old forward has three assists in 18 games with the Maple Leafs this season.

Minten, 20, appeared in four games with the Maple Leafs last season, failing to register a point before returning to the WHL's Saskatoon Blades. He joined the Marlies earlier this month after a stint on season-opening IR and has two goals and four points in five games.

The Vancouver native was selected by the Maple Leafs in the second round of the 2022 draft.

Minten was on the ice for Tuesday's practice along Max Domi, who had missed the previous two practices due to maintenance.

Auston Matthews, who has already been ruled out of Wednesday's game against the Vegas Golden Knights, was absent again on Tuesday.

Minten worked at centre during Tuesday's practice on a line with Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg. With Kampf absent, Steven Lorentz took over the role of fourth-line centre between Connor Dewar and Alex Steeves.

New Jersey Devils

Forward Timo Meier did not skate Tuesday due to back spasms.

Defenceman Brett Pesce was also off the ice due to a maintenance day.

Nathan Bastian, who was placed on LTIR retroactive to Nov. 1 on Monday did skate Tuesday with a full face shield.