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NHL Notebook: Hurricanes and Sabres make a trade involving two AHL players
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Jan 26, 2026, 14:30 ESTUpdated: Jan 26, 2026, 09:29 EST
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Another trade was made ahead of the upcoming roster freeze.
On Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes traded defenceman Gavin Bayreuther to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Russian forward Viktor Neuchev.
Neuchev, born in Chelyabinsk, Russia (yes, where the meteor hit in 2013) was drafted in the third round of the 2022 draft. After spending his first season after being drafted in Russia, the left winger came stateside, playing 57 games with the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans in 2023-24. He potted 11 goals and 28 points in 57 games. 
Last season, the 22-year-old scored seven goals and 22 points in 39 games, and through 34 AHL games this season, he has six goals and 16 points.
Bayreuther has National Hockey League experience, as the undrafted defenceman has played 122 NHL games, 19 with the Dallas Stars where he scored two goals and five points in 2018-19, and the rest with the Columbus Blue Jackets. His best season was in 2022-23, as the 31-year-old scored two goals and 14 points in 51 games.
He hasn’t played in the NHL since 2022-23, instead playing the 2023-24 and 2025-26 seasons in the AHL, as well as the 2024-25 season in Switzerland.

Filip Chytil returns after lengthy absence for Canucks

On Saturday, Vancouver Canucks forward Filip Chytil dressed for the team for the first time since their sixth game of the season, a 44-game absence.
Chytil was held pointless in both games since his return, as he now has three goals in eight games. Drafted by the New York Rangers with the 21st overall pick in the 2017 draft, Chytil consistently put up 22 or 23 points in his first four full seasons, before exploding for 22 goals and 45 points during the 2022-23 season.
Unfortunately, he played in just 10 games with the Rangers in 2023-24 before an injury, and played an additional six games in the post-season. In 2024-25, Chytil played 41 games with the Rangers, scoring 11 goals and 20 points before being traded to the Canucks for J.T. Miller. After the trade, the left-shot centre scored two goals and six points in 15 games.
Although Chytil’s return does make the Canucks stronger, the 2025-26 season has quickly spiralled into one to forget for the British Columbia-based team. Through 52 games in, their 39 points are the fewest in the league, with the next closest team being the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets with 47. The Rangers aren’t doing much better, as they have 48 points this season.

Malkin wants to play in 2026-27

Evgeni Malkin wants to play one more year in the NHL, according to the Russian centre after the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 6-2 defeat over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
The Magnitogorsk, Russian forward has proved to be one of, if not the most, underrated players of the last generation. Now 39 years old, Malkin was drafted second overall by the Penguins in 2004, one pick behind fellow Russian Alexander Ovechkin. Over his 20 NHL seasons, Malkin has 527 goals and 1,386 points in 1,249 games.
He’s a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner, a Conn Smythe Trophy winner, and a Hart Trophy winner, as well as winning three Stanley Cups with the Penguins. To prove how underrated Malkin is, he wasn’t named as a top 100 player of all time in 2017 to celebrate the league’s 100th birthday.
After scoring 16 goals and 50 points in 68 games last season, the veteran is back to being over a point-per-game in 2025-26, scoring 13 goals and 40 points in 36 games.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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