St. Louis Blues winger Nathan Walker is expected to miss at least eight weeks because of an undisclosed upper-body injury, putting the struggling team short another forward for an extended period of time.

Rookie Jimmy Snuggerud is out six weeks to recover from surgery on his left wrist, which coach Jim Montgomery said Monday was scheduled to take place Tuesday. Alexey Toropchenko is considered week to week after sustaining burns to his legs in a home accident.

St. Louis on Tuesday also made a trade of 25-year-old minor-league forwards, sending Nikita Alexandrov to Los Angeles for Akil Thomas. The Blues said Thomas would report to Springfield of the American Hockey League.

Walker, 31, was the first player from Australia to make the NHL when he debuted with Washington in 2017. He won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals later that season.

In 25 games this season, Walker has three goals and six assists.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the NHL is warning teams against taking warmups without helmets, a growing trend this season that violates NHL rules.

Daly told ESPN that the league is sending out a memo to remind teams that helmets are mandatory in warmups for “all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later,” per Rule 9.6.

The Ottawa Senators skated out for warmups without helmets in a game at the Vegas Golden Knights last Wednesday, having lost in their past six trips to T-Mobile Arena. Forward Shane Pinto told TSN that the players decided at a team dinner to change their Vegas luck by doffing their helmets. “It was pretty cool to do,” he said.

The Senators won the game 4-3 in a shootout.

The San Jose Sharks also went without helmets in warmups in Vegas, having lost five straight road games to the Knights. Alas, their luck didn’t change, losing 4-3 to their division rival. Forward Will Smith said there was no particular motivation for it.

“It was a team decision. It was Saturday night in Vegas, so I think all the guys were pretty easy to [do] it,” he said.

On Tuesday night, the New Jersey Devils skated out wearing hats instead of helmets, in honor of defenseman Brenden Dillon‘s 1,000th NHL game.

Rule 9.6 reads:

“It is mandatory for all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later to wear their helmet during pre-game warm-up. To be clear, all players who entered the League prior to the 2019-2020 season and who are currently playing are exempt from this mandate.”

The NHL amended its rules in 2022 to mandate helmet usage in warmups out of player safety concerns, in particular with rookies who took the ice without helmets before their debut games as part of a longstanding NHL tradition. Much like the league’s visor rule, some veteran players were “grandfathered” in and exempt.

The New York Mets and reliever Devin Williams agreed to a three-year, $51 million deal, league sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Monday night, giving the club a replacement for Edwin Diaz should the All-Star closer sign elsewhere.

The contract has no opt-outs or options but includes a $6 million signing bonus spread over the three seasons.

Williams will bolster the back end of a bullpen that the Mets are determined to substantially improve this winter. The question is whether he will be used as a setup man or a closer.

Williams’ role depends on whether the Mets re-sign Diaz, who opted out of his contract last month and is considered the top free agent reliever this offseason. The addition of Williams does not erase the possibility of a reunion with Diaz, and the Mets remain interested in bringing him back, sources told Passan.

Williams, 31, hit free agency after his lone season with the New York Yankees. Acquired last December from the Milwaukee Brewers for pitcher Nestor Cortes and National League Rookie of the Year finalist Caleb Durbin, Williams struggled to a career-worst 4.79 ERA over 67 appearances for New York. But underlying metrics — including a 2.68 FIP, a .195 expected batting average against, and elite strikeout, whiff and chase rates — suggest the bloated ERA is misleading.

He saved 18 games in 22 chances for the Yankees, but despite entering the season as the designated closer, he shared the role for most of the season after his rough start to 2025. Williams recorded four scoreless outings during the Yankees’ postseason run, but David Bednar earned both of New York’s playoff saves.

Before joining the Yankees, Williams was a premier back-of-the-bullpen pitcher during his six seasons with Milwaukee, first as a setup reliever for star closer Josh Hader and then as Hader’s replacement in the role.

After winning the NL Rookie of the Year in 2020 — when he posted a 0.33 ERA over 22 outings — Williams was named to two NL All-Star teams. During the three seasons before being dealt to the Yankees, Williams went 15-7 with 65 saves and a minuscule 1.66 ERA.

Williams has had an unorthodox style as a closer. Despite a fastball velocity below the big league average, he flourished thanks to one of the game’s best changeups, an offering so distinct that it acquired a nickname — “The Airbender.”

Now, Williams will be reunited with Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, who was in that role for the Brewers for Williams’ first four seasons in Milwaukee.

Williams’ agreement with the Mets was first reported by The Athletic.

ESPN MLB Writer Bradford Doolittle contributed to this report.