Islanders lose Calum Ritchie, Matias Maccelli to injury in test of roster depth

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Islanders lose Calum Ritchie, Matias Maccelli to injury in test of roster depth

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows New York Islanders center Calum Ritchie and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Elias Pettersson battle for the puck during an NHL game, Image 2 shows Matias MacCelli of the New York Islanders stickhandles the puck against Michael Amadio of the Ottawa Senators

Ethan Sears · NY Post Sports

Mon, Oct 19, 2026 ·

3 min read

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Calum Ritchie will miss 4-6 weeks and Matias Maccelli 2-4 weeks after both suffered lower-body injuries Saturday night in Toronto, the Islanders announced Monday, confirming another blow to the top of their lineup.

The news leaves the Islanders without one of their best-performing wingers in Maccelli for at least their next six games, starting with the two-game homestand that begins Tuesday against Anaheim. Ritchie, in a best-case scenario under this timeline, would return when the Islanders are in Winnipeg a month from now.

On top of that, coach Pete DeBoer said that Mat Barzal's return-to-play program would not be sped up on account of other injuries, adding that there is still no timetable for Barzal to return to practicing with the team.

Islanders center Calum Ritchie (64) and Canucks defenseman Elias Pettersson (25) battle for control of the puck. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While no one has used the word "setback" in relation to Barzal, a timeline that was couched in optimism throughout training camp — general manager Mathieu Darche didn't rule him out for opening night when the injury was first announced — is now shrouded in mystery. After traveling with the team opening night, Barzal did not make the trip to Ottawa and Toronto.

Barzal has been skating on his own since at least Oct. 8, but if you are reading the tea leaves, that is not a good sign.

Less than 10 games into the season — and the injuries make it even more obvious that Victor Eklund will stay with the club beyond the nine-game mark at which he uses a year of his contract — the Islanders are down half of their preseason projected top six.

The news Monday came after the Islanders called up Mitchell Chaffee on an emergency basis, clearing a roster spot by moving Alexander Romanov (torn ACL) to injured reserve.

atias Maccelli #63 of the New York Islanders stickhandles the puck against Michael Amadio #22 of the Ottawa Senators. NHLI via Getty Images

"[He] just worked hard, good detail to his game, really professional," coach Pete DeBoer told reporters of Chaffee, who was one of the last cuts at training camp. "What I liked best about home as he was disappointed when he went down, as he should have been, because he had a good camp. But the way he handled it, he went down and had a hat trick in their opener. That's a great lesson on how to handle adversity."

As of now, the Islanders have just 12 healthy forwards on their roster, so it remains to be seen whether they'll look to call up an extra now that there's clarity on Ritchie and Maccelli.

Chaffee and Kyle MacLean — who has been the extra forward all year — practiced on the fourth line Monday. Ondrej Palat moved up to the third line, Emil Heineman moved up to the second line and Kyle Palmieri moved back to the first line, having been dropped to the fourth against the Leafs. Brayden Schenn also shifted from left wing to center on the second line.

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