Taxi Squad Shuffle: 03/05/21

There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.

West Division

• The Colorado Avalanche have swapped taxi squad goaltenders, sending Adam Werner to the AHL and recalling Peyton Jones. Werner is a potential future option for the Avalanche at the NHL level, but still needs seasoning and will get a chance to play some games in the minors. Jones, a 25-year-old undrafted goaltender, has an .891 save percentage in two appearances with the Colorado Eagles this season.  They then recalled Conor Timmins, Kiefer Sherwood, Logan O’Connor, and Dan Renouf from the taxi squad on an emergency basis, per CapFriendly.
• The San Jose Sharks have done their usual few transactions, this time recalling Stefan Noesen and Noah Gregor to the taxi squad. The Sharks are back in action tonight against the Golden Knights.  Per CapFriendly, recalled from the taxi squad were Alex True, Joel Kellman, Kurtis Gabriel, and Frederik Claesson.
• The Los Angeles Kings have made their usual flurry of gameday moves in advance of their game versus St. Louis. Tobias Bjornfot and Rasmus Kupari were both recalled from the taxi squad while the Kings also recalled Tyler Madden, Sean Durzi, and Mikey Eyssimont from Ontario of the AHL to the taxi squad with Drake Rymsha being sent from the taxi squad to Ontario.
• The Anaheim Ducks returned David Backes to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The veteran has only suited up nine times so far this season, recording two goals.
• The Arizona Coyotes have loaned Adin Hill to AHL Tucson on a conditioning loan, per CapFriendly.  Hill last played on February 26th, just one of two games he has played this season.  The conditioning loan allows him to go down but avoid waivers and can last up to two weeks.  Meanwhile, Michael Chaput was recalled from the taxi squad.
• The Minnesota Wild have sent Gerald Mayhew back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  One of the top scorers in the AHL last season, he has just one assist in four NHL games so far this year.
• The St. Louis Blues recalled Dakota Joshua from the taxi squad on an emergency loan and Jake Walman from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly, reversing Thursday’s demotions.

North Division

• Following last night’s loss, the Ottawa Senators have moved Erik Brannstrom to the taxi squad. The young defenseman has five points in 11 games for the team this season and is expected to be back on the roster when the team is back in action later this weekend.
• The Calgary Flames have moved Byron Froese to the AHL, opening up a spot on their taxi squad for the time being. The team doesn’t play again until Sunday, meaning they can move Derek Ryan to the taxi squad to save some cap space.
• Eric Comrie has had quite the year so far, moving around the league on waivers and spending more time in quarantine than on the ice. Now, he has been assigned to the AHL by the Winnipeg Jets where he can get some action.
• The Vancouver Canucks have loaned Guillaume Brisebois to the minors but not to their AHL affiliate in Utica. Instead, they’ve sent him to AHL Laval for the time being. That ensures that Brisebois, who had been on the taxi squad all season, will be able to be recalled without having to go through quarantine while allowing him to get some game action at least.
• The Montreal Canadiens have returned Paul Byron to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly, their usual non-gameday move.  With him going down, Montreal then returned Cam Hillis to AHL Laval.

Central Division

• The Detroit Red Wings have assigned Michael Rasmussen and Gustav Lindstrom to the Grand Rapids Griffins. The 21-year-old Rasmussen has three points in 10 games for the Red Wings this season and six in seven for the Griffins.  They also loaned Evgeny Svechnikov to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
• In their daily move, the Nashville Predators have recalled Michael McCarron from the taxi squad, while moving Ben Harpur down in his place. Joining Harpur on the taxi squad is Tanner Jeannot, who is up from the minor leagues.
• The Dallas Stars have once again assigned Tanner Kero to the taxi squad. This is the eighth time this season that he has been loaned there but despite that, he has played in 11 games this season for Dallas, picking up two assists.
• An off day for the Hurricanes means that Alex Nedeljkovic and Jake Bean are once again back on the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  In addition, David Gust was loaned back to AHL Chicago.

East Division

• The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-assigned Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Drew O’Connor to the minor leagues; Anthony Angello and Josh Currie have been moved to the taxi squad. After carrying a huge load through the early part of the season, Joseph’s role on the Penguins has been greatly diminished recently and he will now get a chance to get back on the ice in some minor league tilts. The 21-year-old has five points in 16 games this season.
• The New Jersey Devils have moved Michael McLeod to the taxi squad, recalled Brett Seney from the AHL to the taxi squad and re-assigned Joshua Jacobs from the taxi squad to the AHL. The Devils got stomped by the Rangers yesterday and have an afternoon rematch tomorrow.
• The Boston Bruins recalled Trent Frederic and Jack Studnicka from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The two youngsters have been up and down frequently this season to save cap room but Frederic has played in all 20 games while Studnicka has suited up 11 times.
• The Buffalo Sabres assigned Jacob Bryson to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Considering that the defenseman led the Sabres in ice time on Thursday, it’s safe to say that this is just a cap-saving move and that he’ll be recalled for their game on Saturday.
• With the New York Rangers off, they made a long list of roster moves, per CapFriendly.  Anthony Bitetto, K’Andre Miller, and Libor Hajek were all sent back to the taxi squad while Jonny Brodzinski and Patrick Newell went from the taxi squad to AHL Hartford.
• The Philadelphia Flyers loaned Connor Bunnaman to their taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Despite frequently moving up and down, the 22-year-old has played in 15 games with the Flyers so far this season.

This page will be updated throughout the day.