Taxi Squad Shuffle: 03/25/21

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 recalled T.J. Tynan and Sheldon Dries to the taxi squad, filling out the two vacant spots they had after sending Conor Timmins down yesterday. Dries has played three games for the Avalanche this season but is still looking for his first NHL point since the 2018-19 campaign. Logan O’Connor was also recalled from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
• The San Jose Sharks have recalled Jeffrey Viel to the taxi squad from the AHL. The 24-year-old has yet to play an NHL game in his short career but could add a bit of physicality to the lineup if the Sharks need it. In his 139-game AHL career, Viel has 18 fighting majors and 228 penalty minutes. Antti Suomela and Christian Jaros were sent to the taxi squad while Zach Gallant was sent back to the AHL, per CapFriendly.
• After announcing that Tyler Pitlick is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, the Arizona Coyotes have moved him to injured reserve. Meanwhile, they’ve swapped Frederik Gauthier and Lane Pederson between the taxi squad and AHL.
• The Anaheim Ducks have sent Andy Welinski and Lukas Dostal back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Welinski played a season-high 18:11 last night while Dostal served as the backup goaltender.
• The Dallas Stars have made a large number of roster moves. Nick Caamano, Justin Dowling, Rhett Gardner, and Joel L’Esperance were all promoted from the taxi squad while Ty Dellandrea and Tanner Kero were recalled to the taxi squad.
• The Los Angeles Kings have sent Austin Strand and Tobias Bjornfot to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Bjornfot has three assists in 17 games this season while Strand has a helper in six games.
• The Minnesota Wild have promoted Will Bitten to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The 22-year-old has four assists in 11 games with AHL Iowa this season.
• The St. Louis Blues have brought up Dakota Joshua and Jake Walman from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The two have made frequent appearances on this list in recent weeks as they’ve been sent down on non-game days to save some money.
• The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled Patrick Brown from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. He has played in three games for Vegas so far this season. Carl Dahlstrom was recalled to the taxi squad to take Brown’s place.

North Division

• The Ottawa Senators have recalled Braydon Coburn from the taxi squad as they prepare for action tonight against Toronto. Jack Kopacka has been sent back to the AHL, while Mark Kastelic is up to take his spot on the taxi squad.
• The Calgary Flames have tweaked their taxi squad, sending Alex Petrovic down from the NHL roster while recalling Louis Domingue and Michael Stone from the minors, per CapFriendly. Artyom Zagidulin was sent to the minors to make room for Domingue.
• The Edmonton Oilers have sent Joakim Nygard back to the taxi squad. After playing in 33 games last season, he has suited up in just six NHL contests so far this year.
• The Montreal Canadiens have recalled Jake Evans from the taxi squad while promoting Laurent Dauphin to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Evans was sent down yesterday to free up a bit of cap space while the team is off due to COVID protocols.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Michael Hutchinson and Alex Galchenyuk from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Hutchinson is needed with Frederik Andersen currently injured. Kristians Rubins was also sent to the taxi squad.
• The Vancouver Canucks have sent Tyler Graovac to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The 27-year-old has played in Vancouver’s last two games, averaging just under 10 minutes per game.

Central Division

• The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Mikhail Grigorenko from the taxi squad once again as he continues to move on and off the roster on a daily basis. The 26-year-old forward now has seven points in 18 games this season.
• As expected, the Carolina Hurricanes have promoted Jake Bean from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The defenseman has 10 points in 21 games so far this season.
• The Chicago Blackhawks have promoted Wyatt Kalynuk from the taxi squad while sending Mackenzie Entwistle down, per CapFriendly. Both players have played just once for Chicago this season.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning have brought up Luke Schenn and Andreas Borgman from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Even so, they’re unable to dress a full roster tonight due to injuries to Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak.

East Division

• The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Samuel Morin and Alex Lyon from the AHL to the taxi squad, sending Felix Sandstrom back the other way. As expected, Lyon got in some game action in Lehigh Valley’s game yesterday, but certainly didn’t fare very well. The goaltender allowed five goals on just 16 shots in a loss to the Hershey Bears.
• The Boston Bruins have sent Oskar Steen, Urho Vaakanainen, and Jeremy Swayman back to the AHL, recalling Callum Booth to the taxi squad in the process. The Providence Bruins play this afternoon against Hartford and look like they’re getting quite a group of reinforcements in time for the game. They later recalled Steen while also recalling Jack Ahcan, Jack Studnicka, and Steven Kampfer from the taxi squad while sending Daniel Vladar to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
• The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Steven Fogarty and C.J. Smith from the taxi squad while back-filling with Jean-Sebastien Dea and Brett Murray from the AHL. On his way from Rochester along with them is Seth Appert, who will help GM Kevyn Adams coach tonight with Don Granato self-isolating.
• The New Jersey Devils recalled Nicholas Merkley from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Colton White was recalled from the minors to the taxi squad in a corresponding move.
• With the New York Islanders back in action tonight, they’ve recalled Oliver Wahlstrom, per CapFriendly. Wahlstrom has 15 points in 26 games so far this season.
• The New York Rangers recalled Kaapo Kakko from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The sophomore has four goals and two assists in 24 games, a point per game output that is lower than his rookie season.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Drew O’Connor from the taxi squad while sending Sam Miletic to the minors, per CapFriendly. O’Connor has an assist in nine games this season.