Taxi Squad Shuffle: 03/31/21

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 moved Greg Pateryn to the AHL, opening up a spot on the taxi squad for Liam O’Brien. The recently-signed forward cleared waivers today and has eight points in 12 AHL games for the Colorado Eagles, potentially moving himself up the depth chart and into an injury-replacement role with the organization. Logan O’Connor and Dan Renouf were recalled on an emergency basis, per CapFriendly, with Keaton Middleton being added to the taxi squad in place of Liam O’Brien.
• The San Jose Sharks have recalled Christian Jaros, Fredrik Handemark, and Noah Gregor, with the latter two heading to the taxi squad. Jaros has been brought up directly to the NHL roster, in time for the game tonight if they choose to put him in the lineup.  Antti Suomela and Jeffrey Viel were also promoted from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
• The Los Angeles Kings have activated Lias Andersson, Tobias Bjornfot and Austin Strand from the taxi squad, while sending Daniel Brickley back to the AHL. To make room on the active roster, Olli Maatta has been moved to injured reserve.
• The Minnesota Wild have recalled Nico Sturm and Luke Johnson from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. In a corresponding move, Kyle Rau has been sent to the taxi squad.
• The Vegas Golden Knights have promoted Nicolas Hague from the taxi squad with Nick Holden being sent down to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Those two moves permitted Vegas to activate Alex Pietrangelo off LTIR as well.

North Division

• The Vancouver Canucks have recalled Tyler Graovac from the taxi squad, giving them another forward option as Adam Gaudette remains in the COVID protocol. Graovac has played two games for the Canucks this season but is still looking for his first point.
• After signing his entry-level deal yesterday, Yan Kuznetsov has been sent to the minors by the Calgary Flames per CapFriendly. The 19-year-old defenseman had six assists in his sophomore season with Connecticut before turning pro.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled Alex Galchenyuk from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly, with Timothy Liljegren being sent down to the taxi squad.  Galchenyuk has three assists in five games with Toronto since being recalled earlier this month.

Central Division

• The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned Cam Johnson back to the taxi squad after recalling him yesterday under emergency conditions. Columbus didn’t end up needing him, getting a 37-save performance from Elvis Merzlikins instead. Johnson is really just a practice goaltender at this point and hasn’t even seen the AHL since the 2018-19 season.
• As usual on off days, the Detroit Red Wings have moved a few players to the taxi squad. Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov, and Frans Nielsen are all off the active roster for now, but it won’t be a surprise when several (if not all three) are recalled again tomorrow.
• Ty Dellandrea and Justin Dowling have been moved to the Dallas Stars taxi squad after today after the former played for the team last night. The Stars are off after their overtime loss to the Predators and now sit at 11-12-10 on the season.
• The Florida Panthers have promoted Brady Keeper to the taxi squad. The blueliner has two goals and an assist in nine games this season with AHL Syracuse.
• The Nashville Predators have sent Mathieu Olivier back to the taxi squad. The forward has played in 25 games this season and with them having so many injuries, he’ll likely be recalled for tomorrow’s game against Dallas.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning have sent Luke Schenn to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The veteran has played in 20 games so far this season, logging just over ten minutes per game on Tampa Bay’s back end.

East Division

• The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Justin Almeida to the taxi squad, sending Drew O’Connor back to the AHL in the process. Almeida, 22, has played in just three games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season, scoring one goal.
• The New York Islanders have sent Cory Schneider to the AHL on a conditioning loan, recalling Jakub Skarek to serve as the third goaltender for the time being. The team has also sent Grant Hutton back to the AHL, moving him off the taxi squad.
• The Boston Bruins have sent Greg McKegg and Jeremy Swayman back to the AHL, given the NHL squad doesn’t play again until tomorrow. McKegg has one goal in four games with Boston this season, but Swayman has been limited to taxi squad duties.  Trent Frederic, Zach Senyshyn, and Daniel Vladar were all sent to the taxi squad as well, per CapFriendly.
• The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Connor Bunnaman, Carsen Twarynski, Samuel Morin and Alex Lyon from the taxi squad, sending the recently-waived Shayne Gostisbehere back in their place. Philadelphia will scratch Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindblom tonight to give the two young forwards some rest.
• The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Dustin Tokarski and Steven Fogarty on emergency loans, per CapFriendly. Tokarski will serve as the backup goalie with Carter Hutton injured while Fogarty picked up his first career NHL point on Saturday.
• The New Jersey Devils have sent Jesper Boqvist to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly, with Marian Studenic being sent to the minors in a corresponding move.  Boqvist has an assist in eight games this season.
• The New York Rangers have sent Kaapo Kakko to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  It has been a frequent move for the sophomore as of late with the Rangers looking to free up a bit of cap space.

This page will be updated throughout the day