Taxi Squad Shuffle: 04/11/21

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:

Central Division

• With the Carolina Hurricanes off, they returned Jake Gardiner and Jake Bean to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Spencer Smallman and Joey Keane were sent to the minors in corresponding moves.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets have returned Kole Sherwood to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Sherwood played in his first game of the season on Saturday, playing just under nine minutes.
• The Detroit Red Wings announced that they’ve returned Frans Nielsen to the taxi squad.  They’ve made that move many times this season after the veteran cleared waivers though the 36-year-old has still played in 27 games this season.
• The Nashville Predators announced the recall of Tanner Jeannot from the taxi squad.  The Preds also added to their long list of injuries, transferring Mathieu Olivier to injured reserve.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning sent Ben Thomas back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The 24-year-old has played in four games this month, his first taste of NHL action.
• The Vegas Golden Knights recalled Nicolas Hague from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Nick Holden, who recently cleared waivers, was sent to the taxi squad to keep them cap compliant.

North Division

• The Ottawa Senators announced they have assigned forwards Clark Bishop and Alex Formenton to the taxi squad. Both players played Saturday night with Formenton scoring a goal on four shots. Both will likely wait until the team plays again on Monday against Winnipeg.
• CapFriendly reports that the Montreal Canadiens made a number of moves. The team has Otto Leskinen, Jake Evans and Cayden Primeau to the taxi squad, leaving the club with $2.825MM in LTIR relief. Montreal has also sent Brandon Baddock and Lukas Vejdemo to the Laval Rocket of the AHL while bringing Xavier Ouellet back to the taxi squad from Laval.
• The Edmonton Oilers sent James Neal and Tyler Ennis to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  While they won’t bank any cap space from this, it does extend their waiver exemptions.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs sent Martin Marincin back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Like Edmonton, Toronto doesn’t gain any cap space from this as they’re in LTIR but they extend Marincin’s waiver exemption.
• The Winnipeg Jets returned Kristian Vesalainen to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The 21-year-old has played in eight games this season, recording one assist.

East Division

• The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have recalled forward Tanner Laczynski from the taxi squad. The 23-year-old is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Laczynski signed last season after a successful four-year career at Ohio State University and has been faring well at Lehigh Valley in the AHL with six goals and 10 points in 14 games there. The Flyers promoted both Laczynski and Wade Allison to the taxi squad late Saturday.
• The Boston Bruins promoted Jack Ahcan from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The blueliner made his NHL debut last month against Buffalo.
• The Buffalo Sabres recalled Arttu Ruotsalainen from the taxi squad before their game against Philadelphia today, per CapFriendly.  He made his NHL debut on Friday, playing nearly 16 minutes.
• The New Jersey Devils brought up Marian Studenic from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly and will have the winger make his NHL debut tonight.  Nicholas Merkley was sent to the taxi squad in a corresponding move.
• The New York Islanders are back in action which means that Oliver Wahlstrom is back up from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The winger has played in 32 games this season despite being sent to the taxi squad 25 times.
• The New York Rangers have brought up Vitali Kravtsov, Kaapo Kakko, and Anthony Bitetto from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  With the vacancies on the taxi squad, Jonny Brodzinski was recalled from the minors to bring it back to the minimum four players.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins returned Drew O’Connor to the taxi squad and Josh Currie to the minors, per a team release.  O’Connor has an assist in ten games this season while Currie has played just once.

West Division