The return from the holiday break brought plenty of offense around the NHL last night, with 32 goals (plus a shootout winner) in just three games. Six more are on the table for this evening, meaning we could see the red lamp light quite a few more times. As teams prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling right here.
Atlantic Division
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Remi Elie to the taxi squad, giving them another forward as they travel to Sunrise to take on the Panthers tomorrow night. The Lightning narrowly escaped with a win against the Canadiens last night, but in positive news, Brayden Point appeared to hit the ground running with two goals and three points in his return.
- The Detroit Red Wings have sent Luke Witkowski and Victor Brattstrom back to the AHL from the taxi squad, giving the Grand Rapids Griffins some extra bodies. Brattstrom, 24, has split the season–his first in North America–between Grand Rapids and the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have brought Michael Hutchinson up to the taxi squad, while sending Joey Anderson, Kyle Clifford, Carl Dahlstrom, Filip Kral and Kristians Rubins down to the Toronto Marlies. The Marlies are expected to return to action tomorrow night for the first time in more than two weeks and will now have several key players back in the lineup.
Metropolitan Division
- After clearing waivers today, Washington Capitals forward Michael Sgarbossa has ended up on the taxi squad. Brett Leason and Alex Alexeyev meanwhile have been recalled to the active roster, while the team has activated Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie, and Tom Wilson.
- Stefan Noesen has been assigned to the Carolina Hurricanes taxi squad, as he continues to be a top injury replacement option for the team. In 23 games with the Chicago Wolves, Noesen–who does have over 200 NHL games played–has 24 points.
- Gerald Mayhew and Felix Sandstrom have both been recalled from the taxi squad. Sandstrom, 24, has not yet made an NHL appearance and has a 3-7-3 record in 15 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season.
Central Division
- The Minnesota Wild have officially recalled Calen Addison to their taxi squad, with the expectation that he will slide onto the active roster to replace Jonas Brodin this weekend. Brodin entered the COVID protocol yesterday, meaning the Wild will be without several key players for the Winter Classic.
- The Arizona Coyotes have made a whole bunch of transactions after last night’s game. The team has assigned Blake Speers and Jan Jenik to the taxi squad, Michael Carcone and Vladislav Kolyachonok to the AHL, and moved Bokondji Imama and Josef Korenar back to the AHL from the taxi squad. Alex Galchenyuk has been activated to take one of the roster spots.
- The St. Louis Blues have recalled Alexei Toropchenko from the AHL to the active roster and expect to have him in the lineup tonight. The young forward has played in three games so far this season but is still looking for his first NHL point.
- The Nashville Predators have recalled Michael McCarron from the taxi squad. They’ve also recalled Tomas Vomacka all the way from the ECHL to join the taxi squad, giving them an extra goaltender for the time being.
Pacific Division
- The Los Angeles Kings have activated Cal Petersen from the COVID protocol, meaning Garret Sparks can be loaned back to the AHL. He won’t be going alone though, as Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Martin Frk, and Jacob Moverare will also all report back to the AHL.
- The Vancouver Canucks have assigned Ashton Sautner and Spencer Martin to the team’s taxi squad, after two players entered the COVID protocol today. The pair will give them some extra bodies on the current road trip, including an additional goaltender just in case. Martin, 26, has three NHL games under his belt but has been excellent for the Abbotsford Canucks this season, going 5-0-1 with a .930 save percentage.
This page will be updated throughout the day