AHL Shuffle: 02/28/22

Just three games grace the NHL schedule this evening, including a battle between two of the league’s best goal scorers. Auston Matthews, currently the leader in the Rocket Richard race with 37 goals, heads to Washington to take on Alex Ovechkin (32 goals) and the Capitals. Matthews won his first Rocket last season after Ovechkin had taken home the trophy in seven of the eight previous years. Has the torch been passed? Or does the 36-year-old eventually get his tenth trophy? As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

• The Washington Capitals have recalled Vitek Vanecek as expected after he got into one conditioning game with the Hershey Bears yesterday. Vanecek has been injured for the past month but is ready to return to the Capitals’ crease and lessen the load on partner Ilya Samsonov.
• Morgan Frost is once again on his way back to the minor leagues. The Philadelphia Flyers have loaned Frost to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he will presumably continue his season in the AHL. The 22-year-old was selected 27th overall in 2017 and has just 52 NHL games to his name so far, recording 30 of those this season with inconsistent results.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Jake Christiansen under emergency conditions, giving them an extra defenseman for tomorrow’s game against the New Jersey Devils. Christiansen, 22, has played in three games for the Blue Jackets this season, his first taste of the NHL.

Central Division

• The Chicago Blackhawks have reassigned Josiah Slavin and Isaak Phillips to the minor leagues, given they don’t play again until Thursday. Phillips is still looking for his first point at the NHL level after making his debut and appearing in four games so far. The 20-year-old defenseman made a meteoric rise through the ranks after being a fifth-round pick in 2020, and has 13 points in 38 games for the Rockford IceHogs this season.
• The Arizona Coyotes have recalled Matias Maccelli from the AHL, a fourth-round pick who has dominated in his first year of North American pro hockey. The 21-year-old has 55 points in 42 games for the Tucson Roadrunners, continuing his blistering development since that 2019 draft.
• The Winnipeg Jets have assigned Dylan Samberg and C.J. Suess to the AHL, suggesting that the former is ready to come off injured reserve and the latter ready to return to minor league action. Samberg hasn’t played a game at either level for more than a month, and will likely need some time to get his legs back under him before getting another chance in the NHL.

Pacific Division

• The Edmonton Oilers have recalled Brad Malone from the AHL, after playing yesterday with just 11 forwards. To accomplish it, Kris Russell was moved to long-term injured reserve, according to CapFriendly. Malone, signed to an NHL contract partway through the year, has yet to make his season debut for the Oilers.
• The San Jose Sharks have recalled Santeri Hatakka from the AHL, after Mario Ferraro went on injured reserve. Ferraro is expected to miss six to eight weeks, meaning there could be an extended look for some of the team’s even younger defenders.

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