With the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning in under 12 hours, teams will begin to add some extra help to their rosters from the minors to have players on hand in case of injury. While some teams won’t make mass recalls of depth players (or “black aces”) until their affiliates are eliminated from the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs, the disappearance of the salary cap in the playoffs still offers teams the option to make smaller moves. We’ll keep track of today’s transactions right here.
- The Florida Panthers have recalled forward Zac Dalpe from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers and netminder Evan Fitzpatrick from the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. Richards notes that Dalpe will return to Charlotte tomorrow for the Checkers’ playoff series, so he’s up momentarily to serve as an extra forward in case something goes awry for Florida pre-game. Fitzpatrick, who had strong numbers in limited ECHL action this season, will essentially serve as the team’s emergency goalie while on the active roster.
- The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that the Minnesota Wild are expected to recall Hunter Jones to serve as their third goalie, leaving both Jesper Wallstedt and Zane McIntyre stored in the minors for their AHL affiliate’s playoff run. Jones, a 2019 second-round pick of the Wild, posted a .905 save percentage and one shutout in 38 games with the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders this season.
- The Nashville Predators sent major reinforcements to the Milwaukee Admirals today, re-assigning seven players, per a team release. After seeing NHL opportunities near the end of the season, the team has returned forwards Luke Evangelista, Michael McCarron, Mark Jankowski, Zach Sanford, Kiefer Sherwood, Philip Tomasino, and defenseman Spencer Stastney to the minors. Milwaukee, who finished second in the AHL’s Central Division, increases their status as a serious contender for the Calder Cup with these additions.
- Netminder Brandon Bussi is back up with the Boston Bruins, also to serve as the team’s emergency netminder for tonight’s Game 1 against the Florida Panthers. Bussi, 24, has seen multiple recalls in recent days but has yet to play a minute of NHL action. He’ll head back to AHL Providence eventually as the presumptive starter for their playoff games.
- In a similar fashion to many others, the Carolina Hurricanes brought up goalie Pyotr Kochetkov from the now-eliminated Chicago Wolves today. For the time being, he’ll serve as the third-string netminder behind Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, although Kochetkov has put up the best numbers of any Hurricanes goalie this season in limited action.
- The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Oskari Salminen as their extra goaltender, while assigning Dmitri Kuzmin from the Flint Firebirds to the Manitoba Moose. Kuzmin’s OHL season ended last week with a seven-game loss to the Saginaw Spirits, and given he turns 20 in a few days, his junior career is over. The 2021 third-round defenseman scored 14 goals and 59 points in 65 games this season and will be an interesting prospect to watch as he transitions to the professional level.
This page will be updated throughout the day.