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Archives for February 2025

Golden Knights Place William Karlsson on LTIR, Recall Three

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The Vegas Golden Knights are spending their final days before the 4-Nations Face-Off break by jumping through salary cap hoops. They’ve announced a litany of roster moves intended to maximize their cap space accrued from long-term injured reserve, all captured by PuckPedia. Vegas first recalled winger Alexander Holtz and goaltender Akira Schmid, then reassigned center Raphael Lavoie. Those moves placed them $135K under the cap ceiling. Vegas then placed top center William Karlsson on long-term injured reserve and recalled forward Jonas Rondbjerg, which they wouldn’t have been able to afford without shelving Karlsson. By recalling two players and getting as close to the cap ceiling as they could before moving Karlsson, Vegas maximized the amount of LTIR cap relief they were provided. They now sit with $5.133MM in available cap space, but will be one contract’s worth of cap over the limit when Karlsson is back to full health.

The string of moves were a great exercise in how to leverage the NHL’s LTIR policies, but Vegas will still be worse for wear without Karlsson. The 32-year-old centerman hasn’t played since January 20th, when he sustained a lower-body injury against the St. Louis Blues. He was immediately ruled out week-to-week, and the team still didn’t have a clear timeline for his return 10 days later. An LTIR placement will now force him out of the lineup through at least February 24th, the second game after Vegas returns from break.

Karlsson has continued to serve as a top center for the Golden Knights, but his season has been filled with abnormal scoring struggles. He has just 18 points in 38 games on the year, and was amidst a seven-game scoring slump prior to his injury. Karlsson has one assist in 10 games since the start of 2025. He’s still provided strong performances for the Golden Knights away from the scoresheet. He currently sits with a fantastic 58.9 percent faceoff win-rate that ranks Karlsson fifth among all NHL centers. Karlsson has also recorded 89 shots on goal and a plus-seven, respectively ranking him third and fifth among the team’s forwards.

Those numbers represent an impact that’ll be hard for Vegas to replace. Their flurry of moves leaves the task of filling in up to Rondbjerg and Holtz. The latter has far-and-away been the more popular fixture of Vegas’ lineup. Holtz has scored 11 points in 49 games this season, while Rondbjerg hasn’t yet scored through 10 appearances. The duo should both earn ice-time on Vegas’ left wing while the team deals with absences to Karlsson, Lavoie, Cole Schwindt, and Tanner Pearson.

Predators Acquire Mark Friedman From Canucks

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The Vancouver Canucks have traded defenseman Mark Friedman to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations. Friedman has appeared in five NHL games this season and recorded no scoring, 10 penalty minutes, and a minus-four.

Friedman has spent the majority of this season with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. He’s recorded one goal, six points, 15 penalty minutes, and a plus-four through 20 games with the minor Canucks, continuing his service as a low-scoring, physical depth defenseman. That’s exactly what the Canucks were searching for when they acquired him via trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins early into the 2023-24 season. Vancouver sent defenseman Jack Rathbone and winger Karel Plasek back the other way. Friedman has appeared in 28 games with the Canucks since then. He’s only managed one point and an average of 12:34 in ice time in that span, but his 39 hits equates to the fourth-highest hits-per-60 (6.65) of any Canucks defenseman since the start of last season. He ranks behind Noah Juulsen (11.52), rookie defender Elias Pettersson (9.13), and Nikita Zadorov (8.07).

The Philadelphia Flyers originally drafted Friedman in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft. He made his AHL debut two years later, and has since spent the last nine seasons bouncing between NHL and AHL lineups. His career as a depth forward has taken him through stops in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, and now Nashville. In that time, Friedman has totaled 93 NHL games, 13 points, 80 penalty minutes, and  141 hits.

Friedman now seems destined to join a burly group of defenders with the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville’s minor league affiliate. The squad carries plenty of heft thanks to captain Kevin Gravel, Jack Matier, and Spencer Stastney. The trio have served as the physical compliment behind more nimble blue-liners like Ryan Ufko and Nick Blankenburg. But an injury to Jeremy Lauzon and the departure of Alexandre Carrier have forced Gravel and Blankenburg into the NHL lineup, and dried out Nashville’s previously abundant defense depth. The Predators have erred on the side of physicality rather than finesse in addressing that issue, and now add the burly Friedman to their list of fringe NHL defenders.

Lightning’s Brandon Halverson Clears Waivers

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Feb. 7: Halverson cleared waivers, per Friedman. The Lightning now have 30 days to send him to the AHL.

Feb. 6: Halverson is on waivers today for the purpose of reassignment back to Syracuse, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He backed up Andrei Vasilevskiy on Tuesday against the Senators and will do so again for the second half of their home-and-home tonight, but clearing today will allow the Bolts to return him to the minors as soon as tomorrow or over the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

Feb. 3: Veteran netminder Brandon Halverson has turned his impressive play into an NHL contract. The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they’ve signed Halverson to a two-year contract taking him through the 2025-26 season.

Halverson had been the top netminder playing on an AHL contract this season and arguably the top player. The Traverse City, MI native returned to North America last season after a one-year stint with the Bayreuth Tigers of the DEL2 league in Germany.

He spent much of last season with the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, where he posted a record of 14 wins, 12 losses, and 3 overtime losses in 32 games, along with a .913 save percentage and a 2.82 goals-against average. After joining the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch for the playoff stretch, his performance improved significantly, achieving a record of 7-3-3 in 14 games, with a .913 save percentage and a 2.18 goals-against average. He also recorded a .916 save percentage in seven playoff games.

This season has quickly become the best of his professional career. After Saturday’s loss to the AHL’s Rochester Americans, Halverson has a 12-7-10 record through 26 games with a .918 SV% and 2.20 GAA, including a league-leading four shutouts.

The Lightning have been dealing with some uncertainty in the net due to a short-term injury to backup netminder Jonas Johansson. Given Halverson’s impressive play on the season, Tampa Bay may opt to utilize him in their backup role for the time being instead of Matt Tomkins. Regardless, it’s been an impressive road back to an NHL contract for Halverson who last suited up in one game for the New York Rangers in the 2017-18 season.

Sabres Reassign Isak Rosen

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High-end Sabres prospect Isak Rosen is headed back to the minors, the team announced. They’re back to having an open roster spot after loaning him to AHL Rochester.

Rosen, 22 in March, is in the second season of his entry-level contract. Drafted 14th overall in 2021, he’s now in his third campaign with Rochester and has seen steady offensive development. The Swedish winger led Rochester in scoring when Buffalo recalled him on Monday in the wake of an upper-body injury to Tage Thompson,  posting 23-16–39 in 40 games.

Buffalo had just one game this week, a 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Rosen skated 11:46 in that appearance, his second of the season after a brief recall in November, but only mustered a shot on goal with a minus-one rating.

In nine NHL appearances across the past two seasons, the No. 4 prospect in Buffalo’s pool (per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic) has struggled to make an impact despite his continued development in the AHL. He’s still looking for his first NHL point with a minus-four rating, a deserved one as his 41.1 career CF% at even strength indicates. He hasn’t seen much usage high in the lineup, averaging 8:42 per game, but he still hasn’t quite seemed able to keep pace in sheltered usage.

He’ll go back to the minors now with Thompson expected to return to action tomorrow against the Predators, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters, including Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550. It’ll only be a one-game absence for him after he was hit hard in the third period of last Sunday’s win over the Devils by Stefan Noesen. 

The Sabres are also tracking to activate Tyson Kozak from injured reserve after missing two games with an illness, and starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected back between the pipes after sitting out the Columbus game for undisclosed reasons, Ruff said. Activating Kozak will require another roster move, presumably reassigning recent goalie call-up Felix Sandström to Rochester if Luukkonen is back.

Sidney Crosby Out Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury

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Feb. 7: Crosby is day-to-day and won’t play against the Blueshirts, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters, including the team’s Josh Getzoff. However, his availability for the 4 Nations Face-Off is still uncertain and would certainly be feasible given his short-term designation.

Feb. 6: Crosby skated before practice Thursday but was not a full participant, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. It’s still unclear if he’ll play in tomorrow’s game against the Rangers.

Feb. 5: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is still being evaluated for the upper-body injury he sustained in yesterday’s shootout loss to the Devils, head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed to reporters Wednesday.

Crosby got shaken up midway through the third period of the contest when he was caught between New Jersey skaters Erik Haula and Luke Hughes shortly after disposing of the puck. He didn’t leave the game but wasn’t available to practice today, Sullivan said.

An absence of any length ends Pittsburgh’s increasingly slim playoff hopes, which dropped to 0.9% after the shootout loss. They’re 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and seven points back of a playoff spot but have played three more games than the eight-place Lightning. They’ve been buoyed by their offense amid below-average defense and bottom-five goaltending, and the 37-year-old Crosby leads the pack as their only point-per-game player with 58 in 55 appearances.

Crosby continues to serve as the team’s undoubted MVP, averaging north of 20 minutes per game and winning 56.1% of his draws. He may have a -15 actual rating, but his possession numbers rank among the team’s best at even strength with a 53.4 CF% and +2.6 expected rating. Cody Glass is the only Penguin to post better numbers in both stats.

He hasn’t missed a game due to injury since a concussion kept him out of Game 6 of their 2022 first-round series against the Rangers. The Pens are also without No. 2 mainstay Evgeni Malkin, leaving Glass and Kevin Hayes as their projected top-six centers against the Blueshirts on Friday if Crosby can’t go.

The three-time Stanley Cup winner was also recently named captain for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, which begins next week. He’d leave a huge hole on the Canadian squad, whose captaincy would presumably be filled by Connor McDavid if he can’t participate in the tournament.

Flyers Reassign Jacob Gaucher

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The Flyers have reassigned forward Jacob Gaucher to AHL Lehigh Valley, per a team announcement. Doing so opens one of the two roster spots they’ll need to activate Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier from the non-roster list ahead of their Philly debuts tomorrow against the Penguins, which was delayed due to visa issues after their acquisition from the Flames last week.

Gaucher, 23, was signed to a two-year entry-level contract in December after spending parts of three seasons on minor-league deals with Lehigh Valley. He’d spent time in the ECHL as recently as last season but landed a fringe depth role with the Phantoms, posting 8-8–16 with a -7 rating in 59 AHL contests in 2023-24. It was a significant step forward for the 6’3″ pivot, who was still finding his footing in the pros after finishing off his junior career with a 68-point campaign for the QMJHL’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar in 2021-22.

This year, Gaucher had a strong camp with Philly on a tryout and returned to the Phantoms rejuvenated. He’s operating at over double last season’s point-per-game pace, and his plus-one rating is tied for ninth on the team. He totaled 14-13–27 in 44 games before receiving his first NHL call-up last Saturday.

Gaucher served as the Flyers’ fourth-line center for their last three contests, going without a point but managing three shots on goal and winning nine out of 13 faceoffs. He averaged 7:30 per game, all at even strength, and posted strong possession numbers in limited minutes with a 53.3 CF% and a +0.1 expected rating.

His reassignment also comes as Ryan Poehling, the Flyers’ usual fourth-line pivot, returned to practice today in a non-contact jersey, per Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Poehling, who’s on injured reserve, has been out with Jan. 16 with an upper-body injury and has missed 10 games. He’ll presumably miss tomorrow’s game against Pittsburgh but should be good to go when the team resumes its schedule after the 4 Nations Face-Off later this month. His return indicates that recent call-ups Rodrigo Abols and Anthony Richard will likely join Gaucher on the road back to Lehigh Valley over the break.

Blues Reassign Mackenzie MacEachern

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Feb. 7: As expected, the Blues returned MacEachern to Springfield on Friday, according to a team announcement. He was scratched from last night’s loss to the Panthers, as Joseph was available to play.

Feb. 5: The St. Louis Blues have recalled depth forward Mackenzie MacEachern to the NHL. The Blues have two games remaining before going on a two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off. MacEachern will be insurance for bottom-six forward Mathieu Joseph, who missed the Blues’ Wednesday practice due to illness. Defenseman Tyler Tucker also missed the skate with an upper-body injury.

MacEachern has had a productive 2024-25 campaign, even despite missing nearly two months of action between late October and the end of December. He didn’t play routine minutes until the start of January and has been red-hot ever since. MacEachern has 14 points in 12 games since the calendar turned over, and six points in his last five games. Those numbers have helped him climb to 15 points in 17 games this season, good for the third-highest point-per-game scoring on the Springfield Thunderbirds. He’s also recorded 36 penalty minutes and a plus-nine this season.

Those are stout numbers for the career depth forward, and he’ll now get a chance to support the Blues amid more absences. MacEachern is no stranger to the role of injury fill-in. He’s operated as the top forward on St. Louis’ call-up chart since the 2018-19 season and played in 51 NHL games during the 2019-20 season. He’s often filled the role of fourth-line bruiser at the top level and has just 20 points in 123 career NHL games as a result. But his impact is consistent enough to stay in favor of the Blues’ top brass. That trust, and his recent scoring streak, could land MacEachern his NHL season debut before the 4-Nations break, should Joseph need to miss time.

Lightning Reassign Conor Sheary

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Feb. 7: Sheary is back in the minors this morning, the Bolts announced. He skated 11:18 in yesterday’s 5-1 win over Ottawa but failed to record a point, hit, or a shot on goal.

Feb. 6: The Lightning announced Thursday they’ve recalled left-winger Conor Sheary from AHL Syracuse. He joined the team for this morning’s practice and could draw into the lineup in place of Anthony Cirelli, according to Benjamin Pierce of NHL.com. The latter may be dealing with the undisclosed injury that made him a game-time decision for last Saturday’s game against the Islanders. The Lightning’s active roster now stands at 22 players.

Tampa Bay signed Sheary to a three-year, $6MM contract in free agency in 2023. Things haven’t gone well for the two-time Stanley Cup champion, who scored a career-low four goals in 57 games last year and ended up on waivers early in 2024-25 after going pointless through three games. He’s played once since then, skating a season-high 12:18 against the Maple Leafs on Nov. 30 during a brief recall.

The 32-year-old Sheary has been good but not dominant in the AHL, where he ranks second on the Crunch in scoring with 9-15–24 through 31 games. It’s his first action outside the NHL since the 2015-16 campaign when he notched over a point per game with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and earned a mid-season call-up to Pittsburgh that kept him in the league for a decade. The undrafted free agent signing out of UMass has been a serviceable complementary winger throughout much of his career despite his 5’8″, 182-lb frame, notching 124-143–267 in 592 career appearances.

It could be an interesting look for the Bolts tonight against the Senators if they’re down a center without Cirelli. Sheary won’t be shifting to the middle – that task will be going to former Penguins teammate Jake Guentzel, who will anchor a line between Gage Goncalves and Brandon Hagel while veteran Cam Atkinson takes his spot on the top line alongside Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point.

Penguins Recall Emil Bemström

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The Penguins’ bottom-six forward group continues to see turnover. After reassigning Jesse Puljujärvi to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday, Pittsburgh has recalled winger Emil Bemström to take his place on the active roster ahead of Friday’s game against the Rangers, per a team announcement.

Bemström returns to the NHL for the first time since April 2024. The 2017 fourth-rounder posted 3-2–5 in 24 games with an even rating, a 48.9 CF%, and 34 SOG after being acquired from the Blue Jackets before last year’s trade deadline and failed to make the team out of camp last October. He cleared waivers and began the most extended AHL assignment of his career, leading the Baby Pens in scoring with 19-22–41 in 37 games.

The 25-year-old Bemström was an inconsistent but sometimes effective depth scorer in Columbus. He appeared in 56 games for the Jackets in 2019-20 after coming over from Sweden and recorded 20 points, on pace for 30 over an entire season, averaging just over 12 minutes per game. His points-per-game rates varied wildly over the next few years, though. He never topped 10 goals in a single NHL season again and settled in as a fringe bottom-six offensive winger, lighting up the minors when reassigned but failing to produce in NHL minutes consistently.

Bemström now steps in to help a Pittsburgh forward group that is missing its franchise pillars, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, due to injuries. Potential trade chip Rickard Rakell has shifted over to center to help out, but that’s caused a domino effect and shifted depth players like fresh acquisition Danton Heinen into a top-six role. He offers more offensive upside than fellow AHL call-up Bokondji Imama can dole out in a fourth-line role and will likely draw in to aid an offense that’s been limited to 11 goals in its last six games.

The Penguins have a bevy of other forward options producing well in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton who are waiting for a call-up. Among them are prospects Ville Koivunen and Vasiliy Ponomarev, who are both within shouting distance of a point per game. But the more established and experienced Bemström will get the call for now, as the Pens are all but set to miss the playoffs for three straight seasons for the first time since 2002-2006.

Seeking Writers For Pro Hockey Rumors

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PHR is looking to hire a part-time writer with strong evening and weekend availability. The position pays on an hourly basis, with workload ranging from 10 to 15 hours per week.

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  • Ability to analyze articles and craft intelligent, well-written posts summing up the news in a few paragraphs. We need someone who can balance quick copy with thoughtful analysis. You must be able to add value to breaking news with your own insight, numbers, or links to other relevant articles.
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If you’re interested, email prohockeyrumorshelp@gmail.com by Sunday, February 9, and in a few paragraphs, explain why you qualify. Be sure to attach your resume to the email.

We understand that many of those who read this have applied in the past. If you have previously submitted an application for PHR and are still interested, please submit it again. Many will apply, so unfortunately, we cannot respond to every applicant.

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