With less than 24 hours remaining until the trade deadline, a few teams are making minor roster moves for several reasons. Whether to accrue a few cap dollars before tomorrow’s deadline or to ensure certain players are eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs, there will be plenty of movement between the NHL and AHL before tomorrow afternoon.
- According to the AHL transactions page, the Chicago Blackhawks have reassigned forward Andreas Athanasiou to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Despite a disappointing season, the IceHogs are competing for a playoff spot in the AHL’s Central Division and would qualify if the season ended today. Athanasiou has been a large part of that hunt. Since clearing waivers and being reassigned in early November, Athanasiou has scored eight goals and 16 points in 16 games with AHL Rockford. Should they qualify by season’s end, he’ll be an important part of their playoff success.
- In a move similar to the Blackhawks, the Calgary Flames announced that they have reassigned defenseman Ilya Solovyov to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. The Mogilev, Belarus native has again spent much of the time in the AHL this season, scoring six goals and 21 points in 43 contests. His point production is good for fourth on the team among defensemen, and his +16 rating is the second-best.
- The San Jose Sharks are expected to make a minor roster move, although it won’t involve their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. According to Curtis Pashelka of the East Bay Times, the Sharks are expected to activate Nikolai Kovalenko from the injured reserve ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. It’ll be the second time Kovalenko has played his former team since being traded in early December. He’s been limited to 17 games in San Jose due to a pair of injuries but has scored one goal and eight points when healthy.
- According to a team announcement, the New York Rangers have reassigned defenseman Matthew Robertson to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. The team has also recalled Chad Ruhwedel in a corresponding roster move. Despite being recalled a few times this season, Robertson has yet to debut in the NHL. It’s prudent for the Rangers organization to make Robertson eligible for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs if he has no avenue to time in the NHL. The former 49th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft has scored one goal and 18 points in 47 AHL contests this season. Ruhwedel will reprise a familiar role as the team’s seventh defenseman. He has tallied one assist in five games for the Rangers this season, averaging 14:06 of ice time.
- The Philadelphia Flyers are expecting to assign goaltender Aleksei Kolosov to the minor leagues before the AHL roster deadline on Friday per Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The move was first reported by Anthony SanFilippo of Philadelphia-based sports site On Pattison, who adds that the move isn’t a paper transaction. Kolosov has split time between the major and minor rosters this season, with a 4-8-1 record and .870 save percentage in 15 NHL games and a 2-4-1 record and .874 Sv% in seven AHL games. He was the starter for the KHL’s Dynamo Minsk last seaosn, where he set a much more acheived 22-21-3 record and .907 save percentage in 47 games.
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