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Snapshots: Toninato, Lundestrom, Barzal, Eichel

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The Blackhawks announced that they’ve assigned center Dominic Toninato back to AHL Rockford.  Recalled three weeks ago, the 31-year-old got into five games with Chicago while on recall, picking up an assist and ten hits in 9:12 per game of playing time.  Toninato has been much more productive with the IceHogs, notching five goals and 12 assists in 24 games with them.  With his assignment, the Blackhawks now have an open roster spot.  Don’t expect that spot to go to Connor Bedard, however, as while he returned to the ice today per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, it was a light skate and there remains no firm timetable for his return.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Blue Jackets center Isac Lundestrom is expected to miss a week or two with a lower-body injury sustained in practice over the weekend, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old is in his first season with Columbus and has been rather quiet offensively, scoring just once while adding four assists in 35 games although he does take a regular turn on the penalty kill.
  • Islanders center Mathew Barzal is a little lighter in the wallet today. The league announced that he has received a $5K fine for his slash on Columbus winger Mason Marchment in the second period of Sunday’s game.  Barzal received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct on the play.  The fine, which is the maximum allowable under the CBA, goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
  • Golden Knights center Jack Eichel took part in today’s morning skate in a non-contact jersey, relays Fox 5 Vegas’ Vince Sapienza (Twitter link). While he has been ruled out for tonight’s game versus Minnesota, he could return Wednesday against Nashville.  Eichel has missed the last two weeks due to both an illness and a lower-body injury.  Despite missing that much time, he remains the team leader in scoring with 12 goals and 29 assists in 41 games.

Oilers Activate, Assign Connor Clattenburg

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The Edmonton Oilers have activated defenseman Connor Clattenburg off of long-term injured reserve. He has missed the last 11 games after sustaining an eye injury in Edmonton’s December 4th win over the Seattle Kraken. Now, he’ll return to action in the minor-leagues where he has spent the bulk of the season.

Clattenburg is in his first pro season after making his AHL debut at the end of last season. He recorded two points and 59 penalty minutes in 15 games with the Bakersfield Condors to start the season. 41 of those penalty minutes came in just two games in which Clattenburg had three fights. That start tot he year was enough to earn Clattenburg the first NHL call-up of his career in late November.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound bruiser made a quick impact at the bottom of Edmonton’s lineup. He scored his first NHL goal in his second game and has racked up 13 penalty minutes in his first five games. His first NHL fight game in his third game against Seattle forward Frederick Gaudreau and only lasted a few punches.

Clattenburg took on his enforcer style over three years in the OHL. He racked up 115 penalty minutes in 56 games as an OHL rookie in 2022-23. That was, at the time, the most of any OHL rookie since Ty Bilcke recorded 221 PIMs in the 2011-12 season. Clattenburg finished his junior career with 74 points and 302 penalty minutes in 162 games. He will bring that grit back to Bakersfield lineup and could earn a return to the NHL with continued physical play.

Hurricanes’ Pyotr Kochetkov Placed On IR, Potentially Out For Season

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The Carolina Hurricanes have placed goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov on injured reserve. Kochetkov has been battling a hip injury since the start of the season. He missed all of October and the last week of November due to the issue. Now, after being forced out of the lineup for a third time, Kochetkov has elected to undergo surgery to address the injury, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told Chip Alexander of The News and Observer.

Kochetkov has only played in nine games this season. He was successful in those appearances, posting a 6-3-0 record, .899 save percentage, and 2.33 goals-against-average. He also had one shutout on the year. Kochetkov’s stat line ranked second in Carolina’s goaltending room across the board, behind emerging starter Brandon Bussi.

Bussi will be who Carolina leans on in Kochetkov’s absence. The 27-year-old has posted 12 wins, a .910 Sv%, and a 2.10 GAA in the first 14 games of his NHL career this season. He has been a standout in the minor leagues since signing with the AHL’s Providence Bruins out of college in 2022. Bussi posted a first .922 Sv% in the first 37 games of his AHL career, spanning the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. That entrance into the league earned Bussi an AHL all-star recognition in 2023 – an accolade he followed with 23 wins and a .913 Sv% in 41 games with Providence in 2023-24.

In competition with Michael DiPietro, Bussi fell to a .907 Sv% in 33 AHL games last season. That slip prompted a move to the Hurricanes this summer, which has quickly paid off. Bussi has not appeared in the AHL yet this season and could have a clear path to a true starter’s role ahead of struggling veteran Frederik Andersen.

In a corresponding move to Andersen’s IR designation, the Hurricanes have also recalled defenseman Gavin Bayreuther. He will help the team back up a handful of game-time decisions on defense, Brind’Amour told NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. Bayreuther spent last season with Lausanne HC in Switzerland’s National League. He scored 23 points in 52 games, a small scoring spark that seems to be bleeding into this season. His 13 points in 24 games rank second on the Chicago Wolves’ blue line behind Domenick Fensore. Bayreuther hasn’t played in the NHL this season, his last game being back in 2023, though he has been recalled as a backup once by Carolina.

With their shifting lineup, the Hurricanes will hope surgery helps Kochetkov return to form. He has posted a sub-.900 save percentage across his last 56 NHL games, dating back to the start of 2024-25. The performances have been a steep drop from the 38 wins and .910 Sv% Kochetkov recorded in 69 games through his first three NHL seasons. He is a fringe starter when healthy and should still fill a need in Carolina’s lineup on the other side of his recovery. Kochetkov carries a $2MM cap hit through the end of next season.

Senators Reassign Xavier Bourgault And Dennis Gilbert

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Dec. 29th: After Ottawa’s loss to the Maple Leafs, the team quietly moved Bourgault and Gilbert back to AHL Belleville, according to the AHL transactions log. Neither player participated in last night’s contest against the Utica Comets, so they won’t be eligible for an additional recall until after the new year.

Dec. 27th: The Senators have made a pair of roster moves coming out of the holiday break to give them some extra depth.  The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Xavier Bourgault and defenseman Dennis Gilbert from AHL Belleville.  To make room for them on the roster, center Lars Eller was moved to injured reserve.

This is the first regular season recall of Bourgault’s career (though he has been brought up as a Black Ace in the playoffs before).  The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Edmonton back in 2021, going 22nd overall but has played exclusively in the AHL since turning pro in 2022.  Ottawa acquired him back in the 2024 offseason.

Bourgault has been quite productive with Belleville to earn this promotion.  In 32 games this season, he has nine goals and 18 assists, including ten helpers in his last nine outings.  As a result, he has already surpassed his output from last season when he had 26 points in 61 contests.  He’s expected to make his NHL debut against Toronto tonight with the team announcing (Twitter link) that Bourgault is expected to slot in on the fourth line.

Gilbert, meanwhile, gets his second recall after being acquired from Philadelphia earlier this season.  He got into one game on that first stint, his only taste of action at the top level in 2025-26 though he was injured for most of the season.  Between Belleville and AHL Lehigh Valley, the 30-year-old has six assists in 13 games.

Sabres Reassign Isak Rosen, Ryan Johnson; Rasmus Dahlin To Return

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The NHL’s holiday break roster freeze has lifted, allowing teams to shift players between the NHL and AHL once again. The Buffalo Sabres have taken advantage of the lift to reassign forward Isak Rosen and defenseman Ryan Johnson to the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

Johnson was, notably, called up to the lineup while Buffalo awaited the return of star defender Rasmus Dahlin, who spent the holiday break in Sweden with his fiance, who has faced medical concerns throughout the regular season. This move indicates that Dahlin will be back with the club when they face the St. Louis Blues on Monday, a plan that head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed to Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat.

Johnson has returned to his role of minor-league call-up this season. He has no scoring in three NHL games and 11 points in 25 AHL games this season. Those numbers are holding the mobile, two-way defender in that extra role – two seasons after he manageed just seven points, all assists, in 41 games of his rookie season in Buffalo. Johnson is still searching for his first NHL goal. That hunt will go on pause as he returns to a top-four role with the Americans.

Rosen has been a much bigger part of the Rochester lineup. He leads the team in goals and ranks third in points with 12 goals and 22 points in 15 games. That scoring puts Rosen on top of the AHL in points-per-game (1.47) among players with at least 15 games played. The hot scoring has begun to shine through to the NHL, with Rosen boasting seven points in 13 games this season. He will look to cement his spot in the lineup on his next call-up, which will likely come as soon as Buffalo needs a helping hand.

The Sabres leaned on Mattias Samuelsson with Dahlin out of the lineup on Saturday. Samuelsson put up a three-point night in return, the highest-scoring game of his six-year career. It was a standout performance when the Sabres needed one, and helped the club extend their win streak to a surprising eight games. Samuelsson’s performance could have Buffalo shifting around their blue-line, even after Dahlin returns.

Sabres Recall Ryan Johnson

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The Sabres will be without captain Rasmus Dahlin for their game tonight against Boston as he remains back home in Sweden with his fiancée who continues to recover from a heart transplant over the summer.  As a result, the team has recalled defenseman Ryan Johnson from AHL Rochester, per Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald.

To make room for Johnson on the active roster, Dahlin has been designated as a non-roster player as they did when he took a leave of absence earlier this season.  While he won’t play tonight, it’s expected that he’ll be back to accompany the team on their upcoming road trip.

As for Johnson, this is his first recall of the season.  He actually broke camp with Buffalo and played in three games in the opening week but averaged just nine minutes per game of playing time.  As a result, he was quickly sent down to play a bigger role with the Americans.

The 24-year-old, who is in the first season of a three-year deal, has played in 25 games with Rochester so far this season, picking up 11 points.  That’s just two points shy of his personal best, set last season in 66 games.  With six other defensemen already up with the big club, it’s quite possible that Johnson will serve in a reserve role for the time being until Dahlin returns.

Blackhawks Recall Landon Slaggert

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When the Blackhawks assigned goaltender Laurent Brossoit to the minors after he cleared waivers, they opened up a roster spot that they elected not to fill right away.  However, they’ve decided that filling it after the holiday break made sense as the team announced that they have recalled winger Landon Slaggert from AHL Rockford.

It’s the second recall of the season for the 23-year-old who is in the first season of a two-year, one-way contract worth $900K per season.  Slaggert started the season on injured reserve, missing a handful of games before being activated.  He got into four games before being sent down to the IceHogs to get some more playing time.  He was then brought up in mid-November for a few weeks but again, playing time was somewhat limited, leading to his reassignment three weeks ago.  Overall, he has one goal in ten games with Chicago this season while averaging just 9:04 of ice time per contest.

Slaggert has been a bit more productive in Rockford.  He has played in eight games with them this season, picking up two goals and two assists.  However, that production is down in pace from last season when he collected 10 goals and 15 helpers in just 39 contests.  With his recall, Chicago’s roster is now full at 23 players.

Lightning Recall Scott Sabourin And Steven Santini

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Tampa Bay and Florida have played some particularly physical games in recent memory.  With the next matchup slated for tonight, the Lightning have brought up some extra grit, announcing the recalls of winger Scott Sabourin and defenseman Steven Santini from AHL Syracuse.

Sabourin has only played in seven games with Tampa Bay this season despite several recalls.  Three of those have come against the Panthers, which doesn’t include the preseason where he received a four-game suspension for an incident against Florida.  The 33-year-old has actually been somewhat productive in his limited action, picking up a goal and two assists along with 13 hits and 32 penalty minutes despite averaging just 9:17 per night of playing time.

Sabourin is on a one-year, two-way deal with Tampa Bay and has spent the bulk of the year with the Crunch.  In 20 games with them, he has six goals and two assists, putting him on pace for double-digit goals in the minors for what would be the fourth straight season.

As for Santini, he has suited up eight times for the Lightning so far in 2025-26, his highest NHL games played total since the 2018-19 campaign.  The 30-year-old has one assist to his name so far this season along with six hits while averaging 12:01 per night.

The veteran is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal signed back in June and has also spent the majority of the year in Syracuse.  In 18 games with the Crunch so far, Santini has five assists.

Santini may take the place of veteran Ryan McDonagh in the lineup tonight.  Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times relayed (Twitter link) that the veteran did not take part in today’s morning skate and has re-aggravated his previous injury.  Head coach Jon Cooper listed McDonagh as out day-to-day.

The team had two open roster spots so no further roster movement was necessary to add the two and their roster now sits at the maximum of 23 players.

Islanders Place Ilya Sorokin On IR, Recall Marcus Hogberg

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When the Islanders assigned Marcus Hogberg back to the minors during the holiday break, the hope was that Ilya Sorokin would be ready to return to the lineup.  That isn’t the case, however, as the team announced (Twitter link) that Sorokin has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to December 20th with Hogberg coming up on an emergency basis once again to take his place on the roster.  Their active roster remains at the maximum of 23 players.

Sorokin is dealing with an undisclosed injury that caused him to miss their last two games against Buffalo and New Jersey.  The 30-year-old is their undisputed starter and has played well this season, posting a 2.55 GAA and a .910 SV% in 24 starts, his best numbers since the 2022-23 campaign when he was the runner-up for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender.

As for Hogberg, the 31-year-old is on a one-way contract this season as their third-string netminder.  (Semyon Varlamov was supposed to be the backup but injuries have kept him out all season with David Rittich replacing him.)  He has played in 14 games with AHL Bridgeport, putting up a 3.08 GAA and a .881 SV%.  He has yet to play in the NHL this season but did get into 15 games with the Isles in 2024-25.

Newsday’s Andrew Gross relays (Twitter link) that Sorokin is expected to accompany the team to Columbus for their game on Sunday although Rittich is scheduled to get the start.  If Sorokin is okay enough to back up, he’s eligible to be activated for that game thanks to the back-dated placement as he’ll have already missed the required seven days.

Sharks Reassign Ethan Cardwell To AHL

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With the NHL now off for the next three days, there have been a handful of roster moves around the league today.  The new rule saying that players must play in at least one AHL game if they’re sent down has limited the number of moves but San Jose was among those to make one.  Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relays (Twitter link) that the Sharks have assigned winger Ethan Cardwell to AHL San Jose.

The 23-year-old was recalled a little more than a week ago following injuries to forwards Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev.  Since the promotion was so recent, Cardwell remained eligible to be sent down even with the roster freeze in effect.

Cardwell got into three games with the Sharks on this stint, bringing his season total to seven.  However, the most recent one – last night against Vegas – was particularly tough as he was on the ice for four goals against despite playing a season-low 9:48.  He didn’t pick up any points over those three outings, keeping his total for the campaign at one, a goal scored back in early November.

Cardwell has spent the bulk of the season with the Barracuda but injuries have limited him to just 14 games.  He has been productive in those outings, however, with three goals and six assists.

With the move, San Jose now has one open roster spot.  They can either choose to fill it by calling someone else up as early as Saturday or, if Kurashev is able to return, he can be activated into that vacancy.

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