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Wild Place Vinnie Hinostroza On Injured Reserve

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Nov. 24: Hinostroza was placed on injured reserve today and handed a week-to-week designation, the team announced. He’s been ruled out for tomorrow’s game against the Blackhawks as a result, but is slated to miss more time than that. They haven’t made a corresponding recall yet, but could do so on Tuesday.

Nov. 22: The Minnesota Wild faced another negative injury update after Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Forward Vinnie Hinostroza left the match six minutes into the second period after taking an awkward stumble against the end boards. He appeared to be in immediate pain but was able to get off the ice under his own power. The resulting lower-body injury is considered serious and will force Hinostroza to miss “awhile,” head coach John Hynes told Michael Russo of The Athletic after the game.

Hinostroza has been a fixture of Minnesota’s bottom-six through the start of the season. He has appeared in all 22 games this season and recorded five points, 20 hits, and 22 shots on goal. This is his first full season in the Wild organization, after joining the club off waivers from the Nashville Predators last February. He finished the 2024-25 season with 25 games, eight points, and 37 shots on goal in a Wild jersey.

Hinstroza has built a commendable NHL career as a journeyman depth forward. He began his career with four seasons in Chicago starting in 2015. That was the longest he has spent with one club. A move to the Arizona Coyotes in 2018 kicked off a string of one-or two-year tenures across the NHL. He has played for seven clubs throughout his career, appearing on four different AHL rosters. In that time, Hinostroza has racked up 61 goals and 166 points in 434 NHL games. His career year was the 2018-19 season, when he tallied 16 goals and 39 points in 72 games with the Coyotes. He’s a utility winger who finds responsibility playing off of his team’s stars.

Another injured forward will be the last thing Minnesota needs. Marco Rossi, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Ryan Hartman are all already on the Wild’s injured reserve, which has pushed rookie Danila Yurov into a starring role and Liam Ohgren and Ben Jones back into the nightly lineup. Now, Minnesota could need to turn towards another rookie – Hunter Haight – to fill Hinostroza’s spot on the fourth line. Haight managed no scoring and a minus-two in the first two games of his NHL career earlier this season. He also has five points in 13 AHL games. He’ll compete with Ohgren, Jones, and Tyler Pitlick for a fourth-line spot – at least until Minnesota opts to recall a player like Nicolas Aube-Kubel or Oskar Olausson from the minor leagues.

The need for another recall should become clearer as Minnesota learns more about Hinostroza’s timeline.

Sabres, Alexandar Georgiev Terminate Contract

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Nov. 24: Georgiev cleared unconditional waivers, per Friedman, meaning he’s had his contract with Buffalo terminated and is free to sign with Spartak.

Nov. 23: Insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared this afternoon that Sabres goaltender Alexander Georgiev has been waived with the intent of contract termination. Georgiev is set to move on to Russia and join Spartak of the KHL.

Georgiev was waived last month, then cleared and joined the AHL’s Rochester Americans. There, the Sabres affiliate had a wealth of goaltending, arguably at a legitimate NHL level, with Devon Levi alongside Georgiev, as well as prospect Topias Leinonen. Before the season, Buffalo had significant question marks in net with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen banged up, and the respectable but not exactly standout Alex Lyon tasked with holding things down.

As it has turned out, Lyon has performed steadily, and waiver pickup Colten Ellis has also exceeded expectations. There was no real path forward for Georgiev in the organization. The Bulgarian native played in two games for Rochester, both ending in losses with a 3.57 GAA. He now seems to be in greener pastures, joining a solid Spartak club, which has needed help in net, where he will be a star at the KHL level.

Originally undrafted out of the Finnish Liiga, an unusual path for most Russian players, Georgiev made an impression with the Rangers, who signed him in 2017. Making his NHL debut in 2018, Georgiev has the distinction of serving as backup for franchise icon Hendrik Lundqvist in his final season as a Ranger, gradually taking a higher workload. With the emergence of star Igor Shesterkin, though, Georgiev’s future in New York became uncertain.

After the 2021-22 season, Georgiev was dealt to the freshly minted Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche for draft picks in order to replace Darcy Kuemper. Georgiev emerged as a low-stakes, affordable option for a team strong enough up front to make up for any shortcomings in net. Sure enough, Georgiev posted his best season as a pro, leading the NHL with 40 wins and becoming an NHL All-Star.

Unfortunately for Georgiev, despite twice leading the league in wins, all while still remaining under 30 years old, Colorado quickly pulled the plug in 2024-25 amidst his shaky play. While unusual for a team to do so with a former All-Star, it appeared the success was largely driven due to the team in front of him. Georgiev was dealt to the hardcore rebuilding San Jose Sharks, where Colorado brought back Mackenzie Blackwood in return.

In the thick of an aggressive rebuild, getting heavily outshot most nights, Georgiev naturally did not have as much success in San Jose in a role that is especially tough on any goaltender. GM Mike Grier let his contract expire after 2024-25.

Georgiev was signed in September by Buffalo, with an opportunity to re-establish himself as an NHLer; however, with the emergence of other netminders in the organization, doors shut quickly. Still just 29, it is not impossible he could make an NHL return, but for now, Georgiev will likely be eager to return closer to home as a major standout player in the KHL.

Canadiens Recall Adam Engström

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The Montreal Canadiens will reward a top prospect for a five-point night in the AHL. Defenseman Adam Engström has been recalled to the NHL lineup ahead of a three-game road-trip. The 23-year-old leads AHL defenseman with five goals, and leads the Laval Rockets defense with 14 points. Eight of those points have come in his last four games.

On the other side of his hot streak, Engström will now receive the first call-up of his professional career. He signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens, and joined Laval, last season. His rookie AHL year had its ups-and-downs and ended with 32 points and 50 penalty minutes in 79 total games. Engström was no stranger to pro hockey before his time in the AHL, having already scored 38 points in 95 SHL games between 2021 and 2024. But breaking into North America, and getting year-one out of the way, seems to have a new layer of confidence to his game that’s paying off this season.

Montreal drafted Engström in the third-round of the 2022 NHL Draft, following a year where he posted 35 points in 51 games in Sweden’s junior league. He was lauded as a reliable, two-way defender capable of moving the puck in his draft year. In three years since, he’s added a strong physical frame and better jump towards the puck, bringing his game to a much higher level.

Engstrom will compete with Arber Xhekaj for a spot on Montreal’s third-pair. Xhekaj could earn a slight bit of favor, with his brother Florian Xhekaj also in the lineup. But should Montreal want a responsible play-driver, over a pure enforcer, a swap to Engström could be timely.

Rangers Announce Multiple Roster Moves

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The Rangers have cycled around youngsters on the NHL roster. Winger Brett Berard and goaltender Dylan Garand have both been recalled, while defenseman Scott Morrow has been assigned back to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. Morrow stepped into his first three games with the Rangers on his latest recall. He recorded no scoring and a -2 rating.

To make room for Garand’s addition, defenseman William Borgen has been placed on injured reserve, retroactive to his last game on Nov. 18, per Peter Baugh of The Athletic. He will be eligible to return as soon as he’s back to full health, but is currently carrying a day-to-day designation as he recovers from an upper-body injury. This move will leave the Rangers with six healthy defensemen and only two right-shot defenders for their upcoming schedule.

These moves will most notably help New York address the injury that backup goaltender Jonathan Quick sustained in Saturday’s loss to the Mammoth. He managed to finish the game, but Garand’s call-up could indicate that Quick’s health is still up in the air. The Rangers host the St. Louis Blues on Monday, then depart for a two-game road trip on Wednesday. Garand could offer emergency support should Quick need to step out of any portion of that road trip.

The rookie goaltender has faced some early-season struggles in Hartford’s starting role. He’s appeared in 11 of the team’s 17 games and set a 3-6-2 record and .897 save percentage. The performance is well below the 20-10-8 record and .913 SV% he put up in 39 appearances with Hartford last season.

Despite that slow step, Garand has firmly remained New York’s third-string goaltender. He will now bear the fruits of that standing with an injury call-up. Garand could even make his NHL debut on this recall, if New York wanted to keep star Igor Shesterkin from starting in three games straight.

This move will also bring Berard back to the top flight. The hard-nosed winger has had his ups and downs with the Wolf Pack, recording nine points and 24 penalty minutes in 17 games so far. He has spent the start of the season in the minor leagues, despite scoring 10 points in 35 NHL games in his rookie season last year. This could be a chance for the 23-year-old to return to the NHL lineup, though it’d likely be in a bottom-six role.

Meanwhile, Morrow will return to Hartford once again. He has bounced between the NHL and AHL lineups all season long, after being acquired by New York in the summer trade that sent K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes. Morrow already has two points, four penalty minutes, and a minus-five in 11 games with Hartford. He’ll look to boost those numbers in his return.

Chris Driedger Terminates Deal With KHL’s Traktor

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The rotation of goaltenders between North American and European pros is set to continue. Former Ottawa Senators goaltender Chris Driedger has terminated his deal with the KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk after playing in 23 games with the club. His next steps haven’t yet been laid out. Driedger has played in 67 NHL games and 217 AHL games over a 10-year pro career.

Russia was meant to offer the 31-year-old a fresh start after he managed an 11-9-6 record and .875 save percentage in 25 AHL games last season. Instead, his struggles continued overseas, with Driedger posting an 8-9-0 record and a .897 save percentage with Traktor. Chelyabinsk as a club is tied for the most goals allowed (98) in the KHL through their first 30 games.

Traktor will turn to 26-year-old Sergei Mylnikov to relieve Driedger’s starting role. Mylnikov hasn’t played since late October, as Traktor tried to force Driedger onto the positive side by awarding him every start in November. Now, the career backup will get his first chance to step into lofty minutes. He’ll be backed up by 23-year-old Saveli Sherstnev.

Meanwhile, Driedger will re-enter free agency. He seems destined for a return to North America, where he spent the entirety of his pro career prior to this season. He has had moments of genuinely strong play, including a .933 across 35 games with the Florida Panthers between 2019 and 2021. But a move to the Seattle Kraken in 2021 knocked his save percentage below .900. He was able to get above that mark in the minors – and even reached a .917 save percentage in 39 games with Coachella Valley in 2023-24. But it didn’t stick at the top flight, pushing Driedger to move across the world this summer.

Should he return to North America, Driedger would likely be set for a return to the AHL, where he’ll have a chance to earn a starting role once again. He’ll have to find success in that path before a return to the NHL comes into focus, especially after a down year in one of Europe’s top leagues.

Sabres Activate Zach Benson, Assign Isak Rosen To AHL

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Ahead of today’s game, the Buffalo Sabres shared that forward Isak Rosen is headed to AHL Rochester, and in a corresponding move, fellow forward Zach Benson has been activated off injured reserve. 

It had been speculated yesterday that Benson was nearing a return, and now Buffalo eagerly welcomes back the skilled youngster ahead of a big matinee tilt hosting Carolina. Sidelined with a lower-body injury throughout the month, the 20-year-old returns with a point-per-game pace in eight games so far, all assists. Somewhat unusually for a player drafted 13th overall (2023), Benson wasted no time becoming an NHLer, already with 154 games to his name at age 20. The winger has not yet jumped off the page statistically, with a career high of 30 points, but now healthy, Benson could be in for a major breakout going into 2026. 

On paper, the move to send down Rosen is a bit of a head scratcher. The 22-year-old former first round pick has shown serious improvement so far this year, with seven points in ten games, especially while filling in during Benson’s absence. However, with waiver exemptions in mind, the choice essentially came down to Rosen or Noah Ostlund, another first round selection. Head Coach Lindy Ruff has opted to keep the true center Ostlund in the lineup, set to hold things down on the third line today. Elsewhere, 26-year-old depth forward Joshua Dunne also appears set on Buffalo’s fourth line for the foreseeable future, as clearly they chose Rosen to go down, not risking losing Dunne on waivers. 

Such a transaction for Rosen may be short-term, but Rochester will be glad to have the Swede for the time being. Despite playing in half the games as his counterparts, Rosen is right amongst the Americans’ leaders in points, with 12 in eight games. Buffalo’s performance this afternoon may indicate if another shake-up is in order, with Rosen coming back sometime before December.

Mammoth Assign Kevin Rooney To AHL

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The Utah Mammoth announced today that forward Kevin Rooney has been assigned to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. Rooney has been bouncing between Utah and their affiliate throughout November, being last recalled to the big club last week, only to now be headed back down. 

Signed by Utah in October on a one-year, two-way deal, after a PTO stint in camp with New Jersey where he had hoped to return to his original club albeit unsuccessfully, the veteran center figures to be surefire organizational depth to slot in if needed. Despite considerable time spent with Utah so far this season, Rooney has yet to play in a game. In six AHL appearances he had netted three goals out of the gate. 

Originally undrafted out of Providence, Rooney made stops with the Devils, Rangers and Flames, establishing himself as a legitimate NHLer with relentless penalty killing efforts but never posting more than 14 points in a season. Despite setting a career high 70 appearances with Calgary in 2024-25, now 32, it appears Rooney’s NHL opportunities are sparse. 

With 330 NHL games under his belt however, Rooney figures to be strong leadership for Tucson alongside longtime AHL star Andrew Agozzino and fellow veteran Kevin Connauton. Still, Utah seems to have Rooney on speed dial, and at some point the center could earn his way into the Mammoth lineup in 2025-26, extending an admirable underdog career in the NHL. 

Detroit Red Wings Recall Erik Gustafsson

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The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Erik Gustafsson from their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. In a corresponding move, the club has placed forward Elmer Soderblom on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 9.

These moves place Gustafsson in position to potentially make his season debut for 2025-26. The veteran did not make the Red Wings’ NHL roster out of training camp, and has spent the entirety of the season thus far in the AHL. Through 10 games with Grand Rapids, Gustafsson has eight points, and is the most experienced blueliner available on the Griffins for the Red Wings to call up.

This recall indicates that Gustafsson is above fellow veteran Justin Holl in the team’s call-up priority order. Holl has just three points in 11 AHL games this season, though it’s important to draw a distinction between the style each blueliner plays when comparing the two. Holl has a more defensively-oriented game than Gustafsson, who is a natural puck-mover and power play quarterback.

Gustafsson was also the more successful NHL player than Holl, or at least reached a higher peak at the NHL level. In 2018-19, Gustafsson scored 60 points, leading all Chicago Blackhawks defensemen in scoring. As recently as 2022-23, Gustafsson remained an effective generator of offense from the blue line. He scored 42 points in 70 games between the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs, and followed that up with 31 points in 76 games playing 2023-24 for the New York Rangers.

It was after that strong campaign on Broadway that Gustafsson earned the two-year, $2MM AAV deal he’s currently playing out. His tenure in Michigan hasn’t gone to plan, though, as he scored just 18 points in 60 games in 2024-25 and appears to have been passed by several young defensemen, something that culminated in him needing to start the year in the AHL.

With this recall, he gets the chance to return to an NHL roster and perhaps get into some NHL games. While Gustafsson wouldn’t be a natural fit for that role as a left-handed defenseman, his addition to the roster could allow the Red Wings to take veteran Travis Hamonic, who has struggled this season, out of the lineup.

The chance to get back into the NHL and potentially hold down a spot in an NHL lineup is a significant opportunity for Gustafsson. As a pending UFA, spending the year in the AHL would likely do significant damage to his hopes of securing a strong contract in the upcoming free agent market. Assuming he gets the chance to draw into head coach Todd McLellan’s lineup, it’ll be very important that he finds a way to make a positive contribution.

Soderblom, a forward, was also involved in a transaction today, although his was more of a procedural move to clear a roster spot for Gustafsson to occupy. Soderblom has been out for two weeks with an undisclosed injury, and it’s unclear at this point what his timeline is to return.

The fact that his IR placement was retroactive does provide Detroit with the flexibility to activate him whenever he’s ready, though, bypassing the customary one-week waiting period mandated by standard, non-retroactive IR placements.

Senators Activate Thomas Chabot, Assign Lassi Thomson To AHL

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The Senators have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against San Jose.  First, the team announced that defenseman Lassi Thomson has been sent back to AHL Belleville.  That opened up a roster spot which will be filled by blueliner Thomas Chabot who has been activated off injured reserve, per the NHL’s Media site.

Chabot has missed a week and a half due to an upper-body injury sustained against Dallas.  Before the injury, the 28-year-old was his usual two-way self on the back end, picking up two goals and eight assists in 17 games while blocking 35 shots and averaging a little under 22 minutes per game of playing time, second only to fellow blueliner Jake Sanderson.

Chabot will likely play on the second pairing in his return and it would make sense for Nick Jensen to move back into the other spot on that duo, a pairing that has played a lot together in the early going.  Whose spot Chabot takes in the lineup isn’t as certain though as Nikolas Matinpalo left Thursday’s game due to an injury.  If he can’t play, then Chabot will take his place but if Matinpalo is available, it could be him or Jordan Spence being scratched.

As for Thomson, the 25-year-old was brought up earlier this week as injury insurance for the first leg of Ottawa’s road trip but didn’t see any game action.  He last played in the NHL in the 2022-23 campaign and has five assists in 18 career NHL appearances.  In 15 games with Belleville, he has three goals and an assist.

Oilers Recall Connor Clattenburg, Place Noah Philp On LTIR

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The Oilers have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game on Saturday against Florida.  The team announced that they have recalled forward Connor Clattenburg from AHL Bakersfield.  To create enough cap space to be able to afford the recall, forward Noah Philp has been placed on LTIR.

Clattenburg was a fifth-round pick back in the 2024 draft, going 160th overall in his second year of eligibility.  The 20-year-old had 16 goals and 19 assists along with 108 penalty minutes in 46 games last season with OHL Flint before making his professional debut with one late-season game with Bakersfield.

This is Clattenburg’s first full professional season, one spent exclusively with the Condors to this point.  His offensive production has been rather limited thus far with just one goal and one assist in 15 games although his 59 penalty minutes are the fourth-highest in the league.  If he gets into Edmonton’s lineup, it’s likely that he’ll be suiting up on the fourth line.

As for Philp, he suffered an upper-body injury earlier this week and while the initial diagnosis was that he’d miss at least the next three games, he’ll be out considerably longer with this move as LTIR carries a minimum absence of 10 games and 24 days.  The 27-year-old is in his first full NHL season and has primarily played on the fourth line with the Oilers; he has two goals and an assist in 15 appearances while averaging 10:02 per night.

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