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Maple Leafs Recall Dennis Hildeby

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With Joseph Woll (conditioning stint) not yet ready to rejoin the Maple Leafs and Cayden Primeau’s performance as the backup landing him on waivers where he was claimed by Carolina, they need a new short-term second option.  That will be netminder Dennis Hildeby as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been recalled from AHL Toronto.

Hildeby appeared to be set to be the backup heading into the season following Woll’s absence and James Reimer being released from his late-camp PTO but Primeau’s claim at the end of training camp ended those plans.  Instead, the 24-year-old was sent down to the Marlies with an eye on seeing more playing time than he otherwise would have received as the backup to Anthony Stolarz.

That hasn’t gone quite to plan, however.  Hildeby has only made five starts for the Marlies (Primeau made three for the Maple Leafs over that same stretch) so he didn’t wind up seeing much extra action.  Over those outings, he has a 2.74 GAA and a .890 SV%, a step back on his career averages of 2.54 and .908 respectively over 78 AHL appearances.  Hildeby has six career NHL outings under his belt, all coming last season when he posted a 3.33 GAA and a .872 SV%.

With Toronto kicking off a back-to-back set tonight, it stands to reason that Hildeby will likely get the nod on Sunday against Carolina.  But that might be his only action while on this recall with Woll likely to rejoin the big club and come off LTIR within the next week or so.

Hurricanes To Activate Two Off IR, Recall Gavin Bayreuther From AHL

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There are plenty of injury updates from Carolina heading into their game tonight against Buffalo.  Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer relays (Twitter link) that wingers Eric Robinson and William Carrier will suit up tonight, meaning they will be activated off injured reserve.  However, the news isn’t all good as defenseman Jalen Chatfield is now out indefinitely; head coach Rod Brind’Amour is uncertain if the blueliner is dealing with a concussion after taking a hit from Minnesota’s Tyler Pitlick on Thursday.  That resulted in the team announcing that blueliner Gavin Bayreuther has been recalled from AHL Chicago with Chatfield landing on injured reserve as the corresponding move.

Robinson had a breakout year last season, his first in Carolina.  He picked up 14 goals and 18 assists (both career bests) in 82 games, earning himself some much-desired job security as he signed a four-year, $6.8MM deal in advance of free agency back in June.  The 30-year-old got off to a nice start to this season as well, collecting three goals and an assist in seven outings despite his playing time dipping below 10 minutes a night.  He has missed a little more than two weeks with an upper-body injury, landing retroactively on IR ten days ago.

Carrier, meanwhile, was injured in the same game as Robinson last month, suffering a lower-body injury.  His first season with Carolina in 2024-25 was injury-riddled as he only was able to suit up in 43 games where he had 11 points and 156 hits, not a great return in the first season of a six-year deal.  This season, the 30-year-old has a goal and two assists through his seven outings in a little over 10 minutes a night of action.  With Carolina having two open roster spots following yesterday’s demotion of Bradly Nadeau to the minors, no other moves need to be made to activate Carrier and Robinson.

As for Chatfield, he has been his usual steadying presence on the back end.  In the second season of a three-year, $9MM deal, the 29-year-old has three assists and 14 blocks in his first 13 games while averaging just under 20 minutes a night.  He has once again been a big part of Carolina’s penalty kill, carrying the second-highest ATOI among their blueliners in that situation while they sit well above the league average in shorthanded success rate.  Chatfield will now miss at least a week as a result of the IR placement.

Bayreuther returned to North America for this season after spending the 2024-25 campaign in Switzerland, signing a one-year, two-way deal back in July.  He cleared waivers at the end of September and has spent the full season so far with the Wolves, tallying three goals and three assists in nine games.  Bayreuther has 122 career NHL games under his belt over parts of four seasons, the most recent of which came back in 2022-23 with Columbus.

Hurricanes Reassign Bradly Nadeau

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The Carolina Hurricanes have assigned top prospect Bradly Nadeau back to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Nadeau played six games and scored his first NHL goal on this recall. That was his only point, though, and he’ll now return to the minor-leagues after no scoring in his last three games.

Nadeau has carved out a reserved seat in Chicago’s top-six this season. He scored four points in three games before being recalled to Carolina. That mark ranked third on the team in scoring at the time, though he’s fallen to eighth in six games since his call-up. He’ll face the challenge of climbing back up Chicago’s scoreboard following this move, a task that should prove easy for the former first-round pick. Nadeau scored 58 points in 64 games of his rookie AHL season last year, the most of any Wolves rookie since 2007. He carved out a top-line spot next to Ryan Suzuki and Justin Robidas, one that stuck around through the first two weekends of this season. He’ll return to that spot when Chicago takes on rivalry matchups versus the Iowa Wild and Grand Rapids Griffins this weekend.

Nadeau was also a hot scorer in junior hockey. He scored 45 goals and 113 points with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees in the 2022-23 season, the most of any draft eligible prospect in the BCHL since Beau Bennett (120 points) in 2009-10 and Kyle Turris (121 points) in 2006-07. That scoring earned Nadeau the 30th-overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft. He followed that up with 19 goals and 46 points in 37 games at the University of Maine, again a milestone mark – the most from a teenager in the Maine roster since Steve Kariya (50 points) in 1996-97 and Paul Kariya (100 points) in 1992-93. Nadeau has found impressive scoring at every step from juniors to the AHL, and while his impact away from the game will need to continue improving, his breakthrough in the NHL seems on its way.

Flyers Recall Carl Grundstrom

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The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled forward Carl Grundstrom from the AHL. This is Grundstrom’s first call-up in Philadelphia, after joining the organization via trade earlier this month. He was moved alongside defense prospect Artem Guryev in a deal that sent Ryan Ellis’ $6.25MM cap hit, and a 2026 sixth-round pick, to the San Jose Sharks.

The Flyers waived Grundstrom on the same day that they acquired him. That set the 27-year-old up for his first prolonged stint in the minor-leagues since 2020. He’s done well with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, recording three goals, six points, and a plus-four in 11 games.

Grundstrom previously won a Calder Cup Championship with the 2018 Toronto Marlies. He joined the ring-winning squad as only two games of the regular season, then torched the postseason for 14 points in 20 games. Grundstrom maintained the hot scoring through the next two AHL seasons, ultimately earning his NHL debut with the Los Angeles Kings in March of 2019. Since then, Grundstrom has totaled 43 goals and 76 points in 292 NHL games. His single-season best sits at 12 goals and 19 points, scored in 57 games of the Kings’ 2022-23 season.

Recalling Grundstrom will help the Flyers fill their extra-forward role after assigning Jacob Gaucher to the minors. Gaucher recently played in three games with Philadelphia, but managed no scoring and a minus-one in the efforts. Grundstrom’s recent AHL scoring streak – five points in his last three games – could bring a major spark over the minimal scoring offered by Gaucher and Rodrigo Abols, who has no scoring in nine games.

West Notes: Gaudette, Leskovar, Akey

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The Sharks have activated forward Adam Gaudette off injured reserve, relays Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News (Twitter link).  The 29-year-old has missed a little more than a week due to an upper-body injury.  Signed to a two-year, $4MM contract this past summer, Gaudette has been reasonably productive in limited playing time, picking up three goals and an assist in nine games despite playing less than 11 minutes a night.  That usage is similar to last season when he averaged just 10:25 per game but still managed to notch 19 goals in 81 games with Ottawa.  With Patrick Giles being sent back down on Monday, they had the open roster spot available to activate Gaudette so no further moves were needed.

Elsewhere out West:

  • The Wild announced (Twitter link) that they have activated defenseman Stevie Leskovar off season-opening injured reserve and assigned him to ECHL Iowa. The 21-year-old is in the first season of his entry-level contract but he was dealing with a wrist injury that had kept him out of the lineup.  Leskovar had six points in 35 games last season with OHL Brampton and also got into one professional game with AHL Iowa.  But for now, he’ll go to the Heartlanders and look to get some playing time in at that level with the hopes of an AHL promotion later on.
  • The Oilers have assigned defenseman Beau Akey to ECHL Fort Wayne, per an announcement from AHL Bakersfield (Twitter link). The 20-year-old was a second-round pick back in 2023 and is in his first professional season but hasn’t been able to play yet due to injury.  Now cleared to return, he’ll get a chance to get in some game action with the Komets and will likely rejoin the Condors soon after with this assignment being more of a conditioning assignment than a long-term one.  Akey had 32 points in 52 games with OHL Barrie last season.

Metropolitan Notes: Devils, Fensore, Berni

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The Devils should soon be getting some help on the injury front.  Head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters today including Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that winger Connor Brown is a possibility to return Thursday against Montreal.  He has missed the last two games due to an undisclosed injury, putting on hold what has been a strong start to his season with five tallies in his first 11 outings.  Meanwhile, center Cody Glass and winger Zack MacEwen are skating and while Keefe suggested they’re unlikely to play tomorrow, they’re likely to skate Friday and are also nearing returns.  Glass, who has missed a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury has a pair of goals in six games so far while MacEwen has made one appearance thus far and has missed the last three weeks with an upper-body issue.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Hurricanes have once again assigned defenseman Domenick Fensore to AHL Chicago, per a team release. Recalled on Sunday, he didn’t see any action this time out, keeping him at one NHL appearance on the season.  The 24-year-old has three goals and four assists in five games with the Wolves this season and will have to suit up for them at least once before being eligible to once again be recalled as injury insurance.  In the meantime, his roster spot could be earmarked for K’Andre Miller, who is believed to be nearing a return from a lower-body injury.
  • It’s fair to say that Tim Berni won’t be returning to the NHL anytime soon. The Blue Jackets RFA defenseman will be staying in Switzerland as Zurich of the NL announced that they’ve signed the 25-year-old to a six-year contract beginning next season.  This season, Berni has three points in 20 games with Geneve-Servette.  He previously saw action in 59 games with Columbus back in 2022-23 but even with close to a regular role on the roster, he elected to return home after that season.

Penguins Announce Multiple Roster Moves

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have shifted around their roster. Most notably, reigning AHL ’Goalie of the Month’ Sergei Murashov has been recalled to the NHL lineup. Pittsburgh has also recalled forward Danton Heinen and defenseman Ryan Graves. To make space for those moves, the Penguins have placed forwards Noel Acciari and Justin Brazeau, and goaltender Tristan Jarry, on injured reserve. They have also assigned defenseman Owen Pickering to the minor-leagues.

These moves will most notably provide updates on the injuries to Acciari and Brazeau. Acciari left Pittsburgh’s Monday loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first period. It wasn’t exactly clear when he sustained his injury, though the team designated it as an upper-body injury. He only played in two shifts before the injury. Brazeau sustained his injury in last Thursday’s win over the Minnesota Wild. He was designated as out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, but will now be forced to miss a third-straight game on Thursday.

Despite clarity around Acciari and Brazeau, there seems to be no indication of exactly what Jarry is facing. He heads to IR with an undisclosed injury and will be forced to sit out of at least the next three games. In the interim, Arturs Silovs will serve as Pittsburgh’s starting goaltender, while Murashov steps in as backup.

That’s incredibly exciting for the red-hot Murashov, who has posted an impressive 1.67 goals-against-average across his last three games. He sits with a .931 save percentage and 1.73 goals-against-average in seven games this season – both the highest in the league among goalies with more than five starts. Murashov has truly looked the part, taking full advantage of a clear starter’s role while Joel Blomqvist recovers from injury. That performance will now earn the 21-year-old Russian his first chance at an NHL role. Murashov posted a .913 Sv% and 2.64 GAA in 16 AHL games, and a .922 Sv% and 2.40 GAA in 26 ECHL games, last season. He’s a sharp bet who Pittsburgh could be eager to test out.

Backing this slew of moves is a shift at the bottom of Pittsburgh’s lineup. Pickering will head to the minor-leagues after posting no scoring and a minus-three in four games on his latest NHL recall. He’s been a stronger play in the minors, where he’s racked up four points and a plus-four in seven games. Replacing Pickering will be Graves, who racked up three points and 13 shots on goal in his last four AHL games. He now sits with seven points and a plus-nine in 10 games on the AHL season, and will be rwarded with a chance to fill bottom-pair minutes for Pittsburgh.

Heinen will fill an opening left by Brazeau. He leads the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in scoring with five goals and 14 points in 10 games. That includes a recent six-game scoring streak that saw him rack up 12 points. Heinen is a veteran of nine NHL seasons. He’s amassed 96 goals and 241 points in 566 career appearances, including a career-best of 16 goals and 47 points in 77 games with the 2017-18 Boston Bruins.

Rangers Recall Jaroslav Chmelar, Assign Brennan Othmann

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The New York Rangers have swapped rookies on the NHL roster. They have recalled right-winger Jaroslav Chmelar from the AHL, while reassigning left-winger Brennan Othmann back to the minor-leagues.

Othmann has been a healthy scratch for the last three games, after making his NHL season debut last Sunday. He managed no scoring and a minus-one in the outing, and generally failed to impress in his limited 12 minutes of ice time. The match was Othman’s 26th game in the Rangers lineup, dating back to the 2023-24 season. He’s recorded two assists and a plus-six through his early career, but still hasn’t found his first NHL goal. In fact, Othmann is still searching for his first goal of the AHL season as well, so far sitting on one assist in four games with the Hartford Wolf Pack. He was a major piece of the Wolf Pack lineup last season, when he managed 12 goals and 20 points in 27 games.

With the shoot-first Othmann headed back to the minors, New York will bring up the imposing size of Chmelar. The Czechia native has five points through nine games to start Hartford’s season, tying him for third on the team in scoring. He finished fifth on the Wolf Pack in scoring as an AHL rookie last season, netting 12 goals and 29 points in 71 games. Standing at 6-foot-5, 220-pounds, Chmelar offers the hard-nosed physicality that’s become much more accustom to the Rangers’ bottom-six. He could be an interesting addition as New York looks to address a long-term injury to enforcer Matt Rempe. Chmelar would be making his NHL debut if he cracked into the Rangers’ lineup. He has scored 36 points in 87 AHL games, and 28 points in 59 NCAA games, through his young hockey career.

Sharks Shake Up Lineup With Wlliam Eklund Out, Timothy Liljegren Back

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The San Jose Sharks will once again shake up their lineup in the hours ahead of gametime. Top winger William Eklund is out with a lower-body injury, while Timothy Liljegren wil lreturn from a short-term absence, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. The Sharks will operate with 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Sunday, with Ethan Cardwell stepping into the bottom-six for rookie Michael Misa.

Few players would be harder to lose than Eklund. He ranks second on the Sharks with five goals and 11 points through 12 games, only behind Macklin Celebrini (seven goals, 18 points). Eklund has averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time through the early season, and played as much as 25:29 in a recent overtime win versus the Minnesota Wild. He’s returned as a core piece of the Sharks offense this season, after posting a career-year with 17 goals and 58 points in 77 games last season. His role in the lineup, and performance on the scoresheet, both continue to grow.

That will leave San Jose with an important decision as they reshape the lineup. Collin Graf should be the biggest beneficiary, moving into a top-six that also features Tyler Toffoli and Philipp Kurashev in heavy-use roles. Graf has only scored three points in 11 games this season, but his lack of offense could be offset by Kurashev, who has a dazzling seven points in his last four games.

Still, the need to replace Eklund’s offense makes the decision to scratch Msia all the more confusing. The reigning second-overall pick had a three-game point-streak between October 21st and October 26th, though hasn’t managed any scoring in his last two games. He has, however, offered up a 52.6 percent faceoff win-rate, third-highest among Sharks centers. Misa has experience at center, and on the wing, and could have been an interesting bet for top-six minutes in light of Eklund’s injury. Instead, San Jose will turn towards depth forward and grinder Cardwell, who has four points and 10 penalty minutes in seven AHL games. Cardwell was recalled on Sunday morning in a corresponding move to Ryan Reaves’ placement on injured reserve.

The Sharks will find a silver lining in the return of Liljegren, who has served in a top-pair role for much of the season. Liljegren has only scored three points in nine games, but he and D-partner Dmitry Orlov have posted the best goal-differential of any Sharks pairing at even-strength. Getting him back into the fold after just one game out will be a major relief. Liljegren exited Saturday’s game in the first period, after a puck was deflected into the bunch and hit him in the face.

San Jose will return Liljegren to the lineup alongside rookie Sam Dickinson, who will play in his 10th game of the season. Dickinson hasn’t yet found his first NHL point through nine games. He should be rotated into favorable situations, while Liljegren steps back into an important role next to Orlov.

Sharks Recall Ethan Cardwell, Place Ryan Reaves On IR

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The San Jose Sharks have placed winger Ryan Reaves on injured reserve and used the spot to recall winger Ethan Cardwell, per the NHL roster report and Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. Reaves sustained a lower-body injury in Thursday’s game against the New Jersey Devils. He sat out of Saturday’s win over the Colorado Avalanche. Now, Reaves will also be forced to miss at least the next two games.

The Sharks have spent the season rotating 16-year-pro Reaves in-and-out of the lineup with reigning second-overall pick Michael Misa. Reaves has racked up two goals, two fights, and a minus-three through 10 games. He’s already matched the two points he scored in 35 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. Reaves is a pure physical presence, and ranks sixth among all active players in career penalty minutes (1,110).

Cardwell will now step up to fill Reaves’ rotating role on the fourth line. He has managed two goals, four points, and 10 penalty minutes through seven AHL games this season. That production ranks Cardwell fifth on the San Jose Barracuda in scoring. Two players ranked above him have more NHL experience – Cameron Lund, who played in 11 NHL games last season, and Colin White, who has 323 NHL games to his name. The Sharks opt for Cardwell over either of those two, likely thanks to his persistence for making plays in the dirty areas of the ice. That drive, and a chippy style, would be welcome on San Jose’s fourth line.

But first, Cardwell will have to break into the lineup. Misa should keep his stake in the lineup with Reaves out. The rookie has generated three points and 11 shots on net over his last five games. He’s also posted an impressive 58.3 faceoff percentage on 24 draws. Should that production be enough to keep Misa in, Cardwell would be left sparring with Ty Dellandrea and Barclay Goodrow for bottom-line minutes.

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