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Calgary Flames Recall Radim Zohorna

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The Calgary Flames have recalled forward Radim Zohorna, per a team announcement. In a corresponding move, forward Matthew Phillips and defenseman Nick DeSimone were assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.

Zohorna, 26, was claimed off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins in October, and has spent most of this season with the Wranglers. In 20 games there the hulking Czech winger has posted five goals and 16 points.

While he plays a major role in the NHL, Zohorna has been limited to a very small role in his five NHL contests so far this year. He’s averaging just over eight minutes per night, which ranks last among skaters who have played for the Flames this season. He’ll now head back to the Flames roster hoping to earn more trust from head coach Darryl Sutter and build on his 30-game NHL resume.

Headed down to the AHL is Phillips, who happens to be nearly a full foot shorter than Zohorna. The 24-year-old former WHL star has lit the AHL on fire this year, scoring 30 points in 20 games.

The many calls from fans to give him a genuine shot at the NHL came when he earned his call-up earlier this month, a recall that led to him getting into two NHL games. He struggled in those two contests despite playing in a highly sheltered role. Of the 9:02 minutes he averaged in that two-game stretch, he averaged 2:50 on the power play.

He didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet, though, and after seemingly struggling with the suffocating lack of space and physicality of the NHL, he’s headed back to the Wranglers where he’ll resume his starring role.

Also involved in these transactions is DeSimone, a 28-year-old blueliner. The New York native has carved out a nice career for himself as an undrafted player, scoring 15 points in 20 AHL games, a performance that earned him his first NHL call-up after Dennis Gilbert went down with an injury.

DeSimone didn’t play a ton, getting just over 11 minutes per night, but he got a short look on the team’s penalty kill and does look to be in the midst of his best season since 2018-19.

The two moves give the Flames just 22 players on their roster, meaning they have an extra roster slot at their disposal should they decide to recall a player like Kevin Rooney, who is now in the AHL after arriving this offseason on a two-year, $1.3MM AAV contract.

Also of note regarding the open roster spot is the recent revelation (as reported by Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960) that Gilbert has returned to the ice for practice, albeit wearing a full face shield.

Gilbert has been out since December 18th, and its possible that DeSimone’s assignment to the AHL is paving the way for Gilbert’s return to the roster in the near future.

Snapshots: Cossa, Stranges, Clifford

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The Detroit Red Wings have returned their top goaltending prospect to the ECHL. Sebastian Cossa is headed back to the Toledo Walleye, per today’s ECHL transactions log.

After turning 20 just last month, Cossa’s been thrown into the fire in his first professional season. His .783 save percentage and 5.57 goals-against average in the AHL may raise some eyebrows, but he’s only gotten three appearances there. His ECHL record of 8-8-1, along with a 2.81 goals-against average and .897 save percentage, is much more respectable for a goalie his age (and of his ceiling). The 15th overall selection in 2021 will likely remain in Toledo full-time this season, barring injuries.

  • Conversely, an intriguing prospect is heading up to the AHL from the ECHL. The Texas Stars added Antonio Stranges to their roster over the weekend, according to the ECHL’s transactions log for Christmas Eve. Dallas’ 123rd overall pick in 2020 has seen limited action due to injury but has six points in five games with the Idaho Steelheads in the ECHL and two assists in five games with Texas.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs veteran enforcer Kyle Clifford, currently on AHL assignment with the Toronto Marlies, sustained a potential injury in today’s win over the Belleville Senators. The Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby notes Clifford left the rink with his hand in a wrap, saying he likely suffered a dislocation in a fight during the game. Clifford has made two appearances with the Maple Leafs this season.

Minnesota Wild To Recall Sammy Walker, Adam Beckman

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5:39 pm: The Wild made the recall official on Monday night. Walker and Beckman join the team ahead of their game against Winnipeg tomorrow.

3:56 pm: According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, the Minnesota Wild are expected to recall a pair of forwards in that of Sammy Walker and Adam Beckman from the Iowa Wild, their AHL affiliate. Russo adds that forward Marcus Foligno, who is suffering from a lower-body injury, is not expected to travel with the team tomorrow morning to take on the Winnipeg Jets later that night. In addition to Foligno, the Wild are also going to be without forward Mason Shaw, who is serving a two-game suspension.

Foligno, who was injured in Wednesday’s game in Anaheim against the Ducks, missed Thursday’s game against the San Jose Sharks with the injury and now it appears he’ll be missing tomorrow’s game too. There doesn’t appear to be a timetable for Foligno, however after Thursday’s game, Wild head coach Dean Evason told Russo he expected the forward to be okay after the four-day holiday break. Though the veteran clearly isn’t good-to-go just yet, Evason’s comments show this injury likely isn’t to be anything long-term.

Walker, 23, made his professional debut this season after a four-year stint at the University of Minnesota. The former Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick has been a standout thus far with Iowa, registering 24 points in 23 games, and made his NHL debut back on December 10th, skating in four NHL contests to date.

The 21-year-old Beckman has also skated in just four NHL games this season after making his debut last season. The forward turned pro back in 2020-21 after a stellar WHL career with the Spokane Chiefs. A 2019 third-round selection of the Wild, Beckman is off to a solid start with Iowa this season tallying 15 points in his first 25 AHL games.

Weekend AHL Shuffle

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While the roster freeze has technically been in effect for close to a week now, there are some exceptions that allow teams to send players down.  If they were recalled after December 11th or later and don’t require being placed on waivers to be returned to the NHL, they were eligible for assignment.  Per CapFriendly, quite a few teams have taken advantage of that this weekend.  Here’s a rundown of those AHL assignments:

Anaheim Ducks
G Olle Eriksson Ek
F Justin Kirkland

Boston Bruins
F Craig Smith

Carolina Hurricanes
F Jack Drury

Columbus Blue Jackets
F Josh Dunne (link)

Calgary Flames
F Nick DeSimone
F Matthew Phillips

Dallas Stars
F Riley Tufte (link)

Florida Panthers
F Grigori Denisenko
D Matt Kiersted
F Givani Smith

Los Angeles Kings
F Rasmus Kupari
D Jordan Spence

Nashville Predators
F Tommy Novak (link)

New York Islanders
F Hudson Fasching
F Aatu Raty
D Parker Wotherspoon

Vegas Golden Knights
F Pavel Dorofeyev
D Brayden Pachal
F Jonas Rondbjerg

The purpose for most of these moves is cap and salary savings.  For each player making the minimum, teams save a little over $4K per player per day while for someone like Smith, the savings are closer to $6K per day.  For players that have recently cleared waivers, the assignment also temporarily stops the 30-day clock before they need to pass through again to be returned to the minors.  In most cases, these transactions will be reversed on Tuesday when the NHL schedule resumes.

New York Islanders Recall Aatu Raty

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The New York Islanders have been busy ahead of their game against the Florida Panthers tonight, making four different transactions. Kyle Palmieri and Semyon Varlamov have been moved to injured reserve, while Aatu Raty and Parker Wotherspoon will come up from the AHL to take their roster spots.

Raty, 20, will certainly draw most of the attention, as he comes up for the first time this season and potentially makes his NHL debut. The young forward was once considered a potential top-five pick in the 2021 draft but ended up falling all the way to the middle of the second round after some disappointing performances in Finnish professional hockey. Since being selected 52nd, though, he has turned things around and is now one of the Islanders’ top prospects.

His first post-draft season was outstanding, as Raty was moved from Karpat (where he had struggled) to Jukurit and instantly started to find success. With 40 points in 41 games, spectators finally saw what had made him such an interesting prospect growing up. At the end of the yer, he joined the Bridgeport Islanders and fit right in, recording four points in six AHL playoff games.

This year, after an excellent training camp that nearly landed him an NHL spot right away, things have been a little slower for the young Finn. He has 12 points in 23 games for Bridgeport but hasn’t quite been the dominant presence that some hoped for. Still, he has earned a call-up as the team deals with several injuries upfront.

Unfortunately, he’s coming into a tough situation. The Islanders have lost seven of their last ten and now sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division. A win over the Florida Panthers today would be a huge boost before breaking for a few days, and perhaps Raty can give them some energy should he debut this evening.

Columbus Blue Jackets Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced a series of roster moves this evening. Defenseman Adam Boqvist and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo have both been activated off of IR. In order to create the roster space for both players, the team has placed forward Cole Sillinger on IR and assigned goaltender Jet Greaves to the Cleveland Monsters, their AHL affiliate. Sillinger’s IR placement is retroactive to December 17th.

Columbus’ injury woes this season are well-documented, and Korpisalo is no exception, coming off of his second IR stint of the season. The netminder missed the first two weeks of the season on IR before landing there again December 11th. The other key struggle for the Blue Jackets this season has been goaltending, and there, Korpisalo again is no exception. The 28-year-old has struggled to a 3.53 goals-against average this season, though his .903 save-percentage, when considering his goals-against the the Blue Jackets’ on-ice struggles, is encouraging.

Korpisalo’s fellow netminder, Greaves had been recalled Tuesday on an emergency basis, but hadn’t played. The 21-year-old has had his own struggles in net this year, getting into 11 games with Cleveland, recording an .877 save-percentage average and 4.09 goals-against average.

The 19-year-old Sillinger hasn’t yet been able to recapture the success he had as a rookie in 2021-22, tallying just six points through his first 30 games this season and now lands on a lengthy IR list. The forward suffered an upper-body injury in Saturday’s game against the Boston Bruins and hadn’t played since. Though an injury isn’t good news, perhaps a brief time away could act as a reset for the youngster with a fresh-start ahead.

Boqvist will be a much-welcomed addition to a depleted lineup, havng played in just four games this season, the most recent coming October 25th. The former Chicago Blackhawks prospect has shown promise as a legitimate NHL defenseman, but is still awaiting a big breakout. Given the long list of injuries, if Boqvist can stay healthy, he should be able to gather enough regular minutes to help him facilitate that breakout.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Collin Delia

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For the last few days, the Vancouver Canucks have been swapping Arturs Silovs and Collin Delia back and forth in order to keep both fresh. That continued today with Silovs heading back to the AHL and Delia recalled under emergency conditions.

With Thatcher Demko out since the start of December, the Canucks have been relying heavily on Spencer Martin to carry the load. Delia did get one game at the NHL level a few weeks ago but otherwise, the swaps continue to allow him to stay sharp by playing in the AHL.

Of course, Martin hasn’t been very good for the Canucks, posting an .885 save percentage behind a leaky defensive unit. In each of his last two starts – losses to the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets – he has allowed five goals on 27 shots. With the Canucks set to start a back-to-back tonight against the Seattle Kraken, before traveling to Edmonton to face Connor McDavid and the Oilers tomorrow night, Delia might get another chance to play.

After that, the team doesn’t have another back-to-back until January 14-15, meaning Martin will likely continue to start every game until Demko returns.

Rasmus Sandin Placed On Injured Reserve

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After suffering a neck injury in the Toronto Maple Leafs last game, Rasmus Sandin has been moved to injured reserve. Head coach Sheldon Keefe explained yesterday that the team would be re-evaluating him after the Christmas break, meaning a stint on IR doesn’t necessarily mean he will be out long-term. Sandin must miss at least seven days but the Maple Leafs don’t play again until December 27 after today’s afternoon match with the Philadelphia Flyers.

In his place, the team has recalled Mac Hollowell from the minor leagues. The 24-year-old Hollowell played six games with the team earlier this season when they were dealing with a number of injuries on defense, and has been excellent in the minor leagues with 10 points in 13 games for the Toronto Marlies.

Unfortunately for Hollowell, the team also recently activated Jordie Benn, who will slide into Sandin’s spot in the lineup today. The club is still without Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, Victor Mete, and Carl Dahlstrom, but has still shown a strong defensive ability. Toronto sits second in goals against on the year, having allowed just 79 in 33 games.

Part of that success has been the strong play of Sandin, who has regularly gone over 20 minutes of ice time in the absence of Rielly. The 22-year-old was selected 29th overall in 2018 and has played 121 regular season games so far in his career.

Several Games Rescheduled Due To Winter Weather

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There is a massive winter storm projected to hit the east coast this weekend, and because of the timing, the NHL has decided to reschedule some games. Because the holiday break is happening, the league can’t afford to have players stranded in a road city, unable to get home for Christmas.

The following NHL games have been rescheduled:

  • Tampa Bay at Buffalo, December 23 –> March 4
  • Detroit at Ottawa, December 23 –> February 27

The AHL has also postponed some games:

  • Cleveland at Grand Rapids December 23 –> January 4
  • Syracuse at Rochester December 23 –> TBA

Players will get a little bit longer break during the holidays, though the rescheduled matches now compress the second half schedule even more. For a club like Ottawa, which is waiting on several key players to return from injury, the delay is likely a welcome one.

This list will be updated if any further games are rescheduled. 

Ryan McDonagh To Return For Predators; Jordan Gross Sent To AHL

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Dec 21: McDonagh has now been officially activated from injured reserve and will play tonight.

Dec 20: After staying up with the Nashville Predators on an emergency loan for more than two weeks, Jordan Gross has been returned to the AHL. The team had recalled him when moving Ryan McDonagh to injured reserve, and he played seven games since then.

With McDonagh returning tomorrow night against the Chicago Blackhawks and Alexandre Carrier getting back in the lineup last night, Gross is no longer needed at the NHL level.

The 33-year-old McDonagh has been out since December 2 after taking a puck to the face and is practicing with a full cage as he gets ready to return. The two-time Stanley Cup champion was averaging more than 20 minutes for the Predators when he went down, and had recorded six assists in 23 games.

While he is no longer the two-way force that dominated for the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning in his prime, McDonagh is still a very capable defender that should only strengthen a Predators team coming off a statement win over the Edmonton Oilers last night.

Coincidentally, Gross actually scored his third NHL goal in that game, as three of the four tallies from Nashville were from their defense. The 27-year-old will likely be back up at some point, should the team face any further injuries from this point.

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