Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

AHL

Toronto Maple Leafs Activate Jordie Benn

at CDT | by 1 Comment

One of the reasons why the Toronto Maple Leafs struggled so much out of the gate was defensive depth, with Jake Muzzin and Timothy Liljegren injured at the same time. Another missing player during that stretch was Jordie Benn, who is now back after being activated off injured reserve.

The Maple Leafs have sent Pontus Holmberg and Victor Mete back to the minor leagues to make room for the incoming veteran defenseman. The team also released Danny DeKeyser from his AHL professional tryout contract.

Benn, 35, signed a one-year, $750K contract with the Maple Leafs this summer as a potential seventh or eighth defenseman but suffered an injury in training camp that has kept him out the first month of the season. The veteran of 595 regular season games will give the team a different look on the back end, should they decide to insert him into the lineup.

More physical than any of the team’s other defenders, he could add some bite to the third pairing should they suffer another injury. With Liljegren back the group has seemed to stabilize for the time being but a lot of pressure will be put on the defense as they deal with injuries to both Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov.

Alex Alexeyev Recalled From AHL Conditioning Loan

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Nov 8: Alexeyev has been recalled from his loan but has not been activated from long-term injured reserve. It is still not clear when he will return to NHL action.

Oct 28: The Hershey Bears are getting a little boost for the next few games, as Alexander Alexeyev has been assigned there on a long-term injury conditioning loan by the Washington Capitals. That means Alexeyev can play a handful of games without having to clear waivers, as he continues to work his way back from offseason shoulder surgery.

A loan of this type is normally for three games (or six days) but can be extended for an additional two depending on how he responds. To be loaned, he doesn’t need to clear waivers, though it did require them to move him from season-opening IR to LTIR. That placement is retroactive to October 11, meaning he shouldn’t have an issue being activated once he’s ready.

What it does mean, however, is that Alexeyev is nearing a return. The Capitals will have a decision to make at that point, as he cannot be assigned to the AHL on a full-time basis without first clearing waivers. With no other waiver-exempt defensemen on the NHL roster, it will mean risking someone to the rest of the league.

Still, there is a lot to be excited about when it comes to the 22-year-old Russian. Alexeyev was a first-round pick in 2018 and made his NHL debut last season, playing just ten minutes. If he can take a step forward and deliver on some of the promise that made him such a highly regarded prospect, the Capitals will have another piece to build around on the back end.

Currently, John Carlson is the only defenseman on the team signed past this season, with Dmitry Orlov, Nick Jensen, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Erik Gustafsson, and Matt Irwin all scheduled for unrestricted free agency. If Alexeyev is ever going to secure an NHL spot, there’s no better time than now.

Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Emil Bemstrom

at CDT | by 1 Comment

When Emil Bemstrom was sent down at the beginning of the season, it was somewhat of a surprise. The young Columbus Blue Jackets forward had played regular minutes in the NHL each of the last three seasons and had barely any experience in the AHL. Well, after just ten games with the Cleveland Monsters, Bemstrom is on his way up.

It’s hard to get off to a better start than Bemstrom did. In ten games, he scored seven goals and 14 points, good enough to put him on top of the AHL scoring leaderboard. With the Blue Jackets in the middle of a five-game skid and sitting at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, the group obviously needs a shake-up. Whether Bemstrom can provide that remains to be seen but there is still plenty of upside in the 23-year-old forward.

Selected 117th overall in 2017, he quickly became a special talent in Sweden and would burst onto the NHL scene during the 2019-20 season. The ten goals and 20 points he put up that year would be difficult to replicate though, and between 2020-21 and 2021-22 combined, he failed to even reach the totals of that first season.

Perhaps this early success with Cleveland can get him back on track contributing at the highest level because Columbus needs it. The team has scored just 30 goals in 12 games, one of the worst totals in the league. That includes zero from 19-year-old Cole Sillinger, who is experiencing the dreaded “sophomore slump” in his second year. Sillinger, Mathieu Olivier, Liam Foudy, Eric Robinson, Jakub Voracek, and Jack Roslovic have combined for just two goals on the year, something that can’t continue if the team has any thoughts of competing for the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Filip Hallander

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins, mired in a seven-game losing streak, have recalled Filip Hallander from the minor leagues. The move follows the assignment of Drew O’Connor to the AHL yesterday.

Hallander, 22, made his NHL debut last season, playing in a single game with the Penguins. He ended up seeing fewer than six minutes of ice time that game, meaning his next appearance will likely be more impactful.

He also might be more suited for the NHL this time around. Hallander has been excellent in the AHL this year, posting four goals and nine points in ten games for the Wilkes-Barr/Scranton Penguins. While he was selected four years ago and has already been included in two trades, it’s easy to forget just how little experience he has in North America.

Last season was his first taste of the AHL, and he scored 14 goals and 28 points in 61 games. If given an entire year he looks poised to blow those numbers out of the water, even if his offensive profile isn’t expected to be what gets him to the NHL.

That would be his defensive game, as a versatile option whose natural position is center. If the Penguins decide to mix up the bottom six, Hallander will be an interesting piece to insert.

Boston Bruins Assign Jakub Lauko To AHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the Boston Bruins now at home for two games, they’ve returned extra forward Jakub Lauko to the AHL. The Providence Bruins don’t actually play until Friday, meaning Lauko will be available for an immediate recall if needed.

Lauko, 22, scored his first NHL goal earlier this month and should get another chance to get into the Boston lineup before long. The third-round pick hasn’t been used much but has two points and 14 hits in seven contests. Should he stay down long enough to play for Providence it would be his first of the season, after scoring just three goals in 54 games a year ago.

While he isn’t expected to be a huge offensive performer, Lauko will be quality depth for the bottom six throughout the year. Still waiver-exempt, he can bounce up and down whenever necessary. He’s already been involved in seven transactions since the beginning of the year.

Columbus Blue Jackets Assign David Jiricek, Daniil Tarasov To AHL

at CDT | by 1 Comment

More roster moves coming out late this afternoon, the latest features the Columbus Blue Jackets, who announced they’ve assigned defenseman David Jiricek and goaltender Daniil Tarasov to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. The team has not announced any corresponding moves. Columbus was under the salary cap and with the maximum 23 players on their roster.

Sending the pair down when they didn’t technically need to might be confusing for some, however the move may have less to do with the Blue Jackets or individual player performance and more to do with development strategy. Jiricek, the sixth-overall selection in this year’s NHL Draft, played in just two games with Columbus, the last coming a week ago on October 30th. Similarly, Tarasov was the third goalie on the Blue Jackets roster behind Elvis Merzlikins and the recently-activated Joonas Korpisalo. At 23-years-old, after struggling in five games to start the season, and also not having played since last Sunday, sending Tarasov, as well as Jiricek, to the AHL where they can both play regularly, makes the most sense.

Tarasov has seen limited action since coming over to North American during the 2020-21 season, and based on that performance, still needs time to develop. In five games at the NHL level this season, Tarasov has a 3.57 goals-against average and .893 save-percentage. The goaltender played in just 15 games all of last season, four of which were with Columbus.

Jiricek, 18, came into this season with hopes of making the Blue Jackets roster, and though he has made his NHL debut, it is likely the organization would prefer to expose the young defenseman to a bigger role, which they cannot currently give him. Allowing Jiricek to play that role in the AHL and learn how to perform there may be more beneficial to his overall development than to play sparingly at the NHL level. Through five AHL games, Jiricek has four points, all assists.

Minnesota Wild Recall Adam Beckman, Joseph Cramarossa

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Continuing with a busy Sunday of roster moves, the Minnesota Wild announced that they are bringing a pair of forwards up from the AHL, recalling Adam Beckman and Joseph Cramarossa. The team did not announced any corresponding moves. The transaction brings the Wild up to 23 players on their roster, the maximum. Importantly, the team had only been carrying 12 forwards after re-assigning Steven Fogarty on Friday. Now, they should have additional assurance up front.

Beckman, 21, was a third-round pick of the Wild back in 2019 and made his NHL debut last season. After three impressive seasons with the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL, Beckman turned pro at the tail-end of the 2020-21 season, recording five points in nine games as a member of the Iowa Wild. The forward became a full-time pro last season, getting into 68 games for Iowa where he scored 11 goals to go with 23 assists. This season, the young forward is off to a fast start, scoring three goals with three assists in six games for Iowa.

A long-time AHL veteran, Cramarossa, 30, has spent three seasons in the Wild organization, primarily with Iowa. The veteran did manage to get into one NHL game last season, marking the third season in which he did so. the 30-year-old’s most prominent NHL action came back in 2016-17 as a member of the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks, where he recorded 10 points in 59 games. He’s had just five games of NHL action since then, but has become a reliable, physical forward at the AHL level. Cramarossa has four points and a whopping 23 penalty minutes in just eight games with Iowa to start this season.

Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Assign Drew O’Connor

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they’ve re-assigned forward Drew O’Connor to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. No corresponding move was announced. The move leaves Pittsburgh with 22 out of 23 roster spots filled, but does provide some breathing room away from their LTIR salary cap.

The Athletic’s Rob Rossi suggests the move could signal that Jeff Carter, who has missed the last three games with injury, but has not been on IR, will be returning imminently. As Rossi adds, Carter did participate in full team practice on Sunday. The Penguins next play on Wednesday in Washington against the Capitals, giving Carter another two full days to recuperate.

For O’Connor’s part, he’s been made familiar with the shuffle between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton since making his professional debut with the Penguins organization back in 2020-21. When he’s in the NHL lineup, O’Connor has played the role of depth forward nicely, albeit not contributing too much offensively. In the AHL, however, that offense is on full display, the 24-year-old nearly a point-per-game player for his career. So far this season, O’Connor has zero points in three NHL games, but six points–two goals and four assists–in eight AHL games.

Los Angeles Kings Loan Quinton Byfield To AHL

at CDT | by 6 Comments

The Los Angeles Kings have loaned young forward Quinton Byfield to the Ontario Reign of the AHL, the team announced this afternoon. No corresponding move has been announced. The moves comes after Byfield missed the previous six games due to illness.

After winning a regular job in the Kings lineup out of training camp, Byfield was off to a modest start to the season with three assists in eight games. The second-overall selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Byfield hasn’t yet hit the ceiling the Kings may have been hoping for, however that doesn’t appear to be the reason for the assignment. According to Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider, the move appears to be one that will allow Byfield to get back into game shape after the illness.

That point was furthered by Kings head coach Todd McLellan, who spoke with Dooley. McLellan said Byfield being on the ice in the first place was a great sign, considering the forward had lost a lot of weight. McLellan added that he doesn’t believe a player should lose his place because of injury or illness and that no decision on Byfield or Rasmus Kupari, a fellow Kings first-round pick who has occupied Byfield’s place on the third line nicely, needs to be made yet because Byfield simply isn’t ready to play. Kupari has a goal and an assist in five games with the Kings so far this season.

Calgary Flames Place Michael Stone On IR

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Per the Calgary Flames twitter, the team placed defenseman Michael Stone on IR today. In a corresponding move, the team has recalled defensemen Nick DeSimone and Dennis Gilbert from the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL. The team did not disclose the nature of Stone’s injury and no word is available on the length of time he could miss. Prior to the transactions, the team had only been carrying 22 of 23 possible skaters, allowing them to call up both defensemen. The team now carries 13 forwards and eight defensemen.

It’s unclear how exactly the defenseman sustained his injury, however he did play just one 25-second shift in last night’s overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils before leaving the game. The 32-year-old has been a reliable piece of the recent Calgary build, filling the role as a seventh-defenseman in recent years. In fact, he played in just 11 regular season games last season while never going on IR or otherwise leaving the roster. The veteran had been off to a surprisingly hot start in 2022-23, receiving regular minutes. Through 10 games, he had a pair of goals and three assists.

DeSimone, 27, is a longtime AHL veteran, making his pro debut with the San Jose Barracuda back in 2016-17. Prior to his pro career, DeSimone spent three seasons at Union College. DeSimone, like Stone in the NHL, was off to a hot start this season on the blueline, recording six points in eight games with the Wranglers. Should he play with the Flames, it would mark his NHL debut.

Meanwhile, Gilbert, who just turned 26, hasn’t been around as long as DeSimone, but he has spent some time in the NHL, including 25 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, most recently in 2020-21. He’s not off to quite as hot of a start as DeSimone is, having yet to record a point in eight games in the AHL, but his NHL experience should be appreciated as Calgary tries to plug holes on the blueline as they embark on an east-coast road trip.

As a result of losing two players of their own, the Wranglers have recalled two players from the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL: forward Rory Kerins and defenseman Simon Lavigne.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top