AHL

The NHL schedule is a precarious thing these days, as dozens of players find themselves in the COVID protocol across the league. There have been individual postponements and full team shutdowns of late, with seemingly new news breaking every hour. For now, there are ten games on the docket, including a chance for the Stanley Cup champions to get some revenge. Over the weekend, the Ottawa Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0, and the two teams will do battle again this evening. As they and other teams prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.

Atlantic Division

• The Montreal Canadiens have recalled Cayden Primeau from the minor leagues, sending Corey Schueneman back to make room. Primeau will start in goal this evening for Montreal, while Samuel Montembeault is expected to play at some point on the upcoming road trip. Primeau, 22, has made two appearances for the Canadiens this season, losing both games and posting an .877 save percentage.

Metropolitan Division

• As expected, the Washington Capitals have recalled Brett Leason for their road trip to Canada. Nic Dowd and Trevor van Riemsdyk cannot travel with the team due to their COVID status, meaning they’ve been moved back to the non-roster list for the time being.
• With Mathew Barzal in the COVID protocol, the New York Islanders have recalled Austin Czarnik from the minor leagues. Czarnik has very rarely been a full-time NHL option in his professional career, but does have 129 regular season games under his belt. In the four he’s played this year with New York, he has three points.

Central Division

• The Winnipeg Jets have recalled David Gustafsson from the minor leagues, giving him an NHL opportunity after another great start with the Manitoba Moose. The 2018 second-round pick has done nothing but score whenever he’s in the AHL, with 16 points in 23 games this time around. Now 21, it’s time for him to start pushing for NHL minutes if he’s going to become a legitimate part of the Jets’ future.
• The Dallas Stars have sent Riley Damiani and Ty Dellandrea back to the minor leagues, though that may be for a short period of time depending on the health of the Stars forwards for tomorrow’s game. Roope Hintz and Alexander Radulov were back at practice today according to Saad Yousuf of The Athletic, suggesting they’ll be ready in time to battle the Blues.

Pacific Division

• Defenseman Guillaume Brisebois is back up with the Vancouver Canucks on an emergency recall after the team placed multiple defensemen in COVID protocol over the past few days. He has no points in nine career NHL games.

This page will be updated throughout the day

The NHL has three games on the schedule for this evening, but those certainly haven’t felt very secure given the situation around the league. Teams are announcing COVID cases seemingly hour-by-hour right now, with players becoming unavailable every day. With that, minor league depth will be even more important and we’ll keep track of all the shuffling right here.

Atlantic Division

• The Boston Bruins have recalled both Jack Studnicka and Oskar Steen, sending John Moore to the AHL to make some room. The team is down Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Craig Smith due to COVID, so won’t be quite as potent upfront when they take on the Islanders tomorrow night.
• With Michael Rasmussen and Robby Fabbri entering the COVID protocol, the Detroit Red Wings have recalled Kyle Criscuolo and Taro Hirose from the minor leagues. Both players have been outstanding for the Grand Rapids Griffins so far, scoring 17 and 19 points respectively.

Metropolitan Division

• Andrew Poturalski was returned to the AHL by the Carolina Hurricanes, as they prepare to get back on the ice tomorrow night. The Hurricanes avoided any other COVID placements today and will take on Detroit tomorrow if all goes well.
• The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Jackson Cates from the AHL under emergency conditions after Morgan Frost was put in the protocol last night. Cates, 24, has six points in 19 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but did make his NHL debut last season.
• After activating Nicklas Backstrom, Nic Dowd, and Trevor van Riemsdyk, the Washington Capitals have sent Brett Leason back to the AHL. The young forward scored four points in 20 games with the Capitals this season, his first in the NHL.

Central Division

• The Chicago Blackhawks have officially loaned Michael Krutil to the Czech World Junior team, though he hasn’t played for the Rockford IceHogs since the middle of November anyway. Krutil, a fourth-round pick from 2020, hasn’t recorded a point this season in seven games but will be in his second go-round at the WJC.
• The Colorado Avalanche have brought up defenseman Jordan Gross from Colorado of the AHL. The 26-year-old signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Avs in the summer and has impressed offensively with the Eagles, notching 18 points in 21 games so far this season.

Pacific Division

• The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Jacob Larsson from the AHL, his first call-up since clearing waivers at the beginning of the season. Larsson, who signed a two-year, $2.4MM deal in 2020, has seven points in 19 games for the San Diego Gulls this year.
• With Blake Lizotte activated from the COVID list, Jaret Anderson-Dolan has been sent back to the AHL by the Los Angeles Kings. The team has also officially loaned Helge Grans to Team Sweden for the upcoming World Junior Championship. Grans, 19, could very well be on the top pairing for Sweden after playing well in the minor leagues so far this season.

This page will continue to be updated throughout the evening. 

It’s an extremely busy Tuesday in the NHL with 13 games on the schedule. Even while teams deal with COVID absences–including some pretty important ones–the league will soldier on with games as it tries to battle through this season. With injuries and illnesses building up, there will be several recalls and reassignments across the NHL today. We’ll keep track of all the minor shuffling right here.

Atlantic Division

• The Florida Panthers have recalled Aleksi Heponiemi once again, as they deal with the loss of Ryan Lomberg to the COVID protocol. Heponiemi, a second-round pick from 2017, played in nine games last season for the Panthers but has yet to make his 2021-22 debut. In 21 games for the Charlotte Checkers, he has 13 points.
• With Brad Marchand and Craig Smith placed in the COVID protocol, the Boston Bruins have made a pair of recalls from the minor leagues. Jack Studnicka and Oskar Steen are back up to help out the big squad for the time being.

Metropolitan Division

• The Carolina Hurricanes, missing Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, have recalled the AHL scoring leader Andrew Poturalski from the Chicago Wolves. The 27-year-old forward has 34 points in 23 games this season and can slide into an offensive role for the Hurricanes right away. Undrafted, Poturalski has played just two games at the NHL level, both coming with Carolina back in the 2016-17 season.

Central Division

• After Anton Khudobin cleared waivers, he has been assigned to the Texas Stars of the AHL. Dallas has recalled Riley Damiani and Ty Dellandrea in his place, while moving Roope Hintz to injured reserve. Damiani, 21, has been great since entering the AHL last season, scoring 54 points in 57 games. The fifth-round pick would be making his NHL debut if he’s gets into the lineup.
• Janis Moser has been recalled by the Arizona Coyotes, a nice reward for a 21-year-old defenseman that has made an excellent transition to North American hockey. Selected 60th overall in 2021, Moser has 12 points in 18 games for the Tucson Roadrunners and appears to have been completely overlooked when he went undrafted during his first two years of eligibility.

Pacific Division

• The Seattle Kraken have recalled Max McCormick from the Charlotte Checkers, giving them another forward to plug into the lineup tonight against San Jose. McCormick has played five games so far this season, held scoreless throughout.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

The NHL schedule is completely blank this evening, thanks to the postponement of the Calgary Flames-Chicago Blackhawks game. The league does have a very heavy schedule for tomorrow evening, meaning there should still be plenty of minor league movement today to prepare. As always, we’ll keep track of the shuffling right here.

Atlantic Division

• The Boston Bruins have sent Jack Ahcan back to the AHL, though it may not be for very long. The team was missing both Connor Clifton and John Moore from practice today (along with goaltender Linus Ullmark) due to “testing issues” according to head coach Bruce Cassidy. The Bruins of course just came back from Calgary, where they played the Flames on Saturday night–just before seven members from that team entered the protocol.

Metropolitan Division

• The New Jersey Devils have recalled Marian Studenic and Kevin Bahl from the minor leagues, adding another pair of young players to the roster. Ryan Graves remains in COVID protocol, meaning Bahl is getting his first chance in the NHL this season. One of the biggest parts of the Taylor Hall trade, Bahl has two points in 19 games for the Utica Comets this year.

Central Division

Pacific Division

• The San Jose Sharks have recalled Jayden Halbgewachs from the San Jose Barracuda, giving him an NHL call-up after a hot start. The 24-year-old undrafted forward has 16 points in 19 games for the Barracuda this season. Only ever recalled to the taxi squad previously, Halbgewachs has yet to make an appearance in an NHL game.

This page will be updated throughout the day

There’s only a light five-game schedule on tap for this Sunday, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of movement across leagues. We’ll keep track of all the action on the NHL/AHL pipeline right here.

Atlantic Division

• The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a three-person swap today, assigning Kristians Rubins back to the Marlies and recalling forward Brett Seney and defenseman Carl Dahlstrom. Rubins, the first Latvian player to suit up for the Leafs, had no points in three games with the Leafs but looked solid defensively at times. After a game that saw the Leafs blow a 4-1 lead to Chicago and escape with a last-minute 5-4 win, however, the team wants to make some changes. Dahlstrom has just four assists in 18 games with the Marlies this year, while Seney has 16 in 19.
• For the first time in a decade, Michael Del Zotto is headed to the AHL. The veteran defenseman cleared waivers today and has been subsequently reassigned to the minors, the Ottawa Senators announced. Del Zotto will join AHL Belleville for the time being and stay fresh with some game action until the point in time that Ottawa decides they want his experience and expertise back on the NHL roster.

Metropolitan Division

• Early this morning, the Washington Capitals re-assigned goaltender Zach Fucale to the Hershey Bears, per a team release. Fucale was called up over the weekend to ensure the team would have an extra goalie if an injury occurred during their back-to-back set. The former junior hockey standout recorded a shutout in his first NHL game this season, and he has an .898 save percentage and 4-1-3 record with Hershey this season.

Central Division

• After a lengthy absence from NHL play, Colorado Avalanche goalie Pavel Francouz could be back soon. Per Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater, he was recalled today from his conditioning loan with the Colorado Eagles. Francouz missed the entire 2020-21 season and beginning of this season with injuries. He had an impressive .945 save percentage in four games on his conditioning loan, going 3-1-0 while in the AHL. Mikhail Maltsev was also recalled, per Dater.
• Ville Heinola is back with the Manitoba Moose after the Winnipeg Jets had him on the NHL roster over the weekend as an extra body. The 20th overall pick in 2019 had an impressive 14 points through 18 games in Manitoba this year.

Pacific Division

• With Ryan Getzlaf off the injured reserve, the Anaheim Ducks have reassigned his young replacement, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, to the AHL. The San Diego Gulls are sending goaltender Lukas Dostal back in return. Dostal will serve as the backup to Anthony Stolarz on Sunday as the Ducks evaluate the injury status of starter John Gibson. Should he play, it will be the NHL debut for the 21-year-old prospect.

This page will be updated throughout the day