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New York Islanders Reassign Calum Ritchie

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According to a team announcement, the New York Islanders have reassigned forward Calum Ritchie to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. Ritchie had begun the year on the season-opening injured reserve, working his way back from a lower-body issue.

Ritchie was projected to return as late as October 17th. A report from a few days ago highlighted that he had been practicing with the Islanders, indicating that he was more likely to return early. He had scored one goal and two points in four preseason contests, averaging 15:24 of ice time, before suffering the lower-body ailment.

Despite beginning his season in the AHL, there is some hope that Ritchie could feature for the Islanders by the end of the 2025-26 campaign. Still, it’ll be his first long-term taste of professional hockey, spending most of last season with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals after skating in seven games with the Colorado Avalanche to begin the year. The Islanders acquired Ritchie at last season’s trade deadline in the deal that sent Brock Nelson to Denver.

He had an impressive year with the Generals, scoring 15 goals and 70 points in 47 regular-season games, and adding nine more goals and 25 points in 21 postseason contests. During the 2024-25 U20 World Junior Championships, playing for Team Canada, Ritchie registered one goal and one assist in five games.

Meanwhile, Ritchie could have more responsibility than most 20-year-olds in the AHL. Bridgeport finished the 2024-25 season as one of the worst offensive teams in the AHL, averaging 2.51 goals per game. Given his offensive prowess, Ritchie will likely find himself in a top-six role, giving him a larger opportunity to move up the depth chart should he find success.

Panthers Recall Tobias Bjornfot

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With Dmitry Kulikov being placed on injured reserve back on Friday, the Panthers had an open roster spot at their disposal.  They’ve now filled that spot as they’ve recalled defenseman Tobias Bjornfot from AHL Charlotte, per the AHL’s transactions log.

The 24-year-old was an injury recall a couple of times last season, seeing stints with Florida back in January and March last season, getting into 14 games overall where he was held off the scoresheet while averaging just over 13 minutes per game.  For his career, Bjornfot has a goal and 14 assists in 134 NHL appearances between Los Angeles, Vegas, and Florida.

Bjornfot played in three games with the Panthers in the preseason but cleared waivers last weekend, paving the way for him to return to the Checkers.  This stint lasted all of one game and if Kulikov is indeed out longer term as expected, he may be up with Florida for a while this time.  Bjornfot had 18 points in 50 games at the AHL level last season.

With Florida deep into using LTIR (with Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Tomas Nosek), they’re not banking any cap room right now, meaning that Bjornfot’s recall doesn’t do much beyond cutting into their current LTIR space.  That sits at just over $1.49MM, per PuckPedia, meaning they have enough cap space for one more recall if more injuries arise.

Flyers Recall Emil Andrae, Loan Dennis Gilbert To AHL

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The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that they have called up defenseman Emil Andrae, while loaning fellow defender Dennis Gilbert to Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move.

It was speculated earlier in the month that Philadelphia could look to deal Andrae, as he bounces around roles in the organization. Yet now, after two games outside the win column, the Flyers have made a move likely popular with fans, bringing up an intriguing younger player for the journeyman 28-year-old Gilbert, who has 111 NHL games under his belt, but does not quite jump out as much more than organizational depth. 

Apparently one game in the AHL was enough for Andrae, at least for now, as he notched two assists for the Phantoms. Now, the Swedish defenseman will look to take a step forward after 42 games with the Flyers last season with 7 points and a -5. 

Meanwhile, Gilbert has not appeared in the AHL since the 2022-23 season, skating in 26 games for the Calgary Wranglers. The veteran will be an immediate standout for the Phantoms, especially as they have a younger defense corps overall, and the Buffalo native will have his sights on earning another call-up to the NHL at some point. 

Avalanche Recall Jack Ahcan

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The Colorado Avalanche have recalled defenseman Jack Ahcan from the Colorado Eagles. Ahcan is currently the AHL scoring leader after racking up one goal and four points in the Eagles’ first two games of the season. Colorado had an extra roster spot available after placing Samuel Girard on injured reserve, and now use it to reward Ahcan’s hot start.

Ahcan has taken a step forward in scoring in each of his six years in the AHL. His career began as an undrafted college free agent, following 103 points in 144 games at St. Cloud State. He signed with the Boston Bruins, and potted 10 points in his first 19 AHL games in the 2020-21 season. He grew to 23 points in 46 games in the next season, then 36 points in 68 games in 2022-23. A depth chart logjam pushed Ahcan out of the Bruins organization in the summer of 2023, but his momentum didn’t slow down in a move to the Eagles. He rose to 38 points in 70 games in the 2023-24, and 41 points in 69 games last season.

Ahcan is a sharp offensive-defenseman who creates dangerous chances on fastbreaks and shots from the point. He will be in direct competition with Ilya Solovyov for a role on the team’s bottom pair. Solovyov made his debut with the Avalanche on Saturday, and recorded a minus-one. He played 15 games, and scored for points, with the Calgary Flames over the last two seasons. He has also totaled 33 points in 110 AHL games since 2023.

Jets Recall Kale Clague, Assign Brad Lambert

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The Winninepg Jets recalled defenseman Kale Clague ahead of Sunday morning’s practice. He took the ice in the spot of Haydn Fleury, who did not skate due to a knee injury, per Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press. Jets head coach Scott Arniel designated Fleury as out day-to-day with a lower-body injury after practice, per NHL.com’s Mitchell Clinton.

Fleury appeared to sustain his injury after blocking a shot off of his kneecap in the second period of Saturday’s win over the Los Angeles Kings. He took to the ice for a few laps before the start of the third period, but ended up back in the Jets’ locker room before the period got underway.

Fleury played in both of Winnipeg’s games to start the season. he managed no notable stat changes, aside from a minus-one. Even without a padded stat line, back-to-back appearances was a positive step forward for a career-long extra defenseman. The most Fleury has played in a single season currently sits at 45 games – a mark he reached with the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2019-20 season. He scored 14 points that year. His 39 games with Winnipeg last season rank second. He complimented those appearances with seven assists and a minus-12.

Winnipeg will turn to Clague as their first injury fill-in. The 27-year-old defender recorded 10 goals, 39 points, and a plus-three in 69 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans last season. He signed a one-year, $775K contract with the Jets on July 1st, helping to build out a blue-line depth that Winnipeg has had to call on early. Clague will offer the left-hand shot needed to replace Fleruy, though he’ll still have to compete with right-shot extra defenseman Colin Miller for minutes should Winnipeg need a replacement.

To make room to recall Clague, Winnipeg has also assigned top prospect Brad Lambert to the minor-leagues. Lambert was serving as a press box forward for the Jets early in the season. He scored seven goals and 35 points in 61 games with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose last season. He also appeared in five NHL games, and recorded one assist. Lambert was the 30th-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft but hasn’t yet proven his worth at the NHL level. He’ll return to the minors as a strong scoring presence, with 90 points in 125 AHL games on his career.

Rangers Recall Connor Mackey, Place Carson Soucy On IR

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The New York Rangers have placed defenseman Carson Soucy on injured reserve and recalled Connor Mackey in his place, per the NHL media site and Peter Baugh of The Athletic. Soucy had a scary collision with Pittsburgh Penguins winger Rickard Rakell in New York’s Saturday night win. The hit swept Soucy’s legs from under him as his head fell into the boards. He left the game immediately, ending his night with just over six minutes of ice time.

No details about Soucy’s injury have been revealed, though a move to IR will force him out for at least two weeks with an, assumed, upper-body injury. He played solid, second-pair minutes for the Rangers in two games prior to injury. He recorded one goal and a plus-two in those outings – both stats coming in New York’s Thursday win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Soucy is in the final year of a three-year, $9.75MM contract originally signed with the Vancouver Canucks in 2023. He spent the first two years of the deal primarily with the Canucks, racking up 16 points and a minus-three in 99 games played. Those poor totals led Vancouver to trade Soucy to New York at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick used to draft Kieren Dervin from St. Andrew’s College.

Soucy’s absence will leave a notable hole on the Rangers’ blue-line. Mackey will earn the first nod of the season, after playing in only two NHL games, and recording one fight, last season. The rest of his year was spent with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, where he racked up 24 points and 102 penalty minutes in 66 games played. Mackey has found his groove as a hard-hitting defenseman. He has racked up 267 penalty minutes in 163 AHL games over his last three seasons in the league. Those years weren’t consecutive, though, as Mackey spent the 2022-23 season in an extra defender role with the Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes. He recorded seven points and 48 PIMs in 30 NHL games that year.

New York is likely to elevate Urho Vaakanainen into Soucy’s role on the second-pair. Behind him will be young defender Matthew Robertson, who hasn’t yet made his season debut. This injury could be an opportunity for Robertson to finally cement his role in the NHL, after earning a top-50 selection in the 2019 NHL Draft but not yet playing more than two games in the NHL. He managed 25 points and 55 penalty minutes in 60 AHL games last season. Should either Vaakanainen or Robertson falter, or New York need a spark, Mackey could make a spot start.

A tight salary cap situation puts New York in a spot where they can only afford to recall Mackey, who makes a league-minimum $775K salary, but could not afford to recall top prospect Scott Morrow, who makes a $917K salary.

East Notes: Letang, Soucy, Lorentz, Livingstone

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Only having one shift in the third period of tonight’s contest against the New York Rangers, many began to wonder if Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang was dealing with an injury. That is indeed the case. According to Seth Rorabaugh of The Tribune-Review, Letang is being evaluated for an undisclosed injury.

Despite missing a few games last year due to injuries, Letang hasn’t dealt with any serious issues since suffering a stroke early in the 2022-23 campaign. Since returning, he’s appeared in 95.2% of all potential contests for the Penguins.

In the offseason, the Penguins indicated that they’d like to limit Letang’s usage this season. However, before tonight’s game against the Rangers, in which he played 15:29, Letang has averaged nearly 25 minutes a game, leading the team by a significant margin.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • On the other side of tonight’s contest between the Penguins and Rangers, the winning team is dealing with a defenseman injury of its own. After only appearing in 6:35 of tonight’s game, the Rangers announced that blueliner Carson Soucy left the game due to an upper-body injury. There could be cause for concern given the nature of the injury. Attempting to hit Penguins forward Rickard Rakell, Soucy missed the body check completely, flying awkwardly into the boards.
  • In a separate Eastern Conference matchup, this time in the Atlantic Division, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost forward Steven Lorentz to an upper-body injury. Lorentz’s departure from tonight’s game came early in the first period after being hit by Detroit Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot. He skated in 1:17 of tonight’s game, and the Maple Leafs added no further comments on the severity of his injury.
  • According to a team announcement, the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, the main affiliate of the Florida Panthers, have signed defenseman Jake Livingstone to a contract for the 2025-26 season. The Minnesota State University alumnus has spent the last two years with the Milwaukee Admirals after debuting with the Nashville Predators in the 2022-23 season. In that two-year stint with the Admirals, Livingstone scored nine goals and 33 points in 127 games.

Penguins Activate Bryan Rust, Assign Ville Koivunen To AHL

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The Penguins have made a pair of roster moves heading into tonight’s matchup against the Rangers.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have activated winger Bryan Rust off injured reserve.  To make room on the roster, forward Ville Koivunen has been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Rust had been dealing with a lower-body injury that held him out for most of the preseason as he only got into one exhibition contest.  Since he had missed plenty of time by then, Pittsburgh was able to easily move him to injured reserve to start the season and spare another roster cut for the time being.

Last season, the 33-year-old had a career year, notching 31 goals and 34 assists in 71 games, setting personal bests across the board while averaging just under 20 minutes a night of ice time.  Considering that he is making an affordable $5.25MM through the 2027-28 campaign and that Pittsburgh is looking to rebuild its roster, that resulted in him being involved in a lot of trade speculation although no move came to fruition.

Rust will likely rejoin Pittsburgh’s top line alongside Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell, a trio that had lots of success last season.  Koivunen had been in that spot as a placeholder to start the year but was held off the scoresheet in his two outings.  Given that he is waiver-exempt, he was a safe choice to send down for the time being.

Last season, Koivunen made quite the first impression down the stretch.  He was brought up at the end of March and got into eight games with Pittsburgh.  While he didn’t score, he picked up seven assists in those outings while playing over 18 minutes a night, making a strong push for a longer-term stint on the roster.  That won’t be happening for the time being but it stands to reason that he’ll be one of their top recall candidates whenever injuries arise or a roster spot is opened up, such as a trade or if Benjamin Kindel is returned to junior if the team opts to not burn the first year of his entry-level contract.  That decision will come once he reaches the nine-game mark which could come within the next few weeks.

Minor Transactions: 10/10/2025

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Although no NHL teams are set to play tonight, the wider hockey world isn’t without its fair share of games. Numerous junior hockey teams are set to play tonight, as well as NCAA hockey programs and clubs in European professional leagues. Even though the season is now fully underway almost everywhere in pro hockey, teams are still completing transactions and player movement remains as alive as ever. Here, we’ll rundown today’s player movement from around the hockey world:

  • After signing two PTO’s to start the season, 255-game NHL veteran Scott Harrington has found a full-time contract for the 2024-25 season. The 32-year-old defenseman signed a two-year AHL contract with the Belleville Senators, and as is customary for AHL contracts, the financial terms of the deal were undisclosed. Harrington began this past preseason on a PTO with the Nashville Predators before he was released, and then signed a PTO in Belleville. Once a regular depth defenseman for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Harrington last played in the NHL in 2022-23, skating in 17 games for the Anaheim Ducks. He spent last season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, scoring five points in 49 games. For the purposes of the AHL’s development rule, Harrington is considered a veteran player.
  • Former Buffalo Sabres forward Nicholas Baptiste has signed a contract with HK Dukla Trencin of the Slovak Extraliga. The 30-year-old is a former OHL star who has been on quite the pro hockey journey since leaving North America in 2021-22. Baptiste began with Liiga’s Ilves Tampere, scoring 35 points in 52 games en route for the league’s bronze medal. He spent the following year in Germany with the Cologne Sharks, before returning to Tampere to play with Tappara, where he would end up winning the Liiga title. Baptiste began last season in the KHL with Vityaz Moscow Region, but left to join the DEL’s Augsburg Panthers after scoring just three points in 11 games in Russia. Now he’ll continue his pro career in Slovakia, joining 277-game AHL veteran and fellow former CHL star Jordy Bellerive.
  • In what is the latest example of a player deciding to join an NCAA hockey program after already making his pro debut, New York Islanders draft pick Justin Gill has enrolled at Merrimack College and joined their ice hockey program. Gill is a 2023 fifth-rounder of the Islanders who signed an AHL contract last July. He spent 2024-25 in the Islanders’ minor-league system, scoring seven points in 35 games for the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders and 22 points in 23 games for the ECHL’s Worcester Railers. According to College Hockey Insider’s Mike McMahon, the NCAA cleared Gill’s eligibility to play this past week.
  • Seattle Kraken 2025 seventh-round pick Karl Annborn has been sent to HockeyAllsvenskan club Vasteras IK for a full-season loan. The 18-year-old right-shot blueliner is under contract with SHL side HV71, but split time this season between HV71’s senior team (where he received limited minutes in seven SHL games) and the club’s J20 Nationell squad. With this loan to Sweden’s second-tier league, Annborn will see a path to more consistent ice time against professional competition, and he skated in just over 14 minutes in his debut with Vasteras today. Although Annborn was a seventh-rounder at this year’s draft, he was ranked higher by some outlets, including 32nd among International skaters by NHL Central Scouting and 126th overall by EliteProspects.
  • Former Kamloops Blazers alternate captain Brodi Stewart began his professional career playing for four seasons in Austria, working his way up from the AlpsHL’s Steel Wings Linz to Linz’s most senior team, the ICEHL’s Black Wings. Now, he’s set to make his North American pro debut. Per the ECHL’s Transactions Wire, Stewart signed a standard player contract with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones. The 5’11 forward wasn’t a big scorer in Linz, managing just 27 points across 105 ICEHL games. But Stewart did manage to help Linz make a run to Game 7 of the league’s semifinals, where they fell to EC-KAC.
  • The OHL’s Flint Firebirds announced the addition of Michigan native Darian Anderson, meaning the 18-year-old prospect will continue his junior hockey career in the OHL, rather than the USHL where he played in 2024-25. The 6’3 forward, who has made a verbal commitment to play college hockey at Clarkson University, played in 44 games for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars last season, scoring 16 points. Anderson was drafted by Flint in the fifth round of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection, and now that selection will pay dividends for the junior hockey franchise.
  • 23-year-old Frolunda HC forward Noah Hasa has signed a three-year contract extension to remain with his team for the foreseeable future. A product of Frolunda’s youth system, Hasa worked his way up their junior hockey ranks before ultimately serving as captain of their J20 Nationell team. He broke into Frolunda’s first team on a full-time basis in 2023-24, after spending one year on loan in HockeyAllsvenskan with Vasterviks IK. In his first two seasons in the SHL, Hasa scored 19 points in 95 games, though he is off to a faster start in 2025-26, scoring four points in 10 games.
  • Former Bemidji State University defenseman Ruslan Pedan has signed a one-year KHL contract to play 2025-26 with Admiral Vladivostok. The 30-year-old blueliner is set to play in his 300th career KHL game when he makes his debut for Admiral, and he spent the last two seasons playing for Vityaz Moscow Region. Pedan has bounced around Russia’s top pro league since leaving the NCAA at the end of the 2015-16 season, first splitting time between the KHL and second-tier VHL before breaking into the KHL on a full-time basis in 2020-21 with the since-rebranded Kunlun Red Star.

Will Butcher Signs With AHL Cleveland

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After one year overseas, a former Calder Trophy vote recipient is returning to North America. According to an announcement from the team, the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters have signed defenseman Will Butcher to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 season.

Last season, the University of Denver alumnus split his time between the KHL’s Barys Astana and the DEL’s EHC München. He performed much better with the latter, scoring three goals and 11 points in 32 games with a +7 rating, after tallying three assists in 15 games with the former.

Despite his offensive struggles in Europe, Butcher is only two years removed from being one of the better puck-moving defenseman in the AHL. In his first full season in the AHL with the Texas Stars during the 2022-23 season, Butcher scored six goals and 43 points in 65 games with a +11 rating, tying for 14th in scoring among defensemen.

Still, it’s difficult not to assess Butcher’s career as somewhat disappointing. On his entry-level deal with the New Jersey Devils, as recently as the 2018-19 campaign, Butcher was considered to be an up-and-coming offensive contributor from the blue line, scoring nine goals and 74 points in 159 games, averaging 17:38 of ice time per game.

New Jersey rewarded Butcher with a three-year, $11.2MM extension, though his production began to decline almost immediately upon putting pen to paper. In the following three campaigns, the final one with the Buffalo Sabres, Butcher registered seven goals and 40 points in 116 games before becoming a full-time AHL contributor.

In Cleveland, he’ll join a team that’s reached the postseason in back-to-back seasons. Given that Denton Mateychuk has graduated into a full-time role with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Butcher could be in line for significant responsibility on the Monsters’ blue line alongside Stanislav Svozil, especially if he returns to form from his 2022-23 campaign.

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