Maple Leafs Recall Matt Murray, Reassign Dennis Hildeby
Dec. 26: Murray will get another crack at NHL minutes in the coming days. The team announced Thursday that he’s back on the roster with Hildeby heading back to the minors, indicating that he’ll start either tomorrow against the Red Wings or Saturday against the Capitals.
Dec. 21: Matt Murray’s return to the NHL was short-lived, at least for now. The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned Murray to AHL Toronto while recalling netminder Dennis Hildeby.
Murray made his first NHL start in more than 600 days on Friday in Buffalo where he turned aside 24 of 27 shots in the win. The 30-year-old also has a 1.85 GAA and a .939 SV% in eight appearances with the Marlies.
This demotion isn’t a performance-based one but one that appears to be made with waivers in mind. Murray cleared waivers in training camp and thus is waiver-exempt until he either plays ten NHL games or is up with the big club for 30 days. With the holiday break approaching and Joseph Woll likely to start their remaining two games before then, it then makes sense to send Murray down and stop the clock on the number of days he’s up. With Anthony Stolarz out for four-to-six weeks, Murray would almost certainly become waiver-eligible again if he stayed up the full length of Stolarz’s absence.
As for Hildeby, he has won two of his three NHL starts this season and conceivably could get some work in with Stolarz out as well though he’s likely to be flipped with Murray again before too long. The 23-year-old also has played six times for the Marlies, posting a 2.73 GAA with a .895 SV%, numbers that are well down from the 2.41 GAA and .913 SV% he had in 41 outings in 2023-24.
Penguins Place Owen Pickering On IR, Reassign Nate Clurman
12/25: Nate Clurman has been returned to the minor leagues, per the AHL transaction log. Clurman didn’t play in any games on this call-up, taking him through another brief call-up without playing his NHL debut. He’ll return to a middling role in the minor leagues.
12/23: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed top prospect Owen Pickering on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Pickering left the team’s Saturday game against New Jersey at the end of the second period. He didn’t appear to suffer a noticeable injury but did take a hard hit against the boards from Devils forward Paul Cotter a few shifts before leaving. Regardless, Pickering will now miss at least one week, and three games, of action; though he’s helped along by the team’s brief holiday break. To fill his hole, Pittsburgh has awarded defenseman Nate Clurman with just the second call-up of his pro career. The first came last week and didn’t result in Clurman playing any games.
He has just two points in the first 14 NHL games of his career but has performed well enough defensively to work his way up to a top-pair role next to Penguins star Kris Letang. The rookie averaged 19:19 in ice time in five games prior to his injury, and even earned minutes on both special teams despite posting no scoring and a -5. He’s playing to his M.O., keeping opponents out of the low slot and letting his forwards do the heavy lifting – a role he honed with 12 games, one goal, and a +5 to start the AHL season. The performance may not be flashy, but it’s a strong start for the 20-year-old Pickering, who’s in just his first professional season after spending the last four years with the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos. Pickering was much more involved at Swift Current, serving as the club’s captain in his final two seasons and totaling 133 points in 205 career games.
Pickering will be quickly replaced by the mix of Ryan Shea and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, the latter rejoining the Penguins via trade last week. Neither player has proven very productive in their NHL minutes. Shea stands as Pittsburgh’s lowest scorer, still searching for his first point after 26 games this season. Joseph at least managed two assists in 23 games with the St. Louis Blues prior to his trade, though he complimented it with 23 penalty minutes and a -7. Clurman will move into the role of extra defender behind the duo. He has five points, 10 penalty minutes, and a +6 in 18 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, surprisingly enough to tie for fourth on the team’s blue-line in scoring. Clurman is a career minor-leaguer in his first year with the Penguins, after spending the last four seasons with the Colorado Avalanche organization, who drafted him in the 2016 sixth-round. He’s totaled 26 points in five seasons and 128 games in the AHL.
Red Wings Assign William Lagesson And William Wallinder To AHL
As we’ve seen several teams do already, the Red Wings have sent a pair of players down now that we’re at the holiday break. Late last night, the team announced (Twitter link) that they re-assigned defensemen William Lagesson and William Wallinder to AHL Grand Rapids.
Lagesson has been shuffled back and forth in recent days but did get into two games with Detroit this week. He was held off the scoresheet while averaging just shy of 16 minutes a night. In his first season with the Red Wings, he has spent most of the year with the Griffins, picking up eight points in 20 games. With Simon Edvinsson recently landing on IR, there’s a good chance that Lagesson will be recalled after the break but for a few days at least, they’ll pause his waiver exemption clock.
As for Wallinder, he was the corresponding recall on Monday when Edvinsson was moved to injured reserve but he didn’t suit up against St. Louis. The 22-year-old is in the second year of his entry-level deal and is off to a solid start with the Griffins this season. Wallinder has eight points in 19 games in 2024-25 after putting up 19 in 65 contests in his rookie year last season. Waivers aren’t a consideration for him but the move will allow Detroit to bank a bit more cap space for a few days before deciding about bringing him back up or not.
With these assignments, the Red Wings now have two open spots on their active roster.
Vancouver Canucks Assign Three Players To AHL
Like every team in the National Hockey League, the Vancouver Canucks have played their final game before the short holiday break. Per the AHL transactions page, the Canucks have papered down forwards Phillip Di Giuseppe, Max Sasson, and Linus Karlsson bringing their roster down a minimum of 18 skaters and two goalies.
The roster moves will give Vancouver a relatively large window of salary cap relief despite all three players earning below $900K on their current contracts. The Canucks don’t play until Saturday when they take on the Seattle Kraken meaning all three players will likely be recalled then.
The veteran Di Giuseppe played in three games for Vancouver during his recent call-up from December 17th to today, tallying two assists and 12 hits while averaging 12:39 of ice time. He’ll likely spend more time on the Canucks roster for the rest of the season after returning from an injury earlier in the year. Di Giuseppe is in the final season of a two-year, $1.55MM agreement signed with Vancouver and can bring quality defensive play toward the bottom of the lineup.
Sasson, the second forward included in today’s transaction, is starting to rack up playing time in the NHL. The former Western Michigan University standout has scored one goal and five points in 12 games for the Canucks this season and has seen his ice time climb to or near 13 minutes in three of his last four games. There’s a legitimate chance his playing days in the AHL are over for the foreseeable future unless Vancouver makes a notable outside addition to their bottom six.
Karlsson also sustained an early-season injury keeping him out of the lineup for both Vancouver and the Abbotsford Canucks for much of the 2024-25 regular season. He’s gotten off to a hot start in Abbotsford scoring five goals and six points in seven games but he failed to find the scoresheet during his pair of contests in the NHL. He’s an interesting offensive weapon Vancouver could toy with toward the bottom of their forward grouping given that Karlsson is only a year removed from scoring 23 goals and 60 points in 60 AHL games.
Kings Reassign Andre Lee
Dec. 24: Lee has been returned to Ontario, per a club announcement. He won’t count against the cap during their holiday break. His appearance on Sunday against the Capitals was his first during this recall, recording a shot on goal in 9:13 of ice time.
Dec. 13: The Kings made a roster move on Friday to add a bit more depth up front. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Andre Lee from AHL Ontario on an emergency basis. Mayor’s Manor reports that winger Trevor Moore’s availability for tomorrow’s game against the Rangers is in question, necessitating this move.
The 24-year-old has gotten into 16 games so far this season with Los Angeles in his first taste of NHL action. That said, his playing time has largely been limited as he’s logging just 9:26 per game. Offensively, Lee has been limited to recording two assists although he’s also averaging just over two hits per contest.
After spending more than a month on an NHL roster to start the season, Lee was sent down in mid-November but he has been recalled multiple times since then. As a result, he has only played in four games with the Reign, picking up a goal and an assist after picking up 13 points in 36 games with them last season.
With the recall, the Kings are now at the maximum of 23 players on their active roster.
Kraken Reassign Ben Meyers, Gustav Olofsson
Dec. 23: After being rostered for their back-to-back over the weekend, the Kraken returned Meyers and Olofsson to Coachella Valley this morning, per a team announcement. Olofsson didn’t play during his recall, while Meyers posted a -1 rating in 8:52 of ice time in last night’s loss.
Dec. 21: Seattle has added some reinforcements to its roster in advance of their game tonight against Vegas. The team announced (Twitter link) that forward Ben Meyers and defenseman Gustav Olofsson have been recalled from AHL Coachella Valley.
This is the second recall of the season for Meyers who got into three games with the Kraken back in November but was held off the scoresheet while averaging just under eight minutes a night. The 26-year-old has been productive with the Firebirds, collecting nine goals and ten assists in 22 games with them. Signed to a one-year, one-way contract in unrestricted free agency this summer, Meyers could be heading back there next year unless he gets into ten more NHL games this season which would then make him a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
As for Olofsson, it’s his first time up with Seattle in 2024-25. The 30-year-old has played in 27 games with Coachella Valley this season, picking up four goals and seven assists, putting him one point shy of his total from last year in barely half as many games. Olofsson has 63 career NHL contests over parts of seven seasons, four of which have come with the Kraken over the past two years.
Seattle had two open roster spots following the recent demotion of Mitchell Stephens so no further moves were needed to bring Meyers and Olofsson onto the active roster.
Predators Assign Kevin Gravel, Marc Del Gaizo To AHL
The Nashville Predators have assigned defensemen Kevin Gravel and Marc Del Gaizo to the AHL. Del Gaizo passed through waivers on Thursday. The moves follow the arrival of new trade acquisition Justin Barron, who joined Nashville’s practice for the first time on Friday per NHL.com’s Brooks Bratten. Star defender Roman Josi also returned to team practice on Friday, one day after he was placed on injured reserve retroactive to December 10th.
Nashville will soon get to see what their blue-line looks like at full strength, after parting ways with Dante Fabbro and Alexandre Carrier, and sending Del Gaizo to the minors. Josi and Jeremy Lauzon will fill vacancies on the left-hand side, while Barron brings much-needed depth on the right.
The new look couldn’t come at a better time. Only two Predators defenders – Adam Wilsby (3) and Brady Skjei (2) – have recorded multiple points since the start of December. Josi will quickly address that lacking production, soon to return to his 23 points in 29 games this season. Nashville will hope that scoring can rub off on Barron and Lauzon, who each have just one point in 17 and 23 games respectively.
Meanwhile, Gravel will return to productive years in the minors. He serves as the Milwaukee Admirals’ captain, and has five points in 20 games this season, already halfway to his 10-point total from last year. Gravel will be joined by Del Gaizo, who played in just two AHL games before becoming an injury fill-in on the NHL roster. He hasn’t yet recorded any minor league scoring, but did post 34 points in 60 AHL games last year – a mark that led all Admirals defensemen.
Red Wings Recall William Lagesson, Simon Edvinsson Out
The Detroit Red Wings have recalled defenseman William Lagesson from the AHL. Lagesson will serve as a fill-in for top defense prospect Simon Edvinsson, who is expected to be out this weekend with an upper-body injury, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Both players are inactive for Detroit’s Friday night game against Montreal.
This is already Lagesson’s third call up of the season. Despite that, he’s yet to actually step into the Red Wings lineup – with the entirety of his ice time instead coming in the minor leagues. Lagesson has recorded eight points in 20 games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins – second-most among the team’s defenders. He spent nearly all of the 2023-24 season on NHL rosters, starting the year with the Toronto Maple Leafs and ending it with the Anaheim Ducks, courtesy of a March waiver claim. Lagesson played in 40 NHL games in the year – split 30 and 10 between Toronto and Anaheim, though four assists in Toronto would stand as his only scoring.
Lagesson played in 60 NHL games prior to last season, split between the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens. He only added seven assists in those appearances, dragging the quest for his first NHL goal through parts of five seasons. He’s been much more reliable as a minor-leaguer, tallying 23 goals and 80 points across 193 games and six seasons in the AHL.
Lagesson will back up the injured Edvinsson, who’s been a top pair option for Detroit when healthy. Playing through his first full year in the NHL, Edvinsson has scored three goals and 13 points in 30 games. He led the Grand Rapids Griffins in scoring last season, with 30 points in 54 games. Edvinsson will look to slot back in on Monday. If he can’t, he’ll have to wait until after the holiday break – when Detroit takes on Toronto on December 27th.
Maple Leafs Notes: Matthews, Tavares, Shaw
Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews is still feeling the effects of the upper-body injury that sidelined him for nine games earlier this season, head coach Craig Berube told Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. Berube shared that Matthews is fighting through the ailment and that the team is managing his load while he returns to full health. No injury specifics were provided, and Berube didn’t seem to suggest Matthews would need to miss any additional time.
Matthews may not look as fluid as normal, but he’s certainly appearing on the scoresheet all the same. He’s recorded points in all but two games since returning on November 30th – totaling five goals and 11 points, good for second on the team in both categories. The hot return slots Matthews in at fourth on the Leafs in scoring on the year, and third on the team in points-per-game, with 22 points in 23 games this season. Digging even deeper, Matthews’ goal in Toronto’s December 14th win over Detroit was his 50th of calendar year 2024. He’s now totaled at least 50 goals in each of the last four calendar years – making him the ninth player in league history to achieve such a feat. The record for that category is split between Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy, who each managed the feat in seven straight years, per Rotowire.
In additional Maple Leafs news, former captain John Tavares is hoping to sign an extension with the club, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. Friedman pointed out how Tavares’ has adjusted to new head coach Berube as a big contributor to the veteran wanting to stay. Tavares’ last contract negotiations with Toronto were legendarily contentious. He signed a seven-year, $77MM deal with the club on July 1st, 2018.
It was one of the league’s priciest contracts at the time, and more notably pulled Tavares away from the New York Islanders, where he spent the prior nine seasons. Tavares was a star with the Islanders, posting 621 points across 779 games with the club and even earning their captaincy. The Ontario native has since become vilified by Long Island hockey fans, though he’s continued to score at an incredible rate with the Leafs. Tavares has 448 points in 471 games in Toronto, including a career-high 88 points scored in 2018-19 – his first year with the club. A new deal will likely come with a significant decrease in pay – especially with Mitch Marner‘s extension looming – but Tavares is still likely to be paid handsomely for his production out of a middle-six role. He ranks third on the 2024-25 Leafs in scoring, with 29 points in 31 games, despite averaging the least ice time of any of the top six scoring leaders.
Continuing updates for Toronto captains, the AHL’s Toronto Marlies have signed forward Logan Shaw to a two-year contract extension. Shaw has been the Marlies’ captain for the last three seasons, after serving two years as the Belleville Senators ‘C’. He’s been fantastically productive with the Marlies, totaling 144 points in 160 games with the club. That includes Shaw’s 17 points in 23 games this season, which ranks third on the minor-Toronto in scoring. The new deal will take Shaw through his age-34 season, and his 14th professional season.
Wild Place Yakov Trenin On IR, Recall Devin Shore, Travis Boyd
Dec. 20: Shore is back on the active roster today, as is forward Travis Boyd, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. Boyd made a pair of appearances with the Wild last month amid one of a couple of recalls this season, averaging just 7:39 per game and controlling an abysmal 21.9% of shot attempts at even strength. The 31-year-old leads Iowa in scoring this season with 18 points (3 G, 15 A) in 17 games and has nearly 300 games of NHL experience under his belt with the Coyotes, Capitals, Maple Leafs and Canucks in addition to his brief stint in Minnesota. The Wild’s active roster is now full.
Dec. 19: The Wild made a pair of roster moves in advance of their next game against Utah on Friday. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Yakov Trenin has been placed on injured reserve while winger Devin Shore has been assigned to AHL Iowa.
Trenin has missed three straight games due to an upper-body injury. Assuming this placement is back-dated, he’ll be eligible to return as soon as this weekend. The 27-year-old is in his first season with Minnesota after signing a four-year, $14MM contract with them back in free agency, a move that hasn’t worked as well as anyone would have hoped.
After putting up double-digit goals in each of the last three years, Trenin has struggled considerably offensively this season, lighting the lamp just twice while adding one assist in 29 games. While he sits second on the team in hits with 82, it’s safe to say that GM Bill Guerin was expecting more from his biggest free agent addition from July.
As for Shore, he cleared waivers on Tuesday but stayed with Minnesota for a couple of extra days and played last night against Florida. He has played in 13 NHL contests so far but has been held off the scoresheet while averaging a little over eight minutes a night. The veteran has been a strong contributor with Iowa, however, notching two goals and eight assists in 14 appearances with them.