Minor Transactions: 12/13/24
There have been plenty of minor moves around the hockey world today. We’ll run down the ones with NHL connections here.
- The Oilers announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Josh Brown has been recalled from AHL Bakersfield. The 30-year-old inked a three-year, $3MM deal with Edmonton over the summer but wound up clearing waivers and has spent most of the year with the Condors, picking up three assists and 50 penalty minutes in 16 games while playing just three times with Edmonton so far. With Alec Regula not with the team yet, it’s possible that Brown’s promotion is merely a short-term one.
- The Rangers have brought up some extra defensive depth in the absence of K’Andre Miller. The team announced (Twitter link) that veteran Chad Ruhwedel has been recalled from AHL Hartford. Ruhwedel has only played once with New York this season but has recorded three assists in 11 games with the Wolf Pack. The 34-year-old has 365 career NHL contests under his belt over parts of 13 seasons.
- The Canucks continue their frequent roster shuffling, announcing (Twitter link) that forwards Aatu Raty, Max Sasson, and defenseman Mark Friedman were assigned to AHL Abbotsford. Sasson has been moved back and forth quite often over the last few weeks while Friedman was papered down earlier this week. Raty’s last assignment was in mid-November and considering he already has 20 games with Vancouver under his belt, it’s safe to say he’ll be back up quickly as well.
- Veteran forward Gemel Smith has caught on with another team as he has joined AHL Bridgeport on a PTO, per a team release. The 30-year-old played in seven games with Syracuse earlier in the season, picking up four points. Smith has 25 career points at the NHL level spanning 91 games over parts of six seasons.
Predators Announce Roster Moves With Roman Josi Out
The Nashville Predators have recalled Milwaukee Admirals captain Kevin Gravel. He is expected to step into the lineup on Thursday to fill in for Predators captain Roman Josi. Josi left Nashville’s Tuesday loss to Calgary roughly halfway through the first period. He returned a few moments later, and took three more shifts, but left again before the first period ended. Josi has since been announced as out day-to-day with a lower-body injury by the team.
Nashville made room for Gravel’s recall by placing defender Alexandre Carrier on injured reserve. Carrier was designated as week-to-week with an upper-body injury earlier this week. He hasn’t played since December 7th, meaning he’ll be eligible to return as soon as Saturday – though his designation suggests a longer absence.
Josi’s absence adds to a mounting injury list for the Predators. Their blue line is down multiple key pieces, with Jeremy Lauzon and Spencer Stastney joining Josi and Carrier on the absentee list. That’s left summer signee Brady Skjei as the sole pillar of the defense, with Luke Schenn, Marc Del Gaizo, and Adam Wilsby as his top supports.
They’ve already struggled with Carrier and Lauzon out – posting a league-worst 0-2-0 record and four-to-seven goal differential since the former left the lineup. Now, the test gets harder – with the most utilized Predator now at risk of missing a few games with his day-to-day designation. Josi has a team-leading 23 points in 29 games this season while averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time – over three minutes more than any other Predators skater. Josi is one year removed from a 23-goal, 85-point season where he played in all 82 games, and only four years removed from a 96-point year in 2021-22. He’s proven one of the best Swiss players to grace the NHL, and his absence leaves a glaring hole in every aspect of Nashville’s lineup.
Gravel won’t fill in Josi’s hole one-for-one, but he will offer the stout veteran presence of a 12-year pro. Much of Gravel’s career has been spent in the AHL, where he won a Calder Cup with the Manchester Monarchs in 2015 and the Bakersfield Condors in 2021. He joined the Predators organization in 2022 – suiting up for his sixth AHL club in Milwaukee the sixth AHL team, and his fourth NHL club in Nashville. Gravel appeared in 23 games of Nashville’s 2022-23 season, contributing one assist, two penalties, and a -10 from a limited role. He’s since spent all his time in with the Admirals, totaling 28 points and a +4 through 132 games and three seasons. He was named Milwaukee’s captain last season, and carried the title into this year. Now, Gravel will be called upon to support the top club amidst injuries to an overabundance of talent.
Flames Recall Walker Duehr, Jakob Pelletier
Dec. 12: As expected, the Flames announced today that Duehr and Pelletier are back up with the team. Their demotion was indeed to bank cap space and delay their temporary waiver exemptions.
Dec. 11: Following their victory over Nashville on Tuesday, the Flames have made a pair of roster moves. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned forwards Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr to AHL Calgary. Both players were recalled earlier this month.
Pelletier somewhat surprisingly landed on waivers at the end of the preseason and the 2019 first-round pick (26th overall) passed through unclaimed. He got off to a strong start with the Wranglers, notching three goals and 16 assists in 20 games, landing him the recall early last week. The 23-year-old did well in limited action with the Flames, picking up a goal and an assist in four games despite logging barely eight minutes a night of action.
As for Duehr, he also passed through waivers without being claimed in early October despite playing in 40 games with the big club last season. He also started strong in the minors, tallying 11 goals and eight assists in his first 20 outings. Duehr picked up an assist in his four outings with the Flames while averaging a little over ten minutes of ice time per contest.
With the demotions, Calgary has a pair of open roster spots. Notably, they only have 11 forwards on the active roster including Ryan Lomberg who has missed the last couple of games so it wouldn’t be surprising if a forward is recalled on Thursday. It could be one of these two (in which case the assignment is simply to delay the waiver clock by a day) or they could elect to try a different forward on the fourth line now.
Minor Transactions: 12/11/24
As has been the case throughout the season, there have been a bunch of minor moves around the NHL, primarily for roster management purposes. Here’s a rundown of those that haven’t already been covered.
- The Kraken announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Ryan Winterton from AHL Coachella Valley. The 21-year-old has been shuffled back and forth multiple times in the early going this season. Winterton has played in six games with Seattle, picking up an assist while averaging 10:45 per game of ice time. With the Firebirds, Winterton has been quite productive, recording seven goals and eight assists in 16 games so far.
- The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defenseman Mark Friedman to AHL Vancouver. The 28-year-old was recalled in late November but only got into one game while on recall. After clearing waivers in training camp, Friedman got into eight games with Abbotsford, notching a goal and three assists.
- The Avalanche continued their trend of near-daily transactions. Colorado assigned forward Ivan Ivan, defenseman Keaton Middleton, and goalie Trent Miner to the minors, per the AHL’s transactions log. Ivan has played exclusively with the Avs this season and has eight points in 30 games so it’s safe to say this is another paper move for salary cap reasons. The others aren’t as certain. Middleton has seen limited action in his three games and with the Avs having seven other healthy blueliners, they could opt to keep him down. Miner, meanwhile, was brought up with newcomer Mackenzie Blackwood being sick so his assignment could mean that Blackwood is ready to make his debut with Colorado in which case Miner would stay with the Eagles.
- After being named to Czechia’s preliminary World Junior roster yesterday, the Kings have loaned defenseman Jakub Dvorak to the national team, per the AHL’s transactions log. Considering that he’s seeing regular action with the Reign, it’s likely that he’s going to make the team so Los Angeles could have tried to see if they could keep him a little longer before loaning him out like Seattle intends to do with winger Eduard Sale but instead, Dvorak will join the Czechs for their full training camp.
Snapshots: Mukhamadullin, Ehlers, Nyquist, Drury
The Sharks have recalled defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin from AHL San Jose, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 22-year-old was the 20th overall pick by New Jersey back in 2020 and was a key piece of the Timo Meier trade three years later. Mukhamadullin missed all of training camp with a lower-body injury, eliminating any chance he had of making the team. He was cleared to return at the end of October and has been with the Barracuda since then, collecting six assists in 14 games. To make room for him on the roster, Jack Thompson has been returned to the AHL; the 22-year-old has done well in limited action so far, picking up five points in 14 games with the Sharks while averaging a little over 16 minutes a night.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers skated today for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury late last month, relays Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link). The 28-year-old was off to a strong start before the injury, recording nine goals and 16 assists in 24 games to land him in the top four in team scoring. Although Ehlers was back on the ice today, there remains no firm timetable for his return.
- Predators winger Gustav Nyquist was a late scratch for tonight’s game against Calgary with the team announcing (Twitter link) that he’s listed as day-to-day with an illness. After a career year last season in his first year with Nashville that saw him record 23 goals and 52 assists in 81 games, the 35-year-old has struggled offensively this season. Through his first 28 games, he has just six goals and four helpers despite logging nearly 18 minutes a night of playing time.
- The Hurricanes announced (Twitter link) that center Jack Drury left tonight’s game against San Jose due to an upper-body injury and did not return. The 24-year-old is in his second full NHL season and after putting up 27 points in 74 games in 2023-24, he’s producing at a similar clip this year, picking up three goals and six assists in his first 27 outings. Drury also has the highest faceoff rate of Carolina’s full-time middlemen, winning over 56% of his draws in the early going.
Minor Transactions: 12/10/24
As usual, there have been a handful of minor moves around the hockey world today. Here’s a rundown of the ones that haven’t been previously mentioned.
- The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they’ve once again recalled Nikolas Matinpalo from AHL Belleville. The 26-year-old has been shuffled back and forth in recent days but has yet to see any game action with Ottawa in 2024-25 but got into four games with the big club last season. Matinpalo has played in 17 games with Belleville this season, collecting two goals and four assists, nearly halfway to his point production from 2023-24.
- Hurricanes prospect Anttoni Honka will be staying overseas next season. HC Ajoie of the Swiss NL announced that they’ve signed him to a two-year contract that begins in 2025-26. The 24-year-old is playing for Ajoie this season while on loan from Carolina, the second straight year he has played overseas despite being on an NHL agreement; he suited up for JYP in Finland last season. This is the final year of Honka’s entry-level deal and considering he has already decided to stay in Switzerland, there’s a good chance he’ll be non-tendered this summer. Honka was selected late in the third round in 2019.
- Still with Carolina, the Hurricanes have re-assigned defenseman Ty Smith to AHL Chicago, per a team release. Smith has been shuffled back and forth throughout the season while spending time in a seventh defender role at times with Carolina but has yet to get into an NHL game this season. The 24-year-old has three goals and four helpers in seven games with the Wolves so far.
- Former NHL winger Brendan Perlini has found a place to play this season. Spartak of the KHL announced that they’ve inked the 28-year-old for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign. Perlini has 262 career NHL games under his belt over parts of five seasons with four different teams, collecting 50 goals and 31 assists over that span. He spent the last two years exclusively at the AHL level, however, and picked up nine goals and 11 assists in 37 games with AHL Charlotte last season.
- A day after being sent down, Max Sasson has been recalled by the Canucks, the team announced (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has two assists in seven games in his first taste of NHL action this season. Sasson also has nine points in 16 games with AHL Abbotsford. His demotion allowed Vancouver to bank a tiny bit more cap space as they look to avoid dipping into using LTIR.
Devils Recall Isaac Poulter
The New Jersey Devils have recalled goaltender Isaac Poulter. He will back up starter Jacob Markstrom on Tuesday, with veteran Jake Allen expected to miss the game with an undisclosed injury. It’s the third call-up of Poulter’s career, after a pair of brief stints as New Jersey’s backup last Spring.
Poulter has yet to make his NHL debut. Instead, he’s spent the last three seasons bouncing between the ECHL and AHL rosters. He earned his first pro contract in 2022, signing as an undrafted free agent after impressing at New Jersey’s 2022 training camp. Poulter recorded a 10-8-2 record and .910 save percentage in 22 ECHL games in his first pro season. That earned him a call-up to the AHL late in the season, and more formally a chance at the lion’s share of starts in a crowded goalie room last season. Poulter posted a team-leading 17-8-1 record and .911 save percentage in 28 games over 2023-24, complimenting it with a 5-0-1 and .917 in six ECHL games.
Poulter has started this year as the backup to Nico Daws, and hasn’t performed as well with the reduced role. He’s posted a 2-4-2 record and .871 save percentage, a small step below Daws’ 3-8-1 record and .897 save percentage on a struggling Utica lineup. Poulter likely won’t earn his NHL debut on this call-up – and should be headed back to the minor leagues, and back to his competition with Daws, once Allen returns to full health.
Evening Notes: Arvidsson, Allen, Whitecloud, Sasson
Edmonton Oilers winger Viktor Arvidsson has resumed skating for the first time since exiting the lineup last month with an undisclosed injury, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch shared with Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic. Knoblauch added that the hope is that Arvidsson will return to team practices next week. Little about the veteran winger’s injury has been revealed. He played through 14 minutes of ice time in his most recent game – an overtime win over the Islanders on November 12th. The Oilers announced Arvidsson as banged up shortly after that game, designating him as day-to-day. He was placed on injured reserve nine days later, and has since missed Edmonton’s last 11 games.
Arvidsson signed a two-year, $8MM contract with Edmonton this summer, but hasn’t found his footing in the new setting just yet. He’s played in 16 games and scored five points this season, though the bulk of that scoring came from a three-assist night against Pittsburgh on October 25th. Arvidsson has scored two goals in eight games since then, but still sits far away from the 31-goal season he managed in 2016-17. Repeated lower-body injuries held Arvidsson out of all but 18 games with the Los Angeles Kings last season, though he still managed an impressive 15 points. He’ll look to return to the lineup, and quickly rediscover his scoring kick, before the calendar turns over.
Other notes around the league:
- New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen is questionable for the team’s Tuesday game against Toronto per a team announcement. No specifics were provided as to what may limit the veteran backup. Allen was on the wrong side of a shutout on Sunday, allowing three goals on 22 shots in the Devils’ 4-0 loss to Colorado. Despite the losing efforts, Allen’s season-long stat line has been more encouraging – with a 5-4-1 record and .904 save percentage through 10 games. New Jersey would need to recall a backup for Jacob Markstrom should Allen miss Tuesday’s game. Utica Comets starter Nico Daws would likely stand as the next man up. Daws has three wins and a .897 in 13 AHL games this season.
- Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud returned to full practices on Monday shares Jesse Granger of The Athletic. It’s the next step towards a return after Whitecloud returned to practices with a no-contact jersey on Friday. Head coach Bruce Cassidy told Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Whitecloud is expected to play at some point on Vegas’ upcoming three-game road trip. The 28-year-old defender has two points, 14 penalty minutes, and a +5 through 21 games this season; while operating out of a bottom-four role. He’ll be quickly slotted back into the lineup when back to full health, likely bumping Kaedan Korczak to the press box.
- The Vancouver Canucks are taking advantage of their off-days, assigning waiver-exempt forward Max Sasson to the minor leagues to help accrue cap space ahead of their Tuesday night game. Sasson made his NHL debut earlier this season and has since recorded two assists and a +2 in seven games. The 24-year-old has operated from Vancouver’s fourth-line, and is likely to return with a call-up before the Canucks’ next game. If he does stay in the minors, he’ll be returning to an AHL stat line featuring four goals, nine points, and six penalty minutes through nine games.
Avalanche Notes: Miner, Blackwood, Prishchepov
The Colorado Avalanche will likely be down a goaltender when they face Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Avalanche are awaiting the arrival of Mackenzie Blackwood, after being traded for Alexandar Georgiev. To split the gap, Colorado has recalled AHL starting goaltender Trent Miner.
This is Miner’s second call-up of the season. His first was a one-day stop with the NHL roster on November 15th, in response to an injury to Georgiev. Miner backed up Justus Annunen for one game, and would end up taking over the crease just one minute into the second period after the latter allowed three goals on six shots. Miner stopped 12 of 13 shots in what was inadvertently his NHL debut – but Colorado couldn’t climb out of the hole Annunen dug, and ultimately lost the game 5-2.
Aside from the spot fill-in, Miner has proven the consistent in a Colorado Eagles goaltending room that also features Kaapo Kahkonen and Kevin Mandolese. Miner leads the team in games played with 11 appearances, but his 5-4-2 record and .895 rank behind Mandolese, who has a 6-2-0 record and .915 in nine games. Miner will likely be headed back to the minors once Blackwood arrives in Colorado, giving him a chance to maintain his spot over Mandolese on Colorado’s call-up list.
Other notes from Denver:
- Blackwood hasn’t arrived in Colorado yet, but the team is apparently already looking forward to his future. They’re hoping to land an extension before Blackwood hits free agency this summer, general manager Chris MacFarland told Max Miller of The Hockey News. Blackwood is near the end of a two-year, $4.7MM contract signed with San Jose on July 1, 2023. It was a sort of ‘prove-it’ contract, giving Blackwood a chance at hardy minutes after he lost the starting role in New Jersey. He didn’t start the deal too promising, posting a 10-25-4 record and .899 save percentage through 44 games with the league-worst Sharks last season. But his 2.4 goals-saved-above-expected (GSAx) – a stat that ranked 17th in the league per MoneyPuck – spoke to Blackwood’s hidden upside. He’s started to reveal that this year, with six wins and a .910 save percentage in 19 games so far. Blackwood has also posted 3.9 GSAx – again ranking him 17th in the league among goalies with 10-or-more starts. He’ll look to keep that momentum going behind a much stronger Colorado team, and earn a bit more certainty on his next deal.
- As they’ve done many times before, Colorado has also sent a waiver-exempt player to the minors on their off-day to accrue daily cap space. The target this time is forward Nikita Prishchepov, who hasn’t managed any scoring through 10 NHL games this season. Prishchepov was a seventh-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft and became just the third draftee to make his NHL debut – behind first-round picks Macklin Celebrini and Jett Luchanko. Prishchepov has yet to record his first NHL point, though he’ll enter conversation with just Celebrini if and when he does. He’ll likely be back on the Avlanache roster ahead of their Tuesday matchup, but he’d get a chance to build on six points in 12 AHL games should he stay in the minor leagues.
Rangers Recall Dylan Garand And Connor Mackey
December 9th, 9:18 AM: The New York Rangers have assigned Garand back to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, signalling that Shesterkin will return to the lineup tonight.
December 8th, 9:49 AM: The New York Rangers announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Dylan Garand and defenseman Connor Mackey from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League. The 22-year-old Garand has been called up likely as a backup option for Jonathan Quick as Igor Shesterkin’s wife is in labor, and he is expected to miss the game. Garand has been terrific in Hartford this season, posting a .917 save percentage to go along with a 2.42 goals-against average. He posted his first shutout of the season on Friday night against the Rockford IceHogs and has a record of 7-2-2 on the season.
A 2020 fourth-round pick, Garand is on the smaller side, but his confidence appears to be growing as the season progresses and he is beginning to show a ton of upside.
Mackey has dressed in 22 games with the Wolf Pack this year and has tallied two goals and four assists with a +2 plus/minus rating. The 28-year-old has been a staple in the AHL during his professional career, dressing in 146 career games and registering 12 goals and 57 assists. The Tower Lakes, Illinois native is no stranger to the NHL, having dressed in 40 career NHL games with three different teams. Mackey has posted four goals and seven assists for 11 career NHL points.
It is expected that Mackey will serve as the Rangers’ seventh defenseman (as per Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports).