Penguins Activate Kevin Hayes, Assign Vasily Ponomarev To AHL
The Penguins will welcome back a veteran forward to their lineup tonight against Utah. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have activated center Kevin Hayes off injured reserve. To make room for him on the active roster, forward Vasily Ponomarev has been returned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Hayes is in his first season with Pittsburgh after St. Louis paid a second-round pick to offload the final two years of his deal (or at least half of it with Philadelphia retaining the other half) on the Penguins. The 32-year-old is off to a bit of a quiet start as he has just three goals and one assist in his first 14 games. However, he’s also averaging just 9:27 per night, by far a career-low.
A veteran of 727 career regular season appearances over parts of 11 years, Hayes has been a productive middleman at times and has five years of 44 or more points under his belt. But with his playing time basically being limited to the fourth line so far this season, it’s unlikely that Hayes will get close to that mark, barring a change in role as the season progresses.
As for Ponomarev, he was recalled a week and a half ago and got into three games in that stretch, his first three games with Pittsburgh after they acquired him as part of the Jake Guentzel trade at last year’s trade deadline. The 22-year-old was held off the scoresheet while averaging a little over nine minutes per game.
Ponomarev sustained an upper-body injury late in training camp, derailing any chance he had of making the opening roster and instead landed on season-opening IR until the end of October. As a result, he hasn’t had much playing time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton either and he has just one assist in five games at that level. Still early in his development, consistent playing time will be needed and he’s likelier to get that at the AHL level than battling for fourth-line action with the big club.
Kings Recall Pheonix Copley, Assign Erik Portillo To Minors
The Kings are swapping out backup goaltenders in advance of their afternoon game against Seattle today. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Pheonix Copley from AHL Ontario. In a corresponding move, Erik Portillo was re-assigned to the Reign.
Copley was the backup for Los Angeles at the start of last season, following an impressive 2022-23 performance that saw him record a 2.64 GAA and a .903 SV% in 37 games. However, he struggled early on last year and then was injured, handing the number two job to David Rittich who secured the second-string role again in training camp in the fall.
The 32-year-old has made one appearance with the Kings this season, stopping 10 of 12 shots in a mid-October appearance. But most of his playing time has come with the Reign where he has a 3.34 GAA and a .879 SV% in seven outings so far. He’s slated to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and is on a one-way contract worth $825K.
As for Portillo, the 24-year-old received his first NHL recall a little over a week ago but didn’t see any game action with Rittich carrying the workload in Darcy Kuemper’s absence due to injury. He has played in five games with Ontario so far, posting a 3.02 GAA and a .891 SV%. Last season, Portillo put up a 2.50 GAA and a .918 SV% in 39 outings with the Reign, earning him a three-year, $2.35MM contract, the final two seasons of which will carry a one-way salary. It’s not ideal to have a young goaltender sitting without any game action for an extended stretch so he’ll go back to Ontario and get a chance to see some regular action with them.
Flyers Officially Activate Cam York, Assign Anthony Richard To AHL
The Flyers have made a pair of roster moves heading into today’s afternoon game against Chicago. The team announced (Twitter link) that blueliner Cam York has been activated off injured reserve as expected. To make room for him on the active roster, forward Anthony Richard has been re-assigned to AHL Lehigh Valley.
York has been out for nearly a month, missing 13 games in the process. Before suffering an upper-body injury in October, the 23-year-old was off to a good start to his season, picking up two goals and an assist in seven games while logging nearly 23 minutes a game of playing time. That workload was similar to 2023-24 when he averaged 22:37 per game while adding 30 points in 82 appearances in a breakout effort for the 2019 first-round pick.
His return will certainly be a welcome one for a Philadelphia back end that has had its ups and downs this season. He’ll be taking the place of Yegor Zamula against the Blackhawks.
As for Richard, it’s fair to say his demotion wasn’t performance-related. The 27-year-old was recalled a little over two weeks ago and was quite productive in his limited action, notching two goals and four assists in seven games despite seeing less than 12 minutes a night of playing time. That’s easily the most productive stretch he has had at the NHL level as he came into the year with just eight points in 24 games with three teams.
Richard is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal he inked with Philadelphia in free agency. A top scorer at the AHL level, he’s off to a fine start with the Phantoms as well, recording four goals and five assists in his first seven games with them. He’ll now go back to Lehigh Valley and resume a top-line role while awaiting his next recall. Morgan Frost will take his place in the lineup against Chicago after being a healthy scratch in recent games.
Predators To Recall Fedor Svechkov, Assign Adam Wilsby
The Nashville Predators have reportedly recalled forward Fedor Svechkov and returned defender Adam Wilsby to the AHL, per the AHL Transactions Log. It’s the first NHL call-up of Svechkov’s young career, coming after he started the season with eight points in seven AHL games. He’s one of three Milwaukee Admirals still scoring above a point-per-game pace, alongside Vinny Hinostroza (19 points in 13 games) and Zachary L’Heureux (five points in four games).
Nashville general manager Barry Trotz has been vocal about wanting to lean into the many top prospects playing in Milwaukee amid the team’s struggles. He said earlier this month that he’s responsible for buying his prospects time to develop at the NHL level – and now brings up another youngster to join L’Heureux, who has four points in his first 15 NHL games.
Svechkov has planted his feet as a strong play-driver, bringing plenty of tenacity and speed to the middle lane. Those traits helped him reach 16 goals and 39 points in 57 games as an AHL rookie last season. He looked sharp, upholding his strong production in a move from Russia to Wisconsin. The 2021 19th-overall pick will now look to maintain it through an even tougher step, likely to challenge Colton Sissons or Michael McCarron for minutes centering the team’s bottom six.
Meanwhile, Wilsby will return to the minors just one day after being recalled. He’s bounced between the two rosters all month, spending as much as a week in the NHL – though Wilsby hasn’t cracked the lineup just yet. That might be a bit of a disappointment for the 24-year-old defender, who’s yet to make his NHL debut despite three seasons of serviceable play in Milwaukee. He has three points in 11 AHL games this season, bringing him to 42 points in 144 career AHL games. Wilsby was a fourth-round pick in 2020, and spent two years after his draft selection honing his traits in Sweden’s SHL. He’ll return to the minors with an assured role, and likely another depth call-up, awaiting him.
Metropolitan Notes: Provorov, Nash, Hurricanes, Makiniemi
Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov is one of the more intriguing pending UFA blueliners from the 2025 free agent class. With Columbus still in their rebuild, it’s expected that he’ll be on the move at some point. However, in his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun reports that the team is telling interested parties that they’re not willing to move the 27-year-old just yet. The Blue Jackets are off to a respectable 8-9-2 start and aren’t ready to start subtracting from what’s already a fairly young group this early in the season. That’s expected to change as we get closer to the March 7 trade deadline and when that time comes, LeBrun suggests to expect a first-round pick to serve as the asking price for Provorov’s services.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Still with Columbus, when Don Waddell took over as President and GM for the Blue Jackets, one of the first moves he made was elevating Rick Nash to assistant GM. While that’s an important step for any aspiring manager, Nash told Daily Faceoff’s Anthony DiMarco that he’s “not in any rush” to ascend to a GM position just yet. He has worked in Columbus’ front office since 2019 and it wouldn’t be shocking if he were next in line for the top job with the Blue Jackets when Waddell either moves on or wants to have just the President title down the road.
- The Hurricanes have returned winger Jackson Blake and goaltender Spencer Martin to the minors, per the AHL’s transactions log, though these are almost certainly just paper moves to bank additional cap space. Blake has five goals in 19 games with Carolina in his first full professional season which is a solid start for the 21-year-old. Martin, meanwhile, has played in four NHL contests so far in 2024-25, putting up a 3.25 GAA with a .868 SV%. He has been much better in similarly limited action with AHL Chicago, however, compiling a 2.32 GAA and a .920 SV% in his first three outings.
- Flyers goaltender Eetu Makiniemi is set to undergo sports hernia surgery next week, relays team reporter Bill Meltzer (Twitter link). The procedure will keep him out for three to four months. The 25-year-old had a successful tryout in training camp, earning a one-year, two-way deal to play with AHL Lehigh Valley where he had a 3.03 GAA and a .899 SV% in five appearances. With the injury, the only recallable goaltender Philadelphia has left is veteran Cal Petersen.
Oilers Recall Drake Caggiula
The Edmonton Oilers have recalled forward Drake Caggiula to the NHL roster. This move offers insurance after Zach Hyman left Edmonton’s Tuesday night game before the third period. It was Hyman’s 600th NHL game. No update, or indication of Hyman’s availability, has been made since his early exit.
Caggiula will now return to the NHL just a couple weeks after being sent down from his last recall. He’s played in two games with Edmonton this season, recording one assist, two blocks, and three hits in a fourth-line role. That’s fairly typical output from the veteran forward, who’s spent the bulk of the last eight seasons filling the role of depth bruiser. That context has made Caggiula’s fantastic minor-league scoring over the last three seasons all the more surprising. He has nine points, 17 penalty minutes, and a +4 in 11 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield this season, building on the 90 points he scored in 108 AHL games over the last two seasons. This three-year stint is, surprisingly, Caggiula’s first time playing in the minor-leagues – after earning an NHL role immediately after signing as an undrafted college athlete in 2016.
Caggiula’s scoring isn’t likely to translate to the top flight – it hasn’t so far – but any production would be better than what Edmonton’s received from Hyman recently. The reigning 54-goal scorer has just one assist through his last seven games, and eight points in 20 games this season. He’s on pace to finish the year with just 12 goals and 33 points, which would be Hyman’s lowest scoring in a full season since his rookie year of 2016-17. There’s no clear sign as to if Hyman is expected to sit out, or how long he may be shelved, but Edmonton will get to choose between Derek Ryan, Kasperi Kapanen, and Caggiula should a lineup spot open up.
Blackhawks Place Seth Jones On IR, Recall Louis Crevier
Nov. 20: Jones will miss four weeks with the right foot injury, head coach Luke Richardson said Wednesday (via Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times). He’s already missed two games and is now on pace to miss around 11 more, ruling him out for more than 15% of Chicago’s season in total. A four-week timeline from the date of the injury means his return target is during their back-to-back against the Devils and Islanders on Dec. 14 and 15.
Nov. 16: The Blackhawks have placed defenseman Seth Jones on injured reserve with a right foot injury, relays Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (Twitter link). Taking his place on the active roster is blueliner Louis Crevier who has been recalled from Rockford, per the AHL’s transactions log. Chicago currently has 22 players on its roster following the moves.
Jones sustained the injury against Seattle on a blocked shot but remained in the game, adds Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, who adds more information will be known when they return home from their road trip on Sunday.
The 30-year-old has once again been a significant piece on Chicago’s back end, leading the team in average ice time at 25:43 per night. Jones also leads the Blackhawks in points by a defenseman with 10. Covering his absence will certainly be a difficult task, one that won’t be handled by just one or two players.
To that end, Crevier is more of a depth recall over someone who could be expected to play a little higher in the lineup. The 23-year-old, who stands 6’8, got into 24 games with Chicago last season in his first taste of NHL action, compiling three assists, 50 blocks, 30 hits, and a minus-16 rating. This year, he has played in 11 games with the IceHogs, notching one assist.
While this might have seemed like a situation to bring up Kevin Korchinski (who logged 19:37 per night for the Blackhawks last season and could have helped cover some of the missing offense), it appears Chicago feels that he’s best served staying with Rockford for the time being. Artyom Levshunov, a right-shot option like Jones, is also available but just eight games into his pro career, they’d like to keep him away from the top level for at least a little while longer.
Minor Transactions: 11/19/24
As teams continue to try to bank as much cap space as possible, there were quite a few paper moves made today. We’ll run those down here.
- The Flames announced that winger Adam Klapka was recalled from AHL Calgary. He was sent down on Saturday and got into two games, picking up two goals and an assist. While Klapka is now on a five-game point streak at that level, he hasn’t recorded a point in his first five NHL contests so far this season. He’s likely to serve as the reserve forward tonight versus the Islanders.
- The Hurricanes are continuing their near-daily movement as they’ve recalled winger Jackson Blake and goaltender Spencer Martin from AHL Chicago, per the AHL’s transactions log. Blake has been sent down five times already but hasn’t played with the Wolves and with five goals and two assists in 17 games with Carolina, he probably won’t anytime soon. Meanwhile, even though Carolina is using Pyotr Kochetkov and Martin as their tandem with Frederik Andersen injured, the Hurricanes haven’t moved Andersen to IR which allows them to continue to paper Martin down on off days while technically remaining compliant with roster minimums.
- The Lightning have recalled winger Gage Goncalves, per a team release. He was sent back to the AHL on Sunday in a cost-clearing move and didn’t suit up while on assignment. The 23-year-old has six assists in five games with Syracuse from earlier in the year and has been held off the scoresheet in his first four appearances with Tampa Bay.
- A day after being papered back to the minors, Sam Colangelo is back up with the Ducks, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 22-year-old was initially recalled on Sunday but didn’t play in Monday’s game. Colangelo is off to an impressive start to his first full professional campaign, tallying six goals and nine assists in 14 games with San Diego.
- While not a direct paper transaction, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the Maple Leafs have transferred winger Max Pacioretty to LTIR, freeing up the cap space for today’s recall of Fraser Minten. Pacioretty suffered a lower-body injury on November 9th and must now miss at least 10 games and 24 days from that point.
Central Notes: Athanasiou, Mrazek, Joseph, Heinola
The AHL’s Rockford IceHogs have announced that forward Andreas Athanasiou has suffered a wrist injury and will miss the next four to six weeks. He’s just three games into a tenure with Rockford, after passing through waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks on November 13th. Athanasiou recorded two goals on four shots in his AHL debut but didn’t manage any scoring in two games this weekend. He’s playing in his first minor league games since the 2015-16 season, working to earn a recall after failing to score in his first five NHL games this season.
The slow start this season has continued Athanasiou’s unpredictable career. He’s only two seasons removed from a 20-goal, 40-point season with a much weaker Blackhawks lineup, but was limited to only 28 games last season by a lower-body injury that lasted nearly five months. He hasn’t rediscovered his scoring on the other side of that injury – and now gets stifled from a potential resurgence in the minor leagues for the time being. Athanasiou carries a $4.25MM cap hit and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Other notes from the Central Division:
- Sticking in Chicago, starting goaltender Petr Mrazek will sit out of the team’s Tuesday night game against Anaheim for personal reasons per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio 720. Arvid Soderblom will take over the starting crease, and Drew Commesso has been called up to serve as backup. Soderblom has posted a .934 save percentage in five games this season, well ahead of Mrazek’s .906 in 13 games. He’ll need to stay strong, with no indication of how long Mrazek may miss and Chicago currently on a two-game losing streak.
- It will be Mathieu Joseph stepping out of the St. Louis Blues’ lineup to make room for Robert Thomas‘ return from a fractured ankle per NHL.com’s Elise Butler. Joseph only has one point in his last seven games, and has fallen to a fourth-line role after a strong stint in late October. St. Louis acquired Joseph and a third-round pick for future considerations from the Ottawa Senators this summer. Joseph scored a career-high 35 points last year, but has so far struggled to find his scoring in St. Louis. He’ll look to take better advantage of his minutes when he’s called on again, while Oskar Sundqvist also steps out of the lineup in favor of Zachary Bolduc.
- Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel said that defender Ville Heinola could rejoin against Minnesota on Monday, shares NHL.com’s Mitchell Clinton. Heinola was assigned to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose for a conditioning stint after starting the year on injured reserve with an ankle injury. He hasn’t slotted into the Jets’ lineup since January of 2023, when he was assigned to the minors after scoring just one point in 10 NHL games. He went on to score 64 points in 89 AHL games over the last two seasons, though he continues to fight with routine injury. Heinola was the 20th-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Red Wings To Reassign Jack Campbell
Nov. 18: Campbell cleared waivers Monday and is on his way to Grand Rapids, Friedman reports.
Nov. 17: The Detroit Red Wings have placed goaltender Jack Campbell on waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Campbell signed a one-year, league-minimum deal with Detroit on July 1st but entered the NHL Player Assistance Program on October 4th. That’s been his designation ever since, though this waiver placement suggests he’s been activated and will soon return to the ice.
Campbell has been on a downward spiral since his stout service as Toronto’s starter in 2021-22. He recorded 31 wins and a .914 save percentage in 49 games that year – both higher than any Leafs starter not named Frederik Andersen since 2010. Campbell followed what seemed to be his breakout season by signing a rich deal with the Edmonton Oilers. But he’d quickly lose his grip, ultimately ceding the starting role to rookie Stuart Skinner after only posting 21 wins and a .888 save percentage in 36 games. Skinner managed a hardier 29 wins and .914 save percentage in 50 games, leading Edmonton to placing Campbell’s hefty $5MM cap hit on waivers. He passed through and proceeded to look much better with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors – posting an 18-13-1 record and .918 save percentage in 33 games. But that wasn’t enough to vindicate his price tag, and the Oilers chose to buy out the last three years of Campbell’s contract this summer.
A new deal in Detroit marked a chance for Campbell to rediscover his footing – though a chance at the NHL roster has always been a long shot. The Red Wings made a point of building out their net this summer, adding Cam Talbot on a two-year, $5MM contract to help challenge Alex Lyon and Ville Husso for the starting role. Talbot has more than earned it so far, posting a .927 save percentage through 10 games, while Lyon’s .903 is strong enough to hang onto the backup role.
Unfortunately, that’s left Husso and his .811 in two NHL games as the odd-man-out. He’s been buried in the minor leagues, though he’s recorded a much more encouraging .952 save percentage in four games with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Husso is rotating with Carter Gylander as the backup to top Red Wings prospect Sebastian Cossa, who’s set a dazzling .937 save percentage in 11 games. Campbell will now step into that crowd, likely pushing Gylander back to the ECHL but not guaranteeing any minutes in front of Husso. It’ll be a battle of the middling goaltenders in Grand Rapids’ goaltending room, while the 21-year-old Cossa continues to pave a strong path forward.