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Avalanche Recall Chris Wagner

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With Logan O’Connor dealing with a lower-body injury, the Avalanche have made a roster move to bring up some extra depth up front, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Chris Wagner from AHL Colorado.

It hasn’t been a great season for the 32-year-old.  Wagner signed with Colorado with the hopes that he could battle for a spot on the fourth line with 360 career NHL appearances under his belt.  However, he then ruptured his Achilles tendon in training camp, putting an end to those hopes before he even had a chance to suit up for them in the preseason.

Wagner was cleared to return a little over a month ago, clearing waivers which resulted in him being assigned to the Eagles.  To his credit, he has been fairly productive over the last few weeks, notching three goals and four assists in 11 games.

Colorado had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made to bring Wagner up.  They’re now at the maximum 23-player roster with this transaction.

Coyotes Recall Matt Villalta, Place Liam O’Brien On IR

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The Coyotes recalled netminder Matt Villalta from AHL Tucson on Friday, per a team announcement. Forward Liam O’Brien was moved to injured reserve to create a roster spot.

Villalta, 24, gets his first recall as a member of the Coyotes with starter Connor Ingram sidelined day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Ingram left Wednesday’s game against the Wild after the second period and did not return.

Karel Vejmelka will get the majority of the action while Ingram is out of the lineup. Originally expected to form a tandem with Ingram this year, he’s fallen squarely into the backup position after posting a .897 SV% and 6-12-2 record through 19 starts and four relief appearances.

Villalta is in his first season with the Coyotes after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Kings last summer. He’s suiting up in his fifth season of pro hockey after the Kings selected him 72nd overall in the 2017 draft.

The Kingston, Ontario, native was on an upward trajectory throughout his four seasons for the Kings’ affiliate in Ontario, so it was puzzling to see Los Angeles cut him loose. Villalta has assumed the undisputed starting role in Tucson, logging a .913 SV%, two shutouts, and a 22-11-1 record in 34 games. He leads the league in wins and games played, while his SV% ranks 18th.

He’s a high-end third-string goalie at this stage in his development, and a potential NHL debut with Ingram out of the lineup could go a long way toward demonstrating he has value as an NHL backup as soon as next season. Ingram’s shoes are giant ones to fill, however – he’s been one of the best stories in the NHL this season with a .912 SV% and 17-13-2 record in 35 games, along with 10.8 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck.

O’Brien, 29, was already listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He last suited up on Feb. 10 against the Predators and will be eligible to return to action for Sunday’s game against the Avalanche, although Arizona will need to clear a roster spot to take him off IR. The team’s primary enforcer has 116 PIMs in 49 games this year, adding three goals and eight points.

Flames Make Multiple Roster Moves

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The Flames recalled forward Dryden Hunt from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers and activated goaltender Daniel Vladař off injured reserve in simultaneous transactions Friday morning, according to a team announcement. To clear the two necessary roster spots, the team assigned forward Cole Schwindt and netminder Dustin Wolf to the Wranglers.

Hunt, 28, has played in four games for the Flames this season, all coming within the first few weeks of the campaign after he made the NHL roster out of training camp. He has not been recalled since the Flames placed him on waivers and reassigned him to the minors in early November.

The undrafted free agent signed by the Panthers in 2016 has done quite well in his latest minor-league stint, posting seven goals and 22 points with a +11 rating in 23 games. The veteran of over 200 NHL games is on his fourth NHL team in the last two seasons after bouncing between the Rangers, Avalanche and Maple Leafs in 2022-23.

Calgary acquired Hunt in a deadline swap of minor-league forwards from Toronto at last year’s trade deadline, but he did not play for the team in the season’s final weeks. He reached unrestricted free agency without an extension in hand on July 1. Still, the Flames brought him back to the organization one day into the signing period with a two-year, two-way deal worth $1.55MM that pays him a minimum guaranteed salary of $400K this year and next.

Hunt scored three goals in 37 games split between the trio mentioned above of squads last season, averaging a career-low 8:04 per game. His expected -2.2 rating was also a career low. He is, however, two years removed from posting a career-high 17 points in 76 games with the Rangers in the 2021-22 campaign.

Vladař returns to the active roster after missing the last three games with a lower-body injury sustained off-ice. He hasn’t played since starting three straight games in mid-January, backing up starter Jacob Markström in five straight before landing on IR last week. The 26-year-old has a career-low .888 SV% and 3.27 GAA, not counting his five-game stint with the Bruins in 2020-21, and has a 7-7-2 record in 16 starts. This year is his third season backing up Markström after being brought over from Boston for a third-round pick in the summer of 2021.

While Markström’s high-end performance this season has generated a significant amount of trade interest, Vladař could be a chip for the Flames to move out if dealing the final three years of Markström’s $6MM AAV deal becomes too much of an obstacle in-season. The 26-year-old is signed through next season at a $2.2MM cap hit.

Schwindt returns to the Wranglers after playing 7:40 in yesterday’s 6-3 loss to the Sharks, posting zeros across the board. He has 2 PIMs, one shot on goal, and a -1 rating in four NHL showings this season dating back to late January.

The latest NHL shot for the 22-year-old Wolf didn’t go as planned. Calgary’s top goalie prospect conceded six goals on 31 shots against the division-worst Sharks last night, dropping his NHL SV% in 2023-24 to .878 through five starts and one relief appearance. The 6-foot California native has still performed at an elite level with the Wranglers, though, recording a .927 SV%, four shutouts, and an 18-7-2 record in 28 games.

Rangers Recall Matt Rempe

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The Rangers recalled forward Matt Rempe from AHL Hartford on Friday, per a team announcement.

While New York has recalled the 21-year-old once already this season without appearing in a game, this occasion will likely result in his NHL debut. The Rangers were down to 12 healthy forwards after Blake Wheeler left last night’s 7-4 defeat of the Canadiens with a lower-body injury, so Rempe comes up to serve as a bottom-six option in his absence.

Head coach Peter Laviolette has recently opted for a youth movement on the team’s fourth line, parting ways with Nick Bonino and waiving Tyler Pitlick to provide an opportunity for 23-year-old Adam Edstrom to get an extended look in the lineup. That indicates Rempe is likely to slot in alongside Edstrom and Barclay Goodrow at right wing, allowing 32-year-old call-up Alex Belzile to serve as a healthy scratch for the second straight game when the Rangers face the Islanders in this weekend’s Stadium Series game.

A sixth-round pick of the team in 2020, the 6-foot-8 Rempe projects as a fourth-line force if he does end up sticking in the majors. Now in his second year of pro hockey with Hartford, he has eight goals and 12 points in 43 games this season, adding a -9 rating and 96 PIMs. He has one season remaining on his entry-level contract, which carries a cap hit of $820K, and he’ll be an RFA in 2025.

Sabres Recall Kale Clague, Reassign Dustin Tokarski

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The Sabres have recalled defenseman Kale Clague from AHL Rochester, per a team release Friday morning. In a corresponding transaction, Buffalo returned goaltender Dustin Tokarski to Rochester after they summoned him on an emergency loan yesterday.

This recall is the 25-year-old Clague’s second of the season. Buffalo added him to the roster on an emergency basis for a Jan. 15 game against the Sharks, but he did not play.

Now in his second season with the Sabres organization, Clague is second on Rochester in assists with 20 in 41 games and leads Amerks defensemen in points with 23. His 52 PIMs this season are the most he’s had since his junior hockey days with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings.

A second-round pick of the Kings in 2016, Clague’s tenure in Los Angeles ended when he was claimed off waivers by the Canadiens in December 2021. He didn’t do enough in 25 games with Montréal to end the 2021-22 season to convince them to give him a qualifying offer, thus reaching unrestricted free agency sooner than expected after his age-23 season.

The Sabres have since picked him up on two straight one-year, two-way deals, and he’s settled into the ninth spot on their defensive depth chart. An unexpected rookie showing from Ryan Johnson has limited his call-up opportunities, although he remains a dependable third-pairing option if needed. He struggled to control shot quality when handed some tougher matchups alongside Owen Power last season, controlling only 41.7% of expected goals in 27 games together, per MoneyPuck.

Clague will draw in only if injuries require it. With the Sabres heading on a one-game road trip to Minnesota and Power unavailable with a suspected hand injury, the Sabres opted to carry a seventh healthy defenseman.

Tokarski returns to the minors after backing up Eric Comrie in last night’s 4-0 loss to the Panthers. His reassignment suggests that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a late scratch with a lower-body injury yesterday, will return against the Wild tomorrow. The 34-year-old Tokarski is backing up top prospect Devon Levi in Rochester, where he’s struggled with a .888 SV% and a 7-7-2 record in 16 games.

New York Rangers Sign Brandon Scanlin To Two-Year Extension

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The New York Rangers have signed defenseman Brandon Scanlin to a two-year, one-way contract extension. The new deal carries Scanlin through the 2025-26 season and pays a $775K base salary in both the NHL and AHL, per CapFriendly. Scanlin has spent all season in the AHL, playing in 43 games and scoring 14 points, split evenly, with the Hartford Wolf Pack.

This season marks Scanlin’s third professional season, making his debut with the Wolf Pack at the end of the 2021-22 season. Scanlin joined the team as an undrafted free agent after his junior season with the University of Nebraska-Omaha ended. He’s since totaled 119 career AHL games and 30 points. It’s been a step down in scoring from his collegiate days when he managed 62 points across 98 games in Omaha.

New York has been clear about rewarding their young minor leaguers this season, recently holding Matt Rempe on the NHL roster during a break in the schedule, earning him a brief taste of an NHL paycheck. Now the 24-year-old Scanlin earns a major pay raise and potentially more NHL consideration, signing a one-way deal. The Rangers currently have $5.178MM in cap space, getting a boost from Filip Chytil’s move to long-term injured reserve. The 24-year-old centerman is out for the season with an upper-body injury that required him to return to his home country of Czechia.

Blackhawks Place Rem Pitlick On Waivers

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The Blackhawks placed forward Rem Pitlick on waivers Wednesday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Rockford, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports.

Chicago acquired Pitlick from the Penguins on Jan. 6 in exchange for a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick. Since the trade, the 26-year-old has played in nine games, failing to record a point and posting a -7 rating while averaging 15:35 per game.

Pitlick is in the second season of a two-year, $2.2MM contract signed with the Canadiens in July 2022. After splitting the 2022-23 campaign between Montreal and AHL Laval, Pitlick was included in the three-way deal between the Canadiens, Penguins and Sharks that saw 2023 Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson head to Pittsburgh.

Despite recording 21 goals and 52 points in 112 games over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, Pitlick did not crack the Penguins’ roster out of training camp and was waived in September before being assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. After posting eight goals and 16 assists in 32 minor-league contests, the Blackhawks acquired Pitlick to add some forward depth in the wake of a rash of injuries around the New Year.

The team is slowly getting healthier, though, and names like Connor Bedard and Anthony Beauvillier are nearing returns. As such, Pitlick has been a healthy scratch in four of Chicago’s last five games after failing to make an impact on the scoresheet. In his lone recent appearance, a Feb. 9 game against the Rangers, he played fourth-line minutes and recorded a -1 rating without getting a shot on goal.

With a $1.1MM cap hit and a disappointing call-up, the likelihood of Pitlick being claimed on the waiver wire is nearly nonexistent. The University of Minnesota product will be a UFA this summer.

Flames Recall Cole Schwindt

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Feb. 14: Calgary summoned Schwindt back to the NHL roster on Wednesday, according to the team. Schwindt played in the Wranglers’ 4-2 over Manitoba yesterday, scoring once on two shots on goal.

Feb. 13: The Flames reassigned forward Cole Schwindt to AHL Calgary on Tuesday, per a team announcement.

Schwindt, 22, has spent most of the last three weeks on the NHL roster, interrupted by a temporary AHL assignment over the All-Star break. This one is likely more permanent after being scratched in all four games since Calgary returned to play last week.

Acquired from the Panthers as part of 2022’s Jonathan Huberdeau/Matthew Tkachuk blockbuster, the Canadian’s three showings in late January were his first since the trade. A Florida third-round pick in 2019, Schwindt has no points, a -5 rating and four shots on goal while averaging 10:19 in six games since his NHL debut.

Given his limited NHL action, he’s logged significant time with AHL Calgary over the past two years. He hasn’t eclipsed his rookie highs set with Charlotte in 2021-22, though, and his 22 goals and 52 points through 110 games since the trade aren’t quite what the Flames hoped for when they acquired him.

For now, the Flames have only 11 healthy forwards – winger Jakob Pelletier left Monday’s game against the Rangers and did not return.

Schwindt is in the final season of his entry-level contract and remains waiver-exempt. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer and is due a qualifying offer of $874,125.

Devils Notes: Markström, Merzļikins, Smith, Hatakka

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Reporting in recent days from both Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli has illustrated just how close the Devils were to acquiring goaltender Jacob Markström from the Flames in a pre-deadline blockbuster. Speaking on Monday’s episode of the “32 Thoughts” podcast, Friedman said the teams were close in principle on a trade but could not reconcile with each other on the financial aspect of the deal. The Devils remained firm on Calgary retaining some of Markström’s $6MM cap hit – something first-year GM Craig Conroy isn’t willing to do over the remaining three seasons of Markström’s deal.

Seravalli added Tuesday that discussions were serious enough to “get to [Markström]’s level to approve it,” a necessary step since he boasts a no-movement clause in his contract. With the two parties at an impasse that Seravalli thinks “probably” can’t be revisited, New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald will likely look elsewhere to upgrade his goaltending with 23 days until the trade deadline.

As the Devils look for a cheaper option, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes said Tuesday that they’ve had interest in Blue Jackets starter Elvis Merzļikins. It’s not a gigantic discount, though, as Merzļikins’ $5.4MM cap hit is only $600K less than Markström’s and runs through 2027. The 29-year-old Latvian has had an underrated bounce-back season, posting a .904 SV% and 1.3 goals saved above expected in 29 games, per MoneyPuck. While he and Markström both have inconsistent track records over a five-year sample, the latter’s peaks have been much higher – Markström’s 18.4 goals saved above expected this season have him on track for a third top-five Vezina Trophy voting finish in the last five years.

Still, either would be a massive upgrade on what Vítek Vaněček has done for them this season. His -11.1 goals saved above expected are second-worst in the league and the worst among starters for prospective playoff teams. Only Ottawa’s Joonas Korpisalo has performed worse overall relative to shot quality, saving -11.9 goals above expected. The Devils, who are 5-4-1 in their past ten games, are now at full health for the first time in weeks and sit two points back of the Red Wings for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, a gap that can easily be closed with improved play between the pipes.

In much lower-stakes news, the Devils assigned defenseman Santeri Hatakka to AHL Utica on Tuesday to make room for veteran Brendan Smith, who was activated off injured reserve and returned to the lineup in yesterday’s 4-2 win over the Predators. Hatakka, 23, had shown promising results with two assists and a +7 rating in seven showings but was a casualty of roster management as he did not require waivers to head to the minors. A pending RFA upon completion of his entry-level contract, the 2019 sixth-round pick of the Sharks will remain near the top of New Jersey’s list for blue-line call-ups for the rest of the season.

Smith, 35, made his return after missing 10 games with a knee sprain. The pending UFA had three shots on goal in 17:27 of ice time against Nashville, his 35th game of the season. The 6-foot-2 enforcer has averaged 14:30 per game this year while flipping between defense and wing, recording a goal and five points with a +2 rating.

Maple Leafs To Recall Dennis Hildeby

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The Maple Leafs will recall rookie netminder Dennis Hildeby for the second time this season ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Blues, TSN’s Mark Masters reports. Backup Martin Jones is unavailable with an undisclosed injury after missing Monday’s practice.

That means Toronto needs to clear two roster spots in the next few hours – one to allow them to temporarily carry three goalies, and one to activate center David Kämpf off injured reserve. Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed Tuesday morning that Kämpf will return against St. Louis after missing three games with an undisclosed injury (via Masters).

To do so, the Maple Leafs will likely place defenseman Conor Timmins on injured reserve and return Maxime Lajoie to AHL Toronto from his emergency loan. Timmins, 25, is out indefinitely with mono, Keefe said Tuesday.

The 22-year-old Hildeby spent nine days on the Maple Leafs roster last month with Joseph Woll sidelined with a high ankle sprain and starter Ilya Samsonov on a short-term AHL assignment after a difficult start to the season. The 6-foot-7, 223-pound Swede is having a strong first professional season in North America, logging a .913 SV% and four shutouts in 24 AHL games, although he’s yet to make his NHL debut.

Jones, 34, stopped 27 of 31 shots faced in a 5-3 loss to the Senators on Saturday, ending a run of five straight starts for Samsonov. A pair of underwhelming showings now has Jones’ SV% on the year down to .908, although it’s still his best in six years. He’s started 16 games and made two relief appearances for Toronto this year in a third-string role behind the inconsistent Samsonov and the injured Woll, posting a 9-7-1 record and two shutouts.

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