Toronto Maple Leafs Activate Auston Matthews
4:15 p.m: According to a team announcement, the Maple Leafs have officially activated from injured reserve and will have him in the forward grouping this evening.
10:58 a.m: The Maple Leafs will welcome back a key piece of their forward tonight. Center Auston Matthews told reporters including NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy that he will be in the lineup against Boston, meaning Toronto will be activating him off injured reserve.
The 27-year-old has missed the last six games after reaggravating the upper-body injury forced him to miss nine games back in November. At that time, he went to Germany to be reassessed and has since acknowledged that the injury is something that may linger for the rest of the season.
He’s expected to reclaim his spot on the top line alongside wingers Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner and intends to play both games over the weekend over being eased back in.
In between his stints on IR, the captain has been relatively productive though not to the level he’s accustomed to. Matthews has 11 goals and 12 assists in 24 games so far this season, good for fourth on the team in scoring despite being out for 15 games already. However, it’s a far cry from the type of per-game output that saw him record at least 60 goals and 106 points in two of the last three seasons although the Maple Leafs aren’t as much of a high-scoring team under new head coach Craig Berube as they’d been in past years with Sheldon Keefe behind the bench.
Toronto has an open spot on its roster following yesterday’s reassignment of defenseman Marshall Rifai to the Marlies so they won’t need to make any moves to bring Matthews back onto the open roster.
Kings Announce Four Roster Moves
The Kings were busy leading into their game against Tampa Bay today. The team announced that they’ve activated winger Trevor Moore and center Trevor Lewis off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, winger Andre Lee was assigned to AHL Ontario while defenseman Kyle Burroughs was moved to non-roster status.
Moore was moved to IR last weekend but last played on December 12th and had been sidelined with an upper-body injury since then. The 29-year-old had a career year last season with 31 goals and 26 assists in 82 games and while he hasn’t produced at quite the same level this year, he’s still doing well with six goals and a dozen helpers in 28 outings while logging a little over 17 minutes a night.
As for Lewis, he sustained a lower-body injury on the final day of November and has been out since then. He’s being activated for his 1,000th career game tonight. Lewis has seven points in 25 games so far this season while chipping in with 46 hits and a 51% success rate at the faceoff dot, continuing to have success in the fourth-line role he has held for the bulk of his career.
Lee is the roster casualty up front to bring Moore and Lewis back onto the roster. The 24-year-old has split the season between the Kings and Reign, getting his first taste of NHL playing time along the way. Lee has played in 19 games with Los Angeles, primarily on the fourth line. In those outings, he has a goal and two assists along with 36 hits in just over nine minutes a night. In Ontario, he has suited up four time, collecting a goal and an assist.
Burroughs, meanwhile, is in his first season with the Kings after signing a two-year, $2.2MM deal with them last summer. Playing time hasn’t been the easiest to come by, however, as he has been limited to just 20 games thus far out of 37. The 29-year-old has a pair of assists, 31 hits, and 24 penalty minutes but is playing just 8:39 per game, well below his career average of 15:57 per game. He is away from the team following the birth of his child.
Metropolitan Notes: Tomasino, Tarasov, George, Holmstrom
Penguins winger Philip Tomasino left Friday’s game against Florida early after a collision with Nate Schmidt and sustained a lower-body injury on the play. Team reporter Michelle Crechiolo relays (Twitter link) that there was no further update on his injury today with head coach Mike Sullivan indicating that he’s still being evaluated. Tomasino has been a nice addition since being acquired from Nashville back in November for a 2027 fourth-round pick, picking up four goals and three assists in 16 games but now it looks like he’ll be out of the lineup for a little while. Barring any further roster movement, one of Anthony Beauvillier or Jesse Puljujarvi (who remains on the roster despite recently clearing waivers) will take Tomasino’s place in the lineup.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Blue Jackets goaltender Daniil Tarasov acknowledged to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that he declined the organization’s request to take a conditioning stint with AHL Cleveland. The 25-year-old has only played once in the last month – that coming last Saturday – and has played just twice since mid-November. It has been a rough year for Tarasov who has a 4.23 GAA and a .857 SV% in 10 starts but feels he’d be best served staying in the NHL while his agent J.P. Barry added that Tarasov’s injury history in the minors also played a role in the decision.
- Islanders defenseman Isaiah George is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, notes Newsday’s Denis Gorman (Twitter link). The rookie was injured in Thursday’s loss to Toronto. George has been impressive since being recalled in early November. He has played in 25 games so far, recording five points and 30 blocked shots while averaging 16:38 of playing time and even saw time on the top pairing at one point. Meanwhile, Gorman adds that winger Simon Holmstrom is also listed as day-to-day with his upper-body injury. He last played on Sunday and has nine goals and 13 assists in 37 games so far and is close to matching his rookie-season output already.
Kraken Recall Ben Meyers
Ben Meyers’ stint in the minors wound up being relatively short-lived. After being sent down before the holiday break last month, he’s now back up with the Kraken as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled him from AHL Coachella Valley.
It’s the third recall of the season for the 26-year-old. Meyers has played in four games so far this season with Seattle and has been held off the scoresheet while winning nearly 46% of his faceoffs. He has been quite productive with the Firebirds, however, collecting 10 goals and 12 assists in 25 games with them. The threshold for Meyers needing to clear waivers again is when he reaches either 10 NHL games or 30 days on the active roster so he’s six away on the games played front and is around halfway there on NHL days.
Meyers is on a one-year, $775K contract and can easily be fit within Seattle’s remaining LTIR pool for Vince Dunn. He’s eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency once again this summer but if he gets into nine more NHL games this season, he’ll revert to RFA status with arbitration eligibility.
Seattle had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made to elevate Meyers to the NHL roster.
Sharks Activate William Eklund, Place Jake Walman On IR
The Sharks have made a pair of roster moves heading into their game tonight versus New Jersey. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated forward William Eklund off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, blueliner Jake Walman has been placed on IR.
Eklund has been dealing with an upper-body injury sustained just before the holiday break. After a strong rookie year that saw him record 45 points in 80 games, the 22-year-old is on pace for a more productive campaign, notching seven goals and 20 assists through his first 36 appearances this season.
While it’s the fourth straight year in which Eklund has seen NHL action, his first two years didn’t see him burn a year of his entry-level deal since he played under ten games in each one. Accordingly, he’s signed through the 2025-26 campaign but will be extension-eligible this summer and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the two sides try to work out an early long-term deal.
As for Walman, he has been out with a lower-body injury that also occurred a little before the break. After being acquired in a salary cap dumping trade from Detroit, the 28-year-old has had a breakout year with the Sharks, recording five goals and 20 assists in 31 games while logging nearly 23 minutes a night of playing time. He leads all San Jose defenders in points with 25 while his ATOI leads all Sharks players.
Despite the IR placement, Walman may not be there for long. Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now notes that Walman skated before practice for the second straight day today, suggesting that he might not be too far from a return. San Jose is eligible to back-date the placement to December 22nd and if they do so, he’ll be eligible to be activated at any time.
Canucks Notes: Demko, Pettersson, Hughes, Joshua, Schneider
Speaking with reporters following Friday’s loss to Nashville, head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters including TSN’s Farhan Lalji (Twitter link) that goaltender Thatcher Demko, defenseman Quinn Hughes, and center Elias Pettersson will all travel on their upcoming five-game road trip. Additionally, he’d be “shocked” if they didn’t suit up at some point over that stretch. Those three are obviously three of Vancouver’s top players and getting them back would help their chances of snapping their current drought that has seen them lose six of their last eight games. Their returns would also result in some players being sent down, opening up more cap space which is notable for a management team that’s known to prefer to strike early on the trade front.
More from Vancouver:
- There might be another cause for concern on the injury front as well. Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston notes that winger Dakota Joshua was banged up with a lower-body injury last night against Nashville and even though he returned to finish the game, he might not be fully healthy now as well. Joshua has struggled this season since returning from his battle with testicular cancer and has been limited to just four points in 24 games although he sits second on the team with 83 hits.
- In a separate piece from Johnston, he relays that Vancouver has been interested in Rangers winger Alexis Lafreniere and defenseman Braden Schneider for quite some time. While Lafreniere isn’t likely to be moved having signed a long-term extension earlier this season, their interest in Schneider likely still stands, especially since he plays the type of role they tried to fill with Vincent Desharnais over the summer, a move that hasn’t worked out so far. Of course, Schneider is only 23 and with New York struggling, he might not be the type of player they’re necessarily looking to move.
Utah Hockey Club Recalls Kevin Connauton, Places Robert Bortuzzo On IR
After losing Dakota Mermis on waivers yesterday, Utah has brought up some extra defensive depth. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled blueliner Kevin Connauton from AHL Tucson. While not announced by the club, rearguard Robert Bortuzzo was placed on IR to make room for Connauton on the active roster.
It’s the second recall of the season for the 34-year-old whose first stint with the big club didn’t last too long and was ended when Mermis was initially claimed off the waiver wire last month. A veteran of 360 career NHL appearances, Connauton last played in the NHL back in the 2021-22 season, splitting time between Florida and Philadelphia.
Connauton inked a two-year, two-way deal with Utah last summer, a contract that pays $775K in the NHL and $325K in the minors. He has played in 24 games with the Roadrunners this season, picking up five goals and four assists.
As for Bortuzzo, he returned from injured reserve on Thursday against Calgary after recovering from a lower-body injury but only played 8:25 in that game before landing on IR today. Speculatively, he may have had a recurrence of that injury. The 35-year-old has a pair of assists along with 26 blocked shots and 20 hits through 16 games so far this season but is averaging a career-low 10:53 per game.
Snapshots: Landeskog, Francis, Hurricanes, Maccelli
Avalanche winger Gabriel Landeskog skated before practice today, notes Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now. The captain hasn’t played since the sixth game of the Stanley Cup Final back in 2022 due to continued knee trouble including a cartilage transplant in May 2023. While this isn’t the first time Landeskog has taken to the ice before practice, it’s the first time he has done so since mid-November as he suffered a setback at that time. There remains no timetable for him to return but Landeskog has noted a few times this year that he hopes to get back into the Colorado lineup at some point this season.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The University of Minnesota-Duluth announced (Twitter link) that Ducks prospect Will Francis had a relapse of his leukemia which is why he has been limited to just three games so far this season. Francis was initially diagnosed with it in 2020 and had a relapse in August 2023, leading to a bone marrow transplant back in April. Francis is hoping to return to the team next month. PHR wishes Francis well in his continued battle.
- The Hurricanes announced that defenseman Riley Stillman has been sent back to AHL Chicago. The 26-year-old has been sent back and forth this season but hasn’t seen any action with Carolina. Stillman has four points in nine contests with the Wolves. Meanwhile, Carolina has also recalled goalie Dustin Tokarski, defenseman Ty Smith, and winger Jackson Blake from Chicago, per the AHL transactions log. The three were papered to the minors on Wednesday.
- Utah announced (Twitter link) that winger Matias Maccelli was scratched from tonight’s game against Calgary due to an illness. After putting up 57 points last season, the 24-year-old has struggled mightily offensively this year, potting just three goals and seven assists through his first 37 outings. There was some good news on the health front, however, as Clayton Keller returned after missing Tuesday’s game to an illness himself.
Daniel Vladar Hoping To Re-Sign With Flames
With the trade deadline now just under two months away, teams will be starting to make decisions soon on some of their pending unrestricted free agents. Among the soon-to-be-UFAs in Calgary is goaltender Daniel Vladar. While he could be one of the more intriguing netminders to hit the open market in July, that’s not his preference. Instead, he told Sportsnet’s Eric Francis that he has made it clear to everyone in the organization that he wants to remain with the Flames.
The 27-year-old is in his fourth season with Calgary with the first three presenting plenty of ups and downs. In 2021-22 (his first year with them), he put up a 2.75 GAA and a .906 SV% in 23 games, solid numbers for a second-string option. Even with a dip the following year, the team saw fit to give him a two-year deal with a $2.2MM cap charge to keep Vladar around a little longer.
Unfortunately for Vladar and Calgary, last season saw him struggle even more, putting up a 3.62 GAA with a .882 SV% in 20 games before undergoing season-ending hip surgery. Despite those struggles, GM Craig Conroy didn’t go out and add a veteran netminder in free agency last summer, opting to give Vladar another shot at the backup job behind top prospect Dustin Wolf.
That faith has been rewarded thus far as Vladar has improved his numbers to a 3.02 GAA and a .890 SV% in 18 appearances this season, all starts as the two have largely platooned thus far. Those numbers are around the NHL average and considering he has had more of the tougher starts compared to Wolf, being around league average on a mid-pack team is certainly a step in the right direction.
With Wolf still just getting his feet wet at the NHL level (though he’s playing quite well), there’s a case to make for Calgary to add a more veteran backup to work with him. On the other hand, sticking with a pairing that works between the pipes isn’t a bad way to go either. With Vladar’s struggles from last year likely factoring into the price of his next contract, he shouldn’t be able to command much more than what he’s currently making.
There is another factor to consider here, however. Devin Cooley – whose deal converts to a one-way pact next season – has gotten off to a simply stellar start to his season with AHL Calgary, putting up a 1.92 GAA and a .939 SV% in 22 games with the Wranglers. He leads the AHL in save percentage while sitting second in goals against average. He’s making a very strong case to get some NHL time of his own this season and if the Flames want to see what he can do and evaluate if he could be Wolf’s backup, keeping Vladar around will make that task more difficult.
Of course, goalies like Vladar don’t typically carry a lot of value during the in-season trade market. Barring injuries, many playoff-bound teams have their tandem already in place or Vladar wouldn’t represent enough of an upgrade to justify giving up a return of significance. But with still nine weeks before the deadline, things can change on this front.
Conroy has some decisions to make with his goaltending and the trade deadline might serve as a soft deadline for that choice depending on what their plans are with Cooley. But Vladar has been very clear, his hope is that he’ll get a new deal done with the Flames and stay with them for the foreseeable future.
Injury Updates: Wild, Nichushkin, Lindholm, Jost
The lower-body injury that Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon sustained on Tuesday isn’t as bad as initially feared. However, it’s still expected to keep him out of the lineup for the next two to three weeks, reports Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. The 35-year-old has logged at least 20 minutes a night on the back end in every year but his rookie season back in 2010-11. Spurgeon has 13 points and 52 blocked shots in 32 games so far this season.
Meanwhile, Minnesota might be getting a different key blueliner back soon. Whyno adds that defenseman Jake Middleton could return as soon as next week from the hand injury that has kept him out for the last three weeks, landing him on LTIR. Middleton had 13 points in 29 games before the injury while his 76 blocks still lead the Wild.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, mentions Corey Masisak of The Denver Post. However, head coach Jared Bednar added that the 29-year-old could miss seven to ten days with the issue. Nichushkin has been quite productive since returning from a stint in the Player Assistance Program, notching 11 goals and six assists in just 21 games, putting him in a tie for fourth in team goals despite missing 17 games.
- Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm is making some strides as he works his way back from a lower-body injury but hasn’t been cleared to skate yet, notes Boston.com’s Conor Ryan. The veteran has missed the better part of the last two months with the injury, a big blow to a Boston back end that has had some uncharacteristic struggles so far. Prior to the injury, Lindholm had seven points in 17 games while logging nearly 21 minutes a night, a per-game rate that stands second on the team.
- The undisclosed injury that Hurricanes forward Tyson Jost sustained on Tuesday is expected to keep him out long-term, relays team reporter Walt Ruff (Twitter link). The 26-year-old cleared waivers earlier this season but played in 16 games with Carolina since being recalled in November. Jost has a pair of goals in those outings while averaging 10:28 per game but he won’t be adding to that point total for a while yet now.