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Canucks’ Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander Out At Least Four Games

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The Vancouver Canucks will be without star centerman Elias Pettersson and top-six winger Nils Hoglander for the remaining four games of their current road-trip per NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Both players missed Vancouver’s team practice on Sunday after each leaving Saturday night’s game with injury. Pettersson exited with roughly five minutes left in the second period. He didn’t appear to sustain an injury, though none of his final five shifts lasted longer than 30 seconds. Hoglander exited with under two minutes left in the second and also didn’t appear injured, though he did get in a choppy stick battle in his final shift. Both players are out with undisclosed injuries.

The Canucks were two games into their second six-game road trip of the season. Pettersson and Hoglander were both pivotal pieces of the lineup in the road trip’s kickoff game against St. Louis on Thursday. Pettersson led all forwards with 20 minutes of ice time and recorded two assists, while Hoglander scored one assist in 17 minutes of ice time. Neither scored in their limited action on Saturday, and Vancouver will now be forced to fill two glaring holes in their top-six.

Rookie Aatu Räty is expected to earn an immediate promotion to the lineup. Räty hasn’t played since January 31st, which was itself a one-off start after not receiving routine NHL minutes since December. He’s appeared in 21 NHL games in total this season, netting just four points split evenly. Räty has been far more productive in the minor leagues, where he leads the Abbotsford Canucks in both total and point-per-game scoring with 39 points in 41 games. The Canucks recalled Räty ahead of Saturday’s game, and he’ll now have a golden chance at hardy minutes with Vancouver away from home for another week.

The Canucks are also carrying rookie Jonathan Lekkerimaki, who has rotated into the NHL lineup throughout March. He’s managed seven appearances and one assist through the month, bringing his season-long totals up to four points in 18 NHL Games. Lekkerimaki has also scored 19 goals and 28 points in 32 AHL games this year. He’s received as little as nine minutes of ice time through his recent stretch in the top flight, though Hoglander’s absence should break open at least a third-line role. Räty and Lekkerimaki could also be beneficiaries of the large chunk of power-play minutes that both Pettersson and Hoglander leave behind.

This will be a great chance for Vancouver’s top prospects to show they can shine. The Canucks will need all the support they can get, as they find themselves five points away from a Western Conference Wild Card with two games in hand. They’ve posted a menial 5-4-1 record over their last 10 games – not enough to get ahead the red-hot, 8-1-1 St. Louis Blues or the productive 5-2-3 record of the Calgary Flames. Even with opportunity at hand, it’s hard to imagine the rookies will live up to Pettersson’s 45 points in 64 games this season, which leads all Canucks forwards. Hoglander’s 21 points in 66 games, and gritty middle-six role, will likely be a bit more acheivable to match.

WHL To Add Penticton Vees, Initiate Application For Chilliwack Chiefs

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The Western Hockey League (WHL) has announced their first formal expansion in 18 years in a formal press release. They will absorb the BCHL’s Penticton Vees in 2025-26 and have begun the application process for the Chilliwack Chiefs to join in 2026-27.

Penticton will maintain their majority owner, Graham Fraser, but they will also add Winnipeg Jets star Mark Scheifele, former New York Ranger Mike Richter, and businessmen Joe Walters and Gord Kovacik as minority partners. In a ceremony welcoming the Vees to the WHL, Fraser shared that they began the process of moving leagues last season. He added that the move also required a unique lease agreement between the Vees and the city of Penticton, captured by Chelsea Powrie of the local Casanet. It did not necessitate any rink renovations. The BCHL has added that Penticton’s BCHL rights will be relocated with existing ownerhsip, including Fraser.

The Vees are will maintain head coach, general manager, and team president Fred Harbinson through the move. Harbinson has been Penticton’s coach and GM since the 2007-08 season. He led the club to a BCHL championship in his very first year at the helm. He’s appeared in the postseason in every season since, and added five more championship rings.

For all intents and purposes, the Vees are formally a WHL as of this announcement. They will participate in a WHL Expansion Draft on May 7th, as well as the upcoming WHL Prospects Draft and WHL U.S. Priority Drafts. Penticton is already recruiting for their 15-player list. Fraser mentioned that the Vees will try to maintain current players whose WHL rights aren’t currently owned, though only nine players on the current roster meet eligibility requirements. Penticton will need to expand that to a full 50-player list by May 7th.

Meanwhile, Chilliwack will return to the BCHL for one season while they entertain WHL expansion. The city of Chilliwack were a part of one of the WHL’s most recent expansion waves in the early-2000s, getting awarded a club in 2005 and relocating to Victoria in 2011. Since then, Chilliwack has appeared in two BCHL Finals and consistently ranked as a top-five team in the Coastal Conference. The Chiefs’ home arena, Chilliwack Coliseum, is city-owned and is also approved for a WHL club. Still, the city has announced plans to invest $3.7MM in upgrades to the arena before joining the WHL in 2026-27, as shared by Fraser Valley Today. These upgrades will include improvements to the scoreboard, lighting system, and dasher boards among other upgrades.

The Chiefs will next have to go through an official franchise application process that will be reviewed by the WHL Commissioner and Executive Commission. The outcome of this process is expected to be announced before the start of the 2025-26 season. Meanwhile, the BCHL has announced no further plans for the Chilliwack franchise at this time – pointing towards their commitment to the league for the foreseeable future.

This news would theoretically grow the WHL from 22 to 24 teams within the next two years. Penticton will likely join the B.C. Division of the WHL’s Western Conference. Integrating Chilliwack could be more of a challenge. The city is a bit too far from the league’s Eastern Conference, which could lead to 13 teams in the Western Conference and 11 in the Eastern Conference.

The news of BCHL clubs joining the WHL is substantial. The CHL recently agreed to a partnership with the NCAA that would allow CHL players to commit to American colleges – something previously outlawed by the NCAA’s professional sports policy. This news has allowed the CHL to become a pipeline for players with collegiate aspirations, a perk that used to only belong to non-CHL Canadian junior leagues like the BCHL, AJHL, and OJHL. Penticton and Chilliwack’s moves could be the start of the growing snowball that is CHL hockey, though it’s likely to be slowed down by eligibility concerns and logistical red tape. Still, the news will give hockey fans at all levels some action to anticipate as the WHL, and other CHL leagues, approach key dates this offseason.

Hurricanes Reassign Juha Jaaska

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March 24: Carolina returned Jaaska to Chicago yesterday, according to the AHL’s transactions log. He saw a season-high 12 minutes of ice time on Saturday against the Kings, although it didn’t go particularly well for him – he was a minus-three in a 7-2 loss. He was scratched in yesterday’s win over the Ducks, with captain Jordan Staal returning to the lineup after a one-game absence.

March 22: The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled forward Juha Jaaska from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Jaaska spent just over a month on the NHL roster from early January to early February. He played in the first 17 NHL games of his career on the call-up and recorded four assists, nine penalty minutes, and a plus-three.

This is Jaaska’s first season in North American pros. He’s made good work of it, netting 10 goals and 24 points in 41 games with the Wolves – good for sixth on the team in scoring. Jaaska previously spent the last nine seasons with HIFK Helsinki of the Liiga, Finland’s top pro league. He worked his way up through the HIFK system and slowly climbed his way up their pro roster. Jaaska made his Liiga debut in the 2015-16 season and played through his first full year in 2017-18. He had five points in 26 games as a rookie and grew those numbers to 21 points in 47 games as a sophomore.

Jaaska was typecast as a power-forward early in his pro career, the natural result of a 6’0″, 210-lb frame. But he found a scoring groove over the last two Liiga seasons. He’s scored double-digit goals in each of his last five seasons – now including 10 goals in the AHL – and managed a career-high 37 points in 56 games of the 2022-23 Liiga campaign. Jaaska followed that with 30 points in 57 games last year. Those numbers, and his ability to reach the 30-point mark in back-to-back years, was enough to inspire Carolina to sign him to a one-year, $850K contract this summer. Now, Jaaska will get yet another chance at hardy NHL minutes after posting five points in his last five AHL games.

Lightning Recall Brandon Halverson, Reassign Cam Atkinson

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled goaltender Brandon Halverson from the minor leagues. It is his first formal call-up with Tampa Bay, after signing a two-year, $1.6MM contract with the club on February 3rd. Halverson ad spent the season on an AHL contract with the Syracuse Crunch prior to that deal. In a corresponding move, Tampa Bay has also reassigned veteran forward Cam Atkinson to the minor leagues. It is the second time that Atkinson has been assigned to the minor leagues this season.

Halverson’s recall represents little more than roster padding as the Lightning prepare for back-to-back road games against Utah and Vegas this weekend. The 28-year-old netminder will step in as Tampa Bay’s third string for the trip, operating behind Andrei Vasilievskiy and Jonas Johansson. Halverson earns the recognition after posting an impressive 16-9-8 record and .913 save percentage in 34 AHL games this season. The numbers are closely in line with his statline from last season, when he maintained a .913 through both 14 AHL games and 32 ECHL games in Tampa Bay’s system.

Halverson joined the Lightning organization on a minor-league contract before the 2023-24 campaign. Before that, he was a journeyman minor leaguer – working through depth-chart stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Arizona Coyotes, and Dallas Stars. But Halverson spent the bulk of his pro career with the New York Rangers, who originally drafted him in the second-round of the 2014 NHL Draft. Halverson made his pro debut two seasons later, and quickly carved out a habit of average play in the AHL and solid play in the ECHL. His biggest moment came in the 2017-18 season, when he made a 12-minute NHL debut in relief of Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist. Halverson allowed one goal on six shots. He was reassigned soon after that came, and returned to bouncing between second and third tier pros.

Atkinson, meanwhile, returns to the minors after playing just two games in the month of March. He scored one goal and played just 16 total minutes of ice time in those appearances. The point brings Atkinson up to three points in his last five NHL games, though that stretch dates as far back as February 6th. He’s become Tampa Bay’s extra forward, on the back of just nine points in 38 games this season. Atkinson did not play in any AHL games on his previous assignment. He’ll have one chance to play this weekend, with the Crunch set to host the Rochester Americans on Saturday. If he does, Atkinson will be playing in his first AHL game since the 2012-13 season. He scored 38 points in 33 AHL games that year.

Devils Recall Nolan Foote

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The New Jersey Devils have recalled forward Nolan Foote from the minor leagues. New Jersey opted not to practice on Friday, keeping reporters from clearly seeing who Foote could be filling in for. Both Ondrej Palat and Curtis Lazar are questionable for Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Senators due to undisclosed injuries. Both forwards sat out of the team’s Thursday loss to the Calgary Flames.

While it’s unclear if he’ll step into the lineup, this recall is nonetheless good news for Foote. It’s just his second call-up of the season, after he spent 10 days on the NHL roster in November. Foote stepped into two NHL games on that stint but didn’t manage any scoring. He’s been far more productive in the minors, where he leads the Utica Comets in scoring with 39 points in 53 games. He’s also second on the team with 18 goals, behind Brian Halonen’s 21 goals. The performance has been a welcome return to form for Foote, after he missed all but eight games of the 2023-24 season with injury. Prior to that, Foote had scored 37 points in 55 AHL games in the 2022-23 campaign. He’s lapped those totals this year, and could now get a chance at hardy NHL minutes.

Foote has appeared in 25 NHL games across the last five seasons. He started off hot, with six points in his first 13 career games. But he’s added just two points since then. On the back of an improved groove in the minors, this recall could be a chance to get back onto an NHL scoresheet. Palat’s absence could open up third-line minutes, while Lazar vacates a fourth-line role. It’s likely New Jersey will allocate the bulk of minutes, and special team roles, to players like Daniel Sprong and Erik Haula. That likely leaves a minute, fourth-line role for Foote, should he be the preferred lineup choice. The Devils also have centerman Justin Dowling on the NHL roster and available to cover injuries.

Red Wings’ Erik Gustafsson Out Long-Term, Elmer Söderblom Day-To-Day

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The Detroit Red Wings continue to receive bad news from their blue-line. Head coach Todd McLellan shared that veteran defender Erik Gustafsson will be out long-term with an undisclosed injury. McLellan didn’t provide a specific timeline for Gustafsson’s absence, though he’s been significantly downgraded after only being designated as out day-to-day on Thursday. Rookie forward Elmer Söderblom will also be out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury, and remains day-to-day.

Gustafsson appeared to suffer his injury in the third period of Detroit’s Tuesday loss to the Washington Capitals after a collision with Capitals forward Lars Eller sent him crashing into the boards. No specifics of Gustafsson’s injury have been revealed, though his awkward fall into the boards could suggest knee or ankle related issues.

In response to these injuries, Detroit has recalled forwards Austin Watson and Brogan Rafferty under emergency conditions.

Now, it seems Gustafsson’s scary crash will indeed result in a long-term absence. He’s been leaned on heavily down the stretch, and even played upwards of 20 minutes a night in Detroit’s second-half. Gustafsson ranks third on the Detroit blue-line in scoring with 18 points in 60 games. He’s also posted a team-worst minus-19. Both statlines are a downtick from Gustafsson’s 31 points and plus-three in 76 games with the New York Rangers last season; which was itself a step down from 42 points and a plus-nine in the 2022-23 season.

Detroit will need to fill vacancies on the second pair and second powerplay unit with Gustafsson out. That latter hole has opened the door for rookie Simon Edvinsson to finally earn consistent powerplay ice time. Edvinsson has 25 points in 64 games this season. He also ranks third on the blue-line in blocks (118) and hits (66) behind Moritz Seider and Ben Chiarot. Edvinsson is known for his puck control and passing ability – and racking up impacts away from the puck has helped earn him a chance at special teams minutes.

Who fills Gustafsson’s even-strength role is less clear. Rookie Albert Johansson seems like the best candidate to step into a bigger role, after playing over 21 minutes of action in each of his last two games. Johansson has eight points and a minus-seven in 47 games this year. He’s also tallied 76 blocked shots and 49 hits – stats that rank first and third on the Red Wings’ blue-line on a per-game basis. If not Johansson, Detroit is likely to award bigger minutes to Chiarot and William Lagesson. Chiarot has 11 points in 67 games, while Lagesson hasn’t yet scored through two appearances.

While the Red Wings rush to fill Gustafsson’s openings, rookie Söderblom will focus on not losing his momentum. He has nine points in 22 games this season – one more point in one more game than he totaled in his first taste of the NHL in 2022-23. He’s been a sizeable addition to the Red Wings lineup, both in height and impact – giving the Wings a hint of the success that the New York Rangers have found in players like Adam Edstrom. Söderblom still has a path to pave before he’s an everyday piece of the lineup, but a strong return from injury could do the work for him.

The Red Wings bear with these injuries while sitting on the fringe of a hotly-contested playoff race. Five different teams have between 70 and 74 points in the Eastern Conference. Detroit sits on the low-end, while the Montreal Canadiens have hold of the second Wild Card spot on the other end. Properly filling Gustafsson’s void, and seeing the return of an impactful bottom-six piece like Söderblom, could heavily sway Detroit’s playoffs hopes as they approach their final 14 games of the season.

Oilers’ Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl To Undergo Further Testing

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Thursday night’s loss to the Winnipeg Jets was hard for the Edmonton Oilers to bear for many reasons. They entered the night without superstar forward Leon Draisaitl, who was announced as out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury after the team’s morning skate. Edmonton also saw two major injuries occur mid-game. Franchise centerman Connor McDavid left the game before the start of the third period, after appearing to suffer a lower-body injury on his final shift of the second-period – which only lasted 16 seconds. Later in the third, concussion spotters also forced starting goaltender Stuart Skinner to exit the game. The Oilers went on to lose 4-3 in overtime – and are now forced to pick up the pieces of three crucial absences. Both Draisaitl and McDavid will head for further testing on Friday to help determine the severity and duration of their injuries, per Frank Seravalli of DailyFaceoff.

No update has been provided on Skinner, though head coach Kris Knoblauch did share that Skinner was frustrated over getting pulled early, per Jason Gregor of Sports 1440. He’ll need to be cleared of a concussion before he can step back into the lineup.

This news comes as a terrible blow to an Oilers club that seemed to be firing on all cylinders. They were on a three-game win streak entering Thursday night, having outscored opponents 12-3 along the way. McDavid scored five points, and Draisaitl scored three points, over that streak – while Skinner saved 21 of the 22 shots he faced in one game of action. The trio served crucial roles in Edmonton’s success, and losing them so suddenly will be a blow to the Oilers roster.

Center Adam Henrique took over for McDavid on the top line in the immediate wake of his injury, while newcomer Max Jones slotted into a fourth-line role in Draisaitl’s absence. Henrique will likely maintain a top-six role while McDavid sits out, though priority minutes could go to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who has six points in his last three games. Jones will be the de facto fill-in winger, though he could face competition from healthy scratch Derek Ryan. Ryan hasn’t played since January 11th and has five points in 33 games this season. Jones has one assist in six games with the Oilers.

Edmonton will also keep an eye on Evander Kane as they think of deeper injury concerns. Kane hasn’t played since the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals. He’s been forced out of this season by abdominal and knee surgeries, but returned to Edmonton’s practices for the first time on Thursday. He seems unlikely to return before the regular season ends, but any extended absences for Draisaitl or McDavid could push the Oilers to consider load management with just 13 games left in their season. Edmonton would need to clear roughly $5MM in cap space to active Kane off of long-term injured reserve before the season ended.

Meanwhile, Edmonton will likely be pushed to recall Collin Delia or Olivier Rodrigue should Skinner need to miss additional time. Pickard, who could get an open path to a short-term starting role, has posted a 3-2-0 record and .904 save percentage in his last five starts.

Wild Recall Liam Ohgren Under Emergency Conditions

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The Minnesota Wild have recalled top wing prospect Liam Ohgren under emergency conditions. The move comes after an unnamed member of the Wild fell sick, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Forward Marcus Foligno is also facing a day-to-day absence and sat out of Monday’s game. Ohgren will be eligible to play should both Foligno and the ill Wild player both need to sit out. The Wild’s next game comes against Seattle on Wednesday.

This move returns Ohgren to the NHL roster after 11 days, and four games, in the minor leagues. He didn’t manage any scoring in his first two games back in the minors, but amassed two goals and five points in a pair of games this weekend. That scoring brought Ohgren up to 28 points, split evenly, in 29 AHL games this season. He is the only Iowa Wild skater still rivaling point-per-game scoring, and ranks sixth on the team in total points despite playing fewer games than Iowa forward with more than 10 points.

Despite hot scoring in the minors, Ohgren still hasn’t found his groove at the NHL level. He has just four points in 23 games with Minnesota this season, adding to his two points in four NHL games last year. The Wild have moved Ohgren around the bottom-six to try and spark his scoring, though he’s averaged just 11:06 in ice time through the full season.

This call-up will give Ohgren another chance to spark his NHL scoring after a hot weekend in the minor leagues. He’ll need specific circumstances to prompt a return to the Minnesota lineup, including another absence for lineup fixture Foligno – who’s scored 22 points in 67 games from a third-line role this season. Ohgren will likely absorb most of Foligno’s minutes, should he get to play.

Canucks Sign Aku Koskenvuo To Entry-Level Contract

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed collegiate goaltender Aku Koskenvuo to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal comes after Koskenvuo’s junior year at Harvard University came to an end on Sunday. He was a strong goaltender until the very end of his collegiate career, making 47 saves on 49 shots in Harvard’s final game of the season. It was his fourth-consecutive start and second-consecutive overtime appearance. Koskenvuo made 138 saves on 147 shots in his last four games of the season.

Koskenvuo earned Harvard’s starting role through the latter half of this season, after spending his freshman year as the third-string and last season splitting starts. He climbed to the full-time role on the back of an 8-9-1 record, .902 save percentage, and 2.81 goals-against-average in 20 games this season. The stat line was a slight lateral step from his sophomore totals last year, when Koskenvuo managed a 5-6-4 record, .910 Sv%, and 2.95 GAA.

The Canucks drafted Koskenvuo in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL Draft, after his first full season in Finland’s U20 SM-sarja. In what was a shortened 2020-21 season, Koskenvuo posted a .893 Sv% and 2.92 GAA in 13 games with HIFK’s U20 club. He followed it up with a .897 Sv% and 2.79 GAA in 27 U20 games in 2021-22. Through the mix, Koskenvuo also served as a go-to option for Team Finland’s international juniors clubs. He recorded a .874 Sv% and 3-3-0 record in six games of the 2021 World U18 Championship; but cratered at the 2023 World Junior Championships with a .842 Sv% an 4.47 GAA en route to an 0-2-0 record.

Koskenvuo will join a crowded goalie room in the Canucks organization. He’ll spar for minutes with players like Arturs Silovs, Nikita Tolopilo, and Ty Young at the AHL level. Tolopilo has served as the starter for the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks and has a .896 Sv% and 2.74 GAA in 30 appearances. Young leads the minor squad in save percentage, with a .905 in just nine AHL appearances.

Panthers Recall Tobias Bjornfot

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The Florida Panthers have recalled defenseman Tobias Bjornfot from the AHL. This move comes after Dmitry Kulikov was injured in the first period of the team’s Sunday loss to the New York Islanders, after getting wrapped up on Islanders forward Anthony Duclair. This marks Bjornfot’s second call-up as a member of the Panthers organization, after spending 20 days on the NHL roster in January. He stepped into eight NHL games on the recall and managed no scoring.

Bjornfot has otherwise spent the rest of the season in the minors. He’s amassed 16 points, 22 penalty minutes, and a plus-one in 43 games with the Charlotte Checkers, good for third on the team’s blue-line in scoring. It’s just his third full season in the NHL since making his professional debut in the 2019-20 season. He spent the bulk of that year with the AHL’s Ontario Reign where he recorded 19 points, 12 penalty minutes, and a plus-13 in 44 games. Bjornfot received the first three games of his NHL career in the mix of those minor league minutes, and earned a hardier shot at the Los Angeles Kings lineup over the next two years. But he only managed 14 points through the first 106 games of his NHL career, prompting a return to the minors for the start of the 2022-23 campaign. Bjornfot scored 12 points in 50 AHL games that year.

Bjornfot followed another middling year in the minors with a winding journey last season. He appeared in games for Los Angeles, Vegas, and Florida throughout the 2023-24 season – and moved between each team through two separate waiver claims. Ultimately, Bjornfot couldn’t find his footing in any of his new destinations – and managed no scoring through 11 NHL games or five AHL games on the season. He’s returned to the scoresheet through the first half of this year, but still hasn’t found a consistent stride.

There’s been no indication as to whether Kulikov will be available for Florida’s Thursday matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He’ll vacate a top-pair role if he does have to sit out, opening the door for Bjornfot to earn modest ice time as Florida mends an already-weakened blue-line.  Bjornfot has averaged 13:24 in ice time through his eight NHL appearances this season. A lineup nod would give Bjornfot another chance to earn his first point as a member of the Florida Panthers – and his first NHL point outside of the Los Angeles Kings organization.

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