Jets Recall Parker Ford, Danil Zhilkin
The Winnipeg Jets have recalled forwards Parker Ford and Danil Zhilkin under emergency conditions. The duo will help Winnipeg fill in for injuries to Vladislav Namestnikov, Nino Niederreiter, and Morgan Barron.
Zhilkin, 22, played through the first four games of his NHL career on a brief call-up in January. He managed no scoring, no penalties, and a plus-two in those appearances, while only playing more than 10 minutes in one game. He has planted his feet as a top center for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose in the months since, even despite scoring only 22 points in 54 games this season. He had a brief hot streak – five points in five games – in late December, leading up to his first NHL recall, but has otherwise struggled to post consecutive games with points for much of the year.
Ford has played through a fairly similar season. The 25-year-old winger began the season as an extra forward on Winnipeg’s roster. He appeared in 11 NHL games between October and November but only posted one point, four penalty minutes, and a minus-two. Ford was assigned to the AHL in November and has since recorded 21 points in 45 games with Manitoba. He has offered a responsible game around a young Moose lineup, helping to create space for Jets prospects Brayden Yager, Brad Lambert, and Zhilkin. Ford also appeared in three NHL games, and scored one point, last season.
The pair of call-ups will help Winnipeg stock the lineup as they prepare for a four-game road trip. Winnipeg now carries Zhilkin, Lambert, Isak Rosen, Ville Heinola, and Elias Salomonsson on the NHL roster. With the postseason well out of sight, they’ll embrace a chance to test out prospects with 10 games left on the schedule.
Sharks Recall Laurent Brossoit
The San Jose Sharks have recalled depth goaltender Laurent Brossoit from the AHL. He will help shore up the depth chart after starter Yaroslav Askarov was injured in the second period of Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Blues per Curtis Pashelka of Bay Area News Group. Askarov was injured after Blues winger Nathan Walker was knocked into the crease by Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais. The Sharks haven’t yet designated the nature of Askarov’s injury.
Thursday marked Askarov’s return from a previous injury that held him out of 16 days and seven games. He has served as San Jose’s go-to goaltender when healthy. Playing through his first season in a full-time NHL role, Askarov has recorded 19 wins, an .887 save percentage, and a 3.52 goals-against-average through 41 games.
Brossoit made his own return from injury in early December. He played his first games of the season with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, after missing the entirety of the 2024-25 season with multiple lower-body injuries. The Sharks traded for Brossoit in early January. He quickly took over the starting role for the San Jose Barracuda, where he has posted an impressive 11 wins and .915 save percentage in 15 appearances. On the long haul back from injury, the former William M. Jennings Trophy-winner received his first call up to the Sharks roster on March 13th. He played in his first NHL game since April, 2024 two days later and allowed six goals on 23 shots in a 4-7 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Brossoit moved to the backup role for the remainder of Askarov’s absence, then returned to the AHL with a 31-save performance on Wednesday. Now, another injury to Askarov will pull Brossoit back into the NHL, where he’ll continue to backup Alex Nedeljkovic. It is unclear if he’ll have a chance at returning to the starter’s crease, though another NHL appearance will mean a chance to get back on track after a rough return to the league.
Stars Promote Rich Peverley To Assistant GM
The Dallas Stars have made a change to their front office. Rich Peverley has been promoted to Assistant General Manager, in addition to his role as Director of Player Personnel. He becomes the third assistant GM in Dallas’ front office, alongside Scott White and Mark Janko. Peverley is in his 10th season in a managerial position with the Stars. His front office career began with six seasons as the Director of Player Development, before he was promoted to Director of Player Personnel in 2021.
Peverley’s history in Dallas stretches beyond his front office career. He played through nine seasons in the NHL, including one full season with Dallas to end his career. He was a valuable depth forward during his playing days, offering two-way responsibility and fearless physicality. His career was brought to an early end due to health issues in 2013. Peverley underwent a surgical procedure to address an irregular heartbeat before the 2013-14 season. Six months later, he collapsed on the Stars’ bench during a game, marking a lapse in his heart health. Peverley underwent further heart surgery to address the issue. He missed the final 18 games of Dallas’ season and ultimately wouldn’t play in another pro hockey game.
Peverley had one year on his standard player contract left when he experienced his health concern. He spent the final year as a volunteer coach with the AHL’s Texas Stars for the 2014-15 campaign, then began his managerial career in 2015-16. At the time, Dallas had only made one postseason in the last seven seasons. With Peverley’s help in player development, Dallas has grown far above those struggles, and now stands as a perennial top team in the Western Conference. Dallas made it to the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals and has lost in the Western Conference Finals in each of the last three seasons. Their push to the top of the standings has been driven by young stars Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnson, Miro Heiskanen, and Thomas Harley – each drafted by Dallas during Peverley’s time in the front office.
A move to assistant GM will mark another step forward in Peverley’s career, amidst another successful season in Dallas. The 43 year old will help Dallas approach an off-season with 10 pending free agents, including captain Jamie Benn and top restricted-free agents Robertson and Mavrik Bourque.
Blues’ Robert Thomas Out Day-To-Day
After a few days to assess the injury, top St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas will indeed be forced to miss games with a day-to-day, upper-body injury sustained in Tuesday’s win over the Washington Capitals per NHL.com’s Lou Korac. Thomas was injured on a body-slam from Capitals center Pierre-Luc Dubois in the third period. Dubois was assessed a match penalty for intent to injure, while Thomas was removed from the game by concussion spotters. He cleared concussion protocol, per head coach Jim Montgomery, but has still missed St. Louis’ last two practices with a minor injury.
Injury ended a quiet night for Thomas on Tuesday. He has otherwise been red-hot as of late, with five goals and 13 points in 11 games since the start of March. Thomas has averaged 20 minutes of ice time and a 25.0 shooting percentage over that span. His performance has helped St. Louis drive to a 8-1-2 record in March. It is also an encouraging turnaround after Thomas’ name was mentioned in many rumors around the Trade Deadline. The 26 year old has assumed even more responsibility following the trade of Brayden Schenn.
Thomas missed the entire month of February, and 13 games in total, with an injury sustained on January 10th. In his absence, St. Louis leaned heavily on Pavel Buchnevich and Schenn to fill holes at the center position. Buchnevich scored five goals and 12 points in his move to the center role, though he only managed a 40.4 faceoff percentage. Jordan Kyrou led the team in scoring during Thomas’ previous injury, with 15 points. It will be those two veterans who have to step up once again with Thomas out. Buchnevich will likely shift back to center, while Pius Suter and Otto Stenberg continue to split reps filling Schenn’s third-line role.
St. Louis faces a shifting lineup as they approach mathchups with teams in similar spots. Both the San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs have also struggled through points this season, which could support the Blues’ attempt to keep their hot streak rolling without their top center. They will need to lean on their proven scorers, and emerging goaltender Joel Hofer, to lift up the lineup until Thomas can return to his starring role.
Senators’ Thomas Chabot Undergoes Surgery, Out Six To Eight Weeks
Bad injury luck has struck at the worst time for the Ottawa Senators. Top defenseman Thomas Chabot will have to miss six-to-eight weeks after undergoing surgery to address a broken arm, per Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen. Chabot suffered the injury on a cross-check from New York Rangers captain J.T. Miller in the first period of Monday’s game. A two-month timeline will likely keep Chabot out until at least the Eastern Conference final, if the Senators make it that far.
The Senators are also facing injuries to defensemen Lassi Thomson (day-to-day) and Dennis Gilbert (two to three weeks), per Garrioch. Thomson made his season debut in Monday’s game against New York but only played four minutes. Gilbert served a bottom-pair role through five games in mid-March but hasn’t played since Saturday’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Senators will have a slight silver lining. Defenseman Jake Sanderson has returned to skating at practice and will join the Senators on their upcoming two-game road trip to Florida, per Garrioch. Sanderson has been out of the lineup since March 7th, missing nine games since. He routinely plays upwards of 24 or 25 minutes a night when fully healthy, a role that could increase as Ottawa looks to make up for Chabot’s absence. Sanderson leads the Senators’ blue line in scoring with 11 goals and 48 points in 62 games. It has been a career-year for the 23-year-old, who won an Olympic Gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in addition to scoring at the highest pace of his NHL career.
But even with Sanderson progressing towards a return, the Senators will be losing major firepower with Chabot on the shelf. The alternate captain was a focal point of the lineup after Sanderson was injured, even playing 31 minutes of ice time in Ottawa’s regulation win over the New York Islanders on Saturday. Chabot has nine points in his last 12 games, dating back to the last day of February. His hot streak has brought him to 31 points in 55 games this season, a scoring pace well on par with Chabot’s trend of 45-point seasons.
Chabot faced injury at multiple points this season, including missing 13 games between November and December. He has found his way back to consistent performance in the new year, netting 10 points in 16 January games, followed by nine points in 16 games since the start of February. It was a difficult season, capped off by a long-term injury at the worst time, but the year will support Chabot’s hold over a starring role on the Senators’ blue line leading into next season. He could also spur the bad luck with a quick recovery and a return to Ottawa’s playoff run, if the team can stay alive until he’s back.
Ottawa rotated its defense pairings with both of its star blue-liners out of Tuesday’s game against Detroit. Artem Zub and Jordan Spence filled the main play-driving roles, each receiving roughly 11 minutes of even-strength ice time in the process. The openings also made room for top defense prospect Carter Yakemchuk to make his NHL debut. He scored two points, a goal and an assist, in the effort. Yakemchuk could become a focal point of the Senators’ blue line until Sanderson is back to full health. He leads all AHL rookie defensemen in per-game scoring this season with 10 goals and 36 points in 50 games. Yakemchuk is well-known for his all-out style, focused on throwing big hits and driving the puck 200 feet.
Penguins Recall Avery Hayes, Joona Koppanen
The Pittsburgh Penguins have added two forwards to the roster ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Winger Avery Hayes and center Joona Koppanen have been recalled from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Hayes’ recall will help the Penguins addresss a day-to-day injury for winger Anthony Mantha, while Koppanen will shore up the center depth per Taylor Haase of DK Pittsburgh Sports.
Hayes could have the clearer path to a lineup role if Mantha need to miss Thursday’s game. The 23 year old scored two goals in his NHL debut in early February but has struggled to keep scoring on the other side of the NHL’s Olympic break. He has no points in 10 NHL games since, though he has scored nine points in his last seven AHL games. That minor-league scoring brings him up to 32 points in 38 AHL games this season, fourth on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring.
The Penguins will hope Hayes can rediscover his spark as he steps up for Mantha, who has eight points in his last nine games. All of that scoring was managed over a six-game stretch in mid-March, bringing Mantha up to 26 goals and 53 points in 71 games this season – a new career-high in scoring.
Koppanen hasn’t been in the NHL since November, when he played through a 10-game stint on Pittsburgh’s third-line. He recorded one assist, two penalty minutes, and a minus-one in that span. He also won 12 of the 25 faceoffs he took. Koppanen has filled a stout center role in his minor league minutes, netting 19 points and a plus-14 in 37 games. He brings reliable, two-way depth to the lineup and could help the Penguins make up for an injury to veteran Blake Lizotte.
The Penguins have turned towards Connor Dewar to fill a center role in Lizotte’s absence. He is putting together a career-year on Pittsburgh’s bottom line, with 14 goals, 27 points, and a plus-10 in 71 games – all career highs. That production has kept Dewar in a nightly lineup role, though his role as a faceoff-taker is new. With Koppanen on the roster, Pittsburgh will have the option to move Dewar back to the wing, in place of Elmer Soderblom.
Sharks’ Ryan Reaves Out Week-To-Week
A top enforcer will be out of the San Jose Sharks lineup for the short-term. Winger Ryan Reaves is out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury, head coach Ryan Warsofsky told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Reaves only played 19 seconds of Saturday’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He injured his finger in a fight with Flyers winger Garrett Wilson just two minutes into the game, though it’s not clear if that is the injury he faces now, or what specifically went wrong.
Either way, the Sharks will move forward without one of the few remaining enforcers in the NHL. Reaves has racked up 37 penalty minutes in 50 games this season, including five fights. He also leads the Sharks in hits with 160.
Those numbers are well below the heights that Reaves reached through his 16-year NHL career. He posted a career-high 126 penalty minutes in 63 games of the 2013-14 NHL season, including 12 fights. His career-high in hits came in the 2019-20 season, when Reaves racked up 316 hits in 71 games with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Years later, Reaves continues to serve as a valuable fighter protecting a young Sharks roster. He has been sparingly used over the second-half of the season, with only five appearances since February started. He only averaged 7:15 in ice time in those appearances, excluding his early exit on Saturday.
San Jose will turn to Pavol Regenda to step back into the lineup for Reaves. Regenda has nine goals and 10 points in 21 NHL games, and 12 points in 28 AHL games, this season. At 6-foot-4, he brings the physical presence that Reaves leaves behind, though San Jose may also have to lean on Kiefer Sherwood to match Reaves’ hit totals. Meanwhile, Reaves will look to get back to full health in time to step into one of San Jose’s remaining 14 games this season.
Golden Knights Sign Pavel Moysevich
The Vegas Golden Knights have signed 2024 third-round pick Pavel Moysevich to a three-year, entry-level contract per Moysevich’s agent, Dan Milstein. The Golden Knights later confirmed the deal.
Moysevich, 21, has long been regarded as one of many high-end goalie prospects in the SKA St. Petersburg pipeline. He was one of eight goalies to play for SKA’s VHL club this season, which limited his chance at routine starts all season long. Moysevich was also out of the lineup from mid-November until late-January. In total, Moysevich earned just 10 starts this season. He recorded five wins, a .917 save percentage, 2.41 goals-against-average, and one shutout in those appearances and dressed for an additional 23 games as backup. His stat line fell from the numbers he posted through the last two VHL seasons – a 14-8-2 record, .926 SV%, and 2.17 GAA. Around those games, Moysevich also played in 31 KHL games, netting a .912 SV%, 2.45 GAA, and nine wins.
Moysevich now measures in at six-foot-seven, two inches taller than his draft-year measurements. He still moves with speed and athleticism despite that, giving Vegas an exciting prospect to add to a shallow goalie depth chart. Moysevich should immediately compete with Carl Lindbom and Cameron Whitehead, both 22, for starts in Henderson. Lindbom has posted a .922 SV% in 27 games while Whitehead, playing in his first pro season, has a .878 SV% in 14 games. When he moves to North America, Moysevich could take on the role of Jesper Vikman, who played 18 games with the Silver Knights before being traded to the Washington Capitals in Vegas’ Trade Deadline acquisition of Nic Dowd.
Predators Reassign Matt Murray
3/22: Ahead of their Sunday afternoon game in Chicago the Predators reassigned Murray to AHL Milwaukee. Still awaiting his debut with Nashville, the 28-year-old did not appear in a game, as Annunen won both games with excellent play in goal, headlined by a 40-save effort against Vegas. Saros has returned to action, getting the nod today.
3/19: The Nashville Predators had to change plans just before puck drop in Thursday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken. The team recalled depth goaltender Matt Murray to back up Justus Annunen after it was revealed that Juuse Saros would miss the game with an upper-body injury. The injury was sustained at morning practice, per Alex Daughterty of The Tennessean.
Murray is having to travel away from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, who are on their own road trip through Canada, to fill his recall to the NHL. He is traveling from Winnipeg to Nashville and is expected to arrive in the second half of the game, per NHL.com’s Brooks Bratten. That news will likely necessitate an emergency backup goalie in the stands for the first half of the game, though Nashville did not officially sign any temporary tryouts.
Saros is officially listed as out day-to-day. His absence will leave big shoes to fill after the veteran goaltender posted wins in four of his last five games, including back-to-back shootout wins. He has faced an average of 31 shots against since March 1st and posted a .910 save percentage in that stretch. That stretch has far outperformed Saros’ season-long performance, marked by 24 wins and a .894 save percentage in 51 games.
The Predators haven’t found much more relief in turning to backup Annunen, who has six wins and a .888 save percentage in 21 games this season. He has matched the save percentage he posted in 23 games with the Predators last season, after joining the team in a December 2024 trade that sent Scott Wedgewood to the Colorado Avalanche. Annunen will stand as the de facto starter if Saros is forced to miss additional time, as Murray hasn’t played in the NHL since the Dallas Stars’ 2023-24 season. He recorded a shutout in his last NHL contest.
Murray has spent this season in command of the Admirals’ starting crease. He has recorded 17 wins and a .908 save percentage in 37 games: team-highs in all three stats. His stat line was much stronger in his debut with the Admirals last season, when Murray posted 28 wins and a .932 save percentage in 43 games. He will offer extra hands if Nashville runs into another goalie injury – though the team should go back to their usual pairing of Saros and Annunen as soon as the former is back to health.
Adam Ruzicka, Spartak Terminate KHL Contract
Former Calgary Flames winger Adam Ruzicka will be on the open market once again. His contract with Spartak Moscow of Russia’s KHL, which was set to run through the 2026-27 season, has been terminated by the club per Russian news source Championat. A club press release said the decision was made due to a breach of contract.
Ruzicka joined Spartak Moscow for the 2024-25 season after failing to find his footing with the NHL’s Flames or Arizona Coyotes. He led Spartak with 26 goals in his first season, en route to 45 points in 65 games. That scoring continued through the KHL playoffs, again leading Spartak with seven goals and tying for the team lead with 12 points in 12 games. He quickly slotted in as a pillar of the Spartak offense and stuck in that role into this season. Ruzicka currently ranks second on the team in scoring with 16 goals and 40 points in 51 games. That pace would have put him on track to exceed last year’s scoring by six points.
Instead, Spartak will part ways with one of their top forwards. Ruzicka has been in the midst of a rare scoring drought as of late, with no points in his last five games dating back to early February. His role in the lineup shrank as a result of the cold spell, with a bump to the third line and second power-play unit.
The Slovakia-native will now search for a better fit elsewhere. He played three seasons in the OHL before moving to the AHL in 2019. Since then, Ruzicka has appeared in 117 NHL games and 98 AHL games, with 40 and 68 points, respectively.
The 26-year-old also joined Team Slovakia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where he racked up five points in six games. That performance has some speculating if there might be renewed NHL interest this summer. Ruzicka has represented Slovakia at all levels of international play and could now find his way back to the country in search of a new team. He grew up through the HC Pardubice pipeline, appearing with the organization’s U16, U18, and U20 clubs before moving to Canada in 2016.