Wild Recall Hunter Haight
The Wild announced that they’ve recalled center Hunter Haight from AHL Iowa. With 13 other healthy forwards on the roster, it appears to be more of a performance-based bump for Haight to give head coach John Hynes another option down the middle down the stretch.
Haight, 21, was ferried frequently between Minnesota and Iowa to start the year but has been in the minors since January. On a hapless minor-league club in Iowa, Haight is now tied for second on the team with 12 goals in 43 games. He’s added 11 assists for 23 points, putting him sixth on the team in scoring, although there isn’t much separation between him and first place.
Haight will become Minnesota’s first of five allotted post-deadline standard recalls if he doesn’t qualify for emergency conditions (it doesn’t appear he will). The #47 pick in the 2022 draft, he suited up five times for the Wild earlier this year to make his NHL debut. He went pointless with a -4 rating, managing four shots on goal in 9:41 of ice time per night. The 5’10”, 173-lb pivot went 18-for-37 on draws (48.6%) while recording six hits.
Canadiens’ Kirby Dach Out Two To Four Weeks
The Canadiens will be without forward Kirby Dach for two to four weeks due to an upper-body injury, the team announced. That could potentially end his regular season, which ends April 14, but he should be an option at some point during the first round in the likely event Montreal secures its second straight playoff berth.
Dach only saw just over a minute of ice time in Sunday’s loss to the Ducks before taking a hard hit along the boards from Anaheim winger Jeffrey Viel. He didn’t return after that.
The 25-year-old has a laundry list of recent injuries, but most of them have been of the lower-body variety. He missed over 31 games earlier this season due to a fractured foot, and lost nearly the entirety of the 2023-24 season and the last several weeks of 2024-25 with ACL and MCL tears in his right knee. Dach has not had a fully healthy season in his seven-year NHL career and hasn’t missed under 10 games in a season since his rookie year.
That has contributed to the 2019 third overall pick, whom the Habs hoped could be a top-six staple when they acquired him from the Blackhawks in 2022, losing a ton of momentum in his development. He didn’t look like the same player at all after his ACL/MCL surgery in 2023, only notching 10 goals and 22 points in 57 games last year with a -29 rating before going under the knife again.
Dach’s two-way impacts have improved significantly this season, posting a career-best 52.0% expected goals share at even strength. That’s come in reduced ice time, though, down to 13:48 per game. He’s still generating as many shot attempts as he did on a nightly basis last season in nearly two fewer minutes of deployment while increasing his points per game, recording an 8-6–14 scoring line in 32 games.
He may not be the top-six impact piece they hoped, but he’s been a valuable complementary piece when healthy this season who can slot in virtually anywhere in Montreal’s top nine. In the interim, either Alexandre Texier or Joe Veleno will be set for a return to the lineup after sitting in the press box for the Anaheim game.
Maple Leafs Reassign Michael Pezzetta, Henry Thrun
The Maple Leafs announced today that they’ve reassigned winger Michael Pezzetta and defenseman Henry Thrun to AHL Toronto. Their active roster is now at 22 players, but they don’t have any healthy extras with Auston Matthews’ season over (he’s yet to be placed on injured reserve) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson away from the team on paternity leave. As such, they can be called back up under emergency conditions if there’s a risk Toronto might be down anyone else for tonight’s game against the Islanders.
They might still be available, at least as healthy scratches. The Marlies have an afternoon game today at home, which would leave them enough time to report back to the NHL roster for tonight’s 6:00 p.m. CT home game.
Pezzetta, 28, received his first recall of the season last Thursday. He racked up nine penalty minutes and a -1 rating in back-to-back appearances before sitting as a healthy scratch for Sunday’s win over the Wild. The career enforcer averaged just 5:06 of ice time across the two contests and did not record a point, although he did have a shot on goal and six hits. He now sits at 202 career NHL appearances as he closes out the first half of the two-year, league minimum contract he signed with the Leafs in free agency last summer.
Thrun, 25, got an emergency summons on Sunday when Ekman-Larsson left the team’s road trip to return home for the birth of his child. He didn’t play. Acquired last offseason from the Sharks in the Ryan Reaves deal, Thrun has only suited up in four NHL contests for the Leafs after appearing in a career-high 60 contests with San Jose in 2024-25. The puck-moving lefty has a 4-16–20 scoring line and a -4 rating in 42 AHL outings this season.
Penguins Recall Jack St. Ivany From Conditioning Loan
3/16: After three games in the AHL, Pittsburgh has recalled St. Ivany from his conditioning loan. He scored one point and a plus-one in his ramp back to a lineup role. In a corresponding move, the Penguins have also assigned defenseman Alexander Alexeyev to the AHL. Alexeyev has scored seven points in 29 AHL games, and has not yet played in the NHL, this season. He is a veteran of 80 NHL games, all spent with Pittsburgh’s rival Washington Capitals, with eight points and 12 penalty minutes.
3/9: The Penguins announced this morning that they have assigned defender Jack St. Ivany to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan. He’ll remain on injured reserve for the time being and can spend up to two weeks in the minors.
St. Ivany, 26, suffered a left-hand fracture in a Jan. 25 game against the Canucks. The third-year NHLer also missed over two months to start the season with a lower-body injury. In the six weeks between IR stints, he looked well on his way toward locking down a job as their #3 righty behind cornerstones Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang. In his 17-game run in the lineup, primarily next to Ryan Shea, he posted seven assists with a +7 rating while averaging 15:39 of ice time per night. He got occasional deployment on the penalty kill and a raucous 2.35 hits per game, but his 106.1 PDO and underwater possession metrics across the board suggest some regression in his 5-on-5 numbers is likely.
His injuries have only added to what’s been a constant shuffle of defensive depth in Pittsburgh this season. The only constants in the lineup have been Letang, Shea, and their top pairing of Karlsson and Parker Wotherspoon. Brett Kulak did some good work in second-pairing duties with Letang, but was swapped to the Avalanche for Samuel Girard a couple of weeks ago. The early returns there are questionable with no points and a -2 rating in seven outings. Pittsburgh has five other D-men – Connor Clifton, Ryan Graves, Mathew Dumba, Harrison Brunicke, and Ilya Solovyov – who have played at least five games for them this year.
With Girard locking down the left-side order with Wotherspoon and Shea, it’s been the right-shot Clifton (and sometimes lefties Solovyov and Graves coming in on their offside) getting more ice time in St. Ivany’s absence. It’s worth wondering if Clifton has played well enough over the past month-plus to keep a spot ahead of St. Ivany on the depth chart when he’s cleared to return. He’s a bit more trusted on the penalty kill and has far superior possession impacts to St. Ivany at 5-on-5, including a quite impressive 54.5% expected goals share. Clifton also leads the team in hits per game by a wide margin at 4.03.
Lightning Recall Steven Santini
Saturday: Santini’s stint in the minors was short-lived as the team announced that he has been brought back up from the Crunch. He suited up in their loss to Lehigh Valley yesterday, paving the way for him to be brought back up so quickly.
Friday: The Lightning announced today that defender Steven Santini has been reassigned to AHL Syracuse. He is right at the 10-game cutoff for losing his temporary waiver exemption, but has spent less than 30 days on the active roster since last clearing them during preseason, so he doesn’t need them to head back to the minors today. Any subsequent recall and game played will require him to go on waivers at the end of it, though.
Santini, 31, was recalled Tuesday in the wake of Erik Černák sustaining an apparent leg injury. He was scratched for last night’s win over the Red Wings as Darren Raddysh returned to the team from his bereavement leave, but did log 9:21 of ice time against the Blue Jackets earlier this week. The 6’3″ righty managed two shot attempts and one hit but was otherwise held off the scoresheet. His demotion today indicates Černák should be ready to go tomorrow against the Hurricanes after a two-game absence.
He’s now eight years removed from his days as a legitimate depth/bottom-pairing option with the Devils. More of an AHL journeyman now, his 134 games of NHL experience are still attractive to teams like the Lightning if they need him as an injury stopgap, as they’ve done several times this season. This was Santini’s fifth recall of the campaign, resulting in his most NHL appearances in a season since 2018-19.
Once named the Hockey East conference’s best defensive defenseman during his NCAA days with Boston College, he’s still an important stay-at-home conscience for Syracuse, where he has a +10 rating and six assists and 32 games this year while serving as the club’s captain. Signed through next season on a two-way deal, he’ll remain a recall option through then unless he’s claimed off waivers.
Red Wings Recall John Leonard; Reassign Austin Watson, Eduards Tralmaks
March 14: The Red Wings announced they’ve brought Leonard back to the NHL under emergency conditions, meaning they could be without 12 healthy forwards on the active roster for tonight’s game. Larkin and Copp remain the only known injuries at the time of writing.
March 13: Watson, along with John Leonard and Eduards Tralmaks, who were also recalled under emergency conditions yesterday, were all reassigned to Grand Rapids following last night’s loss to the Lightning, per the NHL’s media site. None of the three played in the contest, and, since their emergency recalls stipulate they must be returned to the minors if their presence on the roster isn’t necessary to ice 12 forwards, it’s no surprise they’re back down today.
March 12: The Red Wings announced that they’ve recalled winger Austin Watson from AHL Grand Rapids under emergency conditions. He’ll be on hand for tonight’s game against the Lightning. Considering they already have two extra healthy forwards on the active roster, even accounting for Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp‘s injuries, there might be even more trouble up front in Detroit.
Watson, a Michigan native, is now in his second season in the organization after signing with the Wings in 2024 following a successful PTO. They liked what he brought in a depth role enough to sign him to a two-way extension in March, so he didn’t get to free agency last summer. That may change this time around as he’s on an expiring deal once again.
The 34-year-old grinder has passed through waivers a few times since signing and has spent most of his time in Grand Rapids, but he did score three goals in 13 games last season. He’s yet to make an NHL appearance in 2025-26 but has been recalled twice this year, first for a few days in October and November and then again over the Olympic break as an extra practice player.
A former first-rounder by the Predators in 2010, Watson was never the top-nine power forward they hoped he could be but still carved out a lengthy NHL career for himself, recording 63 goals and 121 points in 528 career games to date. After departing Nashville via trade to the Senators in 2020, he made a one-year stop with the Lightning in 2023-24 before landing with Detroit.
He’s been an important minor-league presence for the club, enjoying a strong 19-23–42 scoring line in 60 games last year and now 11 goals and 20 points in 48 outings in 2025-26. He’s gotten into his fair share of fights down in Grand Rapids as well, ranking fifth in the league with 137 penalty minutes, while ranking 11th on the league-best club in scoring. With a 43-9-4 record, Grand Rapids is enjoying its best season in franchise history since its inception in the IHL in 1996.
Avalanche Sign Gustav Stjernberg To Entry-Level Deal
The Avalanche announced they’ve signed free agent defenseman Gustav Stjernberg to a two-year, entry-level contract beginning next season. He will finish the campaign on a minor-league deal with AHL Colorado, where he’ll make his North American pro debut in the coming days.
Stjernberg, 23, is a 6’4″, 209-lb righty coming off his junior season at Bowling Green. He was a consistent, physical presence for the Falcons over the past three years, who has decent enough puck-moving ability. He finishes his collegiate career with a 14-23–27 scoring line, 173 penalty minutes, and a +13 rating in 86 games.
The Swede is quite familiar with North American hockey. After going undrafted out of Sweden’s junior league in 2021, he remained at home for one more year, logging a breakthrough season that earned him his pro debut with Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League, before departing for the United States. He spent 2022-23 in juniors with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL before debuting at Bowling Green as a freshman in fall 2023.
Players with his production archetype typically don’t go on to have significant NHL careers. Colorado’s had success in landing defenders in college free agency and turning them into effective pieces, though. The more diminutive Sam Malinski was signed in 2023 out of Cornell with only a slightly improved statistical profile, and he’s gone on to become a bottom-pairing fixture for the club while enjoying an exceptional 2025-26 campaign.
The Avs’ AHL defensive depth season looks a little skinny with Jack Ahcan, Ronald Attard, and Jacob MacDonald all set to become unrestricted free agents. Stjernberg could step into a regular minor-league role next season, although if the Avs add a piece or two, it could be in the ECHL.
Sharks Sign Ty Dellandrea To Two-Year Extension
The Sharks announced they’ve signed center Ty Dellandrea to a two-year extension. It’s worth a total of $3.25MM for a cap hit of $1.625MM. He could have been a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.
Dellandrea, 25, saw his signing rights acquired by San Jose from the Stars for a fourth-round pick in 2024. He inked a two-year, $2.6MM deal a few days later, so today’s news will give him a bit of a pay bump for 2026-27.
The 13th overall pick back in 2018 by Dallas, he rarely punched above a bottom-six role during his time in Texas. That hasn’t changed over the past year-plus in the Bay Area, but it’s worth noting the natural center has been deployed mostly down the middle after starting out his career as a frequent option on the wing.
Dellandrea’s first season in San Jose was one to forget. He’d struggled to find offensive consistency in Dallas but took things to a new low with the Sharks, managing just one goal and eight points in 68 games with a -31 rating.
This season, he’s gotten a bump in minutes, and the results have been slightly better. He’s averaging a career-high 14:24 per game and has been good on draws, winning 52.3% of them, while being used as a defensive specialist. Despite starting nearly 70% of his shifts at 5-on-5 in the defensive zone, he’s upped his production to 11 points in 42 games. His -15 rating and 38.4% Corsi share are still evidence that the Sharks are a long way away from winning his minutes, though.
He’s also been out of the lineup since early January with a lower-body injury. His absence has paved the way for rookie middleman Michael Misa to get more consistent reps in a top-nine role. Considering the 2025 #2 overall pick has four goals and seven points in 10 games since the beginning of February, it’s unlikely they’ll be moving him back down the depth chart. When Dellandrea returns, it’ll likely be to usurp younger stopgap Zack Ostapchuk as the team’s fourth-line center between Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves.
Dellandrea’s new deal will walk him to unrestricted free agency in 2028. The Sharks don’t buy out any UFA years with the contract, instead buying up the rest of his team-controlled seasons.
Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.
Canadiens Sign Luke Mittelstadt To Entry-Level Deal
The Canadiens announced they’ve signed 23-year-old defender Luke Mittelstadt to a two-year, entry-level contract starting next season. He’ll finish out the year with AHL Laval on a minor-league contract.
The Habs took Mittelstadt in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. He had already been passed over twice and was coming off his freshman season at the University of Minnesota at the time of his selection.
After spending a full four years with the Golden Gophers, the younger brother of Bruins center Casey Mittelstadt will turn pro with the club that drafted him. He was the top name on an absolutely gutted Minnesota defense corps this season, finishing fifth on the team in scoring with a 2-19–21 line in 32 games with a -10 rating. The 5’11” lefty finishes his collegiate career with 11 goals, 80 points, and a +46 rating in 152 games.
He’s had some good seasons as an undersized but adept two-way defender. In a prospect pool as deep as Montreal’s, though, the pathway for him to break through is slight. He doesn’t feature in top-10 or top-15 rankings anywhere, and his long-term NHL future is likely that of a fringe call-up option.
Mittelstadt will hit restricted free agency after the 2027-28 campaign. Montreal now has 29 standard contracts on its books for next year.
Sharks Recall Laurent Brossoit
The Sharks were without starter Yaroslav Askarov against the Bruins in Boston last night, forcing Alex Nedeljkovic to take the starter’s crease and University of New Hampshire goalie Kyle Chauvette to dress as his backup with no time to get a recall out from the West Coast. With it looking like Askarov will miss at least another game with his undisclosed issue, they’re back to having two healthy goalies on the active roster by recalling Laurent Brossoit from AHL San Jose, the team announced.
If Askarov is out long enough to warrant Brossoit getting a start, it will be his first NHL appearance in nearly two years. He has 140 games of NHL experience and was viewed as one of the best #2 options in the league heading into free agency in 2023, coming off back-to-back seasons of .927 save percentages in spot starts with the Golden Knights and Jets. He landed a two-year, $6.6MM commitment from the Blackhawks, but needed meniscus surgery just weeks later, which spiraled into a whole host of other lower-body issues. He lost the entire 2024-25 campaign to knee surgeries and was out for several weeks to begin the 2025-26 campaign as well after a subsequent hip procedure.
Brossoit returned to health in December. Chicago didn’t have much of a use for him with Spencer Knight and Arvid Söderblom holding down the fort in the NHL, and they didn’t want him taking starts away from third-stringer Drew Commesso in the minors. After Brossoit showed he was back to full health, logging a .901 SV% in six outings with AHL Rockford after clearing waivers, San Jose – in need of an upgrade in the #3 slot – moved to acquire him.
Since the pickup, the 32-year-old has been exceptional in a minor-league role for San Jose. In 14 games, he has a .915 SV%, 2.48 GAA, and a 11-2-1 record. He’s seventh in the league in save percentage across both Rockford and San Jose among goalies with at least 20 appearances this year. He’ll look to be an extremely comfortable stopgap option behind Nedeljkovic for the time being as the Sharks chase down their first playoff berth in seven years.