Senators Recall Jorian Donovan, Carter Yakemchuk
The Senators’ push for the playoffs got a lot murkier despite last night’s defensive standout win over the Rangers. The two points cost them both Thomas Chabot and Lassi Thomson on the blue line, who, head coach Travis Green said, would miss multiple games with apparent right wrist injuries and undisclosed injuries, respectively. Ottawa was already without Dennis Gilbert, Nick Jensen, and Jake Sanderson on defense, so they would need to recall a pair of rearguards from AHL Belleville before tonight’s game against the Red Wings to have six healthy ones. Those two beneficiaries are Jorian Donovan and Carter Yakemchuk, the team announced Tuesday morning.
Both will be making their NHL debuts tonight. It comes right on schedule for Yakemchuk, who, at seventh overall in 2024, Ottawa hopes will be the last high pick of their years-long rebuild. The 6’4″, 207-lb righty was a physically dominant offensive threat in his draft year for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, leading the league in goals by a defenseman that year with 30.
Since then, Yakemchuk’s development has hit some speed bumps. His post-draft year with the Hitmen immediately raised some red flags as his offensive production took a step back from 1.08 points per game in 2023-24 to 0.88 in 2024-25, particularly concerning considering he was already one of the oldest players in his class. Those concerns have only persisted as he made the adjustment to professional life in Belleville this season. He’s slotted in as their top offensive weapon on the blue line as expected, ranking fourth on the team in scoring with a 10-26–36 line in 50 games, but that’s been accompanied by a team-worst -30 rating and some glaring concerns regarding his defensive play.
He’ll need to work on that moving forward to ensure he doesn’t top out as a third-pairing threat at even strength to limit his minutes while serving as a power-play quarterback for the Sens. For now, while everyone involved hoped it would be under better circumstances, he’ll at least get his first taste of NHL play this year while getting a chance to boost his shot at a roster spot next October with a strong run of play in the absence of Ottawa’s two top two-way threats on defense in Chabot and Sanderson.
Donovan is a more unheralded prospect but an intriguing talent nonetheless. A fifth-round pick in 2022, the 6’2″ lefty is now 21 years old in his second season with the B-Sens. He’s coming along nicely as a well-rounded two-way piece who can wash out opponents with ease, recording a 4-17–21 line in 58 outings this season with a -12 rating and 70 penalty minutes.
His development at this stage significantly outpaces the normal curve of a fifth-rounder. Donovan now ranks #5 in Ottawa’s prospect pool and is their top left-shot option in the system, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic opined this month. The Calgary native “has the tools to become a No. 5-8 D and play NHL games” with “pro size and excellent skating,” Wheeler wrote.
Penguins Recall Ville Koivunen, Evgeni Malkin Day-To-Day
The Penguins announced that they’ve recalled winger Ville Koivunen from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. His elevation to the roster is connected with an upper-body injury to star Evgeni Malkin, whom the club said is day-to-day and has been ruled out for tonight’s game versus the Avalanche.
With Kevin Hayes not dressing for a contest since March 3, it appears Koivunen will slot right back into the lineup as Pittsburgh’s third-line left wing alongside Benjamin Kindel and Justin Brazeau. Anthony Mantha moves up to take Malkin’s place on the right flank on the second line with Egor Chinakhov and Thomas Novak, PuckPedia projects.
Koivunen had just been sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday before the Pens’ loss to the Hurricanes. He played for the Baby Pens that night, making him eligible to come back up to rejoin the NHL squad today.
The 22-year-old hasn’t had the season the Penguins hoped for, at least in the NHL. A second-round pick in 2021 by the Hurricanes, subsequently acquired in the Jake Guentzel deal a couple of years back, he’s been a downright elite producer in his native Finland and in the minors over the last few years. After notching seven assists through his first eight NHL contests last year as well, most had him penciled in for an opening night job.
Koivunen initially made the team but hasn’t stuck. He’s been recalled and sent down on a couple of occasions, most recently spending nearly two months in the minors before getting the call back to the NHL at the trade deadline. Across 33 games in Pittsburgh, he’s only averaging 12:38 of ice time per game with a 2-5–7 scoring line and a -5 rating. For a lanky 6’0″ winger with extremely limited physical involvement, if he’s not producing in a top-nine role, there’s little place for him in the lineup. Add in the immense success of Pittsburgh’s depth wingers this season, plus the Pens being outscored 14-10 with him on the ice at 5-on-5, and it’s no surprise that Koivunen hasn’t seen a ton of action lately.
He hasn’t let the lack of an NHL breakthrough this season affect his play in the minors one bit, though. After an All-Rookie Team worthy showing last season, he’s now clicking over a point per game in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with an 11-22–33 line in 29 games and a +7 rating. While his time on the roster is likely to last only as long as Malkin’s injury keeps him out, it’s still another chance for Koivunen to make a strong impression on Pittsburgh’s brass as a potential playoff option and to improve his standing entering next season’s training camp.
As for Malkin, it’s not clear what’s keeping him out. He wasn’t limited against the Canes, although he did struggle with a -2 rating in 16:05 of ice time. The lack of an apparent cause is more concerning than not – he missed nearly a month with an upper-body issue earlier in the season, so there’s a chance it’s a reaggravation or continuation of that issue.
The 39-year-old franchise icon remains invaluable, even as he’s been shifted off his natural center slot. His 52 points in 50 games this year are his best pace since before the pandemic and sit fifth on the team in scoring despite all the missed time. The Pens would surely prefer to rest him as much as possible to make sure he gets back to 100% before the playoffs, but with their chances at a favorable but still uncomfortable 77.3%, per MoneyPuck, they don’t have that luxury.
Panthers Recall Noah Gregor
The Panthers recalled winger Noah Gregor from AHL Charlotte on Tuesday, according to a team announcement. The veteran of over 300 NHL games has been stashed in the minors for over two months after clearing waivers in January, but now returns under emergency conditions to give Florida 12 forwards for their contest against the Kraken tonight.
Results don’t matter much for the Panthers at this point. The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions are ticketed to become the first reigning winners to miss the playoffs since the Kings in 2015. Still, their current injury list, particularly among forwards, is the stuff of nightmares. In addition to Aleksander Barkov, Jonah Gadjovich, Brad Marchand, and Cole Schwindt all being stashed on long-term injured reserve, they’re without four other names – A.J. Greer due to a suspension, plus Anton Lundell, Sam Reinhart, and Mackie Samoskevich due to undisclosed, day-to-day injuries. That’s five out of their regular top-nine forwards when healthy, in addition to multiple serviceable depth pieces.
Gregor will thus get the call in a fourth-line role until Florida can get some bodies back. He opened camp with Florida on a professional tryout contract before landing a two-way deal at the beginning of the regular season. He was limited to a goal and two assists in 24 games before being waived after the holiday break. Down in Charlotte for his first minor-league action in four years, the speedy depth winger has tallied 11 goals and 17 points in 25 outings.
The 27-year-old Gregor will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Once a 10-goal, 20-point piece with the Sharks earlier in the decade, he’s averaged only seven goals and 13 points per 82 games over his last three NHL seasons with stops in Toronto, Ottawa, a second stint in San Jose, and now Florida. If the Cats bring him back this summer, it’ll almost certainly be on another two-way pact.
Predators Sign Fedor Svechkov To Two-Year Extension
The Predators announced this afternoon that they’ve signed center Fedor Svechkov to a two-year extension worth $2.5MM, yielding an average annual value of $1.25MM. He was set to be a restricted free agent this summer without arbitration rights.
Svechkov, 23 next month, is in his second NHL season after being drafted 19th overall in 2021. Since making his debut for the club in November 2024, he’s been a serviceable fourth-line piece but not much more. He’s put up an 11-19–30 scoring line in 110 career games with a -23 rating. Touted as a two-way center, he’s made progress in that department this year with a 51.1 CF% and 50.7 xGF% at 5-on-5, but his limited offensive utility thus far has kept him from climbing above 11 to 13 minutes of ice time per game.
This year, he’s shooting at just 5% and has three goals and 13 points through 58 games. He’s struggled on faceoffs, although his 42.9% win rate is up from his untenable 36.7% mark as a rookie. Given that he hasn’t excelled in any particular area outside of his possession impacts this year, he’s been in and out of the lineup. The Preds took advantage of his continued waiver-exempt status to assign him to AHL Milwaukee in late January, where he had five goals and eight points in just 10 games before being added back to the roster in early March.
Nashville’s trades sending Michael McCarron and Cole Smith out of town at the trade deadline have provided more security in the lineup for Svechkov in the last couple of weeks. He’s still only averaging 11:06 per game since the deadline as the Preds’ fourth-line center between fellow developing first-rounders Reid Schaefer and Joakim Kemell, but has a 1-2–3 scoring line and 14 shot attempts in eight games in that span. His new deal, which makes him an RFA in 2028, should lock him into Nashville’s #4C slot again next season.
Flyers Sign Alex Ciernik To Entry-Level Deal
The Flyers announced this afternoon that they’ve signed winger Alex Ciernik to a three-year, entry-level deal beginning next season.
Ciernik, 21, was a fourth-round pick back in 2023 who still had another year before Philly risked losing his signing rights. The son of former NHLer Ivan Ciernik, the Slovak national was selected out of Södertälje SK in Sweden’s second division, where he’s spent most of his development since. He was a solid producer in that league on subsequent stops with Västerviks IK and the Nybro Vikings from 2023-25, posting a 15-22–37 scoring line in 72 games across those two seasons, and even got his first look in North America on a tryout with AHL Lehigh Valley to close out last year.
Ciernik’s offense saw significant regression here in 2025-26, though. He started the season against the toughest competition of his career, transferring to Finland’s top-division Liiga to suit up for Pelicans. He managed just three points in 19 games before being released, though. He opted to return to Nybro to finish out the year, but his sluggish pace persisted, putting up only a 2-3–5 scoring line with a -7 rating in 21 outings.
It’s a tad surprising to see Philly extend an entry-level offer with his stock at a low point, but they’ve evidently liked the whole body of work the 5’10” winger has provided over the last few years. Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports ranked Ciernik as the #20 prospect in the system last month, and according to Dobber Prospects, he’s the eighth-ranked winger in their system. The deal, which PuckPedia reports carries a $1.008MM cap hit, is not eligible for a slide and will make him a restricted free agent at age 24 in 2029.
Red Wings Reassign Axel Sandin-Pellikka
The Red Wings announced that they’ve reassigned defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka to AHL Grand Rapids. It’s the first minor-league stint of the season for the rookie, who was temporarily assigned to Grand Rapids at the trade deadline to make him eligible to suit up in the AHL down the stretch.
While Sandin-Pellikka was promptly recalled back to the NHL roster on deadline day, he hasn’t played since. He was usurped from his second-pairing role alongside Ben Chiarot when the team acquired veteran Justin Faulk from the Blues, pushing the righty to the press box. He’s now been scratched in seven straight contests after appearing in 63 consecutive games to begin his NHL career.
A gifted puck-mover, Detroit selected Sandin-Pellikka 17th overall in 2023. The hope was that he could be a plug-and-play top-four piece after parts of three seasons of professional hockey in his native Sweden. He got that kind of deployment to start the season after a strong training camp. The results haven’t been pretty, though. He has posted a 6-13–19 scoring line but has paired it with a team-worst -21 rating while his ice time has slowly eroded. Only seven of those points came on the power play, as he was quarterbacking the team’s second unit before Faulk’s arrival.
His development isn’t served by sitting and watching, at least not for this long a stretch. As such, Detroit will get the 6’0″ righty some premier minutes in Grand Rapids, where he’s eligible to stay through the postseason. He’ll be logging well over 20 minutes a night there as he looks to get his game back and re-establish himself as a full-time NHLer next fall.
Niko Mikkola, Uvis Balinskis Out For Season
Niko Mikkola‘s and Uvis Balinskis‘ seasons are over. The Panthers defenders are both out four to six weeks with a knee injury and an undisclosed fracture, respectively, head coach Paul Maurice told Jameson Olive of NHL.com. Both will be ready for training camp in the fall.
Mikkola, 29, entered the season at a high point in his career. The 6’6″, 204-lb shutdown lefty excelled in a top-four role for the Cats with a career-high 22 points and +12 rating en route to their second straight Stanley Cup. He cashed in as a result, landing an eight-year, $40MM extension late in training camp that kicks in starting next season. He finishes his 2025-26 campaign with a 3-8–11 scoring line in 68 games with a -1 rating, averaging 20:21 of ice time per game.
It wasn’t a huge dropoff by any means, but this was clearly Mikkola’s worst season out of his three in Florida. His 1.71 hits per game were his lowest since his rookie season with the Blues, and his 51.8% Corsi For percentage and 50.9% expected goals for percentage at 5-on-5 were good, but still his worst possession outputs as a Panther. He was without his usual partner, Seth Jones, for over two months due to an upper-body injury, which played a significant role in that dropoff. Jones’ injury forced Balinskis to step into a top-four role for much of the last several weeks, and those results were disastrous: just a 41.1 xGF% and a team-worst 3.16 xGA/60, per MoneyPuck.
Balinskis, 29, has been fine in a more sheltered third-pairing role on his natural left side but hasn’t been able to handle elevated minutes, especially when forced onto his off side. The 6’0″ Latvian averaged a career-high 16:22 ice time per game across 54 contests, contributing a 5-10–15 scoring line, but had a career-worst -13 rating while seeing a dropoff in his shot attempt creation from 2.61 per game last season to 2.43. He has the worst possession numbers on Florida’s blue line across the board (min. 100 minutes at 5-on-5) with a 50.7 CF%, 46.7 xGF%, and 50.2% scoring chances for percentage, per Natural Stat Trick.
With Florida out of playoff contention, the absences will only serve for depth names – namely, the recently recalled Michael Benning – to get more consistent reps down the stretch. Jones returned to the lineup a few games ago, so Florida’s defense isn’t in complete disarray, but they’re now down to six healthy names on the active roster and will likely recall a name from AHL Charlotte before tomorrow’s game against the Kraken for insurance.
Mammoth Sign Caleb Desnoyers To Entry-Level Deal
The Mammoth announced they’ve signed top center prospect Caleb Desnoyers to his three-year entry-level deal. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports it starts next season, making him ineligible for NHL action down the stretch. That makes sense considering he wouldn’t be eligible to turn pro until his postseason run with the QMJHL’s league-best Moncton Wildcats, which will get underway on Friday, comes to an end, which will likely stretch past the end of Utah’s regular season barring an early upset.
Desnoyers, who’ll celebrate his 19th birthday next month, entered the year as a consensus top-30 prospect in hockey and has largely held up that reputation with another All-Star season in Moncton. The Quebec native was the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft and, after guiding Moncton to a QMJHL championship while taking home postseason MVP honors, has now put up a 22-56–78 scoring line in just 45 regular-season games this year. He missed the first couple of weeks after undergoing offseason wrist surgery and then sustained a separate injury before finally getting into the lineup consistently in the back half. His 1.73 points per game this season led the QMJHL (min. 25 games), along with a +36 rating from the 6’2″, 179-lb middleman.
He’s Utah’s consensus top prospect but is realistically in step with the Mammoth’s top-10 selection in 2024, Tij Iginla, who also figures to make his NHL debut next year after racking up 41 goals and 90 points in just 48 WHL games for the Kelowna Rockets. While QMJHL point totals are often inflated in a much weaker defensive environment than its WHL and OHL counterparts, he’s still the cream of the crop there and has been as a 17- and 18-year-old, rather than a talent on the edge of aging out of junior hockey.
Desnoyers’ ELC is for the new maximum laid out in last year’s CBA extension, per PuckPedia. That breaks down as follows:
2026-27: $922.5K NHL salary, $102.5K signing bonus, up to $3.15MM in performance bonuses, $85K minors salary
2027-28: $967.5K NHL salary, $107.5K signing bonus, up to $3.15MM in performance bonuses, $85K minors salary
2028-29: $1.013MM NHL salary, $112.5K signing bonus, up to $3.15MM in performance bonuses, $85K minors salary
It’s worth noting that Desnoyers is still young enough to be slide-eligible if he doesn’t play in 10 NHL games next season. The new AHL loan agreement the NHL is drafting with the CHL should also allow him to spend next season in the minors with Tucson if he’s not on the big-league roster, rather than sending him back to Moncton, as the Mammoth would have had to do under the previous agreement.
Maple Leafs Recall Dennis Hildeby
The Maple Leafs announced they’ve recalled goaltender Dennis Hildeby from AHL Toronto on an emergency basis. He could dress tomorrow against the Bruins in place of Anthony Stolarz, who was scheduled to start Saturday night’s loss to the Senators but had to go to the hospital to get checked out after taking a puck to the throat during warmups. Stolarz skated with the team before practice this morning, sporting a neck guard, per Nick Barden of The Hockey News, so he shouldn’t miss too much time.
It has been an incredibly trying season for the 32-year-old Stolarz, losing his tenuous grip on the Leafs’ starting job to Joseph Woll. After back-to-back seasons of leading the league in save percentage in limited tandem/backup deployment, his numbers have taken a nosedive to a .894 SV%, 3.34 GAA, and 8-9-3 record in 21 starts and one relief appearance. He has accounted for -8.2 goals saved above expected after a great 25.8 figure last season, per MoneyPuck. That led to Toronto making him available at the trade deadline despite him signing a four-year, $15MM extension last September, but no deal was made.
Injuries have long stopped the high-ceiling Stolarz from ever becoming a true #1 option. That hasn’t changed this year. A lingering upper-body injury kept him out of the lineup for over two months earlier this year, rendering him unavailable for 33 games. With the playoffs out of reach in Toronto, there’s no reason for the Leafs to rush him back after what was surely a scary ordeal on Saturday, even if he’s been cleared.
For what it’s worth, they have a great third-string option in Hildeby. The 24-year-old was exceptional as Woll’s backup earlier this year when Stolarz was sidelined, recording a .910 SV%, 2.90 GAA and seven quality starts in 19 total outings. A lack of goal support meant he posted a 5-6-4 record, but his 8.9 goals saved above expected during that run are still far ahead of what Woll and Stolarz have produced with far more usage. With Hildeby losing his waiver-exempt status next season, the Leafs will want to find a way to keep him around.
Blues Sign Felix Trudeau To Entry-Level Deal
The Blues announced this morning that they’ve signed college free agent left-winger Felix Trudeau to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal begins next season, but he’ll still have a chance to make his pro debut down the stretch on a tryout with AHL Springfield, the team said.
According to PuckPedia, Trudeau’s deal carries a cap hit of $1.014MM. He will be paid a base salary of $850K, a signing bonus of $102.5K, and a minors salary of $85K in 2026-27 with additional performance bonuses up to $72.5K. In 2027-28, those base salary and signing bonus figures jump to $967.6K and $107.5K with no performance bonus potential. The Blues, who now control Trudeau’s rights through 2030, will owe him a $1.06MM qualifying offer in the summer of 2028.
Trudeau, 23, saw his collegiate career come to an end this past weekend when his Sacred Heart Pioneers dropped the Atlantic Hockey America championship game to Bentley. The 6’2″, 190-lb forward was a depth piece for the University of Maine as a freshman and sophomore, but emerged as a star in Connecticut for Sacred Heart after transferring there in 2024.
The Quebec native has led his club in scoring each of the past two seasons, ending his career with a spectacular 25-23–48 run in 39 games with a whopping 87 penalty minutes and a +14 rating. The hard-nosed winger was one of the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the NCAA’s top men’s hockey player, announced last week. Along with that, he was named the AHA’s forward and player of the year while tying for sixth in the country in scoring, second among undrafted free agents behind Michigan’s T.J. Hughes, who will be landing an NHL deal as soon as the #1-ranked Wolverines’ run toward a national championship ends.
It’s always harder to gauge the projectability of players coming from non-power Division I conferences. Despite finishing as the runner-up to Bentley for the championship honors, Sacred Heart was still only ranked 29th out of 63 DI teams in the year-end NCAA Percentage Index. Playing against weaker competition will have inflated his point totals somewhat compared to Big Ten, Hockey East, and NCHC stars, but his power-forward style could make him an effective bottom-six piece if his offense doesn’t translate well to the pro game. As Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis notes, though, he’ll need to work on his skating in Springfield before challenging for an NHL call-up.