Stars Recall Cameron Hughes
The Stars have recalled forward Cameron Hughes from AHL Texas, per a team announcement on Monday.
Hughes is expected to dress for Tuesday’s game against the Bruins in place of Michael Bunting, who left Sunday’s overtime loss to the Flyers in the first period with a lower-body injury. If he does, it will be the 29-year-old’s first NHL appearance in nearly five years. He only has two games to his name, one each with Boston in November 2019 and May 2021.
A sixth-round pick by the Bruins back in 2015, Hughes has since become an extremely productive AHL mainstay. The first sign of a breakout came when the former University of Wisconsin captain had 21 points in 25 games for the Providence Bruins in the COVID-shortened 2021 season. He has since played a top-six, veteran leadership role on two-way deals in the Boston, Seattle, and now Dallas organizations.
Ever since that initial breakout, Hughes has produced close to a point per game but has never been able to crack it. He’s found a new gear in Cedar Park, Texas, this season. Through 63 games for the AHL Stars, he has a league-leading 50 assists and is tied for second in overall scoring with 66 points.
A one-time AHL All-Star who was part of back-to-back Calder Cup Final runs with the Kraken’s affiliate in Coachella Valley, he’ll now get a chance to play fill-in duties for Dallas down the stretch. He can play both center and left wing, an important factor for a club now missing four regular forwards in Bunting, Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz, and Sam Steel, plus frequent press-box option Nathan Bastian.
Senators, Kevin Reidler Agree To Entry-Level Contract
The Senators have agreed to terms with goalie prospect Kevin Reidler on a two-year, entry-level contract starting next season, general manager Steve Staios said. He will report to AHL Belleville on an amateur tryout to finish the 2025-26 campaign. Per PuckPedia, the deal comes with a $946.3K cap hit, a $990K qualifying offer upon expiry, and the following breakdown:
| Year | NHL salary | Signing bonus | Minors salary |
| 2026-27 | $850K | $72.5K | $82.5K |
| 2027-28 | $900K | $70K | $82.5K |
Reidler, 21, was a fifth-round pick by the Sens in 2022. Since then, he has appeared for four different teams in three different leagues. He remained in his native Sweden for his post-draft season, suiting up for AIK’s under-20 squad in that country’s top junior division.
The 6’6″, 203-lb lefty has played in North America ever since. He spent an additional year in juniors with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints before committing to the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2024 and arriving as their freshman backup the following fall.
Reidler played well for the Mavericks, but his playing time was extremely limited behind junior starter Simon Latkoczy. He only recorded eight appearances and five decisions but had a .920 SV%, 2.74 GAA, and a 4-1-0 record.
Once it was clear Latkoczy was returning to Omaha for his senior season, Reidler entered the transfer portal in search of more playing time. He found it at Penn State, where he served in tandem with undrafted freshman Josh Fleming. Fleming ended up winning out the starting job heading into tournament play but Reidler still managed 18 appearances, putting up an 11-7-0 record with a .901 SV% and 3.31 GAA.
With Fleming likely set as Penn State’s clear-cut #1 next season, Reidler’s options were to either stick around as his backup, enter the transfer portal again in search of a starting role, or turn pro and continue his development while under an entry-level deal with Ottawa. He chooses the latter, becoming just the third Sens goalie signed through next season behind Linus Ullmark and ECHL starter Jackson Parsons. Leevi Merilainen and Mads Sogaard are both pending restricted free agents under team control, though, so he could fall down to No. 5 on the depth chart if those two return.
As such, Reidler might get a spot start with Belleville in the coming days but is likely destined for ECHL time, as is usually the case with first-year pro netminders, out of the gate in the fall. Reidler was the #8-ranked prospect in Ottawa’s pool last offseason by Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff and held the same ranking in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s analysis earlier this month. He’s not viewed as his ceiling being much higher than a #2/3 option, but his turning pro earlier than expected could allow him to get a leg up on the depth chart.
Sabres Expected To Activate Jordan Greenway
Sabres winger Jordan Greenway was a full participant in Monday’s practice and is a candidate to come off injured reserve before Tuesday’s game against the Islanders, per Heather Engel of NHL.com.
Greenway, 29, hasn’t played since Jan. 22 due to the effects of a lingering abdominal/mid-body injury. He has been dealing with recurring pain after undergoing two sports hernia surgeries in the last few years, but he told Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat last weekend that a new rehab regimen has left him with “zero pain” and that he’s resumed skating with no complications.
It’s evident that he’s been playing less than 100% for a good while now. He’s managed only 67 appearances since the beginning of 2024-25 and has a 4-9–13 scoring line and a -13 rating in that time.
Once a highly-regarded defensive winger in the Wild’s top nine, he’s never really had the impact the Sabres were hoping for when they traded a pair of draft picks to acquire him from Minnesota at the 2023 trade deadline. He did have a decent showing in his one full, relatively healthy season in Buffalo in 2023-24, notching 10 goals and 28 points in 67 games while averaging a career-high 17:15 per game, but the Sabres were likely still hoping for a bit more production given how much they were playing him.
Greenway is wrapping up the first year of a two-year, $8MM extension he signed just over a year ago – a puzzling decision from now-former GM Kevyn Adams in hindsight, considering the team was well-aware he was playing through a significant amount of pain. He’s expected to return to the lineup in a fourth-line role alongside Beck Malenstyn and trade-deadline pickup Sam Carrick, the most natural fit for him at this stage of his career and one he’s held almost exclusively when he has been in the lineup this season.
The 6’6″, 231-lb lefty’s return comes as they’re still projected to be without rookie Noah Ostlund, who’s missed the last two games with an upper-body issue and remains day-to-day. Zach Benson, who’d gotten some reps as 4LW with Carrick as of late, will continue to flex up into Ostlund’s third-line spot with Joshua Norris while Greenway gives Buffalo a far more physically imposing and defensive-minded archetype to slot into a checking role than Tanner Pearson and Tyson Kozak, who have slotted in the lineup with Ostlund out.
Penguins Recall Avery Hayes
The Penguins have recalled forward Avery Hayes from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, per a team announcement Monday morning.
Hayes, 23, sees his second recall in the past four days. After being sent back to the minors on March 18, he was summoned for a game against the Senators on March 26 but did not dress. He was returned to WBS on Saturday and played in the Baby Pens’ game that night against the Laval Rocket, making him eligible to come back up today.
Pittsburgh’s continued roster shuffling comes as they manage injuries to the two cornerstones of their forward group, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby has missed one game with a lower-body injury, while Malkin has missed three with an upper-body injury. Both were full participants in practice Sunday, though, and Crosby traveled with the team for their one-game road wing to visit the Islanders tonight.
That means Malkin will remain out tonight, but Crosby’s status – as well as the availabilities of Noel Acciari and Bryan Rust, who were absent from yesterday’s practice for maintenance but still traveled – is up in the air. In case all three can’t go, Hayes’ presence gives the Penguins enough healthy extras to still ice 12 forwards tonight.
An undrafted free agent, Hayes has rocketed up Pittsburgh’s pipeline with some spectacular minor-league showings over the past couple of years. Never has the 5’10” winger been more dominant than this season, tossing up a 22-13–35 scoring line in 39 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, leading them in goals despite playing in only 60% of their games.
However, he hasn’t been able to convert that production into meaningful NHL minutes across multiple recalls this season. In 11 outings, the Michigan native has scored twice with no assists and a -6 rating. Both of those goals came in his big-league debut against the Sabres back on Feb. 5, so it’s been several games now of Hayes not being able to generate chances. On his 10-game pointless streak, he’s averaged 11:40 of ice time per game with 28 shot attempts (13 on goal).
Hayes still has another season left on his entry-level contract and three seasons or 49 NHL games left before he loses his waiver exemption, so the Pens aren’t at risk of losing him as an intriguing recall option anytime soon.
Panthers Reassign Jack Studnicka
3/29/26: The Panthers announced they have reassigned Studnicka back to AHL Charlotte. Studnicka skated in 7:32 time on ice in the Panthers’ loss to the New York Islanders yesterday, his lone NHL game of this one-day recall.
With Greer now eligible to return against the Rangers, Studnicka’s services were no longer required on the Panthers’ NHL roster. He’ll return to Charlotte, but it is unclear at this time whether he’ll be able to play in the Checkers’ game this evening against the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. The logistics are in his favor: the Checkers are on the road in Hartford while the Panthers have been in New York for their two-game swing against the Islanders and Rangers.
3/28/26: The Panthers recalled forward Jack Studnicka from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers on Saturday morning, according to the AHL’s transactions log.
With A.J. Greer not eligible to return from his three-game suspension until tomorrow afternoon’s game against the Rangers, Studnicka will dress for today’s matinee against the Islanders. Evan Rodrigues sustained a broken finger in Thursday’s loss to the Wild and is out for at least four weeks, head coach Paul Maurice said postgame, ending his season.
Rodrigues’ injury brings Florida’s injured list up to 10. Six of them – Uvis Balinskis, Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell, Brad Marchand, Niko Mikkola, and Rodrigues – have effectively been shut down for the year. Jonah Gadjovich, Sam Reinhart, Mackie Samoskevich, and Cole Schwindt are all day-to-day and could be options in the next week, but for now, the Cats will need to dig even further into their AHL depth.
Studnicka, 27, was recalled in December after Eetu Luostarinen was sidelined following burns sustained in a home barbecue grill accident. He played a routine fourth-line role in the six weeks that followed but was held pointless in 18 games, posting a -6 rating before being waived and returned to Charlotte in January.
Once a top prospect for the Bruins, those games earlier this season were Studnicka’s first in the NHL since getting a look with the Sharks down the stretch in 2023-24. The 6’1″ center/right-winger has settled in as a top-six name in the minors but hasn’t demonstrated the offensive utility to seriously contend for an NHL job. In 34 games with the Checkers this season, he has an 8-14–22 scoring line with a +7 rating.
There’s a chance Studnicka could be on his way to his sixth organization in five years this summer. He only landed a one-year, two-way deal with the Cats last offseason and will be an unrestricted free agent again in July. He was traded from the Bruins to the Canucks in 2022, flipped to San Jose in 2023, and signed a two-way deal with the Kings in free agency in 2024 before landing in Florida.
Senators Reassign Jorian Donovan
3/29/26: The Senators announced Sunday morning that Donovan has been reassigned back to AHL Belleville.
The move comes after Donovan was made a healthy scratch for the team’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday. Thomson drew back into the lineup for that game, ending a brief absence due to a lower-body injury. It appears Thomson’s return has cost Donovan his spot on the Senators’ NHL roster.
The 21-year-old got to make his NHL debut during this recall. He skated in just 4:42 time on ice during Ottawa’s crucial road win over the Detroit Red Wings last week. He got into just under 10 minutes of ice time the following game, a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Donovan ends his first stretch in the NHL with two games played, two hits, and a blocked shot.
3/24/26: 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.
Red Wings Reassign Michal Postava
3/29/26: The Red Wings announced Sunday morning that Postava has been reassigned to AHL Grand Rapids.
With Talbot healthy and playing once more, there is no longer a need for Postava to remain on Detroit’s NHL roster. He backed up Gibson for Friday’s contest against the Buffalo Sabres, but Talbot was able to return as a backup for yesterday’s game. Talbot actually ended up seeing a little over nine minutes of ice time in relief for Gibson after Gibson surrendered four goals on 21 shots.
3/26/26: The Red Wings announced Thursday that they’ve recalled goaltender Michal Postava from AHL Grand Rapids under emergency conditions. He is expected to back up John Gibson tomorrow against the Sabres after head coach Todd McLellan ruled Cam Talbot out earlier today due to a minor tweak (via Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press).
It will be Postava’s first time dressing for an NHL contest. The 24-year-old is in his first season in the organization, having signed an entry-level deal as an undrafted free agent last summer.
Before coming stateside, the 6’2″, 205-lb netminder spent several years climbing the ladder in his native Czechia. Only in 2024-25 did he emerge as a full-time option in the country’s top division, Extraliga, doing so with a bang.
In 42 showings for HC Kometa Brno, he erupted for a .921 SV%, 2.39 GAA, three shutouts, and a 23-18-0 record. He went on to author a Cinderella run for the mid-tier Brno all the way to an Extraliga championship, posting a league-leading .940 SV% in 17 playoff games.
Now in Grand Rapids, he’s played second fiddle to top prospect Sebastian Cossa. In most any other environment, he would have emerged as a clear-cut #3 by now. Through 21 games, he’s logged a .932 SV%, 1.86 GAA, two shutouts, and a 13-6-0 record.
Postava remains under contract through next season before becoming a restricted free agent. Given his play, it’s hard to see a universe in which he or Cossa aren’t the backup option to Gibson next season, replacing the pending UFA Talbot.
Picking This Year’s Cinderella Run Has Never Been Easier
The Utah Mammoth enter play Saturday with a 37-30-6 record, squarely in position for their first playoff berth via the wild-card spot in the West. They’re 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. In the Eastern Conference, they’d be seven points out of a playoff berth.
If you lump in the Coyotes’ history with the rebirthed Utah franchise, this club hasn’t made the playoffs in a full season since 2012. If you want to go all the way back to their origins as the original Winnipeg Jets, this team has won just four playoff series since entering the NHL in 1979 – once each as the Jets in 1985 and 1987, twice as the Coyotes in their run to the ’12 Western Conference Final.
Yet the Utah Mammoth, in their first season with their new namesake, are a glaringly obvious pick to upset their way through the first two rounds of the playoff bracket and end up as one of the league’s final four teams. Why?
Everyone knows the Pacific Division is bad. Few realize how dire the situation truly is.
There are four regular-season stats that consistently predict postseason haves and have-nots, as Daily Faceoff’s Brock Seguin pointed out earlier this week. Of the last 10 Stanley Cup champions, nine have been in the top 10 in 5-on-5 goals share, eight have been top 12 in 5-on-5 expected goals share, all have been top 12 in 5-on-5 save percentage, and nine have been top 12 in combined power play and penalty kill percentage.
Utah is all but guaranteed to end up in the Pacific bracket as the better wild card. A look at those numbers clearly shows that none of the three teams earning divisional berths stands much of a chance.
The Ducks, on track for their first division title in nine years and first postseason appearance in eight, might be the worst offenders of the bunch. They have a -15 goal differential at 5-on-5 this season for a GF% of 47.6%, 21st in the league. Their expected goals share is right at the 50% waterline, but still ranks 17th. Their goaltending, a boon earlier in the season, has fallen to a 26th-ranked .896 5-on-5 save percentage. Their combined special teams percentage of 96.7% is 24th.
Of course, the Ducks might just be a statistical anomaly. Very little about their profile suggests they should be the 40-win team they already are. They’re not particularly lucky, finishing 0.3% below league average with a 98.9 PDO, and own a -4 goal differential. Who’s to say that can’t continue in the playoffs?
They’ll be matching up against the Mammoth, though. For the second year in a row, Andre Tourigny’s Utah club is much, much better than its record indicates.
Take all the above stats in contrast. They’re eighth in the NHL in 5-on-5 GF% (53.1). Sixth in xGF% (52.7%). 21st in save percentage (.902). 26th in combined special teams (96.4%).
Yes, their struggling power play is a significant reason why their record isn’t any better. In a playoff environment with tighter calls, there are fewer of them to be had, though, and it carries less weight than everything else.
Is Karel Vejmelka a Stanley Cup-caliber starting goaltender? Probably not. It’s clear, though, that Utah’s dominant 5-on-5 play should be more than enough to ensure a wild-card-over-division-champ upset over the Ducks. It should also be enough to get them past a similarly flawed Oilers or Golden Knights roster in the second round, as those clubs are likely ticketed for the #2/#3 matchup.
The only stats in which the Oilers grade out as a potential Cup contender are expected goals share (51.4%) – the least reliable indicator among the four stats outlined – and their combined 107.7% special teams rate. Penalty trouble could sink the Mammoth, sure. But even at the Oilers’ greatest 5-on-5 strength, Utah grades out as a better possession-control team. The Oilers’ horrid 5-on-5 goaltending – 31st in the league at a .887 SV% – could be enough on its own to offset any special teams gains.
If they face Vegas, they’d be coming up against the only team with a worse goaltending situation this year than Edmonton (.885). The Knights’ possession numbers do make them more of a threat, though, with their 5-on-5 GF% ranking 19th (48.5%) and their xGF% (53.1%) all the way up at fifth. That’s miles ahead of Edmonton, and they’ve got the league’s fourth-best special teams efficacy at 106.8%, so they pose a greater challenge. But like Edmonton, Vegas’ lack of a clear-cut #1 option in net – and not for a good reason – will likely be enough to sink them against an above-average finishing squad in Utah.
Of course, the narrative falls apart when pitting the Mammoth against a potential Central Division opponent in the Western Conference Final. Average the league-wide ranks of those four stats among the teams currently in playoff position, and the Avalanche, Stars, and Wild are three of the top four teams.
Still, it’s excessively rare to almost expect a wild-card team to be playing playoff hockey into late May. It would be a great story to see one of the league’s most exciting up-and-coming franchises in Utah, particularly one with such a meager history of success, make a deep run. It would also be one of the least surprising developments of the spring, despite what a traditional wild-card narrative may dictate.
Maple Leafs Reassign Bo Groulx
The Maple Leafs have assigned center Benoit-Olivier Groulx to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, the team’s media relations department announced Friday.
Groulx, 26, was recalled following the trade deadline earlier this month to serve as a fill-in down the middle after Scott Laughton was dealt to the Kings and captain Auston Matthews suffered a season-ending MCL injury. In his first NHL action in nearly two years, the 6’2″ middleman scored three goals and two assists for five points in nine games.
The Rouen, France, native is signed through next season after inking a two-year, $1.625MM contract last summer following a non-tender by the Rangers, with whom he spent the entire 2024-25 campaign in the minors. His efficient scoring performance, plus a +5 rating while averaging north of 15 minutes per game in heavy defensive usage, might very well make him a favorite to land a bottom-six center job in training camp next fall.
Groulx was a second-round pick by the Ducks in 2018. While he only scored a goal and five points in 65 games with them before they cut him loose with a non-tender in 2024, he’s demonstrated improved offensive acumen in the minors since getting a fresh start in the New York and Toronto organizations.
This season, Groulx is the Marlies’ scoring leader with a 27-23–50 line in 54 games. He “wanted to go down and help them and play,” head coach Craig Berube told reporters Friday (including Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun), offering some insight into why he was flexed back down despite his strong performance in a middle-six role over the past few weeks.
With Matthews out, the Leafs no longer have an extra healthy forward on the active roster. If there’s an injury, they’ll need to make an emergency recall from the Marlies to ice 12 forwards.
Canadiens, Owen Protz Agree To Entry-Level Deal
The Canadiens announced they’ve agreed to terms with defense prospect Owen Protz on a three-year, entry-level contract. It’ll kick in next season. PuckPedia reports it carries a $1.004MM cap hit with the following breakdown:
| Year | NHL salary | Signing bonus | Potential performance bonuses | Minors salary |
| 2026-27 | $850K | $102K | $68K | $85K |
| 2027-28 | $900K | $105K | $45K | $85K |
| 2028-29 | $950K | $105K | none | $85K |
Protz, 20, was a fourth-round pick in 2024 out of the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs, where he’s remained ever since to wrap up his junior career. Montreal would have lost his signing rights if they waited until after June 1 to get a deal done.
On a Montreal defense corps dominated by offensive-minded threats like Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson, Protz hopes to develop into a depth piece who can serve as a much more physically involved complement. The 6’2″, 207-lb lefty does have some two-way juice in his game that should help him avoid becoming a complete offensive liability if he reaches the top level, but he’s a brutal, intelligent checker first and foremost, who’s quite skilled at keeping play to the perimeter.
His lack of dynamacity means he doesn’t stick out too much in the Habs’ still-deep pool, but it’s worth noting they only have two non-roster left-shot options signed through next season – Adam Engstrom and Luke Mittelstadt. He should be able to jump into a bottom-pairing role with AHL Laval, get some reps on the penalty kill, and begin to work his way up the depth chart. He has until 2029 before the Habs must make their first decision on whether to tender him a qualifying offer and keep him around.
The Ottawa native wraps up his time in the OHL with a 13-61–74 scoring line in 198 games with 190 penalty minutes and a +60 rating. That includes 23 points and a career-best +45 mark in 60 games for the Bulldogs this year.