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Matt Dumba Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL

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Saturday: The team announced that Dumba has passed through waivers unclaimed.  As expected, he has been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  It will be his first action at that level since the 2014-15 when he played in 20 games for Iowa.

Friday: The Penguins announced this morning that they will place defenseman Mathew Dumba on waivers today at 1:00 pm Central. He’s been placed on the non-roster list until his waiver period ends tomorrow. The move makes room for rearguard Brett Kulak to join the active roster after being acquired from the Oilers in today’s Tristan Jarry/Stuart Skinner goalie swap.

Dumba, 31, hadn’t been much of a factor to this point in the season. Acquired from the Stars over the summer in a salary dump, he’s been in the press box more than he’s been on the ice.

When dressed, he’s recorded a 1-2–3 scoring line and a -5 rating in 11 appearances. He’s averaging 14:56 of ice time per game, his lowest figure since averaging 12:27 in his first taste of NHL hockey as a 19-year-old with the Wild back in 2013-14. His poor two-way play is reflected in his 46.2 CF% and 47.9 FF% at 5-on-5, both the second-worst among qualified Penguins defenders, ahead only of Caleb Jones.

With Kulak in the mix, Jack St. Ivany returning to health, and Ryan Graves flourishing in a bottom-pairing role after starting the season on waivers, Dumba might have played his last game as a Penguin. At a $3.75MM cap hit, he won’t be claimed off waivers, even though he’s on an expiring deal.

If the righty is dead set on returning to the NHL this season, he could refuse to report to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, allowing the Penguins to terminate his contract. He’d be walking away from whatever he’s still owed of his $3.5MM salary but could catch on somewhere else for the back half of the season on a cheaper, prorated one-year deal. If he does clear waivers and opts to report to the minors, the Penguins will still be on the hook for a $2.6MM cap hit.

While Dumba may have been one of the more offensively dynamic defensemen in the league at his peak, those days are long in the rearview. Drafted No. 7 overall by Minnesota in 2012, he broke out for 50 points and 136 hits in the 2017-18 season, prompting the Wild to sign him to a five-year, $30MM deal the following summer. He racked up 12 goals and 22 points through the first 32 games of 2018-19 before sustaining a season-ending upper-body injury.

He hasn’t been the same player since. Dumba was still a minute-muncher for the rest of his tenure in Minnesota, averaging over 22 minutes per game between 2019-20 and 2022-23, but he never sniffed 30 points again – let alone 50. Still, he turned his reputation into a pair of relatively high-value, short-term free-agent deals. He first signed a one-year, $3.9MM pact with the Coyotes in 2023 and was flipped to the Lightning at the following year’s trade deadline.

Tampa didn’t show interest in retaining him, but he still landed a two-year, $7.5MM pact from the Stars. Dumba underwhelmed from the start, though, posting 10 points and a -5 rating in 63 games while averaging 15:18 of ice time per game. He was then a healthy scratch for Dallas’ entire playoff run. His cap hit quickly became untenable for the big-spending Stars, paying a 2028 second-round pick to unload the last year of his contract on the Penguins.

Kraken’s Jared McCann Out Three Weeks

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The Kraken announced today that forward Jared McCann will be out for the next three weeks with a lower-body injury. He remains on the active roster for now, but will be the top candidate for an injured reserve placement if Seattle needs a roster spot.

McCann sustained the injury against the Kings on Wednesday. He left that game late in the third period after an awkward tie-up with Los Angeles goalie Anton Forsberg. All things considered, his being back in the lineup around New Year’s is close to a best-case scenario.

A three-week timeline puts him back in the lineup on Jan. 2 against the Canucks. That has him in for a 10-game absence weeks after returning from a 17-game one. That was also a lower-body issue. All told, the 29-year-old has only been available for 11 games this season. He’s been his usual productive self, racking up five goals and eight points. If not for the missed time, he would be on pace for his fourth straight 60-point season.

Seattle is scoring the fewest goals in the league at 2.50 per game. Already down a top-six piece in Jaden Schwartz, missing the franchise’s all-time leading scorer for another extended period is far from ideal. It also brings to an end a stretch of good health, particularly during his time in Seattle. Entering this season, he’d yet to miss more than 10 games in a season and played a full 82 last year.

A pair of high-profile absences for a retooler/rebuilder like the Kraken would usually mean a promotion for their brightest young players. They won’t be able to do that with 2024 No. 8 overall pick Berkly Catton, who’s out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Instead, it’ll be names like Kaapo Kakko and Mason Marchment shifting up on the wings.

Sabres Considering Replacing GM Kevyn Adams

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The Sabres have opened the door on talks to remove Kevyn Adams from the general manager’s post, Matthew Fairburn and Tim Graham of The Athletic report. If they go in that direction, the announcement won’t be made until next week after Buffalo wraps up its Western Conference road trip.

If Buffalo does put a new face in the GM’s chair, it may not mean an outright firing for Adams. There has long been speculation that Buffalo would prefer to keep Adams in its front office in a different role. Whether that comes to pass remains to be seen, but his strong relationship with owner Terry Pegula was the main reason he was put into the role in the first place nearly six years ago, as Fairburn and Graham write. He was something of a shock promotion after the Sabres parted ways with Jason Botterill, previously serving as the team’s senior VP of business administration.

This time around, the Sabres have a much more experienced and logical promotion candidate in former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen. Buffalo brought the 59-year-old in as a senior advisor to Adams over the offseason. He’s done most of his work for the club remotely, though, and Fairburn and Graham report he’s currently in his native Finland dealing with a personal matter. If he’s to be Adams’ successor, they won’t be making a move until he’s back stateside.

The Sabres may have gained some goodwill with their fanbase with back-to-back wins, but it’s far too early to tell if that’s the beginning of something bigger in what’s been an incredibly streaky season. Through the ups and downs, they’re last in the Eastern Conference with a 13-14-4 record, on track to extend their all-time record postseason drought to a 15th season.

2025-26 is Adams’ sixth season as GM. Adams only has winning records on two of those campaigns, peaking with an excruciatingly close 42-33-7 record in 2022-23 that had them just one point out of a playoff berth. His career record now stands at 177-196-42 (.477), the eighth-worst points percentage in the league since he took over in the 2020 offseason. Using that as a catch-all for Adams’ skill as a front-office executive is overbearing, though, given Buffalo’s now long-standing losing culture and suspected underfunding and overstepping by ownership.

The Sabres’ step back since that bright spot in 2022-23 has no longer made complacency an option, though. After regressing to 84 points in 2023-24, they fired head coach Don Granato and replaced him with franchise all-time wins leader Lindy Ruff, whose final season in his first stint with the club was the first year of their playoff drought. It marked the seventh coaching change of the period, and with Ruff on an expiring deal and virtually untouchable due to his status in the club’s (and league’s) record books, another behind-the-bench move isn’t a realistic option at this time.

Buffalo gave Adams a multi-year extension back in 2022, but never released the terms. That deal remains active and runs through the 2026-27 season, per Fairburn and Graham.

Ducks Activate Lukas Dostal From Injured Reserve

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The Ducks have their starting netminder back in play. The team announced they’ve activated Lukáš Dostál from injured reserve and assigned Vyacheslav Buteyets to ECHL Tulsa in the corresponding move.

Dostál has missed the last nine games and three weeks with an upper-body injury, making today’s activation right on schedule. Before that, the 25-year-old was breaking into his own as a top-tier No. 1. In 17 appearances – all starts – he’s racked up an 11-5-1 record, .904 SV%, 2.81 GAA, and a .647 quality start percentage. Among goalies with at least 15 showings, his 0.592 GSAx/60 ranks 10th in the league, per MoneyPuck.

He has been invaluable for a Ducks team that’s still finding its way defensively, but has received plenty of scoring and quality goaltending to make them a relatively safe bet to end their seven-year playoff drought. So far, general manager Pat Verbeek’s decision to sign the 2018 third-rounder to a five-year, $32.5MM deal last summer looks more like a bargain than a fair bet, particularly after he amassed a .903 SV% and 14.3 GSAx in 54 appearances last season.

With Dostál out, it wasn’t backup Petr Mrázek holding things down. He’s also spent the better part of the last two weeks on injured reserve after leaving a Nov. 30 game against the Blackhawks with a lower-body injury. His return is expected to come closer to the holiday break.

That’s left Anaheim with experienced third-stringer Ville Husso and the rookie Buteyets as their tandem for the month of December. Husso has started six in a row and appeared in eight straight and has been a no-fuss option – exactly why Anaheim shelled out a pricey $2.2MM cap hit last offseason to keep him in the organization despite knowing he was ticketed for waivers and a minor-league role behind Dostál and Mrázek. He’ll now be relegated to backup duties behind Dostál until Mrázek returns.

There’s a legitimate argument that Anaheim might be better off keeping Husso and placing Mrázek on waivers once he’s healthy, though. Husso posted a serviceable .888 SV% and 3.16 GAA – enough to win five out of his eight decisions – while logging 1.2 goals saved above expected. The 33-year-old Mrázek’s numbers were down at a .876 SV% and 3.69 GAA in seven starts before his injury. On an expiring deal at a $4.25MM cap hit, he’s at virtually no risk of being claimed.

As for Buteyets, the 23-year-old was only up as an emergency option. His only action – his NHL debut – came after a mercy pull for Husso in a 7-0 loss to the Mammoth last week. He played the third period of that contest and allowed three goals on 13 shots for a .769 SV% and 9.00 GAA.

A 2022 sixth-round pick, Buteyets is in his second season in North America and has shown promise in the ECHL. After recording a .905 SV% in 36 games as Tulsa’s rookie starter last year, he’s upped that in a big way to a .924 mark in seven showings this season. His .858 SV% in five games at the AHL level for San Diego over the past two years, though, shows he needs some more runway in the low minors before he’s ready to make a significant push up Anaheim’s depth chart.

Hurricanes Sign Joel Nystrom To Four-Year Extension

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The Hurricanes announced they’ve signed rookie defenseman Joel Nystrom to a four-year, $4.9MM contract extension. The deal carries a cap hit of $1.225MM beginning next season and running through the 2029-30 campaign.

Nystrom was ticketed for restricted free agency next summer as he wraps up his entry-level contract. The right-shot Swede was a seventh-round pick in 2021 out of the SHL’s Färjestad BK and spent three seasons there before inking a two-year ELC with Carolina in 2024. The Canes loaned him back out to Färjestad for most of last season but brought him over to finish the year with AHL Chicago once his season ended.

Now, he’s an under-the-radar success story who lands multi-year security before most fans outside of Carolina – even hardcore ones – even know his name. The 5’11” puck-mover didn’t even make the Canes’ opening night roster but only lasted three games in the AHL, recording one assist, before getting called up to Carolina in late October in the wake of Jaccob Slavin’s injury.

The 23-year-old’s lengthy resume of professional play in his home country no doubt pushed him higher up on the depth chart for a recall despite his lack of North American professional experience. He won a league title with Färjestad as a sophomore in 2022 and ended his five-year tenure with the club last year after recording a 25-61–86 scoring line in 221 games with a +13 rating. In his final two seasons with the club, he led or co-led its blue line in scoring with 26 and 27 points, respectively, in 51 games each.

Nystrom’s game relies purely on his transition skills. He may have some long-term upside as a secondary power-play quarterback, but he has just four assists through 23 games, averaging a few ticks over 16 minutes per night. Physicality is almost entirely absent from his game, recording just 14 blocks and five hits. Nevertheless, he’s been active with the puck and has usurped veteran Mike Reilly for a regular job in the lineup while Slavin continues to rehab from his lower-body injury. His 59.0% share of expected goals at 5-on-5 ranks third among Carolina defenders behind Reilly and K’Andre Miller.

For this season, it’s hard to envision Nystrom sticking in the lineup when Slavin returns. His waiver-exempt status makes it likely he’ll be the one ferried to the minors to open up a roster spot rather than Carolina exposing a piece of valuable veteran depth in Reilly to the wire. Reilly is a pending unrestricted free agent, though, leaving the door wide open for Nystrom to open the season on the Canes’ roster in 2026-27. His new seven-figure salary makes him a safe bet to do so.

His cap hit will be beneath the buriable threshold by the time the deal wraps up if he doesn’t pan out as a long-term NHLer, so there’s little risk for the Canes in that sense. If he can stick around as an everyday second or third-pairing right-shot option with power-play upside, that’s a bargain play. Still, it’s jarring to see a player land nearly $5MM in guaranteed money – particularly as a late-round pick – before even scoring their first NHL goal. The only recent precedent for that is Sabres defender Mattias Samuelsson, who inked a much richer seven-year, $30MM extension in 2022 after going goalless with 12 assists through his first 52 NHL appearances.

Image courtesy of James Guillory-Imagn Images.

Flames Activate Zayne Parekh From IR, Recall Dryden Hunt

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The Flames announced a pair of roster moves on Friday. Rookie defenseman Zayne Parekh was activated from injured reserve and subsequently loaned to Canada’s national junior team ahead of the 2026 World Junior Championship, which begins on Boxing Day in Minneapolis and St. Paul. They also added forward Dryden Hunt back to the active roster after reassigning him to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers yesterday – something they’re eligible to do because he played for the minor-league club last night.

Parekh, 19, is still finding his way in his first professional season. It’s unclear whether he’ll be added back to Calgary’s roster after the tournament or if they’ll opt to have him finish the season with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. He’s ineligible for a full-time AHL assignment this season as a teenage player under the NHL-CHL transfer agreement.

His underwhelming first few games in the NHL don’t change his stature as the Flames’ top prospect, though. Selected ninth overall in the 2024 draft, Parekh led the OHL in points by a defenseman in back-to-back seasons before making Calgary’s roster out of camp this fall. Last year, he became just the 15th defender in OHL history to record a 100-point season and the first since Ryan Ellis hit 101 in 2010-11. But through 11 appearances in Calgary after scoring in his debut in Game 82 last season, he was limited to one assist and only averaged 14:46 of ice time per game.

Whatever momentum Parekh had ground to a halt on Nov. 7 against the Blackhawks when he sustained an upper-body injury. He hasn’t played since. Instead of an AHL conditioning stint or a direct reinstatement, he’ll get his feet wet again in Canada’s WJC training camp over the next couple of weeks after he was one of the most notable tournament snubs in recent memory last year.

As for Hunt, the 30-year-old is settling into a role as Calgary’s 13th forward with Samuel Honzek out for the season and Martin Pospisil still stuck on injured reserve. The journeyman has found some stability in the Flames organization, now in his third year there after he was initially acquired from the Maple Leafs in 2023. He’s got an 18-36–54 scoring line in 237 games for his NHL career, but has suited up just seven times for the Flames since the beginning of 2024-25.

Nonetheless, he remains a reliable, no-fuss press box option who lights up the minors when he’s there. He had a two-assist performance with the Wranglers last night against Coachella Valley to give him 18 points in 16 games on the year, looking to lock in his second straight season at or above a point per game. While more intriguing names long-term, like Matvei Gridin and Rory Kerins, are also lighting up the AHL circuit, Hunt’s development isn’t going to be interrupted by long spells in the press box if he’s not needed in the lineup.

Avalanche Loan Ilya Solovyov To AHL On Conditioning Assignment

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The Avalanche announced this morning that they’ve loaned left-shot defender Ilya Solovyov to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles for a conditioning stint. He can remain in the minors for up to two weeks without having to be placed on waivers, sticking around on the Avs’ active roster while doing so.

Solovyov, 25, was something of an intriguing waiver claim from the Flames at the start of the season, but has struggled to gain a foothold in the lineup. He made just nine appearances and none in well over a month, last playing on Nov. 1. He’s served as a healthy scratch in 18 straight games. Averaging 11:33 of ice time per game, he’s gone without a point and has a -4 rating despite some strong 5-on-5 metrics (59.1 CF%, 59.9 xGF%).

Before his waiver claim, Solovyov had spent most of the last four seasons in the AHL with Stockton/Calgary in the Flames’ system. A seventh-round pick in 2020, the 6’3″ lefty is a promising depth two-way threat. He totaled 69 points and a +33 rating in 229 AHL games before joining the Avs, and he has 15 games of NHL experience with Calgary over the last two years.

That much time off isn’t good for anyone, particularly a name who potentially still has a little bit of development left in the tank. The long-overdue conditioning assignment could get Solovyov into as many as four games before the Eagles take their holiday break, beginning tonight against the Ontario Reign. In the meantime, the Avs won’t have an extra defenseman available on game days if needed, but can fix that with a corresponding recall. They have an open roster spot they can use, even with Solovyov effectively serving as dead weight for the next several days.

Victor Hedman To Undergo Elbow Surgery, Out Six Weeks

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Lightning captain Victor Hedman will undergo elbow surgery next Monday, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters (including Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times). He’ll miss around six weeks and is expected to return in time to play for Sweden at the Olympics in February.

The procedure will ideally put an end to the lingering effects Hedman has been dealing with for the past month-plus. The 34-year-old initially sustained the previously undisclosed injury on Nov. 8 against the Capitals. He missed nearly a month while trying non-surgical remedies and returned to action on Dec. 6 against the Islanders. He played just three games, never topping the 18-minute mark in ice time, before landing back on injured reserve before yesterday’s 8-4 drubbing of the Devils.

The silver lining is that the Bolts have already gotten used to playing without their top defender, and the results have been awe-inspiring. They’ve gone 10-6-0 since Hedman first left the lineup, and they’ve also been without their second pairing of Erik Černák and Ryan McDonagh for most of that time. Their possession metrics back up their record, controlling 53.2% of shot attempts at 5-on-5.

Hedman, a seven-time All-Star and a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, has been increasingly sheltered at even strength in the past few seasons. That trend continued before his injury, starting a career-high 61.7% of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone. Despite that, he produced his worst possession metrics in three years and didn’t score a goal on 25 shots through 18 appearances, although he does still rank second among Lightning defensemen with 12 assists, behind Darren Raddysh’s 16.

Until the Olympic break, the Lightning will look to ride the wave their patchwork top-four has given them. Their temporary top pair of Raddysh and J.J. Moser has controlled a remarkable 62.8% of expected goals at 5-on-5, while 27-year-old rookie Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Emil Martinsen Lilleberg have also gelled quite well in second-pairing duties.

Image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images.

Maple Leafs’ Brandon Carlo Out Another Month

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Maple Leafs defenseman Brandon Carlo underwent foot surgery last week and will be out of the lineup for at least another month, head coach Craig Berube told reporters following last night’s loss to the Sharks (via Luke Fox of Sportsnet). He’s already been out nearly a month after sustaining the injury against the Kings on Nov. 13, so it’ll be around an eight-week absence for the righty when all is said and done.

Toronto’s defense will remain in structural disarray for a while yet. They’ve been without their top two right-shot options, Carlo and Chris Tanev, for the past month. Tanev saw a specialist earlier this week regarding his upper-body injury but is now seeking a second opinion after that meeting, per Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. He continues to skate with the team in a no-contact jersey, but it doesn’t appear his return is on the horizon, either.

Potentially adding to the pile of injuries is Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who left last night’s overtime defeat in the third period after falling awkwardly on his left leg (video via Sportsnet). It’s not as bad as it looked, though, and he’ll be back at practice tomorrow before making a determination on his availability for that night’s game against the Oilers, per Hornby.

Carlo, acquired from the Bruins at last year’s trade deadline to serve as a shutdown anchor for Morgan Rielly at even strength and play a penalty-killing role, had averaged 20:04 of ice time through the first 18 games of the season before exiting the lineup. He managed two assists with a +2 rating but didn’t have the two-way impact they hoped for, controlling just 42.8% of shot attempts and 45.5% of expected goals at 5-on-5.

The Leafs claimed veteran righty Troy Stecher off waivers from the Oilers last month after Carlo got hurt. With four points and a +8 rating in 11 appearances, the 31-year-old has been as good a stopgap option as they could’ve hoped for.

Wild Recall David Jiricek

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The Wild announced they’ve recalled defenseman David Jiříček from AHL Iowa, putting him on hand for tomorrow’s game against the Senators. A corresponding move won’t be necessary as Minnesota has an open spot on its active roster.

Jiříček’s recall comes as extra insurance as the Wild believe they may be down a yet-to-be-named defender after he got banged up in yesterday’s win over the Stars, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. They already lost lefty Jacob Middleton to injured reserve after he sustained an upper-body injury in the previous outing against the Kraken, leaving them potentially without two regulars on the blue line against Ottawa – in addition to the four forwards they have stashed on IR.

The 22-year-old Jiříček was the sixth overall pick in 2022 by the Blue Jackets and arrived in the Wild organization by way of a trade early last season, stemming partially from his unhappiness with limited playing time in Columbus. The change of scenery didn’t alter his circumstances, though. He’s only made 18 appearances for Minnesota since his pickup over 12 months ago, spending most of his time in the organization with AHL Iowa. He made the team out of camp this year but has been reassigned to Iowa on two occasions. Today’s move ends his longest AHL stint of the season, last heading down to the minors on Nov. 21.

The 6’3″ righty’s development is in legitimate danger as a result. Iowa has long been one of the most hapless teams in the AHL, making the playoffs only twice since the Wild established the team in 2013. The team has a 33-54-9 record since the beginning of last season with a -83 goal differential. The lack of a legitimate supporting cast on Iowa’s blue line means Jiříček, once viewed as one of the brightest two-way talents in his draft class, has just one goal and nine assists with a -7 rating in 37 games since his arrival last year.

But when on the NHL roster, he hasn’t made a legitimate push for a regular role, either. In sheltered minutes (12:26 per game), he’s logged two assists and a -1 rating in 18 games across this year and last. The Wild have allowed 2.98 goals per 60 minutes with Jiříček on the ice at 5-on-5 this year, the highest figure among Minnesota defensemen.

For now, his status as a tweener will continue. Minnesota already recalled Matt Kiersted from Iowa in the wake of Middleton’s injury, and he sat as a scratch against Dallas. Whether he, a lefty, or Jiříček, a righty, enters the lineup tomorrow likely depends on the questionable defender’s handedness.

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