Lineup Notes: Zub, Kleven, Hyry, Hintz, Bunting, D’Astous
The Senators won’t see defenseman Tyler Kleven step back into the lineup tonight as they try to even their first-round series against the Hurricanes at one apiece. Despite shedding his non-contact jersey in this morning’s practice, he’s not quite ready to go and won’t dress, head coach Travis Green told reporters (including Alex Adams of Sportsnet). And, although Artem Zub didn’t take the ice this morning after leaving Game 1 with an apparent mid-body injury, he’ll be a game-time decision, Green said. In the event Zub can’t go, it’ll be Lassi Thomson stepping in on the right side to replace him, per Graeme Nichols of The Hockey News. Nikolas Matinpalo, who had started on the third pairing with Dennis Gilbert in Game 1, will get the elevation to top-pair minutes to serve as Jake Sanderson‘s shutdown complement in place of Zub. It would be the playoff debut for Thomson, a 2019 first-round pick who had three assists and a +3 rating in 11 games in the regular season.
More from around the league ahead of Game 2s kicking off tonight:
- The Stars are making one lineup change after being throttled at home by the Wild in Game 1, Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports reports. Rookie Arttu Hyry will make his playoff debut, stepping into center the third line as the deck gets shuffled. Adam Erne, who had a -1 rating and two hits in 8:07 of ice time as the team’s fourth-line left wing, is headed to the press box. Star center Roope Hintz stays out as expected; he’d been previously ruled out for Games 1 and 2 and was ruled out for Game 3 as well by head coach Glen Gulutzan today (via Michael Russo of The Athletic). Perhaps the more notable absence, given the circumstances, is trade-deadline pickup Michael Bunting. The winger will serve as a healthy scratch for the second game in a row tonight after missing time with a lower-body injury down the stretch. He had just two points and a -7 rating in 13 games for Dallas when healthy after his acquisition from the Predators. He does have five points in 13 career playoff games, all with the Maple Leafs in 2022 and 2023.
- The injury bug hovered around the Lightning all season long. It’s not stopping now. After being checked by a pair of Canadiens forwards in yesterday’s Game 1 and ultimately leaving the contest, defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous is doubtful to step back in for Game 2, head coach Jon Cooper said today (via Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times). He said he hasn’t decided whether Declan Carlile or Maxwell Crozier will be elevated as his replacement, but considering he only mentioned those two by name, it’s a fair guess that captain Victor Hedman will remain out on personal leave as well. D’Astous, 28 tomorrow, had 29 points and a whopping 112 penalty minutes in 70 regular-season games for Tampa as a rookie.
Maple Leafs Have Interviewed Scott White For GM Position
The Maple Leafs have spoken to Stars assistant general manager Scott White to fill their open GM position, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Monday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast.
He’s one of many candidates Toronto has talked with in its efforts to succeed Brad Treliving at the top of its front office. Among those names are Islanders AGM Ryan Bowness and Sunny Mehta, who has since landed with the Devils as their GM. There have been varying degrees of speculation linking them to virtually all the other AGM-type candidates on the market as well.
In terms of the level of experience for a first-time GM candidate, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one with more on their resume than White. The 58-year-old has talked to numerous teams over the years but has remained in Dallas, where he began his executive career back in the 2005 lockout.
He was initially brought on by their AHL affiliate, then located in Iowa, as their director of hockey operations after amassing some NCAA and ECHL coaching experience. He was promoted to the NHL staff a few years later while taking on the role of AHL GM, a title he holds to this day for the Texas Stars.
White is also on the Predators’ radar and could easily get a call from the Canucks regarding their new vacancy in the coming days as well. With Nashville looking to wrap up its process in the next week or so, the Leafs may have to make a decision quickly if they decide White is at the top of their list.
Islanders Hire Cory Schneider As AHL Goalie Coach
The Islanders have brought in Cory Schneider as the goaltending coach for their AHL affiliate, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports. He’s currently with the club in Bridgeport but will presumably follow them as the Isles relocate their top feeder club to Hamilton, Ontario, next season.
Schneider, who ended his playing career in Bridgeport, has largely stuck to TV and broadcasting work since his retirement in 2023. He spent three seasons as the Islanders’ third-stringer and AHL starter from 2020-23, making his final NHL start in April 2022. He hasn’t held a staff role since.
Bridgeport had gone without a dedicated goalie coach for much of this season. Sergei Naumov, previously Ilya Sorokin‘s goalie coach in Russia with CSKA Moscow, had held the role since the beginning of last season but was promoted to the NHL bench back in October. The position had remained open until now.
While injuries limited Schneider’s effectiveness at the end, the 40-year-old was briefly one of the league’s most dominant goaltenders. He received both Hart and Vezina trophy consideration in 2016, capping off a ridiculous six-year stretch to begin his career in which he posted a save percentage above .920 each time for the Canucks and Devils, although he only started 50-plus games twice in that span. He was an average starting option at best following that, though, and retired with a .918 SV%, 2.43 GAA, and 171-159-58 record in 410 career appearances.
Now, the Massachusetts native will play a key role in the development of the Islanders’ next wave between the pipes to support Sorokin. They’re not overflowing with high-end prospects, especially stateside, but did recently ink Augustana University standout Josh Kotai to an entry-level deal. With few other intriguing options on the horizon, he could take over as the Isles’ #3 next season without any external additions and be the first real test for Schneider’s coaching skills.
Capitals’ Rasmus Sandin Will Miss Start Of 2026-27 With Knee Injury
The Capitals will not have defenseman Rasmus Sandin available at the start of next season due to the right knee injury he sustained at the tail end of the regular season, general manager Chris Patrick told reporters today (including Tom Gulitti of NHL.com). His absence will be significant enough to “impact their offseason planning,” Patrick said, so a quick return later into October may not be in the cards, either.
That means Sandin is looking at a recovery timeline in the six-month range as a best-case scenario. During last week’s locker cleanout, Sandin said that he could walk under his own power with a brace but had “quite a bit of rehab” ahead of him this summer. That implied he wasn’t anticipating surgery being required, but after additional evaluation, such a lengthy timeline up front suggests they’ve gone in another direction.
Washington’s defense is in flux for next season, particularly on the right side. They sent longtime #1 John Carlson to the Ducks at the trade deadline and have Timothy Liljegren and Trevor van Riemsdyk hurtling toward unrestricted free agency this summer. That leaves Matt Roy as the only everyday right-shot option signed through next season, alongside press-box fixture Dylan McIlrath. Sandin, of course, is a lefty, but played a fair amount on his offside for Washington this season and stood out as a stopgap option to shift over to make room for rookie Cole Hutson in the Caps’ top four.
That won’t be an option, at least for the first several weeks of the campaign. Perhaps the urgency to re-sign Liljegren will be turned up. As the Caps considered shopping van Riemsdyk at the trade deadline, it became apparent they didn’t expect to extend him, though Sandin’s status could change their minds.
Sandin just wrapped up year two of the five-year, $23MM extension he signed with Washington in 2024. Acquired from the Maple Leafs the year prior, he’s now averaged over 20 minutes per game across 202 regular-season contests for the Caps with a 15-82–97 scoring line and a -4 rating. He’s coming off a 2025-26 campaign that saw him finish third among Caps defensemen in points (29), fourth in shots on goal (90), third in blocks (127), and third in hits (88). He didn’t see a ton of special teams deployment, but is a fine stopgap on a second-unit power play or penalty kill.
That’s a notable hole to fill for a Washington team intent on returning to playoff contention next season. A reunion with Carlson seems unlikely given how abrupt his tenure ended in March, but other high-powered right-shot options like Rasmus Andersson and Darren Raddysh are still ticketed to hit the open market this summer. With over $36MM in cap space for next season and Connor McMichael sitting as their only pending restricted free agent set to really cash in, they’ll have the flexibility to compete with any offer.
Predators To Interview Tom Fitzgerald For GM Vacancy
The Predators have an interview scheduled with former Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald this week, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. That fit was first explored immediately after Fitzgerald’s firing earlier this month, but it’s clear now he’s a serious candidate as Nashville’s search process for Barry Trotz’s successor nears its final stages.
Aside from Fitzgerald’s lengthy and recent executive experience, his personal connection to Nashville always made him a leading contender for the role the minute he became available. He spent four of his 17 NHL seasons as a player in Tennessee, was the franchise’s first-ever captain and chose the team as a free agent upon their inception in 1998, not as an expansion draft choice.
Nashville’s decision will come by the end of the month, Pagnotta said. While Fitzgerald had been the Devils’ GM since midway through the 2019-20 season, that’s not where his resume begins. Shortly after wrapping up his playing career in 2006, he was hired as the Penguins’ director of player development. He was part of the organization’s back-to-back Stanley Cup Final trips in 2008 and 2009 before being promoted to assistant general manager, a role he held until following former Pens GM Ray Shero to New Jersey to fill the same role in 2015.
The Predators have made it clear that experience is a prerequisite, per multiple reports. Their field has mostly consisted of highly-touted AGMs from around the league looking to take the next step, including Rangers assistant Ryan Martin, but Fitzgerald’s six-plus years of top-level experience could end up being too appealing to turn down.
Flyers Recall Oliver Bonk, David Jiricek
The Flyers have recalled defense prospects Oliver Bonk and David Jiricek from AHL Lehigh Valley, the team announced Monday. They will be on hand for the remainder of the postseason if needed after Lehigh Valley saw its season come to an end in its regular-season finale against Charlotte on Sunday, failing to qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Both are coming off recent stints on the NHL roster. The Flyers gave Bonk, their 22nd overall selection in the 2023 draft, his NHL debut in their final regular-season game against the Canadiens last week. Jiricek, while he’s gotten playing time in previous stints with the Blue Jackets and Wild, got the chance to make his Flyers debut the same night after being acquired from Minnesota for winger Bobby Brink at the trade deadline.
Bonk was particularly impressive in his first-ever showing. The 6’2″ righty shrugged off the growing pains of his first professional season in Lehigh Valley to rattle off a goal and an assist in the first period of the eventual 4-2 win, both at even strength. He logged 16:28 of ice time with two hits, although his possession impacts weren’t great. Philly lost the shot attempt battle 13-10 with Bonk on the ice at 5-on-5 despite him starting 80% of his shifts in the offensive end.
As mentioned, his run in Lehigh Valley this year was a mixed bag. After he was arguably the best shutdown defender in junior hockey last year en route to a Memorial Cup championship with the OHL’s London Knights, Bonk only managed 19 points and a -14 rating in 46 AHL games following a weeks-long stint on injured reserve to open the season. As Scott Wheeler of The Athletic opines, he’s still the Flyers’ #3 prospect and was relied upon heavily this season despite the lack of production and dominant results, so perhaps a more competitive AHL environment next season could facilitate a statistical breakout.
In all likelihood, though, Jiricek would find his way into the playoff lineup sooner if Philly needed someone to step in. Now 22, the 2022 sixth-overall pick still hasn’t locked down a full-time NHL job but does have 85 games of experience over the last four years compared to Bonk’s lone showing. His numbers aren’t great, limited to a 2-11–13 scoring line and a -8 rating while averaging a conservative 13:37 per night.
However, Jiricek has looked far more like the future top-pair challenger he was expected to be in Lehigh Valley over the last month. He had struggled to make an offensive impact in the minors in Minnesota’s system but rattled off a 2-11–13 scoring line in 15 games upon his arrival with the Phantoms, albeit with a -7 rating.
Jiricek will presumably be on the Flyers’ opening night roster in the fall. They signed him to a two-year, $3MM extension at the beginning of the month, and he loses his waiver-exempt status on July 1. They have a more experienced right-shot option in the press box in Noah Juulsen if need be, but if a top puck-mover ends up sustaining an injury, it stands to reason Jiricek could get the call as a better stylistic match.
Morning Notes: Maatta, Martone, Faber
Flames defenseman Olli Määttä is the first NHLer officially named to Finland’s roster for next month’s World Championship, according to an announcement from the national program. The tournament kicks off in Switzerland on May 15. It will be the shutdown rearguard’s fourth appearance for his country at the Worlds and his first since 2024.
While he went to the event three times in a four-year span, his only miss in that frame coincided with the country’s most recent gold medal in 2022. Now a fixture on the national team, Määttä has donned Finland’s colors at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off as well as this year’s Winter Olympics. He took home a silver medal with Finland at the 2021 Worlds. He has a 1-9–10 scoring line and a +3 rating in 26 career games at the event.
After sitting most of the season in the Mammoth’s press box, Calgary picked him up as a contract dump in the MacKenzie Weegar trade. The 31-year-old excelled down the stretch, averaging 22:30 per night on a paper-thin Flames blue line while potting 14 points and a -1 rating in 21 games. All of that offense came at even strength, as well. Signed for two more seasons at a cap hit of $3.5MM, he’ll be an everyday option once again next season in a Calgary pool largely devoid of long-term impact lefties outside of top-pair fixture Kevin Bahl and the emerging Yan Kuznetsov.
More from around the league as the first Game 2s of the first round get underway tonight:
- Flyers winger Porter Martone‘s arrival has been one of the best stories over the past few weeks. The 2025 sixth overall pick finished his season with 10 points through his first nine career games following his exodus from Michigan State, and he followed that up with the game-winning goal Saturday for the Flyers’ first postseason victory in six years. Yesterday, he told Kevin Kurz of The Athletic that he’s been relying on support from a close friend and another standout rookie – Islanders Calder Trophy shoo-in Matthew Schaefer – for advice throughout the year. He credits those talks for helping him exhibit the confidence he’s put on display thus far. “I think the big thing that made him successful was, he was himself,” Martone told Kurz. “You see how much of an impact he made on that organization, how much he contributed to that team. For me, that’s what I try to do coming here. Just be who I am, as a player and as a person.”
- Wild defenseman Brock Faber was initially quite unhappy with the organization’s decision to sit him for “forced rest” for the final two games of the regular season, but he’s quickly changed his tune on that following their Game 1 win over the Stars on Saturday, he tells The Athletic’s Michael Russo. “I think everyone was kind of in the same boat there, where you hate to watch the game from the stands but when you get told that’s what you’re doing, I think you can kind of look at it one of two ways,” Faber said. “We did take advantage of the rest. Obviously, it’s been a long year for us and we just needed to do everything we could to prepare for this series and hopefully a long run here. So I think that’s what we did, and it was definitely beneficial.” Faber recorded his first career playoff point in the win, along with a league-high +4 rating.
Ducks Sign Roger McQueen To Entry-Level Deal
April 18th: As expected, the Ducks have announced McQueen’s entry-level contract, beginning next year. He’ll continue with the AHL San Diego on an amateur tryout agreement through the Calder Cup playoffs. McQueen has scored one goal and three points in six games with a -1 rating with the Gulls so far.
PuckPedia shared the year-by-year breakdown of McQueen’s entry-level deal:
| Year | NHL Salary | Signing bonus | Potential performance bonuses | Minors salary |
| 2026-27 | $922.5K | $102.5K | $550K | $85K |
| 2027-28 | $967.5K | $107.5K | $800K | $85K |
| 2028-29 | $1.0125MM | $112.5K | $1MM | $85K |
April 1st: The Ducks are working to finalize an entry-level contract for top center prospect Roger McQueen beginning next season, PuckPedia reports on Wednesday. He is also expected to sign an amateur tryout with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls to make his pro debut in the coming days.
McQueen, 19, was one of last year’s most polarizing prospects. His 6’6″, 198-lb frame was of significant intrigue, plus the fact that he’d tallied nearly a point per game for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings in his pre-draft year.
A power forward with great puck skills, he only ended up getting into 17 games last year. He missed most of his pivotal draft season because of a fracture in his lower back known as spondylolysis that was initially misdiagnosed as a bulging disc. The symptoms that accompanied had stretched as far back as August 2023, McQueen told Adam Kimelman of NHL.com last year, but were finally completely resolved by the end of the season, allowing him to participate fully in the draft combine.
Some viewed McQueen as a top-five talent. Obviously, with his injury concerns, that didn’t happen. Still, after managing a 10-10–20 scoring line in 17 games for the Wheat Kings in his difficult age-18 campaign, the Ducks had seen enough to take him 10th overall.
The latest addition to a deep stable of first-round forward talent in Anaheim that includes Leo Carlsson, Beckett Sennecke, and Cutter Gauthier, McQueen opted not to return to juniors for 2025-26 and instead committed to Providence College, taking advantage of the new development path for players who came up through top-level Canadian juniors. The Saskatoon native hit the ground running and was among the Friars’ top talents this year, finishing with an 11-16–27 scoring line in 36 outings to rank third on the team.
In doing so, McQueen took home a Hockey East regular-season championship and won the conference’s Rookie of the Year Award. The team was upset by UConn in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament before bowing out to Denver in the regional semifinals of the national tournament.
The right-shot McQueen’s standout freshman year solidified him as Anaheim’s #1 prospect, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic writes. Last offseason, NHL.com had him at #3 behind the since-graduated Sennecke and defenseman Stian Solberg, so there’s been some real upward movement in his stock over the last 10 months.
In all likelihood, McQueen will still need a bit of AHL seasoning next season before he’s ready for an everyday NHL role. All four of the Ducks’ centers are either signed or under team control through next season, so there’s no huge rush to incorporate him, either – although it wouldn’t be surprising to see Mikael Granlund or Mason McTavish shift to the wing if McQueen does force his way onto the roster with a strong training camp.
AHL Shuffle: 4/17/26
Several smaller-profile moves will come across the wire today. Teams done with their seasons are sending their fringe talent back to the AHL for postseason play, while teams bound for the first round of the playoffs could be making some small alternations as well – in particular, settling on their “emergency” third goalie as the league permits for the playoffs. We’ll keep track of those moves today:
- The Flyers announced they’ve recalled goaltender Aleksei Kolosov from AHL Lehigh Valley and reassigned Carson Bjarnason there in his stead. Bjarnason was up just yesterday for practice, but it now appears they’ve re-evaluated and will prefer to have the more experienced Kolosov as their #3 behind Daniel Vladař and Samuel Ersson to begin their clash with the Penguins rather than Bjarnason, a first-year pro. With Lehigh Valley now eliminated from playoff contention, there’s no use keeping Kolosov down there to try to get them in. Kolosov, who has a 5-11-1 record and a .863 SV% in 21 career NHL appearances, will be eligible to enter a playoff game as an emergency backup if both Vladař and Ersson leave with injuries.
- The Flames have reassigned forwards Rory Kerins and Aydar Suniev, as well as goaltender Arsenii Sergeev, to AHL Calgary following last night’s season finale against the Kings. Sergeev, 23, was exceptional in his first career start, guiding Calgary to a 4-1 win while posting a .964 SV% and saving 2.6 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. Kerins and Suniev were both late-season call-ups for the Flames once the playoffs were no longer a possibility but didn’t do much in their reps, combining for one assist (Suniev’s) in 10 games. There won’t be any playoff action in store for the trio; the Wranglers are last in the AHL’s Pacific Division and won’t be heading to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Blue Jackets have added goaltending prospect Evan Gardner to AHL Cleveland’s roster, per a team announcement. The 20-year-old’s Saskatoon Blades in the WHL were swept out of the second round of the playoffs by Prince Albert this week. The 60th overall pick in 2024, Gardner will be turning pro full-time next season with either Cleveland or somewhere in the ECHL (Columbus is one of the few teams without a designated affiliate). His entry-level contract remains slide-eligible for this season, so it won’t kick in until 2026-27. He had a .902 SV% and 2.96 GAA – both great numbers for career-lows – in 52 games for Saskatoon in his third and final junior season.
- The Sharks have assigned winger Igor Chernyshov and defenseman Luca Cagnoni to AHL San Jose for the Calder Cup Playoffs, per Max Miller of Sharks Hockey Digest. It could very well be the last AHL action of Chernyshov’s career. The 20-year-old looks well on his way toward being a top-six piece from the drop next season, rattling off a 9-10–19 scoring line in 28 games of call-up action this year while seeing significant time on Macklin Celebrini‘s left wing. The 2024 second-rounder also had 13 goals and 33 points in 41 AHL games to date. Cagnoni, a 5’9″ lefty, had only been up for the last few games to get an end-of-season look once the Sharks were eliminated from playoff contention. The 21-year-old went pointless in three games after seeing a six-game debut last season. He leads Barracuda defensemen in scoring with an 8-35–43 line in 67 games.
- The Oilers have added Calvin Pickard back from AHL Bakersfield to serve as the EBUG behind Connor Ingram and Tristan Jarry in the postseason. Pickard started the season as Edmonton’s backup but was supplanted by Ingram after struggling to the tune of a .871 SV% and 3.68 GAA in 16 appearances (5-6-2 record). Fresh off his 34th birthday, he’s started playoff games in each of the last two years for the Oilers – including Game 5 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final – so there’s zero hesitancy about tossing him into the fray if Ingram and Jarry fall flat. Since clearing waivers and being assigned to Bakersfield at the beginning of February, Pickard has a .886 SV% and 3.26 GAA in eight games with one shutout and a 4-3-1 record.
- The Mammoth announced that they’ve recalled winger Danil But and goaltender Matt Villalta from AHL Tucson. With Tucson out of the playoffs, recalling their AHL starter in Villalta isn’t an issue to serve as their EBUG. He has just two NHL starts to his name but is a known AHL commodity, posting a .895 SV% in 33 outings for the Roadrunners this season. The more pressing move, of course, is the re-infusion of But into the mix. Utah has given its 2023 12th overall pick several looks on the roster this season in top-nine duties, with the 6’5″ Russian managing three goals and four assists in 29 games. It doesn’t appear he’ll be in their Game 1 lineup to start, even with Barrett Hayton and Jack McBain still unavailable, but he’ll almost surely be the next man up in case of any other lineup changes.
- The Islanders added Russian forward Daniil Prokhorov to their AHL roster, from KHL side Dynamo Moscow. The club drafted Prokhorov in the second round, No. 42 overall, at the 2025 NHL entry draft, their fourth selection overall. The 18-year-old forward was recently ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the Islanders’ system by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. Wheeler called Prokhorov, who stands 6’5″, a ” big, strong, driven, hardworking player.” AHL Bridgeport will be the fourth team Prokhorov has played for, in the fourth league. He scored one goal in 23 KHL games for Dynamo Moscow, 18 points in 25 games for Dynamo St. Petersburg in Russia’s second-tier VHL, and had six points in eight games at the MHL level, which is Russia’s top junior league. Prokhorov will soon make his debut on this side of the Atlantic for a Bridgeport team that has already clinched its playoff spot, and is playing out its final season in Connecticut before an offseason relocation to Ontario.
- The Wild recalled netminder Cal Petersen from their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild today. Petersen, 31, is the No. 3 netminder on the Wild depth chart and will likely occupy a spare goalie role for the team during its first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars. Recalling Petersen today allows him to join the team in advance of the start of their series against Dallas. The AHL Wild have already been eliminated from playoff contention, so today’s move turns over their net to Samuel Hlavaj and Riley Mercer, while allowing the team’s No. 3 goalie to join the NHL team and provide them with additional insurance in case one of Minnesota’s two regular goalies (Jesper Wallstedt and Filip Gustavsson) become unavailable.
- The Kraken reassigned forward Jani Nyman and netminders Niklas Kokko and Victor Ostman to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. With the Kraken’s season concluded, the move allows three potentially significant contributors to re-join Coachella Valley in advance of what the club hopes will be another extended playoff run. Nyman, 21, scored 21 goals and 33 points in 38 games at the AHL level this season, and was the Firebird’s leading goal scorer in 2024-25. Kokko, 22, went 18-10-2 in 33 games for Coachella Valley this season and posted a .903 save percentage. Ostman, 25, signed out of the University of Maine for 2024-25 and spent last season as a tandem goalie in the ECHL. He has had a strong AHL campaign in his second year of pro hockey, going 17-14-3 with a .907 save percentage in 35 games with Coachella Valley.
- The Canucks announced that forward Ty Mueller and defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev have been reassigned to the club’s AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Both Mueller and Kudryavtsev had been on the Canucks’ NHL roster in the final days of the club’s NHL campaign. They have each been key AHL contributors this season. Mueller, 23, scored 35 points in 58 games this year for the AHL Canucks, while Kudryavtsev, 22, scored 18 points in 42 games playing a top-four role including time on both sides of special teams.
- The Ducks reassigned defenseman Tristan Luneau to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, as the team prepares for their first-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers. The 22-year-old got into his first NHL game yesterday. A 2022 second-round pick, Luneau has been one of the AHL’s most productive offensive defensemen since joining the league. He led San Diego in scoring last season with 52 points in 59 games, and leads the team in scoring by a defenseman this year with 41 points in 69 contests.
- In a similar move to the Wild’s recall of Petersen, the Senators recalled netminder Leevi Merilainen from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators today. Belleville, like Iowa, has already been eliminated from playoff contention, so Ottawa is seemingly content to turn its AHL net over to other names for the final games of the season while getting the team’s No. 3 goalie onto their NHL roster a few days early. Merilainen played a solid 18 games for Belleville this season, posting a .909 save percentage, but struggled in 20 games at the NHL level. His .860 save percentage in 20 games with the Senators this season is the lowest save percentage by any goalie with at least 15 games played.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Blues Won’t Retain Assistant Coaches Claude Julien, Mike Weber
The Blues will not renew the contracts of assistant coaches Claude Julien and Mike Weber, per a team announcement Friday.
Neither was hired under the current head coach, Jim Montgomery, who was brought in early in the 2024-25 campaign. The Blues obviously weren’t keen on making any coaching changes are taking the President’s Trophy-winning Jets to the brink in the first round last year, but a playoff miss this year understandably has them re-evaluating their staff.
Now, they’ll give Montgomery the chance to bring in his own hires. Julien, a veteran head coach in his own right, joined the Blues in a scouting role back in 2022 and was added to the bench ahead of the 2024-25 season as a veteran complement to fresh-faced head coach Drew Bannister, who St. Louis quickly moved on from once Montgomery became available. When Julien stepped back behind the bench at the beginning of last season, it was his first non-international coaching duties since being fired by the Canadiens in February 2021.
Julien is now 65 years old. He’d actually never been an assistant coach at the NHL level up to this point and was last an assistant at any level with the QMJHL’s Hull Olympiques in 1996. He’s coached parts of 19 seasons as a head man with the Habs, Bruins, and Devils, winning a Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011 and an Eastern Conference title in 2013, along with Coach of the Year honors with them in 2009. He has a lifetime record of 667-445-162 (.587), ranking 16th all time in wins and tied for 19th all time in games coached with 1,274. Retirement wouldn’t be a surprising outcome.
As for Weber, this was the former Sabres and Capitals defenseman’s first NHL coaching job. He was hired back in 2023 under Craig Berube – two head coaches ago – after spending the prior three seasons as an assistant in Buffalo’s organization with AHL Rochester.