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Jets Reassign Elias Salomonsson

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The Jets announced that defenseman Elias Salomonsson has been reassigned to AHL Manitoba. His first stint in the big leagues ends at the two-week mark.

It’s the expected and best resolution for Salmonsson’s development. The 21-year-old is widely viewed as Winnipeg’s top defense prospect after being drafted 55th overall in 2022. He started the year in Manitoba and was summoned near the end of November when Neal Pionk exited the lineup with a lower-body injury. Pionk’s been back for several days now, though, meaning Salomonsson has been scratched in three of the Jets’ last five games.

Saying Salomonsson looked overmatched in his first taste of the NHL would be a fair statement. He got top-four deployment with Dylan Samberg in his first two appearances and it didn’t go well, posting a -5 rating and controlling just 11.8% of expected goals together. When he re-entered the lineup for a pair of games earlier this month, his ice time was reduced and his two-way play improved against easier competition.

He still ends his first call-up without a point and with a -4 rating in four appearances, averaging 14:44 of ice time per game. When Salmonsson was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Jets were outshot 38-16 and outchanced 32-18.

That’s not exactly what Winnipeg wanted to see out of the smooth-skating 21-year-old, but it’s a small sample size – and still far earlier than anyone expected him to make a full-time jump to the NHL. He now heads back to the farm, where he has six assists and an even rating in 17 games this season.

Canucks Expected To Activate Thatcher Demko Thursday

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The Canucks are likely to have starting goaltender Thatcher Demko back in the crease when they host the Sabres on Thursday, head coach Adam Foote told reporters following last night’s game (including Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 950).

Demko’s return will come several days past his initial target date. The oft-injured starter sustained a lower-body injury against the Jets on Nov. 11, leaving the game after the first period. It’s believed to be a groin issue, unrelated to the knee issues that cost him a significant chunk of the 2024 calendar year. He was listed as week-to-week but was expected to be back in the lineup by the end of November.

While that didn’t happen, a late return is better than no return at all. Demko looked like his old self before landing on IR. His .903 SV% and 2.80 GAA in 10 starts don’t jump off the page, but they should when put in the context of Vancouver allowing a league-high 3.75 expected goals against per 60 minutes at all situations, per MoneyPuck. Demko has saved 6.3 goals above expected, and his save percentage is 25 points better than what high-workload backup option Kevin Lankinen has put on offer.

With an 11-16-3 record and seemingly unsolvable defensive warts, playoffs are all but out of the question in Vancouver this season. Getting Demko back should at least stop the bleeding, as the team now deals with offensive woes, scoring only 1.50 goals per game since Thanksgiving.

Demko’s early resurgence was significant in proving Vancouver didn’t significantly err by giving him a relatively rich three-year extension this summer. Kicking in next year, the deal carries a cap hit of $8.5MM and boasts a full no-movement clause. If Demko were to keep that level of play up and were open to a move if the Canucks engage in a complete teardown, that cap hit wouldn’t be prohibitive in trade talks.

Blues To Sign Dillon Dube To AHL Deal

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The Blues have reached an agreement to bring free agent forward Dillon Dubé into the organization on a contract with AHL Springfield, per Frank Seravalli of Victory+.

Dubé, 27, was eligible to sign an NHL contract at the beginning of this month after serving a suspension related to the allegations that spurned charges of sexual assault against him and four other players who were members of Canada’s national junior team in 2018. All five players were acquitted of those charges in July. Of those five, only Carter Hart has returned to the NHL after their suspensions were lifted on Dec. 1.

Dubé made his NHL debut with the Flames in 2018-19 after they made him a second-round pick in the 2016 draft. He spent a few seasons in a bottom-six/press box role before working his way into a top-nine job coming out of the pandemic. His development culminated with a breakout 2022-23 season. While the Flames fell out of the playoff picture that year, despite finishing with 111 points the season prior, Dubé suddenly became one of their most important secondary scorers. Averaging north of 15 minutes per game and routinely seeing top-line minutes with now ex-Flames Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli, he tied his career-high 18 goals and added 27 assists for 45 points.

When the Flames replaced Darryl Sutter with Ryan Huska behind the bench for the 2023-24 season, Dubé fell off the map. His ice time dropped to 11:10 per contest, and he was limited to just three goals and seven points in 43 games. His season ended in January when the charges against him were announced.

Dubé was non-tendered by Calgary at the end of the season, making him an unrestricted free agent. While awaiting trial, he spent the 2024-25 season overseas, signing with Belarus’ Dinamo Minsk in the Kontinental Hockey League. The 5’11” winger struggled to make an impact, slipping to a fourth-line role by year’s end and notching just four goals and 11 points in 42 games. He ended the season without a point in his final 11 regular-season and playoff games.

Understandably, KHL and NHL interest was tempered after he was acquitted of his charges based on those numbers. He technically remains a UFA because he’s not signing an NHL agreement with the Blues. Whether it’s a guaranteed contract with Springfield or just a tryout remains to be seen. Regardless, it will be an incredibly long road for him to prove he can get his play back to an NHL level. Considering his offensive production was his greatest asset, he’s not a good fit down the lineup and will need to put up big numbers in order to move up the depth chart.

Blackhawks Recall Dominic Toninato

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The Blackhawks announced they’ve elevated center Dominic Toninato from AHL Rockford. The move gives Chicago another option at forward – and signals a return to a traditional 12-forward, six-defenseman alignment – ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Rangers. No corresponding transaction is necessary after the Hawks sent Sam Rinzel and Landon Slaggert down to Rockford yesterday.

Over the summer, the 31-year-old journeyman landed with Chicago in free agency on a two-year, two-way contract for situations like this. Serving as a dependable but clearly replacement-level call-up option who’s not a huge risk to get claimed on waivers, he entered the year with 189 games of NHL experience before passing through the wire and heading to Rockford.

He’s seen NHL action in each of the last eight seasons, including a career-high 77 appearances as a fourth-line regular with the Jets in 2021-22. That was his second of five years in the Winnipeg organization, which he finally departed a few months ago to sign with the Hawks. He’s only made 25 combined appearances across three years since then, though. He’s scored 13 goals and 22 assists for 35 points for his career, posting a +12 rating while averaging 0.19 points per game.

The adjustment to a new environment in Rockford has gone off without a hitch for the 6’2″ pivot. He’s third on the team in scoring with a 5-12–17 line in 24 games. That’s better than his career average rate in the minors and a nice rebound campaign after he posted a more conservative 36 points in 60 games with Manitoba last season while serving as captain.

Toninato will get a prorated bump from $450K to $850K as a result of his contract’s two-way structure. He’ll likely be on hand as an extra forward for the Hawks as they need it – Sam Lafferty was already available as the extra forward while his opportunities were limited due to Chicago only dressing 11 forwards for much of the year. He’ll likely get the fourth-line insert, but if Chicago wants a player who’s a more natural fit at center, Toninato could get the call.

Sabres’ Jason Zucker To Miss Significant Time

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Sabres winger Jason Zucker is going to miss significant time after sustaining an undisclosed injury in last night’s 7-4 loss to the Flames, head coach Lindy Ruff said on WGR 550 this morning. He was seen favoring his leg at points during the contest but finished the game – not before taking a slash from MacKenzie Weegar with seconds left in the game that presumably aggravated whatever he was dealing with (video via The Sabre Report).

“Something happened inside the game,” Ruff said. “He missed some time in the second period and came back and played, but the initial view by our crew last night after the game is he will miss some time.”

Zucker has already had one multi-game absence this season, although it wasn’t injury-related. The 12-year vet contracted a viral illness at the beginning of November that caused him to lose a significant amount of weight, and it took him weeks to get back into regular conditioning form. He ended up missing eight games.

However, the 33-year-old has arguably been Buffalo’s best forward since getting back in the lineup. He’s recorded a point in seven of his last nine games, including three multi-point efforts. His 11 points (five goals, six assists) in nine games since Nov. 11 lead the Sabres and are tied for 12th in the league during that time. The year, he’s now up to a 9-7–16 scoring line in 20 games. That’s got him fifth on the team in points, tied for second in goals, and third in points per game. That’s great production for a winger whose 15:32 average time on ice is tied for eighth among Buffalo forwards.

He’s a significant loss for a reeling Sabres team that’s now lost three games in a row, all by three goals. They’re still without a regulation win on the road this season and are four points deep into last place in the Eastern Conference with an 11-14-4 record. Per MoneyPuck, their chances of making the playoffs have dropped to 5.6%. Only the Predators (4.2%) have worse odds.

For a Sabres team whose depth forward contingent is already weakened by extended absences for Justin Danforth and Jiri Kulich, they’ll presumably place Zucker on injured reserve soon to add a forward from AHL Rochester. That will likely be 2022 first-rounder Noah Ostlund, who was working his way into a regular job in the lineup but was forced down to the minors over the weekend to allow the Sabres to carry seven defensemen on their road trip without placing anyone on waivers. Fellow first-rounder Isak Rosen, who had seven points in only 10 games during a prior call-up this year, is also a good option.

Senators Recall Olle Lycksell

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Winger Olle Lycksell has been recalled by the Senators from AHL Belleville, according to a team announcement. They had an open roster spot after reassigning Hayden Hodgson to Belleville on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Lycksell has made six appearances across two previous stints on the active roster this season for the Sens. He was waived to begin the season but ended up making the opening night roster anyway. That lasted for a couple of weeks before he was eventually demoted to Belleville for the first time. Ottawa recalled him just a few days later, and he was back on the active roster for nearly a month until sustaining a concussion, putting him on injured reserve. When he was cleared to return in the later stages of November, Ottawa waived him again and sent him back to the B-Sens after he cleared.

Ottawa signed the 5’11” Swede as a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer. A sixth-round pick of the Flyers in 2017, he’d remained in the Philly organization up until that point. He only arrived in North America in 2022, but has been a highly successful minor-league producer, notching 55 goals and 133 points in 142 games across four seasons. That includes a 3-2–5 scoring line in eight appearances for Belleville this year.

That production hasn’t carried over to the NHL, though. He’s not particularly physical and has often been miscast in a fourth-line role – skilled enough to provide scoring depth as an injury replacement, but not intriguing enough of a prospect to push for a top-nine minutes. As a result, he’s scored just two goals in 51 career NHL games, one of them coming this season.

Lycksell isn’t expected to play in tonight’s game against the Devils and looks to be in for another stint as an extra forward, per Claire Hanna of TSN. The Sens haven’t been shy about making frequent roster moves to keep their forward depth fresh this season. Lately, it’s been a rotation of Hodgson, Lycksell, and Stephen Halliday heading up and down to ensure no one is sitting in the press box for too long – serving a dual purpose of extending the former two’s waiver-exempt periods.

Penguins Recall Danton Heinen, Sam Poulin; Evgeni Malkin Out Week-To-Week

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9:04 a.m.: Malkin and Lizotte are destined for longer absences than the minimum ones required by IR. The team later announced both have been downgraded to week-to-week with their upper-body injuries.

8:55 a.m.: The Penguins announced they’ve again added forwards Danton Heinen and Samuel Poulin to the NHL roster, marking each player’s second recall of the season from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. They placed forwards Evgeni Malkin and Blake Lizotte on injured reserve in corresponding moves.

Heinen was one of the most surprising training camp cuts across the league. The 30-year-old is in the back half of a two-year, $4.5MM deal he signed with the Canucks as a free agent in 2024. After scoring six goals and 18 points in 51 games for Vancouver, he was sent to Pittsburgh in the deal that saw the Nucks acquire Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor. Heinen was a familiar pickup for the Pens, having scored a career-high 18 goals for them in the 2021-22 season.

For his $2.25MM cap hit, he was reasonably productive down the stretch. He totaled a 3-8–11 scoring line in 28 games and was viewed as likely trade bait entering this season as the Pens looked to clear out some veterans. After all, the 2014 fourth-round pick has been an NHL fixture for years now and hadn’t seen extended time out of the lineup since spending most of 2016-17, his first professional season, in the minors.

Pittsburgh hasn’t shown a propensity to keep veterans in the lineup for the sake of doing so this season, though. With Heinen not serving as much of a fit in their long-term plans – or short-term ones, for that matter – they opted to waive him at the beginning of this season with no desirable trade options on the table. The 6’2″, 187-lb forward has proved he still has NHL talent, lighting up the scoresheet in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a 6-12–18 scoring line in just 12 appearances.

Heinen spent most of November on the NHL roster as a result of injuries to Noel Acciari and Justin Brazeau, both of whom were recently activated from IR. He was returned to WBS on Nov. 30 after scoring one assist in nine games. He saw 12:15 of ice time per contest, getting some occasional reps on both special teams. While his production wasn’t impressive, his two-way impacts were spectacular. Among players with at least 50 5-on-5 minutes for the Pens this year, Heinen boasts the highest share of shot attempts (58.2%), expected goals (59.7%), scoring chances (60.0%), and high-danger chances (61.1%). He managed that with a 43.8 offensive zone start percentage, 17th out of 26 skaters.

Poulin has been similarly productive in the minors. He’s the only WBS skater with more points than Heinen this season, on track for a career year with nine goals and 20 points in 21 games. The 2019 first-round pick is now 24 years old and has aged out of being a top prospect, but he’s proving he can hold down a job as solid organizational depth and be a reliable call-up. He got into two games for the Pens last month on his call-up, recording a -2 rating and six shot attempts while averaging 13:49 of ice time.

Both will be on hand to add to their games-played totals this season tonight against the Ducks as the injury bug continues to bite Pittsburgh’s forward group. Malkin already missed Sunday’s game against the Stars with an upper-body injury and remains listed as day-to-day. Before landing on IR, the future Hall-of-Fame had rattled off two goals and three assists in his last two games. The IR placement technically only rules him out of tonight’s game. Since his last appearance was on Dec. 4, he’ll be eligible to be activated ahead of Thursday’s game against the Canadiens.

Lizotte’s IR placement comes as a surprise. He played nearly 14 minutes in Sunday’s shootout loss in Dallas, recording an assist in the process. He didn’t leave the game, and it’s unclear when he got banged up. The team hasn’t assigned any injury designation other than his IR placement. He’s not eligible for reinstatement until Dec. 14, so whatever’s going on with him will cause him to miss at least three games.

Lizotte, who turns 28 on Saturday, signed a two-year, $3.7MM pact with Pittsburgh in 2024 after being non-tendered by the Kings. He tied his career-high 11 goals last season despite being limited to 59 games and has continued to be quite valuable in a fourth-line role this season. He’s managed a +1 rating despite being used almost exclusively in the defensive zone at 5-on-5 and has contributed a 3-2–5 scoring line in 27 showings. He’s averaging 13:57 of ice time per game and is the Pens’ top penalty-killing forward, likely influencing their decision to add Heinen back into the fold. With Joona Koppanen in the minors and Filip Hallander and Rickard Rakell still on IR, Heinen is ticketed for a job on Pittsburgh’s top two shorthanded units.

Canucks Activate Nils Hoglander From LTIR

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The Canucks are activating winger Nils Höglander from long-term injured reserve prior to tonight’s game against the Red Wings, head coach Adam Foote told reporters (including Randip Janda of Sportsnet 650). The active roster had a vacancy due to winger Jonathan Lekkerimäki being reassigned to AHL Abbotsford yesterday.

Hoglander, 25 later this month, will be making his season debut to kick off his sixth campaign in Vancouver. The 2019 second-round pick sustained a lower-body injury early in the preseason and has been listed as week-to-week ever since.

It ended up being well over two months on the sidelines for Höglander, who was shifted to LTIR in late October. The Canucks are exceeding the cap by $1.64MM but still have defenseman Derek Forbort on LTIR, providing $2MM of relief, so they’re still in the clear.

The 5’9″ winger returns to the ice hoping to prove last season’s performance was a fluke. In 2023-24, he was a highly valuable Swiss Army knife for the ’Nucks as he broke out for 24 goals and 36 points, helping them along to their first division title in 11 years. Last season, his production dropped off to just eight goals and 25 points in 72 appearances. Some regression was expected after he finished at a 20% rate the year prior, just as some improvement should be expected on the 9.6% mark his shooting percentage cratered to last season.

His return couldn’t come at a better time for the Canucks, who have Teddy Blueger and Filip Chytil on injured reserve while leading point-getter Elias Pettersson is ticketed to miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury. Still, he’s expected to be nursed back into the lineup in a fourth-line role, per Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650, perhaps an indication that he’s cleared to play but not quite 100% yet.

Panthers Reassign Jack Devine

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The Panthers announced this afternoon that forward Jack Devine has been assigned to AHL Charlotte. That clears an active roster spot, one that could be used to activate star winger Matthew Tkachuk from long-term injured reserve in the coming days. Nearly two weeks have passed since he started skating again following offseason groin surgery.

If that’s the case, Florida isn’t done making roster moves. With Devine off the roster, they’re exceeding the cap by $7.24MM. They’re compliant because that’s less than their LTIR pool of $9.52MM. That pool will shrink to $5.7MM when Tkachuk is activated, though. That’s a $1.54MM difference they need to make up for. They’ll likely do so by shifting forwards Jonah Gadjovich and Cole Schwindt from standard IR to LTIR. They carry a combined cap hit of $1.6MM, increasing their LTIR pool by just enough to carry Tkachuk on the active roster without making any other changes to the roster.

Devine is in his first professional season and still has three years or 64 NHL games played remaining until he’ll require waivers to head to the minors, so that’s not a concern anytime soon. He’s the only waiver-exempt player on the roster aside from lineup fixture Mackie Samoskevich, so that made his reassignment more or less inevitable as Florida got healthier.

The right-shooting Devine had been out of the lineup as a healthy scratch in three consecutive games. He didn’t manage a point in six appearances since being recalled from Charlotte on Nov. 18. His possession numbers are solid enough, but he was deployed in extremely sheltered usage and had a -3 rating while averaging only 8:26 of ice time per game.

Florida drafted Devine with the fifth-to-last pick of the 2022 draft. He’s been on an upward trajectory ever since and turned pro this year on the heels of back-to-back 50-point seasons at the University of Denver, where he totaled a 57-106–163 scoring line in 162 collegiate appearances across four years. He won two national championships with the Pioneers and was the top scorer in college hockey with 57 points in 2024-25, finishing as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award for the second year in a row.

His offensive success in the NCAA has followed him to the pros, just not yet to the NHL. He rattled off six goals and 12 points through his first 13 games with Charlotte before getting called up. He was the team’s leading scorer when he was removed from the roster last month and should reclaim that title soon enough as he’s in for an extended stint – potentially the rest of the season – down in the AHL after a quiet first stint on the Cats’ roster.

Blackhawks Reassign Sam Rinzel, Landon Slaggert

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The Blackhawks have reassigned defenseman Sam Rinzel and winger Landon Slaggert to AHL Rockford, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio 720. Both players are still waiver-exempt.

Slaggert’s demotion was expected. He’s been sent down once already this season and has been a healthy scratch in eight of Chicago’s last 10 games. Rinzel’s, however, comes as a surprise.

A first-round pick straight out of the Minnesota high school ranks in 2022, Rinzel was viewed as one of the higher-ceiling offensive defenders in the class but would need plenty of developmental runway to improve his overall game. The 6’4″ righty seemed to put most of the pieces together during the last two years with the University of Minnesota. He racked up a 12-48–60 scoring line in 79 games with a +43 rating. Not only was he a Big Ten First Team All-Star last year, but he was also named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Rinzel’s performance down the stretch last season for the Blackhawks after his collegiate campaign ended only added more fuel to his stock. Chicago deployed him in a top-pairing role with Alex Vlasic for their final nine games, and the results were fantastic. Rinzel rattled off five assists and a +1 rating while averaging 23:22 of ice time per game, getting an audition on the Hawks’ top power-play unit after Seth Jones was traded weeks earlier. He and Vlasic also controlled 50% of expected goals at 5-on-5, the only Blackhawks defense pair to break even with over 100 minutes of ice time last year, per MoneyPuck.

This season, however, there have been significant growing pains. Rinzel started back in that top-pairing job with Vlasic and skated over 25 minutes twice in the Hawks’ first three games. Since then, he’s only broken the 20-minute plateau three times and not since Oct. 26. He’s remained in the lineup all this time as Chicago has dressed seven defensemen for the majority of the campaign, but he was healthy scratched once on Nov. 15 against the Maple Leafs. Since returning to the lineup, he’s managed five assists in 11 games – all at even strength – but is only averaging 14:36 of ice time per game.

The reduced usage has come as a result of some warts popping up in Rinzel’s defensive game. Rinzel’s offensive zone start percentage at 5-on-5 is 55.4, ninth on the team (min. 50 minutes). Despite that, the Blackhawks are allowing more shots per 60 minutes with Rinzel on the ice (34.2) than any other player on the roster. The same goes for shot attempts (68.3), and his 33.4 scoring chances against per 60 are the worst among defensemen.

He’ll now get some time to clean up his game in Rockford. Given Chicago’s frequent juggling of defense pairs this season, a strong run of play means he could find himself back on the roster in fairly short order – particularly if they start listening to calls on pending unrestricted free agents Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Murphy closer to the trade deadline.

It’s too early to read into how Rinzel’s demotion will affect head coach Jeff Blashill’s propensity to ice 11 forwards and seven defenders this season. Chicago didn’t fill its newly open roster spots in corresponding moves today because they’re off until Wednesday, following a dreadful weekend in Southern California, losing back-to-back games against the Kings and Ducks by a combined score of 13-1. Those losses brought their record in their last 10 games down to 2-6-2, although their hot start means they’re still one game above .500 and one point back of the Mammoth for the second wild card spot in the West as they approach the 30-game mark.

As for Slaggert, he’s been most often used as an extra forward on the NHL roster this season, a consequence of fewer jobs being available to the forward group than normal. The 23-year-old has entered the lineup on 10 occasions with one goal on five shots and an even rating. He’s averaged just 9:04 of ice time per game after seeing over 12 minutes in 33 appearances last season.

Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images.

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