Canadiens Activate, Reassign David Reinbacher
The Canadiens have assigned top defense prospect David Reinbacher to AHL Laval, per a team announcement. Reinbacher had spent the first four and a half months of the season on the non-roster list after undergoing left knee surgery on Oct. 1 but will now get his campaign underway in the minors.
Reinbacher, 20, was selected fifth overall in the 2023 draft. He signed his entry-level contract a week later but was loaned back to Switzerland’s EHC Kloten for most of the 2023-24 regular season. This year was set to be his first full-time in North America, but a knee injury sustained in a preseason contest against the Maple Leafs trashed most of his campaign.
The 6’2″, 194-lb righty looked good to close out last season in Laval. He suited up 11 times down the stretch in the AHL after his Swiss National League season ended, scoring two goals and three assists with a plus-six rating. On a high note, he also began the 2024-25 campaign with two assists in three games for Austria at the final Olympic qualification tournament, although they didn’t make the cut.
Reinbacher exploded in his draft year, scoring 3-19–22 in 46 games with Kloten and earning a plus-seven rating, but a disastrous campaign for the club in 2023-24 saw his totals step back to 1-10–11 in 35 games and a -15 rating. The Canadiens and most others were willing to write that off as an outlier, especially considering his finish to the season after coming across the Atlantic.
There’s no roster math involved for the Habs with this move, as Reinbacher didn’t count toward their 23-player limit or the salary cap. He’ll now get a look at top-four usage in Laval before a potential late-season call-up to Montreal.
Latest On The Blues’ Deadline Plans
The Blues’ reported openness to dealing away captain Brayden Schenn has made the team one of the more intriguing clubs to watch leading up to the trade deadline on March 7. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta noted this morning that St. Louis was one of the most active teams in trade conversations during the 4 Nations break and has also begun to receive calls on core forwards Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou. Pagnotta adds the former’s reported availability “had a trickle effect” on additional talks, but more teams have expressed firm interest in Schenn than the others as they’ve had more time to marinate.
While Schenn has been seen as a speculative fit for a few teams, namely the Avalanche, there hasn’t been any mention yet of a team demonstrating clear interest. That changes with Pagnotta’s report, as he notes the Golden Knights are one of “several” teams that have contacted St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong about a Schenn trade:
[The Golden Knights] have cap space. Obviously, Shea Theodore is out. We had heard the initial prognosis was six-to-eight weeks, which would take them right towards the end of the season. So, we’ll see kind of where that goes. But (Schenn’s) on their radar and a few other teams, as well.
How high the Blues set the asking price for Schenn remains to be seen. It’s been a seller’s market thus far, but Schenn has a full no-trade clause and carries a $6.5MM cap hit that’s already a tad steep for what he’s provided offensively over the last two seasons. Considering he’s 33 years old and signed through the 2027-28 campaign, there won’t be an oversized list of teams willing to take on that contract.
St. Louis does have all three of its salary retention slots available. Still, there’s an inherent risk of limiting their retention availability for that many seasons if the Blues endure a longer retool or rebuild than expected. If someone steps up for them, they certainly won’t be keeping any money on Buchnevich or Kyrou, both signed through the 2030-31 season.
It stands to reason that Kyrou would land the most significant return of the trio. He’s the youngest at age 26 and leads the team in scoring with 23-21–44 through 56 games. He’s tied his career-best +10 rating, and while his offensive production is his worst per-game basis in four years, he boasts more substantial possession impacts than in the past and has added a bit more physicality to his game with a career-high 31 hits. An $8.125MM cap hit may stand as a small overpay at present but checks in at market value once the salary cap begins its meteoric rise next season, assuming his current 64-pace is where he bottoms out. He’s averaged 33 goals and 73 points per 82 games since his breakout 2021-22 campaign.
Buchnevich put pen to paper on a six-year, $48MM extension one day after becoming eligible to sign one last summer, but his production has continued to slide after back-to-back seasons above a point per game in 2021-22 and 2022-23. His totals dropped to 63 points in 80 games last year, and he’s only pace for 52 points over an 82-game schedule in 2024-25 with 11-23–34 through 54 appearances. His minus-two rating is his worst since arriving in St. Louis four years ago, as is his 11.1% shooting rate. With so much term attached at an $8MM annual commitment, a Buchnevich trade will likely need to wait until the summer at the earliest for teams to gauge whether the chance at a resurgence is worth the risk of him plateauing at 50-65 points per season.
Utah To Activate Sean Durzi From Injured Reserve
Utah is set to activate right-shot defender Sean Durzi from injured reserve before Saturday’s game against the Kings, head coach André Tourigny told reporters (including Brogan Houston of Deseret News) yesterday evening. Utah’s active roster currently has a maximum of 23 players, so they must make a corresponding move before activating him.
Durzi, 26, made it four games into the 2024-25 season before requiring right shoulder surgery in October. He was fresh off a career-best 32-assist, 41-point year with the Coyotes that led to a four-year, $24MM extension from Utah one day before he was set to reach restricted free agency last offseason.
He’ll return to the lineup after a four-month absence against his former team. Durzi skated his first two NHL seasons in Los Angeles, who acquired his signing rights from the Maple Leafs in the 2019 Jake Muzzin trade. He immediately solidified himself as a top-four option after making his NHL debut in 2021, averaging 19:42 over 136 games with the Kings and recording a 12-53–65 scoring line with a -21 rating. While he was already their secondary power-play option behind Drew Doughty and still had room to grow, younger names in the pool, like Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence, made him expendable. Halfway through a two-year, $3.4MM bridge deal with the Kings, L.A. traded him to Arizona in the 2023 offseason for a second-round pick.
It was a prudent move for the now-Utah-based franchise. Durzi was the Coyotes’ bona fide No. 1 defenseman in his lone season in the desert, leading skaters in average ice time with 22:43 and notching 41 points in 76 games. His defensive impacts exploded, too. His +3.1 expected rating led the team, and his 52.2 CF% at even strength finished second among qualified skaters behind Barrett Hayton. Established as a genuine top-pairing threat, Utah general manager Bill Armstrong got him some help on the trade market last offseason by picking up top-four stalwarts Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino.
Utah will have all three of those names in the lineup for the first time this season on Saturday. Marino didn’t make his season debut until mid-January after undergoing back surgery at the same time as Durzi. The former will hold down top-pairing duties alongside Sergachev. At the same time, Durzi will be eased back into the lineup in a third-pairing role alongside presumably Olli Määttä, Houston relayed from yesterday’s practice.
Durzi had two assists and a plus-two rating through his first four games in Utah before a hit from Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler put his season on pause. Utah is six points behind the Canucks for a wild-card spot and stands as a conservative seller on deadline day as things stand. Still, a fully healthy defense with another offensive weapon in Durzi could fuel a hot streak to put them back in the postseason conversation. The Western Conference’s mediocre depth means Utah only has Vancouver and the Flames to jump for a wild card spot, so their playoff chances still check in at 15.8%, according to MoneyPuck. Those could jump to north of 20% with a regulation win against Los Angeles.
Canucks Sign Drew O’Connor To Two-Year Extension
Feb. 19: O’Connor’s extension actually does carry some trade protection – a modified 12-team no-trade clause in both seasons, per PuckPedia.
Feb. 18: The Canucks have agreed to terms on a two-year, $5MM extension with winger Drew O’Connor, per a team announcement. He’ll carry a cap hit of $2.5MM in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 campaigns. His deal carries a $775K salary with a $2.075MM signing bonus in Year 1, followed by a $2.15MM salary with no bonuses in Year 2, PuckPedia reports.
O’Connor, 27 in June, was set for unrestricted free agency this summer after Vancouver acquired him along with defenseman Marcus Pettersson from the Penguins at the beginning of the month. After extending Pettersson on a six-year, $33MM deal a few days later, they’ve ensured both acquisitions will remain with the club past the stretch run.
While an afterthought in the deal compared to Pettersson, O’Connor has two goals on 10 shots in four games since the trade, including a penalty shot winner in overtime against the Sharks on Feb. 6. He has a plus-one rating, and the Canucks have controlled shot attempts 58-53 when he’s on the ice at even strength. He’s spent most of his time in the top six with Brock Boeser and Filip Chytil, helping the trio control 59.3% of expected goals through 28 minutes, per MoneyPuck. It’s a small sample, but he’s been a good fit in Vancouver early on.
O’Connor is no stranger to playing a complementary top-six role. He’s spent most of the last two years in Pittsburgh getting reps on Sidney Crosby‘s wing, including his breakout 2023-24 campaign that saw him net 16-17–33 in 79 games. The New Jersey native’s production had dipped this year before the trade, limited to 6-10–16 in 53 games with the Pens, but he’s tracking to rediscover more reliable top-nine production with the Canucks.
Over his 214-game career, the undrafted free agent signing out of Dartmouth has 32-36–68 with a minus-five rating. That averages out to 12 goals and 26 points per 82 games, and while that looks more like fringe third-line production, he’s tracking upward. Considering he’s demonstrated top-six utility, betting on his value to replicate or eclipse a $2.5MM cap hit amid a rising upper limit is a prudent move from Vancouver general manager Patrik Allvin, especially on a short-term deal with no trade protection.
O’Connor will now have to wait until 2027 to test unrestricted free agency for the first time. Meanwhile, the Canucks now have $75.87MM committed to 15 players for the 2025-26 campaign, per PuckPedia. With the salary cap increasing from $88MM to $92.5MM, they have $19.63MM in projected space to fill eight roster spots, a good chunk of which is earmarked for extension negotiations with pending UFAs. Brock Boeser and Kevin Lankinen.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Islanders Working On Extension For Maxim Tsyplakov
The Islanders have offered an extension worth around $3MM per season to pending restricted free agent right-winger Maxim Tsyplakov, agent Alexander Chernykh told Russian outlet Sport-Express (translated by Stefen Rosner and Matthew Page of The Hockey News). It’s unclear what length of contract the two sides are discussing at this point.
It would hardly be a surprise to see New York hammer out a deal with Tsyplakov before the trade deadline on March 7. The club has rocketed up the standings to a 25-23-7 record, 11 points out of a divisional berth in the Metropolitan but only four points out of a wild card spot. That bump in playoff odds to 32.5% (according to MoneyPuck) means a deadline retool is more likely than a complete selloff, meaning additional cost certainty for the 2025-26 campaign will come at a higher priority for general manager Lou Lamoriello.
Tsyplakov, 26, is one of the club’s more intriguing players and would have commanded a decent return if they decided to sell him off with one season left under team control. Undrafted, he was never on NHL teams’ radars throughout his professional career. That changed last summer on the heels of a massive 31-goal, 47-point breakout in 65 games for Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League, ranking fourth in the KHL in goals. He generated interest from multiple teams on the international free agent, including the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, before landing a one-year entry-level deal with the Isles in mid-May.
Early in the 2024-25 campaign, Tsyplakov proved he could hang as not only a middle-six presence in the NHL but a top-six one. He scored a goal and logged a whopping 20:46 of ice time in his NHL debut against Utah, an overtime loss, and has remained a second-line option with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri for most of the season. His offensive production is decent – 7-18–25 through 51 games – and he boasts a plus-nine rating with a team-high 33 PIMs. He doesn’t shoot the puck with aplomb, scoring on 10% of his 70 shots on goal, but he averages nearly 16 minutes per game and is tied for second on the club with 108 hits.
Tsyplakov doesn’t see any penalty kill usage but has taken reps on the second power-play unit, pairing the special-teams deployment with good possession impacts at even strength. His 51.9 CF% ranks seventh among Islanders skaters with 10 or more games played, and his +3.3 expected rating ranks fifth.
If not for a three-game suspension in January for a hit to the head of Flyers center Ryan Poehling and a lone healthy scratch following the discipline, Tsyplakov would be on pace to play in all 82 games with an 11-29–40 scoring line. Paired with his physicality and solid defensive play, that’s good enough production to lock him in as a complementary second-line piece. A long-term commitment to a player on the wrong side of 25 with a limited track record as a true impact player professionally seems unlikely, but a bridge deal in the $2.5MM-$3.5MM range per season as outlined by Chernykh stands as a potentially high-value deal for the Isles over the next few years.
Minor Transactions: 2/18/25
The transaction wire is active again today, with many teams hosting their first practices in over a week. The regular season schedule after the 4 Nations Face-Off resumes this weekend, so the players who teams reassigned to the minors over the break to continue playing will be added back to rosters today and tomorrow to make them eligible to practice with their NHL teammates. Here are all of today’s moves that largely constituted reversals of pre-break demotions.
- The Hurricanes announced they’ve promoted defenseman Riley Stillman from AHL Chicago. While he’d been off the roster for a few days already prior to the break, he’s been a frequent traveler between Carolina and Chicago this season. He was last rostered for a game on Jan. 28 against the Rangers – his season debut, in which he recorded a fight and a shot on goal in 7:40 of ice time. A routine healthy scratch/extra defenseman, Stillman is close to requiring waivers again to head to the minors after clearing them in November. The 26-year-old has 2-3–5 with 41 PIMs and a minus-three rating in 20 AHL contests this year.
- The Stars announced they’ve recalled defenseman Lian Bichsel from AHL Texas. He was quietly shuttled down on Feb. 8 after making eight straight appearances for Dallas leading into the break. The 2022 first-rounder has 2-3–5 and a plus-six rating through his first 16 career NHL games, all coming this season, and will continue in a regular role for the time being with Miro Heiskanen and Nils Lundkvist on the shelf.
- The Canucks announced they’ve promoted all of center Nils Åman, forward Arshdeep Bains, and defenseman Elias Pettersson from AHL Abbotsford. They also added goalie Arturs Silovs from the Baby Canucks on an emergency loan and will have Nikita Tolopilo around as a practice goaltender until Kevin Lankinen is ready to return from representing Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off, although the latter won’t take up a roster spot. Åman and Pettersson were sent to Abbotsford on Feb. 8, but this is Bains’ first recall since late November. The 24-year-old winger had one goal and a minus-four rating in 11 games earlier this season but has remained a near point-per-game threat in the minors, posting 7-20–27 in 32 AHL games. He’ll now get another crack at NHL minutes in the final season of his entry-level contract. Silovs, who’s struggled to the tune of a 1-4-1 record and .847 SV% in seven NHL appearances this season, will come up to serve as Lankinen’s No. 2 with Thatcher Demko still dealing with the undisclosed injury that caused him to leave Vancouver’s last pre-break game against the Maple Leafs. Tolopilo’s stay will be brief, and the 24-year-old will return to Abbotsford as soon as Lankinen is available.
- The Penguins called up winger Emil Bemström and goalie Joel Blomqvist from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and returned netminder Tristan Jarry to the minors in a corresponding transaction, the team announced. It’s a pure reversal of the moves Pittsburgh made after their last game on Feb. 8. Bemström has no points and two shots in two games since being recalled for the first time this season on Feb. 7, while Blomqvist has a 3-8-0 record with a .896 SV% and 3.54 GAA in 11 appearances on the year. The 23-year-old has struggled since taking over for Jarry on the roster, posting a .868 SV% in three starts since the veteran was waived in mid-January. The 29-year-old Jarry will continue to bide his time in the minors as he awaits another NHL chance, knocking on the door with a .924 SV% and 2.11 GAA in nine games.
- The Rangers announced they’ve recalled goaltender Dylan Garand from AHL Hartford. The 22-year-old comes up to serve as Jonathan Quick‘s backup with Igor Shesterkin not ready to return from the upper-body injury that kept him out of New York’s final game before the break. He’s sporting a .914 SV%, 2.73 GAA, three shutouts, and a 13-7-5 record in 25 showings with Hartford this year.
- The Blackhawks summoned defenseman Ethan Del Mastro from AHL Rockford, a team announcement states. Chicago sent the 22-year-old down at the beginning of the break for additional playing time in the minors, where he posted three shots and a plus-one rating in four games over the past couple of weeks. He has one assist in six NHL games since first being called up in late January and will continue competing for bottom-pairing minutes while Louis Crevier is on injured reserve with a concussion.
- The Bruins recalled defenseman Michael Callahan, center Matthew Poitras, and left-winger Riley Tufte from AHL Providence – the latter coming up under emergency conditions, per the team. Goaltender Michael DiPietro will also practice with the team while Jeremy Swayman remains with Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off but won’t count against the active roster. Callahan’s and Poitras’ recalls are reversals of pre-break assignments, with the former’s recall serving as confirmation that Hampus Lindholm won’t be ready to come off LTIR before Saturday’s game against the Ducks. Tufte’s recall is his first since November, and his inclusion is a solid indication that Charlie McAvoy will be IR-bound after sustaining an upper-body injury and subsequent infection at the 4 Nations.
- The Jets announced they’ve recalled Kaapo Kähkönen from AHL Manitoba to serve as a practice player with Connor Hellebuyck slated to start for the Americans in Thursday’s 4 Nations championship. He’s played one NHL game since signing a one-year, $1MM deal in Winnipeg last offseason – although it was for the Avalanche, who claimed him off waivers in October but lost him back to the Jets on the wire the following month. The 28-year-old has taken a tumble in Manitoba with a .885 SV% in 20 games – a worse save percentage than he posted on last year’s league-worst Sharks.
- The Sharks announced they’ve recalled forward Collin Graf and defenseman Jack Thompson from AHL San Jose. They were both assigned to the minors after their final pre-break game, although notably, veteran Andrew Poturalski remains in the minors after being demoted along with Graf and Thompson. The rookies are both likely to play next Sunday against the Flames.
- Utah announced they’d recalled winger Josh Doan from AHL Tucson after the previously reported summons of goaltender Jaxson Stauber. His reinstatement to the roster suggests Logan Cooley won’t be quite ready to return from his lower-body injury this weekend against the Kings, but general manager Bill Armstrong said yesterday he’s not expected out for much longer. Doan has 4-5–9 in 25 NHL games and 11-15–26 in 28 AHL games this year.
- The Blues will have goaltender Will Cranley join them for practice while Jordan Binnington remains with Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the club announced. Cranley, 22, was a sixth-round pick of 2020 and is in his second season of pro hockey. He’s spent almost all of his time in the ECHL, where he has a .911 SV% and 2.28 GAA in 16 appearances with the Florida Everblades this year.
- The Predators recalled goalie Matt Murray to join them as a practice player while Juuse Saros returns from repping the Fins at the 4 Nations, Emma Lingan of The Hockey News reports. Murray has yet to appear in a game for Nashville after spending the past few years in the Stars organization but has been recalled a few times as injury insurance this season. The 27-year-old has a sparkling .930 SV%, 2.17 GAA, two shutouts, and a 17-7-6 record for Milwaukee.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forwards Gage Goncalves and Gabriel Fortier to join as practice players. Goncalves has served as Tampa Bay’s extra forward for much of the year. His NHL career is still young, and his one goal and seven points in 33 games with the Lightning marks the first scoring of his career. Goncalves has also scored 18 points in 14 AHL games this year. Fortier has spent his whole season in the minors and scored 10 goals and 17 points in 37 games. He ranks third on the Syracuse Crunch in goals and seventh in points.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
List Of NHL-Affiliated Prospects In The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League
The Canadian Hockey League trade deadlines are in the rearview mirror. That makes it a good time to take stock of where NHL teams have their prospect pool skating ahead of the big league deadline. We’re taking a look at how many prospects each team has in the world’s top junior association, moving onto the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. You can find the list of Ontario Hockey League players here.
Anaheim Ducks
F Alexandre Blais (Rimouski Océanic)
F Maxim Massé (Chicoutimi Saguenéens)
Boston Bruins
D Loke Johansson (Moncton Wildcats)
Buffalo Sabres
D Simon-Pier Brunet (Drummondville Voltigeurs)
Calgary Flames
F Matvei Gridin (Shawinigan Cataractes)
D Étienne Morin (Moncton Wildcats)
Carolina Hurricanes
F Justin Poirier (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
Columbus Blue Jackets
F Tyler Peddle (Saint John Sea Dogs)
Detroit Red Wings
G Rudy Guimond (Moncton Wildcats)
Florida Panthers
D Luke Coughlin (Rimouski Océanic)
Montreal Canadiens
G Mikus Vecvanags (Acadie-Bathurst Titan)
Nashville Predators
D Dylan MacKinnon (Moncton Wildcats)
G Jakub Milota (Cape Breton Eagles)
New Jersey Devils
F Matyas Melovsky (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
F Cam Squires (Cape Breton Eagles)
New York Rangers
F Raoul Boilard (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
Philadelphia Flyers
D Spencer Gill (Rimouski Océanic)
D Matteo Mann (Saint John Sea Dogs)
Seattle Kraken
D Alexis Bernier (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
St. Louis Blues
F Antoine Dorion (Québec Remparts)
F Juraj Pekarcik (Moncton Wildcats)
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Ethan Gauthier (Drummondville Voltigeurs)
D Dyllan Gill (Moncton Wildcats)
D Jan Golicic (Gatineau Olympiques)
Utah Hockey Club
D Tomas Lavoie (Cape Breton Eagles)
F Gabe Smith (Moncton Wildcats)
Vancouver Canucks
D Basile Sansonnens (Rimouski Océanic)
Vegas Golden Knights
F Mathieu Cataford (Rimouski Océanic)
Washington Capitals
F Eriks Mateiko (Rimouski Océanic)
Predators’ Jeremy Lauzon Out For Season With Lower-Body Injury
The Predators announced Tuesday that defenseman Jeremy Lauzon will miss the next four to six months with his lower-body injury, putting him out for the remainder of the season. He hasn’t played since leaving their Dec. 31 game against the Wild.
Lauzon initially exited the lineup with the LBI around Thanksgiving, leaving a game against the Devils on Nov. 25 prematurely. He missed 10 games before returning to the lineup, appearing in six straight before aggravating the issue against Minnesota. While the team didn’t confirm, today’s announcement likely indicates he’ll need or already has undergone surgery.
Lauzon is in his fourth season with the Predators, who paid a second-round pick to acquire him from the Kraken at the 2022 trade deadline. Initially drafted by the Bruins in 2015, he spent parts of three seasons in Boston before being claimed by Seattle in the 2021 expansion draft. He’d played in 60-plus games for three consecutive seasons leading into 2024-25, a streak that obviously won’t continue.
Over the past three years, Lauzon has been a serviceable bottom-pairing defenseman. He consistently posts below-average possession numbers with few offensive merits, but he does one thing quite well – hit. The 6’3″, 225-lb lefty set an all-time record in 2023-24 with 383 hits in a single season, although Vancouver’s Kiefer Sherwood has 294 in 51 games this season and could surpass that figure. His void on the Preds was filled last week when they claimed Andreas Englund off waivers from the Kings.
Lauzon has one year left on his four-year, $8MM contract, so he’ll assumedly be fully healthy for training camp next fall if his timeline doesn’t stretch past six months. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2026.
Predators Acquire Grigori Denisenko From Golden Knights
The Predators have acquired winger Grigori Denisenko from the Golden Knights in exchange for future considerations, the latter club announced. He was previously on assignment to AHL Henderson and will now report to Nashville’s affiliate in Milwaukee. He does not need to clear waivers.
Denisenko, 24, is best known for his time in the Panthers system as a top prospect. His professional career never got off the ground after being selected 15th overall in 2018, though, and after failing to make Florida’s roster out of camp last season, he was waived and claimed by the Golden Knights. He’s appeared in just seven games with Vegas since the beginning of 2023-24, spending nearly all of his time in Henderson instead. Only one of those games came this season. He’s yet to record a point in a Knights uniform and has a minus-three rating while averaging 10:30 per game and recording five shots on goal.
This season, Denisenko cleared waivers in September and returned to Henderson. After recording a respectable 56 points in 65 games there last year, 2024-25 hasn’t been nearly as productive for the Russian forward. He’s posted 10-14–24 in 42 games with a -21 rating, although that was still good enough for sixth place on the scoring-challenged Silver Knights. His lone NHL appearance this year came on Nov. 13 against the Ducks, taking a minor penalty and recording five hits with no shots in 8:27 of ice time.
Now in the Nashville organization, Denisenko will look to get his AHL scoring numbers back up in search of another NHL recall. He doesn’t have a lot of runway to do it with two months left in the regular season, though. He’s also due to reach Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer as a result of him playing fewer than 80 NHL games while being at least 25 years old on July 1 with at least three seasons of professional experience. That makes him ineligible for a qualifying offer, and he’ll hit the open market without an extension.
With the move, the Knights open up a contract slot ahead of the trade deadline. They now have three with 47 out of a maximum 50 on the books.
Maple Leafs Recall Alex Steeves
The Maple Leafs announced today they’ve recalled winger Alex Steeves from AHL Toronto. They had an open roster spot after assigning defenseman Dakota Mermis to the Marlies before the 4 Nations Face-Off break, which Steeves now fills.
Steeves, 25, was an undrafted free agent signing by Toronto out of Notre Dame in 2021 and has since emerged as a star minor-leaguer. He’s operating over a point per game for the first time this season and has already set a career-high in goals, notching 29-17–46 in 40 games. He now sits atop the Marlies’ franchise leaderboard in goals (98) and points (200) since their inception in 2005. That production has never translated to the NHL, though, only notching one assist in 11 career appearances.
Four of those games came earlier this season. In a November call-up, he averaged 11:01 per game and went without a point, although he did record five shots on goal and 11 hits. He also posted strong possession metrics in primarily defensive usage, still controlling 51.5% of shot attempts at even strength.
Despite those pedestrian offensive numbers, his decent defensive showings in limited minutes and his AHL dominance make it easy to see why the Maple Leafs are interested in giving Steeves another look at the NHL level. He leads the AHL in goals and ranks third in points, trailing only Bridgeport’s Chris Terry and San Jose’s Andrew Poturalski.
Whether Steeves enters the lineup versus the Hurricanes on Saturday likely depends on the health of captain Auston Matthews. The team’s top center is skating with Team USA at the 4 Nations tournament and missed the final round-robin game against Sweden with upper-body soreness, although he’s expected back for the championship game against Canada on Thursday. He’s missed 15 regular-season games already with recurring upper-body issues.