Wild Activate Jonas Brodin, Marcus Johansson
As expected, the Wild announced they’ve activated defenseman Jonas Brodin from long-term injured reserve and winger Marcus Johansson from standard IR ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Bruins. Minnesota assigned forward Ben Jones to AHL Iowa in a corresponding transaction to open a required space on the active roster.
Brodin and Johansson were full participants in practice Monday, leading most to assume they’d be in tonight’s lineup. The former has missed 12 games with a lower-body injury sustained against the Hurricanes on Jan. 7, while Johansson sat out the last eight with a concussion he suffered on an elbow from Oilers star Connor McDavid on Jan. 15.
Their returns are key reinforcements for the Wild amid Kirill Kaprizov‘s LTIR stint following lower-body surgery last week and a 10-game suspension to winger Ryan Hartman handed down yesterday by the Department of Player Safety. In the interim, Minnesota will have plenty of cap flexibility, with Kaprizov fueling a $9.02MM LTIR pool. However, roster management will be an issue, as Hartman still takes up a spot during his suspension.
Brodin likely returns to a top-four role besides captain Jared Spurgeon following his third multi-game absence of the season. He missed a pair of contests in November with an upper-body injury before sitting out another eight with a similar injury weeks later.
The Wild went 5-7-0 without Brodin in their last 12 games and have a 12-10-0 without his services on the season. When healthy, the 31-year-old has the best offensive campaign of his 13-year career. He has 16 points through 31 appearances for a career-high 0.51 points per game, averaging north of 23 minutes per game for the second straight season and anchoring the team’s top penalty-kill unit.
He aims to stabilize a Minnesota defense that has faltered since the calendar flipped to 2025. Since New Year’s, they have allowed 3.20 goals against per game, ranking 26th out of 32 teams. Similarly, their 31.3 shots against per game rank 28th.
It’s not time to hit the panic button in the State of Hockey yet. They still have a two-point cushion on the Avalanche for third place in the Central Division with a game in hand, and Hockey Reference still gives them a 97.1% chance of making the playoffs. But it’s been ugly when they’ve lost – four of their seven Ls since the beginning of January have been by at least four goals.
While Johansson hasn’t had the offensive impact they hoped for this year, he’s still an upgrade over most of their depth options and will take pressure off other overtaxed wingers in Kaprizov’s and Hartman’s absence. The 15-year veteran is averaging 16 minutes per game this season and has five goals and 11 assists in 44 games. He’s shooting at a career-low 7.4% rate but posts decent possession metrics, with a 48.5 CF% and +2.1 expected rating at even strength.
Johansson will skate at left wing on a line with Marcus Foligno and Marco Rossi, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports. He’s also likely to continue seeing second powerplay unit duties as he has for most of the year.
Jones, 25, returns to Iowa after being recalled last week following the news of Kaprizov’s surgery. He was only rostered as an extra forward and did not play in any of the Wild’s three games since being added to the roster.
He’s still looking for his first NHL point, failing to produce any offense across 26 appearances throughout the year. While he’s been a non-factor in the NHL, he’s been a top-six contributor for Iowa with 14 points in 20 games. He’s in the first season of a two-year, two-way commitment he signed as a free agent last summer.
Russia, Belarus Remain Expelled From 2025-26 IIHF Competition, Olympic Participation Undecided
The IIHF announced Tuesday that the Russian and Belarusian national teams will remain barred from competition for at least another year. The International Olympic Committee still has to decide whether to include the former in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
However, that means the clubs won’t be able to field squads for the 2026 World Championship or the 2026 World Juniors, among other competitions. This marks the fourth straight competition season without the two countries. “As the current security conditions do not allow the necessary requirements for the organization of tournaments guaranteeing the safety of all, the IIHF must maintain the current status quo until further notice,” the international governing body said in a statement.
The IIHF initially suspended all Russian and Belarusian national teams and clubs in February 2022 following the former country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine with Belarusian support. By May 2026, they will determine whether it’s “safe to reincorporate” the two countries into international play for the 2026-27 season.
Belarus was already disqualified from next year’s Olympics because it was barred from participating in the required qualification tournament. Russia, whose world ranking is high enough that it doesn’t need a qualification tournament to get in, could still field a team for the tournament if the IOC allows it. No Russian or Belarusian teams were allowed to participate in any sport at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Still, some individuals from both countries participated under an Individual Neutral Athletes banner.
“One of the IIHF’s arguments for not permitting Russia to compete in its tournaments is the issue of safety,” ex-NHLer and Russian Hockey Federation representative Pavel Bure told Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff. “In our opinion, this argument does not hold enough strength. More than 50 Russians play in the NHL. Russian swimmers, chess players and representatives of other sports are participating in international competitions without any incidents being recorded. One of our suggestions was to finance additional security for Russia, in order to allow fans across the planet to watch one of the world’s best teams in action again.“
Lightning Reassign Conor Geekie
The Lightning reassigned top prospect Conor Geekie to AHL Syracuse on Tuesday, per a team announcement. The team now has two open spots on the active roster.
While the move indicates Geekie won’t miss any time after leaving Saturday’s overtime loss to the Islanders with an apparent arm injury, he won’t be in the lineup tonight against the Senators. He heads to the minors for the first time this season after posting no points and a minus-five rating in his last nine games, posting a 43.4 CF% in that span. He hasn’t been on the ice for an even-strength goal since his most recent point, a tally against the Bruins on Jan. 14.
The Bolts’ front office has determined that Geekie needs more development time due to his lack of individual offensive output and recent drag on the team’s possession play. Acquired from Utah in last summer’s Mikhail Sergachev trade, the 2022 11th overall pick was the only Lightning prospect listed in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s offseason league-wide top 100 ranking, which ranked him No. 74.
Entering the season, the 6’4″, 207-lb 20-year-old had just two games of professional experience, both coming with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners in last year’s Calder Cup Playoffs. He’s yet to see regular-season action in the minors, making the Lightning roster out of camp following a 43-goal, 99-point showing in the Western Hockey League in 2023-24 with the Wenatchee Wild and Swift Current Broncos.
Projecting as a top-six, two-way center with strong physical tools, Geekie has understandably spent most of his rookie season on the wing since Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, Nick Paul, and Luke Glendening were already locked in down the middle. He’s gotten plenty of looks in second-line minutes alongside Cirelli and Brandon Hagel, but it hasn’t led to much individual production. He has 12 points (6 G, 6 A) through 49 games and a minus-three rating while averaging 12:09 per game, none of which has come on the penalty kill and less than a minute of which has come on the power play. His even-strength production pales to that of his most common linemates, the latter of which ranks second on the team behind Nikita Kucherov with 20 EVG and 21 EVA.
The Lightning haven’t gotten much secondary scoring outside of their top five forwards and Paul, but an electric 26.4% power play and point-per-game seasons from Kucherov, Point, Hagel, and Jake Guentzel still means they have the league’s fourth-best offense. They’re still likely looking for another piece to complement Hagel and Cirelli on the second line, though, and since Geekie’s failed to lock down that spot, they’ll see what he can do in heavy usage in the minors.
Geekie still has two seasons remaining on his entry-level contract, which carries a cap hit of $867K.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Utah Acquires Sammy Walker From Wild
Utah acquired depth forward Sammy Walker from the Wild on Monday in exchange for future considerations, both teams announced. Walker, who had been on assignment to AHL Iowa, will report to Utah’s affiliate in Tucson.
Walker, an undersized but speedy center, is in his third season of professional hockey. The 25-year-old was a seventh-round pick of the Lightning back in 2017, but after a fruitful four-year tenure at the University of Minnesota, they opted not to sign him. He hit free agency and signed with his hometown Wild in the 2022 offseason.
The 5’10” pivot earned a handful of call-ups across his first two campaigns, getting into 13 games with Minnesota while recording a goal and an assist. He posted a minus-four rating during that time and averaged 10:13 per game, struggling to control play with a 43.2 CF% at even strength.
Most of his time has been spent on the farm in AHL Iowa, where he’s steadily regressed since an All-Star rookie season. He led Iowa with 27 goals and had 48 points in 56 games, even earning a spot on the United States’ roster for the 2023 World Championship. His offensive output dropped to 14 goals and 45 points in 70 AHL games last year, though, and has completely fallen off a cliff to the tune of two goals and 11 points through 30 games in 2024-25.
As such, Walker was tracking for his first campaign without an NHL recall. He’ll now get the chance to rediscover his game in the Utah organization, joining a marginally stronger Tucson roster, while the Wild open a fourth contract slot in advance of the trade deadline.
Trade Deadline Primer: Boston Bruins
With the 4 Nations Face-Off break approaching, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Boston Bruins.
With tight playoff races in both conferences, there are many teams without a clear agenda heading into deadline day. The Bruins are one of those teams. An early-season coaching change hasn’t done much to jumpstart general manager Don Sweeney‘s club, as an 18-13-3 record under interim head coach Joe Sacco still has them one point out of a playoff spot with negative games in hand. With a subpar possession game, unusually below-average goaltending, and a captain on an expiring contract, Boston isn’t in a good position to be the aggressive buyers they’ve routinely been at recent deadlines.
Record
26-22-6, 5th in the Atlantic
Deadline Status
Conservative Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$1.87MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2025: BOS 1st, BOS 3rd, BOS 5th, BOS 6th, BOS 7th
2026: BOS 1st, BOS 2nd, BOS 3rd, BOS 4th, BOS 5th, BOS 7th
Trade Chips
If any Bruins roster players move – which isn’t a given – pending UFA forward Trent Frederic is the likeliest candidate. Whether he’s shipped out as part of a true selling move or a retooling swap remains to be seen, but in any event, the 26-year-old is likely more valuable to Boston as a trade chip than as an extension candidate through what looks to be a few questionable seasons. The versatile middle-six grinder has been drawing interest for weeks now, which should only be growing as Mikael Granlund has already come off a thin list of rental forwards with usability at center.
However, Frederic is amid a major offensive regression, posting seven goals and seven assists in 52 games after a career-best 18-goal, 40-point showing last year. That comes despite Frederic averaging a career-high 14:05 per game, most of which has come at even strength. He’s been deployed on the second power-play unit with quarterback Hampus Lindholm missing extended time but hasn’t seen much use shorthanded despite what his reputation as a checking piece may indicate. Frederic does rank second on the team with 142 hits, though, and his $2.3MM cap hit won’t likely require retention for most interested parties. That, plus his effectiveness as a strong secondary scoring piece in the prior couple of seasons, should net Sweeney a solid return as he looks to restock his draft and prospect cupboard and rework his roster.
Big-bodied wingers Justin Brazeau and Cole Koepke are also pending UFAs and have provided far more value to the Bruins this season than their league-minimum two-way deals would predicate. Brazeau, in particular, has found a niche, checking in as one of the team’s six double-digit goal scorers with 10 and 20 points through 51 games. He’s seen usage higher in the lineup, particularly with Elias Lindholm and Brad Marchand, and has a 6’5″, 220-lb frame while carrying above-average possession impacts. If his play holds, he’d be an upgrade on nearly every contender’s fourth line and could even check in as a top-nine piece on a few. Koepke has cooled off after a hot start to the year but has still been part of one of the league’s best shutdown lines this year with John Beecher and Mark Kastelic. The 26-year-old has 12 points in a career-high 47 games, and the trio’s 1.28 xGA/60 ranks second in the league among qualified trios, per MoneyPuck.
On the back end, left-shot Parker Wotherspoon is likely to draw interest from teams looking to add some injury insurance ahead of the postseason. A pending UFA with an $800K cap hit, he has a goal and an assist in 30 appearances for the Bruins this year while logging fringe shorthanded usage. He plays a low-event game, carrying the worst offensive impacts of any full-time Bruins skater at even strength this season, but his 1.8 GA/60 ranks among the team’s best.
Then there’s Marchand, who enters deadline season without an extension after he denied a report from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet in October that a three-year deal was imminent. The 36-year-old still ranks second on the team in scoring with 42 points in 54 games and would net at least a first-round pick as part of a bigger return package. Trading him would signal a more aggressive sell-off than the Bruins have undertaken in decades, though, and remains an outside possibility at best despite his pending free agency.
Team Needs
1) Defense Prospects: While the Bruins’ pool is lacking in talent overall, they still have a pair of promising U-23 forwards in Fabian Lysell and Matthew Poitras. The same can’t be said for their future on defense, which lacks players with surefire NHL upside behind 24-year-old Mason Lohrei, who’s already established himself as a regular. The few first-round picks the Bruins have kept in recent years have all gone to forwards – understandable, given their increasing lack of secondary scoring – leaving the blue line unattended. More cost-effective youth to phase out overpaid depth like Andrew Peeke works to their present and future advantage.
2) Top-Six Forward: If it’s a retooling approach instead of a sellers’ one that Sweeney takes to the deadline, acquiring a top-six forward – whether a polished one or one with relatively certain upside – is a must. Morgan Geekie has been serviceable but overtaxed in a top-line role with David Pastrňák and Pavel Zacha, and Lindholm’s lack of goal-scoring (nine goals in 54 GP) has put more pressure on their wingers to be productive.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Blues Reassign Matthew Kessel
The Blues reassigned defenseman Matthew Kessel to AHL Springfield on Monday, per a team announcement. They now have no extra defensemen on the active roster and a pair of open spots.
After being recalled Friday, Kessel only spent a few days on the active roster. He dressed for that night’s game in place of the ill Colton Parayko against the Avalanche but posted a minus-two rating and one shot on goal in 15:26 of ice time. He didn’t play in last night’s 2-1 win over Utah thanks to Parayko’s return, and with a three-game homestand carrying the Blues through to the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the need for an extra defenseman isn’t pressing.
Kessel becomes waiver-eligible after he plays two more NHL games, so, understandably, St. Louis will attempt to stretch that out as long as possible. Regardless of whether he plays again in 2024-25, he’ll need waivers to head to the minors at the beginning of 2025-26 if he doesn’t make the team.
The 24-year-old righty has suited up 27 times for the Blues this year, including 11 straight games in October and November. He routinely logged limited minutes when dressed and was sent to Springfield in December, shortly before St. Louis moved to acquire Cam Fowler from the Ducks.
Dating back to his debut for the team in the 2022-23 season, the 2020 fifth-rounder has one goal and nine assists for 10 points in 68 NHL games with a minus-four rating. He’s averaged 15:16 per game with a 48.0 CF% but has only averaged 13:05 per game in 2024-25, albeit with improved possession metrics.
The Phoenix native is amid an offensive emergence on minor-league assignments this season. While touted as a physical defensive specialist, he has 11 points in 17 games for Springfield after recording just eight in 36 AHL games last season.
Senators’ Josh Norris Out Multiple Weeks With Mid-Body Injury
Senators center Josh Norris will miss “a few weeks” with the injury he sustained in Saturday’s 6-0 win over the Wild, head coach Travis Green told TSN 1200 Ottawa on Monday. Green clarified that it’s a mid-body issue for Norris but didn’t issue further details.
Norris, 25, had only recently returned to the lineup after missing two games with an upper-body issue. He had four points in three games since returning, including a three-point outing against the Capitals last Thursday.
It will be Norris’ most prolonged absence from a primarily healthy season. Recurring shoulder issues and multiple surgeries limited him to 124 of 246 possible regular-season games over the prior three seasons. While he won’t play a full schedule for the first time since his rookie showing in the shortened 2020-21 campaign, he was previously on track to only miss single-digit games for the first time since then.
Thanks to the upcoming break in the schedule for the 4 Nations Face-Off, a multi-week interruption won’t result in too many missed games for the 2017 first-round pick. He presumably won’t play in the four remaining games before the tournament but could be in line to return on Feb. 22 against the Canadiens or Feb. 26 against the Jets, Ottawa’s only two contests left in the month after the break.
Norris has consistently operated as the Sens’ second-line center this season, often skating with Drake Batherson on his right flank and, most recently, David Perron on his left. His 19 goals in 50 games are one back of captain Brady Tkachuk for the team lead, while his 31 points rank sixth. He’s averaging 18:24 per game, in line with his usage from his breakout 35-goal campaign in 2021-22, and winning 54% of his draws.
It hasn’t been as dominant of a campaign offensively as the Sens envisioned he would churn out when they signed him to an eight-year, $63.6MM extension after that 35-goal year, but returning to health and establishing himself as a solid top-six pivot is a win for a player whose career was on the verge of being entirely derailed by injury. He’s been among the Senators’ most physically involved forwards with 43 blocks and 126 hits and logs time on their top power play and penalty kill units.
He’s an important piece and, by extension, a significant loss for a streaking Ottawa club trying to hold third place in the Atlantic Division heading into the break. They’re one point ahead of the Red Wings and two points ahead of the Bruins and Lightning, although Tampa is the only one in the group with a game in hand. Overall, their .577 points percentage ranks sixth in the Eastern Conference and 13th in the league, putting them in position to end their seven-year playoff drought.
Norris could be flexed to injured reserve to open up a roster spot if the Sens need one, but an LTIR placement to increase cap flexibility can’t happen unless they project him to miss at least 10 games. That’s unlikely since the break in the schedule would hold him out past the trade deadline.
He’ll be replaced in the lineup by winger Cole Reinhardt, who Ottawa recalled from AHL Belleville on Sunday. Ridly Greig will shift to the middle to center Batherson and Perron tonight against the Predators.
Wild’s Ryan Hartman To Have In-Person Player Safety Hearing
Wild forward Ryan Hartman will have an in-person hearing with the league’s Department of Player Safety after he was ejected from last night’s 6-0 loss to the Senators for intending to injure Ottawa star Tim Stützle, per an announcement from the organization Sunday. Hartman is now eligible to be suspended for more than five games.
The incident occurred with 16 seconds left on the clock in the second period. Hartman drove Stützle’s head into the ice following a defensive zone draw, causing the latter’s helmet to come off and creating a cut on his forehead (video link via Sportsnet).
Hartman was given a match penalty for roughing and intent to injure. The Senators scored three times on the ensuing five-minute major power play to begin the third period, including two assists from Stützle.
The pair found themselves on the box score earlier in the second period when Stützle was assessed a minor penalty for slashing Hartman. At the same time, the latter was assessed a double minor for roughing and embellishment. Hartman totaled 19 PIMs in the game, marking the second time he’s earned a match or misconduct penalty this season. The other occurred in a 6-1 home loss to the Panthers in December.
It’s been a disappointing campaign for the 30-year-old, who’s been bumped to bottom-six minutes with the emergence of Marco Rossi as Minnesota’s first-line center. His offensive pace has been harmed as a result, tied for ninth on the team in scoring with 17 points (7 G, 10 A) through 48 games. His 14:45 ATOI is his lowest usage since his first season in the State of Hockey in 2019-20, while his minus-eight rating ranks as the club’s lowest.
Nonetheless, a pending multi-game absence will be difficult to swallow for a Wild forward group that’s already missing top-six wingers Marcus Johansson and Kirill Kaprizov. Johansson remains without a timeline to return following a concussion over two weeks ago, while Kaprizov remains out until at least the end of the month following lower-body surgery.
Stars Activate Mason Marchment From Injured Reserve
Stars winger Mason Marchment has been activated from injured reserve Sunday, per a team announcement. The team opened roster space by reassigning forward Kyle McDonald and defenseman Christian Kyrou to AHL Texas, leaving them with an open spot.
Marchment, 29, will draw into the lineup this evening for the first time in over a month. The power forward needed surgery after taking a puck to the face against the Wild on Dec. 27, keeping him out of Dallas’ last 17 games.
The Ontario native was having an extraordinarily productive campaign before his injury. He had 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points through the season’s first 33 games, still placing him fifth on the team in points per game with 0.82. He’s on track for his best offensive season as a Star and his finest showing since his breakout 2021-22 campaign with the Panthers, when he notched a +29 rating and 47 points in 54 games and finished 18th in Selke Trophy voting.
Marchment is now in the third season of the four-year, $18MM deal he inked with Dallas in free agency in 2022. He has 111 points in 182 games as a Star, ranking ninth on the team in scoring since his arrival and ranking third in hits (240).
A career-high 15.0% shooting rate explains some of Marchment’s re-emergence as a bonafide top-six piece, but he’s also recorded figures in the 14% range twice in his six-year NHL career. His possession impacts this season have also been standouts, ranking second on the team behind Mavrik Bourque with a 55.5 CF% at even strength.
He’s another weapon in a Stars offense that’s figured things out in recent weeks, ranking fifth in the league with 3.29 goals per game in Marchment’s absence. His return to the lineup should coincide with Mikael Granlund‘s Dallas debut after they acquired him from the Sharks yesterday, supercharging their already strong offensive depth.
McDonald and Kyrou were recalled yesterday as the Stars entered long-term injured reserve for the first time this season. Neither was ever expected to play, with their cap hits solely being added to the active roster to optimize their LTIR capture when they moved Tyler Seguin there and added Nils Lundkvist after news broke that the latter would miss the remainder of the season with an upper-body injury.
Senators Recall Cole Reinhardt
The Senators announced Sunday they’ve recalled winger Cole Reinhardt from AHL Belleville. They opened a roster spot by waiving and reassigning him just last week, so no corresponding transaction is required.
Reinhardt returns to the active roster after Josh Norris left Saturday’s 6-0 drubbing of the Wild in the third period with an undisclosed injury. Head coach Travis Green didn’t have an update on Norris’ status postgame, nor made it clear when the center sustained it (via Sportsnet).
The 25-year-old’s inclusion on the roster gives the Sens 12 forwards for Monday’s game against the Predators in case Norris cannot play. Ottawa did not have any extra healthy forwards for last night’s win, with Noah Gregor on injured reserve and Nick Cousins out long-term following knee surgery.
Reinhardt last skated for the Sens in their 5-0 win over the Penguins on Jan. 11. He sustained an upper-body injury in that game that forced him out of the next nine contests before he landed on waivers last Tuesday.
The Calgary native cleared without incident and returned to play with the B-Sens on Wednesday, scoring the overtime winner in a 6-5 win over Hartford in his first game back. He was otherwise held pointless in three appearances over the past few days, but he still checks in as Belleville’s points-per-game leader with 1.06.
A sixth-round pick in 2020, the 6’1″ left-winger has worked his way up to tweener status on Ottawa’s depth chart. He’s appeared in 12 NHL games this season after not suiting up in any since his NHL debut in April 2022, posting a goal and an assist with a minus-five rating.
Reinhardt has averaged just 8:08 per game but ranks second on the team with 17.8 hits per 60 minutes. Outside of his physicality and the depth scoring upside he’s flashed at the AHL level, his possession impacts have been poor with a 42.6 CF% and -1.6 expected rating at even strength. The former ranks last among Ottawa skaters to play multiple games this season.
Reinhardt can remain on Ottawa’s roster for another 30 days or play 10 games before he needs to clear waivers again to return to Belleville. He’s slated to reach Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer due to playing fewer than 80 NHL games while having at least three professional seasons under his belt.