Oilers Recall Josh Brown
The Oilers recalled defenseman Josh Brown from AHL Bakersfield on Sunday, according to a team announcement. The club had a pair of open roster spots and ample cap space in their LTIR pool, so no corresponding transaction was necessary.
Recalling Brown gives Edmonton an extra defenseman while Darnell Nurse, who sustained an upper-body injury on a hit from Maple Leafs winger Ryan Reaves on Saturday night that resulted in a five-game suspension, is unavailable. The Oilers haven’t yet issued a timeline for Nurse’s return, but after leaving the game bloodied and in visible pain, it’s likely he’ll miss at least a game or two.
Edmonton signed Brown, 30, to a three-year, $3MM contract over the summer. It hasn’t gone to plan at all, with the 6’5″ righty failing to even make the team out of camp and clearing waivers last month.
Brown’s $1MM cap hit is fully buriable in the minors, but it’s a big chunk of change to be paying an AHLer. The Ontario native hadn’t seen AHL ice since the 2018-19 campaign with the Panthers, the same season he made his NHL debut.
A Florida sixth-round pick in 2013, Brown has recorded 11 goals, 23 assists, 34 points, and a -26 rating in 290 NHL appearances over the past six years with the Panthers, Senators, Bruins, and Coyotes before arriving with the Oilers. He averages less than 15 minutes per game and has consistently posted below-average possession numbers, only controlling 43.8% of shot attempts when on the ice at even strength.
Last year in Arizona, Brown was a frequent healthy scratch but managed a career-high seven assists and 10 points in 51 games when in the lineup. The physical stay-at-home defender did finish fourth on the Coyotes with 85 blocks and sixth with 112 hits, but his 41.0 CF% at even strength was the worst among any Arizona skater with over 20 games played.
In 12 games with Bakersfield, Brown has two assists and leads the team with 46 PIMs and a +5 rating. The former number leads the league, not an unsurprising stat for a player who logged 1.47 PIMs per game with Arizona in 2023-24.
It’s unclear whether Brown will make his Oilers debut on Monday against the Canadiens. That depends on the health of winger Viktor Arvidsson, who’s missed their last two games with an undisclosed injury and has led them to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen. If Arvidsson can’t play, Brown will likely suit up as the extra blue-liner.
Brown can remain on the Oilers’ roster for up to 30 days or play up to 10 games before requiring waivers again to return to Bakersfield.
Canucks Recall Elias Pettersson, Place Derek Forbort On IR
The Canucks have recalled defenseman Elias Pettersson from AHL Abbotsford, Irfaan Gaffar of Daily Faceoff reports Sunday. Defenseman Derek Forbort was placed on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction to create an open spot on the active roster.
It’s the first recall of Pettersson’s career. The 20-year-old, who bears no relation to Vancouver’s star center with the same name, was selected 80th overall in the 2022 draft and is in his first full season in North America after spending last season on loan to Västerås IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier professional league.
Pettersson is a left-shot defender with good size at 6’3″ and 209 lbs. Elite Prospects lauds him as a “good skater with a long stride,” and while he doesn’t overtly dominate in any area of the game, he doesn’t have many glaring shortcomings that should impede his development. McKeen’s Hockey ranked him as the eighth-best prospect in the Canucks’ system in their preseason rankings, third among defensemen behind countryman Tom Willander and fellow first-year pro Kirill Kudryavtsev.
Through 15 games with Abbotsford this season, Pettersson has four assists, four penalty minutes and a +3 rating. He also had a pair of assists in eight regular-season outings with Abbotsford to end 2023-24 after his campaign with Västerås came to an end.
Pettersson has been on Sweden’s roster for each of the last two World Junior Championships, totaling five assists in 14 games with a +2 rating. He also has 64 games of European top-level professional experience with Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League, posting a goal and seven assists with a +10 rating.
Pettersson will likely serve as an extra defender for Sunday’s game against the Predators and watch from the press box. While he signed his entry-level contract before the 2023-24 campaign, it slid last season as he didn’t play in 10 NHL games. It goes into effect for 2024-25 with a cap hit of $838.3K and makes him a restricted free agent in 2027.
Meanwhile, Forbort lands on IR after sitting out the last six games with a knee injury. Gaffar reported earlier this month that Forbort’s injury could sideline him for over a month, meaning he could still be a couple of weeks away from returning to the lineup.
Since Forbort has already missed more than a week due to the injury, he’s eligible to be reinstated at any time. The 32-year-old has played in four games for the Canucks this season between the knee injury and personal reasons, posting one assist and a -2 rating while averaging 16:30 per game. The veteran of 500 NHL games inked a one-year, $1.5MM contract with Vancouver over the summer after completing a three-year, $9MM deal with the Bruins that didn’t result in an extension.
Jets Reassign Fabian Wagner To AHL
The Jets assigned forward prospect Fabian Wagner to AHL Manitoba on Sunday, per a team announcement. The 20-year-old began the season on loan to Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League, but the team said Saturday that they would be mutually terminating their agreement with Wagner.
Linköping sporting director Peter Jakobsson said Wagner wanted to come to North America, and it’s easy to see why. The 2022 sixth-round pick has averaged just 6:23 per game through 16 appearances in 2024-25 and has a -5 rating without recording a point.
The Jets selected Wagner out of the Linköping organization two years ago after he posted 38 points and a +20 rating in 43 appearances for their U-20 club. He’s played primarily for the professional squad since in top-level SHL action but has been used sparingly, totaling just one goal and five assists in 87 games in light usage, almost always dressing as the club’s 13th forward.
Wagner, a 6’0″ forward who can play both center and wing, has suited up for Sweden at the past two World Junior Championships, where he has two goals and four assists for six points in 14 games. All of those points came in seven games at the 2023 tournament – he went pointless at the 2024 edition.
It’s not quite a last-ditch effort to get Wagner’s development back on track – he is still just 20 years old, after all. However, his inability to climb up Linköping’s depth chart over the past few years is concerning, and as a result, few scouting services rank him within Winnipeg’s top 15 or 20 prospects.
The Jets signed Wagner to his entry-level contract back in June 2023. It slid last year since he spent the whole campaign overseas, but it will go into effect for 2024-25, regardless of whether he sees NHL action. He’ll be a restricted free agent in 2027.
Avalanche Re-Assign Trent Miner, Alexandar Georgiev Out Day-To-Day
11/16: Miner played 34 minutes of Colorado’s loss to the Washington Capitals last night and has been reassigned to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles per a team announcement. The Avalanche don’t have another game until Monday so Miner could return to the NHL level then.
11/15: The Avalanche announced Friday that they’ve recalled goalie Trent Miner from AHL Colorado. He’ll serve as the backup to Justus Annunen tonight against the Capitals. Alexandar Georgiev has been ruled out with an upper-body injury and is day-to-day. The team also confirmed that forward Chris Wagner had been assigned to the AHL after clearing waivers, opening up the roster spot for Miner’s recall.
Miner, 23, will dress for an NHL game for the first time more than five years after the Avalanche selected him in the seventh round of the 2019 draft. The 6’1″ netminder has spent the last three seasons splitting time between the AHL and ECHL Utah, although he got upgraded to a full-time AHL role for 2024-25.
Miner is coming off somewhat of a breakout 2023-24 campaign. He cemented his spot on this year’s AHL roster during an 18-game call-up from the ECHL last season, during which he shut the door with a 2.10 GAA, .930 SV%, one shutout, and a 9-6-1 record. He was set to become a restricted free agent last summer, but the Avs inked him to a two-way extension in May.
So far this season, Miner has split AHL duties with offseason trade acquisition Kevin Mandolese. He’s been outplayed by the new guy but has still put up decent numbers, logging a 2.34 GAA, .905 SV%, and a 3-2-1 record in six games.
Meanwhile, the injury is unfortunate timing for Georgiev. The 28-year-old had been getting his feet under him after a disastrous start to the season and had started four games in a row, posting a strong .913 SV% over that stretch. He played all 60 minutes in Colorado’s last game against the Kings on Wednesday, so it’s unclear when he sustained the injury.
With a .863 SV% and -8.8 GSAA, Georgiev has still been quite underwhelming on the whole this season. The Bulgaria-born netminder didn’t receive a single Vezina Trophy last year despite leading the league with 38 wins due to his subpar .897 SV% and career-worst -11.9 GSAA.
Flames Re-Assign Adam Klapka
Saturday: Klapka has been reassigned to the minors, the Flames announced. While he was on the roster for three games, he didn’t suit up in any of them.
Monday: The Flames announced Monday that they’ve recalled forward Adam Klapka from AHL Calgary. He fills the roster spot vacated by Dryden Hunt, whose reassignment to the minors evaded our coverage over the weekend.
Klapka, 24, made the Flames’ opening night roster but was sent to the AHL on Oct. 30 to make room for Samuel Honzek, who was coming off injured reserve at the time. Honzek has since been sent to the minors, as the Flames have done quite a lot of roster shuffling regarding their young players over the past couple of weeks.
During that three-week window, Klapka was rostered for nine games, playing in five of them. The 6’7″, 238-lb center/winger failed to record a point but had a +1 rating, five blocks and 18 hits while averaging 8:27 per game. It was the Prague native’s second NHL trial after appearing in six games for the Flames last season, scoring his first NHL goal in the process.
The Flames acquired the towering forward when they signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Czechia’s Bílí Tygři Liberec early in the 2022 offseason. He’s scored 37 goals, 39 assists and 76 points in 130 AHL games since, including five points through five games this season since being demoted late last month. He was a restricted free agent for over a month last summer before agreeing to a two-way deal ($775K/$100K) to bring him back to Calgary in mid-August.
Despite the recall, Klapka is expected to watch tonight’s game against the Kings from the press box, according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. Ryan Lomberg, Kevin Rooney and Justin Kirkland will continue to comprise the Flames’ fourth line.
Hunt was returned to the minors on Saturday night following the team’s shootout loss to the Sabres. He did not play during his brief two-day recall. Now in his third season with the Flames organization, the 28-year-old has two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 12 AHL games this year.
Rangers Recall Jake Leschyshyn
The Rangers announced Saturday that they’ve recalled center Jake Leschyshyn from AHL Hartford. Since there was an open spot on the active roster, no corresponding transaction is necessary.
Leschyshyn, 25, comes up from the AHL for the second time this season to serve as an extra body while the Blueshirts embark on a four-game Western Conference road trip. They had 13 forwards on the active roster, but center Filip Chytil appears unlikely to travel with the club after sustaining an upper-body injury in a collision with teammate K’Andre Miller in Thursday’s loss to the Jets.
In all likelihood, Leschyshyn won’t need to clear waivers when his recall is over. He did so back in September and has only been on the active roster for two days since without drawing into a game, so he’s still got nearly an entire month left on his temporary exemption.
Leschyshyn has only appeared in 14 NHL games for the Rangers since being claimed off waivers from the Golden Knights in January 2023, going pointless with a -4 rating while averaging just 8:13 per game. The Vegas 2017 second-round pick has also been steadily declining offensively in the AHL. He has just one goal and three assists in 13 games for Hartford this season after recording 15 points in 18 games there just two seasons ago.
Maple Leafs Reassign Philippe Myers On Conditioning Loan
The Maple Leafs announced Saturday that they’ve assigned defenseman Philippe Myers to AHL Toronto on a conditioning loan.
Myers, 27, will remain on Toronto’s active roster and count against the salary cap while getting his first minor-league action of the season. He can remain on the AHL assignment for up to two weeks before he must be reinstated or placed on waivers.
The 6’5″ Myers was a surprise inclusion on the Leafs’ opening night roster after spending most of the past two seasons in the minors. He signed a one-year, one-way deal for $775K in free agency last summer after spending two campaigns in the Lightning organization, totaling 52 points in 113 games for their AHL affiliate in Syracuse but making just 16 NHL appearances in fringe action.
Unfortunately for the New Brunswick native, the roster spot hasn’t led to playing time. He’s been a healthy scratch for all but one of the Maple Leafs’ 18 games this season, logging a -1 rating and one hit in his sole appearance against the Bruins on Oct. 26 while skating 12:11.
The conditioning loan will allow Myers some AHL time without clearing waivers, but it’s still hard to imagine him avoiding the wire for much longer. Toronto will need to clear two roster spots when Auston Matthews or Max Pacioretty is ready to come off injured reserve, which will likely be achieved by waiving him and reassigning forward Alex Steeves after the latter’s recent call-up.
Interestingly, it won’t be Myers’ first time suiting up for the Marlies despite him not being affiliated with the Maple Leafs organization before this season. He had seven points in 16 games for them in 2021-22 while on loan from the Predators.
The right-shot defenseman has played 159 NHL games with Philadelphia, Nashville, Tampa Bay and Toronto, recording eight goals and 28 assists for 36 points. He’s only avoided an AHL assignment in a season once in his career, appearing in 44 of 56 games for the Flyers during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.
Bruins Recall Georgii Merkulov, Riley Tufte
The Bruins recalled forwards Georgii Merkulov and Riley Tufte from AHL Providence on Saturday, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports. Boston sent center Patrick Brown back to Providence and placed defenseman Hampus Lindholm on injured reserve to open up the necessary spots on the active roster.
It’s the first recall of the season for the 24-year-old Merkulov. The Russian forward made his NHL debut last season, receiving a four-game call-up around New Year’s. He posted a +1 rating, three shots on goal and averaged 10:35 per game. The undrafted free agent signing out of Ohio State struggled in the faceoff dot, only winning six of his 28 draws (21.4 FO%), and recorded four blocks and two hits.
While he may not have drawn much attention from his first NHL showing, the 5’11” Merkulov has been a spectacular diamond in the rough signing for the Bruins’ front office, if for no other reason than his minor-league play. Merkulov was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team in 2022-23 and represented the Atlantic Division at last season’s All-Star Game, producing 136 points in 154 total appearances for the P-Bruins.
Eleven of those points (2 G, 9 A) have come in 12 games this season, tying with Vinni Lettieri for the team lead in scoring. The Bruins hope that’s a sign that Merkulov can provide more of a scoring punch than he did last time, helping jumpstart their 28th-ranked offense (2.50 GF/GP).
Merkulov is in the final season of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer. He will remain waiver-exempt for the rest of 2024-25 but must clear them to return to Providence at the beginning of next season if he doesn’t make the opening night roster.
Meanwhile, it’s the second recall of the young campaign for the more veteran Tufte. The towering 6’6″, 230-lb left-winger made the Bruins’ opening night roster after signing a one-way, league minimum deal in free agency but played in just two of their first eight games before landing on waivers, clearing and heading to Providence.
Tufte, 26, had a -1 rating, no shots and three hits in his pair of appearances for Boston in October, averaging just 8:08 per game. The 2016 first-round pick of the Stars has three goals and an assist in six games for Providence since being sent down. He scored a career-high 23 goals and 45 points in 67 games for the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate last season while under contract with Colorado, earning his first minor-league All-Star Game nod.
It’s unclear whether either Merkulov or Tufte will draw in for this afternoon’s game against the Blues. None of the 14 forwards on the active roster carry an injury designation. However, recent UFA pickup Tyler Johnson sat in the press box for Thursday’s game against the Stars and could sit again while Merkulov or Tufte enters the lineup.
Brown’s first recall of the season ends after two days on the roster. He drew in against Dallas for Johnson, posting a -1 rating with two shots on goal while centering the fourth line between John Beecher and Mark Kastelic, skating 12:42 and going 2-for-4 on draws.
The defensively sound right-shot center had seven points in 12 games for Providence before the call-up. After clearing waivers last month, Brown can remain on the NHL roster for up to 28 days throughout subsequent call-ups or play nine NHL games before he needs them again to return to the minors.
An IR placement does not affect Lindholm’s timeline for a return. Today’s transaction was purely for roster management purposes. He’s still week-to-week with a lower-body injury and will likely remain out of action through the rest of November.
Ducks’ Robby Fabbri Undergoes Meniscus Surgery, Out Six Weeks
Ducks winger Robby Fabbri underwent surgery on Friday morning to repair a torn meniscus and will be out for around six weeks, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports.
It’s another entry on a long list of injuries for the 28-year-old throughout his nine-year NHL career. He sustained the tear on Sunday against the Blue Jackets and missed Wednesday’s game against the Golden Knights after landing on injured reserve earlier in the day.
Anaheim acquired Fabbri, who’s in the final season of a three-year, $12MM contract, from the Red Wings on July 4 along with a 2025 fourth-round pick in exchange for goalie prospect Gage Alexander. He has just two goals in 14 games with the Ducks while averaging 16:33 per game, skating primarily on a line with Mason McTavish and Trevor Zegras that’s been one of the worst in the league defensively at even strength. They’re allowing 5.06 expected goals against per 60 minutes, per MoneyPuck, the worst among any forward line with at least 50 minutes together this season.
Fabbri recorded 18 goals and 32 points in 68 games last season for Detroit. It was the most games he’d played in a season since his rookie campaign back in 2015-16. He went nearly two years between games at one point during the first few years of his career with the Blues due to a torn ACL in his left knee, followed by a groin injury. He sustained a second ACL injury in 2022 that also took significant bites out of his 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns with the Red Wings.
A first-round pick by St. Louis in 2014, Fabbri should return around Christmas given a six-week timeline. That puts him out for roughly 20 games, including the contest he already missed earlier this week against Vegas.
Avalanche To Reassign Chris Wagner
Nov. 15: Wagner has cleared waivers and will be assigned to the AHL, according to Friedman. Ivan and Kovalenko were also recalled earlier today as expected.
Nov. 14: The Avalanche placed forward Chris Wagner on waivers Thursday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Colorado, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The club also papered forwards Ivan Ivan and Nikolai Kovalenko down to the minors, but they’re expected back tomorrow.
Wagner, 33, cleared waivers already at the beginning of the season but has made 12 appearances for the Avs, so he needs to clear them again to return to the minors. The veteran has played in Colorado’s last 10 games but is projected to be a healthy scratch tomorrow against the Capitals with Jonathan Drouin, Valeri Nichushkin and Miles Wood all returning to the lineup.
Now in the second season of his second stint with the Avalanche organization, Wagner has one goal and a -5 rating in 12 showings with the club this season. The 2010 fifth-round pick of the Ducks also made one appearance for AHL Colorado earlier in the year after clearing waivers.
After spending a brief chunk of the 2015-16 campaign with the Avalanche between a waiver placement and waiver claim by the Ducks, Wagner returned to Denver in 2023 when he signed a two-way deal in free agency. Wagner totaled 14 points in 21 AHL games last season and also had a goal and an assist in 13 appearances for the Avs down the stretch, his most games played in a season since appearing in 41 with the Bruins in 2020-21. He signed a two-way extension back in April to keep him off last summer’s unrestricted free agent market, now set to be a UFA in 2025.
With a league minimum cap hit on an expiring deal, there is a fair amount of risk of Wagner being claimed if a team decides they’re in need of short-term help among their depth forwards. The Predators are currently last in the league by points percentage and thus have first dibs, with the Canadiens, Sharks, Ducks, Blue Jackets, and Blackhawks next in line.