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Blue Jackets Reassign Luca Pinelli

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The Blue Jackets announced they’ve ended center Luca Pinelli’s emergency recall and reassigned him to AHL Cleveland. The team now has an open roster spot, which will likely go to captain Boone Jenner in the coming days. He’s on injured reserve with an upper-body issue and has been out since Nov. 11, but head coach Dean Evason said last weekend that Jenner is close to a return. That won’t come tonight against the Red Wings, per Jeff Svoboda of NHL.com, but could come before Saturday’s tilt against the Panthers.

Because of injuries to Jenner, Kirill Marchenko, and Mathieu Olivier, the 20-year-old Pinelli had suited up in Columbus’ last three games. With Marchenko returning to the lineup tonight after a four-game absence, though, Pinelli’s presence on the active roster was no longer required to ensure the Blue Jackets had 12 healthy forwards. Since he was recalled under emergency conditions, the Jackets either had to return him to Cleveland today or convert the recall to a standard one.

Pinelli, a 5’9″ sniper, is in his first professional season. Columbus drafted him in the fourth round in 2023. He’s the fourth player from that round to make his NHL debut, following the Sharks’ Luca Cagnoni, the Canucks’ Ty Mueller, and the Canadiens’ Florian Xhekaj. The Ontario native has had a rather seamless transition to the professional ranks. With five goals in 13 games for Cleveland, he’s tied for the team lead. He’s added five assists for 10 points to rank third on the club behind more experienced call-up options Mikael Pyyhtia and Luca Del Bel Belluz.

Through his first three NHL games, Pinelli got a longer leash than expected, averaging 13:48 of ice time per game. He got top-six deployment at even strength, skating on Sean Monahan’s right wing. That’s a clear indication of where the organization views his ceiling, and given his small frame and lack of physical habits, he’ll likely need to produce enough to warrant a top-six job if he’s going to carve out an NHL career. He didn’t record a point in those minutes but was active with the puck, recording 10 shot attempts – six of which got on goal. Columbus outshot opponents 20-18 and outchanced them 25-17 with Pinelli on the ice at 5-on-5.

Pinelli’s usage for the remainder of the season at the NHL level will likely be sparse, if it even exists at all. A full season of adapting to the pro game in the AHL is a virtual necessity for a mid-to-late-round pick. Nonetheless, he’s done enough in the early going in 2025-26 to put himself on the long list for a roster spot next season.

Senators Recall Stephen Halliday

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The Senators announced they’ve elevated center Stephen Halliday from AHL Belleville ahead of tonight’s game against the Rangers. He’s expected to be in the lineup centering the fourth line between Ridly Greig and Nick Cousins, Claire Hanna of TSN reports. Lars Eller wasn’t present after taking just three shifts in the third period of Tuesday’s win over the Canadiens and could be unavailable. Ottawa opened a roster spot earlier in the week by reassigning winger Hayden Hodgson to Belleville.

Even if Halliday is only in tonight’s lineup as an injury replacement for Belleville, the Hodgson demotion suggests he could be in for a lengthier stint on the active roster than his first time around. Ottawa brought the 23-year-old rookie up for a 10-day stretch in November in which he made the first four appearances of his NHL career. Halliday, a 2022 fourth-round pick who spent two years at Ohio State before turning pro in 2024, notched his first assist in the process and logged a -1 rating while averaging 6:27 of ice time per game. His under-the-hood numbers left much to be desired. He went 4-for-11 (36.4%) on faceoffs, and the Sens were outchanced 14-3 with him on the ice at 5-on-5 despite Halliday not receiving a single defensive zone start.

They’re hoping for more offensive juice from Halliday this time around to offset his still-developing defensive game. Considering his minor-league production, that’s a reasonable expectation. The 6’4″ pivot burst onto the scene last year with 19 goals and 51 points in 71 games for the B-Sens, leading the team in scoring, but also posted a team-worst -20 rating. This season has brought more of the same. He’s only lit the lamp once through 17 appearances, but is registering over an assist per game for 19 points with a -10 rating.

Halliday is in the final season of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent next summer with arbitration rights. He will remain waiver-exempt through the 2026-27 season unless he reaches 70 career appearances by then.

Lightning Recall Brandon Halverson

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The Lightning announced they’ve recalled goaltender Brandon Halverson from AHL Syracuse. They had an open roster spot after reassigning Maxim Groshev yesterday. They’ve also shifted center Brayden Point to injured reserve, according to Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider, leaving them with an open spot even after Halverson’s addition.

Halverson’s presence indicates there’s a risk that Andrei Vasilevskiy won’t be available for tonight’s game against the Penguins. The team’s Gabby Shirley reports he’s not present at morning skate. He’s not yet carrying an injury designation. Vasilevskiy has started four out of the Bolts’ last five games and looked no worse for wear in his latest start against the Islanders on Tuesday, allowing two goals on 23 shots in a loss.

The 29-year-old Halverson is in his third season in the Tampa organization. He began at the bottom of the ladder as an ECHL signing by the Orlando Solar Bears late in the 2023 offseason before being loaned up to Syracuse and landing a deal with them a few months later. Halverson remained on a minor-league deal through last season, in which the 2014 second-round pick of the Rangers made a career-high 45 appearances with a 2.22 GAA, .915 SV%, five shutouts, and a 22-11-11 record. That delayed breakout earned him an NHL deal from the Bolts in February, essentially serving as a call-up in place of an injured Johansson. It was a two-year, two-way deal, keeping him under contract through this season.

That signing led to Halverson’s first career NHL start late last season, a 6-4 loss to Utah on March 22. It was his second-ever NHL appearance and first in over seven years. While in the Rangers organization, he entered a February 2018 game in relief of Henrik Lundqvist.

While Halverson’s brief NHL resume has seen him post an underwhelming .800 SV% and 5.11 GAA in 71 minutes of action, he’s got a career .901 mark in the AHL over seven seasons. That matches his work for Syracuse this year, along with a 2.58 GAA, two shutouts, and a 9-4-0 record in 13 games.

Point hasn’t played since Nov. 22, so his IR placement is solely for roster management purposes and doesn’t offer any meaningful update to his timeline. He’s dealing with an undisclosed injury and doesn’t yet have a date for his return to the lineup.

Flyers’ Tyson Foerster Out Two To Three Months

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Dec. 3rd: As expected, the Flyers announce that they’ve placed Foerster on the injured reserve. The transaction opens up a spot on Philadelphia’s 23-man roster.

Dec. 2nd: Flyers winger Tyson Foerster is expected to miss two to three months with the upper-body injury he sustained in last night’s loss to the Penguins, the team announced.

The news sidelines Foerster, who leads the Flyers with 10 goals in 21 games, through the Olympic break. It was a non-contact injury as Foerster appeared to hyperextend his right shoulder or otherwise injure the upper arm area while unloading a one-timer midway through the second period (video via Flyers Clips on X).

It’s been a rough ride for the 23-year-old over the past few months. His status for opening night was doubtful through much of training camp after he sustained an elbow injury while playing for Canada at the World Championship back in May. The procedure itself wasn’t expected to keep him out through the start of the season, but he developed a related infection that delayed his recovery. He ended up not missing any time but sustained a lower-body injury at the beginning of November that landed him on injured reserve and kept him out for four games.

This absence will be in the 30-game range, though. If he returns right at the two-month mark, he could technically get a few reps in before the Olympic break – the Flyers’ last game before the schedule pause is on Feb. 5. But in the likely event he’s out until Philly resumes play on Feb. 25 (or even later if he misses a full three months), he’ll be out for at least 31 contests.

Under new head coach Rick Tocchet, the Flyers have flexed a high-end defensive system and a breakout season between the pipes from free-agent pickup Daniel Vladař to a 14-8-3 record, good for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference at the time of writing. Their offensive output, however, ranks 26th in goals per game (2.76) and 29th in shots per game (24.8). Missing their best finisher in Foerster, who’s shooting at a 24.4% clip and also ranks fifth on the team in shots per game, threatens to sink those numbers even further.

Since arriving in the NHL in 2023, Foerster has quietly emerged as one of the league’s better young two-way wingers. The 2020 first-round pick is a career 15.9% shooter – right in range with names like Auston Matthews, Zach Hyman, and Elias Pettersson over the same span. He’s also averaged over 17 minutes per game, factors in on the Flyers’ second penalty kill unit, and consistently boasts above-average possession impacts. He’s been on a different level defensively this year, only on the ice for 0.88 goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.

Fresh off signing a two-year, $7.5MM extension that looked to be one of the best value bets in the league this season, he’s now ticketed for an extended absence. As for who will be the beneficiary of his top-nine minutes, rookie Nikita Grebenkin is a solid bet to get the first crack. He’s already seen some elevation from his usual fourth-line duties, skating a handful of games alongside Noah Cates and Travis Konecny. The offensive production hasn’t quite arrived for the 22-year-old Russian, who’s notched one goal and three points through 16 games, but boasts solid possession numbers in his limited minutes and is worth a look higher up in the lineup.

With Foerster unavailable, the Flyers no longer have a healthy extra forward on their roster. With five games left on a six-game homestand, there likely isn’t much motivation to make a recall unless another injury occurs.

Lightning Place Niko Huuhtanen On Unconditional Waivers

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Dec. 3rd: Although the Lightning have yet to make an announcement, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times confirms that Huuhtanen has cleared unconditional waivers, and his contract was terminated.

Dec. 2nd: The Lightning placed winger Niko Huuhtanen on unconditional waivers today, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He will have his contract terminated tomorrow if he clears, and will become an unrestricted free agent.

Huuhtanen’s stock as a prospect has resembled a bell curve. Tampa Bay selected the 22-year-old in the seventh round with the final pick of the 2021 draft out of his native Finland, where he’d scored 20 goals and 34 points in 37 junior league games in the Tappara organization. He came to North America to finish his junior career in 2021-22 as an import draft selection by the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. There, he exploded for 37 goals and 77 points in 65 games, leading the league in goals by a rookie. He returned home the following season to begin his pro career, where he again adjusted seamlessly, putting up a 17-13–30 scoring line in 48 games for Jukurit to win the rookie scoring crown and earn Liiga Rookie of the Year honors.

By that time, Huuhtanen was on the map as a potential NHLer. Elite Prospects tabbed him as the No. 11 prospect in Tampa’s system entering the 2023-24 season, noting that his skating mechanics were still an issue despite his gaudy production in juniors and overseas. They were onto something. While Huuhtanen remained in Finland and had continued success with Jukurit that year, notching 19 goals and 46 points in 52 games, that was the last time he looked like he had a legitimate chance of reaching the top level.

Huuhtanen signed his entry-level contract with the Bolts in 2024 and arrived last season to play out the year with AHL Syracuse. As forewarned, the production didn’t translate as either side had hoped. The 6’3″ winger was limited to eight goals in 51 appearances, although he did add 12 assists for 20 points and a respectable +13 rating.

This season, though, he’s seen a further reduction in role. He started the season on the non-roster list due to an undisclosed injury. When he got healthy and was assigned to Syracuse at the beginning of November, he had a two-assist game in his debut but didn’t stick in the lineup. After just five games with three assists, the Bolts sent Huuhtanen down to ECHL Orlando. He suited up once for them on Nov. 22 and hasn’t appeared since.

Huuhtanen has still managed 23 points in 56 career regular-season AHL games. That might be enough for him to catch on with another NHL team on a two-way deal since he’s still relatively young, but in all likelihood, he’s angling for a return to Europe and will sign a new deal in the coming days.

Sharks’ Vincent Desharnais Week-To-Week, Pavol Regenda Recalled

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12/2: Vincent Desharnais will be out week-to-week, per Max Miller, San Jose Beat Reporter with the upper-body injury. He has missed the last three games, and the IR placement is retroactive to his last appearance on Nov. 26.

12/1: The Sharks announced Monday they’ve placed defenseman Desharnais on injured reserve and recalled winger Pavol Regenda from AHL San Jose in a corresponding move. Their active roster remains full.

The 29-year-old stay-at-home righty is arguably having the best season of his four-year NHL career. He’s only got two assists through 20 games but has been San Jose’s second-best shutdown defender behind Mario Ferraro, posting a +1 rating and a 2.12 GA/60 at 5-on-5. That second mark is third-best on the team overall among qualified skaters. He also ranks sixth in shots against per 60 (29.17), fourth in expected goals against per 60 (2.45), and second in scoring chances against per 60 (25.17).

Desharnais features alongside Ferraro on the Sharks’ top penalty kill and has spent most of his time at even-strength in third-pairing duties sheltering rookie Sam Dickinson. They’ve been the Sharks’ best pairing at controlling expected goals with a 56.9 xGF% at 5-on-5. He’s a notable loss if he’s to miss significant time, particularly as the Sharks have cooled off to the tune of a 4-5-0 record in their last nine games.

Regenda comes up to ensure the Sharks have 12 forwards for tonight against Utah. He could make his Sharks debut if Adam Gaudette, who Max Miller of NHL.com reports is questionable due to illness, can’t go. Regenda, 26 next week, was acquired from the Ducks in exchange for Justin Bailey midway through last season but played out the year in the AHL after his pickup. Anaheim initially brought him over as an undrafted free agent out of Slovakia in 2022 and, while he could have tested Group VI unrestricted free agency last summer, opted to return to San Jose on a two-way deal.

Since being acquired by the Sharks, the 6’4″, 212-lb Regenda has a 12-20–32 scoring line in 55 AHL appearances, including seven points in 19 games this year. He has 19 games of NHL experience, all with Anaheim, but hasn’t seen the top level since March 2024. He has one career goal with a pair of assists alongside a -4 rating. He’s not much more than a fourth-line plug-in call-up option but provides a physical edge should the Sharks need one.

Stars’ Lian Bichsel Out Six Weeks

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Stars defenseman Lian Bichsel needs surgery to address the lower-body injury he sustained Sunday against the Senators and will miss around six weeks of action, head coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters today (including Peter Baugh of The Athletic). Dallas hasn’t made a roster move, but with no healthy extra defensemen available anymore on their road trip, it wouldn’t be surprising to see an injured reserve placement for either Bichsel or Thomas Harley, who’s out week-to-week with a lower-body issue, to open up a roster spot.

Bichsel left the 6-1 drubbing of the Sens midway through the second period and didn’t return. He was on the receiving end of what seemed like an innocuous hit by Ottawa winger Fabian Zetterlund in the neutral zone, but he lost an edge, and his left leg buckled awkwardly against the boards. He didn’t put any weight on his leg and needed assistance getting off the ice.

That’s now three regular defenders the Stars are without. In addition to Bichsel and Harley, Nils Lundkvist remains on long-term injured reserve after sustaining a lower-body injury in the fourth game of the season. Harley’s absence meant an elevation in minutes for his fellow lefty in Bichsel, who’s played almost exclusively on a pairing with Alexander Petrovic this year, with middling results.

The 2022 first-round pick has three points and a +6 rating in 26 appearances, but his under-the-hood numbers aren’t as promising. Dallas has controlled just 40.5% of shot attempts when Bichsel is on the ice at 5-on-5, the third-worst figure on the team behind Adam Erne and Ilya Lyubushkin. A heavy bit of defensive zone workload doesn’t help his case, but considering Petrovic has posted better numbers in isolation in every meaningful category, it’s clear the 21-year-old still has plenty of development to do defensively before he’s ready to challenge for top-four minutes.

Still, their left-side depth looks quite weak until Harley’s able to get back into the fold. Lefty Miro Heiskanen has played his offside all year long on the top pairing with Esa Lindell. Behind Lindell, it’s now mid-season call-ups Kyle Capobianco and Vladislav Kolyachonok holding down the fort on the second and third pairings. Those two have done as well as can be expected and actually lead the team in even-strength shot-attempt share at 51.8% and 53.8%, respectively.

The Stars haven’t played great possession hockey this season – as to be expected, given injuries have also robbed key forwards Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene of significant time – and have ridden an unsustainably high 13.5% team shooting rate. That’s propped their record all the way up to 17-5-4, even riding a four-game win streak to sit comfortably in second place in the Central Division behind the league-leading Avalanche. Regression is bound to bring their points percentage down at some point, but the longer they can ride the wave with their defensive depth stretched as thin as it is, the healthier margin they’ll build for the back half of the schedule.

Mammoth Recall Daniil But, Reassign Dmitri Simashev

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The Mammoth are swapping a pair of their top prospects. The team announced they’ve recalled winger Daniil But from AHL Tucson while sending down defenseman Dmitriy Simashev in a corresponding move. Center Kevin Rooney was also placed on waivers and will be assigned to Tucson if he clears.

But and Simashev were both top-15 picks in the 2023 draft, the last premier prospects drafted under the Coyotes moniker before the franchise’s hockey operations were sold and reestablished in Utah. Simashev went sixth overall, while But went 12th. The two spent their entire careers in Lokomotiv Yaroslavl’s system in their native Russia, winning a Gagarin Cup championship together last year before signing their entry-level contracts and heading to the Mammoth for 2025-26.

While Simashev managed to wrestle a roster spot on the blue line, But was left on the outside as one of the Mammoth’s final roster cuts. He took the demotion in stride. After netting back-to-back 20-point seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League with Lokomotiv, he’s rattled off eight goals and 17 points in 19 games with Tucson to lead the club in scoring.

After a hot start to the season, Utah’s offense has cooled off. They’re now 19th in the league with 2.96 goals per game. Some of that can be attributed to a power play that’s languishing at a league-worst 13.2%, but their 10.3% finishing rate is also below average by a few ticks. Chance generation hasn’t been much of an issue – they’re 12th in shots per game and have the fifth-most scoring chances in the league at 5-on-5 – but the offensive output outside of their top five forwards leaves a little to be desired. Alexander Kerfoot’s persisting absence has been a contributing factor there, as well as underwhelming performances from middle-six centers Barrett Hayton and Jack McBain, who have five points each in 24 and 27 appearances, respectively.

But isn’t a guaranteed fix, but the 20-year-old’s smooth adjustment to North America shows he’s worth a shot. Most will see him listed at 6’5″ and 203 lbs and assume a high-ceiling power forward – he is not. Physical elements aren’t entirely absent from But’s game, but he’s a skill guy first and foremost. In their draft-year scouting report of But, Elite Prospects highlighted “his ability to chain difficult pass receptions into handling moves and handling moves into passes or shots” and praised his release as well. He’s another name in a star-studded Mammoth forward pool that’s now also gained Tij Iginla at sixth overall in 2024 and Caleb Desnoyers at fourth overall this year. Those two are viewed as slightly higher-ceiling talents, pushing But down to the No. 4-ranked prospect in Utah’s pool last offseason by Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff and by NHL.com.

As for Simashev, the writing was on the wall regarding his demotion. He’s run into a recent string of healthy scratches following Sean Durzi’s return from injured reserve, sitting in the press box three times in Utah’s last eight games. His first NHL sample didn’t change his status as the Mammoth’s No. 3 prospect behind Iginla and Desnoyers and as their top young defenseman. Also of hulking stature at 6’4″ and nearly 200 lbs, he’s a shutdown man who’s never put up flashy point totals – he scored just once in 29 junior games in his draft year – but does have some good first-pass ability.

His initial audition, though, shows that some minor-league time wouldn’t be the worst thing. Rarely does a defender with his skillset make a smooth adjustment to the NHL at age 20. In 24 appearances, he notched one assist and a -9 rating while averaging 15:28 of ice time per game. He got some top-pairing deployment with countryman Mikhail Sergachev, but also saw significant time lower on the depth chart with Ian Cole. The lefty was outscored 15-7 at 5-on-5 and controlled 47.5% of shot attempts, 7.1% worse than how Utah fared without him on the ice. With Durzi back in the fold and veteran Nick DeSimone posting better possession impacts in a limited sample, it was hard to justify keeping Simashev in a regular role – at least for now.

Rooney’s waiver placement signals the end of his third stint on Utah’s roster this season without receiving much playing time. He finally made his Mammoth debut last week on Friday against the Stars, notching a goal in 9:44 of ice time. The 32-year-old has served as a No. 14/15 forward for much of the year after signing a two-way deal at the end of training camp. It’s his second time on waivers after he cleared them following his signing. Across a few brief loans to Tucson, the 6’2″ pivot has five goals and an assist in eight appearances.

Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Avalanche’s Valeri Nichushkin Returning To Lineup

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The Avalanche will have winger Valeri Nichushkin back in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Canucks, Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now reports. He was never placed on injured reserve, so no corresponding move is required.

While Nichushkin remains a core piece of Colorado’s top six forward group, the first-place Avs haven’t looked worse for wear without him. Since Nichushkin went down with a lower-body injury on Nov. 11, the Avs have gone 7-0-1 and still have a four-point gap on first place with an 18-1-6 record overall. Their first and only regulation loss came more than a month ago against the Bruins on Oct. 25.

Nichushkin was ruled week-to-week as a result of his injury, but it was clear in the past couple of days that his return was imminent. He’s no stranger to lengthy absences, notwithstanding his stints in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in the last few years. Ankle issues took out a good portion of his 2022-23 campaign, and he missed 21 games with a lower-body issue last year.

Still, the 10th overall pick back in 2013 has been an elite two-way presence since his big breakout with the Avs in 2021-22. In the five years since, he’s recorded a 96-102–198 scoring line in 226 games while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game. Among players with at least 100 appearances during that time, Nichushkin’s 0.86 points per game rank 58th and his +54 rating ranks 27th. His production has dipped since last season’s return from another stint in the program, though. He’s put up a more conservative 5-7–12 scoring line in 17 games this year and has churned out 0.77 points per game since the beginning of 2024-25.

Captain Gabriel Landeskog’s return from a multi-year absence has eaten into Nichushkin’s ice time this season, bringing it down to around the 18-minute mark. His reduced output should likely remain the expectation going forward, but that’s still spectacular value for his $6.125MM cap hit as he trods along through the fourth season of his eight-year deal. His line with Landeskog and Brock Nelson has been dominant at controlling play – as has virtually every line combo Colorado’s rolled out this year – controlling 60.7% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.

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