Stars Recall Alexander Petrovic
The Stars announced Friday that they’ve recalled defenseman Alexander Petrovic from AHL Texas. No corresponding transaction is required since the team has an open spot on the active roster and nearly $2MM in current cap space, more than enough to accommodate his league-minimum $775K cap hit.
Dallas summoned Petrovic, 32, once earlier this season to serve as injury insurance on the blue line for a few games in mid-October, but he didn’t get into game action. The 6’5″, 207-lb righty is now in his fourth season with the Stars organization, where he’s served as an alternate captain for their AHL club since day one and is off to an unusually hot start offensively, racking up three goals and six assists for nine points in 14 games to tie for the team lead in scoring among defensemen.
Once a depth mainstay on the Panthers’ NHL roster in the mid-2010s, call-ups have been few and far between for Petrovic in the last few years. He made one regular-season and seven playoff appearances for Dallas last season, marking his first NHL action since splitting 2018-19 between Florida and the Oilers.
Petrovic’s recall will likely yield an appearance or two this time, notes team radio analyst Bruce LeVine. He’s expected to replace Mathew Dumba in the lineup tonight against the Avalanche in a third-pairing role alongside Brendan Smith. The duo struggled in the Stars’ 6-2 loss to the Blackhawks on Wednesday, controlling 31.4% of expected goals at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck. This will be Dumba’s third healthy scratch of the season after signing a two-year, $7.5MM contract in free agency that looks like a rare misguided investment from Dallas general manager Jim Nill.
Petrovic’s previous recall lasted five days, so he can remain on the Stars’ roster for 25 more (or play 10 games) before he needs waivers to return to the AHL.
Andy Welinski Signs In Germany
Unrestricted free agent defenseman Andy Welinski has signed a contract with Germany’s Löwen Frankfurt for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign, per a team announcement.
Welinski, 31, hasn’t appeared in the NHL since a 13-game stint with the Ducks in 2020-21. He’s spent the last few seasons jumping around the AHL on NHL and minor-league contracts.
The Devils inked the Minnesota native to a PTO during training camp in September but subsequently released him and had him suit up for their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, on a tryout. He was released earlier this month after struggling with one assist and a -6 rating through eight games.
The former Minnesota-Duluth captain now heads overseas for the first time in his 10-year professional career. All of his 46 NHL appearances have come for the Ducks, who drafted him in the third round in 2011, posting a goal and five assists with a -2 rating.
His AHL resume is far more diverse. Aside from playing 149 games for Anaheim’s affiliate in San Diego in parts of five seasons, he’s spent time suiting up for the Flyers, Flames, Rangers, Blackhawks, Wild, and Panthers farm clubs before his brief run in Utica this season. In 327 AHL games over the last decade, he has 42 goals and 111 assists for 153 points (0.47 per game) with 121 PIMs and a -23 rating.
Welinski heads to a Löwen club that suits up in Germany’s top-flight league, the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club is off to a 9-7-1-3 start and is on pace for their best record since being promoted from the DEL2 in 2022. He joins a squad headlined up front by former NHL grinder Carter Rowney and Blues 2018 first-rounder Dominik Bokk.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 11/27/24
PHR’s Josh Erickson held his weekly live chat today at 2:00pm Central. You can use this link to view the transcript.
Predators Activate, Reassign Spencer Stastney
The Predators have activated defenseman Spencer Stastney off the non-roster list and assigned him to AHL Milwaukee, Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean relays.
Stastney, 24, has been on personal leave for over two months. Nashville never issued an update on his status aside from head coach Andrew Brunette saying he’d be out indefinitely at the beginning of training camp.
If he was available, Stastney likely would have logged a fair amount of NHL action for the Predators this season already. The 2018 fifth-round pick played a career-high 20 games last season, recording four points with a +9 rating while averaging 15:59 per game. He also appeared in the first three games of Nashville’s first-round loss to the Canucks before sustaining an upper-body injury.
An Illinois native, Stastney logged reasonably strong possession numbers in relatively even offensive zone and defensive zone usage. His 51.9 CF% and 59.3 xGF% marks at even strength means he had an overall positive impact on Nashville’s possession quality in limited minutes.
Those numbers would be a major improvement on what the Predators’ depth corps of Alexandre Carrier, Marc Del Gaizo, Jeremy Lauzon, and Luke Schenn have given them this season. With Lauzon now out week-to-week after sustaining a lower-body injury against the Devils on Monday, expect the waiver-exempt Stastney to be recalled sooner rather than later after he’s able to get his feet back under him in Milwaukee.
Stastney was a restricted free agent last summer and took Nashville to arbitration, where he was awarded a two-year, partial two-way contract worth $825K per season in the NHL. Now that he’s been assigned to the minors, his pro-rated paycheck will be a reduced $400K for the time being. Stastney carried a roughly $253K cap hit while on season-opening injured reserve that is now off the Preds’ books.
Predators Acquire Ryder Rolston From Blackhawks
The Predators have made their second trade this week, announcing the acquisition of forward prospect Ryder Rolston from the Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations.
Rolston, 23, was a fifth-round pick of the Avalanche in 2020, but was traded to Chicago the following year in exchange for Carl Söderberg. The son of longtime NHLer Brian Rolston stands at 6’1″ and 174 lbs and can play all three forward positions, although he’s a natural winger.
The Boston native signed his entry-level contract with Chicago in 2023 after three years at Notre Dame, where he totaled 18 goals and 35 assists for 53 points in 93 games. He spent all of last season on assignment to AHL Rockford, where he made a marginal impact in his first professional campaign with 10 goals, nine assists, 19 points, and a -5 rating in 62 appearances.
This season, it’s become quite clear that Rolston doesn’t have much of a future in the Blackhawks organization. He’s played in only six of Rockford’s 15 games and has one goal with a -3 rating.
He now moves to the Predators organization and will report to their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee as he looks for more ice time. Rolston has historically been lauded as a good skater, and while that’s carried over to the pros, the Blackhawks evidently ran out of patience for the rest of his game to develop and wanted more space for higher-ceiling prospects in the organization to continue developing.
As is often the case with NHL trades involving minor-leaguers and future considerations, the swap will likely be completed by Milwaukee sending a player signed to an AHL contract to Rockford.
Rolston is in the second season of his three-year entry-level contract. He carries a cap hit of $895K in the NHL and will be a restricted free agent in 2026.
Red Wings Notes: Lyon, Husso, Kane, Guimond
Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon sustained an undisclosed injury during Wednesday’s morning skate and is unavailable tonight against the Flames, Max Bultman of The Athletic reports. Ville Husso was recalled from AHL Grand Rapids and will serve as Cam Talbot‘s backup against the latter’s former team.
It’s a tough break for Lyon, who had stopped 49 of 52 shots in his last two outings en route to a pair of wins, a 1.50 GAA and a .942 SV%. The 31-year-old has only made three appearances since the start of November due to a lower-body injury, although it’s unclear if today’s tweak is related to that previous ailment.
Lyon, a pending UFA, has been strong overall in his second season in Hockeytown. The Minnesota native has a 4-4-0 record in eight starts and one relief appearance, adding a .911 SV% and 2.74 GAA with one shutout. He’s saved 2.5 goals above average, up from last year’s 1.1 mark in a career-high 44 games.
Husso, the No. 3 option for Detroit between the pipes, is in the final season of his ill-advised three-year, $14.25MM contract. He’s made two appearances for the Red Wings this season amid lengthy reassignments to Grand Rapids, allowing seven goals on 37 shots for an 0-2-0 record and .811 SV%. Since arriving in Detroit in 2022, he’s posted a 35-29-9 record but has a subpar .893 SV% and -22.1 GSAA. To his credit, the 29-year-old Finn has been exceptional in the minors, logging a .944 SV% and 1.58 GAA in five showings for Grand Rapids.
More from the Red Wings:
- Right-winger Patrick Kane will miss his second straight game tonight with an upper-body injury, head coach Derek Lalonde told Ansar Khan of MLive.com. It’s been a tough season for the future Hall of Famer, who remains day-to-day and has only three goals and 10 points in 20 outings. With the absences, he’s now on pace for just 12 goals and 40 points, each checking in as career-lows even including shortened seasons. The 36-year-old signed a one-year, $4MM extension with $2.5MM in potential performance bonuses in June.
- Detroit goalie prospect Rudy Guimond has jumped from the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders to the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats, becoming the latest player to take advantage of the NCAA’s new eligibility rules for major junior players. Guimond was a sixth-round pick of the Red Wings in 2023 and is committed to Yale for the 2025-26 season. It’s been a tough showing for Guimond since he was drafted, logging a porous .871 SV% and 3.53 GAA in 38 USHL games for Cedar Rapids after being selected out of prep school.
Predators Recall Nick Blankenburg, Adam Wilsby
10:16 a.m.: Center Michael McCarron has landed on injured reserve to open up a necessary roster spot for Blankenburg’s and Wilsby’s recalls, per Kieser. He’s sat out the last two games with an upper-body injury and will be out again tonight against the Flyers, but he’s eligible to return Friday against the Lightning.
9:49 a.m.: The Predators have recalled defenseman Nick Blankenburg from AHL Milwaukee ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Flyers, reports Nick Kieser of 102.5 & 106.3 The Game Nashville. Adam Wilsby was also summoned from the minors, per Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean.
Either could make their Preds debut after Jeremy Lauzon left Monday’s loss to the Devils with an injury and did not return. Nashville only has one open roster spot, so a corresponding transaction must be pending.
Blankenburg, 26, is in his first season in the Predators organization. The former University of Michigan captain spent parts of three seasons with the Blue Jackets en route to becoming a Group VI unrestricted free agent last summer, inking a two-year, partial two-way deal with Nashville.
The diminutive 5’9″ right-shot defender passed through waivers on his way to AHL Milwaukee at the tail end of the preseason. Blankenburg, a skilled puck-mover, responded to the demotion with eight points (3 G, 5 A) in 13 games, leading Milwaukee defensemen in scoring.
Blankenburg saw AHL ice for the first time last season, suiting up 24 times for the Blue Jackets affiliate in Cleveland. He played a career-high 36 games for Columbus in 2022-23 amid upper-body and ankle injuries, recording four goals and 10 assists for 14 points with a -16 rating. He’s flashed legitimate offensive upside at the NHL level and has handled fringe top-four minutes. Given his smaller frame, he also plays a far more physical game than one might imagine.
That makes him an above-average recall option for a Nashville squad with limited offensive contributions from their defensemen outside of perennial Norris contender Roman Josi. Brady Skjei and Alexandre Carrier are within the team’s top 10 in scoring with eight and five points, respectively, but their bottom trio of Lauzon, Marc Del Gaizo and Luke Schenn have combined for one goal, four assists and a -13 rating.
Wilsby, 24, has already been recalled twice this month and been rostered for three games but has not made his NHL debut. The Swedish lefty has a goal and five points with a +5 rating in 13 games for Milwaukee in what’s now his third season in North America. He remains waiver-exempt, but Blankenburg does not, so the latter can only remain on Nashville’s roster for up to 10 games or 30 days before he needs to pass through them again to return to the minors.
Avalanche’s Jonathan Drouin Out Week-To-Week
10:06 a.m.: With Drouin set to miss extended time once again, the Avalanche announced they’ve recalled first-year pro Chase Bradley from AHL Colorado. Bradley, 22, has three goals and an assist in 17 games after signing an entry-level deal with the Avs over the summer. Drafted in the seventh round by the Red Wings in 2020, Detroit decided to forego his signing rights after Bradley opted to turn pro after his junior year with the University of Connecticut.
Paper transactions demoting Nikolai Kovalenko and Ivan Ivan were also reversed, bringing them back up to the NHL roster ahead of tonight’s game against the Golden Knights. The Avs had an open roster spot for Bradley, so Drouin doesn’t need to land on injured reserve to accommodate his recall.
9:29 a.m.: Avalanche winger Jonathan Drouin will be out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, head coach Jared Bednar said on 92.5 FM Altitude Sports Radio on Wednesday (via Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette).
Drouin, 29, missed Monday’s 8-2 defeat at the hands of the Lightning with the ailment. It’s unclear when he sustained the injury and if it’s related to the upper-body issue he suffered in the season opener that cost him 16 games.
The Quebec native had just recently returned to action from that previous upper-body issue on Nov. 15. His most recent appearance, a 7-4 win over the Panthers on Saturday, was easily the best performance of his five showings this season. He played a season-high 23:37 and scored twice on four shots, his first two goals of the campaign.
The 11-year veteran now faces another longer-term absence in an injury-riddled 2024-25 campaign for the Avs. They’ve had at least three regular forwards out of the lineup for most games this season, including a brief stretch around Halloween where they were without four of their top five wingers. They were down to just captain Gabriel Landeskog and Ross Colton being unavailable for the past few games, but they’ll again be without a trio of top-nine pieces for the next couple of weeks. Colton isn’t due back until the middle of December after sustaining a broken foot late last month.
Drouin has almost exclusively served as Colorado’s top-line left wing alongside former major junior teammate Nathan MacKinnon in his brief action this season, although he has seen a few reps on the second line alongside Casey Mittelstadt and Valeri Nichushkin. He had four points in five games while averaging a career-high 20:40 per game, on pace for the best year of his career if not for his upper-body injuries.
The third overall pick in the 2013 draft is coming off a career-best 2023-24 campaign, his first in Colorado. He recorded a career-best 37 assists, 56 points, a +12 rating, and 33 blocks en route to receiving a one-year, $2.5MM deal to return to the Avs on July 1.
Rookie Ivan Ivan slid into a top-six role alongside Mittelstadt and Nichushkin with Drouin out on Monday and could continue to do so on a trial basis. The 22-year-old has been passable, with eight points in 22 games to pair with strong possession numbers (54.3 CF%, 52.0 xGF%).
Maple Leafs Assign Dakota Mermis To AHL On Conditioning Loan
The Maple Leafs announced Wednesday that they’ve assigned defenseman Dakota Mermis to AHL Toronto on an LTIR conditioning loan.
Mermis, 30, played some preseason hockey for Toronto but broke his jaw and underwent surgery on Sep. 26. The Maple Leafs placed him on long-term injured reserve when season-opening rosters were due on Oct. 7, and he’s remained there since. He’s recently ramped up his on-ice appearances and has been skating for over a week.
On his conditioning loan, the depth defenseman can stay in the minors for up to three games or six days. However, the Leafs can apply for an extension from the league to extend that stay before he must be activated from LTIR or remain on the list if he’s not ready to return to play.
If Mermis is ready to go when his conditioning loan ends, he’ll likely hit waivers en route to a lengthier assignment to the AHL. The Maple Leafs already carry eight defensemen on the active roster and certainly don’t have the room or flexibility for a ninth with a rash of injuries at forward.
Mermis signed a one-year, one-way league minimum deal with the Leafs over the summer in free agency after playing a career-high 47 games with the Wild last season. A long-time top-four AHL fixture capable of playing depth NHL minutes, the Illinois native posted three goals and five assists for eight points with a -2 rating, 33 PIMs, 59 blocks, and 45 hits while averaging 14:05 per game for Minnesota.
An undrafted free agent signing from the OHL’s Oshawa Generals by the Coyotes in 2015, Mermis now has 431 AHL games and 74 NHL games under his belt across a nine-year professional career. The 6’0″, 194-lb lefty could undoubtedly generate some interest on the waiver wire in the coming weeks as a physical bottom-pairing or press-box option on a cheap contract.
Penguins Acquire Philip Tomasino From Predators
The Penguins announced Monday that they’ve acquired forward Philip Tomasino from the Predators in exchange for the Rangers’ 2027 fourth-round pick. Pittsburgh assigned center Samuel Poulin to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton minutes earlier in a corresponding transaction to make room on the active roster.
Tomasino, still only 23, gets a fresh start in Pittsburgh after having his minutes and overall usage heavily restricted in Nashville ever since the Preds drafted him 24th overall in the 2019 draft. The team confirmed he’s en route to Pittsburgh and will practice tomorrow in hopes of being available for their next game, a Wednesday tilt against the Canucks.
While Tomasino had often been an effective points-per-hour depth piece throughout his first three NHL seasons, the same can’t be said for 2024-25. The Ontario native has struggled on a Nashville team that’s struggled to finish at 5-on-5, posting just one assist in 11 games while averaging a career-low 11:18 per game.
Tomasino had stuck around on the Preds’ roster so far this season after seeing lengthy AHL assignments in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, although that was likely out of fear over losing him on waivers for nothing. This is his first season not being waiver-exempt. Instead, they at least get one asset in return, even if it’s only a mid-round pick that’s years away.
The 6’0″ winger had been a healthy scratch in 10 of 21 games this season, including a stretch of seven straight scratches between Oct. 19 and Nov. 6. He’d also been scratched in two out of Nashville’s last three games.
Given that lack of usage, it’s not at all surprising that the Preds, now fully under the control of general manager Barry Trotz after 20-plus years of David Poile at the helm, decided now was the right time to move on from Tomasino before his value dropped off even more. He still hasn’t come close to sniffing his career-highs of 11 goals and 32 points in 76 games that he set in his rookie campaign in 2021-22 despite averaging under 12 minutes per night.
Still, it stands to reason for Pittsburgh that there’s a fair amount of rebound and breakout potential in Tomasino’s game if he’s deployed in a top-nine role. The forward has 23 goals and 71 points in 159 games over his four-year career – a 12-goal, 37-point average over 82 games squarely in bottom-six usage.
Throughout his Predators career, Tomasino’s possession impacts were negligible. He boasts a career +1 rating, and Nashville controlled 49.6% of shot attempts with him on the ice at even strength since his debut, compared to 48.7% without him.
With the Pens’ offense struggling to click at 2.52 goals per game, Tomasino may get a look in the top nine or even top six alongside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin to see how he responds in a complementary role. His leash will likely be short. He signed a one-year, $825K deal at the beginning of training camp to end a months-long standoff as a restricted free agent, so he’s at risk of being non-tendered next summer if he can’t perform in Pittsburgh, especially since he’s eligible to file for salary arbitration.
Pittsburgh previously acquired the Rangers’ 2027 fourth-rounder at last year’s trade deadline in exchange for defenseman Chad Ruhwedel.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.