Canucks Listening On Jake DeBrusk
Canucks winger Evander Kane is a known piece of trade bait after his struggles producing at home in Vancouver, especially given his pending free-agent status, but he’s not the only ‘Nucks winger on the market this spring. Vancouver is also listening to offers on Jake DeBrusk after being informed he is willing to waive his no-movement clause, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.
It’s not at all surprising that the Canucks would listen to offers for DeBrusk, given the way their season has played out and considering their bevy of other bloated long-term commitments. The Canucks signed DeBrusk to a seven-year, $38.5MM contract with a $5.5MM cap hit in free agency in 2024 after he spent the first seven years of his career with the Bruins. DeBrusk was two years removed from a 50-point showing and had hit 25 goals three times in Boston, so he was viewed as an important piece to help replace a Vancouver middle six that had lost Elias Lindholm and Ilya Mikheyev that summer.
Things have gone quite poorly in Vancouver since his arrival, though. Their offense, which scored 3.40 goals per game in their Pacific Division-winning 2023-24 campaign, dropped to 2.84 GF/G last season and further to 2.54 this year. They’re in a seven-point hole in last place in the league coming out of the break and have no hope of re-entering the playoff picture. They’ll want to sell off as much as possible to accelerate the rebuild that began with the Quinn Hughes trade earlier this season, but without any high-end pending UFAs to dangle, moving largely consistent producers with control like DeBrusk has to be a consideration.
While DeBrusk’s 13 goals in 57 games this season are one of the worst per-game outputs of his career, his overall point production – adding 15 assists for 28 points – has been enough to rank third on Vancouver in scoring behind Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek. He’s also been brought down by a terrible 8.3% finishing rate, nearly half of last year’s mark and well below his career average. Averaging north of 17 minutes per game, he’s generating shot attempts at a career-best rate, although his usually above-water possession metrics leave something to be desired.
All that said, DeBrusk is ripe for an increase in production with a change of scenery. At a $5.5MM cap hit, his career average of 24 goals and 46 points per 82 games becomes attractive in a rising cap environment, especially as he’s cost-controlled for five more seasons with gradually relaxing trade protection. Producers with similar recent offensive track records, like Michael Bunting and Anders Lee, are projected to earn as much or more on the open market this summer.
Considering teams are facing what now looks to be a historically weak UFA class this summer, next week’s deadline could be a chance for clubs to do early bidding to address future holes in their roster. DeBrusk will be of interest to many in need of short and long-term top-nine help. Among the teams to have placed exploratory calls on DeBrusk are the Kraken and Red Wings, plus the Bruins exploring a reunion with him, per Pagnotta, but all of those conversations still appear to be in their early stages.
Predators Reassign Matt Murray To AHL
2/25: Murray’s time with Nashville will end without an NHL appearance, as expected. The team announced that he has been returned to Milwaukee with Saros ready to go following his appearance at the Olympics.
2/19: The Predators announced they’ve recalled goaltender Matt Murray from AHL Milwaukee. He’ll supplement Justus Annunen as a practice goaltender while Juuse Saros continues representing Finland at the Olympics as they advance to the semifinals.
Murray, 28, is in his second season serving as Nashville’s third-stringer and AHL starter. The 2021 NCAA national championship winner with UMass joined the Preds on a two-way deal in 2024 after being non-tendered by the Stars. After being named an AHL Second-Team All-Star last season while leading the league with a .932 SV% in 43 games, he re-upped with Nashville on a two-year, two-way deal that more than doubled his minors salary.
The Alberta native’s numbers have regressed significantly this season. He’s still a serviceable starting option for Milwaukee, but with a .904 SV% and 2.86 GAA in 29 showings with a 12-14-2 record, he doesn’t jump off the page. He still carries value as a veteran call-up option with at least a handful of NHL experience, making four starts for Dallas in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns. He owns a 2-2-0 record, one shutout, and a .885 SV% across his career at the top level.
Murray remains under contract through next season, presumably still as the top call-up option if Saros or Annunen become unavailable. He’s in his fifth professional season after debuting with AHL Texas down the stretch in 2021-22.
Maple Leafs Activate Dakota Joshua From LTIR
2/25: As expected, Toronto has activated Joshua off of LTIR.
2/24: The Maple Leafs will activate winger Dakota Joshua from long-term injured reserve before tomorrow’s game against the Lightning, according to Sportsnet’s Anna Dua. Whether he plays or not remains to be seen – Joshua “will have his time managed” during this week’s back-to-back, Dua writes – but he will be available. They have an open roster spot, so no corresponding move will be required.
It will be Joshua’s first appearance of the calendar year if he plays. He sustained a kidney laceration on Dec. 28 against the Red Wings. He started skating last month but wasn’t close to returning due to the risk of re-injury. Now that it’s mitigated, he’ll be able to step back in.
When the Maple Leafs surrendered a fourth-round pick to acquire Joshua from the Canucks last summer, they were hoping he was a buy-low candidate that could return to the 18-goal, 32-point form he showed with Vancouver in 2023-24. The bottom-six grinder landed a four-year, $13MM extension at the time as a result, but he regressed to seven goals and 14 points in 57 games the following season after recovering from testicular cancer.
So far in Toronto, he’s produced at around the same pace. He’s managed six goals and 10 points in 36 games, working out to 0.28 points per game – just a bit higher than last year’s pace and still below his 0.32 career average. That’s even with Joshua shooting at a rather high 18.8% clip. He’s averaging just 0.89 shots on goal per game this season, his lowest figure since a 12-game rookie trial with the Blues in 2020-21.
Regardless, head coach Craig Berube has leaned on Joshua heavily in defensive situations at even strength. He’s started 72.6% of his 5-on-5 shifts in the D-zone, so even if he’s not playing a large role on Toronto’s penalty kill, his -2 rating is a strong one considering the type of deployment he’s been given. For a Leafs team that’s underwater in every possession metric, getting a trusted defensive piece like Joshua back isn’t without virtue as they try to make up the six-point difference keeping them out of a playoff spot.
Senators Recall Stephen Halliday
2/25: After two days of practice with the top club, defense prospect Carter Yakemchuk has also been reassigned to Belleville. The move was expected after the team ended Wednesday’s practice, head coach Travis Green told Julian McKenzie of The Athletic.
2/23, 4:00 p.m.: The Senators reassigned Boucher back to Belleville, confirming that his recall earlier today was simply for practice purposes. Belleville’s schedule resumes on Friday, when the team travels to take on the Utica Comets, who are AHL affiliates of the New Jersey Devils.
2/23, 10:03 a.m.: The Senators announced they’ve recalled forwards Tyler Boucher and Stephen Halliday, as well as defenseman Carter Yakemchuk, from AHL Belleville. They’ll give the Sens some roster insurance as they await the returns of captain Brady Tkachuk and top defenseman Jake Sanderson from Olympic play, with both questionable to return in time for Ottawa’s first game back against the Red Wings on Thursday.
This is Boucher’s first time being rostered during the regular season. The 23-year-old was summoned as a Black Ace for last year’s playoff run but has yet to make his NHL debut nearly five years after being selected 10th overall in the 2021 draft. He remains the only active player in the top 20 that has yet to make his NHL debut (Winnipeg’s Chaz Lucius, selected 18th overall, was forced into medical retirement).
That could now change. The 6’2″, 216-lb winger was viewed as a late first-round choice at best by prospect evaluators in his draft year, so it was a highly controversial decision for the Sens to spend such a high pick on him. The gamble hasn’t worked out. Boucher disenrolled from Boston University 17 games into his post-draft season after struggling to catch on and spent the following year and a half in junior hockey with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, where he struggled through injuries and managed 17 goals and 31 points in 45 games – not nearly the level of offense expected out of a top-10 pick after his draft date.
Boucher’s struggles persisted after he turned pro with the Sens in 2023. He’s spent his entire career to date in the AHL and had just two goals and five points in 21 games as a rookie two years ago. Last year’s 10 points in 47 games weren’t much better.
This season, though, the Arizona native has picked up a little bit of steam. He’s already set new career-highs across the board with six goals, 10 assists, and 16 points in 29 games with a +9 rating. Injuries have again limited him to just over half of Belleville’s schedule, but getting his offensive output up over half a point per game is a definitive step in the right direction. He’ll now get a shot to at least get some practice reps in with the Sens over the coming days until Tkachuk is back in the mix.
Halliday’s recall is more of a formality. He’s been up with the Sens for a big chunk of the season already and was only sent down over the break so that he could keep getting some playing time in Belleville. The 23-year-old figures to remain up with Ottawa’s NHL group for the stretch run, serving as a depth forward option while David Perron continues his recovery from sports hernia surgery.
The 6’4″ pivot had something of a difficult time generating offense in Belleville over the break, limited to three assists in seven games. That only brought him down to a point per game in 29 AHL contests this year, though. He’s also been exceptionally productive in a fourth-line role for Ottawa, managing four goals and 11 points in 25 NHL games despite averaging just 8:08 of ice time per night. Only Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, and Martin Necas have scored more points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 than Halliday’s 3.14 (min. 10 games played).
Like Boucher, this marks the first regular-season recall for Yakemchuk, who gives Ottawa a seventh defenseman available while Sanderson makes his way back to the club. The 20-year-old’s stint on the NHL roster isn’t likely to last any longer than necessary. Drafted seventh overall in 2024, he’s a first-year pro and hasn’t had a smooth transition from the WHL to Belleville. Yakemchuk has demonstrated the offensive acumen Ottawa’s hoped for, leading the B-Sens’ D group with 25 points in 41 games, but has a team-worst -33 rating in the process. The hard-hitting puck-mover will need to build out his two-way game a lot more before he’s considered for NHL minutes.
Stars Activate Lian Bichsel From LTIR
The Stars announced today that they’ve activated defenseman Lian Bichsel from long-term injured reserve. They opened a roster spot yesterday by placing Radek Faksa on IR, and they have ample cap space with Tyler Seguin still feeding their LTIR pool, so no corresponding moves are required.
Bichsel is expected to play tonight, along with freshly anointed Olympic silver medalist Thomas Harley, tonight against the Kraken, Robert Tiffin of D Magazine relays. Ilya Lyubushkin and Kyle Capobianco will serve as healthy scratches while Nils Lundkvist and Alexander Petrovic remain in the lineup. It will be Bichsel’s first appearance since undergoing a lower-body surgery following an injury he sustained against the Senators back on Nov. 30. All told, he missed nearly three months and 31 games.
The 21-year-old Bichsel will form the Stars’ third pairing with Petrovic. They were stapled together before the former’s injury with underwhelming results. They outscored opponents 12-8 due to some puck luck on both ends of the ice, but they only managed to control 42.1% of expected goals and 41.0% of shot attempts at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck.
Nonetheless, the Stars appear pleased with Bichsel’s work as a bottom-pairing fixture. It’s now been three years since they made him the 18th overall pick in the 2022 draft, and they remain hopeful the 6’7″ Swiss rearguard can remain a long-term shutdown fixture on the left side behind Miro Heiskanen and Harley. He wasn’t scratched once this season before getting hurt, recording three points and a +6 rating in 26 outings. He’s only averaging 15:49 of ice time per game – he’s not been given much shorthanded deployment.
The Stars will continue to monitor Bichsel’s possession impacts down the stretch. Petrovic has had better underlying numbers this season when paired with Capobianco, with that duo posting a 52.4 xGF% while outscoring opponents 7-2. If Bichsel’s and Petrovic’s previous form holds up, it might be worth giving the veteran Capobianco another look in the 3LD slot.
Oilers Recall Matthew Savoie
Feb. 25: The Oilers announced today that they’ve brought Savoie back up from Bakersfield. Only today did they accrue enough cap space to recall him and activate Henrique from LTIR as expected. He suited up once for Bakersfield last Friday and had an assist, a -1 rating, and three shots in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Calgary Wranglers.
Feb. 17: The Oilers announced that they’ve reassigned forward Matthew Savoie to AHL Bakersfield. The move was made to give them temporary salary cap flexibility, per the team’s Bob Stauffer, likely to activate center Adam Henrique from long-term injured reserve before their schedule resumes next week. Bakersfield has three games between now and Feb. 25, so Savoie will get a lengthy run-up before the team accumulates enough cap space to recall him again.
It certainly wouldn’t be a performance-based demotion for Savoie. The 22-year-old is the only one of Edmonton’s young guns who’s been able to carve out a consistent spot in their top nine this season. Even so, his production hasn’t been overwhelming. He’s posted nine goals and nine assists for 18 points through 58 games, tied for ninth on the team in scoring and on pace for 25 points on the year. For a player drafted with a top-10 pick who’s seen extensive time on a line with Leon Draisaitl, more production would be desirable.
Acquired from the Sabres in 2024, he’ll return to a familiar environment in Bakersfield, albeit for a few games. He had immense success there last season as a first-year pro, finishing second on the team in scoring with a 19-35–54 line in 66 games. For a few games, he’ll now get to link up with one of the AHL’s most dynamic duos this season in wingers Isaac Howard and Quinn Hutson, both of whom are clicking at over a point per game.
Clearing Savoie’s $886,666 cap hit gives Edmonton the flexibility to reinstate Henrique before next Wednesday. He’s been out since early January with an undisclosed injury. At a cap hit of $3MM, the Oilers will be hoping for more production from the 36-year-old than the two goals and 10 points he’s given them in 43 games this season.
Mammoth Reassign Dmitri Simashev, Maveric Lamoureux
Feb. 25: Evidently, Simashev’s and Lamoureux’s recalls yesterday were to get them one last practice in before the Olympic break ended. The team announced today that both have been returned to Tucson, giving them the space to activate Cooley and Kerfoot before tonight’s game against the Avalanche.
Feb. 24: The Mammoth announced today that they’ve recalled defense prospects Dmitriy Simashev and Maveric Lamoureux from AHL Tucson. They opened up roster spots yesterday with a bevy of reassignments and thus don’t need corresponding moves today.
Simashev got out to something of a slow start to his NHL career. The 2023 sixth overall pick signed out of Russia last offseason and made Utah’s opening night roster, but was sent down to Tucson after being limited to one assist and a -9 rating through 24 outings. He was averaging 15:28 of ice time per game but was seeing some top-pair deployment alongside countryman Mikhail Sergachev, although the results weren’t great with a 48.3 xGF% and 33.3 GF% at 5-on-5.
The reassignment lit a fire under him. Touted as a low-offense shutdown D-man, he bucked those expectations with a gargantuan 7-18–25 scoring line in 27 games for Tucson. He already got a brief recall before the break that didn’t result in any playing time, but now that he’s in a groove, he’ll look to usurp Nick DeSimone for more consistent playing time down the stretch amid the Mammoth’s playoff push.
Meanwhile, Lamoureux still grades out as Utah’s clear-cut #2 defense prospect behind Simashev. Also a first-rounder, going 29th overall to the Coyotes in 2022, he was viewed as more of a puck-mover than Simashev was, but it hasn’t worked out that way yet. He’s still a towering physical defense-first threat that’s gotten a lot of ice time in the minors and hasn’t looked out of place in his previous NHL call-ups, either.
Lamoureux has 20 NHL games to his name since debuting in October 2024, including five this season. During that span, he has four points and a +7 rating with a highly promising 54.3 CF% at even strength, averaging 15:45 per game. He’s got 14 points and a +4 in 42 AHL games this season, but is already near hitting his floor as a stable third-pairing shutdown righty who can kill penalties.
It’s worth noting that while Utah has a full roster, it includes 12 forwards and nine defensemen. With Logan Cooley and Alexander Kerfoot expected to come off injured reserve in short order, more roster spots will be needed.
Canadiens To Activate Alex Newhook From Injured Reserve
The Canadiens will activate Alex Newhook from injured reserve before tomorrow’s game versus the Islanders, Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports. The speedy forward is set for his first appearance in over three months after sustaining an ankle fracture on Nov. 13. They had an open roster spot after waiving and reassigning Sammy Blais to AHL Laval before the Olympic break, so no corresponding move is needed.
This was the second ankle injury for Newhook in three years. He also missed 27 games in 2023-24 after sustaining a high ankle sprain in December of that year before this season’s complete fracture, which ended up keeping him sidelined for nearly half the campaign. After plenty of warmup time over the break, he’ll now be an option for the Habs as they look to secure consecutive playoff berths for the first time since 2020 and 2021.
Before the break, Newhook was well on his way toward avenging a disastrous 2024-25 campaign. He had racked up six goals and 12 points through 17 games, giving him a career-high 0.71 points per game rate. He was doing so in 14:38 of ice time per game, down from his first two years in Montreal, but was seeing even-strength deployment as the Habs’ second-line left winger with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.
While moving Newhook away from his natural center position has appeared to yield dividends for the Habs, whether he remains in a top-six role remains to be seen. Since Newhook’s injury, the Habs have opted to break up their usual top line and have bumped Juraj Slafkovsky down to the 2LW slot with Kapanen and Demidov, giving them an added element of secondary production. There’s an argument to be made that, if Montreal wants to keep that unit together, Newhook would be a higher-ceiling fit on the first line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield than either Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier, both of whom have cycled into that slot since Slafkovsky moved down to the second line.
Of course, that debate may be moot after the trade deadline. Montreal has been testing the market for a top-six winger to play with Suzuki and Caufield. They could either leverage Newhook in that move – something they could comfortably do as they’re scoring 3.46 goals per game this season – or bump him down to a bottom-six job if they bring someone in above him.
Devils Reassign Dennis Cholowski
Feb. 24: Not surprisingly, New Jersey shared today that Cholowski has been re-assigned to AHL Utica. The former first round defenseman was able to practice with the team during the break, but will not add to his 15 game season total with New Jersey at this time. The Devils host Buffalo tomorrow in their first game post-Olympics.
Feb. 18: The Devils made Hameenaho’s and White’s recalls official today. They also summoned defenseman Dennis Cholowski and goaltender Jakub Malek from AHL Utica to serve as extra practice players while they await the return of their Olympians.
Feb. 13: The Devils will recall forward Lenni Hameenaho and defenseman Colton White back to the NHL roster after the Olympic break, per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. As things stand, they won’t need to make any corresponding moves.
Hameenaho, 21, appeared in the first nine games of his NHL career in the weeks leading up to the break. The early returns were strong for the 2023 second-round pick. He notched two goals and four points with a +1 rating. The right-winger played his natural position, usually on a line with Arseny Gritsyuk and Cody Glass. That trio controlled a dominant 75% of expected goals at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck. It’s easy to see why New Jersey wants to squeeze as much momentum as they can out of that group when league play reconvenes later this month.
Hameenaho’s adjustment to the NHL game is a great sign that a rough campaign for the club’s AHL affiliate in Utica hasn’t steered him too far off his development path. The 6’1″ Finn has a 9-13–22 scoring line and a -13 rating through 34 minor-league games, a figure that improbably leads the team in scoring.
He made his offensive ceiling evident with a pair of spectacular post-draft campaigns in his home country for Ässät. In 2024-25, he erupted for 20 goals and 51 points in 58 Liiga games to lead under-20 players in scoring.
Now, as one of New Jersey’s brightest prospects, he appears set to finish out the season in a top-nine role. While playoffs are essentially out of the question, a strong finish should position him well to crack the opening night roster next fall.
White, 28, has spent most of his pro career in the minors but has been a pleasant surprise as a call-up option when needed this season. Injuries have forced the lefty in 23 appearances, in which he’s recorded four assists and a +2 rating. They’re his first games at the top level since suiting up a career-high 46 times for the Ducks in 2022-23.
A stay-at-home specialist, White is averaging just 12:15 of ice time per game but has been a no-fuss option in bottom-pairing minutes. He’s controlled 47.7% of shot attempts and 53.9% of expected goals at even strength, so he’s done a good job of helping the Devils control quality scoring chances against lesser competition.
Kings Recall Kirill Kirsanov, Erik Portillo
Feb. 24: Kirsanov and Portillo were quietly returned to Ontario back on Friday, but the team announced they’ve been recalled again today. With Doughty and Kuemper taking home silver medals, they might be getting tomorrow off against the Golden Knights before returning to the lineup. As such, Kirsanov and Portillo would be needed as a healthy extra and a backup goalie, respectively.
Feb. 19: The Kings announced they’ve recalled defenseman Kirill Kirsanov and goaltender Erik Portillo from AHL Ontario. Netminder Pheonix Copley was returned to Ontario after being recalled yesterday in the corresponding move.
Kirsanov gets a look in an NHL practice today while Drew Doughty is still in Italy representing Team Canada at the Olympics. The 23-year-old is in the first season of his entry-level contract, waiting four years after L.A. drafted him in the third round in 2021 to come over from his native Russia. While the 6’2″ lefty struggled to hold down a regular role in the KHL, he’s looked the part so far in Ontario. A stable two-way presence, he’s put up four goals and 11 points with a +8 rating in 47 games.
Portillo, who’s essentially usurped Copley as the No. 3 goalie on the Kings’ depth chart, will get his turn in practice today with Darcy Kuemper absent. After a tough showing last year, the 25-year-old has squarely outperformed Copley in the minors this season and has a .905 SV% and 2.45 GAA in 19 games. That’s been good for a 13-3-1 record and one shutout behind one of the AHL’s best offensive clubs.