Flames Make Multiple Roster Moves
The Flames recalled forward Dryden Hunt from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers and activated goaltender Daniel Vladař off injured reserve in simultaneous transactions Friday morning, according to a team announcement. To clear the two necessary roster spots, the team assigned forward Cole Schwindt and netminder Dustin Wolf to the Wranglers.
Hunt, 28, has played in four games for the Flames this season, all coming within the first few weeks of the campaign after he made the NHL roster out of training camp. He has not been recalled since the Flames placed him on waivers and reassigned him to the minors in early November.
The undrafted free agent signed by the Panthers in 2016 has done quite well in his latest minor-league stint, posting seven goals and 22 points with a +11 rating in 23 games. The veteran of over 200 NHL games is on his fourth NHL team in the last two seasons after bouncing between the Rangers, Avalanche and Maple Leafs in 2022-23.
Calgary acquired Hunt in a deadline swap of minor-league forwards from Toronto at last year’s trade deadline, but he did not play for the team in the season’s final weeks. He reached unrestricted free agency without an extension in hand on July 1. Still, the Flames brought him back to the organization one day into the signing period with a two-year, two-way deal worth $1.55MM that pays him a minimum guaranteed salary of $400K this year and next.
Hunt scored three goals in 37 games split between the trio mentioned above of squads last season, averaging a career-low 8:04 per game. His expected -2.2 rating was also a career low. He is, however, two years removed from posting a career-high 17 points in 76 games with the Rangers in the 2021-22 campaign.
Vladař returns to the active roster after missing the last three games with a lower-body injury sustained off-ice. He hasn’t played since starting three straight games in mid-January, backing up starter Jacob Markström in five straight before landing on IR last week. The 26-year-old has a career-low .888 SV% and 3.27 GAA, not counting his five-game stint with the Bruins in 2020-21, and has a 7-7-2 record in 16 starts. This year is his third season backing up Markström after being brought over from Boston for a third-round pick in the summer of 2021.
While Markström’s high-end performance this season has generated a significant amount of trade interest, Vladař could be a chip for the Flames to move out if dealing the final three years of Markström’s $6MM AAV deal becomes too much of an obstacle in-season. The 26-year-old is signed through next season at a $2.2MM cap hit.
Schwindt returns to the Wranglers after playing 7:40 in yesterday’s 6-3 loss to the Sharks, posting zeros across the board. He has 2 PIMs, one shot on goal, and a -1 rating in four NHL showings this season dating back to late January.
The latest NHL shot for the 22-year-old Wolf didn’t go as planned. Calgary’s top goalie prospect conceded six goals on 31 shots against the division-worst Sharks last night, dropping his NHL SV% in 2023-24 to .878 through five starts and one relief appearance. The 6-foot California native has still performed at an elite level with the Wranglers, though, recording a .927 SV%, four shutouts, and an 18-7-2 record in 28 games.
Rangers Recall Matt Rempe
The Rangers recalled forward Matt Rempe from AHL Hartford on Friday, per a team announcement.
While New York has recalled the 21-year-old once already this season without appearing in a game, this occasion will likely result in his NHL debut. The Rangers were down to 12 healthy forwards after Blake Wheeler left last night’s 7-4 defeat of the Canadiens with a lower-body injury, so Rempe comes up to serve as a bottom-six option in his absence.
Head coach Peter Laviolette has recently opted for a youth movement on the team’s fourth line, parting ways with Nick Bonino and waiving Tyler Pitlick to provide an opportunity for 23-year-old Adam Edstrom to get an extended look in the lineup. That indicates Rempe is likely to slot in alongside Edstrom and Barclay Goodrow at right wing, allowing 32-year-old call-up Alex Belzile to serve as a healthy scratch for the second straight game when the Rangers face the Islanders in this weekend’s Stadium Series game.
A sixth-round pick of the team in 2020, the 6-foot-8 Rempe projects as a fourth-line force if he does end up sticking in the majors. Now in his second year of pro hockey with Hartford, he has eight goals and 12 points in 43 games this season, adding a -9 rating and 96 PIMs. He has one season remaining on his entry-level contract, which carries a cap hit of $820K, and he’ll be an RFA in 2025.
Sabres Recall Kale Clague, Reassign Dustin Tokarski
The Sabres have recalled defenseman Kale Clague from AHL Rochester, per a team release Friday morning. In a corresponding transaction, Buffalo returned goaltender Dustin Tokarski to Rochester after they summoned him on an emergency loan yesterday.
This recall is the 25-year-old Clague’s second of the season. Buffalo added him to the roster on an emergency basis for a Jan. 15 game against the Sharks, but he did not play.
Now in his second season with the Sabres organization, Clague is second on Rochester in assists with 20 in 41 games and leads Amerks defensemen in points with 23. His 52 PIMs this season are the most he’s had since his junior hockey days with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings.
A second-round pick of the Kings in 2016, Clague’s tenure in Los Angeles ended when he was claimed off waivers by the Canadiens in December 2021. He didn’t do enough in 25 games with Montréal to end the 2021-22 season to convince them to give him a qualifying offer, thus reaching unrestricted free agency sooner than expected after his age-23 season.
The Sabres have since picked him up on two straight one-year, two-way deals, and he’s settled into the ninth spot on their defensive depth chart. An unexpected rookie showing from Ryan Johnson has limited his call-up opportunities, although he remains a dependable third-pairing option if needed. He struggled to control shot quality when handed some tougher matchups alongside Owen Power last season, controlling only 41.7% of expected goals in 27 games together, per MoneyPuck.
Clague will draw in only if injuries require it. With the Sabres heading on a one-game road trip to Minnesota and Power unavailable with a suspected hand injury, the Sabres opted to carry a seventh healthy defenseman.
Tokarski returns to the minors after backing up Eric Comrie in last night’s 4-0 loss to the Panthers. His reassignment suggests that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a late scratch with a lower-body injury yesterday, will return against the Wild tomorrow. The 34-year-old Tokarski is backing up top prospect Devon Levi in Rochester, where he’s struggled with a .888 SV% and a 7-7-2 record in 16 games.
Pacific Notes: Pelletier, Grundström, Dorofeyev, Emberson, Barabanov
The Flames have now listed winger Jakob Pelletier as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per a team announcement. Pelletier, 22, played just 54 seconds against the Rangers on Monday before leaving the game after taking a hit from New York captain Jacob Trouba.
Thankfully, the day-to-day designation infers this injury isn’t related to the left shoulder surgery that sidelined him for the first three months of the season. After returning to health in January, the Flames assigned the 2019 first-round pick to the AHL, where he netted two goals and an assist in four games. Since returning to the NHL earlier this month, the Québec City native has an assist in four appearances. He got his first taste of NHL action last season, recording three goals and seven points in 24 games while averaging 14:11.
More from the Pacific Division:
- Kings winger Carl Grundström has returned to Los Angeles from the team’s road trip to be evaluated for a lower-body injury, interim head coach Jim Hiller said Wednesday (via Zach Dooley of the team’s official site). Grundström left last night’s 7-0 loss to the Sabres in the first period, recording one shot on goal in 3:43 of ice time. The 26-year-old has struggled to produce after rattling off four points in five games to open the season, posting eight goals and 12 points in 50 games on the year with a -2 rating while averaging 10:56 per game. The second-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2016 is a pending RFA with arbitration rights upon completion of his two-year, $2.6MM deal.
- Golden Knights winger Pavel Dorofeyev has been skating on his own while he recovers from an upper-body injury, but head coach Bruce Cassidy said today that he’s not close to returning to practice (via Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun). Dorofeyev landed on IR earlier this week and hasn’t played since Jan. 26 against the Rangers, missing the team’s last four games. He’s eligible to return to the active roster at any time, but the 23-year-old is still weeks away from returning. The 2019 third-round pick has been an effective part of the Golden Knights’ secondary offense this season, potting seven goals and 14 points in only 29 games in a top-nine role.
- Sharks defenseman Ty Emberson and winger Alexander Barabanov will return from respective upper-body and undisclosed injuries against the Jets tonight, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. It’s the Sharks’ first contest since the All-Star break – they’re the last team to return to action and will do so without the services of top-two centers Logan Couture and Tomáš Hertl for the foreseeable future. Emberson missed seven out of the last nine games before the break with an upper-body injury, while Barabanov didn’t finish their final contest before the break on Jan. 31 against the Ducks. With nine points and an even rating in 23 games, Emberson has battled through various injuries to break out as San Jose’s best shutdown blueliner this season after being claimed off waivers from the Rangers. The 29-year-old Barabanov hasn’t been as effective of a secondary presence as in years past, only producing three goals and nine points in 31 appearances while averaging 16:23 per game.
Atlantic Notes: Zub, Lockwood, Jones, Nylander
Senators defenseman Artem Zub did not participate in the team’s optional practice on Wednesday morning, but he hasn’t been ruled out of Thursday’s contest against the Ducks, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun says. Zub, 28, missed Tuesday’s 6-3 win over the Blue Jackets with a lower-body injury.
As such, the Senators were forced to play a skater short due to salary cap restraints, as both Zub and Jake Sanderson were out of the lineup with short-term injuries. If Zub can’t return for tomorrow’s game, the Senators will be able to use a $0 emergency recall on a minor-league defenseman with a cap hit of less than $875K. The right-shot shutdown specialist is having the best season of his career, on pace to break his previous career-high of 22 points set in 2021-22 while posting a career-best +5.3 expected rating. He remains under contract at a $4.6MM cap hit through 2027.
Other updates from the Atlantic Division:
- Panthers winger William Lockwood remains out for tonight’s game against the Penguins as he’s yet to clear concussion protocol, per head coach Paul Maurice (via Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ official site). The 25-year-old Michigan native has not played in nearly a month, entering concussion protocol after a Jan. 19 collision with Wild goaltender Marc-André Fleury that also earned Lockwood a three-game suspension. He’s played a career-high 23 games during his first season in Florida, recording one assist and a +2 rating while averaging 8:22 per game.
- Maple Leafs goaltender Martin Jones is still listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and will likely remain out tomorrow against the Flyers, head coach Sheldon Keefe said (via David Alter of The Hockey News). Jones did not dress as the backup for last night’s 4-1 win over the Blues, forcing Toronto to recall 22-year-old Dennis Hildeby to serve as the backup for starter Ilya Samsonov while Joseph Woll remains out with a high ankle sprain. Hildeby will likely back up Samsonov against the Flyers as well, his sixth time dressing for an NHL game this season.
- Sticking with Toronto, star winger William Nylander has caught the illness that kept captain John Tavares and Mitch Marner out of yesterday’s game and did not practice today, Keefe said (via Alter). His ability for tomorrow’s game is now doubtful, with suspended defenseman Morgan Rielly filling in for Nylander alongside Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews in line rushes today. Toronto will need to recall a forward from the AHL under emergency conditions if all three of Marner, Nylander, and Tavares remain out, which they have the cap space to execute after moving winger Calle Jarnkrök from IR to LTIR yesterday.
Blackhawks Place Luke Philp On Waivers, Jarred Tinordi On IR
Feb. 14: Philp cleared waivers on Wednesday and can head to Rockford, Friedman said.
Feb. 13: The Blackhawks have activated forward Luke Philp off season-opening injured reserve and placed on waivers with the intent to assign him to AHL Rockford, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Tuesday.
Philp, 28, did not participate in training camp with Chicago after undergoing Achilles surgery in August. He’s now close to resuming game action after making his NHL debut last season and will do so with Rockford.
With the Blackhawks’ near-consistent rash of injuries on offense this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Philp get another NHL look before the 2023-24 campaign wraps up. He’s been a consistent top-six presence in the minors since graduating from the University of Alberta in 2019, capping things off with a career-high 29 goals and 53 points in 60 games with Rockford last season.
He recorded one assist in three games with Chicago in 2022-23, averaging 11:41 per game through a pair of appearances in January and one in March. The Canmore, Alberta native is slated for unrestricted free agency this summer after completing a one-year, two-way extension with a minimum guaranteed salary of $425K.
His spot on IR has been taken by veteran defenseman Jarred Tinordi, whose placement is retroactive to Feb. 7 with a groin injury, per NHL.com’s Tracey Myers. The 31-year-old missed Friday’s game against the Rangers and has been ruled out of tonight’s game against the Canucks. Signed to a one-year, $1.25MM extension, Tinordi has six assists and a -19 rating in 30 games.
Rangers Assign Tyler Pitlick To AHL
Feb. 14: Pitlick cleared waivers and can be assigned to Hartford, Friedman said Wednesday.
Feb. 13: The Rangers placed winger Tyler Pitlick on waivers Tuesday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Hartford, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Pitlick, 32, hits the waiver wire after being scratched Monday against the Flames in favor of rookie Adam Edstrom. He’s only played in six of the Rangers’ last 17 games due to a handful of healthy scratches and a lower-body injury.
Rangers GM Chris Drury acquired Pitlick in free agency last summer, signing him to a one-year deal worth $787.5K. He was brought in to provide a solid defensive presence in New York’s bottom six and to aid their penalty kill, but it hasn’t quite worked out.
Pitlick is averaging only 17 seconds per game on the penalty kill, and his 41.8% Corsi share at even strength ranks near the bottom of the team. However, his line with Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey has a respectable 51.2% expected goals share in over 230 minutes of action together, per MoneyPuck.
Still, it’s clear the Rangers would like to try a higher-ceiling option offensively as they try to jumpstart their secondary scoring outside of their top six. Pitlick had one goal and three assists in 34 games.
If he clears waivers and suits up for Hartford, it will be his first AHL stint since 2015-16 as a member of the Oilers organization. Since entering the league with Edmonton in 2013, Pitlick has 56 goals, 53 assists, 109 points, and a -6 rating in 420 games.
Pitlick will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and given today’s news, it seems unlikely he’ll extend his time in New York. The Rangers are Pitlick’s eighth team of his NHL career and his fourth in the past three years.
Blackhawks Place Rem Pitlick On Waivers
The Blackhawks placed forward Rem Pitlick on waivers Wednesday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Rockford, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports.
Chicago acquired Pitlick from the Penguins on Jan. 6 in exchange for a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick. Since the trade, the 26-year-old has played in nine games, failing to record a point and posting a -7 rating while averaging 15:35 per game.
Pitlick is in the second season of a two-year, $2.2MM contract signed with the Canadiens in July 2022. After splitting the 2022-23 campaign between Montreal and AHL Laval, Pitlick was included in the three-way deal between the Canadiens, Penguins and Sharks that saw 2023 Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson head to Pittsburgh.
Despite recording 21 goals and 52 points in 112 games over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, Pitlick did not crack the Penguins’ roster out of training camp and was waived in September before being assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. After posting eight goals and 16 assists in 32 minor-league contests, the Blackhawks acquired Pitlick to add some forward depth in the wake of a rash of injuries around the New Year.
The team is slowly getting healthier, though, and names like Connor Bedard and Anthony Beauvillier are nearing returns. As such, Pitlick has been a healthy scratch in four of Chicago’s last five games after failing to make an impact on the scoresheet. In his lone recent appearance, a Feb. 9 game against the Rangers, he played fourth-line minutes and recorded a -1 rating without getting a shot on goal.
With a $1.1MM cap hit and a disappointing call-up, the likelihood of Pitlick being claimed on the waiver wire is nearly nonexistent. The University of Minnesota product will be a UFA this summer.
Snapshots: Tennyson, Ludwig, Letang, Rielly
Free agent defenseman Matt Tennyson has been without a contract this season, but he’s found a place to play with a handful of weeks remaining in the campaign. HC Lugano of the Swiss National League announced Wednesday that they’ve signed Tennyson through the end of 2023-24 as they look to bolster their squad for the stretch run.
The 33-year-old spent last season on an AHL deal with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the primary affiliate of the Kraken, and recorded 18 assists and a +20 rating in 71 games (and three assists and a +9 rating in 26 playoff games) as they advanced to the Calder Cup Final. The minor-league mainstay was supposed to play in the Predators organization entering the second season of a two-year, two-way contract, but the deal was mutually terminated in July 2022.
He last appeared in the NHL with Nashville in the 2021-22 season, notching three assists in an eight-game stint. While the right-shot blue-liner has spent most of his professional career in the minors, he does have four goals, 25 assists, 29 points, and a -24 rating in 173 games over parts of nine NHL seasons with the Predators, Hurricanes, Devils, Sabres, and Sharks.
Other news and notes from around the league:
- The Coyotes have extended and promoted front office staffer David Ludwig to an assistant general manager position under GM Bill Armstrong, the team announced Wednesday. Ludwig, a former player agent, has been with Arizona since 2020 as their director of hockey operations and salary cap compliance. His new role will involve more direct communication with Armstrong, including assisting him “in all aspects of running the Club’s personnel and hockey operations, including salary cap management, contract negotiations, and Collective Bargaining Agreement/legal issues,” the team said. His promotion continues a run of front-office extensions the Coyotes have announced in recent days, mostly involving their scouting department.
- Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will play against the Panthers on Wednesday after departing Monday’s practice for precautionary reasons, head coach Mike Sullivan said (via Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). The team is down to 18 healthy skaters after placing Noel Acciari and Jansen Harkins on IR with concussions in the last 48 hours and has no salary cap space for a recall from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. As such, the team will dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen against Florida out of necessity to avoid waiving any of their depth defensemen. The 36-year-old Letang has 30 points and a +14 rating in 49 games while averaging 25 minutes in the second season of his six-year, $36.6MM extension.
- The NHLPA will file an appeal Wednesday on behalf of Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, who was suspended five games on Tuesday for a cross-check to the face of Senators forward Ridly Greig, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. The appeal for a reduced suspension will go directly to Commissioner Gary Bettman and cannot be forwarded to an independent arbitrator because the initial assessment was less than six games. If Bettman reduces the suspension, but the ruling is not made final until after he’s sat out for five games, Rielly will get a pro-rated salary reimbursed based on the reduction.
Flames Recall Cole Schwindt
Feb. 14: Calgary summoned Schwindt back to the NHL roster on Wednesday, according to the team. Schwindt played in the Wranglers’ 4-2 over Manitoba yesterday, scoring once on two shots on goal.
Feb. 13: The Flames reassigned forward Cole Schwindt to AHL Calgary on Tuesday, per a team announcement.
Schwindt, 22, has spent most of the last three weeks on the NHL roster, interrupted by a temporary AHL assignment over the All-Star break. This one is likely more permanent after being scratched in all four games since Calgary returned to play last week.
Acquired from the Panthers as part of 2022’s Jonathan Huberdeau/Matthew Tkachuk blockbuster, the Canadian’s three showings in late January were his first since the trade. A Florida third-round pick in 2019, Schwindt has no points, a -5 rating and four shots on goal while averaging 10:19 in six games since his NHL debut.
Given his limited NHL action, he’s logged significant time with AHL Calgary over the past two years. He hasn’t eclipsed his rookie highs set with Charlotte in 2021-22, though, and his 22 goals and 52 points through 110 games since the trade aren’t quite what the Flames hoped for when they acquired him.
For now, the Flames have only 11 healthy forwards – winger Jakob Pelletier left Monday’s game against the Rangers and did not return.
Schwindt is in the final season of his entry-level contract and remains waiver-exempt. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer and is due a qualifying offer of $874,125.