Hurricanes Activate, Reassign Juha Jaaska
According to a team announcement, the Carolina Hurricanes have activated forward Juha Jaaska from the non-roster injured reserve. As expected, the team quickly reassigned Jaaska to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.
Jaaska, 27, is in his second professional season in North America. Before signing with the Hurricanes, Jaaska spent several years with the Finnish Liiga’s HIFK, scoring 51 goals and 142 points in 310 games with a +44 rating.
His first season with Carolina went well, particularly in the AHL. It can take some time for players, especially those who have played multiple years overseas, to adjust to professional hockey across the ocean. Jaaska immediately contributed to AHL Chicago, finishing fifth on the team in scoring with 12 goals and 33 points in 53 games.
Unfortunately, that didn’t translate to the NHL level right away. The Hurricanes gave him multiple opportunities, and he finished with only four assists in 18 NHL contests, averaging 8:56 of ice time per game. Still, his possession metrics were particularly solid (61.7% CorsiFor%), though that’s true of nearly every player in Carolina.
His career took a hit in October when Jaaska underwent groin surgery, keeping him out of action until now. He’ll return to a familiar environment where he’ll likely remain until the end of the season. If the Hurricanes clinch either the Metropolitan Division or the Eastern Conference, the team could give Jaaska another opportunity toward the end of the year.
Rangers Sitting Artemi Panarin For Roster-Related Reasons
6:42 PM: Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports that Panarin is seeking a contract extension before he’ll sign off on any trade. With the Rangers committed to holding him out through the Olympic break if needed, Panarin now has ample time to try to work out a deal with his next team.
5:28 PM: According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, the New York Rangers are healthy-scratching Artemi Panarin for roster-related reasons. Not only will Panarin sit tonight against the New York Islanders, but Walker shared that he won’t be back in the lineup before the upcoming Olympic break.
That means, at least in the short-term future, that Panarin will miss the next four games for the Rangers. In all likelihood, he has played his last game for the Rangers.
Still, there’s no indication that a Panarin trade is particularly close. Because of the no-movement clause included in his contract, Panarin would have to greenlight any trade out of New York. It is believed that the Rangers have asked Panarin to provide a list of teams he would be willing to join, and today’s news suggests that Panarin has at least offered them a few options.
It’ll be interesting to see how long New York is willing to keep Panarin on the sidelines. Because there’s no indication a trade is close, and not every team linked to Panarin has sufficient cap space to acquire Panarin (though they would by the time the trade deadline rolls around), there’s a possibility that a deal won’t materialize until closer to the deadline. It would be unlikely, but that worst-case scenario could have Panarin without game action for over a month.
Regardless, if he has already played his last game with New York, he has finished as one of the organization’s best offensive players ever. Since joining the Rangers ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, Panarin has scored 205 goals and 607 points in 482 games with a +68 rating. He has consistently maintained a CorsiFor% above 50.0% at even strength and was a top-five scorer in the league as recently as the 2023-24 season.
Much of the concern regarding Panarin’s tenure with the Rangers has stemmed from a perception that he “disappears” during the playoffs. This claim is wholly unfounded.
Although Panarin hasn’t maintained his regular-season scoring pace in the postseason, he has recorded 19 goals and 53 points in 62 playoff games since joining the Columbus Blue Jackets before the 2017-18 season. Exclusively with the Rangers, he’s registered 12 goals and 35 points in 46 games while averaging more than 20 minutes per night, helping the team reach two Eastern Conference Finals.
It’s an evolving situation, but Panarin should be with a new team relatively soon.
Maple Leafs Reassign Henry Thrun, Dakota Mermis; Recall Marshall Rifai
The Toronto Maple Leafs are making a few changes to the bottom of their defensive core ahead of a four-game roadtrip through the Pacific Division. According to a team announcement, the Maple Leafs have reassigned Henry Thrun and Dakota Mermis to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and recalled Marshall Rifai to the NHL club.
Thrun, 24, was on his second recall of the year. In his first season with the Maple Leafs organization, he has served exclusively as an injury replacement. Throughout his two recalls, Thrun has gone scoreless in four games with Toronto, averaging 14:52 of ice time per game.
He’s understandably been more productive with AHL Toronto. In his first significant playing time in the AHL since the start of the 2023-24 season, Thrun has scored three goals and 14 points in 28 games with the Marlies, with a -2 rating. That’s good for second on the team in scoring among defensemen.
Expectedly, Mermis heads to the AHL after being placed on waivers yesterday. He has played more NHL games this year than Thrun, scoring one goal in 11 appearances and averaging 13:02 of ice time per game. Unfortunately for Mermis, he has been out of action since early December as he suffered a long-term lower-body injury. Assuming his current demotion goes well, it’s likely that he’ll return to the active roster relatively soon.
Meanwhile, Rifai will join the Maple Leafs for the second time this season. The 27-year-old began the year on Toronto’s long-term injured reserve as he recovered from a wrist injury. Since the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign, Rifai has appeared only for the Marlies, scoring three goals and 17 points in 75 games with a +15 rating. In his only NHL action back in the 2023-24 campaign, he went scoreless in two games.
Canucks Notes: Kane, Buium, Hoglander
It’s already known that winger Evander Kane won’t finish the year with the Vancouver Canucks since the team allowed his agent to negotiate a trade to another organization. Still, Kane has yet to be moved.
Most of the interest in Kane is coming from the Western Conference, where he may prefer to remain. The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars have already been linked, with beat writer Robert Tiffin confirming the latter team’s interest earlier today. Additionally, Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reported today that the Los Angeles Kings have entered the mix for Kane’s services.
Multiple outlets have claimed that the Canucks were willing to retain some salary on the remainder of Kane’s contract and are only looking for a prospect or draft capital in return. Throughout his career, Kane has achieved at least a 20-goal campaign more often than not, though he has struggled to put the puck in the net this year, with nine goals in 52 games. Still, interested teams have likely placed more value on his playoff performance the past two years, scoring 10 goals and 20 points in 41 games, with 159 hits, helping the Edmonton Oilers reach back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.
Additional notes from the Vancouver Canucks:
- After losing netminder Thatcher Demko for the remainder of the season, Vancouver may also be without one of their top young blue-liners for the foreseeable future. Passing along a note from head coach Adam Foote, Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre reported that defenseman Zeev Buium has a broken cheekbone and that surgery has not been ruled out. The Canucks are wholly expecting him to remain out through the upcoming Olympic break. Buium has scored two goals and six points in 20 games, while averaging 20:25 of ice time per night, since being acquired from the Minnesota Wild in mid-December.
- The injury concern doesn’t end there for the Canucks. According to Sportsnet’s Randip Janda, forward Nils Höglander is being evaluated for a lower-body injury from yesterday’s game against the San Jose Sharks. It’s not the first time Höglander has dealt with injury concerns this year, missing the first two months of the season due to a separate lower-body ailment. He has registered only two assists in 18 games since returning.
Thatcher Demko Out For Season
12:01 p.m.: The Canucks are shutting Demko down for the season to undergo hip surgery, the team announced. He ends his year with an 8-10-1 record in 20 appearances with a .895 SV% and 2.90 GAA – both strong numbers behind a lax Vancouver defense.
8:35 a.m.: The Vancouver Canucks have been without starting netminder Thatcher Demko since January 10th, and his absence could extend even further. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Canucks are expected to provide clarity on Demko’s injury later today, and he may be done for the 2025-26 campaign.
Speculation regarding his availability for the remainder of the season came from Vancouver’s head coach, Adam Foote, who admitted that Demko’s season may be over. The nine-year veteran has been dealing with chronic knee issues for the last few years and was out with a groin ailment earlier this season.
At the time, Foote only acknowledged that Demko is dealing with a lower-body injury, and there’s no word on whether it’s related to his previous afflictions. If it is, Demko may need relatively invasive surgery, which could sideline him for months. Dreger confirmed that Demko has been meeting with medical specialists, which would explain the lack of clarity from the Canucks.
Additionally, it wouldn’t be a bad year for Demko to take off to regain his health. Vancouver is currently in the league’s basement with a 17-30-5 record and has no realistic pathway back to contention, even with Demko between the pipes.
Still, even if he does have surgery, there should be significant concern from the Canucks. If he misses the rest of the season, he will have made only 43 starts in the last two seasons. For comparison, Demko made 51 starts during the 2023-24 season alone.
Despite the injuries, Vancouver signed Demko to a three-year, $25.5MM ($8.5MM AAV) extension that begins next season. Considering that they’re already paying Kevin Lankinen $4.5MM through the 2029-30 campaign, that’s a relatively high price to pay for a goalie tandem on a non-competitive team.
Senators Recall Xavier Bourgault; Reassign Mads Sogaard
According to a team announcement, the Ottawa Senators have recalled forward Xavier Bourgault from the AHL’s Belleville Senators. Additionally, the team has reassigned netminder Mads Søgaard in a corresponding roster move.
Toward the end of Ottawa’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, depth forward Stephen Halliday left with an undisclosed injury. The Senators haven’t elaborated on Halliday’s injury, but the belief is that it isn’t too severe.
Furthermore, since the team activated Linus Ullmark from the non-roster list on the same day, there was little need for three netminders on the roster. For the Senators’ sake, they’ll hope to get better results from the tandem of Ullmark and veteran James Reimer.
Bourgault, 23, has spent much of the season with AHL Belleville. He’s had an inspired season, placing second on the team in scoring with 14 goals and 37 points in 43 games. He made his NHL debut this past December, going scoreless in 6:43 of action against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Meanwhile, Søgaard will look to get his performance back on track in the AHL. He’s only two years removed from providing a .916 SV% in 32 games with AHL Belleville, but has been wholly disappointing since. He’s managed a 4-8-4 record in 18 games this season with a .889 SV%. If he wants a realistic chance to make Ottawa’s opening night roster next season, he must rediscover his game by the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
Morning Notes: Pettersson, Thomas, Avalanche
As the Vancouver Canucks enter a turning point for the organization, much has been made of the trade candidacy of center Elias Pettersson. Multiple teams have shown interest in the former 102-point scorer, but there are no reports of any substantial developments.
Furthermore, it doesn’t sound like Pettersson has any interest in leaving Vancouver. Speaking on Donnie and Dhali, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said, “I know there’s a lot of talk about Elias Pettersson right now, I just haven’t been given any indication that he is willing to waive at this point in time.”
If the Canucks cannot find a suitable trade partner that Pettersson would consider, or if he simply does not want to leave Vancouver, he has the right to block the trade. Pettersson has a full no-movement clause in his contract, and it will remain through the 2031-32 NHL season.
Additional morning notes:
- According to an article from Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff, the St. Louis Blues have understandably set an extremely high asking price for forward Robert Thomas. Even as perceived sellers leading up to the trade deadline, the Blues aren’t actively looking to move Thomas, though they will do their due diligence if a suitor gives them an offer they can’t refuse. Still, Di Marco spoke with an anonymous team source of a club that contacted St. Louis regarding Thomas, and that negotiations were killed relatively quickly due to the asking price.
- The Colorado Avalanche had a slight change to their forward core in last night’s blowout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Before the game, Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now reported that Ross Colton would miss the contest with a lower-body injury (day-to-day) and that Joel Kiviranta would take his place in the lineup. Kiviranta recently missed nearly a month with his own injury, and went scoreless in last night’s contest.
Maple Leafs Recall Henry Thrun
1:41 p.m.: Matt Benning was returned to AHL Toronto in the corresponding move for Thrun’s recall, per the NHL’s media site. Swapping the two clears $150K in cap space, an important factor in giving the Leafs the flexibility to activate Anthony Stolarz from long-term injured reserve today as well.
9:38 a.m.: According to a team announcement, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled defenseman Henry Thrun from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. The transaction coincides with recent injuries to Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Carlo.
Still, Thrun’s recall may be only a precaution. Jonas Siegel of The Athletic reported that both Ekman-Larsson and Carlo were on the ice for the team’s practice. Toronto may have avoided longer-term injuries to one or both of the blue liners. Regardless, given that their active roster is full, the Maple Leafs will have to make a corresponding roster move at some point today.
Meanwhile, Thrun, 24, is in his first year with the Maple Leafs organization. Toronto acquired him this past summer in a trade that sent Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks. He’s earning $1MM this season and will be a restricted free agent next summer.
After serving consistently with the Sharks, Thrun has primarily played in the AHL this season. He’s been a boon to AHL Toronto, scoring three goals and 14 points in 28 games with a -2 rating. His scoring output doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, but it’s good for second on the team among defensemen.
Given his place on the team’s depth chart, Thrun has only featured in a few games for the Maple Leafs this season. At the time of writing, he has gone scoreless in four contests, producing a -1 rating while averaging 14:52 of ice time per game.
Islanders Notes: Bridgeport, Horvat, Pulock
Back in late June, insider Frank Seravalli reported that the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders were likely moving to Hamilton, Ontario, beginning in the 2026-27 campaign. In an update yesterday, Seravalli confirmed that the news is official.
Bridgeport, then the Sound Tigers, had their inaugural campaign back in the 2001-02 season. They made it to the Calder Cup Final that year and were purchased by the Islanders in 2004. Unfortunately, it’s been a mixed bag since then, winning one Northeast Division title in the 2011-12 season but having yet to return to the Calder Cup Final.
Meanwhile, Hamilton has been without a hockey team since 2023. The Hamilton Bulldogs, an OHL team, temporarily moved to Brantford until Edmonton Oilers’ forward Zach Hyman purchased the team in 2025, keeping the team in Brantford long-term. There is no information about whether the Bridgeport Islanders will adopt the Bulldog name.
Additional Islanders notes:
- All indications suggest that Bo Horvat will return to the Islanders’ lineup tomorrow. According to Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News, Horvat skated in a regular jersey at New York’s practice this morning and feels “ready to go.” Horvat has missed the last three weeks with a lower-body injury. Still, the Islanders never placed him on the injured reserve, so they won’t need to make any transactions.
- Unfortunately, it’s not all positive news on the injury front. Rosner also reported that defenseman Ryan Pulock is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Pulock is meeting with the team doctors today, but considering that he wasn’t at practice, the chances of him playing tomorrow are slim. If he misses tomorrow’s contest against the Buffalo Sabres, it would be the first game Pulock has missed all season.
Winnipeg Jets Reassign Isaak Phillips, Danil Zhilkin
According to a team announcement, the Winnipeg Jets have reassigned defenseman Isaak Phillips and forward Danil Zhilkin to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Each player was recalled relatively recently as injury insurance.
Unfortunately, it seems the transaction will not align with any positive updates regarding the injury situation. The Moose play tonight at home, allowing each player to play before being recalled for tomorrow’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Winnipeg remains without Haydn Fleury, Colin Miller, and Neal Pionk.
Phillips, 24, is in his second year with the Jets organization. Winnipeg acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks last season as he was passed over on the team’s depth chart. Unfortunately, he hasn’t found more playing time with the Jets.
Still, he’s having a much better year in the AHL. Split between Manitoba and the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, Phillips finished with four goals and 16 points in 67 games with a -3 rating. He’s nearly matched that output already this year, registering three goals and 13 points in 33 games with a +3 rating.
Meanwhile, Zhilkin, 22, is in his third professional season. He hasn’t had much success so far, but got off to a moderately good start this season, scoring seven goals and 14 points in 30 games. He has not scored in four NHL appearances, averaging 8:14 of ice time.