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Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Maxim Groshev

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12/3/2025: Tampa announced today that they’ve reassigned Groshev back to AHL Syracuse, one day after they recalled him. Groshev was a healthy scratch for the team’s loss to the New York Islanders last night, meaning he heads back to Syracuse still waiting on the chance to make his NHL debut.

Due to the fact that Groshev is playing on a two-way entry level contract, his NHL salary ($775K) is significantly higher than his AHL salary ($80K). So while Groshev was only recalled to serve as a healthy scratch, he at least got to enjoy a brief pay bump to do so.

12/2/2025: The Tampa Bay Lightning have again recalled another depth defenseman as they deal with multiple injuries. Tampa Bay announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Maxim Groshev from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.

It’s the second time Groshev has been recalled over the last little while. Unfortunately, he didn’t make his NHL debut over that call-up, and that’s not expected to change this time around.

Groshev, 23, was drafted as a winger when he was selected with the 85th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. Having converted to the blue line, he has spent the last three years playing for the Crunch, scoring 17 goals and 51 points in 142 games with a +10 rating.

In between call-ups for Groshev, the Lightning had recalled Simon Lundmark to serve as the team’s seventh defenseman. It doesn’t appear to be internal management to prolong waiver placement for Groshev, that is, who remains exempt from waivers on his current contract. Lundmark, on the other hand, is eligible for waivers but has some time before he’ll require it again.

Meanwhile, Groshev’s recall confirms that defenseman Erik Černák will not return to the Lightning lineup on their current road trip, which concludes tonight against the New York Islanders. Černák landed on Tampa Bay’s injured reserve shortly before American Thanksgiving, and there was some hope he would’ve returned by now. Still, the Lightning will return home for a two-game stretch on Thursday, so the team may wait until then to give official updates on their injured players.

Bruins Activate Viktor Arvidsson

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3:45 p.m.: Arvidsson has been activated and will be in the lineup tonight, per Ryan. Boston had an open roster spot after sending Georgii Merkulov down over the weekend.

8:09 a.m.: Although they will be without star winger David Pastrňák for the third straight game, the Boston Bruins will get a boost to their top-six tonight. In a new report from Conor Ryan of Boston.com, the Bruins are likely to welcome winger Viktor Arvidsson back from the injured reserve ahead of their upcoming contest against the Detroit Red Wings.

Arvidsson, who’s in his first year with Boston, has missed the last few weeks with a lower-body injury. He sustained the injury during the Bruins’ November 15th contest against their rival, the Montreal Canadiens. He has been a full participant in practice the last few days.

This was the risk for Boston in acquiring Arvidsson in the first place. In the last two years with the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers, the former 112th overall pick has skated in only 85 games, scoring 21 goals and 42 points while averaging 15:21 of ice time.

His average production has been solid, but missing nearly half of the available contests is unreliable at best. He continued that scoring pace earlier this season with the Bruins, registering six goals and 10 points in 20 games, managing a 14:33 ATOI.

Much like anyone else, Arvidsson can hardly replace the void left by Pastrňák, though he’ll help soften the blow somewhat. Boston remains hopeful that Pastrňák is only day-to-day, though only time will tell when he’ll eventually return. Despite splitting their two games without their best player, the Bruins have been outscored 8-5 without Pastrňák.

Blues, Kings Swap Nikita Alexandrov, Akil Thomas

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The St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings have swapped higher-level AHL forward depth. According to an announcement from the Blues, St. Louis has traded Nikita Alexandrov to the Kings for Akil Thomas.

Neither player made their respective teams’ NHL rosters out of training camp, and have exclusively played in the AHL this season. However, they are both former second-round selections from the late 2010s and have garnered NHL experience in the past.

Alexandrov, 25, was drafted with the 62nd overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft from QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders. He’s spent the last five years in the North American professional circuit, all within the Blues organization.

He has yet to break out in any meaningful way, and injuries have impacted his availability over the last few years. After scoring 21 goals and 49 points in 48 games for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds last year, he enjoys a career line of 61 goals and 143 points in 188 AHL contests with a +21 rating, good for a 0.76 point-per-game average. In the NHL with St. Louis, he’s registered a relatively disappointing three goals and nine points in 51 games.

Meanwhile, Thomas, who was drafted with the 51st overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, spent all last season on the Kings’ roster, albeit as an extra forward. He’s spent the previous six years as a consistent secondary scorer for the AHL’s Ontario Reign, tallying 50 goals and 106 points in 176 games. He has had fairly similar production to Alexandrov at the NHL level, scoring four goals and seven points in 32 games.

Depending on what St. Louis and Los Angeles do with their respective new players, it appears to be a win for the Reign at face value. Alexandrov has scored three goals and 14 points through his first 18 contests this season, and the Reign sit middle-of-the-pack in the AHL in terms of GF/G. Springfield, on the other hand, has had a dismal start to the 2025-26 campaign, sitting 29th in the league with a 5-10-2-2 record.

Blues’ Jimmy Snuggerud, Alexey Toropchenko Out Multiple Weeks

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Despite winning the first two games out of their current three-game homestand, the St. Louis Blues will not come out of it unscathed. The Blues announced that rookie forward Jimmy Snuggerud suffered a left wrist injury that will require surgery, and he’ll be reevaluated in six weeks.

Additionally, the team will be without depth forward Alexey Toropchenko for the next few weeks due to a leg injury, although it is unrelated to any on-ice incident. Toropchenko apparently scalded his legs in an at-home accident. St. Louis has recalled Aleksanteri Kaskimaki from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds to fill in the void.

Losing Snuggerud at any point is a significant blow to the Blues’ offensive core. Still, considering that other high-scoring winger Jake Neighbours only recently returned after missing nearly a month of action, it will be difficult for St. Louis to find any traction.

Though it likely wasn’t enough to earn him a top-three spot in Calder Trophy voting, the University of Minnesota alumnus had gotten off to a quality start to his first full season in the NHL. Snuggerud, 21, has scored five goals and 11 points in 26 games, though he had gone scoreless in his last seven. Still, St. Louis needs all the help they can get in the offensive zone.

Additionally, Snuggerud has shown a level of poise on the defensive side of the puck that is atypical for young wingers. He’s started 52.7% of his shifts in the defensive zone this season, and is first on the team with a 93.2% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

In all fairness, Toropchenko’s absence won’t be as significant as Snuggerud’s. The 26-year-old Russian has only one goal and two points in 17 games this season, though he has been a physical presence in the team’s bottom six, racking up 38 hits.

Meanwhile, Kaskimaki will have the opportunity to make his NHL debut only two years into his professional career in North America. He was drafted with the 73rd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft and spent two years post-draft with the Finnish Liiga’s HIFK, scoring 14 goals and 26 points in 93 games.

Joining the Thunderbirds last season, Kaskimaki finished his rookie campaign with 11 goals and 34 points in 63 games with a -6 rating. His average output has decreased somewhat to begin the 2025-26 season, though he has plenty of time to recover. Through his first 16 games with Springfield this year, Kaskimaki has scored four goals and seven points with a -5 rating.

No Contract Talks Between St. Louis Blues, Philip Broberg

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While the 28th-ranked St. Louis Blues will likely move on from a few pending free agents leading up to this year’s trade deadline, there are a few they could look to extend for the right price. Defenseman Philip Broberg is a prime extension candidate on the roster this season, though Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic writes that no contract talks have taken place yet.

Poached from the Edmonton Oilers last year by way of an offer sheet, the investment turned out well for the Blues. The former 8th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft enjoyed the best year of his career last season, scoring eight goals and 29 points in 68 games with a +21 rating, averaging 20:30 of ice time per night.

It was a clear indication that Broberg was underutilized during his tenure in Alberta. Debuting in the 2021-22 season, Broberg appeared in only 81 NHL contests over the next three years, scoring two goals and 13 points with a -5 rating, averaging 12:42 of ice time. A nearly eight-minute bump in ATOI accounted for over double the production for Broberg.

Outside of his boxcar statistics, his underlying metrics paint a similar picture. Brobert finished with the highest on-ice SV% at even strength for the Blues last year with a 93.7% output. That came despite beginning 53.2% of his shifts in the defensive zone. He averaged an 87.7% mark over his three years with Edmonton.

He’s doing much of the same again for the Blues this year. Through his first 26 games, Broberg has scored two goals and 10 points in 26 games with a -1 rating, averaging 23:25 of action per contest. While a -1 rating is a far cry from the +21 he finished with last season, it’s worth noting that St. Louis is second-to-last in the league with a -23 goal differential.

Still, there doesn’t appear to be internal pressure in the Blues’ front office to get Broberg signed quickly. Rutherford quoted General Manager Doug Armstrong, saying, “There’s no rush with that. We’re going to try and get them signed as quick as we can. If not, they’re restricted free agents. We’ll make sure that we leave enough space available to get those guys signed. The cap’s going up. It’s nice to know, with (other) guys signed, what we can do moving forward. And we can always create space.”

Regardless, his upcoming contract will be a difficult one to project. The Athletic speculated in mid-October that Broberg would earn a $6.7MM salary on his next deal, while Rutherford’s recent article now claims it could climb as high as $8MM. Additionally, AFP Analytics projects a $7.32MM price tag if Broberg were to sign a long-term extension.

All three projected salaries would make Broberg the highest-paid defenseman on the team. It’s typical to desire more offense from a blueliner at that price point, though Broberg has proven to be a capable shutdown specialist that can handle a heavy workload.

Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Simon Lundmark

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11/29/25: The Lightning announced Saturday that they reassigned Lundmark back to AHL Syracuse. Lundmark didn’t dress for the Lightning’s 4-1 road win over the New York Rangers, but at least heads back down to the minors with a game’s worth of salary at his contract’s NHL pay rate.

Lundmark is playing on a two-year, two-way contract containing a league-minimum $775K NHL salary and $250K AHL salary in each year. Since Lundmark has a $350K guarantee for each year, this recall gives Lundmark an ever-so-slightly higher chance of exceeding his guarantee in terms of total compensation by the end of the season, assuming further recalls may come down the line.

11/28/25: The Tampa Bay Lightning are again recalling a depth defenseman as they grapple with multiple injuries. Tampa Bay announced that they have recalled Simon Lundmark from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.

Lundmark’s recall indicates that Erik Černák remains unavailable and could be for the entirety of the Lightning’s upcoming three-game road trip. He’ll serve as the team’s seventh defenseman in the case of another injury, similarly to how the Lightning used youngster Maxim Groshev earlier this week.

Unlike Groshev, Lundmark, 25, is a comparatively veteran presence, although he hasn’t yet debuted in the NHL. He was originally selected with the 51st overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.

In his draft year and the following two years, Lundmark played for the SHL’s Linköping HC. It was a relatively poor showing, especially considering he was drafted in the second round. He scored two goals and 16 points in 118 games with a -20 rating.

Regardless, the Jets brought Lundmark to North America for the 2021-22 season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Although his offense improved, Lundmark continued to play subpar defense, scoring 16 goals and 62 points in 254 games, with a -38 rating.

Having seen enough, Winnipeg non-tendered Lundmark this past offseason, and he signed a two-year, $1.55MM agreement with the Lightning on the opening day of free agency. Unsurprisingly, he failed to crack the team’s opening night roster and was waived in late September. In his first handful of games with the Crunch, he’s registered two assists in 15 games with a -4 rating.

Edmonton Oilers Activate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

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The Edmonton Oilers are getting some much-needed reinforcements. The Oilers announced they have activated forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from their injured reserve. Having 22 players on the active roster beforehand, Edmonton didn’t need to make a corresponding roster move.

Despite missing the last three weeks with an undisclosed injury, Nugent-Hopkins remains the fourth-highest-scoring forward on the Oilers’ roster. It highlights the Oilers’ challenges in spreading the offense around this year. At the time of writing, 44% of Edmonton’s goals this year have come from three players: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Jack Roslovic.

Still, having Nugent-Hopkins back in the mix will alleviate some of those issues. Throughout his 9-game absence, Edmonton has managed a 4-4-1 record, averaging 3.3 GF/G.

The former first-overall pick’s performance this year has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He’s returned to a point-per-game average, scoring five goals and 16 points in 16 games, averaging 18:49 of ice time. However, his defensive metrics have completely cratered.

Although not perceived as one of the best defensive forwards in the game, Nugent-Hopkins has garnered votes for the Selke Trophy in the past, and he’s averaged a quality 90.3% at even strength throughout his time with the Oilers. However, this season, he’s averaged an 85.3% in that department, which would be the worst of his career by a significant margin.

Furthermore, he appears to have lost some of his mojo in the faceoff dot. He averaged a respectable 48.2% success rate over the past two years, but has seen it crumble to 41.3% this season. That’s likely why the Oilers’ coaching staff has primarily played Nugent-Hopkins on McDavid’s wing this season, rather than have him centering his own line.

Regardless, scoring depth and subpar defensive play from Nugent-Hopkins are hardly Edmonton’s biggest concerns this season. Despite getting off to slow starts over the past few years, the Oilers have struggled to overcome their goaltending woes.

Through American Thanksgiving, the Oilers are 10-10-5, putting them sixth in the Pacific Division and 11th in the Western Conference with the third-worst goal differential in the league. Nearly all of that can be placed on the backs of netminders Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, who have produced a combined .860 SV% on the year.

Bruins Place Henri Jokiharju On IR, Recall Michael Callahan On Emergency Basis

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More clarity has been provided on defenseman Michael Callahan’s status from the Boston Bruins’ optional skate this morning. Boston announced that Callahan has been recalled on an emergency basis, and the team has placed defenseman Henri Jokiharju on the injured reserve, retroactive to November 28th.

There hasn’t been much insight into the nature of Jokiharju’s injury, though it’s obviously connected to the Bruins’ loss to the New York Rangers yesterday. It’s something that must have been discovered postgame, as the Finnish rearguard tallied one assist while skating in 20:51 of action.

Regardless, it’s another injury to Boston’s defensive core, who’s already without Charlie McAvoy and Jordan Harris. Despite the injuries, the Bruins haven’t relied on Jokiharju too much, as he’s registered six assists in 25 games on the year while averaging 17:23 of ice time.

Additionally, while Jokiharju’s value has typically stemmed from his play on the defensive side of the puck, he has been one of the worst performers in that regard for Boston this season. Of defensemen on the team with more than 20 games played, Jokiharju is second to last on the roster with an 88.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength. This comes after averaging a 90.8% across six years with the Buffalo Sabres.

Meanwhile, Callahan finds himself in a familiar position, albeit on an emergency basis. He’s spent a significant portion of his season serving as a depth defenseman for the Bruins, though he’s only appeared in three contests up to this point. In Providence, Callahan has registered two assists in 12 games with a +6 rating.

Calvin de Haan Signs Two-Year Extension With Rögle BK

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Veteran defenseman Calvin de Haan isn’t returning to the NHL anytime soon. It has been announced that de Haan has signed a new two-year extension with the SHL’s Rögle BK.

It’s relatively quick work on a new contract. The 34-year-old rearguard is in his first professional season overseas after signing with Rögle in mid-September of this year.

There’s no questioning why de Haan would want to stay, either. The former 12th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Draft is enjoying one of the best seasons of his professional career, scoring three goals and eight points through his first 17 games.

That level of offensive production doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, though it’s good for top-25 among blueliners in the SHL. Additionally, he’s playing on a successful Rögle that is currently positioned in second place in the league.

Odds are, unless he finds an unexpected new level to his game, that this is the last contract de Haan will sign in his career. Before moving overseas, de Haan enjoyed 13 years in the NHL with the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, and New York Rangers.

Relegated to a depth role toward the end of his tenure in the NHL, de Haan’s best playing days were undoubtedly with the Islanders. From the 2013-14 season to 2017-18, de Haan scored 12 goals and 81 points in 303 games while averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time. He was no stranger to sacrificing his body either, amassing 687 blocked shots and 566 hits during that stretch.

Canadiens Sign Mike Matheson To Five-Year Extension

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6:30 p.m.: More details about Matheson’s new extension have been revealed. The deal carries a $5MM signing bonus through the first two seasons, a $3.8MM bonus in year-three, and a $3.5MM bonus in the final two years per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Pagnotta adds that the deal also carries a full no-movement clause in the first three years, a 14-team no-trade list in the fourth year, and a five-team no-trade list in the final year.

10:00 a.m.: The Canadiens have announced Matheson’s deal. It’s worth $30MM for a cap hit of $6MM, keeping him signed through the 2030-31 campaign.

9:48 a.m.: Another day, another high-value pending unrestricted free agent is taken off the board. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Montreal Canadiens are nearing a five-year extension with defenseman Mike Matheson. Marco D’Amico of RG Media confirmed that negotiations were headed in that direction, with an announcement expected as soon as today.

The extension finalizes the last important item on the Canadiens’ internal to-do list for the rest of the season. In the last five months alone, general manager Kent Hughes has inked Noah Dobson, Lane Hutson, and now Matheson to long-term extensions. This comes a year after the team did the same for Kaiden Guhle.

Montreal had plenty of space to make it happen as well. Before Matheson’s upcoming extension, the Canadiens had approximately $26MM in cap space for the 2026-27 campaign. Even though it’s expected that the 11-year veteran will earn a healthy raise on his current $4.875MM salary, Montreal will still have ample room to add.

There’s little argument to claim he wasn’t worth retaining either. Toward the beginning of his career with the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins, Matheson had scored 49 goals and 138 points in 417 games with a -9 rating, averaging 20:15 of ice time in a top-four role. That production pales in comparison to his time in Quebec.

The 31-year-old blue liner has already surpassed his previous production in nearly half as many seasons. Though he earned more ice time in the offensive zone before the emergence of Hutson and the acquisition of Dobson, Matheson has scored 29 goals and 141 points in 232 games donning the bleu, blanc et rouge.

Still, there is some cause for concern. At even strength, Matheson hasn’t garnered above a 90% on-ice save percentage at even strength since his first year with the Canadiens, though some of that can be attributed to beginning 56.7% of his shifts in the defensive zone. Similarly, according to MoneyPuck, Matheson hasn’t produced a percentage above 50% on-ice goals share at any point during his time with Montreal.

As they’ve done this season by placing him alongside Dobson, Matheson will likely transition into a complementary piece rather than being expected to carry his defensive pairing. Comparatively, Dobson has only had one season in which he’s averaged less than 50% on-ice goals share.

Regardless, the Canadiens now have their top-four defensemen signed through the 2030-31 season, and that’s without considering the expected emergence of top prospect David Reinbacher. Now, with their last important internal negotiation out of the way, Hughes and the rest of Montreal’s front office can focus entirely on bringing a second-line center into the mix.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images. 

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