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Bruins Place Michael Callahan On Injured Reserve, Recall Victor Soderstrom

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The Bruins announced they’ve placed defenseman Michael Callahan on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, defenseman Victor Söderström was recalled from AHL Providence under emergency conditions. Boston is still working with an open roster spot after the moves.

Callahan, 26, sustained a lower-body injury on Tuesday against the Red Wings and left the game in the first period. There was no visually apparent injury, but the Bruins quickly ruled him out of a return and head coach Marco Sturm said postgame they weren’t expecting him back in the lineup for at least a few days (via Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub).

The IR placement rules Callahan out of tonight’s contest against the Blues and will also hold him out of Saturday’s game against the Devils. He’ll be eligible for activation ahead of a rematch against St. Louis next Tuesday.

Callahan, a Massachusetts native, was an injury replacement himself. He’d been called up from Providence last weekend – his third stint on Boston’s roster this season – after Henri Jokiharju landed on IR with an undisclosed injury.

Initially a 2018 fifth-round pick by the Coyotes, Callahan has developed into a solid organizational depth piece for the Bruins. He’s a no-fuss stay-at-home defenseman who’s comfortable operating in the No. 8-10 range on an NHL depth chart and can handle the role of a frequent call-up option who doesn’t get extended stints in either the NHL or AHL well.

His five NHL appearances this season have brought his career total up to 22, with the other 17 all coming last season. He’s averaged 13:53 of ice time per game in bottom-pairing duties, recording one goal and a -6 rating.

The 6’2″ lefty doesn’t play a particularly physical game, with only 0.5 hits per contest. His possession metrics in his limited sample are promising, though. Boston has controlled 46.7% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 despite him starting only 30.5% of his shifts in the offensive zone.

Coming up to relieve Callahan and make his Bruins debut tonight is Söderström. He’s also a former Coyotes prospect but was a much more high-profile one, going No. 11 overall in the 2019 draft.

Söderström, now 24, had 11 points in 53 career NHL games with Arizona before he opted to spurn his qualifying offer from Utah in 2024 and return home to Sweden. He signed with Brynäs IF of the Swedish Hockey League and re-emerged as a star, posting a 9-28–37 scoring line and a league-leading +28 rating in 49 games and was named the Swedish Defenseman of the Year.

That piqued his interest in an NHL return, but he wasn’t interested in signing with the Blackhawks, who had acquired his rights from Utah at the 2025 trade deadline. In June, Chicago flipped his rights to Boston for a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft and depth defender Ryan Mast.

Söderström promptly signed a two-way deal with the Bruins, carrying a $400K guarantee. He was viewed as the primary competitor to offseason pickup Jordan Harris to win a roster spot as Boston’s extra defenseman, but lost the battle in training camp and ended up on waivers.

He was reassigned to Providence after clearing, and the 6’0″ righty has quietly gone about his business with a 1-8–9 scoring line and a +3 rating in 18 games. With Jokiharju and Charlie McAvoy both on IR, he suddenly slots in as Boston’s top puck-moving option on the right side, although he’s not expected to see power play deployment with Hampus Lindholm and Mason Lohrei anchoring the first and second units, respectively.

Söderström is eligible for an emergency recall because the Bruins wouldn’t have six defensemen available without him. He’s eligible to remain with them under emergency conditions as long as that scenario persists. That distinction is essential for waiver-eligible players because their standard 10-game, 30-day clock on the roster until they require waivers again resets if those emergency conditions are removed.

Patrice Bergeron, Niklas Kronwall Among 2026 IIHF Hall Of Fame Inductees

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The International Ice Hockey Federation have announced their 2026 inductions into the IIHF Hall of Fame. The class includes six players – Austria’s Thomas Vanek, Switzerland’s Florence Schelling and Andres Ambuhl, Sweden’s Niklas Kronwall, and Canada’s Patrice Bergeron and Cassie Campbell-Pascall. The IIHF will also induct Ralph Krueger, once a longtime coach for Switzerland, as a builder.

This class is undoubtedly headlined by Bergeron and Kronwall, who each earned entry into the coveted Triple Gold Club, having won Gold Medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships, and a Stanley Cup. Bergeron achieved entry at the young age of 26. He won Gold at the 2004 World Championship, at the age of 19, then joined Team Canada for a historic Gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He capped off the feat by leading the Boston Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup.

Kronwall won Gold in both the Olympics and World Championship in the same year – 2006, when he was 25. It took him two more years to earn a Stanley Cup, as part of a 2008 Detroit Red Wings club that was laden with Hall-of-Fame talent. Both Bergeron and Kronwall were revered NHL skaters – with Bergeron reaching the pinnacle of defensive-forwards while Kronwall was known as one of the hardest-hitting defenders of the 2000’s.

Vanek never won a Gold Medal or Stanley Cup – but his international track record still became revered. He is among Austria’s greats, earning a top-five selection in the 2003 NHL Draft and seeing the country through multiple climbs in the international standings over the course of a 14-year pro career. He helped earn Austria a promotion to the top flight of the World Junior Championships in 2003, after scoring 13 goals and 24 points across just 10 games at the Division-1 level, at the ages of 16 and 17. That scoring earned him the captaincy when Austria returned to the World Juniors in 2003, where Vanek put up four points and 37 penalty minutes in six games. He made his debut at the World Championship in 2004 and the Olympic Game Qualifiers in 2005, though he wouldn’t officially go to the Olympics until 2014. All throughout, Vanek managed 17 points in 19 games at the World Championship and two points in seven games in Olympic events.

Campbell-Pascall was also a routine captain during her international career, though she managed to stock her trophy cabinet quite a bit more. By the end of her career, Campbell-Pascall had earned six Gold Medals and one Silver Medal at the World Championship, as well as two Gold Medals and one Silver Medal at the Olympics. She was a core piece of Canada’s women’s team through the turn of the centruy, offering enough dynamic speed and heads-up instinct to make plays at either the forward or defense positions. Campbell-Pascal captained Canada at two World Championships and two Olympic Games. She scored five points in five games during three of those tournaments – en route to 11 total points in 16 games at the Olympic Games and 31 points in 35 games at the World Championship.

The class closes with a trio of popular names in Switzerland. Ambuhl has long been a cornerstone of Swiss pros, in addition to his international impact. He captained Switzerland’s HC Davos from 2014 to 2024 – and led the club through appearances at the Spengler Cup in every season, as well as routine trips to the Deutschland Cup and Champions Hockey League. Ambuhl also joined Switzerland at the World Championship and Olympics in every year the country attended during his career. He scored 70 points in 151 games, and 20 appearances, at the World Championships; and eight points in 22 games during Olympic events.

Krueger oversaw many of Ambuhl’s first international tournaments. The Canadian-born head coach began his coaching career in Germany’s second league, after a long career in German pros. He then moved to a highly-successful career in Austria that earned him Switzerland’s head coaching role in 1998. Krueger stuck with Switzerland through their next 12 appearances at the World Championshpis and four appearances at the Olympic Games. He never medaled with Switzerland, but did earn a Gold Medal as a team consultant for Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Krueger became a naturalized Swiss citizen in 2019. He was often a vocal advocate for growing relationships between the IIHF and NHL, and helped reshape international tournaments like the Champions Hockey League.

Finally, Schelling was among the most prolific goaltenders in hockey during her 13-year international career that began with an appearance at the World Championship in 2004, when Schelling was only 15. She excelled despite playing older competition, posting a .955 save percentage in four games. Schelling quickly became a fixture of Switzerland’s international lineup after that. She attended Northeastern University in 2008 – with four appearances at the World Championship and two appearances in Olympic Game events already behind her.

Everywhere she went, Schelling challenged lofty save percentages. She posted a .926, .932, and .918 Sv% at the World Championships in 2011, 2012, and 2013 respectively. Those numbers were quickly muted by the .941, .932, .941, and .931 Sv% she managed between appearances at the World Championships and Olympics in 2015, 2016, and 2017. She was a great goalie all the way down to the fundamentals, and was often used as a great example for developing goaltenders around the world. Schelling briefly served as a head coach for Switzerland’s U18 National Team, and served as general manager of SC Bern in 2020.

Photo courtesy of Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports.

Boston Bruins Reassign Riley Tufte

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The Boston Bruins announced today that forward Riley Tufte has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.

Tufte, 27, was originally recalled on Nov. 17. He made an instant impact, scoring a late power play marker to break what would have been a shutout victory for the Carolina Hurricanes. That moment proved to be the high point of this recall for Tufte, as he was a healthy scratch for Boston’s game against Anaheim on Nov. 19. Tufte was in-and-out of the lineup for the next two weeks or so, skating in three additional games and serving as a scratch for four total contests.

The 2016 first-round pick earned this most recent recall on the back of a stellar start to his season with AHL Providence. Tufte scored eight goals and 18 points in just 13 games this season, and his record of solid production dates back to last year as well; Tufte scored 21 goals and 42 points in 58 games for the AHL Bruins in 2024-25.

While Tufte hasn’t been able to translate his scoring success at lower levels of the game to the NHL, the fact that he has been able to develop from low-scoring AHL bottom-sixer to a true top-six AHL scoring threat has at least helped him massively improve his odds of receiving NHL call-ups.

Standing 6’6″, 234 pounds, it’s fair to wonder whether Tufte has more value to give as an NHLer than he’s shown so far. Teams are always searching for players who blend overwhelming size with some scoring touch. But as mentioned, Tufte’s AHL scoring ability has yet to translate to NHL ice, and this most recent recall was no different.

Tufte is playing out a one-year, two-way contract that carries a league-minimum $775K NHL salary and a hefty $450K AHL salary, with a $500K total guarantee. Tufte’s progress as an AHL scorer has him on the cusp of earning a role as a full-time NHL bottom-sixer or spare forward, and his hefty AHL guarantee reflects that.

If he can continue his point-per-game AHL scoring pace and earn some more NHL call-ups, he could position himself to earn a one-way contract once again in his upcoming unrestricted free agency. Tufte played 2024-25 on a one-way $775K deal, and could be aiming to restore at least that level of compensation this summer.

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.

Afternoon Notes: Formenton, Merkulov, Penguins

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The Ottawa Senators have until Monday to re-sign or trade former winger Alex Formenton. If they wait beyond then, Formenton will become an unrestricted free agent. A few days out, it appears that will be exactly what happens, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. Formenton was one of five players accused in the high-profile sexual assault trial that reached a verdict earlier this year. Formenton briefly retired from professional hockey to work in construction full-time during 2024 and 2025, while awaiting his trial date.

He returned to hockey this season, re-signing with Ambri-Piotta of Switzerland’s National League, where he spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Formenton has nine points and a minus-10 in 20 games this season. That mark is far below the 29 points he posted in 46 games in his prior two seasons in Switzerland.

Ottawa will lose Formenton’s rights in the coming days with this update. He will continue to find his footing in Switzerland’s top league, and seems far away from any hope of returning to an NHL contract.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Boston Bruins have reassigned Georgii Merkulov to the AHL’s Providence Bruins per Ty Anderson of Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub. He did not appear in the NHL lineup on his latest call-up, which only lasted a few days. Merkulov did play one NHL game earlier this season and posted no scoring and a minus-one. He has been a far larger presence in the minor leagues, where he’s scored 14 points in 17 games. The AHL Bruins are in the midst of a three-game win-streak, during which they’ve outscored opponents 17-8. Now, they’ll get a major piece of their offense back from the NHL club ahead of three games this week.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins could soon be forced to lean on their young rookies per Josh Yohe of The Athletic. Yohe points out the struggles of Pittsburgh’s bottom-six forwards, including Joona Koppanen, who has just one assist in 10 games this season. Pittsburgh could be much better off relying on prospects Rutger McGroarty and Tristan Broz, who have looked sharp for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. McGroarty leads the team in points-per-game with seven points in five games. Broz has 13 points in 18 games of his own, good for third on the team in total scoring. Now, they could be asked to bring their high-skill offense to a Penguins squad that’s struggled to score with their superstars off of the ice. McGroarty recorded three points in his first eight NHL games last season, while Broz went scoreless in his NHL debut last week.

Arvidsson Closer To Returning, Zacha A Game-Time Decision Tonight

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  • Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy and winger Viktor Arvidsson skated today as they work their way back from respective face and lower-body injuries, relays Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald (Twitter links). McAvoy still has a ways to go before returning but Arvidsson appears to be getting closer to returning but won’t play tonight.  McAvoy hasn’t played in two weeks and still sits second on the team in assists while Arvidsson was quietly off to a solid start to his tenure in Boston with six goals and 52 shots in 20 games.
  • Still with the Bruins, Conroy adds (Twitter link) that center Pavel Zacha is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s contest against Detroit. He missed yesterday’s contest against the Rangers with an undisclosed injury.  Zacha sits third on the team in scoring with 17 points in 25 games and with David Pastrnak out again tonight, getting Zacha back would help boost an offensive group that has been thinned out as of late, even with Casey Mittelstadt’s return.

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.

Bruins Activate Casey Mittelstadt, Recall Georgii Merkulov

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Nov. 29th: There are conflicting reports regarding Callahan’s reassignment. According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, Callahan is on the ice for the team’s optional skate this morning before their matchup against Detroit. Additionally, the AHL Transactions page hasn’t registered Callahan’s reassignment at the time of writing. However, if Callahan hasn’t been returned to Providence, the Bruins would have one extra player on their active roster. Players reassigned from the NHL to the AHL must play in one contest before being eligible for recall, and the AHL Bruins play against the Belleville Senators this evening.

Nov. 28th: The Bruins announced four roster moves this morning, including the news that center Casey Mittelstadt has been activated from injured reserve and will play in today’s matinee against the Rangers. With news from head coach Marco Sturm today that top-six forwards David Pastrňák and Pavel Zacha sustained minor injuries in Wednesday’s win over the Islanders and are out day-to-day (via Scott McLaughlin of WEEI), Boston also recalled forward Georgii Merkulov from AHL Providence. The Bruins opened two roster spots by placing winger Matěj Blümel on long-term injured reserve and reassigning defenseman Michael Callahan to Providence.

Mittelstadt’s appearance today is his first after a nine-game absence. He’s been listed as week-to-week since sustaining a lower-body injury on Nov. 6.

Getting one top-six forward back is a key bit for a team that just lost two of its three top scorers, particularly if Pastrňák and Zacha will miss any significant length of time. Mittelstadt is in his first full season with the B’s after being acquired for Charlie Coyle from the Avalanche at last year’s deadline. He hasn’t been offensively overpowering since his arrival. He’s posted an 8-7–15 scoring line with a -17 rating in 33 appearances, including nine points in 15 games this year. That’s below his career-average pace of 15 goals and 44 points per 82 games.

It’s a rushed return for Mittelstadt, who didn’t even take a full practice before re-entering the lineup today in the wake of Pastrňák and Zacha’s injuries. Before getting hurt, he had shifted to the wing on a line with Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson. That line had outscored opponents 8-4 at 5-on-5 and controlled 50.6% of shot attempts. He won’t have either of them to skate with today, though, as Arvidsson’s been on injured reserve since Nov. 17 and is out indefinitely. He’s skating on a unit with Marat Khusnutdinov and the hastily recalled Merkulov.

Merkulov, 25, has been one of Boston’s top minor-league producers for years but has never landed an extended NHL opportunity. An undrafted free agent signed out of Ohio State in 2022, he’s got just one assist in 10 NHL games to date despite getting a decently long leash, averaging 12:28 of ice time per game. The playmaking pivot has never registered under 50 points in an AHL season and is again on track to pass that plateau in 2025-26. Through 17 appearances for Providence, he’s rattled off six goals and eight assists for 14 points to sit third on the team in scoring. He now has a 76-117–193 scoring line in 218 career AHL games, putting him seventh in the league in scoring since his rookie year in 2022-23.

The Bruins had already said Blümel would miss significant time. The 25-year-old winger, who was also a relatively recent recall from Providence to compensate for the Bruins’ bevy of injuries to their forward group, left Wednesday’s game in the first period with a lower-body injury. An LTIR placement means Blümel is ineligible for the next 10 games and 24 days. The earliest he can return is Dec. 20 against the Canucks. Despite seeing first-line minutes with Pastrňák and Zacha, he’d gone without a point and had a -3 rating in four games since his call-up.

Callahan has served as an extra defenseman for the B’s for a good chunk of the season as Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy and Jordan Harris have each dealt with long-term absences. He’s a luxury they can’t afford to roster with Pastrňák and Zacha not expected to be out long enough to warrant an IR placement. Once the Bruins can return a forward to Providence, he’ll likely find himself back up in the NHL.

Blumel (Lower Body) Will Be Out For A Bit

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  • Bruins winger Matej Blumel will be out for a bit with a lower-body injury sustained in Wednesday’s game, head coach Marco Sturm told reporters (video link). The 25-year-old signed a one-year, $875K one-way deal with Boston this past summer as a Group Six unrestricted free agent but didn’t crack the roster out of training camp, instead starting with AHL Providence.  He averaged a point per game through his first 13 games with them, earning a recall early last week.  Blumel has been held off the scoresheet in four games since then and now it’ll be a little while before he has a chance to get on the board.

Injury Notes: Lindholm, McAvoy, Pageau, Dickinson

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The Boston Bruins shared updates on two key players ahead of tonight’s game in San Jose: Elias Lindholm has been activated, while Charlie McAvoy was placed on injured reserve in a corresponding move. 

Lindholm suffered a lower-body injury in late October, after a knee-on-knee collision with Jordan Greenway and has been absent since. His first season in Boston left some to be desired considering the $7.75MM cap hit, scoring 47 points, but Lindholm was off to a better start in 2025-26 overall, posting nine points in 13 games. Now, the veteran will be a welcome addition back to the lineup given the club’s current hot streak, as they march forward without McAvoy for the time being. 

As was noted yesterday, McAvoy underwent facial surgery after catching a puck to the face in a scary incident against Montreal on November 15th. His placement on IR is no surprise, and all things considered, it is not a terrible outcome in what could have been much worse. Boston will sorely miss their top defenseman, but the hope is that he will be back in time for the Olympics next February, if not sooner, depending on recovery. 

Elsewhere across the league:

  • After already losing Alexander Romanov long-term, the hits keep coming as the Islanders shared that forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau is week-to-week with an upper body injury. The news comes as a surprise as the veteran center played through yesterday’s game with no visible ailment. Pageau is a highly dependable all-around third line center, and a pending free agent at 33, it had been speculated that he could be a trade candidate at some point. However, given the Islanders impressive start it seems any such talks are off for the time being. Now, as they’ll move forward without a top defenseman and a key center, New York faces a huge test to close out 2025. 20-year-old Calum Ritchie will have an opportunity to step up, and his performance without Pageau may dictate the team’s direction later in the season. 
  • The Chicago Blackhawks announced Jason Dickinson has been activated off injured reserve. The veteran forward has missed all of November with an apparent upper-body injury. Dickinson had three points in eight games before going down, his Blackhawks tenure proving to be a nice example of a cap dump win. The Ontario native came to Chicago in 2022 along with a second round pick sweetener, and immediately has been a key presence in their lineup. His career high 22 goals in 2023-24 earned an extension at $4.25MM which comes in on the high end considering current production, but Dickinson remains a leader for the group with his reliable two-way game.

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