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Penguins Place Joona Koppanen On Waivers, Recall Filip Kral

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2:29 p.m.: Koppanen cleared waivers as expected, per PuckPedia.

7:41 a.m.: The Pittsburgh Penguins placed depth forward Joona Koppanen on waivers on Monday, per PuckPedia. To fill his roster spot, the Penguins have also recalled defenseman Filip Kral to the NHL roster per the AHL Transaction Log. This move represents Koppanen’s first waiver designation, and Kral’s first call-up, of the 2024-25 season.

Koppanen began the season with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and stayed buried in the minors for the bulk of the year. He recorded seven goals and 22 points in 55 AHL games, one point more than he managed in three more games last season. Those appearances were intercut by 10 games in a fourth-line role with the Pittsburgh lineup. Koppanen performed quietly in his NHL minutes – though he did manage to score his first NHL goal in his first NHL game of the season, on March 18th. That would go down as his only scoring for the six-foot-five, Finnish forward. Teams will have until noon today to place a claim on Koppanen, though it seems much more likely that he’ll clear waivers and return to the minor leagues.

This move could also award Kral with just the third NHL game of his career. The Czech defenseman has scored seven goals and 29 points in 59 AHL games this season, good for second on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton blue-line. He’s in his first year in the Penguins organization, after departing the Toronto Maple Leafs organization in favor of Finland’s Liiga last season. It proved a fruitful move – and Kral posted 37 points in 46 Liiga games after starting the year with six points in 24 AHL games. He has seemed to carry that responsible, heads-up scoring back to North America. Pittsburgh will test that out with this call-up, giving Kral a chance to record his first NHL point after appearing in two games and recording one penalty with the Maple Leafs in 2022-23. Kral was originally a fifth-round pick to Toronto in 2018.

Predators Expecting Increase In Trade Talks, Interest In Ryan O’Reilly

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The Nashville Predators entered the 2024-25 season with, on paper, one of the best rosters in the NHL. They won the sweepstakes for Tampa Bay Lightning legend Steven Stamkos in his first trip to unrestricted free agency, and bolstered him with impact players in Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. But Nashville now sits with a dismal 13-22-7 record halfway through the season. They rank as a bottom-three team in the NHL, and have responded to the disappointing year by kicking off a fire sale of trades and roster moves. The Predators have already made five trades this season, shipping off Philip Tomasino, Scott Wedgewood, Alexandre Carrier, and Juuso Parssinen; while also losing Dante Fabbro to Columbus via a waiver claim.

Despite all of that change, it seems Nashville’s novice general manager Barry Trotz is preparing for even more action. He told Nick Kieser of Nashville’s 102.5 The Game that the team is expecting an uptick in trade conversations now that the league’s winter meetings are winding down. Trotz went on to mention former Selke Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly specifically, sharing that he’s expecting plenty of teams to be interested in the depth forward. Trotz didn’t rule out a trade but emphasized that the team will talk with O’Reilly before making any sort of move.

O’Reilly is no stranger to Trade Deadline swaps, joining the Toronto Maple Leafs via a Deadline move in 2023. He scored 20 points in 24 total games with the Leafs before signing with Nashville in the following summer. He’s seen an uptick in his production in two years with the Preds, netting 26 goals and 69 points in 82 games last year and on pace for 53 points this season. Both marks sit in line with O’Reilly’s scoring during his prime years with the St. Louis Blues. Now 33, the shutdown forward’s overall impact is starting to dwindle – though his 55-percent faceoff win rate and 37 still rank second among Predators forwards, behind only Colton Sissons (56.2 faceoff percent, 44 hits).

With the trade deadline the point of conversation, Trotz also emphasized to Kieser that the team’s big blow up has already occurred. He said that, “this trade deadline is going to look a little different.” That comment likely references the four trades Nashville made ahead of last year’s Deadline, used to acquire Anthony Beauvillier, Jeremy Hanzel, Jason Zucker, and Wade Allison. Hanzel is the only one of the four still in the Predators organization.

If the Predators acquire anyone, Trotz says they’ll be looking for players with term on their contract, in an effort to build around their emerging young players rather than replacing them in the lineup. Both Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov have been notable pieces of the Predators’ lineup at some point this season. L’Heureux has scored nine points in 34 games – officially marking his rookie season – while Svechkov has four points in 13 games and was returned to the AHL. Svechkov is joined by other top prospects Joakim Kemell and Reid Schaefer in the minor leagues. Kemell has scored 18 points in 30 AHL games, while Scahefer – who has been out of the lineup since early December with an upper-body injury – has 14 points in 19 games. Both players could also be candidates for NHL ice time sooner rather than later, especially if the Predators continue to move out veteran pieces.

The Predators will be in a bind at the Deadline, no matter if they choose to buy or sell. The team has five picks in the top two rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft, plenty of ammunition to bring in a potential difference-maker, though that’s a hard sell for a team so far away from playoff contention. Nashville seems more likely to trim some lineup weight by moving players like Thomas Novak and Michael McCarron. Both players have offered stout depth behind Nashville’s presumed stars, though neither has reached 10 points this season despite playing 33 and 34 games respectively. A more hopeful team could see the duo’s slumping scoring as a chance to buy low on two potentially impactful depth forwards ahead of their own playoff push.

Penguins Activate Evgeni Malkin, Reassign Jesse Puljujarvi

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have activated star forward Evgeni Malkin off of injured reserve. Malkin missed the Penguins’ last four games with an upper-body injury. He was named a game-time decision for the team’s Tuesday bout against Seattle, and his activation seems to be a good indication that he’ll play. Malkin was placed on injured reserve on Sunday, retroactive to his last appearance in the lineup on January 5th. To make room for the move, the squad has also assigned winger Jesse Puljujärvi to the minor leagues. Puljujarvi successfully cleared waivers on December 30th, and will now carry waiver exemption status through the month of January.

The Penguins will relish in Malkin’s return to the lineup. They’ve gone 1-3-0 in the four games he’s missed, getting confidently outscored 17-to-10. Malkin was on a hot streak leading up to his injury, with seven points in his last nine games. Despite that, the future Hall-of-Famer has been tame on the year as a whole, so far sat with eight goals and 32 points in 41 games this season. That puts him on pace for 64 points in 82 games, which would mark a career-low in seasons where Malkin played more than 50 games. He even surpassed that mark last season, when he scored 27 goals and 67 points while continuing his iron-man streak through its second consecutive season. Malkin’s role has been unwavering despite the slight dip in scoring. He’s averaged 18:35 in ice time this year, the exact same average that he posted in each of the last two seasons. Malkin sits just 14 games shy of his 1,200th NHL game. When he hits it, Malkin will join partner-in-crime Sidney Crosby as the only two to reach that mark with Pittsburgh. If he stays healthy, he’ll hit the milestone in Philadelphia on February 8th.

Meanwhile, Puljujarvi will head back to the minors after playing in his first five games since early December in Malkin’s absence. The former top draft pick only managed one point – an assist – in the matchups, while averaging nearly 12 minutes of ice time each game. He now has just nine points in 25 games this season – surpassing the four points he managed in 22 games last year but still far from the mark Pittsburgh would hope for. This assignment will likely set Puljujarvi up to play in his first AHL games of the season. He appeared in 13 games and scored nine points with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last year. They were Puljujarvi’s first minor league appearances since the 2018-19 season, when he was assigned to the minors for four games and scored at point-per-game pace. While this move is fairly inconsequential, given Puljujarvi’s waiving in December, it could be the start of an extended minor-league assignment – bringing a tough end to Puljujarvi’s chase for a role with the Penguins.

Rangers Activate Chris Kreider, Reassign Bo Groulx

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The New York Rangers have activated winger Chris Kreider off of injured reserve and reassigned Benoit-Olivier Groulx to the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack, per Mollie Walker of the New York Post. Kreider has missed the Rangers’ last four games with an upper-body injury. He had three points in three games prior to his injury – the longest scoring streak of Kreider’s season.

It’s been a year to forget for Kreider. He has just 13 goals and 15 points in 34 games on the year, putting him on pace for a career-low 36 points across a full season. He ranks ninth on the team in scoring, despite receiving the fifth-most minutes, on average, of any Rangers forward. Even worse, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette chose to healthy scratch Kreider in their match against Tampa Bay on December 23rd, their last game before the holiday break. New York still lost that match 5-0, and didn’t rebound much when Kreider stepped back into the lineup. But the team has found some footing while he’s been on the shelf. They’re 3-1-0 in their last four games, already reaching four wins in January – a mark the team fell short of in December.

Filip Chytil also returned to full practices on Monday and Tuesday, per Walker, and could soon return from his own upper-body injury. If he does, Chytil and Kreider will likely both step into roles on New York’s third-line and second power-play unit. That will likely bump Jonny Brodzinski and Jimmy Vesey back out of the lineup. Brodzinski contributed a goal and an assist while serving as Kreider’s relief, while Vesey hasn’t scored since December 22nd. Also notable, Kreider and Chytil could line up next to Arthur Kaliyev at even strength. The Rangers claimed the 2019 33rd-overall pick off of waivers from Los Angeles last week. He’s since played in two games with his new club, recording three shots on net and three hits but so far no scoring. While a lineup shakeup is far from ideal for a Rangers team that seemed to finally be in a groove, the pair of returnees could be the piece that helps Kaliyev find his footing in New York.

Meanwhile, Groulx will return to the minors still waiting for his first game in the Rangers lineup. Groulx signed a one-year, two-way, league-minimum contract with New York this summer and received his first call-up of the season on January 10th. While he didn’t receive any NHL ice time, Groulx has been surprisingly productive in the minors – ranked second on the Wolf Pack in scoring with 11 goals and 29 points in 32 games. That type of production could soon make him an invaluable piece of New York’s bottom-six, and give Groulx a chance for a better NHL showing after posting just two points in 45 games with Anaheim last season.

Canucks’ Erik Brännström Clears Waivers

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Jan. 13: Brännström cleared waivers on Monday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He may now be assigned to AHL Abbotsford at will.

Jan. 12: The Vancouver Canucks have placed defenseman Erik Brännström on waivers, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK. Brännström hasn’t appeared in Vancouver’s lineup since Dec. 31.

Vancouver successfully waived Brännström before the start of the regular season and moved him between the NHL and AHL four times during the month of the waiver exemption he received. He became waiver-eligible once more in early November and has served as Vancouver’s seventh defenseman ever since.

Brännström has been under scrutiny for the past few seasons. The Golden Knights drafted him 15th overall in 2017, taking him just a few picks before players like Joshua Norris, Robert Thomas, and Jake Oettinger, and quickly flipped him to Ottawa in a deal for Mark Stone.

Brännström played one more year in Sweden’s SHL after his draft selection, posting 15 points in 44 games – impressive for a 19-year-old defender – and moved to the AHL in 2018-19. He continued to score well in North America, posting a collective 53 points in 77 games between his first two years in the AHL.

But he’s struggled to carry that productivity to the top flight. It took Brännström 40 career games before he managed his first NHL goal and five full seasons before he reached 20 points.

He finally hit that mark in 76 games with Ottawa last season, the most he’s played in one NHL campaign. That boost in scoring suggested that Brännström was a bright gem in a muddy role, sparking the Colorado Avalanche to sign him to a one-year, $900K contract this summer – and then trade him to the Canucks for a fourth-round pick in October.

Brännström worked his way up from Vancouver’s bottom pair to start the season and even managed a few games on the top pair in November and December. But he’s again struggled to score, with just eight points in 28 games this season.

Having already cleared waivers once this season, Brännström doesn’t seem a likely candidate to land somewhere new with this move. Instead, he’ll likely pass through clean and return to bouncing between the major and minor rosters.

He has three assists in two AHL games this season. Maybe returning to that hot scoring could be enough to help the 25-year-old defender finally find his footing as an NHL hopeful.

Blue Jackets Recall Daniil Tarasov, Reassign Jet Greaves

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled goaltender Daniil Tarasov from his conditioning assignment with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Tarasov played in two AHL games on his assignment. He allowed six goals on a hefty 65 shots, and led the Monsters to a 1-1-0 record. Columbus made room for the recall by reassigning Jet Greaves. Greaves led the team to a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, saving 31 of the 32 shots he faced.

Tarasov’s assignment became a bit of a saga after the young backup initially refused to move. He elaborated to Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch, sharing that the backup role is unfamiliar to him – and that he preferred to continue establishing his footing at the NHL level. Tarasov played in five of Columbus’ first seven games of the season, but totals just 10 appearances on the year to date. He’s recorded a 3-6-1 record and a career-low .857 save percentage.

Tarasov joined the Blue Jackets from the KHL’s Ufa Salavat at the start of the delayed 2020-21 season. He’s split time between the NHL and AHL lineups ever since, but has averaged just 14 NHL games and 7 AHL games due to frequent moves and injuries. He started to find his footing last season, appearing in 24 NHL games – the most Tarasov has played in a single North American league – and recording a .908 save percentage. That performance helped Tarasov win out the NHL backup role entering this season, though he still hasn’t able to climb above a healthy Elvis Merzlikins – who’s receiving a lion’s share of the starts. A move to the minors was a chance for Tarasov to sharpen his skills, and his quick return seems to be a bode of confidence from Columbus to their backup.

Hurricanes Activate Shayne Gostisbehere Off IR

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The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to get defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere back from injury on Sunday, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. He was activated off of injured reserve, per Rotowire and the NHL media site. Gostisbehere has missed Carolina’s last seven games with an upper-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve on January 5th.

Gostisbehere has been one of Carolina’s top defenders through the early season. He’s posted notable stats across the board, leading the Hurricanes’ blue-line in goals (6) and points (27), and ranked in the top four of hits (30) through just 35 games. Should he appear in all of Carolina’s remaining 39 games, Gostisbehere would be on pace for 57 points on the season – just enough to surpass his career-high of 56 points set in 81 games with the Red Wings last season. He’s aged like a fine wine, carrying his two-way impact and solid production through stints with four different clubs over the last five seasons, including two separate tenures in Carolina. Gostisbehere has been strong through it all, starting the spree with a 51-point season with the Arizona Coyotes in 2021-22 and now set to outperform it four years later.

This move will bring the Hurricanes’ loaded defense back to full-strength. Gostisbehere will likely slide back into his role next to fellow summer-addition Sean Walker, and should also regain his spot on the team’s top power-play unit ahead of Brent Burns. Those additions will give the Hurricanes a difference-making defender in every role, hopefully enough to spur them out of a 5-4-1 record over their last 10 games.

Penguins Place Evgeni Malkin On IR, Activate Philip Tomasino

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed star Evgeni Malkin on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Malkin has already missed Pittsburgh’s last three games, and will now be forced out of at least four more games. He had previously played in Pittsburgh’s first 41 games of the season, and was red-hot in the winter months. Malkin had seven points in nine games leading up to his injury.

In a corresponding move, Pittsburgh has also activated Philip Tomasino off of injured reserve, returning him from a four-game absence due to a lower-body injury. Tomasino has been one of the brightest spots of Pittsburgh’s middling year. Acquired for a fourth-round pick in a late-November trade with Nashville, Tomasino has since posted four goals and seven points in 16 games with the Penguins – the highest scoring pace of his career. He’s looked properly alive in the Penguins lineup, filling a much-needed top-six role after four up-and-down seasons in Nashville. Tomasino was a first-round draft pick in 2019, and made the jump into a full-time NHL role two seasons later. He scored 11 goals and 32 points in 76 games as a rookie – a very encouraging start for the then-20-year-old forward. But Tomasino struggled to maintain that into his sophomore year, and would only reach 20 points one more time – in 41 games of the 2023-24 campaign – during his time in Nashville.

Malkin’s absence will leave a glaring hole in the Pittsburgh lineup. The future Hall-of-Famer has, once again, been one of Pittsburgh’s most utilized forwards at both even-strength and on the power-play. The need for another top-unit forward could pave a golden path for Tomasino upon his return, giving the young center yet another chance to show Pittsburgh what he can do with a proper role. Pittsburgh has turned towards Anthony Beauvillier to fill the top-six vacancy over the last three games, though he hasn’t managed any scoring in the boosted role.

In other Penguins news, forward Michael Bunting will also miss the team’s Sunday game after being involved in a car accident outside PPG Paints Arena per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told Rorabaugh that Bunting isn’t expected to miss extended time. Bunting has been another red-hot Penguin, with four points in his last five games.

Avalanche Activate Scott Wedgewood, Reassign Trent Miner

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The Colorado Avalanche have activated backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood off of injured reserve. Wedgewood was controversially injured in Colorado’s January 2nd matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, after Sabres forward Zach Benson fell awkwardly on his right leg and then scored seconds later. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar shared strong words over the incident, telling ESPN that letting the goal stand was “insanity” to him. Wedgewood was placed on injured reserve the next day, and has missed five games since.

The Avalanche’s goaltending room has shored up in Wedgewood’s absence. Newcomer Mackenzie Blackwood has been near-unbeatable, posting a 2-1-1 record and .951 save percentage in four games without the veteran backup. Blackwood was acquired to be Colorado’s go-to guy, a move they doubled-down on by signing him to a five-year, $26.2MM contract extension quickly after his fifth game with the club. Blackwood has totaled eight wins and a .939 save percentage in 11 games with the Avalanche. That strong performance will take the load of of Wedgewood, who appeared in six of the team’s 13 games through the month of December while they acquired and acclimated Blackwood. Wedgewood performed well in the pseudo-starting role, posting a 4-2-0 record and .932 save percentage – enough to pull Colorado into strong winning tendencies after a 13-12-0 record through October and November. Those strong performances will make Wedgewood a strong number-two, should Blackwood cool down.

To make room for Wedgewood’s activation, Colorado has assigned goaltender Trent Miner back to the minor leagues, per Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now. Miner received the first start of his NHL career on Wednesday. He allowed three goals on 20 shots to Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, ultimately enough to lose the game 3-1. Miner also stepped into 35 minutes of Colorado’s November 15th matchup against Washington and allowed one goal on 13 shots. He has otherwise been a minor-league starter, stepping into 16 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He’s set an 8-5-3 record and .903 save percentage in the top role, stout numbers but surprisingly the lowest save percentage of the Eagles’ four goalies this year. Miner worked his way up to heavy AHL minutes last season. He spent the bulk of the early season in the ECHL, but soon earned a shift to the AHL after posting a .917 in 11 games. Miner didn’t squander his AHL opportunity, tallying a 9-6-1 record and .930 in 18 games to end the year. With this move, he’ll get a chance to repeat that process again this year – looking for enough footing in the minors to challenge Wedgewood’s spot as NHL backup.

Poll: Who Will Win The 2025 Vezina Trophy?

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The season has hit its halfway point, drawing attention to the leaders of the 2025 NHL Award races. Of the bunch, the long list of candidates for this year’s Vezina Trophy as ’Goalie of the Year’ seem the least played out. There are plenty of goalies serving as the backbone to their team’s success this season – including repeat Vezina winners, seasoned veterans getting their first bid at the title, and youngsters finally flaunting their talent. It’s a race that will likely be determined by which goalie can best weather the season’s second half. But let’s take a moment to gauge the playing field, and answer the question of which goalie could win the quintessential award.

For the rich mix of names, two-time Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck seems like a clear front-runner. He’s leading the gauntlet, ranked on top of the NHL in games played (34), wins (26), save percentage (.928), and goals-against-average (2.02). Even better, Hellebuyck’s success has coupled perfectly with the Winnipeg Jets’ 3.55 goals-per-game average, third-best in the league, to push the Jets to a tie for the top spot in the entire league. Hellebuyck has, once again, looked unbeatable – continuing his dominance after winning the 2024 Vezina Trophy with 37 wins, a .921 Sv%, and 2.39 GAA in 60 games last year. Another title win this year would make Hellebuyck the first goaltender since Martin Brodeur (2003, 2004; 2007, 2008) and Dominik Hasek (1996 -1999) to win the award in back-to-back years.

But Hellebuyck is facing mounting competition from the names behind him – most notably from Jacob Markstrom, who’s brought solace to a New Jersey Devils crease in need of someone solid. Markstrom has 21 wins, a .911 Sv%, and a 2.19 GAA through 32 games this season. He’s been heavily utilized in his first year with the Devils, and the team is playing to their strengths with him at the helm. The Devils rank sixth in the league with a 26-15-4 record, while allowing the fourth-fewest goals-against per-game (2.53). Markstrom ranked second in Vezina Trophy voting in 2022, after tallying 37 wins and a .922 in 63 games with the Calgary Flames. This season could be his chance to return to those heights, especially if he can mount a strong second-half.

Darcy Kuemper is singing a similar story out West, clawing his way back to Vezina Trophy acclaim with 12 wins and a .919 in his first 20 games with the Los Angeles Kings since 2017-18. Kuemper landed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury earlier in the year, limiting his chance to build a strong case for the title. But he’s returned in full, playing in 10 of Los Angeles’ 15 games since returning from injury and posting a dazzling 8-0-2 record and .937 Sv%. Continued health, and dominant hockey, could quickly push Kuemper into the first top-three Vezina finish of his career.

Behind the veterans are a long list of young and improving netminders leading strong charges. Kuemper’s departure from the Washington Capitals has opened the door for Logan Thompson to step into the spotlight. He’s split starts with Charlie Lindgren, but nonetheless posted an impressive 18-2-3 record, .919 Sv%, and 2.32 GAA through 23 games this season. Thompson is still just 27, and only has one year of experience serving as his team’s full-time starter – when he posted 25 wins and a .908 Sv% in 46 games with Vegas last season. That inexperience could hurt his chances at taking home hardware, but his launch in Washington may make it easier to ignore. The same dialogue largely surrounds Seattle Kraken starter Joey Daccord who – like Kuemper – faced tough battles with injuries but is still thriving in his starting role. Daccord has a .914 and 2.45 GAA in 25 games this season, both in line with his strong first year as Seattle’s starter last season. He’s proving his place, and a strong second-half and award nomination could be enough to stamp it permanently.

The list of contenders drags on out West. Mackenzie Blackwood is turning a new leaf with the Colorado Avalanche – posting a stellar 10 wins and .939 Sv% in 11 games with the club. Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf has finally won Calgary’s starting role, and managed 14 wins and a .916 in 22 games to push himself into both Vezina and Calder Trophy discussions. But of the Western Conference netminders making claims, few are louder than Filip Gustavsson. Many questioned Gustavsson’s longevity in Minnesota’s starting crease, with Jesper Wallstedt inching closer to a full-time NHL role. But Gustavsson is showing just how capable he is this season. Serving as one of the few routinely-healthy pieces of Minnesota’s lineup, Gustavsson has posted a 18-7-3 record and .918 Sv% – enough to lead Minnesota to a top-five rank in the NHL. How the Wild battle through their laundry list of injuries in the second-half will define how this season goes down in their history books – and Gustavsson’s strong play could be the sole piece that keeps a hot year from falling downhill.

There are plenty of strong contenders for this year’s Vezina Trophy, and it seems the best is yet to come for many of these netminders. All have elevated their teams with consistently strong play. Who do you think will keep it going through the Spring, and take home this year’s ’Goalie of the Year’ award?

Mobile users click here to vote.

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