Senators’ Linus Ullmark Taking Leave Of Absence, Out Indefinitely
The Senators announced Sunday that starting goaltender Linus Ullmark will be taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.
“Linus has the full support of our organization during this time,” general manager Steve Staios said. “Out of respect to Linus, we will not be making any further comments.”
Ottawa is eligible to designate Ullmark as a non-roster player for however long his leave lasts. Technically, he’ll be listed as indefinite, with the details of Ullmark’s absence at his discretion to disclose.
After last night’s wild 7-5 loss to the Maple Leafs, the Senators have a relatively easy schedule to contend with while they deal with the absence of their No. 1 netminder. Tomorrow’s game against the Blue Jackets kicks off a four-game homestand with two of those games against teams not in playoff position (Columbus and Winnipeg). Ottawa hits the road again to face the Mammoth on Jan. 8, a trip they’re hoping Ullmark can attend.
The Senators acquired the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner from the Bruins in the 2024 offseason in a blockbuster deal, eventually signing the then-pending free agent to a four-year, $33MM extension that kicks in this season. While Ullmark had a strong first effort in Ottawa last year despite injuries limiting him to 43 starts, he’s been among the league’s worst starters in 2025-26.
Under Ullmark’s 14-8-5 record in 28 starts this season lies a .881 SV%, 2.95 GAA, and -11.5 goals saved above expected that ranks worst in the league, per MoneyPuck. Ottawa’s top-10 offense and league-best 2.22 xGA/60 at 5-on-5 have helped limit the damage and kept them in the playoff race with an 18-14-5 record, but with backup Leevi Merilainen logging an even worse .874 SV%, goaltending has put the Sens’ chances of a second consecutive playoff appearance in extreme jeopardy.
Nonetheless, the 23-year-old Merilainen now figures to see the majority of action until Ullmark returns. The Sens have multiple recall options from AHL Belleville but will almost surely opt for sixth-year pro Hunter Shepard, who’s logged a .905 SV%, 3.16 GAA, and 5-5-1 record in 11 games.
Oilers Place Noah Philp On Waivers
The Oilers announced Sunday they’ve placed center Noah Philp on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Bakersfield. Now that the holiday roster freeze has lifted, Edmonton has also made official the unconditional waiver placement for David Tomasek that was reported on Friday, meaning he’ll have his contract terminated tomorrow.
Philp had been out since Nov. 17 with an upper-body injury and was on long-term injured reserve. Technically, he needs to be activated from LTIR before being placed on waivers. The Oilers created a roster spot and cap space by suspending Tomasek without pay, something they were eligible to do because he’d already left the club to return to Sweden, where he’ll be signing with the SHL’s Färjestad BK.
Before his injury, the 27-year-old Philp had rotated in and out of the lineup as the Oilers’ fourth-line center. Entering the year with only 15 games of NHL experience, all coming with Edmonton last season, he was given extremely difficult 5-on-5 deployment and started just 27.8% of his shifts in the offensive zone.
As a result, Philp’s numbers at face value were underwhelming. He had a 2-1–3 scoring line in 15 games with a -7 rating, ranking last among Oilers forwards in Corsi for percentage (41.9), shots for percentage (42.9), and expected goals for percentage (36.4) at 5-on-5.
Those are excusable figures given his deployment, though, and he has been one of Edmonton’s best faceoff men this year at 56.9%. There’s a definite risk of losing Philp on the wire as a result if a team is looking for affordable fourth-line help, particularly thanks to his league minimum salary, two-way contract structure, and expiring deal.
Kraken Activate Jared McCann
The Kraken will see Jared McCann return to the lineup against the Flyers tonight, teammate Matty Beniers told reporters (including Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times). The team subsequently announced he’s been activated from injured reserve. With an open roster spot, there’s no need for a corresponding move.
McCann’s return comes a few days ahead of schedule. The 29-year-old sustained a lower-body injury against the Kings on Dec. 10 that was expected to keep him out for three weeks. That would have put his return late next week.
Lower-body issues have kept McCann on the sidelines for much of this season. His latest seven-game absence teamed up with a weeks-long one earlier in the year. All told, he’s been limited to 11 appearances but has kept up his longstanding role as the Kraken’s top offensive weapon, totaling five goals and eight points.
Seattle’s woeful offense, 31st in the league at 2.54 goals per game, now gets back its franchise-leading scorer on the heels of a three-game win streak leading into the holiday break. The Kraken were 11-5-5 through their first 21 games, putting themselves in the playoff conversation, before undoing all that work with a 1-9-1 run over their next 11. That win streak has them back above .500 and three points back of the Sharks for the wild-card cutoff with three games in hand, though.
For a group that’s been without Jaden Schwartz for several weeks due to a lower-body injury and lost Mason Marchment when he was traded to the Blue Jackets earlier this month, getting McCann back in on the wing is a true needle-mover. Seattle has gone 4-5-2 with McCann in the lineup this season.
The Kraken will also be getting top-pair staple Vince Dunn back in the lineup on the back end, head coach Lane Lambert said (via Alison Lukan of NHL.com). He missed Seattle’s last game before the break with an upper-body injury but, along with McCann, was a full participant in yesterday’s practice. With 19 points in 34 games this season, he leads Kraken defenders in scoring and is fifth on the team overall but has a team-worst -15 rating.
Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.
Lightning Activate Brandon Hagel From Injured Reserve
12:02 p.m.: McDonagh in fact won’t be available tonight. He’s been placed on injured reserve while defenseman Maxim Groshev was recalled from Syracuse in the corresponding move for Santini’s demotion, the team announced. While Groshev’s been recalled multiple times this season without making his NHL debut, that will change as he’s one of only six defensemen on Tampa’s active roster.
11:32 a.m.: The Lightning have activated left winger Brandon Hagel from injured reserve, Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider reports. Tampa returned defenseman Steven Santini to AHL Syracuse in the corresponding move, indicating Ryan McDonagh could be back in the lineup after sitting out last night’s win over the Panthers with an undisclosed injury.
Hagel has been dealing with an upper-body injury since the Bolts’ second-most recent rivalry game against Florida back on Dec. 15. He’s missed the last four games and nearly two weeks as a result. They’ll welcome him back to the lineup this evening against the Canadiens.
The 27-year-old is now in his fifth season in Tampa, continuing to pay dividends after they gave up a steep package to acquire him from the Blackhawks at the 2022 trade deadline. He’s continued to hover near a point per game with an 18-15–31 scoring line in 32 appearances this season. Named to the league’s second All-Star Team last year while finishing top 10 in Selke voting, Hagel’s 121 points in 114 games since the beginning of 2024-25 are tied with Lucas Raymond for 20th in the league.
Tampa dealt with his absence quite well, though. They went 3-1-0 in four games without him while outscoring opponents 15-9, scoring four-plus goals three times. His return will give the Bolts a fully healthy forward group for just the third time this season.
With Erik Černák, Victor Hedman, and Emil Martinsen Lilleberg on IR, Santini was summoned yesterday to fill the gap after they received word that McDonagh couldn’t go. The 30-year-old saw 7:58 of ice time in what was his ninth appearance of the season for Tampa Bay, recording a +1 rating with a hit and a block.
The injury keeping McDonagh out of action was a re-aggravation of the undisclosed issue that sidelined him for over a month, head coach Jon Cooper said yesterday. He returned to play in three straight before the holiday break, but evidently needed some more load management before getting back into the lineup. Whether the extra day of rest ends up being enough to get him back to 100% – or at least healthy enough to play every night – will be something to watch.
Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.
Wild Acquire Boris Katchouk
The Wild announced they’ve acquired left winger Boris Katchouk from the Lightning in exchange for fellow lefty Michael Milne. Both players were on minor-league assignments and will report to their new affiliates in AHL Iowa and Syracuse, respectively.
While the trade is a relatively routine one-for-one swap of minor-league forwards, there’s an unusual gap between where Katchouk and Milne are in their development. At 27, Katchouk is a higher-floor, lower-ceiling call-up option for a Minnesota squad that’s struggled to field a competitive farm team in Iowa for the past several seasons.
Katchouk was a second-round pick by Tampa back in 2016 and bounced around quite a bit before returning to the Bolts on a two-way deal last offseason. He was coming off a 21-goal, 49-point resurgence in 67 games for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while on a minor-league deal.
So far, those numbers haven’t carried over into Katchouk’s second stint in the Lightning organization. He’s been limited to four goals and 10 points in 21 games with Syracuse, tied only for 10th on the team in scoring.
Katchouk did get a brief recall earlier this season, making three appearances for Tampa in November, his first NHL action since 2023-24 with the Blackhawks and Senators. He posted zeros across the board, going 7-for-19 (36.8%) on faceoffs as the Bolts opted to deploy the natural winger down the middle.
The 6’2″, 212-lb Katchouk has 15 goals, 21 assists, 36 points, and a -23 rating in 179 career NHL appearances for Tampa, Chicago, and Ottawa. That’s 178 more than what Milne has. The 23-year-old was a third-round selection by Minnesota in 2022.
The Bolts thus net a potential higher-upside piece but one without the experience of slotting in as a bottom-six piece if needed, like Katchouk. Milne’s lone NHL game came last season on Nov. 16, 2024, against the Stars, recording three hits in 6:34 of ice time.
He didn’t get his season underway in Iowa until the beginning of November due to an undisclosed injury. Since returning, he’s managed five points and a -11 rating in 15 games.
A couple of years ago, it looked like the British Columbia native might be able to pan out as a bottom-six energy piece in Minnesota. A good skater with great endurance, he scored 21 points in just 40 games for Iowa in 2023-24 but hasn’t been able to recapture that offensive pace ever since.
The Lightning now take a flyer on him, parting ways with a familiar replacement piece to do so. There’s no impact on either team’s cap or roster situation since they were both in the minors at the time of the swap. Milne’s minor-league salary is $100K, and he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of the season. Katchouk is owed a $250K AHL salary with a $350K guarantee and will be an unrestricted free agent in July.
Bruins Activate, Reassign Michael Callahan, Matej Blumel
The Bruins announced they’ve activated defenseman Michael Callahan and left winger Matěj Blümel from injured reserve and simultaneously assigned both to AHL Providence.
Callahan had been out since early in the month with a lower-body injury, missing Boston’s last 11 games. The 26-year-old Massachusetts native was an injury replacement himself, elevated from Providence just days before when Henri Jokiharju sustained an undisclosed injury that’s still got him sidelined.
A fifth-round pick by the Coyotes back in 2018, the B’s acquired Callahan’s signing rights when he wrapped up his collegiate career with Providence College in 2022. He’s since developed into a reliable call-up option if Boston needs a no-fuss, stay-at-home option to slot in on the left side.
Callahan has now made 22 NHL appearances over this year and last, scoring once with a -6 rating while averaging 13:53 of ice time per game. Callahan’s 48.1% shot share at 5-on-5 ranks ninth among 14 Bruins defenders to play at least 50 minutes since the beginning of last season.
Boston is still dealing with injury concerns on the blue line. In addition to Jokiharju, Jonathan Aspirot and Jordan Harris are IR or LTIR-bound. The team added some younger, higher-end depth in the form of Vladislav Kolyachonok off waivers while Callahan was absent, though, meaning there was no longer a job waiting for him when he returned to health. Since he hasn’t spent 30 days on the active roster since first clearing waivers at the beginning of the season, he can be sent directly to Providence today.
Blümel is in a similar situation. When the 25-year-old was recalled from Providence in November, the B’s were without a pair of top-six pieces in Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt. Both have since returned, leaving Blümel as the only Boston forward on IR or LTIR. Considering fellow call-up Alex Steeves has locked down a spot in the lineup with eight goals and 10 points in 22 games, Blümel wasn’t going to usurp him for a spot and will return to an expansive role in Providence instead of burning away his waiver exemption in Boston’s press box.
Signed as a Group VI unrestricted free agent last offseason, Blümel was one of the more intriguing under-the-radar targets on the open market last summer. He’d rattled off a league-leading 39 goals in 67 games with AHL Texas the year prior while in the Stars’ system. He’d kept up a point-per-game pace with Providence to begin the year, scoring two goals and 11 assists in 13 appearances, but went scoreless with a -3 rating in four games for Boston before landing on LTIR.
Blue Jackets To Activate Mathieu Olivier
As he signaled would be the case yesterday, Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason told reporters that winger Mathieu Olivier will come off injured reserve and be available for tonight’s tilt against the Islanders (via Jeff Svoboda of NHL.com).
Evason also confirmed star defenseman Zach Werenski will miss a second straight game with the right foot/ankle injury he sustained on Dec. 20 against the Ducks, but reaffirmed he isn’t expected to miss significant time and is still listed as day-to-day. Since he’s already missed more than a week, he can go on injured reserve retroactively to create the roster spot for Olivier’s activation.
Also unavailable tonight for the Jackets is center Isac Lundeström, Evason said. Lundeström sustained a lower-body injury in Columbus’ first post-holiday practice session Saturday and has not yet finished being evaluated.
The 6’2″, 210-lb Olivier returns after missing more than a month with an upper-body injury. The 28-year-old grinder forced his way into the Jackets’ top nine last year with a career-high 18 goals, 32 points, and 306 hits, earning himself a six-year, $18MM extension in the process.
So far, the Mississippi native has at least kept up the pace from last season’s emergence. His goal-scoring is down, but his total production – a 3-6–9 scoring line in 23 games – mirrors his 0.39 points per game output from 2024-25. He’s doing that while averaging 14 minutes per game, averaging over three hits a night for the third straight year, and seeing some occasional shorthanded deployment.
Per yesterday’s practice, Olivier is ticketed to return as the Jackets’ third-line right wing alongside Boone Jenner and Charlie Coyle, a spot on the depth chart he’s held all season long.
Lundeström’s performance in Columbus since signing a two-year, $2.6MM deal in free agency has been par for the course. A first-round pick by the Ducks in 2018, he profiled as a high-end, bottom-six two-way center but never found his stride offensively. That’s continued in 2025-26, with the Swede posting only one goal and five points through 35 appearances.
He’s been fine in a shutdown role, posting a -5 rating and 43.3% shot attempt share while starting 32.8% of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone. Either Zach Aston-Reese or Brendan Gaunce will relieve him as Columbus’ fourth-line center in the interim.
Andrej Sustr Signs In Sweden
Free agent defenseman Andrej Šustr has signed with Kalmar HC of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier pro league, per a team announcement.
Šustr, 35, finds a place to finish out the 2025-26 season after spending the last few weeks on the open market. The veteran of 361 NHL games hasn’t appeared at the top level since 2021-22 with the Ducks but decided to attempt a comeback in the fall, landing a professional tryout with the Rangers.
While that PTO was unsuccessful, Šustr did manage to get into regular-season action with the cross-town Islanders’ AHL affiliate. However, the 6’7″ righty only managed one assist and a -6 rating in 11 games for Bridgeport before being released earlier this month.
The move to Kalmar marks a step down for the former Lightning penalty kill specialist. After spending 2022-23 in the minors split between the Ducks and Wild organizations, he’d spent the last two years in top-division European leagues, including Kölner Haie in Germany, HC Dynamo Pardubice in Czechia, and Tappara in Liiga.
Šustr did relatively well for himself there, including a 20-point resurgence in 44 DEL games for Köln (Cologne), and still managed a respectable 1-11–12 scoring line with an even rating in 38 games for Tappara last year. Nonetheless, his underwhelming showing in Bridgeport, plus a roster spot in the top leagues being difficult to find this deep into the season, will result in the Czech rearguard bringing his experience to a Kalmar team that’s 22-5-3, vying for promotion to the SHL just three years after being promoted from HockeyEttan, Sweden’s third division. If so, he’d be part of one of the most remarkable stories in European hockey – Kalmar played in Hockeytrean, the fifth tier, as recently as 2016.
Latest On Cole Hutson
9:30 p.m.: Instead of waiting until tomorrow, USA Hockey has provided an official update on Hutson already. It appears the injury looked worse than it actually was, with USA Hockey sharing that Hutson is only considered day-to-day. Given that Team USA doesn’t play again until Monday, there’s a legitimate chance Hutson could return for that game.
9:10 p.m.: Before much of the NHL action had kicked off tonight, there was a scary moment in the World Junior Championship matchup between Team USA and Team Switzerland. Defenseman Cole Hutson (USA), brother of Montreal Canadien Lane Hutson, was stretchered off the ice after being hit by a puck in the back of the head.
Shortly after he game had restarted following the injury, the NHL’s Jon Morosi reported that Hutson had been taken to a hospital and was being evaluated. Morosi added in his initial report that Hutson never lost consciousness while on the ice and appeared alert when he exited the stadium.
Fortunately, Morosi shared the best news of the evening, that Hutson had been discharged from the hospital and had rejoined his teammates in St. Paul. Team USA’s staff is expected to continue evaluating Hutson through the evening, and his status for the remainder of the tournament will be decided then.
Regardless of the potential on-ice ramifications for Team USA without a defenseman of Hutson’s caliber, it’s objectively positive that he was able to leave the hospital on his own accord only a few short hours after the injury. Including today’s contest against Team Switzerland, Hutson has registered two assists in two games already, with a +5 rating.
His status as a top-tier defensive prospect began last year after a standout freshman performance at Boston University and an incredible showing at last year’s World Junior Championships. He scored 14 goals and 48 points in 39 games for the Terriers throughout the 2024-25 NCAA season. Furthermore, he added three goals and 11 points in seven games, helping Team USA to its second consecutive gold medal.
Finishing with the most points in last year’s tournament, the Washington Capitals prospect was expected to deliver a similar punch to Team USA’s lineup this year. Despite the fortunate news that he’s left the hospital, his status for the rest of the tournament is certainly in question.
Pacific Notes: Kraken, Carlsson, Kuemper, Chytil, Coghlan
The Seattle Kraken, who have been bitten by the injury bug as of late, may be returning a few high-end players soon. Earlier today, team producer Scott Malone reported that forward Jared McCann and defenseman Vince Dunn had returned to practice in regular jerseys.
There’s no indication either will return to the Kraken’s game tomorrow against the Philadelphia Flyers, though it is encouraging. McCann has been limited to 11 games with Seattle this season, scoring five goals and three points, with his last contest coming on December 10th.
Still, Dunn only missed the Kraken’s game on Tuesday due to an upper-body injury, and he’s not on the team’s injured reserve, unlike McCann. If there’s any silver lining to what’s shaping up to be another disappointing season for the Kraken, is that Dunn has been healthy for much of the season. Over the last two years, he had played in less than 75% of Seattle’s games due to injury. He has scored five goals and 19 points in 34 games this season.
Other notes from the Pacific Division:
- In a positive update for the Anaheim Ducks, center Leo Carlsson‘s lower-body injury from earlier in the week will only cost him one game. In an article this morning, Derek Lee of The Hockey News confirmed that Carlsson would return to the lineup tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. Aside from an external addition, there truly couldn’t be better news for the Ducks, who are tied for the lead in the Pacific Division after several difficult seasons. Carlsson is leading that effort, scoring 17 goals and 41 points in 34 games as Anaheim’s leading scorer.
- On the flip side of tonight’s matchup, netminder Darcy Kuemper will miss a fifth consecutive game for the Kings due to an upper-body injury. Fortunately, that absence shouldn’t last too much longer. Team reporter Zach Dooley shared earlier that Kuemper had returned to practice for the Kings, joining the team for their morning skate.
- Moving to the Western portion of Canada, host of Rink Wide: Vancouver, Jeff Paterson, reported earlier that Filip Chytil had returned to practice for the Vancouver Canucks in a non-contact jersey. Chytil has not played since mid-October due to what is believed to be another concussion in his nine-year career. Unfortunately, despite the positive update that Chytil has returned to the ice, there’s no timeline for his return.
- On the transaction side, the Vegas Golden Knights quietly reassigned defenseman Dylan Coghlan to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. The Golden Knights exit the holiday break on a three-game homestand, so they likely have little need for a depth defenseman, unlike they would on a road trip. Coghlan didn’t feature in any games throughout the duration of his recall.