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Buffalo Sabres Recall Felix Sandstrom, Place Mattias Samuelsson On IR

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Just ahead of tonight’s matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Buffalo Sabres announced a roster move. Buffalo shared that they’ve recalled goaltender Felix Sandstrom from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, and have placed defenseman Mattias Samuelsson on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction.

The reasoning behind Sandstrom’s recall is entirely without controversy. Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reported earlier that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is out with a minor injury and that although the team would have called up Devon Levi, there wasn’t enough notice given he’s still in California for the AHL All-Star Challenge.

It’ll be the first time this season that Sandstrom will participate in a backup role for the Sabres. After clearing waivers at the beginning of the season, Sandstrom has spent the entire season with AHL Rochester posting a 9-4-1 record in 14 games with a .900 save percentage and 2.89 goals-against average.

If Buffalo didn’t have Levi waiting in the wings, this would be respectable enough production to warrant an unexpected call-up to the NHL level. Still, the Sabres brought Sandstrom in on a one-year, $775K contract this past summer in case Levi needed to be recalled, not the other way around.

Sadly, Sandstrom’s recall adds further complications for an organization that can barely endure more challenges. Samuelsson will again be placed on injured reserve this season after missing 17 games due to injury.

The Philadelphia, PA, native hasn’t skated in more than 55 contests in a single season since joining Buffalo as a full-time defenseman for the 2021-22 NHL season. The Sabres still owe Samuelsson $21.429MM over the next five years after the 2024-25 campaign — a heavy price for a blue liner that has only maxed out at two-thirds of a full season.

New Jersey Devils Activate Erik Haula, Reassign Brian Halonen

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The New Jersey Devils have taken their last player off injured reserve as they enter tonight’s action against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Devils announced they’ve activated forward Erik Haula from the injured reserve and reassigned forward Brian Halonen to their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, in a corresponding roster move.

Tonight’s game against the Penguins will be Haula’s first in exactly a month. The veteran middle-six forward suffered a sprained ankle in New Jersey’s January 4th matchup against the San Jose Sharks leading to his placement on the team’s injured reserve.

The 33-year-old from Pori, Finland, is experiencing his lowest average offensive output in an 82-game season since his second year with the Minnesota Wild during the 2014-15 campaign. This season, he has scored five goals and recorded 11 points in 42 games with the Devils, placing him 14th on the team in scoring and 10th among forwards.

It’s an understandable decline, given his deteriorating responsibility with New Jersey. He’s only one year removed from scoring 16 goals and 35 points in 76 games for the Devils, averaging 16:53 of ice time per game. His usage was primarily based on team necessity, as New Jersey suffered an onslaught of injuries last year.

Haula has seen his average ice time drop by approximately two and a half minutes, which makes him more of a third-line scoring option at this point in his career. Still, given his ability to play all three forward positions and his experience on the special teams, he’s one of the multiple cost-effective options the Devils could put anywhere in the lineup.

Halonen, the former standout at Michigan Technological University, returns to AHL Utica after a two-game stint in New Jersey. He’ll return to his role as a productive top-six forward, having scored 54 goals and 86 points in 138 career games as a Comet, although the team has struggled dramatically in that time.

San Jose Sharks Recall Andrew Poturalski

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The San Jose Sharks have recalled some forward depth in case Tyler Toffoli’s lower-body injury prohibits him from playing this evening. San Jose announced they’ve recalled forward Andrew Poturalski from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

Tonight’s contest would be Poturalski’s first NHL appearance since a two-game stretch with the Seattle Kraken last year, should he enter the lineup tonight. Including this season, Poturalski has been one of the best veteran forwards in the world for those not currently rostered in the NHL.

Since his last year with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers in the 2018-19 season, Poturalski has scored 106 goals and 359 points in 343 games split between the Checkers, San Diego Gulls, Chicago Wolves, Coachella Valley Firebirds, and Barracuda, respectively. He’s also won two Calder Cups, the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs, and two John B. Sollenberger Trophies as the league’s leading scorer during that stretch.

Unfortunately, that impressive production in the AHL has hardly translated to the NHL. Poturalski has only been allowed to suit up in six NHL appearances since the start of the 2016-17 season and only has two assists to show for.

Still, his performance in the AHL is impressive enough in his own right, and Poturalski is again leading the league in scoring. He recently participated in the AHL’s All-Star Challenge scoring one goal in three games as a Pacific Division All-Star team member.

Boston Bruins To Activate Mark Kastelic, Reassign Vinni Lettieri

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The Boston Bruins’ remaining injured forward will return tonight. Joe Haggerty of the Boston Sports Journal reported that forward Mark Kastelic will be activated ahead of tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild. According to Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub, the Bruins have reassigned Vinni Lettieri to make room on their active roster.

Injuries have again prohibited Kastelic from a complete season in the NHL. The career bottom-six talent has only amassed a career-high of 65 games in the regular season although he could finish with slightly higher than that this year if he remains healthy.

Due to a lower-body injury toward the beginning of the season, an upper-body injury that lost him two weeks in early January, and his recent undisclosed injury, Kastelic has already lost nine games this year due to various ailments. He has achieved a career-high in points during his first year with the Bruins, scoring four goals and totaling 13 points in 45 games.

The only other additional improvement in his game has been his physicality. Kastelic was already a physical forward, throwing 280 body checks throughout his last two years as an Ottawa Senators. Meanwhile, in Boston, he’s already thrown 175 hits on the year, well above his 2.2 hits-per-game average with the Senators.

On the other side of the transaction, Lettieri heads back to join the AHL’s Providence Bruins after an eight-game stretch in the NHL. Over the past two years, he received more ice time than usual in the game’s top league, scoring two goals and averaging 12:05 per game.

He’ll continue with his fruitful season in the AHL for now. Lettieri has historically been a major offensive threat in the AHL when healthy and has shown that again this year, scoring 14 goals and 35 points in 35 games.

Sabres Recall Isak Rosen, Tage Thompson Day-To-Day

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The Sabres recalled winger Isak Rosen from AHL Rochester on Tuesday, per a team announcement. Tyson Kozak was moved to injured reserve in a corresponding transaction after missing Sunday’s win over the Devils with an illness. It turns out the moves were precursors to more injury news today, as head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed leading scorer Tage Thompson won’t play tonight against the Blue Jackets and is day-to-day with the upper-body injury he sustained on a hit from New Jersey winger Stefan Noesen over the weekend (via Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald). Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson also won’t play due to a lower-body issue, per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Neither player is expected to miss significant time.

It’s Rosen’s second recall of the season after an eight-day stint on the roster in November. The 2021 first-rounder entered the lineup for a Nov. 23 win over the Sharks, posting zeros across the board in just 6:29 of ice time.

The 21-year-old is having a great season on the farm, leading Rochester with 23 goals and 39 points in 40 games. It’s yet to translate into a legitimate NHL role, but by already setting a career-high in goals, he’s put himself on the radar for a spot on next year’s opening night roster. The Stockholm native is already in his third season of professional hockey stateside and has 57 goals and 126 points in 173 games with the Americans.

He’s still looking for his first NHL point as he gears up to play game No. 9 of his career tonight. He’s expected to skate in a third-line role with Jiri Kulich and JJ Peterka, presumably receiving more ice time than he did in November.

Thompson exits after Noesen caught him in the head with an open-ice hit early in the third period of Sunday’s game. It earned the Devils forward a match penalty but no supplemental discipline, which Ruff said was surprising. He’s the Sabres’ lone point-per-game player, leading the club with 26 goals and 48 points in 47 games. He had four goals and eight points in his last three games until the Noesen hit, so he’s an even more significant short-term loss for the Sabres with how he’d been playing in the last few days.

Samuelsson, 24, had suited up in nine straight after missing two with an illness. He’s averaging 18:31 per game this season, the lowest since his rookie stint in 2020-21, and has nine points with a minus-two rating in 35 appearances.

Miro Heiskanen Out Month-To-Month Following Knee Surgery

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Feb. 4: Heiskanen had successful knee surgery this morning and has been downgraded to month-to-month, DeBoer told reporters Tuesday (including Mike Heika of NHL.com). It’s unclear if he’ll be back during the regular season.

Jan. 30, 1:21 p.m.: Heiskanen has officially been ruled out of the 4 Nations Face-Off, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic, robbing Finland of their top defenseman. They’ll need an injury replacement in short order, presumably the Rangers’ Urho Vaakanainen or the Sabres’ Henri Jokiharju.

Jan. 30, 11:38 a.m.: Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen is out week-to-week with the lower-body injury he sustained in Tuesday’s overtime win over the Golden Knights, head coach Pete DeBoer told reporters Thursday (including Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News). As a result, the star blue-liner has been ruled doubtful for next month’s 4 Nations Face-Off, which would have marked his first international appearance for Finland since the 2022 World Championship.

Heiskanen left the game in the third period after a controversial collision with Vegas captain Mark Stone. The Golden Knights winger, who alleged he tripped over the stick of Dallas center Roope Hintz, fell into Heiskanen’s left knee and thigh (video via ESPN) and was assessed a minor penalty for tripping. Heiskanen needed assistance leaving the ice.

DeBoer said the initial injury designation came after Heiskanen underwent an MRI on Wednesday. They’ll have a firmer idea of his return timeline after a meeting with a specialist today.

Aside from his participation in the 4 Nations tournament, Heiskanen’s absence is a humongous loss for a thinned-out Dallas defense group in the lead-up to the break. The 25-year-old has taken on increased importance this season after they lost Chris Tanev and Jani Hakanpää to free agency and bought out Ryan Suter, averaging north of 25 minutes per game for the second time in his career.

Still, the ever-steady Heiskanen is having a down season offensively. That can partially be attributed to Dallas’ struggling power play – he has just seven points with the man advantage through 50 games after notching 21 power-play points in 71 appearances last season. But overall, his 0.50 points per game is his lowest pace in four years.

While he still leads Dallas blue-liners in scoring, possession metrics also point to Thomas Harley, not Heiskanen, as their most effective two-way threat this season. That’s not to say Heiskanen has been concerning defensively by any stretch, but the Stars control 55.5% of shot attempts with Harley on the ice at even strength compared to 53.5% with Heiskanen. They’ve spent a decent portion of the season on different pairings after routinely serving as partners last season, but Heiskanen’s possession numbers still improve when paired with Harley this year.

Nonetheless, Dallas’ weakened blue-line depth will be tested with news that Nils Lundkvist is also dealing with an upper-body injury after sitting out the last three games as a presumed healthy scratch, DeBoer told Assimakopoulos. The team announced they’ve recalled defenseman Kyle Capobianco from AHL Texas in a corresponding transaction, and he’ll make his season debut against the Canucks on Friday.

Capobianco, 27, signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Stars over the summer after two years in the Jets organization. He cleared waivers to begin the season and headed to AHL Texas, where he’s served as their top power-play option and leads team D in scoring with 28 points (2 G, 26 A) in 35 games. His +13 rating also leads Baby Stars defenders. Tomorrow will mark his first NHL game since suiting up once with Winnipeg in the 2023 postseason.

Initially a third-round pick by the Coyotes in 2015, Capobianco has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) in 73 career NHL appearances. Forty-five games came with the Yotes in the 2021-22 campaign, his final season in the organization. He’s historically graded out slightly below average defensively in his NHL minutes and will likely see far more limited even-strength usage than Heiskanen, although he could be in line to take a chunk of his power-play minutes with Lundkvist also sidelined.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Utah Activates Dylan Guenther From Injured Reserve

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Utah will activate winger Dylan Guenther from injured reserve before Tuesday’s game against the Flyers, head coach André Tourigny told reporters, including Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. They don’t have an open roster spot and will need to make a corresponding transaction, likely moving center Logan Cooley to IR. The team announced last week he’s out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

Guenther, 21, last played on Jan. 8 against the Panthers. Utah announced the following day that he’d be sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body issue. However, his absence was not as long as the team feared. He began skating last week, after which Tourigny told reporters he had been upgraded to day-to-day.

At the time of his injury, Guenther was Utah’s leader in goals with 16 through 40 games. He’s since been surpassed by Clayton Keller, who now has 18, but still ranks second. Adding 18 assists for 34 points, he’s a vital piece of Utah’s present and future offense – a belief the organization shares, considering they inked him to an eight-year, $57.14MM extension during training camp.

He’s operated at a 70-point pace through his first season in Salt Lake after ending last season with 35 points in 45 games for the Coyotes. The 2021 ninth-overall pick did exit the lineup amid a dry spell with two assists in his last eight games, but he’ll look to get back on track on a line with Michael Carcone and Barrett Hayton.

Coming out of the lineup to make room for Guenther is alternate captain Lawson Crouse, Tourigny said. The 27-year-old figures to be a healthy scratch for the first time since the 2019-20 season. He’s had a cataclysmic 2024-25 campaign, limited to just seven goals and 11 points through 52 games.

Utah has fallen below the .500 mark after a five-game losing streak and ranks 24th in the league with 2.77 goals per game, a figure Guenther will be key in improving down the stretch. Utah’s playoff chances have fallen to 10% as a result of their recent struggles, per Hockey Reference.

Rangers’ Adam Edstrom Out Roughly Three Months With Lower-Body Injury

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Rangers depth winger Adam Edstrom will be unavailable for the next two and a half to three and a half months while recovering from a lower-body injury, the team told Mollie Walker of the New York Post on Tuesday. It’s likely a season-ending absence for Edstrom, although a return during the postseason is possible if the Blueshirts make the cut.

Edstrom already missed Sunday’s win over the Golden Knights with the injury, which he sustained at some point in Saturday’s loss to the Bruins. He left midway through the second period after recording a minus-one rating, one hit, and one giveaway in 4:22 of ice time.

The 24-year-old has established himself as a regular on the Rangers’ fourth line this season, playing in all but one of their 52 games. He hasn’t been a factor offensively with four goals and nine points and averages just 9:16 per game, but the hulking 6’6″, 241-lb winger ranks fourth on the team with 11.92 hits per 60 minutes and ranks second among Rangers forwards with 34 blocks.

His willingness to get involved physically has contributed to good two-way results from the Rangers’ most common iteration of their fourth line this season. In 166 minutes together, the trio of Edstrom, Sam Carrick and Jimmy Vesey have controlled 52.3% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck. Their 2.27 xGA/60 is 0.03 short of being the Rangers’ best defensive trio with at least 150 minutes together this season.

His limited minutes mean he’s not a season-altering loss, but he does leave a sizable void in the bottom six. His absence allows Vesey to step back into regular minutes after being scratched for 10 of their last 12 games, prompting the veteran to publicly voice his displeasure with his lack of playing time.

Edstrom is in the final season of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer. He’s due a qualifying offer of $813,750, although with his everyday role and an increasing salary cap, he has an argument to earn north of $1MM annually on his next deal.

Blues Activate Nick Leddy From Injured Reserve

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Blues veteran defenseman Nick Leddy will play Tuesday against the Oilers after a nearly four-month absence, according to a team announcement. He’s been activated from injured reserve following a 49-game absence due to a lower-body injury.

Leddy will replace Tyler Tucker in his return to the lineup. Tucker left Sunday’s win over Utah late in the third period after falling into the boards and sustaining an upper-body injury. He’s day-to-day and could return Thursday against the Panthers, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.

Whatever injury Leddy sustained wasn’t apparent during a game, and he hadn’t missed time with a lower-body issue since before the COVID-19 pandemic, it likely wasn’t plaguing him heading into the season. Nonetheless, he only recently ramped up activity in practice after being held out of the lineup since the Blues’ fourth game of the season against the Wild on Oct. 15.

After initially being labeled day-to-day, St. Louis became increasingly doubtful about whether he’d return to the lineup at all in 2024-25. His lingering ailment was a contributing factor in general manager Doug Armstrong’s decision to acquire Cam Fowler from the Ducks, he said at the time, giving them a sixth defenseman with a cap hit of at least $4MM.

Leddy, 33, failed to record a point and had a minus-three rating in his first four outings this season. He averaged 22:09 per game and controlled 53.2% of shot attempts at even strength, a number that now stands second on the team among active skaters behind Tucker.

Now in the third season of a four-year, $16MM deal, Leddy remains a serviceable top-four option. While his possession metrics haven’t been kind, he’s still turned out a +18 rating in 184 games as a Blue since they acquired him from the Red Wings before the 2022 trade deadline. He appeared in all 82 games last season, averaging 22:22 per game and recording 28 points with 127 blocks, second on the team behind Colton Parayko’s 218.

The lefty could return to the lineup playing on his off side on the third pairing with Ryan Suter, Korac relayed. Philip Broberg and Cam Fowler, both of whom have excelled in top-four usage for the Blues this season, will remain in their second-pairing and first-pairing posts, respectively.

St. Louis never placed Leddy on LTIR throughout his absence, so his activation has no salary cap impact. They opened a roster spot yesterday by reassigning Matthew Kessel to AHL Springfield.

Wild Activate Jonas Brodin, Marcus Johansson

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As expected, the Wild announced they’ve activated defenseman Jonas Brodin from long-term injured reserve and winger Marcus Johansson from standard IR ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Bruins. Minnesota assigned forward Ben Jones to AHL Iowa in a corresponding transaction to open a required space on the active roster.

Brodin and Johansson were full participants in practice Monday, leading most to assume they’d be in tonight’s lineup. The former has missed 12 games with a lower-body injury sustained against the Hurricanes on Jan. 7, while Johansson sat out the last eight with a concussion he suffered on an elbow from Oilers star Connor McDavid on Jan. 15.

Their returns are key reinforcements for the Wild amid Kirill Kaprizov’s LTIR stint following lower-body surgery last week and a 10-game suspension to winger Ryan Hartman handed down yesterday by the Department of Player Safety. In the interim, Minnesota will have plenty of cap flexibility, with Kaprizov fueling a $9.02MM LTIR pool. However, roster management will be an issue, as Hartman still takes up a spot during his suspension.

Brodin likely returns to a top-four role besides captain Jared Spurgeon following his third multi-game absence of the season. He missed a pair of contests in November with an upper-body injury before sitting out another eight with a similar injury weeks later.

The Wild went 5-7-0 without Brodin in their last 12 games and have a 12-10-0 without his services on the season. When healthy, the 31-year-old has the best offensive campaign of his 13-year career. He has 16 points through 31 appearances for a career-high 0.51 points per game, averaging north of 23 minutes per game for the second straight season and anchoring the team’s top penalty-kill unit.

He aims to stabilize a Minnesota defense that has faltered since the calendar flipped to 2025. Since New Year’s, they have allowed 3.20 goals against per game, ranking 26th out of 32 teams. Similarly, their 31.3 shots against per game rank 28th.

It’s not time to hit the panic button in the State of Hockey yet. They still have a two-point cushion on the Avalanche for third place in the Central Division with a game in hand, and Hockey Reference still gives them a 97.1% chance of making the playoffs. But it’s been ugly when they’ve lost – four of their seven Ls since the beginning of January have been by at least four goals.

While Johansson hasn’t had the offensive impact they hoped for this year, he’s still an upgrade over most of their depth options and will take pressure off other overtaxed wingers in Kaprizov’s and Hartman’s absence. The 15-year veteran is averaging 16 minutes per game this season and has five goals and 11 assists in 44 games. He’s shooting at a career-low 7.4% rate but posts decent possession metrics, with a 48.5 CF% and +2.1 expected rating at even strength.

Johansson will skate at left wing on a line with Marcus Foligno and Marco Rossi, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports. He’s also likely to continue seeing second powerplay unit duties as he has for most of the year.

Jones, 25, returns to Iowa after being recalled last week following the news of Kaprizov’s surgery. He was only rostered as an extra forward and did not play in any of the Wild’s three games since being added to the roster.

He’s still looking for his first NHL point, failing to produce any offense across 26 appearances throughout the year. While he’s been a non-factor in the NHL, he’s been a top-six contributor for Iowa with 14 points in 20 games. He’s in the first season of a two-year, two-way commitment he signed as a free agent last summer.

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