Canadiens’ Kirby Dach, Alexandre Texier Cleared To Play
The Canadiens will be able to get forwards Kirby Dach and Alexandre Texier back into the lineup down the stretch if they so choose, Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports. Both were given final clearance Tuesday morning and could dress as soon as tonight against the Panthers.
Dach has been out since March 15, sustaining an upper-body injury on a hit from Ducks winger Jeffrey Viel that night. He was given a two- to four-week return timeline, so his reincorporation is right on schedule. Since there’s no roster limit after the trade deadline, there was never a need to place him on injured reserve.
Injury-plagued seasons are nothing new for Dach, who’s hit the 60-game mark just twice in his seven-year career. The 25-year-old has been limited again this season to 32 appearances, missing two months with a foot fracture earlier in the year. When dressed, he’s taken a step forward from last year’s woeful performance with an 8-6–14 scoring line and an even rating. He’s yet to reach the heights of his 14-goal, 38-point debut season with Montreal in 58 games in 2022-23, though. He tore his MCL and ACL in his right knee early in the following season and hasn’t been as effective ever since.
Now 25, the Habs will appreciate Dach’s versatility. The 6’4″, 221-lb center is comfortable on the wing as well and can play virtually anywhere in Montreal’s top nine. His defensive impacts this season are middling, logging a 48.7% Corsi share and a 49.7% expected goals share to rank around the team median in both.
Texier, 26, hasn’t played since March 24. He’s missed the last seven with a lower-body issue. Before that, he proved to be a valuable plug-and-play option. He’s been healthy scratched for stretches this season, but has eight goals and 19 points in 38 games for the Habs since signing with Montreal in November following his release from the Blues. His 0.50 points per game are tied with Mike Matheson for eighth on the team.
The Habs have already clinched a playoff berth but are still fighting to see if they can eke out home-ice advantage in the first round. The Sabres’ win over the Lightning last night put them back over Montreal for second place in the Atlantic. Montreal is two points back of both the Lightning and Sabres, who are tied for the division crown, but Tampa sits in first on points percentage with one game in hand on Buffalo. With five games left on the schedule, the Habs also have a game in hand on the Sabres that they’ll look to use to their advantage tonight against the lottery-bound Panthers.
Maple Leafs Recall Luke Haymes
The Maple Leafs announced that they’ve recalled forward Luke Haymes from AHL Toronto on an emergency basis. The 22-year-old could be an option to make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Capitals.
Toronto signed Haymes as an undrafted free agent out of Dartmouth College this time last year. At the time, the Ottawa native was coming off a standout run over his sophomore and junior seasons that saw him accumulate 30 goals and 54 points in 53 games for the Big Green, taking home ECAC First Team All-Star honors in 2023-24.
Haymes joined the AHL club on an amateur tryout to end last season before his entry-level contract kicked in this year. He immediately made an impact with two goals and six points in nine games. That production has carried over in 2025-26, where he’s had a strong enough rookie campaign with a 17-15–32 line in 63 games with a -6 rating.
Haymes sits sixth on the club in scoring and remains under contract through next year at a cap hit of $875K. He’ll be waiver-exempt until 2028-29 unless he plays 70 NHL contests before then. An opening-night job in the fall is unlikely, but he’s tracking toward being a depth contributor with some real mid-season call-up potential. He’ll get an initial look now with five games left in the Leafs’ season, their first without playoff hockey since 2016.
The 6’1″, 203-lb Haymes can play both center and left wing and checks in as the #10 prospect in the Maple Leafs’ system according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. Wheeler touts him as a “solid, trustworthy player” who “makes good decisions around the ice, knows how to support play on both sides of the puck, has a pro build and average pro tools, and fits the play-the-right-way focus of the current Leafs brass and coaching staff.”
Penguins Recall Sergei Murashov
The Penguins announced Tuesday that they’ve formalized goaltender Sergei Murashov‘s recall from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Fellow netminder Taylor Gauthier was returned to ECHL Wheeling in the corresponding move after he was called up at the last minute to serve as Arturs Silovs‘ backup for Sunday’s win over the Panthers.
Murashov’s recall indicates that Stuart Skinner will remain unavailable as the Penguins return to action against the Devils on Thursday. He took a puck to the eye while on the bench backing up Silovs during the first half of Pittsburgh’s weekend back-to-back with Florida, forcing the latter to make two starts within 24 hours. They weren’t able to get Murashov to Pittsburgh in time for puck drop for Sunday’s game, forcing Gauthier to get the nod, but they will now work their third-stringer and top prospect between the pipes back into an NHL role before Skinner is ready to return.
Murashov, 22, was a fourth-round pick in 2022 but is tracking more like a first-rounder. The 6’2″ Russian has posted spectacular numbers at every level in Russia and now the North American minors as he climbs the latter, fully taking over as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s #1 option this season. In 35 AHL games, he has a .922 SV%, 2.13 GAA, three shutouts, and a 23-8-3 record. He got his first five NHL appearances over a pair of recalls in November and December, logging a more measured .897 SV% and 2.56 GAA. He still managed to record his first big-league shutout, a 21-save win over the Predators back on Nov. 16.
Skinner will almost certainly be Pittsburgh’s Game 1 starter in the first round later this month if he’s healthy. They haven’t quite clinched a playoff berth yet, but need just one more win to do so and could get some outside help before that’s necessary. As such, there likely won’t be much consideration of resting Silovs to keep him fresh for the postseason. There’s still home-ice advantage on the line. They do have a back-to-back this weekend against the Capitals, though, so it stands to reason Murashov should get one of those starts if Skinner isn’t back by then.
Meanwhile, Gauthier could be back up in a few weeks’ time to serve as Pittsburgh’s emergency backup in the playoffs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has clinched an AHL postseason berth, and the Penguins would certainly prefer Murashov getting high-intensity action there. Gauthier, 25, was on a minor-league deal for most of the season after Pittsburgh non-tendered him last year, but they brought him back on a two-way deal at the trade deadline to make him eligible for a recall. In 33 games with Wheeling, he’s looking to take home his second career ECHL Goalie of the Year award with a .932 SV%, 2.00 GAA, and 20-7-5 record.
Philipp Grubauer Leaves Start With Lower-Body Injury
The Kraken’s already slim playoff hopes were effectively dealt a death blow with last night’s 6-2 loss to the Jets. Now 1-7-2 in their last 10 games, the loss came with additional bad news as the team announced Philipp Grubauer‘s departure from the game in the second period was due to a lower-body injury, not a standard pull.
It may not have been anything more than a minor strain, considering his reason for leaving wasn’t immediately obvious. He departed the game roughly 1:10 after allowing a Kyle Connor power play one-timer that extended Winnipeg’s lead to 3-1.
Nonetheless, with six games left in Seattle’s season, it’ll be a year-ender for Grubauer if it’s anything serious. The Kraken aren’t mathematically eliminated from playoff contention yet, but would virtually need to win out in order to secure a playoff berth, along with the Kings failing to get five of 10 remaining points and the four other teams ahead of them – the Predators, Sharks, Jets, and Blues – all failing to gain significant ground.
If so, it’ll be a quiet end to what was a resurgent season in a lighter workload for Grubauer. The 34-year-old was arguably Seattle’s biggest free agent splash prior to its inaugural season, signing a six-year, $35.4MM contract in 2021 to serve as the team’s first starting netminder. At the time, he was coming off a third-place Vezina finish with the Avalanche and had posted a .918 SV% and 2.38 GAA in 113 games across three seasons as Colorado’s starter/1A option.
As Grubauer began to see 50-plus games a year for the first time in Seattle, his numbers immediately suffered. He was arguably the worst starter in the league from the drop, recording a .889 SV% and 3.16 GAA in 55 showings to allow 33.7 goals above expected behind an otherwise strong first-year Kraken defense, per MoneyPuck.
That string of sub-.900 save percentages continued over the next several years, while Grubauer consistently remained below-average in advanced stats like GSAx. By year three, he had lost the starting job to up-and-comer Joey Daccord and was even placed on waivers last season. Seattle’s lack of confidence in Grubauer was clear last summer when, after being unable to shed his contract, they opted to sign veteran Matt Murray as a high-cost third-string option to a one-year, $1MM deal and start the year carrying three netminders.
Daccord has remained Seattle’s clear-cut #1 in terms of usage, but Grubauer has done more than enough this season to re-establish himself as an NHL-capable backup heading into the final year of his contract. In 27 starts and four relief appearances, he’s compiled a 13-11-4 record with a .910 SV% and 2.59 GAA. Not only are those numbers better than Daccord’s, but he ranks 11th in the league in save percentage (min. 20 games played) and leads Seattle with 5.7 goals saved above expected, his best figure since his Cup-winning season as Braden Holtby‘s backup in Washington in 2017-18.
If Grubauer can’t return in the next week-plus, look for Murray to get at least one more start to close out his season. The veteran hasn’t dressed since Nov. 15 due to a lower-body injury, but was activated from injured reserve back on March 10, so he’s available.
Anaheim Ducks Reassign Nathan Gaucher
According to a team announcement, the Anaheim Ducks have reassigned forward Nathan Gaucher to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. That leaves the Ducks with 11 healthy forwards for tomorrow’s contest against the Nashville Predators.
Consequently, that means another roster move is expected. Anaheim will recall Gaucher for tomorrow’s contest, recall someone else, or welcome back Ross Johnston. Johnston was given a three-to-four week recovery timeline when he was initially injured on March 18th. If he enjoys the early end of that recovery timeline, that would place his return on April 8th, just two days away.
Still, if Johnston isn’t available, the Ducks could recall Gaucher tomorrow on an emergency basis relatively easily. An emergency recall means that Gaucher won’t have to play in AHL San Diego’s game tomorrow to be eligible for recall.
Gaucher, 22, has been called up two separate times over the last little while. The former 22nd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft made his debut during those recalls, but is still looking for his first point. Regardless, he’s made his physical presence known early, collecting six hits in three games.
Although he may be on the playoff roster, it’s unlikely that Gaucher will get too much postseason playing time unless the team runs into more injuries. Jansen Harkins and Johnston are expected to return before the postseason, while Cutter Gauthier is believed to be day-to-day.
Minnesota Wild Sign Charlie Stramel
According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, the Minnesota Wild have signed collegiate prospect Charlie Stramel to his entry-level contract. The Wild later confirmed the news.
In Russo’s report, he indicated that it would be a three-year, $3.225MM ($1.075MM AAV) deal for Stramel, including schedule ‘A’ bonuses. Expectedly, Stramel’s deal won’t start until the 2026-27 season, and he’s not expected to play for the rest of this season.
The reason he isn’t expected to play is that Stramel broke his ankle in Michigan State University’s last game of the season against the University of Wisconsin. He blocked a shot early in the postseason contest and was removed from the game entirely before Wisconsin made its magical run at the end of the contest.
Still, it was clear that the Wild would want to sign him regardless. Stramel was scheduled to become a collegiate free agent this summer if he hadn’t signed his entry-level contract with Minnesota. Given his emergence as a legitimate top-six forward this season, it became highly unlikely that Minnesota was going to let him go for nothing.
Few would have expected this breakout just a few years ago. Throughout Stramel’s first two seasons in the NCAA, then with Wisconsin, he amassed eight goals and 20 points in 67 contests. Since transferring to Michigan State ahead of his junior season, Stramel has registered 28 goals and 71 points in 74 games.
It became clear quickly that Stramel responded well to Adam Nightingale‘s system, and the two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year was able to extract the most out of him. Given that the Wild are expecting several forwards to leave this summer via free agency, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Stramel crack the opening night roster next season.
Outside of his raw production, Stramel plays a very mature game. He excels in tight quarters with a knack for winning battles in the small areas. He’s a very efficient give-and-go player, which should only help him excel next to some of Minnesota’s other top forwards.
Jets Activate Nino Niederreiter, Reassign Parker Ford
8:30 p.m.: The Jets made Niederreiter’s activation official via a team announcement. Additionally, the team has reassigned depth forward Parker Ford to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose in a corresponding roster move.
10:49 a.m.: Jets winger Nino Niederreiter is set to come off injured reserve to play in Monday’s game against the Kraken, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press reports. They’ll also be getting center Vladislav Namestnikov back after he missed more than a month with a lower-body injury. However, he never hit IR prior to the roster limit being lifted at the trade deadline. It’s two steps forward, one step back, though, as head coach Scott Arniel told reporters that center Morgan Barron is now week-to-week with the lower-body injury he sustained Saturday against the Blue Jackets.
Niederreiter has not played since suiting up for Switzerland at the Olympics. He sustained a lower-body injury at some point during the tournament and required surgery upon returning to Winnipeg, which kept him out of the lineup on a week-to-week basis. After 20 games sidelined, he gets a chance to contribute – albeit in a limited role – as Winnipeg aims to hold onto its slim playoff hopes. He’ll be skating as the team’s fourth line left wing with Namestnikov and Brad Lambert.
A top-nine fixture for the vast majority of his 15-year NHL career, Niederreiter has had a tough go of things in 2025-26. That’s been the case for virtually every Jet outside their top line and Josh Morrissey, indicative of their offensive production tumbling from 3.35 goals per game last year to just 2.80 this season. His 8-11–19 scoring line in 55 outings works out to 0.35 points per game, his worst output since managing just one point in 55 games during his rookie season for the Islanders way back in 2011-12.
The 33-year-old, who had turned into a strong checking piece after playing a less physical two-way game earlier in his career, has also laid off the hits this year as his ice time dips below 14 minutes per game. He’s still returning to his usual spot on the second power play unit but has seen all of six seconds of shorthanded ice time this season. He has another year left on his contract at a $4MM cap hit to prove he can still be an effective piece heading into free agency in 2027.
Namestnikov managed to play in Winnipeg’s first game after the Olympic break but sustained a lower-body injury in his next game and has been sidelined since. Like Niederreiter, the 33-year-old has taken a tumble down the depth chart this year with captain Adam Lowry moving up to center the Jets’ second line behind Mark Scheifele. After back-to-back 30-point years for the Jets, Namestnikov has only produced seven goals and 13 points with a -11 rating in 57 outings while winning just 39.8% of his draws.
Losing Barron means losing one of the few Jets who’s taken a real step forward this season. Through 65 games, the 6’4″ pivot has a career-best 11 goals and 23 points with a +5 rating that sits fifth on the team. That’s a considerable depth loss as their playoff odds could jump back up to 10% with a win against Seattle, but drop below 5% with a loss.
Prospect Notes: Oswald, Pattersson, Pinchuk
The Edmonton Oilers are again looking overseas to bolster their forward core. According to Frank Seravalli of Victory+, the Oilers are the betting favorites to land forward Veit Oswald this summer, despite other teams having interest.
Oswald, 21, has spent the last several years playing for the DEL’s EHC München. He wasn’t on most people’s radar a few years ago, scoring 10 goals and 17 points in 38 games. He was included on Team Germany’s U20 team for the 2023-24 IIHF World Junior Championship, where he scored three goals and five points in four games. Oswald’s output was decent for the tournament, but his 27 PIMs caused too much negative attention for any additional interest.
However, he broke out in a big way this year. Oswald finished the 2025-26 campaign with 12 goals and 26 points in 38 games with a +16 rating, adding another two goals in six postseason contests. Although he didn’t challenge for any scoring leaders, he continues to improve on both sides of the puck, making NHL teams more willing to afford him an opportunity in North America.
Additional prospect notes:
- The AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks announced that the team has recalled forward Riley Patterson from the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs. Patterson, 20, was drafted 125th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2024 NHL Draft. He had an impressive 2025-26 season with the IceDogs, registering 40 goals and 84 points in 60 games. If he plays down the stretch for Abbotsford, it will be the first professional contest of his career.
- A few weeks ago, reports indicated that nearly the entire league had shown an interest in forward Vitali Pinchuk, who scored 31 goals and 66 points in 65 games as a 24-year-old for the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk this season. Unsurprisingly, Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff shared that the Philadelphia Flyers are one of the 29 teams to have contacted Pinchuk about playing in North America next season. Pinchuk hasn’t played in North America since the 2019-20 campaign, when he appeared in 54 games for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers.
Devils Fire General Manager Tom Fitzgerald
The New Jersey Devils announced that they’ve parted ways with President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, Tom Fitzgerald. He joins Brad Treliving, formerly with the Toronto Maple Leafs, as the second General Manager fired in the last week.
In the announcement, New Jersey’s Managing Partner, David Blitzer, said, “Tom and I had a thoughtful conversation today and agreed it was time to move in a new direction. Tom changed the trajectory of our team here, including setting a franchise record for points in a season and helping make New Jersey a hockey destination. He is a well-respected leader across the Devils’ organization and NHL, and I am grateful for our friendship. I wish Tom and his family all the best. As we prepare to move forward, it is important I acknowledge our fans. I recognize we have not delivered in the way you expect and deserve and I understand and share in your frustration. This is a critical offseason for our franchise, and we will explore all avenues that best position the Devils to compete for a Stanley Cup once again.”
Furthermore, Fitzgerald provided a quote, saying, “After talking with David Blitzer, it was apparent to everyone that the best course of action is to move on for the benefit of the team. I am incredibly appreciative to David, Josh Harris, and the entire New Jersey Devils organization for being a part of my life for the past decade. The Devils are fortunate to have a core of great players, vocal and passionate fans, but most importantly, tremendous people who worked with me toward a common goal. I’ve always said that New Jersey is a hidden gem and I’m proud of the effort that we put in to raise the standard and make it a destination. I look forward to the next step in my hockey career and will always look back fondly on my time with the Devils.”
Fitzgerald became the Devils’ General Manager ahead of the 2020-21 campaign after serving in the interim toward the end of the 2019-20 season. Since then, New Jersey has qualified for the playoffs only twice, reaching Round Two in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. Each time, they were ousted by Metropolitan Division rival, the Carolina Hurricanes.
Although some of Fitzgerald’s trades deserve scrutiny, such as trading Pavel Zacha to the Boston Bruins and including Yegor Sharangovich in the trade for Tyler Toffoli, his tenure with the Devils will be more remembered for the moves he didn’t make, rather than the ones he did.
Unlike most teams, New Jersey has legitimate top-six talent like Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Dawson Mercer. However, whether it be through a hyper-conservative approach or something different, Fitzgerald never addressed New Jersey’s depth-scoring issues.
The team has been highly affected by injuries over the last several years, none of which is Fitzgerald’s fault. Still, by not adding additional scoring help toward the bottom of the forward corps, the Devils’ offense would completely disappear when their better players succumbed to injuries.
Last season was a perfect example. New Jersey entered the deadline without Hughes and was slowly falling down the standings. Instead of spending a little more to acquire a short-term stopgap that can move up and down the lineup like Ryan O’Reilly, Brayden Schenn, or Nazem Kadri, the Devils acquired Cody Glass, Daniel Sprong, Brian Dumoulin, and Dennis Cholowski. In his defense, Glass has been a nice find this season, but there was never an expectation that they could replace Hughes’ value by committee, and New Jersey was quickly bounced in the playoffs.
Additionally, Fitzgerald has raised a few eyebrows with the extensions given to Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen, although the latter has worked out rather well. Plainly put, Fitzgerald had six years to turn the team into a consistent contender, had the pieces to do so, and didn’t get the job done.
Fortunately, for Fitzgerald, there are already a few openings available to him, even before the end of the regular season. As previously mentioned, the Maple Leafs fired Treliving a few days ago and may seek another experienced mind to get the franchise back on track. Furthermore, the Nashville Predators, with whom Fitzgerald spent four years during his playing career, have an opening as well.
Regardless, the announcement reads as if both parties knew the writing was on the wall for some time. The next General Manager will face significant challenges, particularly in creating salary cap space in the short term and negotiating Hischier’s extension this summer. However, the Devils aren’t the worst situation in the league, and have solid forwards up front. Acquiring depth around them will be the initial focus.
Capitals Recall Ilya Protas
The Washington Capitals have recalled top center prospect Ilya Protas from the AHL’s Hershey Bears. It is a headline that Capitals fans have waited all season for and comes just two days after a six-point night in the AHL. Protas leads Hershey, and all AHL rookies, with 28 goals and 62 points in 66 games this season. He could make his NHL debut as soon as Wednesday per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.
Washington could give one of their top prospects a look with four games left in the season. All four games are against Eastern Conference and will be must-win contests with the Capitals sat one point outside of the second Wild Card. Protas could be an X-factor addition at the perfect time. He has continued a breakout performance that began with a move to the OHL in 2024.
Protas moved from his home country of Belarus to the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers for the 2023-24 season. He was an immediate, top-six impact and finished the year with 51 points in 61 games. The majority of that scoring came late in the season, helping the 6-foot-5 Protas slide under the radar enough to land in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft. He followed the selection with a move to the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, where his offensive skill quickly boomed next to New York Rangers prospect Liam Greentree. Protas led the Spitfires, and ranked second in the OHL, in scoring with an incredible 50-goals and 124 points in 61 games. His scoring was the second-most ever recorded by a European in the OHL behind compatriot and six-year NHL veteran Sergei Kostitsyn, who scored 131 points in 2006-07.
That hot scoring hasn’t left in Protas’ first pro season. Neither has his talent for creating chances, made evident by his five-assist performance in Hershey’s Saturday night win over the Hartford Wolf Pack. Protas has shown a strong ability to drive the puck into the slot. He offers an impressive amount of stickhandling ability and playmaking focus in a big frame. They’re the same traits that have helped his older brother, Washington’s Aliaksei Protas, notch a career-high 30 goals and 66 points in 76 games last season. The older Protas has 49 points in 72 games this year.
Now, the brothers could seek to make one final heave towards the playoffs together. It is not clear where the younger Protas will line up if he does make his NHL debut. He could step onto the third-line left-wing over Anthony Beauvillier or take on a center role and bump Justin Sourdif to the wing. Either move would likely bump Ethen Frank out of the lineup, after he posted no scoring and a minus-one in his last two games.