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Robby Fabbri Signs PTO With AHL’s Charlotte Checkers

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Unrestricted free agent winger Robby Fabbri will play his first regular-season action of 2025-26 on a professional tryout with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, the team announced Monday.

Fabbri will suit up with the Panthers’ affiliate after failing to land a contract from the Penguins, whose training camp he attended on a PTO. The 29-year-old hasn’t played in over nine months. He sustained a hand injury with the Ducks last season in late February, ending his campaign.

When Fabbri plays for the Checkers, it will be just the seventh AHL appearance of his professional career. The 2014 first-rounder by the Blues never had a standard minor-league assignment. He played three games for the Chicago Wolves late in 2014-15 after his junior season ended, and he played another three contests for the San Antonio Rampage while on a conditioning stint in the 2018-19 season.

The veteran of 442 NHL games now lands multiple rungs down the ladder as he attempts to get back to the top level. Injuries robbed the skilled, versatile winger of a good portion of his prime. That hand injury, plus an MCL surgery, cost him nearly half of last season with the Ducks. That’s par for the course for Fabbri, who’s had multiple ACL tears interrupt his playing time – going so far as to cost him an entire season back in 2017-18.

When healthy, the 5’11” forward has still carved out a solid track record as a middle-six piece. He’s averaged 20 goals and 40 points per 82 games over his career and is just two years removed from an 18-goal campaign with the Red Wings that matched a career-high. His diminished production in Anaheim last season, though, combined with his injury history, meant interest was tempered when he reached UFA status in July. In 44 appearances for the Ducks, he only notched eight goals and 16 points despite averaging 16:12 of ice time per game, the third-highest deployment of his career.

Fabbri’s most likely path back to the NHL deal now falls on a two-way deal with the Panthers if he has a strong showing in Charlotte, but by only signing an AHL tryout, he’s not bound to Florida in any sense and can still explore other NHL opportunities if they arise.

Wild Recall Hunter Haight

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The Wild announced Monday they’ve recalled center Hunter Haight from AHL Iowa. He was sent down on Saturday, but since he got into game action for Iowa last night, he’s eligible to come back up today. Minnesota didn’t fill his roster spot during his two-day absence from the active roster.

Haight will continue serving as a fourth-line/press box option as the Wild continue to deal with a banged-up forward group while trying to squeeze more offense out of their bottom six. He won’t have a particularly clear path to playing time with 14 forwards on the active roster. Tyler Pitlick is on waivers today but is expected to remain with the team if he clears instead of being assigned to Iowa, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports.

His recent demotion was more about getting the 21-year-old playing time. The Wild have done a good job of that while ferrying him between leagues multiple times this year. He’s still managed 14 appearances for Iowa, notching four goals and an assist with a -6 rating. Selected No. 47 overall in the 2022 draft, he projects as a No. 3 center long-term and is a consensus top-15 prospect in Minnesota’s system. He entered the season ranked #9 according to Elite Prospects and #14 according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic.

He’s coming off a 20-goal, 34-point showing as a rookie for Iowa in 67 games last year. It may not be an overly impressive showing at face value, but the team’s weak roster meant Haight checked in second on the team in goals and fifth in points.

Despite this being Haight’s fourth recall of the season, he was only in the lineup for Minnesota’s first two games and hasn’t played since. He averaged 9:22 of ice time across the pair of appearances and went without a point, recording a -2 rating. He went 7-for-16 on faceoffs (43.8%), and the Wild lost the shot-attempt battle 28-11 in his 5-on-5 minutes despite some advantageous offensive zone deployment.

While Ryan Hartman and Vladimir Tarasenko have come off injured reserve in recent days, the Wild’s forward group is still missing Marcus Foligno, Vinnie Hinostroza, and top-line center Marco Rossi. Haight certainly won’t factor in when everyone is healthy but in the interim, he’s worked his way up enough on the organization’s depth chart to continue serving as a depth option when required.

Penguins Recall Rutger McGroarty, Bokondji Imama

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The Penguins have recalled top prospect Rutger McGroarty, along with winger Bokondji Imama, from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, according to a team announcement. The team cleared two roster spots Sunday when they reassigned Tristan Broz and Danton Heinen to WBS, so no other corresponding transactions are needed.

McGroarty, universally lauded as Pittsburgh’s No. 1 prospect entering the season, will now meaningfully get his campaign underway nearly two months into the calendar. The 2022 No. 14 overall pick by the Jets, who was sent to the Pens in a swap for fellow first-rounder Brayden Yager, was widely expected to get a shot in Pittsburgh’s top six alongside either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin to start the season.

Those plans were ground to a halt on the first day of training camp when general manager Kyle Dubas said McGroarty had failed his physical and was out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. He was held out of the lineup until mid-November, when he was activated from season-opening injured reserve and reassigned to the Baby Pens. Last week, Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported that the 21-year-old’s demotion was intended as a conditioning stint with a recall expected shortly.

Even if the Penguins planned on recalling McGroarty after a couple of weeks regardless of how he played, he’s more than earned another look high up in the Penguins’ lineup. He opened the season with a four-game goal streak for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and recorded at least one point in all five of his appearances. After a tough start and red-hot finish to the season in the minors last year, he’s picked up where he left off with a 4-3–7 scoring line and a +3 rating.

McGroarty’s NHL debut came late last season. He was summoned from the AHL in late March and immediately got a look in top-line minutes with Crosby and Bryan Rust, although he did get some bottom-six deployment for a couple of games. In eight contests, he recorded a goal and two assists while averaging 14:37 of ice time per game. The 6’1″, 212-lb forward – who’s a natural center but can slot in on either wing – controlled 58.1% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 and held opponents even at a score of 3-3.

With a pair of top-six wingers in Justin Brazeau and Rickard Rakell on injured reserve, the opportunity is ripe for McGroarty to return to the top-line left wing role with Crosby that he got a taste of last season. Head coach Dan Muse would no doubt appreciate the opportunity to get a more dynamic talent like McGroarty in that spot. Since Rakell underwent surgery on his left hand in late October, it’s been Connor Dewar and Kevin Hayes – veterans best suited for bottom-six roles – getting minutes with Crosby.

Imama nets his first recall of the season after seeing his most extended stint on an NHL roster last year with the Pens. The 29-year-old enforcer has been a career AHL threat and only brought 15 games of NHL experience to Pittsburgh when he signed a two-way deal with them in free agency in 2024. He began the year in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but, after getting recalled in late January, spent the rest of the year either on the NHL roster or on injured reserve. He more than doubled his previous NHL experience and made 16 appearances for the Pens, notching a goal, 30 penalty minutes, and 45 hits while averaging 5:40 of ice time per game. Biceps surgery ended his season prematurely in March.

The Pens signed Imama to a two-way extension in June to keep him in the organization, but with their other free agent additions and multiple prospect graduations expected, he wasn’t penciled onto their roster. He cleared waivers without incident near the end of training camp and returned to the AHL, where the 2015 sixth-round pick of the Lightning has now played parts of nine seasons with more than 350 appearances. In 19 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, he’s managed three goals and an assist.

Imama is likely ticketed for a 13th forward job during his call-up, but if he gets into game action, it’ll mark his fifth consecutive season with an NHL appearance. After going unsigned by the Bolts, he spent time in the Kings, Coyotes, and Senators organizations before arriving in Pittsburgh 16 months ago.

Image courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Blues’ Jimmy Snuggerud, Alexey Toropchenko Out Multiple Weeks

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Despite winning the first two games out of their current three-game homestand, the St. Louis Blues will not come out of it unscathed. The Blues announced that rookie forward Jimmy Snuggerud suffered a left wrist injury that will require surgery, and he’ll be reevaluated in six weeks.

Additionally, the team will be without depth forward Alexey Toropchenko for the next few weeks due to a leg injury, although it is unrelated to any on-ice incident. Toropchenko apparently scalded his legs in an at-home accident. St. Louis has recalled Aleksanteri Kaskimaki from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds to fill in the void.

Losing Snuggerud at any point is a significant blow to the Blues’ offensive core. Still, considering that other high-scoring winger Jake Neighbours only recently returned after missing nearly a month of action, it will be difficult for St. Louis to find any traction.

Though it likely wasn’t enough to earn him a top-three spot in Calder Trophy voting, the University of Minnesota alumnus had gotten off to a quality start to his first full season in the NHL. Snuggerud, 21, has scored five goals and 11 points in 26 games, though he had gone scoreless in his last seven. Still, St. Louis needs all the help they can get in the offensive zone.

Additionally, Snuggerud has shown a level of poise on the defensive side of the puck that is atypical for young wingers. He’s started 52.7% of his shifts in the defensive zone this season, and is first on the team with a 93.2% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

In all fairness, Toropchenko’s absence won’t be as significant as Snuggerud’s. The 26-year-old Russian has only one goal and two points in 17 games this season, though he has been a physical presence in the team’s bottom six, racking up 38 hits.

Meanwhile, Kaskimaki will have the opportunity to make his NHL debut only two years into his professional career in North America. He was drafted with the 73rd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft and spent two years post-draft with the Finnish Liiga’s HIFK, scoring 14 goals and 26 points in 93 games.

Joining the Thunderbirds last season, Kaskimaki finished his rookie campaign with 11 goals and 34 points in 63 games with a -6 rating. His average output has decreased somewhat to begin the 2025-26 season, though he has plenty of time to recover. Through his first 16 games with Springfield this year, Kaskimaki has scored four goals and seven points with a -5 rating.

No Contract Talks Between St. Louis Blues, Philip Broberg

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While the 28th-ranked St. Louis Blues will likely move on from a few pending free agents leading up to this year’s trade deadline, there are a few they could look to extend for the right price. Defenseman Philip Broberg is a prime extension candidate on the roster this season, though Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic writes that no contract talks have taken place yet.

Poached from the Edmonton Oilers last year by way of an offer sheet, the investment turned out well for the Blues. The former 8th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft enjoyed the best year of his career last season, scoring eight goals and 29 points in 68 games with a +21 rating, averaging 20:30 of ice time per night.

It was a clear indication that Broberg was underutilized during his tenure in Alberta. Debuting in the 2021-22 season, Broberg appeared in only 81 NHL contests over the next three years, scoring two goals and 13 points with a -5 rating, averaging 12:42 of ice time. A nearly eight-minute bump in ATOI accounted for over double the production for Broberg.

Outside of his boxcar statistics, his underlying metrics paint a similar picture. Brobert finished with the highest on-ice SV% at even strength for the Blues last year with a 93.7% output. That came despite beginning 53.2% of his shifts in the defensive zone. He averaged an 87.7% mark over his three years with Edmonton.

He’s doing much of the same again for the Blues this year. Through his first 26 games, Broberg has scored two goals and 10 points in 26 games with a -1 rating, averaging 23:25 of action per contest. While a -1 rating is a far cry from the +21 he finished with last season, it’s worth noting that St. Louis is second-to-last in the league with a -23 goal differential.

Still, there doesn’t appear to be internal pressure in the Blues’ front office to get Broberg signed quickly. Rutherford quoted General Manager Doug Armstrong, saying, “There’s no rush with that. We’re going to try and get them signed as quick as we can. If not, they’re restricted free agents. We’ll make sure that we leave enough space available to get those guys signed. The cap’s going up. It’s nice to know, with (other) guys signed, what we can do moving forward. And we can always create space.”

Regardless, his upcoming contract will be a difficult one to project. The Athletic speculated in mid-October that Broberg would earn a $6.7MM salary on his next deal, while Rutherford’s recent article now claims it could climb as high as $8MM. Additionally, AFP Analytics projects a $7.32MM price tag if Broberg were to sign a long-term extension.

All three projected salaries would make Broberg the highest-paid defenseman on the team. It’s typical to desire more offense from a blueliner at that price point, though Broberg has proven to be a capable shutdown specialist that can handle a heavy workload.

Five Key Stories: 11/24/25 – 11/30/25

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Late November is usually when teams start to have a better feel for their rosters and what types of moves they need to make.  While there isn’t typically a big uptick on the trade front at this time, some of this week’s key stories are about the trade market to come.

Canucks Open To Offers: It hasn’t been a great couple of months for Vancouver.  The Canucks are only three points ahead of last place in the league which has led to some wondering about if they’d do a big shakeup.  It appears they’re at least willing to listen to offers on their veterans although there is mixed reporting on if they’re just doing so for players on expiring deals or ones with term remaining.  In terms of pending free agents, wingers Kiefer Sherwood and Evander Kane along with center Teddy Blueger, come to mind (although making the cap element work with Kane could be trickier).  Vancouver has been one of the teams willing to make moves early so whether it’s just expirings or other more core pieces, they’ll be a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Extensions In Calgary: There were earlier reports that the Flames were nearing an extension with GM Craig Conroy.  As it turns out, he had already signed one, a two-year deal.  He wasn’t the only one to have a contract announced as President of Hockey Operations Don Maloney and Assistant GMs Dave Nonis and Brad Pascall all received two-year extensions as well.  Oddly enough, the deals were done over the summer but the organization didn’t feel a need to announce them.  Going into the season, Calgary was coming off a better-than-expected year as they just missed the playoffs.  But things haven’t gone anywhere near as well in 2025-26 as they’re second-last in the NHL standings, just one point ahead of Nashville.  But their current management group will be the one to continue to try to bring them forward in their rebuild.

Five For Matheson: Earlier this season, the Canadiens took care of their most prominent pending restricted free agent when they signed blueliner Lane Hutson to an eight-year extension.  This week, they took care of their most prominent pending unrestricted free agent, inking defenseman Mike Matheson to a five-year, $30MM extension.  The 31-year-old has become a top-pairing defender since being acquired from Pittsburgh in 2022 and is only two years removed from a breakout 62-point campaign.  A $6MM price tag is a little below market value but the extra year or two on the contract helped keep the AAV down.  Montreal now has its top four blueliners (Hutson, Matheson, Noah Dobson, and Kaiden Guhle) all signed through at least the 2030-31 season at a combined price tag of $29.85MM.

Done For The Year: Kyle Palmieri’s 2025-26 regular season has come to an abrupt end.  He sustained a torn ACL and will be undergoing surgery that will keep him out of the lineup for six to eight months.  The 34-year-old is tied for second in team scoring with 18 points in 25 games and has been one of their more consistently reliable secondary scorers in recent years.  It has been a rough stretch lately on the injury front for the Isles as Palmieri joins Alexander Romanov as key veterans whose regular seasons ended much earlier than expected.  New York ends the month in a tie for the final playoff spot but their offense has certainly taken a hit with Palmieri’s injury.

Veterans Garnering Interest: As the trade chatter begins to pick up, a pair of veterans appear to be getting some attention, Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry and Blues defenseman Justin Faulk.  Jarry has a 2.74 GAA and a .905 SV% in 10 games this season, numbers that would be his best since 2021-22 if they hold up.  However, he has two more years left after this on his contract with a $5.375MM cap charge and the goalie market isn’t particularly robust in terms of teams looking so it would take some work to get a trade in place.  Meanwhile, Faulk is off to a decent start to his season with 13 points in 26 games on a St. Louis team that has struggled mightily offensively.  He has one more year left after this with a $6.5MM AAV but is a right-shot defender, the side that many teams are often trying to add.  It stands to reason that if the Blues decide to take a step back and move him, they should be able to generate a decent market for his services.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images. 

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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Thanksgiving is the time when we typically get a sense of who the contenders are, which teams could find themselves as sellers, and what the trade market could start to look like.  With that in mind, it’s a good time to open up the mailbag.

Last time, we had two columns worth of questions.  The first talked about the CBA change that eliminated ‘paper transactions’, a prediction for an underperforming team, and if New Jersey could find a way to get the Hughes brothers all on the same team.  Meanwhile, included in the second was what could be next for the Flyers, guessing the type of impact Jonathan Toews would have in Winnipeg, and if we could see a shift to more short-term contracts thanks to the projected bigger jumps in the salary cap.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.

Golden Knights Recall Carter Hart, Assign Carl Lindbom To AHL

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Carter Hart’s two-week conditioning stint has come to an end, and the Golden Knights have recalled him, per the AHL’s transactions log.  In a corresponding move, Vegas has reassigned netminder Carl Lindbom to AHL Henderson.

Hart’s suspension expires on December 1st, which stemmed from the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial during the summer months when he and the four other players charged were found not guilty.  The suspension came from a joint agreement between the league and the NHLPA, with the players waiving their right to an appeal.

Hart is the only player of the five to have signed in the NHL for this season, as he inked a two-year, $4MM contract back in late October.  The 27-year-old got into three games with the Silver Knights and allowed nine goals on 56 shots for a .839 SV% in his first game action since January 2024.  For the time being, he’ll likely split starts with Akira Schmid, who has done pretty well since taking over the starter role in Adin Hill’s absence.

As for Lindbom, he had been up with Vegas since Hill was injured in late October.  The 22-year-old saw his first NHL action while on recall, posting a 3.14 GAA and a .870 SV% in seven starts while he picked up his first win on Saturday against San Jose.  Lindbom has only played twice for Henderson this season, but put up a 2.65 GAA and a .912 SV% in 36 games with them last season.

Snapshots: Panarin, Duchene, Mrazek, Ivan

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While many pending UFAs have recently signed extensions, that hasn’t been the case for Rangers winger Artemi Panarin who is now one of the top veterans on an expiring contract.  With talks between the two sides believed to have not gone well so far, some have wondered if a return to the KHL could even be an option.  Speaking with reporters recently including Mollie Walker of the New York Post (subscription link), the 34-year-old wouldn’t rule the idea out, simply saying that it’s hard to say right now what’s coming next for him.  Despite the contractual uncertainty, Panarin is hovering near the point per game mark and is tied for the team lead in scoring with 26 points and would get plenty of interest if he makes it to the open market next summer.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Stars have been without center Matt Duchene for nearly six weeks due to an upper-body injury. DLLS Sports’ Sam Nestler notes (Twitter link) that the 34-year-old has already technically been medically cleared to return.  However, he continues to experience some lingering symptoms.  As a result, head coach Glen Gulutzan indicated that Duchene will still need to be out a little while longer to get properly conditioned to return.  Duchene has a goal and an assist in four games this season after tallying 82 points in 2024-25.
  • Ducks goaltender Petr Mrazek suffered what appears to be a lower-body in their game against Chicago this afternoon, relays WGN’s Charlie Roumeliotis (Twitter link). He was injured in the third period and while he was able to skate off under his own power, he wasn’t able to return.  Anaheim is already without starter Lukas Dostal so, for the time being, Ville Husso is their top available option.
  • Following their victory over Montreal on Saturday, the Avalanche announced (Twitter link) that they have returned forward Ivan Ivan to AHL Colorado. The 23-year-old got into three games after being recalled up earlier this week, picking up an assist while averaging 8:19 of ice time.  Ivan has played in 18 games in the minors with the Eagles this season, collecting two goals and four assists.

Penguins Assign Tristan Broz And Danton Heinen To AHL

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The Penguins have freed up a pair of spots on their active roster in advance of Monday’s game against Philadelphia.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned forwards Tristan Broz and Danton Heinen to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Broz was recalled back on Monday to get his first taste of NHL action.  He made one appearance, recording two shots on goal in 11:30 of playing time on Wednesday against Buffalo.  The 23-year-old has been productive in the minors, however, collecting eight goals and five assists in 18 games, putting him a little ahead of his offensive pace from last season when he notched 19 goals and 18 helpers in 59 outings with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

As for Heinen, he’s in his second season with the team after being acquired from Vancouver back in February.  He cleared waivers back in training camp and did quite well in the minors, picking up 10 goals and five assists in 14 games.  That earned him a recall four weeks ago.  Heinen played in nine games but was limited to just one assist.  Had he played in one more game or been up for three more days, he’d have needed to pass through waivers unclaimed again to return to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  Accordingly, it’s not too surprising they’ve decided to send him down to ensure he’ll remain available for recall later in the season.

As a result of these moves, Pittsburgh only has 11 healthy forwards on their active roster.  That suggests that there is a recall or two coming on Monday – perhaps winger Rutger McGroarty – or one or more forwards are ready to come off injured reserve.   At the moment, four forwards are on IR for the Penguins – Noel Acciari, Justin Brazeau, Filip Hallander, and Rickard Rakell.  The first two have been skating and could be candidates to be activated.

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