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Lightning Recall Brandon Halverson

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The Lightning announced they’ve recalled goaltender Brandon Halverson from AHL Syracuse. They had an open roster spot after reassigning Maxim Groshev yesterday. They’ve also shifted center Brayden Point to injured reserve, according to Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider, leaving them with an open spot even after Halverson’s addition.

Halverson’s presence indicates there’s a risk that Andrei Vasilevskiy won’t be available for tonight’s game against the Penguins. The team’s Gabby Shirley reports he’s not present at morning skate. He’s not yet carrying an injury designation. Vasilevskiy has started four out of the Bolts’ last five games and looked no worse for wear in his latest start against the Islanders on Tuesday, allowing two goals on 23 shots in a loss.

The 29-year-old Halverson is in his third season in the Tampa organization. He began at the bottom of the ladder as an ECHL signing by the Orlando Solar Bears late in the 2023 offseason before being loaned up to Syracuse and landing a deal with them a few months later. Halverson remained on a minor-league deal through last season, in which the 2014 second-round pick of the Rangers made a career-high 45 appearances with a 2.22 GAA, .915 SV%, five shutouts, and a 22-11-11 record. That delayed breakout earned him an NHL deal from the Bolts in February, essentially serving as a call-up in place of an injured Johansson. It was a two-year, two-way deal, keeping him under contract through this season.

That signing led to Halverson’s first career NHL start late last season, a 6-4 loss to Utah on March 22. It was his second-ever NHL appearance and first in over seven years. While in the Rangers organization, he entered a February 2018 game in relief of Henrik Lundqvist.

While Halverson’s brief NHL resume has seen him post an underwhelming .800 SV% and 5.11 GAA in 71 minutes of action, he’s got a career .901 mark in the AHL over seven seasons. That matches his work for Syracuse this year, along with a 2.58 GAA, two shutouts, and a 9-4-0 record in 13 games.

Point hasn’t played since Nov. 22, so his IR placement is solely for roster management purposes and doesn’t offer any meaningful update to his timeline. He’s dealing with an undisclosed injury and doesn’t yet have a date for his return to the lineup.

Capitals’ Justin Sourdif, John Carlson Out With Injury

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The Washington Capitals declared forward Justin Sourdif and defenseman John Carlson as out just minutes before Wendseday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks. Sourdif was a game-time decision and missed warmups. He has a lower-body injury sustained late in Tuesday’s win over Los Angeles. Carlson took warmups but was ultimately forced out by an upper-body injury.

The Capitals returned Nic Down to the lineup in Sourdif’s absence. Dowd was activated off of injured reserve earlier in the day after missing the last eight games with a lower-body injury. He scored five points in 19 games before sustaining the injury. Chisholm has one point, two penalty minutes, and a plus-one in 10 games. He has operated as Washington’s extra defender all year, after posting 12 points and a minus-five in 66 games with the Minnesota Wild last season.

Sourdif is in the midst of a four-game scoring drought after posting four points in four games in mid-November. Even in that slump, he has earned upwards of 17 and 18 minutes of ice time in recent games. He’s beginning to carve out a prominent role in the Capitals’ bottom-six after joining the team in a summer trade that sent a second-round and sixth-round pick back to the Florida Panthers.

Even at 36, Carlson has remained a star defender for the Capitals. He has 23 points in 26 games this season, tied with Jakob Chychrun for most on the blue-line. Carlson has also recorded a plus-10, 38 blocked shots, and 59 shots on goal. He and Chychrun give Washington two strong offensive-defensemen on two different pairings – a big part of what’s earned the Capitals the fourth-most goals (91) in the NHL this season.

Patrice Bergeron, Niklas Kronwall Among 2026 IIHF Hall Of Fame Inductees

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The International Ice Hockey Federation have announced their 2026 inductions into the IIHF Hall of Fame. The class includes six players – Austria’s Thomas Vanek, Switzerland’s Florence Schelling and Andres Ambuhl, Sweden’s Niklas Kronwall, and Canada’s Patrice Bergeron and Cassie Campbell-Pascall. The IIHF will also induct Ralph Krueger, once a longtime coach for Switzerland, as a builder.

This class is undoubtedly headlined by Bergeron and Kronwall, who each earned entry into the coveted Triple Gold Club, having won Gold Medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships, and a Stanley Cup. Bergeron achieved entry at the young age of 26. He won Gold at the 2004 World Championship, at the age of 19, then joined Team Canada for a historic Gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He capped off the feat by leading the Boston Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup.

Kronwall won Gold in both the Olympics and World Championship in the same year – 2006, when he was 25. It took him two more years to earn a Stanley Cup, as part of a 2008 Detroit Red Wings club that was laden with Hall-of-Fame talent. Both Bergeron and Kronwall were revered NHL skaters – with Bergeron reaching the pinnacle of defensive-forwards while Kronwall was known as one of the hardest-hitting defenders of the 2000’s.

Vanek never won a Gold Medal or Stanley Cup – but his international track record still became revered. He is among Austria’s greats, earning a top-five selection in the 2003 NHL Draft and seeing the country through multiple climbs in the international standings over the course of a 14-year pro career. He helped earn Austria a promotion to the top flight of the World Junior Championships in 2003, after scoring 13 goals and 24 points across just 10 games at the Division-1 level, at the ages of 16 and 17. That scoring earned him the captaincy when Austria returned to the World Juniors in 2003, where Vanek put up four points and 37 penalty minutes in six games. He made his debut at the World Championship in 2004 and the Olympic Game Qualifiers in 2005, though he wouldn’t officially go to the Olympics until 2014. All throughout, Vanek managed 17 points in 19 games at the World Championship and two points in seven games in Olympic events.

Campbell-Pascall was also a routine captain during her international career, though she managed to stock her trophy cabinet quite a bit more. By the end of her career, Campbell-Pascall had earned six Gold Medals and one Silver Medal at the World Championship, as well as two Gold Medals and one Silver Medal at the Olympics. She was a core piece of Canada’s women’s team through the turn of the centruy, offering enough dynamic speed and heads-up instinct to make plays at either the forward or defense positions. Campbell-Pascal captained Canada at two World Championships and two Olympic Games. She scored five points in five games during three of those tournaments – en route to 11 total points in 16 games at the Olympic Games and 31 points in 35 games at the World Championship.

The class closes with a trio of popular names in Switzerland. Ambuhl has long been a cornerstone of Swiss pros, in addition to his international impact. He captained Switzerland’s HC Davos from 2014 to 2024 – and led the club through appearances at the Spengler Cup in every season, as well as routine trips to the Deutschland Cup and Champions Hockey League. Ambuhl also joined Switzerland at the World Championship and Olympics in every year the country attended during his career. He scored 70 points in 151 games, and 20 appearances, at the World Championships; and eight points in 22 games during Olympic events.

Krueger oversaw many of Ambuhl’s first international tournaments. The Canadian-born head coach began his coaching career in Germany’s second league, after a long career in German pros. He then moved to a highly-successful career in Austria that earned him Switzerland’s head coaching role in 1998. Krueger stuck with Switzerland through their next 12 appearances at the World Championshpis and four appearances at the Olympic Games. He never medaled with Switzerland, but did earn a Gold Medal as a team consultant for Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Krueger became a naturalized Swiss citizen in 2019. He was often a vocal advocate for growing relationships between the IIHF and NHL, and helped reshape international tournaments like the Champions Hockey League.

Finally, Schelling was among the most prolific goaltenders in hockey during her 13-year international career that began with an appearance at the World Championship in 2004, when Schelling was only 15. She excelled despite playing older competition, posting a .955 save percentage in four games. Schelling quickly became a fixture of Switzerland’s international lineup after that. She attended Northeastern University in 2008 – with four appearances at the World Championship and two appearances in Olympic Game events already behind her.

Everywhere she went, Schelling challenged lofty save percentages. She posted a .926, .932, and .918 Sv% at the World Championships in 2011, 2012, and 2013 respectively. Those numbers were quickly muted by the .941, .932, .941, and .931 Sv% she managed between appearances at the World Championships and Olympics in 2015, 2016, and 2017. She was a great goalie all the way down to the fundamentals, and was often used as a great example for developing goaltenders around the world. Schelling briefly served as a head coach for Switzerland’s U18 National Team, and served as general manager of SC Bern in 2020.

Photo courtesy of Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports.

Penguins Issue Multiple Injury Updates

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Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas issued a long list of injury updates in his latest GM Show. Most notably, winger Rickard Rakell remains approximately three-to-four weeks away from a hand injury sustained on October 25th. He was forced to undergo surgery for the injury and was desginated as out six-to-eight weeks at the time. He remains on track with that original designation with this update.

Forwards Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari are seven-to-10 days from making their own returns, per Dubas. Both players are currently on injured reserve with upper-body injuries and were cleared for contact at Wednesday’s practice per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Anthony Mantha (maintenance day) and Joona Koppanen (illness) missed practice.

The updates represent a long list of injuries that Pittsburgh has been forced to work around. Multiple absences at the forward position has put pressure on the Penguins’ rookies. Benjamin Kindel has taken on a carved-out role on the team’s third-line, and has been joined by wingers Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen. Pittsburgh also recalled Tristan Broz for his NHL debut last week. The shakeup hasn’t worked in the Penguins’ favor, marked by a lowly 5-5-3 record in November. But they’ve seen plenty of reason for optimism, with Kindel posting six points in 11 games to go with Pittsburgh’s list of young prospects rotating into the lineup.

Pittsburgh has managed to cling onto an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot despite their quiet month. That perserverance could pay off when they begin returning veterans to the lineup. Rakell is a top-line winger on the Penguins. He has eight points in nine games this year, and posted a career-year last season with 35 goals and 70 points, both personal-bests. His chemistry with Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby is outstanding, and gives Pittsburgh a top-line to fear when all three are at full health.

Brazeau was another one of Pittsburgh’s hottest scorers to start the season. He managed six goals and 12 points in Pittsburgh’s first 12 games, marks that still rank him sixth on the team in scoring despite the fact that Brazeau has missed more games (13) than he’s played. He’ll face a tough task returning to that scoring – and a 27.3 shooting percentage – but should be a major addition to Pittsburgh’s middle-six. Acciari, despite his up-and-down play, should also push for third-line minutes. The two will bring size, grit, and veteran experience to the parts of Pittsburgh’s lineup that have had to lean on rookies the most.

Pittsburgh could be a few weeks away from upgrading a lineup that’s already in the playoff discussion. The Eastern Conference has proven extremely competitive this season, but a .911 save percentage in 11 games from Tristan Jarry has proven enough to platoon the Penguins’ record while they wait for their offensive firepower to get back to full health. How Pittsburgh is able to respond to a long list of injuries, and if they can maintain this pace, will become central stories as the NHL approaches 2026.

Pacific Injury Notes: Marchment, Mrazek, Prosvetov

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After losing Jaden Schwartz for the next month and a half a few days ago, the Seattle Kraken are dealing with another injury to a middle-six winger. Earlier today, team broadcast producer Scott Malone reported that Mason Marchment is dealing with an undisclosed injury and won’t travel with the team to Edmonton.

Furthermore, Malone indicated that Marchment didn’t skate in any of the Kraken’s practices this week, although the team is only giving him a day-to-day recovery timeline. Regardless, it’s another absence in the team’s middle-six, albeit brief. Depth forward Jani Nyman will likely fill in tomorrow night against the Oilers, unless Seattle makes a separate recall.

Outside of the minor injury, it’s been a relatively productive year for Marchment in what could be his only year with the Kraken. He’s scored two goals and 11 points in 23 games, which is tied for seventh on the team in scoring. Carrying a $4.5MM salary and a 10-team no-trade clause, there is a high chance that Marchment is moved by the end of the season if Seattle continues their fall out of the Western Conference playoff race.

Additional injury notes from the Pacific Division:

  • Head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, Joel Quenneville, provided an update on injured netminder Petr Mrázek earlier today (via Derek Lee of The Hockey News). Quenneville stated that Mrázek’s lower-body injury would sideline him between two and three weeks. The 14-year veteran had started seven games for the Ducks this season, earning a 3-3-0 record with a .876 SV% and 3.69 GAA. Goaltender Ville Husso, who was recalled last week, will fill in the gap for the time being.
  • The Calgary Flames got an injury scare to one of their organizational netminders last night. Ivan Prosvetov, currently playing for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, left last night’s game with under eight minutes remaining in regulation (Twitter Link). There have been no further updates to his status. Regardless, he finished the game with the win, stopping 31 of 33 shots.

Capitals To Activate Nic Dowd, Reassign Bogdan Trineyev

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The Washington Capitals should be getting a boost to their bottom-six tonight against the San Jose Sharks. According to Sammi Silber of the DC Backcheck, the Capitals have activated Nic Dowd from the injured reserve and assigned Bogdan Trineyev to the AHL’s Hershey Bears in a corresponding roster move.

Dowd has been participating in a few skates over the last couple of days, but hasn’t played since mid-November. The 11-year veteran has been recovering from an upper-body injury since November 17th, missing eight games in the process.

Before his absence, Dowd was again his steady self down the middle for Washington. He typically centered a line between Justin Sourdif and Brandon Duhaime, and the trio combined for a 53.3% xGoals% according to MoneyPuck.

Regarding the boxcar stats, Dowd was relatively quiet, scoring one goal and five points in 19 games with a 51.0% success rate in the faceoff dot. He’s additionally averaged nearly two hits per game and has managed a 94.6% on-ice save percentage at even strength — far and away the best on the team for those who have played in more than 10 games.

Meanwhile, Trineyev’s recall lasts exactly one week, without an NHL debut. He’ll return to the Bears, where he’s gotten off to the best start of his career, scoring six goals and 12 points in 15 games. To put that production into context, the former 117th overall pick finished last season with 14 goals and 22 points in 62 games. Should he continue his pace, which admittedly is unrealistic, Trineyev would more than double last year’s performance if he plays in 62 or more games.

St. Louis Blues Recall Matt Luff

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The St. Louis Blues have recalled a stopgap as the team navigates multiple injuries to their forward core. According to a team announcement, the Blues have recalled veteran depth forward Matt Luff from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds.

It’s been several years since Luff last played in the NHL. Dating back to the 2022-23 season, Luff played 19 games for the Detroit Red Wings, scoring two goals and four points with a -4 rating, while averaging less than 10 minutes of ice time per game.

He actually spent one additional year within the Red Wings organization, although he played exclusively for their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids. Before that season with Detroit, and a one-year stint with the Nashville Predators, Luff had spent three years as a depth forward for the Los Angeles Kings, registering 10 goals and 17 points in 64 games.

Without a pathway back to the NHL, Luff settled on a PTO with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers last season before ultimately signing a one-year AHL deal with Springfield. It turned out beneficial for both sides as Luff enjoyed the best season of his professional career, tallying 18 goals and 45 points in 50 games. That extra offense was enough to earn the Thunderbirds a spot in the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, though they were eliminated in the First Round by the Providence Bruins.

Regardless, there’s no guarantee Luff will suit up in another NHL contest during this recall. The Blues are reportedly leaning toward giving Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, who was recalled yesterday, his NHL debut. Additionally, Pius Suter is expected to return to the lineup after missing St. Louis’ previous two games.

Flyers’ Tyson Foerster Out Two To Three Months

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Dec. 3rd: As expected, the Flyers announce that they’ve placed Foerster on the injured reserve. The transaction opens up a spot on Philadelphia’s 23-man roster.

Dec. 2nd: Flyers winger Tyson Foerster is expected to miss two to three months with the upper-body injury he sustained in last night’s loss to the Penguins, the team announced.

The news sidelines Foerster, who leads the Flyers with 10 goals in 21 games, through the Olympic break. It was a non-contact injury as Foerster appeared to hyperextend his right shoulder or otherwise injure the upper arm area while unloading a one-timer midway through the second period (video via Flyers Clips on X).

It’s been a rough ride for the 23-year-old over the past few months. His status for opening night was doubtful through much of training camp after he sustained an elbow injury while playing for Canada at the World Championship back in May. The procedure itself wasn’t expected to keep him out through the start of the season, but he developed a related infection that delayed his recovery. He ended up not missing any time but sustained a lower-body injury at the beginning of November that landed him on injured reserve and kept him out for four games.

This absence will be in the 30-game range, though. If he returns right at the two-month mark, he could technically get a few reps in before the Olympic break – the Flyers’ last game before the schedule pause is on Feb. 5. But in the likely event he’s out until Philly resumes play on Feb. 25 (or even later if he misses a full three months), he’ll be out for at least 31 contests.

Under new head coach Rick Tocchet, the Flyers have flexed a high-end defensive system and a breakout season between the pipes from free-agent pickup Daniel Vladař to a 14-8-3 record, good for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference at the time of writing. Their offensive output, however, ranks 26th in goals per game (2.76) and 29th in shots per game (24.8). Missing their best finisher in Foerster, who’s shooting at a 24.4% clip and also ranks fifth on the team in shots per game, threatens to sink those numbers even further.

Since arriving in the NHL in 2023, Foerster has quietly emerged as one of the league’s better young two-way wingers. The 2020 first-round pick is a career 15.9% shooter – right in range with names like Auston Matthews, Zach Hyman, and Elias Pettersson over the same span. He’s also averaged over 17 minutes per game, factors in on the Flyers’ second penalty kill unit, and consistently boasts above-average possession impacts. He’s been on a different level defensively this year, only on the ice for 0.88 goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.

Fresh off signing a two-year, $7.5MM extension that looked to be one of the best value bets in the league this season, he’s now ticketed for an extended absence. As for who will be the beneficiary of his top-nine minutes, rookie Nikita Grebenkin is a solid bet to get the first crack. He’s already seen some elevation from his usual fourth-line duties, skating a handful of games alongside Noah Cates and Travis Konecny. The offensive production hasn’t quite arrived for the 22-year-old Russian, who’s notched one goal and three points through 16 games, but boasts solid possession numbers in his limited minutes and is worth a look higher up in the lineup.

With Foerster unavailable, the Flyers no longer have a healthy extra forward on their roster. With five games left on a six-game homestand, there likely isn’t much motivation to make a recall unless another injury occurs.

Lightning Place Niko Huuhtanen On Unconditional Waivers

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Dec. 3rd: Although the Lightning have yet to make an announcement, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times confirms that Huuhtanen has cleared unconditional waivers, and his contract was terminated.

Dec. 2nd: The Lightning placed winger Niko Huuhtanen on unconditional waivers today, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He will have his contract terminated tomorrow if he clears, and will become an unrestricted free agent.

Huuhtanen’s stock as a prospect has resembled a bell curve. Tampa Bay selected the 22-year-old in the seventh round with the final pick of the 2021 draft out of his native Finland, where he’d scored 20 goals and 34 points in 37 junior league games in the Tappara organization. He came to North America to finish his junior career in 2021-22 as an import draft selection by the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. There, he exploded for 37 goals and 77 points in 65 games, leading the league in goals by a rookie. He returned home the following season to begin his pro career, where he again adjusted seamlessly, putting up a 17-13–30 scoring line in 48 games for Jukurit to win the rookie scoring crown and earn Liiga Rookie of the Year honors.

By that time, Huuhtanen was on the map as a potential NHLer. Elite Prospects tabbed him as the No. 11 prospect in Tampa’s system entering the 2023-24 season, noting that his skating mechanics were still an issue despite his gaudy production in juniors and overseas. They were onto something. While Huuhtanen remained in Finland and had continued success with Jukurit that year, notching 19 goals and 46 points in 52 games, that was the last time he looked like he had a legitimate chance of reaching the top level.

Huuhtanen signed his entry-level contract with the Bolts in 2024 and arrived last season to play out the year with AHL Syracuse. As forewarned, the production didn’t translate as either side had hoped. The 6’3″ winger was limited to eight goals in 51 appearances, although he did add 12 assists for 20 points and a respectable +13 rating.

This season, though, he’s seen a further reduction in role. He started the season on the non-roster list due to an undisclosed injury. When he got healthy and was assigned to Syracuse at the beginning of November, he had a two-assist game in his debut but didn’t stick in the lineup. After just five games with three assists, the Bolts sent Huuhtanen down to ECHL Orlando. He suited up once for them on Nov. 22 and hasn’t appeared since.

Huuhtanen has still managed 23 points in 56 career regular-season AHL games. That might be enough for him to catch on with another NHL team on a two-way deal since he’s still relatively young, but in all likelihood, he’s angling for a return to Europe and will sign a new deal in the coming days.

Central Injury Notes: Brindley, O’Connor, Hellebuyck, McCarron

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Speaking on Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio (via Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette), head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Jared Bednar, provided a few injury updates to forwards Gavin Brindley and Logan O’Connor. In a positive development, Bednar indicated that Brindley is ahead of schedule and is expected to return by the end of the team’s current road trip.

Brindley, 21, has been a valuable depth scorer for the Avalanche this season, registering four goals and seven points in 18 games, averaging 9:17 of ice time per night. That production in so few minutes garnered a two-year, $1.75MM extension from Colorado earlier in the season. Despite offering quality production in the team’s bottom-six, it’s difficult to say if the scorching Avalanche even noticed Brindley’s absence, as they’ve managed a 5-0-1 record in the six games without him so far while outscoring opponents 22-6.

Meanwhile, Bednar was more neutral when speaking on O’Connor. The seven-year veteran hasn’t played since Colorado’s Game Seven loss to the Dallas Stars last postseason due to a hip injury, and the team is still waiting for a clearer picture of his return.

Other injury updates from the Central Division:

  • According to Mitchell Clinton of the Winnipeg Jets, the team is expected to have netminder Connor Hellebuyck resume skating relatively soon. Although he won’t be returning early, it’s a positive update that Hellebuyck is staying on his original recovery timeline at the very least and has not suffered a setback. In the report, head coach Scott Arniel jokingly said, “I’m going to make sure he has four yellow (non-contact) jerseys on.” Winnipeg is 2-5-0 without Hellebuyck, allowing 25 goals against on 204 shots (.877 SV%).
  • It doesn’t appear that Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron will miss any more time with a lower-body injury. Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean reports that McCarron fully participated in practice today after missing the team’s most recent contest against the Calgary Flames. The bottom-six center has scored one goal and five points in 25 games for the Predators this season, with a 53.8% success rate in the faceoff dot.

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