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Kraken Recall John Hayden

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The Kraken recalled right-winger John Hayden from AHL Coachella Valley on Thursday, the team said in an announcement.

Hayden, 29, comes up in anticipation of Daniel Sprong coming off the active roster later today. Seattle placed Sprong on waivers yesterday, so the Dutch winger will likely be unavailable for tonight’s game against the Blue Jackets, either by virtue of being claimed by another team or being reassigned to Coachella Valley.

It’s the second recall of the season for Hayden, who cleared waivers at the end of training camp. The pot-stirring winger made his season debut against the Avalanche on Nov. 5, recording a minor penalty and four hits in 8:54 of ice time.

Hayden is in his third season in the Kraken organization, but he’s appeared in only 10 NHL games during that time. He’s spent most of his time in Coachella Valley, where the Chicago native serves as an alternate captain and has 18 points in 30 games this season.

He won’t provide nearly as much offensive upside as Sprong in a depth role, but he does know the ropes. Initially a third-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2013, Hayden has 250 NHL games under his belt with Chicago and Seattle as well as the Sabres, Devils, and Coyotes.

Hayden is not expected to suit up in tonight’s contest. He’ll likely sit in the press box while Tye Kartye and Brandon Tanev flank the fourth line, centered by Mitchell Stephens.

The Kraken have a full active roster for now but will have an open spot when Sprong is removed in a couple of hours. Hayden carries a league-minimum cap hit of $775K on a one-way deal for this season and will have the opportunity to test unrestricted free agency this summer.

Canucks Reassign Arturs Silovs

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The Canucks reassigned goaltender Arturs Silovs to AHL Abbotsford on Thursday, general manager Patrik Allvin said in a team announcement. The move signals Thatcher Demko, who’s missed Vancouver’s last three games with back spasms, should be available Friday against the Hurricanes. Head coach Rick Tocchet told Dan Murphy of Sportsnet before Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Capitals that the latter was close to returning.

Silovs, 23, had been on the Canucks’ roster since Friday, the day after Demko left his start against the Kraken due to a collision with teammate Noah Juulsen. He backed up Kevin Lankinen while Demko was unavailable and didn’t get into any game action.

Vancouver has shuffled the Latvian native between leagues a handful of times this season. However, he hasn’t played an NHL contest since Demko returned from the lingering knee injury that ended his 2024 playoff run after one game in late November.

Starting the season as Lankinen’s backup while Demko was unavailable, Silovs made it clear he needs more development time in the minors. The 2019 sixth-round pick posted a 1-4-1 record in six starts and one relief appearance, underwhelming with a .847 SV% and 4.11 GAA and just one quality start.

Silovs burst onto the scene in the 2024 playoffs after Demko and then-backup Casey DeSmith exited their first-round series against the Predators with injuries. He started 10 straight contests, carrying them to a series win over Nashville and a Game 7 loss to the Oilers in the second round, posting a .898 SV%, 2.91 GAA, and one shutout.

In five games with Abbotsford this season, Silovs has a .900 SV% and 2.44 GAA with a 2-3-0 record. The 2023 World Championship MVP signed a two-year, $1.7MM contract to return to the Canucks in July after a couple of weeks on the restricted free agent market.

Rangers To Activate Igor Shesterkin From Injured Reserve

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11:03 a.m.: Domingue has been assigned to Hartford as expected, per a team announcement.

9:55 a.m.: The Rangers will activate star netminder Igor Shesterkin from injured reserve ahead of Thursday’s game against the Devils, head coach Peter Laviolette told Peter Baugh of The Athletic.

Shesterkin, 29, will start for the first time since Dec. 30 after missing over a week with an upper-body injury. The Blueshirts don’t have an open roster spot, so they’ll likely return No. 3 goalie Louis Domingue to AHL Hartford today after recalling him on New Year’s Eve in Shesterkin’s absence.

The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner struggled in his last two starts before his injury. He allowed nine goals on 38 shots (.763 SV%) in back-to-back losses against the Lightning and Panthers, including being pulled in the second period against Tampa after allowing five goals on 13 shots.

Shesterkin had allowed just five goals on 106 shots in his three prior starts, further evidence of what’s been a streaky 2024-25 campaign for the all-world netminder. On the whole, he’s tracking for the worst campaign of his six-year career with a .906 SV%, 3.10 GAA, 11-15-1 record, and one shutout in 27 starts.

Quite a bit of his struggles can be attributed to the team in front of him, though. He’s still managed to save 9.5 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, good for 11th in the league. On a per-hour basis, he’s saving more goals above expected than his 2020-21 and 2023-24 seasons in which he had save percentages of .916 and .912.

He’s still shown better throughout his career, namely his sparkling .935 SV% in 53 games in 2021-22. After signing him to a record-breaking eight-year, $92MM extension last month, the Rangers are hoping he’s closer to that form down the stretch than to the numbers he’s put up over the past few months.

The Rangers went 2-1-1 in Shesterkin’s four-game absence. Domingue stopped 25 of 27 shots in a 6-2 win over the Blackhawks on Sunday, the lone appearance of his call-up. Veteran Jonathan Quick started the other three, posting a .879 SV%.

The 32-year-old Domingue will presumably return to Hartford, where he’s struggled to the tune of a .888 SV%, 3.64 GAA, and a 4-9-2 record through 14 games. The veteran has lost his grip on the minor-league starting job to prospect Dylan Garand, who’s begging for an NHL promotion after logging a .929 SV% through his first 16 outings this season.

Minnesota Wild Recall David Jiříček

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Jan. 9: Shore is back up to the NHL today, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. His reassignment was part of optimizing the Wild’s cap space when transferring Jakub Lauko to long-term injured reserve yesterday. Shore is expected to play against the Avalanche on Thursday.

Jan. 8: The injury bug continues to affect the names and faces on the blue line for the Minnesota Wild. In another roster move to bring a defenseman to the NHL level, the Wild announced they’ve recalled defenseman David Jiříček to the active roster and sent forward Devin Shore to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild.

The need for another defenseman was created last night when Brock Faber left the game due to an upper-body injury. Given that defensive prospect Carson Lambos was already filling in as a depth defenseman for the injured Jared Spurgeon, one of Lambos or Jiříček is expected to debut with the Wild tomorrow night against the Colorado Avalanche.

It’s more insult to injury for a Minnesota roster that has struggled through injuries this season. In just over a week, they’ve lost two out of their top three defensemen to injury and will have to navigate their upcoming schedule with a diminished blue line. Still, the Wild remain undefeated in the new year and are 6-4-0 in their last 10 contests.

Given that Jiříček is one of two healthy right-handed shooting defensemen on the roster he’ll likely get the nod over Lambos in tomorrow’s game. Still, it could be a toss-up between the two blue liners given their play in the AHL this season.

Before being acquired by the Wild from the Columbus Blue Jackets in one of this season’s biggest trades, Jiříček scored two goals and three points in four games for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters one year after registering seven goals and 19 points in 29 games with the same team.

His time in Iowa has not been as fruitful. Jiříček has only tallied two assists in 11 games with the AHL Wild. It’s likely more of a testament to Iowa’s playstyle rather than a step backward in Jiříček’s development given the team only has one defenseman with 10 or more points this year.

Returning to the AHL is Shore, who has been a bright spot for Iowa this year. He’s scored two goals and 10 points in 14 games as an assistant captain for AHL Iowa while tallying one assist in 21 games in Minnesota averaging 8:21 of ice time per game.

Blue Jackets Place Sean Monahan On Injured Reserve

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The Blue Jackets placed top center Sean Monahan on injured reserve on Thursday, general manager Don Waddell said in a team release. His roster spot went to fellow pivot Owen Sillinger, who was recalled from AHL Cleveland under emergency conditions in a corresponding transaction.

Monahan, 30, will miss at least three games with the wrist injury he sustained in Tuesday’s shootout win over the Penguins, something Waddell hinted at to Jeff Marek of Daily Faceoff yesterday. Health permitting, he will be eligible to return on Jan. 16 against the Sharks, but without a more specific injury designation from the club, it’s hard to project a return date.

In the meantime, Monahan’s absence is a humongous one for a Columbus squad that’s keeping pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race, currently hanging onto the second wild-card spot with an 18-17-6 record and 42 points. The Ontario native has been resurgent in his first year with the Jackets, on pace to record a point per game for the first time since 2018-19 and just the second time overall in his 12-year NHL career.

At the halfway point of the campaign, Monahan ranks third on the Jackets in goals (14), assists (27) and points (41) while averaging 19:27 per game, which is tops among forwards. His lines, with Kirill Marchenko on the right wing and either Yegor Chinakhov or Dmitri Voronkov on the left wing, have been among the most dominant in the league at controlling play at 5-on-5, recording expected goal shares of 64.9% and 59.0%, respectively, per MoneyPuck. 

The raw goal totals are something to behold, especially for the Voronkov-flanked unit. That trio has outscored opponents 22-5 at 5-on-5. Only three lines – Brayden Point’s in Tampa, Artemi Panarin’s in Manhattan, and Mark Scheifele’s in Winnipeg, have been on the ice for more goals this season.

2023 third-overall pick Adam Fantilli will step into Monahan’s shoes between Voronkov and Marchenko for tonight’s game against the Kraken. The 20-year-old will look to build on a somewhat disappointing offensive campaign, on pace for 18 goals and 38 points through 82 games. While a left calf laceration truncated Fantilli’s rookie year at 49 appearances last season, he was on pace for 20 goals and 45 points.

Monahan is the fourth Blue Jackets forward to land on IR, joining Chinakhov, Justin Danforth, and captain Boone Jenner.

Whether the 27-year-old Sillinger, the older brother of Columbus’ Cole Sillinger, makes his NHL debut tonight remains to be seen. The club also recalled Luca Del Bel Belluz from Cleveland on Wednesday, and PuckPedia projects him to center the fourth line against Seattle while Sillinger sits in the press box, serving as last-minute injury insurance. He could play if Cole, who head coach Dean Evason said will be a game-time decision with an illness, can’t play.

The elder Sillinger has spent his entire professional career in the Columbus organization, first joining as an undrafted free agent signing by Cleveland out of Bemidji State in 2022. After a few years on minor-league deals, he earned his first NHL contract with the Jackets last June.

Serving as an alternate captain in Cleveland, Sillinger has eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points through 34 AHL games. That ties him for fourth on the club in scoring, doing well to at least put himself in consideration for an NHL game or two. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Snapshots: Edstrom, Lauko, Cristall, McCue

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In an appearance on 102.5 The Game (audio link), Predators GM Barry Trotz indicated that he has been getting calls about prospect center David Edstrom.  One of the key pieces coming to Nashville in the Yaroslav Askarov trade, Edstrom is coming off a strong showing for Sweden at the World Juniors that saw him pick up six points in seven games while he has 13 points in 22 games with SHL Frolunda as well.  One of their better prospects, it’d be difficult to see them flipping Edstrom so soon unless the Preds drastically turn their fortunes around in the coming weeks to become buyers at the trade deadline.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The Wild announced (Twitter link) that they have placed winger Jakub Lauko on LTIR retroactive to December 14th. The move comes just one day after they exited LTIR with the activation of Jacob Middleton.  PuckPedia notes (Twitter link) that today’s recall of David Jiricek allowed them to get his bonuses into their LTIR pool which could be useful if Lauko’s stint on LTIR is a lengthy one.  The bonuses would stay in their pool even if Jiricek is subsequently reassigned to the minors again.  Lauko has four points and 48 hits in 24 games while averaging ten minutes a night of playing time.
  • With the trade deadlines fast approaching in the CHL, there have been some notable moves made in recent days. The latest of those saw WHL Spokane acquire Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall, per a team release in exchange for a prospect and five draft picks including a pair of first-round selections.  The 19-year-old was rated by some as a first-round pick in 2023 although he ultimately slipped to 40th overall.  After putting up an impressive 111 points last season, Cristall is on pace to beat that this year with 26 goals and 34 assists in just 28 outings.  Already signed to his entry-level deal, Cristall will be playing professionally next season.
  • Maple Leafs prospect Sam McCue is on the move in the OHL as Flint announced that they’ve acquired the winger from Owen Sound. The 19-year-old was a seventh-round pick last year, going 216th overall in his second year of eligibility and will be eligible to play in the minors next season.  McCue has 18 goals and 13 assists in 35 games so far this season.

Injury Updates: Monahan, Zetterlund, Walman, Faksa

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The Blue Jackets will be without Sean Monahan for a little while.  Speaking with Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek (video link), team President and GM Don Waddell indicated that the veteran is dealing with a wrist injury, one that will keep him out for “some time, hopefully not a long time.”  Monahan was expected to get a bone scan today to help determine how much time he’ll be out for.  The 30-year-old has fit in quite well with Columbus this season, notching 14 goals and 27 assists in 41 games while logging 19:27 per night, his highest ATOI since his sophomore year a decade ago.  In doing so, he has given them a legitimate number one center, a spot they’ve been looking to fill for quite some time although they’ll be looking to fill that role with someone else for the time being.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Sharks winger Fabian Zetterlund is dealing with a lower-body issue but should still be able to play on Friday versus Utah, mentions Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). The injury hasn’t resulted in him missing any time yet although he hasn’t taken part in several practices due to it.  After a strong first year in San Jose, Zetterlund is producing at a slightly better rate this year despite the lingering injury, posting 11 goals and 16 assists through the first 43 games of the season.
  • Still with the Sharks, defenseman Jake Walman is also hoping to be available for Friday’s game against Utah, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). Walman has yet to play since the holiday break due to a lower-body issue of his own.  He has been one of the breakout performers of the season after coming over in an offseason move from Detroit and has five goals and 20 assists in 31 appearances so far while logging nearly 23 minutes a game, numbers that lead San Jose’s blueliners.
  • Blues center Radek Faksa is nearing a return to the lineup and could be an option to suit up on Thursday, relays Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (Twitter link). The soon-to-be 31-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury and has played just once in the last four weeks.  In his first season with St. Louis, Faksa hasn’t been a big offensive contributor thus far, carrying that over from his time in Dallas.  He has two goals and five assists through his first 30 outings and if the Blues wind up selling before the March 7th trade deadline, he could be on the move with several teams undoubtedly looking to add center depth in the coming weeks.

Red Wings Recall Ville Husso, Place Jeff Petry On IR

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After Alex Lyon left last night’s game against Ottawa after one period due to an upper-body injury, it appears his availability for Friday’s contest versus Chicago is in some question.  The team announced (Twitter links) that goaltender Ville Husso has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids.  To make room on the roster, defenseman Jeff Petry has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 2nd.

Husso is up with Detroit for the fifth time already this season after he cleared waivers back at the start of the season.  The 29-year-old has played in eight games with the Red Wings so far in 2024-25, putting up a 3.47 GAA and a .877 SV%, numbers that don’t come close to justifying his $4.75MM price tag on a contract that expires at the end of the season.

However, he has fared quite better in his limited action with the Griffins.  In eight appearances with them, Husso has a 1.86 GAA with a .935 SV% in his first taste of longer-term AHL time since the 2018-19 season.  He is very close to reaching 30 days on the NHL roster and when that threshold is reached (or if he plays in two more games in Detroit), he’ll need to pass through waivers again before he can be returned to Grand Rapids.

As for Petry, he has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury.  The 37-year-old has had a quiet season offensively, notching just one goal and five assists in his first 37 outings although he’s still averaging over 19 minutes a night of playing time.  The retroactive placement means he’ll have missed seven days before Friday’s matchup, meaning that he’ll be eligible to be activated as early as that game if he’s cleared to return.

Anaheim Ducks Recall Sam Colangelo

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Sam Colangelo is receiving another opportunity to prove his worth at the NHL level. The Anaheim Ducks announced they’ve recalled Colangelo from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.

Colangelo has already accrued eight games with Anaheim this season thanks to a lengthier call-up in mid-November. He was given a consistent role in the team’s bottom six and picked up 14 hits and 10 shots on goal but failed to find the scoresheet.

The Ducks organization isn’t viewing Colangelo’s lack of production in the NHL as an indication of his talent level. The former 36th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft has been flat-out electric at the AHL level scoring 13 goals and 22 points in 24 games during his rookie campaign and is leading the Gulls in scoring.

While Colangelo may not be a top contender for the Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award, which is given annually to the AHL’s most outstanding rookie, he is certainly in the running and could potentially earn a spot on the All-Rookie Team by the end of the season.

Unfortunately for Colangelo, unless another roster move is made before the team’s upcoming matchup against the St. Louis Blues tomorrow night, it’s unlikely he’ll crack the lineup given he’s the 14th forward on the active roster. Still, should Anaheim desire more offense in their bottom six, they could swap out Ross Johnston or Jansen Harkins on the team’s fourth line.

Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Luca Del Bel Belluz

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The American Hockey League’s highest-scoring player is headed to the NHL. The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they’ve recalled Luca Del Bel Belluz from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

Del Bel Belluz is 34 games through the second professional season of his career and is becoming quite the prospect in the Blue Jackets organization. He’s scored 17 goals and 20 assists in those games and although he doesn’t lead the AHL in either category he is leading in total production.

It’s a significant step forward for the 21-year-old drafted 44th overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2022 NHL Draft. Del Bel Belluz has already blown past the final production of his rookie campaign last year when he scored nine goals and 31 points in 58 contests.

Given that AHL Cleveland only has a +8 goal differential through the first 34 games, it’s a testament to Del Bel Belluz’s development on the defensive side of the puck that he’s managed a +9 rating through this point in the regular season. He’ll likely play in the second game of his career with Columbus tomorrow night should Sean Monahan’s upper-body injury keep him out of the lineup.

Another bonus for Del Bel Belluz this year is that he’ll compete for a playoff spot no matter where he’s at. The Monsters are only one point back of the North Division-leading Rochester Americans while the Blue Jackets are holding on to the final wild-card spot in the tightly wound Eastern Conference.

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