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Lightning Recall Jakob Pelletier And Jack Finley, Place Brandon Hagel On IR

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The Lightning have brought up a pair of wingers in advance of their game tonight against Carolina.  The team announced that they have recalled Jakob Pelletier and Jack Finley from AHL Syracuse.

Pelletier is in his first season with Tampa Bay after signing a three-year deal with them in free agency.  However, he didn’t make the team in training camp and cleared waivers, paving the way for him to be sent down.

The 24-year-old played in one game with the Lightning in mid-November but has been with the Crunch exclusively beyond that.  Pelletier has been quite productive in Syracuse as he’s tied for the league lead in scoring with 15 goals and 16 assists in just 24 games.  Nearly a career point-per-game player in the minors (161 points in 163 outings), it will be interesting to see if he gets more of an offensive look with some of Tampa Bay’s better forwards banged up.

To that end, team reporter Benjamin Pierce relays that winger Brandon Hagel will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury sustained earlier in the week against Florida.  While not announced by the team, he has been moved to injured reserve, per the NHL’s Media Site, meaning he’ll likely be out through the holiday break.  The 27-year-old has been one of Tampa Bay’s top performers this season, collecting 18 goals and 13 assists in 31 games.  Meanwhile, winger Nikita Kucherov is listed as a game-time decision due to illness.

Finley, meanwhile, returns from a conditioning stint that lasted just three games.  He did well in those outings, picking up a goal and two assists while getting a chance to play a much bigger role than he did with Tampa Bay.  The 23-year-old has been limited to just 11 games with the Lightning this season where he has a goal and an assist while averaging 8:49 per game of ice time.  More specifically, he had only suited up twice since November 25th so the timing was right for him to go down and get some work in with the Crunch.

Sabres Fire Associate GM Jason Karmanos

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It turns out a GM change wasn’t the only front office move the Sabres are making this week.  New GM Jarmo Kekalainen has made his first big change as the team announced that associate GM Jason Karmanos has been relieved of his duties.

The 51-year-old has been involved with an NHL team for the better part of three decades now.  Karmanos started his career in Carolina as an assistant GM in 1998 while his father was the principal owner of the team.  He remained in that role until 2013.

After a year out of the league, Karmanos resurfaced in Pittsburgh’s front office under GM Jim Rutherford, with whom he worked in Carolina.  It wasn’t long before he became an assistant GM there as well, a title he held until being let go in October 2020.

Later that season, now-former Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams brought Karmanos in with a more prominent role as associate GM and GM of AHL Rochester.  However, he remained based out of Pittsburgh, often working remotely.  At this point, no replacement has been named for either role so in the interim, either Kekalainen or assistants Mark Jakubowski or Jerry Forton will shoulder the extra responsibilities.

Flyers Recall Aleksei Kolosov On Emergency Basis

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Needing an extra goalie following the announcement that Daniel Vladar is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, the Flyers have recalled goaltender Aleksei Kolosov from AHL Lehigh Valley.  Philadelphia had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made.

It’s the second recall of the season for the 23-year-old.  Kolosov got into two games during his first stint in early November, making one start while coming into the game in relief in the other.  He fared well in those outings, turning aside 26 of 28 shots.  That’s certainly a positive sign after he struggled mightily in his first taste of NHL action last season which saw him post a 3.59 GAA and a .867 SV% in 17 outings with the Flyers.

Those struggles played a big role in the team going out and signing Vladar in free agency over the summer to try to stabilize things between the pipes which he has certainly done.  That has resulted in Kolosov spending most of the year with the Phantoms where he has played in 15 games, compiling a 2.77 GAA along with a .900 SV%.

The team also announced that center Christian Dvorak is also out today with a lower-body injury; like Vladar, he’s listed as day-to-day.  His spot in the lineup today will be taken by Denver Barkey, who will make his NHL debut after being recalled on Friday.

Wild Activate Four Players, Place Two On IR

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The Wild have been quite active when it comes to roster moves today.  Michael Russo of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that defensemen Jonas Brodin and Jacob Middleton along with forwards Mats Zuccarello and Vinnie Hinostroza have all been activated off injured reserve.  In corresponding moves, defenseman Zach Bogosian and Daemon Hunt were both moved to IR.

Brodin has missed a little more than a week with a lower-body injury.  The 32-year-old has been his usual reliable self defensively for Minnesota this season, sitting second on the team in blocked shots with 66 while being one of their most-used penalty killers.  Through 30 outings, he has three goals and six assists and is logging over 22 minutes per game of ice time for the sixth straight year.  With them facing Edmonton’s strong attack this afternoon, his return to their shutdown pairing will certainly be a welcome one.

As for Middleton, he has missed the last couple of weeks with an upper-body issue.  After averaging nearly a career-high 22 minutes per game last season, his role has been more limited this year.  Through 28 games, the 29-year-old has six assists along with 43 blocks and 42 hits while playing 18:08 per night, slotting in fifth among Minnesota’s defenders.  He also takes a regular turn on their penalty kill and should give that unit a boost as well.

Zuccarello has also missed the last couple of weeks with an upper-body injury but that’s not the only time he has been on the shelf this season.  As a result, the 38-year-old has been limited to just 15 games so far.  However, Zuccarello has been productive in those outings, picking up two goals and ten assists in a little under 18 minutes per night of playing time.  He should slot back into a top-six role and deepen Minnesota’s offensive depth.

Hinostroza, meanwhile, had missed the last month with a lower-body issue.  Before being sidelined, he had been a regular in the bottom six for the Wild although offensive production was hard to come by as he has just two goals and three assists in 22 games thus far.  While Hinostroza has spent a lot of this season on the wing, he is a natural center and with their depth down the middle taking a hit with last week’s trade that saw Marco Rossi go to Vancouver, having another veteran who can play down the middle when needed will help.

As for those landing on IR, Bogosian has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury.  If the placement is backdated to December 14th (the day he was injured), he technically would be eligible to be activated as soon as Sunday.  Having said that, they have an open roster spot after these moves so if Bogosian was that close to returning, they likely wouldn’t have placed him on IR in the first place.  An 18-year NHL veteran, Bogosian has had a fairly limited role when he has been in the lineup this season, logging around 15 minutes per game of ice time while chipping in with two points in 17 outings.

Lastly, Hunt has played sparingly this season, suiting up in just a dozen games, suffering an undisclosed injury in the last of those on Tuesday.  The 23-year-old is waiver-eligible and it’s clear that Minnesota doesn’t want to risk putting him on the wire so he has often served as their reserve defender.  Hunt has two assists and 18 blocks in a dozen outings but is averaging just 12:26 per night.  There is no word on how long he or Bogosian will be out.

Montreal Canadiens Reassign Jared Davidson

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After acquiring Phillip Danault from the Los Angeles Kings yesterday evening, the Montreal Canadiens had one extra player on their active roster. To return to compliance, the Canadiens announced that they’ve assigned forward Jared Davidson to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

Davidson, 23, is in his third professional season and is 15 games away from registering his rookie campaign in the NHL. The native of Edmonton, AB, was drafted by Montreal with the 130th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft.

After concluding his major junior career with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, Davidson joined AHL Laval for the 2023-24 season. He finished 18th on the team in scoring but ninth in goal-scoring with 11 goals and 16 points in 38 games.

He came into his own last season and elevated his status to being a legitimate prospect for Montreal. Davidson scored 24 goals and 45 points in 69 games for the Rocket last year with a +25 rating. He finished second on the team in goal-scoring and third in total output, while also adding two goals and four points in 13 postseason contests as Laval reached the Eastern Conference Final.

His start to the 2025-26 campaign made him an obvious choice to replace Alex Newhook once he landed on the injured reserve in mid-November. He remains tied for sixth on the Rocket in scoring with nine goals and 11 points in 13 games. Unfortunately, that offensive success didn’t translate to his brief time with the Canadiens, as he registered only one assist in 10 contests.

Still, Davidson was extremely limited in his usage, averaging 8:43 of ice time per night. Additionally, he’s been a healthy scratch for seven contests. Regardless, his 18 hits show he’s unafraid to get involved physically, and should remain a prime recall candidate if the Canadiens run into injury trouble again.

Blues Reportedly Have Brayden Schenn, Pavel Buchnevich On Trade Block

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It’s not a foregone conclusion that the St. Louis Blues will be major sellers leading up to this year’s trade deadline, though it’s certainly shaping up that way. In two separate reports, Chris Johnston of The Athletic writes that center Brayden Schenn could be the first domino to fall, while TheFourthPeriod’s David Pagnotta suggested in Inside Sports with Brenden Escott that Pavel Buchnevich’s name has popped up in trade chatter.

The updates come only a few days after General Manager Doug Armstrong declared that there were no untouchables on the Blues’ roster. Armstrong has the opportunity to collect multiple prospects, as well as draft capital, to set St. Louis up for its next generation as the front office transitions to Alexander Steen next season.

Schenn, 34, isn’t a stranger to seeing his name in trade conversations. The former 5th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Draft has already been traded twice in his career, though he’s spent the last nine years with the Blues. Schenn was included in trade negotiations last season, though the captain publicly expressed his desire to remain in St. Louis and may have used his no-trade clause to ensure that he did.

He’s become more movable as his full no-trade protection transitioned to a 15-team no-trade clause this year. Still, unless there’s a significant increase in offensive production, the Blues may have missed their best opportunity to maximize Schenn’s perceived trade value. Through his first 36 games this year, he’s on pace for 14 goals and 30 points, which would be his worst output since the 2012-13 season.

Furthermore, outside of his faceoff percentage, which is at an elite rate this season, Schenn’s possession metrics and defensive metrics have also declined this year. Still, because the premium put on the center position, and other team’s desperation, St. Louis has the opportunity to take advantage of a sellers market. Just last night, the Los Angeles Kings traded Phillip Danault, who’s signed through next season at a $5.5MM cap hit, for a second-round pick.

Additionally, the Blues could market Schenn’s playoff experience as another selling point. Especially for a young center-needy team like the Montreal Canadiens, Schenn’s postseason past, particularly helping St. Louis win the Stanley Cup in 2019, could be of great value both on and off the ice.

Meanwhile, the idea of moving Buchnevich may be mostly pie in the sky thinking, and the Blues simply doing their due dilligence. The 30-year-old forward is signed through the 2030-31 season at an $8MM cap hit and has full no-trade protection until the 2029-30 season.

Furthermore, like Schenn and multiple other players on the roster, Buchnevich’s trade value has fallen this season. Scoring five goals and 17 points in his first 36 contests, Buchnevich is one pace for his lowest goal-scoring totals since his rookie campaign in 2016-17.

Still, before this year, Buchnevich was a fairly consistent offensive presence for St. Louis. In 292 games from 2021 to 2025, Buchnevich scored 103 goals and 263 points with a +56 rating, averaging 19:09 of ice time. If team’s feel that Buchnevich can rebound to that level of play in a different environment, they may be willing to pay the cost for his services. Still, there’s likely too many hurdles to overcome to make a swap this season.

Blue Jackets Acquire Mason Marchment

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired winger Mason Marchment from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for Columbus’s 2027 second-round pick and the New York Rangers’ 2026 fourth-round pick. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the move. There is no salary retention in the trade, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic.

It’s been exactly six months since Marchment originally joined the Kraken in an offseason trade. Seattle used a combination of a 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick at the time. Despite Marchment’s play leaving much to be desired, they were able to improve their draft capital somewhat.

Outside of some mild injury concerns, Marchment never looked fully at home in the Pacific Northwest. Before the trade, the 30-year-old winger was tied for eighth on the team in scoring with four goals and 13 points in 29 games with a -4 rating. Seattle was likely looking for much more offense since Marchment was averaging nearly 17 minutes of ice time per night.

In fairness, Marchment had been averaging a 13.4% shooting percentage since the 2021-22 season, meaning his 8.7% mark this year was likely going to increase at some point. His possession metrics and on-ice save percentage at even strength have each stayed fairly consistent.

Still, there was no sticking around in Seattle for the long haul this year. The Kraken started relatively well this year, managing an 11-5-5 record through their first 21 contests. At the time, Seattle was second in the Pacific Division and only one point back of the division-leading Anaheim Ducks.

Unfortunately, it has been an unmitigated disaster since, winning only one of their previous 11 contests, falling to a tie of last place in the entire league. That made Marchment and the rest of the Kraken’s pending unrestricted free agents obvious trade candidates.

The trade is somewhat peculiar from the Blue Jackets’ perspective. While the Kraken are tied for last place in the Western Conference (and league), Columbus can say the same in the Eastern Conference. At the time of writing, the Blue Jackets are six points back of the final wild-card spot, and seven points back of a Metro Division playoff position.

Furthermore, they aren’t having many issues regarding offense. Columbus is currently 21st in the league, averaging 2.88 GF/G and an 18th-ranked power play (18.07%). It’ll help if Marchment can return to the 55-point average he enjoyed from 2021-22 to 2024-25, but the Blue Jackets needed much more help on defense.

The Blue Jackets are 32nd in the league in GF/G (3.50), 30th in penalty kill percentage (72.04%), 21st in SV% (.887), and 30th in shots against (1056). Marchment is a perfectly capable winger on the defensive side of the puck, but there’s no guarantee he’ll garner enough ice time in Columbus to make a real difference in that aspect. Assuming he’s placed in a familiar middle-six role while at even strength, the Blue Jackets may continue to struggle regardless of adding Marchment to the lineup.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images. 

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Canadiens Acquire Phillip Danault

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A familiar face has returned to Montreal, as the Canadiens have announced that they have acquired Kings forward Phillip Danault in exchange for the Blue Jackets’ 2026 second-round pick.

Los Angeles finds a new home for Danault, just an hour before the holiday roster freeze kicks in. The Kings had been examining trade options for the veteran middleman over the past few weeks amid one of the more difficult offensive stretches of his career. In 30 games this season, he’s yet to score a goal and has only mustered five assists.

Defensive acumen was always the highlight of the 32-year-old’s game, though. That hasn’t trailed off at all, with the 6’1″ pivot still managing a +3 rating in tough deployment despite the lack of offensive production going through him on the ice thus far. The paucity of goal-scoring also shouldn’t be conflated with a lack of trying. He’s averaging 2.93 shot attempts per game, slightly below his career average but far from a career-low.

The Kings were left with something of an excess of down-the-middle depth, too. Moving Quinton Byfield back to center had shifted Danault to a third-line role at even strength after shouldering duties as L.A.’s second-line center behind Anže Kopitar ever since his arrival in Hollywood in free agency in 2021. The Habs, who have long been looking to add an impact top-nine center as their rebuild draws to a close, were in even more dire need of help down the middle after losing center options Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook to injuries.

They won’t find the offensive needle-mover they were looking for in Danault, but he’s still a meaningful upgrade in the No. 2 slot behind captain Nick Suzuki over rookie Oliver Kapanen, at least in terms of two-way play. Assuming he is deployed there by head coach Martin St. Louis and gets extensive playing time with Calder Trophy candidate Ivan Demidov, Danault’s point production should come back alive.

Danault’s inclusion should also provide a meaningful boost to the Habs’ underlying numbers. Kapanen and Demidov have controlled 49.1% of expected goals with Newhook on their left flank and a horrid 38% with Juraj Slafkovsky in that slot at 5-on-5 this season. Danault hasn’t recorded a sub-50 xGF% since his rookie season, split between Chicago and Montreal back in 2015-16.

Aside from the obvious fit, as underscored by the Habs’ reported interest, it’s a feel-good story to reunite Montreal with its top center during their last deep playoff run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. That was the last of Danault’s six seasons in Montreal during his first run there, often used as their top-line anchor alongside Brendan Gallagher, including a career-high 41 assists in the 2018-19 season. He was top 10 in Selke Trophy voting in each of his final three seasons for the Habs and recorded 194 points in 360 games for them.

He’s now set to add to that total as the Habs only need to part ways with one of two second-rounders they were ticketed to hold in next year’s draft. They retain their own selection, parting ways with a pick they acquired from Columbus in the Patrik Laine deal.

The Kings won’t be enthused with the return. Danault is cost-controlled through next season at $5.5MM, and L.A. was hoping to make any trade a player-for-player swap rather than taking back futures. Nonetheless, it was becoming clear the Kings wanted a quick resolution, short of Danault outright asking for a trade, giving themselves time to flip the pick for a replacement on the other side of the roster freeze if they so choose.

PHR’s Josh Erickson contributed significantly to this article.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Hurricanes’ Seth Jarvis Injured, To Miss Time

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A significant injury has occurred tonight as Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis left tonight’s game after taking a hard spill into the net, as seen in a clip shared by Sportsnet. The incident occurred early into the three-on-three overtime period, as Jarvis drove to the net with the puck, he was tripped by Florida’s Evan Rodrigues, slamming into the left post. No penalty was called, as the Panthers prevailed in the shootout.

After the game, Carolina Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour has told reporters, including Cory Lavalette of North State Journal, that Jarvis is “going to be out for a while”. 

Due to a brutal impact in the vulnerable rib area, Jarvis was immediately in serious pain, holding his right side. He was able to skate off the ice, alongside a team trainer, but went down the tunnel immediately. 

The 23-year-old has been on pace to shatter his career high of 33 goals, with 19 in 33 games, not yet missing a contest this season. Not only has he become an elite first line winger for Carolina, Jarvis has made a real case to make the Team Canada Olympic roster, which may now be in jeopardy. A sign of Canada’s absurd forward talent however, the young sniper, if healthy, is still a bubble player on the potential roster.  

The Hurricanes, currently atop the Metropolitan Division with room to spare, boast a tremendously deep roster built to handle such adversity. However, Jarvis’ impact in the lineup cannot be overstated. Despite showing high output, ranking fifth in the league in goals scored, he is far and away the Canes’ go-to shooter. Combining the team’s second and third leading goal scorers, Sebastian Aho (11) and Jordan Staal/Jackson Blake (9) only ranks one tally above Jarvis. 

Somewhat unexpectedly given their firepower, Carolina’s powerplay ranks seventh-worst at 15.5%, and just three of Jarvis’ 19 goals have come on the man-advantage. Thus illustrates his impact at five-on-five.

Exact details on the injury, and subsequent timeline for return, remain unknown but based on Brind’Amour’s comments, the Canes are likely looking to head into the New Year without a major piece. The highly skilled Blake, proving to be a major steal at 109th overall in 2021, figures to be a top-line option for the time being. Two notable newcomers, Nikolaj Ehlers and Logan Stankoven, will also be leaned upon for more production.

With Team Canada’s roster set to be released on New Year’s Eve, a wrinkle might have been thrown into GM Doug Armstrong’s plans. However, Milan or not, Carolina will cross their fingers that Jarvis avoided major injury, and can return sometime in January.

Jets Linked To Mason Marchment

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On today’s episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared that the Winnipeg Jets are “dipping around” trade possibilities for Seattle Kraken forward Mason Marchment. With the NHL Roster Freeze set to begin at midnight EST tonight, which will run until December 28, such may not come to be until a later date, especially as the Kraken are also missing Jaden Schwartz to injury. 

Marchment, 30, came over to Seattle last summer from Dallas, in a deal with the salary cap in mind. The late-blooming power forward was a great fit with the Stars, becoming a legitimate top six scoring threat, twice netting 22 goals in each of the last two seasons. However, the team’s tight cap needs meant that GM Jim Nill needed to find a taker for the final season of Marchment’s contract worth $4.5MM for 2025-26. Even despite his production, Marchment was especially expendable, as Dallas brought in superstar Mikko Rantanen, promptly extending him long-term as a considerable upgrade. 

With few teams capable of comfortably fitting in a salary such as Marchment’s, Seattle was able to acquire the forward for just a third and a fourth round draft pick, seeming to be worth the flyer. Unfortunately, things have just not worked out, and despite such a small return, it appears Dallas came out ahead on cap savings alone. A possible trade deadline flip was likely in the Kraken’s mind all along, however, Marchment’s play has not done much to warrant them to come out with a profit in assets, as initially hoped. 

Meanwhile, the reigning President’s Trophy winners, the Jets, have had a tough winter so far. Connor Hellebuyck’s injury played a major part in the team’s struggles, but even with the superstar back in the lineup, secondary scoring has been an issue. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff could have his eyes on Marchment, to see if the Jets can help him find his game again, and help the team fight through a deep Central Division.  

Nino Niederreiter, a similar player, is on track in his annual 15-20 goal pace, but six in 33 games is not ideal for a second line forward on a team with playoff aspirations. Elsewhere, Cole Perfetti has just two goals on the season. The 23-year-old had to miss the start of the season with injury, but in 19 games so far, he is not on track to meet last year’s 50 points, let alone take another step forward. Perfetti is also a -11. Gustav Nyquist was brought in for offense, but it appears time has caught up to the 36-year-old, who is scoreless in 24 games as a Jet. 

The question is raised, however, if the Jets’ scoring woes are also due to a lack of a true second line center. Vladislav Namestnikov has just eight points in 33 games, only two assists, production cut in half from previous seasons. Captain Adam Lowry has just five points in 21 games, becoming more suited for a shutdown role. Jonathan Toews was a tremendous addition to the organization from a leadership standpoint, but at this stage in his career he is a pure bottom sixer. Even if Marchment is brought in, Winnipeg could seek out a center later on as well. 

Marchment would be an intriguing buy-low pick up for the Jets, as they have the cap space, and it is hard to imagine he would fetch much more than what Seattle gave up last June. Additionally, the Kraken have the ability to retain, in order to maximize trade return. With Schwartz expected to return sometime in January, Marchment is a likely trade candidate, and Winnipeg could make their first move to shake things up.

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