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Sabres Reassign Joshua Dunne

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The Sabres announced Wednesday that they’ve loaned forward Joshua Dunne to AHL Rochester. They now have two open roster spots, one of which will go to goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as he comes off injured reserve following yesterday’s news that he’s been assigned to Rochester on a conditioning stint. The other will go to winger Beck Malenstyn, who’s returned to the team after taking paternity leave and was on the non-roster list, per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550.

Dunne’s first recall of the season lasted nearly two weeks. He was summoned from Rochester on Oct. 10 after Zach Benson took a puck to the face, resulting in a hospital visit, and after Joshua Norris sustained an oblique injury in the season’s first game. Benson has since returned and has six assists in three games, although Norris is on IR and will remain there until mid-December.

Recalled to serve as a depth piece rather than a lineup fixture, Dunne only appeared in two out of five games on his recall. The soon-to-be 27-year-old saw ice on Oct. 13 against the Avalanche and last Monday against the Canadiens, but only averaged 6:30 of ice time. The 6’4″, 208-lb pivot factored in on the wing and, aside from recording three hits, didn’t have a tangible impact. His ice time was down even further from the already-slim 7:06 per game he saw in a two-game look with Buffalo last year.

The Missouri native has 18 games of NHL experience but is still looking for his first point. Fourteen of them came with the Blue Jackets, where he first signed as an undrafted free agent out of Clarkson in 2021. He’s in the back half of a two-year, $1.55MM deal he signed with Buffalo in the 2024 offseason that carried a two-way structure last year but guarantees him the full NHL league minimum of $775,000 in 2025-26. In 202 career AHL appearances, 68 of which came with Rochester, he has a 46-48–94 scoring line with 194 PIMs and a minus-three rating.

Malenstyn could take Dunne’s place in the lineup when the Sabres host the Red Wings tonight. Since he was on the non-roster list and not on injured reserve, he doesn’t need to miss seven days since his last appearance. Through five games before exiting the lineup, he had no points with a minus-two rating and 13 hits while averaging 9:52 of ice time per game.

Islanders Name Sergei Naumov Goaltending Coach

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The Islanders have promoted AHL Bridgeport goaltending coach Sergei Naumov to the same role on their NHL bench, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Wednesday. Piero Greco, who had been the team’s goaltending coach since the 2018-19 season, has been relieved of his duties.

Naumov, 56, is a relatively new addition to the organization. He was brought in as Bridgeport’s goalie coach ahead of the 2024-25 season. The native of Latvia had spent the previous 15 years coaching goalies in the Kontinental Hockey League. He made stops with Dinamo Riga (2009-12), Donbass Donetsk (2012-14), Atlant Mytishchi (2014-15), Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (2015-18), and CSKA Moscow (2018-24).

In Moscow, Naumov worked with star starter Ilya Sorokin in the final two seasons of his international career before he made the jump to Long Island. The 2018-19 campaign, in particular, was some of Sorokin’s best work. In 40 appearances, he logged a 1.16 GAA, .940 SV%, 11 shutouts, and a 28-6-4 record. He led the league in shutouts before leading CSKA to a Gagarin Cup championship, recording a playoff-leading 1.19 GAA and earning MVP honors.

With Sorokin off to an unusually rough start in 2025-26, today’s change is clearly targeted at getting him back to top form with a coach that, theoretically, knows precisely what buttons to push. It took the 30-year-old until last night, his fifth start of the season, to record a save percentage above .900. On the year, he has a .873 SV% with a 3.90 GAA and a 2-3-0 record. He has conceded 1.7 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. That number is 53rd out of the 63 goalies to see action so far and marks the first time in his six-year NHL career that he’s flirted with below-average territory.

In a league where goaltending is increasingly volatile from year to year, few can say they boast the consistency that Sorokin has brought with him since making the jump from the KHL. After spending the 2020-21 campaign as countryman Semyon Varlamov’s backup, Sorokin assumed the No. 1 job from 2021-22 onward and has finished top 10 in Vezina Trophy voting on every occasion, including a sixth-place finish last year and runner-up honors in 2022-23.

Of course, it’s still only October. There’s plenty of runway left for Sorokin to turn on the jets and come up with another All-Star-caliber season. He showed signs of it last night, allowing a season-low three goals on a season-high 36 shots faced against the Sharks. But evidently, the Islanders had developed enough concern with what they’ve seen technically from Sorokin to open the season to feel a significant and prompt change was necessary.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Detroit Red Wings

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Atlantic Division, next up are the Red Wings.

Detroit Red Wings

Current Cap Hit: $83,641,833 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (three years, $942.5K)
D Simon Edvinsson (one year, $894.1K)
F Emmitt Finnie (three years, $821.7K)
F Marco Kasper (two years, $886.7K)
D Axel Sandin Pellikka (three years, $918.3K)

Potential Bonuses
Brandsegg-Nygard: $500K
Edvinsson: $850K
Kasper: $1MM
Sandin Pellikka: $500K
Total: $2.85MM

Considering the season he had overseas, it was a bit surprising to see Brandsegg-Nygard break camp with Detroit but tying for the league lead in preseason goals and points earned him a spot.  Considering he’s just starting out, it’s too early to forecast another contract but if he wants a long-term second contract, he’ll need to be established as a regular top-six player by the time it expires.  Finnie was another training camp surprise where his preseason efforts earned him a spot.  He’s in the same boat as Brandsegg-Nygard when it comes to his next deal though.

That can’t quite be said for Kasper.  His first full NHL season was a strong one where he was in the top six more often than not.  If he stays on that trajectory, he’s someone who could plausibly bypass a bridge deal.  In this market of escalating salaries, a deal might push into the $7.5MM territory even if he remains more of a second liner at that time.  Meanwhile, a bridge pact would check in with a number likely starting with a four.

Sandin Pellikka is also in his first full year in North America and while many expected he’d at least start the season in AHL Grand Rapids, he also broke camp with the big club.  If he has the type of impact they hope he will (as an offensive top-four defender), he’s someone that they might look to sign to a long-term deal coming off his entry-level pact.  But again, it’s far too early to forecast, given that he’s only a handful of games into his NHL career.

Edvinsson is a different case.  A full-time top-four player in his rookie year, he’s someone who appears to be living up to his lofty draft billing.  GM Steve Yzerman doesn’t dole out a lot of long-term deals but this is a case where it wouldn’t be surprising to see him try to do so.  They did this with another young blueliner recently who we’ll get to later but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them use that price tag as an internal ceiling for an Edvinsson extension.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

F Jonatan Berggren ($1.825MM, RFA)
D Jacob Bernard-Docker ($875K, RFA)
D Ben Chiarot ($4.75MM, UFA)
D Erik Gustafsson ($2MM, UFA)
D Travis Hamonic ($1MM, UFA)
D Justin Holl ($3.4MM, UFA)
F Patrick Kane ($3MM, UFA)
G Cam Talbot ($2.5MM, UFA)
F James van Riemsdyk ($1MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Kane: $4MM
van Riemsdyk: $750K
Total: $4.75MM

Once again, it took until the eve of free agency for Kane and the Red Wings to work a deal out.  This one gave him a bit less in guaranteed money by $1MM but added $1.5MM in incentives, giving him a chance at beating his earnings from last season.  He’ll earn $2.5MM of those after just 10 games and another $500K by the time he reaches 50 games so as long as he stays healthy, he’s a $6MM player this season.  In this market, that’s not a bad price tag for a winger who is probably best served as a second-line winger at this point but can move up in a pinch.  While he turns 37 next month, he could plausibly keep playing for another couple of seasons with this type of contractual structure.

Berggren was largely a regular last season after spending most of his sophomore year in the minors but wasn’t able to match his rookie-season numbers, yielding this bridge deal this summer.  He’ll need to establish himself a little higher on the depth chart or he risks becoming a non-tender candidate when he gains arbitration eligibility next summer.  As for van Riemsdyk, he didn’t need a late-summer deal this time around after a decent showing in a depth role with Columbus.  Notably, $500K of his bonuses are playoff-dependent while the other $250K kicks in at 50 GP.  At this point in his career, he’s likely to remain around this price point on one-year deals.

Chiarot’s contract was a surprise three summers ago, both in terms of money and term.  He remains a top-four blueliner for Detroit but is someone who is trending more toward being a fourth or fifth defender given that he’ll be 35 when his next contract begins.  A two-year deal could still be doable but a drop down to a price tag starting with a three looks likely at this point.  Holl has cleared waivers for the second straight year and is in Grand Rapids where his cap charge has dropped to $2.25MM.  If he made half of what he makes now, there might have been a taker for him on waivers.  Accordingly, despite teams passing on him for free now, there still could be enough of a market for him to land around $1.5MM on a one-year prove-it type of contract next summer.

Gustafsson had a so-so first season in Detroit as an offense-first defender, picking up 18 points in 60 games but also struggling defensively.  He lost his roster spot and is now in the minors, carrying a reduced cap charge of $875K.  He’s likely to land closer to half of his current cap charge unless he’s able to come back and be productive.  Hamonic was a depth defender last season in Ottawa and has had a similar role this season.  At 35 and with some heavy lifting in minutes in his prime, he’s unlikely to land much more than this if he gets a contract for next season.  Bernard-Docker also spent most of last season in a depth role with the Senators and is merely looking to establish himself as a full-time player.  He’s arbitration-eligible but unless he’s a regular, he’ll be a non-tender candidate, even if they want to keep him around since he entered the season with 144 games of NHL experience already.

Talbot was brought in via free agency in 2024 to help shore up the goaltending position.  However, he was more of a platoon-level piece than a true starter, resulting in them attempting to shore up that spot this past summer.  Still, this price tag for a serviceable backup at a minimum is pretty reasonable in this market.  He’ll be heading into his age-39 year if he looks to play next season so his next contract, if there is one, should be a one-year pact around this price point.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Mason Appleton ($2.9MM, UFA)
F Andrew Copp ($5.625MM, UFA)
F Alex DeBrincat ($7.875MM, UFA)
G John Gibson ($6.4MM, UFA)
D Albert Johansson ($1.125MM, RFA)
F Elmer Soderblom ($1.125MM, RFA)

While the idea of signing a medium-term deal has grown in popularity around the league lately while looking for a more favorable cap environment next time, DeBrincat was one of the first to do so after being acquired in 2023.  It bought Detroit three extra years of control but allows DeBrincat to hit the open market at 29.  A max-term contract should be achievable for him at that time and given his offensive consistency as a legitimate top-six winger who typically collects between 65 and 70 points most years, he should be in a good position to push past the $10MM mark.  Detroit won’t be able to use an internal ceiling if they want to retain him.

Copp was brought in via free agency in 2022 on the heels of a career year offensively.  He hasn’t been able to match that in Detroit although he brings enough other elements to the table to give them at least a reasonable return.  Still, even in this inflated market, he’ll be hard-pressed to match this price tag if he remains in the 30-point range offensively.  However, another multi-year deal should be doable at least.

Appleton had a quiet contract year in Winnipeg which limited his market this summer.  However, if he can get back to the 30-point range where he was in 2023-24, he could push for something closer to the $4MM range on his next deal.  Soderblom split the last two seasons between Detroit and AHL Grand Rapids, making a low-cost bridge deal this summer a guarantee.  He’ll have arbitration rights two years from now and if he’s a regular in their bottom six, doubling this cost doesn’t seem unreasonable.

Johansson got his first taste of NHL action last season, seeing regular action on the third pairing.  Given the inexperience, a bridge deal was the only play here as well.  Like Soderblom, he’ll have arbitration rights next time out and assuming he remains a regular top-six piece, doubling this price tag (at a minimum) should be doable.

Gibson was much better in Anaheim last season after some tough years but with Lukas Dostal in place as the starter of the present and future, the Ducks opted to move him with Yzerman seeking another short-term upgrade.  If he can get back to being a starting-caliber netminder, the Red Wings will do quite well with what’s left of this contract.  However, if he remains more of a platoon piece, he’ll be a considerable overpayment, albeit one they can easily afford right now.  He might be more in the $5MM range on his next deal, if not a bit lower.

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Injury Updates: Kane, Marchment, Girgensons, Marchessault

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The Red Wings won’t have a key veteran winger available to them for the next two games.  Team reporter Danielle Bruce mentions (Twitter link) that Patrick Kane will not be accompanying the team on their upcoming two-game road trip due to an upper-body injury that also kept him out on Sunday.  However, he did skate on his own today and will be re-evaluated to see if he can return when the team returns home on Saturday.  Kane has two goals and three assists through his first five games this season while playing a little more than 17 minutes a night.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • The Kraken announced before tonight’s game (Twitter link) that winger Mason Marchment is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He joins an ever-growing list of unavailable Seattle players, a list that includes Jared McCann (lower body), Brandon Montour (personal), Ryker Evans (upper body), and Frederick Gaudreau (upper body).  In his first season with the team after being acquired in the offseason, Marchment has a goal and three assists in six games while logging 15:16 per night of ice time.
  • Lightning center Zemgus Girgensons could return to the lineup as soon as Saturday, notes Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. The veteran has yet to play this season due to an undisclosed injury sustained in the preseason but was a regular on the fourth line in 2024-25.  His pending return was believed to be part of the impetus in sending Conor Geekie to the minors on Monday, ensuring he’ll keep having regular playing time moving forward.
  • Prior to tonight’s game against Anaheim, the Predators announced (Twitter link) that winger Jonathan Marchessault is dealing with a lower-body injury and is listed as out day-to-day. The 34-year-old is off to a solid start to his campaign, collecting two goals and two assists in the first five games, good for a share of the team lead in points heading into tonight’s action.  Brady Martin suited up in his third game of the season in Marchessault’s absence; he can play in nine NHL games total before officially activating the first season of his entry-level contract.

West Notes: Canucks, Lundkvist, Duchene, Pospisil

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Under the new CBA rules, players sent to the minors must play in at least one game before being recalled.  However, Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province reports that the Canucks asked for a waiver of that rule as it applies to defenseman Victor Mancini.  In order to maximize their LTIR pool when they moved Nils Hoglander on there, they needed to swap out Mancini for Jimmy Schuldt.  Their hope was to get a waiver to allow them to immediately recall Mancini to the active roster since it wasn’t quite the same type of paper transactions that some teams engaged in daily in previous years.  Considering the 23-year-old remains with AHL Abbotsford, it’s fair to say their request was denied but his stint in the minors is likely to be a short-lived one.

Elsewhere out West:

  • The Stars announced Monday (Twitter link) that defenseman Nils Lundkvist was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. The placement is retroactive to October 21st so he’s eligible to be activated as soon as Thursday although the expectation is that he’ll miss multiple weeks.  The 25-year-old got off to a strong start to his season with three points in his first four games after recording just five assists in 39 outings in 2024-25.  Notably, Dallas lacks the LTIR space required to recall a replacement so if they need one in the short term, they’ll likely have to move Lundkvist to LTIR at some point.
  • Still with Dallas, Victory Plus’ Brian Rea relays (Twitter link) that the Stars will be without forward Matt Duchene tonight against Columbus. Originally listed as probable for this one, he’ll instead miss his second straight game due to an upper-body injury.  After surpassing the 80-point mark for just the second time in his career last season, Duchene has a goal and an assist in his first two outings in 2025-26.
  • Flames winger Martin Pospisil skated on his own for the first time on Monday as he works his way back from an undisclosed injury that has caused him to miss the first seven games of the season, notes Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). The 25-year-old had 25 points and 301 hits in 81 games with Calgary last season.  With Daniil Miromanov clearing waivers and being sent down today, the Flames now have an open roster spot to activate Pospisil when he’s cleared to return, barring any further roster movement between now and then.

Metropolitan Notes: Luchanko, Gostisbehere, Wood

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With his usage being limited thus far, the odds of Jett Luchanko spending the full season with the Flyers are dropping.  However, Daily Faceoff’s Anthony DiMarco suggests that Philadelphia will at least look to drag the decision out a little longer by assigning him to AHL Lehigh Valley on a conditioning stint at some point.  While he’s ineligible to play for the Phantoms full-time, he is allowed to play on a conditioning stint for up to two weeks.  Luchanko won’t officially burn the first year of his entry-level deal until he plays in ten NHL games this season.  He’s at four so between his five games he can still play without starting the deal and a possible conditioning stint, he could remain with the Flyers for a while yet before returning to junior.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • While the hope was that Shayne Gostisbehere’s lower-body injury wasn’t serious, it will hold him out for at least the next two games. The Hurricanes announced that they have sent him back to Raleigh for further evaluation, meaning he will miss the last two games of their road trip.  The 32-year-old got off to a hot start before the injury, picking up a goal and six assists in his first five games this season, notching at least one point in his first four outings.
  • There’s a chance that Blue Jackets winger Miles Wood could return by the end of the month, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link). The 30-year-old was injured a little more than a week ago after taking a high stick to the eye.  GM Don Waddell indicated that Wood is now able to see out of that eye but that further testing is required once all of the blood clears.  That testing will ultimately determine if he’s able to come back quickly or if he’ll be out longer term.

Update On Shane Pinto’s Extension Negotiations

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Before the start of the regular season, several reports indicated that the Ottawa Senators had had positive conversations with Shane Pinto regarding an extension, and that the price could reach as high as $7MM per year. Apparently, those conversations may not have been as positive as previously believed, according to a new update from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on The FAN Hockey Show.

Friedman suggested that the Senators’ offer was far too low for Pinto, and realized later in the summer that they had much more work to do. Now factoring in Pinto’s start to the 2025-26 campaign, Ottawa may have to move farther than they’re comfortable with.

There’s no questioning he’s off to a torrid pace. The former 32nd overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft has scored six goals and seven points through the Senators’ first seven games, averaging 18:31 of ice time per night. Especially with the team being without captain Brady Tkachuk for the next several weeks, Pinto has taken it upon himself to carry much of the offensive burden.

Still, on the flip side of the argument, Pinto doesn’t have the track record to legitimize making him one of Ottawa’s highest-paid forwards. There’s little expectation he’ll ask for more than Tkachuk or star Tim Stützle, but there’s a world now where Pinto is asking for more than Dylan Cozens’ $7.1MM salary.

Although he’s shown a knack for goal-scoring, Pinto has yet to reach the 40-point plateau in his three full years with the Senators. Outside of missing half of the 2023-24 campaign for violating the league’s gambling policies, Pinto has scored 50 goals and 99 points in 193 games from the 2022-23 to 2024-25 campaigns. That was good for an 82-game pace of 21 goals and 42 points.

In fact, from his age-22 to age-24 seasons, Pinto has been remarkably similar to Jack Roslovic’s output over the same age range, when the latter put up 86 points with three more games played, while averaging nearly three minutes less of ice time per game. Roslovic has hovered around the 40-point mark since then, while putting up a pair of 20+ goal campaigns, and he settled on a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Edmonton Oilers this summer.

That’s not to say that Pinto’s pathway through the NHL will completely copy Roslovic’s, though it’s an important detail to manage. Given that the Senators are only freshly coming out of their rebuild, they can’t afford to attach a $7MM or more price tag to a player that will only average approximately 40 points a year. Regardless, given how he’s capitalized on a contract year through the early stages of the regular season, the Senators and Pinto are unlikely to agree on an extension throughout the year.

Kings Activate Corey Perry From Injured Reserve

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2:40 p.m.: Perry has indeed been activated with Kopitar landing on IR, the team announced.

12:25 p.m.: The Kings will have offseason pickup Corey Perry in the lineup tonight for the first time this season, the team’s Zach Dooley relays. He began the year on injured reserve and will need to be activated. Los Angeles does not have an open roster spot and will need to make a corresponding transaction, which will likely be an IR placement for Anže Kopitar, who’s out week-to-week with a foot injury.

Perry, 40, moved to his sixth team in the last seven years when he inked a one-year, $2MM deal with the Kings on July 1. He was one of many of general manager Ken Holland’s pickups in his first offseason in L.A., alongside Joel Armia, Cody Ceci, Brian Dumoulin, and Anton Forsberg. The four-time All-Star is coming off a 19-goal, 30-point showing with the Oilers, his best offensive showing in three years, but sustained a knee injury during an informal skate shortly before training camp that required surgery. He was given a six-to-eight-week return timeline, putting him back in the lineup significantly ahead of schedule.

It’s unclear who’s coming out of the lineup to make way. It could be center Samuel Helenius. He’s the only one of the 12 forwards who played L.A.’s last game that hasn’t appeared in every contest so far this year. Doing so would likely mean shifting Alex Turcotte to the middle to open a spot for Perry on the wing. Even considering his limited ice time in recent years (he averaged 11:56 per game for Edmonton in 2024-25), it would make sense for him to assume fourth-line duties out of the gate as he gets back into the swing of things ahead of schedule and without a conditioning stint.

It’s worth noting Perry is still eligible for all of his performance bonuses – he could double his $2MM base salary by playing at least 50 games and if the Kings make the Stanley Cup Final. Just reaching the 50 GP mark, still well within reach, would get him $1.5MM.

Flames To Reassign Daniil Miromanov

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Oct. 21: Miromanov has cleared waivers and will be on his way to the AHL, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Oct. 20: The Calgary Flames have placed defenseman Daniil Miromanov on waivers per Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. The move opens a roster spot that could soon be used to activate forward Martin Pospisil from injured reserve. Pospisil has missed the start of the season with an undisclosed injury sustained during the preseason.

This is Miromanov’s first time being placed on the waiver wire. He has stayed on the Flames’ roster since joining the club in the 2024 trade that sent Noah Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights. He scored seven points in the final 20 games of Calgary’s 2023-24 season. But he fell hard into the extra defender role last year, playing in only 44 games and otherwise serving as a routine healthy scratch. The minimal minutes were marked by minimal production – just nine points, 12 penalty minutes, and a plus-two.

Miromanov’s role has fallen even further this season. He played in just one of Calgary’s six games to start the season, and didn’t receive any notable stat changes or ice time on special teams. Now, he could be headed to the minor leagues for the first time since 2023. He previously played 89 games and scored a productive 68 points through three seasons with the Henderson Silver Knights. The Calgary Wranglers would certainly welcome that production, should Miromanov clear waivers.

But going unclaimed could be tough for a 6-foot-4, right-shot defenseman. That frame, and a history of strong minor-league scoring, could be enough to tempt a team with roster flexibility to take their chance on reworking his game. Miromanov has tallied 23 points, 38 hits, and 110 blocked shots through 94 games in the NHL.

Canadiens Recall Joshua Roy, Marc Del Gaizo; Reassign Owen Beck

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The Canadiens announced they’ve recalled winger Joshua Roy and defenseman Marc Del Gaizo from AHL Laval. Center Owen Beck was returned to Laval as one of the corresponding transactions. Montreal doesn’t have an open roster spot, though, so they must make a second move to keep their active roster at the 23-man maximum.

The roster shuffling in Montreal comes in the wake of a trio of injuries. Over the weekend, they announced defenseman Kaiden Guhle would miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury while also ruling forwards Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine out on a day-to-day basis. It would stand to reason that Guhle has or will land on injured reserve as the additional corresponding move.

Sending down Beck, a center, and replacing him with a winger in Roy could be a promising sign for Dach’s availability against the Flames on Wednesday. He’s on the ice at the team’s practice today, according to Marc Antoine Godin of Radio-Canada. Beck played in back-to-back games for the Habs after his recall on Saturday, but the 21-year-old averaged just 8:22 of ice time per game and recorded a minus-one rating and no points. It’s much of the same story for the 2022 second-round pick, who’s gotten a handful of recalls over the past few years but has never been given a particularly long leash. He’s averaged just 9:45 through 15 career NHL appearances, understandably only managing one assist. He’s posted underwhelming possession numbers (47.3 CF% in 58.8 oZS%) in those sheltered even-strength minutes but has been impactful on the dot, winning 53.7% of his faceoffs.

Beck is in his second full professional season. He had 44 points in 64 games for Laval as a rookie last year and had a goal and an assist through his first three games this season before getting recalled. There’s still hope that the 6’0″ pivot can be a long-term fixture down the middle for the Habs, and they won’t hesitate to let him continue to bake in the minors compared to logging limited NHL action.

As for Roy, the 22-year-old has a more established offensive track record in the NHL. A 2021 fifth-round pick, Roy has made 35 appearances for the Habs over the past two years with a 6-5–11 scoring line. Two-way play remains a concern for the skilled winger, but he’s more of a known commodity. He has earned a longer runway from head coach Martin St. Louis in the past, averaging 11:45 of ice time per game for his career while getting occasional power-play reps. He’s also off to a hot start in Laval with three goals and an assist through four games.

Del Gaizo is elevated to give Montreal an extra defenseman for their four-game road trip through the Pacific Division that kicks off tomorrow. They played the last two games without one on the roster after Guhle’s injury. The 26-year-old is a safe option to stash as a No. 7 and has plenty of recent experience, making 46 of his 55 career NHL appearances with the Predators last season. He was a Group VI unrestricted free agent last summer and signed a two-way deal with Montreal before clearing waivers during training camp on his way down to Laval. The 5’11” lefty has a 2-10–12 scoring line in the NHL with a -1 rating. He’s still looking for his first point in Laval through four games, but has a +2 rating. He can remain up for 30 days or play 10 games until he needs waivers again to head back down.

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