Minor Transactions: 4/16/2026
The wave of minor-league assignments is continuing with the NHL regular season nearly completed. Pro Hockey Rumors will continue to track the movement around the AHL in the latest minor transactions tracker:
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled goalie prospect Carson Bjarnason in preperation for their first round matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Bjarnason will serve as a black ace with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms eliminated from playoff contention. Bjarnason recorded 14 wins and a .887 save percentage in 32 AHL games this season. He also split results, and recorded a .881 save percentage, in two ECHL games. This was Bjarnason’s first year of professional hockey after four seasons with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. The 20 year old recorded a .903 save percentage across 156 career games in the WHL.
- The Colorado Avalanche are also padding their room of black aces, recalling forwards Alex Barre-Boulet and Jason Polin. Both players spent the bulk of their year in the AHL. Barre-Boulet led the Colorado Eagles with 26 goals and 70 points in 69 games – and added one assist in the only NHL game of his season. Polin was slightly less productive, with 21 points in 45 AHL games and no scoring in three NHL games. The duo will offer forward depth behind an Avalanche squad that has rotated through injuries this season.
- Forward Cole O’Hara could make his NHL debut in the Nashville Predators’ season finale. The 23 year old has been called up after leading the Milwaukee Admirals in goals (19) and ranking fourth in points (44) through 65 games this season. This was also O’Hara’s first pro season after three years at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He had a breakout season last year, netting 22 goals and 51 points in 40 games – 33 more points than he managed in 37 games of the 2023-24 season. O’Hara kept that scoring up through his rookie season in the AHL and could now get a chance to score against NHL talent.
- Headed back to the minors is goaltender Brandon Halverson, who recently helped the Tampa Bay Lightning respond to Jonas Johansson‘s short-term injury. Halverson recorded one loss and a .810 save percentage in 57 minutes – and two games – of NHL action this season. He started for the Syracuse Crunch for much of the year and recorded 24 wins and a .906 save percentage in 42 AHL games. He’ll now return to his post to help Syracuse keep up their strong play into the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Calgar Flames have also called up a goaltender. Prospect Arsenii Sergeev is on the NHL roster under emergency conditions with Devin Cooley set to miss Calgary’s season finale due to illness. Sergeev will make his NHL debut in game 82. The 24 year old recorded five wins and a .898 save percentage in 28 AHL games this season. He also split results, and recorded a .922 save percentage, in 12 ECHL games. Sergeev was a strong starter in college, recording save percentages north of .910 in two seasons with the University of Connecticut and one season at Pennsylvania State University. Thursday could be the bright side to a quiet season for the first-year pro.
- Top Edmonton Oilers prospect Isaac Howard has been loaned to the AHL. He will support the Bakersfield Condors’ push in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Howard scored 22 goals and 47 points in 45 AHL games this season. He ranked second in goals on Bakersfield and was the only Condor to score above a point-per-game pace this season. Howard also scored five points in the first 29 games of his NHL career this season. The 2025 Hobey Baker Award winner is also a first-year pro and should fill a substantial role in the AHL postseason.
- The Washington Capitals have assigned 2025 second-round pick Milton Gastrin to the AHL following the end of his season in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan. Gastrin racked up 10 goals and 24 points in 39 games in Sweden’s second-tier pro league and added four more points in 13 playoff games. He scored 42 points in 40 games in Sweden’s U20 league in the 2024-25 season. The bulky Gastrin should bring a boost of forechecking pressure and playmaking ability to the Hershey Bears lineup just in time for their perennial run into the postseason.
- A cohort of top prospects is headed to the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Detroit Red Wings have assigned Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Carter Mazur, Axel Sandin Pellikka, and Dominik Shine to the minor leagues. Brandsegg-Nygard finished the year third on the Griffins in scoring with 44 points in 58 games. He added one assist in 14 NHL games. Shine finished the year with 37 points in 38 AHL games and three points in 18 NHL games. Mazur was also a point-per-game player in the minors, with 15 points in 14 AHL games – but no scoring in eight NHL appearances. Of the bunch, Sandin-Pellikka was the only to play the bulk of his year in the NHL. He scored 21 points in 68 games of his first season in North America. The quartet should each assume top-end roles on a Griffins lineup that has added a substantial amount of talent late in the season.
Blues Sign Arseni Koromyslov To Entry-Level Contract
The St. Louis Blues have signed 2022 fourth-round pick Arseni Koromyslov to a two-year, entry-level contract set to begin in the 2026-27 season. This deal will move Koromyslov to North America after four seasons in Russia’s pro leagues. The contract details, per PuckPedia, are:
| Year | NHL Salary | Signing bonus | Potential performance bonuses | Minors salary |
| 2026-27 | $850K | $102.5K | $72.5K | $82.5K |
| 2027-28 | $967.5K | $107.5K | $82.5K |
Koromyslov, 22, filled an important role for the KHL’s Chelyabinsk Traktor this season. He recorded 17 points, 40 penalty minutes, and a plus-four in 61 games this season. This was Koromyslov’s second season in a full-time, KHL role. His 2024-25 season was spread across three teams, with Koromyslov recording five points in 26 games with Lada, two points in seven games with SKA St. Petersburg, and 10 points in 48 games with Traktor including the postseason. He scored one goal with each team, a pattern he kept up through this season.
Despite the low-scoring, Koromyslov has never recorded a negative plus-minus across a full season. He has proved to be a reliable defender at Russia’s junior and pro levels – a knack helped along by just how much Koromyslov has improved his game as he’s moved to higher roles. He was a noticeable physical presence this season, using a long reach and hard checking to stop opponents in the neutral zone. His ability to win puck battles from Traktor’s second-pair went far in supporting a forward group with seven players who scored 35 points or more.
Koromyslov will lean on that defensive prowess to earn minutes with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds next season. He joins a long list of left-defenders on the Thunderbirds roster but could offer a bit more defensive reliability than Marc-Andre Gaudet, Quinton Burns, or Michael Buchinger. Should that professional defense carry over, Koromyslov could plant his feet behind Leo Loof on St. Louis’ depth chart in the 2026-27 season.
Capitals’ Pierre-Luc Dubois, Rasmus Sandin Leave With Injury
The Washington Capitals lost two important players during Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Center Pierre-Luc Dubois sustained an upper-body injury after crashing into the boards on the first goal of the game, while defenseman Rasmus Sandin was helped off the ice with a lower-body injury later in the game. No update or timeline was provided for either player per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.
Both players have filled key roles for the Capitals all season long. Dubois missed 48 games between November and February due to a lower-body injury that required surgery. He returned to a top-six role in early-February and has scored 17 points in 21 games since. That production has provided a nice spark after Dubois failed to score in his first six games of the season. The 27 year old notched a career-high 66 points in 82 games during his first season with the Capitals last year. Sandin has stayed glued into Washington’s top-four and has 29 points and a plus-four in 72 games this season. He scored 30 points in 82 games last year.
With the duo out of the lineup, Washington will need to lean more on rookies Ilya Protas and Cole Hutson to continue bringing an impact. Both players are off to hot starts in their NHL careers. Protas has four points in his first two games, while Hutson has scored eight points in his first 11 games. Both have already worked their way onto Washington’s top powerplay unit, which fired on all cylinders during Saturday’s win. They will look to directly make up for Dubois and Sandin, while forward Ethen Frank and defenseman Timothy Liljegren could be called down from the press box.
The Capitals have two games remaining in their season and sit well outside of playoff contention. A pair of injuries could quickly redirect Washington’s focus towards deploying their young hopefuls, and resting their veterans, in preparation for a better season next year.
Hurricanes Announce Eight Out With Injury
The Carolina Hurricanes have been hit with a wave of injuries with only three games left in the season. According to NHL.com’s Walt Ruff, the Hurricanes were without forwards Jackson Blake, William Carrier, Taylor Hall, Mark Jankowski, and Logan Stankoven; defenseman Jalen Chatfield and K’Andre Miller; and goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov in Saturday’s game against the Utah Mammoth. No details or timelines have been revealed for any injuries. That is except for Kochetkov, who is currently on a conditioning loan with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves after missing most of the season with a lower-body injury that required surgery.
The Hurricanes were forced to overhaul their lineup with so many players out. Skyler Brind’Amour, Josiah Slavin, and Bradly Nadeau were recalled from the AHL to make up Carolina’s fourth-line, while Nicolas Deslauriers stepped onto a line with Eric Robinson and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Defensemen Mike Reilly and Charles-Alexis Legault also stepped onto the blue-line. This is the second NHL game of the season for Brind’Amour and the younger Slavin. The duo have scored 34 and 25 points in 66 AHL games this season respectively. The NHL appearance is a bigger deal for Nadeau, a top Hurricanes prospect who notched 53 points in 51 AHL games this year. Nadeau also has two goals in nine NHL games this season. Leagult has matched Nadeau’s NHL scoring, with two points in nine games, on top of seven points in 22 AHL games.
It is not yet clear how the Hurricanes will move forward in the face of so many injuries. With only two games left after Saturday’s matchup, Carolina could afford to rest all seven injured NHL skaters for the rest of the regular season. The Hurricanes have locked up the top spot in the Metropolitan Division with a 51-22-6 record this season. They sit 10 points above the Pittsburgh Penguins in second place. Carolina is set to enter the postseason as a favorite to win the Stanley Cup out of the Eastern Conference. They will need to have all hands on deck to acheive that feat, with a first round matchup against the Boston Bruins or Ottawa Senators on the table.
Kings Sign Henry Brzustewicz To Entry-Level Contract
The Los Angeles Kings have signed 2025 first-round pick Henry Brzustewicz to a three-year, entry-level contract set to begin in the 2026-27 season. He will complete the 2025-26 season on a professional try-out contract with the AHL’s Ontario Reign. This news will shift Brzustewicz to the pro level after the OHL London Knights’ season came to an end on Friday.
Brzustewicz stepped into London’s top defender role this season, following Sam Dickinson’s move to the pros at the end of last season. He filled the role seamlessly and finished the season with a team-leading 54 points in 59 games. Brzustewicz also scored 19 goals, tied with St. Louis Blues prospect Adam Jiricek for the third-most among OHL defensemen. Brzustewicz’s stat line was rounded out with 57 penalty minutes and a minus-15.
All together, Brzustewicz’s 2025-26 campaign was another gradual step up from his previous year. He scored 10 goals, 42 points, and 77 penalty minutes in 67 games on the OHL championship-winning London Knights last season. It was a major improvement over the six points he scored in 52 games of his rookie OHL season. That performance, complimented by Brzustewicz’s knack for physical hockey, helped him earn the 31st selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. He earned that spot despite not appearing in any junior-level, international tournaments. Brzustewicz, an American playing Canadian hockey, was left off of Team USA’s roster at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and World U18 Championships, two tournaments that his older brother, Hunter Brzustewicz, appeared in during his junior career.
Despite a slimmer resume than his peers, the younger Brzustewicz will bring an exciting and well-rounded profile to the Kings’ depth chart. The right-shot defenseman plays a 200-foot game with impressive strength, smooth passing, and reliable skating. His game is best suited for the defensive side of the puck, where his quick reactions help spark breakouts and keep play out of the defensive end. That style will be welcome on a Kings blue-line that has found roles for styles like Michael Anderson, Joel Edmundson, Cody Ceci, and Brian Dumoulin. With the right development, Brzustewicz could begin to test his own footing in those roles next season, with hopes of one day serving as the defensive-punch behind Brandt Clarke‘s offense.
First, Brzustewicz will look to be an X-factor addition to an Ontario Reign club that leads the AHL’s Pacific Division. The Reign haven’t generated much offense from the blue-line this season, with the defense led in scoring by Samuel Bolduc‘s 21 points in 56 games. Brzustewicz will compete with Otto Salin and Jack Millar for minutes on Ontario’s right-side.
Oilers’ Zach Hyman Out With Lingering Injury
The Edmonton Oilers are opting for the careful approach as another successful season nears its end. Top winger Zach Hyman will be held out of Saturday’s matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights, head coach Kris Knoblauch told Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun.
Hyman also sat out of Thursday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The details of his injury have not been disclosed. Hyman may have played through the injury if Saturday were a playoff game, but he could instead wind up shelved for the rest of the regular season as Edmonton errs on the side of resting players, Knoblauch added. Instead, the Oilers will let him focus on recovery for as long as it takes, with a few weeks left before the start of the playoffs.
Hyman has scored nine goals and 15 points in 18 games since the Olympic break, the fourth-most on the Oilers. He is up to 31 goals and 51 points in 57 games this season, a nice bump up from his 44-point campaign last year, but still well below the 83-point career-high he set in the 2022-23 season.
A return to near-point-per-game scoring is nonetheless encouraging after Hyman missed the first 19 games of the season with a dislocated wrist sustained in Game 4 of the 2025 Western Conference Finals. Hyman told reporters that his current injury is unrelated to the wrist injury that kept him out for nearly five months.
The Oilers are sitting in a comfortable playoff position, tied with the Anaheim Ducks for first in the Pacific Division. At the same time, they are facing a long list of injuries, including superstar forward Leon Draisaitl and depth center Mattias Janmark. Draisaitl returned to practice but won’t join Edmonton on their upcoming three-game road trip, per Sportsnet’s Gene Principe. That only emphasizes Edmonton’s focus on healing up before the postseason. They will move forward without two of their top forwards with six games remaining on the schedule – all against Western Conference competition.
Edmonton has faced the Florida Panthers in each of the last two Stanley Cup Finals. Draisaitl played a crucial role in the 2025 Final, leading the Oilers with 8 points in 6 games before their eventual defeat. Hyman filled the bigger shoes in 2024, netting four points in seven games to Draisaitl’s three. Either way, the duo has been heavily utilized through the last two postseasons, with Draisaitl averaging 22 minutes of ice time through 47 games and Hyman averaging 20 minutes through 40 games. Their health will be of the utmost importance as the Oilers hope to right their wrongs and seal a Cup win this season.
2026 Hobey Baker Award Finalists Announced
The NCAA has announced their Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalists. University of Michigan senior T.J. Hughes, University of Minnesota-Duluth sophomore Max Plante, and Universty of Denver junior Eric Pohlkamp will be the last in the race to win college hockey’s coveted MVP award. Hughes and Plante sit second and third in national scoring with 56 and 52 points respectively, while Pohlkamp leads all defenders with 39 points.
All three were true number-ones for their teams. Hughes’ veteran presence and ability away from the puck helped a young Michigan squad rival the top ranking in the country for most of the season. Plante, a Detroit Red Wings prospect, was the motor behind one of the most explosive offenses in the country – in tandem with his brother, Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Zam Plante. Pohlkamp, a San Jose Sharks prospect, embraced the top defender on a perennial National Championship contender and added onto it a starring role on the Spengler Cup’s U.S. Collegiate Selects lineup. Hughes and Pohlkamp remain have also reached the Frozen Four, set to kickoff on April 9th.
All three have strong cases for being named college hockey’s top players. It was another difficult year for the selection committee after having to decide between Isaac Howard, Ryan Leonard, and Zeev Buium last year.
Even with the pedigree on the ballot this year, the talent left in the Top 10 is suprising. Quinnipiac University winger, and Calgary Flames prospect, Ethan Wyttenbach leads the nation in scoring, as a freshman, with 59 points. He had a breakout year on the top offense in the country, one that he will be returning to next season. Michigan State University teammates Charlie Stramel and Trey Augustine also had standout years serving as the veteran leaders on a newly-assembled Spartans squad. Even Boston College, and Boston Bruins, center James Hagens and top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Gavin McKenna had strong cases for MVP honors. The 2025-26 season, and the first year of CHL eligiblity, brought a wealth of talent to the college flight.
Doug Armstrong Steps Down As Team Canada GM
Following the 2026 Winter Olympics, Doug Armstrong has stepped down as the general manager of Team Canada’s Olympic men’s hockey team per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Armstrong led Canada to a silver medal finish at the latest Olympics, losing in a heartbreak overtime to Team USA. The tournament was led in scoring by two Canadian players – superstar Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini, the youngest NHL player to suit up for Canada’s Olympic men’s team. In an interview with LeBrun, Armstrong said that the result of the tournament was not why he was stepping down. Instead, he felt it was time for change:
I’ve enjoyed every aspect of it. Obviously, you wish you could go out on top. But it would be selfish to want to do it again. It’s such a great experience and I think more people should enjoy it.
Armstrong’s tenure in Canada’s upper management stretches all the way back to the 2002 World Championship, when he worked under Lanny McDonald‘s lead. He has since won seven Gold medals and six Silver medals at the World Championship. Armstrong also worked under Steve Yzerman to put together Canada’s Gold medal-winning rosters at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.
Throughout his reign over the country’s national team, Armstrong has been no stranger to bold decisions. He chose to ignore Celebrini’s age when rostering him for the 2026 Olympics and leaned on a goalie he could trust – the goalie who earned Armstrong his first Stanley Cup win, Jordan Binnington. Those patterns for bold decisions stretch back to the inclusion of players like Braden Schneider, Chris Kunitz, and Dan Hamhuis on international rosters. The decisions often benefited chemistry and morale where they didn’t boost the scoresheet – helping Canada continue blazing their trail of international success.
Naturally, the conversation will shift towards who will become Armstrong’s heir leading Canada’s men’s roster. The triple-gold-winning GM didn’t have any thoughts on immediate successors but did tell LeBrun that he thinks Sidney Crosby would be a perfect fit on the other side of his playing days. Armstrong praised Crosby’s “dignity and grace” on top of his wealth of hockey experience and drive to win. Where Canada tries to act professional and classy, Crosby takes it to another level. Armstrong said he also sees those traits in McDavid.
Armstrong will move forward with a focus on his final days in the St. Louis Blues’ GM role, which is set to turnover to Alexander Steen this summer while Armstrong moves into a full-time President of Hockey Operations role. Team Canada won’t need to worry about a replacement immediately, though they’ll have a great list of options available. Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill, Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, and Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney were all assistants to Armstrong at the 2026 Olympics. The team’s management staff also employed Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas and up-and-coming managerial advisor Ryan Getzlaf.
It seems any of the reigning Silver medal winners could take on the big chair – with Nill and Sweeney offering experience, Dubas offering youth, and BriseBois offering unique approaches. Canada has also called on Yzerman, Shane Doan, and even Wayne Gretzky to manage international rosters. Their star-studded list of candidates will keep news around Team Canada exciting, even as they lose a core part of their management for more than 20 years.
NHL Announce 2028 World Cup Of Hockey
NHL general managers are convening in Palm Beach, Florida for a week of GM meetings beginning on Monday. A top agenda item will be preparing the announcement for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The tournament has been held three times between 1996 and 2016. It was most recently held from September 17 to September 29, 2016, in Toronto. The 2028 iteration of the tournament was originally announced in February 2025.
Despite claims that the tournament will move forward without IIHF involvement, the NHL has announced that they are partnering with the international body to help ensure players from outside the NHL can be made available per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen.
The league made the official announcement at 12:30 P.M. ET on Monday. In it, Calgary and Edmonton, Canada, and Prague, Czechia, were revealed as the hosts cities. The event will take place in February, 2028 – in the middle of the 2027-28 season. Prague and Calgary will each host half of the round robin section of the tournament, while Edmonton will host the semi-finals and finals.
Further, the NHL announced that the tournament will use NHL rules rather than international rules per LeBrun. Most notably, that will mean that overtime periods are five-on-five, rather than three-on-three.
The last iteration of the tournament brought together six countries – America, Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Czechia – as well as two specialized teams, one featuring talent from other European countries and another featuring the top U24 players in America and Canada. The resulting Team North America brought together many NHL superstars well ahead of their prime, including Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Aaron Ekblad, Nathan MacKinnon, and more.
Team North America posted a 2-1-0 record and scored an 11-to-eight goal-differential – but ultimately lost out to Russia’s fewer goals-against (five) in the standings. Russia lost to Team Canada in the first round of the knockout stage, while Team Europe beat Sweden on the other side. Canada would go on to win the tournament, proudly led by leading scorer Sidney Crosby. Alongside Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Toews, Brad Marchand, and Carey Price – Crosby was able to lead Canada to a win over Europe’s Mats Zuccarello, Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik, and Leon Draisaitl.
The next iteration of the World Cup of Hockey should similarly bring together world class talent in a best-on-best competition in the years leading up to the 2030 Winter Olympics. One questoin the NHL will need to be prepared to answer is if, and where, Russian talent will fit into the conversation. The country has been, and continues to be, excluded from all IIHF competition dating back to 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. The NHL will not have to abide by the IIHF’s decision but has previously said that Russia is not expected to be invited to the event, however the NHL did not confirm this in their press conference following the official announcement.
If the NHL chooses to bolster the number of contending teams with another Team Europe or Team North America will also be closely followed. The league has no shortage of young talent breaking through – with stars like Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer even making their case for league-best titles.
Penguins’ Justin Brazeau Out Week-To-Week
It appears the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup will stay shaken up by injury. Three players have been designated as out with upper-body injuries. Winger Justin Brazeau is out on a week-to-week basis, while center Kevin Hayes and defenseman Samuel Girard are out day-to-day. Brazeau and Hayes missed Sunday’s overtime win over the Boston Bruins while Girard played 18 minutes in the matchup. It is not clear when exactly the trio of injuries were sustained.
Brazeau was originally deemed as out day-to-day. His downgraded status will be bad news for a Penguins’ top-six already without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Brazeau has emerged as a hot hand in the Penguins lineup this season. He has 16 goals and 30 points in 48 games, fourth on the team in goals and seventh in total scoring. It is a breakout year after Brazeau stamped his NHL spot with 20 points in 57 games with the Boston Bruins last season. He finished his 2024-25 campaign with the Minnesota Wild but moved on after only scoring two points in 19 games with the club. Brazeau signed a two-year, $3MM contract with Pittsburgh on July 1st.
Another man down will force another promotion into the Penguins’ top-six. Wingers Egor Chinakhov and Ville Koivunen earned increased minutes in the wake of Pittsburgh’s superstar injuries, while Rickard Rakell moved to a center role. Chinakhov has earned his keep with five points in seven games since the return from the Winter Olympic break – but Pittsburgh’s offense overall has dwindled to a 3.00 goals-per-game average in that span, down from their 3.37 average across the full season.
While attempting to patch holes in the top-six, Pittsburgh will also need to make up for Hayes and Girard on their bottom lines. Rookies Avery Hayes and Benjamin Kindel have recently split center duties in the bottom-six, while Connor Clifton will draw back onto the blue-line. The Penguins success this season has largely been driven by their rookie forwards, making the boost in minutes timely. Clifton only has five points in 32 appearances this season – though he has stayed above bar with a plus-two, one of seven Penguins defensemen with a positive plus-minus.
The Penguins will likely lean on their top lines and veteran skaters as they take on the top team in the Metropolitan Division, the Carolina Hurricanes, on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh sits second in their division, eight points behind Carolina.