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Alexander Petrovic

Alexander Petrovic Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL

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1:20 PM: Petrovic cleared waivers and has been assigned to AHL Texas, the team announced.  Dallas also reassigned goaltender Ben Kraws to Texas.

11:49 AM: The Dallas Stars aren’t done managing their rosters just yet. They’ve placed defenseman Alexander Petrovic on waivers for purpose of assignment to the minor leagues, per PuckPedia. Petrovic appeared in 17 of Dallas’ 18 postseason games. He recorded two points, four penalty minutes, and a minus-one while operating from a bottom-pair role.

Petrovic had only played in five NHL games before the start of the postseason. He spent the rest of his season with the AHL’s Texas Stars – netting 25 points, 66 penalty minutes, and a plus-eight through 58 games. It was a step up in production from the 22 points, 40 penalty minutes, and minus-six Petrovic recorded in 70 games last season. Dallas brought him on their postseason run for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs as well, though he didn’t manage any scoring in seven playoff games.

The 6-foot-5, 211-pound Petrovic is a seasoned-in vet of the pro leagues. He had an extended run in the NHL from 2014 to 2019, but found more footing in a minor-league role starting in the 2019-20 season. Petrovic moved to Texas in the 2021-22 season and has become a staple of the minor-league Stars’ blue-line. He’ll get a chance to return to his top-end role now that Dallas has been eliminated from Stanley Cup contention.

The Texas Stars are currently down 2-0 to the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL’s Western Conference Finals. It’s been a tight-fought series, with Game 1 settled in overtime and Game 2 decided by a 1-0 scoreline. It’s also getting chippier by the moment, and adding the hard-hitting presence of Petrovic could be the piece that tilts things back in Texas’ favor.

Minor Transactions: 4/18/25

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There will be several small roster moves today as playoff teams recall their required third goalie for practice and emergency backup purposes, and non-playoff teams conduct some end-of-season roster trimming. We’ll cover all those moves here:

  • The Blues announced they’ve recalled goaltender Will Cranley from ECHL Florida to serve as their emergency backup. St. Louis selected the 23-year-old in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. He was previously added to the Blues’ practice roster for a day during the 4 Nations break while Jordan Binnington was traveling back from the tournament. He finished his second professional season with a 2.71 GAA, .896 SV%, two shutouts, and an 11-9-3 record in 23 ECHL games. He also logged a .867 SV% in a pair of appearances for AHL Springfield, the first of his career.
  • The Stars added defensemen Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic back to the active roster after reassigning them to AHL Texas yesterday for cap purposes. They needed the space to activate Tyler Seguin from long-term injured reserve for the final game of the regular season. They’re expected to serve as the third pairing in Game 1 of the first round against the Avalanche tomorrow, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports. It’ll be the postseason debut for Bichsel, Dallas’ first-round draft choice in 2022. They also recalled goaltender Ben Kraws from ECHL Idaho as their EBUG. An undrafted free agent signing out of St. Lawrence last year, the 24-year-old impressed with a 2.88 GAA, .910 SV%, five shutouts, and a 23-12-5 record in 40 games for Idaho. He also posted a 3.01 GAA and .889 SV% in three appearances for AHL Texas, logging a 2-1-0 record.
  • Serving as the Avalanche’s EBUG will be Kevin Mandolese, the team announced. The 24-year-old has spent the year as Trent Miner’s backup with AHL Colorado after being acquired from the Senators over the offseason. He has a 2.87 GAA, .903 SV%, 11-6-0 record, and one shutout in 19 games.
  • Since the Wild’s AHL affiliate is one of the few to miss the cut for the Calder Cup Playoffs, they’re going with a higher-profile option for their EBUG. Top prospect Jesper Wallstedt will fill the role for them, according to a club announcement. The 2021 first-rounder is expected to succeed the retiring Marc-André Fleury as Filip Gustavsson’s backup next season, but is coming off a disastrous injury-plagued campaign with Iowa. He finished the year with a 3.59 GAA, .879 SV%, one shutout, and a 9-14-4 record in 27 showings.
  • The Panthers summoned Evan Cormier from ECHL Savannah to be their EBUG, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. The 27-year-old struggled with a 3.38 GAA, .887 SV%, one shutout, and a 17-13-4 record in 36 showings in 2024-25. He filled the same duties for the Cats in the first half of last year’s playoff run, signing a two-way deal at the trade deadline for the second season in a row.
  • The Penguins returned forwards Ville Koivunen, Joona Koppanen, Vasiliy Ponomarev, Samuel Poulin, Valtteri Puustinen, and defenseman Filip Král to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after their late-season call-ups. They’ll aid the Baby Pens as they aim to capture a Calder Cup. Not joining them is top prospect Rutger McGroarty, who sustained a lower-body injury last week and isn’t yet ready to return.
  • The Flames assigned forward Sam Morton and defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz to AHL Calgary after they made their NHL debuts in last night’s regular-season finale. Morton scored his first NHL goal in the outing, while Brzustewicz impressed with a plus-two rating. They’ll join the Wranglers for the postseason.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled enforcer Ryan Reaves from the minor leagues. Reaves recently played in his first AHL games since the 2010-11 season. He recorded one goal and, surprisingly, no penalty minutes in three games of play. The 38-year-old also recorded two assists and 28 penalty minutes in 35 NHL games this season. He’ll provide a boost of muscle to the Leafs lineup as they head towards a First Round matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
  • Defenseman Emil Andrae has been reassigned to the minor leagues after holding down a routine role on the Philadelphia Flyers lineup since early March. Andrae split his time between the major and minor rosters this season, with seven points in 42 NHL games and 16 points in 25 AHL games. He was primarily a minor-leaguer last season and managed a stout 32 points, 66 penalty minutes, and minus-10 in 61 games. With the Flyers season over, Andrae will look to again support the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in a late-season push.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have recalled depth forward Derek Ryan from the minor leagues. Ryan split time between the NHL and AHL this year, with one goal and six points in 36 games in the Oilers lineup. He also managed eight points in 13 AHL games. Ryan has played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on five different occasions, racking up 10 points in 60 games. That includes appearing in 19 games of Edmonton’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Ryan contributed one assist to the effort. He’ll now be returned to the NHL roster to support another long run.
  • The Rochester Americans are getting a wave of strong recruits, as the Buffalo Sabres have reassigned each of Jiri Kulich, Tyson Kozak, Noah Ostlund, and Isak Rosen back to the minor leagues. Rosen leads Rochester in scoring this season with 28 goals and 55 points in 60 games. Ostlund has 36 points in 44 games, while Kozak has 14 points in 31 games. Kulich has been the only of the bunch to spend the bulk of the season in the NHL. He carved out a top-six role through points of the season. Kulich finished what was his rookie NHL season with 15 goals and 24 points in 62 games.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Stars Activate Tyler Seguin From Long-Term Injured Reserve

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The Stars have activated center Tyler Seguin from long-term injured reserve, Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News reports. He’s expected to play in tonight’s season finale against the Predators. Dallas assigned defensemen Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic to AHL Texas to remain cap-compliant for their final regular-season contest.

Seguin returns after a four and a half month absence due to a pair of procedures on his left hip. Stars fans held their breath after the announcement – Seguin had similar surgeries done on his right hip in 2020, during which his recovery spiraled and nearly threatened his career. He was given a four-to-six-month recovery timeline, so while today’s news comes at the earlier end of that timeframe, it’s not entirely unexpected. He began practicing last month, and head coach Peter DeBoer said they were expecting him back for their first-round series.

The 33-year-old started the season on a tear before going under the knife, posting 9-11–20 through 19 contests while averaging 16:13 per game. Despite Dallas ranking fourth in the league in goals, Seguin remains the Stars’ only player to notch above a point per game this year. However, Matt Duchene has 81 in 81 and could join him with a multi-point effort tonight. Youngster Logan Stankoven initially stepped into Seguin’s spot on a line with Duchene and Mason Marchment after he exited the lineup. Still, they found a more experienced man for the job when they acquired Mikael Granlund from the Sharks in early February. Stankoven was later traded to the Hurricanes in the second Mikko Rantanen blockbuster of the year.

It’s not clear where Seguin slots into the lineup tonight. DeBoer told the team’s Mike Heika earlier today that there will be some game-time decisions at forward. But when the playoffs begin, it stands to reason Seguin will reclaim his top-six spot and push Granlund down the depth chart. Not only is Granlund’s points-per-game production a downgrade (7-14–21 in 30 GP since the trade), but his possession numbers with Duchene and Marchment are quite underwhelming compared to when Seguin was on the line. The trio has controlled just 37% of expected goals with Granlund compared to 58.9% with Seguin, according to MoneyPuck.

Seguin’s health gives the Stars an even deeper forward lineup, a necessity entering their first-round series against the Avalanche with star defenseman Miro Heiskanen remaining unavailable for the first few games at least. An on-time recovery is also a good sign for his career at large, with two years left on his contract at a $9.85MM cap hit.

As for Bichsel and Petrovic, they’ll presumably be back up with Dallas once the regular season ends and salary-cap restrictions are lifted. Bichsel should be penciled into their Game 1 lineup. The 2022 first-rounder hasn’t served as a healthy scratch since his most recent recall from Texas in February, only exiting the lineup a few times due to concussion protocols and illness. With 4-5–9 and a plus-two rating in 38 appearances this year, he’s been a far more stable depth presence than what Mathew Dumba and Brendan Smith have offered in similar deployment.

Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Stars Recall Alexander Petrovic

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The Stars have added a bit of depth to their back end heading into tonight’s game versus Utah.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Alexander Petrovic from AHL Texas.

It’s the fourth recall of the season for the 33-year-old although playing time on the first three was hard to come by.  Petrovic has been limited to just three games this season in Dallas, being held off the scoresheet in a little over 35 minutes of action.  Still, it’s the second straight season of him getting into an NHL game which is notable as prior to last year, Petrovic’s last action at the top level was back in 2018-19.

Petrovic has once again spent the bulk of the season in Texas and through 58 outings with them, he has five goals and 20 assists.  Texas has been Petrovic’s professional home for the last four years and likely will be his home again next season as he has one season left on his two-year, two-way contract signed last summer.

Team radio analyst Bruce LeVine relays (Twitter link) that several players are questionable for tonight’s game due to illness so it appears as if Petrovic is up as insurance if some of the defensemen can’t go.  In that case, he’ll qualify as an emergency recall and not count against their post-deadline limit of four.

Stars Recall Alexander Petrovic, Place Matt Dumba On IR

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The Dallas Stars have recalled defenseman Alexander Petrovic to fill in for the injured Matt Dumba, who has been shifted to injured reserve. Dumba has missed Dallas’ last three games with an upper-body injury. His IR placement is retroactive to December 8th, making Dumba eligible to be activated as soon as he’s back to full health.

This is already the second IR placement of Dumba’s season. He missed nine days of action in October after suffering a lower-body injury in the team’s October 13th win over Seattle. Dumba was placed on IR six days later but avoided surgery and a long-term absence. He’s played in the majority of Dallas’ games since returning on October 22nd, though he was healthy scratched a few times for underwhelming play. Dumba has just one assist in 19 games this season, and it didn’t come until his 12th game of the season. He’s added 19 penalty minutes, 17 shots on net, and 31 hits on the season while averaging 15:33 in ice time. Dumba’s slow play dates back to last season, when he managed just 12 points in 76 games split between the Arizona Coyotes and Tampa Bay Lightning. He signed a two-year, $7.5MM contract with Dallas this summer looking to spur the lack of production, but has since fallen into an even deeper rut.

Rookie Lian Bichsel has filled in for Dumba over the last few games, but Dallas is still facing uncertain availability for both Thomas Harley and Nils Lundkvist. Both players will be game-time decisions due to flu symptoms, an issue for many different Stars players shares Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News. Petrovic will be ready to fill in for either defender. He’s been Dallas’ go-to call-up on defense, and played in two NHL games earlier this season. Petrovic didn’t manage any scoring, but did record one penalty, in the outings. He’s made much more of an impact in the minor leagues, where he’s tallied 13 points in 21 games while serving as one of Texas’ alternate captains. Petrovic is a veteran of 10 pro seasons, spending much of them as a depth defender split between the major and minor leagues. He’s totaled 50 points in 266 career NHL games, and 164 points in 448 AHL games.

Stars Place Tyler Seguin On IR, Recall Justin Hryckowian

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The Dallas Stars have shifted things around ahead of their Monday matchup against Utah. They’ve recalled forward Justin Hryckowian and assigned defender Alexander Petrovic. Additionally, star forward Tyler Seguin has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

Seguin has carried a lingering lower-body injury through most of the season, and was expected to miss at least one up coming game to nurse the issue. Seguin has been on-fire recently despite the teetering health. He has multi-point games in two of Dallas’ last four outings, including a two-point effort on Friday. The Stars’ star has nine goals and 20 points in 19 games this season, ranking third on the team in scoring.

Seguin will be replaced by young forward Hryckowian, who’s yet to make his NHL debut. The 23-year-old winger is in the first full season of his career. He played in 12 AHL games, and scored three points, at the end of last season – signing with the Texas Stars as an undrafted college free agent. He’s played exceptionally well in the pro setting, with a team-leading 16 points in 17 AHL games this season.

Meanwhile, Petrovic will return to the minors after two games, and no scoring, on the Dallas roster. Petrovic has nine points in 14 AHL games this season, the highest scoring pace of his 14-year professional career. He’s totaled 50 points in 266 career NHL games; and 160 points in 441 AHL games.

Stars Recall Alexander Petrovic

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The Stars announced Friday that they’ve recalled defenseman Alexander Petrovic from AHL Texas. No corresponding transaction is required since the team has an open spot on the active roster and nearly $2MM in current cap space, more than enough to accommodate his league-minimum $775K cap hit.

Dallas summoned Petrovic, 32, once earlier this season to serve as injury insurance on the blue line for a few games in mid-October, but he didn’t get into game action. The 6’5″, 207-lb righty is now in his fourth season with the Stars organization, where he’s served as an alternate captain for their AHL club since day one and is off to an unusually hot start offensively, racking up three goals and six assists for nine points in 14 games to tie for the team lead in scoring among defensemen.

Once a depth mainstay on the Panthers’ NHL roster in the mid-2010s, call-ups have been few and far between for Petrovic in the last few years. He made one regular-season and seven playoff appearances for Dallas last season, marking his first NHL action since splitting 2018-19 between Florida and the Oilers.

Petrovic’s recall will likely yield an appearance or two this time, notes team radio analyst Bruce LeVine. He’s expected to replace Mathew Dumba in the lineup tonight against the Avalanche in a third-pairing role alongside Brendan Smith. The duo struggled in the Stars’ 6-2 loss to the Blackhawks on Wednesday, controlling 31.4% of expected goals at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck. This will be Dumba’s third healthy scratch of the season after signing a two-year, $7.5MM contract in free agency that looks like a rare misguided investment from Dallas general manager Jim Nill.

Petrovic’s previous recall lasted five days, so he can remain on the Stars’ roster for 25 more (or play 10 games) before he needs waivers to return to the AHL.

Afternoon Notes: Ullmark, Sogaard, Stanley, Blumel, Petrovic

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Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark has returned to full health, prompting the team to return Mads Sogaard to the AHL, shares Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Ullmark has been working back from a muscle strain that’s held him out of the team’s last three games. Previous reports shared that Ottawa wanted to be patient not to aggravate the injury as they worked Ullmark back to full speed.

Ullmark has been strong in the two games he’s played with Ottawa, saving 53 of 58 shots faced en route to a 1-1-0 record and .914 save percentage. The same hasn’t been true for Ottawa’s other goaltending options, with Anton Forsberg allowing 10 goals on 73 shots (.863 save percentage) and Mads Sogaard allowing four goals on 17 shots (0.765) in Ullmark’s absence. The Senators have managed to win in front of all three goalies regardless, largely thanks to each of Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and Jake Sanderson recording seven points through the first five games of the season. Ullmark’s return could give Ottawa the back-end consistency to ramp up their early winning-record, though it seems the team could still be in the process of easing their franchise goaltender back to strength.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley has been activated off of injured reserve and will step into the lineup for Haydn Fleury, per Mike McIntyre of The Winnipeg Free Press. Stanley missed the first four games of the season with a knee injury that required surgery during training camp. Stanley has played in just 44 games over the last two seasons, recording five points, 57 penalty minutes, and an average of 13:45 in ice time. He faces an uphill battle to an everyday role, but will get a chance to take the first step when the Jets take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
  • The Dallas Stars have returned forward Matej Blumel and defender Alexander Petrovic to the AHL. Blumel stepped into one game with Dallas during his recall, recording eight minutes of ice time and two shots on net. Petrovic spent the extent of his time in the press box, leaving two games and one point in the AHL as his only stats this year. The Texas Stars will get two big additions with this move – readding the stout, veteran presence of Petrovic and the 30-goal upside of Blumel back to the lineup.

Stars Recall Alexander Petrovic

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Defenseman Alexander Petrovic is back in the NHL after being recalled by the Stars, per a team announcement today. It’s the first recall of the season for the 32-year-old, who went unclaimed on waivers during the preseason.

Now in his fourth year in the Stars organization after initially landing in Texas as a free agent in 2021, Petrovic played in one regular-season and seven playoff contests for Dallas last season – his first NHL action in five years. The former Florida second-round pick has transformed into a minor-league fixture, posting 20 goals and 49 assists for 69 points in 214 games with AHL Texas over the past four seasons.

In his past NHL minutes, Petrovic graded well as a physical bottom-pairing defender. The 6’5″, 208-lb right-shot defender has averaged nearly 200 hits per 82 games throughout his time in the NHL and has half-decent even-strength possession metrics (49.7 CF%, 48.4 xGF%) while averaging north of 16 minutes per game. He’s made 264 career NHL appearances since debuting in the 2012-13 season, all but 10 of which have come with the Panthers. He’s scored five goals with 45 assists for 50 points with a -11 rating.

Currently serving as an alternate captain with Texas, he’ll give the Stars extra insurance on the back end after Mathew Dumba sustained a lower-body injury in Saturday’s shutout win over the Islanders. Dumba is still day-to-day and appears unlikely to suit up in tonight’s contest against the Sharks.

Stars Sign Alexander Petrovic To Two-Year, Two-Way Extension

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The Dallas Stars have signed depth defenseman Alexander Petrovic to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The details of the contract haven’t been released, though Petrovic’s last four contracts have come at a league-minimum price tag.

Petrovic played in his first NHL games since 2019 when he stepped in for one regular season game and seven postseason games this season. He wasn’t able to change his stat line much, recording no scoring, one penalty, and a -1. He’s otherwise spent the rest of his time over the last five seasons in a stout minor league role, capable of playing most of the games in a season and posting modest scoring totals. He lived by that calling card this year, recording 22 points, 40 penalty minutes, and a -6 in 70 games with the AHL’s Texas Stars.

But Petrovic wasn’t always a lock for the minor leagues. He once held a consistent role on the Florida Panthers defense, after being drafted with the team’s fourth selection in the 2010 NHL Draft. Petrovic joined a draft class of Erik Gudbranson, Nick Bjugstad, and Zach Hyman – though none of the quartet ever carved out much of a role with the Panthers. For Petrovic, he muddled around Florida’s bottom pairing, before a 2018 trade to the Edmonton Oilers kicked off his run in the minor leagues. He’s since totaled 283 AHL games in the years since, boasting 101 points and 213 penalty minutes. Petrovic will be set to return to that minor-league role on his new contract, though he could be a popular option for Dallas’ role of seventh-defender, after the team bought out veteran Ryan Suter.

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