Golden Knights Add Nine Players To Playoff Roster
Now up 2-0 in their first-round series against the Stars, the Golden Knights have recalled nine players from AHL Henderson to serve as Black Aces for the remainder of their playoff run, per CapFriendly’s transaction log. Forwards Brendan Brisson, Grigori Denisenko, Byron Froese and Mason Morelli; defensemen Kaedan Korczak, Dysin Mayo and Christoffer Sedoff; and goaltenders Isaiah Saville and Jesper Vikman are now all immediately available to Vegas if injuries force them to reach deep into their pool of depth players.
There was no postseason action in store for any of these players in the minors. Henderson failed to qualify for the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs after going 28-36-3-5 in the regular season, missing out for the second year in a row.
Many of these players, including all of the forwards mentioned and Korczak on the blue line, played in NHL games with the Knights this season. Mayo had 82 NHL games of experience across 2021-22 and 2022-23 with the Coyotes but didn’t suit up for Vegas in 2023-24. Saville, Sedoff and Vikman have yet to make their NHL debuts.
Brisson, 22, is the most likely of these recalls to see game action in the playoffs. The 2020 first-round pick did well in his first NHL season, recording two goals and six assists for eight points in 15 games across a spattering of late-season recalls. Averaging 12:20 per game, he played a handful of different units but spent most of his time on the wing with William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault. The trio controlled 65.2% of expected goals in 43 minutes together, per MoneyPuck. The former University of Michigan standout also had 19 goals and 38 points in 52 contests with Henderson, his second full season in the pros.
Denisenko, 23, was picked up in the first round by the Panthers two years before Brisson. After failing to crack Florida’s opening night roster, he was nabbed off the waiver wire by Vegas in October. He was assigned to Henderson after there were no takers for him on waivers a second time – including his former team. The 5’11” winger still doesn’t have an NHL goal to his name in 32 appearances, six of which came in a Golden Knights sweater this season. However, he did have a breakthrough campaign in the minors, recording career-highs across the board with 20 goals, 36 assists and 56 points in 65 games. That led the club in assists and points, and only veteran Sheldon Rempal had more goals (27).
Froese, 33, recorded an assist in 16 appearances for Vegas this year, marking his first time playing in back-to-back NHL seasons since playing in three straight from 2015-16 to 2017-18. The longtime farmhand has suited up 141 times in parts of six seasons for the Canadiens, Flames, Golden Knights, Maple Leafs and Lightning. An alternate captain with Henderson, Froese finished fifth on the club in scoring with 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) in 53 games.
Morelli, 28, earned his first NHL contract with the Golden Knights last July after spending three years on minor-league deals with the Hershey Bears, the Capitals’ AHL affiliate. Fresh off a Calder Cup win in 2023, Morelli made his NHL debut in February while injuries decimated the Knights’ forward group. He put up a goal and an assist on his first try against the Sharks and finished his callup with four points in nine games. The North Dakota native also had a career-high 13 goals in 56 games with Henderson, adding 16 assists for 29 points on the year.
On the blue line, Korczak will be head coach Bruce Cassidy‘s first choice to insert into the lineup if Vegas needs to reach past the two extra defenders they entered the postseason with. The 23-year-old was a second-round pick in 2019 and played a career-high 26 games for the Golden Knights this year, posting nine points and a +12 rating while averaging 16:30 per game. He mirrored those stats in Henderson with a goal and eight assists in 26 games there and still carries significant NHL upside as a smooth-skating, 6’4″ right-shot defender. His entry-level contract is up this summer, but his next deal shouldn’t cost more than $1MM just yet and will be a cheap, reliable call-up option with an outside chance to crack next year’s opening night roster.
Mayo, 27, was picked up by the Knights in a February 2023 trade with Arizona that sent a fifth-round pick and the contract of defenseman Shea Weber, who won’t play again due to various injuries, to the Yotes. An adept shutdown defender with depth NHL upside, Mayo had a career-high 25 points in 67 games with the Silver Knights this season with a -6 rating and 79 PIMs, his most in a single season since his junior hockey days.
Sedoff, 22, was an undrafted free-agent signing by Vegas from the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels last year. The Finnish blue-liner managed to stick in the AHL the whole season, avoiding a demotion to the ECHL, but didn’t score in 46 appearances. He tallied 10 assists for his first-ever professional points and posted a -1 rating, the second-highest on the team behind Brisson among qualified skaters.
Saville and Vikman split backup duties for Henderson behind the more experienced Jiří Patera, although neither won the job outright. The 23-year-old Saville had slightly better numbers, going 7-12-1 with a .893 SV%, 3.27 GAA and one shutout in 22 appearances. The Alaska native was a Vegas fifth-round pick in 2019. Vikman, 22, was a fifth-round pick a year after Saville. The 6’3″ Swede split the year between Henderson and ECHL Savannah, failing to cross the .900 SV% plateau at either level.
Golden Knights Reassign Brendan Brisson
April 12: Brisson was returned to AHL Henderson on Friday with Stephenson rejoining the team for tonight’s match against the Wild. He logged 11:52 in Wednesday’s loss to the Oilers and put up zeros across the board.
April 9: The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forward Brendan Brisson from the minor leagues. Brisson will serve as a fill-in option for Chandler Stephenson, who left the team’s trip to Edmonton for the expected birth of his child, per Sin Bin Vegas (Twitter link). Stephenson’s absence would qualify this recall for an emergency loan, preserving Vegas’ few remaining recalls this season.
This move marks Brisson’s eighth call-up of the season after he was sent down on Monday, giving Vegas the cap space needed to activate Tomas Hertl off of injured reserve. Brisson made his NHL debut on January 15th and has since totaled 14 games in the Vegas lineup, scoring two goals and eight points. He’s managed the production while serving in a third-line role, averaging just under 12-and-a-half minutes of ice time each game. And while he’s bounced between the major and minor leagues, the former first-round pick has most recently played in the NHL, recording an assist in Vegas’ Friday night loss to the Arizona Coyotes. The game was Brisson’s reward for recording eight points across his last eight AHL games, including three nights of two or more points. The scoring brought him up to 17 goals and 36 points in 50 AHL games – an impressive mark for the first-year pro.
Stephenson’s absence would likely open the door for Hertl to take on a full role in the offense, with Brisson slotting into the team’s bottom six. Hertl recorded an assist in his Vegas debut and will need to stay productive as the Golden Knights look to claw their way back into the top three of the Pacific Division.
Vegas Activates Hertl Off IR, Assign Two Others
The Vegas Golden Knights officially activated Tomas Hertl off the injured reserve last night which sparked a series of roster moves so that the team could insert the forward into their lineup while remaining cap compliant. The 30-year-old Hertl was acquired by Vegas from the San Jose Sharks back on March 8th in a move that surprised the hockey world. Hertl played 20:20 last night in a loss to the Vancouver Canucks and did notch an assist. The game was the 49th of Hertl’s season and the first of his career in a jersey other than a Sharks jersey. On the season, Hertl has now posted 15 goals and 20 assists and is -27.
The Golden Knights made two other moves last night, first moving forward William Carrier back to the LTIR as he hasn’t played since March 25th due to an upper-body injury. Carrier was placed on LTIR exactly one month ago but returned in March to play six games before being injured again. Carrier has struggled this season with just six goals and two assists in 39 games.
Vegas also assigned rookie forward Brendan Brisson to their AHL affiliate in Henderson. The move was a clear financial move to be cap compliant as Brisson has been solid in limited NHL action this season with two goals and six assists in 14 games. Brisson only dressed in one game during his most recent recall and has points in four straight NHL games.
Vegas currently sits in the final wild card spot in the Western Conference and is a point back of the Los Angeles Kings for third spot in the Pacific Division.
Golden Knights Recall Brendan Brisson
The Golden Knights have brought Brendan Brisson back to the NHL roster, per a team announcement. His recall comes under emergency conditions after head coach Bruce Cassidy announced Tomáš Hertl won’t be ready to make his Vegas debut against the Coyotes tomorrow and said they’ll likely be without Nicolas Roy due to an undisclosed injury. Summoning Brisson guarantees them 12 healthy forwards in Arizona.
Brisson, 22, joins the Vegas roster for the first time since he was assigned to Henderson on March 13. The 2020 first-round pick has played in 13 games this season after making his NHL debut in January, doing quite well with two goals and seven points in limited ice time. A natural center, Brisson has mostly played wing throughout his first major-league stint, and he’ll likely do so again on a line with Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar if his services are needed tomorrow.
The Los Angeles native’s possession game has also been better than his -4 rating suggests. He’s recorded a 48.9 CF% and 50.0 xGF% at even strength, not jaw-dropping by any stretch but still better than the majority of his teammates when in the lineup. His positive impact on shot attempts has been strong in particular, as Vegas’ CF% with him on the ice is 4% better than without him across his limited run of play. He’s most frequently suited up alongside William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault, skating over 43 minutes with them across six games, but has also logged significant time on lines with Karlsson and Michael Amadio as well as Howden and Paul Cotter.
Vegas has space to absorb Brisson’s $925K cap hit without making any corresponding moves, but only because Hertl remains on LTIR for the time being. When he’s ready to go, likely now for Monday’s game in Vancouver, they’ll need to assign two contracts to Henderson to activate him. As such, Brisson’s stay in the majors will be brief.
Brisson’s decent initial showing makes him a candidate to crack the Golden Knight’s opening night roster in 2024-25, especially considering he’s also done well on a poor Henderson team with 16 goals and 36 points in 50 games. His ELC remains valid for next season, after which he’ll be an RFA.
Golden Knights Place William Carrier On LTIR, Recall Brendan Brisson
After adding several players in trades leading up to the trade deadline, the Golden Knights needed some more cap space. To create that room in the short term, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve placed winger William Carrier and his $1.4MM AAV on LTIR. They’ve used some of that space immediately as they’ve recalled winger Brendan Brisson from AHL Henderson, per the AHL’s transactions log.
The 29-year-old has missed the last two months with an upper-body injury that he underwent surgery for back in January. At the time he was given a designation of week-to-week so it appears that recovery from the injury has gone slower than anticipated. He joins Mark Stone and Robin Lehner as players currently on LTIR; newly-acquired center Tomas Hertl is out long-term term but is not on LTIR at the moment.
Carrier is a pending unrestricted free agent and missing this much time due to injury certainly isn’t going to help things if he makes it to the open market in July. Before getting hurt, Carrier had five goals and two assists along with 71 hits in 33 games while averaging 11L16 per night, his lowest ATOI since the 2020-21 campaign.
As for Brisson, it’s his sixth recall of the season and he has played well in limited action with the big club. Through 12 appearances so far, the 22-year-old has two goals and four assists while averaging 12:39 a night. He also has 13 goals and 15 assists in 42 games with the Silver Knights. With Vegas only having 11 healthy forwards on the active roster before his promotion, they should be able to classify this as an emergency recall, one that wouldn’t count against their post-deadline limit of four.
Golden Knights Activate Jack Eichel, Place Mark Stone On LTIR
The Golden Knights welcomed back a key part of their attack tonight against Columbus as the team announced (Twitter link) that center Jack Eichel has been activated off long-term injured reserve. To become cap-compliant to activate him, winger Mark Stone was transferred to LTIR, per PuckPedia (Twitter link). Additionally, SinBinVegas relays (Twitter link) that forward Brendan Brisson has been taken off the roster, meaning he has been sent down to AHL Henderson.
Eichel has missed the last seven weeks (spanning 19 games) after undergoing surgery to repair a knee injury in mid-January and had been cleared for full contact since Friday. Despite the extended absence, the 27-year-old still sits third on Vegas with 19 goals and 44 points in 42 games which had earned him an All-Star nod although he couldn’t participate due to the injury.
It has been a rough go as of late for the Golden Knights who won seven of the first nine games without their top middleman but have lost seven of their last nine, dropping them to fourth in the Pacific in terms of point percentage. If that held, instead of contending for a division title, they’d find themselves in a Wild Card spot so they’ll be counting on Eichel to help right the ship.
As for Stone, his LTIR placement has been widely expected. The 31-year-old last played on February 20th with what has been reported as a lacerated spleen, one that will keep him out of the rest of the regular season at least; his availability for the start of the playoffs remains in question. His absence has also been significant as Stone is still tied for the team lead in points (53) and leads Vegas in assists with 37.
The fact that Stone will miss the rest of the regular season means that the Golden Knights can use the remainder of their LTIR pool – a little over $7MM – to add to their roster before Friday’s trade deadline.
As for Brisson, the 22-year-old was up on an emergency recall and hasn’t looked out of place in his first taste of NHL action over the last seven weeks. Brisson has two goals and four assists with Vegas so far this season while logging 12:39 per night, good numbers for a rookie. Meanwhile, with the Silver Knights, he has been more productive, notching 12 goals and 14 helpers in 41 contests. While Vegas had the ability to keep Brisson on the active roster, it makes more sense to send him down if he isn’t going to play in their top 12 for the time being.
Golden Knights Place Mark Stone On IR, Recall Three
3:30 PM: Mark Stone is dealing with a lacerated spleen, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. Seravalli adds that a timeline would be hard to gauge for this injury, though Stone will likely miss significant time.
1:00 PM: The Vegas Golden Knights have placed star winger Mark Stone on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. In a corresponding move, the team recalled forwards Brendan Brisson, Byron Froese, and Sheldon Rempal from the minor leagues. They have also assigned forward Grigori Denisenko to the AHL. These roster moves will help Vegas fill the absences left by injuries to Stone, Jack Eichel, William Carrier, and Pavel Dorofeyev – all on IR. Vegas is also facing injury to Brett Howden, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury., per reports from SinBin Vegas.
The injury bug is fully hitting Vegas, forcing the team to dig deep into their depth. Each of Brisson, Froese, and Rempal have played in a few NHL games this season, with Brisson leading the group in scoring with one goal and three points. Rempal has scored two goals as well, while Froese is searching for his first point of the season. The trio is a part of 19 different forwards that have played for the Golden Knights this season.
Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon recently went onto Pierre McGuire’s podcast and shared that Jack Eichel and William Carrier are nearing a return. Vegas will hope those returns come as soon as possible, now with both of their top two scorers in Stone and Eichel facing injury questions. Eichel is the only Golden Knight still scoring above a point-per-game pace, with 19 goals and 44 points in 42 games. He’s recovering from a knee injury that’s earned him a place on long-term injured reserve and has held him out since mid-January.
Golden Knights Recall Byron Froese, Reassign Brendan Brisson, Tobias Bjornfot
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled defenseman Byron Froese and assigned forward Brendan Brisson and defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. Bjornfot’s assignment is part of a long-term injury conditioning loan, per the team.
Froese has spent much of the season in the AHL, scoring eight goals and 15 points in 37 games. He’s also played in seven NHL games, going without a point and recording four penalty minutes. Froese has been a de facto call-up since 2015-16, when he made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played in 56 games that season, a mark that remains a career-high. Froese was originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft – getting taken in the same round as Casey Cizikas and Mattias Ekholm, and one selection before Ben Chiarot.
The Golden Knights are sending down two young players in Brisson and Bjornfot. Neither player has found a particular scoring edge in the NHL this season, with Brisson netting three points in his first seven NHL games and Bjornfot going without a point in his first two games with Vegas since the team claimed off waivers. Bjornfot is currently grappling with an undisclosed injury that’s earned him a spot on injured reserve. He joins a long list of injured Golden Knights, including Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev, William Carrier, and Shea Theodore.
Transaction Notes: Brisson, Rempal, Malinski, Beckman
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forwards Brendan Brisson and Sheldon Rempal per a team announcement. In the same announcement, the team also recalled Jonas Rondbjerg as well as returning Daniil Miromanov from his conditioning stint, which was reported last night.
This set of transactions will give the Golden Knights a total of 14 forwards and seven defensemen available for their game tomorrow night against the Edmonton Oilers. Seeing their team decimated by several injuries already this season, Vegas’ organizational depth has been tested after their Stanley Cup Championship run last spring.
Playing in a combined eight games this year for the Golden Knights, Brisson, and Rempal will likely serve in the team’s bottom six, as neither player has averaged more than 12 minutes of ice time a game. Outside of the NHL, both Brisson and Rempal have been successful this year with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, scoring 12 goals and 20 goals, respectively.
Other notes:
- The Colorado Avalanche have announced that the team has recalled defenseman Sam Malinski from their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Signing with the team as an undrafted free agent last season, Malinski’s first full season with the organization has been productive. In 22 games for the Eagles, Malinski has scored four goals and 13 points in 22 games, sitting third on the team in scoring among defensemen. In the exact amount of games played for the Avalanche, Malinski has put up three goals and 10 points while averaging a touch over 14 minutes of ice time per game.
- With Pat Maroon, Connor Dewar, and Vinni Lettieri still on the injured reserve, the Minnesota Wild have recalled forward Adam Beckman from the Iowa Wild to round out their depth. This will be Beckman’s first call-up of the 2023-24 season after failing to make the team out of training camp. Playing in 37 games for Iowa this year, Beckman has been relatively productive, scoring nine goals and 19 points in total.
Transaction Notes: Flames, Golden Knights, Wild, Blackhawks, Lightning
While most teams prepare for an informal roster freeze over the upcoming NHL All-Star break, many are also stripping their roster down to the bare minimum to save as much cap space for the encroaching trade deadline in early March. Today, the Calgary Flames activated forward Martin Pospisil from the injured reserve, while optioning Matthew Coronato, Adam Klapka, and Cole Schwindt to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.
According to Ryan Pike of Flames Nation, this set of transactions by the Flames will save the organization approximately $497K in cap space, just by sending them down over the All-Star break. As one of the expected sellers leading into this year’s trade deadline, the nearly half a million in cap space could allow Calgary to weaponize their cap space, as many deadline sellers have done.
For development’s sake, with the NHL returning to regular season action on February 5th, the trio of players sent down by the Flames today will have the opportunity to play in three games for the Wranglers. Coronato projects to factor in the most, still leading Calgary’s AHL team in points, having already scored 12 goals and 29 points in 27 games for the Wranglers this season.
Other transaction notes:
- Similarly to the Flames, the Vegas Golden Knights have optioned Brendan Brisson, Sheldon Rempal, and Jonas Rondbjerg to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, per a team announcement. Having been recalled on January 18th via an emergency loan, Rempal has largely been the most successful of the bunch over the last several games for the Golden Knights, scoring a goal against both the New York Islanders and New York Rangers over the last four contests.
- In an announcement earlier this afternoon, the Minnesota Wild sent down forward Jake Lucchini and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. Not only one of the best prospects in the Wild organization but one of the best prospects across the league, Wallstedt was able to make his NHL debut in his previous call-up coming in early January, stopping 27 of 34 shots in the team’s loss against the Dallas Stars on January 10th.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have sent down forward Cole Guttman and defenseman Louis Crevier to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, per a media release this afternoon. Guttman has been the much better player in Rockford this season, playing with the team through much of October and November. Over that stretch, Guttman scored three goals and nine points in 12 games for the IceHogs, tying him for 12th on the team in scoring for the season.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning made similar roster moves today, sending down Maxwell Crozier, Mitchell Chaffee, and Waltteri Merela to their longtime AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Although neither of the three have made a large impact in their limited NHL experience, Chaffee has been the most successful over the last stretch, earning a goal and an assist in the team’s recent victory against the Arizona Coyotes on January 25th.