Afternoon Notes: Bischel, Marner, Lyubushkin, Regenda
The Boston Bruins have returned to the well in South Bend, signing the University of Notre Dame’s Ryan Bischel to a one-year, minor-league contract that begins next season. Bischel joins the Providence Bruins just one week after Notre Dame teammate Drew Bavaro signed a deal with the team. Bavaro – who signed an amateur try-out for the rest of this season, in addition to a one-year deal next season – has since played in the first two AHL games of his career, recording one penalty and two shots. Boston also acquired former Notre Dame captain Andrew Peeke at the Trade Deadline, sending Jakub Zboril and a 2027 third-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Bruins are landing one of the top NCAA free agents in Bischel, who is a finalist for Big Ten Goaltender of the Year this season after winning the award last year. The 24-year-old netminder has served as Notre Dame’s full-time starter over the last two seasons, recording a combined 31 wins and .928 save percentage. He’s been dazzling for the Fighting Irish, earning the eighth-most wins and seventh-best save percentage in program history over his five years in Indiana.
Bischel now joins a Bruins goalie room filled with great talent, including reigning Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark, William M. Jennings Trophy batterymate Jeremy Swayman, and 2023 AHL All-Star Brandon Bussi. The Bruins reportedly tried to move Ullmark at the Deadline, though the esteemed netminder invoked his no-trade clause to block the deal. Boston could be poised to revisit those trade talks this summer, after bolstering their depth charts with this move.
Other notes from around the league:
- Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin is doubtful for the team’s Tuesday game against Philadelphia, per head coach Sheldon Keefe (Twitter Link), who shares that Lyubushkin is battling illness. Keefe also shared that star forward Mitch Marner continues to carry a day-to-day designation and won’t join the team on their upcoming two-game road trip. Marner has missed Toronto’s last three games with a high ankle sprain, while Lyubushkin may exit the lineup after battling through an undisclosed injury, and questionable designation, for the team’s Saturday game.
- The Anaheim Ducks have sent Pavol Regenda back to the AHL after recalling him on an emergency loan on March 12th. Regenda played in four NHL games on the recall, recording no points, two penalty minutes, and a -1. He also managed four blocks, six shots on net, and 10 hits. The matchups bring Regenda to 19 career NHL games, though the one goal and three points he managed in 14 games last season stand as his only scoring. The 24-year-old winger also has 16 goals and 29 points in 39 AHL games this season.
East Notes: Bolduc, Konecny, Merzļikins, Lyubushkin
The Islanders have reinstated defenseman Samuel Bolduc after assigning him to AHL Bridgeport on a conditioning loan late last month, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports. Bolduc remained on the active roster and counted against the cap while on his conditioning stint, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.
Bolduc, 23, scored a goal and earned a +2 rating in five games for Bridgeport over the past week and a half. It was his first minor-league action in 11 months after cracking the NHL roster out of training camp for the first time this season. The 2019 second-round pick has not played for the Isles since Jan. 27 and was a healthy scratch in seven straight before his assignment to Bridgeport. He’s averaged just 12:56 per game this season, the lowest among active Islanders defenders, and has three points and a -5 rating in 33 games. He’s struggled to control possession in his limited minutes, too, logging a 43.4 CF% at even strength.
Other updates from the Eastern Conference:
- Flyers winger Travis Konecny remains out Monday against the Blues. However, he returned to practice with the team this morning, albeit in a non-contact jersey, per Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports. It’s the first time he’s been on the ice with the team since sustaining an upper-body injury last month that’s cost him five games. Despite the absence, he remains Philadelphia’s leading scorer with 27 goals and 54 points in 57 games, leaving quite a large hole in their lineup as they aim to hold on to a playoff berth and third place in the Metropolitan Division down the stretch.
- Blue Jackets netminder Elvis Merzļikins‘ absence is not a guise for a potential trade, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. His day-to-day designation with an upper-body injury is legitimate, and the 29-year-old will miss tonight’s game against the Golden Knights as such. Rookie Jet Greaves was recalled under emergency conditions from AHL Cleveland yesterday and is expected to back up Daniil Tarasov, who will start for the second time in three games. Trade speculation surrounds Merzļikins amidst a bounce-back season from the Latvian goaltender, who has a robust .904 SV% and 12-13-7 record in 35 games behind a rebuilding Blue Jackets squad.
- The new-but-familiar Ilya Lyubushkin won’t miss any time for the Maple Leafs after sustaining a head injury in Saturday’s shootout win over the Rangers, per David Alter of The Hockey News. Lyubushkin was a full participant in Monday’s morning skate alongside Morgan Rielly and will suit up for his second game since last week’s trade from the Ducks in a likely first-round preview against the Bruins tonight. The Russian blue-liner, who has four assists in 56 games this year, was on the receiving end of a controversial hit from towering New York enforcer Matt Rempe in the second period over the weekend and did not return to the game.
Afternoon Notes: Keller, Blackwood, Lyubushkin
Star Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller could be back soon, per general manager Bill Armstrong, who designated Keller as day-to-day with an upper-body injury suffered in the team’s February 25th game against the Winnipeg Jets. Keller will miss the team’s Sunday game against the Washington Capitals, marking his fourth absence with this injury.
Alexander Kerfoot has slotted into the team’s top-line center role in Keller’s absence, scoring two points in his last three games. That brings Kerfoot’s totals up to 35 points in 60 games – the second-most he’s scored in the last five years. But it pales in comparison to Keller, who leads the Coyotes in scoring by nine points, with 22 goals and 52 points in 56 games. He and winger Matias Maccelli are the team’s only players to break 40 points so far this season, through Arizona’s first 60 games.
Keller’s upgrade to a day-to-day designation is exciting progression for a Coyotes team that’s lost 16 of their last 19 games, getting outscored 49-to-76. Keller continues to be a major piece of Arizona’s offense, averaging over 19 minutes of ice time this season, and will likely slot immediately back into their top forward role when he’s healthy.
Other notes from around the league:
- San Jose Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood traveled with the team to face the Minnesota Wild and is trending towards making a return this week, per Sheng Peng with NBC Sports. Blackwood has been facing an undisclosed injury since the team’s Tuesday night loss to the New Jersey Devils, missing San Jose’s last two games. The injury earned Blackwood a spot on injured reserve on Wednesday, making San Jose’s upcoming Tuesday matchup against the Dallas Stars the earliest that he could return. He’s faced a string of injuries this season but has still operated as San Jose’s starter, recording nine wins and a .899 save percentage in 35 games.
- Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin has a head injury, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe, after receiving a hit to the head from New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe. Keefe had some choice words for Rempe’s hit, slamming the rookie winger for leaving his feet and taking a player out of the game. There is currently no timetable for Lyubushkin’s return. He was in his first game with the Leafs this season, after joining the team via trade from the Anaheim Ducks earlier in the week.
Maple Leafs Notes: Trade Deadline, Giordano, Lyubushkin, Liljegren, Järnkrok
The Maple Leafs are willing to part with a first-round pick at the trade deadline for the right deal, GM Brad Treliving said Friday (via Jonas Siegel of The Athletic). That deal won’t take the form of a rental acquisition, as Treliving preached being “careful with first-round picks for short-term help,” which falls in line with the organization’s reported unwillingness to surrender one in a deal for former Flames blue-liner Chris Tanev, now traded to the Stars.
In terms of blue-line targets, that could include Capitals shutdown man Nick Jensen, who Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said the Maple Leafs may have interest in on Friday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast episode. He’s having a down year offensively, with eight assists in 56 games, but he logs top-four minutes consistently. He’s also controlled possession quality well over the past few seasons in shutdown-only usage.
Jensen’s $4.05MM cap hit through 2026 may be too much term for Treliving’s liking, though, especially if the Capitals are averse to retaining salary. With Jensen locked up for a few more years, there’s also little incentive for Washington to move him while they’re in the middle of a playoff race unless a significant offer is tabled.
Other updates from the Leafs:
- Veteran defenseman Mark Giordano sustained a concussion when he crashed into the boards during the first period of yesterday’s 4-2 win over the Coyotes, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed (via Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun). He has been designated for injured reserve before tomorrow’s game against the Rangers, opening the roster spot necessary for Ilya Lyubushkin after the team acquired him from the Ducks last night. The Leafs are hoping Lyubushkin can debut in his second stint with Toronto tomorrow if travel issues don’t pose any threats, Keefe said. If he makes it, he’s expected to be reunited with former partner Morgan Rielly. He would replace Giordano in the lineup and allow T.J. Brodie to slide back to his natural left side along with Jake McCabe on a shutdown second pairing.
- Another question mark for tomorrow is the health of Timothy Liljegren, who did not practice today but hasn’t been ruled out against the Rangers, Keefe said. Liljegren, 24, has now missed two games with an undisclosed injury but would provide the Leafs with two right-shot options if he and Lyubushkin are both okay to play. His return would push William Lagesson to the press box, and he would likely replace McCabe on the second pairing alongside Brodie. That duo was quite effective during Rielly’s recent five-game suspension, dominating possession play while shouldering top-pairing minutes. McCabe would then form a third pairing with Simon Benoit, giving Toronto perhaps their most well-rounded defense lineup of the season.
- Someone who could force an additional roster move is winger Calle Järnkrok, who practiced today and is nearing a return from a knuckle fracture that’s kept him out since late January. Keefe did not rule him out for tomorrow’s game, although he seems unlikely to return just yet. The Leafs will need to open a spot on the roster for his return, which could result in placing recent frequent healthy scratch Noah Gregor on waivers or demoting their lone waiver-exempt depth forward, Nicholas Robertson, to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Järnkrok replaced Robertson’s role in the lineup during line rushes at this morning’s practice, skating alongside Bobby McMann and captain John Tavares in his new third-line role.
Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Ilya Lyubushkin From Anaheim
The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin from the Anaheim Ducks. The deal formally sent Lyubushkin from Anaheim, who retained 50 percent of his cap hit, to the Carolina Hurricanes, who retained another 25 percent, and then to the Leafs. Lyubushkin carries a $2.75MM cap hit, meaning that Toronto is only due $687,500 against their cap – less than a league-minimum contract.
In return, Toronto sent Anaheim a 2025 third-round draft pick and Carolina a 2024 sixth-round pick. The trade broke after Lyubushkin was surprisingly absent from Anaheim’s Thursday night game against the San Jose Sharks.
This marks the second time that Toronto has traded for Lyubushkin, with the previous coming during the 2021-22 season when they sent Nick Ritchie and a 2025 second-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes for Ryan Dzingel and Lyubushkin. Lyubushkin would go on to play in 31 games for the Leafs, recording six points and 25 penalty minutes. He signed with the Buffalo Sabres in the following summer and was traded to Anaheim from Buffalo last season. The formerly undrafted defenseman has totaled 334 games across his journeyman career, adding 43 points and 181 penalty minutes. He joined the league in the 2018-19 season, making his debut with the Arizona Coyotes after four seasons with the KHL’s Yaroslavl Lokomotiv.
Toronto has also received the rights to Kirill Slepets from Carolina, to facilitate their retention of Lyubushkin’s cap hit. Slepets has played in the KHL since the 2018-19 season, growing up through Russia’s juniors league. He remains unsigned in the NHL. Carolina originally drafted him in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Bellemare, Mintyukov, McTavish
The Vegas Golden Knights made some roster moves today as they’ve assigned goaltender Jiri Patera and forward Sheldon Rempal to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL.
Patera dressed last night as starting netminder Adin Hill‘s backup as netminder Logan Thompson was out of action due to an illness. The 24-year-old Patera has appeared in five games this season for Vegas, registering a 1-3 record with a 3.75 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.
Rempal has also appeared in five games at the NHL level this season and has posted the first two goals of his NHL career. The Calgary, Alberta native has appeared sparingly over parts of five NHL seasons and once again finds himself in the AHL where he has posted solid offensive numbers with 21 goals and 12 assists in 43 games.
In other Pacific Division notes:
- Roots Sports reporter Scott Malone tweeted that the Seattle Kraken have activated forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare off the injured reserve. The 38-year-old has been out of action since suffering a lower-body injury back on December 18th and has appeared in 29 games this season for the Kraken, posting four goals and a single assist while averaging 9:34 of ice time per game. Bellemare is in his tenth NHL season as he was a late arrival to the NHL having spent his first 11 professional seasons playing in his native country of France.
- Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have welcomed back defenseman Pavel Mintyukov as the rookie 20-year-old was activated off the injured reserve today. According to Lee, Mintyukov skated on the Ducks’ third pairing tonight alongside Ilya Lyubushkin. Mintyukov has had a solid first season in the NHL, posting two goals and 17 assists in 41 games this season while averaging over 18 minutes a night in ice time.
- The Ducks also welcomed back forward Mason McTavish after a one-game absence. The 21-year-old was dealing with an upper-body injury that kept him sidelined briefly but was healthy enough to be reinserted into the lineup tonight as the Ducks fell to the Montreal Canadiens 5-0. McTavish is mired in a six-game goalless drought but still has 13 goals on the season to go along with 18 assists in 44 games.
Pacific Notes: Arvidsson, Fagemo, Duclair, Karlsson, Lyubushkin
The Kings have been without a key winger all season as Viktor Arvidsson works his way back from a back injury sustained during training camp. It appears they’ll be without the 30-year-old for a while yet as Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times notes that while Arvidsson has started skating on his own, he’s still two or three weeks away from rejoining the team for practice; it would obviously be longer than that before he’d be good to return. Arvidsson, who had one of his best years last season with 26 goals and 59 points, is currently on LTIR, giving Los Angeles ample room to carry a full-sized roster. They’ll have to get cap-compliant when the time comes to activate him which could come not long before the March 8th trade deadline.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- Still with Los Angeles, they have returned winger Samuel Fagemo to AHL Ontario, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 23-year-old has been up and down a couple of times now this week, getting into one game with the Kings during that time. Since being claimed back off waivers in November, Fagemo has been quite productive with the Reign, notching 20 goals in just 24 games.
- Pending unrestricted free agent winger Anthony Duclair has not yet had any discussions about a contract extension with the Sharks, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 28-year-old has eight goals and eight assists in 41 games so far but has also been scratched as of late. Duclair, who represents himself, said that he expects to sit down at some point with GM Mike Grier to discuss a new deal. He’s currently making $3MM and with a 31-goal season under his belt on this contract back in 2021-22, he’s likely going to be looking for at least a small raise on that contract.
- After being recalled late Friday, Canucks forward Linus Karlsson has been returned to AHL Abbotsford, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has played in four games with Vancouver over his four recalls and is still looking for his first NHL point. Karlsson has been productive in the minors though, collecting 25 points in 27 games so far.
- The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin was scratched for their game tonight against the Rangers due to an upper-body injury. The 29-year-old has been a regular on Anaheim’s third pairing all season long, logging over 17 minutes a night in 45 games. While the pending UFA only has four assists, he also has contributed 117 blocked shots and 71 hits and is likely to attract some interest from playoff-bound squads looking to toughen up the back end of their defense corps in the coming weeks.
Snapshots: Ducks, Schwartz, Maple Leafs
Without a definitive commitment on their availability for the team’s game tonight, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports that the Anaheim Ducks are nearing the return of defensemen Radko Gudas and Ilya Lyubushkin. Gudas had previously missed the entirety of the team’s last game against the Vancouver Canucks, while Lyubushkin left during the game and did not return to action.
Anaheim could certainly use the reinforcements on the blue line, as they are currently riding a seven-game losing streak, being outscored by a margin of 21 goals in that time. Providing mild offense in their own right, Gudas and Lyubushkin’s defensive capabilities would help the Ducks considerably in keeping the pucks out of their net.
In regards to Gudas specifically, even though he was an integral defensive cog in the Florida Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final last summer, he has arguably become even more important to the Ducks organization. Over the last several seasons, Anaheim has had a difficult time in the defensive zone, but with Gudas’ arrival, he has aided the team with a 91.3% oiSV% through the first 21 games of the season, a higher mark than even his solid career averages in that department.
Other snapshots:
- Earlier today, it was reported that after leaving Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with a lower-body injury, the Seattle Kraken would be placing forward Jaden Schwartz on injured reserve. In speaking about that directly with reporters today, the head coach of the Kraken, Dave Hakstol, stated that Schwartz’s placement on the IR would be longer than a ‘day-to-day’ injury, indicating that Schwartz could be out of Seattle’s lineup for at least the next handful of games (X Link).
- Although being acquired by the Vancouver Canucks a little while ago, there was another team extremely interested in adding Nikita Zadorov to their blue line. Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs were interested in acquiring both Zadorov and Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames in one trade, giving the indication that the Maple Leafs will be adding a notable defenseman in some form or another by the trade deadline.
Anaheim Ducks Acquire Ilya Lyubushkin
The Buffalo Sabres have announced they are sending defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2025, originally owned by the Minnesota Wild. It had been rumored for several weeks that Lyubushkin could be on the chopping block due to the logjam on defense in Buffalo, and a move finally came to fruition.
As most have known for over a month, the Sabres organization put themselves in a position to move out a defenseman prior to training camp opening in September. It’s not a bad problem to have for any organization, especially considering Buffalo made other moves to address a weak spot in their lineup. After free agency opened on July 1st this summer, the Sabres addressed this organizational need by bringing in defenseman Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson.
With a $2.75MM salary for the 2023-24 season, and both Clifton and Johnson being right-handed, Lyubushkin quickly became the odd-man out in Buffalo. The Sabres will now have a touch over $8.7MM in cap space heading into the season, with plenty of cap flexibility to make another move prior to opening night, and even more flexibility to make a large-scale trade deadline acquisition.
After moving out Lyubushkin, the Sabres organization still has eight defensemen that could conceivably make the opening night roster, an indication that they may not be entirely finished ironing out their lineup. The only area of tremendous concern in Buffalo should be the current standing of their goaltending situation, but all signs point to the team giving young netminder Devon Levi a legitimate chance at the starting role.
From Anaheim’s perspective on the deal, at face value, it appears to provide stability to an organization that has been lacking in that department for quite some time. Last season, Lyubushkin played in 68 games for Buffalo, scoring two goals and 12 assists. There is not one area of Lyubushkin’s game that he particularly excels at, as both his possession and defensive metrics are lacking compared to league averages. Nevertheless, the Ducks may be more content giving ice time to a league veteran of 279 games, rather than putting a younger player in an uncomfortable position to start the year.
Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff was the first to report Lyubushkin had been moved to Anaheim.
East Notes: Sabres, Allison, Pridham
Defensemen Jacob Bryson and Ilya Lyubushkin could be in play on the trade market ahead of the regular season, the Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski said today. In Bryson’s case, he could find his way off the team via waivers as well, as there will be a significant roster crunch in Buffalo with nine defensemen signed to one-way contracts. The team added Connor Clifton and Stanley Cup champion Erik Johnson via free agency to bolster their back end, pushing anyone not named Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power, or Rasmus Dahlin two spots down the team’s depth chart.
Both Bryson and Lyubushkin have just one year of term left on their contracts, making them easily movable if Buffalo so chooses. However, both of their cap hits aren’t the best value – Bryson is a seventh defender on a contending team at best, making $1.85MM against the cap, while Lyubushkin is a capable shutdown defender but limited otherwise and costs $2.75MM. It’s hard to envision a contending team trading for those pieces at those salaries, but the Sabres could find a willing trade partner among teams like the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks, who may want to plug some short-term holes in their blueline.
More from around the Eastern Conference:
- Winger Wade Allison is likely facing a make-or-break year with the Philadelphia Flyers, writes Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic. While he has potential as an intriguing young power forward, the team has a number of higher-upside, younger wingers fighting for spots, such as Bobby Brink, Olle Lycksell, and Tyson Foerster. Allison did score nine goals in 60 games last season but dealt with a handful of injuries, something that’s becoming a worrying track record for a player who sustained a significant ACL tear to end his college career and missed most of the previous two seasons before last. If he can’t improve on his production or force his way onto some special teams unit, he’s a potential non-tender candidate next offseason as a pending restricted free agent.
- Toronto Maple Leafs assistant general manager Brandon Pridham is likely sticking with the organization despite rumors to the contrary, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said while appearing on NHL Network yesterday. Friedman connected Pridham’s preference to stay in Toronto to new Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas’ wait on filling the GM position in Pittsburgh full-time, saying Pridham was his top candidate for the Penguins’ GM role. Instead, Pridham informed the Leafs earlier this summer that he’d prefer to stay with the organization instead of following his former boss to Pittsburgh. The Penguins announced yesterday that Dubas will serve as the team’s full-time GM in addition to his president of hockey operations role.