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Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Pacific Notes: Willander, Raty, Lekkerimaki, Eichel, Uljanskis, Thornton

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After the Canucks made another piece of offseason business in trading goaltender Arturs Silovs to the Penguins over the weekend, The Athletic’s Thomas Drance took a deep dive into the roster math that lies ahead and what other moves could be coming.

Among those could be something of a crunch on defense. After signing 2023 first-rounder Tom Willander to his entry-level contract in May, Drance reports the club has him penciled in on Vancouver’s opening night roster, not on assignment to AHL Abbotsford to begin his professional career. He expects that the defenseman named Elias Pettersson, not their highest-paid forward of the same name, has received a similar designation.

As such, Drance relays to expect Vancouver to carry 13 forwards and eight defensemen out of the gate instead of the slightly more commonplace 14/7 breakdown, with prospect Victor Mancini and recent depth signing Pierre-Olivier Joseph likely the only legitimate candidates for the eighth spot. Mancini is still waiver-exempt, so that could work in Joseph’s favor.

For the forwards, Aatu Raty has the best candidacy for a job out of all their young fringe NHLers coming off a Calder Cup championship with AHL Abbotsford because of “the club’s needs down the middle,” Drance writes. One name that likely won’t be in contention for a depth job is top wing prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki.

“It sounds like the club is open to slow-cooking Lekkerimäki in the AHL to begin next season,” Drance said. “The gifted scoring winger is waiver exempt, and the club wants to be cautious about managing his development and not rushing him.” Older but lower-ceiling names like Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson will be in contention for open fourth-line/press box slots instead.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • There isn’t anything new to report on extension talks between the Golden Knights and star center Jack Eichel, writes David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. An “open line of communication” remains after negotiations reportedly began over the past few months, but the needle hasn’t moved much since.
  • Ducks defense prospect Darels Uljanskis is making the jump from Europe to North America to finish out his junior career, via Derek Lee of The Hockey News. Anaheim selected the left-shot Latvian in the seventh round last year. He’ll play out 2025-26 for the OHL’s Flint Firebirds after recording 39 points and a +12 rating in 44 games for AIK’s under-20 squad in Sweden last season.
  • The Sharks announced on Tuesday that they’ve formalized a front-office title for Hall-of-Famer Joe Thornton, naming him as a player development coach and hockey operations advisor amid a slew of other minor staff changes. Thornton had remained in the San Jose area and worked frequently with the club in an unofficial capacity since retiring in 2022, but the franchise icon will now be firmly embedded in the process of building the team’s next window of championship contention.

Vancouver Canucks Reassign Jonathan Lekkerimaki

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Earlier today, the Vancouver Canucks announced they’ve reassigned forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Now that the Calder Cup playoffs are around the corner, Lekkerimaki may finish the year with Abbotsford.

Lekkerimaki has been rostered with the Canucks since the trade deadline. Before then, he had been a frequent call-up in November and January, scoring two goals and one assist in his first 11 contests. Unfortunately, he hasn’t broken out in any meaningful way with more consistency in the NHL, scoring one goal and two assists in 13 games between March 5th and April 5th.

To say the least, it’s been a difficult transition for a prospect Vancouver was understandably high on entering the 2024-25 campaign. The Canucks drafted Lekkerimaki with the 15th overall selection of the 2022 NHL Draft, and brought him to North America toward the end of last season.

Still, he’s performed up to par at the AHL level. Throughout the year, Lekkerimaki has scored 19 goals and 28 points in 32 games for AHL Abbotsford, which is good for 16th in points-per-game average among AHL rookies.

The transition to the NHL can be intimidating, and it’s clearly impacted Lekkerimaki’s performance this year. Hopefully, for Vancouver’s sake, Lekkerimaki will feel comfortable down the stretch with AHL Abbotsford and regain the confidence he’ll need to succeed at the NHL level.

Minor Transactions: 3/7/25

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Similarly to the NHL, AHL playoff rosters are also due today before the trade deadline. Any player currently rostered in the AHL is eligible for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, regardless of a future call-up. Today’s list will continue to grow until the 3 p.m. deadline.

  • According to a team announcement, the Dallas Stars have reassigned defenseman Lian Bichsel to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. Although the reassignment came with a formal announcement from the team, it should only serve as a paper transaction for Bichsel to ensure he’s eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs. The rookie defenseman has scored two goals and three assists in 20 games for the Stars this season, averaging 14:54 of ice time per night. He’s made his presence known by averaging over four hits a game, but he’s been on the wrong end of some highlight videos early in his NHL career. Dallas confirmed it as a paper transaction later, recalling Bichsel quickly after the deadline.
  • As alluded to yesterday, the Philadelphia Flyers have confirmed the reassignment of netminder Aleksei Kolosov to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Given that he’s been Philadelphia’s third-string option for much of the season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kolosov’s reassignment extend beyond the trade deadline. The second-year netminder has a 4-8-1 record in 15 games with the Flyers this season with a .870 SV% and 3.45 GAA. His performance hasn’t been any better with AHL Lehigh Valley as he’s recorded a 2-4-1 record in seven AHL contests with a .874 SV% and 3.59 GAA.
  • The Calgary Flames are making Adam Klapka available to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, per a team report. Similarly to Kolosov, this reassignment may extend through the deadline. Klapka has spent much of the year in AHL Calgary, scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 31 contests. He’s been far less utilized by the Flames, registering one goal in 13 contests and averaging 8:10 of ice time per game.
  • According to Andy Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey, the San Jose Sharks are expected to reassign defenseman Jimmy Schuldt and Jack Thompson to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. As a minor contextual update, Max Miller of The Hockey News believes Thompson’s reassignment is a paper transaction to make him eligible for the AHL postseason. Despite low scoring output, Thompson has been an effective defenseman for the Sharks this season, averaging a 92.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength, the best on the team among defensemen with more than 20 games played.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they’ve reassigned forward Joseph Labate to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. As one of the most feel-good stories of the 2024-25 campaign, Labate took the ice in the NHL for the first time in eight years this season. The 31-year-old winger had spent the last several years bouncing around on AHL contracts with a one-year pitstop in the KHL. He scored six goals and 13 points in 33 games with AHL Cleveland before being elevated to an NHL contract with the Blue Jackets.
  • After announcing that defenseman Colton Parayko would miss the next six weeks due to a knee injury, the St. Louis Blues were expected to make a recall on defense. The team announced that recall this morning, sharing that they’ve brought up Matthew Kessel from their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Phoenix, AZ native has already spent time as a seventh defenseman for the Blues this season, tallying three assists in 27 games while averaging 13:05 of ice time per game.
  • Strictly as a paper move, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Chicago Blackhawks have reassigned forward Colton Dach and defenseman Ethan Del Mastro to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Both players will remain in the Blackhawks’ lineup for the rest of the season before they are returned to AHL Rockford at the end of the season, should they qualify for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs. Dach has scored two goals and six points in 18 games with Chicago, while Del Mastro has registered two goals and three points in 12 contests.
  • As expected, the Detroit Red Wings have placed forward Carter Mazur on injured reserve one day after his debut. Mazur suffered a dislocated elbow approximately one minute into his NHL career, and he’s likely done for the regular season. In a corresponding transaction, the Red Wings have recalled forward Dominik Shine from their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Shine is only a couple of weeks removed from signing the first NHL contract of his career, tallying one assist in four games for Detroit in late January.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced they’ve reassigned forward Owen Beck and goaltender Jakub Dobes to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, for eligibility in the Calder Cup playoffs. Beck has been an extremely effective forward for the Rocket this year, scoring 13 goals and 32 points in 47 games. Meanwhile, Dobes has made a name for himself in Montreal, managing a 6-2-1 record in 10 games with a .909 SV% and 2.63 GAA, including one shutout.
  • The Los Angeles Kings aren’t entirely sold on Brandt Clarke’s future with the team. A report from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN this morning indicated the Kings were shopping Clarke on the trade market, and they’ve now reassigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, along with Samuel Helenius (Twitter Link). Both players should be back on the NHL roster tomorrow, with the move signifying they’ll be eligible for the AHL postseason. Still, it’s a notable development as it indicates Los Angeles may want Clarke in the AHL for the Reign’s postseason run rather than their own.
  • According to a team announcement, the Carolina Hurricanes have reassigned defenseman Riley Stillman to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Stillman filled in for Dmitry Orlov in last night’s contest but didn’t make it through the full game due to getting his face cut by a skate. He finished last night’s contest against the Boston Bruins with zero points after skating in 18 seconds of the game’s action.
  • In addition to Schuldt and Thompson, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News shares that the Sharks have reassigned defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin and forward Collin Graf to AHL San Jose. They’re both expected back on the Sharks’ roster later today or tomorrow, but the roster move will make them eligible for the AHL postseason. Mukhamadullin and Graf have both spent much of the year with the Barracuda. In short order, Pashelka reports the Sharks have recalled both players back to the NHL roster.
  • Due to another injury to netminder John Gibson on Wednesday, the Anaheim Ducks were expected to recall another goaltender. Anaheim announced they’ve recalled Ville Husso from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, to fill the void left by Gibson. It’s Husso’s first call-up with the Ducks since being acquired from the Red Wings on February 24th. He posted a 1-5-2 record in nine games in Detroit this season with a .866 SV% and 3.69 GAA.
  • For the fifth time this year, the New York Rangers have assigned defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Ruhwedel has primarily played for AHL Hartford this season in his first extended stay in the AHL since 2016-17. The veteran defenseman has recorded three goals and 12 points in 36 contests with a +8 rating.
  • After a flurry of trade activity over the last couple of days, the Seattle Kraken are making a small roster move for the benefit of their AHL roster. The Kraken announced they’ve reassigned forwards Jacob Melanson and Ben Meyers to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, and have recalled John Hayden in a corresponding transaction. The former debuted in the NHL last night, notching four hits and one takeaway in 9:53 of ice time.
  • In a major boost to their playoff chances, the AHL’s Providence Bruins will have several players available for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs. Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports the Boston Bruins have papered down Marat Khusnutdinov, Vinni Lettieri, Patrick Brown, Ian Mitchell, Riley Tufte, and Matthew Poitras to the AHL for their postseason eligibility. All six players are expected back on the Bruins roster by this evening or tomorrow morning.
  • As expected, the Buffalo Sabres have papered down forward Jiří Kulich to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Kulich has been an impressive player for AHL Rochester over the last few seasons and should continue to be in the postseason. He’s scored 53 goals and 94 points in 123 games on the Americans’ roster.  Later in the day, the Americans announced that forwards Isak Rosen and Joshua Dunne were recalled on an emergency basis so they won’t count toward the post-deadline limit.
  • According to a team announcement, the Edmonton Oilers have returned defenseman Cam Dineen to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, from his emergency recall. Unlike many of the roster moves on today’s list, Dineen has a solid chance of playing the remainder of the year with AHL Bakersfield. The 26-year-old defenseman has scored five goals and 29 points in 45 games for the Condors this season while only registering one game with the Oilers.
  • In addition to recalling Emil Andrae, the Philadelphia Flyers are also making two more player recalls to their NHL roster. The team announced they’ve recalled forwards Olle Lycksell and Rodrigo Abols to the NHL roster for Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken. Abols has scored one goal and one assist in nine games for the Flyers this season, while Lycksell has gone scoreless in six contests.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have joined in on the mix of teams ensuring their top prospects are eligible for the AHL playoffs. They have assigned defenseman Victor Mancini, forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and goaltender Arturs Silovs to the AHL. Lekkerimaki has three points in 12 NHL games this season, while Mancini didn’t manage any scoring in his sole appearance with the Canucks so far. Silovs has operated as the team’s third-string goalie and has a 1-6-1 record and .858 save percentage on the year.  All three players were subsequently recalled soon after the deadline.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Jack St. Ivany from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis.  The 25-year-old has played in 19 games with Pittsburgh this season, recording one assist while averaging 16:22 of playing time per game.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Reassign Arshdeep Bains

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According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Vancouver shared in the same announcement that they’ve reassigned forward Arshdeep Bains in a corresponding roster move.

It’s a familiar transaction for both players. Today’s roster move is the sixth time Lekkerimaki has been recalled from Abbotsford this season, and it’s the ninth reassignment for Bains. Each player is waiver exempt, although Lekkerimaki makes approximately $100K more at the NHL level.

Lekkerimaki is arguably the best prospect in Vancouver’s pipeline. Still, he hasn’t gained much traction in the NHL this year due to the frequent taxiing between Vancouver and Abbotsford. The Tullinge, Sweden native has recorded two goals and one assist in 11 contests, averaging 13:47 of ice time per game. His 49.8% CorsiFor% at even strength and 12.5% shooting percentage are solid, but it’s not a large enough sample size to make any concrete judgments about his development.

He’s played far more promisingly with the AHL Canucks. In his first full year in North American professional hockey, Lekkerimaki is nearly a point-per-game player in the AHL with 19 goals and 28 points in 32 contests. It won’t be enough to earn the Red Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s top rookie, but it’s an impressive season nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Bains has been less productive in a fourth-line role. Despite four games separating him from losing his rookie status, Bains has looked somewhat lost at the NHL level, scoring one goal in 21 career games. He is a physical player with 24 career hits in limited action, but he doesn’t play well enough on the defensive side of the puck to overlook his offensive shortcomings. He’ll return to Abbotsford, where he’s collected seven goals and 20 assists in 32 games this season.

Pacific Division Paper Transactions: Kerins, Brisebois, Lekkerimaki, Olofsson

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According to Ryan Pike of Flames Nation, the Calgary Flames have reassigned forward Rory Kerins to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Pike adds that Kerins’ reassignment is a cap-related move and indicates Kerins should be back on the NHL roster by Monday.

It’s a testament to Kerins development that the Flames have no interest in keeping him with AHL Calgary. He’s gotten off to an impressive start in his NHL career with four assists in his first four games with a +4 rating averaging 13:33 of ice time per game. It shouldn’t be a surprise given Kerins has already scored 21 goals and 34 points in 34 games for the Wranglers this season.

Kerins will likely reprise his role as a full-time AHLer once forward Connor Zary is activated from the team’s injured reserve. Kerins is the only waiver-exempt forward on the roster outside of Matthew Coronato and Calgary will likely want to keep their fourth highest-scoring player on the roster. The only avenue for additional playing time at the NHL level for Kerins is if the Flames make a trade from the active roster or place one of their eight defensemen on waivers.

Other paper transactions from the Pacific Division:

  • The Vancouver Canucks are again making a cap-related transaction on one of their off-days. Vancouver announced they’ve reassigned defenseman Guillaume Brisebois and forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Lekkerimaki has been more oft-used by the club this season scoring two goals and one assist in 11 games this year averaging 13:47 of ice time per game.
  • Finishing off the list of cap-related transactions is the Seattle Kraken who have reassigned defenseman Gustav Olofsson to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds (per a team announcement). Oloffson has been in an unenviable position with the Kraken this season having been recalled on three separate occasions but has been healthy scratched for every available opportunity.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Three Players

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Jan. 16: As expected, the team announced all three players have been recalled from Abbotsford again.

Jan. 15: The Vancouver Canucks have sent three players back to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, in a transaction likely categorized as a paper move. Defenseman Guillaume Brisebois and forwards Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Max Sasson are included in the transaction but will likely be recalled tomorrow.

Brisebois, Lekkerimaki, and Sasson are the only three waiver-exempt players on the active roster for the Canucks giving context to today’s move. Brisebois normally wouldn’t be exempt from waivers but has already cleared the waiver wire in late September and hasn’t played in 10 or more games with Vancouver nor has he spent more than 30 days on the active roster.

The 27-year-old defenseman has spent his entire eight-year professional career in the Canucks organization and played in his first NHL action since the 2022-23 season this year. Injuries limited him to only eight AHL contests last year but he’s already accrued 23 this season scoring one goal overall. He has been quite limited in his time on ice in Vancouver, averaging 15:48 of ice time throughout just three games this year.

Lekkerimaki likely has the highest name recognition of the three players reassigned as the first-round pick of the Canucks in the 2022 NHL Draft. He’s scored 12 goals and 17 points in 21 games for AHL Abbotsford this season but hasn’t been able to translate the goal-scoring to the NHL level yet. Still, he’s scored two goals and one assist in 10 games for Vancouver while being limited to only 13:52 of ice time per game. Should the Canucks trade any top-six forwards off the active roster leading up to the trade deadline, Lekkerimaki may get an expanded look down the stretch.

Sasson is the only member of the trio to register more than 10 games for the Canucks this season. He’s been an effective bottom-six winger during his rookie campaign scoring two goals and six points in 19 games. He hasn’t produced the best possession numbers, which isn’t uncommon for a rookie, but he’s quickly become one of the better defensive forwards on the team with a 94.7% on-ice save percentage while at even strength.

Canucks Place Dakota Joshua On IR

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The Canucks will be without forward Dakota Joshua for at least another two games. General manager Patrik Allvin announced Monday that he’s been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 3 after he sustained an undisclosed injury in their last game against the Predators. Top forward prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki comes up from AHL Abbotsford to take his place on the active roster on an emergency basis.

Joshua, 28, had Nashville captain Roman Josi and Vancouver teammate Teddy Blueger fall awkwardly on his left leg behind the net midway through the second period of a 3-0 loss. He went to the room but returned for the third period.

His being healthy enough to take a few shifts after the injury is a good sign for his recovery timeline, but he’ll still miss a few contests while recovering. The depth winger has just two goals and four points in 24 appearances this season, down sharply from the 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games last year that earned him a four-year, $13MM extension.

Regardless of his production, seeing him on the ice is good. Joshua was diagnosed with testicular cancer over the offseason and missed the first 14 games of the year while recovering from surgery.

A lack of individual chance generation has hurt Joshua’s game the most this season. He’s taken just 10 shots on goal and attempted 28. That’s just 0.42 shots on net and 1.17 attempts per game, down from 1.33 and 2.32 last season, respectively. That also works out to a career-low 35.7 shots through percentage.

Outside of the lack of offense, the 6’3″ Joshua has been his usual physical self. His 83 hits rank second on the team behind Kiefer Sherwood’s eye-popping 220, despite his extended absence early in the year.

The Canucks didn’t have an extra forward on hand with Elias Pettersson still on injured reserve, so Lekkerimaki comes up and will presumably play tonight in Montreal. The 2022 15th overall pick had one goal and a -4 rating in five NHL games during a November call-up, his first since arriving in North America last spring.

Lekkerimäki, 20, leads Abbotsford with 12 goals and 17 points in 21 games. However, his -10 rating is the worst on the club.

Canucks Recall Three, Place Filip Hronek On LTIR

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The Canucks announced a series of transactions Thursday, most notably placing defenseman Filip Hronek on long-term injured reserve. They’d already announced Tuesday that he’ll miss the next eight weeks after undergoing a lower-body procedure, so it’s purely a roster move to gain flexibility and cap space for the time being.

Before doing so, they recalled winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki and defenseman Cole McWard from AHL Abbotsford to maximize their LTIR capture. After placing Hronek on LTIR, they also recalled center Max Sasson. They got within $12,138 of the cap, per PuckPedia, setting their LTIR pool at roughly $7.24MM. Their active roster now has a full 23 players, and they have roughly $6.37MM in current cap space after Sasson’s recall.

It’s unclear if Lekkerimaki and McWard will remain on the roster for an extended period of time or if they were purely paper call-ups for cap purposes. Lekkerimaki, Vancouver’s first-round pick in 2022, scored one goal in five games last month in his first NHL recall but has been in the minors since Nov. 21. He has six goals and two assists for eight points in 12 games with Abbotsford this season with a -10 rating that’s tied for the worst on the team.

McWard, 23, is almost certainly a short-term recall. The Canucks already had an extra healthy defenseman on hand in Hronek’s absence after recalling Mark Friedman.

An undrafted free agent signing out of Ohio State in 2023, McWard has yet to see a recall this season and has only six NHL games to his name over the previous two years. In those contests, he has a goal on seven shots while averaging 13:22 per game and controlling 48.9% of shot attempts at even strength. A stay-at-home defender by trade, he has six points and a -2 rating in 21 appearances for Abbotsford in 2024-25.

Meanwhile, Sasson was sent down just yesterday for cap purposes and should stick on the roster for a while yet. Signed as an undrafted free agent along with McWard in 2023, he received his first NHL recall last month and has stuck around with two assists in his first five contests, averaging 8:45 per game. The 24-year-old had nine points in 16 games with Abbotsford before his recall.

Canucks To Activate Dakota Joshua From IR

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Canucks forward Dakota Joshua will make his 2024-25 season debut against the Islanders on Thursday, Ben Kuzma of Postmedia reports. He’ll need to be activated from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game. The Canucks recalled Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Aatu Räty from their brief demotions earlier today but left Arshdeep Bains on assignment to AHL Abbotsford, meaning he’ll say down for the foreseeable future while Joshua takes his roster spot.

Joshua had been held out of the lineup after undergoing successful offseason surgery to remove testicular cancer. He began practicing in a non-contact jersey a couple of weeks after the season started and had been upgraded to day-to-day last week.

He’ll play what Kuzma called “measured minutes” on the fourth line in his season debut tonight. Line rushes at practice this morning indicate that Joshua will play left wing alongside Räty and Höglander, per Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650.

Joshua, 28, enters his third season in Vancouver coming off a breakout 2023-24 campaign. The Ohio State product recorded career highs across the board last season with 18 goals, 14 assists, 32 points, and a +19 rating while averaging 14:23 per game across 63 contests.

Vancouver’s third line with him, Teddy Blueger and Conor Garland last season was their most consistently deployed at 361 minutes together, and for good reason. They controlled 58.4% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck, ranking eighth among the 41 forward trios to log at least 300 minutes together in 2023-24.

Luckily for Joshua, that breakout came in a contract year. He parlayed that performance into a four-year, $13MM extension with a 12-team no-trade clause.

The Canucks’ active roster is now full at 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders.

West Notes: Wild, Avalanche, Canucks, Stezka

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The Minnesota Wild have recalled forward Michael Milne to the NHL roster. The move comes after each of Jonas Brodin (lower-body), Marcus Johansson (illness), and Zach Bogosian (personal) missed the team’s Wednesday practice, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Head coach John Hynes told Russo that Johansson and Bogosian are expected to play on Thursday, while Brodin is questionable.

Minnesota is already carrying seven defenders, with Declan Chisholm likely to step in if Brodin misses on Thursday. The team did not have an extra forward, though – requiring the call-up of Milne to cover Johansson’s potential absence. Chisholm has appeared in 10 games this season, recording three assists but yet to score his first goal of the year.

Meanwhile, Milne will rejoin the NHL roster just two days after being sent down. He received the first recall of his pro career last week, and was expected to make his NHL debut – but instead spent three games in the Wild press box. He likely isn’t locked into the lineup on this call-up either, unless Johansson ends up unavailable. Milne ranks second on the AHL’s Iowa Wild in scoring, with eight points in 10 games this season and three points in his latest two games.

Other notes from out West:

  • The Colorado Avalanche also made some roster moves, recalling forwards T.J. Tynan and Nikita Prishchepov after brief stints in the minor leagues. Both Tynan and Prishchepov have been regular fixtures of the Avalanche lineup amid their injury woes this season, each playing in six games and recording four points – though Prishchepov’s one goal is the only between the two. Colorado is soon expecting the return of Valeri Nichushkin from suspension and Jonathan Drouin from injury, but their pair of recalls will serve as understudies in the event of any change in plan.
  • While Minnesota and Colorado hedge their bets against injuries, the Vancouver Canucks have sent down top prospects Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Arshdeep Bains, and Aatu Raty in a paper transaction, per Jeff Paterson of Rink Wide: Vancouver. The Canucks will net just over $15.5K in cap space accrual with this move, helping continue to bank cap space over the course of the season. All three players will likely return to the lineup ahead of Vancouver’s Thursday matchup against the New York Islanders.
  • Rounding out Western Conference roster moves is Seattle’s assignment of goaltender Ales Stezka, who served as backup in the team’s Tuesday win over Columbus. Stezka has served as the starter for the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds this season, posting a 2-5-0 record and .894 save percentage in seven games. He’s played ahead of top Kraken goalie prospect Niklas Kokko, who’s managed an .880 save percentage in four games. Stezka’s assignment suggests that Philipp Grubauer will soon return, after suffering an undisclosed injury away from the rink that forced him out of Tuesday’s game.

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