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Matej Blumel

Bruins Activate Casey Mittelstadt, Recall Georgii Merkulov

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Nov. 29th: There are conflicting reports regarding Callahan’s reassignment. According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, Callahan is on the ice for the team’s optional skate this morning before their matchup against Detroit. Additionally, the AHL Transactions page hasn’t registered Callahan’s reassignment at the time of writing. However, if Callahan hasn’t been returned to Providence, the Bruins would have one extra player on their active roster. Players reassigned from the NHL to the AHL must play in one contest before being eligible for recall, and the AHL Bruins play against the Belleville Senators this evening.

Nov. 28th: The Bruins announced four roster moves this morning, including the news that center Casey Mittelstadt has been activated from injured reserve and will play in today’s matinee against the Rangers. With news from head coach Marco Sturm today that top-six forwards David Pastrňák and Pavel Zacha sustained minor injuries in Wednesday’s win over the Islanders and are out day-to-day (via Scott McLaughlin of WEEI), Boston also recalled forward Georgii Merkulov from AHL Providence. The Bruins opened two roster spots by placing winger Matěj Blümel on long-term injured reserve and reassigning defenseman Michael Callahan to Providence.

Mittelstadt’s appearance today is his first after a nine-game absence. He’s been listed as week-to-week since sustaining a lower-body injury on Nov. 6.

Getting one top-six forward back is a key bit for a team that just lost two of its three top scorers, particularly if Pastrňák and Zacha will miss any significant length of time. Mittelstadt is in his first full season with the B’s after being acquired for Charlie Coyle from the Avalanche at last year’s deadline. He hasn’t been offensively overpowering since his arrival. He’s posted an 8-7–15 scoring line with a -17 rating in 33 appearances, including nine points in 15 games this year. That’s below his career-average pace of 15 goals and 44 points per 82 games.

It’s a rushed return for Mittelstadt, who didn’t even take a full practice before re-entering the lineup today in the wake of Pastrňák and Zacha’s injuries. Before getting hurt, he had shifted to the wing on a line with Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson. That line had outscored opponents 8-4 at 5-on-5 and controlled 50.6% of shot attempts. He won’t have either of them to skate with today, though, as Arvidsson’s been on injured reserve since Nov. 17 and is out indefinitely. He’s skating on a unit with Marat Khusnutdinov and the hastily recalled Merkulov.

Merkulov, 25, has been one of Boston’s top minor-league producers for years but has never landed an extended NHL opportunity. An undrafted free agent signed out of Ohio State in 2022, he’s got just one assist in 10 NHL games to date despite getting a decently long leash, averaging 12:28 of ice time per game. The playmaking pivot has never registered under 50 points in an AHL season and is again on track to pass that plateau in 2025-26. Through 17 appearances for Providence, he’s rattled off six goals and eight assists for 14 points to sit third on the team in scoring. He now has a 76-117–193 scoring line in 218 career AHL games, putting him seventh in the league in scoring since his rookie year in 2022-23.

The Bruins had already said Blümel would miss significant time. The 25-year-old winger, who was also a relatively recent recall from Providence to compensate for the Bruins’ bevy of injuries to their forward group, left Wednesday’s game in the first period with a lower-body injury. An LTIR placement means Blümel is ineligible for the next 10 games and 24 days. The earliest he can return is Dec. 20 against the Canucks. Despite seeing first-line minutes with Pastrňák and Zacha, he’d gone without a point and had a -3 rating in four games since his call-up.

Callahan has served as an extra defenseman for the B’s for a good chunk of the season as Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy and Jordan Harris have each dealt with long-term absences. He’s a luxury they can’t afford to roster with Pastrňák and Zacha not expected to be out long enough to warrant an IR placement. Once the Bruins can return a forward to Providence, he’ll likely find himself back up in the NHL.

Snapshots: Nichushkin, Blumel, Salaries, Walcott

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The Avalanche could soon be getting a key player back in their lineup.  Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports relays (Twitter link) that winger Valeri Nichushkin was a full participant in practice today and while he won’t accompany the team on the road to play in Minnesota on Friday, he could return to the lineup Saturday versus Montreal.  The 30-year-old has missed the last two weeks due to a lower-body injury.  Nichushkin hadn’t been producing at quite the same rate as previous years in his first 17 outings this season but he still has five goals and seven assists to his name and should jump right back into a top-six role once he gets the green light.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Bruins winger Matej Blumel will be out for a bit with a lower-body injury sustained in Wednesday’s game, head coach Marco Sturm told reporters (video link). The 25-year-old signed a one-year, $875K one-way deal with Boston this past summer as a Group Six unrestricted free agent but didn’t crack the roster out of training camp, instead starting with AHL Providence.  He averaged a point per game through his first 13 games with them, earning a recall early last week.  Blumel has been held off the scoresheet in four games since then and now it’ll be a little while before he has a chance to get on the board.
  • As part of the 50-50 revenue sharing between players and owners, there is a mechanism that allow players to receive more than their stated contracts if revenues exceed projections and the sum of money received by players is lower than 50%. It has never happened before but in his latest mailbag for The Athletic (subscription link), Chris Johnston reported that early revenue projections for the league suggest that this could happen.  While it likely wouldn’t be a big financial windfall for players, a bit more money would be a nice surprise following many years of losing money to escrow, something that has been phased out as part of the new CBA extension that kicks in next fall.  If it happens, it would be a one-time occurrence for this season and wouldn’t automatically roll over moving forward.
  • Veteran forward Daniel Walcott has caught on with a team as AHL Hartford announced that they’ve signed him to a PTO deal. The 31-year-old spent the last decade in Tampa Bay’s system with Syracuse but only made one NHL appearance back in 2020-21.  However, despite 494 appearances with the Crunch, Walcott will technically be returning to where his professional career began as he got into one game on a tryout deal with Hartford back in 2015 before his rights were moved to the Lightning a few weeks later.

Bruins Recall Matej Blumel, Riley Tufte

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The Bruins announced they’ve recalled wingers Matěj Blümel and Riley Tufte from AHL Providence. To open the necessary roster space, forwards Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson were placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 6 and Nov. 15, respectively. With under $1MM in cap space, Boston also moved defenseman Jordan Harris from standard IR to LTIR to facilitate the recalls.

It’s Blümel’s first recall to Boston since landing there as a Group VI unrestricted free agent over the summer. He was a semi-surprising omission on the Bruins’ opening night roster. Not only did they sign him to a one-way deal worth $875,000, but there was legitimate concern he wouldn’t clear waivers after an exceptionally strong three-year run of play in the minors in the Stars’ system. A fourth-round pick of the Oilers back in 2019, he never signed with Edmonton and instead landed in Dallas as a free agent out of Czechia in 2022.

While Blümel only scored twice in 13 career appearances with Dallas, he was among the AHL’s top players while with the Texas Stars. He was a two-time All-Star and led the league in goals last season with 39, capping off his first campaign above a point per game with 33 assists and 72 points in 69 outings. For a Bruins roster that looked starved for depth scoring coming into the season, he looked like a logical candidate to get an audition in a middle-six role.

That didn’t happen, and Blümel has actually been off to a sluggish start in Providence with two goals in 13 appearances. He’s still added 11 assists to maintain a point-per-game pace, though. With another top-six name in Arvidsson now out week-to-week with his lower-body injury, Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub confirms, Blümel will likely be the one to replace his spot on the depth chart alongside Pavel Zacha.

While Tufte has been more offensively explosive in the minors this season, the 27-year-old’s play style makes him a more natural fit for a bottom-six/fourth-line job. The 6’6″, 230-lb winger is in his second season with the Bruins organization, but hasn’t suited up for them yet this year. He suited up six times last season, going without a point and logging a -3 rating in 9:12 of ice time per game.

The 2016 first-rounder does have 24 games of NHL experience to his name, though, and has been the centerpiece of a red-hot Providence team thus far. He’s tied for the team lead in scoring with eight goals and 16 points in 13 outings while also carrying a team-leading +10 rating. After back-to-back 20-goal campaigns in the minors, he’s more than on track for a third.

Since Mittelstadt’s already missed more than a week, he’s eligible to come off IR at any time. Like Arvidsson, he carries a week-to-week designation because of a lower-body issue, but he’ll presumably be back in the lineup sooner than his frequent linemate this year because he’s already missed four contests. As for Harris, he underwent ankle surgery in late October and isn’t expected back in the lineup until after Christmas.

Metropolitan Notes: Vladar, Barkey, Penguins, Ilyin

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With teams being warned about the potential for tampering, not as many contracts were announced in the opening minutes of free agency on Tuesday.  One exception was new Flyers goaltender Daniel Vladar.  In an interview with iSport’s Pavel Barta, the 27-year-old indicated that his two-year, $6.7MM agreement with Philadelphia was in place within three minutes of the market opening up.  Vladar was seeking an opportunity to be a starting goalie and he should get a chance to battle for that role with the Flyers who had incumbents Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov all struggle considerably last season.  While Vladar’s 2.80 GAA and .898 SV% last season in 30 games with Calgary aren’t elite numbers, they’re still an upgrade on what Philadelphia received in 2024-25.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Still with the Flyers, prospect Denver Barkey has nearly fully recovered from the ankle injury that hindered him in the playoffs, relays PHLY Sports’ Charlie O’Connor (Twitter link). The 20-year-old was a third-round pick two years ago and was a top producer with OHL London.  Last season, Barkey had 82 points in 50 games with the Knights while adding 20 points in 10 playoff contests.  Now pro-eligible, Barkey will likely start next season at AHL Lehigh Valley but a good start there could have him in the mix for a recall fairly quickly given his track record of production.
  • Winger Matej Blumel told Hokej.cz’s Dominik Dubovchi that the Penguins were the other finalist to sign him in free agency earlier this week. The 25-year-old was the top goal-getter in the AHL last season, notching 39 in 67 games with AHL Texas but that only earned him seven games with Dallas where he scored once.  Blumel was eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency and ultimately signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $875K with Boston.
  • Still with the Penguins, prospect Mikhail Ilyin will stay in the KHL for next season, assistant GM Jason Spezza told reporters including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). However, the hope is that the winger will come to North America for the 2026-27 campaign.  Ilyin, a fifth-round pick back in 2023, had 30 points in 64 games with Severstal Cherepovets last season, finishing third on the team in scoring.

Bruins Sign Michael Eyssimont, Sean Kuraly, Matej Blumel, Alex Steeves

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The Bruins have signed forwards Michael Eyssimont and Sean Kuraly to two-year contracts, Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff reports. Eyssimont’s deal carries a $1.45MM cap hit while Kuraly’s carries a $1.85MM cap hit. They’ve also signed forward Matej Blumel to a one-way deal worth $875,000, per TSN’s Darren Dreger. That was first reported by Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects. Boston has additionally signed Alex Steeves to a one-year deal worth $850,000, per Di Marco.

In one fell swoop, the Bruins will shore up depth at forward with these moves. It’s headlined by Kuraly, who served the fourth-line center role in all 82 games of Columbus’ season. He was a bruising role player who handled the heavy defensive workload of Columbus’ bottom-six well. Kuraly recorded the highest faceoff percentage on the team (54.3 percent) and the third-most hits (163). He also chipped in 45 blocked shots, 17 points, and a minus-four across the full year.

Kuraly has been with the Blue Jackets for the last four seasons, but spent five years with the Bruins prior to his move to Ohio. Kuraly has manned a depth center role through all nine years of his NHL career, routinely rivaling a positive faceoff win-rare and 20 points in scoring. His career-year stands as the 2021-22 season – his first in Columbus – when Kuraly racked up a career-high 14 goals, 30 points, and 240 hits in 77 games played. He’ll return to Boston looking to continue offering a physical, impactful presence to the bottom of a lineup.

Boston will receive much of the same impact from winger Eyssimont, who racked up 16 points and 110 hits in 77 games this season, split between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Seattle Kraken. It was a relatively quiet year for Eyssimont, intercut by a Trade Deadline move to the Kraken as part of a three-team trade that sent Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to Tampa Bay. Eyssimont was much more impactful for the 2023-24 Tampa Bay Lightning. He ranked third on the team in hits (135) that year, to go along with 11 goals and 25 points in 81 games. He’s now through his fourth season in the NHL, and has totaled 56 points, 230 penalty minutes, and 352 hits in 213 career games. That averages out to 22 points and 136 hits per 82 games — a mark that should fit well alongside Kuraly.

With two bruisers added in, Boston will also take a run at the pure upside of Blumel. The 25-year-old winger racked up a staggering 39 goals and 72 points in 67 AHL games this season, just one point back from the league’s scoring title. He further added 16 points in 14 Calder Cup playoff games. It was an electric performance, spurred by Blumel’s high-energy style and ability to beat opponents on the rush. He flashed the same ability in each of the last two seasons. He totaled 31 goals and 62 points in 72 games last year, and 44 points in 58 games the year before. Across that span, Blumel has only received 13 appearances, and scored two goals, at the NHL level. That fact, mixed with his high scoring, could make him a breakout candidate among a Bruins bottom-six in need of a scorer.

If not Blumel, the Bruins could find hardy upside in Steeves, who has also potted impressive minor-league scoring over the last four seasons. Steeves reached a new career-high with 36 goals and 62 points in 59 games this season. That mark emphasized the 27 goals and 57 points he scored in 65 games last year, and 51 points in 65 games he scored in the year before. Steeves has stepped into a handful of games with the Maple Leafs dating back to 2021, though only as injury relief. He’s scored one goal and three points in 14 career performances. While Kuraly and Eyssimont offer a stout pair of heavy-hitting forwards, Steeves will serve as the center compliment to Blumel in Boston’s search for scoring upside.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports.

PHR’s Gabriel Foley contributed significantly to this article.

Minor Transactions: 1/26/25

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There have been a few minor roster moves made around the NHL today, some of which may or may not ultimately be paper transactions that are reversed in the next couple of days.  We’ll run through those here.

  • The Panthers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve loaned defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to AHL Charlotte. The 23-year-old got into eight games with Florida after being recalled earlier this month but with Aaron Ekblad returning yesterday, his presence was no longer needed on the roster.  Bjornfot is tied for third in scoring by Checkers blueliners, notching 11 points in 27 games at the minor league level.
  • The Stars have returned winger Matej Blumel to the minors, per an announcement from AHL Texas. He has been shuttled back and forth with some frequency in recent days though he did suit up today versus Iowa.  The 24-year-old has a goal in seven games with Dallas and is now up to 19 goals and 15 assists in 33 AHL contests.
  • Nashville has assigned defenseman Spencer Stastney to AHL Milwaukee, per the AHL’s transactions log. He suited up in seven games for the Predators over the last three weeks while on recall but didn’t register a point.  The 25-year-old has three points in 10 games with the Admirals after missing nearly two months while on personal leave.  Nashville now has just six healthy blueliners on their active roster so it’s possible that Stastney could be back up relatively quickly.
  • The Hurricanes have placed center Tyson Jost on LTIR, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). The 26-year-old last played at the end of December and is battling a lower-body injury although he resumed skating last week.  Assuming the placement is retroactive, he has already missed the required 10 games and 24 days.  The move allowed them to remain cap-compliant after Friday’s three-team trade.

Stars Recall Lian Bichsel

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The Stars recalled top defense prospect Lian Bichsel from AHL Texas on Thursday, per a team announcement. They also reversed yesterday’s paper transaction involving forward Matěj Blümel and added him back to the active roster, which is now full.

Bichsel, 20, made his NHL debut last month and played eight games while filling in for the injured Mathew Dumba. The 2022 18th overall pick recorded a pair of goals and a plus-two rating, averaging 13:43 per game and recording a team-high 14.22 hits per 60 minutes.

Physicality is the principal aspect of the 6’7″, 231-lb defender’s game, but it’s not the only one. The Swiss native is also a skilled breakout passer and has three goals with six assists for nine points in 28 appearances with AHL Texas this season.

Dallas is now carrying eight defensemen on their active roster with no injury designations. It’s unlikely they’d interrupt Bichsel’s development in the AHL to have him sit in the press box, especially with no pressing injury concerns, so he’ll likely enter the lineup Friday against the Golden Knights while veteran and fellow lefty Brendan Smith heads to the press box.

Blümel, 24, has been on the roster for the most part since Jan. 11. The Czech winger, initially selected by the Oilers in the fourth round in 2019, has one goal on 10 shots in seven games with a minus-one rating. He’s been sent to the minors on off days to help the Stars bank additional cap space ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.

Blümel is one of a few players that the Stars have called up to play fourth-line spot duty with injuries to Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin stretching their forward depth. He’s been one of their best AHL producers since arriving in the organization in 2022, averaging 0.85 points per game across 162 career minor-league appearances. This season, he leads the club with 18 goals through 32 games.

Paper Transactions: 1/22/25

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According to a team announcement, the Colorado Avalanche have recalled forwards Ivan Ivan and Jere Innala to the NHL roster. The transaction marks the 10th time this year Ivan has been promoted to the Avalanche and the fifth time for Innala.

Even though he’s been formally reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, nine times, Ivan has only suited up in two AHL contests this season. Most of his playing time has come with the Avalanche, where he’s scored five goals and eight points in 39 games, averaging 10:09 of ice time per game. Ivan hasn’t been without value for the Avalanche this season, sitting 13th out of all 25 forwards used by Colorado this season in CorsiFor% (51.6%) while starting 67.3% of his shifts in the defensive zone.

The same can’t be said for Innala. He’s been a physical presence in Colorado’s bottom six this season over 14 games but has yet to tally his first NHL point. He ranks 23rd of all forwards used in CorsiFor% with a 45.1% mark. Innala will likely have a full-time role in the AHL carved out by the end of the season should the Avalanche add to their forward depth at the trade deadline.

Additional paper transactions:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have again reassigned defenseman Maxwell Crozier to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Crozier has been filling in for the injured Erik Černák, managing a +1 rating in the last three games while averaging 17:06 of ice time per game. Remarkably, thanks to a consistently healthy roster, Crozier is only the eighth defenseman to play more than two games for the Lightning this season.
  • Finishing off the list of paper transactions are the Dallas Stars, who have reassigned forward Matěj Blümel to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. It is the fifth time Blümel has been reassigned to AHL Texas in a season where he’s scored one goal in seven NHL contests. Since he’ll be 25 and won’t hit 80 career games by the end of the season, Blümel will become a ’Group 6’ unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

Paper Transactions: 1/20/25

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Instead of recalling the recently reassigned Guillaume Brisebois, the Vancouver Canucks have gone in another direction. The Canucks announced they’ve recalled Mark Friedman from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

Vancouver is no longer dealing with any injuries to their defensive core indicating there were ulterior motives for Friedman’s call-up. It may be that the Canucks preferred a right-handed shot defenseman or one with more NHL experience to serve as their eighth defenseman.

The likely reason is that Brisebois would require waivers for another reassignment should he have spent eight more days on Vancouver’s roster whereas Friedman is still 13 days away. Friedman has been better in the AHL this year compared to Brisebois scoring six points in 20 games compared to the latter’s one point in 21 games.

Other paper transactions from around the league:

  • On just about every off day for the Dallas Stars this year, the organization has made a roster move and today was no different. Dallas announced they’ve reassigned forwards Matěj Blümel and Justin Hryckowian to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. Both forwards have frequently been taxi players for the Stars this season with the former scoring one goal and six games and the latter scoring one goal in five games. One or both of them are expected back on the roster tomorrow when Dallas squares off against the Carolina Hurricanes.
  • As it turns out, defenseman Erik Černák isn’t expected back in the lineup tonight for the Tampa Bay Lightning. In his absence, the team has opted to recall defenseman Maxwell Crozier who recently filled in for Černák in Tampa Bay’s last game. Crozier skated in 14:25 of the Lightning’s recent win against the Detroit Red Wings but was reassigned yesterday for cap-related motivations.
  • Since forward Valeri Nichushkin has yet to return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup, the team had to recall another forward before today’s game against the Minnesota Wild. The team announced they had recalled forward Jere Innala, who had recently been reassigned on Saturday. He hardly played in today’s contest, going scoreless over 4:12 albeit landing one hit.

Dallas Stars Recall Matěj Blümel, Justin Hryckowian

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Jan. 16: The team announced that Blümel is back up today as expected, but Hyry isn’t coming with him. He stays in the AHL while forward Justin Hryckowian, who made his NHL debut in Dallas’ final two games of the 2024 calendar year, gets another crack at playing time. Both are expected to play tonight against the Canadiens while Marchment remains out, and center Roope Hintz also sits after sustaining an upper-body injury in the first period of Tuesday’s win over the Maple Leafs, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Hryckowian averaged just 6:40 per game and went without a point or shot on goal last month.

Jan. 15: The Stars organization announced they’ve reassigned Blümel and his linemate, Arttu Hyry to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. Dallas doesn’t play until tomorrow night when they take on the Montreal Canadiens so both forwards should be expected back on the roster by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. It largely reads as a paper transaction allowing the Stars to accrue precious cap space.

Jan. 11: The Dallas Stars have recalled forward Matěj Blümel from the minor leagues. He is expected to serve as insurance with the Stars headed for back-to-back games this weekend, shares NHL.com’s Bruce LeVine.

Blümel was recalled for a spot start in the NHL lineup on October 19th. He recorded one hit, two shots, and no scoring in the outing. The game brought Blümel up to seven career games in the NHL, combining with his six games and one goal from the 2022-23 campaign. He’s otherwise been a standout in the minor leagues, standing as one of the Texas Stars’ top scorers in each of the last three seasons. He leads the team in goals (18) and points (32) through 32 games this year. He also led Texas in goals last season, with 31 in 71 games – but his 62 points ranked second behind Mavrik Bourque’s 77-point campaign.

Dallas is dealing with long-term injuries to both Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin. Their absences have pushed Arttu Hyry into a routine role, and solidified Bourque and Oskar Back’s spots in the lineup. But Hyry only has one point in four games, while Bourque and Back have nine and 10 points in 35 games respectively. That meager scoring could make Blümel’s change-of-pace speed a valuable asset as the Stars look to continue their hot 7-2-1 record from their last 10 games.

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