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Matthew Kessel

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.

Blues Reassign Matthew Kessel

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The Blues reassigned defenseman Matthew Kessel to AHL Springfield on Monday, per a team announcement. They now have no extra defensemen on the active roster and a pair of open spots.

After being recalled Friday, Kessel only spent a few days on the active roster. He dressed for that night’s game in place of the ill Colton Parayko against the Avalanche but posted a minus-two rating and one shot on goal in 15:26 of ice time. He didn’t play in last night’s 2-1 win over Utah thanks to Parayko’s return, and with a three-game homestand carrying the Blues through to the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the need for an extra defenseman isn’t pressing.

Kessel becomes waiver-eligible after he plays two more NHL games, so, understandably, St. Louis will attempt to stretch that out as long as possible. Regardless of whether he plays again in 2024-25, he’ll need waivers to head to the minors at the beginning of 2025-26 if he doesn’t make the team.

The 24-year-old righty has suited up 27 times for the Blues this year, including 11 straight games in October and November. He routinely logged limited minutes when dressed and was sent to Springfield in December, shortly before St. Louis moved to acquire Cam Fowler from the Ducks.

Dating back to his debut for the team in the 2022-23 season, the 2020 fifth-rounder has one goal and nine assists for 10 points in 68 NHL games with a minus-four rating. He’s averaged 15:16 per game with a 48.0 CF% but has only averaged 13:05 per game in 2024-25, albeit with improved possession metrics.

The Phoenix native is amid an offensive emergence on minor-league assignments this season. While touted as a physical defensive specialist, he has 11 points in 17 games for Springfield after recording just eight in 36 AHL games last season.

Blues Extend Corey Schueneman, Recall Matthew Kessel

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The Blues signed defenseman Corey Schueneman to a two-way contract extension Friday that will pay him $775K in the NHL and $425K in the AHL next season, according to a team announcement. St. Louis also recalled defenseman Matthew Kessel from AHL Springfield, bringing their active roster count to 22.

Schueneman, 29, landed with the Blues on a two-way deal last summer after not being re-upped by the Avalanche. His extension marks a $25K minor-league pay raise for the 2025-26 campaign.

St. Louis waived Schueneman at the end of training camp and he cleared without incident. He’s been recalled from Springfield once, spending the latter half of November on the NHL roster while Philip Broberg and Pierre-Olivier Joseph were on the shelf with injuries. He skated in four out of seven games during his call-up, recording four shots on goal, seven blocks, and one hit while averaging 14:03 of ice time per game. The 6’0″ lefty controlled play well in his limited minutes, posting a 56.2 CF% at even strength.

The Michigan native plays a shutdown game first and foremost but has always produced a decent chunk of offense at the minor-league level, including 12 points in 35 games with Springfield this year. He has 102 points in 279 career AHL games – good for 0.37 per game – since his professional debut on a minor-league deal in the Flames system in 2019.

Schueneman now has 35 games of NHL experience, the other 31 of which came with the Canadiens in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. He had two goals and five assists with a minus-four rating there.

By staying in the Blues organization for another year, Schueneman lands some stability after switching clubs in the 2023 and 2024 offseasons with his intermediary stop in Colorado that didn’t result in any NHL time. He’s a low-risk candidate for a waiver claim and should remain in the system as a decent injury replacement option. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2026.

The 24-year-old Kessel gets the call from the minors for the first time since mid-December. He’ll likely serve as an extra defender during the Blues’ upcoming two-game road swing through Colorado and Utah. The Phoenix native began the season on the Blues’ roster but struggled with three assists and a minus-one rating in 26 games before being assigned to Springfield. The 6’3″ righty has been on fire since his demotion, posting 11 points, 19 PIMs, and a plus-three rating in 17 AHL appearances.

Blues Acquire Cam Fowler From Ducks

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Cam Fowler’s 15-year career with the Anaheim Ducks has come to an end. The St. Louis Blues organization announced they’ve acquired Fowler (38.5% retained) and a 2027 fourth-round pick for defensive prospect Jeremie Biakabutuka and a 2027 second-round pick.

Once the trade call is finalized, the Ducks organization will have parted with their longest-tenured player. Fowler was only nine games away from reaching the 1000th of his career with Anaheim but will now accomplish the career mark as a member of the Blues.

Consistency has been the name of the game for Fowler throughout his career. Anaheim selected Fowler with the 12th overall pick of the 2010 NHL Draft and debuted a year later during the 2010-11 season. He finished his rookie campaign with 10 goals and 40 points in 76 contests finishing eighth in Calder Trophy voting.

He’s averaged approximately 38 points a season for the next 14 years and impressively averaged 23 minutes of ice time per game across that timeline. His career CorsiFor% of 49.7% and career on-ice save percentage in all situations of 90.2% show that the Ducks have leaned on Fowler’s two-way play and used him in nearly all situations.

St. Louis is filling a clear need on the left side of their defense for less than expected. The Blues organization will owe Fowler just under $4MM a year for the remainder of this season and next and he has the experience to move up and down the lineup.

Key injuries to Torey Krug and Nick Leddy have left a sizeable hole in the lineup. Philip Broberg has been a bright spot in the top-four but the team can’t continue to utilize Ryan Suter or Pierre-Olivier Joseph as the other option.

The addition of Fowler isn’t expected to pull St. Louis up the standings but it shouldn’t hurt their chances either. The Blues are four points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with one game in hand on their division rivals, the Colorado Avalanche.

At any rate, the acquisition of Fowler gives them cost certainty on their blue line for next season. Fowler makes seven St. Louis defensemen signed beyond this season and they’ll likely reprise their roles next year. The team could move out of Leddy’s contract as he’s also being paid $4MM by the Blues but their top-four is likely set.

Biakabutuka, from Longueuil, Quebec, is in his second full year with the Blues organization. He’s primarily spent time in the ECHL with the Orlando Solar Bears and Florida Everblades where he’s collected five goals and 22 points in 76 contests. It’s unlikely he’ll suit up for the Ducks in the AHL meaning he’ll suit up for their ECHL affiliate in Tulsa.

In the announcement from the Blues organization, the team also shared they’ve sent down defenseman Matthew Kessel to their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. St. Louis didn’t require eight defensemen on the active roster and Kessel was the only waiver exempt among them.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report Anaheim and St. Louis were working on a Fowler trade. 

Friedman was the first to report the majority of the trade package. 

Friedman was the first to report Biakabutuka was included in the deal. 

Snapshots: Dermott, Tucker, Zelenov

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While there has been plenty of speculation surrounding the Oilers when it comes to adding a right-shot defenseman (either via PTO or a one-year deal) heading into training camp, Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins wonders if they might go a different direction.  He suggests that it might be more likely that veteran blueliner Travis Dermott could wind up in Edmonton for training camp.  While the 27-year-old is a left-shot player, he can play on the right side and he played for head coach Kris Knoblauch in his junior days with OHL Erie while Jeff Jackson, Edmonton’s CEO of Hockey Operations, used to be his agent.  Dermott played on a two-way deal last season with Arizona, picking up seven points in 50 games while logging over 17 minutes a night.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch assesses the defensive situation for the Blues. Even with Torey Krug’s season over before it even started, St. Louis has ample depth with nine players who could plausibly make a case for a roster spot.  Matthew Kessel is the lone waiver-exempt player which could hurt his chances while DeFranks suggests that Tyler Tucker might be the one with the most work to do to maintain his roster spot.  Unless St. Louis wants to carry eight blueliners to start the season, they’ll have to put one of their current rearguards on waivers barring an injury in training camp.
  • Sabres prospect Vasili Zelenov is generating a lot of NCAA interest, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 18-year-old was a seventh-round pick in June, going 204th overall after a strong season in Austria, one that saw him put up 37 points in 40 games.  Zelenov is playing with USHL Green Bay this season and will likely look to make the jump to college hockey for the 2025-26 season.

Blues Sign Matthew Kessel To Two-Year Extension

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The Blues have signed right-shot defenseman Matthew Kessel to a two-year, one-way contract extension worth $1.6MM ($800K AAV/cap hit), GM Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday.

Kessel, 23, was in the final season of his entry-level contract and was set to be an RFA with arbitration rights this summer. It’s a significant raise for the young blue-liner, whose cap hit decreased from $884K but will earn more in actual cash after spending most of his ELC in the minors, where he earned $80K per season.

A fifth-round pick of St. Louis in 2020, Kessel was recalled earlier this week and re-entered the lineup for the first time since late February on Monday against the Bruins. He’s played in a career-high 23 games for the Blues this year after only dressing twice in 2022-23, posting three assists and 8 PIMs with a -2 rating. When in the lineup, he’s spent most of his time in a top-four role alongside Torey Krug, filling in for Justin Faulk while he was out with a lower-body injury for most of January and February.

His even-strength possession results have been poor, posting a 42.9 CF% (-1.6% worse than the team’s overall CF% without him) and a 40.6 xGF%. The 6-foot-3, 203-lb defender has been a strong shutdown force in the minors, where he has seven goals, 43 points and a +9 rating since logging his first professional action with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds at the end of the 2021-22 season.

Kessel’s extension walks him to restricted free agency in 2026, and he’ll maintain arbitration rights. He’s currently waivers-exempt, but that will expire after he plays 45 more NHL games (a total of 70).

The Phoenix native becomes the sixth St. Louis defender signed to a one-way deal next season, joining Justin Faulk ($6.5MM), Torey Krug ($6.5MM), Nick Leddy ($4MM), Colton Parayko ($6.5MM), and Tyler Tucker ($800K). The Blues have two pending free agent defenders on the active roster, Scott Perunovich (RFA with arbitration rights) and Marco Scandella (UFA).

Blues Recall Matthew Kessel

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The Blues announced that they have recalled defenseman Matthew Kessel from AHL Springfield ahead of tomorrow’s game in Boston. St. Louis only has $485K in cap space, less than the $884K needed to add Kessel’s contract to the roster, so a corresponding transaction is coming in the form of a reassignment or LTIR placement. With no Blues out of the lineup due to injuries, the former is more likely.

Kessel, 23, will look to build on a decent stretch of NHL play earlier this season. Filling in for Justin Faulk when the veteran was out with a lower-body injury for much of January and February, the right-shot youngster notched two assists and a -4 rating in 22 games while logging 17:25 per game. The Phoenix-born blue-liner is in his third season of pro hockey after signing his entry-level deal with St. Louis in 2022.

The 2020 fifth-round pick is in the final season of that contract, which pays him $832.5K in the NHL and $80K in the minors, along with a $92.5K signing bonus paid out last summer. A pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, Kessel also has two goals, seven points, and a +1 rating in 34 games with Springfield.

Bringing up Kessel burns the second of the Blues’ four post-deadline standard recalls. They used the first of them on 2021 first-round pick Zachary Bolduc, who they briefly ferried to Springfield to make him eligible for the AHL’s postseason, just after the 2 p.m. CT Friday cutoff.

Kessel’s possession numbers weren’t much to write home about in his NHL stint, posting a 43.2 CF% at even strength and a 40.7 xGF% despite receiving more offensive zone time than you’d expect from someone in a shutdown role. Nonetheless, he’s been on a solid development track in the minors will get a few more chances to show he can be an effective shot-suppression talent.

Blues Activate Justin Faulk, Reassign Matthew Kessel

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The Blues activated defenseman Justin Faulk off LTIR on Monday, signaling he’ll be ready to play in tomorrow’s key Central Division tilt against the Jets, per a team announcement. Defenseman Matthew Kessel was loaned to AHL Springfield in a corresponding transaction to create a necessary roster spot.

Faulk, 31, has been out of the lineup since sustaining a lower-body injury in late January that cost him 12 games. The 13-year veteran will return to his usual spot alongside Torey Krug on the Blues’ secondary defense pairing as they try to gain separation from the streaking Minnesota Wild and get a step closer to overtaking the Predators for the final playoff spot in the West.

Now in the fourth season of a seven-year, $45.5MM extension signed after the Blues acquired him from the Hurricanes in 2019, Faulk has taken a step back with only two goals and 19 points in 40 games this year. He’s posted a -5 rating while averaging 22:14 per game, his lowest usage since his first season in St. Louis in 2019-20. The 2010 second-round pick has still yet to average less than 20 minutes per game in a season, sticking in a top-four role ever since making his debut with Carolina in 2011.

His pairing with Krug has been the Blues’ highest-event unit on the blue line, leading the team in both expected goals for and against per 60 minutes, according to MoneyPuck. As such, their 46.1% expected goals share is by no means elite, but it still leads all St. Louis defense duos with over 100 minutes together this year. He is an upgrade on the now-demoted Kessel, who controlled 43.3% of expected goals when paired with Krug, by any stretch.

Kessel, 23, has cemented himself as St. Louis’ top defensive call-up option for now. He hasn’t stood out among an already poor Blues defense, but he’s gained the trust of their coaching staff enough to dress in 22 games this year, recording two assists and a -4 rating while averaging 17:25 per game. The 2020 fifth-round pick stands at 6-foot-2 and over 200 lbs and was an impressive two-way force with UMass Amherst from 2019 to 2022. He’s in the second and final season of his entry-level contract and will be an RFA this summer with arbitration rights.

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