Evening Notes: Ekman-Larsson, Abols, Whitecloud
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced mid-game that Oliver Ekman-Larsson won’t return due to a lower-body injury.
Ekman-Larsson did not come out to start the second period against Detroit. He was seen battling with Lucas Raymond for a loose puck, where the defenseman seemed to catch an edge awkwardly.
Dealing with health issues over the last few years, the 34-year-old has been durable this year, not yet missing a game, a distinction shared only with teammate John Tavares. With 31 points in 50 games, Ekman-Larsson has had his best output since 2018-19, although seasons since then were shortened from injury. He has averaged 20:54 a night, leaned on in all situations, as a top pairing defender on both the power play and penalty kill.
He had another lower-body injury scare in December, but avoided missing any time.
The veteran of 1,108 games is expected to help lead Team Sweden in the upcoming Olympic Games, but such could be in jeopardy with tonight’s news. The Swedes are already dealing with a shake up, as just yesterday, it became apparent that Jonas Brodin, another left-handed defender, would likely miss the Olympics along with forward Leo Carlsson.
Options such as Mattias Ekholm, Hampus Lindholm, and Simon Edvisson are thought to be replacements for Brodin if needed, and possibly, another of the trio could come along to Milan if Ekman-Larsson will miss time. Both Sweden and the Maple Leafs will hope such is not the case. Toronto is back in action on Friday, hosting Vegas.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Kevin Kurz of The Athletic shared additional details on Philadelphia Flyers forward Rodrigo Abols’ injury. The 30-year-old suffered a fractured right ankle, and according to Kurz, there is a chance he could make a return by the “final month or so of the regular season”. Abols landed on injured reserve on Sunday, with what was considered a lower-body injury, but the incident against the Rangers last Saturday appeared to be a gruesome leg injury, immediately serious. With the Flyers still in the Wild Card hunt, losing their steady fourth line center was a tough blow. 28-year-old Lane Pederson was recalled in a corresponding transaction, and figures to fill in for now. Also with Olympics implications, Abols unfortunately will not get to appear for Team Latvia next month.
- New Calgary Flames blueliner Zach Whitecloud could have a short stay in Calgary, as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period wrote that “several teams” reached out. Acquired from Vegas in Sunday’s Rasmus Andersson deal, Pagnotta emphasized Whitecloud’s very manageable $2.75MM cap hit, which runs through 2027-28. The longtime Golden Knight played 22:33 in his Calgary debut in a top pairing role, evident that he is valuable to the retooling club as a solid stop-gap capable of eating minutes. GM Craig Conroy has no reason to rush into such a move, but strong offers later in the spring may bring intrigue, especially with top prospect righty Zayne Parekh in waiting.
Flyers Recall Lane Pederson, Rodrigo Abols Replaced On Olympic Roster
1/19: After being placed on IR by the Flyers on Sunday, centerman Abols has been replaced by Rihards Bukarts on Team Latvia’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics per a team announcement. Bukarts currently has eight points in nine games with Presov HC of Slovakia’s Tipsport Extraliga. This move suggests that Abols’ scary-looking injury will indeed knock him out of contention at another Olympic event.
1/18: The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that center Rodrigo Abols has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. In a corresponding move, the club recalled forward Lane Pederson from their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Abols suffered a lower-body injury against the New York Rangers on Jan. 17, and will now miss at least a week as a result of his IR placement. He was centering the Flyers’ fourth line in between Garnet Hathaway and Carl Grundstrom, a role that will likely now go to Pederson, who can play center.
The Latvian international was signed out of the SHL by the Flyers in advance of the 2024-25 season, and he earned his way into the NHL with a solid campaign at the AHL level. In 47 games for the Phantoms, Abols scored 32 points, a performance that helped him get into a total of 22 NHL games that year.
So far this season, Abols has been able to carve out a steady role on the Flyers’ fourth line. Though he only has 10 points in 42 games, he’s been able to provide the kind of size and game-to-game reliability teams are looking for in the fourth-line center position. Abols has also seen sporadic deployment on the penalty kill, where he averages 0:39 time on ice per game overall, but has a single-game high of 2:13.
With this recall, it’s Pederson who will get the chance to replace Abols in head coach Rick Tocchet’s lineup. It’s highly unlikely Pederson alone will be able to reverse the Flyers’ recent struggles, but he does have nearly 80 games of NHL experience and a solid record of scoring at the AHL level.
From Pederson’s perspective, this recall is a significant opportunity for him as he’s a pending unrestricted free agent. Depth players in his position often have to squeeze everything they can out of the limited NHL exposure they receive, so he’ll be under some pressure to step up in advance of an important free agent summer for the future of his career.
Evening Notes: Abols, Igram, Love
The Philadelphia Flyers could soon receive bad news about a scary-looking injury. Center Rodrigo Abols needed helped off the ice after his right-foot went into the boards awkwardly during Saturday’s game against the New York Rangers. Head coach Rick Tocchet provided little update after the game, except to say that the injury was “not good” per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Abols was on Latvia’s official roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, set to begin in roughly one month. He has represented Latvia at Olympic events in 2017, 2022, and 2025, with 13 points in 13 games in total. A long-term injury would leave Latvia, and the Flyers, without an important bit of depth.
The Flyers have deployed Abols in a fourth-line role in his second season with the club. He has recorded 10 points, 22 penalty minutes, and a minus-one in 41 games. Each of those marks are up from the five points, four penalty minutes, and minus-10 that Abols recorded in the first 22 games of his NHL career last season. He should have a spot carved out at the bottom of Philadelphia’s lineup on the other side of this injury, so long as he returns before hitting unrestricted free agency this summer.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- The Edmonton Oilers have found a small bit of reliability in net. Goaltender Connor Ingram is expected to stick with the team even after he regains waiver eligibility per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. The team is expected to carry three goaltenders – Ingram, Tristan Jarry, and Calvin Pickard – through the Olympic break. Ingram has recorded four wins and a .907 save percentage in his first eight games with Edmonton. The performance is a major improvement over the four wins and .856 save percentage he recorded in 11 AHL games to start the year – while this resurgence is wholely a nice rebound for Ingram after losing the Utah Hockey Club’s starting role last season. He seems to have found a new role in Edmonton, where he could earn a heap of starts with strong play. Ingram is currently the only Oilers goaltender with a save percentage above .900.
- The KHL’s Shanghai Dragons have hired Mitch Love as their next head coach after Gerard Gallant stepped down last week per Sergey Demidov of RG. Coach Mike Kelly – a former Florida Panthers coach who served as interim head coach in Gallant’s absence – will stay with the team as an assistant coach. Love was hired as an assistant coach by the Washington Capitals this summer but was placed on team-imposed leave before coaching in his first game. The leave was spurred by an NHL investigation into Love, ultimately revealed to be looking into allegations of domestic abuse against Love. The Capitals fired Love after that investigation. Love will now try to lift up a Dragons club that ranks third-to-last in the KHL’s Western Conference. Shanghai is led by former North American pros Spencer Foo, Austin Wagner, Alexander Burmistrov, and Kevin Labanc.
Flyers Re-Sign Rodrigo Abols
The Flyers are keeping depth center Rodrigo Abols around for another season, PuckPedia reports. It’s a one-year, one-way deal with an $800K cap hit.
It’s a significant raise in real cash for Abols, who signed a two-way deal with Philadelphia last summer. The 29-year-old Latvian was a seventh-round pick by the Canucks in 2016 but had spent most of his professional career overseas, a one-year run in the Panthers’ farm system in 2019-20 notwithstanding.
After establishing himself as a quality middle-six center with good defensive instincts in the Swedish Hockey League with Orebro HK and Rogle BK, Abols decided to try North American hockey again in the 2024 offseason. He didn’t make the Flyers’ roster out of camp but got some extended looks in the latter half of the campaign, marking his NHL debut.
The 6’4″, 205-lb center played 22 games for the Flyers, almost exclusively in a fourth-line role. He averaged just 9:11 per game but did manage a pair of goals and three assists. Most of his positive impact was felt in the faceoff circle, where he won 66 of his 113 draws (58.4%). He didn’t have sterling defensive impacts, but things weren’t as bad as his -10 rating in limited action suggested, either. Philadelphia controlled 49% of shot attempts and 46.1% of expected goals with Abolts on the ice at 5-on-5.
Given Abols’ track record of quickly returning to Europe when things didn’t work out stateside, some believed it was likely he’d do so again this summer upon reaching unrestricted free agency. Philly would almost certainly need to give him a one-way commitment to retain him – evidently, that’s what they’ve decided to do. Whether the deal indicates they’ve pencilled him into a fringe roster spot remains to be seen.
If not, Abols was a good producer for AHL Lehigh Valley. He posted a 15-17–32 scoring line in 47 games for the minor-league club.
Flyers Reassign Rodrigo Abols
The Flyers reassigned center Rodrigo Abols to AHL Lehigh Valley before Wednesday’s win over the Rangers, per a team announcement.
Abols will finish the season in the minors unless injuries over Philadelphia’s final four regular season games necessitate a recall. The 29-year-old has been up with the big club since the trade deadline, his second recall of the year after signing a two-way deal with the Flyers as a free agent last summer.
The former Canucks draft pick has been serviceable in a fourth-line role for Philly. He’s scored 2-3–5 through 22 appearances, his first in the NHL, with a -10 rating while averaging 9:11 per game. He’s been good on draws, winning 58.4% of his faceoffs. The 6’4″, 205-lb pivot has also added 12 blocks and 25 hits, and his possession metrics (49.0 CF%, 46.0 xGF% at even strength) are passable on a subpar Flyers squad.
Abols has spent the overwhelming majority of his professional career in the Swedish Hockey League, including the last four seasons, before making a return to North America in the summer of 2024. He’d previously spent a year in the Panthers system (2019-20) without seeing an NHL call-up. While on assignment to Lehigh Valley this year, Abols has 12-15–27 in 44 games with a minus-three rating.
The Latvian national team fixture has likely done enough to earn another two-way deal this summer from an NHL club, whether that ends up being the Flyers or somebody else. Still, he may prefer to return to more familiar pastures in Sweden or another European league instead of toiling in the minors again. Abols’ demotion should mean a guaranteed spot in the lineup for recent undrafted free agent signing Karsen Dorwart in the Flyers’ final games.
Minor Transactions: 3/7/25
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.
Flyers Place Ryan Poehling On Injured Reserve
Flyers center Ryan Poehling will miss at least two more games after landing on injured reserve Monday morning, per a team announcement. Philadelphia recalled center Rodrigo Abols from AHL Lehigh Valley in a corresponding transaction, keeping their active roster at a maximum of 23.
Poehling, 26, already missed Saturday’s win over the Devils with an upper-body injury. He sustained it last Thursday against the Islanders when New York rookie Maxim Tsyplakov delivered a hit to the head, earning the latter a three-game suspension.
In his second season in Philly, Poehling is delivering arguably the best performance of his six-year NHL career. The bottom-six fixture has four goals and 11 assists for 15 points through 43 games, putting him on track to match last year’s career-high 28 points before the injury but with better defensive play this time.
Averaging 13:18 per game, Poehling has won a career-high 51.2% of his draws, at least over an entire season, and leads Flyers forwards with 51 blocks. He’s started two-thirds of his even-strength shifts in the defensive zone, has seen time on their top penalty-killing unit with Scott Laughton, and his 2.7 GA/60 at even strength is fourth-best among qualified skaters behind Noah Cates (2.5), Garnet Hathaway (2.3), and Emil Andrae (2.0).
The decision to sign the Minnesota native to a two-year, $3.8MM extension midway through last season has turned out prudent for Flyers general manager Daniel Brière. He has 15 goals and 43 points in 120 games as a Flyer since they signed him in 2023.
Up comes the 29-year-old Abols, who receives the first recall of his professional career. A seventh-round pick of the Canucks back in 2016, they let his signing rights lapse before he landed an entry-level contract with the Panthers in the 2019 offseason.
Abols lasted one year in the Florida organization, recording 23 points in 36 AHL games before mutually terminating his contract ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. The Latvia-born Abols returned to the Swedish Hockey League, where he played in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns. He spent four years suiting up with Örebro HK and Rögle BK before generating NHL interest again this past summer.
On the heels of a 14-goal, 26-point campaign for Rögle, the 6’4″, 205-lb Abols landed a two-way deal with the Flyers. He has nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points in 34 games with AHL Lehigh Valley, tying for fourth on the team in scoring. He’s expected to make his NHL debut Tuesday against the Red Wings, while Laughton is doubtful due to a family matter, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.
Flyers Sign Rodrigo Abols
The Flyers have added some depth up front as the team announced today that they’ve signed Rodrigo Abols to a one-year contract. It’s a two-way agreement that will pay the league minimum salary of $775K in the NHL; the AHL portion of the agreement was not disclosed.
The 28-year-old was originally drafted in the seventh round by Vancouver back in 2016 but never signed with them. However, after a strong showing in Sweden, he inked a two-year deal with Florida back in 2019 to return to North America. However, he wound up being back on loan to SHL Orebro in the second year of that agreement, eventually reaching an agreement on a contract termination in early 2021.
Since then, Abols has exclusively played in Sweden, spending two more years in Orebro before moving to Rogle for the 2023-24 campaign. The change of scenery didn’t help his offensive numbers during the regular season as he went from 19 goals and 22 assists the year before to 14 and 12, respectively this season. However, he was much more impactful in the playoffs, notching five goals and seven helpers in 15 contests to finish second in SHL playoff scoring (to Jere Innala who signed with Colorado earlier this week). It’s fair to suggest Abols’ playoff performance got him back on the NHL radar.
Abols will likely be given a chance to push for a spot at the bottom of Philadelphia’s depth chart in training camp although the likelier outcome is that he starts with AHL Lehigh Valley (pending waiver clearance) and tries to play his way into an NHL recall from there for his first taste of action at the top level. It’s worth noting that he had two years left on his deal with Rogle so if he winds up with an extended stint in the minors and things aren’t going well, it’s quite possible that he could ask for a termination again and return to Sweden.