Snapshots: Mangiapane, Ersson, Canucks
The Edmonton Oilers continue to shop veteran winger Andrew Mangiapane and are expected to trade him before the March 6 trade deadline, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported today. Pagnotta has previously reported on Mangiapane’s situation over the last month, writing that numerous teams, including the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks and Winnipeg Jets have had varying levels of interest in Mangiapane.
In past years, Mangiapane might have been a somewhat tough player to move, as he has an additional year on his contract at a $3.6MM AAV. While that’s not a salary that’s going to break any team’s cap sheet, the reality is his on-ice value this season has not been commensurate with his compensation, as he has just 12 points in 49 games. But Mangiapane has had his moments over the course of his career, including in 2021-22 when he scored 35 goals, or when he won tournament MVP at the 2021 IIHF Men’s World Championships, so it’s easy to see why a team with some financial flexibility might be interested in adding him at a minimal asset cost.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Philadelphia Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson is entering a crucial stretch of the season, one where his future in the Flyers organization could be decided, writes The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz. According to Kurz, “it’s make-or-break time for Ersson in a Flyers sweater” and “If he doesn’t finish strong, it’s difficult to envision the Flyers tabling a qualifying offer this summer to extend him.” A pending RFA, Ersson has been one of the league’s weakest goalies this season. He has a .856 save percentage in 24 games this season, and was only marginally better in 2024-25, when he posted an .883 in 47 games. He’s making $1.45MM against the cap on his current contract.
- The Vancouver Canucks have a whole host of trade possibilities to consider as the trade deadline inches closer, and most attention has been paid to the team’s pending UFAs, including veterans Evander Kane and Teddy Blueger. But that’s not the only trade avenue the Canucks are looking at in their quest to add more future assets to their team. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance reported that the Canucks are “actively exploring” their options in terms of “weaponizing” its cap space in order to add assets. While Drance noted that the more favorable cap environment likely takes deals such as the Canadiens’ acquisition of Sean Monahan and a first-round pick off the table, Vancouver could still have some options with how to utilize its projected $5.7MM (or more) cap space set to be available by deadline day.
Flyers Reassign Aleksei Kolosov
Feb. 6th: The Flyers reassigned Kolosov back to AHL Lehigh Valley today, now that the Olympic break has begun The move should provide him much-needed some stability in terms of where he’ll play, seeing as the Flyers are not set to return to the ice until Feb. 25.
Feb. 2nd: Philadelphia will remain without Ersson at least through tomorrow’s contest. For the second time in three days, the Flyers have recalled Kolosov from AHL Lehigh Valley. He played in the Phantoms game last night, producing a .777 SV% on 27 shots.
Feb. 1st: The Flyers announced today that Kolosov has been reassigned to AHL Lehigh Valley. The transaction indicates that Ersson is likely going to be able to dress for the Flyers’ game on Tuesday against the Washington Capitals.
Jan. 31st: With Samuel Ersson exiting Thursday’s game due to a lower-body injury, the Flyers needed some goaltending insurance for their game today against Los Angeles. As expected, that insurance is Aleksei Kolosov as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been recalled from AHL Lehigh Valley. To make room on the roster, center Lane Pederson was sent down to the Phantoms.
Kolosov was sent down back on Wednesday when Daniel Vladar returned from injury. He suited up last night against Springfield, making him recall-eligible once again. The 24-year-old is now in his fourth stint with Philadelphia but it hasn’t resulted in much playing time. He has just four appearances with the Flyers this season, two of which came in relief and has struggled in that small sample size, allowing eight goals on just 47 shots.
The fact that Ersson wasn’t placed on injured reserve suggests that the team doesn’t believe his injury is likely to keep him out for long. Accordingly, this NHL stint for Kolosov could ultimately be short-lived.
As for Pederson, he got his first recall of the season a little under two weeks ago and had played fairly regularly since then, getting into five of six games. It was his first action at the top level since 2023 with Columbus. The 28-year-old was held off the scoresheet in those outings while averaging just under nine minutes per night. Pederson has played in 37 games with Lehigh Valley this season, picking up 13 goals and 15 assists.
Flyers Could Explore Trade Options For Samuel Ersson
At one point this season, it looked as though the Philadelphia Flyers might be buyers, not sellers, in the lead-up to the 2026 NHL trade deadline. First-year head coach Rick Tocchet had the club primed to make a run to the playoffs, a clear step forward in the team’s retooling process.
Those Flyers look like a distant memory at this point, though, as the team has lost three consecutive games and endured a 2-7-1 stretch in its last 10 contests. They currently sit 10 points behind the Boston Bruins for the Eastern Conference’s final wild card spot, and eight points behind the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Flyers’ downturn has shifted the focus on the team heading into the trade deadline. Instead of identifying potential targets around the league the team might add, the Flyers now look more like a team that will subtract from its roster, rather than add. Last week, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported the Flyers were likely to have a “quiet deadline” unless a potential core player, perhaps at their key position of need, center, becomes available.
One name the Flyers could end up moving on from is netminder Samuel Ersson. Kurz wrote regarding Ersson that it “feels like it’s time for a change of scenery” for the player and club. There don’t appear to be a large number of goalies available for trade at this time, and the key name on the market, Jesper Wallstedt of the Minnesota Wild, figures to have a significant price tag attached.
For most teams, acquiring Ersson is a far more realistic possibility than shelling out high-end assets to land Wallstedt. Of course, Ersson isn’t of the same caliber of talent as Wallstedt, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have what it takes to help an NHL team.
The 26-year-old has been relied upon heavily by the Flyers over the course of the last few years.
The Swedish netminder played in 51 games in 2023-24, earning the vast majority of starts after the team’s No. 1 netminder, Carter Hart, became unavailable in the middle of the year.
He struggled at times, and his final save percentage of .890 certainly isn’t strong, but there were moments in the season where he showed the kind of talent that gave the Flyers faith brighter days could be ahead.
The following season, Philadelphia again trusted Ersson to be their leading man in the crease, as he played in 47 NHL games, the most of any netminder in the organization. Once again, Ersson showed flashes, but those quality starts began to become more infrequent. His final statistics regressed even further, as he finished with an .883 save percentage, and was one of the league’s weakest goalies in several metrics.
The Flyers signed Dan Vladar to stabilize their goaltending this past summer, and Vladar has validated their investment with a strong 2025-26 campaign. But while Vladar has stood out this year, Ersson’s struggles have persisted. Through 24 games this year, he has just an .856 save percentage, the lowest among netminders with at least 15 games played in 2025-26.
It’s fair to question, given his poor numbers and highly inconsistent performance over the last few years, whether other NHL teams would truly be interested in adding Ersson. But the netminder is a pending arbitration-eligible RFA with a cap hit of just $1.45MM.
He’s likely to be one of the more experienced netminders readily available for trade at this point in the season, and can likely be acquired for a relatively low cost.
If a team is confident in its goaltending department, and believes it can maximize Ersson’s talent in a way the Flyers have thus far been unable to, he could end up on the move.
Ersson could also be a fit for a team looking to simply enhance its depth at the position, especially if an injury strikes. If a team in the playoff race loses a netminder to injury at some point between now and the trade deadline, Ersson’s name will be one to watch.
Photos courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Flyers Activate Samuel Ersson; Reassign Jacob Gaucher, Aleksei Kolosov
The Flyers activated goaltender Samuel Ersson from injured reserve yesterday and reassigned center Jacob Gaucher to AHL Lehigh Valley in the corresponding move. While they were briefly carrying three healthy goalies, that’s no longer the case. Aleksei Kolosov has been removed from the Flyers’ roster, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia, indicating he’s also been sent back to Lehigh Valley to leave Philly with an open roster spot.
Ersson is a possibility to start tomorrow against the Senators based on how he fares in today’s practice, head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters (including Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports). He missed four games with an undisclosed injury, believed to be a groin issue, before being activated for yesterday’s win. Yesterday was the first game he was eligible to be activated for after his IR placement.
Before the injury, Ersson had already been clearly superseded as the Flyers’ starter by free agent pickup Daniel Vladař, who’s excelled with a .917 SV% and 2.18 GAA in his first nine starts. Ersson, who’d been Philly’s No. 1 option since 2023-24, had stumbled out of the gate with a .876 SV% and 3.08 GAA with a 2-1-1 record in four appearances. With Vladař shouldering a higher-than-normal workload in Ersson’s absence, though, it makes sense they’d want to get the latter a start, particularly against a Sens team that’s 1-1-2 in their last four and has only played twice so far this month.
Gaucher’s first recall of the season ends after three appearances. He was brought up on Halloween in the wake of an injury concern for Sean Couturier, who only missed one game before returning to the lineup. The 24-year-old still got a brief look as Philly’s fourth-line center, averaging 8:46 of ice time per game and going 9-for-19 (47.4%) on faceoffs. He did not record a point and logged a -1 rating. It was his second NHL stint after receiving a four-game trial with the Flyers last year. The pending restricted free agent remains waiver-exempt for 2025-26.
Kolosov was summoned to serve as Vladař’s backup while Ersson was out and did quite well. He made two appearances, entering a Nov. 1 loss to the Maple Leafs in relief of Vladař before starting the next night against the Flames. Philly lost that game 2-1, but Kolosov was strong, saving 26 of 28 shots faced across the pair of games for a .929 SV% and 1.62 GAA.
It adds to what’s been a promising season for the 23-year-old after a disastrous run in both Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley last season. Through five AHL games this year, Kolosov’s improved leaps and bounds on last year’s .884 SV% with a .918 mark and one shutout.
Flyers Recall Aleksei Kolosov, Place Samuel Ersson On IR
12:30 p.m.: Kolosov’s recall is official, and they’ve moved Ersson to IR to facilitate it, per Bill Meltzer of NHL.com. With a tight schedule upcoming for the Flyers, that rules Ersson out for the next four games. He’ll be eligible to return on Nov. 6.
10:26 a.m.: The Flyers will recall goaltender Aleksei Kolosov from AHL Lehigh Valley prior to tonight’s game, according to Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports. They don’t have an open roster spot, but Kolosov’s recall will likely come under emergency conditions.
Kolosov will be dressing as the backup to Daniel Vladař tonight against the Predators. Samuel Ersson has been ruled unavailable after sustaining a minor tweak in practice yesterday, O’Connor added. He’s listed as day-to-day and could be an option this weekend. But since they wouldn’t have the required two healthy goaltenders without Kolosov, he can be brought up under emergency conditions and not count against the active roster.
Kolosov likely won’t be up long enough to get a start. Nonetheless, the 23-year-old has taken strides in his development early on in 2025-26. A third-round pick in 2021, Kolosov has started five games for Lehigh Valley with a strong 2.60 GAA and .918 SV%, contributing to a 3-2-0 record. He’s posted a shutout in there as well for good measure.
It’s a remarkably stable performance from a player whose past couple of years have been anything but. Philadelphia initially brought Kolosov over from his native Belarus at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, and he joined Lehigh Valley for its final few games. He was unhappy with the adjustment to North America, though, and threatened to return to the KHL last season if he didn’t make the Flyers’ roster. He didn’t have much leverage without a European Assignment Clause, though. He ended up splitting last year between Philly and Lehigh Valley as part of a three-goalie mix with Ersson and Ivan Fedotov.
Kolosov wasn’t particularly impressive in either league. His NHL numbers were especially underwhelming, logging a .867 SV% and 3.59 GAA in 13 starts and four relief appearances. He mustered a 5-9-1 record but was among the worst goalies in the league by any metric. He allowed 0.599 goals above expected per 60 minutes, second-worst in the NHL among goalies with at least 15 games, per MoneyPuck. He also sputtered with a .884 SV%, 3.11 GAA, and a 5-6-1 record in 12 AHL contests.
That makes his step back in the right direction this season a big one. He’s still just 23 years old and has room to grow. If his relationship with the Flyers organization after the 2024 offseason drama is salvageable, there’s still a path toward him being something of a long-term backup/tandem option. That’s important with Vladař headed for unrestricted free agency in 2027 and the Flyers set to lose team control over Ersson that same year, but the team also has other high-end prospects in the pipeline like Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin.
Ersson’s injury comes after a slow start for the Swede, who’s all but officially lost the crease to the red-hot Vladař. The 26-year-old has started four of Philadelphia’s nine games, but with him posting a .876 SV% and allowing 0.9 goals above expected, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Flyers move away from a true Vladař/Ersson rotation moving forward.
Metropolitan Notes: Dadonov, Gudbranson, Slavin, Flyers
Earlier today, the Devils placed winger Evgenii Dadonov on injured reserve with his fractured hand. While a full timeline for recovery remains unknown, New Jersey clearly knows he’ll be out a while as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the winger has been moved to LTIR. In doing so, they’re certifying that he will miss at least 10 games and 24 days because of the injury. With the placement, the Devils have added $1MM in room to their LTIR pool, giving themselves a bit more recall flexibility. The 36-year-old also has $2.25MM in potential performance bonuses but those aren’t eligible to be added to an LTIR pool. He’ll need to play in at least 50 games during the regular season to max out on the regular season games played portion of those incentives.
More from the Metropolitan Division:
- Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson exited Saturday’s victory over Minnesota early due to an upper-body injury, notes Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. The injury occurred on a hit from Marcus Foligno late in the second period but while he came out briefly for the third period, he quickly returned to the dressing room. Gudbranson was limited to just 16 games last season due to a shoulder injury and an early absence this year certainly isn’t ideal, especially with this being the final year of his contract. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that the team won’t be providing any updates on Gudbranson’s status today.
- Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin left Saturday’s game against Philadelphia in the third period with what looks to be a knee injury, relays Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal. It’s expected that the team will know more on his status on Monday. Slavin has been a critical piece of Carolina’s back end for several years now and was off to a solid start before the injury. If he’s unable to play in their next game on Tuesday against San Jose, veteran Mike Reilly would likely make his Carolina debut.
- While most teams know who their starting goalie is by now, the Flyers appear to be one of the exceptions. Samuel Ersson entered the season as the incumbent after being the starter for the last couple of years but they also added Daniel Vladar in free agency. Earlier this week, head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters including Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the plan is to rotate the two for a while and see who takes the lead. It’s actually the same situation that Vladar had to start last season as he platooned with Dustin Wolf before Wolf took over as the full-fledged starter in the second half. He’ll have to wait a while to have a chance of coming out on the other side of that battle now in Philadelphia.
Team Sweden Announces 2025 World Championship Roster
Team Sweden has announced their roster for the upcoming 2025 IIHF World Championships. The ‘Tre Konor’ will look to finish higher than third place in the international tournament for the first time since 2018.
The team will look similar to the one Sweden brought to the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Filip Forsberg, Lucas Raymond, and Mika Zibanejad will reprise their roles as Sweden’s top forwards, while Rasmus Andersson and Jonas Brodin will lead the defensive core.
Unfortunately, the team will be without forward William Eklund for the tournament due to offseason wrist surgery. Sweden is expected to announce Eklund’s replacement in the coming days. The rest of Team Sweden’s roster is as follows:
F Mikael Backlund (Flames)
F Anton Bengtsson (Rögle BK)
F Leo Carlsson (Ducks)
F Christoffer Ehn (Linköping HC)
F Filip Forsberg (Predators)
F Max Friberg (Frölunda HC)
F Jesper Frödén (ZSC Lions)
F Marcus Johansson (Wild)
F Elias Lindholm (Bruins)
F Isac Lundeström (Ducks)
F Lucas Raymond (Red Wings)
F Alexander Wennberg (Sharks)
F Mika Zibanejad (Rangers)
D Rasmus Andersson (Flames)
D Jonas Brodin (Wild)
D Gabriel Carlsson (EV Zug)
D Simon Edvinsson (Red Wings)
D Adam Larsson (Kraken)
D Marcus Pettersson (Canucks)
G Samuel Ersson (Flyers)
G Jacob Markström (Devils)
G Arvid Söderblom (Blackhawks)
Flyers Notes: Coaching Search, Ristolainen, Ersson
At the end of March, it was confirmed that the Philadelphia Flyers will be among several teams seeking a new head coach this summer. Considering this, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia provided various updates regarding the Flyers’ head coaching search as summer approaches.
First, Hall reported that the Flyers are not following a strict timeline for their search, and they will conduct all research internally instead of hiring an external firm for assistance. They’ll start their research at the base level, as Hall indicated that Philadelphia hasn’t begun making a short list yet. Still, General Manager Daniel Brière confirmed Brad Shaw will be interviewed after serving as the team’s interim head coach for the last month of the regular season.
According to Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer, unfortunately, the hottest name on the coaching market, David Carle of the University of Denver, isn’t considered a serious candidate for the job. Hall shared that Brière would like to start adding to the team rather than subtracting from it, and that change in philosophy should affect their eventual hire. Given the mixture of youth and veterans on the roster, the Flyers will want to find a coach who can blend development with contention.
To hypothesize, Jay Woodcroft is likely the top available option for coaches with considerable experience with development and the playoffs. Woodcroft guided the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors to a Pacific Division Playoff Championship in 2020-21, before coaching the Edmonton Oilers to the Western Conference Finals a year later.
Other notes from Philadelphia:
- As reported by Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports, Brière commented on the status of defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, whose season prematurely ended due to an upper-body injury. Unfortunately, Ristolainen’s upper-body issue was confirmed as an arm injury, similar to the one that ended his 2023-24 season in February. Ristolainen underwent surgery to repair the injury and may not start the 2025-26 season on time. As a potential trade candidate for the Flyers heading into the offseason, the recent injury history and delayed start to next year may preclude Philadelphia from receiving any worthwhile offers for their Finnish blueliner.
- In a separate injury update from Hall, netminder Samuel Ersson admitted to a lingering lower-body injury that plagued him most of the season. Unsurprisingly, something was afflicting Ersson, as he had an up-and-down campaign, which, admittedly, is more than the other Flyers netminders can say. After maintaining a .902 SV% through the first two months of the regular season, Ersson’s SV% dropped to an. .874 mark from December through March.
Snapshots: Ersson, Penguins, Kovalenko
Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson certainly hasn’t had it easy. Thrust into the starting spot midseason in 2023-24 while still getting his feet wet in the NHL, he has been the undisputed number one since then. But head coach John Tortorella indicated this weekend to reporters including Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia that the team is hoping they’ll be able to deploy him in more of a tandem role when their goaltending situation is finalized. The hope was that Ivan Fedotov would be the other part of that platoon but he has struggled in his first full season in North America, as has youngster Aleksei Kolosov, calling into question if Ersson’s long-term platoon partner is either further away or outside the organization altogether.
More from around the NHL:
- The daily transactions from Pittsburgh continue. Per the AHL transactions log, the Penguins have once again brought up winger Matt Nieto and defenseman Sebastian Aho from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis. While the Pens aren’t obligated to keep shuffling the players back and forth on off days, doing so allows them to pause their respective waiver clocks each time they send them down. Even with it being past the trade deadline, once they’re up for 30 days or play in 10 games, they’d have to get through waivers again to go back to the minors.
- Following the recent acknowledgment that contract talks for Sharks winger Nikolai Kovalenko won’t start until after the season, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News wonders if the 25-year-old will be in San Jose’s plans moving forward. Since returning from a lower-body injury earlier this month, he’s only logging 11 minutes a game and was healthy scratched on Saturday. With San Jose getting a look at some other players, it’s possible that they could determine that he’s not the right fit moving forward while his arbitration eligibility could also be a dissuading factor. Kovalenko will be owed a qualifying offer of just under $814K and has 17 points in 49 games this season.
Snapshots: Evans, Ersson, Nichushkin, Utah, Chara
The Canadiens were believed to have been offered a mid-second-round pick back at the draft for center Jake Evans, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. He adds that the Capitals may have been the team making the offer. Evans is in the middle of what is likely to be a career year as he has 11 goals and 14 assists in 50 games while being the league leader for shorthanded ice time by a forward. A pending unrestricted free agent, Evans has a very affordable $1.7MM cap charge this season and could plausibly double that on the open market this summer. Montreal will have to decide if it’s worth accepting what’s likely to be a similar offer by the March 7th trade deadline or trying to sign him to a contract extension in the coming weeks.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Flyers announced that goaltender Samuel Ersson has officially been added to Sweden’s entry for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. He’ll take the place of injured netminder Jacob Markstrom. Ersson has a 2.77 GAA and a .893 SV% in 27 appearances this season while picking up 15 of Philadelphia’s 23 wins. As things stand, he’s likely to serve as Sweden’s third-string option for the tournament.
- It appears that Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin will be out until after the 4 Nations Face-Off, relays Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has yet to play in 2025 due to a lower-body injury. It looked like he was close to returning earlier this month but ultimately suffered a setback, changing his designation to week-to-week. When available, Nichushkin has done well, tallying 11 goals and six assists in 21 games but Colorado won’t have him in the lineup for a while yet.
- The Utah Hockey Club announced that they are no longer pursuing some of their preferred team names following the trademark issues that were revealed last week. The team will now run another voting campaign with only three names on the ballot – their current moniker, Mammoth, and Wasatch. This round of voting will occur in-arena during Utah’s next four home games, beginning with tonight’s.
- Bruins GM Don Sweeney confirmed to Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe that they are in discussions about bringing back long-time blueliner Zdeno Chara in an advisory role. Chara spent 14 years with Boston, playing over 1,000 games with the franchise while winning the Norris Trophy back in 2009. Sweeney added that the role, the specifics of which are still being discussed, would likely have him working with both the players and the coaching staff.