Minor Transactions: 1/26/25
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.
Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad Unlikely To Play, Tobias Bjornfot In
Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has shared that top defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who was a game-time decision for Saturday afternoon, isn’t expected to play, per Colby Guy of the Associated Press. Ekblad is battling through an undisclosed injury that forced him to miss the final 26 minutes of Florida’s January 3rd win over Pittsburgh. He returned to the lineup for 24 minutes of ice time in Florida’s Wednesday win over Utah, but will now swing the other way and once again miss time with this undisclosed injury.
Ekblad has continued to serve as the beating heart of the Panthers’ blue-line. He leads the defense in scoring, with 20 points through 41 games putting him on pace to pass the 40-point mark for the first time since 2021-22. He’s been riddled with injuries since then, sitting out of a combined 42 games between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Ekblad seemed to be back on the mend this year, so far only missing one of Florida’s games this season, but it seems his injury luck has run dry once again.
Guy shares that, with Ekblad expected to sit, Tobias Bjornfot will draw into the lineup. Bjornfot has only appeared in two games with Florida – split between last season and this season – since they claimed him off of waivers in March of 2024. Bjornfot has spent the bulk of this season in the minor leagues, where his 11 points in 27 games ranks third on the Charlotte Checkers defense. Bjornfot hasn’t scored a point at the NHL level since he managed one assist in 10 games of the 2022-23 campaign. He’s played in five NHL games, for three different clubs, since then. This spot start will be a chance to buck his trend of cold feet at the top level.
Panthers Recall Tobias Björnfot
The Panthers announced Monday that they’ve recalled defenseman Tobias Björnfot from AHL Charlotte. Florida had an open spot on the active roster, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.
It’s the first time Björnfot has been recalled since clearing waivers during training camp. The Panthers claimed the 23-year-old off waivers from the Golden Knights at last season’s trade deadline, but he has only logged one NHL game since then, skating 17:01 against the Rangers on March 23, 2024, and serving as a healthy scratch for the entirety of Florida’s run to the 2024 Stanley Cup.
A first-round pick of the Kings in 2019, Björnfot has spent much of his time as a fringe roster player and has never secured anything above a third-pairing role. The Swedish native has been passable in Charlotte this season but not overly impressive, recording a pair of goals and nine assists for 11 points in 27 games with a -1 rating.
Björnfot has one NHL goal across 120 appearances since debuting in the 2019-20 campaign, adding 14 assists for 15 points with a -20 rating. Only four of those appearances came last season, a tumultuous one where he was claimed off waivers by the Golden Knights from L.A. before landing on the wire again and heading to the Cats.
Drafted as a stay-at-home piece, Björnfot has 42 points with a +7 rating in 136 career AHL games, where he’s spent most of the last three seasons. His last campaign as a full-time NHLer came in L.A. in 2021-22, when he dressed in a career-high 70 games and posted eight assists with a -12 rating while averaging 16:46 per game.
Björnfot will likely sit in the press box but comes up as injury insurance with Niko Mikkola, who’s missed the last four games with an upper-body injury, still projected to be unavailable tonight against the Avalanche. He could make his season debut if Aaron Ekblad, who didn’t practice over the weekend, can’t go due to an undisclosed injury.
Björnfot can remain on Florida’s roster for up to 30 days or play 10 games until he needs waivers to return to Charlotte.
Waiver Wire: 10/3/24
All 12 players placed on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports. PuckPedia relays that 17 new names hit the wire today for teams to claim over the next 24 hours:
Calgary Flames
F Walker Duehr
F Dryden Hunt
D Jarred Tinordi
Florida Panthers
F Rasmus Asplund
D Tobias Björnfot
F Zac Dalpe
D Jaycob Megna
Nashville Predators
Seattle Kraken
Toronto Maple Leafs
Utah Hockey Club
F Andrew Agozzino
D Patrik Koch
F Ben McCartney
Winnipeg Jets
F Axel Jonsson-Fjällby
D Simon Lundmark
F Mason Shaw
F Dominic Toninato
Tobias Björnfot Claimed Off Waivers By Panthers
The Panthers have claimed defenseman Tobias Björnfot off waivers from the Golden Knights, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Björnfot played in just seven games with the Golden Knights organization – appearing in two games with Vegas and five with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. He failed to score a point in any of the matchups, though he did record six penalty minutes. The 22-year-old defenseman has struggled to find his groove in the pros, recording just one goal and 15 points across 119 career games. He spent five years with the Los Angeles Kings before moving to Vegas, with the Kings originally drafted the defenseman 22nd-overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. He was drafted out of Sweden’s U20 league, then referred to as the J20 Nationell, though he also received seven SHL games in his draft year, failing to record a point in any of them. The Kings promptly signed Björnfot, even awarding him his NHL debut in the 2019-20 season.
While another change of scenery could be enticing for Björnfot, it’s not likely he’ll slot into Florida’s lineup without injury. The Panthers currently carry seven defensemen and have veteran depth on all three pairs, with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Dmitry Kulikov operating as Florida’s bottom unit. Björnfot will have the chance to compete with Josh Mahura for the role as seventh defenseman, though Mahura’s ability to play on either the left or right side will likely earn him an advantage. Mahura has scored six assists in 20 appearances this season.
Golden Knights Recall Byron Froese, Reassign Brendan Brisson, Tobias Bjornfot
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled defenseman Byron Froese and assigned forward Brendan Brisson and defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. Bjornfot’s assignment is part of a long-term injury conditioning loan, per the team.
Froese has spent much of the season in the AHL, scoring eight goals and 15 points in 37 games. He’s also played in seven NHL games, going without a point and recording four penalty minutes. Froese has been a de facto call-up since 2015-16, when he made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played in 56 games that season, a mark that remains a career-high. Froese was originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft – getting taken in the same round as Casey Cizikas and Mattias Ekholm, and one selection before Ben Chiarot.
The Golden Knights are sending down two young players in Brisson and Bjornfot. Neither player has found a particular scoring edge in the NHL this season, with Brisson netting three points in his first seven NHL games and Bjornfot going without a point in his first two games with Vegas since the team claimed off waivers. Bjornfot is currently grappling with an undisclosed injury that’s earned him a spot on injured reserve. He joins a long list of injured Golden Knights, including Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev, William Carrier, and Shea Theodore.
Golden Knights Recall Two From AHL, Place Tobias Bjornfot On IR
Vegas has made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against Calgary, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Byron Froese and goaltender Isaiah Saville from AHL Henderson. To make room on the roster, defenseman Tobias Bjornfot has been placed on IR.
Froese is in his second season with Vegas after signing a two-year, two-way deal for the league minimum in free agency back in 2022. The 33-year-old got into nine games with the Golden Knights last season where he had a pair of points but has played exclusively with the Silver Knights this year, collecting six goals and six assists in 33 games. Froese has 125 NHL appearances under his belt, many of which have been in a fourth line depth role which is the one he’s likely to fill if he sees any game action. Jack Eichel didn’t take part in the game day skate so it appears Froese’s recall is to hedge against Eichel not being available.
As for Saville, he was just sent back down yesterday and has been shuffled back and forth recently due to the uncertain availability of both Adin Hill and Jiri Patera. The 23-year-old has missed the bulk of the campaign after starting the year on season-opening IR, limiting him to seven appearances with Henderson where he has a 2.52 GAA and a .914 SV%.
Bjornfot, meanwhile, was claimed off waivers from Los Angeles earlier this month. Since then, the 22-year-old has played in a pair of games, bringing his season total to three as he has spent the bulk of the year in a reserve role. There’s no word yet on the nature of the injury and how long he might be out of the lineup. Between IR and LTIR, Vegas now has eight players on injured reserve.
Kings Recall Brandt Clarke, Place Tobias Bjornfot On Waivers
The Los Angeles Kings have recalled top defenseman prospect Brandt Clarke and placed Tobias Bjornfot on waivers. Bjornfot has split time between the NHL and AHL this season, appearing in nine minor league games and only one game with the Kings. He has yet to score a point through any of the 10 matchups.
L.A. turns to their AHL team’s leading scorer in defenseman Clarke, who is currently in his first full professional season. The 20-year-old has 32 points in 30 AHL games, adding 30 penalty minutes and a +4. He has yet to play in the NHL this season, although he did receive nine NHL games last year before being sent back to the OHL’s Barrie Colts. Clarke recorded two assists in his first taste of the NHL but is still looking for his first career goal.
Clarke may have to wait to slot into the NHL lineup, though. Bjornfot has served as the team’s seventh defenseman, and no Kings defender has missed more than five games this season. It’s a solid blue-line that’s received plenty of impact in all three zones. Still, L.A. is bringing up a difference-maker in Clarke: the eighth overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Wednesday marks a special day for the Clarke family, as Brandt’s brother Graeme Clarke has been recalled by the New Jersey Devils as well. Graeme ranks second on his AHL team in scoring, recording 21 points in 27 games with the Utica Comets. The Clarke parents are currently en route to New Jersey from Ottawa to see Graeme make his expected NHL debut, though they may be prime for another road trip with Brandt now with an NHL team on the other coast.
Los Angeles Kings Recall Tobias Björnfot
The Los Angeles Kings have recalled defenseman Tobias Björnfot from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. This news comes just a day after Kings top-four defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov was lost to a lower-body injury on a week-to-week basis.
The Kings gave a look at how their Gavrikov-less defense would look in yesterday’s loss to the Winnipeg Jets, with Jacob Moverare and Andreas Englund occupying the two left-side slots behind first-pairing defenseman Mikey Anderson. With this recall, Björnfot slots in as the club’s seventh defenseman, another left-shot blueliner for head coach Todd McLellan to choose from as he constructs his lineups.
A 2019 first-round pick, Björnfot’s role within the Kings’ overall defensive depth chart has declined over the past two years. After seemingly establishing himself in the NHL in 2021-22 by playing in 70 games for the Kings, Björnfot spent most of 2022-23 in the AHL. He played just 10 NHL games last season, and this year has played in just one NHL game.
A defense-first blueliner, Björnfot is aa relatively safe option for the Kings in their seventh-defenseman role. The team has lost back-to-back games, though, so with Gavrikov out on an extended basis one wonders if the Kings might look more seriously at acquiring outside help to strengthen their blueline.
If Moverare, Englund, and Björnfot are unable to fill the significant void left by Gavrikov, who plays nearly 20 minutes per night and is a regular penalty killer, it’s possible the Kings could look for the right trade fit to bolster their defense.
Kings Activate, Reassign Tobias Björnfot
The Kings have activated defenseman Tobias Björnfot off injured reserve and returned him to the AHL’s Ontario Reign on a conditioning loan, per a team announcement Friday evening.
Björnfot, the team’s 2019 first-round pick, sustained a scary injury in a November 21 game against the Kraken’s minor-league affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, which required him to be stretchered off the ice. Thankfully, the injury was neither life-threatening nor long-term, and he’s now ready to return to action.
The 22-year-old was already on a conditioning assignment with the Reign when he sustained the injury. Given he was put on injured reserve (but not long-term injured reserve) in the middle of it, the clock on his conditioning loan has now restarted, and he can remain with Ontario for 14 days before the Kings must reinstate him or put him on waivers for the purpose of assignment.
NHL teams will take advantage of conditioning loans to get oft-healthy scratched players some brief action in the minors without subjecting them to the waiver process. During this time, a player remains on the 23-man roster and counts against the salary cap but is eligible to play for a team’s minor-league affiliate.
The Kings initially sent Björnfot to the Reign for conditioning on November 16 after he had sat out of the lineup for over a month. After logging 10:12 in the team’s season opener against the Avalanche on October 11, head coach Todd McLellan healthy scratched Björnfot for a staggering 13 consecutive games before the team gave him some action in the minors.
Björnfot’s short stint in the minors was negligible – he was held off the scoresheet and posted a +1 rating in three games. He’ll now get some more minor-league action under his belt after spending most of last season with Ontario as well.
The Swede’s trajectory is not terribly promising at this point, at least for a first-round pick. While he’s shown the skills to be a serviceable NHL defender, it doesn’t seem likely he’ll ever elevate above a third-pairing role. The 6-foot, 200-pound defender has 117 NHL games to his name with the Kings over the last five seasons, notching one goal, 14 assists, and a -18 rating.