- The Blues announced (Twitter link) that winger Alexandre Texier is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Louis acquired the 25-year-old in the offseason from Columbus after he put up a career-best 30 points in 78 games and quickly signed him to a two-year, $4.2MM contract. Texier had an assist in their season-opening victory over Seattle but missed Thursday’s win over San Jose.
Blues Rumors
Blues Recall Zachary Bolduc, Likely To Move Torey Krug To LTIR
The Blues announced this morning that they’d recalled center Zachary Bolduc from AHL Springfield. He wasn’t on the team’s opening night roster submitted yesterday but will be on hand for their season opener today against the Kraken.
They have an open roster spot for Bolduc’s recall but only $468K in cap space, per PuckPedia. That’s not enough to add his $863K cap hit to the active roster. It’s likely that defenseman Torey Krug, who will miss the entire 2024-25 season after undergoing surgery to address pre-arthritic conditions in his left ankle, has been moved from injured reserve to long-term injured reserve to create the cap space necessary for the transaction.
St. Louis drafted the 21-year-old Bolduc with the 17th overall pick in 2021. He’s coming off his first professional season, in which he spent significant time on both the Blues’ roster and with Springfield. He burned his Calder eligibility for this year by making 25 NHL appearances in 2023-24, recording five goals and four assists for nine points while averaging 12:01 per game. A natural center, the 6’0″, 187-lb forward was deployed exclusively on the wing in NHL action last year.
He didn’t look out of place, but after posting 110 points with the QMJHL’s Québec Remparts in 2022-23, his offense didn’t pop as the Blues might have hoped in Springfield. The pivot was limited to eight goals in 50 games, adding 17 assists for 25 points.
St. Louis hopes his NHL showing last year is more reflective of his long-term ceiling. Bolduc was a legitimate factor offensively, recording a somewhat sustainable 13.2% shooting rate on 38 shots on goal. His possession numbers were underwhelming with a 43.1 CF% and 42.3 xGF% at even strength, but those should improve with time for a young forward.
While Bolduc signed his entry-level contract back in 2021, it slid twice due to his lack of NHL playing time. He’s still got another year left on his rookie deal after this and will be a restricted free agent in 2026. He remains waiver-exempt for two more seasons or until he plays 160 NHL games.
Miscellaneous Transactions: 10/7/24
Today marks the eve of the official start of the 2024-25 NHL regular season. All 32 teams are expected to finalize their 23-man rosters today and several transactions coming along with it. Some of these moves will be considered “paper transactions” so clubs can maximize their cap space for the regular season as most of these names will be involved in new transactions over the coming days. Here’s a look at some of today’s action:
- Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports the New York Rangers have placed Jimmy Vesey on long-term injured reserve and Ryan Lindgren on injured reserve to start the season. In a major sway with their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers have sent down Adam Edstrom, Matt Rempe, William Cuylle, Victor Mancini, and Brett Berard while recalling Jake Leschyshyn, Adam Sykora, Anton Blidh, and Ben Harpur.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins reassigned promising defensive prospect, Harrison Brunicke, to the WHL’s Kamploop Blazers. Brunicke was the 44th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft and became a popular candidate to make the Penguins’ roster out of training camp. He scored 10 goals and 21 points in 49 games for the Blazers last season and will now look to extrapolate on that during his third year with the team.
- Despite suiting up in three games for the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs; defenseman Maxwell Crozier will not make the team out of camp. The organization announced they assigned Crozier to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, to start the 2024-25 NHL season. He tallied two assists in 13 regular season games for the Bolts last year.
- The San Jose Sharks made their final four cuts from their training camp roster earlier today. The team announced they assigned defensemen Luca Cagnoni and Jack Thompson and forwards Ethan Cardwell and Collin Graf to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.
- The Ottawa Senators recently released their 23-man roster to start the year and with that came a few roster cuts. Graeme Nichols of The Hockey News reported the Senators reassigned Jan Jenik after passing through waivers and Zack Ostapchuk to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.
- Unsurprisingly, the Buffalo Sabres sent Lukas Rousek and Kale Clague to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, after the two cleared waivers earlier today. Rousek has been a rock-solid player for the Americans over the last two years with 26 goals and 97 points in 121 games.
- To make space for their final 23-man roster, the Carolina Hurricanes made a series of roster moves. Walt Ruff, an employee for the organization, reported the Hurricanes sent down Josiah Slavin, Ty Smith, and Ryan Suzuki who all cleared waivers earlier today to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Forward prospect Jackson Blake has also been assigned to AHL Chicago but the Hurricanes are expected to make more moves before their regular season opener on Friday.
- When the Colorado Avalanche announced their opening night roster for the 2024-25 campaign, they also announced a few transactions. The team reassigned Adam Scheel, T.J. Tynan, Nikolai Kovalenko, Ondrej Pavel, and Ivan Ivan to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Colorado only has 11 forwards currently listed on the roster so there is a reasonable assumption the team will bring one of the forwards back up to the NHL roster before their regular season opener.
- Forward James Malatesta became the odd man out for the Columbus Blue Jackets as the team announced he was the final cut from the training camp roster. The quick forward will look to grow his game with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters after scoring 12 goals and 22 points in 56 games for the team last year in addition to one goal and two points in nine postseason contests.
- All five players placed on waivers by the Detroit Red Wings yesterday have cleared and been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The team announced defensemen Justin Holl, William Lagesson, and Brogan Rafferty were reassigned with forwards Joe Snively and Sheldon Dries.
- The Los Angeles Kings have made their final training camp cuts as they announced their official opening night roster. Samuel Fagemo, Jack Studnicka, and Pheonix Copley have all been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, after clearing waivers yesterday while forward prospect Koehn Ziemmer has been loaned to the WHL’s Prince George Cougars.
- One surprising training camp cut came out of the St. Louis Blues preseason. The team announced Zachary Bolduc, Tyler Tucker, and Corey Schueneman had been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Blues front office brass may be looking for more offensive accomplishments from Bolduc before making him a full-time NHL player after only scoring eight goals and 25 points in 50 games in the AHL last year.
This page will be updated with additional transactions.
Waiver Wire: 10/6/24
Today is the major day for the waiver wire as most teams in the NHL are preparing the 23-man rosters for the 2024-25 NHL season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that all players on waivers from yesterday have cleared. The following list is each player placed on waivers this afternoon as reported by PuckPedia.
Boston Bruins
F Patrick Brown
G Brandon Bussi
G Jiri Patera
D Billy Sweezey
F Jeffrey Viel
Buffalo Sabres
D Kale Clague
G James Reimer
F Lukas Rousek
Calgary Flames
G Devin Cooley
F Jakob Pelletier
F Cole Schwindt
Carolina Hurricanes
F Josiah Slavin
D Ty Smith
F Ryan Suzuki
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
F Sheldon Dries
D Justin Holl
D William Lagesson
D Brogan Rafferty
F Joe Snively
Edmonton Oilers
D Josh Brown
F Drake Caggiula
F Raphael Lavoie
G Olivier Rodrigue
Los Angeles Kings
G Pheonix Copley
F Samuel Fagemo
F Jack Studnicka
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
F Shane Bowers
D Nick DeSimone
F Nolan Foote
D Colton White
New York Islanders
D Samuel Bolduc
F Pierre Engvall
F Hudson Fasching
F Liam Foudy
G Marcus Hogberg
D Grant Hutton
F Fredrik Karlstrom
G Jakub Skarek
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Sebastian Aho
F Bokondji Imama
St. Louis Blues
D Corey Schueneman
D Tyler Tucker
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Gage Goncalves
D Steven Santini
F Jesse Ylonen
Toronto Maple Leafs
G Matt Murray
D Marshall Rifai
Utah Hockey Club
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
F Zach Aston-Reese
F Tanner Laczynski
F Jonas Rondbjerg
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets
Training Camp Cuts: 10/6/24
The NHL pre-season has ended, sparking the frantic rush for final roster cuts across the league before the regular season begins. Final rosters are due by 5 P.M. on October 7th and, as always, we’ll follow the day’s cuts below.
Last updated: 4:53 p.m.
Boston Bruins (per team announcement)
G Ryan Bischel (to AHL Providence)
F Patrick Brown (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
G Brandon Bussi (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
D Michael Callahan (to AHL Providence)
F Riley Duran (to AHL Providence)
D Jackson Edward (to AHL Providence)
F Brett Harrison (to AHL Providence)
G Kasimir Kaskisuo (to AHL Providence)
F Fabian Lysell (to AHL Providence)
F Georgii Merkulov (to AHL Providence)
F Jaxon Nelson (to AHL Providence)
G Jiri Patera (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
D Billy Sweezey (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
F Jeffrey Viel (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team announcement)
F Skyler Brind’Amour (to AHL Chicago)
D Domenick Fensore (to AHL Chicago)
F Sam Gagner (released from PTO)
F Rocco Grimaldi (released from PTO)
F Noel Gunler (to AHL Chicago)
D Aleksi Heimosalmi (to AHL Chicago)
D Anttoni Honka (to NL HC Ajoie)
F Juha Jaaska (to AHL Chicago)
G Ruslan Khazheyev (to AHL Chicago)
D Charles-Alexis Legault (to AHL Chicago)
G Spencer Martin (to AHL Chicago)
D Scott Morrow (to AHL Chicago)
F Bradly Nadeau (to AHL Chicago)
G Yaniv Perets (to AHL Chicago)
F Justin Robidas (to AHL Chicago)
D Ronan Seeley (to AHL Chicago)
F Josiah Slavin (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
D Ty Smith (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Felix Unger Sorum (to AHL Chicago)
F Ryan Suzuki (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Gleb Trikozov (to AHL Chicago)
Chicago Blackhawks (per CHGO Blackhawks)
F Brandon Baddock (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
G Drew Commesso (to AHL Rockford)
D Louis Crevier (to AHL Rockford)
F Colton Dach (to AHL Rockford)
D Ethan Del Mastro (to AHL Rockford)
F Cole Guttman (to AHL Rockford)
D Kevin Korchinski (to AHL Rockford)
F Frank Nazar (to AHL Rockford)
F Zach Sanford (to AHL Rockford)
F Samuel Savoie (to AHL Rockford)
F Landon Slaggert (to AHL Rockford)
D Austin Strand (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team announcement)
D Denton Mateychuk (to AHL Cleveland)
Dallas Stars (per team announcement)
D Kyle Capobianco (to AHL Texas)
G Magnus Hellberg (to AHL Texas)
F Cameron Hughes (to AHL Texas)
F Kole Lind (to AHL Texas)
D Alexander Petrovic (to AHL Texas)
F Mathias Emilio Pettersen (to AHL Texas)
Detroit Red Wings (per team announcement)
F Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (to SHL Skellefteå AIK)
G Sebastian Cossa (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Nate Danielson (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Tory Dello (to AHL Grand Rapids)
G Carter Gylander (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Cross Hanas (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Marco Kasper (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Carter Mazur (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Elmer Söderblom (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Antti Tuomisto (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Eemil Viro (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D William Wallinder (to AHL Grand Rapids)
Edmonton Oilers (per team announcement)
D Josh Brown (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F Drake Caggiula (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F Raphael Lavoie (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F Noah Philp (to AHL Bakersfield)
G Olivier Rodrigue (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
Florida Panthers (per team announcement)
D Matt Kiersted (to AHL Charlotte)
F William Lockwood (to AHL Charlotte)
Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)
G Pheonix Copley (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Samuel Fagemo (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Andre Lee (to AHL Ontario)
F Jack Studnicka (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
New Jersey Devils (per team announcement)
F Shane Bowers (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
G Nico Daws (to AHL Utica)
D Nick DeSimone (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
F Nolan Foote (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
D Colton White (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
New York Rangers (per team announcement)
D Connor Mackey (to AHL Hartford)
San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)
D Jérémie Bucheler (to AHL San Jose)
F Nolan Burke (to AHL San Jose)
F Colin White (to AHL San Jose)
D Jimmy Schuldt (to AHL San Jose)
Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)
F John Hayden (to AHL Coachella Valley)
D Josh Mahura (to AHL Coachella Valley)
St. Louis Blues (per team announcement)
F Zach Dean (to AHL Springfield)
F Dalibor Dvorsky (to AHL Springfield)
F Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (to AHL Springfield)
F Mathias Laferriere (to AHL Springfield)
F Hugh McGing (to AHL Springfield)
F Dylan Peterson (to AHL Springfield)
D Samuel Johannesson (to AHL Springfield)
D Hunter Skinner (to AHL Springfield)
G Vadim Zherenko (to AHL Springfield)
Tampa Bay Lightning (per Eduardo A. Encica of the Tampa Bay Times)
F Dylan Duke (to AHL Syracuse)
F Gage Goncalves (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Maxim Groshev (to AHL Syracuse)
F Jesse Ylonen (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Gabriel Szturc (to AHL Syracuse)
D Steven Santini (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
D Matt Tomkins (to AHL Syracuse)
D Declan Carlile (to AHL Syracuse)
F Ethan Gauthier (to QMJHL Drummondville)
Evening Notes: Rangers, Aube-Kubel, Blues
New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin returned to practice today, but remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury, head coach Peter Laviolette shared with Arthur Staple of The Athletic. Top prospect Brennan Othmann replaced Panarin in the team’s Friday night preseason matchup against the Islanders.
Othmann has managed four points through the preseason, tied with defender Zachary Jones for the team’s scoring lead. He’s managed one goal and three assists, all primary, making him one of just five Rangers with multiple primary points this preseason. Othmann is preparing for his second professional season, after netting a shrewd 49 points in 67 AHL games last season. He’ll get another chance to show the Rangers his might on Friday, while Panarin preps for the team’s October 9th season opener.
Other notes from around the league:
- Buffalo Sabres winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel was seen wearing a brace on his left leg after the team’s season opener, shares Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Head coach Lindy Ruff didn’t provide any updates, other than mentioning that the team will know more this weekend. Aube-Kubel is one of the many fighting for a spot in Buffalo’s bottom six. He scored two points in two preseason games, and managed two shots in the team’s first game.
- The St. Louis Blues have extended their affiliation with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds through the 2030-31 season. The two sides have been partnered since 2020, on a deal that was originally set to expire in 2025. Springfield has produced heaps of talent for the Blues roster in the years since, including being the initial testing grounds for current Blues head coach Drew Bannister. Springfield has managed a 111-87-22 record across three seasons under the Blues, though they’re coming off a losing record in 2023-24 (30-37-5).
Blues Recall Eight Players From AHL
The St. Louis Blues have recalled eight players from the AHL in preparation for their final preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. The full list of call-ups includes forwards Dalibor Dvorsky, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Mathias Laferriere, MacKenzie MacEachern, Hugh McGing, and Dylan Peterson; as well as defensemen Samuel Johannesson and Hunter Skinner.
That’s emphasized by the fact that none of the recalled managed any preseason scoring, despite each playing in at least one game excluding Peterson. In fact, the bunch only combined for five shots through their collective 10 games. Luckily, St. Louis’ preseason wasn’t as unproductive as the Blackhawks – who’ve so far managed just four goals in four games.
St. Louis’ bunch of recalls is led by 2023’s 10th-overall selection, Dalibor Dvorsky – a popular pick to make the Blues roster headed into training camp. His demotion to the AHL likely snubs those hopes, though Dvorsky is still carrying plenty of momentum into his first professional season in North America, after recording 45 goals and 88 points in 52 OHL games last season. The Slovak has been a top prospect throughout his teens and joined Sweden’s AIK for his age 17 and 18 seasons. Playing in the HockeyAllsvenskan – Sweden’s second-tier pro league – Dvorsky combined for 17 points in 55 games across the two seasons, enough to inspire the Blues to spend their earliest draft pick since they selected Alex Pietrangelo fourth-overall in 2008.
Pending a major breakout in Saturday’s matchup, all eight recalls can expect to head back to Springfield in due time. The Thunderbirds open their season against the Laval Rocket on October 12th, while St. Louis will kick things off in Seattle on October 8th.
Waiver Wire: 9/30/24
Another 12 players have hit the waiver wire today as part of training camp cuts across the league, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. All of the 25 players on waivers yesterday cleared without incident, he adds.
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
F Travis Boyd
F Brendan Gaunce
F Devin Shore
San Jose Sharks
F Justin Bailey
D Jimmy Schuldt
St. Louis Blues
Utah Hockey Club
Blues Sign Nikita Alexandrov To Two-Way Deal
The Blues have signed forward Nikita Alexandrov to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K in the NHL and $150K in the AHL, general manager Doug Armstrong announced Monday. He was one of the league’s last remaining unsigned restricted free agents, now leaving Bruins star Jeremy Swayman as the only one without a contract for this season.
Alexandrov and the Blues had likely agreed to terms on this deal for quite some time. St. Louis, however, was at the 50-contract maximum and couldn’t register the deal until making their initial training camp cuts and assigning a few players on entry-level contracts back to their junior teams, temporarily removing them from counting toward the limit. Alexandrov had been with the Blues in camp on a PTO while waiting for the contract to be official.
A second-round pick in 2019, Alexandrov is working his way toward being an NHL regular. The 24-year-old center has played 20-plus NHL games in each of the past two seasons, recording nine points and a -4 rating in 51 career appearances thus far.
He finds himself amid a tight roster battle for an extra forward spot with players like Nathan Walker and prospects like Zachary Bolduc and Zach Dean, but could very well find himself on the outside looking in. He’ll need waivers if the Blues attempt to assign him to AHL Springfield, where he posted seven points in seven games during a conditioning stint last year. He spent most of last season as a healthy scratch on the St. Louis roster after making the opening night roster for the first time.
Alexandrov will be a restricted free agent again next summer upon expiry. He won’t be eligible for UFA status until 2028 unless he satisfies the requirements to become a Group 6 UFA by playing fewer than 80 career NHL games by the end of the 2025-26 season.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/30/24
Training camp cuts continue Monday with just eight days until opening night of the regular season (aside from this week’s Devils/Sabres Global Series games in Prague). As always, we’ll keep track of all of today’s moves in this piece.
Last updated 4:41 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks (per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope)
F Zach Sanford (to AHL Rockford)
F Brett Seney (to AHL Rockford)
G Mitchell Weeks (to AHL Rockford)
Dallas Stars (per team announcement)
F Francesco Arcuri (to AHL Texas)
F Jack Becker (released from PTO)
F Justin Ertel (to AHL Texas)
F Justin Hryckowian (to AHL Texas)
D Michael Karow (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
G Ben Kraws (to AHL Texas)
D Luke Krys (to AHL Texas)
D Christian Kyrou (to AHL Texas)
D Kyle Looft (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
F Kyle McDonald (to AHL Texas)
F Curtis McKenzie (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
G Rémi Poirier (to AHL Texas)
D Connor Punnett (to AHL Texas)
F Anthony Romano (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
F Matthew Seminoff (to AHL Texas)
F Antonio Stranges (to AHL Texas)
G Bryan Thomson (to AHL Texas)
F Chase Wheatcroft (to AHL Texas)
D Gavin White (to AHL Texas)
Florida Panthers (per team release)
D Marek Alscher (to AHL Charlotte)
D Michael Benning (to AHL Charlotte)
F John Leonard (released from PTO to AHL Charlotte)
F Aidan McDonough (released from PTO to AHL Charlotte)
D Evan Nause (to AHL Charlotte)
F Gracyn Sawchyn (to WHL Edmonton)
F Hunter St. Martin (to WHL Medicine Hat)
F Ben Steeves (to AHL Charlotte)
D Zachary Uens (to AHL Charlotte)
Minnesota Wild (per team release)
F Caedan Bankier (to AHL Iowa)
F Travis Boyd (to AHL Iowa) pending waivers
F Brendan Gaunce (to AHL Iowa) pending waivers
F Riley Heidt (to WHL Prince George)
G Samuel Hlavaj (to AHL Iowa)
D Carson Lambos (to AHL Iowa)
D Ryan O’Rourke (to AHL Iowa)
F Devin Shore (to AHL Iowa) pending waivers
D David Spacek (to AHL Iowa)
Nashville Predators (per team announcement)
F Kieffer Bellows (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Vinnie Hinostroza (to AHL Milwaukee)
G Matt Murray (to AHL Milwaukee)
Ottawa Senators (per team announcement)
F Nikolai Kulemin (released from PTO)
G Leevi Merilainen (to AHL Belleville)
D Filip Roos (to AHL Belleville)
D Donovan Sebrango (to AHL Belleville)
Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)
G Sergei Murashov (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
San Jose Sharks (per team release)
F Justin Bailey (to AHL San Jose) pending waivers
F Filip Bystedt (to AHL San Jose)
G Gabriel Carriere (released from PTO to AHL San Jose)
F Brandon Coe (to AHL San Jose)
D Sam Dickinson (to OHL London) – separate announcement from the organization
D Ethan Frisch (released from PTO to AHL San Jose)
D Jake Furlong (to AHL San Jose)
F Kasper Halttunen (to AHL San Jose)
F Quentin Musty (to OHL Sudbury)
F Tristen Robins (to AHL San Jose)
G Georgi Romanov (to AHL San Jose)
D Jimmy Schuldt (to AHL San Jose) pending waivers
St. Louis Blues (per team release)
F Mathias Laferrière (to AHL Springfield)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (to AHL Springfield)
F Hugh McGing (to AHL Springfield)
D Hunter Skinner (to AHL Springfield)
Toronto Maple Leafs (per team announcement)
D Ben Danford (to OHL Oshawa)
Utah Hockey Club (per team announcement)
F Travis Barron (to AHL Tucson) pending waivers
D Kevin Connauton (to AHL Tucson) pending waivers
F Cam Hebig (released from PTO to AHL Tucson)
D Montana Onyebuchi (to AHL Tucson)
G Dylan Wells (released from PTO to AHL Tucson)