Taxi Squad

There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.

North Division

• The Ottawa Senators announced they have assigned defenseman Erik Brannstrom to the taxi squad. Brannstrom has been up and down this year and looks to be another game in which he will sit out of Ottawa’s lineup. The 21-year-old has two goals and two assists in nine games with Ottawa this season.
• The Calgary Flames returned Glenn Gawdin and Oliver Kylington to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The pair were recalled for Saturday’s game against Ottawa and will likely be brought back up for their next game against the Sens on Monday.
• The Montreal Canadiens assigned Paul Byron to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  It’s a move that has been made frequently since he cleared waivers earlier this month with him getting recalled on game days.
• The Winnipeg Jets assigned Logan Stanley to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  He was recalled for Saturday’s game against Montreal after Tucker Poolman was placed on IR.

East Division

• The Buffalo Sabres made several roster moves as the team announced they have recalled defenseman Brandon Davidson from the taxi squad. That roster spot on the taxi squad has been replaced by forward C.J. Smith, who was brought up from the Rochester Americans of the AHL. The team also assigned defenseman Jacob Bryson from the Sabres back to the taxi squad and moved Casey Fitzgerald from the taxi squad back to the AHL. Davidson has already appeared in two games for the Sabres this year.
• The New Jersey Devils announced they recalled forward Mikhail Maltsev from the taxi squad. To fill the open spot on the taxi squad, the Devils have recalled defenseman Connor Carrick from the Binghamton Devils of the AHL. The 22-year-old Maltsev has a goal in four games for New Jersey. He is expected to play and fill in for Nico Hischier, who is considered day-to-day.
• The Boston Bruins made several moves in advance of their game today against the Rangers, per CapFriendly.  Recalled from the taxi squad were Greg McKegg, Steven Kampfer, and Karson Kuhlman while going to the taxi squad were Trent Frederic, Urho Vaakanainen, and Kampfer (after the game was played).
• As has become a daily custom, the New York Rangers made several roster moves before their contest against Boston, per CapFriendly.  Recalled from the taxi squad were Igor Shesterkin, Libor Hajek, and Jonny Brodzinski.  Keith Kinkaid was sent back to the taxi squad while Tarmo Reunanen and Tim Gettinger were re-assigned to AHL Hartford.

Central Division

• The Columbus Blue Jackets assigned two taxi squad players to the minors. The team announced that it sent forwards Zac Dalpe and Ryan MacInnis to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Both players were recalled to the taxi squad on Thursday. The 31-year-old Dalpe has already played five games with Cleveland, posting three goals and four points. The 25-year-old MacInnis did appear in 10 NHL games with the Blue Jackets last year, but has also only appeared in five AHL games this year with a goal and an assist. UPDATE: The Blue Jackets have announced just a few hours later that both Dalpe and MacInnis have been recalled back to the taxi squad from Cleveland after the Cleveland Monsters game was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
• The Detroit Red Wings have recalled defenseman Alex Biega from the taxi squad. The blueliner has been up and down all season between the Red Wings and the practice squad. The 32-year-old has appeared in just two NHL games this year.
• With the loss of Jarred Tinordi on waivers to the Boston Bruins, the Nashville Predators announced they have recalled defenseman Ben Harpur from the taxi squad. Harpur, who has been going up and down between the NHL and taxi squads this year, has found himself in the lineup the last three games, averaging 17:32 of ice time and looks like he will continue to stay in the lineup for now.
• The Dallas Stars have reassigned forward Rhett Gardner to the taxi squad. Gardner, also a player who has been up and down quite a bit this year, was recalled to Dallas Saturday. The 25-year-old has appeared in four games for Dallas.
• The Carolina Hurricanes have returned Alex Nedeljkovic and Jake Bean to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The two have been recalled and sent down frequently over the past month depending on whether or not the team playing that day.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning sent Andreas Borgman back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  With the team off until Tuesday, there’s no need for them to carry more than the minimum six defenders on their active roster.

West Division

• With a day off Sunday, the San Jose Sharks announced they have assigned forward Stefan Noesen and defenseman Jacob Middleton to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. The 28-year-old Noesen has appeared in five games for the Sharks with no points to show for it. Middleton has played in one game for the Sharks and two for the Barracuda as he still fights for a full-time role in the NHL.  They also sent Sasha Chmelevski, Noah Gregor, and Frederik Claesson to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
• The Arizona Coyotes announced they have assigned forwards Michael Chaput and Dryden Hunt to the taxi squad. The team also assigned Frederik Gauthier from the taxi squad to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL.
• The Colorado Avalanche returned Logan O’Connor and Dan Renouf to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Both players suited up on Saturday against Arizona with Renouf playing his first NHL game since the 2016-17 season in the process.
• The Los Angeles Kings assigned Tobias Bjornfot and Lias Andersson to their taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The team also recalled Bokondji Imama from the taxi squad while assigning Drake Rymsha to AHL Ontario.
• The St. Louis Blues returned defenseman Jake Walman to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  He has played in just two games with the Blues this season, often serving as their emergency defender.
• The Vegas Golden Knights assigned Logan Thompson to the taxi squad along with Dylan Coghlan, per CapFriendly.  In a corresponding move, Dylan Ferguson was moved from the taxi squad back to Henderson of the AHL.

There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.

North Division

• The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Erik Brannstrom from the taxi squad in advance of their game against Calgary. The 21-year-old has two goals and two assists in eight games so far this season.
• The Canadiens shuffled up their taxi squad composition, sending Alex Belzile and Cale Fleury to AHL Laval while recalling Brandon Baddock and Joel Teasdale, per the AHL’s Transactions log.  Baddock and Teasdale won’t actually join Montreal but needed to be recalled to keep their taxi squad at the minimum number of players.  As expected, Paul Byron was also recalled from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
• The Jets announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Logan Stanley from the taxi squad.  He will take the place of Tucker Poolman who was placed on injured reserve.  Stanley has played in 13 games so far with Winnipeg this season, averaging just under 12 minutes per game.
• Toronto has changed up their taxi squad, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned winger Alex Galchenyuk and defenseman Martin Marincin to the minors while recalling winger Kenny Agostino and blueliner Timothy Liljegren to the taxi squad in their place.  The moves are basically to get Marincin and Galchenyuk some game action with neither suiting up over the last couple of weeks.
• The Flames recalled center Glenn Gawdin and defenseman Oliver Kylington from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Gawdin was in their lineup against Ottawa on the fourth line while Kylington was once again a healthy scratch.

East Division

• Ilya Samsonov is back with Washington as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled him back to the taxi squad from AHL Hershey. Samsonov has played in four games with the Bears as he works his way back from a bout with COVID-19, posting a .869 SV%.  The Capitals returned Pheonix Copley to Hershey in a corresponding move.
• The Devils have assigned defenseman Connor Carrick from the taxi squad to Binghamton of the AHL, per the AHL’s Transactions log. The 26-year-old has only played once for New Jersey this season and cleared waivers earlier this month but will now get an opportunity to get some playing time in the minors.  Meanwhile, Matt Tennyson was recalled to New Jersey’s taxi squad.
• Jared McCann is back, activated off the the injured reserve by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Joining him on the roster is Anthony Angello, recalled from the taxi squad. Drew O’Connor has been reassigned to the taxi squad in Angello’s place. Sam Miletic, also previously on the IR, has been activated and assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Central Division

• The Predators have recalled winger Eeli Tolvanen from the taxi squad, per their transactions log.  The 21-year-old has been shuffled back and forth on a near-daily basis this month but still has managed to play in 10 games for Nashville this season, notching two goals and an assist.
• The Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled center Frans Nielsen and winger Evgeny Svechnikov from their taxi squad.  Nielsen cleared waivers earlier this week while Svechnikov has been limited to just three games with AHL Grand Rapids this season.  Detroit also recalled goaltender Kaden Fulcher to the taxi squad from the Griffins.
• Rhett Gardner is back up with the Dallas Stars. The team announced that the big, physical forward has been recalled from the taxi squad. Gardner has yet to find the score sheet through four games with Dallas and two games with AHL Texas so far this season, but was productive in the minors last year and hopes to find that touch soon.

West Division

• The Sharks have sent winger Kurtis Gabriel to the AHL’s Barracuda from their taxi squad, per the AHL’s Transactions log.  The 27-year-old has played just one game with San Jose this season and should benefit from being able to get into a game at the minor league level.
• The Arizona Coyotes have recalled forward Dryden Hunt from the taxi squad. Hunt, in his first season with the ’Yotes, has two points in five games but has spent much of his time on the taxi squad.
• Lias Andersson has been recalled from the taxi squad, the Los Angeles Kings announced. This has been a common transaction for L.A. this season, as Andersson is waiver-exempt and can move freely between the taxi squad and active roster. The young center has played in more than half of the Kings’ games so far.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.

West Division

• The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Adam Henrique from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly, while sending Vinni Lettieri down to the taxi squad.  Henrique cleared waivers last weekend and is in the midst of a tough season with just three goals and an assist in 16 games.
• The Vegas Golden Knights have assigned Patrick Brown back to AHL Henderson.  He was recalled to the taxi squad on Thursday but hasn’t played in the NHL this season.  He has a goal and an assist in four games with the Silver Knights this season.

North Division

• The Ottawa Senators have kicked things off with their daily roster move, re-assigning Erik Brannstrom to the taxi squad. The young defenseman will be joined there by Filip Gustavsson, who is taking over the taxi squad goaltender from Kevin Mandolese for the time being. Brannstrom scored another goal last night for the Senators and will likely be back up by their next game.
• The Calgary Flames have assigned Glenn Gawdin and Zac Rinaldo to their taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Gawdin made his NHL debut last weekend and has played in four games since while Rinaldo has played just once this season, logging only 2:04 of ice time.
• The Montreal Canadiens returned Paul Byron to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The move extends Byron’s waiver exemption and saves a bit of cap space although he’ll likely be recalled in advance of Saturday’s game against Winnipeg.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs returned Joseph Woll to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  He has been dressing as the backup goalie this week on an emergency recall although with Jack Campbell being close to returning, Woll may just remain with the taxi squad until Frederik Andersen returns.

Central Division

• The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Veini Vehvilainen from the AHL, sending Gavin Bayreuther and Matiss Kivlenieks back in his stead. The Cleveland Monsters play a back-to-back against the Rockford IceHogs over the weekend.
• The Dallas Stars have moved Landon Bow and Rhett Gardner back onto the taxi squad after Bow served as the backup last night. The 25-year-old goaltender hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since the 2018-19 season.
• The Nashville Predators have recalled Tanner Jeannot to the taxi squad, rewarding a young player that is off to a blistering start in the minor leagues. Jeannot has eight points through his first six games for the Chicago Wolves. The team has also sent Sean Malone back to the AHL, while moving Eeli Tolvanen and Ben Harpur to the taxi squad for the time being.
• The Chicago Blackhawks made several roster moves today, sending Nicolas Beaudin from the NHL roster to AHL Rockford along with Wyatt Kalynuk and Reese Johnson, who were loaned from the taxi squad.  Brad Morrison, Mikael Hakkarainen, and Matt Tomkins were all recalled to the taxi squad from the IceHogs, the latter being required with Collin Delia being sent to Rockford on a conditioning assignment.  He will officially remain on Chicago’s roster while he’s down there.
• The Detroit Red Wings continued their daily Mathias Brome moves, assigning the winger back to the taxi squad.  He has been sent there on ten separate occasions this season but has played in all but two games with Detroit this season.
• The Carolina Hurricanes assigned Jake Bean and Steven Lorentz to their taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Both players suited up on Thursday against Tampa Bay and could be brought back with the team set to play Florida tomorrow.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning returned Gemel Smith to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  He played just over nine minutes versus Carolina and will likely be brought back up on Saturday.

East Division

• The Washington Capitals have sent Ilya Samsonov back to the AHL, where the Hershey Bears have a game tonight against the Binghamton Devils. Samsonov has played three AHL games as he works his way back, but hasn’t fared all that well, posting an .859 save percentage.
• The New Jersey Devils have assigned Matt Tennyson to the AHL, recalling Joshua Jacobs in his place. Jacobs, 25, played in two games for the Devils last season but has been in the minor leagues for the vast majority of his professional career.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins shuffled up their taxi squad, sending Jordy Bellerive to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while sending Josh Currie down to the taxi squad.  Both had been up on the taxi squad since last Friday but hadn’t seen any game action with Currie getting a one-day stint on the NHL roster yesterday.
• The Buffalo Sabres have returned Rasmus Asplund and Jacob Bryson to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Both players were brought up on Thursday and could be recalled again with a pair of games against Philadelphia on tap this weekend.
• The New York Islanders have sent Oliver Wahlstrom back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  It’s a familiar assignment for the 20-year-old who has four points in a dozen games so far this season.
• The New York Rangers made another large series of roster moves, recalling Colin Blackwell, Libor Hajek, and Jonny Brodzinski from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Tarmo Reunanen and Tim Gettinger were recalled to the taxi squad from AHL Hartford.
• With Jakub Voracek, Oskar Lindblom, and Scott Laughton all being instated, the Philadelphia Flyers returned Connor Bunnaman and Andy Andreoff to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Meanwhile, Isaac Ratcliffe was assigned to Lehigh Valley of the AHL.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.

West Division

•  The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled Patrick Brown and Logan Thompson to the taxi squad, now that they’re a day closer to getting back into action against the Anaheim Ducks. The team doesn’t have to play the game that they expected today after the latest league postponement.

North Division

• The Ottawa Senators have made several moves, not the least of which is bringing back Erik Brannstrom from the taxi squad. Matthew Peca will come with him, while Logan Brown backfills from the minor leagues. Derek Stepan, who was injured earlier this week, has been moved to IR.

Central Division

• The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Emil Bemstrom from the taxi squad, while moving Zac Dalpe and Ryan MacInnis up from the minor leagues. Bemstrom, 21, went scoreless in his first five games this season.
• The Detroit Red Wings recalled both Mathias Brome and Danny DeKeyser from the taxi squad once again, this time moving Frans Nielsen down in their place. Nielsen, 36, hasn’t scored a goal yet this season in 19 games and has just 12 points in his last 79 contests for Detroit.
• The Dallas Stars have recalled Landon Bow from the taxi squad, meaning another goaltender may be getting the night completely off. The Stars are set to face the Florida Panthers this evening and Anton Khudobin has faced 94 shots over the last few days.
• Those Panthers have made their own moves, recalling Mason Marchment and Kevin Connauton from the taxi squad. Owen Tippett has been sent there in their place, while Grigori Denisenko is up from the AHL to fill the other spot.

East Division

• Ilya Samsonov has been recalled from the minor leagues to the taxi squad by the Washington Capitals, but Vitek Vanecek is expected to start tonight’s Capitals game.
• After losing Jason Zucker to injury, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Josh Currie from the taxi squad. Anthony Angello has been added to the taxi squad, while Zucker was placed on injured reserve retroactive to February 23.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.

West Division

• The Arizona Coyotes have recalled Michael Chaput from the taxi squad to the active roster and Frederik Gauthier from the AHL to the taxi squad. Gauthier, 25, played in 168 NHL games over parts of five seasons with the Maple Leafs but has yet to get into any action for the Coyotes.
• The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Austin Strand from the taxi squad, after placing Jaret Anderson-Dolan on injured reserve. Anderson-Dolan’s IR stint is retroactive to February 18 when he last played, meaning he can basically return as soon as he’s recovered. The young forward was off to quite the start with five points in his first six games this season.
• Once their game tomorrow was postponed, the Vegas Golden Knights assigned both Patrick Brown and Logan Thompson back to the AHL. Thompson had only been recalled to the taxi squad earlier today, but turns out won’t be needed as Vegas waits for Saturday to get back into game action.
• The Anaheim Ducks continued their daily roster shuffling, assigning David Backes to the taxi squad while recalling Andy Welinski and Vinni Lettieri from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
• The Avalanche made a series of roster moves, per CapFriendly.  Logan O’Connor was recalled on an emergency loan with Brandon Saad unavailable with his wife expecting to give birth.  Meanwhile, Hunter Miska and Jayson Megna were sent to AHL Colorado while Peyton Jones was recalled to the taxi squad to give the Avs three goalies.
• The Blues have recalled Austin Poganski and Jake Walman from the taxi squad while promoting Steven Santini to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Poganski and Walman have played a handful of games for St. Louis this season while the addition of Santini to the taxi squad gives them another veteran with Carl Gunnarsson out for the season.

North Division

• The Ottawa Senators have recalled Artem Anisimov from the taxi squad after their game last night, while moving Erik Brannstrom and Micheal Haley down. Anisimov could come in for Derek Stepan, who was injured in last night’s game, though since the Senators are off for the day it might simply be a paper transaction for salary savings.
• The Calgary Flames had Oliver Kylington in their lineup against Toronto, meaning that the blueliner was recalled from the taxi squad.  The 23-year-old has been up and down all season but had suited up just once before tonight’s game.
• The Montreal Canadiens sent Paul Byron and Nick Suzuki to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly, yielding some small cap savings.  Both players will likely be recalled in time for their game tomorrow against Winnipeg.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled Scott Sabourin on a roster emergency exception and assigned Nic Petan to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Sabourin has yet to play since having his AHL deal converted to a two-way NHL contract while Petan has an assist in six games this season.

Central Division

• The Nashville Predators have reassigned Eeli Tolvanen and Ben Harpur to the taxi squad, the same move they do on nearly every off day. The Predators won last night and Tolvanen scored his second goal of the season, bringing his career total to three.
• Andrew Peeke is headed back to the minor leagues for now, assigned to the Cleveland Monsters by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Peeke has played in six NHL games with Columbus this season but looked a bit overmatched at times, so will get back on the ice in the AHL.
• The Detroit Red Wings have sent Kaden Fulcher back to the AHL from the taxi squad, though if he plays for the Grand Rapids Griffins it would be his first action at that level. The 22-year-old undrafted goaltender has an appearance in the NHL, but otherwise has only seen the ECHL as a professional.  They also returned Danny DeKeyser and Mathias Brome to the taxi squad, extending DeKeyser’s waiver exemption and saving some salary on Brome.
• After clearing waivers, Tanner Kero has been assigned to the taxi squad by the Dallas Stars. In his place, Nicholas Caamano and Rhett Gardner have been recalled.
• After he cleared waivers earlier today, the Panthers assigned Tommy Cross to Providence of the AHL.  Florida’s affiliate opted out of this season so Cross instead returns to a team he’s quite familiar with having spent parts of seven seasons with them from 2011-12 through 2017-18.
• The Carolina Hurricanes are back in action tonight and accordingly have recalled Alex Nedeljkovic, Jake Bean, and Steven Lorentz from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  In order to stay compliant with the minimum taxi squad size, Dave Gust was recalled to the taxi squad from AHL Chicago.
• After not getting picked up off waivers, the Lightning loaned Luke Schenn to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Not much will change for him as he’ll likely continue to go back and forth until he plays in ten more games with Tampa Bay and becomes waiver-eligible again.  Meanwhile, Callan Foote and Ross Colton were recalled from the taxi squad.

East Division

• The Buffalo Sabres have sent Dustin Tokarski back to the AHL, where the Rochester Americans will be back in action on Friday night. The team is 4-1 through the early part of the minor league season and Tokarski has posted a .932 save percentage in his two appearances.  They also assigned Casey Mittelstadt, Rasmus Asplund, and Jacob Bryson to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
• The Washington Capitals moved Ilya Samsonov to the minor leagues earlier today, where he is expected to play for the Hershey Bears against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this afternoon.
• The New York Rangers made another long list of moves, per CapFriendly.  Igor Shesterkin, Libor Hajek, Colin Blackwell, Anthony Bitetto, and Jonny Brodzinski were all brought up from the taxi squad while Keith Kinkaid was sent back to the taxi squad.  To stay compliant with roster rules for the taxi squad, Ty Ronning and Patrick Newell were recalled from AHL Hartford.
• The Philadelphia Flyers recalled Samuel Morin on an emergency exception as well as Carsen Twarynski on an emergency loan, per CapFriendly.  Morin has been back and forth all season while Twarynski will make his season debut after playing in 15 games last season.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins returned both Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Drew O’Connor to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Joseph has stepped into a regular role with the Pens, logging nearly 18 minutes per night in 13 games so far this season while O’Connor has played in eight games, primarily on the fourth line.