Penguins, Jesse Puljujärvi Mutually Terminate Contract
Feb. 9: Puljujärvi went unclaimed and will have his deal terminated, Friedman reports.
Feb. 8: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Jesse Puljujärvi on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract. Puljujärvi would become an unrestricted free agent should he go unclaimed over the next 24 hours.
It is an anticipated conclusion to a relationship that has seemingly deteriorated over the past two months. The Penguins placed Puljujärvi on regular waivers on December 30 and officially reassigned him on January 14th, a few weeks later.
The former fourth-overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft has been reassigned for a second time recently. Over the past month, he has primarily played with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL. His performance has been respectable, recording one goal and three points in four AHL games. However, the Penguins have decided to move forward without him in their organization.
Unfortunately, Puljujärvi’s potential as a prospect has drastically diminished. Since returning to the NHL for the 2020-21 season, he has scored 40 goals and 90 points in 243 games for the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
His production will ultimately limit his traction as an unrestricted free agent. Some teams may offer the Älvkarleby, Sweden native a bottom-six role down the stretch but Puljujärvi may be limited to more of a taxi role if he chooses to stay in North America.
Penguins Claim Vladislav Kolyachonok From Utah
The Penguins have claimed defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok off waivers from Utah, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Pittsburgh had a pair of open spots on their active roster after some pre-break paper moves this morning, so they won’t need to make a corresponding transaction until their schedule resumes later this month.
Kolyachonok, 23, now joins his fourth NHL franchise. He was initially selected 52nd overall in the 2019 draft by the Panthers, who traded him to the Coyotes in the Anton Strålman offseason deal in 2021. The Belarusian defender jumped with his former Arizona teammates to Utah last summer but now finds himself headed east to Pittsburgh.
The interest in Kolyachonok stems from his two-way upside. He has decent size at 6’2″ and 195 lbs and has put up decent totals in the minors, recording 13-35–48 with a +12 rating in 150 career AHL games. None of those contests have come in 2024-25, as a revolving door of injuries on the Utah blue line meant he’s spent the entire season on the NHL roster. He was passable in a depth role, logging 2-3–5 with 19 blocks and 14 hits in 23 appearances. His underlying numbers were strong, posting a 52.9 CF% at even strength and a +1.7 expected rating, grading out better defensively than his actual minus-seven rating would otherwise indicate.
Pittsburgh hopes to tap into his remaining upside. At present, he’s an upgrade over their current seventh defenseman, Ryan Shea, who’s logged just three points in 53 games since making his NHL debut last season with middling possession impacts. He’ll likely knock Shea off the NHL roster if Pittsburgh needs to open space, but whether the lefty works his way into the lineup over Ryan Graves, Matt Grzelcyk, or Pierre-Olivier Joseph remains to be seen.
Utah could reclaim Kolyachonok and send him directly to the minors if the Penguins place him on waivers again this season, although they’d need to be the only team to submit a claim to do so.
Hurricanes Assign Juha Jaaska And Scott Morrow To AHL
After playing their final game before the break earlier today (a 7-3 win over Utah), the Hurricanes made a pair of roster moves. The team announced that winger Juha Jaaska and defenseman Scott Morrow have been assigned to AHL Chicago.
Jaaska has been recalled and demoted several times already with Carolina making close to daily roster moves to maximize their cap space. (That trend should stop now for a couple of weeks until play resumes after the break.) The 26-year-old is in his first season in North America after signing as an undrafted free agent last spring and has split time between the Hurricanes and Wolves. With the former, he has four assists in 17 games while averaging a little under nine minutes a night of playing time. He has been much more productive in the minors though, tallying seven goals and nine assists in 26 outings on the farm.
Morrow is in his first full professional season after wrapping up his college career last year. The 22-year-old played in his second NHL contest of the season this afternoon, logging 12:11 of ice time while he’s still looking for his first point. With the Wolves, Morrow has been an impressive contributor, notching 10 goals and 19 assists in 41 appearances. After notching at least 30 points in his three college years, Morrow has done well keeping up that level of production in his first taste of the minors.
Predators Place Mark Jankowski On IR, Recall Ozzy Wiesblatt
The Predators have made a pair of roster moves heading into their final game before the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game relays (Twitter link) that Nashville has placed center Mark Jankowski on injured reserve. With the open roster spot, they’ve recalled winger Ozzy Wiesblatt from AHL Milwaukee.
It’s a bit surprising that the Preds wound up waiting this long to put Jankowski on IR. The 30-year-old has been out for the last three weeks with an upper-body injury that carries a week-to-week designation. Jankowski has played in 37 games this season, notching three goals and five assists while logging a little under 13 minutes a night. Having been out this long, he’ll be eligible to be activated at any point when he’s cleared to return.
As for Wiesblatt, this is his second recall of the season. He got into two games on his first one back in January where he had four hits in a little over ten minutes a night of action. This one will be shorter-lived, however, as he’ll almost certainly be sent back following the game to keep playing with the Admirals. On the farm, the 22-year-old has 11 goals and 12 assists in 41 games, already making it the most productive of his three professional seasons.
Kings Recall Pheonix Copley On Emergency Basis, Place Mikey Anderson On IR
With Darcy Kuemper away from the team for personal reasons, the Kings needed to add a goalie to their roster for their game tonight versus Anaheim. The team announced that veteran netminder Pheonix Copley has been recalled from AHL Ontario. To make room on the roster, defenseman Mikey Anderson has been placed on injured reserve.
It’s the fourth recall of the season for Copley whose previous stints with the big club have been short-lived. That trend will almost certainly continue as he’s a strong candidate to be sent back to the Reign following the game. The North Pole native has only made one appearance with Los Angeles this season, that coming in relief back in mid-October but extended his streak of seasons with an NHL game to four. Copley has also played 20 times for Ontario, putting up a 2.45 GAA along with a .906 SV%.
Anderson, meanwhile, has missed a little more than a week with a finger injury sustained late last month. He has logged heavy minutes for Los Angeles this season, ranking second on the team in ATOI at 22:50 (excluding Drew Doughty who is five games into his return). Through 49 games, Anderson has five goals and nine assists along with 83 blocks and 68 hits. He’ll be eligible to be activated at any time as he has already missed more than the required seven days.
Canucks Recall Linus Karlsson, Assign Victor Mancini To AHL
The Canucks have tweaked their roster for their final game before the break. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Linus Karlsson from AHL Abbotsford and have assigned defenceman Victor Mancini to Abbotsford.
Karlsson has been recalled now four times this season. In his first three stints, the 25-year-old played in a total of nine games with Vancouver, picking up a goal in just under 10 minutes a night of playing time. While offense has been hard to come by at the NHL level – he has just six points (all goals) in 82 career NHL appearances – that hasn’t been the case in the minors. With Abbotsford, Karlsson has a dozen goals and six assists in 17 outings after recording 60 points in as many games last season with them. Despite the promotion, he did not suit up against Toronto.
As for Mancini, he was one of the pieces of the recent J.T. Miller trade and was brought up earlier this week although he didn’t see any game action with Vancouver. The 22-year-old played in 15 games with the Rangers earlier this season, recording five points while logging a little more than 15 minutes a night, solid numbers for his first taste of NHL action. Mancini also has 23 AHL appearances on the campaign, all with New York’s affiliate in Hartford where he has 10 points. Mancini should get a chance to make his debut with Abbotsford on Tuesday against San Diego. He’ll likely be joined by Karlsson for that one with the forward likely to be sent back down following tonight’s game.
Devils Assign Three To AHL
With the Devils playing their final game before the break this afternoon, they’ve wasted little time setting their roster for the next couple of weeks until play resumes while freeing up a bit of extra salary cap space in the process. The team announced that goaltender Nico Daws and defensemen Simon Nemec and Santeri Hatakka have been assigned to AHL Utica.
Daws was recalled last weekend to serve as Jake Allen’s backup with Jacob Markstrom still sidelined due to a lower-body injury. He made a pair of appearances during that stint, one in relief with one start, turning aside 32 of 34 shots. Daws has been limited to just 21 games with the Comets due to injury where he has a 3.40 GAA and a .888 SV%. He’ll likely get a few starts during the break before being recalled when NHL play resumes as Markstrom might not quite be ready to return by then.
As for Nemec, he was brought up on Thursday with Jonas Siegenthaler banged up. He played in both of New Jersey’s games following his promotion but was held off the scoresheet. On the season, he has only played 11 games with the Devils after seeing action in 60 a year ago. Instead, Nemec has spent most of the campaign in Utica where he has been able to play a much bigger role. The 20-year-old has done well down there with 22 points in 32 games.
As for Hatakka, his demotion should come as little surprise after he cleared waivers earlier today. He has yet to play this season after missing the first four months of the campaign while recovering from shoulder surgery. He split last season between New Jersey and Utica and will now try to play himself into consideration for a recall for the stretch run.
Penguins Recall Vasiliy Ponomarev, Place Bryan Rust On Injured Reserve
Forward prospect Vasiliy Ponomarev is expected to get his fourth opportunity with the Pittsburgh Penguins this season. The Penguins announced they’ve recalled Ponomarev from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and have placed veteran forward Bryan Rust on injured reserve in a corresponding roster move.
Ponomarev was selected 53rd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. He spent two and a half years in the Hurricanes organization, scoring 35 goals and 85 points in 116 AHL contests split between the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and Tucson Roadrunners. Carolina eventually traded Ponomarev to the Penguins in the deal that sent Jake Guentzel to Raleigh last year.
Ponomarev’s performance in the AHL has improved since he moved to Pennsylvania, though the change has not been significant. While playing with the Hurricanes organization, he averaged 0.73 points per game starting in the latter part of the 2021-22 season. Since joining the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, his average has increased to 0.80 PPG.
Despite limited opportunities, Ponomarev has not made a significant impact at the NHL level. He made his NHL debut last season with Carolina, scoring only one goal and one assist in five games.
He’s certainly not expected to replicate Rust’s production this season. The 11-year veteran winger has scored 20 goals and 42 points in 46 games for the Penguins this season, ranking third on the team in scoring despite losing several games to injury.
Although injuries have limited his availability the last two years, Rust’s continued point production and renewed shot efficiency have made him the subject of trade rumors this year. He owns a no-movement clause in his contract, he loses all trade protection on July 1st, 2025.
Mathew Barzal Reportedly Out Six Weeks After Knee Procedure
Feb. 8: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun provided an update to Barzal’s timeline this afternoon. LeBrun shared that Barzal had a small procedure on his injured kneecap on Thursday, and a normal recovery timeline would place Barzal’s return around six weeks from now. No matter if Barzal returns quicker or later than expected he should return to the Islanders’ active lineup sometime in March.
Feb. 4: Barzal has been moved to injured reserve, per a team announcement. It’s only a procedural move to open up his roster spot.
Feb. 3: The Islanders announced Monday that forward Mathew Barzal will be sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Scott Mayfield will also miss some time with an LBI, although he’s only listed as day-to-day.
Barzal, 27, left Saturday’s overtime win over the Lightning in the third period and did not return after taking a Darren Raddysh slapper to the knee. He skated off under his own power, but he remained out of the lineup in yesterday’s loss to the Panthers as he underwent further evaluation.
The Isles will now be without their highest-paid player for an extended period for the second time this season. He missed 21 games with an upper-body injury in November and December, missing roughly six weeks.
When in the lineup, Barzal has disappointed offensively in 2024-25. He’s shooting at a career-low 7.7% rate en route to a six-goal, 20-point performance through 30 appearances. His 0.67 points per game are third on the team but rank as the worst of his career over a full season, below 2018-19’s 0.76 mark.
Barzal is in the second season of the eight-year, $73.2MM extension he signed in October 2022 with a $9.15MM cap hit. He provided strong value in the first year of the deal, hitting a point per game for the second time in his career in 2023-24, but has continuously seen a dip in his shooting accuracy. He has a 22-team no-trade clause that kicked in last July and remains in effect for the life of the deal.
After spending the first six seasons of his career as a center, continued faceoff struggles and the acquisition of Bo Horvat from the Canucks in 2023 have bumped him to the wing. Injuries everywhere on the Islanders’ roster have meant a rotating cast of linemates for Barzal this season, spending significant time with Horvat, Anthony Duclair, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
Duclair and Lee, as well as Kyle Palmieri and Maxim Tsyplakov, will comprise the Islanders’ top-six winger group in Barzal’s absence. Most of them have had decent campaigns aside from Duclair, who’s been limited by an early-season leg and injury struggled to get off the ground with eight points in 23 games after signing a four-year, $14MM deal in the summer.
The Islanders’ seven-game win streak came to an end in Florida, but they’ve managed to get back within four points of a playoff spot despite injuries to Hudson Fasching up front and multiple on the blue line, namely their top two righties in Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock. General manager Lou Lamoriello has been aggressive in replacing his injured blue-liners, acquiring Adam Boqvist, Tony DeAngelo and Scott Perunovich to help keep them in the playoff race. It’s worked, but with a key top-six piece now missing from a bottom-10 offense, it’s yet another significant blow.
Lamoriello could place Barzal on long-term injured reserve to open up some cap flexibility around the trade deadline, but that would require him to remain out through at least March 4 against the Jets. The Isles are among the league’s most cap-strapped teams with $1.95MM in current space, per PuckPedia, and they already have Dobson, Mike Reilly and Semyon Varlamov on LTIR helping them stay compliant.
As for Mayfield, a day-to-day designation means he may remain out until the 4 Nations Face-Off but should return after the break. Combined with Dobson and Pulock, the Islanders are now without their entire regular corps of right-shot defensemen, even if it’s for a brief period. Righties Boqvist and DeAngelo, plus a lefty playing on his off-side in Perunovich, give them an incredibly dynamic puck-moving group in the interim, even if all carry significant weaknesses away from the puck.
Mayfield, 32, has seven points and a +14 rating in 50 games. His 17:33 average time on ice is his lowest since the 2017-18 campaign, though.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Colorado Avalanche Reassign Trent Miner
The Colorado Avalanche made a small roster move in the early hours of Saturday morning. Colorado announced they’ve reassigned netminder Trent Miner to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, leading up to their two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Miner has been rostered on the Avalanche for much of January and February due to the injuries to backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood. The latter missed just over a week in early January with a lower-body injury and the last few days with an upper-body injury.
However, this hasn’t resulted in increased playing time for Miner. The 24-year-old goalie has only played in two games for the Avalanche this season and has been credited with just one loss. His .879 save percentage and 2.62 goals-against average aren’t horrible numbers for a backup but it doesn’t appear Colorado is willing to extend his leash just yet.
His production with AHL Colorado has understandably been more fruitful. Miner owns a 9-5-7 record in 19 AHL contests with a .905 SV% and 2.49 GAA. It’s a positive development given he spent much of last season with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies and has five more opportunities with the Eagles over the 4 Nations Face-Off break at the very least. There’s no indication the Avalanche will recall Miner after the international tournament so he’ll likely stay in Loveland for the foreseeable future.