Canadiens Activate Jake Evans Off LTIR
After opening a pair of roster spots on Friday following the demotions of goalie Jacob Fowler and center Owen Beck to AHL Laval, it seemed likely that the Canadiens would be getting someone back from injured reserve in time for tonight’s game against Ottawa. That player is center Jake Evans, who has been activated off LTIR, according to the NHL’s Media Site.
Evans had a breakout performance last season, notching 36 points in 82 games while averaging more than 15 minutes per game of ice time. As a result, instead of being moved out at the trade deadline, the two sides worked out a four-year, $11.6MM extension to keep him with the franchise that drafted him in the seventh round back in 2014.
The early returns on that contract have been mixed. The 29-year-old was Montreal’s shutdown center in the first half of the season before he suffered a lower-body injury just after the holiday trade freeze. However, while he had some success in that role, his offensive numbers dropped considerably as he has just five goals and five assists in 34 games. Meanwhile, to give him some support defensively, the Canadiens brought back Phillip Danault in a pre-freeze swap with Los Angeles, just one day before Evans’ injury.
Evans, who was quietly moved to LTIR earlier this month, was expected to miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. This activation suggests that it will be the shorter of the two timelines although he has not been confirmed as being able to play against the Sens. Instead, Evans is officially listed as a game-time decision.
Montreal is currently without three other injured forwards, Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine, and Alex Newhook. The first two took part in practice yesterday and are believed to be nearing a return but the fact that they weren’t activated today suggests that they’re not quite ready to suit up in game action just yet.
Juho Lammikko And Colton White Clear Waivers
Saturday: Both Lammikko and White have cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. However, with Ondrej Palat‘s availability for tonight’s game uncertain due to illness, Lammikko may remain on the active roster for the time being and could suit up against Carolina if Palat isn’t able to play.
Friday: The New Jersey Devils are attempting to jettison a few depth options from their roster. The Devils announced that they’ve placed forward Juho Lammikko and defenseman Colton White on waivers.
Lammikko, 29, is in his first year with the Devils after spending the last three years overseas with the NL’s ZSC Lions. He was very productive while in Switzerland, scoring 48 goals and 112 points in 144 games with a +60 rating. He signed a one-year, $800K contract with New Jersey last summer.
Despite making the team’s opening night roster, Lammikko had to wait until late October to debut due to a lower-body injury. Largely in a bottom-six role, Lammikko has appeared in 22 games for the Devils this season, registering two assists and a -4 rating while averaging 10:10 of ice time per game.
Meanwhile, unlike Lammikko, White did not immediately make the Devils’ roster this year. Still, due to multiple injuries sustained by New Jersey’s defensive core, White was recalled in early November and has been with the team ever since.
The 28-year-old defenseman has appeared in 23 games for the Devils this season (his second stint with the club), registering four assists and a +2 rating while averaging 12:15 of ice time. He’s been a quality player on the defensive side of the puck, averaging a 93.1% on-ice SV% at even strength.
New Jersey did not immediately clarify if either player would be demoted to the AHL’s Utica Comets should they clear, though it’s largely expected. Still, the Devils could simply be looking for additional roster flexibility.
Assuming both Lammikko and White clear waivers and are reassigned tomorrow afternoon, New Jersey’s active roster would be reduced to 21 players. It’s more than likely the team will make additional recalls then, particularly to their forward core.
Flames Make Several Roster Moves
The Flames have made a series of transactions heading into their game against the Islanders. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Matvei Gridin has been recalled from AHL Calgary. To make room on the roster, winger William Stromgren was sent back to the Wranglers. Additionally, defenceman Zayne Parekh was also sent down on a conditioning loan.
Gridin was a first-round pick by Calgary in 2024, going 28th overall. While he had a solid showing last season with QMJHL Shawinigan, he wasn’t expected to realistically contend for a roster spot in training camp. However, after potting three goals in six preseason contests, Gridin broke camp with the Flames and got into four games with them, picking up his first NHL goal before being sent down to the Wranglers a little more than a week into the season.
In the minors, Gridin has been quite impressive. He has 10 goals and 18 assists in 32 games with the Wranglers, good for a share of second overall among all rookies which has helped earn this promotion. Gridin can play up to five more games with the Flames this season without burning the first year of his entry-level contract so it will be interesting to see if the team intends to give him just a quick look or a longer opportunity that officially activates his deal.
As for Stromgren, he received his first NHL promotion earlier this month and was in and out of the lineup, getting into three games with the Flames altogether. The 22-year-old had a very limited role in those outings, playing just 7:17 per game while being held off the scoresheet. Stromgren has been one of the better playmakers for the Wranglers, however, picking up 23 assists in 33 contests. He’ll now get a chance to go back to playing a much more prominent role compared to the fourth-line minutes he was seeing with the big club.
Parekh, meanwhile, has yet to play since returning from playing for Canada at the World Juniors. The 19-year-old isn’t eligible to play full-time for the Wranglers but now that he has been scratched long enough, he is eligible for this conditioning stint which can last for up to two weeks. It seems likely that management will want him to play the full two weeks in the minors, meaning he won’t likely rejoin the Flames until the end of the month. Parekh, a top performer with OHL Saginaw to the tune of 203 points over his last two seasons, has one assist in 11 NHL contests while playing a little under 15 minutes per night of playing time.
Predators Reassign Andreas Englund To AHL
Saturday: It was a one-and-done promotion for Englund as Nashville has assigned him back to the Admirals, per the AHL’s transactions log. As expected, he was the reserve defender for their game last night against Colorado.
Friday: The Nashville Predators announced they’ve recalled defenseman Andreas Englund from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. He’s expected to serve as the team’s seventh defenseman tonight as Adam Wilsby works his way back from a minor injury.
Englund, 29, joined the Predators last season after being claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Kings. He enjoyed a consistent role in Nashville for the remainder of the season, registering two assists in 24 games with the club, averaging 14:36 of ice time per night.
After two months with the team, the Predators signed Englund to a one-year, $775K extension for the 2025-26 campaign. Unfortunately, he wasn’t guaranteed a spot on the roster this year, and Nashville sent Englund through waivers shortly before the start of the regular season.
Being his first recall of the year, the 6’3″, 201lbs blue liner has spent the entire campaign with AHL Milwaukee up to this point. He has been relatively productive, scoring two goals and six points in 30 games with a +2 rating. He’s third on the team with 44 PIMs.
Regardless, Englund should expect his current recall to be short-lived. At the time of writing, Wilsby has a day-to-day recovery timeline, meaning he could return by the end of the weekend. Nashville now has 22 players on their active roster.
Maple Leafs To Recall Jacob Quillan; William Nylander Injured
According to David Alter of The Hockey News, the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to recall Jacob Quillan from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. As TSN’s Darren Dreger pointed out earlier, forward William Nylander is dealing with injury concerns, and he’ll likely be placed on the injured reserve.
Nylander has already been ruled out for today’s matchup by the team. There’s a belief that he re-aggravated his recent lower-body injury in the overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. He had previously missed six games with the injury.
Additionally, the Maple Leafs haven’t yet provided an updated recovery timeline for their star winger. Yesterday, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic asked head coach Craig Berube how long Nylander would miss, to which Berube responded, “Right now I can’t answer that. With the last one I thought it would be quicker and then obviously (it) wasn’t. We’ll just see how he feels here going forward.”
It’s unfortunate timing for Nylander and Toronto, as the 11-year veteran was on a tear after initially returning from his lower-body ailment. Since returning to the lineup on January 10th, Nylander scored three goals and seven points with a +2 rating, averaging 13:28 of ice time per game. Still, that’s been the status quo for Nylander this year, scoring 14 goals and 41 points in 33 games before suffering the injury the first time.
Meanwhile, Quillan, 23, will return to the Maple Leafs after being reassigned on January 9th. The 6’1″ forward has gone scoreless in three appearances for the Maple Leafs this season with a +2 rating, averaging 8:06 of ice time per game.
His play in the AHL, plus his flexible contract, has made him a consistent recall candidate for Toronto this season. He’s tied for third in scoring on AHL Toronto, registering eight goals and 27 points in 28 games with a +8 rating.
Ducks Recall Sam Colangelo, Place Troy Terry On Injured Reserve
Earlier today, the hope was that the Ducks would welcome back winger Troy Terry from the upper-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for the last three games. However, that won’t be the case as the team announced that Terry has been placed on injured reserve. Taking his place on the roster is winger Sam Colangelo, who has been recalled from AHL San Diego.
After seeing his point total dip to the mid-50s over the last couple of seasons, Terry has bounced back quite nicely this season, flirting with the point-per-game mark for most of the year. He currently sits second on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 29 assists in 43 games. Terry was originally viewed as a game-time decision back on Tuesday so the fact he’s now set to be out a little longer could be a sign for concern or merely the team exercising a bit more caution with one of their top players. His placement is retroactive to January 6th, meaning he has already served the required week and thus can be activated at any time.
As for Colangelo, this is his first recall back to Anaheim since being sent down in mid-November. At the time, he had only played sporadically, getting into just seven games where he had one goal while averaging just over 10 minutes per night. The 24-year-old has fared better in the minors, however, picking up seven goals and nine assists with the Gulls in 23 games but that’s still below the point-per-game showing he had in 40 outings last season.
With Leo Carlsson (lower body) out once again and Jeffrey Viel still on his way to join the team after being acquired earlier today, Anaheim wouldn’t have had enough forwards for tonight’s game without Colangelo. But with Terry ideally back soon and Viel likely to report to the team on Saturday, it could be a short-term stint for Colangelo on Anaheim’s roster.
Hurricanes Recall Joel Nystrom, Place Noah Philp On Injured Reserve
With blueliner Shayne Gostisbehere out for tonight’s game against Florida, the Hurricanes have brought up some extra defensive depth. The team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Joel Nystrom from AHL Chicago. To make room on the roster, center Noah Philp has been placed on injured reserve.
Nystrom is familiar with going back and forth between the NHL and the minors as this is now his third recall of the season. The 23-year-old has received his first taste of action at the top level this season, getting into 33 games with Carolina. He’s still looking for his first goal but he has eight assists while averaging 15:37 of ice time per game.
That showing was good enough to earn Nystrom a four-year, $4.9MM one-way extension last month, a sign that the Hurricanes feel that he is part of their longer-term plans. Despite a pair of demotions with the team taking advantage of his waiver exemption, Nystrom has only played in six times with the Wolves, collecting one assist.
As for Philp, he was claimed off waivers from Edmonton in late December but hasn’t had much of a chance to make an impression on his new team. The 27-year-old suffered a concussion in his second game with the team and has been out of the lineup for the last week and a half. Adding in his time with the Oilers, Philp has two goals and an assist in 17 games so far this season. Carolina has back-dated Philp’s placement back to January 6th, meaning that he is eligible to be activated at any time.
Capitals Recall Ivan Miroshnichenko, Place Justin Sourdif On IR
According to a team announcement, the Washington Capitals have recalled Ivan Miroshnichenko from the AHL’s Hershey Bears. In a corresponding roster move, the Capitals placed Justin Sourdif on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
Miroshnichenko’s story in Washington is well known at this point. The Capitals selected Miroshnichenko with the 20th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft, and he spent the following season with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk, scoring three goals and one assist in 23 games.
Despite the tepid scoring output, Washington brought Miroshnichenko to North America beginning in the 2023-24 season. He’s been a terrific scorer with AHL Hershey, but has failed to break out in any meaningful way with the Capitals.
In his first professional season in North America, Miroshnichenko finished with two goals and six points in 21 games with Washington, typically placed in a middle-six role while averaging 12:08 of ice time per night. Still, he showed quality production with the Bears, scoring nine goals and 25 points in 47 games. Additionally, after scoring seven goals and 12 points in 20 postseason contests, Miroshnichenko helped Hershey win its second consecutive Calder Cup championship.
Since then, he’s been largely isolated to an AHL role. He’s scored one goal and four points in 20 games for the Capitals over the last two years, usually being confined to a bottom-six role. Regardless, he’s kept up his strong performance in the AHL, scoring 29 goals and 58 points in his past 73 games.
Meanwhile, Sourdif formally heads to the IR after missing Washington’s last several games. He took a puck to the face in the Capitals’ recent loss to the Nashville Predators on January 11th. It was unfortunate timing for Sourdif, who had scored six goals and 12 points in 13 games leading up to the injury.
Wild Place Joel Eriksson Ek, Matt Boldy On IR
The Minnesota Wild are again dealing with multiple injuries. The Wild announced that they’ve placed forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy on the injured reserve.
Additionally, Minnesota has made multiple roster moves. In the same announcement, the team shared that they’ve recalled Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Hunter Haight, and David Jiříček to the NHL, while returning Carson Lambos to the AHL’s Iowa Wild.
Assuming the Wild makes Eriksson Ek’s placement retroactive to January 8th, he’s eligible to be activated as soon as he’s healthy. Still, since the team opted to place him on the injured reserve today, there’s little chance he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow against the Buffalo Sabres. He’s been dealing with a lower-body injury for the past week.
Already perusing the trade market for a second-line center, Eriksson Ek’s exit from the lineup has been a major detriment to the team. In the three games he has missed, Minnesota has lost all of them while collecting only one point. Typically in a top-six role, Eriksson Ek has scored 11 goals and 32 points in 45 games for the Wild this season while having a 49.7% success rate in the faceoff dot.
Meanwhile, arguably the larger concern is that Boldy will have to miss the next four games. Since Boldy seemingly suffered an undisclosed injury in Minnesota’s recent game against the Winnipeg Jets, he won’t be eligible to return until next Friday.
After skating in 203 consecutive games, the Wild will now move forward with one of their best offensive forces. Throughout 48 games this season, Boldy led the team in goal-scoring with 27 tallies and sat one point behind Kirill Kaprizov for the overall team lead.
Neither Aube-Kubel nor Haight will help Minnesota make up for the loss of offense. The two have combined for one assist across six games for the Wild this season. Still, in their defense, they’ve remained relatively productive with AHL Iowa this season, with the latter ranked third on the team in scoring with seven goals and 17 points in 31 games.
San Jose Sharks Activate Will Smith
As expected, the San Jose Sharks announced that they’ve activated Will Smith from the injured reserve. The Sharks placed forward Ty Dellandrea on injured reserve yesterday to make room for Smith’s return.
Smith, 20, has been on the shelf for a month due to an upper-body injury. At the time, he was second on the team in scoring behind Macklin Celebrini. He has since been surpassed by Alexander Wennberg, Tyler Toffoli, and William Eklund.
Still, in terms of points-per-game, Smith is clearly San Jose’s best offensive option behind Celebrini. Before suffering the upper-body ailment, the sophomore forward had scored 12 goals and 29 points in 33 games. Had he continued that pace over the course of the entire regular season, Smith would have finished with approximately 72 points, a 27-point increase from his rookie campaign.
According to line rushes this morning, Smith will reprise his role on Celebrini’s wing, alongside rookie Igor Chernyshov. The two youngsters primarily played with Philipp Kurashev earlier in the year, with the trio combining for a 45.2% xGoals%.
Somehow, despite losing their second-best scorer, the Sharks’ offense has taken off since Smith exited the lineup. In his 33 games to begin the year, San Jose averaged 2.9 GF/G and a 18.6% success rate on the power play. Without him in the lineup, they’ve averaged 3.84 GF/G and a 25.6% powerplay. Getting Smith back into the lineup should vault the Sharks’ offense even higher moving forward.