Islanders Recall Isaiah George, Assign Cole McWard To AHL
Saturday: The Islanders announced that they have indeed recalled George from Bridgeport. To make room on the roster, McWard has been sent down.
Friday: The New York Islanders are expected to turn towards a top prospect to help them with injuries. Defenseman Isaiah George appears to have been recalled to the NHL just before the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders’ Friday night game per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News.
This would be George’s first call-up of the 2025-26 season. He has spent the first half of the year in a focused role with Bridgeport, that he’s rewarded with 10 points, 10 penalty minutes, and a plus-five in 24 games. That performance is a hardy step up from the 14 points and minus-16 that George recorded in 33 AHL games last season. He also played the first 33 games of his NHL career last year, netting five points and a minus-three. Through a struggled stat line, George showed flashes of two-way upside at the NHL and AHL level last season. He has looked well improved in the minor-leagues this season. With better footing, George could be set to make a stronger push for an NHL role.
He could see ice time right out of the gates as New York looks to address a day-to-day injury to top-four defenseman Ryan Pulock. Extra defenseman Cole McWard would be the de facto replacement if Pulock couldn’t play. McWard has scored 16 points in 29 AHL games and no points in three NHL games this season. He is also a right-handed shot, which wouldn’t pair as nicely with righty Adam Boqvist as the left-handed George. That could be enough to earn George a shot at his first NHL game of the season, should Pulock need to miss time.
Lightning Activate, Reassign Scott Sabourin
The Lightning announced Friday that they activated winger Scott Sabourin from injured reserve and subsequently assigned him to AHL Syracuse.
Sabourin, 33, has been more of a factor for Tampa Bay this season than anyone anticipated. The enforcer was assessed a preseason suspension and was brought up multiple times from Syracuse after the campaign started to finish serving it, making him eligible to suit up for the Bolts rather early in the schedule.
He was called into action more consistently in November and December, marking his first big league action since last January. All told, he played nine games before sustaining an undisclosed injury against the Canadiens on Dec. 28 that’s kept him out for nearly a month. That’s the second-most NHL action he’s ever seen in a single season, trailing only the 35 appearances he made as a 27-year-old rookie for the Senators in 2019-20.
Sabourin scored a goal and two assists – his first tally since that rookie year – and averaged 8:12 of ice time per game with a whopping 63 penalty minutes. No one even comes close to Sabourin’s 12.19 penalties taken per 60 minutes this season. Ottawa’s Kurtis MacDermid is a distant second at 8.40.
The 6’4″, 207-lb winger has always displayed enough of a scoring touch to challenge for top-nine deployment in the minors and is thus a fine enough fourth-line spark plug at the NHL level in short-term regular-season deployment. We likely haven’t seen the last of him in Tampa this season as a result. For now, though, he returns to Syracuse, where he’s notched six goals and two assists in 20 games this year.
Sabres Place Jacob Bryson On IR, Recall Zachary Jones
The Sabres placed defenseman Jacob Bryson on injured reserve Friday and recalled Zachary Jones from AHL Rochester to replace him on the active roster, according to Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News.
Bryson, 28, is now ineligible to play in the Sabres’ next two contests in what is a light week for them. He suited up in Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Canadiens but left the team’s road trip today and returned to Buffalo to be evaluated for an upper-body injury, head coach Lindy Ruff told Lenzi.
Playing time has been difficult to come by for Bryson as of late. While he’s suited up in 10 of Buffalo’s last 11 games, his bottom-pairing ice time has been incredibly restricted, averaging just 9:19 of ice time per game since the calendar turned to 2026.
The 5’9″ Bryson is in his sixth NHL season, all with Buffalo. He’s been a clear-cut bottom-pairing/press box option since debuting in 2021, four years after the Sabres made him a fourth-round pick out of Providence College, and has 48 points and a -38 rating in 287 career appearances.
Five of those points have come in 33 outings this year. The Sabres have rarely had all their defensemen healthy, contributing to him playing in two-thirds of their games. Michael Kesselring has missed much of the year with lower-body issues and is still being load-managed as he steps back into the lineup, while Conor Timmins has been out with a broken leg since before Christmas.
Now, they’re short another depth option, meaning Kesselring’s in-and-then-out-again routine may be ending. It’s hard to find a more direct replacement for Bryson than Jones, a similarly undersized lefty who’s produced at essentially the same exact pace throughout his career.
Buffalo has recalled Jones multiple times to serve as short-term roster depth since plucking him from the Rangers in free agency last summer, but he hasn’t yet made his Sabres debut. That hasn’t stopped him from playing the most dynamic offensive hockey of his life in Rochester, where he leads the team in scoring with 37 points (six goals, 31 assists) in 32 games.
It’s concerns over Jones’ defensive game that have kept him from locking down an everyday NHL role. With a -1 rating in Rochester despite that elite scoring line, those concerns haven’t dissipated. And with Buffalo’s defense group already being lefty-heavy, it stands to reason that right-shot depth option Zach Metsa has a clearer path to minutes in Bryson’s absence than Jones does.
Maple Leafs Activate Anthony Stolarz
4:23 p.m.: Stolarz has officially been activated from IR with Hildeby headed down, the team announced.
11:54 a.m.: The Maple Leafs will activate goaltender Anthony Stolarz from long-term injured reserve before tonight’s tilt against the Golden Knights, head coach Craig Berube confirmed to reporters (including Mark Masters of TSN). It will be his first start in over two months. The team sent Dennis Hildeby to AHL Toronto to open up a spot, per PuckPedia, but they’re still one over the roster limit as they’ve yet to make a corresponding move for Henry Thrun‘s recall this morning.
The last 32 games of the season provide Stolarz a chance to erase what was a disastrous early going. Entering training camp as the clear-cut No. 1 option for the first time, he landed a four-year, $15MM extension during training camp as a result. It was well-deserved – he backstopped the Leafs to a rare playoff series win last year and finished fifth in Vezina Trophy voting while leading the league with a .926 SV% in 33 starts.
Injuries have consistently been an issue for the skilled 32-year-old, who averaged just 23 starts per season over the last four years. Tandem partner Joseph Woll started the year on personal leave, meaning Stolarz had a much higher-than-normal workload out of the gate. He immediately faltered, posting his worst stretch of hockey as an NHLer with a .884 SV% and 3.51 GAA in 13 starts. High-end goal support from the Leafs meant he still ended up with a 6-5-1 record, but his -8.3 goals saved above expected in such limited action were a noticeable stain on the track record of one of the league’s most consistently analytically sound netminders.
He’s spent the last few days with AHL Toronto on a conditioning assignment as he works his way back from his upper-body issue. He didn’t get into any game action with the Marlies, though.
Now, with Woll healthy, he and Stolarz can return to a more familiar split. Woll has had a fine year in his own right – his .911 SV% and two shutouts in 21 games certainly read as impressive, but he’s only accounted for 0.6 GSAx, according to MoneyPuck, suggesting there still might be some room for growth.
Unfortunately, Toronto’s roster crunch and Hildeby’s waiver-exempt status meant a three-goalie rotation would be unfeasible when Stolarz returned. With no roster limit, the Leafs likely would have opted to experiment with one. Hildeby, 24, has been one of the best stories of the season in Toronto. The 2022 fourth-round pick has spent virtually the entire season on the roster with Woll’s and Stolarz’s long-term absences.
He’s not just been an above-average third-string option; he’s arguably been the Leafs’ best netminder. His raw numbers are slightly under Woll’s, but he carries a wide advantage when accounting for team defense with 8.9 GSAx. Even his .910 SV% and 2.90 GAA in 19 appearances are strong stats for a largely unheralded rookie.
Nonetheless, he may need to wait until the roster limit disappears at the trade deadline to get his next NHL chance if Stolarz and Woll manage to stay healthy until then. Despite just signing a multi-year extension, Stolarz’s race to the finish could impact whether Toronto aims to shop him over the summer in order to open up a spot for the younger, cheaper Hildeby next season.
Image courtesy of Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images.
Blues Activate Mathieu Joseph, Place Oskar Sundqvist On IR
The Blues activated winger Mathieu Joseph from injured reserve on Friday, according to Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He’s been replaced on injured reserve by Oskar Sundqvist to keep the Blues’ active roster at the 23-player maximum.
Joseph will be in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Stars in a third-line role with rookies Dalibor Dvorsky and Otto Stenberg, per Elise Butler of the team’s website. He comes in for Nathan Walker, who had two points in his first two games since returning from an upper-body injury earlier this month, but has now gone without a point in five straight.
The 28-year-old Joseph’s stay on IR was relatively brief. He hasn’t played since Jan. 3 but was a healthy scratch for several games after that before developing an elbow infection, diagnosed as day-to-day on Jan. 12. He was moved to IR the following day to create a roster spot for Nick Bjugstad.
Joseph operated as an occasional healthy scratch for much of last season. His deployment hasn’t changed much in 2025-26, the last season of a four-year, $11.8MM deal signed with the Senators in 2022 that St. Louis picked up as a cap dump in 2024. He’s shot under 10% for every season of that contract and has just two goals in 35 games this year, although his 10 points bring him to a respectable 24-point pace over 82 games – more offense than he gave the Blues last year while also seeing his ice time increase by nearly a minute per game.
He’s an effective forechecker and penalty killer, but at this stage of his career, what was long thought to be untapped offensive potential looks to stay unrealized if he continues as one of the league’s most underwhelming finishers. He’s nonetheless an experienced body (455 career games) for a Blues group currently without a third of its top nine in Dylan Holloway, Pius Suter, and Robert Thomas.
That’s not counting Sundqvist’s injury. The 31-year-old is out indefinitely after sustaining an ankle laceration due to a skate cut against the Oilers last weekend, according to the team. He already missed Tuesday’s loss to the Jets and is ruled out for St. Louis’ next two games as a result of the IR placement, although he might not end up returning until the other side of the Olympic break, depending on the severity of the laceration and how much, if any, tendon or muscular damage it caused.
Sundqvist is in the third year of his second stint with the Blues and has been chugging along as a reliable two-way piece in their bottom six. They’ve relied on him more than anticipated due to their rash of injuries, and he’s held up his end of the bargain offensively with 13 points in 39 games – right at his career average pace of 0.33 points per game. He’s the Blues’ most relied-upon forward in the defensive zone at even strength and averages 1:22 of ice time per game on the penalty kill. Joseph’s return should help the Blues shoulder Sundqvist’s shorthanded absence, though.
Maple Leafs Recall Henry Thrun
1:41 p.m.: Matt Benning was returned to AHL Toronto in the corresponding move for Thrun’s recall, per the NHL’s media site. Swapping the two clears $150K in cap space, an important factor in giving the Leafs the flexibility to activate Anthony Stolarz from long-term injured reserve today as well.
9:38 a.m.: According to a team announcement, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled defenseman Henry Thrun from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. The transaction coincides with recent injuries to Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Carlo.
Still, Thrun’s recall may be only a precaution. Jonas Siegel of The Athletic reported that both Ekman-Larsson and Carlo were on the ice for the team’s practice. Toronto may have avoided longer-term injuries to one or both of the blue liners. Regardless, given that their active roster is full, the Maple Leafs will have to make a corresponding roster move at some point today.
Meanwhile, Thrun, 24, is in his first year with the Maple Leafs organization. Toronto acquired him this past summer in a trade that sent Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks. He’s earning $1MM this season and will be a restricted free agent next summer.
After serving consistently with the Sharks, Thrun has primarily played in the AHL this season. He’s been a boon to AHL Toronto, scoring three goals and 14 points in 28 games with a -2 rating. His scoring output doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, but it’s good for second on the team among defensemen.
Given his place on the team’s depth chart, Thrun has only featured in a few games for the Maple Leafs this season. At the time of writing, he has gone scoreless in four contests, producing a -1 rating while averaging 14:52 of ice time per game.
Golden Knights Add Rasmus Andersson To Active Roster
After being acquired from the Flames in last weekend’s blockbuster, defenseman Rasmus Andersson will make his Golden Knights debut tonight against the Maple Leafs, the team announced. He had been unavailable due to work visa complications, so he’d been on the non-roster list since his pickup. To open a space for him on the active roster, Jaycob Megna was reassigned to AHL Henderson.
Andersson’s $2.275MM cap impact – minimized thanks to Calgary retaining half his salary in the trade – still counted against Vegas’ books while he had a non-roster designation, so there’s no move required there. With Alex Pietrangelo on season-ending LTIR and William Karlsson and Brayden McNabb on regular LTIR, the Knights now have $3.09MM in cap space after reassigning Megna. That’s also with $6.5MM tied up in the IR-bound Carter Hart, Brett Howden, and Brandon Saad.
The Golden Knights didn’t hold a morning skate prior to tonight’s game. It’s the second half of a back-to-back for them after losing 4-3 to the Bruins yesterday, so we’ll need to wait until warmups to figure out who will serve as Andersson’s left-shot complement in Vegas’ top four to start.
Vegas was on a 7-0-1 run before dropping its last two in regulation. Still with a comfortable Pacific Division lead, they’ll hope Andersson can continue the offensive momentum he had in his final days with Calgary with a goal and two assists in his last four games.
Megna’s latest recall ends after just four days. He was brought up after the trade to ensure Vegas had an extra defenseman while Andersson was getting his paperwork sorted out. They needed to recall a D at the time because they surrendered Zach Whitecloud in the deal to acquire Andersson.
The 6’6″, 214-lb lefty did draw into the lineup on Monday against the Flyers, recording a shot on goal in 11:01 of ice time before heading to the press box in Boston to make way for Dylan Coghlan to get a bottom-pairing rep. Coghlan will remain as the Knights’ seventh defender for the time being, although he’s also destined for a demotion once McNabb returns following the Olympic break.
In Megna’s eighth NHL season and first in Vegas, the 33-year-old has a -5 rating with a 45.0 CF% in four outings across multiple recalls. A strong shutdown presence at the minor-league level, he’s got seven points and a +4 mark in 27 showings for Henderson.
Winnipeg Jets Reassign Isaak Phillips, Danil Zhilkin
According to a team announcement, the Winnipeg Jets have reassigned defenseman Isaak Phillips and forward Danil Zhilkin to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Each player was recalled relatively recently as injury insurance.
Unfortunately, it seems the transaction will not align with any positive updates regarding the injury situation. The Moose play tonight at home, allowing each player to play before being recalled for tomorrow’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Winnipeg remains without Haydn Fleury, Colin Miller, and Neal Pionk.
Phillips, 24, is in his second year with the Jets organization. Winnipeg acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks last season as he was passed over on the team’s depth chart. Unfortunately, he hasn’t found more playing time with the Jets.
Still, he’s having a much better year in the AHL. Split between Manitoba and the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, Phillips finished with four goals and 16 points in 67 games with a -3 rating. He’s nearly matched that output already this year, registering three goals and 13 points in 33 games with a +3 rating.
Meanwhile, Zhilkin, 22, is in his third professional season. He hasn’t had much success so far, but got off to a moderately good start this season, scoring seven goals and 14 points in 30 games. He has not scored in four NHL appearances, averaging 8:14 of ice time.
Wild Reassign Hunter Haight, Ben Jones
The Minnesota Wild are expected to have a fully healthy forward core for their game tomorrow against the Florida Panthers. The Wild announced that they’ve reassigned forwards Hunter Haight and Ben Jones to the AHL’s Iowa Wild.
Reports indicate that the Wild are expected to activate Matt Boldy tomorrow. He was a full participant at the team’s practice yesterday, but was not eligible to play against the Detroit Red Wings. The news comes after Minnesota returned Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson to the lineup yesterday.
Haight, 21, is in his second professional season. The former second-round pick was one of the few bright spots with AHL Iowa last season, scoring 20 goals and 34 points in 67 games. He’s again primarily played in the AHL this season, registering seven goals and 12 points through his first 26 contests.
Still, Haight hasn’t reached beyond an extra forward role for the Wild yet. He has been recalled five times this season for injury depth in Minnesota. Unfortunately, he has yet to register his first point, appearing in five games while averaging 9:41 of ice time.
Meanwhile, Jones, 26, has also been used as an extra forward for the Wild this season. However, unlike Haight, Minnesota has utilized him far more. Across 26 games this season, Jones has scored one goal and one assist with a -10 rating, averaging 8:36 of ice time. In the AHL, he has tallied three goals and six points in eight games with Iowa.
Kraken Recall Jacob Melanson, Place Ben Meyers On IR
The Seattle Kraken will be down a hot hand for the final two games of their current homestand. Depth forward Ben Meyers has been placed on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury that has him out week-to-week. Meyers scored three points in his last two games. The Kraken have responded to his injury by recalling forward Jacob Melanson in a corresponding move.
It isn’t entirely clear when Meyers sustained his injury. He played through the final minute of action in Wednesday night’s win over the New York Islanders and recorded one point and one shot in the contest. Meyers didn’t appear to be nursing an injury in his final shift but will now land on the shelf for a minimum of one week and three games. He will be eligible to return on January 29th, when the Krkaen host the Toronto Maple Leafs to close out a six-game homestand.
Meyers has chipped his way up to Seattle’s third-line with a strong, two-way effort as of late. He ranks third on the offense in hits (15) and second in penalty-kill ice time (20:41) since the start of 2026. On the year, Meyers has recorded 11 points, 36 hits, and 40 shots on goal in 31 games. He’s proven to be a responsible veteran near the bottom of Seattle’s lineup, a role that could be hard to replace with an AHL call-up.
Melanson has been a responsible piece of the Coachella Valley Firebirds’ lineup this year, with 16 points and 28 penalty minutes in 26 games. He has carved out a top-six role and ranks third among Firebirds forwards in plus-minus with a plus-seven. That diligence hasn’t quite translated to the top flight, with Melanson boasting only four points and a minus-two in 15 NHL games this season. They are the first NHL games of his career, except for his NHL debut, which he made at the end of last season.
That inexperience could be a motivator as Melanson looks to make himself comfortable in a bottom-six role in place of the toolsy Meyers. He will compete with Tye Kartye for a spot in the lineup. Kartye has recorded seven points and a minus-seven in 37 games this season.