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Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Simon Lundmark

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11/29/25: The Lightning announced Saturday that they reassigned Lundmark back to AHL Syracuse. Lundmark didn’t dress for the Lightning’s 4-1 road win over the New York Rangers, but at least heads back down to the minors with a game’s worth of salary at his contract’s NHL pay rate.

Lundmark is playing on a two-year, two-way contract containing a league-minimum $775K NHL salary and $250K AHL salary in each year. Since Lundmark has a $350K guarantee for each year, this recall gives Lundmark an ever-so-slightly higher chance of exceeding his guarantee in terms of total compensation by the end of the season, assuming further recalls may come down the line.

11/28/25: The Tampa Bay Lightning are again recalling a depth defenseman as they grapple with multiple injuries. Tampa Bay announced that they have recalled Simon Lundmark from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.

Lundmark’s recall indicates that Erik Černák remains unavailable and could be for the entirety of the Lightning’s upcoming three-game road trip. He’ll serve as the team’s seventh defenseman in the case of another injury, similarly to how the Lightning used youngster Maxim Groshev earlier this week.

Unlike Groshev, Lundmark, 25, is a comparatively veteran presence, although he hasn’t yet debuted in the NHL. He was originally selected with the 51st overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.

In his draft year and the following two years, Lundmark played for the SHL’s Linköping HC. It was a relatively poor showing, especially considering he was drafted in the second round. He scored two goals and 16 points in 118 games with a -20 rating.

Regardless, the Jets brought Lundmark to North America for the 2021-22 season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Although his offense improved, Lundmark continued to play subpar defense, scoring 16 goals and 62 points in 254 games, with a -38 rating.

Having seen enough, Winnipeg non-tendered Lundmark this past offseason, and he signed a two-year, $1.55MM agreement with the Lightning on the opening day of free agency. Unsurprisingly, he failed to crack the team’s opening night roster and was waived in late September. In his first handful of games with the Crunch, he’s registered two assists in 15 games with a -4 rating.

Rangers Activate William Borgen Off IR

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The New York Rangers have actived defenseman William Borgen off of injured reserve, per Mollie Walker of The New York Post. Borgen has been day-to-day with an upper-body injury for the last 10 days. He was designated as a game-time decision before Saturday’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and did indeed make his return from injury when the game kicked off.

It was more than a welcome return. New York struggled against Tampa Bay but Borgen posted two blocked shots and six hits in 18 minutes of ice time. He has been a serviceable utility piece for the Rangers. Through his first full season with the club, Borgen has posted three points, a plus-five, 24 blocks, and 26 hits in 19 games. Those numbers add on to the 13 points, plus-nine, 74 hits, and 80 blocks he posted in 51 games with the Rangers after a mid-season trade from the Seattle Kraken.

Hopefully Borgen’s return, even to a lost game, can help the Rangers continue their November surge. The team has been hot-and-cold all month long, kicking off November with a 5-2-0 record, then losing four games straight, and then bouncing back to a three-game win-streak that ended on Saturday. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier in the short-term, with matchups against the Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche, and Vegas Golden Knights on deck. Borgen’s hard-earned defense should help New York fight off those strong offenses and continue climbing up the standings.

Hurricanes Reassign Justin Robidas Amid Injury Updates

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The Carolina Hurricanes saw a wave of roster updates come through during Saturday morning’s practice. Notably, winger Justin Robidas was not at practice, as he’s been reassigned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Robidas won’t skate in Saturday’s match against the Manitoba Moose but should be back in time for Sunday’s rematch.

Forward William Carrier also missed practice. It is unclear if he has sustained a new injury after appearing in Friday’s win over the Winnipeg Jets. Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov did sustain a lower-body injury that forced him out of Friday’s game, and Saturday’s practice. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin also remained out, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff.

In better news, Ruff adds that forward Jordan Staal participated in practice despite being questionable with an illness, and center Jesperi Kotkaniemi continued to work in a non-contact jersey.

Carolina continues to face a heap of injuries despite getting Shayne Gostisbehere and K’Andre Miller back into the lineup recently. They have been forced to play hot potato with much of their lineup, routinely cycling through their lines. The Hurricanes have had six different forward lines, and 10 different defense pairings, play in at least 50 minutes of even-strength ice time this season. Their most-used forward line has been Jordan Martinook, Staal, and Carrier – a trio that could be broken up if Carrier sustained another injury. The most-used defense pairing has been Miller and Sean Walker, who reunited recently after Miller missed six games.

The Hurricanes have felt the brunt of that shuffle over November. They started the month with a 4-1-0 record, but have fallen into a back-and-forth over the last two weeks. Carolina is 4-3-2 in their last nine games, and haven’t won back-to-back games since Novmber 8th and 9th.

Injuries have forced Carolina’s healthy skaters to step up. Sophomore winger Jackson Blake ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 15 points in 24 games. Robidas was also contributing to the offense, netting one assist and a 50 percent faceoff percentage through two games in a bottom-six role.

Robidas now have three points in the first four games of his NHL career, including a pair of games he played in last season. He has been an electric scorer in the minor leagues and currently ranks third on the Wolves with 12 points in 16 games. Chicago is trying to break out of their own November slump, posting a 2-4-0 record over their last six games but winning last Wednesday’s game against the rival Rockford IceHogs by a lofty 8-4. Robidas should help the Wolves keep that offense rolling as they look for better outcomes in December.

Senators Recall Dennis Gilbert, Place Thomas Chabot On IR

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The Senators have made a pair of roster moves heading into their next game in Dallas on Sunday as the team announced that they’ve recalled Dennis Gilbert from AHL Belleville.  While not noted as part of the announcement, Ottawa has shifted defenseman Thomas Chabot to IR to make room for Gilbert on the active roster.

Gilbert will officially begin his second stint with the Senators with this promotion.  Acquired at the trade deadline last season from Buffalo, the 29-year-old played a sparing role down the stretch, suiting up just four times, where he had an assist and 11 hits in 13:02 per game of playing time.  Over the season between the two teams, Gilbert had six assists in 29 outings but logged just 10:29 per contest.

The Flyers signed Gilbert to a one-year, $875K deal over the summer but he wound up on waivers in training camp, passing through unclaimed resulting in a demotion to AHL Lehigh Valley.  He got into six games with the Phantoms where he had one assist before suffering an injury that kept him out for the better part of a month.

During that time, the Sens swung a move to bring him back into the fold, dealing the rights to unsigned RFA defenseman Max Guenette to get him.  Gilbert got into three games with Belleville following the swap and was more productive, collecting three helpers.

Chabot’s stint on Ottawa’s active roster didn’t last very long.  Activated off injured reserve last weekend, he played just once and has been listed as out with an upper-body injury since then.  If they backdate the placement to his last game played (November 22nd), he’ll technically be eligible to be activated at any time.  The 28-year-old has two goals and eight assists in 18 games so far this season.

Canucks Recall Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Assign Jiri Patera To AHL

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The Canucks have made a pair of roster moves heading into their game tonight against Los Angeles.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki has been recalled from AHL Abbotsford.  To make room for him on the roster, goaltender Jiri Patera has been sent down.

Lekkerimaki started the season with Vancouver but suffered an upper-body injury in the fourth game of the season.  That landed him on injured reserve for more than three weeks and upon being activated, he was sent to Abbotsford for what felt like a conditioning stint.  The 21-year-old played in five games in the AHL and was productive, notching three goals and two assists.

Lekkerimaki has a goal in his four outings at the top level this season in just under 10 minutes a night of playing time.  For his career, the 2022 first-round pick has four goals and three assists in 28 NHL outings.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see him jump right back into a bottom-six role with Lukas Reichel being a candidate to lose his spot once again.

As for Patera, he was brought up on Tuesday when Kevin Lankinen stepped away from the team for a personal matter.  He didn’t see any game action on this recall but did get into one game earlier this month where he allowed seven goals on 40 shots.  The 26-year-old has a 3.10 GAA and a .894 SV% in five games with Abbotsford.  While not announced by the team, this move suggests that Lankinen is back with the team with he and Nikita Tolopilo comprising the tandem that should dress against the Kings.

Edmonton Oilers Activate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

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The Edmonton Oilers are getting some much-needed reinforcements. The Oilers announced they have activated forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from their injured reserve. Having 22 players on the active roster beforehand, Edmonton didn’t need to make a corresponding roster move.

Despite missing the last three weeks with an undisclosed injury, Nugent-Hopkins remains the fourth-highest-scoring forward on the Oilers’ roster. It highlights the Oilers’ challenges in spreading the offense around this year. At the time of writing, 44% of Edmonton’s goals this year have come from three players: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Jack Roslovic.

Still, having Nugent-Hopkins back in the mix will alleviate some of those issues. Throughout his 9-game absence, Edmonton has managed a 4-4-1 record, averaging 3.3 GF/G.

The former first-overall pick’s performance this year has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He’s returned to a point-per-game average, scoring five goals and 16 points in 16 games, averaging 18:49 of ice time. However, his defensive metrics have completely cratered.

Although not perceived as one of the best defensive forwards in the game, Nugent-Hopkins has garnered votes for the Selke Trophy in the past, and he’s averaged a quality 90.3% at even strength throughout his time with the Oilers. However, this season, he’s averaged an 85.3% in that department, which would be the worst of his career by a significant margin.

Furthermore, he appears to have lost some of his mojo in the faceoff dot. He averaged a respectable 48.2% success rate over the past two years, but has seen it crumble to 41.3% this season. That’s likely why the Oilers’ coaching staff has primarily played Nugent-Hopkins on McDavid’s wing this season, rather than have him centering his own line.

Regardless, scoring depth and subpar defensive play from Nugent-Hopkins are hardly Edmonton’s biggest concerns this season. Despite getting off to slow starts over the past few years, the Oilers have struggled to overcome their goaltending woes.

Through American Thanksgiving, the Oilers are 10-10-5, putting them sixth in the Pacific Division and 11th in the Western Conference with the third-worst goal differential in the league. Nearly all of that can be placed on the backs of netminders Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, who have produced a combined .860 SV% on the year.

Bruins Place Henri Jokiharju On IR, Recall Michael Callahan On Emergency Basis

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More clarity has been provided on defenseman Michael Callahan’s status from the Boston Bruins’ optional skate this morning. Boston announced that Callahan has been recalled on an emergency basis, and the team has placed defenseman Henri Jokiharju on the injured reserve, retroactive to November 28th.

There hasn’t been much insight into the nature of Jokiharju’s injury, though it’s obviously connected to the Bruins’ loss to the New York Rangers yesterday. It’s something that must have been discovered postgame, as the Finnish rearguard tallied one assist while skating in 20:51 of action.

Regardless, it’s another injury to Boston’s defensive core, who’s already without Charlie McAvoy and Jordan Harris. Despite the injuries, the Bruins haven’t relied on Jokiharju too much, as he’s registered six assists in 25 games on the year while averaging 17:23 of ice time.

Additionally, while Jokiharju’s value has typically stemmed from his play on the defensive side of the puck, he has been one of the worst performers in that regard for Boston this season. Of defensemen on the team with more than 20 games played, Jokiharju is second to last on the roster with an 88.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength. This comes after averaging a 90.8% across six years with the Buffalo Sabres.

Meanwhile, Callahan finds himself in a familiar position, albeit on an emergency basis. He’s spent a significant portion of his season serving as a depth defenseman for the Bruins, though he’s only appeared in three contests up to this point. In Providence, Callahan has registered two assists in 12 games with a +6 rating.

Bruins Activate Casey Mittelstadt, Recall Georgii Merkulov

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Nov. 29th: There are conflicting reports regarding Callahan’s reassignment. According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, Callahan is on the ice for the team’s optional skate this morning before their matchup against Detroit. Additionally, the AHL Transactions page hasn’t registered Callahan’s reassignment at the time of writing. However, if Callahan hasn’t been returned to Providence, the Bruins would have one extra player on their active roster. Players reassigned from the NHL to the AHL must play in one contest before being eligible for recall, and the AHL Bruins play against the Belleville Senators this evening.

Nov. 28th: The Bruins announced four roster moves this morning, including the news that center Casey Mittelstadt has been activated from injured reserve and will play in today’s matinee against the Rangers. With news from head coach Marco Sturm today that top-six forwards David Pastrňák and Pavel Zacha sustained minor injuries in Wednesday’s win over the Islanders and are out day-to-day (via Scott McLaughlin of WEEI), Boston also recalled forward Georgii Merkulov from AHL Providence. The Bruins opened two roster spots by placing winger Matěj Blümel on long-term injured reserve and reassigning defenseman Michael Callahan to Providence.

Mittelstadt’s appearance today is his first after a nine-game absence. He’s been listed as week-to-week since sustaining a lower-body injury on Nov. 6.

Getting one top-six forward back is a key bit for a team that just lost two of its three top scorers, particularly if Pastrňák and Zacha will miss any significant length of time. Mittelstadt is in his first full season with the B’s after being acquired for Charlie Coyle from the Avalanche at last year’s deadline. He hasn’t been offensively overpowering since his arrival. He’s posted an 8-7–15 scoring line with a -17 rating in 33 appearances, including nine points in 15 games this year. That’s below his career-average pace of 15 goals and 44 points per 82 games.

It’s a rushed return for Mittelstadt, who didn’t even take a full practice before re-entering the lineup today in the wake of Pastrňák and Zacha’s injuries. Before getting hurt, he had shifted to the wing on a line with Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson. That line had outscored opponents 8-4 at 5-on-5 and controlled 50.6% of shot attempts. He won’t have either of them to skate with today, though, as Arvidsson’s been on injured reserve since Nov. 17 and is out indefinitely. He’s skating on a unit with Marat Khusnutdinov and the hastily recalled Merkulov.

Merkulov, 25, has been one of Boston’s top minor-league producers for years but has never landed an extended NHL opportunity. An undrafted free agent signed out of Ohio State in 2022, he’s got just one assist in 10 NHL games to date despite getting a decently long leash, averaging 12:28 of ice time per game. The playmaking pivot has never registered under 50 points in an AHL season and is again on track to pass that plateau in 2025-26. Through 17 appearances for Providence, he’s rattled off six goals and eight assists for 14 points to sit third on the team in scoring. He now has a 76-117–193 scoring line in 218 career AHL games, putting him seventh in the league in scoring since his rookie year in 2022-23.

The Bruins had already said Blümel would miss significant time. The 25-year-old winger, who was also a relatively recent recall from Providence to compensate for the Bruins’ bevy of injuries to their forward group, left Wednesday’s game in the first period with a lower-body injury. An LTIR placement means Blümel is ineligible for the next 10 games and 24 days. The earliest he can return is Dec. 20 against the Canucks. Despite seeing first-line minutes with Pastrňák and Zacha, he’d gone without a point and had a -3 rating in four games since his call-up.

Callahan has served as an extra defenseman for the B’s for a good chunk of the season as Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy and Jordan Harris have each dealt with long-term absences. He’s a luxury they can’t afford to roster with Pastrňák and Zacha not expected to be out long enough to warrant an IR placement. Once the Bruins can return a forward to Providence, he’ll likely find himself back up in the NHL.

Calvin de Haan Signs Two-Year Extension With Rögle BK

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Veteran defenseman Calvin de Haan isn’t returning to the NHL anytime soon. It has been announced that de Haan has signed a new two-year extension with the SHL’s Rögle BK.

It’s relatively quick work on a new contract. The 34-year-old rearguard is in his first professional season overseas after signing with Rögle in mid-September of this year.

There’s no questioning why de Haan would want to stay, either. The former 12th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Draft is enjoying one of the best seasons of his professional career, scoring three goals and eight points through his first 17 games.

That level of offensive production doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, though it’s good for top-25 among blueliners in the SHL. Additionally, he’s playing on a successful Rögle that is currently positioned in second place in the league.

Odds are, unless he finds an unexpected new level to his game, that this is the last contract de Haan will sign in his career. Before moving overseas, de Haan enjoyed 13 years in the NHL with the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, and New York Rangers.

Relegated to a depth role toward the end of his tenure in the NHL, de Haan’s best playing days were undoubtedly with the Islanders. From the 2013-14 season to 2017-18, de Haan scored 12 goals and 81 points in 303 games while averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time. He was no stranger to sacrificing his body either, amassing 687 blocked shots and 566 hits during that stretch.

Canadiens Sign Mike Matheson To Five-Year Extension

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6:30 p.m.: More details about Matheson’s new extension have been revealed. The deal carries a $5MM signing bonus through the first two seasons, a $3.8MM bonus in year-three, and a $3.5MM bonus in the final two years per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Pagnotta adds that the deal also carries a full no-movement clause in the first three years, a 14-team no-trade list in the fourth year, and a five-team no-trade list in the final year.

10:00 a.m.: The Canadiens have announced Matheson’s deal. It’s worth $30MM for a cap hit of $6MM, keeping him signed through the 2030-31 campaign.

9:48 a.m.: Another day, another high-value pending unrestricted free agent is taken off the board. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Montreal Canadiens are nearing a five-year extension with defenseman Mike Matheson. Marco D’Amico of RG Media confirmed that negotiations were headed in that direction, with an announcement expected as soon as today.

The extension finalizes the last important item on the Canadiens’ internal to-do list for the rest of the season. In the last five months alone, general manager Kent Hughes has inked Noah Dobson, Lane Hutson, and now Matheson to long-term extensions. This comes a year after the team did the same for Kaiden Guhle.

Montreal had plenty of space to make it happen as well. Before Matheson’s upcoming extension, the Canadiens had approximately $26MM in cap space for the 2026-27 campaign. Even though it’s expected that the 11-year veteran will earn a healthy raise on his current $4.875MM salary, Montreal will still have ample room to add.

There’s little argument to claim he wasn’t worth retaining either. Toward the beginning of his career with the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins, Matheson had scored 49 goals and 138 points in 417 games with a -9 rating, averaging 20:15 of ice time in a top-four role. That production pales in comparison to his time in Quebec.

The 31-year-old blue liner has already surpassed his previous production in nearly half as many seasons. Though he earned more ice time in the offensive zone before the emergence of Hutson and the acquisition of Dobson, Matheson has scored 29 goals and 141 points in 232 games donning the bleu, blanc et rouge.

Still, there is some cause for concern. At even strength, Matheson hasn’t garnered above a 90% on-ice save percentage at even strength since his first year with the Canadiens, though some of that can be attributed to beginning 56.7% of his shifts in the defensive zone. Similarly, according to MoneyPuck, Matheson hasn’t produced a percentage above 50% on-ice goals share at any point during his time with Montreal.

As they’ve done this season by placing him alongside Dobson, Matheson will likely transition into a complementary piece rather than being expected to carry his defensive pairing. Comparatively, Dobson has only had one season in which he’s averaged less than 50% on-ice goals share.

Regardless, the Canadiens now have their top-four defensemen signed through the 2030-31 season, and that’s without considering the expected emergence of top prospect David Reinbacher. Now, with their last important internal negotiation out of the way, Hughes and the rest of Montreal’s front office can focus entirely on bringing a second-line center into the mix.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images. 

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