Bruins Recall Vinni Lettieri
The Bruins recalled forward Vinni Lettieri from AHL Providence on Monday, according to the AHL’s transactions log.
Lettieri, 29, will take Marc McLaughlin‘s place on the active roster. The Bruins placed McLaughlin on waivers yesterday, so he’ll either be back in Providence or with another NHL club by this afternoon.
Boston re-acquired Lettieri from the Wild last offseason, sending depth winger Jakub Lauko the other way while swapping fourth-round picks. Lettieri was previously in the Bruins organization in the 2022-23 season, when he led Providence with 1.02 points per game but only got into one NHL contest with Boston.
The Minnesota native could have the chance to play his second career game in a Bruins uniform when they play the Lightning tomorrow. His inclusion in the lineup is likely dependent on the health of Mark Kastelic, who recently inked a three-year, $1.57MM extension but missed Saturday’s overtime win over the Panthers with an undisclosed injury.
Lettieri played in a career-high 46 games for the Wild last season, recording five goals, four assists, nine points, and a minus-seven rating with 24 PIMs. He averaged just over a shot on goal per game and finished at a 10.6% clip while averaging 9:35 of ice time per game.
The 5’10”, 183-lb forward has served as an alternate captain with Providence in 2024-25 and is yet again their top offensive producer, leading the club in scoring with 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points through 35 games. Lettieri, who’s in the second season of a two-way deal he signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 2023, cleared waivers without incident during the preseason.
Boston entered today with an open roster spot, so they can recall Lettieri before removing McLaughlin from the active roster later. They’ll still only be carrying 12 healthy forwards as long as Kastelic remains unavailable.
Islanders Reassign Jakub Skarek
Jan. 13: Skarek was returned to Bridgeport on Monday, per the NHL’s media site (hat tip to Stefen Rosner of NHL.com). As such, Sorokin will likely be available tomorrow against the Senators after missing the Utah game with illness. Skarek backed up Hogberg in a 2-1 win for the Isles, so he’s still awaiting his NHL debut.
Jan. 11: With Ilya Sorokin dealing with an illness, the Islanders have had to turn to the minors to make a roster move before tonight’s game against Utah. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled goaltender Jakub Skarek from AHL Bridgeport.
The 25-year-old has been brought up several times over the years but has yet to make his NHL debut. Skarek has played in 17 games with Bridgeport so far this season and has played to a 3.29 GAA and a .891 SV% while only winning four of those outings. Those numbers are nearly identical to his career numbers at the AHL level where he has a 3.31 GAA and a .891 SV% over parts of six seasons. With Marcus Hogberg (who will start tonight in Sorokin’s absence) already up, Skarek has been serving as the starter for Bridgeport in recent weeks.
Sorokin saw his save percentage drop by 16 points last season from .924 to .908. Unfortunately for him and the Isles, that number has gone down six more points so far this year to .902 along with a 2.83 GAA in his first 30 starts. In the first season of an eight-year, $66MM contract, it’s fair to say that New York was counting on him to be much more impactful this season.
The Islanders are using one of their two 48-hour goaltender exemption recalls, allowing them to exceed the 23-player roster limit temporarily. As a result, no corresponding roster move needs to be made for the time being to add Skarek to the active roster. Skarek will need to be sent down by Monday to stay compliant with the rule but could stay up if New York elects to send someone else down to open up a spot that way.
Blue Jackets Recall Daniil Tarasov, Reassign Jet Greaves
The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled goaltender Daniil Tarasov from his conditioning assignment with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Tarasov played in two AHL games on his assignment. He allowed six goals on a hefty 65 shots, and led the Monsters to a 1-1-0 record. Columbus made room for the recall by reassigning Jet Greaves. Greaves led the team to a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, saving 31 of the 32 shots he faced.
Tarasov’s assignment became a bit of a saga after the young backup initially refused to move. He elaborated to Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch, sharing that the backup role is unfamiliar to him – and that he preferred to continue establishing his footing at the NHL level. Tarasov played in five of Columbus’ first seven games of the season, but totals just 10 appearances on the year to date. He’s recorded a 3-6-1 record and a career-low .857 save percentage.
Tarasov joined the Blue Jackets from the KHL’s Ufa Salavat at the start of the delayed 2020-21 season. He’s split time between the NHL and AHL lineups ever since, but has averaged just 14 NHL games and 7 AHL games due to frequent moves and injuries. He started to find his footing last season, appearing in 24 NHL games – the most Tarasov has played in a single North American league – and recording a .908 save percentage. That performance helped Tarasov win out the NHL backup role entering this season, though he still hasn’t able to climb above a healthy Elvis Merzlikins – who’s receiving a lion’s share of the starts. A move to the minors was a chance for Tarasov to sharpen his skills, and his quick return seems to be a bode of confidence from Columbus to their backup.
Hurricanes Activate Shayne Gostisbehere Off IR
The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to get defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere back from injury on Sunday, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. He was activated off of injured reserve, per Rotowire and the NHL media site. Gostisbehere has missed Carolina’s last seven games with an upper-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve on January 5th.
Gostisbehere has been one of Carolina’s top defenders through the early season. He’s posted notable stats across the board, leading the Hurricanes’ blue-line in goals (6) and points (27), and ranked in the top four of hits (30) through just 35 games. Should he appear in all of Carolina’s remaining 39 games, Gostisbehere would be on pace for 57 points on the season – just enough to surpass his career-high of 56 points set in 81 games with the Red Wings last season. He’s aged like a fine wine, carrying his two-way impact and solid production through stints with four different clubs over the last five seasons, including two separate tenures in Carolina. Gostisbehere has been strong through it all, starting the spree with a 51-point season with the Arizona Coyotes in 2021-22 and now set to outperform it four years later.
This move will bring the Hurricanes’ loaded defense back to full-strength. Gostisbehere will likely slide back into his role next to fellow summer-addition Sean Walker, and should also regain his spot on the team’s top power-play unit ahead of Brent Burns. Those additions will give the Hurricanes a difference-making defender in every role, hopefully enough to spur them out of a 5-4-1 record over their last 10 games.
Penguins Place Evgeni Malkin On IR, Activate Philip Tomasino
The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed star Evgeni Malkin on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Malkin has already missed Pittsburgh’s last three games, and will now be forced out of at least four more games. He had previously played in Pittsburgh’s first 41 games of the season, and was red-hot in the winter months. Malkin had seven points in nine games leading up to his injury.
In a corresponding move, Pittsburgh has also activated Philip Tomasino off of injured reserve, returning him from a four-game absence due to a lower-body injury. Tomasino has been one of the brightest spots of Pittsburgh’s middling year. Acquired for a fourth-round pick in a late-November trade with Nashville, Tomasino has since posted four goals and seven points in 16 games with the Penguins – the highest scoring pace of his career. He’s looked properly alive in the Penguins lineup, filling a much-needed top-six role after four up-and-down seasons in Nashville. Tomasino was a first-round draft pick in 2019, and made the jump into a full-time NHL role two seasons later. He scored 11 goals and 32 points in 76 games as a rookie – a very encouraging start for the then-20-year-old forward. But Tomasino struggled to maintain that into his sophomore year, and would only reach 20 points one more time – in 41 games of the 2023-24 campaign – during his time in Nashville.
Malkin’s absence will leave a glaring hole in the Pittsburgh lineup. The future Hall-of-Famer has, once again, been one of Pittsburgh’s most utilized forwards at both even-strength and on the power-play. The need for another top-unit forward could pave a golden path for Tomasino upon his return, giving the young center yet another chance to show Pittsburgh what he can do with a proper role. Pittsburgh has turned towards Anthony Beauvillier to fill the top-six vacancy over the last three games, though he hasn’t managed any scoring in the boosted role.
In other Penguins news, forward Michael Bunting will also miss the team’s Sunday game after being involved in a car accident outside PPG Paints Arena per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told Rorabaugh that Bunting isn’t expected to miss extended time. Bunting has been another red-hot Penguin, with four points in his last five games.
Hurricanes Waive, Reassign Ty Smith
1/12: Smith has cleared waivers and been reassigned to the AHL, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff.
1/11: Hurricanes defenseman Ty Smith has been no stranger to being involved in transactions this season as he has been shuffled to and from the minors numerous times already. However, he’s now spent 30 days on Carolina’s roster since clearing waivers at the beginning of the year. That means that he must now clear waivers again before that can continue. The Hurricanes have made that move today as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that Smith has been placed on waivers.
The 24-year-old is in his first full season with Carolina after being acquired at the trade deadline last season as part of the Jake Guentzel deal and is on a one-year, $775K two-way contract. Smith has spent a big chunk of the year in the reserve role with the big club (or in transit to or from the minors) so playing time has been difficult to come by thus far.
Smith has played in 13 games with AHL Chicago this season and has been fairly productive, putting up three goals and seven assists in those outings. He has also gotten into eight appearances with the Hurricanes, collecting a goal and an assist while averaging 13:40 per game. For his career, Smith has 49 points in 131 NHL contests, most of which came with New Jersey after they drafted him 17th overall back in 2018.
Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim on Smith. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, his waiver clock will reset on both fronts. In other words, he won’t need to clear again once he reaches the 10-game mark on the season but rather if and when he gets into 10 games after his waiver period expires tomorrow.
Avalanche Activate Scott Wedgewood, Reassign Trent Miner
The Colorado Avalanche have activated backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood off of injured reserve. Wedgewood was controversially injured in Colorado’s January 2nd matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, after Sabres forward Zach Benson fell awkwardly on his right leg and then scored seconds later. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar shared strong words over the incident, telling ESPN that letting the goal stand was “insanity” to him. Wedgewood was placed on injured reserve the next day, and has missed five games since.
The Avalanche’s goaltending room has shored up in Wedgewood’s absence. Newcomer Mackenzie Blackwood has been near-unbeatable, posting a 2-1-1 record and .951 save percentage in four games without the veteran backup. Blackwood was acquired to be Colorado’s go-to guy, a move they doubled-down on by signing him to a five-year, $26.2MM contract extension quickly after his fifth game with the club. Blackwood has totaled eight wins and a .939 save percentage in 11 games with the Avalanche. That strong performance will take the load of of Wedgewood, who appeared in six of the team’s 13 games through the month of December while they acquired and acclimated Blackwood. Wedgewood performed well in the pseudo-starting role, posting a 4-2-0 record and .932 save percentage – enough to pull Colorado into strong winning tendencies after a 13-12-0 record through October and November. Those strong performances will make Wedgewood a strong number-two, should Blackwood cool down.
To make room for Wedgewood’s activation, Colorado has assigned goaltender Trent Miner back to the minor leagues, per Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now. Miner received the first start of his NHL career on Wednesday. He allowed three goals on 20 shots to Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, ultimately enough to lose the game 3-1. Miner also stepped into 35 minutes of Colorado’s November 15th matchup against Washington and allowed one goal on 13 shots. He has otherwise been a minor-league starter, stepping into 16 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He’s set an 8-5-3 record and .903 save percentage in the top role, stout numbers but surprisingly the lowest save percentage of the Eagles’ four goalies this year. Miner worked his way up to heavy AHL minutes last season. He spent the bulk of the early season in the ECHL, but soon earned a shift to the AHL after posting a .917 in 11 games. Miner didn’t squander his AHL opportunity, tallying a 9-6-1 record and .930 in 18 games to end the year. With this move, he’ll get a chance to repeat that process again this year – looking for enough footing in the minors to challenge Wedgewood’s spot as NHL backup.
Avalanche Recall John Ludvig From Conditioning Loan
After two weeks spent in the American Hockey League with the Colorado Eagles, defenseman John Ludvig will return to the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche announced they’ve recalled Ludvig from his conditioning loan to the NHL roster.
According to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the rules stipulate that a team can send a player down via a standard conditioning loan for 14 consecutive days, meaning the Avalanche kept Ludvig in the AHL for the maximum allotted time. Furthermore, during his entire stint with the AHL Eagles, Ludvig counted against the 23-man roster for the Avalanche and was paid his full NHL salary for the duration of the loan.
During his 14-day span in Loveland, CO, Ludvig tallied one assist in five games for the Eagles with a -3 rating. It’s not dissimilar from his production in the NHL this year with the Avalanche as he’s tallied two assists in eight games with a -4 rating.
Although Colorado has struggled with injuries this season, they have operated quite well in Ludvig’s absence. Should the organization want to continue with only seven available defensemen on the active roster, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ludvig end up on waivers within the next week.
He could get some consideration from the team’s wanting another minimum-salary defenseman on the NHL roster but he’ll likely clear given his production over the last two years. This would ultimately prove a benefit to Ludvig as the Avalanche may be more comfortable taxiing him from the AHL should he be exempt from waivers for a few weeks.
San Jose Sharks Make Several Roster Moves
As expected, the San Jose Sharks made multiple roster moves before tonight’s contest against the Minnesota Wild. The Sharks organization announced they’ve activated forward Carl Grundström and defenseman Jake Walman from the injured reserve while placing forwards Klim Kostin and Nikolai Kovalenko on it in a corresponding roster move.
Despite moving a pair of forwards to the injured reserve, the transaction is a major addition to San Jose’s lineup. Walman has objectively been the Sharks’ top defenseman this near averaging nearly a point-per-game for the first time in his career with five goals and 25 points in 31 games while averaging 22:50 of ice time per night. His defensive metrics have depressed slightly since his time with the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues but Walman is still one of the only Sharks’ defensemen with a positive expected +/- and CorsiFor% over 50.0%.
Grundstrom is expected to reprise his familiar role in San Jose’s bottom-six. He’s scored one goal and five points in 30 games for the Sharks this season which is seven points lower than his 20-point, 82-game average with the Los Angeles Kings last year. Still, Grundstrom is second amongst San Jose’s forwards in hitting with 85 showing he can still provide quality physicality if he isn’t finding his way on the scoresheet.
The oft-healthy scratched Klostin is one of the forwards moved to the injured reserve to make room for Walman and Grundstrom’s activation. After scoring five goals and 10 points in 19 games for the Sharks after being acquired from the Red Wings at last year’s deadline his offensive output has fallen off a cliff this season with one goal and four points in 26 contests. He’ll likely miss three games on the injured reserve after suffering a lower-body injury yesterday and may not find himself in the lineup once he returns.
Kovalenko hasn’t suited up for San Jose since the team’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights on January 7th due to an upper-body injury. He’ll be quicker to return than Klostin given he was considered day-to-day and will have already missed two of three games needed to be eligible for activation. He got off to a quick start with the Sharks after being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche tallying five assists in his first five games but only has one goal in the following seven contests.
Blackhawks Activate Alec Martinez, Place Connor Murphy On Injured Reserve
The Chicago Blackhawks are swapping a pair of veteran defensemen on the team’s injured reserve. Before their contest tonight against the Edmonton Oilers, the Blackhawks organization announced they’ve activated Alec Martinez from the injured reserve and have placed Connor Murphy on the injured reserve, retroactive to December 31st, in a corresponding roster move.
Martinez will resume what can only be described as one of the more disappointing seasons of his professional career. He’s had a fair bit of injury concern since coming into the league at age 22 during the 2009-10 season and will now fail to reach 60 games played for the second consecutive year.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion was brought in as a veteran presence with championship pedigree for a young Blackhawks’ defensive core. As much of a mentor as he’s been to many of his younger peers in Chicago, Martinez has only managed to suit up in 15 games this year.
Despite starting the season on time, Martinez was placed on the team’s injured reserve after only four games at the beginning of the season due to a lingering injury from the preseason. He was reinstated nearly a month later in mid-November but returned to the IR due to a face injury against the Winnipeg Jets on December 7th.
Dissimilarly, Murphy is one defensive veteran having a positive year for the Blackhawks. Murphy also has recent injury concerns, having only played 46 games during the 2023-24 season. However, he has already scored one goal and recorded 13 points in 38 games.
He’s already eligible for activation and will as soon as he’s fully recovered from his groin injury. Murphy will look to achieve his career-high in scoring (19 points in 2019-20) once he returns to Chicago’s active roster.