Red Wings Recall Ville Husso, Place Jeff Petry On IR
After Alex Lyon left last night’s game against Ottawa after one period due to an upper-body injury, it appears his availability for Friday’s contest versus Chicago is in some question. The team announced (Twitter links) that goaltender Ville Husso has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids. To make room on the roster, defenseman Jeff Petry has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 2nd.
Husso is up with Detroit for the fifth time already this season after he cleared waivers back at the start of the season. The 29-year-old has played in eight games with the Red Wings so far in 2024-25, putting up a 3.47 GAA and a .877 SV%, numbers that don’t come close to justifying his $4.75MM price tag on a contract that expires at the end of the season.
However, he has fared quite better in his limited action with the Griffins. In eight appearances with them, Husso has a 1.86 GAA with a .935 SV% in his first taste of longer-term AHL time since the 2018-19 season. He is very close to reaching 30 days on the NHL roster and when that threshold is reached (or if he plays in two more games in Detroit), he’ll need to pass through waivers again before he can be returned to Grand Rapids.
As for Petry, he has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury. The 37-year-old has had a quiet season offensively, notching just one goal and five assists in his first 37 outings although he’s still averaging over 19 minutes a night of playing time. The retroactive placement means he’ll have missed seven days before Friday’s matchup, meaning that he’ll be eligible to be activated as early as that game if he’s cleared to return.
Anaheim Ducks Recall Sam Colangelo
Sam Colangelo is receiving another opportunity to prove his worth at the NHL level. The Anaheim Ducks announced they’ve recalled Colangelo from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.
Colangelo has already accrued eight games with Anaheim this season thanks to a lengthier call-up in mid-November. He was given a consistent role in the team’s bottom six and picked up 14 hits and 10 shots on goal but failed to find the scoresheet.
The Ducks organization isn’t viewing Colangelo’s lack of production in the NHL as an indication of his talent level. The former 36th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft has been flat-out electric at the AHL level scoring 13 goals and 22 points in 24 games during his rookie campaign and is leading the Gulls in scoring.
While Colangelo may not be a top contender for the Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award, which is given annually to the AHL’s most outstanding rookie, he is certainly in the running and could potentially earn a spot on the All-Rookie Team by the end of the season.
Unfortunately for Colangelo, unless another roster move is made before the team’s upcoming matchup against the St. Louis Blues tomorrow night, it’s unlikely he’ll crack the lineup given he’s the 14th forward on the active roster. Still, should Anaheim desire more offense in their bottom six, they could swap out Ross Johnston or Jansen Harkins on the team’s fourth line.
Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Luca Del Bel Belluz
The American Hockey League’s highest-scoring player is headed to the NHL. The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they’ve recalled Luca Del Bel Belluz from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.
Del Bel Belluz is 34 games through the second professional season of his career and is becoming quite the prospect in the Blue Jackets organization. He’s scored 17 goals and 20 assists in those games and although he doesn’t lead the AHL in either category he is leading in total production.
It’s a significant step forward for the 21-year-old drafted 44th overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2022 NHL Draft. Del Bel Belluz has already blown past the final production of his rookie campaign last year when he scored nine goals and 31 points in 58 contests.
Given that AHL Cleveland only has a +8 goal differential through the first 34 games, it’s a testament to Del Bel Belluz’s development on the defensive side of the puck that he’s managed a +9 rating through this point in the regular season. He’ll likely play in the second game of his career with Columbus tomorrow night should Sean Monahan‘s upper-body injury keep him out of the lineup.
Ottawa Senators Reassign Jan Jeník
After playing in his first game since last April, and first with the Ottawa Senators, forward Jan Jeník is headed back to the American Hockey League. The Senators organization announced they’ve reassigned Jenik to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.
Jeník is best known for his time as a higher-end prospect in the Arizona Coyotes organization. The Coyotes drafted him with the 65th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft and he was quickly loaned to the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. He was a point-per-game player in his first year with the Bulldogs and wrapped up his OHL career with a 22-goal, 56-point performance in 27 games during the 2019-20 season.
He transitioned to professional hockey in 2020-21, when he first played for the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. Jeník became an above-average scorer at the AHL level for the next four years but never seemed to find his next level in the NHL. He collected 46 goals and 120 points in 165 games for the Roadrunners from 2020 to 2024 but only had four goals and six points in 22 games for the Coyotes over the same timeline.
Since his future in Arizona was seemingly closing shut, he was traded to the Senators organization this past summer for Egor Sokolov. Jeník quickly signed a one-year, $775K contract with his new team but failed to crack the NHL roster out of training camp.
Due to injuries, he’s been limited to only 13 games with the AHL Senators this season. Still, when healthy, Jeník has been a quietly productive forward scoring four goals and seven points good for 14th on the team in scoring.
Canucks Assign Filip Hronek To AHL On Conditioning Loan
The Vancouver Canucks announced they’ve loaned defenseman Filip Hronek to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, on a conditioning loan. Should he suit up in Abbotsford’s next contest on January 10th, it’ll be Hronek’s first game since suffering a lower-body injury on November 27th.
Since Hronek has been on the long-term injured reserve the transaction won’t have the same requirements as the standard 14-day conditioning loan. Hronek’s loan will last for six days or three games, with an opportunity to extend the loan for another two games. His contract remains on LTIR until he’s activated and placed on the NHL roster.
Given that AHL Abbotsford has three games, with the final coming on January 14th, Hronek will trigger the eligibility requirements on the same day. Vancouver has the option of activating Hronek at any point during the conditioning loan meaning he could feature at any point during the Canucks’ upcoming road trip.
Ultimately, he’ll likely return to game action on January 16th against the Los Angeles Kings should he not suffer any setbacks during the loan. His return to the lineup will help alleviate many of Vancouver’s defensive woes over the last few weeks.
Although the Canucks have the luxury of deploying Quinn Hughes on most nights the team has looked completely different during Hronek’s absence. Vancouver has managed an 11-7-3 record with Hronek in the lineup this year but has struggled through a 7-5-6 run after he suffered the injury.
Hronek should reprise his role on the team’s top-pairing next to Hughes and look to build upon his one goal and nine points already scored this season. He’s coming off a career-year last season in which he scored five goals and 48 points in 81 games and will look to near that 0.60 point-per-game average upon his return.
Wild Sign, Waive Dylan Ferguson
Jan. 8: Ferguson cleared waivers on Wednesday and will be assigned to Iowa, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
Jan. 7: The Wild signed goaltender Dylan Ferguson to a two-way contract for the remainder of the 2024-25 season on Tuesday, according to a team release. Minnesota subsequently placed him on waivers for assignment to AHL Iowa.
Ferguson, 26, signed a one-year deal with Iowa in September after a failed PTO with the Canucks. He’ll earn a prorated salary of $130K while in the minors on his new two-way deal, the team said, presumably a raise over what he was making on his minor-league-only contract.
Signing Ferguson makes him eligible for a recall to the NHL roster for the remainder of the season, assuming he clears waivers. He’ll be able to stick on the active roster if necessary for up to 30 days or play 10 games before he needs waivers again to return to Iowa.
The British Columbia native has made seven appearances for Iowa this season while backing up Wild prospects Jesper Wallstedt and Samuel Hlavaj, posting the best numbers out of the trio with a .900 SV% and a 3-4-0 record. He also had a shutout in his lone ECHL appearance for the Iowa Heartlanders earlier this season.
Ferguson has three NHL games under his belt, the first most memorably coming with the Golden Knights in relief during their inaugural season. Ferguson, 19 at the time and freshly acquired from the Stars in an offseason trade, was fifth on Vegas’ goaltending depth chart and on assignment to his major junior team in Kamloops but needed to enter a game against the Oilers in November with Marc-André Fleury, Malcolm Subban, Oscar Dansk and Maxime Lagace all injured.
He didn’t see NHL ice again until the 2022-23 campaign, starting two games for the Senators at the tail end of the season and allowing five goals on 83 shots. All told, Ferguson has a strong .929 SV% and 2.81 GAA in his very limited NHL track record, also posting a formidable .911 mark in 36 career AHL games in parts of five seasons.
After struggling with injuries and failing to land much playing time wherever he signed, the journeyman Ferguson headed to Belarus in 2023-24 and signed a one-year deal with Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. He posted a .904 SV% in 23 games against some top-flight overseas competition, logging a 2.51 GAA and a 9-9-0 record.
His return to North America last summer has now gone well enough to land him an NHL deal. While his age would normally stipulate Ferguson becoming a restricted free agent upon expiry of this contract, he’ll be a Group VI unrestricted free agent instead because he’s played in fewer than 28 NHL games while accumulating at least three professional seasons.
Since the Wild signed and waived Ferguson within the same day, he won’t count against their active roster while on waivers.
Sabres Recall Tyson Kozak
The Sabres recalled center Tyson Kozak from AHL Rochester on Wednesday, per a team announcement. He’s primed to replace forward Jiri Kulich, who left Monday’s shootout win over the Capitals with a lower-body injury, in tomorrow’s lineup against the Senators. Buffalo doesn’t have an open spot on the active roster, so Kulich is presumably headed to injured reserve to make Kozak’s recall happen.
Kozak has been recalled once this season, making his NHL debut in relief of the injured Sam Lafferty early last month. The 22-year-old pivot skated in three games, scoring his first NHL goal while averaging 9:55 per game and winning 53.3% of his faceoffs.
The Sabres were out-chanced 26-19 while Kozak was on the ice at 5-on-5, but he primarily played a defensive bottom-six role. A seventh-round pick in 2021, he’s producing at a career-best pace in Rochester this season with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 24 games with a plus-seven rating.
Kozak is in his third professional season after a junior tenure with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, whom he captained in the 2021-22 campaign. The pending restricted free agent is expected to center Lafferty and Nicolas Aubé-Kubel in Thursday’s tilt with Beck Malenstyn also expected to miss the contest with an illness.
That makes three forwards unavailable for Buffalo, at least for now. Jordan Greenway remains on injured reserve after undergoing mid-body surgery in December and doesn’t have a timeline for a return.
If Kulich was placed on IR to make room for Kozak, he’s been ruled out of their next two games. Head coach Lindy Ruff told Heather Engel of NHL.com that Kulich is week-to-week with his injury, so he likely won’t be back upon becoming eligible for a return next Wednesday against the Hurricanes, either. The 2022 first-rounder has nine points in 31 games this season, his first as a full-time NHLer.
Kraken Activate Joey Daccord, Recall Mitchell Stephens
The Seattle Kraken have activated starting goaltender Joey Daccord off of injured reserve. Daccord has missed Seattle’s last five games with an upper-body injury sustained in the team’s December 22nd matchup against Colorado. Seattle has also recalled forward Mitchell Stephens from, and assigned goaltender Ales Stezka and defenseman Cale Fleury to, the minor leagues in corresponding moves.
Daccord has stood as one of the best goalies in the league when healthy. He’s rivaled the top of multiple star categories – ranking 14th in both save percentage (.912) and goals-against-average (2.51). Daccord also ranked 13th in wins (12) and 14th in games played (23) at the time of his injury. He’s in the midst of another strong year after setting a 19-18-11 record and .916 Sv% in 50 games last season – Daccord’s first as a full-time starter in the NHL. He ascended to the role after years if string performances in the minor leagues, collectively recording a 60-27-7 record and .918 through 98 games, and four seasons, in the AHL.
Meanwhile, Stephens will return to his role as Seattle’s depth forward with Yanni Gourde on injured reserve. Stephens has been back and forth between the NHL and AHL lineup this season, most recently being assigned to the minors in mid-December. He’s scored four points in six games since, bringing his season total up to eight points in 18 games. He’s added one assist in nine NHL games. Stephens is likely to hang in the press box for the short-term, but could fight for fourth-line minutes above Tye Kartye.
Wild Activate Jacob Middleton, Assign Three
The Minnesota Wild snuck one more transaction in before today’s roster deadline, activating defenseman Jacob Middleton off of long-term injured reserve just a few minutes before their freeze per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Middleton will return to the lineup in tonight’s matchup against St. Louis. In a corresponding move, the Wild have also reversed their roster call-ups from yesterday – assigning forwards Travis Boyd and Brendan Gaunce, and defenseman Carson Lambos, to the minor leagues.
Middleton has been out of the lineup since December 12th, when he sustained a hand injury in a match against the Edmonton Oilers. He was placed on long-term injured reserve one day later. His injury forced him out of Minnesota’s last 11 games. It was a noticeable absence for the Wild, who are also bearing with injuries to team captain Jared Spurgeon and superstar Kirill Kaprizov. Middleton has continued to serve as a big body on the Wild’s second pair. He scored five goals and 13 points in Minnesota’s first 29 games, putting him on pace to blow his career-high of 25 points out of the water. He’s also posted a +22 and 15 penalty minutes – both career-bests for the physical defenders.
Middleton is making good use of the final year of his three-year contract with the Wild. He’s surpassed 20 minutes of average ice time for the first time in his seven-year NHL career this season, and served as a crucial lineup piece as top defenders Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin recovered from injuries of their own. Middleton should benefit from Spurgeon’s absence once again upon returning, likely to challenge Brodin for the role of top left-defender next to Brock Faber.
The AHL’s Iowa Wild will get back three routine lineup pieces with this move, and they could stick with Minnesota finally getting injured players back. Boyd and Gaunce lead Iowa in scoring with 20 and 17 points in 22 games respectively. Lambos hasn’t found the same production, with just five points in 27 games, but should get a chance to earn a routine lineup role once more with Middleton back.
Islanders Recall Grant Hutton
The Islanders recalled defenseman Grant Hutton from AHL Bridgeport on Tuesday, Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reports. Winger Simon Holmström, who’s been out since Dec. 29 with an upper-body injury, was placed on injured reserve to open up a roster spot, Rosner adds. The team also moved defenseman Mike Reilly, who had been on IR since November after undergoing a heart procedure, to LTIR to give the Isles the necessary salary cap flexibility to add Hutton.
Hutton, 29, comes up to serve as an extra defenseman for the Islanders’ two-game Western Conference road trip. Rookie Isaiah George, who remains day-to-day with the upper-body injury he sustained last Thursday against the Maple Leafs, didn’t travel with the club, per Rosner.
Most of New York’s defensemen have spent time on IR this season, allowing players like Hutton to get some reps. The Indiana native played in 12 games in November and December, logging two assists and a plus-one rating while averaging 14:09 per game. The 6’4″, 214-lb righty controlled only 42.2% of shot attempts when he was on the ice at 5-on-5, but the stay-at-home defender was deployed as such and was primarily given defensive zone starts.
A pending unrestricted free agent, Hutton also has three assists and a plus-two rating in 15 appearances for Bridgeport. The former Miami University captain has spent his entire professional career in the Islanders organization, where he signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He’s now in his seventh season with the Baby Isles, amassing 89 points and a minus-six rating across 242 games.
He’s peaked as a replacement-level third-pairing piece, but getting so many professional games out of an undrafted pickup means the Islanders have gotten a good return on their investment. He’ll presumably sit as an extra defenseman on Thursday against the Golden Knights. It’s worth noting the Islanders are only carrying 12 healthy forwards on their road trip, though, so if one sustains an injury, he could draw into the lineup as a result of head coach Patrick Roy dressing 11 forwards and seven defenders.
Holmström, who’s already missed three games, can come off IR at any time upon their return home. He has nine goals and 22 points through 37 contests, on pace to shatter last year’s career-best 25 points in 75 games.