Maple Leafs Reassign Matt Benning
Nov. 12: Benning cleared waivers, per Friedman. The Maple Leafs will likely continue to explore trade options, which may be easier now that an acquiring team could send him to the minors without risking losing him on the wire. He’s been assigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies to give him a chance to play in the meantime.
Nov. 11: The Maple Leafs have placed newly-acquired defenseman Matt Benning on waivers, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports.
Toronto acquired Benning, 30, from the Sharks with a pair of draft picks in exchange for Timothy Liljegren nearly two weeks ago. It was immediately apparent the veteran was included for roster/salary cap purposes and that he wasn’t expected to stick around with the Leafs. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet quickly reported that they were looking to move the blue-liner, while James Mirtle of The Athletic suggested last week that Toronto would waive Benning in short order if they couldn’t find a trade partner.
The Leafs and Benning will now hope that another team takes a flyer on him for no acquisition cost over the next 24 hours. He has one season after this remaining on the four-year, $5MM contract he signed with San Jose as a free agent in 2022. He carries a $1.25MM cap hit and will cost $100K against the cap for the Maple Leafs if he clears waivers and is assigned to AHL Toronto.
Benning, an Edmonton native, has not played for the Maple Leafs since the trade and has been a healthy scratch in six straight games. Before the trade, he went without a point and had a -5 rating in seven games for the Sharks while averaging a career-low 13:02 per contest. He had issues staying in the lineup with San Jose, too, going four straight games as a healthy scratch in late October.
In fact, Benning has made just 21 appearances since the beginning of last season. He missed the last four-plus months of 2023-24 after undergoing hip surgery in December.
The 6’1″ right-shot defender was a sixth-round pick by the Bruins in 2012, although he never signed with them and instead began his NHL career with his hometown Oilers after signing there as a free agent in 2016. In 464 NHL games in nine seasons, Benning has 17 goals, 85 assists and 102 points while averaging 16:37 per game.
Canucks Recall Arshdeep Bains
The Canucks announced Tuesday that they’ve recalled winger Arshdeep Bains from AHL Abbotsford.
Bains, 23, will likely make his eighth appearance of the season tonight against the Flames. The Canucks needed another forward on the active roster with Dakota Joshua not quite ready to come off injured reserve and Brock Boeser in the press box while he nurses the upper-body injury he sustained on a check to the head from Kings winger Tanner Jeannot on Nov. 7, which resulted in a three-game suspension.
The Surrey, British Columbia native has been sent between leagues on numerous occasions as the Canucks take advantage of his waiver-exempt status to accrue cap space on off days. The 6’0″, 184-lb winger has averaged 11:40 per game when in the lineup, scoring once and adding a -3 rating in seven appearances. His 0.14 points per game are the lowest among any Vancouver forward, although his 8.81 hits per 60 minutes rank fourth.
An undrafted free agent signing out of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels in 2022, Bains has looked outmatched so far in his NHL minutes. He also went pointless with a -5 rating in eight appearances last season. This season, the Canucks have been out-attempted 86-75 with Bains on the ice at 5-on-5 – he’s the only Canucks forward on the active roster with a negative differential.
As such, Bains will likely be ferried off the roster on a more permanent basis when both Boeser and Joshua are back in the fold in the coming days. He’s made his first two AHL appearances of 2024-25 for Abbotsford over the past week, notching one goal and three assists.
Bains is in the final season of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent next summer. He is not projected to have arbitration rights.
Senators Reassign Zack Ostapchuk, Shane Pinto To Return
Senators center Shane Pinto will indeed make his return to the lineup tonight against the Maple Leafs, TSN 1200 Ottawa confirmed. While he was never on injured reserve and didn’t need to be activated, the team still announced that Zack Ostapchuk was returned to AHL Belleville this morning after being recalled yesterday for insurance if Pinto couldn’t play.
It’s a lovely birthday present for Pinto, who turns 24 today. The 6’3″ center has been out of action since sustaining an undisclosed injury against Utah on Oct. 22.
Late last month, head coach Travis Green declared to reporters that the team had designated Pinto as week-to-week. He’s been on the verge of returning for the past few days, with TSN 1200 Ottawa also relaying Monday that Pinto would be a likely option in Toronto tonight.
Pinto had one goal and two assists with a -3 rating through the season’s first six games. He recorded 10 shots on goal and averaged 17:31 per game while winning 44.4% of his draws. Pinto also continued his upward trend in the possession department, controlling a career-best 54.7% of shot attempts at even strength. Ottawa fared far worse without Pinto on the ice, only controlling 47.2% of shot attempts.
Pinto, the first pick of the second round in 2019, has only played one entire NHL season. He lost most of what would have been his rookie season in 2021-22, playing only five games before needing season-ending shoulder surgery. A half-season suspension for violating the NHL’s gambling policies also took a significant bite out of his 2023-24 campaign. But he played in all 82 games for the Sens in 2022-23, scoring a career-high 20 goals and winning 52.1% of his draws.
The New York native spent most of his time in the lineup earlier this season centering Ottawa’s third line between Michael Amadio and David Perron. He won’t have Perron as his linemate tonight as the veteran remains on paternity leave. However, he will have Amadio and Noah Gregor flanking him, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.
Ostapchuk, 21, has suited up in six games for the Senators amid a flurry of paper transactions over the past few weeks. He’s mainly replaced Pinto as their third-line center without the additional special teams time, averaging 10:25 per game. He recorded his first NHL point, an assist, back in his first appearance of the season against the Blues on Oct. 29. With Pinto back in the lineup, Ostapchuk is likely ticketed for a lengthier stay with Belleville, where he has one goal and four assists in six games to start 2024-25.
Michael Hutchinson Signs In Finland
Unrestricted free agent goaltender Michael Hutchinson has signed with SaiPa in Finland for the rest of the 2024-25 season, the Liiga club announced Tuesday.
Hutchinson, 34, attempted to continue his career stateside a couple of months ago on a professional tryout with the Devils but was unsuccessful. The move to Finland will mark his first time playing overseas and put a pause on his 14-year run in the North American pros with multiple NHL, AHL and ECHL clubs.
A third-round pick by the Bruins back in 2008, Hutchinson spent a few seasons playing for Boston’s minor-league affiliates but was non-tendered in the 2013 offseason before signing with the Jets. Hutchinson emerged as a legitimate NHL option in Winnipeg, finishing eighth in Calder Trophy voting in the 2014-15 season after recording a 21-10-5 record, .914 SV% and 2.38 GAA in 38 appearances.
Most of those numbers would stand as career-best, though. Hutchinson spent a few more seasons in Winnipeg as part of a three-goalie rotation with Ondřej Pavelec and a young Connor Hellebuyck before he was demoted to the minors for most of the 2017-18 campaign.
He never rebounded into being a full-time NHLer and instead embarked on a career worthy of the journeyman tag. Since 2018, Hutchinson has played spot duty for the Panthers, Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Blue Jackets, and Red Wings, suiting up primarily for those clubs’ AHL affiliates but often getting between one and 15 NHL starts per season.
The 6’3″ netminder spent last year with Detroit, making 33 saves on 36 shots in a loss to the Devils in late December 2023 in his only NHL appearance of the season. In the AHL for Grand Rapids, he struggled as the backup to top Red Wings prospect Sebastian Cossa, recording a .892 SV% and 2.89 GAA with a 14-14-3 record in 32 appearances.
At this age, a move overseas more than likely signals the end of Hutchinson’s NHL career. If so, he closes with a 57-62-18 record, six shutouts, a 2.94 GAA, and a .902 SV% in 154 games played in parts of 11 seasons. He also made four playoff appearances for the Avs in the 2020 bubble, recording a .910 SV% and 2.75 GAA.
Hutchinson will have the opportunity to take over as SaiPa’s starter after former Jets prospect Oskari Salminen, who appeared in 15 of their 20 games this season, abruptly left the team and signed with rival Liiga club JYP last week.
Maple Leafs Recall Alex Steeves
The Maple Leafs announced they’ve recalled forward Alex Steeves from AHL Toronto under emergency conditions ahead of tonight’s contest against the Senators. The news confirms that captain Auston Matthews will not be coming off injured reserve after being labeled doubtful by head coach Craig Berube yesterday.
They still would have had 12 forwards available without Matthews since Connor Dewar came off long-term injured reserve last Friday. Thus, Steeves’ recall indicates that Max Domi or William Nylander could be questionable for tonight after missing Monday’s practice for maintenance days.
Steeves, 25 next month, was an undrafted free agent signing out of Notre Dame in March 2021. He’s suited up mainly in the AHL since then, but he has a few NHL appearances under his belt and has played at least one game in the last three seasons. The 6’0″ New Hampshire native has one assist, a -4 rating, 10 hits, and six giveaways in seven career games. He’s recorded six shots on goal and averaged 8:14 per game.
Steeves, who can play center and wing, has grown into a prolific AHL scoring force despite his lack of NHL point production. He recorded a career-high 27 goals and 57 points in 67 games for the Marlies last season, and he leads the club in scoring through the early going of 2024-25 with nine goals and three assists for 12 points in 10 games.
The Maple Leafs had an open roster spot after placing Max Pacioretty on IR on Monday, so no corresponding transaction is required. Toronto’s $1.83MM in current cap space under their LTIR pool is plenty to absorb Steeves’ $775K cap hit, per PuckPedia.
Steeves had his first go-around with restricted free agency this past summer after his entry-level contract expired. He waited until August to re-sign but eventually put pen to paper on a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$300K) to return to the Maple Leafs organization. Since he’ll be 25 next summer with fewer than 80 NHL games played and four professional seasons under his belt, he’ll be eligible to test unrestricted free agency via Group VI status.
Flyers Place Jamie Drysdale On IR, Activate Ryan Poehling
The Flyers have placed defenseman Jamie Drysdale on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 9 with an upper-body injury, reports Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 22-year-old will miss the team’s next two games, but there’s no timeline for his return beyond that. His spot on the active roster is going to center Ryan Poehling, who’s coming off IR and will play tonight against the Sharks, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Drysdale’s first full season with the Flyers hasn’t gotten off to a good start. He’s avoided being scratched, playing in all 15 games to date, but has struggled to produce offensively, with only one goal and two assists. While he is averaging a career-high 20:35 per game, his -10 rating is third-worst on the team, and the Flyers have controlled just 42.7% of shot attempts with Drysdale on the ice at even strength.
Acquired from the Ducks for forward prospect Cutter Gauthier midway through last season, injuries have plagued the once-promising right-shot defender. Shoulder issues have limited him to just 57 games since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
Few bet on Drysdale ever becoming a two-way dynamo – instead, his offensive prowess and power-play ability led the Ducks to select him sixth overall in the 2020 draft. He flashed that potential in 2021-22, recording 32 points in 81 games as a 19-year-old in his only healthy season. Drysdale has averaged over three minutes per game with the man advantage this year, but it hasn’t led to a resurgence in offensive production. All three of his points have come on the power play.
Drysdale’s injury means the Flyers will be without two of their three top-used defensemen this season tonight against San Jose. Cameron York is close to returning but remains unavailable, Hall reports. He’s also on IR and has been out since Oct. 25 with an upper-body injury. Veteran Erik Johnson will return to the lineup in Drysdale’s place while rookie Emil Andrae takes over as the quarterback on the Flyers’ top power-play unit.
Meanwhile, Poehling returns to action after missing the past few contests with a minor groin injury and for personal reasons. The 6’2″ 25-year-old last played on Nov. 2 against the Bruins. Through 12 appearances this season, Poehling has five assists and a +2 rating. He’s averaging 13:31 per game, a number that will likely increase tonight as he’s set to center the team’s second line between Anthony Richard and Matvei Michkov, the latter of whom will return to the lineup after being scratched for the past two games, the team confirmed. He replaces Morgan Frost, who will be a healthy scratch tonight, according to Hall.
In more minor injury news, goaltender Aleksei Kolosov practiced this morning and is close to returning the lower-body injury that forced the Flyers to dress an emergency backup goaltender against the Lightning last week, per Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports. The newly-promoted 22-year-old has a .863 SV% and a 0-3-0 record through his first three NHL appearances.
Bruins Reassign Matthew Poitras
The Bruins announced on Monday that they’ve sent second-year center Matthew Poitras to AHL Providence. They now have two open roster spots, although it’s unclear when or if they intend to fill either of them.
Poitras, 20, hasn’t entirely looked like the player who forced his way onto Boston’s opening night roster last year and had cemented a top-nine role before a shoulder injury ended his season in January. He’s played in all 14 Bruins games since sitting out the first two contests of the season with an undisclosed injury but hasn’t made much of an impact, with only one goal and three assists while averaging 12:44 per game, down slightly from last season’s average ice time.
The 2022 second-round pick has shown improvement in the faceoff dot, winning 50.9% of his draws compared to 43.7% last season. But he’s played more at wing than center this season, regardless, and he’s regressed slightly in nearly every other area of the game. He’s got only 10 shots on goal compared to 40 in 33 games last season, and his possession quality numbers have regressed from a 51.5 xGF% in 2023-24 to a 44.8 xGF% so far in 2024-25. That’s despite the Bruins controlling the same percentage of scoring chances at 5-on-5 – 48.4% – as they did last season.
Last season, it was either the NHL or major junior for Poitras, who was coming off a spectacular 95-point showing with the OHL’s Guelph Storm in 2022-23. Now that he’s old enough for a full-time AHL assignment, it’s not entirely surprising to see the Bruins take advantage of that fact to get him some development time against easier competition while still playing in a professional enviroment.
Poitras being removed from the active roster will mean more playing time for Morgan Geekie, who’s been a healthy scratch on multiple occasions this season and has just two assists in 11 games after recording a career-high 17 goals and 39 points last year. In fact, Geekie will get a look as Boston’s top-line left wing alongside Pavel Zacha and David Pastrňák tomorrow against the Blues as the Bruins look to gain ground after a 7-7-2 start.
Poitras still has one season left after this one on his entry-level contract with a cap hit of $870K.
Canucks Recall Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Nov. 11: The Canucks announced they’ve reversed the Silovs/Young flip, adding the Latvian back to the NHL roster while sending Young back to Abbotsford. Silovs played in yesterday’s game against the Oilers’ affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, making 23 saves on 25 shots en route to a 4-2 win.
Nov. 10: The Canucks have shuffled their roster in a big way, announcing the recall of 2022 first-round pick Jonathan Lekkerimäki from AHL Abbotsford. He’s likely slated to make his NHL debut on Tuesday against the Flames.
They’ve also switched out their backup netminders. Arturs Silovs has been assigned to Abbotsford after a tough start to the season, while 20-year-old Ty Young has been recalled to serve as Kevin Lankinen‘s No. 2 for now.
Arshdeep Bains and Nils Åman were also sent down to Abbotsford in corresponding transactions, giving them an open roster spot. That spot will likely be used to activate Dakota Joshua, who’s on the verge of returning after undergoing offseason surgery to remove testicular cancer, from injured reserve.
It’s far from an unexpected recall for Lekkerimäki. While he was banged up enough to miss last night’s contest for Abbotsford, he’s ready to go and should be available Tuesday. Most thought he would get the summons from the AHL after the Canucks dealt Daniel Sprong to the Kraken for future considerations on Friday, freeing up a lineup spot for a scoring winger. The 20-year-old Lekkerimäki has thrived this season, posting five goals and two assists in seven AHL contests.
Lekkerimäki is in his first full season in North America. The Swedish right-winger spent last season with Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League, where he broke out to lead the club in scoring with 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games. The 5’11”, 172-lb sniper closed out the year with a pair of points in six games for Abbotsford after his SHL campaign ended, but he’s taken leaps in his development over the summer. He’ll look to help jumpstart a Canucks offense that’s lagging slightly from last season, scoring 3.23 goals per game compared to 2023-24’s 3.40 mark.
While the Canucks would like to get a little more offense going, their goaltending situation is of much higher concern. While Thatcher Demko remains on the shelf with his popliteus muscle injury, Lankinen had been quite good as their temporary starter, entering last night’s game with a .923 SV%. That number is down to .905 after he conceded seven goals on 27 shots yesterday to the Oilers. At the same time, Silovs had been borderline unplayable as Lankinen’s backup with a .808 SV%, 4.77 GAA and -7.2 GSAA in just three starts and one relief appearance.
It’s not what Vancouver expected out of Silovs after the 23-year-old was forced into playoff action last year, doing well to record a .898 SV% and 2.91 GAA in 10 appearances after Demko and then-backup Casey DeSmith exited with injuries. The 2019 sixth-round pick doesn’t require waivers to head to the minors until next season, so the Canucks will take advantage of his exemption and ferry him back to Abbotsford to get him some additional development time. Silovs, who signed a two-year, $1.7MM contract after becoming a restricted free agent over the summer, now has a 3.17 GAA and .876 SV% in 13 regular-season NHL games dating back to the 2022-23 season.
Meanwhile, Young gets his first NHL recall just two games into his professional career. The 2022 fifth-round pick started the season on assignment to Kalamazoo, where he was lights out with a .974 SV% and 1.01 GAA in a pair of games. He was briefly recalled to Abbotsford last week but will bypass that level entirely for now, as he’s set to dress for his first NHL contest while Lankinen assumedly returns to action against Calgary. The 6’3″ netminder posted a .903 SV%, 2.79 GAA, one shutout, and a 23-11-0 record in 37 games for the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League last season.
Bains has been subject to more than a few paper transactions this season, but with Joshua’s return pending, this demotion might be more permanent. The 23-year-old forward has one goal in seven games this season while averaging 11:40 per night.
Meanwhile, Åman returns to Abbotsford after being summoned solely for yesterday’s matchup with Edmonton. The 24-year-old center cleared waivers last week after sitting in the press box for four straight games. He has two assists and a -3 rating in five NHL showings for the Canucks this year and two assists in two games for Abbotsford.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Blackhawks Reassign Isaak Phillips
The Blackhawks have assigned defenseman Isaak Phillips to AHL Rockford, per Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Sports. His roster spot is expected to go to Alec Martinez, who’s almost ready to come off injured reserve after missing the last 12 games with a groin injury, relays Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio 720.
Phillips, 23, has had a bit of a roller-coaster season. Chicago placed the defender on waivers the day before opening night rosters were due but didn’t assign him to the minors after clearing. He stuck around for a few days, serving as a healthy scratch for their season opener against Utah before being demoted to Rockford to begin the season. He was recalled again for a brief stretch in mid-October without playing before heading back down to Rockford.
The Blackhawks then summoned Phillips for a second time on Oct. 29, which yielded his first three NHL appearances of the season earlier this month. The 2020 fifth-round pick scored a goal, just his second in the NHL, and averaged 11:54 per game while recording four blocks, three hits and two giveaways. Phillips struggled to make a positive possession impact at even strength, posting a career-worst 35.4 CF% and 31.8 xGF%.
Phillips, an Ontario native, played a career-high 33 games last season, recording six assists and a -26 rating. The stay-at-home defender has been solid overall in Rockford over the past four seasons since turning pro during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a 10-goal, 25-point campaign in 64 games in the 2021-22 season. Last year also saw him log four goals and 10 assists in 29 appearances for the AHL club with a +7 rating. This year, he’s yet to record a point in two appearances for Rockford.
Phillips will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent at the end of the season. He was an RFA for the first time this past summer, eventually coming to terms with Chicago on a two-way deal ($775K/$350K) in late July. He’d been a healthy scratch in two straight before today’s demotion.
Meanwhile, Martinez will practice in full on Wednesday before traveling with the team on their road trip, head coach Luke Richardson told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The Blackhawks don’t play again until Thursday in Seattle, so Martinez still has a few days to complete his recovery before returning to game action.
Wild Reassign Michael Milne
Nov. 11: The Wild announced today that they’d reassigned Milne back to Iowa. Contrary to Hynes’ proclamation, he did not make his NHL debut and instead watched three games from the press box. With Minnesota off until Thursday, there was no need for an extra forward on the roster. He could be back up later in the week for another shot at NHL minutes.
Nov. 6: The Wild announced Wednesday that they’ve recalled left-winger Michael Milne from AHL Iowa. The 22-year-old will make his NHL debut in the coming days, head coach John Hynes said after yesterday’s 5-1 loss to the Kings (via Michael Russo of The Athletic).
Minnesota selected Milne in the third round of the 2022 draft after he’d been passed over in 2021 as one of the oldest first-year eligible players available, given his Sep. 21 birthday. The 5’11” British Columbia native was coming off a breakout fourth and final season of major junior hockey with the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice, tying for second in scoring on a star-studded team that included a pair of top-15 picks that year in Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie.
The Wild signed Milne to his entry-level contract a few months later, allowing him to turn pro and start his professional career in Iowa. That’s where he’s played exclusively since the start of the 2022-23 season. Injuries limited him to a combined 97 appearances over the last two years, and his production was fine but not attention-grabbing (15 G, 19 A, 34 P). This year, however, he’s off to a hot start with four goals and four assists in 10 games. His eight points are second on the club in scoring behind NHL veteran Travis Boyd, and he’s tied for second on the team with a +2 rating.
Minnesota had a pair of open roster spots and $2.6MM in cap space prior to the recall, per PuckPedia. That’s plenty of space to add Milne to the roster to give Hynes some lineup flexibility without general manager Bill Guerin having to make any corresponding moves.
It’s unclear who may come out of the lineup among the Wild’s 12 regular forwards, but it would make sense to ease Milne into his NHL debut against a fairly easy opponent tomorrow in the form of the 4-8-2 Sharks. How he performs in limited action could be quite consequential in his contract negotiations next summer – he’s set to be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.