New York Islanders Reassign Samuel Bolduc
According to a team announcement, New York Islanders’ defensive prospect Samuel Bolduc is headed back to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders after only one game in the NHL. The former 57th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft had the opportunity for more playing time in New York with injuries to Alexander Romanov and Mike Reilly. Still, he was unable to capture a consistent spot in the lineup.
Bolduc was largely invisible in the team’s loss against the New York Rangers last night. He skated in 5:56 of the action but was kept off the stat sheet entirely aside from producing a -1 rating. The demotion to the AHL seemed inevitable, as was evident in head coach Patrick Roy‘s comments after the game. Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News captured the quote of Roy saying, “It’s sad. Those things happen, but Sam [Bolduc] needs to be better if he wants to play in the NHL. He’s got to understand [that] and step up. He’s a good hockey player. He’s got all the tools. Now, he just needs to figure it out. But he needs to be better if he wants to play for us“.
The young defenseman now finds himself in a difficult position. He’s been solid offensively throughout his tenure in the AHL with 20 goals and 62 points in 151 games over the last five seasons. Unfortunately, he has still not taken adequate steps in the right direction with his play on the defensive side of the puck prohibiting him from becoming a full-time member of the Islanders. The clock is ticking on his time as a top prospect in New York’s system and he has yet to inspire much confidence in the organization’s coaching staff.
The move also suggests the Islanders’ are more willing to play down a man on defense than give Bolduc any meaningful playing time. Stefen Rosner reported earlier that Romanov and Rielly are still considered day-to-day meaning they may only have five tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Still, there is some hope Romanov can return tomorrow giving New York some confidence they’ll be able to deploy a complete blue line.
Boston Bruins Sign Tyler Johnson
Veteran forward Tyler Johnson finally has a resolution on his professional tryout agreement with the Boston Bruins. The organization announced they signed Johnson to a one-year contract for the 2024-25 season with a league minimum salary of $775K.
According to PuckPedia, the move brings Boston to a full 23-man roster with a current cap space of approximately $515K. Outside of the team’s fourth line, the Bruins have had little consistency from the rest of their forward line to start the year meaning Johnson should begin somewhere in the team’s middle six.
He’s no longer the typical 50-point threat during his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning but brings Stanley Cup pedigree to an organization that has failed to move beyond the second round of the playoffs since 2019. He’s spent the last three years on a rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks team scoring 32 goals and 70 points in 149 games while producing a -64 rating. The Bruins shouldn’t expect that Johnson’s addition to the lineup will bring them out of their current 27th-ranked offense but he should help out in a few other areas.
Johnson is a much better player on the defensive side of the puck than his tenure with the Blackhawks suggested which should theoretically help lower Boston’s 3.23 GA/G. The Bruins are also one of the league’s worst possession teams at 24th with a 48.3% CorsiFor% in all situations. Johnson has maintained a 52.1% CF% throughout his career including a 49.7% average during his time in Chicago.
He may also feature on the Bruins’ penalty kill but it’s unlikely league-average production with a man disadvantage is a priority to fix with more pressing issues at hand. On paper, the move strikes as a positive move in the right direction for a struggling Boston team but not necessarily the game-changing impact they appear to need.
Atlantic Notes: Ostapchuk, Zub, Laine, Slafkovský, Motte, Benson
The Senators papered Zack Ostapchuk back up to the active roster today after sending him down to AHL Belleville yesterday, per a team announcement.
Ottawa has now recalled the young center on three separate occasions this season. After initially cutting him from their roster on the final day of training camp, he’s been recalled thrice in the past week to serve as an injury fill-in while David Perron and Shane Pinto are out of the lineup.
Ostapchuk has served as the Sens’ third-line center between Noah Gregor and Michael Amadio and will do so again against the Sabres tomorrow, according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. The 21-year-old went without a point in seven appearances last season but has managed to get on the scoresheet in 2024-25, recording his first career assist and a +1 rating while averaging 11:55 through three games.
While Ottawa will remain without Perron and Pinto for a while yet, they’re getting healthier on the back end. Defenseman Artem Zub will make his return from a concussion “sooner than later,” Garrioch said today. He’s been practicing with the team for the better part of the past week but will likely miss his ninth straight game Tuesday in Buffalo. He sustained the concussion in the Sens’ third game of the season against the Kings on a hit from L.A. winger Tanner Jeannot.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Canadiens winger Patrik Laine hasn’t yet debuted for the team after sustaining a knee injury in preseason, but his return timeline predicates he’ll hit the ice and return to regular-season action sometime next month. He’s still done enough throughout his career to put himself in consideration for a spot on Finland’s roster for February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, general manager Jere Lehtinen told Shawn P. Roarke of NHL.com. There’s a solid chance he won’t get to see game action before rosters for the tournament are due in early December, but leaving him off the roster would leave the already-underdog Finns without a dynamic offensive talent. Health has been a significant hurdle for Laine over the past few years, but his 0.91 points per game since the beginning of the 2021-22 season rank fourth among Finnish NHLers behind Mikko Rantanen, Aleksander Barkov and Sebastian Aho.
- Still with the Habs, winger Juraj Slafkovský practiced today after leaving Saturday’s loss to the Penguins late after a high hit from Pittsburgh forward Noel Acciari, relays Patrick Friolet of RDS. Slafkovský confirmed to reporters that he didn’t suffer a concussion on the play and will remain in the lineup against the Flames tomorrow, albeit in a slightly reduced second-line role alongside Jake Evans and Alex Newhook, while Kirby Dach takes his spot on the top-line alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Slafkovský, 20, already missed three games earlier this season with a shoulder injury. When in the lineup, he has a goal and seven assists in nine appearances.
- The Red Wings will have forward Tyler Motte available on Wednesday against the Blackhawks after he missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury, head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters today, including Ansar Khan of MLive.com. However, he may still be out of the lineup as a healthy scratch after Detroit escaped their division-rival Sabres with a 2-1 win over the weekend. Signed to a one-year, $800K deal on the second day of free agency, Motte did not have a point with a -2 rating in four appearances with Detroit before exiting the lineup.
- The Sabres may activate winger Zach Benson from injured reserve before tomorrow’s contest against the Sens, head coach Lindy Ruff told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. The 19-year-old has sat out the last five games with a lower-body injury he sustained in their Global Series games against the Devils that never wholly resolved. It showed in his performance, as he was held off the scoresheet and logged a -4 rating in six appearances when in the lineup for Buffalo last month.
Stars Reassign Kyle Capobianco
The Stars assigned defenseman Kyle Capobianco to AHL Texas today, according to the minor league’s transactions log.
Dallas recalled Capobianco, 27, from Texas last weekend as extra injury insurance while the team traveled to Finland for their Global Series contests against the Panthers. He wasn’t needed, serving as a healthy scratch for both losses. Now that the team has returned stateside, he’ll return to the minors.
After spending the last two seasons in the Jets organization, Capobianco reached Group VI free agency and inked a two-year, partial two-way deal with the Stars in July. This season carries a two-way structure, so he earns a salary of $475K while on assignment to Texas compared to his $775K NHL salary. He’ll earn that $775K league minimum regardless of where he plays next season.
Capobianco cleared waivers during the preseason. His call-up lasted eight days, so he can remain on the NHL roster for 22 more across multiple call-ups before he requires waivers to head back to the minors. The 6’1″ left-shot defender had a goal, two assists and a -1 rating in six appearances with Texas to start the season.
A 2015 third-round pick of the Coyotes, Capobianco has 73 NHL games under his belt but none since appearing with Winnipeg in the 2022-23 campaign. He has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) with a -17 rating in those appearances, all of which have come with Arizona and Winnipeg. He’s averaged 15:04 per game and controlled 47.2% of shot attempts and 44.2% of expected goals when on the ice at even strength.
The Stars now have an open roster spot and $1.68MM in current cap space, per PuckPedia.
Avalanche Place Miles Wood On IR, Valeri Nichushkin Cleared To Practice
The Avalanche announced today that they’ve summoned forwards Ivan Ivan, Nikolai Kovalenko and Nikita Prishchepov back up from AHL Colorado after papering them down yesterday. They only had two open spots on the active roster after activating Artturi Lehkonen from injured reserve, so winger Miles Wood was placed on IR retroactive to Oct. 28 in a corresponding transaction to open the extra spot. Additionally, the team confirmed that Valeri Nichushkin has been cleared to practice with the team as he enters the final few days of his participation in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and corresponding suspension.
Wood would be eligible to come off IR as soon as tomorrow’s game against the Kraken, but that won’t happen. Head coach Jared Bednar said on Oct. 30 that Wood was set to miss around seven to 10 days with the upper-body injury that’s kept him out of Colorado’s last two contests. That pushes his return to the lineup to Thursday against the Jets or the Hurricanes next weekend.
The 29-year-old’s absence adds to a laundry list of injuries at forward for the Avalanche, although they’ll certainly take a swap of him for Lehkonen coming off IR. The checking winger hadn’t been much of a factor for the Avs yet this season, limited to one goal on 19 shots and no assists through 10 games. He had averaged 13:40 per game, one second lower than last season, despite Colorado being without Lehkonen, Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog throughout the entire campaign to date.
With Lehkonen back and the aforementioned trio recalled, the Avs may be able to dress 12 forwards tomorrow for the first time since Wood’s injury. Defenseman Oliver Kylington had suited up on the wing in back-to-back games with Wood out and no roster flexibility for an additional recall from the AHL.
Ivan and Kovalenko each have four points through 12 games this season, both their first regular-season contests in the NHL. Ivan had no previous major-league experience, while Kovalenko suited up twice for the Avs in last year’s playoffs. Meanwhile, all signs point to Prishchepov playing his second NHL game tomorrow. The 20-year-old was selected 217th overall just a few months ago in the 2024 draft and logged 13:30 in his debut against the Predators on Saturday, registering two shots and three hits.
For Nichushkin, his being cleared to practice indicates that he’s fulfilled all the requirements of his Stage 3 placement so far. His corresponding six-month suspension was handed out on May 13, 2024, while the Avalanche were amid their Second Round series against the Stars. He’s eligible to return to the lineup on Nov. 13 against the Kings, and with a nine-day run-up to practice, it’s looking likelier than not that he’ll play.
While a separate stint in the Player Assistance Program limited Nichushkin to 54 games last season, he’s coming off the best campaign of his nine-year NHL career. The 6’4″, 210-lb Russian winger notched 28 goals and 53 points for a career-high 0.98 points per game, also averaging a career-high 21:21 per night. Despite the extended absence, he also led the club with 16 power-play goals.
Nichushkin has six years remaining on the eight-year, $49MM extension he signed in 2022 to keep him off the open market. Many speculated the Avs would try and move that contract given Nichushkin’s struggles to stay in the lineup since the deal began (he’s only played in 107 of 164 possible regular-season games). But given their bevy of injuries and correspondingly underwhelming 5-7-0 record, it makes little sense to part ways with a player who’s been an invaluable part of their top six when healthy.
Panthers Sign Gracyn Sawchyn To Entry-Level Contract
The Panthers have signed center prospect Gracyn Sawchyn to a three-year, entry-level contract, per a team announcement. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Florida selected Sawchyn, 19, late in the second round of the 2023 draft (63rd overall). His exclusive signing rights were set to expire on June 1, 2025.
Sawchyn, an Alberta-born pivot, will remain with his junior club, the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings, for the rest of the 2024-25 season. The lanky 6’0″ forward has eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 12 games this season, leading them in scoring while also leading them in PIMs (24) and tying for the team lead with a +5 rating.
The Panthers drafted Sawchyn from the Seattle Thunderbirds, who traded him to the Oil Kings early last season. But in Seattle, Sawchyn had 58 points in 58 games in his draft year to help spark the Thunderbirds to a WHL championship. However, he was held without a point in five Memorial Cup games.
In their draft-year scouting report of Sawchyn, Elite Prospects called his game “not a complex one.” McKeen’s Hockey ranked Sawchyn as the No. 4 prospect in the Panthers’ system in their 2024-25 NHL Yearbook, calling out his “intriguing blend of skill and tenacity” while criticizing his still sometimes inconsistent production at the WHL level. In the early going this season, he’s quieted those concerns. After improving his output to 1.19 points per game last season from his point-per-game draft year, he’s clicking at 1.67 points per game in 2024-25.
Since Sawchyn is signing his entry-level contract at age 19 and doesn’t turn 20 until after January 1, his ELC is eligible to slide once. He won’t play 10 NHL games this season, so his deal will go into effect for the 2025-26 campaign. He’ll become a restricted free agent upon expiry in the 2028 offseason.
Canucks’ Nils Aman Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL
11/3: Aman has cleared waivers and been assigned to the AHL, per a team release.
11/2: With Dakota Joshua nearing a return to the lineup, the Canucks need to open up a roster spot for him. It appears that Nils Aman will be the one losing his spot as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve placed him on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to AHL Abbotsford.
The 24-year-old has taken an interesting route to the NHL. Originally drafted in the sixth round by Colorado in 2020, Aman didn’t sign with them and then signed with Vancouver two years later. After a short stint in the minors to start 2022-23, he was up with the big club the rest of the way, getting into 68 games. Aman also spent time in the AHL last season, collecting 15 points in as many games while also getting into 43 NHL contests, tallying four goals and three assists while his waiver exemption expired.
He signed a two-year, $1.65MM extension in late November, ensuring that he’d remain a low-cost option for Vancouver for a little while longer. However, Aman has only played in four of their first nine games this season, although he does have a pair of assists but it evidently wasn’t enough to keep his roster spot secure.
As far as waiver placements go, this is one of the more intriguing ones. Aman already has 115 career NHL games (and 25 points) under his belt and with a cap hit only $50K above the league minimum, he’s a player most teams could afford if they’re looking to either add a depth piece or shake up the back end of their forward group so he’s far from a guarantee to clear.
Interestingly, this isn’t a move that Vancouver necessarily had to make. They’ve been sending two players back and forth from Abbotsford in recent days with one of them being winger Arshdeep Bains. The Canucks could have simply elected to send Bains down when Joshua returns to create the roster spot. Instead, it appears Bains will have a bit more of an opportunity to try to secure a full-time spot in the lineup.
Avalanche Activate Artturi Lehkonen From Injured Reserve
12:00 PM: Colorado has assigned Prishchepov, Ivan Ivan, and Nikolai Kovalenko to the AHL for salary cap reasons, per Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports. Angley adds that more roster moves are expected before Colorado hosts Seattle on Tuesday, likely suggesting that some of these transactions are paper moves.
10:30 AM: The Avalanche announced today that they’ve activated winger Artturi Lehkonen from injured reserve. There’s no open spot for him on the active roster, so they’ve assumedly assigned a player to the minors in a corresponding transaction. That’s likely 2024 seventh-round pick Nikita Prishchepov, who made his NHL debut in yesterday’s loss to the Predators.
Lehkonen will likely make his season debut on Tuesday against the Kraken. The 29-year-old had missed Colorado’s first 12 games after undergoing a shoulder procedure early in the offseason. He wasn’t ready for training camp, but there was mild optimism that he could play by the beginning of the regular season. That was quashed when Lehkonen landed on IR when the Avalanche submitted their opening night roster, with head coach Jared Bednar quickly saying Lehkonen would be out through at least Oct. 28 – the date of his next evaluation by team doctors.
Evidently, the evaluation went well, and Lehkonen was cleared to play. He’s been skating in a non-contact jersey for much of the past month, so he won’t be coming into the lineup completely cold. With most of Colorado’s top-nine forward group ravaged by injuries, he’ll be relied upon heavily from the get-go. Lehkonen, Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin were unavailable since the start of the season, and he’s the first to return from that group. Since the season opener, Ross Colton and Jonathan Drouin have joined them on IR, while Miles Wood has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury and won’t be back until late this week at the soonest.
Lehkonen has become a fixture in Colorado’s top six since the Avs acquired him from the Canadiens before the 2022 trade deadline. He had 14 points in 20 playoff games en route to the Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. While he’s missed 55 games over the following two seasons due to injuries, he’s churned out legitimate top-six offensive production while retaining the excellent defensive and physical game that made him a standout depth piece in Montreal. A neck injury cost him nearly half of last season, but he still managed 16 goals and 34 points in 45 games, a 62-point pace, while averaging 18:28 per game. The Avs controlled 56.9% of shot attempts with Lehkonen on the ice at even strength compared to 52.4% without him.
Whether Lehkonen lines up alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the Avalanche’s first line or is deployed in second-line minutes to give Casey Mittelstadt some help remains to be seen, but he’ll indeed be deployed in that same top-six role against Seattle next week. His return couldn’t have come soon enough – the Avalanche have lost three in a row and have fallen to 5-7-0 on the season, placing sixth in the Central Division.
Lehkonen was on IR, not LTIR, so his activation has no negative cap impacts. They’ll actually gain cap space with the move by opening up a roster spot for him.
Senators Reassign Zack Ostapchuk
The Senators announced they’ve loaned center Zack Ostapchuk to AHL Belleville. It’s likely a temporary move to accrue cap space that will be reversed before Tuesday’s game against the Sabres.
It’s the second time this season that the Senators have recalled and reassigned Ostapchuk in short order, only keeping him rostered when necessary for game days. Usually, those transactions have been accompanied by a recall or reassignment for forward Adam Gaudette as they attempted to draw out his temporary waiver exemption as long as possible. Gaudette played in his 10th game of the season yesterday night against the Kraken, though, meaning he now requires waivers to head back to Belleville. With six goals in those 10 games, it’s hard to imagine Ottawa risking exposing him to the rest of the league.
Ostapchuk, 21, has played in the Sens’ last three games. The 2021 second-round pick recorded his first career NHL point in his first appearance of the season against the Blues on Oct. 29, and he’s posted a +1 rating with four blocks and four hits while averaging 11:55 per game. He and Gaudette have been serving as fill-ins while Shane Pinto is week-to-week with an undisclosed injury, and David Perron is on personal leave. However, Gaudette has likely leapfrogged someone like Zack MacEwen for a spot in the lineup when the Sens return to total health.
While with Belleville this season, Ostapchuk has done well with a goal and four assists in six appearances. The 6’3″, 205-lb Edmonton native serves as an alternate captain in his second professional season. Up in his small NHL sample, his possession play looks much improved from last season’s underwhelming seven-game trial. The Sens control 60% of expected goals with Ostapchuk on the ice at even strength, although only 46.3% of shot attempts. The latter number is fair, considering Ostapchuk has started 60% of his zone starts in the defensive end.
Ostapchuk has one season after this one on his entry-level contract at a cap hit of $825K. He’ll be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2026.
Rangers Activate Jimmy Vesey Off LTIR, Assign Matt Rempe To AHL
The Rangers will welcome back Jimmy Vesey to their lineup tomorrow against the Islanders after he spent the first few weeks of the season on LTIR. In a corresponding move, the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Matt Rempe has been re-assigned to AHL Hartford.
Vesey was injured partway through training camp, sustaining a lower-body injury that has kept him out of all ten games the Rangers have played so far. With the 31-year-old basically being a full participant in practice for the past week, it comes as no surprise that he was activated as soon as he was eligible.
Vesey was a solid depth scorer for New York last season, notching 13 goals and 13 assists in 80 games despite averaging just 12:23 per game, a career low. He’s playing in the second and final season of a two-year, $1.6MM contract, a deal that has proven to be a team-friendly one thus far.
His return means that Rempe’s second stint with the Rangers this season was rather short-lived. New York sent him to Hartford last week, recalling him just four days later after a pair of outings with the Wolf Pack. The 22-year-old has played in just three games this season with New York and has been held off the scoresheet while averaging just 5:26 per game. Given that he’s waiver-exempt, it makes sense for him to go to Hartford and play more of a regular role with them for the time being.