Sharks Place Ryan Reaves On IR, Activate Kiefer Sherwood
Feb. 4: Sherwood will indeed be activated from IR in the corresponding move and make his Sharks debut tonight, Pashelka reports. It will be the right-winger’s first appearance in nearly a month, last suiting up for Vancouver on Jan. 10 because of his upper-body injury.
Feb. 3: The San Jose Sharks have placed Ryan Reaves on injured reserve, according to Curtis Pashelka, San Jose Sharks beat writer.
The team has one more game before the Olympic Break, taking on Colorado tomorrow night. Reaves has been designated with an upper-body injury, despite playing as recently as last night. Although he will have to miss the next three games at a minimum, it doesn’t appear to be anything serious for the 39-year-old.
Today’s news suggests that Kiefer Sherwood, acquired from Vancouver on January 19, could be set to finally make his Sharks debut tomorrow, currently sidelined by an upper-body injury as well.
Unsurprisingly, Reaves has not made an impact on the score sheet this season, but he’s managed to appear in 46 of the team’s 54 games to this point, with 32 penalty minutes. The grinder has found the back of the net three times, averaging 7:58 of ice time per game. His 41.8% Corsi for all situations is among the lowest in the league, but the respected veteran is a beloved teammate in San Jose, currently playing out the final year of a three-year contract worth $1.35MM per season.
With Reaves’ leadership playing a key role, boosting the average of what is one of the youngest teams in the NHL, the Sharks are right in the playoff mix. They are vying to end their six-year drought impressively ahead of schedule. Reaves figures to return soon after the break, the 2005 fifth-round pick adding to his improbable 958-game journey as a lasting figure of a previous era.
Three Players Placed On Unconditional Waivers
Feb. 4: All three cleared and are now unrestricted free agents, per Friedman. Larsson has already found his new home in Sweden with Leksands IF, Expressen reports.
Feb. 3: Three players from around the league won’t be back with their current clubs after the Olympic break. The Panthers’ Ryan McAllister, the Penguins’ Filip Larsson, and the Blues’ Samuel Johannesson were placed on unconditional waivers today for the purposes of contract terminations, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.
McAllister, 24, will become an unrestricted free agent midway through a trying season. The Ontario native took a rare development path, inking his entry-level contract with Florida as an undrafted free agent in 2023 after just one season in college at Western Michigan. He’d erupted for 49 points in 39 games as a freshman, so making the jump to the pros wasn’t completely out of the blue.
The 5’10” pivot has never landed an NHL recall, but he’d put together some promising seasons in Charlotte – when healthy. He had 19 points in 37 games as a first-year pro in 2023-24 and averaged nearly a point per game last year, although he was available for only 16 games.
It seems whatever ailed him last year has made him a more limited threat this year. He had two goals and seven points with a -5 rating in 15 games to begin the year with Charlotte before the Panthers bumped him down to ECHL Savannah for the first time last month. He’s suited up twice, recording one assist and a -1 rating.
McAllister’s 0.64 points per game average in the AHL indicates he should be able to catch on somewhere else quickly, whether that’s on an AHL deal elsewhere to finish out the season or to join a pro team in Europe for the stretch run.
Larsson, 27, seems a sure bet to head back home to Sweden. He was a sixth-round pick by the Red Wings back in 2016 and had a one-year run with them in the AHL after coming out of college before being loaned back to Europe in 2020. He remained there until Detroit non-tendered him following the expiry of his entry-level deal.
Larsson later broke out as a top-tier starter in the Swedish Hockey League in 2023-24, racking up a .920 SV% and 1.93 GAA with five shutouts in 28 games. That put him back on the NHL radar, and the Penguins inked him to a two-year, two-way deal.
The Stockholm native was a good minor-league backup last season, notching a .910 SV% and 12-9-3 record in 26 showings for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He’s barely gotten any playing time this season behind youngsters Joel Blomqvist and Sergey Murashov, though, appearing just nine times. He hasn’t been terribly effective when dressed, either, throwing up a .876 SV% and 3.51 GAA.
Johannesson could also be on his way back to Sweden alongside Larsson. St. Louis signed the 25-year-old righty in 2024 out of Örebro HK. He was a 2020 draft pick by the Blue Jackets, but his exclusive signing rights with Columbus had expired.
The offensive-minded righty has been a valuable puck-mover for their minor-league affiliate in Springfield, but hasn’t shown the defensive utility necessary to earn a look at the next level. After putting up 32 points in 66 games last season, his output has dropped to 11 points in 26 games in 2025-26. He hasn’t been in Springfield’s lineup since mid-January, either, mostly due to his -20 rating.
Canadiens To Reassign Sammy Blais
Feb. 4: Blais cleared waivers and can now be assigned to Laval, per Friedman.
Feb. 3: The Canadiens placed winger Sammy Blais on waivers Tuesday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’ll presumably be on his way to AHL Laval tomorrow if he clears.
Blais has been an increasingly rare inclusion in Montreal’s lineup. He ended up appearing in 13 straight contests for the club after they recalled him from Laval in December, more than a month after being re-claimed off waivers from the Maple Leafs. He last played on Jan. 15 against the Sabres, though, and has now been in the press box for eight straight.
Even with the risk of losing the 278-game veteran again on waivers, he was the logical candidate to come off the roster as soon as the Habs needed a spot because of how little he’d played as of late. The Quebec native made his first attempt to return home last summer, signing a one-year deal with Montreal in free agency after winning a Calder Cup with AHL Abbotsford. He was one of the Habs’ last cuts from training camp, though, and ended up getting snagged on the wire by Toronto.
Blais only ended up making eight appearances for the Leafs under head coach Craig Berube, under whom he won a Stanley Cup in St. Louis, notching three points and a -2 rating in a fourth-line role. Montreal was the only team to submit a claim for him when he ended up back on waivers around Thanksgiving, so they were able to send him directly to Laval upon getting him back in the organization.
The 6’2″, 205-lb agitator has had plenty of offensive success in the minors and had nine points in nine games in Laval. He found himself back in the NHL a few weeks later when the Habs needed an extra body in the wake of an injury to Jake Evans. He’s hung around since, but with only one game left before the roster freeze, it’s clear they’re doing a bit of advanced planning to ensure they can remove Patrik Laine from IR on the other side of the Olympic break – he’s expected to be all healed from his abdominal surgery by then.
Capitals Reassign Bogdan Trineyev
The Capitals announced they’ve reassigned winger Bogdan Trineyev to AHL Hershey. Today is the last day for teams to send players down to the minors before amended eligibility rules kick in during the Olympic roster freeze, which begins at 2:00 pm Central. Those restrictions can be found over at PuckPedia.
The 23-year-old Trineyev has now been recalled three separate times by the Caps this season, playing the first two games of his NHL career in the process. He’s still looking for his first point, but managed three shot attempts and a hit while averaging 10:32 of ice time per game. While his 5-on-5 sample size may only include 21 minutes of ice time, he’s had a good impact in that time with a 62.2 CF% while splitting his offensive and defensive zone usage 50-50. He’s filled in as part of the rotating cast of fourth-line wingers with Brandon Duhaime and Nic Dowd, controlling 62.5% of expected goals together, per MoneyPuck.
Trineyev was a fourth-round pick back in 2020. He ended up inking his entry-level deal two years later and had played exclusively in Hershey from the tail end of the 2022-23 season until landing his first NHL recall earlier this year. He’s spending this season on a league-minimum two-way deal, but the Caps were pleased enough with his progression this season to ink him to a two-year, two-way extension worth up to $1.8MM last month.
It’s truly been a breakout campaign for the 6’3″, 200-lb Russian in the AHL. He has nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 32 games, already just one point shy of the career-high he set last year in 62 appearances. If he can keep up that offensive development, there’s a decent chance he can end up being a valuable complementary bottom-six piece in the NHL.
Penguins Reassign Melvin Fernstrom
The Pittsburgh Penguins are bringing one of their forward prospects to North America. According to a team announcement, the Penguins have assigned forward Melvin Fernström to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Fernström, 19, is only a few years removed from being drafted by the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver selected the Bålsta, Sweden native with the 93rd overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. At the time, Fernström had been playing for the Örebro HK program, scoring 23 goals and 57 points in 48 games across three separate U20 divisions. The Canucks traded Fernström to the Penguins last season in the Marcus Pettersson trade.
He’s remained in the Örebro HK organization, making the jump to the SHL over the last few years. Fernström has been relatively successful after making the jump to professional hockey, particularly as a younger player, scoring 11 goals and 21 points in 84 games since the beginning of the 2024-25 season.
Making the jump to the North American professional circuit, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Fernström struggle offensively for some time. Still, standing at 6’2″ and 190lbs, he won’t look out of place with the WBS Penguins.
Most of the public scouting information available on Fernström suggests he has a tremendous hockey IQ, which is fairly common for Swedish forwards. He is credited with efficiently assessing where the puck is going, which makes up for his subpar shooting ability. Regardless, he’ll immediately join a contending team in the AHL and will benefit from better players around him.
Golden Knights Recall Kai Uchacz
The Golden Knights announced they’ve recalled forward Kai Uchacz from AHL Henderson. They sent center Tanner Laczynski and defenseman Dylan Coghlan back down to Henderson in corresponding moves.
It’s the first NHL recall for the 22-year-old Uchacz, and he could make his NHL debut this week before the freeze. He was an undrafted free agent signed out of WHL Red Deer in 2024 and has spent the last season-plus developing in Henderson, where he’s scored 21 goals and 50 points in his first 107 professional games.
During Uchacz’s time in juniors, he was cut from his first WHL team, the Seattle Thunderbirds, following the 2019-20 season after he and a teammate were suspended for directing racist taunts toward Black teammate Mekai Sanders. He was cleared to return to the WHL for the 2021-22 campaign after going through anti-racism training and went on to play three seasons for Red Deer, including being named captain in his final junior campaign in 2023-24.
With all of Brett Howden, Jonas Røndbjerg, and Brandon Saad on injured reserve, plus Colton Sissons remaining out with an upper-body injury, Uchacz will almost certainly draw into the lineup tomorrow against the Canucks. Laczynski’s removal from the roster in the corresponding move only leaves the Knights with 12 healthy forwards, including Uchacz. The 6’2″, 209-lb forward is a natural center, so it’s reasonable to expect him to replace Laczynski down the middle on the fourth line.
Laczynski, 28, has suited up nine times for Vegas since being recalled last month. The veteran NHL/AHL tweener has two assists and a -2 rating while averaging 10:13 of ice time per game, a new career-high. He’s now played 17 times for the Knights over the past two years since signing with Vegas as a free agent in 2024.
Meanwhile, Coghlan hadn’t played since being summoned from Henderson on Friday. He was up as a temporary extra defenseman with Brayden McNabb out, but he’ll head back to the minors to get some playing time while Vegas goes without an insurance policy on the blue line for the time being.
Predators Reassign Andreas Englund
Feb. 3rd: According to the AHL transactions log, the Predators have returned Englund to AHL Milwaukee. The news indicates that blueliner Nick Blankenburg has recovered from his illness and will return to the lineup tomorrow.
Jan. 27th: The Predators announced today that they’ve recalled defender Andreas Englund from AHL Milwaukee. They’ve been carrying an open roster spot for quite some time, so no corresponding transaction is required.
Englund has spent virtually the entire year in the minors after clearing waivers during training camp, aside from a one-day recall earlier this month that saw him serve as a healthy scratch for a Jan. 16 game against the Avalanche. The veteran of 197 NHL games landed in Nashville midway through last season as a waiver claim and played 24 games down the stretch for the Preds, even earning a one-way extension to stick around. The subsequent offseason additions of Nicolas Hague and Nicklaus Perbix, though, left him without an NHL job.
An enforcing shutdown defender who checks in at 6’3″ and 201 lbs, Englund now comes up after Hague landed a week-to-week designation with his lower-body injury. He’ll be serving as the Preds’ press box extra for the foreseeable future. In 34 games with Milwaukee this season, he’s posted six points and a +1 rating with 44 penalty minutes.
Nashville is Englund’s fifth NHL club. The 30-year-old was a second-round pick by the Senators in 2014 and stuck around in a depth role there until becoming an unrestricted free agent for the first time in 2022. He’s since made stops with the Avalanche, Blackhawks, Kings, and now Predators. He’s mostly been an AHL option throughout his professional career but briefly surfaced as a full-time option for L.A. in 2023-24, playing in all 82 regular-season games.
Lightning Recall Scott Sabourin
After more than a month away from the team, an old-fashioned enforcer is returning to the Tampa Bay Lightning. According to a team announcement, the Lightning have recalled Scott Sabourin from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.
Sabourin, 33, was only in the AHL for the last week and a half. On December 28th, in a game against the Montreal Canadiens, Sabourin got into a fight with defenseman Arber Xhekaj, leading to an undisclosed injury. Tampa Bay placed him on the injured reserve a few days later, and he wasn’t activated until January 23rd.
Unfortunately, Sabourin’s return to the Lightning’s roster comes with some bad news. Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reported this morning that forwards Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul, both injured in the Stadium Series contest against the Boston Bruins, aren’t expected to play again before the upcoming Olympic break. Additionally, Brayden Point, who is recovering from a knee injury, isn’t poised to return until after the Olympics, either.
The Lightning’s defensive core has already been tested this season. Now, their center depth will face a similar uphill battle over their last two contests before the break. Fortunately, Cirelli and Point are expected to play for Team Canada in the upcoming international contest, meaning there shouldn’t be any long-term injury concerns.
Assuming he plays in at least one of Tampa Bay’s final two contests, Sabourin will register his 10th game of the season, meaning he’ll need to clear waivers should they attempt to assign him back to AHL Syracuse. Over his nine contests thus far, he’s scored one goal and three points, averaging 8:12 of ice time per game.
Golden Knights Place Jonas Rondbjerg On IR
2/2/26: The Golden Knights have placed Rondbjerg on injured reserve, according to Sin Bin Vegas.
Additionally, both Coghlan and Laczynski have been reassigned to AHL Henderson. Rondbjerg is out with an undisclosed injury, presumably suffered during yesterday’s game against the Ducks. Coghlan didn’t get to dress for any games during this recall, while Laczynski was able to get into the Golden Knights’ game yesterday. He played 7:35 in Vegas’ loss to the Ducks.
1/30/26: The Vegas Golden Knights have brought two players up to the NHL club with four games remaining before the Winter Olympics break. Forward Jonas Rondbjerg and defenseman Dylan Coghlan have both been recalled, while forward Tanner Laczynski has been reassigned.
Coghlan was assigned to the AHL just hours before the Henderson Silver Knights’ Wednesday game. The defenseman went on to score both goals in the team’s 2-1 overtime win. He has alternated between the NHL and AHL lineups over his last four games, after earning his first call-up of the season earlier this month. He ranks third on the Silver Knights’ blue-line in scoring with 18 points in 30 games. Coghlan hasn’t scored yet in two NHL games this season. The pair of games were his first with Vegas since the 2021-22 season, when he scored 13 points in 59 games with the Golden Knights. Coghlan spent the last three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets, where he combined for three points in 24 NHL games.
Rondbjerg has also rotated between lineups throughout the season. He ranks second on Henderson in scoring with 12 goals and 23 points in 36 games. He has also scored one assist in two NHL games this season. Rondbjerg has served as one of Vegas’ go-to call-ups for the last five seasons. He has notched 11 points and eight penalty minutes in 78 NHL games in that span, to go with 142 points and 54 PIMs in 269 AHL games.
Coghlan and Rondbjerg will bring some assured depth to the Golden Knights’ roster in their last slate before an extended break. Vegas is currently facing injuries to William Karlsson, Brett Howden, Brandon Saad, and Colton Sissons – leaving notable holes in the forward group. That should be enough to earn Rondbjerg a fourth-line role in place of Laczynski, while Coghlan will likely serve as the team’s extra defenseman. Meanwhile, Henderson will welcome the return of top-scorer Laczynski, who has 35 points in 32 AHL games this season.
Wild Recall Cal Petersen, Activate Zach Bogosian
6:03 p.m: The Wild officially announced Bogosian’s activation in advance of their game tonight against the Montreal Canadiens.
In a corresponding move, they reassigned defenseman Matt Kiersted to the AHL. Kiersted, 27, began his most recent recall on Jan. 27, and ended up serving as a healthy scratch for the club’s game’s on Jan. 29 and Jan. 31. The 27-year-old undrafted blueliner has gotten into four NHL games for the Wild this season, and has four points in 28 AHL games. He’s under contract through next season at a league-minimum NHL cap hit, with a $450K AHL salary.
12:13 p.m.: The Wild have now activated Bogosian from injured reserve, per the NHL’s media site. Since teams can exceed the roster limit to have a third goalie under emergency conditions twice during the season, they won’t need to make a move to reinstate him. He’s been out for 13 games with an undisclosed injury sustained on Jan. 3 against the Kings. In 23 appearances this season, the veteran righty has four points with a +8 rating while averaging 14:52 of ice time per game.
11:30 a.m.: According to regional reporter Jessi Pierce, the Minnesota Wild have recalled netminder Cal Petersen from the AHL’s Iowa Wild. Minnesota confirmed the news, sharing that it’s under emergency conditions. The Wild will need to make an additional transaction before tonight to activate defenseman Zach Bogosian from the injured reserve.
Fortunately, there are no injury concerns with Minnesota’s usual goaltending tandem. Several reports from practice indicate that Jesper Wallstedt is dealing with the flu, and he won’t be available for tonight’s contest. Filip Gustavsson will assume the starting position.
This morning’s roster move is the first call-up of the year for Petersen. He was waived shortly before the start of the 2025-26 campaign after signing a one-year, $775K contract with the Wild last offseason. He’s spent the entire year with AHL Iowa up to this point.
Although his win/loss record isn’t great, it’s not the worst performance Petersen has had throughout his professional career. The 31-year-old veteran has a 4-13-0 record in 17 games with a .897 SV% and 2.82 GAA. Last season, with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Petersen finished with a 13-15-3 record in 31 games with a .885 SV% and 3.14 GAA.
His results are more indicative of the team in front of him rather than his individual performance. It’s much of the same for AHL Iowa, a team that has only made the playoffs twice since the 2013-14 season, though no postseason was held in 2020 or 2021. That’s not expected to change this season, as the Wild are in last place in the Central Division with a 12-26-4-1 record in 43 games.