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Ottawa Senators Recall Hunter Shepard

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As expected, the Ottawa Senators have recalled an additional netminder with Linus Ullmark taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons. The Senators announced that they’ve recalled Hunter Shepard from the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

Shepard, 30, was the obvious choice for a recall with Ullmark out. The two-time Calder Cup champion and two-time National champion is in his first year with the Senators organization after signing a one-year, league minimum contract last summer.

He hasn’t dominated the AHL as he has in years past with the Hershey Bears, though he’s clearly been the best option in Belleville. In 11 games this season, Shepard has a 5-5-1 record with a .905 SV% and 3.16 GAA. By contrast, his tandem partner, Mads Søgaard, has a 2-6-3 record in 13 games with a .885 SV% and 3.47 GAA.

Still, despite his past accomplishments in the NCAA and AHL, Shepard lacks the same level of experience in the NHL as Søgaard does. Depending on how long Ullmark will miss, it’s unrealistic to think the Senators will start Leevi Merilainen for every game. The Senators have a particularly busy schedule coming up, with 10 games in 19 days beginning today against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Regardless, if Shepard does feature in a game for Ottawa, it’ll be his first NHL appearance since the end of last season. It would be difficult for him to fare any worse than he did in that contest, allowing seven goals on 26 shots against the Blue Jackets.

Senators Reassign Xavier Bourgault And Dennis Gilbert

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Dec. 29th: After Ottawa’s loss to the Maple Leafs, the team quietly moved Bourgault and Gilbert back to AHL Belleville, according to the AHL transactions log. Neither player participated in last night’s contest against the Utica Comets, so they won’t be eligible for an additional recall until after the new year.

Dec. 27th: The Senators have made a pair of roster moves coming out of the holiday break to give them some extra depth.  The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Xavier Bourgault and defenseman Dennis Gilbert from AHL Belleville.  To make room for them on the roster, center Lars Eller was moved to injured reserve.

This is the first regular season recall of Bourgault’s career (though he has been brought up as a Black Ace in the playoffs before).  The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Edmonton back in 2021, going 22nd overall but has played exclusively in the AHL since turning pro in 2022.  Ottawa acquired him back in the 2024 offseason.

Bourgault has been quite productive with Belleville to earn this promotion.  In 32 games this season, he has nine goals and 18 assists, including ten helpers in his last nine outings.  As a result, he has already surpassed his output from last season when he had 26 points in 61 contests.  He’s expected to make his NHL debut against Toronto tonight with the team announcing (Twitter link) that Bourgault is expected to slot in on the fourth line.

Gilbert, meanwhile, gets his second recall after being acquired from Philadelphia earlier this season.  He got into one game on that first stint, his only taste of action at the top level in 2025-26 though he was injured for most of the season.  Between Belleville and AHL Lehigh Valley, the 30-year-old has six assists in 13 games.

West Notes: Jiricek, Morrissey, Pospisil

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The Minnesota Wild have made a change to their defensive core ahead of tomorrow’s matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Wild announced that they’ve reassigned defenseman David Jiříček to the AHL’s Iowa Wild.

It’s the third time the former sixth overall pick has been demoted this season. Jiříček, 22, has played in 18 games for the Wild this season in a depth role, going scoreless while averaging 12:08 of ice time per game. He’s fared somewhat better with AHL Iowa, scoring one goal and three points in 10 games with a -6 rating.

Still, his demotion may come with some good news. Yesterday, Michael Russo of The Athletic suggested that defenseman Daemon Hunt, who’s been rehabbing an undisclosed injury for the last few weeks, is expected to rejoin the team at some point during their current road trip. Regardless, Minnesota still has seven healthy defensemen on the active roster.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • The Winnipeg Jets are dealing with some injury concerns to a significant player from last night’s loss to the Wild. According to analyst Mitchell Clinton, defenseman Josh Morrissey is considered day-to-day after taking a high hit last night. The Jets’ next game is tomorrow against the Edmonton Oilers, and Morrissey’s status for that contest is very much in question.
  • A recent 20-assist forward may return to the Calgary Flames relatively soon. Earlier today, Wes Gilberton of Postmedia reported that Martin Pospisil has resumed skating and is hoping to return shortly after the new year. Pospisil, who scored four goals and 25 points in 81 games for the Flames last season, has yet to play this year after suffering an undisclosed injury during preseason action.

Lightning Sign J.J. Moser To Eight-Year Extension

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Dec. 28th: PuckPedia provided the yearly breakdown of Moser’s new extension:

  • 2026-27: $881K salary, $7.9MM signing bonus
  • 2027-28: $1.381MM salary, $7.4MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
  • 2028-29: $8.777MM salary, full no-trade clause
  • 2029-30: $6.584MM salary, full no-trade clause
  • 2030-31: $5.27MM salary, 16-team no-trade clause
  • 2031-32: $4.269MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause
  • 2032-33: $4.269MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause
  • 2033-34: $4.269MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause

Dec. 27th: The Tampa Bay Lightning have locked in one of their best defensemen from this season. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Lightning are closing in on an eight-year, $54MM ($6.75MM AAV) extension with J.J. Moser. Tampa Bay confirmed the extension a few moments later.

Moser, 25, is in his second year with Tampa Bay after being one of the pieces brought back in the trade that sent defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to Salt Lake City two summers ago. He was headed toward restricted free agency after this season, with arbitration rights, but will now wait until after the 2033-34 season to sign his next deal.

The Biel, Switzerland native has gotten much more attention this year, largely due to the number of injuries the Lightning have dealt with on their blue line. He’s scored three goals and 12 points in 34 games, equating to the second-best performance of his career on an 82-game basis.

Still, despite his boxcar stats being somewhat mediocre, they don’t come close to painting the whole picture regarding Moser’s value.

His even-strength metrics are some of the best in the league and are in most categories. He’s managed a 57.8% CorsiFor% and 94.6% on-ice save percentage throughout the year, both of which are first on the team among defensemen by a significant margin.

Additionally, according to MoneyPuck, out of the 218 defensemen that have played over 200 minutes this season, Moser is first in the league in on-ice Goals% with a 73.8% mark. Cale Makar, who is again the favorite for the Norris Trophy, is in second place with a 72.7% output.

That level of performance made an extension a priority for General Manager Julien BriseBois in Tampa Bay. Moving forward with Moser locked in, the Lightning have the combination of Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh signed through the 2028-29 season, and Erik Černák locked in through the 2030-31 campaign.

If Moser can continue his current level of productivity, even if only for the next few years, this contract will quickly become a bargain if it isn’t already. Assuming the upper limit of the salary cap remains relatively similar to the projections, Moser’s contract will account for 6.49% of the salary cap next season and will drop to 5.94% by the second year of the deal.

Given that Tampa Bay didn’t attempt to line up Moser’s contract to expire alongside another blue liner, as they did with Hedman and McDonagh, it’s clear that the Lightning have high expectations for him moving forward.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner-Imagn Images. 

Metro Notes: Barzal, Berard, Crookshank, Fox

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There may be some supplemental discipline coming from tonight’s contest between the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders. Early in the second period, Islanders’ Mathew Barzal was given a five-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct for slashing Blue Jackets forward Mason Marchment (X Link).

Additionally, the penalty was retaliatory in nature. Marchment was assessed a tripping penalty shortly after sticking his leg out as Islanders’ rookie Matthew Schaefer was attempting to skate the puck out of the zone. The video for each event can be found here.

It’s always difficult to theorize whether the NHL’s Department of Player Safety will use suspension as a punishment or not, but they haven’t been scared to fine Barzal in the past. The Islanders’ second-highest scorer has been fined four times throughout his career, with the most recent coming during the 2023-24 season when he high-sticked current teammate, Tony DeAngelo. Given that he was ejected from the contest, Barzal could be facing the fifth fine of his 10-year career.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • It’s not uncommon for teams to shift around their roster coming out of the holiday break, and the New York Rangers are no different. This morning, the Rangers announced that they’ve reassigned Brett Berard to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. He’s gone scoreless over 11 games this year in New York, and didn’t play throughout the duration of his recent recall.
  • Similar to the Rangers, the New Jersey Devils also moved a depth forward back to the AHL today. New Jersey announced that they’ve reassigned Angus Crookshank back to the AHL’s Utica Comets. Unlike Berard, Crookshank played in multiple games throughout his recall, which began on December 5th. He scored one goal in eight games, averaging 8:36 of ice time per game.
  • Back with the Rangers, the team could be getting a huge boost to their defensive core by the end of the week. According to Peter Baugh of The Athletic, Rangers defenseman Adam Fox has been downgraded to day-to-day and could return tomorrow against the Carolina Hurricanes. Fox, who hasn’t played since November 29 due to an upper-body injury, has missed the last 13 games for New York. He scored three goals and 26 points in 27 games before the injury.

Blackhawks Place Frank Nazar On IR, Activate Nick Foligno

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The Chicago Blackhawks have activated captain Nick Foligno off of injured reserve. He is expected to return to the lineup on Sunday night for his first game since November 15th, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio. To make room for Foligno’s return, the Blackhawks have moved winger Frank Nazar to injured reserve. Nazar has already missed one week, and is expected to miss three more, with a face injury caused by a Claude Giroux slapshot in Chicago’s December 20th loss to the Ottawa Senators.

Getting Foligno back will be a wave of relief for the Blackhawks. The 38-year-old winger scored six points, all assists, in 15 games before going down with injury. He also added 11 shot blocks and 41 hits – high enough marks to rank Foligno fourth in hits-per-game, and first in blocks-per-game, on Chicago’s offense despite missing the last 19 games. It will be play away from the puck that Foligno impacts most in his return, which should clear up more space for Chicago’s skill players, like Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Lardis, to focus on offense.

The Blackhawks will have to hope that;s the case, at least. They have split results in two games since Nazar’s injury and were outscored four-to-six. Nazar has been a focal piece of the offense all season long – a role that only increased when star Connor Bedard went down with an injury of his own. The second-year pro has scored 21 points in 33 games in the elevated role, good for fourth on Chicago in scoring.

That comes despite the fact that Nazar rode a six-game point drought and 21-game goal drought through November and December. He has proven to be an offensive motor that Chicago can’t easily replace. Foligno’s return will bring in more helping hands but Chicago will still face a tough test with games against the New York Islanders, Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, and Vegas Golden Knights in their near future.

Sabres Reassign Isak Rosen, Ryan Johnson; Rasmus Dahlin To Return

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The NHL’s holiday break roster freeze has lifted, allowing teams to shift players between the NHL and AHL once again. The Buffalo Sabres have taken advantage of the lift to reassign forward Isak Rosen and defenseman Ryan Johnson to the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

Johnson was, notably, called up to the lineup while Buffalo awaited the return of star defender Rasmus Dahlin, who spent the holiday break in Sweden with his fiance, who has faced medical concerns throughout the regular season. This move indicates that Dahlin will be back with the club when they face the St. Louis Blues on Monday, a plan that head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed to Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat.

Johnson has returned to his role of minor-league call-up this season. He has no scoring in three NHL games and 11 points in 25 AHL games this season. Those numbers are holding the mobile, two-way defender in that extra role – two seasons after he manageed just seven points, all assists, in 41 games of his rookie season in Buffalo. Johnson is still searching for his first NHL goal. That hunt will go on pause as he returns to a top-four role with the Americans.

Rosen has been a much bigger part of the Rochester lineup. He leads the team in goals and ranks third in points with 12 goals and 22 points in 15 games. That scoring puts Rosen on top of the AHL in points-per-game (1.47) among players with at least 15 games played. The hot scoring has begun to shine through to the NHL, with Rosen boasting seven points in 13 games this season. He will look to cement his spot in the lineup on his next call-up, which will likely come as soon as Buffalo needs a helping hand.

The Sabres leaned on Mattias Samuelsson with Dahlin out of the lineup on Saturday. Samuelsson put up a three-point night in return, the highest-scoring game of his six-year career. It was a standout performance when the Sabres needed one, and helped the club extend their win streak to a surprising eight games. Samuelsson’s performance could have Buffalo shifting around their blue-line, even after Dahlin returns.

Oilers Place Noah Philp On Waivers

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The Oilers announced Sunday they’ve placed center Noah Philp on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Bakersfield. Now that the holiday roster freeze has lifted, Edmonton has also made official the unconditional waiver placement for David Tomasek that was reported on Friday, meaning he’ll have his contract terminated tomorrow.

Philp had been out since Nov. 17 with an upper-body injury and was on long-term injured reserve. Technically, he needs to be activated from LTIR before being placed on waivers. The Oilers created a roster spot and cap space by suspending Tomasek without pay, something they were eligible to do because he’d already left the club to return to Sweden, where he’ll be signing with the SHL’s Färjestad BK.

Before his injury, the 27-year-old Philp had rotated in and out of the lineup as the Oilers’ fourth-line center. Entering the year with only 15 games of NHL experience, all coming with Edmonton last season, he was given extremely difficult 5-on-5 deployment and started just 27.8% of his shifts in the offensive zone.

As a result, Philp’s numbers at face value were underwhelming. He had a 2-1–3 scoring line in 15 games with a -7 rating, ranking last among Oilers forwards in Corsi for percentage (41.9), shots for percentage (42.9), and expected goals for percentage (36.4) at 5-on-5.

Those are excusable figures given his deployment, though, and he has been one of Edmonton’s best faceoff men this year at 56.9%. There’s a definite risk of losing Philp on the wire as a result if a team is looking for affordable fourth-line help, particularly thanks to his league minimum salary, two-way contract structure, and expiring deal.

Kraken Activate Jared McCann

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The Kraken will see Jared McCann return to the lineup against the Flyers tonight, teammate Matty Beniers told reporters (including Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times). The team subsequently announced he’s been activated from injured reserve. With an open roster spot, there’s no need for a corresponding move.

McCann’s return comes a few days ahead of schedule. The 29-year-old sustained a lower-body injury against the Kings on Dec. 10 that was expected to keep him out for three weeks. That would have put his return late next week.

Lower-body issues have kept McCann on the sidelines for much of this season. His latest seven-game absence teamed up with a weeks-long one earlier in the year. All told, he’s been limited to 11 appearances but has kept up his longstanding role as the Kraken’s top offensive weapon, totaling five goals and eight points.

Seattle’s woeful offense, 31st in the league at 2.54 goals per game, now gets back its franchise-leading scorer on the heels of a three-game win streak leading into the holiday break. The Kraken were 11-5-5 through their first 21 games, putting themselves in the playoff conversation, before undoing all that work with a 1-9-1 run over their next 11. That win streak has them back above .500 and three points back of the Sharks for the wild-card cutoff with three games in hand, though.

For a group that’s been without Jaden Schwartz for several weeks due to a lower-body injury and lost Mason Marchment when he was traded to the Blue Jackets earlier this month, getting McCann back in on the wing is a true needle-mover. Seattle has gone 4-5-2 with McCann in the lineup this season.

The Kraken will also be getting top-pair staple Vince Dunn back in the lineup on the back end, head coach Lane Lambert said (via Alison Lukan of NHL.com). He missed Seattle’s last game before the break with an upper-body injury but, along with McCann, was a full participant in yesterday’s practice. With 19 points in 34 games this season, he leads Kraken defenders in scoring and is fifth on the team overall but has a team-worst -15 rating.

Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Lightning Activate Brandon Hagel From Injured Reserve

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12:02 p.m.: McDonagh in fact won’t be available tonight. He’s been placed on injured reserve while defenseman Maxim Groshev was recalled from Syracuse in the corresponding move for Santini’s demotion, the team announced. While Groshev’s been recalled multiple times this season without making his NHL debut, that will change as he’s one of only six defensemen on Tampa’s active roster.

11:32 a.m.: The Lightning have activated left winger Brandon Hagel from injured reserve, Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider reports. Tampa returned defenseman Steven Santini to AHL Syracuse in the corresponding move, indicating Ryan McDonagh could be back in the lineup after sitting out last night’s win over the Panthers with an undisclosed injury.

Hagel has been dealing with an upper-body injury since the Bolts’ second-most recent rivalry game against Florida back on Dec. 15. He’s missed the last four games and nearly two weeks as a result. They’ll welcome him back to the lineup this evening against the Canadiens.

The 27-year-old is now in his fifth season in Tampa, continuing to pay dividends after they gave up a steep package to acquire him from the Blackhawks at the 2022 trade deadline. He’s continued to hover near a point per game with an 18-15–31 scoring line in 32 appearances this season. Named to the league’s second All-Star Team last year while finishing top 10 in Selke voting, Hagel’s 121 points in 114 games since the beginning of 2024-25 are tied with Lucas Raymond for 20th in the league.

Tampa dealt with his absence quite well, though. They went 3-1-0 in four games without him while outscoring opponents 15-9, scoring four-plus goals three times. His return will give the Bolts a fully healthy forward group for just the third time this season.

With Erik Černák, Victor Hedman, and Emil Martinsen Lilleberg on IR, Santini was summoned yesterday to fill the gap after they received word that McDonagh couldn’t go. The 30-year-old saw 7:58 of ice time in what was his ninth appearance of the season for Tampa Bay, recording a +1 rating with a hit and a block.

The injury keeping McDonagh out of action was a re-aggravation of the undisclosed issue that sidelined him for over a month, head coach Jon Cooper said yesterday. He returned to play in three straight before the holiday break, but evidently needed some more load management before getting back into the lineup. Whether the extra day of rest ends up being enough to get him back to 100% – or at least healthy enough to play every night – will be something to watch.

Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.

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