Predators Recall Andreas Englund
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.
Maple Leafs Place Dakota Mermis On Waivers
Ahead of their game against the Sabres tonight, the Maple Leafs placed defenseman Dakota Mermis on waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Today marked the end of an extended conditioning loan to the AHL for the defender, who was on long-term injured reserve, meaning they had to either activate him or designate him as waivers non-roster.
Mermis came to the Leafs as a free agent signing in 2024. He signed a new two-year deal last summer to extend his stay in the organization. Still, this is the third time they’ve placed him on waivers since landing him. They were unsuccessful the first time, losing him to Utah in December 2024, but they reclaimed him a few weeks later when he ended up back on the wire, and they haven’t lost him since.
He cleared waivers successfully to begin this season and was yo-yoed between leagues for the first month before sticking on the Leafs’ roster from the beginning of November onward due to their rash of injuries on defense. That bug ended up biting Mermis in December, sidelining him for over a month with a lower-body injury until he was able to get back to action in the minors a couple of weeks ago.
While Mermis’ conditioning loan began a while back, multiple extensions were granted and he didn’t end up getting into game action until last Sunday, recording a -1 rating and two shots in an overtime loss to Providence. It was just his third AHL appearance of the season, as he’s spent most of his time up with the Leafs or on IR.
With Troy Stecher in the mix now and Henry Thrun seemingly set to stick around as a press-box option with Philippe Myers for the time being, Mermis’ services aren’t needed on the NHL roster. The 32-year-old, who has 466 AHL appearances across 10 seasons in the minors, will now get to add to that tally on a more consistent basis in the coming weeks.
In 11 NHL contests for the Leafs earlier this year, the 6’0″ lefty had one goal, a -3 rating, and a 46.9 CF% at even strength while averaging 13:02 of ice time per game.
Penguins’ Bryan Rust Suspended Three Games
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has imposed a three-game suspension on Penguins winger Bryan Rust for an illegal check to the head against Canucks winger Brock Boeser during the closing seconds of Sunday’s game in Vancouver. While suspended, he continues to count against Pittsburgh’s salary cap and active roster.
Rust was in the defensive zone while the Penguins were fending off a late challenge from the Canucks to tie the game. While Boeser was attempting to join a net-front battle, Rust dove down from the slot and attempted a hard hit, missing Boeser’s core entirely and striking his head with his right shoulder. Rust was given a two-minute minor on the play for a check to the head. As the game was over, there wasn’t any consequence.
In their explanation video today, DoPS deemed the head contact avoidable. “Rust takes a poor angle of approach, choosing an angle that causes him to cut across the front of Boeser’s body, missing his core,” the video states. “Rust then raises his arm and leans into contact, causing direct contact with Boeser’s head with requisite force for supplemental discipline.” It’s the first interaction Rust has had with DoPS over his 12-year career, though, making the penalty seem steep at first glance, although the fact that Boeser sustained a head injury on the play factored into the length.
Rust isn’t on pace to match the career-high 31 goals he tallied last season, but he’s still a crucial part of the Pens’ top six. The 33-year-old owns an 18-21–39 scoring line in 47 appearances while averaging a career-high 20:07 of ice time per game. For a streaking Pens team with a six-point cushion on a playoff spot, that’s a significant loss – especially with their offense clicking so well at 4.67 goals per game over their last six.
Avalanche Sign Sam Malinski To Four-Year Extension
The Avalanche announced they’ve signed defenseman Sam Malinski to a four-year contract extension. It carries an average annual value of $4.75MM for a total commitment of $19MM, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Malinski’s deal is paid almost entirely in base salary aside from a $1MM signing bonus in 2029-30, the last year of the deal, per PuckPedia. His salary breaks down as $5.5MM in 2026-27, $4.5MM in 2027-28 and 2028-29, and $3.5MM in 2028-29. He has a full no-trade clause from 2026-28 before downgrading to a 10-team no-trade list in 2028-29 and a six-team no-trade list in 2029-30.
It’s a big deal amid a big breakout for Malinski, who, at age 27, is in just his third professional season. Colorado signed the 5’11” righty as an undrafted free agent out of Cornell in 2023. He spent his first year in the organization bouncing between the NHL and AHL before obtaining a more stable role as a bottom-pairing threat last season.
This year, he’s still operating as the Avs’ third-pair righty behind Cale Makar and Brent Burns (Josh Manson has shifted to his offside on the second pairing), but his results have been those of a top-four piece. With 24 points in 50 games, he’s tied for 38th in the league in scoring among defenders, and his +26 rating is tied for sixth in the NHL. No one in the league has done more with less – among D-men at or above Malinski’s production, they’ve all averaged at least 19 minutes per game, while Malinski skates just 16:43 per contest.
Colorado’s multiple layers of starpower are impossible to ignore, but it’s the immense success of players near the bottom of the lineup like Malinski this season that have the Avs cruising toward their fourth Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history. Most frequently paired with Samuel Girard, they beat out both Makar’s and Burns’ pairings in expected goals against per 60 minutes at 2.24, per MoneyPuck. They’ve controlled 56.6% of them overall and have outscored 18-10 at 5-on-5.
It’s hard to overstate the uniqueness of Malinski’s path to this point. Initially draft-eligible way back in 2016, he spent the following season with his high school team in Minnesota. Only in his DY+2 did he jump to junior hockey, spending most of the next two seasons in the Tier II North American Hockey League with Bismarck before enrolling at Cornell as a 21-year-old freshman. Players with such a delayed development curve are usually long shots to even get an NHL call-up, let alone become a stable contributor on a Stanley Cup favorite.
Now, he cashes in throughout his prime while the Avs retain a potential succession policy to the 40-year-old Burns, who’s been spectacular after inking a one-year deal last summer. With Makar and Girard set to become UFAs in 2027 and Manson in 2028, Malinski is now the team’s second-longest signed defender behind Devon Toews, whose deal expires in 2031.
Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.
Islanders Reassign Isaiah George
The Islanders have reassigned defenseman Isaiah George to AHL Bridgeport, per Stefen Rosner of NHL.com. That opens an active roster spot for fellow rearguard Carson Soucy to join the team after being acquired from the Rangers last night.
The move is just a speed bump in what remains a promising development path for George. In 2024-25, he went from an overlooked prospect from legitimate call-up option after notching five points in 33 games. He controlled 45.9% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 with a -3 rating while averaging 15:39 of ice time per game, virtually all of which came at even strength. While he didn’t move the needle much defensively, his skating translated well to the game’s highest level and, for a 20-year-old mid-round pick, certainly didn’t look out of place.
Coming into 2025-26, Matthew Schaefer falling into their lap and shoring up the left side made it hard to envision George turning last year’s momentum into a roster spot. That’s how it played out. He returned to Bridgeport to begin the campaign, but has put together a better all-around showing than he did as a rookie last year, notching a 2-8–10 scoring line with a +5 rating in 24 games.
Alexander Romanov‘s shoulder injury meant the Isles were dipping into their AHL depth to take on third-pairing duties on the left side over the last several weeks, though. After Marshall Warren and Travis Mitchell got some looks, it was George’s turn last weekend. He skated alongside Adam Boqvist in each of the Isles’ last two games, recording an assist and a shot attempt despite the pairing largely getting shelled at 5-on-5. They were out-attempted 26-7 and only controlled 18.2% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.
Now, with Soucy expected to hold down the 3LD spot for the remainder of the season behind Schaefer and Adam Pelech, NHL opportunities for George will once again be limited unless more injuries strike. He’ll be 22 next month, ahead of the final season of his entry-level contract in 2026-27, when he’ll look to make a play for a roster spot with Soucy, Boqvist, and Tony DeAngelo on expiring contracts.
Wild Recall Matt Kiersted
The Wild announced today that they’ve recalled defenseman Matt Kiersted from AHL Iowa. With two open roster spots, there’s no need for a corresponding move.
Minnesota is back to having an extra defenseman on its roster ahead of tonight’s clash with the Blackhawks. They’d had David Spacek in the role for the last several days but sent him down to Iowa over the weekend with the hope that Zach Bogosian would be ready to come off injured reserve. While he was previously listed as day-to-day with a foot injury, The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported yesterday that it never got back to 100% and that he’s now “seeking a different form of treatment.”
That opens the door for Kiersted to rejoin the team, especially since Spacek was ineligible to be recalled today because he hasn’t played for Iowa since being reassigned on Sunday. Kiersted was previously up with the Wild in a similar role for nearly a month across December and January, but was sent down over two weeks ago after clearing waivers.
A competent depth defenseman with some NHL utility, Kiersted is a Minnesota native who returned home last summer in free agency. He’d spent his professional career up to then with the Panthers, who plucked him out of North Dakota as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He has a strong outlet pass in his arsenal with some offensive utility at the AHL, but has panned out as a defensive threat in the pros first and foremost.
In 261 career AHL games across five seasons with Charlotte and Iowa, he’s put up a 16-73–89 scoring line with a +44 rating. In 43 NHL games, including four with the Wild this year, he’s posted eight points with a -8 rating while averaging 12:11 of ice time per game.
Senators Recall Xavier Bourgault; Reassign Mads Sogaard
According to a team announcement, the Ottawa Senators have recalled forward Xavier Bourgault from the AHL’s Belleville Senators. Additionally, the team has reassigned netminder Mads Søgaard in a corresponding roster move.
Toward the end of Ottawa’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, depth forward Stephen Halliday left with an undisclosed injury. The Senators haven’t elaborated on Halliday’s injury, but the belief is that it isn’t too severe.
Furthermore, since the team activated Linus Ullmark from the non-roster list on the same day, there was little need for three netminders on the roster. For the Senators’ sake, they’ll hope to get better results from the tandem of Ullmark and veteran James Reimer.
Bourgault, 23, has spent much of the season with AHL Belleville. He’s had an inspired season, placing second on the team in scoring with 14 goals and 37 points in 43 games. He made his NHL debut this past December, going scoreless in 6:43 of action against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Meanwhile, Søgaard will look to get his performance back on track in the AHL. He’s only two years removed from providing a .916 SV% in 32 games with AHL Belleville, but has been wholly disappointing since. He’s managed a 4-8-4 record in 18 games this season with a .889 SV%. If he wants a realistic chance to make Ottawa’s opening night roster next season, he must rediscover his game by the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
Flyers Activate Rasmus Ristolainen, Reassign Hunter McDonald
1/26/2026: The Flyers reversed these moves in advance of their game tonight against the New York Islanders, sending McDonald down to AHL Lehigh Valley and activating Ristolainen.
Ristolainen ended up missing six games as a result of his upper-body injury. The Flyers went 2-3-1 in Ristolainen’s absence.
Returning to the AHL after a little over a week at the NHL level is McDonald. McDonald didn’t dress for any games during his most recent recall, instead serving as a healthy scratch for four contests.
Although he didn’t play, this recall wasn’t without benefit for McDonald. Not only did he get to practice with the team and get some face time with the Flyers’ NHL coaching staff, he also got a significant pay raise for the duration of his recall. McDonald, who is still waiting on the chance to make his NHL debut, is playing out the final year of the two-year entry-level contract he signed in April 2024. The deal carries a $950K NHL salary, which dwarfs its AHL salary of $82.5K by a considerable margin.
The sizable pay bump McDonald enjoyed likely softens the blow of being reassigned before he could get the chance to make his NHL debut.
1/17/2026: The Philadelphia Flyers will embark on a three-game road trip without one veteran defender. Rasmus Ristolainen won’t be healthy for the road trip after missing the last two games with an upper-body injury. He has been placed on injured reserve to open a spot for Philadelphia to recall Hunter McDonald from the AHL.
Ristolainen’s IR designation can be made retroactive to his last game on January 12th. That means he has already missed five of the seven days required and could join Philadelphia on their road-trip after the first game. Ristolainen has carried a day-to-day designation through the last week. His absence isn’t expected to be long term, head coach Rick Tocchet told NHL.com’s Bill Meltzer.
The 31-year-old defenseman is again having a tough time staying healthy. He missed the first 31 games of the season while recovering from a ruptured tricep tendon suffered in March. Ristolainen played in 13 games after making his season debut in mid-December and before sustaining this upper-body injury. He recorded three assists, a minus-three, and four penalty minutes in those appearances.
Injuries have become routine for Ristolainen. He has missed 127 games across five seasons with the Flyers and only averages 49 appearances each year. In total, Ristolainen has posted 10 goals, 62 points, and a minus-19 in 247 games with the Flyers. His best season in Philadelphia came in 2022-23 when he scored 20 points in 74 games played.
The Flyers will brace for a road trip without Ristolainen by rewarding McDonald with the first in-season call-up of his career. The 2022 sixth-round pick is in his second full season in the AHL, after playing an 11-game sample at the end of the 2023-24 season. He has recorded 26 points and 172 penalty minutes in 115 AHL games – carrying forward the hard-hitting and antagonistic style he carved out through three seasons in the USHL and two seasons at Northeastern University.
McDonald will serve as Philadelphia’s extra defenseman for at least one game, while Noah Juulsen hangs onto his role in the lineup. Juulsen has two points in his last five games and seven points in 33 games on the season.
Kings Sign Taylor Ward To Two-Year Extension
The Kings announced they’ve signed winger Taylor Ward to a two-year extension worth $875K per season for a total value of $1.75MM. The team didn’t specify whether it’s a one-way or two-way deal. Ward was slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Including his entry-level contract, this is the fifth contract Ward has signed with the Kings and his first multi-year deal. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2022, he’s in his fourth full season in the organization and fourth overall after appearing in some games with AHL Ontario at the tail end of 2021-22. A well-rounded, depth offensive threat with some physicality, he slowly worked his way up the organizational depth chart before being rewarded with his NHL debut in the final game of the 2024-25 regular season.
That game, in which he tallied his first NHL goal, evidently gave the 27-year-old renewed confidence. He’s parlayed that into a career year here in 2025-26, already matching his career high in goals (12) in only 32 appearances with Ontario. That earned him a recall to the Kings’ roster earlier this month. He’s provided some much-needed depth scoring in a fourth-line role since coming up, posting a pair of goals and assists each for four points in nine games while pushing north of 11 minutes of ice time per night.
For an L.A. team near the bottom of the league in scoring at 2.60 goals per game, they’ll take all the help they can get from wherever in the lineup. Given his relatively conservative goal-scoring history at the minor-league level, asking him to keep up his 27.3% shooting rate through 10 career NHL contests is highly unrealistic, but he’s shown he can be a legitimate factor – averaging 3.33 shot attempts per game to rank 10th on the team despite his limited role.
The Buffalo native has also gotten some power-play reps since coming up, averaging north of a minute per game on the man advantage. With Anže Kopitar‘s absence, more is being asked of Los Angeles’ depth forwards, and Ward’s helped make sure the Kings’ 3-2-4 record in their last nine hasn’t been any worse.
Now, he gets rewarded with the most financially lucrative commitment of his professional career. If he wants to make a move elsewhere, he’ll have to wait until the end of the 2027-28 season to test unrestricted free agency.
Kings Recall Kenny Connors
The Kings announced this afternoon that they’ve recalled center Kenny Connors from AHL Ontario. With Anže Kopitar still on injured reserve, there’s no need for a corresponding move.
Connors, 22, will be making his NHL debut if he gets into a game. The 6’2″ pivot was a fourth-round pick in 2022 from the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. He went on to be a key player at UMass for the next three years, including an appearance for the United States at the 2023 World Junior Championship, recording 26 goals and 77 points in 109 career collegiate games. He was named to the Hockey East’s All-Rookie Team in 2022-23 following a 26-point effort as a freshman, but his offensive production remained relatively stagnant from there.
Nonetheless, the Kings liked what they saw from Connors enough in college to offer him an entry-level contract last summer. In his first year pro, he’s been among the better two-way forwards in Ontario with 24 points and a +13 rating in 41 games, which ranks second on the team.
Whether his offensive game will pop enough for him to be a long-term NHL fixture remains to be seen. He’s not considered a top-10 name in the system and was described as a “long [shot] to ever make the big club” by Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis just last offseason. Now, he gets his first chance to prove that descriptor wrong.
For now, he gives the Kings a needed option down the middle after Alex Turcotte sustained an upper-body injury in Saturday’s game against the Blues. He’s listed as day-to-day, per the team’s Zach Dooley, and isn’t looking likely to play tomorrow against the Red Wings. With no options on the wing who are natural fits at center, the tea leaves point toward Connors entering the lineup if Turcotte can’t go, especially since Joel Edmundson is also banged up, removing the possibility for head coach Jim Hiller to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.