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Vancouver Canucks Sign David Kämpf

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David Kämpf’s time on the free agent market didn’t last long. The Vancouver Canucks announced that they’ve signed the recently released center to a one-year, $1.1MM contract for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.

The news puts to bed some speculation from last night and this morning. A report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman yesterday indicated that the Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, and Pittsburgh Penguins were interested in Kämpf’s services. Additionally, TSN’s Darren Dreger shared earlier today that there were three finalists for Kämpf, with Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic confirming that Vancouver was one of the finalists.

Although a $1MM+ commitment may seem excessive at face value for a player who just had his contract bought out, it’s important to remember that, based on the payment schedule throughout the year, Kämpf’s agreement is prorated through the end of the regular season. It is far closer to a league minimum agreement in reality.

There’s no questioning that the Canucks needed some help down the middle. Even at the beginning of the year, the Canucks were known to be seeking a second-line center, and that was before Filip Chytil went down with another concussion. Coupled with Chytil’s injury, Vancouver has been without Teddy Blueger for the last month.

The Canucks tried to improve the situation by trading for Lukas Reichel in late October, but the gamble has yet to produce the anticipated results. Even with Reichel, Vancouver’s best available centers behind Elias Pettersson are Max Sasson and Aatu Räty. With all respect to those two, it wasn’t a conducive core to competitive results. 

Before Chytil went down with a concussion on October 19th, the Canucks were 4-2-0 through their first six contests. They’ve struggled since with a 4-7-2 record and have dropped to 13th place in the Western Conference, yet are only two points shy of the final wild-card spot. Kämpf shouldn’t be expected to fix most of their troubles to start the year, though he should provide some stability down the middle of Vancouver’s forward core.

Golden Knights Assign Carter Hart On Conditioning Loan

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According to a team announcement, the Vegas Golden Knights have assigned netminder Carter Hart to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights on a conditioning loan. In a corresponding roster move, Jason Pothier and Ken Boehlke of SinBin report that Adin Hill has been placed on the injured reserve, likely retroactive to October 20.

It’ll be Hart’s first appearance in a professional setting since the 2023-24 season. Hart, as well as four others, were involved in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial during the summer months and found not guilty.

Per the additional punishment agreed to by the NHL and the NHLPA, the five players from the assault trial were barred from signing a contract until October 15, and could not return to NHL ice until December 1. Accordingly, it’s reasonable to assume that Hart’s conditioning stint will last until then.

Although he didn’t maintain the same production as in his first two NHL seasons, Hart remained consistent during his last three years with the Philadelphia Flyers.. From the beginning of the 2021-22 NHL season until he was suspended during the 2023-24 campaign, Hart managed a 47-56-20 record in Philadelphia with a .906 SV% and 2.99 GAA.

It’s anyone’s guess as to how Hart will perform upon his return. It’s one thing to return to the game’s highest levels after two years removed, and it’s another to return after going through the stress and embarrassment of a high-profile lawsuit. At any rate, the Golden Knights believe he has more left in the tank, signing Hart to a two-year, $4MM deal on October 25.

Meanwhile, Hill is designated for the IR  after nearly a month away from the ice. Still, despite missing a month due to a lower-body ailment, Hill is expected to return within the next few weeks if his recovery timeline goes according to plan. He has a 1-0-2 record through five games to start the season with a .888 SV% and 2.73 GAA.

Minor Transactions: 11/15/25

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While regular season play around the hockey world has been underway for a while now, there are still some free agents looking for places to suit up.  A pair of former NHLers were able to find new deals recently; those are among the moves in our latest minor transactions roundup.

  • Veteran goaltender Dustin Tokarski has signed a tryout deal with AHL Grand Rapids, per a team release. The 36-year-old has 86 career NHL appearances under his belt over parts of ten seasons but has seen plenty of action in the minors with 444 outings in 16 years.  Last season, Tokarski played in six games with Carolina (winning four), posting a 2.18 GAA and a .902 SV% while also getting into 21 outings with AHL Chicago where he had a 2.84 GAA and a .897 SV%.
  • Former NHL winger Linus Omark has left his team in Switzerland to play for his home team in Sweden’s third division as Overtornea announced on their Facebook page that they’ve signed him. Omark had 32 points in 79 career NHL games between Edmonton and Buffalo but has been playing overseas since 2014, spending time in four different countries.  Omark made quite the first impression for his new team, picking up six points in his debut.
  • Veteran Luke Witkowski isn’t ready to call it a career as SHL Brynas announced that they’ve signed him for the remainder of the season. The 35-year-old, who has played both on the back end and the wing, is joining the team as a defenseman.  Witkowski has 13 points, 162 penalty minutes, and 292 hits in 132 career NHL games over parts of seven seasons.  In 2024-25, he suited up with SHL Skelleftea, notching three points in 25 games.
  • The Oilers have reassigned defenseman Beau Akey from ECHL Fort Wayne to AHL Bakersfield, per the AHL’s transactions log. The first-year pro missed the first month of the season with an injury and was sent down to the Komets in what amounted to a four-game conditioning stint where he had his first professional goal.

Rasmus Dahlin Rejoins Sabres, Zac Jones Assigned To AHL

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A little more than a week ago, Sabres blueliner Rasmus Dahlin took a leave of absence to return to Sweden to be with his fiancée who continues to recover from a heart transplant from the summer.  He has now returned to the team as Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News relayed (Twitter link) that the captain has returned to the team and took part in today’s morning skate.  The Sabres subsequently announced that blueliner Zac Jones has been sent back to AHL Rochester to make room for Dahlin on their active roster.

Dahlin had played in 14 games before briefly stepping away but had gotten off to a tough start by his high standards with the team scuffling early on.  He had a goal and eight assists in those outings along with 17 blocks in a little over 24 minutes a night.  However, like several of his teammates, some defensive miscues proved to be problematic.

But even with that, his return will certainly be a welcome one.  He anchors Buffalo’s top pairing at even strength and runs their number one power play while also seeing some action shorthanded.  Dahlin’s return will likely take Jacob Bryson out of the lineup after he got into the last three games.

As for Jones, he was brought up a little more than a week ago following a very strong start with the Americans (where he had 13 assists in 11 games) but didn’t see any action with Buffalo.  Despite being up for more than a week, he still leads all AHL blueliners in points.  Jones is in his first season with Buffalo after signing a one-year, $900K contract with them in free agency.  He has 28 points in 115 career NHL outings, all with the Rangers.

Maple Leafs Claim Troy Stecher Off Waivers From Oilers

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The Maple Leafs have turned to the waiver wire to add some depth on the back end.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they have claimed blueliner Troy Stecher off waivers from Edmonton.  To free up a roster spot, the team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Anthony Stolarz has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 11th.

The 31-year-old is in his third season with the Oilers after being acquired from Arizona back in 2024.  After playing somewhat of a regular role last season when he made 66 appearances, playing time has been much harder to come by in 2025-26.  This season, Stecher has only played in six games and has been held off the scoresheet while adding three blocked shots in just under 14 minutes per night of playing time.

In his 10-year NHL career, Stecher has played in 566 games with six different teams and hasn’t been with a franchise for more than four seasons.  He has 22 goals and 95 assists to his credit along with 629 blocked shots with a 17:25 ATOI.

Knowing that a cap crunch was coming with Zach Hyman nearing a return (he was officially activated earlier today and will make his season debut tonight), Edmonton had been looking to move Stecher in recent weeks.  Clearly, no move came to fruition which resulted in yesterday’s waiver placement.  With Stecher coming off the roster, the Oilers now have $212.5K remaining in their LTIR pool, per PuckPedia.

Toronto is currently without blueliner Chris Tanev who is out with an upper-body injury sustained in his first game after returning from a concussion.  His injury has resulted in Dakota Mermis serving as the reserve defenseman in recent weeks.  It’s possible that Stecher is being eyed as an upgrade for that spot although he could push Philippe Myers for playing time as well.

Stecher is in the final season of a two-year, $1.55MM contract which carries a $787.5K cap charge, making him a low-cost pickup for the Maple Leafs.  He’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

As for Stolarz, he left Tuesday’s game against Boston due to an upper-body injury.  Initially listed as out day-to-day, he’ll now miss at least a week past the 11th, ruling him out of Toronto’s next two games.  He’s someone who could probably benefit from the rest as the 31-year-old has struggled mightily out of the gate, posting a 3.51 GAA and a .884 SV% in his first 13 appearances.  Joseph Woll was recently recalled from his conditioning stint with the AHL’s Marlies and will be in uniform tonight against Chicago with Dennis Hildeby being their other active option.

Wild Recall Liam Ohgren And Tyler Pitlick, Assign David Spacek To AHL

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With the Wild placing center Marco Rossi on injured reserve yesterday due to a lower-body injury, they had an open roster spot.  They’ve made a trio of moves to ultimately fill that spot, announcing the recalls of wingers Liam Ohgren and Tyler Pitlick while assigning defenseman David Spacek to AHL Iowa.

The 21-year-old made Minnesota’s roster out of training camp but playing time was hard to come by.  In five games, the 2022 first-round pick played more than ten minutes just once as he was a fixture on the fourth line.  Ohgren didn’t have any points in those outings while picking up four shots on goal.  Including last year’s action, he has three goals and four assists in 33 career NHL contests.

In an effort to get him more playing time, the Wild sent Ohgren down to Iowa in mid-October.  He has suited in nine games with them, picking up three goals and two assists.  While that’s decent production, it’s worth noting that he was much more productive in the minors last season, coming up just shy of a point per game with 19 goals and 18 assists in 41 appearances.

Pitlick is in his first season with Minnesota after signing a two-year, two-way deal with them in free agency over the summer.  While he cleared waivers last month after not making the opening roster, he has spent the bulk of this season in the NHL following a recall two weeks into the season.  He has played in nine games so far and hasn’t recorded a point but has 24 hits and 22 penalty minutes.  Notably, if he plays in one more NHL contest, he will need to pass through waivers again before he can be assigned to Iowa.

The 34-year-old has three goals and an assist in five games so far in the minors.  Over his career, Pitlick has played in 429 career NHL contests over parts of ten seasons for nine different franchises.

As for Spacek, he was recalled back on Monday with fellow blueliner Jake Middleton dealing with an illness but is still waiting to make his NHL debut.  The 22-year-old is in his second professional campaign and has six assists in a dozen games so far with Iowa.

Sharks Place Jeff Skinner On Injured Reserve, Recall Zack Ostapchuk

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Sharks winger Jeff Skinner left Thursday’s game against Calgary due to a lower-body injury and it will keep him out of the lineup for at least a week.  He has been placed on injured reserve, according to the NHL’s media site.  Taking his place on the roster will be center Zack Ostapchuk who has been recalled according to the AHL’s transactions log.

Skinner is in his first season with San Jose after signing a one-year, $3MM contract with them in free agency back in July.  The 33-year-old has slowed down offensively over the last couple of seasons and that has continued early on in 2025-26 as he has been limited to four goals and three assists in 17 appearances while averaging a career-low 12:22 in ATOI.

As for Ostapchuk, this will be his second recall of the season after briefly being up with the Sharks last week although he didn’t see any game action.  The 22-year-old has played in 11 games with the Barracuda this season, picking up three goals and an assist.  He got into 56 NHL outings last season between Ottawa and San Jose, notching four points and 110 hits on their respective fourth lines.

The fourth line is likely where he will land as they only have 12 healthy forwards at the moment so the Sharks will either need to play Ostapchuk tonight against Seattle or dress seven defensemen which would give either Nick Leddy or Shakir Mukhamadullin a chance to get back into the lineup.  Blueliner Vincent Iorio is also on the active roster but is with the Barracuda on a conditioning assignment, making him unavailable for tonight’s contest.

Penguins Activate And Assign Rutger McGroarty And Joel Blomqvist

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The Penguins have had two of their better prospects return to full health.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Rutger McGroarty and goaltender Joel Blomqvist have been activated off season-opening injured reserve.  They have been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

McGroarty was acquired from Winnipeg last year in a swap of 14th overall picks but spent the bulk of his rookie year in the minors.  He made Pittsburgh’s roster out of training camp but was sent down after just three games.  He played in 60 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, picking up 14 goals and 25 assists.  That earned McGroarty a recall in late March and he did well with it, putting up three points in five games down the stretch.

McGroarty had been dealing with an upper-body injury sustained before training camp as he didn’t take part in their rookie tournament or the preseason.  Since he spent some time on Pittsburgh’s roster last season, he was carrying a reduced cap charge of just over $148K which will now come off their books.

As for Blomqvist, he came close to an even split between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season.  He got into 15 games at the top level and had some struggles, putting up a 3.81 GAA and a .885 SV% in his first taste of NHL action.  Meanwhile, in the minors, he posted a 2.84 GAA and a .914 SV%.  That’s certainly better than his time with Pittsburgh but it was also worse than his rookie-season performance that saw him compile a 2.16 GAA and a .921 SV% in 45 outings in 2024-25.

For a while, it looked like Blomqvist was going to be Tristan Jarry’s backup heading into the season but that changed when they acquired Arturs Silovs from Vancouver in the summer.  While there could be a short-term recall option for him with Jarry currently injured and Sergei Murashov serving as the backup, the better play development-wise might simply be to get him as much game action as possible in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  Like McGroarty, Blomqvist had a reduced cap charge while on SOIR (tied to how many days he was on Pittsburgh’s roster) so this move will take his revised $341K charge off their cap.

Devils Place Connor Brown On IR, Recall Shane Lachance

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With today’s news that the New Jersey Devils will be without Jack Hughes for at least one game due to a freak accident at a team dinner, the Devils needed another body for their upcoming game against the Washington Capitals. To that end, New Jersey announced they’ve placed Connor Brown on the injured reserve (retroactive to October 30th) and has recalled Shane Lachance from the AHL’s Utica Comets.

The move is status quo for Brown. He didn’t join the team for their five-game road trip due to an upper-body injury, so a placement on the IR won’t alter his recovery timeline at all.

New Jersey has not provided any updates on Brown’s return, but we should receive more clarity once the team returns home. Brown has already missed the Devils’ last six games, so he’ll miss a minimum of 10.

Brown signed for a relatively cheap four-year, $12MM this past summer in an attempt to add some goal-scoring punch to the team’s middle-six. He did just that to start the season, scoring five goals in 11 games before going down with the injury.

Meanwhile, Lachance will have the opportunity to play in his NHL debut during the recall. The 22-year-old forward was signed as a collegiate free agent last season out of Boston University, where he was the team’s captain. Lachance scored 12 goals and 30 points in 40 games throughout his last year with the Terriers. Still, he’s had a disappointing transition to professional hockey, tallying only one assist in 11 games for AHL Utica so far this campaign.

Canucks Place Thatcher Demko On IR, Activate Victor Mancini

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According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have placed Thatcher Demko on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury. In a corresponding roster move, the team has activated defenseman Victor Mancini.

Demko suffered the injury during Tuesday’s game in Vancouver against the Winnipeg Jets, which is why the Canucks made their transaction retroactive to November 11th. He left the game after the first period, stopping five of eight shots.

This is a familiar spot for Demko. He spent much of last season on the injured reserve due to knee and other lower-body issues. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 10-8-3 record in 23 games with a .889 SV% and 2.90 GAA. Still, despite the significant injury issues, the Canucks extended Demko to a three-year, $25.5MM contract extension this summer.

Vancouver will rely on Kevin Lankinen for the next few weeks while Demko recovers. Unfortunately, he’s struggled out of the gates this season with a 3-5-1 record in nine games with a .885 SV% and 3.57 GAA.

Meanwhile, Mancini returns to the lineup after missing the Canucks last eight games due to an undisclosed injury. He’s only skated in five games this season, going scoreless with a -2 rating. The 23-year-old blueliner was a supplementary piece of the J.T. Miller trade with the New York Rangers last year. Unfortunately, with seven other defensemen on the active roster, Mancini doesn’t have a spot in the lineup set in stone.

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