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Flyers To Reassign Egor Zamula

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Dec. 19: Zamula cleared waivers and will be reassigned to Lehigh Valley, according to Friedman.

Dec. 18: The Flyers have waived left-shot defenseman Egor Zamula, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Zamula has been a healthy scratch in five straight contests and has only played in 13 out of 32 games on the year. When Philadelphia needed some extra defensive depth earlier this month as Cameron York sustained a minor injury, they opted to make a roster move and recall Ty Murchison from the AHL instead of playing Zamula.

That was a clear indication that the writing was on the wall for his standing on the active roster. Today is the last day for teams to waive a player if they want to send him down to the minors before the holiday roster freeze begins on Dec. 20.

If Zamula clears and reports to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, it will mark his first minor-league action since the 2022-23 season. Now in his sixth NHL campaign, the 25-year-old had played 60-plus games for the Flyers in each of the last two seasons but was only on pace for 33 appearances this year.

The 6’3″ lefty looked like he could make a push for a fringe top-four role long-term after breaking out with 21 points and a +3 rating in 66 games in 2023-24, but his production has declined from that summit. This season, he’s got a +4 rating in 13 outings but has only managed one assist while averaging 14:02 of ice time per game, a decrease of over two minutes from last year.

Zamula is in the back half of the two-year, $3.4MM deal he signed with Philly as a restricted free agent in 2024. The Flyers can remove $1.15MM of his $1.7MM cap hit if they bury him in the minors, leaving them on the hook for a $550K cap charge if he’s in the AHL. If he’s not claimed, it’s clear the Flyers will be walking away from Zamula next offseason instead of extending him the $1.4MM qualifying offer he’s owed.

Oilers Recall Connor Ingram, Place Tristan Jarry On IR

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12:30 p.m.: The Oilers made all three roster moves official, recalling Ingram and placing Jarry on IR while shifting Roslovic to LTIR.

12:10 p.m.: The Oilers are expected to recall goaltender Connor Ingram from AHL Bakersfield before tomorrow’s game against the Wild, Mark Spector of Sportsnet reports. Starter Tristan Jarry is leaving the road trip and returning to Edmonton to undergo evaluation on the lower-body injury that knocked him out of last night’s win over the Bruins.

Jarry will likely be placed on injured reserve to open the roster spot for Ingram’s recall, but that’s not the only roster move Edmonton will need to make. Adding Ingram to the roster will incur a $1.15MM cap charge, but the Oilers have already dipped significantly into their LTIR pool and have just $59K in cap space, per PuckPedia.

Edmonton can add $1.44MM to its LTIR pool by transferring forward Jack Roslovic from standard IR to LTIR. He’s already missed 10 games and 24 days with an undisclosed injury, satisfying LTIR minimums. He was initially set to return around Christmas but has yet to resume skating. Doing so would create enough flexibility to add Ingram to the roster.

Ingram, 28, is two years removed from posting a league-leading six shutouts and a 23-21-8 record in 48 starts for the Coyotes in their final season. After moving to Utah, Ingram only managed a .882 SV% and 3.27 GAA in 22 games, limited by an upper-body injury, until his season ended in March as a result of entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

The 2016 third-round pick by the Lightning entered training camp as the Mammoth’s No. 3 option behind Karel Vejmelka and free agent pickup Vítek Vaněček, but he didn’t report as he and Utah mutually agreed to part ways with a year remaining on his contract. After clearing waivers in September, he was traded to the Oilers with salary retained to serve as a high-ceiling third-stringer behind their questionable NHL tandem of the since-traded Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard.

Ingram likely hoped the Oilers’ questions between the pipes and a starting role in AHL Bakersfield would help provide him with a long-term path back to the NHL. So far, that hasn’t been the case. His .856 SV% in 11 games is the worst in the league by 15 percentage points among netminders with at least 10 games, and he’s the only one of the group with a GAA above four (4.04).

He’s actually recorded fewer starts than fellow veteran Matt Tomkins in Bakersfield as a result. While Tomkins has a far superior .893 SV% and 3.30 GAA in 15 showings, it’ll be the theoretically higher-ceiling and more experienced Ingram getting the call to serve as Pickard’s backup for the time being while Jarry works toward a return.

Image courtesy of Brad Penner-Imagn Images.

Wild Reassign Nicolas Aube-Kubel, David Spacek

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The Wild announced Friday that they’ve reassigned winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel and defenseman David Spacek to AHL Iowa ahead of tomorrow’s roster freeze. They’re now left with two open roster spots, which could be used for at least one injured reserve activation before Saturday afternoon’s tilt with the Oilers.

Minnesota is coming off a 5-2 win over the Blue Jackets last night despite having an injury list with seven names on it, five of which are on IR. Most of those names are also carrying day-to-day designations and haven’t yet been ruled out for tomorrow’s game.

The two non-IR-bound players are winger Marcus Johansson and defenseman Zach Bogosian, both of whom sustained lower-body injuries against the Bruins on Dec. 14. They’re the likeliest to return to action, but Jonas Brodin and Vinnie Hinostroza are also listed as day-to-day and are eligible to come off IR as they’ve missed more than a week.

Aubé-Kubel had played in Minnesota’s last four games, his first appearances for the Wild, after sitting as a scratch once following his recall last week. The eight-year vet recorded an assist, a +1 rating, and four hits while averaging 12:08 per game, usually slotting in place of Hinostroza as the third line right wing alongside Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartman. That line had good results in limited minutes, controlling 60% of expected goals and shot attempts.

Signed to a two-way deal over the summer, the 29-year-old has also made 23 appearances for Iowa. He’s third on the Baby Wild in goals (five), assists (eight), and second in points (13) with a -4 rating.

Spacek’s second recall of the season ends the way his first one did – without making an appearance. The 22-year-old righty is still looking to make his NHL debut after sitting in the press box Thursday in Columbus.

A fifth-round pick in 2022, Spacek is still looking for his first goal of the season with Iowa but is tied for the team lead with 11 assists. He’s coming off a 31-point breakout in 72 games last year and might still profile as a long-term depth option if he stays on his current trajectory.

Ottawa Senators Reassign Dennis Gilbert

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The Ottawa Senators have made a roster move ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Ottawa shared that they’ve reassigned depth defenseman Dennis Gilbert to the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

Fortunately, the transaction is for a positive reason. Thomas Chabot, who returned to practice as a full participant on Wednesday, is expected to be activated from the injured reserve and be in the lineup tomorrow afternoon. Chabot has been nursing an upper-body injury for the last month.

Gilbert, 29, is in his second stint with the Senators organization. He was acquired by the team last offseason in the deadline deal that brought Dylan Cozens to Ottawa. He signed with the Philadelphia Flyers last summer as an unrestricted free agent and was later traded back to the Senators in November for Max Guenette.

Despite the pair of trades, Gilbert has only appeared in five games with Ottawa, registering one assist and a -1 rating. He earned far more time with the Buffalo Sabres last season, tallying five assists in 25 contests.

Still, that hasn’t meant more ice time in the AHL. Even though he only appeared in 29 games last season, Gilbert spent the entire year on an NHL roster. This year, he battled some injury concerns earlier on, so he’s only managed nine AHL contests between Belleville and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Assuming the Senators’ defensive core can remain healthy, Gilbert will have a consistent home for the next little while.

St. Louis Blues Reassign Matt Luff

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The St. Louis Blues announced that they’ve assigned depth forward Matt Luff to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. The Blues are down to 21 players on the active roster.

St. Louis likely felt comfortable reassigning Luff given yesterday’s injury updates. According to Lou Korac of The Hockey News, all three of Jordan Kyrou, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Nathan Walker were skating yesterday morning. The expectation is that Kyrou will return to play against the Florida Panthers tomorrow.

Today’s reassignment concludes Luff’s first playing time in the NHL since the 2022-23 campaign. He skated in five games for the Blues, registering one goal with a -2 rating while averaging 9:08 of ice time in a fourth-line role.

He’ll return to a Thunderbirds where he’s joined the best stretch of his professional career, at least in the AHL. Throughout the past two years in Springfield, Luff has scored 25 goals and 59 points in 67 games with a -14 rating. Despite spending the last two weeks with the Blues, Luff remains third on the Thunderbirds in scoring this season.

It may not be his last pit stop in St. Louis this season. Given their current trajectory, the Blues are expected to sell off a few pieces leading up to the trade deadline, especially at the forward position. Should that come to fruition, Luff may find his way back to the NHL for the last stretch of the regular season.

Mammoth Reassign Kevin Rooney

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The Mammoth announced they’ve returned center Kevin Rooney to AHL Tucson. They’re left with an open roster spot.

Rooney’s run of limited playing time this season continued on his most recent recall. Signed at the beginning of the season after being released from a tryout with the Devils, he didn’t make the team out of camp but has since been recalled four times, clearing waivers twice in the process.

His most recent one came one week ago, only burning seven days off his newly reset 30-day temporary waiver exemption. He didn’t see any action, instead serving as a healthy scratch for Utah’s last four games.

Despite the month-plus he’s spent on Utah’s active roster, he’s only gotten into one game for them, scoring a goal in 10 minutes of action against the Stars on Nov. 28. Last night marked his 20th healthy scratch of the season as the 32-year-old continues to serve as a second healthy extra forward while Logan Cooley and Alexander Kerfoot are on injured reserve.

When the veteran of 331 NHL games has gotten the opportunity to play in the minors, he’s been solid. In 11 games for Tucson, he’s got six goals and an assist with a +2 rating.

Ducks Activate Petr Mrazek, Reassign Ville Husso

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The Ducks announced they’ve activated goaltender Petr Mrázek from injured reserve. Fellow netminder Ville Husso was returned to AHL San Diego in the corresponding move.

Anaheim now has its season-opening goalie tandem intact after injuries affected both Mrázek and Lukáš Dostál over the past few weeks. Mrázek landed on IR not too long after Dostál did, sustaining a lower-body injury during the third period of a loss to the Blackhawks on Nov. 30.

After a nine-game absence, he’ll be available to back up Dostál for tomorrow’s game against the Stars. Before his injury, it was shaping up to be a forgettable season for the veteran netminder. In seven starts, he’d put up a 3-3-0 record with a .876 SV% and 3.69 GAA, on track for career lows in both.

Acquired from the Red Wings in the John Gibson deal, there was an argument to be made that the high-priced Mrázek should end up on waivers when he was due to return rather than return Husso to the minors. The 30-year-old is an experienced third-string option and, while his numbers weren’t all that much better than Mrázek’s, he represents an upgrade with a 5-3-1 record, .884 SV%, and 3.25 GAA in nine appearances. He’s posted a -0.3 GSAx compared to Mrázek’s -1.2, per MoneyPuck.

Nonetheless, it’s Husso going back down to completely negate the risk of losing goalie depth on waivers. Anaheim signed him to a two-year, $4.4MM contract extension in June despite fully intending on using him as their No. 3, presumably with the primary objective of deterring waiver claims. Their $1.05MM cap penalty this season for burying him in the minors is inconsequential for a team with now over $20MM in accumulated cap space.

Before being summoned in Dostál’s absence, Husso had a .908 SV%, 2.49 GAA, three shutouts, and a 6-4-3 record in 13 games for San Diego.

Lightning Activate Ryan McDonagh From Injured Reserve

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4:12 p.m.: While not a necessity to activate McDonagh, the Bolts still took his return as motivation to reassign defenseman Steven Santini to Syracuse, per a team announcement. The 30-year-old was recalled Monday in the wake of Lilleberg’s injury and skated 12 minutes against the Panthers that evening, posting zeroes across the board. Santini has now appeared in eight games for the Bolts this season between call-ups, recording one assist and a respectable 50.4% share of shot attempts at even strength.

1:05 p.m.: Two-time Stanley Cup champion Ryan McDonagh has been activated from injured reserve and will be in the Lightning’s lineup on Thursday evening versus the Kings, Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider reports. Tampa had an open roster spot after reassigning Scott Sabourin to AHL Syracuse earlier in the week.

McDonagh, who has missed the past 18 games due to an undisclosed injury, had his no-contact designation removed during Monday’s practice as part of his ramp-up toward a return. Since he’s been a full participant for a few days, he shouldn’t have a meaningful minutes restriction as he slots back into the lineup.

The 36-year-old defenseman has been limited to 15 games this season. The activation ends the ever-durable rearguard’s most extended absence of his 16-year NHL career. After finishing 14th in Norris Trophy voting last season with a league-high +43 rating, he’s continued to play at a top-pairing level in 2025-26 while technically still serving behind Victor Hedman as the second-pairing lefty on Tampa’s depth chart. Averaging north of 20 minutes per game for the 15th straight year, he recorded six points and a +1 rating while serving as the Bolts’ top penalty killer.

He’s the second household name returning to Tampa’s lineup for tonight’s game. Starting netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy was activated from IR earlier in the week after a seven-game absence.

McDonagh’s insertion into the lineup is crucial at a time when the Bolts still have three regular defenders – Hedman, Erik Černák, and Emil Martinsen Lilleberg – on IR. The pileup of injuries had finally seemed to have caught up with the Lightning, who are 2-5-1 in December and have slipped to third in the Atlantic Division, although they’re still first by points percentage (.591).

Sabres Activate Michael Kesselring From Injured Reserve

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The Sabres have activated defenseman Michael Kesselring from injured reserve as expected, per Heather Engel of NHL.com. They had an open roster spot after assigning Isak Rosen to AHL Rochester on Tuesday, so no corresponding transaction is required.

Kesselring’s second long-term absence of the season ends after 14 games due to a lower-body injury. The Sabres still might not get to see what a fully healthy defense corps can do tonight against the Flyers, though. Head coach Lindy Ruff said this morning that Conor Timmins will be a game-time decision with an undisclosed injury (via Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic).

The 25-year-old Kesselring has been limited to nine appearances through his first season in Buffalo. Acquired along with Josh Doan from the Mammoth for JJ Peterka last summer, he began the season on IR with an undisclosed issue. He made his season debut on Oct. 28 but exited the lineup again less than a month later.

When dressed, he hasn’t been much of a factor in his small sample. Initially expected to be a top-four piece and comprise the second pairing with either Bowen Byram or Owen Power on his left flank, he went without a point and had a -3 rating while averaging a conservative 15:37 of ice time per game. He was most often paired with Byram, a duo that controlled a team-worst 36.4% of expected goals at 5-on-5.

As such, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ruff go for a new look and pair Kesselring with Power instead for a stretch. He’s unlikely to break up the team’s top pair of lefties Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson, the latter of whom has finally emerged as a premier shutdown threat after a rocky first few seasons on the anticipatory seven-year extension he signed back in 2022.

A strong performance the rest of the way is also imperative for Kesselring’s financial situation. He’s a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights coming off a deal carrying a $1.4MM cap hit. Entering the season, he could have nearly quadrupled that figure after back-to-back 20-point campaigns with Utah and Arizona while posting some of the best 5-on-5 possession metrics on the team. His injury troubles have undoubtedly lowered his stock, but there’s still time to get it back.

Devils Activate Brett Pesce, Place Arseny Gritsyuk On Injured Reserve

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After missing the past 24 games with an upper-body injury, the Devils announced they’ve activated top-pair defenseman Brett Pesce from injured reserve, indicating he’ll be in the lineup tonight against the Golden Knights. The team placed winger Arseny Gritsyuk on IR retroactive to Dec. 11 in the corresponding move.

The Devils had been anxiously awaiting Pesce’s clearance for weeks, but the injection of a right-shot defender into the lineup became all the more important after Simon Nemec sustained an undisclosed injury during practice last Friday that will have him out for at least a couple of weeks. They’ve been dealing with the season-long absence of righty Johnathan Kovacevic as well, making Pesce’s standing on the team all the more important.

Pesce had three assists and a +3 rating in nine games to begin the year. That coincided with an 8-1-0 start to the year, making New Jersey look like a legitimate contender to end up atop the Metropolitan Division. Since then, the Devils have gone 10-13-1 with their possession numbers dipping in the process.

There are a variety of factors that go into a slump, but being forced into breaking up what had been one of the best defense pairs in the league through the early going is high on that list. Pesce and Luke Hughes had served as the Devils’ most dominant unit on the blue line, controlling 60.2% of expected goals. Without Pesce, Hughes has been underwater in every possession metric. His point production has dipped as well, down to 0.55 per game after peaking with 0.62 per game as a second-year player last season.

The Devils’ press release indicated Pesce will be paired with Hughes again tonight, ideally giving them a true top-pair level of play that Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler haven’t been able to provide in the interim.

A healthier defense is paramount to help overcome the loss of a fifth forward to the injured or non-roster list in Gritsyuk. The Russian rookie, who’s eighth on the team in scoring with seven goals and 16 points in 31 games, has already missed the last two games with an upper-body injury.

He joins Jack Hughes, Evgenii Dadonov, and Zack MacEwen on IR, while Timo Meier carries a non-roster designation while on personal leave. Since he’s already missed six days, Gritsyuk will be eligible to return on Dec. 19 against the Mammoth, but that’s not feasible since he didn’t travel with the team on their raod trip. It’ll be Sunday at home against the Sabres to mark Gritsyuk’s first opportunity to get back into the lineup.

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