Joona Koppanen Clears Waivers
Saturday: Koppanen has passed through successfully for the second time, Friedman reports. The team announced that he was subsequently sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Friday: The Penguins placed forward Joona Koppanen on waivers Friday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’ll be assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton if he clears.
It’s Koppanen’s second time on the wire this season. He cleared during training camp and began the campaign in the minors before Pittsburgh recalled him in early November as the corresponding move for Filip Hallander‘s blood clot diagnosis.
The 27-year-old played 10 games on his recall, just enough to require waivers again to return to the minors. Now in his ninth year in North America and third in the Penguins organization, he recorded one assist and a -1 rating with six shots on goal during his recent stint in the lineup. Those 10 appearances were consecutive after his recall; he was then scratched for their win over the Flyers last Monday and missed Thursday’s win over the Lightning with an illness.
Koppanen was a fifth-round pick by the Bruins back in 2016. He remained in the Boston organization until 2022-23, making his NHL debut for the B’s that year, before reaching Group VI unrestricted free agency and signing in Pittsburgh. He initially inked a two-year deal but re-upped with them on a two-way extension in June of this year.
The big 6’5″ center is a competent piece of organizational depth and a good middle-six producer in the minors, scoring 139 points in 365 career AHL appearances. He hasn’t been able to stick as a fourth-line piece in several NHL tries now, though. He averaged north of 12 minutes per game on this call-up and even received some penalty kill deployment – he also did in 11 games for the Pens last year. His possession impacts and lack of offense (one goal, three points in 30 career NHL games) haven’t offered enough justification to keep him in the lineup. Among 25 qualified Pittsburgh skaters this year, Koppanen’s 47.2 xGF% at 5-on-5 ranks 20th. After playing a physical brand with 40 hits in 11 games last season, he only recorded nine hits in 10 appearances this time around.
Teams who are in dire need of center depth could take a long look at placing a claim for Koppanen, but in all likelihood, he shouldn’t have much trouble clearing.
Lightning Likely To Activate Victor Hedman
In what could be the most positive injury update for the team in some time, it appears the Tampa Bay Lightning will welcome back their captain tonight. According to team reporter Benjamin Pierce, defenseman Victor Hedman said he feels “probable” for tonight.
It’s been a long time coming for Hedman. The 17-year veteran has been working his way back from an undisclosed injury for the last month. Having missed 12 games and 28 days, Hedman has satisfied both requirements to be activated from long-term injured reserve.
Notably, the Lightning have not only been able to withstand the absence of their top defenseman but have excelled. Tampa Bay has managed an 8-4-0 record without Hedman and has climbed to the top of the NHL’s Atlantic Division.
Although the team’s offense has been more than respectable throughout that duration, averaging 3.5 GF/G on a 12.4% shooting percentage, the wins have largely been generated by a pieced-together defensive core. Without Hedman, the Lightning have held opposing teams to a 2.5 GF/G average while limiting them to a 9.74% shooting percentage on 26 shots per game on average.
Especially if Tampa Bay’s defense can maintain its high level of play, Hedman’s return to the lineup would provide an even bigger boost than normal. The former Norris Trophy winner has registered 12 assists in 15 games for the Lightning so far this year, managing a 53.9% CorsiFor% and 91.9% on-ice save percentage at even strength.
The largest impact Hedman will likely have is on the team’s power play. Averaging an 18.0% success rate on the man advantage with Hedman in the lineup, Tampa Bay’s power play has only maintained a 13.8% conversion rate without him.
Regardless, the Lightning have taken advantage of a wide-open Eastern Conference, especially as rivals such as the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs work their way out of disappointing starts. Considering the number of injuries Tampa Bay has had to deal with already this year, they could gain even more momentum as they return more players to their active roster.
New York Rangers To Activate Jonathan Quick
According to a team announcement, the New York Rangers have assigned netminder Spencer Martin to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. The transaction all but guarantees that the Rangers will activate veteran Jonathan Quick from the injured reserve ahead of their matchup against the Colorado Avalanche tonight.
While Quick has been on the Rangers’ injured reserve since November 25th, Martin has only been with the team since the 30th. New York had originally opted for 23-year-old Dylan Garand, who has managed a 4-6-2 record for the Wolf Pack this season with a .902 SV% and 2.87 GAA, to serve as Igor Shesterkin‘s backup.
Like Garand, Martin didn’t feature in any game throughout his recall. The veteran journeyman only recently joined the Rangers organization after beginning the season with the KHL’s CSKA Moskva. Martin registered a 5-6-0 record in 14 games overseas with a .905 SV% and 2.69 GAA. He immediately jumped at the chance for another opportunity in North America.
Regardless, it wouldn’t have been easy for Garand or Martin to replicate what Quick has provided New York the last three years, even if they earned an opportunity. Formerly a consistent Vezina Trophy nominee with the Los Angeles Kings, Quick has managed a 32-16-4 record with the Rangers with a .907 SV% and 2.74 GAA as Shesterkin’s backup.
It remains to be seen if the 2025-26 season will be Quick’s last in the NHL. The 19-year veteran is playing out a one-year, $1.55MM contract with the Rangers this season, and there’s no guarantee he’ll continue to play into his age-40 campaign. However, while it’s unlikely to come in New York, Quick could explore his options next summer in pursuit of one last Stanley Cup ring.
Maple Leafs Place Joseph Woll On IR
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ situation between the pipes has hit a new low for the 2025-26 season. The Maple Leafs announced that they have placed netminder Joseph Woll on the injured reserve and have recalled Artur Akhtyamov in a corresponding roster move.
Woll, who suffered a lower-body injury against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, had become Toronto’s de facto starter over the last few weeks. Considering fellow netminder Anthony Stolarz has missed nearly a month with an upper-body injury, the Maple Leafs had to rely on Woll for some stability in the crease.
That’s exactly what he provided. In his eight starts since Stolarz departed from the active roster, Woll has managed a 4-3-1 record with a .923 SV% and 2.44 GAA. According to Hockey Reference, Woll’s 6.1 Goals Saved Above Average has already surpassed Stolarz’s output, despite the latter playing in five more contests.
Moving forward, until one of Woll or Stolarz returns, Toronto will have to rely on an inexperienced duo to navigate them through the next little while. It’s expected that Dennis Hildeby will assume the starting role, as he’s earned a 1-2-1 record in six starts this year with a .919% SV% and 2.86 GAA.
However, Hildeby has only 13 NHL appearances under his belt, earning a combined record of 4-5-1 with a career .896 SV% and 3.12 GAA. Akhtyamov, on the other hand, has never suited up in an NHL contest and is only in his second professional season in North America.
Despite being in his second campaign with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Akhtyamov, 24, hasn’t shown any meaningful signs of growth. He owns a career 18-13-7 record with the Marlies with a .900 SV%, and has only averaged a .896 mark this season.
Capitals Sign EBUG Parker Milner To PTO For Friday’s Game
The Capitals won’t have backup Charlie Lindgren available for their road game tonight against the Ducks due to an upper-body injury, the team announced. Due to the late nature of the development and the inability to get a netminder from AHL Hershey to the West Coast in time for the game, they’ve signed retired netminder Parker Milner to a professional tryout to dress as the backup to Logan Thompson.
Milner isn’t nearly as inexperienced as recent EBUG folk heroes like David Ayres or Scott Foster. The new CBA introduced legislation that mandated teams must now employ an emergency backup as a team employee, rather than the previous system of the league having one name sit at the arena every night to enter action for either team if necessary. These can’t be names with NHL experience, nor can they have played pro hockey in the last three years, but they can be relatively fresh names who routinely serve as extra practice goalies for the club to stay fresh.
Milner, 35, last played in the 2019-20 season but is a familiar face to the Capitals organization. He spent the last four years of his career as a minor-league farmhand, splitting time between Hershey and ECHL South Carolina, and was even signed to an NHL contract in the latter half of the 2018-19 campaign so that he could serve as the Caps’ emergency third goalie for that year’s playoffs.
The Pittsburgh native was an accomplished collegiate netminder, logging a .919 SV%, 2.23 GAA, six shutouts, and a 64-20-5 record in 93 appearances across four seasons for Boston College from 2009 to 2013. He was the backup when they won the national championship in 2010 and helped them to three consecutive Hockey East titles. In his junior season in 2012, his first as the starter, he took them back to the national championship and was named tournament MVP.
While he never reached the NHL, he did have a successful pro career. He was a two-time ECHL All-Star and won the league’s Goalie of the Year honors while with South Carolina in 2018. He wrapped up his pro career with a .916 SV%, 2.44 GAA, 19 shutouts, and a 143-79-17 record in 245 ECHL appearances. He also got in 30 reps in the AHL, logging a .902 SV% and 3.02 GAA with a 13-12-2 record.
Ducks Activate Mikael Granlund From Injured Reserve
The Ducks have activated center Mikael Granlund from injured reserve, Derek Lee of The Hockey News reports. Goaltender Petr Mrázek has landed on IR in the corresponding move, retroactive to Nov. 30, Lee adds.
Granlund’s availability has been sparse since Anaheim landed him as one of the big fish of last summer’s free agent class on a three-year, $21MM contract. The 33-year-old has now missed 18 of the Ducks’ last 19 games due to a lower-body injury he initially sustained in an Oct. 25 game against the Lightning. He missed several games before initially attempting a return on Nov. 13 against the Red Wings. He had a successful outing, scoring a goal on a pair of shots in 15:45 of ice time, but reaggravated the injury and has sat out the last 10 as a result.
When dressed, though, Granlund has delivered on the hype. The 5’10” pivot was once viewed as one of the league’s better two-way forwards and routinely put up 60-point campaigns during the early days of his career with the Wild. A 2019 trade to the Predators largely derailed his consistent production aside from a resurgent 2021-22 season in which he put up 64 points. After a post-trade deadline stint with the Penguins in 2023, where he scored just once in 21 games, his stock was at an all-time low. Pittsburgh flipped the remaining two years of his five-year, $20MM deal to the Sharks that offseason in the Erik Karlsson trade in what was largely viewed as a cap dump.
Playing important minutes on a bottom-feeder Sharks team, Granlund resurrected his career. He rattled off 60 points in only 69 games, tying his career high of 0.87 points per game, and had 45 points in 52 games for San Jose the following season before they landed a first-round pick from the Stars to take on him and Cody Ceci as rentals.
Granlund finished the year with a 7-14–21 scoring line in 31 games for Dallas, an expected slight reduction as his minutes were reduced on an infinitely deeper Stars forward roster. Nonetheless, his stock, along with a weak cast of centers on the open market, left the cap-strapped Stars with no chance of retaining him. A virtual lock to hit the open market, he ended up cashing on a short-term deal with the highest AAV of his career from Anaheim.
The experiment has worked out well so far. With three goals and six assists, he’s clicked at a point per game through nine appearances and has averaged north of 17 minutes per game. His linemates have fluctuated, and he’s expected to have a new set of them tonight against the Capitals. He took line rushes this morning between Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome on Anaheim’s third line, per Zach Cavanagh of The Sporting Tribune.
Importantly, Granlund has been the best faceoff man for a Ducks team that’s winning 46.4% of its draws, 29th in the league. At 52.8%, Granlund is the only Ducks center above the water line this season. He’s also been a special-teams beast, leading the team with 3:40 of power-play ice time per game while also averaging 1:14 per game shorthanded.
Mrázek’s IR placement is solely procedural. He’s already been ruled out week-to-week with the apparent groin injury he sustained late in last weekend’s loss to the Blackhawks. With starter Lukáš Dostál sidelined for another one to two weeks, it’s third-stringer Ville Husso‘s net until he returns.
Predators Place Ozzy Wiesblatt, Justin Barron On Injured Reserve
The Predators announced that winger Ozzy Wiesblatt has been placed on injured reserve due to an upper-body injury. Defenseman Justin Barron was also placed on IR with a lower-body injury (retroactive to Dec. 1). Wiesblatt will miss eight to 10 weeks, while Barron was given a week-to-week status.
Wiesblatt left last night’s overtime win over the Panthers just 15 seconds into his first shift. He collided with Panthers winger Carter Verhaeghe while attempting to close him off in the offensive zone, spun out, and then got clipped by teammate Michael McCarron incidentally (via Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey). He did not return to the game.
The final pick of the first round by the Sharks in 2020, Wiesblatt had a tough go of things in their minor-league system before Nashville acquired him in exchange for the signing rights to Egor Afanasyev in the 2024 offseason. After never recording more than 15 points in a season for San Jose’s AHL club, he arrived with the Preds’ affiliate in Milwaukee last season and exploded for 15 goals and 40 points in 64 games. That effort earned Wiesblatt his NHL debut, playing five games last year on various recalls between January and March.
Wiesblatt could have been a restricted free agent last summer, but signed a two-year, two-way extension way back in November 2024 to avoid that outcome. No longer waiver-exempt and on the heels of his minor-league breakout, Wiesblatt earned a spot on Nashville’s opening night roster in October. He sat as a healthy scratch for the season’s first three games but has appeared in every contest since. He hasn’t been a significant offensive threat – he has four points in 24 games and only scored his first NHL goal earlier this week – but has been a part of one of the league’s most defensively responsible forward trios. Nashville’s fourth line of Wiesblatt, McCarron, and Cole Smith has controlled 64.3% of expected goals at 5-on-5 and is allowing just 1.58 xGA/60, fifth-best in the league among lines with at least 50 minutes together (per MoneyPuck).
Unfortunately, the Preds have only been able to ice that line in 10 of 27 games this season, in part due to Smith sitting out the last month with an upper-body injury. There’s still another couple of weeks until he’s expected to return, and they’ll now be without Wiesblatt until likely after the Olympic break. In the meantime, Wiesblatt’s absence means a longer leash for recent call-up Reid Schaefer and extra forward Tyson Jost.
Barron’s IR placement is far less consequential. He’s only carried an injury designation for the last two games after getting banged up in practice but hasn’t played since Nov. 16, sitting as a healthy scratch in five straight before sustaining the lower-body issue. His absence, though, plus an upper-body injury to Nicklaus Perbix that has him out day-to-day, has caused some lineup construction issues on Nashville’s back end. Without those two, Nick Blankenburg stands as the only righty on the roster, meaning their top four group of Nicolas Hague, Roman Josi, Brady Skjei, and Adam Wilsby is made up solely of left-shot options.
Interestingly enough, the Preds’ underlying numbers have improved with Hague-Josi and Skjei-Wilsby deployed as their top two units. They’re controlling 58.7% and 59.1% of expected goals at 5-on-5, respectively, the top two figures among Nashville d-pairings with at least 30 minutes together.
Unless Perbix is healthy enough for tomorrow’s game against the Hurricanes, the IR placements leave Nashville without an extra skater on their roster – not an ideal position for a road game, even if it’s a relatively short travel distance. With two newly-opened roster spots, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them make a recall from AHL Milwaukee tomorrow.
Hurricanes Reassign Domenick Fensore
Dec. 5: Fensore was returned to AHL Chicago today, the team announced. He wasn’t needed for last night’s 5-1 loss at the hands of the Leafs.
Dec. 4: The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that defenseman Domenick Fensore has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. The move comes as veteran defenseman K’Andre Miller manages an illness, according to team reporter Walt Ruff.
This isn’t Fensore’s first NHL recall of 2025-26. He was recalled by Carolina in late October while the team was dealing with a slate of defensive injuries. He made his season debut in the team’s Oct. 28 contest against the Vegas Golden Knights, a game where he received nearly 20 minutes of ice time. Outside of that one NHL game played, Fensore has largely served as a healthy scratch during his time spent on the NHL roster so far in 2025-26.
While it’s unclear at this point whether Fensore will dress for the team’s game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s entirely possible he’s been recalled to once more serve as a spare defenseman and healthy scratch.
The 24-year-old former Boston University captain has proven himself to be a quality creator of offense from the back end at the AHL level. He scored 32 points in 67 games last season and has upped his production considerably so far this year. Fensore ranks second on the Wolves in scoring for 2025-26 with 15 points in 17 games, just behind forward Felix Unger-Sorum, who has 19 points in 20 games.
A pending RFA with arbitration rights, these repeated recalls are a positive sign for Fensore’s upcoming free agency. They signal the Hurricanes’ increased level of trust in Fensore as an NHL option, even if he hasn’t been able to crack Carolina’s lineup on a full-time basis.
The one-year contract extension Fensore signed in July of last year contained a two-way structure and an AHL salary of just $70K, with a $100K guarantee. Fensore’s on-ice value so far this season merits a significant pay raise, and the more call-ups he can receive, the more likely it is that Fensore will be able to earn a more significant AHL salary on his next contract, assuming his next deal also carries a two-way structure.
Lightning Reassign Declan Carlile
The Lightning announced they’ve reassigned defenseman Declan Carlile to AHL Syracuse. The move leaves them with no extra defensemen and an open roster spot, an indication that they plan on activating captain Victor Hedman from injured reserve before Saturday’s match with the Islanders. He was a full participant in today’s practice, according to Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider.
Carlile, 25, was recalled from Syracuse in mid-November in the wake of injuries to Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, and Erik Černák. The latter two remain on injured reserve, but getting Hedman back to anchor the team’s top pairing with J.J. Moser is nonetheless a significant boon for a club that’s navigated its rash of injuries quite well. Since the Lightning lost both Hedman and McDonagh to injuries in their Nov. 8 game against the Capitals, the club has taken hold of first place in the Atlantic Division with an 8-4-0 record. Their .667 points percentage is sixth-best in the league during that frame.
Carlile, a fourth-year pro, had played in each of Tampa’s nine games since his recall. That set a new career-high in games played for the 6’3″ lefty, who made his NHL debut in 2023-24 and made three appearances last season.
The Lightning signed Carlile as an undrafted free agent out of Merrimack College near the end of a 2021-22 season in which he was a Hobey Baker Award nominee and was named to the Hockey East conference’s Second All-Star Team. The Michigan native has been a stable two-way presence at the minor-league level since making the jump to the pro ranks, but had appeared to find a new gear offensively to begin this season, rattling off two goals, eight assists, and 10 points in 15 games before being added to the Lightning’s roster. That’s already more than half the production he managed in 55 appearances for Syracuse last year.
As with his previous NHL stints, Carlile didn’t look entirely out of place in bottom-pairing duties. He scored his second career goal and managed a +1 rating while averaging 12:53 of ice time per game. He recorded eight blocks and nine hits. Among Lightning defensemen with at least 100 minutes at 5-on-5, only Moser has controlled a higher share of scoring chances than Carlile’s 57.1%. That comes from him playing a stout, low-event defensive game – per 60 minutes, no qualified Lightning skater has been on the ice for fewer scoring chances than Carlile at 17.9.
If Carlile played one more game, he would have needed to clear waivers again to return to Syracuse. With his strong play in bottom-pairing minutes and his offensive improvement in the AHL, that wasn’t a guarantee after he did so already during training camp. If he’s called up again and enters game action or is rostered for 13 days, then he’ll need waivers at the conclusion of that recall.
Canadiens Reassign Adam Engstrom And Florian Xhekaj To AHL
Following last night’s victory over Winnipeg, the Canadiens announced a pair of roster moves. The team has assigned defenseman Adam Engstrom and winger Florian Xhekaj to AHL Laval.
Engstrom, a 2022 third-round pick, got off to a hot start in the minors this season, posting five goals and nine assists in 18 games, the last of which was a five-point effort to earn him the promotion. The 22-year-old got into a pair of games with Montreal in his first NHL stint, blocking a pair of shots while averaging a little over 12 minutes of ice time.
As for Xhekaj, he also was in his initial NHL stint. He got into five games with the Canadiens, recording an assist in his NHL debut and added nine hits while logging 9:36 of playing time per contest. The 21-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2023 and while he had a promising rookie year in 2024-25 with Laval where he had 24 goals in 69 games, he has been limited to just two goals and two assists in 16 games in the minors this season.
With these moves, Montreal is now at the minimum of 20 players on the active roster. With a back-to-back set coming up this weekend including a road game in Toronto, it stands to reason that they’ll likely be bringing a player or two up from Laval in the near future.