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Blackhawks Reassign Ethan Del Mastro

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The Blackhawks are reassigning defenseman Ethan Del Mastro to AHL Rockford for the balance of the season, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio 720 reports. Doing so gives the rookie some extra tune-up time before kicking off the Calder Cup Playoffs with the IceHogs later this month.

So ends a promising rookie season in the NHL for Del Mastro, whom Chicago selected in the fourth round of the 2021 draft. The 6’4″, 210-lb lefty skated in a pair of games to end last season but only got an extended look in the Blackhawks lineup this year. He didn’t make the opening night roster and needed to wait until January for his first recall, leapfrogging Wyatt Kaiser on the depth chart after a strong start to the season in the AHL.

While he’s never likely to put up flashy point totals at the professional level, he’s not a pure defensive specialist. He’s a good outlet passer and will get involved in rush plays, evidenced by a promising 2-4–6 scoring line in 24 showings in Chicago this year. He averaged 18:19 per game and was among the Hawks’ more physical players, ranking eighth on the team with 5.46 hits per 60 minutes.

Possession-wise, Del Mastro looked promising – and that may be an understatement. He had the best outright and relative shot attempt impacts at even strength of any Blackhawks skater, controlling 47.4% of shot attempts. In contrast, Chicago only controlled 42% of shot attempts without Del Mastro on the ice in games he played. That’s excellent work for a 22-year-old and goes a long way toward vaulting him into consideration for their 2025-26 opening night roster.

Del Mastro was on the AHL roster on deadline day, though, making him eligible to play in the minor-league postseason. He has eight assists and a plus-five rating in 42 AHL appearances this year. That’s not the offensive production he flashed in his rookie year, putting up 7-30–37 in 69 games for Rockford in 2023-24, but he’s continued to log heavy minutes while showing his strengths as a physical, intelligent, smooth-skating defender.

As for Chicago’s final few regular season games, the demotion indicates either Wyatt Kaiser or Connor Murphy should be returning tomorrow against the Jets after sitting out of last night’s win due to illness. Del Mastro appeared in that win, posting a plus-one rating in over 20 minutes of ice time after serving as a healthy scratch for the previous three.

Oilers Recall Cam Dineen, Assign Olivier Rodrigue To AHL

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The Oilers have made a pair of roster moves in advance of Friday’s game against San Jose.  The team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Cam Dineen from AHL Bakersfield on an emergency basis while also returning goaltender Olivier Rodrigue to the Condors.  As part of the announcement, Edmonton noted that the emergency conditions for Rodrigue had concluded, meaning Stuart Skinner has been cleared to return to the lineup.

It’s the third recall of the season for Dineen although the first two didn’t yield much action as he suited up just once for Edmonton, his first NHL appearance since the 2021-22 season when he played in 34 games for Arizona.  The 26-year-old has spent most of the year in Bakersfield and has done well offensively, leading all Condors blueliners in scoring with nine goals and 34 assists through 59 games.

Rodrigue, meanwhile, was brought up late last month when Skinner suffered a head injury.  The 24-year-old made his first two NHL appearances during this stint, one start and one relief appearance, turning aside 25 of 29 shots in a little over 77 minutes of action.  Rodrigue has played in a career-best 40 games with Bakersfield this season, posting a 3.05 GAA and a .899 SV%.

As for Skinner, he has missed the last two weeks with that head injury.  It has been an up-and-down year for him once again.  He has a 2.91 GAA and a .894 SV% through 49 games, his worst marks over the last four seasons.  Meanwhile, Calvin Pickard has played well in Skinner’s absence so Skinner won’t have much time to re-stake his claim to the top spot heading to the playoffs.

Sharks Assign Igor Chernyshov To AHL

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The San Jose Sharks have assigned top wing prospect Igor Chernyshov to the AHL following the end of his season with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. Chernyshov signed his entry-level contract on August 1st, just over one month after the Sharks drafted him with the 33rd-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Chernyshov underwent surgery to address a shoulder injury soon after signing his entry-level contract. The procedure forced him to sit out until January 30th. In that time, Chernyshov moved from Russia’s Dynamo Moskva to the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit – where he quickly made up for lost time. He scored two goals in his OHL debut, then followed it up with a jaw-dropping 19 points in his first six games in the league. Chernyshov was a scoring machine on the OHL’s second-highest-scoring offense, and posted seven different games of at least four points versus just five games with no scoring. His OHL season ended with an incredible 19 goals and 55 points in 23 games – or an average of 2.39 points-per-game. That scoring pace was the highest in the CHL this season, and ranks as the fourth-highest in the OHL since 2000, just behind Chicago Blackhawks legend Patrick Kane.

Chernyshov’s scoring output ranks him among some of the best scorers in OHL history – but his game is far less flashy than many of his contemporaries. He’s instead an aggressive and cerebral forechecker who earned his points on the back of tireless pressure and smart positioning. Chernyshov didn’t shy away from contact after undergoing surgery either – and his muscular six-foot-three, 205-pound frame clearly stood out in the junior league. He seemed poised for immediate pro games after splitting last season between 34 games in the KHL and 22 games in the MHL. An OHL stint helped cushion him after an injury emerged, and Chernyshov took full advantage. He’ll enter North American pros with plenty of momentum behind him, and look to use his feisty style and cerebral scoring to support the San Jose Barracuda to a deep playoff run.

Predators Sign Navrin Mutter To One-Year Extension

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The Nashville Predators have signed forward Navrin Mutter to a one-year, two-way, league-minimum contract for the 2025-26 season. Mutter was set to become a restricted free agent this summer, after completing his three-year, $2.3MM entry-level contract signed in 2022.

Mutter played four seasons in the OHL prior to signing his entry-level deal. His junior career started with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the 2017-18 season, where he quickly found a knack for gritty and antagonistic hockey. Mutter recorded 231 penalty minutes in 155 games through his first three OHL seasons, leading up to the cancelled 2020-21 campaign. He made his pro debut during the cancelled year – spending three games and recording no stats, other than a minor penalty, with the Stockton Heat. But Mutter opted to return to Hamilton for the 2021-22 campaign, and was traded to the Kitchener Rangers mid-season. Between the two squads he recorded a career-high of 22 points and 108 penalty minutes in just 62 games – good enough to convince Nashville to sign him as an undrafted free agent the following summer.

Mutter spent his entry-level contract finding his footing in the minor leagues. He played through his rookie AHL season in 2022-23 and immediately carried over his hard-hitting, dirty-area style of hockey. Mutter recorded eight points, 72 penalty minutes, and a minus-11 in 53 games as a rookie. That was enough to maintain his spot in the AHL for the start of the 2023-24 campaign, though Mutter was demoted to the ECHL in December after recording just two points in the first 12 games of the season. He went on to find a scoring streak in the third-tier league – netting five points in his first eight games. That mark rose to 11 points and 63 penalty minutes in 33 games before Mutter was recalled back to the AHL, where he finished the year with six points and 63 penalty minutes in 26 games.

With his legs under him, Mutter held onto the important role of depth enforcer for the Milwaukee Admirals this season. He only managed four points in 37 games, but did tally 87 penalty minutes – the second-highest PIMs-per-game on the team behind Kyle Marino’s 150 PIMs in 63 games. This extension will return Mutter to his bruising role in the minors with likely little upside as an everyday NHLer. But should the Predators need a hard-hitting, tough-nosed fighter to boost their lineup – winger Mutter will carry the two-way flexibility to join the NHL camp.

Maple Leafs Sign Blake Smith To Entry-Level Deal

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The Maple Leafs announced they’ve signed defenseman Blake Smith to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2025-26 season. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Smith arrives in Toronto as an undrafted free agent through the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League. The 20-year-old lefty has been passed over in two straight drafts but is coming off an offensive breakout campaign in Flint, posting a career-high 10-22–32 scoring line with a +15 rating in 64 games in his final season of junior hockey.

Standing at 6’5″ and 225 lbs, Elite Prospects described Smith as an “overpowering physical presence” with good skating ability. Evidently, he didn’t do enough with the puck on his stick until this season to warrant NHL interest. Across his first 180 OHL games from 2021-22 through 2023-24, Smith had just three goals and 22 assists for 25 points with a -10 rating.

Now, the Leafs take a flyer on the Oshawa native following his fourth junior season. He turns 21 in October and is ticketed to spend 2025-26 either with AHL Toronto or ECHL Cincinnati, depending on how his training camp performance rubs the Leafs’ front office. He’s the second foray Toronto has made into undrafted free agency in the past few weeks out of the CHL, joining 21-year-old forward Borya Valis.

Smith is too old for his entry-level deal to be slide-eligible, so the contract will run from 2025-26 through 2027-28, regardless of how much NHL action he sees. He will be a restricted free agent upon expiry. Toronto now has 30 of their 50 contract slots filled for next season.

Islanders Recall Tristan Lennox On Emergency Basis

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The Islanders are tracking to be without star netminder Ilya Sorokin as they try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive tonight against the Rangers. Head coach Patrick Roy told reporters today that Sorokin sustained a lower-body injury in Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Predators. The team announced they’d recalled Tristan Lennox from AHL Bridgeport on an emergency basis; he’ll back up Marcus Högberg tonight (via Stefen Rosner of NHL.com).

Sorokin sustained the injury when Nashville forward Michael McCarron fell onto him while scoring a goal in the second period. He stayed in the net but didn’t come out for the third, relieved by Högberg. Roy declined to confirm whether the team expected Sorokin back for its four remaining games after tonight’s tilt (via Rosner).

If it’s the end of the year for Sorokin, he closes the book on a mixed 2024-25 campaign. He recorded a career-low .905 SV% over 59 appearances, logging a 29-23-6 record. He still performed quite well compared to the quality of the team defense in front of him, with MoneyPuck estimating he’s saved 13.7 goals above expected. That’s a major improvement on last year’s 1.4 figure.

While the recall is unlikely to yield Lennox’s NHL debut, it’s still his first stint on an NHL roster. The Islanders’ 2021 third-round pick is in his second professional season but has made just 17 total appearances at the ECHL and AHL levels since the beginning of 2023-24. He started this season on the non-roster list with an undisclosed injury and was only sent to Bridgeport to begin his campaign in early February. Since making his AHL debut for the B-Isles, he’s yet to record a win and has a 4.44 GAA and .832 SV% in four showings, uninspiring numbers behind the worst club in high-level minor hockey.

The 22-year-old has faced an uphill battle, losing his draft year to the COVID-19 pandemic at a crucial time in his development. He looked solid in ECHL action last year, putting up a .909 SV% in 13 games for the Worcester Railers, something both he and the Isles will hang their hat on as they try to assess his long-term ceiling.

Bruins Recall Riley Duran

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The Bruins announced they’ve recalled forward Riley Duran from AHL Providence while sending depth veteran Patrick Brown down in a corresponding transaction. Duran will make his NHL debut if he enters the lineup tonight against the Blackhawks.

Boston selected Duran, now 23, in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. The Boston-area native is in his first full season of professional hockey after signing out of Providence College last year. The 6’1″, 174-lb forward can play both center and wing and revolves his game around physicality, although he does have an intriguing release. He’s scored 12 goals in 58 games with the P-Bruins but has managed only four assists for 16 total points.

Given what Duran managed in college, it’s a slightly underwhelming offensive performance on the whole. He scored 27-28–55 in 102 games for the Friars over four seasons, including a career-high 20 points in 29 games in his junior season. He still has more room to grow in the minors, but he’ll need to carve out a niche as a bottom-six role player if he wants a long-term NHL role with Boston. He’s the No. 9 prospect in a weak Boston pool, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic opines, writing he has “the tools to become a call-up option/bottom-line forward” but that his game “lacks dimension.”

Nonetheless, Duran could get a chance here to taste NHL action with one season still to go on his entry-level contract. While a long shot at best for next fall’s opening night roster, there’s an opening for him to prove initial value in a fourth-line role and vault him up the list of potential call-ups next year.

The 32-year-old Brown heads back to Providence after spending the last month on the NHL roster. Boston passed him through waivers in late March but declined to reassign him immediately. Since that was less than 10 games and 30 days ago, they can still send him down without having to waive him again. He’s been scratched for the Bruins’ last three outings and has one assist and a minus-two rating in 15 NHL games this year as he hurtles toward unrestricted free agency.

Penguins Recall Emil Bemström, Vasiliy Ponomarev, Valtteri Puustinen

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The Penguins announced today they’ve recalled forwards Emil Bemström, Vasiliy Ponomarev, and Valtteri Puustinen from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis. Their roster size now stands at 28 ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Devils, including a remarkable 19 forwards.

Recalling three players indicates they’re dealing with more new injuries on offense than just rookie Rutger McGroarty, who did not return to Tuesday’s win over the Penguins after blocking a shot with his left foot in the second period. He was in a walking boot postgame, per Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The team has yet to update his status, but Vensel adds that McGroarty is absent from today’s practice. Veteran winger Matthew Nieto was also not practicing today after being promoted from WBS on an emergency basis Tuesday and suiting up against the Blackhawks. It’s unclear if he sustained an injury in the win or was returned to the minors in a corresponding transaction.

Injuries are taking a significant toll on the Penguins, who are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, in the season’s final weeks. In addition to McGroarty and Nieto, they’re also without Bokondji Imama (biceps surgery, out for the season), Blake Lizotte (lower body, day-to-day), Thomas Novak (lower body, indefinite), and Philip Tomasino (concussion, day-to-day).

Up comes reinforcements from the Baby Pens, who have already clinched their place in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The 25-year-old Bemström has been a key part of their success, checking in as the only WBS player with over a point per game (21-25–46 in 45 GP). His availability has been limited due to a few late-season NHL call-ups, resulting in him posting one assist in 13 games for Pittsburgh since making his season debut in February.

The former Blue Jacket continues to serve as a dominant minor-league force without being able to force his way into a consistent NHL role. While he posted 10 goals and 20 points in only 56 games for his rookie season in Columbus back in 2019-20, his offense has been spotty since – especially since Pittsburgh acquired him last season. He’s posted just 3-3–6 in 37 NHL appearances since the swap.

Ponomarev, 23, was a key piece of the return from the Hurricanes when Carolina acquired Jake Guentzel at last year’s trade deadline (along with Ville Koivunen, who has three assists in his first five NHL games since being called up late last month). He’s appeared in four games for Pittsburgh this year across a pair of call-ups in November and February but has yet to record a point while averaging 9:13 per game. His lone career goal and assist came during his NHL debut with the Hurricanes in January 2024. The Russian pivot ranks fourth on WBS in scoring, posting 15-25–40 in 54 games with a plus-six rating.

Puustinen splits the difference between Bemström and Ponomarev in terms of big-league experience. The 25-year-old frequently participated in NHL matchups for the Penguins last year, recording 5-15–20 in 52 games in a primarily bottom-six role. However, he’s not commanded the same deployment this year and has spent most of the campaign in the minors. He has a goal and an assist in 10 showings, all of which came in the season’s first two months. He’s done well in Wilkes-Barre, posting 16-19–35 in 47 games, but he’s undoubtedly disappointed not to see more NHL minutes after signing a two-year, one-way extension worth $1.55MM last May.

Flyers Reassign Rodrigo Abols

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The Flyers reassigned center Rodrigo Abols to AHL Lehigh Valley before Wednesday’s win over the Rangers, per a team announcement.

Abols will finish the season in the minors unless injuries over Philadelphia’s final four regular season games necessitate a recall. The 29-year-old has been up with the big club since the trade deadline, his second recall of the year after signing a two-way deal with the Flyers as a free agent last summer.

The former Canucks draft pick has been serviceable in a fourth-line role for Philly. He’s scored 2-3–5 through 22 appearances, his first in the NHL, with a -10 rating while averaging 9:11 per game. He’s been good on draws, winning 58.4% of his faceoffs. The 6’4″, 205-lb pivot has also added 12 blocks and 25 hits, and his possession metrics (49.0 CF%, 46.0 xGF% at even strength) are passable on a subpar Flyers squad.

Abols has spent the overwhelming majority of his professional career in the Swedish Hockey League, including the last four seasons, before making a return to North America in the summer of 2024. He’d previously spent a year in the Panthers system (2019-20) without seeing an NHL call-up. While on assignment to Lehigh Valley this year, Abols has 12-15–27 in 44 games with a minus-three rating.

The Latvian national team fixture has likely done enough to earn another two-way deal this summer from an NHL club, whether that ends up being the Flyers or somebody else. Still, he may prefer to return to more familiar pastures in Sweden or another European league instead of toiling in the minors again. Abols’ demotion should mean a guaranteed spot in the lineup for recent undrafted free agent signing Karsen Dorwart in the Flyers’ final games.

Wild Activate Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek; Reassign Two

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3:00 PM: Minnesota has made the activation of Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek official. Both players could have a chance to play as soon as Wednesday night’s game against San Jose. To make space for this move, the Wild have reassigned forwards Brendan Gaunce and Devin Shore to the minor leagues. Shore has been a frequent part of Minnesota’s lineup as of late, but has no scoring and a minus-two through his last five games. Gaunce hasn’t been in the lineup since March 25th and recorded his only point of the season – through 12 games – on March 22nd.

8:00 AM: The Wild could activate star winger Kirill Kaprizov and top matchup center Joel Eriksson Ek for tonight’s game against the Sharks “if today’s morning skate goes well,” Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. They won’t require a corresponding move for the latter’s activation, but they will for Kaprizov since his $9MM cap hit is on long-term injured reserve. They’re currently short $1.32MM in space and will need to remove two skaters from their active roster, likely meaning depth forwards Brendan Gaunce and Devin Shore will be on their way down to AHL Iowa.

Minnesota gets key reinforcements at a pivotal time. They’ve fallen behind the Blues and now sit in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Wild still have a decent cushion, leading the Flames by four points with four games remaining, but Calgary has a game in hand. MoneyPuck still gives them 91% odds of outlasting the Flames and Canucks for the final berth, but having a pair of lineup pillars available undoubtedly boosts that number to a more certain degree.

The Wild have been without Kaprizov, still their third-place scorer, for over half the season. After dominating with 23-27–50 and a +21 rating through his first 34 games, he exited the lineup with a lower-body muscular issue in late December. He returned for three games in January, posting two assists and a minus-two rating, before aggravating the injury and opting for surgery.

That procedure was expected to keep him sidelined for at least four weeks. Instead, he’s been unavailable for over two months as Minnesota slipped from a top-three spot in the Central Division to fighting for their wild-card lives. Since Kaprizov went for his first extended absence around Christmas, the Wild are 21-19-3 while scoring 2.51 goals per game. Through their 35 prior contests, they were 21-10-4 while scoring 2.97 goals per game.

Of course, they’ve also been without the minute-munching Eriksson Ek for a good portion of that time. He’s been limited to 42 showings this season with multiple lower-body injuries, and his current one has kept him out since Feb. 22. The nagging issues have contributed to a down season offensively for Eriksson Ek, whose 0.57 points per game are his worst since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. They’ll also likely keep him out of the top 10 in Selke Trophy voting for the first time since 2020.

If they’re both fully healthy and the Wild secure a playoff berth, that dramatically changes Minnesota’s outlook. The Wild were one of the league’s best teams in the early going until injury issues derailed their season. They’ve gotten solid goaltending throughout from a resurgent Filip Gustavsson and remain one of the league’s staunchest defensive teams (2.31 xGA/60 per Natural Stat Trick, fifth in the NHL). Special teams, however, remain a significant concern and hinder their chances of an upset, even with Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek healthy. A matchup with the Jets in the first round and their league-best power play could prove futile with Minnesota’s penalty kill operating at just 72.7%, 30th in the league.

Nonetheless, even if one of Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek isn’t quite ready to return tonight, having this discussion now almost certainly ensures they’ll be in the Game 1 lineup for a first-round series. Minnesota hasn’t won a playoff series in the Kaprizov era and has lost seven straight series dating back to their first-round win in 2015.

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