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Kraken’s Mitchell Stephens Clears Waivers, Victor Ostman Recalled

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2/10: Kraken forawrd Mitchell Stephens has cleared waivers, per a team report.

2/9: The Seattle Kraken announced a trio of roster moves on Sunday. Most notably, the team has placed forward Mitchell Stephens on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the minor leagues. Stephens has appeared in Seattle’s  last 16 games. He contributed two points, six penalty minutes, and a minus-four while averaging just north of nine minutes in ice time. Seattle also reassigned defenseman Cale Fleury and goaltender Ales Stezka to the AHL, and recalled goaltender Victor Ostman from the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks.

Seattle does not play again until February 22nd, likely indicating that the moves of Stephens, Fleury, and Stezka are headed for AHL playing time during the 4-Nations Face-Off break. Ostman has been recalled to keep the team roster-compliant, and could be in store for an impromptu vacation while the team takes the next two weeks off. Ostman is playing in his rookie professional season this year, after spending the last four seasons vying for the starting role at the University of Maine. He’s performed well in his first pro games, already winning out the Mavericks’ starting role with an impressive 18-7-4 record and .905 save percentage in 29 games played. Ostman is playing in front of seasoned pro Jack LaFontaine, who has a 10-4-1 record and .904 Sv% in 16 games.

While Ostman questions what warm destination he’ll spend the next two weeks in, the Kraken will hold their breath to see if Stephens stays with the club while passing through waivers. He’s been a career depth-forward, alternating between the NHL and AHL lineups over the last six seasons. That stretch started in the 2019-20 season when Stephens made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning, then had his name etched into the Stanley Cup just a few months later. He recorded six points, 10 penalty minutes, and a minus-nine in 38 games as an NHL rookie – with all four stats still standing as career-highs. Stephens has played in 82 NHL games in parts of four seasons since then, but only managed 13 points. He’s been far more productive in the minors, totaling 92 points in 139 AHL games since the start of the 2020-21 season. Stephens will get a chance to return to his AHL productivity, should he pass through waivers unclaimed.

Predators Claim Andreas Englund

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The Predators have claimed defenseman Andreas Englund off waivers from the Kings, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. No corresponding transaction is necessary after Nashville opened multiple roster spots yesterday with reassignments ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Englund, 29, was a second-round pick by the Senators back in 2014 and has skated in parts of seven NHL seasons since making his debut in Seattle in 2016-17. He’s only recently emerged as a roster fixture, though, factoring in solely as a bottom-pair enforcer. He played in all 82 games for Los Angeles last year after signing a two-year, $2MM contract, leading the club with 81 PIMs and 189 hits while averaging 13:13 per game. His career 2-16–18 scoring line with a -17 rating in 173 NHL games doesn’t inspire confidence that he’ll ever be anything else, and as such, he lost his regular spot with the Kings in 2024-25 and has only factored into 11 games, including an active run of 13 consecutive scratches leading into the break.

The move marks Englund’s third stint in the Central Division. He skated in 47 games split between the Avalanche and Blackhawks in 2022-23, his first year back in the NHL after spending two years buried in the minors.

His claim doesn’t spell good news for injured defender Jeremy Lauzon, who Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean now suspects could sit out the remainder of the season with the lower-body injury that’s kept him out of the lineup since New Year’s Eve. The 6’4″ Englund is an apt replacement for the heavy hitter, who led the league with 386 last season. A pending UFA, Englund will likely serve in a support role down the stretch while names like Nick Blankenburg and Adam Wilsby, the latter of which just signed a two-year extension, see routine deployment.

Kings Place Andreas Englund On Waivers, Reassign Pheonix Copley

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The Los Angeles Kings have made a pair of roster moves ahead of the 4-Nations Face-Off break, placing defenseman Andreas Englund on waivers for purpose of reassignment and sending goaltender Pheonix Copley back to the minor leagues per John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor. Both players have served as extras in the Kings lineup for much of the season. Englund played in spurts through October, November, and January – but it’s been nearly a month since he’s stepped into the lineup. He has just one goal in the 11 appearances he has made and averaged just 6:30 in ice time in the three games he played in January.

Originally an Ottawa Senators draft pick in 2014, Englund has fallen into the role of journeyman depth defender since leaving the Senators for a minor-league deal in Colorado in 2021. He’s a bruting six-foot-four, 200-pound defenseman who racked up over 100 penalty minutes in 57 games of the 2021-22 AHL season. That physical presence was enough to earn him an NHL deal and routine role with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022-23. He played 36 games with the NHL Colorado, and 15 games in the AHL, and scored three points in both leagues. He was traded late in the year to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for veteran defender Jack Johnson. Englund finished his year with 11 games and one point in the Chicago lineup.

The Blackhawks let Englund walk to free agency in the following summer, where he’d ultimately land a two-year, $2MM contract with the Kings. He’d go on to play in all 82 games of Los Angeles’ 2023-24 campaign. That consistency allowed him to set 10 points and 81 penalty minutes, both career-highs at the NHL level. He hasn’t had the same bid for the lineup this year, and now seems poised to spend the Kings’ two-weeks break on a return trip to the minor leagues.

Meanwhile, Copley has been the forgotten third in Los Angeles’ goalie room. He’s played in just one NHL game this season – a 2-1 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs in October. Copley has been far more active in the minor leagues this year. In 20 games with the Ontario Reign, he’s set a 13-7-0 record and .906 save percentage. His save percentage leads the trio of Reign goaltenders, but his 13 wins are tied with Erik Portillo’s mark through 22 games. Portillo and Copley should rotate starts over the next two weeks, and the latter’s stay in the minors could stick now that Los Angeles has starter Darcy Kuemper back to full health.

Penguins, Jesse Puljujärvi Mutually Terminate Contract

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Feb. 9: Puljujärvi went unclaimed and will have his deal terminated, Friedman reports.

Feb. 8: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Jesse Puljujärvi on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract. Puljujärvi would become an unrestricted free agent should he go unclaimed over the next 24 hours.

It is an anticipated conclusion to a relationship that has seemingly deteriorated over the past two months. The Penguins placed Puljujärvi on regular waivers on December 30 and officially reassigned him on January 14th, a few weeks later.

The former fourth-overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft has been reassigned for a second time recently. Over the past month, he has primarily played with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL. His performance has been respectable, recording one goal and three points in four AHL games. However, the Penguins have decided to move forward without him in their organization.

Unfortunately, Puljujärvi’s potential as a prospect has drastically diminished. Since returning to the NHL for the 2020-21 season, he has scored 40 goals and 90 points in 243 games for the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Pittsburgh Penguins.

His production will ultimately limit his traction as an unrestricted free agent. Some teams may offer the Älvkarleby, Sweden native a bottom-six role down the stretch but Puljujärvi may be limited to more of a taxi role if he chooses to stay in North America.

Penguins Claim Vladislav Kolyachonok From Utah

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The Penguins have claimed defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok off waivers from Utah, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Pittsburgh had a pair of open spots on their active roster after some pre-break paper moves this morning, so they won’t need to make a corresponding transaction until their schedule resumes later this month.

Kolyachonok, 23, now joins his fourth NHL franchise. He was initially selected 52nd overall in the 2019 draft by the Panthers, who traded him to the Coyotes in the Anton Strålman offseason deal in 2021. The Belarusian defender jumped with his former Arizona teammates to Utah last summer but now finds himself headed east to Pittsburgh.

The interest in Kolyachonok stems from his two-way upside. He has decent size at 6’2″ and 195 lbs and has put up decent totals in the minors, recording 13-35–48 with a +12 rating in 150 career AHL games. None of those contests have come in 2024-25, as a revolving door of injuries on the Utah blue line meant he’s spent the entire season on the NHL roster. He was passable in a depth role, logging 2-3–5 with 19 blocks and 14 hits in 23 appearances. His underlying numbers were strong, posting a 52.9 CF% at even strength and a +1.7 expected rating, grading out better defensively than his actual minus-seven rating would otherwise indicate.

Pittsburgh hopes to tap into his remaining upside. At present, he’s an upgrade over their current seventh defenseman, Ryan Shea, who’s logged just three points in 53 games since making his NHL debut last season with middling possession impacts. He’ll likely knock Shea off the NHL roster if Pittsburgh needs to open space, but whether the lefty works his way into the lineup over Ryan Graves, Matt Grzelcyk, or Pierre-Olivier Joseph remains to be seen.

Utah could reclaim Kolyachonok and send him directly to the minors if the Penguins place him on waivers again this season, although they’d need to be the only team to submit a claim to do so.

San Jose Sharks Reassign Colin White, Activate Klim Kostin

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Feb. 8th: San Jose announced they have reassigned White to AHL San Jose meaning he successfully cleared waivers. He won’t require waivers again until he’s played in 10 games for the Sharks or spent 30 days on the NHL roster. Additionally, the team shared that forward Klim Kostin has been activated from the injured reserve. He’s missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury.

Feb. 7th: The Sharks waived center Colin White on Friday and will presumably assign him to AHL San Jose if he clears, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. It’s unclear if there will be a corresponding transaction tomorrow.

San Jose signed White, 28, two weeks ago to the day. The former Senators first-rounder-turned-journeyman had spent the first part of the season on an AHL deal within the organization, posting 5-4–9 in 20 games with a minus-three rating.

White didn’t get much of a look in the Sharks’ lineup, although his signing was always meant to give them a short-term veteran injury replacement with names like Klim Kostin and Nico Sturm on the shelf. He’s been rostered for their last five games but only played in three, going without a point and averaging a career-low 7:18 per game. He went just 3-for-13 on faceoffs, managed a lone shot on goal, and got out-attempted 22-18 when on the ice at even strength.

It extends a regular-season pointless streak for White that now stretches back 46 games to March 16, 2023, when he was still a member of the Panthers organization. He failed to record a point in the final 14 games of the campaign before going pointless in all 31 appearances he made last season with the Canadiens and Penguins.

The 6’1″ pivot’s chances of ever reclaiming a full-time NHL role seem quite slim given his lack of even average numbers anywhere in his game, as well as some underwhelming AHL stat lines over the past couple of years. It’s a far cry from the 14-goal, 41-point form he flashed in Ottawa six years ago, but with his development derailed by shoulder injuries, he hasn’t been able to sniff that level of performance since then. White should go unclaimed and remain in the Sharks organization as a recall option for the remainder of the season, after which he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.

Philadelphia Flyers Recall Jacob Gaucher, Reassign Anthony Richard

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Feb. 8th: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Richard has gone through waivers unclaimed. Philadelphia announced they’ve reassigned Richard to AHL Lehigh Valley and have recalled forward Jacob Gaucher in a corresponding roster move.

Feb. 7th: The Flyers have placed center Anthony Richard on waivers with intent to reassign him to AHL Lehigh Valley, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Friday. Whether he clears or not, he’ll be the second corresponding transaction as the Flyers look to activate Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier from the non-roster list before tomorrow’s game against the Penguins after reassigning forward Jacob Gaucher earlier today.

Richard, 28, has played eight straight games since being recalled on Jan. 22. It was the smooth-skating pivot’s second recall of the season after a weeks-long trial in the NHL back in November.

The ninth-year pro signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Flyers in the offseason and has been a quality depth scorer when called upon. He has two goals and four assists across the pair of recalls, averaging 12:22 per game with good possession numbers (49.4 CF%, +2.2 expected rating at even strength). It’s the 5’10” forward’s third straight season seeing NHL ice after brief action with the Canadiens and Bruins in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

A longtime farmhand in the Predators’ system after they selected him fourth overall in 2015, he’s suited up for five organizations in the past four years after a mid-season trade in 2022 sent him to the Lightning. He was a decent depth scorer there but has only broken out in earnest post-COVID, clicking above a point per game in the minors since 2022-23. When on assignment to Lehigh Valley this season, Richard has 8-11–19 in 18 games with a plus-six rating.

The Quebec native needed waivers today because he’s played more than 10 games since last clearing during training camp. His strong point production in both leagues this season and experience playing down the middle means there’s a solid chance an offense-needy team takes a flyer on the veteran on the wire, but if not, Philly will be thrilled to keep him around as a reliable recall option.

Devils’ Santeri Hatakka Clears Waivers

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Feb. 8th: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that Hatakka has successfully cleared waivers. New Jersey is free to reassign him to AHL Utica at any time.

Feb. 7th: The Devils placed defenseman Santeri Hatakka on waivers Friday for the purposes of reassignment to AHL Utica, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The move indicates he’s been cleared to play after spending the first four months of the season on injured reserve due to shoulder surgery.

The 24-year-old Hatakka will aim to get back up to game speed in Utica and quickly challenge for a recall, assuming he clears. The Devils are down a defenseman with Jonas Siegenthaler dealing with an undisclosed injury, and top prospect Simon Nemec struggled in his first game back with the team last night in their loss to the Golden Knights after a months-long AHL stint. There’s an opening for Hatakka to return to NHL action once his conditioning is where it needs to be.

This is the first year Hatakka has needed waivers to head to the minors. As a result, the Finnish prospect was a frequent flyer between Newark and Utica last season. He signed a two-way deal with a $125K AHL salary as a restricted free agent last summer before aiming to grab a spot on the opening night roster. However, that pathway was muddied for him with the Devils’ signings of Brenden Dillon and Brett Pesce in free agency (as well as the trade acquisition of Johnathan Kovacevic) even before his late-preseason shoulder injury.

Hatakka, acquired from the Sharks in the Timo Meier trade in 2023, skated in 12 NHL games for Jersey last year and recorded two assists with a plus-five rating. He averaged 14:39 per game and had 12 blocks and 14 hits, putting up a perfectly serviceable 49.8 CF% at even strength in bottom pairing usage. The 2019 sixth-rounder is an intriguing third-pairing option for the long haul, especially after posting 5-15–20 in 48 games for Utica last season.

Utah Hockey Club Places Vladislav Kolyachonok On Waivers

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The Utah Hockey Club is now in a position to reduce the number of defensemen on their active roster. They have announced that defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok has been placed on waivers, to eventually reassign him to their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.

Utah has carried eight defensemen on the active roster for much of the regular season due to long-term injuries to John Marino, Sean Durzi, and Robert Bortuzzo. Kolyachonok’s placement on waivers indicates the team is close to activating Durzi or Bortuzzo given that Marino has already been activated.

The injuries have allowed Kolyachonok to achieve a career-high in games played this season. The native of Minsk, Belarus, has scored two goals and seven points in 23 games this year, averaging 12:20 of ice time per night.

He has significantly improved his possession metrics, boasting a 52.9% Corsi For% at even strength, which is 7.3% higher than his previous career high. However, considering his relative youth, Kolyachonok would likely benefit from playing in the AHL.

Should he clear waivers, it will be his first time playing for the AHL Roadrunners this season. He scored eight goals and 11 points in 36 games in Tucson last season but has only been rostered in the NHL this year.

The improved quality of possession may give Kolyachonok a strong chance of being claimed. The Nashville Predators, currently ranked third-to-last in the league standings, could be a viable option for him. With Kevin Gravel filling in on the left side of their bottom pairing while Jeremy Lauzon recovers from injury, the Predators might consider Kolyachonok an upgrade over Gravel and a potential seventh defenseman.

Lightning’s Brandon Halverson Clears Waivers

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Feb. 7: Halverson cleared waivers, per Friedman. The Lightning now have 30 days to send him to the AHL.

Feb. 6: Halverson is on waivers today for the purpose of reassignment back to Syracuse, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He backed up Andrei Vasilevskiy on Tuesday against the Senators and will do so again for the second half of their home-and-home tonight, but clearing today will allow the Bolts to return him to the minors as soon as tomorrow or over the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

Feb. 3: Veteran netminder Brandon Halverson has turned his impressive play into an NHL contract. The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they’ve signed Halverson to a two-year contract taking him through the 2025-26 season.

Halverson had been the top netminder playing on an AHL contract this season and arguably the top player. The Traverse City, MI native returned to North America last season after a one-year stint with the Bayreuth Tigers of the DEL2 league in Germany.

He spent much of last season with the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, where he posted a record of 14 wins, 12 losses, and 3 overtime losses in 32 games, along with a .913 save percentage and a 2.82 goals-against average. After joining the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch for the playoff stretch, his performance improved significantly, achieving a record of 7-3-3 in 14 games, with a .913 save percentage and a 2.18 goals-against average. He also recorded a .916 save percentage in seven playoff games.

This season has quickly become the best of his professional career. After Saturday’s loss to the AHL’s Rochester Americans, Halverson has a 12-7-10 record through 26 games with a .918 SV% and 2.20 GAA, including a league-leading four shutouts.

The Lightning have been dealing with some uncertainty in the net due to a short-term injury to backup netminder Jonas Johansson. Given Halverson’s impressive play on the season, Tampa Bay may opt to utilize him in their backup role for the time being instead of Matt Tomkins. Regardless, it’s been an impressive road back to an NHL contract for Halverson who last suited up in one game for the New York Rangers in the 2017-18 season.

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