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Canadiens Recall Florian Xhekaj, Joshua Roy Remains With Team

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5:15 p.m.: In a somewhat confusing update, Montreal has amended their previous announcement by sharing that Roy remains with the team. That gives Montreal 14 forwards for tomorrow’s contest unless another move is made.

5:01 p.m.: The Montreal Canadiens have recalled one of the toughest-nosed players, having yet to play in the NHL. According to a team announcement, the Canadiens have recalled Florian Xhekaj and reassigned Joshua Roy in a corresponding roster move.

Montreal drafted Xhekaj with the 101st overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. He plays an eerily similar game to his brother Arber Xhekaj, albeit on offense.

He was drafted relatively high, given his playstyle, scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 68 games for the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs during his draft season. However, Xhekaj exploded on offense the following campaign, registering 34 goals and 65 points in 63 games with a +17 rating.

Even through his transition to professional hockey, Xhekaj looked back. He was one of the most exciting prospects to watch for the Canadiens last season, scoring 24 goals and 35 points in 69 games for the AHL’s Laval Rocket with a whopping 175 PIMs. This season, he has managed two goals and four points in 16 games, with 44 PIMs.

Xhekaj butters his bread in the crease. Reminiscent of Detroit Red Wing Tomas Holmstrom in the early-to-mid 2000s, Xhekaj’s net front presence has become exceptional in the AHL, with most of his goals coming from high-skill deflections. It’ll play well in Montreal, since blue-liners Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson are no strangers to firing the puck on net.

Unfortunately, Xhekaj’s recall comes with some bad news for Roy. The 22-year-old forward has gone scoreless in three games for the Canadiens this season, averaging 9:47 of ice time per game. He’s fared much better with AHL Laval, scoring four goals and seven points in 10 contests.

Carolina Hurricanes Activate Jalen Chatfield

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The Carolina Hurricanes are inching closer to a healthy defensive core. According to a team announcement, the Hurricanes have activated defenseman Jalen Chatfield from their injured reserve.

It’s been a few weeks since Chatfield last played for Carolina. The six-year veteran has been nursing an upper-body injury after getting knocked out of the Hurricanes’ game against the Minnesota Wild on November 6th.

Chatfield has been his typical, consistent self when healthy. In his 13 games leading up to the injury against Minnesota, Chatfield had registered three helpers while averaging 19:50 of ice time. Despite not scoring a goal up to this point, Chatfield has gotten 20 shots on goal and managed a 53.1% CorsiFor% at even strength, a commonality for nearly every player in Carolina.

It’s an open question whether Chatfield will return to the lineup tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. The Hurricanes are 6-2-2 in their last 10, so Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour may not feel rushed to change anything. Still, Chatfield spent a decent amount of time next to Alexander Nikishin to start the year, so Carolina may plug Chatfield in for Mike Reilly on the team’s bottom pairing.

Regardless, it’s a positive step forward for a banged-up Hurricanes’ blue line. Although their record may not show it, Carolina has hardly had a complete defensive core at any point during the regular season. Nikishin and Sean Walker are the only blueliners who have played in all 20 Hurricane games up to this point of the regular season.

Senators Place Olle Lycksell On Waivers

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The Senators have placed winger Olle Lycksell on waivers, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. He hasn’t played since Nov. 8 and has been on injured reserve while in concussion protocol, so today’s news indicates he’s been cleared to return. Because he was on IR, he won’t count against Ottawa’s active roster while on waivers and will instead carry a non-roster designation for the next 24 hours.

Lycksell, 26, was a sixth-round pick by the Flyers back in 2017. He remained in the Philadelphia organization until last summer, when he became a Group VI unrestricted free agent and signed a two-way contract with Ottawa. In parts of three seasons on the Flyers’ NHL roster, he churned out a 1-10–11 scoring line in 45 appearances with a -6 rating. On the whole, he had underwhelming possession impacts with a 49.2 CF% at 5-on-5 and averaged 10:53 of ice time per game. Combined with a relative lack of physicality, he wasn’t much of a fit in a bottom-six role and struggled to land a consistent spot despite some high-end scoring numbers in the minors. Over his three seasons with the Flyers’ AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley, he was nearly a point-per-game player with a 52-76–128 scoring line in 134 appearances.

Since he signed a two-way deal with the Sens and he wasn’t viewed as a threat to grab a top-nine job on the wings, many expected him to land on waivers during training camp. He did just that, but wasn’t assigned to AHL Belleville, at least not immediately. He’s remained on Ottawa’s active roster for the vast majority of the season, aside from a four-day demotion to Belleville in October and his recent IR placement.

Lycksell was used sparingly as an extra forward, though. He hasn’t appeared in more than two consecutive games this season and has just six total appearances, including just one since Oct. 28. His showing was a mixed bag. He did average a shot on goal per game and recorded his second career NHL tally, but his possession impacts weren’t good in sheltered fourth-line minutes. At 5-on-5 with Lycksell on the ice, the Senators have been outscored 4-2, outshot 33-23, and outchanced 34-30. That’s despite Lycksell receiving just one defensive zone start this year.

Given his minor-league success, Lycksell might generate some interest on the waiver wire, but his poor defensive impacts this season and lack of demonstrated upside at the NHL level point toward him clearing. Since they’re comfortable enough to expose him to waivers, he might be in line for a lengthier stint in Belleville, where he went without a point in two appearances last month.

Sabres Reassign Mason Geertsen

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Nov. 21: Geertsen has cleared waivers and was reassigned to AHL Rochester, per a team announcement.

Nov. 20: The Sabres have placed enforcer Mason Geertsen on waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Thursday. Once he’s removed from the active roster tomorrow, that will make way for Buffalo to activate winger Jason Zucker from injured reserve, as head coach Lindy Ruff said yesterday would be the case (via Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550).

Geertsen, 30, signed a two-year, two-way contract with Buffalo over the offseason, paying him $775K in the NHL and $425K in the AHL each season. Most expected him to land on waivers during the preseason. The 6’4″ heavyweight only had 25 NHL games to his name entering training camp. All of them came in a limited role with the Devils in the 2021-22 season. While his primary position is defense, the left-shot played as a winger to get into the lineup, recording five fights and 58 hits while averaging 6:57 of ice time per game.

The Devils waived Geertsen the following season, spending the year with AHL Utica before reaching unrestricted free agency in 2023. He signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Golden Knights but spent the entirety of it in the minors. Across his last three AHL campaigns with Utica and Henderson, the former 2013 fourth-round pick of the Avalanche had just 10 goals and 19 points in 150 games, playing about as pure an enforcer role as today’s era allows.

That made Geertsen’s inclusion as depth muscle on Buffalo’s opening-night roster all the more surprising. Modern-day enforcers at the NHL level are still usually able to put up respectable point totals when skating in the minors – Zack MacEwen and Scott Sabourin, to name a pair. Geertsen doesn’t fit that bill. As expected, his role was incredibly limited as a result. He only got into five games for Buffalo, including four of their first six contests, but has now been a healthy scratch in seven straight games – even as injuries to Zucker, Zach Benson, and others have piled up.

In those five appearances, Geertsen remained without an NHL point and recorded a -1 rating with eight hits while averaging 4:07 per game. He managed just two shot attempts and didn’t get into a fight, only logging a tripping minor and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for 12 total PIMs. Geertsen shouldn’t have any trouble clearing waivers and will play a fourth-line role, if he sees much ice time at all, in Rochester after he clears.

Flames’ Samuel Honzek Likely Done For Season

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Flames center Samuel Honzek’s regular season is over after undergoing upper-body surgery, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 reports. He’ll be out for six months, meaning a potential return in May if Calgary makes the playoffs and makes it that far. Considering they’ve been in last place for most of the season with a 6-13-3 record, though, meaning he’s all but played his last hockey of 2025-26.

That’s a jarring change from Honzek’s initial week-to-week timeline. The 21-year-old was injured in last weekend’s game against the Jets when he collided with teammate Mikael Backlund in open ice, leaving the game and not returning. Such a lengthy recovery timeline indicates he sustained potentially significant shoulder damage or a collarbone fracture.

That collision ended what was a disappointing stretch for the 2023 first-round pick. Drafted 16th overall two years ago, the 6’4″ Slovak winger was a late inclusion on the opening night roster after it was apparent Martin Pospisil would miss significant time. While he’s gotten his first extended taste of NHL time, he hasn’t been able to do much with it. Despite being stapled to the left wing with Backlund and Blake Coleman in a top-nine role, Honzek only managed two goals and four points in 18 appearances. That’s no doubt influenced by a lack of power-play usage, which has limited his ice time to 12:21 per game.

Offense has been a consistent concern in Honzek’s game since being drafted, though. He had 56 points in 41 games for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants in his draft year but dipped back under the point-per-game mark for them in 2023-24. Upon turning pro last season, he only scored eight goals and 21 points in 52 games for AHL Calgary. That’s not a bad scoring line for a first-year pro, but for someone with his draft pedigree, the Flames were definitely looking for more production. Nonetheless, he still ranked as the Flames’ No. 2 prospect entering the season, according to Elite Prospects.

The good news is that Honzek was well on his way to establishing his floor as a third-line checking piece. While his unit with Backlund and Coleman hasn’t been explosive offensively, they’ve had great two-way chemistry and have been among the league’s better defensive forward lines. They’re only allowing 1.98 expected goals per 60 minutes at even strength, per MoneyPuck. That’s sixth in the league out of 37 forward trios with at least 100 minutes together this season.

Honzek will remain waiver-exempt next season in what will be the final year of his entry-level contract. With 10 months out of competitive action by the time he suits up in training camp next year and his point production turning pro lacking, it’ll be a storyline to watch to see if the Flames send him to the AHL out of the gate in 2026-27 to try to build up his scoring confidence.

The immediate result will be consistently elevated minutes for fellow first-rounder Connor Zary for the remainder of the season. After a round of drawn-out contract talks last summer, the Flames signed Zary to a three-year, $11.33MM contract but stuck him on the fourth line to begin the year. Understandably, that’s resulted in the 24-year-old only posting a goal and an assist in 20 games for the offense-starved Flames. He’s stepped up onto the wing with Backlund and Coleman in Honzek’s absence and should remain there for the foreseeable future.

Blues’ Alexandre Texier Considering Contract Termination

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Nov. 21: Texier has cleared waivers after being placed on them yesterday and has been assigned to AHL Springfield, the team announced. If he fails to report to the minors, he’ll be in breach of contract and can trigger a contract termination.

Nov. 20: Blues winger Alexandre Texier has considered asking for a contract termination to become an unrestricted free agent, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He remains on the Blues’ roster for now but has played just once since Oct. 28, sitting as a healthy scratch in nine of their last 10 games.

Texier, the first player in NHL history drafted directly from France’s Ligue Magnus, signed a two-year, $4.2MM contract with the Blues in June 2024 after they acquired his signing rights from the Blue Jackets. He was coming off a career-high 12 goals and 30 points in 78 games with Columbus, averaging north of 15 minutes per game, but the team wasn’t interested in re-signing him as they opened roster spots for a younger wave of prospects.

The 26-year-old just hasn’t been a fit in St. Louis. He made only 31 appearances last season and lost 15 games to illness and injury, meaning he spent nearly half the year in the press box. When dressed, he delivered career-average production on a per-game basis, notching six goals and five assists for 11 points. He did so in reduced ice time, averaging closer to 12:30 per game, as his role as a penalty killer in Columbus was stripped entirely from him with the Blues.

This season, Texier’s ice time has been slashed further to 10:15 per game. He’s only made eight out of 20 possible appearances, on track to finish with a similar workload to last season. Skating most commonly in fourth-line deployment with Nick Bjugstad and Nathan Walker, he’s logged one assist and nine hits. Perhaps more importantly, his chance generation is way down. He averaged 1.61 shots on goal per game last year – even more than he managed during his breakout year in Columbus – but that figure has nearly halved to 0.88 in 2025-26.

A contract termination would allow Texier to be uninhibited by his above-market-value $2.1MM cap hit as he looks for a new home. Still, he would be walking away from roughly 75% of his identical base salary for this season to do so. Whether he desires to remain in the NHL also remains to be seen. He’s made a move back to Europe before to be closer to his family in France, asking the Blue Jackets to spend the 2022-23 season on loan to Switzerland’s ZSC Lions, which they granted.

Avalanche Recall Jason Polin

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The Avalanche announced they’ve recalled forward Jason Polin from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. They have an open roster spot and thus don’t need to make a corresponding transaction.

Polin’s inclusion on the roster ensures the Avs will have 12 forwards available when they take on the Predators on Saturday. They could be without winger Gavin Brindley, who left Thursday’s win over the Rangers after taking a heavy hit in the first period and didn’t return.

It’s a tough break for Brindley if he’s set to miss any time. The 21-year-old rookie is fresh off signing a two-year extension and has been recently elevated into a top-six role alongside Brock Nelson in place of Valeri Nichushkin, who’s out week-to-week. Brindley’s first game in second-line duties resulted in a two-point performance against the Sabres last week, although he didn’t record a point against the Islanders last Sunday, nor did he get one in less than three minutes of ice time against the Rangers before sustaining the injury.

Injuries to Colorado’s forward group have been commonplace in recent years. That trend is starting to resurface with Nichushkin, Logan O’Connor, and Joel Kiviranta already being unavailable. If Polin’s services are needed this weekend, it likely won’t be as a direct replacement for Brindley on the depth chart. It’s fair to assume a brief elevation to top-six duties could be in order for Victor Olofsson, who saw over 18 minutes of ice time against the Rangers and has a 6-9–15 scoring line in 20 games this year, would be in order.

Polin, 26, has nine NHL games to his name with one goal. He was an undrafted free agent signing out of Western Michigan in 2023 and is now on his third consecutive one-year deal with the Avs. The 6’0″ sniper was an elite goal-scorer in his latter years in college – tickling the twine 30 times in 39 games in his senior season with the Broncos – but hasn’t found that gear since turning pro. He’s still put up a respectable three goals and six points in 16 AHL games this season and has an 18-18–36 scoring line in 104 career minor-league games, but those numbers aren’t seeing him make a serious push for a big-league job outside of a short-term injury replacement.

Wild Activate Zach Bogosian, Nico Sturm From IR

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The Wild announced they’ve activated defenseman Zach Bogosian and center Nico Sturm from injured reserve ahead of Friday’s game against the Penguins. They opened up one roster spot yesterday by placing Vladimir Tarasenko on IR and made the other by reassigning defenseman David Jiříček to AHL Iowa in today’s corresponding move.

Bogosian hasn’t played since sustaining a lower-body injury against the Capitals on Oct. 17. The 35-year-old righty is in his third season with the Wild after initially being acquired from the Lightning early in the 2023-24 season in exchange for a seventh-round pick. He’s been a stable bottom-pairing fixture since and played in all but one game for Minnesota last year, making this absence the longest one he’s had since shoulder surgery sidelined him for the first several weeks of the 2022-23 season while with Tampa Bay.

In five games this season before exiting the lineup, Bogosian looked the part of a reliable, veteran stay-at-home rearguard in limited minutes. Averaging 13:53 of ice time per game, he didn’t record a point but had a +3 rating while controlling 48.3% of shot attempts at 5-on-5, third among Minnesota defenders this season behind Jiříček and Jonas Brodin.

Bogosian is replacing Daemon Hunt in the Wild lineup, per Michael Russo of The Athletic, and it’s easy to see why. Minnesota reclaimed the 23-year-old off waivers from the Blue Jackets at the beginning of the year after sending him to Columbus last year in the trade that brought them Jiříček. He’s remained on the roster since and had gotten into a recent stretch of games with Bogosian out and Jiříček’s playing time being reduced, but he’s averaged only 11:53 per game and has been shelled despite receiving sheltered minutes. While Hunt has a +1 rating, the Wild have been outshot 46-24 and outchanced 43-28 with him on the ice at 5-on-5, the worst possession numbers this season from a Minnesota rearguard by a significant margin. Bogosian represents a sizeable upgrade in third-pairing duties with Zeev Buium as a result.

As for Sturm, he’s yet to play this season after sustaining a back injury at the beginning of training camp. Unlike Bogosian, he’s not a certainty to return to the lineup tonight. Russo said a Sunday season debut against the Jets is the more likely outcome.

Still, the 30-year-old is a big boost to a Wild bottom six that’s starved for offense. After starting his NHL career in Minnesota, Sturm returned to the Wild this summer after three-plus years away on a two-year, $4MM deal. A faceoff and defensive specialist first and foremost, he’s still put up respectable point totals, averaging 11 goals and 23 points per 82 games over his seven-year NHL career. Considering the entirety of Minnesota’s fourth line had been held without a goal this season, he’ll be a significant upgrade in a down-the-middle slot when he does get back into the lineup.

The Wild want Jiříček playing, so returning the 2022 No. 6 overall pick to the minors after scratching him in three straight games is no surprise. It’s the second time Jiříček has been assigned to Iowa this season after making the opening night roster, although his last demotion lasted for just two days. This year, the 6’4″ righty has been a passable third-pairing option but hasn’t shown anything more than that. He’s continued to have fits finding his offensive ceiling, going without a point and logging a -3 rating through 12 appearances.

Blue Jackets Recall Brendan Gaunce, Reassign Luca Del Bel Belluz

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The Blue Jackets announced that they’ve elevated forward Brendan Gaunce from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Center Luca Del Bel Belluz is headed back down to Cleveland in the corresponding move.

Del Bel Belluz was initially brought up earlier in the month after an injury scare to Sean Monahan, although he didn’t end up missing any time. They still opted to give the 22-year-old pivot a crack at NHL minutes, something that became more feasible after captain Boone Jenner landed on injured reserve last week. Del Bel Belluz had gotten into seven of the last eight games, but rarely as more than a fourth-line center. He averaged only 9:35 of ice time, limited to one assist while winning just 10 of his 34 faceoffs for a 26.4 FOW%.

Given Del Bel Belluz’s skillset as an offensive needle-mover, that wasn’t the best choice for his long-term development, nor was he the best fit for the role the Jackets were asking him to play. The 2022 second-round pick more accurately flashed his ceiling during a 15-game call-up last year, when he rattled off two goals and six assists for eight points in nearly 14 minutes of ice time per game.

With Del Bel Belluz not getting that type of deployment this time around, they’ll opt to let him resume playing a starring role in Cleveland while recalling the vastly more experienced Gaunce to serve as a fourth-line stopgap. The 31-year-old was reacquired by the Blue Jackets via trade from the Wild over the offseason after previously spending three seasons in Columbus and Cleveland from 2021-22 through 2023-24. Gaunce brings a 13-16–29 scoring line with a -17 rating in 189 career NHL appearances to the role.

Sabres To Activate Jason Zucker From Injured Reserve

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The Sabres are expected to activate winger Jason Zucker from injured reserve before Friday’s matchup with the Blackhawks, according to the team’s website. Head coach Lindy Ruff said earlier in the week that they were targeting Friday as Zucker’s return date, and Buffalo placed Mason Geertsen on waivers yesterday to open a roster spot for his reinstatement.

Zucker has been out for three weeks with what turned out to be a particularly nasty viral illness. He went over a week without being able to eat solid food and lost considerable weight in the first several days of his absence, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic reported earlier this month. He’s been on the mend for a while now, but needed additional time to build his conditioning back up to game shape.

With the Sabres missing a long list of other forwards, though, they wanted Zucker back in the lineup as soon as possible. As such, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his workload reduced in his first few games back before returning to the consistent top-nine duties he’s held throughout his time in Buffalo. Even with Zucker back in the picture, the Sabres still have four other forwards on injured reserve, a list that includes two-thirds of their top line in Zach Benson and Joshua Norris.

Zucker arrived in Buffalo in the 2024 offseason on a one-year, $5MM contract and signed a two-year, $9.5MM extension at last season’s trade deadline to extend his stay in western New York through the 2026-27 campaign. The 33-year-old has been a highly serviceable middle-six piece under Ruff and even had one of the best years of his career in a Sabres uniform last year. While a few minor injuries limited him to 73 appearances, he cracked the 50-point plateau for the second time in his 15-year run in the NHL and finished with a 21-32–53 scoring line while averaging 16 minutes per night.

The Sabres’ never-ending parade of injuries to their forward group this season has meant a lack of consistent linemates for Zucker. He still churned out four goals and seven points through 12 games before contracting the illness and landing on IR, and his 0.58 points per game are good for seventh on the team.

His return will add some juice to a Sabres offense that’s generated 2.63 goals per game in his absence, 22nd in the league since he exited the lineup after Nov. 1. Perhaps the most interesting storyline regarding his return is how much his presence affects Isak Rosen’s deployment. The 2021 first-rounder has finally pushed for an extended audition in a top-nine role and has answered the bell with three goals and six points in nine games since being elevated from AHL Rochester on Halloween. His second-line job with Ryan McLeod and Jack Quinn should be safe for now with Zucker presumably being eased back into the lineup, but long-term, it’s something to monitor.

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