Lightning Recall Steven Santini
The Lightning announced today that they’ve recalled right-shot defender Steven Santini from AHL Syracuse. He will step into the lineup tonight against the Blue Jackets after Erik Černák left Sunday’s wild 8-7 loss to the Sabres, falling awkwardly on his leg in a fight at the beginning of the second period, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. Head coach Jon Cooper called Černák day-to-day, per Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider, so he isn’t in for an extended absence.
Santini, 31, has been a frequent flyer between Tampa and Syracuse this season. Today marks his fifth recall of the year, but his first since December. A veteran of nine NHL seasons, he joined the Bolts on a two-way deal in free agency in 2024 and signed a two-year extension last June, so he’s still signed through next season. A veteran all-around defender at the AHL level, his nine NHL games this season are already the most he’s played since suiting up a career-high 39 times for the Devils in 2018-19.
The 6’3″ rearguard has been adequate in a short-term support role. He’s only averaging 11:34 of ice time per game, posting an assist and a +1 rating. A physical shutdown defender during his time as a semi-frequent NHL option in New Jersey, he’s not displaying that same penchant for hitting later in his career. His possession numbers at 5-on-5 are also underwater with a 48.1% Corsi share, but he’s riding a 103.6 PDO and has gotten favorable offensive zone usage en route.
Down in Syracuse, he’s the club’s captain and has six assists and a +10 rating in 32 games. Still a high-end defensive threat in the minors, his offense is definitely trailing off. He’s had double-digit points in four straight minor-league seasons, but that streak could come to a close this year.
He was deployed in the lineup earlier this season because there were multiple occassions were the Bolts were missing three or more defenders at a time. They find themselves in a similar pinch now with Černák exiting, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg dealing with a facial fracture, and Darren Raddysh unavailable on bereavement leave following his father’s passing.
Leafs Recall Bo Groulx
The Maple Leafs announced Tuesday that they’ve recalled center Benoit-Olivier Groulx from AHL Toronto. He’ll give the Leafs a 13th forward for the stretch run after they iced a bare-minimum roster on offense for the last few days following the departures of Scott Laughton and Bobby McMann on deadline day.
It’s the second NHL stint of the season for Groulx, but the first that could result in any playing time. He was summoned for one day last month to practice with the Leafs as they still had players over at the Winter Olympics. It’s his first “real” recall since signing a two-year deal with Toronto in free agency last summer and will likely lead to his first NHL appearance since April 2024 with the Ducks.
Groulx, 26, has played 54 games in the AHL this season and has been the Marlies’ top producer with 27 goals and 50 points. With a +13 rating in tow, it’s easily the best pro season of his career on both sides of the puck. A second-round pick by Anaheim back in 2018, he stands at 6’2″ and 205 lbs and has always carried some intrigue with his bang-and-crash two-way play.
Groulx did get some runway in Anaheim’s NHL lineup, skating in 65 games in parts of three seasons from 2021-24. He averaged 12 minutes of ice time per game but was never able to make any sort of offensive impact, limited to one goal and four assists. After making a career-high 45 appearances in 2023-24, he was non-tendered and signed a two-way deal with the Rangers in the offseason. He cleared waivers and spent all of last season in the minors before landing with Toronto.
Aleksander Barkov Returns To Practice
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov appeared to be lost for the season when he tore both his ACL and MCL in his right knee on his first day of training camp. He’s been pushing for an early return, though, and has been doing light skating work on his own as part of his rehab since the end of December. That culminated in Barkov joining the team for a practice session, albeit in a non-contact jersey, for the first time this morning, the team’s Jameson Olive relays.
Florida and Barkov both hoped that if he did push the envelope for his return, it would be with the intent of captaining them to a third straight Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, a wide range of other impactful injuries completely derailed the Cats’ season. They’re not technically eliminated from playoff contention, but, with 19 games to go, are third-last in the East and sit 11 points back of a playoff spot. Their chances of making the playoffs are down to just 1.5%, per MoneyPuck, with a greater chance at winning the draft lottery for the first overall pick.
With that in mind, there’s little reason to work him into the lineup if he’s anything less than 100%. Outside of Sergei Bobrovsky, all of Florida’s core is signed long-term and still has a chance at multiple deep playoff runs with their group. Those long-term hopes will be dashed if Barkov sustains any additional damage or prevents his knee from fully healing, though.
Nonetheless, one of the most competitive individuals in the sport will bite at the chance to get back on the ice, even if it’s for a few ultimately meaningless games at the end of the schedule. It’s incredibly rare for a player of Barkov’s caliber to miss an entire season in his prime. Even the most notable examples this century, Peter Forsberg in 2001-02 and Nikita Kucherov in 2020-21, saw their clubs make the postseason without them and return to be their club’s top contributors on long playoff runs.
Hopefully, the fact that Barkov’s recovery has seemingly gone as smoothly as it has is a promising sign that he’ll hit the ground running in the fall for his age-31 season. He’s won back-to-back Selke Trophies and has passed the point-per-game threshold six times in the last seven seasons.
Blackhawks’ Oliver Moore Out Multiple Weeks
The Blackhawks will be without center Oliver Moore for at least a “couple of weeks” due to an undisclosed injury, head coach Jeff Blashill said last night (via Tab Bamford of Bleacher Nation). Chicago only has 12 healthy forwards without him, but with just six minor-league forwards under NHL contract, they’ll be mindful of recalling anyone unless they absolutely have to, so as not to decimate AHL Rockford’s roster.
Moore, 21, hadn’t missed a game since his recall in November until getting tangled up with Stars forward Colin Blackwell behind the net Sunday night. He left the game and was immediately ruled out for yesterday’s overtime loss to the Mammoth, which wasn’t a good sign for his long-term availability. With just over five weeks left in the regular season, there appears to be a chance this is season-ending for Moore.
It’s been a good rookie season from Moore, who’s stuck mostly on the wing in a middle-six role but has seen some time at center, too. The 19th overall pick in the 2023 draft signed out of the University of Minnesota last spring and began his NHL career with four assists in nine games with the Hawks to close out the schedule. He didn’t make the opening night roster in the fall, but after lighting up Rockford with nine points and a +8 rating in nine games, Chicago recalled him less than a month into the schedule.
Moore’s skating and two-way acumen, not necessarily his production ceiling, were what got him drafted that high. Mission accomplished on the former. Moore ranks in the 83rd percentile or higher in the four skating speed stats tracked by NHL EDGE, and especially excelled with 131 bursts between 20 and 22 miles per hour, sitting in the 91st percentile there.
If it’s the end of the road for him in 2025-26, he ends his rookie year with a 5-14–19 scoring line in 51 games with a -15 rating. That’s not awful production for a first-year player by any means, and it’s good for 10th in scoring on a Chicago team with a bottom-10 offense. His possession impacts didn’t blow anyone out of the water, but were certainly fine in a tough environment in the Windy City. His 47.1% Corsi share ranks sixth among Blackhawks forwards, and his 48.0% expected goals share ranks second at 5-on-5 (min. 50 minutes), per Natural Stat Trick.
The Blackhawks would have loved to see more of Moore down the stretch. They’ll lose him, but should see the addition of at least one first-round pick on offense in the coming days. 2024 #18 pick Sacha Boisvert will be joining the team after his sophomore season with Boston University ends, which could be as soon as tomorrow if they’re upset by last-place Vermont in the first round of the Hockey East tournament. Last year’s third overall selection, Anton Frondell, is also expected to be recalled from his loan to Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League when his season ends. The SHL’s regular season ends this weekend, but Djurgården has all but booked a spot in the play-in round.
Snapshots: Benak, Cruikshank, Heartlanders
Minnesota Wild prospect Adam Benak announced on social media today that he has committed to play college hockey at Western Michigan University. Benak, a 2025 fourth-round pick of the Wild, has elected to join the reigning NCAA champions, presumably for the 2026-27 season. Benak is currently playing for the Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL, where he has been one of the league’s most productive 18-year-old players. Of players his age, Benak’s 68 points in just 42 games ranks third in total points and second in scoring rate.
The move to college hockey will be the next test for a player who has found a way to be a productive force at the USHL level, OHL level, and on the international stage. Entering the season, Benak was ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the Wild’s system by the team at Elite Prospects, with scout Sebastian High writing that while he has middle-six upside, his “path to an NHL role is long and winding,” in large part due to his status as an undersized forward. Today’s announcement settles that the next step for Benak on his road to pro hockey will be the NCAA, and scouts will likely be curious to see if he’ll be able to translate his quality production from junior hockey to the college ranks.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- The AHL’s Hershey Bears announced that veteran forward Grant Cruikshank has signed a one-year AHL contract extension to remain with the organization for the 2026-27 season. The 27-year-old has had a solid 2025-26 campaign, setting a career-high for games played (52), goals (nine), and points (14) in a single AHL season. After a five-year college career, Cruikshank began his time as a professional in the ECHL, but after scoring 43 points in 35 games as a rookie, he quickly elevated himself to the AHL side of the AHL/ECHL bubble. Last season, he got into 31 games for the Bears, and this year, he’s been able to carve out a regular role in head coach Derek King’s lineup. He’s become a far more regular fixture on the Bears’ penalty kill, a unit that ranks No. 15 in the AHL, and it’s his development into a reliable defensive forward that has likely earned him this early extension. While he may not have a clear path to the NHL, he could look forward to a long AHL career as a penalty-killing defensive forward, perhaps in the mold of longtime Bridgeport forward Jeff Kubiak.
- The ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders announced today that the league’s Board of Governors approved the team’s decision to voluntarily suspend operations for the 2026-27 season. In their announcement, Heartlanders owner Michael Devlin called the move “an incredibly difficult decision” but one that “is the most responsible course” as the team reviews options for the franchise’s long-term sustainability. The Heartlanders are the ECHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, and have players who are signed to, or have previously signed, NHL contracts on their roster, including Elliot Desnoyers, Cameron Butler, and Stevie Leskovar. Iowa went 36-25-11 last season but has fallen to 19-30-5 this year, No. 28 of 30 teams in league standings. According to HockeyDB, they rank last in the ECHL in average attendance per game.
Utah Mammoth Recall Maksymilian Szuber
The Utah Mammoth announced tonight that they have recalled defenseman Maksymilian Szuber from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.
The recall was made just before the club began its contest against the Chicago Blackhawks, and was likely made with an eye to the injury currently being managed by defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.
Sergachev has been out since March 5 with a lower-body injury. With Sergachev unavailable for selection by head coach Andre Tourigny, the addition of Szuber gives the team an additional blueliner to work with in Sergachev’s absence.
This isn’t Szuber’s first recall in recent weeks for the 23-year-old defenseman, though he has not yet dressed for any games for the Mammoth. He has one NHL game to his name, coming in 2023-24 with the Arizona Coyotes. He’s been making a push for consideration for an NHL role in 2025-26, a development that has been underscored by his handful of recalls this year.
The 6’3″, 220-pound defenseman won a DEL Championship with Red Bull Munich in 2022-23 before crossing the Atlantic to cut his teeth in the North American pro game. He’s been a steady top-four defenseman at the AHL level over the past two years, and has had a strong season so far. In 50 games for the Roadrunners, he’s managed 10 goals and 25 points. He’s handling a solid diet of minutes for the Roadrunners, and is contributing on both sides of special teams.
While the Mammoth are looking to hold onto their current spot in the Western Conference playoff picture (their ceiling is likely the first Wild Card spot, given the substantial standings lead held by three Central Division juggernauts, the Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, and Dallas Stars), they stand to benefit if they can find a way to test Szuber in some NHL games down the stretch.
He’s a pending restricted free agent who will have the right to file for arbitration if he so chooses. If the Mammoth can get Szuber into some NHL games, they would likely have a better sense of how close he is to being firmly NHL-ready, which would then give them a better sense of what level of investment to commit to him on his next contract.
Additionally, from Szuber’s perspective, getting the chance to play in some NHL games could enhance his case for a more substantial contract this summer. It would potentially allow him to position himself in negotiations more as a player on the NHL-AHL bubble, rather than a full-time AHL talent.
Blue Jackets’ Erik Gudbranson Suffers Upper-Body Injury
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness told the media, including team reporter Jeff Svoboda, that veteran defenseman Erik Gudbranson will not travel for Columbus’ upcoming three-game road trip after suffering an upper-body injury during today’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.
The injury limited Gudbranson to just five minutes of ice time today. The 34-year-old had a late start to his 2025-26 season as he was on injured reserve until mid-January with a hip injury.
The Blue Jackets did not reveal a full recovery timeline for Gudbranson, but that is presumably because the full extent of the upper-body injury is likely still being evaluated.
Should Gudbranson miss more than just this upcoming three-game road trip, the consequences could be significant both for Columbus and for Gudbranson himself.
The Blue Jackets have turned their season around since hiring Rick Bowness as their head coach, and are in the midst of a furious push up the Eastern Conference standings. The playoffs currently look like a very realistic possibility for the team, if they can sustain their pace.
Gudbranson has been a key defensive specialist for the Blue Jackets since making his season debut, and his efforts have helped propel the stunning reversal the team has experienced in its competitive fortunes for 2025-26. He’s the Blue Jackets’ No. 3 defenseman in terms of ice time, skating nearly 21 minutes per night.
He’s also a key player on the penalty kill, sitting just a few seconds behind Ivan Provorov for the team lead in short-handed time-on-ice per game. His 2:55 short-handed time on ice per game ranks just outside the top-20 in the NHL in that metric. While Columbus doesn’t have one of the league’s better penalty kills, it’s clear Gudbranson retains the trust of Bowness in key defensive situations.
With all of that in mind, it’s clear losing Gudbranson will pose a challenge for the Blue Jackets. It could present an opportunity for Yegor Zamula or Jake Christiansen to take on some of Gudbranson’s minutes in his absence, but neither is an ideal replacement for the defenseman.
From Gudbranson’s perspective, an extended injury absence would come at an extremely inopportune time. He’s playing out the final year of the four-year, $4MM AAV deal he signed in Columbus, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
While he will be able to offer interested teams a wealth of experience and some coveted traits (his size, physicality, and status as a right-shot defenseman), if he ends up missing even more time this season, his free agent case will be presented with questions attached. More specifically, Gudbranson’s trip to free agency (assuming he does not sign an extension in Columbus) could be dogged with questions over whether teams can trust him to stay healthy as he progresses deeper into his thirties.
It’s Gudbranson’s upcoming free agency, combined with his team’s playoff chase, that gives this development a clear set of stakes. The hope will be, for all parties involved, that the extent of Gudbranson’s absence is limited to just the team’s upcoming road trip.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Flyers’ Travis Konecny, Nick Seeler Return From Injury
Two veteran Philadelphia Flyers players returned from injury-related absences for the team’s game tonight against the Rangers: winger Travis Konecny and defenseman Nick Seeler.
Konecny is the more notable name of the pair, as he has led the Flyers in scoring each season for the last half-decade.
The 28-year-old has 57 points in 58 games this season, and holds a six-point lead over teammate Trevor Zegras for the scoring lead.
Last week, it was announced that Konecny would be sidelined on a day-to-day basis as he dealt with an upper-body injury. He missed the team’s victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 2, as well as their following two contests.
With his return tonight, his injury absence is capped at three games, a stretch in which the Flyers went 2-1-0.
With the Flyers clinging to slim playoff hopes at this stage of the season (their 29-22-11 record puts them seven points behind the Boston Bruins for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot, with a game in hand), getting Konecny back now gives the team a boost to its competitive chances.
Were the Flyers somehow in the Western Conference, they would actually be in playoff position, but their geographic position puts their playoff hopes in a precarious spot. For them to build any momentum to go on a run and challenge for a playoff spot for the rest of the season, they’ll need Konecny healthy and playing at his best.
The other injured Flyer to be returning, Seeler, isn’t quite as important to the team as Konecny, but that’s not to say he doesn’t play a useful role in head coach Rick Tocchet’s lineup. The 32-year-old is the Flyers’ No. 5 defenseman in terms of ice time, averaging 18:21 per game.
He’s a regular penalty killer, averaging over two minutes of ice time per game short-handed. He also adds imposing size and a physical edge to a Flyers defense staffed with other players (outside of veteran Rasmus Ristolainen) who are not known for having that kind of dimension to their game.
Seeler missed the Flyers’ last two games nursing a lower-body injury. While Seeler was sidelined, 24-year-old Emil Andrae played in Seeler’s former role on the Flyers’ third pairing, next to veteran Noah Juulsen. With Seeler back, Andrae will exit the lineup and serve as a healthy scratch.
That sort of development has larger implications for Andrae. He is a pending arbitration-eligible restricted free agent, meaning each game carries significant stakes – he’s playing to prove he deserves a spot in the Flyers’ future plans. Each game spent as a healthy scratch is a lost opportunity for Andrae to make his case for a new contract with the Flyers.
But putting the consequences of Seeler’s return for Andrae aside, it’s clear his relatively quick recovery is a positive development for the Flyers as a whole. Seeler, like Konecny, is a valuable veteran for the team, and if they are to continue to play meaningful hockey down the stretch, they’ll need to have both players healthy and productive for as long as possible.
Photos courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Afternoon Notes: Hutson, Ovechkin, Carlson
The Washington Capitals will be watching closely as top prospect Cole Hutson heads to the Hockey East postseason this weekend. The defenseman could head to Washington as soon as Boston University’s season ends per Chris Cerullo of RMNB. Both team and player have expressed interest in coming together soon, with Capitals general manager Chris Patrick recently mentioning that trade acquisition Timothy Liljegren could be a smart veteran partner for Hutson if he leaves college, “like [the team] hopes”.
Hutson has emerged as a star prospect since joining the Terriers last season. He scored 14 goals and 48 points in 39 games as a freshman, becoming the X-factor addition that drove Boston University to their first National Championship appearance since Jack Eichel‘s great 2014-15 season. Hutson has dwindled to 30 points in 33 games this season, on the back of a struggling Terriers offense as a whole. Those struggles will be their challenge as the playoffs roll around. If and when Hutson moves to the pros, he will rival Rasmus Sandin and Martin Fehervary for minutes on the left-side, and could be the reason one of the veterans moves to the right-side as the team tries to replace John Carlson.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Sticking in Washington, franchise great Alex Ovechkin said that his retirement decision will hinge on how his body feels in an interview with Ian Oland of RMNB. Ovechkin has scored 24 goals and 50 points in 64 games this season, keeping up a tendency for strong scoring into his age-40 season, though he’s dipped from the pace that led him to 44 goals and 73 points in 65 games of his historic 2024-25 season. Ovechkin holds the NHL’s all-time goals record, racking up 921 in 1,555 career games so far. How many he’ll add to those totals seems to be up in the air as he continues to weigh a closely-followed retirement decision.
- Speaking of Carlson, the former Capitals star is hoping to make his debut with the Anaheim Ducks at the end of their current, four-game road trip as he works back from a day-to-day, lower-body injury per Derek Lee of The Hockey News. The Ducks’ road-trip ends with a back-to-back against Ottawa and Montreal on Saturday and Sunday. Anaheim pulled off the surprise of the Trade Deadline in their acquisition of Carlson for conditional-first-round and third-round draft pick. Carlson scored 10 goals and 46 points in 55 games with the Capitals before the trade. He has surpassed the 50-point mark in each of the last two seasons and reached 71 points in 78 games of the 2021-22 season. He should bring a boost of offense to a veteran Ducks blue-line.
Brad Marchand Weighing Surgery Among Panthers Injury Updates
The second half of the season is becoming clearer for the Florida Panthers, who saw multiple players progress and regress from extended injuries. Defenseman Seth Jones and center Jonah Gadjovich, both on long-term injured reserve, have each taken a step forward but both still aren’t ready to return yet, head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson.
Maurice spoke more in depth about winger Brad Marchand who will see doctors on Tuesday to determine if he needs surgery for a nagging, undisclosed injury. Marchand has dealt with the injury for most of the season, pushing Maurice to try and control his rest. That task has become tougher as a condensed back-half of the season rolls around. Marchand hasn’t been able to stand up to his top-six role since March rolled around, averaging just 13:30 in ice time over his last four games – over four minutes under his season-long average. The team expects to have an answer on his status for the rest of the season before the week ends.
Marchand has been a cornerstone of Florida’s offense, even while playing through injuries. He has scored 54 points – split evenly – in 52 games, making him one of only two Panthers scoring above a point-per-game alongside Matthew Tkachuk. Marchand’s ability to produce consistently from the first or second line has supported Tkachuk as he’s eased back from a season-opening injury and heavy role at the Winter Olympics.
The Panthers will turn towards trade acquisition Vinnie Hinostroza to fill in the lineup chart with Marchand on the shelf. He scored three goals and 10 points in 48 games with the Minnesota Wild before moving to Florida at the Trade Deadline for future considerations. He will step into a fourth-line role with the Panthers, while Eetu Luostarinen earns a bump into unrivaled, top-six minutes. Luostarinen has 24 points in 55 games this season and is in the midst of a seven-game scoring drought. He and Carter Verhaeghe should be the biggest beneficiary of Marchand’s available minutes.
Florida is missing another major piece in Jones, who ranks second on the defense in scoring with 24 points in 40 games. He led the team in ice time per-game before going down with injury, averaging 23:29 – a good stride above Gustav Forsling‘s 22:44 ranked second. Jones has stood up to a top role in Florida’s offense after being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks for a steep price in 2025. Jones’ return will fortify Florida’s blue-line alongside Aaron Ekblad.
Meanwhile, Gadjovich’s return will round out Florida’s depth alongside waiver acquisition Cole Reinhardt. Gadjovich recorded three assists in 10 games before going down with injury on October 25th. He has missed 53 games, and the Winter Olympics, since.
The Panthers will move forward with a dented lineup as they try to climb back from an 11-point deficit in the standings. It seems they are much more likely to miss the postseason on the heels of back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, an outcome that – at the least – would allow more time for stars Tkachuk, Marchand, and Jones to work to full health by next season.