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New Jersey Devils Recall Xavier Parent

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The New Jersey Devils announced today that forward Xavier Parent has been recalled from the club’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.

In a corresponding move, veteran forward Evgenii Dadonov, who has been out since Nov. 26 with an undisclosed injury, was placed on IR by the club. It was reported in late November that Dadonov was likely to miss an extended period of time with his injury.

The move to recall Parent gives the Devils an additional forward on its roster while Timo Meier is away from the club on a personal leave of absence. Meier’s absence leaves a hole in the Devils’ top six, specifically on the wing on the club’s first line alongside captain Nico Hischier.

On paper, it doesn’t appear Parent would be an ideal fit for such an important role, largely due to the fact that he remains a complete unknown quantity at the NHL level. The 24-year-old undrafted former QMJHL star has spent the entirety of his professional career to this point in the minor leagues, working his way up from the ECHL to, now, the NHL.

Parent began his pro career with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder in 2022, marking his entry into the wider Devils organization. (The Thunder are the Devils’ ECHL affiliate) While ECHL clubs generally act with a good degree of independence when it comes to the day-to-day hockey operations decision-making, Parent’s first pro contract was actually a two-year AHL deal with the Utica Comets.

Since the Comets’ hockey operations are run by executives who work for the Devils, (Devils AGM Dan MacKinnon serves as Comets GM) while Parent may not have occupied an NHL contract spot to begin his career, he has nonetheless spent his entire time as a pro under the watchful eye of Devils management.

Parent instantly impressed, turning a point-per-game ECHL rookie campaign into a full-time role in the AHL the following year. As an AHL rookie, Parent scored 15 goals and 45 points, earning himself an AHL contract extension for 2024-25. Parent continued his top-six production into 2024-25, earning himself an NHL entry-level deal for 2025-26.

It’s that entry-level signing, as well as Parent’s continued production, that’s earned him this recall, the first of his pro career. As a five-foot-eight undrafted winger, Parent has always battled steep odds en route to this call-up. But with the Devils in need of additional scoring, Parent placed himself in prime position to be recalled by leading Utica in scoring this season.

While it’s unclear whether Parent’s scoring ability (he has 12 points in 20 games for the Comets this season) will translate to the NHL level, his recall marks a genuine developmental success story for the Devils.

While much of the commentary regarding the Devils’ work in the AHL has been negative this season (the Comets are third-to-last in the AHL standings and are tied for the fewest goals scored), today’s recall of Parent does illustrate that there are still some positive storylines to follow in Utica.

Timo Meier Taking Personal Leave Of Absence

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The New Jersey Devils announced today that forward Timo Meier is taking a personal leave of absence to tend to a family health matter.

As is customary in situations such as these, no further detail was provided nor was a timeline on Meier’s absence noted. That’s to be expected in situations like these, where the hockey, to be frank, becomes completely secondary to whatever is going on in the player’s off-ice life.

The Devils said in their statement “The entire organization supports Timo and his family and appreciates everyone respecting their privacy at this time.”

While, as mentioned, the hockey implications are secondary in this sort of situation, it is important for us here at PHR to at least take a moment to break down the on-ice ripple effect of Meier’s absence.

The core takeaway is that the Devils’ leading scorer on a points-per-game basis, Jack Hughes, remains out with an injury, so Meier’s leave of absence only further emphasizes the importance of the other key offensive players on the Devils. The unfortunate side effect of this development is that players such as Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer, and rookie Arseni Gritsyuk now have an even greater level of importance to New Jersey’s efforts in terms of scoring goals.

Meier is in the midst of a strong offensive campaign, ranking third on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 23 points in 30 games. He’s a key power forward for the Devils, with at least 50 points in each campaign since arriving in New Jersey.

Meier is slotted in on the Devils’ first line alongside Hischier at the moment, but this development will mean head coach Sheldon Keefe will need to adjust his lineup. It’s possible veteran Ondrej Palat sees a promotion into Meier’s role while Meier is away from the team, or that Keefe elects to more substantially alter his lines beyond just promoting one player.

Again, while the hockey implications of this news might appear important, for the entire Devils organization, the hockey side of things is secondary to supporting Meier as he deals with this family health matter.

Wild Reportedly Have “Significant Interest” In Kiefer Sherwood

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The Minnesota Wild have reportedly “shown significant interest” in Vancouver Canucks veteran forward Kiefer Sherwood, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith.

Sherwood, a pending unrestricted free agent, is widely expected to be dealt by the Canucks before the trade deadline next year. According to Russo and Smith, “The Canucks have shopped him around the league and originally wanted a good, young prospect.”

Smith and Russo now cite league sources who tell them the Canucks “have since changed gears” in their expectations, and “now want a good roster player and have also asked teams for a first-round pick.”

Whether the Wild remain interested in trading for Sherwood specifically at that price remains unclear. Earlier this month, we covered reporting indicating that Sherwood clearly fits the exact kind of mold of player Wild GM Bill Guerin would like to acquire.

The 30-year-old is notoriously difficult to play against, combining pest-like attributes with a real physical edge to his game.

The sandpaper in Sherwood’s game (he registered a whopping 462 hits last season) pairs with Sherwood’s more recent emergence as a goal scorer to create a really intriguing player for teams to target.

Sherwood has already scored 12 goals this season, and he had 19 goals and 40 points last year. While he’s rapidly increasing his expected asking price in free agency next summer, he’s also rapidly increasing his overall on-ice value.

As for his potential trade fit in Minnesota, it’s important to also note that there is some recent history of substantial trade talks between the Wild and Canucks. Russo and Smith in the same piece as earlier reported that “the Canucks turned down an offer from the Wild” that would have sent Wild center Marco Rossi to Vancouver at the 2025 draft. Per Russo and Smith, the offer included the No. 15 overall pick, center Aatu Raty, and netminder Arturs Silovs.

While Sherwood has gone cold in terms of scoring over the past two weeks, it’s unclear whether that will play a role in changing the leaguewide interest in his services. The trade market for established NHLers has been widely characterized as slower than usual, with few teams embracing the role as true sellers.

The fact that the Canucks appear clearly motivated to deal their unrestricted free agents, even established NHLers, makes them unique in the overall trade market landscape of the NHL right now. As a result, it’s likely that the high level of trade interest in Sherwood will likely be immune to the game-to-game fluctuations in his form.

As for where Sherwood might fit in Minnesota, the clear objective for the Wild in pursuing him would be to help address their need for more secondary scoring. Stars Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the Wild in terms of production, and they’re the only two Wild players with a double-digit goals total so far in 2025-26.

Sherwood would add a third such player to their team, and would give head coach John Hynes a player who could easily slot in on their third line, perhaps in the spot of veteran Yakov Trenin. While Trenin’s salary ($3.55MM AAV) merits more of a third-line role, Trenin has produced like a fourth-liner in Minnesota. He has eight points in 30 games this season and scored just 15 points in 76 games last year.

Whether the Wild are in enough of a need of immediate secondary scoring help to surrender what the Canucks are asking for in exchange for Sherwood is not clear at this time. For as many positive qualities Sherwood brings on the ice, trading a first-round pick as well as a “good roster player” for him is a steep price.

The Wild are already without second-round picks in each of the next two drafts thanks to prior transactions. Consequently, Guerin may need to think carefully before spending another premium draft asset on immediate help.

When it comes to acquiring Sherwood, or any other veteran player for that matter, Minnesota will need to carefully balance the value of immediate help versus the risks of depleting the resources the team’s amateur scouting department, led by Judd Brackett, will have at their disposal next year.

Photos courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Snapshots: Jarnkrok, Pettersson, Carlson

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With consistent playing time being hard to come by for Maple Leafs winger Calle Jarnkrok this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him consider other options in July when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.  Earlier today, a report from Aftonbladet’s Hans Abrahamsson suggested that the veteran was likely to return to the SHL next season and sign with Brynas.  However, his agent, Newport’s Filip Andreason, announced (Twitter link) that there have been no discussions with any team in any league for the 2026-27 campaign.  Jarnkrok has been limited to just 19 games with Toronto so far this season and has only four points, all goals.  He carries a $2.1MM cap charge which has hindered their efforts to try to find him a fresh start elsewhere.  He’ll get that fresh start in the summer but his plans for next season remain unsettled.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Canucks center Elias Pettersson skated on his own before practice today but didn’t take part in team drills and is unlikely to return from his upper-body injury on Thursday against Buffalo, notes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province. However, he is expected to accompany the team on their upcoming five-game road trip with an eye on returning at some point on that trip.  The 27-year-old has been a bit more productive relative to last season but is still underachieving offensively with six goals and 14 assists through 28 games which is still good for a share of the team lead in scoring.  He joins Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger as injured centers, putting Vancouver in a tough spot when it comes to filling out their lineup.
  • Capitals defenseman John Carlson has missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury sustained last Tuesday. However, it appears that the games missed count won’t go any higher.  Sammi Silber of The Hockey News relays that the veteran was a full participant at practice today on the top pairing which suggests he could be cleared to suit up Thursday against Carolina.  In his 17th season, all in Washington, Carlson has been quite productive so far in 2025-26, tallying six goals and 17 assists in 26 games while averaging nearly 23 minutes per game of playing time.

Oilers Likely To Move Jake Walman To LTIR

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The Oilers have been dealing with a tight salary cap situation all season long, primarily using LTIR in order to keep cap-compliant.  At the moment, they have two forwards on there in Kasperi Kapanen and Noah Philp but even with that, they are only able to afford to carry a minimum-sized roster of 12 forwards, six defensemen, and two goalies.

That could soon be changing, however.  Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 indicates (Twitter link) that the Oilers will likely move defenseman Jake Walman to LTIR over the next couple of days.  In doing so, they’ll add his $3.4MM AAV to their LTIR pool which will be enough to call up an extra forward and defenseman as they get set to embark on a five-game road trip that begins on Saturday in Toronto.

Walman is in his first full season with Edmonton after being acquired from San Jose at the trade deadline back in March.  He made a big impact after joining the team and that has carried over to this season, at least when he’s healthy enough to be in the lineup.  Through 17 games, Walman has three goals and seven assists along with 31 blocked shots while averaging a little over 20 minutes a night of playing time.  His early performance with the Oilers earned him a seven-year, $49MM extension back in October.

Walman missed five games with an undisclosed injury earlier in the season and has been out with another undisclosed injury since leaving Edmonton’s game on November 20th.  If the Oilers do indeed move Walman to LTIR, they will be able to backdate the placement to that time with the 10-game, 24-day requirements being calculated from there.  Considering he’s already missed seven games, this is a safe procedural move that would make a lot of sense for the Oilers to make.

West Notes: Bjugstad, Parekh, Askarov

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Blues center Nick Bjugstad will miss at least the next five days due to an upper-body injury, the team announced.  The injury occurred in the second period of their game against Boston on Tuesday.  The 33-year-old has had a quiet start to his career in St. Louis, putting up just four goals and one assist through 25 games while splitting time between down the middle and on the wing.  The oddly specific timeframe isn’t quite enough to make Bjugstad eligible for injured reserve at this time as that requires a minimum of a seven-day absence.  However, should the team determine that he’ll be out for a little bit longer, they’ll be able to backdate the placement if they need to put him on there to open up a roster spot.

More from out West:

  • Flames defenseman Zayne Parekh has been cleared for contact, notes Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun (Twitter link). The rookie has missed more than a month due to an upper-body injury.  However, it’s unlikely to be Calgary who immediately benefits from his return to health since Parekh will soon be joining Canada’s entry for the upcoming World Juniors.  If he doesn’t go to their camp right away, he’d be eligible for a conditioning assignment with AHL Calgary, somewhere he’s ineligible to play for this season on a full-time basis.
  • Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov didn’t play last night due to illness but he has rejoined the team at the next stop of their road trip in Toronto, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. As expected, it has been an up-and-down year for San Jose’s top goalie prospect but he has posted a respectable 3.14 GAA with a .901 SV% in 19 starts so far.  The Sharks used an EBUG as the backup on Tuesday in Philadelphia and the fact no netminder has been recalled since suggests they expect Askarov will at least be able to serve as the backup on Thursday.

Pittsburgh Penguins Reassign Samuel Poulin

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Samuel Poulin’s recent recall with the Pittsburgh Penguins will only last one day. The Penguins announced they’ve assigned the former first-round pick to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins earlier today.

Even with the injuries to Evgeni Malkin and Blake Lizotte, Pittsburgh chose not to dress Poulin for yesterday’s shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Unless he’s recalled after the AHL Penguins game this evening against the Hartford Wolf Pack, Poulin will finish the first two months of the NHL season with zero points in two games, averaging 13:49 of ice time per contest.

Despite the Penguins’ unexpected competitiveness this season, it’s somewhat surprising they haven’t given Poulin a longer look on the NHL roster. In what’s shaping up to be his best professional season to date, Poulin has scored nine goals and 20 points in WBS’s first 21 games with a +8 rating.

It’s not a lone bright spot on a disappointing team either. The AHL Penguins currently hold a one-point lead over the Providence Bruins for the top team in the Atlantic Division and the entire Eastern Conference.

Given that he’s leading the team in scoring, let alone on the top team of the Eastern Conference, Poulin has likely earned a longer stay in the NHL at this point. However, being that the Penguins hold the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and are two points away from being in a divisional spot in the Metropolitan Division, they’ll likely stay the course for the time being unless another significant injury hits the roster.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Trevor Kuntar To One-Year Deal

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The Buffalo Sabres have rewarded one of their better AHL forwards with an NHL contract. According to a team announcement, the Sabres have signed forward Trevor Kuntar to a one-year, two-way deal for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.

Kuntar, 24, is a native of Buffalo, NY, and spent his collegiate days with the Boston College Eagles. After a somewhat difficult freshman campaign when he scored six goals and 10 points in 23 games, Kuntar responded much better throughout his sophomore and junior seasons, scoring a combined 22 goals and 49 points in 70 contests.

Being selected with the 89th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins, Kuntar made the jump to the professional circuit with the AHL’s Providence Bruins for the 2023-24 campaign. He finished 13th on the team in scoring, 2nd among rookies, with 10 goals and 20 points in 70 games. Additionally, he added one assist in four postseason contests.

Unfortunately, due to elbow surgery, Kuntar was limited to just 54 games last year and never gained any significant momentum. He tied for 19th on the AHL Bruins in scoring with three goals and 12 points with a -7 rating.

As he watched his entry-level contract with Boston expire, Kuntar headed to the free agent market this past offseason. He had to wait a couple of weeks, but the AHL’s Rochester Americans eventually signed him to an AHL contract partway through July.

He’s responded well to the new opportunity. At the time of writing, Kuntar is fifth in scoring on the eighth-place Americans, registering nine goals and 13 points in 24 games. Considering that the Sabres were relatively quick to upgrade his contract, there’s a chance Kuntar could debut with the team this season should they run into injury trouble or move some pieces off of their roster.

Atlantic Notes: Evans, Chabot, Mermis

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The Montreal Canadiens will be without center Jake Evans for their contest tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Canadiens shared that Evans is away from the team for personal reasons and that he would rejoin the team this weekend in New York.

There were no additional announcements from the team or subsequent reports indicating why Evans is missing, so it would be unfair to speculate. Still, given that he’s rejoining the team in New York, Evans is expected to re-enter the lineup when the Canadiens take on the Rangers on Saturday.

It also explains, in part, the trio of recalls made earlier today by Montreal. The Canadiens already have several players on the team’s injured reserve, so there was no need for a corresponding roster move. Owen Beck, who was included in today’s recall, will likely slot into Montreal’s third line in place of Evans and appear in his third NHL contest of the season.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Ottawa Senators will have to wait a little bit longer for the return of defenseman Thomas Chabot. According to TSN’s Bruce Garrioch, Chabot won’t travel with the team for their upcoming road trip, indicating that he’s still a week out at best. Chabot, who has two goals and 10 points over 18 games this season, has been nursing an upper-body injury since November 22nd.
  • Staying in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t expecting depth defenseman Dakota Mermis to return anytime soon. Lance Hornby of The Toronto Sun reported that Mermis, who was placed on injured reserve earlier today, is expected to miss a month with a lower-body injury. The nine-year veteran left Toronto’s game in the third period on Wednesday due to the injury.

Hurricanes, Capitals Linked To Quinn Hughes

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It appears that more teams are smelling blood in the water when it comes to Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes. After already being linked to the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals have now made their interest known.

In the article, Pagnotta said, “We know the usual suspects. We’ll continue to hear more teams, I’m sure, as this progresses, but the latest two that I have are the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals.”

Neither team’s interest comes as a surprise. The Hurricanes have been one of the most consistently good teams in the Eastern Conference over the past few years, making three Eastern Conference Final appearances since the 2019 postseason. Additionally, the Capitals were the top team in the Eastern Conference last season and have again vaulted themselves to the top of the table in recent weeks, winning 10 of their previous 12 games.

Objectively, for all 31 other teams, Hughes improves the roster wholesale. In the case of Carolina and Washington, he fits a long-term hole as well. The two years remaining on Hughes’ contract coincide with Shayne Gostisbehere’s with the Hurricanes, who is the offensive leader of their defensive core. Additionally, although they have Jakob Chychrun signed through the 2023-33 season, acquiring Hughes would make for a far easier transition out of the John Carlson era in Washington.

Regardless, if the Canucks were not only to entertain the idea of trading a player of Hughes’ caliber but actively seek one, the acquiring team would have to provide the goods. It’s well known that Vancouver is looking for a longer-term solution down the middle, and they would likely want several additional futures as well.

In Carolina, although the Canucks would expectably target Logan Stankoven, the Hurricanes would likely be unwilling to move him since they signed him to an eight-year, $48MM extension this past offseason. Still, Carolina could counter with quantity over quality, much like they did when they acquired Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023-24.

None of the prospects are bona fide top-six forwards (yet), but the Hurricanes could offer a package of Bradly Nadeau, Ivan Ryabkin, and Felix Unger Sörum, along with one or multiple of their four first-round selections over the next three years.

Meanwhile, the Capitals have all three of their first-round picks through the 2028 NHL Draft and have a movable center that could easily shift into the Canucks’ top-six, unlike the trio of hypothetical options from Carolina. Forward Connor McMichael, who is headed for restricted free agency next summer (UFA after 2028-29), could be a headliner in a potential Hughes trade.

After scoring 26 goals for Washington last season, McMichael has only four in 30 games this season. Still, after averaging a 14.1% shooting percentage from 2023 to 2025, there’s reason to believe his current 6.3% rate won’t last. Additionally, since he’s under team control for the next three seasons after this one, the Canucks would have plenty of time to sign him to a long-term extension.

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