Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Panthers, Bruins, Kesselring
The Toronto Maple Leafs could get a major boost to their goaltending on their upcoming road trip next week. According to David Alter of The Hockey News, Anthony Stolarz is nearing a return to the team and is expected to join them next week. It would be the first time the Maple Leafs have their normal goaltending duo available since November 11th.
Even before going down with an upper-body injury in mid-November, Stolarz didn’t look the same as he has in years past. He posted a 6-5-1 record in 13 games with a .884 SV% and 3.51 GAA. For comparison, with the Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, Stolarz managed a 37-15-5 record in 61 games with a .926 SV% and 2.10 GAA from 2023-24 to 2024-25.
Meanwhile, in a separate update from Alter, the Maple Leafs haven’t yet decided on the possibility of surgery for defenseman Chris Tanev. Sharing a statement from head coach Craig Berube, Alter quoted the coach saying, “Not yet. I’m sure that’ll be soon here about what he’s going to do.” The 16-year veteran has been ruled out with a groin injury since December 28th, with the rest of the 2025-26 season in doubt for him.
Additional notes from the Atlantic Division:
- The Florida Panthers are missing a pair of potential forward options for their game tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Before the game, team reporter Jameson Olive announced that Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk would not participate in tonight’s contest. Tonight marks two games in a row missed by Marchand, who participated in the team’s practice this morning (X Link). Tkachuk has been rumored to return for the last little while now, recovering from an adductor surgery from the offseason.
- Despite putting up a 10-spot on the New York Rangers earlier today, the Boston Bruins had a few higher-level forwards leave relatively early into the contest. In separate announcements, the Bruins shared that Elias Lindholm had exited the contest with a lower-body injury, and Morgan Geekie departed to attend to a family matter. Despite leaving the game with an injury after 12:05 of ice time, Lindholm finished the contest with two assists.
- According to an article from Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald, defenseman Michael Kesselring should make a return to the Buffalo Sabres relatively soon. Regardless of his current health status, the 25-year-old blue liner can’t make his return to the Sabres lineup until next Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers due to the IR activation requirements. He went scoreless in 16 games before going down with a lower-body injury on January 6th.
Avalanche Reassign T.J. Tynan
7:30 p.m.: Tynan’s recall didn’t last long. Shortly after today’s win over the Blue Jackets, the Avalanche reassigned Tynan to AHL Colorado.
12:24 p.m.: The Avalanche have added some depth up front for this afternoon’s game against Columbus. The team announced (Twitter link) that forward T.J. Tynan has been recalled from AHL Colorado.
It’s the first recall of the season for the 33-year-old. Tynan has spent the full 2025-26 campaign with the Eagles and his output can be viewed a couple of ways. Through 30 games, Tynan has scored just once which is hardly ideal for one of a team’s top veterans. On the other hand, he sits third in the AHL in assists with 25, keeping him within striking distance of the point-per-game mark. He has just missed that threshold the last two years but reached or surpassed it in the previous five.
Despite the consistent production in the minors, it hasn’t yielded too many NHL opportunities for Tynan. He has played in just 30 NHL games over his career, nine of which came last season when the Avs churned through the majority of their farm team in an effort to find some pieces to stick on the fourth line. Although he has been a point producer in the AHL, that hasn’t been the case at the top level as he has been limited to just two assists in those 30 outings while averaging 8:21 per game of ice time.
With Tynan’s recall, Colorado’s roster is now at the maximum of 23 players.
Los Angeles Kings Make Multiple Roster Moves
The Los Angeles Kings will have a different look against the Edmonton Oilers tonight. According to a team announcement, the Kings have returned forward Corey Perry from the non-roster list, placed Anže Kopitar on the injured reserve, and have reassigned Cole Guttman to the AHL’s Ontario Reign.
Perry, 40, missed two games for the Kings while on the non-roster list. The team didn’t fare well without him, losing in overtime to the San Jose Sharks and in regulation to the struggling Winnipeg Jets. Regardless, he’ll provide Los Angeles with more offense at the very least, scoring nine goals and 21 points in 35 games while averaging 13:33 of ice time per game.
Not only has Perry been one of the better scorers on the team in his age-40 season, but he’s been one of the most responsible. Regarding Kings’ forwards that have played in 25 or more games this season, Perry is fifth on the team in CorsiFor% with a 53.9% mark.
Meanwhile, Kopitar lands on the IR, having missed the same number of games as Perry over the last little while. The Kings’ captain has been dealing with a lower-body injury and won’t be eligible to return until Wednesday against the Vegas Golden Knights due to the IR requirements for activation. He’s scored six goals and 21 points in 37 games throughout the duration of his final season in the NHL.
Lastly, Guttman will return to AHL Ontario after not appearing in a game for Los Angeles. The former bottom-six forward for the Chicago Blackhawks is in his first year with the Kings organization after signing a two-year, $1.55MM contract last summer. He’s been a solid player in the AHL this year, scoring nine goals and 23 points in 31 games, good for fifth on the team in scoring.
Penguins Recall Rafael Harvey-Pinard
The Penguins brought up some extra forward depth for their afternoon game against Calgary today. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Rafael Harvey-Pinard from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He’s serving as injury insurance for winger Bryan Rust, who the team relayed (Twitter link) is dealing with a lower-body injury.
The 27-year-old is in his first season with Pittsburgh after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them in free agency following a non-tender from Montreal. While Harvey-Pinard has 84 games of NHL experience (where he has a respectable 17 goals and 14 assists), he wasn’t able to secure a roster spot with Pittsburgh in training camp and passed through waivers unclaimed back in October.
Since then, Harvey-Pinard has played exclusively in the minors with relatively middling numbers offensively. Through 32 games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he has seven goals and six assists, along with 27 penalty minutes. While those numbers don’t scream promotion-worthy, he can play on both wings, giving the team a bit of versatility should they need to call upon him to play.
Pittsburgh had one open roster spot, so they didn’t need to make a demotion or IR placement to make room for Harvey-Pinard on the roster. However, their group is now full at 23 players.
Toronto Maple Leafs Activate William Nylander
The Toronto Maple Leafs will return their highest-scoring player tonight. According to a team announcement, the Maple Leafs have activated William Nylander from the team’s injured reserve.
The news aligns with an earlier report from David Alter of The Hockey News stating that Nylander will return to the lineup, and defenseman Jake McCabe is a game-time decision. Nylander has missed two weeks with a lower-body injury.
Still, despite missing their highest-scoring player for 14 days, the Maple Leafs haven’t noticed. Toronto is 4-0-2 without Nylander, climbing to 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings and two points back of the final wild-card spot.
Regardless, Toronto will warmly welcome Nylander and his offensive prowess back into the lineup. The 29-year-old winger is again on pace to register more than 80 points this season, scoring 14 goals and 41 points in 33 games while averaging 19:10 of ice time per game.
However, there are some newfound concerns with Nylander on the defensive side of the puck this season. Although he has 39 more games to correct the issue (if he remains healthy), Nylander’s CorsiFor% at even strength (47.0%) and on-ice SV% at even strength (86.0%) have each fallen to a career low. Despite averaging more than a point per game, even his expected +/- has fallen into the negatives for the first time since his rookie season in 2015-16.
Meanwhile, it would be equally beneficial for the Maple Leafs to get McCabe back into the lineup for different reasons. The 32-year-old blue liner has arguably been the best defenseman for Toronto this season, scoring three goals and 16 points in 41 games with a +26 rating. Unlike Nylander, most of McCabe’s value this season has come from the defensive side of the puck, averaging a 91.7% oiSV% at even strength.
Golden Knights Activate Shea Theodore, Reassign Dylan Coghlan
Although the team has yet to announce it, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that the Vegas Golden Knights have activated defenseman Shea Theodore from the injured reserve. The move was expected, considering the Golden Knights announced they had reassigned Dylan Coghlan to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights earlier today.
Theodore’s return to the lineup should serve as a major boost to the Golden Knights at even strength and on the power play. Despite missing the past few weeks with an upper-body injury, Theodore remains the highest-scoring defenseman on the team with four goals and 20 points in 31 games, averaging 24:01 of ice time per game.
It couldn’t come at a better time for them either. Even though they’ve won their last two contests, Vegas went 0-3-2 without Theodore in their lineup. The team saw a slight decrease in power-play effectiveness in his absence, averaging 25.89% with him and 23.53% without him.
Still, as much as the Golden Knights may want to unleash Theodore for the sake of winning games, it may be a shrewder move to slow-play his return as much as possible. Injuries for the last several years have seriously hampered Theodore. He has only appeared in 75 or more games twice in his 11-year career, with the most recent being the 2021-22 season.
Meanwhile, Coghlan has been assigned to AHL Henderson for the third time this season. Regardless, he’s only appeared in one game for the Golden Knights this season. He’s understandably been much better with AHL Henderson, scoring five goals and 16 points in 28 games. It’s his first year back with the Golden Knights organization since the 2021-22 season.
Edmonton Oilers Reassign Riley Stillman
The Edmonton Oilers have shedded one of their depth defenseman off the active roster. According to a team announcement, the Oilers have reassigned Riley Stillman to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
Stillman, 27, has been with Edmonton for nearly a month. He was recalled on December 12th, and has been enjoying his time as the team’s seventh defenseman since. Despite being on the team for that long, he has only appeared in four games, scoring zero points while averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time per game.
He’ll return to a Condors club where he’s already registered 22 games on the season. Still, it’s been a fairly disappointing first year with the team, scoring two goals and seven points with a -8 rating. Still, if he continues on his current pace when he returns to the lineup, he’ll reach double-digit point totals for the second time in his AHL career.
It’s been some time since Stillman was a consistent player in the NHL. During the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, Stillman skated in 102 games between the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, and Buffalo Sabres, scoring three goals and 20 points with a -21 rating, averaging 14:51 of ice time per night.
Since the Oilers didn’t make a corresponding roster move, it gives credibility to the idea that Jake Walman will return to the team soon. Mark Spector of Sportsnet hinted as much today, indicating that Walman is expected back in the near future.
Walman, who is one year away from beginning his seven-year, $49MM extension in Edmonton, hasn’t appeared in a game since November 20th when he went down with a lower-body injury. He skated in 17 games before the injury, scoring three goals and 10 points in 17 games with a -3 rating, with a 49.0% CorsiFor% at even strength.
Blues Sign Philip Broberg To Six-Year Extension
According to a team announcement, the St. Louis Blues have signed pending restricted free agent defenseman Philip Broberg to a six-year, $48MM ($8MM AAV) extension. The new deal will keep Broberg in St. Louis through the 2031-32 NHL season.
The staff over at PuckPedia revealed Broberg’s contract breakdown relatively soon after:
- Year 1: $10MM salary
- Year 2: $10MM salary
- Year 3: $9.25MM salary, full no-trade clause
- Year 4: $6.75MM salary, full no-trade clause
- Year 5: $6MM salary, 20-team no-trade clause
- Year 6: $6MM salary, 15-team no-trade clause
It’s impressive how well Broberg has turned his career around since joining the Blues organization. Broberg, 24, was drafted eighth overall in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, but never found his way with the organization.
He spent a few years in his native Sweden after being drafted, primarily with the SHL’s Skellefteå AIK. It wasn’t until the 2021-22 season that Broberg finally made the journey to North America, splitting time between the Oilers and the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
The two-way defenseman played fairly well with the Condors, scoring 11 goals and 65 points in 87 games with a +23 rating over three years. Unfortunately, he didn’t even come close to that production in Edmonton, finishing with two goals and 13 points in 81 games with a -5 rating.
Much of that had to do with his usage. He only averaged 12:42 of ice time throughout his tenure in Edmonton, starting most of his shifts in the offensive zone. Despite averaging a fairly solid 54.9% CorsiFor% at even strength, the Oilers never gave Broberg much room to grow.
Due to limited salary cap space, the Oilers delayed contract negotiations with Broberg after his entry-level contract expired following the 2023-24 season. There was speculation that he might receive a more significant role with the team after a strong performance throughout the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. Helping the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006, Broberg finished with two goals and one assist in 10 games with a +8 rating, averaging 15:48 of ice time.
That’s when the Blues stepped in. In a rare move, St. Louis signed Broberg, along with teammate Dylan Holloway, to an offer sheet. The Oilers declined to match either offer, and the Blues acquired both Broberg and Holloway for a few draft picks.
Averaging more than 20 minutes a night throughout his first year with the Blues, Broberg immediately became the defenseman that Edmonton thought he would be when they drafted him. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with eight goals and 29 points in 68 games with a +21 rating. Despite seeing his CF% at even strength drop to a career low, Broberg was exceptional on the defensive side of the puck, finishing with a 93.7% on-ice SV% at even strength.
Much of that has continued this season. Broberg has played in all 45 games for the Blues, and is now averaging more than 23 minutes a night in a top-pairing role. He’s remained an enthusiastic shot blocker and one of the highest-IQ blue liners on the defensive side of the puck.
Although the salary is nearly double what Broberg is already paying, it’s difficult to argue that he isn’t worth it. In early December, despite suggesting that contract talks hadn’t begun yet, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic speculated that Broberg could earn as high as an $8MM salary on his next deal, and that proved exactly right. AFP Analytics projected him a bit lower at $7.3MM on a long-term deal.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images.
Senators Recall Hunter Shepard, Assign Two To AHL
The Senators have made a trio of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against Florida. The team announced that goaltender Hunter Shepard has been recalled from AHL Belleville while netminder Mads Sogaard and center Stephen Halliday have been sent down.
Shepard was up for a week recently, serving as Leevi Merilainen’s backup before being sent down on Tuesday to get some game action in Belleville. He has played in one game in relief with the big club, stopping 10 of 12 shots on Monday against Detroit. The 30-year-old has also suited up in a dozen games in the minors, posting a 3.41 GAA and a .897 SV%.
Sogaard was recalled on Tuesday to take Shepard’s place on the roster. He played in relief of Merilainen on Thursday in Colorado and struggled, allowing five goals on 16 shots in just 17:25 in action, resulting in Merilainen coming back into the game. The 25-year-old has played in 15 games with Belleville with numbers a little worse than Shepard’s, checking in with a 3.49 GAA and a .887 SV%.
As for Halliday, he received his first NHL recall earlier this season and has held his own so far. The 23-year-old has played in 18 games with Ottawa, picking up six assists despite averaging just 8:12 per game of playing time. He had been a strong playmaker with Belleville before the promotion, picking up a goal and 18 helpers in 17 contests in the minors. He’ll get a chance to go back and play a more prominent role for the time being but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get recalled at some point in the second half of the season.
As a result of these moves, Ottawa now has one open slot on its 23-man roster while opening up some extra salary cap space.
Kraken Activate Jaden Schwartz, Move Chandler Stephenson To Non-Roster Status
The Kraken will get a key offensive contributor back in their lineup tonight as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated winger Jaden Schwartz off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, center Chandler Stephenson has been granted non-roster status.
Schwartz has been out since late November with a lower-body injury, one that derailed what had been a solid start to his season. The 33-year-old had eight goals and seven assists through his first 23 appearances before being sidelined while averaging over 17 minutes per night of ice time. That came on the heels of a 49-point effort last season, his highest point total since the 2019-20 campaign when he was still with St. Louis.
Schwartz is in the final season of a five-year, $27.5MM contract signed for Seattle’s inaugural campaign but he has dealt with injury issues in four of those give seasons. Still, he remains one of their more intriguing potential trade chips heading toward the deadline in March. That is, if the Kraken wind up being sellers. They’ve won eight of their last ten games to get into a playoff spot and getting Schwartz back should only bolster their attack, one that sits 27th in goals scored heading into today’s action. If they stay in the mix, he’s unlikely to move but if they fall out of the race, he’s a strong candidate to be dealt.
However, they won’t have their full lineup available just yet with Stephenson’s removal from the roster. The 31-year-old is tied for second on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 16 assists in 42 games while he’s averaging 19:58 per game of ice time, a career high. However, it appears his removal from the roster is for a good reason, as Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times relays (Twitter link) that his wife is expecting to give birth shortly. That suggests Stephenson’s absence should be a short-term one which is important given his role as their top middleman.