Despite the NHL being in their holiday roster freeze, there are still minor moves that can be made. As we’ve discussed before, players can still be recalled from the minor leagues during this time, and those who were recalled after December 11th can still be loaned to the AHL until 11:59pm eastern on December 23rd. Thus, the league is not completely frozen and we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Gabriel Carlsson from the AHL, due to an injury to Zach Werenski that will keep him out of the lineup tonight against Toronto. Carlsson played 10 games with the Blue Jackets earlier this season, and is another highly touted defenseman in their system. Though he has quite a few excellent players ahead of him, expect Carlsson to make an impact on the Blue Jackets before long.
- The Vancouver Canucks have assigned Michael Chaput to the minor leagues, meaning either the move technically went through last night or Chaput had been up previously on emergency conditions. He’d previously been called up on December 6th, and played in three games with the club.
- The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Kevin Gravel from the AHL, bringing the hulking defenseman up for the first time this year. Gravel played 49 games with the NHL club last season, but has been toiling in the minor leagues all year, scoring nine points in 24 games. With Christian Folin headed to injured reserve yesterday, the Kings needed a seventh defenseman for the time being.
- Tomas Hyka has been sent back to the minor leagues by the Vegas Golden Knights, after sitting out last night’s match against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hyka still hasn’t made his NHL debut after signing out of Europe in the summer, but has 12 points in 16 games for the Chicago Wolves.
- Joseph Blandisi has been sent to the minor leagues by the Anaheim Ducks, something Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register suspected yesterday. Blandisi has dealt with injury since coming over from the Devils in the Adam Henrique–Sami Vatanen trade, and only played in three games with the Ducks.
- Shane Prince is back with the New York Islanders after a lengthy conditioning stint, where he registered two points in four AHL contests. Prince spent ten days in the minor leagues with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but is ready to return and contribute for the surging Islanders.