Taxi Squad Shuffle: 04/04/21

There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day:

Central Division

• Currently in a 3-7-0 slide in their past ten games, the Chicago Blackhawks are looking to shake things up. Today, that means demoting a large group of players who aren’t getting the job done. The Blackhawks announced that forwards Reese Johnson and Mackenzie Entwistle and defensemen Nicolas Beaudin, Ian Mitchell, and Lucas Carlsson were re-assigned to the taxi squad, while forwards Brandon Pirri and Mikael Hakkarainen and defenseman Alec Regula were returned to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. The move also served to accommodate recent additions like Vinnie Hinostroza and Mike Hardman. 
• The Columbus Blue Jackets have made one small taxi squad swap, announcing that veteran AHLer Zac Dalpe has been assigned to the squad while off-season KHL import Mikhail Grigorenko has been recalled to the active roster. Grigorenko has seven points in 18 games so far, but Columbus would like to see more as they battle for a playoff spot.
• The Dallas Stars have moved Jason Dickinson to injured reserve, recalling Nicholas Caamano and Joel L’Esperance in the process. Dickinson played just yesterday for the Stars but will miss the next few games at least with a lower-body injury.  L’Esperance was later assigned back to the taxi squad.
• The Detroit Red Wings assigned Frans Nielsen, Givani Smith, and Michael Rasmussen to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The three have been shuffled back and forth routinely in recent days.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning recalled Christopher Gibson and Ben Thomas from the taxi squad in advance of their game against Detroit, per CapFriendly, with Andreas Borgman being sent down.  Following the game, Gibson and Luke Schenn were sent back to the taxi squad.

North Division

• With their NHL goaltenders finally getting healthy, the Ottawa Senators have demoted young keeper Filip Gustavsson to the taxi squad. Forward Alex Formenton was also re-assigned to the squad. Even in just a small four-game sample size, Gustavsson has clearly been the Senators’ best goalie this season and it is hard to imagine that he will spend much more time off the active roster moving forward.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Veini Vehvilainen from the taxi squad, reports David Alter of The Hockey News.  He was acquired from Columbus last month and immediately went to the taxi squad after clearing quarantine; he’ll serve as Toronto’s backup goalie tonight.  Alex Galchenyuk was also recalled from the taxi squad with Timothy Liljegren being sent to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
• The Montreal Canadiens have assigned Gustav Olofsson to Laval of the AHL from the taxi squad while recalling Brandon Baddock, per the AHL’s transactions log.  Olofsson has 59 career NHL games under his belt but has yet to play with Montreal this season while Baddock was recently injured in the minors and is simply up to keep their taxi squad at the minimum number of players.

East Division

• The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-assigned Anthony Angello and Frederick Gaudreau to the taxi squad, moving Justin Almeida and Will Reilly to the AHL to make room.
• The Boston Bruins returned Zach Senyshyn and Steven Kampfer to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly, as they try to bank a little bit more cap room before next week’s trade deadline.  Both will likely be recalled for Monday’s game against Philadelphia.
• The Buffalo Sabres assigned Jean-Sebastien Dea to Rochester of the AHL while sending down Dustin Tokarski, Rasmus Asplund, and Jacob Bryson to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
• The New Jersey Devils recalled Jesper Boqvist from the taxi squad prior to their game today, per CapFriendly.  Tyce Thompson was sent to the taxi squad in a corresponding move.
• The New York Islanders aren’t in action today which means Oliver Wahlstrom is back on the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Austin Czarnik was also sent down to the taxi squad.
• The New York Rangers assigned Kaapo Kakko to the taxi squad in their usual off-day move, per CapFriendly.  Joining him is Vitali Kravtsov who made his NHL debut on Saturday.
• The Philadelphia Flyers returned defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Samuel Morin to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Gostisbehere cleared waivers this week and figures to move back and forth on this list regularly over the next few weeks.

West Division

• The Colorado Avalanche changed up their taxi squad according to the AHL’s transactions log.  Sheldon Dries, Dan Renouf, T.J. Tynan, and Adam Werner were all sent to the AHL with Greg Pateryn, Jayson Megna, Peyton Jones, and Kyle Burroughs all being recalled to the taxi squad.  Liam O’Brien was also sent to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
• The Los Angeles Kings sent Sean Durzi, Lias Andersson, Troy Grosenick, Matt Luff and Akil Thomas to AHL Ontario, notes Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider.  The last three were sent from the taxi squad with Mark Alt and Matt Villalta being recalled to the taxi squad in a corresponding move.
• The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Sam Carrick to the active roster plus Maxim Golod and Olle Eriksson Ek to the taxi squad, per the AHL’s transactions log.  Lukas Dostal was sent back to the AHL with Eriksson Ek’s promotion.  Trevor Zegras and David Backes were also recalled from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly, with Anthony Stolarz being sent to the taxi squad.
• The San Jose Sharks recalled Brinson Pasichnuk from AHL San Jose, per the AHL’s transactions log.  The 23-year-old was a highly sought after college free agent last year but has yet to make his NHL debut.  CapFriendly adds that Antti Suomela and Christian Jaros were also assigned to the taxi squad.
• The Arizona Coyotes recalled Lane Pederson and Jordan Gross from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Gross has three assists in four games this season while Pederson scored in his NHL debut on Friday.
• The Minnesota Wild are off today and as a result, they have sent Kyle Rau and Nico Sturm to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Both will likely be recalled for tomorrow’s game versus Colorado.
• The Vegas Golden Knights have returned Cody Glass and Dylan Coghlan to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Both were recalled under emergency exception exemptions on Saturday.

This page will be updated throughout the day.