We’re already a week into December and the NHL season is flying by. The New York Islanders will be the final team to eclipse the quarter-season mark when they play in their 21st game tonight, taking on the surging Ottawa Senators. New York hasn’t won a game since November 6 against the Winnipeg Jets, losing 11 straight since then. As they and the rest of the teams in action tonight prepare, we’ll keep track of the minor league shuffling.
Atlantic Division
- The Montreal Canadiens have assigned Mattias Norlinder to the AHL, where he’ll play the next three games before the team reassesses the situation. Arpon Basu of The Athletic reports that Norlinder doesn’t actually have a European Assignment Clause in his contract, meaning that the threat of going back to Sweden came from the normal transfer agreement for players selected outside of the first round. Now that he was on the NHL roster when the calendar turned to December, they can send him to the AHL without issue. Corey Schueneman has been recalled in his place.
- The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Luke Witkowski from the minor leagues, giving them some depth at both forward and defense, given the veteran has played both in his NHL career. Currently listed as a defenseman, he’ll give the team an extra body on the back end while Marc Staal deals with his COVID designation.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled Kyle Keyser and then returned him in the same day, likely just bringing him up as a precaution as they determined whether Linus Ullmark would travel with the team. Ullmark skated in full with the group today after missing recently with a non-COVID illness. The Bruins have also recalled Oskar Steen, as Tomas Nosek will not travel with the team due to a non-COVID illness.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Fredrik Claesson from the AHL, sending Alex Barre-Boulet down in his place. With Erik Cernak dealing with an injury, the team needed some extra depth on defense.
Metropolitan Division
Central Division
- The Dallas Stars have officially sent Ben Bishop to the AHL on a conditioning loan, as expected. The veteran goaltender is approaching a return from the injuries that have kept him out for more than a year, and when he does, the Stars will have quite the logjam in goal at the NHL level.
- Connor Ingram is back up with the Nashville Predators after the team recalled him from Milwaukee today. With Juuse Saros unavailable for Tuesday night’s game with a non-COVID illness, they needed another goalie body on the roster. Ingram has a .906 save percentage in two starts with Nashville this season.
Pacific Division
- Jaret Anderson-Dolan has been reassigned to the AHL by the Los Angeles Kings. The 22-year-old forward has played 16 games in the minor leagues this season, scoring 13 points. Later in the afternoon, the team also assigned T.J. Tynan to the minor leagues.
- The San Jose Sharks have moved Rudolfs Balcers to injured reserve in order to recall Alexei Melnichuk from the minor leagues. Despite Adin Hill’s poor performance earlier this week, he’ll be back in net for the Sharks tonight as they wait for James Reimer’s return.
This page will be updated throughout the day