There are seven NHL games to be played this Sunday, post-Winter Classic and solidly into the New Year. Teams are slowly returning to business as usual as players return from COVID protocol and the number of additions to protocol and postponements begins to dwindle. There’s likely to be all sorts of roster moves today as teams take advantage of the newly-reintroduced taxi squads, and we’ll keep track of those right here.
Atlantic Division
- Per the AHL’s Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Sabres reassigned forward Ryan MacInnis to them this morning. MacInnis was the sole player on Buffalo’s taxi squad. In his first year with the Sabres organization, he has five goals and ten assists in 24 games with Rochester.
- The Ottawa Senators recalled defenseman Max Guenette from the AHL’s Belleville Senators and promptly reassigned him to the taxi squad, according to a team tweet. The Senators had no extra defensemen with the team after Jacob Bernard-Docker and others entered COVID protocol yesterday. Guenette has two goals and five assists in 16 games with Belleville in his first professional season.
Metropolitan Division
- According to a team tweet, the Pittsburgh Penguins made four recalls from their taxi squad today. Forwards Anthony Angello, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Radim Zohorna, and goalie Louis Domingue are now on the team’s active roster for their game against the San Jose Sharks today.
- Aliaksei Protas is heading back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, per a team tweet from the Washington Capitals. Protas had six points in his first 22 NHL games this season, but as the Capitals start to look like themselves again, he’s headed back to Hershey where he has five points in eight games this season. The team also swapped Michael Sgarbossa and Lucas Johansen, sending Johansen to the taxi squad and recalling Sgarbossa to the active roster.
Central Division
- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas reports that after backing up Jordan Binnington in last night’s Winter Classic, the Blues assigned goalie Charlie Lindgren to the taxi squad today. It paves the way for Ville Husso to return from injury, who’s been out since December 7 with a lower-body injury.
- Lindgren is now back with the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL, along with forward Alexei Toropchenko and defenseman Calle Rosen.
- The Chicago Blackhawks recalled forwards Josiah Slavin from the taxi squad today while sending Mackenzie Entwistle and Collin Delia there, per The Athletic’s Scott Powers. Slavin will get another shot in the Blackhawks lineup after nine games earlier this year.
- Per a team tweet, the Dallas Stars are bringing up defenseman Thomas Harley and goalie Adam Scheel from the AHL’s Texas Stars to their taxi squad. Harley, the 18th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, played his first seven NHL games with the Stars earlier this season but doesn’t have a point yet. Scheel has just a .886 save percentage with Texas this season, but due to salary restrictions, the team can’t recall Anton Khudobin to the taxi squad.
- The Nashville Predators re-assigned forward Michael McCarron to the taxi squad from the active roster, per a team tweet. McCarron has just a goal in ten games.
Pacific Division
This page will be updated throughout the day.