Atlantic Notes: Lundell, Sabourin, DeBoer, McDonagh
As expected, some additional punishment has come from last night’s battle of Florida between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced that it has fined Anton Lundell $5,000 for high-sticking Jake Guentzel and Scott Sabourin $2,018.23 for slashing Niko Mikkola (X Link). Each punishment was the maximum allowable under the current CBA.
Interestingly enough, Sabourin was the only one of the two to earn a penalty on the play in question. The game ended with a combined 136 PIMs and 15 power plays. Sabourin accounted for 26 of those penalty minutes due to the slashing penalty, a roughing penalty, and a game misconduct.
Aside from last night’s fireworks, the Lightning had another game today as they matched up against the Montreal Canadiens. Unfortunately, Sabourin will not finish the game, as Tampa Bay announced that he has exited the contest with an undisclosed injury.
Other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Despite General Manager Brad Treliving recently giving head coach Craig Berube a vote of confidence for the second half of the season, there has been plenty of speculation regarding his future tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Much of that speculation has been driven by the availability of Pete DeBoer, who recently coached the Dallas Stars to three consecutive Western Conference Finals. Although some in Toronto may be wishing for DeBoer, he doesn’t appear to want the job. In a recent article from Nick Barden of The Hockey News, it was highlighted that DeBoer sent a text to Berube recently, indicating that he wasn’t involved in any of the speculation.
- Back in Tampa Bay, the team has again placed veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh on the injured reserve after reaggravating the injury that has plagued him throughout much of the season. Unfortunately, there’s no indication he’ll return anytime soon. Earlier today, team reporter Gabby Shirley shared that McDonagh is “a little bit more than ‘day to day'”. The vagueness of the report suggests that the Lightning may still be evaluating McDonagh for a clearer picture of his recovery timeline.
Flyers’ Egor Zamula Changes Agents, Eyeing Move
The Philadelphia Flyers could soon be pushed to deal a depth defenseman. Egor Zamula has fired his previous agent and signed with Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey. This move could prelude Zamula mutually terminating his contract with the Flyers and re-signing, for a cheaper price, with another team, per PuckPedia. If that does transpire, Philadelphia would be hoping to acquire a forward on an expiring contract in return for cutting Zamula.
This move would not be unsimilar to the St. Louis Blues’ recent termination of winger Alexandre Texier, another Milstein client. News of Texier’s availability spread quickly around the NHL and had teams lining up to sign him as a free agent. He ultimately signed with the Montreal Canadiens, who he’s scored six points in 15 games with, though St. Louis did not receive any assets in return for the swap.
If the Flyers could command much for Zamula is yet to be seen. He has served as a routine healthy scratch for much of the season, but Philadelphia long avoided assigning him to the minor-leagues for longer than a day or two. That changed after rookie Ty Murchison made his NHL debut on December 16th. Murchison has stuck with the NHL roster – and appeared in three games – since, while Zamula was sent to the AHL for good three days later.
It appears Zamula has been leapfrogged on the lineup by the younger Murchison. Philadelphia is also carrying longtime depth defender Noah Juulsen, who boasts more veteran experience than Zamula could offer. That leaves the 25-year-old Russian as the odd-man-out on the Flyers’ depth chart. Rather than continue on in the AHL, it seems Zamula will prefer to test his chances in another NHL lineup. He’s a 6-foot-3, 200-pound defender who has only scored 41 points in 168 NHL games. That includes one point in 13 games this season.
Zamula’s best attributes are his long reach and physical upside – two pieces that many teams need more of at the bottom of their defense. If that’s enough to impress a lacking defense like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, or Edmonton Oilers – the Flyers could end up with a nice lineup boost in the middle of the season.
Blackhawks Place Frank Nazar On IR, Activate Nick Foligno
The Chicago Blackhawks have activated captain Nick Foligno off of injured reserve. He is expected to return to the lineup on Sunday night for his first game since November 15th, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio. To make room for Foligno’s return, the Blackhawks have moved winger Frank Nazar to injured reserve. Nazar has already missed one week, and is expected to miss three more, with a face injury caused by a Claude Giroux slapshot in Chicago’s December 20th loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Getting Foligno back will be a wave of relief for the Blackhawks. The 38-year-old winger scored six points, all assists, in 15 games before going down with injury. He also added 11 shot blocks and 41 hits – high enough marks to rank Foligno fourth in hits-per-game, and first in blocks-per-game, on Chicago’s offense despite missing the last 19 games. It will be play away from the puck that Foligno impacts most in his return, which should clear up more space for Chicago’s skill players, like Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Lardis, to focus on offense.
The Blackhawks will have to hope that;s the case, at least. They have split results in two games since Nazar’s injury and were outscored four-to-six. Nazar has been a focal piece of the offense all season long – a role that only increased when star Connor Bedard went down with an injury of his own. The second-year pro has scored 21 points in 33 games in the elevated role, good for fourth on Chicago in scoring.
That comes despite the fact that Nazar rode a six-game point drought and 21-game goal drought through November and December. He has proven to be an offensive motor that Chicago can’t easily replace. Foligno’s return will bring in more helping hands but Chicago will still face a tough test with games against the New York Islanders, Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, and Vegas Golden Knights in their near future.
Sabres Reassign Isak Rosen, Ryan Johnson; Rasmus Dahlin To Return
The NHL’s holiday break roster freeze has lifted, allowing teams to shift players between the NHL and AHL once again. The Buffalo Sabres have taken advantage of the lift to reassign forward Isak Rosen and defenseman Ryan Johnson to the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
Johnson was, notably, called up to the lineup while Buffalo awaited the return of star defender Rasmus Dahlin, who spent the holiday break in Sweden with his fiance, who has faced medical concerns throughout the regular season. This move indicates that Dahlin will be back with the club when they face the St. Louis Blues on Monday, a plan that head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed to Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat.
Johnson has returned to his role of minor-league call-up this season. He has no scoring in three NHL games and 11 points in 25 AHL games this season. Those numbers are holding the mobile, two-way defender in that extra role – two seasons after he manageed just seven points, all assists, in 41 games of his rookie season in Buffalo. Johnson is still searching for his first NHL goal. That hunt will go on pause as he returns to a top-four role with the Americans.
Rosen has been a much bigger part of the Rochester lineup. He leads the team in goals and ranks third in points with 12 goals and 22 points in 15 games. That scoring puts Rosen on top of the AHL in points-per-game (1.47) among players with at least 15 games played. The hot scoring has begun to shine through to the NHL, with Rosen boasting seven points in 13 games this season. He will look to cement his spot in the lineup on his next call-up, which will likely come as soon as Buffalo needs a helping hand.
The Sabres leaned on Mattias Samuelsson with Dahlin out of the lineup on Saturday. Samuelsson put up a three-point night in return, the highest-scoring game of his six-year career. It was a standout performance when the Sabres needed one, and helped the club extend their win streak to a surprising eight games. Samuelsson’s performance could have Buffalo shifting around their blue-line, even after Dahlin returns.
Maple Leafs’ William Nylander Out Day-To-Day
The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to deal with yet another injury moving forward. Star winger William Nylander will miss Sunday night’s game and sit out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury head coach Craig Berube told David Alter of The Hockey News. Rookie Easton Cowan will step back into the lineup in Nylander’s place. It will be Cowan’s first game in over a week.
Few players will be tougher to lose than Nylander. He leads the Maple Leafs in scoring with 41 points in 33 games this season. That standing stood up through a relatively quiet start to the month of December. Nylander only scored four points, all assists, through the first 10 games of the month. He has more than made up for the lull, though, with five points in his last two games.
Nylander has recorded the third-highest average ice time on Toronto’s offense, behind only Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. He leaves a massive hole in Toronto’s lineup that will likely require a committee approach to fill. Cowan will be some help, boasting 11 points in 26 games of his rookie season and offering a nice bit of explosive offense. But the first-year pro won’t be able to keep the offense afloat on his own. Toronto will need a surge in impact from players like Matias Maccelli, Max Domi, and Bobby McMann in Nylander’s absence. They could also benefit from a bounce back for star Matthews, who snapped a four-game scoring drought with a three-point night on Saturday. A few more games like that should be enough to keep Toronto in the win column while Nylander works back to full health.
Senators’ Linus Ullmark Taking Leave Of Absence, Out Indefinitely
The Senators announced Sunday that starting goaltender Linus Ullmark will be taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.
“Linus has the full support of our organization during this time,” general manager Steve Staios said. “Out of respect to Linus, we will not be making any further comments.”
Ottawa is eligible to designate Ullmark as a non-roster player for however long his leave lasts. Technically, he’ll be listed as indefinite, with the details of Ullmark’s absence at his discretion to disclose.
After last night’s wild 7-5 loss to the Maple Leafs, the Senators have a relatively easy schedule to contend with while they deal with the absence of their No. 1 netminder. Tomorrow’s game against the Blue Jackets kicks off a four-game homestand with two of those games against teams not in playoff position (Columbus and Winnipeg). Ottawa hits the road again to face the Mammoth on Jan. 8, a trip they’re hoping Ullmark can attend.
The Senators acquired the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner from the Bruins in the 2024 offseason in a blockbuster deal, eventually signing the then-pending free agent to a four-year, $33MM extension that kicks in this season. While Ullmark had a strong first effort in Ottawa last year despite injuries limiting him to 43 starts, he’s been among the league’s worst starters in 2025-26.
Under Ullmark’s 14-8-5 record in 28 starts this season lies a .881 SV%, 2.95 GAA, and -11.5 goals saved above expected that ranks worst in the league, per MoneyPuck. Ottawa’s top-10 offense and league-best 2.22 xGA/60 at 5-on-5 have helped limit the damage and kept them in the playoff race with an 18-14-5 record, but with backup Leevi Merilainen logging an even worse .874 SV%, goaltending has put the Sens’ chances of a second consecutive playoff appearance in extreme jeopardy.
Nonetheless, the 23-year-old Merilainen now figures to see the majority of action until Ullmark returns. The Sens have multiple recall options from AHL Belleville but will almost surely opt for sixth-year pro Hunter Shepard, who’s logged a .905 SV%, 3.16 GAA, and 5-5-1 record in 11 games.
Oilers Place Noah Philp On Waivers
The Oilers announced Sunday they’ve placed center Noah Philp on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Bakersfield. Now that the holiday roster freeze has lifted, Edmonton has also made official the unconditional waiver placement for David Tomasek that was reported on Friday, meaning he’ll have his contract terminated tomorrow.
Philp had been out since Nov. 17 with an upper-body injury and was on long-term injured reserve. Technically, he needs to be activated from LTIR before being placed on waivers. The Oilers created a roster spot and cap space by suspending Tomasek without pay, something they were eligible to do because he’d already left the club to return to Sweden, where he’ll be signing with the SHL’s Färjestad BK.
Before his injury, the 27-year-old Philp had rotated in and out of the lineup as the Oilers’ fourth-line center. Entering the year with only 15 games of NHL experience, all coming with Edmonton last season, he was given extremely difficult 5-on-5 deployment and started just 27.8% of his shifts in the offensive zone.
As a result, Philp’s numbers at face value were underwhelming. He had a 2-1–3 scoring line in 15 games with a -7 rating, ranking last among Oilers forwards in Corsi for percentage (41.9), shots for percentage (42.9), and expected goals for percentage (36.4) at 5-on-5.
Those are excusable figures given his deployment, though, and he has been one of Edmonton’s best faceoff men this year at 56.9%. There’s a definite risk of losing Philp on the wire as a result if a team is looking for affordable fourth-line help, particularly thanks to his league minimum salary, two-way contract structure, and expiring deal.
Kraken Activate Jared McCann
The Kraken will see Jared McCann return to the lineup against the Flyers tonight, teammate Matty Beniers told reporters (including Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times). The team subsequently announced he’s been activated from injured reserve. With an open roster spot, there’s no need for a corresponding move.
McCann’s return comes a few days ahead of schedule. The 29-year-old sustained a lower-body injury against the Kings on Dec. 10 that was expected to keep him out for three weeks. That would have put his return late next week.
Lower-body issues have kept McCann on the sidelines for much of this season. His latest seven-game absence teamed up with a weeks-long one earlier in the year. All told, he’s been limited to 11 appearances but has kept up his longstanding role as the Kraken’s top offensive weapon, totaling five goals and eight points.
Seattle’s woeful offense, 31st in the league at 2.54 goals per game, now gets back its franchise-leading scorer on the heels of a three-game win streak leading into the holiday break. The Kraken were 11-5-5 through their first 21 games, putting themselves in the playoff conversation, before undoing all that work with a 1-9-1 run over their next 11. That win streak has them back above .500 and three points back of the Sharks for the wild-card cutoff with three games in hand, though.
For a group that’s been without Jaden Schwartz for several weeks due to a lower-body injury and lost Mason Marchment when he was traded to the Blue Jackets earlier this month, getting McCann back in on the wing is a true needle-mover. Seattle has gone 4-5-2 with McCann in the lineup this season.
The Kraken will also be getting top-pair staple Vince Dunn back in the lineup on the back end, head coach Lane Lambert said (via Alison Lukan of NHL.com). He missed Seattle’s last game before the break with an upper-body injury but, along with McCann, was a full participant in yesterday’s practice. With 19 points in 34 games this season, he leads Kraken defenders in scoring and is fifth on the team overall but has a team-worst -15 rating.
Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.
Lightning Activate Brandon Hagel From Injured Reserve
12:02 p.m.: McDonagh in fact won’t be available tonight. He’s been placed on injured reserve while defenseman Maxim Groshev was recalled from Syracuse in the corresponding move for Santini’s demotion, the team announced. While Groshev’s been recalled multiple times this season without making his NHL debut, that will change as he’s one of only six defensemen on Tampa’s active roster.
11:32 a.m.: The Lightning have activated left winger Brandon Hagel from injured reserve, Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider reports. Tampa returned defenseman Steven Santini to AHL Syracuse in the corresponding move, indicating Ryan McDonagh could be back in the lineup after sitting out last night’s win over the Panthers with an undisclosed injury.
Hagel has been dealing with an upper-body injury since the Bolts’ second-most recent rivalry game against Florida back on Dec. 15. He’s missed the last four games and nearly two weeks as a result. They’ll welcome him back to the lineup this evening against the Canadiens.
The 27-year-old is now in his fifth season in Tampa, continuing to pay dividends after they gave up a steep package to acquire him from the Blackhawks at the 2022 trade deadline. He’s continued to hover near a point per game with an 18-15–31 scoring line in 32 appearances this season. Named to the league’s second All-Star Team last year while finishing top 10 in Selke voting, Hagel’s 121 points in 114 games since the beginning of 2024-25 are tied with Lucas Raymond for 20th in the league.
Tampa dealt with his absence quite well, though. They went 3-1-0 in four games without him while outscoring opponents 15-9, scoring four-plus goals three times. His return will give the Bolts a fully healthy forward group for just the third time this season.
With Erik Černák, Victor Hedman, and Emil Martinsen Lilleberg on IR, Santini was summoned yesterday to fill the gap after they received word that McDonagh couldn’t go. The 30-year-old saw 7:58 of ice time in what was his ninth appearance of the season for Tampa Bay, recording a +1 rating with a hit and a block.
The injury keeping McDonagh out of action was a re-aggravation of the undisclosed issue that sidelined him for over a month, head coach Jon Cooper said yesterday. He returned to play in three straight before the holiday break, but evidently needed some more load management before getting back into the lineup. Whether the extra day of rest ends up being enough to get him back to 100% – or at least healthy enough to play every night – will be something to watch.
Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.
Wild Acquire Boris Katchouk
The Wild announced they’ve acquired left winger Boris Katchouk from the Lightning in exchange for fellow lefty Michael Milne. Both players were on minor-league assignments and will report to their new affiliates in AHL Iowa and Syracuse, respectively.
While the trade is a relatively routine one-for-one swap of minor-league forwards, there’s an unusual gap between where Katchouk and Milne are in their development. At 27, Katchouk is a higher-floor, lower-ceiling call-up option for a Minnesota squad that’s struggled to field a competitive farm team in Iowa for the past several seasons.
Katchouk was a second-round pick by Tampa back in 2016 and bounced around quite a bit before returning to the Bolts on a two-way deal last offseason. He was coming off a 21-goal, 49-point resurgence in 67 games for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while on a minor-league deal.
So far, those numbers haven’t carried over into Katchouk’s second stint in the Lightning organization. He’s been limited to four goals and 10 points in 21 games with Syracuse, tied only for 10th on the team in scoring.
Katchouk did get a brief recall earlier this season, making three appearances for Tampa in November, his first NHL action since 2023-24 with the Blackhawks and Senators. He posted zeros across the board, going 7-for-19 (36.8%) on faceoffs as the Bolts opted to deploy the natural winger down the middle.
The 6’2″, 212-lb Katchouk has 15 goals, 21 assists, 36 points, and a -23 rating in 179 career NHL appearances for Tampa, Chicago, and Ottawa. That’s 178 more than what Milne has. The 23-year-old was a third-round selection by Minnesota in 2022.
The Bolts thus net a potential higher-upside piece but one without the experience of slotting in as a bottom-six piece if needed, like Katchouk. Milne’s lone NHL game came last season on Nov. 16, 2024, against the Stars, recording three hits in 6:34 of ice time.
He didn’t get his season underway in Iowa until the beginning of November due to an undisclosed injury. Since returning, he’s managed five points and a -11 rating in 15 games.
A couple of years ago, it looked like the British Columbia native might be able to pan out as a bottom-six energy piece in Minnesota. A good skater with great endurance, he scored 21 points in just 40 games for Iowa in 2023-24 but hasn’t been able to recapture that offensive pace ever since.
The Lightning now take a flyer on him, parting ways with a familiar replacement piece to do so. There’s no impact on either team’s cap or roster situation since they were both in the minors at the time of the swap. Milne’s minor-league salary is $100K, and he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of the season. Katchouk is owed a $250K AHL salary with a $350K guarantee and will be an unrestricted free agent in July.