Buffalo Sabres To Activate Jason Zucker
After seeing their 10-game winning streak come to a close a few days ago, the Buffalo Sabres will get a boost to their forward core. In an injury update released by the team earlier this afternoon, the Sabres announced that Jason Zucker will return to the lineup tomorrow against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Sabres revealed that Zucker has been healthy for some time, but the coaching staff didn’t feel comfortable removing anyone from the lineup due to their current performance. In fact, head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that Zucker could have returned on December 31st against the Dallas Stars, and was frustrated he was unable to.
Ruff was quoted as saying, “I think (he’s) a little frustrated he wasn’t put back in earlier, but I think the little extra time will help him, too, and I think he can help us. I talked to him before that Dallas game, and he was anxious to get back in, which he should be. Any player that sits out shouldn’t be happy; if he’s happy, he’s in the wrong business.”
Zucker will return tomorrow after nearly a month away from the game due to lower- and upper-body injuries. Before being placed on the injured reserve on December 8th, Zucker had scored nine goals and 18 points in 21 games with a -10 rating, averaging 15:36 of ice time per game. Nine of those points came on Buffalo’s power play.
The Sabres’ power play is expected to benefit the most from Zucker’s return. Although Buffalo ended December with a 10-game winning streak, their power play struggled, achieving only a 15.2% success rate. They’ve scored 19.1% of the time with the man advantage when Zucker is in the lineup.
Before the Olympic break, outside of their recent hot streak, the Sabres have a massive opportunity in January to further entrench themselves in the playoff conversation in the Eastern Conference. They have a particularly difficult stretch in front of them, lining up nine times against teams currently positioned in a postseason spot in their remaining 14 games through the end of the month.
Predators Sign Justus Annunen To Two-Year Extension
The Nashville Predators will be keeping their current goaltending tandem intact for a few more years. According to a team announcement, the Predators have signed Justus Annunen to a two-year, $2.5MM ($1.25MM AAV) extension.
Nashville acquired Annunen, along with a 2025 sixth-round pick, from the Colorado Avalanche last season for backup goalie Scott Wedgewood. Performance in the crease, as well as the injury bug, was one of the biggest plagues to the Avalanche last season, and Annunen was a part of the problem.
Still, Colorado wouldn’t have believed that just a year before. Although primarily rostered with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, Annunen participated in 14 games for the Avalanche during the 2023-24 campaign, managing an 8-4-1 record with a .928 SV% and 2.25 GAA.
Unfortunately, after being thrust into a backup role behind Alexandar Georgiev, Annunen didn’t continue that performance. Despite winning six of his nine starts, Annunen had disappointed with a .872 SV% and 3.23 GAA, leaving Colorado with little stability in the crease. Deciding to overhaul their entire goaltending room, the Predators swooped in to acquire Annunen and pair him with fellow countryman Juuse Saros.
He played far more with the Predators down the stretch, starting 20 games. He performed mildly better than what he was doing with the Avalanche, accruing a 9-11-1 record with a .888 SV% and 3.17 GAA.
Things haven’t gone much better this year, though they’ve been better lately. He was one of the worst backup options to begin the year, managing a 1-6-1 record in eight games with a .844 SV%. Still, his last four appearances have gone remarkably better, winning two out of four games with a .933 SV% across 90 shots.
Regardless, barring a significant injury to Saros, Annunen will only be counted upon to start 15 to 20 games a season. Given his last four outings, Nashville is likely hoping that Annunen has found another level to his game, leading them to ink today’s extension.
Bob Pulford Passes Away
Hall-of-Fame player and executive Bob Pulford has passed away, the NHL Alumni Association said. He was 89 years old.
An Ontario native, Pulford is one of the most integral figures in franchise history for his hometown team. He spent his playing days as a center and left winger after breaking into the league with the Maple Leafs in 1956-57, eventually becoming a five-time All-Star and one of the top penalty-killing forwards of the late Original Six era.
More than 55 years after Pulford played his last game for the Leafs, he still ranks quite high on the franchise leaderboard. He’s seventh in games played (947), 11th in goals (251), and 11th in points (563). He led Toronto with 10 assists in 12 playoff games in the Leafs’ last Stanley Cup victory in 1967, the fourth and final title of his career after winning three straight with the Leafs from 1962-64.
Pulford was traded to the Kings in 1970 and spent the final two seasons of his career in Los Angeles. While his offensive production wasn’t at its peak, he captained the Kings in his final season as a player in 1971-72 before beginning his arguably more impactful off-ice career as their head coach the following season.
As the sixth head coach for the Kings in their first six seasons, Pulford oversaw the team’s first sustained period of relevance. He posted a 178-150-68 record (.535) over five regular seasons, winning Coach of the Year honors in 1975 and beginning a streak of nine consecutive playoff appearances that still stands as a franchise record.
In 1977, the Blackhawks tabbed Pulford to serve as both their head coach and GM. That hiring would kick off a 30-year run for Pulford in Chicago – during which time he was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player as part of the class of 1991 – that saw the franchise make the playoffs 22 times.
His roles were varied. Pulford had four separate stints as the Hawks’ head coach (1977-79, 1981-82, 1984-87, 1999-00), often taking over as the interim boss midseason when someone was fired. Those often overlapped with four stints as GM (1977-90, 1992-97, 1999-00, 2003-05). When he wasn’t either of those things, he served as the club’s senior VP of hockey operations until he transitioned to working for the Hawks’ parent company in 2007, no longer directly affiliated with the team.
Pulford was also the first head of the NHLPA, elected to the role in 1967 and holding it until Ken Dryden took over presidential duties in 1972.
All of us at PHR send our condolences to the Pulford family and the many in the hockey community who worked with him.
Flames Recall William Stromgren
The Flames have recalled left wing prospect William Strömgren from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, per a team announcement. Calgary had been rolling with an open roster spot, so no corresponding transaction is required.
It will mark the 22-year-old’s NHL debut when he plays, although that won’t be tonight. He’s ticketed to be a healthy scratch against the Kraken, Wes Gilbertson of Postmedia reports.
Strömgren’s development has largely gone as anticipated since being drafted 45th overall by the Flames in 2021. The 6’4″ Swede spent two seasons after his draft getting limited minutes in his home country’s top league before making the move to North America.
It’s been a multi-year road, but Strömgren has firmly established himself as a top-line talent in the AHL. After breaking out for 14 goals and 49 points in 70 games for the Wranglers last year, he’s now the team’s leader in assists (23) and rating (+13) through 33 games in 2025-26.
There was worry Strömgren may have trouble standing out in a deep Calgary prospect pool – most didn’t view him as a top-10 talent in the system entering the season – but he’s done more than enough to ensure he stays on their internal radar. He’s been especially hot as of late, racking up four goals and nine points in his last five games, en route to being rewarded with his first NHL recall.
With John Beecher suspended (and injured), Strömgren could stick around as a 12th/13th forward for a while as the Flames evaluate where his checking game is at. One of his main knocks has been a lack of physicality for his tall frame. He’ll likely need to add that element into his game to transition into a fourth-line NHL role before eventually pushing to make an offensive impact in the Flames’ top nine.
Stars Activate Casey DeSmith, Recall Nathan Bastian
Jan. 5: DeSmith has returned to the team and has been activated from the non-roster list, the team announced. Poirier was sent back to AHL Texas in the corresponding move after backing up Oettinger in Sunday’s loss to the Canadiens. Dallas also recalled Bastian from his conditioning loan; he had two goals and an assist in four games for the AHL Stars.
Jan. 3: The Stars have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game against Montreal on Sunday. The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Casey DeSmith has been granted non-roster status to tend to a personal family matter. Taking his place on the roster will be netminder Remi Poirier, who has been recalled from AHL Texas.
DeSmith is in his second season as the backup in Dallas and he is once again having a strong campaign. In 15 starts, he has posted a 2.44 GAA and a .912 SV%, numbers close to the ones he put up in 27 outings in 2024-25. His save percentage is actually five points higher than starter Jake Oettinger; it’s not often that a backup goalie has better numbers than an established number one option. He won’t be able to improve on those numbers for the time being; there is no timetable for his return.
As for Poirier, the 24-year-old is in his fourth season in the system for the Stars and this will be his first recall since his rookie campaign in 2022-23 where he didn’t see any game action. He has played in 22 games with Texas so far, compiling a 2.77 GAA along with a .903 SV%, his lowest mark at the AHL level so far. He’ll serve as Oettinger’s backup until DeSmith is able to return which should come fairly soon with Victory Plus’ Brian Rea suggesting (Twitter link) that DeSmith could be back with the team as soon as Tuesday.
From a salary cap perspective, Dallas has more than enough space in its LTIR pool with Tyler Seguin and Lian Bichsel both on there so nothing further has to be done on that front. Meanwhile, their active roster remains full as 23 players; even though Nathan Bastian is on a conditioning loan with Texas, he still is on the NHL roster.
Seth Jones Out Week-To-Week
Panthers defenseman Seth Jones is out week-to-week with the upper-body injury he sustained in last week’s Winter Classic, head coach Paul Maurice told reporters today (including George Richards of Florida Hockey Now).
The injury also puts his participation in the United States’ Olympic team in question, but he hasn’t been ruled out. Maurice said he’s targeting a return shortly before the Olympic break, which is now under one month away.
The lack of a longer return timeline indicates Jones didn’t sustain a complete collarbone fracture as initially feared. He left the outdoor game against the Rangers in the first period after a deflected shot from Alexis Lafrenière appeared to strike him in the left shoulder/clavicle area.
Now in his first full season with the Cats, Jones has leapfrogged Aaron Ekblad on the depth chart to serve as Florida’s top defenseman in terms of all-situations usage. Averaging 23:29 per game, he leads Panthers D-men across the board with six goals, 18 assists, and 24 points in 40 games. His -2 rating is middle-of-the-pack, but advanced numbers show he’s still been among Florida’s best two-way defenders at 5-on-5, tied with Gustav Forsling for the team lead in Corsi share at 52.8%.
For a team without much organizational defensive depth that’s already missing veteran Dmitry Kulikov, a long-term injury to their top minute-muncher could be catastrophic – especially as they await the returns of Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk to round out their forward group. Florida has only been treading water as of late, going 2-2-1 in their last five, and remains one point back of the Capitals for the playoff cutoff while trailing the Sabres in points percentage. The Cats’ strong underlying numbers still have their playoff odds at 57.1%, per MoneyPuck, but those could drop considerably if right-shot Jeff Petry is overtaxed in a top-four role in Jones’ absence.
Jones, 31, is no stranger to long-term injuries. He’s missed at least 10 games in three straight years with thumb, shoulder, and foot issues.
Image courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images.
Blues Sign Alexey Toropchenko To Two-Year Extension
The Blues announced they’ve signed winger Alexey Toropchenko to a two-year contract extension. The deal is worth $5MM for an average annual value and cap hit of $2.5MM.
Toropchenko, 26, has a late June birthday, making him eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer. He’ll now wait until at least 2028 to test the open market while getting a nearly 50% pay bump from the $1.7MM cap hit afforded to him on his current one-year deal.
A fourth-round pick by St. Louis in 2017, Toropchenko is in his fifth NHL season. The 6’6″, 225-lb lefty has become a staple of the Blues’ bottom six since playing in all 82 games in the 2023-24 season, although a handful of injuries have kept him from achieving that mark since.
While he’s relied upon mostly for his physicality – he finished tied for 17th in the league with 223 hits last year – he’s not devoid of offensive upside. He’s hit double-digit goals twice, tallying 10 in 2022-23 and 14 in 2023-24, although his finishing ability has taken a nosedive over the last year and a half. In 107 appearances since the beginning of last season, he’s only lit the lamp six times while finishing at a 5.1% clip.
Still, the two-year pact is a nice reward for a player who’s taken on some increased responsibility as of late. He’s among the Blues’ top penalty-killing forwards and, with injuries to Nick Bjugstad, Dylan Holloway, and Nathan Walker, has seen a bump in even-strength ice time. While he’s missed double-digit games with various injuries this year, he’s posted five points and 27 shots in 27 games.
Toropchenko becomes the ninth Blues forward signed to a one-way contract for 2026-27. St. Louis still has a significant number of pending free agents to contend with, including RFAs Holloway, Philip Broberg, and Jonatan Berggren, as well as some UFAs like Mathieu Joseph and Oskar Sundqvist. They still have over $24MM in salary cap flexibility for next season, per PuckPedia.
Image courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.
Stars Activate, Reassign Luke Krys
The Stars activated defenseman Luke Krys from season-opening injured reserve on Sunday and subsequently reassigned him to the AHL’s Texas Stars, according to the minor league’s transaction log.
Krys, 25, will make his 2025-26 debut this week after completing his recovery from Achilles surgery. After helping Texas to a Western Conference Final appearance in last year’s Calder Cup Playoffs, Krys sustained a minor tear in rookie camp that ended up sidelining him for nearly four months.
Undrafted, the 6’2″ righty signed with Dallas out of Providence College in 2024. Now in the final season of his two-year entry-level contract, Krys has recorded four goals, 15 assists, 19 points, and a +8 rating in 73 AHL appearances since turning pro.
A smooth outlet passer with good two-way instincts, his development track doesn’t point toward him holding down a full-time NHL role, but he could be a capable call-up option down the line if the Stars opt to issue him a qualifying offer and retain him this summer. The Connecticut native’s +11 rating was second among Texas Stars defenders last year.
His return is a bit of a breath of fresh air for a Stars team that isn’t overflowing with organizational depth on the blue line, at least professionally. Dallas only had four NHL-contracted defenders in the minors who were available for recall before Krys’ return.
Maple Leafs Place William Nylander On IR, Recall Marshall Rifai
The Maple Leafs placed right winger William Nylander on injured reserve Monday, according to a team announcement. The placement is retroactive to Dec. 27, so he is eligible for activation at any time. Nylander’s roster spot will go to defenseman Marshall Rifai, whom the team said has been recalled from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.
Nylander has now missed four games since sustaining a lower-body injury against the Senators nine days ago. He’s back on the ice and skated Monday, David Alter of The Hockey News reports, but he will presumably miss at least one more game.
Toronto has not lost in regulation during Nylander’s latest absence, collecting six out of eight possible points with a 2-0-2 record. The 29-year-old previously missed four games in October and November due to a lower-body injury and an illness, limiting his season total to 33 appearances.
Despite the recurring inavailability, Nylander’s 27 assists and 41 points still sit atop the Leafs’ leaderboard. He’s also been Toronto’s best finisher at 20.6% (min. 50 shots on goal).
Rifai’s recall indicates there’s legitimate concern about Jake McCabe‘s status for Tuesday’s clash with the Panthers. Head coach Craig Berube said after Saturday’s overtime loss to the Islanders that McCabe would need to undergo evaluation for an undisclosed injury he sustained in the third period (via Alter).
The fact that Nylander, instead of McCabe, is landing on IR to make room for the Leafs to add another defenseman likely isn’t an indicator of the latter’s return timeline one way or another. There’s simply added roster flexibility by placing someone who’s already missed more than a week on IR, removing any potential restrictions on activation.
Rifai, 27, only recently got his season underway with the Marlies after needing wrist surgery due to a preseason injury. In five games, the 6’2″ lefty has recorded two assists with eight penalty minutes and a +2 rating.
The Quebec native only has two NHL games to his name and none since February 2024, but that could change tomorrow if the Leafs opt to continue playing lefty Oliver Ekman-Larsson on his off side while keeping righty Philippe Myers in the press box. Myers was scratched for the first time in several days against the Islanders after posting two assists and a -8 rating in 21 appearances this year.
Hurricanes Assign Ivan Ryabkin To Juniors
The Hurricanes assigned center prospect Ivan Ryabkin to the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League on Monday, according to a team press release.
Ryabkin, 18, had begun the season in the pros with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. A second-round pick this year (No. 62 overall) from the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League, he was not subject to the NHL’s transfer agreement with the Canadian Hockey League. He was thus eligible for a full-time minor-league assignment.
However, today’s news means Ryabkin cannot be called up to Carolina (unless under emergency conditions) or reassigned to the Wolves until his junior season is over. Charlottetown picked up Ryabkin’s CHL rights in this year’s import draft and will now reap the benefits of that selection, albeit a few months later than most expected.
Carolina sending Ryabkin to the AHL to begin his post-draft season was a surprise. While often touted as a first-round talent based on skill alone, there were league-wide concerns over the Russian pivot’s conditioning and two-way game.
Nonetheless, the Canes saw enough of his offensive ceiling in Muskegon, where he scored 19 goals and 30 points in 27 games, to at least give him some initial reps in the pro game. He filled a role as an agitator in Chicago, averaging north of two penalty minutes per game, but it’s clear his offensive game needs more development before he’s ready to shoot for a top-six job in the AHL.
In 25 games with the Wolves to begin his pro career, the 5’11”, 205-lb Ryabkin scored one goal and six assists with a -2 rating. Tabbed as the No. 6 prospect in Carolina’s system by Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff and No. 8 by Elite Prospects, the Canes will look for Ryabkin to feature among Charlottetown’s top offensive producers – if not their points-per-game leader – down the stretch.-