Oilers, David Tomasek Terminate Contract
Dec. 29th: Insider Frank Seravalli confirmed that Tomasek has cleared waivers after being designated yesterday. Both sides are now free to officially terminate his contract.
Dec. 26th: Oilers forward David Tomasek is expected to sign with the Swedish Hockey League’s Färjestad BK after the holiday roster freeze lifts on Sunday, Jonas Griberg and Johan Ekberg of Värmlands Folkblad report.
Tomasek has already left Edmonton and returned to Sweden, according to the report. The Oilers can place Tomasek on unconditional waivers on Sunday, allowing him to formalize the termination and register a new contract with Färjestad on Monday.
The 29-year-old right winger is ticketed to return to the squad where he had immense success over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons before attempting to kickstart an NHL career by signing a one-year, $1.2MM deal with Edmonton in April. He led the league in at least one major statistical category on both occasions and was named the SHL’s Most Valuable Player last season with a 24-33–57 scoring line and +5 rating in 47 games.
Tomasek was technically left off the Oilers’ opening-night roster due to salary cap constraints, taking advantage of his waiver-exempt status to send him to AHL Bakersfield. However, he was recalled the next day and made his NHL debut on the fourth line with Adam Henrique and Isaac Howard. He recorded an assist, but the lack of ice time wasn’t conducive to his ability to make an impact on the scoresheet.
The one-time World Championship gold medalist has good size at 6’2″ and 210 lbs, but doesn’t play a particularly physical game, profiling more as a one-way offensive threat and power play specialist. That made him an unnatural fit in a bottom-six checking role, serving the dual purpose of not allowing him to demonstrate enough skill to push his way into a top-nine job and see meaningful even-strength time with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Tomasek will end his stint in Edmonton with three goals, two assists, and a -6 rating in 22 appearances, averaging 10:46 of ice time per game. He had been a healthy scratch in six straight contests, last appearing against the Maple Leafs on Dec. 13.
The cap impacts are significant for the Oilers, who will be immediately relieved of his $1.2MM cap hit upon termination. Since they’re dipping into their LTIR pool to stay cap-compliant, they’re not accruing cap space. Removing Tomasek won’t change that, but it will increase their current cap space from $612.5K to $1.81MM, giving them more flexibility to reinstate one of their four LTIR-bound players in Connor Clattenburg, Kasperi Kapanen, Noah Philp, and Jake Walman.
Image courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.
Maple Leafs Reassign Marshall Rifai, Henry Thrun
Dec. 29th: According to Frank Seravalli, Rifai has made it through waivers unscathed. Although an official update has yet to come from the Maple Leafs, it’s expected that Rifai will be reassigned to AHL Toronto at some point today.
Dec. 28th: The Maple Leafs placed defenseman Marshall Rifai on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Toronto on Sunday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Earlier in the day, the club also announced it’d reassigned defenseman Henry Thrun to the AHL.
Rifai has been on long-term injured reserve since the beginning of the campaign after requiring wrist surgery as a result of a preseason injury. He began skating earlier this month and was initially assigned to the AHL on a long-term injury conditioning stint on Dec. 18, a move that does not require waivers. Now that the roster freeze has lifted, though, the Leafs had to either activate him today or initiate waiver proceedings.
While his conditioning stint began over a week ago, his only appearance came just yesterday against the Utica Comets. The 27-year-old lefty took a minor penalty and had a +1 rating with one shot on goal.
The 6’2″, 211-lb Rifai is now in his fourth season with the Leafs organization. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Harvard in 2022, he quickly impressed in the minors as a high-end physical shutdown piece and made his NHL debut in 2023-24.
Despite signing a two-year, one-way, $1.55MM extension last year, those two NHL games back in February 2024 stand as the only ones on his career ledger. He’s slotted anywhere between No. 8 and 10 on Toronto’s organizational defensive depth chart for a few years now and has been recalled on multiple occasions to serve as a healthy extra when needed, but it hasn’t resulted in much playing time.
With an excess of left shots on the Leafs’ roster, the path to NHL playing time won’t get much wider for Rifai anytime soon, either. Instead, the Quebec native will look to get his feet under him this season in a familiar AHL environment.
As for Thrun, his demotion is long overdue. Toronto had been operating over the roster limit since activating Chris Tanev from injured reserve on Tuesday. With the freeze lifted today, they can get back to 23 players by returning Thrun to the Marlies.
Acquired from the Sharks last summer for Ryan Reaves, Thrun passed through waivers at the beginning of the year and remained with the AHL club until Dec. 10, when the Leafs summoned him in place of the injured Dakota Mermis. He played in four straight to begin his recall before being scratched for Toronto’s last four. In his stint in the lineup, he posted a -1 rating while averaging 14:52 per game.
Penguins Activate Blake Lizotte, Reassign Danton Heinen
Dec. 29th: Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review reports that Heinen has cleared waivers and has been reassigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Dec. 28th: The Penguins announced they’ve activated center Blake Lizotte from injured reserve and placed winger Danton Heinen on waivers in the corresponding move. Since Heinen’s waiver placement comes in conjunction with an IR activation, he can be designated non-roster until tomorrow while he’s on the wire to open a roster spot.
Lizotte has been listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury for the past few weeks. He last played on Dec. 7 against the Stars, then was placed on IR two days later.
The 28-year-old was a pleasant surprise for the Pens last year after inking a two-year, $3.7MM deal in free agency. In 59 appearances, he tied his career high in goals (11) and won 51.2% of his draws while averaging 12:43 of ice time per game.
That offensive production hasn’t quite carried over into this year, but the high-energy pivot has still scored five points in 27 games while serving as part of one of the league’s better checking lines. His unit with Noel Acciari and Connor Dewar may not generate much offensively, but they’ve limited opponents to just 2.10 goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.
Lizotte and Dewar also comprise Pittsburgh’s top penalty kill unit. He’s been a big part of a respectable shorthanded complement that clicks at 81.1%, 14th in the league.
Meanwhile, Heinen lands on the waiver wire for the second time this season. The veteran of 579 NHL games was a surprising cut from Penguins training camp and, as expected, cleared without incident, given his $2.25MM cap hit.
The versatile 30-year-old won’t be happy with today’s news, though. He’s been outright dominant in the AHL, rattling off 17 points in 12 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He’s gotten a few recalls throughout the year, and although he’s been a healthy scratch in three straight, he’s gotten into 13 NHL contests for Pittsburgh with a goal and an assist.
Heinen’s high cap hit remains a likely deterrent for a claim, but given his minor-league production, it stands to reason he can still be a fourth-line piece at worst on more than a few teams. With a base salary of $775K this season – most of his money was paid out via a preseason signing bonus – he wouldn’t be walking away from much if he refused to report to WBS and triggered a contract termination. That would allow him to catch on with another team down the stretch on a new deal with a lower cap impact.
Mammoth’s Juuso Valimaki Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL
Dec. 29th: According to a team announcement, Välimäki has successfully cleared waivers and has been reassigned to AHL Tucson.
Dec. 28th: The Mammoth announced Sunday they’ve placed defenseman Juuso Välimäki on waivers for the purposes of assignment to AHL Tucson.
Välimäki, 27, has been IR-bound for the entire season and then some. The former Flames first-rounder played 43 games for Utah last year before being waived and reassigned to Tucson in January. Weeks later, he sustained a season-ending ACL tear and was given an eight-to-nine-month recovery timeline. Given the surgery was in early March, he ended up missing that target by a couple of weeks.
As expected, he won’t stick around with the Mammoth after being medically cleared. He struggled to hold onto a bottom-pairing job in Salt Lake last year, averaging 16:33 per contest while being limited to a 2-3–5 scoring line and a -5 rating.
The 6’2″, 201-lb lefty will be an unrestricted free agent next summer after inking a two-year, $4.4MM extension with Utah in 2024. That deal came after Välimäki had put up back-to-back solid bodies of work in top-four minutes for the Coyotes, notching 51 points and a +2 rating in 146 appearances from 2022-24 while averaging 18:36 per game.
When Välimäki got pushed down the depth chart thanks to the additions of Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino, and Ian Cole before Utah’s inaugural season, his performance no longer justified his cap hit. While he’s been costing $2MM against the Mammoth’s picture while on IR, his cap impact will drop to $850K if he clears waivers and is reassigned to Tucson.
Islanders’ Ethan Bear Clears Waivers
Dec. 29th: Insider Frank Seravalli reported that Bear has successfully cleared waivers and can be safely reassigned to AHL Bridgeport.
Dec. 28th: The New York Islanders have placed depth defenseman Ethan Bear on waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Bear began the year on season-opening injured reserve with an upper-body injury. His waiver placement serves as a strong indication that Bear has fully recovered from that injury. Should he clear, he will likely be assigned to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders.
Bear spent the entirety of last season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears. It was his first full AHL season since 2018-19 and he took full advantage of the lighter competition. Bear, who had struggled in the NHL for a few years in a row, led Hershey in scoring with 46 points in 62 games last season. The performance was the most a Hershey defenseman has scored since Aaron Ness scored 55 points in the 2018-19 season.
It is too late into Bear’s career to call his AHL season a breakout year – but it went far in solidifying the role he offered an NHL team. He’s stood out as a top-end offensive-defenseman in the minor-leagues, who can offer serviceable, bottom-pair impact with an NHL club. That standing lines up with Bear’s career stat line. He has recorded 67 points and 112 penalty minutes in 275 NHL games, to go with 95 points and 76 penalty minutes in 151 AHL games.
The Islanders will look to add that puck-moving ability to the top of Bridgeport’s lineup with this move. Bridgeport has struggled to win this season. They are currently ranked dead-last in the Atlantic Division and have been outscored by a combined 82-to-94. Bear won’t buoy the team’s defense, but his offensive talent should remove some responsibility from more well-rounded defenders Marshall Warren and Cole McWard.
Hurricanes Claim Noah Philp Off Waivers, Reassign Bradly Nadeau
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Carolina Hurricanes claimed center Noah Philp off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers. The Hurricanes shared that they’ve reassigned forward Bradly Nadeau in a corresponding roster move.
Interestingly enough, Friedman reported this morning on 32 Thoughts that this could be coming down the pipeline for Philp. Friedman suggested that multiple teams had contacted the Oilers regarding Philp. It stands to reason that the Hurricanes were one of those teams.
It would have been much easier for Edmonton to trade Philp after he had cleared waivers, given that he wouldn’t have to be waived again for some time if a team was wishing to stash him in the AHL. Given that the Hurricanes claimed him today, they’ll need to attempt to pass Philp through waivers again should they try to reassign him to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.
Regardless, Philp will have a new opportunity in Carolina for the time being, though it’s not clear where exactly he fits into the lineup. Seth Jarvis is currently the only injured forward on the team, and there’s little chance of Philp taking a hold of a first-line role.
Realistically, if the Hurricanes want him in a consistent role, Philp will take over for Jesperi Kotkaniemi or Mark Jankowski, each of whom has disappointed throughout the season. Philp doesn’t have much experience to fall back on, though, scoring two goals and five points across 30 games in Edmonton.
Still, his relatively large frame and respectable output in the AHL likely inspired Carolina to take a flyer on him. Despite briefly retiring for the 2023-24 season, Philp owns a 38-34-72 scoring line in 130 AHL contests.
Meanwhile, Nadeau returns to AHL Chicago after being recalled to replace Jarvis on the active roster. The 20-year-old winger played in two games for the Hurricanes throughout the recall, scoring one goal while averaging 13:54 of ice time per game.
Guy Chouinard Passes Away
The Calgary Flames alumni group shared this morning that former player Guy Chouinard has passed away at age 69.
Hailing from Quebec City, Quebec, Chouinard was a dominant major junior player in the early 1970s for the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts. In three years with the Remparts, Chouinard averaged just over two points per game, finishing with 147 goals and 359 points in 179 games.
That impressive run led to him being selected with the 28th overall pick (then in the second round) of the 1974 NHL Draft by the Atlanta Flames. He only appeared in nine games for the Flames throughout his first two professional seasons. Still, he won the Calder Cup with the AHL’s Nova Scotia Voyageurs in 1976, scoring 40 goals and 80 points in 70 regular-season contests, with another six goals and 15 points in nine playoff games.
His one-year stint with the Voyageurs would be his last in the minor leagues for some time. Beginning in the 1976-77 season, Chouinard was one of, if not the best, offensive players on the Flames, and remained that after the move to Calgary for the 1980-81 season. In the team’s final four years in Georgia, Chouinard scored 126 and 292 points in 309 games while earning votes for the Lady Byng Trophy in 1979-80.
Much of the reason the Flames nearly made the Stanley Cup Final in their first year in Alberta was due to Chouinard, who scored three goals and 17 points in 16 games during that year’s playoff run. He finished his time in Calgary after the 1982-83 campaign with 67 goals and 235 points in 196 contests. The Flames traded him to the St. Louis Blues for future considerations ahead of the 1983-84 season, and he finished with 12 goals and 46 points in 64 games.
Retiring early after the 1984-85 season, Chouinard bounced around the QMJHL until the 2009-10 season, serving as head coach of the Longueuil Chevaliers, Victoriaville Tigres, Verdun Jr. Canadiens, Trois-Rivières Draveurs, Sherbrooke Faucons, Laval Titan Collège Français, Remparts, and the Prince Edward Island Rocket. He was inducted into the QMJHL Hall of Fame in 2005 and is second in games coached (988), wins (515), and championships (4).
Still, despite his lengthy run as a bench boss in the QMJHL, he’ll be remembered as one of the greatest players in Flames history. He was the franchise leader in assists and points when he retired, and has since fallen to eighth and ninth, respectively.
We at PHR send our condolences to Chouinard’s family, friends, and loved ones.
Mammoth Recall Matt Villalta, Place Karel Vejmelka On IR
The Utah Mammoth announced that they’ve placed netminder Karel Vejmelka on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury, retroactive to December 23. In a corresponding roster move, the Mammoth have recalled Matt Villalta from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners.
Due to the holiday break last week, Vejmelka, 29, will only miss two games at a minimum. There’s no indication that the injury is severe, meaning he could be activated from the IR as early as tomorrow, and could return to the starting role as early as New Year’s Day against the New York Islanders.
The Mammoth have expectedly relied on Vejmelka for much of the regular season as the five-year netminder has started in approximately 75% of the team’s games up to this point. Still, Vejmelka has fallen short of the performance he achieved last season.
During the 2024-25 campaign, Vejmelka managed a 26-22-8 record in 58 games with a .904 SV% and 2.58 GAA. According to Moneypuck, at even strength, Vejmelka finished ninth among qualified goaltenders in Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) with a 16.8 mark, earning a five-year, $23.75MM extension with Utah toward the end of the year.
Unfortunately, he has reverted to his previous form for the first half of the 2025-26 season. Vejmelka has earned a 16-10-2 record through 29 games this year with a .894 SV% and 2.70. Of netminders that have appeared in 10 or more games, Vejmelka is 48th in the league for GSAx, two spots behind backup netminder Vítek Vaněček. Hopefully, with the holiday break and the light schedule through the end of the week, Vejmelka can use this time to rest and recover in an effort to find last season’s form.
Meanwhile, Villalta joins the Mammoth for the first time this year. The 26-year-old netminder is in his third year with the organization, spending the majority of his time with AHL Tucson. In 15 games this season, Villalta owns a 9-5-1 record with a .903 SV% and 2.94 GAA. His most recent NHL appearance came on April 14th of last season, securing a win against the Nashville Predators after stopping 28 of 31 shots.
Pius Suter Out Four Weeks With Ankle Injury
The St. Louis Blues are again losing another forward to a relatively lengthy injury absence. The team announced that center Pius Suter will miss approximately the next four weeks after suffering a right ankle injury this past weekend.
Suter’s status for today’s game against the Buffalo Sabres was in question due to the injury, and he’s now expected to miss between 10 and 15 games, if not more. The injury is connected to Nashville Predators’ forward Michael McCarron, who slew-footed Suter in the third period of Saturday’s contest. Suter finished the game after leaving momentarily.
Suter, 29, is in his first year with the Blues organization after signing a two-year, $8.25MM contract with the team last offseason. He had only missed two games for St. Louis before the injury, scoring seven goals and 14 points in 37 games, averaging 16:23 of ice time.
His offensive output is lower than what he produced last season with the Vancouver Canucks, but he was showing signs of improvement in his advanced metrics. His faceoff percentage was up five points compared to last year, as was his on-ice save percentage at even strength. The latter output was highly beneficial for the Blues, given that the team has the third-worst overall save percentage in the league this season.
Fortunately, although there’s never a good time for an injury, St. Louis may be able to withstand losing Suter better now than they would have a week ago. The Blues activated both Jordan Kyrou and Jimmy Snuggerud on Saturday, and have recent waiver claim Jonatan Berggren playing at a relatively high level. This has allowed them to keep pace in the Western Conference playoff race, sitting one point back of the final wild-card spot.
Oilers Looking To Move Out A Forward
As the Edmonton Oilers return to a relatively healthy active roster, the team has begun looking to thin out a fairly saturated forward core. On today’s rendition of 32 Thoughts with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the insider shared that the Oilers are looking to move out a forward on the trade market.
Specifically, Friedman listed Andrew Mangiapane and Noah Philp as potential trade candidates. The latter is currently on waivers, and Friedman noted that there is some interest in Philp, but only if he clears waivers by this afternoon. If an interested team claims him, they’ll need to send him through waivers again if they wish to reassign him to the AHL. If they acquire him via trade after he clears, he’ll be ineligible for waivers for some time.
Edmonton’s thought process is fairly straightforward. The team has Zach Hyman back on the roster after a lengthy absence to begin the year, and recently activated Jack Roslovic from the injured reserve. Additionally, Friedman reported that Kasperi Kapanen, who’s currently on the team’s long-term injured reserve, is expected back soon.
Having so many players on the LTIR has limited the Oilers’ ability to accrue additional cap space for the trade deadline, so moving out a forward or two via the trade market will allow them to make bigger additions down the line if they choose to do so. Mangiapane, in particular, is making $3.6MM this season and next, making him the sixth-highest paid forward on the team.
It’s not a relationship that has gone particularly well, either. Edmonton brought Mangiapane back to Alberta last summer after a one-year stint with the Washington Capitals, though he hasn’t provided the middle-six firepower the Oilers were hoping for. He’s scored five goals and 11 points in 39 games this season, averaging 13:31 of ice time per game with a -16 rating.
Much like the Los Angeles Kings did with center Phillip Danault, Friedman suggested that the Oilers and Mangiapane could be heading for a mutual split. Mangiapane has a full no-trade clause this season, though he would likely waive that protection if he felt he could be moved to a better situation.
Meanwhile, the external interest in Philp is largely based on his role as a right-handed center, which is always in high demand around the league. His output has been fairly tepid with the Oilers, scoring two goals and five points in 30 games since the 2024-25 campaign. However, he did record 19 goals and 35 points in 55 games for the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors last season.
Aside from returning to a healthy lineup, the Oilers are facing more pressure to recall Isaac Howard back to the NHL. He’s certainly doing his best to force their hand, scoring nine goals and 20 points in 15 games for AHL Bakersfield with a +10 rating.
Regardless, if the Oilers feel satisfied with their roster leading up to the trade deadline, especially after acquiring Tristan Jarry and Spencer Stastney a few weeks ago, there are other options available to them. Aside from sending Philp through waivers, they could reassign depth forward Max Jones, which would give them another open spot.
Photo courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.