Canucks Announce Four Roster Moves
The Canucks will get some help tonight versus Nashville as the team announced (Twitter link) that forward Dakota Joshua and defenseman Noah Juulsen have been activated off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, winger Kiefer Sherwood was placed on injured reserve while winger Max Sasson was assigned to AHL Abbotsford.
Joshua had missed nearly the last four weeks with a leg injury. It has been a tough year overall for him as his start to the campaign was delayed while recovering from testicular cancer. Upon returning, he wasn’t as impactful as he was last season. He has two goals and two assists through 24 outings although his physicality is still present as he has 83 hits while logging 12:21 per night with limited time on special teams.
As for Juulsen, he landed on IR retroactively last week with an undisclosed injury. He winds up missing a little over two weeks with the issue. Juulsen has played in 32 games this season, predominantly on Vancouver’s third pairing. He’s still looking for his first point but does have 57 blocks and 89 hits in 16:34 of playing time per night, the highest that number has been since the 2018-19 season.
Sherwood has been a nice addition to Vancouver’s bottom six group this season. He has recorded 13 goals and eight assists in 47 games while recording a league-high 273 hits; for comparison, no other player has reached 185. He left last Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury and assuming they back-date his placement, Sherwood will be eligible to return as soon as Friday versus Dallas.
Sasson loses his roster spot to make the activations happen. He has been up with Vancouver for six separate stints this season, spanning 24 games altogether where he has two goals and four assists in a little over 10 minutes a night. After putting up 42 points in 56 AHL games last season, Sasson’s per-game numbers are down a bit with Abbotsford this year although he still has nine points in 16 outings.
Flames’ Kevin Bahl Out Week-To-Week
The Calgary Flames have designated defenseman Kevin Bahl as out week-to-week with an upper-body injury per TSN’s Salim Nadim Valji. Bahl suffered what appeared to be a head injury after receiving a big hit against the boards from Minnesota’s Jakub Lauko in Calgary’s Saturday night win. Bahl has missed the Flames’ two games since. He’ll now be a candidate for injured reserve, while the Flames will get assured for carrying eight defenseman on their roster leading into the weekend.
Bahl is in the midst of a career year. He has scored 14 points in 47 games, already surpassing his career-high 11 points in 82 games set last season. That boost in scoring has come in tandem with a strong defensive presence, helping Bahl gradually climb the lineup in his first season with the Flames. He has averaged just over 21 minutes of ice time each game, making him the team’s third-most utilized defenseman behind Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar. Bahl also ranks third on the blue-line in blocks (79) and hits (67). It’s been beyond an encouraging season for the 24-year-old, who was traded to the Flames alongside a first round draft pick in exchange for Jacob Markstrom this summer. Bahl had previously spent the last three seasons trying, and failing, to earn secure ice time in the Devils defense. Now on a blue-line decimated by Calgary’s 2023-24 trading of Nikita Zadorov, Chris Tanev, and Noah Hanifin – Bahl seems to finally be finding his footing at the top flight.
Calgary has recalled Tyson Barrie from an AHL conditioning stint to fill in for Bahl. Barrie played his first game since early November on Tuesday. He recorded one assist, a -1, and one penalty in 17:20 of ice time. That’s certainly a welcome return for the 14-year-veteran who only had two points in nine games this season entering the contest. Barrie will now have a chance to prove he still belongs in the NHL, even at the age of 33, with big minutes opened up in Bahl’s absence.
Senators’ Nick Cousins To Miss 6-8 Weeks
Ottawa Senators forward Nick Cousins will be out through at least early March after suffering a knee injury in the team’s Saturday win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cousins suffered the injury on a knee-to-knee collision with Leafs rookie Jacob Quillan. Both players needed help off the ice after the hit, though Quillian ultimately avoided an injury. Senators head coach Travis Green shared that Cousins would miss significant time immediately after the game. Now the forward could be a candidate for long-term injured reserve, though Cousins is getting different opinions on the severity of his injury, per TSN’s Bruce Garrioch.
Cousins has been a reliable bottom-six forward for the Senators, appearing in 46 of the team’s 48 games and averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time prior to his injury. He has five goals and 13 points on the year, just shy of the 15 points he managed in 69 games with the Florida Panthers last season. Cousins continues to sit off of his team’s special teams units – which should make his role a bit less of a headache to replace.
Since Cousins’ injury, top forward Joshua Norris has made his return to the Senators lineup. That addition should fill their hole for the time being, with Adam Gaudette and Matthew Highmore securing routine roles on the fourth line. Ottawa also successfully passed winger Cole Reinhardt through waivers on Wednesday, which grants him a 30-day waiver exemption and gives Ottawa a movable extra forward. Reinhardt has two points, a goal and an assist through 12 games this season. They’re the first points of his career, in some of his first NHL games, though he made his NHL debut in the 2021-22 season. Reinhardt has since been a productive member of the AHL’s Belleville Senators. He leads that team in points-per-game this season, with 16 points in 13 games. Ottawa could also turn towards rookie Stephen Halliday – Belleville’s leading scorer with 27 points – should they need additional support over the next two months.
In other Senators news, defenseman Nick Jensen returned to the team’s practice in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday. Jensen has missed the team’s last two games with an undisclosed injury. His status for Ottawa’s Thursday matchup against the Washington Capitals is undetermined, but Jensen is expected to return soon, per Sportsnet’s Alex Adams. Jensen has 18 points in 48 games this season – the second-highest scoring pace of his 10-year career behind his 29 points in 77 games of the 2022-23 season.
Finally, star goaltender Linus Ullmark should return within the next few games, per Garrioch. Ullmark has missed the last 16 games with a back injury. He’s been an integral piece to the Senators’ lineup in his first year with the club, boasting a 12-7-2 record and .915 save percentage through 23 games this season. He’ll be a critical addition when he’s back to full health.
Golden Knights Recall Raphael Lavoie
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forward Raphael Lavoie from the minor leagues, per a video of him at team practice on Vegas’ Twitter/X. The move was confirmed by The Daily Faceoff, who added that Lavoie is expected to make his season debut on Tuesday.
Lavoie was the subject of a sparring match between Vegas and Edmonton in the days leading up to the 2024-25 season. In a matter of five days, he was placed on waivers by Edmonton and claimed by Vegas; waived by Vegas and claimed by Edmonton; and then needed waived again by Edmonton since the Golden Knights were one of two teams to put in an original claim. Vegas was then able to put in a second claim and assign Lavoie to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, where he’s been ever since.
After a winding path to land in Henderson and a slow start to the year, Lavoie finally seems to be finding his footing with the Silver Knights. He has nine points, 33 penalty minutes, and a +9 through his last 10 games, including the game-winning overtime goal in Henderson’s Saturday win over Colorado. Lavoie has more than doubled his scoring with the hot streak, moving up to 16 points in 29 games this season. The Golden Knights seem poised to reward his hard work as they plan to award him just the eighth NHL game of his career. Lavoie played in seven games with the Oilers last November, but failed to manage any scoring and received under 10 minutes of ice time in each game. He closed out the 2023-24 campaign by going on a tear in the minor leagues, finishing the year third on the Bakersfield Condors in scoring with 50 points in 66 games. At just 24, Lavoie now represents another low-risk, high-upside winger for the Golden Knights to mold.
Minor Transactions: 1/26/25
There have been a few minor roster moves made around the NHL today, some of which may or may not ultimately be paper transactions that are reversed in the next couple of days. We’ll run through those here.
- The Panthers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve loaned defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to AHL Charlotte. The 23-year-old got into eight games with Florida after being recalled earlier this month but with Aaron Ekblad returning yesterday, his presence was no longer needed on the roster. Bjornfot is tied for third in scoring by Checkers blueliners, notching 11 points in 27 games at the minor league level.
- The Stars have returned winger Matej Blumel to the minors, per an announcement from AHL Texas. He has been shuttled back and forth with some frequency in recent days though he did suit up today versus Iowa. The 24-year-old has a goal in seven games with Dallas and is now up to 19 goals and 15 assists in 33 AHL contests.
- Nashville has assigned defenseman Spencer Stastney to AHL Milwaukee, per the AHL’s transactions log. He suited up in seven games for the Predators over the last three weeks while on recall but didn’t register a point. The 25-year-old has three points in 10 games with the Admirals after missing nearly two months while on personal leave. Nashville now has just six healthy blueliners on their active roster so it’s possible that Stastney could be back up relatively quickly.
- The Hurricanes have placed center Tyson Jost on LTIR, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). The 26-year-old last played at the end of December and is battling a lower-body injury although he resumed skating last week. Assuming the placement is retroactive, he has already missed the required 10 games and 24 days. The move allowed them to remain cap-compliant after Friday’s three-team trade.
Canucks Notes: Sherwood, Joshua, Friedman
The Vancouver Canucks fit in a practice early this morning before traveling to St. Louis to begin a three-game road-trip. The skate brought plenty of updates. Most notably, third-line forward Kiefer Sherwood did not travel with the team, per Jeff Patterson of Rink Wide: Vancouver. He is expected to miss Monday’s game, at least, after also sitting out of the team’s Saturday win over Washington. There is hope that he could join the team partway through the trip. No specifics of Sherwood’s injury have been disclosed.
Sherwood is having a career year in his first season with the Canucks. He ranks fourth on the team with 13 goals – just behind Jake DeBrusk (17), Brock Boeser (16), and defender Quinn Hughes (14). Sherwood has totaled 21 points through 47 games, putting him just six games shy of his career-high in scoring with 34 games still on the schedule. It has been a long road to land Sherwood in an everyday NHL role. He originally debuted with the Anaheim Ducks in 2018-19, but only managed 12 points in 50 games as a rookie. He spent the next three seasons making only spot starts at the top flight, through trips with Anaheim and the Colorado Avalanche, before spending the full season with the Nashville Predators last season. That’s when he set a career-high 27 points – a number he’s poised to smash now with the fourth club of his seven-year career.
In other Canucks news, forward Dakota Joshua made his return to the practice sheet on Sunday. Joshua has missed Vancouver’s last 10 games with a leg injury. He was placed on injured reserve on January 6th. Joshua has had an up-and-down season. A summer cancer diagnosis forced him to sit out the first month of the season, but he was a routine presence in the Canucks lineup between November and early January. He’s managed just four points and 20 penalty minutes through 24 games – but was riding a seven-game scoring drought prior to injury. He seems to be nearing a lineup return, likely giving him a chance to break his cold spell on Vancouver’s upcoming trip.
Ahead of the road trip, Vancouver also assigned defenseman Mark Friedman to the AHL. Friedman has only played in five NHL games this season – two coming last week. He hasn’t managed any scoring through the appearances, with 10 penalty minutes and a -4 his only notable stat changes. He’s been slightly more productive in the minors, with one goal and six points in 20 appearances with the Abbotsford Canucks. Friedman has served as a top AHL call-up for nearly every year of his nine-year career. He’ll continue to fill that role with this move, with Vancouver opting to carry rookie defenseman Elias Pettersson for their road trip instead.
Blackhawks Recall Landon Slaggert
The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled forward Landon Slaggert from the AHL. Slaggert isn’t expected to play in the team’s Sunday game against the Minnesota Wild, but will serve as an insurance forward for the team’s upcoming three game road trip.
This marks the first formal call-up of Slaggert’s career. He made his NHL debut last season, joining the Blackhawks after the end of the University of Notre Dame’s season and scoring four points in 16 games. But, like many burgeoning Hawks prospects to debut last season, Slaggert was assigned to the minors to start the year. He’s since worked his way into a top-six role with the Rockford IceHogs. Slaggert ranks third on the team in scoring with 25 points in 39 games. He also boasts a team-best +9.
Slaggert may face a tough time cracking into the lineup during this road trip. For Chicago’s many faults, their bottom-six has been warming up as of late. All six players – Colton Dach, Lukas Reichel, Nick Foligno, Pat Maroon, Ryan Donato, and Philipp Kurashev – have multiple points in the team’s last 10 games, led by Donato’s seven points and 18 shots. Kurashev would likely be the first of the bunch to cede minutes, though. He snapped a 12-game scoring drought with two points on January 20th, but has other wise fallen more-and-more out of favor in the Hawks lineup. Kurashev has been a routine healthy scratch and even appeared in trade rumors. Calling up Slaggert for a multi-game trip could be a good chance to see who would likely succeed Kurashev in the fourth-line role.
Devils’ Nico Hischier Day-To-Day, Jack Hughes Banged Up
The New Jersey Devils could soon be without their two top forwards. Captain Nico Hischier left the team’s Saturday night matchup against the Montreal Canadiens in the second period, after receiving a slash from Canadiens center Nick Suzuki. No penalty was called on the play, and instead Suzuki skated up the ice and recorded the primary assist on Montreal’s second goal. Now, Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe has shared that Hischier could be out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now.
Nichols also shared that Jack Hughes is, “less than 100 percent” due to a nagging finger injury. He suffered the injury partway through New Jersey’s Wednesday win over the Boston Bruins, exiting in the first period to get stitches in his finger but returning shortly after the start of the second. Hughes missed the team’s Friday practice to avoid risk of infection or further inflammation, but played in 20 minutes of New Jersey’s overtime win on Saturday. His status will be monitored closely as the Devils gear up for two weekday games against the Philadelphia Flyers.
There’s been no indication of whether or not the Devils top two centers will play on Monday. If they don’t, New Jersey will play their first game without the star duo in over two years. Despite routine injuries, one of the Devils’ star centers has found a way to stand at the top of the lineup – which would make matching absences incredibly tough to fill. Hughes and Hischier currently rank first and third on the Devils in scoring, with 57 and 43 points in 51 games respectively.
The only extra forward on New Jersey’s lineup is presently Kurtis MacDermid, who’s stepped into four games since the start of January. He doesn’t have any scoring through 19 games this season, which could force the Devils to look towards their minor leagues for meaningful fill-ins. Nolan Foote and Brian Halonen lead the AHL’s Utica Comets in scoring, with 25 points in 33 games and 24 points in 34 games respectively. Both players have served as injury fill-ins throughout the season, though neither has managed any NHL scoring in their spot starts. New Jersey could also turn towards Adam Beckman, who has 22 points in 29 AHL games and also managed two assists in 11 NHL games earlier this year. But none of those players bring natural center ability to the NHL lineup, likely meaning that any recall would need coupled with someone like Stefan Noesen, Ondrej Palat, or Dawson Mercer shifting into the middle-lane.
Sharks Recall Jack Thompson, Place Jan Rutta On IR
The San Jose Sharks have recalled defenseman Jack Thompson and placed Jan Rutta on injured reserve. Rutta missed the team’s Saturday loss to the Florida Panthers with a lower-body injury. Head coach Ryan Wardofsky told Max Miller of Yahoo Sports that Rutta had been dealing with the injury for the last few games.
Rutta has seen his ice time dip from upwards of 19 minutes down to 13 minutes in the wake of this injury. He’s been a utility defender all season long, averaging 17 minutes of ice time and recording eight points through 51 games this season. Rutta also ranks second on the team with 76 blocked shots.
The Sharks turned towards left-shot defender Henry Thrun to fill Rutta’s right-side role on Saturday. But after a big loss, the Sharks are opting to bringing a true right-shot up in Thompson. Thompson has split time between the NHL and AHL lineup all year long, with similar results. He has five points in 14 NHL games and nine points in 17 AHL games on the year. After totaling just three NHL games over the last two seasons, Thompson is finally receiving a chance to carve out his role at the top-flight. With Rutta set to miss at least one week and two games, Thompson could have a perfect opportunity to plant his feet even further.
Avalanche Activate Miles Wood Off IR, Reassign Jere Innala
The Colorado Avalanche have activated forward Miles Wood off of injured reserve, setting him up to return from a back injury suffered on November 27th. The injury is a nagging one, earning Wood a second placement on IR earlier this season – from November 4th to 14th – and holding him out of games for a week in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. He told Corey Masisak of The Denver Post that, based on conversations he’s had with other players, this back injury will likely be one he carries through the rest of his career.
In a corresponding move, Colorado has also reassigned Jere Innala to the minor leagues. Innala has appeared in most of the team’s games through January but averages just under seven minutes of ice time each game. He has no scoring and a -3 through 15 appearances this season.
Wood has spent the better parts of the last nine seasons as an impactful third-line winger across the league. He was originally the 100th-overall selection in the 2013 NHL Draft, hearing his name called in a fourth round that also featured Juuse Saros one pick earlier and Andrew Copp four picks later. Drafted out of high school, Wood went on to play two more seasons with Noble and Greenough before moving to Boston College in 2015. He had a dazzling freshman year, earning 35 points in 37 games and a spot on Team USA’s 2016 World Championship lineup behind the likes of Auston Matthews, Dylan Larkin, and Brady Skjei. That NHL company must have convinced Wood, who jumped to the AHL after his freshman year of college, then earned a full-time NHL call-up after 15 games and eight points with the Albany Devils.
Since then, Wood has been a stout bottom-six forward, routinely rivaling 25 points and making a mark in all three zones. His career year currently stands as the 2017-18 campaign, when he scored 19 goals and 32 points in 76 games – both career-highs. Wood made that mark with the New Jersey Devils for seven seasons – even serving as an alternate captain for two years. But he opted to instead join the Colorado Avalanche in the 2023 summer, signing a six-year, $15MM contract with the club just two years removed from a Stanley Cup win.
Wood has continued to make a consistent impact with the Avalanche, though his 2024-25 campaign started off ice cold. Through the mix of injuries, Wood has only scored two goals and three points in 16 games this season. He’ll now get a chance to buck that trend, returning to a Colorado lineup that looks very different from when he last played. Since late November, the Avalanche have traded away Justus Annunen, Alexandar Georgiev, Nikolai Kovalenko, and Mikko Rantanen. In their place, the Avs have brought in Scott Wedgewood, Juuso Parssinen, Martin Necas, and Wood’s personal friend Mackenzie Blackwood. Wood raved about that latter acquisition to Masisak, comparing it to when an NFL team acquires a strong quarterback. He told Masisak, “I’m not sure why New Jersey traded him. I’m not sure why San Jose traded him. But I’m sure as hell happy he’s here.”