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.
East Notes: Dubois, Kesselring, Horvat, Nylander
Capitals center Pierre-Luc Dubois has started skating as he continues to work his way back from abdominal surgery two months ago, reports Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post (Twitter link). The original recovery timeline for the procedure was three to four months so he’s past the halfway point now. However, head coach Spencer Carbery quickly mentioned that the 27-year-old won’t return until after the Olympic break next month. Dubois got off to a slow start before the injury and was held without a point in his first six games but he was a key contributor last season, tallying a career-high 66 points. He’ll certainly be a welcome addition for Washington for the stretch run.
Elsewhere in the East:
- Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring missed today’s game against Columbus due to a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald (Twitter link). It has been a rough start to the year for the 25-year-old, who is in his first season with Buffalo after coming over from Utah in an offseason trade. Kesselring has missed more games than he has played due to injury and is still looking for his first point after being held off the scoresheet in his first 16 outings after putting up 29 points just last season.
- Islanders center Bo Horvat skated on his own today, just two days after suffering a lower-body injury, notes Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News (Twitter link). Head coach Patrick Roy noted that the veteran seems to be doing well but couldn’t provide a timeline for his return. At a minimum, Horvat will miss the next week, making him IR-eligible should New York need to open up a short-term roster spot. Horvat, who was named to Canada’s Olympic team this week, has 21 goals and 12 assists in 36 games this season.
- Maple Leafs winger William Nylander will miss his fourth straight game tonight due to a lower-body injury, mentions David Alter of The Hockey News. However, head coach Craig Berube indicated that Nylander is progressing well and the hope is that he could be back on the ice on Monday for practice. Despite missing seven games due to various injuries this season, Nylander still leads Toronto in scoring with 14 goals and 27 assists in 33 games.
West Notes: Jets, Backlund, Bedard
A year after the Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy with a 116-point regular season, they enter play today in the exact opposite situation, sitting dead last in the NHL standings. While the team hasn’t ruled out a second-half playoff push, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press argues that one of Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff’s priorities should be to open up a spot on the roster for prospect Elias Salomonsson. The 21-year-old is in his second season in North America and got his first taste of NHL action in late November with a four-game recall. However, an extended look down the stretch if the team is out of contention would give the Jets a chance to assess his overall readiness for 2026-27. That said, Winnipeg has eight blueliners on its active roster at the moment so some moves would need to be made first. Luke Schenn, Colin Miller, and Logan Stanley are all on expiring deals; two of those would probably need to move before Salomonsson could get another recall.
More from out West:
- Flames center Mikael Backlund was a surprise omission from Sweden’s Olympic team which was revealed on Friday. However, he confirmed to Aftonbladet’s Per Bjurman that he is on their shortlist of potential injury replacements although he was passed over when William Karlsson was ruled out for the event. Backlund is having a nice bounce-back season offensively, notching 10 goals and 25 assists in 40 games, putting him on pace to reach the 50-point mark for just the second time in the last nine seasons. However, that resurgence wasn’t enough to secure him a spot on Sweden’s group.
- Blackhawks center Connor Bedard has taken the next step in recovery from a shoulder injury as Mark Lazerus of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that he has resumed doing shooting drills. The 20-year-old was injured taking a faceoff around three weeks ago and remains out indefinitely. Before the injury, Bedard had gotten off to a very strong start to his season with 15 goals and 29 assists in just 31 games, setting himself up nicely with his contract expiring at the end of June.
Senators Believed To Have Checked In On Rasmus Andersson
While the Senators enter play today in last place in the Atlantic Division and second-last in the Eastern Conference, they’re only three points out of a Wild Card spot and aren’t thinking about selling just yet. To that end, league sources suggested to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch that Ottawa has circled back and inquired about Flames blueliner Rasmus Andersson.
The 29-year-old is in the final season of his contract and while Calgary hasn’t ruled out the possibility of signing him to an extension themselves, the expectation is that he will likely be dealt before the trade deadline in March.
Andersson is a top-pairing right-shot defender, the type of commodity that is always in short supply and very high demand. In 40 games this season, he has eight goals and 18 assists, putting him on pace for his second career 50-point campaign. Meanwhile, Andersson is also averaging a career-high 24:10 per game of playing time.
With a $4.55MM cap charge, it’s fair to say that Andersson has been quite the bargain for Calgary and it’s a price tag that a lot of teams should be able to afford, including the Sens. However, given his role, production, and overall value, the Flames are well-positioned to command a significant return; a first-round pick and a top prospect could be a realistic ask at this point. If Calgary gave a team permission to discuss an extension beforehand, that price could go even higher.
That potential price could be a challenge for Ottawa to meet. As things stand, they’re set to forfeit their 2026 first-round pick as punishment for not declaring Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade protection that eventually resulted in a vetoed trade back in 2022. While they can move future first-round picks as well, going multiple years without a top pick isn’t ideal for a team that currently finds itself out of a playoff spot.
Meanwhile, it appears their top prospects aren’t believed to be available. Garrioch reports that the Sens have zero interest in moving defensemen Carter Yakemchuk and Logan Hensler, their two most recent first-round selections. Yakemchuk is currently injured with AHL Belleville while Hensler just suited up at the World Juniors.
With those top assets unavailable, it’s hard to see Ottawa realistically getting involved in trade talks for Andersson. But they can be added to the list of teams keeping tabs on him, a group that includes (but is not limited to) Dallas, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Vegas.
Metropolitan Notes: Malkin, Hurricanes, Flyers Prospects
Penguins center Evgeni Malkin skated yesterday for the first time as he works his way back from an undisclosed injury sustained nearly four weeks ago, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. However, head coach Dan Muse noted that the veteran is still listed as out week-to-week. Before getting injured, the 39-year-old was off to an impressive start to his season, picking up eight goals and 21 assists in 26 games. Despite missing 13 games, he still sits fourth in team scoring. Malkin is in the final year of his contract, one that carries a $6.1MM cap charge. He has spent his entire 20-year career in Pittsburgh but if he’s amenable to being moved, he could be an intriguing trade candidate if the Penguins fall out of the playoff race over the next couple of months.
More from the Metropolitan:
- With over $14MM in current cap space, per PuckPedia, the Hurricanes are well-positioned to try to add to their roster. Justin Pelletier of the Raleigh News & Observer suggests that Carolina’s top priority should be to go after another goaltender. With Pyotr Kochetkov out for the year and Frederik Andersen struggling, preseason waiver claim Brandon Bussi has taken over the starting role. While he has done rather well so far, sticking with him as their top option would be risky for a team with legitimate contention aspirations. Having said that, there aren’t a lot of viable netminders available at the moment so if GM Eric Tulsky does want to go in that direction, he may have to be patient for a little while to see what options materialize.
- A pair of Flyers prospects are on the move in the WHL with the trade deadline in that league looming. The Seattle Thunderbirds announced that they’ve acquired center Matthew Gard from Red Deer while the Everett Silvertips revealed that they’ve added defenseman Luke Vlooswyk, also from Red Deer. Both players were picked in the 2025 draft, Gard in the second round and Vlooswyk in the fifth. Gard is having a quiet year offensively, notching just six goals and five assists in 23 games while Vlooswyk is still looking for his first goal of the campaign and collected six assists in 32 outings prior to the swap. Philadelphia has until June 1st, 2027, to sign both players.
Pacific Notes: Jarry, Hyman, Vatrano, Chiarot
It appears the Oilers won’t have to wait too much longer to get their new starting goalie back. Head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters following last night’s game (video link) that they’re hoping to have Tristan Jarry back around mid-January. That would mean he’ll miss another couple of weeks but ideally not much more than that. Diagnosed as out week-to-week just before the holiday break due to a lower-body injury, Jarry was injured in just his third game following last month’s swap. Connor Ingram has played well in three of his four games in Jarry’s absence and will now have a couple more weeks to make the case that he should take over as Edmonton’s backup moving forward over Calvin Pickard.
More from the Pacific:
- While Hockey Canada didn’t reveal any of its players on their standby list for next month’s Olympics when they announced their roster yesterday, Oilers winger Zach Hyman is on that list, according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Hyman missed the start of the season while recovering from wrist surgery but has been productive in his limited action, collecting 12 goals and 10 assists in 22 games, 16 of which have come in his last 11 outings. That made him a candidate for the team given his chemistry with linemate Connor McDavid but he’ll now need someone to miss due to injury to have a chance to make it.
- Unsurprisingly, following Wednesday’s announcement that Frank Vatrano will miss six weeks due to a fractured shoulder, the Ducks have moved him to injured reserve, notes Derek Lee of The Hockey News (Twitter link). Anaheim had been carrying a full 23-player roster so they now have an opening to recall someone from AHL San Diego, a move that could be made relatively soon.
- Earlier this week, Canucks prospect Gabriel Chiarot was traded in the OHL with Kitchener announcing that they acquired him from Brampton in exchange for eight draft picks. The 19-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Vancouver back in June, going 175th overall. He has 15 goals and 10 assists in 33 games so far this season. Chiarot turns 20 in mid-September, meaning he is eligible to play full-time in the minors in 2026-27 so this could be a particularly expensive rental if the Canucks decide that moving to the next level is better than an overage season in junior.
Golden Knights Recall Jaycob Megna
With Brayden McNabb sustaining an upper-body injury on Wednesday against Nashville, the Golden Knights have brought up an extra blueliner. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Jaycob Megna from AHL Henderson.
The 33-year-old is in his first season in the organization after spending 2024-25 with Florida. Vegas saw fit to give Megna a two-year, one-way deal worth $800K per season for situations like this where he could be playable depth where needed or as injury insurance so as to not disrupt the development of their prospects with the Silver Knights.
This is Megna’s third recall of the season although the first two didn’t result in any playing time. He does, however, have 193 career NHL appearances under his belt between five different organizations where he has 27 points along with 313 blocks and 258 hits in 17:38 of playing time per game. Meanwhile, he has two goals and four assists in 23 games so far this season with Henderson.
With Megna’s recall, Vegas is up to a full 23-player roster.
Blue Jackets Recall Danton Heinen
When the Blue Jackets placed winger Miles Wood on injured reserve earlier today, they opened up a roster spot. They didn’t waste much time filling it as the team announced that they’ve recalled winger Danton Heinen from AHL Cleveland. They still have one open slot on their 23-player roster.
The 30-year-old hasn’t been in the organization for very long as he was only acquired by Columbus back on Monday as part of the Yegor Chinakhov deal. However, his inclusion was more for salary-matching purposes rather than being a specific target as Heinen has gone through waivers unclaimed twice already this season.
Heinen has split this season between the NHL and AHL, playing in 13 games at each level, including one with Cleveland following the trade. In the minors, he has been dominant, notching six goals and 12 assists in his first taste of minor league action since 2017-18. Meanwhile, in the NHL with Pittsburgh, he has a goal and an assist while averaging 11:40 per night of ice time.
When Heinen sees any game action with Columbus, it stands to reason that his playing time will be similarly limited. But he does have a strong track record of being productive in a bottom-six role as evidenced by his career numbers of 243 points in 579 games despite an ATOI below the 14-minute mark. Given their growing list of injuries, he should get a chance to add to those numbers before long.
Zach Dean Exits Player Assistance Program, Assigned To AHL
Back in September, Blues prospect Zach Dean entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and has yet to play since then. Today, the team announced that the forward has been cleared from the program and that he has been assigned to AHL Springfield; he’s expected to join the Thunderbirds on Friday.
The 22-year-old was originally a first-round pick by Vegas back in 2021, going 30th overall. However, he never suited up for them as two years later while he was still playing in junior, he was moved to St. Louis in a one-for-one swap for Ivan Barbashev.
This is the final season of Dean’s entry-level deal. In 2023-24, he got into nine games with the Blues but he is still looking for his first point at the top level. Meanwhile, he had nine goals and five assists in 49 games for the Thunderbirds in a relatively quiet rookie campaign.
Things didn’t get any better for Dean last season. Multiple injuries, including a long-term lower-body issue, limited him to just 11 games with Springfield where he managed one goal and three assists. The multiple absences prevented any chance of him getting a recall to St. Louis.
Now cleared to return from the program, Dean will likely need a long runway after being off for so long (he’s played just twice since mid-February). However, a strong showing in the second half of the season could give him another chance with St. Louis, especially if they wind up being a seller before the trade deadline in March.
Conor Garland And Marco Rossi Out At Least A Week
The new calendar year hasn’t started off on a good note on the injury front for Vancouver. Sportsnet 650’s Randip Janda relays (Twitter links) that winger Conor Garland and center Marco Rossi will be out at least a week with respective lower-body injuries.
Garland sustained his injury on Tuesday against Philadelphia when he received a slew foot. The veteran has had an okay first half to his season, notching 22 points in 33 games but just seven have been goals. Given that Vancouver is likely to be a seller before the trade deadline in March, the 29-year-old has popped up in trade speculation again, even with a new six-year, $36MM extension set to begin next season.
As for Rossi, he was one of the pieces that came to the Canucks in last month’s Quinn Hughes trade. Injured at the time he was acquired, he has since returned and got off to a quiet start with his new team. In eight games since the swap, the 24-year-old has been held to just one goal and one assist but he was more productive in Minnesota, notching four goals and nine assists in 17 outings. The hope is that he’ll be a top-six piece for the long term but that’s on hold for now with this latest injury.
Since they each will miss at least a week, both Garland and Rossi will be eligible to go on injured reserve and open up some roster flexibility. Janda adds that the team does intend to recall at least one forward from AHL Abbotsford which would bring them back to 13 healthy options on their active roster.