Kraken Recall Jani Nyman On Emergency Basis
The Kraken announced that they’ve recalled winger Jani Nyman from AHL Coachella Valley under emergency conditions. Seattle hadn’t yet burned through any of its five post-deadline standard recalls anyway. They have 14 forwards on the active roster but are dealing with injuries to Jaden Schwartz (face, indefinite) and Eeli Tolvanen (upper body, day-to-day), leaving them without any healthy extras. Evidently, the Kraken believe somebody else may be questionable for tomorrow’s contest against the Predators, making Nyman eligible for an emergency recall.
Nyman, 21, started the season on the NHL roster but was assigned to Coachella Valley before the Christmas break. The 2022 second-round pick has remained there since. He’s still in the second year of his three-year entry-level deal and has another two seasons left before he requires waivers, so there’s no reason to rush his development.
The 6’2″, 212-lb Finn is in the minors to prove he’s more than a one-trick pony aside from his elite shooting ability. He doesn’t play a physical style for his size but has scored at a torrid pace in the AHL since arriving in North America in 2024, including 18 goals in 29 games this season since his demotion. He’s now up to a 48-25–73 scoring line in 92 AHL games.
Nyman’s results have been tempered in an NHL role. He’s slotted into the lineup 36 times over the past two seasons, scoring seven goals and 12 points. That’s fine production considering he’s averaging 11:48 of ice time per game, but his defensive impacts have been disastrous. Seattle has only controlled 46.1% of shot attempts with Nyman on the ice at 5-on-5 despite him starting over 60% of his shifts in the offensive zone, indicative of how the Kraken might plan to use him long-term as a bottom-six supplemental piece and a power-play specialist.
He could get another brief chance here to make an impact in the Kraken’s lineup as they chase down the second playoff berth in franchise history. Seattle sits tied with the Kings for the second wild-card spot in the West at 71 points, sitting just inside the playoff picture as they hold the regulation wins tiebreaker over Los Angeles. With the Sharks, Predators, and Jets all within striking distance, though, their postseason odds only sit at 36.4%, according to MoneyPuck. That’s the second-best odds out of the group after the Kings’ 50%.
Stars Sign Jack Anderson To Entry-Level Deal
The Stars have signed college free agent defenseman Jack Anderson to a two-year, entry-level deal, per a team announcement. He’ll report to AHL Texas on a tryout to finish the season before his NHL contract goes into effect for 2026-27, Stephen Meserve of 100 Degree Hockey writes.
The 23-year-old Anderson spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career at Lindenwood but transferred to Michigan Tech for his senior season. The shift from independent play to the CCHA unlocked the towering 6’6″, 225-lb lefty, as he posted career-highs across the board. Anderson was the Huskies’ clear-cut #1, finishing fifth on the team with an 11-13–24 scoring line in 39 games while adding 33 penalty minutes and a +13 rating.
Anderson had never topped two goals or 10 points in a season with Lindenwood before transferring, so it was a rather significant breakout for the St. Louis native. He’ll now find his professional footing in Texas, where the Stars only have four defensemen signed through next season who are ticketed for minor-league roles. He immediately becomes the largest and heaviest player on the AHL roster for a team that’s shown a propensity for adding size on the blue line in recent years, drafting 6’7″ Lian Bichsel in the first round in 2022 and acquiring 6’8″ Tyler Myers at this year’s trade deadline.
Dallas will see Anderson reach restricted free agency for the first time in 2028. They’ll have him under team control until 2030.
Penguins Expected To Activate Sidney Crosby From IR
Penguins star Sidney Crosby was a full participant in this morning’s skate and is expected to come off injured reserve for tonight’s game against the Hurricanes, per Josh Getzoff of SportsNet Pittsburgh. Crosby had been out since the Olympic break with a Grade 2 MCL sprain he sustained in Team Canada’s quarterfinal win over the Czechs. The Penguins said Crosby would miss at least four weeks when they placed him on IR on Feb. 25, putting his return well ahead of schedule.
The 38-year-old pushing the envelope to get back in the lineup is no surprise. He pushed as hard as he could to get back into Canada’s lineup for the gold medal game, but ultimately couldn’t go, as they ended up with silver in an overtime loss to the United States. He’ll now return to help the Penguins battle through a tough playoff race in the Eastern Conference after sitting out what surely felt like an excruciating 11 games.
Pittsburgh is 5-3-3 without its captain and franchise icon. That’s been enough to keep pace and is about as good as can be expected, considering they were also missing Evgeni Malkin for a five-game stretch due to a slashing suspension. They’ve scored 3.45 goals per game during that time while allowing 3.18 goals per game. Their possession metrics have lagged, controlling 48.5% of 5-on-5 shot attempts. They’re also winning a league-worst 41.0% of faceoffs since the break.
Crosby will help immensely in all of those areas. Aside from his usual stature as the club’s leading point-getter, he’s won a team-high 55.4% of his draws this season, which should get the Pens much closer to league average in that department. Surprisingly, Crosby’s defensive results this season aren’t great – he’s only a +1 on a team with a +35 goal differential, and his possession numbers are dead average – but his return importantly allows Rickard Rakell to shift back to his preferred position on the wing after stepping in for Crosby as the Pens’ top-line center over the last few weeks.
With no roster limit and plenty of cap space, Pittsburgh won’t need to make a corresponding move to activate Crosby. They could still opt to reassign prospects Avery Hayes or Ville Koivunen back to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton if their NHL playing time is going to be limited following Crosby’s return. Hayes was already a healthy scratch when Malkin was reinstated for Monday’s dominant road win over the Avalanche, so that could be an indication he’ll be on his way back down after being ferried to the minors on deadline day to make him AHL-eligible for the rest of the season.
Crosby, who’s got another year left at his $8.7MM cap hit, now hopes to anchor the Pens’ skaters to a playoff appearance after a three-year absence from postseason play, the only time in Crosby’s career he’s missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons and the first time at all since his rookie year. They’re in a good spot, holding serve for second in the Metropolitan Division. They’re tied with the Islanders at 83 points but have done so in one fewer game, giving them a higher points percentage. Per MoneyPuck, they have an 81.8% chance of making the playoffs.
Maple Leafs Sign Vincent Borgesi To Entry-Level Deal
The Maple Leafs usually dip their toes into the college free agent market. That isn’t changing this year. The club announced they’ve signed Northeastern captain Vincent Borgesi to a two-year entry-level contract beginning next season. He will report to AHL Toronto for the remainder of this season, making his pro debut in the process.
The contract carries a cap hit of $987.5K, according to PuckPedia. Borgesi will earn an $877.5K salary if he’s in the NHL next season, along with a $97.5K signing bonus. Those numbers jump to $900K and $100K, respectively, for 2027-28. He will take home a minor-league salary of $85K each season.
Borgesi, 22, was an absolutely torrid puck-moving defenseman at lower levels of the game. He once had 100 points in just 61 games at the under-15 level, and 38 points and a +33 rating in 57 games for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm back in his draft year, 2021-22. As a result, he’s always had some interest from NHL clubs, but everyone has been scared off by his size. He checks in at just 5’8″ and 174 lbs.
Over four years in college, Borgesi didn’t earn overwhelming national recognition but was still a consistent piece on the back end for the Huskies. His collegiate career came to an end last weekend against UMass in the Hockey East tournament, drawing to a close a 16-64–80 scoring line in 134 career outings with a +15 rating. Borgesi also served as the captain of the U.S. Collegiate Selects team that reached the Spengler Cup Final against top-level European pros this season, ultimately losing to hosts HC Davos.
Borgesi will now look to overcome his stature and make an impact at the pro level for Toronto. The organization is light on offensive help from the blue line from head to toe. The aging Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Morgan Rielly are the only names at the NHL level who have made a big impact from the point this season, and they don’t have a defender who’s topped 25 points in the minors this year.
Flyers Sign Cole Knuble To Entry-Level Deal
The Flyers signed forward prospect Cole Knuble to his entry-level contract today, the team announced. It’s a two-year pact starting next season, but he’ll make his pro debut in the coming days with AHL Lehigh Valley on a minor-league deal for the last few weeks of 2025-26.
Knuble was a fourth-round pick back in 2023. The Michigan native and son of former Flyer Mike Knuble is an undersized but stocky 5’10” center and put up 30 goals and 66 points in 57 games in his draft year with the USHL’s Fargo Force. A Notre Dame commit, he joined the Fighting Irish in the season following his selection. He’s remained there since, wrapping up his junior season with a loss to Michigan in the Big 10 playoffs last week.
While Knuble’s offensive game shifted more from goal-scoring to playmaking in college, he was still a reasonably productive threat. He hit at least 20 points in all three seasons, including a career-best 39-point effort in 34 games as a sophomore to lead the team. His production took a step back this season, though, in what was the program’s worst showing in 21 years. As Notre Dame only mustered a 9-21-2 record, Knuble churned out a 9-22–31 scoring line in 36 games with a -19 rating.
He will now look to shake off the bad taste in his mouth and bring his skilled, high-energy checking game to the Flyers. His offensive step back this year will likely make it hard for him to win a roster spot in training camp in the fall, but the Flyers have shown a willingness to reward their young players for strong training camp and AHL showings sooner than anyone expected (Denver Barkey and Jett Luchanko being some recent examples).
The Flyers have one of the better prospect pools in the league. Knuble wasn’t viewed as a top-10 name in the pool, even entering the season on the heels of his sophomore breakout, but he has real upside. Philly won’t be keen on using a player with his height primarily as a bottom-six checking piece down the middle long-term, though, so he’ll need to hit the ground running on the scoresheet, too, to give himself a shot.
Senators’ Nick Jensen Undergoes Meniscus Surgery, Done For Regular Season
Nick Jensen‘s 2025-26 season is over, as Senators head coach Travis Green told reporters (including Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen) that the defender has undergone surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Carrying a six-week recovery time, he’s ruled out for the regular season. He could theoretically return past the first round if Ottawa manages to snag a wild-card berth – which is no guarantee – and they pull off an early upset.
Jensen, a pending UFA, has played his last regular-season game for Ottawa, Garrioch indicates. The organization has no plans to offer him a contract extension. Green doesn’t expect the surgery to be career-ending by any stretch for the 35-year-old, though. “I feel bad for him… We didn’t think originally it would end up going this way. It’s going to be best for him that he does the surgery, and he’ll be back to 100 per cent for sure.”
It’s not the only recent lower-body issue Jensen has had. He needed a hip procedure last offseason, which he underwent in May. That put his availability for the beginning of the regular season in doubt, but he managed to return in time. He had only missed three games this season prior to the meniscus tear last week against the Canadiens, all due to healthy scratches.
This has not been a kind year for the Minnesota native on the ice. Acquired from the Capitals in the 2024 Jakob Chychrun deal to give the Sens a top-four-capable right-shot shutdown option to pair with Thomas Chabot, he flourished last season but hasn’t looked like the same player in 2025-26. His average time on ice is down more than three minutes from 20:13 to 17:01, and his 0.62 hits per game are the lowest of his 10-year NHL career. He’s still managed a respectable 17 points in 61 games, but is controlling only 48.3% of shot attempts at 5-on-5, down from 50.6% last season.
He had nonetheless spent most of his time at even strength next to Chabot, although he also saw significant time in third-pairing deployment on his off side with fellow righty Nikolas Matinpalo. A good portion of his overall ice time reduction came from Jensen essentially being removed as a regular on Ottawa’s penalty kill. He’s still a real puzzle piece for the Sens, who already had the longest odds at a postseason berth of any team still realistically in the race for a playoff spot.
Of course, Ottawa has also been without #1 rearguard Jake Sanderson for the last four games with an upper-body injury. He’s still listed as week-to-week, with Green saying he could get back on the ice for some skating work in the next seven days.
Both their absences have put immense strain on Ottawa’s defense corps. Tyler Kleven and Jordan Spence, averaging just over 17 minutes per game this season between them, are now the club’s second pairing behind Chabot and Artem Zub. Dennis Gilbert, who’s never played more than 35 games in a season, is now a lineup regular until Sanderson returns. That’s far from an ideal place to be from a roster management perspective for a team in a playoff chase, although the fact they’ve been able to eke out a pair of wins in their two games without both Sanderson and Jensen should be of some consolation.
Ottawa has the ninth-most difficult remaining schedule in the league, per Tankathon. The good news is that several teams they’re potentially competing with for wild-card berths, including the Blue Jackets, Bruins, Islanders, and Red Wings, are in the top eight above them. MoneyPuck still projects them to finish ninth in the East with 97 points, though – a total that would win them the Pacific Division but leave them out of the picture in what has turned out to be a ridiculously competitive race to the finish out East.
Wild Recall Hunter Haight
The Wild announced that they’ve recalled center Hunter Haight from AHL Iowa. With 13 other healthy forwards on the roster, it appears to be more of a performance-based bump for Haight to give head coach John Hynes another option down the middle down the stretch.
Haight, 21, was ferried frequently between Minnesota and Iowa to start the year but has been in the minors since January. On a hapless minor-league club in Iowa, Haight is now tied for second on the team with 12 goals in 43 games. He’s added 11 assists for 23 points, putting him sixth on the team in scoring, although there isn’t much separation between him and first place.
Haight will become Minnesota’s first of five allotted post-deadline standard recalls if he doesn’t qualify for emergency conditions (it doesn’t appear he will). The #47 pick in the 2022 draft, he suited up five times for the Wild earlier this year to make his NHL debut. He went pointless with a -4 rating, managing four shots on goal in 9:41 of ice time per night. The 5’10”, 173-lb pivot went 18-for-37 on draws (48.6%) while recording six hits.
Canadiens’ Kirby Dach Out Two To Four Weeks
The Canadiens will be without forward Kirby Dach for two to four weeks due to an upper-body injury, the team announced. That could potentially end his regular season, which ends April 14, but he should be an option at some point during the first round in the likely event Montreal secures its second straight playoff berth.
Dach only saw just over a minute of ice time in Sunday’s loss to the Ducks before taking a hard hit along the boards from Anaheim winger Jeffrey Viel. He didn’t return after that.
The 25-year-old has a laundry list of recent injuries, but most of them have been of the lower-body variety. He missed over 31 games earlier this season due to a fractured foot, and lost nearly the entirety of the 2023-24 season and the last several weeks of 2024-25 with ACL and MCL tears in his right knee. Dach has not had a fully healthy season in his seven-year NHL career and hasn’t missed under 10 games in a season since his rookie year.
That has contributed to the 2019 third overall pick, whom the Habs hoped could be a top-six staple when they acquired him from the Blackhawks in 2022, losing a ton of momentum in his development. He didn’t look like the same player at all after his ACL/MCL surgery in 2023, only notching 10 goals and 22 points in 57 games last year with a -29 rating before going under the knife again.
Dach’s two-way impacts have improved significantly this season, posting a career-best 52.0% expected goals share at even strength. That’s come in reduced ice time, though, down to 13:48 per game. He’s still generating as many shot attempts as he did on a nightly basis last season in nearly two fewer minutes of deployment while increasing his points per game, recording an 8-6–14 scoring line in 32 games.
He may not be the top-six impact piece they hoped, but he’s been a valuable complementary piece when healthy this season who can slot in virtually anywhere in Montreal’s top nine. In the interim, either Alexandre Texier or Joe Veleno will be set for a return to the lineup after sitting in the press box for the Anaheim game.
Maple Leafs Reassign Michael Pezzetta, Henry Thrun
The Maple Leafs announced today that they’ve reassigned winger Michael Pezzetta and defenseman Henry Thrun to AHL Toronto. Their active roster is now at 22 players, but they don’t have any healthy extras with Auston Matthews’ season over (he’s yet to be placed on injured reserve) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson away from the team on paternity leave. As such, they can be called back up under emergency conditions if there’s a risk Toronto might be down anyone else for tonight’s game against the Islanders.
They might still be available, at least as healthy scratches. The Marlies have an afternoon game today at home, which would leave them enough time to report back to the NHL roster for tonight’s 6:00 p.m. CT home game.
Pezzetta, 28, received his first recall of the season last Thursday. He racked up nine penalty minutes and a -1 rating in back-to-back appearances before sitting as a healthy scratch for Sunday’s win over the Wild. The career enforcer averaged just 5:06 of ice time across the two contests and did not record a point, although he did have a shot on goal and six hits. He now sits at 202 career NHL appearances as he closes out the first half of the two-year, league minimum contract he signed with the Leafs in free agency last summer.
Thrun, 25, got an emergency summons on Sunday when Ekman-Larsson left the team’s road trip to return home for the birth of his child. He didn’t play. Acquired last offseason from the Sharks in the Ryan Reaves deal, Thrun has only suited up in four NHL contests for the Leafs after appearing in a career-high 60 contests with San Jose in 2024-25. The puck-moving lefty has a 4-16–20 scoring line and a -4 rating in 42 AHL outings this season.
Penguins Recall Jack St. Ivany From Conditioning Loan
3/16: After three games in the AHL, Pittsburgh has recalled St. Ivany from his conditioning loan. He scored one point and a plus-one in his ramp back to a lineup role. In a corresponding move, the Penguins have also assigned defenseman Alexander Alexeyev to the AHL. Alexeyev has scored seven points in 29 AHL games, and has not yet played in the NHL, this season. He is a veteran of 80 NHL games, all spent with Pittsburgh’s rival Washington Capitals, with eight points and 12 penalty minutes.
3/9: The Penguins announced this morning that they have assigned defender Jack St. Ivany to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan. He’ll remain on injured reserve for the time being and can spend up to two weeks in the minors.
St. Ivany, 26, suffered a left-hand fracture in a Jan. 25 game against the Canucks. The third-year NHLer also missed over two months to start the season with a lower-body injury. In the six weeks between IR stints, he looked well on his way toward locking down a job as their #3 righty behind cornerstones Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang. In his 17-game run in the lineup, primarily next to Ryan Shea, he posted seven assists with a +7 rating while averaging 15:39 of ice time per night. He got occasional deployment on the penalty kill and a raucous 2.35 hits per game, but his 106.1 PDO and underwater possession metrics across the board suggest some regression in his 5-on-5 numbers is likely.
His injuries have only added to what’s been a constant shuffle of defensive depth in Pittsburgh this season. The only constants in the lineup have been Letang, Shea, and their top pairing of Karlsson and Parker Wotherspoon. Brett Kulak did some good work in second-pairing duties with Letang, but was swapped to the Avalanche for Samuel Girard a couple of weeks ago. The early returns there are questionable with no points and a -2 rating in seven outings. Pittsburgh has five other D-men – Connor Clifton, Ryan Graves, Mathew Dumba, Harrison Brunicke, and Ilya Solovyov – who have played at least five games for them this year.
With Girard locking down the left-side order with Wotherspoon and Shea, it’s been the right-shot Clifton (and sometimes lefties Solovyov and Graves coming in on their offside) getting more ice time in St. Ivany’s absence. It’s worth wondering if Clifton has played well enough over the past month-plus to keep a spot ahead of St. Ivany on the depth chart when he’s cleared to return. He’s a bit more trusted on the penalty kill and has far superior possession impacts to St. Ivany at 5-on-5, including a quite impressive 54.5% expected goals share. Clifton also leads the team in hits per game by a wide margin at 4.03.