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Boston Bruins Recall Marc McLaughlin

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According to the AHL transactions page, the Boston Bruins have recalled depth forward Marc McLaughlin. McLaughlin’s stay on the AHL roster was brief, as he was only reassigned yesterday afternoon.

Following the allowable roster moves during the roster freeze, McLaughlin was eligible for recall to the NHL active roster since he was recalled in a separate transaction after December 11th. It was another paper move, but it allowed the Bruins to bank valuable cap space for a short time.

It’s been another hybrid year for McLaughlin in his fourth season of professional hockey. He’s spent much of his career playing in AHL Providence but has 23 NHL games with the Bruins.

He’s failed to bring his point-per-game offense from the NCAA to the professional ranks. McLaughlin’s production has risen this season with five goals and 10 points in 15 games for the AHL Bruins which is much better than his six goals and 14 points in 68 games from a season ago.

His consistency in the AHL, or lack thereof, has prohibited McLaughlin from earning any legitimate opportunity at the NHL level. He’s scored six goals throughout his career and has shown flashes of being a responsible defensive forward but hasn’t earned a full-time spot on the roster up to this point.

Still, he’ll earn valuable experience during practice with the Bruins despite factoring little during games. Boston matches up against the flailing Buffalo Sabres tonight which makes as good an opportunity as ever for McLaughlin to enter the lineup.

Bruins, Tyler Johnson To Mutually Terminate Contract

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Dec. 20: Johnson cleared waivers and will have his deal terminated, reports Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic. The veteran will engage with other teams on signing a new contract for the remainder of 2024-25 after the roster freeze lifts, he adds.

Dec. 19: The Bruins have placed veteran forward Tyler Johnson on unconditional waivers, per Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe. The two sides are likely headed for a mutual contract termination.

The 34-year-old Johnson opened the season with the Bruins after signing a professional tryout during training camp, but they didn’t add him to the active roster until signing him to a one-year, league-minimum deal in early November. He’s been seldom used, especially recently, only appearing in one of Boston’s eight games this month. He made a total of nine appearances for the B’s, posting two assists with a -1 rating while averaging 13:05 per game.

It’s far less offense than Boston was expecting from Johnson. A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Lightning, Johnson had still been an effective middle-six presence for the Blackhawks over the past few seasons while battling injuries. The Washington native picked up 32 goals and 70 points in 149 appearances with Chicago between 2021-22 and 2023-24, averaging just under half a point per game.

In the early stages of his career, Johnson was a high-end, defensively responsible complementary center in Tampa Bay’s top six. From 2013-14 to 2019-20, he posted 150 goals and 333 points in 520 appearances, averaging 24 and 53 per 82 games, respectively. He played all three forward positions and was never a major liability in the faceoff dot when suiting up down the middle.

Johnson was limited to eight goals and 22 points in 55 games in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, though. The Bolts, who could no longer afford to allocate $5MM per season to a declining scorer, packaged him with a second-round pick for cap relief to Chicago, taking on injured blue-liner Brent Seabrook’s contract for long-term injured reserve relief in return.

If Johnson clears waivers tomorrow, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent once again. If there’s still NHL interest in his services, it could result in a rare unconditional waiver claim as he’s already making the league minimum salary.

Blake Wheeler Unlikely To Resume NHL Career

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Winger Blake Wheeler has all but officially decided on retirement, as Paul Friesen of The Winnipeg Sun relays. Neither Wheeler nor the NHL Players’ Association has released a statement. Still, the former Jets captain told Dan Leffelaar of the Beyond High Performance podcast earlier this week that “there’s only so much gas in the tank” emotionally for an 82-game regular season.

In July, Wheeler, 38, hit unrestricted free agency after completing a one-year, $1.1MM contract with the Rangers. He joined the Blueshirts for the final season of his NHL career after having the captaincy stripped from him in Winnipeg in 2022 and seeing the final season of his five-year, $41.25MM contract with an $8.25MM cap hit bought out a year later. There wasn’t much buzz around his services on the UFA market aside from a report in August from Shawn Hutcheon of The Fourth Period that the Bruins were considering extending him a professional tryout. One way or another that never came to fruition, and Wheeler didn’t appear with any club during training camp.

A serious leg injury sustained in February ended his final regular season prematurely. However, he did return to the active roster near the end of New York’s second-round playoff win over the Hurricanes. He was a frequent healthy scratch upon returning to the lineup, though, with a lone postseason appearance against the Panthers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final likely standing as his final NHL appearance. In 54 regular-season appearances with the Rangers, he posted nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points with a +2 rating while averaging a career-low 12:43 per game.

Wheeler was a highly touted prospect. In the 2004 draft, the Coyotes selected him fifth overall, immediately after eventual longtime teammate Andrew Ladd was taken off the board by the Hurricanes. However, he opted not to sign in Phoenix. He took the long route through college at the University of Minnesota before becoming a free agent in 2008 and signing with the Bruins. 

The right-winger’s debut season was solid, posting 21 goals and 45 points with a +36 rating in 81 games as Boston won 53 games and finished atop the Eastern Conference. He was one of many future under-25 impact players on that Bruins squad, featuring Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic, Phil Kessel and David Krejčí in the infancies of their careers. However, after his goal-scoring dropped off slightly in his second and third years in the league, Boston traded him to the Thrashers before the 2011 deadline for Rich Peverley.

Wheeler racked up 17 points in 23 games down the stretch for Atlanta, giving Thrashers fans a bittersweet taste of things to come for his production before the team packed up and moved to Winnipeg in the offseason. Now entirely in the prime of his career at age 25, Wheeler kicked off a dominant nine-year stretch in Winnipeg that saw him record 569 points in 616 games, ranking eighth in the NHL scoring between the 2011-12 and 2018-19 campaigns. His 384 assists during that time were fourth, trailing only Nicklas Bäckström, Sidney Crosby and Claude Giroux. He received All-Star consideration eight years in a row and finished as high as eighth in Hart Trophy voting in 2017-18 when he led the league with 68 assists in 81 outings.

After a 20-goal, 91-point showing in 2018-19, 2019-20 spelled out the beginning of Wheeler’s decline. He still managed a respectable 65 points in 71 games that year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, that was accompanied by an artificially high 12.2% shooting rate and a significant drop-off in his assist totals. He kept up reasonable offensive production in his final three seasons in Winnipeg, logging 161 points in 187 games. But the Minnesota native became a defensive liability as he aged and became a significant drag on the Jets’ possession quality control at even strength. Combined with just three playoff series wins during his time in Winnipeg, including a run to the 2018 Western Conference Final in which he had 21 points in 17 games, the Jets parted ways with their captain and bought him out.

While the end of Wheeler’s career may have been marred by declining all-around play and injuries, the former All-Star was a high-end top-line talent throughout the 2010s. The 6’5 “, 225-lb right-winger puts a bow on his career with 321 goals and 622 assists for 943 points in 1,172 regular-season games. He logged a +67 rating, posted 764 PIMs, and racked up nearly 3,000 career shots on goal, averaging 18:11 per game. He pairs that strong regular-season production with 10 goals and 45 points in 66 career postseason games. Pro Hockey Rumors congratulates Wheeler on a phenomenal career.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Bruins Claim Oliver Wahlstrom Off Waivers From Islanders

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Amidst some offensive struggles, the Bruins have added some depth up front.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Boston has claimed winger Oliver Wahlstrom off waivers from the Islanders.

It has been a bit of a tumultuous tenure for Wahlstrom and the Isles in recent years.  The 24-year-old was the 11th overall pick back in 2018 after showing plenty of offensive promise with the US National Team Development Program.  He opted to turn pro after just one year at Boston College and the hope was that he’d become a reliable offensive player for New York before too long.

However, that never really came to fruition.  Wahlstrom’s NHL career got off to a good start in 2020-21 when he picked up 12 goals and nine assists in 44 games in the shortened season.  He followed that up with 13 goals and 11 helpers in 73 games the following season, a small uptick in overall production but a notable drop in points per game.  He was somewhat productive in limited action in 2022-23 when he had 16 points in 35 games but things went off the rails last year when he was a frequent healthy scratch and collected just six points in 32 games.

That led to some speculation that the two sides could be parting ways, a belief that carried over to the summer.  Instead, the two sides worked out a one-year, $1MM contract in late July.  However, while Wahlstrom was largely able to secure a regular role in New York’s lineup this season, his playing time and production have both been limited.  His 10:04 ATOI is a career low while he has just two goals and two assists in 27 appearances, leading to his waiver placement on Friday.

It’s a low-risk pickup for the Bruins who have just enough cap space to absorb Wahlstrom’s contract without needing to make any other roster moves.  If things go well, they’ll be able to keep him under club control for two more years although he will be arbitration-eligible.  Boston is now at the maximum of 23 players on its active roster.

Oilers Claim Alec Regula Off Waivers From Bruins

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Dec. 11: It turns out Regula may get an NHL opportunity sooner than he thought. The Oilers announced that they’ve claimed him off waivers from Boston, opening the door for him to play his first NHL action in well over a year in the coming days. Edmonton had a pair of open roster spots, so no corresponding move is necessary. For now, he’ll slot in as the eighth defenseman on Edmonton’s roster and will compete for depth minutes with players like Ty Emberson, Travis Dermott and Troy Stecher.

Dec. 10: The Bruins activated depth defenseman Alec Regula from season-opening injured reserve on Tuesday and subsequently placed him on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Providence, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Regula, 24, has yet to play this season after sustaining a knee injury over the offseason. It held him out of the entirety of Boston’s training camp and preseason schedule and earned him a non-roster designation when the regular season began.

It was an inauspicious start to the 2024-25 campaign for Regula, who spent all of last season in the minors after seeing NHL ice in his previous three professional seasons. Acquired from the Blackhawks in the 2023 Taylor Hall/Nick Foligno trade, Regula led the AHL last season with a +36 rating and added four goals and 26 points in 55 games for Providence, tying his previous career highs.

When Regula can expect to touch NHL ice next is anybody’s guess. The 6’4″, 211-lb righty made 22 NHL appearances while with Chicago, scoring one goal and logging a -5 rating while averaging 16:54 per game. Initially a 2018 third-round pick of the Red Wings, he’s firmly established himself as a top two-way threat at the AHL level, but has yet to demonstrate marginally positive possession impacts in his NHL minutes.

There are likely a few names ahead of Regula that are in line for a recall, namely Ian Mitchell, who leads Providence defenders in scoring with 13 points in 22 games. Whether or not he ends up seeing NHL action during the one-year, two-way deal he inked last summer remains to be seen, although a strong showing in his delayed start to the season should help him at least earn a qualifying offer at season’s end.

Kevin Shattenkirk Announces Retirement

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Unrestricted free agent defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk has announced his retirement after 14 NHL seasons and 952 regular-season games, per an NHLPA release. The 35-year-old wrote a lengthy message to his seven NHL teams, their staffs, and his family, and shouted out many other specific helpers and mentors, one you can read entirely on his X account.

The 6’0″, 212-lb Shattenkirk made his NHL debut four seasons after being drafted 14th overall by the Avalanche in 2007, but the Boston University product didn’t last long in a Colorado uniform. After recording seven goals and 26 points in his first 46 NHL games for the Avs, they dealt him to the Blues in a blockbuster trade before the 2011 deadline that saw former first-overall pick Erik Johnson head the other way.

By the time the 2011-12 season rolled around, he’d established himself as a fixture in the Blues’ top four, posting 43 points and a +20 rating in his sophomore season while placing 18th in Norris Trophy voting. “Shatty” went on to have the most productive years of his career in St. Louis, routinely averaging over 20 minutes per game, earning Norris votes three times, and totaling 59 goals and 258 points in 425 regular-season games as a Blue. He ranks seventh in Blues franchise history in goals, assists and points and sits 12th on the all-time franchise games played list among blue-liners.

St. Louis routinely made the postseason with Shattenkirk in tow but only advanced past the first round twice. But with Shattenkirk in the final season of his contract in the 2016-17 campaign and set to earn a considerable raise on his previous $4.25MM cap hit, St. Louis made him arguably the top rental acquisition available at the 2017 deadline and shipped him to the Capitals for a haul that included a first-round pick, later flipped to the Flyers to acquire future captain Brayden Schenn (Philadelphia used the selection to draft Morgan Frost). Shattenkirk managed 14 points in 19 regular-season contests for Washington but hit a rut in the postseason, limited to a goal and six assists in 13 games with a -4 rating as the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Caps were upset by the Penguins in the Second Round.

Shattenkirk understandably wasn’t brought back and hit free agency that offseason, inking a rich four-year, $26.6MM commitment with the Rangers. However, his offensive production and possession play dipped significantly upon arriving in Manhattan. After posting a career-worst 0.38 points per game and a -15 rating in the 2018-19 campaign, New York bought out the final two seasons of his contract and made him a UFA again ahead of schedule.

He landed a one-year, $1.75MM pact with the Lightning, receiving reduced minutes on a stacked defense core that featured names like Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh and Mikhail Sergachev ahead of him on the depth chart. He responded with 34 points in 70 games, a much-improved 53.7 CF%, and added 13 points in 25 playoff games as he captured his first and only Stanley Cup.

Shattenkirk became a free agent again at season’s end. After rebuilding his market value in Tampa, he inked another multi-year deal, heading back to the Western Conference on a three-year, $11.7MM pact with the rebuilding Ducks. Anaheim had just a 71-114-35 record in Shattenkirk’s three seasons in Orange County. However, the New York native still averaged top-four minutes and posted 77 points in 212 appearances as a stable veteran presence along with Cam Fowler on an otherwise inexperienced Ducks back end.

After his tenure in Anaheim quietly ended in 2023, he joined the Bruins on a cheap one-year deal for the 2023-24 campaign. He played a supporting depth role more than anything else, serving as a semi-routine healthy scratch for the first time and averaging a career-low 15:47 per game. The right-shot defender still contributed 24 points in 61 games and received second-unit power-play duties, but that wasn’t enough to generate interest in a guaranteed deal for this season. Shattenkirk was connected to several teams on potential tryouts late in the offseason but opted not to sign any and didn’t participate in a training camp.

With Shattenkirk’s NHL career now officially in the rearview mirror, one of the few unsigned options on defense for teams still looking to add experienced depth is now off the market. He closes the book on a lengthy run in the pros that saw him record 103 goals, 381 assists and 484 points in 952 games. Along the way, he totaled 544 PIMs, 1,886 shots on goal, 928 hits, and averaged 20:17 per game for his career. His estimated career earnings total $60.725MM, per PuckPedia.

All of us at PHR extend our best wishes to Kevin as he enters the post-playing phase of his hockey journey.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

David Pastrňák Out With Upper-Body Injury, Hopeful For Tomorrow

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  • One notable absence of the Boston Bruins’ practice this morning was David Pastrňák who is reportedly out with an upper-body injury, according to Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe. Boston is hopeful that Pastrňák will be in the lineup tomorrow night against the Winnipeg Jets so the team hasn’t made a corresponding roster move. The Havirov, Czechia native has struggled lately scoring one goal in his last 11 contests.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Oesterle And McLaughlin Recalled After Being Papered Down

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  • A day after papering them to the minors, the Bruins have recalled forward Marc McLaughlin and defenseman Jordan Oesterle from Providence, per the AHL’s transactions log. The move has been made frequently with both players as Boston attempts to bank some extra cap space to utilize later in the season.  McLaughlin has been held off the scoresheet in four games with the big club while Oesterle has three assists in his first six NHL games this season.

Nikita Zadorov Fined By Department Of Player Safety

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Last night’s matchup between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins had plenty of dramatics despite being a modest three-goal event. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety involved themselves this morning bestowing a $5K fine on Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin for slashing and fining Boston defenseman Nikita Zadorov $5K for unsportsmanlike conduct. Both fines serve as the maximum allowable under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Malkin immediately took exception to the poke and violently swung his stick at the Bruins’ bench. His stick made contact with Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei and a scrum between the two teams began.

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Evening Notes: Smith, McLaughlin, Oesterle, Portillo

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The Carolina Hurricanes have brought defender Ty Smith back to the NHL roster per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. He was assigned to the minor leagues in a corresponding move to their recall of goaltender Yaniv Perets, who filled in while Pyotr Kochetkov was day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Smith has been back-and-forth between the NHL and AHL rosters all season, though he hasn’t played an NHL game since 2022-23. His only ice time this year has come through four games with the Chicago Wolves. Smith has three points, all assists, in those outings. Smith has a defined history in North American pros, originally going 17th-overall in the 2018 NHL Draft after a strong WHL career and making his NHL debut in 2020-21. He recorded 23 points in 48 games as a rookie, but has since failed to follow-up – with just 47 games across 123 career games. He’s spent the last two years fully in the minors, recording 67 points across 102 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Smith will now return to a role as Carolina’s seventh defender, hoping to fight for ice time above Sean Walker or Shayne Gostisbehere.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Boston Bruins have assigned forward Marc McLaughlin and defenseman Jordan Oesterle to the minor leagues per the AHL transactions log. The move was first reported by Robert Chalmers of Cohen’s Hockey Media. It’s unclear if the move is a paper move – though Chalmers suggests it could be lasting. Neither McLaughlin or Oesterle suited up in Boston’s Wednesday win over the Islanders. In fact, McLaughlin has only stepped into one Bruins game this season – Boston’s loss to Vancouver on Tuesday. He didn’t record any scoring in that outing but did add one block and three hits in 9:36 of ice time. Oesterle has served a bit hardier of a role – albeit as an injury fill-in for Hampus Lindholm – stepping into three games but yet to find his first point of the year. Oesterle’s only stat changes come through three blocks, three hits, and a -2. Both players will return to the minors, where McLaughlin has scored 10 points in 15 games and Oesterle has eight points in nine games.
  • Top Los Angeles Kings goalie prospect Erik Portillo is expected to make his NHL debut on Friday shares team manager of editorial content Zach Dooley. Portillo will take on an Anaheim Ducks with a 5-4-1 record in their last 10 games, though they’ve tied opponents in scoring 31-to-31. The Kings called Portillo up for the first full recall of his career on November 24th. He’s the only Ontario Reign goaltender with a save percentage above .900 – boasting a .906 through six AHL games this year. Portillo was more formally Ontario’s starter last year, recording 24 wins and a .918 through 39 games as an AHL rookie. He was a standout at the University of Michigan, accumulating a .918 save percentage over 87 games and three seasons with the Wolverines.

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