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Penguins, Egor Zamula Terminate Contract

By | at January 6, 2026 1:04 pm

Jan. 6, 1:04 p.m.: Zamula has cleared waivers and is now an unrestricted free agent, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’s expected to sign another NHL deal this week with at least six teams expressing interest, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic.

Jan. 5, 1:10 p.m.: Zamula has officially hit unconditional waivers, per Frank Seravalli of Victory+.

Jan. 5, 11:28 a.m.: The Penguins are set to place defenseman Egor Zamula on unconditional waivers on Monday, PuckPedia reports. He will have his contract terminated if he clears tomorrow, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Zamula was suspended without pay on Saturday for refusing to report to Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Russian rearguard had been acquired just days before from the Flyers in exchange for winger Philip Tomasino.

It’s not surprising to see Zamula opt for a contract termination, although few expected it to happen after a trade. Zamula cleared standard waivers while with Philadelphia and initially reported to their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley, where he remained assigned at the time of the swap. The 25-year-old then quickly changed his agents and was reportedly considering triggering a contract termination by failing to report, with the Flyers being open to taking a forward contract back in a separate trade for future considerations.

That was, of course, assuming Zamula signed with said team after clearing unconditional waivers with the Flyers. Since he was traded before hitting the wire, Pittsburgh will now have parted ways with Tomasino without getting anything out of Zamula in his brief time under contract with the organization.

Zamula will be walking away from about half of the $1.4MM base salary he was owed this season. There is still interest in his services from other NHL teams, and he’s expected to quickly sign a new deal – likely for the prorated league minimum – quickly after becoming a free agent tomorrow, per PuckPedia.

The 6’3″, 200-lb lefty will bring an 8-33–41 career scoring line in 168 NHL games to the open market. That includes one assist and a +4 rating in 13 appearances with the Flyers earlier this year.

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Ducks Recall Ville Husso On Emergency Basis

By | at January 6, 2026 12:54 pm

The Ducks announced they’ve recalled goaltender Ville Husso from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on an emergency basis. They have an open roster spot with Frank Vatrano on injured reserve, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.

Husso will dress in place of Petr Mrázek tonight against the Flyers. Mrázek sustained an undisclosed injury during yesterday’s 7-4 loss to the Capitals and was relieved by Lukáš Dostál at the second intermission after he allowed five goals on 24 shots.

The 30-year-old has received plenty of NHL action already as Anaheim’s third-stringer. He was relied upon heavily for a stretch in December while both Dostál and Mrázek were on injured reserve, posting a 5-3-1 record with a 3.25 GAA and .884 SV% in eight starts and one relief appearance. He allowed 3.3 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, but that’s a better cumulative figure than what Dostál and Mrázek have put up. The former’s play has taken a nosedive since returning from his upper-body injury, posting a 2-5-1 record and a garish .842 SV% in his last nine.

Husso is the highest-priced No. 3 in the league after signing a two-year extension with a $2.2MM cap hit last summer. He was previously acquired from the Red Wings midway through 2024-25. He’s also one of the most experienced ones, however. He’s taken the ice 154 times since debuting with the Blues in 2020 and has a 76-49-20 career record with seven shutouts, a 3.06 GAA, and a .901 SV%.

In on-and-off action with San Diego this year, Husso has a .903 SV%, 2.55 GAA, 8-6-3 record, and three shutouts in 17 outings.

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Blue Jackets Add Laurence Gilman To Front Office

By | at January 6, 2026 12:18 pm

The Blue Jackets announced they’ve hired veteran executive Laurence Gilman as their vice president of hockey operations.

While it’s a different title, Gilman essentially replaces Josh Flynn, who was an assistant general manager under Don Waddell but left the organization last month to take the same job with the Sabres under their new GM, former Columbus head Jarmo Kekäläinen.

The Blue Jackets will mark the fourth NHL organization for the 61-year-old Gilman. The Winnipeg native technically got his start with his hometown team shortly before the Jets relocated to Arizona. He joined the Coyotes’ front office in 1998 as their director of hockey operations, just a couple of years after the franchise relocated from Winnipeg. He was promoted to AGM in 2001, eventually taking over GM duties for their AHL affiliate, before leaving the organization in 2007.

One year later, Gilman caught back on with the Canucks. He served as an AGM and the team’s VP of hockey operations from 2008-15, helping oversee the franchise’s two most successful regular seasons and a five-year playoff streak, Vancouver’s longest since the turn of the century.

Gilman was dismissed in 2015 along with most of his front-office colleagues after Jim Benning took over the franchise. It would be a few years before he returned to the league, but he was picked up by the Maple Leafs in 2018 as part of their front office restructuring. He quickly became Kyle Dubas’ top associate in Toronto, serving as AGM and GM of the Toronto Marlies from 2018-22. He spent the following two seasons working solely for the Marlies as their senior VP of hockey ops before eventually leaving the organization in 2024.

“I have known Laurence for many years, and I am very excited to welcome him to the Columbus Blue Jackets,” GM Don Waddell said. “He is extremely knowledgeable about all facets of team and league operations, and his experience and personality will be a great addition to our hockey operations staff.”

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Top 2026 Prospect Tynan Lawrence Joining Boston University

By | at January 6, 2026 10:23 am

Center Tynan Lawrence, a projected top-five pick in this year’s draft, will join Boston University for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign, Darren Dreger of TSN reports.

In a class headlined by wingers Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg and defenseman Keaton Verhoeff, Lawrence is touted by most as the top center available in the draft. Elite Prospects’ consolidated ranking has him going No. 4 behind that trio, although he’s slotted anywhere between second and 13th overall in relevant public rankings.

The 6’0″ middleman hails from New Brunswick and has played for Canada internationally, but has spent most of his formative development in the United States. He joined elite prep school Shattuck St. Mary’s in 2022 before making the jump to major junior play last season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL.

Lawrence made quite a statement as a 16-year-old rookie, leading Muskegon in scoring with 25 goals and 54 points in 56 games. He added 18 points in 14 playoff games as he guided the Lumberjacks to a Clark Cup championship, taking home MVP honors in the process.

While an injury kept Lawrence on the sidelines for the first several weeks of 2025-26, he was named Muskegon’s captain ahead of his return and has 10 goals and 17 points in 13 games. Evidently, that’s how he’ll end his USHL tenure as he makes an early jump up to collegiate play.

Part of Lawrence’s intrigue is his age. An August birthday, he’ll be 17 for the entire season and is the youngest player projected to go near the top of the draft. He will be tied with Miami center Ilia Morozov, also a likely first-rounder, as the second-youngest player in the NCAA.

Lawrence was already committed to BU but wasn’t expected to suit up for the Terriers until next season. He’ll now join a squad off to a disappointing 7-5-2 start, linking up with a roster comprised almost entirely of NHL draft picks.

3 comments 2026 NHL Draft

Lightning Recall Simon Lundmark

By | at January 6, 2026 9:32 am

The Lightning recalled defenseman Simon Lundmark from AHL Syracuse, per a team press release. He takes the roster spot of Maxim Groshev, who was sent down to Syracuse on Monday.

Lundmark, 25, had been a frequent presence in the Jets’ farm system before being non-tendered last summer and signing a two-year, two-way contract with Tampa Bay. From 2021-25, he made 254 appearances for AHL Manitoba with 16 goals, 46 assists, 62 points (0.24 per game), 82 penalty minutes, and a -38 rating. Drafted as a relatively strong two-way prospect, he was a second-rounder in 2019 but didn’t show enough in a poor development environment in Winnipeg to ever get an NHL chance.

The move to the Bolts organization hasn’t changed his fortunes yet. He’s suited up 27 times for Syracuse with only five assists and a -1 rating. He was recalled once in November as an emergency injury replacement option, but didn’t get into a game.

The 6’2″ righty now gets another shot to serve as a press-box option for Tampa as they rotate their minor-league depth in and out of healthy extra duty. With Victor Hedman, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg, and Ryan McDonagh all still out for several games, that practice will continue for a while.

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Senators Recall Mads Sogaard

By | at January 6, 2026 9:15 am

The Senators have recalled goaltender Mads Søgaard from AHL Belleville, per a team announcement. He replaces Hunter Shepard, who was reassigned to Belleville in the corresponding move, as Ottawa’s interim No. 2 option while Linus Ullmark is away from the club.

Søgaard, 25, has seen at least one start for the Sens in each of the last four seasons but has failed to make a meaningful leap on Ottawa’s depth chart. The Sens selected him 37th overall in 2019 as the third goalie off the board, following Spencer Knight and Pyotr Kochetkov, but he appears to have topped out as a No. 3/4 option.

The big Dane checks in at 6’7″ and 231 lbs, a frame that has likely kept him under NHL consideration longer than his numbers would have dictated otherwise. After appearing to break out with a .916 SV% in 32 games with Belleville in 2023-24, he spent most of last year on the injured list and only had a .858 mark while going winless in eight appearances. This season, he’s been limited to a .887 SV%, 3.49 GAA, one shutout, and a 2-8-3 record in 15 games.

With a .879 SV% in 29 career NHL appearances, he doesn’t offer a ton of intrigue as a short-term backup option, either. While Ottawa has had goaltending problems all year with Ullmark churning out a .881 SV% and a league-worst -18.3 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck, the options behind him aren’t any better. Leevi Merilainen, their top name for the time being, has a .867 mark and -11.8 GSAx in just 14 games. Shepard, 30, allowed two goals on 12 shots in relief of Merilainen in Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Red Wings.

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Czechia, France, Latvia Announce 2026 Olympic Rosters

By | at January 6, 2026 8:35 am

Today, the IIHF revealed three additional rosters for next month’s Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy. Czechia, France, and Latvia have now locked in their 25-man groups. We’re still waiting on five countries – Denmark, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, and Switzerland – to confirm their rosters.

Czechia

Forwards:

Defensemen:

Goaltenders:

Goaltending will be the Czech squad’s anchor as they look to medal for the third time since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992. While Vladař would likely have been the third-stringer had this roster been released a year ago, his emergence as a top-tier starter in Philadelphia this season may give him the inside track on the No. 1 job.

Hertl and Zacha will anchor Czechia’s top lines from the middle while Nečas and Pastrňák give them one of the tournament’s most formidable one-two punches on the right side. Even among their non-NHL talent, it’s a comparatively deep forward group that gives them a medal chance. Plenty of names playing overseas have NHL experience, and the only two who don’t (Flek and Stránský) are currently the top goal-scorers in their respective leagues.

Defense – particularly their left-shot rearguards – is where things stand to get hairy for the Czechs as they attempt to unseat the nucleus of Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the U.S. for a medal. They might do well to shift a righty to their off side to give them a more dynamic two-way element than what shutdown NHL veterans Kempný and Šimek have to offer. Ticháček, 22, may be the most talented offensive producer Czechia’s defense has to offer – even ahead of their clear No. 1 in Hronek – but at 5’9″ and 170 lbs, size is a concern as he goes up against the most difficult competition of his life.

France

Forwards:

Defensemen:

Goaltenders:

If not for the host country, Italy, fielding a club, France would be the favorite to finish with the worst record in the tournament – especially as they face arguably the toughest competition out of anyone with Canada, Czechia, and Switzerland in Group A. That’s not to say they’re devoid of NHL-caliber talent, though.

Texier and Bellemare, now 40 years old with 700 games of NHL experience, will anchor their forward group. Whether they share a line remains to be seen as France weighs whether having them each anchor their own unit may be more beneficial as they attempt their only realistic potential upset against the Swiss. Da Costa, still an All-Star caliber player in Russia at age 36, spent parts of four seasons with the Senators in the early 2010s.

Defense is their weakest position. Only Auvitu has any NHL experience, and three-eighths of the group are from France’s own Ligue Magnus, one of the lowest-caliber top divisions in Europe.

The crease will feature the 21-year-old Keller, a Capitals seventh-rounder in 2023 who’s yet to sign his entry-level deal. He played briefly for their ECHL affiliate this season before heading to Switzerland’s top league, where he has a .900 SV% in nine starts.

Latvia

Forwards:

Defensemen:

Goaltenders:

Perhaps no hockey country’s stock is rising quicker than Latvia’s, which upset their way to a bronze medal at the World Championship in 2023 and has had its fair share of memorable moments at the junior level in recent years as well. They only have three Olympic group stage wins in history – two in 2002 and one in Sochi in 2014 – but are a clear-cut favorite ahead of Denmark in Group C and should be on relatively equal footing with Germany to finish second behind the United States.

Easily the strongest roster they’ve ever sent, half their forward group are playing in the NHL or AHL while under contract with a parent club. Among the European league talent they’re drawing from, two of those names – Balcers and Daugaviņš – have NHL experience. With a pair of NHLers in net as well and a third-stringer in Gudlevskis with NHL experience, they’re well-positioned to make noise.

Like the other two rosters locked in today, defense is their weak spot, but they have two NHL veterans in Balinskis and Rubīns. The most intriguing talent to watch, perhaps on the entire team, will be Šmits. The 6’3″ lefty is fresh off his 18th birthday and is a slam-dunk top-20 pick in the 2026 draft. He’s coming off a stellar World Juniors showing that saw him record five points in five games.

7 comments Newsstand Olympics Team Czechia Team France Team Latvia

Red Wings Reassign Nate Danielson

By | at January 6, 2026 7:31 am

The Red Wings announced they’ve reassigned center Nate Danielson to AHL Grand Rapids. They’re left with an open roster spot.

Danielson, the ninth overall pick in 2023, is in his second pro season. He didn’t make the opening night roster, in part due to an undisclosed injury that kept him out until late October. When he got his season underway, he racked up a goal and four assists in four games with Grand Rapids before getting his first NHL recall on Nov. 9.

The 21-year-old had remained on the Wings’ roster ever since, but his usage and production have begun to slip. He was a healthy scratch in Monday’s 5-3 win over the Senators for the first time after making 28 straight appearances to start his call-up. He ends his first stint on Detroit’s roster on an 11-game pointless streak, totaling two goals, five assists, seven points, and a -7 rating while averaging 11:03 of ice time per game. The Wings only scored 1.37 goals per 60 with Danielson on the ice at 5-on-5, the second-worst figure among Detroit forwards (min. 100 minutes).

Drafted as a playmaking, two-way center, he needs more time to bake in the AHL before he’s ready to capture the offensive ceiling expected of a top-10 pick. Few were expecting him to spend this much time in the NHL this season anyway after he posted a relatively modest 12-27–39 scoring line in 71 games with Grand Rapids last year.

Veteran farmhand John Leonard‘s emergence and subsequent push up Detroit’s depth chart also played a role in Danielson losing his grip on top-nine minutes. Even if Detroit prefers to carry a full roster when everyone is healthy, keeping Danielson around as a healthy extra instead of letting him push to improve his production in the AHL in the second half does very little for his development.

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Hurricanes Acquire Juuso Valimaki From Mammoth

By | at January 5, 2026 10:20 pm

Late tonight a small trade occurred as Juuso Välimäki has been traded from Utah to Carolina in exchange for future considerations, as was first shared by Utah. According to Stephen Whyno of Associated Press Hockey, Välimäki will report to AHL Chicago.

The former first round pick cleared waivers just prior to New Years, and was assigned to AHL Tucson, but now will receive a fresh start with the Hurricanes organization.

Selected 16th overall by Calgary in 2017, Välimäki figured to be a future top-four two-way defender with high end skating and IQ, along with size at 6’2″. Unfortunately, like so many other defenders in the 2017 class, the Finn has not panned out. An off-season torn ACL prior to his age 21 season in 2019-20 seriously stunted Välimäki’s growth, and after 82 total games as a Flame, he was placed on waivers before 2022-23, catching on with the Arizona Coyotes.

Showing resilience, Välimäki had a career year at age 23, putting up 34 points in 78 games, and earning an extension. It appeared that Calgary had relinquished their former top prospect too soon. The defenseman continued to contribute in the Coyotes final season, moving along to Utah in their inaugural campaign. After 43 games with underwhelming play, Välimäki was waived and found himself back in the AHL with the Roadrunners. There, he tore his ACL again, immediately ending his 2024-25 season.

Finally healthy again now, Välimäki hasn’t been able to return to form with Utah. In three AHL games this season, he has recorded three points, but the 27-year-old has simply been passed up on the Mammoth depth chart, and due for a change of scenery. Even if he does not crack the Hurricanes lineup at any point, Välimäki joins a considerably better AHL team in Chicago and will give them a big boost on the back end with his 271 games of NHL experience.

An unrestricted free agent at season’s end, Välimäki brings a cap hit of $2MM at the NHL level, but now in Chicago, it will drop to just $850k. The former first rounder may bring intrigue as a depth option for the Canes, with his past legit NHL production, but his inflated contract may make it more difficult to work himself into the big club. After much adversity to this point, hopefully the lefty will stay injury-free and make his mark with his third franchise in a bid to extend his North American career.

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Lightning Reassign Maxim Groshev

By | at January 5, 2026 9:22 pm

Earlier today, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that Maxim Groshev has been re-assigned to AHL Syracuse.

The defenseman has bounced between the AHL and NHL throughout the season, last being called up one week ago. In his latest stint, the 24-year-old made his eagerly awaited NHL debut, recording an assist on 13:03 of ice time. Even with Groshev out of the mix for now, along with Ryan McDonagh, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg, and Victor Hedman all injured, the team has six active defenders ahead of tomorrow’s game against Colorado. The news may indicate that McDonagh is due to return sometime later in the week.

Groshev working his way into an NHL lineup last Saturday and making an impact is particularly impressive, as the Russian was drafted in the third round back in 2020 as a forward. Unable to make enough of an impact offensively in North America, he dropped back to defense, rarely seen in a level as high as the AHL. Since then, Groshev has made strides, leading Crunch blueliners in scoring with 12 points in 27 games.

A restricted free agent at season’s end, Groshev faces an especially tough challenge to solidify himself as a full-time NHLer, given his unlikely path, and figures to be no more than a depth option at this point. However, through it all, he’s managed to earn the trust of the Bolts when needed, who continue to win despite recent injury adversity, and make his mark at the highest level.

After tomorrow’s home tilt against the Avs, the Lightning embark on a road trip to start the next week. Barring additional injuries, Groshev could be set to settle in Syracuse for the remainder of 2026 and help the top team make a push in their North Division.

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