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Wild Recall Liam Ohgren And Tyler Pitlick, Assign David Spacek To AHL

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With the Wild placing center Marco Rossi on injured reserve yesterday due to a lower-body injury, they had an open roster spot.  They’ve made a trio of moves to ultimately fill that spot, announcing the recalls of wingers Liam Ohgren and Tyler Pitlick while assigning defenseman David Spacek to AHL Iowa.

The 21-year-old made Minnesota’s roster out of training camp but playing time was hard to come by.  In five games, the 2022 first-round pick played more than ten minutes just once as he was a fixture on the fourth line.  Ohgren didn’t have any points in those outings while picking up four shots on goal.  Including last year’s action, he has three goals and four assists in 33 career NHL contests.

In an effort to get him more playing time, the Wild sent Ohgren down to Iowa in mid-October.  He has suited in nine games with them, picking up three goals and two assists.  While that’s decent production, it’s worth noting that he was much more productive in the minors last season, coming up just shy of a point per game with 19 goals and 18 assists in 41 appearances.

Pitlick is in his first season with Minnesota after signing a two-year, two-way deal with them in free agency over the summer.  While he cleared waivers last month after not making the opening roster, he has spent the bulk of this season in the NHL following a recall two weeks into the season.  He has played in nine games so far and hasn’t recorded a point but has 24 hits and 22 penalty minutes.  Notably, if he plays in one more NHL contest, he will need to pass through waivers again before he can be assigned to Iowa.

The 34-year-old has three goals and an assist in five games so far in the minors.  Over his career, Pitlick has played in 429 career NHL contests over parts of ten seasons for nine different franchises.

As for Spacek, he was recalled back on Monday with fellow blueliner Jake Middleton dealing with an illness but is still waiting to make his NHL debut.  The 22-year-old is in his second professional campaign and has six assists in a dozen games so far with Iowa.

Devils’ Jack Hughes Out Two Months With Non-Hockey Hand Injury

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Saturday: The Devils provided an update on Hughes, announcing that he has undergone surgery.  He will be reevaluated in six weeks and the expected recovery timeline is eight weeks.  With New Jersey having just $12.5K in available cap space per PuckPedia, Hughes is almost certainly heading for LTIR which would open up $3.82MM in available spending room.

Friday: In an odd report, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that the New Jersey Devils will be without center Jack Hughes for at least one game after accidentally cutting his hand at a team dinner. The Devils confirmed the report and added that Hughes is still being evaluated.

Once again, Hughes was off to a sensational start to the season, only to have it paused due to injury. He began the 2025-26 campaign with 10 goals and 20 points in 17 games, leading New Jersey in scoring while tying for 22nd in the league with Brad Marchand, Sidney Crosby, Kyle Connor, Troy Terry, Nick Suzuki, Jason Robertson, and Leon Draisaitl.

Hopefully, for the Devils’ sake, Hughes will only miss a few games at most. Last season, around the trade deadline, New Jersey went 9-10-1 to finish the season and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Devils were 33-23-6 before Hughes was injured.

His injury history is becoming a little much to overlook. Since the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign, Hughes has played in 268 regular-season contests for the Devils, which is only 77.7% of potential contests. Still, he’s been one of, if not the team’s best player over that stretch, scoring 133 goals and 319 points while averaging 20:25 of ice time per game.

Luckily, the team has an in-house replacement for Hughes on the first line in captain Nico Hischier. In the same stretch that Hughes has suffered multiple injuries, Hischier has remained remarkably consistent, scoring 117 goals and 288 points in 314 games, with a +41 rating and a 54.5% faceoff rate, while averaging 19:41 of ice time per game.

Depending on how long Hughes is out for, it could jumpstart New Jersey’s aggressiveness in acquiring some forward depth. The team already had a hole down the middle behind Hughes and Hischer, and the injury news could prompt some movement from the Devils.

Sharks Place Jeff Skinner On Injured Reserve, Recall Zack Ostapchuk

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Sharks winger Jeff Skinner left Thursday’s game against Calgary due to a lower-body injury and it will keep him out of the lineup for at least a week.  He has been placed on injured reserve, according to the NHL’s media site.  Taking his place on the roster will be center Zack Ostapchuk who has been recalled according to the AHL’s transactions log.

Skinner is in his first season with San Jose after signing a one-year, $3MM contract with them in free agency back in July.  The 33-year-old has slowed down offensively over the last couple of seasons and that has continued early on in 2025-26 as he has been limited to four goals and three assists in 17 appearances while averaging a career-low 12:22 in ATOI.

As for Ostapchuk, this will be his second recall of the season after briefly being up with the Sharks last week although he didn’t see any game action.  The 22-year-old has played in 11 games with the Barracuda this season, picking up three goals and an assist.  He got into 56 NHL outings last season between Ottawa and San Jose, notching four points and 110 hits on their respective fourth lines.

The fourth line is likely where he will land as they only have 12 healthy forwards at the moment so the Sharks will either need to play Ostapchuk tonight against Seattle or dress seven defensemen which would give either Nick Leddy or Shakir Mukhamadullin a chance to get back into the lineup.  Blueliner Vincent Iorio is also on the active roster but is with the Barracuda on a conditioning assignment, making him unavailable for tonight’s contest.

Penguins Activate And Assign Rutger McGroarty And Joel Blomqvist

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The Penguins have had two of their better prospects return to full health.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Rutger McGroarty and goaltender Joel Blomqvist have been activated off season-opening injured reserve.  They have been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

McGroarty was acquired from Winnipeg last year in a swap of 14th overall picks but spent the bulk of his rookie year in the minors.  He made Pittsburgh’s roster out of training camp but was sent down after just three games.  He played in 60 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, picking up 14 goals and 25 assists.  That earned McGroarty a recall in late March and he did well with it, putting up three points in five games down the stretch.

McGroarty had been dealing with an upper-body injury sustained before training camp as he didn’t take part in their rookie tournament or the preseason.  Since he spent some time on Pittsburgh’s roster last season, he was carrying a reduced cap charge of just over $148K which will now come off their books.

As for Blomqvist, he came close to an even split between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season.  He got into 15 games at the top level and had some struggles, putting up a 3.81 GAA and a .885 SV% in his first taste of NHL action.  Meanwhile, in the minors, he posted a 2.84 GAA and a .914 SV%.  That’s certainly better than his time with Pittsburgh but it was also worse than his rookie-season performance that saw him compile a 2.16 GAA and a .921 SV% in 45 outings in 2024-25.

For a while, it looked like Blomqvist was going to be Tristan Jarry’s backup heading into the season but that changed when they acquired Arturs Silovs from Vancouver in the summer.  While there could be a short-term recall option for him with Jarry currently injured and Sergei Murashov serving as the backup, the better play development-wise might simply be to get him as much game action as possible in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  Like McGroarty, Blomqvist had a reduced cap charge while on SOIR (tied to how many days he was on Pittsburgh’s roster) so this move will take his revised $341K charge off their cap.

Snapshots: Rangers, Maple Leafs, Hyman

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While we’re still a ways away from prime trading season in the NHL, it’s not too early to at least begin considering which teams might target which sorts of players to acquire. The Athletic’s Vincent Z. Mercogliano did just that today with the New York Rangers, identifying a puck-moving defenseman with legitimate offensive ability as one of the Rangers’ top priorities in terms of who they might want to acquire in a deal.

While the Rangers are led by Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox, who is having another strong season, the top offensive blueliners behind him are Vladislav Gavrikov and Braden Schneider – neither of whom profiles as a real candidate to quarterback a power play. The Rangers acquired top prospect Scott Morrow, who carries that profile, in this offseason’s K’Andre Miller trade, but Mercogliano wrote that “the early whispers” from AHL Hartford regarding Morrow “haven’t been overly positive.” As a result, if the Rangers continue to hang around the playoff race and appear in need of external reinforcement, expect the club to target a blueliner who fills that specific offensively-oriented role.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have gotten off to a poor start to their 2025-26 campaign, and currently sit 25th in the NHL with an 8-8-2 record. The team’s struggles have led those covering the team to consider the club’s various options to dig itself out of its slump. The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel wrote today that while “a lot of the Leafs’ struggles right now do appear to be systems-related,” it’s unclear whether a coaching change would be legitimately considered at this time. Head coach Craig Berube still has two seasons remaining on his contract beyond this one, and changing coaches so early in the season would not be a decision team ownership “will love,” per Siegel. But he did add that a coaching change “will have to become a serious consideration” if the team’s struggles persist. At the moment, the top veteran coaching free agent appears to be Peter DeBoer, the former Dallas Stars head coach whose teams have made a run to the Western Conference Final in five of the past six seasons.
  • Earlier this week, we covered news that Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman was set to make his season debut very soon. Today, the Oilers confirmed that, barring something unforeseen, Hyman will make his season debut tonight in Raleigh when Edmonton takes on the Carolina Hurricanes. Hyman’s return is a major boost for the Oilers. The 33-year-old scored 54 goals in 2023-24 and ranked fifth on the team in scoring in 2024-25.

Morning Notes: Zuccarello, Greaves, Thompson

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After missing the first month of the season due to injury, Minnesota Wild forward Mats Zuccarello returned to the ice on Nov. 7 and has been solid for the Wild, scoring two points in three games. With his health no longer in question, the focus of the conversation surrounding the veteran forward has shifted from his availability to his future in Minnesota beyond this season. Zuccarello, 38, is playing out the final year of a $4.125MM AAV deal with the Wild, and is a pending unrestricted free agent.

Zuccarello commented on his future to The Athletic’s Michael Russo yesterday, stating that when deciding on his future, he will “take the season” to see how he feels, and will continue his career only if he feels he is “good enough to play at this level.” He added that he wants to be mindful that he does not “take a spot” on the Wild if he feels he is not capable of playing at a high level anymore. So far, Zuccarello hasn’t shown indications of any steep decline in form, but given that the 38-year-old will be closely monitoring his play to determine whether to continue his career, his ongoing form will be a notable storyline to watch in Minnesota.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets leaned heavily on netminder Jet Greaves this past week, a change from most of the season where they’ve split starts evenly between Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins. According to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, that should not be viewed as an indication that Columbus is moving away from Merzlikins and moving to a more traditional starter-backup model. Per Portzline, head coach Dean Evason maintains that the decision on which goaltender to start remains a day-to-day decision. Greaves has posted an .897 save percentage across 10 games this season, while Merzlikins has a .908 through seven games played. Merzlikins dealt with an illness this past week while Greaves got the larger workload.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have struggled as of late, and are currently trying to navigate their way out of a five-game losing streak. One of the cards head coach Lindy Ruff is playing to help jump-start his team’s offense has been moving star forward Tage Thompson back to the middle of the ice. Thompson has been playing center, in part due to the injury suffered by incumbent first-line center Josh Norris. Thompson told The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn that the move back to center has allowed him to feel “like [him]self,” and that he feels he can have more control over the game from that position. Thompson ranks second on the Sabres in scoring with 14 points in 17 games, and if this move back to center can help unlock an even higher level of play for the 28-year-old, it’s a move Ruff might have to consider even after the team gets players back from injury.

Canucks, Penguins Reportedly Interested In David Kämpf

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It’s only been a few hours since David Kämpf had his contract terminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and interested teams are already coming to light. In his recent rendition of 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins were interested in signing the freshly minted unrestricted free agent.

Of all the teams that could be interested in Kämpf, the Canucks make the most sense. The team is dealing with longer-term injuries to Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger, which have further thinned an already depleted center core. Behind Elias Pettersson, the team is utilizing Max Sasson, Aatu Räty, and recently acquired Lukas Reichel as their next three options.

That’s not to suggest that Kämpf should be considered a cure-all to Vancouver’s woes, though he would be an improvement on their existing bottom-six options. The 30-year-old center has scored 31 goals and 85 points in 301 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs over the last four years, with a 51.7% success rate in the faceoff dot.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s interest may come from familiarity with Kämpf’s game. The Penguins General Manager and President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, brought Kämpf to the Maple Leafs ahead of the 2021-22 season on a two-year, $3MM contract. Brad Traveling was at the helm when Toronto signed Kämpf to the four-year, $9.6MM deal that was terminated this morning.

Still, the Penguins don’t have a true need for Kämpf outside of the front office’s familiarity. The team is already relatively deep at center with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kevin Hayes as their top-three options, and has put a premium on bringing in younger players — not additional ones that have already cleared the 30-year threshold.

There are a few additional teams, such as the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils, that could use more forward depth in their bottom six. Still, given that teams are already being named, Kämpf shouldn’t expect to remain a UFA for very long.

Cam Talbot Could Become A Valuable Trade Chip

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In a recent update on Daily Faceoff Live, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that Detroit Red Wings netminder Cam Talbot could become the most viable goaltending trade candidate by the deadline. Any trade for Talbot would depend on Detroit falling out of playoff contention by the trade deadline and the interested teams not having internal improvements in their goaltending situation.

Assuming the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes don’t peddle Sergei Bobrovsky or Frederik Andersen, respectively, Talbot could be considered one of the most movable netminders at the deadline should he be made available. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent on a more than affordable $2.5MM salary and has no trade protection to overcome.

Furthermore, he has been a consistent, albeit unimpressive, netminder for his entire career, which is more than most teams can count on each night. Even since the 2019-20 season, despite playing for five different teams, Talbot has compiled a 134-85-23 record in 254 games with a .909 SV% and 2.73 GAA.

He gets better the more he plays in the postseason, though it’s been five years since he spent any meaningful time in the Stanley Cup playoffs. This season, while sharing the crease with John Gibson, Talbot has earned a 6-2-0 record in nine games with a .892 SV% and 2.93 GAA.

Entertaining the idea that the Red Wings may make Talbot available for trade by the deadline, there are a few teams that should be interested. The Edmonton Oilers, Utah Mammoth, and even the Montreal Canadiens could all use some veteran depth in net. Still, there is plenty of time for each of the listed teams to improve their goaltending performance by March, rendering any reason to seek out Talbot via trade moot.

Devils Place Connor Brown On IR, Recall Shane Lachance

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With today’s news that the New Jersey Devils will be without Jack Hughes for at least one game due to a freak accident at a team dinner, the Devils needed another body for their upcoming game against the Washington Capitals. To that end, New Jersey announced they’ve placed Connor Brown on the injured reserve (retroactive to October 30th) and has recalled Shane Lachance from the AHL’s Utica Comets.

The move is status quo for Brown. He didn’t join the team for their five-game road trip due to an upper-body injury, so a placement on the IR won’t alter his recovery timeline at all.

New Jersey has not provided any updates on Brown’s return, but we should receive more clarity once the team returns home. Brown has already missed the Devils’ last six games, so he’ll miss a minimum of 10.

Brown signed for a relatively cheap four-year, $12MM this past summer in an attempt to add some goal-scoring punch to the team’s middle-six. He did just that to start the season, scoring five goals in 11 games before going down with the injury.

Meanwhile, Lachance will have the opportunity to play in his NHL debut during the recall. The 22-year-old forward was signed as a collegiate free agent last season out of Boston University, where he was the team’s captain. Lachance scored 12 goals and 30 points in 40 games throughout his last year with the Terriers. Still, he’s had a disappointing transition to professional hockey, tallying only one assist in 11 games for AHL Utica so far this campaign.

Canucks Place Thatcher Demko On IR, Activate Victor Mancini

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According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have placed Thatcher Demko on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury. In a corresponding roster move, the team has activated defenseman Victor Mancini.

Demko suffered the injury during Tuesday’s game in Vancouver against the Winnipeg Jets, which is why the Canucks made their transaction retroactive to November 11th. He left the game after the first period, stopping five of eight shots.

This is a familiar spot for Demko. He spent much of last season on the injured reserve due to knee and other lower-body issues. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 10-8-3 record in 23 games with a .889 SV% and 2.90 GAA. Still, despite the significant injury issues, the Canucks extended Demko to a three-year, $25.5MM contract extension this summer.

Vancouver will rely on Kevin Lankinen for the next few weeks while Demko recovers. Unfortunately, he’s struggled out of the gates this season with a 3-5-1 record in nine games with a .885 SV% and 3.57 GAA.

Meanwhile, Mancini returns to the lineup after missing the Canucks last eight games due to an undisclosed injury. He’s only skated in five games this season, going scoreless with a -2 rating. The 23-year-old blueliner was a supplementary piece of the J.T. Miller trade with the New York Rangers last year. Unfortunately, with seven other defensemen on the active roster, Mancini doesn’t have a spot in the lineup set in stone.

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