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Panthers Reassign Jack Devine

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The Panthers announced this afternoon that forward Jack Devine has been assigned to AHL Charlotte. That clears an active roster spot, one that could be used to activate star winger Matthew Tkachuk from long-term injured reserve in the coming days. Nearly two weeks have passed since he started skating again following offseason groin surgery.

If that’s the case, Florida isn’t done making roster moves. With Devine off the roster, they’re exceeding the cap by $7.24MM. They’re compliant because that’s less than their LTIR pool of $9.52MM. That pool will shrink to $5.7MM when Tkachuk is activated, though. That’s a $1.54MM difference they need to make up for. They’ll likely do so by shifting forwards Jonah Gadjovich and Cole Schwindt from standard IR to LTIR. They carry a combined cap hit of $1.6MM, increasing their LTIR pool by just enough to carry Tkachuk on the active roster without making any other changes to the roster.

Devine is in his first professional season and still has three years or 64 NHL games played remaining until he’ll require waivers to head to the minors, so that’s not a concern anytime soon. He’s the only waiver-exempt player on the roster aside from lineup fixture Mackie Samoskevich, so that made his reassignment more or less inevitable as Florida got healthier.

The right-shooting Devine had been out of the lineup as a healthy scratch in three consecutive games. He didn’t manage a point in six appearances since being recalled from Charlotte on Nov. 18. His possession numbers are solid enough, but he was deployed in extremely sheltered usage and had a -3 rating while averaging only 8:26 of ice time per game.

Florida drafted Devine with the fifth-to-last pick of the 2022 draft. He’s been on an upward trajectory ever since and turned pro this year on the heels of back-to-back 50-point seasons at the University of Denver, where he totaled a 57-106–163 scoring line in 162 collegiate appearances across four years. He won two national championships with the Pioneers and was the top scorer in college hockey with 57 points in 2024-25, finishing as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award for the second year in a row.

His offensive success in the NCAA has followed him to the pros, just not yet to the NHL. He rattled off six goals and 12 points through his first 13 games with Charlotte before getting called up. He was the team’s leading scorer when he was removed from the roster last month and should reclaim that title soon enough as he’s in for an extended stint – potentially the rest of the season – down in the AHL after a quiet first stint on the Cats’ roster.

Lightning Place Andrei Vasilevskiy On IR, Activate Brayden Point

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3:44 p.m.: The corresponding move for Vasilevskiy’s IR placement is an IR activation for top center Brayden Point, per Erlendsson. The snakebitten pivot had missed the last seven games due to an undisclosed injury he sustained against the Capitals on Nov. 22. He’s hoping the time off jumpstarts a reset – the four-time 40-goal scorer had managed just three tallies through 21 games while shooting at a disastrous 6.8% clip, less than half his previous career low.

10:16 a.m.: According to Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider, the Tampa Bay Lightning have placed netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy on the team’s injured reserve. Having recalled Brandon Halverson a few days ago, any corresponding roster move, if any, will likely involve a forward or defenseman.

Vasilveskiy has already missed two games due to an undisclosed injury, and it’s now a guarantee he’ll miss at least two more. Since his last contest came last Tuesday against the New York Islanders, the 12-year veteran will only be eligible for activation after Tampa Bay’s matchup tomorrow against the Montreal Canadiens.

Unlike some of their injuries on defense, the Lightning haven’t fared as well without their former Vezina Trophy-winning netminder. Tampa Bay lost both games last week without Vasilevskiy (as well as his most recent start against the Islanders), allowing six goals on 50 shots for an .880 SV%.

Assuming that the Lightning will want to avoid overworking Jonas Johansson in their upcoming back-to-back against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal, Vasilevskiy’s IR placement all but guarantees that Halvorsen will make his first appearance of the year. The 29-year-old netminer has managed a 9-4-0 record in 13 games with the Syracuse Crunch this season with a .901 SV%.

Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like Vasilevskiy will be out for too long. There was some speculation last week that Vasilevskiy was targeting today for his return, meaning that he may return by Thursday when the Lightning take on the Devils in New Jersey.

Blackhawks Reassign Sam Rinzel, Landon Slaggert

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The Blackhawks have reassigned defenseman Sam Rinzel and winger Landon Slaggert to AHL Rockford, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio 720. Both players are still waiver-exempt.

Slaggert’s demotion was expected. He’s been sent down once already this season and has been a healthy scratch in eight of Chicago’s last 10 games. Rinzel’s, however, comes as a surprise.

A first-round pick straight out of the Minnesota high school ranks in 2022, Rinzel was viewed as one of the higher-ceiling offensive defenders in the class but would need plenty of developmental runway to improve his overall game. The 6’4″ righty seemed to put most of the pieces together during the last two years with the University of Minnesota. He racked up a 12-48–60 scoring line in 79 games with a +43 rating. Not only was he a Big Ten First Team All-Star last year, but he was also named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Rinzel’s performance down the stretch last season for the Blackhawks after his collegiate campaign ended only added more fuel to his stock. Chicago deployed him in a top-pairing role with Alex Vlasic for their final nine games, and the results were fantastic. Rinzel rattled off five assists and a +1 rating while averaging 23:22 of ice time per game, getting an audition on the Hawks’ top power-play unit after Seth Jones was traded weeks earlier. He and Vlasic also controlled 50% of expected goals at 5-on-5, the only Blackhawks defense pair to break even with over 100 minutes of ice time last year, per MoneyPuck.

This season, however, there have been significant growing pains. Rinzel started back in that top-pairing job with Vlasic and skated over 25 minutes twice in the Hawks’ first three games. Since then, he’s only broken the 20-minute plateau three times and not since Oct. 26. He’s remained in the lineup all this time as Chicago has dressed seven defensemen for the majority of the campaign, but he was healthy scratched once on Nov. 15 against the Maple Leafs. Since returning to the lineup, he’s managed five assists in 11 games – all at even strength – but is only averaging 14:36 of ice time per game.

The reduced usage has come as a result of some warts popping up in Rinzel’s defensive game. Rinzel’s offensive zone start percentage at 5-on-5 is 55.4, ninth on the team (min. 50 minutes). Despite that, the Blackhawks are allowing more shots per 60 minutes with Rinzel on the ice (34.2) than any other player on the roster. The same goes for shot attempts (68.3), and his 33.4 scoring chances against per 60 are the worst among defensemen.

He’ll now get some time to clean up his game in Rockford. Given Chicago’s frequent juggling of defense pairs this season, a strong run of play means he could find himself back on the roster in fairly short order – particularly if they start listening to calls on pending unrestricted free agents Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Murphy closer to the trade deadline.

It’s too early to read into how Rinzel’s demotion will affect head coach Jeff Blashill’s propensity to ice 11 forwards and seven defenders this season. Chicago didn’t fill its newly open roster spots in corresponding moves today because they’re off until Wednesday, following a dreadful weekend in Southern California, losing back-to-back games against the Kings and Ducks by a combined score of 13-1. Those losses brought their record in their last 10 games down to 2-6-2, although their hot start means they’re still one game above .500 and one point back of the Mammoth for the second wild card spot in the West as they approach the 30-game mark.

As for Slaggert, he’s been most often used as an extra forward on the NHL roster this season, a consequence of fewer jobs being available to the forward group than normal. The 23-year-old has entered the lineup on 10 occasions with one goal on five shots and an even rating. He’s averaged just 9:04 of ice time per game after seeing over 12 minutes in 33 appearances last season.

Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images.

Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Maple Leafs, Tinordi

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Unless something changes, the Boston Bruins will return their two top performers on their upcoming road trip. After an update from Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald, indicating that Charlie McAvoy shed the non-contact jersey for today’s practice, Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe reported that both McAvoy and David Pastrňák are expected to return over the next few days.

Even getting one of McAvoy or Pastrňák back would be a major boost to the Bruins. After McAvoy exited the lineup on November 15th after gruesomely taking a puck to the face, the team has gone 5-5-0. It’s been a little better without Pastrňák, as they’ve gone 3-2-0 in their last five.

Still, considering that Boston has unexpectedly moved into second place in the Atlantic Division, the team will want to have McAvoy and Pastrňák in the lineup as much as possible to qualify for a postseason spot. The Bruins are only two points removed from being out of a playoff spot, and have played more games than multiple teams in the Eastern Conference. Considering how wide-open the playoff race is this season, Boston has a legitimate opportunity to reach the postseason again, and McAvoy and Pastrňák will surely play a large role in that.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Moving to Toronto, the Maple Leafs may also return a pair of injured players in the next few days. According to David Alter of The Hockey News, defenseman Chris Tanev is no longer skating in a non-contact jersey. Additionally, Alter reported similarly on defenseman Marshall Rifai, who has also shed his non-contact jersey. Tanev has missed much of the 2025-26 campaign due to an upper-body injury, and his absence has played a significant role in the Maple Leafs allowing over 31 shots a game from their opponents.
  • Former first-round pick Jarred Tinordi has found his way back to professional hockey for a 14th consecutive season. Earlier today, the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch announced they have signed Tinordi to a contract for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign. Tinordi, 33, spent last season with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, scoring one goal and five points in 30 games with a +5 rating.

Kraken’s Berkly Catton Out Week-To-Week

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The Seattle Kraken will be without one of their top prospects for some time. Seattle announced that forward Berkly Catton is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

Catton, 19, is the former 8th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. He’s been one of the highest-scoring forwards in the CHL since being selected by the Kraken, registering 92 goals and 225 points in 125 games with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs.

Additionally, Catton was sensational for the Chiefs in the WHL playoffs last year and played a large part in the team being three wins away from the 2025 Memorial Cup tournament. He finished with 11 goals and 42 points in 20 postseason contests before the team was knocked out in the championship by the Medicine Hat Tigers in five games.

Despite some speculation that Catton could have made the Kraken’s roster last year, it was an all but guaranteed scenario this season. Unfortunately, his transition to professional hockey hasn’t been a smooth one.

Catton has already skated in 21 games for the Kraken, averaging 12:25 of ice time per night, but has yet to register his first NHL goal. He does have five assists, though it’s a far cry from the production he showed in Major Junior. It would have been highly unrealistic to expect a similar 100+ point pace from Catton in his rookie season, though it’s likely that Seattle was hoping for more than this.

Meanwhile, Catton’s injury is undoubtedly the reason he was left off Team Canada’s preliminary roster for the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship, which was announced this morning. It was Catton’s last year of eligibility, and the Kraken likely would have loaned him for the tournament given his tepid offensive output this season.

Capitals Recall Garin Bjorklund, Reassign Clay Stevenson

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The Washington Capitals have become the second team today to make a change to their backup goaltending situation. Washington announced that they have recalled Garin Bjorklund and reassigned Clay Stevenson to the AHL’s Hershey Bears in a corresponding roster move.

Should Bjorklund play during his recall, which is unexpected, it would make for his NHL debut. The Capitals selected the Calgary, AB native with the 179th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft, and he’s spent much of the last two years with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays.

His performance in the ECHL last season likely earned him a spot on the Bears this year. Bjorklund, 23, finished with a 21-4-3 record last season with a .927 SV% and 2.02 GAA in 29 games with the Stingrays. This season, as a backup in Hershey, he has compiled four wins in nine games with a .895 SV%.

Meanwhile, Stevenson concludes his recall without appearing for the Capitals. Still, in his fourth year with Hershey, Stevenson has managed a 7-4-0 record in 11 games, boasting a .913 SV% and 2.54 GAA.

Regardless, the Capitals are merely biding time until their regular backup, Charlie Lindgren, can return from injury. Washington placed Lindgren on the injured reserve yesterday due to a lower-body injury, and the team has yet to provide a recovery timeline. Lindgren will become eligible to return on Thursday.

Jets Recall Domenic DiVincentiis, Reassign Thomas Milic

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The Winnipeg Jets have swapped backup goaltenders. Winnipeg announced they have recalled Domenic DiVincentiis and reassigned Thomas Milic to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

DiVincentiis, 21, has spent the last two years playing with AHL Manitoba. The Bolton, ON native was selected with the 207th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Jets, and spent the two years following his draft with the OHL’s North Bay Battalion.

He was relatively successful with the Battalion, particularly in the 2022-23 season. Overall, DiVincentiis finished his OHL career with a 77-26-7 record with a .907 SV% in 117 games. In Manitoba, though it’s largely been in a backup role, he’s managed a 19-19-3 record in 41 games with a .909 SV%.

Meanwhile, Milic heads back to the Moose after debuting in the NHL. Unfortunately, his debut did little to inspire confidence. He finished with one loss in three games with a .871 SV% and 3.46 GAA. In his most recent games against the Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers, Milic allowed four goals on 28 shots.

Regardless, whether it be DiVincentiis or Milic, the Jets are simply attempting to hold down the fort until Connor Hellebuyck returns from injury. Since the reigning MVP exited the lineup in mid-November, Winnipeg has managed a 3-6-1 record while allowing 35 goals on 297 shots (.882 SV%).

Craig Smith Announces Retirement

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As expected, forward Craig Smith has hung up his skates after 14 years in the NHL. The Magnuson Hockey Agency, which represented Smith, announced the retirement.

Smith’s professional career began back in 2009, when he was selected with the 98th overall pick by the Nashville Predators. He spent two years following the draft playing for the NCAA’s University of Wisconsin, scoring 27 goals and 76 points in 82 games while being named the program’s captain in his second season.

Impressively, after a standout performance for Team USA at the 2011 IIHF World Championships, Smith jumped right to the NHL in the 2011-12 season with the Predators. He finished 12th in Calder Trophy voting that year, scoring 14 goals and 36 points in 72 games — good for eighth in scoring on the team.

Due to some injury troubles, Smith skated in four games for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, which would serve as the only AHL playing time Smith had throughout his career. Over the next eight years, Smith scored 148 goals and 294 points in 589 games with Nashville, averaging 14:57 of ice time in a middle-six role. He had a far lesser track record of success in the postseason, tallying seven goals and 16 points in 52 games from 2012 to 2020.

After his five-year, $21.25MM extension with Nashville concluded after the 2019-20 season, Smith reached free agency for the first time at 33 years old. Due to the pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith had to wait until mid-October to sign his next contract, which became a three-year, $9.3MM deal with the Boston Bruins.

He enjoyed a pair of relatively productive seasons with the Bruins before transitioning to a bottom-six role in his final season. In the last year of his deal, Smith was traded to the Washington Capitals in the trade that sent Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to New England.

The Madison, WI native would only sign two more NHL contracts after that trade — one with the Dallas Stars, and another with the Chicago Blackhawks before ultimately ending his career with the Detroit Red Wings. Smith finished his career with 220 goals and 452 points in 987 games, becoming the fifth-highest scoring Wisconsin-born player behind Joe Pavelski, Phil Kessel, Gary Suter, and Ryan Suter.

We at PHR congratulate Smith on a solid career and wish him the best in his next chapter.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports. 

Mammoth’s Logan Cooley Out With Lower-Body Injury

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Dec. 8th: The Mammoth confirmed that Cooley will miss his second straight game with his lower-body injury, and could be out much longer. Utah shared that Cooley would be out indefinitely, though they didn’t confirm whether or not they would place him on the injured reserve.

Dec. 6th: The Utah Mammoth have announced that star center Logan Cooley will miss Saturday night’s game against the Calgary Flames due to a lower-body injury. He will be re-evaluated when Utah returns home on Monday. Cooley crashed hard into the net-posts late in Friday night’s win over the Vancouver Canucks. He was able to finish the game and it is not clear if that was the incident that led to this new injury.

Cooley’s timeline isn’t yet clear, but even one game without him will be too much. He leads the Mammoth with 14 goals, and also has 23 points, 13 shot blocks, and 34 hits in 29 games. He’s also served a key role on Utah’s top power-play unit. It’s a breakout year for the 21-year-old centerman, who seems capable of leading a next generation of Utah hockey alongside youngsters Dylan Guenther and JJ Peterka.

Barrett Hayton will return to the lineup for the first time since December 1st in Cooley’s absence. It has been a down year for Hayton, who only has five points in 24 games so far. He has struggled to click with a reshaped Utah top-six and doesn’t offer the strength away from his skill to fit above Jack McBain or Kevin Stenlund in the bottom-six. That made Hayton a difficult asset to manage for the Mammoth. He’ll look to curb the slow streak in between rookie winger Daniil But and star Guenther on Saturday.

Calgary Flames Recall Hunter Brzustewicz

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According to a team announcement, the Calgary Flames have recalled defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. Calgary had one open spot on their roster, so no corresponding roster move was necessary.

Brzustewicz, 21, was selected with the 75th overall pick by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2023 NHL Draft. He didn’t spend much time as a prospect for the Canucks. The following season, the Washington, MI native was traded to the Flames in the deal that sent Elias Lindholm to British Columbia.

His prospect value had increased significantly by that time. After scoring six goals and 57 points in 68 games for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers during his draft season, Brzustewicz put up 13 goals and 92 points in 67 games the following season, leading the OHL in assists.

Since then, despite featuring in one game for the Flames last season, Brzustewicz has spent much of his time with the Wranglers. He didn’t crack the All-Rookie team last year, but he’s managed a respectable nine goals and 44 points in 93 games with a -8 rating.

It’ll be interesting to see how Calgary uses Brzustewicz throughout this recall. He’s a natural fit on the right side of the defensive core, though the Flames already have MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson as their top two options. Calgary may slot Brzustewicz into the team’s bottom-pairing, or pair him with Weegar, who is one of the best in the league at playing on his off-side.

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