Minnesota Wild Recall David Spacek
The Minnesota Wild announced today that defenseman David Spacek has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild.
The move gives the Wild seven healthy defensemen on their active roster. Veteran Zach Bogosian, who is normally a regular fixture on their blueline, is on IR with an undisclosed injury.
This isn’t Spacek’s first recall to the Wild’s NHL roster this season. His last recall came in December, but lasted just a day. He was also recalled in November, but didn’t dress there either, serving as a healthy scratch for two games. In total, Spacek has served as a healthy scratch for three NHL games this season, and is still awaiting the chance to make his NHL debut.
Perhaps the chance for Spacek to debut for the Wild will come on this recall. 23-year-old Daemon Hunt is currently playing on the right side of Minnesota’s third pairing, but is averaging just 12:25 time on ice per game. It’s possible head coach John Hynes might give Spacek a look in that role, seeing as Spacek is a right-shot defenseman and has been a steady two-way top-four contributor at the AHL level. In 35 AHL games this season, Spacek ranks second in scoring in Iowa with 19 points. He led Iowa blueliners in scoring last season as well, managing 31 points in 72 games.
In any case, even if Spacek once again remains a healthy scratch for this recall, he won’t leave empty-handed whenever he is reassigned back to Iowa. His entry-level deal, which is set to expire this upcoming summer, carries a $775K base salary compared to a $80K AHL salary, meaning he receives a sizable pay bump for whatever time he can spend in the NHL with the Wild.
Jets’ Colin Miller Out Week-To-Week, Placed On IR
1/14/26: While Miller’s IR placement telegraphed to a certain extent that Miller’s absence would be an extended one, we now have a bit more clarity on his recovery timeline. Jets head coach Scott Arniel indicated today that Miller is week-to-week with his injury. As a result, the Jets are likely to need to increasingly rely on depth blueliners with a trio of established NHLers now sidelined on a week-to-week basis.
1/12/26: Back in action tomorrow, the Winnipeg Jets announced this afternoon that Isaak Phillips has been recalled from AHL Manitoba, while Colin Miller has landed on injured reserve.
Winnipeg, finally finding their game after an 11-game winless streak which possibly has sunk their season, has to reach deep into the organization’s defense stock for Phillips, especially with Haydn Fleury out, and Miller now banged up. If able to suit up this week, it would be Phillips’ first action as a Jet.
Miller, who has struggled considerably in what will likely be his third and final season with the team, left mid-game against New Jersey with a lower-body injury. At this point it is unclear when he will return, but with the 33-year-old a healthy scratch often, playing in just 15 games so far, it is not the biggest impact for the Jets as they desperately look to turn things around.
Phillips, 24, was acquired from Chicago just three days shy of exactly one year ago, as the team gave up prospect Dmitri Kuzmin last January to in exchange for a respectable NHL-capable depth defender. The Ontario native was a fifth round choice of Chicago in 2020, making 56 appearances for the team from 2021-2025, recording 12 points. After solid contributions for the rebuilders despite being a former fringe prospect, Phillips became expendable as he was passed up in favor of prospects with higher upside.
Since then, Phillips has yet to appear with the Jets, playing in 72 games for Manitoba over the last two seasons. A physical lefty standing at 6’3″, he earned a two year extension with Winnipeg last summer, which will keep him around through next year, followed by restricted free agent status. Interestingly, he gets the nod over other notable defenders in Manitoba. Prospect Elias Salomonsson, who last got a look in early December, will remain in the AHL, along with former standout prospects Ville Heinola and Kale Clague.
For now, Winnipeg will move forward with Phillips as a seventh defender, as Luke Schenn has re-entered the lineup, who is eager to prove himself to suitors as last week it was noted that the 36-year-old pending free agent would be open to a trade.
Naturally, Phillips figures to be the best option to come up as depth, without rocking the boat in Manitoba. The Jets will host the Islanders tomorrow, looking for their third straight win.
Calgary Flames Recall Dryden Hunt
The Calgary Flames announced today that forward Dryden Hunt has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.
The move adds a healthy 13th forward to the Flames’ roster. Hunt’s served in that role before, both throughout his professional career and during his tenure in Calgary. He was last on the NHL roster in December, dressing most recently for the club’s Dec. 2 loss to the Nashville Predators.
A 30-year-old winger, Hunt has become a key depth piece in Calgary. He’s a top scorer for the Wranglers, notching with 11 goals, 31 points in 26 games this season. Last year, he managed 49 points in 49 games. Alongside being a point-per-game AHL player, Hunt is a dependable, steady fourth-line fill-in player. He brings 237 games of NHL experience to the table, including five games of playoff experience, most recently coming in 2021-22 with the New York Rangers.
While the Flames don’t appear poised to make the playoffs this season, the wealth of experience Hunt brings helps to stabilize the bottom portion of the Flames’ roster. With Calgary considering more significant trade moves to its forward corps (Blake Coleman‘s name specifically is surfacing in trade rumors), it appears likely that down the line this season, Hunt could earn an extended stay on the NHL roster.
Seeing as he’s currently playing on a two-way contract, any NHL recall comes with a very real financial benefit for Hunt. He earns a $825K NHL salary, $400K AHL salary, and a hefty $500K total guarantee in each year of his two-year deal. With each day spent on the Flames’ NHL roster, it becomes increasingly likely Hunt will be able to surpass that $500K guarantee in terms of total compensation by the end of the season. Today’s recall will certainly help him in that pursuit.
As for what role exactly Hunt might slot into within head coach Ryan Huska’s lineup, it’s likely to be a limited one. Hunt averaged 10:36 time on ice in his two prior NHL games of 2025-26, and averaged 11:39 time on ice per game in five contests in 2024-25. It’s unlikely his deployment moving forward will deviate much from that established trend.
Winnipeg Jets Place Neal Pionk On IR, Recall Elias Salomonsson
The Winnipeg Jets announced today that they have placed defenseman Neal Pionk on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, they recalled defenseman Elias Salomonsson from their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Pionk’s IR placement is retroactive to Jan. 13.
Pionk was labelled as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury today. Pionk missed the Jets’ game last Friday with a foot injury, but there is no word at this time if Pionk’s injury news today is related to that ailment.
Losing Pionk on a week-to-week basis is a significant blow to the Jets’ hopes of climbing out of the lower rungs of the NHL standings. He’s Winnipeg’s No. 2 defenseman in terms of ice time, averaging 22:47 per game. That includes 2:48 time on ice per game on the penalty kill, the highest among Jets blueliners. He also skates 1:35 per game on the power play, quarterbacking their second unit.
As the Jets as a whole have experienced a significant year-over-year downturn, Pionk’s production has suffered. He scored 10 goals, 39 points in 2024-25 but has just eight points in 40 games this season. But even as Pionk’s offense has declined to uncharacteristically low levels this season, the Jets are still likely to find it difficult to replace what he brings to the table.
The Jets’ recall of Salomonsson from Manitoba doesn’t signal the club’s intention to utilize the young blueliner as an exact one-to-one replacement for Pionk. Instead, he’s likely to see some of Pionk’s vacated minutes, while other Jets defensemen are also likely to see a bump in ice time.
Salomonsson , 21, was a second-round pick of the Jets at the 2022 draft, and made his North American pro debut in 2024-25 in Manitoba. He became a steady top-four force for the Moose, scoring 35 points in 78 career AHL games. Salomonsson earned his first NHL recall earlier this season, skating in a total of four games. He averaged 14:43 time-on-ice, including a little over a minute per game short-handed.
Detroit Red Wings Reassign Sheldon Dries
1/14/26: The Detroit Red Wings announced today that forward Dries has been reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. He didn’t dress during this recall, serving as a healthy scratch for four contests.
Since Dries’ contract carries a two-way structure, even though this recall didn’t carry much of an on-ice benefit, he did receive a nice pay bump for the time spent on the NHL roster.
1/9/26: The Detroit Red Wings have addressed their need for a 13th forward after reassigning John Leonard earlier today. According to a team announcement, the Red Wings have recalled Sheldon Dries from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
If Detroit didn’t want to recall one of their prospects and weren’t willing to remove the Griffins’ captain, Dominik Shine, it was almost certainly going to be Dries. Dries, 31, is in his second year with the Red Wings organization after spending multiple years with the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks’ organizations.
It’ll be a coming home of sorts for the Macomb, MI native. Dries spent his youth days playing for the local travel hockey programs in Honeybaked and Belle Tire. He moved to the southwest part of the state for his collegiate hockey days, playing four years with the Western Michigan University Broncos, where he scored 44 goals and 84 points in 148 career games.
He’s always been a quality scorer in the AHL, highlighted by a 35-goal, 62-point performance in 54 games throughout the 2021-22 season for the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. In his last year with the AHL Canucks in the 2023-24 campaign, Dries registered 29 goals and 52 points in 55 games.
His first year with AHL Grand Rapids was similarly solid, finishing fourth on the team in scoring with 25 goals and 40 points in 65 games. Still, like many of his teammates this year, he’s been playing at a different level entirely. Dries currently sits third on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 25 points in 26 games with a +16 rating, on pace for nearly 70 points before the recall.
If he draws into the lineup for the Red Wings, it’ll be his first NHL appearance since the 2022-23 season. That was his longest stretch in the top league by a significant margin, scoring 11 goals and 17 points in 63 games for the Canucks, averaging 11:32 of ice time per game.
Avalanche Activate Mackenzie Blackwood, Reassign Trent Miner
According to a team announcement, the Colorado Avalanche have activated netminder Mackenzie Blackwood from the injured reserve. In a corresponding roster move, the Avalanche have reassigned goaltender Trent Miner to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.
Blackwood, 29, has been on Colorado’s injured reserve for the last little while. After suffering a lower-body injury during a team practice, Blackwood has missed the Avalanche’s last six contests.
Colorado brought Blackwood into the mix last year in a trade with the San Jose Sharks in an effort to alleviate the team’s goaltending woes. He provided exactly that, winning 22 of 36 starts with the Avalanche with a .913 SV% and 2.33 GAA.
Somehow, Blackwood has performed even better this year. Mostly sharing the net with fellow netminder Scott Wedgewood due to injuries, Blackwood has only started 14 of Colorado’s 45 games. During that time, he’s garnered a 13-1-1 record with a .924 SV%, 2.07 GAA, and 10.6 Goals Saved Above Average.
Despite having the league’s best offense by a significant margin, the Avalanche also tops the NHL in GA/G, largely due to their efficient goaltending. Colorado has produced a .919 SV% across the year — 10 points higher than the next closest.
Meanwhile, Miner heads back to Loveland, CO, after appearing in two games for the Avalanche. The 24-year-old won the first game of his career, a 29-save shutout against the Columbus Blue Jackets. His next contest didn’t go well, resulting in an overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs a few days ago.
He’ll return to an Eagles club where he’s spent much of the 2025-26 campaign. In 10 games for the team this year, Miner owns a 7-2-0 record with a .907 SV% and 2.40 GAA.
Flyers Activate Jamie Drysdale
The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they’ve activated defenseman Jamie Drysdale from the injured reserve. The transaction was largely expected after the Flyers assigned fellow blue liner Adam Ginning to the AHL yesterday afternoon.
Drysdale, 23, has missed a little over a week with Philadelphia after suffering an undisclosed injury against his former team, the Anaheim Ducks. The Flyers have not played well without him — losing all three games in his absence.
Fortunately, Drysdale will return tonight in what’s expected to be a competitive matchup against the Buffalo Sabres. Drysdale is having a solid campaign so far, scoring three goals and 18 points in 41 games, averaging more than 21 minutes of ice time per game.
Although it’s not the offensive production that many expected of Drysdale after being selected with the sixth overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. He’s nearly reached his point totals from last season, when he scored seven goals and 20 points in 70 contests with a -32 rating.
Now, as Drysdale sits as the third-highest scoring defenseman on the roster, he’s on pace to reach a career-high in points, with his previous being set during his sophomore campaign in 2021-22. Additionally, he’s performing much better on the defensive side of the puck since Rick Tocchet took over behind the bench, averaging a 90.9% on-ice SV% at even strength after posting an 84.4% and 85.1% marks in 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively.
Canadiens Sign Alexandre Texier To Two-Year Extension
According to his agent, Dan Milstein, Alexandre Texier has signed a two-year, $5MM ($2.5MM AAV) extension with the Montreal Canadiens. Texier originally joined the Canadiens on a one-year, $1MM contract in November after his previous contract with the St. Louis Blues was terminated.
At the beginning of the year, it would have been fair to question whether Texier would even be playing in the NHL next season, let alone signing an extension. Being a frequent healthy scratch by the Blues, Texier had recorded only one assist in eight games, averaging 10:15 of ice time per game.
Considering he was largely used as a depth forward for St. Louis in the previous season, it wasn’t surprising to see that Texier wanted to explore other options. Texier was placed on unconditional waivers for contract termination by the Blues, and once he cleared, he was signed by the Canadiens.
He has looked like a completely different player. Moving into a middle-six role with the Canadiens, he’s already surpassed his point totals across two years in St. Louis. In 25 games after signing with Montreal, Texier has scored seven goals and 16 points with a +7 rating. He’s already become the seventh-highest scoring forward on the team.
His advanced metrics have never looked better, either. He’s managing the highest CorsiFor% at even strength of his career with a 53.3% mark, and has averaged a 91.3% on-ice SV% at even strength, showing off his value as a two-way force.
It’s unrealistic to think that Texier will sustain his current scoring pace, as he’s never scored more than 30 points in a regular season. Still, even if he gets to that point over the duration of the contract, it will prove to be a solid investment by Montreal. If the upper limit of the salary cap reaches its expected levels, Texier will only be earning approximately 2.2% of the Canadiens’ available cap dollars by the 2027-28 campaign.
It likely didn’t require much negotiation to finalize this deal. Texier bet on himself at a time of great strife for his on-ice play, and the Canadiens must feel emboldened by the quality of play he’s shown since joining the team.
Penguins Place Erik Karlsson On IR, Recall Ryan Graves
Jan. 14th: Broz’s recall will end without playing a game for Pittsburgh. The Penguins announced this morning that they’ve reassigned Broz back to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Jan. 13th: The Pittsburgh Penguins made a series of roster moves this morning. Most notably, defenseman Erik Karlsson has landed on injured reserve due to an undisclosed injury. He will miss at least two weeks of action per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. The Penguins have recalled defenseman Ryan Graves in place of Karlsson. Pittsburgh has also recalled winger Tristan Broz and reassigned Rafael Harvey-Pinard.
This will be Karlsson’s first time missing games for the Penguins. He is riding a team-best 208-game ironman streak that dates back to Pittsburgh’s trade for the former Norris Trophy winner all the way back in 2023. Karlsson has filled a major role on the Penguins’ blue-line since joining the team but his importance has seemed to only rise this season. He leads Pittsburgh’s defense – and ranks third on the team – with 33 points in 44 games this season. He also leads the blue-line in shots on goal (94), takeaways (21), and power-play ice time (135 minutes).
That level of offense from the blue-line will be impossible for Pittsburgh to replace. Kris Letang is the blue-line’s second-highest scorer with 22 points in 44 games. He has matched a 0.5 point-per-game pace for much of the season and will certainly take on top offensive-defenseman duties in Karlsson’s absence. But who steps up for Letang is less clear. Ryan Shea has 16 points and 37 shots on goal this season, while Parker Wotherspoon has 15 points and 43 shots on goal.
Neither are known for their offense but may be called upon to fill heavy minutes with Karlsson on the shelf. Some focus will also land on Graves, who has an impressive nine points in 13 AHL games this season. That scoring hasn’t risen to the NHL level just yet – Graves has five points in his last 78 NHL games dating back to last season – but an open opportunity could be what changes that. Pittsburgh could also turn towards AHL prospect Owen Pickering, who leads the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ defense with 15 points in 33 games. He has only appeared in four NHL games this season – setting no scoring and a minus-three. He did manage three points and a minus-five in 25 NHL games last season.
The Penguins will also swap out depth forwards on the roster. Broz leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring with 11 goals and 24 points in 33 games. He is the only member of the team with double-digit goals this season. He made his NHL debut earlier in the year and recorded no scoring and a minus-one. Back on the NHL roster, Broz will offer a nice bit of skill and scoring upside while Pittsburgh faces injuries to Bryan Rust and Rutger McGroarty. Broz would likely step into the lineup over high-speed bruiser Connor Dewar, in a bottom-six role. Meanwhile, Harvey-Pinard will return to the minors where he has already posted 13 points in 32 games.
Pittsburgh will be without Karlsson for at least seven games. That’s a big window to try and keep their ship sailing straight, after curbing an eight-game losing streak in early December with a 7-3-0 record since December 21st. The Penguins have averaged 3.7 goals-per-game on that recent win-streak, a number that could quickly dwindle with a future Hall-of-Fame, offensive-defenseman on the sidelines.
Senators, Oilers Had Trade Talks Regarding Andrew Mangiapane
Speaking on last week’s episode of Hello Hockey, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers have had trade talks regarding forward Andrew Mangiapane. He did not disclose how in-depth these conversations were or whether there was any further progress toward a deal.
It’s almost a foregone conclusion that Mangiapane will be traded this season. In late December, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that the Oilers were looking to move Mangiapane in an effort to thin out a relatively saturated forward group. A few days later, Friedman again shared that Mangiapane wants to move to a better situation for himself, and that the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, and Winnipeg Jets had been in touch with Edmonton to some degree or another.
It stands to reason that the Senators will want to climb back into contention before adding a depth piece similar to Mangiapane. Despite being six points back of a playoff spot, six teams are separating Ottawa from the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They have a 3-6-1 record over their last 10 contests, the worst in the Atlantic Division over that stretch.
Furthermore, it’s not altogether clear how Mangiapane will benefit the Senators. He has been relatively disappointing over the past two years, scoring 19 goals and 39 points in his last 123 games between the Oilers and Washington Capitals. For context, in his final year with the Calgary Flames, Mangiapane scored 14 goals and 40 points in 75 games.
It really depends on what Ottawa would be looking for Mangiapane to contribute. The team is averaging 3.11 GF/G, good for 14th in the league. There’s always a place to add more goal-scoring, though the Senators have had much larger issues keeping the puck out of their net.
Mangiapane has shown flashes of being a defensively responsible forward, as evidenced by his 91.8% on-ice SV% with the Capitals last year. Unfortunately, he hasn’t played similarly this season, posting an 83.7% mark with the Oilers, the worst on the team for forwards who have played in 25 or more games.
If Ottawa is interested in Mangiapane for his defensive attributes, they will need to hope that their coaching staff can help revert him to how he played last year in Washington. However, if they’re looking to add more secondary or even tertiary scoring, there are likely better and more affordable options available than Mangiapane.