He failed to find the scoreboard in the loss against the Blue Jackets but Viel made a statement shortly after the game started. An enforcer-adjacent player for much of his career, he dropped the gloves against Columbus forward Mathieu Olivier just over two minutes into the contest.

Today’s transaction may result in a short stay for Viel in Providence as Boston could still use a jolt. He’s scored two goals and four points for the AHL Bruins through 14 games this season. He won’t have a regular spot in the Bruins lineup should today’s demotion only be a paper transaction but he’ll play a vital role down the stretch should the team not climb out of their current situation.

Other Atlantic notes:

• Outside of placing Max Domi on injured reserve today, the Toronto Maple Leafs have also moved forward David Kämpf to the long-term injured reserve (X Link). The team placed Kämpf on the injured reserve yesterday (retroactive to November 16th) with a lower-body injury and today’s transaction will remove his $2.4MM from the equation. Toronto is projected to possess $2.313MM in cap space at the deadline and won’t accrue any more until activating multiple players from the LTIR.
• Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News shared a few updates regarding the Buffalo Sabres and their matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. After initially projecting as questionable for today’s matchup due to an undisclosed injury, forward Alex Tuch is expected to play tonight. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Tage Thompson, who will miss his third consecutive game due to a lower-body injury. There was some optimism that Thompson could return tonight after practice on Monday but today’s practice has changed Buffalo’s mind.

Viel, 27, is in his first season in the Bruins organization. The 6’2″, 205-lb power forward signed a two-year, partial two-way deal in free agency over the summer after spending the first six seasons of his professional career in the Sharks and Jets systems.

The Quebec native is expected to play his first NHL game in 19 months tonight against the Blue Jackets, per Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub. He’ll slot in a fourth-line role at left wing alongside John Beecher and Tyler Johnson while Mark Kastelic comes out due to a lower-body injury, and Cole Koepke serves as a healthy scratch despite being fourth on the Bruins in scoring with eight points (4 G, 4 A) in 19 games. There’s hope Kastelic could return for Thursday’s game against Utah, Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald reports, so Viel’s stint in the lineup could be a short one.

While Viel spent last year with Winnipeg, he didn’t see NHL ice and spent the entire 2023-24 season on assignment to AHL Manitoba. All of his 49 career NHL games came in a Sharks uniform. He recorded three goals and two assists for five points with a -9 rating and 139 PIMs in parts of three seasons. He averaged 8:29 per game in San Jose and controlled 43.6% of shot attempts at even strength.

Viel has routinely blended strong physical play and frequent fights with decent scoring numbers in the minors, making him an attractive power winger option for NHL clubs looking to add some skill and protection for their younger prospects at the AHL level. His production hasn’t come alive with Providence yet, though, limited to two goals and two assists in 14 games.

Viel passed through waivers unclaimed at the beginning of the season. He can remain on Boston’s roster for up to 30 days or play 10 games before he needs them again to return to Providence. The first season of his contract carries a two-way structure, so the recall represents a significant pay bump to $775K from his $375K minors salary.

Boston Bruins

F Patrick Brown
G Brandon Bussi
G Jiri Patera
D Billy Sweezey
F Jeffrey Viel

Buffalo Sabres

D Kale Clague
G James Reimer
F Lukas Rousek

Calgary Flames

G Devin Cooley
F Jakob Pelletier
F Cole Schwindt

Carolina Hurricanes

F Josiah Slavin
D Ty Smith
F Ryan Suzuki

Chicago Blackhawks 

D Isaak Phillips

Detroit Red Wings

F Sheldon Dries
D Justin Holl
D William Lagesson
D Brogan Rafferty
F Joe Snively

Edmonton Oilers

D Josh Brown
F Drake Caggiula
F Raphael Lavoie
G Olivier Rodrigue

Los Angeles Kings

G Pheonix Copley
F Samuel Fagemo
F Jack Studnicka

Nashville Predators

D Marc Del Gaizo

New Jersey Devils

F Shane Bowers
D Nick DeSimone
F Nolan Foote
D Colton White

New York Islanders

D Samuel Bolduc
F Pierre Engvall
F Hudson Fasching
F Liam Foudy
G Marcus Hogberg
D Grant Hutton
F Fredrik Karlstrom
G Jakub Skarek

New York Rangers

D Matthew Robertson

Ottawa Senators

F Adam Gaudette
F Jan Jenik

Pittsburgh Penguins

D Sebastian Aho
F Bokondji Imama

St. Louis Blues

D Corey Schueneman
D Tyler Tucker

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Gage Goncalves
D Steven Santini
F Jesse Ylonen

Toronto Maple Leafs

G Matt Murray
D Marshall Rifai

Utah Hockey Club

G Matt Villalta

Vancouver Canucks

D Erik Brannstrom

Vegas Golden Knights

F Zach Aston-Reese
F Tanner Laczynski
F Jonas Rondbjerg

Washington Capitals

G Hunter Shepard

Winnipeg Jets

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan

Boston Bruins

F Cole Koepke (one year)
D Jordan Oesterle (two years)
D Billy Sweezey (two years)
F Riley Tufte (one year)
F Jeffrey Viel (one year)

Buffalo Sabres

F Joshua Dunne (two years)
F Mason Jobst (one year)
F Brett Murray (one year)
D Jack Rathbone (one year)
G Felix Sandström (one year)

Detroit Red Wings

F Sheldon Dries (two years)
F Joe Snively (one year)

Florida Panthers

F Rasmus Asplund (one year)

Montreal Canadiens

none

Ottawa Senators

D Jeremy Davies (one year)
F Hayden Hodgson (one year)
F Garrett Pilon (two years)
D Filip Roos (one year)

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Derrick Pouliot (one year)
D Steven Santini (one year)
F Jesse Ylönen (one year)

Toronto Maple Leafs

none

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

• As part of today’s roster shuffle that brought up defenseman Philippe Myers to Tampa Bay, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that blueliner Haydn Fleury has been placed on LTIR. He exited yesterday’s victory over Montreal early and it appears the injury is significant enough for him to miss at least the next 10 games and 24 days.  Fleury has had a limited role so far this season but does have four points in 12 contests with the Lightning.
• The Stars announced that they sent down goaltender Matt Murray to AHL Texas today. With Jake Oettinger unavailable for a little longer, it’s likely this is a cap-related move and that he’ll be recalled before their game tomorrow against Montreal.  With Oettinger remaining on the active roster, they’re allowed to make this move even with their starter injured.  Murray has yet to play in Dallas this season but has a 2.86 GAA and a .908 SV% in 13 AHL appearances.
• Flyers prospect Alex Ciernik has been replaced on Slovakia’s World Junior roster due to injury, relays Dennik Sport’s Matej Deraj (Twitter link). The 19-year-old was in his second appearance in the tournament and had one assist in three preliminary round contests.  Ciernik was a fourth-round pick by Philadelphia back in June, going 120th overall.
• One day after being brought up on an emergency recall, the Jets announced (Twitter link) that winger Jeffrey Viel has been returned to AHL Manitoba. The 26-year-old didn’t suit up versus Minnesota and has nine points in 24 games with the Moose this season along with 70 penalty minutes.

Carter Brooks of The Hockey News is reporting that Winnipeg Jets forward David Gustafsson will be out of the lineup for the next handful of games as the team has placed the 23-year-old on injured reserve. Gustafsson was a game-time decision on Wednesday night as the Jets came out of the break, but didn’t end up dressing against the Chicago Blackhawks

• With the injury to Gustafsson, the Winnipeg Jets recalled Jeffrey Viel from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL on an emergency loan (CapFriendly). Viel is in his first season with the Jets organization after spending the previous five years with the San Jose Sharks. The 26-year-old has yet to dress in an NHL game for Winnipeg but does have 49 career NHL games to his name with the Sharks. He’s posted three goals and two assists in his NHL career, all of which came in the 2021-22 season. Viel did not play against the Minnesota Wild last night and will likely serve as the Jets’ 13th forward during his recall.
• The San Jose Sharks have activated Ty Emberson off the injured reserve as per Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News. The rookie defenseman has been out with a lower-body injury since December 1st and will be able to dress today when the Sharks take on the Colorado Avalanche. The 23-year-old has dressed in 16 games this season and has a goal and three assists while averaging 17:51 of ice time per game. The Eau Claire, Wisconsin native was acquired by San Jose from the New York Rangers via waivers before the start of the season and should give the Sharks a physical presence on the back end as he has averaged over two hits a game thus far this season.

10/04/23: Teams continue to trim their rosters ahead of the regular season, which starts in just six days. That means multiple players will hit the waiver wire daily until opening night rosters are due, and today is no different. Per TSN’s Chris Johnston, 12 players were waived today at 1 p.m. CT, 11 of whom have NHL experience. As a reminder, a waiver placement is a prerequisite for qualified players for assignment to the AHL but not necessarily an indication that a demotion to the minors will immediately happen. NHL teams can send a player down to the minors within 30 days or 10 games played of the date the player originally cleared waivers. After that time, their waiver clock will reset, and they will need to clear again.

Anaheim Ducks

D Robert Hägg
D Colton White

Boston Bruins

F Jayson Megna

Buffalo Sabres

F Brett Murray

Minnesota Wild

F Jujhar Khaira
F Vinni Lettieri
D Dakota Mermis
F Nic Petan

New Jersey Devils

D Callan Foote

Nashville Predators

F Mark Jankowski

San Jose Sharks

D Leon Gawanke

Winnipeg Jets

F Jeffrey Viel