Dunne’s appearance on March 8th was his first in the NHL since he dressed for eight games with the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2022-23 season. The 26-year-old spent four seasons in the Blue Jackets organization, playing 134 games for the Cleveland Monsters. He signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Sabres last July and has dressed in 54 games this season for the Americans, tallying eight goals and 16 assists. In 15 career NHL games, the O’Fallon, Missouri native has yet to record a point and is -9 plus/minus with 35 hits and 12 blocked shots.

Rosen was the Sabres’ first round pick (14th overall) back in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old winger has played ten NHL games over two seasons and is also scoreless, with a -5 plus/minus, two hits and two blocked shots. In the AHL, the Stockholm, Sweden native has been nearly a point a game player this season, posting 26 goals and 24 assists in 51 games. Over his three-year AHL career, Rosen has registered 60 goals and 77 assists in 184 career games.

The Sabres don’t play again until Saturday afternoon against the Vegas Golden Knights and could recall both players before then. However, given that the Americans are in a battle to win the North Division, the Sabres may opt to keep both players in the AHL.

Dunne is in his first season with the Sabres organization after spending the last four in the Columbus Blue Jackets’. The 26-year-old product of Clarkson University is a veteran of 14 games at the NHL level, all with the Blue Jackets, from 2021 to 2023.

In AHL Rochester and with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, Dunne has carved out a role as a solid middle-six forward with some physicality to his game. He won’t threaten to lead any team in scoring at the game’s highest minor league level, but he’s only two years removed from scoring 20 goals and 37 points in 65 games for the Monsters. He has eight goals and 16 assists in 54 contests for the Americans.

Meanwhile, Rosen is one of Buffalo’s top forward prospects, being four years removed from being the 14th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft. Unlike Dunne, Rosen has quickly become a capable top-six scorer at the AHL level since transitioning to North American professional hockey in 2022-23.

Since becoming a full-time player in Rochester three years ago, Rosen has scored 60 goals and 137 points in 184 games, with another six goals and four assists in 19 postseason contests. It wouldn’t be his first NHL game should he factor into the Sabres’ lineup tonight against the Florida Panthers, but a goal or assist would become his first NHL point.

• According to a team announcement, the Dallas Stars have reassigned defenseman Lian Bichsel to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. Although the reassignment came with a formal announcement from the team, it should only serve as a paper transaction for Bichsel to ensure he’s eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs. The rookie defenseman has scored two goals and three assists in 20 games for the Stars this season, averaging 14:54 of ice time per night. He’s made his presence known by averaging over four hits a game, but he’s been on the wrong end of some highlight videos early in his NHL career. Dallas confirmed it as a paper transaction later, recalling Bichsel quickly after the deadline.
• As alluded to yesterday, the Philadelphia Flyers have confirmed the reassignment of netminder Aleksei Kolosov to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Given that he’s been Philadelphia’s third-string option for much of the season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kolosov’s reassignment extend beyond the trade deadline. The second-year netminder has a 4-8-1 record in 15 games with the Flyers this season with a .870 SV% and 3.45 GAA. His performance hasn’t been any better with AHL Lehigh Valley as he’s recorded a 2-4-1 record in seven AHL contests with a .874 SV% and 3.59 GAA.
• The Calgary Flames are making Adam Klapka available to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, per a team report. Similarly to Kolosov, this reassignment may extend through the deadline. Klapka has spent much of the year in AHL Calgary, scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 31 contests. He’s been far less utilized by the Flames, registering one goal in 13 contests and averaging 8:10 of ice time per game.
• According to Andy Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey, the San Jose Sharks are expected to reassign defenseman Jimmy Schuldt and Jack Thompson to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. As a minor contextual update, Max Miller of The Hockey News believes Thompson’s reassignment is a paper transaction to make him eligible for the AHL postseason. Despite low scoring output, Thompson has been an effective defenseman for the Sharks this season, averaging a 92.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength, the best on the team among defensemen with more than 20 games played.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they’ve reassigned forward Joseph Labate to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. As one of the most feel-good stories of the 2024-25 campaign, Labate took the ice in the NHL for the first time in eight years this season. The 31-year-old winger had spent the last several years bouncing around on AHL contracts with a one-year pitstop in the KHL. He scored six goals and 13 points in 33 games with AHL Cleveland before being elevated to an NHL contract with the Blue Jackets.
• After announcing that defenseman Colton Parayko would miss the next six weeks due to a knee injury, the St. Louis Blues were expected to make a recall on defense. The team announced that recall this morning, sharing that they’ve brought up Matthew Kessel from their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Phoenix, AZ native has already spent time as a seventh defenseman for the Blues this season, tallying three assists in 27 games while averaging 13:05 of ice time per game.
• Strictly as a paper move, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Chicago Blackhawks have reassigned forward Colton Dach and defenseman Ethan Del Mastro to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Both players will remain in the Blackhawks’ lineup for the rest of the season before they are returned to AHL Rockford at the end of the season, should they qualify for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs. Dach has scored two goals and six points in 18 games with Chicago, while Del Mastro has registered two goals and three points in 12 contests.
• As expected, the Detroit Red Wings have placed forward Carter Mazur on injured reserve one day after his debut. Mazur suffered a dislocated elbow approximately one minute into his NHL career, and he’s likely done for the regular season. In a corresponding transaction, the Red Wings have recalled forward Dominik Shine from their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Shine is only a couple of weeks removed from signing the first NHL contract of his career, tallying one assist in four games for Detroit in late January.
• The Montreal Canadiens announced they’ve reassigned forward Owen Beck and goaltender Jakub Dobes to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, for eligibility in the Calder Cup playoffs. Beck has been an extremely effective forward for the Rocket this year, scoring 13 goals and 32 points in 47 games. Meanwhile, Dobes has made a name for himself in Montreal, managing a 6-2-1 record in 10 games with a .909 SV% and 2.63 GAA, including one shutout.
• The Los Angeles Kings aren’t entirely sold on Brandt Clarke’s future with the team. A report from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN this morning indicated the Kings were shopping Clarke on the trade market, and they’ve now reassigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, along with Samuel Helenius (Twitter Link). Both players should be back on the NHL roster tomorrow, with the move signifying they’ll be eligible for the AHL postseason. Still, it’s a notable development as it indicates Los Angeles may want Clarke in the AHL for the Reign’s postseason run rather than their own.
• According to a team announcement, the Carolina Hurricanes have reassigned defenseman Riley Stillman to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Stillman filled in for Dmitry Orlov in last night’s contest but didn’t make it through the full game due to getting his face cut by a skate. He finished last night’s contest against the Boston Bruins with zero points after skating in 18 seconds of the game’s action.
• In addition to Schuldt and Thompson, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News shares that the Sharks have reassigned defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin and forward Collin Graf to AHL San Jose. They’re both expected back on the Sharks’ roster later today or tomorrow, but the roster move will make them eligible for the AHL postseason. Mukhamadullin and Graf have both spent much of the year with the Barracuda. In short order, Pashelka reports the Sharks have recalled both players back to the NHL roster.
• Due to another injury to netminder John Gibson on Wednesday, the Anaheim Ducks were expected to recall another goaltender. Anaheim announced they’ve recalled Ville Husso from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, to fill the void left by Gibson. It’s Husso’s first call-up with the Ducks since being acquired from the Red Wings on February 24th. He posted a 1-5-2 record in nine games in Detroit this season with a .866 SV% and 3.69 GAA.
• For the fifth time this year, the New York Rangers have assigned defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Ruhwedel has primarily played for AHL Hartford this season in his first extended stay in the AHL since 2016-17. The veteran defenseman has recorded three goals and 12 points in 36 contests with a +8 rating.
• After a flurry of trade activity over the last couple of days, the Seattle Kraken are making a small roster move for the benefit of their AHL roster. The Kraken announced they’ve reassigned forwards Jacob Melanson and Ben Meyers to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, and have recalled John Hayden in a corresponding transaction. The former debuted in the NHL last night, notching four hits and one takeaway in 9:53 of ice time.
• In a major boost to their playoff chances, the AHL’s Providence Bruins will have several players available for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs. Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports the Boston Bruins have papered down Marat Khusnutdinov, Vinni Lettieri, Patrick Brown, Ian Mitchell, Riley Tufte, and Matthew Poitras to the AHL for their postseason eligibility. All six players are expected back on the Bruins roster by this evening or tomorrow morning.
• As expected, the Buffalo Sabres have papered down forward Jiří Kulich to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Kulich has been an impressive player for AHL Rochester over the last few seasons and should continue to be in the postseason. He’s scored 53 goals and 94 points in 123 games on the Americans’ roster.  Later in the day, the Americans announced that forwards Isak Rosen and Joshua Dunne were recalled on an emergency basis so they won’t count toward the post-deadline limit.
• According to a team announcement, the Edmonton Oilers have returned defenseman Cam Dineen to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, from his emergency recall. Unlike many of the roster moves on today’s list, Dineen has a solid chance of playing the remainder of the year with AHL Bakersfield. The 26-year-old defenseman has scored five goals and 29 points in 45 games for the Condors this season while only registering one game with the Oilers.
• In addition to recalling Emil Andrae, the Philadelphia Flyers are also making two more player recalls to their NHL roster. The team announced they’ve recalled forwards Olle Lycksell and Rodrigo Abols to the NHL roster for Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken. Abols has scored one goal and one assist in nine games for the Flyers this season, while Lycksell has gone scoreless in six contests.
• The Vancouver Canucks have joined in on the mix of teams ensuring their top prospects are eligible for the AHL playoffs. They have assigned defenseman Victor Mancini, forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and goaltender Arturs Silovs to the AHL. Lekkerimaki has three points in 12 NHL games this season, while Mancini didn’t manage any scoring in his sole appearance with the Canucks so far. Silovs has operated as the team’s third-string goalie and has a 1-6-1 record and .858 save percentage on the year.  All three players were subsequently recalled soon after the deadline.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Jack St. Ivany from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis.  The 25-year-old has played in 19 games with Pittsburgh this season, recording one assist while averaging 16:22 of playing time per game.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Anaheim Ducks

F Carson Meyer

Buffalo Sabres

F Joshua Dunne
F Mason Jobst
F Brett Murray
D Colton Poolman
D Jack Rathbone
G Felix Sandström

Calgary Flames

D Ilya Solovyov

Edmonton Oilers

G Collin Delia
D Ben Gleason
D Philip Kemp
F Lane Pederson

Los Angeles Kings

D Jacob Moverare

Minnesota Wild

F Reese Johnson

New York Rangers

F Anton Blidh
G Louis Domingue
D Casey Fitzgerald
D Brandon Scanlin

Seattle Kraken

F Brandon Biro
F Max McCormick
F Ben Meyers
D Gustav Olofsson
F Mitchell Stephens
G Ales Stezka

Vancouver Canucks

F Phillip Di Giuseppe
G Jiří Patera
F Nathan Smith
D Christian Wolanin

Buffalo has also signed forward Joshua Dunne to a two-year contract, per Andy Strickland (Twitter link). Strickland adds that the deal will be one-way in the second year. They’ve also added goalie Felix Sandström on a two-way deal, per TSN’s Darren Dreger.

Heading into the offseason, the Sabres were looking to upgrade the team’s bottom-six and the signing of Lafferty does just that. Lafferty followed up a 2022-23 season split between the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs which saw him score 12 goals and 27 points in 70 games with 13 goals and 24 points in 79 games with the Vancouver Canucks this past season. On the defensive side of the puck, Lafferty has put up 92.9% and 91.3% on-ice save percentages in the last two years, respectively. The only criticism of Lafferty’s game may be his work in the dot as he only mustered 150 faceoff wins in 356 attempts for the Canucks last year.

Aside from Lafferty, Dunne and Sandstrom will likely start the year for the Sabres AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Dunne is coming off a disappointing regular season with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL as he scored two goals and seven points in 25 games. While finding consistency after an injury is always difficult, Dunne performed well for the Monsters in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs scoring seven goals and 11 points in 14 postseason contests.

Sandstrom represents a solid addition to organizational depth at the goaltender position. Although Buffalo will hope Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi will receive the majority of starts next season, Sandstrom has plenty of experience as a backup at the NHL level. Two years ago, Sandstrom spent the year as a backup for the Philadelphia Flyers as he posted a 3-12-3 record in 18 starts while earning a .880 save percentage and 3.72 goals against average.

The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with Columbus as an undrafted college free agent back in 2021 and has seen NHL action in two of his three professional seasons including a career-high eight appearances with the Blue Jackets in 2022-23.  However, he’s still looking for his first point at the top level.  He did, however, have a strong season with AHL Cleveland, finishing second on the Monsters in goals with 20 and fourth in points with 37.

Dunne would have been owed a qualifying offer of nearly $918K this summer with an AHL salary of $80K.  Instead, he has opted to take less than that in the NHL in exchange for the higher guaranteed salary.  With Columbus trending toward being a team that spends close to the salary cap again next season, the lower cap charge should also help his chances of a recall.  Dunne will once again be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights next summer.

April 11: The Columbus Blue Jackets, with three games remaining in the regular season, have added five players to their roster from the minor leagues. Jake Christiansen, David Jiricek, Joshua Dunne, Trey Fix-Wolansky, and Carson Meyer have all been recalled under emergency conditions, giving them a wave of reinforcements ahead of tonight’s match.

Columbus is in Philadelphia tonight to take on the Flyers, in a game that matters only for draft lottery seeding. The Blue Jackets are tied for last in the league with the Chicago Blackhawks, meaning if they want the best odds, they’ll have to lose over the next few days.

The quintet of players are all relatively young, though Jiricek is the crown jewel. The 19-year-old appears as though he’ll push for a regular spot in the Columbus lineup as soon as next season after transitioning to North American professional hockey with ease. In 52 games with the Cleveland Monsters, the 2022 sixth-overall pick scored 38 points.

Because he has only suited up three times with the Blue Jackets so far, his contract is guaranteed to slide forward to next season, giving the team more control. Jiricek will not reach restricted free agency until 2026.

As noted by The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, the transaction gives the Monsters some serious reinforcements ahead of the team’s biggest game of the season tonight against the Laval Rocket, their adversary for the final playoff spot in the AHL’s North Division.

Bjork, 25, most recently joined the Blue Jackets on emergency recall from Cleveland on April 1 but has split his time between leagues almost evenly during his first season of pro hockey in North America. He has played 32 games with the Blue Jackets, recording three goals and eight assists for 11 points and 42 penalty minutes. The Umea, Sweden-born Bjork has also played 40 games with the Monsters this season, posting six goals, seven assists, and 13 points with 18 penalty minutes.

Dunne has recorded eight penalty minutes and ten shots on goal in 13 career games with the Blue Jackets since making his NHL debut in 2020-21, but the undrafted free agent signing out of Clarkson University is still looking for his first NHL point. The 24-year-old is enjoying his first full, healthy season with the Monsters, sitting second on the team with 20 goals and 36 points in 59 games.

Luoto, 25, has collected a single goal in 20 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets since making his NHL debut in 2019-20. He has skated in four games with Columbus in 2022-23, recording his first career goal on April 6 after spending last season with Tappara in Finland’s top men’s league. The Tampere-born Finn has also played in 72 games with the Monsters and Manitoba Moose over two AHL stints from 2019-23, adding 16 goals, 17 assists, 33 points, and 32 penalty minutes.

Sweezey made his NHL debut on February 26 and has played seven games with Columbus this season, registering one assist and nine penalty minutes. It’s been an unexpected rise from the minors for the 27-year-old, who got his first taste of NHL hockey due to injuries decimating the Columbus blue line. In 59 games between the Blue Jackets and Monsters this year, he’s yet to record a goal.

With a lack of healthy players available on the Columbus roster to replace the players mentioned above in the lineup, expect Columbus to recall some or all of Bjork, Sweezey, Dunne, and Luoto to the roster tomorrow ahead of their game against the New York Rangers.

The move is on an emergency basis, and is meant to reward someone who Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said, per team reporter Jeff Svoboda, deserves a look in NHL games during what remains of this 2022-23 season.

Dunne, 24, is a rangy six-foot-four center who signed with Columbus two seasons ago as an undrafted college free agent. Dunne played three seasons at Clarkson University, captaining the squad in his final season there.

Dunne was an impact player for the program, tallying 55 points in 78 games. His solid freshman performance (14 goals, 23 points in 32 games) helped Clarkson win the ECAC championship in 2018-19, and the following season he was named to the ECAC’s Third All-Star team and named the conference’s best defensive forward.

As a professional, Dunne quickly acclimated himself to the AHL game by scoring eight goals and 10 points in his first 15 games in the league.

Last season was more of a struggle as he posted just 11 points in 29 games, but this season he has taken some positive strides.

Dunne has been a consistent force down the middle of Cleveland’s lineup this season, providing steady production as the team faced the fallout of their parent club’s significant injury losses.

He has tallied 20 goals and 36 points in 59 games this season, and that career-high production has earned Dunne this call-up. With Columbus in the NHL’s basement, the remaining games of this season don’t serve any major purpose from a wins-and-losses perspective.

Instead, these games can hold the most value from an evaluation perspective, giving their front office the chance to see what they have in certain players against NHL competition. With this recall, the organization will get a chance to look at Dunne, and Dunne will get the opportunity to impress just as he did in college and as he has this year in the AHL.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The 24-year-old was recalled back on Monday as the injury replacement for Boone Jenner after he was placed on IR following thumb surgery.  Dunne played in three games with Columbus while on recall, logging a little under six minutes a night without recording a point while averaging a hit per contest.  It was the second NHL stint of his career after getting into six games late in the 2020-21 campaign.

He has fared better in the minors, however, with six goals and five assists in 24 games so far with the Monsters, numbers that are very similar to the five goals and six helpers he had in 29 contests with them last season.  The Blue Jackets are off until Tuesday so the move, which will likely be reversed prior to that game against Buffalo, will save them a bit of money although, with the team well into LTIR, it won’t make any sort of difference on their cap picture.

The 23-year-old signed with Columbus as an undrafted college free agent out of Clarkson back in 2021, making his NHL debut soon after.  Dunne got into six NHL games that season with the Blue Jackets, recording seven shots on goal while averaging just over ten minutes a night of ice time.  However, aside from a brief stint on the taxi squad in late December, Dunne didn’t see any time with Columbus this past season.  Instead, he got into 29 games with AHL Cleveland, picking up six goals and five assists.

Dunne has one year of waiver exemption remaining so it’s all but certain he’ll return to the Monsters next season with the hopes of a bigger role and a chance to prove himself to be worthy of a recall.  GM Jarmo Kekalainen still has plenty of pending restricted free agents to deal with this summer as eight remain, highlighted by winger Patrik Laine and defenseman Adam Boqvist.