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Taxi Squad

Injury Notes: Price, Point, Kuemper

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After playing only five games this season, Carey Price is preparing to get back on the ice with the Montreal Canadiens, as he said today. However, his status is still unknown. The 34-year-old had a Platelet-Rich Plasma injection in his knee and is waiting for it to take hold before he gets back to training and preparing. The netminder said that “I wish I felt better about the situation, but I don’t.”

Price had knee surgery in the 2021 offseason and the injury got reaggravated this season after he returned from personal leave to participate in the NHLPA Player Assistance program. In April, he had a meeting with his surgeon in Manhattan and is now under treatment. Being without their number one goaltender for the next season is a reason for concern for the Montreal Canadiens. If he doesn’t recover in time, they will have to make a plan and go after a goaltender this offseason with Price on LTIR.

  • Tampa Bay fans can celebrate, albeit hesitantly. Forward Brayden Point was doing drills in practice for the first time since his injury in Game 7 in Toronto, per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. He participated for 55 minutes, doing drills with the taxi squad. While this is not an indicator that he could be back for Game 3, it’s still good news for the team. It can be a needed boost for the current Stanley Cup champions in the series against the Rangers if he’s able to get back.
  • Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater reports that Darcy Kuemper’s injury doesn’t seem too serious, but that backup netminder Pavel Francouz will likely start Game 3 in any event. Francouz is coming off a 24-save shutout in Game 2 that sparked the Avs to a 2-0 series lead.

AHL Shuffle: 02/03/22

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The All-Star break is upon us, meaning that taxi squads are now a thing of the past. The teams that played last night will dissolve it today, hopefully never to be seen again. Despite that, we’ll still be keeping track of all the shuffling between the NHL and AHL as always, though after today there will be a few days where no moves happen while players take a much-needed rest and get ready for what is going to be a hectic second half.

Atlantic Division

  • The Detroit Red Wings have sent Joe Veleno back to the AHL, though again that is likely only a paper transaction through the break. The young forward has been a regular in the lineup recently and scored his fourth goal of the season against the Los Angeles Kings last night.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Washington Capitals have dissolved the taxi squad, meaning Lucas Johansen and Pheonix Copley have been returned to the Hershey Bears. There will likely be recalls in a few days, but for now, both of those two can join the AHL squad and keep playing.

Central Division

  • The Minnesota Wild have reassigned Kevin Czuczman and Zane McIntyre to the Iowa Wild, where they’ll wait for their next opportunity at the NHL level. McIntyre, 29, has only ever played eight games in the NHL and all of them came during the 2016-17 season. He does have a .914 save percentage with Iowa though, in his first season with the organization.

Pacific Division

  • The Seattle Kraken have returned Connor Carrick, Cale Fleury, and Kole Lind to the Charlotte Checkers. Fleury, 23, has played nearly the entire season in the minor leagues, racking up 17 points in 36 games.
  • The Calgary Flames have assigned Byron Froese and Connor Mackey to the AHL, as expected. The team comes into the break on a three-game winning streak that has them poised for a second-half run, which kicks off with a seven-game homestand starting next week.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have sent Colton Sceviour, Stuart Skinner, William Lagesson, and Slater Koekkoek down, though some of those may end up back with the big team in the coming months. Lagesson especially has been an interesting find, even if he’s playing just a handful of minutes whenever he’s in the lineup.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/02/22

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What better time to dissolve the taxi squads once and for all than Groundhog Day. The daily cycle of moving players in and out of the taxi squad should come to an end after today, provided that history doesn’t repeat at some point in the future. After the five games on the schedule tonight, taxi squads will be no more. For many teams–those who don’t have a game today–that time has already arrived and several player transactions were needed. As always, we’ll keep track of all the shuffling right here.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

Central Division

  • The Winnipeg Jets have assigned Mikhail Berdin, Declan Chisholm, Leon Gawanke, Ville Heinola, Johnathan Kovacevic, Mikey Eyessimont, and Kristian Reichel to the Manitoba Moose, where they can continue to play over the All-Star break. Heinola especially seems likely to have a role at some point with Winnipeg later this season, but for now, he’s headed back to the AHL.
  • The Dallas Stars have returned Riley Damiani and Anton Khudobin to the minor leagues after they finished their pre-All-Star schedule last night. The Stars are still within striking distance in the Central but have to deal with four excellent teams sitting ahead of them.
  • As expected, the Minnesota Wild have recalled Matt Boldy and Connor Dewar from the taxi squad ahead of tonight’s game. Boldy in particular is expected to stay with the Wild the rest of the season, though his waiver-exempt status could be taken advantage of by bouncing him up and down between games.

Pacific Division

  • The Seattle Kraken have assigned Joey Daccord back to the Charlotte Checkers, where he’s having a strong season in the AHL. The 25-year-old netminder has a .925 save percentage in 14 minor league appearances. Later on, they sent Max McCormick back to the AHL as well.
  • Ahead of their game tonight, the Los Angeles Kings have recalled Austin Strand and Christian Wolanin from the taxi squad, while loaning Rasmus Kupari to the AHL. Kupari, 21, has just nine points in 37 games for the Kings this season.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have reassigned Kaedan Korczak, Daniil Miromanov, Logan Thompson, and Brayden Pachal to the AHL, now that they are on break and no longer have a taxi squad.
  • The San Jose Sharks, who don’t play again until February 14, have sent Ryan Merkley, Adam Raska, Zachary Sawchenko, and Jasper Weatherby to the AHL. The San Jose Barracuda play tonight, tomorrow and next Friday, all games which this group could jump into while the Sharks are on break.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have reassigned Lukas Dostal, Jacob Larsson, Greg Pateryn, Vinni Lettieri, and Danny O’Regan to the AHL after dissolving their taxi squad. Dostal, the team’s prized goaltending prospect, has a .929 save percentage through his first three NHL appearances, allowing just six goals on 84 shots.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/01/22

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It’s a new month for the NHL, and with that comes a full slate of games. Eleven different matches are scheduled for this evening, including one of the mismatches of the year. The Colorado Avalanche, owners of the best points percentage in the league (.779) and one of two teams averaging more than four goals a game, welcome in the Arizona Coyotes, owners of the second-worst points percentage in the league (.279) and the lowest goals for average (2.19). Can the Coyotes pull off an all-time upset? As they and other teams prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad moves.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Juuso Riikola to the taxi squad, as Brian Dumoulin missed practice again today. Riikola has played in just five games for Pittsburgh this season but has been outstanding for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, registering 12 points in 17 games in the AHL. A little later on, the team recalled Michael Chaput from the taxi squad to the active roster.
  • The New York Rangers have recalled Morgan Barron to the active roster, while sending Tim Gettinger, Lauri Pajuniemi, Tarmo Reunanen, and Jarred Tinordi to the AHL. After tonight’s game against Florida, the Rangers don’t have another scheduled match until February 15.
  • The Washington Capitals have reassigned Brett Leason to the taxi squad, making room for Nick Jensen to be activated from injured reserve. With the taxi squads dissolving this week, Leason will have to soon be sent to the minor leagues if he’s not on the active roster.

Central Division

  • The Dallas Stars have recalled Riley Damiani and Anton Khudobin from the AHL, giving them an extra netminder for tonight’s game against the Calgary Flames. Remember, after a team’s last game before the All-Star break the taxi squad will dissolve, meaning these recalls may not necessarily be to play immediately.
  • The Minnesota Wild have recalled Zane McIntyre from the AHL to the taxi squad, likely joining the team on the road in Chicago for their last game before the break. The Wild sent Andrew Hammond, their third goaltender, back to the AHL to play yesterday.

Pacific Division

  • The Seattle Kraken have recalled Max McCormick, Kole Lind, and Connor Carrick to the taxi squad, while Will Borgen has been put in the COVID protocol. Borgen will miss the last two games before the All-Star break, just as he was getting a rhythm in the Seattle lineup.
  • Ahead of puck drop tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, the Vegas Golden Knights recalled a trio of defensemen in Kaedan Korczak, Daniil Miromanov, and Brayden Pachal from the Henderson Silver Knights. Both Korczak (NHL debut) and Miromanov are expected to enter the lineup with Alec Martinez and Dylan Coghlan in protocol and Nicolas Hague and Zach Whitecloud out with undisclosed injuries.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/31/22

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Say goodbye to January with five games on the NHL schedule, including the first of a home-and-home between the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, the Devils will be without head coach Lindy Ruff for both games after his father’s passing a few days ago. Ruff is on leave from the organization, and assistant coach Alain Nasreddine will run the bench in his absence.

As those teams and others prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling:

Atlantic Division

  • The Detroit Red Wings have sent Calvin Pickard and Luke Witkowski to the AHL after the former made two appearances in recent days. Pickard, 29, stopped 36 of 38 shots he faced in an improbable win against the Pittsburgh Penguins a few days ago.
  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Mark Kastelic and Lassi Thomson from the taxi squad ahead of their game tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. Erik Brannstrom has also been cleared from the COVID protocol and could be available.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Washington Capitals have recalled Lucas Johansen from the AHL to the taxi squad, suggesting the young defenseman could be close to his second game of NHL action. Selected in the first round in 2016, Johansen has just one game under his belt with the Capitals, coming exactly a month ago.

Central Division

  • The Minnesota Wild have reassigned Andrew Hammond and Kyle Rau to the Iowa Wild. After its game on Wednesday, the taxi squad will be dissolved, meaning Hammond would have needed to go back anyway. Later in the day, they assigned Matt Boldy and Connor Dewar to the taxi squad. Boldy at least will be recalled again before the Wednesday game.

Pacific Division

  • The Los Angeles Kings have loaned Austin Strand to the taxi squad while moving Christian Wolanin up to it from the AHL. The team has one game remaining before the All-Star break, in Detroit on Wednesday night.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Matt Roy Enters Protocol; Mikey Anderson Placed On IR

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The Los Angeles Kings have lost two defensemen for the next little while, as Matt Roy and Mikey Anderson will both miss today’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Roy has been placed in COVID protocol, while Anderson hits injured reserve after suffering an upper-body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday. The team has recalled Jacob Moverare from the taxi squad in a corresponding move.

Roy, 26, has been asked to play a bigger role in Los Angeles this season, with Sean Walker missing the season and Drew Doughty out for a considerable stretch early on. The seventh-round pick is averaging more than 21 minutes a night and has spent more time short-handed than anyone else on the Kings roster. Selected 194th overall in 2015, Roy made his NHL debut during the 2018-19 season and has continued to develop into a valuable option, skating mostly with Olli Maatta or Alexander Edler.

Anderson, meanwhile, is another mid-round pick that has been developed into a full-time contributor. Selected 103rd overall in 2017, he quickly made his way to the NHL and has played in 44 games for the Kings this season. Until leaving early yesterday, he was also averaging more than 20 minutes a night on the year and trails only Roy and Anze Kopitar in terms of total short-handed ice time.

By their profiles, you can see that losing both Roy and Anderson at the same time will have some drastic effects on the Kings’ back end. While they aren’t as important as someone like Doughty, they are key parts of a group that is performing better than many expected. The depth in Los Angeles will be tested, though luckily after today they have just one more game before the All-Star break.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/30/22

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There are just a few days left before the All-Star break, but the NHL is still furiously scheduling to try and keep things on track. Despite two football matches that will likely dominate the ratings in North America, seven hockey games are on the docket. That includes a Los Angeles Kings-Pittsburgh Penguins match this afternoon, where newly-extended Jeff Carter will take on his former team once again. As they and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

Central Division

  • With Marcus Foligno unavailable for tonight’s game versus the Islanders, the Minnesota Wild recalled forward Kyle Rau from the taxi squad today. Rau will slot into the lineup as Foligno sits out with an upper-body injury.
  • Defenseman Cam Dineen is joining the big club again, heading up to the Arizona Coyotes taxi squad today from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. Dineen is in the midst of his best professional season, notching four assists in his first 14 NHL games and five points in six AHL games.

Pacific Division

  • The Vancouver Canucks have returned Spencer Martin to the AHL, after he gave them some very valuable minutes. With Thatcher Demko and Jaroslav Halak both hitting the COVID list at the same time, Martin stopped 113 of 118 shots in three appearances, continuing what has been an outstanding campaign for the 26-year-old netminder.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Buffalo Sabres Announce Numerous Roster Moves

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Everything is happening all at once in Buffalo. The team has been waiting to re-activate several injured players for more than a week now, yet at the same time they have been waiting all day for COVID-19 test results after multiple initial positives earlier. Just ahead of their game tonight against the Arizona Coyotes, the team has now announced it all in a flurry of moves that will re-shape the roster, at least for the time being.

Though less anticipated, the COVID Protocol absences are unfortunately the bigger part of the Sabres’ roster news. The team has placed defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and forwards Victor Olofsson and Rasmus Asplund in the protocol. Assistant coach Matt Ellis was also named as one of five additional members of Buffalo’s traveling party who will be sidelined due to COVID. These three players in particular are obviously a major loss for the Sabres. Dahlin, the 2018 No. 1 overall pick, has taken that next step in his development this season and has been Buffalo’s best player. He leads the team with 28 points and 23:51 average time on ice and ranks in the top five in goals, hits, blocked shots, and takeaways. No loss could impact the Sabres’ more. With that said, Olofsson and Asplund are also major absences. The former is having a down year, but still in the top five in scoring and plays a critical role on the power play. The latter has already surpassed his career marks in games played and points and is one of the better possession players on the team. For the Sabres’ sake, hopefully the trio are only out short-term as they play such meaningful roles and the club is already missing a laundry list of players due to injury.

That list has shrunk today though. With no options left in net following Michael Houser landing on COVID Protocol yesterday, Aaron Dell suspended and waived, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Malcolm Subban on injured reserve, the Sabres finally activated Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski just in time for their game. Anderson had been out since early November with an upper-body injury but has been working his way back in recent weeks, while Tokarski has been out since early December. Anderson was playing very well prior to his injury, especially for someone who was set to retire this past  off-season, so the Sabres will be hoping he can return to form. They also have regained the services of veteran forward Kyle Okposo, who’s having a resurgent season. Okposo has missed the past week, but is still fourth in scoring with 23 points in 37 games. The team can certainly use that offense with Olofsson and Asplund sidelined.

Additionally, Buffalo has also recalled defenseman Casey Fitzgerald from the taxi squad. Fitzgerald has played in four NHL games this year, with one point on the scoreboard, but has nine points in 27 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

Colton Sceviour Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Sceviour has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.  He was assigned to the taxi squad with Lagesson being brought back to the active roster.

Friday: The Edmonton Oilers had to clear a roster spot for Evander Kane, who is expected to play tomorrow night against the Montreal Canadiens, so Colton Sceviour is the odd man out. Sceviour has been placed on waivers today by the team, while William Lagesson was also assigned to the taxi squad.

Sceviour, 32, played just 7:57 last night against the Nashville Predators, receiving just 12 shifts and none in the final six minutes of the third period. His role on the team had diminished throughout the season, and he’s now available to others for the low cost of a waiver claim.

Signed to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a cap hit of $750K at the NHL level, he could potentially be a nice fourth-line addition for teams dealing with injury problems or inconsistency from their depth players, as Sceviour does have more than 500 games of experience. In 30 games this year for Edmonton, he has five points and was a key penalty killer for the club, getting almost 20% of his ice time short-handed.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/29/22

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Even with today’s game between the Kraken and Islanders being postponed, it’s still a busy day on the schedule with 20 teams in action so there should be plenty of roster movement throughout the league.  We’ll keep track of those moves here.

Atlantic Division

  • The Senators announced (Twitter links) that they have recalled defenseman Lassi Thomson and forward Mark Kastelic from the taxi squad. Thomson has played in 14 games with Ottawa this season, picking up four points while Kastelic – who will make his NHL debut today against Anaheim – has 11 points in 31 games with AHL Belleville.

Metropolitan Division

 

Central Division

  • The Jets announced (Twitter link) the recalls of defensemen Declan Chisholm, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Leon Gawanke from the taxi squad.  To make room for them on the roster, Nathan Beaulieu was placed on injured reserve.
  • The Coyotes assigned defenseman Cam Dineen from the taxi squad to AHL Tucson, per the AHL’s transactions log.  The 23-year-old cleared waivers last week but has only made one minor league appearance since then so he’ll get another shot at getting into a game when they play Bakersfield tonight.
  • The Blackhawks have sent defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk to Rockford of the AHL, notes Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link).  The 24-year-old was up with Chicago for the past week but didn’t play and has made just four NHL appearances this season.
  • After a brief recall, veteran defenseman Matt Tennyson will head back to the minors. Nashville has announced that Tennyson has been returned to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, where he has played 30 of his 34 games this season.

Pacific Division

  • The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve brought up defenseman Noah Juulsen to the taxi squad from AHL Abbotsford. The 24-year-old has suited up twice for Vancouver this season but has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, collecting 10 points in 25 games.
  • The Kings have made their usual roster shuffle, announcing (Twitter link) the recall of defenseman Austin Strand from the taxi squad while sending blueliner Jacob Moverare back to the taxi squad.  Both players have been shuffled back and forth frequently since the taxi squads were re-established, a trend that should continue for a few more days until after the All-Star break.

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