Taxi Squad

It’s finally a day without any postponements in the NHL. Eleven games are on the schedule, including several Canadian teams finally getting back on the ice. Many eyes will be on Boston where Tuukka Rask makes his return to the net, while in Carolina Jack LaFontaine will be dressing for the first time. As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling.

Atlantic Division

• The Florida Panthers will need to recall an extra goaltender, as Jonas Johansson has been placed in the COVID protocol. Spencer Knight, the obvious choice, is also already in the protocol, leaving just Christopher Gibson as a potential recall unless Knight is able to test out in time.
• The Ottawa Senators have recalled Jacob Bernard-Docker and Scott Sabourin from the taxi squad. The 21-year-old Bernard-Docker will play in his ninth career game this evening and is still looking for his first NHL goal.
• The Buffalo Sabres have activated Kyle Okposo and Alex Tuch from the COVID protocol, meaning Brett Murray’s time on the active roster is over. The young forward has been returned to the taxi squad.

Metropolitan Division

• The Carolina Hurricanes have officially recalled Jack LaFontaine to the active roster, sending Alex Lyon back to the Chicago Wolves. The 24-year-old LaFontaine recently abandoned his final college season to sign a one-year entry-level contract with the Hurricanes.
• The Philadelphia Flyers have added Morgan Frost and Max Willman from the taxi squad, while loaning Connor Bunnaman and Felix Sandstrom back to the AHL. Frost, the 27th overall pick in 2017, has six points in 16 games this season for the Flyers.

Central Division

• The Colorado Avalanche have added Mikhail Maltsev back to the taxi squad, after playing a pair of games against the Tucson Roadrunners a few days ago. Maltsev has 18 points in 25 games for the Colorado Eagles this season.
• Riley Damiani is involved in another transaction, this time coming up from the Texas Stars to the Dallas Stars taxi squad. He’s been moved up or down in near-daily transactions over the last while, as the Stars look to maximize cap space while still having enough extra bodies.
• The Nashville Predators recalled forwards Matt Luff and Cole Smith to the active roster from the taxi squad, while also calling up forward Cody Glass from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals to the taxi squad. Luff and Smith should both draw into the lineup tonight against Buffalo.

Pacific Division

• The Vancouver Canucks have sent Phil Di Giuseppe back to the AHL, where he’ll join the Abbotsford Canucks once again. The 28-year-old has 16 points in 19 games for Abbotsford so far.
• Christian Wolanin has been activated from the COVID protocol and sent to the minor leagues by the Los Angeles Kings. Wolanin will be able to get back in game shape in the minor leagues before making a return, given he hasn’t played in nearly two weeks. Later in the day the team recalled Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Jacob Moverare, and Samuel Fagemo to the active roster.
• After Mike Smith was ruled out earlier today, the Edmonton Oilers have recalled Stuart Skinner to the taxi squad. The young netminder will likely move to the active roster in the coming days.
• The Anaheim Ducks have activated Sam Carrick from the COVID protocol, but his place will be taken by Simon Benoit who goes into it today. The team has also recalled Brendan Guhle from the AHL while sending Lukas Dostal from the taxi squad to the AHL.

This page will be updated throughout the day

After a busy Saturday slate, it’s a quiet day across the NHL. Just two games are on the schedule, though the results could be impactful nonetheless. Two teams currently in playoff position and two teams just outside the postseason picture square off as the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars meet this afternoon in a Central Division clash and the Anaheim Ducks host the Detroit Red Wings later tonight. For the other 28 teams, today will be used to plan for the week ahead, which could produce a busy day for roster moves even without much action on the ice. Keep up with these transactions here:

Atlantic Division

• While many of the Montreal Canadiens’ COVID Protocol placements were back on the ice for practice today, several more remain out leaving the club shorthanded for a while longer. As a result, forward Jean-Sebastien Dea has been recalled from the AHL’s Laval Rocket, the Habs announced. The Laval native has eight goals in 24 AHL games so far this season, but has not yet had an opportunity to make his mark in Montreal. Later on, the team announced that Michael McNiven has gone to Laval, while Cayden Primeau will be assigned to the taxi squad.
• The Florida Panthers have added Chase Priskie and Matt Kiersted to the taxi squad, two depth defenders that have filled in when necessary this season. Priskie, 25, has played his first two NHL games, while the 23-year-old Kiersted has suited up in five.

Metropolitan Division

• The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned goaltender Jean-Francois Berube to the taxi squad. Berube had been up with the NHL group on an emergency recall with Elvis Merzlikins dealing with a minor lower-body ailment, but will now resume his No. 3 role. While the veteran keeper is seemingly on an NHL depth chart every year, Berube has in fact not played in an NHL game since 2017-18.
• Veteran defenseman Colin White and rookie forward Nolan Foote are on their way to the taxi squad in New Jersey. The Devils announced that the duo has been assigned to their reserve group. The pair have only played in nine combined games this season, but could have more opportunities while on the taxi squad.

Central Division

• The Winnipeg Jets were busy this morning, announcing the movement of six talented young players. Forwards Cole Perfetti, Kristian Reichel, and C.J. Suess have been reassigned from the NHL roster to the taxi squad. In a corresponding reshuffling, goaltender Mikhail Berdin and defensemen Ville Heinola and Dylan Samberg have been reassigned from the taxi squad to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
• The Dallas Stars have recalled Riley Damiani from the taxi squad and will have him in the lineup this afternoon against the St. Louis Blues. Damiani, 21, scored in his NHL debut earlier this season and has 18 points in 23 games for the Texas Stars this year.
• The Nashville Predators have reassigned Matt Luff to the taxi squad once again while moving Matt Tennyson and Tomas Vomacka to the AHL. Luff continues to be bounced up and down between the taxi squad and active roster on a near-daily basis.

Pacific Division

• Justin Bailey has lost his spot on the Vancouver Canucks’ taxi squad, at least for now. The team announced that the forward has been reassigned to AHL Abbotsford, where he has 13 points in 18 games this season. However, it’s Bailey’s zero points in ten NHL games that has him back in the minors.
• The Los Angeles Kings have completed their usual daily transactions, loaning Martin Frk to the taxi squad, activating Alex Turcotte from the COVID protocol, and Austin Wagner was loaned to the AHL.
• The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Brayden Tracey from San Diego of the AHL while removing Ryan Getzlaf from COVID protocol.  To make room for them on the roster, Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Jacob Perreault were assigned to the taxi squad.  Tracey, a 2019 first-round pick, will make his NHL debut tonight.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Just two games on the schedule this evening as the league continues to miss matches due to COVID and attendance restrictions. Still, both should be pretty great matchups as four current playoff teams do battle. Elias Lindholm will lead the Calgary Flames against his old club in Carolina, while the Washington Capitals will avoid facing Vladimir Tarasenko when they travel to St. Louis. As those clubs and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling.

Atlantic Division

• The Boston Bruins have recalled Troy Grosenick and Steven Fogarty from Providence to the taxi squad, as they prepare to go on the road for the next two games. Boston will play in Tampa Bay tomorrow and Washington on Monday.
• The Ottawa Senators have assigned Clark Bishop to the taxi squad and Logan Shaw to the AHL, as several players return from the COVID protocol. Thomas Chabot, Dillon Heatherington, Zach Sanford, and Chris Tierney all joined the club at practice this morning.

Metropolitan Division

• The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Scott Harrington back to the minor leagues, where he will join the Cleveland Monsters. Harington, who hadn’t seen the AHL since the 2016-17 season, has played three games for Cleveland this year. The team has also assigned Jake Christiansen to the Monsters.
• The New Jersey Devils have assigned Alexander Holtz and Kevin Bahl to the AHL, while recalling A.J. Greer and Colton White to the taxi squad. Holtz, one of the team’s top prospects, has 10 points in 11 games for Utica this season.
• The Washington Capitals have reassigned Michal Kempny to the taxi squad, while adding Dennis Cholowski and Martin Fehervary to the active roster. T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom, despite practicing with the team, have been moved to injured reserve and will not travel to St. Louis as they work back from a non-COVID illness. Later in the day, the team recalled Michael Sgarbossa and Zachary Fucale from the taxi squad.
• The New York Rangers have recalled Jonny Brodzinski and Tim Gettinger from the taxi squad, moving Dryden Hunt to injured reserve. Zac Jones has also been moved back to the taxi squad as the Rangers needed a way to add some forward depth while Julien Gauthier deals with the COVID protocol.

Central Division

• Following the injury to Kirill Kaprizov, the Minnesota Wild have recalled Kyle Rau to the taxi squad. Kaprizov is expected to miss at least one game, with further evaluation still ongoing to determine how long he’ll be out of the lineup.
• The Nashville Predators have reassigned Matt Luff to the taxi squad once again, his fourth transaction in the last four days. The 24-year-old forward played and scored last night for the Predators, despite seeing just seven minutes of ice time.
• The Dallas Stars have assigned Thomas Harley to the Texas Stars, giving the 20-year-old defenseman a chance to play at the minor league level once again. Harley has played in eight games for Dallas but 17 for Texas this season.

Pacific Division

• The Los Angeles Kings have assigned Samuel Fagemo to the taxi squad, after he failed to dress for last night’s game. Fagemo has yet to make his NHL debut since being drafted 50th overall in 2019.
• Forward Adam Ruzicka is back on Calgary’s active roster, coming up from the taxi squad. Ruzicka scored his first NHL goal earlier this season.

This page will be updated throughout the day.