Bruins Activate Casey Mittelstadt, Recall Georgii Merkulov
Nov. 29th: There are conflicting reports regarding Callahan’s reassignment. According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, Callahan is on the ice for the team’s optional skate this morning before their matchup against Detroit. Additionally, the AHL Transactions page hasn’t registered Callahan’s reassignment at the time of writing. However, if Callahan hasn’t been returned to Providence, the Bruins would have one extra player on their active roster. Players reassigned from the NHL to the AHL must play in one contest before being eligible for recall, and the AHL Bruins play against the Belleville Senators this evening.
Nov. 28th: The Bruins announced four roster moves this morning, including the news that center Casey Mittelstadt has been activated from injured reserve and will play in today’s matinee against the Rangers. With news from head coach Marco Sturm today that top-six forwards David Pastrňák and Pavel Zacha sustained minor injuries in Wednesday’s win over the Islanders and are out day-to-day (via Scott McLaughlin of WEEI), Boston also recalled forward Georgii Merkulov from AHL Providence. The Bruins opened two roster spots by placing winger Matěj Blümel on long-term injured reserve and reassigning defenseman Michael Callahan to Providence.
Mittelstadt’s appearance today is his first after a nine-game absence. He’s been listed as week-to-week since sustaining a lower-body injury on Nov. 6.
Getting one top-six forward back is a key bit for a team that just lost two of its three top scorers, particularly if Pastrňák and Zacha will miss any significant length of time. Mittelstadt is in his first full season with the B’s after being acquired for Charlie Coyle from the Avalanche at last year’s deadline. He hasn’t been offensively overpowering since his arrival. He’s posted an 8-7–15 scoring line with a -17 rating in 33 appearances, including nine points in 15 games this year. That’s below his career-average pace of 15 goals and 44 points per 82 games.
It’s a rushed return for Mittelstadt, who didn’t even take a full practice before re-entering the lineup today in the wake of Pastrňák and Zacha’s injuries. Before getting hurt, he had shifted to the wing on a line with Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson. That line had outscored opponents 8-4 at 5-on-5 and controlled 50.6% of shot attempts. He won’t have either of them to skate with today, though, as Arvidsson’s been on injured reserve since Nov. 17 and is out indefinitely. He’s skating on a unit with Marat Khusnutdinov and the hastily recalled Merkulov.
Merkulov, 25, has been one of Boston’s top minor-league producers for years but has never landed an extended NHL opportunity. An undrafted free agent signed out of Ohio State in 2022, he’s got just one assist in 10 NHL games to date despite getting a decently long leash, averaging 12:28 of ice time per game. The playmaking pivot has never registered under 50 points in an AHL season and is again on track to pass that plateau in 2025-26. Through 17 appearances for Providence, he’s rattled off six goals and eight assists for 14 points to sit third on the team in scoring. He now has a 76-117–193 scoring line in 218 career AHL games, putting him seventh in the league in scoring since his rookie year in 2022-23.
The Bruins had already said Blümel would miss significant time. The 25-year-old winger, who was also a relatively recent recall from Providence to compensate for the Bruins’ bevy of injuries to their forward group, left Wednesday’s game in the first period with a lower-body injury. An LTIR placement means Blümel is ineligible for the next 10 games and 24 days. The earliest he can return is Dec. 20 against the Canucks. Despite seeing first-line minutes with Pastrňák and Zacha, he’d gone without a point and had a -3 rating in four games since his call-up.
Callahan has served as an extra defenseman for the B’s for a good chunk of the season as Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy and Jordan Harris have each dealt with long-term absences. He’s a luxury they can’t afford to roster with Pastrňák and Zacha not expected to be out long enough to warrant an IR placement. Once the Bruins can return a forward to Providence, he’ll likely find himself back up in the NHL.
Calvin de Haan Signs Two-Year Extension With Rögle BK
Veteran defenseman Calvin de Haan isn’t returning to the NHL anytime soon. It has been announced that de Haan has signed a new two-year extension with the SHL’s Rögle BK.
It’s relatively quick work on a new contract. The 34-year-old rearguard is in his first professional season overseas after signing with Rögle in mid-September of this year.
There’s no questioning why de Haan would want to stay, either. The former 12th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Draft is enjoying one of the best seasons of his professional career, scoring three goals and eight points through his first 17 games.
That level of offensive production doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, though it’s good for top-25 among blueliners in the SHL. Additionally, he’s playing on a successful Rögle that is currently positioned in second place in the league.
Odds are, unless he finds an unexpected new level to his game, that this is the last contract de Haan will sign in his career. Before moving overseas, de Haan enjoyed 13 years in the NHL with the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, and New York Rangers.
Relegated to a depth role toward the end of his tenure in the NHL, de Haan’s best playing days were undoubtedly with the Islanders. From the 2013-14 season to 2017-18, de Haan scored 12 goals and 81 points in 303 games while averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time. He was no stranger to sacrificing his body either, amassing 687 blocked shots and 566 hits during that stretch.
Canadiens Sign Mike Matheson To Five-Year Extension
6:30 p.m.: More details about Matheson’s new extension have been revealed. The deal carries a $5MM signing bonus through the first two seasons, a $3.8MM bonus in year-three, and a $3.5MM bonus in the final two years per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Pagnotta adds that the deal also carries a full no-movement clause in the first three years, a 14-team no-trade list in the fourth year, and a five-team no-trade list in the final year.
10:00 a.m.: The Canadiens have announced Matheson’s deal. It’s worth $30MM for a cap hit of $6MM, keeping him signed through the 2030-31 campaign.
9:48 a.m.: Another day, another high-value pending unrestricted free agent is taken off the board. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Montreal Canadiens are nearing a five-year extension with defenseman Mike Matheson. Marco D’Amico of RG Media confirmed that negotiations were headed in that direction, with an announcement expected as soon as today.
The extension finalizes the last important item on the Canadiens’ internal to-do list for the rest of the season. In the last five months alone, general manager Kent Hughes has inked Noah Dobson, Lane Hutson, and now Matheson to long-term extensions. This comes a year after the team did the same for Kaiden Guhle.
Montreal had plenty of space to make it happen as well. Before Matheson’s upcoming extension, the Canadiens had approximately $26MM in cap space for the 2026-27 campaign. Even though it’s expected that the 11-year veteran will earn a healthy raise on his current $4.875MM salary, Montreal will still have ample room to add.
There’s little argument to claim he wasn’t worth retaining either. Toward the beginning of his career with the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins, Matheson had scored 49 goals and 138 points in 417 games with a -9 rating, averaging 20:15 of ice time in a top-four role. That production pales in comparison to his time in Quebec.
The 31-year-old blue liner has already surpassed his previous production in nearly half as many seasons. Though he earned more ice time in the offensive zone before the emergence of Hutson and the acquisition of Dobson, Matheson has scored 29 goals and 141 points in 232 games donning the bleu, blanc et rouge.
Still, there is some cause for concern. At even strength, Matheson hasn’t garnered above a 90% on-ice save percentage at even strength since his first year with the Canadiens, though some of that can be attributed to beginning 56.7% of his shifts in the defensive zone. Similarly, according to MoneyPuck, Matheson hasn’t produced a percentage above 50% on-ice goals share at any point during his time with Montreal.
As they’ve done this season by placing him alongside Dobson, Matheson will likely transition into a complementary piece rather than being expected to carry his defensive pairing. Comparatively, Dobson has only had one season in which he’s averaged less than 50% on-ice goals share.
Regardless, the Canadiens now have their top-four defensemen signed through the 2030-31 season, and that’s without considering the expected emergence of top prospect David Reinbacher. Now, with their last important internal negotiation out of the way, Hughes and the rest of Montreal’s front office can focus entirely on bringing a second-line center into the mix.
Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.
Senators Activate Brady Tkachuk
The Senators have activated Brady Tkachuk from injured reserve as expected, the team announced. He’ll suit up in this afternoon’s contest against the Blues. Ottawa needs to open a roster spot to activate him, which they’ve done by reassigning forward Stephen Halliday to AHL Belleville.
Tkachuk managed just three appearances this season before a check from Predators captain Roman Josi sent him into the boards. He sustained ligament damage in his right thumb in the collision that required surgery. He was initially expected to miss four weeks, but his return timeline was altered to six to seven weeks after the procedure was complete. That makes today’s return right on schedule.
The Senators’ captain is in year five of the seven-year, $57.56MM extension he signed in 2021 and recorded three assists and a +1 rating through his first three outings before going under the knife. His $8.205MM cap hit stands among the better value deals in the league. He’s coming off a down year offensively, limited to 29 goals and 55 points in 72 games, but he’s a consistent 30-goal threat and one of the league’s premier power forwards. He hasn’t recorded fewer than 200 hits in a season since his rookie year and is a consensus top-10 left-winger in the league, judging by his All-Star voting results over the past three seasons.
Tkachuk has also been remarkably durable since entering the league in 2018, particularly given his style of play. This 20-game absence was the lengthiest of his career by a wide margin and already stands as the most cumulative missed time he’s registered in a single season. To the Sens’ credit, they overcame his absence as well as anyone could have hoped for. Entering play Friday, they sit second in the Atlantic Division with a 12-7-4 record – that’s after starting the year in a 2-4-1 hole. They’ve been a middle-of-the-pack team offensively, but their team defense has come alive to overcompensate for the poor goaltending they’ve received from both Linus Ullmark and Leevi Merilainen. At 5-on-5, the Sens rank fourth in the league in shot attempts against per 60 (51.6), third in shots on goal against per 60 (23.5), and first in expected goals against per 60 (2.15).
While Ottawa sacrificing offense for defense will likely contribute to another underwhelming scoring line from Tkachuk the rest of the way, his return gives their top nine a much more complete look and allows names like Nick Cousins and David Perron, both of whom were overtaxed in top-line duties filling in for Tkachuk alongside Tim Stützle, to return to more comfortable bottom-six minutes.
As for Halliday, his first recall of the season ends after four games. The 23-year-old center was a fourth-round pick back in 2022 and made his NHL debut after a series of strong training camps and minor-league performances. He’d served as the Sens’ fourth-line pivot between Cousins and Hayden Hodgson during his call-up, recording an assist and a -1 rating in just 6:27 of ice time per game. He went 4-for-11 (36.4%) on faceoffs and recorded three hits.
Wild Place Marcus Foligno On Injured Reserve
The Wild placed winger Marcus Foligno on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 26, due to a lower-body injury, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. Fellow winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel was recalled from AHL Iowa yesterday in advance of the move. Minnesota still has an open roster spot and $3.43MM in cap space after the moves, per PuckPedia.
Foligno departed Wednesday’s overtime win over the Blackhawks late in the second period after getting tangled up with Chicago forward Oliver Moore (video via @BlackhawksFocus on X). The Wild haven’t issued a timeline for his return, but the IR placement rules him out of their next three games. The earliest he can return is Dec. 4 against the Flames.
The lower-body injury is another dent in what’s been a disastrous campaign for Foligno to date. Viewed as one of the league’s top defensive wingers for the last several years, he’s arguably been the Wild’s worst regular forward in 2025-26. His 13:07 average time on ice is his lowest in seven years, and in the reduced deployment, he’s yet to score a goal and only has 21 shots through 23 games. He’s on pace to average under a shot on goal per game for the first time in his 15-year NHL career, and he’s only managed two assists as part of a Minnesota bottom-six forward group that’s been starved for offense.
Even defensively, Foligno has seen significant regression this season. While the lack of offense has no doubt contributed to his -10 rating, tied for the worst on the team, the Wild are allowing 2.49 goals against per 60 minutes with Foligno on the ice at 5-on-5. That’s the fifth-worst figure on the team among players with at least 100 minutes of ice time. Some of his more under-the-hood numbers are better – his 2.63 expected goals against per 60 minutes are actually eighth-best out of 21 qualified Minnesota skaters, and his 28.29 scoring chances against per 60 minutes are ninth-best.
Still, the lack of offensive production from the 34-year-old isn’t a good sign for the Wild getting positive value out of the remainder of the four-year, $16MM extension he signed in 2023. He’s under contract through the 2027-28 season at a $4MM cap hit and carries a no-movement clause that downgrades to a 15-team no-trade list on July 1, 2026.
Foligno’s IR placement brings the Wild’s count of unavailable forwards to five. He joins Ryan Hartman, Vinnie Hinostroza, Marco Rossi, and Vladimir Tarasenko on the list.
Mammoth Recall Kevin Rooney, Place Olli Maatta On IR
Kevin Rooney’s latest stint in the minors was short-lived. After being sent back down over the weekend, the Mammoth announced today (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled the forward from AHL Tucson. In a corresponding move, defenseman Olli Maatta was placed on injured reserve.
Rooney signed a one-year, two-way deal with Utah at the end of the preseason and quickly cleared waivers, allowing him to start the season with the Roadrunners. In eight games with them, he has fared rather well offensively, collecting five goals and an assist. That performance has now earned him a third recall in less than five weeks although he’s still looking to make his official Mammoth debut.
The 32-year-old played in a career-high 70 games last season with Calgary where he had five goals and five assists. Over his career, he has 32 goals and 28 helpers in 330 NHL appearances. Rooney may have to wait a little while yet to add to that count as he projects to be their 14th forward for the time being.
As for Maatta, he missed last night’s game against Montreal due to an undisclosed injury which has now been revealed as an upper-body issue, one that will now keep him out for the next week. The 31-year-old is in his first full season with Utah and while he fared well last season after being acquired from Detroit in an early swap, things haven’t gone as well this season. Through 16 outings, Maatta has just one assist while his ice time is down below 12 minutes a night, well below his career ATOI of 18:18.
With the moves, Utah’s roster remains at the maximum of 23.
Rangers Recall Scott Morrow
The Rangers announced they’ve recalled defenseman Scott Morrow from AHL Hartford. Fellow rearguard Connor Mackey was sent back to Hartford in the corresponding move.
Mackey was recalled just yesterday to serve as a healthy extra after Juuso Pärssinen was sent down following his waiver clearance. The Rangers likely wanted to recall Morrow instead. However, starting this season, players must play at least one game on an AHL assignment before they’re eligible for another recall. Morrow hadn’t played since being sent down to the Wolf Pack on Monday, so they were unable to add him back to the roster. He suited up for Hartford last night, though, so he can come up today.
The Blueshirts have been in need of an extra defenseman since William Borgen left their game against the Golden Knights on Nov. 18 with an upper-body injury. He’s been out for four games and is now on injured reserve. He was a game-time decision yesterday against the Hurricanes, but adding Morrow back to the roster today suggests they don’t expect Borgen to be available for tomorrow’s matinee against the Bruins.
Morrow, 23, hasn’t had a great start to his tenure in the Rangers organization. A 2021 second-round pick, he was acquired from Carolina in last season’s K’Andre Miller deal and immediately slotted in as their most dynamic defense prospect. He ranked No. 2 overall in the system in NHL.com’s preseason rankings. After failing to make the opening night roster, though, he’s been limited to just three points in 12 games with Hartford and has a -6 rating, third-worst on the team.
The Connecticut native has made three appearances for the Rangers this season, in spot duty as injuries necessitated. He’s still looking for his first point as a Blueshirt and has a -2 rating while averaging 13:11 of ice time per game. He’s managed eight shot attempts and three blocks, but doesn’t have a hit. The Rangers have been out-attempted 50-36 in Morrow’s 5-on-5 minutes for a CF% of 41.9.
Wild Recall Nicolas Aubé-Kubel
The Wild announced they’ve recalled winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel from AHL Iowa. They’d been living with an open roster spot since placing Vinnie Hinostroza on injured reserve on Monday, so there’s no need for a corresponding move.
Aubé-Kubel, 29, is back in the big leagues after failing to make the opening night roster for the second time in the last three years. The right-shot agitator had been a relatively stable fourth-line piece for several seasons but saw significant time in the minors last season, limited to 22 appearances between the Sabres and Rangers. He’d appeared in 60 games for the Capitals the year prior. His only season with 70-plus games came with the Flyers and Avalanche in 2021-22, when he recorded a career-best 11-12–23 scoring line and suited up in 14 playoff games en route to Colorado’s Stanley Cup win.
A former second-round pick by Philadelphia, Aubé-Kubel made Minnesota his fourth organization in as many years when he signed a two-way deal during the first week of free agency. Initial projections labeled him as a bang-and-crash top-nine winger with enough offensive upside for third-line duties. While he’s satisfied the former part of that description, he’s rarely demonstrated enough offensive utility to push above a fourth-line job. In 304 career appearances, he owns a 32-48–80 scoring line while averaging 54 PIMs and 181 hits per 82 games. He’s had more offensive success in the minors but never really dominated offensively there, either, posting 58 goals and 125 points in 272 career AHL appearances.
This year is no exception. After clearing waivers during the preseason, Aubé-Kubel is off to a conservative start with two goals and eight points in 17 games for Iowa. However, that’s still second in points on a Wild affiliate club that’s destined for a third straight season in the AHL’s basement.
The Wild are hoping his more extensive NHL experience can bring a more dynamic element to a fourth line that hasn’t produced – literally. None of Liam Ohgren, Ben Jones, or Tyler Pitlick has a point in 36 combined appearances. Minnesota has been outshot 15-7 and outchanced 14-2 with that trio on the ice at 5-on-5. A natural right winger, Aubé-Kubel could presumably enter the lineup for Pitlick tomorrow against the Avalanche. Both could be in the mix if Marcus Foligno, who left yesterday’s overtime win over the Blackhawks in the second period with an undisclosed injury and didn’t return, isn’t able to go.
Tampa Bay Lightning Activate Pontus Holmberg
According to Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider, the Tampa Bay Lightning have activated depth forward Pontus Holmberg from the injured reserve. No corresponding roster move was required as the Lightning placed defenseman Erik Cernak on injured reserve a few days ago.
Although Tampa Bay’s defense is still banged up, Holmberg’s activation brings the Lightning’s forward core to full health. Holmberg had missed a little over two weeks with an undisclosed issue.
The 26-year-old native of Vasteras, Sweden, has performed relatively well in his first year with the Lightning. Leading up to the injury on November 8th, Holmberg had scored one goal and five points in 15 games, averaging 12:24 of ice time per game.
That output is relatively consistent in terms of his performance during his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2022 to 2025. After debuting with the Maple Leafs in the 2022-23 season, Holmberg scored 19 goals and 49 points in 159 games, averaging approximately 25 points over 82 games. His output over 15 games with Tampa Bay equates to 27 points over a full campaign.
Despite the numerous injuries across the roster, the Lightning have done great work of late, making the most of their spare parts. Winning four consecutive games and seven out of their last 10, Tampa Bay has vaulted to the top of the Atlantic Division and the top three of the Eastern Conference.
Red Wings Activate Elmer Söderblom, Place Michael Rasmussen On IR
The Detroit Red Wings announced they’ve activated bottom-six forward Elmer Söderblom from the injured reserve. In a corresponding roster move, the team has placed forward Michael Rasmussen on injured reserve, retroactive to November 20th.
Söderblom ends his tenure on the injured reserve after nearly three weeks. The former sixth-round pick, who made the Red Wings’ opening night roster, had been out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury since November 9th.
Regardless, Söderblom’s start to the 2025-26 season raises the question of whether he was injured before officially being removed from the lineup. In his 11 games leading up to the injury, Söderblom had only tallied one goal with a -4 rating, averaging 10:27 of ice time per game.
It’s a far cry from the jolt of energy he provided to Detroit toward the end of last season. Waiting until January for his full-time recall, Söderblom scored four goals and 11 points in 26 games for the Red Wings last year, managing a 91.2% on-ice save percentage at even strength as one of the better defensive forwards on the team. This season, he’s only managed an 89.4%.
Meanwhile, Rasmussen has been similarly disappointing throughout the current campaign. As one of the last vestiges of the Ken Holland era in Detroit, Rasmussen had scored two goals and five points in 19 games, largely relegated to a bottom-six role.
Although his CorsiFor% at even strength has continued to increase this season under a full year of Todd McLellan‘s stewardship, his defensive metrics have similarly dropped like Söderblom’s. Regardless, Detroit may have to stick it out with Rasmussen even if he doesn’t improve, as he’s signed through the 2027-28 campaign, though he doesn’t have any trade protection.