Avalanche Recall Jason Polin
The Avalanche announced they’ve recalled forward Jason Polin from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. They have an open roster spot and thus don’t need to make a corresponding transaction.
Polin’s inclusion on the roster ensures the Avs will have 12 forwards available when they take on the Predators on Saturday. They could be without winger Gavin Brindley, who left Thursday’s win over the Rangers after taking a heavy hit in the first period and didn’t return.
It’s a tough break for Brindley if he’s set to miss any time. The 21-year-old rookie is fresh off signing a two-year extension and has been recently elevated into a top-six role alongside Brock Nelson in place of Valeri Nichushkin, who’s out week-to-week. Brindley’s first game in second-line duties resulted in a two-point performance against the Sabres last week, although he didn’t record a point against the Islanders last Sunday, nor did he get one in less than three minutes of ice time against the Rangers before sustaining the injury.
Injuries to Colorado’s forward group have been commonplace in recent years. That trend is starting to resurface with Nichushkin, Logan O’Connor, and Joel Kiviranta already being unavailable. If Polin’s services are needed this weekend, it likely won’t be as a direct replacement for Brindley on the depth chart. It’s fair to assume a brief elevation to top-six duties could be in order for Victor Olofsson, who saw over 18 minutes of ice time against the Rangers and has a 6-9–15 scoring line in 20 games this year, would be in order.
Polin, 26, has nine NHL games to his name with one goal. He was an undrafted free agent signing out of Western Michigan in 2023 and is now on his third consecutive one-year deal with the Avs. The 6’0″ sniper was an elite goal-scorer in his latter years in college – tickling the twine 30 times in 39 games in his senior season with the Broncos – but hasn’t found that gear since turning pro. He’s still put up a respectable three goals and six points in 16 AHL games this season and has an 18-18–36 scoring line in 104 career minor-league games, but those numbers aren’t seeing him make a serious push for a big-league job outside of a short-term injury replacement.
Wild Activate Zach Bogosian, Nico Sturm From IR
The Wild announced they’ve activated defenseman Zach Bogosian and center Nico Sturm from injured reserve ahead of Friday’s game against the Penguins. They opened up one roster spot yesterday by placing Vladimir Tarasenko on IR and made the other by reassigning defenseman David Jiříček to AHL Iowa in today’s corresponding move.
Bogosian hasn’t played since sustaining a lower-body injury against the Capitals on Oct. 17. The 35-year-old righty is in his third season with the Wild after initially being acquired from the Lightning early in the 2023-24 season in exchange for a seventh-round pick. He’s been a stable bottom-pairing fixture since and played in all but one game for Minnesota last year, making this absence the longest one he’s had since shoulder surgery sidelined him for the first several weeks of the 2022-23 season while with Tampa Bay.
In five games this season before exiting the lineup, Bogosian looked the part of a reliable, veteran stay-at-home rearguard in limited minutes. Averaging 13:53 of ice time per game, he didn’t record a point but had a +3 rating while controlling 48.3% of shot attempts at 5-on-5, third among Minnesota defenders this season behind Jiříček and Jonas Brodin.
Bogosian is replacing Daemon Hunt in the Wild lineup, per Michael Russo of The Athletic, and it’s easy to see why. Minnesota reclaimed the 23-year-old off waivers from the Blue Jackets at the beginning of the year after sending him to Columbus last year in the trade that brought them Jiříček. He’s remained on the roster since and had gotten into a recent stretch of games with Bogosian out and Jiříček’s playing time being reduced, but he’s averaged only 11:53 per game and has been shelled despite receiving sheltered minutes. While Hunt has a +1 rating, the Wild have been outshot 46-24 and outchanced 43-28 with him on the ice at 5-on-5, the worst possession numbers this season from a Minnesota rearguard by a significant margin. Bogosian represents a sizeable upgrade in third-pairing duties with Zeev Buium as a result.
As for Sturm, he’s yet to play this season after sustaining a back injury at the beginning of training camp. Unlike Bogosian, he’s not a certainty to return to the lineup tonight. Russo said a Sunday season debut against the Jets is the more likely outcome.
Still, the 30-year-old is a big boost to a Wild bottom six that’s starved for offense. After starting his NHL career in Minnesota, Sturm returned to the Wild this summer after three-plus years away on a two-year, $4MM deal. A faceoff and defensive specialist first and foremost, he’s still put up respectable point totals, averaging 11 goals and 23 points per 82 games over his seven-year NHL career. Considering the entirety of Minnesota’s fourth line had been held without a goal this season, he’ll be a significant upgrade in a down-the-middle slot when he does get back into the lineup.
The Wild want Jiříček playing, so returning the 2022 No. 6 overall pick to the minors after scratching him in three straight games is no surprise. It’s the second time Jiříček has been assigned to Iowa this season after making the opening night roster, although his last demotion lasted for just two days. This year, the 6’4″ righty has been a passable third-pairing option but hasn’t shown anything more than that. He’s continued to have fits finding his offensive ceiling, going without a point and logging a -3 rating through 12 appearances.
Blue Jackets Recall Brendan Gaunce, Reassign Luca Del Bel Belluz
The Blue Jackets announced that they’ve elevated forward Brendan Gaunce from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Center Luca Del Bel Belluz is headed back down to Cleveland in the corresponding move.
Del Bel Belluz was initially brought up earlier in the month after an injury scare to Sean Monahan, although he didn’t end up missing any time. They still opted to give the 22-year-old pivot a crack at NHL minutes, something that became more feasible after captain Boone Jenner landed on injured reserve last week. Del Bel Belluz had gotten into seven of the last eight games, but rarely as more than a fourth-line center. He averaged only 9:35 of ice time, limited to one assist while winning just 10 of his 34 faceoffs for a 26.4 FOW%.
Given Del Bel Belluz’s skillset as an offensive needle-mover, that wasn’t the best choice for his long-term development, nor was he the best fit for the role the Jackets were asking him to play. The 2022 second-round pick more accurately flashed his ceiling during a 15-game call-up last year, when he rattled off two goals and six assists for eight points in nearly 14 minutes of ice time per game.
With Del Bel Belluz not getting that type of deployment this time around, they’ll opt to let him resume playing a starring role in Cleveland while recalling the vastly more experienced Gaunce to serve as a fourth-line stopgap. The 31-year-old was reacquired by the Blue Jackets via trade from the Wild over the offseason after previously spending three seasons in Columbus and Cleveland from 2021-22 through 2023-24. Gaunce brings a 13-16–29 scoring line with a -17 rating in 189 career NHL appearances to the role.
Sabres To Activate Jason Zucker From Injured Reserve
The Sabres are expected to activate winger Jason Zucker from injured reserve before Friday’s matchup with the Blackhawks, according to the team’s website. Head coach Lindy Ruff said earlier in the week that they were targeting Friday as Zucker’s return date, and Buffalo placed Mason Geertsen on waivers yesterday to open a roster spot for his reinstatement.
Zucker has been out for three weeks with what turned out to be a particularly nasty viral illness. He went over a week without being able to eat solid food and lost considerable weight in the first several days of his absence, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic reported earlier this month. He’s been on the mend for a while now, but needed additional time to build his conditioning back up to game shape.
With the Sabres missing a long list of other forwards, though, they wanted Zucker back in the lineup as soon as possible. As such, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his workload reduced in his first few games back before returning to the consistent top-nine duties he’s held throughout his time in Buffalo. Even with Zucker back in the picture, the Sabres still have four other forwards on injured reserve, a list that includes two-thirds of their top line in Zach Benson and Joshua Norris.
Zucker arrived in Buffalo in the 2024 offseason on a one-year, $5MM contract and signed a two-year, $9.5MM extension at last season’s trade deadline to extend his stay in western New York through the 2026-27 campaign. The 33-year-old has been a highly serviceable middle-six piece under Ruff and even had one of the best years of his career in a Sabres uniform last year. While a few minor injuries limited him to 73 appearances, he cracked the 50-point plateau for the second time in his 15-year run in the NHL and finished with a 21-32–53 scoring line while averaging 16 minutes per night.
The Sabres’ never-ending parade of injuries to their forward group this season has meant a lack of consistent linemates for Zucker. He still churned out four goals and seven points through 12 games before contracting the illness and landing on IR, and his 0.58 points per game are good for seventh on the team.
His return will add some juice to a Sabres offense that’s generated 2.63 goals per game in his absence, 22nd in the league since he exited the lineup after Nov. 1. Perhaps the most interesting storyline regarding his return is how much his presence affects Isak Rosen‘s deployment. The 2021 first-rounder has finally pushed for an extended audition in a top-nine role and has answered the bell with three goals and six points in nine games since being elevated from AHL Rochester on Halloween. His second-line job with Ryan McLeod and Jack Quinn should be safe for now with Zucker presumably being eased back into the lineup, but long-term, it’s something to monitor.
Blues Reassign Hunter Skinner
The Blues announced Friday that they’ve reassigned defenseman Hunter Skinner to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. No corresponding move was announced, leaving them with an open roster spot.
Skinner, 24, replaced the struggling Logan Mailloux on the roster earlier this month after clearing waivers to begin the campaign. A fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 2019, he was acquired as part of the 2023 trade that sent Niko Mikkola and Vladimir Tarasenko to New York. His summons from Springfield on Nov. 9 marked his first-ever stint on an NHL roster.
The 6’3″, 195-lb righty didn’t get much of a chance in the lineup, though. Without Mailloux in the picture, the Blues have rolled with a third pairing of Matthew Kessel and Tyler Tucker for most of the month. That left Skinner relegated to the press box aside from a 6-5 shootout loss to the Flyers on Nov. 14 that served as his NHL debut. The Michigan native recorded a +1 rating, one shot attempt, one block, and four hits in 10:45 of ice time. The Blues were outshot 5-4 and outchanced 4-3 in Skinner’s 5-on-5 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick.
While the Blues’ top six defenders have been healthy all season long, it’s still peculiar to see them shed a healthy extra from the roster in the middle of a lengthy road trip. That road trip, though, is currently in New York and isn’t far away at all from the Thunderbirds’ Massachusetts base. The T-Birds have a light schedule – they’re in action at home tonight and don’t play again until next weekend – so the demotion could just be for Skinner to get his game legs fresh tonight before he or someone else rejoins St. Louis’ roster tomorrow as injury insurance.
Now in his sixth professional season, Skinner has a goal and an assist with a -6 rating in 11 appearances for Springfield this year. He’s coming off a career year across the board in 2024-25, when he recorded an 8-15–23 scoring line and a +2 rating in 71 games.
Minor Transactions: 11/20/2025
It’s a busy day around the hockey world, but especially on the NHL schedule, with 12 games on the docket. The highlights include a rematch of the 2025 first-round playoff series between the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals, as well as two of the more positive surprise teams of the season (the Chicago Blackhawks and Seattle Kraken) facing off.
While the NHL world is busy with games to play, player movement has been slower. That’s not the case outside the NHL, where a multitude of transactions have been made across the European pro leagues and the North American minors. Here, we’ll run down notable player moves from those leagues:
- Former NHL defenseman Christian Wolanin has signed an AHL PTO with the Providence Bruins, the AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins. It’s been something of a surprise to see Wolanin, 30, linger on the free agent market so long. He won the Calder Cup this past spring with the Abbotsford Canucks, playing a key role for the club. He scored 40 points in 58 regular-season games and added 10 points in 17 games during Abbotsford’s playoff run. While finding a place to play in the AHL becomes considerably more difficult for veterans once they are no longer considered “development players” per the AHL’s development rule, it was still surprising to see the 2022-23 Eddie Shore Award Winner (given to the AHL’s Best Defenseman) wait until late November to sign with a team, and especially on a PTO rather than a full-time deal. Beyond being a quality AHLer, Wolanin also brings 86 games of NHL experience to the table.
- Nikita Artamonov, one of the better prospects whose rights are owned by the Carolina Hurricanes, was loaned from his KHL team, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, to Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. Artamonov was one of the top young wingers in the KHL last season, scoring 22 goals and 39 points in 63 games. His production, and overall usage, has declined sharply this season, as he has just one point through 15 games with Torpedo. That appears to have prompted this loan move, where he figures to get a better opportunity. Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk currently sit fifth in the KHL’s Eastern Conference, but are one of the lower-scoring teams of their caliber. The addition of Artamonov should help them in that area, and a more consistent diet of KHL-level minutes is likely to aid Artamonov’s development.
- Former Ottawa Senators netminder Kevin Mandolese was released from his AHL PTO with the Charlotte Checkers today, per a team announcement. Mandolese, who began the year on an NHL PTO with the Montreal Canadiens for training camp, played in just one game for the Checkers while on this PTO. In the team’s Nov. 8 contest against the Syracuse Crunch, Mandolese saved 28 of 30 shots to backstop Charlotte to a 3-2 victory. Now he’ll have to find his next place to continue his pro career. Mandolese has played in 86 career AHL games, and has an .898 career save percentage.
- Former Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins and Texas Stars forward Oula Palve has transferred from EHC Kloten of the Swiss National League to Djurgardens IF of Sweden’s SHL. Per a team announcement, Palve will join Djurgardens on Nov. 30 on a contract running through the end of the 2025-26 season. Palve got off to a slow start with Kloten, scoring just five points across 15 games. He’s been moderately successful in the past in Sweden’s top league (he scored 35 points in 2021-22) but has been at his best in his native Finland. Palve was Liiga’s top scorer in 2023-24 with 64 points in 60 games, a performance that landed him a contract in Switzerland’s top league. But after bouncing between three Swiss clubs during his time in the NL, Palve has now landed back in Sweden where he’ll look to help Djurgardens push to climb the SHL standings.
- 2022-23 Liiga rookie of the year Niko Huuhtanen, a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, was reassigned from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch to the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears today. The 22-year-old, who was the 224th pick in the 2021 draft, looked to be one of Tampa’s more promising prospects just a few years after his selection. He scored 46 points in 52 Liiga games in 2023-24, a significant number for a league that has fewer point-per-game individual scorers compared to North American leagues. There was hope that his success in a top European pro league would allow the 6’3″ winger to translate easily to the North American pro game, but that hasn’t occurred to this point. Huuhtanen only managed 20 points in 51 games as an AHL rookie, and while he has three points in five games so far this season, he spent a month injured and two of his three points came in a blowout loss to Belleville on Nov. 1. The Lightning are likely looking to help Huuhtanen rebuild his game, and now he’ll have the chance to do so in the ECHL.
- A trade was completed in the KHL today, with Sibir Novosibirsk trading cash considerations and young blueliner Yaroslav Belyakov for veteran KHLer Yegor Zaitsev. Zaitsev, 27, is the big prize for Sibir in this deal. He’s a 2017 New Jersey Devils draft pick who has skated in over 400 KHL games in his career. Belyakov has just 18 games of KHL experience to his name but is a 19-year-old who scored 20 points in 31 games at the MHL (junior league) level last season.
- Veteran Czech netminder Jakub Kovar has signed a one-year contract extension to remain with HC Sparta Praha through 2026-27. The 37-year-old, who is a 2006 Philadelphia Flyers draft pick, has played for Prague since the 2022-23 campaign. He’s a former star goalie in the KHL for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, reaching the KHL’s All-Star game three times and leading the league in shutouts in 2020-21. Kovar has been his usual reliable self so far in 2025-26, posting a .926 save percentage across 12 games in the Czech Extraliga. Besides the Extraliga and KHL, Kovar also has some experience in the Swiss National League, thanks to a 14-game stint with ZSC Lions in 2021-22.
- 287-game Liiga veteran Otto Makinen has signed a one-year contract extension with his current club, JYP. The 27-year-old pivot has been a revelation so far in 2025-26, scoring 16 goals in 18 games. For a player normally lauded for his two-way ability rather than his offensive production, and as someone with a career-high of 27 points in Liiga, this level of production is almost entirely unexpected. While it remains to be seen if Makinen will be able to sustain that points production over the course of a full season, this contract extension shows JYP have seen enough and would like to keep him around for at least another year.
- Just a short period into his second ECHL campaign, forward Adam Robbins has elected to transfer overseas. The 25-year-old forward, who is a former USHL champion with the 2020-21 Chicago Steel, has signed a one-year contract with the Coventry Blaze of the EIHL, the top tier of pro hockey in the United Kingdom. Robbins began his pro career in 2024-25 with the Tahoe Knight Monsters, signing there after a solid final NCAA season with Princeton University. Robbins had scored 29 points in 30 games as a senior at Princeton, but only managed 13 points in 51 games as an ECHL rookie. Now after struggling to find a place in the Cincinnati Cyclones’ lineup in 2025-26, Robbins has decided England will be where he continues his professional career.
Maple Leafs Activate Scott Laughton, Place Nicolas Roy On IR
The Maple Leafs have activated Scott Laughton from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Blue Jackets, David Alter of The Hockey News reports. The team placed center Nicolas Roy on IR in a corresponding move to open up a roster spot.
Laughton, 31, returns from his second injury absence of the season. He hasn’t played since Nov. 8, when he sustained an upper-body injury against the Bruins in just his second game back in the lineup after a lower-body injury he suffered during the preseason had him out of the lineup for nearly a month to begin the campaign. In 17:10 of total ice time against Boston and Utah three days prior, Laughton recorded a -2 rating, two shot attempts, and seven hits while going 9-for-14 on faceoffs (64.3%).
As Toronto contends with a long list of injuries, it’ll be looking to a 13-year veteran in Laughton to help stabilize its bottom-six forward group. According to TSN’s Mark Masters, Laughton will center the Leafs’ third line in his return between Steven Lorentz and rookie Easton Cowan. That trio was paired together throughout the preseason, and until Laughton sustained his injury late in camp, most thought it would start the year as Toronto’s fourth line. They’ll be getting their first look during the regular season tonight after Max Domi took Cowan’s spot on the right wing during his previous brief stint in the lineup, as Cowan was assigned to AHL Toronto to make room for Laughton rejoining the active roster last time around.
Laughton, a Toronto-area native, is in his first full season in the blue and white after being picked up at last season’s trade deadline from the Flyers, who’d drafted him No. 20 overall back in 2012. While brought in primarily as a two-way conscience for the bottom six, Laughton had routinely been a 30-to-40-point producer over the last several years in Philadelphia. That hasn’t been the case in Toronto, where the 6’1″ pivot has just two goals and four assists for six points in 35 combined regular-season and playoff games since his acquisition. With Roy, Matthew Knies, and Auston Matthews all unavailable, they need more offense out of him to help revitalize an offense that’s been limited to three goals or fewer in four straight.
Roy’s IR placement is retroactive to his last appearance on Nov. 15, so he’s only been ruled out of tonight’s game and will be eligible to return Saturday against the Canadiens. The 6’4″ center sat out Tuesday’s win over the Blues with an upper-body injury after logging a season-high 19:45 of ice time against Chicago three days prior. Acquired from the Golden Knights in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade over the summer, Roy has struggled to produce in a third-line role and has just one goal and four points through his first 19 appearances as a Leaf.
Wild Place Vladimir Tarasenko On Injured Reserve
The Wild announced Thursday that they’ve placed forward Vladimir Tarasenko on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury. They didn’t announce a corresponding move, leaving a roster spot open for a potential Zach Bogosian or Nico Sturm IR activation in the coming days.
Tarasenko has already missed three games. The team said his IR placement is retroactive to Nov. 14, not his last appearance on Nov. 11, indicating he sustained it during practice or off-ice. Still, the placement doesn’t technically rule him out for any time as he’s eligible for activation before Friday’s game against the Penguins. Taking him out of the mix now to open up a roster spot indicates he’ll miss more time than that, though.
It’s another pressing injury for a Minnesota top-nine forward group already missing Marco Rossi and Ryan Hartman, both of whom are on IR but have longer return timelines than Bogosian and Sturm. Picked up from the Red Wings for future considerations last summer after a highly disappointing 2024-25 campaign in Detroit, Tarasenko has been a decent fill-in for the Wild with 10 points in 18 games, but he only has a pair of goals. Most of his time has come in second-line duties with Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek, although Mats Zuccarello‘s return from injury bumped him down to a third-line role. He’s averaged 15:18 of ice time per game, a roughly 30-second bump over his usage with the Wings, but hasn’t provided much of any value outside of his point production. The former Blues star has controlled just 44.2% of shot attempts at even strength and has a -6 rating.
His absence is yet another stressor on a Wild forward group that’s struggling with the domino effect of injuries. Four of the six players currently comprising their third and fourth lines haven’t scored a goal this season. The bright side has been the play of rookie Danila Yurov, who’s been elevated to center duties between Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov with Rossi out and has three assists in two games while doing so.
Still, adding a forward was a priority for Minnesota from the start and it must only be intensifying now, even if it’s just a waiver claim or depth piece who can contribute more offense in a fourth-line role than their underwhelming internal options.
Avalanche Recall Tristen Nielsen
The Avalanche have recalled forward Tristen Nielsen from AHL Colorado, according to a team announcement. The team had two open roster spots, so no corresponding move is necessary.
It’s Nielsen’s second recall of his NHL career. The first one came earlier this month, after the Avs, who had initially signed Nielsen only to an AHL contract in August, tore up that deal and converted it into a two-year, two-way contract to make him eligible for a recall. He made his NHL debut on Nov. 4, recording four hits in 5:25 of ice time in a win over the Lightning, before being promptly returned to the minors.
Nielsen, 25, had spent his first four professional seasons in the Canucks organization, all with AHL Abbotsford. He was Vancouver’s property after signing an entry-level deal with them in 2023, but the Canucks non-tendered him back in June. So far, he’s been found money for the Avs’ affiliate. He’s second on the Colorado Eagles in scoring with 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in 16 games and has operated at a point-per-game pace since being returned to them earlier this month.
The British Columbia native will now presumably get another crack at the Avs’ fourth line Thursday against the Rangers, unless they opt to dress seven defensemen. With Valeri Nichushkin sidelined week-to-week, they’ve been elevating names from the minors like Nielsen, Daniil Gushchin, and Taylor Makar on an as-needed basis to slot into the lineup.
Lightning Place Victor Hedman On IR, Activate Nick Paul From LTIR
The Lightning have shifted star defenseman Victor Hedman to injured reserve with the undisclosed injury that’s already kept him out for nearly two weeks, according to Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider. His roster spot is going to forward Nick Paul, who’s been activated from long-term injured reserve and will make his season debut Thursday against the Oilers. Hedman is eligible to be activated at any time but will remain sidelined for “probably a couple [of] more weeks,” head coach Jon Cooper told the beat this morning (including the team’s Benjamin Pierce).
Losing a No. 1 defenseman for any stretch of time is always worrisome, but an extended return timeline for Hedman is especially disappointing because of the Bolts’ other injury woes in their top four. Ryan McDonagh remains on IR with an undisclosed injury, while Erik Černák sat out Tuesday’s game against the Devils with a lower-body injury, although he’s expected back tonight. With all those absences, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg is the only Lightning rearguard to play in all 19 games this season.
Hedman’s current absence is also tracking to be one of the longest ones in his incredibly durable career. If he’s out for another two weeks from today, that would bring him to 12 games missed. He hasn’t missed that much time since various injuries limited him to 70 out of 82 appearances in the 2018-19 campaign. Before the injury, Hedman had been left without a goal through 15 games but had still racked up 12 assists, a figure that still leads Tampa’s blue line in scoring. He’s continued his dominance on the possession front, controlling 53.8% of shot attempts at even strength, and his pairing with J.J. Moser has outscored opponents 7-5 at 5-on-5.
His absence his perhaps most felt on Tampa’s power play, where he had half of his point production. They’re already at an underwhelming 17.7% on the year and have gone 2-for-12 in the four games Hedman’s been out. Darren Raddysh is now quarterbacking the top unit in Hedman’s place, but he’s got just two assists with the man advantage in 13 games.
While the Bolts’ defense group remains in disarray, they’ll trade that for having a fully healthy top-nine forward group for the first time this season. Only depth piece Pontus Holmberg remains on the injured list. Paul missed the first six weeks of the year and comes back a couple of weeks behind schedule after undergoing an upper-body procedure extremely late in the offseason. The versatile 6’4″ forward will make his season debut on the wing on a line with Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point, per Pierce. That unit has been downgraded to Tampa’s de facto second line because of Point’s sluggish start to the year, with only three goals and 11 points through 19 games and a -9 rating.