Lightning Expected To Activate Andrei Vasilevskiy From IR
The Lightning announced today that they’ve reassigned goaltender Brandon Halverson and winger Scott Sabourin to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. Halverson’s demotion means they’ll use one of the open roster spots to activate Andrei Vasilevskiy from injured reserve before Thursday’s game against the Kings.
What was initially expected to be a one-game absence for Vasilevskiy turned into seven games. He hasn’t dressed since losing to the Islanders on Dec. 2. Since then, backup Jonas Johansson has played every minute for the Bolts, aside from a six-second span against the Islanders over the weekend, where Halverson had to enter play due to an equipment issue.
Injuries to Vasilevskiy have forced Johansson to start 14 of Tampa’s 33 games, on pace to clear his previous career high of 24 starts by a wide margin. The 30-year-old Swede has given the Bolts some of the best hockey of his unremarkable career, recording a .897 SV% and 2.76 GAA while saving 4.1 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck.
Still, Tampa will be thrilled to get its star back between the pipes, especially as it’s lost six of eight games in November. The five-time Vezina Trophy finalist has made a solid case for his sixth nomination early on this year, recording a .916 SV%, 2.31 GAA, and an 11-6-2 record in 19 starts. Among goalies with at least 18 appearances, Vasilevskiy’s 0.736 GSAx/60 ranks fifth behind Logan Thompson (1.047), Ilya Sorokin (1.003), Jeremy Swayman (0.790), and Spencer Knight (0.766).
Meanwhile, Halverson’s duties as the Bolts’ No. 3 see his recall end without him facing a shot. The 29-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent and has a .901 SV%, 2.58 GAA, two shutouts, and a 9-4-0 record in 13 starts for Syracuse.
Sabourin, 33, has been yo-yoed between Tampa and Syracuse multiple times this season. However, he’d played in four straight for the Lightning after being recalled last week. The career enforcer has been a surprisingly effective fourth-line piece when called upon this year, recording a goal and two assists in seven games with 13 hits. Averaging 9:17 of ice time per game, he’s also posted strong 5-on-5 possession metrics with a 55.9 CF% and a team-high 71.3 xGF%.
As a result, his demotion could be to help stretch out his waiver-exempt status. Syracuse plays tomorrow night against Bridgeport, so the Lightning would be eligible to recall him again before their next game Thursday.
Maple Leafs To Activate Joseph Woll From Injured Reserve
Maple Leafs starter Joseph Woll will return to action tonight against the Blackhawks, head coach Craig Berube told reporters (including Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic). Toronto will need to open a roster spot to activate him from injured reserve. In all likelihood, that will mean returning goaltender Artur Akhtyamov to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies after they summoned him earlier this month in the wake of Woll’s injury.
Woll has missed the Leafs’ last four games after sustaining a lower-body injury in their win over the Hurricanes on Dec. 4, leaving the game after the second period. It was the 27-year-old’s second multi-game absence of the season. He missed the first 18 games of Toronto’s schedule while on personal leave.
While the 2016 third-round pick’s availability has limited him to eight starts, he’s played some of the best hockey of his career while doing so. He doesn’t have the best goal support – the Leafs offense has only averaged 2.75 goals per game with him in net – but he’s held up his end of the bargain with a .923 SV% and 2.44 GAA to come up with a 4-3-1 record.
When healthy, Woll’s $3.67MM cap hit through 2027-28 ranks among the best value contracts for a goalie in the NHL. He’s posted above-average save percentages in each of his five NHL seasons and has saved 29.5 goals above expected in 75 appearances since emerging as a full-time option in 2023-24, per MoneyPuck.
However, the former top prospect has started more than 30 games in a season only once. He could still feasibly do it this season if he stays healthy, only needing to start 22 times in 51 games, but that’s a big if.
His availability is critical as Toronto remains without Woll’s tandem partner, Anthony Stolarz, indefinitely. After Stolarz stumbled out of the gate with a .884 SV% and -5.3 GSAx in 13 games, he sustained an upper-body injury on Nov. 11 and hasn’t played since. Today, Berube confirmed he’s not dealing with a concussion but that he’s still far from a return and will see another specialist (via Johnston).
Yet the emergence of third-stringer Dennis Hildeby has removed a lot of drama from Toronto’s crease over the last several weeks. Stepping in for Stolarz and Woll, the gargantuan 24-year-old is making a serious push for a full-time NHL job with a .920 SV%, 2.72 GAA, one shutout, and a team-leading 7.2 GSAx in seven starts and four relief appearances. Since Woll’s injury, Hildeby has recorded a .934 mark, seventh in the league among goalies with multiple starts since Dec. 4.
Hildeby’s hot hand should allow the Leafs to keep Woll fresher in a reduced workload, getting the best out of both goalies until Stolarz is ready to return – if he can return this season. The 2022 fourth-round pick signed a three-year, $2.53MM contract as a restricted free agent this past offseason that pays him the league minimum salary through the 2027-28 campaign, a deal that’s now quietly one of the biggest wins from Toronto’s summer.
As for Akhtyamov, the 24-year-old made his NHL debut on Saturday when he entered a 6-3 loss to the Oilers in relief of Hildeby in the third period. In the final 10:32 of regulation, he faced five shots and did not allow a goal. He still looks like he’s a few years away from challenging for an NHL role, posting a .896 SV% and 3.04 GAA in 12 appearances for the Marlies this year.
New Jersey Devils To Recall Nathan Legare
According to Ryan Novozinsky of NJdotcom, the New Jersey Devils are reportedly recalling forward Nathan Legare from the AHL’s Utica Comets. James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now confirmed the news.
Since the Devils already have 23 players on the active roster, another roster move is incoming. The likeliest outcome is that New Jersey will place defenseman Simon Nemec on the team’s injured reserve after suffering an injury at practice last week. Assuming the transaction is made retroactive to December 12th, Nemec can return when the Devils take on the Buffalo Sabres on December 21st.
Despite being a third-round pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2019 NHL Draft, Legare has spent most of his professional career in the Devils organization. After turning pro for the 2021-22 season, Legare spent the next two years with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, scoring 15 goals and 35 points in 125 games.
He ended up with the Montreal Canadiens for a short time due to his inclusion in the 2023 trade that landed defenseman Erik Karlsson with the Penguins. He registered three goals and nine points in 39 games for the AHL’s Laval Rocket before being sent to the Comets in a minor league swap.
Legare, 24, made his NHL debut with New Jersey last season and has already skated in one game this year, though he’s still searching for his first point. Since joining the organization toward the end of the 2023-24 campaign, Legare has scored 22 goals and 33 points in 105 games with a -12 rating and 158 PIMs.
Blackhawks Place Connor Bedard On Injured Reserve
Dec. 16th: According to an update from ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, Bedard has reportedly suffered a separated shoulder. Given that the team will re-evaluate Bedard in early January, this suggests that it’s no more than a Grade 2 separation, which typically has a recovery timeline of four to eight weeks. If it’s only a Grade 1 separation, Bedard may only miss a few weeks. The lack of motivation for surgery indicates that Bedard didn’t suffer a Grade 3 separation or beyond, which carries a recovery timeline of multiple months.
Dec. 15th: According to a team announcement, the Chicago Blackhawks have placed star center Connor Bedard on the injured reserve, retroactive to Dec. 12. In a corresponding roster move, the Blackhawks have recalled defenseman Ethan Del Mastro and have returned goaltender Laurent Brossoit from his conditioning stint.
Bedard will be out through the holiday break and will be re-evaluated in early January, head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters (including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times). They’re not currently considering surgery for his suspected shoulder ailment.
His injury stems from the Blackhawks’ recent game against the St. Louis Blues. In the final moments of the contest, Bedard got tied up with Blues center Brayden Schenn during a faceoff and went down awkwardly. He was seen skating to the bench clutching his right shoulder, and no further updates have been given regarding the severity of his injury.
Losing Bedard for any amount of time is understandably a gut punch to a relatively competitive Chicago team. In the midst of a true breakout before the injury, Bedard had scored 19 goals and 44 points in 31 games, averaging 21:03 of ice time per contest. Nearly every facet of his game had taken meaningful steps forward, from his on-ice save percentage at even strength, CorsiFor% at even strength, to his faceoff percentage.
The Blackhawks already lost their first game without Bedard the following night at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings, and will play the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens before he’s eligible to return. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a noticeable decrease in offensive output over those two games, as the team’s next leading scorer is Tyler Bertuzzi with 16 goals and 26 points in 29 games. Of Bertuzzi’s 16 goals, Bedard has assisted on 11 of them.
Del Mastro, 22, has already suited up in one game for the Blackhawks this season, earning a -1 rating in 17:35 of action. With that, he’s spent the rest of his time with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, scoring one goal and 11 points in 27 games with a +6 rating.
Although he will serve as the team’s seventh defenseman throughout their upcoming road trip, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Del Mastro won’t be in the lineup against the Maple Leafs and Canadiens. Throughout much of the 2025-26 campaign, head coach Jeff Blashill has opted to dress seven defensemen instead of the typical six, which may continue now that Chicago is down to 13 forwards on the active roster.
Meanwhile, Brossoit will have the opportunity to play in his first NHL contest since the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. He’s been recovering from both meniscus and hip surgeries over the last two years with the Blackhawks and is finally healthy enough to debut with the club. His numbers were fairly encouraging over his conditioning loan, managing a 2-1-0 record in three games with a .900 SV%.
Dylan Gambrell Signs With AHL Iowa
Back in September, veteran center Dylan Gambrell signed a PTO agreement with Nashville with the hopes of securing a full-season contract. No such deal came to fruition and he had been on the open market since then after not securing a contract with AHL Milwaukee either. However, he has now caught on with a team as AHL Iowa announced that they’ve signed Gambrell for the remainder of the season.
The 29-year-old was effectively an NHL regular until somewhat recently. Gambrell played in at least 49 games per season between the 2019-20 and the 2022-23 campaigns, with a career-high of 63 coming back in 2021-22. He spent most of those games primarily on the fourth line, tallying 17 goals and 23 assists along with a 46.1% faceoff rate in 233 NHL contests between San Jose and Ottawa.
However, aside from preseason appearances (of which he only had two this past preseason), Gambrell has played exclusively in the minors. Last season, he played on a two-way deal with Columbus, suiting up with their farm team in Cleveland where he had 13 goals and 12 assists in 54 appearances.
One of the challenges that Gambrell likely faced in free agency is that he qualifies for veteran status at the AHL level. Teams can only dress five skaters with 320 games of professional experience which has resulted in some capable veterans either remaining unsigned or having to go overseas for this season with so many teams at their veteran limit. Gambrell decided to wait it out for an opportunity in North America and while it took some time, he has now found one.
Stars Place Vladislav Kolyachonok On Waivers
The Stars have placed defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok on waivers, according to Frank Seravalli of Victory+. He’ll be reassigned to AHL Texas tomorrow if he clears.
Dallas is the 24-year-old Kolyachonok’s fourth NHL organization. Drafted by the Panthers in the second round in 2019, he was flipped to the Coyotes two years later as a sweetener for them to take on Anton Strålman‘s deal. He first broke into the NHL with Arizona the following season and remained in the organization through their move to Utah. The Mammoth lost him waivers last season to the Penguins, who then flipped him to the Stars over the summer in the Mathew Dumba deal.
While the Belarus native joined as an intriguing potential No. 7/8 option, he didn’t crack the opening night roster. This time, he successfully cleared waivers to begin the season on his way down to Texas. He remained there for the first six weeks of the campaign until injuries to Thomas Harley and Ilya Lyubushkin created a recall opportunity in mid-November.
Kolyachonok was routinely in the lineup until Harley returned. He’s now sat out two of the last three games. While Dallas still has one injured defenseman – Lian Bichsel, who’s not expected back until late January – they’re carrying eight on the active roster, making Kolyachonok something of a redundancy, particularly as one of five lefties.
The 6’2″ rearguard did well as a stopgap, recording three points and a +3 rating in 11 games. He saw just 12:37 of ice time per game but posted the best possession numbers of any Star this season at 5-on-5, controlling 51.7% of shot attempts and 54.1% of scoring chances.
He’s still got a fairly high-ceiling defensive game, one that may result in a waiver claim tomorrow. He’s making the league minimum and is a pending restricted free agent. If not, he’ll return to Texas, where he had three assists in 10 games to begin the year.
Golden Knights Reassign Dylan Coghlan
The Golden Knights announced they’ve assigned defenseman Dylan Coghlan to AHL Henderson. Vegas now has an open roster spot, likely meaning they’ll operate without an extra defenseman for their brief return home against the Devils this week before heading back out on a two-game road trip.
Vegas has needed some additional defensive insurance ever since Jeremy Lauzon went down with an undisclosed injury in mid-November. He remains listed as day-to-day but is on injured reserve and has now missed nearly a month. In the interim, they’ve been shuffling veteran depth names like Coghlan and Jaycob Megna up from the AHL to serve as healthy extras.
They haven’t needed them to actually enter game action, though. Since Lauzon exited the lineup on Nov. 15, Vegas has dressed the same six defenders – Noah Hanifin, Ben Hutton, Kaedan Korczak, Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore, and Zach Whitecloud – in 14 straight games.
Coghlan thus returns to Henderson after not getting any playing time over the last week. The 27-year-old made his NHL debut with the Knights back in 2020-21, playing in two seasons with them before he was traded to the Hurricanes in 2022 in the Max Pacioretty deal. After spending the last three years in the Carolina and Winnipeg organizations bouncing between the NHL and AHL, he returned to Vegas on a league-minimum contract over the offseason in free agency.
In 20 games for Henderson this season, the 6’2″ righty has five goals and 10 points with a +4 rating. An AHL All-Star in 2023-24, he ranks third among Silver Knights defensemen in scoring.
Red Wings Place Jonatan Berggren On Waivers
The Red Wings placed winger Jonatan Berggren on waivers Monday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Whether he’ll be assigned to AHL Grand Rapids if he clears or if they’re purely exposing him to the rest of the league for a change of scenery remains to be seen.
Berggren has been a frequent healthy scratch this season after he made a career-high 75 appearances last season. The 25-year-old has only played 15 of Detroit’s 33 games and has been in the lineup just once since Nov. 24.
Defensive deficiencies and a lack of physicality have long kept the 5’11” Berggren from advancing higher in the Wings’ lineup. However, he’s always made the most of his limited minutes offensively. Since entering the league with Detroit in 2022-23, he’s averaged 15 goals and 31 points per 82 games despite seeing under 13 minutes of deployment per night.
He’s kept up that reputation in 2025-26 despite increased role instability. His six points in those 15 outings are good for 0.40 points per game, eighth on the team. With middle-six names like Marco Kasper (four points in 33 games) and J.T. Compher (11 points in 33 games) having such bearish seasons offensively, it’s a tad surprising Berggren hasn’t gotten more of an extended look to help jumpstart the Wings’ depth.
Now, the 2018 second-rounder lands on waivers for the first time in his career and could have a new home as soon as tomorrow. If he’s not claimed, the fact that he’s already cleared waivers could boost his trade value since there wouldn’t be a concern about surrendering assets for him only to lose him on the wire if he doesn’t work out.
Berggren is making $1.825MM this season as part of a one-year extension he signed shortly before free agency opened. He’ll be arbitration-eligible at the end of the season.
Sharks Place Will Smith, Philipp Kurashev On IR
The Sharks will be without forwards Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev for at least their upcoming three-game homestand, if not longer. The team announced both have been placed on injured reserve with undisclosed issues and did not issue timelines for their return. Their roster spots have gone to wingers Ethan Cardwell and Igor Chernyshov, who were recalled from AHL San Jose.
Smith and Kurashev both departed Saturday’s 6-5 comeback win over the Penguins prematurely. Smith was forced out early in the third period after taking a crushing hit from Pittsburgh defender Parker Wotherspoon (video via JD Young of Locked on Sharks). Kurashev left in the second period after losing his balance on the forecheck and sliding hard into the boards.
Smith’s absence is of special concern to the Sharks, who are hanging onto the second wild-card spot in the West despite continued league-worst underlying numbers. The 2023 No. 4 overall pick has firmly emerged as a top-line piece, stapled to Macklin Celebrini‘s wing since the beginning of the campaign. Unsurprisingly, he’s second on the team in scoring with 12 goals and 29 points in 33 games, averaging 17:55 of ice time per game. That’s up by more than two minutes over his rookie outing last year, putting him on pace to easily surpass his 18-27–45 scoring line in 74 games in 2024-25.
That is, of course, assuming his absence isn’t an extended one. The Sharks have a relatively easy upcoming schedule with three out of their next five games against teams that didn’t make the playoffs last year. Getting out of that stretch with three wins, particularly if Smith doesn’t miss much more than the week required by IR, would be a major gain in their still-slim but increasingly realistic playoff hopes.
Kurashev’s absence is also of significant consequence. He’d logged time with Celebrini and Smith this season on occasion when Tyler Toffoli wasn’t with them on the top line. He would have been the first name to step in alongside Celebrini and Toffoli with Smith out, leaving San Jose without two top-six options for the time being.
The 26-year-old was non-tendered by the Blackhawks last summer. San Jose picked him up on a one-year, $1.2MM deal when free agency opened. So far, it’s been one of the better buy-low signings of the offseason. He hasn’t recaptured the heights of his 54-point campaign with Chicago two years ago, but he has been a versatile piece for the Sharks, providing valuable secondary scoring. He’s seventh on the team with 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 31 outings while averaging over 16 minutes per night, routinely featuring on their second power-play unit.
San Jose, still not fully exited from its rebuild, still has a pair of fairly high-ceiling options to replace them with. Cardwell, 23, has already worked his way up into being a trusted recall option for the Sharks after being a fourth-round pick in 2021. He’s got 10 NHL appearances to his name over the past year and has scored his first two NHL goals. It’s his second recall of the campaign after being summoned for more than a week in early November.
Cardwell was an immediate scoring threat in the minors, scoring 23 goals in 71 games for the Barracuda as a rookie in 2023-24. He’s kept his point production up and has nine points (three goals, six assists) in 14 appearances this year. A high-motor winger, he doesn’t have the raw offensive skillset to truly stand out in a San Jose prospect pool ripe with first-round picks and more high-end sleepers, but he hasn’t looked out of place at all in his first few NHL chances.
The real headliner, though, is Chernyshov. The 20-year-old Russian was the first pick of the second round in 2024 at No. 33 overall, later than most thought he would go. So far in his development, he’s proven the Sharks – and the public – right. After spending his pre-draft development in his native Russia, Chernyshov immediately signed his entry-level deal with San Jose and came to North America for the 2024-25 campaign. While an injury limited him to 23 games with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, he was the top scorer in major junior hockey on a per-game basis. With 19 goals and 36 assists for 55 points, he racked up an incredible 2.39 points per game.
What’s perhaps most intriguing is the niche he fills in San Jose’s prospect pool. At 6’3″ and 205 lbs, he could bring a needed power forward element to the Sharks’ top six forward group in short order. Now making the jump to the pros this year, he’s well on his way toward doing so. He leads the Barracuda in scoring with 11 goals and 23 points in 25 games. He entered the season as the Sharks’ No. 7 prospect (according to Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff) but has moved up at least two spots with Yaroslav Askarov and Sam Dickinson graduating to full-time roles.
If the Sharks don’t want to do major surgery on their lineup, it stands to reason Chernyshov could get dropped into the fire as a direct replacement for Smith on the top line with Celebrini and Toffoli, while Cardwell fills in a familiar depth role.
Oilers Recall Quinn Hutson
The Oilers announced they’ve recalled winger Quinn Hutson from AHL Bakersfield. After making his NHL debut late last season, the 23-year-old is expected to make his 2025-26 debut tomorrow night against the Penguins. Edmonton already had an open roster spot, so no corresponding move is required.
Hutson, the older brother of star Canadiens defender Lane Hutson and Capitals prospect Cole, went undrafted in 2020 after spending his draft year in an under-18 travel league, multiple steps below major junior hockey. He spent the following two seasons with USHL Muskegon, recording well over a point per game, before beginning his collegiate career as a 20-year-old with Boston University in 2022.
It was there, teaming up with his brothers, where the 5’10” winger put himself on the map. He immediately slotted in as a top-six piece for the Terriers before an outright eruption in his junior year in 2024-25, leading the team with 50 points (23 goals, 27 assists) in 38 games. While that was only enough to get him Second Team All-Star honors from the Hockey East conference, it squarely put him on the map in terms of landing an NHL deal.
Edmonton won the sweepstakes, inking Hutson to a two-year, entry-level deal in April. It began immediately, permitting him to skate in two regular-season games for the Oilers down the stretch. However, since he wasn’t on their reserve list at the trade deadline, he wasn’t eligible to suit up for them in the playoffs.
He was viewed as a legitimate candidate to make a push for a roster spot in training camp, but the Oilers’ addition of Isaac Howard to their prospect pool and depth spots being taken up by free-agent pickups Curtis Lazar and David Tomasek iced him out of a spot. That likely ended up being a blessing in disguise. Hutson has dominated the minor-league circuit as a first-year pro. He leads Bakersfield and is fourth in AHL scoring with a 16-12–28 line in 24 games. He’s been particularly hot as of late, with 10 of those goals coming in his last 10 outings.
The Oilers hope to take advantage of Hutson’s momentum and use him to help jumpstart what’s been a woeful performance from their secondary offense. Just four players – Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Connor McDavid, and the injured Jack Roslovic – have combined for 47% of Edmonton’s total goal output this season. They’re still third in the league overall at 3.33 goals per game, but they need a boost from lower in their lineup as those players’ shooting percentages, all floating near 20%, inevitably cool off.
How much head coach Kris Knoblauch uses Hutson will likely be the deciding factor in how long he stays up. His usage of Edmonton’s younger talent – viewed as important pieces to help shoulder the loss of multiple veterans to free agency last summer – has been a point of contention. Howard averaged just 9:30 of ice time per game to begin the season before being sent to Bakersfield. Tomasek, an elder rookie at age 29 but coming off a Swedish Hockey League scoring title, has averaged under 11 minutes per game. The only under-25 name to make a dent in the Oilers’ top nine has been Matthew Savoie as of late, now averaging north of 14 minutes per game on the year with 11 points in 33 games to show for it.