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.
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.
Matt Dumba Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL
Saturday: The team announced that Dumba has passed through waivers unclaimed. As expected, he has been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. It will be his first action at that level since the 2014-15 when he played in 20 games for Iowa.
Friday: The Penguins announced this morning that they will place defenseman Mathew Dumba on waivers today at 1:00 pm Central. He’s been placed on the non-roster list until his waiver period ends tomorrow. The move makes room for rearguard Brett Kulak to join the active roster after being acquired from the Oilers in today’s Tristan Jarry/Stuart Skinner goalie swap.
Dumba, 31, hadn’t been much of a factor to this point in the season. Acquired from the Stars over the summer in a salary dump, he’s been in the press box more than he’s been on the ice.
When dressed, he’s recorded a 1-2–3 scoring line and a -5 rating in 11 appearances. He’s averaging 14:56 of ice time per game, his lowest figure since averaging 12:27 in his first taste of NHL hockey as a 19-year-old with the Wild back in 2013-14. His poor two-way play is reflected in his 46.2 CF% and 47.9 FF% at 5-on-5, both the second-worst among qualified Penguins defenders, ahead only of Caleb Jones.
With Kulak in the mix, Jack St. Ivany returning to health, and Ryan Graves flourishing in a bottom-pairing role after starting the season on waivers, Dumba might have played his last game as a Penguin. At a $3.75MM cap hit, he won’t be claimed off waivers, even though he’s on an expiring deal.
If the righty is dead set on returning to the NHL this season, he could refuse to report to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, allowing the Penguins to terminate his contract. He’d be walking away from whatever he’s still owed of his $3.5MM salary but could catch on somewhere else for the back half of the season on a cheaper, prorated one-year deal. If he does clear waivers and opts to report to the minors, the Penguins will still be on the hook for a $2.6MM cap hit.
While Dumba may have been one of the more offensively dynamic defensemen in the league at his peak, those days are long in the rearview. Drafted No. 7 overall by Minnesota in 2012, he broke out for 50 points and 136 hits in the 2017-18 season, prompting the Wild to sign him to a five-year, $30MM deal the following summer. He racked up 12 goals and 22 points through the first 32 games of 2018-19 before sustaining a season-ending upper-body injury.
He hasn’t been the same player since. Dumba was still a minute-muncher for the rest of his tenure in Minnesota, averaging over 22 minutes per game between 2019-20 and 2022-23, but he never sniffed 30 points again – let alone 50. Still, he turned his reputation into a pair of relatively high-value, short-term free-agent deals. He first signed a one-year, $3.9MM pact with the Coyotes in 2023 and was flipped to the Lightning at the following year’s trade deadline.
Tampa didn’t show interest in retaining him, but he still landed a two-year, $7.5MM pact from the Stars. Dumba underwhelmed from the start, though, posting 10 points and a -5 rating in 63 games while averaging 15:18 of ice time per game. He was then a healthy scratch for Dallas’ entire playoff run. His cap hit quickly became untenable for the big-spending Stars, paying a 2028 second-round pick to unload the last year of his contract on the Penguins.
Canucks Place Lukas Reichel On Waivers
As a result of yesterday’s blockbuster trade with the Wild, the Canucks had some roster juggling to do after bringing in three players and only sending one out with only one roster spot available. They dealt with one of the extra slots by putting Marco Rossi on their injured reserve. But one player had to come off the roster and it will be winger Lukas Reichel, who will be placed on waivers at 1 PM CT, reports Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic (Twitter link).
Jeff Paterson of Canucks Army relayed (Twitter link) earlier today that Reichel had been removed from Vancouver’s active roster. Players can be waived with non-roster status and that’s clearly the move that the Canucks have made to get back to compliance.
This was not the plan for Vancouver when they moved a 2027 fourth-round pick to Chicago to acquire him back in October. Reichel had gotten off to a good start with four points in five games before the swap but had fallen down the depth chart, resulting in the Blackhawks giving him a fresh start elsewhere.
Reichel played big minutes upon being acquired, even spending time at center with Vancouver’s injury issues at that position. But the production simply hasn’t materialized as he has just one assist in 14 games following the swap. Meanwhile, his role diminished to the point where he has only played once in the last ten games. Over his career, Reichel has 22 goals and 37 assists in 188 NHL appearances.
The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Chicago back in 2020, going 17th overall. He’s in the second and final season of a two-year, $2.4MM pact and will be owed a $1.3MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights to become an unrestricted free agent. Based on how things are going, it seems likely that he’s heading towards a non-tender.
That said, players with first-round pedigree often get multiple opportunities so it’s not impossible to think that a team might be interested in taking a flyer on Reichel by 1 PM CT on Sunday, hoping that a different fresh start could get him going offensively. If not and he goes through unclaimed, Vancouver will ultimately clear $1.15MM of his $1.2MM cap charge off the books by assigning him to AHL Abbotsford which would allow them to get out of using LTIR and allow them to start banking salary cap room again.
Canucks Reassign Jett Woo
Dec. 9: Woo cleared waivers and will be on his way to Abbotsford, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK.
Dec. 8: According to Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Vancouver Canucks have placed defenseman Jett Woo on waivers. Assuming he clears, Vancouver will be able to reassign Woo to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks tomorrow.
Woo opened up the 2025-26 campaign on the Canucks’ season-opening injured reserve due to offseason surgery. The surgery was reportedly meant to address an upper-body injury that Woo played through on AHL Abbotsford’s run to a Calder Cup championship last spring.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Woo was considered an up-and-coming defensive prospect in Vancouver’s pipeline. The Canucks selected Woo with the 37th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, and he spent the next two years scoring 19 goals and 112 points in 126 games between the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors and Calgary Hitmen.
Unfortunately, that production hasn’t translated into success in the professional circuit. Despite spending the last six years playing for Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, Woo has yet to make his NHL debut, and it’s unlikely he’ll ever become a consistent part of the team’s defensive core.
He’s shown some promise on the defensive side of the puck, but Woo has shown little on offense. In 267 AHL contests, the 25-year-old blueliner has scored 21 goals and 83 points.
Rangers Reassign Brandon Scanlin
Dec. 7: Scanlin has cleared waivers and his on his way to Hartford, per Friedman.
Dec. 6: After missing the preseason and the first two months of the regular season due to a lower-body injury, Rangers defenseman Brandon Scanlin has received the green light to return. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that New York has placed him on waivers, meaning he has been activated off season-opening IR.
The 26-year-old will be starting his fifth professional campaign, spent entirely with the Rangers after they signed him as an undrafted college free agent in 2022. Scanlin spent three seasons with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, picking up 11 goals and 51 assists over 98 appearances.
However, offensive production has been much harder to come by in the pros. Scanlin has played in 206 games with AHL Hartford over the last four seasons but has only managed 20 goals and 26 assists. Over his three full pro seasons, he has been consistent with his lowest point total being 14 (last season) and his highest 16. Scanlin has one career NHL appearance under his belt, that coming back in March 2024.
Scanlin is in the final season of a two-year, two-way contract that carries a $775K AAV in the NHL and a guaranteed payout of $250K. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim but the likeliest scenario is that he clears and returns to the Wolf Pack once again.
Anton Lundmark Clears Unconditional Waivers
Saturday: Lundmark passed through waivers unclaimed, Friedman reports. HockeySverige’s Mans Karlsson reports that the forward is indeed expected to rejoin Timrå.
Friday: The Panthers placed winger Anton Lundmark on unconditional waivers today, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He’ll have his contract terminated tomorrow after he clears, and will become an unrestricted free agent.
It’s a rapid end to Lundmark’s time in the Florida organization. The 24-year-old Swede signed a one-year, entry-level pact with the Cats in April as an undrafted free agent out of the Swedish Hockey League’s Timrå IK.
At the time, it was a highly puzzling move. The 6’4″, 192-lb Lundmark had never been on the public radar. Last season was the first time he’d ever suited up in the top tier of European professional hockey. All of his previous experience had come in the second and third divisions of Swedish hockey, even spending a few games in the fifth and sixth tiers earlier on in his development.
Even then, he wasn’t much more than a fourth-line penalty-killing piece for Timrå. In 49 games, he only registered five goals and nine points with a +2 rating.
Those numbers weren’t conducive to Lundmark having much of an impact in the minors, let alone coming anywhere close to landing an NHL job. In nine games with AHL Charlotte, he’s been held without a point and has a -2 rating. He’s been a healthy scratch for nearly half their schedule and has sat out of four of Charlotte’s last six games.
Lundmark’s previous contract with Timrå ran through 2025-26 and contained an NHL out-clause. Since they still hold his rights, he’s presumably returning there for the balance of the campaign.
Joona Koppanen Clears Waivers
Saturday: Koppanen has passed through successfully for the second time, Friedman reports. The team announced that he was subsequently sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Friday: The Penguins placed forward Joona Koppanen on waivers Friday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’ll be assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton if he clears.
It’s Koppanen’s second time on the wire this season. He cleared during training camp and began the campaign in the minors before Pittsburgh recalled him in early November as the corresponding move for Filip Hallander‘s blood clot diagnosis.
The 27-year-old played 10 games on his recall, just enough to require waivers again to return to the minors. Now in his ninth year in North America and third in the Penguins organization, he recorded one assist and a -1 rating with six shots on goal during his recent stint in the lineup. Those 10 appearances were consecutive after his recall; he was then scratched for their win over the Flyers last Monday and missed Thursday’s win over the Lightning with an illness.
Koppanen was a fifth-round pick by the Bruins back in 2016. He remained in the Boston organization until 2022-23, making his NHL debut for the B’s that year, before reaching Group VI unrestricted free agency and signing in Pittsburgh. He initially inked a two-year deal but re-upped with them on a two-way extension in June of this year.
The big 6’5″ center is a competent piece of organizational depth and a good middle-six producer in the minors, scoring 139 points in 365 career AHL appearances. He hasn’t been able to stick as a fourth-line piece in several NHL tries now, though. He averaged north of 12 minutes per game on this call-up and even received some penalty kill deployment – he also did in 11 games for the Pens last year. His possession impacts and lack of offense (one goal, three points in 30 career NHL games) haven’t offered enough justification to keep him in the lineup. Among 25 qualified Pittsburgh skaters this year, Koppanen’s 47.2 xGF% at 5-on-5 ranks 20th. After playing a physical brand with 40 hits in 11 games last season, he only recorded nine hits in 10 appearances this time around.
Teams who are in dire need of center depth could take a long look at placing a claim for Koppanen, but in all likelihood, he shouldn’t have much trouble clearing.
Lightning Place Niko Huuhtanen On Unconditional Waivers
Dec. 3rd: Although the Lightning have yet to make an announcement, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times confirms that Huuhtanen has cleared unconditional waivers, and his contract was terminated.
Dec. 2nd: The Lightning placed winger Niko Huuhtanen on unconditional waivers today, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He will have his contract terminated tomorrow if he clears, and will become an unrestricted free agent.
Huuhtanen’s stock as a prospect has resembled a bell curve. Tampa Bay selected the 22-year-old in the seventh round with the final pick of the 2021 draft out of his native Finland, where he’d scored 20 goals and 34 points in 37 junior league games in the Tappara organization. He came to North America to finish his junior career in 2021-22 as an import draft selection by the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. There, he exploded for 37 goals and 77 points in 65 games, leading the league in goals by a rookie. He returned home the following season to begin his pro career, where he again adjusted seamlessly, putting up a 17-13–30 scoring line in 48 games for Jukurit to win the rookie scoring crown and earn Liiga Rookie of the Year honors.
By that time, Huuhtanen was on the map as a potential NHLer. Elite Prospects tabbed him as the No. 11 prospect in Tampa’s system entering the 2023-24 season, noting that his skating mechanics were still an issue despite his gaudy production in juniors and overseas. They were onto something. While Huuhtanen remained in Finland and had continued success with Jukurit that year, notching 19 goals and 46 points in 52 games, that was the last time he looked like he had a legitimate chance of reaching the top level.
Huuhtanen signed his entry-level contract with the Bolts in 2024 and arrived last season to play out the year with AHL Syracuse. As forewarned, the production didn’t translate as either side had hoped. The 6’3″ winger was limited to eight goals in 51 appearances, although he did add 12 assists for 20 points and a respectable +13 rating.
This season, though, he’s seen a further reduction in role. He started the season on the non-roster list due to an undisclosed injury. When he got healthy and was assigned to Syracuse at the beginning of November, he had a two-assist game in his debut but didn’t stick in the lineup. After just five games with three assists, the Bolts sent Huuhtanen down to ECHL Orlando. He suited up once for them on Nov. 22 and hasn’t appeared since.
Huuhtanen has still managed 23 points in 56 career regular-season AHL games. That might be enough for him to catch on with another NHL team on a two-way deal since he’s still relatively young, but in all likelihood, he’s angling for a return to Europe and will sign a new deal in the coming days.
Mammoth Recall Daniil But, Reassign Dmitri Simashev
The Mammoth are swapping a pair of their top prospects. The team announced they’ve recalled winger Daniil But from AHL Tucson while sending down defenseman Dmitriy Simashev in a corresponding move. Center Kevin Rooney was also placed on waivers and will be assigned to Tucson if he clears.
But and Simashev were both top-15 picks in the 2023 draft, the last premier prospects drafted under the Coyotes moniker before the franchise’s hockey operations were sold and reestablished in Utah. Simashev went sixth overall, while But went 12th. The two spent their entire careers in Lokomotiv Yaroslavl’s system in their native Russia, winning a Gagarin Cup championship together last year before signing their entry-level contracts and heading to the Mammoth for 2025-26.
While Simashev managed to wrestle a roster spot on the blue line, But was left on the outside as one of the Mammoth’s final roster cuts. He took the demotion in stride. After netting back-to-back 20-point seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League with Lokomotiv, he’s rattled off eight goals and 17 points in 19 games with Tucson to lead the club in scoring.
After a hot start to the season, Utah’s offense has cooled off. They’re now 19th in the league with 2.96 goals per game. Some of that can be attributed to a power play that’s languishing at a league-worst 13.2%, but their 10.3% finishing rate is also below average by a few ticks. Chance generation hasn’t been much of an issue – they’re 12th in shots per game and have the fifth-most scoring chances in the league at 5-on-5 – but the offensive output outside of their top five forwards leaves a little to be desired. Alexander Kerfoot‘s persisting absence has been a contributing factor there, as well as underwhelming performances from middle-six centers Barrett Hayton and Jack McBain, who have five points each in 24 and 27 appearances, respectively.
But isn’t a guaranteed fix, but the 20-year-old’s smooth adjustment to North America shows he’s worth a shot. Most will see him listed at 6’5″ and 203 lbs and assume a high-ceiling power forward – he is not. Physical elements aren’t entirely absent from But’s game, but he’s a skill guy first and foremost. In their draft-year scouting report of But, Elite Prospects highlighted “his ability to chain difficult pass receptions into handling moves and handling moves into passes or shots” and praised his release as well. He’s another name in a star-studded Mammoth forward pool that’s now also gained Tij Iginla at sixth overall in 2024 and Caleb Desnoyers at fourth overall this year. Those two are viewed as slightly higher-ceiling talents, pushing But down to the No. 4-ranked prospect in Utah’s pool last offseason by Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff and by NHL.com.
As for Simashev, the writing was on the wall regarding his demotion. He’s run into a recent string of healthy scratches following Sean Durzi‘s return from injured reserve, sitting in the press box three times in Utah’s last eight games. His first NHL sample didn’t change his status as the Mammoth’s No. 3 prospect behind Iginla and Desnoyers and as their top young defenseman. Also of hulking stature at 6’4″ and nearly 200 lbs, he’s a shutdown man who’s never put up flashy point totals – he scored just once in 29 junior games in his draft year – but does have some good first-pass ability.
His initial audition, though, shows that some minor-league time wouldn’t be the worst thing. Rarely does a defender with his skillset make a smooth adjustment to the NHL at age 20. In 24 appearances, he notched one assist and a -9 rating while averaging 15:28 of ice time per game. He got some top-pairing deployment with countryman Mikhail Sergachev, but also saw significant time lower on the depth chart with Ian Cole. The lefty was outscored 15-7 at 5-on-5 and controlled 47.5% of shot attempts, 7.1% worse than how Utah fared without him on the ice. With Durzi back in the fold and veteran Nick DeSimone posting better possession impacts in a limited sample, it was hard to justify keeping Simashev in a regular role – at least for now.
Rooney’s waiver placement signals the end of his third stint on Utah’s roster this season without receiving much playing time. He finally made his Mammoth debut last week on Friday against the Stars, notching a goal in 9:44 of ice time. The 32-year-old has served as a No. 14/15 forward for much of the year after signing a two-way deal at the end of training camp. It’s his second time on waivers after he cleared them following his signing. Across a few brief loans to Tucson, the 6’2″ pivot has five goals and an assist in eight appearances.
Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.