Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/01/22

New year, new New Year’s Day lineup for the NHL. While the Winter Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis will still be the highlight, the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues are just two of 18 teams on the ice today to open the calendar year. As a result, there will be fewer spectators and more move makers when it comes to roster transactions today, especially given the return of the taxi squad. Keep up with all of action here:

Atlantic Division

• The Buffalo Sabres have activated forwards Vinnie Hinostroza and Jeff Skinner from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. With both back in action, the team has reassigned forwards Brandon Biro, J.J. Peterka, and Arttu Ruotsalainen and defenseman Oskari Laaksonen to the AHL’s Rochester Americans.  They also revealed that head coach Don Granato is also out of the protocol and back behind the bench for Saturday’s game.
• Dan Renouf is on the move again, with the Detroit Red Wings sending the minor league veteran back to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins following a short stint on the taxi squad. Renouf has played in four games with Detroit this season though, proving to be a dependable depth option.

Metropolitan Division

• Returning to the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup from the NHL’s COVID Protocol are defensemen John Marino and Michael Matheson and forward Dominik Simon, who also took part in practice today. While there are still several members of the Penguins remaining on the COVID list, this is positive news ahead of the team’s return to play on Sunday.
• Alexandar Georgiev has cleared COVID Protocol for the New York Rangers, causing a domino effect in net. With Georgiev back on the active roster, the team has announced that veteran Keith Kinkaid will move to the taxi squad while prospect Adam Huska will return to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.
• The New Jersey Devils are adding two top prospects to the taxi squad in Alexander Holtz and Nolan Foote. Foote is merely a recall from AHL Utica, while Holtz has been away at the ill-fated 2022 World Junior Championships. While both are only on the taxi squad for now, both should get a chance to jump into the Devils’ lineup at some point shortly.

Central Division

• The Dallas Stars have recalled a trio of forwards from the minors to the taxi squad as they get set ready to return to action this week. The Stars have not played since December 20 and their next game is not until Thursday, January 6, so the team will be eager to hit the ice after a 16-day break. They will now be joined by Riley Damiani, Ty Dellandrea, and Rhett Gardner, all up from AHL Texas. The group has a combined 32 points in 63 AHL games this season, but just one point in two NHL games. Youngsters Damiani and Dellandrea are still good options for a boost of offensive energy anywhere in the lineup, while the veteran Gardner is a physical grinder who can step into a fourth-line role.
• Just in time for the Winter Classic, the St. Louis Blues have activated Ivan Barbashev, Oskar Sundqvist, and Ville Husso. To make room, Nathan Walker, Alexei Toropchenko, and Charlie Lindgren have been assigned to the taxi squad.

Pacific Division

• The Winnipeg Jets are adding some security in net, promoting goaltender Arvid Holm from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose to the taxi squad. In the event of a positive COVID test for a netminder, Holm will be ready to step in. The 23-year-old is actually in his first season in North America and the backup in the AHL to promising prospect Mikhail Berdin, but has slightly outplayed him this season albeit in half as many appearances. The Jets likely feel that they can support the NHL squad without disrupting the AHL roster and Berdin’s development by placing Holm into the taxi squad role instead, at least for now.
• In an effort to get the promising prospect play time, the Edmonton Oilers announced that defenseman Philip Broberg has been moved from the taxi squad back to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Broberg has actually played in eight NHL games so far this season, but with only one point to show for it the Oilers know he can use some more seasoning in the minors. In an unrelated move, the team has recalled goaltender Ilya Konovalov from the taxi squad under emergency circumstances. There are no specifics yet on what prompted the move, but it is Mike Smith who is unavailable; the veteran just returned from injury (perhaps too early again).

This post will be updated throughout the day.