NHL Player News

Bjornfot was claimed off waivers by the Golden Knights from the Kings on Thursday, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports.

Bjornfot wasn't getting work with the Kings, having last played at the NHL level Oct. 11. Had he cleared waivers, he would have likely reported to AHL Ontario where he would have played regularly. However, Vegas likely sees potential in the 22-year-old defenseman, who LA selected with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Bjornfot is a particularly useful grab for Vegas currently because the Golden Knights are missing defensemen Ben Hutton (upper body), Shea Theodore (upper body) and Kaedan Korczak (lower body).

Cormier was recalled from AHL Henderson on Thursday.

Cormier is unlikely to get into an NHL game during this call-up and will likely be shipped back to the minors once Tobias Bjornfot, who was claimed off waivers by Vegas from LA on Thursday, joins up with the Knights. With the Silver Knights, Cormier has tallied one goal and 11 assists in 27 appearances tihs year.

Benning underwent successful hip surgery, general manager Mike Grier said Thursday, and will be out of action five months.

That would put Benning out for the season as the Sharks are at the bottom of the NHL standings. Benning ends the season with two assists, 29 blocked shots and 15 hits in 14 games. He should be ready for the start of training camp in September.

Spurgeon aggravated his lower-body injury during Tuesday's loss to Calgary, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic.

Spurgeon missed seven games with the original injury in December and returned to play in three games before he suffered the injury once again. Spurgeon was placed on injured reserve Wednesday and will miss at least a week of action. Spurgeon has five assists in 16 games this season.

Brodin skated Thursday for the first time since suffering his upper-body injury, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports.

Brodin, who hasn't played since Dec. 8 versus Edmonton, is still on long-term injured reserve, but he's clearly making progress in his recovery, although he'll presumably need to get into several practices before returning to game action. The veteran defender picked up nine points through 25 contests before suffering his injury.

Provorov will be a game-time decision Thursday after missing practice Wednesday with an illness, according to Adam Kimelman of NHL.com.

Provorov has two goals and 21 points in 39 games as he has taken over quarterbacking the first power play in the absence of Zach Werenski (ankle). Provorov has six assists with the man advantage this year. Should he be unable to go, Andrew Peeke would enter the lineup in Provorov's place.

Carlson tallied a power-play goal, four shots and two hits during Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Devils.

Carlson's second goal of the season ended a five-game scoring drought and gave him his 11th consecutive season with at least 20 points. Despite averaging a career-high 25:42 of ice time, the 33-year-old is struggling mightily to produce the kind of offensive numbers that have made him such a reliable fantasy blueliner over the years. Some positive regression seems likely for the 27th overall pick from the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, so fantasy managers should just hope Carlson turns the corner quickly now that the calendar has rolled into 2024.

Sergachev (lower body) was put on long-term injured reserve Thursday, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times.

Sergachev was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, but the Lightning needed cap space to recall defensemen Sean Day and Declan Carlile from AHL Syracuse, which is why Sergachev was subsequently placed on LTIR. Sergachev will be eligible to return as early as Jan. 13 versus Anaheim. He has missed the last six games after he was injured Dec. 19 versus St. Louis. He has two goals and 17 assists in 33 games this season.

Carlile was called up from AHL Syracuse on Thursday.

The Lightning promoted Carlile and fellow defenseman Sean Day while putting Mikhail Sergachev on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Carlile will likely serve as a depth defenseman during his time with the Lightning. He has three goals and six assists in 31 AHL games this season.

Day was recalled from AHL Syracuse on Thursday.

Day has played in only two NHL games in his career -- both came in 2021 with the Lightning. The defenseman has been a healthy scratch in all seven games this season when he has been recalled from the minors. Day's picked up eight assists in 17 AHL games this year.