The Maple Leafs added some depth on Monday by bringing up forward Vinni Lettieri and goaltender Artur Akhtyamov from the AHL’s Marlies.
Lettieri, 31, has been productive early in the AHL season, putting up three goals and nine points in five games. He was also the Marlies’ top playoff scorer in 2025-26, finishing with 11 goals and 26 points in 23 games as Toronto captured the Calder Cup.
Akhtyamov’s start in the minors has been steady as well. The 24-year-old is 2-1 with the Marlies this season, posting an .882 save percentage and a 2.94 goals-against average. He made his NHL debut last season, appearing in three games, but is still looking for his first NHL win.
Toronto also has a question mark in the lineup for tonight’s game against the San Jose Sharks. William Nylander will miss the morning skate because of an illness, and his status remains TBD. The 30-year-old has five goals and 12 points in nine games this season.
Elsewhere around the league, the Flyers recalled forwards Alex Bump and Cole Knuble from AHL Lehigh Valley, and both will be available against the Colorado Avalanche. Bump, 22, has seven goals and one assist in five AHL games this season and has appeared in three NHL games without a point.
He made his NHL debut last season, scoring five goals and nine points in 17 games for Philadelphia and adding two goals in six playoff games. Knuble has one goal and four points in six AHL games in 2026-27 after turning pro following his junior year at Notre Dame.
The Islanders also made a move Monday morning, with forward Mitchell Chaffee coming up on an emergency recall from AHL Hamilton. Chaffee has four goals and six points in six games with the Hammers this season.
Last year, he spent most of the season with Syracuse, where he scored 24 goals and totaled 57 points in 54 games, and also played 11 games for the Lightning, recording one assist. The 28-year-old has 109 career NHL games under his belt, with 16 goals and 26 points split between the Wild and Lightning.
New York’s roster situation has been thinned by injuries. Matias Maccelli and Cal Ritchie both left Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs with lower-body injuries, and the team has also placed Alexander Romanov on injured reserve.
Romanov is not expected back until mid-April at the earliest after tearing his ACL on Oct. 6 against the Rangers. The 26-year-old also missed most of last season after a shoulder injury on Nov. 19 that ultimately required surgery.
In Other News...
Avalanche Get A Tougher Devils Test With One Key Forward Back
Luke Evangelista is set to rejoin the Devils lineup after missing three games with an illness, and his return comes at a time when New Jersey could use a little more punch up front. He is expected back in his usual top-six role for the matchup with the Colorado Avalanche, giving the Devils a familiar piece in a part of the lineup that has been asked to carry a lot of weight early.
For New Jersey, the timing matters beyond just getting one skater back. Evangelista came over from the Nashville Predators in the offseason and recently secured a five-year contract extension, so every game he plays now carries a little more meaning for a team trying to settle its forward mix while taking on a quality opponent. The Avalanche will have to deal with a Devils group that looks more complete with him available, even if there is still plenty to sort out around how quickly he settles back in. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Keep Showing One Frustrating Problem They Still Haven't Fixed
The Devils latest week offered a pretty familiar snapshot of where they are right now: capable of looking sharp against a rival, then slipping back into the kind of uneven play that has kept them from stacking wins. Their 7-1 rout of the Rangers showed what this group can do when the offense is humming, with Luke Hughes and Jack Hughes helping drive production, but the follow-up 4-2 loss to Washington served as a reminder that one strong night has not yet translated into steady form.
What keeps surfacing is the same frustrating middle stretch, where games seem to get away from them and the second period has become a recurring problem. New Jersey also needs a little more from the supporting cast and some cleaner work on the power play if it wants to turn flashes of dominance into something more reliable, because right now the talent is there but the consistency is still missing. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Record Is Hiding A Bigger Early Season Debate
The Devils early-season record has left plenty of room for debate, but the deeper numbers are offering a very different view of where this team stands. After the strong 2022-23 campaign that helped set expectations, their advanced metrics dipped in the years that followed, though there has been some improvement under Sheldon Keefe. Even with a .500 start to the 2026-27 season, New Jersey has been driving play at an elite level and sitting near the top of the league in expected goal share.
What makes the conversation so interesting is the gap between process and results. The Devils have paired strong underlying offense with solid defensive numbers, but those trends have not yet shown up consistently in the standings, especially with weaker opponents and score effects shaping part of the picture. For a team trying to prove its identity is real, the early question is not whether the Devils can generate chances, but when the standings will finally catch up. [Read more 🡒]