It was a short-lived promotion for Wild defenseman Carson Lambos.  A day after being recalled, the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned the blueliner to AHL Iowa.  Lambos has just one career NHL appearance under his belt from last season.  In six games with Iowa this season, the 2021 first-round pick has one goal and one assist after putting up 19 points in back-to-back years.  His demotion might be a sign that one of Olli Maatta or Jared Spurgeon will be good to return to the lineup from their respective upper-body injuries.

Elsewhere in the Central:

• The Blues have officially assigned prospect Felix Trudeau to AHL Springfield, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 24-year-old sustained an upper-body injury early in training camp.  Trudeau inked a two-year, entry-level contract late last season after two very impressive years at Sacred Heart University.  Last season, Trudeau had 25 goals and 23 assists in 39 games at the college level and was able to get a taste of the pros down the stretch, notching a goal and an assist in eight outings with the Thunderbirds.
• Jets defenseman Elias Salomonsson appears to be nearing his first game of the season. Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press relays that the blueliner could get into action with AHL Manitoba on Sunday.  Salomonsson has been rehabbing a shoulder injury and was unable to play at all in the preseason.  He got into 32 games with Winnipeg last season and held his own in nearly 18 minutes per game of playing time.  Once he gets in some time with the Moose, he will be a viable candidate to be brought up.

The Blues announced this morning that they’ve signed college free agent left-winger Felix Trudeau to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal begins next season, but he’ll still have a chance to make his pro debut down the stretch on a tryout with AHL Springfield, the team said.

According to PuckPedia, Trudeau’s deal carries a cap hit of $1.014MM. He will be paid a base salary of $850K, a signing bonus of $102.5K, and a minors salary of $85K in 2026-27 with additional performance bonuses up to $72.5K. In 2027-28, those base salary and signing bonus figures jump to $967.6K and $107.5K with no performance bonus potential. The Blues, who now control Trudeau’s rights through 2030, will owe him a $1.06MM qualifying offer in the summer of 2028.

Trudeau, 23, saw his collegiate career come to an end this past weekend when his Sacred Heart Pioneers dropped the Atlantic Hockey America championship game to Bentley. The 6’2″, 190-lb forward was a depth piece for the University of Maine as a freshman and sophomore, but emerged as a star in Connecticut for Sacred Heart after transferring there in 2024.

The Quebec native has led his club in scoring each of the past two seasons, ending his career with a spectacular 25-23–48 run in 39 games with a whopping 87 penalty minutes and a +14 rating. The hard-nosed winger was one of the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the NCAA’s top men’s hockey player, announced last week. Along with that, he was named the AHA’s forward and player of the year while tying for sixth in the country in scoring, second among undrafted free agents behind Michigan’s T.J. Hughes, who will be landing an NHL deal as soon as the #1-ranked Wolverines’ run toward a national championship ends.

It’s always harder to gauge the projectability of players coming from non-power Division I conferences. Despite finishing as the runner-up to Bentley for the championship honors, Sacred Heart was still only ranked 29th out of 63 DI teams in the year-end NCAA Percentage Index. Playing against weaker competition will have inflated his point totals somewhat compared to Big Ten, Hockey East, and NCHC stars, but his power-forward style could make him an effective bottom-six piece if his offense doesn’t translate well to the pro game. As Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis notes, though, he’ll need to work on his skating in Springfield before challenging for an NHL call-up.