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The Chicago Blackhawks activated goaltender Petr Mrazek off injured reserve on Thursday.
In a related move, Chicago assigned goalie Drew Commesso to AHL affiliate Rockford.
The Blackhawks will start Arvid Soderblom in net on Thursday night when the Seattle Kraken visit, but Mrazek will back him up.
Mrazek, 32, had missed five games with a left groin injury suffered Dec. 7. Soderblom has carried the team since then, as the Blackhawks went 3-2 in that time following a five-game losing streak.
"It's a relief that it wasn't anything serious," Mrazek told reporters Thursday. "I felt I was just being more careful with it. In the past you stay in the net and you get it worse. Dealing with that and then with the flu, everything in one, was the thing. Just get through it and get back on track."
Mrazek has gone 7-11-1 this season with a 2.83 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.
In 13 NHL seasons with the Detroit Red Wings (2012-18), Philadelphia Flyers (2018), Carolina Hurricanes (2018-21), Toronto Maple Leafs (2021-22) and Chicago, he has gone 175-166-39 with a 2.80 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.
The Blackhawks (11-19-2, 24 points) are tied with Central Division rival Nashville for the fewest points in the NHL entering Thursday's play.
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Oilers to Acquire a Top-Tier Goalie. An Official Trade Offer Is on the Table in a Blockbuster Deal
Kraken Reportedly Eyeing Penguins All-Star Trade
As the Pittsburgh Penguins continue trade talks centered around wing Rickard Rakell, the veteran has drawn a lot of interest around the league. The Penguins may be able to net some strong assets for him in any deal, but there is also a high asking price to move the wing. Rakell could be a real game-changer for a team this late in the offseason, and there is some smoke around a trade happening. But where the veteran lands remains a major mystery around the NHL. NHL insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period linked the Seattle Kraken to a deal for Rakell. While it remains to be seen if a deal will come about, the Kraken could be a solid landing spot for the veteran. Rakell remains a valuable scoring option and could heavily impact any team that would land him. Last season for the Penguins, the veteran wing scored 35 goals and 35 assists, showing his strong productivity. The biggest obstacle for the Kraken in trading for Rakell is that he owns an eight-team no-trade list. It's unknown which teams are on this list, so Rakell would need to waive this if Seattle were part of it. We have seen players do this over the years, so it's possible that a deal could happen. But it has also been reported that Rakell would prefer to stay with Pittsburgh, despite all the trade rumors around him. If Seattle were able to pull a deal for Rakell off, it could help them get back to the postseason. Seattle has missed the playoffs in three of the four years that it has been a franchise in the league, and the front office has a lot of pressure to win moving forward.
Insider Report Ties Yankees to Pirates Pitchers in Final Hours Before Deadline
With less than 48 hours to go until the 2025 MLB trade deadline, the New York Yankees are still flirting with the Pittsburgh Pirates over some pitching. According to insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Yankees and Pirates are still discussing reliever David Bednar and starter Mitch Keller on Tuesday night. But while there’s interest in both arms, the Yankees might not like the price. “Bednar is a target. Keller interests them, too, but the price tag might discourage them,” Heyman reported Tuesday. That lines up with what we’ve seen from the Yankees so far this month. They’ve been aggressive in scouting relievers but cautious about overpaying, especially for pitchers under long-term control. Bednar, who has a 4.19 ERA and 16 saves in 2025, would fill a pressing need for a club that ranks near the bottom of the league in bullpen ERA for July. His late-inning experience and high ground-ball rate make him a logical fit. Keller, meanwhile, would be a luxury at this point, especially after Luis Gil’s impending return. The right-hander is having a bounce-back year for the Pirates, with a 3.56 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and a team-leading 121 strikeouts in 125 innings. But he’s under team control through 2028, and Pittsburgh doesn’t appear eager to move him unless blown away. That’s likely where the Yankees’ caution kicks in. The team has shown a willingness to deal mid-tier prospects but has reportedly been hesitant to part with top-end talent like Cam Schlittler or Spencer Jones, especially for non-rental pieces. Still, the fact that conversations have occurred shows that even in the wake of Aaron Judge’s injury news, the Yankees remain active on both the bullpen and rotation fronts. The Yankees front office is casting a wide net. With time running out, names like Bednar and Keller remain firmly in the mix.
Pitcher bizarrely faces old team on same day of trade
Seranthony Dominguez certainly had an eventful day on Tuesday. The veteran MLB reliever began the day on the Baltimore Orioles and was with his teammates in the dugout during the first leg of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays. The O's went on to win, 16-4, at Oriole Park in Baltimore, though Dominguez did not pitch during the game. But the day took a bizarre turn when the two teams agreed to a deal in the middle of the doubleheader. The Orioles traded Dominguez to the Blue Jays in exchange for minor league pitcher Juaron Watts-Brown. That led to a strange scene where Dominguez switched clubhouses after being traded, walking across the hallway to get to the Toronto side. Things got even weirder during the second leg of the doubleheader. Dominguez got the call to pitch for the Blue Jays against his former team. He had to walk past his ex-Baltimore teammates to get to the Toronto bullpen, and then entered the game in the seventh inning to pitch. Here is the unusual spectacle that saw Dominguez pitch against the guys that he began the day as teammates with. The whole thing was so bizarre that it even looked like Dominguez received a hastily-made Blue Jays jersey with the “8” in his No. 48 apparently stuck on backwards. Dominguez, a 30-year-old in his seventh MLB season, ended up striking out two in a scoreless frame against his former team. We have certainly seen instances of MLB players getting traded in the middle of games before, but that had to be the first instance of a player starting the first half of a doubleheader on one team and then pitching in the second half for the other team.
Andrew Vaughn lifts Brewers over Cubs with career-high RBI night
Andrew Vaughn’s arrival in Milwaukee has marked a season-changing chapter in both his career and in the Brewers' season. Traded from the Chicago White Sox on June 13 in exchange for starting pitcher Aaron Civale, Vaughn arrived in Milwaukee with a career slash line of .248/.303/.407 with 77 home runs in 610 games. Prior to the trade, Vaughn was struggling in 2025, slashing just .189/.218/.314 with five home runs and 19 RBI in 48 games. In his 15th game as a Brewer, Vaughn delivered his most dominant performance of the season Tuesday night against the Cubs. He went 3-for-4 with a career-high six RBI, highlighted by a towering 409-foot grand slam that broke the game wide open and extended Milwaukee’s lead. Vaughn's six RBI set a career high and tied for the second-most by a Brewer in a single game this season. Through his first 15 games in Milwaukee, Vaughn is slashing .375/.439/.771 with five home runs and 21 RBI. Since July 7, his 21 RBI rank third-most in MLB, trailing only the Athletics' Nick Kurtz and the Phillies' Kyle Schwarber. Milwaukee’s 9–3 victory sealed its third straight win against the Cubs, putting it two games ahead of Chicago atop the NL Central.
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