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Evening Notes: Zadorov, Vlasic, Poehling

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Elliotte Friedman reported today that Vancouver Canucks recent trade acquisition Nikita Zadorov never received a formal contract extension offer from the Calgary Flames. Friedman went on to add that Calgary and Zadorov had different opinions on the length of a potential extension as the Flames wanted to be cautious while Zadorov was looking for long-term security.

It’s an understandable position from both sides given the circumstance they both find themselves in. Calgary has several undesirable long-term contracts on the books and was likely hesitant to add another one, while Zadorov has never had more than two years of security on a contract (outside of his ELD). The differences were too much for both sides to overcome which led to the Flames dealing the pending unrestricted free agent to Vancouver.

In other evening notes:

  • Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News is reporting that San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic is unlikely to be traded anytime soon. While that news isn’t surprising, the timing is interesting given that Vlasic was re-inserted into the Sharks lineup two nights ago after being a healthy scratch for a stretch. It seems that for the right price any contract in the NHL can be moved, however, there hasn’t been a contract situation quite like Vlasic’s. The 36-year-old has no points in 15 games this season and is playing under a $7MM cap hit for this season, and two more years after that. He has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of three teams in which he would accept a trade. The other wrinkle in a potential trade is that if the Sharks were to retain salary, it would represent the final time they can do that until one of the current retained contracts expires.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced tonight that center Ryan Poehling would miss their game against the Arizona Coyotes due to an illness. No word yet on whether Poehling is expected to be out of Flyers lineup for any length of time. Poehling has already missed three games this season as a healthy scratch as the 24-year-old has struggled during his first season in Philadelphia. Poehling has had a far more advantageous deployment in Philadelphia than he did in Pittsburgh last year, but his analytics and defensive metrics aren’t what they were despite being given more offensive opportunities.

Jaycob Megna Assigned To The AHL

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The Seattle Kraken have announced that they are sending defenseman Jaycob Megna to the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL for a conditioning assignment. The 30-year-old has yet to play this season and should have an opportunity to crack the lineup with the Firebirds to try and get back into game shape.

Megna is one of the few NHLers to come from the state of Florida and has been a journeyman throughout most of his career. A seventh-round pick in 2012, Megna has dressed in 368 career AHL games over parts of nine seasons. He signed his first one-way NHL contract with the San Jose Sharks in May of 2022 and is in the final season of that deal making the league minimum of $775K this year.

Seattle traded a fourth-round pick for Megna back in February of this year and he dressed in six games down the stretch, tallying zero points. He didn’t suit up in the playoffs and hasn’t played since the end of last season.

Megna’s likelihood of getting into the Kraken lineup took a hit earlier this week when the team called up prospect Ryker Evans from the Firebirds. Evans has a very different skill set than that of Megna and with the Kraken struggling to generate offense from their defense core it’s no surprise that they opted to give Evans a shot over Megna. Megna has just 89 career AHL points thus far in his career, while Evans has played just 89 AHL games in his short career and has eight goals and 44 assists during that time.

Megna will be back with Seattle in the not-too-distant future, and it will be interesting to see if he can get regular usage at the NHL level. While he is surely happy to be collecting an NHL paycheck, he probably hasn’t enjoyed the lack of playing time this season.

New York Rangers Recall Riley Nash

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The New York Rangers announced today that they have recalled forward Riley Nash from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. The 34-year-old is a veteran of 627 NHL games, and will be playing for his seventh NHL team should he dress in any games with the Rangers during his recall.

The native of Consort, Alberta hasn’t played in an NHL game since the 2021-22 season when he dressed for three teams in a single season and posted just four assists in 49 games. He spent all last season in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers where he had 24 goals and 35 assists in 66 games. This season with Hartford he has been nearly a point-a-game player once again registering nine goals and 10 assists in 20 games.

Nash signed a two-year deal with the Rangers back in July that is paying him the NHL minimum of $775K this season. The Rangers likely signed Nash in hopes of him being a player that could provide offense in the AHL and be a bottom-six depth option in the NHL should the team run into injury concerns. So far Nash has shown offensive flair in the AHL, and now with the Rangers running into injury concerns with their forward group, he could have an opportunity to show himself during this recall.  Nash has had periods of being able to put up points in the NHL, but his last solid offensive season was in 2017-18 when he was just 28 years of age.

The Rangers currently lead the surprisingly weak Metropolitan Division by eight points with a record of 18-5-1. They will be tested here in the coming days as Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow are both day-to-day and Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil are on the IR.

Senators To Place Thomas Chabot On LTIR, Out “Minimum” Four Weeks With Leg Injury

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Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot is facing his second lengthy injury-related absence of the young season. He will miss a minimum of four weeks after undergoing MRIs and other tests to determine the severity of a leg injury, although surgery is not required, reports Darren Dreger of TSN. Further to Dreger’s report, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch confirms the Senators will place Chabot on long-term injured reserve.

Chabot, 26, has spent his entire career in the Canadian capital since Ottawa drafted him 18th overall in 2015. His growth into a top-pairing caliber defender hasn’t expedited the Senators’ post-Erik Karlsson rebuild as they had hoped, but that’s far from being Chabot’s fault. His eight-year, $64MM extension signed in 2019 has aged well, as he’s produced at a 0.62 points per game clip over the life of the deal and has averaged nearly 26 minutes per contest since the 2020-21 campaign began. He’s historically been a positive possession force on a team that’s struggled to control play and remains the most valuable all-around defenseman on the roster.

That’s why a second long-term absence for him this season is so demoralizing for a team that finally looked to be gaining traction, going 6-4-0 in their past ten games. Chabot had played just two games since returning from a right-hand fracture that kept him out for all of November. The Senators are still at the .500 mark and sit only ahead of the Buffalo Sabres in terms of points percentage in the Atlantic Division, and they remain squarely out of the playoff picture as the calendar shifts to December. MoneyPuck lists their playoff odds at 30.9% at the time of writing, though, and given how many games in hand they have on the rest of the league, they’re one hot streak away from putting themselves back in the postseason conversation.

It’ll be difficult without Chabot, however, as his absence creates a domino effect felt throughout the Senators’ blueline. Head coach D.J. Smith has attempted to alleviate this by spreading out the Sens’ three best remaining defenders – Jakob Chychrun, Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub – on three different pairings. That still means giving tougher assignments than desired to depth defenders like Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic, though, and managing his blueliners’ ice time will suddenly become a crucial part of Smith’s job – as long as he still has it. External pressure is mounting for the Senators to make a change behind the bench after an all-too-familiar sluggish start, but under new ownership and management, the Senators appear content to let Smith lead the way for a while longer.

Chabot has four assists in nine games on the season while averaging 24:22 per game.

Afternoon Notes: Chytil, Rust, Bogosian

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New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette shared that forward Filip Chytil is, “moving in the right direction” with his upper-body injury, adding that he thinks Chytil will return this season. The 24-year-old centerman is currently on long-term injured reserve, sitting out of action since November 3rd with an upper-body injury.

Chytil appeared in 10 games with the Rangers before going down with injury, recording six assists and four penalty minutes. He was averaging nearly 16 minutes of ice time each game through the early season, the highest average of his seven-year NHL career. Chytil scored a career-high 22 goals and 45 points in 74 games last season, after recording either 22 or 23 points in each of his four prior NHL seasons. The step forward in scoring brought Chytil’s career totals to 144 points in 337 games.

Chytil is one of many injured Rangers forwards, with the team also without Barclay Goodrow and Chris Kreider, who are both day-to-day with injury, and Kaapo Kakko, who is alongside Chytil on injured reserve.

Other notes from around the league:

Snapshots: Laine, Gudbranson, Bussi, Salt Lake City

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The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without both Patrik Laine and Erik Gudbranson, as neither player traveled with the team for their Thursday night matchup against the New York Islanders due to illness. This is the second consecutive game that the duo will miss, after being held out of the team’s Tuesday home game against the Los Angeles Kings.

With his absence on Thursday, Laine will have only played in 16 of the Blue Jackets’ first 28 games. He’s missed action for a variety of reasons, going on injured reserve with a tricep strain in mid-November and serving as a healthy scratch shortly upon his return. The 25-year-old winger has scored five goals and seven points in the games he has appeared in, also adding six penalty minutes and a -9. It’s a step down in production from Laine’s 2022-23 season, where he managed 22 goals and 52 points in 55 games.

And while Laine’s scoring pace has decreased, the 31-year-old Gudbranson has managed nine points in 26 games this season, already a higher point total than he’s managed in eight of his 13 NHL seasons. Gudbranson is in his second season with Columbus, signing a four-year, $16MM contract with the team in July of 2022.

Other notes from around the league:

Oilers Recall Ben Gleason, Loan Philip Broberg To AHL

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The Edmonton Oilers have swapped defensemen, recalling Ben Gleason and sending Philip Broberg to the AHL. Broberg has been the talk of many trade rumors recently, with the Oilers granting the former eighth-overall pick permission to seek a trade on December 5th.

Broberg has seen inconsistent ice time throughout his 10 games with the Oilers this season, playing fewer than eight minutes in three of his last five games. These short-lived outings have brought his average ice time down to just 10:32, a decrease from the 12:36 he averaged last season. The 22-year-old defenseman has already appeared in four AHL games this season, netting two points. Broberg has played in 79 games throughout his NHL career, scoring 11 points. He is one of two players from the 2019 NHL Draft’s top 10 to not play in at least 100 NHL games yet, alongside Los Angeles’ Alex Turcotte.

This swap gives Gleason a chance to play in his first NHL games since the 2018-19 season when the defender appeared in four games with the Dallas Stars. Outside of that small NHL sample, Gleason has spent much of his career with the AHL’s Texas Stars, totaling 290 games with the team over the last five seasons. This year is Gleason’s first with a new club, signing a two-year, two-way, $1.6MM contract with the Oilers this summer. He’s started the contract with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, leading the team’s defensemen in scoring with nine points through 14 games. Gleason will look to score his first NHL goal if he’s able to slot into the lineup on this recall.

Injury Notes: Novak, Carrier, Goodrow, Kreider, Martin

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The Nashville Predators have activated Thomas Novak off of injured reserve. The 26-year-old has been out of action since November 14th with an upper-body injury. Nashville’s head coach, Andrew Brunette, suggested that Novak could return soon, saying, “I think Novak, depending on when I go back and see how his [injury] has healed… if he feels better, I think he’ll go.” 

Both Novak and Alexandre Carrier returned to the Predators’ practice on Thursday. Carrier is working back from an upper-body injury suffered on a hit from Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov.

Novak has appeared in 14 games with the Predators this season, scoring six goals and 12 points and recording six penalty minutes. Carrier has appeared in 22 games of his own, recording eight points and 12 penalty minutes. The Predators drafted Novak and Carrier with consecutive picks in the 2015 NHL Draft, taking Novak in the third round and Carrier in the fourth round. Carrier has scored 50 points through 166 career NHL games, while Novak has totaled 62 points in 92 games of his own.

Other injury notes from around the league:

Predators Place Liam Foudy On Waivers, Return Mark Jankowski To AHL

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The Nashville Predators have placed Liam Foudy on waivers and returned Mark Jankowski to the AHL. Foudy has appeared in 12 games with Nashville this season, while Jankowski slotted into the team’s last two games.

Nashville’s head coach, Andrew Brunette, spoke highly of Foudy in light of the news, saying, “He brings speed and I’d like to see him go [to the AHL] and get a little more finish and get a little stronger. If he clears, I’m really excited to have him in the organization.”

Nashville claimed Foudy off of waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets in late October. The 23-year-old centerman has recorded three assists and a -2 in 13 games between Nashville and Columbus this year, after recording 14 points in 62 games as a rookie last season. Columbus drafted Foudy in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft and awarded him with his NHL debut in the 2019-20 season. He’s totaled 22 points in 102 career NHL games.

Jankowski has spent most of his season with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, ranking second on the team in scoring with 14 points in 17 games. He’s in his second year in Nashville, playing in 50 games and scoring 12 points with the Predators last year. It was only the fourth time that Jankowski has played in 50 or more games in one season, scoring 25 points in 72 games in 2017-18, 32 points in 79 games in 2018-19, and seven points in 56 games in 2019-20. The 29-year-old forward was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames and has totaled 50 goals and 93 points in 324 career NHL games.

Avalanche Reassign Oskar Olausson

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The Avalanche reassigned forward Oskar Olausson to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on Thursday, per a team announcement.

Olausson, 21, was a first-round pick of the Avalanche in 2021. He’s struggled to adapt to the pro game since wrapping up his junior career in 2022, posting 28 points in 83 AHL games dating back to last season. After being sent to the minors prior to the start of this season, the Avalanche brought Olausson up earlier this week and played him in Tuesday’s contest against the Ducks, in which he recorded two shots on goal in 11:50 of ice time playing on a line with Ross Colton and Mikko Rantanen.

It’s been a bit of a disappointing transition for Olausson, who was ranked as high as 13th overall by some scouts heading into the 2021 draft. He was a consensus late-first/early-second-round pick, though, so while he hasn’t flashed his ceiling at the pro level yet, there’s still time for the 6-foot-2, 181-pound youngster to develop.

The Avalanche hope a bit of confidence injected by the recall can help jumpstart his game with the Eagles. Before the call-up, Olausson had just one assist in his last five AHL games.

The Swedish winger is in the first season of his entry-level contract after being slide-eligible for the last two seasons. Carrying a cap hit of $863,333, Olausson will be a restricted free agent in 2026.

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