Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for February 2022

Jaycob Megna Undergoes Surgery

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The San Jose Sharks have lost another defenseman to injury, as head coach Bob Boughner told reporters including Corey Masisak of The Athletic that Jaycob Megna underwent surgery to repair a displaced fracture in his foot. Megna will be out four to six weeks following the procedure.

The minor league veteran had actually taken on a ton of responsibility for the Sharks recently, playing 24:37 against the Carolina Hurricanes just before the All-Star break. That was a career-high at the NHL level, a career that includes only 62 appearances to this point. Megna, 29, has been a consistent presence in the AHL for years, stabilizing defense corps for the Norfolk Admirals, San Diego Gulls, Chicago Wolves, and San Jose Barracuda. He’s on a one-year, two-way contract this season that comes with a cap hit of just $750K.

With Erik Karlsson and Nikolai Knyzhov already on injured reserve, the Sharks’ defensive depth is certainly being tested. The team recalled Ryan Merkley from the AHL today, leaving just three other defensemen on NHL contracts in the minor leagues. Merkley is coming up with goaltender Zachary Sawchenko, who was also recalled.

There may be some good news on the horizon though. Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News tweets that Karlsson is a bit ahead of schedule for his return from forearm surgery, though it’s still unclear what exactly that means in terms of game action. When Karlsson had the procedure in late January, the team announced that he would be re-evaluated partway through March.

For Megna, this is brutal timing for a serious injury. Boughner explained that the veteran defenseman was trying to play through it and that it actually occurred when he blocked a shot against the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 22–before he logged those heavy minutes on the road trip. For a player that has ground through nearly 400 AHL games and was getting arguably the best opportunity of his career, it’s easy to understand why.

Injury Updates: MacKinnon, Sanderson, Devils

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Colorado Avalanche will have Nathan MacKinnon back in the lineup tomorrow when they take on the Dallas Stars, according to head coach Jared Bednar. The superstar center was back with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen at practice today after missing the last four with a facial fracture. The team went 3-1 during that stretch but there are few players in the league more valuable than MacKinnon, who is in the midst of another outstanding season.

Through 31 games, the 26-year-old has 43 points despite only scoring nine goals of his own. A 6.6% shooting percentage is the culprit for that low goal total as MacKinnon is still generating huge amounts of offense whenever he’s on the ice. The idea of a Colorado team getting even more dangerous if the puck starts finding the back of the net more often for their top player is a scary thought for the rest of the Central Division. With Nazem Kadri, Rantanen, Landeskog, MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews all scoring at a point-per-game rate (or better), the high-flying Avalanche will play a home-and-home against the Stars over their next two games.

  • Team USA secured an impressive victory over Canada last night at the Beijing Olympics but it came at a cost. Jake Sanderson, who had to deal with several delays before joining his teammates because of COVID restrictions, suffered an injury that puts the rest of his tournament in question, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The medical staff is still evaluating the young Ottawa Senators prospect. Sanderson, 19, is already probably the best defenseman on the U.S. squad despite his young age and lack of pro experience and would be a tough loss for the team if he is ruled out.
  • The New Jersey Devils will be without Jesper Bratt and Janne Kuokkanen when they play tomorrow afternoon, as both are out with injury. Bratt is dealing with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day, while Kuokkanen is still out with the wrist injury that has kept him from playing the last two. Jack Hughes, out of the COVID protocol, will be back in the lineup after his impressive All-Star performance.

Montreal Canadiens Linked To Vincent Lecavalier

at CDT | by 13 Comments

Feb. 12: It seems there is at least something to the Lecavalier-Canadiens rumors. In an interview with the Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan, Hughes confirms that he does hope to bring in his former client as a member of the hockey operations staff. However, he dispels the rumors that Lecavalier would be in line for an Assistant GM job:

I’ve had conversations with him. To me, trying to identify from Vinnie what would you like to do? He’s installed in Tampa for the time being. He’s got a young family, he’s not going to pack up and move. It’s not fair for his family to do that at this point. So the question is how can we involve him in a way that interests him and benefits us? And if we can do that we’re going to do it. It’s not going to be assistant GM, despite all the rumors, but if we can find a way to do it — and I have ideas about it — then we’d absolutely like to do it. Everything that we do has to in part be about our culture and the kind of people that we bring in, what they stand for. And I don’t think that’s just in the locker room. That has to be the whole organization, from the top down.

Feb. 9, 8:50pm: It’s just like his playing days all over again. Despite a seemingly reliable report that Lecavalier would be joining the Canadiens, the man himself has denied the rumors. Lecavalier tells Simon Lorange of La Presse that the report of him accepting the Montreal Assistant GM job is erroneous and he is happy in Florida. While this could be temporary posturing by the former star player, it doesn’t appear that this is the case. Will the Lecavalier to Montreal rumors ever end?

Feb. 9, 7:30pm: The Montreal Canadiens are about as far away from the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning as a team can be. In their efforts to turn around a historically bad season and work their way back into relevance, it seems the club has decided to reunite the 2004 Stanley Cup-winning Bolts squad. After naming Martin St. Louis as interim head coach earlier today, the Habs are now expected to name his former teammate, Vincent Lecavalier, as Assistant General Manager, according to Montreal reporter Marc-Olivier Beaudoin.

In reality, it was almost certainly Lecavalier’s relationship to new Canadiens GM Kent Hughes that led to this hire rather than St. Louis. Hughes was Lecavalier’s agent for much of his decorated career. More recently, it was actually Lecavalier who Hughes credits for convincing him to leave agency behind and take the Montreal GM gig. Lecavalier’s ties to the city also undoubtedly assisted in this decision. A Quebec native, Lecavalier never played for the Canadiens, but was a rumored target throughout his career. While his playing days are now over, the wish of many Habs fans has finally been granted.

The first overall pick in the 1998 NHL Draft, the 41-year-old Lecavalier had a long, successful playing career before retiring in 2016. Best remembered as the long-time captain of the Lightning, Lecavalier also played for the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings at the end of his 1,212-game NHL career. Lecavalier finished just shy of 1,000 career points but in his prime the four-time All-Star was a perennial point-per-game scorer, including an unforgettable 52-goal, 108-point Rocket Richard-winning campaign in 2006-07. A power forward with elite possession ability, Lecavalier brings plenty of hockey IQ to his new role and will be an asset to the Canadiens, especially given his history with both the new GM and new head coach.

AHL Shuffle: 02/12/22

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Between the Olympic slate and the Super Bowl, there is plenty going on in the world of sports this weekend, but the NHL rolls on with eight games today plus another four tomorrow. Saturday’s action kicks off with a trio of Eastern Conference matinees and culminates with Islanders-Flames late tonight. Over the course of the day, keep up with all of the recalls and reassignments made by teams preparing for the weekend schedule:

Atlantic Division

  • As expected, the Detroit Red Wings have activated defenseman Troy Stecher from the injured reserve. However, that is not the only blue line addition today. Veteran Dan Renouf, a frequent Wings recall this season, is back up from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit announced. Renouf has spent more time watching than playing while on the NHL roster this season, but has managed to get into four games.
  • After acquiring Andrew Hammond, the Montreal Canadiens have recalled him to the active roster and sent Cayden Primeau to the Laval Rocket. Primeau, 22, has played in 11 games this season for the Canadiens, posting. 1-7-1 record with an .866 save percentage.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they have returned defenseman Darren Raddysh to Syracuse of the AHL.  The 25-year-old has played in four games with the Lightning this season, his first taste of NHL action.  Raddysh has spent most of the season with the Crunch, collecting four assists in 27 games.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Carolina Hurricanes have reassigned forward Josh Leivo to the AHL, the team announced. Leivo has been hot with the Chicago Wolves this season, recording 19 points in 22 games, and has added three points in seven games with the ’Canes. However, it hasn’t been enough to stick long-term on the deep Carolina roster. His seven NHL games this season is the fewest in any year since his rookie season and the impending UFA could move on this summer in pursuit of more opportunity.

Central Division

  • The Dallas Stars announced that they have recalled defenseman Thomas Harley from Texas of the AHL.  John Klingberg and Andrej Sekera are both listed as day-to-day with upper-body injuries so the youngster will serve as insurance if those two veterans aren’t able to suit up against Colorado on Sunday.  Harley has played in eight games with Dallas, averaging just over 13 minutes a game while he has 11 assists in 27 games with Texas this season.
  • The Arizona Coyotes announced that they’ve returned goaltender Ivan Prosvetov to AHL Tucson.  Arizona is off until next Saturday so the assignment will allow the 22-year-old a chance to get into some game action.  He has made two appearances with the Coyotes this season while posting a 3.56 GAA and a save percentage of .882 in 24 games with the Roadrunners.

Pacific Division

Canadiens Acquire Andrew Hammond From Wild

at CDT | by 7 Comments

In need of a netminder, the Montreal Canadiens have worked quickly to find a solution. Veteran Andrew Hammond has been acquired from the Minnesota Wild this morning, the team announced. Going the other way is AHL enforcer Brandon Baddock. Hammond is expected to join the NHL roster in Montreal immediately. Baddock will report to AHL Iowa.

As Sportsnet’s Eric Engels details, Montreal had found themselves in quite the pickle in goal. Presumptive NHL tandem Carey Price and Jake Allen are both sidelined due to injury, as is depth option Michael McNiven and none are especially close to returning. Sam Montembeault has performed admirably as the de facto starter, but he too is not playing at full strength. Meanwhile, current backup Cayden Primeau is floundering, allowing 17 goals in just 174 total minutes in his past five appearances. The Habs wanted to get the young keeper back to the AHL’s Laval Rocket before his NHL struggles started to impact his development, but had no one else to call upon. The team was also greatly limited by both the salary cap and contract cap when it comes to adding someone from the outside.

The solution was a one-for-one swap to bring in the affordable but reliable Hammond, which does not substantially impact the team’s status in regards to roster limits. “The Hamburglar”, 34, has surprisingly not played in an NHL game since 2017-18, though he has dressed as a backup at least once in each of the past three seasons, including earlier this year with Minnesota. At times during his early career, Hammond looked like he was on track to become a long-term NHL contributor, but has settled in to more of a No. 3 role. Yet, his NHL numbers are still somewhat remarkable – 27 wins, a .923 save percentage, and a 2.31 GAA in 56 games. Clearly, there is more to Hammond’s game than just his performance in limited in NHL action, otherwise he would in fact be an NHL regular. His unspectacular AHL numbers speak to that, as does the journeyman nature of his career over the past five years. With that said, a combination of experience, veteran presence, and results, however limited, make him a nice addition for a Montreal team desperate for stability.

The Wild could afford to move on from Hammond with a reliable NHL tandem of veteran Cam Talbot and youngster Kaapo Kahkonen and a large stable of minor league goaltenders, including veteran Zane McIntyre, who has played well for AHL Iowa, and prospects Dereck Baribeau and Hunter Jones. In Baddock, they gain some grit in the organization, which always nice to have at your disposal during the stretch run and postseason. Baddock only has one career NHL game, but has long been a fearsome presence in the AHL as a perennial hits and penalty minutes leader.

Colorado Has Shown Interest In Marc-Andre Fleury And Claude Giroux

at CDT | by 12 Comments

With several key veterans heading towards unrestricted free agency and a strong roster that’s already one of the top offensive teams in the league, expectations are high in Colorado with the belief that they will look to make a big splash to cement their contender status.  As part of his trade bait list released earlier today, TSN’s Chris Johnston reported in a separate segment (video link) that they’ve shown interest in a pair of prominent veterans in Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and Flyers center Claude Giroux.

Fleury has had a quiet year with Chicago compared to his Vezina-winning campaign last season but has still managed a respectable .910 SV% and a 2.88 GAA in 34 starts.  For context, starter Darcy Kuemper’s numbers are only a little better at a .916 SV% and a 2.54 GAA.  Pavel Francouz has been even better in limited action but missed all of last season and most of this one due to injury so some quality insurance between the pipes would make some sense.

As for Giroux, he has continually made it clear that he has not yet decided whether or not he’ll waive his trade protection to facilitate a trade.  It’s a decision that seems likely to come close to the March 21st trade deadline but it’s easy to see why the Avs would be interested.  He’s on pace for close to 30 goals and 70 points and would make a strong attack much deeper.  He’d also be a big boost for them at the faceoff dot as Colorado’s team success rate is only 47.3% while Giroux is one of the league leaders at 60.6% and with greater emphasis placed on situational draws in the postseason, that’s an element that will be of interest to many contenders, not just the Avs.

However, while Colorado may want these players, finding a way to fit them in on the cap will be tricky.  They project to have less than $1MM in cap space at the deadline, per CapFriendly while Fleury carries a $7MM AAV and Giroux checks in at $8.25MM.  Clearly, the Avalanche would need at least 50% retention on either player if they were to get one of them and would either need to send some sort of salary offset the other way or involve a third team to hold back another 25% of their contract to make the money work.  The fact GM Joe Sakic is showing interest in some of the top talents suggests that this is their year to go all-in and if there’s a way to get another top veteran, they’ll find a way to make the money work.

Atlantic Notes: Panthers, Stecher, Mittelstadt

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Panthers will have some reinforcements up front for their first game after the All-Star break.  Team reporter Jameson Olive relays that wingers Patric Hornqvist and Maxim Mamin plus center Noel Acciari should all be ready to suit up on Wednesday against Carolina.  Hornqvist has been out for close to a month with an upper-body injury while Mamin has missed close to three weeks with an undisclosed injury.  As for Acciari, he hasn’t played with Florida all season due to a pectoral injury suffered back in the preseason that required surgery although he did get in a couple of games on a conditioning stint last week.  The Panthers only have one open roster spot at the moment so they will need to make a couple of moves to activate the trio of forwards off IR.

Elsewhere around the Atlantic:

  • The Red Wings should have defenseman Troy Stecher back in their lineup on Saturday against Philadelphia, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. The veteran has missed more than three months due to a wrist injury, a disappointing outcome in a year where he’s going to hit unrestricted free agency this summer.  His return will help offset the absences of Filip Hronek (COVID protocol) and Nick Leddy (upper-body injury) and if he’s able to play well over the next month, he could be an interesting trade candidate for Detroit heading into the trade deadline.
  • Sabres center Casey Mittelstadt has been cleared for contact as he works his way towards coming from his latest upper-body injury, reports Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.  Head coach Don Granato indicated that the 23-year-old can now be classified as being out day-to-day but that they will err on the side of caution since he has hardly played this season; Mittelstadt has played just seven times due to multiple injuries.

Metropolitan Notes: Zacha, Hartsburg, Malkin

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Devils are receiving some interest in forward Pavel Zacha, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 32 Thoughts column.  The 24-year-old is on pace for a career season offensively and has 22 points in 45 games this season while splitting time between center and the wing.  New Jersey’s top two spots down the middle are more or less set for the better part of the next decade so it’s certainly understandable why some teams may be sniffing around.  Zacha has one season of RFA eligibility remaining and will be able to file for arbitration this summer.  He’s subject to the old rule for qualifying offers which means his $3MM salary is what he’ll need to be offered to maintain his rights.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Blue Jackets have brought back Craig Hartsburg, he revealed in a podcast for the team’s website (audio link). Hartsburg spent parts of six seasons in Columbus over two separate stints, spending time as both an assistant coach and a scout.  Now, he’ll work with the team roughly once a month for a week at a time.  The 62-year-old has plenty of NHL coaching experience and has stints as the head coach in Chicago, Anaheim, and Ottawa in the past.
  • Penguins center Evgeni Malkin is officially listed as a game-time decision for Sunday’s game against New Jersey but he is expected to return, notes Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He was placed in COVID protocol just after the All-Star break and it appears he won’t be missing any more time than the minimum five days.  Between that and injuries, the pending UFA has played in just a dozen games this season although he has been productive when he has played, notching 13 points.

Kaapo Kakko Out Another Month With Upper-Body Injury

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The New York Rangers will be without young forward Kaapo Kakko for another month according to head coach Gerard Gallant, who spoke to reporters including Dan Rosen of NHL.com. He hasn’t played since January 21, missing the last several games before the break with the upper-body injury that’s keeping him out.

While he still hasn’t reached the level of offense that many expected from a second-overall pick, Kakko has been an excellent defensive presence for the Rangers this season. His average ice time is up to 16 minutes a night with outstanding possession numbers, and though he still isn’t a regular on the penalty kill, he’s at least seen some time shorthanded.

Unfortunately, he won’t get a chance to try and raise that offensive presence for a while. In 37 games he has 14 points, just seven shy of the 23 he had as a rookie. A month would take him out for another dozen games, after which he’d need to find his footing once again.

The team recalled Morgan Barron this morning but he may not be in the lineup for long. The 23-year-old has one point in nine games, playing fewer than ten minutes in five of his appearances, and could soon be replaced by Filip Chytil, who could return against the Boston Bruins when the Rangers come back from their long break next week.

Snapshots: Trade Bait, Giordano, Halak

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The trade deadline is now just over five weeks away and the stove is heating up. TSN’s Chris Johnston has released his first Trade Bait board, with Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun firmly planted at the top of the list. An interesting mix of youth, upside, and contract status that rarely appears as an in-season trade candidate, Chychrun’s market likely encompasses most of the league.

The rest of the board includes the usual names, Ben Chiarot from Montreal, John Klingberg from Dallas, but also some that perhaps aren’t talked about as much, like Mark Pysyk of the Buffalo Sabres and Chris Tierney of the Ottawa Senators. In all, there are 24 names among the targets listed by Johnston, plus the extra cap space that the Coyotes have learned to weaponize in order to make asset additions.

  • One of the other names on the list is Mark Giordano, appearing near the top as he did on The Athletic’s version last month. Giordano spoke with Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic for a piece released today and indicated that he still hasn’t spoken to Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis about the impending deadline decision. Giordano doesn’t actually have full control of that process as his no-trade clause only lists 19 teams he can be traded to, but as a respected veteran and the first captain in team history, he’ll be consulted along the way. Giordano admits to Clark that he doesn’t exactly want to be traded, but understands that there is “a business side to this sport.”
  • There was a misunderstanding in the performance bonus clause for Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jaroslav Halak, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. It was widely reported that Halak had reached the 10-game threshold to earn a $1.25MM bonus the other night but that clause is actually for 10 starts not appearances. Halak has started just nine games so far this season.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top