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Archives for November 2022

John Marino Dealing With Upper-Body Injury

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After losing their winning streak in a defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs last week, the New Jersey Devils have jumped right back on the horse, taking home three more victories in recent days. The club is 19-4 on the year, and a huge part of that is due to allowing so few goals.

The Devils defense corps has been outstanding, with something of an unlikely lynchpin in newcomer John Marino. The 25-year-old has just eight points in 23 games but manages to tilt the ice in his team’s favor despite extremely tough deployment. New Jersey has outscored their opponents 21-8 at even-strength with Marino on the ice, even though he starts more shifts in the defensive zone than the offensive.

That’s why it’s such a big deal when the team announces Marino isn’t practicing today and is out with an upper-body injury. While he is considered day-to-day, it is a critical loss for the Devils.

Kevin Bahl is expected to slot into the lineup in his place should Marino be unable to go tomorrow against the Nashville Predators. Luckily, if you can call it that, the Devils do have an easier stretch coming up, with games against the struggling Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks.

Los Angeles Kings Make Several Roster Moves

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Nov 30: After last night’s wild, 9-8 game, Fagemo has been loaned back to the AHL.

Nov 29: The Los Angeles Kings are always one of the busiest front offices in the league. They shuffle players up and down on a daily basis to save some extra cap, and reward young players with a few days of NHL salary. Today, the shuffle has a new name involved, as Jordan Spence has been recalled from the minor leagues. He’s coming along with Samuel Fagemo, while Lias Andersson has been loaned back to the AHL.

Spence, 21, has been in the minor leagues all season so far, once again dominating the AHL whenever he hits the ice. After scoring 42 points in 46 games last season, he’s off to an even better start with 16 in his first 17. That performance earned Spence 24 appearances with the big club last year, despite being barely out of junior hockey. The fourth-round pick scored twice and added eight points in those games, earning him a short look in the playoffs as well, when the Kings were shorthanded.

His recall today is interesting, if only because the team plays tonight and could insert him directly into the lineup. It’s not clear who would come out, but Alex Edler and Sean Walker both played limited minutes on Sunday as the team lost to the Ottawa Senators in overtime.

Andersson played 8:37 in that game – including just four shifts in the third period – his first appearance of the season at the NHL level. The 24-year-old continues to be a disappointment relative to his draft position (seventh overall in 2017) and can’t seem to lock down a regular spot.

Jordan Szwarz Re-Signs In DEL

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Adler Mannheim of the German DEL announced six contract extensions today, among them former NHL forward Jordan Szwarz. The 31-year-old has signed through 2025, potentially ending any chance of a North American return.

Originally selected 97th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2009, Szwarz made his NHL debut in 2013 and played 50 games at the highest level over the years. A born leader, he was captain of three different AHL teams – the Portland Pirates, Providence Bruins, and Belleville Senators – before leaving for the KHL in 2020.

An all-around talent, he racked up 296 points in 478 AHL games before leaving. This year with Mannheim he has 13 points in 19 games and is playing a key role in the successful club.

Latest On Arizona Arena Plan

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Last night, Tempe City Council unanimously approved a development plan for a $2.1 billion project that would include a new arena for the Arizona Coyotes. The next step will be a special election on May 16, 2023, when the public will have their say on the proposed project.

Coyotes CEO Xavier Gutierrez released the following statement:

It starts with gratitude tonight — Thanking the city council and thanking the city staff for all of their incredible hard work. It’s about being able to touch every person in this city, in this community — that is our community — and starting with that by letting them know it is our community, to let them know just how incredible this is.

While this does not guarantee a new rink for the Coyotes, who are currently sharing a building with Arizona State University, it is another massive step toward one. A permanent facility in Tempe would be a significant win for a franchise that has struggled with attendance and sponsorship for years, partly due to an out-of-the-way rink in Glendale.

At the meeting, owner Alex Meruelo also directly addressed one rumor, telling those in attendance (which included Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports) that he would not be selling the team to Tilman Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets. Fertitta has expressed an interest in owning an NHL team in the past.

Notably, Gary Bettman and Bill Daly were at the City Council meeting, showing support for the Coyotes’ plan. The commissioner has been a staunch supporter of keeping the team in Arizona for years but was also very vocal that a new home – one not in Glendale – was required.

Evening Notes: Stars, Letang, Samsonov

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The Dallas Stars are off to a strong start under new head coach Pete DeBoer, and they’re looking to get stronger. Per TSN’s Darren Dreger on tonight’s edition of Insider Trading, the Stars are still looking to add a top-six forward, preferably to play with Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment.

They’ve had a rotating cast playing on the wing with those two, and although Seguin and Marchment have played well, they’d obviously like some added depth and to get a player that boasts chemistry with them. Jamie Benn is having a resurgence in limited minutes, scoring 26 points in 23 games, and they’d prefer to keep his ice time down below 15-16 minutes. If nothing comes to fruition, the strong performances of youngsters Ty Dellandrea and Wyatt Johnston should still safeguard their depth scoring.

  • Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang has been in and out of the lineup recently, and he’s missing another contest tonight. Letang is absent from their game against the Carolina Hurricanes with an undisclosed illness, the team announced before puck drop. It’s his second missed game of the season after missing a game earlier this month, also with an illness. He revealed weeks ago that he had been battling an illness for a stretch of games; whether or not this is a related illness is unclear.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov says he’s pain-free after his knee injury and is “ready to play,” according to TSN’s Mark Masters. Head coach Sheldon Keefe pumped the brakes on his status, however, saying the team would check on him tomorrow to determine his return to play. The young netminder, who had a strong start to the season, has missed nearly a month.

Minor Transactions: 11/29/22

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The NHL is busy again tonight with nine games on the schedule, including Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk’s return to his former stomping grounds in Calgary. Like yesterday, though, it’s been a busy day at other levels of the sport as former NHLers or NHL-affiliated players find new homes. We’ll keep track of today’s transactions here.

  • After being released from a PTO by the Rochester Americans yesterday, defenseman Brandon Davidson has quickly found a new home. The AHL’s Cleveland Monsters announced today that they’ve signed Davidson for the remainder of 2022-23 on an AHL contract, filling out a defense that’s been decimated by call-ups to their injury-plagued NHL affiliate in Columbus. He’ll be a veteran presence alongside younger Columbus prospects like David Jiricek.
  • Once a prominent defensive prospect in the Toronto Maple Leafs system, Andrew Nielsen has found his way back into the AHL after spending most of the past year in the ECHL. After 18 points in 15 games with the Utah Grizzlies, the club has loaned him to AHL San Diego for the time being, which would be Nielsen’s fifth AHL club if he suits up.

This page will be updated throughout the day

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Edmonton Oilers

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As American Thanksgiving and the holiday season are upon us, PHR is taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2022-23. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Edmonton Oilers.

Who are the Oilers thankful for?

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Is there really any other answer here? Edmonton’s dynamic duo has wholly separated themselves from the rest of their team, for better and worse. McDavid and Draisaitl are both in the top four in league scoring and are the only Oilers with double-digit goals on the season. With Evander Kane sidelined long-term, they need nothing short of absolute excellence from those two, and they’re delivering.

Outside of them, Edmonton’s scoring depth is bordering on atrocious, at least among healthy players. Outside of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, no healthy Oilers forward has more than five points.

While they can’t do it all themselves, it’s impossible not to have optimism for the Oilers with those two on the ice. Even their advanced defensive numbers are improving, albeit just slightly in Draisaitl’s case, and they’re averaging more than 22 minutes a game. Without generational-level play from them, Edmonton is much further outside of the playoff picture than they currently stand.

What are the Oilers thankful for?

Their power play.

The Oilers are struggling mightily at even strength. Their -13 goal differential at 5-on-5 is sixth-worst in the league and the worst among teams currently in playoff position. However, Edmonton’s 21 5-on-4 goals are tied for first in the league, and their 28.8% conversion rate is tied with the Stars for third. It may not be a sustainable formula for long-term success, but their power play has been essential for the Oilers to keep pace while addressing their other issues.

What would the Oilers be even more thankful for?

A return to form for Jack Campbell.

Edmonton’s scoring issues have been a significant root cause of their middling performance, and Stuart Skinner has stabilized the crease for now. Nonetheless, the Oilers still committed five years and $25MM to the netminder this offseason, and they need at least average goaltending for that price point.

Campbell’s failed to live up to that. He’s had some bright spots on the year, and he still has a 7-5-0 record, but his goals-against average is north of 4.00, and his save percentage is just .875%. They don’t need the small stretches of elite play he’s shown in the past, but they do need a number much closer to the .900% save percentage mark, even in a tandem role.

What should be on the Oilers’ holiday wish list?

A scoring winger before the deadline.

Kane’s return will inevitably solve many of this team’s issues. Still, if youngsters like Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi continue to underperform, their offense won’t be deep enough for another deep playoff run. While some may argue a gritty bottom-six presence is what the team needs, you simply can’t win a Stanley Cup without capable depth scoring. There are sure to be plenty of sellers at the deadline wanting to improve their chance at a top-two selection in the draft, with multiple affordable options for Edmonton to choose from.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Alexey Toropchenko Assigned To AHL On Conditioning Stint

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It’s been a rollercoaster few months for Alexey Toropchenko. The 23-year-old forward underwent offseason shoulder surgery and was supposed to miss the first chunk of the regular season, but managed to be cleared by game one. He entered the lineup right away and has played in 15 games but there has been little production from the big Russian winger. So far, Toropchenko has just one point in 15 games, and it came at the end of October.

With his struggles in mind, the team has sent Toropchenko to the AHL for a conditioning stint, where he can hopefully get his game back in shape. The team has gone with 11 forwards and seven defensemen recently instead of dressing the young forward, as he just can’t seem to find a consistent performance so far this year.

Notably, Toropchenko can’t be sent to the AHL for an extended period of time without first clearing waivers. That is part of the problem for St. Louis, who would likely prefer to give him a long run with Springfield as they try to fix the NHL roster in another way. If waived, there seems to be a good chance the 6’6″ winger would be claimed, if only because of his size and relative youth.

It may still come to that at some point, if he can’t turn things around and the team feels it needs that roster spot for a different player. While they have turned it around a bit, the Blues are still just treading water in the middle of the Central Division standings, now at 11-11 on the year.

Boston Bruins Activate Derek Forbort

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The Boston Bruins have officially activated Derek Forbort from long-term injured reserve, sending Anton Stralman down to the Providence Bruins at the same time. Stralman cleared waivers earlier today, meaning his entire $1MM cap hit can be buried in the minor leagues.

Many followers of the Bruins were confused when head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe that the team would not need any other moves to activate Forbort, since at first blush the CapFriendly page appeared to show a lack of cap space for the move. But that space was based on the $82,091,667 accruable cap space limit that the team set before the season when they first entered LTIR. With Forbort back, the team is now completely out of LTIR, and has a total cap hit of $82,454,167, just under the regular cap ceiling of $82.5MM.

It’s close, but the team doesn’t need to make another move and can continue with a 22-man roster.

Forbort, meanwhile, is coming back after a month on the shelf, last playing November 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The veteran defenseman had three points in his first ten games and was averaging more than 20 minutes a night, holding the fort while the team waited on some other pieces to return. Now that everyone is healthy, he’ll likely assume a lesser – but still important – role on the club, and try to help them continue their torrid start.

Stralman, meanwhile, is headed to the AHL for the first time in more than a decade. The last time he suited up in the minor leagues was during the 2008-09 season with the Toronto Marlies, before he had really established himself as a regular in the league. Nearly 900 games later and he’s headed back, though it will be interesting to see if another club goes after him as a trade target, now that he has cleared waivers.

Minnesota Wild Return Zane McIntyre To AHL

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Nov 29: McIntyre has been returned to the AHL, meaning Gustavsson is healthy again.

November 26: After sending him down a few days ago due to Marc-Andre Fleury’s return to the lineup, Zane McIntyre is back with the Minnesota Wild. The team recalled him today under emergency conditions, but it’s unclear at the moment as to which goalie is unavailable.

The Athletic’s Michael Russo notes that one of the team’s goalies had an issue today at practice and that the move is precautionary. While normally an emergency recall would wait until gameday tomorrow, the team has an earlier start and didn’t want to risk not having two goalies to start the game.

Forward Brandon Duhaime was also placed on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction. Yesterday, he was listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury sustained on November 23 against Winnipeg, which prohibited him from playing in yesterday’s game against Toronto. It’s Duhaime’s second trip to injured reserve this year, as he missed the first two weeks of November with another upper-body injury. The Wild have not said whether or not it’s a re-injury.

McIntyre’s eight NHL games all came during the 2016-17 season, although he’s appeared on NHL rosters in situations like these multiple times since then. A 2010 draft choice of the Boston Bruins, this is the netminder’s second season in the Wild organization after the team signed him early on in 2021-22. He has a .917 save percentage, two shutouts, and a 23-17-3 record with the AHL’s Iowa Wild over the past two years.

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