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New Jersey Devils Recall Three Players

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Ahead of their game against the New York Rangers tonight, the New Jersey Devils have made several recalls. Alexander Holtz, Kevin Bahl, and Nico Daws have all been brought up, giving them some extra bodies to help cover a few absences.

Nathan Bastian is going for imaging today on a shoulder injury according to Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com, and team reporter Amanda Stein explains that Daws is up to cover for Akira Schmid, who is feeling ill.

The trio of young players is a reminder that the Devils, tied for first in the NHL with 18 wins, have a number of extra high-level prospects at every position. Holtz, 20, was the seventh overall pick in 2020 and has played just 13 NHL games so far. Bahl, still just 22, was a key part in the Taylor Hall trade and has played just 27. Daws, incredibly, has actually seen the most action in a single season of the three, playing 25 games for the Devils last year when they had so many goaltending injuries.

For a team already finding a ton of success with their young NHL roster, the number of impressive players in the system could lead to a long-term window of contention.

Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Assign Alex Barre-Boulet

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Nov 28: Barre-Boulet has been returned to the AHL after playing in one game with the Lightning.

Nov 25: The Tampa Bay Lightning will bring an extra forward into action tonight against the St. Louis Blues, recalling Alex Barre-Boulet from the minor leagues. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is away from the team for personal reasons and won’t play.

Barre-Boulet, 25, is once again showing how easily he can dominate the minor leagues, with 24 points in his first 16 AHL games this season. While only four of those are goals, he continues to be one of the top playmakers for the Syracuse Crunch, a role he has held since the moment he stepped foot on a professional hockey rink.

Signed as an undrafted free agent, his scoring touch goes much further back than that even. In his final year with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL, he racked up 53 goals and 116 points in 65 regular season games. The talented, but undersized, forward is a perfect depth player to have in the system, even if it has only resulted in 31 games of NHL experience to this point.

Marco Rossi To Be Re-Assigned To AHL

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The Minnesota Wild are expected to send Marco Rossi to the AHL after sitting out last night’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that the young forward was informed of the decision yesterday.

Rossi, 21, has played in 16 games this season but looks outmatched at times, not quite ready to become a difference-making forward at the NHL level. With zero goals and just one assist, it hasn’t been the rookie campaign he or many expected.

Some time in the AHL should only help Rossi’s development, especially because of the time he has missed in the past. Due to medical concerns, he was held out for nearly the entire 2020-21 season, playing just a single game in Switzerland. Last season, his return was rather triumphant, with 53 points in 63 games for the Iowa Wild, and an NHL debut.

Now, after sitting a number of games in the press box as a healthy scratch, he’ll get a chance to build on that first AHL campaign.

Five Key Stories: 11/21/22 – 11/27/22

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American Thanksgiving is often viewed as a key point in the NHL season.  By now, teams have an idea of what their needs are and will start to try to fill some of those in the coming weeks.  We saw a couple of those moves made this past week which are highlighted in our key stories.

Extension Talks Start For Bratt: Jesper Bratt’s last two contract negotiations haven’t gone as well as either side would have hoped.  His bridge deal was signed just days before the 2020-21 season started and they opted to settle for a one-year, $5.45MM agreement to avoid an arbitration hearing over the summer.  Now, they’re going to take another run at a long-term contract as extension discussions have now started.  Bratt is off to a strong start to his season with 25 points in 22 games, putting him on pace to set new career highs across the board.  If a new deal isn’t reached, he’ll enter restricted free agency this summer with the ability to file for arbitration and take a one-year contract that walks him to the open market in 2024 so it’s safe to say that working something out is going to be a high priority for GM Tom Fitzgerald.

More Toronto Injuries: Already missing Jake Muzzin and T.J. Brodie, the back end for the Maple Leafs got thinned out even more when they placed Morgan Rielly on LTIR with what is believed to be an MCL injury that will keep him out at least a month.  That’s a big blow to their offensive upside from their blueliners as the veteran has 16 assists in 20 games this season while he’s logging 23 minutes a night.  On top of that, veteran Jordie Benn was placed on IR later in the week and is listed as out week to week with an upper-body injury.  Due to the injuries, Toronto GM Kyle Dubas opted to make a small move to add a bit of extra depth, acquiring Conor Timmins from Arizona for AHL center Curtis Douglas.  Timmins was once a highly-regarded prospect following a very productive junior career but has battled concussion trouble and has played in just 14 games between the NHL and AHL dating back to last season.

Four For Kochetkov: Counting the playoffs, Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has made a total of 13 NHL appearances.  However, he is believed to be their goalie of the future and the team certainly signaled that, inking the 23-year-old to a four-year, $8MM contract extension that begins next season.  The deal gives Carolina half of their goalie tandem at what’s likely to be a below-market rate for the foreseeable future and locks up at least one netminder with both Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.  In the meantime, Kochetkov will continue to split time with Raanta with Andersen being on IR before likely returning to AHL Chicago later in the season.

Reaves To Minnesota: After being scratched for several games, Ryan Reaves had requested a trade from the Rangers and his request was granted as New York dealt him to Minnesota in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick.  The 35-year-old is best known for his physicality and it’s clear that the Wild were looking to shake up their depth a bit as this move came on the heels of losing Tyson Jost to Buffalo on waivers last weekend.  Reaves’ full $1.75MM cap hit is absorbed by Minnesota which allows the Rangers to bank some extra cap space which is notable as they’re a team that many expect to try to make a splash on the trade front closer to the trade deadline.

Salming Passes Away: Just days after being honored in Toronto, Hall of Fame defenseman Borje Salming passed away at the age of 71.  He had been diagnosed with ALS (or Lou Gehrig’s disease) back in August.  Salming was a six-time All-Star that finished in the top five of Norris Trophy voting for the first seven years of his career and is Toronto’s all-time leader for points by defensemen with 768 amassed over 16 seasons with the team.  He was also one of the first European players to ever play in the NHL and is widely considered a trailblazer to help the game become the truly international one it is today.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Oilers Believed To Be Looking To Add Grit Up Front

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While the long-term injury to Evander Kane dealt a big blow to Edmonton’s offense, it also took away a big part of their physical play up front with the veteran averaging over 3.6 hits per game.  While his LTIR placement allowed them to bring up some extra players to round out their roster, none of those players are particularly gritty.

To that end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested in a recent 32 Thoughts segment (video link) that the Oilers could be looking around the league for affordable grit up front.

The key word is affordable.  As Kane is set to return before the end of the season, Edmonton has to get back to cap compliance to be able to activate him.  Accordingly, they will need to be targeting a player who either replaces someone at the bottom of their roster or whose cap hit is low enough that it can come off the books entirely with an AHL assignment; the threshold for that is $1.125MM.

With someone in that particular price range, they’ll almost certainly be looking for someone that would play on the fourth line.  Right now, Derek Ryan is a fixture on that fourth trio despite struggling mightily offensively this season and veteran farmhand Brad Malone is getting a look on that group as well in the hopes that he can make a difference on the physical side of things.  Accordingly, there certainly are spots that could be up for grabs if they find a way to add another depth forward or two.

With cap space at a premium for most teams, Edmonton included, the trade market is still likely a little while away from truly picking up with the exception of affordable depth players.  It appears the Oilers will be keeping an eye on that portion of the market over the coming weeks to see if they can make their fourth line a little tougher to play against.

Ducks Activate Derek Grant Off Injured Reserve, Place Max Comtois On IR

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The Ducks will have a bit of extra help up front as they get set to take on Seattle tonight.  Lisa Dillman of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter link) that center Derek Grant has been activated off injured reserve and will suit up against the Kraken.  He’ll take the place of rookie winger Pavol Regenda.

The 32-year-old has been out for a little over three weeks due to an upper-body injury.  Prior to sustaining it, Grant had played in 11 games, picking up a goal and an assist while logging heavy minutes shorthanded; his 2:39 of ice time per game in that situation is second among Anaheim forwards behind only Jakob Silfverberg.

A pending unrestricted free agent, Grant is the type of depth forward that tends to be moved closer to the trade deadline as someone that can kill penalties, play both down the middle and on the wing, and is affordable on the cap (he carries a $1.5MM AAV).  With the Ducks appearing to be well on the path towards selling over the next few months, Grant figures to be on the move at some point but he’ll give Anaheim a boost in the bottom six in the meantime now that he’s healthy.

It’s not all good news on the injury front for the Ducks, however, as Dillman also notes that blueliner John Klingberg will miss his second straight game due to a lower-body injury.  It has been a tough start to the season for the veteran who was looking to rebuild some value after not getting the type of contract he was seeking in free agency last summer.  Instead, he has just one goal in 20 games and will be out of the lineup a little longer.

Meanwhile, the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Max Comtois has been placed on injured reserve.  He has been out for the last two weeks due to a lower-body injury which allows Anaheim to backdate the placement.  Accordingly, he’ll be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s healthy.  Comtois has four goals in 15 games so far this season.

Winnipeg Jets Activate Morgan Barron, Assign Ville Heinola To AHL

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Just ahead of their game this evening against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Winnipeg Jets activated forward Morgan Barron off of IR. Barron had missed the last 10 games with a wrist injury. In order to create roster space for Barron, the Jets also announced they’ve assigned defenseman Ville Heinola to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

Getting Barron back into the lineup is a relief for Winnipeg, who had been playing down several forwards, including Barron, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Mason Appleton. Acquired in the Andrew Copp trade this past spring, Barron had been off to a solid start in 2021-22, registering four points in nine games, appearing to establish himself as a full-time NHLer for the first time in his career. With Winnipeg’s injury issues up front, Barron should have ample opportunity to continue to establish himself.

Heinola, unlike Barron, has had trouble getting his footing in the NHL, something that has become a pretty well reported story in its own right. The defenseman has only appeared in two games this season for the Jets, but does have seven assists in 10 games for the Moose to start. For his career, Heinola has played in just 27 NHL games spread over three seasons, recording 10 points, but will have to continue to sharpen his skillset in the AHL in order to take the next step.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Detroit Red Wings

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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 Detroit Red Wings.

Who are the Red Wings thankful for?

Steve Yzerman

The answer to this question isn’t all that original or innovative as Yzerman happened to be who the Red Wings were thankful for in 2020 and 2021. But, take a look at Detroit’s place in the standings, their offseason, and their recent draft history and it’s not too difficult to see why Detroit is thankful for Yzerman and his “Yzer-plan.”

Considering Yzerman was covered in our previous two iterations of this series, we’ll take a look at what the legendary player turned legendary executive has done in the time being. Looking back at last year’s trade deadline, the then-promising Red Wings looked to be turning a corner in their rebuild, but still weren’t in contention for a playoff spots. Yzerman dealt Vladislav Namestnikov and Troy Stecher for later-round draft picks and executed a blockbuster deal including one of the deadline’s prized assets: Nick Leddy.

In exchange for the UFA-t0-be and Luke Witkowski, Yzerman brought back a second-round pick, defenseman Jake Walman and forward Oskar Sundqvist. Walman and Sundqvist have dealt with their share of injuries since arriving in Detroit, but both have fit in nicely and have proven to be part of the solution. While they’re not superstars, the pair of players in addition to a second-round pick in a deep 2023 draft class represents incredible value for a pending UFA who was, at the time, struggling.

Fast forward to this summer, the Red Wings ready to finish the rebuild and playoff aspirations on the mind, Yzerman made himself one of the busiest executives of the offseason. Detroit first acquired the rights to goaltender Ville Husso, who has been fantastic thus far, and signed him to a three-year contract. The team followed the Husso acquisition with a free agent spending spree that included the likes of Andrew Copp, Dominik Kubalik, and David Perron up front and Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta, Robert Hagg, and Mark Pysyk on defense.

The recent additions, combined with Detroit’s established stars like Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi, along with a young wave of talent like Lucas Raymond and reigning Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider, as well as a few breakouts helped propel the Red Wings to an 11-5-4 record thus far, putting them in playoff position. Detroit has plenty of people to thank for the turn-around, but sitting at the top is the boss in Yzerman.

What are the Red Wings thankful for?

Breakouts and Rebounds

Three seasons ago, winger Dominik Kubalik finished third in Calder voting, seemingly coming out of nowhere as a 24-year-old rookie, scoring 30 goals in just 68 games with the Chicago Blackhawks. That was the last Chicago team to make the playoffs and as the team regressed, so did Kubalik, who hadn’t yet come close to matching his rookie production since.

Things seemed to hit an all-time low for Kubalik in the NHL last season, putting up just 32 points in 78 games, a far cry form his 30 goals (and 46 points) in fewer games just two years prior. The rebuilding Blackhawks opted not to qualify Kubalik and he hit the free agent market this summer, picked up on a two-year deal. Now, Detroit appears to have one of the best value contracts in the entire sport.

The organization seems to have that rookie version of Kubalik, or maybe something better. Now 27, Kubalik has 21 points, nine goals and 12 assists, in just 20 games thus far. Coming into today, Kubalik ranks second on the team in points, behind only Larkin. Whether or not Kubalik can maintain this level of production is a good question, especially being that the team is only through 20 games, but what he has done has played a major part in the team being in a playoff spot at American Thanksgiving, a team that also ranked just 17th in the NHL in goals-for coming into today.

On top of Kubalik’s rebound, the Red Wings have seen an impressive breakout from homegrown defenseman Filip Hronek. Now 25, Hronek made his debut back in 2018-19 and has shown to be a capable puck-mover on the backend. Hronek hit a career-high 38 points in 78 games last season, around his average point-per-game total for his career. This season, however, the defenseman has turned things to another level, netting six goals to go with 12 assists for 18 points through his first 20 games.

As helpful as Hronek’s offensive boost has been for Detroit, he’s also taken the next step in his defensive game. The defenseman had compiled a career -95 plus/minus rating, which included a -29 last season. Now in 2021-22, Hronek has improved his rating, registering a +10 so far. Those numbers could be attributed to team performance in many instances, and though the jump in Red Wings performance from Hronek’s first four years to this one is significant, the stark difference in Hronek’s own numbers is telling nonetheless. On top of his plus/minus, Hronek’s possession metrics have jumped modestly as well, including Corsi and Fenwick ratings above 50 for the first time since his rookie year.

What would the Red Wings be even more thankful for?

Health

As successful as Detroit has been this season, the team has had to do it without a number of players for fairly significant periods of time. Notably, Bertuzzi missed 13 games, Sundqvist seven, and exciting rookie Elmer Soderblom has missed seven and counting too. Winger Filip Zadina, who was injured November 5th is expected to be out long-term as well. Robby Fabbri, who has yet to play this year, as well as Matt Luff and Mark Pysyk are currently on IR

Sure, Bertuzzi and Sundqvist are back now, and Soderblom and Zadina combined for two points in 22 games, both from Soderblom, however the constant shuffling of lines and players in and out of the lineup does still serve to hamper team chemistry on the ice. On top of this, although the team didn’t expect to have Fabbri to start this season, Detroit could stand to have more offense and losing a player such as Fabbri, who had 30 points in 56 games in 2021-22, is felt.

Worth noting to this end is forward Jakub Vrana, who has played just two games this season. Vrana is not injured, but is instead participating in the Players’ Assistance Program. Of course, the organization’s first priority is to get Vrana the help he needs and to have the 26-year-old take as much time as he needs to get it and be comfortable returning, however Vrana’s missed production, in addition to the Red Wings’ bulk of injuries, serves to compound the injury and offense issues.

What’s on the Red Wings holiday wishlist?

A Larkin extension in place

Like Yzerman in the first question, this seems a bit easy, but it’s hard to imagine the front office, the players, and the fans want much else more than signing their superstar captain to a long-term extension.

The last time the Red Wings made the playoffs, Larkin was a rookie fresh off a 45 point debut. That was 2015-16 and since, Detroit and Larkin have failed to make the playoffs. In that time, the team has gone through a meaningful and much needed rebuild, with Larkin patient throughout. For his career, Larkin has diligently worked on his game to become an all-around contributor and roughly a point-per-game player now, currently on pace for his best season yet with 23 points in 20 games.

The Red Wings have plenty of talent on their team besides Larkin and have even more coming, however his presence as a Michigan native, team captain, and well-rounded player on the ice cannot be understated for Detroit. There’s no indication Larkin wants to leave and given his status in the locker room and Yzerman’s reputation as an executive, it wouldn’t be surprising if the two sides are intentionally not focused on negotiations at the moment with plenty at stake on the ice. Still, getting Larkin signed would presumably give both team and player peace of mind and allow the team to continue to build as they see fit, without worrying about Larkin’s future, and whether or not that’s in Detroit.

Afternoon Notes: Bellemare, Barkov, Gaudreau, Soderblom

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As they navigate a cap crunch that has seen key pieces of their core stripped away one by one over time, the Tampa Bay Lightning have had to get more and more creative filling out their lineup. The organization has used a mix of young players in their system developed to their liking and affordable veterans with a winning pedigree to round things out. One of those players is 37-year-old Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who the team signed to a two-year deal back in 2021.

Recently, Bellemare has been away from the team on a personal leave of absence, the root of which is unknown. Earlier today, Tampa Bay Times reporter Eduardo Encina spoke with Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, who confirmed that Bellemare will join the team on their upcoming road trip, which will travel through Buffalo, Boston, and Philadelphia. It’s unclear if Bellemare, who last played on Monday, is expected to play on this trip. Although the veteran hasn’t been out very long, it’s possible due to the leave that he may not have been able to continue skating regularly and could need an extra couple days to be ready.

  • Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov will miss the team’s next two games due to illness, says Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards. The nature of Barkov’s illness is unknown, but apparently is serious enough that not only can Barkov not play in tomorrow’s game in Edmonton and Tuesday’s in Calgary, but the forward is not traveling with the Panthers for the Alberta leg of the road trip. After Tuesday, Florida will head out to Vancouver for a Thursday evening matchup with the Canucks, a game which Barkov has not been ruled out for. Barkov missed yesterday’s game against the St. Louis Blues with this same illness.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau did not practice today due to an unknown illness, says Jeff Svoboda of BlueJackets.com. Per Svoboda, Columbus head coach Brad Larsen said he’ll know more tomorrow about Gaudreau’s availability for tomorrow night’s game. Gaudreau has not missed any games thus far with the illness. While the team is struggling this year, the first-year Jacket has not, posting 20 points in 20 games to date.
  • Detroit Red Wings forward Elmer Soderblom is still not practicing, reports Michigan Live’s Ansar Khan. At last report on November 21st, Soderblom was still listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, though head coach Derek Lalonde then said Soderblom’s return could take “some time.” The rookie has two points, both goals, in 13 games this season, but has not played since November 8th due to the injury.

San Jose Sharks Recall Scott Harrington

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The San Jose Sharks announced this afternoon that they’ve recalled defenseman Scott Harrington from the San Jose Barracuda, their AHL affiliate. No corresponding transaction was announced, however it does come a day after the team placed defenseman Mario Ferraro on IR. The recall gives the Sharks a full 23-man squad, but more importantly, seven defenseman on the roster for this evening’s game against the Vancouver Canucks.

Harrington, 29, signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Sharks back in September to serve as key defensive depth for San Jose as the team works through its (bigger picture) roster transition. The defenseman has bounced between both levels so far this season, getting into a pair of games for the Sharks, where he’s recorded one assist, as well as five games for the Barracuda, including an assist there too.

The veteran defenseman, a second-round pick of the Penguins back in 2011, made his NHL debut in 2014-15 as a member of those Penguins, but spent the bulk of his career in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, primarily serving as depth. Last season, Harrington had his first AHL work since 2016-17, where he played in 50 games for the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate. Given his shuffle in the San Jose organization thus far, it’s unclear what the plan for Harrington is right now, but with the absence of Ferraro on the backend, there could be some extra minutes to go around for the Sharks.

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