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Avalanche Recall Charles Hudon And Jonas Johansson

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The Avalanche have brought up a pair of players in advance of tonight’s game against Arizona as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Charles Hudon and goaltender Jonas Johansson have been recalled from AHL Colorado.  The Avs had two open roster spots so no corresponding roster moves needed to be made to make these recalls.

Hudon is in his first season with the Avalanche and has gotten into seven games with the big club this season while on emergency recall.  He was held off the scoresheet in each of those but did log nearly 12 minutes per contest.  The 28-year-old has been productive with the Eagles this season with ten goals and eight assists in 22 games.

As for Johansson, he’s covering for Pavel Francouz with Peter Baugh of The Athletic relaying (Twitter link) that Francouz is dealing with a lower-body injury.  Johansson, who has twice been claimed off waivers already this season, has yet to see any NHL action in 2022-23 but has done well in the minors, posting a 2.15 GAA with a .929 SV% in 15 contests.

Predators Recall Tommy Novak

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Dec. 27: As expected, the Predators have recalled Novak from Milwaukee today.

Dec. 24: Tommy Novak did well in his first recall of the season but, at least for the time being, he’s off to the minors as the Predators announced that they’ve loaned the center back to Milwaukee of the AHL.

The 25-year-old was recalled back on Monday and picked up a point in each of his three games with a goal and two assists while logging a little over 13 minutes per game.  While it’s a small sample size, that’s a nice improvement compared to the goal and six helpers he had in 27 contests with Nashville last season.  Novak has also been quite productive in the minors with the Admirals this season, collecting 11 goals and 15 assists in 25 contests, making him Milwaukee’s leading scorer.

As Novak was recalled after December 11 and didn’t require waivers to go back down, Nashville was permitted to assign him today even with the roster freeze in effect.  Considering how well he did this past week, there’s a good chance that he’ll be recalled in advance of their game on Tuesday against Dallas.  If that happens, the Predators will save about $12K in cap space with this move.

Blues Place Torey Krug On LTIR, Recall Tyler Tucker

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The Blues will be without a key member of their back end for the next little while as the Blues announced that they’ve placed defenseman Torey Krug on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) due to a lower-body injury.  In a corresponding move, St. Louis has recalled blueliner Tyler Tucker from AHL Springfield.

Krug was on a nice run offensively leading into the holiday break with five points over his last four games and logged nearly 23 minutes on Friday against Vegas so it’s unclear exactly when the injury was sustained.  The 31-year-old has suited up in 31 games for St. Louis this season, notching 17 points, second to only Justin Faulk in terms of production from the back end.  Offensive production has been hard to come by beyond those two as their other rearguards have managed just four goals combined this season so Krug’s absence on that side of the ice will certainly be felt.

There is no firm timetable on when Krug might be able to return as the release from the Blues only mentions that he will be re-evaluated in six weeks.  Accordingly, it stands to reason that he will likely be out of the lineup longer than that.

As for Tucker, the 22-year-old made his NHL debut last month, getting into four games with St. Louis, picking up six blocks and eight hits along the way.  He has spent the rest of the season with the Thunderbirds, collecting 13 points and 45 penalty minutes in 24 contests.

Canadiens Recall Justin Barron

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The Canadiens have decided to get a look at one of their main acquisitions from the trade deadline last season as they announced the recall of defenseman Justin Barron from AHL Laval.

Montreal picked up the 21-year-old last season at the trade deadline from Colorado as part of the move that saw Artturi Lehkonen head to the Cup-winning Avalanche.  While Barron got into five games with the Canadiens last season, this will be his first taste of NHL action this year.  So far at the minor league level with the Rocket, he has seven goals and nine assists in 25 games.

With David Savard and Mike Matheson both injured, Montreal was only carrying six healthy blueliners prior to this recall.  Considering the Canadiens still have four games left on their season-long seven-game road trip, some injury insurance on the back end was needed and it will be Barron that gets the nod.

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Mark Friedman

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Dec. 27: As expected, the Penguins have recalled Friedman from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton today.

Dec. 23: While the roster freeze is in effect, limiting the number of transactions a team can make, it doesn’t apply to players recalled after December 11. That’s why the Pittsburgh Penguins can return Mark Friedman to the minor leagues over Christmas, now that they are off until next week.

Friedman, 26, was last recalled on December 14, but still hasn’t played an NHL game this season. The depth defenseman saw plenty of action a year ago, appearing in 26 games for the Penguins and recording a career-high five points.

With just six other defensemen on the roster, it’s likely that the Penguins bring Friedman right back up after the season resumes and keep him until Jeff Petry is able to return. Sending him down now doesn’t actually save any money, given he is on a one-way $775K deal, but will help prevent his waiver clock from expiring.

Remember, it is not just games played that resets that clock. If a player stays on an active roster for 30 days (cumulative), they will also need to pass through waivers again to be sent down.

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Matyas Sapovaliv

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The Vegas Golden Knights have signed 2022 draft selection Matyas Sapovaliv to a three-year, entry-level contract, according to Sapovaliv’s agent, Dan Milstein. PuckPedia reports Sapovaliv’s contract carries a $860,000 cap hit in all three seasons, with $775,000 paid in NHL salary, $85,000 paid in signing bonuses, and $82,500 paid in minors salary.

Vegas selected Sapovaliv, a natural center, with the 48th overall selection out of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. The product of Kladno, Czechia, has 11 goals and 30 points in 30 games with Saginaw in 2022-23 and is on Czechia’s roster for the ongoing World Junior Championships.

Sapovaliv’s style leans heavily on the playmaking side, investing nearly all his offensive IQ into making picture-perfect passes. While he can certainly put the puck in the net, too, he has high point-producing upside if utilized correctly alongside snipers at the NHL level.

He is still just 18 years old, with his birthday coming in February. He’s the second-highest drafted forward in the Vegas system behind 2020 first-round choice Brendan Brisson.

 

Snapshots: Cossa, Stranges, Clifford

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The Detroit Red Wings have returned their top goaltending prospect to the ECHL. Sebastian Cossa is headed back to the Toledo Walleye, per today’s ECHL transactions log.

After turning 20 just last month, Cossa’s been thrown into the fire in his first professional season. His .783 save percentage and 5.57 goals-against average in the AHL may raise some eyebrows, but he’s only gotten three appearances there. His ECHL record of 8-8-1, along with a 2.81 goals-against average and .897 save percentage, is much more respectable for a goalie his age (and of his ceiling). The 15th overall selection in 2021 will likely remain in Toledo full-time this season, barring injuries.

  • Conversely, an intriguing prospect is heading up to the AHL from the ECHL. The Texas Stars added Antonio Stranges to their roster over the weekend, according to the ECHL’s transactions log for Christmas Eve. Dallas’ 123rd overall pick in 2020 has seen limited action due to injury but has six points in five games with the Idaho Steelheads in the ECHL and two assists in five games with Texas.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs veteran enforcer Kyle Clifford, currently on AHL assignment with the Toronto Marlies, sustained a potential injury in today’s win over the Belleville Senators. The Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby notes Clifford left the rink with his hand in a wrap, saying he likely suffered a dislocation in a fight during the game. Clifford has made two appearances with the Maple Leafs this season.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Vegas Golden Knights

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As we approach the end of the year, PHR continues its 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 Vegas Golden Knights.

Who are the Golden Knights thankful for?

Their goaltenders

Chandler Stephenson, Jack Eichel, and Alex Pietrangelo are all averaging a point-per-game, Mark Stone isn’t far behind their pace while playing Selke level hockey, Reilly Smith leads the team with 17 goals, and despite some injury issues, the team is comfortably pacing the NHL’s Pacific Division. There’s plenty to be thankful for in Vegas, but perhaps none more than the goaltending duo of Logan Thompson and Adin Hill.

Neither netminder is finding himself in the Vezina conversation this year, at least not at the moment, but considering where the team stood coming into this season, both have been a revelation. At the outset, the Golden Knights expected to be without Robin Lehner for the entire season, and though they weren’t sure exactly when Laurent Brossoit would return, it wasn’t going to be for opening night. The team opted to roll with Thompson, the rookie and incumbent from last season who had an impressive finish to his 2021-22, carrying Vegas as far as he could go in pivotal games, just missing out on a playoff berth. Knowing he couldn’t go it alone, Vegas also acquired Hill from the San Jose Sharks in late August.

A career backup, Hill has continued in that role, filling it just as Vegas hoped, recording a .903 save-percentage and 2.66 goals-against average over 12 starts. That performance, along with the effort of those in front of him, has lead Hill to an 8-3-1 record in those games, fantastic for the team’s backup.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the undrafted Thompson has become one of the league’s best young netminders and has taken the reins for Vegas. As much as they’d like to have Lehner too, Thompson has made the case for his absence being a non-issue as of right now. Through 24 games, Thompson has compiled a .914 save-percentage and 2.66 goals-against average and his 16 wins are good enough for third in the entire NHL.

What are the Golden Knights thankful for?

An expected bump to the salary cap

When you think of the NHL’s cap crunch and the issues it presents, chances are you think of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights off the bat. The organization has had to make several interesting moves in order to ice the team they wish and remain cap compliant, and just barely so. In recent years, those have consisted of trading away the then-Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury for virtually nothing and this offseason, trading Max Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan away for quite literally nothing, while acquiring Shea Weber’s contract for LTIR purposes, sending Evgenii Dadonov the other way.

These moves have allowed Vegas to do what it needs to do in order to remain competitive, and though the Fleury and Pacioretty trades netted little in return, Vegas may argue that the cap space they received was the valuable return. Still, one may also argue that a team is at its best when it can keep all of its players, and that’s what the expected salary cap increase should do for Vegas. It may not let them acquire another Eichel or sign another Pietrangelo, and it can’t bring back Pacioretty or prime Fleury, but it can allow Eichel, Pietrangelo, Mark Stone, Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, and others to stay while eventually giving long-term extensions to others such as Chandler Stephenson and Jonathan Marchessault, who are both due after next season.

It’s still unclear when, how, and how much the cap will increase, but any little bit counts for Vegas and at present, they’ve been able to structure their roster so that issues likely won’t arise until they’re given a significant amount of additional space.

What would the Golden Knights be even more thankful for?

Health

To confuse the Golden Knights’ injury issues this season with the ones faced by the Columbus Blue Jackets or the Philadelphia Flyers, or their own issues from a year ago wouldn’t be fair. In fact, knock on wood, this season has been a vast improvement, and likely a big reason behind the team’s success. Still, Vegas has another 46 games to go plus playoffs, to stay healthy, with a number of somewhat concerning injuries.

For one, the team now has forward Brett Howden and defenseman Zach Whitecloud on LTIR with no clear return set for either of them. While not the team’s foremost stars, both players occupy important roles which are now filled by replacement players. The other primary injury concern is Eichel, who is on IR with a lower-body injury. There is some relief on that front as the injury appears unrelated to the issues that kept himl out for portions of the last two seasons, but every game missed by the superstar does put strain on the team’s offense. No timetable is clear on Eichel either, but remaining on IR as opposed to a transfer to LTIR, is encouraging.

What should be on the Golden Knights’ holiday wishlist?

A couple of depth pieces

Looking up and down the Vegas roster, it’s hard to find many holes. The goaltending is strong, the defense core is incredibly deep and contains players with offensive minds, defensive minds, and some who do both. Up front the team is deep as well and features a two-way star in Stone, a superstar scorer in Eichel, a few puck movers and snipers with names like Stephenson, Smith, and Marchessault, and a number of other secondary scoring options as well as a solid bottom-six.

Where Vegas is lacking in these groups, however, is depth beyond their main group. The team has dealt with injuries, discussed above, however the replacement players they’ve brought up, while talented in their own right, are not perhaps the most experienced and ready to join a group with eyes set on the Cup. Vegas doesn’t need depth as far as another third-line option goes, but instead an affordable player or two with semi-significant NHL experience to step in when players go down. This depth could be found on the trade market, and that may help with budgeting the new player in, but could also simply be a waiver-wire find.

Minnesota Wild To Recall Sammy Walker, Adam Beckman

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5:39 pm: The Wild made the recall official on Monday night. Walker and Beckman join the team ahead of their game against Winnipeg tomorrow.

3:56 pm: According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, the Minnesota Wild are expected to recall a pair of forwards in that of Sammy Walker and Adam Beckman from the Iowa Wild, their AHL affiliate. Russo adds that forward Marcus Foligno, who is suffering from a lower-body injury, is not expected to travel with the team tomorrow morning to take on the Winnipeg Jets later that night. In addition to Foligno, the Wild are also going to be without forward Mason Shaw, who is serving a two-game suspension.

Foligno, who was injured in Wednesday’s game in Anaheim against the Ducks, missed Thursday’s game against the San Jose Sharks with the injury and now it appears he’ll be missing tomorrow’s game too. There doesn’t appear to be a timetable for Foligno, however after Thursday’s game, Wild head coach Dean Evason told Russo he expected the forward to be okay after the four-day holiday break. Though the veteran clearly isn’t good-to-go just yet, Evason’s comments show this injury likely isn’t to be anything long-term.

Walker, 23, made his professional debut this season after a four-year stint at the University of Minnesota. The former Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick has been a standout thus far with Iowa, registering 24 points in 23 games, and made his NHL debut back on December 10th, skating in four NHL contests to date.

The 21-year-old Beckman has also skated in just four NHL games this season after making his debut last season. The forward turned pro back in 2020-21 after a stellar WHL career with the Spokane Chiefs. A 2019 third-round selection of the Wild, Beckman is off to a solid start with Iowa this season tallying 15 points in his first 25 AHL games.

NHL Postpones Tuesday’s Game Between The Buffalo Sabres And Columbus Blue Jackets

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4:15 pm: The NHL, as well as Columbus and Buffalo, have since confirmed the postponement, adding that a makeup date will be set at some point, though they don’t have one right now.

3:08 pm: It appears yet another game will be postponed due to this past week’s winter weather in the upstate New York and Ontario area. According to the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger, tomorrow’s game featuring the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets is expected to be postponed. Neither team nor the NHL has confirmed the postponement yet and no makeup date is known.

This postponement comes on the heels of two additional games that were rescheduled from Friday. Both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators, in Ottawa, and the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres, in Buffalo, had to be postponed. Buffalo, who hasn’t played since last Monday, December 18th, will now have to make-up two games.

Although tomorrow’s game was supposed to be in Columbus, the reason for the postponement appears to be the Sabres’ inability to get to Columbus. At this point in time, many roads in the Buffalo area are closed to traffic, and the airport itself will remain closed through tomorrow. The Sabres had been due to fly out of Buffalo tomorrow morning for that evening’s game. Interestingly, the same-day travel had nothing to do with the weather in Buffalo, but instead the league’s restriction on practice and travel today.

Looking ahead, the Sabres are scheduled to host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday before hitting the road and heading to Boston on Saturday. Thus far, there’s been no word on the status of either of those games.

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