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Archives for January 2023

Snapshots: Hughes, Pacioretty, Rhinehart

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The New Jersey Devils are finally reaping the rewards of their high-end prospect pool, looking to be in a solid playoff position for the first time in years.

They could soon get another important young piece into the lineup, too. 2021 first-round pick Luke Hughes will “very likely” be in the Devils lineup at the end of the 2022-23 season after his college campaign at the University of Michigan ends, said Michigan coach Brandon Naurato speaking with NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky. Naurato calls Hughes a “Cale Makar-like” talent, and if Hughes is anything reminiscent of Makar’s late-season debut with Colorado in 2019, the Devils have a much better chance at breaking through an air-tight Eastern Conference.

  • The Carolina Hurricanes made waves today by activating All-Star forward Max Pacioretty off season-opening injured reserve. However, it’s unclear whether Pacioretty will make his Carolina debut tomorrow night. Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff notes that the team will not have a morning skate tomorrow, and we likely won’t know whether Pacioretty is playing until head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s pregame media availability in the afternoon.
  • An intriguing unsigned prospect could be getting his first look in the AHL. 21-year-old defenseman Rhett Rhinehart was recalled to the Calgary Wranglers today, according to the ECHL’s transactions log. Rhinehart is valuable in that he’s a tall, right-shot defenseman with some offensive awareness. He served as an alternate captain for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades last season, where he had 27 points in 53 games.

Jake DeBrusk Not Traveling With Boston Bruins

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After scoring two goals to become the hero of the Winter Classic, Jake DeBrusk may miss some serious time. The Boston Bruins forward was seen in a walking boot after the game, and Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff is reporting that DeBrusk has a fractured fibula.

Head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed to reporters including Matt Porter of the Boston Globe that DeBrusk isn’t on the trip, but will give a more detailed update tomorrow. Chris Wagner is expected to be recalled in his place.

If the injury was suffered on an early blocked shot as many are speculating, it means DeBrusk scored both the tying and winning goal at Fenway Park on a broken leg. The 26-year-old has been completely rejuvenated this season with 16 goals and 30 points in 36 games, after some tricky years with the Bruins.

A trade request, plenty of rumors, and a season where he scored just five goals, he once again looks like the powerful, skilled forward that Boston hoped they were getting with the 14th overall pick in 2015. His removal from the lineup is a big blow for the Bruins, especially given how tight they are to the salary cap ceiling.

If he’s going to miss more than ten games, they could move him to long-term injured reserve to get a little more flexibility. But that doesn’t really allow them to acquire a replacement, unless he’ll miss the rest of the season. Instead, the team will have to be a little more creative in how they sort out the lineup and replace DeBrusk’s offense.

Carolina Hurricanes Activate Max Pacioretty

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The Carolina Hurricanes, currently sitting in second place in the entire NHL, are about to get a pretty impressive reinforcement. Max Pacioretty has been activated from the season-opening injured reserve, with Ondrej Kase moving to long-term injured reserve to make room. Pacioretty is coming back from offseason surgery to repair a torn Achilles, and will be making his Hurricanes debut whenever head coach Rod Brind’Amour inserts him into the lineup.

It is a rather incredible return, given Pacioretty’s surgery didn’t take place until August 10. That means he was out for less than five months after originally being given a six-month timeline. The 34-year-old winger was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights along with Dylan Coughlan in a salary dump last offseason, with the Hurricanes sending back nothing but future considerations.

Carolina assumed all of Pacioretty’s $7MM cap hit for this season, the last in his four-year $28MM deal signed with Vegas in 2018. One of the most consistent goal scorers of his generation, he could potentially be a difference-maker for the Hurricanes for the rest of the year. Pacioretty has topped 30 goals six times in his career, and combined for 43 in 87 games over the last two shortened seasons.

Even if he can’t get back to 100 percent of his former self, he’s joining a group in Carolina that is already poised to contend for a Stanley Cup. Pacioretty was skating with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Derek Stepan today at practice.

For Kase, it does not appear as though there was a setback, but his placement on LTIR opens the room to fit Pacioretty under the cap. The veteran forward has been skating with the team in a non-contact jersey of late, though there is no clear timeline for his return from another concussion.

Arizona Coyotes Return Laurent Dauphin To AHL

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After he played fewer than 10 minutes last night, Laurent Dauphin has been returned to the AHL by the Arizona Coyotes. That’s could be a good sign for Liam O’Brien, who was listed as week-to-week or Zack Kassian, who has been held out recently. It drops the Coyotes to 13 forwards on the roster, though Matias Maccelli is unavailable for the next several weeks and has not yet been moved to injured reserve.

The Coyotes went with just 11 forwards in the game yesterday, and Clayton Keller carried the load with nearly 25 minutes of ice time. Nick Schmaltz was back and playing nearly 20, while Dauphin and Michael Carcone both saw under ten. The 27-year-old Dauphin has played in three games this season without scoring, but did record four shots on goal last night. A long-time minor league veteran, he has 27 points in 26 games for the Tucson Roadrunners this year.

Despite staying competitive in most of their games, Arizona is now 13-18-5 on the year. They’re headed to Philadelphia and Chicago for a couple of basement battles over the next few days, before returning home to welcome in the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

Carter Hart Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Philadelphia Flyers have their starting goaltender back, after activating Carter Hart from injured reserve. The young netminder cleared from the concussion protocol a few days ago but is now ready to get back into game action. The team already had room on the roster after sending Olle Lycksell down yesterday.

Hart, 24, has a .911 save percentage in 27 appearances this season, a nice bounce-back campaign after his struggles the last two years. Unfortunately, given the team he plays behind, that has resulted in just ten wins, with Hart leading the entire league in overtime and shootout losses with six. His return gives the Flyers’ their best chance at victory, though some fans will now believe that’s the opposite goal at this point in the year.

In his absence, the Flyers gave three straight starts to Samuel Ersson, who actually played quite well in his first NHL experience. Interestingly, the 23-year-old Ersson hasn’t been loaned back to the minor leagues yet, meaning Philadelphia is carrying three goaltenders. Felix Sandstrom would need to clear waivers to go down (while Ersson wouldn’t), something they may not want to risk. Given he has been dealing with an illness of late, they may be keeping Ersson up just for the next few days.

Either way, it should be back to normal with Hart taking the majority of starts. The Flyers are back in action tomorrow and then have a back-to-back situation coming up on Sun-Mon, something to keep an eye on to see whether Ersson or Sandstrom gets in the net.

Jakub Vrana Clears Waivers

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Jan 4: The Red Wings’ gamble has paid off, as Vrana cleared waivers and has been assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. This would actually increase Vrana’s trade value if Detroit is looking to make a move, given he can now be stashed in the minors while he gets back up to speed by any acquiring team. Fabbri has been officially activated from injured reserve to take his place.

Jan 3: The Detroit Red Wings were expected to place a player on waivers today to make room for Robby Fabbri’s return, but no one expected it to be Jakub Vrana. Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets reports that the forward, who only recently moved to the next phase of the Player Assistance Program, has been placed on waivers today.

Vrana, 26, is in the second season of a three-year, $15.75MM contract he signed with the Red Wings in 2021 after being acquired from the Washington Capitals. The 13th overall pick from 2014, he had shown an ability to score at a high level and appeared to be a core piece for the team moving forward. Since arriving in Detroit, though, Vrana has been in and out of the lineup, and has just 39 games played as a Red Wing. This season he has appeared at the NHL level just twice, recording two points.

This could be nothing more than the Red Wings, believing his contract will get him through waivers, allowing Vrana to get his game back in order at the minor league level. But even with the $5.25MM cap hit, there is at least some risk of losing him entirely. Several rebuilding clubs have the cap space necessary to fit him in, and given his relative youth and strong history in the league, it may be worth the chance.

Through 323 NHL games, Vrana has scored 98 goals and 189 points, a 25-goal, 48-point pace when expanded to a full 82-game schedule. While other teams may not have a full understanding of his current situation, it would be hard to blame them for taking a swing with a waiver claim. His contract, while expensive, does expire after next season and leave him an unrestricted free agent, meaning for a club like the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, or Arizona Coyotes, there would be the possibility of a short-term flip for more assets a year from now.

That would of course mean committing to a significant salary, though. Vrana is owed $5.75MM next season in the slightly back-loaded deal.

The Red Wings, meanwhile, have some big contract negotiations upcoming, so this is perhaps an attempt to get out from under Vrana’s deal. Dylan Larkin, Pius Suter, and Tyler Bertuzzi are all unrestricted free agents at the end of the year, with the former likely demanding a huge raise over his current $6.1MM cap hit. If Steve Yzerman no longer believes in Vrana as a core piece, he could be looking for a little financial freedom by offering him up to the rest of the league.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

St. Louis Blues Recall Steven Santini; Reassign Tyler Tucker

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The St. Louis Blues have put Tyler Tucker in the lineup just four times this season, with none of those coming since his latest recall. Instead of staying as the extra defenseman in the NHL, he’s headed back to the minor leagues to play. The Blues have reassigned Tucker to the Springfield Thunderbirds while recalling Steven Santini to take his place on the active roster.

Tucker, 22, was a seventh-round pick of the Blues in 2018 but quickly became a fan favorite at the minor league level thanks to a fearless attitude and all-around ability. In his AHL career, the defenseman has racked up 193 penalty minutes in 125 games, adding 38 points. He was integral to the Thunderbirds’ playoff run last season, and came back this year with a bit more offensive flair to his game. Thirteen of those 38 career points have come in just 24 games.

If the Blues think they might have something in Tucker, he can’t sit in the press box all year. Santini, Despite once being an intriguing prospect in his own right, is now 27 and doesn’t have much developing to do. He can serve as the extra defenseman at the NHL level, where he has 119 games of experience over his career.

The Blues are back in action tomorrow night in New Jersey, before heading to Montreal and Minnesota to finish the road trip.

Snapshots: Austria, Harkins, Kirkland

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Despite scoring twice with the goaltender out, Austria came up short in the relegation series at the World Juniors and will be dropped out of the next tournament. Norway will take their place next year, with Latvia (the other team in the relegation round) staying put. Austria was playing with house money already after finishing last in the previous two tournaments. There was no relegation in those years, meaning they got extra chances in the top tournament.

Norway won gold at the Division I level after going a perfect 5-0 against Denmark, Slovenia, France, Hungary, and Kazakhstan. Their group is incredibly young and will get the chance to bring back nearly the entire roster for next year, meaning they should be competitive at least. Only three of their skaters (and one goaltender) are 19.

  • After clearing waivers yesterday, the Winnipeg Jets have sent Jansen Harkins to the minor leagues as expected. The depth forward will get a chance to play big minutes again, as he re-joins the Manitoba Moose. In six games to start the year with Manitoba, Harkins had five goals and nine points.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Justin Kirkland once again, after sending him down just yesterday. The 26-year-old forward made his NHL debut this season and has appeared in five games so far, failing to register a point.

San Jose Sharks Reassign Nick Cicek

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Jan 4: A couple of days later, Cicek is on his way back to the minor leagues. It is interesting that they waited so long, given they haven’t played since Sunday, but they can now save a bit of money while waiting for their next game.

Jan 1: The San Jose Sharks have recalled defenseman Nick Cicek from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, according to a team tweet Sunday.

Cicek returns to the Sharks roster after two weeks in the minors. The 22-year-old left-shot defenseman has four assists this season, coming in his first 10 NHL games.

An undrafted free agent out of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, he had a strong professional debut campaign with the Barracuda in 2021-22. His offense hasn’t carried over in the minors this season, though, where he’s without a point in 15 games.

With Radim Simek continuing to deal with some injury issues, Cicek could slot in on the team’s third pairing alongside Mario Ferraro if the team opts to play him over the veteran Scott Harrington.

San Jose is in action tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks, but is off for five days after.

Chicago Blackhawks Recall Lukas Reichel, Brett Seney

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The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled a top prospect, bringing up Lukas Reichel from the minor leagues along with Brett Seney. The club needed some extra bodies after placing MacKenzie Entwistle and Jujhar Khaira on injured reserve (retroactive to December 27).

Reichel, 20, is arguably the team’s top forward prospect, selected 17th overall in 2020. After spending his post-draft season in Germany, Reichel has come and dominated at the AHL level, scoring 93 points in 88 games since the start of 2021-22. During that time he has also received 12 games at the NHL level, but is still looking for his first goal.

Only one of those appearances has come this season, as the Blackhawks continue to keep most of their prospects sheltered in the minor leagues. No more, apparently, as it looks like Reichel may get a chance to test himself at the highest level. In 32 games with the Rockford IceHogs this season he has 36 points, but that actually trails the player he’s coming up with.

Seney, 26, has long been a minor league star and has 38 points to lead the IceHogs and trail only Michael Carcone for the league lead. The undersized forward has just 55 appearances at the NHL level, almost all of them coming with the New Jersey Devils in 2018-19, when he scored all 13 of his career points.

Reichel is in the second year of his entry-level contract and won’t be a restricted free agent until the summer of 2024. The Blackhawks may want to give him a good look before potentially inserting him full-time into the lineup next season. But a return for both players to Rockford should eventually be expected, giving the minor league club a chance to compete for a championship. Rockford is 19-10-3 so far and has won four in a row.

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