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Colorado Avalanche Activate Josh Manson

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The Colorado Avalanche activated defenseman Josh Manson from injured reserve Wednesday, per CapFriendly.

Manson returns after missing over two months and 31 games with a lower-body injury. The move couldn’t come at a better time, as Colorado was down to no lineup-regular right-shot defenders after placing Erik Johnson on injured reserve earlier this week.

A high-end shutdown defenseman, Manson excelled in last year’s Stanley Cup-winning playoff run after a trade deadline move from the Anaheim Ducks. He made a sizable offensive impact on top of his normally steady defensive play, recording eight points in 20 games.

Nearing his 500th NHL game after a largely injury-plagued career, Manson will return to a second-pairing role alongside youngster Bowen Byram. Before going down with the injury, Manson had two goals, four assists, and six points in 21 games while averaging 16:57 per game. Expect that second figure to increase as the season progresses.

Manson, 31, is in the first season of a four-year, $18MM extension signed with Colorado last offseason. He’s slated to make his first appearance of the 2023 calendar year tonight in Minnesota.

Jack Hughes Could Return Tomorrow

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A budding superstar’s return to the lineup is on the horizon. New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes is “50/50” to return to the lineup tomorrow against the St. Louis Blues after skating in a non-contact jersey today, reports ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.

Wyshynski adds that Hughes “wants back in,” but the team is being cautious in his recovery from an upper-body injury. A maintenance day last week quickly developed into a week-long absence last week, and his return comes a bit ahead of schedule after the team issued a week-to-week timeline for recovery.

The dynamic 21-year-old still sits in the NHL lead with 29 even-strength goals this season. His 35 goals, 67 points, and 229 shots on goal all lead the Devils.

The middle child in the Hughes family is well above a point-per-game clip in his fourth NHL season and seems like an undeniable franchise cornerstone after the Devils selected him first overall in 2019. He had a spectacular six goals and 11 points in his last five games before sustaining the upper-body injury.

If he can’t return to the Devils lineup tomorrow, he’ll likely suit up for at least one of the team’s back-to-back home games against Pittsburgh and Winnipeg this weekend.

Los Angeles Kings Extend Mikey Anderson

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6:33 pm: CapFriendly has reported the full breakdown of the eight-year contract. He’ll receive $1.6MM in base salary and a $2MM signing bonus in 2023-24, and $4.2MM per year (all in base salary) for the remainder of the contract. There is no trade protection involved.

12:06 pm: The Los Angeles Kings, rumored to be involved in a trade for one defenseman, have signed a long-term extension with another. Mikey Anderson has inked an eight-year deal that will kick in next season, and keep him under contract through 2030-31. Moving forward, he will carry an average annual value of $4.125MM.

Kings general manager Rob Blake had this to say:

We’re excited to have a player of Mikey Anderson’s caliber signed to the Kings long-term. Mikey has not only developed into a trusted, shut-down player on the ice, but a well-respected individual in the room that we envision continuing to grow into our leadership core.

Anderson, 23, has quickly become one of the most reliable defensive defensemen in the league. Despite his relatively small frame, he plays a physical, risk-free brand of hockey and is almost always found latched onto the other team’s best, frustrating them at every turn.

Selected in the fourth round in 2017, he not only became a star at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, but his leadership skills quickly shone through, making him the captain of the U.S. World Junior team that won silver in 2019. He would win a national championship a few months later, his second in as many years, and then transition to professional hockey.

It only took him half a minor league season before showing he was ready for the NHL, and he’s never looked back. Anderson has 33 points in 172 regular season games, and now averages close to 22 minutes a night for the Kings.

Defense-first defensemen rarely get huge paydays, but this is a significant commitment from Los Angeles nonetheless. Anderson’s current contract was just a one-year, $1MM deal that he signed in September as a bridge, but he’ll never have to negotiate as a restricted free agent again.

With the suspected cap increase, this could quickly turn into quite the bargain for the Kings. Anderson already sits as the 74th-highest cap hit among defenders for next season, a number that will continue to go down as more players sign new deals.

Even if more offense never comes, Anderson’s strong defensive play should make this a reasonable bet for the Kings to make.

Snapshots: Blues, Schenn, Bally Sports

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The St. Louis Blues had a resounding win last night over the Florida Panthers, but it came at a cost. Both forward Brandon Saad and defenseman Torey Krug left the game with injuries, and they could be without both tomorrow against the New Jersey Devils, says head coach Craig Berube.

Berube confirmed Saad, who’s dealing with an upper-body injury, will miss the game. Krug is questionable with a lower-body injury. Both players have already missed chunks of the season with injuries, contributing to the Blues’ mediocre record. Saad’s injury opens the door for veteran Josh Leivo, who has four goals and 13 points in 38 games, to step into a top-six role for the time being. Neither Saad nor Krug have a timeline for their injuries, although Krug’s is obviously a short-term absence.

  • Despite other hot-commodity defensemen being scratched for asset protection, Vancouver Canucks defender Luke Schenn doesn’t expect the same treatment. Schenn told reporters that he “expects to be playing every night” ahead of the March 3 trade deadline, despite multiple teams having reported interest in the stay-at-home defenseman. The 33-year-old has 18 points and a +5 rating in 53 games this season.
  • The NHL Board of Governors had an emergency meeting today to discuss the financial struggles of Bally Sports Network’s parent group, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. Diamond Sports, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, operates the Bally Sports umbrella of regional sports networks that broadcasts the home games of many U.S.-based teams. Today, they skipped a debt payment of $140MM as the organization nears bankruptcy. A potential sudden, unexpected lack of TV revenue is certainly a bit of financial concern for the league.

San Jose Sharks Reassign Eetu Makinemi

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Feb 15: Makiniemi, along with Nick Cicek, has been returned to the AHL. Despite having players on long-term injured reserve, the club has a low enough payroll at the moment that they can still accrue some extra cap space. There may be more transactions to follow tomorrow, as they travel to play the Vegas Golden Knights.

Feb 14: The San Jose Sharks recalled goalie Eetu Makiniemi from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda on Tuesday, the team announced via Twitter. San Jose placed forward Jonah Gadjovich on injured reserve in a corresponding move.

The move leads to a bit of a logjam on the Sharks roster. The Sharks recalled Aaron Dell from the minors just a few days ago, as starter James Reimer is out of the lineup with an undisclosed illness and is day-to-day.

Now, backup Kaapo Kahkonen appears to be out of the lineup short-term, says head coach David Quinn, after he didn’t finish San Jose’s win against the Washington Capitals on Sunday. That makes four goalies on the Sharks’ active roster, with neither Reimer nor Kahkonen expected to miss enough time to qualify for injured reserve.

Gadjovich officially lands on injured reserve less than an hour after the Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka reported he is considered week-to-week with an injury.

Makiniemi, 23, arrived in the Sharks organization this summer when the Carolina Hurricanes included him in their trade package to acquire defenseman Brent Burns. He posted an impressive .922 save percentage in an injury-shortened 2021-22 campaign with their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Still, the organization’s logjam of young goalies incentivized Carolina to move on.

His AHL numbers have taken a dip this season, down to a .900 save percentage and an 8-10-3 record in 22 appearances with the Barracuda. He made his first NHL start earlier this season, stopping 23 of 24 shots in a 6-1 thrashing of the Anaheim Ducks on December 9, 2022.

Expect the Sharks to return Makinemi to the Barracuda as soon as one of Reimer or Kahkonen can play.

Jonathan Toews Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Chicago Blackhawks have completed a number of transactions ahead of their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. Cole Guttman, Brett Seney, and Isaak Phillips have been recalled from the AHL. To make room, Jarred Tinordi, Jonathan Toews, and Alex Stalock are all going on injured reserve.

Toews is certainly the biggest name among that group, especially as the trade deadline nears. His mysterious illness has kept him away from the team for more than a week, and he has not played since the end of January. Given how long he’s been out, Toews will be able to be activated as soon as he’s healthy, but there’s no clear timeline on that at this point.

Stalock, meanwhile is dealing with “ocular dysfunction,” as it was recently revealed that it is not a concussion keeping him sidelined. He is dealing a “cranial thing” affecting his eyesight and ability to track the puck, according to head coach Luke Richardson yesterday.

Tinordi is out with a knee sprain suffered last night against the Montreal Canadiens and will have to miss at least a week after landing on injured reserve.

Notably, this is Guttman’s first NHL recall, after joining the program last summer as a college free agent. The 23-year-old forward has been good in his first year of pro hockey, scoring 16 goals and 30 points in 39 games. Undersized, he will try to prove that his height won’t stop him from contributing at the highest level.

Trade Deadline Primer: Buffalo Sabres

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Halfway through February, the trade deadline looms and is just a few weeks away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Buffalo Sabres.

For all the fans that want to point to Jack Eichel as the problem, it was going on long before he arrived. It’s been a decade since the Buffalo Sabres had a winning season. Finally, it appears that that streak will end, and the players involved deserve a reward.

The young group in Buffalo has shown flashes of real brilliance, starting with Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin. There’s optimism that they can even compete for the playoffs this year, and finally won’t be acting as the sellers they’ve been for so long.

Record

26-22-4, 5th in the Atlantic

Deadline Status

Opportunistic buyers

Deadline Cap Space

$58.23MM today, $80.4MM in deadline space, 0/3 retention slots used, 42/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2023: BUF 1st, BUF 2nd, PHI 2nd, VGK 2nd, BUF 4th, BUF 5th, BUF 6th, BUF 7th

2024:BUF 1st, BUF 2nd, BUF 3rd, BUF 4th, BUF 5th, BUF 6th, BUF 7th

Trade Chips

You’re not reading that incorrectly. The Sabres could (technically) add more than $80MM in cap hits at the deadline. That’s what happens when you spend the entire season flirting with the salary cap floor. Even next season, when they have big-money extensions kicking in for Thompson, Dylan Cozens, and Mattias Samuelsson, they still have less than $60MM committed and nearly an entire roster signed.

That means the old favorite phrase will be thrown around in the coming weeks. You guessed it, the Sabres can weaponize their cap space. They can play middleman for other transactions, they can bring on bad money to facilitate added value, and they can get involved in basically every bidding war imaginable.

That’s not to say they will, but cap space in itself is a precious asset for NHL teams.

Beyond that, those three second-round picks look like the perfect pieces to be involved in a deal. This isn’t a team that should load up by spending top prospects and picks on a bunch of rentals. They’re not good enough to do that yet. But targeting the next tier of available players with a second (or two), and then using the cap space to re-sign them? That sounds like a winning plan to support the development of your young core.

Even some of those younger players could be dangled in the right deal. Casey Mittelstadt hasn’t worked out as planned, even if he does have a career-high 31 points this season. The eighth-overall pick from 2017 is signed for next year at a reasonable $2.5MM, but leaves you wanting more almost every night.

Peyton Krebs has been much the same since arriving in the Jack Eichel trade, though he is quite a bit younger than Mittelstadt. If he had to be used as a piece to get a more dominant top-six forward, especially one with term, it might make sense for the Sabres to pull the trigger.

One interesting name to consider, perhaps next trade deadline more than this one, is Victor Olofsson. The 27-year-old has an excellent 23 goals in 52 games, but never quite grew into the role that they hoped he would as a play-driving option. For instance, Olofsson is averaging less time at even strength than JJ Peterka, but makes up for it with his regular powerplay minutes. Given he is only signed for one more year, there’s no guarantee that he is part of the long-term plan in Buffalo, or just benefiting from a lack of experienced scoring options at the moment.

Other trade chips: G Eric Comrie, D Ilya Lyubushkin, D Kale Clague

Team Needs

1) Top-six winger: This is where the opportunistic part comes in. Buffalo should be involved in talks for some of the big names, including Timo Meier, as an opportunity to add an impact player to the group. In Meier’s case specifically, they could absorb the $10MM qualifying offer, but long-term extensions are also possible for Buffalo no matter who they acquire. Captain Kyle Okposo may be a good option to bring back on a cheaper deal, but he shouldn’t be relied on as the team’s fourth-best winger anymore. Landing a big name will let the likes of Peterka, and Quinn develop on their own schedule.

2) Third-line center: On a contending team, Mittelstadt probably isn’t the answer as the third pivot. Sure, the Sabres have other top prospects like Noah Ostlund and Matthew Savoie coming, but getting a veteran two-way player to support Thompson and Cozens would put them so far ahead of the curve. The return of Ryan O’Reilly seems unlikely, but there could be other opportunities out there to upgrade that spot if they want to take a swing this year.

(Bonus need) Veteran defense: If there’s one area that the Sabres are probably going to do just fine in the long term, it’s on the back end, with Dahlin and Owen Power anchoring two top-tier pairings. But if there is a real desire to compete for the playoffs this year, adding some veteran experience to the back end is a must. Grabbing a rental, preferably right-handed, just to beef up the depth will go a long way to letting the next 30 games be as impactful as the first 50.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Brandon Davidson Signs In SHL

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It’s off to Sweden for former NHL defenseman Brandon Davidson, who has signed a contract with Farjestad BK for the rest of the season. Davidson had previously been playing on an AHL deal with the Cleveland Monsters, which had followed a PTO with the Rochester Americans.

Last appearing in the NHL during the 2020-21 season, the 31-year-old Davidson has 180 games under his belt at the highest level in a long professional career. Most of those came with the Edmonton Oilers over two stints following his selection 162nd overall in 2010.

He has also played for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks, and Buffalo Sabres, as he bounced around trying to find a home. Now it’s off to Europe to try and keep that professional career going, with little chance of an NHL return in the future.

Davidson scored nine goals and 23 points in the NHL, and appeared in the postseason on three occasions.

Wayne Simmonds Clears Waivers

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Feb 15: Simmonds has cleared waivers, meaning the Maple Leafs can now send him to the minor leagues (at least on paper) when necessary.

Feb 14: The Toronto Maple Leafs have again placed Wayne Simmonds on waivers, according to Ryan Rishaug of TSN, allowing them to move him up and down when necessary. Simmonds has already cleared twice this season.

The veteran forward is essentially a practice player at this point in his career, suiting up just 13 times for the Maple Leafs so far. He isn’t going to play in the minor leagues – in fact, he has never suited up for a minor league club in his 15-year professional career – but the team will move him down whenever they have a bit of a cap crunch.

That is likely in preparation for the trade deadline, which Simmonds will now be waiver-exempt through should he clear tomorrow. If the Maple Leafs add a forward, which is expected at this point, cap will need to be opened up.

One thing to remember is that after the deadline, there is no longer a 23-man roster limit. If you have the cap space, you can carry as many players as you want. In Toronto’s case, Simmonds will likely be up whenever someone is injured, and at the very least is going to be with the team for the playoffs, staying ready to go in if necessary.

Morning Notes: Knies, Shore, Studenic

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the teams rumored to be interested in several top names at the trade deadline, but they might have their late-season addition already in the system. Matthew Knies has 17 goals and 31 points in 30 games this year for the University of Minnesota and is “likely” to sign with the Maple Leafs at the end of the college season, according to Joshua Kloke of The Athletic.

Knies also joined Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill and explained he believes he can be a production pro player this spring, after choosing to go back to college last year. The 20-year-old winger recently came in at No. 42 in Scott Wheeler’s ranking of the best drafted prospects across the league.

  • Devin Shore has been sent back to the AHL once again, leaving the Edmonton Oilers with the opportunity to activate Kailer Yamamoto if they can clear just $1.125MM in cap space. That happens to be the exact amount that is buried when a player costing more than that is sent to the minor leagues. Jesse Puljujarvi remains the most likely player to be waived, though there are countless other ways the Oilers could clear the room, including the trade market.
  • Speaking of bouncing back and forth, Marian Studenic is on his way back to the Texas Stars today. The 24-year-old forward played fewer than ten minutes for the Dallas Stars yesterday, his third appearance of the season. As one of the few teams not currently using long-term injured reserve relief, Dallas can bank cap space between games by reducing their roster as much as possible.

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