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Predators Recall Spencer Stastney

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Spencer Stastney has had a good first full professional season and he is being rewarded for his efforts as the Predators announced that they’ve recalled the blueliner from AHL Milwaukee.  It’s the first recall of his NHL career.

The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Preds back in 2018 (131st overall) and spent four years at Notre Dame where he picked up 63 points in 143 games before turning pro late last season.  He got into a couple of games with the Admirals down the stretch but this has been his first extended campaign in the pros.  Stastney has five goals in 56 games for Milwaukee, good for third on the team in goals by a blueliner.

Nashville is dealing with multiple injuries on the back end with Roman Josi, Alexandre Carrier, and Mark Borowiecki out of the lineup.  That list is growing by one more as Jeremy Lauzon will not play today due to an upper-body injury, opening up a spot for Stastney to make his NHL debut against St. Louis.

Derick Brassard Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery

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The news isn’t great for Senators center Derick Brassard.  After being injured in Thursday’s victory over Philadelphia, head coach D.J. Smith told reporters including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link) that Brassard has undergone surgery to repair a fractured fibula.  In a separate tweet, Garrioch adds that the recovery timeline is at least six to eight weeks and that Brassard had a plate put in.

It’s certainly a tough end to the season for the 35-year-old.  Brassard had been a quality depth contributor for the Sens this year, chipping in with 13 goals in 62 games, his highest goal total since the 2019-20 campaign.  Perhaps more impressive is that he was able to do so while logging just 12:11 per contest, his lowest ATOI since his rookie year back in 2007-08.

Brassard had to settle for a training camp PTO last fall but was able to earn himself a one-year contract at the league minimum.  Having bounced around considerably in recent years – Ottawa is his eighth different team since 2018-19 – he’s someone whose ability to earn a contract for next season was already in question.  Unfortunately, an injury like this certainly doesn’t help in that regard.  Accordingly, it’s quite possible that Brassard will have to settle for a tryout once again if he looks to try to extend his 16-year NHL career any further.

Meanwhile, TSN’s Claire Hanna relays (Twitter link) that defensemen Travis Hamonic (lower body), Thomas Chabot (upper body), and Jakob Chychrun (hamstring) won’t accompany the Sens on their upcoming three-game road trip.  Of the three, Smith noted that he’s hopeful that Hamonic will be able to return by the end of the season so it appears Chabot and Chychrun have seen their 2022-23 campaigns come to an end.

Blue Jackets Recall Three, Assign Trey-Fix Wolansky To AHL

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Between injuries and illness, the Blue Jackets are currently dealing with a thinned-out roster.  Accordingly, they are bringing up more players from the minors as they announced that forwards Joona Luoto and Justin Richards plus defenseman Marcus Bjork are all being recalled from AHL Cleveland.  They will be taking the place of Jack Roslovic and Lane Pederson (both injured) and Adam Boqvist (illness).  Meanwhile, after oversleeping and missing a team meeting, winger Trey Fix-Wolansky has been assigned back to the Monsters.

Luoto will get his first taste of NHL action tonight since the 2019-20 campaign when he played in 16 games with Winnipeg.  After spending last season in Finland, the 25-year-old signed a two-way deal with Columbus last summer.  He has 14 goals and 11 assists in 43 games with Cleveland this season and will be set to hit Group VI unrestricted free agency in July.

As for Richards, his NHL experience is even more limited as he made just a single appearance for the Rangers back in 2021, recording his first career NHL assist along the way.  The 25-year-old is also in his first year with the Blue Jackets and has been much more productive in the minors this season, picking up 10 goals and 25 assists in 54 games after putting up just six goals and eight helpers a year ago.  He’s also eligible for Group VI free agency this summer.

Bjork, meanwhile, certainly hasn’t looked out of place in his first season in North America.  He has played in 28 games with the Blue Jackets this season, picking up 11 points while logging nearly 19 minutes a night on the back end.  The 25-year-old has also suited up in 40 games for the Monsters, tallying 13 points.  He will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Fix-Wolansky had averaged over 13 minutes a night in his last three games in Columbus and was getting a chance to play higher in the lineup due to the injuries so this mistake is a costly one for him as it gets him taken off the roster.  He has been quite productive in the minors, however, notching 26 goals and 41 assists in just 53 games and will be a big addition to a Monsters team that finds themselves one point out of a play-in spot heading into tonight’s action.

Flyers Activate Travis Konecny Off Injured Reserve, Recall Samuel Ersson

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The Flyers won’t be contending for a playoff spot in the final couple of weeks of the season but they will get a boost to their lineup up front.  Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes (Twitter link) that winger Travis Konecny has been activated from injured reserve to rejoin the active roster.

The 26-year-old has missed the last six weeks with an upper-body injury, about double what the original recovery timeline was expected to be.  However, Konecny remains Philadelphia’s top scorer with 27 goals and 27 assists in just 52 games, a pace that had him well on his way to setting new career highs across the board prior to the injury.  If nothing else, getting back into a few games will give Konecny and the coaching staff some certainty that he’ll be fully ready to go for training camp in the fall.

Philadelphia doesn’t have any forwards up with the big club on an emergency loan so no corresponding roster move needed to be made to accommodate Konecny’s return.

However, they once again have a goalie up on an emergency basis as the team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Samuel Ersson has been brought back up from AHL Lehigh Valley.  He was sent down yesterday to get a game in with the Phantoms.  Carter Hart remains unavailable although he was on the ice prior to the morning skate today.  Ersson has a 3.07 GAA and a .898 SV% in 10 NHL appearances this season plus a 2.68 GAA and a .904 SV% in 37 AHL contests.

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