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Archives for December 2023

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Ryan Shea

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Ryan Shea from their AHL affiliate. Shea was recalled last night before the Penguins 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues but did not play as John Ludvig and Chad Ruhwedel took shifts on the third pairing.

Shea spent the first 22 games of this season in the NHL with the Penguins and didn’t post any points during that time. He was placed on waivers back on December 18th and reassigned to the AHL after the Penguins’ defense core was fully healthy. Once Shea found himself in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he dressed in four games and registered no points while going +2.

Shea’s recall comes after Pierre-Olivier Joseph missed last night’s game due to an illness. Shea will likely be a healthy scratch today when the Penguins take on the New York Islanders to close out 2023. The Penguins seem keen to keep the third pairing of Ludvig and Ruhwedel as neither player has done anything to play their way out of the lineup.

Shea was signed to a one-year, one-way contract by the Penguins in the offseason to add depth to their blueline and has played far more in the NHL than he or the Penguins likely anticipated heading into the season. Before this season, Shea had never dressed in an NHL game and spent three seasons with the Dallas Stars AHL affiliate. Shea posted a +37 last year in 70 games with the Texas Stars and registered seven goals and 21 assists.

Gustavsson And Kaprizov Hurt, Wild Recall Two Players

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Michael Russo of The Athletic is reporting that Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson and forward Kirill Kaprizov had to leave their game last night against the Winnipeg Jets.

Gustavsson left the game after the second period with an apparent lower-body injury and had to be replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury who dressed in his 999th career NHL game. Gustavsson allowed three goals on 22 shots before the injury issue and had been playing terrific since the Wild made a coaching change. With John Hynes behind the bench for Minnesota, Gustavsson has gone 8-2 with a .932 save percentage and 1.87 goals-against average.

Kaprizov on the other hand sat on the Wild bench in pain after taking two cross-checks to the back from Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon. The incident occurred in the third period and saw the cross-checks go unpenalized. It was the second time this year that Kaprizov has been hurt during a game in Winnipeg as the 26-year-old suffered a lower-body injury last season on March 8th as well. Much like Gustavsson’s injury, Kaprizov’s ailment couldn’t have come at a worse time as he has been terrific as of late under Hynes. Kaprizov has five goals and four assists in his past five games and is up to 34 points in 34 games this season. Both players are currently being evaluated by the Wild’s medical staff.

With the injuries to both players, the Wild have announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Zane McIntyre and forward Nic Petan from Iowa of the AHL. The 31-year-old McIntyre has not dressed in an NHL game since February of 2017 when he was a member of the Boston Bruins and has never won an NHL game in eight appearances. He will likely serve as a backup to Fleury today as the three-time Stanley Cup champion is expected to play in his 1000th career NHL game.

Petan has 165 games of NHL experience and dressed in one game earlier this season for the Wild. The 28-year-old has been terrific this season in the AHL posting 10 goals and 18 assists in 26 games with Iowa. The Wild finish off the calendar year today with a matchup against the Jets in the second half of their home and away series.

Morning Notes: Gustafsson, Viel, Emberson

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Carter Brooks of The Hockey News is reporting that Winnipeg Jets forward David Gustafsson will be out of the lineup for the next handful of games as the team has placed the 23-year-old on injured reserve. Gustafsson was a game-time decision on Wednesday night as the Jets came out of the break, but didn’t end up dressing against the Chicago Blackhawks

The native of Tingsryd, Sweden suffered a lower-body injury in a game against the Boston Bruins on December 22nd as he tried to end a 21-game goalless drought. He skated yesterday and Jets head coach Rick Bowness said he was feeling better, however, the team was not yet comfortable with letting him play. Gustafsson has two goals and two assists in 27 games this season.

In other morning notes:

  • With the injury to Gustafsson, the Winnipeg Jets recalled Jeffrey Viel from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL on an emergency loan (CapFriendly). Viel is in his first season with the Jets organization after spending the previous five years with the San Jose Sharks. The 26-year-old has yet to dress in an NHL game for Winnipeg but does have 49 career NHL games to his name with the Sharks. He’s posted three goals and two assists in his NHL career, all of which came in the 2021-22 season. Viel did not play against the Minnesota Wild last night and will likely serve as the Jets’ 13th forward during his recall.
  • The San Jose Sharks have activated Ty Emberson off the injured reserve as per Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News. The rookie defenseman has been out with a lower-body injury since December 1st and will be able to dress today when the Sharks take on the Colorado Avalanche. The 23-year-old has dressed in 16 games this season and has a goal and three assists while averaging 17:51 of ice time per game. The Eau Claire, Wisconsin native was acquired by San Jose from the New York Rangers via waivers before the start of the season and should give the Sharks a physical presence on the back end as he has averaged over two hits a game thus far this season.

West Notes: Firkus, Chrona, Korenar

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Currently sitting in second place of Group A in the 2024 World Junior Championships, Hockey Canada announced today that forward Jagger Firkus had been placed on the Team Canada 25-man roster. As one of the most explosive offensive talents in the Major Junior level in all of Canada, it was a surprise to not see Firkus on the initial Team Canada roster entering the tournament.

Originally drafted by the Seattle Kraken in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft, Firkus will now make his international debut under the Canadian flag. Currently playing for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League, Firkus has 27 goals and 59 points in 32 games, sitting fourth in the league in scoring.

Overall in his junior career up to this point, Firkus has played in a total of 199 regular season games, all with Moose Jaw, and has scored at an excellent rate with 110 goals and 243 points in total. In the postseason, the Warriors have reached the playoffs in Firkus’ last two seasons, as he has accrued 16 goals and 33 points in 20 games.

Other notes:

  • Beat writer for the San Jose Sharks, Curtis Pashelka, reports that the team opted to send down goaltender Magnus Chrona to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, opening up a spot on the 23-man roster. Chrona was able to make the first start of his NHL career only two nights ago against the Edmonton Oilers, having already made his NHL debut on November 4th. Unfortunately, in that start, the Denver University alumni let in four goals on 12 shots in the first period, and would not resume playing the rest of the game.
  • With his contractual rights still owned by the Arizona Coyotes, the team should not be expecting goaltender Josef Korenar back with the organization any time soon. Now in his second season with HC Sparta over in Czechia, the organization announced today that Korenar had signed a three-year extension with the team. This season with HC Sparta, Korenar holds a 10-2-0 record in 12 games, carrying a .914 SV% and a 2.07 GAA.

East Notes: Comrie, Kampf, Joseph

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Having to place both Tyson Jost and Jacob Bryson on waivers to make space on their roster over the last several weeks, the Buffalo Sabres still find themselves in a difficult situation. They still maintain a full 23-man roster, and will once again need to make room, as veteran center Zemgus Girgensons is nearing activation off of the injured reserve.

One of the clearer choices in who will ultimately sent down is goaltender Eric Comrie, who has not played in a game since earlier this month on December 5th. Seeing only a total of seven games up to this point, Comrie carries a 1-5-0 record on the year, with a .863 SV% and a 4.01 GAA. With young netminders Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen carrying the bulk of the load between the pipes, it makes little sense for the Sabres to continue with three netminders.

In an article from Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat, Comrie acknowledges his placement on waivers as a legitimate possibility and is ready to play wherever Buffalo believes he is best suited. Comrie will be no stranger to the waiver wire, as he has previously been waived five times, and has been claimed four of those times.

Other notes:

  • Jonas Siegel of The Athletic reports that David Kampf will be a healthy scratch tonight for the Toronto Maple Leafs. After spending two years being a formidable bottom-six forward for Toronto, the organization rewarded Kampf, signing the forward to a four-year, $9.6MM contract extension over the summer, hoping to gain some long-term stability in the bottom of their forward core. Unfortunately, Kampf has not lived up to expectations this season, only amassing seven points in 33 games, and seeing his ice time drop by more than two minutes on average.
  • Relaying on a note from a team spokesperson, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports that Pittsburgh Penguins’ defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph will be out of the lineup tonight with an illness. Since returning to the team from an undisclosed injury on December 12th, Joseph has played in three games for Pittsburgh, averaging just under 13 minutes a night, adding zero points.

Central Notes: Connor, Girard, Lehkonen, Reichel

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Winnipeg Jets’ leading goal-scorer Kyle Connor is making progress in his return from a knee injury, returning to the Jets’ practices in a no-contact jersey. The winger has been out for 20 days but still leads Winnipeg with 17 goals scored across 26 games, a mark tied for 11th in the NHL – despite Connor playing in at least five games fewer than any other player in the top 20. Winnipeg has leaned even heavier into Mark Scheifele in Connor’s absence, with the recently-extended centerman scoring eight points in the seven games that Connor has missed. The Jets have proven surprisingly successful for a team missing their top goal-scorer, setting a 4-1-2 record without Connor. And while that’s a great sign for optimism, the Jets were on a four-game winning streak leading up to Connor’s injury, and had a five-game winning streak just a few games prior. They will look to get back on that winning run as Connor continues to progress back to play.

Other notes from around the Central Division:

  • Samuel Girard is set to return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup on Sunday, after missing the team’s last 20 games for personal reasons. It was known that Girard would return soon, as the Avalanche anticipate the return of an option that averages over 20 minutes a night for the team. Girard has scored four goals in 15 games this season.
  • Artturi Lehkonen has begun taking full practices with the Avalanche, after working independently for much of the week. Lehkonen is working back from a scary-looking neck injury that’s held him out since late-November. Lehkonen has scored eight points in 12 games this season. And while Lehkonen returned, Ross Colton did not skate on Saturday.
  • Lukas Reichel could be set to lose a significant amount of money on his first NHL contract after his entry-level deal, per The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus, who shares that the promising 21-year-old was set for a comfy pay raise from his entry-level contract prior to the season, but now may only receive a cheap qualifying offer as a restricted-free agent after a season of struggles. Reichel has managed just eight points through 34 games this season and currently sits with a -19. And while Reichel continues to struggle, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson and head coach Luke Richardson both told Lazerus that Reichel has proven he’s an NHL talent, and that a move to the AHL isn’t in the cards yet.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: San Jose Sharks

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. 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 San Jose Sharks.

Who are the Sharks thankful for?

Macklin Celebrini.

There isn’t a lot to be excited about from a San Jose Sharks team that kicked off their season with an 11-game losing streak, is currently on a seven-game losing streak, and has yet to win 10 games. But thankfully, there’s a fantastic consolation prize in the 2024 NHL Draft – San Jose local and star prospect Macklin Celebrini. Celebrini was born in Vancouver but played much of his youth hockey career in the Bay Area, before moving to Shattuck St. Mary’s. He’s since emerged as a superstar prospect, with 25 points through his first 15 games as an NCAA freshman. The fleet-footed centerman is also the leading scorer for Team Canada’s World Juniors roster, boasting six points in three games – double the scoring of anyone else on the roster. His trophy case is already full of accolades, including winning the awards for both USHL Rookie of the Year and USHL Most Valuable Player last season. Celebrini doesn’t project to be a generational prospect like Connor Bedard but he’s confidently in the “1B” tier below him, likely poised for immediate success in the NHL. There’s no better place for Celebrini to start his career than where it all began – or, that will at least be what Sharks fans hope for if their season continues to skid.

What are the Sharks thankful for?

Extra goaltending training.

The San Jose Sharks are averaging 35.7 shots-against this season – the third-most of any team over the last decade. That’s led to a dismal average of 4.08 goals-against this season but it’s also meant extra action for netminders Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen, providing a sort-of trial by fire for the Sharks’ starting goalie role. The duo has had very different results this year, with Blackwood recording a .884 save percentage in 23 appearances, while Kahkonen has set an even .900 save percentage in 17 games, catching up in appearances while Blackwood has been out with illness. Moneypuck’s goals-saved-above-expected per-60 stat (GSAx/60) paints a similar story, with Kahkonen’s 0.368 sandwiched between Igor Shesterkin and Jacob Markstrom at 13th in the league while Blackwood’s -0.312 ranks 32nd in the league. Letting up a bombardment of shots every single night is a terrible habit to have but the opportunity to see how a netminder faces such heavy pressure is a nice silver lining. Kahkonen is one of a daunting 17 Sharks set to become a free agent next summer, while Blackwood is signed through the end of the 2024-25 season, and how each player is able to take advantage of their chances through the rest of the season will undoubtedly weigh heavy into how San Jose handles their goalie contracts next off-season.

What would the Sharks be even more thankful for?

A confident win.

The Sharks are not only currently on a seven-game losing streak, but two of their last three wins have come in overtime, while the other win was a grueling 2-1 victory that saw its game-winning goal scored with just a few minutes left. It’s been a tedious stretch for the Sharks, forced to fight to the end of every game they play, unless they’re getting walloped on the scoreboard. There is no saying just how impactful a win could be, especially if the Sharks can find a way to really get over an opponent and win by a few goals. The team only has two wins of three goals or more this year and haven’t managed the feat since December 1st. With the holiday break passed and the All-Star break looming, now is a perfect time for San Jose to set their pace for the rest of the season – and which players are able to step up and assure that could make a tremendous impact on the team’s long-term plans.

What should be on the Sharks holiday wish list?

More draft stock.

The Sharks are unsurprisingly set to be sellers at the trade deadline, with options like Tomas Hertl and Anthony Duclair poised to receive plenty of interest from teams looking for a scoring boost. If they do get interest, draft capital needs to be the Sharks’ top priority. The team already has four picks in the top-two rounds of next year’s draft but a lot has been made about the strength of the 2025 and 2026 draft classes as well, and increasing their stock in each draft could go a long way in helping San Jose build out a team that can lift them out of their rebuild. They’ve had just three picks in the Top 10 since 2010, used to draft Timo Meier (2015), William Eklund (2021), and Will Smith (2023). That’s no way to bring in talent that can lead the top of a lineup, especially considering that one of those selections has already been traded away. After a season of immense struggles, San Jose will hope they can reverse this trend and bring in a few true difference makers over the next three drafts.

Metropolitan Notes: Rangers, Merzlikins, Puljujarvi, Halonen

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The Rangers could be prioritizing adding some grit over another skilled forward, reports Lohud’s Vince Z. Mercogliano.  That type of player would ideally then help shore up their defensive play in the bottom six as well.  At the moment, New York has ample spending room with both Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko on LTIR but if both of those players return by the end of the season, that spending flexibility becomes much more limited.  Accordingly, doing some scouting work on an impactful gritty depth player who doesn’t cost as much against the salary cap could be a wise course of action for them for now.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that Elvis Merzlikins’ early departure from last night’s victory over Toronto was due to illness. Spencer Martin played the final two periods and overtime in relief.  He will also miss today’s game versus Buffalo as team reporter Jeff Svoboda relays (Twitter link) that Merzlikins did not accompany the team on the trip.  With Columbus carrying three goalies on its active roster, they don’t need to bring another netminder up from AHL Cleveland.
  • Winger Jesse Puljujarvi skated with the Penguins on Friday for the first time since joining them on a PTO earlier this month, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 25-year-old has been working his way back from double hip surgery and still hasn’t been fully cleared to play.  If that comes after a few more skates with Pittsburgh, Puljujarvi could be an intriguing addition in the second half of the season on what’s quite likely to be a deal at or near the league minimum.
  • The Devils announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated forward Brian Halonen off of season-opening IR and assigned him to AHL Utica. The 24-year-old is in the second and final year of his entry-level contract and had 17 goals and 13 assists in 57 games with the Comets last season.  Since Halonen wasn’t in the NHL at any point last season, he did not count against the cap while on SOIR.

Atlantic Notes: Samsonov, Sabres Coaches, Sergachev

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Following another tough outing that saw him allow six goals to Columbus in an overtime loss, Ilya Samsonov’s short-term future appears to be in question.  Jonas Siegel of The Athletic believes (subscription link) that the Maple Leafs can no longer afford to put the netminder in their lineup with how much he has struggled; his save percentage on the season is down to just .862 even though he only has two regulation losses in his 15 starts.

Toronto’s challenge, of course, is that with Joseph Woll likely out for another month and Martin Jones being more of a depth veteran than a viable starter, they don’t really have anyone else to turn to other than prospect Dennis Hildeby or another youngster in the minors.  With Hildeby being in his first full AHL campaign though, calling him up this early wouldn’t be ideal.  However, Siegel highlights that with how the Maple Leafs’ schedule goes in the next little bit, they wouldn’t have to call on Hildeby much, lessening the risk of exposing him too early to the top level.  Promoting him would then allow Samsonov to either accept a conditioning stint with the Marlies or be assigned there pending waiver clearance to try to get back on track.

Siegel also wonders if Jaroslav Halak could make sense in the short term to avoid bringing Hildeby up although it’s worth noting that the Maple Leafs already have seven goalies on an NHL contract.  To use Halak, they’d have to make it eight which isn’t an ideal situation to be in.  Samsonov had a good first season in Toronto last year, earning a $3.55MM deal for his troubles but his platform year to unrestricted free agency has been nothing short of a disaster so far.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • The Sabres announced (Twitter link) that head coach Don Granato will miss today’s game versus Columbus due to illness. Instead of using an assistant in the interim head coaching role, Buffalo has recalled Rochester’s head coach Seth Appert who will be in charge behind the bench.  Appert is in his fourth season with the Amerks who also play tonight but will have assistants Vinny Prospal and Nathan Paetsch split the coaching duties for that contest.
  • Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev took part in practice on Friday but was only able to make it through about half the session, relays Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times. As a result, the 25-year-old won’t make his return to the lineup tonight against the Rangers.  Sergachev has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury and has 19 points in 33 games so far this season while playing nearly 23 minutes a night.

Capitals Recall Hunter Shepard, Assign Ivan Miroshnichenko To Minors

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With Charlie Lindgren exiting Friday’s contest early with an upper-body injury and the Capitals back in action tonight versus Nashville, a move needed to be made to get another goalie on the active roster.  That move has now been made as the team announced that goaltender Hunter Shepard has been recalled while winger Ivan Miroshnichenko has been sent back to AHL Hershey.

Shepard made his first two NHL appearances earlier this season, picking up a pair of wins against division rivals while stopping 54 of 59 shots.  The 28-year-old has spent the bulk of the campaign in the minors with the Bears, getting into 16 games where he has a 2.28 GAA and a .908 SV%.  He also has 14 victories, good for the second-most in the AHL.  He’ll serve as Darcy Kuemper’s backup in Lindgren’s absence.

As for Miroshnichenko, the 19-year-old made his NHL debut just before the holiday break and has played in four games with Washington so far.  He’s still looking for his first point at the top level while averaging a little over ten minutes a night of ice time.  The 20th pick in 2022, Miroshnichenko has eight goals and seven assists in 27 games with Hershey, his first taste of NHL action.  As long as he plays in fewer than ten games at the top level, Miroshnichenko won’t burn the first year of his contract this season, meaning he’ll still have three years left on his entry-level agreement heading into 2024-25.  Accordingly, expect the Capitals to limit his NHL action over the final few months of the season.

Meanwhile, Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press points out (Twitter link) that winger Max Pacioretty remains on LTIR, at least for now.  The veteran has been speculated to potentially be available for tonight’s contest.  Washington would have to make another roster move to open up a spot for Pacioretty’s potential activation if he is indeed cleared.  The easiest way to do that could be moving Martin Fehervary to IR if he’s going to miss a week or more after sustaining an upper-body injury of his own last night.

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