The Seattle Kraken have activated Matthew Beniers off of injured reserve. The former second-overall pick is expected to make his return to the Kraken lineup on Friday, after missing the team’s last five games. Jaden Schwartz and Eeli Tolvanen are expected to be game-time decisions, per Mike Benton of Kraken Audio Network.
Getting this trio of players back will be substantial for Seattle, as each ranks inside the team’s top seven scorers. Tolvanen leads the pack with 12 goals and 29 points through 47 games, while Schwartz has managed 20 points, split evenly, in 31 games, and Beniers has 19 points in 42. The former Calder Trophy-winning Beniers was in a bit of a lull before his injury, with just one goal through his last seven games. He’ll look to catch up to Tolvanen and Schwartz in the scoring column with a return against the St. Louis Blues on Friday.
Other notes from the Pacific Division:
- The Calgary Flames are not yet sure if A.J. Greer will require surgery after his ankle went awkwardly into the boards in the team’s Thursday night game. The forward is expected to miss, “considerable time”, though, per Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Francis speculated that Greer’s injury could lead to Clark Bishop getting recalled from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, though former first-round pick Jakob Pelletier is making his AHL season debut this weekend and could also be considered for a recall soon.
- San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun will be out until after the All-Star Break, per team reporter Curtis Pashelka. The 22-year-old is working his way back from a shoulder injury, with Pashelka adding that nothing seemed structurally wrong, insinuating that Thrun might have dodged the worst outcome. With Thrun out, San Jose will give top defensive prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin his first NHL game. Mukhamadullin has managed 26 points in 39 games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda this season.
Flames just have no luck this year. They just lost a pair of able replacements for Greer on waivers, but they have to be getting nearer to seeing the writing on the wall. Time to play the young guns more and deal a few veterans.
@Dano, Probably not much of a Flames fan, but the flames didn’t lose much here. DeSimone was their 8th-9th dman and they are getting back Kylington now. Probably a 3-4 Dman for them. And they’re deep there.
And Ruziczka (sp?) was their 11-14 FW. Lost his place to the up and coming guys. Pelletier likely takes Greer’s spot if he can’t go. And they had some depth in the booth waiting for their chance.
They’d probably like to shuffle out a few more guys for young near NHL ready talent for the remainder of the season.
This isn’t Sutter’s Flames anymore. Conroy was starting to install young guys already.
If the flames want to take steps they have to ship out Hanni, Tani, and other decent pieces.
Ruzzi and Desimone weren’t getting them anything.
Looking forward to seeing Pelletier get in a nice run with the Wranglers, then seeing how he does in his second stint with the Flames. The NHL is more vibrant when the Flames are winning.
Don’t think Ruzizka is a better fit on the bottom 6 than Pelletier? The young gun is the proverbial top-6 boom or bust prospect that will show his holes while on a lesser role.i’d prefer to see Pellets play the year with the Wranglers but here we are. Because Conroy likely is going to take salary back in any Hanifin-Lindholm-Tanev deals, no need to rush guys who aren’t ready.
It’s amazing to me that Francis didn’t address the Kraken blueline this past summer and if that’s not a head scratcher, Francis acquired Kailer Yamamoto and let Daniel Sprong walk.