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Dylan Cozens Day-To-Day, Samuelsson Could Return Soon

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The Buffalo Sabres tweeted today that forward Dylan Cozens is currently day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will not play tonight when the Sabres take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Cozens last played on Monday when Buffalo defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-0 and didn’t have any obvious moments that could be the cause of injury, but it is said he suffered the injury in the third period.

The 22-year-old has struggled this season with just seven goals and 15 assists in 42 games after putting up career numbers just a year ago. In the 2022-23 season, Cozens had 31 goals and 37 assists in 81 games which prompted the Sabres to sign him to a massive seven-year, $49.7MM contract extension. Last season, Cozens appeared to be much more careful with the puck and although he’s been better at driving possession this season, he’s been guilty of far more turnovers and hasn’t had the same results in the defensive zone.

According to Sabres reporter Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550, Cozens may play Saturday, but nothing is certain as of right now. Hamilton also said that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson could also return on Saturday night as Sabres head coach Don Granato told the reporter that he is progressing after he went into concussion protocol last Saturday in a game against the Vancouver Canucks.

With Cozens out of the lineup tonight, it appears that Victor Olofsson will dress. Olofsson has sat out for five straight games and is suffering through a frustrating season with just four goals in 31 games, after registering 28 goals last season in 75 games.

Blue Jackets Put Spencer Martin On Waivers, Jiricek Sent To AHL

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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they’ve placed goaltender Spencer Martin on waivers today and sent defenseman David Jiricek to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Martin was placed on waivers for the purpose of sending him to the AHL, but he will need to clear waivers first before he can be sent there.

Martin has struggled this season after he was acquired on waivers from the Vancouver Canucks back in September 2023. He has not appeared in a game since a loss on January 2nd to the Boston Bruins. For the season, Martin has dressed in 13 games and has a 3-8-1 record with a 3.65 goals-against average and a save percentage of .887%. Those numbers are not great, and some might speculate that they are being dragged down by playing on a bad team in Columbus, however, Martin’s numbers are only slightly worse with the Blue Jackets as his career average goals against is 3.63 and his career save percentage is lower at .886. Martin’s demotion could lead to Elvis Merzļikins getting more playing time in the coming days, which could be interesting given his recent trade request.

Jiricek heads to Cleveland after dressing in 36 games this season for the Blue Jackets. The former sixth overall pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft has played okay this season, although he hasn’t posted much in the way of offense with just a goal and eight assists this year. The Blue Jackets tried to give the 20-year-old the bulk of his zone starts in the offensive zone and did appear to be sheltering him as best they could. With his demotion to Cleveland, he will likely see more minutes and have an opportunity to play in more high-leverage situations which could help his development long-term.

Flames Place Walker Duehr On Waivers

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January 18th: Duehr has cleared waivers and been assigned to the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL.

January 17th: The Flames placed winger Walker Duehr on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Calgary on Wednesday, TSN’s Chris Johnston reports.

Duehr, 26, played in 12 straight games to start the season but has seen minimal action since, playing in only 10 of Calgary’s last 35 games. An undrafted free agent signing out of Minnesota State in the spring of 2021, the bottom-six grinder posted 1-3–4 in 19 games this year while averaging only 7:58 per game before landing on the waiver wire.

Away from the puck, Duehr’s performance this year took a sizable step back from his 27-game stint in the Flames lineup in 2022-23. His 46.2% Corsi share at even strength is the worst on the team despite seeing minutes against easier competition, and his minutes on special teams this year are negligible.

Duehr is signed to a one-way deal that runs through next season, so the likelihood of him getting claimed is low. He signed a two-year extension worth $1.65MM last April after spending a decent chunk of the campaign on the Calgary roster, making the team out of camp this year as a result.

In 41 games with AHL Calgary last season, Duehr recorded 11-15–26 with a +5 rating. His middling offensive production in the minors suggests he won’t likely ever be a top-nine threat at the NHL level, but he has shown some skills that suggest he can be an effective fourth-liner in the future. This season, however, it hasn’t come to fruition, and he’ll return to the minors (if he clears) to round out his all-around game.

Calgary Flames Recall Adam Klapka, Place Dennis Gilbert On IR

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The Calgary Flames have recalled winger Adam Klapka to the NHL and placed defenseman Dennis Gilbert on injured reserve, retroactive to January 4th.

This is the first recall of Klapka’s young career, with the 23-year-old signing with Calgary following the end of Liberec’s 2021-22 Czechia Extraliga season. That was Klapka’s first professional season after two years with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. He performed admirably in Czechia’s top league, recording 18 points and 72 penalty minutes in 44 games.

The showing was enough to earn a contract in North America, with Klapka spending the last two seasons with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. The winger has totaled 46 points in 96 minor league games and ranks fifth on the Wranglers in scoring this year with 21 points in 33 games

Klapka now joins the Flames roster in the absence of Gilbert, another young pro that, this season, has managed to carve out a role solely in the NHL for the first time in his career. The 27-year-old defender has appeared in 28 of Calgary’s 44 games this season, managing seven points and 16 penalty minutes. Gilbert was formerly drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks with the last pick of the third round in 2015, going just a handful of picks before players like Nicolas Roy and Mathieu Joseph.

Klapka is expected to serve as Calgary’s extra forward on Thursday, delaying what would be his NHL debut – something the young winger is certainly hoping for on this recall.

Devils Place Brendan Smith On Injured Reserve

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The Devils have placed defenseman Brendan Smith on injured reserve with a sprained right knee retroactive to Jan. 15. In a corresponding transaction, the team recalled defenseman Santeri Hatakka from AHL Utica.

Smith, 34, left Monday’s game against the Bruins early in the first period after a collision with Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy and did not return. He did not play in yesterday’s 3-2 loss to the Canadiens.

New Jersey has a packed schedule in the coming days, with games on Friday (vs. the Blue Jackets), Saturday (vs. the Stars), and Monday (vs. the Golden Knights). Placing Smith on IR rules him out of those three games. The soonest he is eligible to return is on Thursday, Jan. 25, against the Hurricanes, one of his three former teams.

The veteran pot-stirrer has filled in at both defense and forward this season, depending on which position has been more affected by injuries. Smith joins forwards Nolan Foote and Tomáš Nosek, as well as top-four defensemen Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, on IR/LTIR, while forwards Jack Hughes and Ondřej Palát remain sidelined with injuries but are on the active roster.

At this stage in his career, Smith’s impact is most felt between the whistles. He’s posted 1-4–5 in 34 games this season after not scoring a goal in 2022-23, logging 47 PIMs while averaging 14:25 per game. He’s avoided liability status in terms of possession metrics, though, with a Corsi share of 50.4% at even strength and an expected +0.4 rating.

In Smith’s absence, 25-year-old Callan Foote made his second appearance of the season against the Canadiens yesterday. The Devils had no healthy extras rostered, necessitating Hatakka’s recall.

The 23-year-old Hatakka arrived in the Devils organization by way of San Jose in the February 2023 Timo Meier trade. A sixth-round pick of the Sharks in 2019, Hatakka has not played in the NHL since April 17, 2022.

He spent most of last season injured, only logging eight games with AHL San Jose in October and November of 2022. Now healthy, he’s picked up a regular role with Utica, where he’s posted 2-7–9 in 28 games with a -4 rating. This is his first recall since joining the Devils, and potentially an important one for his next contract as he’s in the final year of his entry-level deal.

East Notes: Rafferty, Norris, Sandin

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The Red Wings assigned defenseman Brogan Rafferty to AHL Grand Rapids today, per a team announcement. Rafferty, 28, was recalled last Saturday but did not see any game action with Detroit.

This indicates defenseman Jake Walman is likely ready to return from an illness that’s sidelined him for three contests. Walman’s absence necessitated Rafferty’s recall, allowing the Red Wings to remain at seven healthy defensemen on the active roster. In the event Walman is ready to return, he would likely reunite with Moritz Seider on the team’s top pairing against the Hurricanes tomorrow.

This was Rafferty’s first recall since signing a two-year, two-way $1.55MM contract in Detroit as a UFA last summer. The right-shooting defenseman has 1-12–13 in 33 games with Grand Rapids this season, a sharp decline from the 9-42–51 he posted in 72 games with the Kraken’s AHL affiliate, Coachella Valley, last season.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference today:

  • Senators center Josh Norris skated in a non-contact jersey during an optional skate this morning, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch said. The 24-year-old has missed three games with an upper-body injury, one the team is surely watching carefully after a shoulder injury with multiple setbacks cost him nearly all of the 2022-23 campaign, as well as the first three games of this season. Interim head coach Jacques Martin said Norris was an option to return during their back-to-back against the Jets and Flyers this weekend, although that seems less likely now, given he wasn’t able to take contact today.
  • Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin was upgraded to regular contact at this morning’s practice, per The Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson. Sandin, 23, hasn’t played since Jan. 3 and remains on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. The 5-foot-11 blueliner has now missed six games, but after getting back on the ice last week, he’s trending toward being available by the team’s Saturday game against the Blues. Washington also faces St. Louis tonight, although head coach Spencer Carbery has not commented on Sandin’s availability. The 2018 first-round pick has 11 assists in 36 games for the Caps while averaging over 22 minutes per game.

Evening Snapshots: Gilbert, Ullmark, Carlo, Rondbjerg

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Earlier today, Ryan Pike of Flames Nation reported that the Calgary Flames have placed defenseman Dennis Gilbert on injured reserve. Since the original injury took place on January 4th, Gilbert has already met the required satisfactions to enter play, but since he is not ready to return, this transaction in particular will give Calgary some roster flexibility for the foreseeable future.

In a related report, Pike also points out that with Gilbert as well as Jacob Markstrom missing some time for the Flames, Walker Duehr’s waiver placement earlier this afternoon, and Oliver Kylington working his way back on an LTI conditioning loan, there will be plenty of moving pieces for Calgary in the next few days.

With now only 21 players on the active roster once Duehr’s fate is settled tomorrow afternoon, Calgary could recall young forwards such as Matthew Coronato or Jakob Pelletier, or even go the route of reintroducing Kylington back into the organization. Whatever the case may be, they do have some time to address their current roster situation, as they should be able to field a healthy team tomorrow night against the Toronto Maple Leafs without any corresponding transactions.

Other snapshots:

  • The Boston Bruins could be welcoming back two of their bigger pieces, as Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe reports both Linus Ullmark and Brandon Carlo are nearing a return to the team. This news does not come as a tremendous surprise, as the Bruins sent down goaltender Brandon Bussi, clearing the way for Ullmark’s return. Carlo, on the other hand, has missed the last four games for Boston with an upper-body injury but should be able to return this weekend against the Montreal Canadiens, or even sooner in the Bruin’s rematch against the Colorado Avalanche.
  • After recalling him on January 11th, the Vegas Golden Knights announced today they have reassigned forward Jonas Rondbjerg back down to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. Playing in three games since his initial recall only a few days ago, Rondbjerg produced zero points while averaging a tad under 11 minutes of ice time a game.

Metro Notes: Jenner, Smith, Frasca

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Some good news came to the Columbus Blue Jackets this afternoon by way of Aaron Portzline of The Athletic who is reporting that captain Boone Jenner will be making his return to the lineup on Friday night. One of the better offensive players on the Blue Jackets’ roster, Jenner has been out since December 8th with a broken jaw.

It will be a major reinforcement for Columbus, a team that has seen injuries to other major players such as Patrik Laine and Zach Werenski for much of the season. The reintroduction of Jenner onto the roster will bring a player who has scored 13 goals in 28 games already for the Blue Jackets this season, still good for second on the team in goal-scoring even after being out for over a month.

If Columbus continues to fall in the standings, Jenner could become one of the more intriguing trade deadline options for many competitive teams. Signed for two more years beyond this one, the Blue Jackets shouldn’t feel rushed to move their captain, but his ability to play on both sides of the puck, his relatively cheap contract and his obvious leadership ability could be coveted by a plethora of teams come March.

Other notes:

  • Another team in the Metropolitan Division that has dealt with several injuries this year would be none other than the New Jersey Devils. Earlier today, the team was dealt more unfortunate news, as team reporter Amanda Stein reported that defenseman Brendan Smith is out with a sprained knee. As of now, the timeline for Smith is unclear, but the team will likely utilize recently recalled Callan Foote to serve in Smith’s stead.
  • In a minor league transaction, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced that their NHL affiliate, the Pittsburgh Penguins, had reassigned forward Jordan Frasca back to the organization’s ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers. Frasca went scoreless in his three-game stint in Wilkes-Barre but has already scored nine goals and 24 points in 25 games for the Nailers this season.

Sharks To Retire Joe Thornton’s Number

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Arguably the best player in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks announced today that the organization will retire Joe Thornton’s no. 19 on an unspecified date next season. Taking brief stops with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, Thorton’s last game played for the Sharks came on March 11th, 2020. As of now, Patrick Marleau is the only other past member of the organization to have his number retired.

Thornton originally came to San Jose via trade; a trade that has now become one of the most lopsided in NHL history. Upset with the direction of the Boston Bruins at the time, Thornton was moved to the Sharks for a package of Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm, and Wayne Primeau, after leading Boston in scoring early in the 2005-06 season. Almost immediately upon his arrival in San Jose, Thornton went on an absolute tear, scoring 20 goals and 92 points in 58 games en route to the Hart Memorial Trophy and Art Ross Trophy at season’s end.

For the next 14 seasons, Thornton would suit up in 1,104 games for the Sharks, finishing second in goals, first in assists, and second in points with 251, 804, and 1,055, respectively. Throughout a 15-year run in San Jose, Thornton led the Sharks to the playoffs for a total of 12 seasons, scoring 20 goals and 115 assists in 144 games.

Although the Hart Memorial and Art Ross Trophy are the only individual awards he would win in San Jose, he received votes for the NHL All-Star Team, Frank J. Selke Trophy, and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, as well as more votes for the Hart throughout his time as a Shark.

Unfortunately, Thornton will become a part of the group of surefire Hall of Famers who were unable to raise the Stanley Cup throughout their career. However, the closest he got was during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, when the Sharks managed to take the Pittsburgh Penguins to Game Six of the Cup Final.

Islanders Put Casey Cizikas On IR, Recall Kyle MacLean

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The New York Islanders announced today that they have placed forward Casey Cizikas on the injured reserve and recalled forward Kyle MacLean from their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. The move with Cizikas is retroactive to January 9th, meaning that he can return anytime he is healthy enough to do so. He is currently listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury so he may be out until closer to the all-star break.

Cizikas has been enjoying one of his better offensive seasons this year with five goals and six assists in 39 games. However, his defensive work is his calling card, and it has not been quite as good as in previous seasons. Cizikas has long been one of the top defensive forwards in the NHL, but his overall play at five-on-five and the penalty kill has fallen off this year in comparison to previous seasons.

MacLean is the son of long-time New Jersey Devils forward John MacLean. He will join the Islanders from Bridgeport, where he has spent the past four seasons with the team. In 193 career AHL games, the 24-year-old has 29 goals and 49 assists and is -4. He has yet to dress in an NHL game, meaning that he could make his NHL debut in the coming days. This season with Bridgeport he has six goals and 13 assists in 36 games.

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