Archives for February 2024

San Jose Sharks Activate Henry Thrun, Place Logan Couture On IR

February 19, 2024 at 2:30 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 1 Comment

Missing the last six games due to a shoulder injury, San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun was officially activated off injury reserve by the team after he successfully took part in warm-ups before this afternoon’s game. In a corresponding move, the team has placed captain Logan Couture on injured reserve for the second time this season.

Not much of an offensive weapon on the blue line, Thrun has played adequately in his first full season with the Sharks. Only playing on a unit with veteran defenseman Jan Rutta, the two have combined for 2.19 Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes according to MoneyPuck, the second-best mark on the team.

Now activated off of injured reserve, Thrun joins eight more defensemen on the active roster for San Jose, a team that has had a difficult time maintaining any sort of health over the regular season. In a position to give multiple different players their first shot in the NHL, the team has awarded Thrun’s efforts with nearly 20 minutes of ice time per night.

On the opposite side of the transaction, Couture has been out of the lineup since January 31st after reaggravating the groin injury that prohibited him from playing in the first 45 games of the season. Being one of the few offensive talents on the Sharks’ roster, Couture was only able to manage one assist in six games upon his return.

Snapshots: Heiskanen, Duchene, Andersen, Siegenthaler

February 19, 2024 at 1:26 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment

Already without defensemen Nils Lundkvist and Jani Hakanpaa due to injury, the Dallas Stars are also absent defenseman Miro Heiskanen today, as he will miss the action due to the birth of his child (X Link). Calling up defensemen Alex Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot this morning, Dallas’ depth on the blue line will be tested even further.

To add insult to injury, the team also announced that forward Matt Duchene would miss today’s game against the Boston Bruins due to a lower-body injury. In a hotly contested Central Division playoff race, the Stars have lost five regular players in a matter of days.

Playing well over their last 10 games with a 7-1-2 record, Dallas will look to keep that successful stretch going as they look to retain their throne at the top of the Central Division. With a three-point cushion, the Stars are currently on a four-game road trip against Eastern Conference opponents before finally returning to Central Division action on February 27th.

Other snapshots:

Working his way back from a blood clot scare that has kept him out of the lineup since early November, Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen was able to see shots today in practice. According to Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes, Andersen is not quite ready to return, but it was undoubtedly positive that he was able to participate in practice. With the team now less desperate for goaltending help with a strong stretch from Pyotr Kochetkov, it will nevertheless be a positive to see Andersen make his return to the ice.
The New Jersey Devils may be getting some reinforcements on their blue line soon, as team reporter Amanda Stein mentioned today that Jonas Siegenthaler has fully recovered from a broken foot that has kept him out of the lineup since January 2nd. Now only two points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, a clean bill of health moving forward puts the Devils in an advantageous position to build some momentum towards the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Trade Deadline Primer: Nashville Predators

February 19, 2024 at 12:30 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 6 Comments

With the All-Star break in the rearview, the trade deadline looms large and is now just a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Nashville Predators.

Transitioning out of the David Poile era at last year’s trade deadline, the Predators stole plenty of headlines, shipping out the likes of Mattias Ekholm, Tanner Jeannot, and Nino Niederreiter for a plethora of draft picks. Sporting an expectedly middle-of-the-pack roster, Nashville still holds some assets that could net some solid returns at this year’s deadline as well.

Record

28-25-2, 5th in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Conservative Sellers

Deadline Cap Space

$37.287 MM on deadline day, 2/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2024: NSH 1st, NSH 2nd, TB 2nd, WPG 2nd, NSH 3rd, DAL 3rd, NSH 4th, CHI 4th, EDM 4th, NSH 5th, DAL 6th
2025: NSH 1st, TB 1st*, NSH 2nd, NSH 3rd, NSH 4th, NSH 5th, NSH 6th

* A part of the trade that sent Jeannot to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay sent a conditional 2025 first-round selection to Nashville. If the pick falls within the top 10 of that NHL Draft, the Lightning will retain the draft selection.

Trade Chips

For this year’s playoff run, it is going to be incredibly challenging for the Predators to make any headway into the top three of the Central Division, but remain only two points back of the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference. With nine games to go until the trade deadline, the head coach turned General Manager Barry Trotz may still be indecisive when it comes to the organization’s deadline plans.

If the team ultimately ends up in a playoff position by March 8th, it is unlikely Trotz will deal from the cupboard, as the team has placed a high priority on prospects and draft selections over the last calendar year. More than likely, even if they are competing for a playoff spot, Trotz will choose to sell on the team’s upcoming unrestricted free agents in the hopes of recouping some assets.

In an evergrowing market for goaltenders, Juuse Saros could become the prize of the deadline, but the Predators have been adamant on not only keeping their goaltender but are much more interested in discussing a contract extension. As far as rental pieces that Nashville could dangle, Thomas Novak and Alexandre Carrier have both received interest from contending teams, while defenseman Tyson Barrie was permitted to seek a trade back in early December.

Team Needs

1) Continue To Pile Up Draft Picks – At the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, the Predators were able to make 11 draft selections, with six of those coming in the first three rounds. Once again, the team is poised to select six more players in the first three rounds of the 2024 NHL Draft which should certainly help them build up substantial prospect depth through the system. With adequate depth at all three positions at the AHL level, Nashville is once again in a position to deal out expiring contracts without having to take on a player in return.

2) Beef Up Special Teams – If the Predators are convinced they can make some noise in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, their main priority should be to make additions to both sides of the special team units. Currently, the team holds a 19.37% powerplay rate (21st in the NHL) and a 75.43% penalty-kill rate (27th in the NHL). Likely nibbling around the edges of the market if they do choose to buy, the team could look to poach Victor Olofsson from the Buffalo Sabres for powerplay help and Kevin Rooney from the Calgary Flames for a boost to the penalty kill.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Martin Fehervary Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury

February 19, 2024 at 11:30 am CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment

In a report coming from Sammi Silber of The Hockey News, Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The injury took place during the Capitals’ most recent game against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

In the opening minutes of Saturday night’s contest between the two teams, Fehervary appeared to lose an edge as he was skating behind the Capitals’ net. After falling to the ice, Fehervary was unable to put much weight on his left leg and did not return to the game.

Spending much of the year next to John Carlson, the two have been one of the bright spots on Washington’s blue line this season. Seeing the most ice time of any defensive unit on the roster, the two have combined for a solid 2.39 Expected Goals per 60 minutes, and 2.31 Goals Against per 60 minutes, according to MoneyPuck.

For Fehervary specifically, he has continued to be a physical defenseman for Washington, leading all defensemen on the roster with 114 hits, which is 60 more than the next closest defenseman. Aside from the topical statistics, Fehervary has seen a slight dip in his On-Ice Save Percentage compared to career averages, but has carried a slight uptick in his CorsiFor%.

In the meantime, the team will more than likely opt to place Rasmus Sandin next to Carlson over the next couple of weeks. The two have played a number of minutes together already this season, but have not played as defensively sound as the combination of Fehervary and Carlson.

Sabres Notes: Power, Clague, Tokarski, Comrie

February 19, 2024 at 10:15 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The Sabres moved defenseman Owen Power to IR on Monday, per the NHL’s media site. Power, 21, has already missed three games with a hand injury and remains listed as week-to-week

Assuming the IR placement is retroactive to Feb. 13, when the Sabres confirmed he sustained the injury in practice, he would be eligible to return Wednesday against the Canadiens. He’s likely to miss a little more time than that, though, and this roster move is for the purpose of opening up a roster spot more than anything else.

The 2021 first-overall pick hasn’t shown massive development from last year’s solid rookie campaign, but he’s not having a sophomore slump, either. He remains on track to be a long-term fixture in the Sabres’ top four and has been one of their best two-way defenders this season, recording 18 points and a +3 rating in 51 games while averaging 22:27 per game. He’s taken a significant step forward defensively, being on the ice for 0.74 expected goals against per game at even strength compared to last year’s 1.04 mark, per Hockey Reference, although it’s come at the expense of some offense.

The 6-foot-6 Mississauga native is signed to a seven-year, $58.45MM extension that begins next season. He will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2031.

Stars Recall Alex Petrovic, Derrick Pouliot

February 19, 2024 at 8:37 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The Stars have recalled defensemen Alex Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot from AHL Texas, the team announced Monday morning. In a corresponding transaction, the Stars returned forward Matěj Blümel to Texas to stay compliant with the 23-player roster limit.

Dallas summoned Blümel, 23, yesterday to optimize their accruable cap space limit before placing winger Evgenii Dadonov on LTIR. Blümel’s $925K cap hit was the highest of any player they had stored in the minors aside from defenseman Lian Bichsel, who is on loan to Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League. He allowed the Stars to capture their ACSL at $83.37MM, just $13K short of the salary cap.

However, defense is Dallas’ positional need with Jani Hakanpää and Nils Lundkvist sidelined with upper-body injuries. At least one recall on defense was necessary to avoid dressing 13 forwards and five defensemen against the Bruins for Monday’s Presidents’ Day matinee.

By swapping Blümel for an extra defenseman, the Stars have one backup in case of further injuries. If they want to carry an extra forward while Dadonov is on LTIR, they still can – they have $1.625MM remaining in their LTIR salary pool after executing today’s transactions. However, it would require moving Hakanpää to IR to free up a roster spot.

As such, one of today’s two recalls will make their season (and Stars) debut in Boston, likely Petrovic, who would replace Hakanpää as the only right-shot defenseman in the Dallas lineup with Lundkvist on IR. If so, it would be the 31-year-old’s first NHL game in over five years, last suiting up with the Oilers on Feb. 16, 2019.

Petrovic has bounced around the AHL since falling out of an NHL role, signing a pair of two-way deals with the Bruins and Flames before joining the Stars in 2021. He’s signed three straight one-year, two-way contracts to remain in the Dallas organization, clearing waivers at the beginning of the season in every occurrence and only seeing recalls to serve as a Black Ace during playoff runs in 2022 and 2023. Monday marks his first in-season recall as a member of the Stars.

The Panthers’ 2010 second-round pick played in 263 NHL games with Florida and Edmonton between 2012 and 2019, recording five goals, 45 assists and 50 points with a -10 rating and 360 PIMs. The Edmonton native struggled in his most recent NHL showing, recording only two assists in 35 games with the Panthers and Oilers in 2018-19 while averaging bottom-pairing minutes to complement a career-worst -15 rating and underwhelming possession metrics.

Petrovic has been a stabilizing force for the Stars’ up-and-comers in Texas, though, serving as an alternate captain since arriving in Cedar Park in 2021. Through 44 games this year, he has three goals, 13 assists, 16 points, and a +5 rating. He’s coming off arguably his best two-way season as a pro in 2022-23, when he notched a career-high 27 points in 71 games and a +34 rating.

The 30-year-old Pouliot will likely serve as Dallas’ seventh defenseman until one of Hakanpää or Lundkvist is ready to return. The eighth overall selection in the 2012 draft by the Penguins has, like Petrovic, settled into a consistent minor-league role at this stage in his career. However, he does have much more recent NHL experience, recording two assists and a -1 rating in eight games with the Sharks last year and posting four assists and a +6 rating in 11 games split between the Golden Knights and Kraken in 2021-22.

Pouliot signed a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$325K) to join the Stars on Jul. 4, 2023, and passed through waivers unclaimed during training camp. He leads Texas blue-liners with eight goals, 23 assists and 31 points in 44 games.

Five Key Stories: 2/12/24 – 2/18/24

February 18, 2024 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

We’re in the calm before the potential storm when it comes to the March 8th trade deadline. Despite that, there was still some notable news throughout the NHL over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.

Kekalainen Fired: After 11 seasons as general manager, Jarmo Kekalainen is no longer with the Blue Jackets after being relieved of his duties. Columbus made five playoff appearances with Kekalainen at the helm but only made it to the second round once back in 2019. But over the last three years, the Blue Jackets haven’t finished higher than sixth in the Metropolitan Division, a streak that is quite certain to be extended to four this season. Between their declining performance and a failed head coaching hire in Mike Babcock who had to leave the team before ever coaching a game, the time was right to make a change. That said, the Blue Jackets have several promising core youngsters so there is certainly some hope for the future.

Kessel Gets A Chance: If Phil Kessel is going to play an 18th NHL season, it might wind up being with the Canucks. The veteran has joined their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford to work out with the team and if things go well, he could eventually join Vancouver in the coming weeks. The NHL’s reigning Ironman, Kessel had 36 points last season for Vegas but wasn’t able to land a guaranteed deal in the preseason or through the first half of the year. However, for what would certainly be low-cost injury insurance, Kessel could be a worthwhile depth pickup for the stretch run if his workouts in the AHL go well.

Five For Rielly: The Department of Player Safety handed down a five-game suspension to Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly for his cross-check on Ottawa forward Ridly Greig following an empty-netter late in last Saturday’s game. The suspension conceivably could have been longer considering the league offered an in-person hearing, allowing for a suspension of six games or longer. An appeal on the ruling was quickly filed and was heard by Commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday whose ruling is expected in the next day or two. As the suspension wasn’t six games or longer, there is no secondary appeal option to a neutral arbitrator. He has already served the first three games and is eligible to return to Toronto’s lineup on Thursday.

Guentzel To LTIR: The Penguins are still within striking distance of a Wild Card spot but getting there just got tougher as it was announced that winger Jake Guentzel has landed on LTIR due to an upper-body injury. The injury isn’t a season-ender but he will be out until around the March 8th trade deadline. The 29-year-old sits second on Pittsburgh in team scoring with 52 points in 50 games, the fourth time in the last five seasons that his scoring average is above the point-per-game mark. A pending unrestricted free agent, it’s also possible that Guentzel will be traded by the deadline if the Penguins are out of the race. If that’s the route they ultimately go, they’ll be hoping the injury won’t impact the offers they’ll receive.

More Injuries: Guentzel’s injury wasn’t the only one of note around the NHL. Sharks forward Tomas Hertl underwent knee surgery and while his season isn’t necessarily over, it looks like he’ll be out for a good chunk of the remainder of the year, costing San Jose its top scorer. In Philadelphia, blueliner Rasmus Ristolainen was a speculative trade candidate but any trade talk is likely on hold now as the veteran is out for a few weeks after having an upper-body procedure. It stands to reason that moving someone with the contract he has (three more years after this season at $5.1MM) may be more of a summer move anyway. Meanwhile, Rangers winger Blake Wheeler’s season has come to an early end due to a lower-body injury. A return in the playoffs hasn’t been ruled out while New York will now be able to add his $800K base salary to its LTIR pool.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Flames Receiving Trade Interest In Rasmus Andersson

February 18, 2024 at 8:29 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 15 Comments

There has been no shortage of trade speculation coming from Calgary this season. Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm have already been moved while Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, and Jacob Markstrom are all in the rumor mill as well. But those aren’t the only players teams are calling about as ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that the Flames are also receiving trade interest in defenseman Rasmus Andersson.

The 27-year-old has become a top-pairing player in recent seasons after putting up 50 points in 2021-22 and 49 points in 2022-23 while logging big minutes. This year, Andersson’s numbers are down a bit as he has 28 points through 51 games so far but is averaging a little over 24 minutes a night and is playing in all situations. With 122 blocks, he’s only 14 shy of his career-high on that front as well.

On top of that, Andersson has a contract that certainly has been well below market value as of late. He’s signed through the 2025-26 campaign with a $4.5MM cap hit, a price point that’s more commensurate with a second-pairing player than a top-pairing one. Getting someone with that type of surplus value would make a lot of sense for many teams.

Of course, holding onto a player like that also makes sense for Calgary. GM Craig Conroy indicated earlier this week that he doesn’t intend for the Flames to go into a full-scale rebuild. It’s one thing to move players on expiring contracts as they’ve done twice so far and could do twice more with Tanev and Hanifin where you risk losing the player for free in free agency but it’s another to move a controllable key asset like Andersson.

Accordingly, it would be surprising to see Conroy move Andersson in the three weeks before the March 8th trade deadline unless the return was simply too good to pass up on. However, that won’t stop teams from inquiring in the hopes that they can come up with an offer that would make Calgary part with one of its top blueliners.

Jacob Truscott Won’t Sign With Canucks, Set To Become UFA This Summer

February 18, 2024 at 7:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

We’re still a few weeks away from the first round of college free agency that will happen as NCAA seasons come to an end but there is some news on the second round which comes in mid-August. CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal recently reported on Sportsnet 650 (audio link) that defenseman Jacob Truscott will not sign with the Canucks and will instead hit the open market in the summer.

The 21-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2020 (144th overall) and is in his fourth and final season at Michigan. Last season was his best offensively in terms of points per game when he put up 16 points in 23 games playing alongside Luke Hughes on their top pairing before suffering a season-ending leg injury. This season, Truscott’s numbers are down a bit although the captain still has 13 points in 30 games so far.

This may be a case of the numbers game quashing a chance for Truscott to join Vancouver. The team has been aggressive in signing college free agents lately headlined by blueliners Akito Hirose and Cole McWard while blueline prospect Elias Pettersson is set to turn pro next season along with Kirill Kudryavtsev, limiting Truscott’s opportunities if he was to sign with the Canucks.

If Truscott is amenable to signing with another team and not hitting the open market, it’s possible that Vancouver could use his signing rights in a trade to get some sort of return. Otherwise, he’ll become a free agent on August 16th.

Bruins Sign Justin Brazeau

February 18, 2024 at 7:25 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

It has been a successful season in the minors for winger Justin Brazeau and he has been rewarded for his efforts. BNG Productions’ Mark Allred was first to report (Twitter link) that the Bruins have converted his AHL contract to an NHL one; CapFriendly adds (Twitter link) that it’s a two-year deal which breaks down as follows:

2023-24: $775K NHL salary, $135K AHL salary
2024-25: $775K NHL salary, $165K AHL salary, $190K guaranteed salary

The 26-year-old finished up his major junior career with a bang, scoring 61 goals in 68 games with North Bay. That helped him earn a two-year AHL deal with Toronto at the time but he played in only 22 games for the Marlies over that stretch. He then signed a minor league deal with Boston in 2021 and his fortunes have certainly changed since then.

Brazeau scored 15 goals in his first season with Providence and followed that up with 16 tallies last season in 67 games. This season, the 6’5 winger has already surpassed that mark, notching 18 goals along with 19 helpers in 48 appearances, good for fourth on the team in scoring. It appears that will be enough to get him his first NHL opportunity which could come as soon as Monday against Dallas as it appears he’ll take the place of Oskar Steen on the roster who was waived earlier today.

Brazeau is not subject to any entry-level rules and thus will only be waiver-exempt for the remainder of this season. Starting in 2024-25, he’ll have to clear waivers if Boston wants to return him to Providence. The Bruins now have 48 contracts on the books out of the maximum of 50.

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