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Archives for February 2024

Ottawa Senators Reassign Max Guénette

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Feb. 16: The Senators returned Guénette to Belleville on Friday, ending his emergency exception. He played 11:53 in last night’s 5-1 loss to Anaheim, recording one shot on goal.

Feb. 15: The Ottawa Senators have recalled defenseman Max Guénette to the NHL lineup. The team does not currently have the cap space for this recall, but played their last game down one player, allowing them to use an emergency recall on Guénette.

This is just the third recall of Guénette’s career, with the last coming in April of last season. Guénette played in his first NHL game on that recall, playing in roughly nine minutes of an overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres. He went without a point and set a -1, but added one hit, one block, and two shots. Guénette has otherwise spent the last three seasons with the AHL’s Belleville Senators, making his professional debut with the club in the 2021-22 season. He had a quiet AHL rookie season, scoring just 19 points in 48 games, but led all Belleville defensemen with 40 points in 72 games last season. He’s maintained that lead-scoring role into this season, netting 23 points in 41 games.

The Senators originally drafted Guénette in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He’s been one of seven players from that round to make their NHL debut, joining Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Dustin Wolf.

Guénette will take over for Artem Zub, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Zub has played in 40 games this season, averaging nearly 21 minutes each game and scoring 18 points. He’s served as Ottawa’s second-most productive defenseman behind Jakob Chychrun.

Penguins Claim Matthew Phillips Off Waivers From Capitals

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The Penguins claimed forward Matthew Phillips off waivers from the Capitals on Friday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Washington placed Phillips, 25, on waivers yesterday after making him a healthy scratch in 15 of their last 16 games. The undersized winger had one goal and four assists in 27 appearances with the Caps after signing a one-year, one-way deal worth $775K last summer upon reaching Group VI free agency.

A member of the Flames organization for more than half a decade after they selected him in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, Phillips developed into one of the best players at the AHL level over the past two seasons. He posted back-to-back seasons above a point per game with their affiliates in Stockton and Calgary in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and produced at a top-six pace for a pair of campaigns prior.

His 5-foot-7, 140-lb frame was always going to make life difficult for him in the NHL, however. He got off to a strong start this season, posting three points in his first four games, but he hasn’t recorded a point in over two months and has a poor 43.1% Corsi share at even strength.

Pittsburgh takes a chance on him with four regular forwards out of the lineup due to injuries – Noel Acciari, Jake Guentzel, Jansen Harkins, and Matthew Nieto. Despite his struggles this season, Phillips is a higher-ceiling scoring option than most of the minor-league call-ups they have occupying bottom-six roles in their absence, and he carries little to no financial impact on their deadline plans with a league-minimum cap hit.

The Penguins will maintain control of Phillips’ signing rights this offseason, as he’ll be an RFA with arbitration rights when his contract expires.

Coyotes Recall Matt Villalta, Place Liam O’Brien On IR

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The Coyotes recalled netminder Matt Villalta from AHL Tucson on Friday, per a team announcement. Forward Liam O’Brien was moved to injured reserve to create a roster spot.

Villalta, 24, gets his first recall as a member of the Coyotes with starter Connor Ingram sidelined day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Ingram left Wednesday’s game against the Wild after the second period and did not return.

Karel Vejmelka will get the majority of the action while Ingram is out of the lineup. Originally expected to form a tandem with Ingram this year, he’s fallen squarely into the backup position after posting a .897 SV% and 6-12-2 record through 19 starts and four relief appearances.

Villalta is in his first season with the Coyotes after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Kings last summer. He’s suiting up in his fifth season of pro hockey after the Kings selected him 72nd overall in the 2017 draft.

The Kingston, Ontario, native was on an upward trajectory throughout his four seasons for the Kings’ affiliate in Ontario, so it was puzzling to see Los Angeles cut him loose. Villalta has assumed the undisputed starting role in Tucson, logging a .913 SV%, two shutouts, and a 22-11-1 record in 34 games. He leads the league in wins and games played, while his SV% ranks 18th.

He’s a high-end third-string goalie at this stage in his development, and a potential NHL debut with Ingram out of the lineup could go a long way toward demonstrating he has value as an NHL backup as soon as next season. Ingram’s shoes are giant ones to fill, however – he’s been one of the best stories in the NHL this season with a .912 SV% and 17-13-2 record in 35 games, along with 10.8 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck.

O’Brien, 29, was already listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He last suited up on Feb. 10 against the Predators and will be eligible to return to action for Sunday’s game against the Avalanche, although Arizona will need to clear a roster spot to take him off IR. The team’s primary enforcer has 116 PIMs in 49 games this year, adding three goals and eight points.

Predators Sign Michael McCarron To Two-Year Extension

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The Predators signed forward Michael McCarron to a two-year, $1.8MM contract extension on Friday, per a team announcement. The deal will begin in the 2024-25 season and carries a cap hit of $900K.

McCarron, 29 next month, was slated for unrestricted free agency this summer upon completing his current one-year, $775K extension signed last April. He’ll now be eligible for UFA status again in 2026 at 31 years old.

He hasn’t had the career most envisioned when the Canadiens selected him 25th overall in 2013. This season is McCarron’s first as a true full-timer – the only other season without AHL action in his pro career was the COVID-laced 2020-21 campaign when he played six games for Nashville and spent most of the year on the taxi squad.

Through 42 games, McCarron has tied his career-high in goals (7) and is one back of tying his career-high in points (14). Averaging 11:52 per game, he’s spent most of his time on a depth line with Cole Smith and Philip Tomasino that’s dominated shot quality to the tune of a 58.3% expected goals share, per MoneyPuck. That’s the highest among Nashville’s forward lines that have over 75 minutes played together this season.

If McCarron maintains this level of play, he’ll be a more-than-serviceable fourth-line center over the next pair of seasons. In the case McCarron regresses back to a replacement-level player, his cap hit can be fully buried in the AHL.

In 200 games with Nashville and Montreal, dating back to his debut in the 2015-16 season, McCarron has 18 goals, 21 assists and 39 points with a -8 rating and 295 PIMs. He’s averaged 10:38 per game throughout his career and owns a career faceoff win percentage of 50.7.

Flames Make Multiple Roster Moves

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The Flames recalled forward Dryden Hunt from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers and activated goaltender Daniel Vladař off injured reserve in simultaneous transactions Friday morning, according to a team announcement. To clear the two necessary roster spots, the team assigned forward Cole Schwindt and netminder Dustin Wolf to the Wranglers.

Hunt, 28, has played in four games for the Flames this season, all coming within the first few weeks of the campaign after he made the NHL roster out of training camp. He has not been recalled since the Flames placed him on waivers and reassigned him to the minors in early November.

The undrafted free agent signed by the Panthers in 2016 has done quite well in his latest minor-league stint, posting seven goals and 22 points with a +11 rating in 23 games. The veteran of over 200 NHL games is on his fourth NHL team in the last two seasons after bouncing between the Rangers, Avalanche and Maple Leafs in 2022-23.

Calgary acquired Hunt in a deadline swap of minor-league forwards from Toronto at last year’s trade deadline, but he did not play for the team in the season’s final weeks. He reached unrestricted free agency without an extension in hand on July 1. Still, the Flames brought him back to the organization one day into the signing period with a two-year, two-way deal worth $1.55MM that pays him a minimum guaranteed salary of $400K this year and next.

Hunt scored three goals in 37 games split between the trio mentioned above of squads last season, averaging a career-low 8:04 per game. His expected -2.2 rating was also a career low. He is, however, two years removed from posting a career-high 17 points in 76 games with the Rangers in the 2021-22 campaign.

Vladař returns to the active roster after missing the last three games with a lower-body injury sustained off-ice. He hasn’t played since starting three straight games in mid-January, backing up starter Jacob Markström in five straight before landing on IR last week. The 26-year-old has a career-low .888 SV% and 3.27 GAA, not counting his five-game stint with the Bruins in 2020-21, and has a 7-7-2 record in 16 starts. This year is his third season backing up Markström after being brought over from Boston for a third-round pick in the summer of 2021.

While Markström’s high-end performance this season has generated a significant amount of trade interest, Vladař could be a chip for the Flames to move out if dealing the final three years of Markström’s $6MM AAV deal becomes too much of an obstacle in-season. The 26-year-old is signed through next season at a $2.2MM cap hit.

Schwindt returns to the Wranglers after playing 7:40 in yesterday’s 6-3 loss to the Sharks, posting zeros across the board. He has 2 PIMs, one shot on goal, and a -1 rating in four NHL showings this season dating back to late January.

The latest NHL shot for the 22-year-old Wolf didn’t go as planned. Calgary’s top goalie prospect conceded six goals on 31 shots against the division-worst Sharks last night, dropping his NHL SV% in 2023-24 to .878 through five starts and one relief appearance. The 6-foot California native has still performed at an elite level with the Wranglers, though, recording a .927 SV%, four shutouts, and an 18-7-2 record in 28 games.

Rangers Recall Matt Rempe

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The Rangers recalled forward Matt Rempe from AHL Hartford on Friday, per a team announcement.

While New York has recalled the 21-year-old once already this season without appearing in a game, this occasion will likely result in his NHL debut. The Rangers were down to 12 healthy forwards after Blake Wheeler left last night’s 7-4 defeat of the Canadiens with a lower-body injury, so Rempe comes up to serve as a bottom-six option in his absence.

Head coach Peter Laviolette has recently opted for a youth movement on the team’s fourth line, parting ways with Nick Bonino and waiving Tyler Pitlick to provide an opportunity for 23-year-old Adam Edstrom to get an extended look in the lineup. That indicates Rempe is likely to slot in alongside Edstrom and Barclay Goodrow at right wing, allowing 32-year-old call-up Alex Belzile to serve as a healthy scratch for the second straight game when the Rangers face the Islanders in this weekend’s Stadium Series game.

A sixth-round pick of the team in 2020, the 6-foot-8 Rempe projects as a fourth-line force if he does end up sticking in the majors. Now in his second year of pro hockey with Hartford, he has eight goals and 12 points in 43 games this season, adding a -9 rating and 96 PIMs. He has one season remaining on his entry-level contract, which carries a cap hit of $820K, and he’ll be an RFA in 2025.

Sabres Recall Kale Clague, Reassign Dustin Tokarski

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The Sabres have recalled defenseman Kale Clague from AHL Rochester, per a team release Friday morning. In a corresponding transaction, Buffalo returned goaltender Dustin Tokarski to Rochester after they summoned him on an emergency loan yesterday.

This recall is the 25-year-old Clague’s second of the season. Buffalo added him to the roster on an emergency basis for a Jan. 15 game against the Sharks, but he did not play.

Now in his second season with the Sabres organization, Clague is second on Rochester in assists with 20 in 41 games and leads Amerks defensemen in points with 23. His 52 PIMs this season are the most he’s had since his junior hockey days with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings.

A second-round pick of the Kings in 2016, Clague’s tenure in Los Angeles ended when he was claimed off waivers by the Canadiens in December 2021. He didn’t do enough in 25 games with Montréal to end the 2021-22 season to convince them to give him a qualifying offer, thus reaching unrestricted free agency sooner than expected after his age-23 season.

The Sabres have since picked him up on two straight one-year, two-way deals, and he’s settled into the ninth spot on their defensive depth chart. An unexpected rookie showing from Ryan Johnson has limited his call-up opportunities, although he remains a dependable third-pairing option if needed. He struggled to control shot quality when handed some tougher matchups alongside Owen Power last season, controlling only 41.7% of expected goals in 27 games together, per MoneyPuck.

Clague will draw in only if injuries require it. With the Sabres heading on a one-game road trip to Minnesota and Power unavailable with a suspected hand injury, the Sabres opted to carry a seventh healthy defenseman.

Tokarski returns to the minors after backing up Eric Comrie in last night’s 4-0 loss to the Panthers. His reassignment suggests that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a late scratch with a lower-body injury yesterday, will return against the Wild tomorrow. The 34-year-old Tokarski is backing up top prospect Devon Levi in Rochester, where he’s struggled with a .888 SV% and a 7-7-2 record in 16 games.

Metropolitan Notes: Hamilton, Siegenthaler, Wheeler

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New Jersey Devils writer Sam Kasan tweeted an update today on Devils’ defenseman Dougie Hamilton. In speaking with the media New Jersey head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters that Hamilton remains “quite a ways away” from returning to action. The 30-year-old rearguard hasn’t played since November 28th and had surgery on a torn left pectoral muscle in early December. There was no timetable given at the time of the procedure and it appears to be status quo for the time being.

Hamilton’s injury dealt a huge blow to a Devils team that had dreams of contending for the Stanley Cup this season. Hamilton has received Norris Trophy consideration in six of the last seven seasons and was playing well for New Jersey this year with five goals and 11 assists in 20 games.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Ruff also offered an update on Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler who has been sidelined since January 6th with a broken foot. No specific timetable was given at the time, but the 26-year-old did take part in practice today dressed in a regular jersey. The Zurich, Switzerland native lined up on the team’s fourth defensive pair alongside Nick DeSimone and will be a big boost for the Devils’ defense core when he is ready to return to the lineup.
  • New York Rangers forward Blake Wheeler left tonight’s game with a lower-body injury and will not return. Wheeler was hit by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble and fell back awkwardly and appeared to trap his right leg under his body as he hit the ice. Wheeler was in visible pain on the play which looked eerily similar to the injury of Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Wheeler reached for his knee in obvious discomfort and was ruled out for the evening. If Wheeler has suffered a similar injury to Sergachev it is possible he could be done for the rest of the regular season. Wheeler is having one of the worst offensive seasons of his career, but he has provided the Rangers will depth scoring and would need to be replaced if he is sidelined long-term.

Sabres Notes: Tokarski, Luukkonen, Quinn

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The Buffalo Sabres have recalled goaltender Dustin Tokarski from the Rochester Americans of the AHL. The 34-year-old has yet to play in the NHL this year and has sat fourth on the Sabres goaltending depth chart this season. The veteran of 80 NHL games will split duties with Eric Comrie for the time being as the Sabres have opted to leave youngster Devon Levi in the AHL.

A standout junior goalie in the WHL with the Spokane Chiefs, Tokarski has never been able to put it together in the NHL. He last dressed for an NHL game nearly a year ago to the day for the Pittsburgh Penguins surrendering four goals on 42 shots in a 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils. This season in the AHL, the native of Watson, Saskatchewan has struggled to a 7-7-2 record with an .888 save percentage and a 3.47 goals-against average.

In other Sabres notes:

  • Another Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is day-to-day after suffering a lower-body injury during the team’s morning skate. The 24-year-old was slated to start his fifth straight game tonight but will be sidelined for a few days. Luukkonen has started 10 of Buffalo’s last 11 games and is coming off his fourth shutout of the season on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings. The native of Espoo, Finland is 13-13-2 this season with a 2.51 goals against average and a .913 save percentage.
  • The Sabres also placed forward Jack Quinn on the injured reserve today with a lower-body injury. The 22-year-old underwent surgery on January 29th and is expected to be out for eight weeks meaning that his IR placement won’t affect a potential return when he is ready to get back into the lineup. The Ottawa, Ontario native has struggled with injuries this season and has played just 17 games. He was heating up before the injury with four points in his last two games and had been productive most of the season, posting five goals and seven assists.

Snapshots: Parise, Rielly, Faulk, Perunovich

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As recently as this past offseason, veteran forward Zach Parise was undecided on his playing future, not knowing whether he would be with the New York Islanders, retire, or join a new organization entirely. Ultimately, the answer was uncovered several months later, as Parise decided to join the Colorado Avalanche by way of a one-year contract.

Now in his 19th season in the NHL, Parise has only been to the Stanley Cup Final once, coming back in 2012 with the New Jersey Devils before ultimately losing to the Los Angeles Kings. In joining the Avalanche, Parise joins one of the clear Stanley Cup contenders of the 2023-24 season and has confirmed that this will be his last attempt to win the coveted trophy.

In an article from Tom Gulitti of the NHL, Parise was quoted as saying, “Yeah, this is it. This is it”, meaning it will be Stanley Cup-or-bust for the 39-year-old veteran. As things currently stand, Colorado is well-positioned to make the playoffs, and MoneyPuck gives them the ninth-best odds of winning the Stanley Cup this year.

Other notes:

  • Yesterday, the Department of Player Safety issued a five-game suspension to Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly due to cross-checking Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig. Now appealing the suspension, Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that Rielly will be offered an in-person appeal hearing in New York tomorrow. Because the suspension is not beyond five games, it will not require an independent arbitrator, meaning that Commissioner Gary Bettman will make the final decision to uphold the decision.
  • In an update today regarding two injured defensemen for the St.Louis Blues, Lou Korac of The Hockey News reports Scott Perunovich has returned to the ice for practice and is skating quite well, while Justin Faulk has not yet returned to the ice. Both players have been out since late January, with Faulk being out since January 23rd, and Perunovich being out since January 28th. In the meantime, the Blues will continue to rely on Matthew Kessel and Calle Rosen to fill in for the lost minutes.

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