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Dmitry Kulikov To Have Player Safety Hearing

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Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will have a hearing Monday for an illegal check to the head of Lightning winger Conor Sheary, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced.

Early in the second period of yesterday’s 5-3 loss, Kulikov pinched to join a net-front scrum that resulted in a Florida goal, although it was disallowed due to the penalty on the play. While entering the slot, Kulikov leaned to lay a check on Sheary, who was slightly bent over in an attempt to play the puck. Kulikov’s principal and only point of contact on the hit was Sheary’s head and shoulder. Kulikov did not leave his feet or extend his elbow on the hit, leading into the check with his upper arm (video link).

Kulikov was assessed a match penalty on the play by on-ice officials and missed over half the contest, which could factor into the length of a potential suspension. He’s been suspended once in his 15-year, 936-game NHL career, receiving four games for clipping Stars forward Tyler Seguin during his first stint with the Panthers in 2015. However, since the discipline occurred nearly a decade ago, he will not be considered a repeat offender by the Department of Player Safety.

The 33-year-old has 16 assists and a +9 rating in 64 games for the Panthers this season, averaging 16:22 per game. Now on his sixth team in the past four years, he inked a one-year, $1MM deal last summer to return to the team that selected him 14th overall in 2009.

Ryan Johansen’s AHL Assignment Reversed Due To Injury

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The hip injury keeping Flyers forward Ryan Johansen out of the lineup is already inhibiting their roster flexibility. The ailment, which may prevent the Flyers from executing a buyout on his contract this summer if not healed, has now reversed the team’s attempt to assign him to the minors after he cleared waivers earlier this month, GM Daniel Brière told Jonathan Bailey of Philly Hockey Now.

Brière told Bailey that the Flyers were surprised by Johansen’s injury at the time of his acquisition. He was included as part of the return from the Avalanche for defenseman Sean Walker a few days before the deadline. Johansen, who has a reduced $4MM cap hit and was limited to 23 points in 63 games with Colorado, landed on waivers the same days. Brière stated shortly after the deal that he didn’t expect Johansen to ever suit up in an NHL game for Philadelphia, and he was only included in the trade for salary cap management on Colorado’s end.

According to Brière, Johansen informed the Flyers directly after the trade that he was dealing with a hip injury, which did not keep him out of the lineup for any period of time in Colorado. Philadelphia’s team doctors then confirmed the injury. While the initial plan was for Johansen to rehab with their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the league reversed the reassignment because an injured player cannot be sent down on a non-conditioning loan. Per Brière, the team does not have a timeline for Johansen’s return to health. If he remains on the roster for under 30 days, he won’t need to clear waivers again to head to Lehigh Valley.

If the Flyers can provide documentation that Johansen’s injury healed before this summer’s buyout window, they may buy out the final season of his eight-year, $64MM contract. They would only be responsible for half of the buyout cost — the Predators, who retained half of Johansen’s salary in last summer’s trade that sent him to Colorado, would shoulder the other half.

League game reports show that Johansen was reinstated to the NHL roster sometime between Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Sharks and Thursday’s 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs. As such, his cap impact for the Flyers is now $4MM instead of the reduced $2.85MM they have as a buried penalty while Johansen is in the minors. Per CapFriendly, this reversal leaves Philadelphia just over $500K in cap space.

Devils Return Tyler Wotherspoon, Max Willman To AHL

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March 17: Both Willman and Wotherspoon were returned to AHL Utica after yesterday’s loss to the Coyotes, per CapFriendly. The two depth pieces did not play during their call-ups, as they were healthy scratches against Arizona and the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

March 13: In light of some injuries over the last several days, the New Jersey Devils were put in a position to call up a few players from their AHL affiliate. Coming from the Utica Comets, the team has recalled defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon and forward Maxwell Willman.

Being the veteran of the two call-ups, Wotherspoon has less playing experience at the NHL level as compared to Willman. After being drafted 57th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2011 NHL Draft, Wotherspoon has only managed 30 games at the NHL level, tallying three assists in total.

In the American Hockey League, Wotherspoon has gained much more experience, playing in a total of 605 regular season games between the Flames, Flyers, and Devils organization. Now in a formal leadership role during the twilight years of his career, Wotherspoon has scored 37 goals and 209 points throughout his minor league career.

Willman is the only one of the two to have played with New Jersey this season, putting together a two-point season over 13 games up to this point. In his first year with the Devils organization, Willman was already a veteran of 50 NHL games over the last two seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Outside of New Jersey, Willman has been a positive addition to the Comets this year, scoring 11 goals and 21 points in 31 games already. Currently sitting five points back of a playoff position in the AHL’s North Division, Utica will have to let go of their seventh-highest scorer for the time being.

Golden Knights Activate Alec Martinez From Injured Reserve

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The Golden Knights have taken left-shot defenseman Alec Martinez off injured reserve, per the NHL’s media site. As Martinez was not on long-term injured reserve, his $5.25MM cap hit continued to count toward their salary pool usage, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.

Martinez, 36, was placed on IR on March 6 with a lower-body injury. Failing to place him on LTIR ahead of the March 8 trade deadline suggested that he wouldn’t miss too much time, and that has held true. GM Kelly McCrimmon told Jesse Granger of The Athletic that Martinez underwent an undisclosed procedure earlier this month to address the injury.

Prior to this IR stint, Martinez had landed on the list twice this season due to upper and lower-body injuries. As such, the once-premier shutdown defender had his worst showing in the possession quality control department in quite some time, posting a negative expected rating (-5.3) for the first time since he was traded to Vegas in 2020. His 42.6 CF% at even strength is also a career-low, although his four goals in 16 points in 45 games is double the rate of offensive production he offered last season.

The veteran routinely finishes atop the league leaderboard in shot blocks, averaging 3.15 per game since joining the Golden Knights, which have taken an immense toll on his ability to stay in the lineup. He’s played over 70 games in a season just once over the past six years.

With his return, Vegas has a fully healthy defense corps after needing to cycle through their minor-league depth for most of the season. In addition to Martinez, Shea Theodore and Zach Whitecloud have each missed significant time this year, including a 34-game absence for an upper-body injury in Theodore’s case. They’ve gotten solid fill-in performances from depth blue-liner Ben Hutton and AHL call-up Kaedan Korczak in the interim, and the deadline pickup of Noah Hanifin for the Flames adds yet another premier name to what’s arguably the league’s deepest defense.

Hanifin has replaced Martinez’s longtime spot on the team’s top pairing with Alex Pietrangelo, so he’s expected to slide down to a third-pairing role alongside Whitecloud in his return to the lineup against the Devils today. Nicolas Hague is expected to be a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

The Golden Knights hope Martinez can help stabilize a team that’s suddenly failed to live up to their stingy reputation. The defending Stanley Cup champions are 3-7-1 in their last 11 games, surrendering three or more goals in 10 of those outings. They remain with a three-point cushion on the second wild-card spot in the West with two games in hand on the ninth-place Wild, but they’ll need to return to .500-plus hockey the rest of the way to ensure they don’t miss the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history.

Wild Reassign Vladislav Firstov To AHL

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The Wild reassigned forward prospect Vladislav Firstov to AHL Iowa on Sunday, per a team announcement. The 22-year-old returns to North America after spending most of the last two seasons on loan to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.

Firstov inked his entry-level contract with the Wild in March 2022, nearly three years after they selected him in the second round of the 2019 draft. The left winger had a highly unusual development path, playing his youth hockey with his local Russian club before heading to North America to suit up for the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks in his draft year. Firstov then headed to the University of Connecticut for three seasons after being drafted, also suiting up for Russia at the 2021 World Juniors. The 6-foot-1, 181-lb winger barely played for the Wild organization inking his ELC, however. He logged two assists in eight games for AHL Iowa to close out the 2021-22 season after signing and played just one game to kick off 2022-23 before the Wild loaned him to the KHL at the player’s request.

The move has proven beneficial for the speedy forward, who’s emerged as a top-six threat for Torpedo. Over the past two seasons, Firstov logged 28 goals, 33 assists, 61 points, and a +12 rating in 114 games, routinely averaging north of 15 minutes per game. His 17 goals and 35 points ranked third on Nizhny Novgorod this season. The Yaroslavl native also recorded a team-high 68 PIMs in 2023-24 and has overall displayed upside as a bottom-six grinder with strong possession numbers overseas.

Firstov now gets a shot down the stretch to show if he can translate his strengths to North American ice with Iowa. Unfortunately for the Wild, they likely won’t see him in postseason action – Iowa ranks last in the AHL’s Central Division with a 20-33-5 record and is nine points back of a playoff spot.

While Firstov signed his ELC in March 2022, the contract didn’t begin immediately, instead deferring to the 2022-23 campaign. The deal, which carries a cap hit of $925K, still has one season remaining and makes him an RFA in 2025. As such, Firstov will likely remain in Iowa next season and has an outside shot to compete for an NHL spot out of camp later this year.

Panthers Assign Evan Cormier To Minors

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March 17: Cormier has been returned to the minors after backing up Sergei Bobrovsky in yesterday’s 5-3 loss to the Lightning, per CapFriendly. The move suggests Stolarz will be healthy enough to at least back up Bobrovsky for the Panthers’ next game, which isn’t until Thursday against the Predators.

March 16: Signed to an NHL deal earlier this month, goaltender Evan Cormier will now get at least a brief look with Florida.  The team announced (Twitter link)  that the netminder has been recalled from ECHL Florida to serve as the backup goaltender tonight with Anthony Stolarz unavailable due to illness.

The 26-year-old had been playing on a minor league deal but for the second straight season, that contract was converted to an NHL one just before the trade deadline, allowing him to be recalled for a situation just like this one.  Cormier has played in 19 ECHL games with the Everblades this season, posting a 2.88 GAA and a .906 SV%.  He also has six AHL appearances with Charlotte but has struggled, putting up a 3.64 GAA with a .868 SV%.

He’ll be covering for Stolarz who has been a bright spot for Florida’s goaltending this season.  Signed to a low-cost one-year deal in the summer, the 30-year-old has thrived, compiling a 2.02 GAA and a .925 SV% through 21 games so far.  A pending unrestricted free agent, Stolarz is certainly well-positioned to earn a sizable raise on his $1.1MM price tag.

While Florida has Spencer Knight in the minors as well, they can’t afford to call him up.  They’re using one of their cap-exempt emergency goalie recalls to add Cormier to the roster but cap-exempt recalls have limitations on who is eligible based on their salary.  At $4.5MM, Knight is well above that threshold, taking him out of the mix this time around.

Snapshots: Guenette, Hamonic, Edstrom, St. Ivany, Pleshkov

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It’s been a busy St. Patrick’s Day for the transactions log, kicked off by the Ottawa Senators’ assigning of Max Guenette to the minor leagues (Twitter link). Guenette has been with the NHL roster since the first week of March. He’s since appeared in six games with the Senators, going without a point but adding one penalty and a -1. It was Guenette’s first extended stint in the NHL, after playing his second career game in the league in February. He’s still searching for his first NHL point, though he has managed five goals and 29 points in 49 AHL games this season.

Guenette’s assignment is a sign that Travis Hamonic could be nearing a return, says Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun (Twitter Link). Hamonic has been on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury since March 3rd. He previously missed five games ahead of the All-Star Break, bearing with an upper-body injury suffered in late January. He’s played in just 47 of Ottawa’s 65 games this season, recording six points, 40 penalty minutes, and a -9. Even if he is nearing a return, it’s not likely that Hamonic will take on a major role, averaging just below 15 minutes of ice time this season. Still, he adds the experience of an 840-game veteran to the lineup, replacing the rookie Guenette.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The New York Rangers have sent Adam Edstrom back to the AHL (Twitter Link). He was recalled to the NHL on March 15th under emergency conditions, though he hasn’t appeared in a game with the Rangers since March 4th. Edstrom has received the first 11 games of his NHL career this season and has managed two goals, two penalty minutes, and a +2. The 6’7″ bruiser has also added 30 hits, averaging the fourth-most hits on the Rangers lineup, behind William Cuylle, Matt Rempe, and Jacob Trouba.
  • Pittsburgh has also made a roster move, sending down defenseman Jack St. Ivany from his first professional recall, per CapFriendly (Twitter Link). St. Ivany didn’t receive his debut in his first stint in the NHL, serving as a healthy scratch in Pittsburgh’s Saturday afternoon loss to the New York Rangers. He’ll now return to the AHL, where he’s already managed 12 points, 30 penalty minutes, and a +14 in 52 games.
  • Hockey history has been made in Russia’s VHL – the league immediately below the KHL – when SKA-Neva took on AKM. The game went to five overtimes and 21-year-old goaltender Artemi Pleshkov carried a shutout until the very last shot, saving an incredible 124 shots. The 125th shot was too much, though, as Pleshkov and SKA fell 1-0 after 158 minutes of hockey. Pleshkov, who is undrafted in the NHL, has been fantastic this season, recording 12 wins and a .943 save percentage in 23 VHL games this season. He’s also managed a .926 in 10 KHL games, and a .947 in seven playoff games. His amazing game tops Alexander Borodulya’s 107-save performance in the Belarussian Extraliga – the previous record.

Maple Leafs Move Calle Jarnkrok To LTIR, Activate Conor Timmins

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have moved forward Calle Jarnkrok back to long-term injured reserve, once again with a hand injury – per CapFriendly. Jarnkrok suffered the injury in the team’s March 14th win over the Philadelphia Flyers, exiting early after falling awkwardly into the boards. He seemed to collide his head, shoulder, and lower arm with the boards, making it hard to determine the specifics of his injury. It’s also not clear if the injury relates to the broken knuckle Jarnkrok suffered in late January. That injury earned him a month-long stint on LTIR and forced him out of 13 games.

In a corresponding move, the Maple Leafs have also activated defenseman Conor Timmins off of LTIR. He’s been out since February 13th with mononucleosis. Timmins has also had a string of absences this season, with a lower-body injury delaying the start of his season until late November. Timmins has played in just 16 games this season, notching one goal, six points, eight penalty minutes, and a +5. Jarnkrok’s sidelining and Timmins’ activation were made ahead of Toronto’s Saturday night loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, though Timmins wasn’t rostered for the game.

The Leafs will need to change up their lineup once again, with Jarnkrok joining Mitch Marner sidelined with injury. The absences have earned Pontus Holmberg a top-six role next to Tyler Bertuzzi and Auston Matthews, while Nicholas Robertson has slotted back onto the third line after a brief stint out of the lineup. Both Holmberg and Robertson are still searching for their scoring groove this season, with just 13 and 20 points respectively. They will work with other depth forwards like Connor Dewar and Noah Gregor to try and keep Toronto red-hot, after the team has gone 16-5-1 in their last 22 games. Meanwhile, Timmins will add extended depth to a blue-line that recently acquired Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson. They’ll have plenty of blue-liners to choose from, with Timmins and Simon Benoit operating as healthy scratches and Mark Giordano currently out with injury.

West Injury Notes: Martinez, Eriksson Ek, Bjugstad

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Alec Martinez is finally back on the ice for practice for the Vegas Golden Knights a short while after being placed on the team’s injured reserve (X Link). Given that he was not in a non-contact jersey this afternoon, it is reasonable to assume that Martinez should be back in the lineup for the Golden Knights soon.

Once Martinez officially returns to the lineup for Vegas, the team will have a really good problem to have. After acquiring Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames on March 7th, the Golden Knights have put themselves in a position to place Martinez on the team’s bottom-pairing comfortably.

Unfortunately, this return likely spells the end of consistent playing time for either Nicolas Hague or Zach Whitecloud. Unless the team opts to run with seven defensemen, either Hague or Whitecloud will serve as a healthy scratch as the Golden Knights look to hang on to the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Other injury notes:

  • After missing the team’s game against the Anaheim Ducks with a lower-body injury, it appears that Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek may not join the team on their upcoming road trip to California. Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that Eriksson Ek is still considered day-to-day, and the team was waiting to see how he responded to the next couple of days of practice.
  • Earlier this evening, when the Arizona Coyotes matched up against the New Jersey Devils, Nick Bjugstad left the game after having only accrued 7:24 of ice time and did not return (X Link). It will be a tough blow to a Coyotes lineup if Bjugstad is unable to play for the foreseeable future, as he has recently been a focal point of their lineup. In the last 12 games, Bjugstad has scored seven goals and 10 points in total, averaging just over 17 minutes of ice time per night.

Martin St. Louis Takes Leave Of Absence

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Today in a press release, the Montreal Canadiens announced that head coach Martin St. Louis would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team. In the report, the Canadiens indicated that the leave of absence was due to family reasons, and that assistant coach Trevor Letowski would be taking over the reins for the time being.

In now his third season as the head coach of the winningest franchise in NHL history, St. Louis has guided the Canadiens to a 70-94-21 record in his 185 games behind the bench. Originally, St.Louis was brought in to take over behind the bench halfway through the 2021-22 NHL season after Montreal parted ways with former head coach, Dominique Ducharme.

With the leave of absence being indefinite, it is difficult to speculate as to when St. Louis will return to the Canadiens. Currently, on their longest road trip of the year, Montreal will not return to the Bell Centre until March 28th when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers.

Much like St. Louis when he originally joined the Canadiens, Letowski does not have any former experience being the head coach of an NHL team. In his third season as an assistant coach with the club, Letowski is the former head coach of the Windsor Spitfires and the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League.

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