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Archives for February 2025
Canucks Reassign Linus Karlsson, Recall Nils Åman
The Canucks swapped depth forwards on the active roster Wednesday, reassigning Linus Karlsson to AHL Abbotsford and recalling Nils Åman in his place, per a team announcement. Their active roster remains full.
Karlsson, 25, has suited up in seven straight games for the Canucks, adding to his first two appearances of the season in December. He’s scored once in his nine combined appearances, notching a plus-one rating and eight shots on goal while averaging 9:59 per game.
The 6’1″, 178-lb forward can play both wings but has routinely skated on the right this year with Nils Höglander at left-wing and either Teddy Blueger or Elias Pettersson down the middle. His possession impacts haven’t been significant, controlling only 48.9% of shot attempts at even strength despite a 59.6 oZS%.
In the minors, the former Swedish Hockey League Rookie of the Year has produced over a point per game with Abbotsford since the beginning of last season. His 18 points in 17 games this year are good for a team-leading 1.06 per game, still ranking third with 12 goals despite his significant time spent on the NHL roster. He had 60 points in 60 AHL games last year to lead the team in scoring.
Karlsson was a third-round pick of the Sharks in 2018 but was acquired less than a year later in a swap of Swedish prospects, sending out Jonathan Dahlén the other way. He’s now in his third professional season in North America after coming over from his native Sweden in 2022.
Åman has far more NHL experience than his counterpart, skating in 116 games for the Canucks over the past three seasons. His role with the club has steadily decreased since appearing in 68 games as a rookie in 2022-23, though, and he’s spent most of the season in Abbotsford with only five NHL appearances to his name. He has two assists and a minus-three rating in that quintet of contests, averaging 10:42 per game and going 10-for-23 on faceoffs.
The 6’2″ center has seven goals and 21 assists for 28 points in 32 AHL games, leading the team in outright scoring. He and Karlsson both came over from the SHL in the same offseason, although he was signed as a free agent after the Avalanche, who selected him in the sixth round in 2020, relinquished his signing rights.
With only 12 forwards on the roster, Åman will presumably draw into the lineup Thursday against the Sharks for the first time since Nov. 9.
Wild Claim Vinnie Hinostroza From Predators, Place Jakub Lauko On IR
Feb. 5: The Wild claimed Hinostroza off waivers, Friedman reports Wednesday. He provides some much-needed veteran forward depth with a higher offensive ceiling than they already have, with players like Ben Jones and Devin Shore being overtaxed and struggling to produce with Kirill Kaprizov’s injury and Ryan Hartman’s suspension holding them out of the lineup. With no open roster spots, winger Jakub Lauko is headed back to injured reserve with the recurring lower-body injury that’s kept him out of 21 games this season, the team announced.
Feb. 4: The Predators have placed winger Vinnie Hinostroza on waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Tuesday. He’ll presumably be sent to AHL Milwaukee if he clears.
The versatile 30-year-old forward is the odd man out as Nashville looks to open a roster spot, potentially to activate defenseman Jeremy Lauzon off injured reserve. He’d been playing top-six spot duty for the Preds since they recalled him in late December, even recently skating on a line with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly.
However, he hasn’t converted a strong start in the minors into impactful play at the NHL level. He has two assists in 13 games since his recall, averaging 11:32 per game and serving as a healthy scratch in three of Nashville’s last five contests.
Before his recall, the veteran of 387 NHL games was among the AHL’s leading scorers with 33 points in 26 appearances for Milwaukee. His 1.27 points per game still leads minor-leaguers with at least 20 games, although he didn’t participate in yesterday’s AHL All-Star Classic because of his summons to the big club.
The Chicago native inked a two-year, two-way deal with the Preds in free agency last summer and already cleared waivers once at the beginning of the season. He’s no longer the 30-point threat he was with the Blackhawks and Coyotes early in his career, and he hasn’t played more than 30 NHL games in a season since 2021-22, but his AHL numbers over the past couple of seasons indicate he’s still a capable depth scorer and a safe veteran recall option. That could draw some interest from some forward-needy teams on the wire, but a commitment past the end of the year is usually enough of a deterrent for players of Hinostroza’s caliber to pass through waivers unclaimed.
Flames Recall Ilya Solovyov
The Flames announced Wednesday that they’ve recalled defenseman Ilya Solovyov from AHL Calgary. He takes the roster spot of Kevin Bahl, who was placed on injured reserve last week following an upper-body injury.
It’s Solovyov’s first recall of the season after playing 10 NHL games last year and subsequently clearing waivers during training camp. The 24-year-old lefty has emerged as a top-pairing AHL option with the Wranglers this season, ranking second on the team with a +18 rating and posting six goals and 15 assists for 21 points in 41 games.
That two-way play will earn him a look on the NHL roster for the first time since last April. The 2020 seventh-rounder didn’t look entirely out of place in his first big-league audition, posting three assists in 10 games for the Flames in 2023-24 while averaging 15:54 per game. His 46.1 CF% at even strength wasn’t impressive but wasn’t abysmal, either, and he blocked 17 shots and laid 14 hits during his time in the lineup as well.
Solovyov was a restricted free agent for most of last summer before returning to Calgary on a two-year, partial two-way deal that converts to a one-way pact for 2025-26. It’s clear the Flames see NHL upside in the 6’3″ Belarusian, and he could be set to enter the lineup in place of struggling veteran Tyson Barrie on Thursday against the Avalanche.
Blue Jackets Reassign Dylan Gambrell
Feb. 5: Gambrell is back with Cleveland today, per a team announcement. He didn’t play in last night’s loss to the Sabres.
Feb. 3: The Columbus Blue Jackets have utilized an emergency recall on forward Dylan Gambrell following news that star forward Kirill Marchenko suffered a broken jaw. Gambrell hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2022-23 season, when he recorded 10 points, 35 penalty minutes, and a minus-four in 60 games with the Ottawa Senators.
Gambrell was a routine NHL fixture from 2019 to 2023. Through two seasons with the San Jose Sharks and one additional year in Ottawa, he totaled 30 points in 162 games. He signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Marlies last season, and his 36 points in 66 AHL games were stout enough to convince the Blue Jackets to sign him to a two-way deal this summer. That’s proven to be a sound bet, with Gambrell now ranked seventh on the Cleveland Monsters in scoring with 20 points in 31 games. Two of the six players above him are already on the Blue Jackets roster – Denton Mateychuk and Luca Del Bel Belluz.
Gambrell likely won’t join his peers in the Blue Jackets lineup right away, instead set to serve as the team’s extra forward in their three remaining games before the upcoming 4-Nations break. If he does get into the lineup, it will be over one of Mikael Pyyhtia, Kevin Labanc, or Zach Aston-Reese – who have each posted no scoring in their last 10 games.
Gambrell will be eligible to stay with the Blue Jackets roster for 10 games or 30 days under the conditions of his emergency recall. After that, the team will have to use a formal recall to keep him on the lineup. Columbus could also opt to recall one of Trey Fix-Wolansky, Rocco Grimaldi, or Owen Sillinger. All three have outscored Gambrell in their minor league appearances.
Sharks Still Open To Moving Mario Ferraro, Avalanche Interested
The Avalanche are one of the teams displaying interest in Sharks defense mainstay Mario Ferraro as they continue to listen to trade offers, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.
San Jose hasn’t been actively shopping Ferraro but has been listening to offers for over a year. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported in December 2023 that the Sharks were beginning to field calls on the blue-liner. Pagnotta said before last year’s draft that they continued to weigh offers. He’s stuck around in the Bay Area in part due to a high asking price, something that made sense for Grier earlier in the process with plenty of term left on his contract and no urgency to move him.
However, Ferraro will enter the final year of his contract in 2025-26 and has a $3.25MM cap hit right in line with his market value, if not slightly lower. The Sharks could always opt to hold onto him and initiate extension negotiations over the offseason, but that would be out of line with Grier’s recent moves. Pending UFAs Mackenzie Blackwood and Cody Ceci both expressed interest in extensions with the Sharks midseason but have both been traded.
At first glance, Ferraro’s numbers are ghastly. He’s logged heavy minutes on an understaffed San Jose blue line over the life of his deal and has a cumulative -91 rating in 205 games over the last three seasons. He’s not a factor on the power play and has 11 points in 55 games, so he’s not a considerable factor offensively, either. But his relative possession metrics have improved in recent campaigns, especially considering the quality of competition he faces without much support. His 43.8 CF% last year and 45.2 CF% this year are right in line with team averages. Ferraro’s pairings with Timothy Liljegren and Jan Rutta this season have also been the best of a bad bunch at controlling possession quality, ranking first and second among qualified Sharks defense units with a 44.4 xGF% and 43.9 xGF%, per MoneyPuck.
There’s slightly more reason for the Sharks to move on with a year left on his deal, and there’s likely more interest from trade suitors with less financial risk if he doesn’t pan out. The 26-year-old lefty could have increased effectiveness in reduced usage, although he hasn’t seen third-pairing deployment since his rookie season in 2019-20.
Regarding the Avalanche’s interest, they have a clear need for a third-pairing upgrade, especially on the left side. Calvin de Haan and Oliver Kylington have been unimpressive enough to lose their roles to career AHLer Keaton Middleton, who has two assists in 26 games this season but averages just 10:44 per game. While Ferraro wouldn’t be relied upon for 20-plus minutes behind Devon Toews and Samuel Girard on Colorado’s left side, he can certainly manage far more usage than that and be a factor on the team’s penalty kill, which is already clicking at an above-average 80.4%.
Canucks, Sharks Discussed Cody Ceci Trade
The Sharks nearly dealt pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Cody Ceci to the Canucks before sending him to the Stars along with Mikael Granlund over the weekend, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said Tuesday.
Evidently, Ceci was a backup plan for Vancouver in case they couldn’t pull off their Friday evening two-part blockbuster, sending J.T. Miller to the Rangers before flipping a newly-acquired first-round pick to the Penguins as part of a deal to land Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor. It was discussed enough that “some folks within the San Jose Sharks organization thought [he] was going to Vancouver” earlier in the day, Pagnotta said.
Despite their Pettersson pickup (not to be confused with Elias Pettersson or the other Elias Pettersson), it can be assumed the Canucks are still looking to add another defenseman – especially a righty like Ceci. While he’ll be finishing out the year in Dallas, the Canucks are now believed to be shopping lefty Carson Soucy, who’s been playing on his off side, as they look to realign their blue line and perhaps look for a more cost-effective solution behind Filip Hronek and Tyler Myers on the depth chart.
While Vancouver has plenty of immediate cap space (over $12MM), Soucy has one year left on his deal at a $3.25MM cap hit. That’s a decent chunk of change that would be better spent as flexibilty in extension talks with their newest Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Pius Suter, and Kevin Lankinen.
Next up on the Canucks’ wish list would likely be the Canadiens’ David Savard, who carries a pricier $3.5MM cap hit but is on an expiring deal and could be made more affordable with salary retention. They’d likely need to find another deal for Soucy or pull the trigger far enough in advance for Montreal to flip him again before the deadline, though, as his role for next year would be muddy with up-and-comers Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher pushing for full-time NHL roles.
Islanders Recall Hudson Fasching From Conditioning Stint
The New York Islanders have recalled forward Hudson Fasching from a conditioning stint with the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL (as per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News). Fasching has been dealing with an upper-body injury and has not played since January 5th. He remains on the injured reserve for the time being, despite the recall and can be activated when he is ready to return.
The Islanders could certainly use some extra bodies up front, but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to count on much offense from Fasching. The 29-year-old has yet to post a point in 19 NHL games this season and has tallied just 11 shots while averaging 8:56 of ice time per game. On the defensive side of things, Fasching has 11 hits and three blocked shots.
He was waived to start the season but received a recall in late October when the Islanders started to have injuries emerge throughout the lineup. Fasching has been able to remain on the NHL roster for most of the season despite his limited production.
During his AHL conditioning stint, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin native appeared in two games with Bridgeport, going scoreless with a +1 plus/minus and four shots on goal.
Overall, in the AHL this season, Fasching has appeared in seven games, posting a goal and an assist with a -2 plus/minus rating.
Canucks’ Carson Soucy On The Trade Block
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Vancouver Canucks have made defenseman Carson Soucy available via trade after signing the veteran to a three-year contract just two summers ago in free agency. Soucy came over to the Canucks on July 1st, 2023, inking a three-year contract worth $9.75MM. The contract included a full no-trade clause until the end of this season, which will turn into a modified 12-team no-trade clause this summer.
The 30-year-old missed 42 games last year because of injuries and posted just two goals and four assists in 40 regular season games. His playoff numbers were significantly better as he tallied a goal and four assists in 12 playoff games. This season has once again been a struggle for the Irma, Alberta native as he has just eight points in 51 games to go along with a -15 plus/minus.
With Vancouver’s addition of defenseman Marcus Pettersson from Pittsburgh and some improved play from other Canucks defensemen, Soucy has been pushed down the depth charts and has been a healthy scratch as of late.
His contract could prove difficult to move, even without the NTC, which will certainly complicate things. Soucy would be a tough trade even without it due to his play not lining up with his cap hit. Soucy was once considered a solid penalty killer, but this season, that has fallen off a cliff. His underlying numbers have also taken a nose dive as Evolving-Hockey’s (subscription required) all-in-one goals above replacement stat ranks Soucy as the worst defenseman in the NHL (by that metric) and the third worst skater overall, giving him a -9.4. This means he has cost Vancouver 9.4 goals against compared to a replacement-level NHL player.
Given those numbers, it is easy to see why he has fallen down the depth chart and it is likely also why he finds his name in trade rumors as we inch towards the NHL Trade Deadline.
Flyers Activate Nicolas Deslauriers
The Philadelphia Flyers have activated forward Nicolas Deslauriers off the injured reserve and he is playing tonight against Utah. His return comes just as the Flyers lost Owen Tippett to an upper-body injury, which is good timing given their lack of forward options at the moment. The Flyers are still waiting for the debuts of recently acquired forwards Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier who continue to wait for their visa situation to be sorted out. Deslauriers will slide in on the wing on the fourth line alongside Rodrigo Abols and Jacob Gaucher.
The 33-year-old Deslauriers hasn’t played since November 9th because of an upper-body injury and should give the Flyers some sandpaper in their bottom six. The 12-year NHL veteran has been used sparingly this season when he has been healthy, averaging just 6:05 of ice time per game, a drop of well over four minutes a game from his career average.
Last year, the Flyers were a significantly worse team with the veteran in the lineup as Deslauriers only had four points in 60 games and posted a CF% of 45.7% at even strength. His advanced stats were even worse than that as the Flyers expected goals percentage (xGF%) was significantly higher with Deslauriers off the ice (53.4%) than when he was on it (44.0%).
This season, Deslauriers has played just seven games and has a single assist along with 15 hits and a blocked shot. His underlying numbers are much better this year (CF% of 58.9%), albeit in a small sample size. Prior to his injury, Deslauriers had served as a healthy scratch on several occasions, and that will likely remain the case if the Flyers get their full slate of forwards back in the coming weeks.