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Sammy Blais Sent On AHL Conditioning Loan

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The New York Rangers have recalled Will Cuylle from the AHL, while sending Sammy Blais back on a conditioning stint. Blais hasn’t played in a week and was receiving just a handful of shifts in the games he did play.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post wrote about Blais’ situation yesterday, suggesting that his NHL future is in jeopardy as he continues to try to contribute in any way he can. The 26-year-old is still finding his way after a serious knee injury that required surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL. He has just five points through 38 games this season, failing to score a single goal.

Blais has registered over 100 hits, his calling card during more successful days in St. Louis, but hasn’t really been making the same kind of impact with his physicality. Averaging fewer than ten minutes of ice time when he does get into the lineup, it’s unclear where his role really lies in the New York forward group.

Cuylle, meanwhile, represents the next generation for the Rangers. A 20-year-old forward that is just scratching the surface of his professional career, Cuylle has 13 goals and 20 points in 39 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack. The second-round pick offers a good deal of physicality (even if it doesn’t quite stand up to the level of Blais), and possesses a hard, accurate shot.

Given the Rangers’ recent success, it’s not clear if Cuylle will get much of an opportunity. But Blais wasn’t giving them much of anything at the moment, and will try to find that next gear with some games in the minor leagues.

Victor Soderstrom Changes Representation

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While his entry-level contract doesn’t expire until the summer of 2024, Arizona Coyotes top defense prospect Victor Soderstrom has changed his agency to Quartexx Management, according to a tweet Monday night.

The 11th overall pick in 2019, Soderstrom has yet to break into the NHL full-time and hasn’t seen so much as a call-up this season. He’s had a somewhat successful offensive campaign with AHL Tucson, recording 19 points in 38 games, but even that’s lower than last season’s point pace in the minors.

While Soderstrom was never drafted as a point producer, his two-way game hasn’t quite excelled in North America as the Coyotes organization would have hoped. He is still just 21, however, and defensemen are more prone to later bumps in their development.

Quartexx also represents some young, fringe NHLers such as Detroit’s Joe Veleno and Edmonton’s Philip Broberg, who was taken three spots ahead of Soderstrom in the 2019 draft. Broberg, however, has managed to step closer to a full-time NHL role this season, appearing in 22 games with Edmonton.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Canucks, Knight

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The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with Zach Hyman leading the way. The Edmonton Oilers swiss army knife had four goals and nine points in three games. Hyman has already flown past the 54 points he had last season and with every point is setting a new career high. It’s been an incredible run for the 30, who has been everything the Oilers hoped for (and more) when they signed him to a seven-year, $38.5MM deal in 2021.

Second and third place went to Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks, two players in very different stages of their careers. Stamkos reached the 500-goal mark last week, joining just 46 other players in the history of the NHL and essentially sealing his future in the Hall of Fame (if it was ever in doubt). Zegras, meanwhile, put up eight points in four games, taking his career total to 114. He’s got quite a way to catch the Lightning captain, but Zegras continues to excite fans every time he touches the puck.

  • The Vancouver Canucks now have three head coaches on the books, as they are still paying Travis Green, the bench boss that preceded the recently-fired Bruce Boudreau. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Tocchet’s deal is for two years and carries a $2.75MM salary, meaning altogether, the team is forking out $7.5MM this season for head coaches.
  • The Florida Panthers have swapped Mack Guzda and Spencer Knight once again, with the latter coming back up to the NHL. Knight hasn’t played in the NHL since January 8, but did quite well in his two-game conditioning stint, recording a 23-save shutout for the Charlotte Checkers in his first AHL game since last season.

Chicago Blackhawks Make Several Roster Moves

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The Chicago Blackhawks have placed Tyler Johnson on injured reserve, and sent Isaak Phillips to the AHL. In their place, Luke Philp and Filip Roos have been recalled.

Johnson played just five shifts last night before exiting with an ankle injury, and was seen in a walking boot after the game. It’s just the latest in a long list of setbacks this season, derailing what has looked like a strong bounce-back whenever Johnson is in the lineup.

Through 22 appearances, the 32-year-old forward has five goals and 14 points, already doubling his point total from last year. He just can’t seem to stay healthy, leading to multiple stints on injured reserve. One thing in his favor is his contract, which will ensure his financial stability for another year. Johnson is signed through 2023-24 at a $5MM cap hit.

Phillips, 21, has played in 11 games for the Blackhawks this season and recorded his fourth point of the year on Saturday. The young defenseman has seen inconsistent ice time and has looked overmatched at times, but generally showed that he will soon be ready for NHL action.

He’ll be replaced on the roster by Roos, who skated in 15 games earlier this year before a recent stint in the minor leagues. The 24-year-old undrafted defenseman has three NHL points to his name in this, his rookie season.

Should Philp enter the lineup, it will be his first taste of NHL action. Undrafted, the 27-year-old has battled through three years at the University of Alberta and parts of four minor league seasons before getting this opportunity. This year with the Rockford IceHogs he has been outstanding, scoring 30 points in 31 games so far.

Ottawa Senators Recall Ridly Greig

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The Ottawa Senators have some more excitement in store for fans, recalling prospect Ridly Greig from the minor leagues today. This is the first call-up of Greig’s career.

Selected 28th overall in 2020, the 20-year-old Greig has been excellent with the Belleville Senators this year in his first full season of professional hockey. The former Brandon Wheat Kings star has 12 goals and 23 points in 28 AHL games, and has quickly pushed for a chance at the higher level.

If you have ever watched a game that Greig was in, you’ve certainly noticed him. There’s no blending into the background for the young forward, who never stops skating and is always involved in the play. In terms of adding energy to a lineup that has seemed rather lethargic lately, there’s no better option.

Whether his production can follow him to the NHL remains to be seen, but Greig will find a way to make an impact one way or another for Ottawa.

Another move should be coming for the Senators soon, as they currently only have five defenseman on the active roster after sending Jacob Bernard-Docker down yesterday.

St. Louis Blues Re-Assign Steven Santini To AHL

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With yesterday’s news that star St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko is nearing a return from injured reserve, the Blues have made a move to clear space on their roster for Tarasenko’s return. Per a team announcement, veteran depth defenseman Steven Santini has been sent down to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Santini, 27, was originally recalled from Springfield on January 4th. He played in four games for the Blues from January 7th to January 12th but has been a healthy scratch since. In those four games, Santini averaged just over 12 and a half minutes of ice time per night, and he registered six hits and ten blocked shots.

In Springfield, Santini served as an alternate captain and an important top-four, penalty-killing defenseman on a team that made the Calder Cup final. This season, he’s resumed his top-four, stay-at-home role for the Thunderbirds.

He’s not an offensive producer and has just five points in 32 AHL games this season, but he’s a relied-upon stay-at-home defender at that level and should help Springfield in that area now that he’s been sent back to the AHL.

Ottawa Senators Re-Assign Jacob Bernard-Docker

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An up-and-down season for Ottawa Senators defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker continued this morning, as the team announced he has been re-assigned to the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

A cursory look at Ottawa’s roster might make this move seem puzzling. Sending Bernard-Docker to the minors leaves Ottawa with no extra skaters on the active roster and just five defensemen. However, Ottawa is entering somewhat of a lengthy break between games. After suffering a 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets last night, the Senators don’t play again until Wednesday.

Returning Bernard-Docker (still waiver-exempt) to Belleville doesn’t give him more playing time, though, as Belleville’s schedule mirrors that of their parent club. For Ottawa, having an NHL salary off the books for a few days is a cost-saving measure.

In a less likely scenario, the move could indicate that one (or both) of Artem Zub and Nikita Zaitsev could be ready to go for Wednesday’s game against the Islanders. Both defensemen are currently on injured reserve, but neither has a specific timetable for a return.

Ottawa’s 26th overall selection in 2018, Bernard-Docker has one assist in 13 games with the big club this season. He’d spent the past week on Ottawa’s roster, recalled after Zub exited the lineup with a lower-body injury. In four games since the January 15 recall, Bernard-Docker was held off the scoresheet, had a -4 rating, and averaged 17:15 per game in a more limited role than his earlier call-ups.

Jeff Petry, Tristan Jarry Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting both Jeff Petry and Tristan Jarry back, activating the pair from injured reserve today. To make cap and roster room for their return, Kris Letang has been moved to long-term injured reserve, Jan Rutta has been moved to regular injured reserve, and Dustin Tokarski and Taylor Fedun have been reassigned to the AHL.

It’s been more than a month since Petry appeared in a Penguins lineup, last playing on December 10 against the Buffalo Sabres. The 35-year-old defenseman had been seeing a ton of ice time for the club, averaging over 26 minutes in the five games previous to his injury. While that kind of usage may not immediately come into play, Petry’s return is an important one for the Penguins, who have struggled to get much consistent offense from their blueline this season.

Despite missing a month, Petry is still just one point behind Marcus Pettersson for second among Penguins defenders and sits ahead of Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Brian Dumoulin, and Rutta, who have all played at least 40 games. The veteran was practicing with the first powerplay unit today, as they await the return of Letang.

Jarry, meanwhile, hasn’t played since being pulled from the Winter Classic after just 15 minutes of action against the Boston Bruins. The 27-year-old netminder had been struggling for a few games before that outdoor action, and now hopefully will get his game back on track after spending the last few weeks on the sideline.

Through 25 appearances, Jarry has posted a .918 save percentage, almost exactly in line with last season’s performance that earned him some down-ballot Vezina consideration. Given his status as a pending unrestricted free agent, Jarry is essentially playing for his next contract and can’t be missing huge chunks of the season if he can help it.

Letang and Rutta have both been moved to injured reserve retroactively, meaning they can return much sooner. Letang’s LTIR stint is backdated to December 28, meaning his 24-day window is almost up. Rutta’s is backdated to January 14, meaning his seven-day minimum is also about to expire.

St. Louis Blues Reassign Nikita Alexandrov

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The St. Louis Blues have made a couple of roster moves today, starting with the loan of Nikita Alexandrov to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. Room on the NHL roster was needed for Logan Brown, who has been activated from injured reserve.

The Blues are expected to get Torey Krug back relatively soon, as head coach Craig Berube told Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the injured defenseman is getting close to a return. The same goes for several other injured Blues players, meaning roster space is going to be hard to find.

Alexandrov, 22, has played in 16 games for the Blues this season, scoring four points. The second-round pick from 2019 has been strong for the Thunderbirds, scoring 11 goals in 22 games, and should eventually find himself back in the NHL.

Brown, 24, hasn’t played since December, and even when he does get into the lineup it’s only for a few shifts. In his nine appearances, he’s averaging just over nine minutes of ice time and has generated just five shots on goal. The dreams of the 6’6″ center becoming an impact player at the NHL level may be gone, but after watching Tage Thompson excel in Buffalo, Blues fans may want to give him a few more cracks.

Matthew DeFranks of the Post-Dispatch tweets that Brown was practicing as an extra today, but given that Vladimir Tarasenko isn’t expected to play tomorrow, those lines might be reconstructed.

New Jersey Devils Activate Nathan Bastian From Injured Reserve

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The New Jersey Devils are getting an important reinforcement, as Nathan Bastian has been activated from injured reserve. To make room on the roster, Nolan Foote has been returned to the AHL.

Bastian, 25, hasn’t played since going down in November with an upper-body injury. The physical forward had eight points in his first 21 games of the year, while seeing regular time as a net-front option on the powerplay. He was averaging just under 10 minutes a night at even-strength but is a beloved part of the dressing room and an important energy player for the Devils. He’s also a key penalty killer, a role he will likely go right back to now that he’s ready to return.

For Foote, it’s the end of a rather uneventful call-up. The 22-year-old played in three games, but failed to record a point and received just five shifts in his most recent appearance. The 2019 first-round pick hasn’t been able to crack the league just yet, suiting up only 16 times in the NHL so far. Things have been rather inconsistent in the minor leagues as well, where he has 13 goals but just five assists through 33 games.

It appears as though Bastian will return to the fourth line with Michael McLeod and Miles Wood, an incredibly fast, physical group that can chip in offensively. After a bit of a slump, the Devils are red-hot again, and have won five straight. That pulls them within one point of the Carolina Hurricanes for the division lead and into a great spot in the Metropolitan playoff race.

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