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Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Justin Richards

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After the Columbus Blue Jackets lost center Boone Jenner for the next several weeks, they’ve decided to convert one of their AHL players to an NHL contract. Justin Richards has signed a one-year, two-way deal for the rest of this season. That will allow him to be recalled if needed.

Richards, 24, had been playing on an AHL contract after failing to receive a qualifying offer from the New York Rangers last summer. The undrafted forward earned an entry-level contract with the Rangers after three seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and made his NHL debut in 2020-21, recording an assist in his only game.

This season with the Cleveland Monsters he has been a key player, recording 17 points in 23 games while playing with some of the team’s other young talent. His familiarity with players like Kirill Marchenko, Trey Fix-Wolansky, and Emil Bemstrom should only help him if the Blue Jackets continue to lose their more veteran options from the NHL roster.

Given that the team only had 43 of a possible 50 contract slots open, a deal for Richards doesn’t pose any risk. It does make him a restricted free agent at the end of the season but the team could simply leave him unqualified again, if they don’t want to offer him another NHL contract.

Chicago Blackhawks Make Several Roster Moves

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The Chicago Blackhawks were forced to make several moves today, starting with the placement of Jarred Tinordi on injured reserve with a facial fracture. Tinordi was hit in the mouth with the puck last night and forced to leave the game, just a week after being hit in the chin with a skate. With the roster spot, the team has recalled Isaak Phillips from the minor leagues. The team has also activated Alex Stalock from injured reserve while sending Arvid Soderblom back to the AHL.

Tinordi, 30, has received the best opportunity of his career this season in Chicago, playing 25 games already. That has nearly matched his single-season high of 28, while his five points are already tied for a career-high. The massive, physical defenseman has averaged nearly 17 minutes a night and racked up 92 hits in those 25 games since being claimed off waivers at the start of the year. It is not clear how long he will be out.

Phillips, 21, is one of the young defensemen that the Blackhawks seem to not want to use much at the NHL level this season, giving him a chance to continue his development with the Rockford IceHogs. Selected in the fifth round in 2020, he has appeared four times for Chicago and is still looking for his first NHL point. In 25 games with Rockford, the 6’3″ defenseman has 17 points.

Stalock is returning from a concussion that he suffered on November 1 against the New York Islanders, and has played in just seven games so far. The veteran goaltender was good in those, posting a .914 save percentage and 2.93 goals-against average, but will have to be slowly worked back in after so much time off. Now 35, Stalock can perhaps give some consistency to the position for the Blackhawks, as the young Soderblom struggled after being forced into the crease, and Petr Mrazek has been nearly unplayable, posting an .872 in 11 appearances.

Ottawa Senators Recall Scott Sabourin

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4:54 pm: Given that Sabourin was ultimately recalled with a potential Austin Watson suspension in mind, the Senators announced after their game today that they’ve returned Sabourin to the AHL. Watson had ended up with merely a fine and was able to play against he Minnesota Wild, and thus Sabourin was not needed.

9:15 am: The Ottawa Senators announced this morning that they have recalled forward Scott Sabourin from the Belleville Senators, their AHL affiliate. No other corresponding move was announced, however with $2.4MM in cap space and a roster spot to give, none was needed. This marks Sabourin’s first recall this season after clearing waivers and being assigned to Belleville back on October 10th.

The veteran has earned his trip up to the NHL though, recording 13 points through his first 24 games with Belleville this season, well on his way to a career year in the AHL. Always known for his gritty play-style that features plenty of penalty minutes, perhaps the most impressive part of Sabourin’s stat-line this year are his penalty minutes: 144.  That’s not an error, the winger does in fact have 144 penalty minutes through his first 24 games. For reference, his previous career high in any season in the NHL, AHL, ECHL, or OHL was 147, set back in 2016-17 in 54 games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.

Should Sabourin get into game action with Ottawa, it would mark his fourth season of NHL action. A late-bloomer, Sabourin made his debut at age 27 with Ottawa during the 2019-20 season, where he played in 35 games, a career-high. Since then, he’s featured largely in the AHL once again, but has seen time with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020-21 and Ottawa once against in 2021-22.

St. Louis Blues Recall Logan Brown, Assign William Bitten To AHL

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The St. Louis Blues this afternoon announced they’ve recalled forward Logan Brown from the Springfield Thunderbirds, their AHL affiliate. In a corresponding move, the team has assigned forward William Bitten to Springfield. Brown had been in the AHL on a conditioning loan, which the Blues assigned him to Thursday. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was the first to report the move.

Brown, 24, is in his second year as a member of the Blues organization, splitting time with St. Louis and Springfield last season, recording 11 points in 39 games with the NHL team. A former top prospect with the Ottawa Senators, Brown had been trying to gain traction in the NHL after a modest breakout last season. But, the forward found himself on LTIR after playing just five games this season. Now, after the brief conditioning stint, Brown can look to stay healthy and get back into a groove in the Blues’ lineup.

Bitten was recalled back on December 3rd and made his long-awaited NHL debut that night. In four NHL games to date, the 24-year-old has just one assist, coming in his second game. By getting Bitten back themselves, Springfield will hope to get more of the scoring touch he had earlier this season, with eight goals over his first 20 games.

Afternoon Notes: Schedule, Stone, Sabres, Team Canada Captains, Hershey Bears

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More hockey? You’d be hard-pressed to find a fan who wouldn’t want it. Earlier this week, there had been some discussions about the NHL potentially expanding the season back to an 84 game schedule for the first time since the 1993-94 campaign. Last night on Hockey Night in Canada’s 32 Thoughts segment, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman expanded on those rumors with an idea of what that schedule might look like, and how the league could get there.

In effect, the schedule would be expanded an additional two games to promote intra-division rivalries, such as the one between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers or the one between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders, both of which have seen their head-to-head matchups drop off in recent years. As Friedman details, the schedule would consist of four games against each of the other teams within the division, three games each against each team in the opposing division, and two against each team in the opposite conference. To balance things out, each team’s slate of preseasons games could be cut down. It doesn’t appear that any change is imminent, however Friedman adds that there is a willingness to discuss the change between the league and the NHLPA, however there hasn’t been much dialogue on the subject recently.

  • Things didn’t look good for Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone last night when he went down in obvious pain during the third period of the team’s game against the New York Islanders. The winger struggled to get off the ice with the assistance of his teammates, but surprisingly was able to come back and join them in the final moments of the game. Unsurprisingly, after the game, Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy was asked about the status of his star forward, telling The Athletic’s Jesse Granger that the hope is Stone’s injury is “just a stinger,” but he wouldn’t know much more until today. Cassidy added that Stone was not 100% when he rejoined the team late in the game. So far, no additional information has come out about Stone’s status. Vegas next plays at home on Monday against the Sabres.
  • Yesterday, the Buffalo Sabres were able to get forward Kyle Okposo back from injury and Jeff Skinner back from suspension, but were without defensemen Owen Power, Jacob Bryson, and Ilya Lyubushkin. The team didn’t have much information on Power or Bryson, and the same holds true today, however according to The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington, Ilya Lyubushkin is set to return tomorrow against Vegas. Noticeably absent from the ice this morning were defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson, but as Harrington adds, both were absent simply for rest purposes.
  • With the World Junior Championship just eight days away, Hockey Canada announced its leadership group for this year’s World Juniors team. Captaining the group will be Seattle Kraken forward and fourth-overall pick in 2022, Shane Wright. Assisting him will be Arizona Coyotes forward Dylan Guenther, Dallas Stars draft pick and current Kamloops Blazers forward Logan Stankoven, Anaheim Ducks draft pick and Quebec Remparts forward Nathan Gaucher, as well as Chicago Blackhawks draft pick and Mississauga Steelheads defenseman Ethan Del Mastro. Canada will kick things off against Czechia on December 26th.
  • Many don’t necessarily think about when an NHL team chooses to recall a player from their affiliate, it could set off a chain reaction of needs within their system, and that’s just what happened with the Washington Capitals and their goaltenders. When Darcy Kuemper went down a couple of weeks ago, the team recalled Hunter Shepard, which Hershey was able to cope with by recalling Clay Stevenson from the ECHL. No problem. But, when Washington also recalled Zachary Fucale yesterday in the wake of Shepard’s upper-body injury, Hershey was forced to sign an emergency back-up to a PTO for their game last night. Today, the Bears were able to smooth things out in net prior to their game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this afternoon, bringing up netminder Tyler Wall from the South Carolina Stingrays, Hershey and Washington’s ECHL affiliate. In a corresponding move, defenseman Martin Has has been sent to South Carolina. While this is a relatively minor move, it does give context for the transactions NHL teams make that sometimes seem to be done just for the sake of doing them.

Calgary Flames Place Chris Tanev On IR, Recall Dennis Gilbert

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1:52 pm: Per Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike, Calgary has placed Tanev on IR, likely retroactive to December 12th, when he was injured. Essentially, the move will create a roster spot for Gilbert in advance of today’s game, while allowing Tanev to return by Tuesday for the second half of a back to back in San Jose. It’s not clear if Tanev will return on Tuesday or not, however the defenseman was skating earlier today.

The Flames have since confirmed Tanev’s placement on IR.

1:22 pm: Gilbert’s recall seemed to imply that another player would be missing for the Flames in San Jose, and the team has confirmed just that. Forward Radim Zohorna did not participate in the morning skate as he’s dealing with a non-COVID illness, per a team announcement. According to Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson, Gilbert is already with the team in San Jose.

12:37 pm: With the NHL’s roster freeze set to take effect tomorrow night at midnight, we can expect plenty of roster shuffling in the time being, and that’s already been evident this morning. Adding to the pool of transactions are the Calgary Flames, who announced they’ve recalled defenseman Dennis Gilbert from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, their affiliate. No corresponding move has been announced.

Gilbert’s recall would seem to put the Flames above the maximum roster limit, however it could be an indicator that fellow defenseman Chris Tanev is going to be placed on IR after blocking a shot up high on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens. Tanev left that game early an hasn’t played since. Still, nothing on that end has been announced just yet.

Gilbert, 26, has seen more than his share of recalls and reassignments this season, last sent to the AHL back on November 27th. The shuffling has seemed to cost Gilbert some games, but he has been fairly effective in his role as a defense-first defenseman despite it. Through seven NHL games this season, Gilbert has one point, a goal, and through 15 AHL games, he has just one point as well, that one an assist.

The Flames will play this evening on the road in San Jose against the Sharks.

Los Angeles Kings Loan Rasmus Kupari, Jordan Spence To AHL

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The Los Angeles Kings have joined in on the flurry of transactions ahead of tomorrow night’s roster freeze. The team announced that forward Rasmus Kupari and defenseman Jordan Spence have both been loaned to the Ontario Reign, their AHL affiliate. No corresponding moves were announced.

One of many talented young Kings players, Kupari has split his time between Los Angeles and Ontario this season as he continues to tear up the AHL, but struggles to become an impactful NHLer. Through 11 AHL games in 2021-22, Kupari has nine points, however in 18 NHL games, he has just five points while averaging 10:38 per night. Certainly with more ice time comes more points, but as it goes, more ice time likely won’t come without more points.

As for Spence, the 21-year-old defenseman has struggled to consistently crack the Kings lineup through no fault of his own, falling victim to the organization’s incredible defensive depth. Last season, Spence played 24 games with Los Angeles, recording eight points, but had a phenomenal 42 points in 46 games on Ontario’s blueline. This season has been much of the same, Spence registering 21 points through 22 games for Ontario. The Australian-born Spence was only able to make his 2022-23 NHL debut last night, playing in the Kings game against the San Jose Sharks before being sent back down.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Jason Demers

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The Edmonton Oilers announced that they have signed defenseman Jason Demers to a one-year, two-way contract. After signing Demers, the Oilers have placed him on waivers for the purposes of loaning him to the Bakersfield Condors, their AHL affiliate. The contract is worth $750,000 at the NHL level, which is the league minimum. The move comes one day before the NHL’s temporary roster freeze takes effect.

For Demers, the contract should give him a much clearer path to an NHL job this season after not playing in the league since 2020-21. Unless he’s claimed on waivers, the signing, waiving, and loan to Bakersfield will more or less be a formality for the veteran, who has been playing with the Condors this season, tallying nine points and 32 penalty minutes in 24 games. Demers had actually been in training camp with Edmonton this preseason and impressed in that time, but salary cap constraints prevented the organization from giving him an NHL deal until now.

In the case of the Oilers, signing the 34-year-old should, if he clears, give them more reliable depth on the backend and a player they know they can trust if and when he gets into the lineup. Although their jobs certainly are in no danger, the Oilers have had some glaring issues defensively this week, headlined by Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard. For now, nothing will change on the ice for Edmonton or Bakersfield, but the team will be able to recall Demers at a moment’s notice when they feel the timing is right.

Nashville Predators Re-Assign Kevin Gravel, Roland McKeown To AHL

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The early roster shuffling on this Sunday morning continues with the Nashville Predators, who announced they’ve re-assigned defensemen Kevin Gravel and Roland McKeown to the Milwaukee Admirals, their AHL affiliate. Both players had been recalled on an emergency basis on December 12th. No corresponding move was announced, but with Jeremy Lauzon’s return last night, Nashville did have flexibility to send a defenseman down.

Gravel, 30, certainly didn’t go unused during his stint with Nashville. The defenseman made his Predators debut, getting into four games this week, averaging 14:38 while dishing out seven hits and blocking six shots. These games represented Gravel’s first NHL action since he appeared in three with the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2019-20. A fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2010, the St. Cloud State alum has spent the bulk of his NHL career to date with the Kings (70 games) and the Edmonton Oilers (36 games).

A fellow Kings draft pick, McKeown, 26, also made his Predators debut this week, getting into three games, averaging 14:33 over that time. A longtime AHL veteran, this was McKeown’s first appearance in the NHL since his only other stint: 10 games with the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2017-18. In the time since, the defenseman has appeared with the Charlotte Checkers, Colorado Eagles, and the Admirals in the AHL, as well as 24 games with Skelleftea AIK in the SHL during the 2019-20 season. Through 22 games for Milwaukee this season, McKeown has eight points along with a very healthy +12 rating.

Philadelphia Flyers Re-Assign Kieffer Bellows, Olle Lycksell To AHL

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Late last night, after their game against the New York Rangers concluded, the Philadelphia Flyers announced a pair of roster moves. The team has re-assigned forwards Kieffer Bellows and Olle Lycksell to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, their AHL affiliate. Bellows, who had only been recalled earlier in the day yesterday, had already cleared waivers back on December 2nd and thus, didn’t have to clear them again. Lycksell is currently signed to his ELC and is not currently waiver eligible.

Bellows, 24, appears to have fallen off quite a bit since seeming to turn a corner in his development last season. Once one of the New York Islanders’ top prospects, Bellows struggled to put it together in the professional ranks, but his 19 points in 45 games in the NHL last season gave some sign of hope that the forward could finally put it together. This season however, Bellows has failed to record a point in 13 games, 12 with the Flyers and one with the Islanders, while averaging 11:30 per game. His time in the AHL, albeit brief, has been another story. There, the winger has seven points through his first five games, a promising sign in what seems to be a lost season already at the NHL level.

The 23-year-old Lycksell, a sixth-round pick of the Flyers back in 2017 is enjoying a solid start to his North American career with 16 points in his first 16 AHL games, as well as the opportunity to play in his first three NHL games. The forward spent the previous five seasons in the SHL, jumping between teams, but showing he can be a point-producer in a top league. Lycksell had a career-year in 2021-22 as a member of Vaxjo, putting up 34 points in 47 games in his only season with the team. Though being sent back to the AHL isn’t necessarily the best news for the player, Lycksell should have an opportunity to continue being an impact player for Lehigh Valley, which should help with his overall development as an NHLer.

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