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Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Zack Hayes

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According to a team release Wednesday, the Carolina Hurricanes have acquired defenseman Zack Hayes from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for future considerations.

Hayes, 23, goes to the Hurricanes organization after two-and-a-quarter years in the desert. An undrafted free agent, Hayes signed a two-year entry-level contract with Vegas for the 2021-22 season after spending 2020-21 on an AHL contract with Vegas’ affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. 

The 6’3″, 218 lb defenseman made his NHL debut last season, skating in three games while injuries decimated Vegas’ blueline. Things haven’t gone too well for him in the minors this year, though, registering a lone assist through 14 games after a ten-point year in 2021-22.

His game leans on the defensive side, though, and that’s what Carolina hopes Hayes provides to their organization. Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell called Hayes “an experienced leader who knows how to play physically on the back end.”

For the Golden Knights, the trade frees up a needed contract spot. The team was previously at the 50-contract limit, preventing them from making any additions. That can be especially tricky when injuries ravage an organization’s goalie depth, a situation Vegas knows well from their first year in the league.

It’s the second time this calendar year that the Hurricanes have exchanged future considerations for assets from the Golden Knights. Carolina more famously acquired Max Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan from the Knights in a salary-motivated transaction before this season. While future considerations are rarely ever put into play anymore, the Hurricanes are working up quite a debt of gratitude toward Vegas.

John Marino Dealing With Upper-Body Injury

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After losing their winning streak in a defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs last week, the New Jersey Devils have jumped right back on the horse, taking home three more victories in recent days. The club is 19-4 on the year, and a huge part of that is due to allowing so few goals.

The Devils defense corps has been outstanding, with something of an unlikely lynchpin in newcomer John Marino. The 25-year-old has just eight points in 23 games but manages to tilt the ice in his team’s favor despite extremely tough deployment. New Jersey has outscored their opponents 21-8 at even-strength with Marino on the ice, even though he starts more shifts in the defensive zone than the offensive.

That’s why it’s such a big deal when the team announces Marino isn’t practicing today and is out with an upper-body injury. While he is considered day-to-day, it is a critical loss for the Devils.

Kevin Bahl is expected to slot into the lineup in his place should Marino be unable to go tomorrow against the Nashville Predators. Luckily, if you can call it that, the Devils do have an easier stretch coming up, with games against the struggling Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks.

Los Angeles Kings Make Several Roster Moves

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Nov 30: After last night’s wild, 9-8 game, Fagemo has been loaned back to the AHL.

Nov 29: The Los Angeles Kings are always one of the busiest front offices in the league. They shuffle players up and down on a daily basis to save some extra cap, and reward young players with a few days of NHL salary. Today, the shuffle has a new name involved, as Jordan Spence has been recalled from the minor leagues. He’s coming along with Samuel Fagemo, while Lias Andersson has been loaned back to the AHL.

Spence, 21, has been in the minor leagues all season so far, once again dominating the AHL whenever he hits the ice. After scoring 42 points in 46 games last season, he’s off to an even better start with 16 in his first 17. That performance earned Spence 24 appearances with the big club last year, despite being barely out of junior hockey. The fourth-round pick scored twice and added eight points in those games, earning him a short look in the playoffs as well, when the Kings were shorthanded.

His recall today is interesting, if only because the team plays tonight and could insert him directly into the lineup. It’s not clear who would come out, but Alex Edler and Sean Walker both played limited minutes on Sunday as the team lost to the Ottawa Senators in overtime.

Andersson played 8:37 in that game – including just four shifts in the third period – his first appearance of the season at the NHL level. The 24-year-old continues to be a disappointment relative to his draft position (seventh overall in 2017) and can’t seem to lock down a regular spot.

Jordan Szwarz Re-Signs In DEL

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Adler Mannheim of the German DEL announced six contract extensions today, among them former NHL forward Jordan Szwarz. The 31-year-old has signed through 2025, potentially ending any chance of a North American return.

Originally selected 97th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2009, Szwarz made his NHL debut in 2013 and played 50 games at the highest level over the years. A born leader, he was captain of three different AHL teams – the Portland Pirates, Providence Bruins, and Belleville Senators – before leaving for the KHL in 2020.

An all-around talent, he racked up 296 points in 478 AHL games before leaving. This year with Mannheim he has 13 points in 19 games and is playing a key role in the successful club.

Alexey Toropchenko Assigned To AHL On Conditioning Stint

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It’s been a rollercoaster few months for Alexey Toropchenko. The 23-year-old forward underwent offseason shoulder surgery and was supposed to miss the first chunk of the regular season, but managed to be cleared by game one. He entered the lineup right away and has played in 15 games but there has been little production from the big Russian winger. So far, Toropchenko has just one point in 15 games, and it came at the end of October.

With his struggles in mind, the team has sent Toropchenko to the AHL for a conditioning stint, where he can hopefully get his game back in shape. The team has gone with 11 forwards and seven defensemen recently instead of dressing the young forward, as he just can’t seem to find a consistent performance so far this year.

Notably, Toropchenko can’t be sent to the AHL for an extended period of time without first clearing waivers. That is part of the problem for St. Louis, who would likely prefer to give him a long run with Springfield as they try to fix the NHL roster in another way. If waived, there seems to be a good chance the 6’6″ winger would be claimed, if only because of his size and relative youth.

It may still come to that at some point, if he can’t turn things around and the team feels it needs that roster spot for a different player. While they have turned it around a bit, the Blues are still just treading water in the middle of the Central Division standings, now at 11-11 on the year.

Boston Bruins Activate Derek Forbort

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The Boston Bruins have officially activated Derek Forbort from long-term injured reserve, sending Anton Stralman down to the Providence Bruins at the same time. Stralman cleared waivers earlier today, meaning his entire $1MM cap hit can be buried in the minor leagues.

Many followers of the Bruins were confused when head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe that the team would not need any other moves to activate Forbort, since at first blush the CapFriendly page appeared to show a lack of cap space for the move. But that space was based on the $82,091,667 accruable cap space limit that the team set before the season when they first entered LTIR. With Forbort back, the team is now completely out of LTIR, and has a total cap hit of $82,454,167, just under the regular cap ceiling of $82.5MM.

It’s close, but the team doesn’t need to make another move and can continue with a 22-man roster.

Forbort, meanwhile, is coming back after a month on the shelf, last playing November 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The veteran defenseman had three points in his first ten games and was averaging more than 20 minutes a night, holding the fort while the team waited on some other pieces to return. Now that everyone is healthy, he’ll likely assume a lesser – but still important – role on the club, and try to help them continue their torrid start.

Stralman, meanwhile, is headed to the AHL for the first time in more than a decade. The last time he suited up in the minor leagues was during the 2008-09 season with the Toronto Marlies, before he had really established himself as a regular in the league. Nearly 900 games later and he’s headed back, though it will be interesting to see if another club goes after him as a trade target, now that he has cleared waivers.

Minnesota Wild Return Zane McIntyre To AHL

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Nov 29: McIntyre has been returned to the AHL, meaning Gustavsson is healthy again.

November 26: After sending him down a few days ago due to Marc-Andre Fleury’s return to the lineup, Zane McIntyre is back with the Minnesota Wild. The team recalled him today under emergency conditions, but it’s unclear at the moment as to which goalie is unavailable.

The Athletic’s Michael Russo notes that one of the team’s goalies had an issue today at practice and that the move is precautionary. While normally an emergency recall would wait until gameday tomorrow, the team has an earlier start and didn’t want to risk not having two goalies to start the game.

Forward Brandon Duhaime was also placed on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction. Yesterday, he was listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury sustained on November 23 against Winnipeg, which prohibited him from playing in yesterday’s game against Toronto. It’s Duhaime’s second trip to injured reserve this year, as he missed the first two weeks of November with another upper-body injury. The Wild have not said whether or not it’s a re-injury.

McIntyre’s eight NHL games all came during the 2016-17 season, although he’s appeared on NHL rosters in situations like these multiple times since then. A 2010 draft choice of the Boston Bruins, this is the netminder’s second season in the Wild organization after the team signed him early on in 2021-22. He has a .917 save percentage, two shutouts, and a 23-17-3 record with the AHL’s Iowa Wild over the past two years.

Fredrik Karlstrom Returned To AHL

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It was a rather unspectacular recall for Fredrik Karlstrom, who failed to get into a single game with the Dallas Stars since being brought up a week ago. Today, he’s been sent back to the Texas Stars, where he’ll have to wait for his next opportunity.

The 24-year-old forward made his NHL debut last season, playing in three games for the Stars during his first year in North America. The 2016 third-round pick signed an entry-level deal in 2020 that expired in the summer, but inked a new two-way contract to keep him in the organization. While he doesn’t have much offensive upside, there is a real consistency to Karlstrom’s defensive efforts, and he could work his way into an NHL lineup down the road.

It won’t be just yet, though, as the Stars won’t change what’s working. The club is in first place in the Central Division and has the best goal differential in the entire Western Conference. After defeating the St. Louis Blues last night, they now have a couple of days off before starting a five-game homestand. There’s no need to carry extra bodies at home, so unless a regular is injured, it’s unlikely that Karlstrom (or Matej Blumel, another recent call-up) gets into the mix.

Through 15 games with Texas, Karlstrom has four goals and five points.

Vancouver Canucks Reassign Vasily Podkolzin, Jack Rathbone

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The Vancouver Canucks assigned forward Vasily Podkolzin and defenseman Jack Rathbone to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks on Monday evening, according to a team tweet.

Podkolzin, 21, is enduring a bit of a classic sophomore slump. The 10th overall selection in 2019 has just three assists through 16 games, although he has been limited to playing just 12:34 per game. It’s his first demotion to the minors this season. It would be his first regular-season AHL contest if he suits up with Abbotsford. He had two points in two playoff games last season.

Similarly, it’s Rathbone’s first demotion of the season. He’s been a healthy scratch for most of the season, playing in six out of 22 games. He’s registered an assist and a -3 rating. The 23-year-old returns to Abbotsford, where he had a spectacular 40 points in 39 games last season.

For Vancouver, it could be a sign that Jack Studnicka is getting ready to come off injured reserve. He’s been out with a lower-body injury since November 15.

Minor Transactions: 11/28/22

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The NHL has an entertaining six-game slate on tap for tonight, including the New Jersey Devils trying to make it an NHL-record 13 wins in November. However, there’s been plenty of activity outside of the league today, as some pertinent roster moves carry on at other levels of North American hockey. We’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions right here:

  • NHL veteran defenseman Brandon Davidson will remain a free agent after the AHL’s Rochester Americans released him from his professional tryout today. Davidson, 31, registered one assist in nine appearances in his comeback attempt with Rochester. The veteran of 180 NHL games could potentially have to look for his next playing opportunity overseas.
  • The AHL’s Laval Rocket have swapped unsigned Montreal Canadiens prospects, recalling netminder Joe Vrbetic from the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions while sending down forward Ryan Francis. Vrbetic could be in line for his first AHL appearance. The 2021 seventh-round pick is on an AHL contract and has a .881 save percentage and a 6-4-0 record with Trois-Rivieres. Francis, a 2020 selection by the Calgary Flames, returns to Trois-Rivieres, where he has two goals and six points in 12 games.

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