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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.

Montreal Canadiens Loan Rem Pitlick To AHL

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The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have loaned forward Rem Pitlick to the Laval Rocket, their AHL affiliate. In a related move, the team has also recalled forward Anthony Richard from Laval. Pitlick has bounced around between Montreal and Laval plenty this season, while this will be Richard’s first call-up since clearing waivers and being assigned to the Rocket back on October 5th.

Pitlick, 25, has done his best to ensure the shuffle hasn’t held him back too much this season. The forward has six points through nine games with Laval thus far, though he has just one point, a goal, in 14 games with Montreal. Still, the former Nashville Predators draft pick hasn’t been able to repeat his production from last season, where he had 15 goals and 22 assists over 66 games between Montreal and the Minnesota Wild.

Also a former Predators draft pick, Richard, who turns 26 on Tuesday, has dominated the AHL thus far this season, recording 31 points in 26 games, on pace to eclipse his previous career-high in the league of 47, recorded over 73 games back in 2018-19. Should he get into action for the Canadiens, it would be the Quebec native’s first action with the Canadiens and first NHL games since he played a single game with the Predators in 2019-20.

Washington Capitals Recall Zachary Fucale

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5:31 pm: According to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic, Shephard has been ruled out of tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, necessitating the Fucale recall.

4:25 pm: The Washington Capitals announced late this afternoon that they’ve recalled goaltender Zachary Fucale from the Hershey
Bears, their AHL affiliate. Fucale will join the pairing of Charlie Lindgren and Hunter Shepard in net for Washington. Shepard had been recalled on an emergency basis in the wake of Darcy Kuemper’s injury and subsequent placement on IR back on December 3rd. No corresponding moves were announced.

Despite bringing Shepard up nearly two weeks ago, the Capitals haven’t played the netminder just yet, opting to have Lindgren shoulder the load. Lindgren, who Washington signed to a three-year deal this offseason to back up Kuemper, has had a solid start to the season, recording a .910 save-percentage and 2.76 goals-against average in 14 games, but has really stepped things up since Kuemper went down, posting five of his seven wins along with a .936 save-percentage, surrendering just 11 goals over the six games.

Shepard, 27, was off to a dominant start in the AHL with a .932 save-percentage and 1.83 goals-against in his first eight games, but along with Lindgren’s superb performance, Shepard simply has never played in the NHL and has spent the bulk of his professional career in the ECHL.

It’s unclear what Washington’s plan is with Fucale now that he’s been called up as well. Unlike Shepard, Fucale has struggled this season with Hershey, however he does have longer track record of professional hockey, dating back to 2015-16. At one point considered one of the more exciting goaltending prospects in the NHL, the former Montreal Canadiens draft pick has only recently made his NHL debut, getting into four games for the Capitals last season.

Los Angeles Kings Loan Two To AHL, Activate Viktor Arvidsson

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Saturday: Kupari’s stint in the minors was short-lived once again as the team announced that he has been recalled while they have also activated Viktor Arvidsson from non-roster status.

Friday: The Los Angeles Kings have announced the loans of three players to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Those three players are Samuel Fagemo, Rasmus Kupari, and Tobias Bjornfot. The moves come in advance of tomorrow’s game against the San Jose Sharks.

Fagemo, 22, was called up to the Kings on December 1st, and has skated in three NHL games so far this season. He has two points in those three games and will now return to Ontario, where he has six goals and eight points in 15 games.

The other forward to be sent down, Kupari, has seen more extensive NHL action so far this year. Kupari has played in 17 games for the Kings, scoring five points on just under eleven minutes of ice time per night. The 2018 20th overall pick also has nine points in 11 AHL games this year.

The lone defenseman to be sent down, Bjornfot, is like Kupari a relatively recent first-round pick of the Kings. Unlike Kupari, though, Bjornfot has played most of this season in the AHL. He has just four NHL games played so far this year, although in the games he did play he did manage to get some time on coach Todd McLellan’s penalty kill.

The defensively-focused Bjornfot’s spot on the Kings’ depth chart has been threatened by the emergence of Jordan Spence, who is also a 2019 draft pick and has 21 points in 22 AHL games so far this season.

These moves leave the Kings with three open roster spots, and while it’s certainly possible that these transactions are primarily motivated by a desire to bank some salary cap space, the possibility of corresponding call-ups cannot be ruled out.

Vegas Golden Knights Re-Assign Kaedan Korczak To AHL

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The Vegas Golden Knights have re-assigned defenseman Kaedan Korczak to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. The move comes after Korczak was recalled to Vegas four days ago with the team in the midst of some injury challenges at their back end.

Now Korczak will head back to Henderson having not skated in a game for Vegas during his short time on their roster. Korczak does have an NHL game on his resume, from last season when the Golden Knights’ blueline was in a similar position, so this move does not cost him a chance at making his NHL debut.

The reassignment leaves Vegas with seven defensemen on their active roster, giving them an opportunity to call up an extra forward. As the Golden Knights are a team utilizing long-term injured reserve, keeping less than the maximum of 23 players on their roster does not provide any benefits in terms of being able to bank cap space to use later on in the season.

Korczak, 21, was the 41st overall pick at the 2019 draft and will head back to Henderson, where he plays a top-four role with a healthy dose of special teams time. The big defense-first defenseman has six points in 24 games so far this year at the AHL level to go along with 18 penalty minutes.

Detroit Red Wings Re-Assign Steven Kampfer

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The Detroit Red Wings recalled veteran blueliner Steven Kampfer from their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, three days ago. Today, after a stay on the roster that did not include an NHL game played, the Red Wings have re-assigned Kampfer back to the AHL.

This move did not come with any other announcements, although seeing as the Red Wings have a whopping seven players on injured reserve, the natural first place to look to is there. Since this re-assignment leaves the Red Wings with just six healthy defensemen on their active roster, it could be an indication that veteran Olli Maatta is nearing a return to full health.

In sending down Kampfer the Red Wings have sent down an offseason acquisition that has fit in well with their AHL affiliate. Through 19 games so far this season Kampfer has 10 points. The 34-year-old defenseman signed in Detroit after a strong 2021-22 in the KHL. In 46 games for KHL side Ak-Bars Kazan, Kampfer had 30 points.

Kampfer is a veteran of over 230 NHL games and could be in line to play in his first NHL game since 2020-21 if he is called up once again. In the meantime, though, he’ll head back to Grand Rapids and resume his role as one of the team’s top all-around defensemen.

Colorado Avalanche Recall Jonas Johansson

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The Colorado Avalanche have announced that goaltender Jonas Johansson has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.

The move comes after Avalanche backup netminder Pavel Francouz secured his team a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers last night. As no corresponding move was announced regarding the Avalanche’s goalies, this recall adds a third name to Colorado’s situation in the crease.

The 27-year-old Johansson earns this recall on the back of his impressive AHL performance so far this season. Through 12 games Johansson has a .929 save percentage and 2.10 goals-against-average.

Over the past two seasons Johansson’s career has had quite the journey. He was traded to the Avalanche from the Buffalo Sabres in 2021, when the Avalanche were in desperate need of a goalie. The team surrendered a sixth-round pick to acquire him, and then lost him on waivers to the Florida Panthers in December of that year.

After a two-game stint in Florida that included a disastrous start against the Montreal Canadiens in their final game of the regular season, where he surrendered ten goals, Johansson hit unrestricted free agency this past summer.

He was signed to a one-year, $750k deal with a hefty $350k AHL salary, with the idea of him playing in a tandem in the AHL with Justus Annunen.

That idea was nearly blown up after the Arizona Coyotes claimed Johansson off of waivers in late September, but nearly two weeks later the Avalanche were able to re-acquire him after he was waived by Arizona.

It’s unclear at this moment if this recall is motivated by any injury developments to either Francouz or Alexandar Georgiev.

Minor Transactions: 12/15/22

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It’ll be a busy night on the NHL schedule tonight as 24 of the league’s 32 clubs will do battle. Among the many contests are a few games that look like they’ll be especially entertaining, such as the New York Rangers taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs and the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins going up against a Florida Panthers squad looking to spark some sustained positive momentum. As we keep track of this flurry of action tonight, we’ll also track notable transactions in minor leagues and foreign leagues. Those moves can be found here:

  • 2016 Rangers sixth-round pick Tyler Wall signed a one-year AHL contract with the Hershey Bears, the top affiliate of the Washington Capitals, today. While Wall, 24, couldn’t quite carve out a consistent role in the Rangers organization after a successful four-year collegiate career at UMass-Lowell, he now has an AHL contract in hand and the rest of the season to put some quality starts on his resume for the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays.
  • Quinton Howden, a 2010 first-round pick of the Florida Panthers, was released from his tryout contract with Jukurit, a team in the Finnish Liiga. Howden scored just one point in ten games for Jukurit despite playing middle-six minutes and getting a chance on their power play. Howden, 30, scored 18 points in 45 games last season for Cologne in the German DEL and will look for a contract with another club to continue his pro career.
  • J.D. Dudek, a 2014 fourth-round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils, signed a one-year contract with the Coventry Blaze, a team in the Elite Ice Hockey League, the United Kingdom’s top pro hockey league. The 26-year-old went overseas this summer after two seasons in the ECHL, signing with Tranas AIF in the third tier of Swedish hockey. The former Boston College Eagle had eight points in 14 games in Sweden and will look to keep that solid scoring up as he joins a new league.
  • Nando Eggenberger, a former NHL draft prospect who three times represented his native Switzerland at the World Junior Championships, signed a two-year contract with Swiss club HC Ambri-Piotta. The deal will begin next season, as Eggenberger will finish out 2022-23 with his current club, Rapperswil-Jona Lakers. The former Oshawa General has seven points in 29 games so far this season.
  • Another Swiss club announced the signing of a young forward to a two-year contract beginning next season: the ZSC Lions. Per their announcement, they signed forward Yannick Zehnder, currently of EV Zug, to a two-year, 2023-2025 contract. Zehnder is a Swiss champion who has six points in 27 games so far this season.
  • Talented veteran defenseman Nick Bailen saw his KHL rights change hands today, with Spartak Moscow acquiring them from Traktor Chelyabinsk in exchange for 27-year-old blueliner Alexander Bryntsev. While Bailen, 33, is currently playing for Cologne in the DEL, he has 367 KHL games on his resume, including a brilliant 2021-22 season where he scored 42 points in 49 games. If Bailen makes the choice to return to the KHL, it seems now he’ll have to do so in Moscow.
  • Veteran KHL depth defenseman Ruslan Ibatullin had his contract with KHL side Admiral Vladivostok terminated today. The 28-year-old had set a career-high in KHL games played this season, getting into 34 contests in Vladivostok. In need of a new contract, it’s likely that Ibatullin will return to playing in the second-tier VHL, the league where he has spent the bulk of his professional career.

Logan Brown Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The St. Louis Blues may get Logan Brown back relatively soon, as the big forward was sent to the AHL on a conditioning loan today. It can last up to two weeks, allowing him to return to game shape.

Brown, 24, has missed 18 games with an upper-body injury, the second stretch he’s missed since training camp. Limited to just five appearances so far in 2022-23, he has been held scoreless.

Standing 6’6″ with the draft pedigree of an 11th-overall pick, there’s still hope that Brown can take his success in the minor leagues and translate it to the highest level. In 19 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds last season, he scored 17 points. That takes his overall minor league numbers to 96 points in 113 games, showing just how effective he can be in the right situation.

With general managers all over the league likely watching Tage Thompson’s success and believing (rather naively) they can recreate it with other big, skilled forwards, Brown will probably get plenty of opportunities moving forward. His one-year, $750K contract will leave him a restricted free agent at the end of the year.

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