St. Louis Blues Reassign Nikita Alexandrov, Jake Neighbours
The St. Louis Blues are into the break and won’t play again until February 11. That’s true at least for most of the roster. Nikita Alexandrov and Jake Neighbours are on their way to the Springfield Thunderbirds to keep playing over the next few days.
Springfield has three games this week – important opportunities for development that the team won’t overlook. Alexandrov has already spent most of his season in the minor leagues, registering 12 goals and 20 points in 23 games. During his 18 games at the NHL level, the 22-year-old rookie has five points.
Neighbours, 20, has played 27 games with St. Louis this season and has eight points. That’s not exactly the production he’s used to, after dominating the WHL for the last three years. In the AHL he’s been much more comfortable, with seven goals and 14 points in 19 games, but it looks like the NHL is where he’ll stay for most of this year.
The 2020 first-round pick has a bright future in St. Louis, and if the Blues end up moving out some pieces at the deadline there will be more offensive minutes available for players like him to step up.
Seattle Kraken Re-Assign John Hayden, Max McCormick To AHL
The Seattle Kraken have sent two forwards back to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds: John Hayden and Max McCormick. The move opens up two roster spots that are now at GM Ron Francis’ disposal.
Hayden, 27, has played in three games for the Kraken this season. He’s operated in a depth role in each of those three contests, never crossing into double-digit minutes played in any of the three games. In that span, Hayden registered one goal, two blocked shots, and a hit.
Hayden’s made more of an impact this year at the AHL level, scoring 25 points in 34 games. His return to that level should help the Firebirds continue their run as one of the top teams in the American league.
McCormick, 30, has found similar success in the AHL but, unlike Hayden, didn’t manage to get into any NHL games during his time on the Kraken active roster. He got into 10 games for the Kraken last season, though, but he didn’t manage to get onto the score sheet.
In the AHL, McCormick is tied for first place on the Firebirds in scoring with 18 goals and 42 points so far this season. He’ll now head back to Coachella Valley where he will in all likelihood resume his role as one of coach Dan Bylsma’s most relied-upon offensive producers.
Chicago Blackhawks Send Three To Minors
The Chicago Blackhawks have assigned a trio of players to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs this morning, per the team. Forward Luke Philp, defenseman Filip Roos, and goalie Jaxson Stauber are all headed back to the American Hockey League.
The transactions leave Chicago with no healthy extra skaters on the active roster and just one goalie, so expect some or all of Philp, Roos, and Stauber to get recalled back to the NHL when Chicago returns from the All-Star break on February 7.
After getting recalled last Monday, the 27-year-old Philp made his NHL debut the following night against Vancouver after a long Canadian collegiate and AHL career up to that point. In his second career game two days later against Calgary, he recorded his first NHL point. Philp has been a solid offensive presence in Rockford this season, recording 30 points in 31 games. He could be a candidate to see a second recall later this season.
Roos, an undrafted 24-year-old rookie out of Sweden, has played 15 games with Chicago this year, recording a goal and two assists. He unexpectedly cracked Chicago’s opening night roster and lasted quite a while, as he stayed there until the Blackhawks assigned him to Rockford on December 13. After just over a month in the minors, where he had a respectable three goals and seven points in 17 games, Roos was recalled to Chicago along with Philp last Monday.
Stauber is the third undrafted free agent signing on this list, acquired by the Blackhawks in free agency after he posted a .921 save percentage in 37 games with Providence College last season. Despite some subpar AHL numbers (a .896 mark through 12 games in Rockford), Stauber’s played well in limited NHL action. He’s stopped 63 of 67 shots faced in two games with Chicago this year, both wins.
Pittsburgh Penguins Send Two Players To AHL
With the Pittsburgh Penguins off through the All-Star break, the team has assigned a pair of players to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Forward Jonathan Gruden and goalie Dustin Tokarski will rejoin Pittsburgh’s minor-league affiliate, the team said Sunday morning.
Gruden’s past two weeks on the NHL roster was the first call-up of his career, discounting preseason moves. He played in his first three NHL games on January 16, 18, and 20 and was held off most box-score stats as he averaged just 5:19 of ice time per game.
He was essentially an emergency injury replacement, as many of Pittsburgh’s bottom-six forwards were absent from the lineup with injuries. As players like Ryan Poehling returned to health over the last couple of weeks, Gruden was a scratch for Pittsburgh’s last four games. The 22-year-old natural winger, acquired in the Matt Murray trade from the Ottawa Senators in 2020, returns to Wilkes/Barre-Scranton, where he has 16 points in 32 games this season. Barring more injuries, that’s where he’ll stay for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign.
Tokarski, on the other hand, is a much more experienced NHLer who could see a recall back to Pittsburgh when the All-Star break concludes, depending on the health of starter Tristan Jarry. Pittsburgh’s recalled Tokarski twice in the past month, once on January 3 and once on January 25, as Jarry’s dealt with injury issues that have kept him out of the lineup for most of the month.
The 33-year-old Tokarski, with 78 NHL games under his belt, is one of the best third-string options available in the league. He served as a full-time backup for the first time in his career last season, posting a 10-12-5 record and a .899 save percentage in 29 appearances with the Buffalo Sabres. Sitting third on the depth chart in Pittsburgh behind Jarry and Casey DeSmith, however, Tokarski’s dominated the minors with a .923 save percentage in 20 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
In two appearances in the NHL this season with Jarry out, Tokarski’s split his decisions with a 1-1-0 record and a .915 save percentage. If Jarry isn’t ready to go by the conclusion of the All-Star break, Tokarski could be in line for some more starts. DeSmith’s play has been subpar since the calendar turned to 2023, going 3-4-2 in 10 games with a .887 save percentage.
Colorado Avalanche Re-Assign Ben Meyers
The Colorado Avalanche have assigned former University of Minnesota standout Ben Meyers to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, according to a tweet Saturday evening.
The move allows Meyers to get some games in with the Eagles over the NHL All-Star break after filling in as an injury substitute for the Avalanche for most of the season. In the minors, he has a goal and four assists in 10 games.
It hasn’t been the smoothest of transitions for Meyers, who was a Hobey Baker finalist last season and represented the United States at the Olympics and World Championships. He has just one point, a goal, in 27 games with the Avalanche, and he’s seen very few minutes under head coach Jared Bednar.
The 24-year-old could very well gain some confidence with more playing time in the minors, which would be highly beneficial for Colorado’s bottom six. They recently moved to fortify it, re-acquiring Matt Nieto in a trade with the San Jose Sharks.
Colorado plays next on February 7, a road matchup in Pittsburgh.
Blue Jackets Recall Jake Christiansen
The Blue Jackets have brought up some extra depth in advance of their game tonight against Seattle, announcing the recall of defenseman Jake Christiansen from Cleveland of the AHL. His promotion is likely related to Nick Blankenburg‘s upper-body injury that caused him to miss last night’s game against Vancouver.
It’s the second recall of the season for the 23-year-old who got into 17 games with Columbus during that first stint before being sent back to the Monsters late last month. Christiansen had a pair of assists during that stretch while averaging a hit and block per game in just under 14 minutes of playing time per night. He has been more productive in the minors, picking up a dozen points in 23 contests and is only a year removed from a 45-point sophomore year with Cleveland.
Columbus now has seven healthy defensemen on the roster so there’s no guarantee that Christiansen will be in the lineup tonight against the Kraken. The blueliner is in the final year of his entry-level contract and will be eligible for salary arbitration this summer.
Flames Assign Three Players To AHL
Calgary’s roster was full for last night’s victory over Seattle but it’s considerably smaller now as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned forwards Walker Duehr and Jakob Pelletier plus defenseman Dennis Gilbert to Calgary of the AHL. No corresponding recalls were made.
Duehr and Pelletier were both recalled three weeks ago with Duehr seeing regular action while Pelletier was more limited. Duehr got into eight games with the Flames, picking up his first two NHL goals while averaging a little over nine minutes a night. This season at the AHL level, the 25-year-old has ten goals with the Wranglers, just one shy of his output from a year ago in 28 fewer games. Duehr is in his second full professional campaign after signing a two-year entry-level deal with Calgary as an undrafted college free agent in 2021.
Pelletier is widely considered to be one of Calgary’s top prospects so when he was brought up, there was some excitement to see how he’d fare against top competition. However, he was a regular scratch early and only got into four contests where he logged less than 11 minutes a night. That’s not necessarily the most optimal usage for a player that had 34 points in 31 games in the minors this season but he at least now has a taste of what things are like at the NHL level.
As for Gilbert, this NHL stint was a short-lived one as he’s going down just two days after being recalled. The 26-year-old has played in nine games for the Flames this season, collecting an assist along with 19 hits and 20 penalty minutes while averaging 10:35 per contest. He also has five points in 24 AHL contests.
The Flames are off until February 6th so these three assignments are likely being done to bank some cap space. The demotions will free up a little over $13K per day and add to their cap room heading into the deadline. However, it remains to be seen if these three will be back with the big club when they resume play or if someone else will get an opportunity.
Injury Notes: Beniers, Landeskog, IceHogs
The Seattle Kraken are in the midst of what is shaping up to be the best season in their (admittedly brief) franchise history. Powered by a balanced scoring attack and a well-rounded defense, the team currently sits at the top of the Pacific Division. One of the major individual success stories the team has had this season has been with rookie center Matty Beniers. Playing as a first-line center is one of the most difficult roles any NHL player can be asked to occupy, and can be extremely challenging for a young player or rookie to be able to handle. Beniers, who has scored 17 goals and 36 points in 47 games this season, has been extremely impressive, so much so that he was named to the All-Star Game.
His participation in next weekend’s festivities has been cast into doubt, though. Coach Dave Hakstol said that Beniers, who suffered an injury following a hit on Wednesday, could be considered “day-to-day.” Per Kate Shefte of the Seattle Times, Beniers will miss the team’s next two games and his status for the All-Star Game is in question.
Some other injury updates:
- Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog has missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season so far recovering from injury, and still isn’t quite close to returning. That doesn’t mean he isn’t inching closer, though. The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando reports that there is a “tentative plan” in place for Landeskog to “start skating under team supervision after the NHL All-Star break.” Getting Landeskog back in time for the stretch run of the season would come as a huge boost to an Avalanche team that has dealt with major injury issues this season.
- The Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, announced two major injury updates today. Firstly, the team announced that veteran forward Garrett Mitchell will be out for the season after undergoing left shoulder surgery. Secondly, the team revealed that Buddy Robinson would miss up to six weeks with a wrist fracture. Both Mitchell, the IceHogs’ captain, and Robinson are on expiring contracts, so one hopes that they can have positive recoveries and get back to full health in time to secure a quality contract for next season.
Ottawa Senators Recall Jacob Larsson
The Ottawa Senators have announced the recall of defenseman Jacob Larsson from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. The move adds a seventh defenseman to the Senators’ roster and leaves the team with a full active 23-man unit.
Larsson, 25, heads to the Senators’ roster with a chance to play in some more NHL games. He’s gotten three games in Ottawa so far this season, averaged just under 13 minutes of ice time in those games. The 2015 first-round pick arrived in Ottawa over the summer, signing a one-year, two-way league minimum deal with a relatively hefty $300K AHL salary.
Larsson’s play in the AHL has been somewhat uneven. While he’s managed to contribute on both special teams, he hasn’t been able to have the top-of-the-lineup impact many would hope he’d have at this stage of his career in the AHL. He’s scored nine points in 33 games this season, and as can be seen here is often playing on Belleville’s bottom pairing.
In Ottawa, the Senators are hoping to put together a quality run of games to get them into the playoff hunt so they can play meaningful hockey in the spring. While this recall of Larsson adds a seventh defenseman to their roster which gives them some valuable reinforcement, the team is likely better off if Larsson remains depth rather than a counted-on contributor to coach D.J. Smith’s blueline equation.
For Larsson, this recall presents an opportunity. While his AHL performance isn’t going to wow people, strong performance on an NHL stage could go a long way toward earning him his next contract. As things currently stand, the Senators will have a chance to retain Larsson beyond this season as he’ll be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent.
Matthew Peca Clears Waivers
Jan 27: Peca has cleared waivers and can continue to play with the Thunderbirds.
Jan 26: Two players are coming off injured reserve for the St. Louis Blues. Robert Bortuzzo is joining the active roster, while Matthew Peca, who has been on season-opening injured reserve, has been placed on waivers according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets.
Peca, 29, has spent the last two weeks on a conditioning loan to the AHL, where he recorded five points in six games for the Springfield Thunderbirds. His placement on waivers today allows him to continue playing for the minor league club, but requires activation from IR.
Of course, another team could also claim the depth forward. Through parts of several seasons, Peca has totaled 83 NHL games and scored 21 points. Last season for St. Louis he suited up just five times but was outstanding for the Thunderbirds, scoring 23 goals and 60 points in 68 games.
Bortuzzo, meanwhile, last played on January 7 and has appeared in 30 games for the Blues this season. The veteran defender has just one point in those games and averages 12 minutes a night in a very specific role.
Activating him now will give the Blues a bit more toughness and depth on the back end, but shouldn’t have much of an impact on their overall play. With him on the roster, the Blues are now carrying eight defensemen. Calle Rosen was the scratch in the team’s most recent game.