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Edmonton Oilers Recall Brad Malone

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The Edmonton Oilers have added to their roster, calling up forward Brad Malone from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

The 33-year-old Malone has gotten into two games for the Oilers so far this year, and has played in ten for the Condors. He has five points in those ten games with the Condors and is relied upon as priority organizational depth due to his leadership qualities and sound two-way game.

Last season, Malone scored 39 points in 52 AHL games, playing as an all-situations, heavily relied-upon center. His quality play not only earned him minutes in two of the Oilers’ playoff games, it also earned him a contract extension in the summer.

Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft in particular trusts Malone to fill in when injuries strike the Oilers, and part of that trust can likely be attributed to Woodcroft’s time coaching Malone when Woodcroft was the bench boss of the Condors. With Kailer Yamamoto not yet ready to return to the lineup, Malone draws in to provide some safe bottom-six play.

Dallas Stars Re-Assign Matej Blumel; Expected To Recall Matt Murray

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Nov 18: The Stars have sent Blumel back down, this time after playing four games and scoring his first NHL goal. With Scott Wedgewood’s injury last night, Murray is expected to be recalled.

Nov 9: Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill announced today that the team has recalled forward Matej Blumel from the AHL’s Texas Stars. In a corresponding transaction, the team also loaned goalie Matt Murray to Texas.

Murray returning to Texas indicates that star netminder Jake Oettinger will be ready to return to the lineup soon. Oettinger has been out with a lower-body injury since leaving an October 29 game against the New York Rangers. His .952 save percentage and 1.40 goals-against average remain first in the NHL.

The “other” Matt Murray didn’t receive any game action during his week-and-a-half call-up, but he returns to Texas where he excelled with a 2-2-0 record and a .926 save percentage to start the year.

Blumel could be in line to make his NHL debut soon after lighting it up with 11 points in his first nine AHL games. The 6′ 0″, 198 lb forward spent the past three years with HC Dynamo Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga after the Edmonton Oilers selected him 100th overall in 2019. They failed to sign him to an entry-level contract, though, paving the way for the Stars to sign him last summer. He was called up to Dallas for three days in late October without making an appearance.

Alec Regula Returned To AHL; Ian Mitchell Recalled

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Nov 18: As expected, Mitchell has been recalled from the minor leagues.

Nov 17: The Chicago Blackhawks don’t play again until Saturday, and they’ve cleared a bit of salary off the roster in the meantime. Alec Regula has been sent down to the AHL, clearing up another roster spot for whatever the Blackhawks do next.

That could just be Regula coming back up in a day or two, saving the team some money – he’ll earn the AHL salary of his entry-level contract while in the minor leagues – but it could also hint at a different move. Seth Jones has been on the ice the last few days but just yesterday head coach Luke Richardson told reporters including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that the team is going to wait seven to ten days before getting another x-ray done. His return is not imminent.

It could be Ian Mitchell’s recall, after he has shown exactly why many believed he would be on the Blackhawks roster to start the year, had it not been for injury. The 23-year-old defenseman has two goals and five points in his three games since being activated from injured reserve and sent to the Rockford IceHogs.

With the Blackhawks really struggling on defense without Jones in the lineup, at least one recall is expected. The team has several options and if they truly want to stay competitive, as Richardson claims, they can’t keep icing the same group that gave up five to the St. Louis Blues last night.

Doubting the veracity of that claim is fair, given the offseason that the Blackhawks had. Some might say that things are now going to plan, with a 2-5-3 record in their last ten.

Detroit Red Wings Re-Assign Austin Czarnik

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For the fourth time this season, Austin Czarnik is headed to the AHL. The Detroit Red Wings have sent him back down after just two days on his most recent recall, one that didn’t come with any game action.

The 29-year-old forward is getting a chance to play for his hometown team this season, and even scored in his second game with Detroit. But the suddenly deep forward group of the Red Wings doesn’t leave much room for him on a regular basis, even when dealing with a handful of injuries. The team activated Tyler Bertuzzi from injured reserve a few days ago, meaning Czarnik was sitting in the press box last night in San Jose.

Now that the team is back east, playing in Columbus tomorrow before a five-game homestand, they don’t need to carry the extra forward. Sending Czarnik down stops his waivers clock and saves the team some cap space until they need him again.

In four games so far this year, Czarnik has scored one goal and recorded six hits. His play at the minor league level has been much more impressive (as usual), with five goals and ten points in eight games for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Rem Pitlick Returned To AHL

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The Montreal Canadiens have sent Rem Pitlick back to the AHL after just a couple of days and no game action, as Mike Matheson is expected to make his return soon. Even if he’s not ready for tomorrow’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Canadiens are at home for the next two and don’t need the extra body traveling with them.

Pitlick, 25, was held scoreless through seven games before eventually finding himself on waivers. The shiny new two-year contract he signed with the team in July didn’t save him from being sent down, meaning the Canadiens are now paying him over $1MM to suit up for the Laval Rocket. The shifty forward has three assists in three AHL games, after scoring 26 in 46 matches with Montreal last year.

Matheson, meanwhile, hasn’t played yet for Montreal after being acquired in the offseason from the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was in a regular jersey at practice on Wednesday and should be back soon. What that means for the Canadiens defense isn’t clear. Eric Engels of Sportsnet recently wrote how it could actually affect fan favorite Arber Xhekaj, as he, Jordan Harris, and Kaiden Guhle are the only waiver-exempt defensemen on the roster. Activating Matheson would give the team eight blueline options, and reduce the amount of flexibility up front.

Getting a change on the back end might not be the worst idea for a team that has given up 15 goals in its last three games. Even with the Columbus Blue Jackets missing half their lineup, Montreal still managed to give up six goals last night in a loss. Xhekaj and Johnathan Kovacevic each played fewer than 16 minutes in the game.

Snapshots: Pastujov, Wedgewood, Kings Defense

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We are, presumably, still a few months away from the NHL’s blockbuster trading season, however the hot stove in the WHL, QMJHL, and OHL is red hot, with a few blockbusters already completed. The OHL’s Sarnia Sting managed to make one of their own tonight too, acquiring forward and Anaheim Ducks prospect Sasha Pastujov from the Guelph Storm. Heading back to Guelph will be forward Max Namestnikov along with a 2022 second-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 fifth-round pick, and 2026 fifth -round pick, all in the OHL draft.

Pastujov, 19, was a third-round selection by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2019 NHL Draft, who has put up massive numbers for Sarnia since joining them after a stint with the USNTDP prior. In just 14 games to start this season, Pastujov has 11 goals and eight assists, building on his sensational 2021-22 campaign where he recorded 34 goals and 42 assists in 65 games.

  • Having recently got goaltender Jake Oettinger back from injury, the Dallas Stars were surely hoping to keep their goaltending duo intact for as long as possible, however backup netminder Scott Wedgewood was forced to leave tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers, and it did not look good. The injury happened as Wedgewood made a stop against forward Anton Lundell on a breakaway. Lundell was kept off the scoresheet, but Wedgewood remained on the ice for some time before a stretcher was brought out to help the ailing goaltender off the ice. Through seven games to start the season coming into tonight, the 30-year-old carries a 3.21 goals-against average and .903 save-percentage. The Stars added that Wedgewood is “okay” and being further evaluated in their locker room. In this sense, okay may not necessarily mean uninjured, but instead as a reference to the scary situation as Wedgewood was unable to leave the ice himself.
  • Earlier today on TSN’s Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun touched on the Los Angeles Kings and their envious predicament of having too many defenseman. As a response, the team has placed defenseman Brandt Clarke on a conditioning loan in the AHL and Jordan Spence, who has proven to be a capable NHL defenseman, is currently a teammate of Clarke’s with the Ontario Reign of the AHL. LeBrun notes that teams have been wondering if the Kings are or will be willing to trade from their defensive depth, however it appears Los Angeles has indicated they are planning to hold onto their defenseman, at least for now.

Tyler Benson Assigned To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The Edmonton Oilers are now one step closer to getting forward Tyler Benson back in the lineup. The winger has now been assigned to the Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton’s AHL affiliate, on a conditioning loan, says Bakersfield. It’s still unclear when the Oilers expect Benson to rejoin the NHL squad, however they will have 14 days with which to get Benson back into game shape and assure he can be fit onto the NHL roster. Edmonton currently has just under $3.6MM in available LTIR space, though Benson represents $750K of it, and 22 of 23 roster spots spoken for.

Benson’s injury came at a tough time for the 24-year-old who figured to make the team out of training camp as an effective low-cost depth forward. The winger has been working to establish himself as a regular in the Oilers lineup, playing in 29 games with the team last season. With Edmonton facing a tough salary cap situation this season, getting Benson back healthy won’t necessarily have the impact getting Evander Kane back in the lineup would, but should give the team an affordable player capable of playing NHL minutes.

At issue for Benson, a former second-round pick of the Oilers, is his production. In those 29 games last season, the winger had just two points, despite being an offensive force down in the AHL. In 18 games with Bakersfield last season, Benson had 12 points, as well as 36 points in 36 games the year prior, and a career-high 66 points in 68 games back in 2018-19. Edmonton’s need for affordable depth should give Benson another chance to prove he belongs at this level even after this injury setback, but he’ll likely need to shine this time around.

Winnipeg Jets Recall Ville Heinola

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Earlier this month, the agent for Ville Heinola told The Hockey News that his client deserved “a shot to play a run of games to show he can do it” at the NHL level. The young defenseman has been bounced up and down between leagues for his whole career so far, failing to get much consistency from the Winnipeg Jets organization. Perhaps now the squeaky wheel will get some grease. Heinola has been recalled to the Jets roster after they moved Mason Appleton to injured reserve.

Of course, given that Appleton is a forward, this could just be more time in the press box for Heinola. The Jets have allowed the fewest goals in the league so far this season and already had seven defensemen on the roster. If he does get in, there’s certainly no guarantee he stays there, though his play in the minor leagues once again suggests he’s ready for a bigger role in the organization.

Since almost the moment he was drafted 20th overall in 2019, Heinola has been on the fringe of the NHL. He made the team out of camp just a few months after being picked, and recorded five points in eight games with the Jets as a rookie. He played another five games the year following, and 12 last season. Interspersed with those short NHL stints have been stretches in the AHL, where he has 45 points in 74 games, but that is sort of where the problem lies. Now in his fourth season in the organization, he has played just 99 regular season games in North America (plus 19 in Finland while leagues here were shut down).

It’s hard to know exactly what Heinola is at this point with such little playing time, though one thing you can be sure of is that he’s not a big, physical presence. As the league moves more and more toward length and reach on defense, some players like Heinola are left on the outside. None of the other seven Jets defensemen are under 6’0″, and the smallest one, Neal Pionk, might be the most physical.

There is definitely NHL upside in the 5’11” Heinola, but it remains to be seen whether the Jets will give him that “shot” he is looking for. At least he’ll be making the NHL portion of his contract for the duration of this latest recall.

Montreal Canadiens Recall Rem Pitlick; Jonathan Drouin Out 4-6 Weeks

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The Montreal Canadiens will be without Jonathan Drouin for the next four to six weeks, as he continues to deal with an injury suffered earlier this month. The veteran forward has actually been playing through it, after first suffering it against the Vegas Golden Knights on November 5. In the three games since Drouin posted two points.

To take his place, the Canadiens have recalled Rem Pitlick, who recently cleared waivers and was with the Laval Rocket. The 25-year-old Pitlick had three points in three games with the AHL squad after going scoreless through seven NHL contests to start the year. A surprise last season when he had 26 points in 46 games for Montreal, Pitlick should get another chance to play, especially after the 5-1 teardown the Canadiens experienced last night.

The team is now 8-7-1 on the year, and really only has a few players to count on for offensive contributions. If Pitlick can add a bit of scoring punch, he’ll likely find his way into the lineup on a regular basis.

Drouin has officially been placed on injured reserve to bring the roster back down to 23.

Colorado Avalanche Recall Anton Blidh

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After moving forward Shane Bowers to injured reserve last night, the Colorado Avalanche has refilled his spot on the active roster. Colorado has now recalled forward Anton Blidh from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, as announced by the team Tuesday night.

Blidh, 27, has skated in just one NHL contest thus far in 2022-23 after suiting up a career-high 32 times for the Boston Bruins last season. The 2013 sixth-round pick signed a one-year, two-way contract with Colorado in free agency in August.

His lone appearance this season came in an October 19 overtime loss against the Winnipeg Jets, recording a shot and a hit in just 6:09 of play. Blidh was returned to the Eagles the following day.

While he is not waivers exempt, he will not require waivers for nine more NHL games or 26 more days on the Avalanche roster, whichever expires sooner. Blidh cleared waivers pre-season on October 10.

Colorado does not play again until November 17, when they begin a three-game road trip against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh.

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