Snapshots: Nedeljkovic, Draisaitl, Latimer, AHL Trade
Not too many players receive Calder Trophy votes in two separate seasons. Detroit Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is one of those players. The former Carolina Hurricanes netminder lead an impressive rookie campaign down south before a surprising trade to the Red Wings that summer. Since the trade though, Nedeljkovic has struggled to adjust, slipping to a 3.31 goals-against average and .901 save-percentage. Things haven’t gone his way this season either, slipping further to a troubling 4.09 goals-against and .880 save-percentage.
With those struggles, many have wondered what Detroit will do with the goaltender, who is now the third-string behind starter Ville Husso and backup Magnus Hellberg. Some have wondered if a conditioning stint will be next for Nedeljkovic, who hasn’t played since December 8th. Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde told Michigan Live’s Ansar Khan that discussion of a conditioning stint hasn’t happened yet, but “[e]verything is on the table.” Lalonde added that the team will need that roster spot eventually with players coming back from injury, so “something will probably shake down.”
- Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl, who missed last night’s game against the Seattle Kraken, is unlikely to play tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, says TSN’s Ryan Rishaug. Draisaitl, who Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said was nursing some bumps and bruises, didn’t practice Thursday either. The 27-year-old has 21 goals and 36 assist through 36 games this season. With Edmonton’s struggles, despite having Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in the lineup, they’ll need the former back in the lineup as soon as possible to keep things rolling.
- Ottawa Senators prospect Carson Latimer has been dealt in the WHL. The former Prince Albert Raiders forward will be heading to the Kootenay Ice in exchange for forward Aiden Oiring, a third-round pick in 2024, and a conditional third-round pick in 2025. Latimer has spent parts of four seasons with Prince Albert and the Edmonton Oil Kings, sitting on 28 points through 31 games thus far in 2022-23.
- The Colorado Eagles and Hartford Wold Pack completed a small trade in the AHL earlier today, reports NHL.com and AHL.com’s Patrick Williams. Forward Ben Tardif is heading to Hartford while defenseman Luke Martin will be heading to Colorado. Tardif, 22, has four points through 15 games in the AHL this year, as well as nine points in seven ECHL games. The ability for offensive dominance is there for Tardif, who had 59 points over 53 ECHL games last year. Martin, 24, was a second-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2017, and though he hasn’t made his NHL debut yet, he’s also dominated the ECHL with 68 points in 84 games on the backend over this season and last.
Arvid Soderblom Out Week-To-Week
The Chicago Blackhawks got bad news today regarding one of their organization’s goalies, Arvid Soderblom. Per the Blackhawks’ AHL Affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, Soderblom will be out for the next two to three weeks with a groin injury.
This news comes as a setback for Soderblom, 23, during what has been a poor start to his AHL season. In five games there, Soderblom has a 1-3 record, a 4.17 goals-against-average, and a grisly .862 save percentage.
He’s spent most of the year in the NHL as the Blackhawks dealt with injuries to Alex Stalock and Petr Mrazek. He hasn’t fared much better there, although he was admittedly playing behind one of the league’s worst teams. In 15 NHL games this year Soderblom has a 2-10-2 record, a 3.45 goals-against-average, and a .894 save percentage.
Having suffered this injury, Soderblom will now be out of action for the next few weeks. In his absence, the IceHogs will lean on goalies Dylan Wells and Jaxson Stauber with Wells possibly first in line for an NHL call-up.
Florida Panthers Loan Anton Levtchi To AHL
The Florida Panthers have loaned forward Anton Levtchi to their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.
This move comes after Levtchi earned his first-ever NHL call-up four days ago. After making his NHL debut and getting into another game, Levtchi is headed back to Charlotte.
Levtchi, 27, is an undrafted forward who is in the middle of his first season in North America. The left winger has spent the past several years at Tappara Tampere in the Finnish Liiga, and he’d developed into one of the league’s very best scorers.
In 55 games last season Levtchi scored 26 goals and 61 points. This year, he’s spent most of his time in the AHL, where he’s found moderate success. He has 13 points in 24 games, and now he heads back to the AHL having gotten a taste of NHL action.
Minor Transactions: 12/30/22
The NHL is getting back into the swing of things as the holiday break wraps up and the calendar turns to 2023. It also means that activity is heating up at minor and junior levels of the sport, especially as some teams keep their eyes locked on the ongoing World Junior Championships. We’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions right here.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins reassigned prospect Jordan Frasca to the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers today. He was up in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he’s yet to record a point in three games. Frasca signed with the Penguins as an undrafted free agent earlier this year after a 42-goal, 87-point season with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs last year.
- Arizona Coyotes prospect Manix Landry was dealt in the QMJHL today, with the Gatineau Olympiques dealing him to the Drummondville Voltigeurs in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2024 QMJHL draft. Landry, Gatineau’s captain, has been injured since the second game of the season.
- NHL veteran defenseman Matt Bartkowski has found a permanent home for the rest of the 2022-23 season. The AHL’s Rochester Americans converted his PTO into a full AHL contract for the remainder of the season today. He’d played 20 games for Rochester this year, where he has five points.
Vegas Golden Knights Recall Sheldon Rempal
The Vegas Golden Knights recalled forward Sheldon Rempal from the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights on Friday, according to a team tweet.
Rempal, 27, is in his first season in the Vegas Golden Knights organization. The undrafted free agent out of Clarkson University began his professional career in 2018-19, signing with the Los Angeles Kings and making his NHL debut.
Since then, he’s spent time in the Carolina Hurricanes and Vancouver Canucks organizations, getting into NHL games with each team. He’s suited up 11 times in the NHL across three seasons but is still looking to record his first NHL point.
He’s been a solid minor-league presence after a sophomore slump in 2019-20. He was among the AHL’s leaders in points per game last season when he tallied 33 goals and 36 assists for 69 points in just 55 games with the Abbotsford Canucks. It led to him signing a two-year contract with Vegas this past offseason, receiving a hefty minors salary of $450,000.
Rempal’s pace in Henderson is still respectable but not quite at last season’s level. He has seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points in 30 games, which still leads the team.
With four forwards (Jonathan Marchessault, Paul Cotter, Jack Eichel, Brett Howden) out due to injury, Vegas is beginning to reach deeper into their system for scoring depth. Expect Rempal to make his season debut on New Year’s Eve tomorrow while Pavel Dorofeyev sits as the 13th forward.
Lawrence Pilut Clears Waivers
Dec 30, 1:20 pm: Pilut has now cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Buffalo is free to reassign him to the AHL.
Dec 29, 2:49 pm: Buffalo Sabres defenseman Lawrence Pilut has been placed on waivers, according to CapFriendly. If Pilut clears waivers, he’ll be eligible to be assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
Pilut, 26, has spent most of the season in Buffalo after being originally called up in late October. The Swedish blueliner hasn’t been there for his offensive production — he’s scored just three points — but he’s chipped in sporadically on the penalty kill (he averages just under a minute played per game shorthanded) and given his team over twelve minutes of ice time per night.
The Sabres announced that defenseman Jacob Bryson would be returning to the lineup tonight, meaning Pilut’s placement on waivers cleared the roster spot necessary to facilitate Bryson’s return from injured reserve.
As he costs just $750K and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, it’s possible a team in need of some low-cost reinforcement on their back end will place a claim on the former SHL star.
The Sabres are likely hoping he passes through waivers and can be assigned to Rochester, though. Pilut has been extremely successful in Rochester in the past, such as when he scored 26 points in 30 games there as a rookie in 2018-19.
The Americans have had the second-worst power play in their division so far this season, so perhaps if he clears waivers Pilut can be of assistance there.
The Americans’ top-scoring defenseman is Ethan Prow, who has just 13 points in 26 games. Should Pilut clear waivers and spend an extended period in Rochester, he should quickly become their go-to offensive option from the back end.
Calgary Flames Re-Assign Dennis Gilbert, Recall Radim Zohorna
Dec 30, 11:13 am: Less than 24 hours later, Calgary has brought Zohorna back up to the roster from the Wranglers. Calgary plays tomorrow against the Vancouver Canucks.
Dec 29, 12:54 pm: The Calgary Flames, fresh off a win against the Seattle Kraken and headed home for a game on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks, have sent two players to the minor leagues. Dennis Gilbert and Radim Zohorna have been assigned to the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL for the time being.
The moves will allow the Flames to bank a little more cap space over the next few days, as they continue to prepare for a trade deadline without much wiggle room.
Gilbert was only activated from injured reserve yesterday and has played just a single game for the Flames over the last month. The 26-year-old has one point in eight NHL appearances this season, averaging just over ten minutes a game.
Zohorna, meanwhile, went scoreless in his five games with the team earlier this month – all five of which the Flames ended up losing. The 26-year-old was nabbed off waivers at the beginning of the season from the Pittsburgh Penguins but hasn’t quite made the impact some expected.
It is very likely that at least one if not both will be back up when the Flames go on the road again next week.
Snapshots: Hajek, Manninen, Nosek
It’s been a tough stretch for defenseman Libor Hajek with the New York Rangers. After being one of the two rather intriguing prospects acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Ryan McDonagh/J.T. Miller trade nearly five years ago, he hasn’t panned out as a regular on Broadway (much like the other acquired prospect, Brett Howden).
Hajek’s now been scratched for a seventh straight game and has been leapfrogged on the depth chart by younger players and AHL veterans alike, notes The New York Post’s Larry Brooks. Head coach Gerard Gallant called out Hajek’s consistency as the reason for his consistent benching. The 24-year-old has a lone goal in 16 appearances this season, playing below 14 minutes per game.
- With injuries beginning to pile up again for the Vegas Golden Knights, some wondered about European free agent signing Sakari Manninen as a potential call-up option for the minors. However, The Athletic’s Jesse Granger said today that Manninen is week-to-week with a lower-body injury and hasn’t played for the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights in nearly a month. The internationally successful Finn has 12 points in 20 games with Henderson this year, his first in North America.
- After missing yesterday’s game, the Boston Bruins said Tomas Nosek‘s absence was more precautionary as he works through “maintenance.” However, the issue may be a bit more severe than that, as he wasn’t a full participant in practice this morning. Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald did note that Nosek skated on his own before practice.
New York Islanders Place Oliver Wahlstrom, Simon Holmstrom On IR
New York Islanders wingers Simon Holmstrom and Oliver Wahlstrom have been moved to injured reserve, according to a team tweet Friday morning. Both are out with lower-body injuries, although Wahlstrom is out indefinitely while Holmstrom is day-to-day.
Wahlstrom’s IR placement, which is retroactive to December 27, is a bit different than anticipated. Newsday’s Andrew Gross reported Wednesday that the team believed Wahlstrom had sustained a head injury in their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins the night before. While Wahlstrom still figures to be out of the lineup long-term, it’s not with the head injury that was reported initially.
Meanwhile, Holmstrom could return at any time, given the shorter-term nature of his injury. His IR placement is retroactive to December 23, so his seven-day minimum stay on injured reserve ends today.
Wahlstrom is putting up respectable numbers this season, especially given his paltry usage of 12:10 per game. His 16 points in 35 games are tied for seventh on the team, and he’s easily within striking distance of his career-high 24 points.
The 21-year-old Holmstrom has played in his first 14 NHL games this season after the team drafted him 23rd overall in 2019. He scored his first NHL goal earlier this month against the Vegas Golden Knights and has two points on the season. If other injured Islanders forwards return to the lineup before he does, he could likely be returned to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders after coming off injured reserve.
Calgary Flames Activate Dennis Gilbert
Dec 28: It appears the Flames have activated Gilbert off of IR this evening, per CapFriendly. A closer look at the Flames’ roster page shows Gilbert listed on the roster among the other healthy players.
Dec 21: DeSimone could be staying on the Flames roster for a few days, at least. Calgary today converted his emergency call-up into a full-time one, per CapFriendly.
Dec 20: The Calgary Flames have lost Dennis Gilbert for at least a week, as the defenseman was placed on injured reserve today after leaving Sunday’s game early. Nick DeSimone was elevated from the AHL to take his place on the roster.
Gilbert left the game after a fight with Jonah Gadjovich of the San Jose Sharks just nine shifts into his night. It’s tough timing for a player who was only recalled that day and was playing in his eighth game of the season.
His cap hit now will stay on the books for Calgary, a tough break for a team that needs every dollar. The team could have sent him back down and buried his entire $750K contract otherwise.
DeSimone, another minor league veteran, will potentially get the chance to suit up against his old organization, should he enter the lineup tonight in a rematch against the Sharks. The undrafted defenseman spent parts of five seasons with the San Jose Barracuda, wearing an “A” as an alternate captain in the last two.
In four games this season with the Flames, he has yet to register a point.