Florida Panthers Recall Zac Dalpe, Matt Kiersted
The Florida Panthers recalled center Zac Dalpe and defenseman Matt Kiersted from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers on Monday, according to the AHL’s transactions log.
Florida is taking advantage of some added and much-needed roster flexibility created by Patric Hornqvist heading for long-term injured reserve. With some players out for just a handful of games at a time and the team pressed up against the salary cap, the Panthers had dressed fewer than 18 skaters at times in recent weeks and were relying on $0 emergency recalls to have a full roster.
Dalpe heads up to restore Florida’s number of healthy forwards on the active roster to 12. Aleksander Barkov and Anton Lundell are both day-to-day with an illness and upper-body injury, respectively, which forced them to ice 11 forwards and six defensemen in their last game.
If neither Barkov nor Lundell can return tomorrow, the Panthers will take on Winnipeg with Dalpe in the lineup. A veteran of 154 NHL games and the Checkers’ captain, Dalpe suited up once for Florida last season and has 10 goals in 19 games to lead Charlotte in 2022-23.
Kiersted, an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of North Dakota two years ago, has appeared in 27 NHL games for Florida over the past three seasons. He’s had a rough start in the minors, notching just one assist in 12 games with the Checkers, and has a -6 rating. He comes to the roster as insurance, expected to be a healthy scratch unless the Panthers suffer additional injuries to their defense corps.
Washington Capitals Recall Hunter Shepard
After Darcy Kuemper was forced to leave the game for the Washington Capitals over the weekend, the team recalled Hunter Shepard from the AHL to serve as an extra goaltender. Kuemper is listed as day-to-day.
Shepard, 27, has never appeared in an NHL game and is only in his third season of professional hockey, but has been outstanding for the Capitals organization to this point. Starting in the ECHL, he dominated in 2020-21 for the South Carolina Stingrays, and went 3-0 during a short AHL stint. He was back in the ECHL for most of last season as well, but once again was outstanding whenever called up to the Hershey Bears, this time posting a .922 save percentage in nine appearances.
This year, as a full-time member of Hershey, he has a .932 in eight games, failing to lose a single one in regulation. Overall, since turning pro, Shepard has a .919 in the ECHL and a .934 in the AHL – not bad for an undrafted free agent goaltender who didn’t sign an NHL deal until he was 25.
Still, losing Kuemper for any length of time would leave the Capitals in a tough situation. Backup Charlie Lindgren has not been good this season, and the team is already struggling to stay relevant in the Metropolitan Division playoff race. Washington is 10-12-4 on the year and sit sixth in the division, having allowed 83 goals in 26 games.
Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Kirill Marchenko
Play the kids. The Columbus Blue Jacket’s season hasn’t gone anywhere near according to plan, so it’s time to see what they have in another youngster. Kirill Marchenko has been recalled from the AHL after just 16 games in North America.
Marchenko, 22, was the 49th overall selection in the 2018 draft, with an understanding that he wouldn’t be coming over for several years. Finally, after spending the last several seasons in the KHL, the young forward signed his entry-level contract last spring and made the trip to play with the Cleveland Monsters this year.
The AHL has proven to be no challenge for the young forward, as Marchenko has eight goals and 19 points in 16 games for Cleveland, though there are still some inconsistencies in his game. He is on a five-game point streak and should soon get a chance to show what he can do in the NHL.
Interestingly, it is Trey Fix-Wolansky who has been sent back to make room, after his own four-game stint with the Blue Jackets. Fix-Wolansky is the Monsters’ leading scorer with 22 points in 14 games, but standing just 5’7″ offers a very different skill set than the 6’3″ Russian.
The Blue Jackets have a back-to-back coming up tomorrow and Wednesday, where they will face the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. Now sitting just 8-13-2, with several key injuries, it has turned into something of an evaluation season for the Columbus front office, instead of a competitive one.
Florida Panthers Recall Chris Tierney On Emergency Basis
Chris Tierney may finally be getting his chance to return to the NHL, as the Florida Panthers announced they’ve recalled the forward from the Charlotte Checkers on an emergency basis. No corresponding move was made, but the recall comes a day after the team was forced to play a man short when Anton Lundell was ruled out with an upper-body injury. Florida’s next game comes Tuesday evening in Winnipeg against the Jets.
Last night wasn’t the first time the Panthers were forced to play a man down and is the result of a somewhat risky strategy of carrying a roster of just 18 skaters and two goaltenders most of the time. This strategy isn’t a new analytical experiment or something of the kind, but is instead forced due to the Panthers’ tight cap situation, using nearly all of their available LTIR space before adding in reinforcements.
Because Florida played a man short last game, they’re able to recall Tierney on an emergency basis without carrying his cap hit, per CapFriendly. Tierney will now give Florida an extra skater for Tuesday’s game in the case that Lundell cannot play, or at least someone to draw in should a similar situation present itself.
As for Tierney, the veteran forward signed a one-year, two-way contract with Florida this summer for the league minimum after the Ottawa Senators failed to re-sign him. Once an exciting young piece of the San Jose Sharks, Tierney was dealt in the Erik Karlsson trade and hit a career-high in points with 48 in his first year with Ottawa before seeing his production steadily slip year after year. This will be Tierney’s first time back on an NHL roster since last season, and he’s earned his recall, recording 16 points in 19 AHL games thus far.
Colorado Avalanche Recall Charles Hudon
The Colorado Avalanche have recalled forward Charles Hudon, the team announced. No other corresponding move was made, though it does come on the heels of forward Artturi Lehkonen‘s injury that forced him to leave last night’s game. While there was no other move announced, this would seem to bring their roster over the 23-man limit, meaning that another transaction could come shortly. After placing defenseman Josh Manson on IR yesterday, the team had recalled defenseman Andreas Englund on an emergency basis.
Following a run to the Stanley Cup last season, Colorado’s injury woes have been a well-documented story so far in this young campaign, which seems to be compounded each day. At the very least, Hudon is no stranger to the NHL and should slot in nicely as a veteran presence, even if he can’t replace one of the several top-six forwards the team has lost.
The 28-year-old Hudon is a former Montreal Canadiens draft pick and veteran of 125 NHL games, all with Montreal, though none since 2019-20. His best season came back in 2017-18, where the forward scored 10 goals to go with 20 assists in 72 games. The Quebec native was off to a strong start to this season with the Colorado Eagles, the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, with 16 points in 20 games. Given all of their injuries, especially up front, the Avalanche will need Hudon to bring some of that magic up with him to help keep the team in the hunt.
New York Islanders Recall Robin Salo
December 4: The route between Bridgeport, CT and Elmont, NY is rather traffic heavy, and Robin Salo can probably confirm. The Islanders announced this afternoon that Salo has once again been recalled from the AHL. It’s unclear if he’ll slot into the lineup tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks, however he did play in Bridgeport’s game yesterday against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Newsday’s Andrew Gross was the first to report the transaction.
November 30: Salo is headed back to Bridgeport, the Islanders announced Wednesday afternoon. He was a healthy scratch for the game against the Flyers, and the team will likely keep shuttling him up and down so that he isn’t sitting for too long. He hasn’t dressed for the NHL Islanders since October 20.
November 28: After going down to play in yesterday’s Bridgeport Islanders game, Robin Salo is right back with the big club today. The young defenseman will be available for tomorrow’s match against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Salo, 24, recorded an assist for Bridgeport, his first point of the season at the AHL level. He’s only played twice at the minor league level so far, suiting up four additional times for New York in a season of scratches.
Selected 46th overall in 2017, Salo now has 25 NHL appearances under his belt, but can’t seem to find a regular place in the Islanders lineup. With so many nights in the press box, getting a game in at the AHL level was necessary to keep Salo sharp.
Toronto Maple Leafs To Place Calle Jarnkrok On IR
According to Sports Illustrated’s David Alter, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be placing winger Calle Jarnkrok on IR. In response, the Maple Leafs announced that they are recalling forward Semyon Der-Arguchintsev from the Toronto Marlies, their AHL affiliate. Jarnkrok’s IR placement was needed in order for the Maple Leafs to recall Der-Arguchintsev. Still, despite the need for a roster move to accommodate Der-Arguchintsev, the team has not confirmed Jarnkrok’s IR placement.
Jarnkrok suffered a groin injury during Wednesday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks, ultimately leaving the game early without a return. By Friday, Toronto was able to fully assess the forward and head coach Sheldon Keefe told the media the team would be without Jarnkrok for two weeks at the least. The Swede has fit in well with the Maple Leafs during the first of a four year, $8.4MM contract he signed this offseason, recording five goals and four assists in 25 games to date.
A third-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2018, Der-Arguchintsev has shown to be a quality professional hockey player thus far. After a strong OHL career with the Peterborough Petes, the Russian-born forward returned home for part of the 2020-21 season, where he recorded six points in 17 KHL games before coming back to North America and suiting up for the Marlies, where he’s been since. The 22-year-old had 32 points in 51 games last season, showing he belonged in professional hockey, but has turned it up a notch this season with 18 points in 20 AHL games. If he gets into game action for the Maple Leafs, it’ll be his NHL debut and after his consistent improvement year over year, it’ll be a debut the Maple Leafs should be excited about.
Snapshots: Voracek, Capitals Goalies, Vegas Injuries
Just this Friday, the Columbus Blue Jackets announced injury updates on a number of players, including forward Jakub Voracek, who has been battling lingering effects of a concussion suffered early this season. With that announcement, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen clarified that Voracek did not necessarily have a timetable and that the team was going to give him time to see if his symptoms subsided before a return to the ice was considered. Today, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline published a more in-depth look at Voracek’s situation, speaking personally with Kekalainen on the expectations around the veteran winger, and things may look worse than they had seemed at first.
The executive acknowledged to Portzline that Voracek may very well be looking at an earlier retirement than expected. Kekalainen added “I’m more worried about him having a normal life.” Lingering concussion issues are always a serious concern for any player and team in whatever sport it may be, however the original news that the team was giving him time away appeared to be more of a long-term injury concern. With today’s report though, it seems a return to the ice might not even be a guarantee. Voracek, 33, is a veteran of 15 NHL seasons including this one, five as a Blue Jacket and 11 as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.
- The Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals, announced this afternoon that they’ve signed goaltender Justin Kapelmaster to a PTO ahead of their game today. Normally, we’d put this news in a Minor Transactions piece, however NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti makes an interesting observation with impact on the Capitals. As Gulitti writes, the PTO could mean that one of Hershey’s goaltenders is headed to Edmonton to meet the Capitals after starting netminder Darcy Kuemper left last night’s game with an upper-body injury. Washington currently has Zachary Fucale and Hunter Shepard under contract and playing for the Bears, along with Charlie Lindgren already on the NHL roster.
- The Vegas Golden Knights announced, via head coach Bruce Cassidy, that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will miss tomorrow night’s game in Boston against the Bruins, while forward Jack Eichel will be a game-time decision. Pietrangelo has missed the last three games for Vegas for undisclosed personal reasons, last playing November 26th. While the reason for the absence isn’t any clearer than that, Vegas does return home after Monday’s game, which may be a preferred time for the defenseman to rejoin the team, as opposed to meeting them on the opposite coast for the one game. As to Eichel, the nature of his absence is still unclear.
Kings Loan Aidan Dudas To AHL
12/4/22: Per a team announcement, Dudas has been loaned back to AHL Ontario.
12/3/22: The roster shuffling in Los Angeles has been rather frequent in recent weeks although it has often involved the same few players. That isn’t the case this time around as the team announced that they’ve recalled center Aidan Dudas from Ontario of the AHL.
This will be the 22-year-old’s first promotion to the full NHL roster after only previously having a pair of one-day taxi squad stints in the 2020-21 campaign. Dudas, a fourth-round pick of the Kings back in 2018 (113th overall), has played in 18 games with the Reign this season and is tied for the team lead in goals with six. He’s in the final year of his entry-level deal and will be a restricted free agent this summer so it appears they want to take at least a quick look to see how he is progressing.
Los Angeles was only carrying 22 players on their active roster following the re-assignment of Tyler Madden to Ontario on Friday. As a result, they didn’t need to make an additional move to open up a spot for Dudas to be recalled.
Vancouver Canucks Activate Jack Studnicka
Earlier this evening, the Vancouver Canucks announced they have activated forward Jack Studnicka off of IR. No corresponding move was announced, and with Studnicka bringing the roster to a complete 23 players, no move was needed. Vancouver will host the Arizona Coyotes this evening.
Although the Canucks seem to have some other big pictures issues to deal with when it comes to turning their season around, such as Brock Boeser‘s production and Thatcher Demko‘s performance, and now injury, getting Studnicka back to health and rounding out the team’s depth is surely welcomed. The forward has just a goal and an assist so far this season in eight games, seven of which have come with Vancouver, but the once highly-touted prospect does have a knack for offense, turning in 35 points in 41 games at the AHL level last year. Getting some level of that production out of the winger at the NHL level would be much welcomed at this point in the season.
The 23-year-old was originally a second-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins back in 2017 and while he had played in parts of four seasons with Boston, he was never able to settle in as a regular contributor. Boston dealt him to Vancouver back in late October for goaltender Michael DiPietro and defenseman Jonathan Myrenberg.