Ian Mitchell Recalled From Rockford
Dec 1: Wth Tinordi now heading to injured reserve, Mitchell is back up with the big club.
Nov 24: The Chicago Blackhawks, no longer without Seth Jones, have returned Ian Mitchell to the minor leagues. The opportunity for Mitchell was limited, and he’ll have to wait for his next NHL chance after being scratched last night.
Jones returned from a thumb injury and played more than 21 minutes for the Blackhawks in their game against the Dallas Stars, scoring a goal and recording three shots on net. All six Chicago defenders actually recorded at least one point in the 6-4 loss, with depth options like Jarred Tinordi even crossing the 18-minute mark.
In a normal situation, it might be surprising that the Blackhawks would send Mitchell back down given his obvious upside, but the team has been very careful to keep young players in Rockford this season. If the 23-year-old Mitchell was going to sit in the press box with the NHL club, they might as well give him back to the AHL so he can play in regular games. With seven other defensemen in Chicago seemingly ahead of him on the depth chart, it doesn’t make much sense to keep him up.
Patrik Laine, Elvis Merzlikins Activated From Injured Reserve
The Columbus Blue Jackets are getting healthier. Patrik Laine and Elvis Merzlikins have both been activated from injured reserve, with Daniil Tarasov loaned back to the AHL to make room. The move suggests both will be ready to return tomorrow against the Winnipeg Jets.
Laine, 24, has played eight games this season between two separate stints on IR and has just two goals so far. The Finnish sniper signed a four-year, $34.8MM deal in the offseason that secured his future with the Blue Jackets, and put him in line for a career year across from newcomer Johnny Gaudreau. Things haven’t gone according to plan, with Laine and a huge chunk of the Columbus roster spending more time on the shelf than the ice.
For Merzlikins, things haven’t gone well even when he was healthy. The 28-year-old netminder posted a .864 save percentage through nine appearances, his last coming on November 15. He has recorded a performance above .900 just once this season, and has allowed at least five goals in four of nine games. If the Blue Jackets have any chance of climbing back into the race, they need Merzlikins to find the level of play he showed as a rookie, when he finished fifth in both Calder and Vezina voting.
Coincidentally, Tarasov has actually been much closer to those numbers this season, posting a .912 in six appearances. While the team has faith in Merzlikins as the starter, they shouldn’t hesitate to go back to the young Tarasov if the former continues to struggle.
Ottawa Senators Recall Nikita Zaitsev
Another night another loss for the Ottawa Senators, who can’t seem to get things back on track for very long. The club was beaten 3-1 by the New York Rangers, and the pair of Nick Holden and Erik Brannstrom played fewer than 15 minutes each. Perhaps a change is coming, as Nikita Zaitsev has been recalled from the AHL today.
The 31-year-old defenseman has been pushed out of the lineup and off the roster this season, after playing at least 55 games in each of the last six years. In three games with the Belleville Senators, Zaitsev had no points and was a -3, similar numbers to those he had in his seven games with Ottawa.
Despite his cap hit, which places him as the second most expensive defensemen in the Senators organization, Zaitsev has been an inconsistent mess for the last few years. The player that scored 36 points as a rookie with the Toronto Maple Leafs is nowhere to be seen, and even his one-on-one defending – arguably his greatest skill when first arriving in North America – has deteriorated.
The Senators have to try something, though, as this season is slipping away from them one game at a time. The club is now 8-13-1 on the year, good for last in the Atlantic Divison.
Vancouver Canucks Recall Phillip Di Giuseppe
Nov 30: With Mikheyev fully back in the fold, Vancouver returned Di Giuseppe to Abbotsford Wednesday night, per the team.
Nov 29: After opting to waive him over a month ago, the Vancouver Canucks are bringing forward Phillip Di Giuseppe back up to the NHL. General manager Patrik Allvin announced his recall from the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks Tuesday night.
Di Giuseppe comes to the NHL to potentially relieve Ilya Mikheyev, who could miss tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals with an illness. Both Di Giuseppe and Mikheyev were on the ice for warmups ahead of the game.
Now 29, Di Giuseppe is in his second year with the Canucks organization. He’s yet to score a goal this season in Abbotsford but does have five assists through seven games after approaching a point-per-game pace last season.
He has 201 games of NHL experience split between Carolina, Nashville, and the New York Rangers, and his a capable fourth-line plug-in when required.
As he has not spent more than 30 days on an NHL roster since clearing, Di Giuseppe will not require waivers again when the team opts to return him to Abbotsford.
Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Zack Hayes
According to a team release Wednesday, the Carolina Hurricanes have acquired defenseman Zack Hayes from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for future considerations.
Hayes, 23, goes to the Hurricanes organization after two-and-a-quarter years in the desert. An undrafted free agent, Hayes signed a two-year entry-level contract with Vegas for the 2021-22 season after spending 2020-21 on an AHL contract with Vegas’ affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.
The 6’3″, 218 lb defenseman made his NHL debut last season, skating in three games while injuries decimated Vegas’ blueline. Things haven’t gone too well for him in the minors this year, though, registering a lone assist through 14 games after a ten-point year in 2021-22.
His game leans on the defensive side, though, and that’s what Carolina hopes Hayes provides to their organization. Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell called Hayes “an experienced leader who knows how to play physically on the back end.”
For the Golden Knights, the trade frees up a needed contract spot. The team was previously at the 50-contract limit, preventing them from making any additions. That can be especially tricky when injuries ravage an organization’s goalie depth, a situation Vegas knows well from their first year in the league.
It’s the second time this calendar year that the Hurricanes have exchanged future considerations for assets from the Golden Knights. Carolina more famously acquired Max Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan from the Knights in a salary-motivated transaction before this season. While future considerations are rarely ever put into play anymore, the Hurricanes are working up quite a debt of gratitude toward Vegas.
John Marino Dealing With Upper-Body Injury
After losing their winning streak in a defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs last week, the New Jersey Devils have jumped right back on the horse, taking home three more victories in recent days. The club is 19-4 on the year, and a huge part of that is due to allowing so few goals.
The Devils defense corps has been outstanding, with something of an unlikely lynchpin in newcomer John Marino. The 25-year-old has just eight points in 23 games but manages to tilt the ice in his team’s favor despite extremely tough deployment. New Jersey has outscored their opponents 21-8 at even-strength with Marino on the ice, even though he starts more shifts in the defensive zone than the offensive.
That’s why it’s such a big deal when the team announces Marino isn’t practicing today and is out with an upper-body injury. While he is considered day-to-day, it is a critical loss for the Devils.
Kevin Bahl is expected to slot into the lineup in his place should Marino be unable to go tomorrow against the Nashville Predators. Luckily, if you can call it that, the Devils do have an easier stretch coming up, with games against the struggling Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks.
Los Angeles Kings Make Several Roster Moves
Nov 30: After last night’s wild, 9-8 game, Fagemo has been loaned back to the AHL.
Nov 29: The Los Angeles Kings are always one of the busiest front offices in the league. They shuffle players up and down on a daily basis to save some extra cap, and reward young players with a few days of NHL salary. Today, the shuffle has a new name involved, as Jordan Spence has been recalled from the minor leagues. He’s coming along with Samuel Fagemo, while Lias Andersson has been loaned back to the AHL.
Spence, 21, has been in the minor leagues all season so far, once again dominating the AHL whenever he hits the ice. After scoring 42 points in 46 games last season, he’s off to an even better start with 16 in his first 17. That performance earned Spence 24 appearances with the big club last year, despite being barely out of junior hockey. The fourth-round pick scored twice and added eight points in those games, earning him a short look in the playoffs as well, when the Kings were shorthanded.
His recall today is interesting, if only because the team plays tonight and could insert him directly into the lineup. It’s not clear who would come out, but Alex Edler and Sean Walker both played limited minutes on Sunday as the team lost to the Ottawa Senators in overtime.
Andersson played 8:37 in that game – including just four shifts in the third period – his first appearance of the season at the NHL level. The 24-year-old continues to be a disappointment relative to his draft position (seventh overall in 2017) and can’t seem to lock down a regular spot.
Jordan Szwarz Re-Signs In DEL
Adler Mannheim of the German DEL announced six contract extensions today, among them former NHL forward Jordan Szwarz. The 31-year-old has signed through 2025, potentially ending any chance of a North American return.
Originally selected 97th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2009, Szwarz made his NHL debut in 2013 and played 50 games at the highest level over the years. A born leader, he was captain of three different AHL teams – the Portland Pirates, Providence Bruins, and Belleville Senators – before leaving for the KHL in 2020.
An all-around talent, he racked up 296 points in 478 AHL games before leaving. This year with Mannheim he has 13 points in 19 games and is playing a key role in the successful club.
Alexey Toropchenko Assigned To AHL On Conditioning Stint
It’s been a rollercoaster few months for Alexey Toropchenko. The 23-year-old forward underwent offseason shoulder surgery and was supposed to miss the first chunk of the regular season, but managed to be cleared by game one. He entered the lineup right away and has played in 15 games but there has been little production from the big Russian winger. So far, Toropchenko has just one point in 15 games, and it came at the end of October.
With his struggles in mind, the team has sent Toropchenko to the AHL for a conditioning stint, where he can hopefully get his game back in shape. The team has gone with 11 forwards and seven defensemen recently instead of dressing the young forward, as he just can’t seem to find a consistent performance so far this year.
Notably, Toropchenko can’t be sent to the AHL for an extended period of time without first clearing waivers. That is part of the problem for St. Louis, who would likely prefer to give him a long run with Springfield as they try to fix the NHL roster in another way. If waived, there seems to be a good chance the 6’6″ winger would be claimed, if only because of his size and relative youth.
It may still come to that at some point, if he can’t turn things around and the team feels it needs that roster spot for a different player. While they have turned it around a bit, the Blues are still just treading water in the middle of the Central Division standings, now at 11-11 on the year.
Boston Bruins Activate Derek Forbort
The Boston Bruins have officially activated Derek Forbort from long-term injured reserve, sending Anton Stralman down to the Providence Bruins at the same time. Stralman cleared waivers earlier today, meaning his entire $1MM cap hit can be buried in the minor leagues.
Many followers of the Bruins were confused when head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe that the team would not need any other moves to activate Forbort, since at first blush the CapFriendly page appeared to show a lack of cap space for the move. But that space was based on the $82,091,667 accruable cap space limit that the team set before the season when they first entered LTIR. With Forbort back, the team is now completely out of LTIR, and has a total cap hit of $82,454,167, just under the regular cap ceiling of $82.5MM.
It’s close, but the team doesn’t need to make another move and can continue with a 22-man roster.
Forbort, meanwhile, is coming back after a month on the shelf, last playing November 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The veteran defenseman had three points in his first ten games and was averaging more than 20 minutes a night, holding the fort while the team waited on some other pieces to return. Now that everyone is healthy, he’ll likely assume a lesser – but still important – role on the club, and try to help them continue their torrid start.
Stralman, meanwhile, is headed to the AHL for the first time in more than a decade. The last time he suited up in the minor leagues was during the 2008-09 season with the Toronto Marlies, before he had really established himself as a regular in the league. Nearly 900 games later and he’s headed back, though it will be interesting to see if another club goes after him as a trade target, now that he has cleared waivers.