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West Notes: O’Hearn, Innala, Ivan, Klingberg

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According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, the Chicago Blackhawks have hired Chris O’Hearn as their next vice president of hockey operations. O’Hearn brings an extensive legal background to the Blackhawks front office and is expected to help the team navigate the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the production of contracts.

After earning his Juris Doctor in 2007 from New England Law – Boston, O’Hearn joined the Phoenix Coyotes as the director of hockey administration for the 2012-13 season. O’Hearn moved up the chain of command relatively quickly, becoming the Coyotes’ assistant general manager behind John Chayka in 2015-16.

O’Hearn took a one-year hiatus from the NHL during the 2018-19 campaign before signing on with the Minnesota Wild in 2019-20 as director of hockey operations. General manager Bill Guerin promoted O’Hearn to assistant general manager ahead of the 2021-22 season. O’Hearn was tasked with contract negotiations and CBA matters, similar to what he’ll be tasked with in Chicago.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • The cap-strapped Colorado Avalanche are again using paper transactions to maximize their salary capture. Colorado announced they’ve reassigned forwards Jere Innala and Ivan Ivan to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Neither player found the scoreboard this afternoon against the Minnesota Wild but both should be expected back on the roster of Colorado’s upcoming game on Wednesday.
  • Don’t expect to see newly-signed defenseman John Klingberg to play for the Edmonton Oilers in the next few games. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported earlier that Klingberg is still a week out from game action. Although Klingberg has been working his way back to game speed over the last few months, it’s understandable he’ll need additional time given he hasn’t played in an NHL contest since November 11th, 2023.

Anaheim Ducks Reassign Sam Colangelo

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According to a team announcement, the Anaheim Ducks have reassigned forward Sam Colangelo to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. The roster move indicates one of Trevor Zegras or Brock McGinn will be activated from the injured reserve before Anaheim’s contest against the Florida Panthers tomorrow.

There is also a very real chance that this move could be performance-related. Colangelo has been more than impressive in his first full year in the AHL with 13 goals and 22 points in 24 games but that level of performance hasn’t translated to NHL action.

Colangelo has skated in 12 games for the Ducks this season over two separate call-ups. He went scoreless from November 19th to December 9th averaging 10:04 of ice time per game and managed only one in his recent four-game stretch averaging 12:46 of ice time per night.

As much as his AHL performance has given credibility to his being on an NHL roster, Anaheim simply needs more from Colangelo if they’re to keep him in the lineup. The Ducks have the league’s worst offense averaging 2.37 GF/G and need more production across the board.

Still, it won’t hurt Colangelo to return to the Gulls on a full-time basis. There are no expectations they’ll compete for playoff positioning in a tough AHL Pacific Division but Colangelo is still tied for the team lead in scoring with winger Sasha Pastujov.

Paper Transactions: 1/20/25

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Instead of recalling the recently reassigned Guillaume Brisebois, the Vancouver Canucks have gone in another direction. The Canucks announced they’ve recalled Mark Friedman from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

Vancouver is no longer dealing with any injuries to their defensive core indicating there were ulterior motives for Friedman’s call-up. It may be that the Canucks preferred a right-handed shot defenseman or one with more NHL experience to serve as their eighth defenseman.

The likely reason is that Brisebois would require waivers for another reassignment should he have spent eight more days on Vancouver’s roster whereas Friedman is still 13 days away. Friedman has been better in the AHL this year compared to Brisebois scoring six points in 20 games compared to the latter’s one point in 21 games.

Other paper transactions from around the league:

  • On just about every off day for the Dallas Stars this year, the organization has made a roster move and today was no different. Dallas announced they’ve reassigned forwards Matěj Blümel and Justin Hryckowian to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. Both forwards have frequently been taxi players for the Stars this season with the former scoring one goal and six games and the latter scoring one goal in five games. One or both of them are expected back on the roster tomorrow when Dallas squares off against the Carolina Hurricanes.
  • As it turns out, defenseman Erik Černák isn’t expected back in the lineup tonight for the Tampa Bay Lightning. In his absence, the team has opted to recall defenseman Maxwell Crozier who recently filled in for Černák in Tampa Bay’s last game. Crozier skated in 14:25 of the Lightning’s recent win against the Detroit Red Wings but was reassigned yesterday for cap-related motivations.
  • Since forward Valeri Nichushkin has yet to return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup, the team had to recall another forward before today’s game against the Minnesota Wild. The team announced they had recalled forward Jere Innala, who had recently been reassigned on Saturday. He hardly played in today’s contest, going scoreless over 4:12 albeit landing one hit.

Buffalo Sabres Activate Jiri Kulich, Reassign Tyson Kozak

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The Buffalo Sabres are taking one small step toward a completely healthy roster. The Sabres announced they’ve activated forward Jiri Kulich from the injured reserve and have reassigned forward Tyson Kozak to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, in a corresponding roster move.

Kulich has missed Buffalo’s last four games with a lower-body injury but he’s back in the lineup today as the Sabres take on the Seattle Kraken. He finally cracked Buffalo’s roster out of training camp this season after a few dominant years with AHL Rochester. Unfortunately, Kulich hasn’t been as effective as the Sabres may have hoped.

Similarly to his peers on offence, head coach Lindy Ruff has tried Kulich with multiple combinations throughout the season. He’s had the most success next to Zach Benson and Peyton Krebs but has also been made a healthy scratch numerous times. Overall, Kulich has scored seven goals and nine points in 31 games in Buffalo this year averaging 13:53 of ice time per game.

Kozak returns to the AHL after going scoreless in his last four games with the Sabres. The high-motor forward will look to build upon his quality junior season in the AHL having scored six goals and 12 points in 24 games which ties his career-high from a year ago.

Oilers’ Derek Ryan Clears Waivers

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Jan. 20: Ryan has cleared waivers and can be assigned to Bakersfield at will, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports Monday. That reassignment will pave the way for newly-signed defenseman John Klingberg to come off injured reserve when he’s ready to make his season debut.

Jan. 19: The Edmonton Oilers needed to make a few roster moves to stay cap-compliant thanks to newly-signed defenseman John Klingberg’s contract hitting the books today. According to a team announcement, the Oilers organization has placed depth forward Derek Ryan on waivers for reassignment to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, and have additionally reassigned defenseman Josh Brown.

It’s an unfortunate transaction for Ryan as he’s entered the twilight years of his NHL career. Ryan made his way to the NHL at the age of 29 during the 2015-16 season after an impressive run through European leagues, showcasing one of the more underrated stories of the last decade. After a brief three-year run with the Carolina Hurricanes, Ryan has been a key depth forward in Alberta since the 2018-19 season with the Calgary Flames and the Oilers.

His offensive production has decreased steadily throughout the years, similarly to his average time on ice. Ryan neared the 40-point plateau in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons before hovering around the 20-point total from 2021 to 2023 in Edmonton. Last year saw his biggest decrease in scoring over a full season, with Ryan only scoring five goals and 12 points in 70 games. His only true value anymore is his role in the faceoff dot, as Ryan has averaged a 55.2% success rate over 5,072 career draws, which is even more impressive considering 53.3% of his shift starts have been in the defensive zone.

Joining Ryan on the road to AHL Bakersfield is Brown, albeit unencumbered by the waiver wire. He’s primarily served as organizational depth on the blue line for the Oilers this year on a relatively expensive price tag of $1MM for the next three years. He’s tallied one assist in eight games in Edmonton this season averaging 11:29 of ice time per game.

Morning Notes: Halonen, White, Smith

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The New Jersey Devils have reassigned forward Brian Halonen and defenseman Colton White to the AHL’s Utica Comets. Both players served as extras for the team’s last few games. White didn’t step into the lineup at all during his three-day recall, while Halonen appeared in one game during his four days on the NHL roster.

Both players have served at the top of Utica’s lineup for the majority of the season. Halonen is leading the team in goals (13) and tied for the lead in points (21) through 31 games. White has also been productive, with 11 points in 26 games ranking him third on the blue-line in scoring behind Seamus Casey and Simon Nemec. Despite that, neither player has cracked into a routine NHL role. Halonen has earned the first three NHL games of his career between this season and last, though he’s still searching for his first point. White has 84 career NHL games and 10 points, but hasn’t played in the top league since 2022-23. With this move, the duo will return to fighting for a full-time move to the top flight with strong play in the minors.

Across the Metropolitan Division, the Carolina Hurricanes have once again assigned defenseman Ty Smith to the AHL, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. Smith has bounced between rosters all season long. He’s ultimately appeared scored two points in eight NHL games, and 10 points in 13 AHL games on the season. Smith has continued to be productive in the minor leagues, after being 43 points in 63 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season. He’s still a swing away from a routine NHL role, especially behind a loaded Hurricanes defense.

Pacific Division Paper Transactions: Kerins, Brisebois, Lekkerimaki, Olofsson

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According to Ryan Pike of Flames Nation, the Calgary Flames have reassigned forward Rory Kerins to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Pike adds that Kerins’ reassignment is a cap-related move and indicates Kerins should be back on the NHL roster by Monday.

It’s a testament to Kerins development that the Flames have no interest in keeping him with AHL Calgary. He’s gotten off to an impressive start in his NHL career with four assists in his first four games with a +4 rating averaging 13:33 of ice time per game. It shouldn’t be a surprise given Kerins has already scored 21 goals and 34 points in 34 games for the Wranglers this season.

Kerins will likely reprise his role as a full-time AHLer once forward Connor Zary is activated from the team’s injured reserve. Kerins is the only waiver-exempt forward on the roster outside of Matthew Coronato and Calgary will likely want to keep their fourth highest-scoring player on the roster. The only avenue for additional playing time at the NHL level for Kerins is if the Flames make a trade from the active roster or place one of their eight defensemen on waivers.

Other paper transactions from the Pacific Division:

  • The Vancouver Canucks are again making a cap-related transaction on one of their off-days. Vancouver announced they’ve reassigned defenseman Guillaume Brisebois and forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Lekkerimaki has been more oft-used by the club this season scoring two goals and one assist in 11 games this year averaging 13:47 of ice time per game.
  • Finishing off the list of cap-related transactions is the Seattle Kraken who have reassigned defenseman Gustav Olofsson to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds (per a team announcement). Oloffson has been in an unenviable position with the Kraken this season having been recalled on three separate occasions but has been healthy scratched for every available opportunity.

Detroit Red Wings Reassign Ville Husso

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Now that Alex Lyon has fully recovered from his upper-body injury and is expected to start tonight against the Dallas Stars, the Detroit Red Wings no longer require three goaltenders on the active roster. On the chopping block is netminder Ville Husso, who the team announced has been reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.

After passing through waivers unscathed at the beginning of the season, Husso is only one game away from needing waivers for reassignment again. There’s little chance he’s claimed given his subpar play this season and relatively high salary of $4.75MM but any team can become desperate for a goaltender at a moment’s notice.

Still, whether he departs via the waiver wire or unrestricted free agency, Husso is likely entering the last several weeks of his tenure with the Red Wings organization. Detroit acquired Husso as a restricted free agent from the St. Louis Blues in 2022 for a 2022 third-round pick and quickly signed him to a three-year, $14.25MM contract on the same day.

The Red Wings likely had high hopes for Husso to stabilize the team’s production between the pipes given he had just managed a 25-7-6 record in 38 starts for St. Louis with a .919 save percentage. Unfortunately, partly due to the poor defensive play in front of him, Husso has fallen well short of expectations in Hockeytown.

Over 82 starts in Detroit including eight this season, Husso has amassed a 36-32-11 record with the Red Wings with a .892 SV% and 3.26 goals-against average. According to Hockey Reference, despite some blame being laid at the feet of the team’s defense, Husso has produced a more than disappointing -25.6 goals saved above the average line and 3.34 adjusted goals against average.

For what it’s worth — Husso has been more productive at the AHL level, earning a 6-1-0 record over eight games in AHL Grand Rapids, with a .935 SV% and two shutouts. This may give a goalie-needy team confidence he can rebound under the right environment at the NHL level, but it’ll be difficult to gloss over his uninspiring play with Detroit.

Wild Return Dylan Ferguson From Emergency Recall, Place Jonas Brodin On IR

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Jan 19th: The Wild organization announced they’ve reassigned Ferguson to AHL Iowa from his emergency recall. The transaction indicates Gustavsson has recovered from his illness and will be an option against the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow afternoon.

Jan 18th: With Filip Gustavsson expected to be unavailable for tonight’s game against Nashville due to illness, the Wild needed to add another netminder.  They’ve made that move, announcing the recall of Dylan Ferguson from AHL Iowa on an emergency basis.  To make room on the roster, defenseman Jonas Brodin was placed on injured reserve.

After spending last season in the KHL, Ferguson returned to North America on a minor league deal with Iowa before being converted to a two-way NHL deal earlier this month.  The 26-year-old has played in nine games in the AHL this season, putting up a 3.70 GAA and a .881 SV%.  Ferguson has just three career NHL appearances, one coming as a junior-aged player with Vegas and two with Ottawa back in 2023.

As for Brodin, he has missed the last week and a half with a lower-body injury.  Assuming his IR placement was backdated, he’ll have already missed the required seven days and will be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return.  The veteran has 16 points and 67 blocks in 31 games this season, putting him on pace for one of his best offensive outputs.

The team also noted that David Jiricek’s recall has been converted from an emergency one to a regular recall.  He was brought up when Brodin was injured and this is simply a procedural move based on Brodin’s IR placement and the expected return of Brock Faber.

Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Maxwell Crozier, Erik Černák Questionable

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Jan. 18th: According to a team announcement, Tampa Bay has reassigned Crozier to AHL Syracuse. The transaction indicates Černák will be available for tomorrow night’s contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his only game with the Lightning this season, Crozier went scoreless in 14:25 of yesterday’s win against the Detroit Red Wings adding three blocked shots and four hits.

Jan. 17th: The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled defenseman Maxwell Crozier from the AHL Syracuse Crunch. The move could be an indication that Erik Cernak could be forced to sit out. Cernak left Tampa Bay’s Thursday win over Anahaim after just one shift. His injury has been left undisclosed, though he was designated as out day-to-day per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times.

Tampa Bay drafted Crozier in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He followed his draft selection with four years at Providence College, before turning pro with the Crunch at the end of the 2022-23 season. He’s primarily been a top-four defender in the AHL ever since, though Crozier did accumulate the first 13 games of his NHL career through various recalls last season. He managed two assists in those appearances. Crozier has served as one of Syracuse’s alternate captains this season and has nine points in 22 games. He’s scored eight of those points in his last eight games, putting him on a well-timed hot streak as he now heads to the NHL.

Cernak’s injury will open up upwards of 20 minutes on Tampa Bay’s defense. Darren Raddysh should be the primary beneficiary of those minutes, propping up his top-pair role next to Victor Hedman even more, while Nicklaus Perbix will return to his role in Tampa Bay’s top-four. Both Raddysh and Perbix have outscored Cernak this season, respectively netting 16 and 11 points to Cernak’s 10.

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