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Rangers Activate Chris Kreider, Reassign Bo Groulx

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The New York Rangers have activated winger Chris Kreider off of injured reserve and reassigned Benoit-Olivier Groulx to the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack, per Mollie Walker of the New York Post. Kreider has missed the Rangers’ last four games with an upper-body injury. He had three points in three games prior to his injury – the longest scoring streak of Kreider’s season.

It’s been a year to forget for Kreider. He has just 13 goals and 15 points in 34 games on the year, putting him on pace for a career-low 36 points across a full season. He ranks ninth on the team in scoring, despite receiving the fifth-most minutes, on average, of any Rangers forward. Even worse, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette chose to healthy scratch Kreider in their match against Tampa Bay on December 23rd, their last game before the holiday break. New York still lost that match 5-0, and didn’t rebound much when Kreider stepped back into the lineup. But the team has found some footing while he’s been on the shelf. They’re 3-1-0 in their last four games, already reaching four wins in January – a mark the team fell short of in December.

Filip Chytil also returned to full practices on Monday and Tuesday, per Walker, and could soon return from his own upper-body injury. If he does, Chytil and Kreider will likely both step into roles on New York’s third-line and second power-play unit. That will likely bump Jonny Brodzinski and Jimmy Vesey back out of the lineup. Brodzinski contributed a goal and an assist while serving as Kreider’s relief, while Vesey hasn’t scored since December 22nd. Also notable, Kreider and Chytil could line up next to Arthur Kaliyev at even strength. The Rangers claimed the 2019 33rd-overall pick off of waivers from Los Angeles last week. He’s since played in two games with his new club, recording three shots on net and three hits but so far no scoring. While a lineup shakeup is far from ideal for a Rangers team that seemed to finally be in a groove, the pair of returnees could be the piece that helps Kaliyev find his footing in New York.

Meanwhile, Groulx will return to the minors still waiting for his first game in the Rangers lineup. Groulx signed a one-year, two-way, league-minimum contract with New York this summer and received his first call-up of the season on January 10th. While he didn’t receive any NHL ice time, Groulx has been surprisingly productive in the minors – ranked second on the Wolf Pack in scoring with 11 goals and 29 points in 32 games. That type of production could soon make him an invaluable piece of New York’s bottom-six, and give Groulx a chance for a better NHL showing after posting just two points in 45 games with Anaheim last season.

Canucks’ Erik Brännström Clears Waivers

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Jan. 13: Brännström cleared waivers on Monday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He may now be assigned to AHL Abbotsford at will.

Jan. 12: The Vancouver Canucks have placed defenseman Erik Brännström on waivers, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK. Brännström hasn’t appeared in Vancouver’s lineup since Dec. 31.

Vancouver successfully waived Brännström before the start of the regular season and moved him between the NHL and AHL four times during the month of the waiver exemption he received. He became waiver-eligible once more in early November and has served as Vancouver’s seventh defenseman ever since.

Brännström has been under scrutiny for the past few seasons. The Golden Knights drafted him 15th overall in 2017, taking him just a few picks before players like Joshua Norris, Robert Thomas, and Jake Oettinger, and quickly flipped him to Ottawa in a deal for Mark Stone.

Brännström played one more year in Sweden’s SHL after his draft selection, posting 15 points in 44 games – impressive for a 19-year-old defender – and moved to the AHL in 2018-19. He continued to score well in North America, posting a collective 53 points in 77 games between his first two years in the AHL.

But he’s struggled to carry that productivity to the top flight. It took Brännström 40 career games before he managed his first NHL goal and five full seasons before he reached 20 points.

He finally hit that mark in 76 games with Ottawa last season, the most he’s played in one NHL campaign. That boost in scoring suggested that Brännström was a bright gem in a muddy role, sparking the Colorado Avalanche to sign him to a one-year, $900K contract this summer – and then trade him to the Canucks for a fourth-round pick in October.

Brännström worked his way up from Vancouver’s bottom pair to start the season and even managed a few games on the top pair in November and December. But he’s again struggled to score, with just eight points in 28 games this season.

Having already cleared waivers once this season, Brännström doesn’t seem a likely candidate to land somewhere new with this move. Instead, he’ll likely pass through clean and return to bouncing between the major and minor rosters.

He has three assists in two AHL games this season. Maybe returning to that hot scoring could be enough to help the 25-year-old defender finally find his footing as an NHL hopeful.

Islanders Reassign Jakub Skarek

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Jan. 13: Skarek was returned to Bridgeport on Monday, per the NHL’s media site (hat tip to Stefen Rosner of NHL.com). As such, Sorokin will likely be available tomorrow against the Senators after missing the Utah game with illness. Skarek backed up Hogberg in a 2-1 win for the Isles, so he’s still awaiting his NHL debut.

Jan. 11: With Ilya Sorokin dealing with an illness, the Islanders have had to turn to the minors to make a roster move before tonight’s game against Utah.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled goaltender Jakub Skarek from AHL Bridgeport.

The 25-year-old has been brought up several times over the years but has yet to make his NHL debut.  Skarek has played in 17 games with Bridgeport so far this season and has played to a 3.29 GAA and a .891 SV% while only winning four of those outings.  Those numbers are nearly identical to his career numbers at the AHL level where he has a 3.31 GAA and a .891 SV% over parts of six seasons.  With Marcus Hogberg (who will start tonight in Sorokin’s absence) already up, Skarek has been serving as the starter for Bridgeport in recent weeks.

Sorokin saw his save percentage drop by 16 points last season from .924 to .908.  Unfortunately for him and the Isles, that number has gone down six more points so far this year to .902 along with a 2.83 GAA in his first 30 starts.  In the first season of an eight-year, $66MM contract, it’s fair to say that New York was counting on him to be much more impactful this season.

The Islanders are using one of their two 48-hour goaltender exemption recalls, allowing them to exceed the 23-player roster limit temporarily.  As a result, no corresponding roster move needs to be made for the time being to add Skarek to the active roster.  Skarek will need to be sent down by Monday to stay compliant with the rule but could stay up if New York elects to send someone else down to open up a spot that way.

Blue Jackets Recall Daniil Tarasov, Reassign Jet Greaves

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled goaltender Daniil Tarasov from his conditioning assignment with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Tarasov played in two AHL games on his assignment. He allowed six goals on a hefty 65 shots, and led the Monsters to a 1-1-0 record. Columbus made room for the recall by reassigning Jet Greaves. Greaves led the team to a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, saving 31 of the 32 shots he faced.

Tarasov’s assignment became a bit of a saga after the young backup initially refused to move. He elaborated to Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch, sharing that the backup role is unfamiliar to him – and that he preferred to continue establishing his footing at the NHL level. Tarasov played in five of Columbus’ first seven games of the season, but totals just 10 appearances on the year to date. He’s recorded a 3-6-1 record and a career-low .857 save percentage.

Tarasov joined the Blue Jackets from the KHL’s Ufa Salavat at the start of the delayed 2020-21 season. He’s split time between the NHL and AHL lineups ever since, but has averaged just 14 NHL games and 7 AHL games due to frequent moves and injuries. He started to find his footing last season, appearing in 24 NHL games – the most Tarasov has played in a single North American league – and recording a .908 save percentage. That performance helped Tarasov win out the NHL backup role entering this season, though he still hasn’t able to climb above a healthy Elvis Merzlikins – who’s receiving a lion’s share of the starts. A move to the minors was a chance for Tarasov to sharpen his skills, and his quick return seems to be a bode of confidence from Columbus to their backup.

Avalanche Activate Scott Wedgewood, Reassign Trent Miner

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The Colorado Avalanche have activated backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood off of injured reserve. Wedgewood was controversially injured in Colorado’s January 2nd matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, after Sabres forward Zach Benson fell awkwardly on his right leg and then scored seconds later. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar shared strong words over the incident, telling ESPN that letting the goal stand was “insanity” to him. Wedgewood was placed on injured reserve the next day, and has missed five games since.

The Avalanche’s goaltending room has shored up in Wedgewood’s absence. Newcomer Mackenzie Blackwood has been near-unbeatable, posting a 2-1-1 record and .951 save percentage in four games without the veteran backup. Blackwood was acquired to be Colorado’s go-to guy, a move they doubled-down on by signing him to a five-year, $26.2MM contract extension quickly after his fifth game with the club. Blackwood has totaled eight wins and a .939 save percentage in 11 games with the Avalanche. That strong performance will take the load of of Wedgewood, who appeared in six of the team’s 13 games through the month of December while they acquired and acclimated Blackwood. Wedgewood performed well in the pseudo-starting role, posting a 4-2-0 record and .932 save percentage – enough to pull Colorado into strong winning tendencies after a 13-12-0 record through October and November. Those strong performances will make Wedgewood a strong number-two, should Blackwood cool down.

To make room for Wedgewood’s activation, Colorado has assigned goaltender Trent Miner back to the minor leagues, per Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now. Miner received the first start of his NHL career on Wednesday. He allowed three goals on 20 shots to Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, ultimately enough to lose the game 3-1. Miner also stepped into 35 minutes of Colorado’s November 15th matchup against Washington and allowed one goal on 13 shots. He has otherwise been a minor-league starter, stepping into 16 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He’s set an 8-5-3 record and .903 save percentage in the top role, stout numbers but surprisingly the lowest save percentage of the Eagles’ four goalies this year. Miner worked his way up to heavy AHL minutes last season. He spent the bulk of the early season in the ECHL, but soon earned a shift to the AHL after posting a .917 in 11 games. Miner didn’t squander his AHL opportunity, tallying a 9-6-1 record and .930 in 18 games to end the year. With this move, he’ll get a chance to repeat that process again this year – looking for enough footing in the minors to challenge Wedgewood’s spot as NHL backup.

Atlantic Notes: Ullmark, McCabe, Stolarz, Rifai, Savard

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The Senators got some good news on the injury front on Friday as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch notes that goaltender Linus Ullmark was back on the ice on Friday for the first time since suffering a back injury before the holiday break.  Head coach Travis Green indicated that he’s hopeful that the veteran will be able to return to practice soon which is the next hurdle to clear before he can return.  After a slow start to his season, Ullmark has a 1.48 GAA with a .957 SV% in his last ten outings which helped briefly propel them into one of the Wild Card spots in the East.  But since he went down, the Sens have won just one of their last seven games, making his eventual return a top priority.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe skated today as he works his way back from an upper-body injury sustained in a fight last weekend, shares Nick Barden of The Hockey News (Twitter link). However, head coach Craig Berube noted that there’s no timeline for a return but that the veteran is doing well.  McCabe has 11 points, 68 blocks, and 72 hits in 36 games this season while his 20:52 ATOI – a career-high – sits third among Toronto defenders.
  • In a separate note from Barden (Twitter link), he relays that Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz could resume skating as soon as this week as he gets closer to returning from a knee injury. Stolarz underwent surgery last month and was given a timeline of four to six weeks to return.  Next week will mark the four-week mark so it appears he’s on track in his recovery.  The 30-year-old was off to quite a strong start before getting hurt as his .927 SV% through his first 17 starts still leads the league.
  • After papering him back to the Marlies on Thursday, the Maple Leafs have once again recalled defenseman Marshall Rifai, per the AHL’s transactions log. While banking cap space isn’t the goal here with Toronto, shuffling him down on non-game days delays his waiver clock.  Rifai played two games with the Maple Leafs last season, his only NHL action thus far.
  • The Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that defenseman David Savard will return to the lineup tonight against Dallas. The veteran had missed the last four games with an upper-body injury.  A pending unrestricted free agent, Savard has 10 points, 90 blocks, and 31 hits in 35 games this season while logging 18:37 per night of playing time.

Capitals Place Charlie Lindgren On IR, Recall Hunter Shepard

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The Capitals will be without Charlie Lindgren for at least the next week.  The team announced that they have placed the goaltender on injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least the next seven days.  Taking his place on the roster is netminder Hunter Shepard who was recalled from AHL Hershey.

Lindgren suffered an upper-body injury in the second period of Friday’s game against Montreal.  Brandon Duhaime pushed Nick Suzuki into the goalie, causing Suzuki to hit Lindgren’s head.  He stayed in the game momentarily but was eventually pulled with Logan Thompson taking over.

Lindgren signed with Washington as a backup goalie in 2022 but had a breakout showing last season, posting a 2.67 GAA, a .911 SV%, and a league-best six shutouts in 50 games.  With Thompson in the fold, Lindgren isn’t playing as much this season but has a 2.65 GAA and a .900 SV% in his first 21 starts, a decent start to his contract year as a pending unrestricted free agent.

As for Shepard, the 29-year-old made four starts for Washington last season in his first taste of NHL action.  He had a stellar showing in the minors last season, putting up a 1.76 GAA along with a .929 SV% in 34 games, winning the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s most outstanding goaltender.  However, things haven’t gone as well in the first half of this year as Shepard has posted a 2.68 GAA and a .898 SV% in 23 contests with the Bears.  He’ll serve as Thompson’s backup while Lindgren is out.

Predators Recall Kieffer Bellows

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The Predators have added some extra depth up front heading into their game against Washington.  The team announced that they have recalled winger Kieffer Bellows from AHL Milwaukee.  Nashville had two open roster spots so no corresponding moves needed to be made.

The 26-year-old spent last season on a minor-league deal with Toronto.  He was quite productive with the Marlies, tallying 27 goals and 22 assists in 52 games in his first extended AHL stint since the 2018-19 campaign.  That helped him earn some NHL interest last summer as he signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Preds on the third day of free agency, a deal that pays $775K in the NHL and $225K in the minors.

Bellows cleared waivers at the start of training camp and has been with the Admirals all season.  He hasn’t been quite as productive as last season but still has 12 goals and 10 assists in 31 outings, good for second on the team in scoring; their top scorer, Vinnie Hinostroza, was brought up in late December.

Bellows has 95 career NHL appearances under his belt.  Most of those came with the Islanders but his most recent stint at the top level came with Philadelphia who claimed him off waivers in 2022-23 (before non-tendering him that summer).  Between the two teams, Bellows has 14 goals and 14 assists along with 199 hits while averaging 11 minutes a night of playing time.

Rangers Recall Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Reassign Brett Berard

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The New York Rangers are making a small swap at the bottom of their forward core. The organization announced they’ve recalled Benoit-Olivier Groulx from their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, and reassigned Brett Berard in a corresponding roster move.

According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, the roster move should be short-lived. Walker shares that center Filip Chytil is a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s contest against the Vegas Golden Knights leaving the Rangers without any extra options down the middle.

Should Chytil’s injury prohibit him from playing tomorrow night, Groulx will likely make his debut with the Rangers. He had spent the first four years of his professional career with the Anaheim Ducks organization before signing a one-year, $775K contract with New York as an unrestricted free agent this past summer.

He’s quickly become the top AHL call-up option at center for the Rangers. Groulx has scored 11 goals and 29 points in 32 games for the Wolf Pack this season good for second on the team in scoring behind Alex Belzile.

Berard may suit up for Hartford given they have a few upcoming home games this weekend. He won’t be down in the AHL long given how he’s played for the Rangers this season. He’s scored three goals and seven points in 19 games averaging 11:20 of ice time in the team’s bottom six.

Despite playing nearly half as many games as the rest of his teammates in New York, Berard has already climbed to 13th on the team in hits with 27. He still has a few things to clean up defensively but Berard’s physicality and ability to stay out of the penalty box has made him a solid addition to the Rangers this season.

Utah Hockey Club Recalls Connor Ingram, Reassigns Jaxson Stauber

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The Utah Hockey Club has recalled goaltender Connor Ingram from his conditioning stint in the minor leagues. Ingram was assigned to the minors in late December, after recovering from an upper-body injury suffered on November 18th. He has sat out of Utah’s last 22 games, and made his return to the lineup in the Tucson Roadrunners’ Wednesday win over the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Ingram saved 29 of 30 shots in that game, good for a .967 save percentage in his first AHL game since the 2021-22 campaign.

Ingram will return to a very different goaltending room. He served as Arizona’s starter last season, posting a 23-21-3 record and .907 save percentage across 50 appearances. That was enough for Ingram to hold onto the starting role through the franchise’s move to Utah, but he came out of the gates ice-cold in his new setting. Ingram posted a measly .871 save percentage and 6-4-3 record in 13 games prior to his injury. That poor performance put all the momentum behind Karel Vejmelka as he stepped into the starting role in Ingram’s absence and looked to reclaim stake of Utah’s starter’s crease. Vejmelka has seemed to do just that, posting a .915 record and 8-7-3 record since Ingram’s injury. Vejmelka has slowed down in his last handful of games – evident by a 1-4-1 record and .907 Sv% in his last six – but he’s nonetheless made a strong claim to hold onto the starting role. Both goaltenders have plenty of experience serving as an NHL starter, and how Utah decides between them could define the team’s push for a Western Conference wild card.

To make room for Ingram’s return, Utah has also assigned goaltender Jaxson Stauber back to the minor leagues. Stauber played in four games while filling in for Ingram. He recorded a 2-1-1 record and .925 save percentage, bringing his career totals up to a 7-2-1 record and .916 save percentage in 10 NHL games. Stauber has been just as productive in the minors, going 5-2-0 and setting a .930 in seven games with Tucson this season.

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