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Hurricanes Recall Ty Smith; Shayne Gostisbehere Out With Upper-Body Injury

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The Hurricanes had recalled defenseman Ty Smith on five separate occasions earlier in the season but he never got into a game.  It turns out the sixth time will be the charm.  Earlier today, the team announced that they once again promoted Smith from AHL Chicago.  However, they also revealed (Twitter link) that blueliner Shayne Gostisbehere was scratched for tonight’s game against New Jersey due to an upper-body injury.

Smith was acquired by Carolina last season at the trade deadline as part of the Jake Guentzel trade but hadn’t suited up for the Hurricanes before tonight.  The 24-year-old has played in 13 games with the Wolves so far this season, collecting three goals and seven assists.  Smith has 123 career NHL appearances under his belt between New Jersey and Pittsburgh but last saw action at the top level in January 2023.

As for Gostisbehere, he has been quite productive in his return to Carolina after signing a three-year, $9.6MM contract he signed back in July.  Through 35 games, he has six goals and 21 assists while logging 19 minutes a night.  He leads all Hurricanes blueliners in scoring while sitting third in points overall among all Carolina players so his absence will certainly be notable.  The team didn’t reveal any potential timeline for his absence.

Blue Jackets Activate, Assign Jordan Dumais

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated top prospect Jordan Dumais off of season-opening injured reserve and loaned him to the AHL. Dumais missed the majority of Columbus’ training and development camps this summer, and earned an IR placement on October 7th, due to a nagging lower-abdominal injury connected to a fractured hip suffered in January. He underwent surgery in late-January but couldn’t return to full health in time for the end of the 2023-24 season. The Cleveland Monsters have three games remaining in 2024, giving Dumais a slim window to play in any regular season games this year. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic adds that Dumais was headed for another surgery this summer, before hitting a positive swing in his training.

Dumais’ hip and abdominal injury put a sore end to a truly fantastic juniors career. He scored at unprecedented rates in four years with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, headlined by 109 points in his draft year and 140 points the year after. The latter season broke Halifax’s single-season scoring record, while the former ranks fifth. He was headed for more records at the start of last season, scoring 47 points in 21 games prior to injury –  a full-season pace of 143 points in 64 games. And while he wasn’t able to reach those heights, his 119 goals and 325 points in 193 career games with the Mooseheads still both rank as franchise-records.

Despite the incredible scoring, many aren’t convinced about how Dumais will translate to the pro flight. He’s earned his points through quick dekes and smooth skating, giving him a unique ability to sneak around opponents with the puck on his stick. But he only stands at five-foot-nine and 175-pounds – a frame that assuredly doesn’t lend itself to slick deking against NHL hitters. Fears over his size and projectability landed Dumais in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft, going 96th-overall to Columbus. He vindicated their faith quickly at the juniors level, but has been delayed in doing the same in the pros. This roster move should be the first step towards discovering where Dumais’ true upside lies, so long as he continues to trend towards full health.

Kings Recall Andre Lee From AHL

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The Los Angeles Kings have recalled forward Andre Lee from the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League. Lee was sent to the AHL on December 24th, after making his first NHL appearance in December last Sunday. The 24-year-old Lee has spent the bulk of this season playing in the NHL for Los Angeles, dressing in 17 games and registering two points.

Before this year, Lee had spent his entire professional career in the AHL with the Reign. His AHL appearances have been limited this season, dressing in just four games and registering a goal and an assist. Over the course of his four-year AHL career, Lee has dressed in 109 games and tallied 15 goals and 11 assists.

The former seventh-round pick doesn’t provide much offense but is a good forechecker and can make space for his linemates. However, he isn’t overly physical given his 6’4” 205-pound frame and may need to find other ways to produce if he hopes to stick around in the NHL.

Lee spent the first month of the season in Los Angeles, but since then he has bounced back and forth between the NHL and AHL and will likely continue to do so for the remainder of this season unless he can start to produce a bit of offense in a bottom six role.

Jets Recall Dylan Coghlan; Haydn Fleury Out Week-To-Week

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While he cleared waivers just last week, Dylan Coghlan’s time in the minors was short-lived.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled the blueliner from AHL Manitoba.  Meanwhile, TSN’s John Lu notes (Twitter link) that blueliner Haydn Fleury is listed as week-to-week with his knee injury while Dylan Samberg will miss at least another five days as he works his way back from a foot injury.

Coghlan was acquired from Carolina back in July in exchange for future considerations, signing a one-year, two-way deal soon after.  He has been on Winnipeg’s roster for most of the year but that hasn’t resulted in much playing time as he has played just once with the Jets so far.  After clearing waivers last week, he got into two contests with the Moose, scoring once.  In the short term, Coghlan will likely resume his role as a reserve defenseman.

Fleury, meanwhile, tried to skate this morning after being injured on Monday against Toronto but it evidently did not go well, leading to this week-to-week designation.  The 28-year-old is in his first season with Winnipeg after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them in the summer and has held down a regular spot in the lineup most nights.  Fleury has six assists in 25 games thus far while blocking 44 shots in over 17 minutes a night of action.  With an extended absence on the horizon, he’s likely to land on injured reserve in the coming days.

As for Samberg, he missed the last month due to his foot injury.  Head coach Scott Arniel indicated that the blueliner will skate on his own for the next five days before being reassessed.  Speculatively, he’ll need a few days of practice and being cleared for contact from there so his return is still likely more than a week away.  Samberg has played in 21 games so far this season, notching three goals and three assists while logging over 20 minutes a night, nearly five minutes a game higher than his ATOI last season.

Rangers Activate K’Andre Miller, Assign Chad Ruhwedel To AHL

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The Rangers will welcome back a key blueliner on Saturday as Mollie Walker of the New York Post relays (Twitter link) that defenseman K’Andre Miller has been activated off injured reserve.  In a corresponding move, the team announced (Twitter link) that blueliner Chad Ruhwedel has been returned to AHL Hartford.

Miller has missed a little more than two weeks with an upper-body injury but was believed to be nearing a return before the holiday break so it comes as little surprise that he has been activated now.  It has been a rough year for the 24-year-old as he has not been able to get back to the form he had over the past two seasons.  After putting up 43 points in 2022-23 and 30 last season, Miller has been limited to just two goals and four assists in 28 games so far this year despite still logging over 21 minutes a night.

The timing of his struggles certainly isn’t ideal from Miller’s perspective.  He’s in the final season of his two-year bridge deal and will be a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights.  At that time, he’ll be owed a $4.646MM qualifying offer but while it looked like he’d vastly exceed that a year ago, that’s less likely to be the case now.  Meanwhile, with the team struggling, he’s among the players who have been speculated as potential trade chips as GM Chris Drury looks to reshape his roster.

As for Ruhwedel, he has been shuttled back and forth throughout the last six weeks but NHL playing time has been hard to come by.  The 34-year-old has played in just five games with New York so far, collecting one assist in a little over 14 minutes a night of playing time.  A veteran of 369 career NHL appearances, Ruhwedel will certainly be among the first recall options whenever another defender is banged up.  Ruhwedel also has three assists in 11 appearances with Hartford.

Stars Recall Lian Bichsel, Reassign Justin Hryckowian

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Dec. 27: Bichsel ended up back on the Stars’ roster today but not Hryckowian, per the club. As such, they won’t be carrying an extra forward for tonight’s game. They have two open spots on their active roster.

Dec. 24: According to the AHL transactions page, the Stars reassigned Hryckowian back to AHL Texas a day after their recent game against the New York Rangers and reassigned Bichsel earlier today. Both players are expected back on the NHL roster before Dallas’ upcoming matchup against the Minnesota Wild on December 27th.

Dec. 20: The Dallas Stars have recalled defenseman Lian Bichsel & forward Justin Hryckowian from their American Hockey League affiliate the Texas Stars (as per Dallas Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine). The forward recall could be necessary as Mason Marchment couldn’t finish Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Bichsel made his NHL debut on December 12th and scored his first NHL goal. The 20-year-old posted another goal on Monday night against the Washington Capitals. During his four NHL games, Bichsel averaged a tick over 15 minutes of ice time per game. During his 21 AHL games, Bichsel has posted a +8 plus/minus as well as 26 PIM along with three goals and six assists. Bichsel looks like an NHL player at the moment, and a good argument could be made that he has done all he can in the AHL, however, during his most recent recall there were several prominent moments where he was outplayed.

Hryckowian received his first call-up to the NHL earlier this month on December 2nd but didn’t see any NHL action. In the AHL, he currently leads all Texas scorers with 23 points (nine goals and 14 assists) in 25 games. His +14 rating is tops among all AHL forwards.

The Stars are back in action tonight against the New York Rangers. Depending on the status of Marchment, it’s very possible that Hryckowian could make his NHL debut.

Flyers Recall Olle Lycksell

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Dec. 27: Lycksell has been recalled from Lehigh Valley again with the holiday break soon to be in the rearview mirror, the team announced. He’ll be on hand for the Flyers’ West Coast road swing over the next week. Philadelphia’s active roster is full again with $2.31MM in current cap space, per PuckPedia.

Dec. 22: Philadelphia announced they’ve reassigned Lycksell to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He skated in 10:58 of last night’s win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, registering three shots on net.

Dec. 21: The Flyers have added a bit of forward depth to their roster heading into tonight’s game against Columbus.  Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia relays (Twitter link) that Philadelphia has recalled winger Olle Lycksell from AHL Lehigh Valley.  They are now carrying the maximum of 23 players on the roster.

This move comes on the heels of center Sean Couturier not being at the morning skate today.  It’s unknown if Lycksell’s recall is related to that or if someone else’s availability for tonight is in some question.

The 25-year-old has had plenty of offensive success in the minors but it hasn’t translated to much production with the Flyers.  Last season, Lycksell had 19 goals and 20 assists in 38 games with the Phantoms which earned him 18 appearances in Philadelphia.  However, he wasn’t able to muster up much with them, collecting just one goal and four helpers in those outings while logging just 9:57 per game.  That lack of production contributed to Lycksell clearing waivers back in October.

This season, it has been more of the same for Lycksell in Lehigh Valley as he has nine goals and 15 assists in 25 appearances which has helped him earn his first promotion of the season, even if it’s likely to be a brief one with the holiday break fast approaching.

International & Minor Transaction Notes: Chartier, Gosselin, Johnson

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Rourke Chartier has been traded for the first time in his professional career albeit in the Kontinental Hockey League. Derek O’Brien of The Hockey News wrote earlier that the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star had traded Chartier to CSKA Moskva for cash considerations.

The centerman played admirably with the Red Star, scoring eight goals and 17 points in 37 games, but Kunlun has fallen in the KHL’s Western Conference Standings with only 11 wins on the year. Chartier will join third-place Moskva alongside former NHL talents such as Ivan Prosvetov, Nikita Nesterov, and Denis Gurianov.

Chartier suited up in the NHL as recently as last year with the Ottawa Senators. He spent three years within the Senators organization collecting two goals and three points in 43 NHL contests with another 37 goals and 66 points in 82 games with AHL Belleville. Chartier spent the first three years of his professional career with the San Jose Sharks scoring 30 goals and 74 points in 121 AHL contests and one goal in 13 games for the Sharks during his lone NHL season with the club in 2018-19.

Other international and minor transactions:

  • According to the AHL transactions page, the Utica Comets, the top affiliate of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, added some defensive depth to the lineup. The team signed defenseman Kurt Gosselin on a professional tryout agreement and he could play in his first AHL contest since the 2018-19 season. Gosselin has spent the last four years hopping around numerous ECHL franchises playing for the Cincinnati Cyclones, Toledo Walleye, Kalamazoo Wings, Reading Royals, Orlando Solar Bears, and the Adirondack Thunder. He’s scored 24 goals and 61 points in 167 ECHL contests while managing a -4 rating.
  • Mathieu Sheridan of The Hockey News reports former AHL forward Isaac Johnson has signed a contract with the Finnish Liiga’s Jukurit. Johnson has only managed 30 AHL games between the Manitoba Moose and Toronto Marlies since joining the professional ranks in the 2021-22 season scoring three goals and eight points overall. He has a much better track record in the ECHL — scoring 64 goals and 139 points in 125 games for the now-defunct Newfoundland Growlers while managing a solid +31 rating.

Maple Leafs Recall Matt Murray, Reassign Dennis Hildeby

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Dec. 26: Murray will get another crack at NHL minutes in the coming days. The team announced Thursday that he’s back on the roster with Hildeby heading back to the minors, indicating that he’ll start either tomorrow against the Red Wings or Saturday against the Capitals.

Dec. 21: Matt Murray’s return to the NHL was short-lived, at least for now.  The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned Murray to AHL Toronto while recalling netminder Dennis Hildeby.

Murray made his first NHL start in more than 600 days on Friday in Buffalo where he turned aside 24 of 27 shots in the win.  The 30-year-old also has a 1.85 GAA and a .939 SV% in eight appearances with the Marlies.

This demotion isn’t a performance-based one but one that appears to be made with waivers in mind.  Murray cleared waivers in training camp and thus is waiver-exempt until he either plays ten NHL games or is up with the big club for 30 days.  With the holiday break approaching and Joseph Woll likely to start their remaining two games before then, it then makes sense to send Murray down and stop the clock on the number of days he’s up.  With Anthony Stolarz out for four-to-six weeks, Murray would almost certainly become waiver-eligible again if he stayed up the full length of Stolarz’s absence.

As for Hildeby, he has won two of his three NHL starts this season and conceivably could get some work in with Stolarz out as well though he’s likely to be flipped with Murray again before too long.  The 23-year-old also has played six times for the Marlies, posting a 2.73 GAA with a .895 SV%, numbers that are well down from the 2.41 GAA and .913 SV% he had in 41 outings in 2023-24.

Penguins Place Owen Pickering On IR, Reassign Nate Clurman

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12/25: Nate Clurman has been returned to the minor leagues, per the AHL transaction log. Clurman didn’t play in any games on this call-up, taking him through another brief call-up without playing his NHL debut. He’ll return to a middling role in the minor leagues.

12/23: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed top prospect Owen Pickering on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Pickering left the team’s Saturday game against New Jersey at the end of the second period. He didn’t appear to suffer a noticeable injury but did take a hard hit against the boards from Devils forward Paul Cotter a few shifts before leaving. Regardless, Pickering will now miss at least one week, and three games, of action; though he’s helped along by the team’s brief holiday break. To fill his hole, Pittsburgh has awarded defenseman Nate Clurman with just the second call-up of his pro career. The first came last week and didn’t result in Clurman playing any games.

He has just two points in the first 14 NHL games of his career but has performed well enough defensively to work his way up to a top-pair role next to Penguins star Kris Letang. The rookie averaged 19:19 in ice time in five games prior to his injury, and even earned minutes on both special teams despite posting no scoring and a -5. He’s playing to his M.O., keeping opponents out of the low slot and letting his forwards do the heavy lifting – a role he honed with 12 games, one goal, and a +5 to start the AHL season. The performance may not be flashy, but it’s a strong start for the 20-year-old Pickering, who’s in just his first professional season after spending the last four years with the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos. Pickering was much more involved at Swift Current, serving as the club’s captain in his final two seasons and totaling 133 points in 205 career games.

Pickering will be quickly replaced by the mix of Ryan Shea and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, the latter rejoining the Penguins via trade last week. Neither player has proven very productive in their NHL minutes. Shea stands as Pittsburgh’s lowest scorer, still searching for his first point after 26 games this season. Joseph at least managed two assists in 23 games with the St. Louis Blues prior to his trade, though he complimented it with 23 penalty minutes and a -7. Clurman will move into the role of extra defender behind the duo. He has five points, 10 penalty minutes, and a +6 in 18 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, surprisingly enough to tie for fourth on the team’s blue-line in scoring. Clurman is a career minor-leaguer in his first year with the Penguins, after spending the last four seasons with the Colorado Avalanche organization, who drafted him in the 2016 sixth-round. He’s totaled 26 points in five seasons and 128 games in the AHL.

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