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Avalanche Notes: Miner, Blackwood, Prishchepov

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The Colorado Avalanche will likely be down a goaltender when they face Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Avalanche are awaiting the arrival of Mackenzie Blackwood, after being traded for Alexandar Georgiev. To split the gap, Colorado has recalled AHL starting goaltender Trent Miner.

This is Miner’s second call-up of the season. His first was a one-day stop with the NHL roster on November 15th, in response to an injury to Georgiev. Miner backed up Justus Annunen for one game, and would end up taking over the crease just one minute into the second period after the latter allowed three goals on six shots. Miner stopped 12 of 13 shots in what was inadvertently his NHL debut – but Colorado couldn’t climb out of the hole Annunen dug, and ultimately lost the game 5-2.

Aside from the spot fill-in, Miner has proven the consistent in a Colorado Eagles goaltending room that also features Kaapo Kahkonen and Kevin Mandolese. Miner leads the team in games played with 11 appearances, but his 5-4-2 record and .895 rank behind Mandolese, who has a 6-2-0 record and .915 in nine games. Miner will likely be headed back to the minors once Blackwood arrives in Colorado, giving him a chance to maintain his spot over Mandolese on Colorado’s call-up list.

Other notes from Denver:

  • Blackwood hasn’t arrived in Colorado yet, but the team is apparently already looking forward to his future. They’re hoping to land an extension before Blackwood hits free agency this summer, general manager Chris MacFarland told Max Miller of The Hockey News. Blackwood is near the end of a two-year, $4.7MM contract signed with San Jose on July 1, 2023. It was a sort of ’prove-it’ contract, giving Blackwood a chance at hardy minutes after he lost the starting role in New Jersey. He didn’t start the deal too promising, posting a 10-25-4 record and .899 save percentage through 44 games with the league-worst Sharks last season. But his 2.4 goals-saved-above-expected (GSAx) – a stat that ranked 17th in the league per MoneyPuck – spoke to Blackwood’s hidden upside. He’s started to reveal that this year, with six wins and a .910 save percentage in 19 games so far. Blackwood has also posted 3.9 GSAx – again ranking him 17th in the league among goalies with 10-or-more starts. He’ll look to keep that momentum going behind a much stronger Colorado team, and earn a bit more certainty on his next deal.
  • As they’ve done many times before, Colorado has also sent a waiver-exempt player to the minors on their off-day to accrue daily cap space. The target this time is forward Nikita Prishchepov, who hasn’t managed any scoring through 10 NHL games this season. Prishchepov was a seventh-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft and became just the third draftee to make his NHL debut – behind first-round picks Macklin Celebrini and Jett Luchanko. Prishchepov has yet to record his first NHL point, though he’ll enter conversation with just Celebrini if and when he does. He’ll likely be back on the Avlanache roster ahead of their Tuesday matchup, but he’d get a chance to build on six points in 12 AHL games should he stay in the minor leagues.

Rangers Recall Dylan Garand And Connor Mackey

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December 9th, 9:18 AM: The New York Rangers have assigned Garand back to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, signalling that Shesterkin will return to the lineup tonight.

December 8th, 9:49 AM: The New York Rangers announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Dylan Garand and defenseman Connor Mackey from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League. The 22-year-old Garand has been called up likely as a backup option for Jonathan Quick as Igor Shesterkin’s wife is in labor, and he is expected to miss the game. Garand has been terrific in Hartford this season, posting a .917 save percentage to go along with a 2.42 goals-against average. He posted his first shutout of the season on Friday night against the Rockford IceHogs and has a record of 7-2-2 on the season.

A 2020 fourth-round pick, Garand is on the smaller side, but his confidence appears to be growing as the season progresses and he is beginning to show a ton of upside.

Mackey has dressed in 22 games with the Wolf Pack this year and has tallied two goals and four assists with a +2 plus/minus rating. The 28-year-old has been a staple in the AHL during his professional career, dressing in 146 career games and registering 12 goals and 57 assists. The Tower Lakes, Illinois native is no stranger to the NHL, having dressed in 40 career NHL games with three different teams. Mackey has posted four goals and seven assists for 11 career NHL points.

It is expected that Mackey will serve as the Rangers’ seventh defenseman (as per Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports).

East Notes: Lightning, Smith, Tokarski, Lazar

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The Lightning lost a pair of key players during today’s game against Vancouver.  Center Anthony Cirelli left with an injury in the first period while defenseman Erik Cernak only played one shift in the third period.  Speaking with reporters postgame including FanDuel Sports Network Florida’s Gabby Shirley (Twitter link), head coach Jon Cooper didn’t have an update on either player but added that they’ll know more on each of them on Monday.  Cirelli was averaging a point per game through his first 24 appearances heading into today’s action while Cernak had seven assists in his 24 outings.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • A day after sending Riley Stillman to the minors, the Hurricanes have found his replacement for the time being. The team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Ty Smith from AHL Chicago.  The 24-year-old has been up multiple times with Carolina this season but has yet to play and will likely continue to serve in the seventh defenseman role while he’s on the roster.  Smith has three goals and four assists in seven games with the Wolves so far.
  • Still with the Hurricanes, they assigned goaltender Dustin Tokarski to Chicago, per the AHL’s transactions log. As has frequently been the case this season, this is merely a move to bank a bit of cap space and delay Tokarski’s waiver clock.  He’ll almost certainly be recalled before Tuesday’s game against San Jose.
  • While there has been some speculation that Devils center Curtis Lazar won’t return this season, that’s not believed to be the case, relays NJ Advance Media’s Gabriel Trevino (Twitter link). The veteran underwent left knee surgery at the end of October but no firm timeline was given for his return.  That said, GM Tom Fitzgerald mentioned recently that acquiring a fourth-line center was on his priority list before the trade deadline in March so even if the team still believes Lazar could return, it seems as if they intend to operate as if he won’t so that way, they’re still covered.

Kraken Notes: Daccord, Matyas, Gourde

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Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord sat out of the team’s Sunday game against New York due to illness. Head coach Dan Bylsma told media, including Seattle broadcaster Piper Shaw, that Daccord is specifically struggling to keep food down and will be available as soon as he feels better. Daccord’s absence sets up Philipp Grubauer for a second consecutive start. Grubauer made 33 saves on 36 shots in Seattle’s Friday loss to New Jersey.

Daccord has been a noticeable difference-maker for Seattle when healthy. He’s played in 19 of the team’s 28 games this season, setting 12 wins and a .913 save percentage. Daccord ranks sixth in the NHL in both stats. He’s continuing to stamp his spot as an everyday starter, building on to this dazzling 2023-24 campaign. Daccord posted a .916 save percentage – ninth-best in the league – through 50 games last year, thriving in what was his first year as an NHL starter. He’s had a winding career up to this point, serving three seasons in the crowded mix of Ottawa Senators’ goaltenders prior to his selection in the 2021 Expansion Draft. He excelled with the change of scenery, posting a .925 in 34 AHL games in his first year in the Kraken organization and serving as Seattle’s top goalie call-up. He followed that year with a .918 in 38 games for Coachella Valley, serving as the brick wall behind a team that ultimately lost the Calder Cup finals in overtime of game seven. Still, the playoff run was enough to stamp Daccord’s chance at an NHL role, and he hasn’t looked back since. That momentum will slot Daccord right back into the starting role once he’s back to full health.

Other notes out of Seattle:

  • Seattle has signed Michael Matyas to an amateur try-out agreement in response to Daccord’s absence. He’ll be tasked with backing up Grubauer. Matyas hasn’t formally played since the 2013-14 season, when he served as the third-string goaltender at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. The Calgary-native played three years, and 14 games, with the Seawolves – recording three wins and a .870 save percentage. He had a three-year juniors career in the Alberta Junior Hockey League before moving to college, where he set a .907 save percentage across 106 games. Matyas has spent the 11 years since his college days working towards a financial career in New York City.
  • In more positive news, forward Yanni Gourde returned to the Seattle lineup on Sunday, after missing the team’s Friday game with an undisclosed injury. Gourde lined up next to Matty Beniers and Jaden Schwartz, per Mike Benton of the Seattle Kraken Audio Network. Gourde has scored four goals and 12 points in 27 games this season, and ranks fourth among Kraken forwards with 39 hits. He’s rotated through the middle-six and averaged 15:29 in ice time.

Blackhawks Place Petr Mrazek On IR; Recall Kevin Korchinski, Drew Commesso

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The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled defenseman Kevin Korchinski and goaltender Drew Commesso, per Charlie Roumeliotis of Chicago’s WGN Radio. The duo will help fill in for starting goaltender Petr Mrazek and top-four defender Alec Martinez. Both players left Chicago’s Saturday game early with injury – Mrazek after getting his legs swept from under him, and Martines after a deflected shot found its way under his visor. Roumeliotis adds that Mrazek has been moved to injured reserve with a left-groin injury.

With Martinez joining top Hawks defender Seth Jones on the list of injuries, Chicago will give top prospect Korchinski another chance to establish an NHL role. The 20-year-old spent the entirety of last season on the NHL roster amid a severe lack of defense depth. He recorded five goals, 15 points, and a -39 in 76 games – prompting Chicago to start him in the minors this year. That’s proven the right move early on, with Korchinski leading Rockford IceHogs defenseman in scoring with two goals and 11 points in 21 games. He’s served a top-line role for Rockford and seems to be gaining more and more confidence on the puck, with routine highlights showing him driving play from end to end.

This call-up likely won’t guarantee Korchinski minutes. He’ll have to first earn a role over Nolan Allan and Wyatt Kaiser – assuming Chicago doesn’t play any of their defenders on their off-hand. Allan has proven a stout fill-in amid injuries, with four assists and a -5 through 20 games this season. Kaiser has been far less productive, boasting just one assist, 14 penalty minutes, and a -1 in 25 games. Korchisnki’s scoring upside could be enough to earn minutes, but he’ll likely have to quickly take advantage of the opportunities he’s provided.

Commesso has spent the last two seasons splitting starts in Rockford. He found his way into the role of de facto starter last year – his first professional season – stepping into 38 games and recording 18 wins and a .906 save percentage. He narrowly beat out Jaxson Stauber in ice time and save percentage – with Stauber posting a .902 in 31 games – but Commesso hasn’t found the same success this year. He’s lost the majority share of starts to three-year pro Mitchell Weeks, who has a .901 save percentage in 12 starts to Commesso’s .879 in 10 starts. Both netminders have four wins.

Mrazek’s forced week-long absence should give Commesso a chance to earn his NHL debut. Meanwhile, Rockford has recalled ECHL starter Benjamin Gaudreau to help support the AHL lineup in Commesso’s absence. Gaudreau – another top goalie prospect in his draft year – has set a 5-5-2 record and .907 save percentage in his first 12 pro games this season.

Snapshots: Tomasino, DeAngelo, Tracey, Stephens

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Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has shared that red-hot winger Philip Tomasino will be held out of Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury. Seth Rorabaugh of Pittsburgh’s Tribune-Review Sports adds that Tomasino is out on a day-to-day basis.

Tomasino has been on fire since joining the Penguins. He’s on a four-game scoring streak, netting three goals and four points along the way. Tomasino has already lapped the one assist he managed in 11 games with Nashville to start the year – likely thanks to the near-four minutes more in average ice time he’s received in Pittsburgh, jumping from 11:18 a night with Nashville to 15:00 with Pittsburgh. Tomasino is one of seven Penguins rivaling point-per-game scoring over the last four games. That standing will earn him a quick return to the Penguins’ top-six when he’s back to full health.

Other quick notes around the league:

  • Polarizing defenseman Tony DeAngelo shared that he’s not optimistic about an NHL return with Larry Brooks of the New York Post. DeAngelo signed a contract with Russia’s SKA St. Petersburg this summer. He’s managed four goals and 24 points in his first 23 games with the club. He told Brooks that his goal is to return to the NHL, but didn’t specify what’s limiting his hopes. DeAngelo played through eight NHL seasons, mostly spent between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes. He stood as a high-scoring, but minimal-defense option for both teams. With no NHL deal in sight, DeAngelo moved to Russia over the summer and may be kept there despite scoring above a point-per-game. DeAngelo is joined on the SKA roster by former NHL players Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nikita Zaitsev, and Mikhail Grigorenko.
  • Brayden Tracey, the 29th-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, has signed a one-year contract with Jukurit of Finland’s Liiga. He’ll move over seas after starting this season with no points through four games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Tracey has spent the bulk of the last five seasons with the Anaheim Ducks’ minor league affiliate, totaling 84 points through 188 games. He’s received just one NHL game over that tenure – recording nine minutes of ice time and no scoring in a win over Detroit in January of 2022. He was returned to the minors immediately after, and hasn’t earned a look since. Tracey will now try to prove his worth, and earn another NHL contract, with a strong year in Finland’s top league.
  • The Seattle Kraken have returned forward Mitchell Stephens to the minor leagues, per the AHL Transaction Log. Stephens slotted into Seattle’s last four games, recording six shots on net but no scoring while operating on the Kraken’s fourth line. He’ll return to a middle-six role in the AHL, where he currently has three goals and four points in 11 games. Stephens split time between the Montreal Canadiens’ NHL and AHL roster last season, recording three points in 23 NHL games and 35 points in 49 AHL games.

Metropolitan Notes: Provorov, Rangers, Stillman

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It appears the Blue Jackets may be without a key defenseman for the foreseeable future.  Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch notes that Ivan Provorov left Friday’s game with an upper-body injury.  The injury occurred early in the second period when he dove for a puck with his hand hitting the boards; his thumb took the brunt of the impact.  There’s no word yet on how long he might miss.  Provorov has nine points in 26 games so far this season while logging over 23 minutes a night of playing time.  A pending unrestricted free agent, he’s widely expected to be a key trade chip for Columbus in the second half of the year as long as this injury doesn’t keep him out for an extended period of time.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • With the Rangers trading Jacob Trouba to Anaheim yesterday, they now find themselves without a captain. However, don’t expect that vacancy to be filled right away.  Head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters including NHL.com’s Dan Rosen (Twitter link) that the team is not planning to name a new captain.  They’re open to appointing another alternate (to join Adam Fox, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, and Mika Zibanejad) but that won’t happen right away.  New York has now moved its last three captains in midseason swaps with Trouba joining Ryan McDonagh and Ryan Callahan in that category.
  • The Hurricanes announced that they have re-assigned defenseman Riley Stillman to AHL Chicago. The 26-year-old has been sent back and forth a few times in recent weeks but he hasn’t seen any game action yet with Carolina.  Stillman has been limited to just six games with the Wolves after starting the season on injured reserve and has two assists in those outings.  With the move, the Hurricanes now have two vacancies on their active roster for the time being.

Brendan Lemieux Clears Unconditional Waivers

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Saturday: Lemieux has cleared waivers, reports James Mirtle of The Athletic.  In the team’s announcement of his waiver placement yesterday, GM Eric Tulsky indicated that Lemieux requested the release to pursue a new opportunity.  A report from Puck Empire in Switzerland suggests that Lemieux is likely to sign with HC Davos of the Swiss NL.

Friday: The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to place forward Brendan Lemieux on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Lemieux signed a one-year, league-minimum contract in Carolina this summer but has spent the entirety of the early season in the minor leagues. He has just two goals, 30 penalty minutes, and a -4 through 12 AHL games this season. He’s the lowest-scoring forward among Chicago Wolves with 10 or more games this season.

Lemieux made a name for himself as a sharp-edged bruiser with the drive to play at the NHL level. That’s what kept him in the top league from 2017 to 2024 – through trips with the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, and Carolina. He served a fourth-line role at every stop, making more noise with his penalty minutes than his scoring. Lemieux has 548 penalty minutes through 307 career games, with his statement year coming in 2019-20 – when he posted 111 PIMs in 59 games with the Rangers. He’s only added 74 career points – 36 goals and 38 assists – in those outings, with 18 points in 2019-20 also standing as a career-high.

This season marks Lemieux’s second in the Carolina organization, after playing through last year on a separate one-year contract. He earned 32 games on the deal, recording five points and 64 penalty minutes. That wasn’t enough to stick in the Hurricanes’ lineup with the emergence of top youngsters Jack Drury and Jackson Blake, pushing Lemieux to the minor leagues this season – his first time playing AHL hockey since 2017-18. With both scoring and meaningful penalties hard to come by this year, Lemieux will now look forward to more productive minutes in his next landing spot.

East Notes: Greenway, Samuelsson, Robertson, Bruins

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The Sabres are getting close to getting a couple of players back in the lineup.  Team reporter Justin Alpert relays that winger Jordan Greenway and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson both took part in practice today in regular (contact) jerseys after previously being limited to non-contact drills.  Greenway has been out for nearly three weeks due to a middle-body injury and has three goals and three assists through 16 games so far.  As for Samuelsson, he last played nearly four weeks ago due to a lower-body issue.  It has been a struggle for him this season as his playing time is down by more than four minutes a night while also briefly spending time as a healthy scratch.  Both players probably aren’t going to be ready for Saturday’s game versus Utah but they should be back soon after that.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • It turns out that Victor Mancini isn’t the only blueliner that the Rangers will bring up today. The team announced (Twitter link) that Matthew Robertson has been recalled from AHL Hartford.  The 23-year-old has yet to play at the NHL level but is off to a good start with the Wolf Pack this season, collecting eight points in 19 games so far.  He’s expected to serve as the seventh defender for the time being with recently acquired rearguard Urho Vaakanainen still out with an upper-body injury.
  • A day after papering them to the minors, the Bruins have recalled forward Marc McLaughlin and defenseman Jordan Oesterle from Providence, per the AHL’s transactions log. The move has been made frequently with both players as Boston attempts to bank some extra cap space to utilize later in the season.  McLaughlin has been held off the scoresheet in four games with the big club while Oesterle has three assists in his first six NHL games this season.

Panthers Recall Mackie Samoskevich, Re-Assign Chris Driedger To AHL

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12/6: According to a team announcement, Florida reversed the swap before tomorrow’s contests against the San Jose Sharks. The news also means netminder Sergei Bobrovsky has returned from his personal leave.

12/2: The Panthers have made a pair of roster moves heading into tomorrow’s game against Pittsburgh.  The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Chris Driedger has been recalled from AHL Charlotte while winger Mackie Samoskevich has been re-assigned to the Checkers.

This is expected to be a short-term move for both players.  Veteran goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky did not accompany the team on the road with his wife expecting to give birth to their second child in the near future.  Because Florida doesn’t have enough cap space to recall Driedger outright, Samoskevich, their lone waiver-exempt player, is the roster casualty to allow the team to remain cap-compliant.

Driedger rejoined Florida back in the summer, inking a one-year, one-way deal worth $795K to serve as their third-string option behind Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight.  The 30-year-old has played in eight games with the Checkers so far this season, putting up a 3.22 GAA with a .885 SV%.  Driedger has 67 career NHL appearances under his belt (35 of which came in his first stint with the team), posting a 2.45 GAA with a .917 SV%.

As for Samoskevich, the 22-year-old is doing well in his first full NHL season.  He has played in 22 games with the Panthers so far, notching five goals and four assists while averaging 11:35 per game.  His nine points put him in the top ten in scoring among all NHL rookies.  Charlotte is off until Friday so there’s a good chance Samoskevich won’t even suit up in the minors while on assignment given that he’s likely to be brought back up by the weekend.

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