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Blues Recall Hugh McGing

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On Friday, the Blues opened up a roster spot when they traded defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to the Islanders.  Today, they’ve filled that vacancy as they recalled forward Hugh McGing, per the AHL’s transactions log.

The 25-year-old is in his fourth season in St. Louis’ system after being a fifth-round pick back in 2018 (138th overall).  McGing made his NHL debut last year, getting into a single game with the big club but spent most of the year with AHL Springfield where he had 17 goals and 22 assists in 71 games.

He’s off to a better start offensively this season, notching four goals and 11 helpers in 21 appearances, a 51-point pace over a 72-game campaign, putting him fourth on the Thunderbirds in scoring and helping him earn this recall.  McGing is playing on a one-year, two-way deal this season worth the league minimum at the NHL level and will almost certainly be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency next summer.

With McGing’s recall, St. Louis is now once again carrying a full 23-player roster.

Golden Knights Activate Isaiah Saville From SOIR, Assign Him To AHL

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Golden Knights prospect goaltender Isaiah Saville was placed on season-opening IR back in September with an undisclosed injury.  Now, it appears as if he has been cleared to return as Vegas has activated him and assigned him to their affiliate in Henderson, per the AHL’s transactions log.

The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Vegas back in 2019 (135th overall).  Last season was his first full professional campaign after leaving the University of Nebraska-Omaha following his junior year; Saville signed in March 2022, immediately burning the first season of his three-year, entry-level deal.  He is now in the final season of that agreement.

Saville spent most of last season at the ECHL level with Savannah, posting an impressive .920 SV% in 33 games with the Ghost Pirates.  That helped him get into ten games with the Silver Knights as well where he had a 3.21 GAA with a .902 SV%.  He spent some time with Vegas during the playoffs as a Black Ace as well.

With Jiri Patera currently up with the Golden Knights covering for the injured Adin Hill and prospect Jesper Vikman injured, there’s a spot on the Silver Knights’ roster for Saville to fill for the time being, giving him a good opportunity to make a case to secure a qualifying offer in June.

Predators Assign Liam Foudy And Spencer Stastney To AHL

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After clearing waivers earlier today, the Predators wasted little time sending forward Liam Foudy to the minors.  The team announced that both Foudy and defenseman Spencer Stastney were assigned to AHL Milwaukee.  No subsequent recalls were announced.

Foudy was claimed off waivers from Columbus early in the season but was in and out of the lineup with Nashville.  Between the two teams, he has played in 13 games so far, picking up three assists and seven shots on net in just under ten minutes a night of ice time.

The 23-year-old spent all of last season in the NHL with the Blue Jackets, getting into a career-high 62 contests.  Now, he’ll head back to the minors where he should have a chance to play a much bigger role for the Admirals.  Foudy’s last AHL stint was in the 2021-22 campaign when he had 19 points in 29 games with Cleveland.

As for Stastney, the 23-year-old has been up for a pair of stints with the Preds this season, spanning nine games in total where he has his first career goal while logging just over 16 minutes a night.  He also has four points in ten games so far with the Admirals.

Nashville’s skater roster now stands at just a dozen healthy forwards and seven blueliners so they have a couple of open spots at their disposal.  Considering they’re back in action on Saturday against Toronto, it wouldn’t be surprising to see at least one of those spots filled by then.

Minor Transactions: 12/08/23

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It’s a busy day around the world of sports, hockey included. Not only are sports fans everywhere likely captivated by the free agency of baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, a process that is being diligently covered by our friends at MLB Trade Rumors, but there is also player movement activity across the many leagues of pro hockey to pay attention to. Trade rumors are flying around a few quality NHL defensemen, and the waiver wire is active as well. As always, we’ll keep track of notable player movement from minor and overseas leagues here.

  • Former Philadelphia Flyer Jackson Cates, the brother of Flyers center Noah Cates, has been released from his tryout agreement with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. The 26-year-old University of Minnesota-Duluth product signed with the Flyers as a college free agent and ended up playing in 20 total games for the club across three seasons. He spent more time in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, including a 65-game slate with the team last year in which he managed 23 points. The Flyers elected not to re-sign Cates for 2023-24, resulting in him latching on with the Islanders on tryout agreements. After 12 games in Bridgeport Cates has only managed one point, though, and that point came all the way back on October 14th. Now he’ll likely have to look for opportunities elsewhere to continue his professional career.
  • Former Moncton Wildcats captain Nicholas Welsh has transferred from Liiga’s JYP Jyväskylä to the Augsburg Panthers of the German DEL. The 26-year-old offensive defenseman is no stranger to the DEL. He played for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers from 2021 to 2023 before electing to sign in Liiga over the summer. His 22-game run with JYP did not go well, as he managed just three points in that span and saw his ice time decline sharply from the start of the year. He’s likely to find more success with Augsburg, who are in need of defensive reinforcements after an injury to veteran David Warsofsky. Welsh last played in North America in 2020-21, when he got into 17 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
  • 28-year-old Adam Brodecki, a veteran of over 300 SHL games, has signed a short-term contract with the SHL’s Frölunda HC. Brodecki spent last season with Rytíři Kladno in the Czech Extraliga, scoring 20 points in 45 games, but lingered on the free agent market before signing a short-term deal with the Växjö Lakers, helping them as injury issues struck their forward corps. Now, Brodecki will get the chance to represent Frölunda as they are set to lose a few players to Sweden’s World Juniors squad.
  • Former WHL star Jaedon Descheneau has signed a one-year deal with the DEL’s Berlin Polar Bears, according to a team announcement. The five-foot-eight former St. Louis Blues prospect heads to Germany for a second tour of duty there, as he also spent 2018-19 as a top offensive player for Düsseldorfer EG. Although began his pro career in North America, Descheneau left the AHL/ECHL circuit after just one season. He bounced from California to Switzerland, then to Germany, then Sweden, then to Finland, and now is headed back to Germany. Along the way Descheneau has generally been a productive offensive player, although he has struggled with injuries and inconsistency over the last two years. With Berlin currently sat at the top of the DEL table, they add a talented scorer in Descheneau.
  • Former WHL champion Reece Harsch, a six-foot-four right-shot defenseman, has elected to leave the EIHL’s Fife Flyers in the midst of a second campaign there. The former Seattle Thunderbirds blueliner began his pro career in 2021-22, skating in five AHL games for the Abbotsford Canucks and seven ECHL games for the Toledo Walleye. The then-23-year-old would that summer depart for Scotland, where he would play in 50 games for the Flyers. Now, after 10 games this year with Fife, Harsch has decided to leave the club and potentially look elsewhere to continue his young professional career.
  • 2022 Seattle Kraken fourth-round pick Tyson Jugnauth has decided to leave the University of Wisconsin Badgers, the number-six team in men’s college hockey, in order to join the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. The Winterhawks acquired Jugnauth’s WHL playing rights via trade earlier this week, trading four draft picks to be able to add the player. Jugnauth had seen his role decline as a sophomore after his 15-point freshman campaign, and for the team’s last game, he was listed as a seventh-defenseman. As an offensive player who prioritizes speed and puck-carrying ability, Jugnauth’s development would be best served by having stability in terms of role and who his defensive partner is. That’s not something he was finding at Wisconsin, so he’s elected to join the Winterhawks rather than remain with the Badgers.

Penguins Recall Three Players, Place Noel Acciari On IR

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The Pittsburgh Penguins’ bottom two lines will have a very different look tonight when they take on the Florida Panthers. The Penguins are desperate to turn things around after a very poor showing against the Tampa Bay Lightning two nights ago and are hoping a shakeup in their bottom six can fix some of their issues. Today the Penguins announced that they’ve recalled forwards Marc Johnstone, Jonathan Gruden, and Valtteri Puustinen from their AHL affiliate.

Johnstone is in his first year with the Penguins organization after signing a two-year, two-way contract on July 2nd. At 27 years old he has never dressed in an NHL game before, meaning he could see his first NHL action in a Penguins jersey. Thus far this season the native of Cranford, New Jersey has two goals and three assists at the AHL level in 21 games.

Gruden was acquired by the Penguins from the Ottawa Senators in the Matt Murray trade back in October 2020 after he was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL entry draft. He dressed in three NHL games in Pittsburgh last season tallying zero points while averaging just over five minutes of ice time per game. In the AHL this season, Gruden has registered five goals and five assists in 21 games.

Puustinen is probably the most intriguing of the three call-ups as he has the longest track record of offensive success at the AHL level. He has started slowly this year with just five goals and five assists in 18 games but does have one NHL game under his belt back in 2022. In his only NHL action Puustinen recorded an assist in just over ten minutes of action.

The recalls demonstrate just how desperate the Penguins are to find a fix to their bottom six woes. Pittsburgh hasn’t been able to find much success outside of their top two lines, and with injuries to Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, their lack of NHL quality depth is beginning to become apparent.

In a corresponding move, the Penguins also assigned forwards Alex Nylander and Joona Koppanen to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Many thought that Nylander turned a corner at the end of last season, but his play this year has been uninspired. He had no points in five games during this recall and looked overwhelmed on most of his shifts. Koppanen didn’t fare any better, going pointless in three games. He struggled on the Penguins’ fourth line with Pittsburgh unable to generate much of anything offensively with the 25-year-old on the ice.

Finally, the Penguins also announced that they’ve placed center Noel Acciari on the injured reserve. Acciari struggled to start the season but was starting to settle in on the fourth line when he was hurt. He also found a role on the Penguins penalty kill which has been one of the few bright spots for the Penguins this season. Acciari has been unable to dress in the Penguins past three games and won’t be eligible to get back in the lineup until next Tuesday. In 22 games this season, the 32-year-old has two goals and one assist while averaging over 12 minutes of ice time per game.

New York Rangers Recall Riley Nash

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The New York Rangers announced today that they have recalled forward Riley Nash from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. The 34-year-old is a veteran of 627 NHL games, and will be playing for his seventh NHL team should he dress in any games with the Rangers during his recall.

The native of Consort, Alberta hasn’t played in an NHL game since the 2021-22 season when he dressed for three teams in a single season and posted just four assists in 49 games. He spent all last season in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers where he had 24 goals and 35 assists in 66 games. This season with Hartford he has been nearly a point-a-game player once again registering nine goals and 10 assists in 20 games.

Nash signed a two-year deal with the Rangers back in July that is paying him the NHL minimum of $775K this season. The Rangers likely signed Nash in hopes of him being a player that could provide offense in the AHL and be a bottom-six depth option in the NHL should the team run into injury concerns. So far Nash has shown offensive flair in the AHL, and now with the Rangers running into injury concerns with their forward group, he could have an opportunity to show himself during this recall.  Nash has had periods of being able to put up points in the NHL, but his last solid offensive season was in 2017-18 when he was just 28 years of age.

The Rangers currently lead the surprisingly weak Metropolitan Division by eight points with a record of 18-5-1. They will be tested here in the coming days as Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow are both day-to-day and Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil are on the IR.

Jacob Markström Out Week-To-Week With Fractured Finger

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Calgary Flames starting netminder Jacob Markström is out week-to-week with a fractured finger, the team announced this morning. The injury won’t require surgery, and as a replacement for Markström on the team’s roster Calgary has recalled Dustin Wolf from its AHL affiliate.

Markström, 33, last played in a December 2nd loss to the Vancouver Canucks. He’s played in a total of 16 games this season for Calgary and has an .896 save percentage. That’s only a slight improvement off of last season’s form, as he posted an .892 in 59 games in 2022-23.

The year before, Markström was an elite goalie, posting a .922 save percentage in 63 games, a performance that made him the Vezina Trophy runner-up. When he plays at that level, the Flames appear to be a genuine Stanley Cup contender, but as he’s struggled to match that form in recent years the team’s overall trajectory has fallen.

Now Markström faces a setback in returning to his elite form in 2023-24, though he does have some runway to work with. Making $6MM per year through 2025-26, Markström has some time to figure things out and will hope to return from this injury fresh and ready to play as well as he did earlier in his career.

Replacing Markström on the Flames’ active roster is Wolf, who is one of the best goalie prospects in the sport. The 22-year-old 2019 seventh-round pick is an undersized, highly athletic puck-stopper who has won just about everything a goalie could hope to win before he makes it tot the NHL. Wolf is a two-time AHL Goalie of the Year, the reigning AHL MVP, a World Junior Championship gold medal-winner, a two-time WHL goalie of the year and a one-time CHL goalie of the year.

So far this season, Wolf has a .920 save percentage in 13 games with the Wranglers. He has a career save percentage of .927 in 118 AHL games. In the NHL, he has made two career starts and has a .919 save percentage. With  Markström now out for an extended period, Wolf is lined up for the most extensive NHL opportunity he’s ever received to this point in his young career.

Golden Knights Recall Jiri Patera

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Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill exited Thursday’s victory with an undisclosed injury with Logan Thompson taking over for the third period.  Now, prior to their game tonight against Washington, the team announced (Twitter link) that Jiri Patera has been recalled from AHL Henderson.

The 24-year-old is in his fourth professional season, the bulk of which has been spent with the Silver Knights.  Patera did get into a couple of NHL games last year, stopping 65 of 70 shots in a pair of victories.  This season, he has struggled a bit with Henderson, posting a 3.17 GAA with a .900 SV% in his first 14 appearances.

Patera signed a one-year deal worth the league minimum this summer coming off his entry-level deal.  He will be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights in July and will be eligible for waivers for the first time next season.

Vegas does not have an open spot on its 23-man roster so two things could happen here.  The first is they place a player on IR or send a waiver-exempt player (Kaedan Korczak is their lone option) to open a spot for Patera.  Alternatively, they can use the Goaltender Exemption provision in the CBA, allowing for a 48-hour recall without needing to take someone off the active roster.  However, that option can only be used twice in a season.  At this time, it’s not yet known which option they will utilize.

Blackhawks Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Blackhawks are in action today against Winnipeg and have made several roster moves in advance of that game.  The team announced that Jarred Tinordi has been activated off injured reserve while blueliner Louis Crevier has been recalled from AHL Rockford.  In corresponding moves, defensemen Wyatt Kaiser and Isaak Phillips have been sent to the IceHogs.

Tinordi is returning after missing the last three weeks with an oblique injury.  The 31-year-old has played in nine games so far this season, picking up an assist along with 23 hits and 19 blocks while averaging a little under 15 minutes a night.  Last season, Tinordi established himself as a regular in the second half, suiting up in a career-best 44 games, helping to earn himself a one-year, $1.25MM contract.  He’ll be set to test unrestricted free agency this summer.

Generally, a 6’6 player being added to the roster would be considered a pretty big addition size-wise but Tinordi is the smaller of the two additions to Chicago’s active roster as Crevier stands 6’8.  The 22-year-old is in his second professional season and has five assists in 16 games with Rockford, matching his rookie season output.  This is his first-ever NHL recall.

As for Kaiser, he made Chicago’s roster out of training camp and has played in all 21 games so far this season after seeing nine games with them down the stretch after his college campaign came to an end.  The 21-year-old has four assists in those contests while averaging a respectable 16:34 per game.  However, he has struggled a bit in his own end in recent games and this demotion will give him a chance to reset while playing a much more prominent role with the IceHogs.

Phillips, meanwhile, is no stranger to being shuffled back and forth as this is his third demotion of the year already.  The 22-year-old has played in nine games with Chicago this season, collecting three assists while picking up a goal and two helpers in eight games with Rockford.  It stands to reason that he’ll be one of the first recalls when further injuries arise as the season progresses.

Coyotes Recall Ryan McGregor On Emergency Basis

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The Coyotes have made a roster move up front in advance of their game tonight against St. Louis, announcing (Twitter link) that they have recalled Ryan McGregor from AHL Tucson on an emergency basis.

The 24-year-old is in his fourth season in the pros and this is his first-ever recall to the NHL.  McGregor, originally a sixth-round pick by Toronto back in 2017 but went unsigned, has played in 19 games with the Roadrunners this season but is off to a slow start, notching just two goals and two assists.  This performance comes on the heels of a 12-goal, 18-point effort in 2022-23.

With those numbers, it might be surprising that it’s not Jan Jenik getting recalled; he had just been sent down earlier this week.  However, at this point, it makes more sense for Jenik to see some regular action in the minors instead of regularly getting shuffled back and forth while seeing sporadic playing time.

McGregor is playing on his first post-entry-level deal, a two-way agreement worth $775K at the NHL level.  He’s set to once again be a restricted free agent this summer.

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