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Maple Leafs Recall Martin Jones On Emergency Basis

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With Ilya Samsonov being unavailable for tonight’s game against Boston due to illness, the Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled goaltender Martin Jones from AHL Toronto on an emergency basis.  He will back up Joseph Woll against the Bruins.

The 33-year-old played in 48 games last season with Seattle, posting a 2.99 GAA but his save percentage was just .887, a career low.  As a result, interest was limited in Jones on the open market as he had to wait more than a month to find a contract, eventually signing a one-year, $875K deal with the Maple Leafs to serve as injury insurance.  For his career, Jones has a 2.71 GAA and a .905 SV% in 444 NHL appearances over parts of ten seasons.

With a couple of teams looking for goalie depth at the end of training camp, it came as a bit of a surprise that Jones ultimately went through waivers unclaimed with Toronto assigning him to the Marlies soon after.  Jones has been in a three-goalie rotation with them this season and has played in just five games so far, putting together a 3.37 GAA with a .870 SV%.  It’s his first action at the AHL level since the 2013-14 campaign when he got into 22 games with AHL Manchester.  With Samsonov likely just being day-to-day with this illness, it’s likely that Jones’ NHL stint will be a short-lived one.

Penguins Recall Joona Koppanen

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The Penguins have added an extra forward to their roster in advance of tonight’s game against Philadelphia as they announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Joona Koppanen from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  Pittsburgh had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made to add him to the active roster.

The 25-year-old spent six years in Boston’s system before becoming a Group Six unrestricted free agent back in July.  He quickly found a new home with Pittsburgh inking him to a two-year contract on the opening day of free agency.  That contract is a two-way agreement for this season before converting to a one-way pact for 2024-25.

Koppanen has five games at the NHL level under his belt, all coming with the Bruins last season where he had an assist, four penalty minutes, and a faceoff success rate of nearly 57% while playing just under 11 minutes per contest.  He put up a career-best 35 points with AHL Providence last season but has struggled offensively this year, collecting just three goals and three assists so far through 18 games.  Nevertheless, his ability to play center and take draws has made him a viable recall option although it remains to be seen if he’ll suit up against the Flyers tonight.

New Jersey Devils Re-Assign Samuel Laberge

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Saturday: After making his NHL debut on Thursday where he played just 2:11, Laberge has been returned to Utica.

Wednesday: Just after signing him to a one-year entry-level contract on November 25th, the New Jersey Devils have recalled forward Samuel Laberge from their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.

Laberge is at Devils practice this morning and could very well make his NHL debut with the club in the coming days, perhaps even in tomorrow’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Should Laberge get the chance to make his NHL debut, it would be a wonderful moment for a player who has been through so much on his path to such an opportunity.

Laberge’s pro hockey journey began in traditional fashion: after three seasons as a top-six power forward in the QMJHL with the Rimouski Océanic, including a campaign spent as their captain, Laberge signed an AHL deal with the Texas Stars.

A power forward capable of chipping in solid offensive numbers in junior, Laberge became more of a fourth-line grinder at the AHL level, and didn’t see his name on the scoresheet often. As a result, his standing and role in Texas slowly eroded as the team opted to give bigger opportunities to other players. He also suffered an injury that cost him valuable momentum and a full two months of his second campaign with the Stars.

After scoring just seven points in 2018-19, Laberge’s time in Texas ended. He had planned on heading to Manitoba on a professional tryout agreement with the Winnipeg Jets’ AHL affiliate, the Moose. But his plans had to grind to a halt, as his father had been diagnosed with cancer.

Laberge made the decision to pause the chase of his NHL dream and opted to stay closer to home rather than continue in camp with the Moose. Laberge later explained the decision to Devils team reporter Amanda Stein saying, “I wanted to spend the time with my father,” which led Laberge to forgo AHL opportunities. Laberge  “wasn’t sure if [he] still wanted to play hockey,” but opted to remain in the game by playing in the semi-pro LNAH alongside taking on work in construction.

In 2020, Laberge re-joined the ranks of professional hockey, returning to the state of Texas to join the ECHL’s Allen Americans. He began to excel there, finishing with 17 goals and 42 points in 55 combined regular season and postseason games. Laberge then signed with the Devils’ ECHL affiliate, the Adirondack Thunder, for the 2021-22 campaign but quickly played his way back into the AHL by scoring 10 points in 12 ECHL games.

Laberge spent most of 2021-22 with the Utica Comets and last season spent the entire year in Utica, avoiding a single reassignment to the ECHL. So far this season, Laberge has scored three points in eight games for the Comets. He’s not a scoring forward like he was in junior, but the six-foot-two grinder can rack up hits, penalty minutes, and plays with a lot of energy.

Should he end up making his NHL debut, Laberge will likely do so in a limited fourth-line role. But just making it to this point, a point where he has an NHL contract in hand and is now on an NHL roster for the first time, is a remarkable achievement for a hard-working player who just a few years ago was playing semi-pro hockey and had one foot outside of the game.

Pacific Notes: Kylington, Irwin, Barabanov, Rutta, Kunin

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Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington skated with a small group today but head coach Ryan Huska cautioned (video link) that the blueliner is still a long way away from returning.  Kylington signed a two-year, $5MM deal in August 2022 but has yet to play a game on that agreement, missing all of last season and the first seven weeks of this one for personal reasons.  Huska noted that Kylington has skated on his own a bit so this wasn’t the first time he hit the ice but there is no timetable for when he might be able to return.  Kylington is currently on LTIR but with Calgary recently moving Nikita Zadorov to Vancouver, they now have some flexibility to work with when the time comes to welcome him back to the active roster.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • Matt Irwin’s stint with Vancouver was short-lived as he has been returned to AHL Abbotsford, per the AHL’s Transactions Log. The 31-year-old signed with the Canucks in free agency but he wound up clearing waivers in training camp, resulting in Irwin seeing his first minor league action since the 2016-17 campaign.  He has two assists in 13 games with Abbotsford so far.
  • The Sharks could soon welcome back a pair of veterans as head coach David Quinn told reporters including Max Miller of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that defenseman Jan Rutta and winger Alexander Barabanov are very close to returning and should play at some point on their six-game road trip. Rutta has missed the last week and a half with an undisclosed injury and has struggled in his first season with San Jose, notching just one point in 19 games with a 37.7 CF%.  Barabanov, meanwhile, has been out since late October with a finger injury.  After putting up 47 points last season, he was held off the scoresheet in his first six games this year.
  • The news on the injury front wasn’t all good for the Sharks, however. Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relays (Twitter link) that winger Luke Kunin is dealing with an upper-body injury, resulting in him missing tonight’s game against New Jersey.  Kunin sits third on San Jose in goals this season with five, one behind co-leaders Fabian Zetterlund and Mike Hoffman.

Buffalo Sabres Recall Brandon Biro

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The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Brandon Biro from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. He swaps with goaltender Devon Levi, who was reassigned from the Sabres to Rochester yesterday.

The Sabres have an upcoming two-game road trip that will take them through St. Louis and North Carolina, so adding Biro gives the club an extra forward to work with as they embark on that trip.

Biro, 25, was signed to the Sabres organization as an undrafted free agent out of the Big-10 and Penn State. He became an instant impact scorer for Rochester, potting 12 goals and 41 points in his 48-game rookie campaign.

Last season, Biro was Rochester’s top scorer on a points-per-game basis, notching 16 goals and 51 points in just 49 games. He did not play in any NHL games last year, though.

So far this season, Biro has already played in two NHL contests. He has gotten off to a strong AHL start once again, scoring six goals and 12 points in 10 games.

He also has two goals in the NHL, and the Sabres will hope that his offense can continue to translate and Biro can help them get some valuable points against two tough road opponents.

Jets Assign Dominic Toninato To AHL

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Earlier this month, the Jets recalled Dominic Toninato from AHL Manitoba under emergency conditions and then converted him to a regular recall one day later.  His time with Winnipeg is up at least for now as the team announced (Twitter link) that the center has been sent back down to the Moose.

The 29-year-old has played in five games with the Moose this season and has been productive in those contests, collecting four points.  Toninato produced at a similar rate in Manitoba last year with 19 goals and 16 helpers in 50 contests, helping him earn a two-year contract this offseason which featured a $400K guaranteed salary in each one.

Toninato is in his fourth season with Winnipeg, suiting up in 84 games for them.  He also had stints with Colorado and Florida; all told, he has played in 169 NHL contests, collecting 12 goals and 18 assists.

The veteran has been up for two fairly long stretches with the Jets without seeing any NHL action.  Between being up for 19 days on his October recall and eight more (on regular recall) this time around, Toninato was getting close to the 30-day threshold which would have necessitated him being placed on waivers to go back down.  That clock is now on hold again, at least for the time being.

Kraken Recall Andrew Poturalski

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Kraken center Andrew Poturalski didn’t get a chance to play in his first recall of the season but he’ll get another opportunity to play with the big club as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled him from AHL Coachella Valley.

The 29-year-old was brought up earlier this month for a week and a half but spent that time as Seattle’s reserve forward.  He was sent back down to the Firebirds last week to get in some game action and suited up for his first contest in nearly two weeks on Saturday.

Poturalski is in his second year in the Kraken’s organization after signing with them as a free agent in the 2022 offseason.  He has been quite productive at the AHL level throughout his career including a 101-point campaign in 2021-22 but it hasn’t yielded many opportunities as he has just four career NHL appearances under his belt where he has two assists.

For now, at least, Poturalski will likely resume the reserve role as Seattle has a dozen other healthy forwards on its active roster but should someone need a night off, he might get a chance to make his first NHL appearance since 2021.

Sharks Sign Justin Bailey To NHL Deal, Place Filip Zadina On IR

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The San Jose Sharks have announced that they’ve signed forward Justin Bailey to an NHL contract and placed forward Filip Zadina on the injured reserve. Bailey has signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Sharks with an NHL salary of $775K and a salary of $300K at the AHL level.

Bailey had a professional try-out with the Sharks this season, which he converted into an AHL contract with their affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. The 28-year-old dressed in 16 games in the AHL, posting six goals and five assists, which was good enough to lead the team in scoring. After signing his contract, Bailey was quickly recalled by the Sharks to replace the injured Zadina. Bailey has five goals and four assists in 82 NHL games with three different NHL teams.

The Sharks also announced today that Zadina has been placed on the IR. The former sixth-overall pick left the Sharks game on Friday night against the Montreal Canadiens and did not return. He reportedly was dealing with an upper-body injury and did not dress for San Jose’s game against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Zadina signed a one-year deal with the Sharks in the offseason to ignite his NHL career after struggling through five seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. Thus far with San Jose, Zadina has been unable to find any traction, as he has just three goals and two assists in 20 games while posting a -19.

Toronto Maple Leafs Loan Alex Steeves To AHL

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that they’ve loaned forward Alex Steeves to their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Steeves was recalled last week and served as a health scratch for the Maple Leafs in their losses to the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins over the weekend.

The 23-year-old has yet to play in an NHL game this season but has six games of experience, all with the Maple Leafs. Steeves has suited up in three games in each of the past two seasons, notching a single assist over that time. The story has been much different in the AHL, as Steeves has proved to be a solid scoring option with the Marlies. In 14 games this season, he has 11 goals and seven assists and is +2. For his AHL career, Steeves has dressed in 137 games and has 115 points.

Steeves spent his NCAA career with the University of Notre Dame before he signed with the Leafs as an undrafted free agent in 2021. His return to the AHL means he will have an opportunity to build on an 11-game point streak that remains intact. Steeves has 11 goals and five assists during the streak, and if he can continue to pile on the offense for the Marlies, he may be able to force his way into the Maple Leafs lineup at some point this season.

The Maple Leafs have not received a ton of offensive production from their bottom six forwards thus far this year, and with how tight they are against the salary cap, they may have no other choice other than exploring internal options to try and improve the offensive production they get from their bottom two lines.

Ottawa Senators Reassign Roby Järventie, Mads Søgaard

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In advance of tomorrow’s game against the Florida Panthers, the Ottawa Senators have reassigned netminder Mads Søgaard and forward Roby Järventie to their AHL affiliate, the Bellville Senators.

With Søgaard, this reassignment is likely an indication that starter Joonas Korpisalo is ready to at least dress as the backup goalie tomorrow against the Panthers. Korpisalo had been injured, prompting the Søgaard recall, but there was hope that he’d be ready for the Florida game tomorrow. With this reassignment, it now appears those hopes have become reality.

Søgaard, 22, did not see game action in his latest NHL stint with Ottawa. He has been strong in eight games as the starter for Belleville, posting a 4-3 record, 2.35 goals-against-average, and .923 save percentage.

As for Järventie, this reassignment is less based on roster juggling and likely more about performance. Given the first NHL opportunity of his career, Järventie didn’t receive many minutes and didn’t do very much with the ice time he did receive. Other than registering his first NHL point in a surprising victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on November eighth, Järventie didn’t make much of a mark.

He’s been significantly better at the AHL level, though, and has scored 33 points in his last 46 games there. Now headed back to Belleville, the 21-year-old 2020 33rd overall pick will look to have a productive stretch and potentially earn another shot at the NHL level.

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