West Notes: Bjugstad, Parekh, Askarov
Blues center Nick Bjugstad will miss at least the next five days due to an upper-body injury, the team announced. The injury occurred in the second period of their game against Boston on Tuesday. The 33-year-old has had a quiet start to his career in St. Louis, putting up just four goals and one assist through 25 games while splitting time between down the middle and on the wing. The oddly specific timeframe isn’t quite enough to make Bjugstad eligible for injured reserve at this time as that requires a minimum of a seven-day absence. However, should the team determine that he’ll be out for a little bit longer, they’ll be able to backdate the placement if they need to put him on there to open up a roster spot.
More from out West:
- Flames defenseman Zayne Parekh has been cleared for contact, notes Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun (Twitter link). The rookie has missed more than a month due to an upper-body injury. However, it’s unlikely to be Calgary who immediately benefits from his return to health since Parekh will soon be joining Canada’s entry for the upcoming World Juniors. If he doesn’t go to their camp right away, he’d be eligible for a conditioning assignment with AHL Calgary, somewhere he’s ineligible to play for this season on a full-time basis.
- Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov didn’t play last night due to illness but he has rejoined the team at the next stop of their road trip in Toronto, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. As expected, it has been an up-and-down year for San Jose’s top goalie prospect but he has posted a respectable 3.14 GAA with a .901 SV% in 19 starts so far. The Sharks used an EBUG as the backup on Tuesday in Philadelphia and the fact no netminder has been recalled since suggests they expect Askarov will at least be able to serve as the backup on Thursday.
Rangers Reassign Brandon Scanlin
Dec. 7: Scanlin has cleared waivers and his on his way to Hartford, per Friedman.
Dec. 6: After missing the preseason and the first two months of the regular season due to a lower-body injury, Rangers defenseman Brandon Scanlin has received the green light to return. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that New York has placed him on waivers, meaning he has been activated off season-opening IR.
The 26-year-old will be starting his fifth professional campaign, spent entirely with the Rangers after they signed him as an undrafted college free agent in 2022. Scanlin spent three seasons with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, picking up 11 goals and 51 assists over 98 appearances.
However, offensive production has been much harder to come by in the pros. Scanlin has played in 206 games with AHL Hartford over the last four seasons but has only managed 20 goals and 26 assists. Over his three full pro seasons, he has been consistent with his lowest point total being 14 (last season) and his highest 16. Scanlin has one career NHL appearance under his belt, that coming back in March 2024.
Scanlin is in the final season of a two-year, two-way contract that carries a $775K AAV in the NHL and a guaranteed payout of $250K. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim but the likeliest scenario is that he clears and returns to the Wolf Pack once again.
Stars Place Tyler Seguin And Lian Bichsel On LTIR
The Stars have been hit hard by the injury bug this season and recently lost two more players to longer-term injuries. Today, the team announced (Twitter link) that forward Tyler Seguin and defenseman Lian Bichsel have been placed on LTIR.
Seguin’s placement, made retroactively to December 2nd, should come as no surprise as he was diagnosed with a long-term ACL injury. The exact nature of the injury is still being evaluated which will determine if there’s a small chance the 33-year-old could return at some point late in the playoffs or if his entire 2025-26 campaign has come to an early end.
That particular distinction, when made, will be notable. Dallas has placed Seguin on regular LTIR, meaning the potential cap flexibility of the placement is limited to last year’s average salary, or $3.82MM. However, if it’s determined that there is no chance that he can return in the playoffs, the Stars will be able to put him on season-ending LTIR. If they do that, they will be able to get potential cap flexibility of his full AAV of $9.85MM which could open up some opportunities for GM Jim Nill to add to his roster.
As for Bichsel, his placement is retroactive to November 30th. Earlier this week, it was revealed that he’ll miss the next six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a lower-body injury. The Stars had been easing him in during his first full NHL campaign, keeping his ice time around the 16-minute mark while he has enough of a lead in the hits department (85, 40 ahead of Nathan Bastian for second) that he will still likely be the team leader in that category when he returns to the lineup next month, assuming his recovery goes as planned.
With the moves, Dallas now has a pair of open roster spots. It seems likely that those could be filled by other players coming off LTIR. Defenseman Nils Lundkvist and center Matt Duchene are believed to be nearing returns and today’s LTIR placements give the Stars enough cap room to formally bring them back onto the active roster. Blueliner Thomas Harley also skated today, per D Magazine’s Robert Tiffin (Twitter link) but he was never moved off the active roster when he was injured.
Avalanche Reassign Tristen Nielsen
Saturday: It was a short-lived recall for Nielsen. Following their game this afternoon (in which he didn’t play), the Avs announced (Twitter link) that he has been sent back to the Eagles.
Friday: The Avalanche have added some extra depth up front in advance of their game against the Rangers on Saturday. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Tristen Nielsen from AHL Colorado.
The 25-year-old started the season on a minor league deal but a strong showing early on with the Eagles resulted in the Avs converting him to a two-year, two-way NHL pact that carries a $775K cap charge. This is now his third recall since signing that contract in late October.
Nielsen has played in four games with the Avalanche, picking up an assist, three shots on goal, and nine hits in 6:18 of playing time per night on their fourth line. He has been much more productive with the Eagles, tallying 10 goals and five assists in 18 outings in the minors.
Colorado already had a full 23-player roster following Wednesday’s recall of Trent Miner from the Eagles with Scott Wedgewood injured. Accordingly, another roster move needed to be made before officially adding Nielsen to the roster but that was not announced by the team. If Wedgewood is going to miss some time, he could land on injured reserve while Gavin Brindley – though returning soon – is eligible to retroactively be placed on IR.
PHR Mailbag: Standings, Hot Seat Coaches, Sleeper Trade Candidate, Blues, Murphy, Lightning, Siegenthaler
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include why we might have to wait a while for a coaching change, possible trade frameworks for a pair of Blues veterans, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in one of our next two mailbag columns.
letsgonats: At the 1/4 point, which NHL playoff teams from last year will not make it? The East, in particular, is so pinched together that it looks like three or four teams will be fighting for a spot on the last game of the season.
Also, how likely are the Capitals to figure out their power play? They are dominating 5×5 but anemic on the power play?
For playoff teams from last season missing this year, I could see Montreal slipping out. Yes, their goaltending should turn around but they’re also scoring at an unsustainable rate. Between that and several key injuries, it wouldn’t shock me if they go from just make to just miss. I’m not ready to write off Toronto just yet but it’s heading in that direction, especially if they can’t get both goalies healthy at the same time which was a huge part of their success a year ago. Florida’s trending that way as well but they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt this early. And with the East being so close, all of this could change depending on what types of injuries we see over the next few months. That’s the biggest wild card of them all.
In the West, I have a hard time seeing St. Louis getting out of its tailspin. This feels like a year where they decide to move a couple of veterans and do a quick reset. Edmonton’s out right now but at some point, they’re going to get going. Winnipeg is out and could be in some trouble if they don’t start treading water soon until Connor Hellebuyck returns but it’s too early to predict they won’t bounce back; they’ve earned a longer leash.
As for Washington’s power play, it’s around 2% below the league average this season. That’s not great by any stretch but with how it was last season (23.5%) with largely the same personnel, I think there’s a good chance it rebounds to at least league-average level. That’s still going to come in a few percent below where they were a year ago but if they’re around the middle of the pack, that’s at least a step up from where they are now.
mister noons: Who do you have finishing bottom two in each conference?
As of this asking the bottom five in the West are WPG, STL, NAS, CGY, VAN. In the East, it is DET, OTT, TOR, FLA, BUF.
For the West, I think Calgary is going to be there. Without Dustin Wolf dragging them to competitiveness, we’re now seeing the roster we thought we’d see a year ago, one that has some pieces but isn’t good enough. And with Rasmus Andersson looking like a safe bet to move, it’s probably going to get weaker. Right now, Nashville would have to be my other pick. I thought they’d be at least a bit better this season but they’re still near the bottom. And if they move out some veterans, it could get a bit worse. If St. Louis winds up selling more than I think they might, they could get into the mix as well.
The East is much harder to predict considering the bottom seems to change every few days. I want the answer to not be Buffalo just because that team needs to get going at some point but they can’t win away from home and seem to be stuck in a perpetual rut. They’re at least a safe pick. As I just noted, I can’t rule out Toronto and Florida from being playoff teams and there aren’t any pushovers in the Metropolitan this season which is rather surprising. There are some red flags with Detroit that make me think they could slip in the second half and given how tight the standings are, that might be enough to drop them to the bottom two. But I’m not very confident in that answer.
Gbear: Which Head Coach gets fired first (my pick is well known)?
If Nashville was going to make a move to try to save the season, I suspect they’d have done it already. Things aren’t going well in Buffalo but at this point, they’ll just let the season run out and let Lindy Ruff’s coaching contract expire as originally planned (and then probably shuffle him into a new role). Vancouver and Seattle aren’t doing much but have new head coaches so they’re not making changes so quickly. It’s rough in Calgary but Ryan Huska was extended not that long ago which buys him more time.
Where am I going with this? I wouldn’t be shocked if the first coaching firing came from a team with playoff expectations that doesn’t want to fall too far out of the race. If Edmonton doesn’t get going soon, Kris Knoblauch could be unfairly let go to try to shake things up without shaking up the roster. It would take some time to get to that point though. The other one that comes to mind is Jim Hiller and I write that as they’re in a playoff spot and a recent denial that they’re considering a change. But it’s a soft grip at best on a postseason position and GM Ken Holland didn’t hire him for the role. If the Kings falter over the next little while, that’s one that wouldn’t surprise me even though he’s done a decent job.
I don’t expect to see a lot of in-season firings. So many teams have changed coaches in the last 24 months which isn’t much of a shelf life for a coach. Owners don’t want to be paying a bunch of coaches not to coach so I expect we’ll see more patience, especially with the standings being tighter than usual.
lgr34561: Are there any players you think will be traded before the deadline that people are sleeping on?
If I could simply say ‘I don’t know’ here, this would be a time for me to use it. There is part of me that expects the trade market to not materialize much as the playoff salary cap is probably going to cut down on in-season swaps. With teams not really getting time to plan their rosters accordingly, this could be a quiet year. On the other hand, the level of parity could increase the number of buyers or teams willing to make ‘hockey trades’ in which case things would open up considerably and we could have a few deals that come out of nowhere.
But that’s not a fun answer so I’ll take a stab at a sleeper trade candidate. Two years ago, Kent Johnson struggled, leading some to wonder about his future in Columbus. He signed a bridge deal and then had a breakout 57-point effort last season. However, he has really struggled out of the gate this year and some of those questions are back. But Johnson has shown enough to be appealing to some teams. The fact he has a center background (though he hasn’t played there lately) only helps his value. If there are ‘hockey trades’ coming where it’s an even swap of young core players, I could see Johnson being a viable candidate to be moved.
Gmm8811: If the Blues move on from Schenn or Faulk, what do you think a reasonable return for each would be? I’d prefer draft picks. Do they have to retain any money? Armstrong usually doesn’t like to do that.
Let’s answer these out of order. I don’t think St. Louis has to retain on either player in a trade. Brayden Schenn is a veteran center with enough of a track record to command a significant trade market and if the Blues are willing to take a player or two back to offset money short-term, that would work. Justin Faulk’s market probably won’t be as strong but with one less year left on his contract (he’s only signed through 2026-27), I think there are teams that would take on the full deal, as long as they could send a player or two back again.
However, while GM Doug Armstrong may not like to retain, the trade returns will undoubtedly be better if he did. That will have to be factored into the equation; is the extra value of the return worth the extra dead cap space? It wouldn’t shock me if it was.
As to what a return would look like, I know Schenn’s having a down year but I still think it starts with a first-round pick. The demand for centers is sky-high and that’s great news for the Blues. Last year, the believed ask was that plus two strong prospects including a high-end one. I don’t think that’s necessarily viable now but a first, a key prospect, and a young roster player (or one who is near-ready) could be doable. If St. Louis sells, I don’t see them embarking on a full-scale rebuild so the young roster player could very well be a crucial element of the return. If they have to take a more expensive player back to match money, that could ultimately expand the package a bit with the Blues adding a mid-round pick or equivalent asset.
With Faulk, a lot is dependent on if they retain or not. To stick with the premise of the question, I’ll take the no answer. In that case, the return St. Louis paid for Cam Fowler (a second and a prospect while also getting a fourth back) might be a reasonable equivalent while, again, possibly also taking someone back to balance the money. I’m not sure retaining would land them a first but it would probably give them a big boost in the caliber of the prospect coming back to them.
Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Lightning, Pinto
While Joseph Woll landed on injured reserve today, the hope is that he will only miss the minimum of seven days, notes Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link). Woll had been used quite heavily by the Maple Leafs since returning from a leave of absence, making eight starts in nine games and did well, posting a 2.44 GAA and a .923 SV%. With Anthony Stolarz not close to returning, it appears Toronto has dodged the worst-case scenario when it comes to their other netminder.
Meanwhile, a pair of injured blueliners took part in today’s morning skate as Nick Barden of The Hockey News mentions that Chris Tanev and Marshall Rifai both participated in non-contact jerseys. Tanev has missed more than a month with an upper-body injury after briefly returning from an upper-body injury and head coach Craig Berube hopes that Tanev will be able to get him more involved in practice over the next week. Rifai, meanwhile, has yet to play this season after suffering a wrist injury in the preseason. Both players are currently on LTIR.
Elsewhere around the Atlantic:
- While the Lightning will get one of their stars back tonight, they’ll be without two others. Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times relays that goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and winger Nikita Kucherov are listed as day-to-day with undisclosed injuries. Tampa Bay was hoping to have Vasilevskiy back after missing Thursday’s game but that won’t be the case, meaning Jonas Johansson will get the start once again. Meanwhile, it’s unclear as to what Kucherov’s injury is as well but he played over 25 minutes on Thursday against Pittsburgh so it’s something he was evidently able to play through at some point in the game.
- The Senators have placed center Shane Pinto on injured reserve, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, who adds that Pinto is expected to miss two weeks and likely more, suggesting that a return after the holiday break may be more realistic. The open roster spot was used to recall Hayden Hodgson earlier today. The 25-year-old got off to a strong start to his season and has 12 goals in 27 games along with a four-year, $30MM contract extension that begins in 2026-27.
Rangers Searching For Blueline Power Play Help
With blueliner Adam Fox landing on LTIR last month due to an upper-body injury late last month, the Rangers find themselves without their top blueliner and a key threat offensively from the back end. While they won’t be able to add someone who can log the nearly 24 minutes per game that Fox can, finding someone who could help in the offensive zone in a more limited role could be more doable.
To that end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that New York is looking to see if they can acquire someone to help quarterback the power play. One player he suggested as a possible option is former Ranger Erik Gustafsson who is currently playing in the minors after the Red Wings passed him through waivers unclaimed back in October.
Interestingly, offense from the defense hasn’t been an issue for the Rangers in the early going this season with their blueliners combining for 16 tallies, good for fourth in the league. Fox only has three of those while newcomer Vladislav Gavrikov is leading the way with six.
However, Gavrikov, nor any of their other defenders, is a natural power play threat. As a result, the Rangers have, at times, gone with five-forward units while Braden Schneider is second among New York defenders in power play ice time per game; he has all of one goal in 29 outings this season. With Gavrikov not being utilized at all with the man advantage, their existing options are limited.
The Rangers currently have a power play success rate (19.4%) that checks in just below the league average (20%) while offensively, they’re in the bottom third of the league in total goals scored. Filtering by conference, they’re the lowest-scoring team in the East in terms of goals per game. Suffice it to say, there is certainly a void for GM Chris Drury to try to fill here.
However, their salary cap flexibility is rather limited. Per PuckPedia, the Rangers are more than $1MM into LTIR already and while Fox being on there gives them some short-term wiggle room, they have to get back into compliance when he’s activated (or just over the $95.5MM ceiling as Matt Rempe is also on there at the moment). That means whoever they look to get needs to be someone who has a cap hit that can be cleared off the books when Fox comes back.
That’s not the case with Gustafsson. In the final season of a two-year deal, he carries a $2MM cap charge, one that’s lowered to $850K while he’s in the minors. Gustafsson could fit the extra role they want to fill as he did a few years ago with them but the higher cap charge means that Detroit would either need to retain or New York would need to send someone the other way to partially offset the money. Whether they find a way to make that work or find someone else to fill that void, it appears that Drury is searching for some outside help on the back end.
Pacific Notes: Sharks, Hart, Karlsson
The Sharks have not yet decided if they will loan forward Michael Misa or defenseman Sam Dickinson to play for Canada at the upcoming World Juniors, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Misa is set to debut with the AHL’s Barracuda tonight while on a conditioning assignment, one that can last up to two weeks. The second overall pick back in June has been used quite sparingly this season, getting into just seven NHL games where he has a goal and two assists. Accordingly, he hasn’t officially activated the first year of his entry-level deal. If Misa plays out his AHL stint and then joins Canada’s roster, that would allow San Jose to wait until January before making a final call on keeping him in the NHL or sending him back to junior.
As for Dickinson, the 19-year-old has played much more frequently, getting into 21 games with the Sharks so far. However, he has been limited to just one goal and one assist after putting up 91 points in just 55 games with OHL London last season. Dickinson is averaging a respectable 14:27 per game of ice time but would have a much more prominent role at the World Juniors. With San Jose carrying eight healthy blueliners, they wouldn’t necessarily need to bring anyone up from the Barracuda to take his place on the roster if they were to loan Dickinson out.
More from the Pacific:
- Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, relays Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Twitter link). He sustained the injury in his season debut on Tuesday against Chicago, one that saw him make 27 saves in a shootout victory over Chicago. Vegas recalled Jesper Vikman from AHL Henderson earlier today and they are using an emergency roster exception that lasts up to 48 hours to allow them to temporarily exceed the 23-player roster limit.
- Still with the Golden Knights, they’ve placed center William Karlsson on LTIR, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). The move was needed to afford Vikman’s recall. Karlsson last played on November 8th, meaning that he has already missed the required 10 games and 24 days, assuming the placement was back-dated. The 32-year-old has four goals and three assists in 14 games this season and remains listed as out week-to-week.
Atlantic Notes: Edvinsson, Senators, Luostarinen
The Red Wings gave Moritz Seider a big contract two years ago when they signed him to a seven-year, $59.85MM contract ($8.55MM AAV). In his latest mailbag (subscription link), The Athletic’s Max Bultman suggests that pending RFA blueliner Simon Edvinsson’s next contract could fall in that range. While he lacks the offensive output that players like Jackson LaCombe and Luke Hughes ($9MM apiece) have achieved, the 22-year-old is averaging nearly 22 minutes per game, not far off Seider’s usage in his platform year. With the salary cap projected to jump much faster in the next few years, it’s certainly plausible that Edvinsson’s next contract lands in Seider’s range even if he isn’t quite as impactful overall as the 2022 Calder Trophy winner.
More from the Atlantic:
- The Senators won’t have center Shane Pinto available to them for tomorrow’s game against St. Louis, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. He suffered a lower-body injury early in Thursday’s game and is still being evaluated at this time. Meanwhile, there is no timeline for fellow middleman Lars Eller’s return to the lineup from an undisclosed injury. Ottawa recently recalled center Stephen Halliday and head coach Travis Green confirmed that they are contemplating another recall. With Ridly Greig being able to move back down the middle, the Sens won’t be restricted to only considering centers; winger Arthur Kaliyev is off to a strong start and could be worthy of a promotion.
- Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen returned to practice today for the first time since suffering burns while barbecuing, mentions team reporter Rob Darragh. He has missed the last eight games while recovering. The 27-year-old has taken on a bigger role this season in Aleksander Barkov’s absence, collecting 10 points in 18 games while logging a career-high 16:46 per game of ice time. Head coach Paul Maurice wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Luostarinen playing this weekend; if he does, Florida won’t have to make a roster move as they kept him on the active roster while injured.
Snapshots: Lucic, Pinto, Woll, Kirsch
With his time in St. Louis’ organization now over, veteran winger Milan Lucic is now looking to figure out his next step. It appears that he has an offer on the table to play this season but he will have to travel to get that chance. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the veteran has an offer from a team in Scotland. Lucic played in five games with AHL Springfield before being released a little more than a week ago and it seems unlikely that another playing opportunity in North America will materialize. However, Dreger suggests that there could be an off-ice role available with an NHL team if he decides to jump right into his post-playing career but for now, he’ll need to decide how much he wants to keep playing and make a decision on the one offer he has.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Senators announced (Twitter link) that center Shane Pinto left tonight’s game with a lower-body injury. The injury was sustained in the opening period on a hit from Mika Zibanejad. Even though his production has tapered off a bit as of late, the 25-year-old still leads Ottawa in goals with 12 in 27 games and came into the night averaging a career-high 19:30 per game of ice time. An absence for him would be a big blow to their center depth.
- The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Joseph Woll suffered a lower-body injury tonight against Carolina and did not return after playing the first two periods. Since returning from a leave of absence, Toronto has used Woll quite frequently, starting him in eight of nine games. He has done rather well, too, posting a .919 SV% in those outings. Anthony Stolarz has been out for nearly four weeks with an upper-body injury and hasn’t resumed skating so any absence for Woll would be problematic for a Toronto team that’s trying to recover from a tough start to the season.
- Sharks prospect Christian Kirsch has decommitted from UMass and his recruitment process has reopened, reports Brad Elliott Schlossmann of the Grand Forks Herald (Twitter link). The 19-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2024 and he spent last season in the USHL before coming to OHL Kitchener this season. With them, he has a 2.54 GAA and a .900 SV% in 18 games.