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Bruins Recall Jesper Boqvist, Assign Georgii Merkulov To AHL

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With there being a bit of uncertainty with Boston’s lineup for tonight, the Bruins have opted to make a recall up front, announcing that winger Jesper Boqvist has been recalled from Providence.  To bring Mason Lohrei back up after being papered down yesterday, Georgii Merkulov was assigned to Providence as well.

The 25-year-old had 21 points in 70 games with New Jersey last season but was non-tendered back in June, making him an unrestricted free agent.  Boqvist eventually settled for a one-year, one-way contract worth the minimum salary of $775K a couple of weeks later with the hopes that he could lock down a full-time spot on Boston’s fourth line.

That hasn’t gone completely as planned as instead of securing a full-time spot, he cleared waivers at the end of training camp and has spent most of the season in the minors.  Boqvist has done well down there, picking up 10 goals and 13 assists in 31 games with Providence while also making a pair of appearances with Boston.

As for Merkulov, he played in four games with Boston while on recall, being held off the scoresheet while averaging 10:35 per night.  The 23-year-old has been quite productive with Providence, however, notching 14 goals and 16 assists in 31 games and should go right back to being in a top role for them.

As Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic notes (Twitter link), winger James van Riemsdyk is day-to-day so it would appear Boqvist’s recall is to help cover against that.  Lohrei could also take his place in the lineup if they want to go with seven blueliners while Matthew Poitras is also available after returning from his stint at the World Juniors.

Senators Notes: Tarasenko, Pinto, Joseph

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With the Senators underachieving considerably this season, they’ll likely be selling leading up to the March 8th trade deadline barring some kind of significant turnaround in the standings.  To that end, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the team is expected to approach veteran winger Vladimir Tarasenko about waiving his no-trade clause before the deadline.  The 32-year-old inked a one-year, $5MM deal in late July after longer-term agreements that were more to his liking failed to materialize on the open market even after changing agents just days into free agency.  Tarasenko hasn’t lit it up with Ottawa but does have 24 points in 32 games and would add some secondary scoring to a contending squad.  The Sens would likely need to retain up to 50% in order to maximize the return when the time comes to move him.

More from Ottawa:

  • Garrioch notes in the same piece that while the original plan was for Shane Pinto to have a conditioning stint with AHL Belleville later this month when he’s eligible to return, that’s no longer the case. The 23-year-old is allowed to start skating with the team on Wednesday while his first eligible game back is January 21st, allowing for ample time for him to work on his conditioning and get up to speed before making his debut.  Ottawa still needs to sign Pinto but that will likely have to be a low-cost one-year deal given their salary cap situation.
  • In a separate piece from Garrioch, he notes that winger Mathieu Joseph has resumed skating as he works his way back from a lower-body injury. He was recently placed on LTIR to accommodate Thomas Chabot’s activation but that was a short-term solution as Joseph could return as soon as Tuesday.  If that happens, the Sens will need to do some roster juggling to get back into cap compliance.  Joseph was off to a strong start before suffering the injury last month, picking up 19 points in his first 25 games.

Blackhawks Claim Zach Sanford Off Waivers From Coyotes

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As the injury bug continues to strike, the Blackhawks have turned to the waiver wire.  As first reported by PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan (Twitter link), Chicago has claimed forward Zach Sanford off waivers from Arizona.

The 29-year-old was waived by Arizona on Friday.  He has played in 11 games since being recalled in December, picking up a pair of points along with eight blocks and four hits while logging a little over nine minutes a night on the fourth line.

Sanford is a veteran of over 300 career NHL games but has bounced around a lot lately, spending time with St. Louis, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Nashville, and Arizona since 2021.  At his best, he was a capable third-line power forward but in recent seasons, he has settled in as a recallable veteran when needed.  Sanford has spent most of this season with AHL Tucson after inking a one-year, two-way deal with the Coyotes over the summer, picking up a goal and three assists in 16 games.

While on the surface, this might seem like a puzzling claim for a rebuilding team to make, Chicago now has eight forwards on injured reserve.  After making several recalls from AHL Rockford, they also picked up Rem Pitlick in a trade from Pittsburgh earlier today and are now adding Sanford merely to get to 12 healthy forwards on the active roster.  It stands to reason that Sanford could be back on the wire once some of these players come back but for now, his stay in the NHL will last at least a little while longer.

Predators Recall Denis Gurianov

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Denis Gurianov has been one of the top scorers in the AHL so far this season and he has been rewarded for his efforts.  The Predators announced that they have recalled the winger from AHL Milwaukee.

It has been quite the fall from grace for the 26-year-old in recent years.  He had a 20-goal campaign with Dallas in 2019-20 and looked like he’d be part of their long-term core.  However, Gurianov’s numbers had steadily dropped since then and near the trade deadline last season, the Stars moved on, sending him to Montreal in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov.

Things didn’t go much better with the Canadiens as Gurianov had just eight points in 23 games, resulting in the team declining to tender him a qualifying offer of $2.9MM, making him an unrestricted free agent last summer.

Gurianov’s market wasn’t particularly robust, resulting in him having to settle for a one-year, $850K one-way agreement.  The expectation was that he’d add a bit of offensive depth to a bottom-six group that didn’t exactly feature much firepower on paper.

However, that plan didn’t exactly pan out either.  After a tough preseason that saw him record just one assist in four games, Gurianov was waived and after clearing, was sent to the Admirals.  To his credit, he has fared quite well down there, leading the team in scoring with 30 points in 27 games, good for a tie for sixth in AHL points.  He’ll now get a chance to try to contribute to a Nashville attack that sits in the middle of the pack for goals, ranking 15th in that department.

Blackhawks Place Connor Bedard And Nick Foligno On Injured Reserve

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Already dealing with a long injury list, things just got even worse on that front for the Blackhawks.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve placed center Connor Bedard and winger Nick Foligno on injured reserve.  Bedard has a fractured jaw while Foligno is dealing with a fractured left finger.

Both players sustained the injuries during Friday’s game against New Jersey.  Bedard was injured on a hit from Brendan Smith, leaving the game immediately after that.  The 2023 top pick has been as advertised this season, leading Chicago in scoring with 15 goals and 18 assists in 39 games, making him the odds-on favorite for the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year.  It also helped him land his first All-Star nod earlier this week.

While no timeline for a return was provided for either player, it’s worth noting that Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner is working his way back from a fractured jaw as well – he skated with the team today.  His recovery timeline was estimated at six weeks at the time of injury so it’s possible the Blackhawks could be without their star rookie through the All-Star break at a minimum.

As for Foligno, the 36-year-old has come as advertised after his rights were acquired during the offseason.  While he’s playing a lot higher in the lineup than he had in recent years, Foligno has been one of Chicago’s more productive forwards, collecting eight goals and nine assists in his 39 appearances so far.  Both sides appear to be open about the possibility of a contract extension for the pending UFA.

Bedard and Foligno join a very crowded injury list that also includes forwards Taylor Hall, Tyler Johnson, Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Beauvillier, Taylor Raddysh, and Joey Anderson along with defenseman Seth Jones.  Chicago just swung a deal to acquire Rem Pitlick to get back to now 11 forwards on its active roster but another roster move will likely be coming before their game tomorrow against Calgary.

Blackhawks Acquire Rem Pitlick

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The Blackhawks have added some extra depth up front, acquiring winger Rem Pitlick from Pittsburgh in exchange for a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick.  Both teams have announced the swap.

Pitlick spent the previous two seasons with Montreal before being included as part of the three-team swap which also involved San Jose, landing the Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson.

The 26-year-old impressed as a waiver claim by the Canadiens in 2021, picking up 26 points in 46 games.  That was enough for Montreal to give him a two-year, $2.2MM contract, seemingly giving him some stability.  However, Pitlick cleared waivers last season, splitting the year between AHL Laval and Montreal where he had just 15 points in 46 contests, leading to a trade request, one that was granted with his inclusion in the three-way trade.

However, the change of scenery didn’t work out quite as planned for Pitlick.  Pittsburgh’s cap situation helped land him back on waivers and since clearing at the end of training camp, he has played exclusively with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  Pitlick has been productive down there, notching 24 points in 32 games to lead the Baby Pens in scoring.

Presumably, Pitlick will now get an NHL look with a team where the salary cap situation won’t be a concern.  The Blackhawks have six forwards on injured reserve at the moment while Connor Bedard left yesterday’s game due to injury so Pitlick should get an opportunity to make an impact with Chicago.  A strong second half showing could give him a nice boost heading into unrestricted free agency this summer, just like it did two years ago.

Aaron Dell Signs PTO With AHL Ontario

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Last month, the Hurricanes signed veteran goaltender Aaron Dell to a tryout agreement, loaning him out to Canada’s Spengler Cup entry a few days later.  While there hasn’t been an announcement from Carolina about him since then, it appears Dell was released as he has already found a new team. Per the AHL’s transactions log, the netminder has signed a tryout agreement with AHL Ontario, the affiliate of the Kings.

The 34-year-old has yet to play this season beyond his stint at the Spengler Cup where he had a 2.59 GAA and a .906 SV% in four games while losing in the semi-final.  Last season, Dell spent most of the year with AHL San Jose, posting a 3.14 GAA with a .898 SV% in 38 contests.  He also got into four games with the Sharks, extending his streak of years with an appearance at the top level to seven.  Dell had a 2.71 GAA and a .913 SV% in those outings, both better than his career averages of 2.92 and .905 respectively.

With Pheonix Copley on LTIR, David Rittich is currently up with the Kings so Dell figures to serve as the veteran backup to prospect Erik Portillo with the Reign.  Meanwhile, with Los Angeles being speculated to be searching for a veteran third-stringer, this signing could take them out of the trade market on that front with Dell being well-suited to fill that role for the time being.

Coyotes To Recall Dylan Guenther

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The Coyotes are bringing up one of their top prospects as PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports (Twitter link) that the team is expected to announce the recall of winger Dylan Guenther from AHL Tucson.

The 20-year-old made Arizona’s roster out of training camp last season and acquitted himself fairly well, picking up six goals and nine assists in 33 games while averaging over 13 minutes a night.  The Coyotes decided that it was best for him to return to junior after that and he joined WHL Seattle for the stretch run.  Guenther was dominant there, collecting 29 points in 20 regular season contests and 28 more in 19 postseason appearances.  By sending him back when they did, the Coyotes ensured that Guenther would not accrue a season of service time toward his UFA eligibility.

This season, Guenther was eligible to go to the AHL unlike last year and Arizona opted to send him to the Roadrunners after training camp.  He has fared quite well in his first taste at that level, leading the team in scoring with 10 goals and 18 assists in 29 games; he’s on a bit of a hot streak with eight points in his last five appearances.

Arizona finds itself only a point out of a Wild Card spot as we near the midway point of the season but has only scored more than two goals once in their last five games.  They’re hoping that bringing up one of their top offensive prospects can help get things going on that front.

East Notes: Senators, Cousins, Murray, Palat, Sergachev

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The Senators are believed to be looking to add a veteran bottom-six forward, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.  It has been a disappointing season so far for Ottawa who is well out of the playoff picture and have already made a coaching and GM change.  With one of the younger rosters in the league, Garrioch notes GM Steve Staios would like to bring in someone to help in the room while adding some grit up front.  The Sens have limited cap space and is currently in LTIR so it will take some roster juggling to make any sort of addition to their group.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • Panthers winger Nick Cousins is in concussion protocol, the team announced (Twitter link). He was injured late in the second period of last night’s game against Arizona on a hit that has Jason Zucker facing potential supplemental discipline.  The 30-year-old has drawn the ire of a couple of opponents in recent weeks with Columbus blueliner Erik Gudbranson also taking exception to a hit.  Cousins is having his worst offensive season so far, notching just two goals and three assists in 37 games.
  • When Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving spoke with the media yesterday, he told reporters including Postmedia’s Terry Koshan that goaltender Matt Murray is on track in his recovery from bilateral hip surgery. Treliving cautioned that he still has a long way to go but as of now, there haven’t been any setbacks.  The pending unrestricted free agent is currently on LTIR and isn’t expected to play during the regular season.
  • Devils winger Ondrej Palat was a late scratch for tonight’s game against Washington with the team announcing (Twitter link) that the veteran has an upper-body injury. The 32-year-old had played in all 35 games leading into this one but has struggled somewhat offensively, collecting just 13 points in those appearances.  Curtis Lazar took Palat’s place in the lineup.
  • The Lightning have placed defenseman Mikhail Sergachev on IR, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has missed the last two weeks with a lower-body injury so this move is purely procedural; if they back-dated it to the date of his injury, he can be activated at any time.  Sergachev has 19 points in 33 games so far this season.

Oilers Activate Dylan Holloway, Assign Him To AHL

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Oilers forward Dylan Holloway has been cleared to return but he won’t be suiting up in Edmonton for the time being.  The team announced that Holloway has been activated off LTIR but he has been assigned to AHL Bakersfield.

The 22-year-old has been limited to just 14 games this season after suffering a knee injury in mid-November.  Holloway has also dealt with wrist and shoulder injuries in the past which have certainly slowed down his development.

While in Edmonton’s lineup this season, Holloway struggled offensively as he tallied just one goal while averaging a little over 11 minutes a night.  That ATOI is actually an improvement on a year ago when he averaged just 9:35 per contest while notching just nine points in 51 games.  For someone who was a first-round pick back in 2020 (14th overall) and was an impactful scorer at Wisconsin, the lack of production has to be some cause for concern.

With that in mind, a stint with the Condors certainly makes some sense.  It would allow Holloway to get his skating legs back under him while also playing much higher up the lineup than he would have had he remained with Edmonton.  It could also give him an opportunity to play his natural center position after primarily playing on the wing with the Oilers.  From a long-term development standpoint, Holloway contributing as a middleman would be a nice outcome for Edmonton but one that they’ll need to be patient for with how much time he has missed already.

Worth noting from a salary cap perspective is that this transaction takes Edmonton out of using LTIR altogether.  Accordingly, they’re now in a position to try to bank at least a little bit of cap space between now and the trade deadline, barring further injuries throwing a wrinkle into those plans.  If that cap space isn’t used, it would reduce the amount of the carryover penalty from Connor Brown’s games played bonus.

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