Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Monahan, Zacha, Giordano
There is some good news and some bad news on the injury front for the Sabres. Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald notes that wingers Alex Tuch (hamstring) and Jordan Greenway (upper body) could suit up later on in Buffalo’s road trip next week. Both players landed on injured reserve last weekend. Tuch has started to get going offensively in recent weeks, collecting 12 points in 13 games since the start of November while Greenway remains quiet at the offensive end with just seven points in 21 games so far in his first full season with Buffalo.
Meanwhile, the news isn’t as good for Zemgus Girgensons. Hoppe relays that the forward has not progressed in his recovery from his lower-body injury. Head coach Don Granato indicated the initial expectation was that he’d be out for about another week but it appears the Sabres will be without the long-time checker for at least a little longer than that.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Canadiens center Sean Monahan reached his $15K bonus by playing in his 26th game of the year against Los Angeles on Thursday, relays Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette. That brings his total compensation for the season to an even $2MM. Monahan opted for this one-year deal last spring, electing to stay in Montreal where he had early success before multiple injuries ended his year. So far, he has stayed healthy and indicated to Cowan that he’d love to sign a long-term deal to stick with the Canadiens. If that doesn’t happen, he’ll likely be one of the more prominent rentals to keep an eye closer to the trade deadline, as long as he isn’t injured at the time.
- The Bruins announced (Twitter link) that center Pavel Zacha suffered an upper-body injury in today’s game against Arizona and did not return. The injury occurred at some point during the first period. The 26-year-old had 57 points in 82 games last year, his first campaign with the Bruins. Zacha has produced at a similar clip this season, posting 19 points in 25 contests heading into today’s action.
- Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano skated before practice today, notes David Alter of The Hockey News (Twitter link). It’s the first time he has skated since suffering a thumb injury late last month. The 40-year-old is averaging nearly 18 minutes a night so far this season and with Toronto missing some other blueliners, they’ll certainly be looking forward to getting him back.
Predators Activate Cody Glass From Injured Reserve
Yesterday, Nashville opened up a pair of roster spots when they assigned Liam Foudy and Spencer Stastney to the minors. One of those spots has now been filled as 102.5 The Game’s Nick Kieser relays (Twitter link) that center Cody Glass has been activated off injured reserve.
Last season was somewhat of a breakout year for the 24-year-old. After being more of a fringe player up to that point, the sixth pick in 2017 locked down a regular middle-six role, setting career highs across the board in games (72), goals (14), assists (21), and points (35). That helped Glass earn a spot on Canada’s entry at the Worlds where he added four more assists in ten games.
His play also helped earn him a two-year, $5MM deal, a nice raise for someone who had to settle for a two-way qualifying offer the year before. The contract basically amounts to a second bridge deal to see if this type of production was repeatable or could be improved on or if he’s likely to remain more of a secondary contributor moving forward.
Unfortunately for him and the Preds, Glass struggled out of the gate offensively this season, recording just one assist in his first nine appearances despite averaging nearly 14 minutes a night of action before suffering an upper-body injury last month. It’s fair to say they’ll be counting on him to provide more than that now that he has been cleared to rejoin the lineup.
Kraken Recall Marian Studenic
With Andre Burakovsky out week-to-week once again, the Kraken have found his short-term replacement, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Marian Studenic from AHL Coachella Valley.
The 25-year-old signed with Seattle as an unrestricted free agent this past summer after being non-tendered by Dallas. After clearing waivers in training camp, Studenic got off to a strong start with the Firebirds, resulting in a short-term recall late last month before being sent back down earlier this week. He has been held off the scoresheet in two appearances with the Kraken but has been productive in the minors, collecting seven goals and five assists in 16 games.
Studenic has 46 career NHL appearances under his belt spanning parts of four seasons between New Jersey, Dallas, and Seattle. He still might have to wait a bit to add to that total as he’s likely to serve as their 13th forward even with Burakovsky’s absence. He is still roughly three weeks and eight games away from needing to go through waivers for a second time this season.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Carolina Hurricanes
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2023-24 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Carolina Hurricanes
Current Cap Hit: $81,694,391 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Jack Drury (one year, $925K)
F Seth Jarvis (one year, $894K)
Potential Bonuses
Jarvis: $500K
Jarvis had an impressive rookie season before stagnating a bit last year. However, he is off to a big start this season, flirting with the point-per-game mark early on. That has him well on his way toward hitting his bonuses at a minimum while he’s the type of player that it wouldn’t be surprising to see Carolina try to work out a long-term deal with. A bridge contract likely checks in around the $4MM mark while a longer-term pact could push closer to $6.5 to $7MM. Drury has carved out a regular role this season, albeit on the fourth line. If he holds onto that for the full season, he could push for a small raise on a short-term bridge contract.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
D Jalen Chatfield ($762.5K, UFA)
D Tony DeAngelo ($1.65MM, UFA)
F Brendan Lemieux ($800K, UFA)
F Jordan Martinook ($1.8MM, UFA)
F Martin Necas ($3MM, RFA)
F Stefan Noesen ($762.5K, UFA)
D Brett Pesce ($4.025MM, UFA)
G Antti Raanta ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Brady Skjei ($5.25MM, UFA)
F Teuvo Teravainen ($5.4MM, UFA)
Teravainen has reached 63 points or more in three of the last five seasons but is also coming off a down year that saw him score just 12 times in 68 games, making this a key platform year. He’s off to a nice start and is near that goal total from 2022-23 already. If he can get back to even the 50-point mark, he could have a shot at landing a small raise on another long-term agreement. Martinook had a career year offensively last season with 34 points but is still looking for his first goal this year despite logging nearly 15 minutes a night. His typical offensive profile is one that should see him signing for a bit less than this, especially if he’s able to secure another multi-year agreement.
Necas is going to be a particularly interesting case to follow. He had a breakout 71-point performance last season, providing impressive value on the first year of his bridge deal. He also spent some time at center, his natural position but one he hasn’t played a ton in the NHL. At this point, Necas has established himself as a full-time top-six forward and will have arbitration eligibility for the first time this summer. His qualifying offer is $3.5MM but that’s well below what he’ll get on his next deal. His camp would probably like to see Necas deployed more down the middle to bolster his value but that might be injury-dependent. If Carolina wants to lock him up long-term, they’ll need to at least double his current AAV.
Lemieux had to take a $550K pay cut in free agency this past summer and has found himself out of the lineup more often than not this year which doesn’t bode well for his next contract. He’s going to wind up close to the minimum salary once again and even a one-way deal might not be guaranteed. Noesen has been one of the top under-the-radar bargains after putting up 36 points on a minimum-salary contract; he’s on pace for more than that this year with the AAV now below the minimum. His journeyman track record will work against him here (is it a late breakout for the 30-year-old or is he just the right system fit?) but even so, he should push for closer to $2MM on the open market. If enough teams think it’s a late breakout, that number will go higher.
Skjei had never reached the 10-goal mark until last season when he broke out with an 18-goal campaign. He has consistently been a strong third option on the back end and should be in a position to land at least a small raise and, at 30, close to a max-term agreement if he wants to pursue that long of a contract. Pesce has been in trade speculation dating back to the summer as many suspect the Hurricanes won’t be able to keep him in the fold. Like Skjei, he’s a reliable second pairing player but has a better defensive game but a weaker offensive one. The fact he’s also a right-hand shot will also help his market. Both players should land somewhere in the $6MM range.
DeAngelo was a late entrant into free agency after being bought out by the Flyers after a planned trade to the Hurricanes didn’t go through quite as planned. Unfortunately, the reunion hasn’t been great so far as playing time has been hard to come by and he has struggled. Nonetheless, a contract similar to this one could still be doable from a team looking to add some offensive upside on the back end at a lower cost. Chatfield has worked his way up to being a reliable sixth defender with very strong possession numbers. He’s the type of player that a team or two might believe is capable of a bigger role which could drive his price tag past the $2MM mark.
Raanta acknowledged that he left money on the table to remain with Carolina over the summer. That might wind up biting him a bit in the end as he has struggled considerably this season which won’t help his marketability this summer. That said, if he can turn things around, something in this range should still be doable, perhaps with the Hurricanes if they want to keep the extra depth.
Signed Through 2024-25
G Frederik Andersen ($3.4MM, UFA)
D Brent Burns ($5.28MM, UFA)*
F Jesper Fast ($2.4MM, UFA)
D Dmitry Orlov ($7.75MM, UFA)
D Jaccob Slavin ($5.3MM, UFA)
*-San Jose is retaining an additional $2.72MM on Burns’ contract.
Fast has been a capable depth scorer for most of his career while also being an effective penalty killer. Assuming that holds up over these last two years – he’s off to a bit of a slow start this season – there’s little reason to think he could land another two or three seasons around this price point. It’s worth noting he’ll be 34 at that time, however, which may restrict his market a bit.
Orlov surprised many by signing the priciest deal in free agency in terms of AAV, electing to take a short-term inflated contract with the hopes of landing another one in a more favorable marketplace two years from now. It was also surprising that Carolina was the one to give it to him with the depth they had on the back end plus them needing to re-sign or replace Skjei and Pesce a year from now. The move hasn’t worked out the greatest so far although there’s lots of time to turn it around. He’ll also be 34 when it’s time to sign his next contract so it’d be difficult to expect he’d land this much, even with the projected raise in the cap. But if it came in starting with a six on a three-year deal (or even four) if he’s able to turn his play around, going this route could ultimately work out well for him.
Slavin hasn’t been asked to play true number one minutes recently but that doesn’t mean he can’t handle them; he’ll almost be certainly valued as someone who can in free agency. He’s not a top point producer but he has shown progress on that front as well while being a stalwart in his own end. Accordingly, he could be pushing for $8MM or more on a max-term agreement, even though he’ll be 31 at that time. Burns has fit in quite well with Carolina while still playing a big role. However, he’ll be entering free agency at age 40. Will he even want to sign another deal? If he does, it’ll almost certainly be a one-year agreement, setting up the ability for a team to make some of it bonus-based for additional cap flexibility.
Andersen also took a pay cut to remain with Carolina over the summer and he was also off to a rough start to his season. However, he’s now out indefinitely with blood clots and it wouldn’t be fair to speculate on his next deal until he’s able to return.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Michael Bunting ($4.5MM, UFA)
Bunting went from being a fringe piece with Arizona to an integral part of Toronto’s top six over the last two seasons, making him one of the more intriguing players to hit the market over the summer. He didn’t quite wind up with a long-term deal but this one should hold up pretty well if he can provide around 45 points a year on the second line. If he does, he’ll have a much more favorable market next time around having proven he can produce outside of Toronto.
Flames Recall Matt Coronato, Place Jacob Markstrom On IR
The Flames have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight New Jersey. The team announced that forward Matt Coronato has been recalled from AHL Calgary and in a corresponding move, goalie Jacob Markstrom was placed on injured reserve.
Coronato broke camp with the big club and spent nearly four weeks with them to start the season before being sent down a little more than a month ago. In his ten games with the Flames, the 21-year-old picked up his first two NHL points, a goal and an assist. However, he also struggled at the defensive end to the point where the team decided he’d be better off playing a top role with the Wranglers.
That move certainly worked well for Coronato as he has been quite productive with them so far, notching eight goals and ten assists in just 14 games in his first taste of AHL action. That’s good for the second-best point-per-game average among AHL rookies. Now he’ll get a chance to try to capitalize off that momentum with this promotion.
As for Markstrom, he suffered a fractured finger earlier this week, yielding a week-to-week injury designation. Accordingly, his IR placement is largely procedural at this point as Dustin Wolf had already been brought up on emergency recall to take his place in Calgary’s goalie tandem. The Flames are eligible to backdate the placement to Tuesday if they want but considering he’s expected to be out for weeks, it’ll make no difference whether they do so or not.
Canucks Assign Linus Karlsson To AHL
The Canucks have made a roster move prior to tonight’s game against Carolina as the team announced (Twitter link) that forward Linus Karlsson has been assigned to AHL Abbotsford.
The 24-year-old was recalled a week and a half ago, getting into two games with Vancouver to bring his season count to three. He has been held off the scoresheet in those three contests while logging 10:26 per game. Karlsson has been quite productive in the minors, however, picking up three goals and a dozen helpers in 17 appearances at that level.
Karlsson is in the final season of his two-year, entry-level deal that he signed in 2022 following a strong showing with SHL Skelleftea. He’ll be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights this summer.
Yesterday, it was reported that center Pius Suter is nearing a return to Vancouver’s lineup after missing the last three weeks with a lower-body injury. This roster move could be the precursor to activating Suter off injured reserve either later today or in the near future.
Capitals Activate T.J. Oshie, Assign Hendrix Lapierre To AHL
The Capitals will welcome back winger T.J. Oshie to their lineup tonight against the Rangers as they announced that he has been activated off injured reserve. To make room for him on the active roster, Washington has assigned center Hendrix Lapierre to AHL Hershey.
Oshie has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury. However, prior to the injury, things had not been going well for the 37-year-old. Oshie had just one goal and one assist in his first 17 games of the season despite averaging 16:40 per night, nearly the identical ice time compared to a year ago when he collected 35 points in 58 games.
He’s hardly the only veteran Capital to struggle to score this season. Washington enters tonight’s action dead last in the NHL in goals with 56 despite returning most of the same group from last season which finished 20th in the league in scoring.
As for Lapierre, he has spent the bulk of the season so far with Washington following a late-October recall, going in and out of the lineup when needed. Overall, he has played in 11 games with the Caps, collecting a goal and two assists while logging just over ten minutes a night. The 2020 first-rounder also has three assists in six contests with the Bears. As one of only a handful of waiver-exempt players on the roster, he winds up drawing the short straw to return to the minors this time around.
Metropolitan Notes: Blue Jackets, Pelech, Goodrow
With Daniil Tarasov’s conditioning stint set to end in a week and Elvis Merzlikins’ illness not expected to keep him out for long, the Blue Jackets will soon be facing a three-goalie situation. However, rather than try to trade or waive one of the three (which also includes waiver pickup Spencer Martin), Columbus intends to keep them all according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). There are only two other teams who are now regularly keeping up three netminders (Detroit and Montreal are the others) but at this point, it appears as if GM Jarmo Kekalainen doesn’t think he can get Martin through unclaimed.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech skated on his own for the first time on Friday as he works his way back from an upper-body injury that has him on LTIR, head coach Lane Lambert told reporters including Ethan Sears of the New York Post (Twitter link). The 29-year-old was off to a quiet start before the injury but was still logging nearly 20 minutes a night and his eventual return will be a welcome one with Ryan Pulock and Sebastian Aho also on IR at the moment. Pelech still has to miss at least 10 games and 24 days before he can be activated so his return is still a couple of weeks away (December 19th is the earliest possible date) but the fact he’s skating is an encouraging sign that he might not miss much more than the minimum.
- Rangers winger Barclay Goodrow is questionable for tonight’s game against Washington, relays Mollie Walker of the New York Post. The veteran took a puck to the face in Tuesday’s loss to Ottawa and has not practiced since. Goodrow has a goal and two assists in 23 games so far this season; if he can’t play tonight, veteran Riley Nash will likely take his place in the lineup.
Blackhawks Recall Isaak Phillips, Place Kevin Korchinski On Non-Roster List
The Blackhawks have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against St. Louis. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled blueliner Isaak Phillips from AHL Rockford. To make room for him on the roster, Chicago has moved defenseman Kevin Korchinski to the non-roster list.
Phillips has been up a couple of times with the Blackhawks already this season, getting into nine games where he had three assists while logging just under 16 minutes per contest. He has put up similar numbers with the IceHogs, collecting a goal and two helpers in ten appearances with them. Chicago had just sent the 22-year-old down last Saturday but it turned out to be a short-lived stint.
As for Korchinski, the 19-year-old has done a nice job locking down a regular spot in Chicago’s lineup so far. He has played in all 25 games, picking up two goals and five assists along with 30 blocked shots while averaging 19:31 per night. That puts him fifth among all NHL rookies; his teammate Connor Bedard is sixth in NHL rookie ATOI.
After Saturday’s morning skate, head coach Luke Richardson clarified to reporters including Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (Twitter link) that Korchinski’s designation is for a family reason, not a loan for the upcoming World Juniors of which he’s eligible to play in. Accordingly, Phillips’ recall is likely to only be a short-term on.
Boone Jenner To Miss Six Weeks With Fractured Jaw
The injured list in Columbus has grown considerably this week already and today, another player has been added to it as the team announced (Twitter link) that center Boone Jenner has been placed on IR. He’s set to miss the next six weeks due to a fractured jaw suffered on Friday against St. Louis after being hit by a shot from teammate Ivan Provorov in the second period.
While the Blue Jackets have underachieved this season, Jenner is one of the few individual exceptions. He leads the team in goals with 13 while leading all forwards in points with 18 in 28 games. The captain had also gotten off to a nice start at the faceoff dot as his 55.6% success rate is the best of his career. Jenner also leads all Columbus forwards in ice time per game, logging 19:33 per night while playing in all situations.
Jenner joins defenseman Adam Boqvist (shoulder), goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (illness), and forward Cole Sillinger (upper body) as those who have been placed on injured reserve this week alone. Veteran blueliner Damon Severson and center Jack Roslovic are also on there as well. All told, they have nearly $23MM on IR now.
All of a sudden, Columbus’ center depth has taken another big hit. That should open up an even bigger role for Adam Fantilli who has done well since moving back to his natural spot down the middle. Head coach Pascal Vincent will need to decide if he wants to put Patrik Laine back at center (once he returns from an illness) to cover for Jenner to allow their younger centers to ease in on the wing. Alternatively, Kent Johnson and Dmitri Voronkov are both natural centers while Justin Danforth (who has briefly played there this season) could also shift over.
The Blue Jackets are back in action on Sunday against Florida. With Jenner’s placement, they have an open roster spot and it wouldn’t be surprising to see that spot filled in time for that game, either by a recall or someone activation from IR.