Maple Leafs To Activate Timothy Liljegren Off LTIR
The Maple Leafs will welcome back an important part of their back end tonight against Pittsburgh as defenseman Timothy Liljegren told reporters including David Alter of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that he’s ready to suit up, meaning Toronto will be activating him off LTIR.
The 24-year-old has missed the last six weeks with a lower-body injury sustained against Boston in early November. Before being injured, he was averaging over 19 minutes a night, the highest ATOI of his young career while he was seeing a fair bit of action in Toronto’s top four.
Offensively, he has been limited to just one assist but he also has 18 blocked shots and was averaging close to two minutes per night on the penalty kill before the injury. The Maple Leafs will certainly be happy to have a more defensive-oriented presence in their lineup. Postmedia’s Lance Hornby adds (Twitter link) that Liljegren could be partnered with Morgan Rielly tonight on the top pairing so he’ll be put into a big role quickly. That said, with T.J. Brodie (illness) listed as questionable, those pairings could be tweaked.
In order for Toronto to officially activate Liljegren off LTIR, they will first need to open up the cap space to do so. Today’s recall of Pontus Holmberg means they will be over the cap if they try to activate Liljegren.
They do have some options to get cap-compliant though. The easiest one is to send a defenseman down (one of Simon Benoit, Maxime Lajoie, or William Lagesson) which would get them just enough room. If Ryan Reaves is going to be out for more than ten games and 24 days, he could be placed on LTIR which would give them more than enough room to activate Liljegren. Alternatively, they could transfer Mark Giordano to LTIR retroactively; he’d be eligible to return on December 23rd in that scenario. However, he is skating and if they feel he’s ready to return before then, that might not be the best route to go. Either way, a roster move will be coming in order to get Liljegren in the lineup tonight.
Panthers Recall Will Lockwood
After sending defenseman Uvis Balinskis down yesterday, the Panthers didn’t waste any time filling their open roster spot. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger William Lockwood from AHL Charlotte.
The 25-year-old is in his first season after splitting last year between the Canucks and Rangers, primarily suiting up with their AHL affiliates. He became a Group Six unrestricted free agent and inked a two-year, two-way deal with the Panthers on the second day of free agency.
Lockwood has split the season between Florida and Charlotte. He has gotten into seven games with the Panthers and has been held pointless while logging just 7:27 per night on the fourth line. Meanwhile, with the Checkers, Lockwood has fared much better, putting up three goals and four assists in 14 games with them so far.
Lockwood is three NHL games away from needing to pass through waivers again but with the Panthers now carrying 14 forwards on their active roster, playing time may be difficult to come by in the short term. Anton Lundell missed Florida’s last game due to illness but it’s not supposed to keep him out for long so Lockwood is likely to serve as a spare forward for the time being.
Flames Notes: Tanev, DeSimone, Dube
There has certainly been no shortage of trade speculation surrounding Flames defenseman Chris Tanev. A pending unrestricted free agent, he’s the type of shutdown blueliner that many teams would covet. However, as Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic notes (subscription link), Calgary’s preference is still believed to be to sign him to an extension, preferably a two-year agreement. The soon-to-be 34-year-old is currently injured with no timetable yet for a return which will further stall any possible trade discussions. Tanev has a $4.5MM AAV and it will likely take something close to that to get him to put pen to paper on an early extension if he decides he’d like to stay with the Flames.
More from Calgary:
- In Calgary’s last game, defenseman Nick DeSimone played in his tenth game, meaning he will now have to pass through waivers to return to the minors. With plenty of trade speculation surrounding Tanev and Noah Hanifin, it’s fair to wonder if GM Craig Conroy may be hesitant to risk losing DeSimone for free if he tries to send him back down. The 29-year-old has four assists in those ten appearances while logging a little under 13 minutes a night.
- One of the bigger questions surrounding the Flames revolves around winger Dillon Dube, opines Postmedia’s Danny Austin. After spending a lot of last season in a top-six role where he set career highs offensively with 18 goals and 45 points, the 25-year-old has struggled mightily this season, notching just three goals and four helpers thus far in 29 games. Notably, his ice time has dipped below the ten-minute mark in four of the last five games. Dube is a pending restricted free agent this coming summer, owed a $2.4MM qualifying offer with arbitration eligibility. If things don’t pick up for him in the coming weeks, his name could be in trade speculation leading up to the trade deadline.
Maple Leafs Recall Pontus Holmberg
With Ryan Reaves leaving Thursday’s game against Columbus with an injury that’s expected to keep him “out for a while” according to head coach Sheldon Keefe, the Maple Leafs had an opening up front to fill. They’ve now filled that spot as the team announced (Twitter link) that center Pontus Holmberg has been recalled from AHL Toronto.
The 24-year-old impressed in a half-season stint in 2022-23, earning him a two-year, one-way contract that carries an AAV of $800K. It also led to expectations that he’d be an NHL regular this season. That hasn’t been the case, however, as Toronto is taking advantage of his waiver exemption and has shuffled him back and forth so far.
Holmberg has played in seven games with the big club this season and has been held off the scoresheet while averaging just under nine minutes a night. However, he has been quite productive with the Marlies, tallying six goals and four assists in 11 games at the AHL level. For now, he’s likely to serve as the 13th forward assuming Matthew Knies is able to return from his illness tonight against Pittsburgh.
Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Zach Parise
When veteran free agent winger Zach Parise wasn’t signed before training camp, the belief was that if he came back for a 19th NHL season, it’d be with the Islanders based on comments from both him and GM Lou Lamoriello. However, in a recent TSN Insider Trading segment, The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reported that some playoff-bound teams, including those with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations, are showing interest in Parise as well.
The 39-year-old played the last two seasons for the Islanders and proved to be a pretty good bargain for New York in 2022-23. While playing on a deal that carried a base cap hit of the league minimum (plus another $750K in undisclosed bonuses), he contributed 21 goals along with 13 assists despite primarily playing on the third line along with Simon Holmstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
In his prime, Parise was a consistent 30-goal scorer, reaching that plateau in six of his first ten NHL campaigns. While he hasn’t gotten there since then, he has chipped in four more years of at least 20 goals, the last of which came last season. That makes him an intriguing bottom-six addition for several teams.
Considering Parise took a minimum-salary deal with incentives last season, it stands to reason that he’d be willing to do so again. As long as he signs a one-year contract, he’s eligible to do so; at his age, a two-year agreement seems highly unlikely.
Structuring a contract that way would allow pretty much any contending team to be able to afford him. Even if they’re capped out, the bonuses could be rolled over and count against their 2024-25 cap sheet while a signing team would need to remove someone from their roster to add Parise; that player would make the minimum salary or more.
Earlier today, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in his latest 32 Thoughts column that Parise has been skating pretty hard lately at his home in Minnesota, presumably ramping up to sign an NHL contract. But instead of it being all but a certainty that it would be with the Islanders, it appears the veteran will have several other options to consider when the time comes to put pen to paper on a contract.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Kuznetsov, Suter, Boudreau, Richards, Clarke
Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov was a late scratch for tonight’s game against Philadelphia with the team announcing (Twitter link) that it was due to illness. It has not been a good year for the 31-year-old who has been limited to just five goals and six assists in 22 games while even being a healthy scratch earlier this month. Kuznetsov has one more year left after this one with a $7.8MM AAV and if Washington looks to shake things up, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his name land in the rumor mill again after a trade request came to light over the summer.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Prior to their game tonight versus Florida, the Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated center Pius Suter from injured reserve. The 27-year-old has missed the last month due to a lower-body injury. Suter was off to a slow start to his first season with Vancouver as he has been limited to four goals in his first 15 games. Having sent back Linus Karlsson recently, they didn’t need to make another move to open up a spot for Suter’s activation.
- It’s possible that we could see Bruce Boudreau back behind a bench in the near future. Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports (Twitter link) that the veteran bench boss is in the mix to coach Canada’s entry into the upcoming Spengler Cup, which gets underway on December 26th. The 68-year-old is currently an advisor for OHL Niagara.
- The Blues have added long-time NHL center Brad Richards as a power play consultant, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relays in his latest 32 Thoughts column. Richards put up 377 points with the man advantage during his 15-year NHL career, putting him in a tie for 76th in NHL history in that department. Louis enters play tonight with a power play success rate of just 8.4%, putting them 31st league-wide ahead of only Washington.
- With Vladislav Gavrikov now out for a little while, some wondered if this could be the opportunity for top prospect Brandt Clarke to be recalled from AHL Ontario. However, Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider notes that promoting him would give them four right-shot defenders and the Kings don’t want to put one of them in a spot of playing on their off-side. Clarke is off to a very strong start with the Reign, putting up 25 points in his first 24 career AHL appearances.
Pacific Notes: Spence, Hoffman, Markstrom, Golden Knights
Kings defenseman Jordan Spence has changed agents and is now represented by Quartexx, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). The 22-year-old is in his first full season at the NHL level, appearing in all but one of 26 games for Los Angeles so far. A prominent point producer in the minors with 87 points in 102 games with AHL Ontario, Spence has had a bit of a harder go hitting the scoreboard in the NHL although he does have nine assists while averaging just shy of 15 minutes a night. Spence is set to become a restricted free agent for the first time this summer and will be owed a qualifying offer worth a little over $813K.
More from the Pacific Division:
- Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch suggests Sharks winger Mike Hoffman could be a name to keep an eye on when it comes to the trade front. After getting off to a slow start, the 34-year-old is up to eight goals in 28 games, just one off the team lead. A pending UFA with a $4.5MM cap hit, the asking price for Hoffman likely won’t be very high but he could be a useful addition to a team looking to add a bit of firepower to their bottom six.
- Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom practiced on Wednesday with their AHL affiliate, relays Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson. The 33-year-old has been out for the last week and a half with a finger injury but Gilbertson pointed out that Markstrom didn’t seem to be limited at all which suggests the netminder could be nearing a return. Calgary has a full roster at the moment although that can easily be addressed by returning top prospect Dustin Wolf back to the Wranglers.
- Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill is expected to accompany the team on their road trip next week, notes Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has missed the last week and a half with a lower-body injury after getting off to a stellar start; he leads the NHL in GAA (1.87) and SV% (.935) over his first 14 starts. Meanwhile, Webster adds that defenseman Kaedan Korczak will miss some time due to a lower-body injury of his own. Korczak has a goal and six assists in 15 games with Vegas so far this season.
Snapshots: Kuzmenko, Strome, Connor, Pearson, Capitals Arena
It has been a rough start to Andrei Kuzmenko’s sophomore season. The 27-year-old had 39 goals last season but has been limited to just four in his first 25 games of the year. He has been a healthy scratch at times and has lined up recently on the fourth line as well, fueling trade speculation. Speaking with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, Canucks president Jim Rutherford indicated that they’re keeping an open mind with Kuzmenko and not locking themselves into just one answer when asked about their willingness to let the winger play his way out of his struggles. Kuzmenko is in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $5.5MM AAV; Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported over the weekend (video link) that teams had started calling Vancouver to gauge Kuzmenko’s availability.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- There will be no supplemental discipline coming to Ducks center Ryan Strome from his hit on Jets winger Kyle Connor, reports Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link). Strome received a major penalty on the play, one that was upheld after review. Meanwhile, Connor was slated to undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury. Connor is off to a great start to his season with 17 goals and 11 assists in 26 games, leading Winnipeg in scoring while being tied for fourth in the NHL in goals.
- Following their loss to Nashville last night, the Canadiens announced that winger Tanner Pearson will miss the next four to six weeks with an upper-body injury that was sustained on Saturday against Buffalo. The 31-year-old is in his first season with Montreal after missing almost of all 2022-23 with a hand injury that required several surgeries. Pearson has four goals and four assists in 27 games so far this year.
- A group of Virginia state lawmakers voted Monday for a deal that would bring the Capitals and NBA Wizards to a new arena in Northern Virginia, report Teo Armus, Laura Vozzella, Sam Fortier, and Gregory S. Schneider of the Washington Post. If the plan received approval from the General Assembly and other local officials, the two teams would play in an arena in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood. Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the group that owns the Caps and Wizards, would lease the new facility under this plan. Capital One Arena, where the team plays now, is one of the older buildings in the NHL having been built back in 1997.
Minor Transactions: 12/11/23
With a fairly light night on the NHL schedule with just four games on the books, let’s turn our focus to some of the recent minor transactions with an NHL connection.
- Veteran netminder Jussi Olkinuora is on the move as Geneve-Servette of the Swiss league announced that they’ve signed him for the rest of the season. The 33-year-old signed with Detroit for last season but wound up playing exclusively with AHL Grand Rapids before leaving to play in Sweden in early February.
- The Sharks’ farm team has added some depth as the Barracuda have signed winger Kyle Rau for the remainder of the season, per a team release. The 31-year-old has played in 61 career NHL games over parts of six years, most recently in 2021-22 when he suited up in five games with Minnesota. Rau spent last season with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate in Abbotsford, notching 16 goals and 19 assists in 68 games.
- It didn’t take long for Jackson Cates to find a new place to play as AHL Rockford announced they’ve inked the winger to a PTO. The 26-year-old played in five games with the Flyers last season but had to settle for a training camp tryout, eventually turning into an AHL PTO with the Islanders’ affiliate. He was released from that deal last week after recording just one goal in 12 games.
- That wasn’t the only move Rockford made today as they also acquired blueliner Austin Strand from AHL Chicago. The 26-year-old has seen NHL action in each of the last three seasons, spanning 26 games in total. After becoming a Group Six free agent in the summer, he wound up settling for an AHL contract.
- Flames RFA Carl-Johan Lerby has joined IF Bjorkloven in Sweden’s Allsvenskan, per a team release. The blueliner spent the 2020-21 campaign in Calgary’s system, getting into 22 games with AHL Stockton before returning overseas for 2021-22. Calgary will hold his NHL rights through the 2024-25 season.
Penguins Notes: Sullivan, Rust, Eller, Acciari
With the Penguins struggling through the first two months of the season, some have wondered if a coaching change could be on the horizon. Speaking with reporters today including Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, GM Kyle Dubas tried to downplay the idea that one could be coming, giving head coach Mike Sullivan a vote of confidence:
Being with him every day and not only seeing his attention to detail on the systems but his attention to detail with the players and coaching them individually and personally, I think we’re very fortunate to have Mike. Do I think that he’s the right person for this job now and far to the future? I absolutely do. It’s on me to help support the coaching staff as best I can to help us get going in the right direction.
Sullivan is in his ninth season behind the Penguins bench with the team posting a .621 points percentage in that stretch, certainly in the upper echelon. However, they enter play tonight sitting seventh in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 11-12-3, putting them six points out of a playoff spot already.
More from Pittsburgh:
- Rorabaugh also relayed some injury updates in a separate column. Winger Bryan Rust is listed as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. He last played on Wednesday, leaving that game early. The 31-year-old has been a go-to piece for the Penguins through the first couple of months, notching 10 goals and 10 assists in 22 games, good for fourth on the team in scoring. With Rickard Rakell currently on LTIR (though eligible to return this weekend), Pittsburgh’s depth on the right wing is certainly going to be tested.
- Center Lars Eller didn’t take part in practice today due to an illness but Sullivan indicated that the veteran is expected to be available for Tuesday’s game against Arizona. The 34-year-old is in his first season with Pittsburgh after signing a two-year, $4.9MM contract early in free agency. Eller has three goals and five assists in 26 games so far while logging a little under 15 minutes a night.
- Meanwhile, fellow middleman Noel Acciari took to the ice before practice as he works his way back from a lower-body injury. The veteran has been out for a little more than a week with the issue and is currently on injured reserve but will be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return. Acciari has three points and 44 hits in 22 games so far this season.