John Carlson Out Indefinitely
It largely went under the radar last night with Alex Ovechkin passing Gordie Howe for second in all-time NHL goals but Capitals defenseman John Carlson was taken to the hospital yesterday after taking a Brenden Dillon slap shot directly to the head early in the third period. Today, the team announced (Twitter link) the following update:
John Carlson was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation following his injury during the third period of Friday’s game vs. WPG. Carlson was discharged from the hospital earlier today and remains under the care of team medical personnel. He is out indefinitely.
The fact that Carlson has been discharged is certainly promising but an indefinite timeline is hardly ideal for a Washington team that is narrowly holding onto the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The 32-year-old leads all Capitals blueliners with 21 points in 30 games while logging over 23 minutes per game for the sixth straight season.
With Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson both starting to make progress toward returning, it looked like the Capitals were finally starting to get some good luck on the injury side of things. Now, that optimism has been quelled somewhat with Carlson potentially being out for a little while now.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Lafferty, Claesson
With no games scheduled until Tuesday, the NHL has gone ahead and released its Three Stars for this past week. Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin took home the top nod after recording six points in three games, including two goals against Winnipeg to put him in sole possession of second in NHL history with 802. Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev was the Second Star after a trio of extra-time victories that saw him post a 0.94 GAA along with a .965 SV%. Meanwhile, Canucks center Elias Pettersson earned the last spot of the group after tying for the most assists (five) and points (seven) on the week which is particularly impressive considering he missed Vancouver’s first game of the week due to illness.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- While Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are the headliners among Chicago’s speculative trade candidates, Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago posits that forward Sam Lafferty might be of interest on the trade market closer to the trade deadline. The 27-year-old has eight points and 37 hits in 26 games this season while winning a little over 52% of his faceoffs. He can play all three forward positions as well and that type of versatility can be appealing to contending teams. At a $1.15MM AAV through next season, he’s also someone most teams should be able to afford so Lafferty could very well be an under-the-radar candidate to move over the next couple of months from the Blackhawks.
- Fredrik Claesson won’t be returning to North America next season as CSKA Moscow of the KHL announced that they’ve inked the defenseman to a two-year contract extension. Claesson has 170 career NHL contests under his belt and this will be the first time since 2014-15 that he hasn’t played at the top level. However, after spending most of last year in the minors, he opted to try his hand overseas and it has worked out well for him with receiving this commitment. The 30-year-old has a dozen points in 41 games so far this season.
Atlantic Notes: Bunting, Heatherington, Harrison
The Maple Leafs have yet to engage in contract extension talks for pending UFA winger Michael Bunting, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports in his latest Toronto Star column. The 27-year-old isn’t producing at quite the level he was last season but still has 24 points in 34 games this season, making him quite a bargain as he carries just a $950K AAV. It stands to reason that he could pass the $4MM mark on the open market in the summer and while that might be more than Toronto can afford, it’s a price tag they’re going to have to know about heading into the trade deadline so they’ll know if they’ll have a chance of being able to keep him beyond this season. Otherwise, their plans on deadline day could change accordingly.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- The Ottawa Senators have returned defenseman Dillon Heatherington to AHL Belleville, per the AHL’s transactions log. The assignment allows the Sens to bank a bit more cap room while Heatherington might also get into a game with Belleville even if he is going to eventually be recalled as the lone AHL game on December 26th is Belleville taking on provincial rival Toronto. Heatherington played 11:28 on Thursday night, his first NHL appearance of the season while he has five points in 19 games in the minors.
- Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal suggests (Twitter link) that there are trade rumors surrounding Bruins prospect Brett Harrison at the OHL level. The 19-year-old was a third-rounder back in 2021 and has already signed his entry-level contract. Harrison has 29 points in 24 games with Oshawa this season but with the Generals sitting in last in their division (even though they still hold a playoff spot), they’re expected to be sellers prior to the January 10th trade deadline.
Blue Jackets Assign Josh Dunne To AHL
With the Blue Jackets off for a few days, they’ve decided to send one of their players back to the minors as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned center Josh Dunne to AHL Cleveland.
The 24-year-old was recalled back on Monday as the injury replacement for Boone Jenner after he was placed on IR following thumb surgery. Dunne played in three games with Columbus while on recall, logging a little under six minutes a night without recording a point while averaging a hit per contest. It was the second NHL stint of his career after getting into six games late in the 2020-21 campaign.
He has fared better in the minors, however, with six goals and five assists in 24 games so far with the Monsters, numbers that are very similar to the five goals and six helpers he had in 29 contests with them last season. The Blue Jackets are off until Tuesday so the move, which will likely be reversed prior to that game against Buffalo, will save them a bit of money although, with the team well into LTIR, it won’t make any sort of difference on their cap picture.
Stars Assign Riley Tufte To AHL
Stars winger Riley Tufte was in the lineup in last night’s victory over Montreal but immediately following the contest, the team announced that Tufte has been sent back to Texas of the AHL.
The 24-year-old played in three games with the big club on this recall, logging just under eight minutes a night in ice time while being held off the scoresheet. Tufte has been productive in the minors though, notching seven goals and nine assists in 21 AHL contests.
As he was recalled after December 11th and is waiver-exempt, Tufte was eligible to be sent back down even though the roster freeze is in effect. It’s likely that he’ll be brought back in advance of their next game on the 27th.
With Dallas projected to finish with less than $300K in cap space per CapFriendly, they’re in a position where any cap savings they can find will be crucial. Tufte carries just a $750K AAV but three days of him being in the minors frees up over $12K in cap room. It’s not much but in their situation, every little bit is going to count.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
We’ll reach the second half of the season next month and it’s at that point that more of the playoff-caliber teams will start to establish themselves and the trade market might even start to open up a little bit. We’ll also get a better sense as to whether some early-season surprises are realistic postseason contenders. With that in mind and the holiday season almost upon us, it’s a good time to run our next mailbag.
Our last mailbag was broken into two segments. The first looked at John Hynes’ future in Nashville, whether or not it’s time for the Blues to be sellers, Hockey Hall of Fame benchmarks, and much more. Among the topics in the second column were Rasmus Ristolainen’s struggles for the Flyers, John Gibson’s trade candidacy, offseason mulligans, and Seattle’s surprisingly strong start.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.
Snapshots: Blackhawks, Ferraro, Cogliano, Biega
The Blackhawks are a team that many are keeping an eye on when it comes to the trade front with long-time veterans Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews among those that could potentially be on the move between now and the March 3rd trade deadline, assuming that they’re willing to waive their trade protection. However, GM Kyle Davidson told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that he has yet to have any specific trade talks on any of his players just yet. With the trade market largely being stalled out right now due to a lack of cap flexibility, there’s no immediate rush to start to get a sense of what the market might be for some of their veterans. That should change at some point in the new year, especially when Kane and Toews decide whether they’d like to move on or if they want to remain with Chicago.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro confirmed to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link) that he’ll return to the lineup tonight against Calgary after missing close to four weeks with a foot injury. The 24-year-old is second on the team in ice time per game at a little under 23 minutes a night while he has chipped in with five points and 47 blocked shots in 23 games. San Jose had an open roster spot to activate him off injured reserve so no corresponding roster move needed to be made.
- Avalanche winger Andrew Cogliano will miss at least the next two games after suffering an upper-body injury in last night’s game against the Islanders, relays Kyle Frederickson of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link). The 35-year-old tumbled into the boards in the third period on Monday and did not return. He has four goals and three assists in 30 games so far this season while being an important part of a bottom-six group that has gone through plenty of turnover thus far. Now, he’ll be out until after the holiday break and will be re-evaluated at that time.
- Veteran defenseman Alex Biega announced his retirement on his Instagram page. The 34-year-old had a 12-year professional career, seeing NHL action in eight of those seasons. Biega suited up in 243 NHL contests between Vancouver, Detroit, and Toronto, picking up 42 points along with 624 hits. He also got into 397 career AHL games, collecting 129 points.
Brendan Guhle Retires
Not that long ago, Brendan Guhle was viewed as an important part of Buffalo’s rebuild and later Anaheim’s after he was traded there back in 2019. However, he wasn’t able to establish himself in the NHL and headed overseas this past summer. His time there, and in hockey, has come to an end though as Eisbaren Berlin announced that the 25-year-old has retired, citing personal reasons.
The 25-year-old was a second-round pick of the Sabres back in 2015 (51st overall) and got into 23 NHL games with them over parts of three seasons before being moved to the Ducks as part of the Brandon Montour trade. Guhle had a bit of a longer look with them, getting into 42 contests over parts of three years, including six last season.
However, instead of testing free agency last summer, Guhle decided to try his hand overseas, joining Berlin in the German league. Things didn’t go well there as an injury suffered in his first game with them in the Champions League kept him out of the lineup until the end of November. After seven contests with them, he has decided to hang up his skates.
Guhle’s playing days come to an end with 14 points in 65 career NHL contests. He was considerably more productive in the minors with 92 points in 199 appearances but while he could have conceivably hung around on two-way deals for a few more seasons, he’s calling it a career earlier than expected.
Five Key Stories: 12/12/22 – 12/18/22
With the roster freeze almost upon us, there wasn’t a flurry of trade activity. However, there was still some notable news around the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.
Not So Fast: A little while ago, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman floated the possibility that the players’ escrow debt could be paid off this season, permitting a more sizable jump in the Upper Limit next season. He walked that back a bit at the Board of Governors meetings, suggesting that their current projections have the projected escrow debt around $70MM at the end of the season. If that’s the case, the salary cap would only go up by $1MM once again for 2023-24. While there has been speculation that the NHLPA might be interested in trying to negotiate something that would allow for a smoother increase and also raise the ceiling next season by a higher amount but Bettman didn’t want to comment on that scenario.
Formenton To Switzerland: Now that he’s unable to play in the NHL this season after failing to come to terms on a contract with Ottawa before the December 1st deadline, Alex Formenton has found a place to play as he has signed with Ambri-Piotta of the Swiss NLA. The deal runs through the end of the current season and gives the team the right to “reevaluate their contractual relationship” if new elements come to life in the ongoing investigation into an alleged sexual assault back in 2018 involving members of Canada’s World Junior team, of which he was a part of. Formenton will remain a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Five For Moore: Trevor Moore has come a long way in his four seasons with the Kings, going from being a depth player when he was acquired from Toronto to an important part of their top six. The California native was rewarded for his efforts with a five-year, $21MM contract extension that will begin next season. The deal contains a 10-team no-trade clause for the 2023-24 campaign but no trade restrictions after that. The 27-year-old had a career year last season with 17 goals and 31 assists in 81 games and Moore is producing at a similar pace so far this season with 18 points in 34 contests so far. Los Angeles now has a little over $68MM in commitments for next season, per CapFriendly.
Tolvanen To Seattle: There was some surprise when Nashville placed winger Eeli Tolvanen on waivers as just a few years ago, he was viewed as a key part of their future plans. There was further surprise when he slid all the way to Seattle who claimed him off the wire. The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by the Predators back in 2017 and impressed in his first consistent stint of NHL action in 2020-21, collecting 22 points in 40 games. That helped him earn a three-year, $4.35MM contract, one that is currently in its second year. The $1.45MM cap hit for the rest of this season and next likely scared a lot of teams away but now Seattle will get an opportunity to see if he can live up to his potential with them.
Vrana Rejoins Red Wings: Red Wings winger Jakub Vrana has now entered the follow-up phase of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, allowing him to rejoin the team. He first went into the program back in mid-October after playing in just two games. There’s a good chance that Vrana won’t play this coming week as he’ll need some time to get back into playing condition but after the holiday break, Detroit should have one of their top wingers back in their lineup.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Islanders Recall Cory Schneider On Emergency Basis
Semyon Varlamov left Saturday’s game with an injury and it appears it will keep him out for at least one game as the Islanders announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled goaltender Cory Schneider from Bridgeport of the AHL.
The 36-year-old has had a good first couple of months in the minors this season, posting a 2.50 GAA along with a .921 SV% in 15 games with his save percentage ranking tied for seventh in the league. Schneider, a veteran of 410 NHL appearances over 13 seasons, has seen just one game at the top level in the last three years since joining the Islanders with that appearance coming last season. It’s unlikely he’ll see any action on this recall barring injury as the net will be Ilya Sorokin‘s for the time being.
It’s notable that this recall actually puts the Isles over the 23-player roster limit. However, there is a Goaltender Exemption provision in the CBA that does allow teams to bring up a goalie that doesn’t count against the limit. It can only be used twice in a season and for a maximum of 48 hours. That’s enough to get through Monday’s game against Colorado but they’ll have to determine after that point if Varlamov is good to return. If so, Schneider will be sent down and if not, Varlamov will need to be moved to injured reserve to keep Schneider on the roster.