Ryan Hartman Activated Off IR, Sammy Walker Sent To AHL
The Wild will get a key part of their attack back in their lineup tomorrow against Ottawa as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated forward Ryan Hartman off injured reserve. In a corresponding move, Sammy Walker has been sent back to AHL Iowa.
Hartman has missed the last seven weeks with a shoulder injury sustained in a fight in late October. The 28-year-old had a career year last season with 34 goals and 31 assists (for context, his previous career high in points was 31) and had a goal and four assists in nine contests before the injury. He’ll be a big boost to a Minnesota lineup that finds itself in the middle of the pack offensively but he won’t jump back onto the top line as instead, he’ll skate on the second trio with Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy when they take on Ottawa on Sunday.
As for Walker, he received his first recall last Saturday and got into four games with Minnesota, getting held off the scoresheet while averaging a little over nine minutes per night. He was off to a strong start in Iowa before the recall as Walker had 11 goals and 11 assists in 21 games to start his first professional campaign.
Minnesota has ample roster space that they could have afforded to activate Hartman and keep Walker up with the big club. However, they’ve instead opted to continue to carry a roster that’s close to the minimum, allowing them to bank as much cap space as possible. That cap space will be a weapon by the trade deadline with so many teams currently using LTIR which should give GM Bill Guerin a boost as he looks to add to their roster in the second half of the season.
Blues Sign Marc-Andre Gaudet To Entry-Level Deal
Marc-Andre Gaudet is off to a nice start to his post-draft season and he was rewarded for his efforts today as the team announced that they’ve signed the defenseman to a three-year, entry-level contract. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the deal carries an $849K AAV and breaks down as follows:
2022-23: $750K NHL salary, $80K signing bonus, $82.5K AHL salary
2023-24: $775K NHL salary, $82.5K signing bonus, $82.5K AHL salary
2024-25: $775K NHL salary, $85K signing bonus, $82.5K AHL salary
The 18-year-old was a fifth-round pick by St. Louis this offseason (152nd overall) following a strong sophomore year with Acadie-Bathurst of the QMJHL which saw him pick up 13 goals and 25 assists in 68 games. This season, he made one preseason appearance with the Blues (where he had an assist) and is off to a good start with his new team in Shawinigan as he has eight goals and 17 helpers in 30 games so far, good for seventh in the league for points by a blueliner.
Officially, the contract begins this season. However, he’ll remain in junior and thus won’t play in ten games in St. Louis. Accordingly, his deal will be able to slide a year and thus will still have three years left on it for the 2023-24 campaign. Gaudet will be eligible to play in the AHL next season.
Flyers Forward Lukas Sedlak Leaves The Team, Placed On Unconditional Waivers
11:50 AM: The Flyers have confirmed (Twitter link) that Sedlak will be placed on unconditional waivers for the purposes of terminating his contract. He’ll officially hit the waiver wire in a little over an hour. They also confirmed that Bellows has been recalled.
9:49 AM: Among the absentees at today’s Flyers practice was center Lukas Sedlak. His absence isn’t injury-related, however, as head coach John Tortorella told reporters, including Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link), that the 29-year-old has left the team and has returned home to his native Czechia. Tortorella wouldn’t elaborate further, indicating that they’ll let Sedlak explain why he left. Sedlak did so, telling Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) that he’s likely going to play with Pardubice of the Extraliga, citing a desire to be closer to family.
Sedlak signed a one-year, $800K contract with Colorado in free agency back in July and made their opening roster. However, after three games with the Avs, he was placed on waivers in mid-October and was claimed by Philadelphia. Since then, he had been a regular in the lineup, picking up three goals and five assists while averaging a little shy of 13 minutes per night, well above his career average.
Sedlak is set to become an unrestricted free agent again next summer and his comments suggest that likely he’ll be staying overseas for good. In the meantime, the Flyers have designated Sedlak as a non-roster player to free up an extra roster spot, one that will be used on winger Kieffer Bellows who has been recalled, per the AHL’s transactions log. If they decide to terminate his contract – Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli tweets that he should be on termination waivers soon – they’ll also free up a contract slot which is notable since they are currently the only team that’s at the maximum of 50.
Maple Leafs Recall Mac Hollowell On Emergency Basis
The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled defenseman Mac Hollowell from Toronto of the AHL on an emergency basis. They had an open roster spot to work with so no corresponding move needed to be made.
Hollowell got into six games with the big club on his last recall, his first taste of NHL action. The 24-year-old acquitted himself relatively well, picking up a pair of assists in those contests while averaging just shy of 13 minutes a night of playing time. While he hasn’t scored with the Marlies so far, he has collected 10 assists in a dozen contests with them, one of which came last night in Rockford.
Timothy Liljegren was injured in Thursday’s game but was a full participant in practice on the second pairing while head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated after practice to Sports Illustrated’s David Alter (Twitter link) that Liljegren isn’t the only blueliner that’s banged up which is what necessitated Hollowell’s recall. For the time being, Toronto now has eight blueliners on their active roster and all of them were present at the morning skate.
Flyers Place Cam Atkinson On IR
It has been a strange year thus far for Flyers winger Cam Atkinson. Originally diagnosed as being out day-to-day with an upper-body injury in training camp, the 33-year-old has still yet to play this season. He was said to be nearing a return and has been participating in practices but CapFriendly noted last night (Twitter link) that the veteran has now been moved to injured reserve.
The placement stems from them needing a roster spot for Olle Lycksell who was recalled on Thursday. Originally, it was supposed to be Anthony DeAngelo ceding his spot as the defenseman was away from the team for personal reasons, allowing Philadelphia to designate him as non-roster status. However, Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that DeAngelo is back at practice today which takes that option off the table.
It’s possible that Atkinson might have suffered some kind of setback, one that is going to take at least a little bit of time to heal so they’ve opted to simply place him on IR until he’s cleared to return. Because he hasn’t played this season, Philadelphia is eligible to back-date the placement; accordingly, he’s eligible to be activated at any time. For a few weeks now, it looked like the 700-game veteran was just about ready to come back but now, that wait appears likely to be even longer.
Minor Transactions: 12/13/22
While it was a relatively quiet day on the transactions front in the NHL today, there have been some moves made overseas involving players with ties to the NHL, both past and present. Here’s a rundown of those transactions.
- Nick Shore’s international travels continue as HV71 in Sweden announced they’ve signed the forward to a deal for the rest of the season. The 30-year-old was last a regular in the NHL back in 2019-20 but has since spent time in Slovakia, Switzerland, and Russia before today’s move. With a quiet showing in Switzerland this season, it’s unlikely that the veteran of 299 career NHL contests will be on the radar in free agency next summer.
- Former Colorado blueliner Chris Bigras is also changing leagues as Iserlohn in Germany revealed that they’ve signed him to a deal for the rest of the season. The 27-year-old decided to try his hand overseas this season after spending the last four years exclusively in the AHL and signed in the KHL but was released last month after picking up just a single assist in 23 games with Barys Astana.
- Former Anaheim winger Kevin Roy has found a place to play this season as he has joined Brynas in Sweden, per a team release. Roy played in 28 games with the Ducks but had been a regular in the minors for the last few years. He had 33 points in 62 games with AHL Laval last season but hadn’t signed anywhere until now.
- The Ducks have re-assigned prospect Maxim Golod to Tulsa of the ECHL, per the ECHL’s transactions log. Anaheim signed the 22-year-old as an undrafted free agent back in 2020 but has seen only sparing time at the AHL level thus far. Golod has 10 points in 13 games at the ECHL level this season. Considering he’s in the final year of his entry-level deal, he will need to turn things around in the second half if he wants a chance at being tendered a qualifying offer next summer.
- The Senators have activated defenseman Jonathan Aspirot off season-opening injured reserve and assigned him to AHL Belleville, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The 23-year-old is entering his fourth professional season, all with the Sens, and had 18 points and 52 penalty minutes in 47 games in 2021-22. Aspirot is set to become a restricted free agent this summer as his entry-level contract comes to an end.
Blackhawks Activate Tyler Johnson Off IR
The Blackhawks will welcome a veteran forward back into their lineup tonight as the team announced that center Tyler Johnson has been activated off injured reserve and will suit up against Washington.
The 32-year-old had gotten off to a nice start to his season with two goals and four assists in his first six games. However, in that sixth contest back in late October, he suffered an ankle injury, one that has kept him out for the last 20 contests.
With Chicago certainly isn’t looking to make a push for the playoffs, getting Johnson back and into game shape will help give them some stability in their middle six while he should be able to at least slightly bolster an offense that comes into tonight’s action ranked last in the league in goals scored. He’ll start on the third line for the time being.
While the Blackhawks will be sellers over the next few months, Johnson almost certainly won’t be among those that they’re able to move. He has another year left on his contract after this one with a $5MM AAV plus partial no-trade protection. In this market, with so many teams lacking cap space, that’s not a deal they’re easily going to be able to move.
The team also confirmed that goaltender Petr Mrazek was activated off IR and he will get the start against the Caps. Jaxson Stauber has been returned to AHL Rockford in a corresponding move. However, it’s not all good news on the injury front when it comes to players returning as Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes (Twitter link) that defenseman Caleb Jones isn’t quite ready to come back from his hip injury.
Penguins Place Jeff Petry On LTIR, Recall Two Players
The Penguins will be without one of their top defenders for at least a little while as the team announced that they have placed Jeff Petry on long-term injured reserve retroactive to December 11. The move frees up some short-term cap space and Pittsburgh used some of that right away as they recalled defenseman Mark Friedman and forward Drew O’Connor from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.
Petry was injured in Saturday’s victory over Buffalo with what appeared to be a hand or wrist injury. Following the game, he suggested it wouldn’t be a long-term issue but clearly, this placement suggests otherwise. The Penguins acquired the 35-year-old over the offseason from Montreal with the hopes of giving them a strong one-two punch on the right-hand side with Kris Letang. Petry has fit in well with a dozen points in 28 games while averaging over 22 minutes a night, a number that jumped to over 26 minutes per contest while Letang was recovering from his stroke. Now, Letang will be counted on to take on a heavier workload with Petry out for at least the next 10 games and 24 days. Chad Ruhwedel will likely slot in as a regular on the back end in Petry’s absence.
O’Connor is the top scorer for Pittsburgh’s farm team as he has eight goals and 14 assists in 20 games so far this season, a rate that’s a small improvement over the 32 points in 33 AHL contests he had last year. The 24-year-old played in 22 games with Pittsburgh last season where he had three goals and two assists but so far this year, he has been limited to just three contests, being held off the scoresheet while averaging 8:32 per night.
As for Friedman, he played in a career-high 26 NHL contests last season but Pittsburgh was able to get him through waivers back in October and assigned him to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton upon clearing. He has played in 19 games in the minors so far, collecting a goal and four assists. For Pittsburgh to be able to activate Petry when he’s able to return, they will have to get cap-compliant which likely means that Friedman and O’Connor will have to go back to the minors at that time, barring other injuries.
Blue Jackets Recall Daniil Tarasov, Joonas Korpisalo Out At Least A Week
Dec 12: The Blue Jackets have swapped, sending Greaves back down and recalling Tarasov.
Dec 10: Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo left last night’s game against Calgary after the first period with what was called lower body discomfort. Head coach Brad Larsen told reporters, including Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the veteran will be out for at least a week due to the injury. That designation allows him to be placed on injured reserve, creating an open roster spot for the team to recall Jet Greaves from AHL Cleveland.
Korpisalo returned to the lineup last month after missing the start of the season due to the hip surgery he underwent back in March. It’s unknown if this issue is related to that procedure but Columbus will understandably err on the side of caution here. Through his first 12 appearances, he has a 3.53 GAA along with a .903 SV% and while those numbers may not look great, they’re considerably better than what starter Elvis Merzlikins has put up so far (4.82 and .862, respectively).
At first glance, it seems a bit surprising that Daniil Tarasov wasn’t the one brought up from the Monsters. He has held his own in limited action with Columbus this season and as the presumptive backup starting in 2023-24, a chance to get him some more NHL experience at a time when the season is already well off the rails would have made some sense. Instead, they’ll prioritize the 23-year-old getting steady playing time in the minors.
This will be Greaves’ second recall of the season although this one should last a little longer than his first one. The 21-year-old undrafted free agent signing has played in 10 games with Cleveland this season, posting a 4.09 GAA with an .878 SV%. His promotion means that it should be Merzlikins’ net exclusively until Korpisalo is able to return.
Five Key Stories: 12/5/22 – 12/11/22
The first full week of December is in the books and while it was rather quiet on the transactions front, there was still some news of note around the NHL which is recapped in our top stories.
Another Injury In Colorado: One of the common consequences of a long playoff run is a team that deals with an uptick in injuries the following year. When it comes to the Avalanche, that’s underselling things as they’ve been hit hard by the injury bug this year. The latest is their top star as Nathan MacKinnon will miss at least a month due to an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old was off to arguably the best start of his career, averaging a career-best 1.48 points per game including 26 assists in 23 contests. At this point, pretty much the only core Colorado forward to not suffer some sort of injury yet this season is winger Mikko Rantanen.
Three For Two: While Sabres winger Jeff Skinner is off to the best start of his career with 32 points in 27 games, his week ended on a low note. He received a match penalty for a late cross-check on Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel, one that gave Pittsburgh the power play they eventually scored on in overtime. The Department of Player Safety then weighed in, issuing a three-game suspension that will keep him out of the lineup until Saturday. It’s the second suspension of Skinner’s career but it will still leave him considerably lighter in the wallet as he forfeits nearly $146K in salary. Later in the day, Kraken blueliner Jamie Oleksiak also received a three-game ban for an illegal hit to the head on Capitals defenseman Alexander Alexeyev. It’s Oleksiak’s second suspension for a hit to the head and this one results in a forfeited salary of just under $75K.
Hornqvist To LTIR: The Panthers have been in LTIR all season thanks to winger Anthony Duclair being out as he works his way back from a torn Achilles tendon. However, they were in a position where they’d need to make a trade to free up salary when he returns in the coming weeks. That has changed, at least for the time being as Florida has placed winger Patric Hornqvist on LTIR, alleviating that potential problem for now. The 35-year-old is believed to have some assurances that he won’t be traded as he plays out the final year of his contract that carries a $5.3MM AAV and as long as he’s on there, the Panthers have the ability to activate Duclair when he’s ready and carry a full-sized roster which is notable considering they have played short a player on multiple occasions this season due to salary cap constraints. There is no word on how long Hornqvist will be out.
Leaves Of Absence: A pair of players have stepped away from their respective teams for the time being. Penguins prospect Samuel Poulin is taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. The 21-year-old is in his second professional season and made his NHL debut with three games between late October and early November. Meanwhile, Predators forward Michael McCarron will be out indefinitely after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. The 27-year-old has played in 15 games with Nashville this season, picking up a goal and an assist.
Talks Not Going Well: One of the more prominent pending unrestricted free agents next summer is Canucks center Bo Horvat. However, while many expected a deal to be done back in the offseason, that hasn’t materialized and extension discussions aren’t progressing to the point where they might have to move him closer to the trade deadline. The 27-year-old already has 20 goals this season in just 27 games which is certainly only adding to his asking price. Of course, it looked like things were heading this way with J.T. Miller just a few months ago before they ultimately settled on an extension. However, with their cap situation, it’s possible that Miller’s contract might also help push their captain out the door.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.