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Wild Activate Mats Zuccarello And Jonas Brodin

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While the Wild lost a key blueliner to LTIR on Friday, there is some good news on the injury front for them.  Michael Russo of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that winger Mats Zuccarello has been activated off LTIR while defenseman Jonas Brodin has been activated off IR.  Both players are expected to return today versus Philadelphia.

Zuccarello has missed the last month due to a lower-body injury, stalling what had been a strong start to his season.  Prior to the injury, the 37-year-old had eight goals and six assists in 17 games while logging over 17 minutes of playing time.  That performance came on the heels of putting up 63 points in 69 games last season, showing he’s still quite capable of playing in the top six.

While Minnesota is among the top teams in the league in the standings, their offense enters play today ranked 14th in the NHL, just above the middle of the pack.  Accordingly, getting a key producer like Zuccarello back should be a considerable boost to their attack.

As for Brodin, he has missed a little more than two weeks due to an upper-body injury.  The 31-year-old got off to a decent start offensively with eight points in 18 appearances while once again being a key shot-blocker, still sitting second on the Wild with 45 despite missing 11 games.  Brodin is one of their defensive anchors on the penalty kill as well; his 2:15 SH TOI per game leads the team.

The Wild only had one open roster spot before activating Zuccarello and Brodin.  While not yet announced by the team, defenseman Cameron Crotty has been returned to AHL Iowa; he was recalled on Monday but didn’t suit up with Minnesota.

Stars Recall Magnus Hellberg

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With Casey DeSmith out with the flu, the Stars needed a second goaltender for their game tonight against St. Louis.  That netminder will be Magnus Hellberg as the team announced (Twitter link) that the veteran has been recalled from AHL Texas.

The 34-year-old is in his first season with Dallas after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them in mid-August, one worth the league minimum of $775K in the NHL and containing a guaranteed $475K payout.  Hellberg has played in 13 games so far with Texas and isn’t off to the best of starts, putting up a 3.08 GAA with a .894 SV% but makes more sense to bring up on a short-term basis than prospect Remi Poirier, his backup in the minors.

Hellberg does have some NHL experience under his belt, albeit limited.  He has seen NHL action in six of the last ten years, compiling 26 appearances altogether where he has a 3.08 GAA and a .890 SV%.  Most of that action came in the 2022-23 campaign when he got into 18 games between Ottawa and Detroit.

Dallas had an open roster spot before bringing Hellberg up so no corresponding move needed to be made to add him to the roster.

Golden Knights Sign Keegan Kolesar To Three-Year Extension

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The Golden Knights are keeping another veteran in the fold for a few more years.  The team announced that they’ve signed winger Keegan Kolesar to a three-year, $7.5MM extension that begins in the 2025-26 season.

The 27-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.  Instead, he’ll stay with Vegas through the 2028-29 campaign and will get a nice raise along the way.  Kolesar carries a $1.4MM salary and cap charge in the final year of his current deal, meaning he’ll get an increase of $1.1MM per season on this new agreement.

The Golden Knights acquired Kolesar back in 2017 from Columbus, flipping a mid-second-round pick to the Blue Jackets for his rights; Columbus wound up selecting Alexandre Texier with that selection.  He was initially drafted in the third round (69th overall) by Columbus.

Kolesar has been a full-time regular for the Golden Knights since the 2020-21 season.  Along the way, he has chipped in a bit offensively while becoming one of the more physical wingers in the league, notching at least 246 hits in each of the last three years.

This season, Kolesar has been more impactful in the offensive zone.  He has already notched seven goals on the season, good for sixth on the team and just one shy of his career-high that he has reached in each of the last two seasons.  He’s also still collecting more than three hits per game on average while his ATOI of 12:55 is also the highest of his career.

With that in mind, Kolesar was going to be heading for a fair-sized raise on the open market had this deal not been reached, especially since rugged wingers tend to generate a lot of interest in free agency.  Instead, he’ll be sticking around with the Golden Knights where he’ll remain one of their longest-tenured players.

Minor Transactions: 12/13/24

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There have been plenty of minor moves around the hockey world today.  We’ll run down the ones with NHL connections here.

  • The Oilers announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Josh Brown has been recalled from AHL Bakersfield. The 30-year-old inked a three-year, $3MM deal with Edmonton over the summer but wound up clearing waivers and has spent most of the year with the Condors, picking up three assists and 50 penalty minutes in 16 games while playing just three times with Edmonton so far.  With Alec Regula not with the team yet, it’s possible that Brown’s promotion is merely a short-term one.
  • The Rangers have brought up some extra defensive depth in the absence of K’Andre Miller. The team announced (Twitter link) that veteran Chad Ruhwedel has been recalled from AHL Hartford.  Ruhwedel has only played once with New York this season but has recorded three assists in 11 games with the Wolf Pack.  The 34-year-old has 365 career NHL contests under his belt over parts of 13 seasons.
  • The Canucks continue their frequent roster shuffling, announcing (Twitter link) that forwards Aatu Raty, Max Sasson, and defenseman Mark Friedman were assigned to AHL Abbotsford. Sasson has been moved back and forth quite often over the last few weeks while Friedman was papered down earlier this week.  Raty’s last assignment was in mid-November and considering he already has 20 games with Vancouver under his belt, it’s safe to say he’ll be back up quickly as well.
  • Veteran forward Gemel Smith has caught on with another team as he has joined AHL Bridgeport on a PTO, per a team release. The 30-year-old played in seven games with Syracuse earlier in the season, picking up four points.  Smith has 25 career points at the NHL level spanning 91 games over parts of six seasons.

Flames Recall Walker Duehr, Jakob Pelletier

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Dec. 12: As expected, the Flames announced today that Duehr and Pelletier are back up with the team. Their demotion was indeed to bank cap space and delay their temporary waiver exemptions.

Dec. 11: Following their victory over Nashville on Tuesday, the Flames have made a pair of roster moves.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned forwards Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr to AHL Calgary.  Both players were recalled earlier this month.

Pelletier somewhat surprisingly landed on waivers at the end of the preseason and the 2019 first-round pick (26th overall) passed through unclaimed.  He got off to a strong start with the Wranglers, notching three goals and 16 assists in 20 games, landing him the recall early last week.  The 23-year-old did well in limited action with the Flames, picking up a goal and an assist in four games despite logging barely eight minutes a night of action.

As for Duehr, he also passed through waivers without being claimed in early October despite playing in 40 games with the big club last season.  He also started strong in the minors, tallying 11 goals and eight assists in his first 20 outings.  Duehr picked up an assist in his four outings with the Flames while averaging a little over ten minutes of ice time per contest.

With the demotions, Calgary has a pair of open roster spots.  Notably, they only have 11 forwards on the active roster including Ryan Lomberg who has missed the last couple of games so it wouldn’t be surprising if a forward is recalled on Thursday.  It could be one of these two (in which case the assignment is simply to delay the waiver clock by a day) or they could elect to try a different forward on the fourth line now.

Central Notes: Stars, Dumba, Gustafsson, Martinez

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The long-term injury to Stars center Tyler Seguin has many believing that the Stars will be very aggressive on the trade market.  However, Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek wonders if they might wait until after the 4 Nations Face-Off in February to make any big splash on the trade front.  For starters, that would allow them to bank more in-season cap space but it would also allow them to hedge their bets in case goaltender Jake Oettinger was injured in the event.  Marek adds that among the areas that GM Jim Nill will be targeting between now and the March 7th deadline is getting tougher towards the bottom end of their forward group.

More from the Central Division:

  • Still with Dallas, defenseman Matt Dumba didn’t take part in practice today, per Brian Rea of Victory+ (Twitter link). Head coach Peter DeBoer indicated the blueliner will be re-assessed as a precautionary measure.  It hasn’t been a great year for the 30-year-old as he has been limited to just one assist in 19 games so far while logging 15:33 per game, his lowest ATOI since his first NHL action back in 2013-14.  That’s not a great return on a $3.75MM price tag that runs through next season.
  • Jets head coach Scott Arniel told reporters including Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link) that center David Gustafsson is in concussion protocol. The 24-year-old was injured in a fight against Boston on Tuesday.  Gustafsson has been limited to just three games this season where he has yet to record a point.  He’ll now be waiting at least a little while to add to that games played total.
  • After missing time with an upper-body injury earlier this season, Blackhawks defenseman Alec Martinez is dealing with a recurrence of that injury, causing him to leave practice early today, relays Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 37-year-old has been limited to just 15 games in his first season with Chicago and has four points while averaging a little over 20 minutes a night, an ATOI mark he last reached in 2020-21 with Vegas.

Minor Transactions: 12/11/24

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As has been the case throughout the season, there have been a bunch of minor moves around the NHL, primarily for roster management purposes.  Here’s a rundown of those that haven’t already been covered.

  • The Kraken announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Ryan Winterton from AHL Coachella Valley. The 21-year-old has been shuffled back and forth multiple times in the early going this season.  Winterton has played in six games with Seattle, picking up an assist while averaging 10:45 per game of ice time.  With the Firebirds, Winterton has been quite productive, recording seven goals and eight assists in 16 games so far.
  • The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defenseman Mark Friedman to AHL Vancouver. The 28-year-old was recalled in late November but only got into one game while on recall.  After clearing waivers in training camp, Friedman got into eight games with Abbotsford, notching a goal and three assists.
  • The Avalanche continued their trend of near-daily transactions. Colorado assigned forward Ivan Ivan, defenseman Keaton Middleton, and goalie Trent Miner to the minors, per the AHL’s transactions log.  Ivan has played exclusively with the Avs this season and has eight points in 30 games so it’s safe to say this is another paper move for salary cap reasons.  The others aren’t as certain.  Middleton has seen limited action in his three games and with the Avs having seven other healthy blueliners, they could opt to keep him down.  Miner, meanwhile, was brought up with newcomer Mackenzie Blackwood being sick so his assignment could mean that Blackwood is ready to make his debut with Colorado in which case Miner would stay with the Eagles.
  • After being named to Czechia’s preliminary World Junior roster yesterday, the Kings have loaned defenseman Jakub Dvorak to the national team, per the AHL’s transactions log. Considering that he’s seeing regular action with the Reign, it’s likely that he’s going to make the team so Los Angeles could have tried to see if they could keep him a little longer before loaning him out like Seattle intends to do with winger Eduard Sale but instead, Dvorak will join the Czechs for their full training camp.

Trevor Zegras Seeking Second Opinion On Knee Injury

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The Ducks will be without the services of forward Trevor Zegras for the foreseeable future after suffering a knee injury last week.  After undergoing testing recently, it appears there is still some potential ambiguity regarding how much time he’ll miss.  Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that Zegras is seeking second opinions on what the best process will be to treat the injury, adding a more concrete timeline for how long he’ll be out for could come in the next day or two.

Last season was a rough one for Zegras.  Contract talks dragged out, causing him to miss most of training camp and the preseason and he got off to a slow start that he never really recovered from.  The 23-year-old missed considerable time with two significant injuries, limiting him to just 31 games where he underwhelmed with six goals and nine assists.

Nonetheless, after a summer of trade speculation, there was optimism that Zegras would be able to have a bounce-back year in 2024-25.  Unfortunately for both him and the Ducks, that hasn’t really happened.  Through 24 games this season, he has four goals and six assists in a little under 17 minutes a night of playing time.

With this report, it seems likely that Zegras won’t be adding to those numbers anytime soon.  Often in these instances, the second opinion sought will be in the hopes of rehabbing an injury over undergoing a surgical procedure that would take considerably longer to recover from.

It’s worth noting that Zegras only has one year left on his bridge deal after this one, an agreement that carries a $5.75MM cap charge and qualifying offer along with arbitration eligibility.  If his absence winds up being a long-term or season-ending one, there will be even more question marks around him heading into the 2025 offseason.

Snapshots: Mukhamadullin, Ehlers, Nyquist, Drury

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The Sharks have recalled defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin from AHL San Jose, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link).  The 22-year-old was the 20th overall pick by New Jersey back in 2020 and was a key piece of the Timo Meier trade three years later.  Mukhamadullin missed all of training camp with a lower-body injury, eliminating any chance he had of making the team.  He was cleared to return at the end of October and has been with the Barracuda since then, collecting six assists in 14 games.  To make room for him on the roster, Jack Thompson has been returned to the AHL; the 22-year-old has done well in limited action so far, picking up five points in 14 games with the Sharks while averaging a little over 16 minutes a night.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers skated today for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury late last month, relays Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link). The 28-year-old was off to a strong start before the injury, recording nine goals and 16 assists in 24 games to land him in the top four in team scoring.  Although Ehlers was back on the ice today, there remains no firm timetable for his return.
  • Predators winger Gustav Nyquist was a late scratch for tonight’s game against Calgary with the team announcing (Twitter link) that he’s listed as day-to-day with an illness. After a career year last season in his first year with Nashville that saw him record 23 goals and 52 assists in 81 games, the 35-year-old has struggled offensively this season.  Through his first 28 games, he has just six goals and four helpers despite logging nearly 18 minutes a night of playing time.
  • The Hurricanes announced (Twitter link) that center Jack Drury left tonight’s game against San Jose due to an upper-body injury and did not return. The 24-year-old is in his second full NHL season and after putting up 27 points in 74 games in 2023-24, he’s producing at a similar clip this year, picking up three goals and six assists in his first 27 outings.  Drury also has the highest faceoff rate of Carolina’s full-time middlemen, winning over 56% of his draws in the early going.

Czechia Releases Preliminary World Junior Roster

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Last week, several countries released their preliminary rosters for the upcoming World Juniors (or in Sweden’s case, pretty much their entire tournament roster was revealed).  Today, it was Czechia’s turn as their federation announced their preliminary roster, one that consists of three goalies, nine defensemen, and 15 forwards.  The roster is as follows with NHL affiliation, if applicable, in parentheses:

Goalies:
Michael Hrabal (Utah)
Jan Kavan
Jakub Milota (Nashville)

Defensemen:
Jakub Dvorak (Los Angeles)
Jakub Fibigr (Seattle)
Tomas Galvas
Vojtech Husinecky
Matteo Koci
Adam Jiricek (St. Louis)
Vojtech Port (Anaheim)
Marek Rocak
Patrik Volas

Forwards:
Vojtech Cihar
Jiri Felcman (Chicago)
Miroslav Holinka (Toronto)
Vojtech Hradec (Utah)
Adam Jecho (St. Louis)
Ondrej Kos (St. Louis)
Matej Mastalirsky
Adam Novotny
Dominik Petr
Eduard Sale (Seattle)
Petr Sikora (Washington)
Pavel Simek
Jakub Stancl (St. Louis)
Richard Zemlicka
Adam Zidlicky

St. Louis is by far the most represented NHL team out of this group with four players on the initial roster.  Their top prospect of the group is Jiricek, a player whose availability for this tournament remains in question.  Jiricek, the 16th overall pick back in June, has been limited to just four games with OHL Brampton this season.  The federation is in touch with the Blues and a decision will be made about him being released later on.

Up front, Sale is the headliner.  The 20th overall pick in 2023 by the Kraken, Sale is off to a solid start in the AHL with a dozen points in 19 games after splitting last season between OHL Barrie and Kitchener.  It’s expected that Sale will not be with the Czechs for the entire camp but join them later on; a release date is being worked out between the federation and Seattle.

Czechia is in Pool B with Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland for the event which gets underway on December 26th.  They’ll have to have their roster down to three goalies (which they are already at) and no more than 22 skaters by the time the tournament begins.

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