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Atlantic Notes: Byram, Matthews, Jarnkrok, Gadjovich

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With the Sabres struggling out of the gate, it appears that some teams are kicking the tires to see if a core piece could be pried away.  TSN’s Darren Dreger reported earlier this week on Sekeres and Price (video link) that some teams from the West have inquired about defenseman Bowen Byram although Buffalo has been informing teams he’s not available.  Byram is in his first full season with the Sabres after being acquired at the trade deadline from Colorado and he’s certainly off to a solid start with nine points in 14 games while logging over 21 minutes a night.  A pending restricted free agent, Byram will be in line for a significant raise on his current $3.85MM AAV next summer.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews skated today for 25 minutes with no signs of discomfort, relays TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). Toronto moved him to injured reserve on Friday, making him ineligible for tonight’s game against Montreal but he is eligible to return Tuesday versus Ottawa.  Assuming Matthews is cleared to play in that game, the Maple Leafs will have to make a roster move beforehand, likely a waiver placement as things stand, to open up a roster spot.
  • Still with Toronto, head coach Craig Berube told reporters including Nick Barden of The Hockey News that winger Calle Jarnkrok is “probably a ways away” from making his season debut. The 33-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury that’s believed to be a sports hernia.  Jarnkrok skated before practice a couple of times this week but it looks like he’s still not particularly close to being cleared to play.  Jarnkrok had 10 goals and 11 assists in 52 games for the Maple Leafs last season.
  • The Panthers will welcome back winger Jonah Gadjovich to the lineup tonight against Philadelphia, the team announced (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has missed the last three weeks with a back injury.  Gadjovich has played in six games so far this season, notching a goal and 26 hits while averaging just 7:25 per night on the fourth line; he leads the league in hits/60.  Mackie Samoskevich will come out of the lineup to make room for Gadjovich’s return.

Capitals Make Three Roster Moves

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The Capitals have shuffled things up roster-wise in advance of their game tonight against St. Louis.  The team announced that they have activated defenseman Jakob Chychrun off injured reserve.  Additionally, winger Sonny Milano has been placed on IR while center Michael Sgarbossa has been recalled from AHL Hershey.  Washington’s roster now stands at the maximum of 23 players.

Chychrun has missed the last couple of weeks with an upper-body injury but appears poised to return tonight.  The 26-year-old is in his first season with the Caps after being acquired on the opening day of free agency from Ottawa and it’s fair to say he has made an early impact.  Chychrun has four points in eight games so far this season and was logging over 21 minutes a night before getting injured.  A pending unrestricted free agent, Chychrun has helped bolster the left side of Washington’s back end so his return will certainly be a welcome one.

As for Milano, it has been a rough year for him thus far.  He played less than six minutes in the season opener and then was scratched for nine straight games before returning to the lineup two games ago.  However, he suffered an upper-body injury in his most recent outing, one that will keep him out for the next week at least.  He hasn’t recorded a point in his three appearances this season after putting up 15 goals and 23 points in 49 games in 2023-24.

Sgarbossa, meanwhile, has been up and down with Washington in recent days.  The 32-year-old has suited up twice with the Capitals this season, averaging a little over eight minutes a night.  Meanwhile, with the Bears, he’s off to another strong start, recording a goal and eight assists in seven appearances with them.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see Washington continue to shuffle him back and forth between there and Hershey, allowing them to delay his waiver clock in the process.

Predators Place Dante Fabbro On Waivers

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Dante Fabbro has been a speculative trade candidate in Nashville for a few years now and it appears he could be on the move although not via a trade.  Instead, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Predators have placed the blueliner on waivers.

A few years ago, the 26-year-old looked like another fixture on the back end for the Preds.  He had three seasons averaging more than 19 minutes a night (primarily on the second pairing) between 2019-20 and 2021-22, even putting up a breakout 24-point effort in the 2021-22 campaign, making his then-$2.4MM price tag look like a bargain.

However, things haven’t gone as well since then.  Fabbro’s playing time has dipped since then, dropping to 17:27 per night in 2022-23 and then 16:21 last season.  This year, it’s even lower when he has been in the lineup as he has logged just 13:06 per game in his six appearances where he has been held off the scoresheet thus far.  In Nashville’s other eight games, Fabbro has been a healthy scratch.

Fabbro is making $2.5MM this season on a one-year deal he signed at last year’s trade deadline, locking him in at the same rate as the year before without any potential for uncertainty in what would have been his final year with arbitration eligibility; he could have very easily been a non-tender candidate had he been unsigned heading into late June.

That price tag would be difficult for quite a few cap-strapped teams to absorb but even so, it’s possible that Fabbro could be claimed.  A rebuilding team might want to get a look at him to see if he’s worth keeping around longer-term or to try to build up his value and then flip him (possibly with salary retention) closer to the March 7th trade deadline.  With over 300 NHL games under his belt, he could be a worthwhile pickup for some teams looking for depth and experience on their back end.  Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim on him.

Kings Recall Samuel Helenius, Place Alex Turcotte On IR

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The Kings have made a pair of roster moves leading up to their game tonight against Columbus.  The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Samuel Helenius from AHL Ontario on an emergency basis; to make room on the roster, forward Alex Turcotte was placed on injured reserve.

This is the first recall for Helenius in his young career.  The 21-year-old was a second-round pick by Los Angeles back in 2021, going 59th overall.  Standing 6’6, the hope was that Helenius could become a solid checking piece and now in his third professional season, things appear to be on track.

This season, Helenius has three points in eight games along with 22 penalty minutes for the Reign.  That’s a small improvement in offensive pace for him after he put up 19 points in 69 contests last season.  Helenius should take Tanner Jeannot’s place in the lineup as he begins a three-game suspension tonight.

As for Turcotte, he was injured back on Monday against Nashville, suffering an upper-body injury.  However, it’s not supposed to be a long-term issue as he has already resumed skating, albeit in a non-contact jersey.  The 23-year-old has done relatively well in his first full NHL campaign, notching five points in 13 games while logging a little under 12 minutes a night.

Canucks Recall Nils Aman And Arshdeep Bains

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The Canucks have been quite busy on the transactions front over the last couple of weeks, shuffling players back and forth to save cap space and, in some cases, pause the waiver clock of certain players.  But with Friday’s trade of Daniel Sprong, they had a roster spot to try to fill on top of the usual paper moves.  They’ve done so by announcing (Twitter link) the recalls of center Nils Aman and winger Arshdeep Bains from AHL Abbotsford.

Aman cleared waivers last weekend after spending the first few weeks of the season in the NHL.  The 24-year-old had a very limited role over that stretch, however, only getting into four games and being scratched for the rest.  He had two assists in those outings on the fourth line but is more known for being a defensive player than a point producer at the top level.  Aman got into two games with Abbotsford following the demotion, picking up a pair of helpers there as well.

As for Bains, he has been no stranger to the shuffle as this is his fifth recall of the season already.  The 23-year-old has a goal in seven games so far this season while collecting 12 hits and averaging 11:40 per night.  Despite the frequent assignments to Abbotsford, Bains has played for them just once so far; he had a goal and two helpers in that contest.

With the promotions, Vancouver is now back to a full 23-player roster.  That said, with the frequency of their moves over the first few weeks of the season, that’s unlikely to be the case for too long.

Penguins Recall Tristan Jarry, Assign Matt Nieto To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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Two weeks ago, the Penguins opted to send goaltender Tristan Jarry to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan.  That loan has a two-week limit which has now expired.  Accordingly, the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been recalled from the minors.  Jarry remained on Pittsburgh’s active roster while in the AHL so no corresponding move was needed.  Meanwhile, the team has also sent winger Matt Nieto to the AHL on a conditioning loan.

Jarry got off to a particularly rocky start to his season, posting a 5.47 GAA and a .836 SV% in his first three starts.  While that’s a small sample size, it was certainly cause for some concern.  Accordingly, when Alex Nedeljkovic returned, Pittsburgh elected not to send youngster Joel Blomqvist back to the minors, instead keeping three goalies.

After doing that briefly, the Penguins sent Jarry back from their road trip to work with their goalie coach away from the rest of the team.  After a couple of days of that, the sides decided that a stint in the minors made sense.  Jarry certainly made the most of it, getting into five minor league contests, putting up a 2.16 GAA and a .926 SV% in those outings.

It will be interesting to see how Pittsburgh opts to deploy Jarry.  They might be inclined to give him another NHL start relatively quickly to see if he can continue his improved performance but a three-goalie rotation is often difficult to work with.  Blomqvist has impressed in his first taste of NHL action and doesn’t deserve to lose much time or be sent down while Nedeljkovic is in the first season of a two-year deal signed a few months ago to keep him in the fold.  For now, at least, it looks like they’ll carry three netminders and try to make it work.

As for Nieto, it has been more than 11 months since he last saw game action.  The 32-year-old is coming back from a knee injury and is on LTIR.  This means that his conditioning loan carries a shorter timeline than Jarry as the standard one is capped at three games and six days although two games can be added to that with league permission if it’s necessary.  Nieto had four points in 22 games with Pittsburgh last season and is in the final year of his deal which carries a $900K AAV.

Lightning Assign Gage Goncalves To AHL

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Gage Goncalves’ first NHL stint of the season was a short-lived one.  The Lightning announced today that they’ve reassigned the forward to AHL Syracuse.

The 23-year-old was recalled earlier this week and got into two games with Tampa Bay.  He was held off the scoresheet in those outings while logging a little over ten minutes per game.  Goncalves had a big year offensively with the Crunch last season, collecting 58 points in 69 games and was off to a good start prior to his recall this year, notching four assists and four appearances thus far.

While Goncalves was recalled to take Brayden Point’s spot in the lineup due to his lower-body injury, this assignment shouldn’t be interpreted as Point being ready to return yet; he didn’t participate in practice today.  However, Tampa Bay is off until Thursday so this assignment will free up a bit more cap space at a minimum while giving Goncalves a chance to play with the Crunch.  If Point isn’t ready to return by Thursday’s game, Goncalves will probably be promoted once again.

Pacific Notes: Kaliyev, Gibson, Walman, Stone

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Kings winger Arthur Kaliyev ramped up his participation in practice today, albeit in a non-contact jersey, relays Andrew Knoll of the LA Daily News.  The 23-year-old has yet to play this season after suffering a broken collarbone during a scrimmage in the opening days of training camp.  Kaliyev is coming off a rough year that saw him record just seven goals and eight assists in 51 games after putting up 27 and 28 points in his previous two years.  While he requested a trade, one never came to fruition over the summer and the sides settled on a one-year, $825K deal just before camp; he was injured just a few days later.  Originally targeted for a late-November/early-December return, it’s possible that Kaliyev is a little ahead of schedule in terms of his recovery.

More from the Pacific:

  • The Ducks have activated goaltender John Gibson from injured reserve, relays Derek Lee of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has yet to play this season after undergoing an appendectomy during the preseason.  After being a top performer early in his career, Gibson has struggled considerably in recent years and posted a 3.54 GAA with a career-low .888 SV% in 46 games last season.  Anaheim now has three goalies on its active roster with the others being Lukas Dostal and James Reimer.  Reimer was claimed off waivers last month and unless the Ducks want to carry three goalies for a while, he could be back on the wire soon.
  • While he missed Thursday’s game due to an upper-body injury, Sharks defenseman Jake Walman is with the team on their road trip that begins on Sunday, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. There has been some confusion about whether Walman’s absence was initially injury-related or just being a scratch but it’s clear he isn’t fully healthy at the time being.  The 28-year-old was acquired in a cap-clearing move from Detroit over the offseason and has been a big boost to San Jose’s back end.  Through 13 games this season, he leads their blueline group with nine points (including eight assists, one off his career-high) and an ATOI of 22:42 so whenever he’s cleared to return, he’ll be a welcome addition to their lineup.
  • The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that winger Mark Stone is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The injury explains the earlier recall of winger Jonas Rondbjerg from the minors.  Stone is off to a terrific start to the season, recording six goals and 15 assists in 13 games so far to lead the team in scoring while logging over 19 minutes a night so his absence will certainly be felt.

Golden Knights Recall Jonas Rondbjerg, Place Nic Hague On IR

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The Golden Knights have placed defenseman Nic Hague on IR, per the NHL’s media site.  With the open roster spot, the team announced (Twitter link) that forward Jonas Rondbjerg has been recalled from AHL Henderson.

Rondbjerg is no stranger to the NHL-AHL shuttle in recent years as he has played in at least 13 games with Vegas in each of the last three seasons.  In 2023-24, the 25-year-old got into 20 games with the Golden Knights, recording two goals and an assist while averaging 11:17 per night.  Overall, he has three goals and seven helpers in 63 career appearances in Vegas.

While he hasn’t been a big point producer in the NHL, Rondbjerg has been much more effective offensively in the minors.  Last season, he had nine goals and 16 assists in 48 appearances with the Silver Knights and is off to a decent start this year with two goals and two assists in his first seven games, helping to earn this recall.

As for Hague, the 25-year-old last played on Saturday and has been out with an undisclosed injury since then.  He’s off to a quiet start to his season, notching just one goal in nine games along with 12 blocks and 13 hits while averaging just over 16 minutes a night, a number that skews a bit low due to missing time due to injury in two straight games.  Assuming they back-dated the IR placement to Sunday, Hague will be available to return as soon as Monday against Seattle.

While Rondbjerg’s cap hit actually comes in slightly below the league minimum salary, his recall does push Vegas into using LTIR, meaning they’ll stop banking cap space for the time being.  Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him at least papered back to the minors on Saturday to get them back under the $88MM Upper Limit again.

Kraken Acquire Daniel Sprong From Canucks

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It appears Daniel Sprong will be returning to a team he’s already familiar with.  The Canucks announced that they have dealt the winger to the Kraken in exchange for future considerations.

Sprong has been a productive player over the last couple of seasons but it hasn’t resulted in him getting much stability.  In 2022-23, he had a breakout year in Seattle, notching 21 goals and 25 assists in 66 games.  Before that, his previous career-high in points was 23.  However, despite only being owed a qualifying offer of $787.5K, Seattle opted to non-tender him, getting out of a potential arbitration hearing in the process.

Still, the 27-year-old was able to do relatively well in free agency in 2023, landing a one-year, $2MM deal with Detroit.  He showed that his production the year before wasn’t a one-off, as he collected 18 goals and 25 assists in 76 games while only averaging 12 minutes a night of action.  But once again, he was non-tendered as the Red Wings opted to avoid the risk of arbitration as well.

Unfortunately for Sprong, the market wasn’t as strong this time around.  It took nearly three weeks into free agency before he found a contract when Vancouver signed him to a one-year, $975K contract, cutting his pay from the year before by more than half in the process.  It looked like a relatively shrewd pickup for a Canucks franchise that didn’t have much salary cap flexibility but wanted to add more offensive depth.

But things didn’t go as planned.  Sprong has been healthy scratched three times already this season and when he has played, he hasn’t been able to produce at the same level, tallying just one goal and two assists in nine games while averaging 11:39 per night.  Clearly, Vancouver had seen enough and decided the time was right to move on.

The Canucks are expected to welcome Dakota Joshua back to the lineup soon and it appears that this move will open up the roster spot to do so.  In the meantime, they’ve upped their cap space to over $1.9MM per PuckPedia, giving them much more in-season flexibility than they’ve had in recent years.  As for Seattle, they’re presently in LTIR and this move will push them a little deeper into it.  However, they’re still close enough to the $88MM cap that it shouldn’t be too difficult to get back under that amount when Vince Dunn is able to return.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the trade.

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