Golden Knights Notes: Howden, Carrier, Hertl
The Vegas Golden Knights will be getting forward Brett Howden back from injury on Tuesday, per head coach Bruce Cassidy. Howden has been out since February 20th with an upper-body injury, missing the team’s last eight games. He has appeared in 54 games this season, scoring five goals and 13 points, matching the scoring he recorded in the same amount of games last year. Howden has also managed 29 penalty minutes and a -9, his first negative since the 2020-21 season. Vegas will need to activate Howden off of injured reserve before he takes the ice, though the team already has a roster space available.
Howden is in his third season with the Golden Knights, carving out a prominent role on the team’s bottom-six and penalty kill. Vegas will want his gritty impact back into the lineup as soon as possible, but who he’ll bump out of a role isn’t as clear – with Pavel Dorofeyev’s five points in the last seven games complicating the decision. Keegan Kolesar could be one candidate to take a seat, boasting just 11 points on the season and currently riding a nine-game scoring drought.
Other notes from around the league:
- Adding to Vegas’ touch decision in the bottom six is the progression of William Carrier, who returned to full contact at the team’s Monday practice. Carrier has missed 30 games with an upper-body injury, shifting to long-term injured reserve on Saturday – though he’s already missed enough time to be activated when healthy. Carrier has appeared in 33 games this season, scoring five goals and seven points.
- Tomáš Hertl, the newest Golden Knight, shared with media that he hopes to return in “about two weeks”, per Danny Webster with the Las Vegas Review. Hertl added that he feels as though he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery from a knee injury that’s held him out since January 27th. Hertl underwent knee surgery on February 12th. He’s been his usual self when healthy, scoring 15 goals and 34 points in 48 games with the San Jose Sharks – who have scored the second-fewest goals of any teams this season. Hertl will play in his first game with a new team whenever he’s healthy enough to return, after 11 seasons and 712 games with the Sharks. His 484 points in those games ranks sixth among any Sharks since 2000.
Stars Sign Justin Ertel To Entry-Level Contract
The Dallas Stars have signed right-winger Justin Ertel to an entry-level contract. The three-year deal will begin next season and carries a $925,000 cap hit, per CapFriendly. Ertel is currently in his second season in the OHL, scoring 25 goals and 66 points in 61 games with the North Bay Battalion. It’s a step up in scoring from his rookie year when he managed 36 points in 46 games.
The Stars drafted Ertel well before his OHL career began, though, selecting him in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft out of the Maritime Hockey League’s Summerside Western Capitals. Ertel, who was originally drafted by the Battalion in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection Draft, was spending the year in the MHL after the OHL canceled their season. And while the OHL returned for the 2021-22 season, Ertel instead opted to attend Cornell University in the United States, scoring one goal and nine points in 23 games. He’s likely now set to return to the States next season, after signing his first professional contract.
Ertel’s move to the pros should be interesting, with the 20-year-old winger boasting smooth skating, a strong understanding of how to get to open ice, and good grit along the boards – but showing room for improvement with the puck on his stick. He’s a hard-nosed forward who could fit well into professional systems. Dallas will hope that’s the case, as they look to continue profiting off their strong drafting as of late.
Blues Recall Zach Dean
The St. Louis Blues have recalled top prospect Zach Dean from the AHL. Dean is in his first professional season, scoring eight goals and 13 points in 47 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds. It’s been an up-and-down year for the rookie, who recently heated up after a 12-game scoring drought, managing nine points over his latest 12 games.
Dean was drafted 30th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2021 NHL Draft, with Vegas dealing him to St. Louis ahead of last year’s Trade Deadline in exchange for forward Ivan Barbashev. The deal has proven fruitful for both sides, with Barbashev scoring 20 goals and 53 points in his first 87 games with Vegas – and adding 18 points in 22 playoff games last season as the Golden Knights chased their first Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, the Blues have landed a former first-round prospect who is now poised to make his NHL debut.
Dean is a lightweight centerman with swift skating and a strong ability to make plays from the middle lane. Much of his first year as a pro has been spent getting used to the physicality along the boards and in the corners, with Dean improving at making plays through contact. His call-up coincides with fellow top QMJHL prospect Zachary Bolduc‘s NHL debut, as well as the recalling of 23-year-old Matthew Kessel, making it clear that St. Louis wants to assess their young assets. Bolduc has since managed one goal in nine career appearances, adding 11 shots, one penalty, and a -1.
Senators Notes: Bernard-Docker, Kubalik, Belleville
The Ottawa Senators had a quiet deadline – only moving winger Vladimir Tarasenko – but it wasn’t from lack of trying, with Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reporting that teams called about defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker but weren’t willing to pay Ottawa’s high asking price. What that asking price was isn’t clear, though there’s no doubt that Ottawa highly values their former first-round pick, despite his struggles at the top level. Garrioch added that Ottawa likely wasn’t eager to move the 23-year-old, happy to continue letting him grow now in a full-time NHL role. Bernard-Docker, the 26th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, is still searching for a groove in the league, with just four goals and 12 points in 53 games this season. It’s his first full season in the NHL, entering the season with just 32 career games across the last three years.
Other Senators trade notes:
- Garrioch also reports that Ottawa continued to try and find a trade for winger Dominik Kubalik, who the team has been shopping around since December. Garrioch adds that Kubalik will likely be out the door when he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. The 28-year-old winger has 10 goals and 14 points in 58 games this season, netting double digit goals for the fifth-straight season, despite a down-year in overall production. Kubalik has managed 92 goals and 175 points across 341 career NHL games.
- Tarasenko’s move opened up space on the Senators lineup that the team hopes to fill creatively. While they did claim bottom-six staple Boris Katchouk off of waivers, Senators general manager Steve Staios shared that the team could give top Belleville Senators prospects – including Tyler Kleven, Zack Ostapchuk, and Oskar Pettersson – a chance at the majors as well. He told Garrioch, “All of those players have progressed nicely. They’re worthy of an opportunity to play.” Ottawa currently sits second-to-last in the Eastern Conference, with just 25 wins on the season. With a quiet deadline not providing much change, they could be well-poised to try out their top young names.
Devils Recall Nolan Foote From Conditioning Stint
Left winger Nolan Foote led the New Jersey Devils onto the practice sheet today as he was officially recalled from his AHL conditioning stint. Foote has been working his way back from a preseason upper-body injury that held him out until February 26th, when he was assigned to the Utica Comets. Foote has appeared in four games with Utica, scoring three goals and four points. He’ll now have a chance to establish himself in the NHL, back with the Devils for the first time since late March of last season.
Foote is still new to his professional career, making his AHL debut in the 2020-21 season. He’s since spent the majority of his time in the minors, including 55 games in each of the last two seasons, though he’s received six or seven NHL games every year. In total, he’s managed 86 points across 134 career AHL games, on top of five goals and seven points in 19 NHL games.
Foote’s return comes at an apt time, coming right after the team traded top-scoring winger Tyler Toffoli to the Winnipeg Jets. That’s left a hole in the lineup that’s currently being filled by utility player Kurtis MacDermid, who has just two goals in 33 games this season. Foote should be able to compete for that role, though he’ll need to take advantage of his opportunity, with the Devils on the tail ends of the playoff race.
Pittsburgh Penguins Share Multiple Injury Updates
Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has shared multiple injury updates, most notably designating top-line winger Bryan Rust as a game-time decision on Sunday. Rust has missed Pittsburgh’s last seven games with an upper-body injury that earned him a place on injured reserve. It was the second time Rust has landed on IR this season, previously missing three weeks with another upper-body injury. The absences have limited Rust to just 42 of Pittsburgh’s 62 games this season – though he’s proven impactful when he does play, managing 36 points, split evenly, through 42 games.
Rust is on the cusp of reaching the 20-goal mark for the fifth-straight season – a streak he kicked off with a career-high 27 goals in just 55 games in 2019-20. While he hasn’t crossed 25 goals since that year, Rust has proven incredibly consistent, serving as a staple on Sidney Crosby‘s line for much of his career. His return will carry extra weight than usual, as the Penguins have dealt away the final member of their top line: Jake Guentzel, who was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for Michael Bunting, three prospects, and a first-round and fifth-round pick in 2024.
Sullivan also shared that forward Matthew Nieto is continuing to rehab from knee surgery. Nieto hasn’t played a game since November 30th, shifting to IR in December and long-term injured reserve in January. He was designated as out for six to eight weeks in early January, putting him on track for a return in mid-to-late March. Nieto has played just 22 games with the Penguins, scoring four points, since signing a two-year, $1.8MM contract with the team this summer.
Finally, the Penguins shared that Drew O’Connor has returned to skating after bearing with a concussion that’s held him out of the team’s last two games. O’Connor suffered the injury in Pittsburgh’s Tuesday game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, leaving after the first period. He had previously played in 60 games this season, scoring a career-high nine goals and 21 points. It’s O’Connor’s first year off the fourth line, after playing in 46 games and scoring 11 points in a depth role last season.
Rangers Sign Louis Domingue To One-Year Extension
The New York Rangers have signed veteran goaltender Louis Domingue to a one-year, one-way extension. The deal will carry a league-minimum $775K salary, per Renauld Lavoie of TVA Sports. This will continue Domingue’s tenure with the Rangers, after the netminder signed a two-year, $1.5MM deal with the club in the summer of 2022.
Domingue didn’t play in the NHL at all last season – marking the first time since the 2013-14 season that he was absent from the league. His debut with the Rangers didn’t come until November 9th of this season, when he saved 25 of 26 shots en route to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. Domingue has otherwise spent all season in the minor leagues, where he’s managed 13 wins and a .910 save percentage in 24 games. He’s continued to perform well after posting 22 wins and a .911 in 45 games last year – serving as the Hartford Wolf Pack’s starter over prospect Dylan Garand. Those roles have since shifted this season, with the 21-year-old Garand barely beating out Domingue for the starter’s net, with the pair have working together to lead Hartford to a 29 wins in 54 games. They rank fourth in the AHL’s Atlantic Division and ninth in the league.
The Rangers mark the seventh team of Domingue’s career, making him one of the NHL’s biggest journeymen. Much of his career has been spent as a backup option or depth recall, though, with Domingue’s only seasons of 30 or more games coming in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. He recorded 39 and 31 games respectively in those years, adding a .912 and .908 save percentage. While big years, they weren’t enough to land Domingue a consistent role, with a trade to the Tampa Bay Lightning kicking off his third-string placement. He has totaled 143 career games across nine different seasons, managing 60 wins and a commendable .905 save percentage. He will likely remain a depth option for the Rangers, though his veteran presence could prove invaluable as the Rangers approach a long playoff run.
Logan Couture Out For Season With Groin Injury
San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture has announced that he won’t play again this season due to a groin injury in a press conference with team media, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.
Couture didn’t make his season debut until January 20th, missing the season’s first half with a lower-body injury. He played in just six games, and recorded just one assist, before re-aggravating the injury and once again exiting the lineup. Couture didn’t play any games outside of the last two weeks of January. His season now ends before it really got started, marking the first year Couture has missed since making his NHL debut in 2009-10.
The 15-year-pro Couture quickly established himself as a backbone of the Sharks lineup, scoring 32 goals and 56 points in the 2010-11 season, his first full year in the NHL. He scored 31 goals and 65 points in the subsequent season – and has since crossed the 30-goal mark just one additional time, in 2017-18, and crossed the 60-point mark four more times, including when he scored a career-high 70 points in 2018-19.
Couture has served as San Jose’s captain for each of the last five seasons after four seasons as an alternate captain, taking over the role from Joe Pavelski. Couture has seen it all in his 933 career games with the Sharks, going from a fringe playoff contender, to a Stanley Cup hopeful, and then to one of the league’s bottom-dwellers over the course of the 2010’s. He ranks fourth in all-time scoring among Sharks, with 701 career points, and fifth in all-time games played. He is signed through the end of the 2026-27 season, carrying an $8MM cap hit, and will aim to play in his 1,000th NHL game when he returns next season.
AHL Shuffle: 3/8/24
It’s the NHL Trade Deadline and all attention is trained on which key assets will be moved around. But NHL teams will also have to keep their minor league rosters in mind, as players will need to be on an AHL roster by 2 p.m. CT to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs. That’s led to a long list of minor league loans and paper transactions, with teams keeping the shelves of their AHL rosters stocked. Most of these players have already been or will be recalled by their teams later. This listing of transactions is sourced from CapFriendly. As always, we’ll keep track of those transactions here:
- The Kraken recalled defenseman Cale Fleury from AHL Coachella Valley. He comes up in the wake of an upper-body injury to top-pairing blue-liner Vince Dunn and will remain on the roster as an extra defenseman until Dunn is ready to return. Ryker Evans was returned to Coachella Valley to make him eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Canucks reassigned and later recalled Vasily Podkolzin from AHL Abbotsford to make him eligible to play for the lower-level Canucks in the AHL postseason.
- The Flames assigned defenseman Jordan Oesterle to AHL Calgary after he cleared waivers Friday.
- The Bruins assigned Marc McLaughlin to AHL Providence to clear cap space necessary to acquire Pat Maroon and Andrew Peeke via trades today. Defenseman Mason Lohrei was also assigned to Providence, along with winger Justin Brazeau.
- The Lightning assigned Maxwell Crozier and Emil Martinsen Lilleberg to AHL Syracuse. They could be in for a more permanent stay after Tampa picked up Mathew Dumba from the Coyotes via trade today.
- The Kings assigned forwards Alex Turcotte and Samuel Fagemo, as well as defensemen Brandt Clarke and Jacob Moverare, to AHL Ontario to make them eligible to play for the Reign in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Turcotte and Moverare were later recalled.
- The Golden Knights assigned forwards Byron Froese and Mason Morelli to AHL Henderson to clear cap space for today’s acquisition of Tomáš Hertl from the Sharks.
- The Blackhawks assigned defensemen Louis Crevier and Isaak Phillips, as well as forward Zach Sanford, to AHL Rockford to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Rangers reassigned and later recalled forwards Adam Edstrom and Matt Rempe from AHL Hartford to make him eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Flyers assigned defenseman Adam Ginning to AHL Lehigh Valley after picking up veteran blue-liner Erik Johnson from the Sabres.
- The Devils assigned goaltenders Nico Daws and Akira Schmid to AHL Utica after acquiring Jake Allen and Kaapo Kähkönen in separate trades.
- The Flames assigned wingers Matthew Coronato and Jakob Pelletier to AHL Calgary to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Avalanche reassigned and later recalled goaltender Justus Annunen from AHL Colorado to make him eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Maple Leafs reassigned and later recalled winger Matthew Knies from AHL Toronto to make him eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Blue Jackets recalled forward Trey Fix-Wolansky from AHL Cleveland after trading Jack Roslovic to the Rangers.
- The Canadiens assigned forward Joshua Roy and defenseman Jayden Struble to AHL Laval to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Sabres recalled forward Tyson Jost and defenseman Kale Clague from AHL Rochester after trading away Johnson and Kyle Okposo. Winger Lukas Rousek and defenseman Ryan Johnson were assigned to Rochester to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Capitals reassigned and later recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard and forwards Hendrix Lapierre and Ivan Miroshnichenko from AHL Hershey to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Ducks sent forward Glenn Gawdin to AHL San Diego to make him eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Coyotes assigned winger Dylan Guenther and defenseman Michael Kesselring to AHL Tucson to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Sharks assigned goaltender Magnus Chrona and center Thomas Bordeleau to AHL San Jose to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Sabres Send Devin Cooley To Sharks For Draft Pick
The Buffalo Sabres have acquired a 2025 seventh-round draft pick from the San Jose Sharks in return for goaltender Devin Cooley.
Cooley, 26, has been a career minor-leaguer, totaling 66 appearances in the AHL since making his professional debut in the 2020-21 season. That includes the 14 games he’s appeared in with the Rochester Americans this season, where he’s managed six wings and a .891 save percentage. That brings Cooley’s career totals in the AHL up to 32 wins and a .900 save percentage. He has also posted 14 wins and a .916 in 25 ECHL games.
San Jose’s last-minute acquisition of Cooley corresponds with their swapping of Kaapo Kahkonen and Vitek Vanecek. Devils team reporter James Nichols reported that Vanecek could miss the rest of the season with a lower-body injury, some bad news for a Sharks team already down Mackenzie Blackwood to a groin injury. That means the San Jose Sharks will have to ice Magnus Chrona and Cooley as their top two options. Interestingly, the pair of rookie NHL goalies have experience playing together – with a senior-year Cooley backing up a freshman-year Chrona at the University of Denver in the 2019-20 season. The pair combined for 20 wins, before Cooley moved to the pros in 2020-21. Chrona is now in his first pro season, boasting an .830 save percentage in his first four NHL games and a .892 in his first 24 AHL games.