Sharks Trade Kaapo Kahkonen To Devils
The San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils have completed a goalie swap, sending Kaapo Kahkonen to New Jersey and Vitek Vanecek to San Jose, per ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. The Sharks will also be receiving a 2025 seventh-round pick.
While he’s seen his rights traded, Vanecek may need to wait to make his debut with the Sharks, with Devils team reporter James Nichols reporting that he could miss the remainder of the season with injury. The Devils placed Vanecek on injured reserve with a lower-body injury on February 20th, though his last appearance was on February 10th. He’s since missed New Jersey’s last 13 games.
This could place the Sharks in a unique situation, now without their de facto starter in Kahkonen and Mackenzie Blackwood, who has landed on injured reserve with a groin injury. That leaves the Sharks with Magnus Chrona – a 23-year-old in his first professional season – as their top option. Chrona has played in four NHL games already this season, allowing 17 goals on 100 shots and yet to record his first win. Chrona has moved to the pros after spending the last four years at the University of Denver. He’s accomplished the impressive feat of playing in the ECHL, AHL, and NHL all in one season, ultimately recording five wings and saving 821 of the 922 shots he’s faced, good for a .890 save percentage between the three leagues.
Chrona will likely be backed up by Devin Cooley, who the Sharks acquired from the Buffalo Sabres right at the trade deadline, sending a 2025 seventh-round pick the other way. Cooley, 26, carries more pro experience than Chrona, having played in the minor leagues since the 2020-21 season, but he has yet to make his NHL debut. He’s spent the entirety of the 2023-24 season in the AHL, recording six win and a .891 save percentage in 14 games. Cooley is also an alum of the University of Denver, serving as Chrona’s backup in the 2019-20 season.
While San Jose’s situation is certainly more dire, the Devils will also be faced with a brand new goaltending duo, with Kahkonen likely slotting into the starting role ahead of fellow newcomer Jake Allen. New Jersey sent a third-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens for the veteran Allen. Kahkonen has faced a barrage of shots in San Jose, posting six wins and a .895 save percentage in 31 games, while facing an average of 32 shots. Allen’s stat-line has been similar this season, posting six wins of his own and a .891 save percentage in 21 games. He’s seeing a slight decline in his effectiveness, posting an .891 save percentage last season – the first time he’s posted a save percentage below .900 in his 12-year career. Together, Kahkonen and Allen will look to lift New Jersey back into a playoff spot, after ineffective goaltending and a bad case of injuries pushed the team down the standings.
Senators Claim Boris Katchouk Off Waivers
The Ottawa Senators have claimed forward Boris Katchouk off of waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. Katchouk has been with the Hawks for the last three seasons, totaling 117 games and 26 points with the club.
Katchouk has largely served in a full-time NHL role since making his debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021-22, playing in just nine AHL games since. That includes six games with the Rockford IceHogs this season, where Katchouk has scored three goals and five points. But while he’s stayed on an NHL roster, his role hasn’t grown much – with Katchouk regularly rotating into the lineup as a depth winger. He’s totaled 155 career games over the last three seasons, averaging just under 11-and-a-half minutes each game and scoring a total of 32 points.
Katchouk will now join a Senators lineup that recently traded winger Vladimir Tarasenko, forcing them to rely on call-up Jiri Smejkal to fill their fourth line. Smejkal has managed just one assist in 10 games this season, adding 19 points in 39 AHL games. It’s his first year in North America, after spending the last seven years touring across Europe’s top leagues, playing in the KHL, Czechia Extraliga, Liiga, and SHL. He’s proven productive in every league, though he hasn’t yet found his scoring groove in Canada. Some healthy competition could be exactly what he needs, now battling with an experienced depth forward in Katchouk.
Sabres Send Erik Johnson To Flyers
The Buffalo Sabres are sending veteran defenseman Erik Johnson to the Philadelphia Flyers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Johnson has been a focal piece of trade rumors for a while, now moving to the fourth club of his career. Philadelphia will be sending a 2024 fourth-round pick the other way, per The Athletic’s Chris Johnston. The deal features no salary retention.
Johnson hit the open market for the first time in seven years this summer, signing a one-year, $3.2MM deal with the Sabres. It marked his first move since February of 2011, when he was traded to Colorado alongside Jay McClement and the 11th-overall pick in 2011 that turned into Duncan Siemens. In return, the St. Louis Blues received Chris Stewart, Kevin Shattenkirk, and the 32nd-oveall pick in 2011 that turned into Ty Rattie. Johnson quickly established himself as a focal piece of Colorado’s blue line, averaging over 24 minutes of ice time through his first 22 games with the Avalanche. He maintained that heavy usage across the next 13 seasons, averaging over 21 minutes of ice time as he totaled 717 games and 246 points in Colorado. His burly size and long reach made him a coveted asset, even if his scoring never rose above a career-high 39 points scored in the 2013-14 season.
Johnson will likely be leaned on as the replacement for top-pair defenseman Sean Walker, who the Flyers traded to the Colorado Avalanche for a conditional 2025 first-round pick and centerman Ryan Johansen, who the Flyers are continuing to shop around. Walker spent nearly all season alongside Nick Seeler, who the Flyers recently signed to a four-year contract extension. Johnson certainly won’t bring the scoring touch that Walker managed, scoring 22 points in 63 games, but he should maintain the burly presence in the neutral zone that earned Walker praise. This move also gives Philadelphia more room to utilize their young defensemen, including Ronald Attard and Yegor Zamula.
Philadelphia Trades Wade Allison To Nashville For Denis Gurianov
The Philadelphia Flyers have sent depth forward Wade Allison to the Nashville Predators for winger Denis Gurianov, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Allison’s move was first reported by The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco.
Allison has spent the entirety of the season in the AHL, scoring a measly 10 goals and 17 points in 46 games – matching his scoring in 28 AHL games last season. He’s lost his grip on the NHL role he earned last season, when he played in 60 games and scored 15 points while averaging a commendable 13 minutes of ice time. Last year marked Allison’s first full-time NHL role, though he had played 15 games between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons as well. In total, he’s managed 75 career NHL games, with 13 goals, 22 points, and 40 penalty minutes. The 26-year-old winger hasn’t quite found his groove in the pros since making his debut in 2020-21 and was likely due for a change of scenery. He’ll now move to Nashville, who has focused on bringing in depth forwards this Trade Deadline – also acquiring Jason Zucker and Anthony Beauvillier via trade, and Jaret Anderson-Dolan off of waivers.
Gurianov will move to his fourth team in the last three seasons, moving from Dallas to Montreal last season, and signing a one-year, $850K contract with the Predators last summer. He started the season in the minor leagues, scoring 30 points in 27 games with the Milwaukee Admirals, before getting called up in early January. He’s since managed just two points, split evenly, in 14 games with the Predators. The performance has brought his career totals up to 113 points across 294 games, though much of that scoring came during a three-season stretch from 2019 to 2022, when Gurianov scored 29, 30, and 31 points respectively while serving in Dallas’ top-nine. He was traded to Montreal in the subsequent 2022-23 season in a one-for-one swap with Evgenii Dadonov, and has struggled to regain his scoring touch since.
Moving Gurianov not only nets Nashville a depth forward with potential in Allison – it also gives the team much more flexibility to deploy their newest additions, with Allison not likely to rival an immediate NHL role. Gurianov was averaging over 12 minutes of ice time with Nashville, rotating between the team’s second and third lines. His role will now likely move to Zucker, who has a much more commendable nine goals and 25 points this season, and is coming off a 27-goal, 48-point performance last year. Added lineup flexibility could be enough to bring Zucker back to his high-scoring ways, or offer a chance for Beauvillier to once again become comfortable in a contending lineup.
Red Wings Send Klim Kostin To Sharks, Acquire Radim Simek
The Detroit Red Wings have sent forward Klim Kostin to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Radim Simek and a 2024 seventh-round pick belonging to the New Jersey Devils. The Red Wings have loaned Simek to the AHL’ Grand Rapids Griffins.
Kostin joined the Red Wings alongside Kailer Yamamoto in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers last summer, with Detroit offering future considerations the other way. The Wings promptly signed Kostin to a two-year, $4MM contract that carries him through the 2024-25 season. Kostin rotated into the Wings bottom-line this season, scoring three goals and four points in 33 games, averaging just under nine minutes of ice time each game. He’s also added 38 penalty minutes, including two fights. It’s a down year for Kostin after receiving a prime chance with the Oilers last season – when he scored 11 goals and 21 points in 57 games, averaging over 10 minutes of ice time. Still, much of his career has been spent in a depth role, with the 24-year-old totaling 19 goals and 36 points in 136 career games. At 6’4″, 232 lbs, Kostin brings notable heft and physicality to the lineup and has proven he can add goal-scoring value with his shot. He’ll likely receive a routine role with the Sharks, who have already traded Anthony Duclair, though it’s yet to be seen if he can find his modest scoring groove once again.
Simek has spent all season in the minor leagues, recording 16 points and 29 penalty minutes in 40 games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. While he has totaled 209 career NHL games, serving as a depth fill-in for San Jose since 2018-19, it seems Simek’s impact will stay confined to the minors as he joins Grand Rapids. At 31, Simek has carved out a hardy career in North American pros for an undrafted free agent, joining the Sharks in 2017-18 after a five-year career in the Czechia Extraliga, where he played with Liberec Bili Tygri HC. He’s a hardy defenseman, known for his physicality and long reach – both traits that could come in handy should Detroit make the playoffs.
Predators Acquire Jason Zucker
The Nashville Predators have acquired veteran forward Jason Zucker from the Arizona Coyotes, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Zucker was scratched in Arizona’s Thursday night game for trade-related reasons, along with defenseman Matt Dumba. The Coyotes will be receiving Dallas’ 2024 sixth-round pick in return, per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. Nashville acquired the pick at the 2023 draft when Dallas traded up into the third round. The deal notably comes with no salary retention. The teams later made the trade official.
Zucker is in his first year with the Coyotes, signing a one-year, $5.3MM contract with the team on July 1st. He’s since had a modest year, scoring nine goals
and 25 points in 51 games – a step down from the 27 goals and 48 points he managed in 78 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last year. He’ll now change hands once again, joining the fourth team of his career in Nashville. While his high scoring last season seemingly came out of nowhere, with Zucker failing to even reach 20 points in the two seasons prior, his performances in Arizona have shown he can still bring a punch to the depths of a lineup, even in year 13.
Zucker joins Anthony Beauvillier as Nashville’s newest additions – with both players likely to round out the team’s third line, filling the hole left by Yakov Trenin, who was traded to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. The Predators also acquired flexible forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan off of waivers from the Los Angeles Kings. The new pieces will help Nashville round out a bottom-six that features just three players who have crested 20 points this season. Their presence likely forces Mark Jankowski out of the lineup, while Kiefer Sherwood and Cole Smith will now have to compete for their roles.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Lightning Acquire Anthony Duclair From Sharks
The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired forward Anthony Duclair and a 2025 seventh-round pick from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Jack Thompson and a 2024 third-round draft pick.
This news comes late Thursday night after the Sharks announced that Duclair would sit out of the team’s matchup against the New York Islanders for trade-related reasons. Duclair has been in trade rumors for a while now, even hiring Paul Theofanous as his agent in preparation for a move, per The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, after previously representing himself in contract negotiations. Theofanous represents a handful of other NHL veterans, including Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Kirill Kaprizov.
Duclair has fallen victim to a very low-scoring Sharks roster, scoring at his lowest point-per-game pace since his 2018-19 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets – excluding last year, when Duclair missed all but 20 games after suffering a torn Achille’s tendon. But Duclair has found ways to be productive despite his decreased scoring, still leading San Jose in goals with 16 and ranking fifth on the team in points with 27.
Duclair established himself as a strong goal-scorer as soon as he entered the league, netting 20 goals and 44 points as a rookie in the 2015-16 season. He’s since topped the 20-goal mark two other times, including when he scored a career-high 31 goals and 58 points in 74 games during the 2021-22 season. Duclair hasn’t seen much of the postseason in his 10-year career in the league, though he did manage 11 points in 20 playoff games with the Florida Panthers last season. He’ll need to quickly adjust to summertime hockey, with Tampa vying for one of the two Eastern Conference Wild Cards.
In exchange for their best goal-scorer, San Jose receives 21-year-old defenseman Jack Thompson, a third-round draft pick in the 2020 NHL Draft who received his NHL debut earlier in the year but failed to score a point. Thompson has otherwise spent his season in the AHL, leading Syracuse Crunch defensemen in scoring with 32 points in 46 games. He’s developed a strong ability to work with his forwards, boasting strong puck-handling that allows him to control breakouts and contribute from the offensive blue-line. While his decisions could afford to be a little quicker, Thompson’s strong passing and off-puck movements help him boost his team’s offense from the back-end. He will look to continue adding strength and poise on the defensive side of the puck as he now fights to climb San Jose’s depth chart. Thompson’s right-handedness gives him a slight advantage on some of his new teammates, though, as San Jose is currently carrying just three righties on their NHL lineup
Calgary Flames Acquire Riley Damiani From Dallas Stars
The Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars have swapped a pair of minor-league forwards, with Calgary sending Emilio Pettersen to Dallas in exchange for Riley Damiani. Both 23-year-olds have spent the entire season in the minor leagues.
Pettersen has scored more out of the pair, with 30 points in 54 games with the Calgary Wranglers. He’s maintaining a strong scoring pace, though he’s not quite scoring at the 0.72 points-per-game pace he managed last year when he totaled 19 goals and 44 points in 61 games. He has been in the AHL since the 2020-21 season, moving to the league after two seasons with the University of Denver. Pettersen has also represented his home country of Norway on a variety of levels, including the World U18 Championship in 2016 and 2017, the 2019 World Juniors Division A tournament, and at the World Championship in 2021. He was productive in his World Juniors appearances, scoring at a point-per-game pace at minimum in each tournament, but managed just one goal at the World Championship. Pettersen joined the Flames when they drafted him in the sixth-round of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Damiani stands out because, unlike Pettersen, he’s already made his NHL debut – playing in seven games and scoring two points in the 2021-22 season. He’s since spent all of his time in the AHL, recording 13 goals and 31 points in 59 games last season and 23 points in 53 games this year. Damiani went exactly one round before Pettersen in the 2018 Draft, getting selected 137th-overall by Dallas.
Pettersen stands out thanks to head-strong forechecking and not shying away from physicality, despite standing at a 5’10” frame. Damiani, also 5’10”, fits a slightly different style – serving as a burst of speed in the middle lane that creates tempo well. Both players show strong puck control and an ability to command their linemates. A change of scenery could work wonders for both, as they work towards climbing the depth charts of their new team.
East Notes: Senators, Rousek, Canadiens, Shepard
6:30 PM: Lukas Rousek will slot into Buffalo’s lineup on Thursday, as forward Tage Thompson is out with an upper-body injury, per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio. Hamilton named Thompson as day-to-day.
6:00 PM: The Ottawa Senators have recalled forward Jiri Smejkal and defenseman Max Guenette. The pair will serve as fill-ins for the injured Matthew Highmore and Thomas Chabot, who are bearing with a lower-body and upper-body injury respectively. Ottawa has also sent goaltender Mads Sogaard to the minors.
Both Smejkal and Guenette have appeared in NHL games this season, serving as go-to call-ups when Ottawa has faced injury. Smejkal has appeared in nine games, recording one assist and a -2. They’re the first games of his North American career, with the 27-year-old forward joining Ottawa after a seven-year tour around Europe’s top leagues, including five years in the Czechia Extraliga. He’s also totaled 19 points in 39 AHL games, adding 14 penalty minutes and a -11.
Guenette has been more productive in the minors, scoring 29 points in 49 games, though he’s only received two NHL games this season. He went without a point in both, still searching for the first point of his NHL career after failing to score in his debut last season as well. Ottawa drafted Guenette in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft and promoted him to the pros in 2021-22. He’s since totaled 169 games and 88 points in the AHL.
More notes from around the league:
- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Lukáš Rousek from the AHL. Rousek currently leads the Rochester Americans in scoring, with 10 goals and 38 points in 48 games. He will likely serve as Buffalo’s extra forward, with the team now down one after trading Casey Mittelstadt for defenseman Bowen Byram. Mittelstadt’s departure made way for Victor Olofsson to slot back into the lineup – an opportunity he took advantage of, scoring Buffalo’s only goal in their 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Rousek, who hasn’t recorded a point in any of the five NHL games he’s played this season, will need to compete with Olofsson and Eric Robinson for a spot in Buffalo’s lineup.
- The Montreal Canadiens have signed assistant general manager John Sedgwick to a multi-year extension, also promoting him to general manager of the AHL’s Laval Rocket. This is a big step for Sedgwick, who’s been with the Canadiens since 2013, serving in a variety of roles that included Director of Hockey Operations, Director of Legal Affairs, and now Assistant General Manager. Sedgwick worked in the NHL’s head office for seven years, prior to joining Montreal.
- The Washington Capitals have recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard from the AHL. Shepard has been one of the minor league’s most productive netminders, posting 21 wins and a .919 save percentage in 26 appearances. His dominance has coincided with batterymate Clay Stevenson, who has 18 wins and a .932 save percentage in 27 games of his own. Shepard made his NHL debut earlier this season and has since posted two wins and a .894 save percentage. He’ll back up Charlie Lindgren for the Capitals, as starter Darcy Kuemper sits out with illness.
More Trade Notes: Eberle, Oilers, Laughton
The Seattle Kraken remain open to trading veteran forward Jordan Eberle, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, with the Edmonton Oilers emerging as one team interested in a trade. The Kraken have prioritized signing Eberle to an extension, though Seravalli reports that term has become a hangup in negotiations. Eberle has been effective once again in Seattle, scoring 14 goals and 37 points in 58 games this season. He’s on pace to once again score 20 goals on the season – a feat he’s managed in each of his three years with the Kraken, after not achieving it since the 2017-18 season with the New York Islanders. Eberle has totaled 144 points in 219 games with Seattle, ranking as the team’s third-highest scorer of all time and bringing his career totals up to 695 points in 998 games. While Seattle is still hoping to complete an extension, the heat of the Trade Deadline could be enough to see Eberle play his 1,000th game with a new team.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Edmonton Oilers are searching for an inexpensive, veteran defenseman says Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The Oilers have already made a splash this Trade Deadline, acquiring Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. They now have just $1.0MM in cap space remaining, limiting their ability to upgrade much more. They’ll have to act quick if they want to bring in a veteran defender with the market dwindling, as Joel Edmundson has already been traded and both Zach Bogosian and Nick Seeler each signed extensions with their clubs. Remaining options could include Montreal’s David Savard or Buffalo’s Erik Johnson. Edmonton carries a healthy mix of left-handed and right-handed defensemen, giving them the flexibility to choose whichever player fits their style better.
- The Philadelphia Flyers are planning to revisit a Scott Laughton trade after bigger names have come off the board, per The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco, who shares that the price for Laughton remains a first-round pick. Laughton has become a cornerstone piece in Philadelphia, thanks to his impacts in all three zones. He has 10 goals and 32 points in 63 games this season, after scoring a career-high 18 goals and 43 points in 78 games last year. He’s spent all 11 years of his career in Philadelphia, totaling 231 points in 582 games.