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Metropolitan Notes: Penguins, Sanheim, Svechnikov, Wahlstrom

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The Pittsburgh Penguins tweeted today that forwards Rickard Rakell, Noel Acciari, as well as defenseman Chad Ruhwedel will all be game-time decisions when the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Minnesota Wild this evening. The news was announced by Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan who has been trying to manage a litany of injuries up and down the Penguins lineup.

Pittsburgh has been mired in a cycle of inconsistent and sloppy play that has been a constant throughout the first third of the NHL season. They are currently sitting in seventh place in the Metropolitan division and are five points out of a wild card position.

The Penguins put forward Bryan Rust on IR just a few days ago, which left them with two big holes in their top 6, however, with the potential return of Rakell it seems likely that he will have an opportunity to fill one of those holes. Rakell has been practicing on a line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel and given his history with the duo it seems likely he return to that spot either tonight or later this week.

Acciari had been centering the Penguins’ fourth line before his injury and seems likely to take up that spot if and when he does return, while Ruhwedel will likely get a look on the Penguins’ third defensive pairing, presumably with youngster John Ludvig who has emerged on the backend for Pittsburgh in recent weeks.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Kevin Kurz of The Athletic is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim was back at practice today and should be good for tomorrow night’s game against the New Jersey Devils. Sanheim was dealing with an undisclosed illness and missed Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. The 27-year-old had been heating up before getting sick as he had posted two goals and three assists in his previous five games. Sanheim has been a huge part of the Flyers’ surprising start to the season as his 21 points in 29 games has him second in team scoring behind Travis Konecny.
  • Carolina Hurricanes reporter Walt Ruff is reporting that Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov was a full participant in today’s practice and even was seen taking power play reps with the team. Ruff goes on to add that the 23-year-old could be back in the lineup as soon as tomorrow night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Svechnikov has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury and struggled the week prior to getting hurt. On the season, the former second-overall pick has just a single goal in 16 games, although he does have 10 assists as well. Carolina has underperformed so far this season but currently sits in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Getting Svechnikov healthy and productive once again could be a big boost for Carolina as they close in on the mid-way point of the season.
  • Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News is reporting that New York Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom missed practice today with an illness. The 23-year-old was unlikely to play in tomorrow night’s game even if healthy as he has been a healthy scratch for the Islanders in seven straight games. Wahlstrom has just two goals and three assists in 17 games this season and has been averaging less than 12 minutes of ice time a game when he has been in the lineup.

Washington Capitals Loan Joe Snively To AHL Affiliate

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The Washington Capitals announced today that they are returning forward Joe Snively to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Hershey Bears. It was the second move of the day by Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan after the team placed Lucas Johansen on waivers earlier today.

The 27-year-old Snively dressed in three games during his recent recall and didn’t register a point during that time. It was the third season in a row that Snively has received an NHL recall as he has played in 27 NHL games over the past two and a half seasons. To this point in his NHL career the native of Herndon, Virginia has six goals and five assists.

This most recent recall didn’t go particularly well for Snively as he struggled to drive play and found himself sheltered by the coaching staff as he received the bulk of his shift starts in the offensive zone. He played just 5:43 in Washington’s 2-1 shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes last night.

In the AHL Snively has been a strong offensive contributor having registered 134 points in 176 career AHL games. This season with the Bears, the undersized forward has posted seven goals and 14 assists in 25 games.

Snively might not have had a particularly good showing during this recall, but he will likely remain one of the Capitals’ better options should they need to recall a forward later in the season.

Ducks Recall Calle Clang, John Gibson To Non-Roster

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced the recall of goaltender Calle Clang from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. The move comes as former all-star netminder John Gibson was moved to the Non-Roster to attend to the birth of his child.

The 21-year-old Clang is in his second season with San Diego after dressing in five games last year. This season has been ripe with learning as the native of Olofström, Sweden has struggled through 12 games, posting a 3.76 goals-against average to go along with a 2-7-2 record and a .882 save percentage. Despite the slow start to his professional career in North America, Clang remains a promising young prospect within the Ducks organization. He was originally a third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins back in the 2020 NHL entry draft and was the central piece of the Rickard Rakell trade with the Penguins back in March 2022. The deadline deal saw Rakell head to Pittsburgh in exchange for Clang, Zach Aston-Reese, Dominik Simon and a 2022 second-round selection (Tristan Luneau).

Gibson dressed last night in the Ducks 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils and left the game in the second period after stopping 18 of 19 shots. No word on what caused him to leave, but the Ducks are back in action tonight as they take on the Detroit Red Wings. With Gibson headed back home to celebrate the birth of his child, Clang will likely serve as the backup tonight as the Ducks look to keep it going after snapping their five-game losing streak last night.

Evening Notes: Vejmelka, Kessel, Rust

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ESPN’s Kevin Weekes is reporting that several teams are expressing interest in trading for Arizona Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka. Weekes doesn’t get into the specifics of which teams have shown interest but does add the Vejmelka enjoys being member of the Coyotes. Ultimately if he stays or goes will come down to whether a team is willing to meet Arizona’s asking price.

The 27-year-old netminder has a very cap-friendly contract at $2.725MM per year and has another on his deal after this season. At a glance, it doesn’t look like a bargain because Vejmelka’s traditional statistics have been brutal. Since joining the Coyotes, Vejmelka has played 114 games in which he has registered a record of 33-63-11. He also has a sub .900 save percentage and a 3.54 goals-against average.

There is no defending those numbers as they aren’t great, however, his overall statistics are badly damaged by a very poor rookie season back in 2021-22. Last year, Vejmelka was quite solid, evidenced by his 11.1 goals saved above expected (Money Puck).

In other evening notes:

  • TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that unsigned unrestricted free Phil Kessel has not closed the door on returning to the NHL and is still waiting to be signed. In the meantime, the three-time Stanley Cup champion is exploring the possibility of playing in some games in the Swiss League. Nothing has been decided yet, but the 36-year-old clearly still has the drive to play and would love to hit the 1000-point mark for his NHL career. The NHL Iron Man is no guarantee to reach the Hall of Fame, but if he were to pass the 1000-point mark it would go a long way to him having a chance to make it.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they’ve placed forward Bryan Rust on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Rust has had a nice season thus far as he bounces back from a poor showing last year. In 22 games this year the 31-year-old has 10 goals and 10 assists. The Penguins badly need Rust to return to the lineup as the team has struggled to score goals and will finish this evening with a 13-13-3 record which has them sitting seventh in the Metropolitan Division ahead of the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets.

Pacific Notes: Holloway, Tanev, Markstrom

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TSN’s Ryan Rishaug is reporting that Edmonton Oilers forward Dylan Holloway won’t be back in the lineup until after Christmas at the earliest. The 22-year-old suffered a knee injury a little over a month ago and was placed on the injured reserve on November 14th. His injury was considered month-to-month at the time and given the timeline today’s update isn’t all that surprising.

Holloway was the Oilers’ 14th overall selection in the 2020 NHL entry draft and has spent most of the last two seasons in Edmonton. This year with the Oilers the Calgary, Alberta native has just a single goal in 14 games which happened in the game prior to him being knocked out of the lineup with this injury.

In other Pacific Division notes:

  • Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Herald is reporting that Calgary Flames defenseman Chris Tanev is nearing a return from injury. Gilbertson said that when speaking with the media Flames head coach Ryan Huska referred to Tanev as being very close to a return. The 33-year-old has missed the last three games for Calgary with an upper-body injury and is sure to be eager to rejoin the team as he tries to continue boosting his free-agent stock for next summer. Tanev hasn’t produced much offensively this year with a goal and six assists in 28 games but he continues to offer a strong defensive impact and will surely be in demand at the trade deadline as well as next summer.
  • Gilbertson also reported that Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom is close to a return. The 33-year-old netminder has missed the last seven games with a fractured finger and skated in the club’s morning skate today. Markstrom has not had the start to the season he was hoping for as he has gone 6-8-2 with a 2.94 goals-against average and an .896 save percentage. Markstrom’s return will likely lead the Flames to an interesting decision with their goaltending as prospect Dustin Wolf has been dynamite in the AHL but has struggled in his short time in the NHL. The Flames also have Daniel Vladar as an option, but he’s struggled the most of the Flames’ three goaltending options and could be moved in a trade or exposed to waivers and assigned to the AHL.

Cale Makar Out Tonight With A Lower Body Injury

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The Colorado Avalanche have announced that star defenseman Cale Makar will not play tonight against the Winnipeg Jets due to a lower-body injury. Not much information was provided about Makar’s ailment, but the 25-year-old just returned to the Avalanche lineup on December 7th after missing two games with a lower-body injury.

Makar played in the Avalanche’s last four games but didn’t quite seem himself as he registered just a goal and an assist during that time. Makar’s status is also up in the air for tomorrow night’s game as the Avalanche take on the San Jose Sharks at home in the second half of their back-to-back.

Makar is second in NHL scoring by a defenseman with eight goals and 29 assists in 27 games thus far this season. He trails the Vancouver Canucks Quinn Hughes by two points, but Hughes has played four more games. If Makar can get back to full health, he would have to be a favorite to win a second Norris Trophy for the league’s best defenseman.

Makar played just 17:21 in the Avalanche’s last game against the Buffalo Sabres which is well off his season average of 24:10. In fact, Makar hasn’t played less than 21 minutes in a game at all this season, except on Tuesday night against Buffalo. It’s not known if Makar suffered the injury in that game or began to feel discomfort, but more information should be available in the coming days.

Kraken Notes: Eberle, Kartye, Wright

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Alison Lukan of Root Sports is reporting that Seattle Kraken forward Jordan Eberle will be out of the lineup tonight with a lower-body injury and won’t dress for their matchup tonight with the Los Angeles Kings.This season, it’s been a struggle for the 33-year-old as he has just three goals in 28 games, while also registering 11 assists. Eberle is shooting just 5.2% which is a substantial drop from his career average of 12.7%.

Eberle’s injury means that newly acquired forward Tomas Tatar will draw into the lineup for the Kraken just a day after he was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche for a fifth-round pick. Tatar appears slated to play on the Kraken’s top line alongside Matty Beniers and Jared McCann. Both McCann and Beniers have also struggled this season along with Eberle as all three men have posted offensive numbers well off what put up last year.

In other Kraken notes:

  • The Kraken announced today that they’ve reversed a move from yesterday and have recalled Tye Kartye from their AHL affiliate the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Kartye is having a decent rookie season in Seattle as the 22-year-old has posted six goals and five assists in 30 games. It’s not shocking to see Kartye recalled so quickly as he has been productive recently with two goals and an assist in his last five games. Kartye has been a great story this season for the Kraken as he has emerged as an NHL talent after being undrafted just a few years ago. He spent just a single full season in the AHL and was productive last year with the Firebirds tallying 28 goals and 29 assists in 72 games.
  • With the move to recall Kartye, the Kraken have also reversed the corresponding move that came along with it and sent Shane Wright back to the AHL. Wright was recalled Friday and spent just over 24 hours on the Kraken roster. The move might seem nonsensical on the surface, but this transaction is likely part of the series of moves Seattle Times writer Geoff Baker was referring to yesterday in his tweet. Baker said that the Kraken would make a series of moves that would be for salary cap purposes and with the Kartye and Wright moves it appears that is exactly what they are doing. Wright has been recalled and reassigned quite a few times this year and this probably isn’t the last time he will be involved in that type of transaction.

Penguins Notes: Rakell, Ruhwedel, Acciari

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The voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins Josh Getzoff tweeted today that Penguins winger Rickard Rakell is back at the team’s practice today in a regular practice jersey. Rakell is eligible to come off the LTIR tomorrow and has been skating for about a week. Rakell has been out of the lineup with an upper-body injury since November 19th.

Rakell has struggled this season with just four assists in 17 games. It’s difficult to believe that he hasn’t scored yet given that he’s played with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby for the bulk of his shifts. Rakell hasn’t played poorly, he continues to drive play when he is on the ice, but he’s been unable to finish when he’s had chances, and he has continued to get chances this year with 38 shots on goal.

His return will be something to keep an eye on as he has played primarily with Malkin and Reilly Smith but has historically played better with Crosby and Jake Guentzel who are flanked now by fourth-liner Drew O’Connor.

If Rakell can get going, it would be a big boost for the Penguins who have struggled to score goals in recent weeks.

In other Penguins notes:

  • Getzoff also tweeted that Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel is back in regular practice jersey as well. Ruhwedel is week-to-week right now with a lower-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup since November 19th. No word on a return date yet for the 33-year-old, but when he does re-join the lineup, it will create a further logjam for the Penguins’ bottom defensive pairing. Ruhwedel has a single assist in 15 games this season and has struggled at times defensively which is uncharacteristic given that he typically plays a safe and simple brand of defense.
  • Getzoff also offered an update on forward Noel Acciari stating that the 32-year-old was back at Penguins practice today in a white no-contact jersey. Acciari was put on the injured reserve about a week ago and is eligible to play if he can. His first season for Pittsburgh has been a rollercoaster thus far as early on he was part of a fourth line alongside Jeff Carter and Matt Nieto that just couldn’t get anything going offensively. None of the three players registered a point in the Penguins’ first ten games, however, once the line was broken up Nieto and Acciari seemed to play better. Acciari still doesn’t contribute much offensively but has settled in nicely on the Penguins penalty kill.

Sabres Appear Unlikely To Send Benson To World Juniors

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Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News is reporting that it seems likely that the Buffalo Sabres will hold on to 18-year-old Zach Benson rather than sending him overseas to play for Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship. Nothing concrete has been decided yet, but as Lysowski writes, the Sabres will likely need the 2023 13th overall pick to fill in for the injured Jeff Skinner.

Hockey Canada is hoping to finalize their roster by the end of this week and purposely left a roster spot vacant because they were hoping to see if an NHL player could be made eligible at some point this week. With Skinner out, the Sabres have lost a top-line left winger and will have to try to fill that void by committee, and Benson could be a big part of that.

Benson has dressed in 20 games thus far this season posting three goals and five assists. While his offensive numbers don’t jump off the page at first glance, his analytics are quite good and he’s done a very good job of driving play at 5 on 5.

The Sabres are dealing with a bunch of injury issues at the moment and likely won’t be able to spare a forward when they are already missing Skinner, Jordan Greenway, Jack Quinn, and Zemgus Girgensons.

TSN’s Darren Dreger also weighed in on the situation and echoed what Lysowski had said. Dreger believes that Benson is not expected to be loaned to Team Canada.

Red Wings Assign Zach Aston-Reese To AHL

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The Detroit Red Wings announced this morning that they’ve assigned forward Zach Aston-Reese to their American Hockey League affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins. Aston-Reese was recalled earlier in the week along with two others to help the Red Wings deal with a multitude of injuries to members of their forward group.

The 29-year-old did see action during his recall as he dressed for Detroit’s 6-3 loss on Monday night at the hands of the Dallas Stars. Aston-Reese played just 6:21 in that game on 11 shifts and was held scoreless while dishing out two hits.

The Staten Island, New York native has been one of the most polarizing forwards in recent memory as his defensive analytics and impacts are among the best in the NHL, while his offensive abilities are very limited. Aston-Reese has never topped 17 points in an NHL season, and his 10 goals last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs were a career-high. This year with the Griffins in the AHL, Aston-Reese has dressed in 20 games, registering four goals and three assists.

For the second consecutive year, Aston-Reese was a fall signing as he inked his one-year, two-way deal with Detroit back on October 8th. Aston-Reese is currently making $775K in the NHL while being paid $300K during his time in the AHL.

Despite being sent down, Aston-Reese will likely remain one of the Red Wings best options should they need to make a recall later in the season.

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