Evening Notes: Nieto, Gendron, Zaitsev
Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have transferred forward Matthew Nieto to the Long-Term Injured Reserve after activating forward Bryan Rust. Nieto has been out of action for the Penguins with a lower-body injury since November 30th and is free to return whenever he is physically able to as he has already exceeded the 10-game, 24-day requirement for LTIR.
Nieto signed a two-year deal with the Penguins on July 1st and has been terrific on the penalty kill but has struggled at even strength as the fourth line has been ineffective when he has been a part of it thus far. In 22 games this season the 31-year-old Long Beach, California native has a goal and three assists. The timing of Nieto’s injury was unfortunate as he was starting to gain traction in the games leading up to him getting hurt.
In other evening notes:
- Philadelphia Flyers writer Bill Meltzer is reporting that the Flyers have returned forward Alexis Gendron to the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL. The 20-year-old had played in 17 games for the Flyers AHL affiliate the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and had posted five goals and two assists. His QMJHL rights were traded by the Gatineau Olympiques to Drummondville on December 30th meaning he will be suiting up for the Voltigeurs for the first time.
- Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks are set to welcome defenseman Nikita Zaitsev back to the lineup tonight when they take on the Nashville Predators. The 32-year-old has been out with an illness and will draw back into the lineup in place of Isaak Phillips after a two-game absence. Zaitsev has dressed in 18 games this season and has averaged 15:42 of ice time per game while registering a goal and four assists.
Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Ryan Shea
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Ryan Shea from their AHL affiliate. Shea was recalled last night before the Penguins 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues but did not play as John Ludvig and Chad Ruhwedel took shifts on the third pairing.
Shea spent the first 22 games of this season in the NHL with the Penguins and didn’t post any points during that time. He was placed on waivers back on December 18th and reassigned to the AHL after the Penguins’ defense core was fully healthy. Once Shea found himself in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he dressed in four games and registered no points while going +2.
Shea’s recall comes after Pierre-Olivier Joseph missed last night’s game due to an illness. Shea will likely be a healthy scratch today when the Penguins take on the New York Islanders to close out 2023. The Penguins seem keen to keep the third pairing of Ludvig and Ruhwedel as neither player has done anything to play their way out of the lineup.
Shea was signed to a one-year, one-way contract by the Penguins in the offseason to add depth to their blueline and has played far more in the NHL than he or the Penguins likely anticipated heading into the season. Before this season, Shea had never dressed in an NHL game and spent three seasons with the Dallas Stars AHL affiliate. Shea posted a +37 last year in 70 games with the Texas Stars and registered seven goals and 21 assists.
Gustavsson And Kaprizov Hurt, Wild Recall Two Players
Michael Russo of The Athletic is reporting that Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson and forward Kirill Kaprizov had to leave their game last night against the Winnipeg Jets.
Gustavsson left the game after the second period with an apparent lower-body injury and had to be replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury who dressed in his 999th career NHL game. Gustavsson allowed three goals on 22 shots before the injury issue and had been playing terrific since the Wild made a coaching change. With John Hynes behind the bench for Minnesota, Gustavsson has gone 8-2 with a .932 save percentage and 1.87 goals-against average.
Kaprizov on the other hand sat on the Wild bench in pain after taking two cross-checks to the back from Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon. The incident occurred in the third period and saw the cross-checks go unpenalized. It was the second time this year that Kaprizov has been hurt during a game in Winnipeg as the 26-year-old suffered a lower-body injury last season on March 8th as well. Much like Gustavsson’s injury, Kaprizov’s ailment couldn’t have come at a worse time as he has been terrific as of late under Hynes. Kaprizov has five goals and four assists in his past five games and is up to 34 points in 34 games this season. Both players are currently being evaluated by the Wild’s medical staff.
With the injuries to both players, the Wild have announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Zane McIntyre and forward Nic Petan from Iowa of the AHL. The 31-year-old McIntyre has not dressed in an NHL game since February of 2017 when he was a member of the Boston Bruins and has never won an NHL game in eight appearances. He will likely serve as a backup to Fleury today as the three-time Stanley Cup champion is expected to play in his 1000th career NHL game.
Petan has 165 games of NHL experience and dressed in one game earlier this season for the Wild. The 28-year-old has been terrific this season in the AHL posting 10 goals and 18 assists in 26 games with Iowa. The Wild finish off the calendar year today with a matchup against the Jets in the second half of their home and away series.
Morning Notes: Gustafsson, Viel, Emberson
Carter Brooks of The Hockey News is reporting that Winnipeg Jets forward David Gustafsson will be out of the lineup for the next handful of games as the team has placed the 23-year-old on injured reserve. Gustafsson was a game-time decision on Wednesday night as the Jets came out of the break, but didn’t end up dressing against the Chicago Blackhawks
The native of Tingsryd, Sweden suffered a lower-body injury in a game against the Boston Bruins on December 22nd as he tried to end a 21-game goalless drought. He skated yesterday and Jets head coach Rick Bowness said he was feeling better, however, the team was not yet comfortable with letting him play. Gustafsson has two goals and two assists in 27 games this season.
In other morning notes:
- With the injury to Gustafsson, the Winnipeg Jets recalled Jeffrey Viel from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL on an emergency loan (CapFriendly). Viel is in his first season with the Jets organization after spending the previous five years with the San Jose Sharks. The 26-year-old has yet to dress in an NHL game for Winnipeg but does have 49 career NHL games to his name with the Sharks. He’s posted three goals and two assists in his NHL career, all of which came in the 2021-22 season. Viel did not play against the Minnesota Wild last night and will likely serve as the Jets’ 13th forward during his recall.
- The San Jose Sharks have activated Ty Emberson off the injured reserve as per Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News. The rookie defenseman has been out with a lower-body injury since December 1st and will be able to dress today when the Sharks take on the Colorado Avalanche. The 23-year-old has dressed in 16 games this season and has a goal and three assists while averaging 17:51 of ice time per game. The Eau Claire, Wisconsin native was acquired by San Jose from the New York Rangers via waivers before the start of the season and should give the Sharks a physical presence on the back end as he has averaged over two hits a game thus far this season.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Pittsburgh Penguins
As the new year approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Who are the Penguins thankful for?
There is very little doubt as to who the Penguins should be thankful for. Sidney Crosby is the face of the franchise, he saved the team, and in his 19th NHL season, he has had to drag the lifeless Penguins to victory on more than one occasion.
Crosby has quietly played at a level this season that few 36-year-olds have ever played at. In 33 games this season, Crosby has 19 goals and 16 assists. While it isn’t one of his best offensive seasons, he has put up those numbers without the benefit of a productive power play. The Penguins’ current power play is tied for the sixth worst in the entire NHL despite having Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, and Jake Guentzel on it.
Crosby’s productivity this season goes well beyond what he does in the offensive zone. He’s been downright dominant in the faceoff circle, stronger defensively, and has been more physical than in recent years. His two-way play is elite, and while it would be surprising to see this happen, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that we could be seeing his name in the Selke Trophy conversation come the end of the season.
Crosby will likely end his career in Pittsburgh, and he should. He is not only the on-ice leader of the Penguins, but he is also the heart and soul of the entire organization, particularly with Mario Lemieux less involved with the team now. Many people have waited for Sid the Kid to see his play tail off but given his work this season it doesn’t appear it will happen anytime soon. And for that the Penguins and their fanbase should be very thankful.
What are the Penguins thankful for?
Their top six forwards.
The Penguins’ power play might be amongst the worst in the league, but their top-six forward group is one of the strongest in the NHL. Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Reilly Smith, and Rickard Rakell are a very strong group of scorers, and they have to be because they are the only ones who score on most nights for Pittsburgh.
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has been very busy this season shuffling the forwards around, and while he has dropped Rakell and Smith to the third line on occasion, he has largely kept the six men as a constant on the top two lines. Many Penguins fans have called for Sullivan to spread the offensive wealth over the top three lines as the Penguins have struggled to generate depth scoring, but anytime the Penguins coach has done so the results have been meek at best. The Penguins lack offensive forwards outside of the ones that play in the top six, and anytime they have sent a top-six forward to the third line, they have been unable to generate any additional offense, and the top two lines have suffered.
It’s been pretty obvious all year that the Penguins’ third and fourth lines lack an offensive component and that will be general manager Kyle Dubas’ biggest obstacle to overcome if he’s going to help Pittsburgh get back to the playoffs. But for now, Pittsburgh will have to continue to heavily rely on their top six forwards, as they have for most of this season.
What would the Penguins be even more thankful for?
The continued undoing of the Ron Hextall era.
Ron Hextall had a very tumultuous run as Penguins general manager and much of the work he did during his two-and-a-half-year run was undone by Dubas when he took control of the Penguins this past summer. Dubas was quick to identify Jeff Petry, Mikael Granlund, and Jan Rutta as players that didn’t fit the mould of how Sullivan wanted the Penguins to play and in two separate trades, Dubas was able to move on from those three players. Dubas was also able to let Ryan Poehling, Josh Archibald and Danton Heinen walk and move on from Mark Friedman in an additional trade. When all was said and done, Dubas was able to turn over nearly half of the Penguins roster from last year to this season, and while the group is improved, there are still many relics from the Hextall era that the Penguins could stand to move on from.
The most obvious is Jeff Carter, who is virtually unmovable thanks to an ill-advised two-year contract that Hextall gave him in January 2022. Fortunately for the Penguins, Carter’s deal finishes up at the end of this season and that $3.125MM should be allocated more effectively going forward.
The Penguins also have Ty Smith and Alex Nylander who are toiling away in the AHL after they were unable to show they belonged on the NHL roster. Smith was acquired in an ill-fated trade with the New Jersey Devils for top-four defenseman John Marino and Nylander was exchanged for speedster Sam Lafferty who has been a very effective depth piece in Vancouver.
The biggest change Hextall made was to the Penguins’ bottom two lines, they were dismantled under his watch as he moved on from Freddy Gaudreau, Jared McCann, Evan Rodrigues, Brandon Tanev, and the aforementioned Lafferty while choosing to hold on to more defensive-minded forwards who provided little in the way of offense.
The Penguins would do well to buck this trend in favor of more offensive-minded bottom-six forwards, which leads us to our next section.
What should be on the Penguins holiday wish list?
Bottom-six help.
It wasn’t until their 11th game that Pittsburgh received a goal from their fourth line, and while two-thirds of that line has been part of a very effective penalty kill, they need to get on the scoresheet a lot more if Pittsburgh is going to make a run at the playoffs.
In the previous section much was made about Hextall and the previous management regime making moves to create a bottom six that couldn’t score, however, current general manager Dubas failed to address the Penguins depth scoring woes in the offseason and doubled down on defensive-minded forwards by signing Matthew Nieto, Noel Acciari, and Lars Eller at a time when Pittsburgh needed to add a scoring forward. The Penguins have responded with strong team defense as they sit sixth in the league in goals against, however, they have struggled to score sitting 25th in the league in goals for.
In a perfect world, the Penguins would acquire a true third-line center with some offensive output who could push Eller into a fourth-line role. This would perhaps allow the Penguins to create a third scoring line and push some of those in the current bottom six into slots that better suit their skillset.
Avalanche Recall Forward Ben Meyers
The Colorado Avalanche have announced that they’ve recalled forward Ben Meyers from their AHL affiliate less than a week after sending him down. Meyers was reassigned to the Colorado Eagles on December 22nd and has been shuttled back and forth on several occasions in December.
The 25-year-old has a goal in five games thus far this season with the Avalanche at the NHL level and has averaged just a shade over nine minutes of ice time a game. While he hasn’t been much of an offensive contributor, he has been difficult to play against with seven hits in those five games. At the AHL level with the Eagles, Meyers has been much more noticeable on the offensive side of things with six goals and seven assists in 19 games.
Last year the Avalanche gave Meyers a long audition to lock down an NHL spot, but he could not do so with just four goals in 39 games. While he didn’t necessarily hurt the Avalanche’s bottom six, he didn’t offer a lot as he doesn’t provide much scoring and doesn’t kill penalties making it tough for him to claim a full-time spot in the NHL.
The Avalanche recalled Meyers presumably due to Ross Colton’s availability being in question after he left last night’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. Colton was treated after he blocked a shot and while the Avalanche are hoping he can play Friday night against the St. Louis Blues, nothing has been reported yet.
Evening Notes: Senators, Wild, Penguins
The Ottawa Senators announced today that they have recalled forwards Angus Crookshank and Jiri Smejkal from their AHL affiliate in Belleville. Both players had been previously assigned to the AHL after the Senators 5-4 overtime win on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Both Crookshank and Smejkal had been with the Senators on an emergency recall prior to the break and were unable to stay with the club because the emergency conditions wouldn’t be satisfied. But with the team in Toronto tomorrow night to take on the Maple Leafs both players were able to be recalled joining the club as they get set to begin a busy stretch of games over the next few weeks. The Senators play three times before the new year and 15 times in January as they try to play catchup to the rest of the Eastern Conference.
In other evening notes:
- The Minnesota Wild announced a pair of recalls as they brought up Daemon Hunt and Jake Lucchini from the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Both players were reassigned to Iowa on Sunday making this move a paper transaction similar to that of the Senators. Lucchini has spent most of the year in Iowa and played his first game with Minnesota on December 23rd. His recall could mean that forward Ryan Hartman will remain out of action when the Wild resume play against the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow night. Hunt will likely serve as the Wild’s extra defenseman for tomorrow night’s game.
- Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now writes that he believes it is possible the Pittsburgh Penguins could hang on to pending unrestricted free agent Jake Guentzel until the end of the season and treat that as their big trade deadline acquisition. The Penguins currently sit five points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference but hold three games in hand on the Tampa Bay Lightning who currently occupy that position. Kingerski believes that the Penguins will forgo a potential trade package for Guentzel if they remain within six points of the playoffs by the end of January.
Red Wings Place Christian Fischer On IR, Recall Three Players
The Detroit Red Wings have announced that they’ve placed forward Christian Fischer on the injured reserve retroactive to December 23rd. The 26-year-old was hurt in Saturday’s game against the New Jersey Devils and will miss the next two games with the injury, making this upcoming Saturday the earliest he can return.
Fischer has dressed in 33 games and has two goals and six assists in his first season in the Motor City. It’s been a disappointing campaign so far for both Fischer and the Red Wings as both sides likely expected more when the Chicago, Illinois native was signed to a one-year deal back on July 2nd. Fischer had become an unrestricted free agent after he was non-tendered by the Arizona Coyotes.
In a trio of other roster moves the Red Wings recalled three players from their AHL affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins. Detroit has brought up forward Jonatan Berggren, center Austin Czarnik and defenseman Simon Edvinsson under emergency conditions.
Czarnik and Edvinsson were sent down just two days ago, and their recall is a paper transaction. Berggren on the other hand hasn’t played with Detroit since December 14th. During his most recent recall, the former second-round pick had a good showing as he posted two goals and an assist in three games, despite averaging less than ten minutes of ice time per game. In seven games this season with Detroit, Berggren has two goals and two assists.
Detroit is back in action tomorrow night against the Minnesota Wild and currently sits three points out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Seattle Kraken Assign Kole Lind To AHL
Saturday: The Kraken announced that Lind has been returned to the Firebirds. He played 5:59 on Wednesday against Los Angeles, his first NHL game of the season.
Tuesday: The Seattle Kraken have announced that they’ve recalled forward Kole Lind from their AHL affiliate on an emergency basis but did not go into detail as to the reason why. The Kraken lost several forwards to injury in their 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars last night but little is known about the circumstances surrounding Lind’s recall.
Lind is in his third season in the Kraken organization but has not dressed for them in an NHL game since the 2021-22 season. In 30 career NHL games split between the Kraken and the Vancouver Canucks, the 25-year-old has two goals and six assists and is -5.
The former second-round pick was the Kraken’s expansion pick from the Canucks in the 2021 expansion draft and has been a good offensive player for the team at the AHL level. This season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Lind has posted five goals and 16 assists in 23 games.
In last year’s Calder Cup playoffs, Lind had a coming out party in which he showed glimpses of the kind of player Seattle was hoping they were getting when they took him in the expansion draft. Lind had nine goals and 22 assists in 26 AHL playoff games as he helped the Firebirds to within a game of the Calder Cup championship. He provided some big moments for the team including a three-point night in game one of the Calder Cup finals.
Morning Notes: Määttä, Celebrini, Zegras
The Detroit Red Wings have announced that defenseman Olli Määttä will be unavailable for tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils. Määttä is dealing with an upper-body injury that forced him out of last night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. There’s no word on a timetable for Määttä to return to the lineup but that could be provided in the coming days as Detroit gets set to head into the break. The Red Wings won’t be action again until Wednesday against the Minnesota Wild and an update should be provided before that time.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Määttä has settled into a role with the Red Wings since signing with the team as a free agent back in July 2022. Määttä had bounced around to a few teams after being traded away by the Penguins but has since found a home in Detroit. In 27 games this season, the 29-year-old has a goal and six assists and is +6 while playing almost 15 minutes a night.
In other morning notes:
- The IIHF has announced that Team Canada forward Macklin Celebrini will not face any supplemental discipline for his boarding incident that occurred in Canada’s second pre-tournament game as they get prepared for this year’s World Junior tournament. Celebrini is projected to be the first overall selection in the 2024 NHL entry draft and would have been a huge loss for Canada had he been suspended. The 17-year-old had two assists in the first half of the game against Switzerland before he was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding. Canada plays their final pre-tournament game today against the United States and will begin the official tournament against Finland on Boxing Day.
- NHL.com is reporting that Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras could return to the Ducks lineup tonight as they take on the Seattle Kraken. Zegras reportedly practiced yesterday on the Ducks’ top line alongside Alex Killorn and Troy Terry. The 22-year-old has missed the Ducks’ last 20 games with an upper-body injury and would presumably slide into Leo Carlsson‘s spot as the top center as Carlsson is being evaluated for an injury as well. The native of Bedford, New York has had a rough start to his season as he started with just a goal and an assist in his first 12 games before going down to injury.