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Hudson Fasching Loaned To AHL On Conditioning Stint

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The New York Islanders have loaned forward Hudson Fasching to the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL on a conditioning stint (as per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News). The 29-year-old Fasching hasn’t seen NHL action since January 5th against the Boston Bruins and has dressed in just 19 games this year after suiting up in 45 NHL games last season.

When he has been in the lineup, Fasching has been used sparingly, averaging just 8:56 of ice time per game. This season has been a struggle for him, as he has yet to score, posting a -6 plus/minus and a CF% of 44.9% at even strength. Fasching has never been an offensive force in the NHL; however, in the previous two seasons with the Islanders, his numbers were considerably better, combining for 14 goals and 19 assists in 94 games.

In the AHL this season, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin native has had better luck offensively, posting a goal and an assist in five games. With his conditioning loan, he will have an opportunity to add to his numbers and hopefully regain some confidence before getting back into NHL action.

Fasching is in the final year of a two-year contract and will be playing for his NHL career whenever he is called back up. He’s unlikely to receive much NHL interest in free agency this summer, however, a solid run down the stretch would certainly help him land a contract for next season.

Golden Knights Recall Cal Burke

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The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forward Cal Burke from the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL and he will play tonight when Vegas takes on the Columbus Blue Jackets (as per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal). The 27-year-old had a brief stint with the Golden Knights in November, dressing in six games and notching a single goal while averaging 11:04 of ice time per game. The Golden Knights heavily sheltered Burke’s minutes at the time, giving him offensive zone starts in nearly 80% of his shifts.

Burke’s recall will push another recent recall Raphael Lavoie to the left side and allow him to play on the third line, while Burke is expected to play right wing on the fourth line alongside Tanner Pearson and Brett Howden.

The recall also pushes Jonas Rondbjerg to the bench after he played very well a few nights ago. Rondbjerg is pushing up against his waiver-exempt games limit which may have factored into the decision. While he played well, Rondbjerg hasn’t had any offensive impact this season with zero points in nine games, and Vegas may be looking elsewhere to see if another player can provide an immediate impact.

Burke is having a poor offensive season in the AHL compared to previous years, his seven goals and six assists in 34 games represent a significant drop from last season’s numbers when he had 39 points (16 goals and 23 assists) in 57 games.

Canadiens’ Kaiden Guhle Out Indefinitely With Quadricep Laceration

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1:12 p.m.: Guhle sustained a lacerated quadricep muscle that was surgically repaired overnight, the team announced. He’s been released from the hospital but will be out indefinitely.

10:09 a.m.: In a corresponding move, defenseman Jayden Struble has been reinstated from his conditioning loan to AHL Laval. The 23-year-old lefty was held without a point and took two minor penalties with a plus-one rating in a pair of contests for the minor-league club.

8:10 a.m.: The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Kaiden Guhle has suffered a lower-body injury and will need further evaluation. Guhle sustained the injury in the third period of last night’s 4-1 loss to Winnipeg when he fell into the corner awkwardly. He appeared to catch an edge on the play as he was trying to pinch in from the blue line, his right leg fell behind him and jammed into the boards, suffering the full weight of the impact. Guhle required assistance to get to the dressing room and did not appear to bear any weight on his right leg.

The 16th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft is in his third NHL season and has become a huge piece of Montreal’s back end, averaging over 21 minutes a night of ice team and seeing the third most deployment at even strength on the team. Guhle has also been tasked with taking on some of the most difficult minutes in Montreal, starting nearly 60% of his shifts in the defensive zone and taking on the toughest assignments.

Montreal does have some good young defensemen in the AHL right now, however, none will be able to make the jump up from Laval and handle the duties that Guhle has been taking on.

Montreal is in the thick of the Eastern Conference’s race for the Wild Card spots, and losing Guhle for an extended period would be a big blow to their playoff hopes. However, there is a break in February for the Four Nations Face-Off, which could allow Guhle some recovery time, should he need it.

Montreal could also look outside the organization for help as they have 12 draft picks in this year’s draft and will have almost $6.5MM in cap space to work with at the NHL Trade Deadline.

Stars’ Miro Heiskanen Suffers Lower-Body Injury

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Dallas Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen left last night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights after suffering a lower-body injury in a nasty collision with Mark Stone (as per Sportsnet). Stone was tripped by Stars forward Roope Hintz on the play and lost his balance, slamming headfirst into Heiskanen’s knee. Heiskanen reached for his left knee almost immediately and was in agony as he was escorted off the ice by his teammates before heading up the tunnel to the Stars’ dressing room. He did not return. Stone was uninjured on the play but was given a two-minute minor penalty for tripping.

The minor penalty call irked Stars head coach Peter DeBoer who wondered why the refs didn’t call a five-minute major to review the incident. DeBoer then added that he’s coached Stone before and knows he isn’t a dirty player, but didn’t understand why the refs didn’t have a second look.

Heiskanen is expected to play big minutes for Finland at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off after being named to the team last June. He was among the first six players announced, and now with this injury, it throws his availability into question.

The 25-year-old remains one of the top defensemen in the NHL, finishing top 12 in Norris Trophy consideration in four of the past five seasons. While his offensive numbers have dipped this season to five goals and 20 assists in 50 games, he remains one of the NHL’s best two-way defensemen.

The Stars have yet to provide an update on Heiskanen’s status, however, it is safe to assume he will undergo evaluation at some point in the next day or two. Dallas doesn’t play again until Friday against Vancouver.

Avalanche Reassign Chris Wagner To The AHL

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The Colorado Avalanche have reassigned forward Chris Wagner to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. Wagner was recalled last Thursday and did suit up on Saturday night against his former team, the Boston Bruins. The 33-year-old went scoreless in 6:51 of ice time.

Wagner was an NHL regular for over half a decade from 2015-2021, playing predominantly with the Bruins where he dressed in 186 games over five seasons. The Walpole, Massachusetts native never posted much in the way of offense but did have his best NHL season in 2017-18 when he registered 12 goals and seven assists in 76 games with the Bruins.

After the pandemic shortened 2020-21 season, Wagner would play just two NHL games over the next two years before signing with Colorado in the summer of 2023. Since then, Wagner has ping-ponged back and forth between the Eagles and Avalanche, dressing in 13 NHL games last season and 24 NHL games so far this year. Wagner hasn’t been overly effective in the NHL, posting a single goal along with a -7 plus/minus as well as a 48.2% CF%. His offensive impact is the lowest of any skater for the Avalanche this season at an abysmal 0.4 on-ice goals per 60 minutes at even strength (as per Money Puck).

While he is getting more nights in the NHL lineup, he isn’t seeing much action with the Avalanche, averaging just 6:55 of ice time per game. In the AHL, Wagner has been effective, tallying four goals and seven assists in 16 games.

Wagner has been put on the waiver wire three separate times this season and has cleared each time without an issue.

Hurricanes Might Not Be Done Trading

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Fresh off their massive blockbuster trade to acquire Mikko Rantanen from Colorado, the Carolina Hurricanes might not be done making trades (as per TSN’s Chris Johnston on Insider Trading). The Hurricanes also acquired winger Taylor Hall in the Rantanen deal which further bolstered their forward depth.

Despite the additions, the Hurricanes did open up a hole in their roster at the center position as they moved out Jack Drury to Colorado in the trade. While Drury was a bit of an afterthought in the trade with the Avalanche, he has been a solid bottom-six center for Carolina over the last few seasons and opens up a bit of a hole that the Hurricanes may need to fill.

One spot that Johnston doesn’t believe Carolina will look for an upgrade is in the net. That news is a little bit surprising given that the Hurricanes were on the hunt earlier in the season for an upgrade between the pipes. At this point, the Hurricanes have the tandem of Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen, and while neither man is a star goaltender, they are both capable NHL netminders.

Any salary that the Hurricanes take on during the season will require that the same salary goes out the door as Carolina has less than $500K of cap space for the NHL Trade Deadline (as per Puck Pedia).  While that could prove problematic when trying to make the trade, Carolina can get creative if they find a player they like that suits a need.

Canucks President Confirms Internal Rift

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Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford told the media today that there doesn’t appear to be a way forward with the current roster and the ongoing issues between forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson (as per Gary Mason of The Globe and Mail).

Rutherford told Mason that everyone involved in the situation has tried to work on a solution, including Pettersson and Miller, but whenever the group reaches a resolution, the issues reappear, and the rift grows.

No specific details are mentioned about what is the issue between the two players; Rutherford does say that the issue has had an impact on their entire locker room. Rutherford believes that the issues have impacted the Canucks ability to remain consistent, evidenced by their inability to put a string of wins together. After winning the Pacific Division last season, Vancouver came into the season with sky-high expectations but has stumbled to a 22-17-10 record.

Individually, both Miller and Pettersson have been impacted on the ice as their offensive numbers have taken a severe hit this season. Pettersson has just 11 goals and 20 assists in 43 games, which is well off the career-high 102 points he put up two seasons ago or even the 89 points he managed last year. Miller, on the other hand, has totalled nine goals and 25 assists in 39 games, which falls well below last year’s career year of 37 goals and 66 assists.

The trade talk around both players has been going on for quite some time but it has intensified in recent weeks. The Canucks are unlikely to get equal value on a one-for-one trade of either player, which Rutherford concedes in the interview. He believes the Canucks will have to take whatever assets they can accumulate and turn them into something else. Those words would lead one to believe that Vancouver intends to try and get back into Stanley Cup contention whenever this situation is resolved.

NHL Expected To Announce Next World Cup Of Hockey

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TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that the NHL and the NHLPA intend to move forward with a 2028 World Cup of Hockey without the involvement of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Both the league and the players’ union are hopeful they can make an announcement at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off that will take place from February 12th – February 20th in Boston and Montreal.

The NHL players have not participated in an international tournament (outside of the IIHF World Championships) since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey but could conceivably have three international tournaments in the next four years if you include the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

A 2028 World Cup of Hockey would be the fourth time the tournament has taken place with the last three happening in 1996, 2004, and the aforementioned 2016. The last World Cup took place in Toronto and was won by Canada with Sidney Crosby taking home the tournament MVP. Eight teams participated in the tournament alongside Canada (the United States, Finland, Czechia, Russia, Sweden, and two all-star teams). A future World Cup of Hockey would likely follow a similar template.

If the IIHF remains on the sidelines for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, it will mean that the NHL will have the final say on who will be able to participate in the tournament.

Penguins Looking To Add To Ownership Group

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins is looking to add to their ownership group. The Penguins are owned by the Fenway Sports Group, who also own the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball and Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League.

Some people might see the situation as FSG trying to cut ties, however, this type of maneuver is hardly uncommon in sports ownership and likely won’t mean much to the day-to-day operations of the team. FSG has been very hands-off with the Penguins, some fans might say to the detriment of the team, however, they are rarely seen at games or in the media when it comes to Penguins affairs.

FSG bought the Penguins from previous owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, paying a staggering $950MM back in 2021. Lemieux and Burkle remain in the ownership group in a minority fashion and have had little to do with the club since departing.

The Penguins have gone through turbulent years since being purchased by FSG, making the playoffs just once in three seasons, and suffering through some difficult seasons under Ron Hextall and Brian Burke. Pittsburgh saw their 14-year sellout streak come to an end in 2021, and this year attendance has slipped to a low not seen since Sidney Crosby joined the team in 2005.

On the ice this season, Pittsburgh has fallen to the bottom of the NHL standings and is very much in danger of missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season. Despite this, FSG has remained committed to spending to the upper limit of the NHL salary cap and is heavily invested off the ice spending handsomely on managerial and scouting staff to rebuild the roster before the end of Crosby’s career.

Senators To Play Two Exhibition Games In Quebec City

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Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch is reporting that the Ottawa Senators will play two exhibition games at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City as part of their training camp this upcoming fall. It is expected that one of those games will be against the Montreal Canadiens, while the other is unknown. Senators owner Michael Andlauer has talked about his interest in growing the Senators’ reach in Quebec City and surrounding areas and likely sees an opportunity to grow the team’s fan base outside of the Capital Region. Andlauer visited the Videotron Centre last fall and was impressed with the 18,259-seat arena.

Quebec City’s Videotron Centre has played host to the Quebec Ramparts of the QMJHL since its opening in 2015 and has yet to have an NHL tenant. The Los Angeles Kings did have part of their training camp there his past year, but the building remains an NHL-caliber arena without an NHL-calibre team. The Kings hosted two exhibition games there in the fall of 2024 against the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers

Ottawa will likely open its skates to the public to increase its reach in the area and will reportedly participate in several community events during the season.

Quebec City hasn’t had an NHL team since the Quebec Nordiques departed for Colorado back in 1995. They have taken all of the appropriate steps to land an NHL team but remain an underdog as the NHL has preferred to expand south of the border in recent years and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Andlauer also spoke about the possibility that the Senators are looking at Quebec City for a potential move if their negotiations for a new arena continue to drag out. The Senators owner was emphatic in denying that possibility, telling reporters that he loves the Ottawa-Gatineau area and the team’s supporters.

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