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Morning Notes: Leddy, Crosby, Nedeljkovic

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Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic speculated on the future of defenseman Nick Leddy and the St. Louis Blues. Rutherford doesn’t think the Blues can count on more than bottom-pairing minutes from the veteran rearguard, who has one year remaining on his contract after this season at a $4MM cap hit. The 33-year-old is out with a lower-body injury and appeared close to a return as he was travelling with the team on their road trip. However, the injury flared up, and he was forced to return to St. Louis.

The former Stanley Cup Champion has played just four games this season after playing a full slate of games last year. He hasn’t posted any points this year, but he did tally three goals and 25 assists last season, which were his best offensive numbers since the shortened 2020-21 season while he was a member of the Islanders.

In other morning notes:

  • Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes that Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby wasn’t thrilled with some fans who attended last night’s 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Crosby, who is notoriously positive, commented on the Penguins winning five of their last seven games, saying, “You wouldn’t know it tonight. Would you? I mean, getting booed on the power play (in the third period.)” The Penguins were down 4-2 at the time and weren’t generating much with the man advantage. However, the club has turned around in recent weeks and was coming off arguably their best game of the season on Saturday against Toronto. Crosby showed visible frustration at the end of last night’s game, smashing his stick after Colorado scored an empty netter to clinch the game.
  • Penguins’ backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic took a puck to the face while sitting on the bench last night in the Penguins’ loss (as per Josh Yohe of The Athletic). The 28-year-old was hit under his right eye by a puck in the first period and came back out in the second period sporting a black eye. Nedeljkovic told reporters that he would be fine, so it doesn’t appear to be a cause for concern going forward. The Penguins haven’t received great goaltending this season from Nedeljkovic as he has struggled to a 4-5-3 record with a 3.37 goals-against average and a .882 save percentage.

Morning Notes: Lemieux, Cowan, Fowler

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Former Carolina Hurricanes forward Brendan Lemieux has signed a contract with HC Davos, matching a report earlier this week that the 27-year-old would move overseas to continue his career. The Hurricanes and Lemieux mutually split this past week, allowing him to move to Switzerland to play in the National League. Lemieux spent this season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, making $775K on a one-way deal. It was the first time Lemieux was in the AHL since the 2017-18 season, and the former second-round pick was struggling offensively, with just two goals in 12 games.

As for why Lemieux chose to go overseas, it does appear that he was chasing a new opportunity. Derek O’Brien of The Hockey News writes that Lemieux has signed for the rest of this season as well as two additional years.

In other morning notes:

  • Hockey Canada tweeted that Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan will attend the team’s selection camp but won’t participate for precautionary reasons. The news caps off an eventful, albeit difficult couple of days for the 19-year-old. Cowan recorded a point for the 56th consecutive game on Friday, unofficially setting an OHL record, but was injured a short time later by an open-ice hit. In a corresponding move, Team Canada added Anaheim Ducks prospect Beckett Sennecke to their selection camp. The 2024 third-overall pick has 21 goals and 23 assists in 26 OHL games this season and has 14 points over his last four games.
  • It’s being reported that the Anaheim Ducks were hoping to include defenseman Cam Fowler in the trade to acquire Jacob Trouba (as per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). Fowler has been looking for a trade for quite some time, but the Rangers wanted to keep flexibility for this year and next and wouldn’t have realized much savings if they were to add Fowler’s $6.5MM cap hit. Friedman notes that the Ducks and Fowler are looking for a solution to their situation that will help both the team and the long-time Ducks veteran. The 33-year-old Fowler has been a perennial 40-point player for most of his career but has struggled this season with just three assists in 14 games.

Predators Owner Speaks On State Of The Team

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Alex Daughterty of The Tennessean wrote about the thoughts of Nashville Predators’ soon-to-be majority owner Bill Haslam. The story covers Haslam’s thoughts on general manager Barry Trotz, head coach Andrew Brunette, as well as the team’s summer free agent spending spree that has not worked out according to the plan. The Predators currently sit second last in the entire NHL in points after dishing out big money long-term contracts to Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei.

Haslam tells The Tennessean that the organization still feels that it should have spent that money on pricey free-agent acquisitions and says that it would do whatever it takes to keep making the team better.

There is no faulting the logic that the Predators had going into the summer, The team performed well last season with much less talent (on paper) and seemingly felt that some offseason moves could move the team from playoff contender to Stanley Cup contender. However, a third of the way through the season, they sit seven games below .500 and don’t look like a group that is set to go on a run.  That being said, a run of good play can change things quickly, just look at the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have won five of their last six and are back in the thick of it in the Eastern Conference.

Nashville needs more from Stamkos and Marchessault, who both have just 13 points in 28 games this season. Stamkos’ even strength production has fallen off a cliff as he has just one goal and two assists, while Marchessault has just three goals and three assists at even strength.

Skjei, on the other hand, hasn’t produced near the offense he did last season when he had 47 points in 80 games with Carolina, but the biggest alarm bell on the 30-year-old is the amount he is turning over the puck. Skjei has already matched last season’s turnover numbers with 36 in the first 28 games and could exceed 100 on the year if he keeps up this pace.

Rangers Recall Dylan Garand And Connor Mackey

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December 9th, 9:18 AM: The New York Rangers have assigned Garand back to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, signalling that Shesterkin will return to the lineup tonight.

December 8th, 9:49 AM: The New York Rangers announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Dylan Garand and defenseman Connor Mackey from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League. The 22-year-old Garand has been called up likely as a backup option for Jonathan Quick as Igor Shesterkin’s wife is in labor, and he is expected to miss the game. Garand has been terrific in Hartford this season, posting a .917 save percentage to go along with a 2.42 goals-against average. He posted his first shutout of the season on Friday night against the Rockford IceHogs and has a record of 7-2-2 on the season.

A 2020 fourth-round pick, Garand is on the smaller side, but his confidence appears to be growing as the season progresses and he is beginning to show a ton of upside.

Mackey has dressed in 22 games with the Wolf Pack this year and has tallied two goals and four assists with a +2 plus/minus rating. The 28-year-old has been a staple in the AHL during his professional career, dressing in 146 career games and registering 12 goals and 57 assists. The Tower Lakes, Illinois native is no stranger to the NHL, having dressed in 40 career NHL games with three different teams. Mackey has posted four goals and seven assists for 11 career NHL points.

It is expected that Mackey will serve as the Rangers’ seventh defenseman (as per Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports).

Morning Notes: Provorov, Kucherov, Dahlin

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Aaron Portzline of The Athletic writes that Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov could play tonight when the team takes on the Winnipeg Jets. Provorov left Friday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks with what was called an upper-body injury, which was later revealed to be an injury to his thumb. Photos circulated online of the 27-year-old’s thumb, and it certainly looked painful, however, Portzline is hearing that it’s possible he could play.

Provorov is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and has two goals and seven assists in 26 games so far this year. He will likely become a trade candidate at some point later in the season as the Blue Jackets are unlikely to be a playoff team.

In other morning notes:

  • Tampa Bay Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov could return to the lineup today when the team takes on the Canucks (as per NHL.com). The 31-year-old has missed two games due to an undisclosed injury and hasn’t played since November 29th. Tampa had a quiet week last week with just two games and would be fortunate if that is all the time the reigning Art Ross Trophy winner misses. Kucherov is having another stellar season with 12 goals and 22 assists in just 22 games.
  • Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin missed last night’s game against Utah due to back spasms (as per NHL.com). The 24-year-old missed Thursday night’s game against Winnipeg and only played a single shift in the third period of Tuesday night’s game against Colorado before he left. Dahlin dealt with a back issue during training camp in September and missed five days before rejoining the team for practice. Despite the issue, the former first-overall pick is still having a good season with six goals and 13 assists in 25 games.

Latest on Jacob Trouba, Rangers Recall Victor Mancini

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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweeted that the New York Rangers are weighing several options when it comes to defenseman Jacob Trouba. The team would like to trade their captain and have already said he won’t play this evening, but Trouba does hold a modified no-trade clause and can block a trade to certain teams. Friedman indicates that if Trouba does not waive his no-trade the Rangers have said that they will waive the 30-year-old.

Friedman acknowledges in his tweet that New York is playing “Hardball” with Trouba, but it is not an unprecedented situation and has happened before. Nothing is confirmed at this point, but it does appear that Trouba will be on the move one way or another in the coming days.

Trouba has one year left on his contract after this season with a cap hit of $8MM. However, he is owed just $6MM in salary for next season. The Rochester, Michigan native has dressed in 24 games this year, posting just six assists. He has averaged exactly 20 minutes in ice time per game and has struggled at even strength, particularly in the possession department, where his CF% is just 45.5%.

Trouba’s play has been an issue for several years now but became a major story in last year’s playoffs when he found himself demoted to the third pairing and was exposed as a liability despite being given sheltered minutes.

In a corresponding story, the New York Rangers announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Victor Mancini from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League. Mancini has dressed in ten NHL games this season for the Rangers, tallying a goal and three assists. The 22-year-old recorded his first NHL goal earlier this year against the Detroit Red Wings.

In the AHL, Mancini has posted two goals and three assists in six games and is coming off a three-point game on Wednesday night against Bridgeport.

Rangers Notes: Trade Candidates, Trouba, Kreider

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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet joined the NHL Network to discuss the New York Rangers. Friedman said that the Rangers are the team to watch in the NHL, and he believes that Rangers general manager Chris Drury has used the break between games this week to see what he can do in the trade market. It appears that New York plans to shop more players than just Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba but isn’t likely to move Mika Zibanejad, who has a no-trade clause, or Alexis Lafrenière who just recently signed a long-term contract extension.

The Rangers started the season strong at 5-0-1 but have since lost 10 of their last 18 games and don’t appear to be among the league’s elite teams, at least not in their current form. New York takes on the Pittsburgh Penguins this evening and if Pittsburgh wins in regulation, they will leapfrog the Rangers in the standings (Rangers have three games in hand), something that seemed impossible just two weeks ago.

In other New York Rangers notes:

  • Friedman confirmed yesterday that Rangers’ defenseman Trouba is unlikely to be traded this season, but it will likely be his last year in New York. The 30-year-old had his name thrown around the trade rumor mill for most of the summer but ultimately remained in New York, stating that family concerns would keep him in the Big Apple. How Drury will move Trouba remains to be seen, but given his lack of production, it seems unlikely that New York will be able to move Trouba’s entire $8MM cap hit. Larry Brooks of The New York Post is reporting that Trouba will not play tonight for the purposes of roster management so it remains to be seen if Trouba makes it the entire season in New York.
  • Friedman also spoke about Kreider saying that several teams remain interested in the former 50-goal scorer, but those teams are curious as to why the 33-year-old is even available. The Vancouver Canucks reportedly have called the Rangers about Kreider (according to Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal, who spoke of this on Thursday’s show) but are likely on Kreider’s no-trade list. Kreider continues to put up solid goal-scoring numbers with 10 goals in 21 games, however, he has no assists to this point and his underlying numbers are some of the worst he’s put up in his NHL career.

West Notes: Wild, Sasson, Szuber

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The Minnesota Wild made a pair of recalls today bringing up forwards Travis Boyd and Reese Johnson from Iowa of the American Hockey League. Boyd has already dressed in two games this season for Minnesota, while Johnson has spent this entire season in the AHL.

The 31-year-old Boyd has gone scoreless in the NHL this season but has put up decent offensive numbers with Iowa, posting two goals and nine assists in 13 AHL games. The Hopkins, Minnesota native is just two years removed from providing several seasons of solid depth scoring, eclipsing 30 points a season from 2021-23.

Johnson on the other hand spent the last two years in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks but has found himself returning to the AHL this season. The 25-year-old has registered three goals and six assists in 18 AHL games this year. At the NHL level, the Regina, Saskatchewan native has posted just 17 points in 141 career NHL games.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • The Vancouver Canucks have reassigned Max Sasson to the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL. The move is likely just a paper transaction as the Canucks attempt to accrue additional cap space to have more flexibility at the NHL trade deadline. Vancouver has done this earlier in the season with Arshdeep Bains and Aatu Räty, and might be making the same move here, although they could be keeping room for a different transaction. The 24-year-old Sasson had two assists in five games with Vancouver and averaged just 8:45 of ice time per game. His possession numbers weren’t great, with a CF% of 40.8% at even strength, but given that he was an undrafted free agent signing, he has likely exceeded expectations thus far.
  • The Utah Hockey Club has assigned defenseman Maksymilian Szuber to the American Hockey League’s Tucson Roadrunners. The 22-year-old was recalled four days ago but didn’t see any NHL action and hasn’t since a single appearance back in April that remains the lone game he’s played in the NHL. The former sixth-round pick isn’t a big point producer but has used his strong passing to post four assists and a goal in 11 AHL games this season.

Canucks Won’t Trade J.T. Miller, He Has Not Requested A Trade

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Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie and Dhali tweeted today that Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford has said publicly that the team will not trade forward J.T. Miller, and he has not requested a trade out of Vancouver. Rutherford added that the Canucks are standing by Miller and that he believes it is fair to speculate on the situation, but people need to be realistic about what is going on.

Patrick Johnson of The Province writes that Miller is looking to get himself right while he is away on personal leave, and there is no date determined yet for when he will return. Ultimately, that date will be decided by Miller, according to Rutherford. Miller’s focus is on getting back to where he was mentally, and hopefully, he can do so.

Since being traded to Vancouver in June of 2019, all Miller has done is put up stellar offensive numbers, averaging over a point a game with 418 points in 381 games. Miller’s numbers have improved during his time with the Canucks, and he hit several career highs last season, posting a career-best 103 points (37 goals and 66 assists) in 81 games. He has also eclipsed 30 goals in each of the last three seasons.

This year, Miller started the year with six goals and 10 assists in 17 games.

Evening Notes: Team USA, Annunen, Misa

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Chris Johnston of TSN’s Insider Trading reported tonight that it appears Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield and Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson will not be a part of Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Both Caufield and Thompson have had strong starts to the season but were reportedly left off the roster as Team USA prioritized experience over young skill.

It’s a tough decision for Team USA, but one that makes sense given that the players they chose will be a better fit in the team’s bottom six forward group. Johnston floated the names of Vincent Trocheck, Chris Kreider and Brock Nelson as the players likely to make the team over Caufield and Thompson.

In other evening notes:

  • The Nashville Predators reportedly tried to acquire goaltender Justus Annunen from the Colorado Avalanche last season in the Yakov Trenin deal (as per Predators reporter Brooks Bratten). The Predators scouts coveted Annunen for quite a while and are thrilled to have him in the fold. The 24-year-old has dressed in 11 games this season with Colorado, posting pedestrian numbers with a 6-4 record and a .872 save percentage. While those numbers certainly don’t jump off the page, Annunen was solid last season in 14 NHL games, posting a .928 save percentage and a 2.25 goals-against average.
  • Jeff Marek of Daily Faceoff tweeted today that Boston University is interested in potential 2025 first-overall pick Michael Misa. The 17-year-old has been tearing up the Ontario Hockey League this season with the Saginaw Spirit, tallying 25 goals and 24 assists in 25 games. The Oakville, Ontario native is in his third full season in the OHL and has registered 76 goals and 104 assists in 137 career OHL games. BU is also apparently interested in Misa’s brother, Luke Misa, who is a Calgary Flames prospect playing for the Brampton Steelheads. Luke is having a nice season in Brampton, scoring 13 goals and adding 19 assists in 24 games.

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