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Evening Notes: Bunting, Team Canada, Heinola

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Pittsburgh Penguins forward Michael Bunting earned praise last night from his head coach Mike Sullivan (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). Sullivan compared Bunting to former Penguins player Patric Hornqvist, saying that Bunting has the ability to get under the opponent’s skin.

It wasn’t that long ago that Bunting appeared to be getting under the skin of Sullivan, as the 29-year-old had just a single assist in his first 12 games this season. Bunting found himself a healthy scratch in mid-October and had to work his way out of the doghouse and back into the lineup. November wasn’t exactly a month to remember, but it did enough to quiet trade rumors as Bunting was back to his usual production, posting five goals and four assists in 14 games.

In other evening notes:

  • TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweeted that Team Canada’s 4-nations roster has been finalized and will be announced after the deadline tomorrow. LeBrun added that the final decisions were made last night and the decision on the final few roster spots was quite difficult. Team Canada already named their first six players back in June, and those names were Sidney Crosby, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid, Brad Marchand, Brayden Point and Nathan MacKinnon.
  • Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ville Heinola was scratched once again today, marking the second game in a row he has sat in the press box (as per Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press). The 23-year-old was recalled from his AHL conditioning assignment last Sunday and played twice this past week, going scoreless while averaging 13:01 in ice time per game. Logan Stanley remained in the Jets lineup today, presumably over Heinola, and struggled as he took three minor penalties against the Stars.

West Notes: Avalanche, Wild, Ehlers

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The Colorado Avalanche have assigned forwards Ivan Ivan, Nikita Prishchepov, and Chris Wagner to the minor leagues in what appears to be a paper transaction. The move will help Colorado accrue morsels of salary cap before their next game on Tuesday. Injuries have continued to pile up in Colorado, pushing all three players into Saturday’s loss to Edmonton.

Ivan stamped his spot on the third line with a two-goal game last week, but he hasn’t managed any more scoring in the three games since. Still, he’s received far more attention than Wagner and Prishchepov, who respectively recorded a measly five and six minutes of ice time in Colorado’s last game. The trio make up the bulk of Colorado’s bottom-six ice time, and the Avalanche will now take advantage of their waiver exemption status to bank some daily cap space.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin reportedly did not want to include defenseman Daemon Hunt in the trade package the was used to pluck David Jiricek from the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday (as per Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News). The Wild sent Hunt and four draft picks to Columbus to acquire Jiricek and a fifth-round pick, and Guerin told the media that he hated including Hunt in the deal but felt that the price he paid to acquire the former sixth-overall pick was fair. The Wild paid a heavy price to acquire the 21-year-old Jiricek, but if he develops into the defenseman the Wild expect, he and current Wild defender Brock Faber will give the team a solid core to build around for years to come.
  • Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers missed today’s game against the Dallas Stars and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury (as per Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press). Jets head coach Scott Arniel didn’t have much in the way of an update after today’s game but did tell the media that Ehlers will see the team doctors in Winnipeg tomorrow. Ehlers is in the final season of a seven-year $42MM contract and will become an unrestricted free agent next July. The 28-year-old has had a fantastic start to the season with nine goals and 16 assists in 24 games.

Central Notes: Hintz, Lundkvist, Colton, Bortuzzo

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Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz will miss tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with an undisclosed injury (as per Stars senior staff writer Mike Heika). Hoope reportedly tweaked something and was replaced in the Stars lineup by Colin Blackwell. Hintz has eight goals and five assists in 20 games this season and is on pace to top 30 goals for the third consecutive season, provided he doesn’t miss too much time due to injury.

In other Central Division notes:

  • Mike Heika also provided a short update on Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist who is skating at the moment but isn’t ready to return to the lineup. Lundkvist has missed three straight games with a lower-body injury that he suffered a week ago in a 5-2 win over San Jose Sharks. The 24-year-old has never been one to produce much offense but has been particularly quiet this season with just a single assist in 15 games. His underlying numbers this season have been quite good, particularly his CF% which is at a solid 60%.
  • Colorado Avalanche forward Ross Colton is expected to begin skating soon (as per Mile High Hockey). Colton has been out of action since October 28th with a broken foot and is likely on schedule given the original six-to-eight-week recovery timeline that he was given. Colton was having a terrific season prior to going down to injury, as he has eight goals and an assist in ten games this season. The 28-year-old is in his second season with the Avalanche and is coming off a career year last season in which he posted 40 points in 80 games.
  • Utah Hockey Club defenseman Robert Bortuzzo was forced to leave last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with a lower-body injury (as per Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports). The team hasn’t offered an update on the 35-year-old, but it is expected they will have an update before they take to the ice Friday night against the Edmonton Oilers. Bortuzzo has been in and out of the lineup for much of this season and cleared waivers less than a week ago. The 14-year NHL veteran signed a one-year two-way deal in the offseason with Utah and has served as a depth defenseman.

Wild Notes: Brodin, Lauko, Khusnutdinov

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The Minnesota Wild announced earlier today that defenseman Jonas Brodin would not play tonight against the Buffalo Sabres due to an upper-body injury. Brodin skated with his Wild teammates this morning but left after just a few minutes. Jon Merrill replaced Brodin in the lineup for this evening.

Brodin is currently averaging the third-highest ice time per game on the Wild, playing nearly 23 minutes a night and has chipped in two goals and six assists in 19 games this season. The Wild play again on Friday against Chicago so it appears likely that Minnesota will have an update on his status before then.

In other Minnesota Wild notes:

  • Forward Jakub Lauko did not dress tonight for the Wild (as per Michael Russo of The Athletic). The 24-year-old left Monday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets after just eight shifts. He suffered an apparent lower-body injury in the second period and didn’t return to the game. Lauko hasn’t contributed much offensively this season with just two goals and two assists in 21 games this season, but he has been very useful defensively and has chipped in on the penalty kill.
  • Wild forward Marat Khusnutdinov is also missing tonight’s game with a lower-body injury (as per Michael Russo of The Athletic). It will be the third consecutive game that the 22-year-old has missed.  Khusnutdinov was likely injured last Thursday in a game against the Edmonton Oilers when he blocked a shot off the stick of Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard. The former second-round pick in 2020, Khusnutdinov hasn’t contributed much of anything offensively this year, with just two assists in 19 games and his possession numbers aren’t great either, with a CF% of 36.1% at even-strength.

Pacific Notes: Granlund, Karlsson, Pietrangelo, Helenius, Moverare

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San Jose Sharks forward Mikael Granlund will miss his second straight game and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury (as per Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka). The Sharks leading scorer took part in the team’s morning skate but will not play tonight against the Ottawa Senators.

Granlund is in his second season with San Jose and continues to produce offense with nine goals and 15 assists in 23 games. The 32-year-old likely won’t be out for long which is good news for the Sharks as Granlund is almost a certainty to be dealt before the NHL trade deadline.

In other Pacific Division notes:

  • The Vegas Golden Knights tweeted that forward William Karlsson and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo should play tonight’s against the Colorado Avalanche. Karlsson missed the first eight games of the season with a lower-body injury but missed Monday nights for the birth of his second child. The 31-year-old has been solid since returning to action, posting six goals and four assists in 13 games. Pietrangelo suffered an upper-body injury on November 20th in Toronto and has sat out the last three games. He has had a terrific start to the season, with 14 points in his first 19 games.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have recalled forward Samuel Helenius and defenseman Jacob Moverare from the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League (as per AHL Transactions page).  The Kings have made several paper transactions with the two players as of late, trying to do what they can to maximize cap space. The 22-year-old Helenius has dressed in six NHL games this season for the Kings, posting two assists while averaging just over nine minutes a game. Moverare has gone scoreless in four games this season for Los Angeles, averaging a tick over 12 minutes of ice time per game.

Evening Notes: Ristolainen, Broberg, Penguins

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TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers defender Rasmus Ristolainen is drawing a lot of interest on the NHL trade market. The 30-year-old defenseman is his fourth year with the Flyers and has two years left on his contract after this season with a cap hit of $5.1MM. Ristolainen has been playing in Philadelphia’s top four and averaging over 20 minutes a game this season, but he is likely best suited as a bottom-pairing defenseman, which isn’t ideal given his cap number.

Ristolainen hasn’t produced much offense this season with just a goal and four assists in 22 games, and his underlying numbers leave a lot to be desired. Philadelphia has controlled just 43.8% of the even-strength expected goals with Ristolainen on the ice according to Natural Stat Trick and controlled possession just 45.1% of the time (as per Hockey Reference).

In other evening notes:

  • Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports that St. Louis Blues defenseman Philip Broberg skated with the team today but is not yet ready to return to the lineup tomorrow when they take on the New Jersey Devils. Broberg was initially given a four to six-week timeline to return from his knee injury and likely won’t return to the lineup until the weekend at the earliest. The 23-year-old is in his first season with the Blues and has been very good offensively this season, posting two goals and seven assists in 12 games.
  • Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins are active in the trade market, looking for younger players who can slide into their lineup this season as well as for the long term. The Penguins have made two trades in recent weeks, one to move out 35-year-old Lars Eller, and another to bring in 23-year-old Philip Tomasino. The Penguins are in a tough spot as they can’t bottom out and go into a full rebuild with Sidney Crosby still playing at a high level, but they also don’t want to mortgage the future for a short-term fix. General manager Kyle Dubas has made several moves for former first-round picks who haven’t panned out with their previous teams, including Tamasino, Cody Glass and Jesse Puljujärvi.

East Notes: Matheson, Gadjovich, Flyers

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The Montreal Canadiens announced a last-minute scratch tonight as defenseman Mike Matheson was held out of the lineup with a lower-body injury. The news came out just before the puck drop against Utah, Jayden Struble suited up in his place. Matheson skated with the Canadiens earlier in the day during the team’s morning skate but did miss practice yesterday.

Matheson’s absence will leave a hole in Montreal’s defense, particularly their power play where Matheson is typically the only defenseman on their top unit. The 30-year-old is currently averaging over 24 minutes a night in ice time and is third in team scoring with a goal and 12 assists in 20 games this season. Matheson had a career year last season, tallying 11 goals and 51 assists while dressing in all 82 games for Montreal.

In other Eastern Conference notes:

  • Florida Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich was dressed in a regular practice jersey today as he skated with his teammates (as per Colby Guy of The Palm Beach Post). The 26-year-old did not play last night against the Washington Capitals due to an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day. Gadjovich has just a single goal this season and has only played 11 games due to a back injury that kept him sidelined for eight games in late October and early November. When the Whitby, Ontario native has dressed he’s played sparingly, averaging just 7:13 of ice time per game.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers remain on the hunt for a top-six center (as per Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff). Philadelphia reportedly spoke with the Minnesota Wild earlier in the season about a potential swap, but nothing came from the talks, likely due to the Wild’s tough salary cap situation. The Flyers aren’t in a rush to make a move, which makes sense given the team’s timeline, however, they do have assets to make a move including draft capital as well as potentially using 2018 first-round pick Joel Farabee or Morgan Frost as potential trade pieces in a package.

Metro Notes: Kochetkov, Stillman, Sillinger

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Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is out day-to-day (as per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet) . The 25-year-old will not play tomorrow night against the New York Rangers but could play this weekend depending on his status. Kochetkov suffered a concussion on Saturday night after he collided with teammate Sean Walker and entered concussion protocol yesterday.  Hurricanes’ head coach Rod Brind’Amour didn’t have a timeline as of yesterday, noting that concussion recovery is hard to predict.

Kochetkov has been solid this season for Carolina, posting a 10-2-0 record with a 2.42 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. His underlying numbers have been terrific in 13 games, with a goals saved above expected of 3.9 (as per MoneyPuck).

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • The Hurricanes have recalled defenseman Riley Stillman from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (Twitter link). The 26-year-old hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since the 2022-23 season and will likely be Carolina’s seventh defenseman tomorrow night when they take on the Rangers. Stillman spent all of last season in the AHL with the Rochester Americans and has suited up in four games this year, tallying a single assist. Stillman has played parts of five seasons in the NHL, registering four goals and 22 assists in 158 games.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger will miss tomorrow night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury. Sillinger took a skate to the head halfway through Columbus’ victory over Carolina on Saturday night, but the Blue Jackets haven’t officially stated the reason for Sillinger’s absence. His loss will be a big one for the team as the 21-year-old is fifth in team scoring with three goals and nine assists in 20 games. He also plays on both the power play and the penalty kill, which will leave Columbus shorthanded on both sides of their specialty teams.

Timo Meier Receives One-Game Suspension

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1:18 PM: The NHL’s Department of Player Safety didn’t take long to deliberate. They’ve announced a one-game suspension for Meier for his cross-check on L’Heureux last night.

9:29 AM: The National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety has announced that New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier will have a hearing for his cross-check to the face of Nashville Predators forward Zachary L’Heureux. Meier will face supplemental discipline for an incident that occurred at the 12:17 mark of the third period of last night’s game. The penalty forced New Jersey to kill off a five-minute major while the team held a two-goal lead. The Devils went on to win the game by a score of 5-2.

Despite winning the game, the Devils were pushed around for much of the night. Before the Meier cross-checks, L’Heureux caught Devils forward Paul Cotter with a hip check that sent him to the New Jersey bench in obvious discomfort. L’Heureux and Meier then engaged in a battle after the whistle where L’Heureux gave Meier a shot in the back and then Meier hit him back with two cross-checks, the second of which caught the 21-year-old L’Heureux up high.

Meier has never missed any NHL games due to a suspension in his eight-year NHL career but has had to pay out some fines. During his rookie season in 2017-18, he was fined for elbowing then Vancouver Canucks defenseman Michael Del Zotto, then in 2019 he was given a $2000 fine for a second offense of Rule 64, which concerns diving and embellishment.

Meier’s hearing will take place today, and although the NHL hasn’t formally announced whether it will be a phone or in-person hearing, the tight timeline indicates that it will be a phone hearing.

Morning Notes: Daugavins, Norris, Crosby

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The IIHF reports that former NHL forward Kaspars Daugavins has retired. The 36-year-old’s announcement caught many by surprise as he has been very productive in recent seasons including this year in Slovakia’s top league Tipos Extraliga, where he has posted six goals and 14 assists in 19 games.

Daugavins was a third-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2006 (91st overall) and played seven seasons in the organization, including parts of three seasons in the NHL. Daugavins played 85 games with the Senators before he was plucked off waivers by the Boston Bruins in March of 2013. He played just six games with the Bruins before making his way to Europe the next season. During his brief NHL career, Daugavins registered six goals and nine assists while averaging just over 11 minutes of ice-time per game.

In other morning notes:

  • Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff mentioned on Daily Faceoff Live that Ottawa Senators forward Josh Norris has had his name come up in conversations that the Senators have been having, presumably with other teams. Ottawa has struggled out of the gate this season and has failed to live up to expectations once again. Their core is signed to significant long-term deals, and Norris is one player who hasn’t lived up to his paycheck. That being said, moving Norris would be very difficult given his cap hit and injury history. The 25-year-old has been decent offensively this year, posting eight goals and six assists in 21 games while starting 56% of his even-strength shifts in the defensive zone.
  • Sidney Crosby’s off-season extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins appears to have done nothing to cool the trade rumors that continue to be pushed out about him. On yesterday’s edition of TSN Overdrive, Bryan Hayes floated out what a potential Crosby trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs would look like. A deal involving the two sides is highly unlikely, given Kyle Dubas’ history with the Maple Leafs and Crosby’s desire to finish his career in Pittsburgh. However, thanks to the Penguins’ massive struggles as of late, a Crosby trade out of Pittsburgh doesn’t look as impossible as it did a month ago. Pittsburgh figures to be busy in the coming months if they don’t turn things around. However, the chances that Crosby is moved remain relatively close to zero.

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