Utah’s Logan Cooley Out Indefinitely With Lower-Body Injury
Star Utah center Logan Cooley will be sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury, the team announced Friday. He’ll be re-evaluated when the league schedule resumes following the 4 Nations Face-Off.
It’s not clear when Cooley sustained the injury. He skated 19:50 against the Penguins on Wednesday, more than two minutes above his season average, and ended a three-game point drought in the process with a secondary assist on a Mikhail Sergachev power play goal.
Cooley, the third-overall pick of the 2022 draft by the Coyotes, has yet to miss a game since signing his entry-level contract with Arizona in the summer of 2023. He’ll now be held out of Utah’s next six games, the balance of their schedule until the 4 Nations tournament, at a minimum.
The 20-year-old’s absence will be felt immensely for a team with a bottom-10 offense already dealing with a lower-body injury to top-six winger Dylan Guenther. He’s broken out in a big way after an inconsistent rookie campaign, ranking second on Utah in scoring with 43 points (15 G, 28 A) through 50 games. His plus-four rating is tied for fourth on the club, and his 17:47 ATOI ranks third among forwards behind Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz. He’s also improving in the faceoff dot – while still subpar with a 44.2% win rate on over 500 draws, it’s up by a significant margin from last year’s 38% figure.
That jump in production comes despite Cooley logging most of his time at even strength away from Keller and Schmaltz, who Barrett Hayton has centered for most of the year. Instead, Cooley anchors the team’s second line between Guenther and Jack McBain, still tying for second on the team with 19 even-strength assists.
Cooley’s two-way game is still developing, but more concerning is the loss of Utah’s arguably most effective even-strength producer as they slide further out of the wild-card race in the Western Conference. It’s been an injury-fueled, inconsistent first year in Salt Lake City for the ex-Coyotes group, who have dealt with extended absences to Guenther and top-four defenders Sean Durzi and John Marino. It’s not all bad news, though – Marino returned earlier this month and has four assists through eight games, while Guenther and Durzi skated with the team today in non-contact jerseys, Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
In the meantime, Hayton will likely overtake Cooley’s job on the top power-play unit and will look to boost his production. The 2018 fifth-round pick has been a good two-way complement at even strength to Keller and Schmaltz, recording 26 points through 50 games with a second-place plus-seven rating. Hayton’s 11 even-strength goals are second on the team behind Keller’s 13, but he has just two power-play points this season while skating with the second unit.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
List Of NHL Quarter-Century Teams
Throughout the middle of the season, the NHL is unveiling Quarter-Century Teams for all 32 franchises, plus the now-defunct Coyotes. Each club is represented by a first and second team of six players – three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie – who played for the franchise after Jan. 1, 2000. The first and second teams were selected by broadcasters and national, local, and NHL.com writers who covered the respective teams and some former players. The six players voted to each First Team will be on the ballot for the NHL All-Quarter-Century Team and will be chosen via a fan vote starting in February.
Back in December, PHR’s Josh Erickson took a crack at predicting how each franchise’s teams would shake out. You can cross-check his projections against the actual results.
Utah Hockey Club (Jan. 31)
First Team
F Logan Cooley
F Dylan Guenther
F Clayton Keller
D Michael Kesselring
D Mikhail Sergachev
G Karel Vejmelka
Second Team
F Alexander Kerfoot
F Jack McBain
F Nick Schmaltz
D Ian Cole
D Olli Määttä
G Connor Ingram
Edmonton Oilers (Jan. 30)
First Team
F Leon Draisaitl
F Connor McDavid
F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
D Evan Bouchard
D Darnell Nurse
G Dwayne Roloson
Second Team
F Aleš Hemský
F Shawn Horcoff
F Ryan Smyth
D Mattias Ekholm
D Jason Smith
G Tommy Salo
Los Angeles Kings (Jan. 29)
First Team
F Dustin Brown
F Jeff Carter
F Anze Kopitar
D Drew Doughty
D Alec Martinez
G Jonathan Quick
Second Team
F Adrian Kempe
F Žigmund Pálffy
F Justin Williams
D Mattias Norström
D Lubomir Visnovsky
G Felix Potvin
Nashville Predators (Jan. 29)
First Team
F Mike Fisher
F Filip Forsberg
F Paul Kariya
D Roman Josi
D Shea Weber
G Pekka Rinne
Second Team
F Ryan Johansen
F David Legwand
F Steve Sullivan
D Mattias Ekholm
D Kimmo Timonen
G Juuse Saros
Tampa Bay Lightning (Jan. 28)
First Team
F Nikita Kucherov
F Steven Stamkos
F Martin St. Louis
D Dan Boyle
D Victor Hedman
G Andrei Vasilevskiy
Second Team
F Vincent Lecavalier
F Brayden Point
F Brad Richards
D Pavel Kubina
D Ryan McDonagh
G Ben Bishop
San Jose Sharks (Jan. 27)
First Team
F Patrick Marleau
F Joe Pavelski
F Joe Thornton
D Brent Burns
D Marc-Édouard Vlasic
G Evgeni Nabokov
Second Team
F Logan Couture
F Tomáš Hertl
F Owen Nolan
D Dan Boyle
D Erik Karlsson
G Martin Jones
New York Rangers (Jan. 26)
First Team
F Chris Kreider
F Artemi Panarin
F Mika Zibanejad
D Adam Fox
D Ryan McDonagh
G Henrik Lundqvist
Second Team
F Jaromir Jagr
F Derek Stepan
F Mats Zuccarello
D Dan Girardi
D Marc Staal
G Igor Shesterkin
Ottawa Senators (Jan. 25)
First Team
F Daniel Alfredsson
F Dany Heatley
F Jason Spezza
D Erik Karlsson
D Wade Redden
G Craig Anderson
Second Team
F Marian Hossa
F Mark Stone
F Brady Tkachuk
D Zdeno Chara
D Chris Phillips
G Patrick Lalime
NHL, NHLPA Release Salary Cap Figures Through 2027-28
The NHL and NHLPA have released updated salary cap estimates for the next three seasons, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Friday. After initially being estimated to rise from the current $88MM ceiling to $92MM for the 2025-26 campaign, it’ll jump to a $95.5MM upper limit next season. Upper limit estimates for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons have been set at $104MM and $113.5MM, respectively. However, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the memo sent to teams by the league today is indicative of a set agreement on figures for the next three years, not an estimate of projection, although they are still subject to “potential minor adjustments (up or down).”
In addition to this summer’s major jump, these numbers indicate a steady escalation in year-over-year increases in the cap ceiling. There will be a $7.5MM difference in upper limits between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 campaigns, an $8.5MM difference between 2025-26 and 2026-27, and $9.5MM between 2026-27 and 2027-28. That’s around a 9% jump per year on average, up significantly from the roughly 5% jump we’re used to in recent seasons outside of the COVID-related cap freeze.
Increases in cap ceilings also mean big jumps in the minimum a team can spend while still being compliant. The cap floor will rise from $65MM this season to $70.6MM in 2025-26, $76.9MM in 2026-27, and $83.9MM in 2027-28. The lower limit is tied directly to the upper limit – the floor is always set at 85% of the midpoint, with the ceiling always equaling 115% of the midpoint.
The league minimum salary, currently set at $775K, is independent of the salary cap and will need to be set during CBA negotiations, which are set to begin next month. It will remain at $775K for next season, the last under the current CBA.
As agents continue to negotiate new deals for their players based on cap hit percentage at the time of signing instead of actual dollar value, both elite and mid-range free agents in the coming seasons stand to benefit massively. A $5MM cap hit today is 5.68% of the $88MM upper limit, which will be equivalent to $5.4MM, $5.9MM, and $6.4MM over the coming three years. For higher-priced talents, a $10MM AAV deal today will work out to $10.9MM in 2025-26, $11.8MM in 2026-27, and $12.9MM in 2027-28.
The early confirmation and unprecedented move to issue official cap numbers multiple years in advance means more negotiating power for top UFAs-to-be, whether that’s Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen on this year’s market, Connor McDavid and Kirill Kaprizov in 2026, or Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar in 2027. Next year’s immediate $7.5MM jump will be the largest year-over-year increase in the salary cap era, breaking the record set by the $6.4MM jump between the 2007-08 and 2008-09 campaigns.
Canadiens Reassign Rafaël Harvey-Pinard
The Canadiens loaned winger Rafaël Harvey-Pinard to AHL Laval on Friday, according to a team announcement. They now have a pair of open roster spots, with PuckPedia reflecting that Emil Heineman was also transferred to injured reserve earlier in the week.
Harvey-Pinard, 26, made his season debut in Thursday’s shutout loss to the Wild. He posted zeroes across the board in 8:54 of ice time, recording one hit. Montreal was outshot 4-2 with him on the ice at even strength.
It was a quiet showing amid a quiet season for the 5’9″ winger. A broken leg sustained during offseason training kept him out of training camp and on the shelf until mid-November, when the Canadiens assigned him to the minors on a long-term injury conditioning loan. They opted not to reinstate him to the active roster when his loan was up and instead placed him on waivers to keep him in Laval long-term. That was a semi-risky move, considering he’s on an expiring contract at an affordable $1.1MM cap hit and had 14 goals and 20 points in only 34 games two seasons ago, but there were no takers on the wire.
Thirty-one other NHL teams made the right call. Harvey-Pinard has struggled since his late start to the season, scoring only four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 24 games with Laval. He’s on pace for easily the worst offensive showing of his five-year professional career, especially after he logged 31 points in 40 games in his last extended AHL stint in 2022-23.
The Habs recalled Harvey-Pinard last weekend as the Habs wanted an extra forward with Heineman on the shelf, but he sat twice as a healthy scratch before entering the lineup. His lack of NHL usage and disappointing minor-league play this season makes it unlikely that he’ll receive his $1MM qualifying offer from Montreal at the end of the season, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Heineman’s IR placement does not affect his return timeline. He hasn’t played since sustaining an upper-body injury as a pedestrian in a traffic action on Jan. 13 while the team was in Utah and is expected to remain out of the lineup for around another week.
Rangers’ Jimmy Vesey Unhappy With Lack Of Playing Time
Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey has spent most of his time in the press box as of late after missing only three regular-season games for New York over the prior two seasons. The 31-year-old winger was candid with Larry Brooks of the New York Post (subscription required) on Thursday, telling him he “feels like I have no role or purpose on this team.”
“It seems that I have fallen out of favor and have just been cast aside over an extended period of time,” Vesey told Brooks. “I’m kind of dying by being here.”
Vesey is one of many Rangers veterans to see time in the press box this season amid difficult campaigns. He’s no longer a factor on the team’s penalty kill, due in part to starting the season on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body issue, and is thus averaging a career-low 10:04 per game when dressed. He hasn’t played in back-to-back games since the first week of January and last entered the lineup on Jan. 11 against the Golden Knights.
In 26 appearances this season between injuries and scratches, Vesey has three goals and an assist with a minus-two rating. He’s lost the physical edge that made him an effective bottom-six checker over the past few seasons, only recording 14 hits after averaging well over a hit per game between 2021-22 and 2023-24. His possession numbers have been middle of the pack on a Rangers team that struggles to control play at even strength, posting a 47.4 CF% and a -0.8 expected rating that actually ranks eighth among New York skaters with at least 10 games played.
The Blueshirts just haven’t clicked offensively with Vesey on the ice, though, making other options with comparable defensive metrics like Jonny Brodzinski and Arthur Kaliyev more preferred options in the lineup for head coach Peter Laviolette. The Rangers have scored just 1.6 goals per 60 minutes with Vesey on the ice at even strength, the worst such figure on the club.
But the lack of playing time isn’t helping the pending UFA’s confidence. He told Brooks that he’s had disagreements with Laviolette about how his extended run as a healthy scratch is affecting the likelihood of him landing a contract elsewhere on the open market this summer. “It’s the anxiety of not having a contract and feeling like this might be the end. [Laviolette] doesn’t necessarily agree with that.”
Vesey declined to say whether he’s submitted a trade or waivers request to general manager Chris Drury, saying that he loves being a Ranger “but I know I’m unhappy and don’t see this changing. I know I have value to teams in this league, I know I could help teams.”
The Rangers wouldn’t have any trouble moving Vesey, who’s in the back half of a two-year, $1.6MM deal with an $800K cap hit that could easily be waived and buried in the minors if he doesn’t work out with a new club. He’s coming off back-to-back seasons of significant PK usage with 10-plus goals, which is sure to draw intrigue from other teams with no financial downside.
Capitals Working On Extension With Charlie Lindgren
After getting a six-year, $35.1MM contract done with pending UFA netminder Logan Thompson on Monday, the Capitals are looking to keep the other half of their goaltending tandem from reaching the open market. Washington is working on an extension with Charlie Lindgren with a cap hit between $3.5MM and $4MM, Kevin Weekes of ESPN said Thursday night.
If past reports indicate, we’ll likely see the official word on a Lindgren extension within the next week. Things moved quickly after Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported last Friday that the Caps were increasing their efforts to reach a deal with Thompson. LeBrun said earlier in the month that the Capitals were wary of disrupting team chemistry by leaving one without an extension for too long, so it’s not surprising that Washington general manager Chris Patrick is quickly looking to get business wrapped up with Lindgren.
Lindgren is now set to earn more in a single season on his next deal than the total value of any of his previous NHL contracts, putting him in the same company as Thompson. Both began their professional careers as undrafted free-agent signings, but it took much longer for Lindgren to establish himself as an everyday NHL option. Now 31, Lindgren was a standout netminder at St. Cloud State University over a three-year run from 2013 to 2016 and landed an entry-level contract with the Canadiens as his junior year ended.
The Minnesota native made his NHL debut for the Habs to close out the year before spending most of the next five seasons as their No. 3 option, logging significant time in the AHL for their affiliates in St. John’s and Laval. His numbers started strong – he put up a .914 SV% in 48 games in his first AHL season and earned an All-Star Game appearance as a rookie. Things quickly went downhill from there, though. Lindgren failed to record a save percentage above .900 in each of the subsequent four campaigns, at least at the minor-league level. He’d gotten call-ups to Montreal every year and had a decent but unimpressive for the time .907 SV% and 3.00 GAA in 24 starts, paired with a 10-12-2 record over parts of five seasons.
Lindgren spent most of the shortened 2020-21 campaign on the Canadiens’ taxi squad, only making three AHL appearances for Laval. But after failing to land an everyday NHL role over the life of a three-year, $2.25MM extension he signed in 2018, he understandably opted not to return to Montreal upon reaching unrestricted free agency that summer. He headed west on his next deal, landing a two-way offer from the Blues on the open market.
St. Louis breathed new life into Lindgren’s game. It was more the organization at large – he spent most of his time on assignment to their AHL affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he exploded as one of the league’s top netminders with a 2.21 GAA, .925 SV%, three shutouts, and a 24-7-1 record in 34 games. He was also lights out in his few call-ups to the Blues, allowing just five goals on 118 shots (.958 SV%) in four starts and one relief appearance while compiling a spotless 5-0-0 record.
That led to renewed optimism that Lindgren could be an everyday NHL option, and the Capitals gave him a three-year, $3.3MM commitment to prove it in Washington. His first year was unimpressive, posting a .899 SV% and 3.05 GAA in 31 appearances as Darcy Kuemper‘s backup as the Caps missed the playoffs for the second time since 2007. However, the 2023-24 season amounted to Lindgren’s big break. He stole the starter’s crease from Kuemper midseason, tying for the league lead with six shutouts and complementing that with a .911 SV% and 2.67 GAA in 48 games. He finished eighth in Vezina Trophy voting and 12th in Hart Trophy voting as Washington snuck into the playoffs. Although they were quickly dispatched in four games by the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers, he started all of them over Kuemper, who had won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche two years prior.
While Lindgren won’t be in Vezina consideration this season after firmly slipping behind Thompson on the depth chart, he’s still been an above-average tandem option. His .904 SV% and 2.51 GAA through 23 games are the exact numbers you’d expect from the median netminder given the defense in front of him, per MoneyPuck. Last season’s numbers were more than likely a flash in the pan. Still, he’s given the Capitals enough sample to prove he can be a reliable 1B option with Thompson, who’s quietly put up numbers akin to some of the league’s most highly-touted netminders over the last three seasons.
The Caps will have their goalies locked in for the next few seasons at a combined cap hit in the $9MM range, less than what elite established starters are beginning to earn on their own per season. That’s good business from Patrick as he now turns his attention toward the team’s extensive slate of other pending UFAs, including defenseman Jakob Chychrun and reliable depth center Nic Dowd.
Flames, Flyers Swap Andrei Kuzmenko, Joel Farabee
Jan. 31: Both teams officially announced the swap late last night. It’s the Flames’ own 2025 second-rounder and their 2028 seventh-rounder heading to the Flyers.
Jan. 30: The Flames and Flyers are working on a trade that will send winger Andrei Kuzmenko to Philadelphia, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet adds that winger Jakob Pelletier is heading to the Flyers as part of the swap. Heading Calgary’s way in return are forwards Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, Seravalli reports. Friedman adds that the Flyers were on Kuzmenko’s 12-team no-trade list, but he waived the clause to make the move happen. Finally, Seravalli reports a second-round and seventh-round pick are headed to the Flyers along with Pelletier and Kuzmenko to complete the trade.
To put things plainly, Kuzmenko is a pending unrestricted free agent needing a change of scenery. The soon-to-be 29-year-old has struggled to stay in the lineup this season despite a $5.5MM cap hit. While he missed some time due to a lower-body injury in December, he was recently a healthy scratch for a three-game stretch and has been limited to 37 of Calgary’s 49 games overall. In those appearances, the Russian sniper is averaging just over one shot on goal per game and has converted at a career-worst 10.3% rate, working out to only four goals and 11 assists for 15 points.
That dip in production is evidence of the 5’11” winger’s inconsistency, but he’s shown flashes of proper top-six play since arriving in the NHL as an undrafted free agent signing by the Canucks in 2022. He erupted for 39 goals and 74 points in his rookie season while playing primarily on Elias Pettersson‘s wing, shooting at a league-high 27.3% and averaging over 16 minutes per game with strong possession metrics (52.9 CF%, 55.2 xGF% at even strength).
Kuzmenko landed a rich two-year, $11MM extension midway through his rookie campaign as a result of his efforts, but it’s been marred by up-and-down play. His production dropped to eight goals and 21 points through the first 43 games of the 2023-24 campaign before he was sent to Calgary in the deal that sent Elias Lindholm to the Canucks. He rediscovered his sharp-shooting ways after the move to Alberta, ending the season with 14 goals and 11 assists for 25 points in 29 appearances. He was the second-most productive Flames forward after the swap on a per-game basis, trailing only Nazem Kadri (36 points in 33 games).
But as in Vancouver, Kuzmenko hasn’t been able to carry his production over into year two with his new club. His minus-seven rating ranks fourth-worst on the team, but possession metrics paint a much rosier picture. His 53.6 CF% at even strength is sixth on the team and fourth among forwards, while his expected +1.9 rating is fifth. He’s not generating nearly enough individual offense to make his strength as a scorer shine through, but he’s not been a meaningful liability away from the puck, either.
Philly picks up an inconsistent but high-ceiling option on the wing in Kuzmenko, and they pick up a similar but younger archetype in Pelletier. Selected in the first round by the Flames in 2019, he’s only just beginning to break through as an impact NHLer. The 23-year-old has only 10 points in 37 career appearances entering the season and even cleared waivers on his way down to the minors at the beginning of the season. He’s gotten more chances in the NHL lineup as the campaign has progressed, though, and has earned an everyday role in the lineup over the last six weeks.
Since first being recalled at the beginning of December, Pelletier is tied for sixth on the Flames in scoring with 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in 23 games. He also has a team-high +10 rating during that span despite averaging only 12:57 per game. There’s significant upside with both players, especially if thrust into consistent top-six roles.
The Flyers also open up some long-term flexibility by dealing Farabee, who’s had similar struggles to Kuzmenko this season, to Calgary. He costs slightly less than Kuzmenko against the cap – $500K, to be exact – but is signed through the 2027-28 campaign. Philadelphia will get out of Kuzmenko’s deal in a few months and also open up short-term cap space by swapping the $2.1MM Frost for a six-figure Pelletier.
Farabee has a much longer NHL track record than Kuzmenko despite being four years younger, but he’s also failed to flash the ceiling Kuzmenko has. His career-highs only check in at 22 goals and 50 points, both set last season while skating in all 82 games for Philadelphia. The 2018 first-rounder has 90 goals and 201 points in 383 career outings for the Flyers since entering the league six years ago.
At 24 years old (25 in a few weeks), Farabee fits the Flames’ retooling timeline better than Kuzmenko, and even if his $5MM cap hit is steep for his inconsistent production, he’s cost-controlled in the event he breaks out. This season has been difficult for Farabee, who’s shooting at a career-worst 8.1% and has eight goals with 11 assists for 19 points through 49 games. That’s the worst point-per-game pace of his career by a decent margin, and his possession impacts are also among the worst on the Flyers. While the cost control could be a gift if he returns to a 50-point pace in top-nine minutes, Calgary is taking on a significant amount of risk with three more seasons left on his contract.
They do pick up a promising young center in Frost, matching the type of player general manager Craig Conroy has been looking to acquire since their hot start to the season. Calgary was among the teams to check in with the Sabres on Dylan Cozens‘ availability, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic said a couple of weeks ago, but Frost is a much lower-risk option contractually as a pending restricted free agent with a $2.4MM qualifying offer.
Frost, 25, was a first-rounder in 2017 and ranks fifth on the Flyers in scoring with 25 points (11 G, 14 A) through 48 games. He was an eyebrow-raising healthy scratch on a few occasions early in the season but has played every game since Nov. 23. He’s on pace to produce in the 40-50 point range for three years straight now, averaging north of 15 minutes per game and steadily improving in the faceoff circle. His 51.6% win rate on draws this season is a career-high and immediately ranks tops among Flames with at least 100 attempts this season.
The Flames ended up with a net cap gain of $800K in the swap, a negligible figure considering they entered the night with nearly $44MM in current space, per PuckPedia. No corresponding transactions will be required to execute the deal with an equal number of roster players changing hands, either.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period was the first to report the Flames were sending draft picks to the Flyers to complete the deal.
Bruins Activate Charlie McAvoy, Reassign Max Jones
The Bruins activated top defenseman Charlie McAvoy from injured reserve Thursday, per a team announcement. The club reassigned winger Max Jones to AHL Providence to open up a roster spot.
McAvoy has missed Boston’s last seven games with an upper-body injury. He landed on IR following a Jan. 11 game against the Panthers, during which head coach Joe Sacco said he aggravated a “nagging ailment” and would be shut down for at least a week to see how it responds. His absence lasted closer to three weeks, but he’ll return to the lineup tonight against the Jets in a top-pairing role flanked by sophomore lefty Mason Lohrei.
The lingering injury explains what’s been a down season for McAvoy. The 27-year-old has 20 points through 45 games, the lowest point-per-game pace of his eight-year NHL career. His possession metrics were dipping, too, with his +2.2 expected rating at even strength also tracking to be the worst of his career.
The 2016 first-rounder returns as Boston hangs on for dear life in a tight Eastern Conference wild-card race. Their 5-4-1 record in their last 10 has been enough to keep pace, but they’ll fall out of the picture with a loss tonight against Winnipeg and if the Lightning and Blue Jackets manage to get at least one point out of their games.
Boston went 4-2-1 in their last seven without McAvoy with a plus-one goal differential. They were outshot 241-176 during that span, however, and only controlled 45.5% of shot attempts at even strength.
Jones, 26, heads down after playing three out of four games since his Jan. 21 recall. The big-bodied winger has yet to record a point in seven games with the Bruins this season after signing a two-year, $2MM deal over the summer and passed through waivers unclaimed in early November. Selected a few spots after McAvoy by the Ducks in the 2016 draft, he has eight goals and 11 points with a plus-four rating in 26 games while on assignment to Providence this year.
Oilers Activate John Klingberg From Injured Reserve
Oilers defenseman John Klingberg will make his debut for the team after signing a one-year deal nearly two weeks ago, head coach Kris Knoblauch told the team’s Bob Stauffer. He’ll need to come off injured reserve before Thursday’s game against the Red Wings, something Edmonton will have no problem doing with a pair of open roster spots.
Tonight will mark Klingberg’s first NHL game since Nov. 11, 2023. The 32-year-old, who had signed a one-year deal worth $4.15MM with the Maple Leafs for that season, ended up needing hip resurfacing surgery that ended his campaign and prevented him from signing anywhere on the open market over the summer. He only started skating last month as he geared up for an NHL return, eventually landing a $1.35MM commitment from the Oilers.
Klingberg told Mark Spector of Sportsnet that the 2023 procedure was the third he’s had on his hips in his career. He had double hip surgery twice between when he was drafted by the Stars in the fifth round in 2010 and when he made his NHL debut in 2014, neither of which fully addressed whatever issues he’d been having. He told Spector that he’s entering an NHL campaign pain-free for the first time in his 11-year career – a good sign for the Oilers that he might be able to recapture his form as a top power-play quarterback.
The 32-year-old will handle second-pairing duties alongside Darnell Nurse in his debut, giving Edmonton two offensively-inclined options at the top of their right defense depth chart with Evan Bouchard. Stay-at-home piece Ty Emberson, who’s logged a good portion of ice time alongside Nurse this season, moves down to more comfortable third-pairing duties with Brett Kulak, per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic. Klingberg and Nurse will stay together on the team’s second power-play unit with Viktor Arvidsson, Adam Henrique and Corey Perry.
Klingberg posted five assists and a minus-seven rating in 14 appearances with Toronto last year before the surgery ended his campaign. He’s averaged 0.65 points per game over his career, though, 14th among defensemen with at least 200 games played since he entered the league.
Blues Place Brandon Saad On Unconditional Waivers
Jan. 30: Saad is on unconditional waivers today and will have his contract terminated assuming he clears Friday, Friedman confirms.
Jan. 29, 1:56 p.m.: The Blues and Saad are now heading toward a mutual contract termination, Friedman adds. The move will make him an unrestricted free agent, so he’ll be able to sign with any team down the stretch with new contract terms. However, he’ll be walking away from north of $5MM of cash he was still owed on his deal with St. Louis.
Jan. 29, 1:05 p.m.: Saad and Sylvegård cleared waivers Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Saad heads to the AHL for the first time in over a decade, while Sylvegård has had his contract terminated and is free to return to Europe.
Jan. 28: Blues general manager Doug Armstrong announced Tuesday that they’re placing veteran winger Brandon Saad on waivers, per Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. St. Louis also placed winger Marcus Sylvegård on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
Saad is in the fourth season of a five-year, $22.5MM contract he signed with the Blues as an unrestricted free agent in 2021. The deal carries a $4.5MM cap hit, but he’s only owed $4.375MM in salary this season and $3.625MM in 2025-26.
Saad, who has struggled to the tune of seven goals, nine assists, and 16 points in 43 games this season, was a speculative trade candidate before the deadline but carries a full no-trade clause until July 1. Placing him on waivers will allow interested clubs to acquire him even if he would have otherwise blocked a trade. Notably, the Blues can’t retain any salary on Saad if he’s claimed off waivers rather than traded.
Armstrong told reporters, including Lou Korac of NHL.com, that Saad will report to and play for AHL Springfield if he goes unclaimed tomorrow. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that Saad had told the Blues he was willing to waive his NTC, but no trade materialized. They won’t be making a corresponding recall after Saad is removed from the roster, Armstrong added (via Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
While things haven’t panned out for the 32-year-old Saad in St. Louis this season, he was a decent secondary scorer as recently as last season, when he turned in 26 goals and stayed healthy for all 82 games. It was Saad’s second-best goal-scoring season of his 14-year NHL career. However, his overall offense has continuously dropped off from his days of routinely producing around 50 points per season for the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets early on.
In Saad’s defense, a good portion of his struggles can be attributed to a significant dropoff in shooting percentage. He’s clicking at just 9.3%, the second-lowest rate of his career and down nearly 50% from last year’s 18.1% success rate. He’s due for regression, especially considering his 36 individual high-danger chances at 5-on-5 are tied for third on the Blues, per Natural Stat Trick.
A second-round pick by Chicago in 2011, Saad reached the NHL one year later and won championships with the Hawks in both 2013 and 2015. A salary cap crunch forced Chicago to trade him to the Blue Jackets for a package centered around Artem Anisimov following the second of those Cups, but the Blackhawks re-acquired him from Columbus two years later – unfortunately giving up superstar winger Artemi Panarin in the process.
But on the wrong side of 30 and with another year left on his deal, Saad finding a new home on waivers seems unlikely – especially if the Blues were previously willing to retain salary to facilitate a trade. Most teams interested in adding a veteran piece instead of subtracting likely won’t have the cap space for Saad at his full impact.
The Blues signed Sylvegård, 25, as an undrafted free agent from Sweden’s Växjö Lakers last offseason. He’s done well on assignment to Springfield, ranking fifth on the team with 21 points (10 G, 11 A) in 35 games, but has yet to receive an NHL recall. Evidently, both parties are satisfied with breaking ties early and allowing him to return to Europe. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent upon termination.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.