Devils Linked To Canadiens’ Jake Evans
The Devils are among the teams that have called the Canadiens about acquiring pending unrestricted free agent center Jake Evans ahead of the March 7 trade deadline, Pierre LeBrun of TSN said on “Early Trading” on Thursday.
Evans, 28, has drawn trade interest for nearly the entire regular season. Marco D’Amico of RG.org first reported in November that Evans was drawing interest from multiple teams. Evans then told Eric Engels of Sportsnet last month that he’d yet to enter extension negotiations with Montreal.
Much has changed for Evans’ trade value in the past few months. He’d already established himself as a reliable fourth-line piece with a decent amount of upward mobility in the lineup but had never recorded more than 13 goals or 29 points in a season.
Halfway through the year, Evans already has 10 goals and 23 points, operating at a career-best 0.58 points-per-game pace. The Toronto native has also won 50.3% of his draws while averaging 15:36 per game, all the while controlling 47.9% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 despite starting nearly 70% of his shifts in the defensive zone.
Teams will look at Evans’ 28.6% shooting rate as cause for concern – there’s obviously little chance of him maintaining that, considering his 10.2% career average. But he recently passed the 300-game threshold for his career and has now averaged 15:30 per game over the past four years combined, ensuring he’s still a valuable pickup when his shooting rate regresses.
Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald told LeBrun last month that acquiring a fourth-line center and a top-nine piece up front are his top deadline priorities. As things stand, Evans checks off both boxes as an upgrade over Erik Haula on the third line.
Haula, who’s now set to miss a few weeks with a sprained ankle, has struggled offensively this season with 11 points in 42 games and a team-worst minus-six rating. The 33-year-old has still been money on faceoffs, winning over 55% of them, but is tracking to have one of the worst showings of his 12-year career otherwise. He’s been one of the few weak spots on a well-rounded Devils roster that ranks second in the Metropolitan Division, making it easy to see why Fitzgerald’s priorities are what they are.
Evans carries just a $1.7MM cap hit this season, which the Devils could easily fit with $5.68MM in projected deadline space, per PuckPedia. What he’ll cost on an extension coming off a breakout year is a different question entirely.
Kraken Recall John Hayden
The Kraken recalled right-winger John Hayden from AHL Coachella Valley on Thursday, the team said in an announcement.
Hayden, 29, comes up in anticipation of Daniel Sprong coming off the active roster later today. Seattle placed Sprong on waivers yesterday, so the Dutch winger will likely be unavailable for tonight’s game against the Blue Jackets, either by virtue of being claimed by another team or being reassigned to Coachella Valley.
It’s the second recall of the season for Hayden, who cleared waivers at the end of training camp. The pot-stirring winger made his season debut against the Avalanche on Nov. 5, recording a minor penalty and four hits in 8:54 of ice time.
Hayden is in his third season in the Kraken organization, but he’s appeared in only 10 NHL games during that time. He’s spent most of his time in Coachella Valley, where the Chicago native serves as an alternate captain and has 18 points in 30 games this season.
He won’t provide nearly as much offensive upside as Sprong in a depth role, but he does know the ropes. Initially a third-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2013, Hayden has 250 NHL games under his belt with Chicago and Seattle as well as the Sabres, Devils, and Coyotes.
Hayden is not expected to suit up in tonight’s contest. He’ll likely sit in the press box while Tye Kartye and Brandon Tanev flank the fourth line, centered by Mitchell Stephens.
The Kraken have a full active roster for now but will have an open spot when Sprong is removed in a couple of hours. Hayden carries a league-minimum cap hit of $775K on a one-way deal for this season and will have the opportunity to test unrestricted free agency this summer.
Canucks Reassign Arturs Silovs
The Canucks reassigned goaltender Arturs Silovs to AHL Abbotsford on Thursday, general manager Patrik Allvin said in a team announcement. The move signals Thatcher Demko, who’s missed Vancouver’s last three games with back spasms, should be available Friday against the Hurricanes. Head coach Rick Tocchet told Dan Murphy of Sportsnet before Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Capitals that the latter was close to returning.
Silovs, 23, had been on the Canucks’ roster since Friday, the day after Demko left his start against the Kraken due to a collision with teammate Noah Juulsen. He backed up Kevin Lankinen while Demko was unavailable and didn’t get into any game action.
Vancouver has shuffled the Latvian native between leagues a handful of times this season. However, he hasn’t played an NHL contest since Demko returned from the lingering knee injury that ended his 2024 playoff run after one game in late November.
Starting the season as Lankinen’s backup while Demko was unavailable, Silovs made it clear he needs more development time in the minors. The 2019 sixth-round pick posted a 1-4-1 record in six starts and one relief appearance, underwhelming with a .847 SV% and 4.11 GAA and just one quality start.
Silovs burst onto the scene in the 2024 playoffs after Demko and then-backup Casey DeSmith exited their first-round series against the Predators with injuries. He started 10 straight contests, carrying them to a series win over Nashville and a Game 7 loss to the Oilers in the second round, posting a .898 SV%, 2.91 GAA, and one shutout.
In five games with Abbotsford this season, Silovs has a .900 SV% and 2.44 GAA with a 2-3-0 record. The 2023 World Championship MVP signed a two-year, $1.7MM contract to return to the Canucks in July after a couple of weeks on the restricted free agent market.
Rangers To Activate Igor Shesterkin From Injured Reserve
11:03 a.m.: Domingue has been assigned to Hartford as expected, per a team announcement.
9:55 a.m.: The Rangers will activate star netminder Igor Shesterkin from injured reserve ahead of Thursday’s game against the Devils, head coach Peter Laviolette told Peter Baugh of The Athletic.
Shesterkin, 29, will start for the first time since Dec. 30 after missing over a week with an upper-body injury. The Blueshirts don’t have an open roster spot, so they’ll likely return No. 3 goalie Louis Domingue to AHL Hartford today after recalling him on New Year’s Eve in Shesterkin’s absence.
The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner struggled in his last two starts before his injury. He allowed nine goals on 38 shots (.763 SV%) in back-to-back losses against the Lightning and Panthers, including being pulled in the second period against Tampa after allowing five goals on 13 shots.
Shesterkin had allowed just five goals on 106 shots in his three prior starts, further evidence of what’s been a streaky 2024-25 campaign for the all-world netminder. On the whole, he’s tracking for the worst campaign of his six-year career with a .906 SV%, 3.10 GAA, 11-15-1 record, and one shutout in 27 starts.
Quite a bit of his struggles can be attributed to the team in front of him, though. He’s still managed to save 9.5 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, good for 11th in the league. On a per-hour basis, he’s saving more goals above expected than his 2020-21 and 2023-24 seasons in which he had save percentages of .916 and .912.
He’s still shown better throughout his career, namely his sparkling .935 SV% in 53 games in 2021-22. After signing him to a record-breaking eight-year, $92MM extension last month, the Rangers are hoping he’s closer to that form down the stretch than to the numbers he’s put up over the past few months.
The Rangers went 2-1-1 in Shesterkin’s four-game absence. Domingue stopped 25 of 27 shots in a 6-2 win over the Blackhawks on Sunday, the lone appearance of his call-up. Veteran Jonathan Quick started the other three, posting a .879 SV%.
The 32-year-old Domingue will presumably return to Hartford, where he’s struggled to the tune of a .888 SV%, 3.64 GAA, and a 4-9-2 record through 14 games. The veteran has lost his grip on the minor-league starting job to prospect Dylan Garand, who’s begging for an NHL promotion after logging a .929 SV% through his first 16 outings this season.
Blue Jackets Place Sean Monahan On Injured Reserve
The Blue Jackets placed top center Sean Monahan on injured reserve on Thursday, general manager Don Waddell said in a team release. His roster spot went to fellow pivot Owen Sillinger, who was recalled from AHL Cleveland under emergency conditions in a corresponding transaction.
Monahan, 30, will miss at least three games with the wrist injury he sustained in Tuesday’s shootout win over the Penguins, something Waddell hinted at to Jeff Marek of Daily Faceoff yesterday. Health permitting, he will be eligible to return on Jan. 16 against the Sharks, but without a more specific injury designation from the club, it’s hard to project a return date.
In the meantime, Monahan’s absence is a humongous one for a Columbus squad that’s keeping pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race, currently hanging onto the second wild-card spot with an 18-17-6 record and 42 points. The Ontario native has been resurgent in his first year with the Jackets, on pace to record a point per game for the first time since 2018-19 and just the second time overall in his 12-year NHL career.
At the halfway point of the campaign, Monahan ranks third on the Jackets in goals (14), assists (27) and points (41) while averaging 19:27 per game, which is tops among forwards. His lines, with Kirill Marchenko on the right wing and either Yegor Chinakhov or Dmitri Voronkov on the left wing, have been among the most dominant in the league at controlling play at 5-on-5, recording expected goal shares of 64.9% and 59.0%, respectively, per MoneyPuck.
The raw goal totals are something to behold, especially for the Voronkov-flanked unit. That trio has outscored opponents 22-5 at 5-on-5. Only three lines – Brayden Point‘s in Tampa, Artemi Panarin‘s in Manhattan, and Mark Scheifele‘s in Winnipeg, have been on the ice for more goals this season.
2023 third-overall pick Adam Fantilli will step into Monahan’s shoes between Voronkov and Marchenko for tonight’s game against the Kraken. The 20-year-old will look to build on a somewhat disappointing offensive campaign, on pace for 18 goals and 38 points through 82 games. While a left calf laceration truncated Fantilli’s rookie year at 49 appearances last season, he was on pace for 20 goals and 45 points.
Monahan is the fourth Blue Jackets forward to land on IR, joining Chinakhov, Justin Danforth, and captain Boone Jenner.
Whether the 27-year-old Sillinger, the older brother of Columbus’ Cole Sillinger, makes his NHL debut tonight remains to be seen. The club also recalled Luca Del Bel Belluz from Cleveland on Wednesday, and PuckPedia projects him to center the fourth line against Seattle while Sillinger sits in the press box, serving as last-minute injury insurance. He could play if Cole, who head coach Dean Evason said will be a game-time decision with an illness, can’t play.
The elder Sillinger has spent his entire professional career in the Columbus organization, first joining as an undrafted free agent signing by Cleveland out of Bemidji State in 2022. After a few years on minor-league deals, he earned his first NHL contract with the Jackets last June.
Serving as an alternate captain in Cleveland, Sillinger has eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points through 34 AHL games. That ties him for fourth on the club in scoring, doing well to at least put himself in consideration for an NHL game or two. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Deferred Payments In Jeopardy In Upcoming CBA Discussions
The NHL and NHLPA are expected to discuss removing the option for teams and players to structure contracts with deferred payments when they begin negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement next month, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported Tuesday.
Deferring part of a contract’s total value until after its expiry to earn a discount on a player’s cap hit has been legal since the 2004-05 lockout, which signaled the beginning of the salary cap era. However, it was used incredibly rarely until the past few months. Four players—the Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis, the Maple Leafs’ Jake McCabe, and the Ducks’ Frank Vatrano—have accepted deferred compensation as part of new contracts or extensions since July 1.
Vatrano’s extension, a three-year, $18MM commitment that carries just a $4.57MM cap hit compared to $6MM without deferred compensation, has taken the most advantage of the rule. It’s the first of the four to defer base salary, not just signing bonus money, and he’ll only earn half of the money over the contract’s life. The other $9MM will be paid out in 10 yearly checks of $900K from 2035 onward. During that time, Vatrano anticipates retiring in Florida and will not pay California state income tax on the money.
However, as LeBrun relayed, most player agents aren’t suggesting this strategy for their clients. Octagon’s Allan Walsh put up a brief explainer of why it’s not always a tax-saving measure in the long run, although LeBrun countered with the supposition that Vatrano wouldn’t have earned as much total cash by not using deferred compensation.
The league determined that Vatrano’s deal was compliant with the deferred compensation rule as written, but “that shouldn’t be interpreted as the league being a big fan of it or deferred payments in general,” LeBrun said. He adds the NHLPA has historically opposed deferred payments – the value of money paid later is almost always lower than money earned in the present due to inflation – creating an environment for both parties to close the door on that contract structure when the next CBA goes into effect for the 2026-27 season.
Wild Sign, Waive Dylan Ferguson
Jan. 8: Ferguson cleared waivers on Wednesday and will be assigned to Iowa, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
Jan. 7: The Wild signed goaltender Dylan Ferguson to a two-way contract for the remainder of the 2024-25 season on Tuesday, according to a team release. Minnesota subsequently placed him on waivers for assignment to AHL Iowa.
Ferguson, 26, signed a one-year deal with Iowa in September after a failed PTO with the Canucks. He’ll earn a prorated salary of $130K while in the minors on his new two-way deal, the team said, presumably a raise over what he was making on his minor-league-only contract.
Signing Ferguson makes him eligible for a recall to the NHL roster for the remainder of the season, assuming he clears waivers. He’ll be able to stick on the active roster if necessary for up to 30 days or play 10 games before he needs waivers again to return to Iowa.
The British Columbia native has made seven appearances for Iowa this season while backing up Wild prospects Jesper Wallstedt and Samuel Hlavaj, posting the best numbers out of the trio with a .900 SV% and a 3-4-0 record. He also had a shutout in his lone ECHL appearance for the Iowa Heartlanders earlier this season.
Ferguson has three NHL games under his belt, the first most memorably coming with the Golden Knights in relief during their inaugural season. Ferguson, 19 at the time and freshly acquired from the Stars in an offseason trade, was fifth on Vegas’ goaltending depth chart and on assignment to his major junior team in Kamloops but needed to enter a game against the Oilers in November with Marc-André Fleury, Malcolm Subban, Oscar Dansk and Maxime Lagace all injured.
He didn’t see NHL ice again until the 2022-23 campaign, starting two games for the Senators at the tail end of the season and allowing five goals on 83 shots. All told, Ferguson has a strong .929 SV% and 2.81 GAA in his very limited NHL track record, also posting a formidable .911 mark in 36 career AHL games in parts of five seasons.
After struggling with injuries and failing to land much playing time wherever he signed, the journeyman Ferguson headed to Belarus in 2023-24 and signed a one-year deal with Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. He posted a .904 SV% in 23 games against some top-flight overseas competition, logging a 2.51 GAA and a 9-9-0 record.
His return to North America last summer has now gone well enough to land him an NHL deal. While his age would normally stipulate Ferguson becoming a restricted free agent upon expiry of this contract, he’ll be a Group VI unrestricted free agent instead because he’s played in fewer than 28 NHL games while accumulating at least three professional seasons.
Since the Wild signed and waived Ferguson within the same day, he won’t count against their active roster while on waivers.
Hurricanes Have “Checked In” On Flames’ Daniel Vladař
The Hurricanes have inquired with the Flames about goaltender Daniel Vladař‘s availability in a trade as they look to shore up their goaltending depth, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff wrote Tuesday.
Vladař was softly connected to Carolina by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic last month when he was detailing the Canes’ interest in the Ducks’ John Gibson. He was mentioned as a speculative trade candidate then but seems more firmly linked to Carolina now.
The Hurricanes remain in pursuit of a more established NHL option between the pipes with Frederik Andersen sidelined due to knee surgery and not expected back for a few more weeks. The veteran starter was at practice today for the first time since undergoing surgery, though, the team’s Walt Ruff relayed.
With Andersen set to hit the open market this summer and unlikely to return to Carolina given his injury history over the past couple of seasons, Gibson makes more sense for the Canes as a longer-term pickup to partner with Pyotr Kochetkov between the pipes. Vladař, a pending unrestricted free agent, would likely be a backup option if they can’t swing a deal with Anaheim.
But as Seravalli writes, it’s far from a given that the Flames will move Vladař. The netminder told Eric Francis of Sportsnet last week that he’s open to signing an extension in Calgary, and they won’t move him for anything less than a third-round pick. With few other teams than Carolina exploring the goalie market, there’s no guarantee that the Flames would be able to drive the price that high unless the Canes get desperate. That would be a heel-turn from a Carolina team that’s frequently held pat at the deadline in recent years if they don’t like what they see.
Vladař has started 19 games this season while playing in tandem with up-and-comer Dustin Wolf, four short of his career high set with Calgary in 2022-23. He has a subpar .888 SV% and 3.08 GAA, although he does have a pair of shutouts. He’s allowed 2.9 goals more than expected based on the shot quality he’s faced, per MoneyPuck. While an upgrade over Carolina’s current backup option, Dustin Tokarski, he’d be firmly entrenched at No. 3 on their depth chart once Andersen returns and would be unlikely to stick around unless the Canes can’t secure an upgrade on next summer’s free agent market.
Sabres Recall Tyson Kozak
The Sabres recalled center Tyson Kozak from AHL Rochester on Wednesday, per a team announcement. He’s primed to replace forward Jiri Kulich, who left Monday’s shootout win over the Capitals with a lower-body injury, in tomorrow’s lineup against the Senators. Buffalo doesn’t have an open spot on the active roster, so Kulich is presumably headed to injured reserve to make Kozak’s recall happen.
Kozak has been recalled once this season, making his NHL debut in relief of the injured Sam Lafferty early last month. The 22-year-old pivot skated in three games, scoring his first NHL goal while averaging 9:55 per game and winning 53.3% of his faceoffs.
The Sabres were out-chanced 26-19 while Kozak was on the ice at 5-on-5, but he primarily played a defensive bottom-six role. A seventh-round pick in 2021, he’s producing at a career-best pace in Rochester this season with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 24 games with a plus-seven rating.
Kozak is in his third professional season after a junior tenure with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, whom he captained in the 2021-22 campaign. The pending restricted free agent is expected to center Lafferty and Nicolas Aubé-Kubel in Thursday’s tilt with Beck Malenstyn also expected to miss the contest with an illness.
That makes three forwards unavailable for Buffalo, at least for now. Jordan Greenway remains on injured reserve after undergoing mid-body surgery in December and doesn’t have a timeline for a return.
If Kulich was placed on IR to make room for Kozak, he’s been ruled out of their next two games. Head coach Lindy Ruff told Heather Engel of NHL.com that Kulich is week-to-week with his injury, so he likely won’t be back upon becoming eligible for a return next Wednesday against the Hurricanes, either. The 2022 first-rounder has nine points in 31 games this season, his first as a full-time NHLer.
Red Wings Have Shown Interest In Dylan Cozens
The Sabres and Red Wings were linked as speculative trade partners earlier in the season, with Max Bultman of The Athletic suggesting at one point that Detroit may be interested in prying defenseman Bowen Byram away from Buffalo. It turns out there was some smoke to that fire, but center Dylan Cozens is the Sabres player that the Wings have expressed interest in acquiring, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote Tuesday.
While most reports indicate the Sabres’ desired path forward is to stay the course despite currently ranking last in the Eastern Conference with a 15-21-5 record, that hasn’t stopped Cozens’ name from appearing in a fair amount of trade speculation through the first half of the season. Things haven’t gone well for the soon-to-be 24-year-old, whose point totals have steadily regressed since a career-best 31 goals and 68 points in 2022-23 that earned him a seven-year, $49.7MM extension.
Cozens is posting just 0.49 points per game in 2024-25, down from last year’s 0.59 mark and even further from that breakout year’s 0.84. He’s shooting 8.6% for eight goals through 41 games, adding 12 assists for 20 points and a team-worst -14 rating.
As our Gabriel Foley wrote last month, Buffalo’s poor record this season extends far past Cozens’ woes. Moving on from him would also risk continuing a trend of the Sabres moving on from still-developing players too soon, parting ways before they break out again on a new team.
If he were to be on the move, the Wings make a lot of sense. They have an old center corps for a supposedly still-rebuilding team, with top three pivots Dylan Larkin, Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher all between the ages of 28 and 30. Marco Kasper, 20, is well on his way to capturing a top-nine spot down the middle, but inserting Cozens there gives them an extended window to return to playoff relevance.
Despite the poor rating, possession play hasn’t been a huge issue for Cozens this season. His 50.6 CF% ranks 10th on the team at even strength, and while his -3.3 expected rating is in the middle of the pack, it’s far from the worst. His 165 shot attempts are fifth on the team, and he’s been the best Sabre at actually getting pucks through on net, converting 56.4% of his attempts into shots on goal.
Trading Cozens carries a fair amount of risk for both teams. There’s the chance of Buffalo cutting bait too early, but there’s also a financial risk for an acquiring team with five years left on his contract if his numbers don’t rebound to the 60-point range at a minimum.
But even at his current low point, Cozens is a middle-six upgrade for Detroit over Compher and Copp. Both are producing at worse point-per-game rates than Cozens, with far worse possession metrics, both raw and relative.
The Wings’ biggest issue this season is generating offense, especially high-danger chances. They only have 233 high-danger chances at 5-on-5 compared to the league average of 297, and they’re also only converting on 6.8% of those. Cozens should help with that to some degree.