Blue Jackets Recall Denton Mateychuk For NHL Debut
The Blue Jackets are recalling top defense prospect Denton Mateychuk from AHL Cleveland, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. He’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game, which could be as soon as tomorrow against the Canadiens. The team later announced that forward James Malatesta was returned to Cleveland in a corresponding transaction, while Justin Danforth also landed on injured reserve. Additionally, goaltender Jet Greaves was added on an emergency recall and will be available tomorrow against Montreal.
As Portzline notes, it’s unclear if Mateychuk’s recall is in response to an injury to star blue-liner Zach Werenski. He sustained an apparent knee injury early in the third period of yesterday’s overtime loss to the Flyers after getting tangled up with Philadelphia winger Owen Tippett but only missed a couple of shifts before returning. Head coach Dean Evason confirmed postgame that Werenski wasn’t 100%, though, calling his status for tomorrow “hopeful” (via Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch).
Mateychuk, 20, is now undoubtedly the highest-caliber defense prospect in the Blue Jackets organization after they traded David Jiříček to the Wild last month. McKeen’s Hockey ranked him as the second-best prospect in the system behind center Cayden Lindstrom at the beginning of the season, while Scott Wheeler of The Athletic listed him as the No. 35 prospect in the league over the summer. Columbus selected him 12th overall in 2022 after taking Jiříček sixth, and he responded with eight goals, 57 assists and 65 points in 63 games while captaining the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League in his post-draft year.
The Winnipeg native improved further in 2023-24, posting 75 points and a +35 rating in 52 games with Moose Jaw while winning the Bill Hunter Trophy as the WHL’s top defenseman. He added 11 goals and 30 points in 20 playoff games as the Warriors captured their first-ever WHL championship, and he was crowned playoff MVP after leading the postseason in assists with 19. He headed to AHL Cleveland for his first taste of professional hockey after his Memorial Cup run with Moose Jaw was over, posting three assists in four postseason contests.
That showing had Mateychuk in contention to land a spot on the Blue Jackets’ opening night roster, but a logjam of names ahead of him meant he was one of the final cuts from their training camp. He took the demotion in stride and then some, racking up nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points through his first 27 regular-season games with Cleveland. That’s good enough for the league lead in scoring among defensemen – obviously a major accomplishment for a rookie.
A left-shot defenseman, Mateychuk checks in at 5’11” and 192 lbs. He’s in the first season of his entry-level contract, which was signed in 2022 but slid twice due to a lack of NHL service team. He’ll be eligible to test restricted free agency in 2027.
Malatesta, 21, was recalled last Wednesday amid a lower-body injury to Danforth, who hasn’t played since Dec. 10. The 2021 fifth-round pick played in the Jackets’ last two games, posting a -1 rating and averaging 10:34 per game while failing to register a shot on goal. The Montreal native is producing 0.48 points per game through 25 appearances with Cleveland this season, up from last year’s 0.39 mark.
Since Danforth has missed more than seven days with his lower-body injury, he’ll be eligible to come off IR at any time. The Sacred Heart product has three goals and five assists for eight points in 25 games this season and is averaging a career-high 15:20 per night.
Greaves’ recall coming under emergency conditions suggests either Elvis Merzļikins or Daniil Tarasov will be unavailable to dress for tomorrow’s game. Tarasov has been healthy by all accounts but hasn’t appeared in a game since Dec. 5, when he surrendered six goals on 36 shots to the Oilers. The 25-year-old is in danger of losing the No. 2 spot on Columbus’ goaltending depth chart to Greaves after logging a poor .857 SV% and 4.26 GAA through nine starts. The 23-year-old Greaves, meanwhile, has a .896 mark through three games.
Flames Name Trent Cull Interim Assistant Coach
The Flames have promoted AHL Calgary head coach Trent Cull to their NHL bench to serve as an interim assistant, per a team announcement. He replaces Brad Larsen for the time being, who’s been out on an indefinite personal leave of absence since Dec. 8.
It will mark the 51-year-old Cull’s second time serving on an NHL bench. He was promoted to an assistant role with the Canucks in 2022 after five years as their AHL head coach but was fired midway through the 2022-23 campaign alongside Bruce Boudreau. Cull returned to coaching the following offseason, signing on as Calgary’s AHL head coach. He replaced Mitch Love in the role after he moved to Washington to take a job with the Capitals as an assistant.
Under Cull, the Wranglers have a 55-36-10 record since the beginning of last season. Cull previously served as an AHL assistant with the Syracuse Crunch from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2013 to 2017. In the meantime, he was the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves.
Replacing Cull as the interim AHL bench boss will be longtime NHL defenseman Joe Cirella. Cirella has been with the Flames’ farm club as an assistant since the 2018-19 campaign, which was prefaced by a lengthy career in the Ontario Hockey League as an assistant and associate coach. Cirella also served as an assistant with the Panthers in the 1997-98 season, his first after retirement.
Rangers’ Matt Rempe Suspended Eight Games
Rangers winger Matt Rempe has been assessed an eight-game suspension by the league’s Department of Player Safety for a boarding/elbowing infraction against Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, the league announced.
Rempe laid the hit on Heiskanen (explained further here) in the third period of Friday’s 3-1 win. He was ejected on the play, the fourth time he’s faced such discipline in his 22-game NHL career. He was also assessed a two-minute minor for elbowing on the play, as well as an additional roughing minor in the aftermath. Unsurprisingly, after being suspended four games for a similar infraction against Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in March last season, he was offered an in-person hearing, which gives DoPS the option of suspending him for six games or more.
Rempe already missed today’s loss to the Hurricanes, so he has seven more games to serve. He’s considered a repeat offender under Player Safety guidelines and will forfeit $80K in salary during his suspension, relays Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic. He’ll still count against the active roster and the team’s salary cap during that time, reducing the Rangers’ flexibility for an extended period. He can appeal the suspension to league commissioner Gary Bettman, so it’s possible he might be back earlier than Jan. 9 against the Devils if he’s successful.
The incident was one of many controversial ones in Rempe’s young career. The 22-year-old, who the Blueshirts selected 165th overall in the 2020 draft, has accumulated 95 PIMs in just 22 appearances over the last two seasons while averaging 5:46 of ice time per game. The wealth of time spent in the dressing room or in the penalty box has limited his effectiveness offensively and put the Rangers in more shorthanded situations than they’d like, although it’s also worth noting he’s drawn the most penalties per 60 minutes of any Ranger over the last two seasons.
The 6’8″, 240-lb winger has spent most of this season on assignment to AHL Hartford, where he has three goals, two assists and 22 PIMs in 18 showings with a -3 rating. His game against Dallas was only his fifth NHL appearance of the season.
In the meantime, Rempe’s absence will secure more ice time for developing depth options like Brett Berard and Adam Edstrom. They still have veteran Jonny Brodzinski on hand as an extra forward to enter the lineup if necessary as well.
Panthers Recall Rasmus Asplund
The Panthers announced that center Rasmus Asplund has been recalled from AHL Charlotte. They’ve been rolling with an open spot on the active roster for quite a while, so no corresponding move is necessary.
Asplund, 27, will play in his first NHL game in 618 days this afternoon against the Lightning. He enters the lineup in place of winger Jonah Gadjovich, who head coach Paul Maurice said is unavailable due to an upper-body injury (via the team’s Jameson Olive). Center Jesper Boqvist is also day-to-day with an upper-body issue, so they would’ve only had 11 forwards on hand for today’s intra-state rivalry matchup without a recall.
Asplund is in his second season in the Panthers organization. Briefly an everyday player with the Sabres early in the decade, he fell out of a regular role in the 2022-23 campaign and, after an uneventful post-trade deadline stint with the Predators, wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer and settled for a two-way deal with Florida in free agency. After spending all of last season on assignments to Charlotte, he signed a duplicate extension aside from a slightly higher salary guarantee in late June to remain in South Florida and stay off last summer’s free agent market.
The Buffalo second-round pick back in 2016 was a decent two-way player near the bottom of the lineup in his days as an NHL roster fixture. The Swede posted 18 goals, 49 points and a -14 rating in 183 NHL appearances with the Sabres and Preds from 2019-20 to 2022-23, including a career-best 27 points in 80 games with the Sabres in 2021-22. He averaged over 14 minutes per game that season and posted a strong 52.8% shot-attempt share on a defensively challenged Sabres team, earning himself some outside Selke Trophy consideration.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep up that play in more shutdown-oriented minutes at even strength the following season and has since ended up as a minor-league fixture. He’s been a decent top-six piece in Charlotte, posting 19 goals, 41 assists and 60 points with a -2 rating in 92 appearances over the past two seasons. He’s got 10 goals and 16 points in 25 showings thus far in 2024-25.
Asplund can remain on the roster for up to 30 days or play in 10 games until he requires waivers to return to Charlotte. It’s likely that he’ll be returned to the AHL once Boqvist or Gadjovich is ready to return barring an unexpectedly strong showing.
Kings Request Extension For Arthur Kaliyev’s Conditioning Loan
The Kings haven’t had winger Arthur Kaliyev‘s services at all this season, at least at the NHL level. After an offseason marred by a trade request and a lengthy contract negotiation, the 23-year-old signed a one-year, $825K deal at the beginning of training camp only to sustain a collarbone fracture two days later.
He was cleared to play earlier this month and was subsequently sent to AHL Ontario on a conditioning loan that can only last two weeks. That mark is approaching on Tuesday, although Ontario doesn’t have another game until after Christmas. After the 2019 second-round pick was limited to one assist in four games over the past couple of weeks, the Kings are requesting an extension for him to remain in Ontario for two more contests through the end of this week, John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor reports.
The lack of goals wasn’t for lack of trying, Hoven notes. The Uzbekistan-born winger had four shots on goal in two separate outings. Shooting the puck has never been a problem for Kaliyev, who averages nearly four shot attempts per game since making his NHL debut in 2020-21 despite averaging around 12 minutes per game. But despite strong production for his usage, averaging 15 goals and 31 points per 82 games, he hasn’t been able to ever earn a legitimate chance outside of a bottom-six role. Last season was especially difficult for Kaliyev, who had his worst offensive showing as a full-time NHLer with seven goals and 15 points in 51 games.
Kaliyev has long desired a change of scenery to a club where he has a better chance of earning a top-six role. Unfortunately for him, the lack of production in his brief AHL stint has likely done nothing to drum up trade interest around the league after the Kings failed to land an acceptable offer over the summer.
If he remains in a slump when he returns to the NHL later this month, he may need to wait until the summer and hope for a non-tender from Los Angeles to allow him to test the open market. The Kings retained his rights by issuing him a qualifying offer in June despite reports suggesting they may do otherwise.
Wild Reassign Travis Boyd, Jesper Wallstedt
The Wild have returned forward Travis Boyd and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to AHL Iowa, per the team’s public relations staff. The move leaves them with two open active roster spots and no extra forwards for tomorrow’s game against the Blackhawks, suggesting one of their injured reserve-bound forwards, either Joel Eriksson Ek or Yakov Trenin, might be able to return to the lineup, as Michael Russo of The Athletic relays.
Boyd, 31, was recalled Friday for Minnesota’s back-to-back against Utah and the Jets. It was the veteran’s fourth summons of the season after clearing training camp. None of his recalls have lasted for an extended period of time, with the longest totaling nine days in late November. That’s meant he’s been able to avoid hitting waivers again when the Wild return him to the minors since he hasn’t accumulated enough days on the active roster nor NHL appearances to make his temporary exemption expire.
The Minnesota native was scratched for Friday’s loss to Utah but entered the lineup for last night’s 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Winnipeg, posting a blocked shot in 8:08 of ice time in what was his third NHL appearance of the season and his first since Nov. 27. The 2011 sixth-round pick of the Capitals has averaged a career-low 7:48 per game when dressed, going without a shot on goal and skating on the wing while starting a whopping 88.9% of his even-strength shifts in the defensive zone. That’s naturally led to some pretty horrid possession numbers. The Wild have only controlled 23.5% of shot attempts and 20% of expected goals with Boyd on the ice, but in such a small and biased sample, those numbers shouldn’t be read into much.
The right-shot forward has never posted very favorable possession metrics, though. This far into his professional career, he is what he is – a valuable depth scorer in limited minutes who’s currently being miscast in a defensive role. With forwards ahead of him on the depth chart returning to health, he’ll return to Iowa, where he leads the club in scoring with 18 points in 17 games in his first AHL action since the 2019-20 campaign.
Boyd has averaged 13 goals and 32 points per 82 games throughout his eight-year NHL career, including a career-high 17 goals and 35 points in 74 games three years ago with the Coyotes. After spending most of last season with Arizona on injured reserve with a pectoral muscle tear, he signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Wild when free agency opened to return to his home state for the first time since his senior season at the University of Minnesota a decade ago.
Wallstedt’s demotion suggests Filip Gustavsson could be ready to return to the crease, at least in a backup role, after missing the last four games with a lower-body issue. He never landed on IR, so Minnesota has continuously considered him day-to-day throughout his absence. Wallstedt, the Wild’s top goaltending prospect, allowed five goals on 24 shots against the Jets last night in his second start of the season. It’s been a difficult year for the 22-year-old Swede, who now has a .843 SV% in his two NHL appearances and a subpar .874 mark in 12 AHL games.
That stark regression comes after Wallstedt was an AHL All-Star each of the last two seasons, prompting Minnesota to sign the 2021 20th overall pick to a two-year, $4.4MM extension in October. At least for now, the stumbling Wild will be ecstatic to get Gustavsson’s services back instead. The 26-year-old has returned to his 2022-23 form, logging a stellar .922 SV%, 2.24 GAA, and two shutouts in 22 starts.
John Klingberg Hoping To Resume NHL Career
Unrestricted free agent defenseman John Klingberg will resume skating shortly after the holiday break in hopes of continuing his NHL career, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Saturday.
Now 32, Klingberg has been out of commission for over a year after undergoing season-ending hip surgery while with the Maple Leafs in early December 2023. The 2015 All-Rookie Team member last played nearly a month prior on Nov. 11.
The Swedish native was a dominant offensive force in his early days, finishing in the top six in Norris Trophy voting twice in the first four seasons of his career with the Stars. From his NHL debut in 2014-15 until the COVID-19 pandemic truncated the 2019-20 season, Klingberg posted 291 points in 425 games for the Stars, ranking 10th among defenders league-wide. His 0.68 points per game were seventh among those with over 100 games.
In that 2019-20 season, though, the ever-present defensive cracks in Klingberg’s game began to border on outweighing the offensive benefits. That year saw him lose the title of the team’s de facto No. 1 option on the blue line to up-and-comer Miro Heiskanen, and while he still contributed 32 points in 58 games, he logged a -10 rating – reaching the negatives for the first time in his career. He added 21 points in 26 postseason games as Dallas marched to the Stanley Cup Final but posted a -5 rating that was second-worst among Stars blue-liners.
It was more of the same for Klingberg over the next couple of seasons as his even-strength ice time and on-ice goal differential continued to decline. He was still a top-four threat offensively, logging 47 points in 74 games in the 2021-22 campaign, but nonetheless hit free agency the following summer and didn’t garner much interest in a long-term deal.
That led to a one-year, $7MM prove-it deal with the rebuilding Ducks after he had been unsigned for weeks. His stint in Anaheim was short-lived and unremarkable. He posted 24 points and a -28 rating in 50 games on a 2022-23 Anaheim team that allowed an incredible 39.1 shots per game. He was dealt to the Wild at the trade deadline, where he finished the year with nine points in 17 games and was scratched twice in their six-game loss to the Stars in the First Round.
That rather uninspiring performance led to another one-year pact on the open market the following summer—this time, a $4.15MM commitment from the Maple Leafs. His stint in Toronto was also quite short-lived. He posted five assists in 14 games while quarterbacking their top power-play unit before the hip issue, which had been nagging since the end of the prior season, forced him out of the lineup for the rest of the season.
If he does manage to land another NHL offer, it certainly won’t be in the top-four, 20-minute average ice time role he’s grown accustomed to. As an already-declining veteran coming off major surgery, Klingberg landing much more than the league minimum on a one-year deal for the rest of 2024-25 would be surprising. The right shot would likely factor into a third-pairing role at even strength with second-unit power-play usage.
NHL Draft Picks On 2025 World Junior Championship Rosters
The 2025 World Junior Championship is just around the corner. This year’s edition of the tournament, which takes place in Ottawa, will start on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) as usual. Most NHL fans looking to tune into the tournament will want to focus on Group A action – Finland, Canada and the United States comprise three-fifths of that group while Sweden is the only true NHL-heavy squad in Group B, although Czechia and Slovakia have a decent amount of NHL representation there.
Every one of the 10 squads participating in the tournament has at least one NHL-drafted player on their roster, although, in the case of relegation favorite Kazakhstan in Group B, it is just the lone representative. Out of the NHL’s 32 squads, only the Bruins don’t have a prospect suiting up in the tournament.
Wondering which countries to keep an eye on to track your team’s prospects? Here’s a list of every club’s prospects that are competing in the tournament:
Anaheim Ducks
F Austin Burnevik / USA / 2024, 6-182
D Vojtěch Port / Czechia / 2023, 6-161
F Carey Terrance / USA / 2023, 2-59
D Darels Uļjanskis / Latvia / 2024, 7-214
Buffalo Sabres
F Konsta Helenius / Finland / 2024, 1-14
D Adam Kleber / USA / 2024, 2-42
D Norwin Panocha / Germany / 2023, 7-205
D Maxim Štrbák / Slovakia / 2023, 2-45
F Anton Wahlberg / Sweden / 2023, 2-39
F Brodie Ziemer / USA / 2024, 3-71
Calgary Flames
D Axel Hurtig / Sweden / 2023, 7-208
Carolina Hurricanes
F Bradly Nadeau / Canada / 2023, 1-30
F Felix Unger Sörum / Sweden / 2023, 2-62
F Oskar Vuollet / Sweden / 2024, 5-133
Chicago Blackhawks
F Jiří Felcman / Czechia / 2023, 3-93
F Oliver Moore / USA / 2023, 1-19
Colorado Avalanche
F Calum Ritchie / Canada / 2023, 1-27
Columbus Blue Jackets
F Luca Pinelli / Canada / 2023, 4-114
G Melvin Strahl / Sweden / 2023, 5-156
Dallas Stars
F Emil Hemming / Finland / 2024, 1-29
D Aram Minnetian / USA / 2023, 4-125
Detroit Red Wings
G Trey Augustine / USA / 2023, 2-41
F Jesse Kiiskinen / Finland / 2023, 3-68
D Axel Sandin-Pellikka / Sweden / 2023, 1-17
Edmonton Oilers
D Beau Akey / Canada / 2023, 2-56
D Paul Fischer / USA / 2023, 5-138
Florida Panthers
F Linus Eriksson / Sweden / 2024, 2-58
Los Angeles Kings
D Jakub Dvořák / Czechia / 2023, 2-54
G Carter George / Canada / 2024, 2-57
G Hampton Slukynsky / USA / 2023, 4-118
Minnesota Wild
D Zeev Buium / USA / 2024, 1-12
D Aron Kiviharju / Finland / 2024, 4-122
F Rasmus Kumpulainen / Finland / 2023, 2-53
D Sebastian Soini / Finland / 2024, 5-140
Montreal Canadiens
D Rasmus Bergqvist / Sweden / 2024, 7-224
Nashville Predators
F David Edstrom / Sweden / 2023, 1-32
D Andrew Gibson / Canada / 2023, 2-42
D Viggo Gustafsson / Sweden / 2024, 3-77
G Jakub Milota / Czechia / 2024, 4-99
D Tanner Molendyk / Canada / 2023, 1-24
F Felix Nilsson / Sweden / 2023, 2-43
F Teddy Stiga / USA / 2024, 2-55
F Joey Willis / USA / 2023, 4-111
New Jersey Devils
F Herman Träff / Sweden / 2024, 3-91
New York Islanders
F Cole Eiserman / USA / 2024, 1-20
G Marcus Gidlöf / Sweden / 2024, 5-147
F Danny Nelson / USA / 2023, 2-49
F Jesse Nurmi / Finland / 2023, 4-113
New York Rangers
D Drew Fortescue / USA / 2023, 3-90
F Rico Gredig / Switzerland / 2024, 6-191
F Gabe Perreault / USA / 2023, 1-23
Ottawa Senators
G Vladimir Nikitin / Kazakhstan / 2023, 7-207
Philadelphia Flyers
F Jack Berglund / Sweden / 2024, 2-51
G Carson Bjarnason / Canada / 2023, 2-51
D Oliver Bonk / Canada / 2023, 1-22
F Jett Luchanko / Canada / 2024, 1-13
F Heikki Ruohonen / Finland / 2024, 4-107
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Tanner Howe / Canada / 2024, 2-46
D Kalle Kangas / Finland / 2023, 7-223
D Emil Pieniniemi / Finland / 2023, 3-91
San Jose Sharks
D Sam Dickinson / Canada / 2024, 1-11
F Kasper Halttunen / Finland / 2023, 2-36
G Christian Kirsch / Switzerland / 2024, 4-116
F Brandon Svoboda / USA / 2023, 3-71
Seattle Kraken
F Berkly Catton / Canada / 2024, 1-8
D Jakub Fibigr / Czechia / 2024, 7-202
F Zeb Forsfjäll / Sweden / 2023, 6-180
F Julius Miettinen / Finland / 2024, 2-40
D Caden Price / Canada / 2023, 3-84
F Carson Rehkopf / Canada / 2023, 2-50
G Kim Saarinen / Finland / 2024, 3-88
F Eduard Šalé / Czechia / 2023, 1-20
St. Louis Blues
F Adam Jecho / Czechia / 2024, 3-95
D Adam Jiříček / Czechia / 2024, 1-16
F Ondřej Kos / Czechia / 2024, 3-81
D Theo Lindstein / Sweden / 2023, 1-29
F Juraj Pekarčík / Slovakia / 2023, 3-76
D Colin Ralph / USA / 2024, 2-48
F Jakub Štancl / Czechia / 2023, 4-106
F Otto Stenberg / Sweden / 2023, 1-25
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Ethan Gauthier / Canada / 2023, 2-37
F Joona Saarelainen / Finland / 2024, 5-149
Toronto Maple Leafs
F Easton Cowan / Canada / 2023, 1-28
F Miroslav Holinka / Czechia / 2024, 5-151
Utah Hockey Club
F Cole Beaudoin / Canada / 2024, 1-24
G Michael Hrabal / Czechia / 2023, 2-38
F Vojtěch Hradec / Czechia / 2024, 6-167
G Melker Thelin / Sweden / 2023, 5-134
D Veeti Väisänen / Finland / 2024, 3-96
Vancouver Canucks
D Sawyer Mynio / Canada / 2023, 3-89
D Basile Sansonnens / Switzerland / 2024, 7-221
D Tom Willander / Sweden / 2023, 1-11
Vegas Golden Knights
F Mathieu Cataford / Canada / 2023, 3-77
F Trevor Connelly / USA / 2024, 1-19
F Tuomas Uronen / Finland / 2023, 6-192
Washington Capitals
D Cole Hutson / USA / 2024, 2-43
F Ryan Leonard / USA / 2023, 1-8
F Ēriks Mateiko / Latvia / 2024, 3-90
D Leon Muggli / Switzerland / 2024, 2-52
F Miroslav Šatan Jr. / Slovakia / 2024, 7-212
F Petr Sikora / Czechia / 2024, 6-178
Winnipeg Jets
F Brayden Yager / Canada / 2023, 1-14
Jets Activate David Gustafsson From Injured Reserve
The Jets announced that they have activated center David Gustafsson from injured reserve. They had a pair of open roster spots after assigning Nikita Chibrikov and Dylan Coghlan to AHL Manitoba on Thursday.
Gustafsson, 24, had missed the last four games while in concussion protocol. The 2018 second-round pick left his last appearance, a Dec. 10 trouncing of the Bruins, after fighting Boston forward Trent Frederic. It was his second appearance since Oct. 20 after sitting out most of the season as a healthy scratch.
Last year, he stuck primarily on the NHL roster for the second season in a row aside from a brief conditioning assignment in February. He scored three goals, his first since notching his first NHL marker in 2019-20, and added four assists for seven points with a +1 rating in 39 games. He averaged 9:16 per game and won a career-best 54.6% of his faceoffs, often skating down the middle of Winnipeg’s fourth line when in the lineup.
Gustafsson has now appeared in parts of six NHL seasons, skating in a top-level contest in every season since arriving in North America in 2019. He’s played sparingly in all of them, though, averaging 19 appearances per season and just 8:44 per game. The 6’2″ pivot has been a relative non-factor offensively, averaging only 10 points per 82 games. The Jets have also rarely controlled the puck in Gustafsson’s even strength minutes, posting a 45.9% shot-attempt share and 41.9% expected goals share throughout his career.
With a fully healthy forward lineup tonight against the Wild, Gustafsson will return to his usual seat in the press box, the team said. He’s the 13th forward on the active roster and will be the first player to enter the lineup if an injury strikes, however.
Islanders Activate Anthony Duclair From LTIR
Dec. 20: Duclair is indeed off LTIR ahead of today’s game against the Leafs, per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News.
Dec. 19: Islanders winger Anthony Duclair will be a game-time decision for the Islanders’ next game against the Maple Leafs on Saturday, head coach Patrick Roy said (via Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News). He’ll need to come off long-term injured reserve to play, which Roy said he has an “extremely good chance” of doing. As such, the Isles shifted goaltender Semyon Varlamov from standard IR to LTIR ahead of tonight’s roster freeze to free up additional cap room for Duclair’s activation. That means the netminder will miss at least three more games with his lower-body injury, keeping him out through Dec. 29 against the Penguins.
Duclair, 29, has been out of action since falling awkwardly while attempting to create a scoring chance against the Canadiens back on Oct. 19. His return comes a couple of weeks later than the team initially anticipated when they issued him a four-to-six-week return timeline. Still, they’re nonetheless happy to get his services back. Roy stuck him on the top line alongside Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat to begin the season after the club signed him to a four-year, $14MM pact in free agency, awarding him a good bit of trade protection as well.
The 5’11” winger had two goals and an assist through five appearances before landing on LTIR. He was averaging a career-high 16:30 per game, a figure that would have been higher if not for leaving the game against Montreal in the third period. Duclair generated eight shots on goal, and his line with Barzal and Horvat controlled a team-high 64.6% of expected goals when deployed together, per MoneyPuck. The Isles will be thrilled to get that level of possession control back this weekend as they look to climb back to a .500 record in the month of December. They’re 3-4-1 this month and 12-14-7 on the season, sitting seventh in the Metropolitan Division.
Varlamov, 36, hasn’t played since allowing five goals on 26 shots in an overtime loss to the Canadiens on Nov. 29. He backed up Ilya Sorokin for the next two games until sustaining an injury in practice that necessitated the recall of Marcus Högberg from AHL Bridgeport to be the No. 2 option. Högberg has yet to start a game, but since he’s stopped all 17 shots he’s faced in two relief appearances, that might change to give Sorokin a rest after starting nine games in a row.
After posting a .918 SV% in 28 appearances last season, his highest mark in three years, Varlamov has a career-worst .889 mark through 10 starts this year. He’s posted a 3-4-3 record with a 2.89 GAA and allowed 1.1 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. If that figure stands, it would mark Varlamov’s first season finishing in the red in terms of GSAx since his 2018-19 campaign with the Avalanche.
The Isles will have $437K left in their LTIR pool after adding Varlamov, moving defenseman Grant Hutton off the roster later today after his waiver period is over, and activating Duclair, PuckPedia projects. They’ll have a full 23-player active roster.