Lucas Johansen Signs With AHL Henderson
Former Capitals first-round pick Lucas Johansen is joining the Golden Knights organization on a one-year contract with AHL Henderson, per a team announcement.
Johansen, 27 next week, had remained in the Washington organization through last season. He was mainly a fixture with the team’s AHL club in Hershey, though, appearing in just nine NHL games after being selected 28th overall in the 2016 draft.
A career-high six of those NHL games came for Johansen in 2023-24. He recorded his second career NHL assist and added a +1 rating, four shots on goal, and seven blocks while averaging 14:16 per game. With so little NHL experience, he quickly met the requirements for Group VI unrestricted free agency and hit the open market a year ahead of schedule.
Johansen inked a professional tryout with the Predators in September, hoping to stick around the former stomping grounds of his older brother, Ryan Johansen. However, he was released from the NHL camp less than two weeks later and was subsequently let go from a brief tryout with their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.
He heads to Nevada to join the Silver Knights on a full-fledged contract for the rest of the season, not a PTO. The British Columbia native brings 257 games of AHL experience to Vegas’ feeder club, all of which came in a Hershey Bears sweater. The 6’2″ left-shot defenseman totaled 20 goals, 72 assists, and 92 points with a +11 rating and is coming off back-to-back Calder Cup championships.
In the NHL’s eyes, Johansen remains an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any club. However, Vegas is the most likely, given their front office displayed enough interest to bring him in on a minor-league deal. If an NHL team signed him to a two-way contract, he would need to clear waivers to return to the AHL.
Senators Notes: Zub, Pinto, Perron
The Senators will indeed have Artem Zub back in the lineup to face the Islanders tonight, per TSN 1200 Ottawa. Zub had missed the last nine games with a concussion he sustained early in the team’s third game of the season against the Kings back on Oct. 14, but he’s been skating with the team for around a week, and it became clear yesterday that he was likely to return today at home.
It will be Jacob Bernard-Docker coming out of the lineup to make way for Zub’s return, a bit of a surprise given his exemplary possession play (55.3 CF%, fourth on the team). Travis Hamonic remains in the lineup despite going without a point and recording a -5 rating with a 46.7 CF% through 12 appearances. Zub will skate in his usual top-pairing role alongside Jake Sanderson.
Zub posted a +1 rating, one block and three hits in his three regular-season contests last month while averaging 13:58 per game, a number that was dragged down significantly given he sustained his concussion in the first period of his third game. He recorded a career-high 20 assists and 25 points with 122 blocks and 139 hits for the Sens last year in 69 games. Head injuries are becoming a bit of an unfortunate trend for Zub, who missed seven games early last season with a concussion as well and 12 games in 2022-23 with a fractured jaw.
There’s more on the Senators:
- Shane Pinto skated before today’s game, but he didn’t take line rushes and will remain out against the Isles, per TSN 1200. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reported Wednesday that he might be an option to return, but instead, he’ll miss a seventh straight game with an undisclosed injury. He’s still listed as week-to-week but appears close to a return if his presence in tonight’s game was questionable 24 hours beforehand.
- The same goes for David Perron, who remains around the club for home games and practiced today but remains out of the lineup while on personal leave. The 36-year-old, who signed a two-year, $8MM contract in free agency over the summer, had no points and a -4 rating in five contests before departing the team midway through last month.
Bruins’ Andrew Peeke Out Week-To-Week
An upper-body injury is expected to keep Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke on the shelf for multiple weeks, head coach Jim Montgomery told Joe Haggerty of Boston Sports Journal.
Peeke sustained the injury on Tuesday night versus the Maple Leafs, leaving the game in the first period after being hit by Max Pacioretty (video link via Sportsnet). Pacioretty was not penalized on the play.
A second-round pick of the Blue Jackets back in 2016, Peeke has flashed upside as a physical stay-at-home defender but was overtaxed in a top-four role in Columbus during his first couple of years as a full-time NHLer. He’s received reduced minutes since the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign and was acquired by the Bruins at the trade deadline for a 2027 third-round pick and Jakub Zbořil. He’s played a third-pairing role on a nightly basis for the Bruins through the first month of this season, however, only being healthy scratched once. The right-shot defenseman is averaging 16:12 per game and has logged two assists, ranking third on the team with 21 blocks.
The Bruins will look to Mason Lohrei and Parker Wotherspoon to factor in on a nightly basis with Peeke out after both were healthy scratches multiple times in the early going. Boston will likely make a recall from AHL Providence in the coming days to have an extra healthy defenseman on hand, and since they have an open roster spot, they can do so without placing Peeke on injured reserve. That could be veteran Jordan Oesterle, who’s appeared in parts of 10 straight NHL seasons with the Oilers, Blackhawks, Coyotes, Red Wings, and Flames and has six points in six games for the P-Bruins to start the season.
Canucks Notes: Demko, Forbort, Joshua
The Canucks have waited a long time to see Thatcher Demko return to practice since exiting their first-round series against the Predators last season with a mysterious knee injury, and it finally came to pass yesterday, the team relayed. Vancouver has received expert goaltending from late-summer pickup Kevin Lankinen in the meantime (.923 SV%, 2.09 GAA), but getting last year’s Vezina Trophy runner-up back in the fold is still top of mind.
It’s the most demonstrable step toward a return that Demko has taken in months, although his return to practice has been on the horizon for the past week. He began working off-ice with goalie coach Marko Torenius last Friday and had an appointment to earn his medical clearance to practice earlier this week.
Demko told reporters during training camp that the specific injury was to the popliteus muscle in one of his knees. This small muscle in the back of the leg plays a key role in stabilizing the knee and allowing it to flex. Instances of popliteal injury in professional sports are rare, even more so in hockey, leading to much uncertainty around his return timeline over the past few months.
Demko, who will be 29 next month, had a career-best 35 wins, .918 SV%, 2.45 GAA, five shutouts, and 21.2 GSAA last season. In addition to finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting, he was selected to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game and was a Second-Team All-Star.
There’s more on the Canucks:
- Injury news isn’t as positive regarding defenseman Derek Forbort, who could be sidelined for over a month with the knee injury he sustained in practice Monday, reports Irfaan Gaffar of Daily Faceoff. Forbort missed Tuesday’s win over the Ducks with the injury and missed most of October due to personal reasons, limiting him to just one appearance since Oct. 15. Since signing a one-year, $1.5MM contract in Vancouver in free agency, he has one assist and a -2 rating in four appearances while averaging 16:30 per game. The physical left-shot defender has registered just one hit and has controlled 51.8% of shot attempts and 33.3% of expected goals at even strength.
- Dakota Joshua is still close to returning after undergoing surgery to remove testicular cancer over the offseason but won’t do so today versus the Kings, head coach Rick Tocchet told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. Tocchet said his absence from yesterday’s practice and unavailability today isn’t indicative of a setback but instead of the team’s cautious approach to his recovery. Joshua has missed all 11 Canucks games this season after signing a four-year, $13MM extension to stay in Vancouver a few days before the start of free agency.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 11/6/24
PHR’s Josh Erickson held his weekly live chat today at 2:00 pm Central. Use this link to view the transcript.
Bruins Place Max Jones On Waivers
Nov. 6: Jones cleared waivers, per Friedman. He’s on his way to the AHL.
Nov. 5: The Bruins have placed winger Max Jones on waivers with intentions to assign him to AHL Providence, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Tuesday.
Jones, 26, is in the first season of a two-year, $2MM contract he signed with Boston over the summer after being non-tendered by the Ducks. Despite his seven-figure cap hit, he’s played sparingly this season. He’s been scratched for nine out of the Bruins’ 13 games this season, including their back-to-back contests against the Flyers and Kraken over the weekend. When dressed, he’s averaged 11:13 per game and has no points and a -4 rating. His possession numbers have been abysmal – the Bruins control just 29.7% of shot attempts and 14.3% of expected goals with Jones on the ice at even strength.
With Tyler Johnson now in the fold after finally inking a one-year, league-minimum deal yesterday following a months-long stint on a professional tryout, there was likely a corresponding roster move coming. It wasn’t out of necessity – Boston was at the 23-man roster limit with no rush to open space – but they’ve only carried one extra forward and one extra defenseman this season. Given that Jones ranks last on the team in nearly every meaningful statistic, it’s no surprise that he hit the wire.
If Jones clears waivers, it would mark his first AHL assignment in five years. The Anaheim 2016 first-round pick last played for their AHL affiliate in San Diego in the 2018-19 campaign.
All of Jones’ 31 career goals and 62 career points have come in a Ducks jersey. He made 258 regular-season appearances for the team over six years before being let go in June.
The Bruins will clear Jones’ $1MM cap hit tomorrow, regardless of whether he’s claimed. If he makes it through waivers and is subsequently assigned to Providence, that cap hit is below the $1.15MM maximum buriable threshold, so it won’t count against Boston’s books. He’s still under contract through the 2025-26 campaign and will be an unrestricted free agent upon expiry.
Capitals Activate Matt Roy From Injured Reserve
12:40 p.m.: The Capitals confirmed Roy’s activation and also said that Iorio had been sent down.
9:24 a.m.: Capitals defenseman Matt Roy was a full participant in practice Wednesday and projects to return tonight against the Predators after missing the last 10 games with a lower-body injury, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports. Washington has a full 23-player active roster and must make a corresponding transaction to activate him from injured reserve. That will likely be reassigning waiver-exempt defenseman Vincent Iorio, who’s been a healthy scratch twice since being summoned last weekend, to AHL Hershey.
Roy, 29, sustained the injury at some point during the first period of his Capitals debut against the Devils on Oct. 12. He did not skate in the second or third periods after recording a -2 rating and two shots on goal in 8:39 of ice time in the first. Initially ruled as day-to-day, he remained out of the lineup for two weeks before landing on IR on Oct. 28 to open up roster space.
It was an inauspicious start to Roy’s tenure in Washington after signing a six-year, $34.5MM contract in free agency to serve as their No. 2 right-shot defenseman behind John Carlson. He’ll now get the chance to be an impact shutdown player as advertised on a Capitals team that’s far exceeded expectations in the first few weeks of the season, sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference with a .727 points percentage (8-3-0).
The 2015 seventh-round pick had been a legitimate needle-mover in the Kings’ top four for the past few years before reaching unrestricted free agency. Last season was some of his best work. Skating on Los Angeles’ second pairing alongside Vladislav Gavrikov, Roy notched a career-high 20 assists in 81 games with a +21 rating, averaging 20:54 per game. He led the Kings in blocks (197) and finished second in hits (152), leveraging his 6’1″, 205-lb frame while controlling 52.9% of shot attempts at even strength.
Oilers Reassign Noah Philp
With the news of Connor McDavid‘s earlier-than-anticipated return to the lineup tonight, the Oilers announced they’ve reassigned center Noah Philp to AHL Bakersfield. They’re no longer carrying an extra forward and have two open roster spots.
Philp, 26, made his NHL debut in McDavid’s absence. The Alberta native skated in all three games that Edmonton was without McDavid, centering the club’s fourth line between Corey Perry and Drake Caggiula, who was sent back to Bakersfield yesterday.
The 6’3″, 198-lb pivot didn’t look out of place, especially for a player who sat out the 2023-24 season entirely. He recorded his first NHL point, an assist, and recorded a +1 rating while averaging 10:13 per game and going 14-for-29 in the faceoff circle (48.3 FO%). The Oilers didn’t control shot attempts with Philp on the ice at even strength but did manage to come out on top in terms of possession quality, controlling 56% of expected goals.
Philp, the younger brother of Capitals minor-league forward Luke Philp, landed with the Oilers in 2022 out of the University of Alberta. He landed an NHL contract despite playing just eight combined regular-season games over the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons due to COVID-19 and injuries. Bakersfield made him a regular in the AHL lineup out of the gate, recording 19 goals and 37 points in 70 games in 2022-23.
After the season, ex-Oilers general manager Ken Holland said Philp had informed the team he was retiring due to personal reasons. However, a few days later, they issued him a qualifying offer to retain his signing rights, and Philp evidently never filed official retirement paperwork with the league. Still technically a restricted free agent this past offseason, he returned to the Oilers organization by inking a two-way deal ($775K/$90K) on July 1.
Philp earned a long look in training camp, and Edmonton waited until the day before opening night rosters were due to cut him from the roster. He got his first NHL call-up after scoring twice with a +2 rating in six games for Bakersfield to start the season. Considering he’ll remain waiver-exempt this season if he plays fewer than 60 NHL games, he’ll likely get another chance on the roster whenever another injury strikes the Oilers’ forward group.
Connor McDavid Returning To Oilers’ Lineup Ahead Of Schedule
Oilers star Connor McDavid will be in the lineup Wednesday against the Golden Knights just nine days after he sustained an ankle injury, the team informed reporters, including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
McDavid sustained the injury just 37 seconds into his first shift against the Blue Jackets on Oct. 28. He fell awkwardly into the boards on his left leg while attempting to cut around Columbus defenseman Ivan Provorov.
The Oilers initially said McDavid would miss two to three weeks with the injury. The earliest that timeline would have allowed him to return was next Tuesday against the Islanders. Instead, he’s back in the lineup five days and two games ahead of schedule.
An early return isn’t entirely unexpected after McDavid returned to practice earlier this week and declared himself day-to-day. Speaking with reporters on Monday, he implied he was targeting Saturday against the Canucks as a return date. However, a quick turnaround time means he’s back in to face a key divisional rival in Vegas.
Before the injury, McDavid was off to a slow start by his standards. The five-time Art Ross Trophy winner had three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 10 games, on pace for the worst point-per-game rate of his 10-year NHL career. He’s still got plenty of time to turn things around, though, and a three-game absence won’t take a bite out of his end-of-season totals too much. He missed six contests last season with various injuries and still managed to tie for the league lead with 100 assists.
McDavid, 27, will center Zach Hyman and Jeff Skinner in his return tonight, per team TV host Tony Brar. It’s a bit of a new look. He’d spent nearly all of his time with Hyman before the injury but had alternated between Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on his other wing.
The Oilers will take the help and the return of their captain as they begin to hit their stride. After dropping their first three games, the defending Western Conference champions are 6-3-1 in their past 10 and are one point back of the Blues for the second wild card spot.
McDavid never landed on injured reserve, so no transactions are required for him to return to play.
Canadiens Loan Oliver Kapanen To SHL, Recall Lucas Condotta
The Canadiens announced a flurry of roster moves Wednesday morning, most notably returning center Oliver Kapanen to Timrå IK of the Swedish Hockey League. They filled his roster spot by recalling center Lucas Condotta from AHL Laval, as initially reported by Marc Antoine Godin of Radio-Canada. He’ll join the team for their four-game road swing starting in New Jersey tomorrow.
Kapanen, 21, had cracked the Habs’ opening night roster somewhat unexpectedly. The Finnish pivot had earned praise early in September after a strong showing for Timrå in the SHL’s exhibition schedule before reporting to Montreal for NHL training camp. The 2021 second-round pick was a healthy scratch for the season opener but has played in every game since, recording two assists and a -4 rating in 12 appearances. He averaged 11:38 per game and recorded 13 shots on goal while going 23-for-50 on faceoffs (46.0%).
Possession-wise, things didn’t grade out spectacularly for Kapanen. Even accounting for Montreal’s league-worst 43.3 CF% at even strength, Kapanen’s shot-attempt share lagged behind the team average in relatively even two-way deployment. It’s far from unsurprising for a rookie center, though, and he did flash legitimate upside with his strong skating ability.
Since Kapanen wasn’t a first-round pick, he couldn’t have been assigned to Laval without first being offered back to his Swedish club, thanks to the NHL’s transfer agreement with the country. It’s no surprise Timrå wants him back in the fold. He already established himself as an impact player in a top European league last year with Finland’s KalPa, whom he led in postseason scoring with 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in 13 games. He also polished off his season nicely with six goals in eight games for the Finns at the 2024 World Championship.
It’s the second recall of the young season for the 27-year-old Condotta. The first lasted just two days in late October, serving as an extra forward for an Oct. 27 matchup against the Flyers. He watched from the press box and was returned to Laval the following day. The 6’1″, 223-lb pivot has four NHL games under his belt, all coming in a Montreal sweater over the past two seasons. He scored once, coming in his NHL debut back in 2022-23, and has averaged a paltry 8:23 per game.
Given Kapanen had been centering the Habs’ fourth line for much of his time in the lineup, it’s fair to assume Condotta may get a crack in the same role and earn a more extended audition than he has in the past. The stocky Ontario-born pivot was named Laval’s captain prior to the start of the season and has responded with four assists through his first nine games. He’s never been a major offensive factor at the AHL level, only recording a career-high 16 goals and 31 points in 72 games two years ago. But he’s carried intrigue for the Habs as a potential bottom-six checking piece ever since he signed, and he’ll now get a chance to help stop the bleeding and help Montreal limit chances against.