Capitals Recall Michael Sgarbossa, Place Matt Roy On IR
The Capitals have recalled veteran center Michael Sgarbossa from AHL Hershey, per general manager Chris Patrick. Defenseman Matt Roy, absent since the season opener after sustaining a lower-body injury, was placed on injured reserve to open up a spot for Sgarbossa on the active roster.
The news doesn’t delay Roy’s return to the lineup – he’s been out for more than seven days so that he can come off IR at any time. In fact, the 29-year-old made a big step in his recovery today, as Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post relays he participated in practice wearing a non-contact jersey for the first time since exiting the lineup.
Signed to a six-year, $34.5MM deal in free agency, Roy logged a -2 rating and two shots on goal in 8:39 of ice time against the Devils back on Oct. 12. The Detroit native averaged 20:54 per game for the Kings last season, recording a career-high 20 assists with a +21 rating and 42 PIMs in 81 games. Washington brought in the 6’1″, 205-lb defender to serve as their No. 2 right-shot option behind John Carlson, replacing Nick Jensen, who the Caps traded to the Senators for Jakob Chychrun as part of a significant offseason remodel of their defense corps.
Meanwhile, Sgarbossa will likely draw in for Hendrix Lapierre, who has no points and a -5 rating in seven games this season, tomorrow against the Rangers, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. Sgarbossa, 32, has been with the Caps since the 2018-19 season, usually serving as a top-six fixture in the minors for AHL Hershey. He’s been a productive regular-season player, posting 249 points in 269 games since arriving there six years ago. However, he has barely played in postseason action the past few years as Hershey has marched to back-to-back Calder Cup championships.
After not seeing NHL ice in 2022-23, Sgarbossa played 25 games for the Capitals last season, his most since splitting the 2016-17 season between the Ducks and Panthers. He scored four goals and added three assists for seven points, averaging 10:58 per game and winning 46% of his draws. He’s appeared in 42 NHL contests for Washington over the past six years and 90 NHL games in total, making his big-league debut with the Avalanche back in 2012-13. He’s also spent time under contract with the Jets and Sharks but never got into an NHL game for either club.
Sgarobssa is off to a hot start for Hershey this season, posting a goal and eight assists in his first seven games. He had seven goals and 43 points in 44 games for the AHL club last season. He’s in the back half of a two-year, two-way deal that pays him a hefty $525K minor-league salary and is ticketed for unrestricted free agency next summer.
Maple Leafs Sign Jake McCabe To Five-Year Extension
9:52 a.m.: The first-year salary of McCabe’s extension will be paid out mostly via signing bonus, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. The second, third and fourth years of the deal also include some signing bonus money, while the fifth and final season is paid entirely via base salary. McCabe’s total compensation each year breaks down as follows:
2025-26: $6MM
2026-27: $5.5MM (including deferred money)
2027-28: $5.5MM (including deferred money)
2028-29: $3.6MM
2029-30: $3.6MM
9:02 a.m.: The Maple Leafs have signed defenseman Jake McCabe to a five-year extension, the team announced today. It keeps the blue liner off next summer’s UFA market and makes him cost $4.51MM against the salary cap through the 2029-30 campaign. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports the total value of the deal is higher than the cap hit indicates due to deferred money in the 2026-27 and 2027-28 campaigns. McCabe’s agency, Bartlett Hockey, confirms the total value of the contract is $23.5MM, equating to an AAV of $4.7MM.
It’s hardly unexpected news. Friedman reported at the beginning of September that McCabe and the Leafs had begun extension talks, which McCabe confirmed at the beginning of training camp. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos added shortly before the regular season started that the two sides were close to a deal, although the final contract is shorter than the six-year, $30MM pact he predicted.
For the past couple of years, Toronto has benefitted from McCabe’s services at a bargain-bin price. He signed a four-year, $16MM contract ($4MM AAV) with the Blackhawks in free agency in 2021, but with the team squarely in a rebuild, they traded him and depth forward Sam Lafferty to the Leafs before the 2023 trade deadline. Chicago retained half of McCabe’s salary in the deal, meaning he’s cost only $2MM against Toronto’s cap.
Even his full $4MM cap hit would have likely been below market value for McCabe, who’s averaged north of 20 minutes per game in a Maple Leafs sweater. Last season was the 31-year-old’s best, as he posted a career-high 28 points (8 G, 20 A) in 73 games and a +20 rating.
His possession metrics back up those numbers, painting the picture of an extremely valuable two-way, top-four defender. McCabe’s usage trended toward the defensive zone at even strength, but even still, the Leafs controlled 50.6% of shot attempts with him on the ice last season and 51.6% of expected goals. He was also one of their most physically involved players, finishing third on the team in blocks (129) and second in hits (219).
McCabe is off to a similar start this season. He’s averaging 21:09 per game, which is on pace for a career-high while adding three assists and a +6 rating in nine appearances. He has 17 blocks and 19 hits, ranking second on the team in each category, and the Leafs are controlling 55.4% of shot attempts and 54.7% of expected goals at even strength with him on the ice.
He’ll never be a significant factor on the scoresheet, but he’s not an offensive liability. He can be deployed in power-play situations if necessary and is good in transition. Having him under contract through his age-36 season could be dicey, but for now, just north of $4.5MM is an extremely affordable cap hit for what his all-around game provides.
The Maple Leafs now have $66.23MM in cap space tied up in 15 players for next season. Assuming a projected cap increase to $92.5MM, that gives them roughly $26.27MM in space to fill eight roster spots, including new deals for UFA forwards Mitch Marner and John Tavares and RFA Matthew Knies.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Hurricanes Recall Spencer Martin
Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky announced today in a team release that the team has recalled goaltender Spencer Martin from AHL Chicago. Carolina has two open roster spots, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.
The recall could indicate that either Frederik Andersen or Pyotr Kochetkov is unavailable for tonight’s game against the Canucks. It’s unclear why, however. Neither sustained an apparent injury in their most recent appearances last week.
That means Martin may have the opportunity to at least dress against his former team. The 29-year-old journeyman got his first actual NHL look in Vancouver, making a career-high 29 appearances for them in the 2022-23 campaign. That workload was out of necessity, not performance, however. The 2013 third-round pick of the Avalanche struggled to the tune of a .871 SV%, 3.99 GAA, and an eye-popping -27.5 GSAA, still managing an 11-15-1 record that’s far better than his play warranted.
While that experiment clearly showed Martin isn’t a legitimate full-time NHL option, he’s still an above-average No. 3 netminder. Martin was claimed off waivers twice last season – first by the Blue Jackets from the Canucks during the preseason and again by the Hurricanes from Columbus after the Jackets no longer had a need for him on the roster in January. Martin was a slight improvement over struggling veteran Antti Raanta in limited action for Carolina last season as a backup option for Kochetkov while Andersen missed most of the season with a blood clotting issue, recording a .896 SV%, 2.63 GAA, and 4-1-1 record in six starts.
That was evidently enough for the Hurricanes to decide to keep him around, signing him to a one-year, one-way extension worth the league minimum $775K in March. With Andersen and Kochetkov healthy, he unsurprisingly landed on waivers during preseason. Unlike last season, he managed to clear, and was subsequently assigned to the minors. He’s off to a strong start with Chicago, posting a 2.32 GAA, .920 SV%, and a 1-1-1 record in three appearances.
Martin can remain on the NHL roster for up to 30 days until he needs waivers again to return to the AHL. He has a 21-26-7 record, a 3.52 GAA, and an .887 SV% in 52 career NHL starts and five relief appearances.
Canadiens Place Kaiden Guhle On IR, Reassign Lucas Condotta
The Canadiens quietly recalled center Lucas Condotta from AHL Laval over the weekend. While the news evaded PHR at the time, the team announced this morning that he’d been reassigned back to Laval. Condotta was rostered for yesterday’s 4-3 win over the Flyers but did not play. They also moved defenseman Kaiden Guhle to injured reserve, per the NHL’s media site, giving them the 23-man roster spot to house Condotta temporarily.
The 26-year-old Condotta is in his third year of professional hockey after four seasons at UMass-Lowell. He’s spent all of them in the Habs pipeline, signing there as an undrafted free agent immediately after his senior season. The 6’1″, 223-lb pivot saw NHL ice in each of his first two full seasons under contract, recording a goal and a +1 rating in four appearances across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns.
Condotta hasn’t been a needle-mover offensively with Laval but has shown value as a strong checker. He was named their captain ahead of this season and is off to a good start with three assists and a +2 rating in six appearances. In 150 career AHL games since turning pro at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, he has 24 goals, 30 assists, 54 points, 108 PIMs, and a +1 rating.
The Ontario native is in the back half of a two-year, two-way deal he signed in 2023 as a restricted free agent after his one-year entry-level contract expired. With his 27th birthday coming next week, he’ll be eligible for unrestricted free agency for the first time next summer.
Condotta is no longer waiver-exempt, but he cleared them without incident in September. Based on the timing of each announcement, the Habs only burned one day off his temporary waiver-exempt status, so he can still spend 29 days on the NHL roster (or play up to 10 games) this season until he requires waivers again to return to Laval.
Meanwhile, for Guhle, There’s no material change in his timeline for a return to the lineup. He remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury that’s kept him out of the lineup since Oct. 17. That’s over seven days ago, so he’s eligible to come off IR at any time. There’s now a roster spot for him to walk right into with Condotta being sent down. After missing nearly all of training camp while recovering from appendectomy surgery, Guhle had one goal and three assists for four points and a +4 rating in five showings to begin 2024-25.
Rangers Recall Matt Rempe
Oct. 28: Rempe is back with the Rangers today, per the NHL’s media site. The move was first reported last night.
Oct. 25: The Rangers have assigned right-winger Matt Rempe to AHL Hartford, the team announced after last night’s 3-1 loss to the Panthers. No corresponding move was announced, giving them an open roster spot to activate Jimmy Vesey from long-term injured reserve when he’s eligible to be taken off next week.
Given how sparsely Rempe has played to start the season, the move shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. But after appearing in 17 games for the Blueshirts last season after a February call-up and playing in 11 of their 16 playoff contests, five healthy scratches through their first seven games of 2024-25 was a bit eye-raising.
Rempe was technically left off the opening night roster for salary cap purposes, allowing the Rangers to maximize Vesey’s LTIR capture. He was recalled as soon as possible and was rostered for their season opener against the Penguins, although he watched it from the press box. In his two appearances – Oct. 12 against Utah and Oct. 19 against the Maple Leafs – he averaged just 5:39 per game, including a paltry 3:40 against the newcomers from Salt Lake.
Unlike last season, head coach Peter Laviolette decided that low ice time, not by Rempe spending nearly as much time in the penalty box as he did on the ice. Rempe has a spotless sheet to start this season after racking up 71 PIMs in his 17 regular-season showings last year. He’s also got no points, no shots (just one attempt), and five hits. The Rangers were also out-attempted 14-4 with Rempe on the ice at even strength in his tiny sample size.
A sixth-round pick of the Rangers in 2020, few expected Rempe to make much of an NHL impact, especially before his 23rd birthday. While it’s valid that one goal and one assist in 19 career games may not be considered impactful, he’s grabbed the spotlight with his throwback playstyle and willingness to drop the gloves. At times, that penchant for physicality has made him a legitimately valuable piece as a net-front option in the offensive zone, something that he’ll need to focus more on in the minors if he wants to prove he can be an influential player in an NHL that continues to see a drop in the frequency of fights.
The 6’8″, 240-lb winger has made 96 appearances in Hartford since turning pro for the 2022-23 campaign. He’s had 14 goals and eight assists with 183 PIMs and a -9 rating.
East Notes: Hathaway, Aubé-Kubel, Nemec
Flyers winger Garnet Hathaway has avoided a suspension for his elbow to the face of Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek in yesterday’s win. He didn’t go without punishment, though, and is now $5K lighter in the wallet after being fined the maximum allowable under the CBA by the NHL Department of Player Safety.
It marks the fourth season in a row that Hathaway has been fined by DoPS, and it’s the fifth fine overall of his 10-year NHL career. He was also suspended once for three games while with the Capitals in the 2019-20 season.
The incident in question occurred early in the second period of what ended up being a 7-5 win for the Flyers. While the Wild were cycling the puck on a power play, Hathaway elbowed Eriksson Ek in the face while battling for net-front positioning. Eriksson Ek had notably missed a pair of games earlier this month with a nasal fracture. Officials assessed Hathaway a minor penalty for roughing, not elbowing, on the play.
Hathaway, 33 next month, is in his second season as a Flyer and will be a UFA next summer after inking a two-year, $4.75MM deal in Philly as a free agent in 2023. He played in all 82 games last season, posting 17 points with a -7 rating while averaging 12:29 per game with a career-high 132 PIMs. He’s racked up 14 PIMs already this season in eight games, and he’s recorded three assists and 22 hits.
There’s more out of the Eastern Conference:
- Sabres winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel will make his return to the lineup tomorrow as expected, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters, including WGR Sports Radio 550’s Paul Hamilton. Buffalo still needs to free up a roster spot before taking him off injured reserve. That corresponding move will likely be placing Zach Benson, who missed practice again today with his lower-body injury and has sat out the last two games, on IR. Ruff said he wasn’t sure where Aubé-Kubel would slot in for just his second game as a Sabre after sustaining a lower-body injury against the Devils in their season opener over three weeks ago.
- 2022 second overall pick Simon Nemec will watch his Devils from the press box for the third straight game tonight, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to the team’s Amanda Stein. Nemec hasn’t played since Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce returned to the lineup from their respective season-opening injuries and, at least for now, has been surpassed on the depth chart by 27-year-old Johnathan Kovacevic amid his hot start to the campaign. Acquired from the Canadiens in what was viewed as a minor trade at the time over the summer, Kovacevic has averaged over 21 minutes per night for the Devils thus far and has five assists with a team-high +4 rating through 11 games. Nemec, meanwhile, has struggled to be a factor with an assist and a -2 rating through nine appearances. His possession metrics have also tanked from last season when he posted a 50.2 CF% and a 53.7 xGF% with a team-high 105 blocks in just 60 appearances. This year, though, Nemec has a 42.0 CF% and 46.1 xGF%, struggling to control play at even strength despite receiving easier minutes.
Snapshots: Power, Benson, Othmann, Sharks
The Sabres received some good news on the injury front today, as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports that defenseman Owen Power was a participant in practice after leaving yesterday’s win over the Red Wings in the third period with an undisclosed ailment. It’s believed to be an illness that kept him out of the third period Saturday for all but one shift, Lysowski adds.
Power’s presence is certainly a major factor in helping the Sabres keep their forward momentum. They’ve now won three in a row to get out of a tough 1-4-1 hole they put themselves in to begin the season, climbing back to .500 and third place in the Atlantic Division. Power’s been a big part of the turnaround with a goal and five assists in his last four games, although he’s currently tracking with the worst possession metrics of his four-year NHL career (although not by a significant amount).
The 2021 first-overall pick has been skating on Buffalo’s de facto second pairing with Bowen Byram. 22 next month, Power is in the first season of a seven-year, $58.45MM extension he signed just over a year ago.
In less positive news, Buffalo remains without sophomore winger Zach Benson, who wasn’t seen at practice today while he continues to rehab a nagging lower-body injury (per WGR Sports Radio 550’s Paul Hamilton). He’s missed three games with the injury this season, including each of the last two. When in the lineup, the 19-year-old has no points and a -4 rating through six games – clearly not himself after recording 30 points in 71 games during his rookie campaign last year.
More from around the league:
- Rangers left-wing prospect Brennan Othmann was left off the opening night roster and will now be out of action for the next little while. He’s expected to miss four to six weeks with an upper-body injury, AHL Hartford head coach Grant Potulny said last night (as relayed by USA Today Sports’ Vince Z. Mercogliano). It’s an unfortunate damper on a raucous start for the 21-year-old, who had five points (2 G, 3 A) and a +2 rating through three minor-league games. The 2021 first-round pick made his NHL debut last season, going without a point and registering six shots while averaging 9:05 through three games.
- The Sharks certainly weren’t expected to climb much higher out of last place this year, but few expected last season’s disastrous 19-54-9 record to not see any improvement. Unfortunately, a coaching change and significant roster turnover haven’t changed San Jose’s fortunes, at least so far. They’ve become the first team in NHL history to start back-to-back seasons with nine-game losing streaks, a stat first-year head coach Ryan Warsofsky called “truly embarrassing” following a 7-3 defeat at the hands of the hands of the Golden Knights last night. “I don’t think anyone’s happy by any means,” Warsofsky said post-game (via San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng). “There’s a lot of emotion in that locker room, frustration, anger, it’s tough right now.“
Golden Knights Activate William Karlsson, Move Victor Olofsson To IR
The Golden Knights activated center William Karlsson from injured reserve before last night’s win over the Sharks, per the NHL’s media portal, and as evidenced by his pair of points in his season debut. Right-winger Victor Olofsson was placed on injured reserve in a corresponding move.
It’s all good news for Vegas, as Olofsson was already listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. His IR placement is retroactive to Oct. 15, so he can come off IR anytime. The transaction doesn’t impact his timeline for a return in the slightest.
Karlsson’s return is a significant boon to a Golden Knights squad already leading the league with 4.67 goals per game. After yesterday’s 7-3 thrashing of San Jose, Vegas sits atop the Pacific Division with a 6-2-1 record and a +14 goal differential, third in the league behind the Rangers and Jets. Captain Mark Stone leads the league outright in scoring with 17 points (4 G, 13 A) in nine games, while Jack Eichel is tied for second with 15 points (3 G, 12 A). Vegas’ stars have been dominant enough early on to quiet any concerns about the significant hits to their depth scoring over the offseason. However, players like Brett Howden (five goals) and Pavel Dorofeyev (seven points) are also doing their part as they settle into consistent top-nine roles.
The 31-year-old Karlsson is one of two expansion draft selections remaining on Vegas’ roster, joining defenseman Brayden McNabb. Now in his eighth season with the team and his 11th NHL campaign overall, he’s coming off his best offensive showing since his unfathomable 43-goal, 78-point breakout during the Knights’ inaugural season. Last year marked the first time he’d hit the 30-goal and 60-point plateaus since then, and he also won a career-best 56.2% of his draws. Karlsson’s possession metrics remained strong, logging a 51.8 CF% and 57.1 xGF% with 46 blocked shots, placing 18th in Selke Trophy voting. It was the first time he’d received consideration for the award since the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns.
With Karlsson back, Vegas has its full complement of centers – Eichel on line one, Tomáš Hertl on line two, Karlsson on line three, and Nicolas Roy on line four. That’s a rare sight for a team that’s been plagued by its big-name forwards missing significant time with injuries over the past few seasons. For now, though, they have no restrictions up front aside from Olofsson’s absence and remain out of LTIR.
Karlsson had been out of action since the Knights’ exhibition schedule with an undisclosed injury.
Riley Tufte Clears Waivers
Saturday: Tufte has cleared waivers, Friedman reports.
Friday: The Bruins have placed winger Riley Tufte on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Providence, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
It’s no surprise, given how sparsely the 26-year-old has played to start the season. Signed to a one-way, league-minimum deal in the offseason, Tufte made the opening night roster but has been scratched six times in eight games to start the year. When in the lineup, the 6’6″, 230-lb winger has made little impact, posting a -1 rating and three hits while averaging 8:08 per game. He’s yet even to record a shot attempt.
A first-round pick of the Stars back in 2016, Tufte has just 20 NHL appearances to his name with Dallas, Colorado, and Boston, scoring twice and adding an assist. He’s coming off a career-best 23 goals and 45 points in the minors with AHL Colorado last year, adding 91 PIMs in 67 appearances. The Bruins thought that production might translate into him being an effective fourth-line energy piece on a semi-everyday basis, but it hasn’t worked out that way.
As such, the Bruins will open up a roster spot one way or another tomorrow, whether Tufte clears and is sent to the minors or is claimed by another team. They could use that spot to sign Tyler Johnson, who was never released from his professional tryout and is still practicing with the team.
Kailer Yamamoto Clears Waivers, Utah Expected To Activate Nick Bjugstad
Saturday: Yamamoto has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. The team announced he has been sent to Tucson.
Friday: The Utah Hockey Club has winger Kailer Yamamoto on waivers today for the purposes of assignment to AHL Tucson, the team announced. After he clears or is claimed tomorrow, they’ll have an open roster spot to activate center Nick Bjugstad from injured reserve, per Brogan Houston of Deseret News Sports.
It’s a tough break for Yamamoto, who hasn’t converted a strong training camp into a regular-season impact in Salt Lake. The 26-year-old was non-tendered by the Kraken at the end of last season and didn’t receive any guaranteed offers, instead landing a PTO with Utah for training camp. They signed him to a one-year, two-way deal the day before opening night rosters were due, and Bjugstad was slated to start the year on IR.
Even with Bjugstad out, though, there hasn’t been much opportunity for Yamamoto in the lineup. He was a healthy scratch for the first five games of the season before playing in each of Utah’s last three. He was held off the scoresheet, posting a -1 rating and taking just one shot on goal while averaging 10:40 per game.
On a two-way deal, there could be some interest in Yamamoto’s services on the waiver wire. The 2017 first-round pick is only one year removed from a 10-goal, 25-point campaign with the Oilers in 58 games, and he had a career-high 20 goals the year before that. That type of production from Yamamoto would require giving him consistent middle-six, if not top-six, minutes though, and he hasn’t done enough in the past couple of years to justify that ice time. Last year in Seattle, he averaged just under 12 minutes per game and saw his production suffer with 19 points (8 G, 8 A) in 59 games with a -9 rating.
Meanwhile, Bjugstad is set to make his season debut tomorrow against the Kings. It’s a little earlier than scheduled for his return, with a report from ALL City Network’s Craig Morgan at the beginning of the month stating he wouldn’t be back until Nov. 1.
He’ll be a boon to a Utah offense that has gone cold, scoring only twice in its last three games. The first-year club has dropped to a 4-3-1 record after a 3-0-0 start, dragged down by long-term injuries to defensemen Sean Durzi and John Marino. Bjugstad, 32, is coming off one of the best offensive seasons of his career, posting 22 goals and 45 points with a +11 rating in 76 appearances last season for the Coyotes.