Penguins Recall Alex Nedeljkovic From Conditioning Loan
Saturday: Nedeljkovic’s stint in the minors was short-lived as the team announced that he has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He made 33 saves on 36 shots in their victory over Lehigh Valley.
Thursday: Alex Nedeljkovic is on the verge of returning from his lower-body injury, as the team announced they’d activated him from injured reserve and assigned him to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan. He’ll now count against the 23-man roster limit, but Pittsburgh had an open spot after sending Rutger McGroarty to the minors yesterday, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.
Nedeljkovic hasn’t played at all this season after sustaining the injury during an exhibition game against the Red Wings on Sep. 30. He was listed as week-to-week a couple of days later and landed on IR when the Penguins announced their opening night roster. He did end up missing well over the seven days required for an IR placement, but it’s clear now he wouldn’t have been out long enough to land on LTIR.
The 28-year-old can remain in the AHL for up to 14 days on his conditioning stint, but once he returns, he’s expected to challenge for a 1A/starting role in Pittsburgh. He took over those duties down the stretch last season, finishing the campaign with an 18-7-7 record and .902 SV% in 38 appearances. Even with those pedestrian numbers, that’s certainly a better option than what the more established Tristan Jarry has given them to start this season. Jarry also struggled to the tune of a rather average .903 SV% last year and is off to a tough start this October with a .833 SV% and 5.47 GAA in three starts.
With Nedeljkovic soon returning, there’s a legitimate argument to be made that Jarry has fallen to No. 3 on Pittsburgh’s goaltending depth chart. 22-year-old Joel Blomqvist made the opening night roster with Nedeljkovic injured and has been the superior option in a limited sample, making 84 saves on 92 shots faced for a .913 SV% in his first three career NHL appearances. For a team with playoff aspirations, it’ll be hard to justify sending the waiver-exempt Blomqvist to the minors at the expense of keeping Jarry, meaning the latter could potentially end up on waivers with four years left on his five-year, $26.88MM deal. There’s no rush, though, as the Pens are cap-compliant with 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and three goalies.
Kings Recall Pheonix Copley, Place Joel Edmundson On Non-Roster List
Saturday: Copley has been returned to Ontario, per the AHL’s transactions log, suggesting that Kuemper has been cleared to return.
Wednesday: The Kings have recalled netminder Pheonix Copley from AHL Ontario under emergency conditions, per a team announcement. Starter Darcy Kuemper is out with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, adds Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. Defenseman Joel Edmundson has been granted personal leave and moved to the non-roster list, giving the Kings the open spot on the 23-man roster necessary to add Copley.
It’s a tough break for the 34-year-old Kuemper, who’s just beginning his second stint with the Kings after he was acquired from the Capitals for Pierre-Luc Dubois this offseason. The veteran has played all three games to start the season for Los Angeles and looked strong early on, stopping 56 of 59 shots faced (.949 SV%) through his first two contests. Things came crashing down in a wild game against the Senators on Monday, though, allowing eight goals on 41 shots en route to an overtime loss, bringing his SV% on the year down to .890.
It doesn’t appear he’ll miss too much time, though. He could have been placed on IR to accommodate Copley’s recall but wasn’t, indicating there’s a chance he’ll return within the next seven days. However, he could still land there if Edmundson returns to the team before Kuemper’s ready to play, Bernstein said. Edmundson, 31, has been away from the team since yesterday while awaiting the birth of his child.
The Kings will now turn to David Rittich to make his first appearance of the season tonight against the Maple Leafs after he posted a career-high .921 SV% and 11.0 GSAA in just 24 appearances for Los Angeles last year. Copley, who missed most of last season after undergoing ACL surgery, will back up. The 32-year-old allowed three goals on 22 shots in his lone AHL showing this season against the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday, his first appearance in over 10 months. The Alaska native struggled with a .870 SV% and 3.16 GAA in eight showings for Los Angeles last season, firmly slipping to No. 3 on their goalie depth chart behind Rittich.
John Marino Still “Months” Away From Returning, Sean Durzi’s Timeline Uncertain
New Utah Hockey Club defender John Marino must wait significantly longer before making his season debut. After being listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury at the beginning of camp and later upgraded to day-to-day, he was placed on IR at the start of the regular season. Now, it’ll be “months” before he can return to play, Utah head coach André Tourigny told reporters today, including Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Utah has still managed to get off to a 3-1-1 start without Marino, who they acquired from the Devils shortly after officially being established out of the ruins of the Coyotes. The 27-year-old right-shot defender was expected to serve as their top shutdown option and stabilize their top four while averaging over 20 minutes per game, but instead, he’s yet to even skate with the team a month after their first training camp began.
It’s an even more difficult blow to a new-look Utah blue line that’s also set to be without last year’s No. 1, Sean Durzi, for quite some time. The team confirmed yesterday that he’ll be out “for the foreseeable future” with an upper-body injury. Some reports, including one from Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli yesterday, indicated he needed surgery and could be out for four to five months. But Tourigny declined to verify that today and only said Durzi’s injury wasn’t season-ending, per Fraser. It’s still unclear what the specific injury is, but he was seen wearing a sling earlier this week after taking an awkward hit from Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler on Monday.
A sixth-round pick by the Oilers in 2015, Edmonton traded his signing rights to the Penguins in 2019, shortly before they expired following his final season of collegiate hockey at Harvard. Marino unexpectedly cracked Pittsburgh’s opening night roster and hasn’t looked back, immediately cementing himself as a top-four defender and holding that role throughout his five NHL seasons to date. He spent the last two seasons in Newark after a 2022 offseason trade sent him to the Devils, where he had 43 points and a +15 rating in 139 games while averaging 21:01 per game.
Initially expected to comprise Utah’s bottom pairing to begin the season, veteran signing Ian Cole and Michael Kesselring have stepped into top-four roles on the right side alongside Juuso Välimäki and Mikhail Sergachev, respectively, to offset the losses of Durzi and Marino. Fringe NHLer Vladislav Kolyachonok and late-summer signing Robert Bortuzzo comprise the bottom pairing for now.
With Utah’s hot start and general manager Bill Armstrong’s recent aggressive streak, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them pursue a right-shot defender on the trade market or waiver wire in the coming days now that Durzi and Marino’s long-term absences are confirmed, even without a specific return timeline.
Blackhawks Sign Landon Slaggert To Two-Year Extension
The Blackhawks have inked forward prospect Landon Slaggert to a two-year extension, per a team release. It’s a one-way deal worth $1.8MM in total, working out to a $900K cap hit.
Slaggert, 22, didn’t crack the Hawks out of camp this year on his first try. However, signing him to a one-way extension indicates Chicago likely doesn’t envision that happening again. He’ll require waivers starting next year.
A third-round pick in 2020, Slaggert had an up-and-down collegiate career at Notre Dame. But a strong senior season saw him shoot up the Blackhawks’ prospect rankings, leading them in scoring with 20 goals and 31 points in 36 contests. The well-rounded offensive forward earned a spot on the Big 10 Second All-Star Team and was the Fighting Irish’s nominee for the Hobey Baker Award for the top player in college hockey.
Slaggert signed his entry-level contract last March following the conclusion of his collegiate schedule and immediately reported to the Blackhawks, where he had a goal and three assists for four points in 16 appearances to close out the season. The Indiana native can play both left wing and center but started on the wing, where he averaged 11:16 per game and managed a +1 rating in largely defensive usage.
He was set to become a restricted free agent next summer. For now, Slaggert remains on assignment to AHL Rockford, where he had an assist and a +1 rating in his season debut against Grand Rapids last weekend. He’s a versatile depth piece without many standout strengths but few notable weaknesses, too, likely making him a projectable bottom-six fixture in the Windy City. He’ll now be an RFA upon expiry in 2027.
Flames Looking To Add Center Depth
The Flames’ 4-0-0 start to the 2024-25 season is unexpected, to say the least. After finishing 24th in the NHL last year, many expect them (and still do) to drop further down the standings now that they’ve firmly cemented themselves in teardown mode, trading away a pair of key pieces in Andrew Mangiapane and Jacob Markström this past summer.
But that hot start has created a renewed sense of optimism in Calgary for a few reasons. One is Jonathan Huberdeau, who’s in the second year of an eight-year, $84MM extension that looked like an albatross after he failed to hit 20 goals or 60 points in each of his first two seasons with the Flames. He’s on fire out of the gate, recording three goals and three assists for six points in four appearances and is averaging 18:40 per game, his heaviest usage since arriving in Calgary.
The other is the play of 23-year-old Dustin Wolf. He’s arguably the sport’s top goaltending prospect, and he was always going to be the biggest storyline in Calgary this season. While he’s split starts evenly with Daniel Vladař thus far, he’s been the far superior option with a .944 SV%, 2.02 GAA, and 3.5 GSAA.
Their performances and flawless record so far have Flames general manager Craig Conroy considering restocking the cupboard instead of continuing to sell off pieces in a retool. A middle-six center is high on the list of desires, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff said Thursday.
There’s not usually much trade activity to start a season, but I’m told Flames GM Craig Conroy has been working the phones in recent days to try and find a center to add to the Calgary Flames in their middle six, preferably someone that fits their age scheme… and a right-shooting center, at that.
The Flames have multiple injuries up front at the moment, but only one plays center: depth piece Kevin Rooney. Captain Mikael Backlund and sophomore Martin Pospisil have anchored Calgary’s second and third lines to start the year behind Nazem Kadri on line one. Veteran AHLer Justin Kirkland has done well filling in for Rooney in fourth-line duties since he landed on IR last week.
While Backlund is still an excellent, defensively responsible pivot and more than capable of centering a second line, his offensive numbers dipped sharply to just 39 points in 82 games last year. For a 35-year-old, there isn’t much hope for a rebound. Pospisil is a natural center with a goal and four assists thus far, but he struggles to win draws with just a 44.1% career win rate through 67 NHL appearances. He was primarily utilized on the wing last season and would likely shift back there should Conroy accomplish his goal.
But while Calgary may be signaling the end of their brief retool on the backs of a resurgent Huberdeau and strong showings from youngsters like Pospisil, Wolf, and Connor Zary, they haven’t done nearly enough to put themselves firmly in buyer territory. That means Conroy pursuing the usual crop of pending UFA pivots who are likely to be trade deadline rentals doesn’t make much sense – nor would a pending UFA fit the “age scheme” Seravalli referred to.
That means he’s likely willing to pay a bit more for a younger center with term (or at least a few years of team control), assumingly one with more offensive upside than either Backlund or Pospisil project to offer at this stage. Could that come from a divisional rival like the Ducks, who still have Trevor Zegras to offer after he was embroiled in trade rumors for most of the summer? He’s a left-shot, but at 23 years old, he fits Calgary’s likely timeline for a return to playoff contention. After dealing with injuries for much of last season, he has two points through three games this year and is under contract through next season at a $5.75MM cap hit.
Over in the East, there’s a more expensive and, at this stage, riskier option likely available, but he checks all of Conroy’s reported boxes as a right shot. Like Zegras, checking in at 23 is Sabres pivot Dylan Cozens, who’s struggled to do much of anything in 2024-25. The 2019 seventh-overall pick has just one assist and a -3 rating in six appearances under head coach Lindy Ruff.
Cozens signed a seven-year, $49.7MM extension midway through a breakout 2022-23 campaign that saw him record 31 goals and 37 assists for 68 points in 81 games, finishing fifth on Buffalo in scoring. But last season, the first one covered by that extension, he regressed to 18 goals and 47 points in 79 games. If the start of his season is any indication, he may see his total output drop by another magnitude in 2024-25.
There’s legitimate upside, but a $7.1MM cap hit through the end of the decade is an incredibly risky bet for a team that’s arguably making a snap judgment about their future over a week-and-a-half hot stretch. Realistically, things still need to play out until Conroy makes notable swaps.
Utah Signs Terrell Goldsmith To Entry-Level Deal
The Utah Hockey Club has inked defense prospect Terrell Goldsmith to a three-year, entry-level deal, the team announced. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Utah’s front office drafted Goldsmith in the fourth round of the 2023 draft while representing the Coyotes. The 6’4″, 216-lb left-shot defenseman is now in his fifth and final season of junior hockey with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, where he serves as an alternate captain. Goldsmith is a physical, stay-at-home defender who has yet to record a point through four games this season but has 9 PIMs and an even rating.
Goldsmith is a bit of an afterthought in a relatively deep Utah prospect pool inherited from Arizona. He didn’t rank among their top 15 prospects in a preseason assessment from McKeen’s Hockey, and the ALL City Network’s Craig Morgan recently ranked him seventh among defenders in Utah’s system. That’s mainly due to an extreme absence of any offensive upside. The British Columbia native only had 12 assists and 15 points in 66 games in his post-draft year with Prince Albert last season, standing as career-highs. He does have NHL-ready size, though, even if his ceiling is a bottom-pairing presence.
His ELC is eligible to slide this season if he plays fewer than 10 NHL games, which will be the outcome. His deal won’t go into effect until the 2025-26 season, keeping him under contract until he’s eligible for restricted free agency in 2028.
Ducks Place Frank Vatrano On Injured Reserve
12:07 p.m.: Vatrano isn’t hurt; rather, he’s been placed on IR while on paternity leave, the Ducks said. However, center Isac Lundeström is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury and won’t play tonight, so Harkins will likely draw into the lineup. Vatrano
11:52 a.m.: Ducks forward Frank Vatrano is no longer on the active roster, per the NHL’s media site. PuckPedia indicates he’s been placed on injured reserve, meaning he likely sustained an undisclosed ailment in Anaheim’s overtime win over Utah on Wednesday. They’ve used his open roster spot to summon winger Jansen Harkins from AHL San Diego in a corresponding move, per the league’s transactions log.
It’s been a tough start to the season for Vatrano, who’s skated in a second-line role alongside Ryan Strome and Troy Terry but has nonetheless had his minutes reduced from last year. After scoring a career-high 37 goals in 2023-24 while logging 18:21 per game, the 30-year-old has only one assist through three games this season and is averaging 15:37 per night.
He’s struggled to generate chances offensively, only recording five shots on goal. It’s a tiny sample size, but that only projects out to 137 shots over 82 games after recording 231 and 272 shots over the last two years, respectively. Nonetheless, the Ducks are 2-1-0 with a +1 goal differential through their first three showings, even without many game-breaking offensive performances. Their start can be credited to strong goaltending in the early stages from Lukáš Dostál (two starts) and preseason waiver claim James Reimer (one start), who’ve combined for a .924 SV% and 2.32 GAA. Usual starter John Gibson remains on IR after undergoing appendectomy surgery almost a month ago.
Vatrano has been on one of the most value-laden deals in the league over the past few seasons. After signing a three-year, $10.95MM deal to join the Ducks as a free agent in 2022, he’s churned out 59 goals and 102 points in 166 games in Orange County. That’s good enough for 0.61 points per game, far above his 0.48 career average. The pending UFA could be one of the top names available at the trade deadline if Anaheim remains far away from playoff contention and gets his scoring back under him after he returns from what all sides hope is a brief absence.
Harkins, 28, signed a two-year, $1.58MM deal with the Ducks in free agency this offseason after an underwhelming 2023-24 campaign that saw him post just four assists in 45 games with the Penguins. It wasn’t surprising when he cleared waivers earlier this month. He had a goal and an assist in his first two games for San Diego this season after posting 12 points in 14 games during AHL assignments with the Penguins last year. The 2015 second-round Jets pick has 31 points in 199 career NHL games over the previous five years.
With 13 healthy forwards on the roster after the moves, there’s no guarantee Harkins will make his Ducks debut tonight against the Avalanche. He’ll likely sit in the press box and serve as last-minute injury insurance.
Snapshots: Ness, Greensboro, KHL
Veteran blue-liner Aaron Ness is still plying his trade in the minors despite not suiting up in the NHL since 2020-21 with the Coyotes. He’s now in his third season in a row with the Capitals’ affiliate, the AHL’s Hershey Bears, and he’ll make it a fourth next year after signing an extension today, the team announced.
Ness is no longer the dominant offensive presence he once was at the minor-league level, but he is still coming off a decent 23-point campaign in Hershey with a +18 rating as he won his second straight Calder Cup championship. He’s spent the last four seasons exclusively on AHL contracts with Providence and Hershey and hasn’t been bound by an NHL agreement since the two-year, league-minimum deal he signed with the Coyotes expired in 2021.
A second-round pick of the Islanders back in 2008, Ness led all AHL defenders in scoring with 55 points (5 G, 50 A) in 71 games with Hershey in 2019. The Minnesota native has just seven points in 72 career NHL games, though, coming with the Isles, Caps, and Yotes in parts of seven seasons. He has 322 points in 731 AHL games in parts of 14 seasons, though, tied for fourth among active AHLers in games played with Gabriel Dumont.
More from around the hockey world:
- The ECHL continues to expand what seems like every year. After teams in Tahoe and Bloomington joined the fold this season, they’ll add a team in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the 2025-26 campaign, per an announcement today. The second-tier minor league is up to 29 teams this year, giving all but three NHL clubs a full-time affiliate to feed their AHL depth and develop longer-timeline prospects. They’ll play at the First Horizon Coliseum in the Greensboro Complex, which hosted the Hurricanes during their first two seasons in the market while they awaited the completion of their current home in Raleigh. The Canes are one of three teams without a full-time ECHL affiliate, so they’ll be a natural favorite to strike an agreement with the new franchise in Greensboro. They do have a working agreement to send some players to Bloomington, though, which has a full-time affiliation with the Rangers.
- The recent changes in how Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League conducts business internationally haven’t affected players’ ability to make the jump to the NHL, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told James Murphy of Responsible Gambler. He also said there haven’t been any under-the-table deals to help get players out of their KHL contracts to come to the NHL in lieu of an official transfer agreement between the leagues. “There have still been players from Russia entering the NHL even though officially we’re not communicating with [the KHL] on any kind of commercial or business basis,” Daly said. “They find ways to get here that don’t involve direct participation by the NHL or any of our clubs. I don’t believe there’s been any reduction in the number of players that entered the league during this period of time,” referring to after the KHL declared independence from the IIHF last year.
Canadiens Recall Logan Mailloux
The Canadiens have recalled defenseman Logan Mailloux from AHL Laval, according to a team announcement. There’s an open spot on their 23-man roster, so no corresponding move is necessary. The call-up does come after No. 1 defender Mike Matheson left last night’s loss to the Kings with an upper-body injury, however. Kaiden Guhle is also day-to-day with an upper-body injury, the team said later Friday.
Mailloux, 21, made his NHL debut in the final game of last season, posting an assist and a +1 rating with two shots on goal in over 21 minutes of action against the Red Wings. It came at the end of the right-shot defender’s first season in the pros, playing all 72 games for Laval. His 14 goals and 33 assists for 47 points led Rocket defensemen in scoring and earned him a place on the league’s All-Rookie Team.
The 6’3″ Ontario native spent his junior career with the OHL’s London Knights. While spending his draft year on loan to Sweden’s SK Lejon due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was charged with defamation and criminal photography for “sending explicit pictures of a sexual act without the consent of his partner” (as written by CTV’s Daniel J. Rowe).
He was fined by the Swedish government and subsequently asked not to be selected in the 2021 draft but was selected by Montreal anyway with the 31st overall pick. He spent most of his post-draft year with OHL London out of the lineup, serving a suspension related to the charges, but had 53 points in 59 games the following season and led the league in goals from a defenseman with 25.
In regard to Matheson, the 30-year-old will be further evaluated today, the team said (via TSN). He had three assists and a -2 rating through Montreal’s first five games of the season. He’s coming off a 51-assist, 62-point campaign in 2023-24 that nearly doubled his previous career highs, cementing himself as a top-pairing threat offensively in the prime of his career with the Habs. He logged 25:33 per game last year, good enough for third in the league.
Mailloux will enter the lineup tomorrow against the Islanders if neither Matheson or Guhle can play.
Red Wings Recall Marco Kasper Under Emergency Conditions
The Red Wings announced this morning that they’ve recalled center Marco Kasper from AHL Grand Rapids under emergency conditions. No corresponding transaction is needed with an open spot on the 23-man roster. Still, the move suggests an injury or other absence is pending for one of Detroit’s 12 forwards on the active roster, who all suited up in last night’s 5-2 loss to the Rangers.
Kasper, 20, was the eighth overall pick of the 2022 draft, a class that’s yielded just two players with more than an entire season’s worth of NHL experience thus far in Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovský and Utah’s Logan Cooley. The Austrian center went a tad ahead of his expected 10th-20th overall range, and he still needs to continue developing his offensive game if he’s going to warrant that high of a selection. He’s on the right track to start this season, though, posting a goal and an assist in two games for Grand Rapids after being limited to 35 points (14 G, 21 A) in 71 games in his first campaign with the farm club last season.
The one-time Champions Hockey League winner with the Swedish Hockey League’s Rögle BK has just one NHL appearance to his name so far, logging nearly 15 minutes with a shot on goal and three hits against the Maple Leafs on April 2, 2023. All indications point to him adding to that total against the Predators tomorrow.
Nonetheless, Kasper remains an extremely cerebral center with the defensive upside of a reliable bottom-six pivot in a worst-case scenario for his development. He was one of Detroit’s final cuts from training camp and should get multiple looks in the NHL this season, even if he doesn’t establish himself as a full-time roster fixture until next season or beyond.