Penguins Place Ryan Graves On LTIR, Recall Vinnie Hinostroza
The Penguins moved defenseman Ryan Graves to long-term injured reserve Thursday, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports. The move rules him out of Pittsburgh’s four remaining regular season games, including a home tilt against the Red Wings tonight that, with a regulation win, could boost their playoff chances by nearly 20%. Placing Graves on LTIR creates the necessary cap space to add winger Vinnie Hinostroza, who Rorabaugh says was recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a corresponding move.
Graves, 28, hasn’t played since sustaining a concussion against the Blue Jackets on March 28. He’s been listed as day-to-day since and will miss his seventh consecutive game tonight.
The Nova Scotian has had a disappointing start to his Penguins tenure, which began after he inked a six-year, $27MM deal with trade protection in free agency last summer. The main drag has been his point production, registering 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 70 games after pacing at nearly 30 points per season over his previous two seasons with the Devils. His overall possession metrics haven’t been ghastly (48.7 CF%, 50.6 xGF%), although they’re south of his career average and don’t stand out much from his teammates. He’s been a turnover machine as well, logging 40 giveaways compared with 19 takeaways – the second-worst differential on the team. Erik Karlsson has him beat there but has compensated with some of the best possession metrics on the team, posting a +16 expected rating and 54.6 CF%.
Graves’ absence to end the regular season means more minutes for 24-year-old Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who has slid up to a top-pairing role alongside Karlsson as the Pens chase a playoff spot. He hasn’t been ruled out for postseason play, however, and could theoretically return as soon as Game 1 of a first-round series.
Hinostroza comes up as extra depth for the time being and won’t play against the Wings, per the team. The 30-year-old made 14 appearances with Pittsburgh earlier in the season, scoring a goal and two assists while averaging 9:45 per game. It’s the first recall for the Chicago native since he was added to the roster for three days in February without getting into game action. He hasn’t suited up for an NHL game since a 3-1 win over the Islanders on New Year’s Eve.
The diminutive winger is in his first season with the Pens after inking a one-year, one-way, league-minimum deal in July. He’s spent most of the season with WBS, where he’s been one of their most adept offensive talents. He’s taken on an alternate captain role with the farm club and is among their leaders in points per game with 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists) in 39 appearances.
Blackhawks Activate Connor Murphy From Injured Reserve
The Blackhawks announced today they’ve taken defenseman Connor Murphy off injured reserve ahead of Friday’s matchup with the Predators. He’ll return after missing 34 games with a groin injury, which he said last week was osteitis pubis, a type of chronic inflammation.
Healthcare providers term osteitis pubis a rare cause of inflammation in the groin and hip area, but Murphy isn’t the only NHLer dealing with it this season. Sharks captain Logan Couture‘s season ended because of it at the All-Star break after only six appearances. While rare, sports injuries are its most common cause due to repetitive strain on groin and hip joints, muscles and tissues, per the Cleveland Clinic.
Murphy, 31, is no stranger to injuries. Before skating in 80 games last season, Murphy missed over 10% of the season in four straight seasons in Chicago from 2019 to 2022. He’s in his seventh season with the Blackhawks, who acquired him and minor league forward Laurent Dauphin from the Coyotes in 2017 in exchange for declining premier shutdown defender Niklas Hjalmarsson.
The 2011 first-round pick has since become a steady presence on the Chicago blue line, sneaking into a consistent top-four role after being buried in bottom-pairing minutes in his first season with the club. He’s failed to control possession quality at even strength through much of his time in the Windy City but has often been tasked with taking on the most difficult defensive assignments, making nearly 60% of his zone starts in the defensive zone.
Murphy hasn’t played in nearly three months, last suiting up against the Stars in a 3-1 loss on Jan. 13. In 43 games before the injury, he notched two goals, six assists, eight points, a -19 rating, and 40 PIMs while averaging 19:51 per game. His core possession metrics, a 44.4 CF% and a 44.1 xGF% are up from last season by multiple percentage points. Despite the lengthy absence, he still ranks third on the Hawks with 105 blocked shots and sixth with 106 hits.
He may not be 100% recovered, but getting into game action to close out the season should help him and the Blackhawks assess his recovery and his ability to manage the inflammation. If necessary, surgery can address the issue.
The Blackhawks made a corresponding transaction earlier this week by assigning defenseman Wyatt Kaiser to AHL Rockford. After recalling rookie Ethan Del Mastro from Rockford earlier today, they now have eight defensemen on the roster.
Murphy, an alternate captain, is signed through 2026 at a $4.4MM cap hit. His four-year extension, signed in August 2021, includes a 10-team no-trade list. He and Seth Jones are the only Chicago blueliners signed to one-way deals next season.
Wild Recall Liam Ohgren
The Wild have recalled left-wing prospect Liam Öhgren from AHL Iowa, per a team announcement. The 2022 first-round pick is now in line to make his NHL debut in the final few games of the regular season.
Öhgren, 20, spent the season on loan to Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League but was assigned to Iowa early this month after Färjestad was upset by Rögle BK in a 4-0 sweep in the SHL quarterfinals. Injuries kept him out for most of the first half of the campaign, but that didn’t stop him from fitting well into a top-six role with Färjestad upon his return. The speedy, sharp-shooting winger notched 12 goals and 19 points in 26 games with a +12 rating, although he was held without a point in their abbreviated playoff run.
His early adjustment to a weak Iowa squad hasn’t been terribly promising, but a small sample shouldn’t count for much. He’s yet to record a point in three games with the Wild’s top farm team with a -4 rating, but he did log five shots on goal in his last outing, a 4-3 loss to Rockford yesterday.
The 19th overall pick in 2022 is a top-three prospect in Minnesota’s system, checking in behind Swedish netminder Jesper Wallstedt and Russian winger Danila Yurov in The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler’s 2024 ranking of NHL prospect pools. He was bar none the best player in the Swedish junior circuit during his draft year, potting 33 goals in just 30 games with Djurgårdens IF’s U-20 club in the J20 Nationell. His 1.93 points per game led the league among qualified skaters, as did his +41 rating, 11 points higher than the second-best, teammate and Sabres prospect Noah Östlund.
That performance rightfully earned him Best Forward honors in the Nationell, and he also cracked the top Swedish national junior team roster at 17 and won a bronze medal at the 2022 World Juniors. He returned for both the 2023 and 2024 tournaments, serving as captain for this year’s squad and taking home the silver medal, although he was limited to two assists in seven games.
The Stockholm native isn’t quite ready for full-time NHL work and is likely a long shot to make next season’s opening night roster, although it shouldn’t be ruled out. His entry-level contract will slide to next season as he’s guaranteed to have played less than 10 NHL games in 2023-24, meaning he’ll remain signed through 2027.
Devils Reassign Brian Halonen, Akira Schmid
The Devils announced multiple roster moves today, namely that winger Brian Halonen and goaltender Akira Schmid were assigned to AHL Utica. No corresponding transaction is coming for Schmid, who was up while Kaapo Kähkönen was sidelined with an undisclosed injury yesterday against the Maple Leafs. Halonen’s roster spot goes to right-wing prospect Graeme Clarke, who was recalled from Utica.
Halonen had been on the Devils’ roster longer than Schmid, coming up on an emergency loan over two weeks ago. Both have spent decent chunks of the season in the minors – Schmid made the Devils out of camp but has been in Utica for the most part since being demoted in late December. This was Halonen’s second recall of the season and Schmid’s fourth.
Halonen’s season began late, remaining on season-opening injured reserve until Dec. 30 with a lower-body injury. The free agent signing out of Michigan Tech two years ago has been spectacular with Utica since returning, scoring 16 goals in only 30 games. He’s only gotten into two NHL contests this season and has played sparingly when in the lineup, though, averaging 8:17 and failing to record a point with two shots on goal. He’s put up decent possession numbers at even strength (45 CF% and 58.5 xGF%, per MoneyPuck), but it’s hard to gauge anything with such a small sample.
The 23-year-old Schmid has taken a tumble this season, struggling no matter where he’s played after a strong postseason showing in 2023. In the majors, he’s put up a 5-9-1 record with a .895 SV% and 3.15 GAA in 15 starts and four relief appearances and posted save percentages south of .900 in each of his two NHL starts since his December demotion. His numbers have been no different with Utica, posting a .891 SV%, 3.12 GAA, one shutout, and an 8-8-4 record in 20 appearances. The pending RFA may still earn a qualifying offer after his 2022-23 showing, posting a .922 SV% in 18 NHL appearances, but he’s unlikely to be considered for the backup job in training camp this fall.
With the Devils now eliminated from playoff contention, the 22-year-old Clarke gets a chance to build on his NHL debut, which came in January. The older brother of Kings rookie Brandt Clarke gets his second recall of the season after leading Utica thus far with 24 goals, totaling 47 points in 64 games. He logged a +1 rating, one shot attempt, and one hit back in January against his brother’s squad while logging 9:32. The 2019 third-round pick is a pending RFA upon completion of his entry-level deal.
Hurricanes Sign Jackson Blake To Entry-Level Contract
The Hurricanes have signed right-wing prospect Jackson Blake to a three-year, entry-level contract effective immediately, per a team release. Blake will receive a $775K base salary in 2023-24 and $832.5K in 2024-25 and 2025-26, plus signing bonuses of $92.5K each year. He’ll earn $80K at the AHL level for all three seasons. Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reported yesterday that Blake had traveled to Raleigh and was likely to turn pro.
Blake, 20, spent the last two seasons with the University of North Dakota, where he quickly emerged as one of the top young players in the college circuit. A 2021 fourth-round pick of the Canes, Blake exploded for 42 points (16 goals, 26 assists) in 39 games with the Fighting Hawks in his freshman year, leading the team in scoring and capturing three NCHC year-end honors, including the conference’s Rookie of the Year. He was also named to the USA’s roster for the 2023 World Juniors, where he contributed to their bronze-medal effort with a goal and five assists in seven games.
Blake took things to another level this season, finishing fourth in collegiate scoring with 60 points (22 goals, 38 assists) in 40 games. As a result, he was the team’s nominee for the Hobey Baker Award for the top collegiate player and is one of three finalists for the award alongside presumptive 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini and top Ducks prospect Cutter Gauthier.
Described as an “explosive playmaker” by Hurricanes GM Don Waddell, Blake checked in as the number-four prospect in Carolina’s system in The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler’s 2024 ranking of NHL prospect pools. Two of three players ahead of him, defenseman Scott Morrow and winger Bradly Nadeau, have also turned pro out of college in the last couple of weeks and signed ELCs effective immediately.
The son of former Islanders winger Jason Blake is the eldest and most polished of the three and is most likely to land a spot on Carolina’s opening-night roster in 2024-25. Thanks to his August birthday, he’ll be 21 at the start of next season. He’ll be an RFA upon expiry of his deal in 2026.
Penguins Reassign Sam Poulin, Recall Radim Zohorna
The Penguins announced that right-wing Samuel Poulin has been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. His roster spot will go to left-wing Radim Zohorna, who was recalled from WBS in a corresponding move.
Poulin has been on the Penguins roster for most days since he was recalled on an emergency loan on March 26, although he’s been returned to the Baby Pens and promptly recalled twice in that span. He played three games to close out last month, his first NHL stint of the season, going without a point and posting a -1 rating while averaging only 7:47 per game. He’s been a healthy scratch in four straight.
The 2019 first-round pick now returns to WBS, where he’s had his best season in the professional ranks, with 27 points (13 G, 14 A) in 36 games. It’s a nice rebound after being away from the organization for most of last season on personal leave for mental health reasons. The AHL Pens have clinched a playoff spot, unlike their big brothers, so he’ll get a chance to play meaningful games past mid-April if Pittsburgh can’t leapfrog the rival Capitals for the second wild-card spot in the East. He’s nearing completion of his entry-level contract and needs a new deal this offseason as a pending RFA.
Zohorna comes up to provide head coach Mike Sullivan with a more experienced option to slide into a depth role as they enter must-win territory in their final four games. The Pens picked up Zohorna on a one-year, two-way deal last summer after he split the 2022-23 season between the Flames, Maple Leafs, and both of their AHL affiliates. It’s his second stint with the organization – Pittsburgh brought him to North America in 2020 by inking the undrafted free agent to an ELC but lost him on waivers to Calgary at the beginning of last season.
He failed to crack the Pittsburgh roster out of camp but found himself back in the NHL in late October, shuffled between leagues almost daily before earning a more permanent recall on Nov. 2. He notched seven points (four goals, three assists) in 31 games in bottom-six minutes before landing back on the waiver wire in mid-January. He’s been on assignment to WBS since. The 6’6″ power winger has been great in the minors, posting 25 points in 29 games with a +2 rating. The pending UFA will now cycle into the bottom six minutes to close out the season and will look to earn an extension.
Panthers, Mikulas Hovorka Agree To Terms On Entry-Level Deal
The Panthers have agreed to terms with right-shot defenseman Mikulas Hovorka on a two-year, entry-level contract beginning next season, per a team release. Hovorka had drawn interest from multiple teams throughout the season, and he gets his wish of signing in the Eastern Conference.
The 22-year-old Hovorka spent the last two seasons with Motor České Budějovice of the Czech Extraliga. Undrafted, the Prague native has played 90 games at the top level, recording eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points with a +2 rating and 66 PIMs. The shutdown blue-liner’s main appeal is his size – if he cracks Florida’s roster over the next two years, he would be one of the bulkier defenders in the league at 6’6″ and 229 pounds.
Hovorka was under contract with Motor through 2026, but the transfer agreement between the ELH and the NHL allows the Panthers to buy out his overseas contract. They did not disclose the terms of his entry-level deal.
This is the second straight year that Cats GM Bill Zito has gone defense shopping out of the ELH. He picked up Latvian blue-liner Uvis Balinskis from Bílí Tygři Liberec in April last year, a low-risk signing that’s largely panned out. Balinskis logged 23 games of largely solid NHL minutes this season, has been productive with AHL Charlotte, and inked a two-year extension to remain in South Florida.
Hovorka seems a likely candidate to start next season in Charlotte, especially since his game is less developed than that of the elder Balinskis. He’s still a low-risk, medium-upside acquisition for the Panthers, who will hold his rights if they choose to qualify him and make him an RFA when his deal expires in 2026.
Red Wings Recall Zach Aston-Reese
The Red Wings announced that forward Zach Aston-Reese has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids on an emergency loan. He could replace Andrew Copp, who left yesterday’s loss to the Capitals with a suspected broken cheekbone, in the lineup tomorrow in a must-win game against the Penguins.
Copp sustained the injury on a high-sticking infraction from Capitals winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel that referees missed with less than six minutes remaining in the contest. He didn’t return to the game and could be out for Detroit’s four remaining regular season games if imaging confirms the break. The Red Wings are also without winger Michael Rasmussen (upper body, day-to-day), which would leave them with only 11 healthy forwards against Pittsburgh if neither he nor Copp can play, necessitating a forward recall from Grand Rapids today.
The Wings signed Copp to a five-year, $28.1MM deal in 2022, expecting him to slot in as their second-line center behind Dylan Larkin. He was coming off a career year and an electric finish, recording 18 points in 16 games with the Rangers after they picked him up from the Jets at the 2022 trade deadline. He’s been underwhelming offensively, though, scoring only nine goals in 82 games last season after four straight seasons of double-digit totals. While he’s put the puck in the net more this season with 13 markers, his overall production is down, limited to 33 points in 77 games. His 0.43 points per game are his lowest in five years, and he’s been a negative relative possession player in both of his campaigns in Detroit.
Aston-Reese will now play spot duty as the Red Wings fight to make the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Their chances of doing so tumbled nearly 25% after yesterday’s loss and now sit at 27.9%, per MoneyPuck. Detroit signed Aston-Reese for experienced organizational depth in early October after he was released from a PTO with the Hurricanes, but the 29-year-old has only played one NHL game this season. He’s spent most of the season in the minors for the first time since 2017-18, his first professional season. In 59 games with Grand Rapids, the versatile checking forward has 14 goals, 15 assists, 29 points, a +4 rating, and 51 PIMs.
NHL Drafting Contingency Plan If Coyotes Relocate Before Next Season
The NHL is preparing a contingency plan in the event the Arizona Coyotes relocate to Salt Lake City as soon as this offseason, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports.
Multiple sources indicate the league is drafting two different schedule matrices for next season, one with the Yotes remaining in Tempe’s Mullett Arena and the other with the franchise moving to the Delta Center in Salt Lake, Seravalli says. Relocation is a less likely outcome after the plot of land the Coyotes intend to use for a new arena and entertainment district in north Phoenix was officially listed for auction last week, but Seravalli reports majority owner Alex Meruelo is “intimately involved” in a backup plan that would sell control of the franchise to Ryan Smith, majority owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, before the June 27 land auction.
Per Seravalli, the Smith Entertainment Group would spend over $1.2B to acquire the franchise, including a relocation fee distributed to the league’s other 31 owners. Meruelo could still get paid for his majority stake at a valuation north of $1B after purchasing the franchise at a valuation of $300MM in 2019, a figure Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported last week that Meruelo was seeking in preliminary discussions to sell the club.
However, if no sale is announced before the end of May, that’s a nearly surefire sign that the Yotes will remain at the 4,600-capacity Tempe venue for 2024-25. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has said that “waiting until a June land auction date would likely ensure the Coyotes will play at least one more season at Mullett Arena.”
Even in the overwhelmingly likely event that Meruelo wins the June land auction, that’s not a guarantee this franchise remains in Arizona past next season, Seravalli says. The Phoenix area won’t be without an NHL club for long, though, as indicated repeatedly by the league in recent months. Sources said to Seravalli that part of an agreement to sell the team “could include language that would allow Meruelo to ‘reactivate’ the Coyotes franchise in future years, including name and trademarks, if a new arena is built and terms and conditions of the agreement with the NHL are met.” That would pave the way for the Coyotes to start fresh with an expansion draft after the development is built, perhaps bringing hockey back to Arizona before the end of the decade.
All indications point to Meruelo’s (and the league’s) preference to bypass relocation altogether, keeping the team at Mullett until the proposed new arena is finished, which would likely be for the 2027-28 season. That would also leave Salt Lake City open as an expansion market rather than a relocation one, a more financially lucrative option for owners.
Kraken Reassign Jani Nyman To Minors
The Kraken have recalled right-wing prospect Jani Nyman from his loan to Ilves of the Liiga, per an official announcement. Nyman will finish the 2023-24 season on assignment to AHL Coachella Valley.
The 19-year-old Nyman was drafted by Seattle in the second round of the 2022 draft, 49th overall. Kraken GM Ron Francis signed Nyman to a three-year, entry-level contract last June before loaning him back to Ilves in July. As an entry-level slide candidate, his deal will now be active from 2024-25 to 2026-27 because he did not play at least 10 NHL games this season.
When Nyman debuts for Coachella Valley, it will mark his first game away from Ilves on a permanent basis. The Valkeakoski, Finland native has played his entire junior and professional career in the Ilves organization to date. His first professional experience came in his draft year, spending most of the season on loan to Koovee of the second-tier Mestis. There, he erupted for 18 goals and 35 points in 34 games, leading the league in power-play goals with six and capturing Rookie of the Year honors. He also made his Liiga debut that season, recording one assist in 10 games for Ilves.
Despite having the size for it at 6’4″ and 207 lbs, Nyman isn’t an overly physical player and is best described as a sniper rather than a power forward or grinder. That, plus some noticeable defensive deficiencies in his game, never gave him first-round billing in 2022, despite his strong production in a professional league.
The Kraken should still be extremely satisfied with how he’s developed. Thrust into a top-six role on his loan to Ilves this season, he responded in kind with 26 goals and 43 points in 48 games, leading all U-20 players in scoring. He also served as an alternate captain for Finland at the World Juniors, finishing with two goals and six points in seven games. His season ended late last month after Ilves, which finished second in the league with a 33-13-7-3 record, was upset by seventh-place KalPa in five games in the quarterfinals.
Nyman is likely a couple of years away from challenging for an NHL job. However, he’s proven enough overseas that he’ll likely spend next season with Coachella Valley and put himself in consideration for short-term recalls. He hits pause on his Liiga career for now after recording 36 goals, 58 points and a +19 rating in 87 games for Ilves since debuting at the top level in 2021-22.