Maple Leafs Recall Joseph Woll From Conditioning Loan
Feb. 26: The Maple Leafs recalled Woll from his conditioning loan on Monday, per a team announcement. He has not yet been activated from LTIR, although they won’t need to make a corresponding transaction to do so (yet) with two open roster spots. Woll stopped 36 of 37 shots in his lone AHL outing against the Laval Rocket on Friday, recording a .973 SV% in a 4-1 win for the Marlies.
Feb. 21: The Maple Leafs are assigning goaltender Joseph Woll to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on a conditioning loan, a team release states Wednesday.
The 25-year-old Missourian has been listed as week-to-week with a high ankle sprain after sustaining the injury on a non-contact play against the Senators on Dec. 7. He’s now missed 29 games with the sprain over two and a half months, but a return is now officially on the horizon.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe said earlier this month that Woll was cleared to ramp up his workload in practice and, as such, the team was expecting his return in the middle of February. He’ll miss that benchmark by a bit, but he should be back between the pipes for Toronto by the trade deadline.
The 2016 third-round pick has been solid in his first full NHL season, posting an 8-5-1 record and a .916 SV% in 13 starts and two relief appearances. He had taken the starting role from Ilya Samsonov by the time of his injury, although a recent stretch of above-average play from the Russian makes it more of a battle for Woll to regain starts upon his return.
34-year-old Martin Jones has provided value to Toronto in a third-string role, posting a .908 SV% and 2.69 GAA in 19 games while Woll was out and Samsonov was going through the worst stretch of his career. He’s come back down to Earth after posting a SV% above .920 in five straight games at the beginning of 2024, but Woll’s impeding return and Samsonov’s improvement balances things out in the Toronto crease.
Woll has saved 7.0 goals above expected this year, per MoneyPuck, just shy of Jones’ 7.8 in four more appearances. If he maintains that pace upon this return, he should be on track to be Toronto’s playoff starter.
Woll and his $766.7K cap hit are on long-term injured reserve, so this loan follows the limitations of an LTI-specific conditioning stint. He will remain on LTIR while suiting up for the Marlies and can stay in the AHL for up to six days or three games with a possible two-game extension. If the Maple Leafs deem Woll is ready to return at the end of his loan, they must activate him off LTIR; if not, he’ll remain there until his recovery is complete.
Capitals Recall Ivan Miroshnichenko
The Capitals have recalled winger Ivan Miroshnichenko ahead of tonight’s game against the Senators, per a statement from GM Brian MacLellan. Miroshnichenko could play instead of winger Anthony Mantha, who departed Saturday’s game against the Panthers with an undisclosed injury. However, Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post reports that Mantha is wearing a normal jersey at this morning’s practice.
Miroshnichenko, 20, was the 20th overall selection in the 2022 draft out of the KHL’s Avangard Omsk organization. The 6-foot-1 sniper signed his entry-level contract last May after beating Hodgkin’s lymphoma during the latter half of his draft year and has gotten his first taste of North American hockey this season. He has nine goals, 16 assists and 25 points with a +15 rating through 47 games with the AHL-best Hershey Bears. He made his NHL debut as part of a four-game stint on the roster in late December, recording a -3 rating and six shots on goal while averaging 10:23 per game.
It’s clear he’s not quite ready for a full-time NHL role, but he’s trending nicely in his first pro season this side of the Atlantic. He has a goal and three assists in his last 10 outings for Hershey.
Dobber Prospects has Miroshnichenko ranked as the fourth-best prospect in Washington’s system, slightly behind Boston College star winger Ryan Leonard, burgeoning full-time center Connor McMichael, and high-ceiling 2023 draft pick Andrew Cristall.
The Capitals’ 23-man roster is full, so a corresponding transaction is necessary to recall Miroshnichenko. T.J. Oshie is listed as out with a lower-body injury sustained Feb. 22 against the Lightning with no timeline for a return but remains on the active roster, so he’ll likely be designated for injured reserve to create a roster spot.
Morning Notes: Perron, Rust, Stars
Rumblings around the Red Wings pursuing an extension with pending UFA winger David Perron have picked up over the past few days, according to reports from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (link to “32 Thoughts” podcast, 15:13 mark).
Age is starting to catch up with the 35-year-old, who’s on the verge of completing the two-year, $9.5MM deal he signed with Detroit in free agency in 2022. He’s dropped to a third-line role after adding Patrick Kane to the Red Wings’ top six and has 28 points in 52 games, his lowest points-per-game pace in eight years. That said, he’s still contributing value for his $4.75MM cap hit, and he likely won’t command a raise on a short-term pact to potentially finish out his career in Hockeytown.
Averaging 15:13 per game, Perron isn’t even the highest-volume point producer on a strong Red Wings depth offense that has the team primed to make the postseason for the first time since 2016. Robby Fabbri and Daniel Sprong are outproducing Perron on a per-game basis with a higher percentage of even-strength production.
Perron’s possession metrics have also taken a tumble. While Detroit controls more offense at even strength than their advanced numbers suggest they should, Perron’s impact is still below average compared to his teammates, with a 45.1 CF% and a -5.7 expected rating. His -12 actual rating is tied for worst among their forwards with Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno.
That said, keeping him around for another year or two at a reduced cap hit is an understandable choice for a bottom-six that’s set to have a decent amount of turnover this summer. He’s got a well-documented history of strong playoff performances – he’s averaged over a point per game across his last two postseason appearances and captured a ring as a member of the Blues in 2019.
Other tidbits from around the NHL to kick off the week:
- Penguins winger Bryan Rust is being evaluated for an upper-body injury after leaving Sunday’s crucial win over the Flyers in the third period, head coach Mike Sullivan said. The Penguins aren’t yet sure if he’ll travel on their four-game road swing through Canada and the Pacific Northwest that could potentially decide their playoff fate. Rust had two goals in yesterday’s contest and has six in his last seven games. The 31-year-old has rebounded after a tough season last year, overcoming multiple injuries throughout the campaign to post 18 goals and 36 points in 42 games alongside his usual linemate, Sidney Crosby. Signed to a $5.125MM cap hit through 2028, Rust missed a trio of games in November with a lower-body injury and most of December with an upper-body injury. It’s unclear if this new injury is related to his previous upper-body ailment. If he’s not able to dress for Tuesday’s game against the Canucks, expect Matthew Phillips or Jesse Puljujärvi to re-enter the lineup after being scratched against Philly. The Penguins have cap space to make a corresponding recall in Rust’s absence if he’s placed on injured reserve.
- Stars GM Jim Nill spoke with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun on Sunday, confirming that he’ll be aggressive in adding depth to the Dallas blue line over the next week and a half. Nill said he’s still in the “monitoring” stage of determining the cost of potential trade targets, which LeBrun confirms includes Flames veteran shutdown man Chris Tanev (although Nill declined to comment). Nill also said the team will get top shutdown prospect Lian Bichsel, currently on loan to Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League, back before the end of the season and could be a depth option to make his NHL debut down the stretch or in the postseason if injuries strike.
Injury Notes: Monahan, Chatfield, Crevier
Jets center Sean Monahan is not in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Coyotes due to illness, the team’s communications department said.
This is Monahan’s first absence since Winnipeg acquired him from the Canadiens for a 2024 first-round pick and a 2027 conditional third-round pick on Feb. 2. The 29-year-old is on a tear with five goals in his last four games, his only points in a Jets uniform.
He’s averaging 17:45 per game since the trade while holding down the second-line center spot, winning 57.6% of his draws to boost his already career-high 55.4% win rate on the season. Veteran utility man Vladislav Namestnikov is seeing a promotion tonight, centering a second line of Nikolaj Ehlers and Alex Iafallo in Monahan’s absence.
Monahan, the 2013 sixth-overall pick, has 40 points in 57 games on the season, his highest per-game clip since he scored 34 goals and notched 82 points in 78 games with the Flames en route to a regular-season conference championship in 2018-19. He’s seeing usage on Winnipeg’s top power-play unit with Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele, and Gabriel Vilardi, and his even-strength possession numbers have been strong in a small sample with a 54.3 CF%
Other injury updates as the weekend draws to a close:
- Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield is absent from tonight’s ongoing contest against the Sabres with an upper-body injury, according to the NHL’s roster report. Chatfield remains listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and has now missed his fourth straight contest. The 27-year-old Michigan native last suited up on Feb. 17 against the Golden Knights, and Carolina is 2-1-0 in his absence. The rock-steady bottom-pairing defender has five goals and 14 points in 49 games this season while averaging a career-high 14:52 per game. In line with the rest of the team, the undrafted free agent has a strong 59.3% Corsi share at even strength, tracking similarly to his previous two seasons in Raleigh. Chatfield is in the back half of a two-year, $1.525MM extension and will be a UFA this summer.
- Blackhawks defenseman Louis Crevier is returning from a facial injury against the Red Wings tonight, according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The 22-year-old rookie missed Chicago’s last two games after taking a puck to the mouth against Carolina on Monday. The 6-foot-8, 228-pound youngster was a seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft and has three assists through 20 games this year, his first NHL stint. He’s struggled to keep pace with the NHL, though, posting below-average possession numbers on an already defensively-challenged Blackhawks team with a 39.3 CF% at even strength and a -13 rating while averaging 15:47 per game.
Sabres Activate Owen Power Off IR
The Sabres activated defenseman Owen Power from injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s game against the Hurricanes, according to the NHL’s media portal. Power is on the ice for pregame warmups and projects to draw into the lineup, Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald reports.
Power joins 35-year-old Erik Johnson as Buffalo defenders returning from absences. Johnson missed the Sabres’ Thursday game against Columbus with an illness, while Power missed the Sabres’ last six games after sustaining a hand injury during practice on Feb. 12.
The 2021 first-overall pick had played in all 51 games before the injury, scoring twice and adding 16 assists for 18 points. He has a +3 rating and is averaging 22:28 per game, slightly down from last season’s marks that earned him third place in Calder Trophy voting behind Kraken center Matthew Beniers and Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner.
Power will replace rookie Ryan Johnson in the lineup against Carolina and will skate on a pairing with the more experienced Johnson against Carolina, the team said. AHL call-up Kale Clague will also be scratched after playing in the Sabres’ last two games.
The 21-year-old Power is in the final season of his entry-level contract with a cap hit of $916.7K. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams signed him to a seven-year, $58.45MM extension ($8.35MM AAV) in October, keeping him in Buffalo through 2031. The Sabres had one open roster spot, so no corresponding transaction is necessary to take Power off IR.
Buffalo is 6-4-0 in their last 10 games and went 4-2-0 in Power’s absence, although they’ll need a hotter streak than that to catapult themselves back into the playoff conversation. They’re 12 points back of the Red Wings for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference and have just a 4.8% chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck.
Goal scoring has been an unexpected issue for the Sabres, whose offense ranks 23rd in the league. A dip in offensive production from Power in his sophomore year hasn’t helped matters, although he’s improved his shot-attempt suppression numbers significantly from his rookie year. His 52.0 CF% at even strength ranks third among Sabres defensemen behind Ryan Johnson and Rasmus Dahlin.
Canucks Assign Jett Woo To AHL
The Canucks assigned defenseman Jett Woo to AHL Abbotsford on Sunday, per a team announcement.
Woo, 23, has advanced up the Vancouver depth chart in recent weeks to become a tweener option after spending all of his pro career in the minors. The 2018 second-round pick has been recalled twice this month but has been healthy scratched in every game he’s been rostered for, so he’s yet to make his NHL debut.
He projects as a defensive-minded blue-liner with some decent puck-moving skills, posting 18 points in 44 games with Abbotsford this season. He’s in his fourth professional season after wrapping up his junior career with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen in 2020.
Woo is signed to a one-year, two-way extension that pays him $775K at the NHL level and $100K in the minors, and he will have arbitration rights if the Canucks extend him a qualifying offer this summer. The Winnipeg native is unlikely to see NHL ice this year unless injuries strike the Canucks’ blue line, as the emergence of Nikita Zadorov and Noah Juulsen as a strong shutdown third pairing has limited opportunities for other depth defenders, such as Mark Friedman, to enter the lineup.
Sending Woo to Abbotsford extends his temporary waiver exemption, as he must clear waivers to return to Abbotsford if he’s on the roster for more than 30 days this season. It also opens one spot on the 23-man roster, which could be used to activate Dakota Joshua or Carson Soucy off IR in the coming days.
East Notes: Johnson, Olofsson, Lajoie, Texier
Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson will dress against the Hurricanes on Sunday night, head coach Don Granato said (via Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald). The 35-year-old missed Friday’s 2-1 road win in Columbus with an illness.
It’s been an underwhelming first season in Buffalo for the 16-year veteran, who signed a one-year, $3.25MM contract when free agency opened on July 1. Signed to provide defensive stability at the bottom of the lineup, he’s averaged a career-low 14:06 per game, save for his injury-shortened 2020-21 campaign. Despite his minimal usage, his possession metrics are among the worst on the team, logging a 46.5 CF% at even strength. He has three goals, no assists, and a -3 rating through 48 games, partially limited by an upper-body injury that cost him Buffalo’s final four games before the All-Star break.
Recent AHL call-up Kale Clague will likely be scratched to make way for Johnson’s return to the lineup. He has one assist and an even rating while averaging 10:21 through a pair of NHL contests this season.
More updates from the Eastern Conference:
- Winger Victor Olofsson will also be available to the Sabres tonight after recovering from an illness that kept him home during their two-game road trip, per Heather Engel of NHL.com. However, he’s projected to serve as a healthy scratch for the 20th time this season. The 28-year-old has just four goals and 12 points in 35 games this year, both pacing out as career lows, and he’s only made five appearances since the beginning of 2024.
- Maple Leafs defenseman Maxime Lajoie is no longer listed on the NHL roster on the league’s media site, indicating he’s been returned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic relays Sunday. Toronto has ferried Lajoie, 26, in between leagues multiple times over the past few weeks, although this move will likely be longer-lasting. Lajoie last played in Wednesday’s win over the Coyotes, and the Maple Leafs need roster space to reinstate Joseph Woll from LTIR and defenseman Mark Giordano from the non-roster list, both of which should occur over the next week. He’s been a decent reserve option when called upon, recording one assist and a +1 rating in seven games while averaging 12:43.
- Blue Jackets winger Alexandre Texier won’t play Sunday against the Rangers due to illness, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets’ official site says. As such, 2016 eighth-overall pick Alexander Nylander will make his Blue Jackets debut after being acquired from the Penguins on Thursday. The France-born Texier has only missed two games this season, also due to illness, coming around U.S. Thanksgiving. He has eight goals in 18 points in 54 showings for Columbus after playing last season in the Swiss National League while on personal leave from the club.
West Notes: Zaitsev, Athanasiou, Vlasic, O’Brien, Stecher, Kuzmenko
Blackhawks defenseman Nikita Zaitsev‘s knee injury sustained in January was more severe than previously assumed, head coach Luke Richardson said Saturday (via Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times). Zaitsev sustained a bone fracture along with his knee injury and, while he’s returned to off-ice workouts, won’t return until mid-March.
The 32-year-old sustained the injury in a Jan. 16 game against the Sharks and has been out of the lineup for over a month, missing Chicago’s last 14 games. The Moscow native had two goals, five assists, seven points, and a remarkable +2 rating on a bottom-feeder Blackhawks team in 26 games, although he averaged only 15:56 per contest.
Zaitsev will be a UFA this summer after completing his albatross seven-year, $31.5MM contract extension signed by then-Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello in 2017. He has yet to sniff the career-high of 36 points he set during his rookie season with Toronto in 2016, and he’s only once posted a positive expected rating in his eight-year NHL career. If he remains in the league past this season, it’ll likely be on a league-minimum deal.
Other updates from the Western Conference:
- Sticking with Chicago, forward Andreas Athanasiou continues to progress in his recovery from a lower-body injury as he practiced in a full-contact jersey for the first time Saturday, according to Pope. The 29-year-old has not played in over three months, missing 46 games. The speedy winger disappointed through the first month of the campaign, recording four assists in 11 games and logging one healthy scratch, averaging 12:45 per game. Chicago signed him to a two-year, $8.5MM extension last summer after he racked up 20 goals and 40 points for the second time in his career last season.
- Sharks veteran blue-liner Marc-Édouard Vlasic is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and could miss up to a week, head coach David Quinn said Saturday (via Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group). Vlasic sustained the injury in practice yesterday and will sit after playing in 14 straight games, his longest stretch of the season. It’s been a difficult campaign for the 36-year-old Sharks lifer, who was a frequent healthy scratch through November and December as his all-around game continues to decline. Once regarded as one of the top shutdown defenders in the league, Vlasic’s 41.3% Corsi share at even strength is second-worst among full-time Sharks defenders this year, only ahead of rookie Nikita Okhotyuk. He carries a $7MM cap hit through the 2025-26 season.
- The Coyotes will activate enforcer Liam O’Brien off injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s game against the Jets, head coach André Tourigny said (via Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports). The fourth-line winger missed the last five games with an upper-body injury and had been a healthy scratch twice in the prior three games. The 6-foot-1 29-year-old is in his third season in the desert, racking up eight points and 116 PIMs in 49 games this year. Defenseman Troy Stecher, who’s been out for over a month with a lower-body injury, will not be ready to go tomorrow but could return as soon as Tuesday against the Canadiens, Morgan added. Both players are on IR, but the Coyotes have two open roster spots, so no corresponding transactions are necessary to activate them over the next few days.
- Flames winger Andrei Kuzmenko will miss tonight’s Battle of Alberta with an illness, coach Ryan Huska said (via Eric Francis of Sportsnet). The middle-six scoring winger has been up-and-down since Calgary acquired him from the Canucks in the Elias Lindholm trade, notching three goals and one assist in eight games with a -2 rating. He hasn’t seen an uptick in ice time since moving across provincial lines, averaging 14:06 per game with Calgary compared to 14:21 with Vancouver. He’s signed through next season at a $5.5MM cap hit.
Devils Recall Akira Schmid, Reassign Isaac Poulter
Feb. 24: New Jersey reversed the transaction today, recalling Schmid and returning Poulter to Utica. Schmid will be rostered for Sunday’s game against the Lightning. Poulter did not play during his recall, backing up Daws, who has started seven straight.
Feb. 21: The Devils swapped their backup netminders Wednesday, assigning Akira Schmid to AHL Utica and recalling Isaac Poulter, per a team release.
Today marks Poulter’s first NHL recall after New Jersey signed the 22-year-old to an entry-level contract last week. The undrafted free agent has been the Devils’ best AHL goalie this year, appearing in 24 of Utica’s 47 games while posting a .908 SV% and a 14-7-1 record with three shutouts.
Poulter is in his second professional season after signing a minor-league deal with Utica in 2022. He played four seasons of junior hockey with the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos from 2018 to 2022, amassing a 35-87-12 record in 137 games behind a struggling squad with a relatively strong .898 SV%.
The struggling Vítek Vaněček remains on IR with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, so Poulter will back up the 23-year-old Nico Daws when he dresses for his first NHL game tomorrow against the Rangers. New Jersey has enough cap space to absorb Poulter’s $812.5K cap hit with number-one defenseman Dougie Hamilton still on LTIR.
Schmid, 23, dressed for five games as Daws’ backup this month but has not played since being demoted to Utica in December. After a solid postseason performance in 2023, he made the team out of camp as Vaněček’s backup. However, a .893 SV% and 5-7-1 record through 13 starts and two relief appearances meant he fell to third on the Devils’ depth chart with Daws returning from a season-opening hip injury. His numbers have dipped further while on assignment to Utica, posting a .885 SV% and a 3-5-4 record in 12 games.
Avalanche Prospect Oskar Olausson To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
Avalanche forward prospect Oskar Olausson will undergo shoulder surgery on Monday that will sideline him for the rest of the 2023-24 season, the team announced Saturday. He is expected to return to the organization for the 2024-25 campaign.
Olausson, 21, was the 28th overall selection in the 2021 draft. He has no points in his two NHL appearances, one of which came this season on Dec. 5.
He’s taken a significant step forward in his development this season, posting 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points in 39 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He put up those same totals in 63 games last year.
Despite signing his entry-level contract the summer after his draft, it’s only kicked in this season because he was eligible twice for an entry-level slide. As such, he carries a cap hit of $863.3K and is headed for RFA status in 2026. He will not be placed on IR or LTIR because he was designated to the minors when the injury occurred.
Olausson is arguably still the Avs’ best forward prospect, although 2023 first-round pick Calum Ritchie submits a veritable challenge to that claim. A sniper by trade, Olausson will likely spend most of next season in the minors as well before making noise for an NHL roster spot.
The Eagles may be losing one of their best scorers, but they could be gaining an impact piece as soon as Sunday. Colorado waived depth forward Fredrik Olofsson on Saturday, and he’ll be assigned to the Eagles if he clears tomorrow.