Sabres Notes: Power, Clague, Tokarski, Comrie
The Sabres moved defenseman Owen Power to IR on Monday, per the NHL’s media site. Power, 21, has already missed three games with a hand injury and remains listed as week-to-week
Assuming the IR placement is retroactive to Feb. 13, when the Sabres confirmed he sustained the injury in practice, he would be eligible to return Wednesday against the Canadiens. He’s likely to miss a little more time than that, though, and this roster move is for the purpose of opening up a roster spot more than anything else.
The 2021 first-overall pick hasn’t shown massive development from last year’s solid rookie campaign, but he’s not having a sophomore slump, either. He remains on track to be a long-term fixture in the Sabres’ top four and has been one of their best two-way defenders this season, recording 18 points and a +3 rating in 51 games while averaging 22:27 per game. He’s taken a significant step forward defensively, being on the ice for 0.74 expected goals against per game at even strength compared to last year’s 1.04 mark, per Hockey Reference, although it’s come at the expense of some offense.
The 6-foot-6 Mississauga native is signed to a seven-year, $58.45MM extension that begins next season. He will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2031.
More from the Sabres to open the week:
- Power’s roster spot is going to defenseman Kale Clague, who the Sabres have recalled from AHL Rochester on an emergency basis, per a team announcement Monday. Buffalo recalled Clague under emergency conditions before Saturday’s overtime win over the Wild, but he was returned to Rochester after serving as a healthy scratch. Clague will likely be a scratch again against the Ducks on Monday but is an option to play if there’s an unexpected scratch. The 25-year-old has 23 points and a -8 rating in 42 games with Rochester.
- Also coming up to the active roster is netminder Dustin Tokarski, who will back up Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen against Anaheim on Monday, head coach Don Granato says (via Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550). Eric Comrie is unavailable with an illness and will be scratched. Tokarksi was summoned last Thursday to back up Comrie against the Panthers while Luukkonen was sidelined with a lower-body injury, but was returned to Rochester after Luukkonen was cleared to play over the weekend. The 34-year-old Tokarski has struggled in the minors this year, posting a .887 SV% in 17 games.
Stars Recall Alex Petrovic, Derrick Pouliot
The Stars have recalled defensemen Alex Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot from AHL Texas, the team announced Monday morning. In a corresponding transaction, the Stars returned forward Matěj Blümel to Texas to stay compliant with the 23-player roster limit.
Dallas summoned Blümel, 23, yesterday to optimize their accruable cap space limit before placing winger Evgenii Dadonov on LTIR. Blümel’s $925K cap hit was the highest of any player they had stored in the minors aside from defenseman Lian Bichsel, who is on loan to Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League. He allowed the Stars to capture their ACSL at $83.37MM, just $13K short of the salary cap.
However, defense is Dallas’ positional need with Jani Hakanpää and Nils Lundkvist sidelined with upper-body injuries. At least one recall on defense was necessary to avoid dressing 13 forwards and five defensemen against the Bruins for Monday’s Presidents’ Day matinee.
By swapping Blümel for an extra defenseman, the Stars have one backup in case of further injuries. If they want to carry an extra forward while Dadonov is on LTIR, they still can – they have $1.625MM remaining in their LTIR salary pool after executing today’s transactions. However, it would require moving Hakanpää to IR to free up a roster spot.
As such, one of today’s two recalls will make their season (and Stars) debut in Boston, likely Petrovic, who would replace Hakanpää as the only right-shot defenseman in the Dallas lineup with Lundkvist on IR. If so, it would be the 31-year-old’s first NHL game in over five years, last suiting up with the Oilers on Feb. 16, 2019.
Petrovic has bounced around the AHL since falling out of an NHL role, signing a pair of two-way deals with the Bruins and Flames before joining the Stars in 2021. He’s signed three straight one-year, two-way contracts to remain in the Dallas organization, clearing waivers at the beginning of the season in every occurrence and only seeing recalls to serve as a Black Ace during playoff runs in 2022 and 2023. Monday marks his first in-season recall as a member of the Stars.
The Panthers’ 2010 second-round pick played in 263 NHL games with Florida and Edmonton between 2012 and 2019, recording five goals, 45 assists and 50 points with a -10 rating and 360 PIMs. The Edmonton native struggled in his most recent NHL showing, recording only two assists in 35 games with the Panthers and Oilers in 2018-19 while averaging bottom-pairing minutes to complement a career-worst -15 rating and underwhelming possession metrics.
Petrovic has been a stabilizing force for the Stars’ up-and-comers in Texas, though, serving as an alternate captain since arriving in Cedar Park in 2021. Through 44 games this year, he has three goals, 13 assists, 16 points, and a +5 rating. He’s coming off arguably his best two-way season as a pro in 2022-23, when he notched a career-high 27 points in 71 games and a +34 rating.
The 30-year-old Pouliot will likely serve as Dallas’ seventh defenseman until one of Hakanpää or Lundkvist is ready to return. The eighth overall selection in the 2012 draft by the Penguins has, like Petrovic, settled into a consistent minor-league role at this stage in his career. However, he does have much more recent NHL experience, recording two assists and a -1 rating in eight games with the Sharks last year and posting four assists and a +6 rating in 11 games split between the Golden Knights and Kraken in 2021-22.
Pouliot signed a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$325K) to join the Stars on Jul. 4, 2023, and passed through waivers unclaimed during training camp. He leads Texas blue-liners with eight goals, 23 assists and 31 points in 44 games.
Noah Hanifin Likely To Test Free Agency
The agents for Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin have informed the team that he will not sign an extension ahead of the March 8 trade deadline and instead intends to test unrestricted free agency this summer, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports on “Saturday Headlines.”
TSN’s Chris Johnston reported earlier in the month that Hanifin’s camp was expected to inform Flames GM Craig Conroy of his re-signing intentions in the coming days. Hanifin indicated last summer he was not willing to extend in Calgary, but became amenable to a deal closer to the beginning of the season and was reportedly offered an eight-year deal with a $7.5MM AAV shortly thereafter.
That deal was still on the table by all indications heading into their discussions this month, but Hanifin likely believes he can attract richer offers over the summer – or with a new squad in the coming months. He’ll now surely be dealt by the deadline and, at 27 years old, becomes the top rental option remaining on the market at any position with Penguins winger Jake Guentzel injured.
With one foot in the “stay in Calgary” door, there haven’t been many documented suitors for Hanifin in recent weeks. The Coyotes had demonstrated interest earlier in the season, but a 2-7-1 stretch in their last 10 games has them far out of the playoff picture and takes them out of the conversation for making a rental acquisition.
Some contenders and playoff hopefuls with obvious holes on defense, such as the Maple Leafs and Lightning, would likely be willing to give up assets for Hanifin without a guarantee of an extension. The minute-munching defender, who has 30 points and a +11 rating in 54 contests, carries a reasonable cap hit of $4.95MM, although that’s still likely too much to swallow for most contenders without moving money the other way.
It’s worth noting that Hanifin has some control over his short-term destiny. His deal affords him an eight-team no-trade list, per CapFriendly. Whether Hanifin would consider an extension with his post-deadline team is unclear.
The coming weeks will end a six-year tenure for Hanifin in Calgary. The Flames acquired him, along with Elias Lindholm, from the Hurricanes in a June 2018 blockbuster, sending Micheal Ferland, Dougie Hamilton, and the signing rights to future Rangers superstar Adam Fox in return.
Hanifin’s averaged a career-high 23:44 this season, and his 0.56 points per game is the second-highest mark of his career. His expected +1.3 rating is pedestrian compared to recent seasons, however, as is his career-worst Corsi-for percentage of 49.6 at even strength.
East Notes: York, van Riemsdyk, Fehérváry, Harris
Flyers defenseman Cam York is in the lineup for tonight’s Stadium Series game against the Devils, head coach John Tortorella confirms (via PHLY Sports’ Charlie O’Connor). The 23-year-old sustained an upper-body injury Thursday against the Maple Leafs and told The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz yesterday that he was “not sure yet” about his status for tonight.
The 2019 14th-overall pick is handling the most responsibility of his young career, averaging a career-high 21:47 per game while posting six goals, 12 assists and 18 points in 55 appearances. He’s on pace for a career-high 27 points and has not missed a game this season.
More advanced metrics are less kind to his performance this year, however. His pairing with Travis Sanheim is the Flyers’ most used, logging 645 minutes together but controlling a mediocre 48.9% of expected goals in the process, per MoneyPuck. York’s 47.6 Corsi-for percentage at even strength is also the worst among Philadelphia’s full-time defensemen, but some growing pains are to be expected for an under-25 defenseman shouldering over 20 minutes per game for the first time.
Other updates from the Eastern Conference:
- Capitals veteran blue-liner Trevor van Riemsdyk draws in tonight against the Canadiens, The Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson reports. The Middletown, New Jersey, native had missed the last four games with an illness and has only played in four of Washington’s last 11 games due to a handful of healthy scratches. He’s fallen down the depth chart after the team picked up Ethan Bear in free agency, a concerning development given he has two years remaining on a deal carrying a $3MM cap hit. He has eight assists and a -11 rating while averaging 18:30 in 40 games.
- As one returns for Washington, another defenseman departs as Martin Fehérváry sustained a lower-body injury early in tonight’s game against Montreal and will not return, the team says. The 24-year-old Slovak suffered a non-contact injury after falling awkwardly behind the Capitals net, per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. He’s remained in a top-pairing role alongside John Carlson for most of the season, recording 12 points and a -6 rating in 46 games while logging 19:08 per game, down from an even 20 last season. The 2018 second-round pick also missed five games with a lower-body injury in November.
- Also absent on the blue line for tonight’s Habs/Caps tilt is Montreal’s Jordan Harris, who remained in a non-contact jersey at practice this morning, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu reports. Harris, 23, remains listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury that’s now cost him three games. It’s been a trying season for the 2018 third-round pick, who played just 1:34 against the Blues last Sunday after being a healthy scratch in four of the previous five games. Injuries have also taken a fair chunk out of his games played total this year, including a 15-game absence due to a lower-body injury in November and December. He has one goal and six points in 31 games while averaging 17:02 with a -5 rating and is locked into a $1.4MM cap hit through 2025.
Penguins Claim Matthew Phillips Off Waivers From Capitals
The Penguins claimed forward Matthew Phillips off waivers from the Capitals on Friday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.
Washington placed Phillips, 25, on waivers yesterday after making him a healthy scratch in 15 of their last 16 games. The undersized winger had one goal and four assists in 27 appearances with the Caps after signing a one-year, one-way deal worth $775K last summer upon reaching Group VI free agency.
A member of the Flames organization for more than half a decade after they selected him in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, Phillips developed into one of the best players at the AHL level over the past two seasons. He posted back-to-back seasons above a point per game with their affiliates in Stockton and Calgary in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and produced at a top-six pace for a pair of campaigns prior.
His 5-foot-7, 140-lb frame was always going to make life difficult for him in the NHL, however. He got off to a strong start this season, posting three points in his first four games, but he hasn’t recorded a point in over two months and has a poor 43.1% Corsi share at even strength.
Pittsburgh takes a chance on him with four regular forwards out of the lineup due to injuries – Noel Acciari, Jake Guentzel, Jansen Harkins, and Matthew Nieto. Despite his struggles this season, Phillips is a higher-ceiling scoring option than most of the minor-league call-ups they have occupying bottom-six roles in their absence, and he carries little to no financial impact on their deadline plans with a league-minimum cap hit.
The Penguins will maintain control of Phillips’ signing rights this offseason, as he’ll be an RFA with arbitration rights when his contract expires.
Coyotes Recall Matt Villalta, Place Liam O’Brien On IR
The Coyotes recalled netminder Matt Villalta from AHL Tucson on Friday, per a team announcement. Forward Liam O’Brien was moved to injured reserve to create a roster spot.
Villalta, 24, gets his first recall as a member of the Coyotes with starter Connor Ingram sidelined day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Ingram left Wednesday’s game against the Wild after the second period and did not return.
Karel Vejmelka will get the majority of the action while Ingram is out of the lineup. Originally expected to form a tandem with Ingram this year, he’s fallen squarely into the backup position after posting a .897 SV% and 6-12-2 record through 19 starts and four relief appearances.
Villalta is in his first season with the Coyotes after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Kings last summer. He’s suiting up in his fifth season of pro hockey after the Kings selected him 72nd overall in the 2017 draft.
The Kingston, Ontario, native was on an upward trajectory throughout his four seasons for the Kings’ affiliate in Ontario, so it was puzzling to see Los Angeles cut him loose. Villalta has assumed the undisputed starting role in Tucson, logging a .913 SV%, two shutouts, and a 22-11-1 record in 34 games. He leads the league in wins and games played, while his SV% ranks 18th.
He’s a high-end third-string goalie at this stage in his development, and a potential NHL debut with Ingram out of the lineup could go a long way toward demonstrating he has value as an NHL backup as soon as next season. Ingram’s shoes are giant ones to fill, however – he’s been one of the best stories in the NHL this season with a .912 SV% and 17-13-2 record in 35 games, along with 10.8 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck.
O’Brien, 29, was already listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He last suited up on Feb. 10 against the Predators and will be eligible to return to action for Sunday’s game against the Avalanche, although Arizona will need to clear a roster spot to take him off IR. The team’s primary enforcer has 116 PIMs in 49 games this year, adding three goals and eight points.
Predators Sign Michael McCarron To Two-Year Extension
The Predators signed forward Michael McCarron to a two-year, $1.8MM contract extension on Friday, per a team announcement. The deal will begin in the 2024-25 season and carries a cap hit of $900K.
McCarron, 29 next month, was slated for unrestricted free agency this summer upon completing his current one-year, $775K extension signed last April. He’ll now be eligible for UFA status again in 2026 at 31 years old.
He hasn’t had the career most envisioned when the Canadiens selected him 25th overall in 2013. This season is McCarron’s first as a true full-timer – the only other season without AHL action in his pro career was the COVID-laced 2020-21 campaign when he played six games for Nashville and spent most of the year on the taxi squad.
Through 42 games, McCarron has tied his career-high in goals (7) and is one back of tying his career-high in points (14). Averaging 11:52 per game, he’s spent most of his time on a depth line with Cole Smith and Philip Tomasino that’s dominated shot quality to the tune of a 58.3% expected goals share, per MoneyPuck. That’s the highest among Nashville’s forward lines that have over 75 minutes played together this season.
If McCarron maintains this level of play, he’ll be a more-than-serviceable fourth-line center over the next pair of seasons. In the case McCarron regresses back to a replacement-level player, his cap hit can be fully buried in the AHL.
In 200 games with Nashville and Montreal, dating back to his debut in the 2015-16 season, McCarron has 18 goals, 21 assists and 39 points with a -8 rating and 295 PIMs. He’s averaged 10:38 per game throughout his career and owns a career faceoff win percentage of 50.7.
Flames Make Multiple Roster Moves
The Flames recalled forward Dryden Hunt from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers and activated goaltender Daniel Vladař off injured reserve in simultaneous transactions Friday morning, according to a team announcement. To clear the two necessary roster spots, the team assigned forward Cole Schwindt and netminder Dustin Wolf to the Wranglers.
Hunt, 28, has played in four games for the Flames this season, all coming within the first few weeks of the campaign after he made the NHL roster out of training camp. He has not been recalled since the Flames placed him on waivers and reassigned him to the minors in early November.
The undrafted free agent signed by the Panthers in 2016 has done quite well in his latest minor-league stint, posting seven goals and 22 points with a +11 rating in 23 games. The veteran of over 200 NHL games is on his fourth NHL team in the last two seasons after bouncing between the Rangers, Avalanche and Maple Leafs in 2022-23.
Calgary acquired Hunt in a deadline swap of minor-league forwards from Toronto at last year’s trade deadline, but he did not play for the team in the season’s final weeks. He reached unrestricted free agency without an extension in hand on July 1. Still, the Flames brought him back to the organization one day into the signing period with a two-year, two-way deal worth $1.55MM that pays him a minimum guaranteed salary of $400K this year and next.
Hunt scored three goals in 37 games split between the trio mentioned above of squads last season, averaging a career-low 8:04 per game. His expected -2.2 rating was also a career low. He is, however, two years removed from posting a career-high 17 points in 76 games with the Rangers in the 2021-22 campaign.
Vladař returns to the active roster after missing the last three games with a lower-body injury sustained off-ice. He hasn’t played since starting three straight games in mid-January, backing up starter Jacob Markström in five straight before landing on IR last week. The 26-year-old has a career-low .888 SV% and 3.27 GAA, not counting his five-game stint with the Bruins in 2020-21, and has a 7-7-2 record in 16 starts. This year is his third season backing up Markström after being brought over from Boston for a third-round pick in the summer of 2021.
While Markström’s high-end performance this season has generated a significant amount of trade interest, Vladař could be a chip for the Flames to move out if dealing the final three years of Markström’s $6MM AAV deal becomes too much of an obstacle in-season. The 26-year-old is signed through next season at a $2.2MM cap hit.
Schwindt returns to the Wranglers after playing 7:40 in yesterday’s 6-3 loss to the Sharks, posting zeros across the board. He has 2 PIMs, one shot on goal, and a -1 rating in four NHL showings this season dating back to late January.
The latest NHL shot for the 22-year-old Wolf didn’t go as planned. Calgary’s top goalie prospect conceded six goals on 31 shots against the division-worst Sharks last night, dropping his NHL SV% in 2023-24 to .878 through five starts and one relief appearance. The 6-foot California native has still performed at an elite level with the Wranglers, though, recording a .927 SV%, four shutouts, and an 18-7-2 record in 28 games.
Rangers Recall Matt Rempe
The Rangers recalled forward Matt Rempe from AHL Hartford on Friday, per a team announcement.
While New York has recalled the 21-year-old once already this season without appearing in a game, this occasion will likely result in his NHL debut. The Rangers were down to 12 healthy forwards after Blake Wheeler left last night’s 7-4 defeat of the Canadiens with a lower-body injury, so Rempe comes up to serve as a bottom-six option in his absence.
Head coach Peter Laviolette has recently opted for a youth movement on the team’s fourth line, parting ways with Nick Bonino and waiving Tyler Pitlick to provide an opportunity for 23-year-old Adam Edstrom to get an extended look in the lineup. That indicates Rempe is likely to slot in alongside Edstrom and Barclay Goodrow at right wing, allowing 32-year-old call-up Alex Belzile to serve as a healthy scratch for the second straight game when the Rangers face the Islanders in this weekend’s Stadium Series game.
A sixth-round pick of the team in 2020, the 6-foot-8 Rempe projects as a fourth-line force if he does end up sticking in the majors. Now in his second year of pro hockey with Hartford, he has eight goals and 12 points in 43 games this season, adding a -9 rating and 96 PIMs. He has one season remaining on his entry-level contract, which carries a cap hit of $820K, and he’ll be an RFA in 2025.
Sabres Recall Kale Clague, Reassign Dustin Tokarski
The Sabres have recalled defenseman Kale Clague from AHL Rochester, per a team release Friday morning. In a corresponding transaction, Buffalo returned goaltender Dustin Tokarski to Rochester after they summoned him on an emergency loan yesterday.
This recall is the 25-year-old Clague’s second of the season. Buffalo added him to the roster on an emergency basis for a Jan. 15 game against the Sharks, but he did not play.
Now in his second season with the Sabres organization, Clague is second on Rochester in assists with 20 in 41 games and leads Amerks defensemen in points with 23. His 52 PIMs this season are the most he’s had since his junior hockey days with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings.
A second-round pick of the Kings in 2016, Clague’s tenure in Los Angeles ended when he was claimed off waivers by the Canadiens in December 2021. He didn’t do enough in 25 games with Montréal to end the 2021-22 season to convince them to give him a qualifying offer, thus reaching unrestricted free agency sooner than expected after his age-23 season.
The Sabres have since picked him up on two straight one-year, two-way deals, and he’s settled into the ninth spot on their defensive depth chart. An unexpected rookie showing from Ryan Johnson has limited his call-up opportunities, although he remains a dependable third-pairing option if needed. He struggled to control shot quality when handed some tougher matchups alongside Owen Power last season, controlling only 41.7% of expected goals in 27 games together, per MoneyPuck.
Clague will draw in only if injuries require it. With the Sabres heading on a one-game road trip to Minnesota and Power unavailable with a suspected hand injury, the Sabres opted to carry a seventh healthy defenseman.
Tokarski returns to the minors after backing up Eric Comrie in last night’s 4-0 loss to the Panthers. His reassignment suggests that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a late scratch with a lower-body injury yesterday, will return against the Wild tomorrow. The 34-year-old Tokarski is backing up top prospect Devon Levi in Rochester, where he’s struggled with a .888 SV% and a 7-7-2 record in 16 games.