Trevor Zegras, Pavel Mintyukov Out Long-Term
Ducks center Trevor Zegras and rookie defenseman Pavel Mintyukov both sustained long-term injuries Tuesday night against the Predators, the team announced. Zegras will undergo surgery on a fractured ankle and miss six to eight weeks, while Mintyukov will be sidelined for six weeks with a separated shoulder.
Zegras has struggled with his health and consistency this season as he already missed 20 straight games earlier this season and has scored just four goals and three assists in 20 games since his return. It’s been a tough few months for the 22-year-old as he had contentious contract negotiations with the Ducks in the summer and missed training camp. After he returned from injury, he struggled to get to his game in recent weeks and even found his name bandied about in trade rumors over the past few days before getting hurt.
Mintyukov is the Ducks’ 10th overall pick from 2022 and has been a pleasant surprise this year on their backend with two goals and 17 assists in 40 games. On top of being a solid offensive contributor, the 20-year-old has provided the Ducks with a physical presence as well as some solid work in the defensive zone. The Ducks figure to utilize newly acquired Gustav Lindstrom in Mintyukov’s absence.
Ducks’ general manager Pat Verbeek has been active on the trade market over the past week, and it will be interesting to see if he re-ignites the Zegras trade talks when he is healthy once again.
Bruins Place Brandon Carlo On IR, Recall Brandon Bussi
The Bruins placed defenseman Brandon Carlo on injured reserve retroactive to January 8, according to a team release. In a corresponding transaction, the team elevated netminder Brandon Bussi from AHL Providence on an emergency basis. Head coach Jim Montgomery said that 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and will not play tonight against the Golden Knights, so Bussi will back up Ullmark’s tandem partner, Jeremy Swayman.
Ullmark isn’t the only player who sustained an injury in Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Coyotes. Rookie Matthew Poitras suffered a shoulder injury and will also miss tonight’s game. He, too, is listed as day-to-day.
Carlo left the team’s game on Monday against the Avalanche in the second period with an upper-body injury, although it wasn’t clear what caused the premature exit. As a result of the IR placement, the 27-year-old has been ruled out of the team’s next three games. He will be eligible to return next Thursday against the Avalanche.
In 39 games this season, the Bruins’ top shutdown defender has two goals, eight assists, ten points, and a team-high +15 rating while averaging over 20 minutes per game. AHL call-up Parker Wotherspoon, who has two assists and a +2 rating in 13 NHL appearances this season, is projected to remain in a second-pairing role alongside Hampus Lindholm in Carlo’s absence.
Luckily for the Bruins, it doesn’t appear anyone else’s absence is extremely long-term, either. It’s a tough loss to go without Ullmark for a stretch, who’s again been one of the better goalies in the league with a .915 SV% and 8.1 goals saved above average in 20 starts (21 appearances), but Swayman has put up slightly better numbers this season in the same amount of action.
In his place for now will be the 25-year-old Bussi. Named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team last season after he posted a .924 SV% in 32 appearances for Providence in his first season after completing his collegiate career at Western Michigan, he’s taken a significant step back this year with a .901 SV% and 10-6-3 record in 20 appearances. He’s been recalled on multiple occasions over the past two years due to short-term injuries to Swayman and Ullmark, and although he’s solidly third on Boston’s depth chart, he’s still yet to make his NHL debut.
Poitras, 19, was injured in his third game back after representing Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden. The 2022 second-round pick has five goals and 15 points while averaging 13:46 through his first 30 NHL contests.
Capitals Activate T.J. Oshie
The Capitals activated veteran winger T.J. Oshie from injured reserve Thursday, The Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson reports. To stay under the 23-player roster limit, the team moved defenseman Rasmus Sandin to IR retroactive to January 3 with an upper-body injury.
Oshie will re-enter the Capitals lineup tonight against the Kraken on a throwback line with former All-Stars Evgeny Kuznetsov and Max Pacioretty. It will be the 37-year-old’s first game since December 16, subsequently missing 11 games with a lower-body injury. This was his second multi-game absence of the season – Oshie also missed six games with an upper-body injury in late November and early December.
It’s been a trying year for the six-time 20-goal scorer, who has one season remaining after this on a deal carrying a $5.75MM cap hit. He’s scored only twice in 21 games, adding two assists for four points. His ice time has dipped slightly to 16:34 per game; the fifth straight year that it’s decreased. It’s the lowest average of his 16-year, 979-game NHL career.
On a team receiving better production from less-used wingers, Anthony Mantha and Aliaksei Protas, it’s surprising Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery hasn’t reduced Oshie’s ice time further. Oshie isn’t a complete defensive liability, but he’s far from a shutdown specialist – he’s posted a negative expected plus-minus rating in four of the last five seasons, including this one.
Meanwhile, Sandin lands on IR to give the Capitals some short-term roster flexibility. He’s already satisfied the minimum seven-day absence requirement and can be activated at any time. The 23-year-old likely won’t be out much longer, as he’s still listed as day-to-day.
Tonight’s tilt against the Kraken will be his first missed with this specific upper-body injury, though. Sandin, who the Capitals acquired in a trade with the Maple Leafs before last season’s deadline, had missed two prior games with an illness. Now in his first full season as a Capital, the 2018 first-round pick ranks second on the team in average time on ice (22:05) and has 11 assists in 36 games.
Canadiens Acquire Filip Cederqvist From Sabres
3:44 p.m.: Cederqvist is planning to return to Sweden at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, The Athletic’s Lance Lysowski reports. While this won’t be a long-term investment from Montreal, Cederqvist is a serviceable minor-league stopgap who will help fill out the roster of a Laval squad that’s dealing with multiple long-term injuries.
2:54 p.m.: The Canadiens acquired forward prospect Filip Cederqvist from the Sabres in exchange for future considerations on Thursday.
Cederqvist, 23, was a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Just a few seasons ago, he was regarded as one of the Sabres’ higher-ceiling prospects after posting 14 goals and 32 points in 49 games with Djurgårdens IF in the Swedish Hockey League as a 21-year-old in the 2021-22 campaign, good enough for second on the team.
However, his transition to North America has not gone well. Lost in the shuffle among the Sabres’ glut of forward prospects, Cederqvist underwhelmed with nine goals and 20 points in 55 games for AHL Rochester last season, his first in North America. This season has been almost a complete throwaway for Cederqvist, though, who has one goal and three assists through 19 games.
With the Sabres having no need for his services and his poor AHL production causing major concern, it’s no surprise he could be had for free on the trade market. Cederqvist will now likely report to AHL Laval and look to regain confidence in a new organization. The 6-foot-3 Swede can play both left wing and center.
If he doesn’t pan out, it’s a low-risk investment for the Canadiens. He’s in the final season of his two-year, entry-level contract, meaning he can be cut loose at the end of the season if Montreal doesn’t issue him a qualifying offer. He would then be a UFA and could return to Europe or sign on with a third NHL team.
“Several” Teams Have Shown Interest In Corey Perry
Multiple NHL teams have shown interest in picking up UFA veteran Corey Perry as the 2023-24 season rounds the halfway mark, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports Thursday. Per Kaplan, one unnamed team “is doing major due diligence” to determine if past workplace behavior issues exist aside from the undisclosed incident that got his contract with the Blackhawks terminated earlier this season.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed late Wednesday that Perry is eligible to sign with a team and will not face a blockade from league commissioner Gary Bettman. Perry has met with Bettman since the contract termination at the player’s request, per Friedman, and was given Bettman’s “blessing” to return. He has not yet filed a grievance with the NHLPA against his termination, and the union has until January 28 to decide if it wants to proceed with one.
The Blackhawks signed Perry, 38, to a one-year, $4MM contract after acquiring his signing rights from the Lightning in a late June trade. The capable veteran notched four goals and nine points through 16 games in Chicago before the team removed him from the lineup and eventually the roster for an incident that the team said violated the terms of his contract and organizational standards. Perry issued a statement shortly after his termination, stating he would “discuss his struggles with alcohol” with behavioral health experts.
Perry’s 0.56 points per game pace in third-line minutes in Chicago is a strong indication that he can still bring it, especially considering the lack of depth around him. That pace would be third on the Blackhawks today behind Connor Bedard‘s 0.85 clip and Philipp Kurashev‘s 0.68.
If Perry does get another contract to extend his career past the 1,300-game mark, it will almost surely be for the league minimum $775K. No teams have been reliably linked to Perry yet, although former Maple Leaf Carlo Colaiacovo posited on TSN 1050 radio today that there may be mutual interest between Perry and Toronto. There, he would assumedly slot in a fourth-line right-wing role and, even in his late 30s, would provide a major upgrade over declining enforcer Ryan Reaves and AHL call-up Bobby McMann. The 2007 Stanley Cup champion with the Ducks also still lives in London, Ontario, where he played his junior hockey with the Knights. It’s understandable why he would have an interest in signing without having to make a mid-season move.
Gabriel Landeskog Skates For First Time Since Cartilage Transplant
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog skated on his own today for the first time since undergoing a cartilage transplant in his right knee last May, Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal relays.
It’s an incredibly promising development for Colorado’s captain. He hasn’t played an NHL game since June 26, 2022, when the Avalanche won Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final over the Lightning to win their third championship in franchise history. His cartilage transplant is the third surgery on his right knee dating back to March 2022.
Landeskog’s second surgery, which took place early in the 2022-23 season, was only expected to keep him out for three months and have him back in the lineup by the All-Star break. Instead, he missed the entire campaign, thus determining a more invasive surgery was needed to correct the issue and improve his long-term quality of life.
While today’s news increases optimism that the 31-year-old will resume his career at some point, expect the Avalanche to be overly cautious with his recovery timeline. Given the nature of a cartilage transplant surgery in an athlete, even a small setback in his progress will take him “back to square one,” Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan last October.
With three months to go until postseason play, it’s too early to rule Landeskog out of playoff action. The Avalanche will be in the mix come April, with 98% odds of making the playoffs and 15% odds of taking the Central Division title from the league-best Winnipeg Jets, per Hockey Reference. Even if he’s cleared to return, though, the likelihood of the Avalanche plopping him into the most rough-and-tumble environment of the season after nearly two years off seems low.
Colorado is certainly of the mind of winning the Cup this season, but it’s fair to assume MacFarland would like to extend the team’s window to compete beyond 2024. Letting Landeskog rest as long as possible in hopes of 2024-25 behind his first season with 70+ games played in six years would help achieve that goal.
At the time of writing, Landeskog’s 738 games played rank sixth in Avalanche history. His 248 goals, 323 assists, and 571 points rank seventh, ninth, and eighth, respectively. His 1.16 points-per-game pace in his final season before the injury, 2021-22, was a career-high.
Maple Leafs Recall Ilya Samsonov
After clearing waivers early last week, Ilya Samsonov‘s brief stint on the AHL roster is over. The Maple Leafs recalled last season’s starting netminder this morning, returning youngster Dennis Hildeby to AHL Toronto in a corresponding transaction.
Samsonov, 26, has had a horrid go of things this season that culminated in a minor-league assignment to work with the team’s development staff. He did not suit up in any game action for the AHL’s Marlies during his ten-day stint. To go along with a rather peculiar 5-2-6 record, Samsonov had a .862 SV% in 15 NHL games – second-worst in the league among qualified netminders only to the Hurricanes’ Antti Raanta.
Without any stats from his AHL run, it’s hard to gauge from an outside viewpoint if Samsonov is mentally ready to rebound from his struggles. There’s no doubt he’s a skilled, capable netminder. After all, he started 40 out of 82 games for Toronto last season and stopped 18 goals above expected, which was tenth in the league, per MoneyPuck. It’s also unclear whether or not the Leafs plan to play Samsonov anytime soon, as they’ve shown a willingness to ride the hot hand and start Martin Jones in back-to-back contests already once this month. The recall could be just to get Samsonov back working with the Leafs’ NHL staff as he gets closer to being deemed ready to play.
This has to be a tad disappointing for Hildeby, who didn’t see any action during his first NHL recall. After backing up Jones in four games, the monstrous 22-year-old Swede heads back to the Marlies, where he has a 2.20 GAA, .919 SV%, two shutouts, and a 7-5-3 record in 15 games this year.
Connor Bedard Undergoes Surgery On Jaw, Out 6-8 Weeks
Blackhawks star rookie Connor Bedard underwent surgery on Monday to repair his fractured jaw, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports. Bedard will be sidelined between six and eight weeks as a result of the procedure and will miss next month’s 2024 NHL All-Star Game in Toronto. The Blackhawks later confirmed the timeline.
The Blackhawks already placed Bedard on injured reserve last weekend, but he’ll miss far more than the minimum seven days required for an IR stay. The 2023 first-overall pick sustained the injury on an open-ice hit from Devils bruiser Brendan Smith last Friday.
Bedard, still just 18, has bar-none been the Blackhawks’ best offensive player in his first NHL campaign. The team is on pace for only 24 wins and 52 points at the halfway mark of the season, but Bedard has still managed a team-leading 15 goals, 18 assists and 33 points in 39 games while leading Chicago forwards with an average ice time of 19:04. His longer-term injury is reminiscent of Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, who was sidelined for 37 games during his rookie 2015-16 campaign after a big hit from then-Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning.
It will be an extremely tough go for the embattled Blackhawks without Bedard’s services, which could take them up to the March 8 trade deadline. Taylor Hall is done for the season, while Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Beauvillier, Nick Foligno, and Tyler Johnson are all sidelined longer-term with injuries. It’s forced them to dress a first line composed of Philipp Kurashev, recent trade pickup Rem Pitlick, who’s spent the entire season in the AHL up to this point, and Taylor Raddysh. For a team already sitting near the very bottom of the league, things will get worse before they get better.
In terms of an All-Star Game replacement for Bedard, the league could look to send defenseman Seth Jones to Toronto. Chicago’s highest-paid defender is currently on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, but he’s returned to practice and will likely be cleared to play before the festivities in early February. Jones has no goals and 11 assists in 27 games this year, averaging over 25 minutes per game and posting a respectable -5 rating on a poor defensive team.
Flames GM Craig Conroy Comments On Deadline Plans
It’s been another disappointing season for the Flames, who sit 12th in the Western Conference with a .500 record and are down to a 19% chance of making the playoffs, per Hockey Reference. Early-season optimism around extending their many pending unrestricted free agents has now turned into trade discussions for most, already moving fan-favorite blueliner Nikita Zadorov out the door to the Canucks earlier this season.
The team has an extremely well-rounded offense with 11 players scoring over 20 points thus far, but they haven’t received top-end production from the higher-ups in their lineup. Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri currently hold a tie for the team lead in points with 32, and their 30th-ranked power play certainly isn’t helping them in the goal-scoring department. They’ve slipped significantly in terms of limiting quality scoring chances against under first-year head coach Ryan Huska, too, leading to an uncharacteristically low 23rd-place defense despite a bounce-back year from starter Jacob Markström.
On track to miss the postseason for the second straight season in the post-Johnny Gaudreau/Matthew Tkachuk era, it’s no surprise multiple Flames have found themselves in trade rumors regardless of their contract status. GM Craig Conroy commented on what’s unfolded thus far and what we can expect to see from the Flames in the coming months in an interview with The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek published this morning. Asked about whether the Flames would go full scorched-earth at the trade deadline and ship out multiple high-caliber names without immediate replacements, the first-year manager expressed hesitancy.
“There is a balance between short- and long-term,” said Conroy. “You don’t know what you’re going to get for certain assets that you have — or what’s to come. Or maybe somebody here wants to re-sign with you. All those things are still out there… You want to get your young guys in, but you want to put them in an environment with some veteran guys that can show them how the NHL works. Because there’s going to be ups and downs with the (Connor) Zarys, the (Martin) Pospisils and the Dustin Wolfs.”
Reading between the lines, it’s clear Conroy isn’t chomping at the bit to give the keys to the team’s rookies just yet. Zary, namely, has had quite an impressive stint since being recalled from the AHL early in the season, posting nine goals and 21 points in 31 games while assuming top-six minutes and tying for fourth on the team in goals. But this is the 22-year-old’s first run in the NHL, and it’s been an injury-plagued and inconsistent development path for the 2020 24th overall pick. Conroy reiterated his desire to not let major assets walk for nothing, and players like top-line center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin will still likely find new homes by March 8, but his approach for the future allows the Flames to take money back in those deals in the form of serviceable veterans.
However, what Conroy’s retool plan means for Wolf is less clear. A couple of teams have called about Markström, per a report last night from The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, but the Flames haven’t been shopping him. The 33-year-old has two seasons remaining after this with a $6MM cap hit and a no-movement clause, meaning whether a deal comes to fruition is entirely out of Conroy’s control. Despite his menial 11-11-2 record, Markström’s advanced numbers are squarely back in the above-average territory this season with a .908 SV% and 10.3 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. It’s not the form he displayed en route to his second-place Vezina Trophy finish in 2021-22, but his GSAx figure ranks ninth in the NHL at the time of writing. If the Flames still have the intention to try and return to the playoffs in the next few seasons with some personnel changes, it doesn’t make much sense to trade away a cost-effective top-ten goalie.
Wolf’s .930 SV% and four shutouts in 21 games with AHL Calgary this season speaks for itself, though, even if his short time in the NHL this year (five games played, 1-2-1 record, .893 SV%) wasn’t all that promising. He’s still just 22 years old and deserves a spot on the roster sooner rather than later. It would surprise no one to see Conroy aggressively step up efforts to move backup netminder Daniel Vladar, who’s been one of the worst in the league this season with a .883 SV% but an inexplicably higher points percentage than Markström with a 6-5-2 record in 13 appearances.
There’s plenty of time yet for the Flames, though, who have just under two months until the deadline. If they do intend on being active players, which seems like an accurate assessment by all accounts, Conroy needs the runway to form what will likely be multiple financially complex deals.
Blues Sign Nathan Walker To Two-Year Extension
The Blues have agreed to a two-year, one-way extension with depth winger Nathan Walker, per a team release. Walker’s new deal carries the league minimum salary of $775K each season and keeps him from hitting unrestricted free agency this summer.
Walker, 29, will remain in St. Louis through the 2025-26 season. The first Australian national in league history is now in his eighth season, having played NHL games every year since debuting with the Capitals in 2017-18. A third-round pick of the Capitals in 2014 after suiting up for their AHL affiliate in Hershey, Walker immediately signed his entry-level contract and spent most of the next five seasons in the Capitals organization aside from a two-game stint with the Oilers, including one appearance in the team’s run to the 2018 Stanley Cup.
After reaching Group VI UFA status, Walker inked a two-year deal with the Blues in July 2019. He’s stayed in the organization ever since, racking up 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points in 101 games, averaging 10:55 per game. Added to his career regular-season totals with Washington and Edmonton, Walker has 14 goals and 28 points in 113 NHL appearances.
He’s primarily been a tweener player for most of his career, always seeing significant AHL time but consistently finding himself in the mix for NHL call-ups. That changed last season, however, as Walker spent the entire campaign on the NHL roster for the first time, recording two goals, eight assists and ten points in 56 games in a fourth-line/depth role.
It hasn’t been the same story this season, however. Walker cleared waivers on the day before the regular season began and returned to AHL Springfield, where he took the demotion in stride. His 16 assists and 29 points in 30 games are second on the team behind Matthew Peca and Adam Gaudette, respectively, leading the Blues to bring Walker back to the NHL when the calendar turned to 2024 last week. In the two games since his January 1 recall, Walker has one goal and a +1 rating, averaging 8:06 per game.
Walker will likely continue to intermittently factor in on the Blues’ fourth line throughout the deal. Extending him now makes it much less likely that a team will claim him on waivers if he ends up on the wire later this season, as a three-year term (including this season) would make a claim challenging for most teams looking for short-term help. He will be a UFA when his deal expires in the summer of 2026.