Hurricanes Release Jaroslav Halák
The Hurricanes have released veteran netminder Jaroslav Halák from his professional tryout, Walt Ruff of the team’s official site says.
Carolina brought in Halák, 38, on a tryout two weeks ago after it was discovered starter Frederik Andersen would be sidelined long-term with a blood-clotting issue. Since then, he’s practiced with the team but was ineligible to dress for a game without having an actual contract.
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated to reporters this morning that Halák was the one who initiated the release process, but that the decision was ultimately mutual. The team will move forward with a tandem of Antti Raanta and youngster Pyotr Kochetkov in the crease while Andersen is sidelined.
Carolina’s goaltending got off to a rough start this season, although it’s improved marginally in the five games since Andersen left the team. Raanta has posted a 2-1-0 record and .908 SV% in three appearances, while Kochetkov has a 1-1-0 record and .935 SV% in two starts, including a 22-save shutout against the Lightning on November 11.
It seemed the Hurricanes wanted Halák to provide some veteran support for Kochetkov as he competed for playing time, but the situation just hasn’t worked out as planned. The 24-year-old Kochetkov has had quite the chaotic season in the first year of a four-year, $8MM contract. Sitting third on the depth chart behind Andersen and Raanta, Kochetkov began the season on loan to the Lightning’s AHL affiliate in Syracuse as the Hurricanes remain without a full-time affiliate this season. He had a strong showing with Syracuse, though, recording a perfect record and .932 SV% in three appearances, and he now seems to be finding his footing again at the NHL level.
It is worth noting that without Halák in the fold, the Hurricanes have just three healthy goalies under contract in the organization. The third is undrafted free-agent signing Yaniv Perets, who has begun the season in the ECHL with the Norfolk Admirals after capturing a collegiate national championship with Quinnipiac last season. Brind’Amour told Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal that he would be “comfortable” recalling and playing Perets if injuries to Kochetkov or Raanta necessitated it. The 23-year-old has a .900 SV%, 2.93 GAA, and a 2-5-1 record through eight games with Norfolk.
For Halák, the chances of him continuing his 17-year, 581-game NHL career are fading. The 38-year-old has been an average backup for the past few seasons, last recording a .903 SV% and 2.72 GAA in 25 appearances with the Rangers in 2022-23. A two-time Jennings Trophy winner and a ninth-round draft pick of the Canadiens in 2003, retirement seems close ahead.
East Notes: Hischier, Meier, Nosek, Chabot, Kuznetsov
The Devils are inching back to full health among their complement of star forwards. Captain Nico Hischier, who remains sidelined with an upper-body injury, returned to practice today, per the team.
Hischier hasn’t played in over three weeks, last appearing in the team’s October 27 contest against the Sabres. He’s missed the following nine games due to injury and landed on injured reserve last week in order to create room on the Devils’ 23-man roster. This doesn’t confirm Hischier will return to game action in time for the Devils’ next game, a Wednesday contest against the Red Wings, although it is a good sign that he’s nearing a return. Hischier can be activated from IR at any time, given he’s missed more than seven days since the injury occurred. The Swiss center had just two goals and no assists in seven contests this season.
Also in New Jersey, NHL.com’s Mike Morreale relays that forwards Timo Meier and Tomáš Nosek are absent from practice today, both with injury concerns. Meier, 27, remains away from the team with a lower-body injury that’s kept him out of the last two games, and he remains listed as day-to-day. Meanwhile, Nosek left Saturday’s contest and did not return after taking a jarring hit from Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba. It appears to be an upper-body injury for the Czech depth forward, who’s played in just six of 15 contests this season due to injuries. He’s still looking for his first point as a Devil after signing a one-year, $1MM deal with the team in July.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference on this Monday morning:
- Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot has returned to practice in a non-contact jersey today, albeit for a skills session, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports. Chabot is in the third week of the four-to-six-week recovery timeline issued for his right-hand fracture sustained on October 26 against the Islanders and looks on track to return within the early portion of that frame. He has not met the requirements to be activated off LTIR yet, however. Chabot must miss two more games until he can return to the lineup, putting his earliest possible return on December 1 against the Blue Jackets – over a week and a half from today. The Senators have certainly missed their $8MM man on the blue line, who has three assists and a -1 rating in seven contests this season while averaging 24:19 per game.
- From one country’s capital to another, Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov returned to practice Monday morning, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. Kuznetsov was absent from the team’s Saturday game against the Blue Jackets and its preceding practice with an undisclosed illness. The Russian center is in the seventh season of an eight-year deal carrying a $7.8MM cap hit, and his offensive production is off to a mediocre start for a second straight season. Playing over 21 minutes per game, Kuznetsov has three goals and eight points in 14 contests in 2023-24.
Panthers “Could” Place Aleksander Barkov On IR
The Panthers may place captain Aleksander Barkov on injured reserve to create space on the 23-man roster for a recall, head coach Paul Maurice told George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. Barkov is out with a knee injury sustained in Friday night’s game against the Ducks and did not practice with the team this morning. The Panthers confirmed earlier Sunday that he’s listed as day-to-day and won’t be in the lineup Monday against the Oilers.
Barkov was injured on a hit from rookie defenseman Jackson LaCombe in the third period of Friday’s game. The team spent the past 36 hours evaluating him and determined that while he’ll need to miss time, it luckily won’t be a long-term absence. If Barkov is placed on IR, it will be backdated to Friday, ruling him out of the team’s next two games. He could return Friday against the Jets.
The 28-year-old is off to a strong start this year, posting six goals, 11 assists and 17 points through 16 appearances in 2023-24. He’s averaging north of 20 minutes per game for the seventh consecutive season, and his +14 rating is tied with Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes for the league lead. The 2013 second-overall pick continues to enshrine himself as the best forward in franchise history and is on pace for his fourth straight season above a point-per-game pace.
How much longer Barkov could miss beyond the seven-day period required by an IR placement remains unclear. Given his day-to-day designation, though, it would be surprising to see him out of the lineup by the time the calendar flips to December.
With Barkov out, another future high-flying Finnish centerman, Anton Lundell, will slide into his spot on the top line. The 22-year-old has a goal and seven assists in 17 contests this season and is averaging 15:32 per game. The 2020 12th-overall pick is in the third and final season of his entry-level contract, which costs $925K against the salary cap.
Florida Notes: Barkov, Cirelli, Glendening
The Panthers lost superstar center and team captain Aleksander Barkov to an apparent knee injury Friday after he was on the receiving end of a hit from Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe. Today’s initial news regarding his status wasn’t positive – Barkov was a non-participant in practice today, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now, and David Dwork of The Hockey News believes the team will issue a further update on Barkov’s status later today.
Barkov has been invaluable to the Panthers, notching 17 points in 16 games and leading the team with a +14 rating. Missing him for any length of time is a tough blow, especially for a squad that just reached near-total health with the returns of Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour on defense. Barkov already missed one contest this season, an October 24 contest against the Sharks, with an illness. The Panthers won that game 3-1 to reach a 3-3-0 record on the season – a pace they’ve obliterated since and now sit second in the Atlantic Division.
Florida will struggle to replace his offense if he misses significant time, as their secondary scoring outside of Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart has struggled to keep up. Outside of Evan Rodrigues, who has 13 points in 17 contests, mainly playing with Barkov, few Panthers have played up to expectations. That applies mostly to Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen, who have scored just one goal each through 17 games after strong showings in the Panthers’ run to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. Lundell slid up to the first line between Reinhart and Verhaeghe at practice today in Barkov’s absence, Richards said.
The latest on some other storylines in the Sunshine State:
- The Lightning saw center Anthony Cirelli return to practice today in a full-contact jersey, Chris Krenn of the team’s official site relayed. Cirelli played less than six minutes in Thursday’s win over the Blackhawks and missed Saturday’s win over the Oilers with an undisclosed injury. Winger Tyler Motte moved to center the team’s third line in Cirelli’s absence. In the first season of an eight-year, $50MM extension signed in the summer of 2022, Cirelli has posted two goals, seven points and a -1 rating in 17 contests. The 26-year-old has continued to maintain a stellar defensive profile despite the mediocre plus-minus rating, as his line with Tanner Jeannot and Michael Eyssimont has a team-high expected goals share of 78.9%, per MoneyPuck. He’s also sporting a career-high faceoff win percentage of 56.4%.
- Staying with Tampa Bay, Krenn also reports that center Luke Glendening is absent from practice today with what the team labeled “body maintenance.” Glendening, 34, logged a season-high 15:52 and scored the game-winning goal against the Oilers yesterday. The veteran shutdown man has logged two goals, no assists and a -3 rating in 18 contests with the Bolts this year after signing a two-year, $1.6MM deal in free agency last summer.
East Notes: Hughes, Meier, Harvey-Pinard, Carter
Devils superstar center Jack Hughes has officially returned to the lineup tonight against the Rangers after missing five games with an injury to his right shoulder. It’s about right on schedule for the 22-year-old, who sustained the injury on November 3 against the Blues and was subsequently listed as week-to-week. Already with a goal and assist in tonight’s contest at the time of writing, Hughes now resumes his quest for the Art Ross and Hart Trophies – both honors he was in strong contention for when he exited the lineup earlier this month. Despite the absence, Hughes’ 20 points in ten games entering tonight still tie for 15th in the league, and he’s only seven back of the league lead, a deficit he made significant headway in closing tonight despite skating on a rather odd line with Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar. Hughes is in the second season of an eight-year, $64MM extension signed with the Devils in November 2021 that already looks like quite the bargain.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Staying in New Jersey, the injury designation surrounding winger Timo Meier isn’t as positive as Hughes’. He remains sidelined with a lower-body injury and is not in tonight’s contest, missing his second straight game with the injury after serving as a scratch Thursday night against the Penguins. Head coach Lindy Ruff had no update on Meier’s status when asked by reporters pre-game, and he remains sidelined on a day-to-day basis. He was off to a decent start on the scoresheet with 11 points in 14 contests but carries a team-low -12 rating.
- Canadiens winger Rafaël Harvey-Pinard is also absent from action tonight, sitting out his second straight game with a lower-body injury against the Bruins. Harvey-Pinard sustained a lower-body injury earlier in the month in a November 2 contest against the Coyotes but missed only three games before returning to action just over a week later. After a three-game stint back in the lineup, however, Harvey-Pinard was not able to participate in the team’s loss to the Golden Knights on Thursday. The 24-year-old has cooled down from his strong point output last season, notching only four assists through 13 contests.
- Penguins veteran center Jeff Carter is sidelined for tonight’s contest against the Hurricanes and has now missed two games with a lower-body injury. He’s actually not played since logging 7:28 on November 9 against the Kings and was a healthy scratch for their following game against Buffalo, but sustained an injury outside of game action in the interim. The 38-year-old has failed to record a point in ten appearances this season.
Sharks Notes: Gushchin, Lindblom, Benning, MacDonald
When the Sharks returned high-ceiling winger prospect Daniil Gushchin to the minors yesterday, most thought he would be back up quickly after getting some playing time over the weekend. However, head coach David Quinn told Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now that Gushchin’s demotion is of a more permanent nature.
Gushchin, 21, was the 76th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Quinn called the second of two games on Gushchin’s recent call-up “a little bit of a hard game for him” and thought he got “overwhelmed defensively.” While he would likely provide a bit more offensive punch than many currently on the Sharks’ roster, the organization obviously believes in playing the long game with Gushchin and thinks dominating the AHL, where he has 13 points in 11 games with the San Jose Barracuda, is better for his development at this stage.
Elsewhere around the Sharks conversation today:
- Also, speaking to Peng earlier today, Quinn said forward Oskar Lindblom‘s recovery timeline from his lower-body injury is week-to-week. Lindblom landed on IR five days ago after a recent call-up, playing just one game before sustaining the injury – which prompted Gushchin’s initial recall. The former Flyers winger, who recovered from a diagnosis of Ewing’s sarcoma in 2020, did not get on the scoresheet in his lone appearance and has just two points in eight games with the Barracuda this season.
- Quinn also confirmed that a pair of injured Sharks defenders, Matt Benning and Jacob MacDonald, are close to returning to the lineup and will likely travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. The veteran pair have played just a combined ten games this season and are likely to return within the next week, while the Sharks have two games against more northern Pacific Division neighbors. MacDonald has taken line rushes as a forward in his return to practice with the team and will likely suit up in a fourth-line role when he does play, while Benning, in the second season of a four-year deal, could be slated for a top-four role on a very fluid Sharks backend. No corresponding moves will need to be made to activate them while center Nico Sturm, who carries a non-roster designation while on personal leave, is away from the team.
Penguins Reassign Jansen Harkins
6:05 p.m.: In what may be an NHL record, the Penguins have returned Harkins to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton less than two hours after recalling him. It’s unclear why they opted to bring him up to the NHL in the first place, but this may be part of the moves Pittsburgh needs to make to take Nedeljkovic off LTIR.
4:19 p.m.: The Penguins announced the recall of winger Jansen Harkins from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday afternoon. In a corresponding transaction, defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph was moved to IR as he remains out with a lower-body injury.
Head coach Mike Sullivan informed reporters earlier today that Joseph has been dealing with a nagging injury, explaining his absence from the lineup in ten out of the team’s last 11 contests. Joseph last played in the team’s 10-2 drubbing of the Sharks on November 4, logging an assist and a +1 rating in 18 minutes of ice time.
Meanwhile, Harkins finds himself back on the NHL roster after clearing waivers almost one month ago. It was Harkins’ second time on the waiver wire this season, the first of which resulted in the Penguins claiming him and the second season of his $850K one-way contract from the Jets. Harkins played in four games for the Penguins, registering a -1 rating and four shots on goal in less than ten minutes of average ice time before ending up on waivers a second time.
After clearing, Harkins headed to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he’s continued his long history of solid minor-league production with four goals and nine points in 11 games. It’s a tad lower than the precedent he set for himself over his last two outings with the Jets’ affiliate in Manitoba, where he averaged over a point per game.
Now, Harkins gets another shot to prove himself as a potential contributor to the Penguins’ bottom six. He’ll look to work his way into the lineup and potentially provide more scoring punch than Noel Acciari or Matthew Nieto, both of whom have just one point this season despite playing in all 15 games.
The moves leave Pittsburgh with very limited space in their LTIR pool – just $15K, to be precise. They’ll likely need to send two players to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in order to activate netminder Alex Nedeljkovic and his $1.5MM cap hit off LTIR, which should happen soon after he was recalled from a conditioning stint to the AHL Penguins today.
Kings Notes: Dubois, Kaliyev, Moverare
Kings offseason addition Pierre-Luc Dubois hasn’t missed any of the team’s 15 games this season, a trend that will continue tonight against the Blues. Head coach Todd McLellan told reporters earlier today that Dubois will stay in the lineup tonight after the Québec-born center took an awkward fall into the post during the team’s last game and did not participate in practice Friday.
The Kings are largely on a roll with a 9-3-3 record that puts them third in the Pacific Division and fourth in the Western Conference. However, Dubois hasn’t lived up to expectations yet in Hollywood, especially considering the assets they gave up to acquire him in a sign-and-trade deal from the Jets over the summer. Owed $9MM in actual money this year in the first season of an eight-year, $68MM contract, Dubois is averaging a respectable 16:37 per game but has just four goals and eight points, an underwhelming offensive clip of 0.53 points per game. He’d averaged 0.80 points per game over the last two seasons with Winnipeg, including a career-high 36 assists and 63 points in 73 games last year. His defensive game has been lacking, too, barely staying above a 50% Corsi share at even strength on a team that’s dominated the stat.
Other notes on the Kings today:
- Los Angeles will lose the ability to send winger Arthur Kaliyev to the minors without needing waivers after tonight’s game, CapFriendly notes. It’s hard to imagine a universe where the Kings would want to send the 22-year-old sniper down to AHL Ontario, however. After being on pace for 41 points over an 82-game season last year, Kaliyev is again producing at a respectable clip this year with seven points in 13 games. The Kings did assign him to the minors earlier this season, but that was a paper move to stay cap-compliant while Kaliyev was serving a four-game suspension assessed during preseason play. Kaliyev was the 33rd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
- On another transaction-related note, the Kings have again recalled defenseman Jacob Moverare to serve as a healthy scratch for tonight’s contest, per a team announcement. This is Moverare’s second recall in the past three days, and he was returned to AHL Ontario briefly yesterday. The 25-year-old does not currently require waivers after clearing them during the preseason, but he will if he remains on the NHL roster for 30 total days and plays more than 10 NHL games. He’s yet to make an appearance for the Kings this season, but he does have four assists and a +1 rating in 13 contests for Ontario.
Dakota Mermis Clears Waivers
Saturday: No team put in a claim for Mermis, Friedman reports.
Friday: The Wild have waived defenseman Dakota Mermis for the purpose of assignment to the AHL’s Iowa Wild, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Friday.
Mermis, 29, has been with the Wild since signing as a free agent in the 2020 offseason. His first season with the club was spent almost entirely on the infamous 2020-21 taxi squad, playing just three games all season, all in the NHL. Since then, he’s logged heavy minutes for the AHL’s Iowa Wild, serving as an alternate captain since his debut with the club in 2021-22. He was not on Minnesota’s opening night roster this season but was recalled just a few days into the campaign with multiple injuries affecting the Wild’s defense core.
20 of Mermis’ 40 NHL appearances have come in a Wild jersey over the past four seasons, including a career-high 13 this season. He’s notched two goals, three assists, five points, and an even plus-minus rating in 15:30 of average ice time with Minnesota, with all of his points coming in 2023-24. Most commonly paired with Jacob Middleton and Jonathon Merrill, he has a Corsi share of 47.8% at even strength, 4.7% worse than the Wild’s Corsi share when Mermis is not on the ice.
To put it succinctly, Mermis has done about as well as you can expect for a minor-league veteran plugged into a defense that’s dealt with structural issues this season. He’d managed to stay in the lineup over the past few games after the return of captain Jared Spurgeon to the lineup, but with veteran Zach Bogosian now in the fold after a trade for the Lightning, Mermis was losing his grip on a roster spot and saw his ice time slip.
Since he’s played more than ten games and his recall lasted more than 30 days, he again requires waivers to return to Iowa. As a pending unrestricted free agent on a two-way deal, there’s a decent chance the Wild lose Mermis on the wire if a team deems they need some short-term blueline depth on the cheap.
Patrick Brown Clears Waivers
Saturday: Brown went through waivers unclaimed, Friedman reports.
Friday: The Bruins placed center Patrick Brown on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL’s Providence Bruins on Friday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
Brown, 31, has played a limited role for the Bruins after signing a two-year, $1.6MM deal in free agency last summer. Initially signed as an undrafted free agent by the Hurricanes in 2014, the veteran has since appeared in 144 NHL games and 403 AHL games over the past nine years. Over the past few seasons, however, he’s managed to hold on to a depth NHL role with the Bruins, Flyers and Senators and has not appeared in the minors since the 2020-21 season as the captain of the Henderson Silver Knights, the Golden Knights’ minor-league affiliate.
The Bruins waived Brown before the 2023-24 season started and have recalled and reassigned him for brief periods throughout the first month-and-a-half of the campaign, but he’s yet to appear for AHL Providence.
Brown has been a non-factor in six NHL games with Boston this season, failing to get on the scoresheet while posting a -1 rating, two penalty minutes, and four shots on goal in 9:19 of ice time per game. He has gone a respectable 53.8% in the faceoff circle but has taken just 13 draws. His possession numbers have been low relative to his teammates, and his offensive-zone usage has been extremely limited, starting just eight percent of his shifts there.
After remaining on the active NHL roster for more than 30 days since clearing waivers last month, he’ll need to pass through them again unclaimed to return to Providence. Brown’s only appearance in the month of November came over one week ago against the Islanders, logging a season-high 11:23 of ice time but failing to get on the stat sheet in any form. He’s been a healthy scratch in six out of the last seven games.
Assigning Brown to the AHL would leave the Bruins with just 12 healthy forwards on the roster, however, so a corresponding transaction could be in the works after he passes through (or gets claimed) tomorrow. This could hint that one of Morgan Geekie or Milan Lucic, who are both on IR and LTIR, respectively, could be nearing a return.