Andreas Johnsson Linked To SHL’s Skellefteå AIK, Placed On Unconditional Waivers
Nov. 8: Pittsburgh has placed Johnsson on unconditional waivers Wednesday, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. This move initiates the process of Johnsson being able to sign with an SHL club, presumptively Skellefteå, although it may be a day later than initially planned.
Nov. 6: Veteran winger Andreas Johnsson signed a one-year, one-way deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins this summer to attempt to extend his NHL career. That hasn’t worked out, as he failed to make the team out of camp and hasn’t reported to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after clearing waivers one month ago.
Now, it seems his days under contract with the Penguins are ending. Johnsson is expected to sign a three-year contract on Wednesday with Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League, according to Hans Abrahamsson and Tomas Ros of Sportbladet.
To do this, Johnsson must have his contract with the Penguins terminated. If the report out of Sweden is accurate, expect Johnsson to be on waivers tomorrow for the purposes of mutual contract termination. After clearing Wednesday, he’ll be able to sign with Skellefteå.
Johnsson hoped a reunion with GM Kyle Dubas in Pittsburgh would prove fruitful. Dubas wasn’t part of the Toronto Maple Leafs regime that drafted Johnsson in the seventh round of the 2013 Draft, but he was heavily involved in his development. He had joined the organization and was the GM of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies by the time Johnsson came to North America in 2016, and he was at the helm of the Leafs when Johnsson posted a 20-goal, 43-point rookie season in 2018-19. Both of those marks remain career highs.
The 28-year-old has slowly slipped down depth charts over the past few seasons with the New Jersey Devils and, briefly, the San Jose Sharks. He played just 13 NHL games between the two teams last season, instead spending most of the season in the minors with the AHL’s Utica Comets, where he recorded 30 points in 36 games.
That showed Johnsson still can be a high-end contributor at lower levels of the game, but likely not in the NHL at this stage. He aims to return to his home country, where he hasn’t played pro hockey since 2016.
If he signs with Skellefteå, the speedy winger will be reunited with his older brother, Jonathan Johnsson, although the 30-year-old center is sidelined until December with an undisclosed injury. While never drafted by an NHL team, the older Johnsson has been quite productive over the last three seasons and change for Skellefteå, recording 40 goals, 90 assists and 130 points in 181 contests.
Skellefteå currently sits eighth in the 14-team SHL with a record of 8-7-1-0. They play home to a handful of NHL-drafted prospects, including Detroit Red Wings 2023 first-round pick Axel Sandin Pellikka. Some skilled NHL veterans, such as Oscar Lindberg and Dylan Sikura, also call Skellefteå home.
Golden Knights Reassign Jonas Røndbjerg To AHL
The Vegas Golden Knights reassigned forward Jonas Røndbjerg to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights on Monday, per the team’s Twitter/X account.
Røndbjerg, 24, does not require waivers for the time being after he passed through unclaimed during the preseason, and the team is taking full advantage of his temporary exempt status. The Danish winger was on his fourth recall of the season, two of which have come in the last week.
A third-round pick of the Golden Knights in their inaugural 2017 draft class, Røndbjerg is inching ever closer to becoming an everyday NHL option for the Knights. He’s in the second season of a three-year, $2.3MM extension signed in 2022 that converts from a two-way deal to a one-way pact starting this year.
The strong-bodied winger was off to a strong start this season, recording a point in each of his first two appearances for Vegas back in mid-October. He last played in a game on November 2, logging a shot on goal in 10:20 of action in a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
Since then, he’s been on the roster as needed for the team to have an extra body around. The team has been without center Nicolas Roy for nearly two weeks with an undisclosed injury, and he remains on injured reserve.
In six appearances with AHL Henderson, Røndbjerg has three assists and a +2 rating. Ideally, he can get some sustained action in the minors for the next while to continue his development, although it’s likely he may get recalled again before the Knights face the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. Røndbjerg can stay on Vegas’ NHL roster for up to 30 days (or play in ten NHL games) before he requires waivers to head to Henderson again.
Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen Out Indefinitely With Blood Clotting Issue
5:58 p.m.: The team has officially recalled Kochetkov from the Crunch while placing Andersen on the injured reserve.
1:08 p.m.: Carolina Hurricanes netminder Frederik Andersen will be sidelined indefinitely after recent medical testing discovered a blood clotting issue, per a statement from GM Don Waddell.
Andersen, 34, has made the most starts of any Hurricanes netminder this season with six. The NHL’s first-ever Danish goalie has a 4-1-0 record, .894 SV% and 2.87 GAA this season, all leading the team.
Waddell said there is no timetable for Andersen to rejoin the team, but the team is “confident that Freddie will be able to make a full recovery.” Andersen last played in the Hurricanes’ 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday, stopping 24 of 26 shots.
He was heating up after a slow start to the season, posting a .925 SV% in his last three games after recording a subpar .855 SV% through his first three. The veteran of nearly 500 NHL games is in his 11th season in the league and his third with Carolina.
With their starter sidelined, Carolina now turns to veteran Antti Raanta to handle the bulk of the starts for the foreseeable future. Like all the Hurricanes’ goalies, Raanta’s body of work in 2023-24 hasn’t been impressive despite his 3-1-0 record. His current .870 SV% is his worst mark since his rookie campaign in 2013-14 with the Chicago Blackhawks. However, he has the team’s only shutout of the season – a 20-save effort against the lowly San Jose Sharks late last month.
The 34-year-old Dane signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal widely viewed as a discount to remain in Carolina just minutes before free agency opened last July. Raanta has primarily been an above-average netminder over his 11 seasons in the league but struggles to avoid injuries. Despite mainly serving in a tandem capacity with Andersen since the pair signed in Raleigh in 2021, Raanta made more than 30 starts just once in the five preceding seasons.
To provide some extra depth behind Raanta, the Hurricanes signed veteran backup Jaroslav Halák to a professional tryout this morning, likely with the former’s injury history in mind. Halák, 38, has over 500 games of NHL experience and posted a .903 SV% and 10-9-5 in 24 starts with the New York Rangers but cannot appear in a game for Carolina until he signs a contract.
For the time being, the team’s top goalie prospect, Pyotr Kochetkov, will serve as Raanta’s backup. While he’s currently on loan to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal reported earlier Monday that the team is expected to recall him ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.
After putting up above-average numbers in 23 starts with the Hurricanes last season, Kochetkov has struggled early on in 2023-24, losing all three of his NHL appearances and posting a .836 SV% and 4.33 GAA. He’s done well in a tough situation in the minors, however, backstopping the Tampa Bay Lightning’s affiliate in Syracuse with a .932 SV% and one shutout through three appearances.
Unfortunately for the Crunch, it doesn’t appear that Kochetkov will return to them anytime soon with Andersen sidelined. The 24-year-old Russian netminder was drafted 36th overall by the Hurricanes in 2019.
Surprisingly, the Hurricanes have struggled to keep the puck out of their net this season despite the highly-publicized addition of Dmitry Orlov to their backend with a two-year, $15.5MM deal in free agency. They’ve allowed 42 goals through 12 games, the most of any team in the Eastern Conference.
Despite that, they still have a 7-5-0 record and sit third in the Metro with 14 points. It’ll be up to Raanta and Kochetkov to improve their play in short order to keep them in playoff position.
PHR extends its best wishes to Andersen and shares in the Hurricanes’ hopes for a full recovery.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Metropolitan Notes: Hughes, Hart, Couturier, Pesce, Kochetkov
The upper-body injury keeping New Jersey Devils star forward Jack Hughes out of the lineup is a right shoulder ailment, Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com reports. Hughes, who remains tied for the NHL’s points lead with 20, remains out on a week-to-week basis after crashing into the boards in the first period of Friday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues.
Notably, this is not an aggravation of the upper-body injury Hughes sustained during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Novozinsky adds. It’s great news for the Devils, who have relied heavily on their offense and power play to stay afloat this season. The 2019 first-overall pick is averaging over 20 minutes per game and has 15 assists in ten games, including nine power-play assists.
New Jersey is currently without Hughes and captain Nico Hischier due to separate upper-body injuries, meaning the team is down both of its top two centers. Dawson Mercer shifted to the middle, and Michael McLeod jumped up to center the second line in yesterday’s 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Other notes from the Metropolitan Division today:
- Injured Philadelphia Flyers cornerstones Sean Couturier and Carter Hart traveled with the team on their upcoming three-game California road swing, Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports reports. While not a guarantee, the door is open for the team’s first-line center and starting goaltender to return to the lineup sometime this week. The team listed both players as day-to-day on Friday with a lower-body and mid-body injury, respectively. Both players have missed the team’s last two games, a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and a 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
- Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce has returned to practice for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury nearly three weeks ago, Walt Ruff of the team’s official site reports. Sporting a no-contact sweater, Pesce is almost two weeks into his recovery from surgery undergone on October 24. His return to the lineup is not imminent, but he does appear on track to return in the two-to-four-week window following the surgery as initially expected. Pesce, 28, had two points in five games this season and is a pending UFA.
- Sticking with Carolina, 24-year-old netminder Pyotr Kochetkov is expected to rejoin the team from his loan to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch before tomorrow’s contest against Buffalo, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal relays. Starter Frederik Andersen is not expected to be available as he is dealing with an undisclosed medical issue, and veteran Jaroslav Halák is not eligible to suit up while on a professional tryout, which he signed with the team this morning. Kochetkov, who has a 0-3-0 record and .836 SV% with the Hurricanes this season, will likely back up Antti Raanta in tomorrow’s contest.
Atlantic Notes: Vasilevskiy, Cozens, Zub, McCabe
Tampa Bay Lightning star netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy is a little ahead of schedule in his recovery from offseason back surgery, head coach Jon Cooper told the media Monday (via Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN).
The two-time Stanley Cup champion and 2019 Vezina Trophy winner skated with the team for the first time last week after undergoing a successful microdiscectomy to address a lumbar disc herniation on September 28. At the time, the Lightning announced they expected him to miss approximately the first two months of the regular season. That would mean a return around December 10. However, Cooper said today he’d be “disappointed if it’s early December” and expects Vasilevskiy to return to the fold closer to American Thanksgiving, a little over two weeks ahead of schedule.
Without Vasilevskiy, the Lightning have managed to stay in the playoff picture with a 5-3-3 record, good enough for third place in the Atlantic Division. That’s mainly due to the impressive relief play of backup Jonas Johansson, who’s started nine of the Lightning’s 11 games while posting a .916 SV%, 2.87 GAA and two shutouts. Overall, he’s stopped 3.5 goals above average behind a Lightning team that’s struggled defensively, controlling less than 43% of high-danger chances at even strength.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens is not practicing today as he remains sidelined with a suspected concussion, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports. Head coach Don Granato informed reporters that Cozens is trending in the right direction, however, and will likely rejoin the team for practice before the end of the week. Cozens, 22, has not skated with the team since leaving Friday’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers after fighting winger Garnet Hathaway with 1:56 left in regulation. The 2019 seventh-overall pick is off to a decent start, recording three goals and four assists for seven points in 11 games on the heels of a 31-goal campaign last season. The news doesn’t bode well for Cozens’ availability against the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow, meaning he could miss his second straight game after being absent for Saturday’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith expects defenseman Artem Zub to return to the lineup Wednesday against Toronto after a six-game absence, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia relays. Zub, 28, sustained a concussion in the team’s October 18 win over the Washington Capitals. The shutdown defender projects to return to the lineup in a top-pairing role alongside Jake Sanderson, considerably boosting the depth of a defense now missing Erik Brännström and Thomas Chabot due to injuries. Zub had one goal, two assists, and a +3 rating through four games this season before sustaining the concussion.
- Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe won’t return to the lineup tonight against Tampa Bay, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to reporters (via Mark Masters of TSN). Simon Benoit will make his Toronto debut after a recent recall from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Keefe said. Consequentially, Maxime Lajoie will serve as a scratch after playing just 4:54 in Toronto’s loss to Buffalo on Saturday. McCabe has missed the last four games with a groin injury sustained against Dallas on October 26, and the team has gone 0-2-2 in his absence.
Panthers’ Sam Bennett Out Week-To-Week
The Panthers have listed forward Sam Bennett as being out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, head coach Paul Maurice told Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ official site on Friday.
Bennett, 27, had missed the first seven games of the season with a lower-body injury and sustained a second one just 7:54 into his return to play on October 30 against the Boston Bruins. Bennett needed help exiting the playing surface and could not put weight on his left leg after an awkward fall with Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm behind the net in the second period of Florida’s overtime loss.
The Panthers have been dealing with injuries all season long, and it’s reflected in their up-and-down 5-3-1 record through nine games. The defending Eastern Conference champions have been bolstered by solid play in the crease from both Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz, although the latter has only made one appearance.
Missing Bennett certainly won’t help jumpstart their depth scoring, which has surprisingly been an issue through the first few weeks of the season. Only four forwards are operating at over 0.5 points per game – their entire top line of Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues, as well as Matthew Tkachuk on the second line. Players like Carter Verhaeghe (three goals, one assist in nine games) and Eetu Luostarinen (one assist in nine games) have struggled, and it’s not helping matters with both Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour still sidelined on the blue line.
The Ontario-born Bennett is in the third season of a four-year, $17.7MM extension he signed with the Panthers in 2021. He was limited to 63 games last season with injuries but recorded 40 points – a career-high 52-point pace across 82 games. He excelled in the Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final, too, racking up 15 points in 20 games.
Flames Recall Nick DeSimone
The Calgary Flames have recalled defenseman Nick DeSimone from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, per a team release issued Friday. To make room on the active roster, the team assigned Jordan Oesterle, who cleared waivers just minutes ago, to the Wranglers.
DeSimone, 28, is expected to make his 2023-24 Flames debut tomorrow against the Kraken as Nikita Zadorov remains away from the team on personal leave. The right-shot minor-league mainstay has four NHL games to his name, all coming in a Calgary sweater last season. He is, however, still looking for his first NHL point.
The Union College product is a veteran of 337 AHL games across eight seasons, mainly in the Sharks organization with the San Jose Barracuda. He joined the Flames in the summer of 2021 via free agency and is now in the second season of a two-year, two-way deal that earns him a minimum guaranteed salary of $350K. He has four assists through six contests with the Wranglers this season, and his +4 rating is tied for the team lead.
DeSimone will likely partner with Dennis Gilbert on the Flames’ third pairing, reuniting teammates who have both played heavy minutes for the Wranglers in recent seasons.
Oilers Loan Philip Broberg To Minors
The Edmonton Oilers have assigned defenseman Philip Broberg to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, per a team announcement issued Friday.
Broberg has played limited minutes this season, skating in eight games and averaging just 11:12 per game. He’s been held off the scoresheet entirely and has a -1 rating.
However, this isn’t necessarily a performance-based demotion. The Oilers are now without Connor Brown for tomorrow’s game against Nashville as he deals with an undisclosed injury, meaning they’ll need to recall a forward for Saturday’s contest. That won’t solve all their issues, however. The Oilers do not have cap space for two recalls after assigning Broberg to the minors, only one – meaning they’ll still likely roll with 11 forwards and six defenders against the Predators and play a skater short. Assigning Broberg to the minors allows them to carry a more traditional lineup than dressing only ten forwards and seven defensemen.
It’s another bump in the road for the Oilers, who have struggled mightily this season and sit sixth in the Pacific Division with a 2-6-1 record and just five points. They’re receiving poor goaltending from Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner and receiving little to no depth scoring, with a handful of players in their bottom six still without a point on the season. They did receive a boost last night from Sam Gagner, however, who notched two goals in his first game in his third stint as an Oiler last night against Dallas. Gagner is projected to slide into the top six against Nashville on a line with Evander Kane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Broberg, in the meantime, will get some reps in the minors with Bakersfield and play heavier minutes. This assignment will likely last until one or both of the Oilers’ injured forwards, Brown and Mattias Janmark, are ready to return to game action.
Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Yegor Chinakhov, Assign Kent Johnson To AHL
The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled forward Yegor Chinakhov from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, per a team release issued Friday. In a corresponding transaction, the team has assigned forward Kent Johnson to Cleveland.
Chinakhov’s return from AHL assignment will likely result in his 2023-24 Blue Jackets debut tomorrow against the Capitals. The 2020 first-round pick missed a handful of games at the beginning of the season with a back injury sustained during training camp, and the Blue Jackets opted to assign him to the Monsters last week when he returned to health. Chinakhov, who signed a one-year, $800K deal to remain in Columbus last summer, had three goals and an assist in three games with Cleveland since returning from injury.
His next NHL game will be his first since December 19, 2022, when he sustained an ankle injury against the Stars that kept him out for multiple months. Expected to slide into a middle-six role on the wing, Chinakhov has 11 goals, 16 assists and 27 points in 92 NHL games dating back to his debut in the 2021-22 season. He has been extremely productive in limited action with AHL Cleveland, though, registering over a point per game.
This is disappointing for Johnson, however, who was selected fifth overall by Columbus just two years ago. He’s been given a reduced role by new head coach Pascal Vincent out of the gate, serving as a healthy scratch on two occasions and only averaging 12:43 when in the lineup, notching three points in eight games. That’s coming off the heels of a strong 16-goal, 40-point rookie season in 2022-23. Johnson has not done particularly well this season, however, with poor possession numbers backing up the dip in production. He’ll now head to the Monsters, off to a strong 5-2-0 start, and work toward regaining an everyday spot in the NHL lineup.
Anaheim Ducks Assign Alex Stalock, Tristan Luneau To AHL
The Anaheim Ducks have trimmed their roster by two, sending goaltender Alex Stalock and defenseman Tristan Luneau to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Luneau, 19, is not yet eligible for full-time assignment to the AHL and will play his first games for the Gulls on a conditioning stint.
Anaheim doesn’t suit up again until Sunday against the Golden Knights, so these moves could just be to get Stalock and Luneau some playing time in the minors over the next few days. The Ducks brought Stalock up to the NHL roster under emergency conditions on Wednesday after starter John Gibson exited Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an upper-body injury. Listed as day-to-day, Gibson remains on the active roster but did not dress for Wednesday’s overtime win over the Arizona Coyotes.
Stalock, 36, signed a one-year deal worth $800K in the offseason to provide depth and competition for the backup role behind Gibson with youngster Lukáš Dostál. Dostál won the job in camp, however, and he hasn’t looked back. The 23-year-old was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for October and has posted a 5-1-0 record in six appearances, boasting an exemplary .920 SV%, although he’s still looking for his first NHL shutout.
The veteran Stalock has battled back from multiple severe injuries in the past few years, including complications from long COVID and a severe concussion sustained last season while playing with the Chicago Blackhawks. Selected by the San Jose Sharks in the fourth round of the 2005 NHL Draft, Stalock has a 2.74 GAA, .919 SV% and a 1-2-0 record in three appearances with the Gulls this season.
Luneau, who projects as a fixture on the Ducks’ power play for years to come, made the team out of camp after signing his entry-level contract in September. After recording 83 points in 65 games with the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques last season, he’s been a healthy scratch in eight of ten games with the Ducks and hasn’t played since October 21 against Arizona. He can head to San Diego for a maximum of two weeks and five games, after which he must be recalled to the Ducks or returned to Gatineau.