Senators Notes: Norris, Zub, Bernard-Docker
It’s been an important practice today for the Ottawa Senators, with numerous updates from head coach D.J. Smith relayed by the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch. The most consequential of them surrounds the status of star center Josh Norris, who Smith says is closing in on a return to the lineup, which could come this week.
The updates surrounding Norris’ injury status have been growing consistently more positive since the original shoulder injury occurred in late October, with the original fear being that Norris could miss the entire season. It was later determined that Norris wouldn’t require surgery, and he eventually returned to Senators practice in a full-contact jersey in mid-December.
Signed to an eight-year extension before the season, Norris is coming off a 35-goal season. Although he had just two points in five games before sustaining the shoulder injury, team chemistry is much-improved after their offseason additions have had time to settle in.
- On the flip side of things, an injury-plagued season for defensive stalwart Artem Zub may be continuing. He wasn’t present at practice today according to Garrioch, He left Ottawa’s 7-0 blowout loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche yesterday with a lower-body injury, and his availability is in doubt for their game tomorrow against the Blues. Zub’s missed exactly half of Ottawa’s season thus far, only playing in 21 out of 42 games.
- In response to the Zub injury, the team recalled Jacob Bernard-Docker from the AHL’s Belleville Senators. The 22-year-old first-round pick has one assist in nine games with Ottawa this year and could slot in Zub’s top-pairing role alongside Thomas Chabot.
Evening Notes: Dumba, Wiesblatt, Meyer
It seems as though Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba has been on the trade block for years on end. Now, rumors are once again starting to build up regarding the 2012 seventh overall pick. TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on today’s edition of Insider Trading that both the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers have shown interest in Dumba, who is a pending unrestricted free agent.
Both teams still have playoff aspirations, desperately trying to add defensive depth. Dumba’s offensive production has taken a step back this season, as he’s recorded just 11 points in 39 games. It’s a far cry from his 50-point campaign in 2017-18, as injuries have mounted up.
Ottawa seems to have a larger hole of the two teams mentioned on the right side, but they do sit further out of playoff positioning than the Oilers. With Minnesota solidly in playoff positioning, they would undoubtedly be looking for roster players in return for the 28-year-old Dumba.
- San Jose Sharks 2020 first-round pick Ozzy Wiesblatt has spent the entirety of 2022-23 in the professional ranks but is still technically eligible for another year of junior hockey. In anticipation of a potential return to juniors, the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks traded for Wiesblatt’s rights today. In 17 games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, Wiesblatt has managed five points in a limited role. A return to junior hockey for the latter half of the season would likely make some sense, especially on an already-strong Winterhawks squad.
- Even more injury troubles struck the Columbus Blue Jackets today, as forward Carson Meyer left their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with an upper-body injury, per the team, and did not return. The Ohio-born forward had yet to record a point in 12 NHL games this year, but mustered over a point per game in the minors. A sixth-round pick in 2017, Meyer is continually challenging his way up the organizational ranks.
Latest On The Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have been one of the most-watched stories in the league this season. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue to put up generational scoring numbers. Still, old issues have reared their ugly heads, and the team remains on the fringes of the playoffs as the calendar turns to 2023.
Edmonton has two big dates circled on their calendar over the next weeks: the return of elite power forward Evander Kane to the lineup and the NHL Trade Deadline on March 3.
In terms of making trades, the Oilers are “working the phones” well before the deadline, writes Pierre LeBrun in a piece for The Athletic. LeBrun says Edmonton has been connected to Arizona’s Jakob Chychrun, as well as Montreal’s Joel Edmundson, and about “every selling team you can think of with a defenseman potentially up for grabs.”
With the team’s swath of promising young defensemen, it does seem that adding just one bigger name into the mix could offer Edmonton the ability to optimize their pairings and solidify defensive issues that have plagued them for years.
However, they can’t expect to keep pucks out of the net without goaltending, which is still somewhat of a concern. Jack Campbell still hasn’t been able to figure things out in Edmonton, now completely losing the starting job to Stuart Skinner just months after signing a five-year, $25MM contract. Skinner himself has been passable at worst and lifesaving at best, maintaining a .914 save percentage through 25 starts.
Kane’s return from a horrifying wrist injury could shore up another issue – depth scoring. Edmonton’s fourth-ranked offense in the NHL comes courtesy of McDavid, Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman, who have scored 95 of their 147 goals (a staggering 65%). No other Oilers forward has more than five goals – which is Kane, who’s played in just 14 games.
His return is likely coming this month, meaning his activation (and salary cap implications) remains untouched by any potential deadline trade.
PuckPedia outlined potential scenarios for the cap-strapped Oilers today, which would allow Kane to come off long-term injured reserve. It would be a tricky scenario, requiring them to place defenseman Ryan Murray on LTIR, assigning Devin Shore and Vincent Desharnais to the minors, and sending one more player down who makes more than $1.125MM against the cap. This would likely be Mattias Janmark, who has nine points in 28 games and failed to make the team out of training camp.
Seattle Thunderbirds To Acquire Dylan Guenther’s WHL Rights
A second major Canadian Hockey League trade involving a top-flight prospect with NHL experience is coming this week. Per Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek, the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds have a deal to acquire the rights to Arizona Coyotes prospect Dylan Guenther from the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Seattle will send a draft pick plus a prospect for Guenther’s rights, which will shift to a first-round selection and other draft picks if Arizona returns Guenther to the WHL.
Most recently, Guenther stood out on Canada’s top junior team, scoring the golden goal in overtime to defeat Czechia in the 2023 World Junior Championships gold medal game. He finished the tournament with seven goals and three assists in 10 games.
Drafted ninth overall in 2021, Guenther has stuck in the NHL full-time this season, at least before the World Juniors started. He’s amassed a respectable 11 points in 22 games, and while he may not be in Calder consideration, it’s a strong showing for a 19-year-old without much support around him.
He’s returned to the Coyotes roster for now, but if he shows signs of faltering as the season goes on, the Coyotes can opt to return him to junior hockey if they feel continued NHL play is stunting his development. In that case, the Thunderbirds, already one of the best teams in the WHL, would receive one of the absolute best scorers in junior hockey.
Guenther was on pace for a 100-point campaign in the WHL last season, amassing 91 points in 56 games with the Oil Kings. In his draft year, he managed 24 points in just 12 games during a COVID-shortened stint.
Seattle already boasts a trio of top-end NHL-affiliated blueliners with the Chicago Blackhawks’ Kevin Korchinski and Nolan Allen, in addition to Nashville’s Luke Prokop, in the fold. They’re led in scoring by a pair of 20-year-olds in Montreal’s Jared Davidson and Calgary’s Lucas Ciona, who both have 50 points in less than 35 games.
Florida Panthers Place Spencer Knight On Injured Reserve
Florida Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight is headed for injured reserve with an undisclosed injury, as reported by Florida Hockey Now’s Colby Guy. The team also announced Tuesday afternoon that they recalled Alex Lyon from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers to replace Knight on the active roster.
In a highly disappointing season for the Panthers, the play of the 21-year-old Knight has been a bright spot. He’s been markedly better than Sergei Bobrovsky, maintaining a 9-7-3 record despite the team’s record being below .500. Knight’s .906 save percentage is also more than 10 points higher than Bobrovsky’s .895 mark.
Based on the team’s messaging, it’s unclear how long we can expect Knight to stay on injured reserve. The only information head coach Paul Maurice gave today was that Knight isn’t “100 percent” and that the team will “get him checked out.”
In the meantime, expect the Panthers to do everything they can to get their $10MM man in Bobrovsky back on track. He’s been largely inconsistent throughout his mega-contract with Florida, but he showed signs of life last season. Unfortunately for the Panthers, he hasn’t been able to make it two strong seasons in a row.
Lyon, 30, remains among the better veteran third-string options in hockey. A defending Calder Cup champion with the Chicago Wolves, Lyon also brings 24 games of NHL experience to the Panthers bench. He has a .909 save percentage and a 9-8-2 record with Charlotte this season.
Windsor Spitfires Acquire Shane Wright
As first reported by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler and affirmed by Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News, the Windsor Spitfires have acquired high-end Seattle Kraken prospect Shane Wright from the Kingston Frontenacs ahead of the OHL trade deadline.
Wright will be headed along with a conditional 14th-round pick in 2025, while Kingston will receive:
- Ethan Miedema
- Gavin McCarthy
- 2nd round pick 2023 (OTT)
- 3rd round pick 2023 (SOO)
- 4th round pick 2024 (NIA)
- 6th round pick 2024 (NIA)
- 4th round pick 2025 (NIA)
- Conditional 5th round pick 2024 (HAM)
- Conditional 6th round pick 2025 (ER)
The move will allow Wright to compete for an OHL championship, something the Kraken obviously wanted as they delayed his return as long as possible. The 19-year-old center played eight games in the NHL, five in the AHL, and seven with Team Canada at the recent World Junior Championship before being sent back. He’ll now join a Windsor team that is on the heels of the London Knights for first place in the Western Conference and sits 23-9-4 on the year.
Selected fourth overall by Seattle last summer, Wright had 94 points in 63 games last season for the Frotenacs, after missing the entire 2020-21 season due to COVID restrictions. His contract with the Kraken will slide, meaning he will not become a restricted free agent until 2026 at the earliest. It could potentially even slide again, as he only turned 19 a few days ago. That means Wright still won’t be eligible to play in the AHL at the start of 2023-24, causing more headaches for the Kraken if they deem him not quite ready to compete at the NHL level.
Snapshots: Hayes, Kirkland, Marchenko
Earlier today, we covered the state of the relationship between the Philadelphia Flyers and Ivan Provorov. Now, The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco adds that the Flyers could be open to moving All-Star Kevin Hayes, who’s had a much-documented up-and-down season.
Despite Hayes’ steep contract ($7.142MM for four more years), Di Marco says a Western Conference source believes there would be a market for him via trade. The team would have to contend with Hayes’ contractual details, though, which give him a 12-team no-trade list. Di Marco speculates that the Colorado Avalanche could be a destination for the veteran pivot, which could make sense in a retained salary transaction given their uncertainty at the position behind Nathan MacKinnon.
- The Anaheim Ducks today issued an update on the status of recent call-up Justin Kirkland. Kirkland was involved in a car accident while traveling to the team’s home game last night against the Boston Bruins, causing him to be transported to the hospital. The team reports Kirkland is stable, retaining full mobility and communication, and will be released within the next two days. It’s great news that Kirkland will be okay and hopefully able to return to the game this season.
- Kevin Weekes of ESPN and NHL Network reports that rookie Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko has changed his representation, employing Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey. Marchenko has been one of the team’s strongest players this season, torching the minors before getting called up, where he’s now scored eight goals in 15 games. He is a restricted free agent next offseason.
St. Louis Blues Place Robert Bortuzzo On Injured Reserve
The St. Louis Blues placed defenseman Robert Bortuzzo on injured reserve after sustaining a lower-body injury on Saturday, a team release stated Monday. In his place, the team has recalled defenseman Dmitri Samorukov from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds.
Bortuzzo, 33, played just five shifts against the Montreal Canadiens on January 7 before leaving the game with the injury. He was previously listed as day-to-day yesterday by head coach Craig Berube.
St. Louis’ injury woes on defense could become too much to handle. Bortuzzo makes five Blues defensemen out of the lineup with injuries, with three already on injured reserve (Torey Krug, Marco Scandella, Scott Perunovich). Nick Leddy is also sidelined with no set timetable yet for a return.
Bortuzzo had just one point this season, a goal against the Minnesota Wild on December 31. A member of the Blues organization since he was traded for in 2015, his usage has dipped to below 13 minutes per game for the first time since he played just six games in 2011-12.
Samorukov, like Bortuzzo, is defensively inclined. A 2017 third-round pick, the Blues acquired Samorukov in a one-for-one swap with the Edmonton Oilers for forward Klim Kostin during the preseason. Samorukov has two goals, six assists, eight points, and a -3 rating in 34 games with Springfield in 2022-23.
It hasn’t been the best start for him with his new team, and he’s been passed over on call-up opportunities by veterans like Calle Rosen and Steven Santini. He’s getting a chance now, though, and he’ll need to capitalize if he gets into a game to reaffirm his role within the organization.
Buffalo Sabres Activate Eric Comrie, Reassign Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
The Buffalo Sabres activated goalie Eric Comrie from injured reserve Monday afternoon after finishing his conditioning stint with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, according to a team tweet. Promising young netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was returned to Rochester in a corresponding transaction.
Comrie was recalled from a conditioning stint last weekend after missing roughly six weeks with an undisclosed injury.
His first season in Buffalo has been a brief roller coaster. He’s had above a .900 save percentage in just four of his 11 appearances for Buffalo but has shown the ability to steal games occasionally. On the year, Comrie has a 4-7-0 record, a 3.62 goals-against average, and a .887 save percentage.
While the 27-year-old Comrie is a capable, experienced backup, he may have been surpassed on the organizational depth chart by Luukkonen. His re-assignment to Rochester is, more than anything, a quick fix to get Comrie back on the active roster now that he’s healthy.
Just 23 years old, Luukkonen is amidst a personal six-game winning streak. He’s faced at least 40 shots in four of those six games. His .891 save percentage on the season is bogged down by some early-season stinkers, and most in Sabres circles expect Luukkonen to get back in the Buffalo crease sooner rather than later.
The fact that Buffalo has grown into possessing three NHL-capable goaltenders is impactful to the performance and health of Craig Anderson. He’s been Buffalo’s best goalie this season by a mile, posting an incredulous .923 save percentage. But he’s started just 13 games, and at 41 years old, his workload will be limited. It’ll be up to Comrie now to keep his place on the Sabres roster, with Luukkonen waiting in the wings.
Loan Roundup: 01/06/22
After Team Canada put gold medals around their neck last night to conclude the 2023 World Junior Championship, a variety of prospects under NHL contract were loaned back to their minor or junior teams today. We’ll keep a running list of those transactions right here.
All transactions are provided by CapFriendly.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets returned defenseman Stanislav Svozil to the WHL’s Regina Pats. Drafted 69th overall in 2021, Svozil had an incredible tournament with eight points in seven games for Czechia, winning a silver medal — the country’s first medal since 2005. Quickly looking like a draft steal, Svozil has 37 points in just 28 games, and he’ll return to playing with presumptive 2023 first-overall pick Connor Bedard.
- Also from Columbus, 2022 sixth-overall selection David Jiricek is returning to the Cleveland Monsters, Columbus’ AHL affiliate. Jiricek also helped dominate from the Czech blueline, recording seven points and a staggering +10 rating in seven games. He played his first two NHL games before the tournament and has an impressive 20 points in just 19 games with the Monsters.
- The Dallas Stars returned dynamic Canadian forward Logan Stankoven to the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. Stankoven, who has a decent shot at making the team out of training camp in 2023-24, had three goals and 11 points in seven games with the Canadians. He was a second-round pick of the Stars in 2021, another budding draft steal.
- Gritty forward Reid Schaefer, selected with the last pick of the first round in 2022 by the Edmonton Oilers, is returning to the WHL-leading Seattle Thunderbirds. Schaefer played at the bottom of the Canadian lineup and managed one assist in seven contests. He’s fourth on Seattle in goals with 15 in just 22 games.
- Nashville Predators right-shot defense prospect Jack Matier was loaned back to the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. The 124th overall selection in 2021 is amidst a breakout season in Ottawa, recording 26 points and a +24 rating through 26 games. He had one assist at the World Juniors.
- The Vegas Golden Knights returned Czech forward Jakub Brabenec to the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix. Drafted 102nd overall in 2021, Brabenec was just dealt to the Phoenix today from the Charlottetown Islanders. His scoring had taken somewhat of a dip before the trade with 25 points in 28 games, but a strong World Juniors performance should instill some confidence.
- Vegas also sent forward Zach Dean to the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques. Taken 30th overall in 2021, Dean has 35 points in 27 games with Gatineau and recorded a goal and two assists for Canada at the tournament.