Colorado Avalanche Recall Martin Kaut
After failing to make the team out of camp, a highly-drafted Colorado Avalanche prospect is getting another chance with the big club. The team announced today they’ve recalled F Martin Kaut from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, hours after waiving Lukas Sedlak and sending down Ben Meyers.
The 16th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft has yet to make a significant NHL impact, recording just two goals and an assist across 20 games spread over the past three seasons. Kaut started his AHL season strong this year, though, recording three points through his first two games.
With Sedlak and Meyers out of the picture (for now), there appears to be a fit for Kaut in the team’s top-nine forward group at the moment, allowing the Avalanche to bump one of Andrew Cogliano or Logan O’Connor back to a more comfortable fourth-line role. With Gabriel Landeskog‘s and Darren Helm‘s injuries affecting their offensive depth, another goal-scorer in the picture gives their roster a more well-rounded look.
Kaut had 19 goals, 12 assists, and 31 points in 46 games with the Eagles in 2021-22.
Salary Cap Could Increase More Than Expected In 2023
Speaking with the media today, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said there’s a “good probability” that the remaining COVID-related escrow balance could be paid by the players this season, and remains optimistic about revenues. If the escrow balance gets paid off, the salary cap could jump more than the predicted $1MM incremental increase, two years sooner than originally expected coming out of the pandemic.
Bettman did note that it would be a close call, but if the revenue numbers hit, the cap could jump roughly $4MM to a figure of around $86.5MM for the 2023-24 season. The league’s cap growth would then mirror pre-pandemic trends, if not more.
This is gigantic news for a number of teams, especially those who have big-name free agents due for contracts by July 1 of next year. It also bodes well for teams tight to the salary cap to be able to have more roster flexibility in the offseason.
That list of big-name unrestricted free agents next summer is no joke, and a ~$4MM salary cap increase would have a massive effect on many negotiations. Ryan O’Reilly in St. Louis, David Pastrnak in Boston, Dylan Larkin in Detroit, Bo Horvat in Vancouver, and Frederik Andersen in Carolina are some notables who could re-sign with their current teams for a big payday.
It also makes life easier for teams like the Vegas Golden Knights, who are poised to get a healthy Robin Lehner back but already remain well over the currently projected $83.5MM salary cap for 2023-24.
Vancouver Canucks Activate Ilya Mikheyev, Tyler Myers; Reassign Noah Juulsen
Today, Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced that the team had activated F Ilya Mikheyev and D Tyler Myers from injured reserve, sending down D Noah Juulsen to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks in a corresponding transaction.
Mikheyev and Myers began the regular season on injured reserve and have yet to suit up. Mikheyev has been absent from the Canucks’ lineup since suffering a lower-body injury in a preseason game on September 25 against the Calgary Flames, missing approximately three weeks. Myers’ return to the lineup comes well ahead of expectation, as he was expected to miss three weeks of action starting from October 6.
Both players could be in line to make their season debuts tonight in Columbus. The Canucks are in the second half of a back-to-back set and have lost their first three games. They set an NHL record last night in Washington by becoming the first team to blow multi-goal leads in three consecutive games to begin a season.
Mikheyev, who arrived this offseason as a free agent from the Toronto Maple Leafs, is expected to make his Canucks debut at right wing alongside Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko. Pettersson leads the Canucks with four points through his first three games. Myers is expected to play on a pairing with Riley Stillman, who was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks just prior to the season in exchange for Jason Dickinson.
Juulsen, 25, logged nearly 11 minutes in his season debut yesterday against Washington and recorded a shot on goal. While waiver-eligible, Juulsen cleared waivers less than 30 days ago and therefore can currently be shuttled down at will by the Canucks until November 4.
Sammy Blais Returns To New York Rangers Lineup
New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant said today that forward Sammy Blais will be in the lineup tonight when the Rangers host the Anaheim Ducks. It will be Blais’ first NHL game since suffering a torn ACL on November 14, 2021.
Gallant also said that forward Vitali Kravtsov is close to returning from his upper-body injury suffered in the season opener. He skated with the team but hasn’t yet been cleared to return, according to Gallant. Ryan Carpenter, also out with an upper-body injury, skated today but remains out against the Ducks and is day-to-day.
Blais is expected to skate on a line with Jimmy Vesey and Filip Chytil in his return.
Acquired from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Pavel Buchnevich, Blais did have just four assists in 14 games last season before going down with the injury. His hard-nosed, responsible style quickly endeared him to Rangers fans, though, and he’ll be a welcome sight in the lineup.
Vegas Golden Knights Assign Daniil Miromanov To AHL
The Vegas Golden Knights have assigned defenseman Daniil Miromanov to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, according to their affiliate team.
Miromanov, who played in 11 games with the Golden Knights last year, missed the team’s training camp after undergoing offseason surgery. Now healthy, he’ll return to Henderson, where the 25-year-old Russian had a stellar 40-point campaign in 53 games.
A versatile player who can play both defense and forward, Miromanov is one of the team’s best call-up options, especially considering their thinned-out organizational depth. He still does not require waivers after signing a two-year contract extension this past offseason.
Vegas acquired Miromanov as an undrafted free agent in the spring of 2021, signing him to a one-year entry-level contract after he had 29 points in 58 games with HK Sochi in the KHL. Miromanov returns to Henderson as the team’s top defender
Snapshots: Ruff, Valimaki, Segafredo
In today’s edition of their 32 Thoughts Podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek name New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff as being one of the early names on the hot seat to start the year. The Devils have dropped both their opening games to the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings.
Although they’ve played well overall in both outings, they’ve gotten just a .804 save percentage from Vitek Vanecek and Mackenzie Blackwood, goaltending that doesn’t exactly permit you to win many games. Firing Ruff may not fix that, but some of his usage decisions have admittedly been puzzling as well. Forward Jesper Bratt, who has three points in those two games and has been extremely strong analytically to start the year, ranks sixth among Devils forwards in average ice time to start the year, behind players like Ondrej Palat, who has a -5 rating and is pointless through two games.
- PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan notes that Arizona Coyotes defenseman Juuso Valimaki will make his team debut tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs after being claimed off waivers last week from the Calgary Flames. Valimaki has been unable to play with the team due to work visa issues in the US, which still aren’t resolved, but he can play in Canada on the team’s three-game road trip through the eastern part of the country. He’s looking to secure a full-time NHL role again after playing just nine games for the Flames last year.
- The WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders today released forward Alessandro Segafredo, who will be returning home to Europe. The Italian-born forward was technically eligible for last year’s draft but was born on the cutoff date of September 15, so he’s hardly an overage prospect. He raised some eyebrows in his first North American appearance, registering 10 points in 19 games last year for the Seattle Thunderbirds, but has scored just five points in 25 games split between the Raiders and Winnipeg Ice since. Segafredo has a Swiss player license and will likely return there to continue his junior career.
New York Islanders Activate Cal Clutterbuck, Place Sebastian Aho On IR
Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports the New York Islanders have activated veteran winger Cal Clutterbuck from injured reserve and replaced him there with defenseman Sebastian Aho in a corresponding move.
The Islanders originally said in mid-September that Clutterbuck would be healthy for training camp after missing the last quarter of the 2021-22 season with an injury. However, just a few days ago, the team announced Clutterbuck had been placed on injured reserve retroactive to September 26 after general soreness had kept him out of practice for a couple of weeks. General manager Lou Lamoriello said at the time that he didn’t expect Clutterbuck to miss a significant amount of time, which was swiftly proven correct.
Clutterbuck could play in the Islanders’ home game tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. The 34-year-old is coming off a six-goal, 15-point season in 2021-22.
Aho is dealing with an undisclosed injury and will be out for at least seven days. Gross noted that Aho participated in the morning skate today and stayed out with the team’s extra players. Aho did not play in the season opener, as he was scratched for Robin Salo.
Toronto Maple Leafs Place Matt Murray On LTIR, Erik Kallgren Recalled
5:07 pm: The Maple Leafs have officially announced the transaction, also confirming that Murray is set to miss at least four weeks with an adductor injury.
4:41 pm: As reported by TSN’s Chris Johnston, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled goalie Erik Kallgren from the AHL. PuckPedia notes that this move implies that Matt Murray has been moved to long-term injured reserve after suffering an apparent groin injury in practice this morning.
If Murray was not injured enough to go on long-term injured reserve, the Maple Leafs would have had to utilize an emergency backup for tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators. The team remains tight to the salary cap and wouldn’t have had enough salary cap space to recall Kallgren without the additional LTIR relief from Murray’s $4.688MM cap hit.
Kallgren’s availability was also a point of uncertainty throughout the day for the Maple Leafs. The Swedish netminder, who had his 26th birthday yesterday, left the Toronto Marlies’ season opener against the Rochester Americans after a collision with Rochester Americans defenseman Ethan Prow. As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported earlier today, though, Kallgren was cleared of any injury on the play.
Toronto will now rely heavily on Ilya Samsonov to begin the season, who made 24 saves on 26 shots in his Maple Leafs debut on Thursday against the Washington Capitals. Kallgren will likely be used sparingly as a backup, having amassed an 8-4-1 record but a poor .888 save percentage last season in Toronto.
The soonest Murray will be eligible to return to the lineup is November 8.
Colorado Avalanche Have “Concern” About Gabriel Landeskog, Darren Helm’s Injuries
Speaking with reporters today, Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said there’s some “concern” over lingering injuries for both captain Gabriel Landeskog and Darren Helm. Bednar added that the team still didn’t have a concrete timeline for Landeskog’s return, according to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh.
Landeskog is still dealing with a lower-body injury that plagued him last season, although he played through that injury during their Stanley Cup-winning playoff run. Bednar told reporters roughly three weeks ago now that Landeskog wouldn’t skate anytime soon and was expected to miss the start of the season.
The 29-year-old underwent knee surgery last March, which shelved him for nearly the final two months of the regular season before he returned for Game 1 of their first-round series against the Nashville Predators. At the time, Bednar indicated that his knee had been bothering him for some time, and it was an issue the team and player wanted to rectify before the playoffs started. The fact that the tone around Landeskog’s injury appears to be increasingly negative isn’t a good sign for his return to the lineup, especially when taken in relation to such a long-term knee issue.
Similarly, Helm is still recovering from an injury that he played through during the team’s playoff run, although his injury is abdominal. Bednar said last week that Helm wouldn’t be able to play for “some time” into the season. Helm re-signed with the Avalanche when free agency opened this past offseason, inking a one-year, $1.25MM contract.
Pittsburgh Penguins Promote Kerry Huffman
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a notable front-office change, promoting Kerry Huffman to the role of Director of Professional Scouting.
Huffman had joined the Penguins last season as a pro scout after serving five years as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The former Philadelphia Flyer hung up his playing skates in 1999 and only has one previous year of scouting experience with Pittsburgh.
He comes in to replace Ryan Bowness as he previously held the role, with Bowness leaving the organization four months ago. Per the Penguins, Huffman will oversee a team of four as the scouting team puts its attention on the NHL and AHL.
Prior to his coaching and scouting career, Huffman was a player agent from 2012-2016 and represented clients such as current/recent NHLers Tyler Seguin and Alex Galchenyuk.