Minnesota Wild Looking To Add At Trade Deadline
The Minnesota Wild are quickly becoming a wagon of a team, separating themselves from the rest of the pack in the Western Conference. Their .689 points percentage puts them on pace for 113 points this season, which would break their record of 106 set in 2016-17 and would be their fifth 100+ point season since joining the league in 2000-01. Despite a track record of decent teams, though, Minnesota has only advanced to the Conference Final stage once — their third season, 2002-03. They’ve made the playoffs numerous times since then but have only escaped the first round twice, losing back-to-back Second Round series in 2014 and 2015.
But with the good ol’ salary cap looming over his team’s head in the near future, general manager Bill Guerin knows there’s no time like the present to add assets for a potential Stanley Cup run in a weak Western Conference. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the Wild are still in on J.T. Miller, who would be a hot commodity if Vancouver does opt to trade him after their recent hot stretch. Miller was linked to the Wild as far back as November 2021. They’ll face stiff competition, though, as Seravalli notes the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames are also interested in his services.
The Fourth Period also notes that Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion was spotted scouting tonight’s game between the Wild and Montreal Canadiens. Senators center Chris Tierney is a pending unrestricted free agent, and the experienced bottom-six pivot will also likely be gone at the deadline. He’s another body the team could be interested in.
A center is a common theme here, and it’s the position at which Minnesota lacks the most. Ryan Hartman is enjoying a career year playing between stars Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, but he’s not a natural center and has won just 46.6% of his faceoffs this year. Miller, who’s got 39 points in 39 games so far with Vancouver, is a proven top-six center with better faceoff numbers, the ideal complement down the middle to Joel Eriksson Ek.
It’s worth noting that Miller does have one season remaining after this one on his contract, which carries a $5.25MM cap hit. With the buyout penalties of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter increasing by a staggering $8MM this offseason, salary retention may be a requirement for them. There’s no guarantee Vancouver would be willing to oblige, and Miller will certainly have other suitors.
Anaheim Ducks Activate Troy Terry, Cam Fowler
The Anaheim Ducks are getting some big names back into the fold. They tweeted today that they’ve activated forward Troy Terry and defenseman Cam Fowler from COVID-19 protocol, assigning forward Vinni Lettieri to the team’s taxi squad to make roster space.
Anaheim is still in playoff position in the Pacific Division. However, they’ve entered a bit of a slide with big names out of the lineup, posting just a 3-7-0 record in their last 10 games.
The Ducks’ return to relevancy certainly came sooner than expected this season, and Terry and Fowler are big parts of that. Heading to his first All-Star Game this year, Terry leads the team in goals (22) and points (36) in 38 games. Fowler’s once against logged big minutes this year, playing 23:42 a game and notching 20 points.
Lettieri comes out of the lineup playing decently well in injury relief, notching seven points in 15 games while receiving a top-six role at times.
Jarred Tinordi Clears Waivers
Jan 24: Tinordi has cleared waivers, according to Johnston. The veteran defenseman has now been sent to the taxi squad, which will take his cap hit entirely off the books for the Rangers. To fill his roster spot, Morgan Barron has been recalled.
Jan 23: The New York Rangers placed defenseman Jarred Tinordi on waivers today, per TSN’s Chris Johnston.
Tinordi last dressed for a Rangers game on January 10th, a loss to Los Angeles. He has a goal in just seven games with the Rangers this season, averaging only 12:55 of ice time per game.
He played five games earlier this season with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack on a conditioning loan in December after playing just five games during October and November. Often a healthy scratch, the Rangers will gain a bit more roster flexibility if Tinordi clears.
A first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2010, the 29-year-old Tinordi has been claimed on waivers once before. The Boston Bruins picked him up in February of 2021, grabbing him from the Nashville Predators.
Tinordi is signed through 2022-23 with a cap hit of $900,000.
Kevin Lankinen Lands On Injured Reserve
The Chicago Blackhawks placed goalie Kevin Lankinen on injured reserve with a right-hand injury today. The team recalled Arvid Soderblom from the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs to compensate for the injury.
Lankinen played yesterday against the Minnesota Wild, making 40 saves in an overtime loss. NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis reports Lankinen is expected to miss roughly three weeks with the injury.
For that period of time, it’ll be Soderblom’s and Marc-Andre Fleury‘s net. Soderblom played his first two NHL games earlier this year, registering a .881 save percentage.
Lankinen has just a .890 save percentage in 13 games this season, good enough for a 2-5-4 record.
If the three-week timeline holds up, Lankinen could return to the active roster for the team’s Valentines’ Day game against Winnipeg.
Canucks Add Spencer Martin To COVID Protocol, Will Have Emergency Backup
Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau confirmed today that goaltender Spencer Martin entered COVID protocol and goalie Arturs Silovs tested positive for COVID.
With Thatcher Demko and Jaroslav Halak already on the protocol list, the Canucks only have Michael DiPietro left under contract and healthy. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance says it’s “very likely” that longtime University of British Columbia goaltender Rylan Toth will serve as the team’s emergency backup goalie today against St. Louis.
Toth, a fifth-year netminder for UBC, has a .935 save percentage and four shutouts en route to a 10-2-1 record this season. The 25-year-old Saskatoon native is certainly enjoying the best season of his career, although sitting on an NHL bench for a game will certainly be a highlight.
Starting in goal tonight will be DiPietro, who has a 4-7-3 record and .896 save percentage with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks this year. It will be his third NHL game, seeing game action in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Injury Notes: Zucker, Allison, Raffl, DeMelo
According to CapFriendly, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Jason Zucker back on long-term injured reserve after returning from injury for just one game. He played last Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights, so the team placed him retroactive to January 17th. He’ll now have to miss another 10 games and 24 days, of which he’s already missed two and five, respectively. Zucker had been on LTIR for almost a month already after suffering a lower-body injury. He is once again week-to-week. Zucker is again struggling during his second full season in Pittsburgh, posting just 13 points in 31 games.
More injury news from around the league on this Sunday:
- Philadelphia Flyers forward Wade Allison suffered an MCL sprain during yesterday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, per head coach Mike Yeo. Allison, one of Philadelphia’s better forward prospects, had already suffered an ACL tear that kept him out at the beginning of the 2020-21 season. Yeo notes, that he believes this MCL injury is on a different knee. It was Allison’s first game of the season for the Flyers after posting four points in seven games with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He’s listed as week-to-week.
- Dallas Stars head coach Rick Bowness says forward Michael Raffl is out between 10 days and two weeks with a lower-body injury. Raffl’s seen a lot of ice time this year, his first in Dallas, in a checking role alongside Radek Faksa and Luke Glendening, posting nine points in 37 games. Dallas will need to call up a forward to replace him, likely Rhett Gardner or Riley Tufte.
- Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo sustained an upper-body injury during yesterday’s loss against Boston, per team play-by-play man Dennis Beyak. DeMelo has just four points through 36 games but has still been above the norm defensively. There’s no current timeline for his return.
Arizona Coyotes Place Dysin Mayo In COVID Protocol
Arizona Coyotes defenseman Dysin Mayo entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today, the team announced.
Mayo becomes the third Coyote in COVID protocol. He joins forwards Ryan Dzingel and Antoine Roussel.
If Mayo is only subject to a five-day quarantine, he would only miss Arizona’s next two games. He could be eligible to return on January 28th, a home game against the Boston Bruins.
An unexpected regular in the Coyotes lineup this season, Mayo has five points in 34 games. He’s impressed defensively, however, earning the right to 20:49 of ice time per game and only a -2 rating on a porous Coyotes team.
The 25-year-old was the team’s 133rd overall selection back in 2014.
Blackhawks Notes: Khaira, Stillman, Connolly
Per the Daily Herald’s John Dietz, the Chicago Blackhawks moved forward Jujhar Khaira to injured reserve today. He has a lower back injury, and the move is retroactive to January 17. Khaira can come off injured reserve as soon as the 27th, meaning the soonest he can return is January 28th at home against Colorado. He has just three goals in 27 games during his first season with Chicago.
More from the Blackhawks today, all per Dietz:
- Defenseman Riley Stillman was also moved to injured reserve today, dealing with a shoulder injury he sustained last night against Minnesota. The soonest he can return is February 1st, meaning he’ll miss at least the team’s next five games. In his absence, Caleb Jones should see playing time with more consistency. Stillman has a respectable 10 points in 28 games.
- The team also assigned forward Brett Connolly to the active roster, bringing him up from the taxi squad. He should play in his fifth game of the season tonight, drawing in on the fourth line alongside Sam Lafferty and Ryan Carpenter. Connolly was suspended earlier in the season for interfering with Dallas forward Tanner Kero.
NHL Player Safety Fines Cal Foote For Cross-Checking
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that they’ve fined Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Cal Foote $2,125 for cross-checking Anaheim Ducks forward Buddy Robinson. This is the maximum allowable amount per the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Foote delivered the cross-check to Robinson with 18.4 seconds remaining in last night’s game against the Ducks. The Lightning lost that game 5-1.
This is the first fine Foote’s received from NHL Player Safety in his NHL career.
The 23-year-old defenseman has just three assists in 28 games this year, but in recent days he’s gotten a look on the team’s top pairing with Victor Hedman. The potential is still there for the 14th overall pick in 2017.
Carey Price Suffers Setback, Restarts Injury Rehab
Montreal Canadiens VP of hockey communications Chantal Machabee issued an update to reporters today, saying that goalie Carey Price suffered a setback and is “essentially starting from scratch in his rehab for his knee,” remaining out indefinitely.
Price underwent knee surgery in late July after the conclusion of the team’s ill-fated Stanley Cup Final run. He was originally supposed to be ready for the 2021-22 season, but also took a personal leave of absence from the team prior to the start of the season. He had begun to skate with the team intermittently after returning in November, but they never issued any timeline for a return.
It’s not a promising sign for Price’s future after previous injury troubles in his career. The 34-year-old netminder is signed through 2025-26 with a cap hit of $10.5MM.
The lack of Price in the picture gave the starting role to Jake Allen, who’s been just okay. It’s hard to fault him and his .901 save percentage with the state of the team in front of him, however, as they’ve scored just 76 goals through 36 games.
A bigger issue than Allen’s play has been the lack of a reliable backup, however. With Price unavailable, the team claimed Sam Montembeault off waivers from the Florida Panthers prior to the season. He’s struggled to be a reliable NHL goalie, posting just a 1-6-3 record and .895 save percentage.