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Filip Hallander Reassigned To AHL

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced forward Filip Hallander has been reassigned to the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. It puts an end to a wild day for the young forward. Hallander was called up by the Penguins this morning and head coach Mike Sullivan said him and Dustin Tokarski, who was also recalled, would hopefully be arriving by game time.

Taylor Haase of DK Pittsburgh Sports later reported that both Jake Guentzel and Jason Zucker were game-time decisions for the Penguins game against the Dallas Stars. Both of them took warmup and were then in the lineup, so the team had no room for Hallander. His recall was a precaution in case one of the veteran wingers was not able to play tonight.

Tokarski did not take part in the warmup and Rob Rossi of The Athletic reported he was yet to arrive in Dallas as of game time. This means Hallander was reassigned before he ever joined the team today as he would have been travelling with Tokarski.

Hallander, a 22-year-old forward, has spent most of the season in the AHL. He has played 40 games with Wilkes Barre/Scranton and scored 11 goals and 33 points. He has already played two NHL games with the Penguins this season, and one more in 2021-22, but is yet to register his first NHL point.

Injury Notes: Jarry, Thomas, Deslauriers

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Rob Rossi of The Athletic reports the Pittsburgh Penguins are dealing with another goaltender injury. Tristan Jarry has a lower-body injury and will not play this evening when the Penguing travel west to take on the Dallas Stars. Jarry missed about a month in late January and into February with a lower-body injury and it appears he may be dealing with something similar yet again. There is no timeline for his return at this point.

Jarry is not having his best season to date. He has put up a 2.98 GAA and a .908 SV% in 40 games played. The 27 year old was much better last season when he posted a 2.42 GAA and a .919 SV% along with a 34-18-6 record. The Penguins could use that version of Jarry down the stretch as they try to hang on to a playoff spot. They are currently one point ahead of the Florida Panthers for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

  • Eyebrows were raised St. Louis when Robert Thomas of the Blues was made a late scratch. However, the team announced he was going to be held out of tonight’s contest with an illness. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Logan Brown took the spot in the lineup after Thomas completed pregame warmups so it was a last-minute decision of the team. It does not appear to be something that will keep the star forward out of the lineup for long. The 23-year-old center has 16 goals and 60 points in 67 games this season.
  • Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic reports Nicolas Deslauriers was held out of the Philadelphia Flyers lineup with an upper-body injury. Deslauriers is in the first season of a four-year contract that pays him $1.75MM per year. The gritty winger has scored five goals and 11 points in 70 games for the Flyers this season.

Notes: Lindgren, Klingberg, Howard

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Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren will not play this evening. She added that this is the same injury the top-pairing defenseman was dealing with previously and he tweaked it in his return on Tuesday night. Lindgren had previously missed four weeks of action with what has been termed an upper-body injury. He returned to face the Carolina Hurricanes two nights ago and briefly left before returning to finish the game. The Rangers appear to be taking a cautious approach and don’t want a key piece of their blue line to make things worse with the playoffs on the horizon.

The Rangers have 11 regular season games remaining before the postseason, but appear locked into the third seed in the Metropolitan Division. They are six points back of the New Jersey Devils for second in the division, but hold a ten point advantage on the New York Islanders who are in the top wildcard spot.

  • John Klingberg of the Minnesota Wild will also miss tonight’s game, according to a team release. Klingberg, an offensive defenseman, has four points in nine games since being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline for Nikita Nesterenko, Andrej Sustr and a fourth-round draft pick. The team says it is an upper-body injury but there are not other details about the severity of the injury.
  • Chris Peters of Flo Hockey reports Isaac Howard is entering NCAA’s transfer portal. This will pave his departure from the University of Minnesota-Duluth after one season. Howard was a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022 and had six goals and 17 points in 35 games as a freshman. Peters also mentions this could lead him to reuniting with former coach Adam Nightingale who is behind the bench of Michigan State, but nothing is official yet.

Kraken Forward John Hayden Out 12 Weeks

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The Seattle Kraken have announced forward John Hayden will be sidelined for 12 weeks. Hayden was injured in the Kraken’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night, following a fight with Klim Kostin. Hayden underwent surgery on Monday for a lower-body injury and will miss the remainder of the season, but should be back training around the time the Stanley Cup in handed out in June.

The 28-year-old center has split this season with the Kraken and their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. He has played just seven NHL games this season, scoring two goals for the Kraken. It is his first season in Seattle after stints with the Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres in his seven year pro career.

Hayden was producing offence in his AHL tenure. He scored 17 goals and 33 points in 47 games with the Firebirds, helping them achieve the best record in the AHL by points percentage. He was just called up again on March 15 and was playing his second game with the Kraken since being recalled when he was injured.

The Kraken are sitting in the first wildcard spot in the Western Conference. They have a bit of breathing room as they are six points up on the Calgary Flames who are the top team sitting outside the current playoff picture. In just their second year of existence, the Kraken have a great chance to make the postseason, but will have to reach down to Coachella Valley for another depth piece with Hayden out so long.

Injury Notes: Hronek, Spurgeon, Kassian

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The Vancouver Canucks are hoping to have one of their top blue liners back soon. Farhan Lalji of TSN reports that head coach Rick Tocchet said Filip Hronek is day-to-day and there is a good chance he will be able to play on Thursday. Hronek was acquired by the Canucks in a somewhat surprising trade deadline deal. The Canucks were not expected to be buyers, but offered up a first-round pick and a second-round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for Hronek.

The 25-year-old right defenseman is yet to make his Canucks debut as he has been out of the lineup since February 28 with an upper-body injury. It sounds like he is close to getting back on the ice, and the Cancucks may see him join them for the first time when they take on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

  • Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon was a late scratch for tonight’s game. The team announced he will be out of the lineup with a non-covid illness. Spurgeon has scored ten goals and 30 points in 70 games for the Wild who are in a tight battle with the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars for positioning in the Central Division. While they will miss his presence against the New Jersey Devils, luckily it does not sound like a long-term absence.
  • The Arizona Coyotes announced Zack Kassian would not suit up tonight. The rugged winger is sidelined with an upper-body injury and will miss tonight’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. The 32 year old has played 51 games for the Coyotes this season, scoring just two goals and zero assists. Kassian has one more year on his contract following this season with a $3.2MM cap hit.

East Notes: Mandolese, Bennett, Penguins

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The Ottawa Senators announced the team has to shuffle their goaltending tandem yet again. The team has recalled Kevin Mandolese from the Belleville Senators because Dylan Ferguson is out with an illness. Ferguson was just called up two days ago and made his Senators debut last night. He was brilliant, stopping 48 of 49 shots and leading the Senators to a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. With Cam Talbot out with an upper-body injury and Anton Forsberg on injured reserve, this leaves the Senators pretty thin in an important area.

Mandolese has played three NHL games so far this season, including a 46-save effort in a win over the New York Islanders on February 14. The 22 year old has played 15 AHL games in Belleville this season with a 3.32 GAA and a .889 SV%. It sounds like he will back up Mads Sogard when the Senators take on the Boston Bruins tonight.

  • According to a team statement, the Florida Panthers will be without a key forward this evening. Sam Bennett left last night’s win over the Detroit Red Wings early, and will not dress tonight when the Panthers face the Philadelphia Flyers. The 26-year old center is ruled out with a lower-body injury, and is officially listed as day-to-day. Bennett has scored 16 goals and 40 points in 63 games for the Panthers who are trying to chase down the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The team also mentioned Givani Smith has been activated from injured reserve and will return to the lineup.
  • The Wilkes-Barre Penguins announced the signing of Jagger Joshua. The contract is a two-year agreement but will not begin until next season, so Joshua is signed through the 2024-25 campaign with the Penguins. He will report to the team immediately, but finish off this season on an amateur tryout before his new contract officially begins. Joshua played for Michigan State University this season, scoring 13 goals and 24 points in 37 games.

Avalanche Sign Jared Bednar To Contract Extension

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The Colorado Avalanche (Twitter link) have signed head coach Jared Bednar to a three-year contract extension. Bednar is in his seventh season as the team’s bench boss, and helped get them to a Stanley Cup championship last season. He has helped players like Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen grow from skilled youngsters to superstar talents in that time.

Chris Johnston of TSN added that the contract will keep him with the team through the 2026-27 season, meaning he was already signed through next season.

Financial terms of coaching contracts are rarely given in detail, but TSN’s Darren Dreger reports Bednar will earn just shy of $5MM during the three-year contract extension.

Bednar has helped guide the team from the literal bottom to the top of the NHL world. His arrival with the Avalanche was just before the 2016-17 season began as previous head coach Patrick Roy gave up his position on the eve of training camp. The Avalanche had an abysmal 22-56-4 record in Bednar’s first season, but stuck by him and the team has not missed the postseason since.

After a few promising seasons ended in playoff heartbreak, the Avalanche finally won a championship last season following an incredible regular season that saw them go 56-19-7.

Bednar has done impressive work once again this season. The Avalanche nursed a bit of a Stanley Cup hangover early in the season but despite long-term injuries to key players like Landeksog, Artturi Lehkonen, Bowen Byram and Josh Manson, they are just one point back of the Central Division lead.

After his tough first season in Colorado, the Avalanche have been one of the best teams in the league for the past six years. With Bednar behind the bench, they promise to be among the NHL’s elite for the next four seasons.

Washington Capitals Reassign Joe Snively

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March 15: Two days later, the Capitals have returned Snively to the AHL. Ovechkin proved he was at full strength last night by taking home the first star and scoring career goal 817.

March 14: The Washington Capitals announced they have recalled Joe Snively from the Hershey Bears. The 5-foot-9 forward has split this season between the Capitals and Bears and looks to be getting another shot at the NHL lineup.

Signed by the Capitals in 2019 following an outstanding college career at Yale, Snively has played eight games with the Capitals this season, scoring one goal and three points. He has become a key contributor for the Bears where he has scored seven goals and 16 points in 20 games this season. The 27-year-old left winger scored 38 points in 35 AHL games in 2021-22 and had seven points in 12 NHL contests that season.

Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports this recall could have something to do with Sonny Milano missing practice yesterday due to an illness. If Milano is unable to play, it appears Snively could slide into the lineup to replace him. Alex Ovechkin also missed practice yesterday but that was just a maintenance day which usually means the player is still ready for game action.

The Capitals face the New York Rangers tonight and though they were sellers at the trade deadline, the Caps are just five points back of the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

Coyotes Recall Bokondji Imama

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The Arizona Coyotes have announced Bokondji Imama has been recalled from the Tucson Roadrunners. The recall was made on an emergency basis, and Imama is no stranger to being sent up and down. This is the fourth time he has been called up by the Coyotes since Mar 7 as the Coyotes bring him up on game day to fill out the roster and then send him back to Tucson.

Imama is a big, physical presence in the lineup and has played in three NHL games this season. He is yet to record a point, though he scored a goal for the Coyotes in one of his four NHL games last season. He also has five penalty minutes earned when he was willing to drop the gloves with Ryan Reaves.

The 6-foot-1 and 220 pound left winger has scored five goals and 12 points in 41 AHL games for the Roadrunners this season. The 26-year-old tough guy had a bit of a scoring tough in Junior, once scoring 41 goals for the Saint John Sea Dogs, but he is mostly relied on for his physicality in the pro game.

Jets Notes: Morrissey, Dubois, Gagner

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Dan Robertson of TSN reports the Winnipeg Jets will have an impact player back in the lineup this evening. Josh Morrissey missed the Jets past two games after leaving early against the Florida Panthers last Saturday. He had been listed as day-to-day all week, but is ready to go tonight when the Jets face a tough test against the league-leading Boston Bruins.

Morrissey has had a tremendous season, scoring 15 goals and 67 points in 66 games. The 27 year old is a candidate to win the Norris Trophy for his fantastic play, so the team will be happy to have him back in the lineup. The Jets will need him at the top of his game right away as they have slipped to the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference. They are just four points ahead of the Nashville Predators who have played three less games than the Jets.

  • Pierre-Luc Dubois was on the ice at the team’s morning skate, but according to Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet, Dubois will not play tonight. The 24-year-old center has played just one game since February 26, dealing with two separate injuries in that time. It does appear he is getting close to returning, but it will not be this evening.
  • Murat Ates of The Athletic reports Sam Gagner’s season is over. The 33-year-old forward has already had surgery on one hip and will also get surgery on the other side in the near future. Ates mentions it is an injury that Gagner has been dealing with for a while but is now going to get fixed. The veteran forward scored eight goals and 14 points in 48 games for the Jets this season before being shut down on February 28.

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