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Snapshots: Binnington, All-Star Game, Woll

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The Department of Player Safety announced today that they have fined St.Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington a total of $5,000 for high-sticking Nashville Predators forward Luke Evangelista in last night’s game between the two teams. The fine was the maximum financial punishment allowable in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.

During the play in question, as Evangelista was making his way behind Binnington and the Blues’ net, Binnington raised the butt-end of his stick to meet Evangelista’s face. There was a high-sticking penalty called on the play, and Binnington did appear apologetic to Evangelista after, but the Department of Player Safety did not feel that the original punishment sufficed.

This will mark the first fine that Binnington has faced throughout his career. In a matchup against the Minnesota Wild last March, Binnington was handed a two-game suspension for attempting to incite the Wild bench, leading to an in-game ejection.

Other snapshots:

  • During the Stadium Series game between the New York Islanders and New York Rangers, the Islanders announced that they would be hosting the 2026 NHL All-Star Game at UBS Arena. It will mark the first time since 1983 that the Islanders are set to host the mid-season festivities, with this also being the first time that All-Star weekend will be hosted by UBS. Furthermore, this report confirms that the NHL is planning for players to be involved in both the All-Star Game and the 2026 Winter Olympics.
  •  Not playing since early December due to a high-ankle sprain, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll is not close to returning according to Jonas Siegel of The Athletic. In the meantime, the tandem of Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones has produced a 16-10-4 record in his absence but has only managed a .891 save percentage.

Dallas Stars Recall Matěj Blümel, Place Evgenii Dadonov On LTIR

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In an announcement coming from the Dallas Stars organization, the team has recalled forward Matěj Blümel from their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. In a corresponding move, the team has placed forward Evgenii Dadonov on Long-Term Injured Reserve, retroactively to February 10th.

With Dadonov now expected to miss both the next 10 games and 24 days for the Stars, it is only natural that the team decided to fill in his lost minutes with a depth option from the AHL. However, it does come as a slight surprise that the Stars did not opt to call up either Logan Stankoven or Mavrik Bourque, who are first and second in league scoring, respectively.

Nevertheless, Blümel is no pushover offensively, as he’s scored 20 goals through 46 games for Texas this season, good for second on the team in that category. Furthermore, unlike Stankoven and Bourque, Blümel does have prior NHL experience, scoring one goal in six games for the Stars last season.

At the end of the day, this decision may ultimately benefit both Stankoven and Bourque in the long run, as they will both be able to continue to play high-leverage minutes for a competitive team. Well on their way to a playoff run this spring, Texas is sporting a 24-17-3-2 record up to this point sitting second in the AHL’s Central Division.

Transaction Notes: Reichel, Jankowski, Clague, Rondbjerg

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Still struggling through an unexpectedly poor season, forward Lukas Reichel has been sent down by the Chicago Blackhawks to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Reichel has yet to play in Rockford this season, but did have a highly productive outing last year, scoring 20 goals and 51 assists in 55 games.

After his recall at the end of last season, Reichel produced quite effectively for a Blackhawks team that had no hopes of contending. In 23 games, Reichel would score seven goals and 15 points at the professional level, inspiring hope that he could be a top-line player as early as this season.

Unfortunately, those hopes quickly vanished, as Reichel has only been able to put up three goals and 10 points through 50 games, producing a team-worst -28 rating. The Blackhawks will be hoping that Reichel can take the time he needs in the AHL to regain his confidence to become a long-term fixture in Chicago’s top-six.

Other transaction notes:

  • The Nashville Predators have sent down forward Mark Jankowski to their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, according to a team announcement. Now in his second season with the Predators organization, Jankowski was originally recalled on February 12th, going scoreless in the three games he suited up for. In Milwaukee, Jankowski has been remarkable this year, scoring 15 goals and 47 points over 40 games.
  • Moving over to the Atlantic Division, the Buffalo Sabres announced they have sent down defenseman Kale Clague to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Having yet to play for the Sabres up to this point in the season, Clague has been quite productive for the Americans, scoring three goals and 23 points through 41 contests.
  • With multiple injuries coming to their forward core this season, Jonas Rondbjerg has been an oft-used organizational depth piece for the Vegas Golden Knights to replace lost minutes. Once again, the team has sent him back down to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, per a team announcement. The native of Denmark has skated in 18 games for the Golden Knights this season, putting up one goal and three points in the process.

Detroit Red Wings Place Matt Luff On Waivers

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2/19: TSN’s Chris Johnston is reporting that Luff has successfully cleared waivers, and is now finally able to start his season with the Griffins.

2/18: The Detroit Red Wings have placed forward Matt Luff on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Signing a one-year, $775K contract with the Red Wings this past offseason, Luff has yet to play in any games for the organization this season, suffering an injury back in training camp.

Considering the injury history for much of the regular season, it is more than likely that Luff will pass through waivers unscathed, and make his way to Grand Rapids in short order. Although he managed nearly 20 games for Detroit last season, it will be much more difficult for Luff to crack this version of the Red Wings roster.

In those 19 games last season, Luff was a depth player for Detroit, averaging just under 10 minutes of ice time per game, scoring two goals and four points overall. In the AHL, Luff did manage 28 games for the Griffins last year, tying for sixth on the team in scoring with eight goals and 25 points.

Having one of their better seasons over the last several years, Grand Rapids is in the midst of a hotly contested playoff race in the Central Division. Sitting 24th in the league in goals for, Luff’s offensive capabilities in the AHL should help the Griffins improve in one area of weakness for the club.

Boston Bruins Place Oskar Steen On Waivers

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2/19: Chris Johnston of TSN reports that Steen has successfully cleared waivers and is now able to safely report to AHL Providence.

2/18: Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Boston Bruins have placed forward Oskar Steen on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. In the move, the Bruins will be able to parse their roster down to 22 players, one shy of the 23-man limit.

Unless claimed by another organization over the next 24 hours, Steen is likely headed for Providence, allowing the Bruins to call up a younger player such as John Beecher or Mason Lohrei to round out their roster. Recently overtaken by the Florida Panthers as the top team in the Eastern Conference, Boston may feel injecting youth into the lineup could give the team a boost over the home stretch.

For Steen in particular, it will be hard for him to find many positives coming out of this season for the Bruins. In 34 games played, Steen has averaged 9:04 a night, managing only one goal over the year. He has been physical and largely sound defensively, but he certainly was not earning a roster spot over a younger option.

It will not be the first time Steen has been sent down this year, as he was regularly shuffled in October and November. With his last call-up coming on November 17th, his passage through waivers became a requirement to get him back to Providence.

Because of his taxiing earlier in the season, Steen has only totaled five games for Providence, scoring two goals and five points overall. Thankfully, he will once again be finding himself in a playoff race in the AHL, as Providence holds a 29-15-3-2 record, good for second place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.

Penguins Activate Jansen Harkins, Send Down Jonathan Gruden, Vinnie Hinostroza

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have activated forward Jansen Harkins off injured reserve, per a team announcement. Harkins has been out of the lineup for a little over a week, suffering a concussion in the team’s February 10th game against the Winnipeg Jets.

Shortly before the first game of the regular season, Harkins was brought to Pittsburgh from the Jets organization by way of a waiver claim. Similar to his usage in Winnipeg throughout his career, Harkins was thought to be an effective bottom-six player for the Penguins this season.

Harkins, who is now averaging the lowest average ice time of his career this season, has been a bit of a mixed bag in his role for Pittsburgh. In 34 games on the year, he has yet to score a goal up to this point, but his physical play has certainly picked up as he’s achieved a new career-high in hits with 59 already.

On a positive note, with strong defense largely expected in many team’s bottom six, Harkins has certainly delivered for the Penguins in that regard. Through nearly half a season, Harkins has produced a CorsiFor% of 48.4%, and an On-Ice Save Percentage of 93.9%, both of which are higher than his career averages.

In the same announcement, Pittsburgh also stated that the team had moved down both Jonathan Gruden and Vinnie Hinostroza to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. With both players serving as organizational depth at the forward position, both have been shuffled back and forth quite regularly this season.

Of the two, Hinostroza has been relied upon much more than Gruden at the NHL level this year, playing in 14 games already compared to Gruden’s five. In those 14 contests, Hinostroza has averaged just under 10 minutes of ice time per night, scoring one goal and three points while carrying a -3 rating.

Injury Notes: O’Connor, MacKinnon, Ekblad, Tavares

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The Colorado Avalanche will be without the services of forward Logan O’Connor tomorrow night, as Meghan Angley of DNVR Avalanche reports the team will hold him out of the lineup so that he can play more continuously when fully healthy. O’Connor has missed the last two games for Colorado as he suffered a lower-body injury in the team’s recent contest against the Florida Panthers.

Amid a career year offensively, the typical bottom-six player for the Avalanche has already reached a career-high total in goals with 13 and is only one point behind his career-high in points with 25. Shaping up to be an integral part of their postseason aspirations, O’Connor still has one year and $1.05MM remaining on his contract after this season.

Either in practice or in the team’s most recent game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now reports that Nathan MacKinnon had broken his nose after taking a puck to the face. MacKinnon is not expected to miss any time with the injury but could be seen wearing a bubble on his helmet tomorrow night.

Other injury notes:

  • Before their game tonight against their in-state rivals, the Panthers announced that defenseman Aaron Ekblad would miss the game due to a lower-body injury. Ekblad had previously missed the majority of the start to the 2023-24 campaign due to offseason shoulder surgery. Upon his return in mid-November, Ekblad has regained most of his previous form, scoring three goals and 14 points in 37 games while averaging over 21 minutes a night for the Panthers.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without their captain tonight, as John Tavares is reportedly considered day-to-day with a minor injury (X Link). Taking a bit of a step back from his previous scoring pace in Toronto, Tavares still sits fifth on the team in scoring with 15 goals and 40 points in 51 games.

Trade Deadline Primer: Minnesota Wild

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With the All-Star break in the rearview, the trade deadline looms large and is now just a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Minnesota Wild.

After making the playoffs a total of 10 times in the last 11 seasons, the Wild were once again looking to compete for the Stanley Cup this upcoming spring. Unfortunately, things have not gone according to plan, with Minnesota now on the outside looking in when it comes to the Western Conference playoff race. After a head coaching change earlier in the season, the Wild are certainly still within reach, and will likely look to add around the fringes in the hopes of making Lord Stanley’s tournament.

Record

25-23-5, 6th in the Central Division.

Deadline Status

Conservative Sellers

Deadline Cap Space

$4.53 MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 48/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2024: MIN 1st, MIN 2nd, MIN 4th, MIN 5th, BUF 5th, MIN 6th
2025: MIN 1st, MIN 2nd, MIN  3rd, TOR 4th, MIN 6th

Trade Chips

With Minnesota signing most of their would-be trade chips to extensions last offseason, there only remains one veteran on the roster that could attract any sort of interest on March 8th. Now in his 20th year and an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, the Wild could look to peddle goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with many contending teams looking to improve their situation between the pipes.

Fleury has been relatively productive this season, sporting a 10-9-3 record in 25 contests, carrying a .902 save percentage and 2.83 goals against average. Although he does carry a no-move clause, Fleury may waive that to join a contender in hopes of winning a Stanley Cup to cap off his career.

Teams like the Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs could be interested in Fleury’s services, where he would primarily be utilized in a backup role to give their regular netminders more rest in between starts. Furthermore, teams such as the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils may be in desperation mode when it comes to fixing their goaltending woes and may prefer Fleury to start the majority of games down the stretch.

Outside of Fleury, considering the organization will likely be nibbling around the edges when it comes to the trade market this March, it is unlikely Minnesota will consider moving either of their first-round selections in the next two upcoming NHL Drafts. They may consider moving out a thin pool of mid-round selections, but it will not be enough for the Wild to make any significant improvements to the roster.

Team Needs

1) Get Younger – Currently, the Wild ranks as the fourth-oldest team in the NHL, with the average age sitting at 29.4. Outside of the numerous overseas prospects looking to make the jump to North America next year, Minnesota has defensive prospects Carson Lambos and Daemon Hunt who are certainly on the cusp. Keeping in mind the stardom of goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, the Wild certainly have plenty of young talent ready to bring to the top level. Factoring in these upcoming players, they make the early extensions given to the likes of Ryan Hartman, Marcus Foligno, and Mats Zuccarello more difficult to comprehend, as their contracts are not only difficult to move out, but are blocking a few prospects from regular playing time.

2) A Right-Shot Defenseman – In the short term, if Minnesota is looking to make the playoffs in the 2023-24 season, they need to replace the lost minutes of captain Jared Spurgeon sooner rather than later. Rookie defenseman Brock Faber has certainly held his own on the right side of the top unit, but it quickly falls apart behind him. Last season, the team chose to acquire John Klingberg from the Anaheim Ducks to strengthen the right side of their defense, and they certainly could use another top-four defenseman within that caliber of player.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Hoglander, Blue Jackets, Lightning

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Largely expected today, the Department of Player Safety has fined Vancouver Canucks forward Nils Hoglander a total of $2,864.58 for high-sticking Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman last night, per a press release. The fine was the maximum allowable according to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA.

Originally, there was no penalty called on the play as Hoglander swung his stick into the side of Walman’s head as both players battled for position in front of Detroit’s net. Nevertheless, even though the in-game referees did not decide to penalize Hoglander last night, the Department of Player Safety decided the incident warranted a punishment.

This is the second time this season that the Department of Player Safety has decided to fine Hoglander with the first incident coming on November 21st for slew-footing San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc. Aside from a couple of fines, Hoglander has had quite a productive season for Vancouver, scoring 17 goals and 24 points in 53 games.

Other snapshots:

  • Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reports that defenseman Ivan Provorov and forward Yegor Chinakhov have both returned to practice for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Reportedly suffering from an undisclosed injury in the team’s most recent game against the Ottawa Senators, Provorov will likely not miss any time with the injury. Chinakhov, on the other hand, did miss the game against the Senators completely but should be available tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks.
  • In a similar fashion to Columbus, Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nick Paul will be a game-time decision tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers. Missing the entire third period in last night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, Paul did miss the team practice today putting his availability up in the air. In the same report, Encina also suggests that Tanner Jeannot will likely be out another week after being activated from the team’s long-term injured reserve on February 13th.

Central Notes: Lundkvist, Beauvillier, Raddysh

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After leaving last night’s game against the Nashville Predators with a reported upper-body injury, it appears Dallas Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist could miss Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers as well. Speaking about the injury this morning, Bruce LeVine of 96.7 The Ticket reported that Lundkvist is experiencing concussion-like symptoms and the team would know more about his status tomorrow.

If Lundkvist is set to miss a significant amount of time with a concussion, it may motivate Stars General Manager Jim Nill to make a move for a defenseman well before the trade deadline, as the team has reportedly been sniffing around the defensive market. Including a few minutes in last night’s game, Lundkvist has registered two goals and 15 points in 43 games for Dallas this season while averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time per game.

With Joel Hanley being the likely candidate to fill in for Lundkvist, the Stars will likely find more pressure on themselves to round out their defensive core. Although the top unit of Thomas Harley and Miro Heiskanen has played well for the team up to this point in the season, a right-handed shot defenseman to put next to Esa Lindell should become the team’s top priority over the next three weeks.

Other Central notes:

  • Now that forward Connor Bedard has returned to the Chicago Blackhawks after missing time with a broken jaw, Tracey Myers of the NHL suggests the team could see the return of another forward very soon. Since joining the Blackhawks via a trade on November 28th, Anthony Beauvillier has only managed 15 games for the team, suffering a left wrist injury on January 2nd against the Nashville Predators. In the report, Myers mentions that Beauvillier was a full participant in today’s practice, indicating that Beauvillier could return tomorrow or Monday.
  • It is not all positive news on the injury front for Chicago; however, as Myers also reported that forward Taylor Raddysh missed today’s practice with an injury to his right quad. Managing a 20-goal campaign as recently as last year for the Blackhawks, Raddysh’s offensive output has certainly stagnated this season, only registering five goals and 11 points in 49 games up to this point.

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