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Jakub Vrana Placed On Waivers

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Dec. 13: Vrana has cleared waivers, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN. He may now be freely assigned to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, which GM Doug Armstrong confirmed was the team’s plan earlier today (via Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic).

Dec. 12: Yesterday, there were conflicting reports surrounding Jakub Vrana and the St.Louis Blues, as there was some indication that the Blues were close to moving on from Vrana in a trade. However, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that Vrana has indeed been placed on waivers by St.Louis.

It will be the second time this calendar year that Vrana has found himself on waivers, being placed on the wire during his time with the Detroit Red Wings on January 3rd of last season. He would go unclaimed, largely due to his $5.25MM price tag at the time, and was subsequently traded to the Blues two months later.

Originally a first-round selection of the Washington Capitals back in the 2014 NHL Draft, it wouldn’t be until the 2017-18 season that Vrana would make the full-time jump to the NHL. He quickly became a relatively solid depth scorer for the Capitals, scoring 13 goals and 27 points in 73 games, also chipping in eight points on Washington’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in that year’s playoffs.

Vrana would continue to increase his productivity with the Capitals, posting back-to-back 20-goal seasons, leading to a two-year, $6.7MM extension with Washington. Unfortunately, he would not see out the rest of that contract with the Capitals, as he was traded to Detroit along with Richard Panik and two higher-end draft picks for Anthony Mantha.

After the trade, believing they had found themselves a diamond in the rough, Vrana scored eight goals and 11 points in 11 games with the Red Wings, leading to a three-year, $15.75MM extension. Nevertheless, as things played out in Hockeytown, largely due to injuries and a stint with the NHLPA Player Assistance Program, his time in Detroit quickly faltered, leaving him on the outside looking in with the organization.

Almost identically to when he arrived in Detroit, Vrana got off to a quick start in St.Louis, scoring 10 goals in 20 games down the stretch after last year’s trade. This season, Vrana is back to mild production, scoring two goals and six points in 19 games, leading to his placement on waivers this afternoon. Although he is only making $2.625MM due to the Red Wings retaining half of his salary, it is more than likely Vrana will pass through waivers unclaimed.

Snapshots: Kunin, Wolves, Capitals Arena

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Being out of the lineup for a little over a week with an upper-body injury, the San Jose Sharks announced the team has officially activated forward Luke Kunin from the injured reserve, although he will not play in the team’s game tonight.

After a disastrous start to the season, the Sharks have rebounded well over their last several games, producing a 5-2-1 record over their last eight games, now tied for last place in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks. Unfortunately, due to the injury, Kunin has not been able to factor into San Jose’s good stretch of late, having not played since the team’s loss against the Boston Bruins on November 30th.

Nevertheless, he is still having a solid season compared to the rest of his teammates, scoring five goals and seven points in 23 games, already matching his goal total from a season ago. Clearly, concerning the rest of the league, that offensive output is mostly centered around bottom-six players but is good for seventh on the team in scoring in San Jose.

Other snapshots:

  • In some unfortunate news across the hockey world, the American Hockey League announced a 10-game suspension for the head coach of the Chicago Wolves, Bob Nardella, due to the use of homophobic language directed at on-ice officials during the team’s game on December 9th. In his first season as the head coach, the Wolves are the lone independent team of the AHL and are currently in last place in the Central Division with a 5-13-1-1 record so far this season.
  • After a vote last night from Virginia lawmakers, all reports are indicating that the vote proposal has passed and that the Washington Capitals will be leaving Capital One Arena for Northern Virginia (X Link). Capital One Arena initially opened the season of the Capitals’ first run to the Stanley Cup Final during the 1997-98 season and is currently the 14th oldest active stadium in the NHL.

Kyle Connor Reportedly Out Long-Term

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After a knee-on-knee collision between Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets and Ryan Strome of the Anaheim Ducks, it was reported that Connor would get an MRI on his knee to view the extent of the injury. Although there is still some evaluation left to take place, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that an optimistic timeline for Connor will be around six to eight weeks.

During the play in question, Connor was coming into the slot early in the second period, attempting a backhand shot on Anaheim goaltender, John Gibson. After the shot was made, although both of his feet were planted, Strome’s right leg came into contact with Connor’s right leg, causing Connor to immediately drop to the ice in pain.

In a brief interaction with the media this morning, head coach of the Jets, Rick Bowness, relayed on the news that Connor would be returning to Winnipeg to be re-evaluated by team doctors at their facilities, and is guaranteed to be out of the lineup both today and tomorrow. At this point, the Jets have not given any official word about the severity of Connor’s injury, nor his eventual recovery timeline.

It is a tough blow for Winnipeg to lose their top goal-scorer for any length of the season, given that with 17 goals on the season already, Connor has accounted for 20% of all goals scored for the Jets this season. Over his last seven seasons, including this year, Connor has been one of if not the best offensive players for Winnipeg, scoring 224 goals and 447 points in 472 games.

Without any other player on the team reaching the double-digit goal total at this point in the season, the Jets will likely generate scoring by committee moving forward. However, although his goal-scoring is down this season, Mark Scheifele will be heavily relied upon in his absence to put the puck in the net.

If the timeline presented by McIntyre is accurate, Connor will miss between nine and 16 games, as the Jets will continue to battle for playoff positioning in the Central Division with the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. Fortunately for Winnipeg, only six of those games will be against opponents currently within the playoff picture, as they will have two games against the Chicago Blackhawks as well as another two games against the San Jose Sharks during that stretch.

Nevertheless, heading into the trade season, the injury to Connor may give the Jets more motivation to acquire more goal-scoring to inject into their lineup. Even with the fourth-highest goal-scorer in the NHL this season, the Jets are a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of offense, currently sitting at 14th in the league in GF/G.

Injury Notes: Joseph, Benning, Martin, Jones, Merzlikins

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Placing defenseman Dmitri Samorukov on waivers yesterday, after he cleared today, the Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and have subsequently activated Pierre-Olivier Joseph off of the injured reserve. Being placed on the injured reserve with an undisclosed injury dating back to November 18th, Joseph has not played in a game since the team’s route against the San Jose Sharks on November 4th.

Given that he is returning from injury, Joseph will likely slot into the Penguins’ bottom-pairing alongside John Ludvig. Although he is a much better internal option on the blue line compared to Samorukov, Joseph will not be a factor in improving the team’s current offensive struggles on the powerplay.

Last season, in what has been his best to date, Joseph scored five goals and 21 points on the back end, also carrying an impressive oiSV% of 91.5%. With a 3-4-3 record in the last 10 games, the Penguins currently find themselves six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and will need all hands on deck to get back into the playoff race.

Other injury notes:

  • The San Jose Sharks announced today they have placed defenseman Matt Benning on the injured reserve. Dealing with a lower-body injury, Benning has been out of the lineup since the team’s game against the New York Rangers on December 3rd. Already starting the season with limited depth as an organization, Benning joins a growing list of Sharks on the injured reserve, making him the sixth player overall currently.
  • Retroactive to December 2nd, the New York Islanders have placed depth forward Matt Martin on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury. This will now be the third time this season that Martin has been placed on the IR, having missed stretches in both October and November. In only 14 games played this season, Martin has one goal and two points, only maintaining approximately eight and a half minutes of ice time per game.
  • Already confirmed to be out of the lineup in tonight’s matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks’ defenseman, Seth Jones, received X-rays during the team’s game against the Washington Capitals on Sunday. Although there has been no official update on the status of Jones, team doctors indicated that he was only feeling a ’little sore’ and should be able to make it back to the lineup after the team’s road trip (X Link).
  • Although he is still on the team’s injured reserve due to an illness, Brian Hedger for the Columbus Dispatch reports that goaltender for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Elvis Merzlikins returned to practice with the team today. Largely the most competent goalie on the Blue Jackets this season, Merzlikins holds a 6-8-4 record in 19 starts, carrying a .910 SV% and a 3.10 GAA.

Calgary Flames Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Calgary Flames made several roster moves today, announcing that the team has recalled defenseman Nick DeSimone from their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, while subsequently sending down forward Matthew Coronato. On the injury front, the team also relayed that defenseman Chris Tanev is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and will not play in the team’s game tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights.

After placing fellow defenseman Jordan Oesterle on waivers towards the beginning of the season, DeSimone quickly became a stable presence on the blue line, scoring four points in eight games, and averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time per game. As the team regained salary cap flexibility due to the trade of Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames would recall Oesterle from the AHL, and send DeSimone back to the Wranglers on November 26th.

Much like DeSimone, Coronato has split time this season between the NHL and the AHL, only managing two points in 11 games when playing for Calgary. One of the team’s more notable up-and-coming prospects, Coronato is having quite the season with the Wranglers already, scoring eight goals and 18 points in only 14 games. Even though the team has re-entered the playoff conversation over the last couple of weeks, the Flames are still largely considered sellers heading into trade season, meaning Coronato may earn a full-time spot with the team if the forward core is thinned out.

In the context of the trade deadline picture, Tanev is thought to be one of the more sought-after defensemen on the market, primarily being linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Luckily, in terms of his trade value for the Flames, Tanev should only miss a game or two, meaning the return package in any deal shouldn’t be negatively impacted by the injury.

Finland Announces Preliminary 2024 WJC Roster

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The best time of the year for prospect watchers is right around the corner. The 2024 edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship begins later this month, as normal, on December 26. This year’s event will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, which was initially slated to host in 2022 but needed to be rescheduled due to COVID restrictions.

Exactly a week after Team Canada announced their preliminary roster, Team Finland made an official announcement on the players that will be joining them in Sweden. Unlike Canada and the United States, Finland released a 25-man roster instead of 29, meaning they will only have to cut one forward and one defenseman before the tournament begins.

As part of the “big six” in international hockey, Finland has had an up-and-down ride in the World Junior Championships over the last several years. The team won the gold medal in 2019 and has only medaled twice since that win. Hoping to get back into the top three after a disappointing performance last year, the Finnish roster is as follows:

F Rasmus Kumpulainen (Wild, 2023, 53rd overall)
F Konsta Helenius (2024 draft-eligible)
F Oiva Keskinen (Blue Jackets, 2023, 194th overall)
F Samu Bau (Coyotes, 2023, 162nd overall)
F Kasper Halttunen (Sharks, 2023, 36th overall)
F Jesse Kiiskinen (Predators, 2023, 68th overall)
F Aleksanteri Kaskimäki (Blues, 2022, 73rd overall)
F Max Koskipirtti (2024 draft-eligible)
F Jere Lassila (2024 draft-eligible)
F Lenni Hämeenaho (Devils, 2023, 58th overall)
F Emil Hemming (2024 draft-eligible))
F Jani Nyman (Kraken, 2022, 49th overall)
F Tommi Männistö (2024 draft-eligible)
F Janne Naukkarinen (2024 draft-eligible)

D Veeti Väisänen (2024 draft-eligible)
D Otto Salin (Kings, 2022, 148th overall)
D Arttu Kärki (Golden Knights, 2023, 96th overall)
D Kasper Kulonummi (Predators, 2022, 84th overall)
D Emil Pieniniemi (Penguins, 2023, 91st overall)
D Joona Väisänen (2024 draft-eligible)
D Kalle Kangas (Penguins, 2023, 223rd overall)
D Jesse Pulkkinen (2024 draft-eligible)

G Eemil Vinni (2024 draft-eligible)
G Niklas Kokko (Kraken, 2022, 58th overall)
G Noa Vali (2024 draft-eligible)

Of players already drafted to the NHL, the Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Seattle Kraken all lead the way with two prospects a team. Amongst the players eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft, Helenius leads the way, largely projecting to be a top-10 selection next summer. As a 17-year-old, Helenius is currently playing with Jukurit of the Finnish Liiga, scoring eight goals and 20 points in 28 games to start the season.

Evening Injury Updates: Brodin, Larkin, Pearson

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Last night, in the team’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild defenseman, Jonas Brodin, went down with an injury after a hit-from-behind from Evander Kane. In an update today, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Brodin will be out for a significant amount of time due to the hit.

In the short-term, the Wild will have veterans Alex Goligoski and recently-acquired Zach Bogosian to rely on in Brodin’s stead, but their defensive depth will ultimately be tested without one of their top defensemen in the lineup for the foreseeable future. Leading the team in ATOI, Brodin has scored one goal and nine points in 25 games, mostly impacting the game on the defensive side of the puck.

If Minnesota’s current depth is unable to properly fill in the hole on the left side of the defense in Brodin’s absence, the team may look to once again call up defenseman Daemon Hunt to Minnesota. Although he was unable to score a point during a five-game stretch in late October and early November, Hunt has scored one goal and eight points in 12 games for Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, so far this season.

Other injury updates:

  • With a handful of minutes left in the first period of tonight’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators, Red Wings’ captain, Dylan Larkin, received a hit to the head from Ottawa forward, Mathieu Joseph, and laid motionless on the ice for some time. In an update from the team, Detroit announced that Larkin is still being attended to by the team medical staff, and would not return to action tonight. Suffering from multiple head injuries throughout his career, it would be a tough blow to the Red Wings if Larkin is set to miss significant time, as he leads the team in scoring with 11 goals and 25 points in 23 games.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Tanner Pearson would not return to the team’s game tonight due to an upper-body injury. Since coming over from the Vancouver Canucks in an offseason trade, Pearson has produced at a relatively tepid rate, scoring four goals and eight points in 26 games, which is still good for eighth on the team in scoring. Already with six players currently residing on the team’s injured reserve, the Canadiens may have to dig into their organizational depth even further if Pearson is set to miss significant time.

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Mikko Kokkonen

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Shortly before their game against the Nashville Predators, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced they had recalled defenseman Mikko Kokkonen from their AHL, the Toronto Marlies, on an emergency basis. This will mark the first time in his young career that Kokkonen has been called up to the NHL, although he will not make his debut tonight.

Kokkonen was originally a third-round selection by the Maple Leafs back in the 2019 NHL Draft, and would not make the jump to North America until the end of the season, scoring one goal and seven points for the Marlies in 11 regular season games. Before making the transition to the Maple Leafs organization, Kokkonen was a veteran of 216 games in the Finnish Liiga playing for Jukurit and the Pelicans, scoring eight goals and 54 points overall.

Last year, Kokkonen put together a mild season for the Marlies, achieving six assists in 36 games, and even spending time for Toronto’s ECHL affiliate, the Newfoundland Growlers, scoring one goal and three points altogether. Although his production was poor in the regular season, Kokkonen helped lead the Growlers to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2023 Kelly Cup playoffs, scoring three goals and nine points in 13 games.

Starting this season back on the Marlies, Kokkonen has nearly reached his point totals from last year, already notching two goals and two assists in 17 games played. With Toronto poised to lose a few defensemen via the free agent market this upcoming summer, Kokkonen will likely need more time in the minor leagues before becoming a full-time option for the Maple Leafs blue line.

Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Ferraro, Flames, Amadio, Kane

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Earlier this week, news coming out of the Board of Governors meetings indicated a sizeable increase in the salary cap for next season, with most estimations projecting a $4.2MM increase, the largest increase in the last five seasons. One team that will benefit most from this salary cap increase will undoubtedly be the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights, who are pressed tightly against the cap.

Heading into next summer, the Golden Knights have four players set to hit restricted free agency, and another six hitting unrestricted free agency, including Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, and Alec Martinez. If the cap were to remain flat next year, Vegas would have only around $18.39MM to retain 10 players, but will now have around $22.59MM, giving them much more breathing room to keep their core.

In an article in The Athletic by Jesse Granger, Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon was quoted saying, “We are hopeful with a bump in the salary cap that we’ll be able to keep this core together. We like our team a lot.” For the core specifically, it is reasonable to expect raises given to both Marchessault and Stephenson given their production over the last several seasons, however, Vegas may even have the financial flexibility to improve their team next offseason.

Other notes:

  • With only three months away from the 2023-24 NHL trade deadline, the league is quickly separating itself into buyers and sellers. One seller, the San Jose Sharks, has been receiving plenty of interest in defenseman Mario Ferraro, as reported last week. However, in an article published today by Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, Ferraro gave indication he has no desire to leave San Jose, saying, “I feel like I have unfinished business here. This organization has done so much for me, right? I feel like I still owe them and the fans.“
  • Per a team announcement, the Calgary Flames announced that forwards Martin Pospisil and Walker Duehr were out of the lineup tonight with both suffering from the flu. Inching their way back into the playoff conversation, Pospisil and Duehr have been effective depth forward options for the Flames this season, scoring five points and four points in 15 games, respectively.
  • A notable missing piece from the Golden Knights lineup tonight was forward, Michael Amadio, who is out due to personal reasons (X Link). Typically, a bottom-six forward is not a large missing piece in any lineup, but with five goals and 15 points in 27 games this season, Amadio sits sixth on Vegas in scoring, while sitting 19th in ATOI.
  • After his hit last night on Jonas Brodin of the Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers’ forward Evander Kane was given a warning by the Department of Player Safety (X Link). It as an interesting decision by the league, as replay evidence shows that Kane finished his check on Brodin even with Brodin’s back turned to him.

Injury Notes: Ducks, Lehkonen, Benning, Puljujarvi, Blue Jackets

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The Anaheim Ducks are nearing the return of two of the most important players in their organization, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. Zegras, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury, has been out of the lineup since November 10th, while Drysdale, has been out with a lower-body injury since October 19th.

There is no firm date for the eventual return of either player, but Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports that both players returned for practice this morning. In the same report, Lee also mentioned that breakout center, Mason McTavish, was still absent from practice after suffering an upper-body injury last week.

Anaheim could certainly use the reinforcements on both sides of the puck, as the team has recorded only one win in the last 11 games. Aside from just returning to the lineup, the Ducks will need both players to step up their game, as Zegras has only registered two points in 12 games, while Drysdale has only been in the lineup 10 times in the last 108 regular season games.

Other injury notes:

  • Without much specificity into the severity of the injury, the Colorado Avalanche have been without top-six forward, Artturi Lehkonen, for the last month after he suffered a neck injury in the team’s game against the Seattle Kraken on November 9th. After joining the team for practice yesterday, the expectation is that Lehkonen will not return for another six to eight weeks, narrowing his return to January or February (X Link). Currently sitting at fourth in the Western Conference, Colorado will only have a few weeks to see how Lehkonen returns before potentially making a move at the trade deadline on March 9th.
  • Missing nearly a month to an undisclosed injury in early November, beat writer Curtis Pashelka reports that San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Benning is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. In arguably the weakest defensive core in the NHL, Benning is one of 11 defensemen to play at least one game for San Jose this season, averaging just under 18 and a half minutes of ice time per night, placing him sixth on the team amongst defensemen in that category.
  • Hoping to make his return to the NHL soon, Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that unrestricted free agent forward, Jesse Puljujarvi, has fully recovered from his hip surgery and has been cleared for full-contact training by doctors. Even when healthy, Puljujarvi’s market is going to be extremely limited, if one develops at all. The former fourth overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, Puljujarvi has scored 114 points in 334 career games, including a 36-point season for the Edmonton Oilers back in the 2021-22 season.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that in the Columbus Blue Jackets game tomorrow against the Florida Panthers, forwards Cole Sillinger and Patrik Laine may be making their return to the lineup. Sillinger has missed the last five games due to an upper-body injury suffered on November 29th, while Laine has been out through the last three games with an illness.

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