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Penguins Place Jake Guentzel On Injured Reserve, Recall Three

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In an announcement coming from the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team has placed forward Jake Guentzel on injured reserve while recalling Jonathan Gruden, Vinnie Hinostroza, and Valtteri Puustinen from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In a subsequent announcement, Chris Johnston of TSN reports that Guentzel is expected to be out for around a month, putting his trade deadline candidacy into question.

Ultimately, Guentzel’s injury status will likely not steer any teams away from acquiring his services by March 8th, given that his playoff track record has been so strong since he first entered the league. As a team already on the bubble of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoff race, the absence of Guentzel will almost certainly hurt Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes.

If the Penguins wait until March 8th to trade Guentzel, the acquiring team will only be missing Guentzel for about a week, unless there is an unexpected setback with his current injury. Because he may only miss a few games on a new team, Guentzel’s price tag likely won’t drop by the time the trade deadline rolls around.

In regards to the trio of players recalled in this transaction, Gruden and Hinostroza have both been in the AHL for a month or more. Of the three, Puustinen has been the most successful playing in Pittsburgh this season, scoring one goal and eight points in 21 games serving in a depth role.

Minnesota Wild Sign Mason Shaw

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Now fully recovered from the second ACL injury of his career, the Minnesota Wild have signed forward Mason Shaw to a one-year, $775K contract, per a team announcement. Shaw has already suited up for the organization’s AHL affiliate in Iowa this season, scoring four goals and seven points in nine games.

Originally drafted by the Wild with the 97th overall selection of the 2017 NHL Draft, it would take a few years for Shaw to eventually reach the organization in a full-time role, scoring 33 points in 76 games during the 2018-19 season in Iowa. Aside from a few shortened seasons from 2019-2021, Shaw finally made his debut in Minnesota over a three-game stint in 2021-22.

Last season, playing 59 games for the Wild of the NHL, Shaw scored seven goals and 17 points overall, before the second tear of his ACL would cut his year short on April 1st. Although he is not an offensive weapon by any stretch of the imagination, Shaw’s style of play does make the Wild more difficult to play against.

During his brief time in the NHL, Shaw’s workhorse mentality, his ability to finish his hits and play physically, and his strong defensive attributes make him a player that General Manager Bill Guerin has prioritized on his roster. Having already played a handful of games in Iowa this season, Shaw will join Minnesota for practice shortly, and will likely be available to play in a game in the near future.

Pacific Notes: Labanc, Kallionkieli, Joshua

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Suffering from what is becoming a career-worst season, San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc is looking for a fresh start outside of the Bay Area. In an article today, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now confirmed that both Labanc and his agent made the request clear, and referenced that they would like a resolution by the trade deadline or the offseason.

The resolution will eventually come, as Labanc is in the last year of a four-year, $18.9MM contract signed with the Sharks, allowing him to sign with any of the other 31 teams regardless of San Jose’s desires. Unfortunately, with only seven points in 32 games, Labanc may find his market to be incredibly limited both at the trade deadline and when free agency eventually rolls around.

In the article specifically, Peng notes that the Vancouver Canucks had an interest in acquiring Labanc as recently as last offseason, but could not confirm if they still hold any desire for him, especially with some of their additions already this season. Nevertheless, if the Sharks are unable to find a taker for Labanc by the trade deadline, a strong finish to the season should certainly be a priority for him in the hopes of boosting his free-agency stock by the summer months.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported today that the Vegas Golden Knights have placed forward Marcus Kallionkieli on waivers for the purpose of contract termination. Having been drafted 139th overall by Vegas back in the 2019 NHL Draft, Kallionkieli has only managed 11 games in the Golden Knights under his belt with six of those coming in the AHL, and other five coming in the ECHL. Currently rostered for Kiekko-Espoo of the Finnish Liiga, Kallionkieli has scored one goal and five points in four games.
  • For their game tonight against the Detroit Red Wings, the Vancouver Canucks will be without valuable depth forward Dakota Joshua (X Link). Supplementary reporting indicates that Joshua has injured his hand by way of a fight coming on Tuesday against Mackenzie Entwistle of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Vegas Golden Knights Updates

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As the Vegas Golden Knights took the ice for practice this morning in preparation for their upcoming game against the Minnesota Wild on Monday, they issued a plethora of updates regarding key players. The team announced that Mark Stone, Zach Whitecloud, and Jonas Rondbjerg would all miss practice due to illness, indicating that there may be a bug making its way around the team. In the same announcement, the team has also sent defenseman Kaedan Korczak to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.

Outside of those missing practice, the team also announced that defenseman Shea Theodore was back at practice in a non-contact jersey, indicating that he may be close to returning. Out for much of the season, Theodore has scored four goals and 18 points in 20 games for the Golden Knights this year before an upper-body injury took him out of the lineup back on November 22nd.

Given that the team does not play until after the weekend, it would be reasonable to assume that Stone, Whitecloud, and Rondbjerg could all return without missing any games. However, it is important to note that Vegas has dealt with several injuries to key players throughout much of the season, and losing three players from illness would severely limit their depth moving forward.

In Korczak, this transaction will mark his third demotion of the season, with the other two coming in early January and early November, respectively. In December, Korczak suffered an undisclosed injury keeping him out of the lineup for nearly a month, limiting his play in Henderson to only five games on the year.

At the NHL level, Korczak has skated in 26 games for the Golden Knights this year, marking a career-high in terms of games played over the last three seasons. Averaging 16 and a half minutes of ice time a game, Korczak has scored one goal and nine points while also sporting a productive 50.4 CorsiFor% and a 94.2% On-Ice Save Percentage in All Situations.

Snapshots: Giordano, Timmins, Romanov, Ristolainen

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In tonight’s Battle of Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be without a few notable defensemen as David Alter of The Hockey News reports that Mark Giordano will be out with a lower-body injury, and Conor Timmins is out with an illness. Alter did point out that Giordano is listed as day-to-day, but could be out longer as the injury was sustained in the team’s most recent game on Wednesday.

This news likely means that either William Lagesson or Maxime Lajoie will draw into the lineup this evening, with the latter having been recalled on an emergency loan yesterday. Of the two, Lagesson has certainly had more opportunity at the NHL level, playing in 21 games for the Maple Leafs this season compared to four for Lajoie.

Whatever the case may be, the depth of Toronto’s defensive core will be tested during their matchup tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Although his production has fallen significantly since his Norris Trophy-winning season of 2018-19, Giordano has been more than reliable for the Maple Leafs this season, scoring one goal and six points in 34 games, averaging just over 17 minutes of ice time per game.

Other snapshots:

  • The New York Islanders will be without defenseman Alexander Romanov this afternoon, as the team announced he is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Not much of an offensive threat from the blue line, Romanov has nevertheless been solid for the Islanders this season, skating alongside Noah Dobson at the top of the team’s defensive core. In 51 games for New York this year, Romanov has scored five goals and 13 points, producing a +15 rating while averaging over 22 minutes of ice time per game.
  • Rasmus Ristolainen will be back in the lineup tonight for the Philadelphia Flyers after missing the team’s last game due to illness (X Link). Struggling to live up to his relatively large contract in Philadelphia, Ristolainen has only skated in 30 games for the Flyers this season, missing much of the beginning of the season with an undisclosed injury. Averaging the lowest time on ice of his career up to this point, Ristolainen has scored one goal and four points for Philadelphia this year.

Atlantic Notes: Mittelstadt, Kane, Sanderson

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In an article this morning from Lyle Richardson of Spector’s Hockey, he mentions that the Buffalo Sabres are actively shopping forward Casey Mittelstadt in hopes of bringing a top-tier goaltender into the organization. Currently leading the Sabres in points with 42, Mittelstadt is set to become a restricted free agent at season’s end, likely hoping to get a long-term deal in Buffalo similar to Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson.

To put some cold water on the report, shortly after Richardson’s article was published in Spector’s Hockey, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News quickly downplayed the reports, citing that the Sabres are more than comfortable moving forward with a tandem of Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. In Lysowski’s defence, Luukkonen has been rather remarkable over his last 10 games, putting together a 6-4-0 record since December 30th all while averaging a .940 SV%.

Ultimately, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle regarding the future of Mittelstadt in Buffalo. Not meeting preseason expectations, General Manager Kevyn Adams is likely doing his due diligence in preparation for deadline season, as any General Manager would do in a similar situation to the Sabres.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • After missing the team’s last seven contests, Patrick Kane will return to the lineup tonight for the Detroit Red Wings as the team announced they have activated the veteran forward off of injured reserve. Although producing a solid 4-2-1 record in his absence, the Red Wings have only averaged three goals per game over that stretch, nearly a half-goal drop from their average over the entire regular season. With this recent injury being the only health concern for Kane since his return to the NHL, he has scored seven goals and 16 points in 19 games for Detroit since recovering from offseason hip resurfacing surgery.
  • Having confirmed that Jake Sanderson will be out of the lineup for the team’s game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bruce Garrioch of TSN is reporting that the Ottawa Senators are hoping Sanderson can return to skating next week. Without having a clear timeline for his return when originally injured, this update from Garrioch at the very least provides some idea as to when Sanderson could return to the lineup for the Senators. After a strong rookie campaign last year, Sanderson has continued to improve this season, scoring seven goals and 24 points through 47 games this year.

Snapshots: Kessel, Faulk, Sanderson

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Over the last several weeks, the league has seen long-time NHL veterans such as Zach Parise and Corey Perry find new homes well into the 2023-24 season. One veteran who has seen his name pop up in more chatter over the last couple of days is Phil Kessel.

In a report today, Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic mentions that the Vancouver Canucks are one of the teams checking in on the three-time Stanley Cup champion. If Kessel can regain form relatively quickly, the Canucks could field one of the deepest teams entering the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, especially after having acquired Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov this year via trade. It is important to note that from 2015-17, Kessel played under the current Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet when Tocchet was an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2014-2017.

Nevertheless, it has been nearly 10 months since Kessel skated in his last NHL game, coming on April 24th in the Vegas Golden Knights’ opening-round matchup against the Winnipeg Jets in last year’s playoffs. Over the full length of last season, Kessel was relatively successful, scoring 14 goals and 36 assists in all 82 games while averaging a touch under 13 minutes of ice time per night, the lowest mark of his career.

Other snapshots:

  • Per a team announcement, the St.Louis Blues have placed defenseman Justin Faulk on the team’s injured reserve for the second time this calendar year. Once again suffering from a lower-body injury, it does not appear to be connected to the injury that kept Faulk on the injured reserve from January 4th to January 11th. However, unlike his last injury, Faulk’s timeline has been listed as week-to-week.
  • Leaving the team’s bench in the first period of their final game before the All-Star break, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson will not play this weekend, and there is no timeline for his return. Playing in the ’Battle of Ontario’ in a few days, the loss of Sanderson will surely be felt by the team, as the pairing of Sanderson alongside Jakob Chychrun has been one of the best in the league in terms of Expected Goals For and Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes according to MoneyPuck.

Evening Snapshots: Coyotes, Blue Jackets, Acciari

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For the past two decades, the Arizona Coyotes have been looking for a long-term home for the franchise. Originally moving to Phoenix from Winnipeg in 1996, the team played at the America West Center until 2003, when they made the move to Gila River Arena before finally landing at Mullett Arena at the start of the 2022-23 NHL season. With a desperate need to find a long-term arena, the Coyotes are once again locked in a battle with several local governments to get funding.

Although two artificial deadlines have come and passed, Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff wrote today that an answer could come within the next few weeks, and potentially as early as the upcoming weekend. In the article, Seravalli listed three possibilities still on the table for the resolution: break ground on a publicly funded parcel of land, sell the team to secure private funding in the Phoenix Metro area or move the team to Salt Lake City, UT.

Being the most interesting option of the three, the idea of moving or creating a team in Salt Lake City has picked up steam in the last few weeks, especially with Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith requesting the initiation of a formal expansion process on January 24th. While missing the playoffs in 17 of 26 seasons, a bankruptcy, and multiple different ownership changes, the idea of the Coyotes moving north to Utah may become a very realistic possibility in the near future.

Other snapshots:

  • Although they will not be hosting the 2025 Winter Classic, reports are alluding to the idea that the Columbus Blue Jackets may be hosting a Stadium Series game as soon as next season (Article Link). Being one of only a handful of teams not to host an outdoor game up to this point, the Blue Jackets appear set to host an outdoor game at Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football program. Although nothing has been confirmed yet for the 2024-25 NHL season, the article indicates that NHL representatives were seen surveying the property during Ohio State’s game against the Michigan State Spartans on November 11th.
  • During the team’s game tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that forward Noel Acciari would not return to the game. During the second period, Winnipeg defenseman Brenden Dillon delivered a hit that made contact with Acciari’s head, resulting in a match penalty on the play. After receiving the hit from Dillon, Acciari attempted to get up, but quickly fell back down on the ice, indicating that he may be headed for concussion protocol.

Injury Notes: Nosek, Spurgeon, Toffoli

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Earlier today, the New Jersey Devils announced that the team has activated forward Tomas Nosek off of long-term injured reserve. After signing a one-year, $1MM contract with the Devils as an unrestricted free agent this past offseason, foot surgery has kept him out of the lineup since early November, limiting him to only six games on the season.

Nosek was originally brought in to be an effective fourth-line center option for the Devils, a title that has since been held by multiple different players. In his six games on the year, Nosek has gone scoreless while averaging a career-low in average time on ice.

With top forward Jack Hughes still out of the lineup, Nosek will not exactly fill in any void left by Hughes, but nonetheless fills a hole in the forward unit. For a team that has had very little stability down the middle of the ice at the bottom of the lineup, the return of Nosek will at least give them that moving forward.

Other injury notes:

  • On January 18th, it was announced that Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon would miss the rest of the 2023-24 season due to surgery on his back and his hip. Today, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Spurgeon underwent successful surgery on his back, and will undergo hip surgery in approximately a month. In a lost season for both player and team, Spurgeon will have finished with a career-low 16 games played for the Wild, only tallying five assists overall.
  • Back in New Jersey, before their game tonight against the Colorado Avalanche, Ryan Novozinsky of Star-Ledger reported that forward Tyler Toffoli would miss the action tonight due to illness. In his stead, depth forward Maxwell Willman will draw back into the lineup, lining up on the wing next to Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian against their Central Division-leading opponents.

Sabres Place Mattias Samuelsson On Injured Reserve, Activate Erik Johnson

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One man in, one man out for the Buffalo Sabres as the team announced they have placed defenseman Mattias Samuelsson on injured reserve, and have officially activated defenseman Erik Johnson. It will be the second time this season that the organization has placed Samuelsson on the IR, as he suffered an undisclosed injury from November 4th to November 11th.

In the middle of the pack of man games lost to injury throughout the 2023-24 regular season, Buffalo has seemingly dealt with a consistent slate of injuries for much of the year. With the team having already played 49 games this season, Casey Mittelstadt, Owen Power, and John-Jason Peterka remain the only players to have appeared in every game.

Once again primarily playing with Sabres’ defenseman Rasmus Dahlin this season, Samuelsson has been relatively successful as a two-way defenseman for the club. His Corsi For % in All Situations and his On-Ice Save Percentage in All Situations are both at career highs, with his Expected +/- being at a career-high over a full season, according to HockeyReference.

On the other hand, Johnson has struggled considerably during his first year in Buffalo. After multiple successful seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, Johnson’s transition to the Eastern Conference has not gone swimmingly. Primarily playing with Connor Clifton, the two have produced an Expected Goals Against Per 60 minutes of 3.5 on the season, the worst of any defensive combination deployed by the Sabres this season according to MoneyPuck.

Not completely out of the playoff picture yet, Buffalo currently sits 10 points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with only one game in hand of the Detroit Red Wings, who currently occupy the spot. Depending on the Sabres’ approach to the deadline, they will need to pick up some quick steam in order to have a shot at the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

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