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Transaction Notes: Polin, Bryson, Asplund

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Earlier today, the Colorado Avalanche reassigned forward Jason Polin to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, per a team announcement. Polin was originally recalled on January 8th via an emergency loan and factored into six games for the Avalanche, scoring only one goal.

It was a positive sign from Polin to see him score his first professional goal, as he has been unable to score even one with the Eagles over 20 games during this year and last. Colorado is likely holding out hope they he can recoup some of his offensive talent that showed in his last season in the NCAA, when he scored 30 goals and 47 points with Western Michigan University.

Although nothing official has come from the organization, the reassignment of Polin likely spells the much-awaited return of Artturi Lehkonen, who has been on the team’s long-term injured reserve since November 13th with a neck injury. However, with Valeri Nichushkin now enrolled in the NHLPA Player Assistance Program, and captain Gabriel Landeskog still working his way back from knee cartilage surgery, Colorado will have to wait a bit longer to see a complete top-six forward group.

Other notes:

  • The Buffalo Sabres announced today that the organization has loaned defenseman Jacob Bryson back to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. After clearing waivers on December 20th, Bryson would not make his way back up to the Sabres until January 18th but was unable to suit up in a game. During his short span with the Americans, Bryson has tallied one assist in nine games.
  • Sticking in the Atlantic Division, the Florida Panthers have loaned forward Rasmus Asplund to their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, per a team announcement. Asplund did not suit up for the Panthers over his emergency loan roster placement, but will return to a Checkers team where he has had some success this season, scoring four goals and 19 points in 33 games.

Evening Snapshots: Wild, Capitals, Drysdale

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Earlier today, the Minnesota Wild announced that defenseman Jared Spurgeon would be missing the rest of the season due to back and hip surgery, and Joe Smith of The Athletic speculates that the organization may use their newfound cap space to improve their situation. Only two days ago, General Manager Bill Guerin publicly stated that he is unwilling to give up on the 2023-24 season, and fully expects this team to compete for a playoff spot over the next couple of months.

If Minnesota is going to operate as a buyer come trade deadline time, there are a few options at defense they could look to acquire. Assuming the team looks for a right-handed defenseman to replace the lost minutes left by Spurgeon, they could become a dark horse contender for a defenseman such as Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames, or even look to acquire Tyson Barrie from their division rivals, the Nashville Predators.

In the next few weeks leading up to the trade deadline, the status of the Wild’s playoff chances should come into much clearer view for Guerin, which should help him steer the ship in a more concrete direction. Whatever the case may be, if Minnesota decides to make a major move to replace Spurgeon for the rest of the season, they will have approximately $5.1MM in cap flexibility to do so.

Other snapshots:

  • In tonight’s game for the Washington Capitals, they saw the return of their captain, Alex Ovechkin, who had missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. Unfortunately, the team will be without a few players, as Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network reported that defenseman Joel Edmundson would not play in tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, and forward Beck Malenstyn is out due to personal reasons.
  • Moving on to another team in the Metropolitan Division, even though Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reported earlier that newly-acquired defenseman Jamie Drysdale was not seen at practice today, he was able to draw into the lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers this evening. Suiting up for the team in two games, Drysdale came down with an illness shortly after arriving in Philadelphia and subsequently missed the next two contests for the team. Drawing back in the lineup against the Dallas Stars, Drysdale has already skated in over 14 minutes of the game and has put two shots on the net.

Pacific Notes: McLellan, Hill, Amadio

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In this week’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, one of the proposed questions centered around the possibility of the Los Angeles Kings parting ways with current head coach Todd McLellan. Hoping to compete for a Stanley Cup this season, the Kings have produced a 1-5-4 record since December 28th, which has led some to speculate that a change behind the bench could be on the horizon in Los Angeles.

Unlike most teams that have made an in-season coaching change this year, the Kings still find themselves within a playoff spot in the Pacific Division, but the gap has certainly tightened over the last few weeks. Keeping together much of the same core over the offseason and bringing in Pierre-Luc Dubois, it’s safe to say that Los Angeles is not meeting their expectations up to this point in the season.

One of the main drivers in the team’s current misfortune has been the offense, which has only averaged 2.3 goals per game in their last 10 contests. In the year, the Kings rank 14th in the NHL with 3.27 GF/G, which does not appear to be enough firepower to take down a team such as the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, or Vancouver Canucks. With little salary cap mobility and a coaching change seeming unlikely, the Kings will have to do their best to handle this downturn internally.

Other notes:

  • Another team in the Pacific Division that has dealt with some unfortunate play of late would be the Vegas Golden Knights. In their last 14 games, the Golden Knights have produced a 5-9-0 record, now falling well short of the first-place Canucks. Nevertheless, in some positive news for the organization, the head coach of the team, Bruce Cassidy, suggested that starting goaltender Adin Hill is back practicing and should participate in a game sooner rather than later (X Link). Getting Hill back into the lineup should give the team quite a bit of much-needed stability, as he produced a 10-2-2 record in 15 games before going down with an injury in mid-December.
  • Sticking in Vegas, Jesse Granger of The Athletic reported that forward Michael Amadio would miss the team’s game tonight against the New York Rangers with an upper-body injury. One of the most valuable depth players across the league this year, Amadio has scored six goals and 17 points in 43 games.

Evening Snapshots: Gilbert, Ullmark, Carlo, Rondbjerg

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Earlier today, Ryan Pike of Flames Nation reported that the Calgary Flames have placed defenseman Dennis Gilbert on injured reserve. Since the original injury took place on January 4th, Gilbert has already met the required satisfactions to enter play, but since he is not ready to return, this transaction in particular will give Calgary some roster flexibility for the foreseeable future.

In a related report, Pike also points out that with Gilbert as well as Jacob Markstrom missing some time for the Flames, Walker Duehr’s waiver placement earlier this afternoon, and Oliver Kylington working his way back on an LTI conditioning loan, there will be plenty of moving pieces for Calgary in the next few days.

With now only 21 players on the active roster once Duehr’s fate is settled tomorrow afternoon, Calgary could recall young forwards such as Matthew Coronato or Jakob Pelletier, or even go the route of reintroducing Kylington back into the organization. Whatever the case may be, they do have some time to address their current roster situation, as they should be able to field a healthy team tomorrow night against the Toronto Maple Leafs without any corresponding transactions.

Other snapshots:

  • The Boston Bruins could be welcoming back two of their bigger pieces, as Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe reports both Linus Ullmark and Brandon Carlo are nearing a return to the team. This news does not come as a tremendous surprise, as the Bruins sent down goaltender Brandon Bussi, clearing the way for Ullmark’s return. Carlo, on the other hand, has missed the last four games for Boston with an upper-body injury but should be able to return this weekend against the Montreal Canadiens, or even sooner in the Bruin’s rematch against the Colorado Avalanche.
  • After recalling him on January 11th, the Vegas Golden Knights announced today they have reassigned forward Jonas Rondbjerg back down to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. Playing in three games since his initial recall only a few days ago, Rondbjerg produced zero points while averaging a tad under 11 minutes of ice time a game.

Metro Notes: Jenner, Smith, Frasca

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Some good news came to the Columbus Blue Jackets this afternoon by way of Aaron Portzline of The Athletic who is reporting that captain Boone Jenner will be making his return to the lineup on Friday night. One of the better offensive players on the Blue Jackets’ roster, Jenner has been out since December 8th with a broken jaw.

It will be a major reinforcement for Columbus, a team that has seen injuries to other major players such as Patrik Laine and Zach Werenski for much of the season. The reintroduction of Jenner onto the roster will bring a player who has scored 13 goals in 28 games already for the Blue Jackets this season, still good for second on the team in goal-scoring even after being out for over a month.

If Columbus continues to fall in the standings, Jenner could become one of the more intriguing trade deadline options for many competitive teams. Signed for two more years beyond this one, the Blue Jackets shouldn’t feel rushed to move their captain, but his ability to play on both sides of the puck, his relatively cheap contract and his obvious leadership ability could be coveted by a plethora of teams come March.

Other notes:

  • Another team in the Metropolitan Division that has dealt with several injuries this year would be none other than the New Jersey Devils. Earlier today, the team was dealt more unfortunate news, as team reporter Amanda Stein reported that defenseman Brendan Smith is out with a sprained knee. As of now, the timeline for Smith is unclear, but the team will likely utilize recently recalled Callan Foote to serve in Smith’s stead.
  • In a minor league transaction, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced that their NHL affiliate, the Pittsburgh Penguins, had reassigned forward Jordan Frasca back to the organization’s ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers. Frasca went scoreless in his three-game stint in Wilkes-Barre but has already scored nine goals and 24 points in 25 games for the Nailers this season.

Sharks To Retire Joe Thornton’s Number

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Arguably the best player in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks announced today that the organization will retire Joe Thornton’s no. 19 on an unspecified date next season. Taking brief stops with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, Thorton’s last game played for the Sharks came on March 11th, 2020. As of now, Patrick Marleau is the only other past member of the organization to have his number retired.

Thornton originally came to San Jose via trade; a trade that has now become one of the most lopsided in NHL history. Upset with the direction of the Boston Bruins at the time, Thornton was moved to the Sharks for a package of Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm, and Wayne Primeau, after leading Boston in scoring early in the 2005-06 season. Almost immediately upon his arrival in San Jose, Thornton went on an absolute tear, scoring 20 goals and 92 points in 58 games en route to the Hart Memorial Trophy and Art Ross Trophy at season’s end.

For the next 14 seasons, Thornton would suit up in 1,104 games for the Sharks, finishing second in goals, first in assists, and second in points with 251, 804, and 1,055, respectively. Throughout a 15-year run in San Jose, Thornton led the Sharks to the playoffs for a total of 12 seasons, scoring 20 goals and 115 assists in 144 games.

Although the Hart Memorial and Art Ross Trophy are the only individual awards he would win in San Jose, he received votes for the NHL All-Star Team, Frank J. Selke Trophy, and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, as well as more votes for the Hart throughout his time as a Shark.

Unfortunately, Thornton will become a part of the group of surefire Hall of Famers who were unable to raise the Stanley Cup throughout their career. However, the closest he got was during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, when the Sharks managed to take the Pittsburgh Penguins to Game Six of the Cup Final.

Pittsburgh Penguins Place Radim Zohorna On Waivers, Recall Ryan Shea

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Jan. 17: Zohorna cleared waivers and can be assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the Penguins’ discretion, TSN’s Chris Johnston reports. In a corresponding transaction, the team summoned defenseman Ryan Shea after sending him to the minors last week.

Jan. 16: The Pittsburgh Penguins are placing depth forward, Radim Zohorna, on waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. If Zohorna does clear and is reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, it will mark Zohorna’s first time back in the AHL since late October of this season.

Towards the beginning of the year, Zohorna was originally recalled by Pittsburgh to improve a bottom-six that had struggled out of the gate. Zohorna got off to a strong start, scoring three goals and six points in 13 games between October 21st and November 19th. Unfortunately, since then, Zohorna has seen his production crater, as he has only been able to muster one goal in his next 18 games for the Penguins, seeing his average ice time drop by approximately three minutes.

In the meantime, with Pittsburgh’s recent recall of Colin White on Saturday, the team may be more comfortable with giving White an opportunity on the team’s third or fourth line. White had originally spent the first few months of the season in the AHL, scoring five goals and 10 points in 21 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Now returning to the AHL, Zohorna will return to a very familiar setting in eastern Pennsylvania. Although he has only played in two games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, Zohorna is a veteran of 53 games for Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate since 2020-21, scoring 15 goals and 32 points over that stretch.

Central Notes: Wild, Murphy, Wedgewood

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On November 28th, the Minnesota Wild became one of a handful of teams to change behind the bench, firing former head coach Dean Evason after a disastrous 6-10-4 start to the season. After John Hynes took over as the new head coach of the team, the Wild appeared to be turning a corner, producing a 10-3-0 record in the next 13 games, re-entering the wild card conversation in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, since that hot stretch in December, Minnesota is 2-7-1, falling to 27th in the league standings and now sits six points behind the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with four more games played.

With a decent majority of the team playing on contracts with term, it would be difficult for the Wild to sell at this year’s deadline, although it would be reasonable for them to do so in hopes of resetting for the 2024-25 season. However, in an article by Michael Russo in The Athletic, the General Manager of the Wild, Bill Guerin, has no plans to wave the white flag on the season and is still holding out on this team to make the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Although the faith coming from Guerin is appreciated by the players, the pathway for Minnesota to make the playoffs is dwindling if it hasn’t already dissipated completely. The top three in the Central Division are some of the best teams in the league, and the Wild are failing to maintain pace with the Seattle Kraken, Nashville Predators, and the red-hot Edmonton Oilers. Even though Guerin is relying heavily on the team rebounding as they become healthier, his mindset may change in the next several weeks leading up to the trade deadline.

Other notes:

  • Joining the growing list of injured members of the Chicago Blackhawks, defenseman Connor Murphy is out with a lower-body injury according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. He will not play in the team’s game tonight against the San Jose Sharks, but the team is hoping Murphy can draw back in tomorrow against the Buffalo Sabres. Now one of the longest-tenured Blackhawks on the team, Murphy has scored two goals and eight points in 43 games, averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game.
  • Radio host of the Dallas Stars, Owen Newkirk, reports that the injury to goaltender Scott Wedgewood is not serious, and he is only considered to be day-to-day. Before the return of Jake Oettinger on January 13th, Wedgewood was the de facto starter in Dallas for nearly a month, producing a 6-3-2 record in 12 games played.

Pacific Notes: Eichel, Canucks, Kokko

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After placing forward Jack Eichel on injured reserve only two days ago, the thought was that the injury was not serious, and Eichel would only be missing a maximum of three games with the Vegas Golden Knights. However, the organization announced today that Eichel underwent successful lower-body surgery, and would be out on a week-to-week basis.

This injury news will certainly change the trajectory of the Golden Knights’ season for some time, as it would for any team operating without their top option at the center position. Moving forward, with Eichel for at least the next week or two, Vegas will continue to operate with Chandler Stephenson and Nicolas Roy centering the top two offensive lines.

Scoring at a point-per-game pace for the second straight year with the Golden Knights, Eichel joins a growing list of injured players in Vegas, a reality that has led to a rough patch in the season for the organization. As the injuries continue to pile up, after starting the year as the top team in the NHL, the Golden Knights are 6-9-0 in their last 15 games, being outscored by a margin of 11 goals over that stretch.

Other notes:

  • Having already been one of the most aggressive teams on the trade market this season, the Vancouver Canucks are still looking to add at this year’s trade deadline. In a quote reported by Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, the General Manager of the Canucks, Patrik Allvin, stated, “I think I owe it to the players. We know that they are capable of playing at this high level. And if they continue to do that, it’s on me to support them and give them opportunities to be successful”. Even though another trade could put Vancouver over the top in the Western Conference playoff race, Allvin will have to get creative in any move, as the team only has a projected $1.22MM available in deadline cap space.
  • In a confirmed transaction according to EliteProspects, the Seattle Kraken have loaned goaltender Niklas Kokko to the Lahti Pelicans of the Finnish Liiga. Kokko was originally a second-round selection of the Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft and suited up for Team Finland U20 in the 2023-24 World Junior Championships only a few weeks ago.

Atlantic Notes: Stamkos, Monahan, Kane

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Before the start of the 2023-24 regular season, captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos, rather publicly voiced his frustration with the Lightning organization, primarily over the fact that the team had not yet approached him about a contract extension beyond this season. Although Stamkos had not found his name in any trade speculation up to this point, if Tampa Bay were to fall out of playoff contention by the trade deadline, it would be a reasonable conclusion given the events that took place over training camp.

However, even after succinctly explaining that the Lightning organization would wait until after this season to address the future of Stamkos with the organization, the General Manager of Tampa Bay, Julien BriseBois, states that the team has no interest in moving Stamkos in a trade. This morning, Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that the Lightning would not be moving Stamkos for any reason and that the team envisions Stamkos in Tampa Bay beyond this season.

It shouldn’t be too difficult for the Lightning to retain Stamkos, as it is more than likely he will earn a decrease to his current $8.5MM salary. However, if Tampa Bay believes they are due for a transitionary period as an organization, they may view the available cap space as more prudent than bringing back their long-time captain on another contract.

Other notes:

  • One player who has found himself in trade speculation for yet another season is a veteran forward for the Montreal Canadiens, Sean Monahan. However, the General Manager of the Canadiens, Kent Hughes, still believes everything is on the table in regards to Monahan’s future with the club, and the team may even opt to extend him rather than trade him (X Link). Playing on a one-year, $1.985MM contract for Montreal, Monahan has returned nicely from an injury-riddled 2022-23 season, scoring 11 goals and 25 points in 43 games for the Canadiens this year.
  • After leaving the team’s game on Sunday night, Helene St.James of the Detroit Free Press reports that forward Patrick Kane will miss the next two games for the Detroit Red Wings with a lower-body injury. Although the head coach of the team, Derek Lalonde, has assured the media that the organization is not concerned with it being related to Kane’s previous hip issues, there still will be some caution from Detroit moving forward.

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