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Pacific Notes: Soucy, Barabanov, Moverare

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Still, without a firm timeline for his return, the Vancouver Canucks will likely be getting defenseman Carson Soucy back very shortly, as he has finally begun skating again after suffering a fractured leg in November (article link). Factoring in the recent acquisition of Nikita Zadorov, once their defensive core becomes completely healthy, there is a very reasonable argument to be made that Vancouver may have the best defensive core in the league.

Joining the organization this past summer as an unrestricted free agent, Soucy would sign a three-year, $9.75MM contract after spending the last two seasons with the Seattle Kraken organization. Throughout his two years in Seattle, Soucy would skate in 142 regular season games, scoring 13 goals and 37 points, becoming a very valuable two-way defenseman for the Kraken.

Now in Vancouver, Soucy skated in 13 games before his injury, scoring two goals and five points, averaging just under 17 minutes of ice time per night. Without any real reason to carry eight defensemen on the active roster, Soucy’s return will likely spell the end of either Mark Friedman or Noah Juulsen’s time in the NHL.

Other notes:

  • Earlier today, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reported that forward Alexander Barabanov will be out of the lineup tonight with an illness. Already missing over a month of the season with a finger injury, Barabanov has been quite good upon his return on December 3rd, scoring one goal and four assists in eight games for the San Jose Sharks.
  • According to the AHL transactions log, the Los Angeles Kings have recalled defenseman Jacob Moverare from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. It will mark the 10th time already this season that Moverare has been recalled by the Kings, scoring zero points in four games at the NHL this year.

Snapshots: Gibson, Perron, Dell

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According to the EliteProspects transaction page, former NHL goaltender, Christopher Gibson, will return home to Finland, as he has signed a contract with Rauman Lukko of the Finnish Liiga. As recently as last year, Gibson was rostered in the Seattle Kraken organization, playing all season for their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Gibson was originally drafted 49th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2011 NHL Draft but would wind up signing his entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2013. Only two years later, Gibson was a part of the trade that sent Michael Grabner to the Maple Leafs, has was included in the return for the New York Islanders.

Spending the better part of 10 years in the American Hockey League, Gibson is a veteran of 244 games at the minor league level, carrying a record of 124-77-37, with a .910 SV% and a 2.64 GAA. At the NHL level, Gibson will leave North America having played in only 16 games over seven seasons, carrying a .901 SV% and a 3.33 GAA.

Other snapshots:

  • Returning to the lineup tonight regardless of the decision, the NHL decided to uphold the six-game suspension of Detroit Red Wings forward, David Perron, after the NHLPA filed an appeal on his behalf. After the appeal process played out, Commissioner Gary Bettman relied heavily on Perron’s intentions during the play to defend the original suspension, as the entirety of his reason can be found here.
  • Signing Aaron Dell to a professional tryout agreement only four days ago, the Carolina Hurricanes will be watching Dell from overseas as they decide on his immediate future with the organization. Approaching next week, Dell has been added to Team Canada’s roster for the 2023 Spengler Cup, and will likely serve as Dell’s overall tryout with the Hurricanes organization.

West Notes: Meyers, Landeskog, Carlsson

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For the second time in as many days, the Colorado Avalanche have sent forward Ben Meyers back down to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. In the team’s victory last night against the Ottawa Senators, Meyers skated in just under six minutes of ice time, producing a -1 rating on the evening.

Before his call-up yesterday, Meyers had been rostered on the Avalanche from December 11th to December 20th, scoring one goal in four games, averaging just under 10 minutes of ice time over that stretch. Fortunately for Meyers, although taxiing back and forth from the AHL and NHL can be stressful, the Eagles’ home arena is only located about an hour north of Ball Arena in Denver.

It will likely not be the last time that Meyers is used as a depth forward stashed in the minor leagues throughout his career, as his tenure with the Avalanche has been largely unsuccessful since coming over from the University of Minnesota in 2022. Including this season, Meyers has spent three years in the Avalanche organization, scoring six goals in 49 games at the professional level.

Other notes:

  • Staying with Colorado, Kyle Fredrickson of the Colorado Gazette indicated that Avalanche captain, Gabriel Landeskog is very close to resuming skating. Even if Landeskog does return to the ice to resume skating, there will still be no way to guarantee his return to the NHL. After missing the last two regular seasons, including this year, the knee cartilage surgery underwent by Landeskog does not have any sort of track record on returning athletes to their respective sports.
  • Derek Lee of the Sporting Tribune reports standout rookie for the Anaheim Ducks, Leo Carlsson, is still undergoing tests on his right leg to determine the severity of the injury. In last night’s game against the Calgary Flames, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar awkwardly fell on Carlsson’s leg, which caused his right knee to collapse under the weight.

Vegas Golden Knights Extend Ben Hutton

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Right after the top of the hour, the Vegas Golden Knights announced a two-year, $1.95MM extension for defenseman Ben Hutton. It serves as a modest $125K salary increase on Hutton’s current AAV of $850K, but will nevertheless keep Hutton in Nevada for the foreseeable future.

If Hutton remains with the Golden Knights through the end of the contract, it will mark the longest stretch he’s spent with an NHL organization throughout his career. Drafted 147th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2012 NHL Draft, Hutton would spend three successful seasons at the University of Maine, before finally coming to the NHL in the 2015-16 season.

In his rookie campaign, Hutton played in 75 games for the Canucks, scoring one goal and 25 points averaging just under 20 minutes a night in ice time, impressively leading all Vancouver defensemen in scoring. Although Hutton showed a serious ability to move the puck up ice throughout his time with the Canucks organization, his offensive talents were not enough for the organization to look over his defensive inefficiencies.

The end of the rope finally came in Vancouver following the 2018-19 season, as they would non-tender Hutton leading into the offseason. Spending nearly all summer without a new home, Hutton finally signed with the Los Angeles Kings in mid-September leading up to the 2019-20 season.

Since signing that contract with the Kings, Hutton has largely operated as a bottom-pairing defenseman, spending pit stops with the Anaheim Ducks as well as the Toronto Maple Leafs. It wasn’t until nearly a month into the 2021-22 season that Hutton would land with Vegas, giving them a serviceable defenseman at the bottom of their roster.

This will not be the first extension that Hutton has signed with the Golden Knights, inking a two-year, $1.7MM contract only five months after joining the organization. Given his serviceable play with the team, Vegas has given their vote of confidence as well as their loyalty to Hutton for the next two seasons.

Snapshots: Skinner, Greenway, Hill, Atanasov

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Rumoured to be on the horizon for several days now, the Buffalo Sabres have officially activated forwards Jeff Skinner and Jordan Greenway from injured reserve tonight, per a team announcement. According to the stipulations provided in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Sabres can activate both, and carry a 24-man roster over the roster freeze since they are under the salary cap.

Barring something extreme, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio expects both players to be in the lineup tonight as the Sabres take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Skinner, dealing with an upper-body injury, has missed three games for Buffalo, while Greenway, also dealing with an upper-body injury, has missed a total of nine games throughout his injury.

It is positive news for a Sabres organization seemingly unable to stay healthy up to this point in the 2023-24 regular season. With a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 games, Buffalo has failed to gain any sort of traction this season, sitting stagnantly in seventh place in the Atlantic Division.

Other snapshots:

  • Playing in only one game since December 1st, the expectation is that the Vegas Golden Knights will place goaltender Adin Hill on injured reserve (X Link). Not slowing down a bit since his impressive performance in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, Hill holds a 10-2-2 record this season, carrying a league-leading .933 SV% and a 1.93 GAA in 15 starts.
  • According to Elliotte Friedman, one player who is gaining plenty of overseas traction in the NHL is Vasili Atanasov, currently rostered on Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League. With one year remaining on his current contract, the 21-year-old forward has 19 goals and 38 points in 39 games. Although he has shown quite the ability to score at the professional level, he is a bit undersized standing at 5’11” and 157 pounds.

Roster Updates: Kraken, Larsson, Stalock

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Currently sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference and three points back of the final Wild Card spot with three games less in hand, the Seattle Kraken are experiencing somewhat of a playoff hangover from their run to Game Seven of the Conference Semifinals last Spring. Nevertheless, even with a healthy amount of rental assets currently on the roster, the Kraken have no desire to sell at this year’s trade deadline, according to Elliotte Friedman.

Evidenced primarily from their recent acquisition of Tomas Tatar from the Colorado Avalanche, Seattle is still hoping to turn their season around in an attempt to compete for a playoff spot. However, with an ample amount of time before the trade deadline, Kraken could certainly look to move out expiring assets such as Jordan Eberle, Justin Schultz, and Alexander Wennberg.

Whatever the case may be, Seattle will need to become much more consistent in either direction to confirm a trade deadline strategy in the next few months. In a top-heavy Western Conference, Seattle still has plenty of hope to make the playoffs this season.

Other notes:

  • After spending a little over a week on the active roster, the Ottawa Senators have sent down defenseman Jacob Larsson to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, per a team announcement. Unfortunately for Larsson, he was a healthy scratch for every game over that stretch, returning to a Belleville team where he has registered two goals and four points in 18 games.
  • Recalled only yesterday, the Anaheim Ducks have now returned goaltender Alex Stalock to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Given the team lines up against the Calgary Flames this evening, it likely spells the return of top goaltender, John Gibson, who was placed on the Non-Roster list only three days ago.

Central Notes: Girard, Lucchini, Avalanche

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One of the most notable inclusions in practice this morning for the Colorado Avalanche was defenseman Samuel Girard, who is working his way back from being in the NHLPA Player Assistance Program for nearly a month (X Link). Returning to the ice is positive in its own right, but Girard is not expected to be back in the lineup this evening.

Upon his entrance to the Player Assistance Program, Girard was very public with his reasoning, saying through his agency, “I have made a proactive decision to take care of my mental health, and will be entering treatment for severe anxiety and depression that has gone untreated for too long and led to alcohol abuse” (X Link).

With his return to the team imminent, Girard will look to build upon his season after a month off, scoring one goal and four points in his first 15 games for the Avalanche this year. Aside from Girard’s play on the ice, the fact that he is nearing close to a return shows he has gained an adequate degree of success fighting his personal ailments via the program.

Other notes:

  • After placing forward Mats Zuccarello on injured reserve only yesterday, the Minnesota Wild have recalled forward Jake Lucchini to fill the missing spot in the lineup. With over 250 games played at the AHL level since the 2018-19 season, Lucchini is only a veteran of 11 games in the NHL, all of which were played last season for the Ottawa Senators. In his first season in the Wild organization, Lucchini has scored nine goals and 20 points in 24 games for their AHL affiliate.
  • Back to the Avalanche, having missed the last handful of games with a lower-body injury, defenseman Cale Makar is once again questionable for tonight’s matchup against the Senators (X Link). Furthermore, although forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Ross Colton were absent from practice due to maintenance days, they are both expected to be in the lineup this evening.

Snapshots: Sabres, Kulich, Hagg

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Still without forwards Jeff Skinner, Zemgus Girgensons, and Jordan Greenway, the Buffalo Sabres have dealt with numerous injuries to their forward core this season, but should be welcoming an up-and-coming player back to the lineup tonight. In an article from Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, there is every expectation that Jack Quinn will draw back into the active roster, and make his season debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Dealing with an Achilles injury suffered in late June, Quinn has been prohibited from building upon his rookie season last year, in which he scored 14 goals and 37 points in 75 games, finishing 12th in Calder Trophy voting. Seeing their offensive output drop from third in the league last year, to only 26th in the league this season, the Sabres will only benefit from reintroducing Quinn back into the lineup.

After just failing to reach the playoffs last season, Buffalo currently holds a 13-6-3 record through 32 games this year, sitting 5th in the Atlantic Division and five points behind the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. With Quinn undoubtedly needing a few games to get back to full speed, the Sabres are hoping increased health in the organization will help change the trajectory of their season.

Other snapshots:

  • Staying in Buffalo, Lysowski mentions in the same article that the team has loaned top prospect, Jiri Kulich, to Team Czechia for the 2023 World Junior Championships. Kulich was originally drafted 28th overall by the Sabres in the 2022 NHL Draft and has transitioned rather well to North American hockey. Playing for the Rochester Americans this season, Kulich has 16 goals and 22 points in 22 games, leading the team in scoring.
  • According to Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune, the Anaheim Ducks have sent defenseman Robert Hagg down to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Originally recalled on December 10th, Hagg served as a healthy scratch for all five of the team’s games in the meantime, failing to suit up once for Anaheim this season.

Central Notes: Makar, Cogliano, Jones, Vlasic, Kupari

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As the Colorado Avalanche are set to take on the Chicago Blackhawks tonight, the team will still be without defenseman Cale Makar and forward Andrew Cogliano, according to Conor McGahey of Altitude Sports. On Makar specifically, with a relatively easy schedule to finish out the calendar year, the Avalanche may keep Makar out for several games for him to comfortably recover from his ongoing lower-body injury.

Nevertheless, without Makar in the lineup since the team’s victory against the Buffalo Sabres on December 13th, Colorado struggled defensively in their game against the Winnipeg Jets only three nights later. Making his case for the best player in the organization, Makar has eight goals and 37 points in 27 games played up to this point, carrying an equally impressive 90.5% on-ice save percentage in all situations.

Cogliano, on the other hand, will be kept out of the lineup tonight after receiving a big hit in the team’s most recent game against the San Jose Sharks. Like Makar, Cogliano has also played in 27 games on the season, scoring three goals and nine points as a part of the forward core’s bottom six.

Other notes:

  • Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago reported that while already on the team’s injured reserve, it is unlikely that defenseman Seth Jones will suit up for the Chicago Blackhawks before the Christmas break. With his injured reserve placement coming just three days ago, Jones would be eligible to return from his shoulder injury on December 23rd. Conversely, in the same report, Roumeliotis mentions that Alex Vlasic is much closer to a return, skating on his own this morning.
  • In some positive news for the Winnipeg Jets, Rasmus Kupari was back at practice this morning in a non-contact jersey (X Link). Acquired in the same deal that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings over the summer, Kupari has been dealing with a shoulder injury, recording only one assist in 15 games for the Jets.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Michael Hutchinson

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Already playing in the organization on an AHL contract for the 2023-24 season, the Detroit Red Wings announced the signing of goaltender Michael Hutchinson to a one-year, two-way contract for the rest of the season. In 13 games played for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, Hutchinson holds a 5-7-1 record, coupled with a .895 SV% and a 2.98 GAA.

The news comes after a tough couple of days for Detroit goaltending, as Alex Lyon left the team’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers after falling to the ice awkwardly following a save, and Ville Husso would leave the team’s game last night against the Anaheim Ducks with an apparent knee injury.

With head coach Derek Lalonde indicating that Husso would be out week-to-week, and Lyon expected to be out until after the Christmas holiday, James Reimer is seemingly the only healthy option left available to Detroit, meaning Hutchinson could see a call-up to the NHL organization shortly. In what has become a bit of a talking point surrounding the Red Wings season up to this point, the regular goaltending trio holds a 15-12-4 record in 31 games, only sporting a combined save percentage of 90.4% and a GAA of 3.01.

However, even with a fresh face between the pipes for a short while, there shouldn’t be any expectation that Hutchinson will provide any sort of improvement to Detroit’s goaltending issues. Having only played in 54 games since the beginning of the 2017-18 NHL season, Hutchinson holds a 16-23-7 record in those six years, while maintaining a .889 SV% and a 3.52 GAA.

If Hutchinson fails to deliver on whatever expectations the Red Wings may have for him, they do have one final option in the crease they could use, but are seemingly hesitant to do so. After a difficult transition to professional hockey last season, Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall selection of the 2021 NHL Draft, sports a 4-5-2 record for the Griffins this season, with a much improved .904 SV% and 2.93 GAA.

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