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Snapshots: Ducks, Schwartz, Maple Leafs

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Without a definitive commitment on their availability for the team’s game tonight, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports that the Anaheim Ducks are nearing the return of defensemen Radko Gudas and Ilya Lyubushkin. Gudas had previously missed the entirety of the team’s last game against the Vancouver Canucks, while Lyubushkin left during the game and did not return to action.

Anaheim could certainly use the reinforcements on the blue line, as they are currently riding a seven-game losing streak, being outscored by a margin of 21 goals in that time. Providing mild offense in their own right, Gudas and Lyubushkin’s defensive capabilities would help the Ducks considerably in keeping the pucks out of their net.

In regards to Gudas specifically, even though he was an integral defensive cog in the Florida Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final last summer, he has arguably become even more important to the Ducks organization. Over the last several seasons, Anaheim has had a difficult time in the defensive zone, but with Gudas’ arrival, he has aided the team with a 91.3% oiSV% through the first 21 games of the season, a higher mark than even his solid career averages in that department.

Other snapshots:

  • Earlier today, it was reported that after leaving Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with a lower-body injury, the Seattle Kraken would be placing forward Jaden Schwartz on injured reserve. In speaking about that directly with reporters today, the head coach of the Kraken, Dave Hakstol, stated that Schwartz’s placement on the IR would be longer than a ’day-to-day’ injury, indicating that Schwartz could be out of Seattle’s lineup for at least the next handful of games (X Link).
  • Although being acquired by the Vancouver Canucks a little while ago, there was another team extremely interested in adding Nikita Zadorov to their blue line. Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs were interested in acquiring both Zadorov and Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames in one trade, giving the indication that the Maple Leafs will be adding a notable defenseman in some form or another by the trade deadline.

Snapshots: Kane, Perry, Near

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Yesterday, in a rare high-profile signing in the month of November, the Patrick Kane free agency saga finally came to its conclusion as the former MVP decided to sign with the Detroit Red Wings on a one-year, $2.75MM prorated contract for the remainder of the season. After recovering from off-season hip surgery, Kane took to the ice for the first time today with his new team, in hopes of being ready for game action in the near future.

Commenting on exactly that, Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press reports that Kane will more than likely make his Red Wings debut next Tuesday, as the team takes on his hometown Buffalo Sabres. With three games in between, Detroit will conveniently match up against both of Kane’s former teams, playing the New York Rangers tonight, and the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow.

Even when he does begin playing in regular action, it will likely take some time for Kane to get readjusted to the speed of the game, especially against a high-flying team such as the Sabres. After appearing in 74 games last season, Kane has not skated in an NHL game in over 200 days, as his last game came with the Rangers in the 2023-24 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Other snapshots:

  • In a very mysterious and convoluted report from yesterday, the Chicago Blackhawks held a press conference regarding the team’s decision to terminate the contract of Corey Perry. After having been on unconditional waivers for the last 24 hours, Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that Perry has officially cleared, and is now an unrestricted free agent. Although he is now free to sign with any team, it is incredibly unlikely that Perry will find a new destination given that his contract was terminated ’with cause’.
  • In June, long-time Commissioner of the Western Hockey League, Ron Robinson, announced he would be stepping down from his position at the conclusion of the 2023-24 WHL season. Seemingly having found their replacement as league Commissioner, Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that Dan Near will be taking over the role, and the league will announce the decision tomorrow. Near, who has been serving as a Global Senior Director with Adidas since January of this year, has previously served in the NHL’s league offices from 2006-2016.

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Jordan Gustafson To Entry-Level Contract

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The Vegas Golden Knights announce they have come to an agreement on a three-year, entry-level contract with forward Jordan Gustafson. Gustafson was originally drafted 79th overall by the Golden Knights in the 2022 NHL Draft and is currently playing for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.

Although he is still only 19 years old, Gustafson is now in his fourth season with the Thunderbirds, a major junior career that has been productive in more ways than one. In a total of 130 regular season games played for Seattle, Gustafson has scored 43 goals and 59 assists, while managing an extremely impressive +39 rating.

His best performance in the WHL playoffs came back in the 2021-22 season, as the fourth-seeded Thunderbirds went 12-7 en route to the WHL Finals, losing to the Edmonton Oil Kings in six games. During that run to the finals, Gustafson would score four goals, and assisted on 12, while carrying a +9 rating through the playoff stretch.

Not only has Gustafson shown that he can score at a respectable rate at the junior level, but he plays well in all three zones. Showcasing his skillset mostly in the neutral zone, Gustafson has shown the ability to be a very productive off-puck player throughout his career in the WHL.

Injury Notes: Zadina, Hischier, Martin

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During tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, Max Miller of The Hockey News reported that San Jose Sharks’ forward, Filip Zadina, will not return to the game tonight. The injury sustained by Zadina is undisclosed at this time, but the forward did leave partway through the second period of the game after playing in just over four minutes.

Signing a one-year, $1.1MM contract with the Sharks over the summer, Zadina did not officially become a free agent until July 7th, after being placed on unconditional waivers by the Detroit Red Wings for the purpose of eliminating the final two years and $3.65MM left on his previous contract. After being drafted 6th overall by the Red Wings in the 2018 NHL Draft, Detroit had tried and failed for several years to unlock his offensive potential.

Now with access to much more playing time, Zadina is actually off to a better offensive start than he was last season, scoring three goals and two assists in the first 19 games of the season. With a limited amount of talent on San Jose’s roster, Zadina has also been used on a subpar Sharks powerplay as well.

Other injury notes:

  • After being on the ice for practice yesterday, one of the notable missing pieces from the New Jersey Devils forward core tonight in the team’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets was captain Nico Hischier (X Link). The team does line up against the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow night, but it remains to be seen whether or not Hischier can return to the lineup. Since his last game on October 27th, New Jersey has fallen dramatically in the standings with a 4-6-0 record.
  • Andrew Gross of Newsday reports that Matt Martin did not travel with the rest of the New York Islanders to Ottawa as he is still suffering from an upper-body injury. This will mark the fourth consecutive game that Martin has missed, but he could return Saturday as the team returns to New York. In 14 games so far this season, strictly playing on the fourth line, Martin has scored one goal and one assist.

Samuel Girard Enters NHLPA Player Assistance Program

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After leaving the team for personal reasons on Wednesday, the NHL announced that Colorado Avalanche defenseman, Samuel Girard, has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Under the agreement between the two parties, Girard will be away from the team indefinitely and will continue to be paid for however long he is within the program.

The Player Assistance Program is available to all players in the NHL and is a resource to battle mental health, substance abuse, or any/all personal struggles a player may be going through. Given the serious nature of these issues, it would be entirely inappropriate to speculate the reasoning behind Girard’s entry into the program.

However, through his agency (CAA Hockey), Girard gave his own statement regarding his entry into the program:

“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. Taking care of your mental health is of the upmost importance, and I encourage everyone to speak up and seek help should you feel like you need it. I want to express my gratitude to my wife, family, friends, the club, my teammates, and the fans for their patience, understanding, and continued support” (X Link).

In 15 games so far this season for Colorado, Girard has scored one goal and three assists, all while averaging over 20 and a half minutes of ice time per night. Over this last five seasons for the Avalanche, Girard has regularly averaged between 25 and 40 every year, including 22 points in 51 playoff games.

All of us at PHR extend our wishes to Girard that he receives the help he needs and a productive road to recovery.

Canadiens Recall Joel Armia, Place Arber Xhekaj On IR

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In preparation for tomorrow’s game against the Los Angeles Kings, the Montreal Canadiens announced they have recalled forward Joel Armia from their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. In a corresponding move, the team has placed defenseman Arber Xhekaj on injured reserve, and it is retroactive to his last game on November 16th.

Notably failing to make the team out of training camp and being placed on waivers shortly thereafter, this will be Armia’s second call-up of the season. After receiving a promotion to the Canadiens on October 21st, Armia played in six games for Montreal and scored one goal in that time before being sent back down on November 12th.

While in Laval, Armia has been an effective point producer for the Rocket, scoring six goals and three assists in eight games, placing him seventh on the team in overall scoring, even while playing in about as half as many games as the rest of the roster. Nevertheless, with a relatively high salary of $3.4MM for this season and next, Armia should still largely factor as a sunk cost for the Canadiens on the remainder of the contract.

Xhekaj, on the other hand, is indicative of another growing trend with Montreal recently, making him the third player on the team to go on the injured reserve in the last several days. Fellow defenseman Jordan Harris, as well as forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard, have also gone down with injuries in recent days.

After a relatively strong start to the season given the talent level on the NHL roster, the play of the Canadiens has slipped dramatically over the last several weeks. Starting off the season with a 5-2-1 record, Montreal has slipped to last place in the Atlantic Division after going 3-7-1 in their next 11 games.

T.J. Oshie Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury

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In a disappointing effort up to this point, the Washington Capitals received more bad news involving their forward core during their game against the Edmonton Oilers. The team announced that T.J. Oshie has left the game with an upper-body injury, and will not return to the ice.

Before he had left, Oshie had nine shifts during the game, playing in just under seven minutes, and scoring zero points. Much like the rest of the Capitals’ offense this season, Oshie has struggled immensely in generating any production whatsoever. In 16 games played, Oshie has scored one goal and one assist, considerably lower than his point production over the last several years.

Over the life of the eight-year, $46MM contract that Oshie signed before the start of the 2017-18 season, he has only managed to score 50 points in one year, having the rest of his seasons mired by injuries. Over 383 games played during this contract specifically, Oshie has scored a total of 122 goals and 133 assists which would be approximately 55 points a year over a full 82-game schedule if Oshie had remained healthy.

Oshie still has two years and $11.5MM remaining on the contract, which could quickly become the last that he signs in the National Hockey League. Once a receiver of Selke Trophy votes in multiple years, Oshie has seen both his Corsi For % and his On Ice Save % drop over his time with Washington.

It is unknown how severe the current injury sustained by Oshie is, but it was enough to relieve him of his duties for the rest of the evening. Over the next couple of days, the Capitals will give more clarity as to his short- and long-term status.

Minnesota Wild Activate Alex Goligoski, Assign Mermis And Lettieri To AHL

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After some recent indication that defenseman Alex Goligoski was healthy and ready to return to the Minnesota Wild lineup, the team has officially announced his activation of the LTIR. In order to make cap space to return Goligoski to the lineup, the team also assigned Vinni Lettieri (placed on waivers yesterday) and Dakota Mermis to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild.

According to CapFriendly, with these moves, Minnesota has a projected cap space of $617K, which translates to roughly $806K in actual salary cap space. With only 21 players on the active roster, two of those being goaltenders, the Wild really only have the capability to bring up one league-minimum salary unless other changes are made.

Goligoski will likely return to a bottom-pairing role, or even become an extra defenseman on the Minnesota blue line, given his level of play and injury history over last season and the current one. He has missed all but two games for the Wild this season, carrying a -3 rating with zero points.

Mermis, on the other hand, has done relatively well filling in the shoes of Goligoski. In 13 games played in his absence, Mermis has two goals and three assists and has shown a skill for blocking shots in his defensive zone. With a $775K salary for the 2023-24 season, it wouldn’t have been unreasonable for the Wild to keep Mermis rather than Goligoski down the stretch.

For Lettieri, it was not a major surprise to see his name on the waiver wire yesterday, as he has operated as a depth forward option in the NHL for the last several years. In 11 games for Minnesota this year, Lettieri chipped in two goals but regularly averaged less than 12 minutes of ice time per night, indicating the Wild were not giving him very important minutes.

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Alex Nylander

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Nov. 22: While Nylander remains on the active roster and will play in tonight’s contest, the Penguins reassigned Harkins to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Wednesday afternoon.

Nov. 21: Earlier today, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed both forward Rickard Rakell, and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, and have been busy today seeking their replacements for the foreseeable future. After signing defenseman Dmitri Samorukov a few hours ago, the team announced it would be recalling forward Alexander Nylander and Jansen Harkins from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Now in his third season with the organization, Nylander has wholly failed to live up to being the eighth overall selection of the 2016 NHL Draft. Playing in 93 games over the course of his career between the Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, and Buffalo Sabres, Nylander has tallied 14 goals and 20 assists in total.

Skating as almost an entirely different player in the AHL, however, Nylander has been one of the most consistent offensive threats over the last six years. In 298 games played, Nylander has put up 82 goals and 104 assists, averaging nearly a point per game last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Harkins, on the other hand, was brought into the Penguins organization providing a much different set of skills. Joining the team via waivers shortly before the beginning of the 2023-24 season, Harkins’ ability to play important minutes in the bottom six was the main factor in Pittsburgh putting in a claim.

Nevertheless, his first few games for the Penguins would not suffice, as the team would put him back on waivers only 17 days later as he failed to score a point in four games played. Much like Nylander, Harkins is a much-improved player in the AHL, scoring four goals and five assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton since his demotion in mid-October.

Pittsburgh Penguins Activate John Ludvig From LTIR

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Taking on the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins are in dire need of defensive depth and will receive that as the team announced John Ludvig has officially been activated off of the LTIR. It is unknown at this point whether or not the Penguins will dress six or seven defensemen tonight, but Ludvig will be in the lineup regardless.

Over the last several days, the Penguins have seen injuries to defensemen Chad Ruhwedel and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, while also losing out on forward Rickard Rakell for the foreseeable future. To address the lack of defensemen, Pittsburgh signed Dmitri Samorukov last night and put him on the active roster this morning.

Somewhat clamoring to add more bodies to the roster last night, the Penguins also recalled forwards Alexander Nylander and Jansen Harkins from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Being one of the principal points of the offseason, the new President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, Kyle Dubas, made a point to add more depth throughout the entirety of the Penguins organization, specifically for situations such as this.

For Ludvig in particular, he was acquired via waivers only three days before Pittsburgh’s first game, coming over from the Florida Panthers organization. Ludvig was originally drafted 69th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, and experienced the best AHL season of his career last for the Charlotte Checkers, scoring three goals and 14 assists in 54 games played.

There is not a high expectation for Ludvig to become a main factor of the Penguins blue line, but at 23 years old, he has plenty of potential to become an important part of the team moving forward. Injured in the only game he played this season, Ludvig managed just under five and a half minutes of ice time, holding a -1 rating.

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