Philadelphia Flyers Send Down Adam Ginning
Earlier this morning, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that the organization had sent down defenseman Adam Ginning to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Ginning was originally brought up to the Flyers by way of an emergency loan on March 11th.
Unfortunately, Ginning wasn’t able to suit up in a game during this current stretch in Philadelphia but did make his 2023-24 season debut only a week ago. Playing against the Florida Panthers on March 7th, Ginning played just over 18 minutes over 23 shifts, securing five hits and one blocked shot.
With Erik Johnson and Marc Staal set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, Ginning should be able to compete for a full-time roster spot as soon as next training camp. The former second-round pick of the Flyers has primarily played for the Phantoms during his tenure with the organization. In 121 games over the last two seasons at the AHL level, Ginning hasn’t been able to produce much offense, scoring only five goals and 32 points overall.
However, Ginning has shown stretches of being a quality shutdown defenseman, using his frame to play physically and separate his opponent from the puck. If he can improve his skating abilities over the next few years, Ginning could become a prized defenseman in the Flyers organization.
Ultimately, Ginning will join a Lehigh Valley team in a competitive race for playoff positioning in the AHL’s Atlantic Division. Afters suffering a first-round exit at the hands of the Charlotte Checkers last year, the Phantoms are currently tied with the Springfield Thunderbirds for the final playoff spot in their division.
Sean Kuraly Out Week-To-Week
Absent from the team’s practice this morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets will not be expecting back Sean Kuraly any time soon. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that Kuraly is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
It is more of the same for Kuraly, who has seemingly dealt with multiple injuries during his tenure in Columbus. Since signing a four-year, $10MM contract with the Blue Jackets back in 2021, Kuraly has suited up in 205 games for Columbus, missing 11% of the time with injury.
When healthy, Kuraly has been good for double-digit totals in both goals and assists, which has provided the Blue Jackets with solid bottom-six scoring. Unfortunately, Columbus has not gotten the most out of their top six over the last two years, as the Blue Jackets have only averaged 2.89 goals per game over the last three years.
Even though Kuraly is rather mediocre in the faceoff dot, he does bring solid defensive awareness to the table, regularly collecting more takeaways than giveaways throughout his career. Furthermore, Kuraly is far and away the most physical player on Columbus’ roster, as he’s led the team in hits in each year he has suited up for the Blue Jackets.
With Kuraly now out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, it will be an opportunity for veteran forward Brendan Gaunce to receive more playing time at the NHL level. In nine games for the Blue Jackets already this season, Gaunce has scored one goal and three points overall, averaging over 10 minutes of ice time per night.
Jonas Siegenthaler Out With Concussion
Already without star defenseman Dougie Hamilton for much of the season, it appears that the New Jersey Devils will be without another member of their defensive top-four for quite some time. Team reporter Amanda Stein relayed that defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler will miss significant time with a concussion.
The injury was undoubtedly suffered in the team’s Monday night game against the New York Rangers when Siegenthaler took an elbow to the head from Rangers’ forward Matt Rempe. The conduct was so severe that the Department of Player Safety deemed the action worthy of a four-game suspension for Rempe.
Nevertheless, it has now become clear that Siegenthaler will miss the next several weeks in concussion protocol, and the team may even opt to keep him out of the lineup for the remainder of the season. As the Devils continue to move further and further out of the Eastern Conference playoff race, Siegenthaler may benefit from taking the rest of the year off to make sure he is completely healthy enough to return.
It will not be the first major injury of the year sustained by Siegenthaler, who is in the first year of a five-year, $17MM extension signed with New Jersey last year. In early January, in a game against the Vancouver Canucks, Siegenthaler broke his foot which kept him out of the lineup for six weeks.
If Monday night’s game was the last of the year for Siegenthaler, he still put together a quality season for the Devils. In 49 games played, Siegenthaler scored one goal and nine points, putting up 79 blocked shots and 69 hits, as well.
Maple Leafs Sign Bobby McMann To Two-Year Extension
Per a team announcement, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Bobby McMann to a two-year, $2.7MM extension, paying McMann an AAV of $1.35MM a year. McMann is currently in the last year of a two-year, $1.525MM contract signed with the Maple Leafs after the conclusion of his NCAA career back in 2022.
In college, McMann spent his tenure with Colgate University in the ECAC Hockey Division. Over a four-year career, McMann suited up in 145 games for the Raiders, scoring a total of 37 goals and 92 points. In his last year with the team, serving as the captain, McMann put together a 10-goal 20-point season in 30 games, leading to his entry-level contract with Toronto after their season had concluded.
In his first full year with the Maple Leafs organization in 2021-22, McMann spent the entire year in the AHL, playing for the Toronto Marlies. Getting off to an impressive start, McMann went on to score 24 goals and 35 points in 61 games, finishing second on the team in goal-scoring. Last season, even though he was able to register 10 games in the NHL with the Maple Leafs, McMann once again spent the majority of the season in the minors, becoming a near-point-per-game player putting up 21 goals and 29 points in 30 games.
Finally, McMann has become a full-time player at the NHL level with Toronto and has become a legitimate goal-scoring threat. He did get off to a slow start this season at the game’s highest level but has put together a recent hot streak. In his last 15 games for the Maple Leafs, McMann has scored eight goals and 11 points over that stretch, earning a spot next to Matthew Knies and David Kampf on the team’s third line.
Poll: Who Grabs Wild Card Spots In The East?
With the trade deadline in the rearview, and less than 20 games to go in the regular season for most teams, all eyes are now squarely on the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. Like most seasons, several teams are again going down to the wire to qualify for a postseason spot.
Although no teams have been eliminated quite yet, the Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, and Ottawa Senators will all need record-breaking win streaks to come close to a playoff spot. The Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New Jersey Devils are still well within the mix for the postseason, but it may be too little too late for all three organizations.
That whittles the list down to four: the Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Washington Capitals. Over the last two weeks, even though both the Red Wings and Lightning held comfortable positions in the wild card spots, the Islanders and Capitals have closed the gap considerably with solid 10-game stretches respectively.
Currently in the top spot, Tampa Bay has produced a 4-5-1 record in their last 10 games, while acquiring Anthony Duclair and Matt Dumba at the trade deadline. Holding a two-point advantage over Detroit and New York, the Lightning will face off against teams currently in a playoff position eight times over their last 17 games.
Moving north to Detroit, the Red Wings started the 2024 calendar year with a hot stretch, producing a 16-4-2 record after the New Year holiday. Over the last two weeks, however, a completely different hockey team has taken the ice. Currently riding a five game losing streak, Detroit is losing much of their footing in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, being outscored by their opponents by a margin of 17 over that stretch.
Now tied with the Red Wings for the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Islanders are willing themselves into a playoff position. Earning a 6-1-0 record in their last seven games, New York has been dominating their opponents in nearly all facets of the game. Not only are the Islanders making a considerable amount of noise in the wild card race, they are only two points removed from knocking off the Philadelphia Flyers as one of the top three teams in the Metropolitan Division.
Lastly, being one of the streakier teams all season, the Capitals find themselves only three points out of the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Producing a 7-3-1 record in their last 11 games, Washington will be one of the few organizations vying for playoff candidacy after selling off a few pieces at the deadline. Life will not get any easier for the Capitals, however, as 13 of their last 19 games will come against opponents currently in a playoff position.
Now its time for you to take the crystal ball for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoff race, which two of these teams will qualify for the wild card spots in the Eastern Conference?
Who Grabs Wild Card Spots In The East?
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Tampa Bay/New York 56% (491)
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Tampa Bay/Detroit 25% (220)
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Detroit/New York 7% (64)
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Washington/Tampa Bay 5% (47)
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New York/Washington 4% (33)
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Detroit/Washington 3% (23)
Total votes: 878
Injury Notes: Dunn, Parise, Hayton
Earlier this morning, Scott Malone of Roots Sports reported that Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn was back on the ice for practice in a non-contact jersey. Although he will not be back in the lineup tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights, it is a positive sign for the Kraken that Dunn is progressing from his injury.
Dunn has been out of the lineup for about a week after getting hit from behind by Martin Pospisil of the Calgary Flames. Pospisil received a three-game suspension for the incident, and Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol has been tight-lipped about Dunn’s future return.
When healthy, Dunn has once again been the best defenseman on the ice for the Kraken, leading all fellow blueliners in points. Suiting up in 57 games for Seattle this year, scoring 11 goals and 45 points, with 16 of those points coming on the team’s powerplay.
Other injury notes:
- After leaving last week’s game against the Detroit Red Wings with a lower-body injury, Zach Parise was back on the ice this morning with the Colorado Avalanche in a non-contact jersey (X Link). In his final attempt to lift the Stanley Cup, Parise has been productive for the Avalanche after signing a one-year, $825K contract with the team back in January. In 15 games for Colorado, Parise has scored four goals and seven points in total, averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time a night.
- The Arizona Coyotes will be without center Barrett Hayton tonight, as Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports he is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. It has been a slow recovery for Hayton after coming back from an upper-body injury suffered in December, scoring one goal and six points in 17 games since the start of February.
Transaction Notes: Dzingel, Regenda, Shea, Soderstrom
The AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, the Henderson Silver Knights, have signed veteran forward Ryan Dzingel to a professional tryout agreement, according to a team announcement. Playing within the Carolina Hurricanes organization last season for the Chicago Wolves, Dzingel has not yet suited up in a game during the 2023-24 season.
Last year with the Wolves, Dzingel played in a total of 22 games, scoring two goals and 11 points overall. Once a premier scorer in the NCAA with Ohio State University, Dzingel has seen his offensive capabilities tail off by quite a bit over the last several seasons.
Although it seems like it was longer ago, it has only been five years since Dzingel put up back-to-back 20-goal seasons with the Ottawa Senators. Now, the Silver Knights will be hoping that Dzingel can recoup some of his goal-scoring talents, as they currently sit bottom-five in the American Hockey League in goals scored.
Other transactions:
- The Anaheim Ducks have recalled forward Pavol Regenda from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, per a team announcement. It will be the second call-up for Regenda this season, with the first one coming less than a week ago before the trade deadline. In his only game with the Ducks on the year, Regenda played over 12 minutes of that game but was unable to put any points on the scoreboard.
- After Jonathan Gruden cleared waivers this morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to recall another player to fill out their roster. With that in mind, the team has recalled defenseman Ryan Shea from their AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Suiting up in 22 games for Pittsburgh this season, Shea has received bottom-pairing minutes while producing a -2 rating overall.
- Recalling him from their AHL affiliate on March 8th, defenseman Victor Soderstrom‘s time with the Arizona Coyotes has come to an end for the time being. The team announced they have sent Soderstrom down to the Tucson Roadrunners after playing two games for the Coyotes on this recent stretch. On the year, Soderstrom has mostly played for the Roadrunners, scoring eight goals and 25 points over 50 games.
Snapshots: Rempe, Canucks, Rodrigues
Bruising forward for the New York Rangers, Matt Rempe has been suspended four games for elbowing by the Department of Player Safety, according to an announcement. It will mark the first time that Rempe has been suspended in the NHL throughout his career, as he has only played in a total of 10 games for the Rangers up to this point.
During the play in question, towards the end of the second period in New York’s Monday night game against the New Jersey Devils, Rempe attempted to drive Devils’ defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler into the boards near the penalty box, and his elbow came into contact with Siegenthaler’s head. Rempe was assessed an elbowing and game misconduct on the play by the game’s on-ice officials.
This morning, Rempe did partake in a phone hearing with the Department of Player Safety, which would have ultimately ended up in a maximum of a five-game suspension. With this suspension, Rempe will continue to add to his reputation as a modern-day enforcer, as he has also racked up a total of 54 penalty minutes in his young career.
Other snapshots:
- Getting down to business in the front office, the Vancouver Canucks announce they have extended and promoted Ryan Johnson to Assistant General Manager. Johnson will retain his role as General Manager of the Abbotsford Canucks, but he was previously serving as Special Assistant to the General Manager at the NHL level. In the same announcement, the team has also extended Cammi Granato and Émilie Castonguay in their current roles as Assistant General Managers.
- Senior Digital Content Manager for the Florida Panthers, Jameson Olive, reports that forward Evan Rodrigues will miss tonight’s game with an undisclosed injury. It will be Rodrigues’ first missed game of the 2023-24 NHL season as he has found new life in his current role with the Panthers. Signing with the organization as an unrestricted free agent last offseason, Rodrigues has scored 10 goals and 36 points in 65 games for Florida this year.
Calgary Flames Recall Dustin Wolf, Jacob Markstrom Out With Injury
The Calgary Flames have recalled top prospect goaltender Dustin Wolf from their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, per a team announcement. In the same announcement, the Flames disclosed that starting netminder Jacob Markstrom is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Today’s transaction will mark the fifth time this season that Calgary has recalled Wolf from the minors. Throughout those five emergency call-ups, Wolf has suited up in six games for the Flames, producing a 1-3-1 record with a .878 save percentage and a 3.91 goals-against average.
Much like last season, Wolf is producing much better at the AHL level, and could be on pace for back-to-back Aldege Bastien Memorial Award and Harry Holmes Memorial Award finishes. While the Wranglers compete for a playoff spot in the AHL’s Pacific Division, Wolf has produced a 20-11-3 record while maintaining a .923 SV% and 2.43 GAA.
Only a few weeks ago, some trade speculation surrounded Markstrom and the New Jersey Devils, indicating that Calgary may be ready to transition Wolf to the NHL full-time. Unfortunately for the young goaltender, no deal came to fruition, and he will likely need to wait for next season to become a full-time member of the Flames active roster.
Keeping on Markstrom, Calgary very publicly backed out of the reported trade with New Jersey due to his strong play in the net. Since January 17th, Markstrom has produced a 9-4-0 record in 13 games, making 340 saves on a total of 373 shots.
Vancouver Canucks Place Dakota Joshua On LTIR, Recall Arturs Silovs
The Vancouver Canucks have placed forward Dakota Joshua on the team’s long-term injured reserve retroactive to February 16th, per a team announcement. In a corresponding move, the organization has recalled goaltender Arturs Silovs from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.
Silovs is expected to enter the lineup tonight, as the team recently learned that regular starting netminder, Thatcher Demko, is set to miss the next few games with an undisclosed injury. The team will likely opt to start Casey DeSmith in Demko’s stead, but Silovs may see his first action in the NHL since last season.
Playing in Abbotsford this season, the former sixth-round pick has had a moderately decent season as his team competes for a tightly-contested playoff spot in the AHL’s Pacific Division. Suiting up in 33 games for Abbotsford this year, Silovs has produced a 15-11-6 record while carrying a .907 save percentage and a 2.74 goals-against average.
Given that his last game was on February 13th against the Chicago Blackhawks, Joshua has already satisfied the requirements for LTIR and can be activated at any time. Currently producing at the best level of his career with the Canucks this season, the team recently learned only a few days ago that Joshua was set to miss the next two weeks.