Penguins Activate Alex Nedeljkovic, Send Down Magnus Hellberg
After spending nearly a month on the team’s long-term injured reserve, the Pittsburgh Penguins announce they have activated goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, and have sent down Magnus Hellberg to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Earlier in the year, Nedeljkovic played in two games for the Penguins, earning a .914 SV% and a 3.01 GAA before a lower-body injury would sideline him for the foreseeable future. While Nedeljkovic, Hellberg assumed the role of backup goaltender in Pittsburgh, sporting a 1-0-0 record in three games played, producing a .922 SV% and a 2.50 GAA.
As an older rookie in the 2020-21 regular season, Nedeljkovic finished third in Calder Trophy voting after managing a 15-5-3 record with the Carolina Hurricanes, leading the league in both SV% and GAA in 23 games started.
In an attempt to solidify their goaltending for the upcoming season, the Detroit Red Wings acquired Nedeljkovic from the Hurricanes for the signing rights to goaltender Jonathan Bernier, and a third-round draft selection in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Unfortunately for both, he and the team, Nedeljkovic’s tenure in Detroit did not play out as well as the team would have hoped, as he carried a 25-31-11 record in 74 games played, with a .900 SV% and a 3.35 GAA over his two years with the organization.
On January 16th of the 2022-23 regular season, the Red Wings chose to place Nedeljkovic on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL, indicating that his time with the Original Six franchise may be nearing its end. Nevertheless, the team would non-tender Nedeljkovic, allowing him to sign in Pittsburgh to a one-year, $1.5MM contract for this season.
Blue Jackets Make Patrik Laine A Healthy Scratch
After benching star players Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine in several games, the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pascal Vincent, has made Laine a healthy scratch in the team’s game tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers (X Link). In nine games played this year, Laine has two goals and one assist, as well as a -6 rating.
Columbus has certainly struggled to generate offense from their star players at the forward position this year, as Boone Jenner leads the way with 10 points in 18 games. Before tonight’s game against the Flyers, defensemen Ivan Provorov and Zach Werenski lead the team in points with 11 each on the year.
Spending a combined $18.45MM on both Gaudreau and Laine (22% of their entire cap space), the two have only combined for 10 points in 27 games played, hardly what the Blue Jackets should be expecting at that dollar value. Although the bad start to the year is not solely on the shoulders of Gaudreau and Laine, this is a decision that has appeared to be brewing for quite some time.
In a report from Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch, Vincent was quoted as saying, “It was a hard conversation … but nobody is bigger than the Blue Jackets“. Understandably, Laine is reportedly unhappy with the decision made by his new coach, but Vincent is adamant about sending a message to the entirety of the team about the lack of offense.
After being acquired by Columbus back in the 2020-21 season, even though Laine has scored 60 goals and 72 assists in 165 games as a Blue Jacket, he has historically been known to go through streaks as a player. Notably, from mid-December to mid-February last year, Laine would only score five goals in 22 games, before scoring eight goals in 16 games to end the season.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how Laine’s situation in Columbus continues to play out, as being a healthy scratch for the first time in his career may cause his frustrations to boil over.
Coyotes’ Barrett Hayton Likely To Miss Four To Six Weeks
5:39 p.m.: The Coyotes have confirmed Hayton’s status as week-to-week in a team announcement Friday evening. Jeník has indeed been recalled from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners in a corresponding transaction. Jeník, 23, was recalled twice by the team in late October but did not appear in a game, serving as a healthy scratch on both occasions.
11:42 a.m.: In unfortunate news for both player and team, after leaving last night’s game with an apparent upper-body injury, the outlook on Barrett Hayton‘s status does not appear to be positive. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports that Hayton will likely need surgery for his injury, and the Arizona Coyotes will be without the forward for the next four to six weeks.
Although centering the top forward line for the Coyotes, Hayton has had an incredibly unlucky start to the 2023-24 season. His scoring has picked up as of late, scoring two goals in his last five games. However, over 16 games to start the year, Hayton only has two goals and two assists overall.
Averaging over 18 and a half minutes of ice time per game, Hayton is only shooting at a 5.9% success rate, all while maintaining an above-average CF% of 55.1% and a decent xGF of 9.1 while on the ice. Now, if his on-ice production wasn’t bad enough, Hayton is set to miss at least the next month with his injury.
Nevertheless, if there is any positive for Arizona through this injury, it’s that this might create an opportunity for Logan Cooley on the team’s first line. Averaging just over 16 minutes of ice time per night, Cooley is already showing off his playmaking abilities with 10 assists on the year already, with eight of those coming on the Coyotes’ powerplay.
In the meantime, Morgan indicates that Arizona will be recalling Jan Jenik from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. In the AHL this year, Jenik has scored two goals and three assists in nine games for the Roadrunners.
Los Angeles Kings Loan Tobias Bjornfot To AHL
Nov. 17: The Kings returned Moverare to AHL Ontario after serving as a healthy scratch for last night’s game against the Panthers, per a team announcement.
Nov. 16: Before their matchup against the Florida Panthers this evening, the Los Angeles Kings announced they have sent down defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, on a conditioning loan. In the same announcement, the team has also recalled Jacob Moverare to replace Bjornfot on the roster.
Since it is a conditioning loan, Bjornfot will still count against the 23-man roster for the Kings and will still be paid his NHL salary over the next 14 days unless he is recalled sooner.
Since the 2021-22 season, where he played 70 games, Bjornfot has seen himself move further down the depth chart on Los Angeles’ blue line. After that season, Bjornfot has only played 11 games at the NHL level during the regular season, scoring one assist over the last two years.
Bjornfot played most of last year with the Reign, scoring five goals and seven assists in 50 games. Although he has a tremendous physical edge to his game, with the likes of Vladislav Gavrikov and Michael Anderson on the Kings’ blue line, there is not much upward mobility for Bjornfot for the time being.
Moverare was a fourth-round selection of Los Angeles in the 2016 NHL Draft, playing 21 games for the Kings over the last three seasons. So far this year, Moverare has played 12 games for the Reign, tallying three assists in total.
Anaheim Ducks Recall Tristan Luneau From Loan
Now that the conditioning loan requirements have been satisfied by defenseman Tristan Luneau, the Anaheim Ducks have announced he has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Over the loan assignment, Luneau got into six games with San Diego, tallying two assists over that time.
No corresponding move is necessary, considering Luneau stayed on the Ducks’ 23-man roster while on the conditioning loan. The 2022 second-round pick has made the transition to pro hockey earlier than some expected, remaining on the Ducks’ NHL roster as he is not yet eligible for full-time assignment to the Gulls due to his January 2024 birthday. If the Ducks decide not to keep him on the NHL roster full-time, a likely eventual scenario considering he’s played just two games for them this season, they’ll need to return him to the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques at the junior level per the terms of the NHL-CHL transfer agreement.
Luneau, 19, last played for the Ducks on October 21 against the Coyotes. After sitting as a healthy scratch for the first two games of the season, he made back-to-back appearances against the Stars and Coyotes, recording a -1 rating, one shot on goal, and a poor 38.9% Corsi share at even strength while averaging 15:29 per game.
The Ducks will assumedly look to get Luneau into some games in the next few weeks. He can make seven more appearances before the first year of his entry-level contract goes into effect, and considering his limited role so far, it’s unlikely they keep him past that point.
That’s also because the Ducks have a pair of young defensemen, Jackson LaCombe and Pavel Mintyukov, who have solidified roster spots in the early going. LaCombe is logging over 20 minutes per game and earning top-pairing duties alongside Cam Fowler in the absence of Jamie Drysdale due to a lower-body injury, while Mintyukov leads all Ducks defensemen with ten points through 16 games. Thus, competition for a roster spot has become fierce on the Anaheim blueline. While Luneau certainly has a long NHL future ahead of him, there’s no longer a clear path to consistent playing time on the Ducks roster.
Vancouver Canucks Send Down Linus Karlsson; Recall Akito Hirose
After making his NHL debut last night for the Vancouver Canucks, the team announces Linus Karlsson has been sent back down to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Meanwhile, in the same announcement, Vancouver has recalled defenseman Akito Hirose.
It was no question as to why Karlsson was originally called up by the Canucks, as the young forward is off to a blazing start in the AHL this year. In 13 games played in Abbotsford, Karlsson has two goals and nine assists, good for fifth on the team in scoring.
Now that Andrei Kuzmenko is expected back into the lineup for the team’s next game, Karlsson will continue to grow his game at the AHL level for the time being. He was originally acquired by the Canucks in a 2019 trade with the San Jose Sharks, making his way to North America last season.
In the case of Hirose, he will serve as a depth defenseman for the team, much like he has done over the last two seasons when he has been in the NHL. So far this year, Hirose has suited up in two games for Vancouver, averaging a touch over 12 and a half minutes of ice time per night.
Hirose is also scoreless in 11 games at the AHL level, indicating he may need more seasoning in the minor leagues to get back to the production levels he saw during his tenure at Minnesota State University. Nevertheless, with both Hirose and Karlsson on the roster in Abbotsford, the team has gotten off to an 8-4-1 start, being one of the better teams in the AHL to start the year.
Tampa Bay Lightning Send Down Waltteri Merela
Before tomorrow night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced they have sent down forward Waltteri Merela to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Merela will not need to clear waivers for the assignment.
Last season, Merela was rostered on the Tampereen Tappara of the SM-liiga in Finland, where he would score 15 goals and 18 assists in 41 regular season games. Tappara was far and away the most dominant team in Finland last year, carrying that into the playoffs, where they would secure their league-best 12th championship with a 12-2 playoff record.
Merela was a big factor in the team’s continued success into the playoffs, scoring eight goals and six assists in those 14 games. This past summer, on June 5th, Merela finally made his way to North America, signing a one-year, $870K contract with the Lightning as an undrafted free agent.
Unfortunately, his transition to North American hockey has not been a smooth one, as Merela has yet to score a point in 14 games played. Averaging just over 10 and a half minutes on the team’s bottom forward group, Merela became more of a defensive cog than an offensive one.
Nevertheless, Merela will attempt to reacquire his offensive spark in the American Hockey League for an above-average Crunch team. Through 12 games this season, Syracuse holds a 7-3-2 record, good for second place in the league’s North Division.
Jack Hughes Set To Return For New Jersey
After missing the last five games due to a shoulder injury sustained in the team’s loss to the St.Louis Blues on November 3rd, all indications are that Jack Hughes will make his return for the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night against the New York Rangers.
Before practice got underway this morning, the Devils announced that Hughes was making his return to practice, and a follow-up note from team reporter, Amanda Stein, showed that Hughes was centering the team’s top line as a full participant. Unfortunately, as Stein mentions, New Jersey will still be without fellow forwards Timo Meier and Nico Hischier for tomorrow’s game.
It’s difficult to ascertain a more significant return to a team, than Hughes for the Devils. Since his absence at the beginning of the month, the team has produced a 2-3-0 record, losing two pivotal matchups against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, causing them to fall to fourth place in a hotly contested Metropolitan Division.
Playing in 10 of a possible 15 games so far this season, Hughes has put up five goals and 15 assists, which puts him second on the team in scoring behind Jesper Bratt. Even more impressively, although missing a good chunk of games, Hughes still sits 15th in the league overall in scoring.
Because of the shoulder injury, Hughes will only be able to max out at 77 games played on the year if he stays healthy for the remainder of the season. However, although it will be difficult if Hughes is able to sustain his two-points-a-game average, he would still be on pace to crack Connor McDavid‘s generational season last year.
Continuing to improve each season of his young career, Hughes finished one point shy of the 100-point plateau last year, finishing with 43 goals and 56 assists in 78 games. However, even after missing five games, Hughes should be able to crack the mark for the first time this season.
Injury Notes: Capitals, Flyers, Canadiens, Grzelcyk
At this morning’s practice before the team’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night, Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network reports that defenseman Martin Fehervary is doing some light skating for the Washington Capitals, but is not expected back for tomorrow’s game. Ferhervary has been out with a lower-body injury since the team’s win against the New Jersey Devils last week.
El-Bashir also notes that even though he has not missed a game due to the illness, Evgeny Kuznetsov will still be missing practice due to the ailment. Lastly, as the last report from practice, goaltender Darcy Kuemper appeared ‘fine’ at practice after leaving Wednesday’s practice with an apparent injury.
After an incredibly slow start through the team’s first five games of the regular season, the Capitals have turned things around dramatically, producing a 7-1-1 record since that time, moving up to second place in the Metropolitan Division. If the team hopes to continue the hot streak, they will need to sustain relative health through the end of the calendar year.
Other notes:
- Missing almost a month of action, Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports reports that defenseman Marc Staal of the Philadelphia Flyers is out of the non-contact jersey at practice, indicating he could be close to returning. Dealing with a rib injury from the team’s October 19th game against the Edmonton Oilers, Staal has only managed four games this year, failing to produce a point.
- Leaving last night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period, the Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Arber Xhekaj is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Xhekaj notably missed the last month and a half of the 2022-23 regular season due to a shoulder injury, and has scored one goal and two assists in 17 games upon his return.
- Eligible to return next Saturday against the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins’ defenseman, Matt Grzelcyk is still on the LTIR, rehabbing his way back from an upper-body injury sustained in late October. However, Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald indicates the rehab process is going well, as Grzelcyk is back practicing with the team today.
Carolina Hurricanes To Send Ryan Suzuki To AHL
Going down with a shoulder injury shortly before the opening of the regular season, Ryan Suzuki had been on the Season-Opening Injured Reserve for the Carolina Hurricanes through the first month of the year. Now that he is healthy, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal reports Suzuki has been assigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL.
Suzuki, who was a first-round selection of Carolina back in the 2019 NHL Draft, will be joining Dylan Coghlan and Jamieson Rees in Springfield as the only other members of the Hurricanes organization.
For a number of reasons, Suzuki has failed to move up the depth chart in Carolina, spending the last three seasons with the team’s former AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. In what was his most productive season last year, Suzuki would score 13 goals and 19 assists in 50 total games.
In Springfield, Suzuki will now find himself on a team competing in a hotly contested North Division in the AHL. However, Suzuki will be competing for minutes of his own, as the Thunderbirds have formed one of the AHL’s best top lines in the game through Adam Gaudette, Matthew Peca, and Nathan Walker.