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Oilers’ Derek Ryan Clears Waivers

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Jan. 20: Ryan has cleared waivers and can be assigned to Bakersfield at will, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports Monday. That reassignment will pave the way for newly-signed defenseman John Klingberg to come off injured reserve when he’s ready to make his season debut.

Jan. 19: The Edmonton Oilers needed to make a few roster moves to stay cap-compliant thanks to newly-signed defenseman John Klingberg’s contract hitting the books today. According to a team announcement, the Oilers organization has placed depth forward Derek Ryan on waivers for reassignment to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, and have additionally reassigned defenseman Josh Brown.

It’s an unfortunate transaction for Ryan as he’s entered the twilight years of his NHL career. Ryan made his way to the NHL at the age of 29 during the 2015-16 season after an impressive run through European leagues, showcasing one of the more underrated stories of the last decade. After a brief three-year run with the Carolina Hurricanes, Ryan has been a key depth forward in Alberta since the 2018-19 season with the Calgary Flames and the Oilers.

His offensive production has decreased steadily throughout the years, similarly to his average time on ice. Ryan neared the 40-point plateau in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons before hovering around the 20-point total from 2021 to 2023 in Edmonton. Last year saw his biggest decrease in scoring over a full season, with Ryan only scoring five goals and 12 points in 70 games. His only true value anymore is his role in the faceoff dot, as Ryan has averaged a 55.2% success rate over 5,072 career draws, which is even more impressive considering 53.3% of his shift starts have been in the defensive zone.

Joining Ryan on the road to AHL Bakersfield is Brown, albeit unencumbered by the waiver wire. He’s primarily served as organizational depth on the blue line for the Oilers this year on a relatively expensive price tag of $1MM for the next three years. He’s tallied one assist in eight games in Edmonton this season averaging 11:29 of ice time per game.

Nico Sturm Expecting To Be Traded By San Jose Before Deadline

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In a recent interview with Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, San Jose Sharks’ centerman Nico Sturm spoke candidly about his future with the organization. Sturm made it clear that if the Sharks do not offer him a contract extension in the coming weeks, he expects to be on another team’s roster by the trade deadline.

If his ice time this season is any indication, the Sharks aren’t expected to offer Sturm an extension anytime soon. Sturm scored 19 goals and 39 points in 137 games averaging 14:42 of ice time with San Jose throughout the first two years of the three-year, $6MM pact he signed with the team in the summer of 2022. He became a valuable fourth-line center who consistently won faceoffs and was a focal piece of an eighth-ranked penalty kill during his first year with the club.

Due to his removal from the penalty kill this season, Sturm’s average time on ice has plummeted to only 9:49 per game which is the lowest of his career by a large margin. The lack of ice time won’t impact Sturm’s leadership or professionalism as Pashelka quoted him saying, “I haven’t sulked about my ice time. I’ve done my job, and I’m going to continue to do that, and put my best foot forward, put my faith in my game, and hope that there’s going to be a team out there that wants me in the future, whether it’s here or somewhere else.”

Sturm isn’t a stranger to being a trade deadline rental having been acquired by the eventual 2022 Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. The veteran center still carries a lot of value in the faceoff dot and potentially on the penalty kill or a contending team given he’s currently leading the NHL in faceoff percentage (63.3%) of those that have taken more than 100 faceoffs.

Even if the Sharks could retain salary on the remaining $2MM of Sturm’s contract they shouldn’t expect anything more than a mid-round pick in return. According to MoneyPuck, the Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, Calgary Flames, and Avalanche are all contending teams this year near or at the bottom in team faceoff percentage. Given his efficiency in the dot, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see one of these teams acquire Sturm before March 7th.

Montreal Canadiens Recall Owen Beck

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Owen Beck’s first full season in the AHL has earned him a relatively quick call-up to the NHL level. The Montreal Canadiens have announced the recall of Beck from their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. He is expected to take Emil Heineman’s spot in the lineup while Heineman recovers from a lower-body injury sustained after being struck by a vehicle.

Beck is only three years removed from being the 33rd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. He debuted with the Canadiens only a year later, going scoreless against the Ottawa Senators after only 9:48 of ice time.

Montreal returned Beck to the OHL’s Peterborough Petes for the 2023-24 season and he was eventually traded to the Saginaw Spirit at the OHL trade deadline. In the most impressive run of his major junior career, Beck scored 18 goals and 51 points in 32 games for the Spirit down the stretch. Unfortunately, Beck and the Spirit were eliminated by the London Knights in the 2024 Western Conference Finals. Still, they had a berth in the 2024 Memorial Cup playoffs given their status as the host team.

In part due to a one-goal performance from Beck in the semifinal game against the Moose Jaw Warriors and a two-goal game from Beck in the championship game against the Knights, the Spirit captured their first Memorial Cup championship in organizational history.

Finally turning to professional hockey for the 2024-25 season, Beck has gotten off to an impressive rookie campaign in AHL Laval. He’s scored nine goals and 25 points in 37 games with a +9 rating. Beck is only two points away from tying the team lead in scoring which is an impressive feat considering he’s still only 20 years old.  It remains to be seen if Beck will join Montreal’s lineup this evening when they take on the New York Rangers or give him a few days of practice at the NHL level.

Pacific Division Paper Transactions: Kerins, Brisebois, Lekkerimaki, Olofsson

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According to Ryan Pike of Flames Nation, the Calgary Flames have reassigned forward Rory Kerins to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Pike adds that Kerins’ reassignment is a cap-related move and indicates Kerins should be back on the NHL roster by Monday.

It’s a testament to Kerins development that the Flames have no interest in keeping him with AHL Calgary. He’s gotten off to an impressive start in his NHL career with four assists in his first four games with a +4 rating averaging 13:33 of ice time per game. It shouldn’t be a surprise given Kerins has already scored 21 goals and 34 points in 34 games for the Wranglers this season.

Kerins will likely reprise his role as a full-time AHLer once forward Connor Zary is activated from the team’s injured reserve. Kerins is the only waiver-exempt forward on the roster outside of Matthew Coronato and Calgary will likely want to keep their fourth highest-scoring player on the roster. The only avenue for additional playing time at the NHL level for Kerins is if the Flames make a trade from the active roster or place one of their eight defensemen on waivers.

Other paper transactions from the Pacific Division:

  • The Vancouver Canucks are again making a cap-related transaction on one of their off-days. Vancouver announced they’ve reassigned defenseman Guillaume Brisebois and forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Lekkerimaki has been more oft-used by the club this season scoring two goals and one assist in 11 games this year averaging 13:47 of ice time per game.
  • Finishing off the list of cap-related transactions is the Seattle Kraken who have reassigned defenseman Gustav Olofsson to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds (per a team announcement). Oloffson has been in an unenviable position with the Kraken this season having been recalled on three separate occasions but has been healthy scratched for every available opportunity.

Detroit Red Wings Reassign Ville Husso

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Now that Alex Lyon has fully recovered from his upper-body injury and is expected to start tonight against the Dallas Stars, the Detroit Red Wings no longer require three goaltenders on the active roster. On the chopping block is netminder Ville Husso, who the team announced has been reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.

After passing through waivers unscathed at the beginning of the season, Husso is only one game away from needing waivers for reassignment again. There’s little chance he’s claimed given his subpar play this season and relatively high salary of $4.75MM but any team can become desperate for a goaltender at a moment’s notice.

Still, whether he departs via the waiver wire or unrestricted free agency, Husso is likely entering the last several weeks of his tenure with the Red Wings organization. Detroit acquired Husso as a restricted free agent from the St. Louis Blues in 2022 for a 2022 third-round pick and quickly signed him to a three-year, $14.25MM contract on the same day.

The Red Wings likely had high hopes for Husso to stabilize the team’s production between the pipes given he had just managed a 25-7-6 record in 38 starts for St. Louis with a .919 save percentage. Unfortunately, partly due to the poor defensive play in front of him, Husso has fallen well short of expectations in Hockeytown.

Over 82 starts in Detroit including eight this season, Husso has amassed a 36-32-11 record with the Red Wings with a .892 SV% and 3.26 goals-against average. According to Hockey Reference, despite some blame being laid at the feet of the team’s defense, Husso has produced a more than disappointing -25.6 goals saved above the average line and 3.34 adjusted goals against average.

For what it’s worth — Husso has been more productive at the AHL level, earning a 6-1-0 record over eight games in AHL Grand Rapids, with a .935 SV% and two shutouts. This may give a goalie-needy team confidence he can rebound under the right environment at the NHL level, but it’ll be difficult to gloss over his uninspiring play with Detroit.

West Notes: Miller, Chernyshov, Innala

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J.T. Miller and the Vancouver Canucks could be nearing a resolution to the speculated rift between himself and Elias Pettersson. Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic reported earlier that although the Canucks haven’t officially asked Miller to waive his no-movement clause, they’ve been involved in plenty of trade activity today regarding Miller.

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period added that despite the increased trade chatter surrounding Miller today, he’s still expected to suit up for Vancouver tonight as they’re set to take on the Edmonton Oilers. Neither report mentions any specific teams engaged in these trade talks with the Canucks indicating a deal is still in the very early stages.

Still, it now stands to reason, that absent any additional reporting regarding Pettersson, Miller will be the odd man out in Vancouver. Only time will tell if moving Miller is the best choice moving forward for the Canucks but it’s the easiest one. He’s making $3.6MM less than Pettersson, has less time left on his contract, is more physical, and has recently shown the capability to amass more than 100 points in a given season. Miller is the prototypical forward, so to speak, that any playoff-destined team would love on their roster.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • According to Curtis Pashelka of San Jose Hockey Now, an underrated forward prospect for the San Jose Sharks, Igor Chernyshov, is finally returning to the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit after a long way back from offseason shoulder surgery. Chernyshov, who was a fringe first-round prospect of the 2024 NHL Draft but was eventually selected with the first selection of the second round, is set to embark on his first year of hockey in North America after scoring 13 goals and 28 points in 22 games last year for the MHL’s MHK Dynamo Moskva.
  • Shortly after securing an important victory against the Dallas Stars, the Colorado Avalanche announced they’ve reassigned forward Jere Innala to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. It is unclear whether Innala will participate in Colorado’s game against the Minnesota Wild on Monday, or if Valeri Nichushkin will take his spot on the roster. Innala provided two hits while tallying zero points in 7:42 of today’s game against the Stars.

Atlantic Notes: Lyon, Motte, Cernak, Ekblad

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The Detroit Red Wings should get one player back this weekend while losing another for the foreseeable future. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reported earlier that goaltender Alex Lyon will likely start tomorrow’s contest against the Dallas Stars. She later reported that forward Tyler Motte has been ruled out until next Thursday due to an upper-body injury.

Lyon, who’s had multiple injuries this season, hasn’t played since Detroit’s overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on January 7th due to an upper-body injury. He’s still managed a similarly solid season as last year with the Red Wings when healthy managing an 8-5-0 record in 14 starts with a .902 save percentage and 2.71 goals-against average.

Similarly sidelined with an upper-body injury, Motte is now guaranteed to fall short of tying his 69 games played from a season ago. He’s been much of what Detroit should have expected of him this year, scoring two goals and two assists in 28 games, managing a -10 rating, and being a core part of one of the worst penalty kills in NHL history.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without one of their best defensive defensemen tonight. Gabby Shirley of FanDuel Sports Network Florida reports that Erik Černák was made unavailable for tonight’s contest against the Red Wings but added the prognosis is better than expected so he shouldn’t be on the shelf for too long. Maxwell Crozier will replace Cernak tonight, joining Ryan McDonagh on the second defensive pairing. Crozier will play in his first game with Tampa Bay this season after tallying two assists in 13 contests last year.
  • A few hours southeast in Sunrise, FL, the Florida Panthers announced Aaron Ekblad would miss his fifth straight game this evening. However, it appears his return is on the horizon with head coach Paul Maurice saying, “I think we’re pretty confident he’ll be able to play on the road trip.“

Buffalo Sabres Recall Devon Levi, Place Ryan McLeod On Injured Reserve

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One of the best goaltending prospects is headed back to the NHL. The Buffalo Sabres announced they’ve recalled goaltending prospect Devon Levi and have placed forward Ryan McLeod on injured reserve.

Levi’s recall would appear long overdue at face value. He’s been exceptional in the AHL this season with the Rochester Americans amassing a 12-3-2 record in 17 games with a .913 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against average. As promising as his efforts in the AHL have been, this production is largely par for the course for Levi.

In his third season in the Sabres organization, Levi has managed a 28-9-6 record in 43 total games in AHL Rochester with a .922 SV% and 2.38 GAA. Unfortunately, his splits with Buffalo haven’t been nearly as promising with a 17-16-2 record in 35 career starts with a .896 SV% and 3.24 GAA. Given his production at the NHL level up to this point, it’s hard to argue Levi should even be considered an upgrade on backup netminder James Reimer.

Still, at 23 years old, he’s exceptionally young for a goaltending prospect, and there’s no reason to think his AHL production isn’t an eventual sign of things to come in the NHL. Regardless of Levi’s play with the Sabres, Buffalo’s loss of McLeod for at least the next three games is the most disappointing part of this transaction.

The Sabres didn’t provide many specifics to McLeod’s injury but it’s reasonable to think it was suffered in the team’s most recent game against the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday night. There’s a chance McLeod will miss the next four games for Buffalo given they’re embarking on a Pacific Division road trip on Monday.

Factoring in the high cost of acquiring McLeod (Matthew Savoie, ninth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft) from the Edmonton Oilers this past summer, his six goals and 18 points through the first 41 games of the season likely came as a disappointment to the Sabres.

Despite the poor offensive start to the year, he’s quieted much of the disappointment in the last week. He’s been one of Buffalo’s top players over the past week scoring four goals and six points, including a hat trick against the Carolina Hurricanes, with a +4 rating in only four games.

McLeod’s recent uptick in scoring makes this injured reserve placement all the more unpleasant to the Sabres. They’ve played better of late with a 6-4-1 record in their last 11 but will have to look to other forwards to replace McLeod’s production.

Vancouver Canucks, Brock Boeser Not Making Progress On Extension Negotiations

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Outside of the rampant speculation and drama surrounding the Vancouver Canucks this season, Brock Boeser’s impending unrestricted free agency would otherwise make for a lot of headlines in British Columbia. In a recent article from Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, it appears the longest-tenured member of the Canucks will have his career with the organization come to an unceremonious end.

Part of the unnoteworthiness of Boeser’s contract status is due to his unnoteworthiness play this season. He got off to a quick start, as did Vancouver, scoring six goals and 11 points through the first 12 contests before an elbow to the head from Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot cost Boeser three weeks of the season due to a concussion.

Since returning from his concussion shortly before American Thanksgiving, Boeser has scored nine goals and 16 points in 25 games albeit with a -10 rating. Outside of some poor play on the defensive side of the puck, this would normally be fine production from a top-six winger in nearly any team’s arsenal. However, most top-six wingers aren’t coming off a career year like Boeser.

He scored 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games during the 2023-24 NHL season and was setting himself up for a handsome payday, with the Canucks or elsewhere, should he have continued putting the pucks in the net with such efficiency. Instead, Boeser has typically mirrored the center of whichever line he’s been on which has usually been next to the disengaged and lethargic Elias Pettersson or J.T. Miller.

According to the report from MacIntyre, the Canucks have decided upon a soft deadline with Boeser indicating he’ll be extended or traded by the trade deadline on March 7th. It would be uncommon for a team only one point removed from the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference to move one of their top goal-scorers and longest-tenured players at the deadline but it would follow in line with the lack of normalcy in Vancouver this year.

Boeser should command a formidable trade market given his recent goal-scoring capabilities, his mild 10-team modified no-trade clause, and his status as an impending unrestricted free agent. He makes the most sense for the Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues as playoff-hungry teams who could use more goal-scoring but none of them strike as teams with much appetite for the rental market this season.

Teams that are clear contenders, such as the Dallas Stars, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, or even his hometown Minnesota Wild would likely have the most interest should Boeser ultimately get moved. Still, the deadline proposed by the Canucks’ brass doesn’t point to an immediate trade, but it certainly seems to be heading in that direction.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Three Players

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Jan. 16: As expected, the team announced all three players have been recalled from Abbotsford again.

Jan. 15: The Vancouver Canucks have sent three players back to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, in a transaction likely categorized as a paper move. Defenseman Guillaume Brisebois and forwards Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Max Sasson are included in the transaction but will likely be recalled tomorrow.

Brisebois, Lekkerimaki, and Sasson are the only three waiver-exempt players on the active roster for the Canucks giving context to today’s move. Brisebois normally wouldn’t be exempt from waivers but has already cleared the waiver wire in late September and hasn’t played in 10 or more games with Vancouver nor has he spent more than 30 days on the active roster.

The 27-year-old defenseman has spent his entire eight-year professional career in the Canucks organization and played in his first NHL action since the 2022-23 season this year. Injuries limited him to only eight AHL contests last year but he’s already accrued 23 this season scoring one goal overall. He has been quite limited in his time on ice in Vancouver, averaging 15:48 of ice time throughout just three games this year.

Lekkerimaki likely has the highest name recognition of the three players reassigned as the first-round pick of the Canucks in the 2022 NHL Draft. He’s scored 12 goals and 17 points in 21 games for AHL Abbotsford this season but hasn’t been able to translate the goal-scoring to the NHL level yet. Still, he’s scored two goals and one assist in 10 games for Vancouver while being limited to only 13:52 of ice time per game. Should the Canucks trade any top-six forwards off the active roster leading up to the trade deadline, Lekkerimaki may get an expanded look down the stretch.

Sasson is the only member of the trio to register more than 10 games for the Canucks this season. He’s been an effective bottom-six winger during his rookie campaign scoring two goals and six points in 19 games. He hasn’t produced the best possession numbers, which isn’t uncommon for a rookie, but he’s quickly become one of the better defensive forwards on the team with a 94.7% on-ice save percentage while at even strength.

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