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Central Notes: Klingberg, Hall, McBain

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According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, a few more teams have entered the growing market for defenseman John Klingberg. Dreger mentions that the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars have inquired about Klingberg’s market, but he believes the Edmonton Oilers remain the favorites to sign him.

If Klingberg eventually signs with the Avalanche or Stars it’ll likely be with the latter. Dallas is weak on the right-hand side of their defensive core and while it’s difficult to call Klingberg an upgrade on their options given his lengthy absence, he has a positive history with the Stars. In his eight years in Dallas from 2015 to 2022, Klingberg scored 71 goals and 303 assists in 552 games and was an effective powerplay quarterback for many of those years.

Colorado could use some help on the right side with Josh Manson dealing with a recurring injury but Klingberg doesn’t project as the right option for the Avalanche. The team already gets plenty of offense from their top defensive pairing and Klingberg was never a solid shutdown threat even during his prime years with the Stars. The Avalanche will surely inquire about nearly any defenseman making close to or at the league minimum salary but it would be surprising to see them ultimately sign Klingberg.

Other Central notes:

  • Despite his public desire to sign an extension with the Chicago Blackhawks, veteran forward Taylor Hall is readying for a breakup. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports Hall believes he’ll be traded before the deadline saying, “I came into this year wanting to be a Blackhawk for years to come. I don’t know if that’s going to be the case anymore.” It won’t be the first time the former MVP has been involved in a mid-season swap having been acquired in the 2020-21 season by the Boston Bruins and the 2018-19 season by the Arizona Coyotes.
  • Utah Hockey Club forward Jack McBain will have more than just a minor penalty for high-sticking in last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced they’ve fined McBain $4,166.67, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for high-sticking Brendan Gallagher. This is the first time the DoPS has fined McBain in his brief four-year career.

Winnipeg Jets Loan Dylan Coghlan To AHL

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It is becoming clear after today’s transactions that the Winnipeg Jets’ defensive roster is undergoing some refreshing changes. The team acquired defenseman Isaak Phillips from the Chicago Blackhawks earlier today and subsequently announced that they have loaned defenseman Dylan Coghlan to their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.

The move indicates defensemen Colin Miller and Haydn Fleury are nearing a return to full health giving Winnipeg eight healthy defensemen on the active roster. Factoring in today’s acquisition of Phillips, the moves have likely pushed Coghlan into a full-time AHL role unless injuries pile up in the NHL.

Coghlan cleared waivers on December 19th and given that he didn’t suit up in 10 games nor spend 30 days on the NHL roster he was waiver-exempt from today’s transaction. Winnipeg will maintain this flexibility with Coghlan assuming he spends the foreseeable future with AHL Manitoba.

He’s no stranger to AHL hockey, either. Coghlan nearly spent the entire 2023-24 campaign (aside from one game) in the AHL with the Springfield Thunderbirds and had the best professional season of his career. He scored 16 goals and 41 points in 61 games for the Thunderbirds tying for second in scoring on the team.

The Moose could certainly use his expertise. They’re on the outside looking in for a position in the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs sitting last in the Central Division with an 11-19-1-1 record through the first 32 games. Additionally, Manitoba’s offense is the worst in the league with a 2.28 GF/G making Coghlan’s offensive capabilities all the more important.

Canucks To Activate Filip Hronek From Long-Term Injured Reserve

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Jan. 14: Hronek will indeed come off LTIR and enter the lineup tonight against the Jets, Tocchet told Dan Murphy of Sportsnet. He’ll play in his usual spot alongside Hughes but will have his minutes “monitored.” Depth defender Guillaume Brisebois, who skated 16:56 and had two shots on goal in Saturday’s win over the Maple Leafs, comes out of the lineup. Vancouver has an open roster spot and won’t need to make a corresponding transaction to formally activate Hronek.

Jan. 13: The Vancouver Canucks are potentially only one day away from a fully healthy blue line. As expected, the team has recalled defenseman Filip Hronek from his LTIR conditioning loan without him having played a game for their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

Hronek practiced with the team but there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready to suit up tomorrow night. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman passed along a note from head coach Rick Tocchet indicating Hronek is being listed as a game-time decision for tomorrow’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.

Vancouver hasn’t had their entire defensive core intact since American Thanksgiving since Hronek went down with a lower-body injury on November 27th. In Hronek’s absence, and a brief four-game absence of captain Quinn Hughes, the Canucks have produced an 8-6-7 record and have fallen to the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference with the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, and Utah Hockey Club breathing down their necks.

Hronek’s return is perfectly timed for Vancouver for a few reasons. First, the organization is dangerously close to falling out of the playoff race and Hronek should help stabilize the back end for the most part. He’s only scored one goal and nine points in 21 games this season but he’s still second on the team in CorsiFor% at even strength and third in on-ice save percentage at even strength.

Secondly, the Canucks are expected to be one of the increasingly active teams leading up to the trade deadline and have already been linked to Pittsburgh Penguins’ defenseman Marcus Pettersson. The team should still be in the market for a left-handed shooting defenseman but a fully healthy blue line should give them a better vision of who they should ultimately target.

Kraken Listening To Offers On Oliver Bjorkstrand, Andre Burakovsky

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After knocking off the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche and taking the Dallas Stars to Game Seven in Round Two of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, it’s been a downhill ride for the Seattle Kraken. The team finished 17 points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference last season and is currently nine points back through the halfway point this year.

That said, it comes with little surprise that in the latest episode of Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman’s ’32 Thoughts’ podcast, he reported the Kraken are expanding their horizons beyond just selling away their pending unrestricted free agents. Friedman specifically notes Oliver Bjorkstrand and André Burakovsky as available trade candidates.

Trading either player won’t be simple, but it would help expand the prospect pool for an organization that’s had little time to do so, as Friedman notes. Bjorkstrand and Burakovsky are signed through the 2025-26 season, with an additional year for the latter, and their contracts include 10-team modified no-trade clauses.

Bjorkstrand should have the most value of the two given that he’s on pace for his third-straight 20-goal season in Seattle. He’s been one of the most consistent middle-six players for the Kraken over that stretch scoring 53 goals and 132 points in 206 games averaging 15:49 of ice time per game. He’s a strong possession player with a relatively affordable $5.4MM salary who can help on most team’s second power-play unit if not their first.

Burakovsky is on a much different trajectory. After scoring 22 goals and 61 points en route to a Stanley Cup ring in 2021-22 with the Colorado Avalanche, Burakovksy signed a five-year, $27.5MM contract with Seattle to give the team much-needed scoring.

He missed 66 games due to injury in the first two years of the deal and has missed three this season. The Klagenfurt, Austria native had decent production in limited action in the first year of the contract with 13 goals and 39 points in 49 games but has struggled since.

Since the first game of the 2023-24 NHL season, Burakovsky has scored 11 goals and 32 points in the following 90 regular season contests making his $5.4MM salary somewhat of a sunk cost. It’s reasonable the Kraken want to move on from Burakovsky and his contract but they shouldn’t expect to get much in return.

Seattle may listen to other players signed beyond this season should they receive adequate returns for Bjorkstrand and/or Burakovsky. Players such as Jamie Oleksiak, Jaden Schwartz, and Jared McCann could all become expendable with the latter likely having relatively high trade value across the league.

Avalanche Recall John Ludvig From Conditioning Loan

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After two weeks spent in the American Hockey League with the Colorado Eagles, defenseman John Ludvig will return to the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche announced they’ve recalled Ludvig from his conditioning loan to the NHL roster.

According to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the rules stipulate that a team can send a player down via a standard conditioning loan for 14 consecutive days, meaning the Avalanche kept Ludvig in the AHL for the maximum allotted time. Furthermore, during his entire stint with the AHL Eagles, Ludvig counted against the 23-man roster for the Avalanche and was paid his full NHL salary for the duration of the loan.

During his 14-day span in Loveland, CO, Ludvig tallied one assist in five games for the Eagles with a -3 rating. It’s not dissimilar from his production in the NHL this year with the Avalanche as he’s tallied two assists in eight games with a -4 rating.

Although Colorado has struggled with injuries this season, they have operated quite well in Ludvig’s absence. Should the organization want to continue with only seven available defensemen on the active roster, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ludvig end up on waivers within the next week.

He could get some consideration from the team’s wanting another minimum-salary defenseman on the NHL roster but he’ll likely clear given his production over the last two years. This would ultimately prove a benefit to Ludvig as the Avalanche may be more comfortable taxiing him from the AHL should he be exempt from waivers for a few weeks.

San Jose Sharks Make Several Roster Moves

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As expected, the San Jose Sharks made multiple roster moves before tonight’s contest against the Minnesota Wild. The Sharks organization announced they’ve activated forward Carl Grundström and defenseman Jake Walman from the injured reserve while placing forwards Klim Kostin and Nikolai Kovalenko on it in a corresponding roster move.

Despite moving a pair of forwards to the injured reserve, the transaction is a major addition to San Jose’s lineup. Walman has objectively been the Sharks’ top defenseman this near averaging nearly a point-per-game for the first time in his career with five goals and 25 points in 31 games while averaging 22:50 of ice time per night. His defensive metrics have depressed slightly since his time with the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues but Walman is still one of the only Sharks’ defensemen with a positive expected +/- and CorsiFor% over 50.0%.

Grundstrom is expected to reprise his familiar role in San Jose’s bottom-six. He’s scored one goal and five points in 30 games for the Sharks this season which is seven points lower than his 20-point, 82-game average with the Los Angeles Kings last year. Still, Grundstrom is second amongst San Jose’s forwards in hitting with 85 showing he can still provide quality physicality if he isn’t finding his way on the scoresheet.

The oft-healthy scratched Klostin is one of the forwards moved to the injured reserve to make room for Walman and Grundstrom’s activation. After scoring five goals and 10 points in 19 games for the Sharks after being acquired from the Red Wings at last year’s deadline his offensive output has fallen off a cliff this season with one goal and four points in 26 contests. He’ll likely miss three games on the injured reserve after suffering a lower-body injury yesterday and may not find himself in the lineup once he returns.

Kovalenko hasn’t suited up for San Jose since the team’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights on January 7th due to an upper-body injury. He’ll be quicker to return than Klostin given he was considered day-to-day and will have already missed two of three games needed to be eligible for activation. He got off to a quick start with the Sharks after being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche tallying five assists in his first five games but only has one goal in the following seven contests.

Rasmus Andersson Hopes To Remain With Calgary Flames

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Rasmus Andersson wants to remain a member of the Calgary Flames beyond this season in no uncertain terms. Andersson reiterated his desire to stay with the Flames organization in a recent interview with Sportsnet’s Eric Francis and his displeasure for some specific teams in the Pacific Division.

Francis quoted Andersson saying, “I love playing here and I’ve always loved playing here and that’s never going to change. Of course I would love to stay here, but I’ve heard from everyone else who has been in my situation that it’s a business.” Furthermore, his passion and loyalty toward the Flames organization has turned into distaste for other organizations with Andersson saying, “I hate the Oilers, I hate the Canucks and that’s just the way I am.”

Given his age, contract term, and recent production, Andersson entered the season as arguably the best trade chip at Calgary’s disposal. Many preseason expectations had the Flames finishing at or near the Western Conference basement after moving on from Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Jacob Markström, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov during the 2023-24 season and this past offseason.

Calgary didn’t get the memo as they hold a 19-14-7 record through the first half of 2024-25 and sit one point back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Flames don’t have the league’s best offense, defense, or goaltending but are controlling scoring chances more times than not leading to their surprising record.

It would be surprising if there wasn’t mutual interest in retaining Andersson. He’s been one of the more underrated two-way defensemen in the league from 2022-2025 scoring 30 goals and 156 points in 279 games for the Flames while holding a career 51.7 CorsiFor% at even strength and +43.5 expected +/-.

Defensemen like Andersson don’t grow on trees, especially as a right-handed shot. He’ll earn a more than affordable $4.55MM salary for the next two years before being eligible for a new contract on July 1st, 2026.

It’s a precarious situation for the Flames. On one hand, they won’t have a trade candidate with as much value as Andersson for quite some time. On the other hand, the loyalty he holds toward the organization plus his on-ice production is something Calgary should want in the roster for the foreseeable future. A resolution of some sort will be decided on soon in the form of an Andersson extension on July 1st or his wearing of another team’s jersey by the end of this season.

Blackhawks Activate Alec Martinez, Place Connor Murphy On Injured Reserve

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The Chicago Blackhawks are swapping a pair of veteran defensemen on the team’s injured reserve. Before their contest tonight against the Edmonton Oilers, the Blackhawks organization announced they’ve activated Alec Martinez from the injured reserve and have placed Connor Murphy on the injured reserve, retroactive to December 31st, in a corresponding roster move.

Martinez will resume what can only be described as one of the more disappointing seasons of his professional career. He’s had a fair bit of injury concern since coming into the league at age 22 during the 2009-10 season and will now fail to reach 60 games played for the second consecutive year.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion was brought in as a veteran presence with championship pedigree for a young Blackhawks’ defensive core. As much of a mentor as he’s been to many of his younger peers in Chicago, Martinez has only managed to suit up in 15 games this year.

Despite starting the season on time, Martinez was placed on the team’s injured reserve after only four games at the beginning of the season due to a lingering injury from the preseason. He was reinstated nearly a month later in mid-November but returned to the IR due to a face injury against the Winnipeg Jets on December 7th.

Dissimilarly, Murphy is one defensive veteran having a positive year for the Blackhawks. Murphy also has recent injury concerns, having only played 46 games during the 2023-24 season. However, he has already scored one goal and recorded 13 points in 38 games.

He’s already eligible for activation and will as soon as he’s fully recovered from his groin injury. Murphy will look to achieve his career-high in scoring (19 points in 2019-20) once he returns to Chicago’s active roster.

Vladislav Gavrikov Interested In Extension With Kings

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History could repeat itself next summer with the Los Angeles Kings organization. The team saw defenseman Matt Roy head for greener pastures in the form of a six-year, $34.5MM deal with the Washington Capitals and that’s not a scenario they’ll want to see play out again with another shutdown defenseman of theirs.

If Vladislav Gavrikov has his way, he’ll be with the Kings organization for the foreseeable future. In a recent interview with Daria Tuboltseva of RG.org, Gavrikov said, “We shared our position, but it’s too early to discuss a new contract. I have a full no-trade clause, so the trade deadline isn’t an issue for me – we have plenty of time. I haven’t decided on the term yet, but my priority is a long-term contract. As for the financial side, we haven’t gotten to that yet.”

This summer will be Gavrikov’s second opportunity to sign a new long-term contract in Los Angeles. He originally signed a two-year, $11.75MM extension with the Kings in 2023, a few months after the team acquired him in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. As much as Gavrikov would have liked to sign a long-term deal in Columbus then, he chose a shorter-term deal with the Kings for a few reasons.

At the time, Gavrikov’s idea of a shorter-term deal with Los Angeles was largely a gamble on himself. The salary cap’s upper limit was mostly stagnant from 2019 to 2024, and Gavrikov wanted to set himself up for a larger payday once it started to rise again. Given that the upper limit will be nearly $10MM more in the 2025-26 campaign than when he signed his current contract, it appears Gavrikov’s gamble has paid off.

Another reason Gavrikov chose a shorter-term deal is that he hadn’t quite familiarized himself with the city of Los Angeles. Further along in the interview with Tuboltseva, Gavrikov was quoted saying, “When I got to L.A., I needed time to decide if my family and I wanted to stay. That’s why we agreed on a short-term contract with the Kings. Now we know what we want, and we can sign a long-term deal here.”

His defensive attributes alone have made him a valuable blue-liner for the Kings. Gavrikov has had to take on a larger role this year in Los Angeles due to the untimely injury of Drew Doughty at the beginning of the season. The native of Yaroslavl, Russia leads all Kings’ defensemen in average time on ice of 23:52, 81 blocked shots, and a +16 rating.

There aren’t a ton of recent comparables to Gavrikov’s situation but the defenseman who immediately comes to mind as playing a similar style and signing a long-term deal is Chris Tanev of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto signed Tanev to a six-year, $27MM contract this past summer, but being that Gavrikov is six years younger than Tanev, it’s more than likely his AAV will land closer to $6MM-$6.75MM instead of Tanev’s $4.5MM.

East Notes: Lindgren, Monahan, Samuelsson

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Charlie Lindgren, one of the Washington Capitals’ two starting goaltender options, has left tonight’s game with an upper-body injury and won’t return (X Link). Lindgren left the game early in the second period of tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens after being on the receiving end of a collision with Montreal forward Nick Suzuki.

Several reports indicate that Lindgren has entered concussion protocol, which may delay his next start. It’s highly unlikely Lindgren will travel with the team for tomorrow night’s contest against the Nashville Predators and more information should be provided before the Capitals’ return home on January 14th.

The saving grace for Washington is they have a more than capable goaltender in Logan Thompson to carry the load for the foreseeable future. He’s been the Capitals’ best option this year with a 17-2-2 record in 21 starts with a .919 save percentage and a 2.32 goals-against average. Thompson has already reached 11.0 goals saved above average according to Hockey Reference which is 0.3 lower than Lindgren’s 50-game performance last year.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets got a positive injury update regarding one of their best forwards. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported earlier that Sean Monahan has avoided fractures on his right wrist and is only dealing with a sprain. The severity of the sprain will provide more clarity on his timeline but it appears the worst-case scenario has eluded Monahan and the Blue Jackets.
  • Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will miss his second straight game for the Buffalo Sabres. The organization announced that Samuelsson is still dealing with an illness that kept him out of the team’s most recent win against the Ottawa Senators and he won’t be in the lineup tomorrow night. Samuelsson’s absence should give oft-used seventh defenseman Jacob Bryson another opportunity in Buffalo’s lineup against the Seattle Kraken.

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