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Blues Acquire Cam Fowler From Ducks

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Cam Fowler’s 15-year career with the Anaheim Ducks has come to an end. The St. Louis Blues organization announced they’ve acquired Fowler (38.5% retained) and a 2027 fourth-round pick for defensive prospect Jeremie Biakabutuka and a 2027 second-round pick.

Once the trade call is finalized, the Ducks organization will have parted with their longest-tenured player. Fowler was only nine games away from reaching the 1000th of his career with Anaheim but will now accomplish the career mark as a member of the Blues.

Consistency has been the name of the game for Fowler throughout his career. Anaheim selected Fowler with the 12th overall pick of the 2010 NHL Draft and debuted a year later during the 2010-11 season. He finished his rookie campaign with 10 goals and 40 points in 76 contests finishing eighth in Calder Trophy voting.

He’s averaged approximately 38 points a season for the next 14 years and impressively averaged 23 minutes of ice time per game across that timeline. His career CorsiFor% of 49.7% and career on-ice save percentage in all situations of 90.2% show that the Ducks have leaned on Fowler’s two-way play and used him in nearly all situations.

St. Louis is filling a clear need on the left side of their defense for less than expected. The Blues organization will owe Fowler just under $4MM a year for the remainder of this season and next and he has the experience to move up and down the lineup.

Key injuries to Torey Krug and Nick Leddy have left a sizeable hole in the lineup. Philip Broberg has been a bright spot in the top-four but the team can’t continue to utilize Ryan Suter or Pierre-Olivier Joseph as the other option.

The addition of Fowler isn’t expected to pull St. Louis up the standings but it shouldn’t hurt their chances either. The Blues are four points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with one game in hand on their division rivals, the Colorado Avalanche.

At any rate, the acquisition of Fowler gives them cost certainty on their blue line for next season. Fowler makes seven St. Louis defensemen signed beyond this season and they’ll likely reprise their roles next year. The team could move out of Leddy’s contract as he’s also being paid $4MM by the Blues but their top-four is likely set.

Biakabutuka, from Longueuil, Quebec, is in his second full year with the Blues organization. He’s primarily spent time in the ECHL with the Orlando Solar Bears and Florida Everblades where he’s collected five goals and 22 points in 76 contests. It’s unlikely he’ll suit up for the Ducks in the AHL meaning he’ll suit up for their ECHL affiliate in Tulsa.

In the announcement from the Blues organization, the team also shared they’ve sent down defenseman Matthew Kessel to their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. St. Louis didn’t require eight defensemen on the active roster and Kessel was the only waiver exempt among them.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report Anaheim and St. Louis were working on a Fowler trade. 

Friedman was the first to report the majority of the trade package. 

Friedman was the first to report Biakabutuka was included in the deal. 

Middleton’s Injury May Affect Minnesota’s Deadline Plans

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It’s been a surprising year for the Minnesota Wild. After missing the playoffs last year, they’ve accrued the second-most points in the Western Conference up to this point in the regular season.

They’re still cap-strapped, too, thanks to the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, with the team still owing the pair a combined $14.7MM this season. The Wild needed to stay diligent in their efforts to accrue up cap space throughout the regular season to eventually add a substantive complementary piece at the trade deadline.

Minnesota has unfortunately hit a few roadblocks in the form of injuries. The team already had to place forward Mats Zuccarello on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury earlier in the season and placed underrated defenseman Jacob Middleton on it yesterday.

In an interview with Michael Russo of The Athletic (Subscription Article), general manager Bill Guerin explains that the latest LTIR placement may affect the team’s chances of acquiring a top-six forward at this year’s deadline. Russo quoted Guerin saying, “Yeah, I mean, it probably will. And again, that’s just one of those things. We can’t control it. We’ve been doing our best to build up cap space as we go along. But things happen and we can’t necessarily control it all the time. We’ll see what we can do though. That’s a couple months away. So we’ll see.”

According to PuckPedia, the Wild should have a projected deadline cap space of $5.4MM, barely enough to acquire the top-six winger they’ve needed for much of the season. The available cap space will shrink should Middelton’s injury keep him on LTIR longer than expected.

To their credit, Minnesota has blown past their expectations this season while dealing with numerous injuries. Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, and Joel Eriksson Ek have each missed considerable time with injury this season but the Wild have still found success without deploying a full roster for much of the year.

Hockey Canada Announces 2025 WJC Roster

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Dec. 13: Canada has confirmed its roster for the tournament. Among the cuts were Ratzlaff, Allen, Brunicke (injured), Barkey, Cristall, Heidt, and Wood. Players like Sennecke and the Flames’ Zayne Parekh, who were added mid-camp due to injuries, were left off the final roster.

Dec. 2: Team Canada will look to rebound in a major way at this year’s IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa. The Canadian U20 failed to medal for the first time since 2019 in last year’s event and they’ll now look to rediscover their magic back on home ice.

Hockey Canada announced their 32-man preliminary roster earlier today and will have to cut seven players before the tournament begins. The 2025 World Junior Championship will run from December 26, 2024, to January 5, 2025. Team Canada will play in Group A alongside Germany, Finland, Latvia, and the United States.

One notable name left off this year’s roster is the recent third-overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Beckett Sennecke. It’s uncommon to see such a high draft pick left of his country’s roster, especially considering Sennecke hasn’t aged out and wouldn’t have to be loaned from his NHL club.

There are still numerous exciting names up for consideration. Team Canada’s preliminary roster is as follows:

F Denver Barkey (Flyers, 2023, 95th overall)
F Cole Beaudoin (Utah, 2024, 24th overall)
F Mathieu Cataford (Golden Knights, 2023, 77th overall)
F Berkly Catton (Kraken, 2024, 8th overall)
F Easton Cowan (Maple Leafs, 2023, 28th overall)
F Andrew Cristall (Capitals, 2023, 40th overall)
F Ethan Gauthier (Lightning, 2023, 37th overall)
F Riley Heidt (Wild, 2023, 64th overall)
F Tanner Howe (Penguins, 2024, 46th overall)
F Jett Luchanko (Flyers, 2024, 13th overall)
F Porter Martone (2025 draft-eligible)
F Gavin McKenna (2026 draft-eligible)
F Bradly Nadeau (Hurricanes, 2023, 30th overall)
F Luca Pinelli (Blue Jackets, 2023, 114th overall)
F Carson Rehkopf (Kraken, 2023, 50th overall)
F Calum Ritchie (Avalanche, 2023, 27th overall)
F Matthew Wood (Predators, 2023, 15th overall)
F Brayden Yager (Jets, 2023, 14th overall)*

D Cameron Allen (Capitals, 2023, 136th overall)
D Beau Akey (Oilers, 2023, 56th overall)
D Oliver Bonk (Flyers, 2023, 22nd overall)
D Harrison Brunicke (Penguins, 2024, 44th overall)
D Sam Dickinson (Sharks, 2024, 11th overall)
D Andrew Gibson (Predators, 2023, 42nd overall)**
D Tanner Molendyk (Predators, 2023, 24th overall)
D Sawyer Mynio (Canucks, 2023, 89th overall)
D Caden Price (Kraken, 2023, 84th overall)
D Matthew Schaefer (2025 draft-eligible)

G Carson Bjarnason (Flyers, 2023, 51st overall)
G Carter George (Kings, 2024, 57th overall)
G Jack Ivankovic (2025 draft-eligible)
G Scott Ratzlaff (Sabres, 2023, 141st overall)

* Yager was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023
** Gibson was originally drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 2023

Atlantic Notes: Domi, McCabe, Pastrňák, Greenway, Dahlin

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According to David Alter of The Hockey News, the Toronto Maple Leafs had a pair of injured players at practice today. Alter shared that forward Max Domi and defenseman Jake McCabe were full participants at today’s practice and the former could even return tomorrow (X Link).

It’s been nearly a month since Domi suited up for the Maple Leafs since his last game came on November 16th against the Edmonton Oilers. In the first year of a four-year, $15MM contract signed in Toronto this past offseason, Domi has tallied six assists in 19 games for the Maple Leafs while primarily centering the team’s second line.

McCabe has been out for a shorter time with his last contest coming on November 30th. Still, it’s encouraging to see both players at practice given Toronto currently has four players on injured reserve and another three on the long-term injured reserve.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • One notable absence of the Boston Bruins’ practice this morning was David Pastrňák who is reportedly out with an upper-body injury, according to Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe. Boston is hopeful that Pastrňák will be in the lineup tomorrow night against the Winnipeg Jets so the team hasn’t made a corresponding roster move. The Havirov, Czechia native has struggled lately scoring one goal in his last 11 contests.
  • Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News confirms that Buffalo Sabres’ winger Jordan Greenway will return to the lineup tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. He’s missed the last 10 games for the Sabres after scoring three goals and six points through his first 16 contests.
  • One player not returning to Buffalo’s lineup tonight is captain Rasmus Dahlin as the team announced he participated in a rehab skate this morning. There’s growing optimism that Dahlin will be able to return this weekend when the Sabres take on the Washington Capitals on Saturday. The first-year captain in Buffalo has scored three goals and 19 points in 25 games this season.

Predators’ Alexandre Carrier Out Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury

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There’s another injury on the Nashville Predators’ blue line. Senior content manager for the team, Brooks Bratton, reports that defenseman Alexandre Carrier is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

Carrier played in Nashville’s recent game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday but left the contest in the third period after getting hit. He finished that game with zero points, a -1 rating, four blocks, and two hits in 15:39 of ice time.

He’s in the midst of a down season compared to his career averages. Carrier already has 26 giveaways through 28 games on the year, just 13 shy of his 39 through 77 games during the 2021-22 NHL season. He’s also produced a career-low +/-, CorsiFor%, and on-ice save percentage in all situations in his seven-year career.

Carrier was also on the sixth-worst defensive-pairing (for pairings that have played 150 or more minutes together) in terms of xGoals%. According to MoneyPuck, the duo of Carrier and Jeremy Lauzon combined for a 40.9% xGoals% over 242.9 minutes together.

Head coach Andrew Brunette had finally split the defensive pairing in recent games but will now be without both for the foreseeable future. The Predators haven’t made a corresponding roster move but one should come before their game tomorrow night against the Calgary Flames. Nashville now has six healthy defensemen on the roster.

Avalanche, Sharks Swap Alexandar Georgiev, Mackenzie Blackwood

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The Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks have gotten together on a big trade regarding their creases. The Avalanche announced they’ve acquired Mackenzie Blackwood, Givani Smith, and a 2027 fifth-round pick from the San Jose Sharks for Alexandar Georgiev, Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2026 second-round pick, and a 2025 fifth-round pick.

It’s quite rare to see an NHL organization entirely move out the netminders they started the year with but that’s exactly what the Avalanche did by early December. Colorado began the year with a combination of Georgiev and Justus Annunen but the two have been replaced with Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood.

The Avalanche have had the league’s worst goaltending this season and it’s not particularly close. Colorado sits dead last in the league with a .866 save percentage and 29th in goals against per game with 3.55.

Blackwood should help considerably in that department. He’s managed a 6-9-3 record with the Sharks this year coupled with a .909 SV% and 3.00 GAA. He’s given up 53 goals this year in San Jose but some of that can be attributed to the poor performance in front of him as his xGA is only 39.7 according to Hockey Reference.

Colorado’s defense has been more than capable of only allowing 766 shots on their netminders this season ranking 11th in the league. They’ll also shed some salary in the deal which is another bonus. TSN’s Chris Johnston reports that the Avalanche retained 14% ($476K) of Georgiev’s remaining salary so the organization will save roughly $700K in the swap.

Smith also provides some flexibility for Colorado toward the bottom of the lineup. He cleared waivers earlier today (as per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman) and can be moved between the Avalanche and their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, unencumbered for the next 30 days.

The real surprise in this deal is Georgiev. His inclusion was likely necessary for the Avalanche given their salary cap picture and the lack of desire to carry three netminders on the active roster. Still, it felt like the perfect opportunity for the Sharks to make an opening for prospect Yaroslav Askarov on the NHL roster.

He’s easily having the worst season of his career and will be limping into unrestricted free agency next summer. He’s produced an 8-7-0 record for the Avalanche this year but has a dismal .874 SV%. Georgiev may find more success with less pressure to win in San Jose but this isn’t the year he’d like to have considering his next contract is at stake.

The real prize in this deal for San Jose is Kovalenko. He was a sixth-round pick by Colorado in the 2018 NHL Draft but didn’t come to North America until last year. He saw his ice time reduced in recent weeks as the Avalanche drift toward a healthy lineup but still carries plenty of pedigree as a prospect.

His final two years in the Kontinental Hockey League were especially good. Kovalenko scored 32 goals and 89 points in 98 games with the KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod from 2022 to 2024. He’ll likely push for top-six minutes with the Sharks which was a prohibited pathway in Colorado.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report Blackwood had been traded to Colorado. 

Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now was the first to report Smith and SJ’s 2027 fifth-round were also in the deal. 

Peng was the first to report Georgiev, Kovalenko, and draft capital were headed back to the Sharks. 

Wild Recall Cameron Crotty, Reassign David Jiříček

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Newly-acquired David Jiříček has been on the Minnesota Wild’s roster for a week but has failed to debut with his new club. In an attempt to find Jiříček more playing time, the Wild organization has reassigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, and has recalled defenseman Cameron Crotty in his stead.

It’s an inevitable roster move for Jiříček and Minnesota. It wasn’t wise for the organization to have their new defensive prospect in the press box and they’ll now give him more playing time in Iowa.

The prudent move would be to keep Jiříček with the AHL Wild unless there’s a major injury in Minnesota. The team already deploys Brock Faber and Jared Spurgeon on the right side of the defense and won’t have much use for Jiříček in the top four. Jiříček was plagued by a few years of inconsistency with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Wild will assuredly want to avoid the same mistake.

Jiříček should finally debut with the Wild organization over a week after being acquired via trade. He’s scored two goals and three points in four AHL contests this season during his time with the Cleveland Monsters.

Replacing Jiříček in the lineup will be Iowa’s captain. After spending the last four with the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes organization, Crotty is in his first year with the Wild organization. He’s tallied five assists in 19 games for the AHL Wild this season and has managed a +2 rating.

Jets Recall Nikita Chibrikov, Reassign Brad Lambert

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The Winnipeg Jets have made a roster move as they continue to deal with the void of Nikolaj Ehlers in their top six. The organization announced they’ve recalled Nikita Chibrikov from their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, and have sent Brad Lambert the other way in a corresponding move.

Winnipeg’s roster move indicates Ehlers won’t return for tomorrow’s matchup against the Boston Bruins and the Jets will allow a different prospect an NHL opportunity. Chibrikov was drafted by Winnipeg with the 50th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft and debuted for a one-game stint last season.

He’s been an efficient forward for the AHL Moose since coming to North America from the KHL’s Spartak Moskva last year. He’s scored 22 goals and 60 points in 89 games for Manitoba with another goal in two postseason contests. Still, he has plenty of work to do on the defensive side of the puck but Chibrikov is showing he can already score at the game’s second-highest level.

Heading back to Manitoba as arguably the Jets’ top prospect. He was projected as high as second overall for the 2022 NHL Draft on some boards but a disastrous 2021-22 season with JYP of the Finnish Liiga dropped Lambert to Winnipeg at 30th overall.

He’s recovered exceptionally well scoring 26 goals and 69 points in 94 games over three years with the Moose. He registered four games for the Jets throughout his recent call-up but unfortunately went scoreless. He only averaged 12:44 of ice time per night during those games but will now move back to Manitoba’s first line.

Senators Owner Accuses Rangers Of ‘Soft-Tampering’

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The first day of the NHL Board of Governors meeting has started with some dramatics. According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the owner of the Ottawa Senators, Michael Andlauer, has accused the New York Rangers of  “soft-tampering.”

It’s safe to say there’s now a Brady Tkachuk-sized wedge between the two organizations. Andlauer’s statement was regarding a report from Larry Brooks of the New York Post indicating the Rangers were aggressively pursuing Tkachuk in a trade with the Senators.

Nothing indicates that Brooks’ report came from a leak within the Rangers organization but the Senators organization believes it did. Andlauer told LeBrun that Ottawa hasn’t discussed Tkachuk with any team and he hopes he will be the team’s leader for many years.

The accusation is understandably heavy and will likely be discussed at the Board of Governors meeting. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports the Rangers responded to the accusation by saying, “This is an irresponsible accusation and we defer to the Commissioner’s office.”

It’s a situation the league will likely investigate given its updated policies on tampering. The league was reportedly displeased with the number of contracts preemptively announced before free agency began on July 1st and sent a memo to all 32 teams.

Any team caught tampering could face fines as large as $5MM, lose draft capital, or even have contracts voided (although that wouldn’t apply in this scenario) should they be caught tampering. The last time a team has been charged with tampering by the league came back in 2016 when former-general manager for the Vancouver Canucks, Jim Benning, made public comments regarding P.K. Subban and Steven Stamkos which resulted in a $50K fine.

Metro Notes: Garand, Ovechkin, Milano, Wilson, Tomasino

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The New York Rangers are returning to their regular look between the pipes tonight. The organization announced they’ve reassigned goaltender Dylan Garand to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Garand’s reassignment means Igor Shesterkin will return this evening against the Chicago Blackhawks. He missed yesterday’s game after he and his wife welcomed a new child. Garand didn’t play in yesterday’s loss to the Seattle Kraken, but nobody would have been surprised if he did.

Jonathan Quick, a more than reliable backup for the Rangers this season, let in six goals on 21 shots during New York’s collapse in the second and third periods. The situation paved the way for Garand to make his NHL debut after securing a 7-2-2 record in 11 games for the Wolf Pack this season. Nevertheless, the former 103rd overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft will continue to wait to make his first NHL appearance.

Other Metro notes:

  • According to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com, the Washington Capitals had a pair of forwards resume skating this morning albeit in non-contact jerseys. Alex Ovechkin and Sonny Milano skated before the Capitals’ formal practice this morning and Milano has reportedly been elevated to working with pucks. The fact Ovechkin has even returned to skating is impressive given he’s just under three weeks removed from fracturing his fibula.
  • Power forward Tom Wilson was a notable absence from Washington’s practice this morning (X Link). Wilson took a puck to the face in the team’s recent win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and he finished the game with nearly a season-low time on ice of 16:15. There’s no indication he’s been ruled out of the Capitals’ upcoming game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Still, it’ll be something to monitor over the next few days.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins could be getting a boost to their forward core tomorrow night against the Colorado Avalanche. According to Wes Crosby of NHL.com, Penguins’ forward Philip Tomasino was skating in a non-contact jersey before today’s practice after missing the team’s most recent game with an upper-body injury. The former first-round pick has been a boon to Pittsburgh’s offense since being acquired from the Nashville Predators on November 25th scoring three goals and four points in his first five games.

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