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Ducks To Place Trevor Zegras On IR, Activate Brock McGinn

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12/7: Zegras will undergo additional testing on Monday to determine how long he’ll miss, per Sporstnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Saturday Headlines. This could be a chance to learn more about what seemed to be a low-contact injury. Zegras underwent surgery in January to repair a fracture in his left ankle – the same ankle that he seemed to injure on Wednesday – though it’s unclear if the two injuries are related in any way.

12/6: Trevor Zegras’ game-ending injury from a few nights ago will now extend over at least a week. The depth chart manager for The Hockey News and PuckPedia reported that the Anaheim Ducks would place Zegras on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and activate Brock McGinn (X Link).

Zegras quickly left partway through the second period of Wednesday’s contest and couldn’t put any weight on one of his legs. The Anaheim youngster finished the game with a -1 rating over 6:08 of ice time.

There have been no further updates regarding the severity of Zegras’ injury. Still, it was expected he wouldn’t play in the Ducks’ next game after Derek Lee of The Hockey News reported he wasn’t at practice this morning. Zegras will only miss two games should he miss the minimum seven days on the injured reserve. It may be a chance for him to reset on the season as the former 65-point scorer only has four goals and 10 points through 24 contests this year.

McGinn’s return to the active roster might not be Anaheim’s only positive injury development. Lee also shared that Robby Fabbri was back on the ice for the team’s practice this morning despite being on week three of a six-week recovery timeline. Lee’s fellow writer at The Hockey News, Patrick Present, additionally reported that Leo Carlsson was back on the ice in a non-contact jersey.

Anaheim has had a fair number of injury concerns through the first quarter of the 2024-25 NHL season but that appears to be ending soon. The Ducks are on a pathway toward a fully healthy lineup in the coming weeks combined with today’s acquisition of defenseman Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers.

Rangers Sign Igor Shesterkin To Eight-Year Extension

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Saturday: The Rangers officially announced that they’ve signed Shesterkin to an eight-year extension.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds that the deal contains a full no-move clause and $85MM of the contract will be paid in the form of signing bonuses.

Friday: The New York Rangers have used their new-found cap space relatively quickly. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports the Rangers have signed goaltender Igor Shesterkin to an eight-year extension paying the netminder between $11.5MM and $12MM a year. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed it will be an eight-year, $92MM extension for Shesterkin.

Once the deal is finalized it will usurp Carey Price’s record-breaking eight-year, $84MM extension with the Montreal Canadiens by $8MM. Shesterkin and his camp have been adamant about setting the market for goaltenders and he appears to have done just that.

New York will get Shesterkin back on a cheaper deal than Price from a certain point of view. Price’s contract accounted for 13.2% of the cap when it took effect starting in the 2018-19 season. Shesterkin’s contract, assuming the reports are accurate on an $11.5MM salary, will only account for 12.4% of the cap should it rise to the reported $92.5MM for the 2025-26 season.

The Moscow, Russia native landed his desired salary despite having a depressed season compared to the rest of his career. He’s produced an 8-9-1 record in 18 starts for the Rangers with a .908 save percentage and a 3.05 goals-against average.

It’s difficult to disagree with the price point. He’s arguably been one of the league’s top netminders since the 2020-21 season and the Rangers are now rewarding him for his efforts. He took over as the Rangers starting goaltender in the 2021-22 season and the team has failed to miss the playoffs since.

His career records speak for themselves. Shesterkin boasts a career winning percentage of 63.2%, a .920 SV%, and a 2.48 GAA over 226 career starts. The only goalie to post even similar numbers to Shesterkin through their first six seasons is fellow top-netminder Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets.

New York’s competitive window begins and ends between the pipes with Shesterkin. He’s produced tremendous value for the Rangers over the last six campaigns and will now continue to do so for the next eight beyond this season. The eight-year extension will take Shesterkin to the 2032-33 NHL season when he will be 38 years old.

If today is any indication, the Rangers will be a very active team up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline. General manager Chris Drury will likely pivot toward extending his young crop of expiring talent including Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller, and William Cuylle over the next few weeks so the pieces are in place for the team’s future.

Still, Drury and the Rangers are focused on moving out high-priced veteran talent such as Chris Kreider to create serious change toward the top of the lineup. New York has failed to make it beyond the Eastern Conference Final since the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs despite consistently being one of the better teams throughout the regular season. Drury has been aggressive in his pursuit of re-tooling the roster and today’s moves may only be the beginning.

Photo courtesy of USA Sports images. 

Poll: Which Team Will Win The 4 Nations Face-Off?

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We are nearly two months away from the start of the 4 Nations Face-Off. NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States will compete in the best-on-best matchup for an in-season tournament from February 12 through 20th, 2025. Rosters were recently released on December 4th and each country has a reason to be optimistic about their chances.

Canada objectively has the most star power on their roster and it’s not close. Most teams have trouble dealing with Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid on any given night and he’ll now be joined by the likes of Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Mitch Marner, and Cale Makar, among others, in the lineup. The only question mark for Team Canada will be in the crease as the combination of Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Sam Montembeault have only combined for an approximated .900 SV% for their respective clubs this season.

One team’s weakness is another team’s strength. The United States will deploy the trio of Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger, and Jeremy Swayman in the net giving them an automatic chance to win every game. Team USA should be able to spread the wealth on offense by separating the trio of Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, and Kyle Connor onto their lines and allowing the puck-movers on defense to lead from the blue line. There were some notable absences from Team USA’s eventual roster but it’s tough to count them out of any game with their impressive conglomeration of netminders.

Team Sweden won’t have nearly the same star power on offense as their North American counterparts but does arguably have the tournament’s best blue line. Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman, Rasmus Andersson, and Rasmus Dahlin are more than capable puck-moving defensive while Mattias Ekholm, Gustav Forsling, and Jonas Brodin are some of the best shutdown defensemen in the league. Sweden’s success in this tournament will be directly correlated with their defensive core.

Rounding out the group is Team Finland who will be bringing one of the stingiest groups to Montreal and Boston. Finland’s success will be connected to how well they can keep games close between their respective counterparts. Sebastian Aho, Aleksander Barkov, and Mikko Rantanen will be relied upon for most of Finland’s offense. Opposing teams will run into annoyance with Finland, having to beat Juuse Saros after getting through a staunch defense.

The rosters can and likely will change based on the health and availability of players heading into the tournament but the final group will look similar to how they are constructed today. Now the crystal ball is being passed to you — who do you think will win the 4 Nations Face-Off in February? Vote below!

Which Team Will Win The 4 Nations Face-Off?
Team Canada 43.97% (357 votes)
Team USA 41.75% (339 votes)
Team Sweden 8.00% (65 votes)
Team Finland 6.28% (51 votes)
Total Votes: 812

Mobile users, click here to vote!

Mathew Barzal, Anthony Duclair Close To Returning For Islanders

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The 2024-25 NHL season hasn’t gone as planned for the New York Islanders. They are the only team in the Eastern Conference unable to amass double-digit win totals in the regular season and sit three points back of the last wild-card position with three more games played.

Some blame can be placed on New York’s inability to stay healthy this season. Defenseman Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly are currently positioned on the team’s injured reserve and forwards Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair are on the team’s long-term injured reserve. Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News shares that things are about to change with the two latter players.

Rosner writes that Barzal has finally resumed skating for the Islanders after missing his 17th straight game a few nights ago. New York’s most talented player has been dealing with an upper-body injury since late October after blocking a shot from Columbus Blue Jackets’ forward Yegor Chinakhov. Likewise, Duclair has been skating for the last few weeks and should be activated from LTIR before Barzal.

The two have missed a combined 39 games for the Islanders this season and their offense has struggled in their absence. New York has typically hovered around three goals per game since the 2018-19 season but has now fallen to last in the Eastern Conference with a 2.48 GF/G average.

Barzal wasn’t a game-changing threat when healthy this season scoring two goals and five points through his first 10 games. His absence was felt elsewhere though as teammate Bo Horvat has lost nearly all goal-scoring touch without his typical linemate. Horvat scored three goals in 10 games with Barzal and has only two scored two goals in the 17 subsequent games without him.

Duclair’s absence has also aided in the offense’s stalling out. He’s typically a surefire bet to score 25 goals when healthy and potted two in his first five games with the Islanders. Furthermore, New York’s powerplay has dropped to 31st in the league with an 11.84% success rate with the man advantage.

The Islanders still have 55 remaining games to recover the season and there should be growing optimism with Barzal and Duclair’s return on the horizon. It’s difficult to imagine New York qualifying for the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons if their offense doesn’t recover from the dismal start.

Wild Issue Multiple Injury Updates, Place Eriksson Ek On IR

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12/6: According to a team announcement, the Wild have placed Eriksson Ek on injured reserve as expected. His placement on the team’s injured reserve will likely be made retroactive to December 4th.

12/4: Depth is becoming an important factor for the best team in the league. This afternoon, the Minnesota Wild issued multiple injury updates regarding the status of Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin, Mats Zuccarello, and Jakub Lauko.

The organization confirmed the earlier report from Michael Russo of The Athletic stating that top center Eriksson Ek would be considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury. If there’s one area of weakness Minnesota could enhance via the trade market, it would be their center depth. The Wild have managed a 1-1-1 record in the three games Eriksson Ek has already missed this season and they will now have to rely on Marco Rossi as their first-line middleman.

Rossi is adequate for this role but it thins out behind him. Minnesota will deploy a rotation of Frederick Gaudreau, Marat Khusnutdinov, and Ben Jones to center the remaining three lines which isn’t typically the quality seen from first-place teams.

The Wild could gauge the trade market for a center depending on the severity of Eriksson Ek’s injury. Minnesota already swung one of the season’s biggest trades when they acquired David Jiříček from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jake Evans of the Montreal Canadiens comes to mind as a rental piece with playoff experience that would boost Minnesota’s depth down the middle.

The remaining injury updates didn’t have any surprises. Brodin and Zuccarello are still considered week-to-week with their respective injuries while Lauko is only on a day-to-day basis. Brodin and Lauko are on the team’s injured reserve while Zuccarello and his $4.125MM salary are on the long-term injured reserve. Still, with six out of their next 10 games against opponents currently positioned for a playoff spot, the Wild’s depth will surely be tested.

Atlantic Notes: Tkachuk, Yzerman, Nečas, Buffalo

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Before the New York Rangers traded defenseman Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, rumors began to swirl around the team’s reported interest in Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk. These rumors were quickly squashed when Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen immediately reported the Senators had no interest in moving on from their leader.

General manager Steve Staios was more than displeased to see Tkachuk’s name in the rumor mill. Garrioch hinted that any working relationship between the Senators and Rangers organization may have been tarnished. In his article regarding the speculation, Garrioch wrote, “Rangers GM Chris Drury may have some explaining to do to the Senators organization due to this talk. Staios won’t be the least bit pleased to hear Tkachuk’s name floating around out there. It’s believed Staios planned to have a conversation with Tkachuk to reiterate there is absolutely nothing to this“.

This update from Garrioch should quiet any future rumors regarding Ottawa and their captain. Tkachuk is in the fourth year of a seven-year contract signed with the Senators in 2021 and there’s been no indication from the player or the team that Tkachuk is close to leaving.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • If Steve Yzerman had his way, Trouba would wear the ’Winged Wheel’ instead of a duck-inspired goalie mask. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported the Detroit Red Wings were again interested in acquiring Trouba from the Rangers but the two sides couldn’t agree on a working trade. It likely wasn’t a question of assets given the eventual return package for Trouba. The Red Wings likely needed a third team’s involvement to retain salary as they don’t have the salary cap space to absorb Trouba’s $8MM salary for this year and next.
  • In a long-lasting meeting with the press in Buffalo, Sabres’ general manager Kevyn Adams could be kicking himself for not capitalizing on an offseason trade. Mike Harrington of Buffalo News Sports reported it was all but confirmed that Buffalo had a deal on the table this past summer for Carolina Hurricanes’ forward Martin Nečas but never went through with it. To Adams’ credit, few analysts predicted Nečas would lead the league in points by early December. He’s scored 14 goals and 41 points in 26 games for the Hurricanes through the first quarter of the regular season.
  • According to Heather Engel of NHL.com, Adams offered another interesting tidbit at today’s presser. Engel quoted Adams as saying, “We’re not a destination city right now where you’re going to be able to go out and UFAs that are key guys“. It’s typically uncommon for an active general manager to publicly assert that free agents don’t perceive his organization as a viable landing spot. Still, Adams’ omission is a sign that he agrees there is more work to be done to the Sabres roster.

Canadiens, Oilers Complete Minor Swap

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Two of the league’s storied Canadian franchises have gotten together on a minor-league deal. According to a press release from the Montreal Canadiens, the former is sending forward Jacob Perreault to the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer.

Hoefenmayer is an older prospect being drafted with the 108th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Arizona Coyotes. He transitioned to professional hockey for the 2020-21 season but spent much of his first two years in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ ECHL affiliates.

The last three years have given Hoefenmayer more consistent playing in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies and Bakersfield Condors. He scored 11 goals and 38 points in 65 games for the Marlies in 2022-23 while adding 114 PIMs. His move to Bakersfield has been far less productive scoring only eight goals and 25 points in 58 games with the Condors.

Perreault is the only player in the swap to make his NHL debut. He was originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks organization and selected 27th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. He fell out of favor rather quickly in Anaheim, largely due to his defensive inefficiencies, and was traded to the Canadiens this past March for fellow 2020 draftee, Jan Mysak.

The deal is between two teams heading in different directions in the AHL standings. The Laval Rocket are fourth overall in the league standings with a 14-6-1 record through 21 games while the Condors sit in 25th with a 7-8-2-1 record through 18.

Anaheim Ducks Acquire Jacob Trouba

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3:34 PM: The Ducks organization has made the deal official through a team announcement.

1:28 PM: According to Arthur Staple of The Athletic, the New York Rangers are working on a trade that would send Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks. Staple’s report comes shortly after TSN’s Pierre LeBrun indicated that Anaheim had quickly become the front-runner in acquiring Trouba’s services. ESPN reporter Emily Kaplan shares that Anaheim will send depth defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a draft pick to the Rangers, completing the trade.

This brings an end to a tumultuous saga for Trouba in New York. The oft-mentioned trade candidate had been in the rumor mill for a year as he was reportedly nearly dealt to the Detroit Red Wings this past offseason before using his modified no-trade clause to nix the deal. It wouldn’t be the last time either as Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports Trouba also used his trade protection earlier today to prohibit a move to the Columbus Blue Jackets organization.

The former ninth-overall selection of the 2012 NHL Draft will now join the third organization of his 12-year career, albeit in a different environment. Trouba is only a year removed from captaining the Rangers to President’s Trophy honors during the 2023-24 NHL season but will now join a team that hasn’t qualified for the playoffs since the 2017-18 season and is sitting 29th in league standings. In the end, it was his choice, as Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff reported Trouba waived his no-trade clause to facilitate a deal with the Ducks.

He’s certainly fallen off in recent seasons which surely influenced New York’s desire to move on. He’ll finish his Rangers’ tenure with 31 goals and 136 points in 364 regular season games with a +16 rating. Most of Trouba’s lack of success in recent seasons can be seen from his possession metrics. He averaged an approximated 47.0% CorsiFor% through his first four years in New York but has fallen to 42.6% and 40.0% in the last two years, respectively.

Still, Trouba provides value via his physicality from the blue line. For better or for worse, Trouba’s massive hits have become well-known throughout the league and that kind of toughness will be received well in Greg Cronin’s system in Anaheim.

The Ducks already boast one of the league’s most rugged defensemen in captain Radko Gudas and will now add Trouba to the equation. The Rochester, MI native has totaled more than 100 hits over the last six years and eclipsed the 200 mark twice from 2021-23.

New York will receive a mild return for their now-former captain in Vaakanainen and Anaheim’s fourth-round pick in 2025 (as per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun). Vaakanainen, who is currently on injured reserve, is a former first-round pick of the Boston Bruins from the 2017 NHL Draft and is a year removed from playing in a career-high 68 games for the Ducks. He won’t provide much on the offensive side of the puck given his career 25 points in 141 games but his $1.1MM expiring contract will give the Rangers increased financial flexibility moving forward.

That’s largely what this deal was about from the Rangers’ perspective. They have now cleared $12MM from their salary cap table after sending Barclay Goodrow through waivers this past offseason and now have the financial freedom to retain key pieces and be aggressive on the trade and free agent market. General manager Chris Drury has stayed adamant on his desire to reshape the Rangers roster and trading Trouba was one of the necessary steps toward that goal.

Evening Notes: O’Connor, Iginla, Guhle, Lee

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman published today’s rendition of ’32 Thoughts’ in the written medium. One of the noteworthy items is that the Pittsburgh Penguins are getting interest from around the league in forward Drew O’Connor.

O’Connor is seemingly an ideal trade candidate for the Penguins this season. He’s on a relatively cheap expiring contract with a $925K salary. His offensive production is down this season with three goals and nine points in 27 games but he can play up-and-down the lineup at all three forward positions.

The Colorado Avalanche seems like a perfect landing spot for O’Connor should Pittsburgh trade him. It’s tough to find a team dealing with more injuries this season and O’Connor’s versatility and low cost should make for a decent transition. Colorado doesn’t have much draft capital to work with so the Penguins may have to scout heavily into the Avalanche’s minor league systems.

Other notes from tonight:

  • It’ll be a short year of development for Tij Iginla. The WHL’s Kelowna Rockets announced Iginla has undergone successful hip surgery but will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 WHL season. Iginla has already skated in 21 games for the Rockets this season scoring 14 goals and 32 points with a +18 rating. Still, the Utah Hockey Club can’t be pleased that the organization’s first-ever draft pick will go most of the season without playing.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Kaiden Guhle wouldn’t play tonight due to illness shortly before the team’s matchup against the Nashville Predators. Justin Barron who’s scored one goal in 12 games for Montreal this season is filling in for Guhle on the blue line. Barron has two shots, one blocked shot, and one hit through 10 minutes in tonight’s game against Nashville.
  • Per a team release from the Los Angeles Kings, Andre Lee has been papered down to the AHL’s Ontario Reign. The move is strictly to capture more salary cap space for a Kings organization with limited space. Los Angeles doesn’t play against until Saturday when they take on the Minnesota Wild and the expectation is that Lee will re-join the team for that contest.

Nashville Predators Issue Injury Updates

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The Nashville Predators will be looking for their eighth win of the season tonight without a few key players. The organization announced center Ryan O’Reilly is week-to-week with a lower-body injury and that defenseman Jeremy Lauzon has been placed on the injured reserve. The only player Nashville will receive back tonight is forward Michael McCarron, who’s been activated from the injured reserve.

It’s an insult to injury for a team that has struggled to score this season. Nashville’s first line of Filip Forsberg, O’Reilly, and Gustav Nyquist has led the team with a 55.8% xGoals% in 175 minutes and represents three of the top-six highest-scoring forwards on the roster.

O’Reilly has been a large part of that line’s success. He’s won 55.2% of nearly 500 faceoffs despite most of his draws coming in the offensive zone. He’s only managed five goals and 14 points through 26 games this season but is shooting one percentage point higher than his career average.

The Predators will try newcomer Steven Stamkos on the first line in O’Reilly’s stead. He’s not nearly as good as O’Reilly in the faceoff dot but has held his own throughout his career. The one issue that could arise is Forbserg and Stamkos are both shoot-first players which could cause some chemistry issues on the top line.

McCarron’s return reintroduces some size to the team’s fourth line. McCarron won’t help the team alleviate their goal-scoring issues as he’s only scored two goals and four points in 18 games. Still, he brings a physical presence to his game which is always useful toward the bottom of the lineup.

Lauzon’s lower-body injury strikes as an addition by subtraction for the Predators. He’s maintained his physicality this year with 103 hits in 22 games but hasn’t done much aside from that. Head coach Andrew Brunette finally separated the defensive pairing of Lauzon and Alexandre Carrier but the former still seems like he needs a reset.

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