Hurricanes Activate Shayne Gostisbehere Off IR
The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to get defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere back from injury on Sunday, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. He was activated off of injured reserve, per Rotowire and the NHL media site. Gostisbehere has missed Carolina’s last seven games with an upper-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve on January 5th.
Gostisbehere has been one of Carolina’s top defenders through the early season. He’s posted notable stats across the board, leading the Hurricanes’ blue-line in goals (6) and points (27), and ranked in the top four of hits (30) through just 35 games. Should he appear in all of Carolina’s remaining 39 games, Gostisbehere would be on pace for 57 points on the season – just enough to surpass his career-high of 56 points set in 81 games with the Red Wings last season. He’s aged like a fine wine, carrying his two-way impact and solid production through stints with four different clubs over the last five seasons, including two separate tenures in Carolina. Gostisbehere has been strong through it all, starting the spree with a 51-point season with the Arizona Coyotes in 2021-22 and now set to outperform it four years later.
This move will bring the Hurricanes’ loaded defense back to full-strength. Gostisbehere will likely slide back into his role next to fellow summer-addition Sean Walker, and should also regain his spot on the team’s top power-play unit ahead of Brent Burns. Those additions will give the Hurricanes a difference-making defender in every role, hopefully enough to spur them out of a 5-4-1 record over their last 10 games.
Hurricanes Waive, Reassign Ty Smith
1/12: Smith has cleared waivers and been reassigned to the AHL, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff.
1/11: Hurricanes defenseman Ty Smith has been no stranger to being involved in transactions this season as he has been shuffled to and from the minors numerous times already. However, he’s now spent 30 days on Carolina’s roster since clearing waivers at the beginning of the year. That means that he must now clear waivers again before that can continue. The Hurricanes have made that move today as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that Smith has been placed on waivers.
The 24-year-old is in his first full season with Carolina after being acquired at the trade deadline last season as part of the Jake Guentzel deal and is on a one-year, $775K two-way contract. Smith has spent a big chunk of the year in the reserve role with the big club (or in transit to or from the minors) so playing time has been difficult to come by thus far.
Smith has played in 13 games with AHL Chicago this season and has been fairly productive, putting up three goals and seven assists in those outings. He has also gotten into eight appearances with the Hurricanes, collecting a goal and an assist while averaging 13:40 per game. For his career, Smith has 49 points in 131 NHL contests, most of which came with New Jersey after they drafted him 17th overall back in 2018.
Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim on Smith. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, his waiver clock will reset on both fronts. In other words, he won’t need to clear again once he reaches the 10-game mark on the season but rather if and when he gets into 10 games after his waiver period expires tomorrow.
Hurricanes Have “Checked In” On Flames’ Daniel Vladař
The Hurricanes have inquired with the Flames about goaltender Daniel Vladař‘s availability in a trade as they look to shore up their goaltending depth, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff wrote Tuesday.
Vladař was softly connected to Carolina by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic last month when he was detailing the Canes’ interest in the Ducks’ John Gibson. He was mentioned as a speculative trade candidate then but seems more firmly linked to Carolina now.
The Hurricanes remain in pursuit of a more established NHL option between the pipes with Frederik Andersen sidelined due to knee surgery and not expected back for a few more weeks. The veteran starter was at practice today for the first time since undergoing surgery, though, the team’s Walt Ruff relayed.
With Andersen set to hit the open market this summer and unlikely to return to Carolina given his injury history over the past couple of seasons, Gibson makes more sense for the Canes as a longer-term pickup to partner with Pyotr Kochetkov between the pipes. Vladař, a pending unrestricted free agent, would likely be a backup option if they can’t swing a deal with Anaheim.
But as Seravalli writes, it’s far from a given that the Flames will move Vladař. The netminder told Eric Francis of Sportsnet last week that he’s open to signing an extension in Calgary, and they won’t move him for anything less than a third-round pick. With few other teams than Carolina exploring the goalie market, there’s no guarantee that the Flames would be able to drive the price that high unless the Canes get desperate. That would be a heel-turn from a Carolina team that’s frequently held pat at the deadline in recent years if they don’t like what they see.
Vladař has started 19 games this season while playing in tandem with up-and-comer Dustin Wolf, four short of his career high set with Calgary in 2022-23. He has a subpar .888 SV% and 3.08 GAA, although he does have a pair of shutouts. He’s allowed 2.9 goals more than expected based on the shot quality he’s faced, per MoneyPuck. While an upgrade over Carolina’s current backup option, Dustin Tokarski, he’d be firmly entrenched at No. 3 on their depth chart once Andersen returns and would be unlikely to stick around unless the Canes can’t secure an upgrade on next summer’s free agent market.
Hurricanes, Eric Robinson Discussing Extension
An extension for winger Eric Robinson with the Hurricanes “sounds like it will happen,” Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote in his “32 Thoughts” blog Tuesday. The 29-year-old became eligible to sign one on Jan. 1 after inking a one-year, $950K pact with Carolina in free agency last summer.
Robinson’s decision to take a prove-it deal with the Canes has worked out quite well for both sides. Carolina gained some much-needed cost-effective forward depth after losing Jake Guentzel, Stefan Noesen and Teuvo Teräväinen to the open market. At the same time, Robinson thrived in a depth role and positioned himself to land a significant raise on his next contract.
The Hurricanes have some important UFAs-to-be again this season, namely Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov on the back end and another valuable depth scorer, Jack Roslovic, up front. It makes sense that general manager Eric Tulsky wants to get business done early with at least one of them.
Robinson is likely looking for stability after being traded from the Blue Jackets, where he started his career, to the Sabres last season and then landing with Carolina in free agency. He’s posted nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points through 41 games, on pace for a career-high 40 points while averaging 12 minutes per game.
Normally deployed as a checking winger with heavy defensive zone usage, Robinson’s offensive zone deployment under Rod Brind’Amour has skyrocketed. After starting over 60% of his 5-on-5 faceoffs in the defensive zone throughout his seven years in Columbus, he’s started 62.8% in the offensive end since arriving in Carolina. He’s also receiving semi-meaningful penalty kill minutes for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign.
His offensive pace likely puts his next contract in the $3MM neighborhood per season, with Dakota Joshua‘s recent four-year, $3.25MM AAV extension with the Canucks likely serving as a blueprint. The New Jersey native has never earned an AAV of more than $1.6MM on any of his five NHL contracts.
Lower-Body Injury For Carrier, Jaaska Recalled
- Hurricanes winger William Carrier was a late scratch from their game against Pittsburgh. The team announced (Twitter link) that he’s dealing with a lower-body injury. The 30-year-old is in his first season in Carolina after signing a six-year deal with them over the summer and has nine points along with a team-high 136 hits in 39 games. In a corresponding move, winger Juha Jaaska was brought back up from AHL Chicago, per the AHL’s transactions log, after being sent down on Thursday. He made his NHL debut on Wednesday, playing 8:21 against Florida.
Hurricanes Activate Jack Drury From Injured Reserve
The Hurricanes took center Jack Drury off injured reserve on Friday, according to the team. Carolina reassigned winger Juha Jaaska to AHL Chicago in a corresponding transaction. Their active roster count remains at 23.
Drury, 24, has been out since Dec. 10 after undergoing hand surgery as a result of a blocked shot in the first period of a game against the Sharks. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters one week later that his surgery would keep him out for at least four weeks. Instead, Drury returns to the active roster two and a half weeks after surgery and three and a half weeks past the initial injury.
The Hurricanes only placed Drury on injured reserve on Monday when they needed roster space to recall defenseman Riley Stillman in the wake of Shayne Gostisbehere‘s upper-body injury. Since the placement was retroactive to the date of his initial injury and he’d already been out for more than seven days, Drury was eligible to come off IR at any time.
Drury skated in 28 games for Carolina before landing on IR, posting three goals and six assists for nine points with a +4 rating. He averaged 13:09 per game, a career-high aside from a two-game stint in 2021-22, and is on pace to win a career-best 56.4% of his draws.
Carolina will have Drury back in the lineup tomorrow when they host the Wild, presumably in a fourth-line role between Jackson Blake and Eric Robinson. He’s spent the vast majority of the season with at least one of that pair on his wings.
Meanwhile, Jaaska returns to the AHL after making his NHL debut in last night’s win over the Panthers. He logged 13 shifts for 8:21 of ice time, shifting to center and winning four out of five draws while recording three hits.
The Hurricanes signed Jaaska, 26, to a one-year entry-level contract worth $850K back in April after he spent the previous nine seasons with Finland’s HIFK. He has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 25 AHL games this season.
Stillman Sent Down, Three Recalled From Chicago
- The Hurricanes announced that defenseman Riley Stillman has been sent back to AHL Chicago. The 26-year-old has been sent back and forth this season but hasn’t seen any action with Carolina. Stillman has four points in nine contests with the Wolves. Meanwhile, Carolina has also recalled goalie Dustin Tokarski, defenseman Ty Smith, and winger Jackson Blake from Chicago, per the AHL transactions log. The three were papered to the minors on Wednesday.
Injury To Jost Will Keep Him Out Long Term
- The undisclosed injury that Hurricanes forward Tyson Jost sustained on Tuesday is expected to keep him out long-term, relays team reporter Walt Ruff (Twitter link). The 26-year-old cleared waivers earlier this season but played in 16 games with Carolina since being recalled in November. Jost has a pair of goals in those outings while averaging 10:28 per game but he won’t be adding to that point total for a while yet now.
Tokarski, Smith, And Blake Papered Down
- The Hurricanes continue their frequent roster movement. With no game today, they’ve assigned goaltender Dustin Tokarski, defenseman Ty Smith, and winger Jackson Blake to AHL Chicago, per the AHL’s transactions log. As is always the case with these moves, the paper assignments merely free up several thousand dollars in cap space. Carolina is back in action on Thursday and all three are likely to be recalled at that time.
Hurricanes Recall Juha Jaaska
The Hurricanes appear set to give a new forward his first taste of NHL action. The team announced that they’ve recalled Juha Jaaska from AHL Chicago. The move was made after 4 PM CT and thus will not officially hit Carolina’s books from a salary cap perspective until Thursday.
The 26-year-old is in his first season in North America after signing a one-year, entry-level deal with the Hurricanes back in April. The contract carries an AAV of $850K. Jaaska put up two straight seasons of at least 30 points with HIFK in Finland’s Liiga which helped earn him this contract while he also suited up for his country at the 2024 Worlds, albeit in a limited role.
So far, Jaaska has played exclusively with the Wolves, tallying seven goals and nine assists in 25 games, producing at a similar point-per-game level as he was back home. His 16 points are good for a tie for third in team scoring.
Even though he’s on his entry-level deal, Jaaska will be eligible to test the open market again this summer as an unrestricted free agent so he’ll be looking to make a good impression in his first taste of action at the top level.