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Artturi Lehkonen Likely Out A Little While Longer

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Chicago Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson told the media today that young defenseman Wyatt Kaiser will be ready to return to the lineup either late in the team’s season-opening road trip or shortly after (as per Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times). Chicago starts the season with four games on the road, which puts Kaiser’s timeline to return from his illness sometime around mid-October.

The Blackhawks placed Kaiser on the IR this past Friday and made it retroactive to September 19th, but given the timeline, it appears that he may only be out of action for another week or possibly two.

In other Central Division notes:

  • Dallas Stars forward Wyatt Johnston has been called probable for opening night by Stars head coach Peter DeBoer (as per Dallas Stars reporter Brien Rea). Johnston practiced with the team today, albeit in a limited capacity, as he tries to recover from an undisclosed injury. The 21-year-old was the Stars’ leading scorer last year, posting 32 goals and 33 assists in 82 games. The Toronto, Ontario native was also fantastic in the playoffs tallying 10 goals and six assists in 19 playoff games.
  • Stars reporter Brien Rea also reported that Dallas rookie Mavrik Bourque has been called doubtful for the team’s season opener. The reigning AHL MVP posted 26 goals and 51 assists in 71 games last season with the Texas Stars and is expected to take a permanent role in the NHL this season. With Bourque out, it likely means that Oskar Bäck will make his NHL debut in his place.
  • Colorado Avalanche beat writer Evan Rawal writes that forward Artturi Lehkonen won’t be back with the team for a little bit longer. Lehkonen has a five-month check-in at the end of October and that meeting will determine how the team and player can advance from there. Lehkonen underwent shoulder surgery in May and was placed on the injured non-roster list today meaning that he likely won’t return until November at the earliest.

Miscellaneous Transactions: 10/7/24

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Today marks the eve of the official start of the 2024-25 NHL regular season. All 32 teams are expected to finalize their 23-man rosters today and several transactions coming along with it. Some of these moves will be considered “paper transactions” so clubs can maximize their cap space for the regular season as most of these names will be involved in new transactions over the coming days. Here’s a look at some of today’s action:

  • Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports the New York Rangers have placed Jimmy Vesey on long-term injured reserve and Ryan Lindgren on injured reserve to start the season. In a major sway with their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers have sent down Adam Edstrom, Matt Rempe, William Cuylle, Victor Mancini, and Brett Berard while recalling Jake Leschyshyn, Adam Sykora, Anton Blidh, and Ben Harpur.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins reassigned promising defensive prospect, Harrison Brunicke, to the WHL’s Kamploop Blazers. Brunicke was the 44th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft and became a popular candidate to make the Penguins’ roster out of training camp. He scored 10 goals and 21 points in 49 games for the Blazers last season and will now look to extrapolate on that during his third year with the team.
  • Despite suiting up in three games for the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs; defenseman Maxwell Crozier will not make the team out of camp. The organization announced they assigned Crozier to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, to start the 2024-25 NHL season. He tallied two assists in 13 regular season games for the Bolts last year.
  • The San Jose Sharks made their final four cuts from their training camp roster earlier today. The team announced they assigned defensemen Luca Cagnoni and Jack Thompson and forwards Ethan Cardwell and Collin Graf to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.
  • The Ottawa Senators recently released their 23-man roster to start the year and with that came a few roster cuts. Graeme Nichols of The Hockey News reported the Senators reassigned Jan Jenik after passing through waivers and Zack Ostapchuk to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.
  • Unsurprisingly, the Buffalo Sabres sent Lukas Rousek and Kale Clague to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, after the two cleared waivers earlier today. Rousek has been a rock-solid player for the Americans over the last two years with 26 goals and 97 points in 121 games.
  • To make space for their final 23-man roster, the Carolina Hurricanes made a series of roster moves. Walt Ruff, an employee for the organization, reported the Hurricanes sent down Josiah Slavin, Ty Smith, and Ryan Suzuki who all cleared waivers earlier today to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Forward prospect Jackson Blake has also been assigned to AHL Chicago but the Hurricanes are expected to make more moves before their regular season opener on Friday.
  • When the Colorado Avalanche announced their opening night roster for the 2024-25 campaign, they also announced a few transactions. The team reassigned Adam Scheel, T.J. Tynan, Nikolai Kovalenko, Ondrej Pavel, and Ivan Ivan to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Colorado only has 11 forwards currently listed on the roster so there is a reasonable assumption the team will bring one of the forwards back up to the NHL roster before their regular season opener.
  • Forward James Malatesta became the odd man out for the Columbus Blue Jackets as the team announced he was the final cut from the training camp roster. The quick forward will look to grow his game with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters after scoring 12 goals and 22 points in 56 games for the team last year in addition to one goal and two points in nine postseason contests.
  • All five players placed on waivers by the Detroit Red Wings yesterday have cleared and been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The team announced defensemen Justin Holl, William Lagesson, and Brogan Rafferty were reassigned with forwards Joe Snively and Sheldon Dries.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have made their final training camp cuts as they announced their official opening night roster. Samuel Fagemo, Jack Studnicka, and Pheonix Copley have all been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, after clearing waivers yesterday while forward prospect Koehn Ziemmer has been loaned to the WHL’s Prince George Cougars.
  • One surprising training camp cut came out of the St. Louis Blues preseason. The team announced Zachary Bolduc, Tyler Tucker, and Corey Schueneman had been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Blues front office brass may be looking for more offensive accomplishments from Bolduc before making him a full-time NHL player after only scoring eight goals and 25 points in 50 games in the AHL last year.

This page will be updated with additional transactions. 

Colorado Avalanche Sign Nikita Prishchepov To Entry-Level Contract

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After trading defenseman Erik Brannstrom to the Vancouver Canucks earlier today the Colorado Avalanche have stayed busy. The organization announced they have signed forward Nikita Prishchepov to a three-year, entry-level contract and he’ll report to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.

Prishchepov was the ninth-to-last player selected in the 2024 NHL Draft at 217th overall to the Avalanche. He had previously been playing for the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres and will suit up professionally earlier than expected.

The 20-year-old Russian spent three years with Victoriaville after moving to North America from the subsidiary of the KHL, the MHL. He improved each year of his major junior career and finished with 45 goals and 135 points in 191 games for the Tigres. The Avalanche will hope for more discipline as he makes his way up the North American pipeline as Prishchepov finished with 189 PIMs in his QMJHL tenure.

That discipline carried into his final weeks with Victoriaville as he earned 20 PIMs in only 14 postseason games putting his team at a serious disadvantage. He finished with three goals and 11 points to end his career as the Tigres fell in five games to the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the QMJHL Conference Finals.

He’ll start down the middle of the ice with the Eagles and should serve as valuable center depth for the organization. His talents are still a bit raw but he’ll have a few years to iron out his foundation at the AHL level.

Vancouver Canucks Acquire Erik Brannstrom From Colorado

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The Vancouver Canucks announce they have acquired left-handed defenseman Erik Brannstrom from the Colorado Avalanche. Heading back to Colorado will be defenseman Tucker Poolman with 20% of his salary retained by Vancouver and a fourth-round pick in 2025.

It’s a rare move for a recently signed unrestricted free agent to be moved before ever suiting up for the team. The Avalanche signed Brannstrom to a one-year, $900K contract after the young defenseman was non-tendered by the Ottawa Senators. He was expected to serve as a bottom-pairing puck mover for Colorado on a low-cost deal but the team has decided to go a different route.

He was originally drafted with the 15th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights but was shipped to Canada’s capital in the deal that sent Mark Stone to Nevada in 2019. He was always known as a fluid defenseman who could move the puck in transition and on the attack with 52 assists and 63 points in 90 AHL contests.

Unfortunately, Brannstrom has not been able to put it all together at the NHL level. He’s scored only seven goals and 69 points in 266 games for Ottawa — falling well short of expectations. He’s coming off the most offensively fruitful season of his career with three goals and 20 points in 76 games during the 2023-24 NHL season.

The Canucks placed Brannstrom on waivers relatively quickly after acquiring him meaning this trade was largely based around the salary cap. Vancouver will only be on the hook for $500K of Poolman’s contract for the 2024-25 NHL season.

The remaining $2MM on Poolman’s contract will comfortably sit in Colorado’s LTIR. He’s not expected to play this season after missing all of last year and playing only three games in the 2022-23 season. The Avalanche will continue to accrue salary cap space giving them more flexibility down the road when Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin can return.

Waiver Wire: 10/5/24

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With season-opening rosters due in just over 48 hours, it’s going to be a busy weekend on the waiver front across the NHL.  A total of 14 players are on waivers today.  The players below were first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link) unless otherwise specified.  Meanwhile, Friedman relays (Twitter link) that of the 25 players on the wire yesterday, all cleared aside from John Ludvig who was claimed by Colorado.

Anaheim Ducks

G Oscar Dansk

Colorado Avalanche

F T.J. Tynan
F Chris Wagner

Dallas Stars

D Kyle Capobianco
G Magnus Hellberg
F Cameron Hughes
F Kole Lind
D Alexander Petrovic
F Emilio Pettersen

Florida Panthers

D Matt Kiersted

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F Ben Jones

New York Rangers

D Connor Mackey

Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)

F John Hayden
F Josh Mahura

These players will be on waivers until 1:00 PM CT on Sunday.

Avalanche Claim John Ludvig Off Waivers

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The Avalanche have added some defensive depth via the waiver wire.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed blueliner John Ludvig off waivers from Pittsburgh.

It’s the second year in a row that the 24-year-old has been scooped off waivers in training camp.  Last year, it was the Penguins claiming him from Florida.

Last season, Ludvig saw regular action with Pittsburgh when he wasn’t injured.  However, injuries were an issue for him as he missed time with a concussion and an upper-body injury before undergoing offseason wrist surgery.  In between, he played in 33 games, his first taste of NHL action.  In those, he had three goals and two assists along with 47 penalty minutes, 33 blocks, and 72 hits in a little under 12 minutes per night.

Colorado is an interesting landing spot for Ludvig as they have already brought in three new blueliners this summer to shore up their depth in Oliver Kylington, Erik Brannstrom, and Calvin de Haan.  They also have Sam Malinski who is now waiver-eligible so adding to that group comes as a bit of a surprise.  Assuming he makes their opening roster on Monday, he’ll give them some extra physicality for games that he’s in the lineup.

Ludvig is in the second and final season of his two-year, two-way deal.  The agreement pays $775K in the NHL and $150K should he make it to the minors.  He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration eligibility if he plays in 47 games or more.  Otherwise, he’ll qualify for Group Six unrestricted free agency.

Avalanche Release Pierre-Édouard Bellemare

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The Avalanche have released Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, per a team announcement. Bellemare was attempting to land his second contract in Colorado on a PTO as a fourth-line piece.

While this may mark the end of the road for Bellemare in the NHL, don’t expect him to hang up his skates. The 39-year-old said in August that if an NHL opportunity didn’t materialize, he’d likely head overseas to Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League, where he played from 2009 to 2014.

Bellemare has 64 goals, 74 assists, and 138 points over 700 career appearances, getting a late start to his NHL career with the Flyers at age 29 after spending the early part of his prime playing in Sweden. That includes 122 games over a previous stint with the Avalanche, where he had a career-high 22 points in 69 games during the 2019-20 campaign.

Despite a lengthy track record of being a serviceable fourth-line center over the past decade, it wasn’t surprising to see Bellemare settle for a PTO. The Frenchman looked like he lost a step last season after signing a one-year deal with the Kraken, limited to seven points in 40 games and serving as a routine healthy scratch for the first time since arriving in North America. He averaged a career-low 9:50 per game and had a diminished effect physically, laying 20 hits after a lengthy history of averaging at least one per game.

Still an international team fixture for his native France, Bellemare has reached the Stanley Cup Final twice, with the Golden Knights in 2018 and with the Lightning in 2022, although he was on the losing end both times. He’d likely still be a decent depth piece for Skellefteå if he decides to return to Sweden (and if there’s a spot for him). He’d join a squad headlined by Red Wings first-round picks Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Axel Sandin-Pellikka that’s off to a strong 4-1-0 start in SHL league play.

As for the Avalanche, they’re still looking for a veteran to hold down their fourth-line center spot. Look for them to make a claim off waivers in the coming days to address that vacancy.

Injury Notes: Pesce, Sorokin, Lehkonen, Seeler

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The New Jersey Devils could soon receive a silver lining in their long list of injury news, with general manager Tom Fitzgerald designating defender Brett Pesce as day-to-day with a strong chance of playing in the team’s home opener, per NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Pesce suffered a fractured fibula in May, forcing him to miss the final nine games of Carolina’s postseason. Recovery didn’t dissuade teams from talking with Pesce when he hit the open market, with New Jersey ultimately signing the 29-year-old to a six-year, $33MM contract.

Pesce could get a chance to earn that money soon. The Devils have been careful not to rush him back to action – instead opting to take top prospect Seamus Casey in their trip to Prague – though Pesce will have a clear spot in the team’s top-four whenever he returns. He’s averaged at least 20 minutes of ice time in each of the last eight seasons, including playing upwards of 23 minutes a night in the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Pesce’s held onto that role despite never being much of a scorer, with a career-high of 30 points set two seasons ago. New Jersey could be the fiery offense to boost Pesce’s scoring, though it’s his stalwart defense that’ll prove invaluable on a team that allowed the fifth-most goals in the league last season.

More injury updates:

  • Star New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin was spotted on the practice ice today, shares Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. It’s Sorokin’s first appearance on the training camp ice, after undergoing back surgery this off-season. The details of Sorokin’s surgery and timeline have been kept quiet by New York, though head coach Patrick Roy recently shared that he expects the star to be ready for opening day. Sorokin is among the best in the league when he’s healthy, posting a combined .919 save percentage across 192 games in the last four seasons – and previously recording 134 wins, a .930, and one championship across eight seasons and 244 games in the KHL.
  • Colorado Avalanche winger Artturi Lehkonen returned to the ice in a no-contact jersey, shares the Denver Post’s Corey Masisak. In speaking with head coach Jared Bednar, Masisak adds that the team wants to keep Lehkonen away from contact as long as possible, though he’ll ramp up quickly when he’s fully cleared. Lehkonen has scored 38 goals and 85 points in 109 games with the Avalanche over the last two seasons, though upper-body injuries routinely pull him out of the lineup.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers have shared that defender Nick Seeler is fully healthy despite sitting out most of Tuesday night’s third period, per Charlie O’Connor of All Phly Sports. Seeler is fighting to retain his role on Philadelphia’s third-pairing, where he’s served admirably in each of the last two seasons. He’ll face competition from Yegor Zamula, who outscored Seeler by eight points last season.

Waiver Wire: 10/2/24

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Twelve new faces were placed on waivers Wednesday, per PuckPedia. All who were waived yesterday cleared, aside from goaltender Jiří Patera, who’s heading from Vancouver to Boston. Here’s the listing of today’s players who hit the wire:

Carolina Hurricanes

G Spencer Martin

Colorado Avalanche

D Jack Ahcan
F Matthew Phillips
D Calle Rosén

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Trey Fix-Wolansky

New York Rangers

F Benoit-Olivier Groulx

Pittsburgh Penguins

D Mac Hollowell
F Jimmy Huntington
F Marc Johnstone

Philadelphia Flyers

G Calvin Petersen

San Jose Sharks

F Andrew Poturalski
F Scott Sabourin

Training Camp Cuts: 10/2/24

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We’re in the final stages of teams making sweeping training camp cuts before the true final roster battles come into play. There are only six days to go until opening night, and most teams now only have five to 10 players – if that – to trim from their rosters to comply with the 23-player maximum. We’ll list all of Wednesday’s cuts here.

Last updated 1:33 p.m.

Carolina Hurricanes (per the team’s Walt Ruff)

G Spencer Martin (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)

Chicago Blackhawks (per Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Sports)

D Louis Crevier (to AHL Rockford)
D Kevin Korchinski (to AHL Rockford)
F Frank Nazar (to AHL Rockford)
F AJ Spellacy (to OHL Windsor)

Colorado Avalanche (per team announcement)

D Jack Ahcan (to AHL Colorado, pending waivers)
D Sean Behrens (to AHL Colorado)
F Jean-Luc Foudy (to AHL Colorado)
F Jere Innala (to AHL Colorado)
F Jayson Megna (released from PTO to AHL Colorado)
G Trent Miner (to AHL Colorado)
F Matthew Phillips (to AHL Colorado, pending waivers)
F Jason Polin (to AHL Colorado)
D Calle Rosén (to AHL Colorado, pending waivers)
F Matthew Stienburg (to AHL Colorado)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Trey Fix-Wolansky (to AHL Cleveland, pending waivers)

New York Rangers (per team release)

F Anton Blidh (to AHL Hartford)
G Louis Domingue (to AHL Hartford)
D Casey Fitzgerald (to AHL Hartford)
G Dylan Garand (to AHL Hartford)
D Brandon Scanlin (to AHL Hartford)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)

F Avery Hayes (released from PTO to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
D Dan Renouf (released from PTO to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)

San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)

F Andrew Poturalski (to AHL San Jose)
F Scott Sabourin (to AHL San Jose)
F Colin White (released from PTO to AHL San Jose)

Utah Hockey Club (per team announcement)

F Tij Iginla (to WHL Kelowna)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)

D Robert Hägg (to AHL Henderson)
F Mason Morelli (to AHL Henderson)
G Akira Schmid (to AHL Henderson)

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