Calgary Flames Acquire Riley Damiani From Dallas Stars
The Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars have swapped a pair of minor-league forwards, with Calgary sending Emilio Pettersen to Dallas in exchange for Riley Damiani. Both 23-year-olds have spent the entire season in the minor leagues.
Pettersen has scored more out of the pair, with 30 points in 54 games with the Calgary Wranglers. He’s maintaining a strong scoring pace, though he’s not quite scoring at the 0.72 points-per-game pace he managed last year when he totaled 19 goals and 44 points in 61 games. He has been in the AHL since the 2020-21 season, moving to the league after two seasons with the University of Denver. Pettersen has also represented his home country of Norway on a variety of levels, including the World U18 Championship in 2016 and 2017, the 2019 World Juniors Division A tournament, and at the World Championship in 2021. He was productive in his World Juniors appearances, scoring at a point-per-game pace at minimum in each tournament, but managed just one goal at the World Championship. Pettersen joined the Flames when they drafted him in the sixth-round of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Damiani stands out because, unlike Pettersen, he’s already made his NHL debut – playing in seven games and scoring two points in the 2021-22 season. He’s since spent all of his time in the AHL, recording 13 goals and 31 points in 59 games last season and 23 points in 53 games this year. Damiani went exactly one round before Pettersen in the 2018 Draft, getting selected 137th-overall by Dallas.
Pettersen stands out thanks to head-strong forechecking and not shying away from physicality, despite standing at a 5’10” frame. Damiani, also 5’10”, fits a slightly different style – serving as a burst of speed in the middle lane that creates tempo well. Both players show strong puck control and an ability to command their linemates. A change of scenery could work wonders for both, as they work towards climbing the depth charts of their new team.
Calgary Flames Claim Joel Hanley Off Waivers
The Calgary Flames have claimed defenseman Joel Hanley off waivers from the Dallas Stars, per a team announcement. In now his 9th season in the NHL, Hanley has spent the last six years of his career in Texas.
Less than a week after trading pending unrestricted free agent Chris Tanev to the Stars, the General Manager of the Flames, Craig Conroy, has added a Stars defenseman to their arsenal. Primarily used as an extra defenseman throughout his tenure in Dallas, Hanley will now have the opportunity for more playing time, especially as Calgary continues to move out expiring pieces from the organization’s blue line.
A defensive defenseman through and through, Hanley has suited up in 32 games for the Stars this season, tallying three assists in the process. Averaging over 13 minutes a night for the fourth time in his career, Hanley regularly averages one blocked shot and one hit a game.
Until more trades are made in Calgary, Hanley will likely suit up on the bottom-pairing alongside fellow waiver claim, Brayden Pachal. Furthermore, Hanley may be able to replace either Noah Hanifin or Oliver Kylington on the left side of the team’s penalty-killing units if either is moved out before the trade deadline.
Stars To Place Joel Hanley On Waivers
The Stars will place veteran defenseman Joel Hanley on waivers today at 1 p.m. CT with intent to assign him to AHL Texas, head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters (via Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine).
Hanley, 32, has been a healthy scratch in two straight upon the returns of Jani Hakanpää and Nils Lundkvist from injuries. With the pending availability of Chris Tanev after his visa issues post-trade from Calgary get resolved, Hanley was relegated to the eighth slot on the Stars’ defensive depth chart.
DeBoer confirmed Hanley’s demotion is salary cap-related, not performance-based. He’s been a solid stabilizing presence at the bottom of the Dallas lineup since joining the team in 2018, memorably factoring into an unexpected lineup spot in the Stars’ run to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.
The Stars haven’t attempted to assign Hanley to the minors since before the pandemic, keeping him around as a full-time extra for the past four years. He’s skated in 32 games for the Stars this year, recording three assists and a +3 rating while averaging 13:41 per game. He’s also boasted strong possession numbers, recording a 55.1 CF% at even strength and a +0.6 expected rating.
Teams will have 24 hours to submit a claim for Hanley, who could find a new home on a team looking for quality, cheap defensive depth down the stretch. Hanley is signed to a two-year deal carrying a $787.5K cap hit and will be a UFA in 2025, so any team picking him up will get his services next season as well.
Clearing Hanley’s cap hit, either via losing him on waivers or assigning him to Texas, will take the Stars out of LTIR and give them the necessary cap space to activate winger Evgenii Dadonov when he’s ready to return. It also offers Dallas room to recall and keep rookie forward Logan Stankoven, who’s impressed with three goals and an assist through his first five NHL games, on the roster longer-term.
Western Conference Notes: Eichel, Myers, Vilardi, Stankoven
Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel won’t make his return from injury on Saturday, says head coach Bruce Cassidy. His next chance to return will come when Vegas visits the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. Eichel has been out since January 11th, missing the team’s last 18 games with a knee injury that required surgery. He made his return to the team’s practices on Wednesday, quickly upgrading to a full-contact jersey and nearing a return.
Eichel’s return will offer major relief to a Vegas lineup that’s gone 2-5-1 in their last eight games – with opponents outscoring the Golden Knights 31-to-27. Eichel is the only Golden Knight scoring above a point-per-game pace this season, with 44 points in 42 games. Vegas has set a much more commanding 24-13-5 record in games Eichel has been healthy for.
Other notes from around the league:
- Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers has been designated as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. Mark Friedman will slot into his spot in the lineup. That will bring Friedman up to 21 NHL games this season, spending much of the year as an injury fill-in. He’s managed just one assist alongside 21 penalty minutes and a +5. Myers has so far appeared in all 62 Canucks games this season – a feat that, impressively, eight different Canucks have managed, including three defensemen.
- Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi has returned to Winnipeg to seek further evaluation for an upper-body injury suffered in the team’s Thursday night loss to the Dallas Stars. Vilardi left the game after just 10 minutes of ice time. He missed Winnipeg’s Saturday morning win over the Carolina Hurricanes and will now miss one more game as the Jets round out their road trip on Sunday. Vilardi has scored 16 goals and 30 points in 38 games this season, though he’s been heavily limited by a string of injuries. The Jets have gone 26-10-2 in games Vilardi has appeared in this season.
- The Dallas Stars have recalled impressive rookie Logan Stankoven, who was briefly sent down to the minors after the team’s Thursday night game. But with this recall, Dallas shows that move was purely transactional, and that Stankoven will indeed continue in an NHL role after recording three goals and four points in his first four career games. Stankoven has also recorded 57 points in 47 games this season, battling for the league’s top scorer title all season long.
Stars Notes: Seguin, Stankoven, Tanev
While the Stars are currently without center Tyler Seguin and will be for the next several weeks, don’t expect Dallas to put him on LTIR and go on a bit of a spending spree. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the 32-year-old is expected to return from his lower-body injury before the end of the regular season. Accordingly, they’d have to be cap-compliant before activating him from LTIR so they couldn’t go and spend several million of his $9.85MM AAV at the trade deadline. That said, they could eventually place him on LTIR to bring up an extra player or two for depth purposes after the deadline with those players returning to the minors once Seguin is able to return. Dallas has $1.17MM in cap room, per CapFriendly, thanks to Evgenii Dadonov’s LTIR placement so their options to add will be limited in the coming days.
More from Dallas:
- Speaking of returning to the minors, that’s what Logan Stankoven did today as the team announced that they’ve sent the 20-year-old back to AHL Texas. The forward has been shuttled back and forth in recent days and likely will be recalled before their game on Saturday versus San Jose. Stankoven has been productive since making his NHL debut last month, recording three goals and one assist in his first four NHL appearances.
- One player who might not be playing against the Sharks tomorrow is defenseman Chris Tanev. The veteran was acquired earlier this week from Calgary as part of a three-team trade but team reporter Mike Heika relays (Twitter link) that the veteran is dealing with visa issues and may not be available to play in that one. In that case, he’d be lined up to make his debut on Tuesday on the back end of the home-and-home set with San Jose. Tanev has 14 points and 171 blocks in 56 games so far and is expected to play a big role for Dallas down the stretch.
Afternoon Notes: Tanev, Islanders, Granato, Keefe
The newest Dallas Stars defenseman, Chris Tanev, isn’t expected to slot into Dallas’ lineup immediately, per Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Francis added that Tanev will stay in Calgary for a few days while he secures a visa. The Stars acquired Tanev from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, sending two draft picks and defensive prospect Artem Grushnikov back to the Flames. Dallas also sent a fourth-round pick to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for the Devils retaining 50 percent of Tanev’s cap hit.
Tanev, 34, was arguably the top name on the trade market, with a long list of teams interested in adding his defensive prowess. He only has 14 points in 56 games this season, but he led active Flames defensemen in both CF% (Corsi-For Percentage) and xGF% (expected goals-for percentage), speaking to his ability to control possession and scoring opportunities. Tanev has been in the league since the 2010-11 season, when he debuted with the Vancouver Canucks, who signed him as an undrafted free agent ahead of the season. He’s played in the NHL every season since, totaling 185 points and 773 games in the league. Dallas will mark the third team of Tanev’s career, after 10 years in Vancouver and four in Calgary.
Other notes from around the league:
- New York Islanders defenseman Robert Bortuzzo is still not skating, shares Ethan Sears of the New York Post. Bortuzzo rehabbing a lower-body injury that’s earned him a place on the team’s long-term injured reserve. He hasn’t played since January 2nd, forcing the Islanders to once again test their defensive depth. Sears also shared that the Islanders are expected to recall Hudson Fasching from his AHL conditioning stint, though he won’t be immediately activated off of LTIR. Fasching has one goal in three AHL games this season.
- The NHL has fined both Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato and Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe for unprofessional conduct directed at officials. Each coach was docked $25K. Keefe received a game misconduct for arguing with the refs about a Mitch Marner tripping call, continuing to question the refs even after Toronto had killed off the penalty. Granato received a bench penalty for arguing a Zach Benson tripping penalty, with the opposing Florida Panthers scoring the game-winning goal on the resulting five-on-three power-play. These fines follow a precedent set by the league that aims to reduce abuse of officials.
Dallas Stars Acquire Chris Tanev From Calgary Flames
The Dallas Stars have acquired defenseman Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames, and goaltender Cole Brady from the New Jersey Devils, per a team announcement. The Stars will send defensive prospect Artyom Grushnikov, a 2024 second-round pick, and a conditional 2026 third-round pick back to Calgary. Dallas has also sent a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Devils for their part in retaining 50% of Tanev’s salary for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
As the Flames also retained 50% of Tanev’s contract, that brings his AAV down to just $1.125MM for the Stars. As far as the conditions on the conditional third-round pick headed to Calgary, the Flames will only receive this pick if Dallas makes it to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
With Tanev now in the fold, this gives Dallas a formidable top-four of their defensive unit with Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, and Esa Lindell also in the mix. As Tanev was previously one of the grittier defensemen on this year’s trade market, he will make the Stars much more difficult to play against leading into the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
In the last season of a four-year, $18MM contract signed with the Flames organization, Tanev has averaged over 20 minutes a night in Calgary during his tenure. In 259 games played with the Flames, Tanev has scored a total of 10 goals and 67 points during his tenure in Alberta. 
Nevertheless, the Stars undoubtedly targeted Tanev due to his defensive prowess, as he averaged close to a 90.0 on-ice save percentage in all situations over his career. Aside from carrying solid defensive awareness, Tanev has also averaged more than 100 blocked shots each season, and he will become the new leader in that category in Texas with 171 already this year.
Currently, in a backup role at the University of Massachusetts, Brady was brought to the Devils organization as a fifth-round selection in the 2019 NHL Draft. In now his fourth season in the NCAA, Brady has played in a total of 46 games for Massachusetts and Arizona State, earning a 16-18-4 record with a .902 SV%.
In return to Calgary, Grushnikov was originally drafted 48th overall by the Stars in the 2021 NHL Draft. In his first full season in the American Hockey League, he has played in 44 games for Dallas’ AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, scoring one goal and five points overall. Nevertheless, Grushnikov does have solid defensive awareness like Tanev and can frustrate opposing players in his zone.
By adding the second-round selection and the conditional third-round pick, the Flames now have a total of 24 draft picks available to them in the next three NHL Drafts. Intent on rebuilding the team through the draft to supplement their core, General Manager Craig Conroy continues to stockpile picks through his trades this season to do just that.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports images.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the deal.
The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report the return to Calgary.
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report the full return to Calgary.
Seravalli was the first to report New Jersey’s involvement in the trade.
Dallas Stars Send Down Derrick Pouliot
- The Dallas Stars have loaned defenseman Derrick Pouliot to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, per a team announcement. Taking part in a critical game against the Colorado Avalanche tonight, the loan of Pouliot means that either Nils Lundkvist or Jani Hakanpaa are ready to return to the lineup tonight. In five games with the Stars since February 19th, Pouliot has failed to score a point while averaging a touch over 12 minutes of ice time per night.
[SOURCE LINK]
Tyler Seguin Listed As Week To Week
Stars center Tyler Seguin missed Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury and he’ll be out for at least a little while longer as Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News relays that Seguin is listed as out week to week. Head coach Peter DeBoer noted that he has been dealing with a lingering injury that hasn’t been getting better and actually got worse after his last game back on Thursday. The 32-year-old is in the middle of his best offensive season in a little while with 45 points through 58 games; his 0.78 points-per-game average is his best since 2018-19. If Dallas believes Seguin will miss at least 10 games and 24, he could be shifted to LTIR to give them some short-term salary cap flexibility.
Stars Recall Derrick Pouliot, Logan Stankoven
Feb. 26: Pouliot and Stankoven were both recalled to Dallas on Monday morning, per a team announcement. With Seguin not at the Stars’ Monday morning practice, per Bally Sports Southwest’s Brian Rea, Stankoven will play his second career NHL game tonight against the Islanders. Hakanpää and Lundkvist also remain out, per Rea, so Pouliot will play as well.
Feb. 25: The Stars returned Pouliot and Stankoven to the AHL on Sunday, per a team announcement. Both players suited up in last night’s 2-1 win over the Hurricanes, with Stankoven logging a +1 rating and three shots on goal in 15:20 of ice time during his NHL debut. Pouliot played a team-low 9:56, recording one hit. One or both of Pouliot and Stankoven may find themselves back on the NHL roster ahead of Monday’s game against the Islanders, depending upon the availability of Tyler Seguin (lower body), Hakanpää, and Lundkvist.
Feb. 24: The Stars have brought up some reinforcements for their game tonight in Carolina, announcing the recalls of forward Logan Stankoven and defenseman Derrick Pouliot from AHL Texas.
It’s the second recall of the week for Stankoven although his first one only lasted a matter of hours without him getting into the lineup. That said, it’s worth noting that he was a late scratch for Texas on Friday, suggesting that the 20-year-old might get a chance to suit up this time around. Stankoven has been dominant in the minors in his first professional campaign, leading the league in scoring with 57 points in 47 games.
As for Pouliot, he returns to Dallas after spending just one day off the roster having been sent down yesterday in a move that at least temporarily delayed his waiver clock. The 30-year-old has played in just three NHL games this season but has been productive in the minors, collecting 31 points in 44 appearances so far. With the status of Nils Lundkvist (concussion) and Jani Hakanpaa (upper body) both in question for tonight’s game, Pouliot will once again serve as injury insurance.
With the two recalls, Dallas is now carrying a full 23-player roster.