Evening Snapshots: Gilbert, Ullmark, Carlo, Rondbjerg
Earlier today, Ryan Pike of Flames Nation reported that the Calgary Flames have placed defenseman Dennis Gilbert on injured reserve. Since the original injury took place on January 4th, Gilbert has already met the required satisfactions to enter play, but since he is not ready to return, this transaction in particular will give Calgary some roster flexibility for the foreseeable future.
In a related report, Pike also points out that with Gilbert as well as Jacob Markstrom missing some time for the Flames, Walker Duehr‘s waiver placement earlier this afternoon, and Oliver Kylington working his way back on an LTI conditioning loan, there will be plenty of moving pieces for Calgary in the next few days.
With now only 21 players on the active roster once Duehr’s fate is settled tomorrow afternoon, Calgary could recall young forwards such as Matthew Coronato or Jakob Pelletier, or even go the route of reintroducing Kylington back into the organization. Whatever the case may be, they do have some time to address their current roster situation, as they should be able to field a healthy team tomorrow night against the Toronto Maple Leafs without any corresponding transactions.
Other snapshots:
- The Boston Bruins could be welcoming back two of their bigger pieces, as Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe reports both Linus Ullmark and Brandon Carlo are nearing a return to the team. This news does not come as a tremendous surprise, as the Bruins sent down goaltender Brandon Bussi, clearing the way for Ullmark’s return. Carlo, on the other hand, has missed the last four games for Boston with an upper-body injury but should be able to return this weekend against the Montreal Canadiens, or even sooner in the Bruin’s rematch against the Colorado Avalanche.
- After recalling him on January 11th, the Vegas Golden Knights announced today they have reassigned forward Jonas Rondbjerg back down to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. Playing in three games since his initial recall only a few days ago, Rondbjerg produced zero points while averaging a tad under 11 minutes of ice time a game.
Penguins Injury Notes: Ludvig, Nieto, Smith
Rob Rossi of The Athletic had some updates today on a few injuries the Pittsburgh Penguins are dealing with as they reach the mid-season mark. Rossi stated that defenseman John Ludvig is tracking well and skated on his own this morning. The 23-year-old rookie has been a pleasant surprise this season for Pittsburgh after he was acquired off waivers from the Florida Panthers. The former third-round pick hasn’t offered much offensively but has been one of the only Penguins defenders to engage opponents physically and had been very sound in the defensive zone.
Ludvig was placed on injured reserve back on January 3rd after head coach Mike Sullivan said he was a little banged up. It isn’t clear what type of injury he is dealing with, but it appears that he should be back in the Penguins lineup very soon. Pittsburgh has quite a few bottom-pairing defensive options and has shuffled through all of them, however, before the injury Ludvig appeared to be taking a firm grasp on one of those spots.
In other Penguins injury notes:
- Rossi also provided a brief update on injured forward Matthew Nieto who underwent successful laparoscopic surgery to his right knee just two weeks ago. Rossi’s short comment mentioned that things are status quo with Nieto and his recovery, and he will remain in Pittsburgh when the team goes on their upcoming road trip. Nieto was expected to miss 6-8 weeks recovering from the surgery, and given that his status remains the same, it is safe to assume that he will return to the Penguins lineup just before the NHL trade deadline on March 8th. Nieto has been terrific for the Penguins on the penalty kill this season, and his even strength play improved after a poor start to the season. Jansen Harkins is currently occupying Nieto’s spot on the Penguins fourth line alongside Noel Acciari and Jeff Carter.
- Finally, Rossi offered an update on Reilly Smith saying that he will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip but likely will not play. It is expected that the team will have an update on Smith’s status after the weekend. Smith’s injury is currently being classified as an upper-body injury that will keep him out longer-term, however, not much more information is available. Smith opened the season showing terrific chemistry with center Evgeni Malkin, but since November 4th he has just two goals and has seemed lost at times. He has dressed in 40 games this season and has eight goals and 12 assists during that time. The Penguins are currently using Drew O’Connor in Smith’s role on the second line alongside Malkin.
Blues Place Kasperi Kapanen On IR, Out 4 Weeks
Blues winger Kasperi Kapanen will be out a minimum of four weeks with a lower-body injury, the team announced Wednesday. He has been placed on injured reserve.
In a corresponding transaction, the team brought up veteran forward Adam Gaudette from AHL Springfield. The 27-year-old leads all AHLers with 24 goals in 37 games.
The speedy winger has struggled heavily in his first full season with the Blues. Things were looking up for Kapanen after St. Louis claimed him off waivers from the Penguins partway through the 2022-23 campaign, closing out the year with 8-6–14 in 23 games. This season, despite a minimal reduction in usage, he’s notched just 4-9–13 in 42 games, his worst points per game pace since his rookie campaign with the Maple Leafs in 2017-18.
A long-term injury now complicates things further. Kapanen will miss at least ten games and potentially more if his four-week evaluation doesn’t clear him to return.
Blues interim head coach Drew Bannister confirmed today that Gaudette will directly replace Kapanen in the lineup against the Capitals tomorrow, meaning another recent AHL call-up, Nathan Walker, likely sits as a healthy scratch. The Blues are carrying a full 23-player roster, including defenseman Tyler Tucker, who’s suiting up for Springfield on a conditioning loan.
Gaudette didn’t see any NHL action last season, limited exclusively to minor-league play for the first time in his pro career. After notching 34 points in 40 games for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies while under contract with the Maple Leafs, Gaudette found himself in Springfield after his contract was included in the trade return for Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly last season. Tomorrow will be his first NHL game since April 29, 2022, with the Ottawa Senators.
Blackhawks Place Nikita Zaitsev On IR, Recall Louis Crevier
The Blackhawks placed defenseman Nikita Zaitsev on IR with a right knee injury Wednesday, per NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis. To replace him on the active roster, the team recalled Louis Crevier from AHL Rockford.
Zaitsev logged 8:46 in last night’s shootout win over the Sharks before leaving the game. The 32-year-old had played in all eight Blackhawks games since New Year’s Day after missing the last two games of 2023 with an illness.
A frequent healthy scratch to begin the campaign, Zaitsev stepped into a more regular role in the lineup last month with injuries decimating Chicago at every position. Their defense has gotten healthier recently with the return of Seth Jones, but veteran Connor Murphy is now day to day with a lower-body injury. Zaitsev is the only Blackhawks defender on IR, joining a remarkable eight forwards – many of whom would be in the team’s top six if healthy.
Zaitsev’s bloated seven-year, $31.5MM contract is coming to an end next summer, but he’s providing a tad more value this season with more zone starts in the offensive end. He’s notched 2-5–7 in 26 games this year, and his pairing with rookie Kevin Korchinski has been Chicago’s best at controlling possession with a 46.9% expected goals share, per MoneyPuck. Interestingly, Korchinski has graded out far better defensively alongside Zaitsev than when paired with either Jones or Murphy.
The massive Crevier, who stands at 6-foot-8 and nearly 230 lbs., receives his second recall of the season. The 22-year-old played in 13 games between Dec. 2 and Jan. 9, logging three assists and a -7 rating in 16:08 of ice time per game. The 2020 seventh-round pick has notably gone without scoring a goal since May 25, 2022, during the QMJHL postseason as a member of the Québéc Remparts. In 80 games with AHL Rockford since turning pro in 2022, he has 10 assists and a -1 rating.
Morning Notes: Byram, Lehkonen, Ovechkin, Guentzel
Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram and winger Artturi Lehkonen will make their returns to the lineup within the next week, head coach Jared Bednar said on Altitude Sports Radio (KKSE-FM). Both players, who are on IR and LTIR, respectively, will be activated by next Wednesday’s game against the Capitals at the latest. They’ve been ruled out for tomorrow’s game in Boston, however. Byram will have missed at least seven games with a lower-body injury sustained Jan. 4 against the Stars, while Lehkonen has been out for over two months with a neck injury and will miss his 34th game tomorrow. The Avalanche will either need to assign one contract to the minors or move Valeri Nichushkin to LTIR while he completes treatment in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program to clear up the cap space for Lehkonen’s $4.5MM cap hit to come off LTIR. They’re currently short about $500K in space to execute the transaction, per CapFriendly.
More from around the NHL this morning:
- The Capitals expect captain Alex Ovechkin to return from a lower-body injury during their next two games, head coach Spencer Carbery said on 106.7 The Fan (WJFK-FM) today. Ovechkin has missed the last three games, but the Capitals have emerged with a 2-1-0 record in a trio of low-scoring affairs without him. Carbery commented further on the nature of his star sniper’s absence, saying the injury isn’t related to an awkward collision he had with Hurricanes center Jordan Staal earlier in the month. While “The Great 8” has had a much-publicized down season in the goal-scoring department (8-19–27 in 39 games), he was on a six-game point streak before exiting the lineup and still holds a slim lead on Dylan Strome for most points on the team.
- Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas is expected to have a conversation with pending UFA winger Jake Guentzel‘s camp about his future with the team during the upcoming All-Star break, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Monday’s edition of the “32 Thoughts” podcast. Reports earlier this month indicated Guentzel’s agent, Ben Hankinson, may opt to delay extension talks until the summer. While a 6-2-2 run in their last 10 games now has the Penguins at a 60% chance of making the postseason, per Hockey Reference, they’re not a lock in a competitive Metropolitan Division. If their conversation in a few weeks doesn’t result in Dubas having substantive confidence in his ability to extend Guentzel, the two-time 40-goal scorer may end up the subject of a blockbuster deadline trade.
Central Notes: Wild, Murphy, Wedgewood
On November 28th, the Minnesota Wild became one of a handful of teams to change behind the bench, firing former head coach Dean Evason after a disastrous 6-10-4 start to the season. After John Hynes took over as the new head coach of the team, the Wild appeared to be turning a corner, producing a 10-3-0 record in the next 13 games, re-entering the wild card conversation in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, since that hot stretch in December, Minnesota is 2-7-1, falling to 27th in the league standings and now sits six points behind the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with four more games played.
With a decent majority of the team playing on contracts with term, it would be difficult for the Wild to sell at this year’s deadline, although it would be reasonable for them to do so in hopes of resetting for the 2024-25 season. However, in an article by Michael Russo in The Athletic, the General Manager of the Wild, Bill Guerin, has no plans to wave the white flag on the season and is still holding out on this team to make the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Although the faith coming from Guerin is appreciated by the players, the pathway for Minnesota to make the playoffs is dwindling if it hasn’t already dissipated completely. The top three in the Central Division are some of the best teams in the league, and the Wild are failing to maintain pace with the Seattle Kraken, Nashville Predators, and the red-hot Edmonton Oilers. Even though Guerin is relying heavily on the team rebounding as they become healthier, his mindset may change in the next several weeks leading up to the trade deadline.
Other notes:
- Joining the growing list of injured members of the Chicago Blackhawks, defenseman Connor Murphy is out with a lower-body injury according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. He will not play in the team’s game tonight against the San Jose Sharks, but the team is hoping Murphy can draw back in tomorrow against the Buffalo Sabres. Now one of the longest-tenured Blackhawks on the team, Murphy has scored two goals and eight points in 43 games, averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game.
- Radio host of the Dallas Stars, Owen Newkirk, reports that the injury to goaltender Scott Wedgewood is not serious, and he is only considered to be day-to-day. Before the return of Jake Oettinger on January 13th, Wedgewood was the de facto starter in Dallas for nearly a month, producing a 6-3-2 record in 12 games played.
Pacific Notes: Eichel, Canucks, Kokko
After placing forward Jack Eichel on injured reserve only two days ago, the thought was that the injury was not serious, and Eichel would only be missing a maximum of three games with the Vegas Golden Knights. However, the organization announced today that Eichel underwent successful lower-body surgery, and would be out on a week-to-week basis.
This injury news will certainly change the trajectory of the Golden Knights’ season for some time, as it would for any team operating without their top option at the center position. Moving forward, with Eichel for at least the next week or two, Vegas will continue to operate with Chandler Stephenson and Nicolas Roy centering the top two offensive lines.
Scoring at a point-per-game pace for the second straight year with the Golden Knights, Eichel joins a growing list of injured players in Vegas, a reality that has led to a rough patch in the season for the organization. As the injuries continue to pile up, after starting the year as the top team in the NHL, the Golden Knights are 6-9-0 in their last 15 games, being outscored by a margin of 11 goals over that stretch.
Other notes:
- Having already been one of the most aggressive teams on the trade market this season, the Vancouver Canucks are still looking to add at this year’s trade deadline. In a quote reported by Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, the General Manager of the Canucks, Patrik Allvin, stated, “I think I owe it to the players. We know that they are capable of playing at this high level. And if they continue to do that, it’s on me to support them and give them opportunities to be successful”. Even though another trade could put Vancouver over the top in the Western Conference playoff race, Allvin will have to get creative in any move, as the team only has a projected $1.22MM available in deadline cap space.
- In a confirmed transaction according to EliteProspects, the Seattle Kraken have loaned goaltender Niklas Kokko to the Lahti Pelicans of the Finnish Liiga. Kokko was originally a second-round selection of the Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft and suited up for Team Finland U20 in the 2023-24 World Junior Championships only a few weeks ago.
Atlantic Notes: Stamkos, Monahan, Kane
Before the start of the 2023-24 regular season, captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos, rather publicly voiced his frustration with the Lightning organization, primarily over the fact that the team had not yet approached him about a contract extension beyond this season. Although Stamkos had not found his name in any trade speculation up to this point, if Tampa Bay were to fall out of playoff contention by the trade deadline, it would be a reasonable conclusion given the events that took place over training camp.
However, even after succinctly explaining that the Lightning organization would wait until after this season to address the future of Stamkos with the organization, the General Manager of Tampa Bay, Julien BriseBois, states that the team has no interest in moving Stamkos in a trade. This morning, Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that the Lightning would not be moving Stamkos for any reason and that the team envisions Stamkos in Tampa Bay beyond this season.
It shouldn’t be too difficult for the Lightning to retain Stamkos, as it is more than likely he will earn a decrease to his current $8.5MM salary. However, if Tampa Bay believes they are due for a transitionary period as an organization, they may view the available cap space as more prudent than bringing back their long-time captain on another contract.
Other notes:
- One player who has found himself in trade speculation for yet another season is a veteran forward for the Montreal Canadiens, Sean Monahan. However, the General Manager of the Canadiens, Kent Hughes, still believes everything is on the table in regards to Monahan’s future with the club, and the team may even opt to extend him rather than trade him (X Link). Playing on a one-year, $1.985MM contract for Montreal, Monahan has returned nicely from an injury-riddled 2022-23 season, scoring 11 goals and 25 points in 43 games for the Canadiens this year.
- After leaving the team’s game on Sunday night, Helene St.James of the Detroit Free Press reports that forward Patrick Kane will miss the next two games for the Detroit Red Wings with a lower-body injury. Although the head coach of the team, Derek Lalonde, has assured the media that the organization is not concerned with it being related to Kane’s previous hip issues, there still will be some caution from Detroit moving forward.
Pacific Notes: Couture, Burakovsky, Beniers, Dunn, Leason
The Sharks will remain without captain Logan Couture this week as he’s been ruled out for the remainder of their road trip, head coach David Quinn said (via San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng). Couture is slowly nearing a return from a lower-body injury that’s sidelined him for the whole season to date, and he’s been skating for over a month. However, Quinn has repeatedly preached caution by not rushing him into the lineup and risking re-aggravation of the injury.
Couture’s return won’t have much of an effect on the Sharks’ on-ice fortunes. Their 23 points and .267 points percentage are both the worst in the league this season, coupled with a -90 goal differential that demonstrated little optimism for improvement. They may have some upward mobility into the 31st or 30th places in the league standings, but even that seems unlikely past the halfway point of the season. However, his return to the organization is an important emotional win – the veteran of over 900 games and 14 seasons in a San Jose sweater remains an important locker room presence and provides some more quality depth for youngsters like William Eklund, Henry Thrun and Fabian Zetterlund to skate with.
More from around the Pacific Division:
- The Seattle Times’ Kate Shefte relays that the Kraken are without three major players for today’s tilt against the Penguins: winger André Burakovsky, center Matthew Beniers and star defenseman Vince Dunn. Burakovsky, 28, is out with a lower-body injury sustained early in Saturday’s 7-4 win over the Blue Jackets. It continues an extremely injury-plagued season for the Swedish winger, whose previous upper-body injury had limited him to 13 games on the year. He has one goal and five points after finishing second on the Kraken in points per game last year with 39 points in 49 appearances. The 21-year-old Beniers, meanwhile, sustained an upper-body injury against Columbus after appearing in all 42 Kraken games thus far this season. His sophomore campaign has been rocky after taking home the Calder Trophy last season, posting just six goals and 19 points after notching 57 points last season. His possession numbers remain strong, however, a positive sign that his decline in production likely isn’t permanent. Dunn is out with an undisclosed injury after logging 22 minutes against Columbus on Saturday. The 27-year-old should earn himself a few Norris votes at season’s end, leading the team in scoring with 35 points while playing over 23 minutes per game. He’s in the first season of a four-year, $7.35MM extension.
- Ducks winger Brett Leason is not in the lineup for today’s game against the Panthers after leaving Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the Lightning with an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old has already set a career-high in points with 12 through 36 appearances this year, scoring six goals and posting a -6 rating in bottom six minutes. Entering the game against the Lightning, he had been a healthy scratch in two of the last four games. He hasn’t been given a return timeline by the team yet.
Sabres Recall Kale Clague, Move Jeff Skinner To IR
5:30 PM: The Sabres have sent Clague back to the AHL after the defenseman served as a healthy scratch for the team’s Monday win over the San Jose Sharks.
9:00 AM: The Sabres have recalled defenseman Kale Clague from AHL Rochester, per a team announcement. To create the necessary space on the active roster, the team moved star winger Jeff Skinner to injured reserve, according to CapFriendly.
The latter move is purely for roster management purposes and does not change Skinner’s recovery timeline. He remains listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Clague’s recall comes after defenseman Mattias Samuelsson took an elbow to the head from Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek early in the second period of Saturday’s 1-0 loss. Samuelsson did not return to the game and is likely out for this afternoon’s contest against the Sharks.
The 25-year-old Clague isn’t projected to dress against San Jose, but he does provide some needed defensive depth on the NHL roster. Buffalo lost multiple defenders to injury at points during the loss to Vancouver, namely Connor Clifton and Rasmus Dahlin. At one point during the contest, after Dahlin and Samuelsson had both exited the contest to go into concussion protocol due to separate hits to the head, veteran blueliner Erik Johnson was ineligible to play for five minutes after fighting Canucks center J.T. Miller, whose hit knocked Dahlin out of the game. That gave the Sabres only three available defensemen for a stretch, leading depth forward Zemgus Girgensons to play some shifts on the blue line. Head coach Don Granato confirmed both Clifton and Dahlin are cleared to play in today’s contest against the Sharks, although Samuelsson will remain out.
Clague, a second-round pick of the Kings in 2016, re-joined the Sabres on a one-year deal a few days after becoming a UFA in July. It was his second straight season without receiving a qualifying offer, which allowed the Sabres to sign him to a new deal at a slightly discounted cap hit. He’s in his second season in the Sabres organization after spending the first five seasons of his pro career with the Kings and Canadiens.
This is his first recall of 2023-24 after clearing waivers at the end of training camp. The puck-moving blueliner leads Rochester defensemen in assists (15) and points (17) this year in 31 games. It’s the most minor-league action he’s seen since he played 49 games with AHL Ontario in 2019-20.
In 33 games with the Sabres last year, Clague posted four assists while averaging 15:06 per game, all coming at even strength. He posted the best possession metrics of his career in a decent sample, per Hockey Reference – a 52.7% Corsi share, 50% expected goals for, and a +0.1 expected rating at even strength, to be exact. If he can replicate those, there are much worse options to have as an injury fill-in.