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AHL Shuffle: 04/10/22

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After a dozen games on Saturday, seven more are on the docket today. After colliding yesterday, the Capitals and Penguins are back in action Sunday and again face stiff competition. Washington will face the Bruins this afternoon, while the Penguins square off with the Predators later in the day. The Stars are also facing a back-to-back this weekend and looking for a better result today versus Chicago after falling to New Jersey on Saturday. Every point matters at this point in the season and teams are working diligently to make sure they are prepared for each and every game. Keep up with all of those roster preparations here:

Atlantic Division

  • After Jake Allen, who has been oft-injured this season, left with an injury yet again last night, the Montreal Canadiens have made a move to replace him. The team announced that Cayden Primeau has been recalled from the AHL’s Laval Rocket. The 22-year-old has played well in the minors this season, but struggled at the top level. In a dozen NHL games, Primeau has an .868 save percentage and 4.62 goals against average to the tune of a 1-7-1 record.
  • The Ottawa Senators have re-assigned rookie Mark Kastelic to AHL Belleville, opening up a roster spot for the return of Tim Stutzle. Kastelic is a big, two-way center and the former captain of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen who is asserting himself as a solid bottom-six option for Ottawa, recording 25 points in 56 AHL games this season, in turn earning him 11 NHL games.

Metropolitan Division

  • Hayden Hodgson is heading back to the AHL after a brief recall to the Philadelphia Flyers. The team has announced that the recently-signed forward has been returned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. After pro four seasons, spent mostly in the ECHL, Hodgson is enjoying a breakout campaign with 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games in the AHL, leading to an NHL contract and three points in six games with the Flyers over the past few weeks.
  • With center Casey Cizikas’ one-game suspension served, the New York Islanders are returning forward Andy Andreoff to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. Andreoff, 30, is a veteran of 185 NHL games and has 39 points in 55 AHL games this season.

Central Division

  • The Nashville Predators have announced that with goaltender Juuse Saros out day-to-day with a non-COVID illness, goaltender Connor Ingram has been recalled from Milwaukee of the AHL. Ingram, 25, has appeared in 2 games so far this season and has a 1-1 record and a .906 save percentage. Ingram has a .914 in 50 games in the AHL this season.

Pacific Division

Colton Sissons, Evander Kane Earn Fines

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The NHL Department of Player Safety has handed out a pair of fines today, deciding against suspensions for both Nashville Predators forward Colton Sissons and Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane.

Kane has earned a $5,000 fine for kneeing Los Angeles Kings defenseman Sean Durzi in last night’s game, the maximum allowable under the CBA. The incident in question took place in the second period, with Kane extending his leg to get a piece of Durzi as the puck was sent up ice. The Oilers forward received a two-minute minor penalty for the hit and will now lose a bit of cash as well.

Sissons meanwhile has earned a $2,500 fine for spearing Ottawa Senators forward Josh Norris in last night’s match. That amount is notably not the maximum, and Sissons did not receive a penalty from the on-ice officials.

While they’ve avoided suspensions this time, both incidents will go on the record for Kane and Sissons, meaning any future transgressions could be penalized more harshly. Still, given how important every game is down the stretch, being available for their teams is obviously the most important thing.

Michael McCarron Out Week-To-Week

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  • Michael McCarron will be out of the lineup for at least a couple of weeks, as the Nashville Predators announced the forward is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old has split time between the NHL and AHL this season for Nashville, providing seven goals and seven assists in 46 games at the NHL level, using his 6’6″ frame to provide a physical presence for Nashville. There is no firm time-table yet for McCarron’s return, but the Predators will hope to get him back in time for the playoffs, if the Predators qualify, where his play style will be quite helpful in winning tough playoff-style games.

Nashville Predators Had Interest In Phil Kessel

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  • Despite some interest and months of his name being mentioned in trade rumors, Arizona Coyotes winger Phil Kessel did not end up traded at this year’s trade deadline. But it seems that was not without some effort by contending teams. In his 32 Thoughts blog, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Nashville Predators were “one of the teams interested” in Kessel at the deadline. The Predators are solidly entrenched as the Western Conference’s top wild card team, and the addition of Kessel would have definitely boosted their attack down the stretch. In our trade deadline primer, we listed the need for additional scoring help as one of the major needs for the Predators heading into the deadline, and it seems that GM David Poile may have agreed given his interest in Kessel. But seeing that Nashville’s powerplay currently ranks 7th in the NHL at 24.2% and Kessel is considered a powerplay specialist at this point in his career, it makes sense that he may not have been an absolute must-have for the team, which could be why the Predators did not ultimately end up with Kessel on their roster, despite their league-leading amount of deadline cap space.

Nashville Predators Sign Spencer Stastney

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The Nashville Predators have added another defenseman to the pipeline, signing Spencer Stastney to his two-year entry-level contract. Stastney is coming off his senior season at Notre Dame and could have become an unrestricted free agent later this summer. The contract will start in 2022-23.

A product of the USNTDP, Stastney was selected 131st overall in 2018, before going to Notre Dame for four seasons. That draft may seem like a decade ago for Predators fans, especially because they didn’t have any picks in the top three rounds and haven’t received a single game of NHL action from any of their four selections.

The 22-year-old Stastney will try to change that in the future, though he still has some work to do before stepping into the Predators lineup. The undersized defenseman is certainly going to have to fight for his opportunity too, as Nashville still has quite a few names signed for next season. In fact, there are now already 11 defensemen signed before restricted free agents are even taken into consideration, meaning it will be a battle to climb the depth chart.

Taylor Hall Avoids Suspension, Earns Fine

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The Boston Bruins will not be losing Taylor Hall for any length of time after his punch on Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin last night. Though Lyubushkin left the game with an injury and did not return, Hall has been issued a $5,000 fine–the maximum amount under the current CBA–instead of any further supplementary discipline. Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators won’t lose star rookie Tanner Jeannot either, as he was given a $2,000 fine for kneeing Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.

Hall was retaliating for a hit from Lybushkin that some considered dangerous, though it did not draw a penalty from officials. The Bruins forward would score later in the game to make it 6-4, but ultimately end up losing the game as Toronto held on with just four healthy defensemen.

It’s Lyubushkin’s health that will be the biggest concern for Maple Leafs fans, as the team doesn’t have a ton of depth on the right side. Given that Justin Holl also exited with a scary-looking head injury after taking a puck to the back of the helmet, the team could be forced to play several names on their off-side, or perhaps give a short opportunity to some young prospects.

For Jeannot, the incident came in the corner as he tried to get a piece of Tkachuk and missed, extending his leg in a dangerous manner instead. It barely slowed down the Senators’ captain though, who played another seven shifts after the third-period knee.

Matt Benning Activated Off Injured Reserve

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The Nashville Predators announced this afternoon that the team activated defenseman Matt Benning off injured reserve. Benning has been listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury for almost two weeks now, last playing in the team’s March 13th win against Minnesota. In his second season in Nashville, Benning has tallied 10 assists in 53 games and is again providing solid defensive depth at the bottom of the lineup. The team’s defensive depth is being stretched thin with injuries to both Mark Borowiecki and Dante Fabbro, so his return to the lineup carries some extra importance as the Predators look to lock down a playoff spot as the season winds to a close.

Filip Forsberg Has More Negotiating Leverage Now

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  • With the Predators opting not to trade Filip Forsberg at the trade deadline, Gentry Estes of The Tennessean suggests that Nashville has no real choice but to hand the winger the money he’s seeking to sign a long-term extension. With their last chance to trade him for any value now gone (a negotiating rights trade wouldn’t bring back much), the scribe posits that Forsberg could easily up his asking price with the team no longer having a lot of leverage in discussions.  Of course, Forsberg’s play in itself is only making that price go higher as he has 36 goals and 28 assists in 52 games this season; he’s the leading goal-getter among pending unrestricted free agents.

Mark Borowiecki Out Week-To-Week

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Just as he was getting healthy again, another injury has sidelined Nashville Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki. The team announced that he won’t be in the lineup tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights and that he’s week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

Borowiecki returned to the lineup on March 21st against Anaheim after missing over two weeks with a lower-body injury. However, he suffered a second injury the following night against Los Angeles, limiting him to just eight shifts and 5:53 of ice time in that contest.

With Borowiecki out of the lineup, expect the hulking Ben Harpur to draw back into the lineup. He’s only gotten 18 NHL games this season, but he has some experience in the Nashville organization now and his size is an asset.

Now, Nashville hopes Borowiecki, a vocal presence in the locker room, can get healthy for the playoffs. ’Boro Cop’ has two assists in 44 games this season and signed an extension last month to remain with the team through 2022-23. The team is also dealing with injuries to Matt Benning and Dante Fabbro on defense as their depth on the back end thins at the worst possible time.

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