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Snapshots: Kings, Mukhamadullin, Karlsson, Palat

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The Los Angeles Kings will start the season with some cap juggling, per John Hoven with LA’s Mayors Manor. Hoven shares that the team will begin the year with depth forward Andre Lee on the roster, in an effort to reach cap compliance while they sort out injuries to Drew Doughty and Arthur Kaliyev. Both players could be candidates for long-term injured reserve, though that’d be a last resort as the team considers the juxtaposition of cap versus salary. Making matters even more complicated in Los Angeles’ preference to carry eight defenders, including summer signee Caleb Jones, who’s making his return to the NHL after splitting time between the major and minor leagues last year.

The Kings will have a complicated path to walk. They’re entering the year with just $546.67K in cap space, hardly enough to handle the day-to-day logistics of running a team. That’s largely thanks to their summer acquisition of goaltender Darcy Kuemper, and Quinton Byfield’s five-year extension – two moves that collectively cost the Kings $11.5MM in space. Both players will serve pivotal roles for the lineup in the early going, especially as the team prepares for an extended period without top-defender Doughty.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Top San Jose Sharks prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin has finally made his way into the team’s camp practices, shares Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, after a lower-body injury held him out of all of the team’s rookie camp and training camp to this point. Mukhamadullin was expected to be one of the top young Sharks pushing for the roster this fall, though new head coach Ryan Warsofsky acknowledged that the injury puts him a step behind. Mukhamadullin made his NHL debut last season, recording one assist in three games to go with his 34 points in 55 AHL games. He’ll be among the many young players fighting for NHL ice time when he has healthy legs back under him.
  • Star Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson is expected to be ready for the team’s season opener after missing much of the preseason with an upper-body injury, shares the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Matt Vensel. Karlsson added that the season opener has always been his target, and that his recovery briefly slowed down in the middle of camp to, “let a few things settle down.” The future Hall-of-Fame candidate is set to enter his 16th NHL season, coming off yet another season of double-digit goals and over-50 points. He’ll look to return to those heights once again, with head coach Mike Sullivan already confirming that he’ll be a fixture of the team’s power-play, per Tribune-Review Sports’ Seth Rorabaugh.
  • New Jersey Devils forward Ondrej Palat missed the team’s second game of the season to attend to the birth of his second child. He is expected to rejoin the team when they return to North America. Palat appeared in nearly 14 minutes of New Jersey’s season opener in his native Czechia, recording one shot, one block, and two hits. He’s continued to find ways to be productive late into his career, netting 11 goals and 31 points in 71 games last season. Palat will continue to serve as a winger New Jersey can lean on as they look to continue their bout of early success.

Blue Jackets Sign Kevin Labanc

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With Columbus dealing with several injuries up front, GM Don Waddell had indicated they wanted to add some forward depth.  They signed James van Riemsdyk soon after and they’ve now landed another veteran winger as well.  The Blue Jackets announced that they have signed winger Kevin Labanc to a one-year, one-way contract worth $775K.  Waddell released the following statement on the move:

Kevin Labanc has been a productive offensive player in this league for several years. He has an excellent shot and playmaking ability and given his character we believe he will fit in very well with our group.

The 28-year-old spent his first seven NHL seasons in San Jose with varying degrees of success.  He put up 40 points in his sophomore year, besting that by 16 the following season, suggesting that he was set to become a key long-term contributor for the Sharks.

But things largely went off the rails after that.  After signing a four-year, $18.9MM contract in 2020, Labanc’s production took a turn in the wrong direction as he only reached the 30-point mark once, that coming in 2022-23 when he had 33 in 72 games.  Last season, he was a frequent healthy scratch, collecting just two goals and seven assists in 49 games when he was in the lineup.

Those struggles resulted in Labanc having to settle for a PTO agreement with the Devils heading into training camp.  The move gave him a chance to showcase himself while allowing New Jersey to come closer to meeting the veteran minimum quota for preseason games with their main squad in Czechia as part of the Global Series.

The move worked out quite well for Labanc as he leads all players in preseason scoring with six goals in four games and is coming off a hat-trick in his most recent outing.  Now, he was able to use that to land a guaranteed contract, albeit not with New Jersey, who quietly removed him from their training camp roster earlier today.  Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that the Devils offered Labanc the same contract but told him he’d need to start the season in the minors for salary cap purposes, something that won’t be the case for him with the Blue Jackets.

Columbus is currently without winger Dmitri Voronkov who was placed on IR yesterday while Boone Jenner and Justin Danforth are also expected to land on injured reserve before the start of the season.  That should open up a spot for Labanc to slot in somewhere in their middle six once the regular season gets underway next week.  With more replacements needed, it’s possible that the Blue Jackets will ultimately open the season above the Lower Limit despite getting an exemption from the league about having to be there on opening night.

Max Miller of The Hockey News was the first to report the signing.

Waiver Wire: 10/4/24

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman all 17 players on waivers yesterday have cleared. There are again several players to hit the wire today as reported by Friedman:

Anaheim Ducks

F Jansen Harkins

Boston Bruins

G Michael DiPietro
F Vinni Lettieri
D Jordan Oesterle

Florida Panthers

F William Lockwood

Los Angeles Kings

F Taylor Ward

New Jersey Devils

F Justin Dowling
F Mike Hardman
F Samuel Laberge
F Nathan Légaré
F Maxwell Willman

Philadelphia Flyers

F Olle Lycksell
F Anthony Richard

Pittsburgh Penguins

F Emil Bemström
D Nate Clurman
F Jonathan Gruden
F Joona Koppanen
D Filip Král
D John Ludvig
F Samuel Poulin

Tampa Bay Lightning

G Matt Tomkins

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Alex Steeves

Washington Capitals

D Ethan Bear
F Luke Philp
F Michael Sgarbossa

Metropolitan Notes: Karlsson, Rust, Keefe, Harrold, Voronkov

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Penguins star defender Erik Karlsson has shed his non-contact jersey as he aims to return from an upper-body injury by the season opener, per the team. He hasn’t seen any preseason action, but with five days still to go until their home opener against the Rangers, it seems like he won’t miss any regular season action. He hasn’t been ruled out for tonight’s exhibition game against the Blue Jackets, either, but with how much time he’s missed in camp, he should be considered doubtful at best.

Karlsson only re-joined practice yesterday after a few days of skating on his own. Evidently, it was a successful session, and he’s trending in the right direction quickly – after all, he only carried a non-contact designation for one day. It still wasn’t an incredibly rigorous practice, though, as head coach Mike Sullivan points out, and he wasn’t routinely taking contact. The 34-year-old is looking to get his second season in Pittsburgh off on the right foot after posting 56 points in 82 games last year, his lowest per-game production since the 2020-21 campaign.

It’s not all good news on the injury front for the Pens, though. Winger Bryan Rust remains day-to-day with an undisclosed injury after previously missing practice for what the team termed maintenance reasons. The 32-year-old is expected to once again start the season on Sidney Crosby’s line after scoring a career-high 28 goals in 66 games last season.

Elsewhere in the Metro:

  • Sheldon Keefe’s move to the Devils after being fired by the Maple Leafs has him primed to win his first Jack Adams Award for coach of the year, as voted by NHL.com writers. He walks into a pretty favorable situation with New Jersey primed to rebound to a playoff-caliber record with No. 1 defender Dougie Hamilton at full health and their goaltending situation hopefully addressed with the offseason pickup of 2022 Vezina finalist Jacob Markström from the Flames.
  • The Hurricanes have promoted Peter Harrold to their director of player development, the team announced. The 41-year-old had been with Carolina since 2020 as a development and skills coach, working with the team’s defenders. Harrold was a defenseman himself, skating in 274 NHL games in parts of nine seasons for the Devils and Kings from 2006 to 2015.
  • Blue Jackets winger Dmitri Voronkov is still being evaluated after leaving last night’s loss to the Penguins with an upper-body injury, relays The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. For now, his availability for the start of the regular season appears to be thrust into doubt. The 24-year-old finished 11th in Calder Trophy voting last year after coming over from his native Russia, finishing fifth on the Jackets in scoring with 34 points (18 G, 16 A) in 75 games.

Training Camp Cuts: 10/4/24

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A handful of teams still have some significant cuts to make to their roster before getting down to the final few moves. With the NHL’s regular season getting an early start today with the Global Series in Prague, we should see those happening either Friday or over the weekend. As always, here’s all of Friday’s cuts:

Last updated 2:03 p.m.

Anaheim Ducks (per team announcement)

F Sam Colangelo (to AHL San Diego)
F Nathan Gaucher (to AHL San Diego)
F Nikita Nesterenko (to AHL San Diego)
F Beckett Sennecke (to OHL Oshawa)
F Jansen Harkins (to AHL San Diego, pending waivers)
D Gustav Lindstrom (released from PTO)
D Mark Pysyk (released from PTO)

Calgary Flames (per team announcement)

F Walker Duehr (to AHL Calgary)
F Dryden Hunt (to AHL Calgary)
D Jarred Tinordi (to AHL Calgary)

Florida Panthers (per team announcement)

F Rasmus Asplund (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
D Tobias Björnfot (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
G Cooper Black (to AHL Charlotte)
F Zac Dalpe (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
F Josh Davies (to AHL Charlotte)
D Mikulas Hovorka (to AHL Charlotte)
D Jaycob Megna (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
F Kai Schwindt (to AHL Charlotte)

Nashville Predators (per team announcement)

D Nick Blankenburg (to AHL Milwaukee)

New Jersey Devils (per team announcement)

G Jeremy Brodeur (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
D Mikaël Diotte (to AHL Utica)
F Justin Dowling (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
F Filip Engarås (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
F Joseph Gambardella (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
F Max Graham (to WHL Kelowna)
F Brian Halonen (to AHL Utica)
F Mike Hardman (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
F Samuel Laberge (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
F Nathan Légaré (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
D Will MacKinnon (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
F Jack Malone (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
F Matyáš Melosvký (to QMJHL Baie-Comeau)
D Daniil Misyul (to AHL Utica)
F Xavier Parent (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
G Isaac Poulter (to AHL Utica)
F Ryan Schmelzer (to AHL Utica)
F Cam Squires (to QMJHL Cape Breton)
F Chase Stillman (to AHL Utica)
D Jackson van de Leest (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
F Maxwell Willman (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)

Ottawa Senators (per team announcement)

G Mads Søgaard (to AHL Belleville)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team announcement)

F Rodrigo Abols (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Emil Andrae (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Denver Barkey (to OHL London)
D Oliver Bonk (to OHL London)
F Oskar Eklind (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Adam Ginning (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Helge Grans (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
G Aleksei Kolosov (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Olle Lycksell (to AHL Lehigh Valley, pending waivers)
F Cooper Marody (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Hunter McDonald (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
G Calvin Petersen (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Anthony Richard (to AHL Lehigh Valley, pending waivers)
F Samu Tuomaala (to AHL Lehigh Valley)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)

F Corey Andonovski (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Tristan Broz (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Ville Koivunen (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
D Owen Pickering (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)

San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)

G Yaroslav Askarov (to AHL San Jose)

Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)

D Cale Fleury (to AHL Coachella Valley)

Toronto Maple Leafs (per team announcement)

G Artur Akhtyamov (to AHL Toronto)
F Joseph Blandisi (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Nikita Grebenkin (to AHL Toronto)
F Roni Hirvonen (to AHL Toronto)
D Mikko Kokkonen (to AHL Toronto)
D Nicolas Mattinen (to AHL Toronto)
D Topi Niemelä (to AHL Toronto)
F Alexander Nylander (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Cédric Paré (to AHL Toronto)
D Matteo Pietroniro (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Jacob Quillan (to AHL Toronto)
F Logan Shaw (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Alex Steeves (to AHL Toronto, pending waivers)
F Ryan Tverberg (to AHL Toronto)
D Cade Webber (to AHL Toronto)

Winnipeg Jets (per team announcement)

F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (to AHL Manitoba)
D Simon Lundmark (to AHL Manitoba)
F Mason Shaw (to AHL Manitoba)
F Dominic Toninato (to AHL Manitoba)

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.

Luke Hughes Recovering Slower Than Expected From Shoulder Injury

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Highly-touted Devils sophomore defenseman Luke Hughes is recovering slower than expected from his offseason shoulder injury and has been given a new five-to-seven-week timeline from today for his return, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. The Devils initially announced on Sep. 12 that he was expected to miss six to eight weeks with the injury, which doesn’t require surgery, but he’ll no longer be making his season debut in that window.

Still just 21 years old, Hughes made his NHL debut at the tail end of 2022-23 and immediately looked like he belonged with a goal and an assist in a pair of contests. He kept up the momentum in his rookie season last year, posting 38 assists and 47 points in 82 games to tie the Wild’s Brock Faber for the scoring lead among first-year defensemen. He’s considered one of the best U-23 defensemen in the game, and while his -25 rating shows he has room for improvement away from the puck, his possession metrics were far from marking him as a true defensive liability.

Hughes was initially expected to return to action for the Devils in late October or early November, missing the first 10 to 13 games of New Jersey’s regular season. His new timeline puts his return between Nov. 6 and Nov. 20, meaning he could miss up to a quarter of the Devils’ regular-season schedule.

His absence provides a major opportunity for former University of Michigan teammate Seamus Casey, who’s on track to make the opening night roster and his NHL debut when the Devils open their regular season against the Sabres in Prague later this week. The 20-year-old has been skating in a third-pairing role alongside Simon Nemec after leading Wolverines defenders in scoring last year with 45 points in 40 NCAA games. The Devils will also be without Brett Pesce to begin the season while recovering from surgery to repair a fractured fibula back in May, leaving them without two likely top-four pieces for the beginning stretch.

Topias Vilén Out 3-4 Weeks With Injury

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The New York Rangers have announced that forward Artemi Panarin will not return to their preseason game tonight against the Devils due to a lower-body injury. Panarin suffered a similar fate last week in the Rangers second preseason game against the Islanders when he also left due to a lower-body injury. Panarin returned after missing a practice day and told the media he had left that game to err on the side of caution.

The extent of Panarin’s injury remains in question as the Rangers’ tweets have been vague thus far. Given the fact that it is just preseason, the Rangers could be exercising an abundance of caution with their superstar. Panarin has been relatively durable since joining New York, missing just seven games in the past three seasons. The 32-year-old finished fourth in NHL scoring last season with 49 goals and 71 assists in 82 games.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Rob Rossi of The Athletic reports that Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson took a positive step today and skated for the first time in almost a week. Karlsson has missed all of Penguins training camp after suffering an apparent upper-body injury and took time away from the ice which created a murky picture around his injury. Today, the mood seemed more optimistic after Karlsson’s solo skate, and it seems possible that Karlsson could get back into the Penguins lineup before they start the regular season on October 9th against the Rangers.
  • New Jersey Devils defenseman Topias Vilén suffered an upper-body injury last night in a preseason game against the New York Rangers and will miss the next 3-4 weeks (as per New Jersey Devils reporter Catherine Bogart). The 21-year-old joins a growing list of Devils defensemen who are dealing with injuries alongside Luke Hughes, Brett Pesce, and Santeri Hatakka. The Finnish defender was unlikely to start the season in the NHL, but with the injury, he will start the AHL season a few weeks late.

Training Camp Cuts: 10/1/24

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The calendar has flipped to October, which means we’re one week away from opening night. Most teams now have somewhere between 10 and 15 cuts to make before reaching their final opening night rosters. That means most sweeping cuts have already been made, and we’ll start to see more precise roster moves involving more notable names in the coming days. We’ll continue keeping tabs on all of Tuesday’s cuts in this article.

Last updated 3:18 p.m.

Anaheim Ducks (per team release)

D Drew Helleson (to AHL San Diego)
F Carson Meyer (to AHL San Diego, pending waivers)
F Jan Mysak (to AHL San Diego)
F Yegor Sidorov (to AHL San Diego)

Buffalo Sabres (per team announcement)

F Ty Cheveldayoff (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
F Riley Fiddler-Schultz (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
F Konsta Helenius (to AHL Rochester)
G Michael Houser (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
D Noah Laaouan (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
F Aleksandr Kisakov (to AHL Rochester)
D Vsevolod Komarov (to AHL Rochester)
D Zach Metsa (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
F Olivier Nadeau (to AHL Rochester)
F Viktor Neuchev (to AHL Rochester)
D Nikita Novikov (to AHL Rochester)
F Noah Östlund (to AHL Rochester)
D Ethan Prow (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
G Scott Ratzlaff (to WHL Seattle)
F Isak Rosen (to AHL Rochester)
F Graham Slaggert (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
D Peter Tischke (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
F Tyler Tullio (to AHL Rochester)
F Anton Wahlberg (to AHL Rochester)
F Brendan Warren (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)

Calgary Flames (per team release)

D Artem Grushnikov (to AHL Calgary)
G Waltteri Ignatjew (to AHL Calgary)
D Yan Kuznetsov (to AHL Calgary)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Hunter McKown (to AHL Cleveland)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

D Beau Akey (to OHL Barrie)
G Collin Delia (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
D Ben Gleason (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F James Hamblin (to AHL Bakersfield)
D Philip Kemp (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F Lane Pederson (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)

Florida Panthers (per team release)

F Ryan McAllister (to AHL Charlotte)
F Oliver Okuliar (to AHL Charlotte)
F Wilmer Skoog (to AHL Charlotte)

Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)

F Samuel Helenius (to AHL Ontario)
F Jeff Malott (to AHL Ontario)
G Dryden McKay (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
D Jacob Moverare (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
D John Parker-Jones (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)

Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)

F Reese Johnson (to AHL Iowa, pending waivers)

New Jersey Devils (per team release)

G Michael Hutchinson (released from PTO)

New York Rangers (per team release)

D Madison Bowey (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
F Jaroslav Chmelar (to AHL Hartford)
F Adam Erne (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
D Blake Hillman (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
F Blade Jenkins (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
F Bryce McConnell-Barker (to AHL Hartford)
F Dylan Roobroeck (to AHL Hartford)
F Nate Sucese (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
F Adam Sýkora (to AHL Hartford)

Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)

F Brandon Biro (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)
F Max McCormick (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)
F Jacob Melanson (to AHL Coachella Valley)
F Ben Meyers (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)
D Gustav Olofsson (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)
D Ville Ottavainen (to AHL Coachella Valley)
F Mitchell Stephens (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)
F Eduard Sale (to AHL Coachella Valley)
G Ales Stezka (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)

Vancouver Canucks (per team announcement)

F Phillip Di Giuseppe (to AHL Abbotsford, pending waivers)
D Christian Felton (to AHL Abbotsford)
F Linus Karlsson (to AHL Abbotsford)
D Kirill Kudryavtsev (to AHL Abbotsford)
F Jonathan Lekkerimäki (to AHL Abbotsford)
D Cole McWard (to AHL Abbotsford)
F Ty Mueller (to AHL Abbotsford)
G Jiří Patera (to AHL Abbotsford, pending waivers)
D Elias Pettersson (to AHL Abbotsford)
F Max Sasson (to AHL Abbotsford)
F Nathan Smith (to AHL Abbotsford, pending waivers)
G Nikita Tolopilo (to AHL Abbotsford)
D Christian Wolanin (to AHL Abbotsford, pending waivers)

Washington Capitals (per team announcement)

F Terik Parascak (to WHL Prince George)

Metropolitan Notes: Grzelcyk, Roslovic, Smith, Pesce

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Matt Grzelcyk made a name for himself in the NHL while serving as Charlie McAvoy’s usual defense partner with the Bruins. The 30-year-old had great success in that role until last season, when his offensive production dipped to 11 points in 63 games, and his possession numbers were below average since the 2018-19 campaign.

Now looking to rediscover himself with the Penguins after inking a one-year, $2.75MM deal as an unrestricted free agent, Grzelcyk may get a similar top-pairing opportunity to open the season alongside Kris Letang, writes the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh. The Massachusetts native has spent most of camp alongside the two-time Stanley Cup champ, who he called “such a great player.”

“I’m just trying to be a sponge around him,” Grzelcyk continued. “He has a ton of knowledge to give about the game and what he would expect from his partner. Just trying to learn here. And start to build chemistry.”

While cast as a stay-at-home partner for a more offensively well-rounded talent, Grzelcyk does have decent puck-moving skills in his own right. That was a common theme among the Penguins’ offseason additions, especially on defense, which also included former Islander Sebastian Aho.

There’s more from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Another free-agent signing looking to get a crack in a top-line complementary role is Jack Roslovic, who’s settling in on the Hurricanes’ first line alongside Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, relays The Athletic’s Cory Lavalette. If it sticks, it would be quite the step up in responsibility for Roslovic, who’s been a middle-six fixture around the league for the past few seasons but has never held down a consistent top-line role. The 27-year-old signed a one-year, $2.75MM pact in Carolina in early July, and he’ll likely be used in different situations throughout the season as the Canes look to replace the offense lost by the departures of Jake Guentzel, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Stefan Noesen, and Teuvo Teräväinen.
  • The Athletic’s Arthur Staple is optimistic about Reilly Smith’s chances of clicking with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad as the Rangers’ top-line right wing. That’s been a revolving door for the past few years, with the aforementioned Roslovic getting a post-deadline crack at it last season. But Smith, 33, has a long history of success in complementary top-six roles – long enough to quell concerns about his underwhelming 13-goal, 40-point season with the Penguins last year, Staple opines.
  • The Devils will kick off their regular season without top offseason addition Brett Pesce. The defender didn’t make the trip to Prague for New Jersey’s Global Series games against the Sabres, the team’s Amanda Stein confirms. Pesce, 29, skated Friday for the first time in camp but is still listed as week-to-week while recovering from a fibula fracture he sustained in April while with the Hurricanes. He had 13 points and a +10 rating in 70 games with Carolina last year and signed a six-year, $33MM deal to serve as the Devils’ No. 2 right-shot option on defense behind Dougie Hamilton in free agency.

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