Maple Leafs Place John Klingberg On LTIR, Recall Alex Steeves
The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed defenseman John Klingberg on long-term injured reserve and recalled forward Alex Steeves from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Klingberg’s LTIR assignment has been much anticipated, as the defender’s undisclosed injury grew from a small concern, to something that would hold him out of all action this week, to an LTIR designation.
Klingberg is in his first season with the Leafs, signing a one-year, $4.2MM contract with the team on July 1st. He’s performed modestly in his first 14 games with the club, netting five points, eight penalty minutes, and a -7.
Klingberg has moved around a lot in recent years, after spending the first eight years of his career with the Dallas Stars. He signed a one-year, $7MM contract with the Anaheim Ducks ahead of last season and appeared in 50 games with the club, netting 24 points and a -28. Anaheim didn’t stick out the contract, though, dealing him to the Minnesota Wild at last year’s Trade Deadline. Klingberg went on to play in 17 games and record nine points, in Minnesota – adding four points in four playoff games as well.
With the veteran defender on IR, Toronto brings up the Marlies’ leading scorer in Steeves. The 23-year-old forward has 18 points in 14 AHL games this season, a tally that ties him for third in the league in points. Steeves has played three NHL games in each of the last two seasons, totaling one point across the matchups.
Steeves provides depth for Calle Jarnkrok, who is slated to be a game-time decision for the team’s Friday matchup. Jarnkrok is dealing with a lower-body injury after taking an Auston Matthews shot to the leg.
Lightning Waive Matt Tomkins, Prepared To Activate Andrei Vasilevskiy
11/24: CapFriendly is reporting that Tomkins has successfully cleared waivers and has been assigned to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. Also, the Lightning will activate Vasilevskiy from LTIR, which effectively eliminates all salary cap space for the Lightning for the 2023-24 season.
11/23: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed goaltender Matt Tomkins on waivers, which is the last logistical step needed to make room for Andrei Vasilevskiy‘s return. Vasilevskiy participated in team practices last week and head coach Jon Cooper said there was a “really good chance” that he plays on the team’s upcoming three-game road trip.
This is huge news, as the 9-6-5 Lightning – who currently sit in 10th-place league-wide – will now add a former Vezina Trophy winner back into their lineup. Vasilevskiy has been no short of tremendous in the NHL, recording a save percentage higher than .910 in all nine seasons of his career. This includes the .915 he set in 60 games last season. To add to it, only Juuse Saros and Connor Hellebuyck appeared in more games for their squads between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, speaking to the reliability that Vasilevskiy has added in recent years.
Tomkins managed to slot into three NHL games in Vasilevskiy’s absence, going 1-2-0 and recording a .889 save percentage. They were the first three NHL games for the former seventh-round pick, who has had a journeyman career since hearing his name in the 2012 NHL Draft. Tomkins was drafted out of the AJHL and played four years at The Ohio State University after his juniors career. He turned pro in the 2017-18 season and bounced between the ECHL and AHL, before moving to the SHL, Sweden’s top league, for the last two years. Tomkins performed admirably in the SHL, recording a .908 in 33 games in his first season in the league and a .911 in 32 games last year.
With teams like the Edmonton Oilers, and the injury-prone Carolina Hurricanes, currently facing questions about their goaltenders, there’s no guaranteeing that Tomkins will make it to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.
Taylor Hall Out For The Season Due To Knee Surgery
The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that forward Taylor Hall will miss the rest of the season, as he will undergo surgery on his right knee. The Blackhawks have also announced that forward Andreas Athanasiou has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 9th. In a corresponding move, the team recalled forwards Cole Guttman and Joey Anderson from their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.
Hall, who is under contract for another season at a $6MM cap hit, has not played since the team’s November 19th loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Hall’s knee injury likely comes from an ugly collision on the boards that he had with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mikey Eyssimont. He left the ice immediately after favoring one leg, and although there is no official confirmation it appears that the collision and the injury it caused is what has ended Hall’s season.
Although it is certain now that Hall will not return to the ice for Chicago this season, his absence is far from assured for next season.
With another year left on his contract, Hall still has a future with the Blackhawks and could very well return to game action with the team next season.
But even though Chicago does not figure to be a playoff contender this season, this loss is still a major one for the Blackhawks and a significant setback for Hall.
From Hall’s perspective, this injury costs him a year he would have likely spent as one of his team’s most heavily used forwards. After a few years spent playing a more secondary role on the Boston Bruins, Hall was poised to be a true offensive centerpiece of this Blackhawks team next to rookie sensation Connor Bedard.
Hall is now quite a bit removed from his Hart Trophy-winning 93-point campaign, so this year represented what may have been his best chance since he was on the Devils at posting high point totals.
He hadn’t posted elite numbers so far in his short time with Chicago, scoring four points in 10 games, but there was hope that with injury issues behind him and some more time to build chemistry with players such as Bedard, the points would follow.
Now, Hall won’t get that chance for the rest of the season, and it’s fair to question how ready he’ll be to hit the ground running whenever he’s fully healed due to the fact that he’ll have gone quite a few months without playing.
In addition to being a major setback for Hall, this injury is unfortunate news for the Blackhawks as well. The team acquired Hall with the hopes that he’d serve as a key asset to Bedard, the kind of veteran player who was once a highly-touted top prospect and could help guide Bedard as the 2023 top pick navigates the trials and tribulations of his rookie year.
While Hall will still be able to be around the team off the ice, the on-ice component of the Bedard-Hall connection has now been at least temporarily severed.
Although Guttman and Anderson would undoubtedly prefer to be recalled under different circumstances, the injuries that hit Athanasiou and Hall provide them with a valuable opportunity at the NHL level.
Guttman, 24, began the season with the Blackhawks but was quickly sent down after consecutive losses. He’s since scored nine points in 12 AHL games, and this recall will give him another chance to translate his impressive NCAA and AHL scoring numbers to the NHL.
Anderson, 25, has not had the chance to play in the NHL this season. The former University of Minnesota-Duluth forward got into 24 NHL games last season but only managed six points. He’s been the IceHogs’ top scorer so far this year with 16 points in 14 games, and now this recall will give him the chance to take a meaningful step forward at the NHL level that he so far has been unable to do on a consistent basis.
But while these injuries provide opportunities to players on the NHL-AHL bubble, all parties involved (including those players) would likely prefer if Hall and Athanasiou were healthy. That’s unfortunately not the case right now, and the Blackhawks will have to move forward with two key scoring options out of commission.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Damon Severson Out 6 Weeks With Oblique Injury
Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson sustained an oblique injury in Sunday’s game against the Flyers and is set to miss approximately six weeks, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a release. Severson has not been placed on IR, but nevertheless, the team reassigned forward Trey Fix-Wolansky to AHL Cleveland in a corresponding transaction.
This is the second major injury for the Blue Jackets in the early going of 2023-24, as Severson joins forward Jack Roslovic (ankle) on the injured list. Both were given a six-week recovery timeline from their initial injuries. It’s still a far cry from the injuries that decimated Columbus last season, especially among their defense corps.
Severson sustained the oblique injury in a failed dive attempt to keep the puck in the offensive zone, which led to a shorthanded goal by the Flyers’ Ryan Poehling. Set to be an unrestricted free agent last summer, the Blue Jackets acquired Severson in a sign-and-trade with the Devils that saw the 29-year-old earn an eight-year, $50MM deal.
He was off to a decent start in Columbus, recording eight points through 19 games, averaging nearly 21 minutes per game and leading Blue Jackets defenders with a +1 rating. He’d posted an incredibly strong relative Corsi share of 5.6%, meaning the Blue Jackets’ already poor possession stats are likely to dip even further without Severson in the lineup.
In a small silver lining, Severson’s absence should provide more opportunity for a pair of young right-shot defenders to get some more ice time from now until the New Year. 23-year-old Adam Boqvist and 19-year-old David Jiříček moved up to the first and second pairings, respectively, in practice today, according to Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. Both have averaged under 14 minutes per game, and appearances have been limited – especially for Boqvist, who’s been a scratch in 14 out of 19 games for Columbus this season.
Meanwhile, Fix-Wolansky heads back to the minors after making just one appearance during his recall, logging zeros across the scoresheet in 12:32 of ice time against the Coyotes last Thursday. He’d been a healthy scratch in two straight contests. The diminutive winger is off to a scorching hot start in the minors, leading the team with four goals, 12 assists and 16 points through 11 games.
Panthers Activate Aaron Ekblad, Brandon Montour; Place Josh Mahura On IR
The Panthers have activated defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour off LTIR ahead of tonight’s game against the Ducks, Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now relays.
Additionally, defenseman Josh Mahura left last night’s game against the Kings with a lower-body injury after six shifts and did not return. Now, the NHL’s media site shows that Mahura has been placed on IR and will be out of the lineup for at least seven days, as David Dwork of Local 10 Miami and The Hockey News relays.
Forward Jonah Gadjovich is also available to play for the Panthers after his conditioning loan with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers ended today, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now says. The moves result in the Panthers having a cap-compliant 23-man roster with less than $100K in cap space (CapFriendly later listed this figure as less than $500K).
Ekblad and Montour were unavailable for the beginning of the season after undergoing off-season shoulder surgeries to address injuries sustained in the Panthers’ run to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. They are now eligible to play in tonight’s contest and are expected to make their season debuts in top-four roles. Ekblad is expected to suit up alongside Gustav Forsling, who’s logged a +11 rating and is averaging nearly 24 minutes per game. Montour, meanwhile, will comprise the second pairing with offseason addition Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who seems to have new life breathed into his game and leads Panthers defensemen with ten points in 16 games.
To make room for Ekblad and Montour in the lineup, Latvian defender Uvis Balinskis will be a healthy scratch, in addition to Mahura landing on IR. Balinskis, an undrafted free agent in his first NHL season, has appeared in 14 of 16 games for the Panthers this season, notching two points and a +2 rating while averaging 13:58 per game. The team now has eight defensemen on the active roster, with Mike Reilly still hanging around the team as an oft-scratch. Offseason signings Dmitry Kulikov and Niko Mikkola, who have both averaged over 19 minutes per game this season in the absence of Ekblad and Montour, will form a shutdown third pairing with the Panthers’ defense now at near total health.
The return of the Panthers’ top two defensemen provides a boon to a team that’s treaded well in their absence, sitting second in the Atlantic Division with a 10-5-1 record. Their success is largely due to the remarkable play of their first line, comprised of captain Aleksander Barkov with Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart on his flank. Reinhart leads all Panthers in scoring and sits near the top of the league leaderboard with 13 goals and 24 points, while Rodrigues has fit in nicely with three goals and 13 points in 16 games after signing a four-year, $12MM deal in free agency last summer.
Montour is entering the final season of a three-year contract carrying a $3.5MM cap hit, one that proved to be an immense bargain last season. The 29-year-old right-shot D had one of the most notable breakout campaigns of any player in the league, recording a career-high 16 goals, 57 assists and 73 points in 80 games and finished 12th in Norris Trophy voting. Ekblad remains under contract through 2024-25 and logged over 23 minutes per night for a third consecutive season in 2022-23.
It’s a tough break for Mahura, who has seen limited ice time this season and now faces an uphill battle for a roster spot when he returns from injury. The 25-year-old had five assists and a -2 rating, playing in all 16 games, but had failed to see more than 15 minutes of ice in any single game this year. A 2016 third-round pick of the Ducks, Mahura is signed to a one-year, $925K deal and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of the season.
Rangers Not Interested In Signing Patrick Kane
The New York Rangers are not interested in bringing back free-agent winger Patrick Kane for a continued stint with the team, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported late Tuesday night. While Chris Johnston of TSN reported last week that the Rangers were one of four Eastern Conference teams interested in the three-time Stanley Cup champion, and Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff said the Rangers had interest in Kane last month, Brooks claims the Rangers “have never been in the mix” for the almost-35-year-old.
Salary cap considerations were always going to be a prohibiting factor in a potential Kane reunion in the Big Apple. Carrying a 20-man roster, plus factoring in the cap hits of the injured Filip Chytil and Adam Fox, the Rangers have less than $650K in projected cap space, which couldn’t even accommodate a league-minimum salary of $775K.
As Brooks points out, there’s also an extremely fair concern around Kane’s health post-hip-resurfacing surgery – a concern the Rangers witnessed first-hand last season after Kane’s post-deadline stint with the team was underwhelming. While whatever issue that was plaguing him has theoretically been fixed, no NHLer has returned to their previous level of effectiveness after undergoing the procedure.
There’s also something to be said about the long-awaited emergence of Alexis Lafrenière. New head coach Peter Laviolette has done what Rangers fans have clamored for since the team selected him first-overall in 2020 – move him to his off-wing in order to give him a role in the team’s top six. Playing on the right side of a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, Lafrenière ranks third on the team in goals with seven and has 11 points in 14 contests while averaging 16:32 per game.
His emergence has certainly eliminated a potential need (and ice time) for Kane in the Rangers lineup, something GM Chris Drury likely recognizes. Lafrenière is already out-pacing Kane’s stint with the Rangers last season – in 19 games, the longtime Blackhawk had five goals and 12 points while averaging 17:29 per game.
Kane has reportedly begun the process of meeting with teams as he prepares to sign a contract, which will likely be done within a week. As of now, the Florida Panthers, who would have salary cap concerns of their own to sort out, appear the frontrunner for his services, according to a report from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet on Monday.
Tage Thompson Listed As Week-To-Week
Sabres head coach Don Granato announced to reporters Wednesday that center Tage Thompson is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, via Joe Yerdon of Bleacher Report. Granato said Thompson, who left Tuesday’s loss to the Bruins on two different occasions with separate injuries, isn’t expected to miss more than two months.
The news is deeply concerning for the Sabres, who are now without their number-one center for the foreseeable future and already face an uphill climb to make the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Thompson skated just six shifts against the Bruins, sustaining an apparent foot injury early after opposing defenseman Charlie McAvoy‘s skate made incidental contact with the top of his left skate boot, causing a cut. He would return later in the contest but left again after a McAvoy shot appeared to hit him in the left wrist area. The latter is the injury sidelining him long-term.
Thompson, 26, had an All-Star-caliber season for the Sabres last year. His 47 goals ranked sixth in the league, while his 94 points ranked 15th, all while posting a Corsi share of 53.6% at even strength and earning a handful of third- and fourth-place Hart Trophy votes. Most importantly, he stayed healthy – appearing in 78 out of 82 games as the Sabres missed the playoffs by just one point.
This year hasn’t been quite as smooth for Thompson, who has six goals and a -5 rating through 16 contests. After taking 295 shots on goal last season, Thompson has struggled to find the net at times, recording just four shots on goal in three games leading up to Tuesday.
With the Sabres again struggling defensively and sitting seventh in the Atlantic Division with a 7-8-1 record, the timing of Thompson’s absence is far from ideal. The team will need to make up ground quickly here after a slow start to keep their hopes of ending their NHL-record 12-year playoff drought. Missing Thompson will certainly complicate that, even if he wasn’t quite at the level we’ve seen him perform at the past two seasons.
Thompson hasn’t been placed on long-term injured reserve yet, but he’s likely eligible as missing ten days and 24 games seems realistic given Granato’s phraseology. Doing so would free up a spot on the 23-man roster, which the Sabres will need to do in the coming days to activate netminder Eric Comrie from IR, who’s nearing recovery from a lower-body injury and will travel with the team on their upcoming three-game road swing, per Granato (via Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News).
Luckily, Granato also expects winger Alex Tuch to return to the lineup from a short-term upper-body injury before Friday’s game against the Jets, meaning at least the Sabres won’t be down two pieces of their top line. In terms of a direct replacement for Thompson, look for Dylan Cozens to slide up to first-line duties alongside team goals and points leader Jeff Skinner. The 22-year-old, like Thompson, has been off to a mildly disappointing start, registering eight points through 14 contests after registering 31 goals and 68 points last year.
Calgary Flames Reportedly “Open For Business” Regarding Potential Trades
To public knowledge, Calgary Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov is the only member of the team to request a trade. With the Flames 26th in the NHL with a 5-8-2 record, though, the club could very well end up trading quite a few more veterans this season than just Zadorov.
According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the Flames are “open for business” regarding potential trades. LeBrun writes that Calgary is “ready to shift gears” into more of a rebuild or re-tool direction, and that word has spread during the GM meetings in Toronto that “the Flames are willing to listen on most of their pending unrestricted free agents.” (subscription link)
The Flames have quite a few pending UFA’s of note, players who would likely be among the best players available during the 2024 trade deadline season. They’re players who are strong enough and valuable enough to potentially shift the balance of power in any division they are dealt to, meaning they could command the type of high prices in terms of asset cost that the Flames would likely be hoping would fuel a quick turnaround for the club.
Likely to be the top player on any list of players available from Calgary is pending UFA center Elias Lindholm.
The 28-year-old Swedish pivot has played like a true first-line center at times with the Flames, including a stellar 2021-22 campaign that saw him score 42 goals, 82 points, and finish second place in Selke Trophy voting.
Lindholm’s production has declined since Johnny Gaudreau‘s departure, just as the Flames have declined as a team.
But if placed in a situation where he has strong chemistry with his wingers, just as he did centering Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, it’s possible Lindholm could quickly find himself back in the conversation as one of the best two-way centers in hockey.
Centers with that kind of ability, pivots who could credibly call themselves first-line centers recently in their careers, are very rarely made available. When the St. Louis Blues traded Ryan O’Reilly last season, O’Reilly’s production was on a far steeper, more lasting decline and O’Reilly was further removed from his last point-per-game season. Yet O’Reilly, alongside bottom-sixer Noel Acciari, still netted the Maple Leafs’ first, second, and third-round picks alongside prospect Mikhail Abramov.
Although it’s obviously no guarantee, Lindholm’s overall profile merits at the very least a comparable trade package to what the Blues received for O’Reilly, though it’s fair to argue that Calgary deserves a little bit more.
Beyond just Lindholm, the Flames have even more pending UFA’s who are likely to attract attention on the trade market, especially on defense where just Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar are under long-term team control.
If a contending team is seeking a left-shot defenseman with two-way ability, there may not be a better player available than Noah Hanifin. The 26-year-old has averaged over 21 minutes per night in Calgary, and two years ago set a career-high with 48 points. He’s established himself as a legitimate top-pairing defenseman, if maybe not a true number-one blueliner.
Those players are extremely valuable and rarely made available, which would mean Hanifin draws a bidding war between defense-needy teams. As a result, it’s hard to see a scenario where Hanifin is traded and a first-round pick, at the very least, does not head to Calgary as part of the return. (Unless the Flames do not target draft picks, which appears unlikely but is of course a possibility)
If a contending team is looking for a right-shot blueliner with an exceptional track record of shutdown defensive play, veteran Chris Tanev is a pending UFA and fits the bill there. The 33-year-old has led the Flames in short-handed ice time per game in each season since he arrived, and is widely respected as one of the game’s premier defensive defensemen.
His offense appears to have dried up compared to the career-best season he posted in 2021-22, but that’s not a major issue. He’s of interest to teams due to his stellar defensive track record, and it’s that track record that could net the Flames a solid return package should he be dealt before the 2024 trade deadline.
Although the Flames’ struggles this season paint a picture of a club with little going right, a pivot to more of a re-tool type of team direction could change things quickly. The Flames happen to have a collection of valuable players on expiring contracts, something that for a team looking to contend in the immediate term would represent a major issue.
But for a team looking to infuse its veteran core with quality young talent, those pending UFAs represent a significant opportunity to leverage on the trade market. According to LeBrun’s report, that appears to be the route the Flames prefer to go down, meaning it could be an extremely interesting few months for Flames fans, despite the on-ice issues.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Canucks Working On Extending Elias Pettersson
Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff released an interview with Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin that spoke to the team’s efforts to re-sign their star forward, Elias Pettersson. Specifically, Allvin said he’s been in touch with both Pat Brisson and Pettersson’s Swedish agent and that he hopes to get something done sooner rather than later.
A Pettersson extension is undoubtedly one of Allvin’s top priorities. The 25-year-old forward has been a pivotal piece of the Canucks’ early success, currently leading the league in scoring with a monstrous 25 points in 15 games. His 18 assists also rank top in the league, although he’s tied with co-star Quinn Hughes in that category.
This strong scoring continues the trend of Pettersson scoring more and more every season. He scored a career-high 102 points last season, the most scored by a Canuck since Daniel Sedin scored 104 in the 2010-11 season. Pettersson became the fourth Canuck to cross the century mark since 2000, joining the Sedin brothers and Markus Naslund.
But with high scoring comes an inevitably high price tag. Of the 11 players to score 100 or more points last season, Pettersson is one of three players to carry a cap hit under $8MM, alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jason Robertson. Pettersson also joins Robertson as the only two among the group without any movement protection in their contracts. Both of those variables are bound to be addressed in Pettersson’s next contract, which could reach upwards of eight figures. Any long-term deal would also carry Pettersson to his age 32 or 33 season, likely solidifying his place in Vancouver for the long term. If, and when, a new contract will come is yet to be seen, although it’s encouraging to see the two sides engaged in extension talks.
Florida Panthers In Aggressive Pursuit Of Patrick Kane
A little over half a week ago, it was reported that on his way back from hip surgery, Patrick Kane had been linked to four teams within the Eastern Conference; the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, and New York Rangers. Most likely looking for his best chance to compete for another Stanley Cup towards the end of his career, the Panthers and Rangers seem to be the best potential fits for Kane moving forward.
In his podcast, 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said, “We’re starting to get close to the Patrick Kane decision, I think this week he’s going to start talking to some teams. Bill Zito, the GM of Florida, has been one of the most aggressive GMs when it comes to Kane” (X Link).
It’s relatively unsurprising to see that the Panthers are becoming more aggressive in their pursuit of Kane, as although the defending Eastern Conference Champions are off to a solid 9-4-1 start, they still sit 19th in the league in GF/G. So far this year, their defense (notably missing both Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad), as well as their goaltending have been the driving factor in their entry out of the gates this season.
However, Florida will have a difficult time fitting Kane into the mix, as when Montour and Ekblad eventually come back into the fold, the team will have less than $100K available to them in cap space. If Kane is willing to sign a league minimum contract for one season, the Panthers should be able to fit Kane in, but they will have to make some moves to make that happen.
Overall, even if the Panthers are the most aggressive in bringing Kane into their lineup, that does not necessarily mean he will end up in Florida. Being a hometown native of Buffalo, as well as a former Ranger, Kane should have a certain comfortability in returning home to New York state if he so chooses. Also, as has been typical over the last several seasons during his tenure as General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings, Steve Yzerman has notably kept his cards very close to the chest.