Blues Place Kasperi Kapanen On Waivers
The Blues have placed winger Kasperi Kapanen on waivers for the purposes of assignment to AHL Springfield, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Monday.
Kapanen, 28, has been limited by an upper-body injury and multiple healthy scratches to 10 appearances this season. He has just one goal and a -6 rating with a 45.9 CF%, struggling to limit chances against while failing to generate many chances himself with 11 shots on goal.
That underwhelming showing has led head coach Drew Bannister to slash Kapanen’s ice time to 11:19 per game, his lowest average since his rookie season with the Maple Leafs in 2017-18. With Kapanen now sitting in the press box for back-to-back games and the team needing to clear a forward spot eventually to activate Robert Thomas from injured reserve, it was clear that he was becoming the odd man out.
The Blues had their chance to walk away from Kapanen over the offseason after he recorded six goals and 22 points in 73 games last year, his lowest points-per-game rate as a full-time NHLer. Instead, they opted to re-sign him to a one-year, $1MM contract shortly after the free agent market opened on July 1. While it’s a one-way deal, his cap hit is fully buriable and won’t count against St. Louis’ books if he clears waivers and reports to Springfield.
The Blues acquired Kapanen, a first-round pick by the Penguins back in 2014, by claiming him off waivers from Pittsburgh in Feb. 2023, less than halfway through a two-year, $6.4MM deal he’d signed with the Pens. It initially looked like Kapanen might have found a home in Missouri, posting 14 points in 23 games down the stretch while averaging 16:45 per game, the most minutes he’d ever shouldered as an NHLer. But inconsistency and a career-worst 6.1% shooting rate plagued him in 2023-24, kicking off a slow slide down the depth chart.
As a former 20-goal scorer with Toronto and a five-time 30-point getter, there might be some interest in Kapanen on the wire as a fully buriable expiring contract with some rebound potential. If not, he’ll be staring down his first minor league assignment since the 2017-18 season.
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Sharks Recall Yaroslav Askarov
The Sharks announced Monday that they’ve recalled top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov from AHL San Jose. The team placed center Nico Sturm on injured reserve to open up a roster spot.
Askarov was expected to compete for an NHL job out of training camp after being acquired in a blockbuster swap with the Predators in August. A lower-body injury sustained over the offseason threw a wrench into those plans, though. Since Askarov didn’t get on the ice with San Jose until the beginning of October, they kept their veteran tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Vítek Vaněček intact while loaning the 22-year-old to their AHL affiliate.
If the 2020 11th-overall pick’s desire for NHL time wasn’t apparent when he requested a trade out of Nashville, it’s crystal clear now after his impeccable start in the AHL. He’s been among the league’s best netminders with a 1.92 GAA, .939 SV%, two shutouts, and a 6-3-0 record in nine appearances behind one of the AHL’s worst teams over the past few seasons. His play has fuelled the Barracuda to a 93-point pace, which would be their second-best record in franchise history since their inception in 2015.
It’s a marked improvement on his already strong numbers with AHL Milwaukee while in the Predators’ system. He started 40-plus games in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns with matching .911 save percentages, earning himself a pair of All-Star Game nods. It only translated into two NHL starts and one relief appearance with Nashville during that time, posting a 2.58 GAA and .914 SV% with a 1-1-0 record.
Askarov is expected to back up Blackwood tonight against the Red Wings. His recall comes after Vaněček sustained an undisclosed injury in the first period against the Penguins on Saturday and did not return after the intermission.
While Blackwood has been strong for the Sharks this year with a .914 SV% and 4.7 GSAA in 11 appearances, Vaněček’s .899 SV% and -0.5 GSAA in 10 games have solidified him as the weak link in San Jose’s tandem thus far. If he’s out long enough for Askarov to get some game action, there’s a small but visible opening for him to steal the No. 2 job behind Blackwood and potentially push the pending UFA Vaněček to the waiver wire or force San Jose to carry three goalies.
Meanwhile, Sturm lands on IR after missing Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury. His placement is retroactive to Nov. 14, so he’ll miss at least two more games but is eligible to return for Thursday’s road tilt against the Blues. The German pivot has averaged just 9:50 per game this season but is still tied for seventh on the Sharks in scoring with six points (3 G, 3 A) in 18 games.
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Maple Leafs’ Calle Järnkrok Undergoes Groin, Sports Hernia Surgery
The Maple Leafs announced that forward Calle Järnkrok underwent groin and sports hernia surgery on Monday. He will remain out of the lineup indefinitely and will be evaluated monthly.
Järnkrok, 33, has spent the entire season on long-term injured reserve with what the team previously labeled a lower-body injury. General manager Brad Treliving said last week that Järnkrok had left Toronto after experiencing a setback in his recovery and was seeing a specialist in New York.
That meeting evidently resulted in the decision for Järnkrok to undergo surgery to repair the issue, which he sustained early in training camp. Recovery timelines from sports hernia surgery vary but usually fall somewhere in the four-month range, so while there’s still a chance for him to play this season, it likely won’t be until after the March 7 trade deadline.
Järnkrok has been plagued by injuries since signing a four-year, $8.4MM contract with the Maple Leafs in free agency in 2022. He missed 30 games last season with two different hand injuries and also missed a couple of weeks in December 2022 with a groin injury, although it’s unclear if that’s related to the current groin issue that required surgery.
When in the lineup, the versatile Swede has been an effective depth presence. He’s averaged 0.48 points per game in a Toronto uniform, a tad higher than his 0.43 career average. He averaged 15:16 in 52 appearances last season, recording 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points while averaging more than a minute per game on both the power play and penalty kill.
While the Maple Leafs will continue to miss a capable veteran presence with a well-rounded game who can slot in pretty much anywhere in the lineup, they will continue to gain relief from his $2.1MM cap hit while on LTIR. Toronto currently has $731,562 left in their LTIR pool with a full roster, per PuckPedia, although that number will increase when Auston Matthews and Max Pacioretty come off standard injured reserve.
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Maple Leafs’ Ryan Reaves Suspended Five Games
3:04 p.m.: The league’s Department of Player Safety announced a five-game suspension for Reaves.
9:04 a.m.: The NHL has announced that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves will have a player safety hearing for his illegal hit on Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse in last night’s 4-3 overtime win. Reaves was assessed a match penalty and a game misconduct on the play after his shoulder caught Nurse in the head as the Oilers defenseman circled behind his own net with the puck. It’s a phone hearing, not an in-person one, so his pending suspension won’t last more than five games.
Nurse hit the ice hard after the hit and appeared stunned as he looked around. Blood began to pour from a sizeable cut on Nurse’s head as the Oilers training staff attended to him. He remained on the ice for a few moments before he was assisted off the ice. The hit occurred at the 2:41 mark of the second period, leaving the crowd in silence as Nurse left the game and did not return. Reaves was escorted off the ice and had a heated verbal exchange with Oilers captain Connor McDavid before he exited the game.
The league has an interesting decision to make with regard to Reaves, the initial point of contact on the hit is Nurse’s head and it would meet the definition of a blindside hit. The Department of Player Safety will consider an illegal check to the head suspension but does retain the right to change course when they review the infraction.
Reaves does have a history of supplemental discipline during his career, having last been suspended during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs while he was a member of the Vegas Golden Knights. Reaves caught a two-game suspension for roughing and was also suspended one game during the 2020 postseason for an illegal hit to the head against Tyler Motte of the Vancouver Canucks. Reaves was also suspended three games back in 2016 for boarding.
As for Nurse, his status has yet to be updated, but he is out right now with an upper-body injury. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweeted that he’s heard from Oilers play-by-play announcer Jack Michaels that Nurse was joking with the team’s trainers and walking around after the game, which is certainly encouraging.
Avalanche Place Alexandar Georgiev On IR, Recall Two
The Colorado Avalanche have placed starting goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (upper-body) on injured reserve, retroactive to November 13th. Georgiev sat out of the team’s Friday loss to Washington. This move rules Georgiev out of the team’s Monday match against Philadelphia, though head coach Jared Bednar told Colleen Flynn of Colorado Hockey Now that the netminder will join the team on their upcoming four-game road trip. He’ll be eligible to return as soon as Thursday.
This move downgrades Georgiev to an extended absence after he received a day-to-day designation on Saturday. He’s started 10 games this season, setting a bleak 4-5-0 record, .863 save percentage, and 3.56 goals-against-average. It’s a continuation of the skid that he hit last season and the prolonged struggles are starting to cost Georgiev ice time. Backup Justus Annunen has played in nine games this year, posting an improved .881 save percentage and 5-3-0 record.
In a corresponding move, Colorado has also recalled forward T.J. Tynan and goaltender Kevin Mandolese. Mandolese will become the fifth goaltender to take to the Avalanche bench this season, earning the chance after posting a 4-2-0 record and .905 save percentage in six AHL games this season – one more win, but the same save percentage, as goalie partner Trent Miner in the same number of games. Mandolese has built a hardy career in the minors, posting 32 wins and a .897 save percentage across 72 games, and five seasons, in the AHL. He’s proven even stronger in 15 ECHL games, and even boasts a .916 save percentage through three career appearances in the NHL. With Georgiev’s return likely just around the corner, Mandolese should be confined to a backup role on this recall.
Meanwhile, Tynan will return to offering offensive depth behind Parker Kelly and Joel Kiviranta. Tynan was assigned to the AHL ahead of this weekend, and recorded three assists in the Colorado Eagles’ Saturday win over Ontario. That scoring brought him to seven points – all assists – in eight AHL games this season. He’s also recorded one assist in seven NHL games. Tynan is still searching for his first NHL goal – with just two assists through 28 career games in the NHL. He’s likely headed for the press box on this recall, unless Bednar chooses to rotate out fourth-line pieces.
Sabres Recall Jiri Kulich, Place Tage Thompson On IR
The Buffalo Sabres have placed top-line forward Tage Thompson on injured reserve retroactive to November, 11th, shares Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Buffalo has recalled top prospect Jiri Kulich in a corresponding move.
Thompson was pulled from Buffalo’s Monday loss to Montreal after the first period with a lower-body injury. He ended his night with one goal in 6:49 of ice time, continuing his scoring streak into its fourth game. He went on to miss Buffalo’s Thursday win over St. Louis, and will now miss at least one more game before being eligible to return on November 18th. He’s continued to stand as one of Buffalo’s absolute best, currently leading the team with 11 goals, 18 points, and 114 shot attempts through 16 games. Thompson has scored an NHL-leading 10 of his goals at even-strength.
Buffalo also announced that winger Jordan Greenway has been playing through an injury and is now questionable for Saturday night. The news is a bit of a surprise, with Greenway continuing to serve in a go-to bruiser role over the last five games. He only has one point, but has added 16 hits and one fight in that span. That emerging injury has prompted Buffalo to bring Kulich back to the NHL lineup after four games in the AHL. He was productive in a return to the minors, totaling two goals, three points, and 17 shots. The Sabres will hope that spur of scoring will spark Kulich’s game at the NHL level as well, with the rookie currently sitting with just one goal in eight NHL games this season.
Sam Lafferty stepped into the lineup in Thompson’s absence, while Ryan McLeod filled his hole on the top line. McLeod recorded one goal and one assist with the boosted minutes, and should hang onto a strong hold of ice time. Meanwhile, Lafferty and Kulich will battle for the role of fourth-line center, unless Greenway is unable to play.
Golden Knights Sign Brayden McNabb To Three-Year Extension
12:36 p.m.: McNabb’s extension will be in the three-year, $9MM range, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The team later confirmed a three-year term with a $3.65MM AAV, meaning it’s worth $10.95MM in total.
9:38 a.m.: The Golden Knights are closing in on a multi-year extension to keep defenseman Brayden McNabb off next year’s unrestricted free agent market, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports.
It’s the second time in as many months that Vegas will announce a fresh contract for a member of the franchise’s inaugural blue line back in the 2017-18 season. Shea Theodore inked a seven-year, $51.975MM deal just over three weeks ago.
McNabb’s extension won’t be nearly as rich or as long, but it’s still an important bit of business for a franchise looking to extend what’s been a nonstop championship contention window since they entered the league. His 518 games played for the Knights are a franchise record, passing Jonathan Marchessault earlier this month. His +104 rating is second in franchise history to William Karlsson and his 300 PIMs are the most, as are his 1,256 hits and 1,144 blocks.
McNabb and Theodore have been regular defense partners since the Knights traded away Nate Schmidt and signed Alex Pietrangelo in the 2020 offseason. The 33-year-old left-shot defender has averaged 19:42 per game since arriving in Sin City in 2017, compiling 22 goals and 89 assists for 111 points.
The 6’4″, 215-lb defender has continued to serve in a top-four capacity this season, especially with Nicolas Hague spending about half the season on the shelf with lower-body and undisclosed injuries. Through 16 games, he has two points and leads the club with a +11 rating despite a pedestrian 46.2% share of shot attempts at even strength. Per usual, his 36 blocked shots lead the team while his 28 hits lead Vegas defensemen.
This will be the third contract McNabb, represented by O2K Management’s Dean Grillo, signs with the Knights. He signed a four-year, $10MM extension early on in Vegas’ inaugural season after being plucked from the Kings in the expansion draft before inking a three-year, $8.55MM deal a few months before his previous extension was set to expire in 2022.
His previous deals with the Golden Knights have carried cap hits of $2.5MM and $2.85MM, respectively. It’s hard to imagine his new deal differing much from that figure, especially as he enters the twilight of his 13-year, 756-game NHL career.
It’s fair to wonder what McNabb’s extension means for Hague’s future in Nevada. The 25-year-old, who was a second-round pick in Vegas’ inaugural 2017 draft class, is a restricted free agent next summer with arbitration rights and is due a $2.7MM qualifying offer. That’s reasonable for his services, but with McNabb in tow, the Golden Knights now already have seven defensemen signed to one-way contracts for 2025-26, including depth options Ben Hutton and Kaedan Korczak. Hague is the only defenseman on the active roster without a contract past this season.
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Wild Place Mats Zuccarello On Injured Reserve, Out 3-4 Weeks
The Wild placed winger Mats Zuccarello on injured reserve with a lower-body issue, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports Friday. He left Thursday’s win over the Canadiens in the first period and did not return after taking a Brock Faber shot to the groin. As a result, Russo added, he’s expected to miss three to four weeks. The injury required minor surgery, which Zuccarello underwent successfully after the game last night.
Minnesota will also issue an update on center Joel Eriksson Ek‘s status later today, Russo said. He also left last night’s win in the first period with an undisclosed injury just one shift after Zuccarello departed the game.
Now in his age-37 season, Zuccarello has once again been an extremely valuable secondary scoring piece for the Wild. Age hasn’t slowed the diminutive Norwegian down one bit, and he ranks third on the team in scoring with 14 points (6 G, 8 A) in 16 games while averaging 17:26 of ice time. His line with Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi has been one of the NHL’s best en route to an 11-2-3 start to the season for Minnesota, which is currently on pace for its best record in franchise history by a considerable margin.
Zuccarello’s IR placement leaves the Wild with 12 forwards on the active roster, a number that will drop to 11 healthy ones if Eriksson Ek misses any time. Expect a recall ahead of Saturday’s game against the Stars, which everything indicates will be Michael Milne‘s NHL debut after the 22-year-old left-winger was initially recalled from AHL Iowa earlier this month. Options for another recall include Liam Ohgren, who has four goals in four games since being reassigned at the end of October, or veteran Travis Boyd, who leads Iowa in scoring with 11 points in 11 games.
Zuccarello is in the first season of the two-year, $8.25MM extension he inked in September 2023.
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Penguins Recall Owen Pickering
The Penguins announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Owen Pickering from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The 2022 first-round pick could make his NHL debut Friday against the Blue Jackets. Pittsburgh doesn’t have an open roster spot after recalling Matthew Nieto and Vasiliy Ponomarev yesterday, so a corresponding transaction is coming.
Pickering, 20, has been the best defense prospect in the organization since they selected him 21st overall two years ago. He checked in at fourth overall in the Pens’ pool in McKeen’s Hockey’s 2024-25 preseason ranking behind forwards Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty and goaltender Joel Blomqvist.
The Manitoba native is in his first full season of professional hockey after four major junior seasons with the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos. He was a First-Team All-Star in the Central Division each of the past two seasons while serving as the Broncos’ captain, capping off his WHL career with 46 points and a career-best +18 rating in 59 games last season.
Pickering receives his first NHL recall in arguably his most important season yet developmentally, as Josh Bell wrote for McKeen’s. “While Pickering’s potential as a future top-four defenceman remains, his development hinges on ironing out his inconsistencies and making smarter decisions with the puck,” he said. “This season will be crucial in determining if he can take that next step.”
Evidently, the Penguins’ front office has liked what they’ve seen from Pickering to begin the regular season. It’s not quite his first taste of AHL hockey – he played eight games for WBS at the end of the 2022-23 season after his campaign with Swift Current ended. Through 12 games, he has just one point, a goal, but is third on the team with a +5 rating.
The left-shot defender already has towering size at 6’5″ and 185 lbs, although he’ll likely look to grow the latter number as he gets more NHL action. It’s unclear who he may unseat from Pittsburgh’s current crop of lefties to enter the lineup, although Ryan Graves, who has no points through 18 games and is averaging squarely third-pairing minutes at 15:22 per game, may be an option to head to the press box.
Pickering is in the first season of his entry-level contract, which carries an $887K cap hit. He’ll be a restricted free agent for the first time in 2027 at age 23.
Avalanche Activate Jonathan Drouin, Miles Wood From IR
The Avalanche have taken wingers Jonathan Drouin and Miles Wood off injured reserve ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Capitals, the team announced. They reassigned forwards T.J. Tynan and Nikita Prishchepov to AHL Colorado early Thursday morning to create roster space.
Colorado, as previously reported, is also getting Valeri Nichushkin back in the lineup now that he’s served his six-month suspension as dictated by Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. That means three regular forwards – two of them top-six pieces – are coming in to aid an Avalanche group that’s been absolutely decimated by injuries so far in 2024-25.
Drouin, 29, sustained an upper-body injury in the season opener and hasn’t played since. The winger was initially only ticketed to miss a few games but ended up missing over five weeks with the ailment.
Signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2023, Drouin has thrived in Colorado while playing alongside former major junior teammate Nathan MacKinnon. After initially inking a one-year, $825K pact, he recorded career-highs in assists (37), points (56), rating (+12), and ATOI (18:11) in 2023-24. He then signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal shortly after free agency opened this past summer to return to Denver.
For most of the campaign to date, the Avs had been without all of Drouin, Nichushkin, Gabriel Landeskog, and Artturi Lehkonen – leaving them without four of their top five wingers. Now, just Landeskog remains unavailable as he continues to attempt a comeback from the multiple knee surgeries that have kept him out of action since the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. Lehkonen returned to action earlier this month after offseason shoulder surgery and already has six points in five games.
Drouin is expected to make his second appearance of the season on Colorado’s top line alongside MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Nichushkin will return in a second-line role alongside Lehkonen and Casey Mittelstadt.
Meanwhile, Wood makes his return to the lineup after missing the last seven games with an upper-body injury. The 29-year-old is in his second season with the Avalanche after inking a six-year, $15MM commitment in free agency in 2023. He had just one goal in 10 games before exiting the lineup but was averaging 13:40 per game, deployment that will allow overtaxed youngsters like Ivan Ivan and Nikolai Kovalenko to face some easier competition along with Drouin’s and Nichushkin’s returns.
After all of today’s moves, the Avs’ active roster stands at the maximum 23 players. They have about $1.185MM remaining in their LTIR pool with Landeskog and Tucker Poolman still on the shelf, so they’ll still need to clear some significant salary if Landeskog and his $7MM cap hit are cleared to return.
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