Blackhawks Place Boris Katchouk On Waivers
12/12: Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that Katchouk has successfully cleared waivers, and will report to Rockford.
12/11: The Blackhawks placed winger Boris Katchouk on waivers Monday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Rockford, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Katchouk, 25, has been a healthy scratch in four straight games. His last appearance came on December 3 against the Wild, in which he registered a -1 rating and one shot on goal in 12:55 of ice time.
As The Athletic’s Scott Powers notes, forwards Joey Anderson and Cole Guttman have impressed the team since they recalled them from Rockford around Thanksgiving, and they’ve both surpassed Katchouk on the team’s internal depth chart. While there’s no pending injured reserve activation forcing the Blackhawks to clear a roster spot, the organization would rather Katchouk see consistent game action in the minors rather than have him sit in the press box in the NHL.
Drafted 44th overall by the Lightning in 2016, Katchouk spent nearly six years in Tampa Bay before the Blackhawks acquired him as part of the deal that sent Brandon Hagel to the Sunshine State in 2022. Katchouk struggled immediately after the swap, logging just one goal and a -10 rating in 21 contests with Chicago to close out the campaign.
His numbers improved in the following season, but he’s still provided marginal offense in a replaceable bottom-six role. In 96 total contests with Chicago since the trade, Katchouk has eight goals, 13 assists, 21 points, and a -18 rating while averaging 11:40 per game. He has, however, posted solid possession metrics dating back to last season, including a relative Corsi mark of 3.3% at even strength in 2022-23, despite seeing primarily defensive zone usage.
It’s unlikely he’ll ever reach the scoring potential he flashed by posting over a point-per-game in the minors in the Lightning organization in 2020-21, but he is a high-energy player who should end up back in the league at some point if he passes through waivers unclaimed. This season, Katchouk has two goals and two assists, along with a +2 rating, in 17 contests with Chicago. He’s in the final season of a three-year, $2.275MM deal carrying a $758,333 cap hit and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer.
Penguins Place Dmitri Samorukov On Waivers
12/12: Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that Samorukov has successfully cleared waivers, and will report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
12/11: The Penguins are placing defenseman Dmitri Samorukov on waivers today for the purpose of assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, GM Kyle Dubas informed reporters (via Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). In doing so, the Penguins will open a necessary spot on the roster to activate Pierre-Olivier Joseph from injured reserve.
Samorukov, 24, has not appeared in a game for Pittsburgh this season after signing a one-year, two-way deal in November. He began the season on an AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and earned an NHL deal after injuries decimated the Penguins’ corps of depth defenders.
A third-round pick of the Oilers in 2017, Samorukov was viewed as a rising shutdown prospect but ran out of time to develop, becoming eligible for waivers in 2022 before he could secure a role on Edmonton’s roster. After passing through unclaimed, the Oilers dealt him to the Blues in a one-for-one swap for winger Klim Kostin, with each Russian youngster securing a fresh start in a new market.
While Kostin earned a full-time spot with the Oilers last season, Samorukov couldn’t hold onto an NHL job with his new team. After making just one NHL appearance in five years with the Oilers organization, Samorukov played only twice for the Blues last year, instead spending nearly all of 2022-23 on assignment with AHL Springfield. There, he recorded 20 points and a +1 rating in 69 games, but it wasn’t enough to secure him a qualifying offer from St. Louis when his one-year, one-way deal expired last summer.
That made him an unrestricted free agent, and without any NHL offers heading into late July, Samorukov opted for the minor-league deal in the Penguins organization. He played a regular role in the lineup before being instated on the NHL roster in November, recording five points and a -1 rating in 15 games.
Assuming he clears waivers, Samorukov will return to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tomorrow. He is headed for restricted free agency this summer, and the Penguins will need to extend him a qualifying offer worth $813,750 to retain his exclusive signing rights.
Blues Do Not Place Jakub Vrana On Waivers, Make Him Available For Trade
1:05 p.m.: Vrana is not on today’s waiver list, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Instead, Friedman relays the Blues have made the depth winger available for trade and that a transaction may be imminent, given he’s not on the wire as expected.
12:14 p.m.: The St. Louis Blues have placed forward Jakub Vrana on waivers, per Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. This is the second time that the 27-year-old winger has found himself on waivers, with the Detroit Red Wings waiving him in January of last season. He was traded to the Blues ahead of the trade deadline, with St. Louis sending depth forward Dylan McLaughlin and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to Detroit.
Vrana has appeared in 19 games with St. Louis this season, netting two goals and six points. It’s a step down from the performance he managed with the club last season, as he scored 10 goals and 14 points in 20 games following his trade to Missouri. Vrana was originally drafted 13th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Washington Capitals, being selected just two picks before Dylan Larkin and 12 picks before David Pastrnak. He played in one season in the SHL after his draft year before joining the AHL’s Hershey Bears at the end of the 2014-15 season. He stayed with the minor league club until the 2016-17 campaign when Washington recalled him for his NHL debut.
Vrana officially played his rookie season in 2017-18, scoring 13 goals and 27 points. But it was his sophomore and junior-year seasons that saw the winger start to break out – with Vrana managing 24 goals and 47 points in 2018-19 and 25 goals and 52 points in 2019-20. The Capitals dealt Vrana to Detroit in the following 2020-21 season, packaging him with Richard Pánik, a 2021 first-round pick, and a 2022 second-round pick for Anthony Mantha. Vrana saw his games played and scoring decline while in Detroit, both things he wasn’t able to build back up while in St. Louis. The Red Wings assigned Vrana to the minor leagues for 17 games last season – his first appearance in the AHL since 2016-17. If he clears waivers, he is expected to join the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Blackhawks Place Jarred Tinordi On Injured Reserve, Recall Filip Roos
The Chicago Blackhawks have placed defenseman Jarred Tinordi on injured reserve, retroactive to December 5th, and recalled Filip Roos back to the NHL lineup. Tinordi has already been sidelined once this season, moving to IR in mid-November with an oblique injury. He was activated off of IR on December 2nd, making his movement back to the list that much harder to stomach.
Tinordi has appeared in 12 games with the Blackhawks this season, netting one assist, 11 penalty minutes, and a -4. He’s in his second season with the club, although his 2022-23 season was limited by a nagging hip injury and facial fractures that earned him three assignments to IR throughout the season. He managed to appear in 44 games around those injuries, recording eight points, 40 penalty minutes, and a -11. Despite the injuries, these 44 games marked the most NHL games that Tinordi has played in a single season since making his debut in the league in 2012-13. He’s combined for 165 NHL games in the 11 seasons since then, scoring 22 points and recording 181 career penalty minutes. Tinordi has also spent substantial time in the minor leagues, recording 429 career AHL games and recording 75 assists, 96 points, 567 penalty minutes, and a collective +14.
Rookie defenseman Filip Roos will fill in for Tinordi, poised to make his first NHL appearances of the season despite being recalled to fill in for Tinordi’s injury in mid-November as well. While he has yet to make his season debut this year, Roos did appear in 17 NHL games last season, recording three points, four penalty minutes, and a -5. The 24-year-old defender has played in 16 AHL games this year, scoring four points and recording a -6.
Red Wings Recall Three Forwards, Place Three On Injured Reserve
The Detroit Red Wings have recalled forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Jonatan Berggren, and Austin Czarnik on an emergency basis. The team also announced that they’ve assigned J.T. Compher (retroactive to 12/5), Dylan Larkin (retroactive to 12/7), and Klim Kostin (retroactive to 12/9) on injured reserve.
Larkin and Compher have operated as Detroit’s top two centers so far this season, scoring 25 and 19 points respectively in 24 games each. It’s been an especially exciting season for Compher – a University of Michigan alum in his first year with the Red Wings. Detroit represents the first organization that Compher has played for outside of the Colorado Avalanche, despite being originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres.
Larkin’s injury caught social media attention, as the top centerman was cross-checked in the head during a scrum in front of the net by Ottawa’s Mathieu Joseph. The 27-year-old Larkin is leading Detroit in scoring, scoring the same amount of points as winger Alex DeBrincat in two fewer games. It’s Larkin’s ninth NHL season, with the Michigan native totaling 608 career games and 462 career points over that span.
Among the wave of emergency relief is Zach Aston-Reese, who signed with Detroit in early October after originally signing a professional try-out with the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the season. Aston-Reese played in 77 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, scoring 10 goals and 14 points. Detroit becomes one of four organizations that the 29-year-old forward has played for in the last four seasons. He’s spent the start of this season in the minors, appearing in 20 games and recording seven points, 16 penalty minutes, and a -2.
Blue Jackets Recall Daniil Tarasov, Send Jet Greaves To Minors
The Columbus Blue Jackets have swapped backup goaltenders, recalling Daniil Tarasov and sending Jet Greaves down. Greaves has appeared in two games with the Blue Jackets since being recalled on December 6th. He set a 1-1-0 record and recorded 72 saves on 77 shots, good for a .935 save percentage. The pair of games were Greaves’ second and third games in the NHL, after making his debut last season. Greaves has looked strong in his limited minutes, totaling a .937 save percentage through his three career games.
Greaves, 22, has also appeared in 12 AHL games this season, setting a 9-3-0 record and 0.899 save percentage. He set the same save percentage through 43 AHL games last season, going 19-16-5. The pair of consistent seasons brings Greaves’ career totals in the AHL up to 84 games played, a 40-31-7 record, and a combined .901 save percentage. Greaves was on an emergency recall with the Blue Jackets, who are without typical starter Elvis Merzlikins.
Tarasov is in a similar spot to Greaves, with both players being young goaltenders who have received minimal chances in the NHL and set strong numbers in the minor leagues. The 24-year-old Tarasov has played in four AHL games this season, recording a 2-1-0 record and .915 save percentage. The early season brings his career AHL totals to 32 games played, a 16-11-3 record, and a 0.897 save percentage. Tarasov has also appeared in 21 career NHL games, including 17 last season. He’s set a combined 4-13-1 record and .900 save percentage in the NHL. Tarasov will join Spencer Martin in Columbus’ goalie room. Martin has played in 11 games and set a .892 save percentage this season.
Tony Granato Diagnosed With Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Former University of Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato took to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday to share that he’s been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and will be taking a temporary leave of absence from his roles with NBC Sports Chicago and NHL Network.
Granato, 59, has had an illustrious hockey career. He was originally drafted in the sixth round of the 1982 NHL Draft – going to the New York Rangers at 120th overall, one spot lower than goaltender Ron Hextall. Granato played in four seasons at the University of Wisconsin after his draft selection, totaling 100 goals and 220 points in 152 games with the school. He moved to the IHL for one season after Wisconsin, where he was recruited to represent the United States at the 1988 Winter Olympics. He scored eight points in six games at the event and made his NHL debut a few months later, with the 1988-89 season marking his rookie year. Granato kicked off his career with a bang, recording 36 goals, 63 points, and 140 penalty minutes in 78 games with the Rangers. The performance was enough to land Granato third in Calder Trophy voting that year, behind winner Brian Leetch and runner-up Trevor Linden.
The Rangers traded Granato to the Los Angeles Kings after just two seasons, sending him in a package deal for former 150-point-scorer Bernie Nicholls. Granato would go on to spend seven seasons in L.A., recording the best years of his career between 1990 and 1993, when he totaled 229 games, 106 goals, 214 points, and 512 penalty minutes. But despite the eventful stat line, Granato didn’t receive any more award votes until joining the San Jose Sharks in 1996-97, when he won the Bill Masterton Trophy, the league’s sportsmanship award. Granato received the award after returning from a head injury suffered in the second half of the 1995-96 season that left him with a brain bleed and required surgery. He played in five more seasons with San Jose before retiring in 2001.
Granato took just one season off before joining an NHL bench, initially stepping into an assistant coaching role for the Colorado Avalanche ahead of the 2002-03 season; although Granato would go on to replace Bob Hartley mid-season and serve as the team’s head coach through the 2003-04 season. Granato also served as the Avalanche’s head coach for the 2008-09 season, replacing Joel Quenneville. He otherwise served as an assistant coach throughout his 13-year NHL coaching career. In 2016, Granato returned to the University of Wisconsin, replacing Mike Eaves and carrying on the torch of a former player serving as the team’s head coach.
Granato ranks third on Wisconsin’s all-time goals list and fourth in points. His college showings were the start of a 40-year career around the Big 10 and NHL. We at Pro Hockey Rumors extend our thoughts to Tony and his family.
Sabres Recall Brett Murray, Send Isak Rosén Down
The Buffalo Sabres have recalled winger Brett Murray to the NHL club and sent rookie Isak Rosén to the minors. Rosén has appeared in his first seven NHL games since being recalled on November 25th, failing to score a point and recording a -3.
Rosén started the season with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, scoring eight goals and 19 points through his first 16 games with the club. Rosén remains the team’s top scorer, even after missing four games because of his NHL stint. He’s paced by Jiří Kulich, who has managed 13 goals and 19 points of his own through 19 AHL games. Kulich received his NHL debut on the same night as Rosén but was sent back to the minors shortly after. Both players are former first-round selections by Buffalo, with Rosén being drafted 14th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft and Kulich going 28th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. With the debut of Kulich and Rosén, the Sabres have now seen every first-round selection they’ve made since 2017 suit up for them at some point this year – save for winger Jack Quinn, who is working back from Achille’s tendon surgery and Noah Ostlund, who remains in Sweden.
Filling in for Rosén is AHL veteran Brett Murray, who currently has two goals and seven points through 12 games with the Rochester Americans. The scoring brings his career AHL totals up to 217 games played, 58 goals, and 132 points. Murray appeared in 21 NHL games between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, playing in 19 games and scoring six points in the latter campaign. The Sabres originally drafted Murray 99th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft, selecting him out of the CCHL before his pursued a career in the USHL and NCAA’s Big 10.
Morning Notes: Eklund, Connor, Hutton
Top San Jose Sharks youngster William Eklund was held out of the team’s Sunday night shootout-loss versus the Vegas Golden Knights with a lower-body injury. No further update was provided about the 21-year-old’s injury.
Eklund narrowly avoids the ‘rookie’ title this season, as playing more than six games in each of the last two seasons removes his eligibility. Regardless, he’s performed well for the Sharks this season, netting six goals and 13 points in 27 games. Four of these points have come in just his last two games – both overtime wins. The 21-year-old has managed this production while serving in a second-line role on the resurging Sharks. Eklund would be tied for seventh in rookie scoring with Philadelphia’s Bobby Brink, if he were eligible.
Eklund has totaled 44 career NHL games since making his debut in 2021-22. He’s managed eight goals, 20 points, and 20 penalty minutes in that span, also recording a career -16. The Sharks drafted Eklund seventh overall in the 2021 NHL Draft,
Other notes from around the league:
- Kyle Connor was forced out of the Winnipeg Jets’ Sunday night loss after suffering a lower-body injury. The top forward appeared in just eight minutes of the 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks, recording three shots. Connor is tied with Sam Reinhart for third in the league in goals, scoring 17 through 26 games.
- The New York Islanders have sent defenseman Grant Hutton to the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, opening space for Sebastian Aho to be activated from injured reserve. Hutton has served as New York’s seventh defenseman since being recalled on November 25th, appearing in two games and recording four hits and a +1.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Detroit Red Wings
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Detroit Red Wings.
Who are the Red Wings thankful for?
Larkin had the opportunity to leave the Red Wings this past summer but opted to remain with the franchise signing a massive eight-year extension. Few people would’ve faulted the 27-year-old for bolting the only organization he’s ever known as his tenure in the Motor City hasn’t exactly been full of memorable moments. The Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs since Larkin’s rookie season back in 2015-16 and haven’t finished better than fifth in their division since that five-game ouster at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Larkin arrived in Detroit at a time when it seemed possible that the Red Wings could avoid a long rebuild and retool on the fly as they had a pile of emerging young talent to play alongside Larkin. However, many of Detroit’s top young players at the time failed to live up to expectations leading the Red Wings into a full-on rebuild that is in its eighth year.
Larkin has done his part through some very lean years in Detroit as he has led the team in scoring in five of the past seven seasons. As well as being their on-ice leader he has also become a leader in the dressing room when he was named their captain in January of 2021. Larkin has been a point-a-game player in each of the past three seasons and has done so without a ton of offensive help from his teammates.
Detroit should be thankful for Larkin, and thankful that the Waterford, Michigan native grew up in the metro Detroit area, which was probably a very big factor when it came to his decision to sign a long-term extension.
What are the Red Wings thankful for?
Scouting.
An argument can be made that perhaps the Red Wings scouting isn’t what it once was, but even if it is a fraction of what it used to be, that’s still better than most of the NHL. The Red Wings have historically been able to hit big on late-round draft picks and much of that credit belongs to Håkan Andersson who is the Director of European Scouting for Detroit. Andersson is largely responsible for the Red Wings drafting Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom, Valtteri Filppula, Tomas Tatar, Jiri Hudler, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, and Gustav Nyquist. While that list is impressive, even more impressive is that Detroit only drafted one of those players in the first round (Kronwall).
Unfortunately for Detroit’s scouting department, the NHL is very much a what have you done for me lately league and their drafting hasn’t been what it once was. That’s not to say they haven’t hit home runs. Tyler Bertuzzi was a late second-round pick, as was Filip Hronek, while Andreas Athanasiou was selected late in the fourth round. Unfortunately for the Red Wings, none of those players worked out in Detroit and they all find themselves in other uniforms.
At this moment, the Red Wings do have some emerging young forwards who could make an impact over the next few years. It will be interesting to re-evaluate the Red Wings scouting in five years to look back and see how they assessed their talent.
What would the Red Wings be even more thankful for?
A Patrick Kane return to form.
If Patrick Kane can be anything close to what he was before double hip surgery, the Red Wings will be a real threat in the Eastern Conference. If he ends up like many of his peers who have undergone a hip resurfacing procedure, he might not be able to make much of an impact.
Those are obviously very different outcomes, and it could ultimately be the difference in the Red Wings season. Kane is just two years removed from posting 26 goals and 66 assists in 78 games and if he can bring some of that offense to Detroit’s lineup, along with the leadership that comes with winning three Stanley Cups, then he could push Detroit to be among the contenders in the East. But, if he can’t, Detroit may not be able to outscore some of the subpar goaltending they have received from Ville Husso.
It’s too early to tell how Kane will hold up under the grind of the regular season, but so far, he has looked strong with a goal in two games. Despite starting a huge percentage of his shifts in the defensive zone, Kane has been able to drive play, and get some good looks at both five-on-five and on the power play. As he gets into better game shape, he could become a difference-maker for the Red Wings and that would be something for Detroit fans to be even more thankful for.
What should be on the Red Wings holiday wish list?
A starting goaltender.
Ville Husso isn’t it for Detroit. The 28-year-old has started the majority of the Red Wings games this year and has not been good. In 14 games thus far, the native of Helsinki, Finland has gone 8-4-2 with a .886 save percentage and 3.65 goals against average. Those numbers will not do for a team that is desperate to get back into the playoffs and who has a good enough lineup to do so if they can get the goaltending.
What complicates matters is that backups James Reimer and Alex Lyon have outplayed Husso by a very wide margin. Reimer is 2-2-2 in six starts and has a .922 save percentage with a 2.18 goals-against average, while Lyon is 4-2-0 with a .931 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.13.
The wings are faced with several choices when it comes to their goaltending. They can ride it out with Husso and hope he finds his game while having Lyon and Reimer as backup options in case he falters. Or they can try and move Husso and his $4.75MM cap hit and then try and find another starting goaltender to replace him. Another option might be to add some additional depth, but with Lyon and Reimer already in the system it would become tricky to carry four goaltenders as one would have to be exposed to waivers. Carrying three goaltenders is already unusual, and if Detroit was to target a depth option, they would probably have to move one from one of their netminders.
Something that could work in Detroit’s favor is that they are one of the only contending teams that have a sizeable amount of cap space, meaning they could potentially acquire a goaltender and keep Husso if they wanted to, or move on from Husso and retain some of his cap hit in a trade.
If Husso does continue to struggle Detroit’s starting goalie job will be available, and it could become something to keep an eye on as we get closer to the trade deadline.