Wild Place Connor Dewar On IR, Recall Jake Lucchini
The Wild picked up a big win last night in Florida but it came at a cost with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (upper body) and center Connor Dewar (lower body) leaving with injury. The latter’s injury will keep him out for at least the next week as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Dewar has been placed on injured reserve. Taking his place on the roster will be winger Jake Lucchini who has been recalled from AHL Iowa.
Dewar only has nine points for Minnesota this season but seven of those have been goals, marking a new career-high for the 24-year-old. He has spent the majority of the season on the fourth line while averaging just shy of 11 minutes a night so far. A good chunk of that has come on the penalty kill where he’s the third-most-used forward on the Wild in that situation. Joe Smith of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Dewar is expected to miss a couple of weeks and might not return until after the All-Star break and Minnesota’s bye week.
As for Lucchini, this is his third recall in the last month as he has played his way into being a top option for promotion when injuries strike. That’s thanks to a strong season in the minors where he has 11 goals and 11 assists in 28 games with Iowa. The 28-year-old has played in four games so far for Minnesota and is looking for his first point of the year. Lucchini has 15 career appearances at the top level under his belt where he has a single goal to his name.
While the Wild have been cap-strapped for most of the season, that changed with the season-ending injury to Jared Spurgeon. With the blueliner landing on LTIR, Minnesota has ample cap space to carry a full roster, even including injury recalls.
Oilers Recall Dylan Holloway, Assign James Hamblin To AHL
The Oilers have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against Calgary. The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Dylan Holloway from AHL Bakersfield; in a corresponding move, forward James Hamblin was assigned to the Condors.
Holloway got off to a slow start to his season with Edmonton, notching just one goal in his first 14 games of the campaign while logging only a little over 11 minutes a night. He then suffered a lower-body injury in mid-November, one that caused him to miss nearly two months. Upon being cleared to return, the 22-year-old was assigned to Bakersfield where the plan was to give him some reps at center. It wound up being a short-lived stint with the Condors but a successful one as Holloway had two goals and two assists in just four games in the minors. It will be interesting to see if he sees time down the middle and takes Hamblin’s spot directly or if they’ll shift him back to the wing.
As for Hamblin, the 24-year-old has spent the bulk of the season with Edmonton, suiting up in 31 games so far. However, Hamblin’s role has been quite limited as he is logging less than eight minutes a night and has been limited to just two goals and one assist offensively while winning just over half of his faceoffs. Hamblin has been more productive with Bakersfield, picking up three goals and two helpers in six games with the Condors. He’ll get a chance to play much bigger minutes as a result of this swap.
Morning Notes: Lindholm, Varlamov, Anderson
Mans Karlsson of Hockey Sverige is reporting that Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm spoke regarding his pending unrestricted free-agent status. Lindholm is less than six months away from hitting the open market and is currently sitting at number one on most hockey pundits’ trade target boards.
Lindholm conceded that he has had a hard time shutting out the noise around his contract status and the trade talk and it may have impacted his performance on the ice. The 29-year-old has just eight goals this season after posting 64 goals combined over the last two years. His assist numbers are in line with his average over the last two seasons (he has 22 helpers so far this season in 45 games) but he has been plagued by a shooting percentage of just 6.6%, which is far off from his career average of 12.1%.
There was talk earlier in the year that Lindholm was seeking a long-term deal with an average annual value of around $9MM, but that number might be a bit ambitious if the former fifth-overall pick continues to struggle to put the puck in the net.
Lindholm told reporters that he and the Flames have not discussed an extension since last summer, and while extensions can be worked out in a matter of days, it seems probable that the Flames and Lindholm could be headed in separate directions sooner rather than later.
In other morning notes:
- Ethan Sears of The New York Post is reporting that New York Islanders’ injured goaltender Semyon Varlamov is back skating daily as he tries to work his way back into the lineup. Varlamov has been out of action since January 2nd with a lower-body injury and is progressing slowly. Ken Appleby has been replacing Varlamov in his absence but has seen just one period of action so far. Varlamov has been good this season posting a 6-4-2 record with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
- Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson is practicing this morning with the team and could return to the lineup tonight against the Boston Bruins after a four-game absence. Anderson has been out with a lower-body injury and practiced today on a line with Brendan Gallagher and Jake Evans. The 29-year-old has struggled this season with just seven goals and five assists in 41 games as his shooting percentage has fallen to just 7.5%, far off his career average of 11.2%. Anderson will reportedly be a game-time decision for the Canadiens today.
Coyotes Liam O’Brien Fined For Roughing
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced last night that Arizona Coyotes forward Liam O’Brien would be fined $2,018.23 for roughing Vancouver Canucks forward Sam Lafferty on January 18th. The amount is the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the money from it will be put towards the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
O’Brien was given a minor penalty for roughing on the play, which occurred at the 5:26 mark of the first period. O’Brien left Arizona’s bench and immediately went after Lafferty after the Canucks forward had laid a big hit earlier in the game. O’Brien threw off his gloves and began punching Lafferty, who did not offer a response. The referees pulled O’Brien away and restrained him before escorting him to the penalty box.
The situation did not cool down after that as O’Brien fought Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov later on in the first period which earned him another five penalty minutes. O’Brien is now the NHL leader in penalty minutes with 105 PIM in 43 games which nearly eclipses the 114 minutes he accumulated last season in 56 games with Arizona.
The 29-year-old has spent parts of seven NHL seasons with the Coyotes, Washington Capitals, and Colorado Avalanche and set career highs last season in games played with 56, goals with three, and assists with eight. He has not faced discipline before from the DOPS.
Sabres Recall Eric Comrie, Assign Devon Levi To AHL
1/21: The Sabres have recalled Levi and sent Comrie back to the minors – reversing the moves made yesterday.
1/20: The Buffalo Sabres have announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Eric Comrie from the Rochester Americans of the AHL and in a corresponding move they’ve assigned netminder Devon Levi to Rochester. The Sabres had gone with three goaltenders at the NHL level earlier in the season, but have demoted Levi and Comrie at different times to try and open up some roster flexibility,
The 28-year-old Comrie has appeared three times for the Americans during his time in the AHL and has been terrific as he went 2-1 with a .951 save percentage and a goals-against average of 1.67. It was a dramatic turnaround from his numbers with the Sabres earlier in the season, as the Edmonton, Alberta native struggled in the NHL with a 1-5 record, a 4.01 goals-against average and a save percentage of .863.
22-year-old Devon Levi has also posted good numbers at the AHL level in limited action as he has gone 1-1 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.94 goals-against average. Much like Comrie, Levi has also struggled at the NHL level as he has dressed in 19 games registering an 8-7-2 record with a 3.32 goals-against average and an .889 save percentage.
While neither of the two netminders have cemented themselves as a full-time NHL backup this season, Levi has posted better underlying numbers according to MoneyPuck.com. While one would think that the Sabres would want to keep the stronger netminder of the two at the NHL, this move could be more about Levi’s development than anything else. The Sabres may want to get Levi into more games down the stretch, and given that he hasn’t been able to do so in the NHL, they might have deemed the best course to have him as a regular starter in the AHL.
Penguins Notes: Karlsson, Ludvig, Smith
The Pittsburgh Penguins tweeted yesterday that star defenseman Erik Karlsson was held out of practice due to an illness. The 33-year-old is questionable for Saturday night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights which means recent call-up Ryan Shea could find his way back into the lineup once again for the Penguins.
Karlsson was acquired this past August in a blockbuster three-way trade involving the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens. He won the Norris Trophy last season after being the first defenseman to top 100 points in a season since Brian Leetch did it in 1991-92. In his first year with the Penguins, Karlsson has had stretches of play where he has looked dominant, however, he has also struggled with the man advantage as the much-maligned Penguins powerplay has yet to find consistency and is a big reason that the team is chasing a playoff spot at the midway point of the season.
In other Penguins notes:
- Pens Inside Scoop is reporting that injured Penguins defenseman John Ludvig skated in a non-contact jersey after the official portion of the team’s practice had ended yesterday. Ludvig was placed on the injured reserve on January 3rd and is progressing towards a return very soon. The 23-year-old is in his first season with the Penguins, and although he has only a single assist in 19 games, he has impressed the team with his defensive responsibility and willingness to throw his body around.
- Pens Inside Scoop also reported that Reilly Smith also skated in a non-contact jersey after Penguins practice as he hopes to return in the coming weeks. Smith will likely not be able to play Saturday when the Penguins take on his former team in the Vegas Golden Knights as he is out longer term with an upper-body injury according to the Penguins. Smith suffered the injury on January 11th and has not played since. While a return to the ice against his former team is unlikely, the 32-year-old is in Vegas with the Penguins and should have a chance to re-connect with the community he spent six years in.
Snapshots: Jenner, Schiefele, Annunen
The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated forward Boone Jenner off of injured reserve. This move confirms team reporter Aaron Portzline’s earlier report that the team captain would make his return on Friday.
Jenner is in his 11th season with the Blue Jackets and his third season as the team’s captain. He’s spent all 686 of his career games with Columbus – beating out Rick Nash for the most games in club history. Jenner has managed 347 points in those games, good for third in club history. Jenner had a career year in the 2015-16 season, managing 30 goals and 49 points in 82 games, while boasting a fairly meager 13.3 shooting percentage. He struggled to replicate that scoring ability for much of the subsequent years but has found a newfound finishing ability over recent seasons – netting 23 goals and 26 goals in the last two seasons respectively. Jenner has 13 goals and 18 points in 29 games this season.
Other notes from around the league:
- Mark Scheifele is expected to miss the Winnipeg Jets’ Saturday matchup against the Ottawa Senators says head coach Rick Bowness. He is battling a lower-body injury suffered on January 11th. He will be reevaluated ahead of the team’s Monday game against the Boston Bruins. Scheifele was placed on injured reserve on January 16th – with the placement retroactive to January 12th – making Saturday the first game that he could have returned for. His absence corresponded with teammate Kyle Connor’s return from injured reserve, helping to keep Winnipeg’s offense alive while their leading-scorer Scheifele misses time.
- The Colorado Avalanche have sent 23-year-old goaltender Justus Annunen to the minors. He was recalled on January 13th and made his season debut, saving 36 of 40 shots in a 7-4 win over the Ottawa Senators. He’s now up to five career NHL games spread over the last three seasons, boasting a 3-1-1 record and .871 save percentage in them. Annunen returns to the AHL, where he’s already managed a 9-5-4 record and .908 save percentage in 18 games this season.
Sharks Notes: Granlund, Emberson, Couture
Mikael Granlund has been ruled out of the San Jose Sharks’ next three games by head coach David Quinn. Team reporter Sheng Peng speculated that Granlund could be moved to injured reserve, along with Ty Emberson, who is designated as week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Granlund has had a bright season despite San Jose’s struggles, boasting 29 points in 38 games, good for second on the team in scoring. He’s served as a top-line player for the Sharks, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time each game. He’s on pace for 63 points this season, a mark that’d be his highest since the 2021-22 season and the fourth time that the forward has netted 60 or more points.
Emberson has played in 21 of San Jose’s 45 games this season, averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time. The 23-year-old defenseman has managed seven points in his appearances, playing out the first games of his NHL career. He is one of four rookies on the Sharks roster, alongside Nikita Okhotyuk, Henry Thrun, and Danil Gushchin.
The Sharks are also seeing the return of captain Logan Couture, who is making his season debut after missing the team’s first 45 games with a lower-body injury. Couture has played 14 seasons and 927 games with the Sharks, ranked fifth in club history in games played. He’s carried that team captaincy since the 2019-20 season when he took over for Joe Pavelski after his move to the Dallas Stars.
Washington Capitals Sign Aliaksei Protas To Five-Year Extension
The Washington Capitals have announced a five-year, $16.875MM contract extension for centerman Aliaksei Protas. The new deal with carry an annual cap hit of $3.375MM. Protas has appeared in all but one of Washington’s 43 games this season, scoring three goals and 18 points. The 23-year-old has served in a bottom-six role, averaging just 13 minutes of ice time on the season, though he’s beginning to sneak into a larger role with an average of over 15 miuntes in his last five games.
Protas is appearing in just his third NHL season and this extension marks the first deal after his entry-level contract. The 23-year-old was selected by the Capitals in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He’s since played in the most games of any player selected outside that year’s top two rounds, managing 133 career games – scoring 42 points throughout. He was drafted from the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, but made his professional debut overseas in the 2020-21 KHL season, scoring 10 goals and 18 points for the KHL’s Minsk Dynamo. He came over to North American pros at the end of Dynamo’s season and made his NHL debut in 2021-22, scoring nine goals in his first 33 games with the Capitals.
Protas satisfies a menagerie of trivia, standing as one of the league’s 10-tallest players and is one of just two Belarusians playing consistently in the NHL this season. In fact, he became just the ninth Belarusian to play 100 NHL games on January 2nd.
Seattle Kraken’s Yanni Gourde Suspended Two Games For Charging
Seattle Kraken centerman Yanni Gourde has been suspended for a charging penalty against Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm. The play in question occurred in the final few minutes of the Thursday night matchup, with the NHL Department of Player Safety saying that Gourde unnecessarily elevated himself into Ekholm’s head on the hit. The league also cited Gourde’s one previous career suspension – a two-game punishment for a hit to the head of Jordan Staal in the 2018-19 season.
Gourde has appeared in all 45 of Seattle’s games this season, boasting seven goals and 19 points. He’s also added 48 penalty minutes, a mark that’s tied with Vince Dunn for team lead. Gourde is in his third season with the Kraken, serving as the selection from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. He’s served in a prominent role for the Kraken, averaging over 17 minutes of ice time in each season since. That includes the 17:48 he’s averaging this year, operating as a middle-six centerman and go-to penalty killer.
Gourde went unselected in the NHL Draft, instead beginning his pro career with the AHL’s Worcester Sharks at the end of the 2011-12 season. He scored three points in four games in his first taste of pros but struggled to maintain that production in his official rookie year – scoring just 14 points in 54 games during the 2012-13 season. He found his way back on draft in the following year, though, and was able to work his way into more prominent roles each season before eventually making his NHL debut in 2015-16 and playing his first full pro season in 2017-18. Gourde made a splash when he finally joined the Tampa lineup, netting an impressive 25 goals and 64 points in 82 games. That remains a career-high in goals and points, though Gourde has nonetheless remained consistent, scoring 48 points in three separate seasons since, including last year.