Penguins Announce Several Injury Updates
Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has provided an update on the team’s injuries. He shared that Noel Acciari will travel with the team on their upcoming three-game road trip. The centerman is not yet skating after suffering a lower-body injury, but Sullivan doesn’t expect he’ll miss much time. Sullivan also shared that Matthew Nieto will not join the team on the road trip, while Rickard Rakell and Chad Ruhwedel are returning to the ice and will join the trip.
Nieto and Acciari are both in their first year with the Penguins and have both appeared in 22 games so far. Acciari has managed a modest two goals and three points, also recording four penalty minutes and a +4. He also ranks third among the team’s centermen in faceoff percentage, winning 52.2 percent of the 224 faceoffs he’s taken this season. Nieto has tallied one goal and four points on the year, adding a +5.
The two depth forwards currently rank last on the Penguins in CF% (Corsi-For percentage) and xGF% (expected-goals-for percentage), showing their struggles through the early season. Acciari, 32, is a veteran of 406 NHL games after signing with the Boston Bruins as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Nieto, 31, was a second-round selection in the 2011 NHL Draft and has appeared in 673 NHL games.
Rakell, who could see a return to action soon, has played in 17 games of his own this season, recording four assists, but is still looking for his first goal of the year. The 30-year-old winger is coming off of a 28-goal, 60-point performance last season – his first full year with the Penguins. Pittsburgh could also get back veteran defender Chad Ruhwedel, who has been with the Penguins since the 2016-17 season. Ruhwedel has appeared in 15 games this season, netting one assist and a -3.
Panthers Assign Uvis Balinskis To AHL
12/4: The Panthers have recalled Balinskis to the NHL roster, after sending him down on December 1st. He missed one Panthers game with his assignment.
12/1: The Panthers announced Friday that defenseman Uvis Balinskis has been assigned to AHL Charlotte. This is the first demotion of his NHL career after signing as an undrafted free agent with the Panthers last summer.
The 27-year-old Balinskis joined Florida after spending the first eight years of his professional career in Czechia and Russia. He’s been a fixture on the Latvian national team throughout that time, representing them at the World Juniors, World Championship (on multiple occasions), and the Olympics. Last season, Balinskis recorded a career-high 35 points in 50 games for Czech Extraliga team Bili Tygri Liberec, drawing NHL interest in the process. It earned him a one-year, two-way deal with an $870K cap hit.
In his first NHL season, Balinskis has largely been effective in a depth role. Skating in 15 games, he averaged just 13:50 per contest, notching a goal and an assist with a +1 rating. His possession numbers have been strong – a 53.9% Corsi share at even strength and strong advanced metrics – but he’s offered little in the way of play-driving ability. He’s been an effective signing for what the Panthers brought him in to do, but with Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour both returning from season-opening injuries last month, Balinskis’ role in the lineup evaporated.
As a first-year NHLer, Balinskis is exempt from waivers. The Panthers can ferry him up and down from the minors as they please this season, and he’ll likely be brought back up at some point. Sending Balinskis to the minors leaves them with six healthy defenders, as Josh Mahura remains on injured reserve and depth puck-mover Mike Reilly was claimed off waivers by the Islanders last week. Because of his age, Balinskis will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Jets Sign Nino Niederreiter To Three-Year Extension
The Winnipeg Jets have signed forward Nino Niederreiter to a three-year contract extension. The new deal carries a $4MM annual average value (AAV) and will begin next season. Niederreiter is in his first full season with Winnipeg, after joining the team via a trade with the Nashville Predators last season.
Niederreiter has appeared in 23 games with the Jets this season, recording six goals, 14 points, and a +9. He managed similar stats after joining the Jets last season, appearing in 22 games and scoring six goals and 13 points. He also added four points in five playoff games.
Winnipeg is the fifth franchise that the 31-year-old Niederreiter has played for across his 13-year career. He was originally drafted fifth overall by the New York Islanders in the 2010 NHL Draft and went on to make his NHL debut at the end of the 2010-11 season, joining the Islanders roster after the end of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks season. His rookie season came in 2011-12, and was marked by a string of challenges, with Niederreiter only recording one goal and a -29 through 55 games. He bounced back from the shaky start, though, going on to record 833 career NHL games and 423 career points. He ranks sixth in the 2010 Draft class in career games.
Niederreiter is averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time this season, providing strong support to Winnipeg’s middle-six. He is one of nine Jets with 10 or more points this season. The roster currently ranks third in the Central Division, with a 13-8-2 record. They also rank 11th in goal-differential, with a +10.
Senators’ D.J. Smith On The Hot Seat
The Ottawa Senators are falling flat this season, carrying a 9-10-0 record that currently has them ranked third-to-last in the NHL. They rank 28th in goals-for through the early season as well, despite having nine different skaters with 10 or more points. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch shared that, as the team continues to struggle, head coach D.J. Smith‘s seat is becoming one of the hottest in Ottawa. Garrioch added that new GM Staios isn’t looking to make a change yet, but continued losses could force his hand to make a change sooner rather than later.
Smith has been with the Senators since the 2019-20 season, stepping into his first head coaching role in the NHL after four seasons as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s commanded 310 games with Ottawa, setting a losing record of 129-149-32. Ottawa has also failed to make the playoffs under his leadership, although they’ve only managed three playoff berths since 2010.
It’s been a different coaching experience for Smith, who proved highly successful in his time as the head coach of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals from 2012 to 2015. Through his three years with the Generals, he led the team to three playoff runs, capping it off with a run to the J. Ross Robertson Cup and a Memorial Cup win. Smith’s championship-winning Generals lineup was led by Michael Dal Colle and Cole Cassels, with support from standouts like Anthony Cirelli, Michael McCarron, and Mitchell Vande Sompel.
Garrioch emphasized that Staios is hoping that Ottawa can right the ship before a coaching change is necessary. The team has played the fewest games in the league in the early season, three fewer than anyone else in the Atlantic Division, and ranks 23rd in the league in point percentage. The team could regroup as they catch up to their peers in games played. But if they can’t, changes could continue to flow in for a Senators team currently facing a new owner and general manager.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Dallas Stars
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 Dallas Stars.
Who are the Stars thankful for?
There were a number of different ways that we could have gone here, but it is hard to dismiss the agelessness of 39-year-old Joe Pavelski.
Many pundits thought the Dallas Stars had made a big miscalculation back in July 2019 when the club signed a then 34-year-old Pavelski to a three-year $21MM contract just ten days before his 35th birthday. And one season into the deal, it sure looked like the pundits were right. Pavelski looked lost and tired as he suffered through one of the worst seasons of his NHL career. But since that first year, he has registered 91 goals and 142 assists in 242 games.
Now part of those numbers are because Pavelski is playing fewer minutes than his career average, and he is also playing with very skilled teammates, but it is hard to discount all the intangibles Pavelski has brought to the Stars dressing room on top of being a bonafide top-6 forward. Pavelski hasn’t had to sacrifice any of his attention to detail when it comes to his defensive responsibilities and continues to remain in the conversation when it comes to Selke Trophy considerations year after year. All of this in his 18th NHL season, while he continues to play under a very team-friendly cap hit making just $3.5MM this season (plus $2MM in bonuses).
Pavelski might not be the biggest star in Dallas, but his reliability at both ends of the ice, and his ability to make everyone around him better continue to impress as he pushes towards his 40th birthday.
What are the Stars thankful for?
Their scouting staff.
Very few teams have hit on late first-round picks and second-round picks the way the Dallas Stars have over the last decade. The Stars were fortunate to pick the likes of Miro Heiskanen third overall. But most of their depth was built off smart picks later in the draft. All-star goaltender Jake Oettinger was a late first-round pick 26th overall in the 2017 NHL entry draft, Jason Robertson was selected 13 spots later at 39th overall and has emerged as a top-flight offensive talent. Roope Hintz was a late second-round pick in the 2015 draft while Wyatt Johnston was selected 23rd overall in 2021. The list goes on and it goes to show just how Dallas has built a team that can contend year in and year out.
The stars currently boast some of the best depth in the NHL evidenced by Johnston centering a third line that features Jamie Benn. They haven’t just hit on draft picks as they’ve also been able to make smart free-agent signings (see Pavelski above) and craft trades along the way. The scouts in Dallas at both the amateur and pro level have done a commendable job identifying available talent that other NHL clubs are undervaluing.
What would the Stars be even more thankful for?
Ryan Suter dialing it back.
At 39 years old it is unlikely that Ryan Suter is going to find another gear suddenly. The 11-time all-star defenseman has seen his offensive game fall into a decline since 2020, while his defensive game has been slipping away since 2015. Suter was once considered one of the top two-way defensemen in the NHL, but time has caught up to the Madison, Wisconsin native.
In Dallas, Suter has been thrust into a role that is probably outside of his current skillset as he has played significant minutes with Miro Heiskanen. Suter is averaging over 20 minutes a night, and while that is a steep decline from last season, it is still a rather large number for one of the oldest defensemen in the NHL.
The drop-in ice time has mostly come from Suter being removed from the Stars’ power play. With his speed and footwork in decline, the Stars have made the call to primarily use Suter at even strength on their top pairing. The good news for Suter is that he is partnered up with Heiskanen and can benefit from the youngster’s strong skillset. Suter hasn’t been terrible this year and has mostly been fine, but given the Stars’ Stanley Cup aspirations, it will be important that Suter finds another gear, or the Stars look for someone who can better log Suter’s minutes and perhaps bump him down the depth chart.
What should be on the Stars holiday wish list?
A defenseman.
As mentioned above, Suter could probably benefit from a more sheltered role in the Stars’ defense core. Esa Lindell could also use some help as well as he too has had his struggles. All this points to the Stars needing to shop for another defender.
Dallas is in the fortunate position to have a decent farm system from which they could trade, and also have some young roster players that could entice teams to part with a defenseman. Although I would avoid trading Johnston if possible.
The Stars could benefit from a right-side defenseman, and while it wouldn’t improve Suter’s position on the depth chart, it would allow Jani Hakanpää to slide down into the bottom pairing. Hakanpää has had a rough start to the season and would likely welcome some sheltered minutes on a 5-6 pairing.
If Dallas opts to trade for right-shot defensemen there will certainly be options available to them. Tyson Barrie of the Nashville Predators is out there, as is Chris Tanev of the Calgary Flames. If the Stars wanted to be bolder, they could take a run at Noah Hanifin as he would slot in beautifully on their top pair next to Heiskanen.
Cap space will be an issue for the Stars, but as we inch closer and closer to the trade deadline it will become less of an issue. Dallas is on the cusp of breaking through in the playoffs and one more defenseman could be just the thing that gets them over the hump and back to the Stanley Cup finals.
Cale Makar Will Not Play Tonight
Peter Baugh of The Athletic is reporting that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar will miss tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Kings with a lower-body injury. Baugh relayed the news from Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar who said that Makar is out for tonight and that was all he knew for now.
Makar is currently one of the frontrunners for the Norris Trophy as his seven goals and 27 assists in 23 games have him tied for fourth in NHL scoring with Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes. He has finished in the top-3 in Norris Trophy voting in each of the past three seasons and is making a strong case for it to be four years in a row. He won the award back in 2022 and was also the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in the same year.
Makar left the Avalanche game last night against the Anaheim Ducks just before the end of regulation. He was unavailable during the overtime period and the shootout, which the Avalanche eventually lost.
If he is out for any length of time it would be a big blow to a Colorado club that currently sits atop the Central Division with a 15-6-2 record. They were on a hot streak having won seven of eight prior games to dropping their last two to the Ducks and Arizona Coyotes.
With Makar sidelined, it appears that rookie Sam Malinski will dress in his second career NHL game. The 25-year-old signed as an undrafted free agent this past March after playing four years at Cornell University. In 17 AHL games this season with the Colorado Eagles, Malinski has three goals and six assists.
Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Alex Nylander
12/03/23: Following the placement of Matt Nieto on injured reserve, the Penguins recalled Nylander to their NHL roster. Nylander dressed for three AHL games on his latest reassignment, collecting two assists.
11/29/23: The Pittsburgh Penguins have reassigned forward Alex Nylander to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins.
The 25-year-old former top prospect heads back to the AHL after plying in three games for the Penguins. He got a shot in the team’s top-six playing next to Evgeni Malkin and Reilly Smith, but wasn’t able to make the most of it. Despite receiving over 15 minutes of ice time per game during his call-up, Nylander did not record a point.
But while in the NHL Nylander struggles to be a factor, in the AHL he’s a top player. He scored 25 goals and 50 points for Wilkes-Barre Scranton last season and currently has eight points in 11 games with the club. He’ll now return to his starring role with the AHL’s Penguins just in time for their game tonight against the Hershey Bears.
The Penguins with this reassignment have cleared a spare open spot on their roster to make another move. They could end up bringing an extra forward up to replace Nylander, though it is likely that before the season is done Nylander will get another shot at the NHL level with the team.
Big Hype Prospects: Bains, Fowler, Sandin-Pellikka, Atanasov, Buium
Welcome to PHR’s Big Hype Prospects series. Like the MLB Trade Rumors series of the same name, we’re taking a look at the performances of top prospects from across the hockey world. We’ll look at drafted prospects who are rising, others who are struggling, and prospects for the upcoming draft who are notable.
Five Big Hype Prospects
Arshdeep Bains, LW, Vancouver Canucks (Abbotsford Canucks, AHL)
17GP 3G 18A 21pts
With 21 points in just 17 games this season, the 22-year-old Bains is shaping up to be a developmental success story for the Canucks. As trades and poor drafting has dried the team’s pipeline of young talent, the organization has relied on signings of high-scoring WHL products. Tristen Nielsen, who scored 41 points for Abbotsford last season, is also an example of this but the true gem signing thusfar has been Bains.
A five-year WHLer with the Red Deer Rebels, Bains only truly broke out in his overage season in the WHL. Before that point, his career-high was 18 goals and 51 points in 63 games. Then in 2021-22 he put together a stunning season with 43 goals and 112 points in 68 games.
That campaign earned Bains an entry-level contract with the Canucks, who put him in their middle-six in the AHL for the following season. He had a solid rookie year but not a dominant one, scoring 13 goals and 38 points.
So far this season, Bains has been one of the best scorers in the entire AHL, and he’s currently on pace to score 86 points over the course of a full season. Of course, he could very well end up in the NHL before he gets the chance to put together a potentially MVP-winning AHL season.
Many high-scoring overagers from the CHL struggle to translate their offense to a more demanding pro-environment. That hasn’t been a problem for Bains thus far this year.
Jacob Fowler, G, Montreal Canadiens (Boston College, NCAA)
12-3-1 2.04 GAA .929 sv%
Despite posting an 8-1 record and .952 save percentage in the USHL playoffs en route to a Clark Cup Championship, Fowler did not hear his name called until the third round of the 2023 NHL draft, after several goalies had already been selected.
Concerns over Fowler’s fitness from scouts led to many teams opting for more athletic prospects such as Adam Gajan or Michael Hrabal, but so far this season Fowler has arguably performed the best out of any of 2023’s goalies.
Playing for a Boston College program that could very well compete for a national championship, Fowler has started 16 games and gone 12-3-1. Almost every one of his starts has been a quality one, and he currently has a .929 save percentage and just a 2.04 goals-against-average.
Perhaps more importantly, Fowler has addressed concerns regarding his fitness. According to Radio Canada’s Marc-Antoine Godin, Fowler has cut his weight down from 220 pounds at the time of the draft to 200 pounds now, crediting both time in the gym as well as a “serious change in his nutrition.”
Not only has Fowler had no issue carrying over his USHL brilliance to the college level, he now seems to have seriously addressed one of the most significant question marks surrounding his NHL projection.
Although the Canadiens drafted three goalies in 2023, the early portion of this season has indicated that it’s Fowler who is most likely to end up the Canadiens “goalie of the future.”
Moving forward, all eyes will be on whether Fowler is able to unseat Michigan State starter Trey Augustine as the expected number-one goalie for Team USA at the upcoming World Junior Championships.
Axel Sandin-Pellikka, RHD, Detroit Red Wings (Skellefteå AIK, SHL)
23GP 8G 4A 12pts
One of the most talented offensive defensemen in the 2023 draft class, the early returns on Sandin-Pellikka have been strong. The right-shot blueliner has firmly established himself as an SHL-caliber player after playing in just 22 league games last season, and he has excelled in multiple areas.
Not only is he playing a heavy dose of minutes (he gets legitimate top-four ice time) but he’s also scoring goals at a far higher rate than is typically expected of a defenseman, let alone an 18-year-old one. Sandin-Pellikka is on pace to score 18 goals in a 52-game season, assuming he can keep this pace up.
The Red Wings selected Sandin-Pellkka 17th overall at the 2023 draft in large part due to confidence that his tantalizing offensive tools would translate into meaningful production at higher levels of hockey.
Although it’s still early, the Red Wings have to be encouraged by how well his dynamic, pace-pushing game has adjusted to one of the top leagues in the world.
Vasili Atanasov, C, Free Agent (Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo, KHL)
35GP 17G 15A 32pts
One of the most challenging things any prospect faces is making the adjustment from playing against one’s peers in a junior league to playing against men in a professional environment. Many players fail in that environment, unable to translate what made them so successful at lower levels to a heightened level of competition.
For Atanasov, a 21-year-old undrafted forward, that adjustment has finally come in 2023-24. A former top scorer at Russia’s junior level, Atanasov has taken the reins of head coach Igor Larianov’s Torpedo squad and is now on pace to score 32 goals and 60 points.
Atanasov possesses a similar physical profile to Canucks star Andrei Kuzmenko, who did not become a point-per-game KHL scorer until his mid-twenties. Atanasov could very well be at that point at 21 years old, which would bode well for his NHL projection should he have any interest in crossing the Atlantic.
Seeing as Kuzmenko turned a 53-point KHL campaign into a 39-goal, 74-point NHL rookie season the following year, if Atanasov can keep up his scoring pace he’ll likely be a highly in-demand free agent the moment he offers his services to NHL clubs.
Zeev Buium, LHD, 2024 Draft Prospect (University of Denver, NCAA)
16GP 5G 16A 21pts
With Russian “unicorn”Anton Silayev soaking up early-season headlines with his breakout rookie KHL season, other defensemen in the 2024 draft class have gotten less attention than they might otherwise have received. One of those blueliners deserving of more hype is Buium, a leading freshman for the Denver Pioneers.
A U.S. National Team Development Program product, Buium is the brother of one of the Red Wings’ best defensive prospects, Shai Buium. The younger Buium has more of an offensive touch than his older brother, and has a similar physical profile, listed now as six-foot-two on Denver’s team website.
Despite the fact that he is a draft-eligible prospect, Buium has firmly placed himself in the conversation for the upcoming World Junior Championships. He’s scored 21 points in his first 16 NCAA games, and could very well end the campaign with one of the best pre-draft college hockey seasons by any defenseman in recent memory.
A well-rounded player with strong skating and a good mind for the game, Buium has already risen sharply on NHL draft boards, and at this point it would be a surprise if he did not hear his name called in the draft’s first round.
Nashville Predators Recall Mark Jankowski
The Nashville Predators have recalled forward Mark Jankowski from their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.
The 29-year-old 2012 first-round pick has spent the entirety of this season so far with the Admirals, and is currently second on the team in points with 14 in 17 games. The Predators played the New York Rangers last night and today play the Buffalo Sabres.
The recall of Jankowski allows the Predators to have an extra forward on their roster for depth purposes, just in case coach Andrew Brunette elects to shuffle his lineup for tonight’s game. With Jankowski recalled, the team now has the flexibility to give a forward the night off if they so choose.
A versatile six-foot-four center, Jankowski can also play along the wings and has a decent track record of secondary offensive production. Not only is he a former AHL All-Star, Jankowski also has a career-high of 17 goals in the NHL and has over 322 games of NHL experience.
If Jankowski ends up playing, he’d likely be slotted onto Nashville’s fourth line, either in the place of Michael McCarron at the 4C spot or in place of Dante Fabbro, who has been dressed as a seventh defenseman.
Afternoon Notes: Martin, Colton, Sharks
After an injury to Daniil Tarasov put the Columbus Blue Jackets short one goaltender, the team claimed veteran Spencer Martin off of waivers from the Vancouver Canucks. It was a somewhat risky bet, as Martin struggled immensely in 2022-23. But so far Martin has put forth improved performance, as his .903 save percentage this year is quite a bit better than the .871 mark he had last year.
Unfortunately for Martin, his time in Columbus could very well be nearing an end. As Tarasov gets closer to a return from his injury, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that Martin is “likely to go back on waivers.” (subscription link) Although Martin could clear waivers and end up with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, the dire state of goaltending for some teams across the NHL means its far from a guarantee that the Blue Jackets will be able to retain Martin.
Some more notes from the rest of the NHL:
- Colorado Avalanche forward Ross Colton was fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for a “dangerous tripping” on Anaheim Ducks rookie Leo Carlsson. Colton was assessed a penalty on the play and now is deducted $5,000 as well. An offseason trade addition for the Avalanche, Colton has scored seven goals and 12 points in 23 games this year.
- The San Jose Sharks have activated defenseman Jan Rutta and forward Alexander Barabanov off of injured reserve in advance of their game this evening against the New York Rangers in Manhattan. It had been widely reported that both players were nearing a return, and now the team has made it official. Barabanov is the more notable name of the duo, as he scored 15 goals and 47 points in 68 games last season.