Afternoon Notes: Bowness, Vasilevskiy, Perry
The Winnipeg Jets have announced that head coach Rick Bowness has returned to the team after taking a leave of absence to be with his wife following a medical emergency. Bowness left the team a month ago and associate coach Scott Arniel served as interim head coach while Bowness was with his family.
Bowness will officially re-join the team and serve as head coach today when the Jets take on the Florida Panthers. Winnipeg surprisingly sits in third place in the Central Division with an 11-5-2 record, they trail division leaders the Dallas Stars by just two points.
Bowness met up with the Jets in Sunrise, Florida today and the team posted a video of the 68-year-old circling the clubs dressing room and greeting the players. The Jets rallied after a slow start to the season and managed to go 9-2-2 in Bowness’s absence. With their head coach now back in the fold, the Jets appear poised to go on a run as one of the feel-good stories in the early part of the NHL season.
In other afternoon notes:
- Tampa Bay Times writer Eduardo A. Encina is reporting that Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy will make his season debut today when the team takes on the Carolina Hurricanes. Vasilevskiy was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate today signalling that he will make his return from back surgery. The 2019 Vezina Trophy winner has yet to dress this season and should provide a jolt to a team that has been treading water early in the year. Tampa Bay is 9-6-5 which is good enough for third in the Atlantic Division and impressive for a team that had to play a quarter of the season without one of the best goaltenders in the world.
- Chicago Sun-Times writer Ben Pope tweeted today that Chicago Blackhawks forward Corey Perry will not play again today and that no further updates have been given. Perry missed practice after being a healthy scratch on Wednesday for what was deemed an ‘organizational decision.’ It appears he will remain a healthy scratch for the time being as the Blackhawks take on the Toronto Maple Leafs this afternoon. Perry has four goals and five assists in 16 games this season and has registered a -6.
Atlantic Notes: Timmins, Benson, Barkov
TSN’s Mark Masters has tweeted that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins will play today, making his season debut for the team after he suffered a lower-body injury in a preseason game back on September 29th. Timmins could help fill some of the offensive void left by injured rearguard John Klingberg who was recently put on LTIR. Timmins offensive capabilities were on full display in the preseason when he notched six points in three games and he does have a very similar skillset to that of Klingberg, although the Maple Leafs will be hoping for a different result as Klingberg struggled early in his first season with Toronto.
Timmins benefited greatly from last year’s trade that saw him sent to the Maple Leafs by the Arizona Coyotes. In 25 games with Toronto, Timmins posted two goals and 12 assists while averaging 15 minutes of ice time per game. His puck management left a lot to be desired, but he did talk in the preseason about learning not to force plays with the puck and making better reads.
In other Atlantic Division notes:
- The Buffalo News reporter Lance Lysowski tweeted today that Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson skated with the Sabres’ second power-play unit and looks as though he will plan in his tenth NHL game of the season today. Sportsnet later confirmed the news meaning that Benson will see the entry-level contract he signed for three seasons kick in immediately, and it can no longer slide or extend by a year. Benson is one of four players from the 2023 NHL entry draft who is playing in the NHL at the moment, and he has been productive thus far in nine games tallying a goal and four assists.
- Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald tweeted that Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has confirmed that star center Aleksander Barkov will return to the lineup tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. Barkov injured his knee last week against the Anaheim Ducks and missed the Panthers last two games. He took his usual spot in the lineup during this morning’s practice centering a line alongside Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart. Barkov’s return will be a welcome sign for the Panthers as the 28-year-old has registered six goals and 11 assists in 16 games this season.
Metropolitan Notes: Raanta, Chytil, Rust
The Hurricanes have managed to avoid a true injury crisis in the crease. After he left Wednesday’s game against the Oilers due to what the team labeled as “precautionary reasons,” netminder Antti Raanta is starting today’s contest against the Lightning and won’t miss any time, team reporter Walt Ruff relays.
While Raanta ended up recording the win against the Oilers, he was pulled from the game after the first period, where he allowed one goal on eight shots. Raanta missing any time would have created a significant bind for the Hurricanes, who also released veteran Jaroslav Halák from a PTO this week. Outside of Pyotr Kochetkov, who is serving as Raanta’s backup while starter Frederik Andersen is undergoing treatment for a blood clotting issue, the Hurricanes have only one goalie under NHL contract. That’s Quinnipiac grad and one-time national champion Yaniv Perets, who is in his first season of professional hockey after signing an entry-level deal with Carolina last summer. The highest level of hockey he’s played is second-tier minor hockey, playing with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals this year.
Other notes in the Metropolitan Division on this holiday weekend:
- Rangers center Filip Chytil has taken a key step in his recovery from an assumed concussion, as head coach Peter Laviolette told the New York Post’s Larry Brooks today that the Czech center has returned skating on his own. Chytil, 24, has remained sidelined since November 2 with what’s being labeled an upper-body injury and remains on injured reserve. He had notched six assists in ten games before the injury, which has kept him out of the last seven games.
- Penguins winger Bryan Rust will miss a second straight game with a lower-body injury tonight against the Sabres, head coach Mike Sullivan told Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but it’s likely to be his last absence related to the ailment. Dan Kingerski of National Hockey Now relayed that Rust was a full participant in this morning’s skate and is nearing a return to action. Rust underwent evaluation for a lower-body injury earlier this week, but testing revealed the injury was not serious and resulted in a day-to-day designation. Drew O’Connor, who has just one goal and four points in 18 games this season, has occupied Rust’s spot on the top line. Rust has excelled in the early going, notching 16 points through 17 games.
Senators Recall Matthew Highmore, Mads Søgaard
The Ottawa Senators recalled forward Matthew Highmore and goaltender Mads Søgaard from AHL Belleville on Friday morning, per a team release. Highmore was brought up on a traditional recall, while Søgaard’s recall is under emergency conditions.
That’s because Senators starter Joonas Korpisalo is not ready to return from an undisclosed injury and will miss today’s game against the Islanders. Søgaard, who was already ferried up and down last week due to the team’s trip to Stockholm for the NHL Global Series, will likely serve as the backup to Anton Forsberg in today’s contest.
Søgaard, the 22-year-old Dane, was selected 37th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft and is still viewed as the Senators’ netminder of the future. He carries an absolutely massive frame at 6-foot-8 and nearly 200 pounds that’s translated into some strong numbers.
Now in his fourth pro season, Søgaard is off to his best start yet. In eight games with Belleville, he’s recorded a strong 2.35 GAA, .923 SV%, one shutout, and a 4-3-0 record.
Søgaard got an extended NHL look last season, starting 17 games in the wake of injuries to both Forsberg and former Senator Cam Talbot. Across 19 NHL starts and 21 total appearances over the last two seasons, he’s posted a 9-7-3 record, .889 SV%, and 3.30 GAA. There’s certainly room for technical improvement in his game – he won’t reach his ceiling in the NHL just based on his size.
Meanwhile, Highmore returns to the Senators’ roster on his second recall of the month. He skated in three games earlier this month, recording one assist and averaging only 7:59 per game.
Highmore could draw into the lineup in today’s game, but it’s not a guarantee. With him on the roster, Ottawa has 13 healthy forwards. Ridly Greig and Mark Kastelic remain out of the lineup and on injured reserve.
The 27-year-old is in his first season with the Senators organization after inking a one-year, two-way deal in free agency last summer. He’s notched seven points and a -9 rating through nine games with Belleville this season. A veteran of over 140 NHL games, he’s a rather experienced option to come up from the minors and slide into the Senators’ bottom six.
Kraken Reassign Andrew Poturalski
The Kraken returned forward Andrew Poturalski to AHL Coachella Valley yesterday afternoon, per a team announcement.
Poturalski, 29, was on his first recall of the season. The team brought him up early last week, but the veteran scorer who puts up electric numbers in the minors was a healthy scratch in all of the Kraken’s five games while he was on the roster.
Seattle has called upon multiple forwards to come up from the minors this season in the wake of longer-term injuries to André Burakovsky and Brandon Tanev, as well as a shorter-term absence that kept Jordan Eberle out of the lineup earlier this month. Veteran NHLer Devin Shore has seen some time up with the Kraken after heading to the minors in the preseason, as well as youngsters Shane Wright and Ryan Winterton.
The Kraken brought Poturalski into the organization in the summer of 2022 to serve as a key leadership figure for Coachella Valley in their affiliate’s inaugural season. While injuries limited him to 38 games, he scored 11 goals, 31 assists and 42 points, keeping him above the point-per-game mark for a second straight season.
In 2021-22, just before joining Coachella Valley, Poturalski won a Calder Cup championship with the Chicago Wolves, then the Carolina Hurricanes’ affiliate, and captured the JB Sollenberger Trophy for the regular-season scoring title (101 points in 71 contests).
Poturalski is off to a slightly more tepid start this season, recording two goals and five assists in ten contests. His last two outings for Coachella Valley were especially rough, notching a combined -4 rating, no points and four shots on goal in back-to-back losses.
That’s where he returns for the time being while the Kraken forward group is at full health, minus Burakovsky. Poturalski heading back to the minors leaves the Kraken with just 12 healthy forwards on their roster.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Buffalo Sabres
As Thanksgiving and 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 Buffalo Sabres.
Who are the Sabres thankful for?
The Sabres raised a lot of eyebrows when they signed the 23-year-old to an eight-year $88MM contract extension back in October that made him one of the highest-paid defensemen in NHL history. The signing made sense from Dahlin’s perspective as he cashed in on a career year and became one of the highest paid players in the league.
From the Sabres perspective, there were a few question marks. Dahlin has never finished above eighth place in Norris Trophy voting and has only garnered consideration one time. However, the Sabres bet on Dahlin’s continued development going forward and are hoping he will turn into a perennial Norris Trophy contender throughout the life of the deal.
A month after signing the deal, Dahlin has given the Sabres everything they could ask for. He has averaged almost 25 minutes a night of ice time, playing in all situations. He has been terrific for the Sabres at even strength, while remaining a threat on the power play and has even worked on the penalty kill, putting up solid numbers in the process.
Dahlin has really demonstrated his value to Buffalo while center Tage Thompson has been out of action. The Sabres desperately needed someone to step up in Thompson’s absence and so far, Dahlin has been one of the leaders to fill the void. In Sunday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks Dahlin had a goal and two assists and was pivotal in the Sabres ending their three-game losing streak
Dahlin posted 73 points in 78 games last season while averaging almost 26 minutes a night in ice time, this season his numbers thus far are almost identical. He is averaging about a minute less of ice time per game, but offensively he is on pace to come close to last season’s totals. Dahlin has four goals and 12 assists in the first 19 games of the season and has been much more physical and has also been more responsible with the puck than in seasons past.
What are the Sabres thankful for?
Their fanbase.
Buffalo sports fans are some of the most enduring fans in the world. You don’t lose four Super Bowls in a row without learning a thing or two about remaining passionate in the face of adversity. But still, credit to the fans of the Buffalo Sabres for still turning up in droves year after year to see a team that hasn’t made the Stanley Cup playoffs for 12 straight years.
Some people will point to the Sabres attendance this year and say that their numbers are down (which they are), but for the most part, the fans are still turning up in person to watch a team that hasn’t given them anything to cheer about for over a decade. The Sabres crowds might be smaller than in years past, but the crowd is still loud and passionate and firmly behind the team.
It will be interesting to see what the attendance numbers look like for the remainder of the season as Buffalo came into this year with playoff aspirations and thus far hasn’t looked like a playoff team. The Sabres have started the year 8-9-2 and if their season starts to go sideways, they could see more nights where there are over 5,000 empty seats in the KeyBank Center like we saw a few weeks ago.
What would the Sabres be even more thankful for?
A solution to their three-goalie situation.
The Sabres have been rolling this season with three goaltenders which hasn’t been an ideal set of circumstances for a team that needs help in the goal-scoring department. The Sabres have been unable to bring up any of their scoring prospects from the AHL because of the roster spot being occupied by the third goaltender. And make no mistake, Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen are both recent first-round picks that could both help the Sabres with their scoring woes.
The three-goalie situation also hasn’t been great for all the goaltenders involved either. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been solid thus far for Buffalo going 4-3-1 with a .911 save percentage, but Eric Comrie has been uneven going 1-2 with an .898 save percentage. While all those numbers are pretty run-of-the-mill, poor Devon Levi has struggled to gain any traction with a 3-4-1 record and a .879 save percentage.
The solution to the situation would likely be unpopular in Buffalo, but it would be the most practical. One goaltender needs to be sent to the minors and given their contract situations it would most likely be Levi as he is exempt from waivers and could be sent down without the risk of the Sabres losing him. Luukkonen and Comrie could be sent down to the AHL, but they would likely be claimed by another team should Buffalo elect to do that.
Levi doesn’t exactly deserve a demotion, but given Buffalo’s struggle to score, his contract situation and play, it would be the most pragmatic move that Buffalo could make.
What should be on the Sabres holiday wish list?
An offensive forward.
As I mentioned before, the Sabres need to score more, and an offensive-minded forward would go a long way to adding some punch to their offensive attack. The Sabres do boast a fair amount of young offensively gifted players, but many of them are just learning the pro hockey game and have yet to find the consistency that Buffalo needs to get back to the playoffs.
The Sabres have been tied to hometown boy Patrick Kane, and while Kane certainly has the offensive pedigree, he is a bit of an unknown given the situation with his hip recovery. If he could regain some of the form he showed in Chicago just two years ago, Kane could be a solution to Buffalo’s problems, but it would be asking a lot from a player who is coming off major surgery.
The fact that Buffalo is in on Kane is an indication that they would like to add a high-end offensive forward which should be encouraging to Sabres fans. If Buffalo can find space to bring up one of their young scoring forwards from the AHL and find an offensively talented forward from outside the organization, they might be able to finally optimize their offense.
Elias Pettersson Still In No Rush To Sign Contract Extension
TSN Insider Chris Johnston is reporting that pending restricted free agent Elias Pettersson still doesn’t appear to be in any rush to sign a contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks. Pettersson is under Canucks control for one more season after this one and Johnston wonders if Pettersson might elect to go to arbitration with the club and accept a one-year contract, or take a qualifying offer which would come in north of $8MM.
While that news might not sit well with Canucks fans, it appears that Pettersson’s logic for the holding pattern might be to try and get a better sense of where the NHL salary cap ceiling is going before he puts pen to paper on a long-term deal.
The 25-year-old is off to a terrific start this season with eight goals and 20 assists in 20 games for the surprising Canucks who currently sit second in the Pacific Division with a 13-6-1 record. Many thought that Pettersson could be in a holding pattern to see what the future of the Canucks looked like before signing a new deal, but 20 games into the season it doesn’t appear as though the Canucks hot start has moved the needle for Pettersson.
The native of Sundsvall, Sweden is coming off a season in which he registered 39 goals and 63 assists in 80 games and is currently on pace for a 114-point season should he dress in all 82 games this year. It appears the longer Pettersson waits, the higher his price is going to climb, barring an injury or a massive slump at some point this season.
The Canucks are in a reasonably good salary cap situation beyond this year, and it shouldn’t be an issue fitting in a cap hit that is at or around the $10MM per season that Pettersson is sure to be seeking on a long-term deal. But until he signs that deal, there is sure to be a cloud of doubt surrounding Pettersson’s long-term future in Vancouver.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Boston Bruins
As Thanksgiving and 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 Boston Bruins.
Who are the Bruins thankful for?
Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark
Boston’s goaltending wasn’t just great last season, it was historically great. And with the litany of NHL all-stars that departed Boston this summer, many pundits figured that the Bruins’ historical 65-win season would be a distant memory as they struggled through this season. That has not been the case, in fact, the Bruins aren’t just as good as last year. Thus far this season, they are actually better. Last season at this time Boston was sporting an incredible .823 points percentage, but this year they are sitting at an unfathomable .861.
Sure, they still have some of the pieces from their strong core kicking around, but the real reasons they are historically good once again this season are Swayman and Ullmark.
Swayman and Ullmark have split goaltending duties almost directly down the middle this season with incredibly close comparables. Swayman is currently sporting a record of 7-0-2 with a 2.09 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. Ullmark on the other hand is 7-1-1 with a 2.10 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.
To find a discrepancy between the two netminders it requires a deep dive into the numbers. According to Money Puck, Swayman has saved one full goal more when you look at both goaltenders’ goals saved above expected. Swayman has posted a 7.6 goals saved above expected while Ullmark has posted 6.6. The calculation by Money Puck is done by taking the goals that a goalie is expected to allow and then subtracting the actual number of goals the goalie has let in. Both Ullmark and Swayman are well above average in this category and every other goaltending metric.
There was talk in the summer that maybe the Bruins would like to move on from Ullmark, but it is hard to fathom Boston breaking up such an incredible duo. Goaltending is a notoriously difficult position to project and it’s rare for teams to get one goalie playing as well as Swayman or Ullmark, and having two is unheard of.
What are the Bruins thankful for?
Surprising play from their top centers.
When Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci announced their retirements in August, many thought that it could be curtains for the Bruins time atop the NHL standings. But, from the moment the puck dropped to start the NHL season they have received quality work from their top two centers Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle.
Zacha’s year didn’t start out great as he had just a single assist in the first five games of the season, but since that time he has posted seven goals and six assists in his past 13 games. On top of finding his offensive game, Zacha is averaging almost three and a half minutes more ice time per game than his career average and is finding far more success in the faceoff circle winning draws at a rate that is almost five percent higher than last season.
Coyle on the other hand is on pace for a career season and has fit the role of a top-6 center perfectly. At the moment the 31-year-old is on pace for 32 goals and 41 assists should he dress in all 82 games. Now a lot would have to go right for Coyle to hit those numbers, but the odds are pretty good that he will top the career-high 56 points he put up in the 2016-17 season. Coyle isn’t just doing good work on the offensive side of the game; he has also been a huge part of Boston’s penalty kill and has been dominant in the face-off circle.
What would the Bruins be even more thankful for?
More scoring from the backend
It’s hard to be wishing for more when your team is 14-1-3 to start the season. But if the Bruins were looking for a little something extra it would be more scoring from their defense core. So far this season, Bruins defensemen have accounted for just seven goals and 28 assists. Now, those numbers aren’t horrible, and they certainly don’t paint a fair picture of all their defensemen’s contributions. But the collective 35 points from the Bruins defense core barely tops the 31 points that Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes has put up on his own this season.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has said in press conferences that he would like to see the Bruins’ defensemen adopt more of a shot-first mentality and he would especially like to see his rearguards be in shot-ready mode at any time.
There is merit to what Montgomery is preaching. The Bruins have a ton of big forwards who can drive to the net and get sticks on pucks, or at the very least cause disruption and perhaps create a seam for a seeing-eye shot from a defenseman to find its way into the back of the net.
The Bruins could certainly look to conference foe the Carolina Hurricanes to see how an active defense core can score a lot of goals from the point just by simply being selfish and shot-happy when the shooting lanes open.
What should be on the Bruins holiday wish list?
A top-6 forward.
To be fair, the Bruins really don’t have any needs at the moment. And if there is anything that can be taken away from last year’s playoff collapse it is that often it doesn’t payoff to go all in.
The Bruins don’t have many trade chips to bolster their lineup at this year’s trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. If they were to decide to make an impact move at the trade deadline, acquiring a top-6 forward must be top of mind for general manager Don Sweeney.
The Bruins current top-6 is formidable, but it is hard to imagine a team with Stanley Cup aspirations feeling overly comfortable with 34-year-old James van Riemsdyk eating up big minutes come playoff time. That’s no slight on van Riemsdyk, who has been terrific this year, but the reality is that he would be better suited to dress on the team’s third line with Matthew Poitras and Jake DeBrusk
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Arizona Coyotes
As Thanksgiving and 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 Arizona Coyotes.
Who are the Coyotes thankful for?
Durzi is quickly looking like one of the more shrewd trade acquisitions of the offseason. The now-25-year-old defender had decent stock as a young prospect coming up through the Maple Leafs and Kings systems – he was one of the core pieces in the trade that brought Jake Muzzin to Toronto in 2019. Emerging into the NHL with the Kings two years later, Durzi showed promise as a capable puck-mover, notching 65 points in 136 games while playing over 19 minutes per game.
There were some defensive holes in his game, though. When the Coyotes picked him up for the price of a second-round pick last summer, most viewed him as a higher-ceiling, higher-risk project.
So far, he’s brought most of the ceiling with little of the risk. Durzi has taken the title of undisputed number-one defenseman in the desert and ran with it. He leads the team’s blueliners in average ice time (23:20), points (12 in 18 games played), and leads the team’s regular defenders with a 50.8% Corsi share at even strength. Quickly, he’s become a more well-rounded player than most expected at this stage, helping transform a long-lowly Coyotes squad into a team that looks likely to be playing competitive games late into the season.
What are the Coyotes thankful for?
An aggressive offseason from GM Bill Armstrong.
It’s not just Durzi. Armstrong’s moves this summer showed a willingness to believe in the core he’s constructed – spending significant short-term money to bring in players like Jason Zucker and Alexander Kerfoot up front and Mathew Dumba on the backend. Even if all the signings haven’t worked out wonderfully thus far, it does seem to have precipitated a bit of a culture shift that the squad sorely needed.
Combining that veteran leadership with a solid development coach in André Tourigny, as well as solid netminding from Connor Ingram, has positioned the Coyotes as one of the more entertaining squads this season.
Perhaps bringing in Nick Bjugstad for a second stint with the squad has been the best out of the team’s UFA additions. With 11 points in 18 games, he’s tied for sixth on the team in scoring and is logging nearly 17 minutes per night. He’s been far more consistent and productive than Kerfoot or Zucker while taking on a larger role.
What would the Coyotes be even more thankful for?
Arena certainty.
Things seem to be on a sustained, upward on-ice trajectory for the Coyotes for the first time in quite a while. The same still can’t be said off the ice, however, as concerns about an NHL-capacity home in the Phoenix area continue to grow as weeks go by without any update of real progress.
The timeline has been rather drawn out since voters in the City of Tempe struck down plans to build a multi-purpose entertainment district that would house a new arena for the Coyotes in a well-located area near Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo has continued to pursue potential sites in the Phoenix metro area, likely one that would not require public approval.
The local tide on the Coyotes may be turning, however, if their TV numbers are any indication. Moving to more public-access TV mediums and dropping the regional sports network model has increased their viewership an incredible amount over a year-to-year basis, although a much more exciting team headed up by a strong first line and a flashy rookie in Logan Cooley has piqued public interest. If the team truly has aspirations of being championship-caliber in the next few seasons, though, they’ll need to give their players certainty around a long-term home.
What should be on the Coyotes’ holiday wish list?
A true fit at center between Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz.
The Coyotes will be in a bit of a bind over the next few weeks without Barrett Hayton due to injury. The team’s fifth-overall selection in 2018 appeared to have a breakout campaign in 2022-23, scoring 19 goals and 43 points, both by far career-highs. But so far this season Hayton has been almost entirely unable to find the scoresheet and has registered just four points in 16 games.
For a Coyotes team that could seriously contend for a Wild Card spot this season, that isn’t going to cut it from the first-line center role. In Hayton’s absence, the Coyotes are trying Cooley in the first-line center role.
While Cooley is undoubtedly the most gifted player, at least offensively, that they could have tapped for that job, it’s a lot to ask of a rookie to not only play center, but also play center on a team’s first line next to two star scorers.
It remains to be seen whether Cooley will mesh with Schmaltz and Keller, but regardless of if it’s Cooley or someone else Coyotes fans will have to hope that there will be a pivot that emerges as a consistent, lasting fit between Schmaltz and Keller.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Maple Leafs Place John Klingberg On LTIR, Recall Alex Steeves
The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed defenseman John Klingberg on long-term injured reserve and recalled forward Alex Steeves from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Klingberg’s LTIR assignment has been much anticipated, as the defender’s undisclosed injury grew from a small concern, to something that would hold him out of all action this week, to an LTIR designation.
Klingberg is in his first season with the Leafs, signing a one-year, $4.2MM contract with the team on July 1st. He’s performed modestly in his first 14 games with the club, netting five points, eight penalty minutes, and a -7.
Klingberg has moved around a lot in recent years, after spending the first eight years of his career with the Dallas Stars. He signed a one-year, $7MM contract with the Anaheim Ducks ahead of last season and appeared in 50 games with the club, netting 24 points and a -28. Anaheim didn’t stick out the contract, though, dealing him to the Minnesota Wild at last year’s Trade Deadline. Klingberg went on to play in 17 games and record nine points, in Minnesota – adding four points in four playoff games as well.
With the veteran defender on IR, Toronto brings up the Marlies’ leading scorer in Steeves. The 23-year-old forward has 18 points in 14 AHL games this season, a tally that ties him for third in the league in points. Steeves has played three NHL games in each of the last two seasons, totaling one point across the matchups.
Steeves provides depth for Calle Jarnkrok, who is slated to be a game-time decision for the team’s Friday matchup. Jarnkrok is dealing with a lower-body injury after taking an Auston Matthews shot to the leg.