Metro Notes: Devils, Carter, Rangers, Pelech, Shepard
Being outscored by a margin of six goals in their last four games, the New Jersey Devils have been without some of their top-quality players for the last several games. A reporter for the team, Amanda Stein, even went as far as to report that team captain, Nico Hischier, will not be joining the team on their upcoming road trip to take on the Winnipeg Jets and Pittsburgh Penguins. However, Stein did clarify that although he will not be in the lineup against the Jets, Jack Hughes could return against the Penguins.
Officially out with an upper-body injury, most consumers of the game could tell Hischier may have had a lingering injury issue headed into the season. Having only played in seven games up to this point in the year, Hischier has only mustered two goals, not generating nearly as much offense as New Jersey may have hoped to start an important year for the franchise.
Hughes, on the other hand, has been desperately missed by the Devils. Truly coming into his own as a former overall selection, Hughes got off to one of the hottest starts in the league, scoring five goals and 15 assists in the team’s first 10 games of the season. After taking a hard crash into the boards during the team’s regulation loss against the St.Louis Blues only 10 days ago, the Devils have performed at a 1-3-0 clip in his absence.
Other notes:
- Head coach of the Penguins, Mike Sullivan, announced to the media that forward Jeff Carter is dealing with an upper-body injury, and that is the reason behind him missing practice this afternoon (X Link). Over the last two weeks, Carter has been a healthy scratch in several games before the end of October, as Pittsburgh has been looking to strengthen its bottom six forward groupings. On the final year of a two-year, $6.25MM extension signed with Pittsburgh back in 2022, Carter has failed to score a point in his first 10 games this season.
- Arthur Staple of The Athletic issued several updates on the status of injured members of the New York Rangers today, indicating that Ryan Lindgren should be available for practice on Wednesday, while injured forward Filip Chytil will not be with the team. Lindgren has been dealing with a mild upper-body injury incurred during the team’s shootout win Sunday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, while Chytil has been out since the beginning of November, also with an upper-body injury.
- One of the most important defensemen for the New York Islanders, Adam Pelech, missed the team’s last game against the Washington Capitals just two days ago. In an update from Andrew Gross of Newsday, Pelech is officially listed as a game-time decision for their matchup against the Edmonton Oilers tonight but should be expected to play. Even though the Islanders have not gotten off to a terrific start to the season, Pelech still holds a 91.1% oiSV% in 10 games played on the year.
- In what will go down as another ‘paper’ transaction on the season, the Capitals sent down goaltender Hunter Shepard and recalled him today in a separate transaction (X Link). Largely due to an injury to Charlie Lindgren, Shepard has played in two games for Washington this year, winning both, and posting a .915 SV% with a 2.50 GAA.
Sabres Activate, Reassign Brandon Biro
The Buffalo Sabres have activated winger Brandon Biro from injured reserve and assigned him to the AHL’s Rochester Americans, per a team release.
Buffalo recalled Biro, 25, from Rochester on Halloween and played in two contests before exiting the lineup with an upper-body injury and landing on IR. Skating just his second career NHL game against the Flyers on November 1 (he made one appearance for the Sabres at the tail end of 2021-22), Biro notched two goals and a +2 rating in 10:59 of ice time.
He played again against the Flyers on November 3 but did not suit up for the team’s game the following day against the Maple Leafs and was promptly placed on IR. Biro now returns to Rochester, where the Alberta-born winger has two goals and four assists in five games.
While he may be a bit old to end up with a full-time NHL career, Biro has been an extremely productive player in the minors since turning pro after four years at Penn State in 2020. Signing with the Sabres as an undrafted free agent, Biro has played in 117 games for Rochester across four seasons, notching 32 goals, 71 assists and 103 points.
After clearing waivers preseason, Biro can play up to ten games and be on the active roster for 30 days before he needs them to return to Rochester again. His call-up took a small chunk out of that, but he will remain one of the Sabres’ top call-up options should injuries strike.
Atlantic Notes: Lightning, Bruins, Lucic, Sabres, Jones
Before their game tomorrow night against the St.Louis Blues, the Tampa Bay Lightning took the ice for practice this morning, with a few notable pieces back on the ice. Lightning beat writer, Chris Krenn, reported that goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was seen back on the ice for practice, as well as forward Nikita Kucherov, who had missed the team’s last game against the Carolina Hurricanes with an illness.
As he works his way back from injury, Tampa Bay is becoming increasingly desperate to have Vasilevskiy return to the crease. In 15 games started between Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins, they have procured a 6-5-4 record with a .897 SV% and a 3.42 GAA combined, becoming an area of their game they haven’t had to worry about in several years.
Aside from returners to the ice, the Lightning also had a missing piece, as defenseman Erik Cernak has officially been listed as day-to-day, but could be expected for tomorrow night’s game against the Blues (X Link). In Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes, Cernak left in the second period after only accruing a little under 10 minutes of ice time and did not return to the matchup.
Other notes:
- In what has become another infamous ‘paper’ transaction in the NHL, after sending down both Ian Mitchell and Oskar Steen yesterday, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal is reporting that the Boston Bruins have recalled both players today. Of the two, Mitchell has been a much better player in terms of production, scoring two points in seven games played, averaging over 14 and a half minutes of ice time per night.
- Sticking with the Bruins, the head coach of the team, Jim Montgomery, shared that forward Milan Lucic is recovering much slower than expected from his lower-body injury. After eight years away from Boston, Lucic has not played in a game for the Bruins since their October 21st game against the Los Angeles Kings. In only four games played this season, Lucic has tallied two assists for the organization, averaging just a touch under 12 minutes of ice time per game.
- After being a surprise scratch in the team’s loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, Lance Lysowski reported that forward Peyton Krebs was out of the lineup that night due to a family matter, meaning that Krebs should be expected back either tonight or Friday. One player for Buffalo who will indeed not be in the lineup tonight against Boston is Alex Tuch, as Lysowski also reported that the veteran forward is still out with an upper-body injury, but should be expected back against the Winnipeg Jets later this week.
- In his first call-up to the NHL since his time with the Seattle Kraken last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced goaltender Martin Jones will join the team in Sweden in their upcoming matchup against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday as a part of the NHL’s Global Series. Jones will not be counted against the cap nor the team’s 23-man roster, as in Sweden, the team will not have access to an emergency backup goaltender; meaning Jones will ultimately take that role on in the upcoming trip overseas.
Panthers Reassign William Lockwood To AHL
The Florida Panthers reassigned winger William Lockwood to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers on Monday, a team release states.
Lockwood, 25, earned a recall from Charlotte just one week into the season after scoring two goals and adding an assist in his first two games. He played seven games with the Panthers on his recall, but he didn’t get on the scoresheet, averaged just 7:27 per game, and was a healthy scratch Sunday against the Blackhawks as center Sam Bennett returned from a lower-body injury.
The 5-foot-11, 172-pound two-way winger signed a two-year, two-way deal worth $1.525MM with the Panthers this summer after spending the better part of three seasons in the Vancouver Canucks organization. A third-round pick of the team in 2016, Lockwood spent four years at the University of Michigan before turning pro with the Canucks in 2020.
Most of his time there was spent in AHL Abbotsford and the Utica Comets, where he had 54 points in 96 games across three seasons. He did get a look in 28 NHL games with the Canucks but managed just one assist, failing to translate much of any offensive success to the NHL.
That was never where his game would rest if he could make a full go of things in the NHL, however. He’s an adept penalty-killer by nature and wouldn’t be counted on for more than 20 or 30 points in a season at most.
He finished last season on a strong note, posting 12 points in 17 games with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack after a trade sent him to the New York Rangers organization. He never earned a recall to the NHL roster in the Big Apple, though, and the team didn’t re-sign him when he hit Group VI unrestricted free agency in July.
With the transaction, the Panthers are down to 21 players on the active roster, with the only extra skater being defenseman Mike Reilly. Defenseman Brandon Montour is expected to come off injured reserve soon, although no transaction was necessary to activate him with a roster spot available.
Returning Lockwood to the minors now allows him to head directly to Charlotte without needing waivers. Had he stayed on the NHL roster for four more days, he would have required them after his 30-day temporary waiver exempt period expired after clearing during pre-season. It also allows the Panthers to accrue a little bit of cap space, as without Lockwood’s $775K cap hit, the team does not need the LTIR relief of Montour and Aaron Ekblad to stay cap-compliant.
Blue Jackets Recall David Jiříček, Place Jack Roslovic On IR
The Columbus Blue Jackets brought top defense prospect David Jiříček back up from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters on Monday, per a team release. In a corresponding move, forward Jack Roslovic was placed on injured reserve and is expected to miss four to six weeks with a fractured ankle.
Roslovic, 26, sustained the injury in Sunday’s 4-3 shootout loss at the hands of the New York Rangers. Playing in 14 out of 15 games for Columbus this season, Roslovic has two goals and six assists for eight points with 29 shots on goal and has averaged 16:30 of ice time per game.
The 2021 trade acquisition from the Winnipeg Jets has been working his way up the lineup after starting the season in a bottom-six role, yesterday skating on a line with Johnny Gaudreau and Cole Sillinger. In his place, 24-year-old Emil Bemström, who has three goals and an assist in 11 games this season, will likely slot into the lineup Tuesday against the Penguins.
A hometown son, Roslovic has been inconsistent throughout his NHL career but has provided decent secondary scoring on the whole since arriving in Columbus, notching 47 goals, 84 assists and 131 points in 220 games with the Blue Jackets. The 2015 first-round pick is in the final season of a two-year, $8MM deal and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Jiříček, meanwhile, earns a deserved ride back to the NHL roster after being sent down Saturday to make room on the 23-man roster to activate Patrik Laine off IR. His ice time has been rather limited this season at 13:34 per game, a curious move by head coach Pascal Vincent considering his pairing with Ivan Provorov has been decent, as he’s registered a goal and two points along with 19 shot attempts.
Columbus selected Jiříček, who will be 20 later this month, with the sixth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. Playing in the AHL during his rookie pro season, a rare feat for a player fresh off his draft season, he notched 38 points in 55 games for the Monsters last year and was named the AHL’s Rookie of the Month for December. Jiříček, now the eighth Blue Jackets defenseman on the NHL roster, could return to the lineup tomorrow.
Blackhawks’ Andreas Athanasiou Out Week-To-Week
Chicago Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasiou is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury, head coach Luke Richardson told reporters Monday (via Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago). Richardson also said that the Blackhawks expect winger Taylor Hall, who missed Sunday’s game against Florida with a lower-body injury, to return to practice Wednesday.
Athanasiou, 29, skated just 8:44 against the Lightning on November 9 and, along with Hall, missed the game against the Panthers yesterday. The 470-game veteran is off to a disappointing start in 2023-24, notching just four assists through 11 games and already earning a healthy scratch.
Hopes were high coming into the season that, along with Hall, Athanasiou could be a capable wingman or power-play mate for Connor Bedard as he makes his transition to NHL stardom. The 2012 fourth-round pick of the Red Wings has always struggled with consistency, but he did pot 20 goals and 40 points in 81 games for a lowly Blackhawks team last year while averaging 16 minutes per night.
Unfortunately, he’s slid down to a bottom-six role and is failing to get much of anything going offensively, although he has posted improved possession numbers compared to last season with a relative Corsi share of 3.8% at even strength. He signed a two-year, $8.5MM contract extension to remain in the Windy City last summer.
Athansiou’s absence should provide more opportunity for players like Mackenzie Entwistle, who’s now expected to center the third line after averaging 10:51 per game through eight contests. The 24-year-old has notched a goal and an assist while posting a -2 rating in his third full NHL season.
Meanwhile, this is positive news for Hall, who’s dealing with his third separate injury-related absence of the young season. Hall sustained a shoulder injury in just the second game of the season and was expected to miss significant time, but he made a rushed return to the lineup after missing just five days and one game.
He played three more before reaggravating the injury, which this time caused him to miss about two weeks and three games of action. With two years remaining at a $6MM cap hit, Hall has two goals and two assists in eight games as a Blackhawk.
On a smaller note, Richardson also mentioned that forward Colin Blackwell, who’s yet to play this season after undergoing sports hernia surgery last March, is getting closer to a return but “still has one more hurdle to clear.” Blackwell, entering the final season of a two-year deal with a $1.2MM cap hit, had two goals and ten points in 53 games for Chicago last season.
Sharks Recall Daniil Gushchin, Place Oskar Lindblom On IR
4:48 PM: In a clarification report, Sheng Peng of NBC Sports has relayed that Lindblom has in fact been placed on the injured reserve, rather than being sent down to the Barracuda.
2:02 PM: The San Jose Sharks recalled forward prospect Daniil Gushchin from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda on Monday, per a team release. Forward Oskar Lindblom was returned to the Barracuda. in a corresponding transaction.
Gushchin hasn’t been the subject of much public discussion, but he’s seen his stock rise significantly since the Sharks selected him in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft. He’s off to a great start in the minors this season, leading the Barracuda in scoring with four goals, nine assists and 13 points in 11 games.
The 21-year-old right winger was a prolific scorer in junior hockey, leading the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks and the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs in scoring in his first two post-draft seasons. While he’s got a great shot, he also possesses the talents to develop into a proficient two-way winger, with Elite Prospects calling him a “tenacious back checker who often almost functions as a third defenseman in transition at times.”
Gushchin did not look out of place in a two-game call-up at the end of last season. Skating on a line with Tomáš Hertl and Jacob Peterson, he averaged 15:55 per game and notched his first two NHL points, a goal and an assist.
He was active in getting pucks toward the net during his stint, too, averaging four shots on goal and six shot attempts per game. The Sharks’ next game is on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers, during which he could make his 2023-24 NHL season debut.
Meanwhile, Lindblom returns to the minors after a five-day recall. He was on the Sharks’ active roster for their last three games but only played once, recording no shots and a -1 rating in 11:56 of action against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. The 27-year-old cleared waivers preseason after failing to make the team out of camp and recording just six goals in 73 games last season.
In the second year of a two-year deal earning him $2.5MM per season, it is still a remarkable comeback story for Lindblom, who’s still managed to leverage a solid pro career after missing most of the 2020 calendar year while undergoing treatment for Ewing’s sarcoma, a type of bone cancer. In eight games with the Barracuda this season, Lindblom has a goal, assist and -6 rating.
While buried in the minors, $1.35MM of Lindblom’s $2.5MM cap hit still counts against the team’s salary cap. With defenseman Radim Simek also counting $1.1MM against the cap while buried in the minors, the Sharks are currently hit with a $2.45MM penalty for buried players.
Wild Place Frédérick Gaudreau On LTIR, Recall Jesper Wallstedt
The Minnesota Wild moved forward Frédérick Gaudreau to long-term injured reserve on Monday, according to a team statement. Additionally, the team recalled top goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt to accompany the team as their third goalie for upcoming games in Sweden for the NHL Global Series.
Teams are permitted to carry a third goalie for international games, meaning Wallstedt will not count against the salary cap nor the 23-man roster limit but is eligible to enter a game if both Marc-André Fleury and Filip Gustavsson become injured while the team is overseas. The 2021 20th-overall pick is off to a breakneck start with the AHL’s Iowa Wild, recording a 2.01 GAA, .932 SV%, two shutouts, and a 6-2-0 record through eight games.
Meanwhile, Gaudreau has been moved to LTIR to increase the Wild’s salary pool. The 30-year-old winger/center has missed the last nine games with an upper-body injury and has not played since October 14 against the Edmonton Oilers.
Gaudreau has missed the 28-day requirement for LTIR but not the ten-game requirement, meaning Gaudreau cannot be activated until after the first of Minnesota’s two games in Sweden against the Ottawa Senators. Given he will not travel with the team to Sweden, the earliest Gaudreau can conceivably return to the Wild lineup is November 24 against the Colorado Avalanche.
Before sustaining the injury, Gaudreau was off to a slow start, failing to record a point in six games and posting a -2 rating. It’s not the beginning he (or the Wild) envisioned after he inked a five-year, $10.5MM extension with trade protection to remain in the State of Hockey last April.
If Wallstedt is forced into action for the Wild while in his home country, it will be the 20-year-old’s NHL debut.
Canucks Place Jack Studnicka On Waivers
The Vancouver Canucks placed forward Jack Studnicka on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks on Monday, general manager Patrik Allvin said in a statement.
Studnicka, 24, has been a healthy scratch in nine out of the last ten contests. The 2017 second-round pick last played on November 2 in the team’s 10-1 drubbing of the San Jose Sharks, logging 17:09 of ice time but failing to get on the scoresheet or record a shot on goal.
This is Studnicka’s second time on the waiver wire this season. He cleared just before the season started but was recalled under emergency conditions after the Canucks’ first game after salary cap constraints forced them to dress only 17 skaters.
Studnicka was placed on the active roster from his emergency exception five days later and has remained with the Canucks since. Since more than 30 days elapsed since his initial recall on October 12, his temporary waiver exception has lapsed, and he must clear again to return to Abbotsford.
In five games with Vancouver this season, Studnicka has one goal, coming in his season debut on October 14 against the Edmonton Oilers. He has averaged 10:11 per game but attempted just eight shots during his time in the lineup, four of which got on goal.
If he clears, Studnicka could make his debut for Abbotsford this week. He has not played for Vancouver’s primary minor-league affiliate since they acquired him from the Boston Bruins in exchange for goalie prospect Michael Dipietro and defense prospect Jonathan Myrenberg early in the 2022-23 season.
In 90 NHL games across five seasons with the Bruins and Canucks, Studnicka has six goals, ten assists, 16 points, and a -16 rating. He’s been much more productive in the AHL since his pro debut in 2018, recording 34 goals and 62 assists for 96 points in 117 contests with the Providence Bruins.
Studnicka is in the final season of a two-year, $1.525MM contract with a $762.5K cap hit. He will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer.
Capitals Notes: Fehervary, Oshie, Pacioretty, Edmundson
Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post is reporting that Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary didn’t practice this morning and will not play in tomorrow night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery also told reporters that Fehervary is a maybe for Saturday night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Fehervary is currently on injured reserve and wouldn’t have been eligible to return tomorrow even if he was healthy enough to play but is eligible to play Saturday if he can. The 24-year-old has had a decent start to the year and has been very good on the Capitals’ penalty kill. While he has just two assists in 12 games, he has been much more effective at even strength this year despite starting most of his shifts in the defensive zone.
In other Capitals notes:
- Bailey Johnson also reported that Capitals forward T.J. Oshie took a maintenance day today and did not practice with the team. Oshie has had a brutal start to the season with just one assist in 13 games thus far and it appears the Capitals are hoping that some rest can help kickstart some offense for the 36-year-old. Oshie has seen over three minutes of powerplay time per game this season which is about the same average time he saw last year, but even with the work on the first powerplay unit he has been unable to find the back of the net.
- The NHL Network’s Tarik El-Bashir is reporting that Capitals forward Max Pacioretty skated on his own this morning before the team’s practice as he attempts to ramp back up to return to game action. The 34-year-old faces a long battle back after tearing his right Achilles for the second time this past January and there is no timetable for his potential return. Both the Capitals and Pacioretty appear to be very cautious in their approach to a return which makes sense given how difficult the past 15 months have been for the six-time 30-goal scorer.
- Bailey Johnson tweeted that Capitals defenseman Joel Edmundson is getting closer to a return after he was a full participant in practice today. Edmundson is trying to work his way back from a hand injury and was dressed in a non-contact jersey during this morning’s practice. The 30-year-old has yet to make his debut in Washington after he was acquired in July for two draft picks. He injured his hand in preseason and required surgery which has ultimately delayed the start to his Capitals career. A return to action would be good news for Washington as they are currently without defensemen Fehervary and Trevor van Riemsdyk.