Andreas Johnsson Linked To SHL’s Skellefteå AIK, Placed On Unconditional Waivers
Nov. 8: Pittsburgh has placed Johnsson on unconditional waivers Wednesday, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. This move initiates the process of Johnsson being able to sign with an SHL club, presumptively Skellefteå, although it may be a day later than initially planned.
Nov. 6: Veteran winger Andreas Johnsson signed a one-year, one-way deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins this summer to attempt to extend his NHL career. That hasn’t worked out, as he failed to make the team out of camp and hasn’t reported to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after clearing waivers one month ago.
Now, it seems his days under contract with the Penguins are ending. Johnsson is expected to sign a three-year contract on Wednesday with Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League, according to Hans Abrahamsson and Tomas Ros of Sportbladet.
To do this, Johnsson must have his contract with the Penguins terminated. If the report out of Sweden is accurate, expect Johnsson to be on waivers tomorrow for the purposes of mutual contract termination. After clearing Wednesday, he’ll be able to sign with Skellefteå.
Johnsson hoped a reunion with GM Kyle Dubas in Pittsburgh would prove fruitful. Dubas wasn’t part of the Toronto Maple Leafs regime that drafted Johnsson in the seventh round of the 2013 Draft, but he was heavily involved in his development. He had joined the organization and was the GM of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies by the time Johnsson came to North America in 2016, and he was at the helm of the Leafs when Johnsson posted a 20-goal, 43-point rookie season in 2018-19. Both of those marks remain career highs.
The 28-year-old has slowly slipped down depth charts over the past few seasons with the New Jersey Devils and, briefly, the San Jose Sharks. He played just 13 NHL games between the two teams last season, instead spending most of the season in the minors with the AHL’s Utica Comets, where he recorded 30 points in 36 games.
That showed Johnsson still can be a high-end contributor at lower levels of the game, but likely not in the NHL at this stage. He aims to return to his home country, where he hasn’t played pro hockey since 2016.
If he signs with Skellefteå, the speedy winger will be reunited with his older brother, Jonathan Johnsson, although the 30-year-old center is sidelined until December with an undisclosed injury. While never drafted by an NHL team, the older Johnsson has been quite productive over the last three seasons and change for Skellefteå, recording 40 goals, 90 assists and 130 points in 181 contests.
Skellefteå currently sits eighth in the 14-team SHL with a record of 8-7-1-0. They play home to a handful of NHL-drafted prospects, including Detroit Red Wings 2023 first-round pick Axel Sandin Pellikka. Some skilled NHL veterans, such as Oscar Lindberg and Dylan Sikura, also call Skellefteå home.
Calgary Flames Place Dryden Hunt On Waivers
Nov. 8: Hunt has cleared waivers and has been assigned to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, per a team announcement.
Nov. 7: With the news coming earlier today that forward Adam Ruzicka will be back in the lineup tonight against the Nashville Predators, the Calgary Flames have placed forward Dryden Hunt on waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg. Primarily serving as a depth forward for Calgary up to this point, Hunt has zero points in four games, averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time per night.
If he ultimately clears waivers by tomorrow, Hunt will return to the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL, Hunt will return to a team where he had tremendous success after a midseason trade last year from the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. In 17 games for the Wranglers to finish the year, Hunt put up five goals and 10 assists in 17 games, as well as six points in nine playoff appearances.
This past summer, Hunt chose to re-sign with the Flames on a two-year, $1.55MM contract, hoping to crack Calgary’s NHL roster. Only playing in one game prior to the shoulder injury sustained by Ruzicka, his missing presence in the lineup allowed Hunt to sneak into a few more games before finally being sent down this afternoon.
As a benefit to Hunt, if he does clear waivers, the Flames will not need to send him through waivers again for the next 30 days, giving him and the team more flexibility to move him up and down throughout the organization. However, for the time being, Hunt at the very least will have much more access to playing time for the Wranglers.
Edmonton Oilers Place Jack Campbell On Waivers, Recall Calvin Pickard
Nov. 8: As expected, Campbell has cleared waivers, and Pickard has been recalled from AHL Bakersfield, per the team’s Twitter/X account.
Nov. 7: In a surprising announcement, the Edmonton Oilers have placed goaltender Jack Campbell on waivers today, for the purpose of assignment. With plenty of changes seemingly coming to the Oilers after a horrific start to the year, Edmonton has decided to expose Campbell and the $20MM remaining on his contract to the rest of the league.
Back during the 2021-22 regular season, the Oilers ran with a duo of Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith throughout the year, a duo who led the team to the Western Conference Finals before ultimately being swept at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche. In an attempt to dramatically improve their goaltending, Edmonton inked Campbell to a five-year, $25MM contract, prying him away from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
However, the investment has not gone accordingly for either side of the deal. In his first year as an Oiler, Campbell maintained a solid 21-9-4 record in 34 starts but also carried a .888 SV% and a 3.41 GAA. Ultimately, Campbell was replaced in the crease by rookie netminder, Stuart Skinner, who held a .913 SV% and a 2.75 GAA in 48 starts, comparatively. Nevertheless, Campbell was able to get in four starts during the 2022-23 NHL playoffs, posting dramatically improved numbers with a .961 SV% and a 1.01 GAA.
If there was any hope of Campbell carrying his playoff performance in this year’s regular season, that hope has quickly evaporated. In five starts on the year up to this point, Campbell has a 1-4-0 record, coupled with a .873 SV% and a 4.50 GAA. Although not the entire reason, the lack of adequate goaltending is a substantial factor in the Oilers’ ugly 2-8-1 record to start the 2023-24 season.
In the meantime, as it would be more than reasonable to assume Campbell will go unclaimed on waivers over the next 24 hours, PuckPedia reports that Edmonton will save approximately $1.15MM once Campbell clears and is sent down. Furthermore, Frank Seravalli of the DailyFaceoff indicates that the Oilers plan on replacing Campbell with Calvin Pickard, who is currently serving as the primary starter of the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. If the team does call up Pickard, PuckPedia reports that Edmonton will only be saving approximately $388K with the move.
Although Pickard should not be seen as a long-term answer in the net, he ultimately may serve as an upgrade to both Edmonton goaltenders. Similarly to Campbell, Skinner has gotten off to an incredibly slow start with a 1-4-1 record, .856 SV%, and a 3.99 GAA. Pickard, on the other hand, holds a 2-2-0 record for the Condors so far this season, with a .939 SV% and a 2.03 GAA.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was the first to report that the Oilers were placing Campbell on waivers.
West Notes: Blueger, Toninato, Kesselring
Patrick Johnston of The Vancouver Province is reporting that Vancouver Canucks center Teddy Blueger is getting close to making his Canucks debut. The 29-year-old has yet to dress this season after he was injured in a preseason game in early October while blocking a shot. Neither Blueger nor the Canucks have specified what the issue is with Blueger, but Johnston believes the injury is a bone bruise.
Blueger practiced with the Canucks today for their full practice, it was the first time he has done so since he suffered the injury on October 6th. The native of Riga, Latvia skated with a group of fourth liners in Sam Lafferty, Nils Höglander, and Anthony Beauvillier. The Canucks could certainly use Blueger’s penalty-killing prowess as they have been as bad shorthanded this year as they were last year with a success rate of just 77.3%.
The Canucks take on the Ottawa Senators tomorrow night in Ottawa, and if Blueger can’t make his return then, it could happen before the end of their road trip.
In other West notes:
- The Winnipeg Jets have returned forward Dominic Toninato back to their AHL affiliate the Manitoba Moose. The 29-year-old was called up by the Jets on October 20th but did not dress in an NHL game and will now head back to the AHL where he has a goal and an assist in two AHL games this season. The Duluth, Minnesota native is just two years removed from dressing in 77 games for the Jets in a single season and will likely receive another call-up later in the season should the Jets run into injury issues.
- The Arizona Coyotes have recalled defenseman Michael Kesselring from their AHL affiliate the Tucson Roadrunners as they get set to head out on a five-game road trip. Kesselring has yet to dress in an NHL game this season but has spent some time with the Coyotes. The club made the move today to add emergency depth in case they need it while they are away from home. Kesselring has dressed in six AHL games with the Roadrunners this season and has been held scoreless. Last season, the 23-year-old played nine games with Arizona, posting three assists.
Injury Notes: Jarry, Cozens, Timmins
Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry left their game last night against the Anaheim Ducks after being bumped in the back of the head by Adam Henrique and then having his mask dislodged. This was just the beginning for Jarry as he was then struck in his unprotected face by a Ryan Strome shot. NHL officials quickly signalled to the Penguins bench and Jarry was rushed off the ice and did not return.
Up to that point, Jarry had been solid for the Penguins making 21 consecutive stops to preserve a 1-0 Penguins lead late into the second period. With Jarry sidelined, the Penguins’ turned to their third-string netminder Magnus Hellberg who made 11 straight saves to maintain the rare two-goalie shutout.
No updates have been given yet on Jarry, but Yohe did report that he was present in the Penguins’ dressing room after the game, which is certainly an encouraging sign. Jarry has struggled to start the year after signing a massive five-year contract extension this summer that was heavily criticized for being too long and too expensive. The Penguins are already without backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic until later this month and can ill afford to lose Jarry for any length of time.
In other injury notes:
- Times Herald Reporter Bill Hoppe is reporting that Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens is back at practice today sporting a full-face shield as he makes his return to the ice after missing two games with an upper-body injury. No specifics have been given about Cozens injury but given that he is sporting face protection and a large bandage on his nose, it would appear to be an injury to that region. Cozens was engaged in a fight with Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway back on November 3rd, a game the Sabres lost 5-1, and acknowledged that this incident was the cause of the ailment. Cozens has three goals and four assists in 11 games thus far this season.
- David Alter of The Hockey News is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins is unlikely to get back into the lineup for at least a couple of weeks. Alter spoke with Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe after Timmins practiced with the team this morning, Keefe told the reporter that Timmins will travel with the team to Sweden next week but is unlikely to play. However, the plan is to have him ramp up in practice and he could re-join the lineup after they return from the extended road trip. Timmins has been on LTIR since the beginning of the season after suffering a lower-body injury and has yet to play a game.
Wild Trade Calen Addison To Sharks
Michael Russo of The Athletic is reporting that the Minnesota Wild have traded defenseman Calen Addison to the San Jose Sharks for a fifth-round pick. The 23-year-old has five assists in 12 games so far this season and will join a rebuilding Sharks team that just won its first game of the season last night. According to Russo, the draft pick appears to be a 2026 selection and the Wild will also receive minor-league right winger Adam Raska in the deal. Raska is currently playing in the AHL for the San Jose Barracuda and has zero points in seven games this season.
On the surface, the move is a peculiar one for the Wild, Addison was a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2018 and was a central part of the trade package the Penguins sent to the Wild in exchange for Jason Zucker. Last season, Addison posted three goals and 26 assists in 62 games in what was his first full season in the NHL. Those numbers, while impressive, do require some context. 18 of Addison’s 26 assists came on the powerplay, and while his offensive instincts are obvious, his defensive shortcomings leave a lot to be desired. Last season, Addison was a -17, and while that statistic can be misleading, a deep dive into his defensive analytics will tell you a very similar story. Things got so bad defensively last season that Addison went through a stretch where he was a healthy scratch in 25 out of the 35 games (including regular season and playoffs). During this stretch, the Wild traded for John Klingberg who took over powerplay responsibilities from Addison and his spot in the lineup. This led to Addison spending most of the summer without a contract extension before ultimately signing a one-year $825K deal on September 19. Now with the trade, Addison will close a very uneven run in Minnesota.
From the Sharks’ perspective, the move makes total sense, the club is rebuilding and gets to acquire a right-shot offensively-minded defenseman for almost nothing. If Addison is unable to turn his defensive game around San Jose can simply non-tender him in the offseason and walk away from Addison without any long-term ramifications. Sharks general manager Mike Grier has decided that a fifth-round pick and an AHLer is worth rolling the dice on a player who could develop into a long-term fixture on the Sharks powerplay when they emerge from their current rebuild.
In addition to the trade, the Sharks have also recalled forward Oskar Lindblom from the AHL and defenseman Jacob MacDonald has been moved to the injured reserve.
Avalanche Forward Colton Fined For Cross-Checking
NHL.com is reporting that Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ross Colton has been fined $5,000 by the Department of Player Safety for his cross-check on New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier. Colton received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking and has now been assessed the fine, which is the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
On top of the five-minute major and the game misconduct, Colton was also assessed a two-minute boarding penalty for a questionable hit he laid on defenseman Luke Hughes that kickstarted the Meier altercation. Hughes and Colton were racing towards a loose puck when Colton engaged contact from the side before Hughes had ever made a play on the puck. Hughes left the game for a bit but did ultimately return, while Meier remained in the game and scored on the power play that followed Colton’s penalty.
Colton is lucky, given how ugly the cross-check appeared to be on the initial replays. A $5,000 fine is a pretty favorable outcome for the Avalanche player, given that had he been suspended he would have forfeited roughly $50K for each game missed. Colton does not have any history of suspensions or fines during his four-year NHL career.
The money from the fine will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Tampa Recalls Waltteri Merelä, Places Conor Sheary on IR
The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed forward Conor Sheary on injured reserve and recalled Waltteri Merela back to the NHL lineup. Merelä was sent to the AHL on November 5th, after starting the season with the Lightning, but wasn’t able to play any AHL games before he rejoined the top club.
Sheary left the team’s Tuesday night game after being hit up high by a shot in the first period. It’s hard to tell where Sheary got hit, although it appears the injury could be in his wrist or hand. It’s officially being described as an upper-body injury.
Sheary has appeared in 13 games with Tampa Bay this season, tallying three points, four penalty minutes, and a -3. It’s his first year with the Bolts, after spending the last three seasons with the Washington Capitals. Sheary was brought into Tampa to serve as glue for the team’s top-nine, making his injury that much tougher to bear.
Merelä rejoins the Lightning in Sheary’s absence, after playing 10 games with the NHL club earlier in the season. Merelä went without a point in that span and recorded two penalties. The 25-year-old centerman is in his rookie NHL season, after signing with Tampa as an undrafted free agent out of the Liiga, Finland’s top league. He scored 33 points in 41 games with Tappara Tampere last year, serving as apart of the championship-winning roster. He will look to record his first NHL point now that he’s back with the NHL lineup.
Washington Capitals Recall Michael Sgarbossa, Place Backstrom on LTIR
The Washington Capitals have recalled Michael Sgarbossa and placed top center Nicklas Backstrom on long-term injured reserve. Backstrom took a leave of absence from the Capitals on November 1st and it was quickly revealed that his availability for the remainder of the year was uncertain. The 35-year-old centerman was attempting to return from a hip injury that required resurfacing surgery in June 2022. The surgery limited Backstrom to only 39 games last season and it seems complications are carrying into this year.
Centerman Sgarbossa joins the team in Backstrom’s wake, after appearing in 11 games with the AHL’s Hershey Bears this season. The 31-year-old netted 12 points in those games, maintaining the high scoring that he’s become accustomed to in the minor leagues, netting 58 points in 60 games. Sgarbossa has been a plug-and-play option for NHL teams for the last decade, making his debut with the Colorado Avalanche in the 2012-13 season. He’s played with four NHL clubs since then, never recording more than 30 games in a single season. Sgarbossa’s most prolific NHL tenure came in 2016-17 when he tallied seven points in 29 games with the Florida Panthers. He also received 10 games with the Capitals during the 2021-22 season, scoring four points. He’s a veteran professional, with 541 career AHL games under his belt and a strong 405 points in those matchups.
Sgarbossa will bring competition to the team’s center depth, including Hendrix Lapierre, who has gone without a point through his first three games of the season. The Capitals only have two players with more than six points through their first 10 games and rank second-to-last in terms of goals scored through the early season. With Sgarbossa adding depth, they will look to turn their season around, despite Backstrom’s absence.
Snapshots: Oilers, Andrew Mangiapane, Canucks
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun recently shared that the Edmonton Oilers could be interested in moving their 2024 First Round pick if it means getting their season back on track. TSN’s Darren Dreger added that Edmonton could be looking for a blockbuster deal that would allow them to address multiple needs at once – a deal that would almost certainly require a high-value pick.
This news isn’t surprising. Edmonton currently holds a 2-8-1 record, recording the fifth-fewest goals scored and the third-most goals allowed through the early season. They’re getting little scoring from their depth, with three different forwards appearing in all of the team’s 11 games and failing to score more than one point. And, most notably, they’ve received some of the worst goaltending in the league, with both Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell carrying save percentages below .875. This led the Oilers to waive Campbell on Tuesday, assigning him to the AHL and recalling minor-league veteran Calvin Pickard. It’s been a disaster to start the season, but dangling a First Round pick in a draft as lucrative as 2024 could be enough to turn the tide.
Other
- Andrew Mangiapane is set to return from suspension. The forward received a one-game booking for a cross-checking on Seattle’s Jared McCann. Mangiapane has seven points through 11 games this season, tied for second on the Flames in scoring. Calgary recorded a 4-2 win in the game that Mangiapane sat out.
- TSN’s Darren Dreger shared on the latest Insider Trading that the Vancouver Canucks are reportedly looking for a right-shot defenseman; a position that Dreger notes is much sought after this season. Dreger didn’t expand on any potential targets for Vancouver, although it’s notable that the team had previously made Conor Garland available to other teams. Garland’s $4.95MM cap hit makes him a tougher piece to bargain with but he is still a former 20-goal and 50-point scoring winger. That could be enough to pry away a middle-of-the-pack defender from a team in need. Still, with right defense in such high demand, it will be interesting to see what Vancouver has to add to make a trade work.