Ducks Recall Robert Hagg, Tristan Luneau Loaned To Team Canada
The Anaheim Ducks have announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Robert Hagg from the AHL. Hagg has spent the bulk of the season in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls where he has dressed in 15 games and has a goal and two assists. The veteran of 338 NHL games signed a one-year deal with the Ducks on July 4th and did spend time in the NHL, however, he has yet to dress in an NHL game for the Ducks.
The 28-year-old was once a promising prospect after he was drafted in the second round of the 2013 NHL entry draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. He made his debut with the Flyers back in 2016-17 and became a full-time NHLer the following year. Hagg stayed in the NHL for six full seasons but bounced around to four different organizations and often found himself to be a healthy scratch. As his career went on teams began to shelter his usage, often giving him the bulk of his starts in the offensive zone to try and set him up for success. This past offseason Hagg was able to secure a one-way NHL contract for the league minimum of $775K, however, thus far he has only seen action in the AHL.
Hagg was recalled to replace rookie defenseman Tristan Luneau who was loaned to Team Canada by the Ducks for the upcoming World Junior Championship. The 19-year-old was the Ducks’ second-round pick in 2022 and was recalled by the club back in November to make his NHL debut. So far this season in seven games, Luneau has a goal and two assists and has averaged almost 18 minutes a night in ice time.
Red Wings Reportedly Shopping Jonatan Berggren
The Red Wings have been shopping 2018 second-round pick Jonatan Berggren in recent trade discussions, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. After scoring 15 goals in his rookie campaign last season, Berggren has been ferried between Detroit and AHL Grand Rapids this year and has played just four games for the Red Wings.
Berggren did not make the Red Wings roster out of camp, a choice made even more surprising by the fact that the Red Wings were voluntarily a player short, keeping 12 forwards, seven defensemen, and three goalies. GM Steve Yzerman had kept the 22-player roster for most of the season up until signing Patrick Kane at the end of last month. Detroit summoned Berggren on an emergency basis a few times in October and briefly on a regular basis at the end of November, but Berggren has been on assignment to Grand Rapids since the beginning of the month. There, he’s done quite well with five goals, ten assists and 15 points in 16 games, although he’s a scratch in today’s contest.
The 23-year-old has always been a high-ceiling scoring option, posting 57 points in just 38 Swedish junior league games during his draft year. Moving up the ranks of Swedish hockey, Berggren was playing a top-six role for the SHL’s Skellefteå AIK by 2020-21, tying for the team lead with 45 points in 49 games that season.
That breakout campaign led to Berggren signing his entry-level contract in Hockeytown, which he’s now in the final season of and is headed toward restricted free agency. The Red Wings opted to keep Berggren in the minors for the entirety of his first season in North America, but that was strictly for development purposes. He had no trouble adjusting to a new continent, again leading his team in scoring with 64 points in 70 contests.
After recording seven points through seven AHL contests to open last season, the Red Wings recalled Berggren in early November 2022, and he didn’t look back. He posted solid numbers in a bottom-six role, finishing fifth on the team in goals and ninth in points with 28. He capped things off with a strong showing internationally, recording two goals and seven points in eight games for Sweden at the 2023 World Championship.
His strong production has continued in the minors this season, and there’s little indication his skill level has dropped off in the past few months. Rather, Detroit is beginning its playoff contention phase after a lengthy rebuild and, justifiably, doesn’t want to mess with a roster that’s performed well. With players like Christian Fischer, Michael Rasmussen, and Daniel Sprong all playing solid hockey in depth roles, there hasn’t been much of a chance for Berggren to work his way into games.
It could be that the Red Wings are shopping Berggren as part of a larger package to land a bigger-name talent on the trade market. If they’re looking to trade him in isolation, though, they’ll likely look to recoup the early second-round pick they used to select him five years ago.
Berggren is due a qualifying offer of $874,125 this summer on a two-way deal and is eligible for salary arbitration.
David Perron Offered In-Person Hearing For Cross-Check
4:58 p.m.: Perron’s in-person hearing will take place via Zoom tomorrow afternoon, the Department of Player Safety said Sunday night.
11:10 p.m.: The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has announced that veteran forward David Perron has been offered an in-person hearing for a cross-check in last night’s game that he delivered to Ottawa Senators blueliner Artem Zub.
According to the Department of Player Safety’s protocols, a player is offered an in-person hearing “if the infraction might require a suspension of six games or more.”
Looking at the play in question, it’s understandable that George Parros and the Department of Player Safety would consider significant supplemental discipline. The infraction occurred late in the first period of yesterday’s game. In response to a play that left captain Dylan Larkin motionless on the ice, Perron unleashed a high cross-check onto Zub’s head area, attacking a player who appeared to hold his hand out looking to diffuse the situation.
Not only did Perron make direct contact with Zub’s head, he also jumped upwards to do so, displaying a clear intent to attack the head area. While the principle of sticking up for one’s teammate is central to the game, it’s hard to argue Perron did anything but take that principle way too far with his actions. Perron was immediately assessed a match penalty on the play, the penalty carrying the serious tag of “intent to injure.”
As a result of this play, the Red Wings appear likely to be without Perron for a potentially significant period of time. A suspension appears to be a certainty at this point, which would leave the Red Wings without one of their most experienced forwards. The team’s recent acquisition of Patrick Kane should soften the blow of that loss, of course, but still losing a player who scored 24 goals and 56 points last season for some important games is surely bad news for Detroit.
Assuming a suspension, expect to see 23-year-old Jonatan Berggren assume Perron’s spot in the lineup. The 23-year-old 2018 33rd overall pick has scored 15 points in 16 AHL games so far this season and scored 15 goals in his NHL rookie year in 2022-23.
Canadiens Activate David Savard Off Injured Reserve
The Canadiens activated defenseman David Savard off injured reserve Sunday, per a team release. He will return to the lineup tonight against the Predators after a 22-game absence due to a hand fracture. To stay under the 23-player roster limit, the Canadiens assigned defenseman Mattias Norlinder to AHL Laval.
Savard has played just five games this season, sustaining the fracture on October 23 late in a game against the Sabres. The 33-year-old has registered two assists and posted middling possession numbers in a short sample, controlling 44.7% of expected goals when paired with Mike Matheson, per MoneyPuck.
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis is expected to reinstate Savard in a top-pairing role in his return to the lineup. Doing so will provide some relief for 22-year-old Justin Barron, who’s seen some tough assignments alongside Matheson in Savard’s absence and will now line up against slightly easier competition in a second-pairing role.
Savard is in his third season with the Habs after signing a four-year, $14MM contract as a free agent in 2021. The 2021 Stanley Cup champion with Tampa Bay has missed 20 games each in the past two seasons with various injuries, and he last played a full 82-game season in 2018-19 as a member of the Blue Jackets. Since signing in Montreal, Savard has served the rebuilding squad well, averaging 21:32 per game and logging six goals, 33 assists, and 39 points in 129 games.
Norlinder, who does not require waivers, heads back to the minors after a nearly three-week stint on the NHL roster. He did not appear in a game, however, instead sitting as a healthy scratch for nine straight contests. It’s puzzling not to see the 23-year-old inserted into the lineup after he had a strong training camp, although he’s sputtered out of the gate to start the season in Laval. In 14 games before the callup, Norlinder had just two points and a -15 rating. He’s played six NHL games since Montreal selected him 64th overall in the 2019 draft, all coming in the 2021-22 campaign. He will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer upon the conclusion of his entry-level contract, but he’s looking like a non-tender candidate and could find himself seeking a contract elsewhere.
Kraken Place Philipp Grubauer On Injured Reserve
The Kraken placed goaltender Philipp Grubauer on injured reserve Sunday, per a team announcement. Grubauer left last night’s overtime loss against the Lightning with a lower-body injury and did not return. In a corresponding transaction, netminder Chris Driedger was recalled from AHL Coachella Valley and defenseman Jaycob Megna was reinstated to the active roster from his conditioning stint.
Grubauer exited the contest late in the second period, suffering a likely groin injury as he slid across his crease to stop a shot from Lightning center Anthony Cirelli. He skated off the ice under his own power but needed assistance getting up. Backup netminder Joey Daccord entered the contest in relief.
This is not Grubauer’s first run-in with lower-body issues. He missed a combined 24 regular-season and playoff games in the 2019-20 campaign with lower-body injuries as a member of the Avalanche.
Outside of a strong postseason showing last year, Grubauer’s stint in Seattle has been below expectations. After providing solid backup play to Capitals starter Braden Holtby in the mid-2010s and then taking over as the starter for Colorado, Grubauer hit unrestricted free agency in 2021 and cashed in with the Kraken, signing a six-year, $35.4MM deal with trade protection to serve as the team’s starting netminder for the first era of their franchise.
His platform stats entering Seattle were strong. Coming off a 2020-21 campaign that saw him finish third in Vezina Trophy voting and boasting a .920 SV% in 214 career appearances, there was little reason to expect the contract to quickly turn into one of the worst values in the league. Unfortunately, since joining Seattle, Grubauer has been well below average, posting a 40-54-10 record, .890 SV% and 3.07 GAA behind a decent defense. The 32-year-old did post a .903 SV% in 14 games for the Kraken during last season’s run to Game 7 of the Second Round against the Stars, but even that fell well below the playoff stats he had set with the Avalanche over the preceding few years.
Kraken fans hoped that his postseason momentum could carry over into this season, especially with GM Ron Francis opting to stay the course in the crease and bring back Daccord as an internal option to serve as Grubauer’s full-time backup. Unfortunately, Grubauer has responded with his worst numbers yet, conceding 8.4 goals above average in just 17 starts, posting a .884 SV% and a 5-9-1 record in the process. Daccord hasn’t been much better, posting a 3-4-6 record and .894 SV%.
It will be Daccord’s crease for the time being with Grubauer sidelined, though. Without any clarity into the severity of Grubauer’s injury, it’s impossible to predict how long he could be out of the lineup – low-grade groin strains can be treated on a day-to-day basis, while a more severe groin injury would keep him out for months. He’ll miss at least seven days in order to be eligible for IR.
Driedger, who’s also disappointed since signing a three-year, $10.5MM pact with the Kraken in 2021, returns to the NHL roster and will look to make his season debut in the process. The 29-year-old missed most of last season after undergoing ACL surgery and was assigned to the minors upon his return to health, meaning he hasn’t appeared in an NHL contest since May 1, 2022. He started 24 games for the Kraken in their inaugural season, posting a 9-14-1 record, .899 SV% and 2.96 GAA.
Daccord beat out a healthy Driedger for the backup spot in training camp this year, leading Seattle to waive Driedger and assign him to Coachella Valley a few days before the start of the season. The Kraken recalled Driedger for a brief period in November while Grubauer was dealing with an undisclosed injury, but he did not play and was promptly returned to the AHL upon Grubauer’s return.
If Daccord continues to stumble after a hot start to the season, the Kraken hope Driedger’s strong play in the minors this year can again translate to NHL success. In 15 games for Coachella Valley, Driedger has a 2.20 GAA, .916 SV%, 9-5-1 record, and two shutouts.
Megna returns to Seattle after logging a goal and a +3 rating in two contests with Coachella Valley over the weekend. The Kraken assigned him to the minors on a conditioning loan last week after making him a healthy scratch in a remarkable 26 straight games to kick off the season.
Metro Notes: Blue Jackets Hockey Operations, Laine, Gudbranson, Rust
It’s not a controversial statement to say that the Columbus Blue Jackets have not had the season they were hoping to have. Despite aggressive offseason moves adding key young talents and older veterans, the team is currently among the NHL’s worst, undone by underperformance from crucial stars as well as sudden turnover at leadership positions. With the team looking less and less likely to be a true playoff contender, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline sought out comment from Blue Jackets ownership regarding the direction of the franchise. (subscription link)
Team president of business operations Mike Priest, who Portzline calls a “close confidant” of owner John P. McConnell said the following regarding the state of the team: “nobody wants to be where we are with our record. That’s not what we expected.” He also added: “I can say we’re all very frustrated, we’re disappointed.” Many have speculated as to whether the Blue Jackets would consider moving on from general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen. Although Kekäläinen oversaw the most successful period in franchise history under John Tortorella, one wonders if he’ll get the chance to lead the Blue Jackets into the future given the rapid disintegration of his plans to return to the playoffs in 2023-24.
Some other notes from the Metropolitan Division:
- In a less big-picture update from Columbus, team reporter Jeff Svoboda confirmed that star forward Patrik Laine as well as defenseman Erik Gudbranson would both be returning to the team’s lineup after battling illness. Both Gudbranson and Laine had not played in a week. Although Laine has struggled this season he is their most talented goal-scorer, while Gudbranson offers a level of physicality and leadership from the team’s back-end that few other defensemen on their roster can match.
- The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh relays word from Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan who states that forward Bryan Rust is still being evaluated with an upper-body injury. Rust exited the third period of the Penguins’ December 6th loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and has not played since. He’s scored 20 points in 22 games, so any extended absence would be a significant loss for the reeling Penguins. As we covered earlier today, the team signed Jesse Puljujärvi to a tryout agreement provide some additional cover from injuries to its forward corps.
Minor Transactions: 12/10/23
In what is a relatively uncommon sight for a Sunday, the NHL’s schedule is brimming with interesting contests to enjoy today. Two of the league’s best teams are set to face each other in a 2014 Stanley Cup Final rematch when the New York Rangers take on the Los Angeles Kings, while out west a heated rivalry is rekindled with the Vegas Golden Knights taking on the San Jose Sharks.
The schedule for overseas hockey today is similarly jam-packed, with contests playing out across most of Europe’s top professional leagues. As always, we’ll keep track of notable player movement from that circuit as well as the North American minor leagues here:
- Former college hockey star Jordan Kawaguchi has decided to retire from the game after two seasons playing professional hockey in order to pursue a career in business. Once a Hobey Baker Award finalist, Kawaguchi was an extremely impactful player for the University of North Dakota. He captained the team in his final season there and racked up 40 goals and 126 points in 136 career games with the program, taking home a multitude of individual awards. After college, he signed a one-year entry-level deal with the Dallas Stars and began his pro career with their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. He scored 23 points in 49 games, but that was not enough for the team to keep him in the American League as he spent the following year in the ECHL. His 52 points in 58 games helped the Idaho Steelheads boast the ECHL’s best regular-season record, but injuries continued to accumulate for the player and he decided to move on from the game.
- Swiss National League club HC Fribourg-Gottéron has re-signed their all-time leading scorer, Julien Sprunger, for an additional season. It’s hard to overstate the importance of Sprunger to HC Fribourg-Gottéron’s modern history. The 37-year-old has been with the club for almost his entire life, emerging as a star in 2005-06 just as the club had to be saved from bankruptcy. Although he has not brought them their first National League championship, he has won an MVP, led the league in goals twice, and led the team on multiple deep playoff runs. The club’s captain since 2014-15, Sprunger has brought Champions Hockey League play to the team on five occasions, and has represented Switzerland at four IIHF Men’s World Championships as well as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
- Norwegian right-shot defenseman Johannes Johannesen has signed a two-year contract with Liiga’s Lahti Pelicans, moving on from the SHL’s Rögle BK after playing just 14 games with the club. The 26-year-old earned a shot with Rögle after an impressive two-year stint with Mora IK in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. He scored 22 points in 49 games helping lead Mora on a respectable promotion push. Johannesen also brings extensive international experience, including from this past year’s IIHF Men’s World Championships in which he served as an alternate captain for Norway and helped the nation achieve a historic upset victory over eventual champions Canada. Pelicans are in need of defensive reinforcement as they have surrendered the second-most goals against in the entire Liiga, so the hope will be that the experienced Johannsen can be the kind of impact addition they sorely need.
- Ässät Pori alternate captain Tuomas Salmela has signed a one-year contract extension with the club. The six-foot-two left-shot blueliner joined Pori after spending a half-decade in Tampere with Ilves. He has nearly 300 games of experience in Liiga and has also represented his club in the Champions Hockey League on two occasions. Pori has been pleased with Salmela’s “unyielding” style of play in a regular role for the club, so the parties have therefore elected to extend their business relationship for another season. Ässät are currently seventh in the Liiga standings although their defense has been outstanding: they have surrendered the fewest goals in league play of any club.
- With the EIHL’s Sheffield Steelers set to lose blueliner Sam Jones, who represents England at World Championship events, for at least the next six weeks the club has elected to bring in some external help. The Steelers have signed defenseman Zach Vinnell away from their EIHL rival Glasgow Clan, adding a 25-year-old currently playing his first full season of professional hockey. The native of Cochrane, Alberta played four seasons of college hockey at Merrimack College and Bowling Green State University, and he dipped his toes into the waters of professional hockey at the end of last season. He signed a short-term contract with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel, ultimately skating in 18 combined regular season and playoff contests. He scored a solid 11 points in that span, earning him a shot with Glasgow. He scored five points in 15 games in Scotland before yesterday’s transfer news brought him to Sheffield.
This page may be updated throughout the day.
Penguins Sign Jesse Puljujarvi To Try Out, Recall Pierre-Olivier Joseph
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they’ve signed forward Jesse Puljujarvi to a free-agent try-out. Puljujarvi was cleared for full-contact training on Saturday, opening up his availability to NHL teams. The 25-year-old winger underwent surgery on both of his hips this summer and worked his way back to NHL readiness in only six months.
Puljujarvi has had a storied career since being drafted fourth overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers in the 2016-17 season and bounced between the team’s NHL and AHL lineup for the next two seasons. Rather than sticking with the jumps between North America’s top two leagues, Puljujarvi returned to Finland for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, combining for 65 points in 72 games over the two seasons. The strong performances overseas did boost Puljujarvi’s abilities in the NHL, with the winger recording a career-high 36 points in 65 games during the 2021-22 season, but his struggles have continued to pop up. He joined the Carolina Hurricanes via trade last season and only managed two points in 17 games with the new club. Pittsburgh will serve as another testing ground for the former Finnish standout.
Pittsburgh also shared that they’ve recalled Pierre-Olivier Joseph from his conditioning stint in the AHL. The 24-year-old defenseman played in two games while with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, recording one assist. Joseph has appeared in five games with the NHL lineup this season, also managing one assist – with his most recent game marking his 100th in the league.
Joseph emerged as a top option for Pittsburgh as a rookie during the 2022-23 season, appearing in 75 games with the club, scoring 21 points and recording 44 penalty minutes. He averaged just over 15 minutes of ice time each game, a mark that’s decreased to just 13 minutes this year as the Penguins added Erik Karlsson, Ryan Graves, and Ryan Shea to the blueline. It’s a small step backward for Joseph, the second-youngest member of Pittsburgh’s defense corps behind 23-year-old John Ludvig. But with a pair of AHL games and the scare of a send-down under his belt, Joseph will now look to carve out a stronger role in the NHL.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Edmonton Oilers
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 Edmonton Oilers.
Who are the Oilers thankful for?
The more things change, the more they stay the same, and that’s held true for the Oilers’ generational talent. McDavid is currently carrying 34 points through 22 games, tied with Cale Makar for eighth in the league in scoring. He’s reached that mark despite a slow start, scoring just four points in the first eight games of November. But things are clicking for the 26-year-old once more, as McDavid has scored an unbelievable 21 points in his last eight games. That’s an 82-game pace of 215.25 points – and while there’s a very slim chance that he ever breaks the 200-point ceiling, the fact that McDavid has held onto that scoring pace over more than a handful of games is incredible. He’s scored in every game over the eight-game stretch, recording multiple points in six of them, and is sticking to Wayne Gretzky‘s tactic of leaning into assists – with 16 of his recent 21 points coming in the form of helpers. The Oilers have faced a lot of adversity this season but McDavid has made it clear that he won’t let it get him down as he looks to top the 153 points he scored last year.
What are the Oilers thankful for?
A stretch of home games.
The Oilers have struggled to get things going on the road this season, with a dismal 4-8-0 record when playing in another team’s barn. That fact hasn’t gelled well with their early schedule, which had them on the road for 11 of their first 19 games. Their longest stretch of home games in November was a four-game stretch early in the month when the team was facing an injury to McDavid and swirling questions about then-head coach Jay Woodcroft. Both factors weighed heavily on Edmonton and they fell 1-3-0 before having to get back on the road.
The cycle seemed to be continuing as they lost their first three games of their most recent road trip – a four-game-long trip around the eastern-US. But with a 5-0 win over the Washington Capitals to cap it off, the Oilers found their momentum just in time for their recent stretch of four home games, and one away game at the neighboring Winnipeg Jets. Edmonton has been on fire now that they’re back at Rogers Place, currently on a six-game winning streak that’s seen them outscore their opponents 31-to-11. They’ve been getting everything they could want in their recent outings, scoring an average of roughly five goals each game and seeing their goaltenders post a collective .947 save percentage.
After a dismal start to the season, the Oilers are now truly looking like a team that can challenge the best in the West. They have four more games at home before they embark on a six-game road trip in late-December. New head coach Kris Knoblauch will hope a strong stretch at home will be enough of a boost to amend the Oilers’ current luck on the road.
What would the Oilers be even more thankful for?
Consistent Goaltending.
The story of Edmonton’s early season has been one of underwhelming goaltending. The team has iced three different goalies this season, with all three recording a save percentage below .900. Starting goalie Stuart Skinner has managed a .888 through 19 games, en route to a 10-7-1 record. This is despite the Oilers facing a league-average xGA/60 (expected goals-against per-60) of 2.54, tied with Winnipeg for the 12th-best mark in the league, per Evolving Hockey. And while the former Calder Trophy runner-up Skinner has improved as of late – recording a .911 save percentage and 9-2-0 record in his last 11 games – there’s still reason to be uncertain in Edmonton’s crease. The Oilers are 3-12-1 when they allow three-or-more goals this season, emphasizing that the team is only as good as the goaltending that they receive. If they want to be true Stanley Cup-contenders, they’ll need to make sure their netminders are just as efficient as their scorers.
What should be on the Oilers holiday wish list?
A lucky trade offer.
The Oilers are clearly not far off from being a very scary team. Their top scorers – McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – are mostly performing as expected; the blueline has seen added help through the continued breakout of Evan Bouchard and the addition of Mattias Ekholm; and it seems Skinner is bringing some reliability back into the crease. But there still seems to be something holding back Edmonton from reaching their full potential. The team has six members of their forward group with fewer than eight points through their first 24 games and their defense seems to strike in waves.
But Edmonton has recently made former eighth-overall pick Philip Broberg available for a trade, something that could prove lucrative as many teams around the league look for a spark on defense. While Broberg’s professional career in North America is off to a choppy start, there are still teams around the league with high hopes for the 22-year-old defenseman. It helps that Broberg is on a cost-controlled deal, recording an $863K cap hit this season and set to become a restricted free agent next year. The right trade could be enough to patch one of the Oilers’ holes, whether it’s bringing in another depth-forward, providing more competition on defense, or adding support between the pipes. The NHL is gearing up for an exciting Trade Deadline and the Oilers could emerge from it with the plenty of hope for the future.
Evening Injury Updates: Brodin, Larkin, Pearson
Last night, in the team’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild defenseman, Jonas Brodin, went down with an injury after a hit-from-behind from Evander Kane. In an update today, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Brodin will be out for a significant amount of time due to the hit.
In the short-term, the Wild will have veterans Alex Goligoski and recently-acquired Zach Bogosian to rely on in Brodin’s stead, but their defensive depth will ultimately be tested without one of their top defensemen in the lineup for the foreseeable future. Leading the team in ATOI, Brodin has scored one goal and nine points in 25 games, mostly impacting the game on the defensive side of the puck.
If Minnesota’s current depth is unable to properly fill in the hole on the left side of the defense in Brodin’s absence, the team may look to once again call up defenseman Daemon Hunt to Minnesota. Although he was unable to score a point during a five-game stretch in late October and early November, Hunt has scored one goal and eight points in 12 games for Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, so far this season.
Other injury updates:
- With a handful of minutes left in the first period of tonight’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators, Red Wings’ captain, Dylan Larkin, received a hit to the head from Ottawa forward, Mathieu Joseph, and laid motionless on the ice for some time. In an update from the team, Detroit announced that Larkin is still being attended to by the team medical staff, and would not return to action tonight. Suffering from multiple head injuries throughout his career, it would be a tough blow to the Red Wings if Larkin is set to miss significant time, as he leads the team in scoring with 11 goals and 25 points in 23 games.
- The Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Tanner Pearson would not return to the team’s game tonight due to an upper-body injury. Since coming over from the Vancouver Canucks in an offseason trade, Pearson has produced at a relatively tepid rate, scoring four goals and eight points in 26 games, which is still good for eighth on the team in scoring. Already with six players currently residing on the team’s injured reserve, the Canadiens may have to dig into their organizational depth even further if Pearson is set to miss significant time.