Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Mikko Kokkonen
Shortly before their game against the Nashville Predators, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced they had recalled defenseman Mikko Kokkonen from their AHL, the Toronto Marlies, on an emergency basis. This will mark the first time in his young career that Kokkonen has been called up to the NHL, although he will not make his debut tonight.
Kokkonen was originally a third-round selection by the Maple Leafs back in the 2019 NHL Draft, and would not make the jump to North America until the end of the season, scoring one goal and seven points for the Marlies in 11 regular season games. Before making the transition to the Maple Leafs organization, Kokkonen was a veteran of 216 games in the Finnish Liiga playing for Jukurit and the Pelicans, scoring eight goals and 54 points overall.
Last year, Kokkonen put together a mild season for the Marlies, achieving six assists in 36 games, and even spending time for Toronto’s ECHL affiliate, the Newfoundland Growlers, scoring one goal and three points altogether. Although his production was poor in the regular season, Kokkonen helped lead the Growlers to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2023 Kelly Cup playoffs, scoring three goals and nine points in 13 games.
Starting this season back on the Marlies, Kokkonen has nearly reached his point totals from last year, already notching two goals and two assists in 17 games played. With Toronto poised to lose a few defensemen via the free agent market this upcoming summer, Kokkonen will likely need more time in the minor leagues before becoming a full-time option for the Maple Leafs blue line.
Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Ferraro, Flames, Amadio, Kane
Earlier this week, news coming out of the Board of Governors meetings indicated a sizeable increase in the salary cap for next season, with most estimations projecting a $4.2MM increase, the largest increase in the last five seasons. One team that will benefit most from this salary cap increase will undoubtedly be the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights, who are pressed tightly against the cap.
Heading into next summer, the Golden Knights have four players set to hit restricted free agency, and another six hitting unrestricted free agency, including Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, and Alec Martinez. If the cap were to remain flat next year, Vegas would have only around $18.39MM to retain 10 players, but will now have around $22.59MM, giving them much more breathing room to keep their core.
In an article in The Athletic by Jesse Granger, Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon was quoted saying, “We are hopeful with a bump in the salary cap that we’ll be able to keep this core together. We like our team a lot.” For the core specifically, it is reasonable to expect raises given to both Marchessault and Stephenson given their production over the last several seasons, however, Vegas may even have the financial flexibility to improve their team next offseason.
Other notes:
- With only three months away from the 2023-24 NHL trade deadline, the league is quickly separating itself into buyers and sellers. One seller, the San Jose Sharks, has been receiving plenty of interest in defenseman Mario Ferraro, as reported last week. However, in an article published today by Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, Ferraro gave indication he has no desire to leave San Jose, saying, “I feel like I have unfinished business here. This organization has done so much for me, right? I feel like I still owe them and the fans.“
- Per a team announcement, the Calgary Flames announced that forwards Martin Pospisil and Walker Duehr were out of the lineup tonight with both suffering from the flu. Inching their way back into the playoff conversation, Pospisil and Duehr have been effective depth forward options for the Flames this season, scoring five points and four points in 15 games, respectively.
- A notable missing piece from the Golden Knights lineup tonight was forward, Michael Amadio, who is out due to personal reasons (X Link). Typically, a bottom-six forward is not a large missing piece in any lineup, but with five goals and 15 points in 27 games this season, Amadio sits sixth on Vegas in scoring, while sitting 19th in ATOI.
- After his hit last night on Jonas Brodin of the Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers’ forward Evander Kane was given a warning by the Department of Player Safety (X Link). It as an interesting decision by the league, as replay evidence shows that Kane finished his check on Brodin even with Brodin’s back turned to him.
Injury Notes: Ducks, Lehkonen, Benning, Puljujarvi, Blue Jackets
The Anaheim Ducks are nearing the return of two of the most important players in their organization, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. Zegras, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury, has been out of the lineup since November 10th, while Drysdale, has been out with a lower-body injury since October 19th.
There is no firm date for the eventual return of either player, but Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports that both players returned for practice this morning. In the same report, Lee also mentioned that breakout center, Mason McTavish, was still absent from practice after suffering an upper-body injury last week.
Anaheim could certainly use the reinforcements on both sides of the puck, as the team has recorded only one win in the last 11 games. Aside from just returning to the lineup, the Ducks will need both players to step up their game, as Zegras has only registered two points in 12 games, while Drysdale has only been in the lineup 10 times in the last 108 regular season games.
Other injury notes:
- Without much specificity into the severity of the injury, the Colorado Avalanche have been without top-six forward, Artturi Lehkonen, for the last month after he suffered a neck injury in the team’s game against the Seattle Kraken on November 9th. After joining the team for practice yesterday, the expectation is that Lehkonen will not return for another six to eight weeks, narrowing his return to January or February (X Link). Currently sitting at fourth in the Western Conference, Colorado will only have a few weeks to see how Lehkonen returns before potentially making a move at the trade deadline on March 9th.
- Missing nearly a month to an undisclosed injury in early November, beat writer Curtis Pashelka reports that San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Benning is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. In arguably the weakest defensive core in the NHL, Benning is one of 11 defensemen to play at least one game for San Jose this season, averaging just under 18 and a half minutes of ice time per night, placing him sixth on the team amongst defensemen in that category.
- Hoping to make his return to the NHL soon, Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that unrestricted free agent forward, Jesse Puljujarvi, has fully recovered from his hip surgery and has been cleared for full-contact training by doctors. Even when healthy, Puljujarvi’s market is going to be extremely limited, if one develops at all. The former fourth overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, Puljujarvi has scored 114 points in 334 career games, including a 36-point season for the Edmonton Oilers back in the 2021-22 season.
- Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that in the Columbus Blue Jackets game tomorrow against the Florida Panthers, forwards Cole Sillinger and Patrik Laine may be making their return to the lineup. Sillinger has missed the last five games due to an upper-body injury suffered on November 29th, while Laine has been out through the last three games with an illness.
Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Monahan, Zacha, Giordano
There is some good news and some bad news on the injury front for the Sabres. Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald notes that wingers Alex Tuch (hamstring) and Jordan Greenway (upper body) could suit up later on in Buffalo’s road trip next week. Both players landed on injured reserve last weekend. Tuch has started to get going offensively in recent weeks, collecting 12 points in 13 games since the start of November while Greenway remains quiet at the offensive end with just seven points in 21 games so far in his first full season with Buffalo.
Meanwhile, the news isn’t as good for Zemgus Girgensons. Hoppe relays that the forward has not progressed in his recovery from his lower-body injury. Head coach Don Granato indicated the initial expectation was that he’d be out for about another week but it appears the Sabres will be without the long-time checker for at least a little longer than that.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Canadiens center Sean Monahan reached his $15K bonus by playing in his 26th game of the year against Los Angeles on Thursday, relays Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette. That brings his total compensation for the season to an even $2MM. Monahan opted for this one-year deal last spring, electing to stay in Montreal where he had early success before multiple injuries ended his year. So far, he has stayed healthy and indicated to Cowan that he’d love to sign a long-term deal to stick with the Canadiens. If that doesn’t happen, he’ll likely be one of the more prominent rentals to keep an eye closer to the trade deadline, as long as he isn’t injured at the time.
- The Bruins announced (Twitter link) that center Pavel Zacha suffered an upper-body injury in today’s game against Arizona and did not return. The injury occurred at some point during the first period. The 26-year-old had 57 points in 82 games last year, his first campaign with the Bruins. Zacha has produced at a similar clip this season, posting 19 points in 25 contests heading into today’s action.
- Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano skated before practice today, notes David Alter of The Hockey News (Twitter link). It’s the first time he has skated since suffering a thumb injury late last month. The 40-year-old is averaging nearly 18 minutes a night so far this season and with Toronto missing some other blueliners, they’ll certainly be looking forward to getting him back.
Predators Activate Cody Glass From Injured Reserve
Yesterday, Nashville opened up a pair of roster spots when they assigned Liam Foudy and Spencer Stastney to the minors. One of those spots has now been filled as 102.5 The Game’s Nick Kieser relays (Twitter link) that center Cody Glass has been activated off injured reserve.
Last season was somewhat of a breakout year for the 24-year-old. After being more of a fringe player up to that point, the sixth pick in 2017 locked down a regular middle-six role, setting career highs across the board in games (72), goals (14), assists (21), and points (35). That helped Glass earn a spot on Canada’s entry at the Worlds where he added four more assists in ten games.
His play also helped earn him a two-year, $5MM deal, a nice raise for someone who had to settle for a two-way qualifying offer the year before. The contract basically amounts to a second bridge deal to see if this type of production was repeatable or could be improved on or if he’s likely to remain more of a secondary contributor moving forward.
Unfortunately for him and the Preds, Glass struggled out of the gate offensively this season, recording just one assist in his first nine appearances despite averaging nearly 14 minutes a night of action before suffering an upper-body injury last month. It’s fair to say they’ll be counting on him to provide more than that now that he has been cleared to rejoin the lineup.
Kraken Recall Marian Studenic
With Andre Burakovsky out week-to-week once again, the Kraken have found his short-term replacement, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Marian Studenic from AHL Coachella Valley.
The 25-year-old signed with Seattle as an unrestricted free agent this past summer after being non-tendered by Dallas. After clearing waivers in training camp, Studenic got off to a strong start with the Firebirds, resulting in a short-term recall late last month before being sent back down earlier this week. He has been held off the scoresheet in two appearances with the Kraken but has been productive in the minors, collecting seven goals and five assists in 16 games.
Studenic has 46 career NHL appearances under his belt spanning parts of four seasons between New Jersey, Dallas, and Seattle. He still might have to wait a bit to add to that total as he’s likely to serve as their 13th forward even with Burakovsky’s absence. He is still roughly three weeks and eight games away from needing to go through waivers for a second time this season.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Carolina Hurricanes
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2023-24 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Carolina Hurricanes
Current Cap Hit: $81,694,391 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Jack Drury (one year, $925K)
F Seth Jarvis (one year, $894K)
Potential Bonuses
Jarvis: $500K
Jarvis had an impressive rookie season before stagnating a bit last year. However, he is off to a big start this season, flirting with the point-per-game mark early on. That has him well on his way toward hitting his bonuses at a minimum while he’s the type of player that it wouldn’t be surprising to see Carolina try to work out a long-term deal with. A bridge contract likely checks in around the $4MM mark while a longer-term pact could push closer to $6.5 to $7MM. Drury has carved out a regular role this season, albeit on the fourth line. If he holds onto that for the full season, he could push for a small raise on a short-term bridge contract.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
D Jalen Chatfield ($762.5K, UFA)
D Tony DeAngelo ($1.65MM, UFA)
F Brendan Lemieux ($800K, UFA)
F Jordan Martinook ($1.8MM, UFA)
F Martin Necas ($3MM, RFA)
F Stefan Noesen ($762.5K, UFA)
D Brett Pesce ($4.025MM, UFA)
G Antti Raanta ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Brady Skjei ($5.25MM, UFA)
F Teuvo Teravainen ($5.4MM, UFA)
Teravainen has reached 63 points or more in three of the last five seasons but is also coming off a down year that saw him score just 12 times in 68 games, making this a key platform year. He’s off to a nice start and is near that goal total from 2022-23 already. If he can get back to even the 50-point mark, he could have a shot at landing a small raise on another long-term agreement. Martinook had a career year offensively last season with 34 points but is still looking for his first goal this year despite logging nearly 15 minutes a night. His typical offensive profile is one that should see him signing for a bit less than this, especially if he’s able to secure another multi-year agreement.
Necas is going to be a particularly interesting case to follow. He had a breakout 71-point performance last season, providing impressive value on the first year of his bridge deal. He also spent some time at center, his natural position but one he hasn’t played a ton in the NHL. At this point, Necas has established himself as a full-time top-six forward and will have arbitration eligibility for the first time this summer. His qualifying offer is $3.5MM but that’s well below what he’ll get on his next deal. His camp would probably like to see Necas deployed more down the middle to bolster his value but that might be injury-dependent. If Carolina wants to lock him up long-term, they’ll need to at least double his current AAV.
Lemieux had to take a $550K pay cut in free agency this past summer and has found himself out of the lineup more often than not this year which doesn’t bode well for his next contract. He’s going to wind up close to the minimum salary once again and even a one-way deal might not be guaranteed. Noesen has been one of the top under-the-radar bargains after putting up 36 points on a minimum-salary contract; he’s on pace for more than that this year with the AAV now below the minimum. His journeyman track record will work against him here (is it a late breakout for the 30-year-old or is he just the right system fit?) but even so, he should push for closer to $2MM on the open market. If enough teams think it’s a late breakout, that number will go higher.
Skjei had never reached the 10-goal mark until last season when he broke out with an 18-goal campaign. He has consistently been a strong third option on the back end and should be in a position to land at least a small raise and, at 30, close to a max-term agreement if he wants to pursue that long of a contract. Pesce has been in trade speculation dating back to the summer as many suspect the Hurricanes won’t be able to keep him in the fold. Like Skjei, he’s a reliable second pairing player but has a better defensive game but a weaker offensive one. The fact he’s also a right-hand shot will also help his market. Both players should land somewhere in the $6MM range.
DeAngelo was a late entrant into free agency after being bought out by the Flyers after a planned trade to the Hurricanes didn’t go through quite as planned. Unfortunately, the reunion hasn’t been great so far as playing time has been hard to come by and he has struggled. Nonetheless, a contract similar to this one could still be doable from a team looking to add some offensive upside on the back end at a lower cost. Chatfield has worked his way up to being a reliable sixth defender with very strong possession numbers. He’s the type of player that a team or two might believe is capable of a bigger role which could drive his price tag past the $2MM mark.
Raanta acknowledged that he left money on the table to remain with Carolina over the summer. That might wind up biting him a bit in the end as he has struggled considerably this season which won’t help his marketability this summer. That said, if he can turn things around, something in this range should still be doable, perhaps with the Hurricanes if they want to keep the extra depth.
Signed Through 2024-25
G Frederik Andersen ($3.4MM, UFA)
D Brent Burns ($5.28MM, UFA)*
F Jesper Fast ($2.4MM, UFA)
D Dmitry Orlov ($7.75MM, UFA)
D Jaccob Slavin ($5.3MM, UFA)
*-San Jose is retaining an additional $2.72MM on Burns’ contract.
Fast has been a capable depth scorer for most of his career while also being an effective penalty killer. Assuming that holds up over these last two years – he’s off to a bit of a slow start this season – there’s little reason to think he could land another two or three seasons around this price point. It’s worth noting he’ll be 34 at that time, however, which may restrict his market a bit.
Orlov surprised many by signing the priciest deal in free agency in terms of AAV, electing to take a short-term inflated contract with the hopes of landing another one in a more favorable marketplace two years from now. It was also surprising that Carolina was the one to give it to him with the depth they had on the back end plus them needing to re-sign or replace Skjei and Pesce a year from now. The move hasn’t worked out the greatest so far although there’s lots of time to turn it around. He’ll also be 34 when it’s time to sign his next contract so it’d be difficult to expect he’d land this much, even with the projected raise in the cap. But if it came in starting with a six on a three-year deal (or even four) if he’s able to turn his play around, going this route could ultimately work out well for him.
Slavin hasn’t been asked to play true number one minutes recently but that doesn’t mean he can’t handle them; he’ll almost be certainly valued as someone who can in free agency. He’s not a top point producer but he has shown progress on that front as well while being a stalwart in his own end. Accordingly, he could be pushing for $8MM or more on a max-term agreement, even though he’ll be 31 at that time. Burns has fit in quite well with Carolina while still playing a big role. However, he’ll be entering free agency at age 40. Will he even want to sign another deal? If he does, it’ll almost certainly be a one-year agreement, setting up the ability for a team to make some of it bonus-based for additional cap flexibility.
Andersen also took a pay cut to remain with Carolina over the summer and he was also off to a rough start to his season. However, he’s now out indefinitely with blood clots and it wouldn’t be fair to speculate on his next deal until he’s able to return.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Michael Bunting ($4.5MM, UFA)
Bunting went from being a fringe piece with Arizona to an integral part of Toronto’s top six over the last two seasons, making him one of the more intriguing players to hit the market over the summer. He didn’t quite wind up with a long-term deal but this one should hold up pretty well if he can provide around 45 points a year on the second line. If he does, he’ll have a much more favorable market next time around having proven he can produce outside of Toronto.
Flames Recall Matt Coronato, Place Jacob Markstrom On IR
The Flames have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight New Jersey. The team announced that forward Matt Coronato has been recalled from AHL Calgary and in a corresponding move, goalie Jacob Markstrom was placed on injured reserve.
Coronato broke camp with the big club and spent nearly four weeks with them to start the season before being sent down a little more than a month ago. In his ten games with the Flames, the 21-year-old picked up his first two NHL points, a goal and an assist. However, he also struggled at the defensive end to the point where the team decided he’d be better off playing a top role with the Wranglers.
That move certainly worked well for Coronato as he has been quite productive with them so far, notching eight goals and ten assists in just 14 games in his first taste of AHL action. That’s good for the second-best point-per-game average among AHL rookies. Now he’ll get a chance to try to capitalize off that momentum with this promotion.
As for Markstrom, he suffered a fractured finger earlier this week, yielding a week-to-week injury designation. Accordingly, his IR placement is largely procedural at this point as Dustin Wolf had already been brought up on emergency recall to take his place in Calgary’s goalie tandem. The Flames are eligible to backdate the placement to Tuesday if they want but considering he’s expected to be out for weeks, it’ll make no difference whether they do so or not.
Canucks Assign Linus Karlsson To AHL
The Canucks have made a roster move prior to tonight’s game against Carolina as the team announced (Twitter link) that forward Linus Karlsson has been assigned to AHL Abbotsford.
The 24-year-old was recalled a week and a half ago, getting into two games with Vancouver to bring his season count to three. He has been held off the scoresheet in those three contests while logging 10:26 per game. Karlsson has been quite productive in the minors, however, picking up three goals and a dozen helpers in 17 appearances at that level.
Karlsson is in the final season of his two-year, entry-level deal that he signed in 2022 following a strong showing with SHL Skelleftea. He’ll be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights this summer.
Yesterday, it was reported that center Pius Suter is nearing a return to Vancouver’s lineup after missing the last three weeks with a lower-body injury. This roster move could be the precursor to activating Suter off injured reserve either later today or in the near future.
Capitals Activate T.J. Oshie, Assign Hendrix Lapierre To AHL
The Capitals will welcome back winger T.J. Oshie to their lineup tonight against the Rangers as they announced that he has been activated off injured reserve. To make room for him on the active roster, Washington has assigned center Hendrix Lapierre to AHL Hershey.
Oshie has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury. However, prior to the injury, things had not been going well for the 37-year-old. Oshie had just one goal and one assist in his first 17 games of the season despite averaging 16:40 per night, nearly the identical ice time compared to a year ago when he collected 35 points in 58 games.
He’s hardly the only veteran Capital to struggle to score this season. Washington enters tonight’s action dead last in the NHL in goals with 56 despite returning most of the same group from last season which finished 20th in the league in scoring.
As for Lapierre, he has spent the bulk of the season so far with Washington following a late-October recall, going in and out of the lineup when needed. Overall, he has played in 11 games with the Caps, collecting a goal and two assists while logging just over ten minutes a night. The 2020 first-rounder also has three assists in six contests with the Bears. As one of only a handful of waiver-exempt players on the roster, he winds up drawing the short straw to return to the minors this time around.