Minor Transactions: 11/22/23
After a day that did not feature a single NHL game, the world’s top league is back with a whopping 14 games today, meaning all but four of the league’s clubs will be playing tonight.
Highlights from today’s schedule include a playoff rematch between two Atlantic Division contenders when the Florida Panthers take on the Boston Bruins, and two intriguing matches out west between possible Stanley Cup contenders with the Dallas Stars taking on the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche taking on the Vancouver Canucks.
Outside the NHL, the Champions Hockey League Round of 16 continues with two games: German champions EHC Red Bull Munich against HC Genève-Servette, and Austria’s HC Innsbruck against Lukko Rauma. In the AHL, two of the league’s top teams will play tonight as Ivan Miroshnichenko‘s Hershey Bears take on Ty Smith‘s Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The continued grind of the 2023-24 season has naturally caused quite a bit of player movement outside the NHL, so as always, we’ll keep track of notable transactions here.
- Swedish netminder Niklas Rubin has signed a one-year contract extension with his current club, Liiga’s Ässät Pori. Rubin, 27, has had a strong career so far in both Sweden and Finland, and is arguably now in the most prominent role of his career. Starting in 2016, Rubin emerged as one of the top netminders in the HockeyAllsvenskan, posting a brilliant .929 save percentage across 81 career games. He then moved to be the backup for Frölunda HC in the SHL, and won a Champions Hockey League title in 2019-2020. In 2022-23, Rubin got his first shot as a starter in a European top flight, playing in 47 games for Pori. He did very well there, posting a .922 save percentage en route to the playoffs. So far this season, Rubin has a .918 save percentage as Pori have gotten off to a decent start, and given his early form this year it’s easy to see why Ässät club management have made the decision to extend Rubin.
- 20-year-old SHL forward Dennis Värmhed has signed a two-year contract extension with Timrå IK. Timrå is not actually the club he’ll play for in the immediate term, though, as the SHL side has loaned him to HockeyAllsvenskan’s Tingsryds AIF. Värmhed served as Timrå’s captain and top player for their J20 team last season, and that year earned him 14 games in the SHL in 2022-23. So far this season, Värmhed has played in 17 SHL games for Timrå, but has not found much success. So the club is loaning him to the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan in the hopes that playing in a professional league with a lower talent level will be best for his development.
- Genève-Servette HC has signed 21-year-old forward Christophe Cavalleri to a one-year contract extension. The six-foot-four center played in a total of 18 games for Geneva last season, including six postseason games on the club’s NL championship run. This season, Cavalleri appears to have taken some genuine steps forward in his development. After scoring just two points in 12 games on loan with second-tier SL side HC La Chaux-de-Fonds last year, Cavalleri is already up to eight points in 11 games this campaign. While he hasn’t yet had the same level of success in the NL, this extension provides him another campaign on his contract to continue pushing for regular appearances with Geneva.
- Former Minnesauga Steelheads and Peterborough Petes forward Nick Isaacson was traded in the ECHL earlier this week, sent to the Cincinnati Cyclones from the Jacksonville Icemen in exchange for future considerations. Isaacson, a physical six-foot-three forward, is a University of Guelph product who began his pro career in 2021-22 with the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL. He was decent there, scoring 11 points in 26 games, and his performances earned him a three-game look at the AHL level with the Hershey Bears. 2022-23 was a difficult year, though, as he bounced between the Maine Mariners and IceMen, only playing in five total games. So far this year, Isaacson has two points in five games but has not found his way onto the scoresheet since an early November contest against the Savannah Ghost Pirates. The Cyclones traded forward James Hardie to the Rapid City Rush on Monday, so Isaacson appears to be Hardie’s replacement.
- Former SPHL star Aaron Aragon has signed with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies, replacing forward Jared Power on their roster. Power was released in a corresponding move. Aragon, 26, is an undersized winger who began his pro career last season. He scored 39 points in 41 games for the SPHL’s Macon Mayhem, a year that earned him six ECHL games with the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Aragon began this season with the Idaho Steelheads, and scored five points in four games, with Idaho winning all four contests. But the Steelheads did not dress Aragon after their November 10th win over the Wheeling Nailers and released Aragon on November 16th. Now he’s signed in Utah, a team that could use some scoring help as they have registered the second-fewest goals scored in the ECHL this year.
- 2018 Carolina Hurricanes seventh-round pick Jacob Kucharski was released by the ECHL’s Reading Royals, ending a tough stint there that included just three games played. Kucharski had not seen game action since November 5th and had not even served as a backup since November 11th, as Reading have reverted to a tandem of Nolan Maier and St. Louis Blues prospect Will Cranley. Kucharski struggled in Reading, posting an .852 save percentage and 5.09 goals-against-average in his limited game action.
This page may be updated throughout the day.
Metropolitan Notes: Kane, Hischier, Ristolainen
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported today on The Drop that unrestricted free agent forward Patrick Kane reportedly would like to make another run with the New York Rangers but at this point Rangers general manager Chris Drury has been apprehensive due to the team’s lack of cap space as well as the chemistry they’ve build under head coach Peter Laviolette.
Kane was unhappy with last season and his inability to be healthy due to his hip injury. According to Kaplan, Kane felt like he played most of the season on one leg and never had a chance to be an impact player.
Kaplan didn’t rule out the possibility of Kane returning to the Rangers but said that if he were to return it would be similar to last season when Kane essentially forced a trade to the Rangers. Obviously, this wouldn’t be a trade, but if Kane was willing to take a low salary, he could force the Rangers hand as the upside of signing the three-time cup winner might be too much for the Rangers to ignore.
In other Metropolitan notes:
- New Jersey Devils reporter Amanda Stein tweeted that center Nico Hischier will travel with the club but will not dress in tomorrow night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. The 24-year-old returned to practice yesterday signalling that his return could come soon as he battles his way back from an upper-body injury he suffered on October 27th in a game against the Buffalo Sabres. The Devils have struggled with Hischier out of the lineup, going 4-5 in his absence. The 2017 first-overall pick struggled to start the year with just two goals in seven games but had a career year last year with 80 points in 81 games.
- Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was in a regular jersey at practice today, indicating that he can take contact. Ristolainen’s return to a regular practice jersey signals that he is close to making his season debut for the Flyers as he has been on the shelf since suffering an undisclosed injury during training camp. When he is healthy enough to play, the Flyers will need to activate him off LTIR and make room available on their active roster which will likely mean a demotion for a player such as Louis Belpedio.
Nils Hoglander Fined For Slew-Footing
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced today that Vancouver Canucks forward Nils Hoglander has been fined $2,864.58 for a slew-footing incident involving San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc. The fine is the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and penalizes Hoglander further for an incident that occurred in last night’s 3-1 win over the Sharks. Hoglander did receive a match penalty in the game which was a severe in-game penalty that is rarely given for slew-footing.
Hoglander and Labanc were engaged in a battle near the boards late in the second period when Hoglander appeared to kick Labanc’s left foot from under him and throw his upper body to the ice. He was initially assessed a five-minute major which was video reviewed and eventually upheld. The incident was certainly difficult to watch, and it resulted in Labanc taking a trip to the dressing room where he was attended to by the Sharks medical staff. It was the first match penalty of Hoglander’s four-year NHL career.
When speaking to the media the 22-year-old said that the play was an accident, although he did accept his punishment. It is the first time Hoglander has been given any supplemental discipline by the Department of Player Safety.
The native of BockträSk, Sweden has five goals and three assists in 17 games this season. He was the Canucks second-round selection in the 2019 NHL entry draft and made the team out of training camp during the pandemic shortened 2020-21 season, registering 13 goals and 14 assists in 56 games.
Atlantic Notes: Quinn, Greig, Kastelic, Walman
Still working his way back from an Achilles tear suffered in late June of this past summer, Jack Quinn is making significant progress in returning from injury. There still is no firm timetable for his return, but Mike Harrington of Buffalo News Sports confirmed Quinn was practicing in full pads before the team’s practice today.
The recovery timeline for Achilles tears is anywhere between five and six months, meaning Quinn could reasonably return by next week, or even towards the end of the calendar year. Nevertheless, the fact that he is practicing is positive news for the Buffalo Sabres, who could certainly use his skill back in the everyday lineup.
In 75 games played last year, Quinn scored 14 goals and 23 assists, finishing eight on the team in scoring, and 12th in Calder Trophy voting. Quinn likely could have scored quite a bit more last season, but he was limited in his usage by head coach Don Granato, only averaging around 14 minutes of ice time per game.
Other Atlantic notes:
- The Ottawa Senators could be getting some reinforcements back into their forward core, as Bruce Garrioch of TSN reports Ridly Greig and Mark Kastelic were seen practicing today on their own. Both players have been on the injured reserve since November 2nd, and both have been considered week-to-week. Of the two, Greig has been one of the most impressive young forwards on the team, scoring two goals and five assists in nine games.
- In the Detroit Red Wings loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in their second game of the Global Series in Sweden, defenseman Jake Walman would leave the game with an injury, and his status was unknown up until now. Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside reports that Detroit plans on using seven defensemen tomorrow night against the New Jersey Devils, meaning Walman will not miss any time due to the injury.
Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Eric Robinson
In an effort to shake things up regarding their forward core, the Columbus Blue Jackets announced they have recalled Eric Robinson from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. Playing on the second year of a two-year, $3.2MM contract with the Blue Jackets, Robinson has only been able to play in one game for Columbus this season.
A well-known problem throughout the league, the Blue Jackets offense has been anemic this year, not generating much from any level of their forward unit. Through 19 games, Columbus is averaging 2.68 G/GP, which puts them 27th in the league. Similarly, the organization’s powerplay has been equally as abysmal, generating a 9.84% success rate on the season, good for 30th in the league.
Although Robinson will not correct the ship on his own, he has been a quality depth scorer for the Blue Jackets over the last three seasons. Playing in 196 games since the start of the 2020-21 season, Robinson has scored 30 goals and 39 assists for the team, including five shorthanded points.
Before the callup, he was not tearing up the AHL level by any means but did score one goal and three assists in nine games for the Monsters. Given his playstyle, while he is back with Columbus, Robinson should feature in the bottom six of the team’s forward core.
Canadiens Recall Mattias Norlinder; Place Jordan Harris On IR
In earlier reporting today, it was discovered that Montreal Canadiens’s defenseman, Jordan Harris, would be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. With a full 23-man roster, the Canadiens have chosen to place Harris on the injured reserve, giving them the ability to recall defenseman Mattias Norlinder from their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.
Harris completed his first full rookie campaign last year for Montreal, scoring four goals and 13 assists in 65 games. Harris joins a growing list of young and promising Canadien defensemen and is playing on the first year of a tw0-year, $2.8MM extension signed last February.
Although Harris joined the team for their loss on Saturday at the hands of the Boston Bruins, he had actually missed the last couple of games before that with an upper-body injury. Seeing his playmaking ability slip a bit compared to last season, Harris has three assists in 16 games played this year, as well as carrying a -7 rating.
In Harris’ absence, Norlinder will get the opportunity to slide into the lineup over the next several games. He has not played in the NHL since the 2021-22 regular season, tallying one assist in six games for the Canadiens.
As the 64th overall selection by Montreal in the 2019 NHL Draft, Norlinder has played in 87 games for the Rocket over the last three seasons, scoring four goals and 19 assists in that time. Playing for Frolunda HC during his draft year, Norlinder has yet to see his strong skating ability or vision separate him from the pack in the AHL up to this point.
Not much of a playmaker during his time in the SHL, Norlinder had always been a strong defender at every level before making the jump to North America. If he is able to get back into the Montreal lineup during the callup, Norlinder will have to bring some of that expertise back into his game to have any staying power.
Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Dmitri Samorukov
Adding some defensive depth into the organization, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have signed defenseman Dmitri Samorukov to a one-year, $775K contract for the 2023-24 season. Bouncing between the Kontinental Hockey League and the American Hockey League over the last several seasons, Samorukov has played in three NHL games the last two seasons, adding zero points.
Samorukov was originally drafted 84th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2017 NHL Draft, waiting until the 2019-20 season to join the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. After a two-goal, eight-assist performance for Bakersfield over 47 games, Samorukov left North America to join CKSA Moskva of the KHL for the 2020-21 season.
After a somewhat disappointing performance in the KHL, Samorukov came back to North America for the 2021-22 season, once again joining the Condors. In 51 games played at the AHL level, Samorukov played much better, chipping in three goals and 15 assists, earning an emergency recall in late December of that year, playing in one game for Edmonton.
In October of the 2022-23 NHL season, Samorukov was traded to the St.Louis Blues in exchange for forward Klim Kostin, immediately reporting to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL. Throughout his one season with the Blues organization, Samorukov was called up twice last season, making two appearances at the NHL level.
Joining the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on a minor league contract this summer, Samorukov has played in 15 games, scoring one goal and four assists, which puts him third amongst defensemen in scoring for the team. Now, with this new contract, Pittsburgh will have the option to bring Samorukov to the NHL level if depth is needed on the blue line.
Cody Glass Placed On Injured Reserve; Out Week-To-Week
Last night, the Nashville Predators made an impressive comeback against their Central Division rival, the Colorado Avalanche, scoring two goals in the final minute of the game to earn the victory. Unfortunately, in his fourth game back after recovering from a lower-body injury, forward Cody Glass left the game with just over two minutes left in the third period.
In an update this afternoon, the Predators announced that Glass would be headed back to the injured reserve, this time with an upper-body injury. Looking to build on a strong 2022-23 regular season, Glass is struggling to stay healthy early in the season.
Last year, Glass had somewhat of a breakout season compared to the rest of his career, suiting up in 72 games in Nashville, scoring 14 goals and 21 assists. In the three seasons prior, Glass played in 74 games total between the Predators and the Vegas Golden Knights, only mustering nine goals and 14 assists.
There was some injury concern earlier in Glass’ career with the Golden Knights, as he missed one month of the 2019-20 regular season with a leg injury, before finally having his season ended by a knee injury in early March. However, since his arrival in Nashville, the same injury concern has not plagued Glass until this year.
This year, when healthy, Glass has played in nine out of a possible 17 games for the Predators, adding his first point on the year via an assist in last night’s contest against the Avalanche. Moving forward, as they have operated for the majority of their games this season, the team will be without Glass at the center position for the foreseeable future.
Penguins Place Rickard Rakell, Chad Ruhwedel On IR
1:16 p.m.: Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review relays that Rakell and Ruhwedel have been placed on injured reserve.
12:43 p.m.: Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan issued multiple injury updates Tuesday morning, the most pressing being that forward Rickard Rakell is out “longer-term” with an upper-body injury. Sullivan also relayed that defenseman Chad Ruhwedel is sidelined week-to-week with a lower-body injury. At the same time, winger Bryan Rust missed practice today to be evaluated for a lower-body injury.
It’s unclear when Rakell sustained the injury, but if his performance is any indication, he’s been playing through it for a while. The Swedish winger has struggled mightily this season, posting just four assists through 17 games despite playing top-six minutes, frequently alongside Evgeni Malkin on the team’s second line. Rakell has been somewhat inconsistent throughout his 668-game NHL career, but a dry spell like this is quite rare for him – especially after hitting the 60-point mark last season for the second time in his career.
The Penguins acquired Rakell from the Ducks in a March 2022 trade, giving up a rather significant haul of depth forwards Dominik Simon and Zach Aston-Reese, high-end goalie prospect Calle Clang, and a 2022 second-round pick that the Ducks used on defenseman Tristan Luneau, who managed to crack Anaheim’s roster out of camp just one season post-draft. After impressing with 13 points in 19 games down the stretch for the Penguins in 2021-22, then-GM Ron Hextall inked him to a six-year, $30MM deal with a $5MM cap hit. Rakell’s production as a Penguin has largely been worth the contract – 32 goals, 45 assists and 77 points in 118 games – but the team hopes his recent dry spell isn’t a sign of things to come for the life of the deal.
It is worth noting that despite Rakell’s lack of goal-scoring, his possession numbers have been strong. His -2 rating is a testament to his lack of offense, not defense – his 56.6% Corsi share at even strength is third among Penguins forwards behind Sidney Crosby and Radim Zohorna.
Ruhwedel has been a member of the Penguins organization since signing during free agency in 2016, and he’s remained a valuable depth option at the bottom of their defensive lineup. A nagging injury to Pierre-Olivier Joseph has meant extended playing time for Ruhwedel this season, and he’s been a healthy scratch just twice throughout their 17-game schedule. The 33-year-old is in the final season of a two-year, $1.6MM deal and has one assist and a -3 rating.
His absence leaves the Penguins with only five healthy defensemen on the active roster and will necessitate a roster move, which will likely be activating defenseman John Ludvig off LTIR. The early-season waiver claim sustained a concussion in his first NHL appearance against the Stars on October 24 but has been on a conditioning loan to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton since last Thursday, making two appearances and recording a shot on goal. Multiple reports indicate Ludvig was on the ice for practice Tuesday morning and will likely return to the Penguins’ lineup Wednesday against the Rangers.
Sullivan did not issue any timeline on Rust’s injury, which likely occurred during game action against the Golden Knights on Sunday. He did not leave the game, however. The 31-year-old has seen top-line duties alongside Crosby and Jake Guentzel this season and is amidst a rebound year, posting nine goals and 16 points through 17 contests after scoring 46 points in 81 games last season.
Missing both Rakell and Rust will create a domino effect throughout the Penguins’ forward lineup, an unfortunate blow for a team that’s 6-4-0 in their last ten games after a lagging start to the season. Sullivan told reporters today, including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that Jansen Harkins, Vinnie Hinostroza and Alexander Nylander will be in discussions to ride shotgun with Crosby and Malkin in Rakell’s and Rust’s absences. Only Hinostroza, who is day-to-day himself with a lower-body injury, is currently on the active roster. Harkins and Nylander are currently on assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and the team would need to place Rakell and/or Rust on LTIR to accommodate a recall.
Canadiens’ Jordan Harris Out Indefinitely, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard Out 6-8 Weeks
Canadiens defenseman Jordan Harris will be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, per a team announcement Tuesday. Harris has left the team’s California road trip and has returned to Montreal for “further testing and a thorough evaluation of his condition,” and the team will make a corresponding recall from AHL Laval later today. Additionally, after placing him on IR yesterday, the Canadiens confirmed that winger Rafaël Harvey-Pinard will be out of the lineup for six to eight weeks.
The Canadiens’ 23-man roster is full, so Harris will need to be moved to either IR or LTIR to facilitate a recall.
Harris, 23, is among the group of promising young Canadiens defenders, seeing his stock rise after a strong collegiate showing through four years at Northeastern. His rookie season in 2022-23 was solid, seeing him post 17 points and a relative Corsi share of 2.4% at even strength in 65 contests. The natural puck-mover has struggled to make as much of an impact this season, however, logging just three assists in 16 contests while seeing his possession numbers dip.
This is Harris’ second injury-related absence of the season. He’d missed two out of the Canadiens’ last three games with an upper-body injury but returned to play over 21 minutes in the Canadiens’ loss to the Bruins last Saturday. The Massachusetts-born defender is in the first season of a two-year, $2.8MM extension signed in February.
The news solidifies that Jayden Struble will enter the lineup tomorrow against the Ducks and make his NHL debut. A second-round pick of the team in 2019, Struble has six points in 12 games with AHL Laval this season and will slot in on the third pairing alongside Gustav Lindström.
A lengthy absence is a tough break for Harvey-Pinard, who’s struggled to find his footing in the Habs’ lineup this season. After ending last season hot with 14 goals and 20 points in 34 contests, the 2019 seventh-round pick has failed to light the lamp this year and has four assists in 13 games.