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Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek Full Participants At Practice

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Minnesota Wild forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek were both full participants in practice today, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. While their participation doesn’t necessarily mean the two stars are close to a return, their continued progress should serve as an encouraging sign for their playoff availability. The two returned to skating prior to practice just three days ago.

Kaprizov continues to work his way back from what is believed to have been groin surgery, while Eriksson Ek has been out since late February with a lower body injury. While the Wild started the season off hot and find themselves in the first wild card spot in the west, their offense has been inconsistent for much of the year. They are currently the only team in a playoff spot with a negative goal differential (202 goals for, 211 goals against). Their 202 goals on the season are also eighth lowest league-wide. During their absences, players like Matt Boldy, Frédérick Gaudreau, Marco Rossi, and Mats Zuccarello have shouldered the load offensively. However, as Russo also noted, Zuccarello left practice early today, with Kaprizov taking his spot on the top line. No reason for his departure was given.

Kaprizov had be dealing with lingering injury concerns throughout the season before his latest absence but was still making a massive impact for the Wild on the scoresheet. He has 23 goals and 52 points in just 37 games on the season. A return to form for the playoffs could provide the type of spark the Wild’s offense would need for a potential deep run. In his short career, the 27-year-old has shown he can make an impact in the playoffs with 10 goals in 17 career contests.

Veteran Eriksson Ek’s return would give the Wild their top defensive forward back. Eriksson Ek, who has finished top 10 in Selke voting each of the past four years, also provides a great depth scoring option. Despite contributing just 24 points in 42 games on the season, he is coming off of the best season of his career, posting his first career 30-goal season along with a career-high 64 points last season.

As Russo notes, both players are expected to join the team for their three-game road trip, but neither are expected to play this week. However, Kaprizov is expected to meet with his surgeon, and clearance from his medical staff could be the final hurdle to clear towards a return to the lineup.

Eriksson Ek is on standard IR, while Kaprizov is on LTIR. If Minnesota were to have Kaprizov available before the end of the regular season, they’d need to clear roughly $550K in cap space to activate him.

Utah Activates Robert Bortuzzo, Olli Määttä Game-Time Decision

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The Utah Hockey Club has activated defenseman Robert Bortuzzo off of injured reserve. Bortuzzo sustained a lower-body injury in December 10th’s game against the Minnesota Wild. He returned for eight minutes of ice time in Utah’s January 2nd win over Calgary, but wasn’t back to full health and had to step back out of the lineup. Bortuzzo missed 44 games of action in total with this injury and will now return with just nine games left in Utah’s season.

Bortuzzo played in 14 games before falling to injury. He recorded two assists, 22 penalty minutes, and a minus-two, while averaging just 11 minutes of ice time. After years of a dwindling role, Bortuzzo has fallen firmly into the role of seventh defenseman after signing a one-year, two-way, league-minimum contract with Utah this summer. The end of the season will be his chance to finally affirm that contract, though the signs of retirement could be shining for the 36-year-old defender.

If Bortuzzo does hang up his skates at the end of the year, he’ll leave behind a strong 14-year career in the NHL. His career began with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2011-12 season, but he spent the vast majority of it with the St. Louis Blues after a trade in the 2014-15 season swapped him for fellow veteran defender Ian Cole. Bortuzzo went on to record 424 games with the Blues – routinely serving in a depth role and never managing more than 13 points in a single season. Still, his gritty physicality and veteran depth helped support St. Louis to a Stanley Cup in 2019 – and made him a valuable addition for the injury-riddled New York Islanders blue-line last season.

Bortuzzo could quickly find his way back into Utah’s lineup on Sunday, with vet Olli Määttä designated as a game-time decision for the matchup per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. Määttä left Utah’s Friday game early with a lower-body injury. If he can’t go, the Hockey Club will be pushed to decide between Bortuzzo and current extra defender Nick DeSimone. Määttä has been an oft-used member of Utah’s blue-line. He’s averaging a career-high 20 minutes of ice time in Salt Lake City and has so far scored 15 points in 63 games. But Määttä is also in the rut of a cold-streak, with no scoring and a minus-three over his last nine games. A spot absence could be a chance for Määttä to make sure the mental and physical are both on the right track – as he prepares to serve a confident top-four role while Utah clings on to their playoff hopes.

Ryan Kirwan Signs Two-Year Deal With Marlies

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The Toronto organizations got a little deeper Saturday evening, when the AHL’s Toronto Marlies agreed to a two-year contract with Arizona State University senior Ryan Kirwan. The deal will officially begin in the 2025-26 season, with Kirwan finishing out this year on a professional try-out with the Marlies.

Kirwan was the top scorer for the Sun Devils this season, leading the team with 26 goals and 39 points in 37 games. It was a true breakout performance for the six-foot-two, 200-pound winger who had spent his last three seasons at Penn State University. He couldn’t find the same scoring groove at with the Nittay Lions – twice netting 13 goals and 26 points in 36 games; split by one season of just 17 points in 28 games. He was in need of a change of scenery, and found a proper fit with the ever-burgeoning Arizona State.

Kirwan was a top youth hockey prospect. He made the Avon Old Farms prep roster directly out of AA in his 15U season, and managed a dazzling 101 points in 71 games with Little Caesers in his 16U campaign. Those performances earned him a first-round selection in the 2018 USHL Futures Draft. He was immediately impactful in the junior league – netting 25 goals and 41 points in 50 games as a rookie, and 21 goals and 37 points in year two. Kirwan benefited from a physical profile that was a step more mature than his peers – and it’s likely that difference that made college a challenging scene. But he got his feet under him this season – while holding on to strong goal-scoring throughout. Kirwan will bring a stalky build, glued-on puck control, and a hard shot to the Marlies lineup starting in April.

West Notes: Draisaitl, Heiskanen, Trouba, Stephenson, Sissons

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A familiar face will return for the ’Battle of Alberta’ tonight. According to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, the Edmonton Oilers will welcome back superstar Leon Draisaitl after he missed he last four games with an undisclosed injury.

His presence in the Oilers’ lineup can’t be understated. Draisaitl is having an MVP-caliber season, leading Edmonton in scoring with 49 goals and 101 points in 68 games. Most notably, Draisaitl leads the entire NHL in goals, even strength goals (34), and game-winning goals (10).

The team has faced challenges without him and his teammate, Connor McDavid. The Oilers own a 1-2-1 record in the four games without the duo, averaging 3.00 GF/G while allowing a ghastly 4.50 GA/G to their opponents. Edmonton is battling with the Los Angeles Kings in the standings for the second spot in the Pacific Division, and they’ll want to avoid hobbling into the playoffs due to injuries.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • In a positive update for the Dallas Stars, independent writer Robert Tiffin reported earlier that defenseman Miro Heiskanen had officially resumed skating. Recent reporting indicated that Dallas wasn’t expecting Heiskanen back for their first-round matchup in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. However, with more than three weeks remaining in the regular season, Heiskanen’s return to skating may mean he’ll return earlier than expected from his knee surgery.
  • According to Derek Lee of The Hockey News, the Anaheim Ducks avoided a worst-case scenario with defenseman Jacob Trouba. Trouba suffered a scary injury in last night’s contest against the New York Rangers when he ran into former teammate Igor Shesterkin’s stick, causing Trouba to crash into the boards at a high velocity. Despite not joining the team for practice today, Trouba’s recovery timeline is only considered day-to-day, and he could feature for Anaheim in their upcoming contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
  • Chandler Stephenson may return to the Seattle Kraken tonight after missing three games due to a lower-body injury. Earlier today, Seattle’s broadcast analyst Alison Lukan reported that Stephenson has been upgraded to a game-time decision. His return would be significant for the Kraken, as he is the team’s second-leading scorer with 11 goals and 48 points in 69 games.
  • Lastly, the Nashville Predators lost a bottom-six forward partway through tonight’s loss against the Vegas Golden Knights. Nashville shared that forward Colton Sissons wouldn’t return to tonight’s action due to a lower-body injury. Further information should come out tomorrow regarding Sissons’ status moving forward. He’s only missed one of Nashville’s 73 games this season.

East Notes: Mrázek, Söderblom, Dahlin, Hughes

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Despite a 3-7-0 record in their last 10 contests, the Detroit Red Wings are sticking around the Eastern Conference wild-card race. They’ll have a good opportunity to pull within one point of the final spot against the Boston Bruins tonight but will have to do so without goaltender Petr Mrázek and forward Elmer Söderblom.

According to MLive’s Ansar Khan, neither player will be in the lineup tonight, although the latter could return as early as Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues. Söderblom, who’s been solid for Detroit, scoring four goals and 10 points in 23 games since being recalled in late January, has missed the Red Wings’ last three games (including tonight) and four out of the past five.

Meanwhile, there have been no updates regarding Mrázek’s status. Since being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline, Mrázek’s second stint in Detroit had gone well, with a 2-2-0 record in five games and a .902 SV%. Unfortunately, due to a collision with Utah Hockey Club’s Dylan Guenther early in the team’s matchup this past Tuesday, Mrázek has been sidelined with an apparent head injury.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Buffalo Sabres suffered a glaring loss to the Philadelphia Flyers earlier today. One of the main reasons for their defensive issues may have been captain Rasmus Dahlin’s absence. According to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, Dahlin missed today’s game due to illness, and he’s doubtful to play for the team on Sunday against the Washington Capitals. Without Dahlin, Buffalo’s only defensive pairing with a positive rating in today’s matchup was the duo of Bowen Byram and Connor Clifton.
  • Sticking on defense, New Jersey Devils’ defenseman Luke Hughes missed yesterday’s contest due to a minor groin issue. Still, it didn’t prohibit Hughes from factoring into the lineup tonight, although team reporter Amanda Stein shared he was a game-time decision heading into warmups. New Jersey holds a two-goal advantage at the time of writing, and Hughes has recorded one assist in 19:55 of ice time, also putting three shots on goal.

San Jose Sharks Recall Jimmy Schuldt

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Veteran defenseman Jimmy Schuldt is getting another look with the Sharks.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Schuldt from AHL San Jose; it’s his fourth recall of the month.

The 29-year-old is in his first season with the Sharks after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them last summer.  He has seen his first NHL action since the 2018-19 campaign with Vegas so from that standpoint, the choice was a good one.

Schuldt has suited up in five games for the Sharks this season, all of which have come this month.  He has been held off the scoresheet in those outings while averaging a little under 15 minutes a game of playing time.  Meanwhile, with the Barracuda, Schuldt has six goals and 14 assists in 59 outings, his second straight year of declining offensive production in the AHL.

Schuldt is expected to add to his NHL games played total tonight against the Rangers as it’s believed he’ll draw in for the injured Vincent Desharnais.  However, his recall will likely be short-lived as Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relays (Twitter link) that it appears that blueliner Marc-Edouard Vlasic will be available to play Sunday versus Los Angeles.  At that time, the emergency conditions for Schuldt’s recall will terminate, meaning he’ll either have to return to the Barracuda or be converted to one of San Jose’s four post-deadline regular recalls.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Karsen Dorwart

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Mar. 29: According to a team announcement, the Flyers have confirmed Dorwart’s two-year contract, also sharing that he’ll join the team immediately.

Mar. 28: Dorwart’s deal is done, per PuckPedia. He lands the maximum entry-level cap hit of $975K on his two-year deal, which begins immediately. His 2024-25 salary figure will be prorated. Dorwart will earn an $877.5K base salary, a $97.5K signing bonus, and an $85K minors salary each season with no performance bonuses.

Mar. 22: College free agency has already started for some players while some of the more notable ones will become available in the coming weeks once their Frozen Four tournament comes to an end.  One of the players in that category is Michigan State forward Karsen Dorwart.  He’s expected to have several suitors with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reporting that several teams feel the Flyers are expected to strongly pursue Dorwart’s services.

The 22-year-old is in his junior year with the Spartans, one that has seen him take a bit of a step back offensively.  After putting up 15 goals and 19 assists in 38 games last season, Dorwart has 11 goals and 16 helpers in 33 games so far.  Despite the drop in output, he’s still second on the team in scoring behind Tampa Bay winger Isaac Howard.

Dorwart was viewed as one of the top college free agents available last year with Friedman noting that the Maple Leafs nearly landed him at that time before he decided to remain in school.  With that in mind, it seems likely that Toronto will take a run at trying to sign him again as well.  Dorwart is among the top options available again this year so it’s likely he’ll be able to secure a contract that allows him to play down the stretch this season (he won’t be playoff-eligible, however) and burn one of the two years of his entry-level deal in the process.

Vancouver Canucks Reassign Arturs Silovs

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Now that Thatcher Demko appears healthy after recording back-to-back wins earlier in the week, the Vancouver Canucks no longer needed three goalies on the roster. The odd-man out is Arturs Silovs, as the Canucks announced they reassigned Silovs back to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, earlier today.

Due to Demko’s recurring injuries throughout the 2024-25 campaign, Silovs has been an oft-called-upon third netminder for Vancouver. He’s doubled his career games total this season, managing a 2-6-1 record in 10 games for the Canucks with a .861 SV% and 3.65 GAA. If the topical save percentage and goals-against average weren’t bad enough, Moneypuck has Silovs ranked 66th out of 72 netminders with 10 or more games played this year with a -10.2 goals saved above expected.

It’s a far cry from his impressive performance in last year’s playoffs. Vancouver tasked Silovs with backstopping the team through the back half of their Round One matchup against the Nashville Predators after Demko and Casey DeSmith fell to injuries. Including a series-deciding shutout in Game Six against Nashville, Silovs helped the Canucks take the eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers to seven games.

Unsurprisingly, his time in Abbotsford this season has provided better results. Despite being rostered for Vancouver for much of the year, Silovs has posted a 11-4-0 record in 15 games with the AHL Canucks with a .902 SV% and 2.53 GAA. His save percentage has dropped mildly compared to last season, but Silovs has still proved a quality goaltender at the AHL level.

Lack Of Cap Space An Impediment For Lightning And Isaac Howard

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With more college teams starting to be eliminated, we’re seeing an influx of NHL prospects signing contracts.  With Michigan State losing on Thursday, several of their prospects will be turning pro.  While it’s expected that Lightning winger Isaac Howard will be one of them, his situation might take a little longer to resolve.

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic relays (Twitter links) that Howard’s desire is to burn a year of his entry-level deal right away and join Tampa Bay for the stretch run where he could play for them, including in the playoffs.  However, that’s something they can’t afford to do.  Per PuckPedia, the team has just $8,372 of cap space which obviously isn’t enough to fit Howard in.  Even prorating by day, they’d likely only be able to sign him with two days left in the regular season.  That’s still not for another roughly three weeks and it might be harder for the team to consider using him in the playoffs after sitting for so long.

Alternatively, the Lightning could push for Howard to go to AHL Syracuse.  For that to happen, he’d have to sign an entry-level deal that begins next season (eliminating his NHL eligibility this season) or sign a tryout deal with the Crunch, play with them for a bit, and then sign an NHL deal with Tampa Bay beginning this year to be playoff-eligible.  The latter route is rarely taken but there is a recent instance of a player doing that; Anaheim’s Sam Colangelo took that path last season.

Howard started his college career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2022-23 but went to Michigan State via the transfer portal the following year.  He put up a point per game last season and found another gear offensively this year, tallying 26 goals and 26 assists in just 37 games, slotting him fifth in NCAA scoring while demonstrating he’s ready to make the jump to the pros.  But with Tampa Bay’s cap situation, just how exactly he’s going to start his professional career remains in question.

Predators Sign Matthew Wood

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Another top college prospect has decided that the time is right to turn pro.  The Predators announced that they have signed forward Matthew Wood to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal, which begins this season, were not disclosed.

The 20-year-old was the 15th overall selection back in 2023, following a very impressive freshman season at the University of Connecticut.  That year, he had 11 goals and 23 assists in 35 games before averaging nearly two points per game for Canada at the World Under-18s, further boosting his stock heading into the draft.

But things didn’t go as well for Wood last season.  His point total dropped to 28 in 34 games although 16 of those were goals.  Nevertheless, he opted to enter the transfer portal after the season, joining the University of Minnesota.

Wood played for Canada at the World Juniors last year but didn’t make the squad this season.  However, he had a strong year for the Golden Gophers, setting new benchmarks in goals (17) and points (39) in 39 contests, good for a share of second place in team scoring while earning him a spot on the All-Big Ten Honorable Mention team.

Wood will now get his first taste of NHL action as he’ll report to the Predators in the coming days.  Because he’s burning the first year of his contract this season, he will not be eligible to report to AHL Milwaukee when Nashville’s season comes to an end.  The Preds have ten games left this season so Wood should have a chance to get at least a few games in with the big club, giving him a chance to make a good first impression toward a possible full-time spot next season.

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