Ducks Activate Mikael Granlund From Injured Reserve
The Ducks have activated center Mikael Granlund from injured reserve, Derek Lee of The Hockey News reports. Goaltender Petr Mrázek has landed on IR in the corresponding move, retroactive to Nov. 30, Lee adds.
Granlund’s availability has been sparse since Anaheim landed him as one of the big fish of last summer’s free agent class on a three-year, $21MM contract. The 33-year-old has now missed 18 of the Ducks’ last 19 games due to a lower-body injury he initially sustained in an Oct. 25 game against the Lightning. He missed several games before initially attempting a return on Nov. 13 against the Red Wings. He had a successful outing, scoring a goal on a pair of shots in 15:45 of ice time, but reaggravated the injury and has sat out the last 10 as a result.
When dressed, though, Granlund has delivered on the hype. The 5’10” pivot was once viewed as one of the league’s better two-way forwards and routinely put up 60-point campaigns during the early days of his career with the Wild. A 2019 trade to the Predators largely derailed his consistent production aside from a resurgent 2021-22 season in which he put up 64 points. After a post-trade deadline stint with the Penguins in 2023, where he scored just once in 21 games, his stock was at an all-time low. Pittsburgh flipped the remaining two years of his five-year, $20MM deal to the Sharks that offseason in the Erik Karlsson trade in what was largely viewed as a cap dump.
Playing important minutes on a bottom-feeder Sharks team, Granlund resurrected his career. He rattled off 60 points in only 69 games, tying his career high of 0.87 points per game, and had 45 points in 52 games for San Jose the following season before they landed a first-round pick from the Stars to take on him and Cody Ceci as rentals.
Granlund finished the year with a 7-14–21 scoring line in 31 games for Dallas, an expected slight reduction as his minutes were reduced on an infinitely deeper Stars forward roster. Nonetheless, his stock, along with a weak cast of centers on the open market, left the cap-strapped Stars with no chance of retaining him. A virtual lock to hit the open market, he ended up cashing on a short-term deal with the highest AAV of his career from Anaheim.
The experiment has worked out well so far. With three goals and six assists, he’s clicked at a point per game through nine appearances and has averaged north of 17 minutes per game. His linemates have fluctuated, and he’s expected to have a new set of them tonight against the Capitals. He took line rushes this morning between Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome on Anaheim’s third line, per Zach Cavanagh of The Sporting Tribune.
Importantly, Granlund has been the best faceoff man for a Ducks team that’s winning 46.4% of its draws, 29th in the league. At 52.8%, Granlund is the only Ducks center above the water line this season. He’s also been a special-teams beast, leading the team with 3:40 of power-play ice time per game while also averaging 1:14 per game shorthanded.
Mrázek’s IR placement is solely procedural. He’s already been ruled out week-to-week with the apparent groin injury he sustained late in last weekend’s loss to the Blackhawks. With starter Lukáš Dostál sidelined for another one to two weeks, it’s third-stringer Ville Husso‘s net until he returns.
Erik Karlsson Is Playing His Best Hockey In Years
When the Penguins acquired defenseman Erik Karlsson from the Sharks in August 2023, they envisioned him giving their big three (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang) one last push for a playoff run. Two and a third years into the experiment, the results haven’t been promising, as Pittsburgh missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and has entered into a rebuild — or at least, that’s what they believed.
However, Karlsson and the big three have the Penguins in contention for a playoff spot some 26 games into the season, in a year when they expected to be one of the worst teams in the league. Karlsson is nowhere near the offensive producer he was during the 2022-23 season when he won the Norris Trophy and registered 101 points, but he has been in good form this year and has provided Pittsburgh with more of a two-way presence on their back end.
When Pittsburgh started the season, the left side of their defense looked like a black hole because they had very little depth at that position, and it was expected to be the team’s Achilles’ heel. Fortunately for Pittsburgh, recent signee free agent Parker Wotherspoon stepped up and claimed one of the spots in the top six.
Not long after, Wotherspoon was paired with Karlsson, and together they have become Pittsburgh’s top defensive pairing. There were no expectations for Karlsson or Wotherspoon this season. Still, under the guidance of first-year head coach Dan Muse, Karlsson appears to be a completely different player, and Wotherspoon has become a meaningful NHL defenseman for the first time in his short professional career.
Using the eye test, Karlsson looks like a different player compared to the past two seasons. He is playing a more focused defensive game and has shown more defensive awareness than he has in a long time. His skating in the defensive zone has been effective in recovering to get back into position, closing gaps, and, along with his instincts, breaking up plays.
On the offensive side, Karlsson remains a fantastic playmaker, still demonstrating the elite vision that has helped him win three Norris Trophies. Even if his goal-scoring isn’t what it once was, he is still an elite offensive player who could be ready to break out.
Even if his offensive stats hover around 55 to 60 points, which is about where they are this season (one goal and 17 assists in 26 games), Karlsson’s play away from the puck makes his lower offensive totals easier to accept. In fact, Karlsson and Wotherspoon have not only formed a solid defensive pairing, but they have also been highly effective at killing penalties and are Pittsburgh’s most-used defensive duo when shorthanded. Their even-strength play has been strong as well, with Karlsson and Wotherspoon limiting high-danger scoring chances, demonstrating a defensive awareness rarely seen in Karlsson’s game.
Karlsson appears more comfortable on the ice, playing loose and fast, a stark contrast to the last few years, when the 35-year-old seemed as though Father Time had caught up with him. A perfect example is this past Monday in a game against the Flyers.
With the game tied 1-1, Karlsson collects the puck, bursts out from behind his own net, skates straight to the middle of the ice in the offensive zone and drives right at the two Flyers defenders. He then cuts to the right and makes a tape-to-tape cross-ice pass to Bryan Rust, who spots the trailer (Crosby) for a one-timer that ends up in the back of Philadelphia’s net. It’s a goal that Karlsson didn’t start a year or two ago, and it highlights the change in his work rate.
It also makes one wonder where Karlsson and the Penguins will finish this season. It might even be better if not for a significant injury bug that swept through the room at the start of November, bringing down Noel Acciari, Rickard Rakell, and Justin Brazeau, among others. The injuries effectively removed one forward from each line and put the Penguins in a position where their depth was tested in November, and quite frankly, they don’t have much depth.
You could argue that Karlsson has been lucky, and that some of his mistakes are being offset by Wotherspoon’s consistent performance and the efforts of his goalies. This idea is valid, as Karlsson and Wotherspoon have been on the ice together for 14 goals for and 10 goals against (a 58.3% goals share) while their expected goals share is just 47.3%, with projections of 15.1 goals scored and 16.8 goals conceded (all numbers via MoneyPuck). These data points do tell a story, and there might be some truth to Karlsson being fortunate, but they don’t reflect Karlsson’s own defensive contributions, which have been excellent this year compared to previous seasons.
Speaking of the Penguins’ goaltending, there is a case to be made that many of the Penguins’ shortcomings as a team have been masked by the exceptional goaltending they’ve received so far. Tristan Jarry has been excellent to start the year, with a goals saved above expected of 8.2, and Arturs Silovs has also been good with a 2.5 goals saved above expected (all numbers courtesy of MoneyPuck). That kind of goaltending can’t be expected to continue for the rest of the year, especially in Jarry’s case, who has a history of struggling in the second half of the season. But, for now, it’s a significant reason that Pittsburgh is in contention for the postseason, along with the play of Karlsson and other veterans.
A consistent feature of Pittsburgh this year has been its veteran stars, including Karlsson. He’s remained a dependable presence for the team and could step up further as the season approaches the Olympics. Karlsson is clearly driven by something, and the Olympics are as good an assumption as any.
There is also the possibility that Karlsson understands the situation he’s in. Karlsson was expected to be traded in the summer, but that never happened, which means he might be stuck in Pittsburgh until next year or until his contract expires at the end of the 2027 season. The Penguins will likely make moves next summer to speed up their rebuild—Josh Yohe of The Athletic has repeatedly expressed this belief. Looking at the mix of young prospects and veterans still playing at a high level, it all makes sense. Pittsburgh isn’t a Stanley Cup contender right now and probably won’t be for a few more years. However, with the 2025 draft selections that they made and a potential superstar goalie in Sergey Murashov, that timeline could shift very soon.
If Karlsson stays with the team next season, it could be his best opportunity to chase a Stanley Cup. Even if he doesn’t, there will be motivation to extend his career beyond the 2026-27 season, and factors like money and his choice of destination will also serve as strong motivators.
Photo by Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Predators Place Ozzy Wiesblatt, Justin Barron On Injured Reserve
The Predators announced that winger Ozzy Wiesblatt has been placed on injured reserve due to an upper-body injury. Defenseman Justin Barron was also placed on IR with a lower-body injury (retroactive to Dec. 1). Wiesblatt will miss eight to 10 weeks, while Barron was given a week-to-week status.
Wiesblatt left last night’s overtime win over the Panthers just 15 seconds into his first shift. He collided with Panthers winger Carter Verhaeghe while attempting to close him off in the offensive zone, spun out, and then got clipped by teammate Michael McCarron incidentally (via Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey). He did not return to the game.
The final pick of the first round by the Sharks in 2020, Wiesblatt had a tough go of things in their minor-league system before Nashville acquired him in exchange for the signing rights to Egor Afanasyev in the 2024 offseason. After never recording more than 15 points in a season for San Jose’s AHL club, he arrived with the Preds’ affiliate in Milwaukee last season and exploded for 15 goals and 40 points in 64 games. That effort earned Wiesblatt his NHL debut, playing five games last year on various recalls between January and March.
Wiesblatt could have been a restricted free agent last summer, but signed a two-year, two-way extension way back in November 2024 to avoid that outcome. No longer waiver-exempt and on the heels of his minor-league breakout, Wiesblatt earned a spot on Nashville’s opening night roster in October. He sat as a healthy scratch for the season’s first three games but has appeared in every contest since. He hasn’t been a significant offensive threat – he has four points in 24 games and only scored his first NHL goal earlier this week – but has been a part of one of the league’s most defensively responsible forward trios. Nashville’s fourth line of Wiesblatt, McCarron, and Cole Smith has controlled 64.3% of expected goals at 5-on-5 and is allowing just 1.58 xGA/60, fifth-best in the league among lines with at least 50 minutes together (per MoneyPuck).
Unfortunately, the Preds have only been able to ice that line in 10 of 27 games this season, in part due to Smith sitting out the last month with an upper-body injury. There’s still another couple of weeks until he’s expected to return, and they’ll now be without Wiesblatt until likely after the Olympic break. In the meantime, Wiesblatt’s absence means a longer leash for recent call-up Reid Schaefer and extra forward Tyson Jost.
Barron’s IR placement is far less consequential. He’s only carried an injury designation for the last two games after getting banged up in practice but hasn’t played since Nov. 16, sitting as a healthy scratch in five straight before sustaining the lower-body issue. His absence, though, plus an upper-body injury to Nicklaus Perbix that has him out day-to-day, has caused some lineup construction issues on Nashville’s back end. Without those two, Nick Blankenburg stands as the only righty on the roster, meaning their top four group of Nicolas Hague, Roman Josi, Brady Skjei, and Adam Wilsby is made up solely of left-shot options.
Interestingly enough, the Preds’ underlying numbers have improved with Hague-Josi and Skjei-Wilsby deployed as their top two units. They’re controlling 58.7% and 59.1% of expected goals at 5-on-5, respectively, the top two figures among Nashville d-pairings with at least 30 minutes together.
Unless Perbix is healthy enough for tomorrow’s game against the Hurricanes, the IR placements leave Nashville without an extra skater on their roster – not an ideal position for a road game, even if it’s a relatively short travel distance. With two newly-opened roster spots, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them make a recall from AHL Milwaukee tomorrow.
Hurricanes Reassign Domenick Fensore
Dec. 5: Fensore was returned to AHL Chicago today, the team announced. He wasn’t needed for last night’s 5-1 loss at the hands of the Leafs.
Dec. 4: The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that defenseman Domenick Fensore has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. The move comes as veteran defenseman K’Andre Miller manages an illness, according to team reporter Walt Ruff.
This isn’t Fensore’s first NHL recall of 2025-26. He was recalled by Carolina in late October while the team was dealing with a slate of defensive injuries. He made his season debut in the team’s Oct. 28 contest against the Vegas Golden Knights, a game where he received nearly 20 minutes of ice time. Outside of that one NHL game played, Fensore has largely served as a healthy scratch during his time spent on the NHL roster so far in 2025-26.
While it’s unclear at this point whether Fensore will dress for the team’s game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s entirely possible he’s been recalled to once more serve as a spare defenseman and healthy scratch.
The 24-year-old former Boston University captain has proven himself to be a quality creator of offense from the back end at the AHL level. He scored 32 points in 67 games last season and has upped his production considerably so far this year. Fensore ranks second on the Wolves in scoring for 2025-26 with 15 points in 17 games, just behind forward Felix Unger-Sorum, who has 19 points in 20 games.
A pending RFA with arbitration rights, these repeated recalls are a positive sign for Fensore’s upcoming free agency. They signal the Hurricanes’ increased level of trust in Fensore as an NHL option, even if he hasn’t been able to crack Carolina’s lineup on a full-time basis.
The one-year contract extension Fensore signed in July of last year contained a two-way structure and an AHL salary of just $70K, with a $100K guarantee. Fensore’s on-ice value so far this season merits a significant pay raise, and the more call-ups he can receive, the more likely it is that Fensore will be able to earn a more significant AHL salary on his next contract, assuming his next deal also carries a two-way structure.
Sweden Announces Roster For 2026 World Juniors
After USA Hockey announced its preliminary roster for the 2026 World Junior Championship at the beginning of the month, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association became the next gold medal contender to follow suit. Unlike the host country, though, Sweden released a 26-man list and therefore only has one cut to make before the tournament kicks off on Dec. 26 at the Wild’s Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul and 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, home to the University of Minnesota men’s team. Their roster is as follows:
F Jack Berglund (Flyers, 2024, 2-51)
F Viggo Björck (2026 draft eligible)
F Wilson Björck (Canucks, 2025, 5-143)
F Liam Danielsson (undrafted in 2024, 2025)
F Victor Eklund (Islanders, 2025, 1-16)
F Linus Eriksson (Panthers, 2024, 2-58)
F Anton Frondell (Blackhawks, 2025, 1-3)
F Milton Gästrin (Capitals, 2025, 2-37)
F Eddie Genborg (Red Wings, 2025, 2-44)
F Casper Juustovaara Karlsson (2026 draft eligible)
F Loke Krantz (Kraken, 2025, 7-218)
F Valter Lindberg (undrafted in 2024, 2025)
F Eric Nilson (Ducks, 2025, 2-45)
F Lucas Pettersson (Ducks, 2024, 2-35)
F Ivar Stenberg (2026 draft eligible)
D Sascha Boumedienne (Jets, 2025, 1-28)
D Felix Carell (undrafted in 2024, 2025)
D Alfons Freij (Jets, 2024, 2-37)
D Viggo Gustafsson (Predators, 2024, 3-77)
D William Håkansson (2026 draft eligible)
D Victor Johansson (Maple Leafs, 2024, 4-120)
D Felix Öhrqvist (undrafted in 2024, 2025)
D Leo Sahlin Wallenius (Sharks, 2024, 2-53)
G Måns Goos (Stars, 2025, 5-158)
G Love Härenstam (Blues, 2025, 6-179)
G Herman Liv (undrafted in 2024, 2025)
At forward, the Swedes are arguably bringing more true star power to the event than the Americans, who are seeking a three-peat. While the Bruins’ James Hagens is the only top-10 pick on the States’ roster, Sweden could have three – the reigning third-overall selection in Frondell, plus Stenberg and Björck, both of whom should hear their names called early on the first night of next year’s draft. Björck’s stock has slipped somewhat this year, but Stenberg’s has only risen to the point where he’s a legitimate challenger for first overall. With 23 points in 24 SHL games for Frölunda, he’s operating at the third-highest point-per-game pace all-time for an 18-year-old in that league behind Tomas Sandström and Markus Näslund. He and Frondell will form the centerpiece of Sweden’s attack.
The talent level drops off somewhat on the back end. They don’t have the top-15 talents like Axel Sandin Pellikka and Tom Willander that they’ve had at their disposal over the past couple of years. Boumedienne now takes the reins as their most high-profile name, along with the draft-eligible Håkansson, a 6’4″ lefty who most have pegged as a late first-round pick.
In goal, the Swedes have an open competition for the starters’ crease – in a good way. Härenstam and Liv are both off to great starts this season as starters for their respective teams in the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier pro league. It would be quite a story for the undrafted Liv to emerge as the No. 1 option, considering his last start for the Swedes at a major international tournament was at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. However, it’s looking like that could be the case. With a .923 SV% in 12 games for Almtuna IS, he’s second in the league. The 19-year-old is the son of former SHL and KHL star and Red Wings prospect Stefan Liv, who died in the 2011 plane crash that killed 26 players and three staff of the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
While Sweden has lost just four times in regulation in the group stage at the WJC since 2012, they haven’t won a gold medal in that span. In the past 13 tournaments, they’ve won silver four times (2013, 2014, 2018, 2024) and bronze twice (2020, 2022).
Lightning Reassign Declan Carlile
The Lightning announced they’ve reassigned defenseman Declan Carlile to AHL Syracuse. The move leaves them with no extra defensemen and an open roster spot, an indication that they plan on activating captain Victor Hedman from injured reserve before Saturday’s match with the Islanders. He was a full participant in today’s practice, according to Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider.
Carlile, 25, was recalled from Syracuse in mid-November in the wake of injuries to Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, and Erik Černák. The latter two remain on injured reserve, but getting Hedman back to anchor the team’s top pairing with J.J. Moser is nonetheless a significant boon for a club that’s navigated its rash of injuries quite well. Since the Lightning lost both Hedman and McDonagh to injuries in their Nov. 8 game against the Capitals, the club has taken hold of first place in the Atlantic Division with an 8-4-0 record. Their .667 points percentage is sixth-best in the league during that frame.
Carlile, a fourth-year pro, had played in each of Tampa’s nine games since his recall. That set a new career-high in games played for the 6’3″ lefty, who made his NHL debut in 2023-24 and made three appearances last season.
The Lightning signed Carlile as an undrafted free agent out of Merrimack College near the end of a 2021-22 season in which he was a Hobey Baker Award nominee and was named to the Hockey East conference’s Second All-Star Team. The Michigan native has been a stable two-way presence at the minor-league level since making the jump to the pro ranks, but had appeared to find a new gear offensively to begin this season, rattling off two goals, eight assists, and 10 points in 15 games before being added to the Lightning’s roster. That’s already more than half the production he managed in 55 appearances for Syracuse last year.
As with his previous NHL stints, Carlile didn’t look entirely out of place in bottom-pairing duties. He scored his second career goal and managed a +1 rating while averaging 12:53 of ice time per game. He recorded eight blocks and nine hits. Among Lightning defensemen with at least 100 minutes at 5-on-5, only Moser has controlled a higher share of scoring chances than Carlile’s 57.1%. That comes from him playing a stout, low-event defensive game – per 60 minutes, no qualified Lightning skater has been on the ice for fewer scoring chances than Carlile at 17.9.
If Carlile played one more game, he would have needed to clear waivers again to return to Syracuse. With his strong play in bottom-pairing minutes and his offensive improvement in the AHL, that wasn’t a guarantee after he did so already during training camp. If he’s called up again and enters game action or is rostered for 13 days, then he’ll need waivers at the conclusion of that recall.
New Jersey Devils Recall Angus Crookshank
The New Jersey Devils announced today that forward Angus Crookshank has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.
Before this recall, the Devils had been operating without a spare forward on their NHL roster. That’s not entirely abnormal, but the Devils are set to play back-to-back games, something that typically tests a club’s depth more than a standard section of the schedule. As a result, the Devils have recalled a forward to add to their depth, and that forward is Crookshank.
A 26-year-old 2018 fifth-round pick, Crookshank had spent nearly all of his professional career thus far with the Ottawa Senators organization.
Crookshank became a Group Six unrestricted free agent this past summer, and New Jersey inked him to a two-year contract.
Crookshank’s deal has a two-way structure this season, pledging him a $475K guarantee to go along with his league-minimum NHL salary and $425K AHL salary.
Next season, Crookshank’s deal will become a one-way contract, providing him a solid pay bump regardless of what level he plays at.
Crookshank earned that two-year deal in New Jersey on the back of three quality, productive years as a depth player for the Senators. He scored 26 goals and 47 points for the AHL’s Belleville Senators in 2022-23, beginning a stretch of three seasons where he scored at least 40 points in the AHL.
Thanks to his emergence as a quality AHL scorer, Crookshank earned multiple NHL call-ups, ultimately playing in 21 NHL games across 2023-24 and 2024-25.
So far this season, Crookshank isn’t scoring at quite as high a level as he had in Belleville. His seven points in 17 games put him on pace for 29 points across a full 72-game schedule, but it’s worth noting the impact environment may be having on his production. Utica is the lowest-scoring team in the AHL, with just 36 goals scored across 18 games.
While Crookshank is obviously a part of that ranking, it’s worth noting when considering why his formerly hyper-consistent level of production seems to be trailing off a bit.
Given the fact that the Devils don’t appear to have an immediate opening in their forward lineup, it’s possible Crookshank is simply being recalled to serve as a healthy scratch for two games. But if he can draw into their NHL lineup, it would be Crookshank’s first chance to impress NHL viewers while playing in a Devils uniform.
Photos courtesy of James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
Morning Notes: Sherwood, Hiller, Edvinsson
The Vancouver Canucks are considering a significant re-adjustment in their immediate competitive priorities, and one of the first steps in that process is considering trades for the club’s pending unrestricted free agents. One of the top players for the Canucks to shop is veteran winger Kiefer Sherwood, who led the NHL in hits last season and is on pace for a career year offensively. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported this morning that the Canucks are “getting lots of interest” from teams interested in acquiring the veteran winger.
LeBrun specifically named the Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, and Montreal Canadiens as clubs who have expressed interest in acquiring Sherwood. Sherwood clearly fits the mold of the kind of player Wild GM Bill Guerin appears to covet, as a hard-to-play-against forward who blends relentless physicality with some scoring ability. Both Dallas and Montreal have significant injuries to deal with in their forward groups, something that may ratchet up the pressure on each club to acquire external scoring help. It was previously reported that the Canucks were seeking, at minimum, a second-round pick for Sherwood. The more clubs enter the bidding to acquire the player, the more likely it becomes that the Canucks will be able to ultimately exceed that asking price once they pull the trigger on trading Sherwood.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- The Los Angeles Kings have struggled offensively this season, ranking 29th in the NHL in goals scored per game. The club’s low-scoring loss to the Chicago Blackhawks last night only further raised questions about the state of the Kings as a Stanley Cup hopeful. Former LA Times sports columnist Helene Elliott reported that fans in attendance were vocal in their displeasure for how the team performed against Chicago. While the Kings’ offensive struggles have prompted some to consider whether it’s time for the club to consider a coaching change, John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor wrote that he is “not expecting a change in the LA Kings head coach anytime soon.” He noted that while the Kings have had great difficulty scoring at even strength and on the power play, “they’re still in every game,” and that the best path for the team moving forward would be for some of its scorers to return to their prior levels of offensive production.
- Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson, a top pick at the 2021 draft, has firmly established himself as a core part of Detroit’s future on defense. As a result, interest is picking up on what exactly Edvinsson’s next contract will look like. The trend has been for teams to sign key young players to contract extensions with as much term as possible, and Edvinsson could be no different. The Athletic’s Max Bultman wrote today that “it’s very possible Edvinsson lands close to Moritz Seider’s $8.55 million AAV” on his upcoming extension. Bultman cited Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe, who will make $9MM AAV on his next deal, as a key comparable. LaCombe scored 43 points playing 22:18 time on ice per game in 2024-25, while Edvinsson scored 31 points and played 21:07 per game.
New Jersey Devils Reportedly Discussed Steven Stamkos Pursuit
This morning, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that “the New Jersey Devils have discussed [Steven Stamkos‘] name internally, among many other trade targets.” LeBrun has previously reported that Nashville “would definitely listen to [trade] calls on him.” He also noted that the Devils were one of the suitors pursuing Stamkos during his free agency in the summer of 2024, meaning they do have documented interest in the player from the past.
Internal discussion of trade possibilities should not be taken as a firm desire by any team to actually directly pursue acquiring a player. A team can, and should, examine all potential options to improve its roster, even ones that may not be the most realistic.
But it is notable that New Jersey is at least considering the possibility of a Stamkos pursuit. LeBrun wrote that, at the very least, this is “something to keep an eye on as we get closer to the March 6 trade deadline.”
Where exactly Stamkos would fit on the Devils’ roster is less clear, especially at his $8MM cap hit. The Devils already have two forwards making $8MM per year (Timo Meier, Jack Hughes) and have another making $7.875MM (Jesper Bratt).
Whether the Devils would be best-served taking on the full freight of Stamkos’ $8MM AAV when they have upcoming contract extensions for Arseni Gritsyuk and Simon Nemec to consider is a fair question to ask.
For as much as Stamkos has accomplished in his career, his play over the last two seasons has been discouraging. He scored 40 goals and 81 points in his final season with the Lightning, but managed only 53 points in his first season in Nashville. So far this year, Stamkos is scoring at a 33-point 82-game pace.
In their discussions, the Devils may have considered the possibility that Stamkos’ decline in production is more attributable to the environment he’s playing in (he’s not the only Predators forward to be struggling) rather than any steep personal decline. But it’s unclear whether that line of thinking is actually fully accurate.
There were warning signs of a potential Stamkos decline that were emerging even during his final year in Tampa Bay. Stamkos’ five-on-five production was already slowing down considerably. Stamkos scored 70 even-strength points in 2021-22, but that number was down to 42 in his final year with the Lightning.
One could have made the argument that he was too reliant on the team’s power play, led by offensive dynamo Nikita Kucherov, for much of his production. An extension of that argument would have been that any team that signed Stamkos, but didn’t have a consistent Art Ross Trophy contender such as Kucherov to pair him with on a power play, might struggle to get the most out of his game.
The Devils may have reportedly discussed trading for Stamkos, but that doesn’t mean we have any reported clarity on how they view the state of his game, and his overall value.
If they do view Stamkos as more of a power play specialist, then it would be somewhat strange for the Devils to aggressively pursue acquiring him. New Jersey doesn’t appear to be a team in need of urgent assistance on the man advantage. They rank sixth in the NHL this season in power play conversion rate (24.3%) and that’s despite being without Hughes, their key offensive creator, for the last three weeks.
Worth noting is the existing connection that exists at the highest level of the Devils’ and Predators’ front offices. During his playing days, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald served as Nashville’s captain for four seasons, back when Nashville GM Barry Trotz was the club’s head coach. Fitzgerald also began his hockey operations career in the front office of the late Ray Shero in Pittsburgh. Before he was hired to run the Penguins, Shero was a key lieutenant of Hockey Hall of Fame inductee David Poile, who was the Predators’ longtime GM. Poile remains with the team in a senior advisor capacity.
None of these connections mean that the Devils’ reported discussion of Stamkos will materialize in an actual deal to bring Stamkos to Newark, of course. But they are worth noting when bringing up trade possibilities between the two clubs.
Photos courtesy of Per Haljestam-Imagn Images
Snapshots: Lucic, Pinto, Woll, Kirsch
With his time in St. Louis’ organization now over, veteran winger Milan Lucic is now looking to figure out his next step. It appears that he has an offer on the table to play this season but he will have to travel to get that chance. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the veteran has an offer from a team in Scotland. Lucic played in five games with AHL Springfield before being released a little more than a week ago and it seems unlikely that another playing opportunity in North America will materialize. However, Dreger suggests that there could be an off-ice role available with an NHL team if he decides to jump right into his post-playing career but for now, he’ll need to decide how much he wants to keep playing and make a decision on the one offer he has.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Senators announced (Twitter link) that center Shane Pinto left tonight’s game with a lower-body injury. The injury was sustained in the opening period on a hit from Mika Zibanejad. Even though his production has tapered off a bit as of late, the 25-year-old still leads Ottawa in goals with 12 in 27 games and came into the night averaging a career-high 19:30 per game of ice time. An absence for him would be a big blow to their center depth.
- The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Joseph Woll suffered a lower-body injury tonight against Carolina and did not return after playing the first two periods. Since returning from a leave of absence, Toronto has used Woll quite frequently, starting him in eight of nine games. He has done rather well, too, posting a .919 SV% in those outings. Anthony Stolarz has been out for nearly four weeks with an upper-body injury and hasn’t resumed skating so any absence for Woll would be problematic for a Toronto team that’s trying to recover from a tough start to the season.
- Sharks prospect Christian Kirsch has decommitted from UMass and his recruitment process has reopened, reports Brad Elliott Schlossmann of the Grand Forks Herald (Twitter link). The 19-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2024 and he spent last season in the USHL before coming to OHL Kitchener this season. With them, he has a 2.54 GAA and a .900 SV% in 18 games.