Dallas Stars Notes: Seguin, Marchment
Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill gave an update on two injury situations for the team, according to Mike Heika, senior staff writer for dallasstars.com. Forward Tyler Seguin is recovering from the leg laceration he sustained on March 9 against the Buffalo Sabres, as he was skating on his own at the team’s practice facility. He is expected to practice with the team on Monday before being re-evaluated.
Seguin is an important cog in the Stars offensive machine, despite seeing his production drop off in recent seasons. Seguin has 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points in 65 games, and will be important to the Stars’ hopes of making a deep playoff run.
- Nill also announced forward Mason Marchment will be out around 3-4 weeks with a knee injury. Marchment last played March 13 against the Seattle Kraken, but flew back to Dallas on his own while the team continues its road trip. Marchment enjoyed a breakout performance last season for the Florida Panthers, with 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points in 54 games. He had just 11 points total in his first 37 games in the NHL, and signed a four-year contract worth an AAV of $4.5MM with Dallas last summer. He has 12 goals and 19 assists in 67 games this season for the Stars.
Ivan Prosvetov To Remain With Arizona Coyotes For Remainder Of Season
Arizona Coyotes goalie Ivan Prosvetov will remain with the team for the rest of the season, according to Craig Morgan of PHNX.
Arizona coach Andre Tourigny announced that Prosvetov will not return to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL, where he has played 35 games with a .900 save percentage and 3.06 GAA.
Prosvetov, 24, has appeared in one game so far for Arizona this season, turning away 39 of 40 shots in a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators on March 9. He played three games in each of the prior two seasons, and will get an opportunity to get an extended look for a Coyotes team trying to develop prospects at every position.
He has the size that has become coveted in the modern NHL, standing at 6 foot 3, and was a fourth-round selection by Arizona in the 2018 NHL draft. He is signed to a one-year contract, and could earn himself a long-term look with Arizona with a strong showing the rest of this season.
He will get the start tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, and will have an opportunity to earn more starts if he plays well enough. The Coyotes have goaltender Karel Vejmelka signed for two more seasons, who is also only two years older than Prosvetov.
With Arizona looking to fill holes throughout its organizational roster, Prosvetov stands to be a player to watch, as the Coyotes’ system is thin on goaltenders.
Cleveland Monsters Sign Justin Pearson To AHL Contract
Former NCAA forward Justin Pearson has signed an AHL contract with the Cleveland Monsters, the team announced on Twitter.
Pearson signed an amateur tryout contract for the remainder of this season, as well as a two-year AHL contract that begins in the 2023-24 season.
Pearson, 24, played since 2018-19 in the NCAA ranks. With the 2020-21 season canceled, Pearson played two years before that season and two years after at the college level.
He recorded 36 goals and 43 assists in 129 games played. His best seasons were a 14 goal, 10 assist season in 2019-20 for Yale University and this past season at the University of Connecticut, with 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points in 35 games.
Pearson joins a Monsters team that currently sits in last place in the AHL’s North Division, and will have 16 games remaining in this season’s schedule to get his feet wet in professional hockey.
As an older player than most who are entering pro hockey for the first time, Pearson is further along in his development than younger prospects. He will likely be counted on to produce during his initial foray into the AHL, and will have the next two seasons to prove what he can do at the professional level.
Injury Notes: Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins
Detroit Red Wings coach Derek LaLonde announced that defenseman Ben Chiarot is week-to-week with an upper body injury, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
Chiarot played just over 19 minutes in Detroit’s 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. He is in the first season of a four-year contract with the Red Wings at a cap hit of $4.75MM.
Other injury notes from around the NHL:
- Pittsburgh Penguins forward Ryan Poehling has been activated from injured reserve, the team announced on Twitter. Poehling last played on Feb. 11 in a 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He has 11 points in 38 games this season for the Pens, his first in Pittsburgh. Poehling has scored 18 goals in his career, three of which came in his NHL debut in 2019. Also announced by the Penguins was Alexander Nylander‘s recall status being updated from emergency recall to regular recall. Nylander has played four games for Pittsburgh this season, recording an assist, and has played well in the AHL, with 25 goals and 25 assists for 50 points in 54 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Jordan Binnington Suspended Two Games By NHL
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington has been suspended for two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety for roughing/unsportsmanlike conduct against Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman.
In a video explaining the suspension, the incident is described as follows:
With Binnington in net, Hartman scores a power play goal to put the Wild up 5-4. On the way to celebrate the goal with his teammates, he makes light, incedental contact with Binnington, who was sliding out of his crease and towards Hartman. With the play long over, and as the Wild celebrate their goal, Binnington leaves the area of his crease, approaches the unsuspecting Hartman and his teammates, raises his blocker and stick to head level, and strikes Hartman in the face with the blocker.
The reason for the play resulting in suspension is the fact Binnington used his blocker in such a manner, the fact it was in retaliation following a goal, how hard he hit Hartman and the fact it was in the head, as well as the fact the incident occurred after Minnesota had taken the lead.
This is the first time Binnington has been suspended, and he has never been fined by the NHL.
Binnington, 29, has been shaky this season for the Blues, with a .892 save percentage and 3.39 GAA in 52 games played. The Blues have entered a new era, having traded longtime franchise pillar Vladimir Tarasenko and captain and 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly.
The Blues sit in sixth place in the Central Division, only ahead of the lowly Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks.
Emil Andrae Signing AHL ATO
The Philadelphia Flyers haven’t quite signed Emil Andrae yet, but he is joining the organization nonetheless. The young Swede will play for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms down the stretch on an AHL amateur tryout, now that his SHL season has ended.
Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic tweets that the plan is still for Andrae to sign an entry-level contract with the Flyers at some point, likely one beginning in 2023-24. The team holds his exclusive draft rights until June 1, 2024.
The 21-year-old Andrae was the 54th overall selection in 2020, and broke out this season in his first full year of SHL action. With six goals and 26 points, he ranked 13th among league defensemen in scoring and now joins the Flyers as a potential building block.
Despite his size—Andrae stands just 5’8″—there has never been a doubt of his willingness to work in the corners or engage attackers in front of the net. The question now will be whether he can remain effective at those things as he transitions to North America, while still bringing a high level of poise and skill when the puck is on his stick.
Washington Capitals Reassign Joe Snively
March 15: Two days later, the Capitals have returned Snively to the AHL. Ovechkin proved he was at full strength last night by taking home the first star and scoring career goal 817.
March 14: The Washington Capitals announced they have recalled Joe Snively from the Hershey Bears. The 5-foot-9 forward has split this season between the Capitals and Bears and looks to be getting another shot at the NHL lineup.
Signed by the Capitals in 2019 following an outstanding college career at Yale, Snively has played eight games with the Capitals this season, scoring one goal and three points. He has become a key contributor for the Bears where he has scored seven goals and 16 points in 20 games this season. The 27-year-old left winger scored 38 points in 35 AHL games in 2021-22 and had seven points in 12 NHL contests that season.
Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports this recall could have something to do with Sonny Milano missing practice yesterday due to an illness. If Milano is unable to play, it appears Snively could slide into the lineup to replace him. Alex Ovechkin also missed practice yesterday but that was just a maintenance day which usually means the player is still ready for game action.
The Capitals face the New York Rangers tonight and though they were sellers at the trade deadline, the Caps are just five points back of the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Cameron Butler
The Columbus Blue Jackets have dipped their toes into the pool of undrafted free agent prospects, signing Cameron Butler to a three-year entry-level contract that kicks in next season.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen released the following:
Cameron is a physical forward with size, strength, toughness and tremendous character and leadership. He is a hard-working, competitive player and we are excited to welcome him to the Blue Jackets family.
The 6’4″ Butler currently plays for the Oshawa Generals of the OHL, where he has been an intimidating force all season. With a career-high 24 goals and 49 points in 59 games, while racking up 111 penalty minutes, he has developed into an effective power forward (on a team full of them) that now has a chance to play pro hockey.
Now 20, the question for Butler moving forward will be whether his late-blooming offense will continue, or whether he tops out as a physical presence at the next level. There have been plenty of players to make it to the NHL without much scoring touch, but it is a much more difficult route.
He’ll likely join the Cleveland Monsters next season and test himself at the AHL level.
Coyotes Recall Bokondji Imama
The Arizona Coyotes have announced Bokondji Imama has been recalled from the Tucson Roadrunners. The recall was made on an emergency basis, and Imama is no stranger to being sent up and down. This is the fourth time he has been called up by the Coyotes since Mar 7 as the Coyotes bring him up on game day to fill out the roster and then send him back to Tucson.
Imama is a big, physical presence in the lineup and has played in three NHL games this season. He is yet to record a point, though he scored a goal for the Coyotes in one of his four NHL games last season. He also has five penalty minutes earned when he was willing to drop the gloves with Ryan Reaves.
The 6-foot-1 and 220 pound left winger has scored five goals and 12 points in 41 AHL games for the Roadrunners this season. The 26-year-old tough guy had a bit of a scoring tough in Junior, once scoring 41 goals for the Saint John Sea Dogs, but he is mostly relied on for his physicality in the pro game.
Jets Notes: Morrissey, Dubois, Gagner
Dan Robertson of TSN reports the Winnipeg Jets will have an impact player back in the lineup this evening. Josh Morrissey missed the Jets past two games after leaving early against the Florida Panthers last Saturday. He had been listed as day-to-day all week, but is ready to go tonight when the Jets face a tough test against the league-leading Boston Bruins.
Morrissey has had a tremendous season, scoring 15 goals and 67 points in 66 games. The 27 year old is a candidate to win the Norris Trophy for his fantastic play, so the team will be happy to have him back in the lineup. The Jets will need him at the top of his game right away as they have slipped to the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference. They are just four points ahead of the Nashville Predators who have played three less games than the Jets.
- Pierre-Luc Dubois was on the ice at the team’s morning skate, but according to Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet, Dubois will not play tonight. The 24-year-old center has played just one game since February 26, dealing with two separate injuries in that time. It does appear he is getting close to returning, but it will not be this evening.
- Murat Ates of The Athletic reports Sam Gagner‘s season is over. The 33-year-old forward has already had surgery on one hip and will also get surgery on the other side in the near future. Ates mentions it is an injury that Gagner has been dealing with for a while but is now going to get fixed. The veteran forward scored eight goals and 14 points in 48 games for the Jets this season before being shut down on February 28.