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Injury Notes: Golden Knights, Avalanche, Middleton

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The Vegas Golden Knights were one of many teams to get a wave of positive injury updates on Friday. Neither star forward Jack Eichel nor top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo are expected to play on Saturday, but both are nearing a return, head coach Bruce Cassidy told Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Both players have missed Vegas’ last two games – Eichel with a day-to-day upper-body injury and Pietrangelo with illness. That same illness has also held winger Victor Olofsson and defender Nicolas Hague out of Vegas’ last two games. Cassidy shared that he had no updates on the latter two absentees, as they’re away from the rink with their sickness.

Getting Eichel back from injury will be a major addition as Vegas prepares for the postseason. He leads the squad in scoring this year with 27 goals and 93 points in 76 games – nearly 30 more points than Mark Stone’s 67 points ranked second. This is Eichel’s first season playing more than 70 games since the 2018-19 season, when he recorded his previous career-high 82 points with the Buffalo Sabres. The year has been more a return to routine health than a true breakout, but either way, Eichel has smashed his career-mark and is set to rival 100 points for the first time in his career. He’ll likely fall just short, as Vegas has just two games left after Saturday’s matchup against Nashville.

Meanwhile, Pietrangelo leads a strong – but sick – supporting cast. He has 33 points in 70 games this season, third-most on the Vegas blue-line. Pietrangelo leads the Golden Knights lineup in average ice time per game with 22:24 – surprisingly the lowest ice time average he’s recorded since his rookie season in 2010-11. He’ll jump right back to a top-pair role when he returns, while Olofsson and Hague will find their way in Vegas’ middle lines. Olofsson has managed 14 goals and 27 points in 54 games this season – stout scoring for his first year with the club. Hague, meanwhile, once again ranks near the bottom of scoring among Golden Knights defenders, with just 11 points in 66 games so far.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • A pair of veteran members of the Avalanche took a step toward returning as Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette relays that winger Jonathan Drouin joined the team for practice yesterday in a non-contact jersey as he works his way back from a lower-body injury.  Meanwhile, defenseman Josh Manson (upper body) skated on his own.  Drouin has been banged up all season but has been productive when healthy, collecting 37 points in 43 games, good for sixth on the team in scoring despite missing 37 contests.  Manson, meanwhile, has been out for nearly a month now but has done well when playing, collecting 15 points in 48 games while averaging a little over 18 minutes per night of playing time.
  • Wild defenseman Jacob Middleton missed his third straight game last night due to an upper-body injury.  However, Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune notes that the blueliner is a possibility to return for tonight’s contest in Vancouver.  Middleton has been a critical part of Minnesota’s back end this year, logging nearly 22 minutes per game of ice time while also chipping in with 20 points in 66 outings.  The Wild are still trying to lock down a playoff spot and getting Middleton back would be a big boost to help them try to do just that.

PHR’s Brian La Rose also contributed to this post.

John Hayden And Cale Fleury Clear Waivers

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Saturday: Unsurprisingly, both players have cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Friday: According to a team announcement, the Seattle Kraken have placed forward John Hayden and defenseman Cale Fleury on waivers. The team will reassign them both to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, should they go through waivers unclaimed.

Hayden is in his third season with the Kraken organization after signing as an unrestricted free agent before the 2022-23 NHL season. He’s primarily been an AHL talent in that stretch but has registered 19 games for the Kraken this season, scoring one goal and one assist while averaging 8:29 of ice time per game.

He’s been a valuable veteran presence with AHL Coachella Valley, helping the team secure back-to-back Calder Cup Final appearances. Throughout his tenure with the club, Hayden has scored 43 goals and 86 points in 155 AHL appearances, with another 10 goals and 15 points in 28 postseason contests.

Meanwhile, Fleury hits the waiver wire one day after he qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agency. Fleury can sign with any organization this upcoming summer since he is older than 25 and has yet to reach 80 games played throughout his NHL career.

Still, he shouldn’t expect anything more than a two-way agreement. He’s tallied one assist in 14 games with Seattle this season while averaging 12:52 of ice time a night and has registered six goals and 24 points in 36 AHL appearances. Plenty of teams will want solid AHL options on hand should they need defensive depth throughout the regular season, meaning Fleury should feel safe in securing a new contract in a few months.

Ducks Sign Ian Moore

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The Ducks have officially signed one of their defense prospects, announcing that they’ve inked defenseman Ian Moore to a two-year, entry-level contract.  The deal begins this season while financial terms were not disclosed.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick by Anaheim in 2020, going 67th overall after playing at St. Mark’s at the high school level.  Moore then spent one season with USHL Chicago before beginning his college career at Harvard in 2021.

Moore spent four seasons with the Crimson with his best offensive showing coming in his sophomore year when he had 19 points in 34 games.  This season, he came up a bit short of that point total, notching three goals and 11 helpers in 32 contests before turning pro last month on a tryout deal with AHL San Diego.

Moore has done well with the Gulls, collecting a goal and four assists in nine games which has helped him officially secure this contract.  Speculatively, the concept of starting in the minors and then being converted to an NHL deal that begins this season was likely discussed last month when Moore first joined San Diego.  While it’s not a common route for prospects, Anaheim did this with Sam Colangelo last season, starting him with the Gulls and then converting his deal late.

With the signing, Moore will now report to Anaheim for their final three games and will join the team today for practice.  By burning a year early, he’ll become a restricted free agent in the 2026 offseason.

Blackhawks Sign Aidan Thompson

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The Blackhawks have signed another one of their promising prospects.  A couple of weeks after inking Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel, they announced that they’ve signed forward Aidan Thompson to a two-year, entry-level contract.  The deal begins next season and will carry a cap hit of $895K.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick by Chicago back in 2022, going 90th overall after an impressive showing with USHL Lincoln where he had 82 points in 57 games, putting him fourth in league scoring.  Thompson then made the jump to the University of Denver for the 2022-23 campaign and did well in his freshman year, notching 32 points in as many games with them.

Things didn’t go as well for Thompson from an individual standpoint last year.  While Denver won the NCAA title, his output dipped slightly to 11 goals and 19 assists in 44 games, raising some question marks heading into this season.  Those were certainly answered and then some, however, as Thompson finished the year with 21 goals and 34 assists in 44 games, good for not just second on the Pioneers in scoring but second in Division I overall.  That performance was clearly enough for Chicago to get him to put pen to paper on his first professional contract.

While Thompson’s deal doesn’t start until next season, he should have a chance to make his pro debut in the coming days as he has inked a tryout agreement with AHL Rockford.  The IceHogs have five games left in their regular season and are getting close to clinching the final playoff spot in the Central Division so Thompson should be able to get into the lineup with them in the near future.

Stars Recall Alexander Petrovic

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The Stars have added a bit of depth to their back end heading into tonight’s game versus Utah.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Alexander Petrovic from AHL Texas.

It’s the fourth recall of the season for the 33-year-old although playing time on the first three was hard to come by.  Petrovic has been limited to just three games this season in Dallas, being held off the scoresheet in a little over 35 minutes of action.  Still, it’s the second straight season of him getting into an NHL game which is notable as prior to last year, Petrovic’s last action at the top level was back in 2018-19.

Petrovic has once again spent the bulk of the season in Texas and through 58 outings with them, he has five goals and 20 assists.  Texas has been Petrovic’s professional home for the last four years and likely will be his home again next season as he has one season left on his two-year, two-way contract signed last summer.

Team radio analyst Bruce LeVine relays (Twitter link) that several players are questionable for tonight’s game due to illness so it appears as if Petrovic is up as insurance if some of the defensemen can’t go.  In that case, he’ll qualify as an emergency recall and not count against their post-deadline limit of four.

Latest On Edmonton Oilers Injuries

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Teams around the NHL received long lists of injury updates headed into the weekend. None were more important than for the Edmonton Oilers, who learned that Leon Draisaitl will return before the end of the regular season, head coach Kris Knoblauch told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic before Friday’s win over San Jose. Draisaitl has missed Edmonton’s last four games with an undisclosed injury. Knoblauch also shared that goaltender Stuart Skinner will return to start two of the team’s last four games, that defenseman Mattias Ekholm is back to full health, and forward Trent Frederic might not be ready for the first game of the postseason. Nugent-Bowman also shared that defenseman Jake Walman would continue to sit out on Friday, but is expected to return in one of the team’s back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday.

Both Ekholm and Skinner rejoined the lineup on Friday night after missing Edmonton’s last seven games. Ekholm’s injury wasn’t disclosed but Skinner had sustained a head injury on a collision with Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen in late March. Skinner served as the backup in his return, but Ekholm wasn’t as lucky. He stumbled a few times in his first few shifts and eventually left the game after just two minutes of total ice time. Winger Zach Hyman also left the game early, after just seven minutes of ice time. It wasn’t entirely clear where either Oilers skater was hurt. Knoblauch told Nugent-Bowman after the game that both Ekholm and Hyman will be questionable for game one of the playoffs.

No injury updates were provided about center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has missed the last two games with illness, or defenseman John Klingberg, who has missed the last seven games with a lower-body injury. Knoblauch did add that forward Evander Kane, who hasn’t played this season due to multiple surgeries, still does not have a clear timeline.

The wave of injury updates come at the right time for the Oilers. They have three games remaining in their season and a cushy role as the third-ranked Pacific Division squad all-but-locked up. The Oilers appear to be headed for a feud with the Los Angeles Kings in round one, and will need their offensive firepower to get over the defense that’s allowed the second-fewest goals in the Western Conference.

Draisaitl’s addition will go a long way towards achieving that goal. He’s among the top favorites for the Hart Trophy this season, after amassing 52 goals and 106 points in just 71 games. His scoring average puts him on pace for 122 points in 82 games – just shy of the career-high 128 points he recorded in the 2022-23 season. Draisaitl has performed at a superstar level once again this season, and getting a chance to return before the postseason kicks off should help him get back up to star speed before Edmonton’s must-win games.

Draisaitl will help pull the Oilers offense forward while Walman looks to assume a major role on defense. Ekholm leaves a top-pair role and over 22 minutes of ice time each game up for grabs, and Walman will be the primary beneficiary when he’s ready to return. The Trade Deadline acquisition has posted a fantastic eight points, six penalty minutes, and plus-five in 15 games with the Oilers, while averaging more than 21 minutes a game. He’s become an adequate support for top left-defender Darnell Nurse, and together the two will look to split Edmonton’s top role on the left-side. Ekholm will join the duo when he’s back to full health, giving the Oilers one of their deepest blue-lines headed into the postseason in recent memory.

That boost will help make up for blows to Edmonton’s complimentary cast. Hyman has continued to stand as a top scorer on the lineup with 27 goals – second-most on the team – and 44 points in 73 games this season. He’s once again dominating the net-front, a role that Edmonton has struggled to fill in his absence. That role could be managed by Trade Deadline buy Trent Frederic, though he’s only been healthy for one game since Edmonton sent a second-round and fourth-round draft pick to Boston for the centerman. His return will likely line up closely with Hyman’s, effectively defaulting Frederic to a role in Edmonton’s bottom-six – where he’ll look to carve out a role on the back of his size, 15 points in 58 games, and underperforming 10.3 shooting percentage this season.

Edmonton’s skaters will collectively look to bolster the product in front of starting goaltender Stuart Skinner, who has again struggled with consistency this season. Skinner has two shutouts on the year, but a .894 save percentage and 24-18-4 record through 48 starts. He’s been ever-so-slightly outperformed by backup Calvin Pickard in his absence, though Pickard’s 22-9-1 record and .902 save percentage don’t jump off the page either. Goaltending has been Edmonton’s achilles heel in past postseasons, and how Skinner is able to return from injury could go a long way towards shaping their playoff hopes. The Oilers will be looking to run all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in due time, after they lost in game seven of the Finals to the Florida Panthers last season.

Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Evening Notes: Ferraro, Rutta, Sorensen, Ekman-Larsson, McCabe

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The San Jose Sharks will swap out a pair of injured defensemen through the end of the season. Top defender Mario Ferraro has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, while depth option Jan Rutta will be activated from injured reserve for Friday night’s game, per Jason Gregor of Sports-1440. Ferraro suffered a lower-body injury in Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild. Rutta was also facing a lower-body injury, and has missed San Jose’s last 27 games.

Ferraro’s season will come to a close on the heels of a streak of heavy utilization. He’s appeared in at least 24 minutes of play in six of his last 10 games. That mark raised his season-long average to 21:24 through 78 games. Ferraro recorded five goals, 17 points, and a minus-25 with those minutes. He also led the Sharks defense with 125 blocked shots and 150 hits on the year. His minus-25 was also Ferraro’s highest plus-minus since the 2021-22 seaosn. He had another year of a hard-fought role, and the defense will feel the weight of his absence through their final four games.

Rutta has handled far less of a role through his healthy games this season. He’s recorded eight points, a minus-six, and 28 penalty minutes in 51 games while rotating through a role on San Jose’s bottom pair. His average of 16:57 in ice time is the fewest of any Sharks defender with more than 30 games played. Nonetheless, Rutta will slot back into a role on the Sharks’ bottom two pairings with Ferraro out.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Chicago Blackhawks head coach Anders Sorensen has been named an assistant coach for Team Sweden at the upcoming World Championship per Chris Johnston of The Athletic. It will be his first time coaching in an international tournament at any level. In fact, Sorensen didn’t play in any international tournaments during his short-lived playing career either – though his pro journey did span tenures in Sweden, France, and Norway. Sorensen has grown through the ranks of Chicago hockey, coaching prominent youth club the Chicago Mission for many years before graduating to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs’ head coaching role, then assuming Chicago’s head coach role this season. Sorensen has set a 15-30-8 record in 53 games behind the Blackhawks’ bench this season.
  • Johnston also reported that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson will miss Saturday’s game with a day-to-day injury. The Leafs will also be without Jake McCabe per Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, though Siegel adds that McCabe is nearing a return. He has missed the last three games. Both defenders have served strong roles with the Leafs this season, and sit right next to each other across many stats. Ekman-Larsson has scored 29 points in 77 games, while McCabe has managed 23 points in 66 games. Both defenders average 21 minutes of ice time, and round out Toronto’s left-hand side alongside Morgan Rielly. The Leafs will watch for the return of both options closely as they prepare for a long playoff run, after clinching a spot on April 2nd.

Senators Recall Hayden Hodgson

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The Ottawa Senators have recalled enforcer Hayden Hodgson from the minor leagues. It is his first call-up this season. Hodgson has amassed 156 penalty minutes in 43 AHL games this season, good for most on the Belleville Senators and second-most in the entire league. He will play in the eighth NHL game of his career, and his first with the Senators, on Friday night.

Hodgson is on the tail end of his first season in the Senators organization. He’s added three goals and 11 points to his lofty penalty minutes, putting him just shy of the scoring pace that earned him 16 points in 49 games last season. But Hodgson’s penalty minutes are a career-high, blowing out his previous high of 116 PIMs recorded in 49 games last season.

Hodgson has worked his way into a full-time role in the AHL over the last four seasons, but he’s made a full turn towards bruiser as of late. He earned an AHL deal in the Philadelphia Flyers for the 2021-22 season, after spending four seasons in the ECHL – and part of one in Slovakia’s Extraliga. Hodgson proceeded to have what appeared to be a breakout season. He scored 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and stayed true to his style with 70 PIMs. That scoring earned him the first six games of his NHL career in the same year, and Hodgson recorded a modest three points and 11 PIMs. But his scoring saw a spike in 2022-23 – after he posted eight points and 83 PIMs in 44 games. He earned one more NHL appearance but didn’t manage any stat changes – before moving to the Ontario Reign last season and Belleville this year.

Friday’s game will mark Hodgson’s first chance at NHL minutes in two years. He’s a burly six-foot-two, 221-pounds and is often a safe bet to earn at least one penalty per game.

Lightning Prospect Isaac Howard Wins Hobey Baker Award

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Tampa Bay Lightning prospect and Michigan State University forward Isaac Howard has won the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey. He beat out University of Denver defenseman Zeev Buium (Minnesota Wild) and Boston College winger Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals) for the award.

Howard was the motor behind a strong Spartans lineup this season. He led Michigan State in all scoring categories, with 52 points split evenly. His 26 goals were two times more than anyone else on the roster. Howard’s scoring also averaged out to 1.41 points-per-game, the most in the NCAA – though he ranks fifth in total scoring. It was a breakout performance for the 21-year-old junior. His offense boomed after he found his footing in Adam Nightingale’s offense with a transfer from the University of Minnnesota-Duluth last season. Howard scored 36 points in 36 games in his first season with the Spartans, more than double the 17 points in 35 games he scored in his freshman season with the Bulldogs. Howard’s dazzling scoring came on the back of tireless hockey. He seemed to dominate all open space north of his own blue-line with fleet-footed skating and a strong drive through opponents. He filled a utility-tool role for the Spartans – making gritty plays behind the net, strong passes from the perimeter, and took hard shots in the slot.

Michigan State had their season ended by Cornell University in the first round of the Men’s Ice Hockey Championship. It was another early end for the Spartans after they lost to rival University of Michigan in the quarterfinals last year. It seems Howard isn’t satisfied with the pair of missed chances at the NCAA’s Frozen Four. He’s announced he’ll return to college for his senior season after not coming to terms with the Lightning on an entry-level contract in the recent weeks. There seems to be a growing divide between the Lightning and Howard’s camp, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman even suggesting Howard could be traded before signing his first pro deal. The rift is believed to be in part because Howard’s NIL earnings exceed what he would make on a minor-league deal.

It’d be hard to envision Howard’s role in Michigan State changing at all next season. Instead it will be the Spartans’ focus to build around their engine, which will be helped along by the commitments of multiple top prospects. Defensemen Tyson Jugnauth (Seattle Kraken), Colin Ralph (St. Louis Blues), and Matthew Lahey (Toronto Maple Leafs) are all headed to East Lansing next season, as well as forwards Austin Baker (Detroit Red Wings) and Ryker Lee, a 2025 NHL Draft prospect. That influx in talent will inspire Michigan State’s push for their first Frozen Four appearance since their 2007 championship win.

Howard beats out fantastic competition in Leonard and Buium. Leonard has already played in five NHL games and scored his first professional goal. He was a force to be reckoned with at Boston College, serving as the power-checker and goal-scorer on a star-studded Eagles top-line. He scored 30 goals and 49 points in 37 games of his sophomore season, good for most on Boston College and 10th-most in all of college hockey.

Buium was arguably an even bigger impact to his team, as he unquestionably filled the role of star defender for the University of Denver. He amassed 48 points in 41 games this season, most among all collegiate defensemen. It was his second year earning that title, after he managed 50 points in 42 games as a freshman last year. Buium is expected by many to sign his NHL entry-level contract in the coming days, after Denver’s season was ended by Western Michigan University in the semifinals.

Dallas Stars Sign Arno Tiefensee To Entry-Level Contract

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The Dallas Stars have signed one of their selections from the 2023 NHL Draft. According to a team announcement, the Stars have signed netminder Arno Tiefensee to a two-year entry-level contract beginning in the 2025-26 season.

Dallas selected Tiefensee with the 157th overall pick in 2023, making him the 16th netminder off the board in that summer’s draft. The Weißwasser, Germany native had just played in his first year with the DEL’s Adler Mannheim, managing a 13-10-0 record with a .910 SV%, 2.43 GAA, and three shutouts in 23 games.

Germany’s highest professional league is where he’s made his way since. In the two seasons following his draft year, still with Adler Mannheim, Tiefensee brought his career record up to 51-33-0 with seven shutouts, a save percentage of .910, and a goals-against average to 2.37. Unfortunately, Tiefensee failed to bring his team beyond the semifinals of the postseason tournament, losing in his rookie year and this season.

Tiefensee will likely join the Stars’ AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, next year. There’s no guarantee the organization will retain third-string netminder Magnus Hellberg beyond this season, and his tandem partner, Remi Poirier, will also need a new contract as a restricted free agent. Assuming the AHL Stars give Poirier a higher share of starts next season, the team could offer Tiefensee the backup role, making his transition to professional hockey in North America easier.

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