Patrick Kane Placed On Injured Reserve
The Chicago Blackhawks have moved Patrick Kane to injured reserve retroactively to January 3 when he last played. That means he can come off whenever deemed healthy enough to return. Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago reports that Kane is feeling better and hopes to play on Saturday.
Today’s transaction was to clear room for MacKenzie Entwistle, who has been activated from injured reserve and is ready to go. The 23-year-old winger hasn’t played since December while dealing with a wrist injury.
If Kane does return for Saturday’s game, it means another move is coming down the pipe. The Blackhawks remain at the maximum of 23 players on the roster, without a lot of obvious forward options to send down.
Lukas Reichel, who is still waiver-exempt, has been playing great in this latest call-up, scoring three points on Sunday in just his third game of the season. The 20-year-old is one of the team’s top prospects and looks ready to contribute at the NHL level, but might end up on his way back to the AHL in a few days.
For now, Kane will take time to fully heal and continue to make sure that there is no lingering effect. The legendary Blackhawks forward will be the focus of many trade rumors over the next few weeks, as he decides whether he wants to stay in Chicago or chase the Stanley Cup somewhere else.
If he’s not healthy, that decision doesn’t matter.
Brian Gionta Joins Niagara University
The next stage of Brian Gionta‘s hockey career is about to get underway, as Niagara University has announced him as their new director of player development. This move follows a few years of coaching in the Buffalo Jr. Sabres program and could suggest a front office future for the former NHL forward.
Jason Lammers, the head coach of Niagara, released the following:
Brian’s commitment to developing players and helping them reach their full potential is his priority. Brian’s strong leadership skills and passion for the game are Uncommon and will bring a new level of development for our student-athletes both on and off the ice to the program.
Gionta, 43, retired in 2018 after captaining the U.S. at the Olympics, the second time he had suited up for his country at the Games. A veteran of over 1,000 NHL games, he served as captain for the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, while racking up 291 goals and 595 points. His college career was outstanding, finishing as a Hobey Baker finalist three times while winning the NCAA championship in his senior year at Boston College. He won the Stanley Cup in 2003 with the New Jersey Devils, and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020.
It potentially means nothing, but a move like this could indicate Gionta’s desire to climb the ladder in hockey development and operations. If he chooses, there will likely be many teams that would be willing to leverage his experience and knowledge. The third-round pick carved out an excellent career and was exceptionally well-respected during his time as a player.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Tanner Pearson Will Not Return This Season
The Vancouver Canucks have some more disappointing news, announcing that Tanner Pearson suffered a setback in his recovery and needed a second hand surgery. He will miss the rest of the 2022-23 season.
It’s a season to forget for Pearson, who will end the year with just a single goal and five points. Through 14 games it was already evident that he wasn’t going to live up to the $3.25MM cap hit he carried, but at the very worst would be a reliable veteran piece for the bottom six.
Now, he very well could have played his last game in a Canucks uniform. Pearson’s seven-team no-trade clause will expire at the end of the season, meaning he no longer has any protection in his contract. If the team can’t find a taker, they could also choose a buyout, which would reduce his cap hit to $1.42MM for the 2023-24 season at the cost of a $917K penalty in 2024-25.
Of course, he needs to be healthy for the team to execute a buyout, meaning this hand surgery will have to go well for the team to have any chance of getting out from the last year of his deal.
Interestingly though, at 30 years old, Pearson may end up as a buy-low candidate in the offseason. It wasn’t working in Vancouver anymore and his currently salary makes him a difficult piece to build around, but at a lower cost, he could be a valuable depth piece. If he heals well this time, there could still be plenty of hockey left in the ten-year veteran, who scored 21 goals as recently as 2019-20.
For now, he can be moved to long-term injured reserve to give the team some extra cap flexibility if they end up needing it.
Buffalo Sabres Recall Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen; Reassign Jack Quinn
It comes a few days late, but the Buffalo Sabres have recalled Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as expected. The young goaltender was dealing with an illness but is expected to start tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. To make room, the Sabres have reassigned Jack Quinn to the AHL.
Luukkonen, 23, is essentially still the team’s starting goaltender right now, despite rotating back and forth from the AHL. The Sabres are in a three-goalie rotation after Eric Comrie recovered from injury, but they plan on having Luukkonen play a lot. That’s because Comrie’s play has been so inconsistent this year that they have lost some trust in him. On Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken, when Luukkonen was unable to play, Comrie allowed four goals on 18 shots.
The interesting part is that his recall comes at the cost of Quinn, who has struggled of late. The 21-year-old rookie has 17 points in 33 games, but none of those have come in his last nine. While the Sabres are still winning with him out there, the young forward isn’t contributing a ton to those victories. The question now is whether Quinn gets an extended period in the minors – a league he has already dominated – or is back up in a few days when Craig Anderson or Comrie take the net. The eighth overall pick from 2020 will need to play somewhere, and not be used like a yo-yo between leagues.
For now, they will go with their young goalie and see if he can get them back in the win column after two disappointing losses.
Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Taylor Fedun
The Pittsburgh Penguins cleared three rosters spots yesterday, and now they’ve filled at least one of those with a recall from the minor leagues. Taylor Fedun is on his way to the NHL, recalled for the first time in more than a year.
Fedun, 34, hasn’t played an NHL game since the 2019-20 season when he was still with the Dallas Stars. The minor league veteran has been playing with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the past two seasons, rarely recalled even as injury insurance. This year, through 30 games, he has just two points, but is still a steady enough presence in the defensive end that he could potentially take some minutes with the big club.
There’s not much to get excited about with this recall though, as Fedun’s days as an NHL regular are long past. The team liked him enough to hand over a two-year contract last spring, but adding a 34-year-old minor league journeyman is probably not going to solve the Penguins’ issues. The club has lost seven of ten and sit fifth in the Metropolitan Division, still waiting on a hot streak to get them into contention for the division crown.
On Tuesday, young defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph saw just ten minutes of ice time, nearly 15% of which was on the powerplay. He managed to take two minor penalties in that short period. Perhaps the team is looking for a little more veteran savvy in that spot, but it remains to be seen whether Fedun will actually play.
Sabres Unlikely To Sign Erik Portillo
The future of Sabres goalie prospect Erik Portillo has been in question going back to before the season. He’s in his fourth year since being drafted, allowing him to become eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer if he so desires even though he’ll have another season of eligibility at Michigan. Will he sign with Buffalo or not? Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek suggests in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the latter is the likely answer and that it doesn’t sound like he’ll sign with the Sabres and will instead test the open market.
The 22-year-old was a third-round pick by Buffalo back in 2019 (67th overall) and he has outperformed his draft stock since then with an impressive post-draft season with Dubuque of the USHL and now three years with the Wolverines where he has a 2.26 GAA, a .922 SV%, and three shutouts in 66 games over that stretch. At 6’6, he has the size that many teams covet in their goaltenders as well.
It won’t be a case of Buffalo not wanting to sign Portillo but rather him looking for another situation. The Sabres do have a promising young netminder in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen while Devon Levi is a year younger than Portillo and is having another strong season at Northeastern. With those two youngsters in the mix, Portillo likely feels that he can find a more desirable situation elsewhere that could give him a cleaner path to try to make the NHL.
To that end, Marek speculates that it’s possible that Portillo could become a trade chip for the Sabres leading into the trade deadline. If another team was able to work out an agreement for Portillo to join them, that would allow Buffalo to at least recoup an asset for someone they’re likely going to lose for nothing in the summer. With several teams not exactly having a lot of prospect upside between the pipes in their pipeline, there should be a few suitors if and when the Sabres decide to put Portillo on the block in the coming weeks if they haven’t already done so.
Snapshots: Hurricanes, Zohorna, Gavrikov, Lundestrom
The Hurricanes have been a top team in the Metropolitan Division all season long and have recently welcomed back some key veterans in Max Pacioretty and Frederik Andersen in recent days. Even with their current place atop the Metropolitan Division though, don’t expect them to be shopping at the top of the market before the March 3rd trade deadline. GM Don Waddell told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that the team will be looking to add depth both on the back end and up front over the coming weeks. Carolina has a little over $2.2MM in LTIR room per CapFriendly and unlike regular cap space, that doesn’t accrue by the day; they have that much to spend on full-season money now, on deadline day, or anytime in between. Accordingly, they’re in a spot where they don’t have to wait until closer to the deadline for cap reasons so it’s possible that they’ll look to shop for an early bargain on the trade market.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- The frequent shuffling of Radim Zohorna continues as the Flames have returned him to AHL Calgary, notes Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike (Twitter link). The moves are being made to save a little bit of cap space and extend his waiver exemption as long as possible. The 26-year-old has played in eight games with the Flames so far this season with him needing waivers once he gets to ten so his exemption is likely to expire soon, assuming he’s eventually recalled once more.
- The Blue Jackets could get defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov back in their lineup on Thursday against Carolina, relays Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 27-year-old missed Tuesday’s game due to an upper-body injury. The pending unrestricted free agent is likely to be one the more sought-after blueliners leading up to the trade deadline and has nine points and 70 blocked shots in 39 games so far this season while logging 22:29 per game, a career-high.
- Ducks center Isac Lundestrom could be ready to rejoin the team on their next road trip which begins on Monday, reports Eric Stephens of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 23-year-old has been out for more than a month due to a fractured finger and while he was off to a quiet start to his season before the injury (six points in 24 games), getting a developing young player back can only be good for an Anaheim squad that will likely be looking to move out some veterans in the coming weeks.
Carolina Hurricanes Activate Frederik Andersen
The Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes have gotten even stronger. Per a team announcement, goaltender Frederik Andersen has been activated off of injured reserve.
The team added star forward Max Pacioretty back from injury a week ago, and will now get two-time Jennings trophy winner back into their crease as they look to snap a four-game losing skid.
Andersen has been out since early November when he suffered an injury against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s played just eight games this season and has a .891 save percentage. Despite that less-than-ideal save percentage, though, Andersen did manage to post a 5-3 record in that eight-game span.
Arriving in Carolina in the summer of 2021, Andersen had a bounce-back season for the ages last year. After ceding his starting role in Toronto to Jack Campbell and posting a .895 save percentage in his final year as a Maple Leaf, Andersen signed a two-year, $4.5MM AAV deal to be the starter in Carolina.
Carolina turned to Andersen, a now-33-year-old veteran, picking him over Alex Nedeljkovic, who at the time was a Calder Trophy finalist who had posted a .932 save percentage and 1.90 goals-against-average in 23 games for the team.
Andersen rewarded them massively for that choice, playing in 52 games and posting a 35-14-3 record, a 2.17 goals-against-average, and a .922 save percentage. His performance alongside backup Antti Raanta earned the tandem a Jennings trophy, which became the second of Andersen’s career.
Unfortunately, an injury derailed the end of Andersen’s season, and he wasn’t able to take the ice in the Hurricanes’ playoff run, which lasted until a game-seven loss to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Now back on the Hurricanes roster, the expectation will be for Andersen to resume his status as the team’s number-one netminder. He won’t be without challengers for that role, though. The team’s backup, Raanta, has played in 16 games, and while his .894 save percentage isn’t anything to write home about, he’s gone 10-2-3 with a 2.63 goals-against-average.
Additionally, the Hurricanes have received quality goaltending from Pyotr Kochetkov, the team’s presumed “goalie of the future.” The 36th overall pick at the 2019 draft, Kochetkov, 23, has played in 18 games for the Hurricanes this year and posted a .914 save percentage.
His strong form this season adds to the interesting situation the Hurricanes now face. With Andersen back, they could opt to keep a three-goalie rotation and roster all three netminders on their active roster. Or, they could make the difficult choice to send Kochetkov back to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, despite his impressive performance.
Kochetkov has faded a bit in recent starts, with an .842 save percentage in his last three games, which may make that decision a bit easier, but it’ll nonetheless be difficult for the team to feel comfortable sending down the netminder with the highest save percentage on their team.
In November, Kochetkov earned a $2MM AAV contract extension that will last through 2026-2027, meaning his future is undoubtedly in Raleigh long-term. But in the short-term, he may need to spend a bit more time developing in Chicago.
Columbus Blue Jackets Place Carson Meyer On Injured Reserve
The Columbus Blue Jackets are facing even more injury trouble. The team has announced that forward Carson Meyer suffered an oblique strain during last night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. As a result, the forward has been placed on injured reserve and will be out for six-to-eight weeks.
In a corresponding move, the Blue Jackets have recalled forward Trey Fix-Wolansky from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.
This season has not gone according to plan for Columbus, and a major reason for their disappointing form has been injuries. Columbus has a whopping seven players already on injured reserve, meaning Meyer will be their eighth player to land on the list. Additionally, the Blue Jackets have franchise defenseman Zach Werenski on long-term injured reserve.
It’s been an absolutely brutal run of injuries for head coach Brad Larsen’s squad, costing the team valuable contributors such as Werenski, Jakub Voracek, captain Boone Jenner, Jake Bean, Yegor Chinakhov, Justin Danforth, Nick Blankenburg, and now Meyer.
These injuries have given some players in the Blue Jackets organization a greater chance to show what they can do at the NHL level than they’d likely have been afforded were the team in better health. Meyer is one of those players, as he’s gotten 13 games at the NHL level this season, a total that already matches his games played from last year.
In those 13 games, Meyer hasn’t managed to get on the scoresheet yet, but he’s registered 22 hits and six blocked shots. He’s found more offensive success at the AHL level, where he has scored 18 points in 15 games this season.
Speaking of AHL success, Meyer’s replacement on the Blue Jackets’ roster is Fix-Wolansky, who has set the American League on fire so far this year. His 34 points in 26 games lead AHL Cleveland, and his quality performance earned him some NHL games earlier this year.
The former Edmonton Oil King has developed nicely since being drafted in the seventh round by the Blue Jackets at the 2018 draft and will look to put together some quality performances in his current go-around at the NHL level.
Florida Panthers Loan Matt Kiersted To AHL
The Florida Panthers have loaned defenseman Matt Kiersted to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. This move comes just after the team claimed another blueliner, Casey Fitzgerald, off of waivers.
The Panthers needed to clear space on their roster to fit Fitzgerald into the mix, so Kiersted is the odd man out, his departure to the AHL leaving the Panthers once again with seven defenders on their roster.
Kiersted, 24, is an undrafted player who began his professional career in 2020-21 after a long, fruitful collegiate career at the University of North Dakota. Kiersted got a seven-game trial with the Panthers after signing from College, and spent most of last season at the AHL level.
In the AHL, Kiersted scored 20 points in 63 games, and added 64 penalty minutes as well. His performance earned him 10 NHL games that season, and he managed to score his first NHL goal.
This year, Kiersted has split time between the NHL and AHL levels. In the AHL, Kiersted has registered 12 games played and scored one point. Kiersted has played in a top-four role in the AHL, including time killing penalties, but hasn’t managed to seize a major role in the NHL. For the Panthers, Kiersted is averaging under 10 minutes of ice time per night, and virtually no time on the team’s special teams units.
With this loan, Fitzgerald will now get a chance to impress on the Panthers’ roster while Kiersted will look to put forth a solid stretch of appearances in Charlotte.