Maple Leafs Recall Alex Steeves And Wayne Simmonds
The Maple Leafs have made a pair of roster moves today as they’ve recalled wingers Alex Steeves and Wayne Simmonds, per the AHL’s Transactions log. CapFriendly clarifies (Twitter links) that both moves have been registered as emergency recalls and thus do not count against the post-deadline four-recall limit.
Steeves is back just one day after being sent down. The 23-year-old suited up in Tuesday’s game against New Jersey, marking his third NHL appearance of the campaign where he has been off the scoresheet. Steeves also got into three games at the top level last season but has spent the bulk of the campaign with the Marlies where he has 17 goals and 28 assists in 54 games, good for second on the team in scoring.
Simmonds, meanwhile, was sent down last month following the Ryan O’Reilly trade but hasn’t seen any action in the minors this season. The 34-year-old has suited up in 13 games for the Maple Leafs this season, recording just a single assist while averaging a career-low 7:25 per night. He’s in the final season of a two-year contract in what could be the swan song of a 15-year NHL career.
Prior to the recalls, Toronto had just 11 forwards on their roster. That permitted one of the moves to be an emergency recall while the other is likely hedging their bets in case center John Tavares isn’t able to return on Saturday against Edmonton although the captain was a full participant in practice today.
Snapshots: Nylander, Bear, Gogolev, Wanner
Alex Nylander’s stint in the minors was short-lived as the Penguins announced that they’ve recalled the winger from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis. The 25-year-old had an assist in his debut with Pittsburgh on Tuesday but was sent back to the minors soon after. In order to qualify to use an emergency recall, the Penguins appear to have a forward that won’t be available to play on Saturday against Philadelphia but with no practice today, it’s not known which player could be missing. Nylander has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, notching 25 goals and 25 assists in 54 games.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- While the Canucks have had extension talks with defenseman Ethan Bear, his agent Jason Davidson indicated in an appearance on CHEK’s Donnie and Dhali (audio link) that there haven’t been any recent discussions since the All-Star break. The 25-year-old has rebounded relatively well this season, picking up 14 points in 46 games while averaging 18:16 per game since being acquired from Carolina in late October. Bear is two years away from UFA eligibility and it’s worth noting that Davidson indicated that the contract will either be a one-year or a three-year agreement to avoid walking him right to the open market.
- It didn’t take long for winger Pavel Gogolev to find his new team. In fact, he’s going back to his old team as ECHL Newfoundland announced that the 23-year-old has signed an AHL contract with Toronto and then was loaned back to the Growlers. Gogolev has 48 points in 33 games with Newfoundland this season and was included for contract-matching purposes in the trade that saw the Maple Leafs pick up Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty late last month. He cleared unconditional waivers earlier this week to terminate his contract.
- Last month, the WHL suspended four Moose Jaw players indefinitely pending further investigation, including Oilers prospect Maximus Wanner. Today, the league announced that all four players have been suspended for the remainder of the season. As part of their release, the league indicated that the players will be required to complete further personal conduct and respect training before becoming eligible to return next season. No specifics for what resulted in this were revealed but Edmonton police confirmed that it is not a criminal matter.
Central Notes: Stalock, Johnson, Dubois
The Blackhawks were without goaltender Alex Stalock tonight against the Panthers as the team announced (Twitter link) that the veteran is out due to illness. The 35-year-old has been a bright spot for Chicago this season, posting an impressive .920 SV% in 17 games, a mark that would put him in a tie for fourth in the league if he had enough qualifying appearances. With the decision being announced so late, the Blackhawks didn’t have time to recall someone from AHL Rockford so instead, they’ve signed Zach Andrews, Florida’s emergency goaltender, to an ATO agreement. The 31-year-old had a 45-12-4 record in four seasons with UMass-Boston from 2012 through 2016 with a .906 SV% and a 2.66 GAA.
More from the Central:
- Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now that defenseman Erik Johnson appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from a broken ankle. The veteran has been out for a month with an expected recovery timeline of eight weeks. He’s already skating so it’s quite possible that he’s able to return before another four weeks elapse. Johnson has seven assists in 51 games this season and is not currently on LTIR so Colorado won’t have to make any roster moves to activate him when he’s ready to come back.
- While the Jets were without Pierre-Luc Dubois last night against Minnesota with an upper-body injury, it doesn’t appear as if he’ll be out much longer. Postmedia’s Paul Friesen relays that Winnipeg expects the center to be back at some point on their road trip. That trip begins Saturday in Florida and ends Tuesday in Carolina so it’s safe to say that Dubois should be back soon. The 24-year-old has 24 goals and 31 assists in 61 games so far this season.
Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Daniil Tarasov On Emergency Basis
The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that goaltender Daniil Tarasov has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.
Per the team release, starting netminder Elvis Merzlikins is temporarily away from the team as he has returned to Latvia to be with his grandmother, who according to the announcement is seriously ill.
Tarasov’s return to the NHL roster will give Blue Jackets fans a preview of next season, when Tarasov will in all likelihood spend the season at the NHL level. The 23-year-old Russian netminder, who has struggled with significant injury issues over the past two years, loses his waiver eligibility next season, meaning he likely won’t be spending the year with AHL Cleveland as was the plan for this season.
In nine AHL games this season Tarasov has a .871 save percentage, although it is important to note that the Monsters’ lineup has been significantly impacted by the injury issues their parent-club has faced, meaning their talent on defense is more depleted than usual with so many players called-up.
At the NHL level, Tarasov has posted better numbers, with a .908 save percentage in 13 games. He has 17 career NHL games under his belt, and a career .914 save percentage, providing some optimism that he’ll be ready to back up Merzlikins next season. For as long as Merzlikins is away, Tarasov will share Columbus’ crease with veteran Michael Hutchinson.
Nashville Predators Reassign John Leonard
The Nashville Predators have reassigned forward John Leonard to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.
The brother of top 2023 NHL Draft prospect Ryan Leonard, John has been playing in Nashville since February 2nd, when he made his season debut in a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers. Leonard scored his first goal of the year in that game, and finishes with just that goal and no assists in his four-game run at the NHL level.
A 2018 sixth-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, Leonard was sent to Nashville in the Luke Kunin trade over the summer. He made a name for himself playing college hockey at UMass Amherst, scoring around a point-per-game rate each year. He potted 27 goals in his final season of college, and scored 13 points in 44 NHL games with the Sharks the following year.
This season, he’s spent most of the year in Milwaukee, where he’s been a solid contributor. He has 32 points in 52 games at the AHL level, and heads back giving the Admirals a boost as they battle for position in the AHL’s Central Division.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Kirill Kudryavtsev
The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev to a three-year entry-level contract, per a team release.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin issued the following statement regarding the signing:
Kirill has had a good season so far and our development team has been happy with his progress in the OHL. Our group looks forward to the opportunity to continue to work with him and get him ready for a pro career.
Allvin is entirely correct to say that Kudryavtsev has had a good season. The 2022 seventh-round pick has scored 45 points in 60 games for the Soo Greyhounds, a healthy increase from the 39 points in 68 games he scored in his rookie OHL season.
The Yaroslavl, Russia native doesn’t offer premier size standing at five-foot-eleven but he’s got a capable two-way game that should more easily translate to the professional game than some of the more high-octane styles of his peers in junior hockey.
Kudryavtsev has an entry-level deal in hand now, one that begins next season and pays him a league-minimum $775k base salary in the NHL, $80k in the minors (where he will likely spend time developing his game before he’s an NHL possibility) and a 75k signing bonus, according to CapFriendly.
With it, he’ll be able to enter Vancouver’s farm system and look to make a name for himself in what is a relatively thin Canucks defensive prospect pool.
Washington Capitals Loan Vincent Iorio to AHL
The Washington Capitals have loaned defenseman Vincent Iorio back to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. This will place Iorio back to where he’s spent most of this season, having played 51 games at the AHL level.
Iorio, 20, is a 2021 second-round pick who has been with the Capitals for about a week. He played in his first three NHL games in that timeframe, getting between 12 and 15 minutes in each contest. He even registered his first NHL point, getting an assist in the Capitals’ 8-3 rout of the San Jose Sharks.
The six-foot-four former Brandon Wheat Kings is in his first season as a professional and has impressed with his mature play in the AHL. Iorio has registered just six penalty minutes despite playing a defense-first game, and while his 17 points in 51 games don’t jump off the page, he appears to be getting closer to NHL readiness.
Now, he’ll get to head back to Hershey for possibly the rest of their season, helping ready them for what the team hopes will be a long Calder Cup playoff run.
Calgary Flames Acquire Kristians Rubins
The Calgary Flames have acquired defenseman Kristians Rubins from the Ottawa Senators, according to a team announcement.
The move clears a second contract spot for the Senators following their trade of Jayce Hawryluk to the New Jersey Devils, perhaps indicating that the team is looking at signing some college players to fill out their organization down the stretch this season.
Rubins is a 25-year-old Latvian defenseman who is on a one-year, $750k contract that will make him eligible for restricted free agency in the summer. He has three NHL games on his resume, all coming last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Rubins has played in 42 games this season for Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, and scored six points. He was a healthy scratch for Belleville’s most recent game, and when he did factor into the lineup it was in more of a down-the-lineup capacity.
He’s a big, physical six-foot-five defenseman who should add some depth to the Flames’ AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers’ blueline. The Wranglers will be looking to secure first place in the AHL’s Pacific Division, so adding Rubins to support their defense will definitely help them get there, even if Rubins remains in more of a depth role rather than becoming an everyday contributor in Calgary.
New Jersey Devils Acquire Jayce Hawryluk
The New Jersey Devils have acquired forward Jayce Hawryluk from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for future considerations, per a team announcement. In addition, the Devils have acquired defenseman Zack Hayes from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Jack Dugan, per another announcement.
As a reminder, players involved in trades completed after the NHL’s March 3rd trade deadline lose NHL eligibility, meaning these trades have AHL implications only.
In Hawryluk, the Devils’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, have acquired a former highly-drafted prospect who has settled in as a solid minor-league contributor. Although he’s only played in 19 games for Belleville and scored just eight points, Hawryluk has nearly 100 games of NHL experience under his belt and played very well for the Springfield Thunderbirds in 2018-19, scoring 32 points in 31 games.
He’ll add to the Comets’ forward depth as they ready for the Calder Cup Playoffs, and will replace Dugan in their lineup as he’s headed to the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
Dugan, a 2017 fifth-rounder of the Vegas Golden Knights, scored 11 goals and 27 points in 51 games for Utica this season. He was a high-scoring winger in the NCAA at Providence College, and will head to Chicago, the team that was formerly the Golden Knights’ affiliate. (Dugan has not played for the Wolves before, as in his time with the Golden Knights organization he played for the Henderson Silver Knights.)
In exchange for Dugan, Utica is adding Hayes, a 23-year-old blueliner who has already been traded once this season. He played in 14 games for the Henderson Silver Knights, but did not manage to factor into their lineup consistently before being traded.
He played in three NHL games last year as the Golden Knights dealt with significant injury issues on their blueline, and should be able to help bolster a Utica defense that lost Nikita Okhotyuk at the trade deadline, thanks to the Timo Meier deal.
Injury Notes: Hall, Brown, Lindgren
The Boston Bruins have been the NHL’s best team this season, and one of the major reasons for the squad’s success has been their depth. With Brad Marchand stapled next to Patrice Bergeron on coach Jim Montgomery’s first line, and Pavel Zacha occupying the left-wing spot on the team’s all-Czech second line (next to David Pastrnak and David Krejci), 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall, who has scored 36 points in 58 games this season, is the team’s third-line left winger. It’s an embarrassment of riches for the team, but one they can’t quite enjoy at the moment as Hall is out with an injury.
Come playoff time, though, things could be back to normal. Montgomery told the media today, including Ty Anderson of 985 The Sports Hub, that the current hope for Hall (and fellow injured veteran Nick Foligno) is for each to return to the lineup in the playoffs. Hall last played February 25th, and his placement on LTIR paved the way for the team to acquire Tyler Bertuzzi to further strengthen its forward corps. We have seen injured players return in time for the playoffs (when the salary cap is no longer a factor) such as when Nikita Kucherov missed the regular season for Tampa Bay in 2020-21, so it seems Boston will hope that Hall can follow a similar timeline.
- Washington Capitals forward Connor Brown skated before the team’s practice this morning, according to the Washington Post’s Roman Stubbs. Brown is around five months removed from the ACL surgery he underwent earlier this season, with the procedure expected to knock him out for the Capitals’ season. While it’s likely too late for him to factor into the Capitals’ season, progress in his recovery is important to note given that he is a pending unrestricted free agent, and despite his consistent performance, his health is likely to be a major question mark as he heads into the open market.
- Top-pairing New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren has been out since February 25th with an injury, and due to the Rangers’ significant salary-cap issues after their trade for Patrick Kane, the team has been forced to play short-handed on defense, unable to make call-ups. The team could be getting some great news, then, as the New York Post’s Mollie Walker reports that Lindgren was a full participant in today’s Rangers’ practice. If he is indeed nearing a return, his return to Norris Trophy candidate Adam Fox‘s side would represent a significant boost to the Rangers as they look to make a final push for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.