San Jose Sharks Recall Eetu Makiniemi
The San Jose Sharks have called up another goaltender, adding Eetu Makiniemi for the first time this season. Aaron Dell has been returned to the AHL, after allowing five goals on 37 shots against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.
Makiniemi, 23, was a part of the Brent Burns trade this summer, coming over from the Carolina Hurricanes along with a third-round pick and Steven Lorentz for the star defenseman. The young netminder was originally selected 104th overall in 2017 and has been excellent in his short time in North America.
Over 26 AHL games since the start of 2021-22, Makiniemi has gone 17-6-2 with a .920 save percentage. Given Dell’s struggles, it’s easy to see why the team would want to switch.
Still, it’s not easy to be a Sharks goaltender right now. The team is bleeding shots and scoring chances, and is now one of just three teams in the league to have given up at least 100 goals. Three losses in a row takes them to 8-16-4 on the year, only ahead of the Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific Division.
With James Reimer still working through an injury, it’s Kaapo Kahkonen‘s net with Makiniemi likely serving as backup. The team has a very light schedule at the moment, with just three games between now and December 17. That means Makiniemi may not actually end up making his NHL debut, though he’ll get some experience and exposure to the league over the next few days at least.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Minnesota Wild
With American Thanksgiving now behind us and the holiday season coming up, PHR continues its look at what teams are thankful for in 2022-23. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Minnesota Wild.
Who are the Wild thankful for?
It’s simple, really. There is no player in Minnesota Wild history that has been as dynamic or that generates as much excitement as the 25-year-old Russian superstar. Incredibly, he already ranks 17th on the team’s all-time scoring list and will pass Brian Rolston, Jason Pominville, and Nino Niederreiter this season (provided he stays healthy).
He’ll also likely catch current players Mathew Dumba and Jonas Brodin, and has a chance of leapfrogging Eric Staal, Charlie Coyle, and Jason Zucker which would get him into the top 10. That is after just three seasons with the team, one of which was shortened to just 56 games.
With 32 points in 24 games this season he is eight ahead of his next closest teammate, and is more than living up to the $9MM price tag he received after his rookie season. Signed through 2025-26, he actually will look like quite a bargain as the cap ceiling continues to rise over the next few years.
What are the Wild thankful for?
Increasing hockey-related revenue numbers.
Speaking of a rising salary cap, the chance that it will go up ahead of schedule is music to the ears of general manager Bill Guerin. The Wild are dealing with more than $12.7MM in dead cap this season thanks to buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, and that number is only going to go up for the next two years.
A $14,743,588 penalty will be applied to the team in 2023-24 and 2024-25 before it drops off to just $833,333 for four years after. If estimates are correct, and the players are going to pay off their escrow debt ahead of schedule, the bullet that Guerin bit will seem a little more forgiving.
Good timing, given the situation the team will face after this season. Matt Boldy, Sam Steel, Brandon Duhaime, Calen Addison, Mason Shaw, and Filip Gustavsson are all scheduled for restricted free agency, while Dumba and Frederik Gaudreau are headed for the open market. A rising cap – even if it only goes up enough to cover the buyout increase – will go a long way to help the front office make the puzzle pieces fit.
What would the Wild be even more thankful for?
A strong second half from Marc-Andre Fleury.
Even with that huge cap penalty, the Wild are a good team. They have an elite offensive talent, some excellent defenders, and enough depth to make it difficult for most teams to match up. But too often this season they have been receiving below-average goaltending.
Fleury turned 38 a few days ago and no one is expecting that he will post another Vezina-winning season this year. But the team needs him to be more than he has been so far. Through 16 games, the veteran netminder has an .895 save percentage, easily the worst of his career. There have been times in the past when people have written him off, only for his game to turn around significantly.
They don’t need him to be elite, and they don’t need him to start every game (Gustavsson has shown ability, too). But if he can give the team even average goaltending, they will be a playoff team this season and potentially even contend for the Central crown, given how undecided the division is at this point.
Minnesota has Jesper Wallstedt coming, and don’t need five more years of peak Fleury. But they do need him this year if they’re going to make any noise.
What should be on the Wild’s holiday wishlist?
A top-six center.
This has been on the team’s wishlist for a while, but Minnesota still needs an impact center. With Ryan Hartman on injured reserve, the group has been using Sam Steel as the first-line center. While he has shown some promise, they need a more established option there, and not just for this season.
Sure, Marco Rossi might eventually become that player, or Hartman could jump back in and find some of the magic he had last year, but acquiring someone from outside the organization is still probably a top priority. In a recent column, Joe Smith of The Athletic pondered about Bo Horvat, and noted he might be too expensive to acquire as a rental.
There is also the option of adding a top-six winger, which would move some players into more comfortable spots lower in the lineup. That may be a more realistic option, especially if they still believe that Hartman can be a difference-maker in the middle of Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello when he returns.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Nathan MacKinnon Leaves Colorado Avalanche Loss With Injury
Dec 6: Though MacKinnon is still being evaluated, head coach Jared Bednar said that he is “going to miss some time” on Altitude radio this morning.
Dec 5: Bad is quickly turning to worse for the Colorado Avalanche in terms of injuries. Superstar center Nathan MacKinnon left the first period of the team’s Monday loss to the Philadelphia Flyers with an upper-body injury and did not return.
MacKinnon has been the glue holding this battered team together, notching 33 points in 22 games and averaging nearly 23 minutes per game. There are now eight Avalanche regulars as well as a number of fringe/depth players on the injured list, including MacKinnon.
Things were already bad enough for the Avalanche tonight, who were forced to ice players like Charles Hudon in top-six roles. It’s a stark reminder of the physical toll a long playoff run can take on a team, as they now have just five healthy forwards left who were full-time players on their Stanley Cup run last year.
Now, all eyes turn to Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar to keep the Avs afloat, as well as Alexandar Georgiev and his .922 save percentage.
Edmonton Oilers Activate Kailer Yamamoto
The Edmonton Oilers activated winger Kailer Yamamoto off injured reserve Monday, per CapFriendly, and he’ll return to the lineup tonight against the Washington Capitals.
Tonight, he essentially replaces Zach Hyman in the lineup. He’s not dressed due to an injury suffered on a Joel Edmundson cross-check to the face against Montreal on Saturday.
Yamamoto returns after missing nearly a month with an undisclosed injury. He hasn’t been healthy all season after sustaining near the end of the preseason, and it explains his poor production with just three assists in 13 games.
With Evander Kane out of the lineup, the Oilers need more help from Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujärvi to get points on the board. The team hopes a healthy and refreshed Yamamoto can slide back into a top-six role and provide much-needed depth scoring.
Jack Eichel Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury
Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, according to a tweet from the team’s communications department Monday night.
Over the weekend, it was reported that Eichel would be a game-time decision for tonight’s matchup against the Boston Bruins. Now, it’s confirmed he won’t be suiting up. Neither will defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who remains out of the Golden Knights lineup on personal leave.
Eichel played just 13:36 against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, leaving the game with about 15 minutes remaining and not returning. Tonight’s battle between two of the league’s top teams will be without Vegas’ two best skaters to start the year.
After a down year last year as he battled back from a severe disc injury, Eichel is back in a big way. He leads the best-in-the-West Golden Knights in every counting stat with 13 goals, 16 assists, 29 points, and a +17 rating.
Michael Amadio will draw into tonight’s lineup, and the team hopes Eichel can return for its game Wednesday against the New York Rangers.
Hockey Canada Reveals 2023 WJC Selection Camp Roster
With the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships beginning in three weeks to the day, teams are beginning to prepare for the second version of the tournament in just five months due to COVID. Organizations are already starting to release their first edition of rosters for the tournament, with USA Hockey doing so earlier today. Hockey Canada joined them minutes ago, releasing their list of 29 players invited to their World Junior Championship Selection Camp.
The organization will need to make six cuts before the tournament, but their camp selections are as follows:
F Caedan Bankier – Kamloops, WHL (MIN 86th overall, 2021)
F Owen Beck – Mississauga, OHL (MTL 33rd overall, 2022)
F Connor Bedard – Regina, WHL (2023 draft-eligible)
F Zachary Bolduc – Québec, QMJHL (STL 17th overall, 2021)
F Colton Dach – Kelowna, WHL (CHI 62nd overall, 2021)
F Zach Dean – Gatineau, QMJHL (VGK 30th overall, 2021)
F Jordan Dumais – Halifax, QMJHL (CBJ 96th overall, 2022)
F Adam Fantilli – Michigan, NCAA (2023 draft-eligible)
F Nathan Gaucher – Québec, QMJHL (ANA 22nd overall, 2022)
F Ryan Greene – Boston University, NCAA (CHI 57th overall, 2022)
F Riley Kidney – Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL (MTL 63rd overall, 2021)
F Zack Ostapchuk – Vancouver, WHL (OTT 39th overall, 2021)
F Brennan Othmann – Peterborough, OHL (NYR 16th overall, 2021)
F Joshua Roy – Sherbrooke, QMJHL (MTL 150th overall, 2021)
F Reid Schaefer – Seattle, WHL (EDM 32nd overall, 2022)
F Logan Stankoven – Kamloops, WHL (DAL 47th overall, 2021)
D Nolan Allan – Seattle, WHL (CHI 32nd overall, 2021)
D Ethan Del Mastro – Mississauga, OHL (CHI 105th overall, 2021)
D Tyson Hinds – Sherbrooke, QMJHL (ANA 76th overall, 2021)
D Kevin Korchinski – Seattle, WHL (CHI 7th overall, 2022)
D Carson Lambos – Winnipeg, WHL (MIN 26th overall, 2021)
D Jack Matier – Ottawa, OHL (NSH 124th overall, 2021)
D Evan Nause – Québec, QMJHL (FLA 56th overall, 2021)
D Ethan Samson – Prince George, WHL (PHI 174th overall, 2021)
D Olen Zellweger – Everett, WHL (ANA 34th overall, 2021)
G Tyler Brennan – Prince George, WHL (NJD 102nd overall, 2022)
G Benjamin Gaudreau – Sarnia, OHL (SJS 81st overall, 2021)
G Thomas Milic – Seattle, WHL (undrafted)
G William Rousseau – Québec, QMJHL (undrafted)
While Shane Wright is noticeably absent from this roster, all it means is that the Kraken have yet to loan him to Team Canada. Wright is eligible to play in the tournament as long as he is loaned to Canada by December 25.
Anaheim Ducks Reassign Pavol Regenda
December 5: After nearly a month-long call-up, Regenda is headed back down to the minors. The Slovak product played in nine games during the call-up, registering a goal, a -1 rating, and 10:42 of ice time per game.
November 9: The Anaheim Ducks have brought winger Pavol Regenda back up from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on an emergency basis, according to CapFriendly. The move comes ahead of the Ducks’ home game tonight against the Minnesota Wild.
The transaction was necessitated by forward Adam Henrique‘s late scratch from the lineup today. He’ll be away from the team on a short-term personal leave as he and his wife await the birth of their first baby. With Derek Grant also out of the lineup with an upper-body injury on a day-to-day basis, the team was down to 11 available forwards on the active roster.
Regenda, 22, was an undrafted free agent signing this summer who impressed and made the Ducks out of training camp. In his first five games with the team, he registered two assists prior to being sent down to the Gulls last week.
Over the past week in the AHL, he showed just why he made the team out of camp, registering two goals and two assists in four games. With a strong performance on this emergency recall, he could convince the Ducks to have him stay in the NHL full-time. His waiver-exempt status muddies that likelihood somewhat, though, as every other candidate for the Ducks to send down to San Diego would require waivers.
Florida Panthers Recall Zac Dalpe, Matt Kiersted
The Florida Panthers recalled center Zac Dalpe and defenseman Matt Kiersted from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers on Monday, according to the AHL’s transactions log.
Florida is taking advantage of some added and much-needed roster flexibility created by Patric Hornqvist heading for long-term injured reserve. With some players out for just a handful of games at a time and the team pressed up against the salary cap, the Panthers had dressed fewer than 18 skaters at times in recent weeks and were relying on $0 emergency recalls to have a full roster.
Dalpe heads up to restore Florida’s number of healthy forwards on the active roster to 12. Aleksander Barkov and Anton Lundell are both day-to-day with an illness and upper-body injury, respectively, which forced them to ice 11 forwards and six defensemen in their last game.
If neither Barkov nor Lundell can return tomorrow, the Panthers will take on Winnipeg with Dalpe in the lineup. A veteran of 154 NHL games and the Checkers’ captain, Dalpe suited up once for Florida last season and has 10 goals in 19 games to lead Charlotte in 2022-23.
Kiersted, an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of North Dakota two years ago, has appeared in 27 NHL games for Florida over the past three seasons. He’s had a rough start in the minors, notching just one assist in 12 games with the Checkers, and has a -6 rating. He comes to the roster as insurance, expected to be a healthy scratch unless the Panthers suffer additional injuries to their defense corps.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Gallagher, Brodzinski
The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, and Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid is back on top. With 11 points in four games, McDavid has extended his league scoring lead to five over teammate Leon Draisaitl and is approaching a level not seen in the league for quite some time. Mario Lemieux is the only player in the last 30 years to score at a pace better than McDavid’s current 1.88 P/GP rate over a full season. If he can keep it up, the Oilers’ captain could join a very select club that has scored more than 150 points in a single season. Only Wayne Gretzky (nine times), Lemieux (four), Steve Yzerman (one), Phil Esposito (one), and Bernie Nicholls (one) have reached that mark.
Second and third went to Dylan Cozens and Jason Robertson, a pair of youngsters that are vying for their own place among the league’s best. The Buffalo Sabres forward had nine points in four games and now has 24 in 25 games during his third season in the league. The 6’3″ center won’t turn 22 until February. Robertson, meanwhile, has been the talk of the hockey world for weeks, as he continues to pace the league in goals with 23 in 25 games. That puts him on pace to score 75, which would be the highest total since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny both hit 76 in 1992-93.
- The Montreal Canadiens will be without Brendan Gallagher for the next two weeks, ruling him out with a lower-body injury. He’s going to be joined on the sideline by David Savard, who is listed as day-to-day but continues to be evaluated. While in years past Gallagher’s absence would be a devastating blow to the Canadiens’ forward group, the proverbial torch has been passed this season, with the 30-year-old playing the fewest minutes of his career and subsequently producing at a pedestrian pace. Gallagher has just three goals and eight points in 22 games so far.
- The up-and-down season continues for Jonny Brodzinski, who is back with the New York Rangers after being sent down yesterday. That’s three transactions in three days for the minor league forward, who has yet to actually play in a game for New York. Through 17 matches with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the 29-year-old has two goals and nine points, not exactly the production he’s used to. Last season, Brodzinski scored 39 in 36 for Hartford while suiting up 22 times in the NHL.
USA Hockey Announces Preliminary 2023 WJC Roster
The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship is rapidly approaching, with things set to kick off on the afternoon of December 26 with a match between Switzerland and Finland. Team USA will start their tournament later that day against Latvia. Today, the organization released the preliminary roster for the upcoming camp.
The group will be pared down closer to the tournament but currently includes:
F Jackson Blake (CAR 109th overall, 2021)
F Gavin Brindley (2023 draft eligible)
F Tyler Boucher (OTT 10th overall, 2021)
F Kenny Connors (LAK 103rd overall, 2022)
F Logan Cooley (ARI 3rd overall, 2022)
F Jack Devine (FLA 221st overall, 2022)
F Dylan Duke (TBL 126th overall, 2021)
F Cutter Gauthier (PHI 5th overall, 2022)
F Noah Laba (NYR 111th overall, 2022)
F Ryan Leonard (2023 draft eligible)
F Samuel Lipkin (ARI 223rd overall, 2021)
F Chaz Lucius (WPG 18th overall, 2021)
F Cameron Lund (SJS 34th overall, 2022)
F Rutger McGroarty (WPG 14th overall, 2022)
F Red Savage (DET 114th overall, 2021)
F Will Smith (2023 draft eligible)
F Jimmy Snuggerud (STL 23rd overall, 2022)
F Charlie Stramel (2023 draft eligible)
D Sean Behrens (COL 61st overall, 2021)
D Shai Buium (DET 36th overall, 2021)
D Seamus Casey (NJD 46th overall, 2022)
D Ryan Chesley (WSH 37th overall, 2022)
D Aidan Hreschuk (CBJ 94th overall, 2021)
D Luke Hughes (NJD 4th overall, 2021)
D Lane Hutson (MTL 62nd overall, 2022)
D Luke Mittelstadt (undrafted)
D Jack Peart (MIN 54th overall, 2021)
D Ryan Ufko (NSH 115th overall, 2021)
G Trey Augustine (2023 draft eligible)
G Kaidan Mbereko (undrafted)
G Tyler Muszelik (FLA 189th overall, 2022)
G Andrew Oke (undrafted)
The camp will be held in Plymouth, Michigan between December 12-17, at which point a 23-man roster will be selected.