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Blackhawks Looking To Move On From Philipp Kurashev

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The Chicago Blackhawks will likely be busy before the NHL Trade Deadline, and it appears that they may look to cut ties with forward Philipp Kurashev either at the deadline or by not qualifying him in June (as per Harman Dayal and Chris Johnston of The Athletic). The 25-year-old will be a restricted free agent on July 1st as he finishes a two-year $4.5MM deal and has disappointed this season after posting a career year last season.

Kurashev posted 18 goals and 36 assists last year in 75 games while playing predominantly with Connor Bedard but has struggled this season with just four goals and three assists in 32 games. He has been a healthy scratch in 12 of Chicago’s previous 16 games and his defensive warts have been magnified by his lack of offensive success.

The shortcomings in Kurashev’s defensive game were present last season, as evidenced by his -44 plus/minus. However, those shortcomings were often glossed over due to his offensive success. This year has been a very different story as his poor defensive play has been a glaring issue anytime he has been on the ice. Kurashev and his teammates have been dominated, particularly at even strength where he has posted a CF% of 41.8%.

If Chicago opts to move on from Kurashev, a team may take a flier on him for the rest of the season, given his numbers from a year ago. What the return would be remains to be seen, but if Chicago does plan to not qualify him, they likely won’t be seeking a big return.

Flyers Not Actively Shopping Rasmus Ristolainen, Still Receiving Calls

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The Philadelphia Flyers are not actively shopping defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, however, that hasn’t stopped teams from calling Flyers general manager Daniel Briere (as per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia). Briere has praised the 30-year-old’s work saying that he’s been good for Philadelphia, and they are in no rush to move him.

Ristolainen has never been an analytics darling and has battled injuries in the past, however, his overall play has improved as of late leading to speculation that Philadelphia would try to cash out while his value is high. The 2013 eighth-overall pick has some term remaining on his contract (two years at $5.1MM) and would not be a rental for any team that acquires him.

Right-shot defensemen are always in demand, and Ristolainen has good size and decent skating ability, even if there are obvious shortcomings to his game. He’s certainly been guilty in the past of defensive lapses and overplaying the puck, but he has sacrificed his offensive numbers in favor of playing a more simplified game the past few seasons. Despite the change in Ristolainen’s numbers, his strengths and weaknesses haven’t changed over the years. He can hit, skate and shoot but is abysmal at retrieving the puck in the defensive zone and struggles when trying to move the puck out of his zone. Any change of environment likely won’t change what he is, meaning that any acquiring team will have to be conscious of Ristolainen’s limitations.

In 47 games this season, the Turku, Finland native has posted a single goal and 11 assists while averaging 20:35 of ice time per game. He has also registered 77 hits, 74 blocked shots and a 0 plus/minus.

Sharks’ Nikolai Kovalenko To Return, Henry Thrun Questionable

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The San Jose Sharks will have to shake up their lineup a bit in tonight’s matchup against the Nashville Predators. Forward Nikolai Kovalenko is expected to return from injury, while defenseman Henry Thrun is questionable to play due to a lower-body injury (per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now). Peng adds that if Thrun is unavailable, veteran Marc-Edouard Vlasic will step back into the lineup. Vlasic was held out of San Jose’s Monday night game due to illness.

With this news, Kovalenko will return to the lineup after missing San Jose’s last six games with an upper-body injury. The Russian rookie has been an interesting addition for the Sharks, who acquired him in the December trade that sent goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to the Colorado Avalanche. Kovalenko has recorded six points, five blocked shots, 26 hits, and no penalties in 12 games with the Sharks since the move, bringing his season totals up to 14 points in 40 games. He’s managed those totals while serving in a third-line role, with limited special teams use. That depth assignment should make reincorporating Kovalenko a seamless process. He’s expected to step in for Carl Grundström, who only has one point in his last 15 games.

Thrun played yesterday against Boston, logging 15:51 of ice time in the Sharks 6-3 loss. The 23-year-old has eight assists in 40 games this year and has posted 33 hits and 44 blocked shots while averaging 16:56 of ice time per game. The Southborough, Massachusetts native signed a two-year $2MM extension with the Sharks last July and has been a regular for most of the season, other than a handful of healthy scratches.

PHR’s Josh Cybulski contributed to this article.

Predators Activate Cole Smith Off IR

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The Nashville Predators have activated centerman Cole Smith off of injured reserve, per Nick Kieser of Nashville’s 102.5 The Game. Smith has missed the team’s last 11 games with a lower-body injury suffered in the team’s December 21st game against Los Angeles. He appeared to be laboring through pain but managed to play through the final seconds of regulation time in that matchup – before not skating for the team’s eventual overtime win. Smith was placed on injured reserve three days later, with a prognosis of four to six weeks. He returns right on time with this activation – exactly one month later.

Like many of his teammates, Smith has been ice-cold this season. He appeared in all 34 of Nashville’s games prior to his injury, routinely serving as the team’s third-line center. But a routine role hasn’t meant routine production – with Smith posting just five points, 20 penalty minutes, and a -9 on the year. That includes no scoring, and just one fighting major, through his last eight games. Smith won out a third-line role last season with responsible and often consistent hockey. He played in 80 games and posted 23 points – the third-most of any Predators forward to average below 14 minutes of ice time. Smith was also the most utilized forward on Nashville’s penalty kill during the 2023-24 campaign, recording 168 minutes of shorthanded ice time. He’s returned to that high-trust role this season and should once again stand as one of the team’s go-to defensive forwards now that he’s back from injury.

Sabres Recall Tyson Kozak, Reassign Devon Levi

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The Buffalo Sabres have swapped two frequent-movers between their NHL and AHL lineups, recalling winger Tyson Kozak to the majors and assigning goaltender Devon Levi back to the minors. This move comes in response to Sabres’ starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returning to full health after missing the team’s Monday game with an undisclosed injury. Luukkonen will start in net when Buffalo faces Vancouver on Tuesday, head coach Lindy Ruff told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News.

Levi started in Buffalo’s Monday loss to the Seattle Kraken. He allowed five goals on 33 shots, bringing his season statline to a 2-7-0 record, .872 save percentage, and 4.12 goals-against-average in nine appearances. He’s been much more effective with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, where he’s served as the team’s starter. Levi has posted a defiant 12-3-2 record and .913 save percentage in 17 games with Rochester, making him the team’s only goaltender with more than 10 wins and a save percentage north of .900. He briefly matched that success in the first seven games of his NHL career, back in 2022-23, when Levi managed a 5-2-0 record and .905 save percentage through matchups that included four playoff teams. This move will return Levi to his post looking over Rochester, and give him another chance to prove his consistency to the Sabres brass.

Meanwhile, Kozak will return to Buffalo’s roster after being assigned to the minors before Monday’s game. The Sabres activated forward Jiri Kulich from injured reserve in a corresponding move. Kulich returned from a four-game absence on Monday, and even earned a top-line role with fellow center Ryan McLeod inactive due to an upper-body injury. Buffalo winger Jordan Greenway is also out with injury, though the team hasn’t yet disclosed any specifics. Even with those absences, Kozak is likely to serve as the 13th forward in Tuesday’s matchup. He will however be a quick fill-in if the Sabres experience any further injuries or cold streaks, giving Kozak a chance to break his own cold spell after recording no scoring and just two shots through his last four NHL appearances. He has one goal in seven NHL games – the first of his career – this season.

Golden Knights’ Cole Schwindt Out Week-To-Week, Brett Howden Questionable

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The Vegas Golden Knights received a few injury updates at Tuesday morning’s practice, each captured by Jesse Granger of The Athletic. Most notably, head coach Bruce Cassidy shared that right-winger Cole Schwindt will be out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Schwindt was injured in the second period of Vegas’ Saturday matchup against Chicago. He struggled to place weight on his left leg after an awkward tie-up with Blackhawks defender Seth Jones sent him awkwardly into the boards. Schwindt was listed as out for Vegas’ proceeding Monday match against St. Louis, and could now miss the short future.

The Golden Knights claimed Schwindt off of waivers from the Calgary Flames before the start of the season. He’s since served as the team’s extra forward, routinely rotating into a role on the Vegas fourth-line. That’s certainly an achievement for Schwindt, who has spent the last four seasons in the minor leagues. He earned seven NHL games through that stretch – but, aside from one minor penalty, never appeared on the scoresheet. That’s changed slightly with his more confident role in Vegas, though Schwindt has only recorded seven assists and is still searching for his first NHL goal through 38 games this season. Schwindt has received roughly nine minutes of ice time each game, on average, which should make his hole in the lineup seamless to replace for the short-term.

Vegas may also need to replace bottom-six centerman Brett Howden in their next game, as he’s listed as questionable with an illness. Howden is averaging more minutes, and scoring more points, than he has ever before – with 22 points in 47 games and just over 15 minutes of ice time each game. He’s one point shy of tying his career high of 23 points – which he recorded in 66 games with the New York Rangers during his rookie 2018-19 campaign. Howden has been largely a role player ever since, routinely posting a faceoff percentage around 48 percent and scoring below 20 points. He’s breaking out of that shell this season and could be the beneficiary of more minutes in Schwindt’s absence. That is, once Howden is back to full health.

Senators’ Zack MacEwen Takes Indefinite Leave Of Absence

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Senators winger Zack MacEwen, currently on assignment to AHL Belleville, is taking an indefinite personal leave of absence from the club, according to a statement from the B-Sens. The 28-year-old said on his Instagram account Tuesday that he’s taking time to heal following the passing of his father.

MacEwen is in the second season of the three-year, $2.33MM contract he inked with Ottawa as a free agent in 2023. He’s split this season between the big club and Belleville, recording two goals and an assist in 21 NHL appearances. He’s been in the minors since last week, posting five goals and four assists for nine points in 15 AHL appearances this season.

The Prince Edward Island-born forward has largely been cast as an enforcer during his NHL career but has been a more offensively inclined power forward when deployed in the minors. He’s produced 0.63 points per game over his 182-game AHL career compared to 0.14 in his 237 big league games.

MacEwen has been a consistent depth presence when called upon for Ottawa this season, averaging less than eight minutes per game but managing the best possession metrics of his career with a 53.4 CF% at even strength.

All of us at Pro Hockey Rumors wish MacEwen the best as he takes a step back.

Bruins Place Mark Kastelic On IR; Recall Patrick Brown, Max Jones

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Bruins depth forward Mark Kastelic’s return to the lineup was short-lived. The 25-year-old is back on injured reserve today after he was activated Saturday, per a team announcement. The move gave Boston two open roster spots, which they promptly used to recall forwards Patrick Brown and Max Jones from Providence in corresponding transactions.

Kastelic sustained an upper-body injury against the Lightning on Jan. 9 that sidelined him for two games. Given Boston’s light schedule this month, that was enough for an IR placement. He returned against the Senators, his former team, but did not play in the third period of Monday’s win over the Sharks. It’s not clear when he sustained the new injury or whether it’s a recurrence of his previous upper-body issue.

The 6’4″ pivot has four goals and a career-high 13 points in 45 games with the Bruins this season, his first in Boston after they acquired him from Ottawa in last summer’s Linus Ullmark blockbuster. His emergence as a high-end fourth-line center landed him a three-year, $4.7MM extension earlier this month, keeping him off 2025’s restricted free-agent market.

Kastelic’s 175 hits lead the Bruins, and his 55.1% faceoff percentage is second on the team behind John Beecher among Boston skaters with at least 100 draws. His 11:11 average time on ice is a career-high, although he remains uninvolved on either special teams unit.

The Bruins are now down two-thirds of their usually effective fourth line. Winger Cole Koepke has missed the last two contests with an upper-body injury and landed on injured reserve over the weekend.

Brown and Jones come up as reinforcements for the injured pair ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Devils. At least one will enter the lineup with Kastelic out, although Koepke will technically be eligible to return and Trent Frederic may be an option after missing the San Jose tilt with an illness.

Brown, 32, last suited up for the Bruins on Nov. 14 in what remains his only NHL appearance in 2024-25. The right-shot center is in the back half of a two-year, $1.6MM contract that he’s mostly spent collecting a one-way paycheck in the minors, where he has 20 goals, 37 assists, 57 points and a +20 rating in 79 games for Providence since the beginning of 2023-24. He was anointed captain of the P-Bruins this year, the third AHL franchise where he’s held the honor, and ranks third on the team in scoring with 25 points through 37 games.

Jones, 26, hasn’t panned out after inking a two-year, $2MM contract in free agency last summer. The 2016 first-rounder started the season on the Bruins’ roster, but he hit waivers and cleared them in November after posting a minus-four rating and no points through four appearances and routinely sitting in the press box.

The longtime Ducks depth winger has 11 points in 26 games with Providence, his first minor-league action since the 2019-20 campaign. The 6’3″, 216-lb winger was shelled defensively for a 29.7 CF% and a whopping 6.7 GA/60 at even strength in his quartet of NHL appearances early in the year.

As for Kastelic, the IR placement rules him out of the Bruins’ next three games. He’ll be eligible for activation ahead of their game against the Sabres on Jan. 28.

Wild Reassign Brendan Gaunce

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The Wild have multiple impact players nearing injured reserve activations, and the team announced they’ve opened a second roster spot today by reassigning center Brendan Gaunce to AHL Iowa.

Gaunce, 30, was a highly-touted prospect with the Canucks in the early days of his career but has since become a depth journeyman. He’s only landed full-time NHL work on rare occasions and has seen AHL time in each of his professional seasons spent in North America. He’s been productive in the minors in recent years, hovering near a point per game there while in the Blue Jackets organization from 2021 to 2024, leading to a two-year, two-way commitment from Minnesota in free agency last offseason. In addition to recording 39 points in 46 games while serving as Cleveland’s captain in 2023-24, he posted a pair of goals and assists in 24 NHL games for Columbus.

The 2024-25 season has once again been kind to Gaunce in the minors but not in his brief NHL action. He’s slotted in five times for the Wild this season amid injuries to their forward group, but none since his most recent recall on Friday. He’s gone without a point while posting a minus-three rating, averaging under 10 minutes per game, and winning 41.7% of his draws. He’s demonstrated a lack of physical play for his 6’3″, 219-lb frame, only recording six hits after averaging more than two per game in Columbus last year. His even-strength possession play has also been ghastly – opponents have out-attempted the Wild 63-26 with Gaunce on the ice at even strength this season.

Nonetheless, he’s been up to his usual tricks in Iowa, where he’s spent most of the season after clearing waivers during training camp. He’s among the team’s top three scorers with 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points in 26 games. He doesn’t need waivers for today’s demotion since he’s spent less than 30 cumulative days on the Wild’s active roster since clearing waivers on Oct. 1 and played fewer than 10 NHL games.

In the meantime, the Wild now have the roster space to activate two of Jonas Brodin, Marcus Johansson, Kirill Kaprizov, and Jared Spurgeon before Thursday’s home tilt against Utah. Reassigning Gaunce also gets Minnesota out of using their LTIR pool, solely consisting of Kaprizov, to stay cap-compliant, so there won’t be additional maneuvering required to activate the superstar winger.

Pittsburgh Penguins Reportedly Considering Fire Sale At Deadline

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From the end of October until the end of December, the Pittsburgh Penguins were inching closer to the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference due to a 14-9-4 record in 27 games. Unfortunately, that solid run has been sandwiched between a 3-7-1 record at the beginning of the season and a 3-5-3 record over their last 11 games.

The Penguins have already made a prudent move by sending struggling netminder Tristan Jarry through waivers a few days ago but that may only be the start of larger things to come. According to a report from Marco D’Amico from RG.org, and corroborated by other outlets, Pittsburgh is reportedly leaning toward a full-scale fire sale at this year’s trade deadline.

It’s easier to list the names of those reported not on the trade block rather than those that are. D’Amico asserts that a source close to the Penguins believes Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Philip Tomasino, and Owen Pickering are the only players Pittsburgh has no interest in moving.

Using deductive reasoning, not only are the Penguins considering moving on from pending unrestricted free agents such as Marcus Pettersson, Matt Grzelcyk, and Anthony Beauvillier, but will additionally dangle those with length left on their deals such as Rickard Rakell, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, and Ryan Graves.

Considering his mild eight-team no-trade clause, Pittsburgh will likely have the easiest time moving Rakell if they go that route. Aside from a tepid season last year, he’s been a productive forward for the Penguins, since being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in 2021-22.

It will be more challenging to determine the market for Karlsson and Letang. However, it is not unusual for a player with multiple years remaining on their contract and a full no-movement clause to be traded at the deadline. A recent example is the Vegas Golden Knights’ acquisition of Tomáš Hertl last year.

Still, considering Karlsson is making a hefty $10MM salary until 2026-27, and the fact that Letang isn’t playing up to his $6.1MM salary, it’s more than likely these trades will have better traction in the offseason. Pittsburgh will have to retain salary in any deal for either defenseman but D’Amico didn’t indicate the Penguins had any desire to do so at the time being.

Navigating the current situation is quite challenging for Pittsburgh. The team needs to balance the goal of remaining competitive during the final years of Crosby’s career while also considering their future. Currently, they find themselves in a difficult position, sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference, while only projected to have the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

There’s room for change on either front given there are 33 games left in the regular season but the Penguins will have to choose a direction relatively soon considering the magnitude of any hypothetical trade. At any rate, it’ll be unfamiliar territory for general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas.

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