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.
Minor Transactions: 01/11/23
It’s a relatively light day on the NHL calendar, with just four games on the docket. Two sets of Pacific Division rivals will do battle tonight, with the Anaheim Ducks taking on the Edmonton Oilers, while the San Jose Sharks will attempt to best their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Kings. As the NHL season rumbles along, many minor league, overseas league, and junior league teams are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- Kevin Roy, who spent last season with the Laval Rocket of the AHL, is leaving Brynas IF. The Swedish club announced yesterday that their short-term agreement with Roy expired and that he would not be offered an extension. Roy, 29, has 28 NHL games on his resume (from 2017-18 and 2018-19) and scored one goal in his six-game run with Brynas in the SHL.
- Former NHL defenseman Korbinian Holzer is remaining in the DEL. The German blueliner, 34, has extended his contract with DEL side Adler Mannheim for another season. Holzer, a veteran of over 200 NHL games, last played in the NHL in 2019-20. Since then, he’s played one season in the KHL, two with Mannheim, and represented Germany at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and two straight IIHF World Championships.
- Philadelphia Flyers prospect Zayde Wisdom was re-assigned to the Flyers’ ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals, today. Wisdom, 20, was a fourth-round pick of the team at the 2020 draft and impressed as a rookie in the AHL, scoring 18 points in 28 games at an age where playing in the AHL can be very challenging. Wisdom returned to the OHL last season and scored 38 points in 43 games. This season, his second as a professional, hasn’t gone to plan, as Wisdom has just seven points in 28 games playing in a bottom-six role.
- Former Olympian Janis Kalinins, who represented his native Latvia at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, has signed an extension to remain in the KHL. KHL side Amur Khabarovsk has announced contract extensions for both Kalinins and defenseman Cameron Lee, a former Penguins AHLer. Kalinins, 31, has a .923 save percentage in 19 games this season, while Lee scored 14 points in 35 games as a top-of-the-lineup blueliner for the team.
- Slovakian pro side HK Poprad have signed two players to their squad, Slovakian center Petr Kolouch, and American forward Nick Jermain. Kolouch, 31, is a veteran of the European professional circuit, having spent more than a decade playing in Czechia. So far this season, he’s played in Austria with EC Graz. Jermain, 26, was a four-year player at Quinnipiac University and made his professional debut last season in the ECHL. He has nine points in 24 ECHL games this season.
- Miles Gendron, a 2014 third-round pick of the Ottawa Senators, left his club yesterday. Storhamar, a team in the Norwegian Fjordkraft-Ligaen, announced that they had parted ways with Gendron yesterday. Gendron had played in 19 games in Norway after signing with Storhamar in the offseason and has scored eight points. A return to North America could be in the cards for Gendron, as he’s spent the past few years manning the bluelines of the ECHL.
- The EIHL’s Glasgow Clan announced a pair of signings yesterday, bringing in former Arizona Coyotes prospect Niklas Tikkinen, as well as ECHL defenseman Jeff Solow. For Tikkinen, the signing moves him from Denmark, where he’s spent the last two seasons, to Scotland. For Solow, the deal will represent his first chance to test his mettle on a professional basis outside of North America.
- 2007 Columbus Blue Jackets second-round pick Will Weber has signed a two-year extension to remain with his current club, the DEL’s Schwenninger Wild Wings. Weber, 34, is in his fifth season playing in Germany, having spent the last three with the Wild Wings. The big six-foot-three blueliner has registered one assist and 69 penalty minutes in 30 games this season.
- Another member of the 2007 draft class, Dallas Stars fifth-rounder Ondrej Roman, has ended his contract with France’s Rouen Dragons via a mutual agreement. Roman, a 33-year-old Czech winger, signed in France in the summer having spent the past two seasons in the Czech league. He found success in France, scoring 25 points in 27 games, and will now look to another destination to continue his professional career.
- Johan Ivarsson, a veteran of both the SHL and Liiga, has signed a two-year extension with his current club, Sodertalje SK. The 27-year-old is playing in Sweden’s second division, HockeyAllsvenskan, for the first time in a half-decade, attempting to get Sodertalje promoted. Ivarsson signed with his current club after a two-year stint with TPS Turku in Finland, and has scored 10 points in 31 games.
- Veteran minor league netminder Alex Sakellaropoulos has signed with the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators, per a league announcement. The 28-year-old has played for seven ECHL clubs in the past five years, bouncing around somewhat in order to fill in for teams in need of help in the crease. Last season, Sakellaropoulos got some consistency, playing in 30 games for the Adirondack Thunder. He wasn’t great, posting an .881 save percentage, but he’s solidified himself as an option in the ECHL, one the Gladiators will now turn to.
- Former ECHL star Darik Angeli has departed his club, the EIHL’s Belfast Giants. The 32-year-old scored 70 points in 63 ECHL games last season and signed with Belfast over the summer. The former Ohio State Buckeye will now leave Northern Ireland having scored twelve points in 24 games there.
- Longtime ECHL scorer Kyle Blaney has signed a contract with the Jacksonville Icemen. The 31-year-old spent last season with the Kalamazoo Wings, scoring 43 points in 65 games. He should be able to help Jacksonville’s offensive attack, a unit that currently ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of goals scored.
- Defenseman Dilan Peters was released by his club, the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers, today. The six-foot-six blueliner was traded to Newfoundland on December 6th, heading there from the Wheeling Nailers, the team he signed with in the summer. Peters, who has made his professional debut this season, has yet to register on an ECHL scoresheet, and he had gotten into nine total games across both teams before yesterday’s release.
- Swiss blueliner Samuel Kreis, a seasoned veteran who has spent over a decade playing in his home country’s top professional league, has signed a three-year deal with SC Bern, set to begin next fall. The 28-year-old signed with EV Zug in 2021 and helped the team win the 2021-22 NL Championship. Kreis last played for Bern in 2016-17 and won three league championships and a Swiss Cup in his time there.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Rangers Claim Jake Leschyshyn; Panthers Claim Casey Fitzgerald
The New York Rangers are the team willing to take a chance on Jake Leschyshyn, claiming him off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The young forward was waived yesterday after failing to record a single point this season. They aren’t the only team nabbing a new player though. Casey Fitzgerald has been claimed by the Florida Panthers, meaning he’s leaving the Buffalo Sabres, the only organization he’s ever been a part of.
Leschyshyn, 23, is better than he has shown for the Golden Knights this season, but the fact was that he hadn’t produced any offense despite regular (albeit limited) playing time. Selected 62nd overall in 2017, the Rangers likely have confidence that they can get him back closer to the player that put up 27 points in 34 games for the Henderson Silver Knights last season. A versatile forward who can be good defensively, engage physically and play both center and wing, he doesn’t need to produce a ton to be valuable. He does have to produce some though, which will ultimately decide whether he stays in the Rangers lineup for long.
Fitzgerald’s loss is a critical one for the Sabres. As referenced yesterday, when he was placed on waivers, Buffalo has some of the thinnest organizational depth in the league on defense. With today’s loss, they are now tied with Seattle for the fewest defensemen under NHL contracts with 11. Should the team run into any injuries, they would quickly run into a tricky situation in terms of available call-ups. With the team legitimately challenging for a playoff spot, that may end up being an area of focus at the trade deadline.
For Florida though, Fitzgerald is a nice solution. In early December, we wrote that defensive depth was a serious need, as the coaching staff didn’t seem comfortable icing the bottom pair for more than a few minutes a game. Matt Kiersted, for instance, is averaging just 9:51 in his 20 appearances. Fitzgerald, who has played 59 games over the last two seasons with Buffalo, gives them another option there, perhaps one that can gain some trust.
It wouldn’t be the first time a waiver claim did well on the Panthers blue line. Gustav Forsling, who now logs more than 24 minutes a night, was claimed almost exactly two years ago and has lived up to the potential.
Brendan Gallagher Out Six Weeks With Lower-Body Injury
It’s been a year to forget so far for Brendan Gallagher. With just nine points on the season, he’s on pace for the worst total of his career. Now, he might not even get close. The Canadiens have announced that Gallagher will miss a minimum of six weeks with a lower-body injury.
Gallagher, 30, had only recently returned from an injury that kept him out a month, playing three games before hitting the shelf again. The energy forward was once the heart and soul of the Canadiens’ forward unit, now he seems an afterthought as they move toward a new core without his help. There have been a lot of miles put on his body over the year, as Gallagher played a give-everything-you-have style nightly, going to war in the corners and in front of the net.
After scoring just seven goals in 56 games last season, and not completing a full 82-game schedule since 2018-19, it’s easy to wonder what the future holds for Gallagher in Montreal. Unfortunately, at least for Canadiens fans, a year before Marc Bergevin‘s time as general manager ended, he gave out a six-year extension to Gallagher that will keep him with the team through 2026-27. He carries a $6.5MM cap hit, and holds a six-team no-trade clause.
It’s hard to see any way that Montreal gets their money out of that deal, and while that isn’t a problem this season as they try for the first-overall pick, it could be in the future as they are trying to compete. The best-case scenario at this point is that Gallagher takes all the time he needs to get fully healthy and can come back to contribute down the road.
2023 AHL All-Star Rosters Announced
While the focus of many hockey fans is on the upcoming NHL All-Star festivities, the AHL is set to hold its own event to honor the league’s best players. Today, they announced the rosters for the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic, which will be held in Laval, Quebec on February 5-6. Todd Nelson (Hershey), Greg Moore (Toronto), Neil Graham (Texas), and Mitch Love (Calgary) will be the four head coaches.
The rosters are as follows:
Atlantic Division
F Will Cuylle, Hartford Wolf Pack
F Tyson Foerster, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
F Ethen Frank, Hershey Bears
F Matthew Highmore, Springfield Thunderbirds
F Vinni Lettieri, Providence Bruins
F Riley Nash, Charlotte Checkers
F Mike Vecchione, Hershey Bears
D Samuel Bolduc, Bridgeport Islanders
D Xavier Ouellet, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
D Cam York, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
G Brandon Bussi, Providence Bruins
G Joel Hofer, Springfield Thunderbirds
North Division
F Alex Barré-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch
F Brandon Biro, Rochester Americans
F Gabriel Dumont, Syracuse Crunch
F Anthony Richard, Laval Rocket
F Logan Shaw, Toronto Marlies
F Egor Sokolov, Belleville Senators
D Justin Barron, Laval Rocket
D Noel Hoefenmayer, Toronto Marlies
D David Jiricek, Cleveland Monsters
D Darren Raddysh, Syracuse Crunch
G Nico Daws, Utica Comets
G Joseph Woll, Toronto Marlies
Central Division
F Riley Barber, Texas Stars
F David Gust, Rockford IceHogs
F Tommy Novak, Milwaukee Admirals
F Lukas Reichel, Rockford IceHogs
F Brett Seney, Rockford IceHogs
F Sammy Walker, Iowa Wild
D Declan Chisholm, Manitoba Moose
D Thomas Harley, Texas Stars
D Max Lajoie, Chicago Wolves
D Brian Lashoff, Grand Rapids Griffins
G Yaroslav Askarov, Milwaukee Admirals
G Jesper Wallstedt, Iowa Wild
Pacific Division
F Thomas Bordeleau, San Jose Barracuda
F Michael Carcone, Tucson Roadrunners
F Seth Griffith, Bakersfield Condors
F Matthew Phillips, Calgary Wranglers
F Andrew Poturalski, Coachella Valley Firebirds
F T.J. Tynan, Ontario Reign
D Ryker Evans, Coachella Valley Firebirds
D Brad Hunt, Colorado Eagles
D Daniil Miromanov, Henderson Silver Knights
D Christian Wolanin, Abbotsford Canucks
G Lukas Dostal, San Diego Gulls
G Dustin Wolf, Calgary Wranglers
Aatu Raty, Robin Salo Returned To AHL
With his ten-game threshold approaching quickly, the New York Islanders have sent Aatu Raty back to the minor leagues. Despite being 20, Raty’s contract can still technically slide forward if he plays fewer than ten games in the NHL this season. Robin Salo has also been sent back, as Adam Pelech continues to skate and approach a return.
Raty has played seven so far, scoring his first two NHL goals in the process. He has averaged just over eight minutes, but certainly did not look out of place even in his limited opportunity. The move will open a roster spot for the eventual return of Kyle Palmieri, though today, head coach Lane Lambert told Andrew Gross of Newsday that there is still no timetable, despite his recent participation in practice.
It of course could also have nothing to do with the ten-game threshold, with the Islanders instead just wanting Raty to get more consistent ice time in offensive situations. Many teams are now putting more importance on the 40-game mark that deems it a season toward unrestricted free agency. In fact, sometimes crossing the lower threshold with limited ice time can be beneficial to a team in the long-run. Contract negotiations coming out of entry-level deals have become much more complicated, with top players asking for long-term, big-money deals, and even players with a lesser impact demanding raises on bridge deals.
Limiting the production of a player like Raty in the first year of his ELC, could give the team a bit more leverage down the line. Counting stats are considered in both arbitration cases and RFA negotiations.
Either way, if the Islanders believe Raty is one of the 12 best forward options they have, there should be no hesitation to put him in the lineup. The team is still within striking distance of the playoffs, and could even challenge for the division with an extended hot streak. To do either, they’ll need to turn around the three-game losing streak they are currently on.
NHL Announces Coaches For 2023 All-Star Game
The fan vote for the final player selections is still ongoing, but the NHL has finalized who will be behind the bench at the 2023 All-Star Game in Florida next month. Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour will be leading the Metropolitan, Boston Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery leads the Atlantic, Peter DeBoer of the Dallas Stars will be running the Central, and Bruce Cassidy of the Vegas Golden Knights will be steering the Pacific.
The Hurricanes, Bruins, Stars, and Golden Knights currently lead their respective divisions, though it’s a close race in three of them. Only the Bruins have a substantial lead, with their 32-4-4 record pacing the entire NHL.
Interestingly enough, three of the four coaches named were involved in something of an employment carousel this offseason. Cassidy was fired by Boston and eventually took the job in Vegas after they dismissed DeBoer. DeBoer took a job in Dallas, one that had only been filled by Rick Bowness after Montgomery’s dismissal in 2020. Montgomery in turn took over in Boston, which gave him another chance as an NHL head coach.
Brind’Amour is the tenured professor of the bunch, taking over as head coach of the Hurricanes in 2018. He won the Jack Adams in 2021, and has an overall record of 199-95-35, plus four playoff series wins. It’s been an impressive transition from player to assistant to head coach for Brind’Amour, who basically never stopped working for the Hurricanes after arriving in 2000. He is reprising his role as head coach of the Metro, after being their last season.
The selections show just how quickly the NHL coaching wheel turns, with Cassidy and DeBoer both appearing at this game with their previous teams. DeBoer has actually gone with three in a row, appearing as the head coach of the Pacific in 2017 with the Sharks as well.
The final player selections will be announced on January 19, and the skills competition kicks off February 3.