Ryan Hartman Activated Off IR, Sammy Walker Sent To AHL
The Wild will get a key part of their attack back in their lineup tomorrow against Ottawa as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated forward Ryan Hartman off injured reserve. In a corresponding move, Sammy Walker has been sent back to AHL Iowa.
Hartman has missed the last seven weeks with a shoulder injury sustained in a fight in late October. The 28-year-old had a career year last season with 34 goals and 31 assists (for context, his previous career high in points was 31) and had a goal and four assists in nine contests before the injury. He’ll be a big boost to a Minnesota lineup that finds itself in the middle of the pack offensively but he won’t jump back onto the top line as instead, he’ll skate on the second trio with Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy when they take on Ottawa on Sunday.
As for Walker, he received his first recall last Saturday and got into four games with Minnesota, getting held off the scoresheet while averaging a little over nine minutes per night. He was off to a strong start in Iowa before the recall as Walker had 11 goals and 11 assists in 21 games to start his first professional campaign.
Minnesota has ample roster space that they could have afforded to activate Hartman and keep Walker up with the big club. However, they’ve instead opted to continue to carry a roster that’s close to the minimum, allowing them to bank as much cap space as possible. That cap space will be a weapon by the trade deadline with so many teams currently using LTIR which should give GM Bill Guerin a boost as he looks to add to their roster in the second half of the season.
Brad Malone Clears Waivers
Saturday: Malone has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. He has been assigned to AHL Bakersfield while Foegele has been activated off injured reserve.
Friday: The Edmonton Oilers have placed Brad Malone on waivers after being scratched for last night’s game.
Malone was replaced by James Hamblin, who ended up playing just over five minutes as the Oilers once again relied heavily on their top six. The reason for the waiving, though, is likely the imminent return of Warren Foegele, which will give the team a more reliable option.
Foegele has been out since November 26 and was averaging a little more than 12 minutes on the year. While that may not sound like a lot, the way the Oilers deploy their forwards makes it relatively significant. Last night, for instance, Hamblin, Derek Ryan, Jesse Puljujarvi, Devin Shore, Klim Kostin, and Dylan Holloway each played fewer than 11 minutes, while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl approached 30.
Malone, in his ten games with the Oilers this season, hasn’t scored a point. Should he clear, the 33-year-old will return to the Bakersfield Condors, where he serves as captain. Despite more than 200 games of NHL experience, he is an unlikely claim even for clubs looking at reinforcing their bottom six.
Los Angeles Kings Loan Two To AHL, Activate Viktor Arvidsson
Saturday: Kupari’s stint in the minors was short-lived once again as the team announced that he has been recalled while they have also activated Viktor Arvidsson from non-roster status.
Friday: The Los Angeles Kings have announced the loans of three players to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Those three players are Samuel Fagemo, Rasmus Kupari, and Tobias Bjornfot. The moves come in advance of tomorrow’s game against the San Jose Sharks.
Fagemo, 22, was called up to the Kings on December 1st, and has skated in three NHL games so far this season. He has two points in those three games and will now return to Ontario, where he has six goals and eight points in 15 games.
The other forward to be sent down, Kupari, has seen more extensive NHL action so far this year. Kupari has played in 17 games for the Kings, scoring five points on just under eleven minutes of ice time per night. The 2018 20th overall pick also has nine points in 11 AHL games this year.
The lone defenseman to be sent down, Bjornfot, is like Kupari a relatively recent first-round pick of the Kings. Unlike Kupari, though, Bjornfot has played most of this season in the AHL. He has just four NHL games played so far this year, although in the games he did play he did manage to get some time on coach Todd McLellan‘s penalty kill.
The defensively-focused Bjornfot’s spot on the Kings’ depth chart has been threatened by the emergence of Jordan Spence, who is also a 2019 draft pick and has 21 points in 22 AHL games so far this season.
These moves leave the Kings with three open roster spots, and while it’s certainly possible that these transactions are primarily motivated by a desire to bank some salary cap space, the possibility of corresponding call-ups cannot be ruled out.
Blues Sign Marc-Andre Gaudet To Entry-Level Deal
Marc-Andre Gaudet is off to a nice start to his post-draft season and he was rewarded for his efforts today as the team announced that they’ve signed the defenseman to a three-year, entry-level contract. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the deal carries an $849K AAV and breaks down as follows:
2022-23: $750K NHL salary, $80K signing bonus, $82.5K AHL salary
2023-24: $775K NHL salary, $82.5K signing bonus, $82.5K AHL salary
2024-25: $775K NHL salary, $85K signing bonus, $82.5K AHL salary
The 18-year-old was a fifth-round pick by St. Louis this offseason (152nd overall) following a strong sophomore year with Acadie-Bathurst of the QMJHL which saw him pick up 13 goals and 25 assists in 68 games. This season, he made one preseason appearance with the Blues (where he had an assist) and is off to a good start with his new team in Shawinigan as he has eight goals and 17 helpers in 30 games so far, good for seventh in the league for points by a blueliner.
Officially, the contract begins this season. However, he’ll remain in junior and thus won’t play in ten games in St. Louis. Accordingly, his deal will be able to slide a year and thus will still have three years left on it for the 2023-24 campaign. Gaudet will be eligible to play in the AHL next season.
Flyers Forward Lukas Sedlak Leaves The Team, Placed On Unconditional Waivers
11:50 AM: The Flyers have confirmed (Twitter link) that Sedlak will be placed on unconditional waivers for the purposes of terminating his contract. He’ll officially hit the waiver wire in a little over an hour. They also confirmed that Bellows has been recalled.
9:49 AM: Among the absentees at today’s Flyers practice was center Lukas Sedlak. His absence isn’t injury-related, however, as head coach John Tortorella told reporters, including Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link), that the 29-year-old has left the team and has returned home to his native Czechia. Tortorella wouldn’t elaborate further, indicating that they’ll let Sedlak explain why he left. Sedlak did so, telling Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) that he’s likely going to play with Pardubice of the Extraliga, citing a desire to be closer to family.
Sedlak signed a one-year, $800K contract with Colorado in free agency back in July and made their opening roster. However, after three games with the Avs, he was placed on waivers in mid-October and was claimed by Philadelphia. Since then, he had been a regular in the lineup, picking up three goals and five assists while averaging a little shy of 13 minutes per night, well above his career average.
Sedlak is set to become an unrestricted free agent again next summer and his comments suggest that likely he’ll be staying overseas for good. In the meantime, the Flyers have designated Sedlak as a non-roster player to free up an extra roster spot, one that will be used on winger Kieffer Bellows who has been recalled, per the AHL’s transactions log. If they decide to terminate his contract – Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli tweets that he should be on termination waivers soon – they’ll also free up a contract slot which is notable since they are currently the only team that’s at the maximum of 50.
Maple Leafs Recall Mac Hollowell On Emergency Basis
The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled defenseman Mac Hollowell from Toronto of the AHL on an emergency basis. They had an open roster spot to work with so no corresponding move needed to be made.
Hollowell got into six games with the big club on his last recall, his first taste of NHL action. The 24-year-old acquitted himself relatively well, picking up a pair of assists in those contests while averaging just shy of 13 minutes a night of playing time. While he hasn’t scored with the Marlies so far, he has collected 10 assists in a dozen contests with them, one of which came last night in Rockford.
Timothy Liljegren was injured in Thursday’s game but was a full participant in practice on the second pairing while head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated after practice to Sports Illustrated’s David Alter (Twitter link) that Liljegren isn’t the only blueliner that’s banged up which is what necessitated Hollowell’s recall. For the time being, Toronto now has eight blueliners on their active roster and all of them were present at the morning skate.
Flyers Place Cam Atkinson On IR
It has been a strange year thus far for Flyers winger Cam Atkinson. Originally diagnosed as being out day-to-day with an upper-body injury in training camp, the 33-year-old has still yet to play this season. He was said to be nearing a return and has been participating in practices but CapFriendly noted last night (Twitter link) that the veteran has now been moved to injured reserve.
The placement stems from them needing a roster spot for Olle Lycksell who was recalled on Thursday. Originally, it was supposed to be Anthony DeAngelo ceding his spot as the defenseman was away from the team for personal reasons, allowing Philadelphia to designate him as non-roster status. However, Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that DeAngelo is back at practice today which takes that option off the table.
It’s possible that Atkinson might have suffered some kind of setback, one that is going to take at least a little bit of time to heal so they’ve opted to simply place him on IR until he’s cleared to return. Because he hasn’t played this season, Philadelphia is eligible to back-date the placement; accordingly, he’s eligible to be activated at any time. For a few weeks now, it looked like the 700-game veteran was just about ready to come back but now, that wait appears likely to be even longer.
Snapshots: Norris, Season Expansion, Joyce
When news of Ottawa Senators forward Josh Norris‘ shoulder injury first broke, it was speculated as a potentially season-ending ailment. The timeline was eventually narrowed down to a three-to-five-month period, and in early November, it became clear that Norris would not need to have surgery on his shoulder. Now, it seems there is even more good news regarding Norris’ injury situation. At Senators practice today, Norris took off his non-contact jersey and donned a regular practice jersey.
That’s an important development, as it indicates that Norris could be nearing a return to the ice sooner than anyone may have anticipated. While the Senators remain in last place in the Atlantic Division, they are currently on a three-game winning streak and have a 7-2-1 record in their last ten games. Being able to add Norris back to their group of centers would give them a trio of Norris, Tim Stutzle, and Shane Pinto, an enviable group of young pivots. Norris scored 35 goals and 55 points last season, and while his slow start to this season as well as his shoulder injury makes it somewhat likely that he’ll need time to get back up to full speed, his return to the ice would undoubtedly be a major help to the Senators’ push to get back into the playoff picture.
Some other notes from across the NHL:
- ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reports that the NHL “has discussed expanding its regular season from 82 to 84 games in an effort to create more regional rivalry matchups.” With the league still recovering from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been renewed focus on advancing the league’s revenue goals. Wyshynski does note that “the topic wasn’t mentioned at this week’s board of governors meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, but is expected to be discussed at the general managers’ meeting in March 2023,” meaning the change is still a bit of a way away from being officially agreed upon and implemented.
- NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston has reported that executive Eric Joyce is no longer a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Joyce joined the Maple Leafs in the fall of 2020 and had most recently served as the director of hockey strategy and pro scouting. It is unclear at this current moment if the Maple Leafs have chosen to leave those roles unfilled, delegated Joyce’s responsibilities to others, or otherwise re-assigned Joyce’s vacated titles and responsibilities.
Vancouver Canucks Recall Lane Pederson
Seeking help to continue their 7-3 run in their last ten games, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled Lane Pederson, one of the AHL’s hottest goal scorers, from their minor-league affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.
Pederson, 25, was acquired by Vancouver as part of the October Ethan Bear trade. At the time, we wrote that in adding Pederson the Canucks were adding a “capable AHL scorer” who would be able to “help bolster the Abbotsford Canucks.”
That’s exactly what he’s done, as after going scoreless through his first four AHL games with the Chicago Wolves, Pederson has scored 17 goals in just 18 games in the Canucks organization.
His hot streak has led the AHL Canucks to seven wins in their last ten games, helping them rebound from a difficult start and re-inserting them into the AHL’s Pacific Division playoff race.
AHL success is not foreign to Pederson, as he has scored near a point-per-game rate in that league since 2019-20, when he scored 16 goals and 34 points in 37 games for the Tucson Roadrunners.
Both the Arizona Coyotes and San Jose Sharks gave Pederson, who went undrafted out of the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos, extended looks in the NHL. Pederson got a 15-game trial in Arizona in 2020-21 and 29 games for San Jose last season. In total, though, Pederson has just five NHL points to his name.
With this recall, the Canucks will likely give Pederson a shot to see if his red-hot scoring can translate to the NHL level. It’s certainly possible that Pederson is one of those players who has the tools to excel against AHL defenses but not against tougher NHL competition, and that seems to be the conclusion Arizona, San Jose, and the Carolina Hurricanes reached by letting Pederson move on. But even so, with this recall, the Canucks have decided that they want to find out for themselves.
Edmonton Oilers Recall Markus Niemelainen
The Edmonton Oilers have made a roster move, recalling defenseman Markus Niemelainen from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
Niemelainen was sent to Bakersfield in late November, and now finds himself back on the Oilers’ roster after a 10-game stint in the AHL.
Niemelainen, 24, was a third-round pick of the Oilers at the 2016 draft, and has developed steadily since that point. The rangy six-foot-six Finn played two seasons in the OHL before making the jump to professional hockey in Liiga. Niemelainen crossed the Atlantic once again in 2020-21 to play for Bakersfield, and he made his NHL debut last season.
In 20 games last year Niemelainen had one assist, skating just over 13 minutes per night with over a minute on the penalty kill. So far this year, Niemelainen’s usage in 15 NHL games played has been light. He averages under ten minutes of ice time per night, and his time on the penalty kill has declined as well.
At the AHL level, though, Niemelainen’s overall role reflects what the Oilers are likely hoping he can develop into on their NHL squad. Niemelainen plays top-four minutes in Bakersfield with a heavy dosage of penalty-killing time, and that reflects the Oilers’ faith that he can potentially develop into a shutdown specialist at the NHL level.
Now back with the main roster, Niemelainen will hope to earn more ice time from coach Jay Woodcroft and continue his development at the game’s highest level.