Tanner Laczynski Placed On Injured Reserve
The Philadelphia Flyers are without another forward for the next little while, as Tanner Laczynski has been moved to injured reserve and is out week-to-week according to Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He joins Sean Couturier, James van Riemsdyk, Bobby Brink, and Wade Allison as forwards on IR.
The silver lining, if one can call it that, is that van Riemsdyk practiced and appears to be ready to return when the Flyers play tomorrow night.
Laczynski, 25, has been a regular in the Flyers lineup this season, playing in 19 games so far. The late-round pick had just six appearances before this year and had never registered an NHL point – something he has four of now. One of those came last night against the Colorado Avalanche in a statement win for the club, pouring on five goals against the defending (albeit banged up) champions.
Moving him to injured reserve opens up the roster spot needed for van Riemsdyk, meaning no one else will have to be sent down. The Flyers have actually been playing much better of late, even if their overall results haven’t been strong. They still sit seventh in the Metropolitan Division with a 9-12-5 record.
Colorado Avalanche Send Three To AHL
2:15pm: After the Avalanche lost Megna on waivers, they were under the 18-man roster limit. Hudon has been recalled to make the team compliant again.
9:10am: With Nathan MacKinnon the latest player to go down for the Colorado Avalanche, the team will have some tough decisions on how to organize a lineup moving forward. Today, they have sent Andreas Englund, Anton Blidh, and Charles Hudon back to the AHL, though they may not stay there for long.
Hudon, 28, made his Colorado debut last night, playing over 15 minutes and recording seven shots on goal. The talented winger is a potential fit for the top-six, but likely doesn’t fit any lower than that. With both Alex Galchenyuk and Jayson Megna on waivers today to create some additional flexibility, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Hudon back up for tomorrow’s game.
Englund, meanwhile, has been playing regularly for the team as they deal with injuries to Josh Manson, Bowen Byram, and Kurtis MacDermid. The 6’3″ defenseman has one assist and five penalty minutes in six games, seeing just over ten minutes of ice time last night.
Unless a defenseman is being activated, Englund (or someone else from the minor leagues) will be needed once again for tomorrow night. The team only has five other healthy defensemen on the roster.
Anaheim Ducks Claim Jayson Megna; Alex Galchenyuk Clears
The Anaheim Ducks have added a depth forward, grabbing Jayson Megna off waivers from the Colorado Avalanche. Alex Galchenyuk, who was on waivers with him, has cleared according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Megna, 32, certainly didn’t seem like much of a target given the fact that he hasn’t scored a single point in 14 games this season, but the Ducks must see something they like in the veteran minor league forward. He comes with a league-minimum salary and 162 games of NHL experience, though it’s hard to believe he’ll be a regular in the Anaheim lineup.
It has been nearly six years since Megna scored a goal in the NHL, his last coming on February 9, 2017. During his stint with Colorado this season, he was averaging just over seven minutes a night and recorded six shots on goal.
Galchenyuk, meanwhile, can now be assigned to the minor leagues, though it is unclear if the Avalanche will do so after losing Nathan MacKinnon last night. The team is without nearly a dozen roster players, so might need to keep the veteran forward up for the time being.
Los Angeles Kings Activate Alex Iafallo
The Los Angeles Kings will have some added scoring punch in the lineup when they take on the Ottawa Senators tonight, after activating Alex Iafallo from injured reserve.
It’s been nearly two months since we last saw Iafallo in a game for the Kings, and he was red hot when he did go down to a lower-body injury. The 28-year-old had five points in the first four games of the year and looked like he might be on his way to setting career-high scoring totals.
Now, after missing 23 games, he’ll slide back into a Kings’ lineup that has somehow managed to stay in a playoff position despite going 13-10-4 on the year. Los Angeles has posted a 3-4-3 record in their last ten but remain in third place in the Pacific for the time being.
Getting Iafallo back won’t fix all of the things that have ailed the club this year, but his speed should give them a different look against the Senators tonight. The first of a six-game road trip, it’s perfect timing for the Kings, who will travel to Toronto, Montreal, Columbus, Buffalo, and Boston before finally returning home for a game on the 17th.
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.