Montreal Canadiens Recall Cole Caufield
April 26: It took another ten days, but the Canadiens are finally giving Caufield a shot. The team has assigned Alexander Romanov to the taxi squad in order to give them the cap space needed to recall the young sniper, who will make his NHL debut tonight against the Calgary Flames. Because several other forwards are currently dealing with injuries, Caufield is technically an emergency recall according to CapFriendly, meaning they can bring Romanov back down the line.
April 16: It’s happening, Montreal Canadiens fans. The team has officially recalled Cole Caufield from the AHL and placed him on the taxi squad. Montreal plays tomorrow evening against the Calgary Flames, where the Hobey Baker Award winner could potentially make his NHL debut. The team also recalled Cayden Primeau to the active roster under emergency conditions.
Of note, the Laval Rocket recently had several upcoming games postponed, meaning Caufield could just be up with the taxi squad to get some practice time in. After his early performance in the AHL however–the 20-year-old forward scored three goals (including two game-winners) and four points in two appearances for Laval–Canadiens fans are hoping he’s in the NHL lineup before long.
There’s been no stopping Caufield so far in his hockey career. Despite never reaching the size and strength of some other top prospects, the 5’7″ forward continues to outproduce almost everyone he comes in contact with. Caufield broke records set by people like Phil Kessel and Auston Matthews with the U.S. National Team Development Program, he was a point-per-game freshman in the NCAA and just recently led the entire nation in scoring with 30 goals and 52 points in 31 games for Wisconsin.
It seemed as though professional hockey may slow him down, but that certainly wasn’t the case in his debut for Laval. Caufield recorded five shots on goal, scored on the powerplay and at even strength, and added a helper in his professional debut, flying all over the ice with the puck. He came back with another four-shot performance on the next night, once again providing must-see action for the Rocket.
Now the next step is getting his first game with the Canadiens, who are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Flames on Wednesday. The team has scored just five goals in their last three games and could certainly use a bit of punch from their star prospect.
Noah Hanifin To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
After sustaining a shoulder injury on the weekend, Noah Hanifin‘s season is over. The Calgary Flames confirmed that Hanifin will require season-ending shoulder surgery, ending what has been a rollercoaster season for the 24-year-old defenseman.
One could argue that Hanifin has been the team’s best defenseman this season, though it certainly hasn’t been all rosy for the former Carolina Hurricane. Hanifin has 15 points through 47 games and at one point had the longest streak in the league without allowing a goal against, but there have also been times where he has looked overmatched taking on the opponent’s best. Calgary as a group has shown moments of dominance among a sea of ineptitude this season but is amazingly still within striking distance of the final playoff spot in the North Division.
Because they sit just four points behind the Montreal Canadiens, it’s hard not to see this as anything but a disaster for the Flames. Hanifin averages more than 20 minutes a night for the team, contributes on both special teams, and is one of only three regular Calgary defensemen with any offensive upside.
Without him, the team will be forced to look elsewhere for help on the blue line. Michael Stone has played in 12 games this season and Oliver Kylington has played in six. One of those two will likely have an expanded role, but it’s hard to rely on either at this point.
It is not clear exactly what Hanifin’s timeline looks like right now, with the Flames set to provide more information later this week.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 04/26/21
There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day:
West Division
- The Los Angeles Kings have recalled top prospect Quinton Byfield to the taxi squad, along with Lias Andersson. Boko Imama has been returned to the AHL to make room.
- The St. Louis Blues have recalled Steven Santini from the taxi squad as they prepare for action tonight against the Avalanche. The team recently lost both Colton Parayko and Vince Dunn to injury, meaning Santini could be ready to make his Blues debut this evening.
- The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Trevor Zegras and Simon Benoit to the taxi squad, sending Hunter Drew and Maxim Golod to the AHL. Zegras has dominated since going back down to transition to center and should be back on the Ducks roster fairly soon.
North Division
- The Ottawa Senators have made several moves, including the recall of two goaltenders from the minor leagues. Ottawa can’t seem to keep their NHL netminders healthy, meaning Filip Gustavsson (active roster) and Kevin Mandolese (taxi squad) are both up from Belleville. To make room, Cody Goloubef and Logan Shaw have both been re-assigned to the AHL.
- The Vancouver Canucks have recalled Kole Lind from the taxi squad and Artus Silovs under emergency conditions. Silovs will serve as backup for Braden Holtby after Thatcher Demko suffered a lower-body injury at morning skate.
- The Calgary Flames have recalled Connor Mackey to the taxi squad, following Noah Hanifin‘s season-ending injury. Mackey, 24, is in his first professional season and has played three games for the Flames so far.
- The Edmonton Oilers have recalled Ryan McLeod from the taxi squad under emergency conditions, placing Zack Kassian on long-term injured reserve in the process. Kassian has been listed as week-to-week, but will have to miss at least ten games, meaning he could only return in time for the final game of the regular season.
Central Divison
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Matiss Kivlenieks to the taxi squad, while sending Josh Dunne and Daniil Tarasov to the AHL. Dunne, 22, has played in six games with the Blue Jackets since signing out of Clarkson University.
- The Detroit Red Wings have swapped practice goalies once again, sending Kaden Fulcher to the AHL and recalling Kevin Boyle to the taxi squad.
- The Florida Panthers have recalled Grigori Denisenko and Aleksi Heponiemi from the AHL and placed them on the taxi squad. Both young players have appeared in a few games for Florida this season, but given the team’s depth additions at the deadline, may not be able to crack the lineup down the stretch.
East Division
- The New Jersey Devils have sent Gilles Senn back to the AHL from their taxi squad. Senn, 25, hasn’t been very good for the Binghamton Devils this season, posting an .897 save percentage in 13 appearances.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Quinton Byfield Recalled To Taxi Squad
Though they made a valiant effort this season, the Los Angeles Kings have fallen out of the playoff race in the West Division once again. The team has gone 3-7 in their last ten and now sit seven points behind the Arizona Coyotes with the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues in between. With that in mind, it’s time to give some playing time and experience to their young prospects, most notably Quinton Byfield.
The second-overall pick has been recalled to the NHL taxi squad for the first time this season. He is coming up from the Ontario Reign along with Lias Andersson, while Boko Imama has been reassigned back to the AHL.
Despite being just 18 and not usually eligible to play in the AHL, Byfield has been able to spend the entire season honing his craft at the professional level with the Reign thanks to the OHL’s shutdown. That gave the 6’4″ center a chance to get his feet wet at the minor league level without as much pressure, and he responded with eight goals and 20 points in 30 games. While that’s not putting him on any leaderboards, Byfield’s long-term development is the important thing here and he has shown steps already.
He scored just one goal through his first 15 games for Ontario but then went on an impressive five-game scoring streak in late March. While there is still inconsistency in his play, a chance to taste the NHL at the end of this season will only help him down the road.
For those Kings fans worried about burning the first year of his entry-level contract, Byfield would need to play in more than seven NHL games down the stretch to have it kick in for 2021-22.
Nikolaj Ehlers Out Rest Of Regular Season
The Winnipeg Jets lost two important games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but have suffered an even greater blow than the two points in the standings. Nikolaj Ehlers will miss the rest of the regular season according to head coach Paul Maurice, after taking several big hits, including one from Jake Muzzin in Saturday’s game. Maurice remains confident that Ehlers will return for the playoffs, but the team won’t have him for the last few weeks of the regular season.
The Jets have now lost three in a row and are in danger of losing the second seed in the North Division. The team sits just a single point ahead of the Edmonton Oilers despite having played two additional games and will now be operating without one of their most important forwards.
Ehlers, 25, had reached an entirely new level of production his season, with 21 goals and 46 points in 47 games. That put him 13th in the NHL in goals and 18th in points, meaning the Jets are not only losing a strong performer but one of the league’s emerging stars.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Winnipeg, who will welcome in the Oilers for a two-game series starting tonight.
Tanner Laczynski Undergoes Surgery
After four seasons dominating the competition at Ohio State University, Tanner Laczynski has certainly had an interesting first year of professional hockey. The 23-year-old forward scored ten points in 14 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and earned himself a chance in the Philadelphia Flyers lineup. In five NHL games he failed to record a point though and he’ll have to wait a long time for his next opportunity. The Flyers announced today that Laczynski has undergone successful surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip and will be out for the next 16 weeks.
Laczynski was a sixth-round pick in 2016, so even just making it to the NHL wasn’t guaranteed. But after a point-per-game career at Ohio State, he signed his entry-level deal with the Flyers last spring and quickly shot up the depth chart. With the Flyers now nine points out of a playoff spot there figured to be even. more playing time for young forwards trying to make their mark, but Laczynski will now face a long difficult rehab instead.
The first season of his entry-level contract will come to an end without a single point and given his age, the deal was limited to just two seasons. That means the 2021-22 season is imperative for Laczynski if he wants to go into salary arbitration with any leverage. With a four-month recovery timeline, he is expected to be ready to compete at training camp.
Andrew Shaw Announces End Of Playing Career
After suffering another concussion in February, Andrew Shaw is going to call it a career. The Chicago Blackhawks forward has announced that he will hang up his skates based on the recommendation of the team’s medical staff. The team fully supports the move to prioritize his long-term health.
Importantly, nowhere in the press release does the word “retire” appear, as Shaw has another year left on his current contract. Official retirement would mean he forfeits the $2.9MM he is set to earn next season. Instead, he will likely be moved to long-term injured reserve whenever the Blackhawks need some extra cap flexibility.
Shaw was an integral part of two different Stanley Cup runs for the Blackhawks, winning in 2013 and 2015. The hard-nosed forward was occupying a checking center role at that point while also contributing a bit at the offensive end. His career-high in points actually came during the 2018-19 season with the Montreal Canadiens when he scored 47 in just 63 games, but that kind of output was never really his calling card in Chicago.
Overall, Shaw will finish his career with 247 points in 544 regular season games, but none of that will compare to a single moment. In 2013, the Blackhawks were in triple overtime in game one of the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins. After some dirty work in the corner to free up the puck, Shaw tipped a Michal Rozsival shot (well, technically tipped a Dave Bolland tip) past Tuukka Rask to put Chicago up 1-0 in the series.
It’s never easy when a 29-year-old player is forced to retire due to injury, much less when it is concussion-related. But Shaw has already accomplished a lot in his career and will be able to focus on his health moving forward knowing that he is a Stanley Cup champion.
Five Key Stories: 04/19/21 – 04/25/21
It was a quieter week around the hockey world with some COVID-related cancellations garnering plenty of attention. Those can be found among the top stories from the past seven days.
Hartman Extension: Wild winger Ryan Hartman decided to avoid the risk of being non-tendered this offseason, instead inking a three-year, $5.1MM contract extension. The deal represents a $200K pay cut compared to his current contract but gives him some job security at a time where teams are expected to be more hesitant than usual to qualify role players that have arbitration eligibility. As someone who has been in that situation before, getting a three-year deal – his longest since his entry-level pact – is something he’ll definitely appreciate. The 26-year-old is logging nearly 15 minutes a night this season, a career-best.
Cancellations: Last week was somewhat reminiscent of a year ago when leagues and tournaments started shutting down. This was the case at the junior level on two different fronts as the WHL revealed that they will not hold any playoffs, a decision that will allow NHL-contracted players to be recalled once their regular season comes to an end. Meanwhile, the OHL announced that their season will not even get underway let alone hold a postseason as COVID-19 case numbers in Ontario have risen quickly in recent weeks. That means that players that are in the minors because that league wasn’t underway means that they’ll be able to remain there for the rest of the season. On the international front, the Women’s World Hockey Championships were abruptly cancelled as a result of an escalating COVID-19 caseload in Nova Scotia. However, there are other cities that have shown an interest in trying to hold the event later in the summer, providing some hope that the tournament will get another shot.
Marleau Sets The Record: All records are supposed to be meant to be broken but some have stood the test of time without an expectation of being broken. The all-time games played mark was one of those that could be classified as unlikely to be reached but Sharks forward Patrick Marleau has set the new benchmark when he played in his 1,768th career regular season game, breaking the previous record held by Gordie Howe. The 41-year-old is in his 23rd career NHL season, three fewer than Howe who suited up in 26 NHL campaigns (plus six more in the WHA). Marleau is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July and will have to decide if he wants to continue to add to his record or retire with his name now atop the record book.
Injuries In Detroit: It has been a tough few days on the injury front for Detroit. Already without Bobby Ryan for the rest of the season and Robby Fabbri who has been out for three weeks, Tyler Bertuzzi and Frans Nielsen were then ruled out for the rest of the season. Captain Dylan Larkin was then ruled out for the rest of the year, giving them five forwards on the shelf. Long out of the playoff picture, head coach Jeff Blashill will have an opportunity to evaluate some younger players and those on the fringes of the roster down the stretch.
Jaskin Eyeing NHL Return: With KHL contracts expiring this coming Friday, there should be some players signing NHL contracts soon after. One of those could be winger Dmitrij Jaskin whose agent Allain Roy confirmed that the 28-year-old is looking to return to the NHL for next season. While he was more of a physical energy player in his first stint in North America, Jaskin’s offensive abilities have come to light back at home with 69 goals and 54 assists in 117 games with Dynamo Moscow which should help generate some more interest in his services. Arizona is known to be one of the teams talking to Roy about a deal for Jaskin for next season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
David Backes Considering Retirement
It has been a tough last few seasons for veteran winger David Backes who has gone from being an impact power forward to someone who has cleared waivers multiple times, been moved in a salary cap dump trade, and has been a healthy scratch or on the taxi squad for large portions of this year. With his contract ending at the end of the season and the fact he turns 37 next weekend, his playing future is certainly in question. In a scrum with reporters today (video link), Backes strongly hinted at retirement when asked if hanging up his skates was a possibility:
Possibility…I’d say it’s more of a probability. But it’s not a certainty. That’s just kind of where I’m at. I’ve said it all year that every game you play in this league is a gift, every shift you play is a gift. It’s a great blessing to be able to play in this league.
I’ve taken a bit of notes from guys before me that in the emotions and the grind of a season to make a concrete, hundred percent decision is a difficult process. No offense to Brett Favre because he had a great career, but he retired six or eight times and still came back. I think when I say ‘that’s enough,’ I’d like it to be enough and not have to go back and forth.
Backes was a second-round pick of the Blues (62nd overall) back in 2003 and became one of the more prominent power forwards in the league, notching six seasons of more than 20 goals and seven years of more than 200 hits. That helped him land a five-year, $30MM contract with Boston in the 2016 offseason, part of that ill-fated free agent class.
His role has deteriorated significantly the last two years as he managed to play in just 22 games in 2019-20 and has suited up just 14 times this season with the Ducks where he has collected three goals and an assist while averaging just under 13 minutes a night. If this is indeed his final season, he’ll wind up just shy of the 1,000 games played mark as he currently sits at 964, 18th among players selected in his draft class.
Backes indicated that a final decision won’t come right away but if it indeed winds up being the end of the road for him, his time in the NHL may not be done entirely as he noted that a job in a front office down the road could be in the cards. In the meantime, he still has eight games left to focus on this season although with Anaheim evaluating some of their youngsters, playing time may be scarce the rest of the way.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 04/25/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:
Calgary – Josh Leivo
Colorado – Joonas Donskoi, Mikko Rantanen
New Jersey – P.K. Subban, Jonas Siegenthaler
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: None
No news is good news on this front as while no one came off, there were no newcomers to the list either. Of the five on the list, Donskoi has been on the longest going back to the 16th but he still should be on there for a few more days at least. Accordingly, barring Leivo or Siegenthaler’s tests being false positives, there shouldn’t be anyone coming off the list over the next few days.
*denotes new addition