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Maple Leafs Notes: Matthews, Ekman-Larsson, Hakanpaa

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Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews has not been ruled out of a return to the lineup this weekend (as per Dave McCarthy of NHL.com). Matthews practiced again today, the second time he has done so since he reaggravated an upper-body injury that kept him out of the lineup for nine games in November.

The 27-year-old has been dealing with the injury since training camp that flared up again in a game against Buffalo on December 20th and will miss a sixth straight game tomorrow night. The Maple Leafs would like Matthews to get one more practice in before he plays again, but Toronto will not practice on Friday. The Maple Leafs play this weekend against Boston on Saturday and Philadelphia on Sunday, so it does remain an outside possibility that Matthew rejoins the team for one of those games.

In other Toronto Maple Leafs notes:

  • Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is expected to return to Toronto’s lineup tomorrow night (as per Joshua Kloke of The Athletic). Ekman-Larsson has been dealing with an illness but practiced today with the team, skating on the third pairing alongside Simon Benoit. He missed last night’s game against the Islanders but has dressed in 37 games this season, posting a goal and 12 assists. If the 33-year-old is good to go for tomorrow, it seems likely that Conor Timmins will come out of the lineup.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have moved defenseman Jani Hakanpaa to the LTIR which means the team will gain $1.47MM in cap space (as per PuckPedia). The 32-year-old has dressed in just two NHL games this season, registering a single hit along with four blocked shots. Hakanpaa has been skating, but last night’s game was the 19th game in a row that he missed. The move could be short-lived given that he did skate before practice today, however, the Maple Leafs are likely to be cautious before any potential return.

Minor Transactions: 1/1/25

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The calendar has flipped to a new year but don’t expect the day-to-day roster shuffling to change anytime soon.  Here’s a rundown of today’s minor and paper moves.

  • The Stars announced (Twitter link) that they’ve reassigned winger Justin Hryckowian to AHL Texas. The 23-year-old was shuffled back and forth several times last month in an effort to maximize how much cap space they’re banking.  Hryckowian played in Dallas’ last two games, picking up three hits in 13:20 of total playing time.  He has been quite productive with Texas in his first full professional season, however, collecting 12 goals and 14 assists in 27 games so far.
  • The Penguins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Nathan Clurman has been sent back to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He has been sent back and forth a few times lately but if Owen Pickering or Kris Letang are ready to return on Friday against Florida, then this assignment might be a longer-term one.  Clurman has played once for Pittsburgh this season but has spent most of the year in the minors, tallying a goal and four assists in 18 appearances.
  • The Hurricanes continue their frequent roster movement. With no game today, they’ve assigned goaltender Dustin Tokarski, defenseman Ty Smith, and winger Jackson Blake to AHL Chicago, per the AHL’s transactions log.  As is always the case with these moves, the paper assignments merely free up several thousand dollars in cap space.  Carolina is back in action on Thursday and all three are likely to be recalled at that time.
  • With Yaroslav Askarov up with the Sharks for the foreseeable future, their farm team has found a temporary replacement for him. Per a team release, the AHL’s Barracuda has signed goaltender Samuel St-Hilaire to an ATO agreement.  The 20-year-old had a 2.56 GAA and a .904 SV% over parts of three seasons with QMJHL Rimouski and was on Canada’s entry for the World Juniors last year.

Wild Recall Carson Lambos And Brendan Gaunce

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5:31 PM: The Wild officially announced both recalls.

4:56 PM: With veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon expected to miss some time, the Wild are expected to bring up a blueliner from the minors.  However, it appears it won’t be David Jiricek as expected.  Instead, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Carson Lambos, one of their top prospects, will get the nod and be brought up from AHL Iowa.

The 21-year-old was a first-round pick of Minnesota back in 2021, going 26th overall.  Lambos was a productive defender at the junior level, putting up 95 points in 112 games with WHL Winnipeg after being drafted.  However, that production hasn’t carried over to the pros.  After putting up 14 points in 69 games last season, Lambos is on a similar pace this year with five points in his first 27 appearances.

Nonetheless, this should be a good chance for the Wild to evaluate Lambos and assess his NHL readiness.  With the trade deadline coming up in a couple of months and Minnesota among the stronger teams in the league, they’ll likely be wanting to shore up their back end at some point.  Having a better understanding on what Lambos can do at the top level will only help determine what they might want to do.

Meanwhile, Russo adds (Twitter link) that veteran forward Brendan Gaunce is also set to be recalled from Iowa, taking the place of Kirill Kaprizov who landed on IR today.  The 30-year-old has played in four games with Minnesota this season, logging just under ten minutes a night but has been held without a point.  Gaunce has been productive in the minors, however, tallying 11 goals and six assists in 22 games; three of those goals came just last night.

Hurricanes Recall Juha Jaaska

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The Hurricanes appear set to give a new forward his first taste of NHL action.  The team announced that they’ve recalled Juha Jaaska from AHL Chicago.  The move was made after 4 PM CT and thus will not officially hit Carolina’s books from a salary cap perspective until Thursday.

The 26-year-old is in his first season in North America after signing a one-year, entry-level deal with the Hurricanes back in April.  The contract carries an AAV of $850K.  Jaaska put up two straight seasons of at least 30 points with HIFK in Finland’s Liiga which helped earn him this contract while he also suited up for his country at the 2024 Worlds, albeit in a limited role.

So far, Jaaska has played exclusively with the Wolves, tallying seven goals and nine assists in 25 games, producing at a similar point-per-game level as he was back home.  His 16 points are good for a tie for third in team scoring.

Even though he’s on his entry-level deal, Jaaska will be eligible to test the open market again this summer as an unrestricted free agent so he’ll be looking to make a good impression in his first taste of action at the top level.

Submit Your Questions For The Next #PHRMailbag

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With the holiday break in the rearview mirror, it’s time for the next edition of Brian La Rose’s PHR Mailbag.

Last month’s edition ran in two parts. The first dealt with some potential cap dumps, some Central Division teams’ interest in defensemen on the trade market, and the playing future of Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. The second covered the state of the Flyers’ rebuild, potential buy-low trade candidates for the Canadiens, and some of the best off-season pickups.

You can submit your questions in the comment section below or by using #PHRMailbag on X/Twitter.

Pacific Notes: Emberson, Vlasic, Jugnauth

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With many players now extension-eligible as of today, it will be interesting to see if any come to terms on a new deal in the coming days.  In the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman speculates that the Oilers might want to take a run at starting talks with defenseman Ty Emberson in the near future.  Acquired in the Cody Ceci trade over the summer, the 24-year-old has settled into a steady third-pairing role, logging just under 15 minutes a night while recording 48 blocks, 53 hits, and five assists in 35 appearances so far.

Making $950K this season, Emberson’s qualifying offer would be just under $1MM if he qualifies for RFA status but he needs to play in 15 more games for that to happen.  Otherwise, he’d be a Group Six unrestricted free agent.  With the role he has, he should be able to add a bit to that qualifier but it shouldn’t be an exorbitant cost for the Oilers to absorb if they can get something done.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic took to the ice today as he continues to try to work his way back from a back injury, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 37-year-old has yet to play this season because of the injury, one that he was hoping he’d only miss a few weeks with originally.  Vlasic’s playing time has dropped to that of a third-pairing player in recent years after being an anchor of their defense corps for more than a decade.  He still has one year left on his contract after this one at a $7MM AAV.
  • Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth will soon get a second stint in the NCAA. The defenseman revealed on his Instagram page that he has committed to Michigan State University for next season.  Jugnauth, a fourth-round pick in 2022, spent a year and a half at the University of Wisconsin before moving to WHL Portland in December 2023.  The 20-year-old has been quite productive this season, tallying six goals and 40 assists in just 33 games for the Winterhawks but he has decided that it’s not time to turn pro just yet.  Seattle has until August 15, 2026 to sign Jugnauth as his transfer to the WHL didn’t change his original signing timeline.

Ducks Recall Nikita Nesterenko

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The Ducks announced they’ve recalled forward Nikita Nesterenko from AHL San Diego. Since there were two open spots on the active roster, no corresponding move was required.

Nesterenko, 23, comes up from the minors for the first time this season after winger Brock McGinn landed on injured reserve last weekend. The New York native gives Anaheim an extra forward for their two-game road swing through Canada in case another injury strikes their group up front.

Nesterenko has played in 12 NHL games, all with the Ducks in the previous two seasons. The Boston College product has two goals and a -3 rating, averaging 12:51 per game. While a natural center, he’s been deployed almost exclusively at left wing in his brief NHL looks, losing all three of his faceoffs. He’s tended to positively impact the Ducks’ poor possession game in his small NHL sample, helping Anaheim control 44.4% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 compared to only 41.4% without him.

A sixth-round pick by the Wild back in 2019, Nesterenko arrived in Orange County at the 2023 trade deadline when Anaheim sent John Klingberg to Minnesota. Nesterenko, who was wrapping up his 34-point junior season with BC, signed his entry-level deal a few weeks later and joined the Ducks for the stretch run. The 6’2″, 183-lb forward has spent most of his time in San Diego since turning pro, scoring 21 goals and 49 points in 99 appearances for the AHL club. He has 12 points and a -9 rating through 29 games this season, ranking seventh on the team in scoring.

Nesterenko gives the Ducks a decent enough bottom-six option to insert into the lineup if another injury outside of McGinn’s or Trevor Zegras’ arises over the next couple of days. Nesterenko, who will remain waiver-exempt regardless of how long his recall lasts, will presumably be returned to San Diego when Anaheim returns home from its trip. He’ll be a restricted free agent again next summer, this time with arbitration eligibility, after spending a couple of weeks on the closed market last July before inking a two-way pact.

Wild Place Kirill Kaprizov On Injured Reserve, Jared Spurgeon To Miss Time

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The Wild are placing star winger Kirill Kaprizov on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 23, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. He’s eligible to come off at any time after missing the last three games with a minor lower-body injury but will still miss at least their next two games, Russo adds. The move creates roster space for a recall from AHL Iowa in place of captain Jared Spurgeon, who left last night’s win over the Predators with a right leg injury and did not return after he was on the receiving end of a slew-foot from Nashville rookie Zachary L’Heureux.

Minnesota hasn’t commented on how long Spurgeon might be out of the lineup, but he’ll miss a game or two at the very least – likely longer. The 35-year-old, who’s missed 72 games since the beginning of last season with back and hip issues that resulted in significant midseason surgery in 2023-24, did not put weight on his right leg as he was helped off the ice (video via Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game). L’Heureux was assessed a match penalty on the play, although the league’s Department of Player Safety hasn’t yet issued any supplemental discipline.

Spurgeon is still capable of top-pairing minutes and has continued to put up stellar possession numbers in his twilight years, but his point totals haven’t recovered since he dropped from 0.62 per game in 2021-22 to 0.43 per game in 2023-24. Add in the emergence of sophomore Brock Faber as the Wild’s new No. 1 defender, and there have been fewer opportunities for Spurgeon to contribute offensively. He has four goals and 13 points in 32 games this season, working out to a 0.41 points-per-game pace that would stand as his lowest since 2015-16, not counting last year’s 16-game stint in the lineup.

Still, Spurgeon is an incredibly important on-ice and off-ice piece to a Wild team trying to get out of the mud. After a hot start to the season, they’re .500 since the beginning of December and have been hamstrung by injuries to star players, a trend that’s unfortunately continuing into the New Year. Despite the rough patch, they accumulated enough points early on to keep them with a 23-11-4 record, still good for second in the Central Division. The 2008 Islanders sixth-round pick has never suited up for anyone other than the Wild, and his 899 games played rank second in franchise history behind Mikko Koivu. No one’s done better than his career +120 rating for the Wild, either.

Minnesota is already without Spurgeon’s usual second-pairing partner, Jacob Middleton, for another couple of weeks while he nurses a hand injury. That means continued increased responsibility for depth defenders Declan Chisholm, Jonathon Merrill and Zach Bogosian, while the newly-acquired David Jiříček should be in line for a recall from AHL Iowa and some power-play time in Spurgeon’s absence. The 2022 sixth-overall pick has just two points and a -4 rating in nine AHL games since being acquired from the Blue Jackets in November.

Meanwhile, Kaprizov’s absence will last a few more days, although he could miss a bit more. Multiple reports indicate that he hasn’t skated since before the holiday break. The 27-year-old, who becomes eligible to sign what will likely be a fruitful extension in Minnesota next summer, had 50 points in 34 games before exiting the lineup and still leads the league with 20 even-strength goals. Somewhat miraculously, the Wild have gone 2-1-0 in his absence, with Matt Boldy filling in on the top line alongside Marco Rossi and Mats Zuccarello.

The Wild will have two open roster spots after placing Kaprizov on IR, but just $378K in cap space is not enough for an additional recall. They could swap a forward for a defense call-up or create additional financial flexibility by moving forward Jakub Lauko, who hasn’t played since Dec. 14 and remains week-to-week with a muscular issue, from standard IR to long-term injured reserve.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Bettman: Panthers To Host Outdoor Game In 2025-26

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After the Blue Jackets host the Red Wings in a Stadium Series matchup at Ohio Stadium later this season, there will be only two NHL franchises left that haven’t played in an outdoor game – the Panthers and Utah. The former will be coming off the list quickly as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said on Tuesday’s Winter Classic broadcast that the league would announce an outdoor game in Miami in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s going to be a little unusual,’’ Bettman said (via George Richards of Florida Hockey Now). “It’s going to be a little more unique. Some people will think we’ve lost our minds. We’re not ready to announce it, but we will soon. And it’s going to be good.’’

The game will take place at LoanDepot Park, which hosts MLB’s Miami Marlins. It’s a retractable roof stadium, which will presumably be necessary to keep an ice sheet intact in a South Florida climate that routinely sees 70-degree highs in winter.

Those hoping to see an intra-state rivalry matchup between the Panthers and Lightning will be out of luck, Richards reports. That matchup “appears to be off the table,” but the Lightning will still likely be getting their second outdoor game in franchise history in 2025-26 or 2026-27, sources tell Richards – this time on their turf at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead, Richards reports that the Panthers’ visiting club will mark the sixth outdoor game appearance for the Bruins or Rangers.

If the roof at LoanDepot Park remains closed throughout the game in addition to the rink-building process, it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened. The 2014 Heritage Classic between the Canucks and Senators at Vancouver’s BC Place was played with the retractable roof deployed due to rain in the forecast. Precipitation and humidity, not necessarily temperature, would likely decide whether the Panthers could play with the roof open.

Sources told Jordan McPherson and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet last month that Florida would likely get an outdoor game next season.

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