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Evening Notes: Maple Leafs, Johnson, Trouba

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are believed to be searching for another center (as per The Fourth Period). General manager Brad Treliving has been hoping to upgrade the second-line center position for some time now and is looking at potential options to do so. With the holiday trade freeze set to start on Friday, it doesn’t appear likely that a deal will be made in 2024, but Toronto is searching the market for a potential fit. Any move that they make will require a lot of creativity as Toronto doesn’t have a first-round pick this year, although they do hold their second and third-rounders.

Toronto may just have to wait until closer to the NHL trade deadline to make a deal happen as they will have just under $2.3MM available to them at that time (as per PuckPedia). The Maple Leafs could potentially look at a player like Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders, who is in the final year of his deal and is making $6MM. Toronto would need New York to retain on a deal and take a salary back, but those are the types of transactions Treliving could target.

In other evening notes:

  • Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson left today’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes with an upper-body injury and did not return (Twitter Link). The 37-year-old took a stick to the face from Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the first period and did not return at the start of the second period. Kotkaniemi was assessed a four-minute double minor on the play. Johnson has dressed in 17 games this season, averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time per game and tallying one assist.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic spoke with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba about his recent trade and why he declined to facilitate a trade to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Trouba was dealt by the New York Rangers to Anaheim, but had other suitors, including Columbus. Trouba told Portzline that there were no issues with Columbus, but he felt Anaheim would be a better fit for him and his wife, as well as her career as a doctor.

West Notes: Räty, Foligno, Faksa, Gustavsson

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The Vancouver Canucks announced today that they’ve assigned forward Aatu Räty to the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League. The 22-year-old was recalled on Saturday before the Canucks game against the Bruins but didn’t end up dressing and served as a healthy scratch.

The former second-round pick has spent considerable time in the NHL this season, dressing in 20 games and picking up two goals and two assists. His AHL campaign has been limited, playing just eight games with Abbotsford, but Räty has been very productive posting four goals and three assists.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • Chicago Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno was sick today and didn’t dress today in Chicago’s 5-3 win over the New York Islanders (as per Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Sports). The 37-year-old had points in each of his previous two games and is having a decent offensive season with seven goals and six assists in 30 games. He was replaced today by Joey Anderson who went scoreless in 13:27 of ice time.
  • Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic tweeted that St. Louis Blues forward Radek Faksa missed his third consecutive game tonight due to a cut on his leg. The 30-year-old suffered the injury in a game against Vancouver and is making progress towards a return. Veteran Brandon Saad replaced Faksa in the lineup. Faksa is in his first season with the Blues after spending the first nine years of his NHL career with the Dallas Stars.
  • Michael Russo of The Athletic writes that Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson is dealing with some soreness in his lower body and was getting looked at today. The ailment is reportedly nothing major, but it was enough to prompt the Wild to take a longer look at the issue. The 26-year-old is having a terrific bounce-back season with a 14-5-3 record along with a. 2.24 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. Gustavsson took warmups last night and did serve as the backup, but the issue prompted the team to act today as well as call up top prospect Jesper Wallstedt.

Rangers Notes: Panarin, Kakko, Laviolette, Trades

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The New York Rangers announced earlier today that star forward Artemi Panarin would not play tonight against the St. Louis Blues and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It’s not exactly clear when the 33-year-old’s injury occurred but it is more bad news for a team that fell out of a playoff spot last night.

Panarin currently leads New York in scoring with 15 goals and 21 assists in 29 games and has been one of the few Rangers stars to meet offensive expectations thus far. New York ranks 20th in the NHL in offense and outside of Panarin, just three other Rangers forwards have topped 20 points on the season, with the next closest being William Cuylle with 22 points in 29 games.

In other Rangers notes:

  • Arthur Staple of The Athletic tweeted that Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko was a healthy scratch today against St. Louis. Kakko’s scratch will surely add fuel to the trade rumors about the former second-overall pick. The 23-year-old is mired in a slump that has seen him produce just a goal and two assists in his past 12 games. Kakko’s offensive numbers are up from last season, but many of his underlying numbers are down and he’s received favorable deployment, starting nearly 60% of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone.
  • Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported that the Rangers have no appetite to make a coaching change at this time and Peter Laviolette’s job is not in jeopardy. The Rangers have made several coaching changes in recent years, firing Gerard Gallant two years ago and David Quinn four years ago. Laviolette is in his second season In New York and took the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. He is not even halfway through the three-year contract that the Rangers gave him in June 2023 that pays him a salary just shy of $5MM annually (as per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun).
  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that the Rangers have essentially put a for-sale sign-out and are listening to trade offers on just about everyone in their lineup other than goalie Igor Shesterkin and those with no-movement clauses (Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck and Adam Fox). The Rangers have been in a free fall since starting the season 5-0-1 and are just 3-7 in their last ten games.

East Notes: Berggren, Stolarz, Carlile, Santini

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Red Wings forward Jonatan Berggren earned the first fine of his NHL career, the league’s Department of Player Safety announced this morning. He was fined $2,148, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for a cross-check against Maple Leafs forward Connor Dewar in last night’s 4-2 win.

Berggren landed a two-minute minor on the play, which occurred immediately after a stoppage in the second period. While engaging with Dewar in front of the Red Wings net after the whistle blew, he landed a cross-check that hit Dewar in the head/neck area.

It’s a minor blip in a tough year for Berggren, who’s still struggling to recapture his rookie-season form. He’s back on the NHL roster full-time after spending most of last season in the minors, but he’s scored just four goals and six points with a -6 rating through 30 contests. He’s averaging 12:27 per game with fringe power-play usage, averaging around a minute per game with the man-advantage unit.

A 2018 second-round pick, Berggren signed a one-year, $825K deal in September after sitting as an RFA for most of the summer. He scored 15 goals and 28 points in 67 games with the Wings in his first NHL look in the 2022-23 campaign.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • The Maple Leafs moved Anthony Stolarz to injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Sabres, ending a cascade of roster moves over the past few days (per David Alter of The Hockey News). The Vezina Trophy candidate had already missed one game with a lower-body injury he sustained against the Ducks on Dec. 12. He’ll miss at least one more game following the Buffalo tilt but could be eligible to return for a rematch against the Sabres on Dec. 20. The 30-year-old has a sparkling .927 SV% and 2.15 GAA in 17 games this year with a 9-5-2 record. The Leafs’ active roster remains at a full 23 players.
  • The Lightning announced they’ve returned defensemen Declan Carlile and Steven Santini to AHL Syracuse. One or both could be back on the active roster ahead of their next game on Tuesday, depending on the health of captain Victor Hedman, who’s missed the Bolts’ last two games with a lower-body injury. Carlile, 24, scored his first NHL goal in last night’s win over the Kraken, his season debut after getting into his first NHL game last season. The 29-year-old Santini played 11:37 in Thursday’s win over the Flames, his first NHL game in nearly two years, but was a healthy scratch against Seattle.

Predicting The NHL’s Quarter-Century Teams

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With a relatively slow news day and the NHL’s announcement last night that each franchise will be selecting Quarter-Century Teams over the next couple of months, I decided to try predicting how each team will shake out.

The league says, “Each Club’s First and Second Quarter-Century Teams will be selected by a panel of media, retired players and executives specific to that Club. Players under consideration for selection are those who have appeared in a game for the respective franchises since Jan. 1, 2000.” I’m going to take that to mean that any legacy/performance of a player who played in the 1990s who carried over into the 2000s won’t be considered. That will disadvantage guys like Pavel Bure for Florida and likely keep Patrick Roy off the Avalanche’s First Team, for example – if that’s how each team’s panel interprets the guidelines.

Balancing longevity against peak performance is always a tough tightrope to walk. I tended to examine those difficult calls on a case-by-case basis. Whether team panels lean one way or the other could really affect how things shake out for the new kids on the block, especially Vegas.

And yes, I decided to consider the Thrashers’ history for the Jets teams, and I hope their panel will, too. Leaving Ilya Kovalchuk off this exercise seems ridiculous.

Anaheim Ducks (Jan. 5)

First Team: F Ryan Getzlaf, F Corey Perry, F Teemu Selänne, D Cam Fowler, D Scott Niedermayer, G Jean-Sébastien Giguère

Second Team: F Bobby Ryan, F Rickard Rakell, F Jakob Silfverberg, D Hampus Lindholm, D François Beauchemin, G John Gibson

Arizona Coyotes (Jan. 1)

First Team: F Shane Doan, F Clayton Keller, F Radim Vrbata, D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D Keith Yandle, G Mike Smith

Second Team: F Ladislav Nagy, F Martin Hanzal, F Nick Schmaltz, D Zbyněk Michálek, D Jakob Chychrun, G Ilya Bryzgalov

Boston Bruins (Jan. 14)

First Team: F Brad Marchand, F Patrice Bergeron, F David Pastrňák, D Zdeno Chára, D Charlie McAvoy, G Tuukka Rask

Second Team: F David Krejčí, F Glen Murray, F Joe Thornton, D Torey Krug, D Brandon Carlo, G Tim Thomas

Buffalo Sabres (Jan. 15)

First Team: F Thomas Vanek, F Jason Pominville, F Derek Roy, D Rasmus Dahlin, D Rasmus Ristolainen, G Ryan Miller

Second Team: F Jack Eichel, F Drew Stafford, F Jochen Hecht, D Henrik Tallinder, D Tyler Myers, G Martin Biron

Calgary Flames (Jan. 11)

First Team: F Johnny Gaudreau, F Jarome Iginla, F Mikael Backlund, D Mark Giordano, D T.J. Brodie, G Miikka Kiprusoff

Second Team: F Sean Monahan, F Matthew Tkachuk, F Elias Lindholm, D Dion Phaneuf, D Robyn Regehr, G Jacob Markström

Carolina Hurricanes (Jan. 17)

First Team: F Eric Staal, F Sebastian Aho, F Rod Brind’Amour, D Jaccob Slavin, D Brett Pesce, G Cam Ward

Second Team: F Jeff Skinner, F Teuvo Teräväinen, F Jordan Staal, D Justin Faulk, D Brady Skjei, G Artūrs Irbe

Chicago Blackhawks (Dec. 31)

First Team: F Patrick Kane, F Jonathan Toews, F Patrick Sharp, D Duncan Keith, D Brent Seabrook, G Corey Crawford

Second Team: F Marián Hossa, F Alex DeBrincat, F Steve Sullivan, D Niklas Hjalmarsson, D Brian Campbell, G Jocelyn Thibault

Colorado Avalanche (Jan. 20)

First Team: F Nathan MacKinnon, F Milan Hejduk, F Joe Sakic, D Cale Makar, D Erik Johnson, G Semyon Varlamov

Second Team: F Mikko Rantanen, F Gabriel Landeskog, F Alex Tanguay, D Tyson Barrie, D John-Michael Liles, G Patrick Roy

Columbus Blue Jackets (Jan. 2)

First Team: F Rick Nash, F Cam Atkinson, F Nick Foligno, D Zach Werenski, D Seth Jones, G Sergei Bobrovsky

Second Team: F Boone Jenner, F David Výborný, F R.J. Umberger, D David Savard, D Fedor Tyutin, G Marc Denis

Dallas Stars (Jan. 16)

First Team: F Jamie Benn, F Tyler Seguin, F Mike Modano, D Sergei Zubov, D John Klingberg, G Marty Turco

Second Team: F Brenden Morrow, F Jason Robertson, F Roope Hintz, D Esa Lindell, D Miro Heiskanen, G Kari Lehtonen

Detroit Red Wings (Jan. 23)

First Team: F Pavel Datsyuk, F Henrik Zetterberg, F Dylan Larkin, D Nicklas Lidström, D Niklas Kronwall, G Jimmy Howard

Second Team: F Tomas Holmström, F Johan Franzén, F Brendan Shanahan, D Brian Rafalski, D Mathieu Schneider, G Chris Osgood

Edmonton Oilers (Jan. 30)

First Team: F Connor McDavid, F Leon Draisaitl, F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, D Darnell Nurse, D Evan Bouchard, G Tommy Salo

Second Team: F Ryan Smyth, F Aleš Hemský, F Jordan Eberle, D Steve Staios, D Oscar Klefbom, G Cam Talbot

Florida Panthers (Jan. 3)

First Team: F Aleksander Barkov, F Jonathan Huberdeau, F Olli Jokinen, D Aaron Ekblad, D Jay Bouwmeester, G Roberto Luongo

Second Team: F Stephen Weiss, F Sam Reinhart, F Nathan Horton, D Gustav Forsling, D Dmitry Kulikov, G Tomáš Vokoun

Los Angeles Kings (Jan. 8)

First Team: F Anže Kopitar, F Dustin Brown, F Jeff Carter, D Drew Doughty, D Ľubomír Višňovský, G Jonathan Quick

Second Team: F Alex Frolov, F Adrian Kempe, F Tyler Toffoli, D Alec Martinez, D Jake Muzzin, G Félix Potvin

Minnesota Wild (Jan. 7)

First Team: F Mikko Koivu, F Marián Gáborík, F Kirill Kaprizov, D Jared Spurgeon, D Ryan Suter, G Niklas Bäckström

Second Team: F Zach Parise, F Pierre-Marc Bouchard, F Andrew Brunette, D Jonas Brodin, D Mathew Dumba, G Devan Dubnyk

Montreal Canadiens (Jan. 19)

First Team: F Tomáš Plekanec, F Max Pacioretty, F Saku Koivu, D Andrei Markov, D P.K. Subban, G Carey Price

Second Team: F Brendan Gallagher, F Nick Suzuki, F Alex Kovalev, D Jeff Petry, D Shea Weber, G José Théodore

Nashville Predators (Jan. 29)

First Team: F Filip Forsberg, F David Legwand, F Martin Erat, D Roman Josi, D Shea Weber, G Pekka Rinne

Second Team: F Craig Smith, F Ryan Johansen, F Viktor Arvidsson, D Ryan Ellis, D Mattias Ekholm, G Juuse Saros

New Jersey Devils (Jan. 22)

First Team: F Patrik Eliáš, F Travis Zajac, F Zach Parise, D Andy Greene, D Brian Rafalski, G Martin Brodeur

Second Team: F Scott Gomez, F Jesper Bratt, F Nico Hischier, D Colin White, D Damon Severson, G Cory Schneider

New York Islanders (Jan. 24)

First Team: F John Tavares, F Brock Nelson, F Anders Lee, D Ryan Pulock, D Nick Leddy, G Ilya Sorokin

Second Team: F Josh Bailey, F Mathew Barzal, F Kyle Okposo, D Noah Dobson, D Adam Pelech, G Rick DiPietro

New York Rangers (Jan. 26)

First Team: F Chris Kreider, F Mika Zibanejad, F Artemi Panarin, D Adam Fox, D Ryan McDonagh, G Henrik Lundqvist

Second Team: F Derek Stepan, F Jaromír Jágr, F Mats Zuccarello, D Dan Girardi, D Marc Staal, G Igor Shesterkin

Ottawa Senators (Jan. 25)

First Team: F Daniel Alfredsson, F Jason Spezza, F Dany Heatley, D Erik Karlsson, D Wade Redden, G Craig Anderson

Second Team: F Brady Tkachuk, F Marián Hossa, F Mark Stone, D Chris Phillips, D Thomas Chabot, G Patrick Lalime

Philadelphia Flyers (Jan. 13)

First Team: F Claude Giroux, F Simon Gagné, F Jakub Voráček, D Kimmo Timonen, D Ivan Provorov, G Steve Mason

Second Team: F Sean Couturier, F Travis Konecny, F Wayne Simmonds, D Travis Sanheim, D Shayne Gostisbehere, G Roman Čechmánek

Pittsburgh Penguins (Jan. 9)

First Team: F Sidney Crosby, F Evgeni Malkin, F Jake Guentzel, D Kris Letang, D Sergei Gonchar, G Marc-André Fleury

Second Team: F Chris Kunitz, F Bryan Rust, F Patric Hörnqvist, D Brian Dumoulin, D Marcus Pettersson, G Matt Murray

San Jose Sharks (Jan. 27)

First Team: F Patrick Marleau, F Joe Thornton, F Joe Pavelski, D Brent Burns, D Marc-Édouard Vlasic, G Evgeni Nabokov

Second Team: F Logan Couture, F Tomáš Hertl, F Jonathan Cheechoo, D Dan Boyle, D Scott Hannan, G Antti Niemi

Seattle Kraken (Jan. 6)

First Team: F Jared McCann, F Jordan Eberle, F Oliver Bjorkstrand, D Vince Dunn, D Adam Larsson, G Philipp Grubauer

Second Team: F Yanni Gourde, F Matty Beniers, F Jaden Schwartz, D Jamie Oleksiak, D William Borgen, G Joey Daccord

St. Louis Blues (Dec. 30)

First Team: F Vladimir Tarasenko, F Alexander Steen, F David Backes, D Alex Pietrangelo, D Colton Parayko, G Jordan Binnington

Second Team: F David Perron, F Keith Tkachuk, F Jaden Schwartz, D Kevin Shattenkirk, D Barret Jackman, G Jake Allen

Tampa Bay Lightning (Jan. 28)

First Team: F Steven Stamkos, F Nikita Kucherov, F Martin St. Louis, D Victor Hedman, D Dan Boyle, G Andrei Vasilevskiy

Second Team: F Vincent Lecavalier, F Brayden Point, F Alex Killorn, D Mikhail Sergachev, D Pavel Kubina, G Ben Bishop

Toronto Maple Leafs (Jan. 4)

First Team: F Auston Matthews, F Mitch Marner, F Mats Sundin, D Tomáš Kaberle, D Morgan Rielly, G Frederik Andersen

Second Team: F William Nylander, F John Tavares, F Phil Kessel, D Bryan McCabe, D Jake Gardiner, G Ed Belfour

Utah Hockey Club (Jan. 31)

First Team: F Dylan Guenther, F Logan Cooley, F Clayton Keller, D Mikhail Sergachev, D Michael Kesselring, G Karel Vejmelka

Second Team: F Nick Schmaltz, F Jack McBain, F Barrett Hayton, D Ian Cole, D Olli Määttä, G Connor Ingram

Vancouver Canucks (Jan. 21)

First Team: F Daniel Sedin, F Henrik Sedin, F Markus Näslund, D Alexander Edler, D Quinn Hughes, G Roberto Luongo

Second Team: F Elias Pettersson, F Alexandre Burrows, F J.T. Miller, D Sami Salo, D Mattias Öhlund, G Thatcher Demko

Vegas Golden Knights (Jan. 12)

First Team: F Jonathan Marchessault, F William Karlsson, F Reilly Smith, D Shea Theodore, D Brayden McNabb, G Marc-André Fleury

Second Team: F Mark Stone, F Max Pacioretty, F Jack Eichel, D Alex Pietrangelo, D Nate Schmidt, G Adin Hill

Washington Capitals (Jan. 18)

First Team: F Alex Ovechkin, F Nicklas Bäckström, F Evgeny Kuznetsov, D John Carlson, D Mike Green, G Braden Holtby

Second Team: F Alexander Semin, F T.J. Oshie, F Tom Wilson, D Dmitry Orlov, D Sergei Gonchar, G Olaf Kölzig

Winnipeg Jets (Jan. 10)

First Team: F Blake Wheeler, F Mark Scheifele, F Ilya Kovalchuk, D Dustin Byfuglien, D Josh Morrissey, G Connor Hellebuyck

Second Team: F Kyle Connor, F Nikolaj Ehlers, F Bryan Little, D Toby Enström, D Neal Pionk, G Ondřej Pavelec

Avalanche Sign Tye Felhaber To Two-Year Deal

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The Avalanche have added depth forward Tye Felhaber on a two-year contract that runs for this season and next, per a club announcement. Financial terms were not disclosed, although it’s presumably a two-way deal for the journeyman minor-leaguer.

It’s unclear if Felhaber will end up on waivers later today or if the signing doubles as the 26-year-old’s first NHL call-up. Today’s news doesn’t mark his first NHL contract signing, however. The former OHL All-Star inked an entry-level contract with the Stars as an undrafted free agent in 2019 after lighting up the major junior circuit in his overage season, racking up 109 points in 68 games with the Ottawa 67’s and leading the league’s playoffs in goals with 17 in 18 outings.

However, Felhaber couldn’t convert that production into anything meaningful at the professional level. He managed just eight goals and 18 points in 86 appearances for the Stars’ AHL affiliate in parts of three seasons before they traded him to the Lightning midway through the final season of his contract. Tampa Bay understandably opted not to issue him a qualifying offer when his deal expired, making him an unrestricted free agent.

The Ontario native has since plied his trade on minor-league deals. Following his non-tender, he inked an ECHL contract with the Fort Wayne Komets, and the step down in competition proved prudent for his development. Felhaber exploded for 63 points in 51 games, helping him rebuild his offensive confidence and landing more fruitful minutes in subsequent AHL games with Milwaukee and Colorado. He’s been skating in a top-nine role for the Avalanche’s primary affiliate this season, leading the team with eight goals in 23 appearances.

The Avalanche have an open roster spot, so there wouldn’t be any corresponding moves required to keep Felhaber around for the time being. He could join the Avs on their road trip and make his NHL debut tomorrow in Vancouver.

Islanders Activate Mathew Barzal, Adam Pelech From Injured Reserve

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The Islanders will have two pillars back in action today against the Blackhawks. Forward Mathew Barzal and defenseman Adam Pelech have been activated from long-term injured reserve and standard injured reserve, respectively, reports Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. The Isles placed goaltender Semyon Varlamov on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction earlier this morning to open a necessary roster spot.

Barzal, 27, returns at the end of his initial four-to-six-week timeline after he sustained an upper-body injury against the Blue Jackets on Oct. 30. The injury cost him 21 of the Islanders’ 31 contests. They’ve also been without Pelech for almost that entire time. He sustained a fractured jaw midway through the Isles’ first game following Barzal’s injury against the Sabres on Nov. 1.

Neither player’s activation is surprising. Barzal returned to practice with the team on Thursday without a no-contact designation and was upgraded to day-to-day. Head coach Patrick Roy told Rosner yesterday that Barzal would be a game-time decision for today’s contest. Pelech returned to practice with the team in a non-contact sweater last week but was upgraded to full contact along with Barzal’s return to the sheet. Roy said yesterday that he expected the veteran shutdown man to return to action in today’s matinee.

The Islanders managed a 9-7-5 record without their highest-paid forward in the lineup. They’ve also been without Barzal’s early-season linemate, free-agent signing Anthony Duclair, after he sustained a leg injury earlier in October. He was also upgraded to day-to-day on Thursday, but Roy confirmed yesterday that he wasn’t quite ready to come off LTIR ahead of today’s game. That record has at least allowed them to tread water in the Eastern Conference playoff race, ending up with a .500 record with about 62% of their schedule still ahead of them. Their points percentage is good enough for 11th in the conference, and they’re currently just one point behind the Senators for a wild-card spot, although Ottawa has a game in hand on them.

After all of today’s moves, the Isles have a full active roster and just over $100K in cap space, per PuckPedia. They’ll need to clear multiple salaries to have space to activate Duclair in the coming days, which will likely involve Engvall returning to the minors after clearing waivers yesterday.

With Duclair still out and Bo Horvat likely to miss today’s game with a minor lower-body injury, Barzal will play center for the first time in quite a while in his return between captain Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Rosner reports. The 2015 first-round pick wasn’t tracking well offensively before his injury, limited to two goals and three assists in 10 games. The All-Star playmaker was coming off his best season since his Calder-winning rookie campaign in 2017-18, recording a career-best 23 goals with 57 assists for 80 points in 80 games. Besides his rookie campaign, it was his first time reaching the point-per-game mark. They’ll need his production level again to justify his $9.15MM cap hit and give them a chance at a third straight postseason berth.

Pelech returns in his familiar top-pairing role with Ryan Pulock. The 30-year-old lefty had four assists and a -3 rating through 11 contests before the fracture, averaging over 20 minutes per game. At least in the early going of the season, his possession numbers returned to the play that once had him considered one of the best defensive players in the world. The Isles controlled 54.6% of shot attempts with Pelech on the ice at even strength, which will stand as a career-high for the 10-year veteran if it continues. Isaiah George and Grant Hutton will be healthy scratches on the blue line, while Dennis Cholowski flanks Scott Mayfield on their bottom pairing.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Red Wings Return Jack Campbell From Emergency Recall

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12/15: The Red Wings organization announced they’ve returned Campbell to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The roster move likely means Talbot will be healthy enough to return to the lineup before Detroit takes on the Philadelphia Flyers on December 18th.

12/13: With Cam Talbot re-aggravating his injury in practice today and Alex Lyon still not ready to return, the Red Wings need a second goalie for their game tomorrow against Toronto.  Rather than bringing prospect Sebastian Cossa back up, they’ve elected to go in a different direction; the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Jack Campbell from AHL Grand Rapids on an emergency basis.

Detroit signed the 32-year-old to a one-year, one-way deal worth the league minimum in free agency this summer after Edmonton elected to buy out the final three years of his contract back in June, paying him $9MM over the next six years not to play for them.  That came on the heels of a disastrous 2023-24 campaign that saw him put up a 4.50 GAA and a .873 SV% in five early-season outings, eventually resulting in him being waived and sent to the minors.

However, Campbell hasn’t played much this season.  He entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program late in the preseason and was away from the team for six weeks.  Upon his return, he was immediately waived and after passing through unclaimed, he was sent to the Griffins.  Campbell has played in just two games since being sent down, posting a 2.55 GAA and a .919 SV% in those outings.

Ville Husso has been the primary starter for Detroit as of late thanks to the injuries and that’s likely to be the case versus the Maple Leafs rather than Campbell getting the nod against one of his former teams.  But rather than pulling Cossa back up so quickly, the Red Wings have opted to give him the steadier minutes with the Griffins, giving Campbell at least a shot at a brief NHL stint until either Talbot or Lyon can return.

Senators Recall Leevi Meriläinen, Reassign Zack Ostapchuk

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The Ottawa Senators will be without goaltender Anton Forsberg for an undisclosed period due to injury and with that, the team needed a netminder. Ottawa announced they’ve recalled goaltender Leevi Meriläinen from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, and have reassigned forward Zack Ostapchuk the other way in a corresponding roster move.

It would be a surprise to see Meriläinen play meaningful minutes with the Senators with his last bit of work with the team coming in the 2022-23 NHL season. Meriläinen started two games for Ottawa that year as his only NHL experience and he finished with a 0-1-1 record and a .878 save percentage.

The former 71st overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft has understandably been more effective with AHL Belleville. Meriläinen has managed a solid 20-11-5 record in 41 AHL contests with a career .908 SV% and 2.65 GAA. Still, it’ll be difficult for the Senators to turn away from Linus Ullmark who’s posted a .966 SV% over his last five starts.

Returning to AHL Belleville is Ostapchuk, who’s been a mildly used forward for the Senators this year. He’s tallied two assists in 16 contests while averaging 9:16 of ice time per game.

As much as Ostapchuk might want to remain in Ottawa he won’t be confined to a fourth-line role for the next few games at the very least. He’s suited up in nine games for Belleville this season where he’s collected one goal and eight points in total.

Blues Looking To Move Brandon Saad

at CDT | by 8 Comments

The St. Louis Blues made a surprising acquisition yesterday morning by trading for Cam Fowler from the Anaheim Ducks. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the organization isn’t done making moves just yet.

On yesterday’s rendition of ’Saturday Headlines’, Friedman reports that the Blues are looking to move on from veteran winger Brandon Saad after making him a healthy scratch last night.

Any trade involving Saad would involve some hurdles. He’s not performing up to his $4.5MM salary for this year and next, not to mention a full no-trade clause for this season that turns into a 12-team no-trade list next year.

Based on Friedman’s description of the environment, Saad appears willing to amend his no-trade protection to facilitate a deal. Still, that doesn’t make other teams more interested in adding an aging winger struggling to score.

Saad rebounded from a disappointing 2022-23 season with a 26-goal, 42-point effort last year. He played in all 82 regular season games for the first time since the 2017-18 season and posted the strongest possession numbers of his career as a member of the Blues organization.

His play hasn’t been as promising this year. Saad has scored four goals and 10 points in 27 games for St. Louis this season which would be his lowest goal-per-game pace since his sophomore campaign in the 2012-13 season.

This is likely the main contributing factor in St. Louis’ inability to move Saad at this point in the regular season. Many competitive teams don’t have the cap space necessary to acquire Saad and they’d likely want to use it on a player projecting higher than 12 goals on the campaign.

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