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Islanders Notes: Pageau, Cizikas, Hogberg, Varlamov

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Jean-Gabriel Pageau is in the lineup tonight for the New York Islanders (as per Newsday’s Andrew Gross). Pageau was deemed a game-time decision earlier in the day but ultimately dressed tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. The 32-year-old missed the last two games with a lower-body injury but skated yesterday and took line rushes at morning skate today.

Pageau is playing center tonight on the third line, sandwiched between Oliver Wahlstrom and Kyle MacLean. The Ottawa, Ontario native has five goals and five assists in 23 games this season and has posted some of the better underlying numbers of his career, despite his inflated turnover numbers.

In other New York Islanders notes:

  • Casey Cizikas is also in the Islanders lineup tonight against Montreal after missing the team’s morning skate today for undisclosed reasons (as per Andrew Gross of Newsday). Cizikas has struggled to contribute offensively this season, posting just a goal and an assist in 25 games.  The 33-year-old has long been one of the top defensive forwards in the NHL and continues to provide solid work away from the puck with 23 blocked shots and 53 hits thus far this year.
  • The Islanders have returned goaltender Marcus Hogberg to the Bridgeport Islanders of the American Hockey League. Hogberg was called up yesterday under emergency conditions to fill in for Semyon Varlamov who was day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Varlamov returned to New York’s lineup tonight (as per Andrew Gross) and the 30-year-old Hogberg is back in Bridgeport where he has posted a 2-4-3 record with a 2.97 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. The Orebro, Sweden native spent five seasons playing in the Ottawa Senators organization before he made the trip home, spending the past three seasons in Sweden in the SHL. Hogberg does have 42 games of NHL experience but hasn’t suited up in an NHL game since April of 2021.

Pacific Notes: Hronek, Vlasic, Hyman, Evans, Whitecloud, Stone

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It’s already been public knowledge for a week that the Vancouver Canucks would be without defenseman Filip Hronek for the foreseeable future. We now have a more concrete timeline for Hronek as the Canucks announced he’s expected to miss the next eight weeks after undergoing a lower-body procedure. On a positive note, the team shared in the same announcement that Hronek avoided surgery for his upper-body injury.

Vancouver has won two games in a row without Hronek on the top defensive-pairing but will have a much more difficult matchup tonight against the Minnesota Wild. The Kralove, Czechia native had one goal and nine points for the Canucks in 21 games and will look to build upon that when he returns in late January or early February. Tyler Myers has filled the void left by Hronek over the last two games but Vancouver would do well to add a better right-handed option on defense from the trade market.

Reports from a few days ago indicated that the New York Rangers were interested in acquiring J.T. Miller from Vancouver. Assuming that the reports are true, and factoring in the Rangers’ recent desire to move on from Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba, the two teams could get involved in a blockbuster deal that would benefit both sides.

Other Pacific notes:

  • According to Tom Gulitti of the NHL, the San Jose Sharks are expecting defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic back before the conclusion of their current six-game road trip. An upper-back injury has prohibited Vlasic from debuting in his 19th NHL season up to this point in the NHL calendar. His return will give a slight boost to the surprisingly solid left side of the defense for San Jose.
  • Zach Hyman’s absence from the Edmonton Oilers will reportedly enter its fifth game tonight (X Link). Edmonton is lucky it’s only been five games for Hyman but the team had a five-game break at the end of November to lean on. Still, on the opposite side of a 50-goal campaign, the Oilers could use Hyman’s goal-scoring touch back in the lineup if they hope to stay competitive in a tough Pacific Division.
  • The Seattle Kraken won’t have defenseman Ryker Evans in the lineup tonight due to injury. Television broadcaster Piper Shaw shared that Evans is out with an undisclosed injury but there were no further updates regarding his timeline. It’s a big loss for the Kraken before a tough contest against the Carolina Hurricanes as Evans sits tied for second on the team in scoring with three goals and 16 points in 25 games.
  • It’ll still be a few days before defenseman Zach Whitecloud returns to the Vegas Golden Knights lineup. According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, Whitecloud is still considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will miss his fifth straight game tonight. It’s not all bad news on the injury front for the Golden Knights as Granger later reported that captain Mark Stone was upgraded to a full-contact jersey at today’s practice meaning he should return soon.

Central Notes: Hryckowian, Buchnevich, McCarron, Ehlers

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Justin Hryckowian’s brief recall with the Dallas Stars has ended for now. According to a team announcement, the Stars organization has loaned Hryckowian back to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.

Dallas has an extremely narrow salary cap cushion so it’s likely that Hryckowian will be re-called tomorrow before the Stars’ matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. He was originally recalled to fill the injured Tyler Seguin’s roster spot but Dallas still has 12 healthy forwards to work with.

Still, Hryckowian continues to build a name for himself in the American Hockey League and could be another long-term middle-six fixture for the Stars. He’s in his first full season with AHL Texas after signing with Dallas as a collegiate free agent from Northwestern University last year. That first full season has turned into a red-hot start with Hryckowian scoring five goals and 16 points in 17 games with a +9 rating.

Other Central notes:

  • Pavel Buchnevich will have to wait another game before returning to the lineup for the St. Louis Blues. The Cherepovets, Russia native has been dealing with a lower-body injury suffered during the Blues win against the New Jersey Devils on November 27th. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic shared a comment from Blues’ head coach Jim Montgomery saying, He’s not a player tonight, but he’s going to be a player — we hope — in Calgary.”
  • Beat reporter for the Nashville Predators, Brooks Bratten reported forward Michael McCarron is still considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It’s been a relatively long-term injury for McCarron after leaving the team’s game on November 23rd against the Winnipeg Jets due to the injury. The big-bodied fourth-liner has already missed four games for the Predators with injury but should return during one of the team’s three games this week.
  • There was bad news on the injury front this morning in Winnipeg as the Jets placed forward Nikolaj Ehlers on the injured reserve due to a lower-body injury. Ehlers has already missed one game due to the injury but is projected to miss several more. Murat Ates of The Athletic reported Ehlers is expected to miss the next seven to 10 days meaning Ehlers could miss as many as seven games before returning.

Los Angeles Kings Recall Three Players

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12/3: According to a team announcement, the Kings organization has recalled all three players back to Los Angeles as expected.

12/2: The Los Angeles Kings are trimming their roster to open up cap space with a three-day break before their next game. The organization announced they’ve reassigned Samuel Helenius, Andre Lee, and Jacob Moverare to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.

Lee has the most playing time of the trio with 16 games already under his belt for this season. The 188th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft has tallied two assists on the year while operating in a fourth-line role in Los Angeles. He’s known more for his physicality than his offensive production as Lee ranks sixth on the team in hitting with 34 body checks handed out to opposing teams.

Moverare is the longest-tenured of the group as he’s entered his fifth professional season with the Kings organization. He’s suited up in 52 games for Los Angeles since the start of the 2021-22 NHL season but only has one goal and two assists to show for. The Ostersund, Sweden native has understandably performed much better in the AHL for the Reign scoring 10 goals and 71 points in 163 contests and an assist in three postseason contests.

The final member of the group heading back to the AHL is Helenius who was drafted 59th overall by the Kings in the 2021 NHL Draft and likely has the highest ceiling of the three reassignees. He’s collected two assists in nine games in Los Angeles this season while also scoring two goals and three points in eight games for AHL Ontario.

Los Angeles has four players (Arthur Kaliyev, Akil Thomas, Caleb Jones, and Darcy Kuemper), and an additional player (Drew Doughty) on the team’s long-term injured reserve. There is no indication any of the injured players will be activated before the Kings’ contest against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night so a few if not all of the trio should be back in Los Angeles in a couple of days.

Atlantic Notes: Panthers, Talbot, Domi, Pacioretty, Kucherov, Guentzel, Perron

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It’s never too early to start thinking about the trade deadline, despite being three months away. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic agrees, touching on what the Florida Panthers might do to improve their roster between now and March 7 (Subscription Article).

The defending Stanley Cup champions likely don’t have many complaints as they sit second in the Atlantic Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. The only glaring issue for the Panthers this season is the middling defense as the team sits 25th in GA/G at 3.20. It was always going to be difficult for Florida to recover from the departures of Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Still, they’ll want to add a top-four defenseman over the next three months.

The Panthers have some flexibility at the trade deadline with a projected cap space of $5.47MM. This should allow the organization to bring in a rental option for the home stretch of the regular season and the playoffs. Florida could get creative and look beyond this season for their blue line, especially considering that longtime defenseman Aaron Ekblad becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • According to broadcaster Daniella Bruce, the Detroit Red Wings won’t have netminder Cam Talbot available during their two-game road trip against the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators. This means rookie netminder Sebastian Cossa will likely be with the team for the remainder of the week under emergency conditions unless Alex Lyon is activated from the injured reserve. Head coach Derek Lalonde has already confirmed Cossa won’t get the start this evening against the Bruins but could make his NHL debut later this week should Ville Husso continue struggling.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without forwards Max Domi and Max Pacioretty tonight but it appears that won’t be the case for much longer. David Alter of The Hockey News reported earlier that they are getting ’close’ to returning from injury despite being ruled out for tomorrow’s game against the Nashville Predators. Toronto has played extremely well of late despite multiple injuries to their forward group accruing an 8-2-0 record in their last 10 contests.
  • Tampa Bay’s first line could look different in their upcoming matchup on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks. In two separate reports, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times shared that the Lightning are hopeful that forward Nikita Kucherov will return to practice tomorrow and that Jake Guentzel left today’s practice with an apparent ailment. The team will know more tomorrow regarding the status of both players but there’s growing concern the Lightning will need to pull from their depth up front in a few days.
  • It’s been a difficult introductory season for David Perron with the Ottawa Senators. He’s only suited up in nine games this season and it doesn’t appear he’ll be adding to that total soon (X Link). He missed significant time earlier in the season due to a health scare with his newborn daughter but has missed due to an upper-body injury more recently.

Devils Notes: Hardman, Trade Market, Haula

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The Devils announced Tuesday that they’ve reassigned winger Mike Hardman to AHL Utica.

New Jersey recalled Hardman yesterday ahead of their 5-1 win over the Rangers. The 25-year-old skated 8:24 in his Devils debut as their fourth-line left wing alongside fellow call-ups Justin Dowling and Nathan Legare, attempting one shot and recording two blocks and two hits while losing his lone faceoff attempt.

The Devils have shaken up their depth forwards frequently in recent days amid the indefinite absences of Nathan Bastian (jaw) and Curtis Lazar (knee), giving AHL mainstays like Adam Beckman and Shane Bowers some looks. Hardman may get another crack in the lineup, but with New Jersey off until Friday against Seattle, it makes little sense to keep a waiver-eligible player on a two-way deal on the active roster unless necessary.

Hardman is fifth on Utica in scoring this season with five goals and three assists for eight points through 10 games. He’s in his first season in the Devils organization after spending the previous three years and change with the Blackhawks and their AHL affiliate in Rockford.

There’s more out of the Garden State:

  • While the Devils are content for now to give some of their minor-league depth a crack at NHL minutes, it’s not a long-term solution. Their top priority ahead of the trade deadline will be adding a fourth-line center and a top-nine piece if possible, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. “I’ve been in touch with teams. … I’m looking for utility players, I guess — guys who can skate,” Fitzgerald said. “I like size and versatility and guys who can play in the middle and on the wing.” Lazar checked most of those boxes, but there’s no certainty about whether he’ll be available again this season. It’s a return to a buyer mentality on the trade market for the Devils, who were largely sellers at last year’s deadline but have rebounded to a 17-9-2 record and a 96% chance at postseason action, per The Athletic.
  • New Jersey may have suffered another hit to their depth forward corps with center Erik Haula being evaluated for an undisclosed injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe told the team’s Amanda Stein. He’s day-to-day but hasn’t been ruled out for Friday’s contest, Keefe added. The 33-year-old has five goals and 11 points in 28 games this year, although his 14:52 average time on ice is his lowest since the 2016-17 campaign.

Golden Knights Place Daniil Chayka On Unconditional Waivers

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Dec. 3: Chayka went unclaimed and is now an unrestricted free agent, Friedman said.

Dec. 2: It appears that the Golden Knights will be parting ways with one of their prospects.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Daniil Chayka has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination.

The 22-year-old was a second-round pick by Vegas back in 2021, going 38th overall.  He signed his entry-level deal just three months later though he spent his post-draft season with OHL Guelph where he had an impressive 39 points in 53 games.

However, point production has not come as easily for Chayka at the professional level.  After putting up eight points in 57 games with AHL Henderson in 2022-23, he followed that up with just seven in 64 appearances in his sophomore year.  This season, Chayka has split time between the Silver Knights (five games) and ECHL Tahoe (four games), recording an assist with each franchise.

Assuming he isn’t claimed, Chayka will be walking away from more than half of his entry-level deal as he’s signed through next season.  If he’s unclaimed and released, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and could try to catch on with another NHL franchise or look to return to Russia; he played in CSKA Moscow’s system in 2020-21 when the OHL didn’t play that season.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign, Waive Dustin Tokarski

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Dec. 3: Tokarski passed through waivers unclaimed, per Friedman. He’ll return to AHL Chicago with Martin remaining on the NHL roster for now, unless Kochetkov can’t go tonight.

Dec. 2: The Carolina Hurricanes are adding more goaltending depth to the NHL roster due to injuries to Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov. TSN’s Chris Johnston reported that the Hurricanes have signed goaltender Dustin Tokarski to a one-year, two-way agreement. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman followed up the report by sharing that Carolina has placed Tokarski on waivers.

Placing Tokarski on waivers is a prudent move by the Hurricanes organization. Team reporter Walt Ruff shared earlier that Kochetkov still needs to pass one more test to be medically cleared from concussion protocol. The team is hopeful he’ll be able to return tomorrow night against the Seattle Kraken. Tokarski will back up Kochetkov tomorrow night, assuming he passes through waivers and Kochetkov is medically cleared. He won’t need to go through waivers again for another 30 days, giving the team more flexibility with their netminders.

Tokarski isn’t unfamiliar with the Hurricanes organization either. Up to this point in the season he’s been playing on an AHL contract with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. The veteran netminder has managed a 4-1-0 record in five games for the Wolves with a .933 save percentage and 1.61 goals against average.

The signing of Tokarski also sheds some light on the team’s lack of confidence in third-string goaltender Spencer Martin. Carolina acquired Martin from the Columbus Blue Jackets last year for situations like this and he hasn’t been able to hold his own at the NHL level. Martin appeared in nine games for the Hurricanes in November but disappointed with a .846 SV% and 3.89 GAA.

The organization will now take a different approach to their goaltending with Tokarski. He hasn’t played in an NHL contest since his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2022-23 regular season but could get into action again should Carolina deal with continued injuries in the crease.

Penguins Reassign Jack St. Ivany, Activate Cody Glass

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The Penguins announced that they’ve sent defenseman Jack St. Ivany to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. St. Ivany’s vacated roster spot will go to center Cody Glass, who’s nearing a return from a concussion and has been activated from injured reserve.

It’s the first time St. Ivany has been demoted this season. The 25-year-old has been an occasional healthy scratch after making the opening night roster for the first time in his career, but he’s still managed to play in 19 of Pittsburgh’s 26 games this season.

The 6’3″, 201-lb righty has an assist and is averaging 16:22 per game, up significantly from last year’s 13:42 average in his first 14 games in the NHL. He’s had passable possession numbers in largely defensive-zone usage, controlling 46.1% of shot attempts and 46.3% of expected goals at even strength.

St. Ivany is physical, too, throwing the body 38 times, and he’s averaged over two minutes per game on the penalty kill when in the lineup. But he’s provided next to nothing offensively with two assists in 33 career games, although that shouldn’t be surprising for a player who had 15 points in 54 games with WBS last season and eight assists in 63 games the year before.

He’s still waiver-exempt and will be for the rest of this season unless he plays in 27 more games, so it’s no issue for the Pens to sneak him down to the minors. They signed him to a three-year, $2.325MM partial two-way extension back in May to keep him off last summer’s restricted free agent market.

Glass, 25, is technically now eligible to return tonight against the Panthers, but head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters earlier today that there’s been no change in Glass’ status and that he remains day-to-day (via Josh Getzoff of SportsNet Pittsburgh). It’s likely that he’ll be ready for Friday’s game against the Rangers, however.

He’d missed the last 11 games with the concussion, which he sustained on Nov. 7 against the Hurricanes. Glass, who the Penguins acquired from the Predators back in August, had four assists and a -7 rating in 14 games this season while averaging 11:48 before exiting the lineup.

Rangers Reassign Chad Ruhwedel

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The Rangers announced Tuesday that they’ve sent defenseman Chad Ruhwedel down to AHL Hartford. Since he’s been rostered for fewer than 30 days and played less than 10 games since last clearing waivers in October, he doesn’t need them today to return to the minors.

Ruhwedel, 34, hasn’t played for the Blueshirts since his season debut against the Maple Leafs on Oct. 19. He’s either been in the press box or in the minors since then and has served as a healthy scratch on 15 occasions this season.

The San Diego native has two assists in seven games for Hartford in 2024-25, his first AHL action since a conditioning stint with the Penguins back in the 2018-19 campaign. The veteran of 365 NHL games across 13 seasons has only made six NHL appearances for the Rangers since they acquired him from Pittsburgh at last year’s trade deadline and subsequently signed him to a one-way, two-year extension.

Today’s reassignment marks the end of his second recall since clearing waivers nearly six weeks ago. He’s been recalled for two stretches of at least a week recently, serving as a healthy extra with the Rangers shuffling their roster to get out of their 1-6-0 run in their last seven.

Ruhwedel has now been rostered for 18 days since last clearing waivers. If his next recall lasts more than 12 days, he’ll need waivers to return to Hartford at the end of it.

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