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Kings Recall Samuel Helenius, Remove Kyle Burroughs From Non-Roster

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The Los Angeles Kings are adding some depth to their lineup before their upcoming five-game road trip starting on January 10th. The organization announced they’ve recalled forward Samuel Helenius from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, and removed defenseman Kyle Burroughs from the non-roster designation.

As a waiver-exempt player, Helenius has been frequently called up and utilized by the Kings this season. While he has not been a significant contributor in terms of offensive production—recording 13 goals and 37 points in 150 AHL games—he makes up for his lack of scoring with his physical style of play.

Despite being 12th amongst forwards in games played and last in average time on ice, Helenius is second on the Kings in hits with 70. Los Angeles has been one of the more rugged and physical teams for more than a decade and Helenius is helping preserve that image.

Burroughs returns to the active roster after missing the last few days due to the birth of his child. He’s in the second year of a three-year, $3.3MM contract originally signed with the San Jose Sharks before being traded to the Kings last summer.

He’s suited up in 20 games for Los Angeles this year as a depth defenseman and has tallied two assists overall. Unfortunately, as the team’s eighth defenseman on the active roster, Burroughs’ days in the NHL are likely numbered with Drew Doughty nearing a return.

Alex Chiasson Announces Retirement

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A long-time middle-six scorer is officially hanging up his skates. Originally announced by himself and then shared by the National Hockey League Players’ Association, Alex Chiasson is retiring after spending a few years off the ice.

The Dallas Stars drafted Chiasson with the 38th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Draft out of the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers program. Instead of immediately turning professional, Chiasson joined the Boston University Terriers for the 2009-10 NCAA season one year after they won the National Championship. Unfortunately, Chiasson would fail to reach the Frozen Four throughout his three-year tenure with Boston University.

He still became an effective playmaker at the collegiate level. He finished his NCAA career with 36 goals and 99 points in 108 games before signing his entry-level contract after the 2011-12 campaign. Chiasson started quickly with the AHL’s Texas Stars, scoring one goal and five points in nine contests.

Much of the next calendar year was spent in AHL Texas until Dallas recalled Chiasson in early April of the 2012-13 season to debut in the NHL. After scoring six goals and seven points in seven games to end the regular season, Chiasson became an NHL regular for the next decade.

Chiasson scored 13 goals and 35 points in 79 games during his official rookie season, which would be his last with the Stars. The following summer, he was acquired by the Ottawa Senators organization as a part of the return package for franchise icon Jason Spezza.

Although he became one of the better players from the trade for Spezza, his time in Canada’s capital was mostly disappointing. He finished his tenure in Ottawa with 19 goals and 40 points in 153 games before arduous contract negotiations led to a trade to the Calgary Flames in the summer of 2016.

After a solid year as a depth scorer for the Flames, Chiasson signed with the Washington Capitals for the 2017-18 season. He won his first and only Stanley Cup that year, scoring one goal and one assist in 16 playoff games for the Capitals.

It wasn’t until he joined the Edmonton Oilers that Chiasson experienced the most personal success of his career. During his time with the Oilers, Chiasson scored 42 goals and 78 points in 183 games, including a 22-goal campaign in the 2018-19 season.

Chiasson’s final game came on April 13, 2023, as a member of the Detroit Red Wings one year after spending the season with the Vancouver Canucks. He ended his career with 120 goals and 233 points in 651 games with another four goals and seven points in 37 postseason contests.

All of us at PHR extend our best wishes to Alex as he enters the next chapter of his life.

New York Rangers Claim Arthur Kaliyev Off Waivers

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Jan. 6: Kaliyev’s time in the Kings organization has officially ended. TSN’s Bruce Garrioch was the first to report that the New York Rangers have claimed Kaliyev off the waiver wire. The Rangers will add Kaliyev’s entire $825K salary leaving them just under $8MM in room. He’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.

Jan. 5: The Los Angeles Kings have placed winger Arthur Kaliyev on waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Kaliyev sustained a fractured clavicle in the pre-season, and wasn’t activated from season-opening injured reserve until December 28th. He was assigned to the AHL for a conditioning stint on December 10th, and scored two points in five games with the Ontario Reign. But being activated off of IR returns Kaliyev to waiver eligibility, and the Kings will now attempt to pass his through waivers to return him to the minor leagues.

Kaliyev played in his first minor league games since 2020-21 on his conditioning stint. He’s spent the years since fighting, and struggling, to earn a consistent role in the Kings’ lineup, under a very bright spotlight. Kaliyev has stood as one of Los Angeles’ top prospects since 2019, when the Kings drafted him with the first pick of the second round. He played through his rookie NHL season in 2021-22, scoring 14 goals and 27 points. Kaliyev began to improve on those numbers in year-two, but suffered an undisclosed injury in December that forced him out through mid-February, limiting him to just 56 games. Kaliyev managed 13 goals and 28 points, impressively rivaling his rookie scoring despite the injuries. But he couldn’t continue that improvement into last season, netting just 15 points in 51 games and falling into routine healthy scratches.

Even with minute intentions, this move stands as a major wedge in Kaliyev’s drive to earn an NHL role. He’s totaled 35 goals and 71 points in 188 career games, but never seemed to find a fit in the lineup, no matter how often the Kings changed up his role. He could be an interesting, high upside bet on the waiver wire – offering teams the chance to land an impactful middle-six scorer for no cost. Kaliyev is set to be a restricted free-agent with arbitration status this summer, and carries an affordable $825K cap hit.

Predators Recall Kevin Gravel

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The Predators have recalled veteran defenseman Kevin Gravel for the second time in as many months, the team announced Monday. Jeremy Lauzon, who’s missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, has landed on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction. The move was previously reflected in yesterday’s AHL transactions log but wasn’t made official by the team until today.

Recalling Gravel gives Nashville an extra defender on hand for tomorrow’s game against the Jets. They’re down two right now with Lauzon and Adam Wilsby (upper body, day-to-day) both on injured reserve.

In fact, Gravel projects to be the only extra healthy skater available for Nashville on Tuesday. The Preds are also carrying just 12 healthy forwards with Zachary L’Heureux serving the final game of his suspension for slew-footing Wild captain Jared Spurgeon and Thomas Novak dealing with an upper-body injury despite remaining on the active roster.

Gravel appeared in three games for Nashville last month while injuries plagued Lauzon, Alexandre Carrier and Roman Josi. The 32-year-old recorded an assist and a +2 rating while averaging 18:19 per contest, the highest usage of his seven-year, 135-game NHL career.

It was Gravel’s first NHL appearance since skating in 23 games with the Preds in the 2022-23 season. The Michigan native has spent the last three years in the organization, primarily playing for the Milwaukee Admirals, their AHL affiliate. He’s made 25 AHL appearances this year, posting five points and a -4 rating. He served as the club’s captain last season.

He’ll remain in Nashville/Milwaukee for at least one more season after he inked a two-year extension midway through the 2023-24 campaign. The 6’4″ lefty was a fifth-round pick of the Kings back in 2010 and has also logged games for the Oilers and Maple Leafs in addition to his time in Hollywood and Nashville.

Lauzon last played on Dec. 31 against Minnesota. He’ll sit out tomorrow’s contest but is eligible to return on Saturday against the Capitals if his health allows. He also missed 10 games with a lower-body issue in November and December, but has one assist and 127 hits in 28 appearances this season when healthy.

Gary Bettman Meets With Group Regarding Arizona Expansion Franchise

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently met with a newly formed committee of Maricopa County “political and business leaders” interested in pursuing an expansion franchise to bring the league back to the Arizona market, former Coyotes beat writer Craig Morgan reports.

The now-deactivated Coyotes franchise’s hopes of a revival, at least under former majority owner Alex Meruelo, ended in June when the Arizona State Land Department canceled an auction Meruelo intended to use to purchase a plot for a new arena and entertainment district because the organization failed to obtain the proper zoning permits. Shortly after, Meruelo informed Coyotes staff that he was relinquishing ownership of the franchise and officially returned the team’s branding and intellectual property to the league a few weeks later.

The situation ended a years-long saga in which multiple owners, Meruelo in particular, failed to stabilize the fledgling club on and off the ice. In the 2022 offseason, the team was effectively kicked out of its longtime, inconveniently located home in Glendale, forcing it to strike a deal with Arizona State University to share its new multipurpose Mullett Arena, which held fewer than 5,000 people for hockey. 

After two years in the temporary facility and no firm plan for a permanent home in sight, Meruelo struck a multi-part deal with the league to sell the franchise to Salt Lake City-based Smith Entertainment Group, birthing the Utah Hockey Club out of the Coyotes’ former hockey operations assets. Meruelo could reactivate the Coyotes franchise and trigger an expansion draft if specific timelines were met on a new arena. However, after the auction was canceled, that was no longer plausible.

So, while the potential of the Coyotes’ name and logo resurfacing in the coming years persists, it will be with a blank slate roster-wise and ownership-wise in a new arena. Maricopa County Board of Supervisors chairman Tom Galvin, who’s at the head of the advisory committee, told Morgan that he’s “had several meetings with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and he looks forward to working with us to identify an owner and the best location for a world-class building.”

There’s still much work to be done before Arizona can once again be seriously considered as an expansion destination, though. Not only does the advisory committee need to develop a pathway toward building a new NHL-caliber facility, but they also need to identify a stable ownership group willing to take on the project. That could come from NBA Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia, who told Barry M. Bloom of Sportico in July that he’s interested in acquiring an expansion franchise and has long-term plans to build a new arena in downtown Phoenix.

Senators Recall Jan Jeník, Nikolas Matinpalo

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The Senators summoned forward Jan Jeník and defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo from AHL Belleville on Monday, per a team announcement. Ottawa only has one open roster spot, so a corresponding move must have been made – likely placing defenseman Travis Hamonic on injured reserve, per PuckPedia.

Jeník’s recall is his first of the season and his first as a Senator. Ottawa acquired his signing rights from the Utah Hockey Club on July 3 for depth winger Egor Sokolov.

Two days later, Jeník put pen to paper on a one-year, two-way contract that pays him $775K in the NHL and $190K in the AHL. He did not make the Senators’ roster out of training camp and cleared waivers on his way to Belleville, where he’s sat injured for most of the season.

The 24-year-old has been healthy for 13 games, posting four goals and three assists for seven points and a +4 rating while quickly racking up 38 PIMs. The 6’1″, 198-lb forward has always been a bit of a pot-stirrer, consistently recording PIM totals north of 50 across full junior and AHL seasons.

Jeník has 22 NHL games under his belt, all coming with the Coyotes in each of the last four seasons. The 2018 third-round pick has four goals and two assists for six points with a -4 rating, posting 27 shots on goal while averaging just south of 10 minutes per game.

The Czech winger/center has consistently been out-chanced at 5-on-5, only controlling 45.5% of shot attempts. That’s partly due to Arizona’s conservative defensive-zone deployment of Jeník during his time in the desert, though. He was a much more significant offensive factor in the minors, where he now has 127 points in 178 career AHL games.

Jeník gives Ottawa an extra forward option for tomorrow’s key matchup against the Red Wings. For now, it’s unclear if he’ll draw into the lineup.

However, Matinpalo almost certainly will. The oft-recalled defender projects to play a third-pairing role on his natural right side alongside Tyler Kleven with Hamonic out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Jacob Bernard-Docker also sustained an injury in Monday’s practice and looks to sit out tomorrow, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.

Matinpalo, 26, has only managed one appearance for the Sens this season amid a few moves up and down the NHL-AHL wire. He took a minor penalty and skated 10:24 against the Wild on Dec. 29. Outside of that, the defensive-minded Finn has eight points and a -4 rating in 24 games for the B-Sens.

Panthers Recall Tobias Björnfot

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The Panthers announced Monday that they’ve recalled defenseman Tobias Björnfot from AHL Charlotte. Florida had an open spot on the active roster, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.

It’s the first time Björnfot has been recalled since clearing waivers during training camp. The Panthers claimed the 23-year-old off waivers from the Golden Knights at last season’s trade deadline, but he has only logged one NHL game since then, skating 17:01 against the Rangers on March 23, 2024, and serving as a healthy scratch for the entirety of Florida’s run to the 2024 Stanley Cup.

A first-round pick of the Kings in 2019, Björnfot has spent much of his time as a fringe roster player and has never secured anything above a third-pairing role. The Swedish native has been passable in Charlotte this season but not overly impressive, recording a pair of goals and nine assists for 11 points in 27 games with a -1 rating.

Björnfot has one NHL goal across 120 appearances since debuting in the 2019-20 campaign, adding 14 assists for 15 points with a -20 rating. Only four of those appearances came last season, a tumultuous one where he was claimed off waivers by the Golden Knights from L.A. before landing on the wire again and heading to the Cats.

Drafted as a stay-at-home piece, Björnfot has 42 points with a +7 rating in 136 career AHL games, where he’s spent most of the last three seasons. His last campaign as a full-time NHLer came in L.A. in 2021-22, when he dressed in a career-high 70 games and posted eight assists with a -12 rating while averaging 16:46 per game.

Björnfot will likely sit in the press box but comes up as injury insurance with Niko Mikkola, who’s missed the last four games with an upper-body injury, still projected to be unavailable tonight against the Avalanche. He could make his season debut if Aaron Ekblad, who didn’t practice over the weekend, can’t go due to an undisclosed injury.

Björnfot can remain on Florida’s roster for up to 30 days or play 10 games until he needs waivers to return to Charlotte.

Canucks Place Dakota Joshua On IR

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The Canucks will be without forward Dakota Joshua for at least another two games. General manager Patrik Allvin announced Monday that he’s been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 3 after he sustained an undisclosed injury in their last game against the Predators. Top forward prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki comes up from AHL Abbotsford to take his place on the active roster on an emergency basis.

Joshua, 28, had Nashville captain Roman Josi and Vancouver teammate Teddy Blueger fall awkwardly on his left leg behind the net midway through the second period of a 3-0 loss. He went to the room but returned for the third period.

His being healthy enough to take a few shifts after the injury is a good sign for his recovery timeline, but he’ll still miss a few contests while recovering. The depth winger has just two goals and four points in 24 appearances this season, down sharply from the 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games last year that earned him a four-year, $13MM extension.

Regardless of his production, seeing him on the ice is good. Joshua was diagnosed with testicular cancer over the offseason and missed the first 14 games of the year while recovering from surgery.

A lack of individual chance generation has hurt Joshua’s game the most this season. He’s taken just 10 shots on goal and attempted 28. That’s just 0.42 shots on net and 1.17 attempts per game, down from 1.33 and 2.32 last season, respectively. That also works out to a career-low 35.7 shots through percentage.

Outside of the lack of offense, the 6’3″ Joshua has been his usual physical self. His 83 hits rank second on the team behind Kiefer Sherwood’s eye-popping 220, despite his extended absence early in the year.

The Canucks didn’t have an extra forward on hand with Elias Pettersson still on injured reserve, so Lekkerimaki comes up and will presumably play tonight in Montreal. The 2022 15th overall pick had one goal and a -4 rating in five NHL games during a November call-up, his first since arriving in North America last spring.

Lekkerimäki, 20, leads Abbotsford with 12 goals and 17 points in 21 games. However, his -10 rating is the worst on the club.

Five Key Stories: 12/30/24 – 1/5/25

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The turning of the calendar to 2025 created a long list of players who are now eligible for extensions, a couple of which already have already done so.  Those new deals aren’t in our key stories but some other recently-signed contracts are in our top stories from the last seven days.

Three For L’Heureux: Predators winger Zachary L’Heureux received a three-game suspension from the Department of Player Safety for his slew foot on Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon; the blueliner hasn’t played since then due to a leg injury.  It’s the first NHL suspension of his career with the 21-year-old in his first taste of NHL action.  However, L’Heureux has a long suspension history with two separate bans last season in the minors and nine more in the QMJHL.  He has nine points and 106 hits in 33 games so far this season and will be eligible to return to the lineup on Saturday.

Three For Kastelic: Bruins center Mark Kastelic wasn’t the most prominent piece going to Boston in last offseason’s Linus Ullmark trade but he has made a positive impact for them.  He was rewarded for his efforts with a three-year, $4.7MM contract extension.  The deal gives Boston two extra years of club control and buys out his final year of arbitration.  Kastelic has already equaled his career high in points with 11 and has set a new personal best in assists with seven in his first 40 games with the Bruins.  He also leads the team in hits with 154 and is winning nearly 55% of his faceoffs.

Toews Not Ruling Out A Comeback: While Jonathan Toews hasn’t played since the 2022-23 season as he continues to battle through Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, he never officially announced his retirement.  This past week, he indicated that he still has the desire to play in the NHL and is going to give it his best shot in terms of trying to make a comeback.  The 36-year-old has played in 1,067 career NHL games over parts of 16 seasons, all with Chicago, becoming a premier two-way pivot along the way.  If he decides to try to play this season, it stands to reason that it would be in a limited role given how long he has been off.  Alternatively, he could look to catch on somewhere for 2025-26, giving himself a longer window to train and potentially a larger pool of suitors for his services.

Three For Vatrano: Frank Vatrano won’t be leaving the Ducks for a while now.  The winger has signed a three-year, $18MM contract extension, one that further pushes the boundaries of deferred salary.  Vatrano will make $3MM in each of the three years of the contract, then receive $900K for ten years beginning in 2035.  In doing so, the cap charge of the deal drops to $4.67MM (based on the net present value) instead of the $6MM average.  It’s interesting that Anaheim, a team that isn’t remotely close to the Upper Limit of the salary cap, is taking this route but it clearly helped them get this contract done.  Vatrano is struggling a bit this season with nine goals and 20 points in 37 games but is only a year removed from 37 goals and 60 points which undoubtedly played a big role in securing this contract.

Canucks Listening On Top Forwards: Amidst speculation that top forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller have a rift and the fact both players are struggling, the Canucks appear to be open to listening to offers for both of them.  Pettersson is in the first season of his max-term deal that will see him make $11.6MM per year through the 2031-32 campaign but he hasn’t lived up to the contract early on.  After putting up 102 points in 2022-23, he dipped to 89 points last year and has 28 points in 34 games this year.  Miller, meanwhile, had a career year last season with 103 points but has just six goals in 28 contests this season and his only two goals since October have been empty-netters.  With them scuffling, Vancouver is narrowly holding onto the final Wild Card spot so it appears management is open to a bigger shakeup to get the team going.

Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.

Kraken Place Two On IR, Recall Cale Fleury And Gustav Olofsson On Emergency Basis

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The Kraken have made several roster moves leading into Monday’s game against New Jersey.  The team announced (Twitter links) that goaltender Joey Daccord and center Yanni Gourde have been placed on injured reserve.  Taking their place on the active roster are defensemen Cale Fleury and Gustav Olofsson who have both been recalled from AHL Coachella Valley on an emergency basis.

Daccord has been dealing with an upper-body injury sustained just before the holiday break.  Fresh off a long-term extension signed before the season, he has lived up to the expectations of that new deal as he has a 2.51 GAA and a .912 SV% in his first 23 starts, numbers that were very close to his ones from last season (2.46 and .916, respectively).  Philipp Grubauer will continue to serve as the starter in Daccord’s absence.  His placement was retroactive to December 22nd so he has already served the minimum number of days on there, meaning he can be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return.

As for Gourde, he missed last night’s game with a lower-body injury, his second one in recent weeks.  The 33-year-old has been relatively quiet offensively when he has played, tallying six goals and 10 assists in 35 games while his playing time is down to 15:34 per game, his lowest since 2019-20 when he was still with Tampa Bay.  It’s a contract year for Gourde so the decline in production certainly isn’t coming at an opportune time, nor is the continued injury trouble.  His placement is retroactive to Saturday so he’ll be out through the rest of the week at a minimum.

It’s the fourth recall of the year for Fleury but he didn’t see much action in his first three, playing just twice.  He has played in 19 games with the Firebirds, picking up 14 points.  Fleury has 65 career NHL appearances under his belt between Montreal and Seattle and is the likelier blueliner to draw in if needed.

As for Olofsson, it’s his third recall in the last two weeks but he didn’t play in the first two.  He has 11 points in 29 games with Coachella Valley, one point shy of matching his output from last year in 22 fewer games.  Olofsson has 63 career appearances at the top level with Minnesota, Montreal, and Seattle.  It’s unclear which defensemen’s availability for Monday’s game are in question at the time, necessitating the recalls with an emergency designation.

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