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Maple Leafs Looking To Move Matt Benning

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Earlier this week, the Maple Leafs acquired veteran blueliner Matt Benning as part of the return in the trade that saw blueliner Timothy Liljegren move to San Jose.  However, it doesn’t appear as if he’s in Toronto’s plans.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (video link) that teams around the league know that Benning is available as the Maple Leafs look to “do right” by the defender.

Essentially, Benning was picked up in the swap as a salary offset more than a piece that they were looking to add from a depth perspective.  He is signed through next season at a $1.25MM AAV.

The 30-year-old has played in seven games this season, all coming prior to the swap.  He had a limited role in those outings, averaging just 13:02 per game.  While that ATOI is a career low, the role he had with the Sharks largely lines up with his usage over his nine-year NHL career, spanning 464 games.

Right now, Toronto can get away with carrying Benning along with Philippe Myers as extra blueliners on their 23-man roster.  They’re also cap-compliant with them on there thanks to a rather sizable LTIR pool.

However, that LTIR pool should be shrinking rather soon.  Connor Dewar and Jani Hakanpaa are both on a conditioning assignment with AHL Toronto and if there aren’t any issues, they will be getting activated in the near future.  Accordingly, the Maple Leafs will have to shed a bit of money to remain compliant on the cap and also open up two roster spots for them.

Speculatively, those two spots will be opened up by clearing Benning and Myers off the roster, moves that would also keep them compliant within their LTIR pool.  With that in mind, if Toronto is going to find another NHL home for Benning, they’ll need to do so sooner than later.  Otherwise, he (and likely Myers) could find themselves on the waiver wire in the near future.  But with other teams knowing the crunch in terms of timeline to get this done, any return the Maple Leafs might get will probably be very limited overall.

Snapshots: Oilers, Trikozov, Connor, Montgomery

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Heading into Sunday’s action, the Oilers find themselves around the middle of the pack in terms of goals allowed.  They’re struggling considerably on the penalty kill, checking in with a success rate of just 62.5% while starting goaltender Stuart Skinner is off to a slow start.  Accordingly, some are wondering if the time is right for Edmonton to start shopping around for blueline help as teams by now are starting to get a better feel of what they have and what they need.

However, Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal posits that the time isn’t right for the Oilers to be making a move like that.  While it’s clear their need is to upgrade on the back end, he suggests that they’d be best served by waiting until later in the year when they ideally would have more cap space to play with.  At the same time, more teams should be established as sellers which should give them more options to choose from compared to if they tried to make a trade now.

Other quick notes around the league:

  • Top Carolina Hurricanes prospect Gleb Trikozov had his KHL rights traded from Omsk to Spartak on Saturday, per Spartak’s Instagram page. Forward Matvei Zaseda was dealt the other way. This move means little as things stand, with Trikozov currently a member of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. But he’s gone without any scoring through his first six AHL games – potentially enough of a spark to return him to a tremendously productive career in Russia. Trikozov recorded 31 points in 64 games in the VHL, Russia’s second-tier pro league, over the last two seasons – and arguably earned a hardier chance at KHL minutes. Spartak could stand to offer that increased role as they look to add the gut punch needed to get over SKA and Lokomotiv in the KHL’s Western Conference. For their part, the underachieving Omsk receives a seasoned pro in Zaseda – who’s totaled 36 points in 105 KHL games and 75 points in 120 VHL games at the age of 25.
  • Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel shared that star winger Kyle Connor is OK after getting pulled from Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay by concussion spotters, per Murat Ates of The Athletic. Connor took a hit from behind by Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov that pushed his head directly into Erik Cernak. He labored briefly but didn’t seem severely injured. That’s been confirmed now, and Connor will get to continue his role as the leading scorer (18 points in 11 games) on one of the NHL’s hottest teams.
  • Senators prospect Blake Montgomery has left USHL Lincoln and will instead join OHL London, Jeff Marek reports. Montgomery was a fourth-round pick back in June, going 117th overall.  He was off to a good start with Lincoln with ten points in his first ten games after putting up 43 points in 58 games last season.

Islanders Looking To Add Left Defense Amid Injuries

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Injury ruled out all three of the New York Islanders’ starting left-defensemen in their loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday. And while both Alexander Romanov and Mike Reilly are only listed as day-to-day, Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News shares that the absences could push New York to add more defensive depth via waivers or trade. Rosner points out that the move would be similar to the Islanders’ acquisition of Robert Bortuzzo and Reilly.

The Islanders are once again in a very difficult spot because of injuries to their blue-line. It’s the same spot that held them back last season, and their only response this season has so far been sheltered roles for Dennis Cholowski, Samuel Bolduc, and Grant Hutton. The depleted blue-line is only propped up by star Ryan Pulock, who’s had to take on a role playing on his off-side. But his 30 minutes of ice time on Sunday is unsustainable – and the holes in the lineup have shown that more support is quickly needed to keep the left-side afloat.

New York won’t find much help on a free agent market crowded with right-defenders but depleted of left-shots. Mark Giordano stands as perhaps the top option. He skated as the NHL’s oldest player last season but has expressed interest in playing out one more season. He managed a measly nine points in 46 games with Toronto last year, serving in an often inconsistent role. But despite changing responsibilities, Giordano showed a routine ability to move the puck up the ice – even as he seemed slow elsewhere. He won’t bring too much of a spark, but could man a depth role without needing much oversight.

For more of a kick, New York will have to turn towards a currently dried-up trade market. Cheap and quick acquisitions could sit a the bottom of some NHL depth charts. That’s presently where Jake Bean, John Ludvig, and Brendan Smith slot into their respective lineups – and all three stand to bring the same impact of the Bortuzzo and Reilly acquisitions last year. They’re each on a new team this year – Bean and Smith choosing their landing spots in unrestricted free agency, and Ludvig landing in Colorado via waivers. It’s a trio that brings a spectrum of abilities – Bean the offensive-defenseman and Smith the shutdown depth-role, with Ludvig finding his footing in between. Those similarities could be the perfect mix to both pique the interest of both parties in potential trade talks. New York similarly bought Bortuzzo and Reilly from the bottom of depth charts last season, and will need the same confident trading if they want to bring in support quickly.

With waivers mentioned alongside trades, it’s not likely that the Islanders spend much on any new pieces. But their season is slipping quickly, with star Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair also catching the injury bug alongside multiple defenders. The Islanders boast a 4-6-2 record through 12 games, second-to-last in the Metropolitan Division. They’ll hope to be aggressive on any imminent waiver placements, but general manager Lou Lamoriello may need to take the initiative to make a trade before things fall too far.

Afternoon Notes: Slafkovsky, Acciari, Point

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Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky left the team’s Saturday night game late into the third period, after taking a high hit from Pittsburgh’s Noel Acciari, shares Erik Leijon of The Montreal Gazette . Canadiens enforcer Arber Xhekaj jumped in with a retaliatory fight, while Slafkovsky skated to the bench after laboring for a moment. So far, no update has been provided on the availability of the former first-overall pick. Montreal hosts the Calgary Flames on Tuesday before embarking on a four-game road trip.

Slafkovsky has continued to take on responsibility in Montreal’s lineup. He has seven assists and eight points through nine games this season, despite averaging just over 18 minutes of ice time – the lowest of Montreal’s top-five scorers. He’s become more involved off-puck as well – averaging 11.41 hits per 60 minutes, up from 6.20 last season. It’s an encouraging sign of growing confidence from the 20-year-old Slafkovsky, who put up a commendable 20-goal, 50-point season last year. Montreal will likely turn towards Lucas Condotta or Michael Pezzetta should Slafkovsky miss time, though neither player naturally plays Slafkovsky’s right-wing.  The Canadiens would need to turn towards the minors for a better fit. Right-shot Joshua Roy currently leads the Laval Rocket in scoring with seven goals and 10 points in nine games.

Other notes from around the league:

  • While no update has come on Slafkovsky, Noel Acciari isn’t expected to face supplemental discipline for the high hit per Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. Acciari didn’t appear to make contact directly with Slafkovsky’s head, though Sportsnet’s post-game panel dispelled the hit as dirty. Despite this incident, Acciari has been largely unpenalized through the early season – with just four penalty minutes in 13 games. He’s also recorded three points, standing taller in Pittsburgh’s middle-six after only appearing in 55 games last season. He fills the role of downhill bruiser well, but may need to take a bit more caution moving forward.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Brayden Point left the team’s Sunday game against the Winnipeg Jets after the first period. No reasoning was provided, though Point was seen nursing lower-body pain per Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. Point scored Tampa’s second goal of the game – a power-play score assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. It was his 12th point of the season, continuing Point’s string of dominant scoring after 95 points in 2022-23 and 90 points in 2023-24. He’ll be incredibly difficult to replace should he miss any time, though Tampa Bay may be able to bear it with five other players currently scoring at-or-above point-per-game pace.

Devils’ Nathan Bastian Week-To-Week With Jaw Injury

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New Jersey Devils forward Nathan Bastian is expected to miss “several weeks” with a jaw injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe told Devils beat reporter Amanda Stein. Bastian suffered the injury in a fight with Calgary’s Ryan Lomberg on Friday. Bastian instigated the fight late in the first period, following a hard hit on Paul Cotter, and didn’t return for the start of the second period. He’d end the day with just five shifts and 3:30 of ice time – though he racked up two hits and 17 penalty minutes in that span.

Bastian has returned as a proud member of New Jersey’s fourth-line this season, leading the team’s forwards in penalty minutes and ranking seventh in hits. He’s totaled those stats despite averaging the lowest ice time (10:29) of any consistent feature of New Jersey’s lineup – and has even managed five points, already a quarter of a way towards breaking his career-high 18 points set in 2021-22. Bastian is in his sixth season with New Jersey, though his tenure was briefly intercut with a trip to Seattle in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. He played 12 games with the Kraken before being placed on waivers, where New Jersey quickly reclaimed him. He’s been on the NHL roster ever since, now in the last year of a two-year, $2.7MM contract signed last summer.

Bastian will join Curtis Lazar on the absentee list, giving New Jersey a second bottom-six role to fill for the long term. Next up is veteran minor-leaguer Justin Dowling, who’s already recorded one assist in two NHL games this season. He’s also scored four points in six AHL games, continuing his near point-per-game scoring through a seventh season. Dowling has totaled 20 points in 102 career NHL games, kicking off his career with the Dallas Stars in 2016-17. With a week-to-week absence in store, New Jersey could also turn towards a minor-league call-up to replace Bastian. Nolan Foote currently leads the Utica Comets in scoring with eight points in eight games.

Canucks’ Nils Aman Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL

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11/3: Aman has cleared waivers and been assigned to the AHL, per a team release.

11/2: With Dakota Joshua nearing a return to the lineup, the Canucks need to open up a roster spot for him.  It appears that Nils Aman will be the one losing his spot as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve placed him on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to AHL Abbotsford.

The 24-year-old has taken an interesting route to the NHL.  Originally drafted in the sixth round by Colorado in 2020, Aman didn’t sign with them and then signed with Vancouver two years later.  After a short stint in the minors to start 2022-23, he was up with the big club the rest of the way, getting into 68 games.  Aman also spent time in the AHL last season, collecting 15 points in as many games while also getting into 43 NHL contests, tallying four goals and three assists while his waiver exemption expired.

He signed a two-year, $1.65MM extension in late November, ensuring that he’d remain a low-cost option for Vancouver for a little while longer.  However, Aman has only played in four of their first nine games this season, although he does have a pair of assists but it evidently wasn’t enough to keep his roster spot secure.

As far as waiver placements go, this is one of the more intriguing ones.  Aman already has 115 career NHL games (and 25 points) under his belt and with a cap hit only $50K above the league minimum, he’s a player most teams could afford if they’re looking to either add a depth piece or shake up the back end of their forward group so he’s far from a guarantee to clear.

Interestingly, this isn’t a move that Vancouver necessarily had to make.  They’ve been sending two players back and forth from Abbotsford in recent days with one of them being winger Arshdeep Bains.  The Canucks could have simply elected to send Bains down when Joshua returns to create the roster spot.  Instead, it appears Bains will have a bit more of an opportunity to try to secure a full-time spot in the lineup.

Avalanche Activate Artturi Lehkonen From Injured Reserve

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12:00 PM: Colorado has assigned Prishchepov, Ivan Ivan, and Nikolai Kovalenko to the AHL for salary cap reasons, per Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports. Angley adds that more roster moves are expected before Colorado hosts Seattle on Tuesday, likely suggesting that some of these transactions are paper moves.

10:30 AM: The Avalanche announced today that they’ve activated winger Artturi Lehkonen from injured reserve. There’s no open spot for him on the active roster, so they’ve assumedly assigned a player to the minors in a corresponding transaction. That’s likely 2024 seventh-round pick Nikita Prishchepov, who made his NHL debut in yesterday’s loss to the Predators.

Lehkonen will likely make his season debut on Tuesday against the Kraken. The 29-year-old had missed Colorado’s first 12 games after undergoing a shoulder procedure early in the offseason. He wasn’t ready for training camp, but there was mild optimism that he could play by the beginning of the regular season. That was quashed when Lehkonen landed on IR when the Avalanche submitted their opening night roster, with head coach Jared Bednar quickly saying Lehkonen would be out through at least Oct. 28 – the date of his next evaluation by team doctors.

Evidently, the evaluation went well, and Lehkonen was cleared to play. He’s been skating in a non-contact jersey for much of the past month, so he won’t be coming into the lineup completely cold. With most of Colorado’s top-nine forward group ravaged by injuries, he’ll be relied upon heavily from the get-go. Lehkonen, Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin were unavailable since the start of the season, and he’s the first to return from that group. Since the season opener, Ross Colton and Jonathan Drouin have joined them on IR, while Miles Wood has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury and won’t be back until late this week at the soonest.

Lehkonen has become a fixture in Colorado’s top six since the Avs acquired him from the Canadiens before the 2022 trade deadline. He had 14 points in 20 playoff games en route to the Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. While he’s missed 55 games over the following two seasons due to injuries, he’s churned out legitimate top-six offensive production while retaining the excellent defensive and physical game that made him a standout depth piece in Montreal. A neck injury cost him nearly half of last season, but he still managed 16 goals and 34 points in 45 games, a 62-point pace, while averaging 18:28 per game. The Avs controlled 56.9% of shot attempts with Lehkonen on the ice at even strength compared to 52.4% without him.

Whether Lehkonen lines up alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the Avalanche’s first line or is deployed in second-line minutes to give Casey Mittelstadt some help remains to be seen, but he’ll indeed be deployed in that same top-six role against Seattle next week. His return couldn’t have come soon enough – the Avalanche have lost three in a row and have fallen to 5-7-0 on the season, placing sixth in the Central Division.

Lehkonen was on IR, not LTIR, so his activation has no negative cap impacts. They’ll actually gain cap space with the move by opening up a roster spot for him.

Islanders’ Mike Reilly, Alexander Romanov Out With Injury

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The New York Islanders have designated both Mike Reilly (upper-body) and Alexander Romanov (upper-body) as day-to-day with injury per NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner. Both players will miss the Islanders’ bout with the Rangers on Sunday.

New York’s defense will be cut in half for their rivalry matchup, with Adam Pelech also sitting out with an upper-body injury. That news doesn’t bode well for an Islanders team currently leaning on their ability to suppress chances. The team ranks eighth in the NHL with an average of 2.91 goals against per game, while starter Ilya Sorokin boasts the third-highest save percentage (.928) of any goalie with five or more starts. Unfortunately, the Rangers rank higher in both categories – with the lowest goals-against average of any team (2.20) and Igor Shesterkin boasting the second-highest save percentage (.931) among starters.

Dennis Cholowski stepped into the lineup to relieve Pelech, so far scoring one goal – his first NHL goal since 2020 – in three appearances. With two more pillars falling, the Islanders are expected to slot Samuel Bolduc and Grant Hutton back into the lineup. Both started the season with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, with Bolduc sitting on one goal and five points and Hutton recording two assists through the team’s first nine games. The duo were also both features of New York’s revolving door on defense last season. Bolduc appeared in 34 games and scored six points in the year’s second half, while Hutton slotted into just two NHL games and failed to score.

With New York’s entire left-side now missing, the left-shot Bolduc should prove the better fill-in while Hutton may be forced to take shifts on his off-side. The Islanders have sheltered Cholowski in his trio of starts while boosting the ice time of Scott Mayfield and Reilly, before the latter left with injury. Bolduc and Hutton should help to soften that burden on New York’s star defenders, though the team will certainly be eager for the return of more reliable options in Reilly and Romanov.

Senators Reassign Zack Ostapchuk

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The Senators announced they’ve loaned center Zack Ostapchuk to AHL Belleville. It’s likely a temporary move to accrue cap space that will be reversed before Tuesday’s game against the Sabres.

It’s the second time this season that the Senators have recalled and reassigned Ostapchuk in short order, only keeping him rostered when necessary for game days. Usually, those transactions have been accompanied by a recall or reassignment for forward Adam Gaudette as they attempted to draw out his temporary waiver exemption as long as possible. Gaudette played in his 10th game of the season yesterday night against the Kraken, though, meaning he now requires waivers to head back to Belleville. With six goals in those 10 games, it’s hard to imagine Ottawa risking exposing him to the rest of the league.

Ostapchuk, 21, has played in the Sens’ last three games. The 2021 second-round pick recorded his first career NHL point in his first appearance of the season against the Blues on Oct. 29, and he’s posted a +1 rating with four blocks and four hits while averaging 11:55 per game. He and Gaudette have been serving as fill-ins while Shane Pinto is week-to-week with an undisclosed injury, and David Perron is on personal leave. However, Gaudette has likely leapfrogged someone like Zack MacEwen for a spot in the lineup when the Sens return to total health.

While with Belleville this season, Ostapchuk has done well with a goal and four assists in six appearances. The 6’3″, 205-lb Edmonton native serves as an alternate captain in his second professional season. Up in his small NHL sample, his possession play looks much improved from last season’s underwhelming seven-game trial. The Sens control 60% of expected goals with Ostapchuk on the ice at even strength, although only 46.3% of shot attempts. The latter number is fair, considering Ostapchuk has started 60% of his zone starts in the defensive end.

Ostapchuk has one season after this one on his entry-level contract at a cap hit of $825K. He’ll be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2026.

Philip Broberg Leaves Game With Leg Injury

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Blues defenseman Philip Broberg left tonight’s game against the Maple Leafs after sustaining an apparent right leg injury in the second period. The Blues informed reporters, including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, that he wouldn’t return to the contest.

At first glance, Broberg’s injury may lead to a long-term absence. The 23-year-old defender got tangled up in a collision along the boards with Toronto winger Mitch Marner, getting his right ankle area caught before falling awkwardly on the rest of the leg. He immediately clutched his knee in pain and remained on the ice for several minutes before skating off with assistance from St. Louis’ trainer. He didn’t put any weight on his injured leg while doing so.

It abruptly pauses what had been a promising start to the season for Broberg. The Blues acquired the 2019 eighth-overall pick from the Oilers via an offer sheet, plucking the restricted free agent away from Edmonton on a two-year, $9.16MM contract. The corresponding $4.58MM cap hit was certainly hefty for a player who spent most of 2023-24 in the minors, though, making only 12 regular-season NHL appearances with the Oilers with underwhelming numbers.

Viewed as a payment based on potential, it seems Broberg’s ceiling has arrived earlier than anticipated. The Swede has thrived in a top-four role for St. Louis with a season-ending injury to Torey Krug and another injury to Nick Leddy, creating ample opportunity on the left side. He had two goals and seven assists in 11 games entering tonight’s action, already setting a new career-high with nine points. That was tied with Jordan Kyrou for the team lead in scoring at the time of writing. He was averaging 20:25 per game and led the team with a +6 rating,

The possession numbers aren’t quite as glorifying for Broberg. The Blues controlled 47.6% of shot attempts with him on the ice at even strength compared to 49.9% without him. But still, he had been operating as their de facto No. 1 left-shot defender in Leddy’s absence, making him a massive loss for a team already without Mathieu Joseph, Kasperi Kapanen and Robert Thomas up front in addition to their injury issues on the blue line.

The Blues don’t play again until Tuesday against the Lightning, so they have a few days to evaluate Broberg’s injury, determine if surgery is necessary, and release a timeline. But it’s nearly a given he won’t be available next week, and although Leddy appears somewhat close to returning, his availability isn’t imminent. That means extra minutes for the 40-year-old Ryan Suter and potential top-four usage for depth offseason pickup Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Scott Perunovich is on hand as an extra defenseman and should be expected to play next week.

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