PHR’s Josh Erickson hosted his weekly live chat today at 2:00pm Central. Use this link to view the transcript of today’s session.
Maple Leafs Place Dakota Mermis, Alexander Nylander On Waivers
The Maple Leafs placed defenseman Dakota Mermis and winger Alexander Nylander on waivers Wednesday for assignment to AHL Toronto, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
Mermis’ waiver placement comes after being presumably activated from long-term injured reserve. The 30-year-old lefty has been on a conditioning loan to the AHL since Nov. 27 and has played three games, notching an assist and a +2 rating.
Those games were his first action since sustaining a broken jaw early in training camp with the Leafs. The longtime depth piece for the Coyotes, Devils, and Wild underwent surgery on Sep. 26 and has provided a small amount of cap relief for Toronto since landing on LTIR at the beginning of the regular season.
Mermis landing on waivers removes his $775K cap hit from the Maple Leafs’ LTIR pool, bringing down their current cap space to $765K. That can increase back to the $1MM range tomorrow after Nylander clears waivers or is claimed by another team.
Mermis, an Illinois native, played in a career-high 47 NHL contests with Minnesota last season, posting eight points and a -2 rating while averaging 14:05 per game. He parlayed that performance into the first one-way contract of his career, albeit a league-minimum one, with Toronto on the open market over the summer.
Save for additional injuries on Toronto’s back end, though, his jaw injury likely cost Mermis a chance at NHL ice in a Leafs organization that shored up their defensive depth in a big way over the offseason. Assuming he clears waivers, he’ll likely spend most of the season in the AHL, where he’s played 434 of his 513 professional games.
Meanwhile, Nylander hits the wire after having his AHL contract torn up and replaced by an NHL commitment on Nov. 22. The 26-year-old got the summons from the minors amid a rash of forward injuries for the Maple Leafs that’s largely cleared up with Auston Matthews, Max Domi, Matthew Knies, and Max Pacioretty all returning from injuries in the past week or so.
The younger brother of Toronto star William Nylander made five NHL appearances for Toronto but did not record a point. He also had a -1 rating and averaged just 9:53 per game. Before the call-up, he had eight goals and 12 points in 14 AHL games.
Despite the lack of production, there may be some interest in his services on the waiver wire after he ended last season with 11 goals in 23 games for the Blue Jackets. The 2016 eighth-overall pick by the Sabres has 25 goals and 49 points in 126 NHL appearances in parts of seven seasons, and claiming him would require no long-term commitment – he’ll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Getting Nylander off the active roster one way or another tomorrow will allow the Leafs to activate one of their few IR-bound players, likely winger Bobby McMann or defenseman Jake McCabe.
Oilers Claim Alec Regula Off Waivers From Bruins
Dec. 11: It turns out Regula may get an NHL opportunity sooner than he thought. The Oilers announced that they’ve claimed him off waivers from Boston, opening the door for him to play his first NHL action in well over a year in the coming days. Edmonton had a pair of open roster spots, so no corresponding move is necessary. For now, he’ll slot in as the eighth defenseman on Edmonton’s roster and will compete for depth minutes with players like Ty Emberson, Travis Dermott and Troy Stecher.
Dec. 10: The Bruins activated depth defenseman Alec Regula from season-opening injured reserve on Tuesday and subsequently placed him on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Providence, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
Regula, 24, has yet to play this season after sustaining a knee injury over the offseason. It held him out of the entirety of Boston’s training camp and preseason schedule and earned him a non-roster designation when the regular season began.
It was an inauspicious start to the 2024-25 campaign for Regula, who spent all of last season in the minors after seeing NHL ice in his previous three professional seasons. Acquired from the Blackhawks in the 2023 Taylor Hall/Nick Foligno trade, Regula led the AHL last season with a +36 rating and added four goals and 26 points in 55 games for Providence, tying his previous career highs.
When Regula can expect to touch NHL ice next is anybody’s guess. The 6’4″, 211-lb righty made 22 NHL appearances while with Chicago, scoring one goal and logging a -5 rating while averaging 16:54 per game. Initially a 2018 third-round pick of the Red Wings, he’s firmly established himself as a top two-way threat at the AHL level, but has yet to demonstrate marginally positive possession impacts in his NHL minutes.
There are likely a few names ahead of Regula that are in line for a recall, namely Ian Mitchell, who leads Providence defenders in scoring with 13 points in 22 games. Whether or not he ends up seeing NHL action during the one-year, two-way deal he inked last summer remains to be seen, although a strong showing in his delayed start to the season should help him at least earn a qualifying offer at season’s end.
Kraken Co-Founder David Bonderman Passes Away
Kraken co-founder and ownership group member David Bonderman passed away on Wednesday at age 82, according to a club statement.
A Los Angeles native, Bonderman had an expansive career as a businessman before getting involved in the sports scene. He also graduated from Harvard Law School and had a brief career as a lawyer, including serving as a special assistant to the United States Attorney General in 1968 and 1969.
After accumulating most of his wealth as a founding partner of TPG Capital, Bonderman partnered with film/television producer Jerry Bruckheimer to file an expansion application for a Seattle franchise in 2018. The duo, along with Kraken president and CEO Tod Leiweke, established the Kraken’s ownership group as the Seattle Hockey Partners and acquired the franchise when they paid the final installment of their $650MM expansion fee in 2021.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman issued a statement on Bonderman’s passing:
David Bonderman lived a life that was astounding in its breadth of achievement, unflinching in its commitment to excellence and relentless in its passion for improving lives – particularly in his adopted home state of Washington. An accomplished litigator and businessman, Bonderman was determined that his personal success positively impact others through conservation, philanthropy, sports, and music.
A proud alumnus of the University of Washington, in 2018 he brought NHL hockey to the Pacific Northwest, gaining approval from the Board of Governors to establish an expansion franchise in Seattle that would be named the Kraken and begin play in 2021. Adding David to the Board and the Seattle franchise to the NHL made our League and our game stronger, setting new standards in environmental responsibility and diversity and inclusion.
By extension, Bonderman was also a co-owner of the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s primary development affiliate since their second season in the league. His investment helped kick off an unprecedented run of success for minor-league hockey in the Palm Springs area – the Firebirds have made the Calder Cup Final in each of their first two seasons in the league.
PHR extends its deepest sympathies to the Bonderman family, his friends, and loved ones.
East Notes: DeSimone, Wilson, Jost, Drury
According to a team release, Devils defenseman Nick DeSimone was assigned to AHL Utica on Wednesday. Aside from a couple of paper transactions, the 30-year-old has been on New Jersey’s roster for the past month but has yet to play an NHL contest this season. He’s been a healthy scratch on 17 occasions, never ranking higher than seventh on the Devils’ defense depth chart despite early-season injuries to Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce.
DeSimone has, however, remained on the roster for a longer stretch as veteran insurance, while younger names like Seamus Casey and Simon Nemec have headed to Utica for additional development. With New Jersey back in action tomorrow against the Kings, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them reverse the transaction and reinstate DeSimone to the active roster. Demoting him today allows them to accrue a small amount of additional cap space and delay the expiry of his temporary waiver exemption after he last cleared in October.
The New York native appeared in a career-high 34 NHL contests split between the Devils and Flames last season, recording seven points and a +3 rating while averaging 13:29 per contest. He’s struggled in limited action with Utica this season, posting two assists and a -10 rating in nine appearances.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Capitals mainstay Tom Wilson sustained a minor bone fracture in the sinus cavity area after taking a puck to the face in Saturday’s win over the Canadiens, he told Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. The injury only caused him to leave the game momentarily, and he scored two goals after returning. He doesn’t expect to miss any additional time due to the injury, he confirmed, although he’ll be wearing a full face shield for the next four weeks at the instruction of team doctors. Wilson, 30, is on pace for a career-high 33 goals and 67 points this season – the first of a seven-year, $45.5MM extension.
- The Hurricanes announced today that they’ve recalled forward Tyson Jost from AHL Chicago. Jost’s inclusion on the roster indicates that center Jack Drury will miss at least Friday’s game against the Senators after leaving last night’s win over the Sharks in the first period with an upper-body injury after blocking a shot from San Jose winger Klim Kostin. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters postgame that he anticipated Drury would miss a significant chunk of time. However, he didn’t disclose further details on the injury (per Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News). Jost, 26, had one goal in seven games during a recall last month, averaging 9:20 per contest. He has four goals and five assists for nine points in 14 AHL appearances this season.
Sabres Activate Mattias Samuelsson From Injured Reserve
Dec. 11, 10:42 a.m.: Ruff confirmed to reporters that Samuelsson will be available tonight (including Heather Engel of NHL.com), indicating he’s been taken off injured reserve.
Dec. 10, 5:45 p.m.: Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will make his return to the lineup tomorrow against the Rangers, reports Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. He’ll need to come off injured reserve first, but Buffalo has an open roster spot after reassigning Tyson Kozak to AHL Rochester this morning.
The 24-year-old lefty has missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury he sustained against the Canadiens on Nov. 11. It was his first appearance in over a week after a run of three straight healthy scratches, part of what’s been a frustrating campaign for the 2018 second-round pick.
Samuelsson’s return comes a bit earlier than most expected after he was initially ruled week-to-week. He’ll end up missing exactly a month, although the tea leaves displayed by head coach Lindy Ruff at the time of his injury suggested it could be longer.
That’s good news for the young defender, who’s already missed significant chunks of the last two seasons with varying injuries. Now in the second year of his seven-year, $30MM extension, Samuelsson is averaging a career-low 16:05 per game in 2024-25 and had one goal and a -2 rating through 13 appearances.
While the Pennsylvania native looked to have the upside of a stalwart top-pairing shutdown defender, that outlook is looking bleaker after the last couple of years. He was off to the worst start of his career possession-wise before the injury – the Sabres were controlling 55.4% of shot attempts at even strength without Samuelsson on the ice compared to only 49.2% with him.
There are still five seasons left after this one on that long-term commitment, one that could feasibly be headed toward a buyout if he can’t work his way back up the depth chart or at least avoid the injury bug. He’s expected to skate in a third-pairing role alongside Connor Clifton in his return, per PuckPedia.
Blue Jackets Place Yegor Chinakhov On IR, Recall Jet Greaves
The Blue Jackets announced Wednesday that they’ve placed winger Yegor Chinakhov on injured reserve and used his roster spot to recall goaltender Jet Greaves from AHL Cleveland.
Chinakhov, 23, has already been out with an upper-body injury since Nov. 27. Since he’s missed well over seven days, he can come off IR at any time.
Columbus head coach Dean Evason told reporters Tuesday that Chinakhov is “progressing” in his recovery but isn’t yet close to a return. It’s been an unwelcome absence for the Jackets and the 2020 first-round pick, who had seven goals and seven assists for 14 points through his first 21 games.
Chinakhov has been part of one of hockey’s most unexpectedly dominant lines so far this season. In over 120 minutes of skating as Columbus’ first-line left wing alongside Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko, the trio has controlled 64.9% of expected goals – third-best out of 46 units with at least 120 minutes together, per MoneyPuck.
The Russian winger is now in his fourth NHL season, averaging a career-high 17:01 per game in 2024-25. Evason has shuffled his lines frequently this season, but even more so in Chinakhov’s absence. In recent games, veteran pickup James van Riemsdyk has skated in a top-line role.
Using his roster spot to recall a goalie suggests an injury or illness looming that could sideline one of Elvis Merzļikins or Daniil Tarasov against the Capitals tomorrow. However, both were present alongside Greaves at today’s practice, the team’s Jeff Svoboda reports, so the motivation behind the latter’s recall remains unclear.
Greaves has already been recalled twice this season and has dressed for three games but hasn’t played in any of them. The 23-year-old’s only action in 2024-25 has come with Cleveland, where he has a career-worst 3.21 GAA, .902 SV%, one shutout, and an 8-4-2 record in 15 appearances.
An undrafted free agent signing by Cleveland out of the OHL’s Barrie Colts in 2021, Greaves has been solid in third-string action the past two seasons with a 3.44 GAA and .912 SV% in 10 NHL appearances. He has a 3-7-0 record and has a .784 SV% on high-danger scoring chances.
Greaves still has one season remaining before he becomes waivers-eligible, so there’s no risk of losing him on the wire at any point this season as they shuffle him between leagues. The 6’0″ netminder inked a two-year, partial two-way deal worth a total of $1.63MM over the summer after spending nearly two weeks as a restricted free agent.
East Notes: Matheson, Laine, Ovechkin, Matinpalo
The Montreal Canadiens tweeted that defenseman Mike Matheson and forward Patrik Laine will not take part in today’s team practice. The tweet wasn’t overly detailed and described their absences as a “Therapy day.”
The Canadiens have been cautious with Laine as he just returned from injury and has played just four games this season. The former second-overall pick suffered a knee injury in the preseason and there were concerns he could miss the entire season. However, the 26-year-old fortunately was able to recover without surgery and missed just two and a half months of action. Laine has been sensational since returning, posting three goals and an assist.
There are no further details on Matheson at this time, but the 30-year-old did miss two games at the end of November with a lower-body injury. Matheson has been terrific once again this season for Montreal, registering two goals and 13 assists in 26 games.
In other Eastern Conference notes:
- Washington Capitals injured superstar Alex Ovechkin skated this morning as he tries to work his way back into game action (as per Tom Gulitti from NHL.com). Ovechkin skated in a non-contact jersey and had former teammate Nicklas Backstrom join him on the ice in a track suit. The 39-year-old Ovechkin is trying to overcome a fractured fibula that has kept him out of action since November 18th. Ovechkin had seven goals in the five games prior to the injury as he closes in on the NHL’s all-time goals record.
- The Ottawa Senators announced that they have loaned defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo to the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League. Matinpalo was recalled yesterday, but is being returned to Belleville as his shuttling back and forth continues. Matinpalo has yet to play an NHL game this season but did dress in four games last season. This year, the 26-year-old has dressed in 17 AHL games, picking up two goals and four assists.
Morning Notes: Leddy, Crosby, Nedeljkovic
Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic speculated on the future of defenseman Nick Leddy and the St. Louis Blues. Rutherford doesn’t think the Blues can count on more than bottom-pairing minutes from the veteran rearguard, who has one year remaining on his contract after this season at a $4MM cap hit. The 33-year-old is out with a lower-body injury and appeared close to a return as he was travelling with the team on their road trip. However, the injury flared up, and he was forced to return to St. Louis.
The former Stanley Cup Champion has played just four games this season after playing a full slate of games last year. He hasn’t posted any points this year, but he did tally three goals and 25 assists last season, which were his best offensive numbers since the shortened 2020-21 season while he was a member of the Islanders.
In other morning notes:
- Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes that Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby wasn’t thrilled with some fans who attended last night’s 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Crosby, who is notoriously positive, commented on the Penguins winning five of their last seven games, saying, “You wouldn’t know it tonight. Would you? I mean, getting booed on the power play (in the third period.)” The Penguins were down 4-2 at the time and weren’t generating much with the man advantage. However, the club has turned around in recent weeks and was coming off arguably their best game of the season on Saturday against Toronto. Crosby showed visible frustration at the end of last night’s game, smashing his stick after Colorado scored an empty netter to clinch the game.
- Penguins’ backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic took a puck to the face while sitting on the bench last night in the Penguins’ loss (as per Josh Yohe of The Athletic). The 28-year-old was hit under his right eye by a puck in the first period and came back out in the second period sporting a black eye. Nedeljkovic told reporters that he would be fine, so it doesn’t appear to be a cause for concern going forward. The Penguins haven’t received great goaltending this season from Nedeljkovic as he has struggled to a 4-5-3 record with a 3.37 goals-against average and a .882 save percentage.
Trevor Zegras Seeking Second Opinion On Knee Injury
The Ducks will be without the services of forward Trevor Zegras for the foreseeable future after suffering a knee injury last week. After undergoing testing recently, it appears there is still some potential ambiguity regarding how much time he’ll miss. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that Zegras is seeking second opinions on what the best process will be to treat the injury, adding a more concrete timeline for how long he’ll be out for could come in the next day or two.
Last season was a rough one for Zegras. Contract talks dragged out, causing him to miss most of training camp and the preseason and he got off to a slow start that he never really recovered from. The 23-year-old missed considerable time with two significant injuries, limiting him to just 31 games where he underwhelmed with six goals and nine assists.
Nonetheless, after a summer of trade speculation, there was optimism that Zegras would be able to have a bounce-back year in 2024-25. Unfortunately for both him and the Ducks, that hasn’t really happened. Through 24 games this season, he has four goals and six assists in a little under 17 minutes a night of playing time.
With this report, it seems likely that Zegras won’t be adding to those numbers anytime soon. Often in these instances, the second opinion sought will be in the hopes of rehabbing an injury over undergoing a surgical procedure that would take considerably longer to recover from.
It’s worth noting that Zegras only has one year left on his bridge deal after this one, an agreement that carries a $5.75MM cap charge and qualifying offer along with arbitration eligibility. If his absence winds up being a long-term or season-ending one, there will be even more question marks around him heading into the 2025 offseason.