Central Notes: Heinola, Dickinson, Blues, Wilsby
It has been a rough few years for Jets defenseman Ville Heinola. Once considered one of their top prospects, frequent injuries derailed that and now that he’s waiver-blocked, even playing time is hard to come by. Accordingly, Sportsnet’s Jacob Stoller argues that the time is right to move the 23-year-old even though his value is at an all-time low. Heinola has been a frequent healthy scratch in recent weeks and has just one assist in 16 games with Winnipeg when he has played this season. With the Jets atop the standings in the West, it stands to reason that they’re going to look to add some defensive depth before next month’s trade deadline which will push Heinola further down the depth chart and possibly out of a roster spot altogether. Accordingly, perhaps it makes sense to take what they could get for him now over potentially losing him for nothing later on via waivers.
More from the Central:
- Blackhawks center Jason Dickinson will be out a little longer than originally anticipated. Head coach Anders Sorensen told reporters including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link) that the middleman will likely be out a couple of weeks after the break due to a high left ankle sprain. After a breakout effort that saw him pot 22 goals and 35 points last season, Dickinson has been quieter offensively this year with just seven goals and nine assists through 53 games.
- The Blues could have winger Alexandre Texier back in the lineup on Saturday versus Chicago, relays NHL.com’s Lou Korac (Twitter link). He missed Thursday’s game versus Florida due to illness. It has been a bit of a quiet first year in St. Louis for Texier as he has just nine points in 27 games while averaging a career-low 12:35 per contest so far. Meanwhile, Korac adds that Tyler Tucker’s upper-body injury will keep him out of the lineup for at least one more game. The defenseman has missed the last two games after leaving early on Sunday against Utah. He has two goals and two assists in 19 NHL appearances so far.
- The Predators announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Adam Wilsby was scratched tonight versus Chicago due to an upper-body injury. He’s listed as day-to-day. The 24-year-old has impressed in his first season at the top level, logging over 18 minutes a night through his first 23 outings. Nashville has one more game before the break, that coming on Saturday so it’s possible they rest Wilsby for that one, allowing him two full weeks of recovery time.
Lightning Recall Dylan Duke
After returning winger Conor Sheary to the minors this morning, the Lightning wasted little time filling his vacated roster spot. The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Dylan Duke from AHL Syracuse.
It’s the first career regular season recall for the 21-year-old. Duke was selected late in the fourth round back in 2021 by Tampa Bay, going 126th overall. He spent three seasons at the University of Michigan, the last of which was a dominant effort coming last season that saw him record 26 goals and 23 assists in just 41 games, good for a share of 11th in Division I scoring. Duke also had a brief stint with the Crunch last season, getting into three regular season games and five playoff contests.
Duke has played exclusively with Syracuse so far in his first professional campaign. Through 36 outings this season, he has 13 goals and nine assists, ranking him tied for third in points on the Crunch while being their only double-digit goalscorer.
With the recall, Tampa Bay’s active roster now stands at 22 players but that likely won’t be the case for long. With the 4 Nations Face-Off break coming up next week, Duke will likely be returned to the Crunch at that time.
Pacific Notes: Englund, Clarke, Oilers, Kostin
Since Drew Doughty’s return, the Kings have been carrying nine defensemen which is a rarity. But it doesn’t appear as if that will be the case for much longer. Mayor’s Manor suggests that Los Angeles will likely place blueliner Andreas Englund on waivers on Sunday for the purpose of assigning him to AHL Ontario. Englund has been limited to just 11 games this season and hasn’t reached the ten-minute mark in playing time in a game since late October. Still, with 173 games of NHL experience and a relatively low cap charge at $1MM, there’s a chance that someone could put a claim in to add some cheap depth if Englund ultimately does hit the wire this weekend.
One thing the Kings could do in the short term is to send Brandt Clarke to Ontario at the 4 Nations break. Doing so would allow them to bank some extra cap room with the trade deadline fast approaching. However, according to that same report from Mayor’s Manor, that won’t be the case and Clarke will remain up with Los Angeles through the break.
More from the Pacific Division:
- In his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun interviewed Oilers GM Stan Bowman who indicated some of the items on his checklist for the upcoming trade deadline. After adding John Klingberg in free agency, Bowman suggested that if Edmonton looks to add another blueliner, it’s likely to be a left-shot player. Beyond their three lefties on the NHL roster, they only have one left-shot rearguard in the minors in Cam Dineen so some extra depth there would make sense. Meanwhile, what they might look to do up front will be dictated by their plans for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. If they want to deploy him on the wing, Bowman figures he’d look to add a depth center. But if the veteran stays down the middle, then adding winger depth would become the focus.
- Sharks winger Klim Kostin skated with a no-contact jersey at practice today but could still return to the lineup tomorrow versus Dallas, relays Max Miller of The Hockey News. The 25-year-old has missed the last four weeks with a lower-body injury and was originally expected to return sometime after the break so he appears to be ahead of schedule. Kostin has a goal and three assists in 26 games this season but also has 82 hits. After putting up 19 goals in the past two seasons combined, he could be a trade candidate for a team looking to add some grit on their fourth line.
Trade Deadline Primer: Chicago Blackhawks
With the 4 Nations Face-Off break approaching, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Despite a litany of veteran additions this summer, the Chicago Blackhawks have once again found themselves competing with the San Jose Sharks for dead-last in the NHL. It’s been a stressful season for the team’s young stars, with 19-year-old Connor Bedard playing the most minutes among Hawks forwards, while Landon Slaggert and Frank Nazar fight to step up and support the third-lowest scoring team in the NHL. Chicago’s Trade Deadline will focus on building the support around those burgeoning prospects, as they try to craft a roster that can climb to long-term success.
Record
16-31-6, 8th in the Central Division
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$10.23MM on deadline day, 2/3 retention spots used, 42/50 contract spots used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2025: CHI 1st, TOR 1st, CHI 2nd, DAL 2nd, CHI 3rd, CHI 4th, NYR 4th, CHI 6th, CHI 7th
2026: CHI 1st, CHI 2nd, NYI 2nd, TOR 2nd, CHI 3rd, CHI 4th, OTT 4th, CHI 5th, CHI 6th
Trade Chips
Another down year has put the Blackhawks’ veterans at the center of trade attention. It seems any of their aging options could be available for the right return. That rings particularly true for alternate captain Seth Jones, who’s been tasked with holding down the Chicago blue-line for the last four seasons. The Blackhawks acquired Jones alongside a first and sixth-round pick (turned into Nolan Allan and Dominic James) in exchange for Adam Boqvist, two first-round picks, and a second-round pick (turned into Cole Sillinger, David Jiricek, and Aleksi Heimosalmi) in the summer of 2021. They signed Jones to an eight-year, $76MM extension on the same day, setting him up for to seemingly ride out the rest of his career in the Windy City.
Jones brought his patented all-offense, no-defense style with him – with his 51 points in the 2021-22 season marking the most a Hawks defender had scored since Erik Gustafsson potted 60 points in 2018-19. But Jones has been on a gradual decline ever since then. He scored 37 points in the 2022-23 season, and fell to 31 in the year after – as he struggled to produce on a vacated Chicago offense. He’s improved a bit this year – with 24 points in 36 games, a 55-point pace across 82 games. That could be the turnaround needed to convince teams to take on his daunting $9.5MM cap hit. But that price tag still stands as the wedge between Jones and a likely move. The Blackhawks will almost certainly need to retain a heavy chunk of Jones’ cap in a move – a move made challenging by the fact that they only have one retention spot available after facilitating the Mikko Rantanen trade. A high cost will also likely limit the return the Hawks are able to receive for their high-scoring defender, even if he does offer the potential to play on a top pair.
Should those factors dissuade teams from looking into Jones, Chicago should also have a heap of veteran forwards available. Centerman Ryan Donato tops that list on the back of a red-hot scoring season. He has 32 points, split evenly, through 51 games this year – a full-season pace of 51 points. Donato also ranks third among all Hawks forward with 87 hits. He’s managed those numbers despite a middling role in the Blackhawks lineup, and minimal ice time with the team’s star prospects. The Trade Deadline is often about finding the hot hand rather than the best asset – and Donato’s consistent scoring on a muddling team suggests he could bring a lot to a playoff hopeful.
Chicago can also offer a lofty physical presence through wingers Pat Maroon or Ilya Mikheyev. Maroon has continued to serve in the diligent, fourth-line role he’s carried through tenures with four teams over the last three seasons. He has just 11 points in 47 games, while averaging 11:32 in ice time. But he’s a veteran presence with multiple Stanley Cup rings, and could offer a cheap way for Cup hopefuls to add more size to their lineup. Mikheyev could offer the same, with a bit more scoring and defensive prowess to boot. The Russian winger has 16 points in 51 games, but he’s worked his way into a top-six role alongside Jason Dickinson and Teuvo Teravainen. Mikheyev’s $4.04MM cap hit could pose problems for hopeful – but those issues could be mitigated by a cheap return or added sweeteners.
Other trade chips: Philipp Kurashev, Craig Smith, Alec Martinez, T.J. Brodie
Team Needs
1) Future Capital: The Blackhawks have a lot of options to move this Deadline, but none seem poised to bring in a massive return. Even trading Jones would require strategic negotiating from Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson, as he tries to convince teams to take on a lofty salary cap. With seemingly light trades on the horizon, Chicago’s focus will need to be on continuing to build out their future through the acquisition of draft capital and low-grade prospects. Plenty of teams seem one addition away from pushing for playoff, or even Stanley Cup, contention – and Chicago could find a trade partner with plenty of expendable future capital in a team like the Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, or even the Detroit Red Wings. All three teams are within sparring distance of the Eastern Conference’s second wild card, and could be convinced to spend a bit more to round out their lineup and hedge their bets.
2) A Binding Center: If Chicago is looking for roster players on the open market, they should be looking for more
support down the middle. Both Luke Richardson and Anders Sorensen have awarded veteran center Jason Dickinson prime minutes this season, largely thanks to his ability to win faceoffs and hold down the defensive zone where young players like Bedard and Nazar struggle. But Dickinson has recently fallen to injury, and even then – his 16 points in 53 games are at the core of Chicago’s struggles to score. Finding another veteran center who can fill middle-six minutes and support Dickinson would go a long way in giving Bedard, Nazar, and Slaggert a sturdier platform to perform from. Philadelphia Flyers center Scott Laughton seems a sure bet to bring modest offense, defense, and leadership to a Hawks lineup in need – though the Flyers have previously said they’d need a hefty return to move Laughton. Should Chicago get priced out, they could also turn towards the Nashville Predators, who have options like Thomas Novak, Michael McCarron, or Colton Sissons up for grabs. All three players have faced their own unique struggles this year, but would again bring an air of physicality and gumption to a Chicago lineup lacking in both regards. Adding a center, even if he may retire before Chicago reaches their next prime, could prove the rich lineup support the team needs.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Golden Knights Place William Karlsson on LTIR, Recall Three
The Vegas Golden Knights are spending their final days before the 4-Nations Face-Off break by jumping through salary cap hoops. They’ve announced a litany of roster moves intended to maximize their cap space accrued from long-term injured reserve, all captured by PuckPedia. Vegas first recalled winger Alexander Holtz and goaltender Akira Schmid, then reassigned center Raphael Lavoie. Those moves placed them $135K under the cap ceiling. Vegas then placed top center William Karlsson on long-term injured reserve and recalled forward Jonas Rondbjerg, which they wouldn’t have been able to afford without shelving Karlsson. By recalling two players and getting as close to the cap ceiling as they could before moving Karlsson, Vegas maximized the amount of LTIR cap relief they were provided. They now sit with $5.133MM in available cap space, but will be one contract’s worth of cap over the limit when Karlsson is back to full health.
The string of moves were a great exercise in how to leverage the NHL’s LTIR policies, but Vegas will still be worse for wear without Karlsson. The 32-year-old centerman hasn’t played since January 20th, when he sustained a lower-body injury against the St. Louis Blues. He was immediately ruled out week-to-week, and the team still didn’t have a clear timeline for his return 10 days later. An LTIR placement will now force him out of the lineup through at least February 24th, the second game after Vegas returns from break.
Karlsson has continued to serve as a top center for the Golden Knights, but his season has been filled with abnormal scoring struggles. He has just 18 points in 38 games on the year, and was amidst a seven-game scoring slump prior to his injury. Karlsson has one assist in 10 games since the start of 2025. He’s still provided strong performances for the Golden Knights away from the scoresheet. He currently sits with a fantastic 58.9 percent faceoff win-rate that ranks Karlsson fifth among all NHL centers. Karlsson has also recorded 89 shots on goal and a plus-seven, respectively ranking him third and fifth among the team’s forwards.
Those numbers represent an impact that’ll be hard for Vegas to replace. Their flurry of moves leaves the task of filling in up to Rondbjerg and Holtz. The latter has far-and-away been the more popular fixture of Vegas’ lineup. Holtz has scored 11 points in 49 games this season, while Rondbjerg hasn’t yet scored through 10 appearances. The duo should both earn ice-time on Vegas’ left wing while the team deals with absences to Karlsson, Lavoie, Cole Schwindt, and Tanner Pearson.
Predators Acquire Mark Friedman From Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks have traded defenseman Mark Friedman to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations. Friedman has appeared in five NHL games this season and recorded no scoring, 10 penalty minutes, and a minus-four.
Friedman has spent the majority of this season with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. He’s recorded one goal, six points, 15 penalty minutes, and a plus-four through 20 games with the minor Canucks, continuing his service as a low-scoring, physical depth defenseman. That’s exactly what the Canucks were searching for when they acquired him via trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins early into the 2023-24 season. Vancouver sent defenseman Jack Rathbone and winger Karel Plasek back the other way. Friedman has appeared in 28 games with the Canucks since then. He’s only managed one point and an average of 12:34 in ice time in that span, but his 39 hits equates to the fourth-highest hits-per-60 (6.65) of any Canucks defenseman since the start of last season. He ranks behind Noah Juulsen (11.52), rookie defender Elias Pettersson (9.13), and Nikita Zadorov (8.07).
The Philadelphia Flyers originally drafted Friedman in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft. He made his AHL debut two years later, and has since spent the last nine seasons bouncing between NHL and AHL lineups. His career as a depth forward has taken him through stops in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, and now Nashville. In that time, Friedman has totaled 93 NHL games, 13 points, 80 penalty minutes, and 141 hits.
Friedman now seems destined to join a burly group of defenders with the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville’s minor league affiliate. The squad carries plenty of heft thanks to captain Kevin Gravel, Jack Matier, and Spencer Stastney. The trio have served as the physical compliment behind more nimble blue-liners like Ryan Ufko and Nick Blankenburg. But an injury to Jeremy Lauzon and the departure of Alexandre Carrier have forced Gravel and Blankenburg into the NHL lineup, and dried out Nashville’s previously abundant defense depth. The Predators have erred on the side of physicality rather than finesse in addressing that issue, and now add the burly Friedman to their list of fringe NHL defenders.
Lightning’s Brandon Halverson Clears Waivers
Feb. 7: Halverson cleared waivers, per Friedman. The Lightning now have 30 days to send him to the AHL.
Feb. 6: Halverson is on waivers today for the purpose of reassignment back to Syracuse, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He backed up Andrei Vasilevskiy on Tuesday against the Senators and will do so again for the second half of their home-and-home tonight, but clearing today will allow the Bolts to return him to the minors as soon as tomorrow or over the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Feb. 3: Veteran netminder Brandon Halverson has turned his impressive play into an NHL contract. The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they’ve signed Halverson to a two-year contract taking him through the 2025-26 season.
Halverson had been the top netminder playing on an AHL contract this season and arguably the top player. The Traverse City, MI native returned to North America last season after a one-year stint with the Bayreuth Tigers of the DEL2 league in Germany.
He spent much of last season with the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, where he posted a record of 14 wins, 12 losses, and 3 overtime losses in 32 games, along with a .913 save percentage and a 2.82 goals-against average. After joining the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch for the playoff stretch, his performance improved significantly, achieving a record of 7-3-3 in 14 games, with a .913 save percentage and a 2.18 goals-against average. He also recorded a .916 save percentage in seven playoff games.
This season has quickly become the best of his professional career. After Saturday’s loss to the AHL’s Rochester Americans, Halverson has a 12-7-10 record through 26 games with a .918 SV% and 2.20 GAA, including a league-leading four shutouts.
The Lightning have been dealing with some uncertainty in the net due to a short-term injury to backup netminder Jonas Johansson. Given Halverson’s impressive play on the season, Tampa Bay may opt to utilize him in their backup role for the time being instead of Matt Tomkins. Regardless, it’s been an impressive road back to an NHL contract for Halverson who last suited up in one game for the New York Rangers in the 2017-18 season.
Sabres Reassign Isak Rosen
High-end Sabres prospect Isak Rosen is headed back to the minors, the team announced. They’re back to having an open roster spot after loaning him to AHL Rochester.
Rosen, 22 in March, is in the second season of his entry-level contract. Drafted 14th overall in 2021, he’s now in his third campaign with Rochester and has seen steady offensive development. The Swedish winger led Rochester in scoring when Buffalo recalled him on Monday in the wake of an upper-body injury to Tage Thompson, posting 23-16–39 in 40 games.
Buffalo had just one game this week, a 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Rosen skated 11:46 in that appearance, his second of the season after a brief recall in November, but only mustered a shot on goal with a minus-one rating.
In nine NHL appearances across the past two seasons, the No. 4 prospect in Buffalo’s pool (per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic) has struggled to make an impact despite his continued development in the AHL. He’s still looking for his first NHL point with a minus-four rating, a deserved one as his 41.1 career CF% at even strength indicates. He hasn’t seen much usage high in the lineup, averaging 8:42 per game, but he still hasn’t quite seemed able to keep pace in sheltered usage.
He’ll go back to the minors now with Thompson expected to return to action tomorrow against the Predators, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters, including Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550. It’ll only be a one-game absence for him after he was hit hard in the third period of last Sunday’s win over the Devils by Stefan Noesen.
The Sabres are also tracking to activate Tyson Kozak from injured reserve after missing two games with an illness, and starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected back between the pipes after sitting out the Columbus game for undisclosed reasons, Ruff said. Activating Kozak will require another roster move, presumably reassigning recent goalie call-up Felix Sandström to Rochester if Luukkonen is back.
Sidney Crosby Out Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury
Feb. 7: Crosby is day-to-day and won’t play against the Blueshirts, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters, including the team’s Josh Getzoff. However, his availability for the 4 Nations Face-Off is still uncertain and would certainly be feasible given his short-term designation.
Feb. 6: Crosby skated before practice Thursday but was not a full participant, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. It’s still unclear if he’ll play in tomorrow’s game against the Rangers.
Feb. 5: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is still being evaluated for the upper-body injury he sustained in yesterday’s shootout loss to the Devils, head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed to reporters Wednesday.
Crosby got shaken up midway through the third period of the contest when he was caught between New Jersey skaters Erik Haula and Luke Hughes shortly after disposing of the puck. He didn’t leave the game but wasn’t available to practice today, Sullivan said.
An absence of any length ends Pittsburgh’s increasingly slim playoff hopes, which dropped to 0.9% after the shootout loss. They’re 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and seven points back of a playoff spot but have played three more games than the eight-place Lightning. They’ve been buoyed by their offense amid below-average defense and bottom-five goaltending, and the 37-year-old Crosby leads the pack as their only point-per-game player with 58 in 55 appearances.
Crosby continues to serve as the team’s undoubted MVP, averaging north of 20 minutes per game and winning 56.1% of his draws. He may have a -15 actual rating, but his possession numbers rank among the team’s best at even strength with a 53.4 CF% and +2.6 expected rating. Cody Glass is the only Penguin to post better numbers in both stats.
He hasn’t missed a game due to injury since a concussion kept him out of Game 6 of their 2022 first-round series against the Rangers. The Pens are also without No. 2 mainstay Evgeni Malkin, leaving Glass and Kevin Hayes as their projected top-six centers against the Blueshirts on Friday if Crosby can’t go.
The three-time Stanley Cup winner was also recently named captain for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, which begins next week. He’d leave a huge hole on the Canadian squad, whose captaincy would presumably be filled by Connor McDavid if he can’t participate in the tournament.
Flyers Reassign Jacob Gaucher
The Flyers have reassigned forward Jacob Gaucher to AHL Lehigh Valley, per a team announcement. Doing so opens one of the two roster spots they’ll need to activate Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier from the non-roster list ahead of their Philly debuts tomorrow against the Penguins, which was delayed due to visa issues after their acquisition from the Flames last week.
Gaucher, 23, was signed to a two-year entry-level contract in December after spending parts of three seasons on minor-league deals with Lehigh Valley. He’d spent time in the ECHL as recently as last season but landed a fringe depth role with the Phantoms, posting 8-8–16 with a -7 rating in 59 AHL contests in 2023-24. It was a significant step forward for the 6’3″ pivot, who was still finding his footing in the pros after finishing off his junior career with a 68-point campaign for the QMJHL’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar in 2021-22.
This year, Gaucher had a strong camp with Philly on a tryout and returned to the Phantoms rejuvenated. He’s operating at over double last season’s point-per-game pace, and his plus-one rating is tied for ninth on the team. He totaled 14-13–27 in 44 games before receiving his first NHL call-up last Saturday.
Gaucher served as the Flyers’ fourth-line center for their last three contests, going without a point but managing three shots on goal and winning nine out of 13 faceoffs. He averaged 7:30 per game, all at even strength, and posted strong possession numbers in limited minutes with a 53.3 CF% and a +0.1 expected rating.
His reassignment also comes as Ryan Poehling, the Flyers’ usual fourth-line pivot, returned to practice today in a non-contact jersey, per Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Poehling, who’s on injured reserve, has been out with Jan. 16 with an upper-body injury and has missed 10 games. He’ll presumably miss tomorrow’s game against Pittsburgh but should be good to go when the team resumes its schedule after the 4 Nations Face-Off later this month. His return indicates that recent call-ups Rodrigo Abols and Anthony Richard will likely join Gaucher on the road back to Lehigh Valley over the break.