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Avalanche Place Alexandar Georgiev On IR, Recall Two

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The Colorado Avalanche have placed starting goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (upper-body) on injured reserve, retroactive to November 13th. Georgiev sat out of the team’s Friday loss to Washington. This move rules Georgiev out of the team’s Monday match against Philadelphia, though head coach Jared Bednar told Colleen Flynn of Colorado Hockey Now that the netminder will join the team on their upcoming four-game road trip. He’ll be eligible to return as soon as Thursday.

This move downgrades Georgiev to an extended absence after he received a day-to-day designation on Saturday. He’s started 10 games this season, setting a bleak 4-5-0 record, .863 save percentage, and 3.56 goals-against-average. It’s a continuation of the skid that he hit last season and the prolonged struggles are starting to cost Georgiev ice time. Backup Justus Annunen has played in nine games this year, posting an improved .881 save percentage and 5-3-0 record.

In a corresponding move, Colorado has also recalled forward T.J. Tynan and goaltender Kevin Mandolese. Mandolese will become the fifth goaltender to take to the Avalanche bench this season, earning the chance after posting a 4-2-0 record and .905 save percentage in six AHL games this season – one more win, but the same save percentage, as goalie partner Trent Miner in the same number of games. Mandolese has built a hardy career in the minors, posting 32 wins and a .897 save percentage across 72 games, and five seasons, in the AHL. He’s proven even stronger in 15 ECHL games, and even boasts a .916 save percentage through three career appearances in the NHL. With Georgiev’s return likely just around the corner, Mandolese should be confined to a backup role on this recall.

Meanwhile, Tynan will return to offering offensive depth behind Parker Kelly and Joel Kiviranta. Tynan was assigned to the AHL ahead of this weekend, and recorded three assists in the Colorado Eagles’ Saturday win over Ontario. That scoring brought him to seven points – all assists – in eight AHL games this season. He’s also recorded one assist in seven NHL games. Tynan is still searching for his first NHL goal – with just two assists through 28 career games  in the NHL. He’s likely headed for the press box on this recall, unless Bednar chooses to rotate out fourth-line pieces.

Morning Notes: Peeke, Pionk, Goncalves, Kastelic, Tufte

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The Boston Bruins will soon receive some relief on the blue-line, with defenseman Andrew Peeke returning to the team’s practices per Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. Peeke hasn’t played since leaving Boston’s November 5th match against Toronto following a hit from Max Pacioretty that seemed to bounce Peeke’s shoulder awkwardly off the boards. He was ruled out week-to-week with an upper-body injury soon after, though participating in practice marks a big step in his path back to the lineup. Peeke isn’t expected to play in Boston’s Monday game against Columbus but could suit up when the team hosts Utah on Thursday.

Peeke was joined on the shelf by Hampus Lindholm, who’s week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The pair of absences quickly drained Boston’s top-four of its impactful, defensive stalwarts. Peeke rotated through the lineup when healthy, serving anywhere from 13 minutes in a sheltered role to 20 minutes on the top pair. He’s recorded two assists, 18 hits, and 21 blocked shots in 13 games. While not a thrilling stat line, Boston has felt every bit of Peeke’s absence – averaging the fifth-highest goals-against per-game (3.60 in five games) since he left the lineup. Upcoming matchups against Columbus, Utah, and Detroit should give Boston a chance to ease Peeke back into the lineup.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk has been fined $5K, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, for “clipping” Florida Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist on Saturday. Pionk went in for a hip-check but caught more of Boqvist’s knee than anything else. No penalty was issued for the hit. Boqvist nursed his left-knee for a while, but didn’t need helped off the ice. Pionk played 20 minutes in the 5-0 loss, going without any major stat changes – but still boasting 17 points in 18 games this season. He’ll continue to be a main fixture of the Jets lineup – and likely continue delivering heavy hip-checks – after avoiding suspension here.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have once again assigned forward Gage Goncalves to the minor leagues, after he stepped into a third-line role in the team’s Saturday night win over New Jersey. Goncalves played a career-high 15:32 worth of ice time in the outing, though he only put up two hits and one shot. Goncalves has yet to record his first NHL point, despite four appearances this year and two last year. He’ll return to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, where he’s already posted six assists in five games – the only Crunch still scoring above a point-per-game pace.
  • The Boston Bruins received a couple more updates at Sunday’s practice, with forwards Mark Kastelic designated as day-to-day with a lower-body injury and Riley Tufte expected to be sent to the minor leagues per Steve Conroy. Tufte played in 7:46 of Boston’s Saturday overtime-loss to St. Louis, with a -2 his only stat change. Tufte has yet to record a point in three games this year, though he’s managed three points in 21 career NHL games while serving as a go-to call-up since 2021. Kastelic has been much more productive – posting seven points in 19 games this season – while still serving a fourth-line role.

Devils Assign Justin Dowling And Nick DeSimone To AHL

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The New Jersey Devils have announced that they are sending forward Justin Dowling and defenseman Nick DeSimone to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League. New Jersey has a four-day break in the NHL schedule and doesn’t play again until Thursday night when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes. The gap between games likely makes these AHL assignments a cap move; however, we won’t know that for sure until later this week.

The Devils have three players who are currently out of their lineup in forwards Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian, as well as defenseman Santeri Hatakka.

Dowling has been anchoring New Jersey’s fourth line alongside Tomas Tatar and Kurtis MacDermid, a spot he has occupied for nine straight games. The 34-year-old appeared in his first NHL game this season at the end of October against his former team, the Vancouver Canucks, and has a single assist since being called up. The journeyman has spent much of his professional career in the AHL but has made NHL stops in Dallas and Vancouver.

DeSimone was brought up to the NHL back on November 8th and has been a healthy scratch during that time. The 29-year-old has yet to appear in an NHL game this season but has dressed in nine AHL games, tallying two assists. DeSimone was acquired by the Devils off waivers from the Calgary Flames back in January of this year.

Penguins Notes: Graves, O’Connor, Jarry

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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves was a healthy scratch last night in favor of youngster Owen Pickering (as per Josh Yohe of The Athletic). Graves has become a magnet for criticism in Pittsburgh just a year and a bit into a six-year $27MM contract he signed in July 2023. Graves has had some better games this season but has been largely sheltered in a third-pairing role.

The scratch is another attempt by Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan to send a message to Pittsburgh’s veteran depth players who have played uninspired hockey for much of this season. Pickering picked up an assist in his NHL debut last night against San Jose and looked like the Penguins’ best defenseman in the game.

In other Pittsburgh Penguins notes:

  • Jim Parsons of The Hockey News believes that Penguins forward Drew O’Connor will receive trade interest from other teams because of his inexpensive cap hit. O’Connor is an unrestricted free agent next summer and is making $925K this season in the final season of a two-year deal. O’Connor’s cap hit will make an attractive commodity as the 26-year-old is capable of being a solid depth scorer for any team that fancies themselves a contender. O’Connor has three goals and three assists in 20 games this season and has played both center and the wing for Pittsburgh.
  • Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry returned to the NHL this week after a two-week stint in the American Hockey League. Jarry played well in the AHL but had a disastrous return to the NHL giving up five goals on 39 shots, including a goal on the first shot. He allowed goals on two of the first three shots he faced and never looked comfortable in his return. Jarry is likely unmovable at this point (as per Jim Parsons). with three years remaining on his contract (after this season) at an AAV of $5.375MM. PuckPedia’s Perri Salary Cap Relief Calculator estimates that it would take a top 10 NHL draft pick in order to move the remainder of Jarry’s salary, something the Penguins likely have no appetite to do.

Injury Notes: Nurse, Johnson, Savard, Edvinsson

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In a scary incident from tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs, Darnell Nurse was on the receiving end of an illegal check to the head from Ryan Reaves. Reaves was given a five-minute major penalty on the play and was ejected from tonight’s contest.

Nurse was visibly shaken up after the hit and was bleeding from his head. The Oilers quickly announced that Nurse wouldn’t return to tonight’s game. Nurse will likely miss some time which hasn’t happened in his career since the 2021-22 NHL season.

It’s also likely that Reaves will face some supplementary discipline from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. Reaves has been suspended three times in his career with the most recent suspension coming in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs while a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Other injury notes:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets should get a jolt to their 14th-ranked offense next week. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that Kent Johnson will return next week from his shoulder injury. Johnson was off to a solid start to the 2024-25 campaign with two goals and five points in four contests before succumbing to the shoulder injury on October 17th.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman David Savard wouldn’t participate in tonight’s matchup against the Blue Jackets because of an upper-body injury. He was present with the team in today’s practice and wasn’t ruled out until after warm-ups. He’s managed four assists in 17 games on the year and will miss his first game of the season.
  • Just before taking the ice against the Los Angeles Kings, the Detroit Red Wings announced Simon Edvinsson wouldn’t be in the lineup due to a lower-body injury. The injury is likely connected to Edvinsson taking a shot off the foot in last night’s loss against the Anaheim Ducks. It’s a major loss for the Red Wings on their blue line with Edvinsson leading all Detroit defensemen with a 48.6% CorsiFor% on the year.

West Notes: Eriksson Ek, Brodin, Walman, Sturm, Vanecek

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The Minnesota Wild received some unfortunate injury news yesterday with the announcement Mats Zuccarello would miss the next three to four weeks with a lower-body injury. It’s not all bad news on the injury front in the Wild organization as Michael Russo of The Athletic reported that Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin should return to practice on Monday.

Eriksson Ek left Minnesota’s game against the Montreal Canadiens after only 3:43 of ice time. Despite a short clip of him in obvious discomfort while skating off the ice, there wasn’t any video evidence of what led to Eriksson Ek’s injury. Frederick Gaudreau has seemingly taken Eriksson Ek’s spot down the middle of the team’s second line for tonight’s matchup against the Dallas Stars.

Brodin has missed the last two games for the Wild with an upper-body injury with his most recent contest coming this past Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Brodin has been fairly injury-prone the last several years as he hasn’t played in more than 70 games since the 2021-22 NHL season.

Other West notes:

  • The San Jose Sharks got a major boost on the blue line tonight with Jake Walman returning from a five-game absence (X Link). He hasn’t played since the first week of November due to an upper-body injury after scoring at one of the hottest paces of his career. Walman scored seven points in four games before succumbing to the injury.
  • Sticking in San Jose, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reported forward Nico Sturm is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Sturm exited the Sharks’ recent matchup against the New York Rangers after 5:27 of ice time after suffering an apparent non-contact injury.
  • It doesn’t end there for the Sharks on the injury front as the team announced netminder Vitek Vanecek is questionable to return to tonight’s contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Vanecek stopped eight of Pittsburgh’s 10 shots from the first period but didn’t return for the second. A recall of goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov could be on the horizon should Vanecek miss a meaningful amount of time.

Metropolitan Notes: Chytil, Andersen, Jarvis, Erne, Letang

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Rangers center Filip Chytil will not accompany the team on its upcoming four-game road trip, relays Vince Z. Mercogliano of the Rockland/Westchester Journal News.  The 25-year-old suffered an upper-body injury on Thursday versus San Jose with the team declining to provide further specifics.  Chytil, who has missed considerable time with concussions in the past (including the final 72 games of last season), is off to a good start this year for New York, notching four goals and five assists in 15 appearances despite an ATOI of just 13:40, his lowest since his rookie season.  It’s possible that Chytil could be cleared to join the Rangers partway through the trip if the injury winds up being a minor one.

More from the Metro:

  • Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen’s injury is not related to the blood clots that kept him out for a significant chunk of last season, notes Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal (Twitter link). After initially being listed as out week-to-week, he’s now out for considerably longer than that.  Lavalette adds that the team is weighing the possibility of Andersen having surgery although no decision has been made on that front yet.
  • Still with the Hurricanes, the team announced that winger Seth Jarvis has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 10th. He has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury and the team hopes he can return to practice next week.  Because of the retroactive placement, he’s eligible to be reactivated as soon as Sunday.  The move creates a roster spot for recently-recalled goaltender Yaniv Perets with the team also quietly recalling Ty Smith late Thursday.
  • The Rangers’ farm team in Hartford has released winger Adam Erne from his PTO, per the AHL’s transactions log. The veteran was previously listed as out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.  Erne had just one assist in ten games with the Wolf Pack prior to getting hurt.  A veteran of 379 career NHL games over parts of eight seasons (including 24 last year in Edmonton), Erne will now try to catch on elsewhere, presumably when he has recovered from the injury.
  • Before tonight’s game between the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins, the latter announced Kris Letang would miss his second straight game due to illness. When healthy this year, Letang has gotten off to one of the worst scoring paces of his career since his early days in Pittsburgh with two goals and six points in 18 games.

Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Luongo, Harvey-Pinard, Kastelic, Johnson, Mermis

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without captain Auston Matthews for almost two weeks with a lower-body injury. Sportsnet’s Luke Fox argued that Matthews’ prolonged absence has opened some eyes in Toronto regarding the team’s center depth.

Toronto essentially moved every center up a line with John Tavares and Max Domi manning the top two lines. Fox believes that the Maple Leafs must upgrade their third line, which has usually been centered by Domi this season. He’s only managed six assists in 18 games this season and hasn’t scored a goal in the regular since April 6th, 2024.

If general manager Brad Treliving concurs with the assessment the team will have some options available for trade. Fox lists Brock Nelson, Mikael Granlund, Frank Vatrano, Nick Bjugstad, and Jake Evans as the likeliest options for the Maple Leafs to pursue with the former being undeniably the best option.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • Earlier this week, Hall-of-Fame netminder Roberto Luongo met for an interview with former players Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette on the Spittin Chiclets podcast. In the interview, Luongo revealed that shortly after being acquired by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2006 offseason the Detroit Red Wings offered Luongo an offer sheet which would have been more than his eventual four-year, $27MM deal with the Canucks. The organization pivoted to veteran netminder Dominik Hasek who would help them capture their 11th Stanley Cup title a year later after being rejected by Luongo.
  • Eric Engels of Sportsnet reported that Montreal Canadiens forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard won’t return tonight but is close. Harvey-Pinard is continuing to recover from a broken leg that has put his start to the 2024-25 NHL season on pause. He hasn’t played meaningful hockey since last season scoring two goals and 10 points in 45 games for Montreal.
  • Boston Bruins forward Mark Kastelic left the team’s overtime loss against the St. Louis Blues today after skating in 5:18 of the action. Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe shared that Kastelic is expected to miss the next few days with a lower-body injury. Thankfully for Kastelic and the Bruins, the team doesn’t play again until their contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night meaning Kastelic could be an option.
  • One member of the Bruins organization who didn’t see any ice time this afternoon was veteran forward Tyler Johnson. Before puck drop, the team announced Johnson was out due to ’family reasons’ but would return to practice tomorrow. Johnson has gone scoreless in four games in Boston after signing a one-year contract with the organization two weeks ago.
  • Moving back to Toronto, defenseman Dakota Mermis skated this morning before practice according to David Alter of The Hockey News. Mermis, who has been on the team’s LTIR while recovering from jaw surgery, signed a one-year, $775K contract with the Maple Leafs this past offseason.

Avalanche Re-Assign Trent Miner, Alexandar Georgiev Out Day-To-Day

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11/16: Miner played 34 minutes of Colorado’s loss to the Washington Capitals last night and has been reassigned to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles per a team announcement. The Avalanche don’t have another game until Monday so Miner could return to the NHL level then.

11/15: The Avalanche announced Friday that they’ve recalled goalie Trent Miner from AHL Colorado. He’ll serve as the backup to Justus Annunen tonight against the Capitals. Alexandar Georgiev has been ruled out with an upper-body injury and is day-to-day. The team also confirmed that forward Chris Wagner had been assigned to the AHL after clearing waivers, opening up the roster spot for Miner’s recall.

Miner, 23, will dress for an NHL game for the first time more than five years after the Avalanche selected him in the seventh round of the 2019 draft. The 6’1″ netminder has spent the last three seasons splitting time between the AHL and ECHL Utah, although he got upgraded to a full-time AHL role for 2024-25.

Miner is coming off somewhat of a breakout 2023-24 campaign. He cemented his spot on this year’s AHL roster during an 18-game call-up from the ECHL last season, during which he shut the door with a 2.10 GAA, .930 SV%, one shutout, and a 9-6-1 record. He was set to become a restricted free agent last summer, but the Avs inked him to a two-way extension in May.

So far this season, Miner has split AHL duties with offseason trade acquisition Kevin Mandolese. He’s been outplayed by the new guy but has still put up decent numbers, logging a 2.34 GAA, .905 SV%, and a 3-2-1 record in six games.

Meanwhile, the injury is unfortunate timing for Georgiev. The 28-year-old had been getting his feet under him after a disastrous start to the season and had started four games in a row, posting a strong .913 SV% over that stretch. He played all 60 minutes in Colorado’s last game against the Kings on Wednesday, so it’s unclear when he sustained the injury.

With a .863 SV% and -8.8 GSAA, Georgiev has still been quite underwhelming on the whole this season. The Bulgaria-born netminder didn’t receive a single Vezina Trophy last year despite leading the league with 38 wins due to his subpar .897 SV% and career-worst -11.9 GSAA.

Flyers Notes: Ristolainen, York, Drysdale

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After a rough showing last season, Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen has been a much more impactful player in the early going this year, logging more than 20 minutes a night while chipping in with plenty of blocks and hits as usual.  Accordingly, some have wondered if he could become a trade candidate at some point.  Kevin Kurz of The Athletic relays (subscription link) that Philadelphia is fielding calls on the 30-year-old but they aren’t interested in just clearing out the remainder of his contract, one that carries a $5.1MM AAV through the 2026-27 campaign but haven’t formally set an asking price either.  Philadelphia has only used one of its three retention slots and could up the return by paying down part of the contract but it wouldn’t be surprising if a Ristolainen move happens closer to the trade deadline, if one happens at all this season.

More from Philadelphia:

  • Blueliner Cam York had a breakout season last year with 10 goals and 30 points and was off to a solid start this year before being sidelined with an upper-body injury. He’s in the final year of his bridge deal, one that carries a $1.6MM AAV.  However, Daily Faceoff’s Anthony DiMarco suggests the next contract will cost considerably more, noting that Devon Toews’ contract in Colorado could be a comparable for negotiations.  Toews is on a seven-year deal with a $7.25MM AAV though it should be noted that each season is a UFA-eligible one, something that won’t be the case for York who isn’t UFA-eligible until 2028.  Regardless, York is well on his way to a sizable raise next summer.
  • Defenseman Jamie Drysdale took part in today’s morning skate with a non-contact jersey, notes Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). The 22-year-old is currently on injured reserve with an upper-body injury but the placement was made retroactive to November 9th so he’ll be eligible to return once fully cleared.  Drysdale was off to a quiet start to his first full season with the Flyers as he had just three points in his first 15 games although his 20:35 ATOI is the highest of his career.

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