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Ottawa Senators Reassign Dennis Gilbert

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The Ottawa Senators have made a roster move ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Ottawa shared that they’ve reassigned depth defenseman Dennis Gilbert to the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

Fortunately, the transaction is for a positive reason. Thomas Chabot, who returned to practice as a full participant on Wednesday, is expected to be activated from the injured reserve and be in the lineup tomorrow afternoon. Chabot has been nursing an upper-body injury for the last month.

Gilbert, 29, is in his second stint with the Senators organization. He was acquired by the team last offseason in the deadline deal that brought Dylan Cozens to Ottawa. He signed with the Philadelphia Flyers last summer as an unrestricted free agent and was later traded back to the Senators in November for Max Guenette.

Despite the pair of trades, Gilbert has only appeared in five games with Ottawa, registering one assist and a -1 rating. He earned far more time with the Buffalo Sabres last season, tallying five assists in 25 contests.

Still, that hasn’t meant more ice time in the AHL. Even though he only appeared in 29 games last season, Gilbert spent the entire year on an NHL roster. This year, he battled some injury concerns earlier on, so he’s only managed nine AHL contests between Belleville and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Assuming the Senators’ defensive core can remain healthy, Gilbert will have a consistent home for the next little while.

St. Louis Blues Reassign Matt Luff

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The St. Louis Blues announced that they’ve assigned depth forward Matt Luff to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. The Blues are down to 21 players on the active roster.

St. Louis likely felt comfortable reassigning Luff given yesterday’s injury updates. According to Lou Korac of The Hockey News, all three of Jordan Kyrou, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Nathan Walker were skating yesterday morning. The expectation is that Kyrou will return to play against the Florida Panthers tomorrow.

Today’s reassignment concludes Luff’s first playing time in the NHL since the 2022-23 campaign. He skated in five games for the Blues, registering one goal with a -2 rating while averaging 9:08 of ice time in a fourth-line role.

He’ll return to a Thunderbirds where he’s joined the best stretch of his professional career, at least in the AHL. Throughout the past two years in Springfield, Luff has scored 25 goals and 59 points in 67 games with a -14 rating. Despite spending the last two weeks with the Blues, Luff remains third on the Thunderbirds in scoring this season.

It may not be his last pit stop in St. Louis this season. Given their current trajectory, the Blues are expected to sell off a few pieces leading up to the trade deadline, especially at the forward position. Should that come to fruition, Luff may find his way back to the NHL for the last stretch of the regular season.

Blue Jackets Recall Luca Del Bel Belluz On Emergency Basis

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According to a team announcement, the Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled forward Luca Del Bel Belluz on an emergency basis. It’s the third time Del Bel Belluz has been recalled, and his second on an emergency basis.

Fortunately, Del Bel Belluz’s recall isn’t for any injury concerns. Reports indicate that depth forward Brendan Gaunce and his wife are expecting a child relatively soon. The Blue Jackets will use Del Bel Belluz as an extra forward for their upcoming two-game road trip.

Although he has yet to break out in any meaningful way at the NHL level, Del Bel Belluz’s play with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters has made him the next man up for the Blue Jackets. The 44th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft has spent the last three years primarily playing for Cleveland, scoring 41 goals and 97 points in 133 games.

The 22-year-old debuted during the 2023-24 season, but had his longest look in the NHL last year. He performed relatively well in limited action, scoring two goals and eight points in 15 games, averaging 13:45 of ice time. There was certainly room to grow on the defensive side of the puck, though that’s to be expected of a younger forward.

Still, he hasn’t resumed that production this season. Nearly reaching last year’s games played totals, Luca Del Belluz has tallied only one assist in 11 games for the Blue Jackets this season. He’s averaged far less ice time (9:04) and has largely been relegated to a fourth-line role.

Trade Market Notes: Sherwood, Marchment, Danault

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The trade market for Vancouver Canucks winger Kiefer Sherwood is beginning to materialize and will likely continue growing leading up to the trade deadline. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen, the Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Tampa Bay Lightning have “kicked the tires” on Sherwood.

Given his perceived value, especially in the postseason, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Sherwood’s market grow to 15 to 20 teams. The middle-six winger has scored 32 goals and 57 points in 111 games with Vancouver, averaging 15:41 of ice time while totalling a whopping 608 hits.

He’s remarkably affordable for what he provides, too. Especially for teams like the Bruins, Lightning, Senators, and Stars, who are close to the upper limit of the salary cap, Sherwood’s $1.5MM salary is easily absorbable.

Other notes on the trade market:

  • Sherwood is far from the only middle-six winger that is receiving interest. Speaking on the NHL’s Coast to Coast, insider Frank Seravalli shared that Seattle Kraken forward Mason Marchment is generating traction on the market and may even move before the holiday roster freeze. Unlike Sherwood, Marchment isn’t as affordable ($4.5MM) and is having a disappointing year, scoring four goals and 13 points in 29 games. Still, he’s coming off a four-year run with the Florida Panthers and Stars, where he scored 74 goals and 178 points in 265 games.
  • Despite currently owning the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings have the fifth-worst offense in the league, averaging 2.55 GF/G. With a need for goal scoring, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggests that the team is attempting to use Phillip Danault to address that need. Still, at face value, the idea doesn’t make much sense. Few rebuilding clubs would require a 32-year-old center, and contending teams would be hard-pressed to part with their goal scorers, especially for a center that has registered only five assists through his first 30 games this season. The Kings would be better suited to use whatever assets they can get for Danault in a separate trade for a scoring forward.

Sabres’ Conor Timmins Out Multiple Weeks With Broken Leg

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After last night’s win over the Philadelphia Flyers, the Buffalo Sabres announced that defenseman Conor Timmins would miss the next six to eight weeks with a broken leg.

Since Michael Kesselring returned to the lineup last night, the Sabres don’t necessarily need to place Timmins on the injured reserve since they have seven healthy defensemen on the roster. However, due to the severity of the injury and the length of the recovery timeline, they’ll likely place him on it to allow the recall of additional depth.

The injury happened fairly late in the game as Timmins exited the contest with 5:20 remaining in the final frame. Video replay suggests that Timmins’ skate caught a rough spot in the ice, causing his leg to bend awkwardly and fracture.

Timmins, 27, is in his first year with the Sabres after being traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins last offseason. He has skated in every game this season, leading up to the injury, tallying six assists with a -11 rating while averaging 19:14 of action. In fact, his 33 games played this year are the second-highest season total of his career.

Given that, he was well on his way to matching his career-high in points, though it’s unrealistic to think he wouldn’t have scored at least one goal over the course of the regular season. Unfortunately, since he won’t play again until late January or early February, Timmins may have to wait another season to set a new personal benchmark.

Regardless, Timmins’ injury will mean more ice time for at least one defenseman on Buffalo’s roster. The team will likely move Kesselring into a top-four role and rely on 27-year-old Zach Metsa or 28-year-old Jacob Bryson to fill in the void on the bottom pairing.

Oilers’ Tristan Jarry Leaves With Injury

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Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry exited Thursday night’s game against the Boston Bruins with an apparent lower-body injury, after stretching across his crease to make a save. The Oilers leaned on backup Calvin Pickard to carry them to the eventual win, while emergency backup goaltender Jason San Antonio suited up to take Edmonton’s bench. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch had no update on Jarry’s injury after the game, other than to say that the team isn’t yet sure how serious it is, per Sportsnet’s Gene Principe.

San Antonio’s last full season of organized hockey was all the way back in 2013-14, when he played his third and final year for Bryant University’s ACHA Division-II team. He won two Rhode Island high school state championships during his four-year tenure at Mount St. Charles Academy.

Pickard made 12 saves on 12 shots in 24 minutes of action. His performance helped Edmonton hold onto a lead that they established while Jarry was in net. The spotlight performance will boost Pickard’s numbers after a measly start to the year. He had a 3-4-2 record and .851 save percentage headed into Thursday night’s game. That was the lowest save percentage of any goaltender with at least 10 starts this season. He could have a chance to really fortify his stat line, should Jarry be forced to miss multiple games.

Edmonton will certainly hope that isn’t the case, though. Jarry joined the team less than a week ago alongside winger Samuel Poulin in a trade that sent Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jarry won both of his first two games with the Oilers – though he did allow seven goals on 58 shots (.880 Sv%). The 30-year-old, former Stanley Cup champion posted nine wins and a .909 Sv% in 14 games with the Penguins prior to the trade. He will be in line for a major role in Edmonton whenever he’s back to full health.

Sharks Notes: Dellandrea, Gaudette, Skinner, Kurashev

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The San Jose Sharks will see the return of depth forwards Ty Dellandrea and Adam Gaudette in Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Stars, per Max Miller of The Hockey News. Dellandrea sustained a hand injury after blocking a shot in Tuesday’s win over the Calgary Flames. He left the game briefly but returned before things wrapped up – though still carried a questionable tag through the rest of the week. Gaudette sat out on Tuesday after sustaining a lower-body injury last Saturday.

Both returnees are slated to fill out San Jose’s third-line alongside winger Ethan Cardwell. Gaudette snapped a four-game scoring drought with a goal before his injury on Saturday. He has seven goals and 11 points in 29 games this season. Nearly half of those points – five – came across an eight-game streak between late November and early December. Dellandrea is having a career year, with 10 points in 34 games. That’s well above the scoring pace from the 2022-23 season, when he set a career-high 28 points in 82 games.

Other notes out of San Jose:

  • To make room for Gaudette and Dellandrea, the Sharks will once again send veteran winger Jeff Skinner to the press box. Skinner has been in-and-out of the lineup through much of the last two months. He’s appeared in five of San Jose’s eight games in December. The Sharks won four of those games but Skinner didn’t manage any scoring. He has just seven points in 22 games this season, a career-low scoring pace. Skinner will continue to serve as a plug-and-play winger for the Sharks.
  • A timeline has also become clear for Sharks forward Philipp Kurashev, who sustained a long-term upper-body injury last week. He is expected to be back to full health before the NHL’s February break, and should be prepared to take the ice for Team Switzerland should he be named to the team, per Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News. Kurashev has found a surprising bit of offense with a move from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Sharks. He has six goals and 15 points in 31 games on the year, putting him on pace for 40 points across 82 games. That will be a tough mark to reach on the other side of a long injury, but could be enough of a scoring spark to catch the eye of Switzerland’s management. Kurashev has represented Switerland at the last four World Championships – dating back to his age-18 season, when he played in both the World Championships and World Junior Championships. He has 15 points in 32 total games at the World Championships.

Rangers’ Artemi Panarin Out, Adam Fox Returns To Practice

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The New York Rangers will be without both of their stars up front in Thursday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues. On top of an injury to top defender Adam Fox, the Rangers will also be without top winger Artemi Panarin, who is out with an illness per Peter Baugh of The Athletic. Fox, who has missed the last eight games with a shoulder injury, did make his return to practice in a non-contact jersey on Thursday per Baugh.

Missing their top two skaters will only pull the Rangers lower. New York has struggled with Fox on the shelf, posting a 3-3-2 record and 17-to-24 goal differential in his absence. Panarin has been the heart of the offense in those games, with eight points – all scored at even-strength – and over 21 minutes of average ice time. Without him, New York will be forced to lean on Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller, who both have two goals and six points in the last eight games. Zibanajed will have a little extra motivation to perform, after being scratched in New York’s Tuesday loss to the Vancouver Canucks for disciplinary reasons.

Despite a tough game ahead, the Rangers’ struggles shouldn’t carry on for too long. Panarin should return to a top-line role when New York returns home on Saturday. Fox could be shortly behind him. He’ll have six games left to return before December ends. The return of the former Norris Trophy winner should quickly bring the Rangers back to life. Fox was riding a six-game scoring streak prior to his injury – netting 10 points, all assists, in that span. New York had an 8-7-0 record and 44-to-42 goal differential throughout November, leaning heavily on both Panarin and Fox.

Mammoth Reassign Kevin Rooney

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The Mammoth announced they’ve returned center Kevin Rooney to AHL Tucson. They’re left with an open roster spot.

Rooney’s run of limited playing time this season continued on his most recent recall. Signed at the beginning of the season after being released from a tryout with the Devils, he didn’t make the team out of camp but has since been recalled four times, clearing waivers twice in the process.

His most recent one came one week ago, only burning seven days off his newly reset 30-day temporary waiver exemption. He didn’t see any action, instead serving as a healthy scratch for Utah’s last four games.

Despite the month-plus he’s spent on Utah’s active roster, he’s only gotten into one game for them, scoring a goal in 10 minutes of action against the Stars on Nov. 28. Last night marked his 20th healthy scratch of the season as the 32-year-old continues to serve as a second healthy extra forward while Logan Cooley and Alexander Kerfoot are on injured reserve.

When the veteran of 331 NHL games has gotten the opportunity to play in the minors, he’s been solid. In 11 games for Tucson, he’s got six goals and an assist with a +2 rating.

Ducks Activate Petr Mrazek, Reassign Ville Husso

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The Ducks announced they’ve activated goaltender Petr Mrázek from injured reserve. Fellow netminder Ville Husso was returned to AHL San Diego in the corresponding move.

Anaheim now has its season-opening goalie tandem intact after injuries affected both Mrázek and Lukáš Dostál over the past few weeks. Mrázek landed on IR not too long after Dostál did, sustaining a lower-body injury during the third period of a loss to the Blackhawks on Nov. 30.

After a nine-game absence, he’ll be available to back up Dostál for tomorrow’s game against the Stars. Before his injury, it was shaping up to be a forgettable season for the veteran netminder. In seven starts, he’d put up a 3-3-0 record with a .876 SV% and 3.69 GAA, on track for career lows in both.

Acquired from the Red Wings in the John Gibson deal, there was an argument to be made that the high-priced Mrázek should end up on waivers when he was due to return rather than return Husso to the minors. The 30-year-old is an experienced third-string option and, while his numbers weren’t all that much better than Mrázek’s, he represents an upgrade with a 5-3-1 record, .884 SV%, and 3.25 GAA in nine appearances. He’s posted a -0.3 GSAx compared to Mrázek’s -1.2, per MoneyPuck.

Nonetheless, it’s Husso going back down to completely negate the risk of losing goalie depth on waivers. Anaheim signed him to a two-year, $4.4MM contract extension in June despite fully intending on using him as their No. 3, presumably with the primary objective of deterring waiver claims. Their $1.05MM cap penalty this season for burying him in the minors is inconsequential for a team with now over $20MM in accumulated cap space.

Before being summoned in Dostál’s absence, Husso had a .908 SV%, 2.49 GAA, three shutouts, and a 6-4-3 record in 13 games for San Diego.

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