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Calgary Flames Acquire Riley Damiani From Dallas Stars

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The Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars have swapped a pair of minor-league forwards, with Calgary sending Emilio Pettersen to Dallas in exchange for Riley Damiani. Both 23-year-olds have spent the entire season in the minor leagues.

Pettersen has scored more out of the pair, with 30 points in 54 games with the Calgary Wranglers. He’s maintaining a strong scoring pace, though he’s not quite scoring at the 0.72 points-per-game pace he managed last year when he totaled 19 goals and 44 points in 61 games. He has been in the AHL since the 2020-21 season, moving to the league after two seasons with the University of Denver. Pettersen has also represented his home country of Norway on a variety of levels, including the World U18 Championship in 2016 and 2017, the 2019 World Juniors Division A tournament, and at the World Championship in 2021. He was productive in his World Juniors appearances, scoring at a point-per-game pace at minimum in each tournament, but managed just one goal at the World Championship. Pettersen joined the Flames when they drafted him in the sixth-round of the 2018 NHL Draft.

Damiani stands out because, unlike Pettersen, he’s already made his NHL debut – playing in seven games and scoring two points in the 2021-22 season. He’s since spent all of his time in the AHL, recording 13 goals and 31 points in 59 games last season and 23 points in 53 games this year. Damiani went exactly one round before Pettersen in the 2018 Draft, getting selected 137th-overall by Dallas.

Pettersen stands out thanks to head-strong forechecking and not shying away from physicality, despite standing at a 5’10” frame. Damiani, also 5’10”, fits a slightly different style – serving as a burst of speed in the middle lane that creates tempo well. Both players show strong puck control and an ability to command their linemates. A change of scenery could work wonders for both, as they work towards climbing the depth charts of their new team.

East Notes: Senators, Rousek, Canadiens, Shepard

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6:30 PM: Lukas Rousek will slot into Buffalo’s lineup on Thursday, as forward Tage Thompson is out with an upper-body injury, per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio. Hamilton named Thompson as day-to-day.

6:00 PM: The Ottawa Senators have recalled forward Jiri Smejkal and defenseman Max Guenette. The pair will serve as fill-ins for the injured Matthew Highmore and Thomas Chabot, who are bearing with a lower-body and upper-body injury respectively. Ottawa has also sent goaltender Mads Sogaard to the minors.

Both Smejkal and Guenette have appeared in NHL games this season, serving as go-to call-ups when Ottawa has faced injury. Smejkal has appeared in nine games, recording one assist and a -2. They’re the first games of his North American career, with the 27-year-old forward joining Ottawa after a seven-year tour around Europe’s top leagues, including five years in the Czechia Extraliga. He’s also totaled 19 points in 39 AHL games, adding 14 penalty minutes and a -11.

Guenette has been more productive in the minors, scoring 29 points in 49 games, though he’s only received two NHL games this season. He went without a point in both, still searching for the first point of his NHL career after failing to score in his debut last season as well. Ottawa drafted Guenette in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft and promoted him to the pros in 2021-22. He’s since totaled 169 games and 88 points in the AHL.

More notes from around the league:

  • The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Lukáš Rousek from the AHL. Rousek currently leads the Rochester Americans in scoring, with 10 goals and 38 points in 48 games. He will likely serve as Buffalo’s extra forward, with the team now down one after trading Casey Mittelstadt for defenseman Bowen Byram. Mittelstadt’s departure made way for Victor Olofsson to slot back into the lineup – an opportunity he took advantage of, scoring Buffalo’s only goal in their 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Rousek, who hasn’t recorded a point in any of the five NHL games he’s played this season, will need to compete with Olofsson and Eric Robinson for a spot in Buffalo’s lineup.
  • The Montreal Canadiens have signed assistant general manager John Sedgwick to a multi-year extension, also promoting him to general manager of the AHL’s Laval Rocket. This is a big step for Sedgwick, who’s been with the Canadiens since 2013, serving in a variety of roles that included Director of Hockey Operations, Director of Legal Affairs, and now Assistant General Manager. Sedgwick worked in the NHL’s head office for seven years, prior to joining Montreal.
  • The Washington Capitals have recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard from the AHL. Shepard has been one of the minor league’s most productive netminders, posting 21 wins and a .919 save percentage in 26 appearances. His dominance has coincided with batterymate Clay Stevenson, who has 18 wins and a .932 save percentage in 27 games of his own. Shepard made his NHL debut earlier this season and has since posted two wins and a .894 save percentage. He’ll back up Charlie Lindgren for the Capitals, as starter Darcy Kuemper sits out with illness.

More Trade Notes: Eberle, Oilers, Laughton

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The Seattle Kraken remain open to trading veteran forward Jordan Eberle, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, with the Edmonton Oilers emerging as one team interested in a trade. The Kraken have prioritized signing Eberle to an extension, though Seravalli reports that term has become a hangup in negotiations. Eberle has been effective once again in Seattle, scoring 14 goals and 37 points in 58 games this season. He’s on pace to once again score 20 goals on the season – a feat he’s managed in each of his three years with the Kraken, after not achieving it since the 2017-18 season with the New York Islanders. Eberle has totaled 144 points in 219 games with Seattle, ranking as the team’s third-highest scorer of all time and bringing his career totals up to 695 points in 998 games. While Seattle is still hoping to complete an extension, the heat of the Trade Deadline could be enough to see Eberle play his 1,000th game with a new team.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Edmonton Oilers are searching for an inexpensive, veteran defenseman says Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The Oilers have already made a splash this Trade Deadline, acquiring Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. They now have just $1.0MM in cap space remaining, limiting their ability to upgrade much more. They’ll have to act quick if they want to bring in a veteran defender with the market dwindling, as Joel Edmundson has already been traded and both Zach Bogosian and Nick Seeler each signed extensions with their clubs. Remaining options could include Montreal’s David Savard or Buffalo’s Erik Johnson. Edmonton carries a healthy mix of left-handed and right-handed defensemen, giving them the flexibility to choose whichever player fits their style better.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers are planning to revisit a Scott Laughton trade after bigger names have come off the board, per The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco, who shares that the price for Laughton remains a first-round pick. Laughton has become a cornerstone piece in Philadelphia, thanks to his impacts in all three zones. He has 10 goals and 32 points in 63 games this season, after scoring a career-high 18 goals and 43 points in 78 games last year. He’s spent all 11 years of his career in Philadelphia, totaling 231 points in 582 games.

Trade Notes: Sharks, Toffoli, Johansen

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The San Jose Sharks plan to scratch forwards Anthony Duclair and Alexander Barabanov for trade-related reasons, per team reporter Sheng Peng and The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.

Both players have seen their names heavily mentioned throughout Trade Deadline season, though interest around them has seemed to flux. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported on Wednesday that extension talks broke down between the Sharks and Barabanov, leading to the team exploring the open market. Duclair shared in late February that he hadn’t yet discussed an extension with the Sharks, setting him up as a trade candidate.

Barabanov has taken a noticeable step back this season, managing just 10 points and a -23 in 38 games – a far cry from the 10 goals and 39 points he scored in 2021-22, or the 15 goals and 47 points he managed last year. The 29-year-old winger made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2020-21 season, after a seven-year career with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg. He played in 13 games with the Leafs before being flipped to the Sharks for Antti Suomela. He’s since totaled 104 points across 198 career games.

Duclair is in his first season with the Sharks, joining the team via trade on July 1st, with San Jose sending Steven Lorentz and a 2025 fifth-round pick back to the Florida Panthers. Duclair previously spent three fruitful seasons in Florida, totaling 99 points in 137 games with the club – including a 31-goal, 58-point season in 2021-22. That year marked Duclair’s career-highs in all three scoring stats, though he’s broken the 40-point mark two other times in his career. Duclair has become an established journeyman, playing with seven different clubs across his 10-year career. He’s totaled 288 points in 546 combined games, since making his debut in the 2014-15 season.

Duclair carries a $3.0MM cap hit, while Barabanov has a slightly cheaper $2.5MM cap hit. Both players are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer, making them rental options at this Trade Deadline. While they’ve each shown flashes of prowess over their careers, it’s likely that neither will fetch a particularly compelling return on the open market – instead serving as strong contingency plans for teams who fall out of the race for other top scorers.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The New Jersey Devils are also planning for a move, scratching top winger Tyler Toffoli for trade-related reasons. Toffoli currently leads the Devils with 26 goals in 61 games, adding 18 assists as well. It’s a continuation of the red-hot season he had with the Calgary Flames last year, scoring 34 goals and 73 points in 82 games. With one more point this season, Toffoli will cross the 45-point mark for just the fifth time in his 11-year career. He’s in his first season with New Jersey – the fifth club he’s been a part of. Much of Toffoli’s career was spent with the Los Angeles Kings, who drafted him 47th-overall in the 2010 NHL Draft and won a Stanley Cup in his rookie season of 2013-14. Toffoli scored 14 points, split evenly, through 26 games on that Cup run. New Jersey hasn’t yet ruled out signing Toffoli to an extension, though his healthy scratching suggests the two sides weren’t able to come to a deal.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers will continue to shop around centerman Ryan Johansen, per general manager Daniel Briere. Briere added that Johansen was, “probably not” a part of the team’s future plans. Johansen joined the Flyers alongside a 2025 first-round pick in the trade that sent Sean Walker and a fifth-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche. Philadelphia proceeded to place Johansen on waivers, which he cleared, likely thanks to his hefty $4MM cap hit. Philadelphia will likely look to leverage their cap space once again, with the team capable of retaining salary on one more contract. The Flyers previously served as a broker on the deal that sent Noah Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights, receiving a 2024 fifth-round pick to retain 25 percent ($1.2375MM) of his salary.

Stars Sign Connor Punnett To Entry-Level Contract

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March 7: Punnett has chosen the Dallas Stars as his first NHL home, per a team announcement. The three-year entry-level contract will make him an RFA in 2027 and carries a cap hit of $870K, per PuckPedia.

Feb. 26: March 1st is the first day that teams can sign players to future contracts, ones that begin in the 2024-25 season.  Accordingly, there is often an uptick in undrafted players signing those deals soon after, generally from the NCAA but also some from the CHL ranks as well.  One player from the latter who appears to be heading toward signing one of those contracts is Connor Punnett; Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports that seven teams have shown “sincere interest” in signing the blueliner while several others have at least checked in on him.

The 20-year-old is in his fourth and final major junior season with most of his OHL time coming with Barrie before the Colts moved him to Oshawa before their trade deadline last month.  Between the two teams, Punnett has seven goals and 37 assists in 55 games.  He already has set a new benchmark for assists and is on pace to set a new career-high in points as he’s four shy of the 48 he had last season.  That said, Punnett is more known for his physicality and he has already reached the 100-PIM mark for the second straight year.

Punnett will be covered by entry-level contract regulations which means whoever signs him will be doing so on a three-year deal, the first of which would be the 2024-25 campaign.  It’s quite rare that a player goes from being an undrafted free agent signing to the NHL the following year but whoever signs Punnett will be adding an intriguing blueliner to the mix for a possible roster spot down the road.

Western Notes: Wild, Oilers, Podkolzin, Foudy

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The Minnesota Wild have placed forward Marcus Johansson on injured reserve with a lower-body injury suffered in the team’s Saturday game against the St. Louis Blues. Johansson has since missed the team’s last two games, and will now be out until at least Sunday. Minnesota has recalled forward Adam Beckman from the AHL in a corresponding move.

Johansson, 33, has managed nine goals and 27 points in 61 games this season. It’s his third season spending time with Minnesota, joining the team via trade last season, with Minnesota sending a 2024 third-round pick to the Washington Capitals in return. He also played 36 games for Minnesota during the shortened 2020-21 season. Johansson has totaled 117 career games with the Wild, the second-most he’s played for any team. He has 21 goals and 59 points across those games – bringing his career totals up to 480 points in 894 games.

Johansson is signed through the 2024-25 season, riding out a two-year, $4MM contract extension signed at the end of last season. The new deal will carry him through his age-35 season and carries a $2MM cap hit. His absence will make room for Beckman’s return to the NHL. The 22-year-old winger has been called up twice this season, though he’s yet to play in his first NHL game of the season. He’s instead played 48 games in the AHL, serving as an alternate captain for the Iowa Wild and scoring 29 points. Beckman made his NHL debut in the 2021-22 season, and has since totaled 12 games in the league, though he’s still searching for his first NHL goal.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Edmonton Oilers have sent young winger Dylan Holloway and veteran Sam Gagner to the AHL. Gagner had to clear waivers for the loan, while Holloway maintains waiver exemption. The pair have each slotted into a handful of NHL games this season, with Gagner scoring 10 points in 27 games and Holloway managing four points in 32 games. These moves make both Holloway and Gagner eligible to play in the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs. Holloway has appeared in four AHL games this season, scoring four points, while Gagner has played in three games and scored five points.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have recalled winger Vasily Podkolzin, after sending him to the minor leagues on Wednesday. He appeared in two games during his previous recall, recording one shot and no other stat changes while averaging roughly 10 minutes of ice time. The two games marked Podkolzin’s first NHL appearances of the season, with the 22-year-old spending much of the year in the minor leagues, where he’s put up 15 goals and 28 points in 44 games.  Podkolzin recorded 120 NHL games over the last two seasons, scoring a combined 33 points. He’ll likely serve as an extra forward for Vancouver.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have assigned Jean-Luc Foudy to the AHL, just hours after after he scored his first NHL goal. Foudy’s season started late, with the forward grappling with a lower-body injury until mid January. He’s since played in 12 AHL games, scoring six points, and one NHL game. The 21-year-old’s appearance with the Avalanche brings his career totals up to 10 games – with his first career goal also marking the first point of his career.

Five Teams Remain In Talks For Jake Guentzel

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The Canucks, Golden Knights, Hurricanes, Panthers, and Rangers are the five teams remaining in the Jake Guentzel sweepstakes as a trade is “getting close,” reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Penguins GM Kyle Dubas didn’t have a deal in place for his star winger by Wednesday night as he’d hoped, but all signs point to Guentzel still changing hands before tomorrow’s trade deadline.

None of these teams come as a surprise, and various sources have bandied them about as fits for Guentzel throughout the past few weeks. The Golden Knights, Panthers and Rangers have been incredibly aggressive in advance of the deadline, collectively acquiring some of the top trade targets in Noah Hanifin (VGK), Anthony Mantha (VGK), Vladimir Tarasenko (FLA), and Alexander Wennberg (NYR) in the past 72 hours.

The veteran winger is amidst another All-Star-caliber season. While he’s been out since Valentine’s Day with an upper-body injury but is inching toward a return, practicing without a non-contact jersey today for the first time since the injury (video via team reporter Dan Potash). He scored 22 goals, 30 assists and 52 points in 50 games before getting hurt, his fourth time averaging over a point per game since 2019. He’s also logging over 20 minutes per game for the fifth straight year.

Despite the high level of production and his clutch postseason performances (58 points in 58 career playoff games), it makes little sense for the retooling Penguins to sign the 29-year-old pending UFA to a long-term extension. Multiple reports over the past week indicate that Guentzel will likely be dealt as a rental and be the top free agent on the market when the 2024-25 league year begins on July 1. His suitors probably note that Guentzel backs up his consistent production with consistent possession quality control numbers – he has a 57.1 xGF% this season and a 54.5 career xGF% throughout his 503 games as a Penguin, per Hockey Reference.

The Golden Knights, Hurricanes and Panthers could all take Guentzel’s $6MM cap hit at 50% retention without involving a third-party broker. The Rangers are a few grand short of having the necessary cap space to do so and could still make a trade work with a third party, while the Canucks have just $125K in cap space and would need to move a significant chunk of salary out to accommodate Guentzel, even at a 75% reduced $1.5MM cap hit. There have been some spotty but credible rumors of Vancouver potentially flipping Elias Lindholm, whom they just spent a first-round pick to land from the Flames in January, to create cap space for Guentzel.

Improbably, Vegas is still well-positioned to land Guentzel even after landing the top defenseman on the market in Hanifin. The team still has $3.8MM in deadline cap space with Robin Lehner and captain Mark Stone on long-term injured reserve despite having 27 players on the roster counting against the cap – their full 23-man roster plus $9.375MM taken up by Alec Martinez, Brett Howden, William Carrier, and Pavel Dorofeyev on standard injured reserve. They also still have their first-round draft picks in 2024 and 2026 and have not parted ways with top prospects Brendan Brisson, David Edstrom, and Carl Lindbom.

Maple Leafs Acquire Cade Webber From Hurricanes

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The Maple Leafs have acquired the signing rights to defense prospect Cade Webber from the Hurricanes in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick, the team announced.

Webber, 23, is in his final season of collegiate play at Boston University, where he’s an alternate captain. A fourth-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2019, Webber has just one goal throughout his 115 collegiate appearances and was unlikely to sign an entry-level contract with the Hurricanes this summer.

Two facts about Webber carry appeal: his height and weight. Standing at 6-foot-7 and 210 lbs, he’s one of the largest players in college hockey and does carry some legitimate defensive upside if he can avoid dragging everyone else down offensively at the NHL level. The New York native does have good breakout and transition instincts but is rarely a factor once his team is established in the offensive zone. The Maple Leafs have until August 15 to sign him before he becomes a free agent, and he’ll likely suit up with AHL Toronto or ECHL Newfoundland next season if he inks a deal.

In 30 games with the number-two ranked BU this year, Webber has six assists, 28 PIMs, and a +15 rating that’s tied for fifth on the team. He’s commonly anchored a shutdown second pairing alongside team captain and Devils prospect Case McCarthy, who has done well in their role.

Predators Trade Yakov Trenin To Avalanche

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The Avalanche have acquired forward Yakov Trenin and the signing rights to defense prospect Graham Sward from the Predators, per a team release. The Predators received defenseman Jeremy Hanzel, who signed his entry-level deal with the Avs earlier Thursday, and a 2025 third-round pick in return.

Trenin was one of a few depth forwards the Preds have been shopping, but he’s the only one they’ve sold so far. Another, Thomas Novak, inked a three-year extension earlier this week and will remain in Nashville past the deadline.

The 27-year-old Trenin has broken out as one of the more fearsome checkers in the league since breaking into the majors full-time in 2021. A second-round pick of Nashville in 2015, Trenin has scored 46 goals and 79 points in 283 games in parts of five seasons with the Preds, averaging solid top-nine minutes (14:01 per game) during his time there. He’s posted middling possession numbers with a 48.8 CF% at even strength and a career 47.5 xGF%, although those numbers aren’t bad considering he’s started 66.4% of his even-strength shifts in the defensive zone.

Standing at 6-foot-2 and 201 lbs, Trenin hits – a lot. He’s averaged 2.36 per game throughout his career and has generally had more takeaways than giveaways, so his shot suppression and possession quality share numbers being below average are likely a result of his extreme D-zone usage.

Theoretically, Trenin can play both center and wing, although he’s barely suited up at center during his time in Nashville. He’s won 55 of his 137 career faceoff attempts (40.1%), so if the Avs decide to shift him behind Nathan MacKinnon, Casey Mittelstadt and Ross Colton as their fourth-line center on a bang-and-crash line with another trade pickup, Brandon Duhaime, he likely won’t be relied upon for many draws and will be paired with a winger who has more success in the faceoff dot.

Colorado GM Chris MacFarland’s directive has been clear – fill out their depth with more defensive responsibility and physicality, adding a similar element to what Nicolas Aubé-Kubel brought to the squad that won the Stanley Cup in 2022. Along with defense pickup Sean Walker, Trenin is likely to factor in on the Avs’ penalty kill and take the onus off of effective two-way players like Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin, who can now be used a bit more at even strength.

Trenin will be a UFA this summer upon completion of the two-year, $3.4MM deal he signed with Nashville in 2022. After today’s moves, Colorado has $2.13MM in cap space with a full 23-man roster.

In Sward, the Avs also get an intriguing left-shot defense prospect in the same age range as Hanzel. The 20-year-old Langley, British Columbia native is in his fifth WHL season and is an alternate captain with the Wenatchee Wild, where he leads their blue line with 15 goals, 73 points and a +40 rating in 58 games. Nashville selected Sward in the fifth round of the 2022 draft, and the Avs must sign him to an entry-level deal by June 1 to retain his NHL rights.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Hurricanes Activate Frederik Andersen From Injured Reserve

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The Hurricanes have activated goaltender Frederik Andersen from injured reserve, per Walt Ruff of the team’s official site. Andersen has been cleared to return to play after missing most of the season due to a deep vein thrombosis and subsequent pulmonary embolism in November.

The 34-year-old essentially serves as a deadline addition for Carolina, who’s had Pyotr Kochetkov, Antti Raanta, Spencer Martin, and Yaniv Perets log time in the crease this season with differing results. Raanta hit the waiver wire Thursday, and Perets is back on assignment to ECHL Norfolk, meaning Andersen will likely head up a trio with Kochetkov and Martin for the remainder of the season.

Andersen and Raanta both got off to difficult starts this year, although the former’s was slightly closer to average. He had a 4-1-0 record with a .894 SV% and 2.87 GAA in six starts before exiting the lineup less than a month into the season.

His $3.4MM cap hit was on standard injured reserve, not long-term injured reserve, so the transaction doesn’t affect the Hurricanes’ cap picture ahead of tomorrow’s deadline. The Danish veteran inked a two-year, $6.8MM deal with trade protection to remain in Carolina last summer and will be a UFA in 2025.

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