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Penguins Recall Jonathan Gruden

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have once again recalled forward Jonathan Gruden (Twitter link). This marks Gruden’s eighth call-up of the season, and brings him back to the NHL roster after six days in the minor leagues. Gruden played in three AHL games this weekend, recording no points, one fight, and five shots on goal.

Gruden is being recalled alongside Samuel Poulin – with the pair providing depth for a Penguins team currently facing injuries to Noel Acciari, Matthew Nieto, and Jansen Harkins – the former of the three being placed on injured reserve this morning. Gruden and Poulin will fight for the team’s open fourth-line role, with Gruden carrying the upper hand thanks to his 12 NHL appearances this season. He has just one point, his first career goal, in those appearances – though he’s provided serviceable grit in the bottom six. Poulin has yet to play in the NHL this season, with his only games in the league coming during a three-game stint last season. He’s impressed in the AHL, though, with 13 goals and 27 points in 36 games this season bringing his career totals to 68 points in 123 games. He has just one point in his NHL appearances.

Gruden has bounced between the AHL and NHL lineup for much of the last two seasons, serving as a de facto fill-in when Pittsburgh is facing injury. He was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, being selected out of the US National Team Development Program before pursuing one year in college and one year in the OHL. He’s still searching for his scoring groove in the pros, with just 96 points in 207 career AHL games.

Maple Leafs Notes: Marner, Rielly, Edmundson, Giordano

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have received a handful of injury updates from their Tuesday morning practice. Most notably, star winger Mitch Marner has progressed to day-to-day with his high-ankle sprain, with head coach Sheldon Keefe saying he’s progressing well, per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox (Twitter link). Marner is still expected to miss Toronto’s Tuesday night game against New Jersey, marking his eighth game missed with this injury. He will target a return on Thursday when the Leafs take on the Washington Capitals.

Marner has continued to build on his dominant career this season, with 25 goals and 76 points in just 62 games. Max Domi has stepped into a top-line role in his absence, recording eight points in his last seven games. That includes four assists on March 20th – just the third four-point-night in Domi’s career.

Other Maple Leafs injury updates:

  • Fox also shared that defenseman Morgan Rielly has been designated as a game-time decision for the team’s Tuesday night game (Twitter link). Rielly is facing an undisclosed injury, after playing in 24 minutes of the team’s Sunday night loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. He has seven goals and 51 points in 65 games this season, and will likely bump Simon Benoit out of the lineup if he returns.
  • Joel Edmundson is officially out on Tuesday, designated as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury (Twitter link). Edmundson has played in seven games since joining the Leafs at the Trade Deadline. He’s still searching for his first point with Toronto, with two penalty minutes and a +4 marking his only stat changes.
  • Mark Giordano could slot in for Edmundson, with Fox sharing that he is now healthy and cleared to play (Twitter link). Giordano is poised to make his return from a concussion that’s held him out for the last month. He’s managed one goal, seven points, and 33 penalty minutes in 38 games this season.

Afternoon Notes: Kolosov, Milano, Gustafsson

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The Philadelphia Flyers are expected to add goaltender Alexei Kolosov, following the end of his KHL season with Dinamo Minsk. The Russian club officially announced the transfer in a press release thanking Kolosov for his four years with the club (Twitter link).

Kolosov, 22, has established himself as Dimano Minsk’s clear-cut starter over the last two seasons – managing 13 wins and a .912 save percentage in 42 games last season and 22 wins and a .907 in 47 games this year. He’s played ahead of Canadian Dylan Ferguson, who is in his first KHL season after playing in two games with the Ottawa Senators last year.

The Flyers drafted Kolosov in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He was the third goalie selected in that class after both Sebastian Cossa and Jesper Wallstedt were selected in the first round. Kolosov signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in early July. He was loaned back to Russia soon after, though his contract wasn’t eligible for an entry-level slide, meaning this season has burned the first year of his three-year deal. Kolosov now joins a Flyers team with an open backup spot, stepping into a competition with Felix Sandstrom and Calvin Petersen.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Washington Capitals could add forward Sonny Milano back to the lineup on Tuesday, with head coach Spencer Carbery saying his attendance will be based on how he feels leading up to the game (Twitter link). Milano left the team’s Sunday game against Winnipeg early with an upper-body injury. He will help Washington fill-in for the suspended Tom Wilson, if he’s healthy enough to play.
  • The New York Rangers designated defenseman Erik Gustafsson as day-to-day with an upper-body injury ahead of their Monday morning practice, which Gustafsson missed (Twitter link). Gustafsson seemed to suffer the injury in the team’s Saturday game against the Florida Panthers, taking a high hit from Sam Reinhart. He is questionable for the team’s Tuesday night game against Philadelphia, which could open the door for Brandon Scanlin to make his NHL debut.

Ducks’ Trevor Zegras Set To Return From Two-Month Absence

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The Anaheim Ducks are getting a star talent back on Tuesday, with top forward Trevor Zegras expected to return from a broken ankle that’s held him out of the team’s last 31 games (Twitter link). It was his second extended absence of the season, also missing 20 games across November and December with a separate lower-body injury.

None of this season has gone according to plan for the 23-year-old Zegras, who didn’t sign a contract for the season until 12 days before Anaheim’s season debut. Contract negotiations held him out of the team’s training camp and his rust clearly showed, with Zegras scoring just one goal and one assist in 12 games before his first injury. He’s since totaled 20 games on the year, managing four goals and seven points. It’s a disappointing step down for the former top-10 draft pick, who has broken the 60-point mark in each of his first two full NHL seasons.

Zegras’ return marks a string of good health for Anaheim’s talented young players. 2023 second-overall pick Leo Carlsson has missed 27 games of his own this season, bearing through a MCL injury in his right knee and separate lower-body and upper-body injuries. Anaheim has played in just eight games with both Zegras and Carlsson in the lineup, setting a 5-3-0 record and outscoring opponents 26-to-22. They’ll relish in the chance to now have a full-strength offense once again, while focus will shift to whether Zegras can rediscover his high scoring.

Blue Jackets Recall James Malatesta With Alex Nylander Out

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled top prospect James Malatesta under emergency conditions. He is expected to make his NHL debut on Tuesday, with winger Alexander Nylander out with illness, per the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger (Twitter link). NHL.com’s Jeff Svoboda also reported that Nylander has been designated as day-to-day with an upper-body injury (Twitter link).

Malatesta, 20, is in his first professional season after a successful four years in the QMJHL, where he managed 187 points across 214 career games. He’s still working to find his scoring groove in the AHL, scoring just 12 goals and 21 points in 53 games this season. He’s also recorded 79 penalty minutes, more than he totaled in any of his juniors seasons.

The Blue Jackets selected Malatesta in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He’ll become the second player from that round to make their NHL debut, joining Montreal winger Joshua Roy. Malatesta took line rushes alongside AHL linemates Tyler Angle and Carson Meyer, set to get his first NHL look alongside familiar company. Angle was recalled on March 25th and is set to play in his first NHL game of the season, after playing in the first two games of his career last season. He has 15 points in 34 AHL games. Meyer has gathered a bit more experience, with seven NHL games this season and 34 career games.

Red Wings Sign Emmitt Finnie To Entry-Level Contract

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The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward prospect Emmitt Finnie to his entry-level deal (Twitter link). Finnie just concluded his third season with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and will join the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins on an amateur try-out for the remainder of the season.

Finnie has earned his entry-level deal just one year after being selected in the seventh round – turning pro after recording 19 goals, 40 assists, and 59 points in 62 WHL games this season; career-highs in all three stats and Finnie’s first point-per-game juniors season. He recorded just 35 points in 64 games last season, but his off-puck impact was too notable for Detroit to ignore at the draft. Finnie makes a play every single shift, showing a keen understanding of where to place himself to force puck battles or intercept passes He may not be the fastest or the flashiest, but he’s a physical forward who doesn’t shy away from a challenge. That mantra has earned Finnie big minutes with Kamloops this season, averaging 22:47 across 75 games – including the preseason. His role amped up in the final stretch, too, with Finnie recording over 27 minutes of ice time in two of his last three games.

Detroit has now awarded Finnie’s efforts, making him the first player from the 2023 seventh round to sign his entry-level deal. He’s bound to face an uphill battle with the AHL’s quicker pace and heavier hitting, though he’ll join a Griffins lineup that’s managed 31 wins in 60 games and ranks 11th in the league in points – giving him the security of joining in a winning lineup.

Avalanche Sign Justus Annunen To Two-Year Contract Extension

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The Colorado Avalanche have reportedly signed goaltender Justus Annunen to a two-year, one-way contract extension, per NHL insider Kevin Weekes. Weekes adds that the deal will carry a cap hit of around $833K.

This move is a welcome bode of confidence in the 24-year-old Annunen, who has played in just 12 NHL games since debuting in the 2021-22 season. He’s managed an admirable seven wins and .908 save percentage in those appearances – including a .926 save percentage in eight games this season – but he’s still struggled to win out starting spots over backup competition Ivan Prosvetov and Pavel Francouz over the last few years- the latter yet to play this season. The matter isn’t helped by the fact that starter Alexandar Georgiev has played in an NHL-leading 56 games. But now on a one-way deal, Annunen can breathe a sign of relief knowing that starts are soon to come.

And Annunen has certainly earned the opportunity. He’s posted 60 wins across 114 AHL games since joining the league at the end of the 2020-21 season, recording a combined .903 save percentage. He’s seeing that success translate to the NHL for the first time this season, finally starting to find his footing at the top level. With the progress, Annunen joins fellow 2018 draftees Joel Hofer and Lukas Dostal as encouraging, young netminders fighting for starts from a backup role.

Minnesota Wild Sign Jack Peart To ELC

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The Minnesota Wild have signed defenseman Jack Peart to a three-year entry-level contract that will start in the 2024-25 season. The 20-year-old Peart was drafted by the Wild in the second round (54th overall) of the 2021 NHL entry draft and will begin his professional hockey career after spending the last three seasons at St. Cloud State (NCAA).

Peart dressed in 108 games for St. Cloud State and registered eight goals and 47 assists during that time to go along with a plus-15 rating and 64 PIM. The native of Grand Rapids, Minnesota set a career-high in points during the 2022-23 season when he posted three goals and 21 assists in 39 games. He had an offensive drop this past year, but the Wild saw enough from the young rearguard to lock him up to an ELC.

At the international level, Peart was a member of the U.S. National Junior team during the 2022 and 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships. He dressed in 11 games between the two tournaments and had five assists as well as a plus-3 rating. He won a bronze medal in 2023 as a member of the team.

With Peart locked up for the next three seasons, it leaves the rest of this season up in the air. Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic have reported that Peart has signed an amateur tryout to play for AHL Iowa for the rest of the season and will report to Des Moines today.

Devils Recall Forward Brian Halonen

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The New Jersey Devils have recalled forward Brian Halonen from the Utica Comets of the AHL. The timing of Halonen’s recall could be an indication that Devils forwards Kurtis MacDermid or Curtis Lazar may not be available tonight when the Devils face the Toronto Maple Leafs, however, both players were on the ice with the team for their morning skate today and Lazar is likely to play. Devils’ reporter Amanda Stein also tweeted that Halonen’s callup could be insurance at forward in case a forward can’t go tonight.

Halonen has seen NHL action already this season as the Delano, Minnesota native made his NHL debut on February 25th against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 25-year-old registered a single shot in just under 10 minutes of ice time and was able to force a takeaway. He didn’t look out of place on the NHL ice; however, the Devils sheltered his minutes and gave him the bulk of his zone starts in the offensive zone.

Halonen was an undrafted free agent signing out of Michigan Tech and has developed into a reliable scorer at the AHL level in his third season of professional hockey. He’s dressed in 30 games this season for Utica and posted a career-high 16 goals and eight assists.

Morning Notes: Lysell, Quinn, Cumiskey

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Michael Derosa of The Hockey News is reporting that one of the Boston Bruins top forward prospects could miss significant time with an injury. 21-year-old Fabian Lysell suffered an apparent upper-body injury on March 23rd after he fell into the boards in a game against the Charlotte Checkers. The 2021 first-round pick has spent the season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins and has heated up recently registering seven assists in his last five games.

Lysell is in his second season of professional hockey and has posted 15 goals and 35 assists in 56 games this year with Providence. The timing of Lysell’s injury is particularly unfortunate as he was making a case for a call-up with his solid numbers this season.

In other morning notes:

  • Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News is reporting that Sabres forward Jack Quinn joined the team this morning to take part in practice as a full participant. Quinn had surgery on January 29th for a lower-body injury and was expected to miss eight weeks. The 22-year-old hasn’t played since January 27th and has five goals and seven assists in 17 games this season for the Sabres. The Cobden, Ontario native was expected to take a big step this season but has dealt with multiple injury issues in what has turned into a lost season for him and the Sabres. Buffalo has 10 games remaining this season and currently sits six points behind the Washington Capitals who for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals have 12 games left on the schedule. Quinn did not comment on when he will dress for a game, but based on reports from practice it could happen sooner than later.
  • Former Colorado Avalanche defenseman Kyle Cumiskey has reportedly signed a two-year extension with Düsseldorfer EG to continue his career in the DEL. The 37-year-old played 139 career NHL games over parts of six seasons with the Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks and has spent the last four seasons in Germany. The Abbotsford, British Columbia native last saw action in North America during the 2019-20 season when he was a member of the AHL’s Binghamton Devils.

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