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Injury Notes: Avalanche, Bruins, Marino

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The Avalanche will again be without forwards Artturi Lehkonen and Zach Parise against the Canucks on Wednesday, head coach Jared Bednar said on 92.5 FM Altitude Sports Radio (via Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now). Bednar did not rule either player out for the following contest, a Saturday game in Edmonton, although he did not confirm either would be ready to return by then either.

Without two players who have spent extended time in Colorado’s top six, recent trade pickup Brandon Duhaime will continue to get a tryout on their new-look second line alongside Jonathan Drouin and Casey Mittelstadt in Vancouver. The 26-year-old grinder has averaged only 10:40 per game this season across 64 games with the Avalanche and Wild, recording four goals and nine points.

Lehkonen, 28, is listed as day to day with an illness and will miss his second straight game after sitting out Tuesday’s 6-2 drubbing of the Flames. That, plus a neck injury, has limited him to 30 games on the season, although that hasn’t stopped him from putting together another strong campaign with 22 points and a +7 rating while averaging 18:54 per game.

The 39-year-old Parise has been a solid free-agent pickup for the Avs since signing in late January. He has four goals and seven points through 15 games while logging 14:14 a night. He hasn’t played since sustaining a lower-body injury against the Red Wings a week ago and will miss his third straight game.

Other updates from around the league:

Bruins Recall John Beecher On Emergency Loan

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March 13: The Bruins have again recalled Beecher from AHL Providence on an emergency basis, GM Don Sweeney announced Wednesday. Beecher was returned to Providence yesterday after being a last-minute scratch for Monday’s 5-1 win over the Penguins. Since his initial recall was also under emergency conditions, the Bruins have retained all of their four post-deadline recalls. Today’s recall comes as winger James van Riemsdyk is absent from practice for undisclosed reasons, per Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald.

March 11: The Boston Bruins have recalled forward John Beecher from the minor leagues, per the AHL Transaction logs. Beecher has been in the AHL since mid-January, appearing in 17 games and scoring eight points – split evenly – with the Providence Bruins.

Beecher, 22, was a training camp surprise, making the Bruins opening roster alongside fellow rookie Matthew Poitras. He made his NHL Debut in Boston’s season-opener, recording his first penalty and his first fight. He’s since played in 39 NHL games, scoring five goals and seven points – and managing a modest 15 penalty minutes after carrying seven out of game one. He’s still searching for his scoring groove at the professional level, after managing just 23 points in 61 games as an AHL rookie last season. Though scoring has never been Beecher’s forté, with the centerman totaling 39 points in 81 games during his three years at the University of Michigan. His positives are instead more nuanced, with Beecher managing an impressive 53.9 faceoff percentage as an NHL rookie and averaging 2.23 hits-per-game.

This move spends one of Boston’s four remaining recalls and brings their roster back to a full 23. Beecher will likely serve as a depth forward, rotating in with Justin Brazeau and Marc McLaughlin. His presence is much-needed, as the Bruins currently carry forward Pat Maroon, Milan Lucic, and Poitras on their injured reserve.

Devils Recall Santeri Hatakka

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The Devils recalled defenseman Santeri Hatakka from the AHL’s Utica Comets on Wednesday, per a team announcement. Hatakka has joined the club ahead of their three-game road trip through the southwest United States.

CapFriendly’s transaction log reflects that Hatakka’s recall is an emergency loan, meaning it does not count toward New Jersey’s four allotted post-deadline recalls. The Devils already used one of them on goaltender Nico Daws, who they briefly assigned to Utica on deadline day to make him eligible for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

This is Hatakka’s third recall of the season after being assigned to the Comets during training camp. New Jersey acquired the 23-year-old Finn from the Sharks in last year’s Timo Meier trade.

Hatakka’s recall coming under emergency conditions suggests that John Marino and Jonas Siegenthaler could be unavailable for Thursday’s game in Dallas. Neither defenseman is on the ice for practice on Wednesday, Ryan Novozinsky of The Star-Ledger reports, although Marino’s absence is only for maintenance.

Siegenthaler left the Devils’ 3-1 loss to the Rangers on Monday after taking an elbow to the head from opposing winger Matt Rempe, who was assessed a four-game suspension for the incident. However, Marino logged a team-high 24:58 and doesn’t yet carry an injury designation. If Marino is available against the Stars, the Devils would have six healthy defensemen without Hatakka and need to convert his recall into a standard one or return him to Utica.

A sixth-round pick of San Jose in 2019, Hatakka has been solid in his NHL auditions with New Jersey. Through seven games, the depth puck-mover has two assists and a +7 rating, the latter of which is second among active Devils skaters behind forward Curtis Lazar (+8). He’s averaged 16:19 per game, logging average possession metrics with a 48.8 CF% and 49.2 xGF% at even strength. He’s had 14 shot attempts, eight of which were on goal, and 11 blocks and nine hits.

Hatakka’s only previous NHL experience came in a nine-game stint with the Sharks in 2021-22, during which he recorded two assists and a -5 rating. He’s in the final season of his entry-level contract, which carries a cap hit of $851K and will be an RFA this summer.

Devils Still Intend To Pursue Starting Goaltender During Offseason

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The Devils rebuilt their crease at the trade deadline, swapping out struggling starter Vítek Vaněček for Kaapo Kähkönen in a deal with the Sharks and acquiring Jake Allen from the Canadiens. Neither of their two pickups is a long-term solution as New Jersey continues to build around their young Jack Hughes-led core, though, and GM Tom Fitzgerald knows it. He plans to revisit his team’s uncertainty in the crease over the summer and will pursue a true starter in the process, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun wrote for The Athletic on Tuesday.

“The idea here is to try to finally reel in a stud goalie and have Allen there to create a 1A-1B situation,” LeBrun said. Allen has one season remaining at a $1.925MM cap hit, thanks to Montreal retaining half of his $3.85MM AAV in the trade.

All signs point to the Devils letting Kähkönen, who will be a UFA this summer after completing a two-year, $5.5MM deal, go to market. Fitzgerald said in his post-deadline media availability that the primary objective of the trade with San Jose was shedding Vaněček’s $3.4MM cap hit for this season and next.

A bonafide number-one netminder is Fitzgerald’s first choice, and he’s willing to surrender the assets to make it work. As such, LeBrun said New Jersey will re-engage in talks with the Flames and Predators regarding Jacob Markström and Juuse Saros, who could be on the move regardless of whether the Devils swing a deal for them.

The Devils attempted to acquire Markström, who has a no-move clause in his contract, before this year’s deadline. After talks initially fizzled out due to the Flames’ unwillingness to retain salary in a trade, Fitzgerald re-engaged with an offer that included New Jersey taking on all of Markström’s $6MM cap hit through 2026.

Markström reportedly waived his no-move clause to green-light the trade, but the Flames ended up not moving him as the team was making progress toward a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. This caused the goaltender to publicly voice his discontent with the Calgary front office. The Flames have lost all three games after the deadline, each by four or more goals, and now stand with just a 2.2% chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck.

The Devils also talked with Nashville about Saros but didn’t get as far down the road. Unlike Markström, Saros will be a pending UFA beginning on July 1 and does not have trade protection. He also costs $1MM less than his Swedish counterpart.

If Fitzgerald swings for the fences on both and misses twice, it’s possible the Devils would still rather look for a tandem netminder to partner with Allen, keeping youngsters Nico Daws and Akira Schmid in the minors. Options on the UFA market will be slim, though – in fact, Kähkönen would be one of the better pickups if that’s how they opted to address their crease. Other top options are either on the precipice of decline (Marc-André Fleury, Cam Talbot) or have been inconsistent when given expanded roles (Kähkönen, Alex Nedeljkovic, Ilya Samsonov).

While Daws and Schmid are promising options and have more NHL games in their future, neither projects as a true starter. If New Jersey wants to truly kick off its window of contention with talents like Jack and Luke Hughes, Dawson Mercer and Simon Nemec, all 23 years old or less, they’ll need a more veteran presence as a longer-term answer.

Flames Renounce Rights To Topi Ronni

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The Flames renounced the rights to unsigned draft pick Topi Ronni on Tuesday, the team said in a statement. Ronni, who was playing in the Finnish Liiga with Tappara, was given a one-year suspended prison sentence by the District Court of Helsinki yesterday “for rape committed as a young person,” Tappara said. The incident occurred in 2021 when Ronni was a minor, according to the initial charges against him.

The 19-year-old was a second-round pick in the 2022 draft, 59th overall. His contract with Tappara has also been terminated.

By renouncing Ronni’s rights, the Flames are no longer affiliated with him, and he has become an unrestricted free agent. No NHL team holds his exclusive signing rights. He is technically eligible to re-enter the draft and has not been legally barred from playing in the league by Commissioner Gary Bettman. However, either of those things could change if Ronni attempts a return after serving his suspended sentence.

As Tappara has terminated Ronni’s contract, he is also a free agent overseas. The team suspended Ronni in October after rape charges were brought against him but allowed him to return to the team just over a month later, playing 22 professional games and 20 junior games this season before being found guilty and sentenced yesterday.

Poll: Who Grabs Wild Card Spots In The East?

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With the trade deadline in the rearview, and less than 20 games to go in the regular season for most teams, all eyes are now squarely on the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. Like most seasons, several teams are again going down to the wire to qualify for a postseason spot.

Although no teams have been eliminated quite yet, the Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, and Ottawa Senators will all need record-breaking win streaks to come close to a playoff spot. The Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New Jersey Devils are still well within the mix for the postseason, but it may be too little too late for all three organizations.

That whittles the list down to four: the Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Washington Capitals. Over the last two weeks, even though both the Red Wings and Lightning held comfortable positions in the wild card spots, the Islanders and Capitals have closed the gap considerably with solid 10-game stretches respectively.

Currently in the top spot, Tampa Bay has produced a 4-5-1 record in their last 10 games, while acquiring Anthony Duclair and Matt Dumba at the trade deadline. Holding a two-point advantage over Detroit and New York, the Lightning will face off against teams currently in a playoff position eight times over their last 17 games.

Moving north to Detroit, the Red Wings started the 2024 calendar year with a hot stretch, producing a 16-4-2 record after the New Year holiday. Over the last two weeks, however, a completely different hockey team has taken the ice. Currently riding a five game losing streak, Detroit is losing much of their footing in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, being outscored by their opponents by a margin of 17 over that stretch.

Now tied with the Red Wings for the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Islanders are willing themselves into a playoff position. Earning a 6-1-0 record in their last seven games, New York has been dominating their opponents in nearly all facets of the game. Not only are the Islanders making a considerable amount of noise in the wild card race, they are only two points removed from knocking off the Philadelphia Flyers as one of the top three teams in the Metropolitan Division.

Lastly, being one of the streakier teams all season, the Capitals find themselves only three points out of the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Producing a 7-3-1 record in their last 11 games, Washington will be one of the few organizations vying for playoff candidacy after selling off a few pieces at the deadline. Life will not get any easier for the Capitals, however, as 13 of their last 19 games will come against opponents currently in a playoff position.

Now its time for you to take the crystal ball for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoff race, which two of these teams will qualify for the wild card spots in the Eastern Conference?

Who Grabs Wild Card Spots In The East?
Tampa Bay/New York 55.92% (491 votes)
Tampa Bay/Detroit 25.06% (220 votes)
Detroit/New York 7.29% (64 votes)
Washington/Tampa Bay 5.35% (47 votes)
New York/Washington 3.76% (33 votes)
Detroit/Washington 2.62% (23 votes)
Total Votes: 878

Injury Notes: Dunn, Parise, Hayton

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Earlier this morning, Scott Malone of Roots Sports reported that Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn was back on the ice for practice in a non-contact jersey. Although he will not be back in the lineup tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights, it is a positive sign for the Kraken that Dunn is progressing from his injury.

Dunn has been out of the lineup for about a week after getting hit from behind by Martin Pospisil of the Calgary Flames. Pospisil received a three-game suspension for the incident, and Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol has been tight-lipped about Dunn’s future return.

When healthy, Dunn has once again been the best defenseman on the ice for the Kraken, leading all fellow blueliners in points. Suiting up in 57 games for Seattle this year, scoring 11 goals and 45 points, with 16 of those points coming on the team’s powerplay.

Other injury notes:

  • After leaving last week’s game against the Detroit Red Wings with a lower-body injury, Zach Parise was back on the ice this morning with the Colorado Avalanche in a non-contact jersey (X Link). In his final attempt to lift the Stanley Cup, Parise has been productive for the Avalanche after signing a one-year, $825K contract with the team back in January. In 15 games for Colorado, Parise has scored four goals and seven points in total, averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time a night.
  • The Arizona Coyotes will be without center Barrett Hayton tonight, as Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports he is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. It has been a slow recovery for Hayton after coming back from an upper-body injury suffered in December, scoring one goal and six points in 17 games since the start of February.

Transaction Notes: Dzingel, Regenda, Shea, Soderstrom

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The AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, the Henderson Silver Knights, have signed veteran forward Ryan Dzingel to a professional tryout agreement, according to a team announcement. Playing within the Carolina Hurricanes organization last season for the Chicago Wolves, Dzingel has not yet suited up in a game during the 2023-24 season.

Last year with the Wolves, Dzingel played in a total of 22 games, scoring two goals and 11 points overall. Once a premier scorer in the NCAA with Ohio State University, Dzingel has seen his offensive capabilities tail off by quite a bit over the last several seasons.

Although it seems like it was longer ago, it has only been five years since Dzingel put up back-to-back 20-goal seasons with the Ottawa Senators. Now, the Silver Knights will be hoping that Dzingel can recoup some of his goal-scoring talents, as they currently sit bottom-five in the American Hockey League in goals scored.

Other transactions:

  • The Anaheim Ducks have recalled forward Pavol Regenda from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, per a team announcement. It will be the second call-up for Regenda this season, with the first one coming less than a week ago before the trade deadline. In his only game with the Ducks on the year, Regenda played over 12 minutes of that game but was unable to put any points on the scoreboard.
  • After Jonathan Gruden cleared waivers this morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to recall another player to fill out their roster. With that in mind, the team has recalled defenseman Ryan Shea from their AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Suiting up in 22 games for Pittsburgh this season, Shea has received bottom-pairing minutes while producing a -2 rating overall.
  • Recalling him from their AHL affiliate on March 8th, defenseman Victor Soderstrom’s time with the Arizona Coyotes has come to an end for the time being. The team announced they have sent Soderstrom down to the Tucson Roadrunners after playing two games for the Coyotes on this recent stretch. On the year, Soderstrom has mostly played for the Roadrunners, scoring eight goals and 25 points over 50 games.

Snapshots: Rempe, Canucks, Rodrigues

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Bruising forward for the New York Rangers, Matt Rempe has been suspended four games for elbowing by the Department of Player Safety, according to an announcement. It will mark the first time that Rempe has been suspended in the NHL throughout his career, as he has only played in a total of 10 games for the Rangers up to this point.

During the play in question, towards the end of the second period in New York’s Monday night game against the New Jersey Devils, Rempe attempted to drive Devils’ defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler into the boards near the penalty box, and his elbow came into contact with Siegenthaler’s head. Rempe was assessed an elbowing and game misconduct on the play by the game’s on-ice officials.

This morning, Rempe did partake in a phone hearing with the Department of Player Safety, which would have ultimately ended up in a maximum of a five-game suspension. With this suspension, Rempe will continue to add to his reputation as a modern-day enforcer, as he has also racked up a total of 54 penalty minutes in his young career.

Other snapshots:

  • Getting down to business in the front office, the Vancouver Canucks announce they have extended and promoted Ryan Johnson to Assistant General Manager. Johnson will retain his role as General Manager of the Abbotsford Canucks, but he was previously serving as Special Assistant to the General Manager at the NHL level. In the same announcement, the team has also extended Cammi Granato and Émilie Castonguay in their current roles as Assistant General Managers.
  • Senior Digital Content Manager for the Florida Panthers, Jameson Olive, reports that forward Evan Rodrigues will miss tonight’s game with an undisclosed injury. It will be Rodrigues’ first missed game of the 2023-24 NHL season as he has found new life in his current role with the Panthers. Signing with the organization as an unrestricted free agent last offseason, Rodrigues has scored 10 goals and 36 points in 65 games for Florida this year.

Calgary Flames Recall Dustin Wolf, Jacob Markstrom Out With Injury

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The Calgary Flames have recalled top prospect goaltender Dustin Wolf from their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, per a team announcement. In the same announcement, the Flames disclosed that starting netminder Jacob Markstrom is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Today’s transaction will mark the fifth time this season that Calgary has recalled Wolf from the minors. Throughout those five emergency call-ups, Wolf has suited up in six games for the Flames, producing a 1-3-1 record with a .878 save percentage and a 3.91 goals-against average.

Much like last season, Wolf is producing much better at the AHL level, and could be on pace for back-to-back Aldege Bastien Memorial Award and Harry Holmes Memorial Award finishes. While the Wranglers compete for a playoff spot in the AHL’s Pacific Division, Wolf has produced a 20-11-3 record while maintaining a .923 SV% and 2.43 GAA.

Only a few weeks ago, some trade speculation surrounded Markstrom and the New Jersey Devils, indicating that Calgary may be ready to transition Wolf to the NHL full-time. Unfortunately for the young goaltender, no deal came to fruition, and he will likely need to wait for next season to become a full-time member of the Flames active roster.

Keeping on Markstrom, Calgary very publicly backed out of the reported trade with New Jersey due to his strong play in the net. Since January 17th, Markstrom has produced a 9-4-0 record in 13 games, making 340 saves on a total of 373 shots.

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