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Morning Notes: Senators, Khusnutdinov, Wild/Predators

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The Senators’ top four on defense has rarely been healthy at the same time this season, mainly due to Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub struggling to stay healthy. Zub has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury, and although he appears ready to return tomorrow against the Coyotes, it could be one step forward and as much as three steps back, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Chabot, Jake Sanderson, and center Joshua Norris all underwent MRIs for undisclosed (upper-body in Norris’ case) ailments yesterday, per interim head coach Jacques Martin, putting their statuses for the Arizona game in doubt.

Aside from the on-ice impact derailing their recent momentum, it’ll be quite the roster puzzle to make corresponding recalls. Zub is the only extra skater on the Ottawa roster, and despite that, they have no cap space for any standard recalls unless they determine one of their three newly injured players will miss at least 10 games and 24 days, in which case they can be placed on LTIR. For a $0 emergency recall, Ottawa would have to play short a player for one game, meaning they could be limited to just 16 skaters tomorrow. They could then recall two players whose cap hits are $850K or less for Saturday’s road game in Philadelphia.

Other things to keep an eye on this morning with the deadline approaching:

  • The Wild hope to have newly signed prospect Marat Khusnutdinov with the team by the end of next week, GM Bill Guerin told Joe Smith of The Athletic on Wednesday. After inking his two-year, entry-level deal yesterday, the 21-year-old Russian center will now begin the work visa and immigration process. Guerin confirmed that Minnesota would start him in the NHL upon his arrival and forego an initial assignment to AHL Iowa and anticipates him stepping into a center role down the stretch. The 2020 second-round pick had six goals, 14 assists, 20 points, and a -14 rating in 55 games with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg and HK Sochi this season.
  • Sticking with Minnesota, their game on the road in Nashville tonight will likely go a long way toward informing trade deadline strategies and playoff outcomes for both teams. The Predators now have a five-point gap between them and ninth-place Calgary for the final playoff spot in the West, while the Wild are looking to swing two points in their favor to draw within four of the postseason cutoff with a game in hand. Minnesota’s 8-2-1 run since the All-Star break has them squarely back in the playoff conversation after falling out of it entirely a couple of months ago, but a similarly scorching stretch from Nashville has helped them tighten their grip on a playoff berth for the 16th time in the last 20 seasons.

Dallas Stars Acquire Chris Tanev From Calgary Flames

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The Dallas Stars have acquired defenseman Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames, and goaltender Cole Brady from the New Jersey Devils, per a team announcement. The Stars will send defensive prospect Artyom Grushnikov, a 2024 second-round pick, and a conditional 2026 third-round pick back to Calgary. Dallas has also sent a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Devils for their part in retaining 50% of Tanev’s salary for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.

As the Flames also retained 50% of Tanev’s contract, that brings his AAV down to just $1.125MM for the Stars. As far as the conditions on the conditional third-round pick headed to Calgary, the Flames will only receive this pick if Dallas makes it to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

With Tanev now in the fold, this gives Dallas a formidable top-four of their defensive unit with Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, and Esa Lindell also in the mix. As Tanev was previously one of the grittier defensemen on this year’s trade market, he will make the Stars much more difficult to play against leading into the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

In the last season of a four-year, $18MM contract signed with the Flames organization, Tanev has averaged over 20 minutes a night in Calgary during his tenure. In 259 games played with the Flames, Tanev has scored a total of 10 goals and 67 points during his tenure in Alberta.

Nevertheless, the Stars undoubtedly targeted Tanev due to his defensive prowess, as he averaged close to a 90.0 on-ice save percentage in all situations over his career. Aside from carrying solid defensive awareness, Tanev has also averaged more than 100 blocked shots each season, and he will become the new leader in that category in Texas with 171 already this year.

Currently, in a backup role at the University of Massachusetts, Brady was brought to the Devils organization as a fifth-round selection in the 2019 NHL Draft. In now his fourth season in the NCAA, Brady has played in a total of 46 games for Massachusetts and Arizona State, earning a 16-18-4 record with a .902 SV%.

In return to Calgary, Grushnikov was originally drafted 48th overall by the Stars in the 2021 NHL Draft. In his first full season in the American Hockey League, he has played in 44 games for Dallas’ AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, scoring one goal and five points overall. Nevertheless, Grushnikov does have solid defensive awareness like Tanev and can frustrate opposing players in his zone.

By adding the second-round selection and the conditional third-round pick, the Flames now have a total of 24 draft picks available to them in the next three NHL Drafts. Intent on rebuilding the team through the draft to supplement their core, General Manager Craig Conroy continues to stockpile picks through his trades this season to do just that.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports images. 

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the deal. 

The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report the return to Calgary. 

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report the full return to Calgary. 

Seravalli was the first to report New Jersey’s involvement in the trade. 

Vancouver Canucks, Elias Pettersson Making Progress On Extension

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According to Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff, the Vancouver Canucks and forward Elias Pettersson are making progress on a contract extension that would keep Pettersson in British Columbia for the next eight seasons, and it could be announced within the next several days. This marks a significant change in attitude from Pettersson, who appeared adamant about not wanting to discuss an extension with the Canucks during the season.

It will be interesting to see what the eventual dollar amount that Vancouver will give to Pettersson on this new contract. Heading into the offseason, the Canucks will have approximately $35.74MM available to them in cap space, with a total of nine players set to become unrestricted free agents, and another two set for restricted free agency, including Pettersson. Comparing Pettersson’s production and recent contracts given out to similar players, Pettersson could earn anywhere between $11MM-$13MM on this new deal.

Over the last two years, Pettersson has taken his production to another level, scoring 68 goals and 177 points in his last 141 games in Vancouver. Currently sitting 10th in the league in scoring on a team contending for the President’s Trophy, there is every reason to believe that Pettersson will finish much higher than 18th in Hart Trophy voting like he did last season.

Unfortunately, with the Canucks being tight to the cap ceiling even with the salary cap set to increase to $87.7MM next year, this likely means that Vancouver will be unable to extend recently acquired Elias Lindholm to a new deal. With Lindholm reportedly seeking an AAV of $9MM on his next contract, it would be rare to see a team sign their first- and second-highest-paid forward in the same offseason.

Nevertheless, this will set the Canucks core in place for the long haul, with the trio of Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Quinn Hughes locked up until at least the 2026-27 season. Now that everything is clicking in Vancouver, the Canucks will now be able to reallocate money to supplement their core for the future.

Trade Deadline Primer: St. Louis Blues

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With the All-Star break in the rearview, the trade deadline looms large and is now less than two weeks away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the St. Louis Blues.

Last year, the Blues were one of the more active teams at the trade deadline, moving out Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan O’Reilly, and Ivan Barbashev in separate deals. Outside of selling off pending unrestricted free agents, St. Louis did prepare to compete for this season, acquiring Jakub Vrana from the Detroit Red Wings and claiming Kasperi Kapanen off waivers, both of whom are still with the organization. With a lack of expiring contracts for star players, the Blues will not likely sell as much as they did last year, but could still trim their roster along the edges.

Record

30-26-2, 5th in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Conservative Sellers

Deadline Cap Space

$2.21MM of cap space on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 47/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2024: STL 1st, STL 2nd, TOR 2nd, STL 3rd, NYR 3rd, STL 4th, STL 5th, STL 7th, NYI 7th
2025: STL 1st, STL 2nd, STL 3rd, STL 4th, STL 5th, STL 6th

Trade Chips

Last week, there were reports that St. Louis was not necessarily shopping forward Pavel Buchnevich, but was listening to offers, easily making him their top trade chip heading into the deadline. Given that Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan have each commanded a first-round pick to acquire, Buchnevich could easily fetch a similar return given that he is still signed for one more season at $5.8MM. Now in his third season with the Blues organization, Buchnevich is once again performing at a first-line level, scoring 23 goals and 47 points in 56 games so far this year.

Outside of Buchnevich, there are a few players in St. Louis currently on expiring contracts that would allow the Blues to add to their draft capital over the next two seasons. For a contending team looking to beef up their bottom-six forward group, Oskar Sundqvist, and Sammy Blais are both physical players that could add some grit to any lineup. Throughout this year, the two have combined for 223 hits in 102 games, and are sixth and first on the team in that category, respectively.

On the back end, Marco Scandella is the only pending unrestricted free agent in St. Louis, and could seamlessly transition into any team’s bottom-pairing. Although dealing with some injury concerns over the last two seasons, Scandella is still one of the better defensive defensemen in the league as evidenced by his 92.2 on-ice save percentage in all situations this season. Given that Scandella is no longer a top-four option on the blue line, he should only command a mid-round pick at this year’s deadline.

Team Needs

1) [Continue To Get Younger] – After last year’s selloff, the Blues got considerably younger, especially by adding two more first-round pick at last year’s draft. With Zachary Bolduc, Zach Dean, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Dalibor Dvorsky ready for full-time roles in the next few years, St. Louis needs to trim around the edges to open up roster spots for these young prospects. With only nine points separating 6th and 12th place in the Western Conference, the Blues could take advantage of a very competitive conference as soon as next season. Suppose the organization is amenable to moving out all of Kapanen, Blais, and Sundqvist within the next week. In that case, this should open up the necessary roster spots to start moving their prospects in.

2) [Look Into Capitalizing On Goaltending Market] – If the Blues are willing to become very aggressive at this year’s deadline, they could look into moving Jordan Binnington to one of the several goalie-desperate contending teams. Binnington has been solid this year for St. Louis, producing a 20-16-2 record in 41 games played, coupled with a .909 SV% and a 2.93 GAA. However, the team seemingly has an heir apparent ready to take over the starting role in 23-year-old Joel Hofer, whom the team drafted 107th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft. In his first full season with the Blues, Hofer has earned a 10-10-0 record in 22 games while producing a .910 SV% which places him at 14th in the league for goaltenders who have played in 20 or more games.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Injury Notes: Capitals, Terry, Seider, Soucy, Joshua

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After a loss to the Detroit Red Wings last night, the Washington Capitals should see the return of several players back into the lineup. Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network is reporting that Sonny Milano, Nic Dowd, and Nick Jensen have all returned to the ice for practice.

The return of Jensen from a lower-body injury adds to the team’s already above-average defensive depth, and may even make the team more comfortable moving out pending unrestricted free agent Joel Edmundson before the March 8th trade deadline. In regards to the return of Milano and Dowd, the Capitals will be able to return Michael Sgarbossa and Pierrick Dube to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, where they have each spent most of the year up to this point.

In eight games leading up to last night’s loss, Washington began building some serious momentum toward a playoff berth, putting together a 5-1-2 record. After yesterday’s game, the Capitals are now six points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with only three games remaining until the trade deadline.

Other injury notes:

  • According to Derek Lee of the Sporting Tribune, Anaheim Ducks forward Troy Terry was practicing today in a non-contact jersey and will travel with the team for their upcoming road game against the San Jose Sharks. Thankfully, Terry has only been out a total of four days, so it does not sound like the upper-body injury will keep him out of the lineup long-term. Enjoying a mildly healthier season than last year, Terry has skated in a total of 54 games for the Ducks this season, scoring 17 goals and 45 points in the process.
  • Blocking a total of five shots in last night’s game against the Capitals, Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider was in visible pain for much of the game. Heavily utilized by Detroit, Seider has averaged 22:14 minutes a night throughout this season, but would only play in about 18 minutes of yesterday’s contest. In positive news, the team announced that there is no injury concern for their top defenseman, and he will be good to go tomorrow.
  • In an update on a couple of injured members of the Vancouver Canucks, Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet reports that defenseman Carson Soucy will see the team doctor today, and that forward Dakota Joshua will see the team doctor later this week. In his first year with the organization, Soucy has seemingly been injured for much of the year, already having missed half the season with still 20 games to go. The team will be hoping for positive news coming out of the meeting with the team doctor, as the Canucks would like to get Soucy back into the lineup in preparation for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Kings Reportedly Interested In Tyler Toffoli

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After spending the first eight seasons of his career in Los Angeles, Devils winger Tyler Toffoli could return to Southern California. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that the Kings have “expressed interest” in Toffoli if he’s made available by New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald in the days leading up to the deadline.

A pending UFA, Toffoli carries a cap hit of $4.25MM, and while extension discussions are ongoing, no deal has been reached. The Devils are still in a playoff chase, sitting five points behind the Lightning for the final playoff spot in the East with two games in hand.

That’s a perfectly bridgable gap, so even if the 31-year-old isn’t extended by March 8, they may keep him around if they feel the postseason is in reach or are confident in reaching an extension before the summer. Toffoli’s production isn’t replaceable internally – he holds the team lead in goals with 25 and has 42 points in 58 games, fourth on the team. While he’s technically listed as the Devils’ third-line left wing with Erik Haula and Dawson Mercer, he’s averaged 17:27 per game this year, fourth-most among Devils forwards.

It makes sense the Kings would have an interest in reuniting. He was a solid middle-six threat throughout most of his time in L.A., but he’s only entered his prime after a 2020 trade to the Canucks and subsequent stops in Montreal and Calgary. Last season’s career-high 34 goals with the Flames helped cement him as a true top-six and even first-line threat, posting above-average possession metrics. Add in his bargain cap hit, and he’s a logical fit to help the Kings shoulder apparent semi-long-term injuries to wingers Viktor Arvidsson and Adrian Kempe down the stretch.

Los Angeles would only be able to take Toffoli if the Devils retained half his salary, making him a $2.125MM player upon acquisition. That could change if evaluation this week reveals Kempe is expected to miss the rest of the regular season, allowing the Kings to move his $5.5MM cap hit to LTIR and add Toffoli’s entire salary for the stretch run.

Critics may point to Toffoli’s -11 rating this season, but advanced numbers assign much more blame to New Jersey’s poor goaltending than Toffoli’s defensive impacts. His 56.5 CF% at even strength is fifth on the team, he has a decent +4.9 expected rating, and his most common line with Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes has controlled a remarkable 60.3% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.

When talks of an extension in New Jersey began after his trade from Calgary last summer, it was clear Toffoli would prioritize trade protection and term. That’s because he’s played for five teams over the previous five seasons despite his strong play at each stop. He has no trade protection in his current four-year, $17MM deal signed with Montreal in 2020, and although the Kings won’t be able to afford to extend him, L.A. at least presents a familiar destination for Toffoli to ride out the 2023-24 campaign before testing the free agent waters for potentially the last time.

Wild Won’t Trade Marc-André Fleury

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Feb. 28: It appears Fleury and the Wild are now solidly on the same page. Minnesota is informing teams they won’t be moving the veteran netminder ahead of the deadline, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Feb. 25: Wild netminder Marc-André Fleury has indicated he’d prefer to stay with the Wild as they attempt to stay in the Western Conference playoff race, Joe Smith of The Athletic relayed Sunday. As such, it appears unlikely he’ll waive his no-movement clause ahead of the March 8 trade deadline and will finish out the season in Minnesota.

“I don’t want to just quit, right?” Fleury said to Smith after the Wild’s 5-2 win over the Kraken on Saturday. “I want us to make the playoffs. That’s my first priority. I think being in the hunt, it’s fun, it’s challenging. And I want to be here and see this team make the playoffs.”

In the final season of a two-year, $7MM extension, the 39-year-old Fleury could regain the starting role in the Minnesota crease with Filip Gustavsson struggling if they manage to squeak into the postseason. Neither he nor Gustavsson has been above average, but he’s put up slightly better surface-level numbers with a .899 SV% and 2.92 GAA in 24 starts and four relief appearances. Gustavsson, on the other hand, has a .896 SV% and 3.23 GAA in 33 starts and one relief appearance.

Fleury has started five of nine games since returning from an upper-body injury sustained before the All-Star break. The Wild are 7-1-1 in that timeframe, firmly putting them back in postseason contention after they looked far out of place just a few weeks ago. They’re two points behind the Predators for the final Wild Card spot in the West.

Regardless of his intentions, there will likely be a fair amount of trade interest in Fleury over the coming days from contending teams looking to supplant a weaker starter with a better backup option. If the Wild can maintain a winning record between now and the deadline, however, it seems unlikely Fleury will green-light a deal.

Wild Sign Marat Khusnutdinov To Entry-Level Deal

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4:01 p.m.: Per PuckPedia, Khusnutdinov’s deal carries a cap hit of $925K. The deal breaks down as follows:

2023-24: $832.5K base salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $80K minors salary
2024-25: $832.5K base salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $850K Schedule ’A’ performance bonus, $80K minors salary

1:31 p.m.: Minnesota has made Khusnutdinov’s signing official, inking him to a two-year, entry-level contract. Terms were not disclosed, although the deal begins immediately and will make him an RFA in 2025.

9:27 a.m.: The Wild are expected to sign 2020 second-round pick Marat Khusnutdinov to his entry-level contract in the coming days, The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports.

Khusnutdinov’s time in the Russian KHL ended last weekend after his club, HK Sochi, wrapped up their regular-season schedule. They did not qualify for postseason play, and while his contract with the club expires this offseason regardless, Khusnutdinov’s agents are undergoing the process for a mutual contract termination so that Khusnutdinov can join the Wild before the KHL’s free agency period begins.

The 21-year-old plays both center and left wing and was selected out of the SKA St. Petersburg organization three years ago, where he remained until an early-season move to Sochi this year. He was a consensus early-second-round pick after posting 38 points and a +27 rating in 44 Russian junior league games in his draft year, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when the Wild took him off the board at 37th overall.

While his 5-foot-9, 165-lb frame may pose difficulties for him transitioning into a center role at the NHL level, he’s a spectacular skater, intelligent playmaker, and zone-entry machine – making him an important top-nine piece for the Wild in the coming years if he can physically adapt to North American play.

2023-24 was somewhat of a disappointing campaign for Khusnutdinov, however, who recorded no points through six games with St. Petersburg and only six goals and 20 points in 49 games for Sochi. Last season, he solidified himself as a top-six piece on a powerhouse St. Petersburg team stacked with NHL veterans such as Nikita Gusev and Dmitrij Jaskin, posting 41 points in 63 games and a +15 rating.

Minnesota’s director of player development, former NHL defenseman Brad Bombardir, told The Athletic’s Joe Smith last summer that the organization expected Khusnutdinov to jump into an NHL role immediately when he came over. By all indications, that remains their plan.

Khusnutdinov will count against the cap when he signs his deal in the coming days but won’t count against the 23-man roster. He’ll carry a non-roster designation while he gets his work visa, per Russo, and the Wild will need to make a transaction to clear a roster spot when he’s ready to debut.

While he’s likely not a long-term top-line answer, Khusnutdinov does add to a Wild center core that’s lacked much punch outside of Joel Eriksson Ek for the past number of years. Top-ten pick Marco Rossi is coming into his own and looks to ease those pains, but Khusnutdinov is likely better suited for a third-line role anyway. He’s ranked as Minnesota’s third-best center prospect by Dobber Prospects, trailing Rossi and 2023 second-round pick Riley Heidt.

Philadelphia Flyers’ Cal Petersen Clears Waivers

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2/29: Petersen has cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

2/28: The Flyers placed netminder Cal Petersen on waivers Wednesday, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

It’s been a tumultuous first season in Philadelphia for Petersen, who failed to make the Flyers out of camp but shuffled frequently between leagues in November and December with then-starter Carter Hart battling illness and injuries. He’s been rostered as the backup to Samuel Ersson over the past month after Hart took leave from the team to surrender to London, Ontario, police in connection with sexual assault charges against him and four other members of the 2018 Canadian national junior team.

This is Petersen’s second time on waivers this season, passing through unclaimed at the beginning of October when the Flyers assigned him to AHL Lehigh Valley to start the season. The 29-year-old once looked like the goalie of the future for the Kings, but they were forced to trade him, and his $5MM cap hit to Philadelphia last summer to clear cap space after a disastrous showing last year that saw him sent to the minors a few months into the season.

Things haven’t changed for Petersen in the City of Brotherly Love, as he’s been borderline unplayable through four starts and one relief appearance. While he has a 2-2-0 record, he’s posted a .864 SV% and 3.90 GAA, slightly worse than last year’s numbers with Los Angeles that got him demoted for the first time since 2020. His last appearance was Sunday’s 7-6 loss to the Penguins, in which he allowed all seven goals on 32 shots.

As such, he’s nearly guaranteed to pass through waivers again. The Flyers can give him a non-roster designation over the next 24 hours if they need a roster spot, otherwise, he can be assigned to Lehigh Valley and his cap hit can be reduced to $3.85MM after 1 p.m. CT tomorrow.

Sharks Place Mackenzie Blackwood On Injured Reserve

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3:09 p.m.: Blackwood is expected to miss between seven and 15 days with the injury, Sharks coach David Quinn said Wednesday (via Max Miller of The Hockey News).

12:48 p.m.: Before tomorrow’s game against the Ducks, the Sharks placed goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. Magnus Chrona was called up from AHL San Jose in a corresponding move to give starter Kaapo Kähkönen his backup for the next few games.

Blackwood will not be available for the Sharks’ weekend back-to-back against the Wild and Stars. He can be activated before Tuesday’s game against Dallas at the earliest, although it’s unclear how much time he’ll miss. He left yesterday’s loss to the Devils in the first period after catching a shot in the midsection from a New Jersey player (video link).

In his first season with the Sharks, Blackwood has posted a 9-18-3 record with one shutout over 32 starts and three relief appearances, recording a .899 SV%. It’s been a nice bounceback season for the 27-year-old, who signed a two-year, $4.7MM deal with the Sharks last summer after they acquired his signing rights from the Devils for a 2023 sixth-round pick.

The 2015 second-round pick has saved 2.6 goals above expected in all situations, per MoneyPuck, his first season in the black since he finished sixth in Calder voting with New Jersey in 2019-20. He’s done so while facing 34.5 shots per 60 minutes, the most of any starter in the league.

Despite starting eight fewer games, Kähkönen has put up slightly better numbers with a .901 SV% and 4.1 goals saved above expected in 28 appearances. Slated for UFA status this summer and carrying a reasonable $2.75MM cap hit, he could be on the move at the deadline as an attractive option for teams looking for more affordable goalie help. If Blackwood will miss extended time past his minimum seven-day IR stint, however, that could dissuade the Sharks from moving Kähkönen unless they can get an NHL-capable goalie to carry them down the stretch.

That’s because the 23-year-old Chrona has struggled in his limited NHL minutes this season, conceding eight goals on just 29 shots across one start and one relief appearance. While still a promising prospect, he’s not ready for the major-league level, and the Sharks would prefer to keep him in the AHL as much as possible.

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