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Devils Recall Akira Schmid, Reassign Isaac Poulter

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Feb. 24: New Jersey reversed the transaction today, recalling Schmid and returning Poulter to Utica. Schmid will be rostered for Sunday’s game against the Lightning. Poulter did not play during his recall, backing up Daws, who has started seven straight.

Feb. 21: The Devils swapped their backup netminders Wednesday, assigning Akira Schmid to AHL Utica and recalling Isaac Poulter, per a team release.

Today marks Poulter’s first NHL recall after New Jersey signed the 22-year-old to an entry-level contract last week. The undrafted free agent has been the Devils’ best AHL goalie this year, appearing in 24 of Utica’s 47 games while posting a .908 SV% and a 14-7-1 record with three shutouts.

Poulter is in his second professional season after signing a minor-league deal with Utica in 2022. He played four seasons of junior hockey with the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos from 2018 to 2022, amassing a 35-87-12 record in 137 games behind a struggling squad with a relatively strong .898 SV%.

The struggling Vítek Vaněček remains on IR with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, so Poulter will back up the 23-year-old Nico Daws when he dresses for his first NHL game tomorrow against the Rangers. New Jersey has enough cap space to absorb Poulter’s $812.5K cap hit with number-one defenseman Dougie Hamilton still on LTIR.

Schmid, 23, dressed for five games as Daws’ backup this month but has not played since being demoted to Utica in December. After a solid postseason performance in 2023, he made the team out of camp as Vaněček’s backup. However, a .893 SV% and 5-7-1 record through 13 starts and two relief appearances meant he fell to third on the Devils’ depth chart with Daws returning from a season-opening hip injury. His numbers have dipped further while on assignment to Utica, posting a .885 SV% and a 3-5-4 record in 12 games.

Avalanche Prospect Oskar Olausson To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

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Avalanche forward prospect Oskar Olausson will undergo shoulder surgery on Monday that will sideline him for the rest of the 2023-24 season, the team announced Saturday. He is expected to return to the organization for the 2024-25 campaign.

Olausson, 21, was the 28th overall selection in the 2021 draft. He has no points in his two NHL appearances, one of which came this season on Dec. 5.

He’s taken a significant step forward in his development this season, posting 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points in 39 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He put up those same totals in 63 games last year.

Despite signing his entry-level contract the summer after his draft, it’s only kicked in this season because he was eligible twice for an entry-level slide. As such, he carries a cap hit of $863.3K and is headed for RFA status in 2026. He will not be placed on IR or LTIR because he was designated to the minors when the injury occurred.

Olausson is arguably still the Avs’ best forward prospect, although 2023 first-round pick Calum Ritchie submits a veritable challenge to that claim. A sniper by trade, Olausson will likely spend most of next season in the minors as well before making noise for an NHL roster spot.

The Eagles may be losing one of their best scorers, but they could be gaining an impact piece as soon as Sunday. Colorado waived depth forward Fredrik Olofsson on Saturday, and he’ll be assigned to the Eagles if he clears tomorrow.

Metropolitan Notes: Seeler, Walker, Konecny, Mayfield

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The Flyers have a pair of fairly valuable defenders on expiring deals in Nick Seeler and Sean Walker. Despite being in a playoff position and ahead of schedule in their rebuild, the Flyers will likely ship at least one of them out to capitalize on their trade value ahead of the March 8 trade deadline. It’s trending toward Walker being the odd man out, as they’ve yet to formally engage in extension discussions with Walker’s agents, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports Saturday.

Pagnotta notes that the Flyers have talked to Seeler’s representation about an extension. The two defenders have formed one of the unlikeliest value pairings in the league this year, logging over 500 minutes together with a sparkling 56.5 expected goals percentage, per MoneyPuck. The 30-year-old, who’s found his way back into a full-time NHL role after going without a contract for the entire 2020-21 campaign, carries a $775K cap hit and will earn a multi-million dollar raise on his next deal, whether it’s with Philly or somewhere else.

Walker being the likelier one to move makes sense with the state of the trade market, however. He’s considerably more expensive with a $2.65MM cap hit, but he’s also a coveted right-shot defender with significantly more offensive upside than the shutdown-only Seeler. As such, he’ll fetch more value in return. Pagnotta says the Bruins may have interest if it becomes clear he’ll hit the trade market, where he would serve as a third-pairing anchor behind Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Flyers winger Travis Konecny is absent from Saturday’s game against the Rangers, and he’ll miss Sunday’s tilt against the Penguins as well, per Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period. Konecny is listed as day-to-day with a minor upper-body injury sustained during practice this week. The 26-year-old is not expected to miss significant time. In his eighth NHL season, Konecny leads Philadelphia in scoring with 27 goals and 54 points in 57 games.
  • Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and is not in the lineup against the Lightning today, per the team. Mayfield did not appear to miss a shift in the Isles’ last game, a 4-0 loss to the Blues on Thursday. In the first season of a seven-year, $24.5MM contract, Mayfield has missed 16 total games to leg and upper-body injuries. He’s also struggled to produce, going without a goal in 41 games while recording five assists and a -7 rating. Reserve defender Sebastian Aho re-entered the Isles’ lineup in a third-pairing role today after serving as a healthy scratch for six of their past seven games.

Kings’ Mikey Anderson Out Week To Week

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Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson will be out with an upper-body injury on a week-to-week basis, interim head coach Jim Hiller said Saturday (via Eric Stephens of The Athletic). Hiller also confirmed that winger Viktor Arvidsson, who landed on LTIR earlier Saturday with a lower-body injury, carries the same designation, confirming an earlier report from Kevin Weekes of ESPN.

Anderson, 24, sustained the injury in the third period of Thursday’s 4-1 loss to Nashville. He skated to the bench hunched over after being harassed for puck possession by Predators winger Luke Evangelista.

It’s a major loss for the Kings, who are now without half their top defense pairing on a semi-long-term basis. Anderson and Drew Doughty have played 878 minutes together this season, the second-most of any pairing in the league, with a respectable 52.1 expected goals percentage, per MoneyPuck. Only the Blues’ Nick Leddy and Colton Parayko have been paired together more frequently.

A fourth-round pick of the Kings in 2017, Anderson has surpassed all the benchmarks expected of him as a shutdown prospect. He’s averaged over 20 minutes per game in each of his four full NHL seasons and has one goal, 14 assists, 15 points, and a +14 rating in 55 games this year.

Individually, however, Anderson is having his worst two-way season since cementing himself in L.A.’s top four. While still adept at limiting quality against at even strength, he’s become more of an offensive damper this season and has an expected -1.9 rating as a result. His -3.1 relative Corsi-for percentage at even strength is also the worst of his career.

That said, his minutes are difficult to replace. Vladislav Gavrikov, who’s put up better possession metrics than Anderson during his first full season in Los Angeles while anchoring their second pairing with Matt Roy, will likely slide up alongside Doughty. 23-year-old Jordan Spence was recalled from AHL Ontario in a corresponding transaction with Arvidsson’s LTIR placement and will draw into the lineup tonight against Anaheim.

Coyotes Waive Adam Ružička For Purposes Of Contract Termination

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Feb. 24, 1:04 p.m.: Ružička cleared waivers Saturday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The Coyotes will now terminate his contract. The NHLPA has 60 days to file a grievance on his behalf.

Feb. 23, 1:09 p.m.: In a statement Friday, the Coyotes confirmed they placed Ružička on unconditional waivers and will terminate his contract if he clears. The team declined to comment on the reasoning.

Feb. 23, 1:04 p.m.: Ružička is on waivers today, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic confirms. Teams will have 24 hours to issue a claim for the remainder of his $762.5K cap hit deal, which expires this summer. If he passes through unclaimed, he will have his contract terminated by the Coyotes on Saturday.

Feb. 23, 12:41 p.m.: The Coyotes are expected to place forward Adam Ružička on waivers Friday for the purposes of contract termination, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Friedman’s report comes hours after a screen recording began circulating on social media of Ružička’s Instagram story, which showed a video of him next to an unidentified white powdered substance. It is unclear if the video spurred the beginning of the termination process or if this is a mutual termination for Ružička to find other playing opportunities as a UFA.

In 2019, responding to an IIHF suspension handed down to Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov for a positive cocaine test, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed that cocaine is “not a Prohibited Substance under the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.” If the unidentified substance shown with Ružička is cocaine, and he has his contract terminated with Arizona as a result, he will likely not be subject to further discipline by the league based on precedent. Under league policy, cocaine is considered “a drug of abuse that is tested for and for which intervention, evaluation and mandatory treatment can occur in appropriate cases,” Daly said.

Ružička, 24, was claimed off waivers by the Coyotes from the Flames on Jan. 25. Work visa issues and multiple healthy scratches limited him to three appearances in Arizona, in which he recorded no points, a -1 rating, and one shot on goal while averaging 8:17 per game. A fourth-round pick of Calgary in 2017, Ružička has 14 goals, 26 assists, and 40 points in 117 NHL games since his debut in 2021.

Central Notes: Vejmelka, Blackhawks, Landeskog, Jankowski

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Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka’s name has come up in trade speculation in each of the last two trade deadlines.  It doesn’t appear as if that will be the case this time around as Pierre LeBrun wrote in his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link) that Arizona GM Bill Armstrong doesn’t intend to break up his current tandem of Vejmelka and Connor Ingram.  Their netminders have played to a combined .902 SV% this season, a number that’s around the league average which isn’t bad for a rebuilding team.  However, Vejmelka’s rate is a career-low .891 so even if Armstrong was looking to move him, Vejmelka’s value wouldn’t be at its highest.

More from the Central Division:

  • With the Blackhawks locking up most of their notable pending UFAs to extensions already, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times posits that their cap space might be their best asset before the March 8th trade deadline. Doing so could allow them to act as a third-party retainer to pick up an extra draft pick while they could also take on a bad contract as they did last season with Nikita Zaitsev to also add draft capital.  However, Pope notes that Chicago won’t be willing to take on a contract that runs past next season, similar to Zaitsev last season with his contract set to expire this summer.
  • Avalanche winger Gabriel Landeskog has become a regular participant in team skates as he works his way back from a knee cartilage transplant procedure back in January, The Athletic’s Chris Johnston noted on the latest TSN Insider Trading segment. The 31-year-old last played in June 2022 but a return at some point in the playoffs this season hasn’t been ruled out yet.  If the team feels that there’s a good chance that he’ll be able to suit up in the postseason, that could affect their trade deadline approach.
  • A day after being sent down, Mark Jankowski is back up with the Predators, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 29-year-old is one of the top scorers in the minors this season, notching 47 points in 40 games with Milwaukee while also chipping in with a pair of goals in seven games with Nashville while averaging a little less than 12 minutes a night of playing time.

Kings Place Viktor Arvidsson On LTIR, Recall Jordan Spence

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It was less than two weeks ago that the Kings got Viktor Arvidsson back from his back injury.  However, after already returning to injured reserve recently, the team has gone a step further, announcing that they’ve transferred him to LTIR for the second time this season.  Meanwhile, the Kings also recalled defenseman Jordan Spence from AHL Ontario.

Arvidsson missed the first four months of the season before returning to the lineup on February 15th.  The 30-year-old picked up two assists in his first three games but then suffered a lower-body injury on his first shift on Tuesday versus Columbus.  The good news is that this injury won’t carry as long of a recovery time as the first one did as he is expected to be back before the end of the regular season.  Assuming that the placement was back-dated to the time of injury (their release didn’t specify the effective date), Arvidsson could be eligible to return as soon as March 15th against Chicago.

As for Spence, his recall was needed due to Michael Anderson suffering an upper-body injury on Thursday versus Nashville.  The exact timeline for his recovery isn’t known but he has been ruled out for tonight’s game against Anaheim already.  That would have put the Kings down to five defenders and they had nowhere near enough cap space to bring Spence up, resulting in them needing to transfer Arvidsson to LTIR to create the short-term cap room.

It’s the fourth recall of the season for Spence, who has spent the majority of the campaign in the NHL.  The 22-year-old has played in 44 games so far with Los Angeles, collecting 16 points (all assists) while averaging just shy of 15 minutes a night on the third pairing.  Spence has made just one AHL appearance with the Reign which was one Wednesday; he was held out of Ontario’s lineup on Friday with his recall pending.

Maple Leafs Assign Marshall Rifai To AHL

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After making his NHL debut earlier this week with a pair of appearances, the Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they have re-assigned defenseman Marshall Rifai to AHL Toronto.

The 25-year-old was brought up earlier in the week to give the Maple Leafs a bit of extra depth on the back end and suited up twice where he had four hits and averaged a little under 12 minutes per contest.  Rifai, who is on his first NHL contract after playing on an AHL deal last year, has spent most of the season with the Marlies where he has 11 points and 38 penalty minutes in 34 games.

William Lagesson (injury) and Morgan Rielly (suspension) both returned to Toronto’s lineup on Thursday which pushed Rifai back to the press box.  Mark Giordano has also been away from the team for a little more than a week following the death of his father; the timing of this assignment suggests he might be ready to return.

Toronto now has an open roster spot which is notable with Joseph Woll’s LTI conditioning loan set to expire in a few days.  With Rifai’s demotion, they could elect to carry three goalies upon Woll’s recall and activation to avoid the risk of having to place Martin Jones on waivers who might be more likely to be claimed this time around.

Lightning Recall Max Crozier, Assign Alex Barre-Boulet To AHL

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The Lightning made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game this afternoon against the Islanders, announcing they’ve recalled defenseman Max Crozier from AHL Syracuse.  To make room on the roster, winger Alex Barre-Boulet was sent to the Crunch.

Crozier has played in seven games for Tampa Bay this season, all coming last month.  The 23-year-old has a pair of assists in those outings along with ten hits and ten blocks while averaging 14:30 per night in his first taste of NHL action.  Crozier also has played in 32 games with Syracuse, collecting a goal and seven assists.  His recall is likely a precautionary one with Erik Cernak’s status being uncertain for this game having missed Thursday’s contest.

As for Barre-Boulet, his demotion shouldn’t come as much of a surprise after he cleared waivers on Friday.  The 26-year-old has six goals and three assists in 36 games with the Lightning so far and has yet to see any action in the minors despite also clearing waivers at the beginning of the season.  Barre-Boulet finished second in AHL scoring last season with 84 points in 69 games and will be a big boost to a Syracuse team that enters play today four points out of first in the North Division.

Rangers Have Shown Interest In Alexander Wennberg

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With Filip Chytil (concussion) out for the season and on LTIR, there has been plenty of speculation that the Rangers would look to make a move to add to their center depth heading into the playoffs.  It appears they’re looking to do just that as Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported earlier this week that the team has shown some interest in Kraken middleman Alexander Wennberg.

The 29-year-old is in the third and final season of a contract that carries a $4.5MM AAV.  Considering he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the summer, he’d fit New York’s plans of a short-term addition while keeping their cap space open if Chytil can return as planned next season.

Wennberg has recorded eight goals and 14 assists so far this season in 56 games, a level of production that is slightly below his first two seasons with Seattle.  However, Wennberg isn’t known for being a true offensive threat but rather more of a two-way secondary option.  He’s a frequent member of their top penalty killing unit which could help what is already a strong Ranger penalty kill that sits sixth in success rate heading into tonight’s action.

Of course, it’s worth remembering that the rental center market is quite thinned out following the trades of Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan so this will be a case where more teams are looking for one than there are rental centers available.  That means the cost for Wennberg’s services could be relatively high should Seattle opt to sell closer to the trade deadline; as they’re three points out of the last Wild Card, there’s no guarantee GM Ron Francis will move out his rentals.

At the moment, the Rangers have a little under $4.4MM in full-season LTIR space, per CapFriendly.  While they could add a bit more to that by sending a player down which would then free up enough space for Wennberg, it stands to reason that New York – or pretty much any interested team – would want the Kraken to retain up to the maximum 50% of that.  Of course, that should only increase the asking price from Seattle’s end.

The trade deadline is now just two weeks away so teams still have a bit of time to decide what direction they’re going to go from a buyer and seller perspective.  It’s safe to say that the Rangers and several other teams will be keeping an eye on Seattle to see if they make Wennberg or any of their other expiring veterans (including Jordan Eberle, Tomas Tatar, and Justin Schultz) available.  If they don’t sell, that thin center market is going to get a whole lot thinner.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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