Central Notes: Tanev, Stastney, Avalanche
Chris Tanev’s time in Dallas has been limited so far – just five games since being acquired – but GM Jim Nill already knows he’d like to have the veteran in the fold for the long haul. Speaking with David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Nill expressed a desire to re-sign the pending UFA after the season:
Whenever you make a move for somebody you like, and you’ve done your research on, and I’ve seen Chris Tanev play a lot, heard all the stories about him, and now we get to live it and stuff. And he has everything we’ve heard, living up to the billing, so we think he’s a great fit for us. Let’s get the games going, let’s get the playoffs going. And but he’s definitely a guy that if we can make it work, we’d love to bring him back here.
The 34-year-old rarely puts up points but is known as one of the better defensive blueliners in the NHL. Accordingly, he is well-positioned to earn a raise on his current $4.5MM price tag in the summer, one that will be tricky for the Stars to afford within their salary structure.
More from the Central Division:
- The Predators announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Spencer Stastney is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old was injured on Thursday, his first game with Nashville since mid-December. Stastney has a goal in ten NHL contests so far this season while he has chipped in with 20 points in 44 appearances with AHL Milwaukee. With Dante Fabbro also injured, Nashville is down to just six healthy defensemen so they may recall someone before today’s game against Seattle.
- Avalanche winger Artturi Lehkonen is expected to return tonight versus Edmonton after missing the last two games due to illness, relays play-by-play voice Conor McGahey (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been limited to just 30 games so far this season but has done well when he has been in the lineup, collecting 11 goals and 11 assists. Meanwhile, McGahey adds that wingers Zach Parise and Jonathan Drouin are also expected to return tonight. Parise has missed two straight with a lower-body injury while Drouin missed Wednesday’s contest with a lower-body injury of his own. Parise has seven points in 15 games in his final NHL season while Drouin has done well, picking up 38 points in 64 appearances so far.
- With those returns, the Avalanche announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned forward Fredrik Olofsson to AHL Colorado. The 27-year-old played in two games on this recall to bring his season total to 57. Olofsson has nine points in those appearances while averaging 9:45 per contest.
Red Wings And Capitals Have Decisions Looming On Key Youngsters
Generally speaking, most of the notable contractual elements that could come into play for key prospects occur at the beginning of the season. However, that isn’t the case for the Red Wings and Capitals who are facing decisions on a pair of promising wingers. For Detroit, Jonatan Berggren is one game away from becoming waiver-eligible while for Washington, Ivan Miroshnichenko is one game away from officially activating the first year of his entry-level contract.
Berggren was a regular for Detroit last season and fared pretty well, picking up 15 goals and 13 assists in 37 games while playing in their middle six. However, GM Steve Yzerman opted to make several additions up front over the summer, pushing the 23-year-old to the outside looking in at a regular spot in the lineup.
Instead of keeping him as a spare forward, the Red Wings decided to send Berggren to AHL Grand Rapids and kept him there for most of the season. Through 43 games with the Griffins, he has done quite well, scoring 19 goals while adding 47 assists. That has earned Berggren a brief stint with the big club where he has been productive in limited action, notching two goals and four helpers in a dozen games despite averaging less than 11 minutes a night.
Berggren was papered to Grand Rapids at the trade deadline and subsequently recalled, permitting him to return to the Griffins. The only way they can do that is by not playing him in another game with Detroit. Grand Rapids is well-positioned to make the playoffs this season so there’s a case to make that his development would be best served by a long postseason run with them over being on the fringes of the NHL lineup while the Red Wings are trying to hold onto the last Wild Card spot in the East.
Detroit elected to punt on the decision for today as they scratched Berggren against Buffalo but they will have to make a call on either playing him and keeping him up for the rest of the season or sending him down for the rest of the year.
As for Miroshnichenko, he has played in nine games for the Capitals so far this season and as a junior-aged player, the ten-game mark is critical as he would officially burn the first year of his contract. If he doesn’t, the year would slide and he would still have three seasons left on that deal – at a slightly lower cap hit – heading into 2024-25.
The 20-year-old is in his first season in North America after spending his post-draft campaign split between Russia’s junior league and two professional leagues after recovering from cancer. The bulk of that campaign was spent in the KHL with Avangard Omsk who agreed to terminate his deal after the season ended, allowing him to join Washington’s system.
Miroshnichenko has spent the majority of this season with AHL Hershey and has done relatively well, collecting nine goals and 16 assists through 47 games so far. That has earned him a handful of recalls, the most recent of which came nearly three weeks ago. Miroshnichenko has been a regular the last couple of weeks, getting him to that nine-game mark where he has two goals while averaging nearly 12 minutes a night.
Washington will soon need to decide if their playoff push (they sit one point out of the last Wild Card spot heading into today) is best aided with Miroshnichenko in the lineup or if they should be taking the longer view and sending him back down to get the extra cheap year on his contract. Either way, unlike Berggren, Miroshnichenko will be able to return to Hershey whether it’s in the coming days or at the end of their season as he’ll remain waiver-exempt either way. Set to play Vancouver later today, Washington will have to make the decision soon unless they want to push the decision back a couple of days by making him a healthy scratch.
It’s not often that decisions like this come up this late in a season but for Detroit and Washington, they’ll have to make a call on their youngsters in the near future.
Atlantic Notes: Panthers, Jeannot, Samsonov, Quinn
The Panthers will welcome back a pair of key forwards tonight as they take on Tampa Bay. The team announced that center Sam Bennett and winger Evan Rodrigues have been cleared to return and will suit up. Bennett missed Thursday’s game against Carolina with an undisclosed injury while Rodrigues has been out since last weekend due to a lower-body injury. Bennett has battled injury issues this season but still has 16 goals and 16 assists in 54 games while Rodrigues has done well in his first year in Florida, collecting 10 goals and a career-best 26 assists through 65 games so far.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Lightning winger Tanner Jeannot is with the team as their road trip gets underway, notes Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has missed the last month with a lower-body injury. Jeannot has had a quiet year, notching six goals and six assists in 42 games although he does have 162 hits to his credit as well. He took part in the morning skate but isn’t expected to suit up against Florida tonight.
- While Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov exited today’s morning skate early with what looked to be an injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link) that Samsonov is fine and will get the start tonight against Carolina. Samsonov has rebounded well after a disastrous start to his season, posting a .912 SV% since January 1st compared to the .862 mark he put up in his first three months of the year.
- Sabres winger Jack Quinn skated Friday for the first time as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, relays WGR 550’s Paul Hamilton (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has been limited to just 17 games so far this season due to injuries but has been productive in those, notching five goals and seven assists. There is still no timetable for when he might return but has been ruled out for their five-game road trip that began today.
Hurricanes Sign Spencer Martin To One-Year Extension
Spencer Martin has made a positive impression since joining the Hurricanes on waivers in mid-January. He was rewarded for his efforts today as the team announced they’ve signed the goaltender to a one-year, one-way contract extension worth $775K. GM Don Waddell released the following statement on the move:
Spencer has been an excellent addition to our team. He stepped right in and played well for us, and we’re excited to sign him for next season.
Waddell is certainly correct about Martin playing well since Carolina picked him up. The 28-year-old has made five starts with his new team, winning four while posting a 1.97 GAA along with a .922 SV%. Those numbers are a vast improvement on the 3.65 and .887 marks he put up in 13 appearances with the Blue Jackets.
Martin has bounced around this season. He attended training camp with Vancouver but was waived soon after they picked up Casey DeSmith from Montreal. Columbus quickly scooped him up with Daniil Tarasov being injured to start the season. Once he returned, the Blue Jackets briefly carried three goalies before putting him back on the wire where Carolina picked him up with injury concerns of their own.
At the moment, Martin is Carolina’s third-string goalie with Antti Raanta playing in the minors. That’s likely to remain his role for next season with Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen both under contract for 2024-25. Martin could have become an unrestricted free agent in July but instead, he has decided that staying put is the right course of action with what will be his third-straight season on a one-way agreement.
Lightning Recall Emil Lilleberg On Emergency Basis
The Lightning have added an extra blueliner to their roster heading into their five-game road trip as the team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg from AHL Syracuse.
It’s the second recall of the season for the 23-year-old who was originally drafted by Arizona in 2021 but signed with Tampa Bay after the Coyotes elected not to sign him. Lilleberg played in 23 games with the Lightning during his first stint with the big club, picking up three assists along with 24 blocks and 69 hits while logging nearly 16 minutes a night of ice time. With the Crunch, meanwhile, Lilleberg has two goals and 11 helpers in 33 contests so far.
CapFriendly notes (Twitter link) that this has been classified as an emergency loan, meaning that it won’t against Tampa Bay’s four post-deadline recalls. It also suggests that the availability of one of their blueliners is in question for tonight’s game against Florida. However, that designation also means that Lilleberg has to be returned to the minors once the emergency situations ends or be converted to a regular recall which would count against their recall limit.
Snapshots: Ducks, Bortuzzo, Larkin
Prior to their game tonight against Winnipeg, the Ducks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Radko Gudas was out with an upper-body injury while center Mason McTavish was out with a lower-body issue. Gudas was injured early in Thursday’s contest against Minnesota while McTavish made it through the game. Gudas is averaging 19:24 per night in his first year on Anaheim’s back end, his highest ATOI since the 2015-16 season, his first in Philadelphia. McTavish, meanwhile, has had a strong sophomore year with 40 points in 56 games so far, good for fourth on team scoring. There’s word for how long either player will be out for. Notably, Anaheim could only dress 11 forwards so if McTavish is to miss any time beyond tonight’s action, a recall will likely be coming from AHL San Diego.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- The Islanders have activated defenseman Robert Bortuzzo off LTIR, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The 34-year-old was acquired from St. Louis back in December but then suffered a lower-body injury in early January, one that has kept him out for the last ten weeks. Bortuzzo has been limited to third-pairing duty in his 15 appearances so far this season as he’s averaging just 13:40 per night while chipping in with 20 hits and 21 blocked shots. Bortuzzo is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Red Wings center Dylan Larkin briefly took part in practice today as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, relays MLive’s Ansar Khan. However, he has already been ruled out for their two games this weekend and head coach Derek Lalonde expressed some hesitance about his captain returning on Tuesday as well. Detroit has lost five straight without Larkin, who is still tied for the team lead in scoring with 26 goals and 28 assists in 55 games so far.
Blackhawks Recall Lukas Reichel
With Lukas Reichel being an important part of Chicago’s rebuild, it was only a matter of time before he was given another look with the Blackhawks. That time has come as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the winger has been recalled from AHL Rockford although he was a healthy scratch tonight against Los Angeles. In a corresponding move, winger Zach Sanford was assigned to the IceHogs.
Expectations were high for the 21-year-old coming into the season after how he fared last season in Chicago when he collected seven goals and eight assists in just 23 games. With the Blackhawks having several openings up front, the hope was that Reichel could grab hold of a full-time top-six role.
However, that didn’t happen. Instead, Reichel struggled in a variety of spots on the depth chart while also getting a look at center for a handful of games. He wound up notching just three goals and seven helpers in his first 50 appearances, resulting in Chicago deciding to send him down last month for a bit of a reset.
While Reichel didn’t light it up with the IceHogs, he did have some success with a goal and six assists in nine appearances. Last year, Reichel made his biggest impact following a post-deadline recall and now, the Blackhawks hope that history will repeat itself. With Reichel being a restricted free agent this summer, he’ll be counting on a big finish to help his case in contract discussions in the offseason.
As for Sanford, he has split the season between Arizona and Chicago, who claimed him off waivers back in January. He has played in 29 NHL games between the two organizations, collecting six assists while averaging just under 11 minutes a night of action. Sanford cleared waivers last month and had been papered down at the trade deadline, permitting him to play in Rockford moving forward.
2024 AHL Trade Deadline Roundup
The AHL trade deadline was today, one week after the NHL’s trade deadline. We saw the Senators swing a pair of trades today for the NHL rights to players who were then assigned to their affiliate while a handful of other moves were made. Here’s a rundown of those per the AHL’s transactions log.
- The Red Wings recalled defenseman Jared McIsaac from his loan in Switzerland and moved him to Boston’s farm team in exchange for center Curtis Hall. McIsaac had four points in 15 games for Grand Rapids and suited up just three times with Ambri-Piotta. Hall, meanwhile, has been fairly productive in limited action with the Bruins’ affiliate, notching six points in a dozen appearances. Both players are restricted free agents with arbitration rights this summer and if the swap works well, the two teams could execute it at the NHL level in the summer.
- The Sharks have found a new place to play for winger Ozzy Wiesblatt, loaning him to Milwaukee. The 22-year-old was a first-round pick by San Jose back in 2020 (31st overall) but has struggled this season, notching just three goals and eight assists in 34 games. Wiesblatt is signed through next season and his AHL rights will revert to the Barracuda for 2024-25.
- Tampa Bay’s affiliate picked up defenseman Quinn Schmiemann from Abbotsford. It’s a return of sorts for the 22-year-old who was drafted by the Lightning back in 2019 but didn’t sign with them. Schmiemann played in 25 games this season with the Canucks’ affiliate, picking up a goal and five assists.
- New Jersey’s affiliate picked up blueliner Austin Osmanski from St. Louis’ farm team. The 25-year-old has seen AHL action in the past three seasons but has been limited to just ten contests so far where he has an assist and 20 penalty minutes.
Blue Jackets Recall Jake Christiansen On Emergency Basis
The Blue Jackets summoned defenseman Jake Christiansen on an emergency basis from AHL Cleveland on Friday, per a team release. The recall is on response to an injury blue-liner Adam Boqvist sustained in last night’s 3-2 loss to the Senators, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.
Christiansen is expected to draw into the lineup for the fourth time this season when Columbus faces the Sharks on Saturday. The Blue Jackets were only carrying six defensemen on the NHL roster after dealing Andrew Peeke to the Bruins at last week’s trade deadline, so they’re eligible to use an emergency recall to ensure they have six healthy defenders for their next game. As such, Christiansen does not count toward Columbus’ four post-deadline standard recalls, of which they’ve already used one.
Boqvist is still being evaluated for an upper-body injury. The Blue Jackets have not issued a timeline for his return to the lineup.
The 24-year-old Vancouver native is in his fourth season with the Blue Jackets organization after signing as an undrafted free agent in March 2020. The former Everett Silvertips star has consistently put up solid offensive numbers in the minors, solidifying a top-four role in Cleveland but never earning a spot on Columbus’ opening night rosters over the years. He signed a one-year, two-way extension ($775K NHL/$275K AHL/$350K gt’d) to remain with the Jackets before his entry-level deal expired last summer.
After leading all AHL defensemen in goals two seasons ago, Christiansen is now on pace for career-highs across the board with 13 goals, 27 assists and 40 points in 54 minor-league games this season. His +8 rating leads Monsters defenders, his 40 points are second on the team, and only Colorado’s Brad Hunt and Manitoba’s Kyle Capobianco have more points among defenders league-wide.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t shown the ability to replicate that success in the majors. He’s suited up for 35 NHL games since his debut in 2022, three of which came this season, logging one goal and five assists with a -5 rating while averaging 14:02 per game. His possession numbers have been middling in a sheltered offensive role, posting a career 43.9 CF% at even strength, suggesting he’s not ready to take on more minutes, either.
He remains an intriguing call-up option for Columbus, though, who are still getting bang for their buck based on his minor-league contributions. If they opt to issue him a qualifying offer, Christiansen will be an RFA with arbitration rights this summer.
Canucks Sign Christian Felton To Entry-Level Deal
4:19 p.m.: Felton’s ELC carries a cap hit of $870K and is signed for next season, per CapFriendly. He’ll be an RFA upon expiry in 2025. The deal will pay him $775K in base salary, $95K in signing bonuses, and up to $80K in performance bonuses along with a $82.5K minors salary.
12:06 p.m.: The Vancouver Canucks have joined in on NCAA free agency, signing defenseman Christian Felton to a one-year, entry-level contract. Felton joins Vancouver as an undrafted free agent after spending the last three seasons with Merrimack College, which he joined after one year with Bentley University. Felton has been out of action since February, battling with an upper-body injury. He’ll join the Abbotsford Canucks and is poised to make his pro debut when healthy.
Felton was the only undrafted defenseman invited to Vancouver’s development camp last year and he clearly made an impact, now signing his first pro contract with the club despite a shortened season. Felton, who had many teams interested in him per Rick Dhaliwal of Chek News, is a stout defender who mans the defensive side of the ice well – using good physicality, an active stick, and cheeky passing to gather and maintain possession. While he could benefit from improved foot speed, Felton’s awareness and reaction speed help him keep up with any opponents. His calm demeanor was a key piece of both Merrimack’s power-play and penalty kill, speaking to his versatility.
Felton is also a right-hand shot, something highly coveted to a Canucks organization that’s currently boasting 14 left-handed defenders to 11 right-handed defenders. That could give Felton a leg-up in the depth chart, though he’ll still have to carve his teeth in the AHL before he earns a role with the Canucks. If he’s able to adjust to pros well, Felton could start to challenge Jett Woo as the team’s de facto right-handed call-up.