Blue Jackets Assign David Jiricek To AHL, Recall James Malatesta
David Jiricek‘s stint with the Blue Jackets was short-lived. Two days after being recalled under emergency conditions, the team announced that they assigned the blueliner back to AHL Cleveland while bringing up forward James Malatesta. Malatesta’s recall is on an emergency basis and thus won’t count against their post-deadline recall limit.
Jiricek has split this season between Columbus and Cleveland with a small majority of his games coming at the NHL level. He has played in 36 games with the Blue Jackets so far, collecting nine points and 39 blocked shots while logging a little under 15 minutes a night. In the minors, meanwhile, the 20-year-old has been much more productive, collecting seven goals and ten assists in 24 games.
Jiricek has now officially burned the first year of his entry-level contract but there is still a milestone to watch for. If he’s on the active roster for 40 games, he would accrue a season of service time toward UFA eligibility. Accordingly, the Blue Jackets haven’t brought him up much lately; his two-day recall from earlier this week was his first in nearly two months. It wouldn’t be surprising to see his NHL action be limited down the stretch for that reason.
As for Malatesta, he’s in his first full professional campaign after wrapping up his junior career on a high note, winning Memorial Cup MVP with QMJHL Quebec. The 20-year-old leads the Monsters in penalty minutes with 79 through 53 games so far while chipping in with a dozen goals and nine helpers. It’s unclear which forward’s availability is in question for their game tonight against Vegas which created the emergency conditions for Malatesta to be recalled.
East Notes: Bertuzzi, Marino, Biondi
Maple Leafs winger Tyler Bertuzzi is listed as a game-time decision for their game tonight against Edmonton due to illness, notes TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that Bertuzzi will ultimately decide at game time if he will be good enough to go. Bertuzzi wasn’t able to secure a long-term deal last summer, ultimately settling for a one-year, $5.5MM agreement with the hopes of having a big year to improve his value. However, the 29-year-old has had a quiet first season with Toronto, notching 15 goals and 19 assists in 67 games, his lowest point-per-game average since his rookie year back in 2017-18.
More from the East:
- The Devils are expected to welcome defenseman John Marino back to the lineup tonight, relays team reporter Amanda Stein (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has missed the last week with an upper-body injury. Marino has fared better in his second season with New Jersey, putting up 23 points in 65 games so far while logging over 21 minutes a night. Based on the morning skate, they won’t waste any time putting him back into a key role as he’s projected to play on the top pairing versus Ottawa.
- Canadiens prospect Blake Biondi has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, reports Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune. The 21-year-old was a fourth-round pick back in 2020 (109th overall) and has spent the last four seasons at Minnesota-Duluth. Biondi had 19 points in 34 games this season and could have become a free agent in mid-August if he hadn’t signed an entry-level deal with Montreal by then. Instead, he’ll push that deadline back by a year and play his bonus season at a new school in the hopes of finishing up strong.
Central Notes: Hakanpaa, Bowness, Hodgson
Originally, Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa was listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. However, head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters yesterday including Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News that the blueliner isn’t skating and won’t be available in the near future as he has been undergoing tests to determine his status. It’s the second time that the 31-year-old has been injured this season as he had an upper-body issue last month. Hakanpaa doesn’t put up many points as he has just 12 in 64 games but leads the team in hits (196) with nearly twice as many as Mason Marchment who sits second (100) while he’s second on the team in blocks with 123 behind only Esa Lindell (133).
Elsewhere in the Central:
- Jets head coach Rick Bowness will not return to the team this weekend as Postmedia’s Scott Billeck relays that Bowness remains in Winnipeg while recovering from a minor medical procedure. Scott Arniel will continue to serve as the interim bench boss for their games against the Islanders and Capitals.
- Center Cody Hodgson has inked a second PTO deal with the Predators’ AHL affiliate, per the AHL’s transactions log. Hodgson was forced into early retirement following the 2015-16 season due to malignant hyperthermia but has recovered well enough to attempt a comeback which started in January. So far, the 34-year-old has done quite well in limited action, notching six goals and two assists in 12 games. This second PTO is a 25-game one which would easily take Hodgson through the rest of the season.
Golden Knights Have Discussed Extension With Jonathan Marchessault
Back in August, Golden Knights winger Jonathan Marchessault noted that there had yet to be any discussions about a possible contract extension. However, his agent Pat Brisson told Mark Anderson of the Associated Press that there have been several discussions throughout the year. However, a decision on re-signing or testing the open market is unlikely to come before the end of the season.
The 33-year-old is in the middle of one of his best seasons, setting a career high in goals with 38 along with 22 assists; his 60 points are the third most of his career. This continues what has been a recent trend for Marchessault after putting up 66 and 57 points in his previous two campaigns, two of the highest point totals of his career. At an age where a lot of players start to see their production slow down, his has gone up which bodes well for his next deal.
Brisson declined to get into specifics about what type of money or term he’d be seeking for Marchessault’s next deal while GM Kelly McCrimmon declined to comment. That said, it stands to reason that the veteran will be seeking a fair-sized raise on his current $5MM AAV along with a multi-year agreement.
As things stand, Marchessault is tied for third in scoring among pending unrestricted free agents heading into Friday’s action. He’s behind Florida’s Sam Reinhart and Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos while being tied with Carolina’s Jake Guentzel. All in all, pretty good company to be in.
An original Golden Knight, Vegas would certainly love to keep Marchessault around. However, that’s a task that will be easier said than done. After adding Tomas Hertl at the trade deadline, they have nearly $78MM in commitments to 16 players for next season, per CapFriendly. Even if we suppose that they can fully utilize Robin Lehner’s $5MM on LTIR which isn’t a given with the technicalities involved with LTIR, that only gives them around $14.7MM to work with in the summer and several players to sign to fill out their roster.
Marchessault isn’t their only pending UFA of note either. Chandler Stephenson, one of the better bargains in recent seasons, is also on an expiring deal and is primed to potentially double (if not more than double) his current $2.75MM price tag. They’ll likely want to take a run at extending Noah Hanifin as well which would be expensive with a price point likely to push past the $7MM mark on a long-term agreement. Anthony Mantha, William Carrier, and Alec Martinez need to be re-signed or replaced as well.
It’s safe to say there isn’t enough money to go around to keep their current team intact; some veterans will be departing in July. We’ll find out by then if Marchessault will be one of them.
Metropolitan Notes: Nedeljkovic, Blue Jackets, Devils
Heading into the trade deadline, many expected that the Penguins would move pending UFA goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. However, they instead moved third-stringer Magnus Hellberg. Nedeljkovic told reporters including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that there weren’t any discussions about a contract extension before the deadline but that he’d be very happy to return for next season if Pittsburgh showed interest. After spending a good chunk of last season in the minors, the 28-year-old inked a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Penguins last summer and has done relatively well, posting a 2.98 GAA and a .904 SV% in 24 appearances. At a minimum, even if he doesn’t wind up staying with Pittsburgh, Nedeljkovic should be able to land a raise in the coming months.
More from the Metropolitan:
- The Blue Jackets have made a very deep preliminary list of candidates for their vacant GM position. In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun indicated that the team has between 30 and 40 candidates on their initial list and more could be added depending on how things go early in the playoffs. Columbus has been without a GM since Jarmo Kekalainen was fired five weeks ago with John Davidson serving in an interim capacity since then.
- The frequent shuffling of Max Willman and Tyler Wotherspoon continues. A day after sending them back to AHL Utica, the Devils have recalled both players today, per the AHL’s transactions log. Both recalls are once again on an emergency basis. The reason for New Jersey sending them down between games could have to do with their waiver exemption; once they play in ten games or are on the NHL roster for 30 days, they’d have to clear to return to the Comets. By papering them down here and there, they can delay getting to that point with both players.
Atlantic Notes: Senators Coaching Search, Murray, Maroon
The search for Ottawa’s next coach is well underway with D.J. Smith being let go back in mid-December and Jacques Martin serving in the interim role until the end of the season. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch suggests that long-time Senators center Chris Kelly is someone they may want to speak to. Kelly, who spent parts of eight seasons in Ottawa and also served as a development coach with them, is currently an assistant in Boston. Among the names speculated to also be under consideration are AHL Toronto’s Jon Gruden, recently-fired veteran bench bosses Todd McLellan, Dean Evason, and Craig Berube, along with Philadelphia associate coach Brad Shaw. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Sens wait until deeper into the offseason to see who else might also become available so it may take a while yet for them to find their next head coach.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray faced shots briefly before practice today as he continues to work his way back from hip surgery, notes TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). The veteran has missed the entire season and when he had the procedure done in October, it came with a recovery timeline of six to eight months. We’re five months into that timeline so Murray still has a long way to go before being cleared to play. With Toronto’s cap situation, they wouldn’t be able to afford to activate him until the playoffs anyway.
- Bruins winger Pat Maroon skated for the first time yesterday as he continues his rehab from back surgery, relays Steve Conroy of The Boston Globe. He underwent the procedure six weeks ago but is still a ways from returning; head coach Jim Montgomery termed Maroon as still being week-to-week. Boston picked up the 35-year-old at the trade deadline from Minnesota after Maroon put up 16 points and 71 hits in 49 games before the surgery.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
The trade deadline has come and gone with some surprising moves made as teams looked to load up for the stretch run. That stretch run now features several teams trying to jockey for a Wild Card spot or try to position themselves better in their respective divisions.
With that in mind, it’s a good time to open up the mailbag once again. Our last mailbag was done in three segments. The first focused solely on the Central Division and included discussions on who could afford Juuse Saros’ next contract and the asking price to get him plus thoughts on Winnipeg’s back end and if the time was right for Arizona to move Clayton Keller. The second featured some thoughts on two proposed trade targets for New Jersey, the Rangers’ center situation, and plenty of trade deadline discussion. Meanwhile, the third covered the idea of a coaching change in Washington, thoughts on a proposed rule change, and more trade deadline speculation.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.
Tom Wilson Suspended Six Games For High-Sticking
Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson has received a six-game suspension for high-sticking Noah Gregor of the Toronto Maple Leafs, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. Wilson earned a double-minor penalty on the play, which saw him one-handed swing his stick across his body and into Gregor’s face. He was offered an in-person hearing, making him eligible for a suspension longer than five games.
This marks the sixth suspension of Wilson’s career, placing him in elite company among the NHL’s most-suspended players – a list led by Chris Pronger (seven suspensions) and Brad Marchand (eight suspensions). Wilson will have spent a combined 36 games suspended once he’s done with this absence – including his preseason suspension in 2017 and the reduction of his 20-game suspension in 2018 to 14 games. He will forfeit $161,458.32 in salary for high-sticking Gregor, per The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, bringing him to $1.563MM in salary forfeited to suspensions in his career. That’s $100,000 more than Marchand has spent in his path to the most-suspended player in league history.
Despite his long history of punishment, and the fact that he’s spent all 746 games of his career in one place, Wilson hasn’t yet earned the title of most-penalized Washington Capital. That instead belongs to the infamous Dale Hunter, who managed 2,003 penalty minutes in 872 games with the Capitals, in addition to 1,562 penalty minutes in 535 games with other teams. Fellow DOPS-favorite Scott Stevens also ranks ahead of Wilson in all-time penalty minutes, earning 1,628 in just 601 games with the Capitals. Both Hunter (2) and Stevens (14) rank in the top-15 of all-time penalty minutes.
Senators Sign Stephen Halliday To Entry-Level Contract
The Ottawa Senators have signed collegiate forward Stephen Halliday to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal will begin in the 2024-25 season, with Halliday joining the AHL’s Belleville Senators on an amateur try-out for the remainder of the season. Ottawa drafted Halliday in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft – his last year of draft eligibility. He earned the selection with a 95-point season in the USHL, becoming just the third player since 2000 to score 95-or-more points in one season. The dazzling year also earned Halliday the title of all-time leading scorer in the USHL, with a total of 215 points across 215 games in the league.
Halliday was drafted first overall in the 2018 USHL Draft, contextualizing his status as an all-time leading scorer a bit more. But his climb to the title wasn’t necessarily smooth. Halliday struggled to carve out an impactful role through his first two years in juniors, struggling to add finesse to his skating and direction to his aggressiveness. His career was also impeded by the disbandment of the Central Illinois Flying Aces, leading Halliday to an abrupt move to Dubuque in the summer after his rookie season. That left him learning a brand-new system for the second year in a row and it took time for him to adjust. He handled a modest role in his first year in Dubuque, but found his footing in the subsequent season, forming a formidable pairing with Tampa Bay prospect Connor Kurth on Dubuque’s top line.
Halliday has maintained that strong footing ever since, leading The Ohio State University in scoring in each of the last two seasons (77 points in 78 games played). While he can still look awkward at times, Halliday has found a way to control a beautiful finesse that his game has always boasted and becoming much more efficient with his movement around the ice. His game is lanky and slower, but Halliday’s puck skills and physicality more than make up for the deficit. He’ll now get the chance to carry his streak of strong performances into the next level, signing his first professional contract after his sophomore year of college.
Snapshots: Graves, St. Ivany, Krug, Oshie, Protas
The Pittsburgh Penguins have shared that defenseman Ryan Graves will be stepping away for a paternity leave, opening the door for rookie Jack St. Ivany to make his NHL debut. St. Ivany has flirted with his inaugural game for much of March, getting moved between the NHL and AHL four different times in the last week. He was clearly motivated by the string of moves, recording a career-high three-point night in his latest AHL game – his first since receiving the first NHL call-up of his career. The performance broke a 10-game scoring drought and accounted for a fifth of St. Ivany’s 15 points on the season. He’ll now have a golden chance to build on the hot night, potentially poised for a big role with Graves’ average of 19 minutes a night now up for grabs.
Other notes from around the league:
- St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug is expected to return to the lineup on Friday after sititng out with a chest injury on Thursday, per NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. It was Krug’s first absence of the year, after appearing in the Blues’ first 69 games. He’s managed three goals and 34 points in those games. This is Krug’s first time playing in more than 65 games since the 2017-18 season. His return is expected to bump Scott Perunovich back out of the lineup.
- The Washington Capitals will continue to be without T.J. Oshie and Aliaksei Protas, head coach Spencer Carbery told The Hockey News. Both players sat out of the team’s Wednesday night loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Oshie is bearing with an upper-body injury, while Protas has a lingering lower-body injury suffered on March 9th. The team will eagerly anticipate their return, now left to lean on Michael Sgarbossa and Ivan Miroshnichenko as top-six fill-ins.