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Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek Begin On-Ice Rehab

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Wild stars Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek have progressed enough in their recovery from lower-body injuries to return to the ice sheet ahead of today’s practice, relays Michael Russo of The Athletic. Head coach John Hynes stressed the development doesn’t signal a return is imminent for either, but told reporters they’ll both travel on their upcoming road trip after taking the “first step to getting back” (via Jessi Pierce of NHL.com). Continued week-to-week timelines for both make their regular-season availability uncertain, but it’s increasingly likely they’ll become available to the team sometime during the first round of the playoffs if they can hold onto a postseason berth.

Kaprizov underwent what’s believed to be a groin surgery in late January and is now nearly two months removed from that procedure. He was initially expected to return to the lineup shortly after the four-week mark, but for the second time this season, his absence has lasted much longer than initially expected. His injury dates back to a November game, and he missed the tail end of December and most of January after aggravating it. He returned to the lineup for just three games before opting to undergo surgery.

After missing the playoffs in 2024 for the first time in five years, Minnesota was one of the league’s hottest teams to start the season. They went 21-10-4 before Kaprizov’s first extended absence. That provided enough cushion for them to play just above .500 hockey the rest of the way, losing their divisional berth but still likely to hold onto a wild card spot – they have an 84.8% chance at the playoffs entering tonight’s games but could push that number back over 90 with a win over the league-leading Capitals, per MoneyPuck.

Their offense has sputtered with 2.49 goals per game since Dec. 27, and as expected, it’s their top line of Marco Rossi and Mats Zuccarello leading the charge with Matt Boldy skating in Kaprizov’s spot. Those three, as well as Frédérick Gaudreau, are tied for the team lead with 10 goals in 37 games since Kaprizov initially landed on IR.

Serving as Minnesota’s offensive lifeblood since entering the league in 2021, Kaprizov was a legitimate Hart Trophy contender before exiting the lineup. He has 23-29–52 through 37 games, good for a career-high 1.41 points per game that ranks fifth in the league behind Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, and Connor McDavid.

His absence alone would be enough to derail a season, but Eriksson Ek, Minnesota’s top matchup center, has also been limited to 9-15–24 in 42 games. He last played on Feb. 22 and sustained a lower-body injury in practice two days later. He’s only been available for 58.3% of Minnesota’s games this year. They’ve had both Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov in the lineup just 24 times in 72 games – exactly one-third of their contests to date in 2024-25.

Having both in the lineup for Game 1 of a first-round series, which will likely be against either the Golden Knights or Jets, is a must-have for Minnesota to pull off an upset. Assuming they make the postseason, MoneyPuck only gives them a 24% chance of advancing to the second round.

Eriksson Ek is on standard IR, while Kaprizov is on LTIR. If Minnesota were to have Kaprizov available before the end of the regular season, they’d need to clear roughly $550K in cap space to activate him.

Blackhawks To Recall Kevin Korchinski

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The Blackhawks are calling up top left-handed defense prospect Kevin Korchinski from AHL Rockford, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic. The seventh overall pick of the 2022 draft could make his first NHL appearance in three months tomorrow night against the Golden Knights.

Korchinski joins a Chicago blue line that boasted just one defender over the age of 23 in its last outing, with veterans T.J. Brodie (healthy) and Alec Martinez (upper body) not dressed. They’ve recently brought up top right-shot prospect Artyom Levshunov, the 2024 second-overall pick. That high-powered duo joins other young names like Louis Crevier, Ethan Del Mastro, and Wyatt Kaiser, who have seen in-season promotions, as the Blackhawks evaluate which of them could appear on their opening night roster next fall.

Unlike Levshunov, Korchinski isn’t a rookie. The 20-year-old was a full-timer on Chicago’s blue line last year but understandably struggled without much support. After being limited to 5-10–15 with a -39 rating in 76 games in 2023-24, the Blackhawks deemed it best for his long-term development to spend more time down a level in Rockford. The IceHogs aren’t the strongest club offensively, producing 2.87 goals per game, and that’s reflected in the team’s stars’ semi-conservative point totals. Korchinski still leads their blue line with 3-24–27 in 54 games, but he’s still behind the curve defensively as he adjusts to professional hockey. His -17 rating is the worst on the team.

However, his upside always primarily stemmed from his skating, offensive involvement, and power-play versatility. He ranks third among Chicago prospects and 28th overall on Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s most recent ranking of league prospects. While there remains concern about his defensive-zone decision-making, he’s a good stick-checker that could make him an effective transition defender – once the rest of the Blackhawks’ roster is filled out enough to play better system-oriented hockey.

In nine NHL games this season, coming on a December recall, Korchinski went without a point and logged a minus-five rating while seeing 16:46 of ice time per game. He controlled 46.6% of shot attempts and 50% of expected goals at even strength, however, both notable improvements on last year’s possession numbers (44.4 CF%, 40.4 xGF%).

Korchinski, a World Juniors gold medalist with Canada in 2023, still has one year remaining on his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent in 2026. He’s under team control for at least five seasons beyond this one and won’t be arbitration-eligible until he logs four seasons with at least 10 NHL games.

Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports.

Capitals Sign Dylan McIlrath To Two-Year Extension

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Only one defenseman on the Washington Capitals isn’t signed beyond this season. The Capitals announced they’ve signed Dylan McIlrath to a two-year, $1.6MM contract extension, an average annual value of $800K.

It’s a modest bump in pay for the Winnipeg, Manitoba native, who’s been earning $775K over the last three years with Washington. Should he stay with the Capitals organization over the life of the extension, it’ll be the longest McIlrath has been tenured with one team in his professional playing career.

That career started more than a decade ago. The New York Rangers selected McIlrath with the 10th overall selection of the 2010 NHL Draft after his sophomore campaign with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors. Even then, the pick was considered a reach, with the NHL Central Scouting Bureau projecting McIlrath as the 17th overall pick.

Still, McIlrath carved out a niche role with the Rangers organization, a role maintained to this day. The 6’5″, 231 lbs defenseman has never scored more than four points in an NHL season and no more than 17 points in an AHL season, but he’s found a home in the penalty box at the very least.

McIlrath has racked up a whopping 1,204 PIMs in 618 AHL contests, with another 133 Pims in 91 Calder Cup playoff contests. In the NHL, largely due to lack of playing time, McIlrath has accrued 147 PIMs at the NHL level in 86 contests.

Despite the lack of NHL playing time, it’s hard to consider McIlrath’s time with Washington as anything less than the best stretch of his career. He’s notched four assists in 20 games for the Capitals since 2022-23, averaging 11:03 of ice time per game. He’s still 18 games short of the total he matched earlier in his career with the Rangers, with his time in the AHL making up the gap.

McIlrath, then rostered with the Detroit Red Wings’ AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, won his first Calder Cup in 2017. Since joining the Capitals organization in 2021-22, McIlrath has tripled his number of Calder Cup rings, helping the Hershey Bears win back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024.

Philadelphia Flyers Fire John Tortorella

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After nearly three years behind the bench, John Tortorella is no longer the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers announced they’ve relieved Tortorella of head coaching duties and named associate coach Brad Shaw the interim head coach for the remaining schedule.

In the statement, Flyers’ General Manager Daniel Brière said, “Today I made the very difficult decision to move on from John as our head coach. John played a vital role in our rebuild. He set a standard of play and re-established what it means to be a Philadelphia Flyer. John’s passion on the bench was only equaled by his charitable work in our community. As we move into the next chapter of this rebuild, I felt this was the best for our team to move forward. I’d like to thank John for his tireless work and commitment to the Flyers.”

It’s a bold yet unsurprising move from Brière. From most statements, the Flyers’ front office had honest expectations for the team heading into the 2024-25 season, and even those haven’t been met. The biggest tell that a change behind the bench was incoming was Tortorella’s comments after Philadelphia’s embarrassing defeat against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

Tortorella was quoted saying, “This falls on me. I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we’re at right now. But I have to do a better job. So this falls on me, getting the team prepared to play the proper way until we get to the end.”

He attempted to smooth over the sentence in the same statement; however, Tortorella’s statement that he’s uninterested in learning how to coach in ’this type of season’ is indicative of the duress he was under through March. Philadelphia performed relatively well through the first five months of the season with a 26-26-8 record through 60 games, but the bottom has completely fallen out from underneath them.

Since the calendar turned to March, the Flyers have played 13 games but only won two. Opposing teams are outscoring them by a margin of 29, and they haven’t scored a powerplay goal despite having 31 opportunities to do so. Additionally, the team’s penalty kill operated at a 69.6% rate, which would only be higher than the Detroit Red Wings if that were extrapolated over the entire campaign. Surprisingly, the part that may sting the most for Philadelphia is that they largely controlled play at even strength with a 50.5% CorsiFor% through the month.

The blame can never be placed at the feet of one man, especially in a team sport. Still, a change had to be made after the wheels completely fell off the season. Surprisingly, Philadelphia didn’t wait until the end of the regular season to terminate Tortorella. The veteran coach’s comments from the other night may have been the final nail in the coffin for the Flyers’ management. Tortorella ends his tenure behind Philadelphia’s bench with a 97-107-33 record in 237 games.

Meanwhile, Shaw earns his second stint as a head coach in the National Hockey League for the first time since the 2005-06 season when he replaced Steve Stirling behind the bench for the New York Islanders. Shaw was hired as the Flyers’ associate coach in 2022-23, his second stint on Tortorella’s staff since their time with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

There’s little expectation that Shaw will remain as Philadelphia’s head coach beyond this season. Still, the organization will do their due diligence during the hiring process, and Shaw’s hat may be in the ring. If he doesn’t remain with the team beyond the current campaign, Shaw will only serve 9 games as the Flyers’ head coach.

Image courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images.

West Notes: Oilers, Stancl, Fischer, Colangelo

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Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch provided injury updates to several reporters, including TSN’s Ryan Rishaug (Twitter link).  While centers Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were ruled out for the week recently, Knoblauch clarified that Draisaitl will be the first one to come back, likely after this week ends or soon after; that suggests McDavid could miss a bit more time beyond that.  Meanwhile, newcomer Trent Frederic could still be multiple weeks away from skating with the team, calling into question if he’ll be able to get into game action before the end of the regular season.  Edmonton recently slipped into third place in the Pacific Division and they’ll have to find a way to at least stay close to getting that spot back while waiting for their two top players to return.

More from out West:

  • The Blues’ AHL affiliate in Springfield announced a pair of additions. First, St. Louis reassigned winger Jakub Stancl from WHL Kelowna to the Thunderbirds.  The 20-year-old signed his entry-level contract last year but spent the season with the Rockets where he potted 23 goals and 34 assists in 58 games.  This was his only year in major junior after playing professionally in Sweden last season.  His entry-level deal will officially begin in 2025-26 after sliding this season.  The Thunderbirds also added defenseman Lukas Fischer on an ATO for the remainder of the year.  The 18-year-old was a second-round pick last year, going 56th overall and spent this season with OHL Sarnia where he had 15 goals and 22 assists in 51 games.  If he sees game action with Springfield, it will be his first taste of professional action.
  • The Ducks will have winger Sam Colangelo back in the lineup tonight against Boston, relays Eric Stephens of The Athletic (Twitter link). He had been out for the last two weeks with an upper-body injury.  Colangelo is in his first full professional season and has split time between Anaheim and AHL San Diego.  He has six goals and an assist in 20 games with the Ducks while being quite productive with the Gulls, tallying 19 goals and 16 helpers in 38 outings on the farm.

Bruins Discussing Extension With Michael DiPietro

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Once viewed as a potential goalie of the future with Vancouver, Michael DiPietro’s career hasn’t panned out quite as planned.  However, he has turned into a solid goalie in the minors in Boston’s system and the Bruins would like to keep him around as Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek reports that the two sides are discussing a possible contract extension.

The 25-year-old will qualify for unrestricted free agency for the first time this summer, though not as a typical UFA.  Instead, his lack of NHL experience to this point in time will make him a Group Six UFA, one that allows him to reach the open market a little earlier than more established players.

DiPietro has just three appearances at the top level under his belt, those coming with the Canucks where he got into one game in 2018-19, one the following year, and the last in 2021-22.  The following season saw him play just once in the AHL with the bulk of his playing time coming with ECHL Maine.

However, things have gotten much better for DiPietro over the last couple of years.  After putting up a 2.51 GAA and a .908 SV% in 30 games with AHL Providence last season, he has bettered those numbers this year, checking in at 2.03 and .928, respectively, in 38 outings.  At a time where some third-string goalies have received one-way deals and others pricey two-way agreements with a strong guarantee, DiPietro is well-positioned to land a raise on his current $225K guarantee on his next deal.

At the moment, both of Boston’s AHL netminders are set to hit the open market this summer as Brandon Bussi is a pending unrestricted free agent as well.  The 26-year-old has played fewer games than DiPietro this season and after not getting a look with the Bruins in parts of four professional seasons with them, he might look to catch on elsewhere to see if his fortunes change in another organization.  That would seemingly position DiPietro to be the unquestioned number three option for Boston next season if they can come to terms on a new deal in the coming weeks and months.

East Notes: Zadorov, Reaves, Ciernik

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The Bruins won’t have defenseman Nikita Zadorov available to them tonight as they continue their road trip in Anaheim.  Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald relays that the blueliner has returned home to tend to a family matter.  No timeline for a possible return was given as interim head coach Joe Sacco would only confirm that Zadorov would miss this game.  The 29-year-old is in his first season in Boston after signing a six-year, $30MM deal last summer, one that has had some ups and downs.  Zadorov has 17 points along with 183 hits and a league-leading 135 penalty minutes in 72 outings this season while logging a career-high 20:33 per game.  Zadorov joins Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm as out for this one, meaning Boston’s three highest-paid defenders won’t be in their lineup.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • After clearing waivers on trade deadline day nearly three weeks ago, Maple Leafs winger Ryan Reaves reported to the Marlies on Tuesday and skated with the team for the first time, notes Nick Barden of The Hockey News. The 38-year-old didn’t see much action with the big club this season, playing in just 35 games, logging less than eight minutes a night when he did suit up while only collecting two assists and 103 hits.  It’s unclear if Reaves will actually play with the Marlies or if he’s just going to practice with them.  Reaves last saw action in the AHL back in 2010-11 with Peoria, the affiliate of St. Louis at the time.
  • Lehigh Valley, the AHL affiliate of the Flyers, announced that they’ve signed winger Alex Ciernik to a tryout agreement. The 20-year-old was a third-round pick back in 2023, going 83rd overall.  Ciernik spent this season with Nybro in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan and had a decent showing, notching 11 goals and 12 assists, good for fifth on the team in scoring.  Ciernik doesn’t have a contract overseas next season nor has he signed an entry-level deal so he’ll be hoping that a good showing with the Phantoms could earn him a contract from Philadelphia in the weeks to come.

Utah Recalls Kailer Yamamoto

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The Utah Hockey Club has recalled depth winger Kailer Yamamoto. Yamamoto made the Utah roster out of training camp but was cleared through waivers and assigned to the minor leagues on October 26th. This is his first call-up since that transaction, giving him another chance to find NHL ice time on the one-year, two-way, league-minimum deal he signed in Utah this summer.

Yamamoto has been a driving force for the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners this season. He leads the team in scoring with 51 points in 51 games played – making him one of just 17 AHLers scoring at or above a point-per-game pace, among players with at least 20 games played. Yamamoto spent the last four seasons in an everyday NHL role, split across tenures with the Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken. He had a career year in the 2021-22 campaign, when he potted 20 goals and 41 points in 81 games – a career-high in all scoring categories and games played.

But Yamamoto couldn’t find a way to make his scoring stick, and struggled to work out of a bottom-line rotation with his team’s extra forwards. He fell to 25 points in 58 games in the 2022-23 season, then managed just 16 points in 59 games with Seattle last year. A move to Utah was meant to serve as a spark, but after three pointless games to start the NHL season – Yamamoto was shipped back to the minors for his first AHL games since 2019-20.

Yamamoto’s call-up is purely for depth reasons, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports – meaning Utah isn’t facing any additional injuries or absences. That could make it tough for Yamamoto to work his way into the lineup. If he does, it will likely come over bottom-six winger Matias Maccelli, who has just one point in his last 10 games. Maccelli is the only Utah forward without multiple points in their latest 10 appearances.

Avalanche Sign Isak Posch, Cooper Gay To Two-Year Deals

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The Colorado Avalanche have joined in on the college free agent market by signing St. Cloud State University goaltender Isak Posch and University of St. Thomas forward Cooper Gay to two-year, entry-level contracts. Both deals are set to start next season. Neither player has been added to a minor league roster yet.

Posch will turn pro after completing his sophomore season at St. Cloud. He served as an oft-used backup in his freshman season and posted a meager 5-6-2 record and .901 save percentage in 14 games. But with his feet wet with college ice, Posch was able to win out the clear-cut starting role and post a much stronger statline this season. He ended the year with a .923 save percentage – the 11th-highest in the country among goalies with at least 20 games – and a strong 12-10-0 record.

Posch moved to America ahead of the 2021-22 season, after growing up through the IF Bjorkloven and Leksands IF systems in Sweden. He posted a dismal 9-23-3 record and .872 save percentage with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede in his first North American season – getting little support from a then-struggling Stampede defense. That prompted a move to the NAHL for the 2022-23 campaign, where Posch managed a much improved statline, with a 25-13-2 record and .926 save percentage. He entered college with that performance behind his sails, and found a way to continue the strong play into the next step. Posch will join a crowded goalie room in the Colorado organization – and likely faces a battle with players like Trent Miner and Adam Scheel for AHL ice time next season.

Gay will join the Avalanche organization after completing his junior year at St. Thomas. The six-foot-four, 210-pound winger was initially slow-going at the college flight, netting just seven points in 30 games of his freshman campaign. But he found his role as a bruiser on the boards and in the slot last season, helping push him to 12 goals and 21 points in 29 games as a sophomore. Gay built on those numbers this year, with 19 goals and 30 points in 35 games. He also served as one of St. Thomas’ alternate captain this year.

Gay grew up through Benilde-St. Margaret’s School in Minnesota, and spent seasons with the NAHL’s Minnesota Magicians and St. Cloud Norsemen, as well as the USHL’s Fargo Force. He wasn’t much of a scorer at the juniors level – totaling just 13 points in 40 NAHL games and 14 points in 51 USHL games. But he’s come along in recent years, as he continues to find comfort in his lumbering frame. While Posch will have a battle for ice time, Gay’s sturdy frame could give him a clear path to top-nine minutes in the minor leagues. With continued strong scoring, his nitch as a physical, net-front presence could even earn Gay NHL attention in the years to come.

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