Morning Notes: Iskhakov, Kucherov, Barkov
Islanders 2018 second-round pick Ruslan Iskhakov could receive his first NHL recall in the coming days as injuries continue to affect the team’s forwards, speculates Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. He notes the team may prefer a more dynamic replacement at the top of the lineup for winger Pierre Engvall, who missed Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Jets with an upper-body injury.
Engvall is listed as day-to-day and remains on the active roster, but head coach Lane Lambert told reporters yesterday that he has no indication when the 27-year-old will resume skating (via Newsday’s Andrew Gross). The Swedish winger has disappointed with 5-9–14 in 41 games this season, the first of his seven-year, $21MM contract, and has been a healthy scratch twice.
28-year-old Hudson Fasching slotted into Engvall’s normal second-line role alongside Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri for the Winnipeg game and is projected to do so again tonight against the Blackhawks. However, the career AHLer/bottom-six depth piece isn’t a sustainable placeholder on a scoring line for a team maintaining playoff aspirations.
Iskhakov, 23, is undersized at 5-foot-8 and 165 lbs., but he’s adjusted well to the North American pro game since joining AHL Bridgeport in 2022. He’s been their best player this season by a wide margin, posting 13-19–32 in 36 games, leading the team in all major offensive categories. If Engvall’s absence from the lineup is long enough to warrant a stint on injured reserve, it would be prudent to give Iskhakov a brief NHL look in the final season of his entry-level contract.
More from the NHL as teams convene for Friday morning practices:
- Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov‘s meteoric season continued last night, recording three assists against the Wild to reach 500 in his career. He remains third among active Russian players in the stat, trailing future Hall-of-Famers Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin by a significant margin. While the Lightning’s .567 points percentage would have them out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Kucherov has been pulling his weight and then some this season. His 28 goals are fourth in the NHL, his 47 assists are second, and his 75 points in 44 games give him a slim lead on Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon for the lead in the Art Ross Trophy race.
- Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was absent from morning skate today as he continues to rehab a lower-body injury, said the AP’s Colby Guy. Head coach Paul Maurice is expected to issue an update on Barkov’s status later Friday. The 28-year-old missed Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Red Wings, his fourth absence of the season. He missed a late October tilt against the Sharks with illness, while a knee injury kept him out of two games in November. His 35 assists in 40 games lead the Panthers.
Evening Snapshots: Wild, Capitals, Drysdale
Earlier today, the Minnesota Wild announced that defenseman Jared Spurgeon would be missing the rest of the season due to back and hip surgery, and Joe Smith of The Athletic speculates that the organization may use their newfound cap space to improve their situation. Only two days ago, General Manager Bill Guerin publicly stated that he is unwilling to give up on the 2023-24 season, and fully expects this team to compete for a playoff spot over the next couple of months.
If Minnesota is going to operate as a buyer come trade deadline time, there are a few options at defense they could look to acquire. Assuming the team looks for a right-handed defenseman to replace the lost minutes left by Spurgeon, they could become a dark horse contender for a defenseman such as Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames, or even look to acquire Tyson Barrie from their division rivals, the Nashville Predators.
In the next few weeks leading up to the trade deadline, the status of the Wild’s playoff chances should come into much clearer view for Guerin, which should help him steer the ship in a more concrete direction. Whatever the case may be, if Minnesota decides to make a major move to replace Spurgeon for the rest of the season, they will have approximately $5.1MM in cap flexibility to do so.
Other snapshots:
- In tonight’s game for the Washington Capitals, they saw the return of their captain, Alex Ovechkin, who had missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. Unfortunately, the team will be without a few players, as Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network reported that defenseman Joel Edmundson would not play in tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, and forward Beck Malenstyn is out due to personal reasons.
- Moving on to another team in the Metropolitan Division, even though Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reported earlier that newly-acquired defenseman Jamie Drysdale was not seen at practice today, he was able to draw into the lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers this evening. Suiting up for the team in two games, Drysdale came down with an illness shortly after arriving in Philadelphia and subsequently missed the next two contests for the team. Drawing back in the lineup against the Dallas Stars, Drysdale has already skated in over 14 minutes of the game and has put two shots on the net.
Pacific Notes: McLellan, Hill, Amadio
In this week’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, one of the proposed questions centered around the possibility of the Los Angeles Kings parting ways with current head coach Todd McLellan. Hoping to compete for a Stanley Cup this season, the Kings have produced a 1-5-4 record since December 28th, which has led some to speculate that a change behind the bench could be on the horizon in Los Angeles.
Unlike most teams that have made an in-season coaching change this year, the Kings still find themselves within a playoff spot in the Pacific Division, but the gap has certainly tightened over the last few weeks. Keeping together much of the same core over the offseason and bringing in Pierre-Luc Dubois, it’s safe to say that Los Angeles is not meeting their expectations up to this point in the season.
One of the main drivers in the team’s current misfortune has been the offense, which has only averaged 2.3 goals per game in their last 10 contests. In the year, the Kings rank 14th in the NHL with 3.27 GF/G, which does not appear to be enough firepower to take down a team such as the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, or Vancouver Canucks. With little salary cap mobility and a coaching change seeming unlikely, the Kings will have to do their best to handle this downturn internally.
Other notes:
- Another team in the Pacific Division that has dealt with some unfortunate play of late would be the Vegas Golden Knights. In their last 14 games, the Golden Knights have produced a 5-9-0 record, now falling well short of the first-place Canucks. Nevertheless, in some positive news for the organization, the head coach of the team, Bruce Cassidy, suggested that starting goaltender Adin Hill is back practicing and should participate in a game sooner rather than later (X Link). Getting Hill back into the lineup should give the team quite a bit of much-needed stability, as he produced a 10-2-2 record in 15 games before going down with an injury in mid-December.
- Sticking in Vegas, Jesse Granger of The Athletic reported that forward Michael Amadio would miss the team’s game tonight against the New York Rangers with an upper-body injury. One of the most valuable depth players across the league this year, Amadio has scored six goals and 17 points in 43 games.
Buffalo Sabres Recall Jacob Bryson
The Buffalo Sabres have recalled defenseman Jacob Bryson. He fills the open roster spot left when Kale Clague was sent down from his emergency loan. Bryson has been in the minors since December 19th, appearing in nine games with the Rochester Americans and recording one assist. Bryson was on injured reserve earlier in the season with a lower-body injury.
This is the first time that Bryson has played AHL games since the 2020-21 season when he played in five games with Rochester and recorded three assists. In fact, Bryson has largely avoided the minor leagues since making his pro debut in 2019-20. He’s only totaled 75 AHL games, scoring 31 points, compared to his 173 career games in the NHL. Bryson’s most eventful NHL season came in 2021-22 when he netted a career-high 10 points in a career-high 73 games. He’s come close to breaking his scoring high a number of times, netting nine points in 38 games in his rookie 2020-21 season and nine points in 59 games last year. The Sabres originally drafted Bryson in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL Draft, taking him in the same round that saw Michael Anderson, Emil Bemstrom, and Drake Batherson get selected.
Bryson rejoins a Sabres team that’s slowly finding their groove, setting a 4-2-0 record since the calendar turned over to 2024. He’ll serve as a depth option for Mattias Samuelsson, who is currently in concussion protocol and designated as day-to-day.
Jared Spurgeon To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery On Back And Hip
The Minnesota Wild have announced that team captain Jared Spurgeon is set to miss the remainder of the season after surgery on his back and hip. Spurgeon has been limited for much of the season, playing in just 16 games this year. He hasn’t played since January 2nd, though, as he’s continuing to struggle with lower-body injuries. This includes an injury suffered in the preseason that forced him to miss the month of October and parts of November.
It’s been a disastrous season for the 34-year-old pro, now in his 14th season with the Minnesota Wild. Spurgeon has managed just five points this year, but recorded an admirable 11 goals and 34 points in 79 games last season. Still, injuries have been consistent in his recent seasons, with the defender failing to appear in 70-or-more games in five of his last seven seasons, including this year.
Spurgeon has become a prolific NHLer despite the injuries. He has appeared in more games than any other defenseman in Wild history, with his 867 career games far ahead of second-place Ryan Suter‘s 656 games with the team. In fact, only one player has appeared in more games for the Wild – former long-term captain Mikko Koivu, who played all 1,028 games of his career in Minnesota. Spurgeon also ranks fourth in all-time scoring for the club, behind only Koivu, Marian Gaborik, and Zach Parise.
The 5’9″ Spurgeon has come a long way since being drafted in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL Draft – the same round that saw Cam Atkinson join the Columbus Blue Jackets. Together, the duo have paved a path for “undersized” players in the NHL, proving just how impactful they can be with the right energy and grit.
It’s safe to assume that Spurgeon’s absence will lead to more minutes for depth defensemen like Dakota Mermis and Daemon Hunt. The Wild will also now be relieved from Spurgeon’s $7.575MM cap hit for the remainder of the year. Whether their depth pieces, or potential acquisitions, will be able to fill in for the team’s top defenseman now becomes an important question to Minnesota’s success for the rest of the season. The Wild currently rank seventh in the Central Division with an 18-20-5 record.
Afternoon Notes: Ullmark, Sergachev, Fleury, Kochetkov
NHL.com reports that Boston Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark is set to return in a backup capacity when the Bruins take on the Colorado Avalanche this evening. Ullmark hasn’t played since a 4-3 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes on January 9 as he has been dealing with a lower-body injury. Ullmark will backup starter Jeremy Swayman who has been excellent in his absence. Swayman had a 31-save shutout on Monday over the New Jersey Devils and continues to put up terrific numbers. Ullmark on the other hand had cooled off in early December but was able to finish off 2023 strong capping off a historic year for the 30-year-old. No word yet on when Ullmark is expected to start again, but given that he is backing up Swayman this evening one would think it should be soon.
Other notes from around the league:
- Both Haydn Fleury and Mikhail Sergachev are likely to miss a few more weeks, as Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper shares that neither are expected back before the break for February 3rd’s All-Star Weekend. Both players are on long-term injured reserve, as Fleury deals with a hand injury and would be eligible to return as soon as January 25th, though he hasn’t recovered fully just yet, while Sergachev nurses a lower-body injury that’s already held him out of 11 games.
- Carolina Hurricanes fan-favorite Pyotr Kochetkov is getting better from his concussion, returning to team practices for one-on-one work with the team’s goalie coach, shares team reporter Walt Ruff. But despite the return to the ice, Ruff shares that there is still no timetable for Kochetkov’s return to the lineup. Kochetkov last played in January 11th’s matchup against the Anaheim Ducks, saving 10 of 13 shots before leaving the game early. Ducks goaltender John Gibson also left that game early with injury.
Dylan Cozens Day-To-Day, Samuelsson Could Return Soon
The Buffalo Sabres tweeted today that forward Dylan Cozens is currently day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will not play tonight when the Sabres take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Cozens last played on Monday when Buffalo defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-0 and didn’t have any obvious moments that could be the cause of injury, but it is said he suffered the injury in the third period.
The 22-year-old has struggled this season with just seven goals and 15 assists in 42 games after putting up career numbers just a year ago. In the 2022-23 season, Cozens had 31 goals and 37 assists in 81 games which prompted the Sabres to sign him to a massive seven-year, $49.7MM contract extension. Last season, Cozens appeared to be much more careful with the puck and although he’s been better at driving possession this season, he’s been guilty of far more turnovers and hasn’t had the same results in the defensive zone.
According to Sabres reporter Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550, Cozens may play Saturday, but nothing is certain as of right now. Hamilton also said that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson could also return on Saturday night as Sabres head coach Don Granato told the reporter that he is progressing after he went into concussion protocol last Saturday in a game against the Vancouver Canucks.
With Cozens out of the lineup tonight, it appears that Victor Olofsson will dress. Olofsson has sat out for five straight games and is suffering through a frustrating season with just four goals in 31 games, after registering 28 goals last season in 75 games.
Blue Jackets Put Spencer Martin On Waivers, Jiricek Sent To AHL
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they’ve placed goaltender Spencer Martin on waivers today and sent defenseman David Jiricek to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Martin was placed on waivers for the purpose of sending him to the AHL, but he will need to clear waivers first before he can be sent there.
Martin has struggled this season after he was acquired on waivers from the Vancouver Canucks back in September 2023. He has not appeared in a game since a loss on January 2nd to the Boston Bruins. For the season, Martin has dressed in 13 games and has a 3-8-1 record with a 3.65 goals-against average and a save percentage of .887%. Those numbers are not great, and some might speculate that they are being dragged down by playing on a bad team in Columbus, however, Martin’s numbers are only slightly worse with the Blue Jackets as his career average goals against is 3.63 and his career save percentage is lower at .886. Martin’s demotion could lead to Elvis Merzļikins getting more playing time in the coming days, which could be interesting given his recent trade request.
Jiricek heads to Cleveland after dressing in 36 games this season for the Blue Jackets. The former sixth overall pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft has played okay this season, although he hasn’t posted much in the way of offense with just a goal and eight assists this year. The Blue Jackets tried to give the 20-year-old the bulk of his zone starts in the offensive zone and did appear to be sheltering him as best they could. With his demotion to Cleveland, he will likely see more minutes and have an opportunity to play in more high-leverage situations which could help his development long-term.
Flames Place Walker Duehr On Waivers
January 18th: Duehr has cleared waivers and been assigned to the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL.
January 17th: The Flames placed winger Walker Duehr on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Calgary on Wednesday, TSN’s Chris Johnston reports.
Duehr, 26, played in 12 straight games to start the season but has seen minimal action since, playing in only 10 of Calgary’s last 35 games. An undrafted free agent signing out of Minnesota State in the spring of 2021, the bottom-six grinder posted 1-3–4 in 19 games this year while averaging only 7:58 per game before landing on the waiver wire.
Away from the puck, Duehr’s performance this year took a sizable step back from his 27-game stint in the Flames lineup in 2022-23. His 46.2% Corsi share at even strength is the worst on the team despite seeing minutes against easier competition, and his minutes on special teams this year are negligible.
Duehr is signed to a one-way deal that runs through next season, so the likelihood of him getting claimed is low. He signed a two-year extension worth $1.65MM last April after spending a decent chunk of the campaign on the Calgary roster, making the team out of camp this year as a result.
In 41 games with AHL Calgary last season, Duehr recorded 11-15–26 with a +5 rating. His middling offensive production in the minors suggests he won’t likely ever be a top-nine threat at the NHL level, but he has shown some skills that suggest he can be an effective fourth-liner in the future. This season, however, it hasn’t come to fruition, and he’ll return to the minors (if he clears) to round out his all-around game.
Calgary Flames Recall Adam Klapka, Place Dennis Gilbert On IR
The Calgary Flames have recalled winger Adam Klapka to the NHL and placed defenseman Dennis Gilbert on injured reserve, retroactive to January 4th.
This is the first recall of Klapka’s young career, with the 23-year-old signing with Calgary following the end of Liberec’s 2021-22 Czechia Extraliga season. That was Klapka’s first professional season after two years with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. He performed admirably in Czechia’s top league, recording 18 points and 72 penalty minutes in 44 games.
The showing was enough to earn a contract in North America, with Klapka spending the last two seasons with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. The winger has totaled 46 points in 96 minor league games and ranks fifth on the Wranglers in scoring this year with 21 points in 33 games
Klapka now joins the Flames roster in the absence of Gilbert, another young pro that, this season, has managed to carve out a role solely in the NHL for the first time in his career. The 27-year-old defender has appeared in 28 of Calgary’s 44 games this season, managing seven points and 16 penalty minutes. Gilbert was formerly drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks with the last pick of the third round in 2015, going just a handful of picks before players like Nicolas Roy and Mathieu Joseph.
Klapka is expected to serve as Calgary’s extra forward on Thursday, delaying what would be his NHL debut – something the young winger is certainly hoping for on this recall.