CHL Roundup: Luneau, Kressler, Vilmanis, Bloom, Peddle
Trade deadlines are drawing near for all three of the Canadian Hockey League sub-outfits: the OHL, QMHJL and WHL. That’s resulted in some notable moves surrounding NHL-affiliated players in recent days, including the WHL’s Wenatchee Wild shipping out their superstar duo of Sabres prospect Matthew Savoie (2022, ninth overall) and Coyotes prospect Conor Geekie (2022, 11th overall) to the Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos, respectively. There’s been a handful of other notable moves, too, though, which we’ll outline here:
- After winning the Emile Bouchard Trophy for the QMJHL’s Defenseman of the Year last season, Ducks prospect Tristan Luneau has played sparingly in 2023-24 despite making the NHL roster out of camp. He’s appeared in just seven games with the Ducks – still yet to burn the first year of his entry-level contract almost halfway through the season. Luneau’s also played six games with AHL San Diego on a conditioning stint and has been on loan to Team Canada for the recently wrapped-up 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. However, a viral infection sidelined Luneau for the whole tournament, and he has yet to be recalled from his loan. That’s led to some speculation that the Ducks may return him to junior hockey when he’s healed from his infection, fuelled further today by the Victoriaville Tigres acquiring his rights from the Gatineau Olympiques for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2024 QMJHL Draft. The 53rd overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft had a banner year with Gatineau last season, leading the league in assists (63) and points (83) by a defenseman in 65 games while notching a +49 rating.
- 21-year-old Maple Leafs center prospect Braeden Kressler is on the move in the OHL, heading from the Flint Firebirds to the Ottawa 67’s to close out his overage season. Kressler was not picked up in the 2021 NHL Draft after the OHL suspended operations that season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he earned a training camp invite with Toronto later that summer which resulted in an entry-level contract. Kressler had a disappointing post-draft season marred by injury with just 16 points in 28 games during the 2021-22 campaign, but he’s since rebounded to put up over a point per game in Flint since the beginning of last season while serving as an alternate captain. Thus far in 2023-24, Kressler has 15 goals and 37 points in 33 games, good enough to tie for the Firebirds’ lead in scoring.
- Shortly after repping Latvia at the World Juniors, Panthers forward prospect Sandis Vilmanis is heading from the OHL’s Sarnia Sting to the North Bay Battalion. The Panthers’ 2022 fifth-round pick is still 19 years old and just rattled off four points in five games for Latvia at the WJC, making himself just one of two players on the roster to score twice. Only four out of 20 OHL teams do not make the playoffs – Sarnia is in position to be one of those teams, making sense that they’d sell off one of their better players to a North Bay team that’s fourth in the league’s Eastern Conference. Vilmanis’ 28 points through 30 games are third on the Sting in scoring.
- The Canucks have loaned out left-wing prospect Josh Bloom back to juniors after he began the year in the minors, and the 20-year-old subsequently signed an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Saginaw Spirit. Bloom spent parts of four seasons in Saginaw from 2019 to 2023 before he was dealt to North Bay early last season, where he proceeded to rack up 25 goals and 55 points in 49 games while being a major factor on the penalty kill. Bloom, initially a third-round pick of the Sabres in 2021 whose NHL rights were traded to Vancouver last February, had just one assist in 14 games with AHL Abbotsford and two assists in eight games with ECHL Kalamazoo.
- The Blue Jackets made Nova Scotia-born center Tyler Peddle the last pick of the 2023 NHL Draft nearly six months ago. He’s now been traded from the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs to the Saint John Sea Dogs as he looks to jumpstart a highly discouraging post-draft campaign. Peddle, 18, notched 24 goals and 41 points in 64 games for Drummondville last season en route to his draft selection. This year, his scoring pace has decreased by almost 50% to just 14 points in 38 combined games between Drummondville and Saint John, the latter of whom he’s already played for once after the trade went through earlier this week. Peddle has not scored a goal in his last ten games and, if he can’t quickly get back on the scoresheet, is looking like a strong candidate to re-enter the NHL draft in 2025 and not earn an entry-level deal from Columbus in that time.
Jack Hughes Being Evaluated For Upper-Body Injury, No Timetable For Return
Before tonight’s game against the Canucks, Devils head coach Lindy Ruff informed reporters (including the team’s own Amanda Stein) that superstar center Jack Hughes is being evaluated for an upper-body injury and will not suit up to face his brother, Quinn, at home in Newark. Per Ruff, the team has no indication of when Hughes will be available to return to play.
After playing over 21 minutes against the Blackhawks yesterday, Hughes had an awkward fall late in the game in which he landed on his left wrist/upper arm area. He did not return to action after recording a -1 rating and two shots on goal in the contest.
Unfortunately for the Devils, they’re staring a potential multi-game absence for Hughes in the face for the second time this season. Their leader in assists (30), points (45) and ice time among forwards (20:31 per game) missed five games in November with a right shoulder injury. The Devils, who currently occupy the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 21-14-2 record, went 2-3-0 in those five games sans their more accomplished Hughes brother.
New Jersey is standing on more solid ground after going 6-3-1 in their past ten games, slowly beginning to overcome their goaltending woes. They can seldom stand to lose Hughes, who’s been their best all-around performer this season with spectacular possession metrics to boot, for a significant length of time.
For the second time today, an injury could also cause complications for a potential All-Star game appearance. Hughes, much like Blackhawks rookie phenom Connor Bedard who landed on IR earlier today with a fractured jaw, was named by the league to be their team’s initial representative at the 2024 All-Star Game in Toronto, which takes place in just under a month.
In Hughes’ absence, 22-year-old Dawson Mercer slides over to center to hold down first-line duties between Tyler Toffoli and Jesper Bratt against the Canucks. New Jersey is now officially injury-ravaged on offense, as they’re also without Timo Meier and Ondřej Palát for tonight’s contest and potentially longer. The Devils moved Meier to IR earlier today to create roster space, while Palát is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury but remains on the active roster, as does Hughes.
Hughes, 22, is in the second season of an eight-year, $64MM extension that makes him a UFA in the summer of 2030.
Central Notes: Mrazek, Drouin, Kirkland, Thornton
Even with a handful of teams believed to be looking for goalie help, the market for Blackhawks netminder Petr Mrazek isn’t likely to be too strong. As a result, Mark Lazerus of The Athletic feels (subscription link) it might be more likely that Chicago winds up extending the netminder over dealing him for what’s likely to be a limited return. The 31-year-old has put up a .903 SV% in 25 games this season, a very respectable number on a team that’s in a battle for the bottom of the standings once again. He currently carries a cap hit of $3.8MM and while it’s unlikely an extension would come in at that amount, keeping him around on a short-term extension to allow Drew Commesso to have a bit more time to develop with AHL Rockford would make some sense, especially if the trade market isn’t likely to yield much in return.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- After a rough start with his new team, Avalanche winger Jonathan Drouin has settled in nicely and is in the middle of a strong stretch where he has 17 points in his last 22 games. To that end, Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now evaluates the feasibility of trying to sign the 28-year-old to a contract extension. Drouin is playing on a deal worth $825K this season, opting for a short-term agreement in the hopes of establishing a better market next summer. His performance is worth a fair bit more than that but with Colorado’s cap situation, they’ll still be capped at a lower-cost offer. That said, if Drouin wants some stability and to stay in a good situation, he could be amenable to the possibility of re-signing now.
- The shuffling of Justin Kirkland continues. After being sent back down yesterday, the Coyotes announced (Twitter link) that the winger has been recalled from AHL Tucson. It’s his third recall in the last two weeks although he has yet to make an appearance yet with Arizona. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old has been productive with the Roadrunners, recording 13 points in 12 games so far.
- Still with Arizona, while not yet announced by the Coyotes, the team has loaned goaltender Anson Thornton back to OHL Barrie, notes Colts color commentator Gene Pereira. The 20-year-old signed as an undrafted free agent with Arizona back in 2021 but has been injured for most of the season, being limited to just four appearances with Tucson where he has a save percentage of just .849. With the CHL trade deadline coming next week, he may find himself on the move at that level in the coming days.
Canucks Activate Carson Soucy, Place Phillip Di Giuseppe On LTIR
The Canucks activated shutdown defenseman Carson Soucy from long-term injured reserve Saturday, with Soucy taking winger Phillip Di Giuseppe‘s spot on the active roster. Di Giuseppe has been added to LTIR with an undisclosed injury sustained last Tuesday against the Senators, which caused him to miss Thursday’s showing against the Blues. Thus, his LTIR placement is likely retroactive to January 3.
After signing a three-year, $9.75MM pact to join the Canucks last offseason, Soucy’s first few months in British Columbia have been marred by injuries that have limited him to 13 out of 38 games. When in the lineup, however, he’s been effective at first glance, logging two goals, three assists, five points and a +6 rating in 16:52 of ice time per game. That’s a bit more offense than most expected from Soucy, who scored just three times in 78 games with the Kraken last season.
More advanced metrics tell a different story, though. His possession impacts have been mediocre, posting a 46.3% Corsi share at even strength that ranks 16th among Canucks skaters with at least ten games played. He’s been most commonly paired with Tyler Myers, which has by far been the Canucks most disastrous two-way duo with just 41% of expected goals when they’re on the ice together, per MoneyPuck. Myers has fared marginally better when paired with Ian Cole or Nikita Zadorov.
While those numbers aren’t pretty, judging a player acclimating to a new system while fighting long-term injuries is hard. Soucy returns tonight from a lower-body injury that’s kept him out since November 12, causing him to miss 23 games.
It’s also a tough break for Di Giuseppe, who will now be out at a minimum through the end of the month. The 30-year-old veteran of over 250 NHL games spent most of his last two seasons with the Canucks in the minors with AHL Abbotsford but made Vancouver out of camp this season, playing in all but six games. A high-scoring threat at the AHL level, Di Giuseppe started in a top-nine role but has seen his minutes diminish in recent weeks, culminating in a few healthy scratches before sustaining the injury. He has three goals and five assists for eight points this season, averaging 13:03 per game.
Flyers Assign Rhett Gardner To AHL
The Flyers have assigned forward Rhett Gardner to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, according to a team statement. Gardner was a healthy scratch in today’s 3-2 win over the Flames.
Gardner signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Flyers in free agency last offseason, and he earned his first recall to the Flyers in mid-December. He was ferried back to Lehigh Valley after the Flyers played their last game before the Christmas break, but they promptly recalled him as the roster freeze wrapped up. The minor-league shutdown center served as injury insurance for most of his time on the NHL roster, as head coach John Tortorella scratched him in seven straight games before he made his season debut Thursday against the Blue Jackets. He entered the lineup in place of Morgan Frost, who sat as a healthy scratch for the 11th time this season but returned to play today.
Frost is an everyday piece of the Flyers’ top nine, posting 11 points in 27 appearances this season, but has earned the ire of Tortorella at points this season. That has resulted in extending benchings, including a six-game streak of scratches early in the season. With Frost still in the fold, though, and no injuries on offense to speak of, it makes sense the Flyers would want to return Gardner to the minors and avoid unnecessarily running out his waiver-exempt status.
The 27-year-old Gardner has now played in parts of four NHL seasons since making his debut in 2019-20, getting into 41 games while recording one goal and one assist. A long-time member of the Stars organization, who acquired his rights with the 116th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, all 40 of Gardner’s previous major-league games came in a fourth-line role with Dallas. Gardner now returns to the Phantoms, where he has three goals and one assist in his first 21 games with the team.
Pheonix Copley Out For The Season
The Kings have been without backup goaltender Pheonix Copley for nearly a month now and they won’t be getting him back this season. John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor was the first to report that the netminder has undergone successful ACL surgery which will keep him out for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. The team has subsequently confirmed the news.
The North Pole native was a major bright spot for Los Angeles last season, coming up from the minors to pick up 24 victories in just 37 games played, helping to stabilize what had been an uncertain goaltending situation until Joonas Korpisalo was acquired at the trade deadline. That helped earn Copley a one-year, $1.5MM contract extension last February.
But things hadn’t gone as well for the 31-year-old this year. Before being injured, Copley struggled in his first eight starts of the season, posting a 3.16 GAA with a .870 SV%, leading to some speculation that they could once again look to the trade market as they did a year ago to try to shore up their second-string option behind Cam Talbot.
For the time being, veteran David Rittich will serve as Talbot’s backup with Aaron Dell joining their farm team in Ontario to back-fill that spot. But with Copley’s contract now destined to remain on LTIR, they may be able to use some of that money to try to acquire an upgrade on Rittich in the second half of the season. Failing that, they may at least be able to keep an extra player or two on the active roster once winger Viktor Arvidsson can return from his back injury which has had him on LTIR for the entire season so far.
Devils Place Timo Meier On IR, Recall Max Willman
The Devils have made a pair of roster moves before tonight’s game against Vancouver. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Timo Meier has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to December 30th. With the open roster spot, the team has recalled Max Willman from AHL Utica.
Meier has missed the last week with what was termed as a mid-body injury. That came on the heels of him missing a couple of weeks with a lower-body issue earlier in the season as well. The 27-year-old hasn’t had a great first full season with New Jersey, notching just nine goals with six assists through his first 28 games. That’s not the type of output they were expecting when they acquired him from San Jose last season and signed him to an eight-year, $70.4MM contract back in June. With the back-dated placement, he will have already missed seven days so he’ll be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return.
As for Willman, he turned a PTO into a two-way deal in October and this will be his third recall of the season. He has played in four games with New Jersey so far, picking up his first goal since the 2021-22 campaign with Philadelphia while logging a little over 11 minutes a night. The 28-year-old has spent most of the year in the minors, notching nine goals and seven assists in 20 games so far. Assuming Meier’s injury is a short one, it’s likely that this stint on the roster will be a short one for Willman.
Jake Guentzel Could Delay Extension Discussions With Penguins
Jake Guentzel’s future with the Penguins is one of several questions surrounding the team as they continue to battle to get back into a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The fact he’s a pending unrestricted free agent would seem to expedite the need for extension talks to happen. However, in a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link), David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggests that Guentzel’s camp could opt to wait until the summer before engaging in substantive discussions about a new deal. He adds that there have been no discussions between the two sides so far.
The 29-year-old is in the middle of what could be a career year as he has 18 goals and 25 assists in 37 games so far, a 95-point pace. His previous benchmark was sent in 2021-22 when he collected 84 points in 76 contests. Guentzel has reached the 40-goal mark twice so far in his career and is on pace for 40 this season as well, setting him up quite nicely for a substantial raise on his current $6MM AAV.
One of the elements that could delay Guentzel’s decision is Pittsburgh’s place in the standings. If GM Kyle Dubas decides to embark on any sort of retool or rebuild, it’s possible that could dissuade Guentzel from wanting to extend. Of course, it’s possible that in that scenario, the decision gets taken out of his hands altogether if the Penguins decide to move him altogether by the March 8th trade deadline. What Pittsburgh’s plans are moving forward will obviously go a long way toward determining Guentzel’s level of interest in sticking around.
Assuming the salary cap goes up to the $87.5MM range as anticipated, Pittsburgh should have enough flexibility to make a competitive offer to Guentzel, one that could push past the $9MM mark on a long-term agreement. Considering his value to the team and in a potential trade, it stands to reason that Dubas will at least approach Guentzel’s camp to get a sense of what a new deal might cost. But one way or another, it doesn’t appear as if he’ll be putting pen to paper on an extension anytime soon.
Bruins Recall Jesper Boqvist, Assign Georgii Merkulov To AHL
With there being a bit of uncertainty with Boston’s lineup for tonight, the Bruins have opted to make a recall up front, announcing that winger Jesper Boqvist has been recalled from Providence. To bring Mason Lohrei back up after being papered down yesterday, Georgii Merkulov was assigned to Providence as well.
The 25-year-old had 21 points in 70 games with New Jersey last season but was non-tendered back in June, making him an unrestricted free agent. Boqvist eventually settled for a one-year, one-way contract worth the minimum salary of $775K a couple of weeks later with the hopes that he could lock down a full-time spot on Boston’s fourth line.
That hasn’t gone completely as planned as instead of securing a full-time spot, he cleared waivers at the end of training camp and has spent most of the season in the minors. Boqvist has done well down there, picking up 10 goals and 13 assists in 31 games with Providence while also making a pair of appearances with Boston.
As for Merkulov, he played in four games with Boston while on recall, being held off the scoresheet while averaging 10:35 per night. The 23-year-old has been quite productive with Providence, however, notching 14 goals and 16 assists in 31 games and should go right back to being in a top role for them.
As Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic notes (Twitter link), winger James van Riemsdyk is day-to-day so it would appear Boqvist’s recall is to help cover against that. Lohrei could also take his place in the lineup if they want to go with seven blueliners while Matthew Poitras is also available after returning from his stint at the World Juniors.
Senators Notes: Tarasenko, Pinto, Joseph
With the Senators underachieving considerably this season, they’ll likely be selling leading up to the March 8th trade deadline barring some kind of significant turnaround in the standings. To that end, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the team is expected to approach veteran winger Vladimir Tarasenko about waiving his no-trade clause before the deadline. The 32-year-old inked a one-year, $5MM deal in late July after longer-term agreements that were more to his liking failed to materialize on the open market even after changing agents just days into free agency. Tarasenko hasn’t lit it up with Ottawa but does have 24 points in 32 games and would add some secondary scoring to a contending squad. The Sens would likely need to retain up to 50% in order to maximize the return when the time comes to move him.
More from Ottawa:
- Garrioch notes in the same piece that while the original plan was for Shane Pinto to have a conditioning stint with AHL Belleville later this month when he’s eligible to return, that’s no longer the case. The 23-year-old is allowed to start skating with the team on Wednesday while his first eligible game back is January 21st, allowing for ample time for him to work on his conditioning and get up to speed before making his debut. Ottawa still needs to sign Pinto but that will likely have to be a low-cost one-year deal given their salary cap situation.
- In a separate piece from Garrioch, he notes that winger Mathieu Joseph has resumed skating as he works his way back from a lower-body injury. He was recently placed on LTIR to accommodate Thomas Chabot’s activation but that was a short-term solution as Joseph could return as soon as Tuesday. If that happens, the Sens will need to do some roster juggling to get back into cap compliance. Joseph was off to a strong start before suffering the injury last month, picking up 19 points in his first 25 games.