Central Notes: Bedard, Meyers, Kirkland
In what has become an unexpectedly scary night for the Chicago Blackhawks, the team announced that star rookie, Connor Bedard, would not return to tonight’s game due to injury. The play in question took place during the first period, as New Jersey Devils defenseman, Brendan Smith, distributed a heavy hit to Bedard just over the blue line, causing the young phenom to head to the locker room for the rest of the evening.
For the sake of level-headedness, there could be a plethora of reasons for Chicago to keep Bedard out of the game, ranging from simply being cautionary with their top player, or expecting that Bedard could be out for a lengthy amount of time. Ultimately, it is unlikely that an update on Bedard’s status will be given after the game tonight, as most teams tend to wait until the next day to announce any meaningful news.
It is hard to put into words how detrimental Bedard’s absence would be for the Blackhawks, regardless of the amount of time he is out of the lineup. Even with only 11 wins through 38 games, Chicago’s offense completely runs through Bedard, as he has quickly shown that he was worth all of the hype.
To put his value into perspective on the Blackhawks specifically, with 15 goals and 33 points through 38 games, Bedard accounts for 17% of all goals scored, 12% of all assists, and 14% of all points scored for Chicago this season at 18 years old. With the future of the Blackhawks organization comfortably resting on Bedard’s shoulders, Chicago will likely be extremely cautious with Bedard’s health in hopes that he can be in the lineup as much as possible.
Other notes:
- The Colorado Avalanche have recalled forward Ben Meyers from the Colorado Eagles after sending him down yesterday, per a team announcement. It is unknown whether or not he will factor into the team’s lineup tomorrow afternoon against the Florida Panthers, as he has largely been used as an extra forward by the Avalanche this season.
- Unfortunately for Justin Kirkland, it will be his second consecutive emergency call-up without a game played, as the Arizona Coyotes announced they have returned him back to their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. Luckily, he has appeared comfortable in his first season in the Coyotes organization, as he’s scored one goal and 13 points in 12 games for the Roadrunners so far.
Minnesota Wild Activate Mats Zuccarello From Injured Reserve
As alluded to yesterday in recent reports, the Minnesota Wild have officially activated forward Mats Zuccarello off of injured reserve, per a team announcement. Having been injured since December 16th, Zuccarello will likely be in the lineup tomorrow night as the Wild take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Before the announcement, Zuccarello was one of five players currently on the injured reserve for Minnesota, with top players such as Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon sidelined as well. Even beyond the regular injured reserve, defenseman Jonas Brodin currently finds himself on long-term injured reserve, severely limiting the Wild’s depth over the last couple of weeks.
Specifically with Zuccarello sidelined with an upper-body injury, Minnesota has produced a 4-5-0 record in his absence, with four of those losses coming in their last four games. As the defense and goaltending have held up their end of things, the Wild’s offense has certainly struggled over this stretch, averaging less than three goals a game without Zuccarello.
Even though Zuccarello is largely seen as a complimentary piece next to Kaprizov, he may be tasked with being the focal point of the offense moving forward over the next few games. Impressively, he still sits second on the team in scoring with six goals and 28 points in 28 games, continuing to maintain an elite ability to pass the puck in his age-36 season.
Minnesota still has a difficult path ahead toward a healthy roster, but the addition of Zuccarello back into the lineup should help the team to be more competitive. Luckily for the team, the wild card race in the Western Conference is still relatively tight, as the Wild currently sit five points back of the Seattle Kraken for the final spot, with two games in hand.
Miro Heiskanen Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury
Suffering a lower-body injury in last night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars’ defenseman, Miro Heiskanen, was not on the ice this morning for practice. Carrying some optimism that Heiskanen would not be out long-term with an injury, the team received both good and bad news regarding his status by this afternoon.
Speaking with head coach Peter DeBoer, senior staff writer, Mike Heika reports that Heiskanen is to be considered week-to-week, but will not need surgery to repair any sustained damage. Up to this point, the Stars have not made a corresponding roster move, nor have they placed Heiskanen on injured reserve, although a transaction of this nature could be coming in the relatively near future.
Since the beginning of his tenure in Dallas during the 2018-19 season, Heiskanen has maintained relatively excellent health, as this injury will likely sideline him the longest out of any injury he’s suffered throughout his professional career. Given that the Stars have six other healthy defensemen on the roster, and the limited cap space currently possessed by the organization, Dallas may feel confident to roll forward with what they currently have.
Before his injury last night, Heiskanen was once again the top defenseman for the Stars, scoring four goals and 27 points in 37 games. He is not currently keeping pace with his offensive production from last season, but Dallas continues to lean on him in all situations, as he leads the team in average time on ice at a touch over 25 minutes a night.
In the absence of Heiskanen, look for the Stars to lean more into defenseman Thomas Harley, who now has an even larger opportunity with the organization. Although Dallas largely expected Harley to become an above-average defenseman for the team as a former first-round selection, he has exploded onto the scene this year with nine goals and 17 points in 34 games. With the awareness to play in all situations similarly to Heiskanen, Harley also sits third in the league in goals by a defenseman.
USA Wins 2024 World Junior Championship
With their victory over Team Sweden this afternoon, Team USA has officially won the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, taking home the gold medal for the sixth time since the tournament’s inception in 1977. The game-winning goal would come in the second period, as Michigan State University product, Isaac Howard, put away the deciding marker relatively early on in the game.
Team USA will now move alone into third place in total gold medals in the tournament’s history after being tied with Finland with five since 2021. Team Russia/Soviet Union is in second place with eight gold medals, while Team Canada is in front by a large margin with a whopping 20 gold medals in the tournament’s history.
After leading Team Czechia in scoring in last year’s tournament, Buffalo Sabres’ prospect, Jiri Kulich, would lead the entire tournament this year, scoring six goals and 12 points in seven games. Tied in the lead with Kulich was Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect, Cutter Gauthier of Team USA, scoring two goals and 12 points in seven games.
Outside of Team USA bringing home the gold, and Team Sweden taking home the silver medal, Team Czechia would go on to defeat Team Finland in a high-scoring game this morning, winning their second bronze medal in tournament history. Now, the players from each respective country will return back to their regular teams, before the exciting tournament returns next year in Ottawa.
Columbus Blue Jackets Reassign Jake Christiansen
The Columbus Blue Jackets have reassigned defenseman Jake Christiansen to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.
With defenseman Adam Boqvist cleared to return to the ice tomorrow for the team’s game against the Minnesota Wild, Christiansen no longer has his spot on the team’s NHL roster. He got into three total games in his most recent stretch in the NHL, and he registered one assist.
The 24-year-old undrafted WHL product has developed nicely since his rookie AHL campaign with Cleveland. He has a career-high of 45 points and has so far managed 22 points in 28 games this season. That production ranks him inside the top-10 in scoring by a defenseman in the AHL so far in 2023-24, and over the past few years, he has made it clear that he is a high-end offensive defenseman at the AHL level.
In the NHL, Christiansen has largely played in a sheltered role. With this reassignment, he’ll return to the top end of Cleveland’s lineup, while the Blue Jackets will shift focus to Boqvist. Boqvist, 23, has played in 13 games this season and has scored three points.
Minnesota Wild Reassign Sammy Walker, Recall Adam Raška
The Minnesota Wild have reassigned forward Sammy Walker to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. In a corresponding move, they have recalled forward Adam Raška to fill his spot on their NHL roster.
Walker featured in the Wild’s game yesterday, but after the team lost a difficult 4-1 decision the Wild have opted to swap fourth-line wingers. Walker played alongside Jake Lucchini and Connor Dewar, but the line did not have a great game.
In four NHL games this season, Walker has not yet registered a point and has a minus-three rating. He’s been solid in the AHL though with 19 points in 28 games for the Iowa Wild. The former University of Minnesota star has been like that ever since beginning his pro career in 2022-23: a strong AHL performer who struggles to make the same kind of impact against NHL competition.
Replacing him on the roster is Raška, a 22-year-old former depth forward in the San Jose Sharks organization. He’s played in eight career NHL games and doesn’t yet have his first NHL point. The five-foot-ten Czech forward has struggled to put together offense at the AHL level, with a career high of 14 points there.
But despite his size he does play a relentless, physical game and already has 61 penalty minutes in 20 games this season. Seeing as Minnesota’s fourth line already has some offensively-oriented players in Lucchini and Dewar, swapping out Walker for Raška gives the Wild a touch of physicality and aggression on that trio.
Zach Sanford Placed On Waivers
The Arizona Coyotes have placed forward Zach Sanford on waivers, according to PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan.
The 29-year-old veteran winger played in has played in 316 career NHL games. He won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues and has a career-high of 16 goals and 30 points. He’s bounced around a bit over the last few years, and is now set to be available to all 31 other teams, at just an $800k cap hit.
Sanford was originally recalled in December and skated in 11 games for the Coyotes, including yesterday’s loss ot the New York Islanders. He has played in a fourth-line capacity, and has scored two points to go alongside eight blocked shots and four hits. He has averaged 9:15 time-on-ice per game this season, but has not skated on any special teams units.
Now, with today’s waiver placement, he’ll be available in case any other NHL team needs a plug-and-play winger who can handle fourth-line minutes in the NHL.
Afternoon Notes: Nylander, Palat, Heiskanen
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported some updates yesterday on the William Nylander contract negotiations. Friedman believes that there is a deal to be made between Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs but that the negotiations are delicate, and both sides want to be careful moving forward. The Maple Leafs want some certainty from Nylander so they can move on and understand what they need to address going forward, as well as how much cap space they can allocate to other areas of need. For Nylander, he’s stated publicly in the past that he wants to stay in Toronto, and it doesn’t appear anything has changed.
Nylander bet on himself in the offseason as the Maple Leafs were looking to get this contract extension done for under $10MM annually. But, with Nylander on pace for career highs in both goals and assists his extension will likely be over $11MM annually. Friedman believes that the Maple Leafs are okay with this being a pricey extension, but they also understand that there are other variables Nylander has to consider other than money and term.
In other afternoon notes:
- New Jersey Devils reporter Amanda Stein tweeted that Devils head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters this morning that Ondrej Palat will likely miss the next few games. Palat suffered a lower-body injury in practice on Tuesday and did not play Wednesday night. The 32-year-old has struggled to live up to expectations after signing a five-year $30MM deal with the Devils in July of 2022. In 84 games spread out over one and a half seasons, Palat has just 13 goals and 24 assists.
- Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas News is reporting that Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen was not on the ice for Stars practice today after suffering a lower-body injury in last night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. Heiskanen crashed into his goalie early in the third period and left the game. There is no word yet on the severity of the injury, although TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that there is optimism that the injury is not long-term.
San Jose Sharks Reassign Jack Studnicka To AHL
The San Jose Sharks have reassigned center Jack Studnicka to their AHL affiliate the San Jose Barracuda (CapFriendly). The 24-year-old dressed in nine games since joining San Jose but was unable to find the scoresheet during that time while playing over 11 minutes a night. Studnicka struggled at even strength as he spent the majority of his ice time buried in the defensive zone and registered a -6.
The Windsor, Ontario native originally started the year with the Vancouver Canucks and dressed in five games this season with the team scoring a single goal. He was traded by the Canucks on December 15th for Nick Cicek and a sixth-round pick in 2024 and has remained in the NHL since the move. Studnicka’s demotion will give him his first chance to play with the Barracuda and could be an opportunity for him to get back on track offensively. In nine games with the Abbotsford Canucks this season, Studnicka had a goal and six assists.
Since being drafted in the second round of the 2017 NHL entry draft, Studnicka has bounced between three different organizations and has struggled to score at the NHL level with just six goals and 10 assists in 99 career NHL games. However, at the AHL level he has been a very effective offensive contributor with 35 goals and 68 assists in 126 career AHL games.
Studnicka being sent down might just lead to an opportunity for Kevin Labanc to get back into the Sharks lineup as he has been a healthy scratch for the last four games. The Sharks could also call someone else back up as they look to break out of another ten-game losing streak.
Capitals Notes: Sandin, Oshie, Lindgren
Tom Gulitti of NHL.com is reporting that Washington Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin missed practice this morning and won’t play tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. The team told reporters that Sandin was out with an illness, and it is not known how long he will remain out of the lineup, but they will reassess how he is feeling tomorrow before deciding on whether he will play on Sunday. Recently signed Ethan Bear took Sandin’s spot in the top 4.
The 23-year-old is in his first full season with the Capitals after he was acquired in February 2023. He started slowly this season but has picked up his game in recent weeks and has five assists in his last five games. The Uppsala, Sweden native has seen a massive increase in his ice time this season as he is playing over 22 minutes a night for Washington after averaging between 17-19 minutes a game in previous seasons while he was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In other Capitals notes:
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- Gulitti is also reporting that Capitals forward T.J. Oshie has gone back home to Minnesota to undergo treatment as he continues to deal with an upper-body injury. The 37-year-old hasn’t played since December 16th in Nashville and has been largely ineffective this year with just two goals and two assists in 21 games. The Capitals haven’t offered a timeline on Oshie’s return as of yet.
- Gulitti tweeted today that Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren skated with the team this morning and is eligible to come off the injured reserve and serve as a backup on Sunday when Washington takes on the Los Angeles Kings. Still, the team is going to take a wait-and-see approach to get a better idea of his health before they re-insert him into the lineup. Lindgren suffered an upper-body injury last Friday and has not played since, he has been unbelievable this year for the Capitals posting a 7-3-3 record with a .928 save percentage and a 2.27 goals-against average.