Central Notes: Connor, Girard, Lehkonen, Reichel
Winnipeg Jets’ leading goal-scorer Kyle Connor is making progress in his return from a knee injury, returning to the Jets’ practices in a no-contact jersey. The winger has been out for 20 days but still leads Winnipeg with 17 goals scored across 26 games, a mark tied for 11th in the NHL – despite Connor playing in at least five games fewer than any other player in the top 20. Winnipeg has leaned even heavier into Mark Scheifele in Connor’s absence, with the recently-extended centerman scoring eight points in the seven games that Connor has missed. The Jets have proven surprisingly successful for a team missing their top goal-scorer, setting a 4-1-2 record without Connor. And while that’s a great sign for optimism, the Jets were on a four-game winning streak leading up to Connor’s injury, and had a five-game winning streak just a few games prior. They will look to get back on that winning run as Connor continues to progress back to play.
Other notes from around the Central Division:
- Samuel Girard is set to return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup on Sunday, after missing the team’s last 20 games for personal reasons. It was known that Girard would return soon, as the Avalanche anticipate the return of an option that averages over 20 minutes a night for the team. Girard has scored four goals in 15 games this season.
- Artturi Lehkonen has begun taking full practices with the Avalanche, after working independently for much of the week. Lehkonen is working back from a scary-looking neck injury that’s held him out since late-November. Lehkonen has scored eight points in 12 games this season. And while Lehkonen returned, Ross Colton did not skate on Saturday.
- Lukas Reichel could be set to lose a significant amount of money on his first NHL contract after his entry-level deal, per The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus, who shares that the promising 21-year-old was set for a comfy pay raise from his entry-level contract prior to the season, but now may only receive a cheap qualifying offer as a restricted-free agent after a season of struggles. Reichel has managed just eight points through 34 games this season and currently sits with a -19. And while Reichel continues to struggle, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson and head coach Luke Richardson both told Lazerus that Reichel has proven he’s an NHL talent, and that a move to the AHL isn’t in the cards yet.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: San Jose Sharks
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the San Jose Sharks.
Who are the Sharks thankful for?
There isn’t a lot to be excited about from a San Jose Sharks team that kicked off their season with an 11-game losing streak, is currently on a seven-game losing streak, and has yet to win 10 games. But thankfully, there’s a fantastic consolation prize in the 2024 NHL Draft – San Jose local and star prospect Macklin Celebrini. Celebrini was born in Vancouver but played much of his youth hockey career in the Bay Area, before moving to Shattuck St. Mary’s. He’s since emerged as a superstar prospect, with 25 points through his first 15 games as an NCAA freshman. The fleet-footed centerman is also the leading scorer for Team Canada’s World Juniors roster, boasting six points in three games – double the scoring of anyone else on the roster. His trophy case is already full of accolades, including winning the awards for both USHL Rookie of the Year and USHL Most Valuable Player last season. Celebrini doesn’t project to be a generational prospect like Connor Bedard but he’s confidently in the “1B” tier below him, likely poised for immediate success in the NHL. There’s no better place for Celebrini to start his career than where it all began – or, that will at least be what Sharks fans hope for if their season continues to skid.
What are the Sharks thankful for?
Extra goaltending training.
The San Jose Sharks are averaging 35.7 shots-against this season – the third-most of any team over the last decade. That’s led to a dismal average of 4.08 goals-against this season but it’s also meant extra action for netminders Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen, providing a sort-of trial by fire for the Sharks’ starting goalie role. The duo has had very different results this year, with Blackwood recording a .884 save percentage in 23 appearances, while Kahkonen has set an even .900 save percentage in 17 games, catching up in appearances while Blackwood has been out with illness. Moneypuck’s goals-saved-above-expected per-60 stat (GSAx/60) paints a similar story, with Kahkonen’s 0.368 sandwiched between Igor Shesterkin and Jacob Markstrom at 13th in the league while Blackwood’s -0.312 ranks 32nd in the league. Letting up a bombardment of shots every single night is a terrible habit to have but the opportunity to see how a netminder faces such heavy pressure is a nice silver lining. Kahkonen is one of a daunting 17 Sharks set to become a free agent next summer, while Blackwood is signed through the end of the 2024-25 season, and how each player is able to take advantage of their chances through the rest of the season will undoubtedly weigh heavy into how San Jose handles their goalie contracts next off-season.
What would the Sharks be even more thankful for?
A confident win.
The Sharks are not only currently on a seven-game losing streak, but two of their last three wins have come in overtime, while the other win was a grueling 2-1 victory that saw its game-winning goal scored with just a few minutes left. It’s been a tedious stretch for the Sharks, forced to fight to the end of every game they play, unless they’re getting walloped on the scoreboard. There is no saying just how impactful a win could be, especially if the Sharks can find a way to really get over an opponent and win by a few goals. The team only has two wins of three goals or more this year and haven’t managed the feat since December 1st. With the holiday break passed and the All-Star break looming, now is a perfect time for San Jose to set their pace for the rest of the season – and which players are able to step up and assure that could make a tremendous impact on the team’s long-term plans.
What should be on the Sharks holiday wish list?
More draft stock.
The Sharks are unsurprisingly set to be sellers at the trade deadline, with options like Tomas Hertl and Anthony Duclair poised to receive plenty of interest from teams looking for a scoring boost. If they do get interest, draft capital needs to be the Sharks’ top priority. The team already has four picks in the top-two rounds of next year’s draft but a lot has been made about the strength of the 2025 and 2026 draft classes as well, and increasing their stock in each draft could go a long way in helping San Jose build out a team that can lift them out of their rebuild. They’ve had just three picks in the Top 10 since 2010, used to draft Timo Meier (2015), William Eklund (2021), and Will Smith (2023). That’s no way to bring in talent that can lead the top of a lineup, especially considering that one of those selections has already been traded away. After a season of immense struggles, San Jose will hope they can reverse this trend and bring in a few true difference makers over the next three drafts.
Metropolitan Notes: Rangers, Merzlikins, Puljujarvi, Halonen
The Rangers could be prioritizing adding some grit over another skilled forward, reports Lohud’s Vince Z. Mercogliano. That type of player would ideally then help shore up their defensive play in the bottom six as well. At the moment, New York has ample spending room with both Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko on LTIR but if both of those players return by the end of the season, that spending flexibility becomes much more limited. Accordingly, doing some scouting work on an impactful gritty depth player who doesn’t cost as much against the salary cap could be a wise course of action for them for now.
More from the Metropolitan:
- The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that Elvis Merzlikins’ early departure from last night’s victory over Toronto was due to illness. Spencer Martin played the final two periods and overtime in relief. He will also miss today’s game versus Buffalo as team reporter Jeff Svoboda relays (Twitter link) that Merzlikins did not accompany the team on the trip. With Columbus carrying three goalies on its active roster, they don’t need to bring another netminder up from AHL Cleveland.
- Winger Jesse Puljujarvi skated with the Penguins on Friday for the first time since joining them on a PTO earlier this month, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 25-year-old has been working his way back from double hip surgery and still hasn’t been fully cleared to play. If that comes after a few more skates with Pittsburgh, Puljujarvi could be an intriguing addition in the second half of the season on what’s quite likely to be a deal at or near the league minimum.
- The Devils announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated forward Brian Halonen off of season-opening IR and assigned him to AHL Utica. The 24-year-old is in the second and final year of his entry-level contract and had 17 goals and 13 assists in 57 games with the Comets last season. Since Halonen wasn’t in the NHL at any point last season, he did not count against the cap while on SOIR.
Atlantic Notes: Samsonov, Sabres Coaches, Sergachev
Following another tough outing that saw him allow six goals to Columbus in an overtime loss, Ilya Samsonov’s short-term future appears to be in question. Jonas Siegel of The Athletic believes (subscription link) that the Maple Leafs can no longer afford to put the netminder in their lineup with how much he has struggled; his save percentage on the season is down to just .862 even though he only has two regulation losses in his 15 starts.
Toronto’s challenge, of course, is that with Joseph Woll likely out for another month and Martin Jones being more of a depth veteran than a viable starter, they don’t really have anyone else to turn to other than prospect Dennis Hildeby or another youngster in the minors. With Hildeby being in his first full AHL campaign though, calling him up this early wouldn’t be ideal. However, Siegel highlights that with how the Maple Leafs’ schedule goes in the next little bit, they wouldn’t have to call on Hildeby much, lessening the risk of exposing him too early to the top level. Promoting him would then allow Samsonov to either accept a conditioning stint with the Marlies or be assigned there pending waiver clearance to try to get back on track.
Siegel also wonders if Jaroslav Halak could make sense in the short term to avoid bringing Hildeby up although it’s worth noting that the Maple Leafs already have seven goalies on an NHL contract. To use Halak, they’d have to make it eight which isn’t an ideal situation to be in. Samsonov had a good first season in Toronto last year, earning a $3.55MM deal for his troubles but his platform year to unrestricted free agency has been nothing short of a disaster so far.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- The Sabres announced (Twitter link) that head coach Don Granato will miss today’s game versus Columbus due to illness. Instead of using an assistant in the interim head coaching role, Buffalo has recalled Rochester’s head coach Seth Appert who will be in charge behind the bench. Appert is in his fourth season with the Amerks who also play tonight but will have assistants Vinny Prospal and Nathan Paetsch split the coaching duties for that contest.
- Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev took part in practice on Friday but was only able to make it through about half the session, relays Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times. As a result, the 25-year-old won’t make his return to the lineup tonight against the Rangers. Sergachev has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury and has 19 points in 33 games so far this season while playing nearly 23 minutes a night.
Capitals Recall Hunter Shepard, Assign Ivan Miroshnichenko To Minors
With Charlie Lindgren exiting Friday’s contest early with an upper-body injury and the Capitals back in action tonight versus Nashville, a move needed to be made to get another goalie on the active roster. That move has now been made as the team announced that goaltender Hunter Shepard has been recalled while winger Ivan Miroshnichenko has been sent back to AHL Hershey.
Shepard made his first two NHL appearances earlier this season, picking up a pair of wins against division rivals while stopping 54 of 59 shots. The 28-year-old has spent the bulk of the campaign in the minors with the Bears, getting into 16 games where he has a 2.28 GAA and a .908 SV%. He also has 14 victories, good for the second-most in the AHL. He’ll serve as Darcy Kuemper’s backup in Lindgren’s absence.
As for Miroshnichenko, the 19-year-old made his NHL debut just before the holiday break and has played in four games with Washington so far. He’s still looking for his first point at the top level while averaging a little over ten minutes a night of ice time. The 20th pick in 2022, Miroshnichenko has eight goals and seven assists in 27 games with Hershey, his first taste of NHL action. As long as he plays in fewer than ten games at the top level, Miroshnichenko won’t burn the first year of his contract this season, meaning he’ll still have three years left on his entry-level agreement heading into 2024-25. Accordingly, expect the Capitals to limit his NHL action over the final few months of the season.
Meanwhile, Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press points out (Twitter link) that winger Max Pacioretty remains on LTIR, at least for now. The veteran has been speculated to potentially be available for tonight’s contest. Washington would have to make another roster move to open up a spot for Pacioretty’s potential activation if he is indeed cleared. The easiest way to do that could be moving Martin Fehervary to IR if he’s going to miss a week or more after sustaining an upper-body injury of his own last night.
Red Wings Assign Jonatan Berggren And Austin Czarnik To AHL
Earlier today, the Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that both Joe Veleno and Christian Fischer will return to the lineup tomorrow against Boston. With Fischer being on injured reserve, at least one player would likely be sent back down. Instead, Detroit has opted to send two players down in corresponding moves as CapFriendly reports (Twitter links) that both Jonatan Berggren and Austin Czarnik have been assigned to AHL Grand Rapids.
Berggren was a regular with Detroit for most of last season, getting into 67 games with the big club where he acquitted himself relatively well, notching 15 goals and 13 assists while logging 13:28 per game. But after GM Steve Yzerman added several pieces up front over the summer, Berggren found himself on the outside looking in at a regular roster spot and was assigned to Grand Rapids at the start of the season.
In the minors, the 23-year-old has been quite productive, picking up seven goals and 11 assists in just 19 contests. That has helped Berggren earn six separate recalls over the last two months which has resulted in nine appearances with the Red Wings. Despite limited playing time in those contests (just 10:08 per contest), he has been fairly productive, tallying a pair of goals along with three assists. He’ll likely be a top recall option when the next injury arises in Detroit.
As for Czarnik, the 31-year-old has played in 18 games with the Red Wings this season despite clearing waivers twice already. While he has typically been quite productive in the minors, that hasn’t carried over to the NHL this season as he has just one assist in those appearances. Meanwhile, in nine games with the Griffins, Czarnik has three goals and four assists.
Meanwhile, the return of Fischer from injured reserve tomorrow will be a welcome one. The 26-year-old has been a regular on Detroit’s fourth line this season, playing in 33 games where he has eight points and 39 hits while logging a little less than 11 minutes per night. He has been out since just before the holiday break with an undisclosed injury.
Oilers Recall Raphael Lavoie, Assign Ben Gleason To AHL
The Oilers have opted to make a pair of moves before tonight’s game versus Los Angeles. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled forward Raphael Lavoie from AHL Bakersfield while sending blueliner Ben Gleason to the Condors.
Lavoie opted to accept his qualifying offer this summer worth just over $874K over signing a lower-cost one-way deal or two-way pact with more guaranteed money. He hoped that he’d land the final roster spot in training camp which would ultimately get him more in the long run.
But that didn’t quite work as planned as Edmonton waived the 23-year-old in training camp and after he cleared, assigned him to Bakersfield. He has been quite productive with the Condors so far, notching 10 goals in just 19 games, picking up where left off on that front last year. Lavoie also got into six games with Edmonton last month on a pair of recalls; he was held off the scoresheet in those contests while averaging 7:36 per game. If he plays in four more games with the Oilers, he will need to pass through waivers once again.
As for Gleason, he cleared waivers in training camp and spent the first two months of the years with the Condors where he did well, picking up nine points in 14 games, earning him a recall three weeks ago. However, the 25-year-old has been a healthy scratch in every game since then so this assignment will at least give him a chance to get some games in. Gleason is in the first season of a two-year deal after coming over in free agency from Dallas with his contract converting to a one-way agreement next season.
Ian Mitchell Clears Waivers
Saturday: Mitchell has cleared waivers, Friedman reports, paving the way for him to be sent back to Providence, a move they quickly made.
Friday: The Bruins placed defenseman Ian Mitchell on waivers Friday, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Boston has ferried Mitchell up and down between the NHL and AHL frequently throughout this season, his first in the Bruins organization. This is his second time on the waiver wire since the regular season began, last clearing on October 26. Given that he’s now played more than ten games in Boston since then, he will need to clear them again to head to AHL Providence.
Most recently, the Bruins brought Mitchell up from Providence under emergency conditions on December 23, and he logged 10:50 of ice time and recorded a +1 rating in that night’s 3-2 loss to the Wild. Boston converted his recall into a standard one the following day. He was a healthy scratch in their lone game since the holiday break, a win over the Sabres on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old right-shot defender has played in 13 games for the Bruins on the season, logging replacement-level stats in replacement-level minutes. He’s recorded two assists, a +6 rating, and a mediocre Corsi share of 46.6% at even strength while averaging 15:18 per game. He’s also made four appearances for the P-Bruins this season, recording an assist and a -4 rating. The 2017 second-round pick of the Blackhawks joined the Bruins in June when his signing rights were part of the trade for winger Taylor Hall, promptly inking a one-year, one-way deal worth the league minimum of $775K.
Mitchell has always been a strong skater and was a high-end point producer in college, but he hasn’t shown the all-around game worthy of an NHL defender throughout his four seasons of experience at the top level. He’s never eclipsed the 40-game mark in a single season and has yet to avoid an AHL assignment, only earning NHL jobs as the sixth or seventh defenseman on the Blackhawks’ and Bruins’ depth charts at the highest. He lands on the waiver wire today with four goals, 14 assists and 18 points with a -15 rating over 95 NHL games.
It’s unlikely another team will submit a claim for Mitchell over the next 24 hours since he’s already gone unclaimed once this season. He will be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration eligibility next summer.
Islanders Place Ryan Pulock On LTIR, Assign Ken Appleby To AHL
The Islanders have made a pair of roster moves in advance of tomorrow’s game against Pittsburgh. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve moved defenseman Ryan Pulock to LTIR and assigned goaltender Ken Appleby to AHL Bridgeport.
Pulock has been out with a lower-body injury since December 8th, meaning he has already missed the majority of the 10 games and 24 days that he’s required to be out for with this placement; he’d be eligible to be activated as soon as Tuesday’s game in Colorado. The fact they’re going this route suggests he should be out at least a little longer than that.
While Pulock’s placement doesn’t open up a roster spot, it does expand their LTIR pool, giving GM Lou Lamoriello more short-term flexibility to manage his roster without having to be worried about salary cap considerations.
As for Appleby, he has been back and forth from Bridgeport in recent days with Semyon Varlamov missing the last couple of games with an undisclosed injury. His demotion opens up a roster spot and if Varlamov is good to at least dress as the backup for tomorrow’s game, the Islanders will likely look to bring a defenseman up from the AHL as they’ve been carrying just six in recent days.
Avalanche Assign Sam Malinski To AHL
Following their victory over St. Louis on Friday night, the Avalanche announced (Twitter link) that they re-assigned defenseman Sam Malinski to AHL Colorado.
The 25-year-old is in his first professional season after signing with the Avs as a college free agent back in March. Malinski had been up with the big club for the past month and had been a regular player for most of that stretch, suiting up in 14 games, including against the Blues. In those appearances, he held his own, picking up five points along with 15 blocked shots while averaging a little over 14 minutes a night. With the Eagles, meanwhile, he has three goals and six assists in 17 games.
With that in mind, it might seem a bit curious that Colorado would opt to send Malinski down. However, he was the only waiver-exempt blueliner on their roster, making him the logical choice to be sent down to ensure they keep as much depth as possible.
While Colorado didn’t announce a corresponding roster move, Malinski’s demotion likely will mark the return of Samuel Girard. He took a leave from the team last month to enter the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program but has since rejoined the club. Now, with a few practices under his belt, it appears as if he’ll be ready to return and be activated into the roster spot cleared by sending Malinski down.