Pacific Notes: Soucy, Barabanov, Moverare
Still, without a firm timeline for his return, the Vancouver Canucks will likely be getting defenseman Carson Soucy back very shortly, as he has finally begun skating again after suffering a fractured leg in November (article link). Factoring in the recent acquisition of Nikita Zadorov, once their defensive core becomes completely healthy, there is a very reasonable argument to be made that Vancouver may have the best defensive core in the league.
Joining the organization this past summer as an unrestricted free agent, Soucy would sign a three-year, $9.75MM contract after spending the last two seasons with the Seattle Kraken organization. Throughout his two years in Seattle, Soucy would skate in 142 regular season games, scoring 13 goals and 37 points, becoming a very valuable two-way defenseman for the Kraken.
Now in Vancouver, Soucy skated in 13 games before his injury, scoring two goals and five points, averaging just under 17 minutes of ice time per night. Without any real reason to carry eight defensemen on the active roster, Soucy’s return will likely spell the end of either Mark Friedman or Noah Juulsen‘s time in the NHL.
Other notes:
- Earlier today, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reported that forward Alexander Barabanov will be out of the lineup tonight with an illness. Already missing over a month of the season with a finger injury, Barabanov has been quite good upon his return on December 3rd, scoring one goal and four assists in eight games for the San Jose Sharks.
- According to the AHL transactions log, the Los Angeles Kings have recalled defenseman Jacob Moverare from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. It will mark the 10th time already this season that Moverare has been recalled by the Kings, scoring zero points in four games at the NHL this year.
PHR Mailbag: Red Wings, Flyers, Devils Goaltending, Canucks, Senators Coaching Staff, Vincent
With plenty of questions submitted, we’re going to split the mailbag into three this time with the bonus edition running during the holiday break in the NHL calendar. Topics in this edition include who New Jersey should try to target for a goalie upgrade, Vancouver’s surprisingly strong first couple of months, and more.
gowings2008: The Red Wings clearly need to address their goaltending and could probably use another solid d-man or two. What are some options that Yzerman could reasonably explore to address those issues? It looks like Jonatan Berggren is available for trade, he could maybe be a key piece heading in the other direction in a trade.
I’m going to answer these out of order. Let’s talk about Berggren first. He’s a decent young player but if he’s the key piece of a trade proposal, they’re probably not getting a needle-moving veteran in return. That’s not to say he doesn’t have value but I’m not sure he’d be more valuable in an offer than a first-round pick. He’d get Detroit a decent veteran but it’d be more of a secondary addition, maybe a fourth or fifth defender using your wish list. Personally, I think they’d be better off playing him in the NHL and seeing if there’s another level he can get to.
As for the goaltending, I agree that it can be upgraded on but I don’t know how many assets they want to spend doing so. I’m going to touch on this in another question in a bit more detail but the goalie market isn’t the strongest right now. Yzerman could make a move for one of the few options out there but there’s no guarantee that player will come in from a different system and be materially better. A few points on a save percentage compared to Ville Husso is definitely doable but is that the big difference-maker in the playoffs if they can get there?
To that end, the idea of making the blueline better makes a lot of sense in theory; a better back end could fix some of Husso’s struggles between the pipes. But here’s the problem. Beyond Shayne Gostisbehere (who they’re probably not moving), the rest of their veteran blueliners are all signed beyond this season. That probably takes the Red Wings out of the rental market for defensemen as a lot of sellers won’t want to take a contract with term back for an expiring; they’d rather have the cap space. Jeff Petry might have a bit of value somewhere being below $2.4MM but Detroit can’t pay down that deal any further. Maybe flip him and then go for a rental? But even then, there’s trade protection that could complicate that idea.
But since you’re asking for some specific players, let’s look at other blueliners with term where Detroit could try to send a veteran back as a salary offset and then a key future asset or two. San Jose’s Mario Ferraro comes to mind as someone who could be an upgrade while his salary is around what some of the veterans they would need to move make. If Pittsburgh wants to shake up their secondary core, Marcus Pettersson could be a target as well. Bigger scale, I could see them sniffing around the idea of a sign-and-trade with Noah Hanifin although the acquisition cost would be a lot higher obviously. With Simon Edvinsson now up, it wouldn’t shock me if he gets a look to see if he can help stabilize things.
Black Ace57: What do the Flyers do? Even with their success this year should they be buyers considering they are still trying to rebuild? Do they stand pat? Even with their winning do they trade off pieces?
For the next month or two, they should stand pat. I don’t think this is a team that’s going to hold onto a playoff spot for too long so spending assets to try to cling to a postseason position doesn’t make much sense. At the same time, you don’t want to sell early either as there’s a lot of value in getting their younger players experience playing in a meaningful (for now, at least) playoff push.
Closer to the trade deadline in March, I’d deal from their defensive depth. We know Sean Walker and Nick Seeler are getting plenty of interest already and Marc Staal played a regular role for Florida through their playoff run last season so there might be a market for him. Clearing them off the roster will open up some more consistent playing time for the likes of Yegor Zamula and Ronnie Attard, among others. If they’re willing to pay down a decent chunk of Cam Atkinson’s deal, I could see there being a bit of interest in him as well. There’s nothing wrong with stockpiling some extra picks at this point in the process.
They’re also going to need to decide what to do with Morgan Frost. Right now, I think he still has some real trade value as young centers are always going to pique the interest of rebuilding teams. A player-for-player swap, getting someone who is a similar age with multiple years of team control, would make sense. But the longer he’s in and out of the lineup, the more his value decreases. I still think he can be a capable secondary contributor so I’m not saying move him now but they would be wise to make a decision on him regarding if he’s expendable or part of the plan sooner rather than later.
SpeakOfTheDevils: Who is the answer in net for the Devils???
Salary cap aside, I’d say John Gibson. I think playing behind a much better team with win-now expectations will get him back to being at least a little above average for the next couple of seasons. With New Jersey in a win-now window, that fits. Of course, the salary cap does play a big factor here and the fact he’s signed through 2026-27 at $6.4MM per season can’t be overlooked. With over $67MM in commitments for next season already per CapFriendly, adding another big ticket on their books will certainly complicate things. Of course, some of that can be offset in the short term by sending Vitek Vanecek and his $3.4MM AAV through 2024-25 the other way.
The problem here for New Jersey is one I alluded to earlier. In a season where good goaltending is hard to find, those who have it aren’t going to want to move it. Accordingly, the goalie market simply isn’t that deep in terms of who’s available. Jake Allen is a perfectly serviceable veteran. Is a perfectly serviceable veteran what they need right now? Probably not; I think they need more of an impact piece.
But who is that impact piece? Most of the netminders speculated to be available are of the depth variety. Daniel Vladar probably isn’t a difference-maker. If Detroit moved one of their three, James Reimer isn’t the solution. Spencer Martin could be had but he’s no better than what they have now. Maybe Karel Vejmelka moves the needle enough but the asking price is going to be rather high as someone with an above-average save percentage and a pretty good contract, one that carries a $2.725MM through the end of next season. Barring a huge return, the Coyotes have minimal incentive to move him, especially since they’re in a playoff spot at the moment.
Plan A for New Jersey is that Vanecek turns things around and Akira Schmid goes back to his 2022-23 form and that’s the answer in net, one that doesn’t require doing much. But if they want an impact netminder that could make a difference, I think Gibson is who they have to go after. It’ll take a salary offset (Vanecek) going the other way. It might even require compensating Anaheim for three-plus years of some level of retention so it won’t be easy. But if that’s what they need, it’s a move they need to find a way to make.
blues1967: Is Vancouver for real? I’m not a Canucks fan, but I’ve been impressed with their play. They are overdue for some success, as is Buffalo.
I don’t quite know what to make of the Canucks. They weren’t as bad a team as they were from last season so some improvement was reasonable to expect. But to be among the top teams in the league more than two months into the season? I’m not sure that was expected and I’m not sold that it’s entirely sustainable.
Brock Boeser is scoring at a torrid clip, one that’s entirely unsustainable at around 25%. They have two other forwards over 20% in a league where the average is generally around 8%. J.T. Miller is nearly at 20%, well above his career average. This is a good offense but not the best attack in the league. I keep expecting them to slip a bit in that regard and suspect it will happen at some point.
One element that does give me some confidence with regards to staying power is their goaltending. Thatcher Demko is back to being a high-level netminder and he has the ability to stay at that level or at least close to it. I’m not sure Casey DeSmith can maintain a .920 SV% but he’s an above-average backup who gives Vancouver a chance to win pretty much every game.
I’m ready to call them a playoff team but are they a contender? I wouldn’t go that far just yet as I think their offense is due to take a step or two back at some point in the second half of the season.
Seattle Kraken Assign Kole Lind To AHL
Saturday: The Kraken announced that Lind has been returned to the Firebirds. He played 5:59 on Wednesday against Los Angeles, his first NHL game of the season.
Tuesday: The Seattle Kraken have announced that they’ve recalled forward Kole Lind from their AHL affiliate on an emergency basis but did not go into detail as to the reason why. The Kraken lost several forwards to injury in their 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars last night but little is known about the circumstances surrounding Lind’s recall.
Lind is in his third season in the Kraken organization but has not dressed for them in an NHL game since the 2021-22 season. In 30 career NHL games split between the Kraken and the Vancouver Canucks, the 25-year-old has two goals and six assists and is -5.
The former second-round pick was the Kraken’s expansion pick from the Canucks in the 2021 expansion draft and has been a good offensive player for the team at the AHL level. This season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Lind has posted five goals and 16 assists in 23 games.
In last year’s Calder Cup playoffs, Lind had a coming out party in which he showed glimpses of the kind of player Seattle was hoping they were getting when they took him in the expansion draft. Lind had nine goals and 22 assists in 26 AHL playoff games as he helped the Firebirds to within a game of the Calder Cup championship. He provided some big moments for the team including a three-point night in game one of the Calder Cup finals.
World Junior Notes: Donovan, Nelson, Molendyk, Luneau, Lindstein
Senators prospect Jorian Donovan was cut by Team Canada at their World Juniors selection camp earlier this month but Hockey Canada announced (Twitter link) that the defenseman has been added to their roster along with Kraken defense prospect Ty Nelson, another player originally cut from their selection camp.
Donovan was a fifth-round pick of the Sens in 2022 and has eight goals and 26 points in 31 games with OHL Brantford so far this season. He was notified of his addition on Friday and arrived in time for today’s 6-5 overtime loss to the United States in pre-tournament action and was named their Player of the Game.
As for Nelson, he was a third-round pick by the Kraken in 2022 and has been a prolific point producer with OHL North Bay. Last season, he finished third in the league for points by a defenseman with 76 in 67 regular season games while adding 25 more in 20 playoff contests. He’s producing at a similar rate this season with 31 points in his first 28 appearances.
Other news from the World Juniors:
- Those two being added to the roster means that two players have to come off. Those are Predators blueliner Tanner Molendyk and Ducks defenseman Tristan Luneau who are both out due to injury. Molendyk was dealing with a wrist issue while Luneau had missed pre-tournament games due to illness which has turned out to be a viral infection. Molendyk was off to a nice start with WHL Saskatoon before making the team as he already has 28 points on his season in just 24 games. Luneau, meanwhile, cracked Anaheim’s roster in training camp although playing time has been limited; he has played in seven games for the Ducks and six more while on a conditioning loan with AHL San Diego.
- Team Sweden has also made a roster move for the upcoming World Juniors. They announced (Twitter link) that Blues defenseman Theo Lindstein has been added to their roster for the event, replacing Jakob Noren who was injured in pre-tournament action. The 18-year-old was the 29th pick back in June and has spent the majority of this season in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan level, recording 11 points in 27 games so far. Louis now has seven prospects at the tournament, tied for the most among NHL teams with Arizona and Buffalo.
Ducks Activate Trevor Zegras Off IR
After welcoming back two key young players in Mason McTavish and Jamie Drysdale on Thursday, the Ducks are getting another one back tonight. The team announced (Twitter link) that Trevor Zegras has been activated off injured reserve and will suit up against Seattle.
The 22-year-old took quite a while to re-sign with Anaheim over the offseason as it took until early October for the two sides to agree to terms on a three-year, $17.25MM contract. As a result, he was limited to just two preseason appearances.
The lack of training camp and exhibition action certainly seemed to take its toll in the early going this season as Zegras got off to a slow start offensively, notching just one goal and one assist in a dozen games. Meanwhile, new head coach Greg Cronin called his defensive struggles to attention. Things got worse soon after when he suffered a lower-body injury on November 7th and he has missed 20 games since then.
With Zegras’ activation, Anaheim now actually has 24 players on its active roster, one over the maximum. However, with the roster freeze rules in effect, the Ducks don’t have any skaters who are allowed to be sent down. As they’re cap-compliant, they’re now temporarily permitted to be over the roster limit.
Meanwhile, the Ducks are still awaiting word on how long Leo Carlsson will be out of the lineup after he left Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that the initial prognosis is promising and that it won’t be a season-ending injury.
Atlantic Notes: Perron, Sergachev, Lundell, Stephens
While Red Wings winger David Perron’s six-game suspension was upheld yesterday by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the six games have already been served, the appeal process isn’t over just yet. Perron’s agent Allan Walsh tweeted that his client (in conjunction with the NHLPA) will exercise the option to further appeal to a neutral arbitrator. At this point, the value in doing so would be a potential return of forfeited salary – Perron lost over $148K due to the suspension – as well as simply lowering the number of games for comparative purposes should a similar incident happen again.
More from the Atlantic:
- Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev will miss tonight’s game against Washington, notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 25-year-old missed Thursday’s victory over Vegas due to a lower-body injury and did not accompany the team on this trip. Head coach Jon Cooper noted that the hope is that Sergachev will be ready to return after the holiday break. His production is down a bit this season compared to his 64-point outing last season but Sergachev still has 19 points in 33 games so far.
- The Panthers will welcome back center Anton Lundell today against Vegas, relays team reporter Jameson Olive (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has missed the last four games due to illness but was recently activated off injured reserve. Lundell is off to a slow start to his third NHL season as he has just two goals and ten assists in his first 28 games.
- Canadiens center Mitchell Stephens played in his tenth game of the year Friday against Chicago. This means that he will have to pass through waivers in order to return to the minors. Stephens cleared waivers back in the preseason but was recalled at the beginning of the month. He has a goal in those ten appearances while winning a little over 55% of his faceoffs.
Blue Jackets Activate Damon Severson, Place Nick Blankenburg On IR
The Blue Jackets will welcome a key defenseman back for their game tonight against Toronto but they’re also losing a blueliner. The team announced that Damon Severson has been activated off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, Nick Blankenburg has been placed on IR retroactive to December 19th.
Severson was a key addition for Columbus over the summer who acquired him in a sign-and-trade deal from New Jersey on an eight-year, $50MM contract. Despite the Blue Jackets’ struggles, Severson got off to a decent start with his new team, recording three goals and five assists in his first 19 games with the team while averaging just under 21 minutes per night before suffering a strained oblique roughly five weeks ago which caused him to miss the last 15 games. He’ll slot right back into their top four versus the Maple Leafs and should see time on both the power play and penalty kill as well.
As for Blankenburg, the 25-year-old has spent most of the season in the minors with AHL Cleveland in his final season of waiver exemption and has three goals and eight assists in 19 games with the Monsters. He was recalled earlier this month and saw action in six games where he was held off the scoresheet while averaging just under 18 minutes per contest. Blankenburg is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and with the placement being back-dated, he could be activated as soon as Wednesday’s game against New Jersey.
Red Wings Place Alex Lyon On IR, Recall Simon Edvinsson
The Red Wings have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their final game before the holiday break tonight against New Jersey. The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Alex Lyon has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to December 16th. Taking his place on the roster will be defenseman Simon Edvinsson who has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids.
Lyon signed with Detroit as a free agent back in July in what was expected to be a third-string role. However, instead of going through waivers and playing with the Griffins, the Red Wings have elected to keep three goalies up with the big club. As a result, playing time has been quite difficult to come by for the 31-year-old. But to his credit, Lyon has played quite well when called upon, posting a 2.14 GAA and a .932 SV% in his seven appearances, numbers that are considerably better than teammates Ville Husso and James Reimer. With the placement being back-dated by a week, he’ll be eligible to be activated for their next game on Wednesday versus Minnesota.
As for Edvinsson, the 20-year-old is in his second full season in North America. The sixth pick in 2021, Edvinsson got into nine games with Detroit last year (meaning he didn’t burn the first year of his contract) and this is his first promotion of 2023-24. He has been quite productive with the Griffins with six goals and ten assists in 25 games, already passing his goal total from a year ago.
Bruins Recall Ian Mitchell
The Bruins have added some depth to their roster for the final game before the holiday break as the team announced that defenseman Ian Mitchell has been recalled from AHL Providence on an emergency basis.
The 24-year-old was acquired during the summer as part of the Taylor Hall trade, signing a one-year, one-way deal for the NHL minimum back in July. Mitchell made Boston’s roster out of training camp, spending the first few weeks with the team. However, the Bruins opted to waive him in late October and after he cleared, he was sent to Providence.
That said, Mitchell hasn’t exactly seen much action in the minors as this will mark his seventh recall since early November. As a result, he has played in just four games for Providence, two of which came this week; he has a single assist in those four appearances. Meanwhile, he has seen a bit more action with Boston as Mitchell has a pair of helpers in 12 games while averaging just under 16 minutes a night.
With the Bruins off until Wednesday after tonight’s contest, expect Mitchell to be sent back to Providence before the full roster freeze comes into effect later tonight.
Minor Transactions: Spengler Cup Edition
The World Junior Hockey Championship isn’t the only tournament that takes place at this time of year. The Spengler Cup, the oldest invitational hockey tournament in the world, also gets underway on December 26th, running through the 31st. While most of the participants are club teams across various international leagues, Canada gets to send a team as well. Most of their players also play overseas but a handful of NHL teams have loaned players out for this event. We’ve already covered Aaron Dell (Carolina) and Nicolas Beaudin (Montreal) but here are the other NHL-affiliated players who have been loaned; the full roster (which features several former NHL players) can be found here.
- Penguins defenseman Ty Smith has been loaned by AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. It has been a disappointing year for the 23-year-old in the sense that he passed through waivers unclaimed. However, he has been quite productive in the minors so far, collecting 22 points in 27 games.
- The Senators have loaned out blueliner Dillon Heatherington from AHL Belleville. The 28-year-old has played in 24 games so far in the minors, picking up two goals and two assists. Heatherington, a pending unrestricted free agent, got into three games with Ottawa last season.
- Jets goalie Thomas Milic has been added to the roster from ECHL Norfolk. The first-year pro had a standout performance at the World Juniors and with WHL Seattle last season, resulting in him being drafted in his final year of eligibility. While he has four games with AHL Manitoba this season, he has spent most of the year with the Admirals, posting a 2.44 GAA and .910 SV% in 14 games.
- While not a direct loan from an NHL affiliate, the Flyers will also have a prospect in this event as forward Massimo Rizzo will be suiting up. The 22-year-old is in his junior year at the University of Denver and leads all Division I players with 31 points in 18 games. He’s the only NCAA player suiting up for Canada in the event.