What Your Team Is Thankful For: Montreal Canadiens
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 Montreal Canadiens.
Who are the Canadiens thankful for?
Mike Matheson has had a tale of two careers.
He was good in his first few seasons in the NHL with the Florida Panthers, showcasing his terrific skating and his ability to carry the puck out of the defensive zone. But shortly after signing an eight-year extension the warts in his game began to show and he became a lightning rod for criticism in the Sunshine State.
It wasn’t long after that Matheson was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Colton Sceviour for Patric Hornqvist. Matheson was able to rehabilitate his game and looked like a good fit with the Penguins long-term. However, Penguins general manager Ron Hextall inexplicably wanted to change up the Penguins’ defense and in one day bulldozed his defense core by trading John Marino to New Jersey and Matheson to the Canadiens. Both trades have been a disaster for the Penguins, but the Matheson one stings for several reasons.
Since coming over to Montreal, the 29-year-old Matheson has dressed in 79 games, during that time he has 13 goals and 42 assists and has averaged almost 25 minutes a night in ice-time. He has been a catalyst for the Canadiens offense, and a mentor to many of Montreal’s young defensemen.
Although he has dealt with some injury issues, Matheson has been a driving force for the Canadiens and one that should continue to be an important piece for them in the coming seasons.
What are the Canadiens thankful for?
The Jeff Petry trades.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens made a trade back in July 2022 that sent defenseman Matheson to Pittsburgh in exchange for veteran defenseman Petry and Ryan Poehling. It was a questionable trade at the time for the Penguins as they were giving up a much younger defenseman for a 36-year-old defender with an inflated cap hit. A year after the deal, it’s safe to say that the trade was an absolute heist by the Canadiens. Jeff Petry has been traded twice since the original trade and Poehling was non-tendered and signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Petry was traded by the Penguins to the Canadiens this past August in a move that Pittsburgh had to make to facilitate the Erik Karlsson trade. The Penguins traded Petry, goalie Casey DeSmith, forward Nathan Legare and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick. Hoffman was then moved to the Sharks and Pitlick has toiled in the AHL.
The trade was a great move for Montreal to acquire two futures while unloading two bad contracts. But they weren’t done yet. The Canadiens then traded Petry to the Detroit Red Wings for little-used defenseman Gustav Lindstrom and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2025. Finally, Montreal was able to complete the trade tree by shipping DeSmith to the Vancouver Canucks for Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round pick.
When all was said and done, the Canadiens were able to turn Pitlick, Hoffman, and a retained salary on Petry into Legare, Pearson, Lindstrom, and three 2025 draft picks. It was a creative move by Montreal, that will help them continue to build up their farm system or allow them to acquire additional players should they be more of a contending team in 2025.
What would the Canadiens be even more thankful for?
A Josh Anderson resurgence.
Many critics panned the Canadiens’ trade for Anderson back in October 2020 and for good reason, the trade was followed by the announcement of a seven-year $38.5MM extension that seemed like a massive overpay. In hindsight, it probably was, given that Anderson is carrying a $5.5MM cap hit and hasn’t come close to the 47 points he put up during the 2018-19 season. Since joining Montreal, Anderson has topped out at 32 points (twice), but he did have 40 goals over the two seasons before the start of the 2023-24 season.
This year has seen Anderson struggle more than he has in previous seasons. Through 31 games, the 29-year-old has just four goals and five assists and has been a drag on almost everyone he has played with this season. It’s been a frustrating season for the Burlington, Ontario native, one that he has acknowledged publicly. Just two nights ago, Anderson had an incredible game against the New York Islanders in which he scored two goals and was named the first star of the game. Afterwards, during a post-game interview, Anderson was serenaded by the Canadiens faithful and seemed genuinely humbled by the applause. With any luck, Anderson can use the game to catapult himself back to the heights he experienced when he put up 27 goals with the Columbus Blue Jackets five years ago.
If he can get back to his game, it could go a long way to the Canadiens making an unlikely push for a playoff spot in the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference.
What should be on the Canadiens holiday wish list?
A goal-scoring forward.
The Canadiens forwards need to score more as they rank near the bottom of the NHL in goals and are currently on pace to not have a single 25-goal scorer. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki both registered 26 goals last year but have just eight each thus far through 31 games, while Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher are far removed from the back-to-back 30-goal seasons, they each enjoyed from 2017-2019.
The Canadiens need a game-breaker, which is much easier said than done. Most teams are looking for this type of scorer and they are almost impossible to acquire in today’s NHL. The Canadiens do have a surplus of young defensemen they could choose to trade from, but they would need to find a trading partner that is interested in trading away one of the most coveted pieces in today’s NHL.
The Canadiens have been patient with their rebuild and have made some savvy moves to acquire good young prospects and defensive depth. At some point in the near future, they are going to have to take a risk on an offensively gifted forward. Whether that happens via trade or free agency remains to be seen but they will need to acquire a forward that can put the puck in the net.
Montreal Canadiens Acquire Tanner Pearson
After being hinted at for most of the morning, in order to become salary cap compliant for the upcoming season, the Vancouver Canucks have traded Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round draft pick to the Montreal Canadiens for goaltender Casey DeSmith.
After the trade, the Canucks will have freed up $1.45MM in cap space if no salary is retained, making compliance with the salary cap a much more manageable endeavor. Also, by acquiring DeSmith in the deal, as well, Vancouver has a much more capable backup netminder to put behind Thatcher Demko, something the team did not have last season.
From the standpoint of Montreal, they also worked out their own dilemma, no longer having three playable goalies on the roster to start the season. After acquiring DeSmith from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the same deal that would land Erik Karlsson in Pittsburgh, it had been rumored for weeks that the Canadiens would eventually look to move out DeSmith as well.
All-in-all, simply for their involvement in the Karlsson trade, Montreal has acquired Pearson, Gustav Lindstrom, Nathan Legare, a 2025 second-round pick, a 2025 third-round pick, and a conditional 2025-fourth round pick in exchange for Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick.
This is a solid trade haul for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens, but after finding a solution to one problem, another has been created entirely. Now with Pearson in the mix, the team already has a projected 12 forwards on the roster according to CapFriendly, with Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Sean Monahan, still to return from injury. Even aside from those players, players such as Sean Farrell and Owen Beck also appear close to being NHL-ready.
At any rate, both teams solved issues for the time being with this particular trade and should alleviate some concerns heading into training camp.
Darren Dreger of TSN was the first to report Pearson was heading to Montreal.
Chris Johnston of TSN was the first to report no salary had been retained by the Canucks.
Dreger was the first to announce the trade details.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was the first to report the full trade details.
Canadiens Looking To Move Casey DeSmith
The Canadiens are facing a roster crunch between the pipes after they picked up goaltender Casey DeSmith from Pittsburgh as part of their facilitation of the Erik Karlsson trade last month. Back when he spoke following Montreal’s move of Jeff Petry to Detroit, GM Kent Hughes indicated that he wasn’t sure if he’d be moving DeSmith or one of their other netminders.
It appears that the decision has now been made. Jonathan Bernier of the Journal de Montreal reports that there was an expectation within the front office that DeSmith would have been flipped by now, likely within a few days of the Petry swap. Clearly, that hasn’t happened yet.
The 32-year-old is coming off a bit of a down season with the Penguins, one that saw him post a 3.17 GAA (the highest of his career) along with a .905 SV% (the lowest of his career) in 38 games. However, over his five NHL seasons, DeSmith has shown himself to be an effective backup for the most part.
It isn’t as if DeSmith’s contract is overly problematic in itself either. A $1.8MM cap hit for a capable second-string netminder certainly isn’t an overpayment by any means. However, most teams have their tandems in place already and those that could benefit from an upgrade don’t have the cap space to afford him. The Canadiens have already used two of their three retention slots (on Petry and Joel Edmundson) so paying down DeSmith’s cost to make a trade happen doesn’t seem like a viable option for them at the moment.
Accordingly, Bernier wonders if Montreal might consider carrying DeSmith alongside holdovers Samuel Montembeault and Jake Allen to start the season. The Canadiens only have two road trips of more than a game over the first two months of the year, meaning they can get away with stashing an extra skater in the minors if need be. In theory, that would allow a market to potentially develop if an injury or two arises or someone struggles out of the gate.
Even so, it’s not as if Hughes is going to be in a strong spot to deal from. When Pittsburgh signed both Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg this summer after re-signing Tristan Jarry, it was evident that DeSmith would be available. Fast-forward to two months later and while he’s in another organization, he’s now clearly still available. Teams won’t be making significant offers for someone in that situation so even if the Canadiens can find a taker for DeSmith (now or in-season), the return isn’t likely to be particularly strong. At least at this point, they now know which netminder they intend to move.
East Notes: Hurricanes, Sabres, DeSmith
The Carolina Hurricanes aren’t going anywhere – they’ve signed a 20-year lease extension agreement with the Centennial Authority and Gale Force Sports and Entertainment, according to a team release, keeping them at PNC Arena through the 2043-44 season. As part of the agreement, PNC Arena is poised for a substantial facelift, with plans to create a sports and entertainment district encircling the arena, which is rather secluded from downtown Raleigh as things stand. “This development will transform PNC Arena into a year-round destination for residents while also improving the event day experience for Hurricanes fans, NC State fans, and concertgoers alike,” said Hurricanes majority owner Tom Dundon.
It’s a significant investment coming from the local government, with a combined $300MM million from the City of Raleigh and Wake County. There’s also a fair amount of private money funneled into developing the land around the arena, which will include office space, living space, a hotel, and a concert venue – a minimum of $200MM investment within five years, $400MM within ten years, and $800MM within 20 years.
Elsewhere from the Eastern Conference today:
- Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News tabs Jacob Bryson as the likeliest odd man out when it comes to their crowded defense during camp. Noting that his $1.85MM cap hit isn’t fully buriable in the minors, a trade is more likely for the 25-year-old than placing him on waivers and assigning him to AHL Rochester. Bryson signed a two-year, $3.7MM extension with Buffalo before last season after he played in a career-high 73 games, posting some solid two-way numbers in a bottom-pairing role. His momentum evaporated this season, however, and he was a defensive liability when given any increase in minutes, posting a career-low relative Corsi for at even strength of -2.3%.
- After flipping one asset acquired in the Erik Karlsson trade earlier today, the Montreal Canadiens are still faced with a goalie crunch caused by taking on netminder Casey DeSmith from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Speaking with reporters today, GM Kent Hughes said he’s talked to DeSmith and asked him “to be patient.” Hughes is undecided on whether to keep DeSmith or trade someone else (Jake Allen or Samuel Montembeault) off the roster to make room for the 32-year-old, who started a career-high 33 games for the Penguins last season.
Looking At Landing Spots For Montreal’s Goalie Surplus
While the Canadiens don’t have long-time franchise netminder Carey Price available to them as he’ll remain on LTIR for the upcoming season (or the next two) and they have been searching for a replacement in recent years. While they haven’t found their next true starter, they have amassed some extra depth at the position with four netminders vying for two spots in training camp next month.
The tandem from the past two seasons remains in place with veteran Jake Allen being joined by Samuel Montembeault who is coming off his best NHL campaign. Casey DeSmith is now in the mix as well after being brought in as part of the Erik Karlsson trade over the weekend while prospect Cayden Primeau, viewed not long ago as a possible part of Montreal’s future goalie plans, now needs waivers to get back to AHL Laval.
While it’s possible that they could carry three netminders to start next season (though hardly an ideal scenario), four certainly isn’t happening. Assuming Montembeault and Allen remain the tandem, there’s no guarantee that DeSmith and/or Primeau would make it through waivers unclaimed and as a result, it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Kent Hughes call around to see if there’s a possible trade to be made for one of his extra goaltenders. There are a few teams where it appears a swap for another netminder could be palatable.
Buffalo: At the moment, it looks like the Sabres intend to run with a young tandem of Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with Eric Comrie likely bound for waivers. If they feel that DeSmith is enough of an upgrade on Comrie to serve as a short-term NHL option, they could then let Levi get some time in with AHL Rochester.
Chicago: Arvid Soderblom appears to be the current backup option but only has 71 AHL appearances under his belt and is waiver-exempt. They’re more of a training camp possibility if Soderblom struggles in the preseason but DeSmith as a short-term rental or Primeau as a longer-term swing both could fit.
New Jersey: Akira Schmid took over the number one job down the stretch and into the playoffs but is still relatively inexperienced and is waiver-exempt. Meanwhile, the team hasn’t ruled out the idea of bringing in another goaltender. Primeau doesn’t make much sense here but DeSmith, a player who is capable of making 30-plus appearances, might appeal to them more than current options on the open market.
Tampa Bay: Somewhat surprisingly, the Lightning added Jonas Johansson at the beginning of free agency, giving him a two-year deal at the league minimum. But he has struggled in very limited NHL duty and could certainly be upgraded on. DeSmith would definitely be an upgrade but would require Montreal to do the maximum 50% retention on his $1.8MM AAV or they’d need to send matching money back.
Vancouver: Spencer Martin was the backup goaltender for the opening part of last season but struggled mightily. He currently stands as the likely second-stringer once again which is risky as the Canucks look to get back to the playoffs. Cap space is an issue here (especially if Tanner Pearson is indeed able to return after finishing last season on LTIR) but someone like DeSmith would certainly be an upgrade.
On top of those teams, there could also be ones that have injuries in training camp that could force their hand closer to the start of the regular season if Montreal’s logjam still exists.
In the free agent market, the best remaining options available are veterans Martin Jones, Jaroslav Halak, and Brian Elliott. If none of those goalies appeal to one of these teams and they want to make a move to add some goaltending depth, the Canadiens are a team they’ll be getting in touch with – if Montreal isn’t calling them first. Between that and them now having an extra defenseman in the fold in veteran Jeff Petry, the Canadiens could be a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Erik Karlsson In Three-Team Deal
The Erik Karlsson trade saga is finally over. The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired the 2023 Norris Trophy winner from the San Jose Sharks, according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the Montreal Canadiens are involved in the trade to aid in salary considerations. Pittsburgh later officially announced the massive deal, which includes 12 parts and breaks down as follows:
PIT receives: D Erik Karlsson, F Rem Pitlick, F Dillion Hamaliuk, 2026 third-round pick (SJS)
SJS receives: 2024 first-round pick (PIT, top-ten protected), F Mikael Granlund, D Jan Rutta, F Mike Hoffman
MTL receives: 2025 second-round pick (PIT), D Jeff Petry, G Casey DeSmith, F Nathan Legare
San Jose is retaining $1.5MM of Karlsson’s $11.5MM cap hit through 2026-27. Montreal is retaining no salary on Karlsson in this trade, meaning the Penguins have Karlsson at a massive $10MM cap hit for four more seasons. Pittsburgh also retains $1.5625MM, or 25%, of Petry’s cap hit. Montreal will have him at a cap hit of $4.6875MM through 2025.
Sportsnet’s Eric Engels also believes Montreal is not Petry’s final destination. The Canadiens are likely to flip their former number-one defenseman before next season starts, potentially retaining up to 50 percent on his already reduced cap hit, making him cost just $2.34MM against the cap for his new team.
Pittsburgh has a net cap hit loss of $3.1MM in this trade, per CapFriendly. By doing so, they’ll likely be able to activate Jake Guentzel and his $6MM cap hit from LTIR when he’s ready to return to the ice in November without making any corresponding moves. CapFriendly projected Pittsburgh with $2.75MM in cap space, with Guentzel on LTIR to start the season.
Karlsson, 33, ended an up-and-down five-year stint with the Sharks on a high note. Despite playing on a bottom-five team in the league, Karlsson’s 101 points in 82 games were the most from a defenseman in a single season since Brian Leetch in 1991-92. Once viewed as the best defenseman in the NHL during his time with the Ottawa Senators in the mid-2010s, the Sharks acquired him in a blockbuster deal in 2018 and later extended him on a massive eight-year, $92MM contract, giving him the highest cap hit in the league among defensemen.
However, it was a decision that failed to pan out the way San Jose envisioned, as Karlsson struggled with injuries during most of his time in California. To make matters worse, the team around him also crumbled as the Sharks fell out of yearly playoff contention for the first time this millennium.
Pittsburgh hopes Karlsson’s turnaround last season has given him renewed confidence heading into the latter half of his contract – assuming his recent injury history doesn’t come back to bite him. 2022-23 was the first time Karlsson had played in 70-plus games since 2017-18, his last season with the Senators.
Many will be concerned with Karlsson’s defensive misgivings, but some slightly reduced ice time in Pittsburgh should lessen his negative impact on the team’s goals-against total. Likely to slot in on the team’s second pairing behind Kris Letang, Karlsson should be paired with either Marcus Pettersson or free-agent acquisition Ryan Graves on the left side, both players with strong defensive reputations. Advanced metrics peg Pettersson near the top of the league in terms of his individual even strength defensive impact.
Pitlick could be an under-the-radar add for Pittsburgh in this deal from Montreal. While he’s far from being a long-term fixture, he is on the younger side (in Pittsburgh, at least) at 26 years old and will add some higher-upside depth scoring to a Penguins lineup that needs it, especially with Guentzel on the shelf to start the year. In 2021-22, Pitlick notched 15 goals, 22 assists and 37 points in 66 games split between the Canadiens and Minnesota Wild. He’s struggled to develop an all-around game at the NHL level, though, and he’s more of a finishing and playmaking specialist than anything else. His overall play-driving impacts are poor, and it led to Montreal stashing him in the minors for a fair bit of last season. There, he registered 22 points in 18 games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
Hamaliuk, 22, once had a fair bit of upside – after all, San Jose thought he warranted a second-round selection in the 2019 NHL Draft. Injuries and middling performance since turning pro have wiped out nearly all of his stock, though. He played in just six games last season, all in the ECHL with the Wichita Thunder, although he did look good in limited action with seven points. The Penguins will likely watch him closely in the minors with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins next season to see if he can recapture some of his former potential.
For the Sharks, trading Karlsson while only retaining $1.5MM is a solid bit of work for general manager Mike Grier. However, the return is rather underwhelming – a likely mid-first-round pick and a trio of depth NHL assets that won’t amount to much value for a rebuilding team. They’ve essentially taken on two bad contracts and a depth defender to rid themselves of long-term financial pain, as despite his elite skill, Karlsson absolutely did not factor into the franchise’s long-term plans post-rebuild.
The trade does provide a fresh start for Granlund, a former top-six fixture who struggled mightily after heading to the Penguins from the Nashville Predators at last year’s trade deadline (just five points in 21 games). He is just one campaign removed from a 64-point season, however, and although his possession metrics are quite poor, he does still carry a fair amount of raw skill that could see him once again elevate into a top-six role on a weak Sharks team, potentially playing alongside Alexander Barabanov and Logan Couture. With two seasons left at a $5MM cap hit, the Sharks could look to flip him at the 2024 trade deadline if he has a strong season, likely with significant salary retention. However, as CapFriendly notes, San Jose has just one of their three salary retention slots remaining for the next two seasons after also retaining salary on Brent Burns when they traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes last summer. In total, the Sharks are left with $7.745MM in dead cap space this year after the two salary retentions, plus the buyouts of goalie Martin Jones and forward Rudolfs Balcers.
Rutta is under contract at $2.75MM for two more seasons, and he’ll likely give the Sharks a fair amount of value. The two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning could very well step into a top-four role for the Sharks, who will likely roll three pairings by committee this season in the absence of a clear number-one defender. Rutta recorded nine points in 56 games for the Penguins last season, his only season in the Steel City while averaging 17:07 of ice time per game. Pittsburgh signed the 33-year-old to a three-year, $8.25MM contract in free agency last summer.
Clearing Hoffman’s $4.5MM cap hit for this season off the books is a solid bit of business for the Canadiens, who were rumored to be considering waiving Hoffman ahead of next season and assigning him to the AHL’s Laval Rocket. There’s no guarantee he’ll be able to escape the same fate with San Jose, however. The Sharks will undoubtedly prioritize roster spots for younger wingers like William Eklund, Filip Zadina and Fabian Zetterlund, leaving Hoffman without a clear place among the Sharks’ top 12 forwards. Now 33, Hoffman did manage 14 goals and 34 points in 67 games for Montreal last year, but he ranks among the worst play-driving forwards in the league and is solely a power-play specialist at this stage in his career. Some will remember this is technically Hoffman’s second stint as a member of the Sharks organization – San Jose acquired him from Ottawa for a few hours in 2018 before flipping him to the Florida Panthers.
Now, moving on to Montreal, who became an unexpected major player in this deal. Petry may not remain with his former team, as mentioned earlier, and DeSmith may not either. He’s a puzzling addition for a team that already has Sam Montembeault and Jake Allen manning the crease, although Pittsburgh did need to move out a goalie after signing Alex Nedeljkovic in free agency, giving them three NHL goalies on their roster. However, Montreal now faces the same predicament, and DeSmith is unlikely to supersede Allen or Montembeault on the team’s depth chart. If they don’t flip him to another team looking for a backup netminder, DeSmith could be waived to start the season and end up with Laval. He started a career-high 33 games for Pittsburgh last season, and the 31-year-old recorded a 15-16-4 record, .905 save percentage, and no shutouts.
Legare is a depth addition who will suit up for Laval next season. The 22-year-old third-round pick of the Penguins in 2019 is still finding his footing in the minors. Last season, he posted eight goals, 11 assists and 19 points in 68 games with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pittsburgh Penguins Will Hire General Manager And President
Hockey Insider Frank Seravalli stated today on the Daily Faceoff Rundown podcast that he expects the Pittsburgh Penguins to employ the same management structure they had with their previous group and hire a General Manager and a President of Hockey Operations. Previous GM Ron Hextall and President of Hockey Ops Brian Burke were fired after the season ended as they led the Penguins to their first season out of the playoffs in 16 years.
While it comes as no surprise that the Penguins would want to use that structure, some of the names of who they’ve reportedly interviewed are quite surprising. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that Pittsburgh spoke with 10-12 candidates in their first round of interviews and included in that list were Marc Bergevin, Eric Tulsky, Jason Karmanos and Peter Chiarelli. LeBrun added that he expects some of those men to be interviewed a second time as the process goes on.
One name that will likely not be interview is Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas. The young GM held a press conference today where he expressed his desire to remain in Toronto while simultaneously stating he didn’t want to look elsewhere at this time after the past season was so difficult for him and his family.
Whoever ultimately lands the Penguins management jobs will be in tough to build around an aging core with multiple bad contracts to try and navigate. Pittsburgh correctly committed to Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin last summer, as well as Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. However, they were saddled with a bottom six that couldn’t get going offensively, and a team that couldn’t find a defensive identity. All of this, coupled with inconsistent goaltending from Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith led to the Penguins missing the playoffs for just the second time in the Sidney Crosby era.
It’ll be a long summer in Pittsburgh; however, it could be the most interesting one they’ve had since Jim Rutherford plucked Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 2015 trade and kickstarted a two-year run of brilliance in the steel city. The Penguins still have a very strong top-6 and will have around $20MM in cap space once free agency begins.
USA Hockey Announces First 22 Players For 2023 Worlds
The first 22 players that will compete for Team USA at the upcoming IIHF World Hockey Championship have been named, with an interesting mix of NHL experience and college excitement.
Lane Hutson is the youngest player in the group at just 19 years old, and he’ll be sharing the ice with 35-year-old Nick Bonino, the oldest. General manager Chris Clark released the following:
The depth of our player pool is reflected with our team and we’re excited about the group we have to represent our country at the world championship. We’ve got a great mix of experience and youth and most of our players have represented the U.S. before and know what it takes to be successful at a world championship.
The team will start training on Saturday in Munich, before a pre-tournament game on Tuesday. The tournament schedule for the U.S. begins next Friday, against Finland.
Here’s a look at the 22 players that have made the team so far:
G Casey DeSmith
G Drew Commesso
G Cal Petersen
D Henry Thrun
D Connor Mackey
D Ronnie Attard
D Dylan Samberg
D Scott Perunovich
D Lane Hutson
D Nick Perbix
F Samuel Walker
F Drew O’Connor
F Luke Tuch
F Nick Bonino
F T.J. Tynan
F Cutter Gauthier
F Sean Farrell
F Anders Bjork
F Matthew Coronato
F Conor Garland
F Alex Tuch
F Carter Mazur
Penguins Injury Notes: Petry, Rust, DeSmith
Rob Rossi of The Athletic is reporting that injured Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry is back skating. He has not practiced with the team but took to the ice after yesterdays practice in Colorado. The Penguins defense has been decimated by injuries in recent days as Petry, Jan Rutta, Dmitry Kulikov and Marcus Pettersson are all sidelined with various ailments. Things have become so dire for the Penguins that even potential call-ups Ty Smith and Xavier Ouellet are hurt as well.
The timing of these injuries could not be worse for Pittsburgh, they are in a dogfight with the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have been forced to dive deep into their AHL lineup to find replacements for their injured rearguards and are now using the Taylor Fedun to fill out their roster. Fedun played Monday night against the Ottawa Senators and was fine in a sheltered role, but should the Penguins defense ever get healthy he would likely be the 12th defenseman.
Petry has not had a great first season in Pittsburgh, he has been in and out of the lineup with various injuries throughout the season. When he has played, he has largely been okay, but with a cap hit of $6.25MM the Penguins can’t afford for him to be just okay. The Michigan native has 26 points in 52 games and has been a valuable part of Marcus Pettersson’s development this season, but he has had trouble at times matching the foot speed of the young forwards on some of Pittsburgh’s Eastern Conference rivals.
In other Penguins injury news:
- Bryan Rust left yesterday’s Penguins practice in disgust after taking a Jason Zucker shot off his right hand. Rust returned a short time later and no update was provided on the incident. Pittsburgh will not practice today, which means we likely won’t have any updates until their game this evening with the Colorado Avalanche. Rob Rossi did tweet that Rust’s return to the ice for practice appeared to be a good sign. It has been a difficult season for the 30-year-old forward, he has 38 points in 69 games which is well off his near point a game pace from the three previous seasons. He has appeared visibly frustrated in recent weeks, the most obvious instance being in Monday’s game against Ottawa when his failure to clear the zone on a Senators powerplay led to the game winning goal.
- Rob Rossi of The Athletic is also reporting that Casey DeSmith did not participate in Penguins practice yesterday. While he was not injured, he was apparently forced back to the team’s hotel with an illness. Not much else is known, but it could create another interesting development for the Penguins as they have a back-to-back tonight in Colorado and then in Dallas tomorrow against the Stars. DeSmith stood on his head earlier this season with a 41 save win against the Avalanche and would have presumably started tonight or tomorrow’s game. Should he remain sick it could force the Penguins to use Jarry in both games, which is something they may be hesitant to do given Jarry’s play lately. The Surrey native has struggled in recent weeks having been pulled in four of his previous 11 starts, this has cratered his save percentage which now sits at just .907 for the season. Not ideal for a goaltender who is just over three months away from unrestricted free agency.
Pittsburgh Penguins Make Three Roster Moves
Official now, Kasperi Kapanen and Josh Archibald have been activated from injured reserve. To make room on the roster, Tristan Jarry has been moved to IR – though that doesn’t necessarily mean his status has changed. Jarry was on the ice this morning, and his placement was retroactive to January 22, so he will be eligible to return as soon as he is healthy.
It’s been a forgettable season for Kapanen, with just six goals through 35 appearances. He’s been scratched, demoted, and overlooked for much of the year, thanks to an inconsistent game that just won’t go away.
A brilliant skater with the size, strength, and puck skills to be an effective top-six winger in the NHL, Kapanen has never been able to match the 20-goal, 44-point campaign he had in 2018-19 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. His production has gone up and down like a see-saw, along with his minutes and opportunity.
Many were surprised when the Penguins decided to sign him to a two-year contract last summer that carries a $3.2MM cap hit, knowing how unreliable he had been to this point. Well, now that he’s healthy, Kapanen will have another chance to prove he’s not just a guy but can be an impact player on a playoff roster.
Archibald, meanwhile, has never had the same kind of expectations. The sixth-round pick scored 12 goals in back-to-back seasons a few years ago but is not considered an offensive threat and is only relied on for energy and penalty killing. He hasn’t been able to provide either since going out of the lineup in December, meaning the Penguins will get a little jolt to the bottom six when he suits up.
With Jarry still not ready to return, Casey DeSmith is expected to start tonight.