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Colton White

Injury Notes: Bennett, Jarry, Golden Knights, Backstrom, Klingberg

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Unfortunately, there’s a lot of minor injury news to report from tonight’s games. We start in Florida, where head coach Paul Maurice said pregame that Sam Bennett wouldn’t be in the lineup when they take on the Penguins tonight.

Bennett took an awkward fall in yesterday night’s loss to the Rangers, immediately leaving the game and staying in the room through the first intermission. It didn’t hold him out of the rest of the game, however, as he would later return. While he won’t suit up tonight, it does seem to be a short-term absence for Bennett, who’s been in and out of the lineup over the past month with some minor injury concerns. Eetu Luostarinen, who’s impressed with 10 goals and 22 points in 49 games this year, slides into the top six with Bennett out.

  • After leaving injured reserve a few days ago, Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry is back out of the lineup with an injury. His absence leaves both Pittsburgh and Florida without backup goalies on the bench for tonight’s game, as Spencer Knight was unexpectedly still unable to play and was a late absence from the Florida lineup. It’s hopefully a short-term absence for Jarry, who’s been spectacular with a .921 save percentage in 27 appearances for the Penguins this year.
  • There’s some positive news on Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, says ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. While he’ll be out through the All-Star break as expected, his back issue is different than the one that plagued him throughout last season, greatly reducing the likelihood of his long-term career being affected. Kaplan also says defenseman Shea Theodore, who’s been out since early December with an undisclosed injury, is an option for Friday’s game against the Rangers.
  • Days after returning from significant hip surgery recovery, Nicklas Backstrom is back out of the Washington Capitals lineup with a non-COVID illness and is day-to-day. The 35-year-old has three assists in seven games since returning to the lineup.
  • The Anaheim Ducks will also be down a player due to illness: defenseman John Klingberg. 25-year-old call-up Colton White moves into Anaheim’s top-four in Klingberg’s absence, playing on his off-side. Klingberg has just 15 points in 40 games this season, a career-low as he’s destined for free agency once again this offseason.

Evening Notes: White, Subban, Chinakhov

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The Anaheim Ducks announced earlier this evening that defenseman Colton White has been sent to the San Diego Gulls, their AHL affiliate, for a conditioning loan. Unlike most conditioning loans in the minors where the player is either too young to be sent to the AHL otherwise (think Shane Wright and Brandt Clarke recently) or where the player is coming off injury, the 25-year-old White is AHL eligible and has been playing, suiting up as recently as Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.

For White, the defenseman has been playing somewhat sparingly this season, getting into just 16 of 32 games, not spending any time on IR. By going to the AHL, the defenseman should have an opportunity to play regularly and see top-end minutes during each game of the loan. Through those 16 games, White has just one point, an assist. White had spent his entire career in the New Jersey Devils organization before signing a two-year, two-way contract with Anaheim this summer.

  • The Montreal Canadiens will be paying homage to one of their greats later this season, honoring the recently-retired P.K. Subban in a pregame ceremony on January 12th before the team takes on another of Subban’s former teams, the Nashville Predators. The former Norris Trophy winner spent his first seven seasons with the Canadiens before an infamous 2016 trade sent him to Nashville in a one-for-one swap with Shea Weber. Three years later, Nashville dealt Subban to the New Jersey Devils where he finished out his career. Subban ultimately retired this summer after hitting the free agent market.
  • It would seem as though the injury issues simply couldn’t get any worse for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but on top of this morning’s news that captain Boone Jenner would require surgery, forward Yegor Chinakhov was forced to leave this evening’s game against the Dallas Stars with a lower-body injury. The forward will not return, the team announced. The injury happened early on in the game, Chinakhov colliding with a Stars player and leaving the ice gingerly. At this point, the compounding injuries do little to change things for the reeling Blue Jackets, however the silver lining to them was the ability to get young players like Chinakhov, a 2020 first-round pick, some quality minutes and opportunities. For now, Columbus will have to hold its breath that this injury won’t keep the young forward out for too long.

Anaheim Ducks Announce Five Contracts

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While Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano may take most of the headlines, the Anaheim Ducks have signed a number of other free agents for organizational depth. The team has announced contracts for Chase De Leo (two years, two-way), Glenn Gawdin (two years, one-way in 2023-24), Justin Kirkland (one year, two-way), Austin Strand (one year, two-way), and Colton White (two years, two-way).

Ducks fans will remember De Leo, who played several seasons in their minor league system and even appeared in three NHL games a few years ago. The 26-year-old forward stands just 5’9″ but is an excellent AHL scorer, who put up 56 points in 55 games for the Utica Comets this year.

Kirkland meanwhile broke out in the minors this year, scoring 25 goals to nearly double his career total. The 25-year-old was the 62nd overall pick in 2014 but never has made it to the NHL, instead spending his entire career with the Milwaukee Admirals and Stockton Heat to this point.

Strand, 25, played eight games with the Los Angeles Kings this year, lending his huge frame to the defensive end of the rink. The 6’3″ undrafted defenseman became a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer because he has only played in 21 games so far but offers a potential injury replacement for the Ducks if needed.

White is the same, as he actually played in 27 games for the Devils this season but still didn’t reach the Group VI cutoff. A fourth-round pick in 2015, he has just 38 games to his name and is likely headed back to the minor leagues.

As we profiled yesterday, Gawdin is perhaps the most interesting of the bunch, given his strong play in the minor leagues, ability to play center, and partial one-way contract. The 25-year-old might get a look with the Ducks at some point in the bottom six, something he rarely was given in Calgary.

Devils Notes: Hamilton, White, Ruff

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After the news of Jack Hughes entering COVID-19 protocol today, Devils fans are understandably stressed. There’s some good news on the horizon, though, as it appears defenseman Dougie Hamilton is making progress towards his return to the lineup. Team reporter Amanda Stein said today that although Hamilton did not join his teammates for practice today, the veteran defenseman did skate by himself this morning. Hamilton’s been limited to 30 of 45 games this season with various injuries, but he’s now been out of the lineup for over a month with a broken jaw. His 20 points in 30 games are by far the best scoring pace by a Devils defenseman this season, and while his defensive game has stuttered a few times this season, expect more consistent playing time in his new system to aid with that.

More notes from the Devils organization:

  • The team made a shift on defense today, calling up defenseman Colton White from the AHL’s Utica Comets. While Mason Geertsen can play defense, he’s been utilized mostly at forward this season when in the lineup. With that, the Devils had no extra healthy defensemen with the team with the dissipation of taxi squads across the league over the All-Star break. White brings 15 games of NHL experience this year back to the roster, notching three assists.
  • Stein also reports that head coach Lindy Ruff will return to the team later today in Ottawa ahead of their game against the Senators tomorrow. Ruff was away from the team in Western Canada after the passing of his father. Assistant Alain Nasreddine coached the team in his absence and ran the team’s practice today.

Colton White, Dillon Heatherington Clear Waivers

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Jan 20: White and Heatherington have both cleared waivers, according to Friedman. They can now be assigned to the taxi squad or the minor leagues.

Jan 19: The New Jersey Devils have placed Colton White on waivers today according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, but he won’t be alone. The Ottawa Senators have also placed Dillon Heatherington on waivers. William Lagesson of the Edmonton Oilers, on waivers yesterday, has cleared and can be sent to the minor leagues.

White, 24, already cleared waivers at the beginning of the season but has spent enough time on the active roster to need them again. In eight games with the Devils this year, he has two points while averaging just over 12 minutes a night. A fourth-round pick from 2015, the minor league defenseman is headed for Group VI unrestricted free agency in the summer, given he only has 19 NHL games under his belt to this point. After Lagesson cleared, it seems unlikely that White would earn a claim, meaning he’s probably headed to the taxi squad or minor leagues.

In Heatherington’s case, waivers is nothing new. He cleared at the beginning of this season and twice in previous years, as a depth defenseman without much NHL experience. In fact, nine of his 20 career games have come this season with the Senators, though none of those have been since the middle of December. With so many younger players fighting for playing time on the Ottawa back end, Heatherington’s time on the active roster is likely over.

He too will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer after signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Senators in July. That deal carries a league-minimum $750K cap hit, meaning he at least could be a target for a team dealing with COVID-related absences that needs a short-term replacement.

New Jersey Devils Sign Kyle Shapiro To ATO

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The New Jersey Devils were in trouble when they were forced to put both Akira Schmid and Mackenzie Blackwood in the COVID protocol. The only other healthy goaltender in the entire organization was Jon Gillies. While he’ll get the start tonight, his backup will be Kyle Shapiro, who has signed an amateur tryout contract.

Shapiro, 28, is an assistant coach with the NAHL’s New Jersey Titans and serves as a regular emergency backup for the Prudential Center. He played four seasons of Division III college hockey, three of them with the University of Southern Maine and one with New England College. If forced into action, it would be his first competitive game since the 2017-18 season.

It’s not all bad news for the Devils though. The team has also activated Nathan Bastian, Andreas Johnsson, Yegor Sharangovich, and Pavel Zacha from the COVID protocol. Colton White has also been recalled from the taxi squad. All five players are available to play tonight, giving the team a little bit of a boost as they take on the New York Islanders.

East Notes: Smith, Norlinder, Daws

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The New Jersey Devils will get some reinforcement on the defensive end tonight as second-year ’D’-man Ty Smith will make his season debut tonight after missing the first week-and-a-half with injury, per the team. A move prefaced by the waiving and subsequent assignment of Colton White to the AHL’s Utica Comets, Smith likely makes his season debut on a pairing with Damon Severson. The Devils are now at full strength on defense for the first time this year, and the new-look group that also includes Ryan Graves and Dougie Hamilton will get a real chance to shine tonight at home against the Buffalo Sabres as the team looks to improve to a 3-1-0 record. Smith finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting last season, scoring two goals and 21 assists in 48 games.

More notes from today in the Eastern Conference:

  • Per The Athletic’s Marc-Antoine Godin, Canadiens defense prospect Mattias Norlinder will resume skating this week after missing the beginning of the 2021-22 season. While he’s loaned to Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League this season, the Habs prospect had a strong camp and this year is an important one in his development. A third-round pick of the squad in 2019, Norlinder had a respectable 10 points in 37 games last year in Sweden and looks to continue his growth on a defense core that also includes the Detroit Red Wings’ Simon Edvinsson and former NHLer Christian Folin.
  • Netminder Nico Daws is making his NHL debut tonight for the New Jersey Devils, the team announced this morning. With Mackenzie Blackwood still on injured reserve and Jonathan Bernier still day-to-day with a lower-body injury, a tandem of Daws and Scott Wedgewood will have to do it for now in Jersey. Wedgewood allowed four goals in a loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday, so the team will give Daws a chance tonight to show what he can do. The 20-year-old was drafted 84th overall in 2020.

Colton White Clears Waivers

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Saturday: White has cleared waivers, Friedman reports.  No one was placed on waivers today.

Friday: With Ty Smith set to come off injured reserve this weekend, the New Jersey Devils have placed Colton White on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

White, 24, was a fourth-round pick of the Devils in 2015 that has never been able to establish himself as anything more than an injury call-up. He’s played a handful of games in each of the last four seasons, including two early on for New Jersey this year. Averaging just over 12 minutes a night in those games, his play was adequate for the role he was in. White even recorded a point–the first of his career–on a Jimmy Vesey goal a few nights ago.

There seems little risk of him being claimed, given the acquiring team would need to keep him in the NHL, but even if he does the Devils have some other options to fill that depth role. Already they were carrying eight defensemen after claiming Mason Geertsen earlier this month, though they’ve been using him as a forward through the early part of the season. Should White clear, he’ll likely return at some point this year if the team deals with any other injuries on the blue line.

New Jersey Devils Sign Colton White

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The New Jersey Devils have signed Colton White to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2021-22 season. The deal will pay White $750K at the NHL level and $130K at the AHL level.

White, 24, was scheduled for restricted free agency this summer after spending most of the season in the AHL. The minor league defenseman wore an “A” as an alternate captain for the Binghamton Devils and could very well be ticketed to have a leadership role on the new Utica team in 2021-22. Originally selected in the fourth round of the 2015 draft, he has managed just 11 games at the NHL level to this point. He has become a core piece at the AHL though, and certainly had enough upside to bring back.

Because he will turn 25 next season, White will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency a year from now, unless he plays most of the season with New Jersey. That seems very unlikely, meaning he’ll get a chance to hit the open market after this one-year deal expires. For now, he’s headed back to the Devils to compete for playing time on a league-minimum deal.

East Notes: Malkin, Siegenthaler, Chara, Capitals

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Penguins center Evgeni Malkin returned to practice on Friday with a non-contact jersey as he continues to work his way back from a lower-body injury that’s believed to be a knee issue, notes Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  The veteran has been out since mid-March and is currently on LTIR.  If he’s able to return between now and the end of the regular season, Pittsburgh will need to clear just over $2.6MM off their books to get cap compliant before he can be activated.  Injuries have limited the 34-year-old to just 29 games this season and he hasn’t been as productive as usual with eight goals and 16 assists in those contests.

More from the East Division:

  • Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler has been placed in COVID protocol, the team announced (Twitter link). New Jersey acquired the 23-year-old earlier this month and had given him a bigger role as Siegenthaler has averaged 17:10 per game in six contests with the Devils after logging just 13:23 per game in seven matches with Washington.  Colton White was recalled to take Siegenthaler’s place in the lineup.
  • The Rangers were among the teams that showed considerable interest in Zdeno Chara last offseason, reports Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The 43-year-old was eyed as a mentor to what has become a very young back end with five rearguards aged 23 or younger suiting up against Philadelphia earlier in the week.  However, Chara opted to sign with Washington in the hopes of a long playoff run.  New York is likely going to have a similar desire to add a veteran for next year as well but they may be better served going after someone that can play a bit higher in the lineup.
  • The Capitals will be keeping their AHL coaching staff around for the foreseeable future as the team announced recently that head coach Spencer Carbery, assistant coach Patrick Wellar, and associate goalie coach Alex Westlund have all signed multi-year contract extensions. Carbery is in his third season at the helm with Hershey with the Bears posting a .702 points percentage over that span.  Hershey has a 16-5-2 record this season to lead the seven-team North Division in points with 34.

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