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Central Notes: Brodin, Jets, Johnson, Stillman, Husso

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The Wild announced (Twitter link) that they activated defenseman Jonas Brodin off injured reserve prior to their game tonight against the Rangers.  The 28-year-old has had a bit of trouble staying in the lineup as he had also missed time due to COVID protocol and an upper-body injury before sustaining this lower-body injury three weeks ago.  In between all of that, Brodin has put together a strong season, notching 16 points in 29 games while averaging 23:35 per night and blocking nearly two shots per contest.  With Brodin’s activation, Minnesota now has its top seven fully healthy.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • Jets defenseman Nathan Beaulieu has been ruled out for their two-game road trip due to a lower-body injury, reports Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun (Twitter link). Meanwhile, they’ll have to wait for at least one more game to get blueliner Josh Morrissey back from his stint in COVID protocol while defenseman Dylan DeMelo has resumed skating but also won’t be ready to suit up on Saturday in St. Louis.
  • Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson is still a month away from returning to the lineup, relays Scott Powers of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran is working his way back from artificial disk replacement surgery, the same procedure that Jack Eichel had after being traded to Vegas.  Meanwhile, Powers adds that blueliner Riley Stillman will be out for two to three weeks due to a shoulder injury sustained last week.
  • Although Blues goaltender Ville Husso has fared much better in his second NHL season and could be an intriguing trade option at the trade deadline, Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch feels that St. Louis would be better served by holding onto the pending UFA. Even though they may be hard-pressed to re-sign him for next season, Jordan Binnington’s recent struggles would make it advisable for them to hold onto the 26-year-old as an insurance policy even if it means they lose him for nothing this summer.  Husso has a 1.81 GAA with a .945 SV% in 14 games so far this season.

Jets Announce Several Roster Moves

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Prior to their game tonight against Florida, the Jets announced (Twitter link) quite a few roster moves.  Defensemen Dylan DeMelo and Logan Stanley were both placed on injured reserve while fellow blueliner Josh Morrissey entered COVID protocol.  That resulted in the recalls of rearguards Ville Heinola and Johnny Kovacevic from the taxi squad as well as forward Kristian Reichel.  In order to get cap-compliant to make those moves, goaltender Mikhail Berdin was sent back to the taxi squad while center David Gustafsson was transferred to LTIR.

DeMelo suffered an upper-body injury back on Saturday against Boston and has been listed as day-to-day since then; if the IR placement was backdated, he will be eligible to return as soon as this weekend.  As for Stanley, he was injured back on Thursday with interim head coach Dave Lowry telling reporters, including Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe (Twitter link) that Stanley’s designation is longer than day-to-day.  At this point, the fact that they didn’t see fit to place him on LTIR should at least be considered as some cause for optimism as that would have forced him to miss 10 games and 24 days.  That’s what will happen for Gustafsson although he last played nearly three weeks ago and assuming his placement was backdated, he could be back as soon as next week.

The loss of Morrissey will certainly be a big loss for the Jets in the short term as he logs just shy of 23 minutes a game on the back end, the most of anyone on the team.  He’ll be out for at least five days as a result of this placement as long as it’s for a confirmed positive test.

As for the recalls, Heinola is the most experienced with 13 career games under his belt although none of them have come this season as Winnipeg has opted to have the 2019 first-rounder develop with a consistent role in the AHL where he has chipped in with 16 points in 24 games.  Reichel made his NHL debut last month and has played in five games overall this season, picking up his first career NHL goal in the process.  Meanwhile, Kovacevic is in his fourth season in Winnipeg’s system and this is his first career recall to the big club.  He has 14 points in 32 games with AHL Manitoba so far in 2021-22.

Injury Notes: Zucker, Allison, Raffl, DeMelo

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According to CapFriendly, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Jason Zucker back on long-term injured reserve after returning from injury for just one game. He played last Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights, so the team placed him retroactive to January 17th. He’ll now have to miss another 10 games and 24 days, of which he’s already missed two and five, respectively. Zucker had been on LTIR for almost a month already after suffering a lower-body injury. He is once again week-to-week. Zucker is again struggling during his second full season in Pittsburgh, posting just 13 points in 31 games.

More injury news from around the league on this Sunday:

  • Philadelphia Flyers forward Wade Allison suffered an MCL sprain during yesterday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, per head coach Mike Yeo. Allison, one of Philadelphia’s better forward prospects, had already suffered an ACL tear that kept him out at the beginning of the 2020-21 season. Yeo notes, that he believes this MCL injury is on a different knee. It was Allison’s first game of the season for the Flyers after posting four points in seven games with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He’s listed as week-to-week.
  • Dallas Stars head coach Rick Bowness says forward Michael Raffl is out between 10 days and two weeks with a lower-body injury. Raffl’s seen a lot of ice time this year, his first in Dallas, in a checking role alongside Radek Faksa and Luke Glendening, posting nine points in 37 games. Dallas will need to call up a forward to replace him, likely Rhett Gardner or Riley Tufte.
  • Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo sustained an upper-body injury during yesterday’s loss against Boston, per team play-by-play man Dennis Beyak. DeMelo has just four points through 36 games but has still been above the norm defensively. There’s no current timeline for his return.

Dylan DeMelo, Jansen Harkins Enter COVID Protocol

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Per Winnipeg Jets head coach Dave Lowry, defenseman Dylan DeMelo and forward Jansen Harkins are entering the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

He also notes that forward Paul Stastny is a game-time decision for tonight’s game against Colorado.

DeMelo’s seen a reduction in his role this season after the Jets acquired some more bodies on the blue line this offseason. He’s got just four points in 32 games and is averaging just 15:38 per game, but he’s still one of Winnipeg’s most capable defensive bodies.

At even strength, DeMelo had been playing alongside Josh Morrissey, whose game has benefitted greatly from that this season.

Harkins has yet to really break out at the NHL level, but he’s at least become a full-time player this season. Through 32 games, he has three goals and three assists.

North Notes: Canucks, Rielly, Robertson, DeMelo

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The Canucks stayed pat with the ninth selection in next month’s draft but it appears that they’re at least open to listening to offers for the pick.  While GM Jim Benning acknowledged that the likeliest outcome is that they make the selection, he told reporters including Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province that he will explore his options:

We’re going to look at everything. We’re going to call other teams and I know we’re going to get a real good player at No. 9. We’re going to have to get a young player who we feel is worth trading the pick. We’re going to keep all our options open.

Last season, the Canucks didn’t have a pick in either the first or second round so their prospect pool could definitely benefit from the boost that a top-ten selection would provide.  However, with their stated intention of trying to win with this core, adding another proven player to the roster could also be a palatable option, especially if the flat cap makes some higher-quality players available.

More from the North:

  • Still with Vancouver, Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic suggested on the latest Donnie and Dhali show (Twitter link) that the Canucks have Kirk Muller on their radar as a potential addition to their coaching staff as an assistant coach. Muller was with Montreal to start the season before being let go at the same time that Claude Julien was fired in late February.
  • While the Maple Leafs have some calls to make on their pending unrestricted free agents, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox posits that an even more important one that needs to be made now is on defenseman Morgan Rielly. The blueliner is set to become a UFA next summer and will undoubtedly be seeking a raise on his current $5MM AAV.  If they’re able to get him locked up – no talks on an extension have occurred yet – that will greatly impact what else they can do this offseason knowing that they will have another expensive deal on the books in 2022.
  • Still with Toronto, one somewhat notable absentee from their first-round loss to Montreal was winger Nicholas Robertson. The 20-year-old saw action in the bubble last summer but as it turns out, he was unavailable due to a concussion sustained in the minors late in the season, relays Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link).  He was on the verge of being cleared had the Maple Leafs advanced to the second round.
  • Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo missed Friday’s second game against Montreal and it appears he’ll miss at least a couple more. Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters, including Postmedia’s Ted Wyman, that the blueliner is dealing with a soft tissue injury and will be out for at least a week.  Jordie Benn replaced DeMelo in the lineup last night although youngster Ville Heinola could get a look at some point as well.

Patrik Laine Moved To Injured Reserve

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The Winnipeg Jets have made several transactions today, not the least of which was moving Patrik Laine to injured reserve. Laine has played in just one game so far this season and will not play tomorrow against the Ottawa Senators. Nate Thompson joins Laine on injured reserve, while Dylan DeMelo has been activated and David Gustafsson has been brought up from the minors to the taxi squad.

While Laine won’t play, it is good news to see DeMelo activated after missing the first four games. The 27-year-old defenseman will be a welcome addition for the Jets who have shuffled their defense around on a daily basis this season, especially after he fit in so well down the stretch in 2020. DeMelo was acquired at the deadline from the Ottawa Senators and logged more than 21 minutes a night in ten regular season games with the Jets, before seeing big minutes again in the postseason bubble.

Murat Ates of The Athletic isn’t sure whether it will be Logan Stanley or Ville Heinola coming out for DeMelo, but does note that the later is still a slide candidate should he play fewer than seven games this season. Heinola has played just one so far, meaning they could potentially send him to the minors and allow his entry-level contract to extend another year. Stanley, who is already 22, will become a restricted free agent in the summer no matter how many games he plays this season.

After a tumultuous offseason that saw Laine’s agent suggest a trade would be best for his client, the 22-year-old forward can’t seem to get back into the lineup thanks to his somewhat mysterious injury. Head coach Paul Maurice told Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet that Laine had more testing done today and that “nothing new came up on it.” In that one game Laine has played, he registered two goals and one assist.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Dylan DeMelo

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The Winnipeg Jets dealt with turmoil and turnover on defense last season, trying to navigate the year after losing Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers in one offseason. By the deadline, they had stabilized things by acquiring Dylan DeMelo from the Ottawa Senators. DeMelo will now be returning, stabilizing things once again.

The Jets have announced a new four-year contract for the pending free agent defenseman, one that will carry an average annual value of $3MM. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic breaks down the salary:

  • 2020-21: $2.5MM
  • 2021-22: $3.0MM
  • 2022-23: $3.0MM
  • 2023-24: $3.5MM

The deal includes no signing bonuses but does have a partial no-trade clause throughout. DeMelo will receive quite the raise over his previous contract that carried just a $900K salary.

Though he’s certainly not flashy, DeMelo is, as Jets head coach Paul Maurice so eloquently put it, “coach’s porn.” Finding footage of him turning the puck over is like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, even if he doesn’t necessarily do anything that stands out either. In 269 career NHL games he has recorded just seven goals and 64 points, even while getting some time on the powerplay in San Jose and Ottawa.

Those were his two stops before Winnipeg and he arrived in the Jets organization by way of trade this season. He cost the team a third-round pick but immediately became a favorite of the coaching staff and ended up averaging more than 21 minutes a night in the Jets short postseason run.

Expect that heavy load to continue next season, given the Jets still only really have three full-time defensemen signed. DeMelo joins Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk as options for the top-four, while Carl Dahlstrom and Tucker Poolman will both try to prove they are ready to spend the entire year in the NHL. Sami Niku is also a restricted free agent, while Ville Heinola and other prospects could make the jump.

The Jets could also be on the lookout for more defensive help in free agency, but they’ll have to be careful handing out the long-term deals. Remember that Patrik Laine, if staying in Winnipeg, will need a huge raise after this upcoming season.

West Notes: Golden Knights, Stars’ Injuries, Coyotes’ Changes, Samberg

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The Vegas Golden Knights seem to be a team that is being mentioned in multiple rumors for many pending unrestricted free agents despite having little to no cap room to speak of. The most recent one has the Golden Knights ready to pounce on St. Louis Blues star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who currently isn’t expected to re-sign with St. Louis.

David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal confirms that the Golden Knights are ready to go after the right-shot defenseman, who finished fourth in the Norris Trophy voting this year, assuming he reaches free agency on Oct. 9 and the team will deal with the salary cap juggling after that. Much of the reasoning comes from owner Bill Foley’s will to win and spend to the cap ceiling, while other teams are trying to refrain from that.

Of course, if Pietrangelo does opt to return to St. Louis or chooses another destination, the scribe notes there are other options for the team to upgrade on defense in free agency, including a pair of blueliners who spent time playing for head coach Peter DeBoer in San Jose, Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo.

  • ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reports that the five Dallas Stars’ players who were “unfit to play” for Game 5 are still unfit as of Sunday. Ben Bishop, Roope Hintz, Radek Faksa, Stephen Johns and Blake Comeau are all expected to miss Game 6 on Monday. A new player to monitor, however, will be defenseman Andrej Sekera, who is considered to be a game-time decision, according to NHL.com’s Mike Heika. Sekera missed half of the first period and all of the second period after blocking a shot during Game 5 Saturday. He did return for the third period, but forced himself to play through the pain.
  • Coyotes beat reporter Craig Morgan reports that the scouting cleanout in Arizona is continuing. The team, who recently fired scouting director Lindsay Hofford and assistant to the GM Jake Goldberg, has removed two more names in the front office. Phil McRae, director of North American Amateur Scouting and Mat Milbury, an amateur scout, are both no longer with the team.
  • Murat Ates of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Winnipeg Jets defensive prospect Dylan Samberg’s ability to make the NHL squad out of training camp next season could be critical to the team’s playoff chances. Samberg, the 6-foot-4 defenseman out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, is believed to be close to NHL ready, but might need more seasoning in the AHL. However, with just four defenseman under contract and little cap room to maneuver with, the scribe believes that the quicker that Samberg can get acclimated to the NHL pace could be critical for the team. While there is little worry about this defensive game, there are questions on how well his offense will translate over.

West Notes: Kings, DeMelo, Pospisil

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The New York Rangers were the big winners at the NHL Draft Lottery, meaning the Westen Conference won’t have to deal with Alexis Lafreniere on a regular basis, right? Well, as Lisa Dillman examined for The Athletic, if the Los Angeles Kings or another team with a high pick came calling the Rangers would have to listen. The Kings have arguably the best prospect group in the entire NHL already and could potentially create quite a package of assets for the first overall selection.

While the Kings have that impressive prospect base and several high picks, the Ottawa Senators are primed to make a huge splash at this year’s draft as well. Not only do they hold the third and fifth overall selections, but they also have an incredible seven picks in the first two rounds of this year’s draft. Nine if you extend that to the third round, and 13 in total for 2020.

  • Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff liked the fit for trade deadline acquisition Dylan DeMelo, but hasn’t started negotiations yet for a new contract according to Murat Ates of The Athletic. The team will “definitely take a look” at a new deal with the pending free agent, who ended up playing just 14 total games for the Jets after arriving from Ottawa partway through the season. The 27-year old DeMelo recorded just ten points in 59 games this season and is coming off a two-year deal that carried a $900K cap hit.
  • Martin Pospisil, who signed his three-year entry-level contract in 2019, will be playing in Slovakia for the time being. The Calgary Flames prospect has been loaned to HC Kosice for the next few months but is expected back for NHL training camp. Pospisil played 26 games for the Stockton Heat of the AHL this season, recording ten points.

West Notes: Canucks, Galchenyuk, DeMelo

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Back at the trade deadline, teams were asking the Canucks for either defenseman Brogan Rafferty or center Adam Gaudette to take Loui Eriksson’s contract off Vancouver’s hands, reports Rick Dhaliwal of TSN 1040 and The Athletic (audio link).  Eriksson still has two years left on his contract after this one and while his salary dips (only $8MM is owed over the next two seasons), his $6MM cap hit is even more of an issue now with the salary cap levelling off for 2020-21.  If the cost to get out of the contract was a promising youngster back then, it certainly stands to reason that the price to escape from Eriksson’s contract is only going to be higher now with many more other teams soon facing cap crunches of their own.

Elsewhere out West:

  • Wild forward Alex Galchenyuk was quietly off to a decent start with Minnesota before the pandemic hit. He had been shifted back to center and put up three goals and four assists in 14 games before things were shut down.  In doing so, he may have restored a bit of value heading into free agency but he told Jace Frederick of the Pioneer Press that he’s not thinking about the open market at this time.  However, he indicated that he’s hopeful to remain in Minnesota for next season.  Having said that, he’ll quite likely be looking at a considerable dip from his current $4.9MM AAV considering he only had 24 points in 59 games between the Wild and Penguins this season.
  • Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo wound up playing an important role with Winnipeg after being acquired from Ottawa, logging more than 21 minutes a night before the shutdown. Despite his limited experience with the team (just ten games), he told Postmedia’s Ted Wyman that he could see himself re-signing with the team this offseason.  The 27-year-old is currently on a bargain salary of just $900K and even with the flattened cap, he’s well-positioned to earn a nice raise on the open market.

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