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Jacob Larsson

Ottawa Senators Place Nikita Zaitsev On Injured Reserve; Recall Jacob Larsson

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With the Ottawa Senators dealing with an ever-dwindling depth chart on defense, the team has recalled Jacob Larsson from the minor leagues. Nikita Zaitsev left yesterday’s game after blocking a shot, while Artem Zub remains out. The latter needs another test before getting clearance to play, according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, while the former has been moved to injured reserve.

With Zaitsev leaving early and Dillon Heatherington playing just over eight minutes, the Senators were essentially playing with just four defensemen against the Boston Bruins. Thomas Chabot ended up with more than 31 minutes of ice time in the shootout win, while each of Nick Holden (24:41), Travis Hamonic (24:24), and Jake Sanderson (27:13) reached at least 24.

Larsson, 25, isn’t expected to really change that. The former Anaheim Ducks defenseman has played just three games with Ottawa this season, failing to crack 15 minutes in any of them. Through 24 games with the Belleville Senators, he has just five points and is a -13, trailing only Angus Crookshank for the worst number on the team. While he may be a capable short-term injury fill-in, the Senators desperately need Zub back to take some of the defensive responsibility off the shoulders of the top four.

Zub did skate today, and will hopefully be back in the lineup before long. There has been no announcement from the team on Zaitsev’s timeline just yet, but his placement on injured reserve requires him to miss at least a week. The team is back in action tomorrow in Washington, before a back-to-back against the Red Wings and Sabres this weekend.

Senators Recall Jacob Larsson

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The Senators have brought up some extra defensive depth, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Jacob Larsson from Belleville of the AHL.  Ottawa had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made.

The 25-year-old is in his first season with the Senators after coming over in free agency following his non-tender by Anaheim last summer.  Larsson has played in three games with Ottawa so far this season during a recall last month, logging a little under 13 minutes per game while being held off the scoresheet.  Meanwhile, he has suited up in 16 contests at the minor league level, picking up four assists.

The move comes on the heels of Artem Zub and Travis Hamonic both taking pucks up high last night against the Rangers, the former to the face and the latter to the throat.  Zub has already been ruled out for tonight per Postmedia’s Ken Warren (Twitter link) and Nick Holden will return to the lineup in his place.  Meanwhile, Larsson will suit up if Hamonic is unable to play tonight against San Jose.

Ottawa Senators Recall Lassi Thomson; Looking For Additional Defensemen

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After another brutal loss that saw the Ottawa Senators give up five goals to the San Jose Sharks, the team has made a swap on defense. Jacob Larsson has been returned to the AHL, while prospect Lassi Thomson is on his way to join the club on their road trip.

Thomson, 22, was the 19th overall pick in 2019 and played 16 games for the Senators last season. His time in the AHL has been productive, including ten points in 15 games this season. While he may not be the complete solution for Ottawa, there is more help coming.

Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia tweets that the hope is Thomas Chabot can play tomorrow, while general manager Pierre Dorion has spoken to 10-15 teams about potential defensive additions. There hasn’t been a fit yet, and as losses pile up, it gets harder and harder to justify a big move. The Senators are now 6-11-1 on the year and sit dead last in the Atlantic Division, even behind the Buffalo Sabres who have lost eight in a row.

Larsson, during his short time with the club, didn’t impress. The 25-year-old averaged fewer than 13 minutes of ice time over his three appearances and was not totally trusted by the coaching staff. While Jake Sanderson, Erik Brannstrom, and Artem Zub were all logging more than 22 minutes last night, Larsson played just 14:40 and was the only defenseman to not see a second on the penalty kill.

The team goes into Vegas to take on the Golden Knights tomorrow, before heading back to California for matchups with the Ducks and Kings over the weekend.

Ottawa Senators Recall Jacob Larsson

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The Ottawa Senators recalled defenseman Jacob Larsson from the AHL’s Belleville Senators Sunday morning, according to the team’s communications department. The transaction comes after Thomas Chabot sustained an injury in yesterday’s 4-1 road win in Philadelphia.

Ottawa did have an extra healthy defenseman on the roster in Nikita Zaitsev, but he was waived last Wednesday after seeing his role diminish dramatically to start the season. He did clear waivers but has yet to be assigned to the minors. Larsson comes up instead, bringing 165 games of NHL experience with Anaheim to the active roster.

However, Larsson saw his semi-full-time NHL role disappear last season, playing just six games with the Ducks compared to 55 with AHL San Diego. He was waived and assigned to Belleville to begin the 2022-23 campaign, where he has two assists and a -10 rating in 12 games.

As for Chabot, the length of his absence is unknown as of last night. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman did note that if Chabot misses any meaningful length of time, it could speed up Ottawa’s already well-established desire to acquire a defenseman via trade to upgrade their blue line. The team is yet again lagging behind expectations, sitting last in the Atlantic Division with a 5-8-1 record. Injuries have certainly been a factor in their sluggish start.

TSN’s Bruce Garrioch notes that Larsson’s recall signifies that Chabot will likely miss at least tomorrow’s game against the New York Islanders.

East Notes: Chychrun, Nyquist, Larsson

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A few days ago, we covered an update on the ongoing Jakob Chychrun trade rumors. In that update, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that trade talks on Chychrun were more active than they’d been in recent months, and he specifically named the Columbus Blue Jackets as a potential suitor for Chychrun’s services. Today, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline has added some more details to Columbus’ side of the equation. (subscription link)

Portzline reports that earlier this summer, Chychrun was not interested in being traded to Columbus because he did not view the Blue Jackets as a legitimate playoff contender. Now, though, after they added the offseason market’s top free agent, he seems to have changed his tune. Portzline cites sources who say that Chychrun has “informed those close to him” that he is now willing to join Columbus in a trade. Chychrun would certainly make the Blue Jackets a better team for next season, but one wonders how they would fit his not-insignificant $4.6MM cap hit into their currently tight cap sheet, especially since the term left on Chychrun’s deal would seemingly rule out any significant retention.

Now, for some other notes from the league’s Eastern Conference:

  • In another piece of Blue Jackets news, we have an update on forward Gustav Nyquist’s injury situation after he left last night’s preseason contest early. As reported by Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch, Nyquist has suffered a lower-body injury and is injured on a day-to-day designation. This injury is hopefully not one that will nag Nyquist this season, as the forward is in a platform year, meaning he is set to hit free agency this summer, so he’ll want to stay healthy and have as strong of a season as possible to set him up for his next contract.
  • The Ottawa Senators’ defensive situation hasn’t garnered nearly as much attention as their new-look offense has, but that doesn’t mean their blueline is without notable additions. Per the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, 25-year-old defenseman Jacob Larsson could be playing his way into “notable addition” territory. Larsson, a 2015 first-round pick, was not qualified by the Anaheim Ducks earlier this summer and arrived in Ottawa on a one-year deal. Garrioch says that although Larsson may not make the Senators’ opening-night roster, there’s “no doubt” that he’ll play in games for the team this season and has “made an impression” on the team’s management.

Ottawa Senators Sign Antoine Bibeau, Jacob Larsson

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The Ottawa Senators may not be done adding to the NHL roster but at least part of the front office is also focused on improving the organizational depth. The team has signed Antoine Bibeau and Jacob Larsson to one-year, two-way contacts that carry cap hits of $750K at the NHL level. Bibeau will earn $100K and Larsson will earn $300K while in the AHL.

Bibeau, 28, actually found himself way down in the ECHL for part of this season, after signing a one-year contract with the Seattle Kraken. Because the Kraken were sharing an AHL affiliate, there wasn’t always room for him with the Charlotte Checkers, despite playing well whenever there.

The veteran netminder has four games of NHL experience but is a strong AHL option with a long history of success at that level. Given the recent departures from the Ottawa crease, he’ll slide into the depth chart as a reliable call-up option that isn’t focused on developing any longer.

Larsson meanwhile comes to the Senators as an interesting defensive option, after failing to receive a qualifying offer from the Anaheim Ducks. The 25-year-old was selected 27th overall in 2015 and has 165 games of experience at the NHL level, including a full season as recently as 2020-21.

While Senators general manager Pierre Dorion may have bigger fish on his mind when targeting defensive upgrades, Larsson’s presence is certainly notable as they try to change the look of their group. Though he’s on a two-way deal, there’s a realistic scenario that sees him outplay some of the team’s other options in camp and earn his way onto the roster.

Injury Notes: Stars, Ducks, Golden Knights, Devils

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Dallas Stars digital manager Kyle Shohara reports from team practice that defenseman John Klingberg and center Radek Faksa took the ice today after missing time with an upper-body injury and non-COVID-related illness, respectively. Klingberg missed the team’s last game, a 5-1 win against the New Jersey Devils, while Faksa missed that game and the night prior against the Philadelphia Flyers. Both would be huge returns to the Stars lineup, especially Klingberg. With the Swedish defenseman reportedly requesting a trade out of Dallas, every game (and every good play) matters for Dallas to recoup as much value as possible if a trade occurs.

A busy night in the NHL yields more injury news:

  • The Anaheim Ducks get two key contributors back tonight versus Montreal, activating center Adam Henrique from injured reserve and defenseman Josh Manson from COVID-19 protocol. Both return to prominent roles in the lineup, with Henrique’s 16 points in 24 games likely to help boost a stagnating Ducks offense as of late. To make room on the active roster, the team reassigned defensemen Jacob Larsson and Greg Pateryn to the taxi squad and Brendan Guhle to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.
  • Two gigantic contributors are returning to the Vegas Golden Knights lineup, as wingers Max Pacioretty and Reilly Smith make their returns tonight, per the Las Vegas Sun’s Justin Emerson. Pacioretty’s rarely been healthy this year, but when he has, he’s scored at a torrid pace, netting 12 goals and 21 points in 16 games. Smith, coming off COVID protocol, has a respectable 29 points in 41 games.
  • The New Jersey Devils got some good news with defenseman Ty Smith coming off injured reserve today, but he’s been replaced on the list by center Michael McLeod. Despite Smith’s strong rookie campaign last season, he’s having a serious sophomore slump with poor defensive numbers and just 10 points in 33 games to show for it. Hopefully, a reset can help jumpstart an improvement in play for the 21-year-old. The Devils will miss McLeod and his 11 points and 41 games in a depth role.

Ryan Getzlaf Placed In COVID Protocol, Maxime Comtois Activated

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The Anaheim Ducks placed captain Ryan Getzlaf in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today, per a team tweet. They also activated forward Maxime Comtois from the list and swapped taxi squad bodies, recalling Greg Pateryn and sending Jacob Larsson down.

Getzlaf’s having somewhat of a resurgence for Anaheim this year, already getting more points than he had last year in 48 games. His 20 assists through 29 games are most on the team. He’s had great chemistry with Troy Terry, as evidenced by the latter’s 18 goals on the year.

With Getzlaf’s absence, Comtois likely returns to the lineup in a top-six role. That’s a good sign, showing that the team trusts him to improve on his singular assist through 14 games.

The team already had Trevor Zegras on COVID protocol, so it’s a lot of offensive firepower taken out of the lineup for Anaheim at the moment.

39 Players Clear Waivers

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Oct 11: Barre-Boulet, Brooks, Brown, and Jonsson-Fjallby were all claimed, but the other 39 players cleared and can be assigned to the minor leagues.

Oct 10: On the final day to waive players before opening-night rosters are due, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports these 43 players have been placed on waivers:

F Sam Carrick (ANA)
D Jacob Larsson (ANA)
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (BUF)
D Eric Gelinas (CAR)
D Maxime Lajoie (CAR)
F Josh Leivo (CAR)
F Stefan Noesen (CAR)
F C.J. Smith (CAR)
D Gabriel Carlsson (CBJ)
D Mikko Lehtonen (CBJ)
F Kevin Stenlund (CBJ)
G Collin Delia (CHI)
G Malcolm Subban (CHI)
D Jacob MacDonald (COL)
D Alexander Petrovic (DAL)
F Riley Barber (DET)
F Taro Hirose (DET)
D William Lagesson (EDM)
F Kyle Turris (EDM)
D Lucas Carlsson (FLA)
G Christopher Gibson (FLA)
D Austin Strand (LAK)
F Austin Wagner (LAK)
F Frederik Gauthier (NJD)
G Connor Ingram (NSH)
F Michael McCarron (NSH)
F Andrew Agozzino (OTT)
D Nick Seeler (PHI)
F Alex Barre-Boulet (TBL)
D Fredrik Claesson (TBL)
D Andrej Sustr (TBL)
F Adam Brooks (TOR)
F Justin Bailey (VAN)
D Madison Bowey (VAN)
F Phillip Di Giuseppe (VAN)
D Travis Hamonic (VAN)
F Sven Baertschi (VGK)
F Patrick Brown (VGK)
F Gage Quinney (VGK)
G Zachary Fucale (WSH)
F Garrett Pilon (WSH)
D Nelson Nogier (WPG)
F Dominic Toninato (WPG)

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COVID Protocol Related Absences: 03/25/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the list for today so far:

Anaheim – Alexander Volkov*
Boston – Jake DeBrusk, Sean Kuraly
Minnesota – Zach Parise
Montreal – Joel Armia, Jesperi Kotkaniemi
NY Rangers – Brett Howden (plus part of the coaching staff)
Ottawa – TBA
Vancouver – Travis Boyd

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Danton Heinen, Anaheim Ducks; Ben Hutton, Anaheim Ducks; Jacob Larsson, Anaheim Ducks; Anthony Stolarz, Anaheim Ducks; Phil Di Giuseppe, New York Rangers

All four players that were added recently for the Ducks have found their way off, though Volkov has been added as he moves from one team to another. After being acquired late last night, the young forward will need to face a short quarantine period before he can join Anaheim.

For the Rangers, Di Giuseppe has exited the protocol along with assistant coaches Jacques Martin and Greg Brown. They have joined the team in Philadelphia and can take over their regular duties once again.

Unfortunately, they aren’t the only coaches facing an issue like this. The Buffalo Sabres have announced that interim head coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis are self-isolating and will be unavailable for tonight’s game against the Penguins. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams will be being the bench as head coach instead.

*denotes new addition

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