Penguins Notes: Pettersson, Guentzel Trade Return, Harkins
Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson is one of their notable extension candidates this summer as he’ll officially enter the final year of his contract in July. Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examined some of the possible comparable players for the blueliner, concluding that a long-term agreement for him could approach $6MM per season, a fair-sized raise for someone making just over $4MM per year now. The 28-year-old is coming off a career year, one that saw him collect 28 points in 82 games while logging over 22 minutes a night which certainly will help his case in negotiations. Considering the long-term deals Pittsburgh has on the books already, it’s quite possible that the team could look to move him if they feel he’ll be too expensive to keep around.
Elsewhere in Pittsburgh:
- As a result of Carolina being eliminated from the playoffs on Thursday, the Jake Guentzel trade from March is now finalized. CapFriendly points out (Twitter link) that because the Hurricanes lost (failing to reach the Stanley Cup Final), the conditional 2024 second-round pick (44th overall from Philadelphia) they gave up will not be upgraded to their 2024 first-round selection. Meanwhile, the conditional fifth-round pick will no longer transfer to Pittsburgh since Carolina isn’t going to win the Stanley Cup this year.
- Forward Jansen Harkins is slated to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time this summer. Although he eventually earned the trust of the coaching staff as the season went on, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggests that it’s not a guarantee that the Penguins try to bring him back. Harkins was claimed off waivers in training camp to add more depth up front but GM Kyle Dubas could conceivably try to bring in other players to battle for those last couple of roster spots while moving on from the ones who has those spots this season. The 26-year-old had four assists in 45 games while averaging just over eight minutes a night of ice time.
Metro Notes: Dobson, Harkins, Nosek
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman tweeted that New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson would not play tonight and is still considered day-to-day. The 24-year-old played just 1:28 on Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens as he suffered an upper-body injury that forced him to miss nearly the entire game. The former 12th overall pick missed Saturday’s game against the Rangers then didn’t practice with the Islanders yesterday and didn’t travel with the team to New Jersey today.
Dobson’s injury doesn’t appear to be long-term and that would be welcome news for the Islanders as the Summerside, Prince Edward Island native has been logging an average of 24:31 a night and has posted 10 goals and 60 assists in 79 games this season. While he is unlikely to win the Norris Trophy, he may get consideration given that he is seventh in NHL scoring by a defenseman.
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- The Pittsburgh Penguins welcomed back forward Jansen Harkins off the injured reserve today. The 26-year-old has been out since March 7th with a hand injury and dressed on the fourth line alongside Jeff Carter and Emil Bemstrom in the Penguins 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators. Harkins played just 5:38 and registered a single hit making it 19 consecutive games without a point and 44 games on the season without a goal. The Penguins acquired Harkins off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets back on October 2nd, and while he hasn’t offered up much offensively he has been one of the few Penguins forwards to consistently play a physical game.
- New Jersey Devils forward Tomas Nosek returned to the lineup for the Devils’ final game of the regular season. The 31-year-old hadn’t played since April 9th and played just over 15 minutes tonight as he was held pointless. Nosek had been out with an undisclosed injury and will finish the season with two goals and four assists in 36 games with New Jersey. Nosek is a free agent on July 1st after signing a one-year $1MM contract with the Devils last summer. It seems unlikely he will do much better this summer as his age and lack of offensive production will likely deter teams from offering term and lucrative money to the Pardubice, Czechoslovakia native.
Injury Notes: Oshie, Neighbours, Harkins
Even though he has returned to the team’s practice this morning, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News is reporting that Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie will not be in the lineup for the team tonight. Currently dealing with an upper-body injury, Oshie has not played since March 30th, Oshie will miss his fourth straight game for the Capitals.
In nearly every month of the 2023-24 NHL season, Oshie has missed a handful of games for Washington, and is on pace to play in less than 60 games for the fourth straight season. Since his eight-year, $46MM extension with the Capitals kicked in at the beginning of the 2017-18 season, Oshie has played in a total of 414 games for Washington, missing 21.7% of the team’s total games due to injury.
Even when healthy, Oshie’s production has certainly dipped this season, as he’s only managed 11 goals and 22 points in 47 games, on pace for the lowest total of his 16-year career. Nevertheless, as the Capitals are still within striking distance for a playoff spot in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, they will need Oshie’s assistance in getting the team across the finish line.
Other injury notes:
- In last night’s game between the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks, the Blues organization announced that forward Jake Neighbours sustained an upper-body injury after receiving a hit into the boards from Sharks’ forward Luke Kunin. After the hit was absorbed, Neighbours did not play in the remainder of the second period or the entirety of the third period for the Blues. With a game tonight against the Anaheim Ducks, there have been no further updates regarding Neighbours’ availability for the contest tonight.
- Working his way back from a hand injury sustained at the beginning of March, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports that Pittsburgh Penguins’ forward Jansen Harkins is ready to begin a conditioning stint with the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Harkins, who is a veteran of 211 games at the AHL level, should start the conditioning stint relatively soon to resume his role on Pittsburgh’s fourth line.
Metropolitan Notes: Phillips, Harkins, Werenski, Svechnikov
The Capitals have once again brought forward Matthew Phillips up from the AHL on an emergency loan, per a team release. It’s the fourth recall for Phillips in the past few weeks after Washington re-claimed him off waivers from the Penguins in March. Why exactly Phillips has been added to the roster ahead of tonight’s game against the Hurricanes is unknown – no Capitals forwards are carrying injury designations other than T.J. Oshie, and Nicolas Aubé-Kubel was already available as an extra forward. There may be a few undisclosed game-time decisions in the works up front. Phillips, 25, has a goal and four assists in 31 appearances with the Caps and Pens this season.
Other updates from the Metro:
- Moving over to Pittsburgh, winger Jansen Harkins was cleared for contact Friday and was a full participant in practice, head coach Mike Sullivan told Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 26-year-old has been on LTIR since March after undergoing hand surgery and has now missed 15 games, but he could be an option for the final few tilts of the season as the Penguins try to sneak their way into the postseason. The high-end AHL scorer has had no offensive impact in 43 NHL appearances this season, going without a goal and posting four assists in 43 games while averaging just over eight minutes a night.
- Blue Jackets star defenseman Zach Werenski will join the United States national team after the end of the regular season in preparation for the 2024 World Championship in Czechia, he told Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. In doing so, the 26-year-old is strengthening his candidacy for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics, as Team USA GM Bill Guerin has made it clear national team hopefuls for those big-ticket tournaments should attend this year’s World Championship if possible. Today, Werenski was named the Blue Jackets’ nominee for the 2024 Masterton Trophy, churning out All-Star-caliber minutes this year after missing most of 2022-23 due to shoulder surgery.
- The Hurricanes will be without winger Andrei Svechnikov at home against Washington tonight due to illness, per a team announcement. The 2018 second-overall pick has been limited by injuries to 55 games this season but has played solid hockey, churning out 17 goals and 46 points. He’s gone through quite a cold stretch over the past few weeks, though, only recording a goal and two assists in his last 12 games with a -5 rating. He’ll look to reset and rebound before the playoffs begin on April 20.
Injury Notes: Ekblad, Rielly, Harkins
With Uvis Balinskis being reassigned to the Charlotte Checkers yesterday afternoon, the Florida Panthers had an open spot to fill in their defensive core. In doing so, it appears that defenseman Aaron Ekblad will make his return to the lineup tonight, as he was a full participant in practice this morning (X Link).
Ekblad, who has not played since the Panthers’ game on March 9th, has missed the last seven games for the organization. In the time that he has missed, Florida has not played particularly well, producing a 2-4-1 record in his absence, averaging 3.43 goals against per game over that stretch.
With now 10 games left in the regular season for the team, the Panthers will battle it out with the Boston Bruins over playoff positioning in the first two rounds of the playoffs. As the New York Rangers look to clinch both the Eastern Conference and the President’s Trophy, the Panthers will match up against the Tampa Bay Lightning or Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.
Other injury notes:
- Moving north to Toronto, it does not appear that defenseman Morgan Rielly will make his return to the lineup for the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, as he is still dealing with an upper-body injury. Fortunately, this will only be the second game in a row that Rielly has missed with this injury, as he has otherwise maintained quality health over the 2023-24 NHL season.
- In Pittsburgh, Dan Potash of SportsNet Pittsburgh reports that forward Jansen Harkins has returned to practice for the Pittsburgh Penguins. A bottom-six forward for the Penguins this year, Harkins has not played since just before the March 8th trade deadline due to an upper-body injury. Suiting up 43 games this year, Harkins has tallied four assists while averaging just over eight minutes of ice time per night.
Penguins Recall Jonathan Gruden
Yesterday, the Penguins opted to bring up one of the three players they had assigned to the minors in forward Valtteri Puustinen. Today, they’ve brought up a second one as the team announced (Twitter link) that forward Jonathan Gruden has been recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
The 23-year-old has spent most of the season at the AHL level, tallying 13 goals and 10 assists in 41 games. Meanwhile, this will be his fourth recall of the year and Gruden got into nine games with Pittsburgh in the first three, scoring once while chipping in with 26 hits in 8:32 per game. He’s playing on a one-year, two-way deal worth the league minimum at the NHL level and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Notably, the Penguins don’t have the cap space to execute this recall so there is a secondary transaction that hasn’t been announced. With Jansen Harkins expected to be out for a while, he has likely been transferred to LTIR which would open up another $850K in LTIR space, enough to cover Gruden’s $775K AAV.
Barring an unannounced injury to one of their current forwards, Gruden’s recall should burn one of their four post-deadline non-emergency recalls.
Penguins Likely To Move Alex Nedeljkovic, Make Several Roster Moves
The Penguins moved out Jake Guentzel last night and it appears he won’t be the only rental on the move. Rob Rossi of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that they’re likely to move goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic before the 2 PM CT deadline.
Nedeljkovic spent most of last year in the minors but has been a full-timer with Pittsburgh this season, faring relatively well in the backup role. Through 21 games so far this season, the 28-year-old has a 2.87 GAA and a .908 SV%, his best numbers since his rookie campaign back in 2020-21.
While the goalie market has had a few big names in there, talk of some of those names moving has started to die off. Instead, the goalies that move might be short-term rentals and Nedeljkovic on an expiring $1.5MM contract fits right into that category. There are playoff-bound teams that could use an upgrade at the backup goalie position and he would fit the bill so GM Kyle Dubas should be able to find a suitable return for his services.
While not consequential after the 23-player roster limit that was lifted this morning, they also cleared a roster spot by placing winger Jansen Harkins on injured reserve, per CapFriendly. The 26-year-old winger has just four points in 43 games this season and did not return to last night’s game against the Capitals after a fight.
Meanwhile, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that forwards Valtteri Puustinen, Joona Koppanen, and Jonathan Gruden were all assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Those moves were needed to get them back into salary cap compliance after losing Guentzel’s LTIR buffer in the swap yesterday. Puustinen has played in 31 games with Pittsburgh so far this season, notching 13 points and seems like a likely candidate to be recalled after the trade deadline if they have cap room. Gruden, meanwhile, has a goal in nine NHL appearances while Koppanen has been held off the scoresheet in his four contests.
Penguins Activate Noel Acciari Off IR
The Pittsburgh Penguins have activated forward Noel Acciari off the injured reserve, and he is in their lineup tonight as they take on the Montreal Canadiens. The 32-year-old has missed the past six games after suffering a concussion back on February 6th in a game against the Winnipeg Jets. Acciari was hit up high in the neutral zone by Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon in a scary incident that led to a match penalty and game misconduct for Dillon.
Like many Penguins forwards, Acciari has struggled to produce much in the way of offense this season. He has spent most of the season as the team’s fourth-line center and is back there tonight sandwiched between Jansen Harkins and Jeff Carter. Acciari has dressed in 39 games this season and has three goals and one assist. Last season the Johnston, Rhode Island native posted 14 goals and nine assists in 77 games.
While his offensive production has been the lowest of his career, Acciari has been good defensively and, on the penalty kill. He has had nearly 90% of his zone starts in the defensive zone and has been one of the few Penguins who has been consistently physical. Acciari has also been solid in the faceoff circle which has been a key contributor to Mike Sullivan using him for so many defensive zone faceoffs.
Penguins Activate Jansen Harkins, Send Down Jonathan Gruden, Vinnie Hinostroza
The Pittsburgh Penguins have activated forward Jansen Harkins off injured reserve, per a team announcement. Harkins has been out of the lineup for a little over a week, suffering a concussion in the team’s February 10th game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Shortly before the first game of the regular season, Harkins was brought to Pittsburgh from the Jets organization by way of a waiver claim. Similar to his usage in Winnipeg throughout his career, Harkins was thought to be an effective bottom-six player for the Penguins this season.
Harkins, who is now averaging the lowest average ice time of his career this season, has been a bit of a mixed bag in his role for Pittsburgh. In 34 games on the year, he has yet to score a goal up to this point, but his physical play has certainly picked up as he’s achieved a new career-high in hits with 59 already.
On a positive note, with strong defense largely expected in many team’s bottom six, Harkins has certainly delivered for the Penguins in that regard. Through nearly half a season, Harkins has produced a CorsiFor% of 48.4%, and an On-Ice Save Percentage of 93.9%, both of which are higher than his career averages.
In the same announcement, Pittsburgh also stated that the team had moved down both Jonathan Gruden and Vinnie Hinostroza to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. With both players serving as organizational depth at the forward position, both have been shuffled back and forth quite regularly this season.
Of the two, Hinostroza has been relied upon much more than Gruden at the NHL level this year, playing in 14 games already compared to Gruden’s five. In those 14 contests, Hinostroza has averaged just under 10 minutes of ice time per night, scoring one goal and three points while carrying a -3 rating.
Metropolitan Notes: DeAngelo, Blue Jackets, Brodzinski, Harkins
Tony DeAngelo’s second stint with the Hurricanes hasn’t gone as planned. After being a key contributor his first time around, the 28-year-old has been a frequent healthy scratch this season. However, Cory Lavalette notes in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link) that he hasn’t asked for a trade from the team. DeAngelo has played in just 23 games so far this season, notching two goals and seven assists while averaging a career-low 14:12 per contest. Just last season, DeAngelo had 42 points with Philadelphia after putting up 51 with Carolina the year before. On an affordable $1.675MM contract, Carolina may move DeAngelo to give him a shot to play regular minutes elsewhere although they’d either need to get a depth defender in return or have a trade in place to acquire a replacement soon after.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson talked about the importance of experience in filling their now-vacant GM position with Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. They’re not necessarily focusing on someone who has experience as an NHL GM but rather that they’ve had some level of success in a front office, be it as an assistant GM or the major junior ranks. Columbus won’t be filling the position before the end of the season with the team taking somewhat of a by-committee approach when it comes to the upcoming trade deadline.
- With Filip Chytil out for the season, many have expected the Rangers to target center help before next month’s trade deadline. However, Newsday’s Colin Stephenson wonders if the recent performance of Jonny Brodzinski might lessen the need for New York to target a middleman. The 30-year-old is up to 14 points in 30 games since being recalled in late November while the line he’s on has had some recent success. With impact centers in very short supply, Brodzinski maintaining this level of production would certainly lessen the need to pay a big price to get one in the coming weeks.
- Penguins forward Jansen Harkins was a full participant in practice today after missing the last two games with a concussion, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has been on the waiver wire a couple of times this season but still has played in 34 games with Pittsburgh, recording four assists while averaging a little over eight minutes per night.