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Jonah Gadjovich

Finals Notes: Hyman, Gadjovich, Nosek

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Veteran winger Zach Hyman isn’t available for the Oilers for the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to make an impact on the team. According to NHL.com reporter Jamie Umbach, Hyman continues to make a positive impact through his leadership, despite undergoing surgery to repair the wrist he dislocated in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final. Hyman said he’s staying around the team just as much as he would if he were playing.

“Life has a funny way of working. I truly felt that as a group, having gone through what we went through last year in that moment, that I knew most of our guys were coming back and that we had a hunger and a fire to get back to this point. I’m just looking forward to cheering the guys on, and I think we’re ready,” he said.

Hyman said he knew right away the wrist injury was serious after taking the hit, but he didn’t expect it to end his season. Initially, he believed he could play through the pain before team doctors ultimately shut him down.

“I think I was still a little delusional that I could play through it until after the surgery, obviously, and I was emotional in the moment. I don’t think you fully grasp it until a little bit later, and then you can get your head around it. Some things in life you can’t control, and this is one of them,” he said.

In other notes from the Stanley Cup Final:

  • Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich briefly exited Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Oilers but later returned to the ice. Head coach Paul Maurice confirmed today that Gadjovich will be available moving forward, per Jameson Olive of NHL.com. The bottom-six forward skated just 6:02 of ice time in Game 1, but that’s not far off from his average during the playoffs of 7:40. Through 11 playoff games, he has recorded two goals and three points.
  • Maurice also expressed support of forward Tomas Nosek following his overtime delay-of-game penalty in Game 1, which led to the Oilers’ game-winning goal, per Tim Capurso of Sports Illustrated. “We’re not here without Tomas Nosek. It’s a tough break. We make sure he doesn’t eat alone tonight, he has lots of people sitting at his table reminding him of how good he has been for us. It’s going to be tough. He’s going to eat that one for a day,” Maurice said.

Atlantic Notes: Ullmark, Hakanpaa, Panthers, Cirelli

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The Senators won’t have goaltender Linus Ullmark back for tonight’s game against Minnesota.  However, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays (Twitter link) that the veteran is nearing a return and is expected to accompany the team on its upcoming four-game road trip that begins on Monday.  Ullmark has missed nearly six weeks now due to a back injury.  He had settled in well before being sidelined with a 2.38 GAA and a .915 SV% in 23 appearances.  Fortunately for Ottawa, prospect Leevi Merilainen has played quite well since being promoted in Ullmark’s absence, helping the Sens not only hang around the playoff picture but actually enter play today in a top-three seed in the division.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Jani Hakanpaa will not play in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off due to his ongoing knee injury. He has been limited to just two appearances with Toronto this season, both of those coming in mid-November.  He becomes the second blueliner that Team Finland will need to replace with Miro Heiskanen also out of commission.
  • Panthers winger Mackie Samoskevich was scratched for today’s contest versus Chicago due to illness, relays Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has done well in his first full NHL season, collecting 16 points in 47 games so far.  His spot in the lineup was taken by winger Jonah Gadjovich, who made his return after missing nearly six weeks with an upper-body injury.  Gadjovich picked up his second goal of the season early on in the game.
  • Lightning center Anthony Cirelli is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s contest against the Islanders, relays team reporter Benjamin Pierce (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Cirelli is under the weather or just dealing with a minor injury.  Cirelli has 19 goals and 20 assists in 49 games this season while logging 18:56 per game, a career-high.  Considering his personal best in points is 45, he’s well on his way to establishing a new benchmark in that category as well.

Aaron Ekblad And Jonah Gadjovich Won’t Travel On Road Trip

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Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Jonah Gadjovich will miss at least the next two games as neither player is travelling with the team on their road trip this week (as per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now).

The Panthers have a back-to-back in Philadelphia and New Jersey and will have to make do without Ekblad who has been having a solid bounce-back season and is dealing with an undisclosed injury. He did not play yesterday in an overtime loss to the Boston Bruins, and although it hasn’t been confirmed when he was hurt, it seems likely that it occurred when he blocked a shot against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout win on January 3rd. Ekblad played regularly for the remainder of the game, but missed their next game on January 6th, and then was back in the lineup a few days later to take on Utah.

The injury doesn’t appear to be a long-term concern for Ekblad, but it does seem like a lingering issue that the Panthers would like to allow Ekblad to heal from. The 2014 first-overall pick has two goals and 18 assists in 41 games this season and has seen his ice time increase dramatically from last year as he is averaging 23:32 per game.

Gadjovich has played sparingly in 18 games this season, averaging just 7:50 of ice time per game. The Whitby, Ontario native has already missed the Panthers’ last nine games and will be reevaluated when the team returns home on Thursday. The 26-year-old has a single goal this season and is a -1 plus/minus with 56 hits.

Panthers Recall Rasmus Asplund

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The Panthers announced that center Rasmus Asplund has been recalled from AHL Charlotte. They’ve been rolling with an open spot on the active roster for quite a while, so no corresponding move is necessary.

Asplund, 27, will play in his first NHL game in 618 days this afternoon against the Lightning. He enters the lineup in place of winger Jonah Gadjovich, who head coach Paul Maurice said is unavailable due to an upper-body injury (via the team’s Jameson Olive). Center Jesper Boqvist is also day-to-day with an upper-body issue, so they would’ve only had 11 forwards on hand for today’s intra-state rivalry matchup without a recall.

Asplund is in his second season in the Panthers organization. Briefly an everyday player with the Sabres early in the decade, he fell out of a regular role in the 2022-23 campaign and, after an uneventful post-trade deadline stint with the Predators, wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer and settled for a two-way deal with Florida in free agency. After spending all of last season on assignments to Charlotte, he signed a duplicate extension aside from a slightly higher salary guarantee in late June to remain in South Florida and stay off last summer’s free agent market.

The Buffalo second-round pick back in 2016 was a decent two-way player near the bottom of the lineup in his days as an NHL roster fixture. The Swede posted 18 goals, 49 points and a -14 rating in 183 NHL appearances with the Sabres and Preds from 2019-20 to 2022-23, including a career-best 27 points in 80 games with the Sabres in 2021-22. He averaged over 14 minutes per game that season and posted a strong 52.8% shot-attempt share on a defensively challenged Sabres team, earning himself some outside Selke Trophy consideration.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep up that play in more shutdown-oriented minutes at even strength the following season and has since ended up as a minor-league fixture. He’s been a decent top-six piece in Charlotte, posting 19 goals, 41 assists and 60 points with a -2 rating in 92 appearances over the past two seasons. He’s got 10 goals and 16 points in 25 showings thus far in 2024-25.

Asplund can remain on the roster for up to 30 days or play in 10 games until he requires waivers to return to Charlotte. It’s likely that he’ll be returned to the AHL once Boqvist or Gadjovich is ready to return barring an unexpectedly strong showing.

East Notes: Matheson, Gadjovich, Flyers

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The Montreal Canadiens announced a last-minute scratch tonight as defenseman Mike Matheson was held out of the lineup with a lower-body injury. The news came out just before the puck drop against Utah, Jayden Struble suited up in his place. Matheson skated with the Canadiens earlier in the day during the team’s morning skate but did miss practice yesterday.

Matheson’s absence will leave a hole in Montreal’s defense, particularly their power play where Matheson is typically the only defenseman on their top unit. The 30-year-old is currently averaging over 24 minutes a night in ice time and is third in team scoring with a goal and 12 assists in 20 games this season. Matheson had a career year last season, tallying 11 goals and 51 assists while dressing in all 82 games for Montreal.

In other Eastern Conference notes:

  • Florida Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich was dressed in a regular practice jersey today as he skated with his teammates (as per Colby Guy of The Palm Beach Post). The 26-year-old did not play last night against the Washington Capitals due to an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day. Gadjovich has just a single goal this season and has only played 11 games due to a back injury that kept him sidelined for eight games in late October and early November. When the Whitby, Ontario native has dressed he’s played sparingly, averaging just 7:13 of ice time per game.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers remain on the hunt for a top-six center (as per Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff). Philadelphia reportedly spoke with the Minnesota Wild earlier in the season about a potential swap, but nothing came from the talks, likely due to the Wild’s tough salary cap situation. The Flyers aren’t in a rush to make a move, which makes sense given the team’s timeline, however, they do have assets to make a move including draft capital as well as potentially using 2018 first-round pick Joel Farabee or Morgan Frost as potential trade pieces in a package.

Atlantic Notes: Byram, Matthews, Jarnkrok, Gadjovich

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With the Sabres struggling out of the gate, it appears that some teams are kicking the tires to see if a core piece could be pried away.  TSN’s Darren Dreger reported earlier this week on Sekeres and Price (video link) that some teams from the West have inquired about defenseman Bowen Byram although Buffalo has been informing teams he’s not available.  Byram is in his first full season with the Sabres after being acquired at the trade deadline from Colorado and he’s certainly off to a solid start with nine points in 14 games while logging over 21 minutes a night.  A pending restricted free agent, Byram will be in line for a significant raise on his current $3.85MM AAV next summer.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews skated today for 25 minutes with no signs of discomfort, relays TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). Toronto moved him to injured reserve on Friday, making him ineligible for tonight’s game against Montreal but he is eligible to return Tuesday versus Ottawa.  Assuming Matthews is cleared to play in that game, the Maple Leafs will have to make a roster move beforehand, likely a waiver placement as things stand, to open up a roster spot.
  • Still with Toronto, head coach Craig Berube told reporters including Nick Barden of The Hockey News that winger Calle Jarnkrok is “probably a ways away” from making his season debut. The 33-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury that’s believed to be a sports hernia.  Jarnkrok skated before practice a couple of times this week but it looks like he’s still not particularly close to being cleared to play.  Jarnkrok had 10 goals and 11 assists in 52 games for the Maple Leafs last season.
  • The Panthers will welcome back winger Jonah Gadjovich to the lineup tonight against Philadelphia, the team announced (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has missed the last three weeks with a back injury.  Gadjovich has played in six games so far this season, notching a goal and 26 hits while averaging just 7:25 per night on the fourth line; he leads the league in hits/60.  Mackie Samoskevich will come out of the lineup to make room for Gadjovich’s return.

Atlantic Notes: Matthews, Point, Gadjovich

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Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews didn’t practice or skate with the team today and is questionable to play this weekend. He’s been battling an upper-body injury for much of the week and didn’t play in the team’s most recent matchup against the Boston Bruins a few days ago.

Jonas Siegel of The Athletic provided a quote about Matthews’ availability earlier from head coach Craig Berube saying, “That’s to be determined still. It’s hard for me to answer that question knowing what I know right now with him today.” The Maple Leafs have back-to-back matchups against Original Six rivals this weekend in the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens.

Although Toronto is objectively better with Matthews in the lineup it appears the team is taking a more measured approach to his recovery. The American superstar has five goals and 11 points through 13 games to start the campaign and the Maple Leafs are looking to be safer than sorry with their leader.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning are again without their first-line center Brayden Point this evening as they face off against the Philadelphia Flyers. Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider reported earlier that Point is still out with a lower-body injury although he did resume skating this morning. It will be the second straight missed game for Point after starting the season with eight goals and 13 points in 12 contests.
  • Heading southeast to Sunrise, Florida, Colby Guy of the Associated Press confirmed there are no lineup changes for the Florida Panthers tonight meaning forward Jonah Gadjovich won’t return to the ice. Gadjovich hasn’t played since October 17th due to a back injury. The physical bottom-six presence should pick up where he left off before the injury as he’s collected a whopping 26 hits in only six games in the current campaign.

Snapshots: Panthers, Joshua, Honzek, Harkins

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Already missing three forwards due to illness or injuries, the Panthers won’t have forward Jonah Gadjovich available to them tonight against Vegas due to an undisclosed injury, relays team reporter Jameson Olive.  The 26-year-old has taken a regular turn on the fourth line so far this season, picking up a goal in Florida’s first six games.  As Florida doesn’t have enough cap space to afford a recall from the minors, they will dress just 17 skaters for this one, ten forwards and seven blueliners.

It’s not all bad news on that front, however.  Head coach Paul Maurice indicated that winger Matthew Tkachuk is expected to return from his illness on Tuesday while captain Aleksander Barkov should be back not long after that.  Meanwhile, Tomas Nosek is due to return early next month for their Global Series games.  With that in mind, while the Panthers will be eligible for a cap-exempt recall after tonight’s contest, they’re unlikely to actually need to use it.

More from around the NHL:

  • Canucks forward Dakota Joshua skated today for the first time as he continues to recover from surgery to address a cancerous lump from earlier this summer, mentions NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman (Twitter link). The 28-year-old had a breakout effort last season, notching career-highs in goals (18), assists (14), points (32), and hits (245) across 63 regular season contests, earning him a four-year, $13MM extension in late June.  There remains no timetable for Joshua’s return but the fact he has returned to the ice is certainly a good sign.
  • The Flames have placed forward Samuel Honzek on injured reserve, relays Tim Hiebert of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 19-year-old is in his first professional season and played in four games before sustaining an upper-body injury that will keep him out on a week-to-week basis.  Calgary now has an open slot on their active roster and it stands to reason that it won’t take too long for it to be filled, likely with the expected pending return of Kevin Rooney who was a full participant in practice on Friday.
  • The Ducks have re-assigned forward Jansen Harkins to AHL San Diego, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 27-year-old is in his first season with Anaheim after signing with them in free agency but cleared waivers at the end of training camp.  Harkins was brought up yesterday following the injury to Isac Lundestrom and Frank Vatrano’s absence from the team for paternity leave and he suited up in their loss to Colorado, recording one shot on goal in 10:11 of ice time.  In a corresponding move, Vatrano is now back on the active roster.

Panthers Extend Gustav Forsling, Jonah Gadjovich

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The Panthers have signed pending UFA defenseman Gustav Forsling to an eight-year extension, GM Bill Zito announced Thursday (via Steve Goldstein of Bally Sports Florida). Winger Jonah Gadjovich has also signed a two-year extension, Zito said (via Colby Guy of the Associated Press). Forsling’s contract carries a $5.75MM AAV ($46MM total value), per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. Gadjovich’s extension is a one-way deal with the league minimum $775K salary in both seasons, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Per PuckPedia, Forsling’s deal has a no-move clause beginning next season through 2029-30 and a 16-team no-trade clause from 2030-31 to 2031-32. His contract is also paid out primarily in signing bonuses, earning only $1MM in base salary each season.

It’s a monumental extension for Forsling and the Panthers, who each gain important clarity into their long-term futures. Forsling, now under contract through 2032, was one of four pending UFA blue-liners on the Panthers’ roster. Top-four fixture Brandon Montour and last summer’s one-year pickups Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Niko Mikkola remain unsigned past this season.

Forsling has had quite the rise to fame in Sunrise. The 27-year-old was claimed off waivers from the Hurricanes at the beginning of the 2021 season after spending all of 2019-20 in the minors and quickly grew into a top-four role on a strong Panthers squad that received an unfortunate First Round matchup against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Lightning. Last season, Forsling scored a career-high 13 goals, 41 points, and a 23:26 ATOI while playing in all 82 games.

He elevated his game further in the postseason, recording eight points and a +7 rating while logging a remarkable 26:01 per game in Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup Final. He also carried the torch as the Panthers’ number-one blue-liner to begin 2023-24 with both Montour and Aaron Ekblad out with shoulder injuries, and he’s responded with one of his best two-way campaigns yet with 31 points, a league-leading +43 rating, and a 56.1 xGF%, per Hockey Reference.

A fifth-round pick of the Canucks in 2014, Forsling’s signing rights were traded to the Blackhawks the following year in exchange for minor-league defenseman Adam Clendening. He eventually inked his entry-level contract with Chicago in 2016 and immediately joined the organization, splitting all of his three seasons there between the NHL and AHL as he failed to make much of an impact in a depth role. He was then dealt to Carolina in 2019 before being claimed off waivers by Florida.

The differences in his impact between Chicago and Florida are jaw-dropping. In 122 games with the Blackhawks between 2016 and 2019, Forsling posted 27 points, a -8 rating, and a 44.8 xGF% at even strength while averaging 17:04 per game. In his three-and-a-half years in Florida, he’s recorded 126 points, a +120 rating, and a 55.3 xGF% in 258 games, averaging 21:51 per game.

Florida now has a top-pairing caliber player locked up well below market value, at least for the first few seasons of his deal. Forsling was among the top UFA defensemen available this summer.

Gadjovich is in his first season in South Florida after inking a one-year, $810K deal in free agency shortly after the 2023-24 season began. He’s spent most of the season in the majors after an AHL stint in October and November, posting four points and 90 PIMs in 33 games. A strictly fourth-line enforcer with poor possession impacts and little offensive upside at the NHL level, he’ll complement Florida’s bottom-of-the-lineup skaters in a tough-guy role until reaching UFA status again in 2026.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Atlantic Notes: Tkachuk, Gadjovich, Johnson, Liljegren

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The Ottawa Senators have announced that team captain Brady Tkachuk will miss the team’s Saturday night game with an upper-body injury. This announcement came just over 20 minutes before game time. The nature of the injury isn’t clear, though Tkachuk did leave the team’s Friday night game early after colliding with Arizona Coyotes forward Liam O’Brien early in the third period. He managed roughly 19 minutes of ice time, six hits, and a +2 before exiting.

Tkachuk has been a major contributor this season, leading the team in goals with 26 and ranked third in points with 50. He’s also recorded 104 penalty minutes on the year – one of just three NHL players to cross the century mark in penalty minutes, with O’Brien leading the league in that category. Ottawa is not currently carrying an extra forward, likely meaning they’ll play Saturday down a player – which would make them eligible for an emergency call-up after the game. Rourke Chartier has served as the team’s de facto recall this season, playing in 34 NHL games and scoring three points, though he’s one of five different Belleville Senators forwards to play with Ottawa this season.

Other notes around the Division:

  • Florida Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich is expected to return when the team visits the New York Rangers on Monday, per the team’s Senior Digital Content Manager Jameson Olive. Olive describes Gadjovich’s injury as “minor”. Gadjovich also sat out of Florida’s Thursday night win over the Montreal Canadiens. He’s recorded four points, split evenly, and 90 penalty minutes in 31 games this season.
  • Buffalo Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson will continue to sit out of the lineup with illness, per Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News. Johnson also missed Buffalo’s Thursday night game, after being a surprise absentee from the team’s practice. He’s appeared in 50 games this season, with three goals marking his only scoring. Johnson is in the 16th season of his career, totaling 970 games and 340 points in the league.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren will be a game-time decision on Saturday, per TSN’s Mark Masters. The 24-year-old defenseman took part in the team’s practice on Saturday, making progress from an undisclosed injury that’s held him out of the team’s last two games. He has 16 points in 40 games this season.

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