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Rasmus Sandin Placed On Injured Reserve

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After suffering a neck injury in the Toronto Maple Leafs last game, Rasmus Sandin has been moved to injured reserve. Head coach Sheldon Keefe explained yesterday that the team would be re-evaluating him after the Christmas break, meaning a stint on IR doesn’t necessarily mean he will be out long-term. Sandin must miss at least seven days but the Maple Leafs don’t play again until December 27 after today’s afternoon match with the Philadelphia Flyers.

In his place, the team has recalled Mac Hollowell from the minor leagues. The 24-year-old Hollowell played six games with the team earlier this season when they were dealing with a number of injuries on defense, and has been excellent in the minor leagues with 10 points in 13 games for the Toronto Marlies.

Unfortunately for Hollowell, the team also recently activated Jordie Benn, who will slide into Sandin’s spot in the lineup today. The club is still without Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, Victor Mete, and Carl Dahlstrom, but has still shown a strong defensive ability. Toronto sits second in goals against on the year, having allowed just 79 in 33 games.

Part of that success has been the strong play of Sandin, who has regularly gone over 20 minutes of ice time in the absence of Rielly. The 22-year-old was selected 29th overall in 2018 and has played 121 regular season games so far in his career.

Mac Hollowell Returned To AHL

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With Jordie Benn nearing a return, the Toronto Maple Leafs have sent Mac Hollowell back to the AHL. Given that the team is heading on the road, Benn’s activation seems imminent.

Hollowell, 24, received a chance to make his NHL debut when the Maple Leafs suffered several injuries to their defense and played six games with the team since November 23. In those matches he registered two points, showing off the offensive upside that made him a fourth-round pick even at his small stature. Still, that 5’9″ frame was also tested by the size and strength of NHL players, especially during his short time killing penalties.

While the Maple Leafs might have a useful depth piece, it seems unlikely that Hollowell will become a full-time option for the team at this point. He was essentially replaced in the lineup by Conor Timmins, who has now played in four straight games and had arguably his best game as a professional last night, recording three assists in 18 minutes of ice time.

With Timmins in place, a healthy T.J. Brodie back in the lineup, and Benn close to a return, the Maple Leafs suddenly seem to have plenty of depth at the position again. Morgan Rielly, Victor Mete, and Carl Dahlstrom remain out, but Toronto now ranks second in the league in terms of goals against, allowing just 70 through their first 30 games. Even if Hollowell’s play was relatively encouraging, it will be difficult for him to get many more opportunities if the group continues to get healthy.

East Notes: Panthers, Anisimov, Benn

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While the Panthers were without center Anton Lundell and goaltender Spencer Knight today, both players might be available for tomorrow’s contest against Seattle, relays Florida Hockey Now’s Colby Guy (Twitter links).  Lundell is dealing with a mild upper-body injury but is skating and his absence is supposed to be a short-term one.  He’s off to a quieter start to his sophomore campaign but still has 13 points in 24 games.  As for Knight, he’s working his way back from an illness and while he won’t dress as the backup goalie this afternoon, head coach Paul Maurice indicated that there’s a chance that he’ll be able to start on Sunday.  The youngster has been much better than Sergei Bobrovsky in the early going this season with a GAA nearly a full goal below the veteran.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Flyers have converted veteran center Artem Anisimov’s AHL PTO to a full-season contract, notes Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey (Twitter link). The 34-year-old has played six games since joining them in mid-November and has been productive with three goals and an assist in that stretch.  At the beginning of the month, it was reported that Philadelphia was hoping to convert Anisimov’s deal into an NHL one which would allow them to recall him but they remain at the maximum 50 contracts on the books.  Until they’re able to free one up, Anisimov will have to settle for this full-season AHL agreement.
  • Maple Leafs defenseman Jordie Benn took part in the morning skate today for the first time as he works his way back from an upper-body injury, reports Sports Illustrated’s David Alter (Twitter link). The veteran has been out for a little more than two weeks due to the issue, his second extended absence of the season after missing the first 13 games due to a groin injury.  Benn has a goal and an assist in six games so far while logging a little over 17 minutes a night on Toronto’s back end.

Jordie Benn Moved To Injured Reserve

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are already without Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, and Jake Muzzin, leaving their defensive group a little shorthanded. Last night, Mac Hollowell was forced into extra action in his first-ever NHL game thanks to the early departure of Jordie Benn. Today, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Mark Masters of TSN that Benn is now on injured reserve and out week-to-week, though the full severity of the injury has yet to be determined.

While the team did just acquire Conor Timmins from the Arizona Coyotes, Toronto isn’t going to force him into the lineup right away. Victor Mete, recalled recently, will be in the lineup next to Hollowell for tomorrow’s game against the Minnesota Wild. Wayne Simmonds was also practicing with the main group, suggesting he’ll be the recall to take Benn’s place on the roster.

The Maple Leafs are now without their three highest-paid defenders, and one of the only depth options that had any real experience. Mete’s 241 NHL games now become the second-highest amount in the group behind Mark Giordano, with Justin Holl’s $2MM cap hit the most expensive. Remember that the team also has Carl Dahlstrom on injured reserve thanks to a preseason injury, meaning five of the organization’s defensemen are unavailable.

Benn, 35, has never been a world-beater but was playing well in his six-game sample with the Maple Leafs, averaging more than 18 minutes a night before exiting early. The team will play in Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Detroit before heading home for a one-game homestand in the middle of next week.

Toronto Maple Leafs Activate Jordie Benn

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One of the reasons why the Toronto Maple Leafs struggled so much out of the gate was defensive depth, with Jake Muzzin and Timothy Liljegren injured at the same time. Another missing player during that stretch was Jordie Benn, who is now back after being activated off injured reserve.

The Maple Leafs have sent Pontus Holmberg and Victor Mete back to the minor leagues to make room for the incoming veteran defenseman. The team also released Danny DeKeyser from his AHL professional tryout contract.

Benn, 35, signed a one-year, $750K contract with the Maple Leafs this summer as a potential seventh or eighth defenseman but suffered an injury in training camp that has kept him out the first month of the season. The veteran of 595 regular season games will give the team a different look on the back end, should they decide to insert him into the lineup.

More physical than any of the team’s other defenders, he could add some bite to the third pairing should they suffer another injury. With Liljegren back the group has seemed to stabilize for the time being but a lot of pressure will be put on the defense as they deal with injuries to both Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov.

Carl Dahlstrom To Undergo Surgery

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The Toronto Maple Leafs thought they had a bit of defensive depth going into the season but that is quickly evaporating. After having to play Alexander Kerfoot and Calle Jarnkrok on the blueline in their last preseason game, the team has announced timelines for two injured defensemen. Carl Dahlstrom will require surgery and be out six months after injuring his shoulder, while Jordie Benn is going to miss three weeks with a groin injury, according to David Alter of Sports Illustrated.

The injuries obviously aren’t ideal, but there at least was a bit of a silver lining in it for Maple Leafs fans. After seeing the team move forwards to cover those spots, restricted free agent Rasmus Sandin ended his contract negotiations and agreed to the deal that had been on the table for months. That softens some of the blow but losing Dahlstrom and Benn is still a problem, regardless of whether they were in line for big minutes.

With Jake Muzzin and Timothy Liljegren already dealing with injuries, and Toronto relying on Mark Giordano, the oldest skater in the league, the vibes in Maple Leafs camp certainly weren’t all that positive. With another injury or two, things could quickly look rather thin on the back end, if they aren’t there already. Victor Mete, another league-minimum signing, now looks like the default seventh defensemen, and that is if Muzzin is healthy enough to start the year.

Beyond him, the team’s depth is made up of unproven young players like Filip Kral and Mac Hollowell. In fact, there has suddenly been some chatter connecting Toronto with Jakob Chychrun, likely only because of these early injuries. Whether a deal of that magnitude is completed, or the team just goes and signs another veteran off the scrap heap, it does seem like the Maple Leafs will need to add someone to the organization.

Evening Notes: Nylander, Maple Leafs Injuries, Sillinger

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The Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans figure to have a tense few months throughout the 2023-24 NHL calendar, as superstar Auston Matthews will be eligible for an extension, and should he choose not to pursue one in Toronto, could head to the UFA market. But, even if Matthews were to re-sign, the UFA worry wouldn’t stop there, as William Nylander is also set to hit the market in the summer of 2024. It doesn’t feel like too long ago when Nylander held out as an RFA, ultimately signing a six-year, $45MM deal at the last minute on December 1st of 2018, but that long-term deal is now more than halfway complete.

Recently, The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel had a chance to sit down with Nylander to discuss his future. When asked about the possibility of an extension with the Maple Leafs or testing the free agent market, Nylander said it wasn’t something he had really thought much of, but added that it would be “unreal to stay,” especially if the team could go on a deep playoff run before then. Looking deeper into an extension, Siegel opines that if Nylander can build upon his 2021-22, where he had 80 points in 81 games, and help Toronto make a deep playoff run, not only does an extension with the Maple Leafs become more likely, but it could push his number to at least $9MM per season. On the other hand, if Toronto is still unable to take the next step in the playoffs, they could opt to move on from Nylander. Of course, there is still plenty of time for Nylander to establish who he is as a talent and two more postseasons before his contract formally expires but, as one of five members of a group of Maple Leafs superstars who may figure to earn a raise from his $6.96MM cap hit, the Maple Leafs could be poised to make an interesting decision either way.

  • Sticking with the Maple Leafs, the team lost two of its defenseman in tonight’s preseason contest against the Montreal Canadiens before the game was even half over. Veteran Jordie Benn, who signed with Toronto this offseason, suffered an undisclosed injury early on in the first period and left the game. The Maple Leafs have since announced that he will not return to the game for precautionary reasons. Also injured was Carl Dahlstrom, who the team soon after announced would not return to the game for precautionary reasons. Losing the pair puts the Maple Leafs in a tough circumstance early on in a preseason game, left with just four defenseman. At one point, forwards Calle Jarnkrok and Alexander Kerfoot were taking shifts on defense for Toronto.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic tweeted that, per Columbus Blue Jackets radio host Dylan Tyrer, forward Cole Sillinger skated today in a non-contact sweater after he suffered an upper-body injury on the first day of training camp. Today’s skate was Sillinger’s first since the injury, and no timetable for a more formal return has been disclosed.

Minnesota Wild Sign Jordie Benn

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The Minnesota Wild have signed free agent defenseman Jordie Benn to a one-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $900K.

Benn, 34, split last season between the Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets, recording ten points in 39 games. The veteran defenseman has now played in 556 regular season contests, not bad for an undrafted talent out of the BCHL. Benn got his first taste of professional hockey with the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL in 2008 and is a success story to show every overlooked prospect that is committed to the minor league grind. He spent two full seasons in the ECHL and nearly three more in the AHL before finally breaking through with the Dallas Stars. Though he may have originally been brought into that organization because of his younger brother’s emergence as a star, Benn has certainly proven that he is a capable NHL player in his own right.

Now for Minnesota, he joins a defensive group that looks a little different than recent years. Gone are Ryan Suter and Carson Soucy, meaning there will be plenty of minutes to go around. The team brought in Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov, and Jon Merrill to fill out the depth chart, the former being a teammate of Benn’s during his time in Dallas. That group, plus prospect Calen Addison, will likely be moved around through training camp to find the right mix for opening day.

Cheap fringe players like Benn are all the Wild can really do until they have some certainty regarding Kirill Kaprizov. The team has plenty of cap space, but Kaprizov’s hit could vary wildly depending on how many years he signs for. This contract doesn’t really change things, given it could be entirely buried in the minor leagues if necessary and represents just $150K over the league minimum. It’s just a valuable depth piece for a team that is hoping to go further than the first round this year.

Snapshots: Cole, Benns, Marlies, Stuart

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Wild defenseman Ian Cole has fit in relatively well since he was acquired early in the season from Colorado, providing a veteran physical presence on their third pairing.  The pending free agent told Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he’d like to stick around beyond this season and McLellan notes that his agent and GM Bill Guerin have talked about the possibility of a new deal for the 32-year-old.  Cole has a $4.25MM AAV (Minnesota is only responsible for just over 81% of that with Colorado carrying the rest) and while he has held down a regular spot in their lineup, he will likely be facing a pay cut on the open market this summer.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Benn brothers have changed representation, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). Jamie Benn (Stars) and Jordie Benn (Jets) will now be represented by CAA’s J.P. Barry and Bayne Pettinger.  They had previously been represented by Points West Sports and Entertainment’s Rich Evans.  Jamie won’t have to worry about a new contract anytime soon as he has four years left on his current deal that carries a $9.5MM AAV but Jordie is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and has a $2MM price tag this season.
  • Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters, including Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link), that things are progressing with regard to the Marlies’ COVID-19 situation. Their AHL affiliate last played on April 10th before the team was shut down due to protocols.  Keefe also mentioned that there’s no timeline for them to resume playing; their next scheduled game is May 2nd.
  • Former NHL defenseman Mark Stuart is set to be named as an assistant coach at Colorado coach, ESPN’s John Buccigross reports (Twitter link). Stuart last played in 2016-17 and has briefly spent time with AHL Manitoba as a team manager and the University of Vermont as a volunteer coach since retiring.

The 2021 NHL Trade Deadline Deals That Didn’t Happen

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The 2021 NHL Trade Deadline came and went with relatively little fanfare. Deadline day saw just 17 trades made (a new 8-year low) that involved only 26 players (a new 20-year low). The obvious downside to a quiet deadline is that it’s not very exciting to follow and doesn’t create the same number of stretch run storylines to follow. The upside? With so little news to cover, nothing slipped through the cracks. Insiders, such as Elliotte Friedman, have come out with more “almost-trades” than in most years and they have been compiled below. Enjoy reveling in what could have been:

Nicolas Deslauriers to the Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins and Anaheim Ducks came so close on a trade for Deslauriers that an article was published on the topic. Friedman reported that a deal was done, but then backtracked as talks fell apart. Pittsburgh ended up adding experience to their bottom-six from another West Division source, adding Jeff Carter from the Los Angeles Kings.

Jamie Oleksiak to the Edmonton Oilers

In the middle of the deadline day chaos, several pundits reported that Dallas Stars defenseman Oleksiak was on his way to Edmonton. Yet, as time ticked by and there was no announcement, it became clear that a deal had not been completed. Oleksiak had been linked to both Edmonton and the Toronto Maple Leafs but stay put, with the speculation now being the the Stars hope to re-sign him. The Oilers, who also missed out on Patrik Nemeth, ended up finding their stay-at-home defenseman in the New Jersey Devils’ Dmitry Kulikov.

Alex Goligoski, Vladislav Gavrikov, or Nikita Zadorov to the Winnipeg Jets

One of the biggest misses of the deadline was the Jets’ failure to add an impact defenseman. Winnipeg did add Jordie Benn late, but that hardly fills their gaping hole in the top-four. In retrospect, the mistake may have been focusing too much on defensemen who weren’t truly available. Friedman believes that the team tried to acquire either Gavrikov or Goligoski, or perhaps even both. Gavrikov would have been a very nice addition for the Jets, but by all accounts the young Columbus Blue Jackets defender was not really for sale. And while the Arizona Coyotes were expected to listen to offers for their expiring contracts, they ended up standing pat and not moving the veteran Goligoski. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Chicago Blackhawks were at least listening to offers for RFA blue liner Zadorov as well and the Jets made a push, but to no avail.

Taylor Hall to the New York Islanders or Vegas Golden Knights

Friedman began his post-deadline “31 Thoughts” by confirming the suspicions that Hall left the Buffalo Sabres little choice but to trade him to the Boston Bruins, stating that Hall had decided that was where he wanted to go and used his No-Movement Clause to make it happen. However, two other teams made a strong push and that was the Islanders and the Golden Knights. Hall was even open to joining New York, but once they acquired Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac he turned his focus to Boston even though the Isles maintained interest. The Sabres were seemingly very interested in making a deal with Vegas, as Friedman notes that multiple teams were contacted about acting as a salary cap broker for a potential deal. In the end, Hall preferred Boston and that is all that mattered.

Daniel Vladar or Jeremy Swayman to the Buffalo Sabres

Many have been critical of the Sabres’ return for Hall – a Boston second-round pick and forward Anders Bjork – but they tried their best to get more. Friedman reports that Buffalo asked Boston about moving one of their promising young keepers, as both Vladar and Swayman have shown NHL ability in recent weeks as the injury replacements in the Bruins net. However, once Boston knew that Hall wanted to go there and could control the decision, they held all the leverage. The team easily declined moving either talented netminder.

Conor Garland to the Toronto Maple Leafs or Vegas Golden Knights

While the team ended up acquiring Nick Foligno instead, Friedman notes that the Toronto Maple Leafs did express interest in affordable Arizona Coyotes forward Garland. Garland would have fit nicely under the cap, but would have been expensive to require and near impossible to re-sign for the cap-strapped Leafs. The team thus went in a different direction. The Golden Knights were also linked to Garland, but could not make a deal work with their division rival. Garland remaining with the Coyotes could be what is best for both parties in the long run anyhow.

Ryan Getzlaf to the Vegas Golden Knights or Montreal Canadiens

The Golden Knights just missed out on seemingly everyone, huh? Friedman notes that the team was close to adding Anaheim captain Getzlaf and the career Duck was open to the nearby move. However, Vegas allegedly was unwilling to meet the trade demands for the veteran center. For the same reason, the Canadiens likely missed out. Friedman notes that they had serious interest, but talks never got far. Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now adds that the Penguins kicked the tires on Getzlaf as well, but never made a serious offer. Anaheim clearly put a high price tag on the face of the franchise and never even approached him about waiving his No-Movement Clause.

Travis Zajac to the Pittsburgh Penguins

While it’s easy to lose track of when trades were made and talks were had around the deadline, per Friedman it seems the Penguins had their sights first set on Zajac from New Jersey, then Getzlaf, and finally Carter. The Kings veteran is not a bad acquisition for a third choice. The Penguins do have to face Zajac on a fellow East Division contender the rest of the way though and surely hope that Carter proves to be the superior player head-to-head.

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