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Max Sasson

Evening Notes: Arvidsson, Allen, Whitecloud, Sasson

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Edmonton Oilers winger Viktor Arvidsson has resumed skating for the first time since exiting the lineup last month with an undisclosed injury, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch shared with Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic. Knoblauch added that the hope is that Arvidsson will return to team practices next week. Little about the veteran winger’s injury has been revealed. He played through 14 minutes of ice time in his most recent game – an overtime win over the Islanders on November 12th. The Oilers announced Arvidsson as banged up shortly after that game, designating him as day-to-day. He was placed on injured reserve nine days later, and has since missed Edmonton’s last 11 games.

Arvidsson signed a two-year, $8MM contract with Edmonton this summer, but hasn’t found his footing in the new setting just yet. He’s played in 16 games and scored five points this season, though the bulk of that scoring came from a three-assist night against Pittsburgh on October 25th. Arvidsson has scored two goals in eight games since then, but still sits far away from the 31-goal season he managed in 2016-17. Repeated lower-body injuries held Arvidsson out of all but 18 games with the Los Angeles Kings last season, though he still managed an impressive 15 points. He’ll look to return to the lineup, and quickly rediscover his scoring kick, before the calendar turns over.

Other notes around the league:

  • New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen is questionable for the team’s Tuesday game against Toronto per a team announcement. No specifics were provided as to what may limit the veteran backup. Allen was on the wrong side of a shutout on Sunday, allowing three goals on 22 shots in the Devils’ 4-0 loss to Colorado. Despite the losing efforts, Allen’s season-long stat line has been more encouraging – with a 5-4-1 record and .904 save percentage through 10 games. New Jersey would need to recall a backup for Jacob Markstrom should Allen miss Tuesday’s game. Utica Comets starter Nico Daws would likely stand as the next man up. Daws has three wins and a .897 in 13 AHL games this season.
  • Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud returned to full practices on Monday shares Jesse Granger of The Athletic. It’s the next step towards a return after Whitecloud returned to practices with a no-contact jersey on Friday. Head coach Bruce Cassidy told Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Whitecloud is expected to play at some point on Vegas’ upcoming three-game road trip. The 28-year-old defender has two points, 14 penalty minutes, and a +5 through 21 games this season; while operating out of a bottom-four role. He’ll be quickly slotted back into the lineup when back to full health, likely bumping Kaedan Korczak to the press box.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are taking advantage of their off-days, assigning waiver-exempt forward Max Sasson to the minor leagues to help accrue cap space ahead of their Tuesday night game. Sasson made his NHL debut earlier this season and has since recorded two assists and a +2 in seven games. The 24-year-old has operated from Vancouver’s fourth-line, and is likely to return with a call-up before the Canucks’ next game. If he does stay in the minors, he’ll be returning to an AHL stat line featuring four goals, nine points, and six penalty minutes through nine games.

Canucks Recall Three, Place Filip Hronek On LTIR

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The Canucks announced a series of transactions Thursday, most notably placing defenseman Filip Hronek on long-term injured reserve. They’d already announced Tuesday that he’ll miss the next eight weeks after undergoing a lower-body procedure, so it’s purely a roster move to gain flexibility and cap space for the time being.

Before doing so, they recalled winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki and defenseman Cole McWard from AHL Abbotsford to maximize their LTIR capture. After placing Hronek on LTIR, they also recalled center Max Sasson. They got within $12,138 of the cap, per PuckPedia, setting their LTIR pool at roughly $7.24MM. Their active roster now has a full 23 players, and they have roughly $6.37MM in current cap space after Sasson’s recall.

It’s unclear if Lekkerimaki and McWard will remain on the roster for an extended period of time or if they were purely paper call-ups for cap purposes. Lekkerimaki, Vancouver’s first-round pick in 2022, scored one goal in five games last month in his first NHL recall but has been in the minors since Nov. 21. He has six goals and two assists for eight points in 12 games with Abbotsford this season with a -10 rating that’s tied for the worst on the team.

McWard, 23, is almost certainly a short-term recall. The Canucks already had an extra healthy defenseman on hand in Hronek’s absence after recalling Mark Friedman.

An undrafted free agent signing out of Ohio State in 2023, McWard has yet to see a recall this season and has only six NHL games to his name over the previous two years. In those contests, he has a goal on seven shots while averaging 13:22 per game and controlling 48.9% of shot attempts at even strength. A stay-at-home defender by trade, he has six points and a -2 rating in 21 appearances for Abbotsford in 2024-25.

Meanwhile, Sasson was sent down just yesterday for cap purposes and should stick on the roster for a while yet. Signed as an undrafted free agent along with McWard in 2023, he received his first NHL recall last month and has stuck around with two assists in his first five contests, averaging 8:45 per game. The 24-year-old had nine points in 16 games with Abbotsford before his recall.

West Notes: Wild, Sasson, Szuber

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The Minnesota Wild made a pair of recalls today bringing up forwards Travis Boyd and Reese Johnson from Iowa of the American Hockey League. Boyd has already dressed in two games this season for Minnesota, while Johnson has spent this entire season in the AHL.

The 31-year-old Boyd has gone scoreless in the NHL this season but has put up decent offensive numbers with Iowa, posting two goals and nine assists in 13 AHL games. The Hopkins, Minnesota native is just two years removed from providing several seasons of solid depth scoring, eclipsing 30 points a season from 2021-23.

Johnson on the other hand spent the last two years in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks but has found himself returning to the AHL this season. The 25-year-old has registered three goals and six assists in 18 AHL games this year. At the NHL level, the Regina, Saskatchewan native has posted just 17 points in 141 career NHL games.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • The Vancouver Canucks have reassigned Max Sasson to the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL. The move is likely just a paper transaction as the Canucks attempt to accrue additional cap space to have more flexibility at the NHL trade deadline. Vancouver has done this earlier in the season with Arshdeep Bains and Aatu Räty, and might be making the same move here, although they could be keeping room for a different transaction. The 24-year-old Sasson had two assists in five games with Vancouver and averaged just 8:45 of ice time per game. His possession numbers weren’t great, with a CF% of 40.8% at even strength, but given that he was an undrafted free agent signing, he has likely exceeded expectations thus far.
  • The Utah Hockey Club has assigned defenseman Maksymilian Szuber to the American Hockey League’s Tucson Roadrunners. The 22-year-old was recalled four days ago but didn’t see any NHL action and hasn’t since a single appearance back in April that remains the lone game he’s played in the NHL. The former sixth-round pick isn’t a big point producer but has used his strong passing to post four assists and a goal in 11 AHL games this season.

Pacific Notes: Canucks, Pietrangelo, Smith

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The Vancouver Canucks made a couple of roster moves today, assigning forward Jonathan Lekkerimäki to the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League while recalling forward Max Sasson. Lekkerimäki was called up to Vancouver on November 10th after Brock Boeser was injured during a game against the Los Angeles Kings on November 7th. His demotion could signal that Boeser is ready to return to the lineup, but Sasson’s call-up indicates that he might not be quite ready to play yet.

Lekkerimäki initially filled in for Boeser alongside J.T. Miller and did get some extended looks on the Canucks power play. However, he struggled at even strength as the Canucks were dominated on the possession front (CF% of 45.5% as per Hockey Reference) whenever Lekkerimäki’s line was on the ice. The 20-year-old has a single goal in five NHL games this season and averaged just under 15 minutes of ice time per game.

In other Pacific Division notes:

  • The Vegas Golden Knights have announced that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The news gives the recent Robert Hagg recall some context as Vegas will need another body on the backup, particularly now that they are missing three NHL regulars from their defensive core. Pietrangelo joins Nic Hague and Ben Hutton who are both out of the lineup due to injury. Pietrangelo has had a strong start to the season posting two goals and 12 assists with a +5 plus/minus in 19 games.
  • San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky tells the media that he isn’t aware of any discussions to send Sharks forward Will Smith to the World Juniors to play for Team USA (as per Max Miller of The Hockey News). Smith has struggled considerably in his first NHL season, registering just two goals and two assists in 17 games to go along with an abysmal -12 plus/minus rating. Given his play, it’s fair to wonder if the 2023 fourth-overall pick is NHL-ready, but it doesn’t appear the Sharks have any plans to have Smith play in the Juniors tournament this season.

Canucks Recall 13 Black Aces Ahead of Game 2

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The Vancouver Canucks have brought up reinforcements from the minor leagues following the Abbotsford Canucks’ elimination from the AHL playoffs, recalling 13 players (Twitter link). The full list includes forwards Arshdeep Bains, Linus Karlsson, Danila Klimovich, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Vasily Podkolzin, Aatu Räty, and Max Sasson; defenders Nick Cicek, Matt Irwin, Cole McWard, Elias Pettersson, and Christian Wolanin; and goaltender Zach Sawchenko.

The list features four of the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks top five scorers, following the team’s elimination from the AHL’s Pacific Division Finals at the hands of the Ontario Reign. Abbotsford went on a strong postseason run after tying for fourth in the AHL in goals scored during the regular season. Now, their best and brightest will bolster a Vancouver lineup that’s currently up 1-0 on the Oilers. Thatcher Demko is the only Canuck currently out with injury, likely keeping any of today’s recalls from slotting into the lineup right away. But the team will have a wide array of options to choose from should they need a fill-in – ranging from highly-skilled prospects in Lekkerimäki and Räty, to hard-nosed forwards Bains and Podkolzin, to rangy defenders Irwin and Pettersson.

While Podkolzin, Bains, Karlsson, and McWard have each played in NHL games this season, the former is the only one to earn a significant role. Podkolzin played in 19 games and recorded two assists this season, averaging just under 11 minutes of ice time. He’d likely be the first bet for a fill-in should Vancouver need a forward, while Irwin – the only member of the list with Stanley Cup Playoffs experience – likely leads the defenders.

Pacific Notes: Whitecloud, Karlsson, Canucks, Flames

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The Vegas Golden Knights are grappling with uncertainty surrounding the availability of defenseman Zach Whitecloud for their opening night banner-raising against the Seattle Kraken next Tuesday. Head coach Bruce Cassidy, during a press conference Wednesday, expressed hesitance to confirm Whitecloud’s participation in the season opener.

Cassidy said that until Zach is on the ice, he can’t say he expects him to play. Whitecloud, a key depth piece for the Golden Knights, has been dealing with an undisclosed issue that has kept him off the ice during preseason activities for around a week. The 26-year-old missed significant time last season with injury, playing 59 out of 82 games and recording 12 points and a +10 rating. When healthy, he’s expected to resume his usual role on the team’s third pairing behind Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore on the team’s right side.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division today:

  • Sticking with Vegas, they’re also dealing with a day-to-day injury to center William Karlsson that is not expected to stretch into the regular season. Cassidy said he’s been dealing with an undisclosed issue throughout training camp to date and that he will not play in tomorrow’s preseason contest against the Colorado Avalanche. Karlsson played a crucial role in the Knights’ run to the 2023 Stanley Cup, recording 11 goals and 17 points in 22 games. His 53 points last season were his highest since 2018-19, his sophomore campaign with Vegas, after potting 43 goals in the 2017-18 season.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are bringing in some reinforcements, recalling multiple players from the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks today. Goaltender Arturs Silovs, defenseman Filip Johansson, and forwards Arshdeep Bains, Linus Karlsson, Aatu Räty, and Max Sasson will be available to the team for tonight’s preseason contest against the Seattle Kraken. All will likely get returned to the minors tomorrow after being cut from Canucks camp earlier this week.
  • Sportsnet’s Eric Francis believes a “significant announcement” regarding a new arena for the Calgary Flames could come tomorrow. Plans for a new home to replace the aging Scotiabank Saddledome are already well underway, with their ownership group and the Alberta government reaching a preliminary agreement for a new arena after the end of last season. The provincial government also greenlit the first C$39MM dedicated to the project last month.

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