Central Notes: Hryckowian, Buchnevich, McCarron, Ehlers
Justin Hryckowian‘s brief recall with the Dallas Stars has ended for now. According to a team announcement, the Stars organization has loaned Hryckowian back to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.
Dallas has an extremely narrow salary cap cushion so it’s likely that Hryckowian will be re-called tomorrow before the Stars’ matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. He was originally recalled to fill the injured Tyler Seguin‘s roster spot but Dallas still has 12 healthy forwards to work with.
Still, Hryckowian continues to build a name for himself in the American Hockey League and could be another long-term middle-six fixture for the Stars. He’s in his first full season with AHL Texas after signing with Dallas as a collegiate free agent from Northwestern University last year. That first full season has turned into a red-hot start with Hryckowian scoring five goals and 16 points in 17 games with a +9 rating.
Other Central notes:
- Pavel Buchnevich will have to wait another game before returning to the lineup for the St. Louis Blues. The Cherepovets, Russia native has been dealing with a lower-body injury suffered during the Blues win against the New Jersey Devils on November 27th. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic shared a comment from Blues’ head coach Jim Montgomery saying, He’s not a player tonight, but he’s going to be a player — we hope — in Calgary.”
- Beat reporter for the Nashville Predators, Brooks Bratten reported forward Michael McCarron is still considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It’s been a relatively long-term injury for McCarron after leaving the team’s game on November 23rd against the Winnipeg Jets due to the injury. The big-bodied fourth-liner has already missed four games for the Predators with injury but should return during one of the team’s three games this week.
- There was bad news on the injury front this morning in Winnipeg as the Jets placed forward Nikolaj Ehlers on the injured reserve due to a lower-body injury. Ehlers has already missed one game due to the injury but is projected to miss several more. Murat Ates of The Athletic reported Ehlers is expected to miss the next seven to 10 days meaning Ehlers could miss as many as seven games before returning.
Predators Recall Nick Blankenburg, Adam Wilsby
10:16 a.m.: Center Michael McCarron has landed on injured reserve to open up a necessary roster spot for Blankenburg’s and Wilsby’s recalls, per Kieser. He’s sat out the last two games with an upper-body injury and will be out again tonight against the Flyers, but he’s eligible to return Friday against the Lightning.
9:49 a.m.: The Predators have recalled defenseman Nick Blankenburg from AHL Milwaukee ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Flyers, reports Nick Kieser of 102.5 & 106.3 The Game Nashville. Adam Wilsby was also summoned from the minors, per Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean.
Either could make their Preds debut after Jeremy Lauzon left Monday’s loss to the Devils with an injury and did not return. Nashville only has one open roster spot, so a corresponding transaction must be pending.
Blankenburg, 26, is in his first season in the Predators organization. The former University of Michigan captain spent parts of three seasons with the Blue Jackets en route to becoming a Group VI unrestricted free agent last summer, inking a two-year, partial two-way deal with Nashville.
The diminutive 5’9″ right-shot defender passed through waivers on his way to AHL Milwaukee at the tail end of the preseason. Blankenburg, a skilled puck-mover, responded to the demotion with eight points (3 G, 5 A) in 13 games, leading Milwaukee defensemen in scoring.
Blankenburg saw AHL ice for the first time last season, suiting up 24 times for the Blue Jackets affiliate in Cleveland. He played a career-high 36 games for Columbus in 2022-23 amid upper-body and ankle injuries, recording four goals and 10 assists for 14 points with a -16 rating. He’s flashed legitimate offensive upside at the NHL level and has handled fringe top-four minutes. Given his smaller frame, he also plays a far more physical game than one might imagine.
That makes him an above-average recall option for a Nashville squad with limited offensive contributions from their defensemen outside of perennial Norris contender Roman Josi. Brady Skjei and Alexandre Carrier are within the team’s top 10 in scoring with eight and five points, respectively, but their bottom trio of Lauzon, Marc Del Gaizo and Luke Schenn have combined for one goal, four assists and a -13 rating.
Wilsby, 24, has already been recalled twice this month and been rostered for three games but has not made his NHL debut. The Swedish lefty has a goal and five points with a +5 rating in 13 games for Milwaukee in what’s now his third season in North America. He remains waiver-exempt, but Blankenburg does not, so the latter can only remain on Nashville’s roster for up to 10 games or 30 days before he needs to pass through them again to return to the minors.
Injury Notes: Matthews, Thompson, Jones, McCarron, Samberg
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has returned from Germany where he consulted with a doctor he had worked with in the past in an attempt to relieve his lingering upper-body injury. It appears some progress was made considering he skated with the team during this morning’s practice.
In an article by David Alter of The Hockey News, Matthews was quoted saying, “We’ll take it day to day, continue to try to progress on the ice and see how this week looks and feels. Obviously, I’d love to get out there. I mean, tomorrow, not realistic, but Wednesday possibly, but we’ll just see how the week goes.”
Matthews’s reintroduction into the lineup would give a large boost to the Maple Leafs who’ve produced a 6-1-0 record since their captain went down with injury on November 3rd. He has scored five goals and 11 points in 13 contests for the games he’s been healthy for.
Other injury notes:
- Forward Tage Thompson has been ruled out of tonight’s contest in another unfortunate turn for the Buffalo Sabres (X Link). There was plenty of expectation that Thompson would return tonight but he will now miss his fifth straight game due to a lower-body injury. Impressively, despite the injury, Thompson still leads Buffalo in goal-scoring with 11 goals in 16 games.
- According to Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports, New York Rangers defenseman Zachary Jones is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Jones was likely injured in New York’s recent loss to the Calgary Flames, and he won’t be able to help the Rangers finish off their Western Conference road trip against the Edmonton Oilers later tonight.
- The Nashville Predators are without forward Michael McCarron tonight due to an upper-body injury reports Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean. McCarron had been enjoying a consistent role down the middle of Nashville’s fourth-line scoring two goals and four points in 18 games on the year while averaging 12:24 of ice time per game. There was no added context of how long McCarron is expected to miss.
- The Winnipeg Jets won’t have Dylan Samberg for the rest of tonight’s action as the organization announced he has left the game due to a lower-body injury. Samberg took a shot from Nashville’s Steven Stamkos off the foot and was in visible pain afterward. The Jets organization should provide an update on Samberg’s status at some point tomorrow or even after tonight’s game.
Central Notes: Faksa, Marchment, Stastney, McCarron, Hellebuyck, Dillon
The Stars still don’t know if banged-up forwards Radek Faksa and Mason Marchment can play in Game 3 against the Golden Knights as they try to overcome a 2-0 series deficit. As relayed by The Dallas Morning News’ Lia Assimakopoulos, they’re both game-time decisions after sustaining undisclosed injuries in Game 2.
Dallas lost their services in the third period of Wednesday’s game, as neither player took a shift in the final 10 minutes of the 3-1 loss. The potential loss of Marchment is an especially large blow to the Stars’ elite secondary scoring, which Vegas has managed to keep quiet through two games. He’s one of three Stars with a goal in the series so far and set career highs across the board in the regular season with 22 goals and 53 points in 81 games. He’d been skating on their second line with Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin.
While dragged down by his late-game absence Wednesday, Faksa’s only averaged 9:01 through two playoff games and has a -1 rating. The fourth-line shutdown pivot has gone 6/10 in the faceoff dot with nine hits and was centering a line with Evgenii Dadonov and Sam Steel. Dallas recalled top forward prospect Mavrik Bourque from AHL Texas yesterday, and he could slot into the lineup if Faksa and Marchment are unavailable and make his postseason debut just days after being awarded the MVP for the 2023-24 AHL season. The more experienced Ty Dellandrea and Craig Smith are also available to enter the lineup.
Other Central Division updates from a busy day of playoff hockey:
- The Predators lost defenseman Spencer Stastney to an upper-body injury in last night’s Game 3 loss to the Canucks, and he won’t be back anytime soon. He’s been ruled out on a week-to-week basis, per The Tennessean’s Paul Skrbina, potentially sidelining him for the rest of the first round. The 24-year-old was on the receiving end of a hard hit from Canucks forward Dakota Joshua that was initially declared a major penalty for boarding, causing his head to hit the glass. He remained on the ice for a few seconds after the collision but skated off under his own power. Officials downgraded the penalty to a two-minute minor upon review. The first three games of this series were the first of Stastney’s playoff career, posting a -1 rating and unfavorable possession metrics in bottom-pairing minutes. Stastney, a 2018 fifth-round pick of the Preds, made a career-high 20 appearances in the regular season with two goals, two assists and a +9 rating. That wasn’t the only piece of news stemming from a controversial first-period collision last night, either. Preds center Michael McCarron was fined $2K by the Department of Player Safety today for his interference penalty (video link) on Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith, per the league. He was assessed a minor penalty on the play.
- Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck is the odds-on favorite to take home the Vezina Trophy, but you wouldn’t know it based on his early playoff showing. While the team in front of him is conceding nearly 40 shots per game, his .871 SV% through three games is far below expectations, and his -2.3 goals saved above expected (MoneyPuck) rank 17th out of 19 playoff goalies. That led to some remote speculation that Winnipeg may turn to above-average backup option Laurent Brossoit to tie the series in Game 4, but head coach Rick Bowness confirmed today that won’t be the case (via Sportsnet’s Eric Engels). Hellebuyck has a .913 SV% in 43 career postseason starts. Additionally, the team has avoided the worst with defenseman Brenden Dillon, who sustained a hand laceration from Avs winger Brandon Duhaime‘s skate at the end of last night’s loss. He’s only been ruled out day-to-day, Bowness said, and has avoided major ligament damage. If he’s unable to go for tomorrow’s Game 4, expect the 6’7″ Logan Stanley to re-enter the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch last night.
Nominees Announced For 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Nominees are selected by members of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association, with finalists being named near the end of the regular season. Previous winners include Kris Letang (2023), Carey Price (2022), and Oskar Lindblom (2021). Today, a new list of 32 nominees has been named.
Below are the nominees from each team:
Anaheim Ducks – Urho Vaakanainen
Arizona Coyotes – Connor Ingram
Boston Bruins – Danton Heinen
Buffalo Sabres – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Calgary Flames – Oliver Kylington
Carolina Hurricanes – Frederik Andersen
Chicago Blackhawks – Colin Blackwell
Colorado Avalanche – Jonathan Drouin
Columbus Blue Jackets – Zach Werenski
Dallas Stars – Matt Duchene
Detroit Red Wings – Alex Lyon
Edmonton Oilers – Vincent Desharnais
Florida Panthers – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Los Angeles Kings – Viktor Arvidsson
Minnesota Wild – Marco Rossi
Montreal Canadiens – Joel Armia
Nashville Predators – Michael McCarron
New Jersey Devils – Curtis Lazar
New York Islanders – Cal Clutterbuck
New York Rangers – Jonathan Quick
Ottawa Senators – Claude Giroux
Philadelphia Flyers – Sean Couturier
Pittsburgh Penguins – Sidney Crosby
San Jose Sharks – Justin Bailey
Seattle Kraken – Joey Daccord
St. Louis Blues – Nathan Walker
Tampa Bay Lightning – Michael Eyssimont
Toronto Maple Leafs – Ilya Samsonov
Vancouver Canucks – Noah Juulsen
Vegas Golden Knights – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington Capitals – T.J. Oshie
Winnipeg Jets – Laurent Brossoit
West Notes: Markstrom, Oilers, Zuccarello, McCarron
Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom is no stranger to the rumor mill having been prominently featured in trade speculation in recent weeks. Evidently, he’s not particularly thrilled about that happening. Speaking with reporters including Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, the veteran suggested that he isn’t happy with how things have gone on that front:
“Everyone in here I really respect everything that’s been going on, and not going on, and how everyone in this room has handled everything. I think it’s been really good. And then the whole situation and everything, am I happy about that? No, I’m not. I think it could have been handled a lot different from up top.”
With Calgary already having moved Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov and the belief that Noah Hanifin will soon follow, many have wondered if Markstrom could follow suit, especially with several teams looking for help between the pipes. But the Flames remain in a battle for a playoff spot with the 34-year-old being a big reason for that so it’s far from a guarantee that they’ll want to move him even if a team comes to the table. However, how things have played out publicly when it comes to the trade speculation certainly appears to be a sore spot for Markstrom.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Many eyes are on the Oilers as they look to augment their roster before the March 8th trade deadline. In an interview with Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, GM Ken Holland indicated that there are “lots of irons in the fire” as it pertains to trade discussions. Holland typically makes a move or two each deadline and while cap space is limited for Edmonton, it wouldn’t be surprising for that to continue this season. The Oilers have already made one move in recent weeks with the signing of Corey Perry who has five points in 13 games since joining them back in January.
- The Department of Player Safety announced that they’ve fined Wild winger Mats Zuccarello and Predators winger Michael McCarron $2K each for unsportsmanlike conduct during the second period of Thursday’s game. Both players received minor penalties on the play. The money from the fines goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Predators Sign Michael McCarron To Two-Year Extension
The Predators signed forward Michael McCarron to a two-year, $1.8MM contract extension on Friday, per a team announcement. The deal will begin in the 2024-25 season and carries a cap hit of $900K.
McCarron, 29 next month, was slated for unrestricted free agency this summer upon completing his current one-year, $775K extension signed last April. He’ll now be eligible for UFA status again in 2026 at 31 years old.
He hasn’t had the career most envisioned when the Canadiens selected him 25th overall in 2013. This season is McCarron’s first as a true full-timer – the only other season without AHL action in his pro career was the COVID-laced 2020-21 campaign when he played six games for Nashville and spent most of the year on the taxi squad.
Through 42 games, McCarron has tied his career-high in goals (7) and is one back of tying his career-high in points (14). Averaging 11:52 per game, he’s spent most of his time on a depth line with Cole Smith and Philip Tomasino that’s dominated shot quality to the tune of a 58.3% expected goals share, per MoneyPuck. That’s the highest among Nashville’s forward lines that have over 75 minutes played together this season.
If McCarron maintains this level of play, he’ll be a more-than-serviceable fourth-line center over the next pair of seasons. In the case McCarron regresses back to a replacement-level player, his cap hit can be fully buried in the AHL.
In 200 games with Nashville and Montreal, dating back to his debut in the 2015-16 season, McCarron has 18 goals, 21 assists and 39 points with a -8 rating and 295 PIMs. He’s averaged 10:38 per game throughout his career and owns a career faceoff win percentage of 50.7.
Nashville Predators Extend Michael McCarron, Kiefer Sherwood
The Nashville Predators have announced that forwards Michael McCarron and Kiefer Sherwood have been signed to one-year contract extensions. Though more extensive financial details on the contract were not included in the team announcement, it was revealed that their deals each carry a league-minimum $775k cap hit.
First up is McCarron, 28, who has been with the Predators organization since an early 2020 trade saw him dealt from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for fellow 2013 draft choice Laurent Dauphin. This season, he split time between Nashville and their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. He scored six points in 16 AHL contests and notched four points in 32 NHL games.
McCarron’s 2022-23 campaign took a pause when he entered the NHL-NHLPA joint Player Assistance Program, but he made his return in a late January AHL contest for the Admirals.
After working his way back onto the NHL roster during the month of February, McCarron earned a recall in early March and ended up playing seven NHL games in the 2023 calendar year.
While McCarron only posted one assist in those games, the Predators did manage a 4-2-1 record with him in the lineup.
Last season, McCarron spent the bulk of the year with the Predators, getting into 51 games and scoring 14 points.
He set career highs in both games played and points that season, and began the process of establishing himself as an NHL bottom-sixer rather than more of an AHL player.
McCarron had spent far more time in the minors with the Canadiens organization than in the NHL and even made it to the AHL All-Star Game in his rookie pro campaign. A 2013 first-round pick with an intriguing six-foot-six frame, McCarron never developed the type of offensive game that the Canadiens organization hoped he’d grow, and he ultimately fell out of favor with them as he aged out of prospect status.
He seems to have put the disappointments of his time in Montreal behind him, though, and become a valued contributor for the Predators. He’ll now remain in that organization for its first year under new general manager Barry Trotz, and will look to earn a role next season as a full-time NHL contributor for the first time in his career.
The second player to be extended is Sherwood, 28, a player whose career has taken a wholly different trajectory from McCarron’s. While McCarron was a highly-touted first-round pick, Sherwood went undrafted out of the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms and didn’t even make his NHL debut until 2018-19, by when McCarron had already played enough NHL games to drop out of the Canadiens’ future plans.
Sherwood’s first professional season was a challenge, and he managed just 12 points in 50 NHL games. He found more success in the AHL, scoring 41 points in 66 games across two years for the San Diego Gulls, but eventually left the Anaheim Ducks organization to sign with the Colorado Avalanche.
Sherwood excelled in Colorado, scoring 75 points in just 57 games for their AHL affiliate. That stellar AHL performance earned him the contract he signed last summer with Nashville, and this year he played in his most NHL games since his rookie year, 32. Sherwood acquitted himself decently well at the game’s highest level, scoring seven goals and 13 points, and maintained his high standard of AHL play with the Admirals, scoring 22 goals and 38 points in 42 games.
Now signed for another year, Sherwood will serve as premium depth for the Predators’ organization, acting as a leading scorer for their AHL affiliate and a down-the-lineup offensive contributor in the NHL.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Predators Recall McCarron, Gravel
The Nashville Predators announced they have called up Michael McCarron and Kevin Gravel from the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. Emma Lingan of NHL.com added that both will be in the lineup tonight when the Predators take on the Boston Bruins tonight. The Predators will be looking for two points against the league’s best team as they look to stay in the Western Conference playoff race. They currently sit five points back of the Winnipeg Jets for the final wildcard spot.
McCarron is a big, physical forward who has already played 22 games with the Predators this season. He has scored one goal and two points in that time, while also scoring two goals and six points in 16 AHL games this season. He will slot in on the team’s fourth line and use his 6-foot-6 frame to add some energy to the lineup for the Predators.
Gravel adds a physical presence himself at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds. The 31-year-old defenseman has one point in 18 NHL games this season as well as two goals and 13 points in 48 AHL game for the Admirals. Gravel has bounced around many teams over the years, but has 127 games of NHL experience under his belt and will provide a physical, defensive presence for the Predators.
West Notes: Blues, Sharks, Predators
When the New York Rangers clinched the playoffs last night, thanks to losses by the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers, there must have been some smiles on a Western Conference club, too. The St. Louis Blues will now receive a 2024 third-round pick as part of the Vladimir Tarasenko trade, instead of the conditional fourth that was initially announced.
The Blues now have ten picks in the first three rounds over the next two years, thanks to their trades of Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly. That gives them a chance to retool quickly, with considerable draft capital to flip this summer if they are trying to contend in 2023-24.
- The San Jose Sharks will have youngster Henry Thrun make his NHL debut this season, but not until Thursday. In the meantime, they have recalled Jeffrey Viel from the minor leagues to help fill in for the injuries up front. As Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group reports, Andreas Johnsson and Evgeny Svechnikov may not play again this season. Alexander Barabanov will miss tonight’s game and is listed as day-to-day.
- The Nashville Predators have recalled Michael McCarron and Kevin Gravel from the minor leagues, as they prepare for action against the Boston Bruins. While not officially eliminated, the Predators now find themselves five points out of a playoff spot with ten games to play after losses to Toronto and Seattle.