Columbus Blue Jackets Announce Several Roster Moves
The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced a series of roster moves this evening. Defenseman Adam Boqvist and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo have both been activated off of IR. In order to create the roster space for both players, the team has placed forward Cole Sillinger on IR and assigned goaltender Jet Greaves to the Cleveland Monsters, their AHL affiliate. Sillinger’s IR placement is retroactive to December 17th.
Columbus’ injury woes this season are well-documented, and Korpisalo is no exception, coming off of his second IR stint of the season. The netminder missed the first two weeks of the season on IR before landing there again December 11th. The other key struggle for the Blue Jackets this season has been goaltending, and there, Korpisalo again is no exception. The 28-year-old has struggled to a 3.53 goals-against average this season, though his .903 save-percentage, when considering his goals-against the the Blue Jackets’ on-ice struggles, is encouraging.
Korpisalo’s fellow netminder, Greaves had been recalled Tuesday on an emergency basis, but hadn’t played. The 21-year-old has had his own struggles in net this year, getting into 11 games with Cleveland, recording an .877 save-percentage average and 4.09 goals-against average.
The 19-year-old Sillinger hasn’t yet been able to recapture the success he had as a rookie in 2021-22, tallying just six points through his first 30 games this season and now lands on a lengthy IR list. The forward suffered an upper-body injury in Saturday’s game against the Boston Bruins and hadn’t played since. Though an injury isn’t good news, perhaps a brief time away could act as a reset for the youngster with a fresh-start ahead.
Boqvist will be a much-welcomed addition to a depleted lineup, havng played in just four games this season, the most recent coming October 25th. The former Chicago Blackhawks prospect has shown promise as a legitimate NHL defenseman, but is still awaiting a big breakout. Given the long list of injuries, if Boqvist can stay healthy, he should be able to gather enough regular minutes to help him facilitate that breakout.
Evening Notes: White, Subban, Chinakhov
The Anaheim Ducks announced earlier this evening that defenseman Colton White has been sent to the San Diego Gulls, their AHL affiliate, for a conditioning loan. Unlike most conditioning loans in the minors where the player is either too young to be sent to the AHL otherwise (think Shane Wright and Brandt Clarke recently) or where the player is coming off injury, the 25-year-old White is AHL eligible and has been playing, suiting up as recently as Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.
For White, the defenseman has been playing somewhat sparingly this season, getting into just 16 of 32 games, not spending any time on IR. By going to the AHL, the defenseman should have an opportunity to play regularly and see top-end minutes during each game of the loan. Through those 16 games, White has just one point, an assist. White had spent his entire career in the New Jersey Devils organization before signing a two-year, two-way contract with Anaheim this summer.
- The Montreal Canadiens will be paying homage to one of their greats later this season, honoring the recently-retired P.K. Subban in a pregame ceremony on January 12th before the team takes on another of Subban’s former teams, the Nashville Predators. The former Norris Trophy winner spent his first seven seasons with the Canadiens before an infamous 2016 trade sent him to Nashville in a one-for-one swap with Shea Weber. Three years later, Nashville dealt Subban to the New Jersey Devils where he finished out his career. Subban ultimately retired this summer after hitting the free agent market.
- It would seem as though the injury issues simply couldn’t get any worse for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but on top of this morning’s news that captain Boone Jenner would require surgery, forward Yegor Chinakhov was forced to leave this evening’s game against the Dallas Stars with a lower-body injury. The forward will not return, the team announced. The injury happened early on in the game, Chinakhov colliding with a Stars player and leaving the ice gingerly. At this point, the compounding injuries do little to change things for the reeling Blue Jackets, however the silver lining to them was the ability to get young players like Chinakhov, a 2020 first-round pick, some quality minutes and opportunities. For now, Columbus will have to hold its breath that this injury won’t keep the young forward out for too long.
Austin Watson Fined For Interference
The NHL and its Department of Player Safety announced earlier that Ottawa Senators forward Austin Watson has been fined $4,054.05 for interference on Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin last night. The fine is the maximum allowable under the CBA. The money will go the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
The incident occurred at 12:55 of the first period. Larkin would stay in the game after the play, however as Michigan Live’s Ansar Khan reports, Larkin is the only player who played in yesterday’s game not on the ice for practice this morning.
It appears this play was the cause of Ottawa’s recall of forward Scott Sabourin earlier this morning, with the team concerned Watson could be suspended for the play. Now with Watson merely fined, Ottawa should have their choice of who to dress in Minnesota against the Wild this afternoon. Through 30 games this season, the gritty Watson has four points along with 36 penalty minutes and 73 hits.
Nashville Predators Re-Assign Kevin Gravel, Roland McKeown To AHL
The early roster shuffling on this Sunday morning continues with the Nashville Predators, who announced they’ve re-assigned defensemen Kevin Gravel and Roland McKeown to the Milwaukee Admirals, their AHL affiliate. Both players had been recalled on an emergency basis on December 12th. No corresponding move was announced, but with Jeremy Lauzon‘s return last night, Nashville did have flexibility to send a defenseman down.
Gravel, 30, certainly didn’t go unused during his stint with Nashville. The defenseman made his Predators debut, getting into four games this week, averaging 14:38 while dishing out seven hits and blocking six shots. These games represented Gravel’s first NHL action since he appeared in three with the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2019-20. A fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2010, the St. Cloud State alum has spent the bulk of his NHL career to date with the Kings (70 games) and the Edmonton Oilers (36 games).
A fellow Kings draft pick, McKeown, 26, also made his Predators debut this week, getting into three games, averaging 14:33 over that time. A longtime AHL veteran, this was McKeown’s first appearance in the NHL since his only other stint: 10 games with the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2017-18. In the time since, the defenseman has appeared with the Charlotte Checkers, Colorado Eagles, and the Admirals in the AHL, as well as 24 games with Skelleftea AIK in the SHL during the 2019-20 season. Through 22 games for Milwaukee this season, McKeown has eight points along with a very healthy +12 rating.
Evening Notes: Canucks, O’Brien, Broberg, Barkov, MacEwen
When looking back on previous NHL seasons, each seems to have one or two stories that, even if it wasn’t the most memorable part of that season, dominated the headlines. Last season, that story seemed to be the availability of Jakob Chychrun, which has carried into this season, and the year before was COVID absences and protocols, which carried into last season too. This season’s headlines, besides Chychrun, seem to be dominated by the Vancouver Canucks: their struggles, their work on extensions, and now, the availability of their players in trades.
Earlier this evening on Hockey Night in Canada’s 32 Thoughts segment, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman continued that discussion. Friedman clarified the Canucks’ position, who apparently have just one untouchable player: Elias Pettersson. That one might feel obvious, but immediately begs another question: what about Quinn Hughes? As Friedman reports, while Hughes isn’t an untouchable, it would take “an absolutely mammoth offer” to pry the defenseman away from the Canucks. Despite having just the one untouchable, Friedman adds that the team isn’t interested in a rebuild or complete teardown, but instead is looking to change their mix and breath new life into the team. Finally from Friedman, it appears Vancouver isn’t willing to give Bo Horvat more than the $56MM J.T. Miller was extended for, however Horvat’s career-year has now put him over that number.
- Arizona Coyotes forward Liam O’Brien is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury suffered last night against the New York Islanders, the team announced. The forward played just 9:41 last night in the win over the Islanders, lower than his 12:01 average this season. Not shy from fighting, it is notable that O’Brien did have a fight in the third period against Islanders’ defenseman Scott Mayfield, who’s experienced in that regard too.
- Edmonton Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg, who was scratched for today’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks, missed the game with an injury he suffered yesterday, head coach Jay Woodcroft confirmed postgame, via The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman. Given Broberg’s play in 11 games this season, a healthy scratch wouldn’t be confusing, but certainly wasn’t deserved either, so news of an injury does make sense. It also further explains the decision to recall fellow defenseman Markus Niemelainen yesterday. Woodcroft did not elaborate further on the details or severity of Broberg’s injury.
- Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was forced to leave tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils early with a lower-body injury, the team announced. Barkov appeared to be experiencing some discomfort after taking a faceoff earlier in the game. The center has played the last five games after missing two weeks with a bout of pneumonia. The extent of Barkov’s injury is unclear at this point.
- Philadelphia Flyers forward Zack MacEwen missed this evening’s game against the New York Rangers with an illness, reports The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. Of course, no forced absence is a good thing, however one would expect an injury to carry a shorter timeframe, which would be preferable to getting MacEwen back into the lineup. MacEwen has just eight points in 28 games this season, but with Philadelphia showing value in grit this year, the forward’s 38 penalty minutes are much appreciated.
Injury Notes: Sabres, Canucks Illnesses, Aho, Capitals
Things haven’t necessarily gone as planned for the Buffalo Sabres to start this season, the team coming into tonight with a 14-14-2 record thus far, tying them with the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens for the bottom three positions in the Atlantic Division. There are some bright spots, such as the further breakouts of Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin, or that record being partially influencex by an eight game losing streak that came with zero points, and there are reasons for the struggles, such as poor goaltending and a myriad of injury issues. Those injury issues continue to persist, but with injuries does come injury updates and the Sabres were able to provide a few of those today.
Forwards Jeff Skinner, who was suspended, and Kyle Okposo, will both rejoin the lineup tonight, reports Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. Okposo had only missed one game, Thursday at the Colorado Avalanche, but has dealt with his share of injuries this season. Harrington adds that defensemen Owen Power and Jacob Bryson, who both missed Thursday’s game will not play this evening. Fortunately for Power, he’s only considered day-to-day, however Bryson has been shutdown for the remainder of the road trip and will be re-evaluated when the team gets home. Their road trip concludes Monday in Vegas. Lastly, per Harrington, defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who is currently on IR and hasn’t played since November 28th, is still not ready to return.
- The Vancouver Canucks could be down a pair of star forwards this evening, with both Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser under the weather according to Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor, who spoke with head coach Bruce Boudreau. Boeser also missed Wednesday’s game with an illness and while Pettersson did not, recall that he had actually been sent home from practice on Sunday after showing up sick. Even with the turmoil surrounding Boeser and the likelihood that he ends up being dealt this season, Vancouver will need both players in the lineup with the hope that they can produce and get their season back on track going forward. Boeser has 16 points in 22 games thus far, while Pettersson appears to be taking the next step with 34 points in 29 games to date.
- Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho, who has been out of the lineup since December 6th with a lower-body injury will not play tonight against the Dallas Stars or tomorrow afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins, says Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff, who spoke with head coach Rod Brind’Amour prior to tonight’s game. On a positive note, Brind’Amour added that Aho was on the ice earlier today, indicating a return could be sooner rather than later. Interestingly, Carolina has done just fine without Aho in the lineup, going 3-0-0 in the process, including back-to-back shutouts of the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings. Obviously, the team would still prefer to get one of the NHL’s very best centers back into their lineup as soon as possible, especially considering schedule doesn’t get any easier after tomorrow, facing the New Jersey Devils and the Penguins again this week.
- Washington Capitals forward Nic Dowd will miss tonight’s game with a lower-body injury, reports The Athletics Tarik El-Bashir. It’s unclear what exactly is ailing Dowd or how serious the injury might be, however he did leave Thursday’s game a touch early, playing just 9:39 in the game, down from his season average of 13:03. Also of note, goaltender Hunter Shepard has been ruled out of tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, which would explain the team’s earlier recall of netminder Zachary Fucale.
Hockey Canada Announces Final 2023 WJC Roster
The selection camp is over and Hockey Canada has chosen the 22 players that will represent their country later this month at the IIHF World Junior Championship. There were 29 players originally named to the camp but after several others were loaned from NHL teams, ten players ended up cut today.
Carson Lambos, Evan Nause, Ethan Samson. Owen Beck, Zachary Bolduc, Jordan Dumais, Ryan Greene, Riley Kidney, Tyler Brennan, and William Rousseau were all sent back to their respective teams.
The roster that will compete:
F Caedan Bankier – Kamloops, WHL (MIN 86th overall, 2021)
F Connor Bedard – Regina, WHL (2023 draft-eligible)
F Colton Dach – Kelowna, WHL (CHI 62nd overall, 2021)
F Zach Dean – Gatineau, QMJHL (VGK 30th overall, 2021)
F Adam Fantilli – Michigan, NCAA (2023 draft-eligible)
F Nathan Gaucher – Québec, QMJHL (ANA 22nd overall, 2022)
F Zack Ostapchuk – Vancouver, WHL (OTT 39th overall, 2021)
F Brennan Othmann – Peterborough, OHL (NYR 16th overall, 2021)
F Joshua Roy – Sherbrooke, QMJHL (MTL 150th overall, 2021)
F Reid Schaefer – Seattle, WHL (EDM 32nd overall, 2022)
F Logan Stankoven – Kamloops, WHL (DAL 47th overall, 2021)
F Shane Wright – Seattle, NHL (SEA 4th overall, 2022)
F Dylan Guenther – Arizona, NHL (ARI 9th overall, 2021)
D Nolan Allan – Seattle, WHL (CHI 32nd overall, 2021)
D Ethan Del Mastro – Mississauga, OHL (CHI 105th overall, 2021)
D Tyson Hinds – Sherbrooke, QMJHL (ANA 76th overall, 2021)
D Kevin Korchinski – Seattle, WHL (CHI 7th overall, 2022)
D Jack Matier – Ottawa, OHL (NSH 124th overall, 2021)
D Olen Zellweger – Everett, WHL (ANA 34th overall, 2021)
D Brandt Clarke – Los Angeles, NHL (LAK 8th overall, 2021)
G Benjamin Gaudreau – Sarnia, OHL (SJS 81st overall, 2021)
G Thomas Milic – Seattle, WHL (undrafted)
Eeli Tolvanen Placed On Waivers
According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, the Nashville Predators have placed former top prospect Eeli Tolvanen on waivers this afternoon. While the merits of putting the once-elite prospect on waivers could be debated, the move is also interesting in that it comes roughly an hour after the team learned it would be losing forward Michael McCarron for an indefinite period of time as he enters the Players Assistance Program. No corresponding move related to either player, has been announced at this point.
The 30th overall selection in 2017 by Nashville, Tolvanen quickly became one of the game’s more exciting prospects in short order. Considered a pure sniper, the winger was expected to change the face of Nashville’s offense and add a compliment to already-established stars like Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Johansen. Now 23, Tolvanen hasn’t exactly been a bad NHLer, but hasn’t lived up to the hype that had been surrounding him when he came into the league. This season, the forward has four points, two goals and two assists, in 13 games. For his 135 game NHL career, he has 25 goals and 26 assists.
Seeing a player with Tolvanen’s career path hit waivers surely isn’t unprecedented, however some may argue that the decision feels a bit soon, given his age and especially his track record of performance at the NHL level. In other words, though he’s not the player many were hoping for, he has shown he can certainly play at this level and at 23, there could be room to grow from it. Tolvanen’s placement does feel similar to the New York Islanders waiving of Kieffer Bellows earlier this year. Once one of their top prospects, Bellows put up 19 points in 45 games last season, then after suiting up for one game with the Islanders in 2022-23, was placed on waivers, claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Michael McCarron Enters Players Assistance Program
The NHL and NHLPA jointly announced this afternoon that Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron has entered the Players Assistance Program effective immediately. McCarron will be away from the team for an indefinite amount of time while he receives the care he needs through the program.
McCarron will be eligible to return to on-ice activity once cleared by the program administrators, per the release. His care will be administered pursuant to the NHL/NHLPA assistance program.
The 27-year-old, a former first-round pick, has played parts of six seasons with Nashville and the Montreal Canadiens. The forward has split this season between the AHL and NHL, last playing on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Everyone here at PHR wishes McCarron the very best while he gets the help he needs.
Injury Notes: Capitals, Jets, Krug
It’s been a tough season thus far for the Washington Capitals, who sit three points out of the New York Rangers and a Wild Card spot in the East and six points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes for a spot in the Metropolitan Division. No team will ever make excuses, however injuries have been unrelenting for Washington even before the puck dropped on the 2022-23 season. The organization expected a tough go of it early on without some of their stars and all things considered, 30 points in 29 games is not half bad. They’ll have to have a strong season the rest of the way to get into the postseason, but as of right now, injury updates look positive.
Earlier today, the Capitals placed defenseman Alexander Alexeyev and goaltender Darcy Kuemper on IR and recalled defensemen Lucas Johansen and Dylan McIlrath. For Kuemper, that’s not expected to be much of an issue, eligible to come off of IR as soon as Tuesday, and according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, the netminder participated in the team’s morning skate today for the first time since suffering the injury. Also from Gulitti, veteran Dmitry Orlov, who has not played since November 5th due to a lower-body injury, also skated this morning. Perhaps the best news, even if nothing is imminent, is forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson skated this morning in non-contact jerseys, traveling with the team on the road for the first time this season, which appears to be the norm going forward. Both core pieces of this generation’s Capitals squad, getting either back in the lineup would be a massive boost not only to on-ice production, but to off-ice morale too. Still, one bit of bad news, both Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary did not skate this morning, and fellow defenseman Erik Gustafsson left practice early, head coach Peter Laviolette telling Gulitti the Capitals and Gustafsson are “working through some things.”
- The Winnipeg Jets will be without forward Saku Maenalanen and defenseman Logan Stanley when they take on the Capitals this evening says Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. No update beyond that was given by associate coach Scott Arniel. Billeck adds that the Jets are trying to get an additional player called up from the Manitoba Moose to join the Jets at home this evening. Billeck adds the Moose, who actually share an arena with the Jets, are on their way to Calgary, however getting a player back from Calgary to Winnipeg by tonight shouldn’t be an issue. As for the injured players, Maenalanen has impressed in a depth role for the Jets this year, recording six points in 25 games, averaging 11:30 a night, his first NHL action since a stint with the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2018-19. Unfortunately for Stanley, who missed a-month-and-a-half, was able to play just two games after coming back before being forced out of the lineup once again.
- The St. Louis Blues confirmed defenseman Torey Krug would rejoin the lineup Sunday after missing two games with an upper-body injury. The veteran, much like his Blues, has had a shaky start to 2022-23, recording 11 points in 24 games, but comes with a -22 rating, the worst mark in the league. Even amid his struggles, if the Blues hope to re-write their 2022-23 story, it’s more likely than not that Krug will have to be part of the solution, and having him in the lineup would be a start. Though Krug is back, forward Pavel Buchnevich, who also hasn’t played since December 5th, will not play this afternoon, the Blues announced.