Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Sam Malinski

Afternoon Notes: Mantha, Grzelcyk, Avalanche

at CDT | by 2 Comments

NHL.com writer Tom Gulitti tweeted today that Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha suffered a ruptured ear drum when an Evgeny Kuznetsov shot bounced off a defender’s stick and hit Mantha in the ear. The injury happened November 8th in a game against the Florida Panthers and led to the 29-year-old being placed on the injured reserve.

Mantha reportedly lost hearing in that ear for six days and has only now started to get it back. He reported feeling dizziness initially, but according to Tarik El-Bashir, he should be well enough to play on Saturday when he is eligible to come off the IR.

Mantha has three goals and an assist in ten games this season with the Capitals and has been a healthy scratch at times as he hasn’t been able to find his game in Washington. He had two of his goals in the Panthers game when he suffered the injury but was knocked out of the game before he could complete the hat trick.

In other notes:

  • Boston Globe writer Conor Ryan is reporting that Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told the media today that he expects defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to be cleared to return to the Bruins lineup by this Saturday. The 29-year-old has been out of the lineup since October 30th when he suffered an upper-body injury in an overtime win against the Florida Panthers. Grzelcyk played just 3:29 in that game and left during the third period of the win. The native of Charlestown, Massachusetts has dressed in nine games this season and has a single assist but has looked off his game when in the lineup. His average ice time is down, as are many of his defensive numbers which could lead one to speculate if he was dealing with a nagging injury prior to sitting out these past few weeks.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have announced that they’ve essentially reversed yesterday’s roster moves. The Avalanche sent Sam Malinski and Caleb Jones to the Colorado Eagles yesterday and today decided to recall both players. No word yet on why Colorado opted to change course, but both players are back on the Avalanche’s NHL roster as of this morning. Jones has an assist in his one NHL game this year while Malinski is pointless in one game.

West Notes: Avalanche Reassignments, Draisaitl, Harley

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Colorado Avalanche have announced that defenseman Caleb Jones and Sam Malinski have been reassigned to the franchise’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. The reasoning behind Malinski’s reassignment is relatively clear, the player made his NHL debut last night and now will return to the Eagles to resume playing a regular role there.

With Jones, the reassignment could mean a few things, as outlined by The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. Jones’ reassignment could be a paper transaction to maintain his waiver-exempt status, or it could be an indication that injured blueliners Josh Manson and/or Samuel Girard are healthy and ready to return to head coach Jared Bednar’s lineup.

Some other notes from the Western Conference:

  • The Edmonton Oilers got a crucial win in new head coach Kris Knoblauch’s debut, but the 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders has come at a personal cost to superstar center Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for what the department termed a “dangerous trip” on Islanders center Bo Horvat.
  • Dallas Stars head coach Peter DeBoer told the media today that defenseman Thomas Harley will be out for tonight’s game when the team hosts the Arizona Coyotes. Harley is, according to DeBoer, dealing with a day-to-day injury, and it was specifically clarified that he is not in concussion protocol. Harley was on the wrong end of a big hit in the most recent Stars contest, so there was fear that his injury could be something more major it but appears the worst has been avoided. Harley has had a solid start to the season on the Stars’ bottom pairing next to Jani Hakanpää and in his absence his spot there is set to go to Joel Hanley.

Colorado Avalanche Recall Sam Malinski

at CDT | by 1 Comment

In correspondence with the team’s decision to reassign forward Riley Tufte to their AHL affiliate earlier this morning, the team has announced they have recalled defenseman Sam Malinski from the Colorado Eagles. If Malinski does manage to receive any playing time for the Avalanche during his recall, it will mark his NHL debut as a professional player.

After his NCAA season came to an end last year with Cornell University, Malinski signed a professional tryout agreement with the Eagles for the rest of the season, parlaying that into a two-year, $1.7MM two-way contract signed with the Avalanche this past summer. In 20 games so far with the Eagles, the 25-year-old has scored six goals and five assists from the blue line, also sitting second on defense in scoring through 13 games this season.

Through four years at Cornell, Malinski played in a total of 91 games, scoring 17 goals and 48 assists, earning the captaincy during his senior season last year. Cornell did not crack the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey tournament until last year, defeating the defending champion Denver University by a score of 2-0. Nevertheless, instead of making their way to the Frozen Four, Cornell would lose to Boston University in the Regional Finals.

Already carrying seven defensemen on their roster after the recall of Caleb Jones, it is more than unlikely that Malinski will find his way into Colorado’s lineup during his callup. However, during the team’s blowout loss to the St.Louis Blues yesterday, a game in which Bowen Byram and Samuel Girard had a -3 rating each, head coach Jared Bednar could send a message to his defensive core by substituting Malinski into the lineup tomorrow night against the Kraken.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top