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Teddy Blueger

West Notes: Coyotes, Blueger, Beauvillier

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After sending them down to AHL Tucson earlier in the week, the Arizona Coyotes announced Sunday they’ve recalled defensemen Michael Kesselring and Vladislav Kolyachonok. The 23-year-old and 22-year-old defensemen, respectively, combined for 11 games played in the NHL last season.

Arizona makes the recalls as they battle injury uncertainty with some of their defensemen. Head coach André Tourigny told PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan earlier Sunday that multiple defenders were “dinged” up in Saturday’s 7-1 preseason drubbing of the Anaheim Ducks. Carrying Kesselring and Kolyachonok on the active roster for now gives the Coyotes some flexibility as they make their final roster choices ahead of Monday’s opening night roster deadline. Arizona must submit a cap-compliant roster of no more than 23 players before 4 p.m. CT tomorrow. That roster limit may have precipitated today’s choice to send forward Dylan Guenther, who does not require waivers, to AHL Tucson. While the team has not issued a comment, it may be that the Coyotes plan on carrying 12 forwards and nine defensemen when they submit their roster tomorrow to account for the uncertainty surrounding some of their defenders’ availability for Friday’s season opener against the New Jersey Devils. With Kesselring and Kolyachonok in the ranks, the Coyotes are now carrying ten defenders, so it’s likely one of them will return to Tucson within the next 24 hours.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference this weekend:

  • Vancouver Canucks forward Teddy Blueger is sidelined on a day-to-day basis with an undisclosed bruise, which left him off the ice today for practice. That wasn’t Blueger’s idea, however, as head coach Rick Tocchet told Sportsnet’s Randip Janda that he didn’t want to risk exacerbating the Latvian pivot’s injury. The Canucks’ regular season opener is in three days against the Edmonton Oilers, and the offseason free-agent addition is expected to make his Vancouver debut centering the fourth line. Blueger, 29, recorded 16 points in 63 contests last year split between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vegas Golden Knights, for whom Blueger was the 13th forward en route to their first Stanley Cup championship.
  • Sticking with Vancouver, winger Anthony Beauvillier is also currently absent from the team’s practice ranks thanks to a bout with the flu. He is day-to-day and, as it stands, could miss the season opener Wednesday. The Canucks, who are currently roster juggling to maximize the potential LTIR relief from defenseman Tucker Poolman’s contract, will need clarity on Beauvillier’s status after tomorrow’s roster deadline to make any corresponding recalls from AHL Abbotsford.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Five Players

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Ian Cole, center Teddy Blueger, and AHL forward Tristen Nielsen to contracts, per the team. Cole will earn $3MM on a one-year deal, Blueger will earn $1.9MM on a one-year deal, and Nielsen signed a two-year entry-level deal. They’ve also signed veteran blueliner Matt Irwin to a one-year, two-way contract. They’ve also added goalie Zachary Sawchenko on a one-year, two-way deal.

One of the primary focuses for the Canucks heading into free agency was upgrading their defense, and it’s tough to do much better than Cole in that aspect of the game. Regularly blocking over 100 shots a year, and averaging one of the better Defensive Point Shares in the league, the induction of Cole marketably improves the quality of the team’s defense headed into next year. Pair that with the signing of Irwin, and the Canucks defensive depth chart has improved considerably in the last 24 hours.

With Blueger, the Canucks should be expecting somewhere in the range of 20-30 points from him next season. A recent player for the Stanley Cup-winning Vegas Golden Knights, Blueger now brings playoff experience to a team that is in desperate need of getting there. Aside from his playoff experience, the addition of Blueger will tremendously help the Canucks penalty kill, a unit that carried a league-worst 71.6% success rate last season.

Penguins Notes: Blomqvist, Krannila, Ortiz, DiLiberatore

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The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have announced that they’ve signed goaltender Joel Blomqvist to an amateur tryout agreement. For Blomqvist, this is his second stint playing for the baby Penguins under an ATO as he played one game last season with the club.

The Pittsburgh Penguins selected the Finnish netminder in the second round of the 2020 NHL entry draft and he is one of their top prospects. The 21-year-old has yet to sign an NHL contract with the Penguins, but they do retain his rights for another two years.

Blomqvist was hoping to take the next step this season back in Finland with Karpat of the Liiga, but two concussions limited his playing time to just 21 games. Despite the setback he did post a .907 save percentage and 2.29 goals against average.

In other Penguins news:

  • Wilkes-Barre/Scranton also signed undrafted Finnish forward Jami Krannila to an ATO.  The St. Cloud State product had 21 goals and 19 assists this season in 41 NCAA games and has 107 points in his college career in 143 games. The undersized winger will be a long shot to make it to the NHL as he stands just 5’10” and is listed at 163 pounds, but with teams putting a premium on speed and skill he could get a look with the Penguins. Their prospect cupboard is bare, meaning Krannila should get plenty of ice time in the AHL.
  • With these two signings Wilkes-Barre/Scranton made a series of corresponding moves by sending defensemen Peter DiLiberatore and Chris Ortiz to Wheeling of the ECHL. DiLiberatore was acquired by the Penguins organization in the Teddy Blueger trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Quinnipiac University product dressed in eight games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and scored two goals. Ortiz on the other hand has dressed in 39 contests with the Wheeling Nailers and has four goals and 24 assists for 28 points. He has also played 15 AHL games, producing just three assists.

Chandler Stephenson Out Tonight With An Illness

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Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun is reporting that the Vegas Golden Knights will be without the services of Chandler Stephenson this evening when they take on the Minnesota Wild. Stephenson was a late scratch with what is being described as an illness. He remains questionable for tomorrow night’s game against the Nashville Predators.

The 28-year-old Stephenson has 59 points in 76 games this season for the Golden Knights and should top 60 points for the second straight year. The Saskatoon native emerged last season as an offensive threat for Vegas and has carried his point production into this season as he currently sits second on Vegas in scoring. Stephenson came over to the Golden Knights in a trade with the Washington Capitals back in 2019 and quickly morphed his game from a defensive bottom six center into a play driving offensive player who is part of an effective power play unit.

Stephenson’s absence likely means that Teddy Blueger will be elevated from the fourth line to play alongside Phil Kessel on the third line. Blueger came over from the Pittsburgh Penguins at the trade deadline and hasn’t shown much offense this season. He has five points in 14 games with Vegas since the trade and just 15 points in 59 games on the season.

Vegas has already clinched a playoff spot in what has been a bounce back season for the team after missing the postseason last year. The Golden Knights have a good chance to win the Pacific Division as they currently sit one point up on the Los Angeles Kings with a game in hand.

Vegas Golden Knights Acquire Teddy Blueger

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The Vegas Golden Knights are adding another versatile forward to their lineup, acquiring Teddy Blueger from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2024 third-round pick and 22-year-old blueliner Peter DiLiberatore.

The Golden Knights made a move to clear room on their roster for this trade earlier today, sending veteran forward Byron Froese to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.

Pittsburgh general manager Ron Hextall issued the following statement regarding this trade:

We are grateful for everything that Teddy has done for this team and the organization over the past 10 years. He was one of our most reliable penalty killers and a consummate professional. We wish him nothing but the best going forward.

Blueger is Vegas’ second addition to their forward corps in this trade deadline season, coming just a few days after the team sent 2021 first-rounder Zach Dean to the St. Louis Blues for Ivan Barbashev.

This move clears a roster spot on the Penguins’ roster at the cost of their fourth-line center. Blueger is playing on an expiring contract at a $2.2MM AAV, meaning the Penguins have also cleared that cap space off their books.

The Penguins have been rumored to be interested in pricer forwards such as Vancouver Canuck J.T. Miller, and this move, alongside Brock McGinn’s placement on waivers, gives the team some more wiggle room under the cap to make any desired additions.

In this trade, Pittsburgh has also added DiLiberatore, a 2018 sixth-round pick who has split time this season between the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate in Henderson and the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates. His contract expires at the end of this season.

By subtracting Blueger, the Penguins lose a capable 28-year-old fourth-line center who has been with the organization since he was made a second-round pick at the 2012 draft. After four productive seasons playing college hockey, Blueger put together three productive campaigns in the AHL before earning his first NHL call-up in 2018-19.

While he came too late to taste Stanley Cup glory during the team’s back-to-back championships, he has been a valuable down-the-lineup contributor to some competitive Penguins teams.

Blueger is a responsible two-way center who averages the most short-handed ice time of any Penguins forward this season. Per SinBin.Vegas, Blueger has started 87.2% of his shifts in the defensive zone this season, and he’ll be a reliable defensive specialist for coach Bruce Cassidy as he looks to lead the Golden Knights on a long playoff run.

He could replace Brett Howden in the team’s fourth-line center role, or fill in as the third-line center, allowing Chandler Stephenson to shift back to the wing.

Regardless of where he ultimately factors in on game day, this is a smart, if a tad pricey move for the Golden Knights. Adding Blueger gives the team a strong defensive forward to add to a penalty kill that ranks in the middle of the pack leaguewide.

For the Penguins, this deal lands them a decent draft pick as well as some more cap space to work with as they look for some upgrades on the trade market.

The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman was first to report that Blueger was headed to Vegas, while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the core compensation headed to Pittsburgh.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pittsburgh Penguins Activate Teddy Blueger

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that forward Teddy Blueger has been activated off of injured reserve. In a corresponding move, forward Filip Hallander was re-assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins.

This move puts Blueger in line to make his season debut. He’s missed all of the Penguins’ games this season after suffering an upper-body injury in the preseason. Last year, Blueger scored a healthy nine goals and 28 points in 65 games while also contributing as the team’s most heavily-utilized penalty-killing forward.

In Blueger’s absence, the Penguins have run offseason trade acquisition Ryan Poehling as the team’s fourth-line center. With Blueger now healthy, Poehling’s time in Blueger’s spot in the lineup may have come to an end.

The 23-year-old Poehling hasn’t been outright bad this year, but his three points in 15 games are definitely lower than the production the Penguins could expect out of Blueger. Poehling has also functioned in Blueger’s role as the Penguins’ top penalty-killing center so far this year, but with the team’s penalty kill ranked ninth-worst in the NHL with a 75.5% kill rate, it’s likely that Blueger resumes his role there as well.

The Penguins haven’t looked like a contender so far this season and currently sit second-to-last in the Metropolitan Division. While the team’s issues may run deeper than just not having their ideal fourth-line center, getting Blueger back from injury is certainly a positive development.

As for Hallander, the 22-year-old prospect forward has gotten off to a scorching hot start with AHL Wilkes-Barre Scranton. He has nine points in 10 games so far this year and should remain near the top of the team’s depth chart in terms of priority forward call-ups.

East Notes: Penguins, Kravtsov, Cassels, Puistola

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There should be some good news on the horizon for the Penguins on the injury front.  As relayed by the team’s Twitter account, GM Ron Hextall indicated that the hope is that center Teddy Blueger will be ready to be activated from LTIR on Saturday, the first day he’s able to come off.  What initially started as a day-to-day injury back in training camp has now cost the 28-year-old the better part of a month of action as he has yet to play this season.  His pending return will be a welcome one as Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette adds (Twitter link) that middleman Jeff Carter is missing his second straight game tonight due to a lower-body injury; if that issue lingers, Blueger would likely slide right into his spot in the lineup.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • Going to the AHL has been a point of contention for Rangers winger Vitali Kravtsov in the past. However, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that he should give some consideration to doing so if New York approaches him about a conditioning stint once he’s cleared to return from his current upper-body injury.  This season has seen multiple stops and starts already which is hardly ideal for a young player that’s trying to get reacclimated to playing in North America.  A conditioning stint – which can last for up to two weeks and would not require waivers – would give him a chance to ease into a few games which would be preferable for New York but the 22-year-old would have to agree to go down there.
  • After inking Cory Conacher to an AHL tryout deal earlier this week, the Senators made another AHL signing today, announcing that they’ve inked forward Cole Cassels to a one-year, minor league contract. The 27-year-old has spent time in Vancouver, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and Columbus but has yet to secure an NHL opportunity.  Cassels started the season in Sweden’s second division but now will have a chance to play a lot closer to home.
  • Hurricanes prospect Patrik Puistola has signed a one-year extension with Jukurit through the 2023-24 season, the Finnish team announced. The 21-year-old was a third-rounder back in 2019 (77th overall) and is off to a nice start to his season with nine points in 17 games.  Notably, Carolina only has until June 1st to sign Puistola to an NHL deal and the fact he is already signed in Finland now for next year probably won’t help his chances of landing an entry-level contract.

Pittsburgh Penguins Place Teddy Blueger On LTIR

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After battling an undisclosed injury for several weeks, but being unable to return to the lineup, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Teddy Blueger on LTIR retroactive to October 11th, the team announced. The veteran is eligible to come off of LTIR on November 5th. In a corresponding move, the team has recalled forwards, Samuel Poulin and Drake Caggiula from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Matt Vensel was first to report the transaction.

The injury bothering Blueger has been an issue for nearly a month now, despite being listed as day-to-day initially, however the team had yet to put him on IR until now. That was no problem, as the team had had 12 healthy forwards to spare, but with Jake Guentzel recently going down with an injury, the team was under-manned, not having the full complement of healthy scratches available due to cap-concerns. Placing Blueger and his $2.2MM cap hit on LTIR should give the Penguins some breathing room cap-wise, at least for the time being.

Blueger, a second-round pick of the Penguins in 2012, has yet to play this season, but has made a career as a quality two-way depth forward in the Penguins lineup. Last season, the Latvia native contributed nine goals and 19 assists in 65 games with Pittsburgh. By recalling Caggiula, Pittsburgh is able to get a similar player in the lineup, one who can provide depth scoring and play an all-around solid game. Caggiula has yet to play in the NHL this season, but his return would mark an impressive comeback after dealing with a herniated disc last season, one he said had impacted not only his on-ice presence, but his overall quality of life too.

One of the top prospects in the Penguins’ system, Poulin has yet to make his NHL debut, but could see that come soon. The 21-year-old was the 21st overall pick in the 2019 draft by Pittsburgh having been a standout player in the QMJHL. Poulin made his pro debut last year with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, recording 37 points in 72 games.

Metro Notes: Guentzel, Blueger, Leonsis

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have started the season off extremely well, collecting three wins and four games. A major contributor to that early-season success has been winger Jake Guentzel, who is tied for second on the team with three goals and five points. The Penguins are getting ready to begin a five-game road trip, and they may be without Guentzel for some of that period.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told the media today, as relayed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey, that Guentzel missed practice and is being evaluated for an upper-body injury. Guentzel was hit by a Kris Letang shot late in last night’s win over the Los Angeles Kings and also suffered a collision with Kings forward Brendan Lemieux. In Guentzel’s absence, Danton Heinen was elevated to the Penguins’ top line, while Brock McGinn took Heinen’s slot on the team’s third line.

Some other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • If Guentzel does indeed miss time with an upper-body injury, the Penguins could be forced to use seven defensemen until he returns. Injured forward Teddy Blueger is still wearing a non-contact jersey in practice, and as Taylor Haase of DK Pittsburgh Sports notes, the Penguins don’t have the cap space to recall a forward. Coach Sullivan is no stranger to guiding the Penguins through injury troubles, though, and he’ll definitely have his hands full as he looks to sustain the Penguins’ hot start.
  • Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is leading a group that is reportedly the front-runner to purchase Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals, per reporting from The Athletic’s David Aldridge, Brittany Ghiroli, and Ken Rosenthal. Leonsis has been the owner of the Capitals since 1999 and would become just the second owner of teams in three of the four major U.S. professional men’s sports leagues. For more information on Leonsis’ potential purchase, we refer you to the more extensive coverage over at MLB Trade Rumors.

Injury Updates: Barabanov, Blueger, Texier

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The Sharks could get some help on the wing on Tuesday as Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reports that winger Alexander Barabanov could be activated from injured reserve for their game against the Islanders.  The 28-year-old didn’t play at all in the preseason due to a lower-body injury and while they were hopeful he’d be good to go for their international games, that clearly wasn’t the case.  Barabanov had 39 points in 70 games last season and head coach David Quinn acknowledged that the winger could find himself on the top line in short order.  San Jose has scored just six goals in four games so far this season so any help up front will certainly be welcomed.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Although Penguins forward Teddy Blueger has made some gradual progress as he works his way back from an undisclosed injury, he did not accompany the team to Montreal in advance of their game on Monday, notes Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The injury was originally suffered nearly three weeks ago and originally had a day-to-day designation but clearly, the recovery has been slower than anticipated.  Fortunately for Pittsburgh, Blueger was cleared for contact in practice so his season debut should be coming in the near future.
  • While Blue Jackets forward Alexandre Texier is playing in Switzerland this season, his year got off to a slow start when he broke his wrist in the first game of the year. However, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic notes (subscription link) that the 23-year-old was able to return to the lineup on Saturday which was slightly ahead of schedule while he scored in the shootout.

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