Kings Activate Viktor Arvidsson From LTIR
The Kings announced that winger Viktor Arvidsson was activated from long-term injured reserve Wednesday. As such, he’s eligible to return to the lineup tonight against the Wild. With $4.46MM remaining in their LTIR salary pool, the Kings have just enough space to activate his $4.25MM cap hit.
Arvidsson, 30, was moved to LTIR on Feb. 24 after a two-day stint on standard IR. The veteran forward’s latest lower-body injury came just four games after making his season debut in mid-February. He had sustained back and lower-body injuries during training camp that cost him the first 50 games of the season. Now ready to go, Arvidsson is expected to slot into a third-line role alongside Pierre-Luc Dubois and Alex Laferriere in his return, not the line with Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore he played on last month.
It’s impossible to glean much from such a small sample – especially since he played just 17 seconds in his most recent outing – but Arvidsson looked like his consistent top-six self with two assists. His possession numbers were strong, posting a 53.6 xGF% with Danault and Moore (per MoneyPuck) and, individually, a similarly strong 58.1 CF% at even strength. He’s coming off the fifth 20-goal season of his career in 2022-23, when he totaled 59 points in 77 games while averaging 17:06 per game in an integral second-line role for Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, injuries have plagued Arvidsson throughout his 10-year career, as he’s only eclipsed the 70-game mark three times. Before last year, when all of his absences were due to illness or personal reasons, Arvidsson missed games due to injury in every season from 2016 to 2021.
Getting Arvidsson back into the fold helps boost the depth of an offense that hasn’t had much punch this year, ranking 19th in the league and second-to-last among teams currently in playoff position. Dubois’ underwhelming showing in the third-line center role (33 points in 68 games) is a major reason for that, although extended ice time with a consistent scoring threat like Arvidsson may boost his numbers down the stretch.
Without Arvidsson for much of the year, the Kings have still managed to ride out a shockingly poor mid-season stretch of play and a coaching change and are holding onto third place in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of the Golden Knights. His play down the stretch will also go a long way toward setting his market value on the UFA market this summer – he’s nearing completion of a seven-year, $29.75MM deal signed with the Predators in 2017 and does not have an extension.
Blues Agree To Terms With First-Round Pick Theo Lindstein
The Blues have signed 2023 first-round pick Theo Lindstein to a three-year, entry-level contract, per a team release. The team did not disclose financial terms.
St. Louis selected the left-shot defenseman from Brynäs IF of the Swedish Hockey League with the 29th overall pick. The 19-year-old was viewed as a potential top-10 choice in early 2023 prospect rankings as a shutdown blue liner but dropped down public boards throughout the year and was graded as low as a third-round pick by a few notable public scouting outfits, including Elite Prospects and McKeen’s Hockey. Elite Prospects’ final scouting report called him “safe, calm and a play killer with his stick” but criticized his ability to process plays quickly and said he “lacked initiative, often deferring to his partner on breakouts.”
Others are more optimistic about the 6-foot-1, 180-lb defender, such as Dobber Prospects, who list him as one of the Blues’ premier defense prospects and believe he has a top-four ceiling. Those who had him ranked lower tab his projection as a bottom-pairing, penalty-killing utility player at his peak. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked Lindstein as the Blues’ best defense prospect and their fifth-best overall prospect, calling him an “unspectacular but solid two-way defenseman” with a “high likelihood of becoming a solid D partner to someone in the NHL long term.”
Even for shutdown players, a lack of point-producing ability at lower levels, such as what Lindstein displayed in his draft season, is generally indicative of a tough path to NHL minutes. His totals on the scoresheet improved markedly this season, however, leading all defensemen at the 2024 World Junior Championship with six assists and eight points in seven games for Sweden en route to a silver medal, as well as 15 points and a +13 rating in 49 games for Brynäs, who were demoted to the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan after losing last year’s SHL relegation series.
Lindstein was the last of three first-round picks the Blues had in last year’s draft, selected after centers Dalibor Dvorský (10th overall) and Otto Stenberg (22nd overall). The Blues acquired the pick they used to select Lindstein from the Rangers in February 2023’s Vladimir Tarasenko trade, and the Rangers had previously acquired the pick from the Stars in exchange for defenseman Nils Lundkvist in September 2022.
Rangers Sign Jaroslav Chmelar To Entry-Level Deal
The Rangers have signed forward Jaroslav Chmelar to a three-year, entry-level deal, per a team announcement. The contract is expected to begin in the 2024-25 season, although he’s eligible to finish the 2023-24 campaign on a tryout with the team’s AHL affiliate in Hartford. The New England Hockey Journal’s Mark Divver reported Tuesday that Chmelar would likely ink his ELC in the coming days. The deal has a cap hit of $867.5K broken down into a $775K NHL salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $57.5K games played bonus, and $80K minors salary each season, per PuckPedia.
Chmelar, 20, completed his sophomore season at Providence College on Saturday after UMass eliminated them in the Hockey East quarterfinals. Before coming stateside, the Czech power forward spent four seasons in the Finnish development system. The Rangers selected him out of Jokerit’s U-18 club in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. He also represented Czechia at the 2022 and 2023 World Junior Championships, winning the silver medal his second time around.
Chmelar had a decent freshman campaign with Providence, factoring into their middle six and only missing a handful of games due to his WJC appearance. His seven goals and 13 points in 33 games, along with a -2 rating on a team that finished with a +16 goal differential, signaled he wasn’t ready to turn pro, but few expected him to anyway. He missed roughly a third of this season with injuries but showed improvement when in the lineup, posting 15 points in 26 games along with a +7 rating that tied for third on the team.
He’ll need some seasoning in the minors, but the 6-foot-5, 220-lb winger will have NHL-ready size whenever he gets his first recall. Hartford has an eight-point cushion on a playoff spot in the AHL’s Atlantic Division with 14 games remaining in their regular season schedule, so he has a decent chance at seeing professional postseason action to close out 2023-24. Chmelar checked in at number 13 on The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler’s most recent ranking of Rangers prospects, a pool that’s deepest at wing with Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault both living up to their first-round pedigree thus far in their development.
Assuming Chmelar’s deal is registered for the 2024-25 campaign, he’ll reach RFA status in 2027. His ELC signing age will be recorded as 21 because he has a July birthday, meaning he’ll require waivers after three years or playing 80 NHL games, whichever comes first.
Metropolitan Notes: Gruden, Wotherspoon, Marino
With Jeff Carter out with an upper-body injury tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins were in a position to recall a forward to fill his spot in the active lineup. In doing so, the Penguins brought up Jonathan Gruden from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins via an emergency recall.
Recalled oftenly this season by Pittsburgh, this transaction will mark Gruden’s sixth call-up of the season in total. In now his fourth season with the Penguins organization, Gruden has accrued the most NHL games played in a single year for his short career, scoring one goal in 11 games for Pittsburgh this year.
While still failing to make a name for himself at the NHL level, Gruden is been an solid contributor to the WBS Penguins over the last four years. Over 204 regular season games overall, Gruden has scored 45 goals and 96 points in total, while also chipping in one goal and three points in five playoff games, as well.
Other Metro notes:
- In a similar transaction, Pittsburgh’s opponent tonight, the New Jersey Devils, have recalled defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon by way of an emergency recall. In his second emergency recall in only his last week, Wotherspoon has had an elevated opportunity to play in the NHL due to multiple injuries on New Jersey’s back end. Unfortunately, Wotherspoon has yet to play with the Devils this season, but has registered four goals and 19 points in 54 games for the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.
- Paving the way for another emergency recall to Wotherspoon, earlier reports indicated that defenseman John Marino would miss the game tonight due to an upper-body injury (X Link). With Marino now out with an injury for at least this evening, New Jersey will be without three of their top-four defensemen, leading to a 5-11-0 record over the last 16 games for the organization.
Detroit Red Wings Sign Carter Gylander
In a public announcement coming from the organization, the Detroit Red Wings have signed college goaltender, Carter Gylander to a two-year entry-level contract, beginning in the 2024-25 NHL season. The team also stated that Gylander would be joining the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, for the remainder of the season on an amateur tryout agreement.
Originally drafted by the Red Wings with the 201st overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, Gylander has spent the last four seasons playing for Colgate University of the ECAC Hockey Division. With his numbers dipping down a bit from last season, Gylander finished his NCAA career with a 14-14-4 season, coupled with a .901 save percentage and 2.93 goals against average over 32 games.
Gylander posted his best numbers during his junior season at Colgate, finishing with a 19-15-5 record in 39 games, posting a .914 SV% and a 2.46 GAA in the process. During the ECAC Hockey Tournament at the end of last season, Gylander led his team to a championship win over Harvard University, winning the tournament’s Most Oustanding Player award as well.
Unfortunately, Colgate’s run of success would end there, as the University of Michigan would eliminate them in a blowout game during the first round of the Frozen Four tournament. This season, Gylander and Colgate would make it to the second round of the ECAC Hockey tournament, but would be ousted by St. Lawrence University, officially ending Gylander’s collegiate career.
In Detroit, Gylander will join a growing list of young goaltending prospects that the team will be looking to graduate to the NHL at some point. With Sebastian Cossa still earning his stripes at the AHL level, the Red Wings still hold the signing rights to Trey Augustine, who is in the midst of a standout season with the Michigan State University Spartans.
Devils Assign Nico Daws And Tyler Wotherspoon To AHL
The Devils were active at the trade deadline when it came to goaltenders, picking up Jake Allen from Montreal and Kaapo Kahkonen from San Jose. However, they kept Nico Daws up in New Jersey as well. They’ve now decided that’s not the best course of action as the team announced today that Daws along with defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon have been assigned to AHL Utica.
Daws started the year on season-opening injured reserve and was activated in early December. Just weeks later, he was up with New Jersey and, aside from the holiday roster freeze, has been with the Devils since then.
Early on, the 23-year-old did well, posting a .912 SV% in his first dozen appearances, well above the team average of .894. However, Daws has struggled in recent weeks with that mark dropping all the way down to .859, resulting in this move. On the season, he has a 3.15 GAA and a .894 SV%.
Now, he’ll split time with Akira Schmid with the Comets, giving them a leg up in their battle for a playoff spot in the North Division. Daws was eligible to return to Utica as he was papered down before the trade deadline with New Jersey using one of their four post-deadline recalls to bring him back up. Barring an injury to Allen or Kahkonen, recalling Daws later on would burn another one of those allowable recalls.
As for Wotherspoon, he was recalled back on Thursday, his first NHL promotion of the season. His recall was on an emergency basis so he didn’t count against the limit of four. However, the 31-year-old didn’t see any game action. Wotherspoon has 19 points in 54 games with the Comets so far this season.
NHL Rejects Flames’ Agreement With Sam Morton
6:44 PM: CapFriendly reports that the NHL has rejected Morton’s contract. The issue is that while he’s currently 24, the contract being submitted is for his age-25 season. A player’s age for contract purposes is defined by their age as of September 15th in the year he signs; Morton turns 25 in July. North American-born players are ineligible for an entry-level deal in their age-25 season and beyond. The Flames will now have to resubmit a new deal without performance bonuses.
2:50 PM: The Flames have made their first splash in this year’s college free agent market, inking Minnesota State University forward Sam Morton to a one-year, entry-level contract for the 2024-25 season. Morton’s contract will carry a $950K cap hit, and he’ll close out this season on a tryout with the club’s AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg reports Morton’s AHL salary next season will be $82.5K, and he’ll also earn a signing bonus of $95K.
Morton, 24, was a bright spot in what was otherwise the Mankato school’s worst season in over a decade. In 37 games, he led the squad with 24 goals, 34 points and a +8 rating, earning CCHA First All-Star Team honors and a nomination for the Hobey Baker Award for the top collegiate player.
In signing his ELC, Morton wraps up a rare six-year collegiate career. After two seasons playing junior hockey with the BCHL’s Wenatchee Wild, Morton joined Union College for two seasons in 2018-19 and 2019-20 but left early in the latter campaign to rejoin Wenatchee until the COVID pandemic shut down the season. The Colorado native then entered the transfer portal, where he landed with MSU from 2020 onward. Over four years with the school, Morton registered 44 goals, 76 points and a +46 rating in 102 contests.
The two-time conference champion with Mankato will now immediately head to the pros, where he will join a Wranglers team that’s still trying to secure a playoff spot in the AHL’s North Division. The Wranglers have 14 games remaining on their regular-season schedule, so he should get a decent chunk of action down the stretch and in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Morton will be an RFA next summer when his ELC expires.
Coyotes Recall Nathan Smith
The Coyotes recalled forward Nathan Smith from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners on Monday, according to a team announcement. It’s his first recall of the season. The move comes under emergency conditions, meaning the Coyotes may be without a second regular forward in addition to Barrett Hayton (lower-body, day-to-day) for Wednesday’s game against the Stars.
Arizona picked up the signing rights to Smith, 25, in a trade with the Jets in 2022 that saw the Coyotes take on the remainder of center Bryan Little‘s contract, who last played in the 2019-20 season but will not play again due to a ruptured eardrum. The former Minnesota State University standout and 2022 Olympian with the United States signed a two-year entry-level deal shortly thereafter and re-upped on a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$115K/$165K) upon expiry last summer.
Smith is settling into professional life after a disappointing campaign with Tucson last year. He’s already matched 2022-23’s point total in 16 fewer games and has improved defensively, recording nine goals and 27 points with an even rating in 48 games. He hasn’t played in the NHL since a four-game call-up in March last year.
In 14 career NHL appearances over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, Smith recorded two goals, two assists, and a -2 rating while averaging 12:14 per game. The Tampa native is a natural center but struggled in the faceoff dot during his NHL stints, winning 40.5% of his draws.
Smith is still waiver-exempt, although that will lapse next season if the Coyotes opt to bring him back. If they choose to issue him a qualifying offer, he’ll be an RFA with arbitration rights this summer.
Wild Sign Rasmus Kumpulainen To Entry-Level Deal
The Wild signed forward Rasmus Kumpulainen to a three-year, entry-level contract on Monday, per a team announcement. Financial terms were not disclosed, although Minnesota did confirm the deal will begin in 2024-25.
A natural center, Kumpulainen was the first of two second-round picks the Wild owned in the 2023 draft. Their other selection was WHL Prince George forward Riley Heidt, who’s third in the league in scoring with 114 points in 64 games.
The 18-year-old Kumpulainen went off the board earlier as a safer but lower-ceiling pick, as evidenced by his solid but not overly impressive transition to North American ice. After spending his draft year with Lahden Pelicans U20 in Finland’s top junior circuit, he came to Ontario after the OHL’s Oshawa Generals made him the 13th overall selection in last year’s CHL Import Draft. The physically-inclined two-way center (6-foot-2, 194 lbs) has 28 goals, 27 assists, 55 points, and a +13 rating in 56 games with the Gens, placing him sixth on the team in scoring. He’s heated up as of late, though, posting 14 points and a +8 rating in his last 10 outings. He’s registered a point in all eight of Oshawa’s games in March.
Kumpulainen also represented Finland at this year’s World Juniors, scoring twice in seven games en route to a bronze-game loss to Czechia. He’s ranked as the 12th-best prospect in the Wild’s system by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, with his classmate Heidt checking in at fourth.
Kumpulainen’s contract is eligible for an entry-level slide as he’ll be 19 next season. If he plays under 10 NHL games in 2024-25, a likely scenario, the beginning of his contract will defer to 2025-26. Any signing bonuses included in the first season of his deal must be paid regardless. He’ll be an RFA at the end of the ELC, which could be in either 2027 or 2028.
Blackhawks Recall Wyatt Kaiser
The Blackhawks recalled defenseman Wyatt Kaiser on an emergency loan Monday, per CapFriendly. It’s the 21-year-old’s first recall since Chicago assigned him to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs in late December.
Since his recall comes under emergency conditions, the Blackhawks maintain their two remaining post-trade deadline standard recalls. Kaiser must replace one of Chicago’s six currently healthy defenders, one of whom is likely questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Kings, to remain eligible for an emergency loan. Otherwise, the Blackhawks must convert his recall into a standard one or return him to the IceHogs.
The 2020 third-round pick played in a career-high 23 games in the first few months of the season, recording four assists and a +1 rating. Averaging 16:40 per game, the former University of Minnesota-Duluth standout wasn’t quite the relative shutdown master his positive rating on a rebuilder suggests. Above-average goaltending boosted his actual results, while his even-strength possession numbers (42.7 CF%, 40.3 xGF%) reflected that of a developing talent.
Nonetheless, Kaiser is one of the Blackhawks’ more intriguing defense prospects and may get another shot to log some games after making the Blackhawks’ roster out of camp. Ranked as the 11th-best overall prospect in Chicago’s system and the third-best defenseman by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, he has three goals and 15 points in 31 games for Rockford in his first taste of AHL action this year. Over three seasons at Minnesota-Duluth, he recorded 45 assists, 52 points, and a +5 rating in 97 contests.
Kaiser is in the second season of his three-year entry-level contract, which took effect immediately after signing in March of last year. He carries a cap hit of $917K and will be an RFA in 2025.