Penguins Recall Jonathan Gruden
Yesterday, the Penguins opted to bring up one of the three players they had assigned to the minors in forward Valtteri Puustinen. Today, they’ve brought up a second one as the team announced (Twitter link) that forward Jonathan Gruden has been recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
The 23-year-old has spent most of the season at the AHL level, tallying 13 goals and 10 assists in 41 games. Meanwhile, this will be his fourth recall of the year and Gruden got into nine games with Pittsburgh in the first three, scoring once while chipping in with 26 hits in 8:32 per game. He’s playing on a one-year, two-way deal worth the league minimum at the NHL level and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Notably, the Penguins don’t have the cap space to execute this recall so there is a secondary transaction that hasn’t been announced. With Jansen Harkins expected to be out for a while, he has likely been transferred to LTIR which would open up another $850K in LTIR space, enough to cover Gruden’s $775K AAV.
Barring an unannounced injury to one of their current forwards, Gruden’s recall should burn one of their four post-deadline non-emergency recalls.
Canucks Recall Vasily Podkolzin
After being papered down to the minors yesterday, Vasily Podkolzin is back up with the Canucks as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled him from AHL Abbotsford.
The 22-year-old was the tenth pick back in 2019 and spent the full 2021-22 season with Vancouver. However, last season, he split the season between the NHL and the AHL, and this year, they decided he’d be best served playing big minutes in his final season of waiver exemption.
This season, Podkolzin has played in 44 games with Abbotsford, collecting 15 goals and 13 assists. He also has seen action in three games with Vancouver this month but has been primarily limited to fourth-line duty. That’s likely to continue to be the case moving forward.
Podkolzin had been shuffled back and forth over the last week but that should change now. With Vancouver having a dozen healthy forwards before this roster move, that means this will count as one of their four allowable post-deadline regular recalls so his stint with the Canucks should be longer this time around. Notably, his promotion effectively caps Vancouver out as they won’t be able to afford another recall. That likely played a role in their decision yesterday not to sign Phil Kessel as an extra depth player after he had worked out with Abbotsford recently.
Red Wings Recall Jonatan Berggren
On Friday, the Red Wings opened up a roster spot when they traded Klim Kostin to San Jose. Today, they filled that spot, announcing that they’ve recalled winger Jonatan Berggren from AHL Grand Rapids.
The 23-year-old spent most of last season with Detroit, getting into 67 games where he had 15 goals and 13 assists, not a bad rookie campaign by any stretch. However, GM Steve Yzerman was active over the course of the summer bringing in several new forwards that ultimately pushed Berggren into more of a depth role. The in-season signing of Patrick Kane bumped him down a bit more on the depth chart.
As a result, Berggren has spent most of this season in the minors with the Griffins, allowing him to play big minutes instead of being in and out of the lineup in a bottom-six role with the big club. The decision certainly made sense from a development perspective and it has worked out well as Berggren leads Grand Rapids in scoring with 19 goals and 27 points in 43 games. For perspective, no one else on the Griffins has reached the 30-point mark yet. He does have nine appearances with the Red Wings as well, collecting two goals and three helpers despite averaging barely over 10 minutes a night.
With Dylan Larkin out due to a lower-body injury, Detroit was down to just 11 healthy forwards following yesterday’s Kostin trade. Accordingly, the Red Wings should be able to classify Berggren’s promotion as an emergency one, meaning it wouldn’t count against their cap of four post-deadline regular recalls.
Injury Notes: Trouba, Forbort, Joshua
Even with some positive developments on the trade front this afternoon, the New York Rangers have some negative news as well, as Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports that defenseman Jacob Trouba will be out for the next two to three weeks. With some line shuffling set to take place, new deadline pickup Chad Ruhwedel should find his way into the lineup rather quickly on the right side.
This marks the first significant injury for Trouba during the regular season in the last three years, as he sustained two full seasons in 2021-22, and 2022-23. Trouba did have an undisclosed injury earlier this year, but it was largely insignificant as it only kept him out for three days.
In now his fifth season with the Rangers, Trouba is once again performing at his typical pace. In 60 games this year, he has scored three goals and 22 points in total and is averaging just under three hits a night.
Other injury notes:
- Indicating that his season might have come to an end, Joe Haggerty of the Boston Sports Journal is reporting that Boston Bruins’ defenseman Derek Forbort has been placed on the team’s long-term injured reserve. Forbort was playing through two significant injuries that have limited him to only 35 games on the year.
- Jeff Patterson of Canucks Army reports that Vancouver Canucks’ forward Dakota Joshua will at most miss the next two weeks for the team. Thankfully, the Canucks only have five games over the next 14 days, so Joshua shouldn’t miss too much action down the stretch. Having the most productive season of his career up to this point, Joshua has played in 53 games for Vancouver so far this year, scoring 13 goals and 26 points overall.
AHL Shuffle: 3/8/24
It’s the NHL Trade Deadline and all attention is trained on which key assets will be moved around. But NHL teams will also have to keep their minor league rosters in mind, as players will need to be on an AHL roster by 2 p.m. CT to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs. That’s led to a long list of minor league loans and paper transactions, with teams keeping the shelves of their AHL rosters stocked. Most of these players have already been or will be recalled by their teams later. This listing of transactions is sourced from CapFriendly. As always, we’ll keep track of those transactions here:
- The Kraken recalled defenseman Cale Fleury from AHL Coachella Valley. He comes up in the wake of an upper-body injury to top-pairing blue-liner Vince Dunn and will remain on the roster as an extra defenseman until Dunn is ready to return. Ryker Evans was returned to Coachella Valley to make him eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Canucks reassigned and later recalled Vasily Podkolzin from AHL Abbotsford to make him eligible to play for the lower-level Canucks in the AHL postseason.
- The Flames assigned defenseman Jordan Oesterle to AHL Calgary after he cleared waivers Friday.
- The Bruins assigned Marc McLaughlin to AHL Providence to clear cap space necessary to acquire Pat Maroon and Andrew Peeke via trades today. Defenseman Mason Lohrei was also assigned to Providence, along with winger Justin Brazeau.
- The Lightning assigned Maxwell Crozier and Emil Martinsen Lilleberg to AHL Syracuse. They could be in for a more permanent stay after Tampa picked up Mathew Dumba from the Coyotes via trade today.
- The Kings assigned forwards Alex Turcotte and Samuel Fagemo, as well as defensemen Brandt Clarke and Jacob Moverare, to AHL Ontario to make them eligible to play for the Reign in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Turcotte and Moverare were later recalled.
- The Golden Knights assigned forwards Byron Froese and Mason Morelli to AHL Henderson to clear cap space for today’s acquisition of Tomáš Hertl from the Sharks.
- The Blackhawks assigned defensemen Louis Crevier and Isaak Phillips, as well as forward Zach Sanford, to AHL Rockford to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Rangers reassigned and later recalled forwards Adam Edstrom and Matt Rempe from AHL Hartford to make him eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Flyers assigned defenseman Adam Ginning to AHL Lehigh Valley after picking up veteran blue-liner Erik Johnson from the Sabres.
- The Devils assigned goaltenders Nico Daws and Akira Schmid to AHL Utica after acquiring Jake Allen and Kaapo Kähkönen in separate trades.
- The Flames assigned wingers Matthew Coronato and Jakob Pelletier to AHL Calgary to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Avalanche reassigned and later recalled goaltender Justus Annunen from AHL Colorado to make him eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Maple Leafs reassigned and later recalled winger Matthew Knies from AHL Toronto to make him eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Blue Jackets recalled forward Trey Fix-Wolansky from AHL Cleveland after trading Jack Roslovic to the Rangers.
- The Canadiens assigned forward Joshua Roy and defenseman Jayden Struble to AHL Laval to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Sabres recalled forward Tyson Jost and defenseman Kale Clague from AHL Rochester after trading away Johnson and Kyle Okposo. Winger Lukas Rousek and defenseman Ryan Johnson were assigned to Rochester to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Capitals reassigned and later recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard and forwards Hendrix Lapierre and Ivan Miroshnichenko from AHL Hershey to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Ducks sent forward Glenn Gawdin to AHL San Diego to make him eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Coyotes assigned winger Dylan Guenther and defenseman Michael Kesselring to AHL Tucson to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Sharks assigned goaltender Magnus Chrona and center Thomas Bordeleau to AHL San Jose to make them eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Predators Sign Dante Fabbro, Two Others To Extensions
Predators GM Barry Trotz has announced the signings of defenseman Dante Fabbro and forward Mark Jankowski to one-year and two-year extensions, respectively (via Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). Fabbro’s deal sees him earn $2.5MM next season, per a team release, and is paid entirely in base salary. Jankowski’s deal will pay him $775K in 2024-25 and $825K in 2025-26, per the team, translating to an $800K cap hit. Additionally, the team has signed undrafted free agent goaltender Gustavs Grigals to a one-year, two-way deal for the remainder of the season, worth $775K at the NHL level.
Fabbro and Jankowski will be UFAs at the end of their respective deals. Nashville was set for a potential arbitration hearing with Fabbro if he did not re-sign before the summer, while Jankowski was a pending UFA upon completion of the one-year, $775K extension he signed nearly a year ago.
The Predators drafted Fabbro, 25, with the 17th overall pick in 2016. He turned pro at the end of the 2018-19 campaign and has since appeared in 304 games for the Preds, recording 71 points and a +11 rating while averaging 18:10 per game. He’s slipped to a more limited role this year, averaging only 16:34, but he’s been effective in that sheltered even-strength role with 12 points, a +11 rating, and career-best possession numbers in 51 games.
Oddly enough, that career-best-showing hasn’t earned him the full trust of head coach Andrew Brunette. Fabbro was a healthy scratch for Nashville’s season opener and has been on 12 other occasions this season as part of a rotation with Tyson Barrie, Alexandre Carrier, Jeremy Lauzon, and Luke Schenn for depth minutes.
Jankowski, 29, has spent the last two seasons in the Predators organization. The 2012 first-round pick stayed mostly in the NHL in 2022-23, recording seven goals and 12 points in 50 games, but has spent most of this year on assignment to AHL Milwaukee. He’s been a top performer there, notching 47 points and a +29 rating in 40 games, which has earned him some more NHL ice as of late. Aside from a few paper transactions, he’s stayed on the roster since Feb. 12 and has two goals and an assist in 14 NHL contests.
A one-way deal indicates the Predators envision Jankowski on next season’s opening night roster, but if he doesn’t make the cut, he’d have to clear waivers. The Hamilton, Ontario, native has also spent time with the Flames, Penguins and Sabres over his eight-year, 336-game NHL career.
By inking Grigals to an NHL contract, the Predators add a potential Black Ace for the postseason and give themselves the option to retain his exclusive signing rights with a qualifying offer this summer. The 25-year-old Latvian has spent most of the season with their ECHL affiliate, the Atlanta Gladiators, where he has a 3.68 GAA, .898 SV%, 7-15-0 record, and one shutout in 26 games. He fared poorly in his lone AHL showing with Milwaukee on New Year’s Eve, posting a .846 SV% in a 4-3 loss to the Rockford IceHogs. He’s in his first professional season after four seasons with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and a graduate transfer season with UMass-Lowell last year.
Bruins Sign Joey Abate To Two-Way Deal
The Bruins have signed forward Joey Abate to a one-year, two-way contract for the remainder of the season, a team release states. Abate’s deal carries a cap hit and NHL salary of $775K, however, the team did not disclose his minor-league pay.
Abate lands his first NHL deal after signing on with the AHL’s Providence Bruins in 2022. At least one other team had interest in signing Abate in recent days, New England Hockey Journal’s Mark Divver reports.
A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Omaha program, Abate has settled into a bottom-six bruiser role on the Bruins’ farm. Since joining Providence last season, Abate has five goals, 16 points, and 166 PIMs with a -11 rating in 75 games. He’s provided a more fair amount of secondary scoring this year, posting two goals and 10 points in 40 games, although it’s still not enough to suggest the 25-year-old winger will be anything more than a fourth-line enforcer in the NHL.
The Bloomington, Illinois, native will be an RFA this summer. He’ll also have arbitration rights because he’s logged at least one season of professional experience and signed his first contract after the age of 24.
Flames Sign Kevin Rooney To Extension
The Flames have inked pending UFA center Kevin Rooney to a one-year, $1.3MM extension, per a team announcement.
Rooney didn’t make his season debut until February 6th, missing the first four months of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. He’s since slotted into Calgary’s fourth-line center role, recording one point in 13 games – though he hasn’t scored in 11 games – while averaging over 10-and-a-half minutes of ice time each game. Rooney also played in four AHL games during a conditioning stint, scoring one goal. It’s his first year back in a full-time NHL role after spending much of last season in the minors, playing in 51 AHL games and scoring 17 points. It was his first extended stint in the AHL since the 2018-19 season.
Rooney has totaled 240 career games in the NHL, scoring 25 goals and 47 points. He joined the Flames in free agency ahead of the 2022-23 season, signing a two-year, $2.6MM contract. His new deal keeps his cap hit the same, extending him through the end of next year. While the extension shows Calgary’s affinity for Rooney, he’ll still need to find an extra edge if he wants to maintain his lineup spot when Connor Zary and A.J. Greer return from injury, and Martin Pospisil returns from a suspension.
Flames Acquire Nikita Okhotiuk From Sharks
The Flames have acquired left-shot defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk from the Sharks as the deadline passes, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff confirms. A 2024 fifth-round pick is heading to San Jose in return, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Okhotiuk has appeared in 43 NHL games this season, scoring one goal and eight points and adding 44 penalty minutes and a -22. It’s his official rookie season in the league, though he played in 15 games with the New Jersey Devils across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. He’s totaled three goals and 11 points across his three-year career, also adding x points in 116 AHL games since debuting in 2020-21. The 23-year old was originally drafted in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft, turning pro after three seasons with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s.
Okhotiuk is yet another new face to a Calgary blue-line that’s recently added Joel Hanley, Daniil Miromanov, and Brayden Pachal. Together, the quartet will fill the holes left by Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin, both traded by the Flames ahead of the Trade Deadline. Hanley has earned top-line minutes in the fallout of Calgary’s moves, playing in nearly 18 minutes in his first game with the Flames. The four new defenders will compete with each other for consistent spots in the lineup, though one will likely have to serve as Calgary’s seventh defenseman, unless the team opts to keep Dennis Gilbert in that role.
Maple Leafs Acquire Connor Dewar
The Maple Leafs have acquired depth forward Connor Dewar from the Wild, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. The Wild are receiving a 2026 fourth-round pick in return, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Forward prospect Dmitry Ovchinnikov is also headed to Minnesota in the deal, per an official announcement from the Wild.
Dewar has settled into a comfortable fourth-line role since making his debut in the 2021-22 season, finding an extra layer to his game this year with a career-high 10 goals, though he’s still four points shy of the 18 points he managed in 81 games last season. Last year marked the first time that Dewar spent all season in the NHL, a trend he’s continuing this year, after scoring 59 points in 105 AHL games between 2019 and 2022. Dewar was a third-round draft pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, playing in the sixth-most NHL games of any player selected after that year’s first round. While his impact isn’t too grandiose, Dewar has shown flashes of strong puckhandling and good fundamentals, helping him fit into the needs of whatever the coach’s system may be.
Minnesota swaps a depth forward for a depth prospect, bringing in Ovchinikov, who is in his first full season in the AHL after splitting the last two years between the AHL and KHL. He’s scored seven goals and 10 points in 20 games this season, adding four penatly minutes and a -1. It’s the second-most that Ovchinikov has scored at a professional level, behind the five goals and 13 points he managed in 68 KHL games last season. Ovchinikov is a slick-moving forward with good puck skills, though his game has lacked direction and poise. He will need to boost his drive to the net, and ability to work with his teammates, if he wants to climb his way up Minnesota’s depth charts.