Jets Place Declan Chisholm On Waivers
The Jets placed defenseman Declan Chisholm on waivers for the purposes of assignment to AHL Manitoba on Sunday, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The 24-year-old Chisholm has played sparingly this season and is currently on a run of 23 straight healthy scratches. His only two NHL games came in back-to-back showings against the Blackhawks and Hurricanes in early December, in which he recorded one assist and controlled 47.8% of Corsi events at even strength while averaging 11:33 per game.
He does have five assists in six games with AHL Manitoba this season, coming by way of a mid-November conditioning stint. The Jets have been hesitant to expose last year’s AHL All-Star Classic participant to waivers for fear of losing him for no return.
As Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press points out, placing Chisholm on waivers today is likely an attempt to sneak him through the wire while most teams are beginning their All-Star break. The 2018 fifth-round pick finished second among Manitoba defensemen with 43 points in 59 games last season.
Chisholm signed a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K with a minimum salary guarantee of $120K to remain with Winnipeg after reaching restricted free agency last summer. He was one of the last remaining RFAs without a contract nearing training camps, waiting until Sep. 13 to put pen to paper on a deal. He will be an RFA again next summer but is not yet eligible for salary arbitration.
Canadiens Place Nicolas Beaudin On Unconditional Waivers For Mutual Contract Termination
The Canadiens placed defenseman Nicolas Beaudin on unconditional waivers with the intent to terminate his contract following a mutual agreement, the team announced Sunday.
Beaudin, 24, has not played a game for Montreal since they acquired him from the Blackhawks in an Oct. 2022 trade. He hasn’t scored in 16 games for AHL Laval this season, posting six assists and a +2 rating.
As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports, Beaudin’s limited minor-league action this season left him unhappy with his role. He was a healthy scratch in seven of 10 games since returning from his Spengler Cup appearance with Team Canada in December.
A Chicago first-round pick in 2018, Beaudin has shown flashes of potential at the AHL level but hasn’t done so with consistency. The speedy puck-mover hasn’t played an NHL game in over two years, last suiting up for the Blackhawks in a Jan. 2022 contest in which he skated only two shifts.
Things were looking up for Beaudin after a strong showing with Laval last season. He posted two goals and 25 points in 39 games, leading Laval defensemen in points per game while tacking on a team-high +17 rating. His momentum couldn’t carry over, however, and assuming he clears waivers tomorrow, he will be free to pursue opportunities with any other NHL team.
There is likely concern from NHL scouts regarding his size – at 5-foot-11 and 185 lbs, he can get overpowered when defending more physically imposing players. That’s been one of the top reasons why consistency has eluded Beaudin throughout his pro career so far, although there is still a fair amount of point-producing potential in his game thanks to his cerebral play and high skating and passing abilities.
Beaudin signed a one-year, two-way deal with a $775K cap hit last July after reaching restricted free agency. He was set to be a RFA again this summer with arbitration rights.
Patrik Laine Enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program
Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine will be out indefinitely while he receives care from the NHL and NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program, the league announced Sunday.
GM Jarmo Kekäläinen issued the following statement:
Patrik has our complete support, and our sole concern is his well-being. Out of respect for Patrik, we will have no further comment.
Laine, 25, has not played since sustaining a clavicle fracture on Dec. 14 against the Maple Leafs. Head coach Pascal Vincent said yesterday that Laine had suffered a setback in his recovery and left the team’s road trip to return to Columbus.
The Finnish winger is in his fourth season with the Blue Jackets since a Jan. 2021 blockbuster deal saw him arrive in Columbus by way of Winnipeg, who selected him second overall in the 2016 draft. The clavicle injury, as well as an illness, an upper-body injury and one healthy scratch, have limited him to 18 games in 2023-24.
His six goals and three assists equate to 0.50 points per game, a sharp decline after averaging 0.97 points per game across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. This year’s injuries have played a significant role in his lack of production, though. Before sustaining the clavicle fracture, Laine had points in five of his last six games.
Laine has 64 goals, 74 assists and 138 points in 174 games since the Blue Jackets acquired him. His 204 career goals and 388 career points rank fourth among 2016 draftees behind Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk and Alex DeBrincat.
The 6-foot-5, 215-lb winger is in the second season of a four-year, $34.8MM contract with an $8.7MM cap hit signed in July 2022. He has a 10-team no-trade list and will be a UFA upon expiry in 2026.
Atlantic Notes: Levi, Comrie, Samoskevich, Newpower
The Sabres swapped backup netminders on Sunday, announcing the recall of Eric Comrie from AHL Rochester while returning rookie Devon Levi to the minors. As such, the 22-year-old will get a handful of starts in Rochester over the next ten days or more while the Sabres are off for the All-Star break.
Buffalo’s three-goalie experiment to begin the season has ended. 24-year-old Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen now has a firm grasp on the starter’s crease, posting a 12-11-2 record, .909 SV% and 2.61 GAA in 26 games. All of those stats lead the team, as do his 2.4 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck.
The 22-year-old Levi hasn’t had the rookie season some had hoped for, but despite his subpar .891 SV%, he’s still been solid relative to the high shot quality he’s faced. Like Luukkonen, he’s performed slightly above average, stopping 1.5 goals saved above expected in his 20 appearances. Levi’s played only three times since the beginning of January, though, and without a clear path to the majority of the starts in Buffalo, the organization is rightfully interested in getting their youngster some more playing time. In three games with Rochester, Levi has a .903 SV% and a 2-1-0 record.
While Comrie has done well in the minors as of late, his NHL track record this season suggests he’ll be returned to Rochester once the Sabres’ schedule resumes next month. Injuries and poor play have limited him to seven appearances this year, in which he’s posted a 1-5-0 record and a .863 SV%. The 28-year-old will not need to clear waivers upon his return to the minors after passing through unclaimed on New Year’s Day unless he stays on the roster for more than 30 days.
Other transactions from the Atlantic Division today:
- The Panthers loaned rookie forward Mackie Samoskevich to AHL Charlotte, per the NHL’s media site. The 21-year-old played in all four games since Florida recalled him one week ago, his first NHL action in nearly three months. The Panthers went a perfect four-for-four with Samoskevich in the lineup, but he didn’t manage to record a point and posted a -1 rating while averaging 11:39 per game. Their 2021 first-round pick is still looking for his first NHL point after making the team out of camp last October. He’s done quite well in the minors, however, ranking second on Charlotte with 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points in 32 games.
- Less than 24 hours after recalling him, the Red Wings returned defenseman Wyatt Newpower to AHL Grand Rapids, per a team announcement. Newpower, 26, was a healthy scratch for last night’s 5-2 win over the Golden Knights. Detroit has routinely brought up a defenseman from Grand Rapids on game days to serve as last-minute injury insurance while Ben Chiarot is sidelined with an undisclosed injury, routinely bringing up the more experienced Brogan Rafferty. They decided to give him a break from the roster turmoil yesterday, however, instead giving Newpower his first NHL summons since signing his entry-level contract three years ago.
Zack Kassian Signs With Czechia’s HC Sparta Praha
12-year NHL veteran winger Zack Kassian signed with HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga on Sunday, according to a team announcement. Kassian announced his retirement from the NHL last October after failing to convert on a PTO with the Ducks in training camp but will now attempt to extend his pro career overseas.
The 33-year-old stepped away from the league after a disastrous 2022-23 campaign with the Coyotes, where he recorded just two goals and a -18 rating in 51 games, a strikingly poor defensive impact given he averaged less than ten minutes per game. As such, the Coyotes bought out the final season of his four-year, $12.8MM contract last summer, making him a UFA.
No permanent contract offers came across his desk, and injuries hampered his ability to convert on his PTO with Anaheim. While the 6-foot-3 grinder may not be able to keep up with the speed of the NHL anymore, there’s a strong chance he can be effective in a middle-six checking role overseas.
He’s now four years removed from his career-best 2019-20 campaign with the Oilers. The COVID-truncated season saw him post 15 goals and 34 points in only 59 games, averaging over 15 minutes per game for the only time in his career. The 2009 first-round pick of the Sabres ended his NHL career with 92 goals, 111 assists and 203 points in 661 games to go along with 913 PIMs.
Kassian heads to a Prague team that is led by a trio of former NHLers on offense – one-time Senators prospect Filip Chlapík leads his team with 38 points in 37 games, while former Flame Roman Horák and former Panther Michal Řepík rank second and third. The blue line is led by 2018 Stanley Cup champion Michal Kempný, who has 27 points with a +11 rating in 39 games in his second season with the club after injuries ended his successful stint with the Capitals. 548-game NHL veteran Vladimír Sobotka is among the team’s principal secondary scorers with 10 goals and 21 points in 33 games.
As such, the team ranks second in the Extraliga. Kassian joins a team primed to make a run deep into the postseason after losing twice in the league final in the past decade. Prague hasn’t won a championship since back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.
Devils Assign Three Players To AHL
The Devils assigned center Justin Dowling and defensemen Santeri Hatakka and Daniil Misyul to AHL Utica on Sunday, per a team announcement. New Jersey recalled all three players within the last two weeks, but they’ll now get some additional playing time in the minors with the Devils entering their bye week.
Dowling, 33, is coming off a brief audition in a top-six role. He centered Tyler Toffoli and Dawson Mercer in Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Lightning, the team’s last outing for 10 days. It was a decidedly failed experiment, as the trio controlled just 20% of expected goals at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck. Dowling also failed to record a shot and posted a -3 rating in 14:24 of ice time.
The 539-game AHL veteran did score in his only other appearance with the Devils since his recall, a loss to the Hurricanes on Thursday. Since he played less than ten games and has been on the NHL roster for less than 30 days since clearing waivers during training camp, he doesn’t need to pass through them again to return to Utica. There, Dowling has eight goals and 19 points in 30 games, both ranking sixth on the team.
Hatakka, 23, played in three of five games since his recall ten days ago in place of the injured Brendan Smith. The 2019 sixth-round pick of the Sharks had a strong showing, recording an assist and a +5 rating while logging 16:08 per game. His possession metrics don’t point to the sustainability of that goal differential, though, as he recorded a subpar 43.8% Corsi share at even strength that was 6.4% worse than his teammates’ share without him on the ice.
The 23-year-old Misyul did not play in either of the Devils’ two games since he and Dowling were recalled on Thursday. The Belarus-born defender, who was picked three rounds ahead of Hatakka in 2019, returns to Utica without his NHL debut under his belt. He’ll look to continue a decent rookie season in Utica, where he’s recorded 11 points and an even plus-minus rating in 30 games while occupying a shutdown role. Both Hatakka and Misyul are still waiver-exempt.
Dowling could see another recall in a week and a half if Jack Hughes is not ready to return by the end of the All-Star break. After the Devils claimed blue-liner Nick DeSimone off waivers from the Flames last week, though, it’s unlikely both Hatakka and Misyul will be back on the NHL roster when New Jersey returns to game action.
Rangers Recall Connor Mackey
With the availability of two blueliners in question for tonight’s game against Ottawa, the Rangers have brought up some insurance, announcing (Twitter link) the recall of defenseman Connor Mackey from AHL Hartford. New York had an open roster spot following yesterday’s assignment of Nick Bonino to the Wolf Pack.
The 27-year-old is in his first season with the Rangers after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them in free agency back in July. While this marks his seventh recall of the year already, Mackey has yet to get into an NHL game. Instead, he has only played in Hartford where he has been quieter than expected offensively with just eight points in 28 games. By comparison, Mackey had 36 points in 53 games with AHL Stockton in 2021-22 while he was on an NHL roster full-time last year.
The two defenders whose availability is in question are defensemen Ryan Lindgren and Jacob Trouba. Lindgren left last night’s loss to Vegas early with an upper-body injury while Trouba had a disciplinary hearing today, the outcome of which has not yet been announced. If those two aren’t available, Mackey should see his first NHL action of the season.
Kings Recall Alex Turcotte
With the Kings struggling as of late, they’ve decided to give a different youngster an opportunity. The team announced that they’ve recalled center Alex Turcotte from AHL Ontario. They had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made.
The 22-year-old was the fifth-overall pick back in 2018 after a strong showing in the U.S. National Team Development Program but has struggled to live up to that draft billing so far. Turcotte has played just a dozen NHL games so far – eight in 2021-22 and four in 2022-23 – and is still looking for his first point. This marks his second recall of the season, the first of which just lasted one day. This one could last longer as Los Angeles is one of the few teams that will be playing right up to the All-Star break and will get their bye week after.
Turcotte has shown some improvement with the Reign this season, posting career-bests in goals (seven), assists (16), and points (23) in 28 games, good for fifth in team scoring so this is a merited opportunity.
This is Turcotte’s final season of waiver exemption which is something worth keeping an eye on. It’s not a bad idea to give Turcotte a few games to get a better idea as to if he’s going to figure into their plans for 2024-25. If he doesn’t show well, perhaps he becomes a candidate to be moved before the March 8th trade deadline if a selling team wants someone closer to being NHL-ready over a draft pick that will still be a few years away.
Blue Jackets Place Adam Boqvist On IR, Recall Nick Blankenburg
The Blue Jackets have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against Vancouver. The team announced that they have placed defenseman Adam Boqvist on injured reserve with an upper-body injury; taking his place on the roster is Nick Blankenburg who has been recalled from AHL Cleveland.
Boqvist was injured in Thursday’s victory over Calgary when he took a puck to the face on the bench. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch relays (Twitter link) that the blueliner lost teeth and something worse as a result. Boqvist is in the middle of a rough season as injuries and scratches have limited him to just 20 games where he has seven assists. Last season, the 23-year-old looked to turn the corner offensively with 24 points in 46 contests but he just hasn’t been able to get back to that type of performance this year. There’s no word on how long Boqvist will be out with the team simply saying that he’s out through the All-Star break.
Blankenburg, meanwhile, was a full-timer on the roster for Columbus last season though he missed time due to injury. This year, however, he has primarily played in the minors, suiting up in 19 games for the Monsters where he has three goals and nine assists. The 25-year-old has played in six games with the Blue Jackets, averaging nearly 18 minutes a night. This is his final season of waiver exemption.
Columbus recently sent David Jiricek back to Cleveland so it might be a bit surprising that he didn’t get the promotion to return. However, with Jiricek’s ice time being limited lately, it might be more beneficial to have an extended stretch with the Monsters where he’ll get big minutes consistently over being sent back and forth as injuries come and go.
Bruins Recall Patrick Brown
The Bruins play their final game before their bye week and the All-Star break today and they have opted to bring up an extra forward for that contest as they announced that they’ve recalled Patrick Brown from AHL Providence.
The 31-year-old is in his first season with Boston after inking a two-year, $1.6MM contract with them on the opening day of free agency back in July. He was expected to land a spot on their fourth line but things didn’t exactly go as planned. Instead, he didn’t make the team out of training camp and cleared waivers. He cleared them a second time as well back in mid-November.
This is Brown’s sixth recall of the season and he has played in ten games so far with Boston, collecting one assist while logging just 8:29 per night. He also has suited up in 15 games with Providence where he has been much more effective, notching 11 points in 15 contests.
The Bruins had an open roster spot so they didn’t need to make a corresponding move to bring him up. With Jakub Lauko missing last game with an undisclosed injury and Jake DeBrusk and Matthew Poitras out being banged up, Brown should suit up this afternoon against the Flyers. That said, with the long break approaching, there’s a good chance he’ll be sent back down to the minors on Sunday.