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Capitals Place T.J. Oshie On IR, Out Week To Week

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Capitals winger T.J. Oshie has been placed on injured reserve and is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports. The move opens up the necessary roster spot to recall winger Ivan Miroshnichenko from AHL Hershey, which was announced by the team earlier Monday.

Oshie, 37, left Thursday’s game against the Lightning after a non-contact injury late in the third period. Initially suspected as a lower-body injury based on the way he fell, his injury designation has changed to upper-body, generating some concern the ailment could be related to the back issues that have hampered him over the past few years. While he’s only been ruled out of Washington’s next two contests, he’ll likely miss a significant chunk of time.

The Capitals have kept Oshie in a top-six role this season, but age is catching up to the veteran winger, and his production has dipped as a result. He was on a tear before the injury, with six points in his last six games, but that rush only brought him up to 10 goals and 18 points in 38 games on the season. He’s bounced around various line combinations this season, recording a middling CF% of 47.2 at even strength. However, he hasn’t graded out as a particularly strong possession player for a few years.

It’s still a tough break for the Capitals, who need all the help they can get to make up ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race. It’s even more concerning for Oshie’s long-term health, as he’s already missed two significant chunks of the season with upper- and lower-body injuries. The 2005 first-round pick of the Blues is four games short of 1,000 in his career and has one season remaining on his eight-year, $46MM extension signed with the Caps in 2017.

The Caps are eight points behind the Lightning with four games in hand for the last wild-card spot in the East, although they’ve only won four of their last 10 games. Their -31 goal differential is also third-worst in the conference, only ahead of the Canadiens and Blue Jackets.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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The trade deadline is less than three weeks away, and the rumor cycle continues to ramp up. The Blue Jackets’ recent firing of GM Jarmo Kekäläinen means interim GM John Davidson will manage their deadline approach as a major seller. At the same time, an injury to Penguins winger Jake Guentzel may have taken one of the top potential rental options off the table.

With much more to come in the next few weeks, it’s time for more answers to your questions from our Brian La Rose in the #PHRMailbag. Our last edition ran in two parts during the All-Star break. Part one focused on the Kings’ struggles, Calder Trophy challengers, and some recent coaching changes, while Part Two discussed the Sabres’ crash-and-burn year, a potential deadline haul for Ducks forward Adam Henrique, and what the Red Wings could do with Patrick Kane.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.

Injury Notes: Tinordi, Kapanen, Smith

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Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi has a lower-body injury and will be a game-time decision against the Rangers on Friday, head coach Luke Richardson said Friday (via Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago). 22-year-old rookie Louis Crevier will make his first appearance since Chicago recalled him from AHL Rockford on Wednesday if Tinordi can’t play, Richardson said.

Tinordi, 31, last played with 6:53 remaining in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Wild. He did not take the ice for his defensive partner Isaak Phillips’ final two shifts.

The physical depth blue-liner has played in 30 of Chicago’s 51 games this season, recording six assists and a -19 rating while averaging 15:44 per game. A first-round pick of the Canadiens in 2010, Tinordi has worked his way into a stable NHL job with the rebuilding Blackhawks after they claimed him off waivers from the Rangers at the beginning of the 2022-23 season.

His value to Chicago comes in the form of pro experience and leadership, however – not so much from his on-ice performance. Tinordi’s 38.7% Corsi share at even strength is the worst among qualified Blackhawks skaters, although that figure is no doubt exacerbated by his sparingly low usage in the offensive zone.

Crevier hasn’t been much of an upgrade in his first 15 NHL showings. The 2020 seventh-round pick has similar offensive and possession numbers to Tinordi in nearly the same usage.

The 6-foot-6, 229-pound Tinordi will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He signed a one-year, $1.25MM extension to remain with Chicago last April after playing a career-high 44 games that season.

Other minor injury updates from around the league to close out the week:

  • Blues winger Kasperi Kapanen is ready to return from a lower-body injury ahead of Saturday’s game against the Sabres, interim head coach Drew Bannister said (via Lou Korac of NHL.com). Kapanen, 27, missed seven games with a lower-body injury sustained on Jan. 15 against the Flyers. St. Louis has an open roster spot and won’t need to make a corresponding transaction to take Kapanen off injured reserve. Despite scoring only four times in 42 games this season, he’s projected to return in a top-six role alongside Jake Neighbours and Brayden Schenn. Now in the second year of a two-year, $6.4MM contract ($3.2MM cap hit), the 2014 first-round pick has 12 goals and 27 points in 65 games with the Blues after they claimed him off waivers from the Penguins in February 2023.
  • Devils defenseman Brendan Smith will remain out on Saturday against the Hurricanes with a knee sprain, head coach Lindy Ruff said (via Amanda Stein of the Devils’ official site). The 35-year-old has been upgraded to day-to-day after landing on injured reserve over three weeks ago, however, and could be an option as soon as Monday against the Kraken. A depth free-agent add in the summer of 2022, Smith has logged time on both defense and left wing this season while occupying a veteran enforcer role. Signed to a contract with a $1.1MM cap hit that expires this summer, he’s posted a goal and four assists in 34 games while averaging 14:25 per contest. AHL call-up Santeri Hatakka has been serviceable in Smith’s absence, posting an assist and a +6 rating while shouldering bottom-pairing minutes in five games.

Follow The NBA Trade Deadline On Hoops Rumors

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Trade deadline day has arrived for the NBA, and our sister site Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors on Twitter) has all the latest news and rumors for each of the league’s 30 teams! The deadline is set for 2:00pm CT on Thursday.

Luke Adams provided a deadline primer this morning to help readers prepare for today’s action, and he will release his annual recap of all the completed trades this evening.

While it began as a relatively quiet week, three deals were agreed to on Wednesday, and many more significant trades were completed earlier in the season, with James Harden, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Immanuel Quickley, Terry Rozier, and Steven Adams among the players on the move.

In total, we’ve seen 11 in-season trades so far during the 2023/24 season. Last year, we saw 12 deals completed on deadline day alone, and this year could be just as action-packed!

Dejounte Murray, Bojan Bogdanovic, Kyle Kuzma, Bruce Brown, Buddy Hield, Miles Bridges, Andrew Wiggins, and Tyus Jones are among the names that have continually popped up in trade rumors. The Sixers have also reportedly talked to the Bulls about six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, perhaps the most accomplished player who has a chance to be sent to a new team today.

For the latest updates on those stories and more, check out Hoops Rumors today! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @HoopsRumors.

Follow The NBA Trade Deadline At Hoops Rumors

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The NBA trade deadline is just two days away (Thursday at 2:00pm CT), and our sister site Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors on Twitter) has all the latest news and rumors for each of the league’s 30 teams!

The 2023/24 season has been unusual so far, with eight completed in-season trades to this point, including seven before the calendar flipped to February. Typically, most in-season trades aren’t completed until the week (often the day) of the deadline, but several teams decided to make major roster decisions earlier than normal.

In part because several noteworthy trade candidates have already swapped teams in 2023/24, the rumor mill hasn’t featured many All-Star caliber players of late, but there’s always a chance that a disgruntled player asks out – that’s what happened last year when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant requested trades and were moved shortly thereafter.

That doesn’t mean the rumor mill has been quiet, of course. The Bucks, who won the championship in 2021, are reportedly being aggressive in looking for upgrades. On the other end of the spectrum, you have the Wizards, who are reportedly looking to accumulate assets in the first year of their rebuild. The Hawks have also been active in trade discussions, according to multiple reports.

Will the Sixers look to shake things up after reigning MVP Joel Embiid underwent knee surgery on Tuesday? What about the Bulls, who have six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan possibly heading for unrestricted free agency in the summer? Will the Warriors or Lakers make moves amid disappointing seasons?

For the latest updates on those stories and more, check out Hoops Rumors today! Last season saw a total of 17 in-season trades — including 12 on deadline day alone — and we’ll likely see a flurry of activity over the next few days. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @HoopsRumors.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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We’re now just over six weeks away from the trade deadline. As the season shifts past its halfway point and is quickly hurtling toward the All-Star Break, trade rumors are picking up on a wider scale after a news cycle that was focused on a select few names for most of the season.

With that in mind, it’s time to gear up for the impending transaction action with the next edition of our PHR Mailbag. Our last edition ran in three parts over the holiday break. Part one discussed the merits of buying for the upstart Red Wings and Flyers, part two discussed Alex Ovechkin’s chase of the all-time goals record and the potential of a Lindholm-for-Lindholm swap between Boston and Calgary, and part three discussed trade deadline plans for a handful of other squads.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.

Avalanche To Activate Artturi Lehkonen

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The Avalanche will activate winger Artturi Lehkonen off long-term injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Capitals, head coach Jared Bednar said on Altitude Sports 92.5 FM (KKSE-FM) on Wednesday. Both he and defenseman Bowen Byram, who the team activated from injured reserve Tuesday, will return from multi-week absences tonight, per Bednar.

Lehkonen has not played since sustaining a neck injury against the Kraken on Nov. 9. His return ends a 35-game absence over the course of two and a half months.

The 28-year-old’s return to play comes soon after Colorado’s other major source of secondary scoring, Valeri Nichushkin, entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. The Avalanche have a 3-2-0 record and a +4 goal differential in their last five games without either Lehkonen or Nichushkin, importantly keeping pace for second place in the Central Division ahead of the Stars, who are only one point back of Colorado and are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.

Lehkonen shouldered major minutes for the Avalanche through the first 12 games of the year, averaging 18:29 per game, including his injury-shortened outing against Seattle. The Finnish winger posted three goals and five assists for eight points, a slight dip in pace from last season’s career-high 21 goals and 51 points in 64 games.

His return will help shoulder the indefinite loss of Nichushkin and will provide a needed boost to a middle-six that’s struggled to produce much offense. While Colorado’s 179 goals lead the league, a disproportionate amount of that has come from Nichushkin, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Notably, Ross Colton and Logan O’Connor each have six points in their last five games and are hovering around a 41-point pace.

Now, the Avalanche hope Lehkonen can stay healthy until the postseason, where he’s done some of his best work. He posted 14 points in 20 games en route to 2022’s Stanley Cup win and had three goals and six points in last season’s seven-game loss to the Kraken in the First Round.

Slovakia Announces Roster For 2024 World Juniors

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Hockey Slovakia has announced its contingent for the upcoming 2024 World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden, via Matej Deraj of Dennik Sport.

It’s a testament to the state of Slovak hockey to see a bevy of first-round picks and NHL-drafted names on the roster, even without the country’s two top youngsters in Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky and Devils defenseman Simon Nemec, both of whom will stay with their pro squads and were not loaned out for the event. Nonetheless, they’re still a potential upset candidate for a medal and have a strong, well-rounded offense. The full roster is here:

F Peter Císar (undrafted)
F Alex Čiernik (PHI)
F František Dej (undrafted)
F Dalibor Dvorský (STL)
F Samuel Honzek (CGY)
F Roman Kukumberg (undrafted)
F Patrik Masnica (undrafted)
F Filip Mešár (MTL)
F Martin Mišiak (CHI)
F Juraj Pekarčík (STL)
F Servác Petrovský (MIN)
F Peter Repčík (undrafted)
F Markus Suchý (undrafted)
F Adam Sýkora (NYR)
F Alex Šotek (undrafted)
F Adam Žlnka (ARI)

D Richard Baran (undrafted)
D Jakub Chromiak (undrafted)
D Viliam Kmec (undrafted)
D Marián Moško (undrafted)
D Dávid Nátny (undrafted)
D Milan Pišoja (undrafted)
D Luka Radivojevič (undrafted)
D Maxim Štrbák (BUF)
D Boris Žabka (undrafted)

G Rastislav Eliaš (undrafted)
G Adam Gajan (CHI)
G Samuel Urban (undrafted)

The roster is undoubtedly highlighted by Dvorský, the only top-ten selection on this list. After a disappointing start to the season on loan to the Swedish Hockey League’s IK Oskarshamn, in which he recorded no points in ten games, he signed on with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves and has dominated since coming to North American ice. The 18-year-old has 18 goals and 34 points in 20 games on the season, including 11 goals and 22 points in his last ten games at the time of writing. He’s quickly looking like a threat to jump to the NHL full-time in 2024-25.

Honzek is also a player to watch. The 19-year-old sustained an injury at last year’s tournament, which limited him to two appearances, and a separate injury has limited him to just five games with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants this season. If he can remain healthy, the hulking winger will be among the team’s leading scorers at the tournament and will play a key role in helping them to some upset wins en route to a potential medal.

Mešár rounds out the first-round picks on this roster, selected 26th overall by the Canadiens in 2022. Like Dvorský, he’s putting up great production in the OHL, notching 32 points in 20 games. After recording six points in five games for Slovakia at last year’s tournament while serving as an alternate captain, he’ll assume the role of the team’s main leadership figure in Gothenburg.

Things thin out on defense. Kmec is expected to log big minutes for the Slovaks on the back end in his third trip to the World Juniors, although Štrbák will challenge for the de facto number-one role as the only NHL-drafted prospect. Radivojevič, who is 16 years old and not draft-eligible until 2025, is an intriguing inclusion after making his professional debut for the SHL’s Örebro HK this season.

Gajan, a second-round pick of the Blackhawks last season, will hold down the starter’s crease. He excelled in the 2023 World Juniors, recording a sparkling .936 SV% in four appearances en route to a very close quarterfinal loss against the Canadians.

Minor Transactions: 12/12/23

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It’s been a busy period around the world of professional hockey, both in the NHL and in Europe. In the NHL, teams continue to jockey for position in the standings while also assessing the state of their roster as we inch closer to true trade season.

Over in Europe, the ups and downs of the regular season have prompted significant movement. That movement applies to both players and also leadership figures, such as in the SHL where Rögle BK yesterday dismissed head coach Cam Abbott and sporting director Chris Abbott. The duo had been in charge of Rögle since the middle of 2017-18, and took the club on multiple playoff runs including one to the SHL final in 2020-21.

Moving back to player movement, we’ll keep track of notable player transactions here:

  • 2014 Dallas Stars first-round pick Julius Honka was loaned from his Swiss National League club Genève-Servette HC to HC Ambrì-Piotta, in order to play for the club during the Spengler Cup tournament. He joins Swiss blueliner Benoit Jecker, who was loaned from HC Fribourg-Gottéron for the same purpose. Honka originally signed with SC Bern over the summer after a strong campaign in the SHL with Luleå, but eventually was loaned from Bern to Genève-Servette. Jecker, 29, has played in 30 games this year for Fribourg-Gottéron and scored six points.
  • Another 2014 first-round draft pick joins a Swiss National League team, as two-time AHL All-Star forward John Quenneville has signed with HC Lugano on a one-year contract. The 27-year-old split last season between the SHL’s Leksands IF and AHL’s Belleville Senators, scoring 15 points in 25 games for the latter club. He does have some Swiss NL experience to boast, having spent 2021-22 with the ZSC Lions in a campaign where he potted 20 goals and 37 points in just 46 games.
  • Former five-year college hockey defenseman Seamus Donohue has signed with the ICEHL’s Vienna Capitals, leaving the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads in the process. Donohue replaces defenseman Stefan Warg on the Capitals’ roster, as the team amicably terminated its contractual relationship with the 33-year-old veteran and alternate captain. Warg had struggled in 11 games with the Capitals, and is now replaced by Donohue. The 27-year-old Minnesota native already has experience playing European pro hockey, as he spent 2022-23 with SaiPa in Liiga. It’s somewhat unconventional for a player to jump straight from college hockey into Liiga, but Donohue remained a regular member of SaiPa’s defensive group for the full season. His departure from Idaho is a major loss for the Steelheads, as he’s currently tied for the team lead in defensive scoring with 18 points in 22 games. That being said, the Steelheads are strongly positioned to absorb the loss as they are currently the top team in the ECHL with a 17-4-1 record.
  • 22-year-old Eetu Randelin has had his trial contract with Liiga’s Tappara Tampere converted into a full one-year contract with the club. The rookie netminder has taken Tampere by storm, registering a .938 save percentage in eight games played. Originally slated to be the starter for IPK in second-tier Mestis, Randelin has now earned a full-time role with Tappara. He’ll likely get to back up starter Christian Heljanko moving forward.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

Penguins Place Dmitri Samorukov On Waivers

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12/12: Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that Samorukov has successfully cleared waivers, and will report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

12/11: The Penguins are placing defenseman Dmitri Samorukov on waivers today for the purpose of assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, GM Kyle Dubas informed reporters (via Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). In doing so, the Penguins will open a necessary spot on the roster to activate Pierre-Olivier Joseph from injured reserve.

Samorukov, 24, has not appeared in a game for Pittsburgh this season after signing a one-year, two-way deal in November. He began the season on an AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and earned an NHL deal after injuries decimated the Penguins’ corps of depth defenders.

A third-round pick of the Oilers in 2017, Samorukov was viewed as a rising shutdown prospect but ran out of time to develop, becoming eligible for waivers in 2022 before he could secure a role on Edmonton’s roster. After passing through unclaimed, the Oilers dealt him to the Blues in a one-for-one swap for winger Klim Kostin, with each Russian youngster securing a fresh start in a new market.

While Kostin earned a full-time spot with the Oilers last season, Samorukov couldn’t hold onto an NHL job with his new team. After making just one NHL appearance in five years with the Oilers organization, Samorukov played only twice for the Blues last year, instead spending nearly all of 2022-23 on assignment with AHL Springfield. There, he recorded 20 points and a +1 rating in 69 games, but it wasn’t enough to secure him a qualifying offer from St. Louis when his one-year, one-way deal expired last summer.

That made him an unrestricted free agent, and without any NHL offers heading into late July, Samorukov opted for the minor-league deal in the Penguins organization. He played a regular role in the lineup before being instated on the NHL roster in November, recording five points and a -1 rating in 15 games.

Assuming he clears waivers, Samorukov will return to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tomorrow. He is headed for restricted free agency this summer, and the Penguins will need to extend him a qualifying offer worth $813,750 to retain his exclusive signing rights.

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