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Transaction Notes: Reichel, Jankowski, Clague, Rondbjerg

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Still struggling through an unexpectedly poor season, forward Lukas Reichel has been sent down by the Chicago Blackhawks to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Reichel has yet to play in Rockford this season, but did have a highly productive outing last year, scoring 20 goals and 51 assists in 55 games.

After his recall at the end of last season, Reichel produced quite effectively for a Blackhawks team that had no hopes of contending. In 23 games, Reichel would score seven goals and 15 points at the professional level, inspiring hope that he could be a top-line player as early as this season.

Unfortunately, those hopes quickly vanished, as Reichel has only been able to put up three goals and 10 points through 50 games, producing a team-worst -28 rating. The Blackhawks will be hoping that Reichel can take the time he needs in the AHL to regain his confidence to become a long-term fixture in Chicago’s top-six.

Other transaction notes:

  • The Nashville Predators have sent down forward Mark Jankowski to their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, according to a team announcement. Now in his second season with the Predators organization, Jankowski was originally recalled on February 12th, going scoreless in the three games he suited up for. In Milwaukee, Jankowski has been remarkable this year, scoring 15 goals and 47 points over 40 games.
  • Moving over to the Atlantic Division, the Buffalo Sabres announced they have sent down defenseman Kale Clague to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Having yet to play for the Sabres up to this point in the season, Clague has been quite productive for the Americans, scoring three goals and 23 points through 41 contests.
  • With multiple injuries coming to their forward core this season, Jonas Rondbjerg has been an oft-used organizational depth piece for the Vegas Golden Knights to replace lost minutes. Once again, the team has sent him back down to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, per a team announcement. The native of Denmark has skated in 18 games for the Golden Knights this season, putting up one goal and three points in the process.

Pacific Notes: Labanc, Kallionkieli, Joshua

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Suffering from what is becoming a career-worst season, San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc is looking for a fresh start outside of the Bay Area. In an article today, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now confirmed that both Labanc and his agent made the request clear, and referenced that they would like a resolution by the trade deadline or the offseason.

The resolution will eventually come, as Labanc is in the last year of a four-year, $18.9MM contract signed with the Sharks, allowing him to sign with any of the other 31 teams regardless of San Jose’s desires. Unfortunately, with only seven points in 32 games, Labanc may find his market to be incredibly limited both at the trade deadline and when free agency eventually rolls around.

In the article specifically, Peng notes that the Vancouver Canucks had an interest in acquiring Labanc as recently as last offseason, but could not confirm if they still hold any desire for him, especially with some of their additions already this season. Nevertheless, if the Sharks are unable to find a taker for Labanc by the trade deadline, a strong finish to the season should certainly be a priority for him in the hopes of boosting his free-agency stock by the summer months.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported today that the Vegas Golden Knights have placed forward Marcus Kallionkieli on waivers for the purpose of contract termination. Having been drafted 139th overall by Vegas back in the 2019 NHL Draft, Kallionkieli has only managed 11 games in the Golden Knights under his belt with six of those coming in the AHL, and other five coming in the ECHL. Currently rostered for Kiekko-Espoo of the Finnish Liiga, Kallionkieli has scored one goal and five points in four games.
  • For their game tonight against the Detroit Red Wings, the Vancouver Canucks will be without valuable depth forward Dakota Joshua (X Link). Supplementary reporting indicates that Joshua has injured his hand by way of a fight coming on Tuesday against Mackenzie Entwistle of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Golden Knights Recall Byron Froese, Reassign Brendan Brisson, Tobias Bjornfot

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The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled defenseman Byron Froese and assigned forward Brendan Brisson and defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. Bjornfot’s assignment is part of a long-term injury conditioning loan, per the team.

Froese has spent much of the season in the AHL, scoring eight goals and 15 points in 37 games. He’s also played in seven NHL games, going without a point and recording four penalty minutes. Froese has been a de facto call-up since 2015-16, when he made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played in 56 games that season, a mark that remains a career-high. Froese was originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft – getting taken in the same round as Casey Cizikas and Mattias Ekholm, and one selection before Ben Chiarot.

The Golden Knights are sending down two young players in Brisson and Bjornfot. Neither player has found a particular scoring edge in the NHL this season, with Brisson netting three points in his first seven NHL games and Bjornfot going without a point in his first two games with Vegas since the team claimed off waivers. Bjornfot is currently grappling with an undisclosed injury that’s earned him a spot on injured reserve. He joins a long list of injured Golden Knights, including Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev, William Carrier, and Shea Theodore.

Pacific Notes: Pelletier, Grundström, Dorofeyev, Emberson, Barabanov

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The Flames have now listed winger Jakob Pelletier as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per a team announcement. Pelletier, 22, played just 54 seconds against the Rangers on Monday before leaving the game after taking a hit from New York captain Jacob Trouba.

Thankfully, the day-to-day designation infers this injury isn’t related to the left shoulder surgery that sidelined him for the first three months of the season. After returning to health in January, the Flames assigned the 2019 first-round pick to the AHL, where he netted two goals and an assist in four games. Since returning to the NHL earlier this month, the Québec City native has an assist in four appearances. He got his first taste of NHL action last season, recording three goals and seven points in 24 games while averaging 14:11.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • Kings winger Carl Grundström has returned to Los Angeles from the team’s road trip to be evaluated for a lower-body injury, interim head coach Jim Hiller said Wednesday (via Zach Dooley of the team’s official site). Grundström left last night’s 7-0 loss to the Sabres in the first period, recording one shot on goal in 3:43 of ice time. The 26-year-old has struggled to produce after rattling off four points in five games to open the season, posting eight goals and 12 points in 50 games on the year with a -2 rating while averaging 10:56 per game. The second-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2016 is a pending RFA with arbitration rights upon completion of his two-year, $2.6MM deal.
  • Golden Knights winger Pavel Dorofeyev has been skating on his own while he recovers from an upper-body injury, but head coach Bruce Cassidy said today that he’s not close to returning to practice (via Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun). Dorofeyev landed on IR earlier this week and hasn’t played since Jan. 26 against the Rangers, missing the team’s last four games. He’s eligible to return to the active roster at any time, but the 23-year-old is still weeks away from returning. The 2019 third-round pick has been an effective part of the Golden Knights’ secondary offense this season, potting seven goals and 14 points in only 29 games in a top-nine role.
  • Sharks defenseman Ty Emberson and winger Alexander Barabanov will return from respective upper-body and undisclosed injuries against the Jets tonight, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. It’s the Sharks’ first contest since the All-Star break – they’re the last team to return to action and will do so without the services of top-two centers Logan Couture and Tomáš Hertl for the foreseeable future. Emberson missed seven out of the last nine games before the break with an upper-body injury, while Barabanov didn’t finish their final contest before the break on Jan. 31 against the Ducks. With nine points and an even rating in 23 games, Emberson has battled through various injuries to break out as San Jose’s best shutdown blueliner this season after being claimed off waivers from the Rangers. The 29-year-old Barabanov hasn’t been as effective of a secondary presence as in years past, only producing three goals and nine points in 31 appearances while averaging 16:23 per game.

Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Bellemare, Mintyukov, McTavish

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The Vegas Golden Knights made some roster moves today as they’ve assigned goaltender Jiri Patera and forward Sheldon Rempal to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL.

Patera dressed last night as starting netminder Adin Hill’s backup as netminder Logan Thompson was out of action due to an illness. The 24-year-old Patera has appeared in five games this season for Vegas, registering a 1-3 record with a 3.75 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.

Rempal has also appeared in five games at the NHL level this season and has posted the first two goals of his NHL career. The Calgary, Alberta native has appeared sparingly over parts of five NHL seasons and once again finds himself in the AHL where he has posted solid offensive numbers with 21 goals and 12 assists in 43 games.

In other Pacific Division notes:

  • Roots Sports reporter Scott Malone tweeted that the Seattle Kraken have activated forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare off the injured reserve. The 38-year-old has been out of action since suffering a lower-body injury back on December 18th and has appeared in 29 games this season for the Kraken, posting four goals and a single assist while averaging 9:34 of ice time per game. Bellemare is in his tenth NHL season as he was a late arrival to the NHL having spent his first 11 professional seasons playing in his native country of France.
  • Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have welcomed back defenseman Pavel Mintyukov as the rookie 20-year-old was activated off the injured reserve today. According to Lee, Mintyukov skated on the Ducks’ third pairing tonight alongside Ilya Lyubushkin. Mintyukov has had a solid first season in the NHL, posting two goals and 17 assists in 41 games this season while averaging over 18 minutes a night in ice time.
  • The Ducks also welcomed back forward Mason McTavish after a one-game absence. The 21-year-old was dealing with an upper-body injury that kept him sidelined briefly but was healthy enough to be reinserted into the lineup tonight as the Ducks fell to the Montreal Canadiens 5-0. McTavish is mired in a six-game goalless drought but still has 13 goals on the season to go along with 18 assists in 44 games.

Vegas Golden Knights Announce Multiple Roster Moves

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The Vegas Golden Knights have activated defenseman Ben Hutton off of injured reserve ahead of their Monday night loss to the Minnesota Wild. Hutton served as a healthy scratch for the outing, but he’s now poised to make his return from an upper-body injury that had him designated as week-to-week. The Golden Knights have also moved forward Pavel Dorofeyev onto injured reserve with an upper-body injury that’s held him out of Vegas’ last four games. No update was provided on Dorofeyev’s timeline, though the team has recalled forward Sheldon Rempal, as well as goaltender Jiri Patera, for additional depth. Both recalls were made to address illness on Monday, with Rempal filling in for Paul Cotter and Patera filling in for Logan Thompson.

Vegas swaps out a depth forward and a depth defenseman with their IR moves. Hutton has played in 31 games on a bottom-pair role this season, scoring one goal and nine points – one point more than he recorded in as many games last year. Dorofeyev has found similar success, scoring 14 points, split evenly, through 29 games in Vegas’ bottom six. It’s Dorofeyev’s official rookie season, though he did appear in 20 NHL games prior to this season. He’s up to 23 points across 49 career NHL games.

To help mend the lineup in the face of injury, the Golden Knights bring up two players who have each played in five NHL games this season. Forward Rempal has scored two goals in his outings, appearing in some of the first NHL games of his career. He currently ranks second on the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights in scoring, with 21 goals and 33 points through 43 games. Goaltender Patera will be approaching this call-up looking for more, setting a 1-3 record and .901 save percentage this season. Patera is also a rookie, with his only NHL experience prior to this season coming through just two games last year. He’s served as Henderson’s starter when he’s in the minors, recording seven wins and a .903 save percentage in 17 games.

Pacific Notes: Tanev, Couture, Schultz, Thompson, Patera

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The Flames aren’t generating the level of interest they’d hoped for in pending UFA defenseman Chris Tanev as the March 8 trade deadline approaches, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal on Monday. Calgary GM Craig Conroy has only received offers consisting of second-round picks (and extras) for Tanev, not the first-round pick he’s holding out for.

Tanev, 34, isn’t performing up to his shutdown expectations this year – a tough spot for the Flames to be in as they try and recoup as much value as possible for his services over the past four years. He’s been one of the best pure possession-control blue-liners since signing with the Flames in 2020, even earning some Norris Trophy consideration in 2022, but his possession numbers this season look quite pedestrian. Despite his respectable +10 rating, Tanev’s expected rating is now in the negatives after posting a combined expected +37.3 rating over his first three seasons in Calgary. The Flames are generating less and allowing more at even strength with Tanev on the ice than in years past, and contending teams with keen analytics departments are likely tempering their trade offers in kind.

More updates from the Pacific Division to kick off the week:

  • Sharks captain Logan Couture is now listed as week-to-week after suffering a setback related to the groin issue that sidelined him for the first 45 games of the season, head coach David Quinn said Monday (via Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now). He will not travel with the team on their upcoming road trip and has been ruled out of the next two games as a result, but his absence now appears to be much longer than that. He’d played in just six games this season before the All-Star break, recording one assist and averaging 18:45 per game. With that news, the already basement-dwelling Sharks will be without each of their top two centers for the foreseeable future – Tomáš Hertl is undergoing knee surgery and could miss the rest of the season. For now, offseason trade pickup Mikael Granlund is expected to anchor the top line, while emerging rookie William Eklund will get a longer look at center on the second line.
  • Kraken defenseman Justin Schultz took part in Monday’s morning skate after missing Saturday’s game against the Flyers for personal reasons, Alison Lukan of Root Sports reports. As such, he’s expected to return tonight against the Devils, placing rookie Ryker Evans alongside Brian Dumoulin on the team’s bottom pairing. The 22-year-old Evans has been the far superior two-way player this season, but the Kraken’s 28th-ranked offense needs Schultz’s puck-moving ability and power-play expertise to help get the team on the scoresheet. Now in the second season of a two-year, $6MM deal, the 33-year-old Schultz has 16 points and a -11 rating in 42 contests this season while averaging 15:58 per game.
  • Golden Knights netminder Logan Thompson is dealing with an illness and is unavailable for Monday’s game against the Wild, per the team. The 26-year-old has started the majority of Vegas’ games this season, with Adin Hill missing a significant chunk of the campaign due to injury, posting a 16-10-4 record and .906 SV% in 31 games. Hill is now healthy, and he’ll be backed up tonight by Jiří Patera, who the team has recalled from AHL Henderson under emergency conditions with Thompson out. The 24-year-old has made four starts for the Golden Knights this year and one relief appearance, recording a passable .901 SV% and 3.75 GAA.

Vegas Golden Knights Updates

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As the Vegas Golden Knights took the ice for practice this morning in preparation for their upcoming game against the Minnesota Wild on Monday, they issued a plethora of updates regarding key players. The team announced that Mark Stone, Zach Whitecloud, and Jonas Rondbjerg would all miss practice due to illness, indicating that there may be a bug making its way around the team. In the same announcement, the team has also sent defenseman Kaedan Korczak to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.

Outside of those missing practice, the team also announced that defenseman Shea Theodore was back at practice in a non-contact jersey, indicating that he may be close to returning. Out for much of the season, Theodore has scored four goals and 18 points in 20 games for the Golden Knights this year before an upper-body injury took him out of the lineup back on November 22nd.

Given that the team does not play until after the weekend, it would be reasonable to assume that Stone, Whitecloud, and Rondbjerg could all return without missing any games. However, it is important to note that Vegas has dealt with several injuries to key players throughout much of the season, and losing three players from illness would severely limit their depth moving forward.

In Korczak, this transaction will mark his third demotion of the season, with the other two coming in early January and early November, respectively. In December, Korczak suffered an undisclosed injury keeping him out of the lineup for nearly a month, limiting his play in Henderson to only five games on the year.

At the NHL level, Korczak has skated in 26 games for the Golden Knights this year, marking a career-high in terms of games played over the last three seasons. Averaging 16 and a half minutes of ice time a game, Korczak has scored one goal and nine points while also sporting a productive 50.4 CorsiFor% and a 94.2% On-Ice Save Percentage in All Situations.

Trade Deadline Primer: Edmonton Oilers

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With the All-Star break in the rear-view, the trade deadline looms large and is now less than a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Edmonton Oilers.

For the second consecutive season, the Oilers started slowly. The team started so poorly this season that it resulted in the firing of head coach Jay Woodcroft after just 13 games. Since their 3-9-1 start to the season, Edmonton has rebounded under Kris Knoblauch with a 27-7 record that includes a near-record 16-game winning streak. The Oilers now once again look like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and will no doubt be looking to add to their lineup at the trade deadline. The club has already been linked to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel and will surely be in on some of the other big names in the upcoming weeks. The Oilers don’t have much in the way of cap space and will need to get creative to fill in some of the remaining holes on their roster. But with the uncertainty around the futures of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they are likely to do everything they can to add to an already formidable lineup.

Record

30-16-1, 3rd in the Pacific

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

 $2.374MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2024: EDM 1st, EDM 2nd, EDM 5th, EDM 6th, NASH 6th
2025: EDM 1st, EDM 3rd, EDM 4th, EDM 5th, EDM 6th, EDM 7th

Trade Chips

Edmonton probably isn’t looking to move much off of their NHL roster to facilitate a trade, however, they will likely need to shed some salary to acquire any high-priced talent. There have been rumors in recent weeks that they would like to shed Cody Ceci and his $3.25MM cap hit, and they also have Jack Campbell toiling in the AHL with his $5MM cap hit, but if Edmonton wanted to move on from either player it would require a sizeable asset to move the money out.

The Oilers do have some assets if they want to make a big move, as they still possess their first-round pick in the next few drafts and have most of their other draft capital as well. There will also be interest in defenseman Philip Broberg despite his lack of NHL success. The 22-year-old hasn’t exactly had a seamless transition to professional hockey, but he is having a strong season in the AHL.

Edmonton has one of the worst farm systems in the NHL, but it isn’t without a couple of intriguing players. Xavier Bourgault is not having the type of season he or the Oilers were hoping for with just six goals and 10 assists in 39 AHL games. The 2021 first-round pick is ranked by many as the Oilers’ top prospect and has shown that he is a great special teams player, but his scoring just isn’t there at even strength. He along with Broberg could be pieces of a bigger package to acquire a big-name player. But if they are the central pieces, it might require the Oilers to give up multiple first-round picks.

Another Oilers prospect is Raphael Lavoie whose size will certainly be alluring to teams who are looking for a big center with untapped potential. Lavoie is having a decent season in the AHL with 15 goals and 11 assists in 33 games, but at 23 years of age, it is hard to consider him a prospect at this point, especially one that can fetch to top-6 forward such as Guentzel.

If Edmonton does want to make a splash, it may require moving out young forward Dylan Holloway, who hasn’t found his offensive game in the NHL but does have good underlying numbers and will almost certainly be an NHL player. Holloway has posted good offensive numbers in the AHL but hasn’t spent of ton of time playing in Edmonton’s top-9 and could find that side of his game if given a chance.

One other intriguing prospect who could draw some interest is Matvei Petrov. The 20-year-old has had a slow start to his professional career with Bakersfield this season, and had a terrific, albeit brief OHL career with the North Bay Battalion. The former sixth-round pick has just five goals and three assists in 30 AHL games with the Condors but had 67 goals and 116 assists in 128 career OHL games. Petrov has good vision and hockey sense but is on the lighter side at the moment and could become much stronger on the puck if he could fill out his 6’2” frame.

Other Potential Trade Chips: D Beau Akey, F Maxim Berezkin

Team Needs

1) Top-6 Forward: The Oilers shuffled their lines yesterday and moved Corey Perry onto their second line. While Perry still has a role in the NHL, his days of being a top-6 forward are well behind him. The Oilers have a considerable gap between their top five forwards and all the remaining ones. Therein lies the need for another top-six winger. The Oilers would probably love to get a right shot forward, however, the market may force them to look at the left side which is why Guentzel’s name is being thrown around. If Edmonton can’t land a top-six forward, they could opt for a top-9 forward as a fallback option. Something they thought they were getting last summer when they signed Connor Brown.

2) A Reliable Second Goaltender: An argument could be made for an additional defender, but goaltending has been problematic for the Oilers for quite some time, which is why they signed Campbell two summers ago. Stuart Skinner has performed admirably for the Oilers and has earned the starter net. However, Edmonton would do well to find a solid backup who could take the net if Skinner were to falter or be dealt an injury. Alex Nedeljkovic out of Pittsburgh could be a good option should the Penguins falter and opt to sell at the deadline.  The Vegas Golden Knights showed last year that a team can never have too much reliable goaltending, and while the Oilers have three goaltenders who can play in the NHL, two of the three have a history of seeing their play fall off considerably. Something the Oilers can’t have as their contention window gets smaller and smaller.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Injury Updates: Miromanov, Senators, Killorn, Bedard, Raanta

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The Golden Knights welcomed back one of their blueliners for their game tonight versus Arizona as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated Daniil Miromanov from injured reserve.  The 26-year-old had yet to play with Vegas this season as he worked his way back from ACL and meniscus surgery in the summer.  He got into five games with AHL Henderson last month on a conditioning stint and fared quite well, notching a goal and five assists before being recalled a couple of weeks ago.  However, Vegas opted to play it safe with Miromanov, allowing him more time to skate with the team before officially having him suit up for his season debut with the big club.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • The Senators are expected to welcome back goaltender Anton Forsberg and defenseman Travis Hamonic for their next game on Saturday, relays Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan (Twitter link). Forsberg is currently on LTIR and Ottawa will need to make some roster moves to get cap-compliant before activating him.  The 31-year-old has a save percentage of .889 in 16 games so far this season.  Meanwhile, Hamonic has missed the last couple of weeks due to an upper-body injury but has remained on Ottawa’s active roster so no roster move is necessary for him to return.  The 33-year-old has five points and 69 blocked shots in 40 appearances.
  • Ducks winger Alex Killorn skated before practice today as he works his way back from knee surgery, relays Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune (Twitter link). The 34-year-old had the procedure two weeks ago and it carried a four-to-six-week recovery period.  While he didn’t stick around for Anaheim’s full practice, the fact Killorn is back on the ice is a promising sign that his return date could come closer to the earlier part of that range.  He has 19 points in 34 games so far this season, his first with the Ducks.
  • While Connor Bedard has been holding out hope that he could return earlier than expected, Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson poured cold water on that idea today. He told reporters, including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) that the rookie center’s return is unlikely to come before the original six-week mark.  Despite missing more than a month now, Bedard still leads all rookies in points with 33 in just 39 games.
  • After coming into tonight’s game in relief of Pyotr Kochetkov, Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta suffered a lower-body injury, per a team announcement (Twitter link). Raanta made nine saves in his lone period of work.  It has been a rough year for the 34-year-old who had a save percentage of just .870 coming into tonight’s action and cleared waivers back in December.

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