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St. Louis Blues Recall Logan Brown, Assign William Bitten To AHL

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The St. Louis Blues this afternoon announced they’ve recalled forward Logan Brown from the Springfield Thunderbirds, their AHL affiliate. In a corresponding move, the team has assigned forward William Bitten to Springfield. Brown had been in the AHL on a conditioning loan, which the Blues assigned him to Thursday. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was the first to report the move.

Brown, 24, is in his second year as a member of the Blues organization, splitting time with St. Louis and Springfield last season, recording 11 points in 39 games with the NHL team. A former top prospect with the Ottawa Senators, Brown had been trying to gain traction in the NHL after a modest breakout last season. But, the forward found himself on LTIR after playing just five games this season. Now, after the brief conditioning stint, Brown can look to stay healthy and get back into a groove in the Blues’ lineup.

Bitten was recalled back on December 3rd and made his long-awaited NHL debut that night. In four NHL games to date, the 24-year-old has just one assist, coming in his second game. By getting Bitten back themselves, Springfield will hope to get more of the scoring touch he had earlier this season, with eight goals over his first 20 games.

Afternoon Notes: Schedule, Stone, Sabres, Team Canada Captains, Hershey Bears

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More hockey? You’d be hard-pressed to find a fan who wouldn’t want it. Earlier this week, there had been some discussions about the NHL potentially expanding the season back to an 84 game schedule for the first time since the 1993-94 campaign. Last night on Hockey Night in Canada’s 32 Thoughts segment, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman expanded on those rumors with an idea of what that schedule might look like, and how the league could get there.

In effect, the schedule would be expanded an additional two games to promote intra-division rivalries, such as the one between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers or the one between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders, both of which have seen their head-to-head matchups drop off in recent years. As Friedman details, the schedule would consist of four games against each of the other teams within the division, three games each against each team in the opposing division, and two against each team in the opposite conference. To balance things out, each team’s slate of preseasons games could be cut down. It doesn’t appear that any change is imminent, however Friedman adds that there is a willingness to discuss the change between the league and the NHLPA, however there hasn’t been much dialogue on the subject recently.

  • Things didn’t look good for Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone last night when he went down in obvious pain during the third period of the team’s game against the New York Islanders. The winger struggled to get off the ice with the assistance of his teammates, but surprisingly was able to come back and join them in the final moments of the game. Unsurprisingly, after the game, Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy was asked about the status of his star forward, telling The Athletic’s Jesse Granger that the hope is Stone’s injury is “just a stinger,” but he wouldn’t know much more until today. Cassidy added that Stone was not 100% when he rejoined the team late in the game. So far, no additional information has come out about Stone’s status. Vegas next plays at home on Monday against the Sabres.
  • Yesterday, the Buffalo Sabres were able to get forward Kyle Okposo back from injury and Jeff Skinner back from suspension, but were without defensemen Owen Power, Jacob Bryson, and Ilya Lyubushkin. The team didn’t have much information on Power or Bryson, and the same holds true today, however according to The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington, Ilya Lyubushkin is set to return tomorrow against Vegas. Noticeably absent from the ice this morning were defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson, but as Harrington adds, both were absent simply for rest purposes.
  • With the World Junior Championship just eight days away, Hockey Canada announced its leadership group for this year’s World Juniors team. Captaining the group will be Seattle Kraken forward and fourth-overall pick in 2022, Shane Wright. Assisting him will be Arizona Coyotes forward Dylan Guenther, Dallas Stars draft pick and current Kamloops Blazers forward Logan Stankoven, Anaheim Ducks draft pick and Quebec Remparts forward Nathan Gaucher, as well as Chicago Blackhawks draft pick and Mississauga Steelheads defenseman Ethan Del Mastro. Canada will kick things off against Czechia on December 26th.
  • Many don’t necessarily think about when an NHL team chooses to recall a player from their affiliate, it could set off a chain reaction of needs within their system, and that’s just what happened with the Washington Capitals and their goaltenders. When Darcy Kuemper went down a couple of weeks ago, the team recalled Hunter Shepard, which Hershey was able to cope with by recalling Clay Stevenson from the ECHL. No problem. But, when Washington also recalled Zachary Fucale yesterday in the wake of Shepard’s upper-body injury, Hershey was forced to sign an emergency back-up to a PTO for their game last night. Today, the Bears were able to smooth things out in net prior to their game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this afternoon, bringing up netminder Tyler Wall from the South Carolina Stingrays, Hershey and Washington’s ECHL affiliate. In a corresponding move, defenseman Martin Has has been sent to South Carolina. While this is a relatively minor move, it does give context for the transactions NHL teams make that sometimes seem to be done just for the sake of doing them.

Calgary Flames Place Chris Tanev On IR, Recall Dennis Gilbert

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1:52 pm: Per Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike, Calgary has placed Tanev on IR, likely retroactive to December 12th, when he was injured. Essentially, the move will create a roster spot for Gilbert in advance of today’s game, while allowing Tanev to return by Tuesday for the second half of a back to back in San Jose. It’s not clear if Tanev will return on Tuesday or not, however the defenseman was skating earlier today.

The Flames have since confirmed Tanev’s placement on IR.

1:22 pm: Gilbert’s recall seemed to imply that another player would be missing for the Flames in San Jose, and the team has confirmed just that. Forward Radim Zohorna did not participate in the morning skate as he’s dealing with a non-COVID illness, per a team announcement. According to Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson, Gilbert is already with the team in San Jose.

12:37 pm: With the NHL’s roster freeze set to take effect tomorrow night at midnight, we can expect plenty of roster shuffling in the time being, and that’s already been evident this morning. Adding to the pool of transactions are the Calgary Flames, who announced they’ve recalled defenseman Dennis Gilbert from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, their affiliate. No corresponding move has been announced.

Gilbert’s recall would seem to put the Flames above the maximum roster limit, however it could be an indicator that fellow defenseman Chris Tanev is going to be placed on IR after blocking a shot up high on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens. Tanev left that game early an hasn’t played since. Still, nothing on that end has been announced just yet.

Gilbert, 26, has seen more than his share of recalls and reassignments this season, last sent to the AHL back on November 27th. The shuffling has seemed to cost Gilbert some games, but he has been fairly effective in his role as a defense-first defenseman despite it. Through seven NHL games this season, Gilbert has one point, a goal, and through 15 AHL games, he has just one point as well, that one an assist.

The Flames will play this evening on the road in San Jose against the Sharks.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Jason Demers

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The Edmonton Oilers announced that they have signed defenseman Jason Demers to a one-year, two-way contract. After signing Demers, the Oilers have placed him on waivers for the purposes of loaning him to the Bakersfield Condors, their AHL affiliate. The contract is worth $750,000 at the NHL level, which is the league minimum. The move comes one day before the NHL’s temporary roster freeze takes effect.

For Demers, the contract should give him a much clearer path to an NHL job this season after not playing in the league since 2020-21. Unless he’s claimed on waivers, the signing, waiving, and loan to Bakersfield will more or less be a formality for the veteran, who has been playing with the Condors this season, tallying nine points and 32 penalty minutes in 24 games. Demers had actually been in training camp with Edmonton this preseason and impressed in that time, but salary cap constraints prevented the organization from giving him an NHL deal until now.

In the case of the Oilers, signing the 34-year-old should, if he clears, give them more reliable depth on the backend and a player they know they can trust if and when he gets into the lineup. Although their jobs certainly are in no danger, the Oilers have had some glaring issues defensively this week, headlined by Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard. For now, nothing will change on the ice for Edmonton or Bakersfield, but the team will be able to recall Demers at a moment’s notice when they feel the timing is right.

Metropolitan Notes: Sedlak, Islanders Injuries, Oshie

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Yesterday, Philadelphia Flyers forward Lukas Sedlak was curiously absent from practice, with it later reported that Sedlak had left the team and returned to his native Czechia. After a couple of hours, the Flyers confirmed that Sedlak had been placed on unconditional waivers for the purposes of terminating his contract. Though the decision was certainly surprising, Sedlak enjoying a solid season in his return to the NHL, one would expect he certainly has good reason to do so.

This morning, it seems Sedlak has already found his new team. HC Dynamo Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga announced they’d signed the 29-year-old earlier today. For Sedlak, it will be his first experience playing in the Czech Extraliga. The forward had come to North America ahead of the 2011-12 season, playing two seasons in the QMJHL before turning pro, spending three seasons in the AHL, making his NHL debut in 2016-17 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sedlak would play three seasons with Columbus before signing in the KHL prior to the 2019-20 campaign. In three seasons with Chelyabinsk in the KHL, Sedlak would become a dynamic scorer, but opted to return to North American for 2022-23, signing with the Colorado Avalanche, ultimately claimed by the Flyers earlier this season. A solid NHLer and impactful KHLer, Sedlak should be able to become a star and a key factor for Pardubice while having the opportunity to play in his native Czechia.

  • After a tough loss at the hands of the Arizona Coyotes, the New York Islanders were able to follow it up with a big win over the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights yesterday evening, however the team did have a rough go of it this weekend, apparently losing three key pieces in the efforts. It was already reported that forwards Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Palmieri had been injured Friday in Arizona, which forced the pair out of last night’s game in Vegas, and as Newsday’s Andrew Gross writes, there’s still no update on whether either player’s injury could be a longer-term issue. Compounding the injury concerns, mid-way through the third period in Vegas, goaltender Semyon Varlamov abruptly exited the game during a TV timeout and was replaced by Ilya Sorokin, who finished out the remainder of the victory. As Gross adds, no further update on the goaltender was made available either by head coach Lane Lambert.
  • After Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie exited last night’s game, many wondered if the veteran had re-aggravated the injury that has forced him to miss fairly significant time this season and last. Though a clearer picture on his injury isn’t available, The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reports that Oshie is now listed as day-to-day, perhaps a fortunate break for Washington. Oshie, who turns 36 in a few days, did not participate in the Capitals’ optional skate this morning, which might be expected even in a best-case scenario.

Austin Watson Fined For Interference

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The NHL and its Department of Player Safety announced earlier that Ottawa Senators forward Austin Watson has been fined $4,054.05 for interference on Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin last night. The fine is the maximum allowable under the CBA. The money will go the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The incident occurred at 12:55 of the first period. Larkin would stay in the game after the play, however as Michigan Live’s Ansar Khan reports, Larkin is the only player who played in yesterday’s game not on the ice for practice this morning.

It appears this play was the cause of Ottawa’s recall of forward Scott Sabourin earlier this morning, with the team concerned Watson could be suspended for the play. Now with Watson merely fined, Ottawa should have their choice of who to dress in Minnesota against the Wild this afternoon. Through 30 games this season, the gritty Watson has four points along with 36 penalty minutes and 73 hits.

Nashville Predators Re-Assign Kevin Gravel, Roland McKeown To AHL

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The early roster shuffling on this Sunday morning continues with the Nashville Predators, who announced they’ve re-assigned defensemen Kevin Gravel and Roland McKeown to the Milwaukee Admirals, their AHL affiliate. Both players had been recalled on an emergency basis on December 12th. No corresponding move was announced, but with Jeremy Lauzon’s return last night, Nashville did have flexibility to send a defenseman down.

Gravel, 30, certainly didn’t go unused during his stint with Nashville. The defenseman made his Predators debut, getting into four games this week, averaging 14:38 while dishing out seven hits and blocking six shots. These games represented Gravel’s first NHL action since he appeared in three with the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2019-20. A fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2010, the St. Cloud State alum has spent the bulk of his NHL career to date with the Kings (70 games) and the Edmonton Oilers (36 games).

A fellow Kings draft pick, McKeown, 26, also made his Predators debut this week, getting into three games, averaging 14:33 over that time. A longtime AHL veteran, this was McKeown’s first appearance in the NHL since his only other stint: 10 games with the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2017-18. In the time since, the defenseman has appeared with the Charlotte Checkers, Colorado Eagles, and the Admirals in the AHL, as well as 24 games with Skelleftea AIK in the SHL during the 2019-20 season. Through 22 games for Milwaukee this season, McKeown has eight points along with a very healthy +12 rating.

Evening Notes: Canucks, O’Brien, Broberg, Barkov, MacEwen

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When looking back on previous NHL seasons, each seems to have one or two stories that, even if it wasn’t the most memorable part of that season, dominated the headlines. Last season, that story seemed to be the availability of Jakob Chychrun, which has carried into this season, and the year before was COVID absences and protocols, which carried into last season too. This season’s headlines, besides Chychrun, seem to be dominated by the Vancouver Canucks: their struggles, their work on extensions, and now, the availability of their players in trades.

Earlier this evening on Hockey Night in Canada’s 32 Thoughts segment, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman continued that discussion. Friedman clarified the Canucks’ position, who apparently have just one untouchable player: Elias Pettersson. That one might feel obvious, but immediately begs another question: what about Quinn Hughes? As Friedman reports, while Hughes isn’t an untouchable, it would take “an absolutely mammoth offer” to pry the defenseman away from the Canucks. Despite having just the one untouchable, Friedman adds that the team isn’t interested in a rebuild or complete teardown, but instead is looking to change their mix and breath new life into the team. Finally from Friedman, it appears Vancouver isn’t willing to give Bo Horvat more than the $56MM J.T. Miller was extended for, however Horvat’s career-year has now put him over that number.

  • Arizona Coyotes forward Liam O’Brien is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury suffered last night against the New York Islanders, the team announced. The forward played just 9:41 last night in the win over the Islanders, lower than his 12:01 average this season. Not shy from fighting, it is notable that O’Brien did have a fight in the third period against Islanders’ defenseman Scott Mayfield, who’s experienced in that regard too.
  • Edmonton Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg, who was scratched for today’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks, missed the game with an injury he suffered yesterday, head coach Jay Woodcroft confirmed postgame, via The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman. Given Broberg’s play in 11 games this season, a healthy scratch wouldn’t be confusing, but certainly wasn’t deserved either, so news of an injury does make sense. It also further explains the decision to recall fellow defenseman Markus Niemelainen yesterday. Woodcroft did not elaborate further on the details or severity of Broberg’s injury.
  • Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was forced to leave tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils early with a lower-body injury, the team announced. Barkov appeared to be experiencing some discomfort after taking a faceoff earlier in the game. The center has played the last five games after missing two weeks with a bout of pneumonia. The extent of Barkov’s injury is unclear at this point.
  • Philadelphia Flyers forward Zack MacEwen missed this evening’s game against the New York Rangers with an illness, reports The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. Of course, no forced absence is a good thing, however one would expect an injury to carry a shorter timeframe, which would be preferable to getting MacEwen back into the lineup. MacEwen has just eight points in 28 games this season, but with Philadelphia showing value in grit this year, the forward’s 38 penalty minutes are much appreciated.

Injury Notes: Sabres, Canucks Illnesses, Aho, Capitals

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Things haven’t necessarily gone as planned for the Buffalo Sabres to start this season, the team coming into tonight with a 14-14-2 record thus far, tying them with the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens for the bottom three positions in the Atlantic Division. There are some bright spots, such as the further breakouts of Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin, or that record being partially influencex by an eight game losing streak that came with zero points, and there are reasons for the struggles, such as poor goaltending and a myriad of injury issues. Those injury issues continue to persist, but with injuries does come injury updates and the Sabres were able to provide a few of those today.

Forwards Jeff Skinner, who was suspended, and Kyle Okposo, will both rejoin the lineup tonight, reports Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. Okposo had only missed one game, Thursday at the Colorado Avalanche, but has dealt with his share of injuries this season. Harrington adds that defensemen Owen Power and Jacob Bryson, who both missed Thursday’s game will not play this evening. Fortunately for Power, he’s only considered day-to-day, however Bryson has been shutdown for the remainder of the road trip and will be re-evaluated when the team gets home. Their road trip concludes Monday in Vegas. Lastly, per Harrington, defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who is currently on IR and hasn’t played since November 28th, is still not ready to return.

  • The Vancouver Canucks could be down a pair of star forwards this evening, with both Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser under the weather according to Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor, who spoke with head coach Bruce Boudreau. Boeser also missed Wednesday’s game with an illness and while Pettersson did not, recall that he had actually been sent home from practice on Sunday after showing up sick. Even with the turmoil surrounding Boeser and the likelihood that he ends up being dealt this season, Vancouver will need both players in the lineup with the hope that they can produce and get their season back on track going forward. Boeser has 16 points in 22 games thus far, while Pettersson appears to be taking the next step with 34 points in 29 games to date.
  • Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho, who has been out of the lineup since December 6th with a lower-body injury will not play tonight against the Dallas Stars or tomorrow afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins, says Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff, who spoke with head coach Rod Brind’Amour prior to tonight’s game. On a positive note, Brind’Amour added that Aho was on the ice earlier today, indicating a return could be sooner rather than later. Interestingly, Carolina has done just fine without Aho in the lineup, going 3-0-0 in the process, including back-to-back shutouts of the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings. Obviously, the team would still prefer to get one of the NHL’s very best centers back into their lineup as soon as possible, especially considering schedule doesn’t get any easier after tomorrow, facing the New Jersey Devils and the Penguins again this week.
  • Washington Capitals forward Nic Dowd will miss tonight’s game with a lower-body injury, reports The Athletics Tarik El-Bashir. It’s unclear what exactly is ailing Dowd or how serious the injury might be, however he did leave Thursday’s game a touch early, playing just 9:39 in the game, down from his season average of 13:03. Also of note, goaltender Hunter Shepard has been ruled out of tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, which would explain the team’s earlier recall of netminder Zachary Fucale.

Florida Panthers Loan Alex Lyon To AHL

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Dec 14, 4:16 pm: The Panthers have returned Lyon to AHL Charlotte, according to a team announcement. Knight is now healthy and fully recovered from illness after missing four games, per Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards.

Dec 8, 4:28 pm: The Florida Panthers have since announced that Knight is dealing with a non-COVID illness and will not play tonight. Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start in net. Forward Anton Lundell is also dealing with a non-COVID illness.

Dec 8, 3:28 pm: The Florida Panthers have made a roster swap, recalling veteran netminder Alex Lyon from the Charlotte Checkers, their AHL affiliate, and sending forward Aleksi Heponiemi to Charlotte. The move leaves Florida still with the maximum 23 skaters, something they haven’t been able to have for much of this season.

It’s unclear what the exact basis is for recalling Lyon, as neither Spencer Knight nor Sergei Bobrovsky appear to be injured at this time. Knight had been pulled from last night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets early on in the second period, however that appeared to be performance related, with the goaltender allowing three goals on 15 shots. Bobrovsky replaced Knight and finished out that game.

Given Bobrovsky’s struggles this season and not wanting to burn out Knight, adding Lyon into the mix could serve to push Bobrovsky while giving Knight a bit of a break. Lyon has had a solid season thus far with the Checkers, recording a 2.80 goals-against and .903 save-percentage in 12 games.

As for the 23-year-old Heponiemi, the forward has bounced around between the NHL and AHL plenty this season, and was most recently recalled on an emergency basis on December 4th. The shuffling hasn’t hurt him too much, recording two points in seven NHL games this season, as well as seven points in 16 games in the AHL.

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