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Minor Transactions: 12/25/23

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With the holidays fully upon us, we have arrived at a short break on the pro hockey schedule. The only two games to appear on the schedule for today are in Kazakhstan’s professional league, with both HK Almaty and Kulager Petropavlovsk collecting victories today.

But although game action has understandably stopped today, there is still some activity in terms of player movement. As always, we’ll recap those moves here:

  • After playing 129 games in the ECHL across three seasons and four different teams, defenseman Elijah Vilio has elected to transfer overseas to the Dundee Stars of the EIHL. The 26-year-old began his professional career in 2021-22, signing with the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators after a standout stretch playing college hockey in British Columbia. He had a solid rookie year, scoring 30 points in 64 total games, but he was traded to Rapid City in March of that season and then traded once again before the month was over. Vilio began 2022-23 with the Norfolk Admirals but was eventually traded to the Savannah Ghost Pirates, who extended him for 2023-24. Vilio had six points in 10 games this season, but has not appeared in their lineup since December 2nd, and now will join a Dundee team in need of some assistance. Dundee head coach Mark LeFebvre said the team has “struggled to get pucks transitioned from our defensive zone to the neutral zone,” and is optimistic that the addition of Vilio will help the team in that area as they look to climb the EIHL standings.
  • Gregor MacLeod, currently a top-10 scorer in Germany’s DEL, has signed a two-year extension with his current club Kölner Haie. The 25-year-old former Drummondville Voltigeurs star began his pro career playing on AHL deals with the Grand Rapids Griffins but ultimately fizzled out there with both Grand Rapids and their ECHL affiliate the Toledo Walleye. In Summer 2021, MacLeod elected to try his luck overseas and signed with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers, a club he found instant success with. His 17 goals and 49 points in 56 games last season brought Nürnberg to the postseason, and his success there saw him get poached by Cologne, who inked him to a one-year deal. That signing has paid major dividends as MacLeod currently leads his team in scoring, so the two parties today elected to extend their business relationship by another two seasons.
  • After a solid 30-game start to his rookie Liiga campaign, Juuso Ketola has been signed to a one-year contract extension by his current club, HPK. The 23-year-old right-shot blueliner earned his shot in Liiga after scoring 41 points in 37 games in Finland’s second-tier Mestis last season. So far with HPK Ketola has shown no signs of slowing down, and his 15 points this season rank second on his team behind only Liiga veteran Teemu Rautiainen and former AHL All-Star Danick Martel. Ketola combines offensive ability with a physical edge, and his strong start in Liiga has earned him another season with HPK at the very least.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Big Hype Prospects: Schaefer, But, Andrae, Dubé, Warren

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Welcome to PHR’s Big Hype Prospects series. Like the MLB Trade Rumors series of the same name, we’re taking a look at the performances of top prospects from across the hockey world. We’ll look at drafted prospects who are rising, others who are struggling, and prospects for the upcoming draft who are notable.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Reid Schaefer, LW, Nashville Predators (Milwaukee Admirals, AHL)
25 GP 1G 3A 4pts

For many players, the transition from playing against one’s peers at a junior hockey level to playing against seasoned pros at the professional level presents a steep learning curve. It’s an exceptional challenge, and numerous top prospects have had slow starts in pro leagues only to eventually figure things out.

There are also players who immediately find their groove at the pro level, such as 2021 first-round pick Brennan Othmann for example, who has scored 22 points in 26 games with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.

One player who fits into the former category is Schaefer, the 32nd pick of the 2022 NHL draft. Originally selected by the Edmonton Oilers, Schaefer was dealt to Nashville as part of the Mattias Ekholm trade.

He was a member of an absolutely stacked Seattle Thunderbirds team in the WHL over the last two seasons, and enjoyed an extremely favorable situation as a result. He got to play top-six minutes next to some exceptionally talented linemates, and by scoring 36 goals and 80 points in 74 combined regular-season and playoff games he looked like a burgeoning power forward prospect.

That rapid rise from last season now looks like a distant memory. Schaefer has been unable to penetrate the top-six in Milwaukee, and has typically played on the third line of an Admirals team that routinely dresses seven defensemen.

And with top Predators prospects such as Joakim Kemell, Zachary L’Heureux, and Egor Afanasyev excelling on the first two lines (with veteran Denis Gurianov occupying the last top-six winger slot) there does not appear to be much immediate room for Schaefer to slot into a more favorable on-ice situation.

Typically stapled on a line with center Cal O’Reilly, a respected veteran but hardly the dominant AHL scorer he once was, Schaefer simply does not receive the offensive opportunities many other top forward prospects are getting in the AHL.

The result has been poor production, and while he has had his moments it looks like he’s still a ways away from challenging for an NHL job.

Should Schaefer’s offensive struggles continue, his overall offensive upside for the NHL could be placed into question. While at one point he was projected as a top-six NHL power forward, there has long been division in how his NHL projection has been interpreted.

TSN’s Craig Button ranked Schaefer 20th overall in his 2022 draft rankings, but the team at EliteProspects ranked Schafer all the way down at 102. It’s somewhat rare for highly-drafted prospects to have such a massive disparity in terms of third-party ranking, and combining that division with Schaefer’s current predicament raises questions as to his NHL future.

Is Schaefer going to end up an impactful top-six power forward, the kind of player NHL front offices dream of acquiring? Or is he more likely to end up a role player who relies more on physicality than scoring touch in order to carve out an NHL career?

Based on his time in Milwaukee thus far, it’s likely that we’ll need to wait until a few prospects graduate to the NHL before we get a clear answer to that question.

Daniil But, LW, Arizona Coyotes (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, KHL)
32 GP 8G 7A 15pts

Like Schaefer, But is also a six-foot-three recent first-round pick who was drafted by a team hoping he’ll develop into a goal-scoring NHL power forward.

But unlike Schaefer, But has not struggled in his rookie professional campaign. Instead, the 2023 12th overall pick has excelled for the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslalvl, despite playing in a situation where he receives as little as a minute of ice time in a game.

Still just 18 years old, But is on pace to score 15 goals and 28 points in his first full KHL campaign. While those aren’t Matvei Michkov numbers, that’s exceptional production for a teenage player in a league notoriously difficult for young players to succeed in.

His secondary scoring has helped Yaroslavl climb close to the top of the KHL’s standings, and while the threat of a reassignment to the junior-level MHL hangs over But (he has already been sent there on two occasions this season) he has clearly shown that he can hold his own at the KHL level.

As mentioned, Yaroslavl is a strong team and a potential Gagarin Cup contender. As a result, it’s unlikely that But will receive even close to the level of ice time other 2023 first-rounders will receive this season.

It would be easy to fade into the background in that situation, potentially even relegating himself to the MHL where he’d receive a more significant role. But despite that extremely limited role, But has found ways to excel. That bodes well for his NHL projection, and although he’s still under KHL contract through next season Coyotes fans should be encouraged by how this year is shaping up to be an emphatic step forward in But’s development.

Emil Andrae, LHD, Philadelphia Flyers (Lehigh Valley Phantoms, AHL)
19 GP 3G 11A 14pts

In late October, the Flyers had a decision to make. 2020 second-round pick Emil Andrae had put together an extremely impressive training camp, and his success in the preseason earned him a spot in the Flyers’ lineup for their second game of the season.

He had his NHL debut and got into four more games, but with a sheltered third-pairing role it had become clear that he may not have been as NHL-ready as he had led the team to believe with his strong training camp. The Flyers had to decide whether to let Andrae figure out how to survive in the NHL on limited third-pairing minutes, or if he’d be better off acclimating himself with the North American game playing big minutes in the AHL.

The Flyers took the latter route, electing to send Andrae to Lehigh Valley. Head coach John Tortorella explained the decision at the time, saying: “Instead of playing him eight, 10, 11 minutes, [in the NHL] he’ll play 20-plus down there. So important as far as developing players. Especially at that position, defense”

The early returns on the Flyers’ choice are decidedly positive. Andrae, 21, has excelled at the AHL level scoring 14 points in 19 games. He plays a big role at even strength and on the power play, and he’s getting a far larger dose of puck touches than he would have received in the AHL.

With the Flyers surprising early this season and in the thick of a playoff chase nobody saw coming, there doesn’t appear to be room on the team for Andrae to learn on the job as an NHL player. That’s just fine, though, as Andrae’s work as a top-pairing blueliner in Lehigh Valley has the Phantoms right in the thick of the AHL playoff race.

Andrae is an interesting prospect, as he stands just five-foot-nine but still plays with an imposing physical edge. He racked up 67 penalty minutes with HV71 last season in the SHL and is capable of unleashing some big hits. He also pairs that willingness to engage in the physical side of the game with some tantalizing offensive tools, tools that have thus far translated into points with the Phantoms.

The Flyers know what Andrae can do in front of the net, in the corners, and with the puck on his stick. What they want him to improve in the AHL is his ability to read and react to the speed of the game at a higher level, while also growing his familiarity with the smaller North American ice surface.

It remains to be seen how Andrae will fare in his next NHL shot, to be sure, but his AHL performance has been nothing except encouraging.

Pierrick Dubé, RW, Washington Capitals (Hershey Bears, AHL)
30 GP 16G 5A 21pts

There are many routes a player can take to the NHL, but some routes are more likely to end in success than others. It’s certainly true that what one does after they are drafted is a far stronger determinant of one’s NHL future than where in the draft they were selected, but it’s also true that top prospects are far more likely to receive a clear path to the NHL as well as a more generous leash to make mistakes as they travel that path.

As a result, some players need to scratch and claw their way to the NHL, and a perfect example of a player who appears to be just on the cusp of making it is French international Pierrick Dubé. The 22-year-old scored well in his later years in the QMJHL, but standing five-foot-nine it’s no huge surprise he went undrafted.

Dubé began his pro career in 2021-22 with the ECHL’s Trois-Rivières Lions, and even spent most of the start of 2022-23 in the ECHL as well. But Dubé scored nine goals and 14 points in just nine games with the Lions, quickly showing himself to be worthy of consideration in the AHL.

Dubé started off slow with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, but eventually became one of their more important players and finished with 16 goals and 32 points in 44 games.

As he was playing on a one-year, two-way AHL/ECHL deal, the Montreal Canadiens actually did not have the exclusive right to sign one of the breakout players from their AHL affiliate. This led to Dubé getting snatched up in free agency by the Washington Capitals, who signed him to a two-year, $870k AAV deal containing a $82.5K AHL salary.

That relatively hefty bet on a player with limited pro experience has paid off for the Capitals, as Dubé is currently one of the Bears’ most deadly offensive threats. He’s scored more goals than just about any other player in the AHL so far this season and is on pace to finish with 38 goals in 72 games.

Dubé’s size will always be a factor for his NHL future regardless of how well he scores in the AHL, and that’s especially true in Washington as the team has seen undersized AHL star Matthew Phillips struggle at the NHL level.

But if Dubé can keep scoring at his current rate, the 22-year-old could surely make a push for an NHL call-up which would make him quite the clever, diamond-in-the-rough signing for the Capitals.

Noah Warren, RHD, Anaheim Ducks (Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL)
20 GP 2G 3A 5pts

When the Anaheim Ducks drafted Montreal native Noah Warren 42nd overall at the 2022 draft, it was somewhat clear what the team was looking to accomplish. Warren already possessed massively impressive athletic tools: he is six-foot-four, 216 pounds, and can skate a lot better than most at his size.

Those tools informed the idea that Warren held quite a bit of upside as a defensive defender, but the hope was that with a few years left of junior hockey still to play, the July birthdate could take advantage of a long developmental runway and put together a more advanced offensive game.

So far, Warren does not appear to have developed significantly in the realm of offense. He scored five goals and 24 points in his draft campaign for the Gatineau Olympiques, and this season with the Victoriaville Tigres Warren is on pace to score six goals and 15 points in 57 games.

It’s not common for a defenseman to see his offensive production decline as he ages in junior hockey, only for that progression to reverse at the professional level. As a result, the Ducks may need to re-consider their hopes for what Warren will become at the pro level. While they may have once hoped that his offensive game would come along and he’d end up an elite, complete defenseman, that does not appear to be a realistic possibility anymore.

Instead, the Ducks may have to re-focus their hopes for Warren on the defensive side of the game, a place where his tools still indicate he can be a difference-maker.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

What Your Team Is Thankful For: New York Islanders

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the New York Islanders.

Who are the Islanders thankful for?

Bo Horvat.

The New York Islanders spent big money to acquire Bo Horvat last season, shelling out a first-round pick, a former first-round pick in Anthony Beauvillier, and second-round pick Aatu Raty. It was a high price to pay but Horvat is making it look like a great deal through his first full season with his new team. He’s been one of the team’s most consistent pieces, serving as a safeguard against the up-and-down struggles of some of his teammates. Horvat ranks second on the team in goals, with 14, and third in points, with 33, through 32 appearances this year. The 28-year-old centerman is also leading the Islanders in CF% (Corsi-For percentage) and ranks second in xGF% (expected goals-for percentage), showing that he’s earning his high scoring by making impacts all across the ice. Horvat’s strong play has let New York move Mathew Barzal to the wing, giving the star forward the fewest faceoffs of his career. The change has come to good effect, with Barzal leading the Islanders in scoring with 35 points in 32 games – on pace for 90 points through 82 games. Horvat is signed through the 2030-31 season, carrying a $8.5MM cap hit and some form of trade protection through all nine seasons. The Islanders placed a hefty amount of confidence in Horvat with the pricey trade and long-term extension and he’s returned the favor by quickly becoming a central pillar of their lineup.

What are the Islanders thankful for?

A stout crease.

The Islanders may be receiving the best goaltending in the league, which has come as a life-saver for a team facing injuries to three top defensemen. The effort has been spearheaded by Ilya Sorokin, who’s faced the second-most shots of any goalie in the league behind only Juuse Saros. Sorokin has continued his Vezina Trophy-caliber goaltending despite it, setting a .914 save percentage through 21 starts – good for 11th among NHL goalies with 12 or more starts. Sorokin is flanked by Semyon Varlamov, who has performed even better in his support role. Varlamov ranks sixth among all goalies with a .919 save percentage, continuing his trend of dominating in an Islanders jersey. The 35-year-old goalie is in his fifth season in New York and has recorded a save percentage higher than .910 in each of his four previous seasons, including the .929 he set in  36 games of the 2020-21 season which ranks as the 11th-highest save percentage over the last decade, among goalies with 35-or-more starts.

New York has played in more overtime games than any other team this year, largely thanks to their pair of former Vezina runner-ups standing tall enough to force extra time. They’ve been enough to back-up a fractured blue line and provides a comforting safeguard in a league where many different teams are searching for any sense of reliability in net.

What would the Islanders be even more thankful for?

Healthy defenders.

New York has suffered a string of injuries to their blue line that would be insurmountable for some teams. Three of their top-four defensemen are currently on injured reserve, including Adam Pelech who was placed on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He’s joined by Ryan Pulock, who was averaging over 22-minutes a night prior to his injury, and Scott Mayfield, who’s grown into a prominent role now in his 10th season with the club. The Islanders have had to get creative to fill in for these injuries, acquiring Robert Bortuzzo via trade and recalling Mike Reilly and Samuel Bolduc to serve in every-day roles. And while the blue line has performed serviceably, there’s no doubting that New York is missing a hardy boost thanks to their injuries – with Noah Dobson’s 34 points in 33 games representing the only blue-liner with more than 10 points this year. They’re expected to receive support soon enough, with Mayfield only designated as day-to-day, but no timeline has been provided for the return of Pulock or Pelech. The group looks formidable if, and hopefully when, the Islanders blue line is able to get full health, and there’s reason for optimism after the team’s performed so well with three reserves in the lineup.

What should be on the Islanders holiday wish list?

A new top-six winger.

New York seemingly have all of the defense and goaltending that a team could want but they’re still not receiving the depth scoring that could push them into the league’s top tier. Recent trade acquisition Pierre Engvall has done well in the top-six minutes that he’s received, scoring four goals and 13 points in 32 games, but getting a boost of scoring-upside could go a long way towards keeping the Islanders at the top of their division. There are no shortage of options on the open market, including goal-scoring wingers Anthony Duclair and Andrei Kuzmenko – two options on short-term contracts that could fit nicely into Islanders head coach Lane Lambert’s systems. Bringing in a new winger could give Lambert a newfound spark in the top-end of his lineup, and significantly more flexibility in the bottom-six.

Five Key Stories: 12/18/23 – 12/24/23

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The holiday break is upon us so it was a relatively quiet week around the NHL.  Nonetheless, there was some news of note which is recapped in our key stories.

Hutton Extension: Not long after signing with Vegas the first time, Ben Hutton inked a two-year extension, the last season of which is 2023-24.  But instead of testing the open market next summer, he has decided to stick with the Golden Knights, signing another two-year extension.  The new deal will carry a cap hit of $975K, a raise of $125K on his current contract.  The 30-year-old was expected to be a depth defender but has basically been a regular this season, getting into 29 games so far, picking up nine points while logging over 16 minutes a night.

Poitras Loaned: The Bruins will be without one of their regular centers for the next couple of weeks as they loaned Matthew Poitras to Team Canada for the upcoming World Juniors.  The 19-year-old made a strong early impression in Boston this season, earning a full-time spot in the lineup and while he had slowed down a bit lately, he still has 13 points in 27 games.  Notably, this delays Boston’s timeline for needing to decide on allowing him to accrue a full season of service time toward free agency.  That threshold is 40 games on the roster (not 40 games played) but since he’s on loan, that clock will stop for the time being.

Smith Fired: The Senators have been a trendy pick to be a playoff team for a few years now but they have continually come up short.  After another sluggish start this season, the team opted to make a change, firing head coach D.J. Smith.  Taking his place is long-time NHL bench boss Jacques Martin who had joined Ottawa earlier this month as a consultant.  Smith departs Ottawa with a 131-154-32 coaching record, good for just a .464 points percentage while the Sens never finished higher than sixth in the division under his tutelage.  At 71, Martin is hardly a long-term option behind the bench but it seems likely he’ll serve as the coach for the rest of this season.  He’ll be tasked with trying to fix Ottawa’s consistency issues along with their challenges in the defensive end.  However, they hit the break 15 points out of a playoff spot so a second-half postseason push seems rather unlikely at this point.

Bear To Washington: Over the last few weeks, free agent Ethan Bear has been speculatively linked to Washington.  That deal is now one step closer to being made official as the team announced that they expect to sign him at a later date.  The reasoning for not doing so right away likely corresponded with the holiday break; with Bear still working his way back from a shoulder injury, there’s little need for them to sign and pay him until he’s ready to play.  Speculatively, a deal should be finalized this coming week or soon after.  The 26-year-old logged over 18 minutes a night on the back end with Vancouver last season and will give the Capitals some quality depth as they look to hang onto a playoff spot.

Injury News: There was some good and bad news on the injury front across the NHL.  The Red Wings welcomed back captain Dylan Larkin after missing a little more than a week of action after sustaining a head injury against Ottawa, one that yielded a six-game suspension for David Perron which is still going through the appeal process.  Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the Wild will be without Mats Zuccarello on a week-to-week basis due to an upper-body injury.  The 36-year-old is still going strong this season, averaging a point per game in his first 28 contests.  Anaheim had plenty of injury news as well as they welcomed back center Mason McTavish and Jamie Drysdale early in the week while losing Leo Carlsson for four to six weeks in that same game.  Then on Saturday, they activated Trevor Zegras off IR after he missed 20 games with a lower-body injury.  The Ducks are well out of playoff contention but getting some of their top young players back will certainly be beneficial from a development standpoint.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 12/24/23

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With no games on the NHL schedule until Wednesday, many teams snuck last-minute transactions in before the full roster freeze kicked in.  We’ve covered a handful of them here throughout the day in Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and St. Louis; here’s a rundown of the remaining moves.  All transactions are via the AHL’s transactions log unless otherwise noted.

  • The Capitals returned winger Ivan Miroshnichenko and center Hendrix Lapierre to AHL Hershey. Both players were recalled on Tuesday with Miroshnichenko making his NHL debut.  He was held off the scoresheet in his three appearances while Lapierre has five points in 14 games with Washington so far.
  • The Red Wings re-assigned center Austin Czarnik and defenseman Simon Edvinsson back to AHL Grand Rapids. Czarnik has been shuffled back and forth frequently this month and has one assist in 16 games with Detroit while Edvinsson, who was only brought up Saturday, made his season debut last night.
  • The Kings loaned Jacob Moverare back to AHL Ontario after playing just shy of 15 minutes last night versus Calgary. The 25-year-old has been recalled and sent back down ten separate times each since mid-November.
  • The Golden Knights have loaned goaltender Isaiah Saville back to AHL Henderson, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). He has been serving as their interim backup with both Adin Hill and Logan Thompson injured.  As Thompson remains on the active roster, Saville was eligible to be sent back down.  The 23-year-old was activated off SOIR earlier this month and has made three appearances for the Silver Knights.
  • The Bruins sent three players back to AHL Providence – defensemen Mason Lohrei and Parker Wotherspoon along with center Patrick Brown. Lohrei has five points in 17 games so far in his first full professional campaign while Wotherspoon is logging nearly 16 minutes a night in eight games with Boston.  As for Brown, he cleared waivers early in the season and has been brought up four separate times now; he has an assist in nine games at the top level so far.
  • Boston also made one other transaction as they converted defenseman Ian Mitchell from an emergency recall to a regular one, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). Mitchell was recalled on Saturday and has two assists in 13 games with Boston so far.  The Bruins will now be ineligible to send him down until after the roster freeze lifts.
  • The Maple Leafs have returned center Pontus Holmberg to AHL Toronto. It’s the third time he has been sent back down since Wednesday as Toronto has been shuffling him up and down quite frequently.  The 24-year-old has an assist in eight games with the big club so far.
  • A day after recalling him, the Coyotes have sent center Justin Kirkland back to Tucson of the AHL. The 27-year-old had spent the full year with the Roadrunners prior to yesterday’s move, notching ten points in nine contests.
  • Grant Hutton is once again on the move as the Islanders have sent him back to AHL Bridgeport, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). He has been recalled and re-assigned six times apiece in the last month and has been limited to just two appearances with New York so far this season.

Many of these transactions will be undone on the 27th or 28th as NHL teams return to action.  In the meantime, these teams will save a bit of salary money and cap space with these demotions.  Toronto and Ottawa’s moves could have AHL implications as well as their two affiliates will play on Tuesday so the players they sent down could suit up in that contest.

Snapshots: Kahkonen, Three Stars, Minten

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Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen is on an expiring contract, making him a candidate to be moved before the March 8th deadline.  The 27-year-old told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News that he likes the direction that the team is heading in and would be open to re-signing with San Jose although he’s unaware of any discussions on that front at this point.  Kahkonen was traded two years ago when he was on an expiring deal, coming to the Sharks in a swap with Minnesota.  He has a .899 SV% in 15 games this season, a number that’s a little below league average but with the state of their roster and their struggles this season, that’s not a bad showing.  Accordingly, teams looking for help between the pipes might be inclined to inquire about Kahkonen in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • With the games for the week now over due to the holiday break, the NHL released its weekly Three Stars today. Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov was named First Star on the heels of recording seven points in four games including back-to-back overtime winners.  Rangers center Mika Zibanejad is the Second Star after also notching seven points in four contests.  Meanwhile, Red Wings winger Patrick Kane takes home the Third Star nod after leading the league in scoring with eight points in his four appearances.
  • Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten has been named captain of Canada’s World Junior team, per an announcement from Hockey Canada (Twitter link). The 19-year-old made his NHL debut this season, getting into a pair of games before being sent back to the WHL where he has since been traded.  Canada has four players with at least one game of NHL experience; all four of them are among the players who will be among their group of captains.

Hurricanes Recall Antti Raanta

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The Hurricanes have recalled veteran Antti Raanta from his short stint in the minors, per PuckPedia. In a corresponding transaction, rookie netminder Yaniv Perets was returned to ECHL Norfolk.

Raanta, 34, cleared waivers last weekend. His .854 SV% was the worst of any goalie with at least five games played this season, and his -9.4 goals saved above expected is eclipsed only by Senators netminder Anton Forsberg (-9.9) and Oilers starter Stuart Skinner (-12.0), per MoneyPuck.

The veteran of 267 NHL games and 11 seasons accepted an assignment to AHL Chicago, which had been the Hurricanes’ primary affiliate since 2020 but severed ties over the summer, now operating independently from any NHL club. He made two starts while in the minors, allowing three goals in each and posting a subpar .875 SV%. The Wolves earned three out of a possible four points with Raanta in the crease, going 1-0-1.

It’s uncertain whether this is a permanent call-up for Raanta or if this is for roster management reasons. Recalls are permitted during the NHL’s holiday roster freeze, and Perets is eligible to be sent down as long as he was informed of the transaction by the end of the day yesterday.

If the Hurricanes plan on returning Raanta to Chicago soon, they can do so without hassle. Since he passed through waivers unclaimed, he can remain on the Hurricanes’ roster for up to 30 days (or play ten games, whichever milestone is hit sooner) until he needs waivers to head to the minors again.

Perets did not appear for the Hurricanes since his recall last weekend, backing up Pyotr Kochetkov in four contests. The 23-year-old is in his first professional season after winning an NCAA Division I national championship with Quinnipiac last season. He has a .916 SV%, one shutout, and a 5-5-1 record in 11 games with Norfolk this season.

Jets Loan Artemi Kniazev To KHL

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The Jets assigned defenseman prospect Artemi Kniazev to the KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday, a team release states.

Kniazev, 22, will play out the remainder of 2023-24 in his home country. It will be his first stint in the Russian top league, as he’s been a full-time player in North America since coming over to play junior hockey with the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Saguenéens in 2018.

The 6-foot, 181-pound blueliner has one NHL game under his belt, coming with the Sharks in 2021-22. He was a San Jose draft pick, selected 48th overall in 2019, but Winnipeg acquired him last summer in exchange for the signing rights to 24-year-old German defense prospect Leon Gawanke.

Gawanke, who led the Jets’ AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, in points by defensemen last season, was frustrated with the lack of NHL time and signed a four-year deal to return to Germany before the trade to the Sharks. He then signed a one-year, two-way deal in San Jose, voiding his overseas contract. Gawanke hasn’t received an NHL call-up yet with San Jose, but he’s again leading his minor-league team in points by defensemen with 20 in 26 games for the San Jose Barracuda.

It hasn’t gone quite as well for Kniazev in his new home, however. He was a higher-ceiling point-producing prospect, notching over a point per game in his final junior season with Chicoutimi. He’d failed to crack the 30-point mark in two seasons with the Barracuda, however, and has five assists and a -12 rating through 20 games with Manitoba this season. It’s unclear whether Kniazev requested a loan back to Russia, if the Jets wanted to free up a spot on their farm squad, or if the decision was mutual.

The loan marks Kniazev’s first stint in the Nizhny Novgorod organization. He’d spent his mid-teen years developing in the Ak Bars Kazan system, also spending a short time in Kazan on loan in 2020 while the NHL was on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nizhny Novgorod is home to quite a few top prospects for the 2024 draft, none larger (literally) than 17-year-old 6-foot-7 blueliner Anton Silayev. It’s also the team of 21-year-old free-agent winger Vasili Atanasov who, after being passed over in the past few drafts, is reportedly garnering NHL interest after notching 19 goals and 38 points through 40 games.

Winnipeg will retain Kniazev’s rights through the end of the season, at which point his entry-level contract will expire and make him a restricted free agent. If the Jets do not issue him a qualifying offer, he will be eligible to sign with any NHL team. He is not eligible for salary arbitration. If the Jets do elect to issue Kniazev a qualifying offer, but he signs a contract overseas, he will remain on their reserve list. He will need to sign with Winnipeg if he wishes to return to the NHL unless the Jets trade his signing rights elsewhere.

Senators Reassign Angus Crookshank, Jiri Smejkal

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The Senators returned forwards Angus Crookshank and Jiri Smejkal to AHL Belleville after last night’s 5-4 overtime win over the Penguins, a team release states.

Both players were on the roster on an emergency basis. Since the Senators do not play until the league resumes play on Wednesday, their emergency conditions are no longer satisfied, and they can be returned to the minors during the league’s holiday roster freeze. One or both of Crookshank and Smejkal will likely be brought back up to the NHL roster before Wednesday if neither Mathieu Joseph nor Zack MacEwen can return from their respective lower-body and hamstring injuries. Both are listed as day-to-day and haven’t been ruled out for any future games.

Crookshank played in four games for the Senators during his recall, the first of his NHL career. It’s been a trying development path for the 24-year-old, who missed the entire 2021-22 season with a knee injury after concluding his collegiate career at the University of New Hampshire. The 2018 fifth-round pick has put up solid scoring numbers in the minors, including 21 points in just 24 games with Belleville this year. He averaged just 8:56 per game while on recall but notched his first NHL goal last Tuesday against the Coyotes. His possession numbers were good, posting a relative Corsi share of 4.2% at even strength, suggesting he may be ready for some increased minutes the next time he’s brought up to the NHL.

This ends Smejkal’s second recall since signing with the Senators as a free agent out of the Swedish Hockey League over the summer. The 6-foot-4, 223-pound Czech winger has seen minimal usage like Crookshank, averaging 8:57 in six games played with Ottawa since his initial recall on December 8. His first NHL point, an assist on a Jacob Bernard-Docker goal, came in Thursday’s 6-4 loss to the Avalanche. He returns to Belleville for now, where he has three goals and six assists in 19 games.

Dissecting The Sabres’ Disappointing Start

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At the beginning of the 2023-24 season, most expected at least one of three rebuilding Atlantic Division squads – the Red Wings, Sabres and Senators – to end their years-long playoff droughts. Popular opinion stated the Sabres were the most likely team to do so after finishing just one point out of a playoff spot in 2022-23.

Fast-forward to the holiday roster freeze, and those three teams have the worst point percentages in the division. The Canadiens were widely expected to finish last in the division but are now fifth in the Atlantic with a .530 points percentage, posting a 5-2-3 record in their past ten games. While Detroit is ahead of Montreal by one point heading into the holiday break, the Canadiens have played one less game.

The Sabres and Senators have the most ground to make up if they want to get back in the race. Both teams are multiple games below the .500 mark, and the Sabres are the league’s 27th-ranked team with a .457 points percentage. Inconsistent play has led some to question if head coach Don Granato and GM Kevyn Adams should remain in their posts as Buffalo aims to end their 12-season playoff drought, the longest in the NHL.

Forget taking a step forward – what’s changed between seasons to guide this year’s iteration of the Sabres to a significantly worse record than last year? The Sabres may have put up some of their best work near the end of last season, but they were in a much better spot at the holiday break with a 16-14-2 record. That would have them within a few wins of occupying a Wild Card spot this year.

Their already subpar defense and goaltending haven’t changed much. Unfortunately, their offense, which finished third in the league last season, has dried up. While they haven’t been as effective at even-strength as last season, the most significant drop-off has been on the power play. They clicked at a 23.4 success rate last season, ninth in the league. This year, they’re producing at a dismal 14.1% rate, 26th in the league.

All eyes point to first-line center Tage Thompson to help get their special teams back to last year’s form. His 20 power-play goals in 2022-23 were tied with the Lightning’s Brayden Point and the Rangers’ Mika Zibanejad for third in the NHL. Thompson has struggled with injuries this season, but he’s been much less effective even when in the lineup. He has only nine goals through 26 games, only two of them coming on the power play. After producing 1.21 points per game last year, he’s producing at a much more conservative per-game clip of 0.73 in 2023-24.

Some of Thompson’s struggles are luck-based, as he’s shooting 2.4% below his career average. He isn’t shooting the puck as much as last season, though, and his even-strength Corsi share has also stepped back about two percent from last season’s figure. He may still be playing like a first-line center, but not at the elite form he displayed last season. His subtle steps back have rendered the continued development of players like John-Jason Peterka and Casey Mittelstadt, as well as an unexpectedly strong rookie season from 2023 13th-overall pick Zach Benson, ineffective in helping the Sabres return to postseason play.

On the other side of the puck, Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power have remained above average in terms of possession control. They’re far from shutdown stalwarts, but they’re also not enough of a liability to be truly to blame for their 29th-ranked defense. In a poor look for Adams, that brunt falls on the team’s two big free-agent additions – Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson. Among full-time Sabres defenders this season, their 47% and 47.4% Corsi shares at even strength are the two worst figures on the team. While Johnson’s $3.25MM cap hit is an easy out, having only signed for one year, the three-year term on Clifton’s $3MM cap hit suddenly looks quite concerning after putting up some great advanced metrics with the Bruins as part of last season’s record-breaking team.

Neither Devon Levi nor Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen have been spectacular in the crease, but Levi’s had some strong showings recently and has been slightly above average on the season, stopping 0.3 goals above expected per MoneyPuck. Luukkonen has conceded 5 goals more than expected over the course of his 17 appearances this year, but neither netminder has been poor enough to truly affect the course of the team.

How much a newly healthy Jack Quinn can aid their goal-scoring woes and mediocre power play remains to be seen. Since returning from offseason Achilles surgery, the 22-year-old winger has two goals in three games and looks right at home in a top-six role.

There is still plenty of time for the season to turn around, especially given the mediocre performances of some other Eastern Conference teams like the Lightning, Hurricanes and Devils. Buffalo’s playoff odds remain slim at 14.4% per MoneyPuck at the time of writing, and that figure is the highest out of Montreal, Detroit and Ottawa, surely influenced by their 9-3 drubbing of the Maple Leafs last week.

The focus will remain on Thompson’s production as the team returns from its holiday break. If he can rattle off a point-per-game run for the next while, that should help the Sabres squeak out some more wins and get back on pace for at least a winning record. They’ll need to count on continued development from their youngsters and better defending from their second- and third-pair players to take them the rest of the way.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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