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Archives for February 2024

Golden Knights’ Mark Stone To Be Out “A While” With Injury

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Star Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone will be “out for a while” per general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who shared the update with Pierre McGuire and Jimmy Murphy on the latest episode of The Sick Podcast – The Eye Test. McCrimmon added some good news, saying that Jack Eichel and William Carrier are nearing a return.

Stone suffered an apparent upper-body injury in the team’s Tuesday night game against the Nashville Predators, after receiving a big hit from Yakov Trenin. Trenin earned an interference penalty on the play. Stone’s injury is a tremendous loss for the Golden Knights. The 31-year-old winger currently leads the team in scoring, with 16 goals and 53 points through 56 games. It’s yet another successful season for Stone, who has totaled 256 points in 274 games since joining the Golden Knights in 2018-19. Unfortunately, productivity isn’t the only consistent for Stone – as he is yet again facing long-term injury in the second half of the season. Stone has had an upper-body injury hold him out from February to April in each of the last two seasons, earning a spot on injured reserve each time. Vegas will hope lightning doesn’t strike for a third time this season, with Stone so far remaining off of IR.

If Vegas does lose Stone, they’ll quickly turn their towards Jack Eichel, who has been out of action since January 11th with a knee injury. Eichel was moved to long-term injured reserve on Monday, though he has already missed the required amount of time and will be eligible to return as soon as he’s healthy. He has been Vegas’ most-productive scorer, operating as the only Golden Knight scoring above a point-per-game pace with 19 goals and 44 points through 42 games. Eichel has also been consistently limited by injury, with 67 games last season marking the most he’s played in one year since the 2019-20 campaign. He’ll have a chance to beat that mark by one game, with 26 games remaining on Vegas’ schedule, though he’d have to return on Thursday to maintain that pace.

Evening Notes: Hanifin, Nugent-Hopkins, Jones, Crevier

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The Tampa Bay Lightning could be viewing Noah Hanifin as their replacement for Mikhail Sergachev, per TSN’s Chris Johnston on Insider Trading. Sergachev has had terrible injury luck this season, recently fracturing both bones in his lower left leg just 10 minutes into his return from a separate lower-body injury that held him out for two months. The 25-year-old defenseman has played just 34 games this season, scoring 19 points. He’s now out indefinitely and is currently on the team’s long-term injured reserve.

Hanifin would be a darling replacement for Sergachev and a major addition to a Tampa Bay blue line that’s been battered and bruised all season long. Hanifin has scored 30 points in 56 games this season, operating as Calgary’s clear-cut top defenseman and averaging over 23 minutes of ice time. His role in Tampa would likely be a bit easier and focus more on taking responsibility off of Victor Hedman’s shoulders. Hedman currently averages nearly 25 minutes of ice time each game, almost six minutes more than any other healthy Lightning defenseman.

Hanifin is on an expiring contract with a $4.95MM cap hit. He’s currently expected to test the open market, though any team that acquires him will get a head start in negotiating a new contract. Tampa Bay is expected to have $7.55MM in cap space available at the Trade Deadline but just $11.5MM available this off-season, with Steven Stamkos headlining their list of pending free agents. That likely limits their ability to give Hanifin the contract he’ll be asking for. All of these factors will undoubtedly come up in trade negotiations, as Tampa Bay looks to acquire one of the top names on the open market.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is out with illness and is questionable to play in the team’s Wednesday night matchup against the Boston Bruins, per Sportsnet columnist Mark Spector. Nugent-Hopkins has had another productive season with the Oilers, scoring 49 points in 52 games this season. That puts him on pace for 77 points through 82 games, which would be both the second-most Nugent-Hopkins has ever scored and a notable step down from the 104 points he scored in 82 games last season. His absence would likely lead to Connor Brown stepping back into the lineup, as Edmonton doesn’t have any extra forwards currently on the NHL roster.
  • Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones is okay after taking a puck to the groin at the team’s Wednesday practice, while defenseman Louis Crevier is out with soreness after taking a puck to the face in the team’s last game, per team reporter Scott Powers. Crevier will be replaced by Isaak Phillips, who has six assists, 22 penalty minutes, and -22 through 29 games this season.

Vancouver Canucks Announce Multiple Roster Moves

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed centerman Dakota Joshua on injured reserve retroactive to February 13th and Carson Soucy on long-term injured reserve. Joshua is currently week-to-week with a hand injury, while Soucy has already missed the required 10 games, making him eligible to be activated off of LTIR whenever he’s healthy.

In a corresponding move, Vancouver has also recalled defenseman Jett Woo from the AHL. Woo recently received the first midseason call-up of his career, though he’s still waiting to play in his first NHL game. Woo has scored 18 points in 44 AHL games this season, a mark that, surprisingly, ranks second among Abbotsford Canucks defensemen.

Vancouver has promoted rookie forward Arshdeep Bains to the NHL to help fill in for Joshua’s absence. Bains, who has nine goals and 39 points in 42 AHL games this season, made his NHL debut in the team’s Tuesday matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, recording no points, one penalty, and a -2 in roughly 13 and a half minutes of ice time. Bains also added two shots on net, three hits, and one takeaway. He will likely get an extended look in the lineup, though Vancouver also has Sam Lafferty operating as a healthy scratch.

Woo will join Mark Friedman as the extra defenseman on the Canucks roster, backing up Noah Juulsen, who has filled in while Soucy is out. Friedman has appeared in 20 games with Vancouver this season, scoring one point and tallying 21 penalty minutes. Juulsen has six points and 16 penalty minutes of his own, scored through 41 games. Woo would offer a change of pace from each veteran depth defenseman, though the Canucks could be wanting more from the 23-year-old before they rely on him as anything more than added depth.

Houston Rockets Owner Tilman Fertitta Hoping To Add An NHL Team

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The owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, Tilman Fertitta, is reportedly in talks with the NHL about bringing a team to Texas’ biggest city, Bloomberg reports (subscription required). The NHL is the last of the major male sports leagues to not have a team in Houston, with the NBA, NFL, MLB, and MLS all existing in the city since 2005. Fertitta told Bloomberg, “We are talking to the NHL, but it’s got to be good for both of us… We just know that when there’s a concert downtown, how it activates downtown, we know what the Astros do for downtown, we know what even soccer does for downtown.”

Fertitta mentions that he’s been discussing an NHL team with the league ever since his acquisition of the Rockets in 2017, but that talks have recently ramped up – even sharing that he’s received interest from Houston suburbs willing to host a team, though Fertitta would prefer to keep the arena downtown. Fertitta’s Rockets currently play out of the Toyota Center, which recently underwent renovations to make it suitable for a hockey team.

Houston has been named as one of six cities interested in potential NHL expansion, with Salt Lake City, Utah, requesting official initiation of an NHL expansion process. The request was made by the Smith Entertainment Group, which also owns the NBA’s Utah Jazz, as well as teams in both the MLS and NWSL. The NHL called Salt Lake a “promising market” and acknowledged the next steps they’re taking towards making Utah their newest host. Houston may soon enter a similar process, now expressing interest in a team a month after Salt Lake City’s request.

While both cities could make sense for an expansion team, the NHL could also eye them as potential landing spots for the Arizona Coyotes, if the team’s ownership can’t make progress on a new arena soon enough. The NHLPA recently shared that Arizona has missed two deadlines to find a new arena, adding significant pressure to the search. That pressure is no doubt added to now with two billionaire ownership groups with ties to the NBA and other professional sports leagues declaring their interest in an NHL club.

Islanders Recall Kyle MacLean

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The Islanders have recalled forward Kyle MacLean from AHL Bridgeport, per a team announcement Wednesday.

MacLean is expected to center New York’s fourth line while Casey Cizikas, who sustained a hand injury in Tuesday’s win over the Penguins, does not yet have a timeline for a return. Winger Hudson Fasching was moved to LTIR on Wednesday morning in anticipation of MacLean’s recall, opening up a necessary roster spot and space in their LTIR salary pool.

The 24-year-old skated in Cizikas’ normal spot for six games in January and February while the latter was sidelined with a lower-body injury. They were the first appearances of his NHL career, in which he scored once on three shots on goal while averaging 8:11 per game.

MacLean, the son of Islanders assistant coach John MacLean, struggled in the faceoff dot with a 31.8 win percentage. His possession numbers were mixed – he had a poor 47.8 CF% and -6.4 relative CF% at even strength but managed an even expected rating.

While MacLean occupied the same spot in the lineup as Cizikas, his usage was quite different. Cizikas has started just 16.4% of his shifts in the offensive zone at even strength this year, while MacLean’s oZS% was 63.3.

Five of MacLean’s six appearances came under new head coach Patrick Roy. The outgoing Lane Lambert was fired on Jan. 20, the day after MacLean’s NHL debut against the Blackhawks.

Since returning to Bridgeport in early February, MacLean had three assists and a -1 rating in five games. Now in his fourth season with the Isles’ primary affiliate, MacLean has six goals and 22 points in 43 games on the season, setting the highest points-per-game mark of his professional career.

MacLean is waivers-exempt after signing his entry-level contract with the Islanders last May, so he can be shuffled between leagues at will. He will have arbitration rights this summer if he reaches RFA status upon completion of his one-year, $800K deal.

Sharks Assign Jacob MacDonald To AHL

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Feb. 21: MacDonald cleared waivers Wednesday, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. The Sharks subsequently assigned him to the Barracuda, per a team announcement.

Feb. 20: The San Jose Sharks have placed defenseman Jacob MacDonald on waivers, per a report from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Not only will this mark MacDonald’s first waiver placement of the season, but also represents the first time the Sharks have attempted to move MacDonald down to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

A versatile player for the Sharks, MacDonald will more than likely offer the same versatility to the Barracuda in the coming days as they stay committed in their playoff hunt. Over 22 games for the Sharks this year, MacDonald has scored six goals and seven points overall while averaging a touch over 12 minutes of ice time per game.

Even though he’s played in about half as many games as his peers on the roster, MacDonald sits tied for eighth on the team in total goals and tied for third on the team in powerplay goals. Due to the playing time he has been offered in San Jose, MacDonald has scored 13 points over 47 games with the Sharks, two more points than he achieved with the Colorado Avalanche, even with 27 more games played.

At the AHL level, MacDonald has produced at a solid rate, scoring 68 goals and 121 assists over 271 career games. If he does clear waivers, it will mark his first action in the AHL since the 2021-22 season, when he scored 10 goals and 25 points in 33 games for the Colorado Eagles.

Hampus Lindholm Out Week To Week

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Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm is out on a week-to-week basis after sustaining an undisclosed injury on Monday against the Stars, Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic reports. The 30-year-old will not require surgery, but he will miss a significant chunk of Boston’s 26 remaining games.

Now in the second season of an eight-year, $52MM extension, Lindholm’s offensive production has taken a step back after a 53-point, +49 season landed him fourth in Norris Trophy voting last year. While he’s posted just a goal and 18 assists in 56 games in 2023-24, he’s still logging nearly 24 minutes per game and has continued to post high-end possession metrics with a 51.6 CF% at even strength, 5.1% higher than the Bruins’ overall CF% without him on the ice, and an expected +6.3 rating.

Lindholm has played nearly 550 minutes this season alongside Brandon Carlo, but that pairing will be broken up for the next few weeks. 23-year-old rookie Mason Lohrei will get an extended look in the top four in Lindholm’s absence and is expected to factor in alongside Carlo when the Bruins visit Edmonton tonight.

If the Bruins expect him to miss at least 10 games and 24 days, they can place him on LTIR to open up some cap space ahead of the March 8 trade deadline. It would only open up short-term flexibility, though; Boston must remain cap-compliant through the end of the regular season and would need space to activate Lindholm later into March or April. It does not appear that Lindholm will miss the rest of the regular season.

Lindholm has 11 goals, 66 assists and 77 points in 146 games since coming over from the Ducks at the 2022 trade deadline. The 2012 sixth-overall pick ranks fifth in games played among his draft class with 728, and his career +152 rating is the highest among his peers.

Chicago Blackhawks Place Zach Sanford On Waivers

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Feb. 21: Sanford passed through waivers unclaimed, Friedman reports Wednesday.

Feb. 20: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Chicago Blackhawks have placed forward Zach Sanford on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. It will not be the first time that Sanford has found himself on the waiver wire this season; he originally came to Chicago by way of a waiver claim from the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 6th.

Serving as organizational depth in Arizona, Sanford was brought to the Blackhawks organization for the same purpose. During a stretch in January, Chicago experienced a plethora of injuries up and down their roster, creating a need for a viable injury replacement to eat minutes.

With the organization now returning to some semblance of a healthy roster, the Blackhawks no longer required Sanford at the bottom of their roster. Over 15 games in Chicago, Sanford averaged 11:45 a night, tallying three assists overall.

Although Sanford can no longer be relied upon as a regular bottom-six option for most teams, the number of organizations now experiencing injury concerns may lead Sanford to his third organization of the year. Already claimed on waivers once this season, a team like the Vegas Golden Knights or San Jose Sharks could use Sanford’s services to eat minutes while their other players return to health.

Penguins Place Colin White On Waivers

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The Penguins placed forward Colin White on waivers Wednesday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

White, 27, has no points in 11 games since Pittsburgh recalled him from WBS on Jan. 13. The former Senators and Panthers forward played less than 10 minutes in each of his last two games and was likely to come out of the lineup with Noel Acciari expected to return from a concussion tomorrow against the Canadiens.

The 2015 first-round pick signed a PTO with the Penguins after being cut loose by Florida after their run to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. A decent training camp resulted in him earning a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K in the NHL and $500K in the minors, but he did not crack the team’s opening night roster and was waived prior to the start of the season.

White remained with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for over three months, underwhelming on the scoresheet with five goals, 10 points and a -2 rating in 21 games. It was his first AHL action since a one-game conditioning stint in the 2019-20 campaign after holding down a fourth-line role with the Panthers for much of last season.

Given his performance, it’s unlikely White will get claimed off waivers, and it’s looking additionally unlikely that he’ll receive an extension from the Penguins before reaching UFA status this summer. He’s still getting paid $875K per season by the Senators, who bought out the last three seasons of his six-year, $28.5MM contract in 2022, for the next four years.

Kings Assign Jordan Spence To AHL

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The Kings assigned defenseman Jordan Spence to the AHL’s Ontario Reign on Wednesday, per the league’s transactions log.

Spence, 22, has been a healthy scratch in six out of Los Angeles’ last 10 games. While he’s been effective in a limited role, he’s been surpassed on the depth chart by 2021 eighth-overall pick Brandt Clarke among right-shot defenders.

The 5-foot-10 Australian-born blue-liner has 16 assists in 44 games this year and has remained on the NHL roster since Nov. 11. Selected 95th overall in 2019, Spence is a Canadian and Japanese national and suited up for Canada at the 2019 U18 World Juniors and the 2021 U20 World Juniors.

He’s been one of the best offensive defenders in the AHL since turning pro in 2021, posting 87 points across 102 games with the Reign. His NHL possession numbers have been strong, too, with a career Corsi for percentage at even strength of 57.9 and an expected 8.0 rating across his 74 games dating back to 2021.

That said, Clarke is the higher-ceiling prospect and has generated more offense in his limited role than Spence. It’s a poor numbers game for the latter, who’s not able to push out established top-four defenders Drew Doughty and Matt Roy on the right side.

Given his strong minor-league offensive production, promising possession numbers, age, and right-shot status, Spence should have high value should the Kings leverage him in a trade before deadline day. He’s in the final season of his entry-level contract, which carries an $820K cap hit, and will be an RFA without arbitration rights this summer.

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