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Archives for February 2024

Maple Leafs Recall Maxime Lajoie

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The Maple Leafs have brought up some extra depth on the back end before their game tonight against Anaheim as the team announced (Twitter link) that blueliner Maxime Lajoie has been recalled from AHL Toronto.

The 26-year-old has been shuffled back and forth twice already this month although it didn’t result in any playing time.  Lajoie did play four games with the Maple Leafs earlier this season, getting held off the scoresheet while averaging just 9:32 per game.  However, he has been productive in the minors with the Marlies, recording 17 points in 31 appearances so far.  With 74 career NHL contests under his belt, Lajoie has been in the recallable depth role for the past few years now.

Toronto had a full 23-player roster before making this recall so there’s a corresponding roster move that hasn’t officially been announced yet.  Speculatively, that could be blueliner Mark Giordano landing on the non-roster list following the death of his father; Lajoie would then need to be sent back down upon Giordano’s return to the team.  While Morgan Rielly remains out as he continues to serve his suspension, the Maple Leafs don’t get an extra roster spot while he’s out of the lineup.

Victor Olofsson Hoping To Be Traded

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The future of Victor Olofsson in Buffalo has been a topic of some speculation for a few years now but each time, the winger has stuck around.  However, Olofsson told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News earlier this week that he has approached GM Kevyn Adams about finding a new place for him to play:

I’ve got to play hockey and right now I’m not doing it. You always have to think about yourself and your career. I’ve always had a great time here, and I love it here, but I’ve got to think about myself obviously. If there’s an opportunity to go somewhere and play, that would be the ideal thing.

The 28-year-old has been a frequent healthy scratch this season and when he has been in the lineup, he hasn’t been able to produce at the level he has in the past.  In 35 games so far, Olofsson has been limited to just four goals and eight assists.  Last season, he had 28 goals on his own and has hit the 20-goal mark in three of the last four years, a mark he’s unlikely to reach now in 2023-24.

Of course, while Olofsson may be hoping to find a new place to play, finding a team that can afford him will be trickier.  He has a $4.75MM cap hit and salary, a mark that not many contending teams can take on.  Even with the maximum 50% retention, there are still several playoff-bound squads that couldn’t take the remaining half of the contract on, nor would they want to cough up any sort of return of significance and possibly take themselves out of the market for a more impactful player.

Accordingly, it’s quite possible that Olofsson’s best chance to leave the Sabres is to find a non-playoff team that can afford his contract.  More specifically, a team with some injuries that’s looking for some players to fill out their roster or one with a similarly underachieving forward in a swap of expiring contracts.  But even with that scenario, Olofsson’s request to be moved might not be able to be honored.

Instead of his platform free agent year being a strong one, it has been anything but.  His hope was that he’d be playing for a big contract this summer but now, simply playing as a regular in a lineup somewhere appears to be Olofsson’s new goal.

Injury Updates: Soucy, Sanderson, Zub, Chinakhov

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Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet provided an update on Carson Soucy, telling reporters (video link) that the blueliner is currently listed as week-to-week.  The 29-year-old has missed close to a month with a hand injury sustained while blocking a shot.  In his first season with the Canucks after signing a three-year, $9.75MM deal with them back in July, Soucy has six points and 39 blocked shots in 21 games while logging a career-high 17:25 per night.  As things stand, the Canucks don’t have enough cap space to call anyone up from the minors so if someone else has to be promoted, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Soucy transferred to LTIR retroactively.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • The Senators will welcome back a pair of defensemen on Saturday as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub will return from their respective lower-body injuries against Chicago. Sanderson has missed nearly three weeks with his injury and he certainly has been missed as he logs nearly 23 minutes a night for them in the final year of his entry-level deal.  As for Zub, he was out for the last two games, resulting in Ottawa having to dress only 17 skaters earlier this week before being eligible for an emergency cap-exempt recall.  The Sens now have 21 players on their active roster and that’s all they’ll be able to afford as they have less than $75K in cap space, per CapFriendly.
  • Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov will return to the lineup on Saturday versus San Jose, notes Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The 23-year-old started the season on IR and then spent a bit of time in the minors.  However, since being recalled, Chinakhov has started to live up to his potential as a former first-round pick, collecting 14 goals and 10 assists in 40 games so far.  He winds up missing just one game due to the upper-body injury he sustained last weekend.

Canucks Recall Arshdeep Bains, Assign Jett Woo To AHL

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The Canucks made a pair of roster moves on Friday, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Arshdeep Bains from AHL Abbotsford.  In a corresponding move, defenseman Jett Woo was re-assigned to the AHL.

It’s the first career recall for Bains, who signed with Vancouver as an undrafted free agent two years ago.  The 23-year-old is the top scorer for Abbotsford, notching nine goals and 30 assists, sitting a dozen points clear of second-place Max Sasson.  Bains is expected to take the place of Dakota Joshua who is listed as week-to-week after injuring his hand in a fight on Tuesday.

As for Woo, his first NHL recall came back on Monday but it winds up being a short-lived one; the 23-year-old didn’t suit up with Vancouver during that time.  Woo is on his second NHL contract having inked a one-year, two-way deal worth the league minimum at the NHL level.  He has 16 points in 42 games so far this season, sitting just five points high of his career high set last season.

While Vancouver could have made an open roster spot available by placing Joshua on injured reserve, they didn’t have enough cap space to afford Bains’ recall on its own, resulting in Woo having to be sent down.

Milan Lucic Won’t Return To Bruins This Season

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While domestic violence charges were dropped against Bruins winger Milan Lucic earlier today, don’t expect to see him back in a Boston uniform in 2023-24.  Following the news of the charges being dropped, the team released a statement to reporters including Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald that the veteran won’t return this season:

Milan Lucic will remain on indefinite leave from the organization for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. The Boston Bruins organization supports Milan and his family as he continues his personal rehabilitation.

Lucic signed a one-year contract with Boston back in July, a deal which carried a $1MM cap hit and salary plus another $500K in undisclosed performance bonuses.  He will once again be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

At the time of his arrest back in November, Lucic was on LTIR and he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program soon after.  Accordingly, the Bruins will be allowed to keep him on LTIR and exceed the salary cap by up to $1MM for the remainder of the season.

Avalanche Recall Chris Wagner

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With Logan O’Connor dealing with a lower-body injury, the Avalanche have made a roster move to bring up some extra depth up front, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Chris Wagner from AHL Colorado.

It hasn’t been a great season for the 32-year-old.  Wagner signed with Colorado with the hopes that he could battle for a spot on the fourth line with 360 career NHL appearances under his belt.  However, he then ruptured his Achilles tendon in training camp, putting an end to those hopes before he even had a chance to suit up for them in the preseason.

Wagner was cleared to return a little over a month ago, clearing waivers which resulted in him being assigned to the Eagles.  To his credit, he has been fairly productive over the last few weeks, notching three goals and four assists in 11 games.

Colorado had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made to bring Wagner up.  They’re now at the maximum 23-player roster with this transaction.

Snapshots: Hoglander, Blue Jackets, Lightning

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Largely expected today, the Department of Player Safety has fined Vancouver Canucks forward Nils Hoglander a total of $2,864.58 for high-sticking Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman last night, per a press release. The fine was the maximum allowable according to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA.

Originally, there was no penalty called on the play as Hoglander swung his stick into the side of Walman’s head as both players battled for position in front of Detroit’s net. Nevertheless, even though the in-game referees did not decide to penalize Hoglander last night, the Department of Player Safety decided the incident warranted a punishment.

This is the second time this season that the Department of Player Safety has decided to fine Hoglander with the first incident coming on November 21st for slew-footing San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc. Aside from a couple of fines, Hoglander has had quite a productive season for Vancouver, scoring 17 goals and 24 points in 53 games.

Other snapshots:

  • Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reports that defenseman Ivan Provorov and forward Yegor Chinakhov have both returned to practice for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Reportedly suffering from an undisclosed injury in the team’s most recent game against the Ottawa Senators, Provorov will likely not miss any time with the injury. Chinakhov, on the other hand, did miss the game against the Senators completely but should be available tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks.
  • In a similar fashion to Columbus, Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nick Paul will be a game-time decision tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers. Missing the entire third period in last night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, Paul did miss the team practice today putting his availability up in the air. In the same report, Encina also suggests that Tanner Jeannot will likely be out another week after being activated from the team’s long-term injured reserve on February 13th.

Central Notes: Lundkvist, Beauvillier, Raddysh

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After leaving last night’s game against the Nashville Predators with a reported upper-body injury, it appears Dallas Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist could miss Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers as well. Speaking about the injury this morning, Bruce LeVine of 96.7 The Ticket reported that Lundkvist is experiencing concussion-like symptoms and the team would know more about his status tomorrow.

If Lundkvist is set to miss a significant amount of time with a concussion, it may motivate Stars General Manager Jim Nill to make a move for a defenseman well before the trade deadline, as the team has reportedly been sniffing around the defensive market. Including a few minutes in last night’s game, Lundkvist has registered two goals and 15 points in 43 games for Dallas this season while averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time per game.

With Joel Hanley being the likely candidate to fill in for Lundkvist, the Stars will likely find more pressure on themselves to round out their defensive core. Although the top unit of Thomas Harley and Miro Heiskanen has played well for the team up to this point in the season, a right-handed shot defenseman to put next to Esa Lindell should become the team’s top priority over the next three weeks.

Other Central notes:

  • Now that forward Connor Bedard has returned to the Chicago Blackhawks after missing time with a broken jaw, Tracey Myers of the NHL suggests the team could see the return of another forward very soon. Since joining the Blackhawks via a trade on November 28th, Anthony Beauvillier has only managed 15 games for the team, suffering a left wrist injury on January 2nd against the Nashville Predators. In the report, Myers mentions that Beauvillier was a full participant in today’s practice, indicating that Beauvillier could return tomorrow or Monday.
  • It is not all positive news on the injury front for Chicago; however, as Myers also reported that forward Taylor Raddysh missed today’s practice with an injury to his right quad. Managing a 20-goal campaign as recently as last year for the Blackhawks, Raddysh’s offensive output has certainly stagnated this season, only registering five goals and 11 points in 49 games up to this point.

Blue Jackets Not Looking To Trade Boone Jenner

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With many teams in full preparation mode for the NHL Trade Deadline on March 8th, the Columbus Blue Jackets were expected to be one of the league’s busier sellers, as they currently sit 29th overall in the standings. However, only yesterday, the organization made a major change at the top of their front office hierarchy, firing General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen after 12 seasons with the club.

Over the last several weeks, players such as Ivan Provorov and Patrik Laine have seen their names mentioned in various trade boards across the media landscape, although each presents a separate array of challenges when it comes to building a trade around either player. Outside of Provorov and Laine, even team captain Boone Jenner has seen his name softly brought up in rumors, largely based on the poor play of the team and his perceived value across the league.

Today, the acting General Manager of the Blue Jackets John Davidson made sure to squash any rumors regarding Jenner, indicating that the team had no intention of moving out their captain (X Link).

At the end of the day, with two years and $7.5MM remaining on Jenner’s contract after this season, Columbus does not need to be in any rush to move on from Jenner. Even with forwards such as Laine and Johnny Gaudreau on the roster, there is a strong case to be made that Jenner is the most valuable forward on the roster, being that he still leads the team in goal-scoring with 16 with 10-15 fewer games played than his peers.

On the other side of the coin, with this deadline season quickly turning into a seller’s market, an offer may come across the desk of Davidson that he may not be able to refuse. Only two weeks ago, the Calgary Flames were able to acquire an established NHL player, two prospects, and a first-round pick from the Vancouver Canucks for what could only be a few months of Elias Lindholm.

Outside of some very legitimate health concerns surrounding Jenner, he is on a similar goal and faceoff win pace as Lindholm over the last three seasons, also displaying some serious defensive prowess as well. With Lindholm set to make more than twice what Jenner is earning over the next two years, a contending team may offer a serious package if they were previously unable to pry Lindholm out of Alberta.

Blake Wheeler Placed On LTIR, Out For Regular Season

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After appearing to hurt his leg in last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that the New York Rangers are placing veteran forward Blake Wheeler on Long-Term Injured Reserve, and the injury will keep him out for the remainder of the regular season. Johnston also indicated that Wheeler could be out for the rest of the year, but that will largely be dictated by his recovery process and how deep the team goes in the playoffs.

It is unpleasant news for both player and team, as this injury will likely become the unceremonious end to Wheeler’s first season outside of the Winnipeg Jets organization since 2010-11. After being bought out by the Jets this past summer, Wheeler settled for a one-year, $800K contract with the Rangers with $100K bonuses after 10, 20, and 30 games played, respectively.

Although coming off another solid offensive year in Winnipeg throughout the 2022-23 season, his first campaign in New York did not start particularly well. Even with the team getting off to a strong start, it would take Wheeler 11 games to record his first assist, and another two games after that to register his first goal with the club.

Even as the month turned over into December, Wheeler’s offensive output had completely cratered, managing only two goals and six points through the organization’s first 26 games. However, since the team’s December 12th game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Wheeler had certainly reacquired some offensive touch, scoring seven goals and 15 assists over the next 28 contests.

For the Rangers specifically; the team has already been keeping tabs on the forward market for this season’s upcoming trade deadline, as they’re hoping to replace some of the lost value of center Filip Chytil who will also miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season. Now that Wheeler has suffered the same fate, it is almost certain the Rangers will make a move to beef up their forward depth by the end of the day on March 8th.

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