Will Cuylle Assigned To AHL
- The Rangers have returned winger Will Cuylle to AHL Hartford, reports Arthur Staple of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move doesn’t come as much of a surprise since New York is now in their bye week. Cuylle got into two games in his first NHL stint but barely played six minutes per game. The 20-year-old has 13 goals and 20 assists in 39 games with the Wolf Pack and will get some more time down there before potentially being brought back up after the break.
Auston Matthews Out Three Weeks With Knee Sprain
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be missing their best player for the next little while, as Auston Matthews is expected to miss a minimum of three weeks with a knee sprain. The injury was suffered against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. This would also rule Matthews out for the All-Star festivities next week.
There were a number of hard hits delivered by the Rangers earlier this week, though there is no clear answer as to when Matthews sustained the injury. The star center still played nearly 22 minutes in the game, blocking three shots and delivering four shots on net.
In his place, rookie Pontus Holmberg was skating between Calle Jarnkrok and William Nylander, while John Tavares assumes top-line duty. The lack of offensive center depth is a concern for the Maple Leafs, and potentially could become an area of focus at the upcoming trade deadline.
It has been a frustrating season for Matthews, who has missed a handful of games with undisclosed injuries, and isn’t scoring at quite the same pace he is used to. Though he does have 53 points in 47 games, just 25 of those are goals. It would be the first time in his career that he finished with more assists than goals, should that trend continue.
Even more surprising is his lack of even-strength scoring, an area he has dominated throughout his career. In four of Matthews’ six seasons, he has led the league in even-strength goals, including last year when he potted 44 of them. Just 15 tallies this year have come at even strength, with his shooting percentage much lower than his career norm.
Some have speculated that other injuries have disrupted that timing all season, so perhaps Maple Leafs fans will see this time away with a bit of a silver lining. If on his return, Toronto gets the fully-recovered 60-goal superstar that won the Hart Trophy last season, a three-week absence will be a fine price to pay.
In his place at the All-Star game will be Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers.
New York Rangers Extend Ben Harpur
The New York Rangers have reached an agreement with depth defenseman Ben Harpur on a two-year extension, which will carry an average annual value of $787.5K, according to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.
Harpur, 28, has rarely ever seen regular minutes in the NHL, but seems to have found a bit of a home in New York. The big, 6’6″ defenseman has now played in 18 games this season, all of them since the middle of December.
Signed to a one-year, two-way deal in the offseason, this contract is a very nice reward for the depth defender, who lands some security and stability. A veteran of 174 NHL games, he’s now locked into a seventh or eighth-defenseman role on a good team and will make some good money in the process.
For the Rangers, this doesn’t really move the needle. His cap hit can be entirely buried in the minor leagues if necessary, and Harpur isn’t going to be playing big minutes or providing many points. In his 18 appearances this year he has averaged just over 13 minutes a night, while putting up three points – including just his second NHL goal.
Still, if they like him as an organizational piece, there’s no reason why not to sign a contract like this to lock him up. The deal is low-risk low-reward but keeps a player in the picture that the coaching staff is comfortable icing when needed.
Injury Notes: Bennett, Jarry, Golden Knights, Backstrom, Klingberg
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of minor injury news to report from tonight’s games. We start in Florida, where head coach Paul Maurice said pregame that Sam Bennett wouldn’t be in the lineup when they take on the Penguins tonight.
Bennett took an awkward fall in yesterday night’s loss to the Rangers, immediately leaving the game and staying in the room through the first intermission. It didn’t hold him out of the rest of the game, however, as he would later return. While he won’t suit up tonight, it does seem to be a short-term absence for Bennett, who’s been in and out of the lineup over the past month with some minor injury concerns. Eetu Luostarinen, who’s impressed with 10 goals and 22 points in 49 games this year, slides into the top six with Bennett out.
- After leaving injured reserve a few days ago, Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry is back out of the lineup with an injury. His absence leaves both Pittsburgh and Florida without backup goalies on the bench for tonight’s game, as Spencer Knight was unexpectedly still unable to play and was a late absence from the Florida lineup. It’s hopefully a short-term absence for Jarry, who’s been spectacular with a .921 save percentage in 27 appearances for the Penguins this year.
- There’s some positive news on Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, says ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. While he’ll be out through the All-Star break as expected, his back issue is different than the one that plagued him throughout last season, greatly reducing the likelihood of his long-term career being affected. Kaplan also says defenseman Shea Theodore, who’s been out since early December with an undisclosed injury, is an option for Friday’s game against the Rangers.
- Days after returning from significant hip surgery recovery, Nicklas Backstrom is back out of the Washington Capitals lineup with a non-COVID illness and is day-to-day. The 35-year-old has three assists in seven games since returning to the lineup.
- The Anaheim Ducks will also be down a player due to illness: defenseman John Klingberg. 25-year-old call-up Colton White moves into Anaheim’s top-four in Klingberg’s absence, playing on his off-side. Klingberg has just 15 points in 40 games this season, a career-low as he’s destined for free agency once again this offseason.
Sammy Blais Sent On AHL Conditioning Loan
The New York Rangers have recalled Will Cuylle from the AHL, while sending Sammy Blais back on a conditioning stint. Blais hasn’t played in a week and was receiving just a handful of shifts in the games he did play.
Larry Brooks of the New York Post wrote about Blais’ situation yesterday, suggesting that his NHL future is in jeopardy as he continues to try to contribute in any way he can. The 26-year-old is still finding his way after a serious knee injury that required surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL. He has just five points through 38 games this season, failing to score a single goal.
Blais has registered over 100 hits, his calling card during more successful days in St. Louis, but hasn’t really been making the same kind of impact with his physicality. Averaging fewer than ten minutes of ice time when he does get into the lineup, it’s unclear where his role really lies in the New York forward group.
Cuylle, meanwhile, represents the next generation for the Rangers. A 20-year-old forward that is just scratching the surface of his professional career, Cuylle has 13 goals and 20 points in 39 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack. The second-round pick offers a good deal of physicality (even if it doesn’t quite stand up to the level of Blais), and possesses a hard, accurate shot.
Given the Rangers’ recent success, it’s not clear if Cuylle will get much of an opportunity. But Blais wasn’t giving them much of anything at the moment, and will try to find that next gear with some games in the minor leagues.
Rangers Optimistic That Julien Gauthier Will Return Monday
- The Rangers are optimistic that winger Julien Gauthier will be able to return Monday against Florida, notes Ethan Sears of the New York Post. The 25-year-old has missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury and is currently on injured reserve although a roster spot was created when Jonny Brodzinski was sent down after clearing waivers earlier today. Gauthier started the season with AHL Hartford but has six goals in 32 games with New York since being recalled despite averaging just 8:29 per night.
Rangers Reportedly Interested In Timo Meier
According to The Fourth Period, the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils are two clubs “interested in acquiring” the talented Swiss forward. Given the pending restricted free agencies of Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere, and K’Andre Miller, it’s possible that the Rangers may only be interested in Meier as a rental acquisition since the qualifying offer to retain his rights in the summer is set at $10MM. For the Devils, they could have the room to make Meier a more long-term part of their core, but one wonders if they have the type of young center to offer San Jose that could raise their bid above the trade offers of other teams.
Jonny Brodzinski Clears Waivers
Jan 22: Brodzinski has cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Rangers are free to re-assign him to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.
Jan 21: The Rangers have been shuffling around their fourth line all season and it appears another change could be forthcoming as NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that they’ve placed winger Jonny Brodzinski on waivers.
This is the second time that the 29-year-old has been on the waiver wire this season having also been there at the end of training camp. Brodzinski cleared at that time and spent most of the first two months of the year with AHL Hartford where he picked up two goals and seven assists in 17 games. He was recalled in early December and has basically been up since then, seeing action in 16 games with the big club, notching a goal and an assist in a little over nine minutes of playing time per game. Having played in more than 10 games, he needs to clear waivers again before he can rejoin the Wolf Pack.
Brodzinski is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal worth the NHL minimum in both seasons, good for a cap hit of $762.5K. He has seen NHL action in each of the last seven years spanning 100 games along the way. New York didn’t need to waive him as they had an open roster spot already but if he passes through unclaimed on Sunday, it will allow them to send Brodzinski down or at least shuffle him back and forth a bit to bank some extra cap space heading into the trade deadline in early March.
New York Rangers Checked In On Vladislav Gavrikov
In an article by Arthur Staple of The Athletic, it is revealed that the New York Rangers are one of the teams to have called on Gavrikov. The ask from the Blue Jackets, reportedly, is a first-round pick plus a mid-round pick. Recent years have seen players like Ben Chiarot, and David Savard land first-rounders at the deadline, while Josh Manson was dealt for Drew Helleson and a second last deadline. The key to Gavrikov’s market is how inexpensive he will be. If the Blue Jackets retain half of his contract, the $1.4MM cap hit is easy to absorb for many of the league’s contenders.
New York Rangers Recall Ryan Carpenter
The New York Rangers have made a tweak to their roster, recalling forward Ryan Carpenter from the Hartford Wolf Pack, their AHL affiliate. Additionally, the team has placed forward Julien Gauthier on injured reserve, which creates space on the Rangers’ roster for Carpenter’s recall.
Gauthier, 25, lands on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, one he sustained in a collision with teammates Sammy Blais. The speedy forward has played in 32 games this season, averaging eight and a half minutes of ice time per night. In that capacity he’s scored nine points and registered 58 hits.
Replacing Gauthier on the roster is Carpenter, a 31-year-old undrafted veteran with over 300 NHL games of experience. Carpenter has familiarity with Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant, having played for him as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Carpenter, 31, was signed this offseason to serve as a safe, affordable member of the Rangers’ bottom six. The Rangers were struggling for cap space this offseason due to their glut of highly-priced stars, so Carpenter represented a solid investment for a team that needed to fill out spots down their lineup.
Carpenter hasn’t had a great year, though, and has recently found himself in the AHL. With an impressive 13-point run of 15 games in Hartford, Carpenter has now earned his chance to return to the NHL, and could even dress for the Rangers’ game today against the Montreal Canadiens. It’s likely that in Gauthier’s absence, Carpenter will compete with recent waiver claim Jake Leschyshyn for ice time.