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Senators Recall Mads Søgaard, Anton Forsberg Likely Headed To LTIR

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The Senators recalled top organizational goalie prospect Mads Søgaard from AHL Belleville today, a team release states. As Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch points out, this is likely a precursor to number-two netminder Anton Forsberg being placed on long-term injured reserve, as the Senators would otherwise not have the cap space available to execute the transaction.

Forsberg, 31, left last night’s loss against the Sabres late in the first period with a groin injury and did not return. Head coach Jacques Martin told TSN 1200 this morning that Forsberg’s absence was not expected to be short-term, although he did receive an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury and, correspondingly, a recovery timeline.

It’s been a tough season for Ottawa’s goalie tandem of Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo, but more so for Forsberg. After missing the last 32 games of the 2022-23 season with a freak double MCL tear, the Swede was looking to re-establish himself after proving he could be a capable NHL option since joining the Sens in 2020.

Instead, he and Korpisalo have been among the ten worst goalies in the league this season. Korpisalo has allowed the third most goals above expected with 9.5, per MoneyPuck, trailing only the Maple Leafs’ Ilya Samsonov and the Devils’ Vítek Vaněček. Forsberg is seventh on the list with 7.9 goals allowed above expected, despite playing in 16 games compared to Korpisalo’s 26. His box stats read out as a 7-8-0 record, .889 SV%, 3.35 GAA, and one shutout.

An LTIR placement rules Forsberg out through the All-Star break in early February. He would be eligible to return to action for the team’s February 10 home game against Toronto.

That means the 23-year-old Søgaard is in for a month-long stint on the NHL roster, his longest of the season. The 6-foot-7 Dane had been recalled on two occasions this year to serve as short-term injury insurance but has not appeared in an NHL game since playing in 19 of them last season. In his first example of extended NHL action, Ottawa’s 2019 second-round pick posted an 8-6-3 record and .889 SV% being an injury-depleted team at the tail end of the campaign.

This season in Belleville, Søgaard’s numbers are pristine. His .920 SV% in 16 games is tied for sixth among AHL netminders with at least ten appearances, and it’s a significant leap forward from his pedestrian numbers in his first two full professional seasons. Carrying that momentum forward into some appearances with Ottawa could help him steal the lion’s share of the starts away from Korpisalo, at least until Forsberg returns.

Injury Notes: Gibson, Kochetkov, Forsberg

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Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson left the team’s Thursday night game with an upper-body injury, being replaced by backup Lukas Dostal. Gibson has missed time for a variety of reasons this season, being placed on the non-active list earlier in the year for the birth of his child, missing one game due to illness, and now nursing an injury that could limit him further. The absences have kept Gibson to just 26 appearances this season, with the former William Jennings Trophy-winner recording a 7-17-0 record and .900 save percentage on the season. He leads the league in losses.

While Dostal has shown promise, his stat line doesn’t fair much better than Gibson’s, with the 23-year-old goaltender setting a 7-9-1 record and .903 save percentage in 19 games this season. Dostal entered the season with just 23 NHL games under his belt, setting a combined .902 save percentage since making his debut in the 2021-22 season. The Ducks acquired Dostal in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He was the sixth goalie to be taken that year and currently carries the most games played of any goalie in the class.

Other injury notes:

  • The Carolina Hurricanes also lost their goaltender, with Pyotr Kochetkov leaving the team’s game after a collision with Anaheim’s Isac Lundestrom. Kochetkov was hit in the head but seemed to get his leg awkwardly stretched, making it hard to speculate what injury he could be facing. The 24-year-old has played in 23 games this season, goin 11-7-3 and setting a .900 save percentage.
  • Ottawa Senators’ goaltender Anton Forsberg also joined the long list of injuries to occur on Thursday, leaving the team’s game after apparently tweaking something in his groin. The 31-year-old has managed 16 games, a 7-8-0 record, and a .889 save percentage this season.

Latest On Shane Pinto

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  • Suspended Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto is allowed to resume activities with his teammates today, according to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Garrioch added that Pinto is expected to resume skating with the Senators on Friday. Pinto has five games remaining in the 41-game suspension that was levied upon him earlier this season. He’ll need to sign a contract before he can dress for any games, though he can skate with the team without a contract. According to Garrioch, “the expectation is he’ll sign a one-year deal at or close to the $874,125 US qualifying offer the club put in the summer” after scoring 20 goals and 35 points in his first full NHL season.

Djibril Toure Traded To OHL Windsor

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  • A Senators blueliner is on the move as Windsor picked up Djibril Toure from Sudbury for a pair of draft picks. The 20-year-old signed with Ottawa as an undrafted free agent back in September.  Toure, who stands 6’7, has been a shutdown defenseman at the OHL level but still has 12 points in 24 appearances this season.

Artem Zub A Game-Time Decision Tonight

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  • Interim head coach of the Ottawa Senators, Jacques Martin, called defenseman Artem Zub a game-time decision tonight against the Calgary Flames, as Zub has been dealing with an illness since Monday (X Link). Although missing a few games earlier in the year, Zub has been quite productive for the Senators this season, scoring three goals and 11 points in 28 games, which places him third in total scoring in Ottawa amongst defensemen.

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Evening Notes: Campbell, Okposo, Beck, Donovan

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The Edmonton Oilers are planning to shop around goaltender Jack Campbell as the trade deadline approaches, general manager Ken Holland tells The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. But LeBrun doesn’t think there will be many suitors for Campbell’s $5MM cap hit ahead of the deadline, speculating that the team will instead have to wait until the summer to decide what to do with the netminder – whether that’s a buyout or trade.

Campbell’s time in Edmonton has certainly not gone as expected. The 31-year-old is in his second team with the club, after signing a five-year, $25MM contract with the club. He lost the starter job to Calder Trophy finalist Stuart Skinner last season, setting a 21-9-4 record and .888 save percentage through 36 games with the team. But he was only allowed five games with the Oilers this year, putting up a meager .873 save percentage before being placed on waivers and sent to the minor leagues. He’s since made 11 appearances with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, setting a 5-6-0 record and .893 save percentage.

Campbell was a productive goaltender in the two years he spent playing significant time for the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier in his career but hasn’t looked the same since moving across Canada. His status will be one of the Oilers’ biggest questions to answer this summer.

More notes from around the league:

  • Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo returned to the team’s practices on Monday, working his way back from a lower-body injury that’s held him out of the team’s last two games. Okposo is still designated as day-to-day but is nearing a return. He’s managed 14 points in 38 games this season – his 17th NHL season.
  • Polarizing Montreal Canadiens prospect Owen Beck has had his rights traded in the OHL, moving from the Peterborough Petes to the Saginaw Spirit. Saginaw sent Aiden Young and three draft picks the other way. Beck has managed 30 points in 25 points with Peterborough this season, adding one goal in five games at the World Juniors. He went 33rd overall to the Canadiens in the 2022 NHL Draft.
  • The Ottawa Senators also had a prospect moved to Saginaw, as the Spirit acquired defenseman Jorian Donovan from the Brantford Bulldogs. Saginaw sent eight draft picks the other way, including two second-round picks and four third-round picks. Donovan has 28 points in 34 OHL games this season and also attended the World Juniors, though he went scoreless in all five Team Canada games. He was a fifth-round selection in 2022.

Senators Expected To Activate Mathieu Joseph

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The Senators are gearing up to activate winger Mathieu Joseph from long-term injured reserve, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports Sunday. To clear roster and salary cap space, the team assigned wingers Angus Crookshank and Jiri Smejkal to AHL Belleville.

Joseph, 26, was moved to LTIR just last week, but the move was retroactive to when he exited the lineup with a lower-body injury against the Stars on December 15. He will have satisfied the minimum 10-game, 28-day absence requirement ahead of their game Tuesday against the Flames and will be activated immediately upon becoming eligible.

Before the season began, Joseph and his $2.95MM cap hit were the subject of trade discussions to help alleviate the Senators’ difficult cap squeeze after a busy offseason. Without any takers, Joseph began the season still in Ottawa and responded with a career-best 0.76 points per game pace through his first 25 games, recording six goals, 13 assists, and a +12 rating that remains first on the team.

That depth production will prove extremely valuable in his return to the lineup. The Senators’ largest ailment this season has again been an inept bottom-six, one that’s produced a combined 18 goals sans Joseph as the season nears its halfway mark. Combined with subpar goaltending from Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo, the team remains last in the Eastern Conference with a 14-21-0 record and 28 points.

Crookshank and Smejkal now return to minor-league action for the foreseeable future, although both fared decently well in their first career NHL stints throughout the first half of the season. The 24-year-old Crookshank scored a goal and an assist in seven games and posted positive possession metrics despite being leaned on heavily in the defensive zone, although he did it in just 8:50 per game. Smejkal, 27, has one assist and a -2 rating in nine games this season.

Senators Notes: Tarasenko, Pinto, Joseph

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With the Senators underachieving considerably this season, they’ll likely be selling leading up to the March 8th trade deadline barring some kind of significant turnaround in the standings.  To that end, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the team is expected to approach veteran winger Vladimir Tarasenko about waiving his no-trade clause before the deadline.  The 32-year-old inked a one-year, $5MM deal in late July after longer-term agreements that were more to his liking failed to materialize on the open market even after changing agents just days into free agency.  Tarasenko hasn’t lit it up with Ottawa but does have 24 points in 32 games and would add some secondary scoring to a contending squad.  The Sens would likely need to retain up to 50% in order to maximize the return when the time comes to move him.

More from Ottawa:

  • Garrioch notes in the same piece that while the original plan was for Shane Pinto to have a conditioning stint with AHL Belleville later this month when he’s eligible to return, that’s no longer the case. The 23-year-old is allowed to start skating with the team on Wednesday while his first eligible game back is January 21st, allowing for ample time for him to work on his conditioning and get up to speed before making his debut.  Ottawa still needs to sign Pinto but that will likely have to be a low-cost one-year deal given their salary cap situation.
  • In a separate piece from Garrioch, he notes that winger Mathieu Joseph has resumed skating as he works his way back from a lower-body injury. He was recently placed on LTIR to accommodate Thomas Chabot’s activation but that was a short-term solution as Joseph could return as soon as Tuesday.  If that happens, the Sens will need to do some roster juggling to get back into cap compliance.  Joseph was off to a strong start before suffering the injury last month, picking up 19 points in his first 25 games.

Senators Looking For Veteran Bottom-Six Forward

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The Senators are believed to be looking to add a veteran bottom-six forward, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.  It has been a disappointing season so far for Ottawa who is well out of the playoff picture and have already made a coaching and GM change.  With one of the younger rosters in the league, Garrioch notes GM Steve Staios would like to bring in someone to help in the room while adding some grit up front.  The Sens have limited cap space and is currently in LTIR so it will take some roster juggling to make any sort of addition to their group.

Senators Announce Several Front Office Moves

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After going with an interim GM since Pierre Dorion was let go, the Senators have their new GM in place.  Instead of hiring someone else, they announced that they have lifted the interim tag from Steve Staios, officially naming him to the role of General Manager and President of Hockey Operations.  Meanwhile, assistant GM Ryan Bowness has been promoted to Associate GM.  The Sens have also added to its front office, appointing Dave Poulin as their Senior Vice-President of Hockey Operations.

Staios joined Ottawa earlier this season following Michael Andlauer’s purchase of the team being made official.  He originally came over as their President of Hockey Operations but after the Sens lost a first-round pick for failing to disclose Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade clause to Vegas when they traded him there (later nixing a trade the Golden Knights made with Anaheim), Dorion was relieved of his duties with Staios adding interim GM duties to his responsibilities at the beginning of November.

During his time in that role, Staios brought in Jacques Martin as a consultant but later elevated him to interim head coach when D.J. Smith was fired.  At the time, the logic made sense in that saddling a new GM with a more permanent coaching hire might not be the best course of action but now that Staios will be the chief decision maker, he can now start to assess options for who will get that opportunity down the road.  The expectation is that the 71-year-old Martin will be behind the bench for the remainder of the regular season.

Bowness joined the Sens a little less than a year and a half ago after working in Pittsburgh as their Director of Professional Scouting.  He is also GM of Ottawa’s AHL affiliate in Belleville, something that is likely to remain the case even as he takes on other responsibilities with his elevated title.

As for Poulin, he last worked in a front office nearly a decade ago.  He had a five-year stint as Vice President of Hockey Operations from 2009 through 2014 while also being their AHL GM for two of those seasons.  Since then, the long-time NHL forward has worked in the media.

TSN’s Darren Dreger notes (Twitter link) that Andlauer had sought to replicate the managerial structure that Montreal has; Andlauer had been a minority owner of the Canadiens before purchasing the Sens.  While this front office isn’t now shaped exactly the same way as Montreal’s, it now has been augmented with the addition of Poulin and Bowness taking on expanded duties.

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