Golden Knights Activate Nicolas Hague, Pietrangelo Still Day-To-Day
The Vegas Golden Knights will see the return of defenseman Nicolas Hague this evening as the organization announced they activated him off the injured reserve shortly before their contest against the Montreal Canadiens. Hague has been on the shelf for three weeks with an undisclosed injury and will play in his first contest tonight since November 2nd.
Hague has been an ultra-consistent defenseman for the Golden Knights since the team selected him with the 34th overall selection of the 2017 NHL Draft. He’s coming off an impressive stretch from 2022 to 2024 which saw him post some of the best defensive metrics of his career.
His 154-game stretch over the last two years only yielded five goals and 29 points on offense. On the defensive side of the puck, Hague racked up 244 blocks, 27o hits, a 91.3% on-ice save percentage in all situations, and an Expected +/- of 2.8. He became a focal piece of the Golden Knights defensive core leading the organization to its first Stanley Cup championship in 2023.
It unfortunately won’t be a completely healthy defensive core for Vegas tonight against Montreal. Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported earlier that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is still considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Webster confirmed that Pietrangelo is progressing well through his injury but he will still miss his second straight game due to the ailment.
Ducks Assign Jansen Harkins To AHL
The Ducks have made a roster move on their off day. Per the AHL’s transactions log, Anaheim has re-assigned forward Jansen Harkins to AHL San Diego.
Harkins is in his first season with Anaheim after signing a two-year, one-way contract with the Ducks on the second day of free agency back in July. His $787.5K cap hit will come off the books following the demotion.
Harkins was brought up a week and a half ago and played a regular role on the fourth line during that time. Overall, the 27-year-old has played in six games with Anaheim so far this season, picking up an assist along with 15 hits in 10:40 of playing time per night. However, Harkins has been quite productive with the Gulls. So far, he has tallied five goals and 12 assists in 11 games; his 1.55 points-per-game average is second-best among AHL players with five or more appearances.
With Anaheim being off until Monday, it’s possible that this is just a paper move, one that allows them to stall Harkins’ waiver clock for a couple of days. However, it also could be a sign that one of Mason McTavish (upper body) or Brock McGinn (lower body) are on the verge of returning from their respective injuries in which case they wouldn’t need to bring Harkins back right away.
Penguins Activate Kevin Hayes, Assign Vasily Ponomarev To AHL
The Penguins will welcome back a veteran forward to their lineup tonight against Utah. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have activated center Kevin Hayes off injured reserve. To make room for him on the active roster, forward Vasily Ponomarev has been returned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Hayes is in his first season with Pittsburgh after St. Louis paid a second-round pick to offload the final two years of his deal (or at least half of it with Philadelphia retaining the other half) on the Penguins. The 32-year-old is off to a bit of a quiet start as he has just three goals and one assist in his first 14 games. However, he’s also averaging just 9:27 per night, by far a career-low.
A veteran of 727 career regular season appearances over parts of 11 years, Hayes has been a productive middleman at times and has five years of 44 or more points under his belt. But with his playing time basically being limited to the fourth line so far this season, it’s unlikely that Hayes will get close to that mark, barring a change in role as the season progresses.
As for Ponomarev, he was recalled a week and a half ago and got into three games in that stretch, his first three games with Pittsburgh after they acquired him as part of the Jake Guentzel trade at last year’s trade deadline. The 22-year-old was held off the scoresheet while averaging a little over nine minutes per game.
Ponomarev sustained an upper-body injury late in training camp, derailing any chance he had of making the opening roster and instead landed on season-opening IR until the end of October. As a result, he hasn’t had much playing time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton either and he has just one assist in five games at that level. Still early in his development, consistent playing time will be needed and he’s likelier to get that at the AHL level than battling for fourth-line action with the big club.
Central Notes: Wild, Nazar, Brossoit, Lundkvist
The Wild will be without a pair of forwards today against Calgary. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Kirill Kaprizov and center Marat Khusnutdinov are out with lower-body injuries. Kaprizov is off to a terrific start to the season as he’s tied for the league lead in scoring with 13 goals and 21 assists in just 19 games, putting him on pace to pass his career highs of 47 and 61 respectively, set in the 2021-22 season. As for Khusnutdinov, he’s off to a quiet start to his first full season in North America. The 22-year-old has played in all 19 games but has just two assists along with 15 blocks and 18 hits while averaging 11:26 of playing time. The injuries will permit Travis Boyd, recalled on an emergency basis last night, to make his Minnesota debut. Michael Russo of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that Kaprizov will be evaluated when the team is back home on Sunday while Khusnutdinov is listed as day-to-day.
More from the Central:
- Blackhawks prospect Frank Nazar is off to an impressive start to his first full professional season. Playing exclusively with AHL Rockford, the 20-year-old has eight goals and eight assists in 13 games. However, don’t expect him to be recalled for a while yet, at least. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes that right now, the team feels his development is best served by continuing to play on the top line with the IceHogs while taking a regular turn on both special teams units, something that wouldn’t be the case if he was up with the big club. Accordingly, Nazar might have to wait until the second half of the season to get another look in Chicago after playing in three games to finish up last season.
- Still with the Blackhawks, Scott Powers of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that goaltender Laurent Brossoit is still having issues with his right knee after undergoing surgery late in the summer. The 31-year-old has resumed skating at times but has had to shut those attempts back fairly quickly, leaving continued uncertainty as to when he might be able to make his season debut. In the meantime, current backup Arvid Soderblom is four appearances away from becoming waiver-eligible so by the time Brossoit comes back, they might be in a spot where they have to carry three goalies or risk having someone claimed off waivers.
- Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist took part in the morning skate today as he continues to work his way back from a lower-body injury, relays DLLS Sports’ Sam Nestler (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has played in 15 games so far this season, notching just one assist while logging a little under 14 minutes a night. Lundkvist won’t play tonight and as of yet, he is not on injured reserve.
Predators Receiving Interest In Alexandre Carrier
After an extremely busy offseason that saw the Predators add several key veteran contributors, expectations were quite high heading into the year. However, they’re off to a sluggish 6-11-3 start to the season and while they’d like to add to their roster, it appears that teams are calling about one of their veterans as well. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that Nashville is receiving inquiries about the potential availability of blueliner Alexandre Carrier.
The 28-year-old was a speculative trade candidate last season when he was playing on a one-year, $2.5MM contract. However, Nashville had an exceptional second half including an 18-game point streak, resulting in them vaulting up the standings and going from being potential sellers to light buyers at the trade deadline. Carrier went on to finish the year with 20 points in 73 games and added three more in six playoff contests.
It looked like Carrier was heading toward testing the opening market but just before free agency opened up, the two sides agreed to a three-year, $11.25MM front-loaded contract. He’s making $4.6MM in salary this season relative to his $3.75MM cap charge.
As is the case with a lot of Nashville’s veterans, things haven’t gone quite as planned for Carrier this season. He has a goal and four assists in 20 games while logging over 20 minutes a night but his pairing with Jeremy Lauzon has struggled to keep the puck out of the defensive zone and with the Preds believed to be open to adding to their back end, it stands to reason that they’re hoping to upgrade on this particular pairing.
With a track record of being a reliable and steady fourth or fifth defender and the fact he’s a right-shot player, the Predators should have some interest if they decide to make Carrier available. Whether that’s part of a bigger move or a smaller side deal remains to be seen but GM Barry Trotz will have to decide if Carrier is still as important to their plans as it seemed he was just a few months ago.
Pacific Notes: Miller, Vladar, Geertsen
The Canucks have moved forward J.T. Miller to injured non-roster status, relays Thomas Drance of The Athletic (subscription link). The move allows them to open up an extra spot on their 23-player roster if they need to use it although doing so would require an LTIR placement for Thatcher Demko first, something they’ve been hesitant to do so far. Miller is currently away from the team on an indefinite leave of absence that started earlier this week, a big hit to their attack as he has 16 points in 17 games so far. Unlike a typical IR placement, the injured non-roster designation does not carry a minimum amount of time for a player to be on there so if Miller was to come back quicker than expected, he could be reinstated to the active roster immediately.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- Kent Wilson of the Calgary Herald feels that goaltender Daniel Vladar is Calgary’s most logical trade candidate at the moment. The 27-year-old is off to a nice start to his year after recovering from hip surgery and has a 2.65 GAA with a .906 SV% in his first nine starts, numbers that are well above league average. With several teams looking for goalie help and an affordable $2.2MM cap charge, the Flames could get a decent return for his services. Vladar is a pending unrestricted free agent and while it could make sense to try to keep him partnered with Dustin Wolf beyond this season, AHL netminder Devin Cooley is off to a dominant start in the minors (1.63 GAA, .947 SV% in ten games) and is making a push to get a look at the NHL level sooner than later himself.
- Golden Knights winger Mason Geertsen released a statement through AHL Henderson’s Twitter account announcing that he is now cancer-free after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma last November. The 29-year-old missed a month last season following the diagnosis but has been able to play regularly since then. Geertsen has three assists and 19 penalty minutes in eight games so far with the Silver Knights this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Kings Recall Pheonix Copley, Assign Erik Portillo To Minors
The Kings are swapping out backup goaltenders in advance of their afternoon game against Seattle today. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Pheonix Copley from AHL Ontario. In a corresponding move, Erik Portillo was re-assigned to the Reign.
Copley was the backup for Los Angeles at the start of last season, following an impressive 2022-23 performance that saw him record a 2.64 GAA and a .903 SV% in 37 games. However, he struggled early on last year and then was injured, handing the number two job to David Rittich who secured the second-string role again in training camp in the fall.
The 32-year-old has made one appearance with the Kings this season, stopping 10 of 12 shots in a mid-October appearance. But most of his playing time has come with the Reign where he has a 3.34 GAA and a .879 SV% in seven outings so far. He’s slated to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and is on a one-way contract worth $825K.
As for Portillo, the 24-year-old received his first NHL recall a little over a week ago but didn’t see any game action with Rittich carrying the workload in Darcy Kuemper’s absence due to injury. He has played in five games with Ontario so far, posting a 3.02 GAA and a .891 SV%. Last season, Portillo put up a 2.50 GAA and a .918 SV% in 39 outings with the Reign, earning him a three-year, $2.35MM contract, the final two seasons of which will carry a one-way salary. It’s not ideal to have a young goaltender sitting without any game action for an extended stretch so he’ll go back to Ontario and get a chance to see some regular action with them.
Flyers Officially Activate Cam York, Assign Anthony Richard To AHL
The Flyers have made a pair of roster moves heading into today’s afternoon game against Chicago. The team announced (Twitter link) that blueliner Cam York has been activated off injured reserve as expected. To make room for him on the active roster, forward Anthony Richard has been re-assigned to AHL Lehigh Valley.
York has been out for nearly a month, missing 13 games in the process. Before suffering an upper-body injury in October, the 23-year-old was off to a good start to his season, picking up two goals and an assist in seven games while logging nearly 23 minutes a game of playing time. That workload was similar to 2023-24 when he averaged 22:37 per game while adding 30 points in 82 appearances in a breakout effort for the 2019 first-round pick.
His return will certainly be a welcome one for a Philadelphia back end that has had its ups and downs this season. He’ll be taking the place of Yegor Zamula against the Blackhawks.
As for Richard, it’s fair to say his demotion wasn’t performance-related. The 27-year-old was recalled a little over two weeks ago and was quite productive in his limited action, notching two goals and four assists in seven games despite seeing less than 12 minutes a night of playing time. That’s easily the most productive stretch he has had at the NHL level as he came into the year with just eight points in 24 games with three teams.
Richard is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal he inked with Philadelphia in free agency. A top scorer at the AHL level, he’s off to a fine start with the Phantoms as well, recording four goals and five assists in his first seven games with them. He’ll now go back to Lehigh Valley and resume a top-line role while awaiting his next recall. Morgan Frost will take his place in the lineup against Chicago after being a healthy scratch in recent games.
Predators To Recall Fedor Svechkov, Assign Adam Wilsby
The Nashville Predators have reportedly recalled forward Fedor Svechkov and returned defender Adam Wilsby to the AHL, per the AHL Transactions Log. It’s the first NHL call-up of Svechkov’s young career, coming after he started the season with eight points in seven AHL games. He’s one of three Milwaukee Admirals still scoring above a point-per-game pace, alongside Vinny Hinostroza (19 points in 13 games) and Zachary L’Heureux (five points in four games).
Nashville general manager Barry Trotz has been vocal about wanting to lean into the many top prospects playing in Milwaukee amid the team’s struggles. He said earlier this month that he’s responsible for buying his prospects time to develop at the NHL level – and now brings up another youngster to join L’Heureux, who has four points in his first 15 NHL games.
Svechkov has planted his feet as a strong play-driver, bringing plenty of tenacity and speed to the middle lane. Those traits helped him reach 16 goals and 39 points in 57 games as an AHL rookie last season. He looked sharp, upholding his strong production in a move from Russia to Wisconsin. The 2021 19th-overall pick will now look to maintain it through an even tougher step, likely to challenge Colton Sissons or Michael McCarron for minutes centering the team’s bottom six.
Meanwhile, Wilsby will return to the minors just one day after being recalled. He’s bounced between the two rosters all month, spending as much as a week in the NHL – though Wilsby hasn’t cracked the lineup just yet. That might be a bit of a disappointment for the 24-year-old defender, who’s yet to make his NHL debut despite three seasons of serviceable play in Milwaukee. He has three points in 11 AHL games this season, bringing him to 42 points in 144 career AHL games. Wilsby was a fourth-round pick in 2020, and spent two years after his draft selection honing his traits in Sweden’s SHL. He’ll return to the minors with an assured role, and likely another depth call-up, awaiting him.
Nick Bonino Signs In The ICEHL
After Nick Bonino received his release from the Rangers back in February and didn’t sign anywhere in free agency or the opening weeks of the season, it looked like Nick Bonino’s playing career had come to an end. However, that’s not the case as HK Olimpija Ljubljana of the ICEHL announced on their Instagram page that they’ve signed the veteran for the remainder of the season.
The 36-year-old played in 45 games with New York last season on the fourth line but struggled, recording just one goal and four assists while logging 12:15 per night of playing time. In late January, the Rangers elected to waive Bonino and after he passed through unclaimed, he decided not to report to AHL Hartford and was put on unconditional waivers in early February, being released after clearing once again.
Bonino has 868 career regular season games in the NHL under his belt over 15 seasons with seven different organizations. He has 159 goals and 199 assists to his name, a very solid career for a sixth-round pick back in 2007 when he was selected 173rd overall. It’s unlikely he’ll be adding to those totals at this point of his career but this contract suggests that he’s not ready to hang up his skates just yet.