Atlantic Notes: Domi, McCabe, Pastrňák, Greenway, Dahlin
According to David Alter of The Hockey News, the Toronto Maple Leafs had a pair of injured players at practice today. Alter shared that forward Max Domi and defenseman Jake McCabe were full participants at today’s practice and the former could even return tomorrow (X Link).
It’s been nearly a month since Domi suited up for the Maple Leafs since his last game came on November 16th against the Edmonton Oilers. In the first year of a four-year, $15MM contract signed in Toronto this past offseason, Domi has tallied six assists in 19 games for the Maple Leafs while primarily centering the team’s second line.
McCabe has been out for a shorter time with his last contest coming on November 30th. Still, it’s encouraging to see both players at practice given Toronto currently has four players on injured reserve and another three on the long-term injured reserve.
Other Atlantic notes:
- One notable absence of the Boston Bruins’ practice this morning was David Pastrňák who is reportedly out with an upper-body injury, according to Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe. Boston is hopeful that Pastrňák will be in the lineup tomorrow night against the Winnipeg Jets so the team hasn’t made a corresponding roster move. The Havirov, Czechia native has struggled lately scoring one goal in his last 11 contests.
- Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News confirms that Buffalo Sabres’ winger Jordan Greenway will return to the lineup tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. He’s missed the last 10 games for the Sabres after scoring three goals and six points through his first 16 contests.
- One player not returning to Buffalo’s lineup tonight is captain Rasmus Dahlin as the team announced he participated in a rehab skate this morning. There’s growing optimism that Dahlin will be able to return this weekend when the Sabres take on the Washington Capitals on Saturday. The first-year captain in Buffalo has scored three goals and 19 points in 25 games this season.
Predators’ Alexandre Carrier Out Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury
There’s another injury on the Nashville Predators’ blue line. Senior content manager for the team, Brooks Bratton, reports that defenseman Alexandre Carrier is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Carrier played in Nashville’s recent game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday but left the contest in the third period after getting hit. He finished that game with zero points, a -1 rating, four blocks, and two hits in 15:39 of ice time.
He’s in the midst of a down season compared to his career averages. Carrier already has 26 giveaways through 28 games on the year, just 13 shy of his 39 through 77 games during the 2021-22 NHL season. He’s also produced a career-low +/-, CorsiFor%, and on-ice save percentage in all situations in his seven-year career.
Carrier was also on the sixth-worst defensive-pairing (for pairings that have played 150 or more minutes together) in terms of xGoals%. According to MoneyPuck, the duo of Carrier and Jeremy Lauzon combined for a 40.9% xGoals% over 242.9 minutes together.
Head coach Andrew Brunette had finally split the defensive pairing in recent games but will now be without both for the foreseeable future. The Predators haven’t made a corresponding roster move but one should come before their game tomorrow night against the Calgary Flames. Nashville now has six healthy defensemen on the roster.
Avalanche, Sharks Swap Alexandar Georgiev, Mackenzie Blackwood
The Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks have gotten together on a big trade regarding their creases. The Avalanche announced they’ve acquired Mackenzie Blackwood, Givani Smith, and a 2027 fifth-round pick from the San Jose Sharks for Alexandar Georgiev, Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2026 second-round pick, and a 2025 fifth-round pick.
It’s quite rare to see an NHL organization entirely move out the netminders they started the year with but that’s exactly what the Avalanche did by early December. Colorado began the year with a combination of Georgiev and Justus Annunen but the two have been replaced with Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood.
The Avalanche have had the league’s worst goaltending this season and it’s not particularly close. Colorado sits dead last in the league with a .866 save percentage and 29th in goals against per game with 3.55.
Blackwood should help considerably in that department. He’s managed a 6-9-3 record with the Sharks this year coupled with a .909 SV% and 3.00 GAA. He’s given up 53 goals this year in San Jose but some of that can be attributed to the poor performance in front of him as his xGA is only 39.7 according to Hockey Reference.
Colorado’s defense has been more than capable of only allowing 766 shots on their netminders this season ranking 11th in the league. They’ll also shed some salary in the deal which is another bonus. TSN’s Chris Johnston reports that the Avalanche retained 14% ($476K) of Georgiev’s remaining salary so the organization will save roughly $700K in the swap.
Smith also provides some flexibility for Colorado toward the bottom of the lineup. He cleared waivers earlier today (as per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman) and can be moved between the Avalanche and their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, unencumbered for the next 30 days.
The real surprise in this deal is Georgiev. His inclusion was likely necessary for the Avalanche given their salary cap picture and the lack of desire to carry three netminders on the active roster. Still, it felt like the perfect opportunity for the Sharks to make an opening for prospect Yaroslav Askarov on the NHL roster.
He’s easily having the worst season of his career and will be limping into unrestricted free agency next summer. He’s produced an 8-7-0 record for the Avalanche this year but has a dismal .874 SV%. Georgiev may find more success with less pressure to win in San Jose but this isn’t the year he’d like to have considering his next contract is at stake.
The real prize in this deal for San Jose is Kovalenko. He was a sixth-round pick by Colorado in the 2018 NHL Draft but didn’t come to North America until last year. He saw his ice time reduced in recent weeks as the Avalanche drift toward a healthy lineup but still carries plenty of pedigree as a prospect.
His final two years in the Kontinental Hockey League were especially good. Kovalenko scored 32 goals and 89 points in 98 games with the KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod from 2022 to 2024. He’ll likely push for top-six minutes with the Sharks which was a prohibited pathway in Colorado.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report Blackwood had been traded to Colorado.
Peng was the first to report Georgiev, Kovalenko, and draft capital were headed back to the Sharks.
Kings’ Caleb Jones Clears Waivers, Reassigned To AHL
12/9: The Kings organization confirmed Jones has successfully cleared waivers as the team announced they’ve reassigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
12/8: The Los Angeles Kings have placed defender Caleb Jones on waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Jones was placed on injured reserve on November 15th, after sustaining an upper-body injury in November 13th’s loss to Colorado. He’s missed nine games since, nearly double the five games he’s played in so far this season. Jones hasn’t recorded any scoring thus far. This move will give him a chance to find his health, and scoring, with more minutes in the minor leagues.
Jones played in 12 AHL games last season – scoring six points – but has otherwise been a full-time NHL defender since the 2019-20 season. He’s played with four different clubs in that span, starting his career in 2018-19 with Edmonton. Jones gradually climbed the Oilers’ depth chart, working from the AHL, to a role as a routine call-up, then eventually becoming Edmonton’s seventh defender. He scored 19 points across three seasons and 93 games in Edmonton, all before the age of 23. That was enough promise to make Jones a focal piece in the trade that sent an aged Duncan Keith from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Edmonton Oilers. The Blackhawks continued to rotate Jones through the lineup, awarding him 51 games in 2021-22 and 73 games in 2022-23. He scored 15 and 16 points in the respective seasons, prompting Chicago to leave Jones unsigned in the 2023 off-season. He signed in Carolina, but was traded to Colorado before the start of the 2023-24 season. Jones continued to serve a minor role with the Avalanche, recording five assists in 25 NHL games and six assists in 12 AHL games.
Blackhawks’ Joey Anderson Clears Waivers
12/9: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that Anderson has successfully cleared waivers. A report by Scott Powers of The Athletic indicates Anderson will stay on Chicago’s active roster for now. The organization now has 30 days to reassign Anderson to the AHL without having to send him through waivers.
12/8: The Chicago Blackhawks have placed forward Joey Anderson on waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Anderson hasn’t played since November 23rd.
Anderson played in the first 12 games of Chicago’s season and rotated throughout the lineup – playing as little as 11 minutes or as much as 19 minutes through the start of the year. Despite the fluxing role, Anderson only recorded one assist, nine hits, and 13 shots.
It is Anderson’s second full season with the Chicago organization. He started last year in the minor leagues but earned a quick call-up after scoring 16 points in his first 14 games. He spent the rest of the season on the Blackhawks roster, stepping into 55 games and scoring 17 points. It was the longest he’s spent on an NHL roster in his seven-year pro career.
The New Jersey Devils originally drafted Anderson in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft. He followed the draft with two years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he scored 64 points in 77 games before signing his first pro contract in 2018-19. Anderson scored six points in his first 13 AHL games – enough to earn a quick call-up, though he wasn’t able to cement an NHL role. That’s since become a tendency, with Anderson producing well in the minors but failing to find footing at the top flight. It’s one that’s persisted through a 2020 move to Toronto, and a 2023 move to Chicago. History seems to be repeating itself once again, with Anderson set to return to the AHL, should he pass through waivers unclaimed.
Wild Recall Cameron Crotty, Reassign David Jiříček
Newly-acquired David Jiříček has been on the Minnesota Wild’s roster for a week but has failed to debut with his new club. In an attempt to find Jiříček more playing time, the Wild organization has reassigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, and has recalled defenseman Cameron Crotty in his stead.
It’s an inevitable roster move for Jiříček and Minnesota. It wasn’t wise for the organization to have their new defensive prospect in the press box and they’ll now give him more playing time in Iowa.
The prudent move would be to keep Jiříček with the AHL Wild unless there’s a major injury in Minnesota. The team already deploys Brock Faber and Jared Spurgeon on the right side of the defense and won’t have much use for Jiříček in the top four. Jiříček was plagued by a few years of inconsistency with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Wild will assuredly want to avoid the same mistake.
Jiříček should finally debut with the Wild organization over a week after being acquired via trade. He’s scored two goals and three points in four AHL contests this season during his time with the Cleveland Monsters.
Replacing Jiříček in the lineup will be Iowa’s captain. After spending the last four with the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes organization, Crotty is in his first year with the Wild organization. He’s tallied five assists in 19 games for the AHL Wild this season and has managed a +2 rating.
Jets Recall Nikita Chibrikov, Reassign Brad Lambert
The Winnipeg Jets have made a roster move as they continue to deal with the void of Nikolaj Ehlers in their top six. The organization announced they’ve recalled Nikita Chibrikov from their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, and have sent Brad Lambert the other way in a corresponding move.
Winnipeg’s roster move indicates Ehlers won’t return for tomorrow’s matchup against the Boston Bruins and the Jets will allow a different prospect an NHL opportunity. Chibrikov was drafted by Winnipeg with the 50th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft and debuted for a one-game stint last season.
He’s been an efficient forward for the AHL Moose since coming to North America from the KHL’s Spartak Moskva last year. He’s scored 22 goals and 60 points in 89 games for Manitoba with another goal in two postseason contests. Still, he has plenty of work to do on the defensive side of the puck but Chibrikov is showing he can already score at the game’s second-highest level.
Heading back to Manitoba as arguably the Jets’ top prospect. He was projected as high as second overall for the 2022 NHL Draft on some boards but a disastrous 2021-22 season with JYP of the Finnish Liiga dropped Lambert to Winnipeg at 30th overall.
He’s recovered exceptionally well scoring 26 goals and 69 points in 94 games over three years with the Moose. He registered four games for the Jets throughout his recent call-up but unfortunately went scoreless. He only averaged 12:44 of ice time per night during those games but will now move back to Manitoba’s first line.
Senators Owner Accuses Rangers Of ‘Soft-Tampering’
The first day of the NHL Board of Governors meeting has started with some dramatics. According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the owner of the Ottawa Senators, Michael Andlauer, has accused the New York Rangers of “soft-tampering.”
It’s safe to say there’s now a Brady Tkachuk-sized wedge between the two organizations. Andlauer’s statement was regarding a report from Larry Brooks of the New York Post indicating the Rangers were aggressively pursuing Tkachuk in a trade with the Senators.
Nothing indicates that Brooks’ report came from a leak within the Rangers organization but the Senators organization believes it did. Andlauer told LeBrun that Ottawa hasn’t discussed Tkachuk with any team and he hopes he will be the team’s leader for many years.
The accusation is understandably heavy and will likely be discussed at the Board of Governors meeting. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports the Rangers responded to the accusation by saying, “This is an irresponsible accusation and we defer to the Commissioner’s office.”
It’s a situation the league will likely investigate given its updated policies on tampering. The league was reportedly displeased with the number of contracts preemptively announced before free agency began on July 1st and sent a memo to all 32 teams.
Any team caught tampering could face fines as large as $5MM, lose draft capital, or even have contracts voided (although that wouldn’t apply in this scenario) should they be caught tampering. The last time a team has been charged with tampering by the league came back in 2016 when former-general manager for the Vancouver Canucks, Jim Benning, made public comments regarding P.K. Subban and Steven Stamkos which resulted in a $50K fine.
Metro Notes: Garand, Ovechkin, Milano, Wilson, Tomasino
The New York Rangers are returning to their regular look between the pipes tonight. The organization announced they’ve reassigned goaltender Dylan Garand to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Garand’s reassignment means Igor Shesterkin will return this evening against the Chicago Blackhawks. He missed yesterday’s game after he and his wife welcomed a new child. Garand didn’t play in yesterday’s loss to the Seattle Kraken, but nobody would have been surprised if he did.
Jonathan Quick, a more than reliable backup for the Rangers this season, let in six goals on 21 shots during New York’s collapse in the second and third periods. The situation paved the way for Garand to make his NHL debut after securing a 7-2-2 record in 11 games for the Wolf Pack this season. Nevertheless, the former 103rd overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft will continue to wait to make his first NHL appearance.
Other Metro notes:
- According to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com, the Washington Capitals had a pair of forwards resume skating this morning albeit in non-contact jerseys. Alex Ovechkin and Sonny Milano skated before the Capitals’ formal practice this morning and Milano has reportedly been elevated to working with pucks. The fact Ovechkin has even returned to skating is impressive given he’s just under three weeks removed from fracturing his fibula.
- Power forward Tom Wilson was a notable absence from Washington’s practice this morning (X Link). Wilson took a puck to the face in the team’s recent win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and he finished the game with nearly a season-low time on ice of 16:15. There’s no indication he’s been ruled out of the Capitals’ upcoming game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Still, it’ll be something to monitor over the next few days.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins could be getting a boost to their forward core tomorrow night against the Colorado Avalanche. According to Wes Crosby of NHL.com, Penguins’ forward Philip Tomasino was skating in a non-contact jersey before today’s practice after missing the team’s most recent game with an upper-body injury. The former first-round pick has been a boon to Pittsburgh’s offense since being acquired from the Nashville Predators on November 25th scoring three goals and four points in his first five games.
Morning Notes: Lemieux, Cowan, Fowler
Former Carolina Hurricanes forward Brendan Lemieux has signed a contract with HC Davos, matching a report earlier this week that the 27-year-old would move overseas to continue his career. The Hurricanes and Lemieux mutually split this past week, allowing him to move to Switzerland to play in the National League. Lemieux spent this season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, making $775K on a one-way deal. It was the first time Lemieux was in the AHL since the 2017-18 season, and the former second-round pick was struggling offensively, with just two goals in 12 games.
As for why Lemieux chose to go overseas, it does appear that he was chasing a new opportunity. Derek O’Brien of The Hockey News writes that Lemieux has signed for the rest of this season as well as two additional years.
In other morning notes:
- Hockey Canada tweeted that Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan will attend the team’s selection camp but won’t participate for precautionary reasons. The news caps off an eventful, albeit difficult couple of days for the 19-year-old. Cowan recorded a point for the 56th consecutive game on Friday, unofficially setting an OHL record, but was injured a short time later by an open-ice hit. In a corresponding move, Team Canada added Anaheim Ducks prospect Beckett Sennecke to their selection camp. The 2024 third-overall pick has 21 goals and 23 assists in 26 OHL games this season and has 14 points over his last four games.
- It’s being reported that the Anaheim Ducks were hoping to include defenseman Cam Fowler in the trade to acquire Jacob Trouba (as per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). Fowler has been looking for a trade for quite some time, but the Rangers wanted to keep flexibility for this year and next and wouldn’t have realized much savings if they were to add Fowler’s $6.5MM cap hit. Friedman notes that the Ducks and Fowler are looking for a solution to their situation that will help both the team and the long-time Ducks veteran. The 33-year-old Fowler has been a perennial 40-point player for most of his career but has struggled this season with just three assists in 14 games.