Utah Recalls Jaxson Stauber, Places Connor Ingram On IR
Nov. 21: Ingram was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday night, per the NHL’s media site. It was a necessary move to open the roster space for Stauber. The move rules Ingram out for Utah’s next three games, but he’ll be eligible to return next Tuesday against the Canadiens.
Nov. 20: Utah netminder Connor Ingram is dealing with an upper-body injury and didn’t travel with the team on their four-game road trip set to kick off tomorrow in Boston, the team announced. He’s listed as day-to-day while undergoing further evaluation, so the team has recalled Jaxson Stauber from AHL Tucson under emergency conditions to serve as Karel Vejmelka‘s backup between the pipes for the trip.
The 27-year-old Ingram has started 13 of Utah’s first 18 games, but he’s only played in one of the last three and was pulled against the Capitals on Monday after allowing four goals on 13 shots. After tying for the league lead in shutouts last season with six, he’s been one of the worst starters in the NHL this year with a .871 SV%, 3.61 GAA, and -9.9 GSAA despite his 6-4-3 record.
He’s at serious risk of at least falling back into a tandem split with Vejmelka upon his return, although if he’s been battling this injury for a while, it could explain the poor play. Utah has only won one of Vejmelka’s five starts this year, but the Czech netminder is on pace for the best campaign of his four-year NHL career with a .915 SV% and 2.58 GAA, saving 2.6 goals above average.
The first-year club has put up exemplary possession numbers at 5-on-5 despite injuries to core defensemen Sean Durzi and John Marino, but a 30th-ranked power play and Ingram’s struggles have bound them to a 7-8-3 record. There’s still plenty of time for the former Coyotes to make the playoffs in their first season in Salt Lake, but they’re four points back of the Canucks for the second wild-card spot in the West and still have to leapfrog the Avalanche, Kraken and Ducks. The Athletic currently projects their record to improve back over .500 but not by much, ranking fifth in the Central with a 25% chance at postseason action.
Meanwhile, Stauber comes up after an attention-grabbing start to his first season in the Utah organization. Signed to a two-way deal in free agency after being non-tendered by the Blackhawks, the 25-year-old has a sparkling .930 SV%, 2.29 GAA and a 5-2-0 record in seven games with Tucson. The Minnesota native has six games of NHL experience, posting a 5-1-0 record with Chicago back in 2022-23 with a strong .911 SV%, 2.81 GAA and 1.3 GSAA.
Oilers Recall Drake Caggiula
The Edmonton Oilers have recalled forward Drake Caggiula to the NHL roster. This move offers insurance after Zach Hyman left Edmonton’s Tuesday night game before the third period. It was Hyman’s 600th NHL game. No update, or indication of Hyman’s availability, has been made since his early exit.
Caggiula will now return to the NHL just a couple weeks after being sent down from his last recall. He’s played in two games with Edmonton this season, recording one assist, two blocks, and three hits in a fourth-line role. That’s fairly typical output from the veteran forward, who’s spent the bulk of the last eight seasons filling the role of depth bruiser. That context has made Caggiula’s fantastic minor-league scoring over the last three seasons all the more surprising. He has nine points, 17 penalty minutes, and a +4 in 11 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield this season, building on the 90 points he scored in 108 AHL games over the last two seasons. This three-year stint is, surprisingly, Caggiula’s first time playing in the minor-leagues – after earning an NHL role immediately after signing as an undrafted college athlete in 2016.
Caggiula’s scoring isn’t likely to translate to the top flight – it hasn’t so far – but any production would be better than what Edmonton’s received from Hyman recently. The reigning 54-goal scorer has just one assist through his last seven games, and eight points in 20 games this season. He’s on pace to finish the year with just 12 goals and 33 points, which would be Hyman’s lowest scoring in a full season since his rookie year of 2016-17. There’s no clear sign as to if Hyman is expected to sit out, or how long he may be shelved, but Edmonton will get to choose between Derek Ryan, Kasperi Kapanen, and Caggiula should a lineup spot open up.
Bruins Could Turn To Trade Market For Spark
The Boston Bruins have finally acknowledged how underwhelming their season has been, becoming the first team to fire a head coach this season when they let go all-time single-season wins record holder Jim Montgomery. Associate coach and penalty-kill expert Joe Sacco has been promoted in his place. That move is likely to bring a wave of defense to a Bruins lineup that’s tied for the third-most goals-against this season. But general manager Don Sweeney isn’t waiting around for hypotheticals, with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reporting that the team is simultaneously exploring the trade market for a potential spark.
LeBrun said Sweeney isn’t beating around the bush, directly calling out the poor play of new additions like Elias Lindholm – who Boston signed a seven-year, $54.25MM contract with Boston this summer. He’s followed that deal with just two goals and nine points through Boston’s first 20 games. That’s miles away from the production of the true top-line center that Lindholm was signed to be, and his rank of third on the team in scoring underlines just how bad the offense has been. LeBrun, not Sweeney, also pointed to the struggles of goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who leads the league in goals-against (47) in just 14 games. That equates to an .884 save percentage and 3.47 goals-against-average – perhaps the very last thing Boston expected when they went through rounds of contract negotiations during training camp.
The woes continue with Sweeney’s other gut calls. Defender Nikita Zadorov only has five assists in 20 games – and leads the league in penalty minutes (46) – and forward Max Jones hasn’t scored once in four appearances. It’s not all bad for the lineup – in fact, the breakout of bottom-six fixtures like Justin Brazeau, Cole Koepke, and Mark Kastelic would cause celebration anywhere else – but it’s clear that the team is completely missing their engine. They’ve done little to restock the cupboards since Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci stepped down from their posts, instead casting a wide net for depth forwards and hoping for the best.
Should Boston pursue a trade, it’d almost certainly be for a high-impact, top-six forward. Where they’ll find a team willing to part with a major piece is less clear. Seattle Kraken centerman Yanni Gourde has popped up in early trade rumors, though his seven points in 20 games wouldn’t bring the spark Boston needs. Gourde did score 25 goals and 64 points on the 2017-18 Tampa Bay Lightning, and has hit 48 points three times since – though he’s failed to pass the half-century mark. The Bruins have been leaning into grit and physicality amid their struggles, evident by their recent call-ups – both pieces that Gourde brings in abundance.
But Gourde won’t carry Boston’s top-line, still leaving a glaring hole in what was supposed to be Lindholm’s role. That may necessitate a more brazen trade, like attempting to acquire hard-nosed Nashville Predators center Thomas Novak, who’s missed a handful of games to injury this season and only posted four points in the 14 games he has played. That’s far below the 18 goals and 45 points Novak posted last season, which was itself an improvement on 43 points the year before. Novak has been square in the middle of a Predators’ middle-six that simply isn’t working – but his gritty style and finishing ability would both be heralded by this Bruins club.
If Don Sweeney is truly looking to push all his chips in, he could also target former superstar prospect Shane Wright, who’s been healthy scratched in Seattle’s last two games after scoring just two points in 18 games this season. Wright has yet to find it out at the top level, now standing at nine points through 34 career games – contrary to his 60 points in 71 total AHL games last season. Wright’s talent has never been questioned, but his fit in Seattle is starting to look quickly uncomfortable. For the right price – likely a hefty package with plenty of draft capital – Boston could try to steal away the 20-year-old burgeoning star, and put him in a far better spot to succeed between David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand.
So early into the season, it’s hard to gauge which top forwards could actually be pried away from their lineup. The Bruins will wait to see how things go under Sacco before making any large moves. But a strong array of centermen should await Don Sweeney on the trade market, with the limiting factor being Boston’s wallet – and underbaked assets – more than the options ahead of them. They’ll have to push the boundaries of the budget to pull out of a difficult 8-9-3 start to the year.
Oilers Send Josh Brown Back To AHL
The Edmonton Oilers have reportedly reassigned defenceman Josh Brown back to the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (as per Puck Pedia). The team has confirmed the assignment.
The move comes after the team claimed forward Kasperi Kapanen off waivers yesterday, it was necessary to move Brown off the roster to get back under the salary cap. With Brown now in Bakersfield, Edmonton has just $304K in projected cap space, which would translate to just $1.4MM at the NHL trade deadline, assuming that they don’t make any other roster moves.
Brown was called up on Sunday in the wake of the Darnell Nurse injury and dressed in two games averaging 11:29 in ice time with 7 PIM, three hits and four blocked shots. Brown also had a fight with Zack MacEwen of the Ottawa Senators.
The reassignment for Brown could mean that one of Nurse, Viktor Arvidsson or Zach Hyman is healthy enough to dress tomorrow night against the Minnesota Wild, however, the team still have six defensemen on the roster regardless of whether they get another player back.
Brown has already cleared waivers earlier this year, so he does not require waivers to be sent back down. He was signed to a three-year $3MM contract in the summer and has been collecting an NHL paycheck in the minors. In 12 AHL games with the Condors, Brown has two assists and a +5 rating.
Evening Notes: Wilsby, Georgiev, Makar
The Nashville Predators have announced that they’ve sent defenseman Adam Wilsby to the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. The 24-year-old had been up with the team since November 13th but didn’t see any NHL action. The fourth-round pick in 2020 is in his third professional season in North America and has dressed in 11 AHL games this year with Milwaukee, tallying a goal and two assists to go along with a +4 rating.
The Stockholm, Sweden native has yet to see NHL action in three seasons with the Predators organization but remains someone that team management is high on despite his lack of offensive production. Wilsby has impressed in the AHL with his skating, gap control, and defending in his zone and will likely see another call-up soon.
In other evening notes:
- Colorado Avalanche netminder Alexandar Georgiev took part in the team’s skate today and could be an option tomorrow in Washington depending on how he feels tonight and tomorrow (as per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette). The development suggests that Colorado is optimistic about the 28-year-old’s recovery and potential return to the lineup. The Avalanche badly need some better goaltending as the team has the worst save percentage in the entire NHL. Georgiev also has a vested interest in turning around the team’s fortune as he is just over seven months away from unrestricted free agency.
- Sticking with the Avalanche, David Satriano of NHL.com writes that defenseman Cale Makar is the early favourite to capture the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman. NHL.com held a 15-person panel to vote on the early season winners and Makar came out ahead of Quinn Hughes and Josh Morrissey. Makar was the NHL’s First Star of the Month in October and began the season with an 11-game point streak that saw him register four goals and 15 assists. Makar is now up to eight goals and 19 assists in 19 games, which is a big reason Colorado has been able to keep pace in the Western Conference despite league-worst goaltending and a litany of injury issues.
Pacific Notes: Gibson, Hinds, Demko
It’s been an open secret for over a year that the Anaheim Ducks are looking to trade netminder John Gibson. Thanks to the emergence of Lukáš Dostál as a legitimate starting option, the timing has never been better to move on from Gibson. Because he believes a trade is on the horizon, Pierre LeBrun writes in The Athletic (Subscription Required) about a couple of teams that may be interested in Gibson’s services.
He initially lists the Colorado Avalanche as an option. The Avalanche have gotten dismal goaltending this year sitting dead last in the league with an .854 SV% split between Alexandar Georgiev, Justus Annunen, and Trent Miner. However, LeBrun believes Colorado is hoping for a Georgiev rebound given that the goaltender outplayed Connor Hellebuyck and nearly outplayed Jake Oettinger in last year’s playoffs. Still, especially if the Ducks are willing to retain some salary, Gibson’s $6.4MM salary as a starting goaltender is becoming a bargain with the increasing salary cap which may appeal to the cash-strapped Avalanche.
LeBrun also mentions the Carolina Hurricanes as a logical landing spot. The organization has gotten solid goaltending from Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov this season but the former’s ability to stay healthy has become a concern. Gibson’s current contract runs in line with Kochetkov’s and LeBrun believes he may provide more stability than Andersen who’s becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.
Other Pacific notes:
- The Anaheim Ducks have reassigned defenseman Tyson Hinds to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls after the young prospect failed to make his NHL debut over the last two days. Hinds, originally drafted by the Ducks with the 76th overall selection of the 2021 NHL Draft, has played with the AHL Gulls for the last two years. He’s scored four goals and 12 points in 84 career AHL contests.
- Sportsnet’s Randip Janda provided a positive update regarding the injured netminder for the Vancouver Canucks, Thatcher Demko, this afternoon. While speaking with Demko after practice, Janda quoted the goaltender saying, “I feel really good. This is the best I’ve felt in 7-8 months. I finally see a little light at the end of tunnel, for sure, and have a lot of direction in what we’re trying to accomplish”. Demko has yet to play this season due to an injury dating back to last year and the Canucks sit 22nd in the league in save percentage with a .884 mark.
Atlantic Notes: Viel, Kämpf, Tuch, Thompson
After only two days on the roster, the Boston Bruins assigned forward Jeffrey Viel to their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. He suited up for the Bruins on Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets picking up three hits while collecting 8:27 of ice time.
He failed to find the scoreboard in the loss against the Blue Jackets but Viel made a statement shortly after the game started. An enforcer-adjacent player for much of his career, he dropped the gloves against Columbus forward Mathieu Olivier just over two minutes into the contest.
Today’s transaction may result in a short stay for Viel in Providence as Boston could still use a jolt. He’s scored two goals and four points for the AHL Bruins through 14 games this season. He won’t have a regular spot in the Bruins lineup should today’s demotion only be a paper transaction but he’ll play a vital role down the stretch should the team not climb out of their current situation.
Other Atlantic notes:
- Outside of placing Max Domi on injured reserve today, the Toronto Maple Leafs have also moved forward David Kämpf to the long-term injured reserve (X Link). The team placed Kämpf on the injured reserve yesterday (retroactive to November 16th) with a lower-body injury and today’s transaction will remove his $2.4MM from the equation. Toronto is projected to possess $2.313MM in cap space at the deadline and won’t accrue any more until activating multiple players from the LTIR.
- Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News shared a few updates regarding the Buffalo Sabres and their matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. After initially projecting as questionable for today’s matchup due to an undisclosed injury, forward Alex Tuch is expected to play tonight. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Tage Thompson, who will miss his third consecutive game due to a lower-body injury. There was some optimism that Thompson could return tonight after practice on Monday but today’s practice has changed Buffalo’s mind.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 11/20/24
Today’s PHR Live Chat was hosted by Josh Erickson. The session began at 2:00 pm Central, and you can use this link to view the transcript.
Metro Notes: Frost, Flyers, Jiricek, Lindstrom
Morgan Frost has had a tumultuous position in the Philadelphia Flyers’ lineup since John Tortorella took over as the team’s head coach in the 2022-23 season. He’s been a healthy scratch in three of the last four games, and this is coming one year after being a healthy scratch in half of the team’s first 20 contests last year. In an article (Subscription Article) in The Athletic, Kevin Kurz opines the Flyers could be headed for a breakup of sorts with Frost before his current contract ends.
There’s no questioning his skill on the offensive side of the puck. Frost scored 10 goals and 33 points over the last 50 games of the 2023-24 season finishing fifth on the team in scoring despite his time in the press box earlier in the year. That’s not enough for Tortorella to overlook his defensive shortcomings, as he typically expects much better two-way play from his centers.
Frost’s two-year, $4.2MM extension expires after this season and he’ll only have one more year remaining until he can hit unrestricted free agency. Kurz believes Philadelphia should trade Frost by the deadline despite selling low on the former-27th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft.
Other Metro notes:
- Continuing in Philadelphia, the organization announced multiple injury updates earlier today. Notably, defenseman Cam York won’t return to the lineup this evening despite being a full participant in practice on Monday. Defenseman Jamie Drysdale and netminder Samuel Ersson remain on the injured reserve with their injuries while defenseman Emil Andrae is considered day-to-day with a mid-body injury.
- This morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets surprised many by reassigning defenseman David Jiříček to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. Shortly after, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic wrote a scathing article (Subscription Article) on Columbus’ handling of the sixth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. Jiříček has rarely had a consistent role with the Blue Jackets despite the team carrying a subpar defensive core and has little else to prove in the AHL after scoring 13 goals and 57 points in 84 career games.
- Sticking in Columbus, Portzline reported that the team’s first pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Cayden Lindstrom, underwent a minor surgical procedure this morning. Lindstrom hasn’t played at all this season with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers due to a back injury, and today’s surgical procedure was a part of the recovery process. He was recently drafted with the fourth overall pick of this past summer’s draft after scoring 27 goals and 46 points in 32 games for the Tigers.
Pacific Notes: Wright, Samsonov, Vaněček
Kraken center Shane Wright was a healthy scratch for the first time this season in Sunday’s 2-0 loss to the Rangers. Despite the lack of offense from Seattle in that game, don’t expect him back in the lineup tonight against the Predators. He was out late at morning skate today and is projected to sit in the press box for a second straight game, Kate Shefte of the Seattle Times reports.
This season, it’s been a tough go of things for the 2022 fourth overall pick. Wright had played in Seattle’s first 18 games of the season but had struggled to produce, posting just a goal and an assist with 12 shots and an even rating while averaging 12:25 per game. He’s struggled in the faceoff dot, winning 43.9% of his draws, and has been a drag on the Kraken’s possession play at even strength. They’re controlling 46.8% of shot attempts compared to 49.8% without him, and Wright also has a negative expected goal differential for the first time out of his three NHL trials.
At least for now, he’s been overtaken on the depth chart by 26-year-old Ben Meyers, who was brought in on a two-way deal over the summer after becoming a Group VI UFA. Meyers played just 8:21 and lost all five of his faceoffs in his season debut against the Rangers, centering the club’s fourth line between Tye Kartye and Brandon Tanev.
If Wright sits for much longer, it’s fair to start speculating about a potential reassignment back to AHL Coachella Valley. The 20-year-old pivot had 22 goals and 47 points in 59 appearances there last season, adding 13 points in 12 playoff games as they advanced to their second straight Calder Cup Final. The former CHL Rookie of the Year now has six goals and three assists for nine points in 34 games dating back to his debut in 2022-23.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- Ilya Samsonov won’t get the chance for a revenge start when his Golden Knights face the Maple Leafs tonight, in part due to the undisclosed injury that kept him out for much of November, head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters including Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. Samsonov returned to action Sunday against the Capitals after two weeks out of the lineup, allowing four goals on 24 shots in his second regulation loss of the season. After spending the last two seasons in Toronto, the 27-year-old Russian landed a one-year, $1.8MM contract with Vegas in free agency to platoon with Adin Hill. He has a 3-2-1 record, .897 SV%, and 3.15 GAA in his first six games for the Knights, who have gotten subpar goaltending overall but are still 11-5-2.
- Sharks goaltender Vítek Vaněček is traveling with the club on their two-game road swing through Dallas and St. Louis this week but remains unlikely to play, head coach Ryan Warsofsky told Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. The 28-year-old sustained an upper-body injury against the Penguins on Saturday that necessitated the recall of top prospect Yaroslav Askarov, who backed up Mackenzie Blackwood against the Red Wings on Monday and is expected to do so tonight against the Stars. If Vaněček isn’t okay to dress by tomorrow, Askarov seems likely to make his Sharks debut in St. Louis on the second half of a back-to-back.