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Capitals Make Three Roster Moves

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The Capitals have shuffled things up roster-wise in advance of their game tonight against St. Louis.  The team announced that they have activated defenseman Jakob Chychrun off injured reserve.  Additionally, winger Sonny Milano has been placed on IR while center Michael Sgarbossa has been recalled from AHL Hershey.  Washington’s roster now stands at the maximum of 23 players.

Chychrun has missed the last couple of weeks with an upper-body injury but appears poised to return tonight.  The 26-year-old is in his first season with the Caps after being acquired on the opening day of free agency from Ottawa and it’s fair to say he has made an early impact.  Chychrun has four points in eight games so far this season and was logging over 21 minutes a night before getting injured.  A pending unrestricted free agent, Chychrun has helped bolster the left side of Washington’s back end so his return will certainly be a welcome one.

As for Milano, it has been a rough year for him thus far.  He played less than six minutes in the season opener and then was scratched for nine straight games before returning to the lineup two games ago.  However, he suffered an upper-body injury in his most recent outing, one that will keep him out for the next week at least.  He hasn’t recorded a point in his three appearances this season after putting up 15 goals and 23 points in 49 games in 2023-24.

Sgarbossa, meanwhile, has been up and down with Washington in recent days.  The 32-year-old has suited up twice with the Capitals this season, averaging a little over eight minutes a night.  Meanwhile, with the Bears, he’s off to another strong start, recording a goal and eight assists in seven appearances with them.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see Washington continue to shuffle him back and forth between there and Hershey, allowing them to delay his waiver clock in the process.

Predators Place Dante Fabbro On Waivers

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Dante Fabbro has been a speculative trade candidate in Nashville for a few years now and it appears he could be on the move although not via a trade.  Instead, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Predators have placed the blueliner on waivers.

A few years ago, the 26-year-old looked like another fixture on the back end for the Preds.  He had three seasons averaging more than 19 minutes a night (primarily on the second pairing) between 2019-20 and 2021-22, even putting up a breakout 24-point effort in the 2021-22 campaign, making his then-$2.4MM price tag look like a bargain.

However, things haven’t gone as well since then.  Fabbro’s playing time has dipped since then, dropping to 17:27 per night in 2022-23 and then 16:21 last season.  This year, it’s even lower when he has been in the lineup as he has logged just 13:06 per game in his six appearances where he has been held off the scoresheet thus far.  In Nashville’s other eight games, Fabbro has been a healthy scratch.

Fabbro is making $2.5MM this season on a one-year deal he signed at last year’s trade deadline, locking him in at the same rate as the year before without any potential for uncertainty in what would have been his final year with arbitration eligibility; he could have very easily been a non-tender candidate had he been unsigned heading into late June.

That price tag would be difficult for quite a few cap-strapped teams to absorb but even so, it’s possible that Fabbro could be claimed.  A rebuilding team might want to get a look at him to see if he’s worth keeping around longer-term or to try to build up his value and then flip him (possibly with salary retention) closer to the March 7th trade deadline.  With over 300 NHL games under his belt, he could be a worthwhile pickup for some teams looking for depth and experience on their back end.  Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim on him.

Kings Recall Samuel Helenius, Place Alex Turcotte On IR

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The Kings have made a pair of roster moves leading up to their game tonight against Columbus.  The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Samuel Helenius from AHL Ontario on an emergency basis; to make room on the roster, forward Alex Turcotte was placed on injured reserve.

This is the first recall for Helenius in his young career.  The 21-year-old was a second-round pick by Los Angeles back in 2021, going 59th overall.  Standing 6’6, the hope was that Helenius could become a solid checking piece and now in his third professional season, things appear to be on track.

This season, Helenius has three points in eight games along with 22 penalty minutes for the Reign.  That’s a small improvement in offensive pace for him after he put up 19 points in 69 contests last season.  Helenius should take Tanner Jeannot’s place in the lineup as he begins a three-game suspension tonight.

As for Turcotte, he was injured back on Monday against Nashville, suffering an upper-body injury.  However, it’s not supposed to be a long-term issue as he has already resumed skating, albeit in a non-contact jersey.  The 23-year-old has done relatively well in his first full NHL campaign, notching five points in 13 games while logging a little under 12 minutes a night.

Canucks Recall Nils Aman And Arshdeep Bains

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The Canucks have been quite busy on the transactions front over the last couple of weeks, shuffling players back and forth to save cap space and, in some cases, pause the waiver clock of certain players.  But with Friday’s trade of Daniel Sprong, they had a roster spot to try to fill on top of the usual paper moves.  They’ve done so by announcing (Twitter link) the recalls of center Nils Aman and winger Arshdeep Bains from AHL Abbotsford.

Aman cleared waivers last weekend after spending the first few weeks of the season in the NHL.  The 24-year-old had a very limited role over that stretch, however, only getting into four games and being scratched for the rest.  He had two assists in those outings on the fourth line but is more known for being a defensive player than a point producer at the top level.  Aman got into two games with Abbotsford following the demotion, picking up a pair of helpers there as well.

As for Bains, he has been no stranger to the shuffle as this is his fifth recall of the season already.  The 23-year-old has a goal in seven games so far this season while collecting 12 hits and averaging 11:40 per night.  Despite the frequent assignments to Abbotsford, Bains has played for them just once so far; he had a goal and two helpers in that contest.

With the promotions, Vancouver is now back to a full 23-player roster.  That said, with the frequency of their moves over the first few weeks of the season, that’s unlikely to be the case for too long.

Penguins Recall Tristan Jarry, Assign Matt Nieto To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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Two weeks ago, the Penguins opted to send goaltender Tristan Jarry to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan.  That loan has a two-week limit which has now expired.  Accordingly, the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been recalled from the minors.  Jarry remained on Pittsburgh’s active roster while in the AHL so no corresponding move was needed.  Meanwhile, the team has also sent winger Matt Nieto to the AHL on a conditioning loan.

Jarry got off to a particularly rocky start to his season, posting a 5.47 GAA and a .836 SV% in his first three starts.  While that’s a small sample size, it was certainly cause for some concern.  Accordingly, when Alex Nedeljkovic returned, Pittsburgh elected not to send youngster Joel Blomqvist back to the minors, instead keeping three goalies.

After doing that briefly, the Penguins sent Jarry back from their road trip to work with their goalie coach away from the rest of the team.  After a couple of days of that, the sides decided that a stint in the minors made sense.  Jarry certainly made the most of it, getting into five minor league contests, putting up a 2.16 GAA and a .926 SV% in those outings.

It will be interesting to see how Pittsburgh opts to deploy Jarry.  They might be inclined to give him another NHL start relatively quickly to see if he can continue his improved performance but a three-goalie rotation is often difficult to work with.  Blomqvist has impressed in his first taste of NHL action and doesn’t deserve to lose much time or be sent down while Nedeljkovic is in the first season of a two-year deal signed a few months ago to keep him in the fold.  For now, at least, it looks like they’ll carry three netminders and try to make it work.

As for Nieto, it has been more than 11 months since he last saw game action.  The 32-year-old is coming back from a knee injury and is on LTIR.  This means that his conditioning loan carries a shorter timeline than Jarry as the standard one is capped at three games and six days although two games can be added to that with league permission if it’s necessary.  Nieto had four points in 22 games with Pittsburgh last season and is in the final year of his deal which carries a $900K AAV.

Lightning Assign Gage Goncalves To AHL

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Gage Goncalves’ first NHL stint of the season was a short-lived one.  The Lightning announced today that they’ve reassigned the forward to AHL Syracuse.

The 23-year-old was recalled earlier this week and got into two games with Tampa Bay.  He was held off the scoresheet in those outings while logging a little over ten minutes per game.  Goncalves had a big year offensively with the Crunch last season, collecting 58 points in 69 games and was off to a good start prior to his recall this year, notching four assists and four appearances thus far.

While Goncalves was recalled to take Brayden Point’s spot in the lineup due to his lower-body injury, this assignment shouldn’t be interpreted as Point being ready to return yet; he didn’t participate in practice today.  However, Tampa Bay is off until Thursday so this assignment will free up a bit more cap space at a minimum while giving Goncalves a chance to play with the Crunch.  If Point isn’t ready to return by Thursday’s game, Goncalves will probably be promoted once again.

Islanders’ Mike Reilly Out Indefinitely With Upper-Body Injury

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New York Islanders’ defenseman Mike Reilly has been announced as out indefinitely with an upper-body injury per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Reilly has been out since hitting his head in the team’s November 1st win over the Buffalo Sabres. He was initially dubbed day-to-day in the wake of the injury, but will now be out for the foreseeable future with what’s been dubbed a concussion.

Reilly’s absence leaves a clear hole in the New York lineup. While his minutes have been relatively capped, he’s served as a go-to depth option since being acquired off waivers from the Florida Panthers last summer. He landed with the Islanders when they needed him most – square in the middle of injuries to Adam Pelech, Sebastian Aho, and Ryan Pulock. Those absences paved the way for Reilly to average just over 17 minutes of ice time through 59 games with New York. He made good work of the role, passing the 20-point mark (24) for just the second time in his 10-year career. But both his role and his scoring have dried up this year, with Reilly averaging 15:45 in ice time and yet to score through 11 games this season.

New York is also missing Adam Pelech and Alexander Romanov – effectively depleting the entirety of their blue-line’s left-hand side. The team’s seventh-defenseman, Dennis Cholowski, joined call-up Samuel Bolduc in trying to mend the emptied depth chart – but neither proved very reliable. That led New York to recall rookie Isaiah George, who’s looked far more the part of the top-end defender that the Islanders are missing. George has averaged just under 20 minutes of ice time through his first two career games, blocking four shots and impressively handling the pace of NHL defense. He’s yet to score the first point of his career, but should continue as a strong member of the Islanders’ top-four while they wait for their defense to return to health. The Islanders have also been tied to rumors around left-defenders on the trade or waiver market, and may be quick to replace George if he falters in a continued role.

Romanov also remains out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per Andrew Gross of Newsday Sports.

Poll: Who Will Win The 2025 Jack Adams Award?

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Of all of the trophies in hockey, the Jack Adams Award has become the most debated. Meant to award the coach determined to have most contributed to their team’s success, the trophy has instead become a way to award coaches that tally extended win-streaks, resilient comebacks, or unexpected runs to the postseason. Recent winners include Vancouver’s Rick Tocchet, Boston’s Jim Montgomery, and now-replaced Calgary head coach Darryl Sutter. All three kicked off their award-winning year with hot starts in the first two months, making now a great time to check in on this year’s early favorites.

The easy early choice has to be Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel, who’s inspired an incredible 13-1-0 record to start the new year. Arniel was promoted to replace Rick Bowness full-time this summer, after covering for the 800-game pro coach at multiple points last season. The hire was hotly debated at the time, with Jets fans split between whether Arniel’s role as the team’s penalty-kill coach would push slow-paced defense onto a roster that clearly needed to lean into fast-paced offense. But that hasn’t proven a worry on the ice, with Winnipeg’s 63 goals and +11 goal-differential both proudly leading the league. That’s been inspired by the usual suspects playing well – with Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Josh Morrissey rightfully leading the team in scoring. But the depth of production is perhaps the biggest testament to Arniel’s impact. Winnipeg has 10 players with at least 10 points, including Cole Perfetti and Mason Appleton – who both struggled to find their scoring consistency under Bowness. Arniel’s Jets also boast the best power-play in the league (42.1 percent) and a league-average penalty-kill (80 percent success).

Arniel headlines a long list of first-year head coaches finding immediate success. John Hynes has led his Minnesota Wild to a second-place 10-2-2 record, and Sheldon Keefe has made the New Jersey Devils the playoff-favorites that many expected them to be last year. But it’s the mentality shift of Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube that seems to be making the biggest ripples in a new setting. The hard-nosed former pro has led a defensive charge in Toronto, with the team allowing their fewest goals-against per-game since 2020-21 under Berube’s reign. That’s helped along by summer additions like Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but the team as a whole has shifted towards a grittier, dump-and-chase style. The downside of that shift has been Toronto’s drop from averaging 3.63 goals-per-game last year, to just 3.07 this year – though the team has still managed a hardy 8-5-2 record through their first 15 games. Berube may not be inspiring as much as his other first-year peers, but the culture shift he’s instilled could make him a strong Jack Adams candidate if the Leafs find another layer.

There’s also Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery, who won a tight race for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild Card last season. And while Washington didn’t inspire much in the postseason – getting swept by the New York Rangers – they’ve clearly used the appearance as motivation in the new year. Washington is red-hot, sat with a 9-4-0 record and ranked in the top 10 of goals-for, goals-against, and penalty kill percentage. The Capitals’ season is undeniably headlined by Alexander Ovechkin’s chase for Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record – only 34 goals away! – but Carbery has pulled together a quietly-thriving team in the backdrop. It’s a record more inspired by emerging lineup pillars – like Dylan Strome, Aliaksei Protas, and Connor McMichael – more than being led by individual stars. The Capitals still need to squeeze more out of new additions like Andrew Mangiapane and Pierre-Luc Dubois. A spark in net wouldn’t hurt either. But the momentum that Carbery has built up in his second year has Washington looking much more the part of a strong playoff hopeful than they did last year, even despite an injured blue-line.

The NHL season has hardly begun, but plenty of new and inexperienced head coaches have found their groove right out of the gates. Their momentum could spell out the Jack Adams finalists far ahead of an official announcement, or they could soon be uprooted by settled veterans like Florida’s Paul Maurice, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour, or Vegas’ Bruce Cassidy. All have started strong, providing plenty of options for who could run away with this year’s Jack Adams Award. Who do you think will keep their hot start going and take home this year’s ’Coach of the Year’ trophy?

Who Will Win The 2025 Jack Adams Award?
Scott Arniel 51.07% (143 votes)
Spencer Carbery 21.79% (61 votes)
Sheldon Keefe 11.79% (33 votes)
Craig Berube 10.71% (30 votes)
John Hynes 4.64% (13 votes)
Total Votes: 280

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Pacific Notes: Kaliyev, Gibson, Walman, Stone

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Kings winger Arthur Kaliyev ramped up his participation in practice today, albeit in a non-contact jersey, relays Andrew Knoll of the LA Daily News.  The 23-year-old has yet to play this season after suffering a broken collarbone during a scrimmage in the opening days of training camp.  Kaliyev is coming off a rough year that saw him record just seven goals and eight assists in 51 games after putting up 27 and 28 points in his previous two years.  While he requested a trade, one never came to fruition over the summer and the sides settled on a one-year, $825K deal just before camp; he was injured just a few days later.  Originally targeted for a late-November/early-December return, it’s possible that Kaliyev is a little ahead of schedule in terms of his recovery.

More from the Pacific:

  • The Ducks have activated goaltender John Gibson from injured reserve, relays Derek Lee of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has yet to play this season after undergoing an appendectomy during the preseason.  After being a top performer early in his career, Gibson has struggled considerably in recent years and posted a 3.54 GAA with a career-low .888 SV% in 46 games last season.  Anaheim now has three goalies on its active roster with the others being Lukas Dostal and James Reimer.  Reimer was claimed off waivers last month and unless the Ducks want to carry three goalies for a while, he could be back on the wire soon.
  • While he missed Thursday’s game due to an upper-body injury, Sharks defenseman Jake Walman is with the team on their road trip that begins on Sunday, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. There has been some confusion about whether Walman’s absence was initially injury-related or just being a scratch but it’s clear he isn’t fully healthy at the time being.  The 28-year-old was acquired in a cap-clearing move from Detroit over the offseason and has been a big boost to San Jose’s back end.  Through 13 games this season, he leads their blueline group with nine points (including eight assists, one off his career-high) and an ATOI of 22:42 so whenever he’s cleared to return, he’ll be a welcome addition to their lineup.
  • The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that winger Mark Stone is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The injury explains the earlier recall of winger Jonas Rondbjerg from the minors.  Stone is off to a terrific start to the season, recording six goals and 15 assists in 13 games so far to lead the team in scoring while logging over 19 minutes a night so his absence will certainly be felt.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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There’s already been a bit of early-season trade action with a bevy of unexpected hot starts and disappointing runs. With every team now across the 10-game mark in their schedule, we’ll open the space to answer questions from our readers in the mailbag.

The last edition was divided into two parts. The first discussed a potential solution to the Oilers’ Darnell Nurse problem, expectations for the Maple Leafs, and challenges for the Rangers to stay atop the Metropolitan Division. The second covered the beginnings of a likely lengthy Connor Bedard/Matvei Michkov rivalry and the first player to land a $20MM AAV, among other topics.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.

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