Evening Notes: Bunting, Team Canada, Heinola
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Michael Bunting earned praise last night from his head coach Mike Sullivan (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). Sullivan compared Bunting to former Penguins player Patric Hornqvist, saying that Bunting has the ability to get under the opponent’s skin.
It wasn’t that long ago that Bunting appeared to be getting under the skin of Sullivan, as the 29-year-old had just a single assist in his first 12 games this season. Bunting found himself a healthy scratch in mid-October and had to work his way out of the doghouse and back into the lineup. November wasn’t exactly a month to remember, but it did enough to quiet trade rumors as Bunting was back to his usual production, posting five goals and four assists in 14 games.
In other evening notes:
- TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweeted that Team Canada’s 4-nations roster has been finalized and will be announced after the deadline tomorrow. LeBrun added that the final decisions were made last night and the decision on the final few roster spots was quite difficult. Team Canada already named their first six players back in June, and those names were Sidney Crosby, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid, Brad Marchand, Brayden Point and Nathan MacKinnon.
- Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ville Heinola was scratched once again today, marking the second game in a row he has sat in the press box (as per Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press). The 23-year-old was recalled from his AHL conditioning assignment last Sunday and played twice this past week, going scoreless while averaging 13:01 in ice time per game. Logan Stanley remained in the Jets lineup today, presumably over Heinola, and struggled as he took three minor penalties against the Stars.
West Notes: Avalanche, Wild, Ehlers
The Colorado Avalanche have assigned forwards Ivan Ivan, Nikita Prishchepov, and Chris Wagner to the minor leagues in what appears to be a paper transaction. The move will help Colorado accrue morsels of salary cap before their next game on Tuesday. Injuries have continued to pile up in Colorado, pushing all three players into Saturday’s loss to Edmonton.
Ivan stamped his spot on the third line with a two-goal game last week, but he hasn’t managed any more scoring in the three games since. Still, he’s received far more attention than Wagner and Prishchepov, who respectively recorded a measly five and six minutes of ice time in Colorado’s last game. The trio make up the bulk of Colorado’s bottom-six ice time, and the Avalanche will now take advantage of their waiver exemption status to bank some daily cap space.
In other Western Conference notes:
- Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin reportedly did not want to include defenseman Daemon Hunt in the trade package the was used to pluck David Jiricek from the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday (as per Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News). The Wild sent Hunt and four draft picks to Columbus to acquire Jiricek and a fifth-round pick, and Guerin told the media that he hated including Hunt in the deal but felt that the price he paid to acquire the former sixth-overall pick was fair. The Wild paid a heavy price to acquire the 21-year-old Jiricek, but if he develops into the defenseman the Wild expect, he and current Wild defender Brock Faber will give the team a solid core to build around for years to come.
- Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers missed today’s game against the Dallas Stars and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury (as per Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press). Jets head coach Scott Arniel didn’t have much in the way of an update after today’s game but did tell the media that Ehlers will see the team doctors in Winnipeg tomorrow. Ehlers is in the final season of a seven-year $42MM contract and will become an unrestricted free agent next July. The 28-year-old has had a fantastic start to the season with nine goals and 16 assists in 24 games.
Canadiens Place Rafaël Harvey-Pinard On Waivers
12/1: Harvey-Pinard has cleared waivers and been assigned to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
11/30: According to a team announcement, the Montreal Canadiens are ready to activate forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard from the long-term injured reserve. Harvey-Pinard won’t return to the Canadiens once his LTIR conditioning loan concludes as the organization shared they’ve placed him on waivers.
It’s been a long road to recovery for Harvey-Pinard after undergoing surgery in late July to repair a broken leg. He’s been on the shelf ever since with his last game in Montreal coming on the final game of the 2023-24 regular season.
His offensive output depressed last season going from scoring 20 points in 34 contests during the 2022-23 season to scoring 10 points in 45 games last year. His recent conditioning stint in Laval didn’t do much to inspire confidence as Harvey-Pinard only managed one goal in five games with a -4 rating.
He’ll get an extended look in the AHL should he clear waivers by tomorrow afternoon. It’s been two years since Harvey-Pinard spent significant time with the AHL Rocket scoring 16 goals and 31 points in 40 games during the 2022-23 AHL season. Montreal will also eliminate $1.1MM from their LTIR pool no matter what happens with Harvey-Pinard.
The Canadiens will have a home for Harvey-Pinard should he recover his confidence in the AHL. Montreal is 21st in the league in scoring with a number of their goals coming from the combination of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. The organization hopes that Harvey-Pinard will regain his offensive capabilities in the AHL to re-capture a consistent role in the team’s middle six.
Afternoon Notes: Sheary, Talbot, Celebrini, Hughes
The Tampa Bay Lightning have reassigned Conor Sheary. He was called up on Saturday to serve as the 11th forward in Tampa’s 5-3 loss to Toronto. He managed no scoring, three shots, and one hit in 12:18 of ice time. Sheary’s was on his first call-up since passing through waivers and being assigned to the minors on October 24th.
This season has awarded Sheary his first AHL games since 2015-16. He’s made 11 appearances with the Syracuse Crunch, recording three goals and seven points – good for seventh on the team in scoring. He’s fallen a long way over the last two seasons, recording just 15 points in 57 games with Tampa Bay last season – and not managing any scoring in four NHL games this year. That scoring skid has pulled the rug from under him, defaulting Sheary to a minor-league role just two seasons after he played in all 82 games for the Washington Capitals. He scored 15 goals and 37 points in that season – one year after a 19-goal, 43-point year. That production is more than enough to uphold an NHL roster spot, but it’s yet to translate to Tampa Bay. Sheary will look to continue his hot scoring in Syracuse, and take better advantage of his next shot at the Lightning lineup.
Other notes from around the league:
- Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot left the team’s Sunday game early with a lower-body injury, shares Helene St. James of The Detroit Free Press. Talbot was relieved by Ville Husso, marking his first NHL game sine November 9th. Husso went on to save 15 of the 18 shots he faced. Head coach Derek Lalonde didn’t have any updates on Talbot after the game, though he did mention that Talbot pulled himself from the game. St. James went on to mention that Detroit would be down both of their top-two goalies, should Talbot miss extended time, with backup Alex Lyon missing the last three games with an undisclosed injury. The pair of injuries would push Husso back into the starting role that he lost at the beginning of the season, but Detroit would still need to recall a body to fill-in as backup. Top goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa has earned the lion’s share of AHL starts, recording eight wins and a .929 through 13 games this season. He would be a great, high-upside recall – but Detroit could also turn towards veteran Jack Campbell for spot starts. Campbell has yet to make his season debut after starting the year in the NHL Player’s Assistance program
- Star San Jose Sharks rookie Macklin Celebrini has won November’s ‘Rookie of the Month’ after scoring seven goals and 12 points in 14 games. He becomes the first Sharks rookie to win the award since Tomas Hertl in 2013-14. Celebrini has bounced back incredibly well from a string of nagging lower-body injuries holding him out of 11 games earlier in the year. He has eight goals and 14 points in 15 games this season, on pace to score 38 goals and 66 points through 71 games. Achieving that scoring would make Celebrini the highest-scoring rookie in Sharks history, beating out Pat Falloon’s 59 points in 1991-92, and Logan Couture’s 56 points in 2010-11.
- Superstar Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes has achieved a more notable milestone out West, setting Vancouver’s record for all-time assist from a defenseman. Hughes clinched the superlative with the lone assist on a Jake DeBrusk’s first goal on Sunday. He’d go on to assist DeBrusk’s next two goals as well, in the latter’s first hat-trick as a Canuck. The scoring brought Hughes up to 313 assists in 388 games, pushing him past the 310 assists that Alexander Edler recorded in 925 games with Vancouver; nearly three-times as long as it took Hughes. At his current rate of 0.81 assists-per-game, Hughes would need 1,025 career games to pass Henrik Sedin’s franchise record of 830 assists.
Wild Recall David Jiricek, Assign Travis Boyd
Top defense prospect David Jiricek has officially joined the Minnesota Wild, receiving an official call-up after a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets placed him on the AHL Iowa Wild roster. Minnesota made room for Jiricek’s recall by re-assigning fowrard Travis Boyd to the minors. Jiricek will head to the NHL while Daemon Hunt, who went the other way in the trade alongside four draft picks, has been assigned to the AHL by Columbus.
Wild head coach John Hynes told reporters, including Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News, that Jiricek is expected to join the team’s practices on Monday.
The Minnesota defense has been firing on all cylinders this season. Half of the blue-line has recorded 10-or-more points on the season, with Jacob Middleton and Brock Faber each tied for the scoring lead with 12 points in 24 games. The bunch has supported Minnesota to the best goals-against per-game of any team in the NHL. They allow just 2.33 goals-against on average, well ahead of the second-place Winnipeg Jets’ 2.50 average. That standing could make ice time hard to find for Jiricek, who only has one assist in six NHL games this season. Jiricek is an incredibly talented puck-carrier, and earned a commendable 10 points in 43 games as a rookie last season. But Jiricek’s impact off of the puck, and overall agility, have left a lot to be desired – part of why he’s totaled a -10 through 53 career games.
Jiricek won’t support Minnesota’s pursuit of top defensive metrics, but his uspide as an offensive asset is sky-high. He was drafted sixth overall in the 2022 NHL Draft after earning an everyday role in the Czechia Extraliga at 16. He played through 67 games, and scored 20 points, with Plzen HC between 2019 and 2022 – but suffered a long-term, lower-body injury at the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The injury would deprive Jiricek of five months of action in his draft year, though he returned with two points in four World Championship games – just enough to convince Columbus that he was still worthy of a top-10 pick.
Jiricek followed the draft with four points in seven games at the rescheduled 2022 World Junior Championships, and joined the Cleveland Monsters one month later. He was productive as a rookie, netting 38 points in his first 55 AHL games – but not managing any scoring through his first four NHL games, waiting until 2023-24 to record his first NHL point. Jiricek has continued to perform well in the minors, with 19 points in 29 AHL games last year and three points in four games this year, but hasn’t yet translated that production to the top flight. Minnesota will represent a change of scenery, so long as he can beat out Zach Bogosian, Jonathon Merrill, or Declan Chisholm for minutes.
Meanwhile, Travis Boyd will return to the minors after two scoreless games for Minnesota. He’s scored two goals and 11 points in 13 games with the Iowa Wild this season, which still stands as second on the team in scoring behind Ben Jones‘ 12 points in 14 games. Boyd is a top, veteran presence for Iowa – and should return to a top role with this assignment.
Avalanche Issue Multiple Injury Updates
The season has brought a never-ending string of injuries for the Colorado Avalanche. They’re facing absences to five different players – including Gabriel Landeskog and Ross Colton, who are each on injured reserve, and Jonathan Drouin, who is week-to-week. Unfortunately, their injury list is only going to grow longer – with Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports sharing that Oliver Kylington is day-to-day, Josh Manson is week-to-week, and Miles Wood is month-to-month. All three players are dealing with upper-body injuries.
Manson’s injury is the most pressing of the new set. The top-four defender left the team’s Friday loss to Dallas in the second period after falling awkwardly into the boards. He dropped his gloves immediately and seemed to be favoring his wrist or hand. Manson has been a key piece of the Avalanche blue-line with reliable depth injured around him. He averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time through five games before injury, recording one assist and seven shots on net in the role. Manson’s season-long stat line sits at six points, 16 penalty minutes, and a team-leading 51 hits in 24 games. He was replaced on Saturday by John Ludvig, playing in just his sixth game of the season. Ludvig has two points and 11 hits this season – putting him on pace to rival Manson’s stats across 24 games, if he keeps up this pace of points and hits.
Kylington’s injury is also new. Kylington seemed to sustain the injury in Colorado’s Wednesday win over Vegas. He didn’t play in either game this weekend, and is now confirmed as needing a bit more time until he’s back to full health. Kylington has two points, four penalty minutes, and a -2 through eight appearances this season. He’s been a depth defender at-best when the lineup calls on him, but Manson joining the list of injuries could open more of a role if Kylington returns soon.
The injuries to the forward group are old news by this point. Drouin’s upper-body injury is technically new, suffered on November 27th, though it returns him to an inactive list that he’s already spent three weeks on this season. Drouin suffered what’s believed to be a separate upper-body injury in Colorado’s season opener, and was placed on injured reserve from October 20th to November 14th. He’s only played in five games this season, but has managed an impressive four points – split evenly – while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. Miles Wood is in a similar spot, headed to IR from October 28th to November 14th – then reinjuring himself and moving back to the reserve just two weeks later. He’ll now be out for the long-term, depriving Colorado of an impactful depth forward who had three points in 16 games this season.
Colorado already recalled Nikita Prishchepov in response to new injuries, but could also look into a depth defenseman with Manson now out for the foreseeable future. Their best options would likely be veteran depth defenders Jacob MacDonald and Calle Rosen – though both players, and the rest of the Eagles blue-line, are left-handed; the opposite side of right-shot Manson.
Blue Jackets Recall Mikael Pyyhtia
11:30 AM: Chinakhov will indeed sit out on Sunday, with NHL.com’s Jeff Svoboda confirming the winger didn’t travel with the team to Chicago. The Blue Jackets will continue their road trip with a four-game trip into Western Canada, potentially hindering Chinkahov’s ability to return soon – though he could join the team partway through their trip.
10:30 AM: The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Mikael Pyyhtia. He was sent to the minor leagues on November 20th after making the Blue Jackets roster out of training camp. Pyyhtia’s call-up could suggest that Columbus winger Yegor Chinakhov won’t be healthy for the team’s Sunday game. Chinakhov is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and sat out of the team’s Friday win over Calgary.
Pyyhtia played in four games during his AHL stint. He scored in three of those outings for five points total – including a three-assist night in an overtime win over Milwaukee. That’s a welcome bout of scoring after Pyyhtia managed just one goal through 17 games to start his NHL season. Pyyhtia was similarly snakebit last season, recording just two assists in 17 games – after earning a midseason call-up from the AHL. The 2024-25 season marks Pyyhtia’s second full year in North America, having made the move to Ohio at the end of the Liiga’s 2022-23 campaign. He played in parts of four seasons with TPS prior to coming over, recording 63 points in 140 games.
Pyyhtia has never been known as a top-scorer, but this call-up gives him a chance to return to the NHL lineup with wind in his sails. Chinakhov was replaced on Friday by the return of top-six forward Cole Sillinger, though Columbus’ bottom-six could use a spark in scoring. Pyyhtia could step in for any of Zach Aston-Reese, James van Riemsdyk, or Kevin Labanc – with the latter the favorite to step out of the lineup recently.
Snapshots: Kucherov, Pageau, Red Wings, Ehlers, Hinds
Prior to their game against Toronto tonight, the Lightning found themselves without their top scorer. Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times relayed (Twitter link) that winger Nikita Kucherov is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. The 31-year-old led the league in scoring last season, notching 44 goals and 100 assists, both career highs, in 81 games. While Kucherov isn’t producing at quite that level this year, he came into the night tied for fifth in scoring with 12 goals and 22 assists in 34 games, a 127-point pace.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- The Islanders didn’t have center Jean-Gabriel Pageau in their lineup tonight against Buffalo. Ethan Sears of the New York Post notes (Twitter link) that the veteran is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. The 32-year-old has five goals and five assists in 23 games so far this season while averaging 17:47 per game, his highest ATOI since the 2019-20 season. A specialist at the faceoff dot, Pageau is winning just over 60% of his draws early on, a mark that would be his best if he can maintain it.
- Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon won’t accompany the team on their two-game road trip, mentions Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). He’s dealing with a lower-body injury with no timeline for his return. Lyon has a 2.74 GAA and a .911 SV% in nine appearances so far. Meanwhile, St. James notes that winger Patrick Kane will miss his fourth straight game on Sunday due to an upper-body injury but there is a chance he’ll be available to return on Tuesday in Boston. The veteran is off to a quiet start by his standards, collecting just three goals and seven assists in 20 games.
- Though he left Friday’s game with a lower-body injury, Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers is listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest in Dallas, per team reporter Mitchell Clinton. The 28-year-old is off to a solid start in the final year of his contract, with nine goals and 16 assists in 24 games. With 25 points, Ehlers sits third on Winnipeg in scoring.
- The Ducks announced that they’ve re-assigned defenseman Tyson Hinds back to AHL San Diego. The 21-year-old was brought up twice by Anaheim over the last couple of weeks but didn’t see any game action. Hinds, a third-round pick in 2021, has two goals in 13 games so far this season for the Gulls.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Seattle Kraken
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, next up is the Kraken.
Seattle Kraken
Current Cap Hit: $90,108,465 (above the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Ryker Evans (one year, $898K)
F Tye Kartye (one year, $859K)
F Shane Wright (three years, $887K)
Potential Bonuses
Kartye: $57.5K
Wright: $3.0625MM
Total: $3.12MM
Seattle was slow-playing Wright’s development in his first couple of seasons and even into his first full NHL campaign, his ice time is being managed carefully. Accordingly, he’s not on track to reach any of his bonuses and is probably heading for a bridge contract barring a big offensive breakout over the next year or two. If he stays on the slower development path, that bridge agreement should come in around the $3.5MM range. Kartye had a solid rookie season in the bottom six and is in that same role this year. His bonuses are based on games played so that’s something he should be able to reach if he stays healthy. Given his role and limited offensive numbers, he’s also looking at a short-term second contract, one around the $1.5MM mark.
Evans is in his first full NHL season after impressing in partial duty last season. He has locked down a spot in Seattle’s top four and is tied for the team lead in scoring among blueliners. If that holds up, it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Ron Francis try to work out a long-term deal, one that would check in a bit below their top veterans who are making a little over $7MM per season. A bridge agreement, meanwhile, would likely fall in the $4MM range. Either way, a big raise is coming his way this summer.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
D William Borgen ($2.7MM, UFA)
F Yanni Gourde ($5.167MM, UFA)
D Josh Mahura ($775K, UFA)
F Daniel Sprong ($975K, UFA)
F Brandon Tanev ($3.5MM, UFA)
For most of his contract, Gourde has been well worth the contract, generally producing above a 40-point pace. But he struggled last season and is off to a similar start offensively this year which will hurt his value. Now that he’s being deployed as more of a third-line option, it would be difficult to see him command a similar price tag at 33. But a multi-year deal around $4MM per season should still be within reach.
Tanev’s contract felt like a steep overpayment at the time for someone who had only reached 20 points once at the time it was signed. However, he has produced enough offensively (when healthy) on this deal to at least reasonably justify the cost while providing plenty of physicality and enough defensive acumen to make it a fair deal overall. While most teams want to cut salary from their bottom six, he could be an outlier and land another contract around this price point. Sprong didn’t have much luck on the open market last summer despite his second straight year of over 40 points and things haven’t gone well for him this year. Accordingly, another dip might be coming his way.
Borgen had two straight seasons of at least 20 points coming into this one but his production and playing time have slipped through the first quarter of this year. Heading into the year, a jump to the $3.75MM range seemed possible, especially as a right-hand shot but that might come down more toward the $3.5MM level on a multi-year deal now. Mahura was only able get a minimum contract after being non-tendered by Florida and with the limited role he has had so far, he’s unlikely to command more than that next summer.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Oliver Bjorkstrand ($5.4MM, UFA)
F Jordan Eberle ($4.75MM, UFA)
D Jamie Oleksiak ($4.6MM, UFA)
F Jaden Schwartz ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Eeli Tolvanen ($3.475MM, UFA)
Schwartz was one of Seattle’s first free agent additions, a move that hasn’t panned out as well as they hoped. When healthy, he’s a capable second-line forward but staying healthy has been a serious challenge thus far. He’ll be 34 when his next contract starts and it’d be surprising if he came in at this price tag next time. Something in the $4MM range on a medium-term deal might be more likely. Bjorkstrand was acquired as a cap dump from the Blue Jackets in 2022 and he has given Seattle two straight 20-goal seasons plus a 59-point effort last year. If he can keep near 60 points, he could land another million or so on his next deal. But if he reverts to a point total more in the 40s, Bjorkstrand might have to settle for a bit less than his current salary in 2026.
Eberle signed this deal last season, taking himself off the trade block in the process. He’s still a capable secondary scorer but considering he’ll be 36 on his next deal (subject to 35-plus provisions on a multi-year contract), it wouldn’t be surprising if he went year-to-year from here on out, allowing for the possibility for a lower base salary with reachable performance bonuses to allow the signing team more flexibility. Tolvanen has turned into one of the better waiver claims in recent memory, picking up 41 points last season while being on pace for 20 goals this year. Still, he’s a bit inconsistent which has kept him out of a full-time top-six role. If that continues and he settles in as more of a middle-six option, his open market value will take a hit although he could still get a small increase if he stays in that 40-point range.
There was definitely some risk in the contract the Kraken gave Oleksiak after selecting him in expansion. He had been a third-pairing player up to that point with the exception of one year, the one that landed him this agreement. But Oleksiak has been able to maintain a top-four slot throughout his time with Seattle while even chipping in with a career year offensively in 2022-23. Of course, his offensive numbers don’t land him this role or this type of money but rather his defensive game (and being one of the tallest players in the league). The market isn’t as strong for the more stay-at-home type of players and Oleksiak will turn 34 early in the 26-27 season but even so, a small boost to the $5MM range on a medium-term pact could still be doable.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Andre Burakovsky ($5.5MM, UFA)
G Philipp Grubauer ($5.9MM, UFA)
D Vince Dunn ($7.35MM, UFA)
F Jared McCann ($5MM, UFA)
Burakovsky was another notable splash in free agency that hasn’t worked out particularly well thus far. Signed off a career year, he hasn’t been able to produce close to those numbers since then, nor has he stayed healthy. Lots can still change in the back half of the deal but he looks like someone heading for a cap hit closer to the $4MM range, if not less next time out. McCann, on the other hand, averaged 30 goals and 62 points over his first three seasons in Seattle, two of which were played on this contract. That’s a solid return for this price point and if those numbers continue, he could land closer to $7MM next time out, especially with the ability to play center.
Dunn is the other player who could challenge McCann as being the best of their original expansion picks. With a bigger role than he had with St. Louis, he has emerged as one of the better offensive blueliners league-wide while playing in all situations. In essence, he has the numbers of arguably a number one defender, if not a top-pairing piece. He’ll be turning 31 early in the 2027-28 season so a max-term contract is a very realistic possibility and if Dunn remains as impactful as he has been, he could add a couple million per season on that next deal.
Grubauer was a free agent acquisition that carried some risk given that he was coming off a breakout year with a career-high in games played of 40. Paying him to be the undisputed starter for that long had the potential to bust. And bust it has. After putting up a .922 SV% in his best year with Colorado, he has yet to reach the .900 mark since then. Along the way, Grubauer has gone from being their number one goalie to a part-time backup and is off to a dreadful start this season. Barring a change in fortunes, Seattle will need to seriously consider buying out the remainder of this deal this summer, even with it carrying close to a $2MM dead cap charge next season, nearly $3.1MM the following year, and close to $1.7MM for two years after that.
Kraken Recall Mitchell Stephens, Activate Vince Dunn Off LTIR
Prior to their game tonight against San Jose, the Kraken announced (Twitter link) that forward Mitchell Stephens was recalled from AHL Coachella Valley. Additionally, defenseman Vince Dunn has been activated off LTIR according to the NHL’s media site.
Stephens is in his first season with Seattle after signing a two-year, two-way deal with them early in free agency back in July. The 27-year-old is a veteran of 95 career NHL appearances between Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Montreal. Stephens got into 23 appearances with the latter last season, notching three points while winning over 55% of his faceoffs in a little over nine minutes a night of playing time.
It’s his first recall of the season and it comes following somewhat of a slow start to his season. Stephens has three goals and an assist in 11 games so far with the Firebirds. By comparison, he had 35 points in 49 games with AHL Laval just last season.
Meanwhile, the return of Dunn is a welcome one for the Kraken. He has been one of the more impactful blueliners league-wide in recent years, especially on the offensive side of things after putting up 110 points in 140 games between 2022-23 and 2023-24 while logging over 23 minutes of ice time each night. Prior to suffering an upper-body injury that kept him out for nearly six weeks, Dunn was off to a good start on that front this season as well, notching three points in his first four outings.
Dunn’s return gives Seattle now three above-average threats from the back end which will help an offense that’s near the middle of the pack in terms of goals scored. Brandon Montour is off to a solid start in his first season with the Kraken while Ryker Evans has helped pick up the offensive slack in Dunn’s absence. Both players enter tonight’s action with 15 points, good for a tie for third in team scoring.
While there has been no announcement from the team, the only way that Seattle could have activated Dunn and recalled Stephens was by transferring winger Jordan Eberle to LTIR. The captain is expected to be out for at least the next three months after undergoing pelvic surgery a little more than a week ago.