East Notes: Liljegren, Shesterkin, Volokhin, Brandsegg-Nygard
While there has been some trade speculation surrounding Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that there is no imminent move on the horizon. Toronto is currently carrying eight blueliners while also having offseason additions Jani Hakanpaa and Dakota Mermis on LTIR so their depth is in decent shape, something Dreger notes Toronto likes. However, while having strong depth is one thing, having a healthy scratch making $3MM through next season isn’t ideal. Still just 25, Liljegren has nearly 200 career NHL regular season games under his belt and is coming off a season that saw him collect 23 points in 55 games while logging nearly 20 minutes a night. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some trade interest in him in the coming weeks, especially if a team gets hit with some injuries on the back end. If not, they may still need to make a move in a few weeks as some of their injured players potentially return.
More from the Atlantic:
- On the heels of Igor Shesterkin declining an eight-year, $88MM extension offer from the Rangers, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that the goaltender is asking for $12MM per season. Recognizing the team might not go that high, the 28-year-old wants to be the highest-paid player on the team which means he might decline anything below the $11.643MM AAV that Artemi Panarin has on his deal. Shesterkin has a career 2.42 GAA and a .921 SV% in 214 games at the NHL level and will soon be the highest-paid goalie in league history with the offer he declined already coming in higher than Carey Price’s $10.5MM per season.
- Canadiens goaltending prospect Yevgeni Volokhin has been loaned to HK Sochi, per an announcement from the KHL club. SKA St. Petersburg acquired his rights earlier this week but will let the 19-year-old get his feet wet at the top Russian level elsewhere for the time being. Montreal drafted Volokhin in the fifth round in 2023, going 144th overall. He was one of the top netminders at their junior level last season, posting a 1.57 GAA with a .938 SV% in 31 games with Mamonty Yugry and has similar numbers (1.95 and .931 respectively) in eight appearances at the MHL level this year.
- The Red Wings wanted to assign prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard to AHL Grand Rapids but the first rounder and his camp insisted on him being assigned back to Sweden, relays Norren’s Robin Lindgren (Twitter link). The 19-year-old spent last season with Mora in the second-tier Allsvenskan level where he had 18 points in 41 games but his rights are now held by SHL Skelleftea. It’s believed that Brandsegg-Nygard feels that playing at the top level in Sweden will be better for his development than suiting up for the Griffins in the minors.
Avalanche Recall Chris Wagner
On the heels of the Jonathan Drouin injury, Colorado was down to just 11 healthy forwards on their active roster, making a pending roster move quite likely. That move was made today as the team announced (Twitter link) that Chris Wagner has been recalled from AHL Colorado.
The 33-year-old passed through waivers unclaimed last weekend but technically made the Avalanche’s season-opening roster. His presence there was primarily for salary cap optimization purposes, however, and he was sent to the Eagles on Wednesday.
Last season, Wagner primarily played at the AHL level, notching eight goals and six assists in 21 games. He also got into 13 games with the big club, picking up a goal and an assist along with 30 hits but averaged just 7:27 in playing time. For his career, Wagner has 38 goals and 27 assists in 373 NHL appearances over parts of ten seasons.
Colorado has a full 23-player roster so a corresponding move needs to be made. That will likely be Drouin landing on IR as he has already been ruled out for the next two games and is expected to be re-evaluated early next week. Cap-wise, this won’t be an issue for the Avs who are well into LTIR with Gabriel Landeskog and Tucker Poolman currently on there.
Red Wings Recall Justin Holl, Jeff Petry Out Day-To-Day
Oct. 12: According to a team announcement, the Red Wings officially summoned Holl from AHL Grand Rapids this morning.
Oct. 11: The Detroit Red Wings are expected to recall defender Justin Holl from the minor leagues as Jeff Petry (upper-body) deals with a day-to-day injury, shares Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Petry left the team’s Thursday night game partway through the second period, though it wasn’t clear when he sustained the injury. He recorded one shot, one hit, and a -1 in nine minutes of ice time. At the least, he is expected to miss Detroit’s Saturday game.
This move gives Holl another chance at earning a role with the Red Wings after failing to make the team out of training camp. That resulted in Holl being placed on waivers and sent to the minor leagues for the first time since the 2017-18 season when he played an integral role on the Calder Cup Championship-winning Toronto Marlies. Holl used that season to spring into the NHL, grabbing onto the seventh-defender role for the Maple Leafs in 2018-19 and earning an everyday role in 2019-20.
He’d record 285 games across six seasons with the Leafs – recording 11 goals, 82 points, and 150 penalty minutes. That wasn’t enough to hang onto his spot amid Toronto’s blue-line flux last summer, leading Holl to sign a three-year, $10.2MM deal with the Red Wings in 2023. He worked into 38 games with Detroit last season, netting five assists and 22 penalty minutes but failing to score. That poor performance foreshadowed the 32-year-old’s downfall, and he now finds himself grappling for any NHL minutes just over a year after signing his multi-year deal.
This injury doesn’t guarantee Holl’s path to a role. Wings head coach Derek Lalonde adds that the team is considering utilizing seven defenders – including Albert Johansson – until Petry returns. Johansson managed 21 points in 66 AHL games last season while emerging as a capable defender with an effective reach on his side of the red line. He survived Detroit’s training camp cuts and would be making his NHL debut, should Lalonde choose to deploy him.
Central Notes: Rantanen, Drouin, Texier, Bourque
We’ve seen some prominent unrestricted free agents sign early extensions over the past few months. One that some expected to do so is Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen but an agreement isn’t in place yet. In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun relayed that there appears to still be a gap to be bridged between the two sides with Colorado potentially using Mikko Rantanen’s $12.6MM AAV as an internal cap on an offer. Rantanen – who kicked off his platform year with a hat-trick – has surpassed the 100-point mark in two straight years, putting him in line for a sizable raise on his current $9.25MM AAV; it’s possible that he breaks the record for the highest AAV for a winger (Rangers winger Artemi Panarin holds it with a $11.643MM cap charge).
More from the Central Division:
- Still with the Avalanche, head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette that winger Jonathan Drouin will miss at least the next two games with an upper-body injury. It’s another tough blow for a Colorado winger group that’s currently without Valeri Nichushkin, Gabriel Landeskog, and Artturi Lehkonen. The 29-year-old had a career-high 56 points last season and logged more than 21 minutes in their season opener and will be re-assessed early next week to determine how much more time he might miss.
- The Blues announced (Twitter link) that winger Alexandre Texier is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Louis acquired the 25-year-old in the offseason from Columbus after he put up a career-best 30 points in 78 games and quickly signed him to a two-year, $4.2MM contract. Texier had an assist in their season-opening victory over Seattle but missed Thursday’s win over San Jose.
- The Stars are hoping that winger Mavrik Bourque will be able to suit up in one of their games this weekend, relays Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The 22-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury but did skate today. Bourque was the top scorer in the AHL last season, notching 26 goals and 51 assists in 71 games while also suiting up twice for Dallas, once in the regular season and once in the playoffs.
Minor Transactions: 10/11/24
With the AHL season getting underway tonight, we’ve seen a few minor moves made today as teams get their rosters in place. Here’s a rundown of those transactions.
- The Predators have returned goaltender Matt Murray to AHL Milwaukee, relays Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean (Twitter link). The 26-year-old was recalled on Wednesday with Juuse Saros listed as day-to-day so it appears that Saros should be good to at least dress as the backup on Saturday against Detroit. Murray had a 3.02 GAA with a .896 SV% in 31 games in the minors last season and signed a one-year, two-way deal with Nashville this past summer.
- The Oilers announced (Twitter link) that forward Carl Berglund has been assigned to AHL Bakersfield. The 24-year-old was injured to start the regular season and therefore couldn’t be sent down until being cleared to play. As he didn’t spend any time on an NHL roster last season, Edmonton didn’t have any cap charge while he was up with them. Berglund had 42 points in 51 ECHL appearances in 2023-24 while adding four points in a dozen games with AHL Bakersfield.
- ECHL Cincinnati, an affiliate of the Maple Leafs, recently announced a pair of signings with NHL experience in goaltender Jon Gillies and defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov. Gillies didn’t play at all last season but has 35 NHL games and 184 AHL appearances under his belt; he was in training camp with Toronto. Knyzhov, meanwhile, requested and was granted his release by San Jose in late June, walking away from a guaranteed $1.4MM salary in the process. He was in camp with Pittsburgh and AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but was cut both times. The 26-year-old played in 10 games with the Sharks last season and 40 more with AHL San Jose but will now look to work his way back up from a lower level.
Panthers Recall Patrick Giles
With the Panthers needing some extra depth up front in the wake of the Aleksander Barkov injury that will keep him out for a few weeks at least, the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Patrick Giles from AHL Charlotte.
The 24-year-old signed with Florida as an undrafted free agent back in 2022 following a four-year run at Boston College. He has yet to play at the NHL level but took a step forward offensively last season, notching 13 goals and 10 assists in 66 games with the Checkers.
Giles was one of the final cuts at training camp for the Panthers after they gave him a long look in the preseason. He led the team in scoring with two goals and four assists while suiting up in seven of eight games as they gave him a chance to earn a spot on the fourth line. He didn’t get it then but he should get that opportunity now.
While Florida had two open roster spots and thus technically didn’t need a corresponding move to open one up, there still needed to be a corresponding transaction for cap reasons. Prior to the recall, the team only had $556K in cap space, not enough to afford Giles at his $775K price tag. With that in mind, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that center Tomas Nosek has been transferred to LTIR, meaning he’ll be out for at least the first 10 games and 24 days of the season (the placement can be retroactive to the start of the year) while freeing up enough space to add Giles to the roster.
Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini Questionable With Lower-Body Injury
Macklin Celebrini missed the San Jose Sharks’ Friday practice with a lower-body injury and is questionable for the team’s Saturday game shares Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Celebrini struggled with nagging, minor lower-body injuries throughout training camp, though it’s not clear if the two injuries are connected. The latest first-overall pick recorded his first NHL goal and assist in his debut on Thursday, sharing statlines with winger Tyler Toffoli. Celebrini didn’t seem limited in the game, playing through overtime and totaling 17:35 in ice time.
Injury news is the worst thing to hear after Celebrini’s electric debut. At the age of 18 years and 119 days, Celebrini became the youngest Shark to score in their debut. He also became the third-youngest player to record multiple points in his debut, behind Nathan MacKinnon (18 years and 31 days) and Bobby Carpenter (18 years and 86 days). Age-related accolades are far from unfamiliar for Celebrini, who also became the youngest player to win the NCAA’s Hobey Baker ‘MVP’ Award last season.
Celebrini made his debut alongside William Smith, who recorded 13:41 in ice time on San Jose’s third line. He failed to score in his debut, despite two shots. Regardless, Smith could stand as the go-to replacement for Celebrini’s top-line role if needed, as the Sharks kick off a season of heavily leaning into their prospect pool.
Flyers Recall Emil Andrae, Place Nick Seeler On Injured Reserve
5:00 PM: The Flyers have officially recalled Andrae from Lehigh Valley and placed Seeler on injured reserve retroactive to October 1st. Seeler will be eligible to return as soon as he’s healthy.
4:00 PM: Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella has shared that defenseman Nick Seeler won’t play in the team’s season opener on Friday, due to a minor lower-body injury. The team is expected to respond by calling up Emil Andrae, per reports from the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jackie Spiegel and Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco.
Seeler, 31, was a core piece of Philadelphia’s third pairing last season, averaging roughly 17 minutes of ice time through 71 games. It was nearly two minutes more than he averaged in 2022-23, though that didn’t mean more scoring, with Seeler posting 12 points last year compared to 14 two seasons ago. The pair of seasons stand as the only times that Seeler has surpassed 10 points in his six-year, 296-game career in the NHL.
Andrae, 22, is on the other side of his career, playing in the first four games of his NHL career last season. He failed to score in those appearances, though he did lead all Lehigh Valley Phantoms defenders in scoring with 32 points in 61 games last year. Andrae now lands an early chance to score Philadelphia they were wrong for cutting him from training camp, though he’ll need to bring his strong scoring to the top flight if he wants to stand a chance at winning Seeler’s role.
East Notes: Guentzel, Peterka, Poitras
New Tampa Bay Lightning star Jake Guentzel is set to play in the team’s season opener on Friday night, shares Bally Sports Florida’s Gabby Shirley. Guentzel will return to the team’s top line and top powerplay unit after missing parts of multiple practices this week with an undisclosed injury.
Guentzel will fill the role of Lightning legend Steven Stamkos after the latter moved to Nashville in his first trip to unrestricted free agency this summer. It’s Guentzel’s second move of the year after being traded from Pittsburgh to Carolina at the 2024 Trade Deadline. He proved incredibly productive with the Hurricanes – totaling eight goals, 17 assists, and 25 points in 17 regular-season games, then adding four goals and nine points in 11 postseason games. The hot production continued his streak of point-per-game scoring that dates all the way back to his 2019-20 campaign, when Guentzel notched 20 goals and 43 points in 39 games. He more formally stamped his high-scoring in 2021-22, netting 40 goals and 84 points in 76 games. The recently-turned 30-year-old now sits with two 30-goal seasons, and two 40-goal seasons, throughout his eight-year career in the NHL. Those numbers should only continue as he prepares for a role next to Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov in Tampa Bay.
Other notes from out East:
- John-Jason Peterka continues to ramp up his workload at the Buffalo Sabres’ practices after missing time with a concussion, shares Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Peterka has now practiced in each of the last three skates, though he sat out of Buffalo’s home opener on Thursday. Lysowski adds that Peterka’s availability won’t be confirmed until the team sees how he responds to practice. The 22-year-old stands as one of Buffalo’s most exciting up-and-comers, after posting 28 goals and 50 points last season. That includes eight goals and 12 points in 17 games to end the season – production Peterka will look to build on when he’s able to return.
- Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has shared that there’s a “possibility” that forward Matthew Poitras will make his season debut tomorrow, per Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. Poitras has been on injured reserve since training camp and became eligible to be reinstated on Thursday. Poitras was a hot-topic rookie last season – winning a roster spot out of camp and posting 15 points through his first 33 NHL games, though a shoulder injury ended his season in February. He’ll now look to bounce back from injury in a big way, set to fill the final spot on Boston’s roster.
Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury
Florida Panthers star Aleksander Barkov has been reported as out week-to-week by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Barkov had to be helped off the ice after awkwardly colliding with the boards while racing Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle to a loose puck that’d become the clinching empty-net goal. Pagnotta adds that Barkov seems to have dodged the worst-case scenario and that his injury is considered a bad ankle sprain.
Barkov’s importance to the Panthers can’t be understated. He’s been the team’s unrivaled top center since at least 2017-18, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time and scoring above point-per-game pace in all seven seasons since then. He’s become well-decorated in that span, winning the Lady Byng trophy in 2019, the Selke Trophy in 2021 and 2024, and the Stanley Cup in 2024. Barkov has so far managed just one assist in two games this season – adding three blocks, one hit, and no giveaways.
Filling the role of their team captain will be a daunting task for the Panthers. Sam Bennett has served as the team’s de facto second-line center, though Florida could look towards flexible forwards like Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, or Evan Rodrigues to step into a middle-lane role. This could also be a golden opportunity for the 23-year-old Anton Lundell, who’s recorded fewer than 17 minutes of ice time in each of Florida’s games this season. Lundell is building out his own reputation as a strong two-way player, even receiving votes for the Selke Trophy in his rookie 2021-22 season. Lundell posted an impressive 54.9 faceoff percentage last season, second on the team to Barkov’s 57.3 percent win-rate. That could be helfpul assurance as the Panthers look to hang onto their grip of all three zones without one of the world’s best defensive-forwards.