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Blackhawks “Hopeful” Laurent Brossoit Will Return This Season

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The Blackhawks expected veteran Laurent Brossoit to serve as their No. 2 option between the pipes after they signed him to a two-year, $6.6MM deal over the summer, but he’s instead spent the entire season on injured reserve after two surgeries on the meniscus in his right knee. General manager Kyle Davidson tells Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that he’s “hopeful” but unsure if Brossoit will play at all in 2024-25.

“If he does come back this year, we’re very confident [goaltending coach Jimmy Waite] will be able to manage that dynamic, which is not traditional, but it’s the situation we’d be in if he’d return,” Davidson said (via Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio 720). “I think we’ll be fine working through that if we end up with three goaltenders on the NHL roster.”

Brossoit, 31, has been a career backup and was quite inconsistent from year to year in limited action during his first few NHL seasons in Edmonton and Winnipeg. While that small workload has never changed, he was among the NHL’s save percentage leaders since returning from injury with Vegas in the 2022-23 campaign. He logged a .927 mark in limited action with the Knights to end the regular season and carried that strong play into a return to Winnipeg in the summer of 2023, replicating his SV% in a career-high 22 starts behind Connor Hellebuyck.

That led to rightful optimism that he could handle an increased workload, but he hasn’t gotten the chance to prove it. He and former Panthers backup Anthony Stolarz were in very similar situations entering the summer, coming off runs of elite play in small samples. Both have dealt with injuries this year, but Stolarz has at least gotten a chance to play and solidified his status as an elite tandem option with the Maple Leafs. He’s close to a return after missing six weeks with knee issues.

After his late-August surgery, Brossoit was initially expected to join Chicago’s roster around the start of the regular season. However, his return was delayed, and his status was continually downgraded until he underwent a second procedure in late November. He’s again blown past his projected return window, as the second procedure had a six-week timeline and should have had him back in the lineup earlier this month.

His absence hasn’t affected the Blackhawks’ record too much. 25-year-old Arvid Söderblom was nearly unplayable as Petr Mrázek’s backup last season but has rebounded in a big way in 2024-25, posting a .906 SV% and 2.97 GAA in 19 starts and two relief appearances. He’s stopped 3.3 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, playing far more efficiently than Mrázek and his -9.7 figure.

Söderblom would need to go on waivers to head down to the minors, prompting Davidson’s comment that they’d carry three goalies the rest of the way if Brossoit returned. He’d steal more starts from Mrázek, who has a .895 SV% in 29 appearances, than Söderblom anyway.

Jets Recall Brad Lambert

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Jan. 27: It turns out Lambert’s demotion was a paper transaction to bank cap space. The Jets announced he’s been added back to the roster Monday, although it’s not clear if he’ll play Tuesday against the Canadiens.

Jan. 25: Lambert’s stint with Winnipeg was short-lived as the team announced that he has been returned to the Moose.  He didn’t play against Utah on Friday.

Jan. 24: The Jets summoned top forward prospect Brad Lambert from AHL Manitoba on Friday, per a team announcement. They had an open spot on the active roster after placing captain Adam Lowry on injured reserve earlier this week, so no corresponding transaction is required.

Lambert, 21, could be in line for his most extended NHL call-up yet with Lowry sidelined week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Their captain’s absence leaves them without much offensive punch down the middle past Mark Scheifele and Vladislav Namestnikov, so adding the more offensively inclined youngster to the roster gives them more options to get depth scoring out of their bottom six. Running Rasmus Kupari and David Gustafsson down the middle of lines three and four isn’t a good short-term solution with Lowry out.

Since Winnipeg selected him 30th overall in the 2022 draft, Lambert has made five NHL appearances – four of which came early last month with Nikolaj Ehlers sidelined. He went pointless in those but recorded his first NHL assist in his debut last season.

In the minors, Lambert has taken a step back after a 55-point rookie season in 2023-24. He’s been limited to just three goals in 29 games for Manitoba, adding 13 assists for 16 points. Offensive struggles have mired the entire club – those 16 points still have him tied for second on the Moose in scoring – but his -15 rating is also second-worst behind Jaret Anderson-Dolan.

Perhaps some more NHL looks will allow the Jets to more accurately gauge where he’s at in his development instead of accumulating viewings in what’s been a difficult minor-league environment for the organization this season. The center and right winger will be an option to enter the lineup for Winnipeg tonight against Utah.

Islanders Place Ryan Pulock, Marcus Högberg On Injured Reserve

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Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock and goaltender Marcus Högberg have both landed on injured reserve after leaving Saturday’s overtime win over the Hurricanes with upper-body injuries, the team announced. There’s no corresponding transaction yet for Pulock, but the team recalled goalie Jakub Skarek from AHL Bridgeport to temporarily replace Högberg as Ilya Sorokin’s backup.

Pulock and Högberg will miss at least three games due to their IR placements, which are retroactive to Saturday. They’ll be eligible to return on Feb. 2 against the Panthers, although, without further clarity on either’s injury, there’s no indication whether they’ll be medically cleared by then.

Pulock got hurt on his first shift against the Canes, falling awkwardly behind the net as he got tangled up with Carolina winger Jackson Blake. He favored his left shoulder as he left the ice. Högberg, meanwhile, played all of regulation but didn’t come out for overtime after a right-hand injury sustained midway through the third period was actively getting worse, head coach Patrick Roy told Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Sorokin thus came in relief, recording the win despite making just one save in overtime.

These are crater-sized blows for the Isles, who are now without their top two right-shot defensemen and are down to their third-best backup option. Pulock joins Noah Dobson as inactive, and PuckPedia reflects that the latter was moved to long-term injured reserve yesterday to add some cap flexibility after the Tony DeAngelo signing. That move ensures Dobson won’t return before the 4 Nations Face-Off break with his right leg injury – not that he was expected to – and also rules him out of their first game back against the Stars on Feb. 23. He’ll be out of action for almost another month at the very least, with his earliest eligible return date standing as Feb. 25 against the Rangers.

Pulock, 30, had yet to miss a game this season after sitting out over a quarter of 2023-24 with a lower-body issue. The Manitoba native had three goals and 13 assists for 16 points with a plus-seven rating through 48 games, continuing a run of seven straight seasons in the black. He’s averaged just shy of 22 minutes per game, and, as usual, his pairing with Adam Pelech has graded out as the Isles’ top shutdown unit at even strength. Pelech’s 1.9 GA/60 and Pulock’s 2.2 GA/60 are the two lowest marks among New York’s regular defensemen.

Scott Mayfield now slots in alongside Pelech as a top-four option with Pulock sidelined, while DeAngelo will likely continue alongside Alexander Romanov as Dobson’s short-term replacement. Depth defender Dennis Cholowski should re-enter the lineup alongside Isaiah George on the third pairing after sitting as a healthy scratch in three of the last four games. They don’t have any other defenders on the active roster to insert into the lineup but they opened a roster spot with Pulock’s IR replacement that they could use to recall one from AHL Bridgeport.

Högberg had been spotless as Sorokin’s backup for the past month while veteran Semyon Varlamov remains sidelined with a lower-body injury. The 30-year-old, who last played in the NHL with the Senators in 2020-21, has a 2-2-0 record in five starts and two relief appearances with a .947 SV% and 1.45 GAA. That’s a big jump on his AHL numbers from earlier in the year, as the Swede struggled behind a bad Bridgeport club to a .898 SV% and 3.26 GAA in 11 showings.

The Isles are hoping for a similar bump from Skarek, who could finally make his NHL debut after six AHL seasons. The 25-year-old was a third-round pick in 2018 but has never been a solid minor-league option, failing to record a save percentage above .900 at any level in a single season since his post-draft year in Finland. Through 20 appearances for Bridgeport this year, he has a 3.22 GAA, .895 SV%, one shutout, and a 5-11-1 record.

Varlamov resumed skating nearly a month ago, so his return likely isn’t too far off. Whether or not he’ll beat Högberg to it remains to be seen, though.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Devils Recall Brian Halonen

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The Devils are recalling winger Brian Halonen from AHL Utica for the second time this month, per the NHL’s media site (h/t James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now). He’ll take up New Jersey’s vacant spot on the active roster and take a league-minimum-sized bite out of their $2.9MM in current cap space, per PuckPedia.

Halonen’s first recall lasted four days and resulted in his first NHL appearance since last April. He logged a minus-one rating and two shot attempts in 11:35 of ice time against the Flyers on Jan. 18 while filling in for a Devils forward group dealing with an illness.

This time around, his recall comes as insurance for a potentially injured Nico Hischier. The New Jersey captain left Saturday’s game against the Canadiens and did not return and is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. If he can’t play tonight against Philly, Halonen will likely draw in for his second game of the season and his fourth career NHL appearance.

While the 6’0″ winger has just three NHL games under his belt, he’s making a name for himself as a high-end scoring threat at the AHL level. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan Tech in 2022, the 26-year-old Halonen is on pace for a career-high 30 goals in the minors this season after breaking out for 20 in only 35 appearances in 2023-24. He’s totaled 54 goals and 32 assists for 86 points in 138 games since debuting for the Comets to end the 2021-22 campaign. He’s continued the momentum that convinced New Jersey to sign him after a 21-goal, 44-point senior season at Michigan Tech that made him a Hobey Baker Award finalist.

Halonen remains waiver-exempt this season, so he won’t land on the wire when his latest recall is over. He signed a two-year, two-way extension last May, so he isn’t set to become a free agent until the summer of 2026.

Five Key Stories: 1/20/25 – 1/26/25

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While the trade deadline is still several weeks away, that didn’t stop a trio of teams from combining on one of the biggest trades we’ve seen in the NHL in quite some time.  That’s among the news headlined in our key stories.

Back In The NHL: After he didn’t get a contract over the summer, it looked like Tony DeAngelo’s time in the NHL may have come to an end.  But after his request to be released from his KHL team was granted, he quickly resurfaced, signing a one-year deal worth the league minimum with the Islanders.  DeAngelo subsequently cleared the rarely-seen entry waivers to officially join the team.  The 29-year-old has been a productive blueliner over his career with 210 points in 372 games but hasn’t been able to stay in one spot for long as the Isles are now his fifth different NHL team in as many seasons.  He was quickly put to work, logging more than 25 minutes in his season debut on Saturday.

Three Games For Two: The end of last Saturday’s Canucks-Oilers game got a little chippy and a pair of players had the week off as a result of match penalties received in the final minute.  The Department of Player Safety handed three-game suspensions to Oilers center Connor McDavid and Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers for cross-checking.  It’s the second suspension of McDavid’s career as he received a two-game ban back in 2019 for a check to the head.  Meanwhile, it’s the third sit-down for Myers who had a three-game suspension in 2012 for a boarding incident and then received another three-gamer two years later for a hit to the head.

Three-Team Swap: The Hurricanes decided to strike early with their shopping, adding a pair of wingers in a three-team trade.  They acquired Taylor Hall, Mikko Rantanen, and prospect Nils Juntorp while Colorado picked up Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2025 fourth-round selection.  Chicago, meanwhile, reacquired their 2025 third-round pick from Carolina while retaining half of Rantanen’s $9.25MM AAV to facilitate the swap.

For Carolina, they add one of the premier wingers in the league in Rantanen plus a serviceable piece in Hall who helps deepen their attack.  Both players are on expiring contracts whereas Necas and Drury are signed through next year (while Drury has two more years of club control).  That last part helps justify the trade for Colorado who opens up a bit of cap space, acquires a top-line piece for Rantanen, and gives them some more cost certainty heading into next summer.  Rantanen is expected to set an NHL record on his next contract as the richest winger in NHL history and he and the Avs weren’t able to come to terms of that agreement, resulting in them getting a guaranteed return over running the risk of losing him for nothing.  As for Chicago, the belief is that they got a slightly higher draft pick by retaining on Rantanen than they would have by retaining on Hall although their portion of the swap is still a bit underwhelming.

Markstrom Out For A While: After a disappointing 2023-24 season, the Devils find themselves in a top-three seed in the Metropolitan Division.  Goaltender Jacob Markstrom has played a big role in that but New Jersey will have to do without him for a while as he’s set to miss the next four to six weeks with a knee sprain.  The 34-year-old has a 2.20 GAA (fifth-lowest in the NHL) with a .912 SV% in 36 starts.  Veteran Jake Allen will take over as the starter in the interim while Nico Daws is expected to be recalled in the coming days to serve as the backup.  Markstrom will now miss the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off but the extended break will also reduce how many games he winds up missing.

Five For Borgen: Last month, the Rangers acquired defenseman Will Borgen along with a pair of draft picks in exchange for winger Kaapo Kakko.  Borgen was set to be an unrestricted free agent but he clearly made a strong impression on his new team as New York inked him to a five-year, $20.5MM extension.  The 28-year-old had two straight seasons of at least 20 points coming into this season but he has been limited to just five in 50 games between the two teams in 2024-25.  The Rangers are banking on his track record and his early performance with his new club and have made him a key cog of their back end for the foreseeable future.

Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.

Canucks Receiving Interest In Elias Pettersson

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Over the past few weeks, the expectation has been that if Vancouver winds up moving one of its top two centers, that player was likely to be J.T. Miller.  Last weekend, a potential deal was close enough that the Canucks pondered scratching him but the move never materialized and Miller remained in the lineup that night.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, various reports indicated that Carolina was in discussion with Vancouver about both Miller and Elias Pettersson with various proposed offers for either one.  Ultimately, neither of those happened with the Hurricanes instead pivoting to adding Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall from Colorado and Chicago respectively.

But with discussions for Miller not seemingly going well, it appears that teams are still calling about Pettersson.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Sabres are believed to be among the teams showing a lot of interest in the 26-year-old.  The Fourth Period suggests that the Senators could be a team to keep an eye on as well.

Pettersson is in the first season of an eight-year, $92.8MM contract, or a cap hit of $11.6MM per season.  Notably, since this is the final of his original RFA-eligible years, Pettersson doesn’t have any form of trade protection.  Miller, on the other hand, has a full no-move clause which could make things more complicated for the Canucks.

Two years ago, Pettersson put up his first 100-point season, picking up 39 goals and 63 assists in 80 games.  He wasn’t quite able to reach those numbers in 2023-24 but still managed 34 goals and 55 helpers, giving him another season of over a point per game.  While that wasn’t elite production, it was still legitimate top-line numbers at a premium position.

Unfortunately for both Pettersson and the Canucks, the decline in output has continued into this season.  He has 11 goals and 19 assists through 42 games, putting him fifth on Vancouver in scoring.  While some believe his struggles are at least in some part related to the apparent rift between him and Miller, it’s clear that the Canucks are expecting much more from him either way.

Both Buffalo and Ottawa have younger centers on long-term deals that would seemingly serve as starting points for a Pettersson offer.  Dylan Cozens is only two years removed from a 31-goal, 68-point season and is signed through 2030 at $7.1MM per year.  Meanwhile, Josh Norris has a 35-goal campaign under his belt from 2021-22 and checks in at $7.95MM per season through 2030.

Neither player is a number one middleman but would give Vancouver a serviceable second option behind Miller.  Of course, those would only be the starting point of offers and finding the other pieces needed will determine whether a swap gets past the finish line.  And again, other teams are believed to be interested as it’s not too often that a top-line center in his prime becomes available.

At this point, it doesn’t look like the Canucks are getting the types of offers they’re hoping for to get a Miller trade done.  As a result, a Pettersson move looks like it’s starting to become a bit more palatable so expect GM Patrik Allvin to be fielding more calls about his young center in the coming days.

Minor Transactions: 1/26/25

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There have been a few minor roster moves made around the NHL today, some of which may or may not ultimately be paper transactions that are reversed in the next couple of days.  We’ll run through those here.

  • The Panthers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve loaned defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to AHL Charlotte. The 23-year-old got into eight games with Florida after being recalled earlier this month but with Aaron Ekblad returning yesterday, his presence was no longer needed on the roster.  Bjornfot is tied for third in scoring by Checkers blueliners, notching 11 points in 27 games at the minor league level.
  • The Stars have returned winger Matej Blumel to the minors, per an announcement from AHL Texas. He has been shuttled back and forth with some frequency in recent days though he did suit up today versus Iowa.  The 24-year-old has a goal in seven games with Dallas and is now up to 19 goals and 15 assists in 33 AHL contests.
  • Nashville has assigned defenseman Spencer Stastney to AHL Milwaukee, per the AHL’s transactions log. He suited up in seven games for the Predators over the last three weeks while on recall but didn’t register a point.  The 25-year-old has three points in 10 games with the Admirals after missing nearly two months while on personal leave.  Nashville now has just six healthy blueliners on their active roster so it’s possible that Stastney could be back up relatively quickly.
  • The Hurricanes have placed center Tyson Jost on LTIR, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). The 26-year-old last played at the end of December and is battling a lower-body injury although he resumed skating last week.  Assuming the placement is retroactive, he has already missed the required 10 games and 24 days.  The move allowed them to remain cap-compliant after Friday’s three-team trade.

Canucks Notes: Sherwood, Joshua, Friedman

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The Vancouver Canucks fit in a practice early this morning before traveling to St. Louis to begin a three-game road-trip. The skate brought plenty of updates. Most notably, third-line forward Kiefer Sherwood did not travel with the team, per Jeff Patterson of Rink Wide: Vancouver. He is expected to miss Monday’s game, at least, after also sitting out of the team’s Saturday win over Washington. There is hope that he could join the team partway through the trip. No specifics of Sherwood’s injury have been disclosed.

Sherwood is having a career year in his first season with the Canucks. He ranks fourth on the team with 13 goals – just behind Jake DeBrusk (17), Brock Boeser (16), and defender Quinn Hughes (14). Sherwood has totaled 21 points through 47 games, putting him just six games shy of his career-high in scoring with 34 games still on the schedule. It has been a long road to land Sherwood in an everyday NHL role. He originally debuted with the Anaheim Ducks in 2018-19, but only managed 12 points in 50 games as a rookie. He spent the next three seasons making only spot starts at the top flight, through trips with Anaheim and the Colorado Avalanche, before spending the full season with the Nashville Predators last season. That’s when he set a career-high 27 points – a number he’s poised to smash now with the fourth club of his seven-year career.

In other Canucks news, forward Dakota Joshua made his return to the practice sheet on Sunday. Joshua has missed Vancouver’s last 10 games with a leg injury. He was placed on injured reserve on January 6th. Joshua has had an up-and-down season. A summer cancer diagnosis forced him to sit out the first month of the season, but he was a routine presence in the Canucks lineup between November and early January. He’s managed just four points and 20 penalty minutes through 24 games – but was riding a seven-game scoring drought prior to injury. He seems to be nearing a lineup return, likely giving him a chance to break his cold spell on Vancouver’s upcoming trip.

Ahead of the road trip, Vancouver also assigned defenseman Mark Friedman to the AHL. Friedman has only played in five NHL games this season – two coming last week. He hasn’t managed any scoring through the appearances, with 10 penalty minutes and a -4 his only notable stat changes. He’s been slightly more productive in the minors, with one goal and six points in 20 appearances with the Abbotsford Canucks. Friedman has served as a top AHL call-up for nearly every year of his nine-year career. He’ll continue to fill that role with this move, with Vancouver opting to carry rookie defenseman Elias Pettersson for their road trip instead.

Canada’s Alex Pietrangelo Withdraws From 4 Nations Face-Off

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The Vegas Golden Knights have announced that top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has chosen to withdraw from the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off to tend to what they describe as an “ailment” and prepare for the remaining season.

Pietrangelo has appeared in 46 of Vegas’ 49 games this season, having missed six days of action with an upper-body injury in November. He’s otherwise been as consistent as they come, averaging nearly 23 minutes of ice time and serving roles on both of Vegas’ special teams. He ranks second among the team’s blue-line in scoring with 25 points in 46 games, confidently behind Shea Theodore’s 44 points. Pietrangelo also ranks second on the team in blocked shots with 87. Even at the age of 35, Pietrangelo has continued to serve in a premier role for the Golden Knights.

Pietrangelo was named to Team Canada’s 4-Nations Face-Off roster on December 3rd, alongside Golden Knights teammate Theodore and former St. Louis Blues teammate Colton Parayko. The trio made up half of a blue-line that also featured Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Josh Morrissey, and Travis Sanheim. With Pietrangelo opting to withdraw, Canada will have to go back to the drawing board to find their final defender. Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard, New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton, and San Jose’s Jake Walman lead all available options in NHL scoring.

The reasons for Pietrangelo’s withdrawal seem unclear. He has shown no signs of injury through the recent stretch and has even recorded an assist in four of Vegas’ last five games. Pietrangelo is also signed through the end of the 2026-27 season, giving him a reasonable chance at making Team Canada’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics with a strong showing at the 4-Nations tournament. But he’ll now back out to keep his sights on Vegas’ success.  The Golden Knights currently rank third in the Western Conference and fourth in the NHL with 64 points. They seem clearly in sight of a playoff berth, where they’ll get a chance to chase their second Stanley Cup in the last three years. Pietrangelo also won a Cup in St. Louis.

Blackhawks Recall Landon Slaggert

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The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled forward Landon Slaggert from the AHL. Slaggert isn’t expected to play in the team’s Sunday game against the Minnesota Wild, but will serve as an insurance forward for the team’s upcoming three game road trip.

This marks the first formal call-up of Slaggert’s career. He made his NHL debut last season, joining the Blackhawks after the end of the University of Notre Dame’s season and scoring four points in 16 games. But, like many burgeoning Hawks prospects to debut last season, Slaggert was assigned to the minors to start the year. He’s since worked his way into a top-six role with the Rockford IceHogs. Slaggert ranks third on the team in scoring with 25 points in 39 games. He also boasts a team-best +9.

Slaggert may face a tough time cracking into the lineup during this road trip. For Chicago’s many faults, their bottom-six has been warming up as of late. All six players – Colton Dach, Lukas Reichel, Nick Foligno, Pat Maroon, Ryan Donato, and Philipp Kurashev – have multiple points in the team’s last 10 games, led by Donato’s seven points and 18 shots. Kurashev would likely be the first of the bunch to cede minutes, though. He snapped a 12-game scoring drought with two points on January 20th, but has other wise fallen more-and-more out of favor in the Hawks lineup. Kurashev has been a routine healthy scratch and even appeared in trade rumors. Calling up Slaggert for a multi-game trip could be a good chance to see who would likely succeed Kurashev in the fourth-line role.

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