Canadiens, Jake Evans Haven’t Discussed Extension
The Montreal Canadiens are well-positioned to be deadline sellers for the fourth consecutive season. They also might have one of the most valuable rental candidates on the market.
Middle-six center Jake Evans is in the middle of a career year, only 11 points away from reaching career-highs in scoring despite playing in 39 fewer games. He’s scored seven goals and 19 points in 33 games for the Canadiens this season and sits fourth on the team in scoring. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent next summer when his three-year, $5.1MM contract concludes.
Montreal should theoretically be interested in keeping a player like Evans around but if they do — he doesn’t know it. In an interview with Eric Engels of Sportsnet, Evans replied, “Still crickets” when asked about extension negotiations with the Canadiens.
The Toronto, Ontario native is on pace for 17 goals and 47 points should he continue his current pace for the rest of the regular season. His career 50.8% faceoff rate and 89.2% on-ice save percentage in all situations should give interested teams confidence that Evans can play center toward the bottom of a contending lineup.
Evans’ biggest issue is his inconsistency over the last several years. That’s something he acknowledged in the interview with Engels when he said, “You start to understand your role and where you’re going to fit in and where you’re going to bring value to a team. Sometimes it takes guys half a season, but for me, moving up and down the lineup, you don’t really know what kind of player you’re supposed to be, and now I feel like I’ve finally found it.”
Still, even though he could conceivably double his current salary on the open market, Evans strikes as a player the Canadiens should keep around for the long haul. Cap space won’t be a concern for Montreal anytime soon and Evans has proven his value to the organization this season.
John Klingberg Hoping To Resume NHL Career
Unrestricted free agent defenseman John Klingberg will resume skating shortly after the holiday break in hopes of continuing his NHL career, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Saturday.
Now 32, Klingberg has been out of commission for over a year after undergoing season-ending hip surgery while with the Maple Leafs in early December 2023. The 2015 All-Rookie Team member last played nearly a month prior on Nov. 11.
The Swedish native was a dominant offensive force in his early days, finishing in the top six in Norris Trophy voting twice in the first four seasons of his career with the Stars. From his NHL debut in 2014-15 until the COVID-19 pandemic truncated the 2019-20 season, Klingberg posted 291 points in 425 games for the Stars, ranking 10th among defenders league-wide. His 0.68 points per game were seventh among those with over 100 games.
In that 2019-20 season, though, the ever-present defensive cracks in Klingberg’s game began to border on outweighing the offensive benefits. That year saw him lose the title of the team’s de facto No. 1 option on the blue line to up-and-comer Miro Heiskanen, and while he still contributed 32 points in 58 games, he logged a -10 rating – reaching the negatives for the first time in his career. He added 21 points in 26 postseason games as Dallas marched to the Stanley Cup Final but posted a -5 rating that was second-worst among Stars blue-liners.
It was more of the same for Klingberg over the next couple of seasons as his even-strength ice time and on-ice goal differential continued to decline. He was still a top-four threat offensively, logging 47 points in 74 games in the 2021-22 campaign, but nonetheless hit free agency the following summer and didn’t garner much interest in a long-term deal.
That led to a one-year, $7MM prove-it deal with the rebuilding Ducks after he had been unsigned for weeks. His stint in Anaheim was short-lived and unremarkable. He posted 24 points and a -28 rating in 50 games on a 2022-23 Anaheim team that allowed an incredible 39.1 shots per game. He was dealt to the Wild at the trade deadline, where he finished the year with nine points in 17 games and was scratched twice in their six-game loss to the Stars in the First Round.
That rather uninspiring performance led to another one-year pact on the open market the following summer—this time, a $4.15MM commitment from the Maple Leafs. His stint in Toronto was also quite short-lived. He posted five assists in 14 games while quarterbacking their top power-play unit before the hip issue, which had been nagging since the end of the prior season, forced him out of the lineup for the rest of the season.
If he does manage to land another NHL offer, it certainly won’t be in the top-four, 20-minute average ice time role he’s grown accustomed to. As an already-declining veteran coming off major surgery, Klingberg landing much more than the league minimum on a one-year deal for the rest of 2024-25 would be surprising. The right shot would likely factor into a third-pairing role at even strength with second-unit power-play usage.
NHL Draft Picks On 2025 World Junior Championship Rosters
The 2025 World Junior Championship is just around the corner. This year’s edition of the tournament, which takes place in Ottawa, will start on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) as usual. Most NHL fans looking to tune into the tournament will want to focus on Group A action – Finland, Canada and the United States comprise three-fifths of that group while Sweden is the only true NHL-heavy squad in Group B, although Czechia and Slovakia have a decent amount of NHL representation there.
Every one of the 10 squads participating in the tournament has at least one NHL-drafted player on their roster, although, in the case of relegation favorite Kazakhstan in Group B, it is just the lone representative. Out of the NHL’s 32 squads, only the Bruins don’t have a prospect suiting up in the tournament.
Wondering which countries to keep an eye on to track your team’s prospects? Here’s a list of every club’s prospects that are competing in the tournament:
Anaheim Ducks
F Austin Burnevik / USA / 2024, 6-182
D Vojtěch Port / Czechia / 2023, 6-161
F Carey Terrance / USA / 2023, 2-59
D Darels Uļjanskis / Latvia / 2024, 7-214
Buffalo Sabres
F Konsta Helenius / Finland / 2024, 1-14
D Adam Kleber / USA / 2024, 2-42
D Norwin Panocha / Germany / 2023, 7-205
D Maxim Štrbák / Slovakia / 2023, 2-45
F Anton Wahlberg / Sweden / 2023, 2-39
F Brodie Ziemer / USA / 2024, 3-71
Calgary Flames
D Axel Hurtig / Sweden / 2023, 7-208
Carolina Hurricanes
F Bradly Nadeau / Canada / 2023, 1-30
F Felix Unger Sörum / Sweden / 2023, 2-62
F Oskar Vuollet / Sweden / 2024, 5-133
Chicago Blackhawks
F Jiří Felcman / Czechia / 2023, 3-93
F Oliver Moore / USA / 2023, 1-19
Colorado Avalanche
F Calum Ritchie / Canada / 2023, 1-27
Columbus Blue Jackets
F Luca Pinelli / Canada / 2023, 4-114
G Melvin Strahl / Sweden / 2023, 5-156
Dallas Stars
F Emil Hemming / Finland / 2024, 1-29
D Aram Minnetian / USA / 2023, 4-125
Detroit Red Wings
G Trey Augustine / USA / 2023, 2-41
F Jesse Kiiskinen / Finland / 2023, 3-68
D Axel Sandin-Pellikka / Sweden / 2023, 1-17
Edmonton Oilers
D Beau Akey / Canada / 2023, 2-56
D Paul Fischer / USA / 2023, 5-138
Florida Panthers
F Linus Eriksson / Sweden / 2024, 2-58
Los Angeles Kings
D Jakub Dvořák / Czechia / 2023, 2-54
G Carter George / Canada / 2024, 2-57
G Hampton Slukynsky / USA / 2023, 4-118
Minnesota Wild
D Zeev Buium / USA / 2024, 1-12
D Aron Kiviharju / Finland / 2024, 4-122
F Rasmus Kumpulainen / Finland / 2023, 2-53
D Sebastian Soini / Finland / 2024, 5-140
Montreal Canadiens
D Rasmus Bergqvist / Sweden / 2024, 7-224
Nashville Predators
F David Edstrom / Sweden / 2023, 1-32
D Andrew Gibson / Canada / 2023, 2-42
D Viggo Gustafsson / Sweden / 2024, 3-77
G Jakub Milota / Czechia / 2024, 4-99
D Tanner Molendyk / Canada / 2023, 1-24
F Felix Nilsson / Sweden / 2023, 2-43
F Teddy Stiga / USA / 2024, 2-55
F Joey Willis / USA / 2023, 4-111
New Jersey Devils
F Herman Träff / Sweden / 2024, 3-91
New York Islanders
F Cole Eiserman / USA / 2024, 1-20
G Marcus Gidlöf / Sweden / 2024, 5-147
F Danny Nelson / USA / 2023, 2-49
F Jesse Nurmi / Finland / 2023, 4-113
New York Rangers
D Drew Fortescue / USA / 2023, 3-90
F Rico Gredig / Switzerland / 2024, 6-191
F Gabe Perreault / USA / 2023, 1-23
Ottawa Senators
G Vladimir Nikitin / Kazakhstan / 2023, 7-207
Philadelphia Flyers
F Jack Berglund / Sweden / 2024, 2-51
G Carson Bjarnason / Canada / 2023, 2-51
D Oliver Bonk / Canada / 2023, 1-22
F Jett Luchanko / Canada / 2024, 1-13
F Heikki Ruohonen / Finland / 2024, 4-107
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Tanner Howe / Canada / 2024, 2-46
D Kalle Kangas / Finland / 2023, 7-223
D Emil Pieniniemi / Finland / 2023, 3-91
San Jose Sharks
D Sam Dickinson / Canada / 2024, 1-11
F Kasper Halttunen / Finland / 2023, 2-36
G Christian Kirsch / Switzerland / 2024, 4-116
F Brandon Svoboda / USA / 2023, 3-71
Seattle Kraken
F Berkly Catton / Canada / 2024, 1-8
D Jakub Fibigr / Czechia / 2024, 7-202
F Zeb Forsfjäll / Sweden / 2023, 6-180
F Julius Miettinen / Finland / 2024, 2-40
D Caden Price / Canada / 2023, 3-84
F Carson Rehkopf / Canada / 2023, 2-50
G Kim Saarinen / Finland / 2024, 3-88
F Eduard Šalé / Czechia / 2023, 1-20
St. Louis Blues
F Adam Jecho / Czechia / 2024, 3-95
D Adam Jiříček / Czechia / 2024, 1-16
F Ondřej Kos / Czechia / 2024, 3-81
D Theo Lindstein / Sweden / 2023, 1-29
F Juraj Pekarčík / Slovakia / 2023, 3-76
D Colin Ralph / USA / 2024, 2-48
F Jakub Štancl / Czechia / 2023, 4-106
F Otto Stenberg / Sweden / 2023, 1-25
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Ethan Gauthier / Canada / 2023, 2-37
F Joona Saarelainen / Finland / 2024, 5-149
Toronto Maple Leafs
F Easton Cowan / Canada / 2023, 1-28
F Miroslav Holinka / Czechia / 2024, 5-151
Utah Hockey Club
F Cole Beaudoin / Canada / 2024, 1-24
G Michael Hrabal / Czechia / 2023, 2-38
F Vojtěch Hradec / Czechia / 2024, 6-167
G Melker Thelin / Sweden / 2023, 5-134
D Veeti Väisänen / Finland / 2024, 3-96
Vancouver Canucks
D Sawyer Mynio / Canada / 2023, 3-89
D Basile Sansonnens / Switzerland / 2024, 7-221
D Tom Willander / Sweden / 2023, 1-11
Vegas Golden Knights
F Mathieu Cataford / Canada / 2023, 3-77
F Trevor Connelly / USA / 2024, 1-19
F Tuomas Uronen / Finland / 2023, 6-192
Washington Capitals
D Cole Hutson / USA / 2024, 2-43
F Ryan Leonard / USA / 2023, 1-8
F Ēriks Mateiko / Latvia / 2024, 3-90
D Leon Muggli / Switzerland / 2024, 2-52
F Miroslav Šatan Jr. / Slovakia / 2024, 7-212
F Petr Sikora / Czechia / 2024, 6-178
Winnipeg Jets
F Brayden Yager / Canada / 2023, 1-14
Jets Activate David Gustafsson From Injured Reserve
The Jets announced that they have activated center David Gustafsson from injured reserve. They had a pair of open roster spots after assigning Nikita Chibrikov and Dylan Coghlan to AHL Manitoba on Thursday.
Gustafsson, 24, had missed the last four games while in concussion protocol. The 2018 second-round pick left his last appearance, a Dec. 10 trouncing of the Bruins, after fighting Boston forward Trent Frederic. It was his second appearance since Oct. 20 after sitting out most of the season as a healthy scratch.
Last year, he stuck primarily on the NHL roster for the second season in a row aside from a brief conditioning assignment in February. He scored three goals, his first since notching his first NHL marker in 2019-20, and added four assists for seven points with a +1 rating in 39 games. He averaged 9:16 per game and won a career-best 54.6% of his faceoffs, often skating down the middle of Winnipeg’s fourth line when in the lineup.
Gustafsson has now appeared in parts of six NHL seasons, skating in a top-level contest in every season since arriving in North America in 2019. He’s played sparingly in all of them, though, averaging 19 appearances per season and just 8:44 per game. The 6’2″ pivot has been a relative non-factor offensively, averaging only 10 points per 82 games. The Jets have also rarely controlled the puck in Gustafsson’s even strength minutes, posting a 45.9% shot-attempt share and 41.9% expected goals share throughout his career.
With a fully healthy forward lineup tonight against the Wild, Gustafsson will return to his usual seat in the press box, the team said. He’s the 13th forward on the active roster and will be the first player to enter the lineup if an injury strikes, however.
International Notes: Leipsic, Bitten, Timashov, Gagner
The current roster freeze will prevent several roster moves in the NHL over the next few days. However, that won’t stop roster moves on the international stage, particularly in the Kontinental Hockey League. A couple of those transactions overseas include notable former NHL talent.
Longtime NHL veteran Brendan Leipsic has been traded in the KHL from Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg to Sibir Novosibirsk, per a release from the latter. In his first season with Yekaterinburg, Leipsic scored six goals and seven points in 25 KHL contests. It’s been six years since Leipsic suited up in the NHL, most recently for the Capitals. The former third-round pick of the Nashville Predators played in 187 games in the NHL from 2016 to 2020, scoring 16 goals and 59 points overall. He’s been far more productive in Russia, scoring 46 goals and 114 points in 197 games since joining the KHL ranks in 2020-21.
Other international transactions:
- Former NHL prospect William Bitten is on the move in the KHL. Anton Nekrasov of Championat confirmed that HK Sochi has claimed Bitten off waivers from Spartak Moscow. Only a year removed from scoring 39 goals and 78 points in 133 games for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds and debuting in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues in 2022-23, Bitten’s transition to the KHL has been nothing short of disastrous. He scored one goal and five points in 21 games for Moscow, leading the team to move on relatively quickly.
- In a corresponding move, Sochi released former Maple Leafs, Red Wings, and Islanders winger Dmytro Timashov, the team announced on Telegram. The 28-year-old Swede has been a non-factor in his first season in Russia, posting a goal and three assists in 22 games. He last suited up in the NHL with the Isles in 2020-21 and has quickly established himself as a European journeyman since, suiting up in Sweden and Switzerland before arriving in Sochi over the offseason. A fifth-round pick of Toronto in 2015, Timashov recorded four goals and five assists in 45 NHL contests while averaging 8:30 per game across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
- Unrestricted free agent center Sam Gagner is in Sweden training with Djurgårdens IF of the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan, reports Andreas Hanson of HockeyNews.se. Gagner, 35, has yet to play in 2024-25 but was recently named to Team Canada’s roster for this year’s Spengler Cup. The veteran of 1,043 NHL games could sign overseas for the first time since playing in Austria during the 2012 lockout if he has a decent showing at the tournament. After posting 10 points in 28 games in a limited role with the Oilers last season, Gagner signed a professional tryout with the Hurricanes in September but was released at the end of training camp.
PHR’s Josh Erickson contributed to this article.
Atlantic Notes: Matthews, Bennett, Sabres
The Maple Leafs will be without top center Auston Matthews tonight against the Islanders, reports Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link). Matthews is believed to have re-aggravated the upper-body injury that kept him out for several games last month, one that continues to linger. Despite playing at less than full health, Matthews has been quite productive when he has been in the lineup, notching 11 goals and 12 assists through 24 outings while averaging over 20 minutes a night for the sixth straight season. Johnston adds that Matthews is listed as questionable for Monday’s contest against Winnipeg but with the break coming up after that, it might make more sense for them to shut Matthews down for that game and give him more time to heal.
More from the Atlantic:
- Panthers center Sam Bennett won’t face any supplemental discipline for his hit last night against St. Louis winger Jake Neighbours, notes FanDuel Sports Network’s Andy Strickland (Twitter link). Bennett made his return to the lineup on Friday after missing a game with the flu. He’s off to a solid start in his contract year, tallying 13 goals and 14 assists in 32 games, putting himself in good shape for a sizable raise from his current $4.425MM AAV.
- While some have suggested that the Sabres were close to landing Carolina’s Martin Necas over the summer before the potential swap fell through, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News suggests that wasn’t the case and things never got to the point where Necas had to consider the swap. Instead, a source tells Harrington that Calgary’s Yegor Sharangovich may have been someone that Buffalo was trying to land over the summer. The 26-year-old had a breakout year last season with 31 goals and 59 points, earning a five-year, $28.75MM extension for his efforts although things haven’t gone well for him this year with just six goals and two helpers thus far. GM Kevyn Adams indicated recently that he thought he had a significant trade done in the offseason that fell through and he declined to provide any specifics beyond that.
Predators Activate Roman Josi Off Injured Reserve
While Predators defenseman Roman Josi landed on IR earlier this week, he wasn’t there for long. Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean relays (Twitter link) that the team has activated the blueliner, making him available to play today versus Los Angeles.
The 34-year-old missed the last week and a half due to a lower-body injury. As has been the case for many of the Predators’ top players this season, Josi has struggled a bit offensively, at least relative to his production from 2023-24. He had 85 points in 82 games a year ago, making him the Norris Trophy runner-up along the way.
This season, he has produced seven goals and 16 assists through 29 games; he sits second on the team to Filip Forsberg in points while leading the way in ATOI at 24:59 per game so he certainly hasn’t been a primary reason for their surprising struggles. Suffice it to say, his return will certainly be a key upgrade on the blueline as they look to get back on track before the holiday break.
The Preds sent blueliners Marc Del Gaizo and Kevin Gravel down to the minors yesterday so they had ample roster space to activate Josi. Following this move, they’re back at 22 players on their active roster.
Matt Rempe Offered In-Person Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
Rangers winger Matt Rempe got an opportunity to return to New York following the trade of Kaapo Kakko earlier in the week. He made a big impression in his first game back but not the one he was necessarily looking to make. The NHL announced today that he has been offered an in-person hearing for a hit made on Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Friday; a clip of the hit via B/R Open Ice can be found here.
The hit came in the third period last night, one that saw him receive a five-minute major for elbowing along with a game misconduct. Notably, the league’s release indicates that both elbowing and boarding are among the grounds being considered for supplemental discipline.
By offering an in-person hearing, the NHL now has the ability to suspend Rempe for more than five games which is the maximum had it been a telephone hearing. That said, them offering it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll receive six or more games either. The Department of Player Safety relayed later in the day (Twitter link) that the hearing will be held on Sunday.
Rempe has played in 22 career regular season games and this was the fourth ejection of his young career. He has been suspended once before, that coming back in March when he received a four-game ban for elbowing. He will fall under repeat offender status when it comes to determining both the length of suspension and the calculation of forfeited wages where the denominator will be 82 (representing games) instead of the number of days in a particular season.
Chicago Blackhawks Activate Seth Jones From IR
The Chicago Blackhawks are getting a major boost to their blue line. The organization announced they’ve activated defenseman Seth Jones from their injured reserve after missing the last 16 games with a right foot injury.
Jones’ activation couldn’t come soon enough for the Blackhawks. Through the first 17 games of the year with Jones on the roster, Chicago managed a 6-10-1 record with a -10 differential. In the 10 games following Jones’ exit from the lineup, the Blackhawks only had two wins while producing an identical -10 rating. The team has played better of late meaning Jones will only add to the current momentum.
The injury also came at a bad time for Jones personally. He got off to a solid start to the 2024-25 NHL season with two goals and 10 points in 17 games. Should he have continued his scoring pace throughout the regular season unencumbered, he would have finished with 10 goals and 49 points.
Jones can only finish the season with 66 games played meaning his eventual output should be similar to recent campaigns. He’s finished the last two years with 37 and 31 points respectively, a far cry from his five-goal, 51-point performance from 2021-22.
Still, Jones has unequivocally the most responsibility on Chicago’s blue line. He’s averaged 25:26 of ice time over 234 games played with the Blackhawks while playing in all situations. It might be a difficult transition for Jones tonight in his first game in over a month but it’s what’ll be required of him on a needy Blackhawks’ roster.
No corresponding roster move is necessary for Chicago given they only had 21 players on the active roster. However, one player is coming out of the lineup as Jones’ activation gives them seven defensemen.
According to Daily Faceoff’s projected lineups, that player is understandably youngster Kevin Korchinski. He’s scored zero points in six games for the Blackhawks this season and will likely head to Chicago’s AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, in due time.
Boston Bruins Recall Marc McLaughlin
According to the AHL transactions page, the Boston Bruins have recalled depth forward Marc McLaughlin. McLaughlin’s stay on the AHL roster was brief, as he was only reassigned yesterday afternoon.
Following the allowable roster moves during the roster freeze, McLaughlin was eligible for recall to the NHL active roster since he was recalled in a separate transaction after December 11th. It was another paper move, but it allowed the Bruins to bank valuable cap space for a short time.
It’s been another hybrid year for McLaughlin in his fourth season of professional hockey. He’s spent much of his career playing in AHL Providence but has 23 NHL games with the Bruins.
He’s failed to bring his point-per-game offense from the NCAA to the professional ranks. McLaughlin’s production has risen this season with five goals and 10 points in 15 games for the AHL Bruins which is much better than his six goals and 14 points in 68 games from a season ago.
His consistency in the AHL, or lack thereof, has prohibited McLaughlin from earning any legitimate opportunity at the NHL level. He’s scored six goals throughout his career and has shown flashes of being a responsible defensive forward but hasn’t earned a full-time spot on the roster up to this point.
Still, he’ll earn valuable experience during practice with the Bruins despite factoring little during games. Boston matches up against the flailing Buffalo Sabres tonight which makes as good an opportunity as ever for McLaughlin to enter the lineup.