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Brock McGinn

Pacific Notes: Hyman, Arvidsson, McGinn, Vlasic, Musty, Whitecloud, Karlsson

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The Edmonton Oilers won’t have a healthy forward core for the rest of the week. The team’s radio commentator, Bob Stauffer, shared a note from head coach Kris Knoblauch earlier this morning indicating that forwards Zach Hyman and Viktor Arvidsson are still a week or more away from returning.

Hyman has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury dating back to the Oilers’ recent contest against the Ottawa Senators on November 19th. He’ll now miss his second straight week with Stauffer all but confirming Edmonton won’t have Hyman in the lineup for this weekend’s matchups against the Utah Hockey Club and Colorado Avalanche. It’s salt on the wound for Hyman who’s only mustered three goals and eight points in 20 games this season after scoring 54 goals in 80 games last year.

Arvidsson, who hasn’t played since November 12th, will now miss his third straight week for the Oilers. Edmonton placed him on the injured reserve over a week later on November 21st and he will now miss eight straight games after this weekend’s action. His production and availability are certainly not what the Oilers expected after giving the veteran forward a two-year, $8MM contract this past offseason.

Other notes from the Pacific Division:

  • According to Derek Lee of The Hockey News, the Anaheim Ducks are placing forward Brock McGinn on injured reserve to make room for activating forward Mason McTavish this evening. McGinn’s injury is likely tied to crashing into the boards of last week’s game against the Dallas Stars and while he’s seemingly avoided a worse injury, he’ll still miss a few more games for Anaheim. McGinn had scored three goals and six points in 17 games this season before suffering the injury.
  • The San Jose Sharks may get one of their longtime veterans back during their upcoming road trip. Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News wrote earlier that defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic is nearing a return to the active roster after being a full participant in the team’s practices on multiple occasions. Vlasic is now in his 19th season in San Jose but hasn’t skated for the team since April 18th, 2024 due to an injury in his upper back.
  • The Sharks also have some injury concerns further down their organizational hierarchy. Jeff Marek reported earlier that Sharks’ prospect Quentin Musty suffered a hand fracture in last night’s contest between the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves and Oshawa Generals. The fracture will unfortunately keep Musty off Team USA’s roster for the upcoming 2025 IIHF World Junior Championships and may extend until the OHL trade deadline. Musty had scored eight goals and 20 points in 11 games for the Wolves this season while the team sits ninth in the OHL standings with a 12-8-3 record through 23 games.
  • There will be a few missing players for the Vegas Golden Knights this evening. The organization announced that defenseman Zach Whitecloud is out with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day. Vegas also added that forward William Karlsson won’t participate in tonight’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers due to personal reasons. The injury to Whitecloud will strain the Golden Knights’ blue line with defenseman Alex Pietrangelo set to miss his third consecutive game.

West Notes: McGinn, Grundström, Krug, Joshua

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced that forward Brock McGinn has undergone successful back surgery, focused on his intervertebral discs (Twitter link). This operation is expected to hold McGinn out for four months, ending his season early. McGinn has been on injured reserve since February 17th and absent from Anaheim’s lineup since January 25th.

This news marks the final blow in what was a difficult season for McGinn – who suffered a significant lower-body injury just days before Anaheim’s first game of the season that held him out for a month. That injury, as well as a brief departure for the birth of his first child in late December, held McGinn to just 24 appearances in the first half of the season. Those games will now stand as his only this year, marking the least he’s played since turning pro in the 2014-15 season. McGinn managed one goal, three points, four penalty minutes, and a -5 this year while averaging roughly 11 minutes of ice time. Anaheim has utilized a variety of talents in his place – with the Ducks debut of Ben Meyers, the return of Trevor Zegras from injury, and bottom-six stalwarts like Ross Johnston and Benoit-Olivier Groulx working to fill open minutes. McGinn will look to rejoin the bottom-six mix next season, with one year remaining on his contract.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Gritty forward Carl Grundström is progressing from injury, joining the Los Angeles Kings on their three-game road trip through Western Canada, per The Athletic’s Eric Stephens (Twitter link). Grundström has been out since February 13th with a lower-body injury that’s earned him a place on long-term injured reserve. He’s managed eight goals and 12 points in 50 games this season. Stephens adds that Grundström is still wearing a no-contact jersey at practice – but his attendance on the trip is nonetheless encouraging progress towards his return from a 21-game absence.
  • Defenseman Torey Krug could be held out of the St. Louis Blues’ lineup on Thursday with the flu, per NHL.com’s Lou Korac (Twitter link). Blues head coach Drew Bannister shared that he’s hopeful Krug will be good to go but designated him as questionable. Krug played in the first 69 games of St. Louis’ season but recently missed his first game of the year with a lower-body injury. He’s been a pivotal piece of St. Louis’ lineup when healthy, managing 34 points and 30 penalty minutes in 71 games. The Blues will hope he’s feeling better come tomorrow, as they gear up for a fight with the Calgary Flames.
  • The Vancouver Canucks upgraded forward Dakota Joshua to full-contact at their Wednesday-morning practice (Twitter link). Joshua has been out since February 13th, suffering an undisclosed injury in the midst of a three-point night. He’s flirted with a return many times since, but ultimately landed on Vancouver’s long-term injured reserve. While no official designation was provided, Joshua could have a chance to return as soon as Thursday, when the Canucks take on the Dallas Stars.

Ducks Activate Alex Killorn, Place Brock McGinn On IR

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The Ducks have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight versus Toronto.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Alex Killorn has been activated off IR.  To make room on the roster, winger Brock McGinn has been placed on IR retroactive to February 10th with an upper-body injury.

Killorn is in his first season with Anaheim after signing a four-year, $25MM contract with them back in July.  However, it’s been a campaign riddled with injuries.  The 34-year-old fractured his finger in the preseason, causing him to miss the first month of the season.  Then last month, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery.  Fortunately for him and the Ducks, Killorn recovered quicker than anticipated as he was supposed to miss four to six weeks and came back a little before the four-week mark.

In between recovering from those injuries, Killorn got off to a decent start offensively with his new club, collecting 19 points in 34 games.  While those numbers are down from a year ago, it would have been unrealistic for Anaheim to expect Killorn to beat his career-best numbers from a much deeper Tampa Bay team in his first year with a rebuilding club that was expected to be near the bottom of the league in the goal department.

As for McGinn, he last played back on January 25th, making the placement back to February 10th a bit of an odd choice.  However, since the placement has been dated back by a week, he’s eligible to be activated at any time.  The 30-year-old has had a very limited role this season, suiting up in just 24 games where he has three points in 37 hits while averaging just over 11 minutes per game.

Injury Updates: Kuemper, McGinn, Nedeljkovic, Ludvig

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Capitals goaltender Darcy Kuemper has been limited to eight games so far due to injuries and it might be a bit before that number goes up.  NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti relays that the netminder had to be helped to the dressing room after taking a shot to an unpadded area during practice today.  Head coach Spencer Carbery didn’t have a direct update at the time but noted that Kuemper’s situation was not ideal.  The 33-year-old has a 3.07 GAA with a .892 SV% so far this season and was already working his way back from an undisclosed injury.  Charlie Lindgren has been the starter while Kuemper was out and that will continue to be the case while they determine how long this latest issue will keep the veteran out.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • The Ducks welcomed back winger Brock McGinn to the lineup tonight, activating him off injured reserve. The 29-year-old had been dealing with a lower-body injury that kept him out for their first 15 games.  Last season, McGinn split time between Pittsburgh and Anaheim, who took on his contract at the trade deadline as part of the return for blueliner Dmitry Kulikov.
  • Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is on track to return on Sunday, notes Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That is the first day that he’s eligible to be activated.  The 27-year-old skated for the first time today since suffering a lower-body injury three weeks ago.  Nedeljkovic is in his first season with Pittsburgh and has played twice for his new team so far.  Magnus Hellberg is likely to be sent back to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once Nedeljkovic is cleared to return.
  • Also from Vensel’s column, defenseman John Ludvig is expected to be sent to the minors on a conditioning stint soon. The 23-year-old suffered a concussion less than six minutes into his NHL debut and has been on LTIR since then.  An LTIR conditioning loan is generally for a maximum of three games although it can be extended to five with league approval.  Ludvig would remain on LTIR for the duration of that assignment; the Penguins would need to open up enough cap space to activate him when he’s cleared to return.

Morning Notes: Benn, McGinn, Benoit

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Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jordie Benn has signed a one-year contract to play for Brynäs IF in the second-tier Swedish league HockeyAllsvenskan. Brynäs IF had been in the top tier SHL for 63 years until they were relegated at the end of last season. The 36-year-old elder brother of Jamie Benn had been on a PTO with the Dallas Stars but was cut earlier this week.

The veteran of 607 NHL games spent last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs but dressed in just 12 NHL games registering a goal and an assist. Benn spent much of last year in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies where he posted two goals and four assists in 23 games while providing a veteran presence to the Marlies’ younger players. Benn was apparently close to signing with Brynäs IF earlier this summer but elected to take the Stars PTO to see if he could hang on to an NHL roster spot. Given Benn’s age and current skillset, it could be very likely that he has played his last game in the NHL.

In other morning notes:

  • CBS Sports is reporting that Anaheim Ducks forward Brock McGinn has been placed on injured reserve effective October 13th. The move means that the earliest McGinn can return from his lower body injury is October 21st. McGinn had been on a day-to-day timeline with the injury but was downgraded yesterday and will likely be replaced in the lineup by recent waiver claim Ross Johnston. McGinn was acquired at the 2023 trade deadline along with a third-round pick in exchange for defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. He is expected to be a regular in the Ducks lineup despite his struggles in recent seasons. Last year McGinn posted 12 goals and seven assists in 75 games and was essentially a cap dump for the Penguins as he still has another year on his contract after this season at a cap hit of $2.75MM.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Simon Benoit for the second time this week. This comes on the heels of the club loaning Benoit to the AHL Toronto Marlies just two days ago. The moves are of little financial consequence to Benoit as he is on a one-way contract and is paid $775K regardless of whether he plays in the NHL or AHL. Benoit is certainly capable of playing in the NHL having dressed in 78 games last season with the Anaheim Ducks where he posted three goals and seven assists. However, given the Maple Leafs precarious salary cap situation he could find himself shuffled back and forth between the NHL and AHL throughout the season as the team tries to maximize salary cap space.

Pacific Notes: Carlsson, McGinn, Oilers Hire

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Although 2023 third overall pick Adam Fantilli is making his NHL debut tonight for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks fans may have to wait a little while to see 2023 second overall pick Leo Carlsson suit up. The Sporting Tribune’s Derek Lee relayed word from Ducks head coach Greg Cronin that Carlsson is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. As a result, he is likely to miss the team’s opening-night contest against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

Lee does note that Carlsson is on the injured non-roster list, meaning he could be activated at any time once healthy. As a result, it may not end up too long of a wait before Carlsson is ready to make his NHL debut. Widely considered one of the best center prospects in the hockey world, Carlsson spent last season with Örebro HK of the SHL, scoring 34 points in 57 combined regular-season and playoff games.

Other notes from the Pacific Division:

  • Another Ducks forward currently out with a lower-body injury on a day-to-day timeline is winger Brock McGinn. The 29-year-old veteran forward played in 75 games last season, scoring 12 goals and 19 points. Playing on a $2.75MM AAV cap hit, McGinn has been expected to play a regular role in Cronin’s bottom six, but that will have to wait as he works his way back to full health. Recent waiver claim Ross Johnston may slide into the opening-night lineup as a result of McGinn’s absence.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have announced that Dani Rylan Kearney has been hired to the team’s hockey operations department as a regional scout. The former Northeastern Huskies captain is best known as the founder and commissioner of the NWHL, the professional women’s hockey league that became the PHF before ceasing operations this past summer. The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman reported that the Oilers had been “interested” in adding Rylan Kearney to the organization “for several months” and now the team has done so officially.

Examining The Pittsburgh Penguins Bottom Six Options

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The Pittsburgh Penguins saw more turnover this offseason than any other organization in the NHL. From the hiring of President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas to the signing of a multitude of fourth liners, the Pittsburgh Penguins look wildly different than they did six months ago. It’s certainly a welcome change in the Steel City after the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

In a recent season preview that was completed by Sean Gentille, Shayna Goldman, and Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic, the trio pointed out that one of the biggest issues with the Penguins last season was the lack of support from the bottom six forward group. The group was so bad that nearly half of it was put on waivers before the trade deadline. Kasperi Kapanen was claimed, Brock McGinn was traded, and many others departed in free agency or were traded away.

Kyle Dubas completely overhauled the bottom six almost exclusively through free agency. In the early days of free agency, the Penguins signed Noel Acciari, Lars Eller, Vinnie Hinostroza, Andreas Johnsson, Joona Koppanen, Matt Nieto, and Radim Zohorna. Dubas also traded for Rem Pitlick who was a throw-in as part of the Erik Karlsson trade. These eight players now find themselves competing with the remaining Penguins’ bottom six options Jeff Carter, Alexander Nylander and Drew O’Connor, as well as Colin White who is in camp on a PTO. The group of 12 will be competing for six or seven NHL spots in the Penguins forward group.

Competition is almost always a good thing in the NHL and the Penguins training camp has seen a lot of it. Very little is set in their bottom six, except that it will likely be again void of offence. While the group doesn’t have a ton of offensive firepower, they clearly have an identity, which is something that didn’t exist in previous seasons in Pittsburgh. Dubas has targeted players who are capable defensively, can skate with pace, and won’t hand the game away by giving up backbreaking goals. The same can’t be said for the Penguins’ bottom six last season.

With all this, one must wonder which players will have the inside track to start opening night on the Penguins’ third and fourth line. Let’s look at the way Head Coach Mike Sullivan and the Penguins might utilize their options.

In a perfect world, Eller would be a perfect fourth-line center, but in Pittsburgh, he will likely see duty as a third-line pivot. At 34 years old, Eller’s best days are behind him, but he is still a very capable penalty killer and is defensively sound. Eller doesn’t offer the offensive pop he did in his last 20s, but he is just a year removed from a 31-point season.

Flanking Eller on the left side will likely be O’Connor, the Penguins love his size and speed and are hoping he can piece it all together. It goes to show how top-heavy the Penguins are when they are counting on a player who has eight goals and nine assists in 78 career games to be a key component of their third line.

When healthy, it seems very possible that the Penguins will deploy Nylander. The former eighth-overall pick has the pedigree to be a scorer in the NHL, but he has never been able to produce enough offense to stick with an NHL club. Nylander will start the season on the Penguins second line in the absence of Jake Guentzel, and depending on his production he could find himself flanking the right side of the third line, or exposed to waivers.

The Penguins’ fourth line is where it gets interesting. Nieto and Acciari were targeted by Dubas on July 1st and fit the identity that Dubas and Sullivan are building for that group. Nieto is a terrific penalty killer and will be utilized in that role a lot, while Acciari adds a physical element and is good defensively. Both players can add a bit of offense as well, Nieto is coming off a season in which he posted 12 goals and 12 assists in 81 games, while Acciari had 14 goals and 9 assists last season in 77 games.

Finally, last season’s lightning rod Carter remains under contract for one more season and is still a favorite of Coach Sullivan. Carter was never removed from the Penguins lineup last year, despite having the worst season of his professional career. Carter looked run down at times and was consistently a step behind when it came to both offense and defense. However, he was utilized in a third-line center role and probably shouldn’t have been. Carter could perform better when being deployed less often and in a more sheltered role. Given Sullivan’s affinity for Carter, it would take a lot to remove the 38-year-old from Pittsburgh’s lineup.

How the Penguins bottom six will look on opening night remains a mystery. But it should be one of the more exciting roster battles to see in the final week of training camp. The Penguins will have to expose a lot of players to waivers to trim down their roster and could lose some bodies to other teams depending on how things shake out.

Dmitry Kulikov Expected To Make Pittsburgh Penguins Debut Tomorrow

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Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall spent much of the week leading up to the trade deadline rebuilding a struggling bottom-six. However, lost in the shuffle was the acquisition of defenseman Dmitry Kulikov in exchange for Brock McGinn and a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Kulikov has spent most of this season playing over 20 minutes a night in Anaheim’s top-two, but Seth Rorabaugh of TribLive is reporting that Kulikov will shuffle into a spot in the Penguins lineup that is much more suitable to his skillset.

Kulikov spent much of the Penguins practice on Monday paired with Jan Rutta, supplanting P.O. Joseph on the third pairing. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan praised Kulikov’s size and strength, as well as his ability on the penalty kill.

Kulikov’s acquisition likely means less time on the penalty kill for fellow defenseman Brian Dumoulin. Dumoulin is creeping up on playing a career high in shorthanded minutes and has seen his game fall off considerably this season. Although he has been better in recent weeks, easing Dumoulin’s workload could be a positive development for the pending unrestricted free agent, and the Penguins playoff aspirations.

Kulikov doesn’t offer much offensively with just 15 points in 61 games, but is defensively conscience and should bring an awareness that has been lacking for the Penguins throughout this season.

Brock McGinn, Mark Friedman Clear Waivers

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March 1: Both players have cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues, giving the Penguins additional cap space.

Feb 28: The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to use the waiver wire to clear salary off the books, this time waiving Brock McGinn and Mark Friedman, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets. As the deadline approaches, clearing room could give the Penguins enough flexibility to pull off a more significant move.

McGinn, 29, was one of Ron Hextall’s first big moves when he took over as general manager in 2021. He signed a four-year, $11MM contract with the Penguins on the first day of free agency after several up-and-down seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes. Almost immediately, it was clear that McGinn’s offensive production would never really materialize as he settled into a checking role in Pittsburgh.

In 2021-22, he scored 12 goals and 22 points in 64 games, numbers that he has yet to match this season. By placing him on waivers, the Penguins could bury $1.125MM of his $2.75MM contract in the minor leagues, or—perhaps hopefully—lose the entire contract to another team, as they did Kasperi Kapanen recently.

Cap space is more valuable for the team right now, especially if the team has something big in the works for the deadline. Reports have emerged several times about Hextall trying to trade McGinn, but it seems like they couldn’t find a taker before being forced into this move.

While Friedman certainly isn’t as expensive—he carries a cap hit of just $775K through next season—he is another asset that can be buried in the minor leagues to open up some room. His entire cap hit will be removed if he clears and is assigned to the AHL, though it isn’t much more than the league minimum.

Snapshots: Seattle-Winnipeg, McGinn, Brown, Stone

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The NHL has postponed tomorrow’s game between the Seattle Kraken and Winnipeg Jets due to inclement weather heading toward the Manitoba area, rescheduling the match for May 1. That is the day before the playoffs are set to begin, another sign of just how difficult it would be for the Jets to make the postseason at this point. The team is currently only five points behind the Dallas Stars for the final wild card position, but have played two more games (leaving just eight remaining in their season) and are still dealing with the Vegas Golden Knights in between.

For Seattle, there hasn’t been any hope of the playoffs for a while now, but there are certainly things to get excited about. Matty Beniers will make his NHL debut tonight after signing his entry-level contract, giving fans the chance to see the first draft pick in franchise history.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have activated Brock McGinn off injured reserve, bringing him back after more than a month on the shelf. McGinn, 28, has 11 goals and 18 points this season through 56 games for the Penguins, but adds another level of depth for a roster that is still trying to improve their playoff position. The Penguins sit six points behind the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan, with just eight games left to play.
  • Dustin Brown has also been activated, this time by the Los Angeles Kings, giving the team a huge boost after yesterday’s announcement that Drew Doughty would miss the rest of the season. While the 37-year-old isn’t the player he once was, Brown can still contribute and has 25 points in 57 games this season. More importantly, he’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion and extremely important member of the leadership group in Los Angeles, who are headed to the playoffs should they be able to hold onto that Pacific Division spot.
  • Mark Stone is a game-time decision for the Golden Knights, though it means they will have to make several other roster transactions if they want to activate him from long-term injured reserve. As CapFriendly points out, even loaning every eligible player to the minor leagues wouldn’t clear enough space, meaning someone else would have to be transferred to long-term injured reserve (or, technically they could make a trade, though that brings other complications) for Stone to be activated.

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