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Maxime Lajoie

Maple Leafs Recall Pontus Holmberg, Loan Maxime Lajoie To Minors

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have swapped players with their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, recalling forward Pontus Holmberg and loaning out defenseman Maxime Lajoie, according to a team release.

Holmberg returns to the Maple Leafs after a brief stint in the minors. The team sent him down on Monday to make room for winger Nicholas Robertson to come up to the active roster.

The 24-year-old Swede has been a non-factor on the scoresheet this season, recording no points and a -2 rating in seven games with the Leafs. His possession numbers have dipped south from last year’s rookie season, posting a Corsi share of 42.5% at even strength while averaging 8:44 per game.

At the very least, Holmberg has been less of a liability than enforcer Ryan Reaves, who has no points and a -9 rating while playing in all 13 games this season. Summoning Holmberg from the minors could mean that Reaves, who signed a three-year, $4.05MM contract with the Leafs last summer, could be a healthy scratch for Friday’s game against the Calgary Flames. The Leafs’ depth posting poor possession metrics is a significant reason why Toronto has conceded 3.62 goals per game this season, the worst in the Atlantic Division.

Toronto can only carry two extra skaters on the active roster for the time being due to salary cap constraints, including injured defenseman Jake McCabe. Thus, someone had to head back to the Marlies to create cap space for Holmberg. Lajoie has made one appearance for the Maple Leafs this year after injuries sidelined McCabe and Timothy Liljegren, taking just nine shifts and skating 4:54 in a 6-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres last Saturday.

Lajoie, 26, is also without a point in seven games with the Marlies this season. He’s played in NHL games in each of the last six seasons but hasn’t come close to recapturing a full-time role since registering 15 points in 56 during his rookie season with the Ottawa Senators in 2018-19.

Maple Leafs Place Timothy Liljegren On LTIR, Recall Max Lajoie And Simon Benoit

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The Maple Leafs are dealing with another injury on their back end as they announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Timothy Liljegren has been placed on LTIR with a high-ankle sprain, meaning he’ll miss at least the next 10 games and 24 days.  Replacing him on the roster will be blueliners Max Lajoie and Simon Benoit who have been recalled from AHL Toronto.

Liljegren was injured on Thursday night late in the first period against Boston after being tripped by Bruins winger Brad Marchand.  Following the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that the early prognosis was that it wasn’t a short-term injury for the 24-year-old; this placement certainly cements that.  Liljegren is averaging around 18 minutes a night on Toronto’s back end through the first ten games, good for fourth among Toronto’s blueliners.  It’s a contract year for Liljegren who will be a restricted free agent next summer and an extended absence certainly wouldn’t help on that front.

The Maple Leafs are also without blueliners Jake McCabe and Conor Timmins.  David Alter of The Hockey News mentions (Twitter link) that both rearguards skated before practice today but that Timmins – who is on LTIR himself – is still a long way away from returning to the lineup.

As for the recalls, Lajoie is in his first season with Toronto after signing with them in free agency this past summer.  The 25-year-old has seen NHL action in each of the last five years, totaling 70 regular season games and a pair of playoff contests.  This season, he has been held off the scoresheet in seven games with the Marlies but had 45 points in 70 games with AHL Chicago in 2022-23.

Benoit, meanwhile, was recalled three times back in October but didn’t play with the Maple Leafs.  Going back and forth to and from the minors has also limited him to just two games so far with the Marlies.  Last season, the 25-year-old had 10 points in 78 games with Anaheim while logging over 19 minutes a night.

Waivers: 10/08/23

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Oct. 9: Four players on this list were claimed today: A.J. Greer (Calgary), John Ludvig (Pittsburgh), Ivan Prosvetov (Colorado), and Lassi Thomson (Ottawa). All others have cleared and are expected to be assigned to their team’s respective AHL affiliates, aside from Boyd, who PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports remains on the Coyotes’ active roster for now.

Oct. 8: It’s expected to be a busy day on the waiver wire, as NHL teams are making their final adjustments to the roster they’ll bring into the start of the 2023-24 season. There have already been numerous notable names exposed to the waiver wire thus far this preseason, and that list could only expand today. All players from yesterday’s waiver wire have cleared.

Anaheim Ducks

D Lassi Thomson
G Alex Stalock
F Andrew Agozzino

Boston Bruins

F Patrick Brown
F A.J. Greer

Arizona Coyotes

F Travis Boyd
F Zach Sanford
G Ivan Prosvetov

Carolina Hurricanes

D Dylan Coghlan

Chicago Blackhawks

F Joey Anderson

Colorado Avalanche

F Riley Tufte

Dallas Stars

F Riley Damiani

Detroit Red Wings

F Zach Aston-Reese

Edmonton Oilers

F Raphael Lavoie
F Lane Pederson
D Ben Gleason

Florida Panthers

F Zac Dalpe
D John Ludvig
D Casey Fitzgerald

Los Angeles Kings

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan

Montreal Canadiens

F Joel Armia
D Gustav Lindström

Ottawa Senators

F Bokondji Imama

Pittsburgh Penguins

G Magnus Hellberg
F Colin White
D Mark Friedman
F Vinnie Hinostroza
F Radim Zohorna

St. Louis Blues
F Mackenzie MacEachern
D Calle Rosen
G Malcolm Subban
F Nathan Walker

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Zach Bogosian
F Gabriel Fortier

Toronto Maple Leafs

G Martin Jones
F Kyle Clifford
F Dylan Gambrell
D William Lagesson
D Maxime Lajoie

Vancouver Canucks

F Jack Studnicka
D Christian Wolanin

Vegas Golden Knights

F Grigori Denisenko

Winnipeg Jets

D Kyle Capobianco
G Collin Delia
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby

The big surprise here out of Arizona regards Boyd. The versatile 30-year-old veteran doesn’t have an exorbitant contract (just $1.75MM through the end of the season) and has scored 69 points across the last two seasons.

He’s been something of a breakout player for the Coyotes as his 17-goal, 35-point 2022-23 was far and away his best season in his career, so it’s definitely a surprise to see him exposed on waivers.

For Anaheim, the move to waive Stalock likely means that Lukáš Dostál has won the Ducks’ backup goalie job behind John Gibson, as should Stalock clear the Ducks will have the option to send him down to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.

In Edmonton, it comes as a little bit of a surprise to see Lavioe waived. The 23-year-old power forward was drafted just outside of the 2019 first round, and took a real step forward in his development last season. He became a genuinely impactful AHLer, scoring 25 goals and 45 points. He’s a name to watch in terms of players with the potential to be claimed out of this group.

Anderson-Dolan finally made the NHL on an extended basis last season, and scored 12 points in 46 games. He even got some playoff action under his belt, but seeing as he was a near-point-per-game scorer in his last season in the AHL, it seems the Kings could prefer to have him start the season with the AHL’s Ontario Reign.

Rosen appears the likeliest candidate from the Blues’ group of waived players to be of interest to other teams, as he’s owed just a $762.5k cap hit this season and impressed in 49 games of NHL action last season. He scored 18 points in that span and could interest teams in need of some additional defensive help.

Out of Tampa is Bogosian, and it’s reported that the Lightning are hoping to put the veteran blueliner in a position to land on another team where he can play a bigger role than he’d be offered in Tampa. The 33-year-old won a Stanley Cup for the Lightning and it seems that the organization is looking to do right by the player while also turning to other options to staff their defense.

One of the biggest names on waivers comes out of Toronto, as Jones played in 48 games last season but now finds himself exposed to 31 other clubs. With an $875k cap hit, the veteran netminder could end up claimed by teams in need of instant goaltending support, such as the Lightning who don’t have much depth after the injury to superstar Andrei Vasilevskiy.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Hurricanes Recall Six Players

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With Carolina’s AHL affiliate in Chicago missing the playoffs, the Hurricanes have decided who will be part of their ‘Black Aces’ squad, announcing the recall of six players.  Coming up to the big club are forwards Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev, Jamieson Rees, and Ryan Suzuki, defenseman Maxime Lajoie, and goaltender Zach Sawchenko.

Koivunen spent the bulk of this season with Karpat in Finland’s SM-liiga, picking up 28 points in 52 games before reporting to the Wolves last month.  The 19-year-old got into a dozen games at the AHL level, picking up a goal.  This is his first recall to the NHL.

Ponomarev played his first full campaign in North America this season and acquitted himself well, picking up a team-leading 24 goals along with 22 assists to put him second on the Wolves in scoring behind Malte Stromwall (who was not among the recalls).  The 21-year-old has also yet to play at the NHL level.

As for Rees, his third AHL campaign saw him put up more points than his first two combined, collecting 14 goals and 28 points in 65 games to put him fourth on the team in scoring.  The 22-year-old is in the second season of his entry-level deal and hasn’t yet suited up for the Hurricanes.

Suzuki was a first-round pick by Carolina back in 2018 (29th overall) but also hasn’t seen NHL action yet.  The 21-year-old did show some improvement this season with the Wolves, picking up 13 goals and 19 assists in 50 games, career-highs on all three fronts.

Lajoie, however, does have some NHL experience under his belt including three games with Carolina this season.  The 25-year-old has suited in 70 career contests at the top level, the bulk of which came back in 2018-19 with Ottawa.  Lajoie led all Wolves blueliners in points this season with 11 goals and 34 assists in 63 games.

Sawchenko played in seven games with San Jose last season but didn’t see any NHL time with the Hurricanes this season.  The 25-year-old signed with Carolina as a free agent last summer and led all Chicago netminders with 41 appearances this season where he posted a 3.10 GAA with a SV% of .895.

Barring multiple injuries, it’s unlikely that any of these players will get into a game during Carolina’s playoff run but they will get a chance to continue skating and working with team coaches in case they need to be pressed into action.

Carolina Hurricanes Re-Assign Maxime Lajoie

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Dec 14: A few days later, the Hurricanes have sent Lajoie back to the minor leagues. He played in two games, seeing a total of 13 shifts during his recall.

Dec 8: The Carolina Hurricanes announced this evening that they have recalled defenseman Maxime Lajoie from the Chicago Wolves, their AHL affiliate. No corresponding move was announced. This brings Carolina to a full 23-man roster.

The 25-year-old is in his third season in the Hurricanes organization, having played primarily for the Wolves during that period of times. In fact, the defenseman was recently named captain of the Wolves on November 8th. In 17 AHL games this season, Lajoie has six points, all assists. This won’t be his first time on Carolina’s roster this year either, having played one game for the team back on November 14th.

Originally an Ottawa Senators draft pick in 2016, the bulk of Lajoie’s NHL experience came during the 2018-19 season, where he suited up for 58 games for Ottawa. Since then, he’s played in just 12 NHL games spread over three seasons. Now an AHL veteran and leader, Lajoie has made the most of his time in the AHL recording 93 points in 211 career games.

East Notes: Lajoie, Okposo, Zub

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The Hurricanes have brought up some extra defensive depth, announcing the recall of Maxime Lajoie from AHL Chicago.  The 25-year-old has seen NHL action in three of the last four seasons, including getting into five games with Carolina in 2021-22 although the bulk of his playing time came back in 2018-19 when he played in 56 contests with Ottawa.  This year, Lajoie has played in ten games with the Wolves, picking up four assists.  Calvin de Haan was banged up in yesterday’s matchup against Edmonton and it would seem that Lajoie will be up as some insurance in case the veteran isn’t able to play in their next game on Monday.  Dylan Coghlan is also on the roster and could be inserted into the lineup if de Haan misses any time.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • Last night’s contest against Boston won’t be the only one that Sabres captain Kyle Okposo misses as Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News notes that the veteran is likely to miss at least a couple more games. For now, the plan is for the 34-year-old to rest for a few days and then re-evaluate him from there.  Okposo is off to a nice start to his season with nine points in his first 14 games.
  • While the Senators were hoping to have defenseman Artem Zub back by now, it appears that he’ll be out a little while longer. Speaking to TSN 1200 earlier today (audio link), head coach D.J. Smith indicated that the 27-year-old is behind schedule but that he should be able to return by the end of the upcoming week.  Zub is a pending unrestricted free agent and was averaging just shy of 22 minutes a game before sustaining an upper-body injury last month.

Waivers: 10/05/22

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Another large group of players finds themselves on waivers today, hoping to get picked up by an NHL roster. The AHL awaits most that clear, though placement on the wire doesn’t necessarily indicate assignment to the minor leagues. Some players will clear just to give their team a little more roster flexibility over the next few weeks. Everyone from yesterday has cleared, and waivers today include:

Carolina Hurricanes

Ryan Dzingel
Maxime Lajoie
Lane Pederson
Stelio Mattheos
Mackenzie MacEachern

Minnesota Wild

Brandon Baddock

New York Islanders

Dennis Cholowski
Cory Schneider
Parker Wotherspoon
Hudson Fasching
Arnaud Durandeau
Cole Bardreau
Andy Andreoff

Philadelphia Flyers

Adam Brooks
Max Willman
Louis Belpedio

This page will be updated as more reports come in

Hurricanes Re-Sign Maxime Lajoie

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The Hurricanes have reached an agreement with their final arbitration-eligible player as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed defenseman Maxime Lajoie to a one-year, two-way deal.  The contract will pay $750K in the NHL, $125K in the AHL, and has a total guarantee of $200K.

The 24-year-old saw plenty of NHL action with Ottawa back in 2018-19 but has predominantly been in the minors since then.  Last season, Lajoie played in 60 games with AHL Chicago, scoring four goals along with 29 assists.  He also got into five games with Carolina where he was held off the scoresheet while averaging 12:32 per contest.

Looking ahead to next season, it’s likely that Lajoie will have a similar role with Carolina, one that sees him start in the minors (as long as he clears waivers in training camp) and then is recalled when injuries arise.  He will need to play in 13 NHL games in 2022-23 for the Hurricanes to retain his RFA rights; if he plays fewer games than that, he’ll be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency.

Once Carolina officially announces the deal, the clock will begin to tick on their second buyout window which will open up three days after the deal is made official and last for 48 hours.  The Hurricanes have roughly $1.8MM in cap space per CapFriendly and still need to re-sign Martin Necas who didn’t file for arbitration last month.  Necas will undoubtedly make more than that which will create a bit of a cap crunch for the team so that window could be of interest to them.  A player needs to make $4MM and have been in the organization at the trade deadline to be eligible to be bought out this route.  Worth noting, defenseman Jake Gardiner – who missed all of last season with back and hip issues – makes $4.05MM and has been medically cleared to return for next season.  On the surface, he could be a potential candidate to be bought out of the final year of his deal once the buyout window reopens for them.

Metropolitan Notes: Hurricanes, Zucker, Jiricek

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Hurricanes GM Don Waddell indicated to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer that he expects to reach a settlement with defenseman Maxime Lajoie in advance of Tuesday’s arbitration hearing.  The 24-year-old spent most of the season in the minors so a new agreement shouldn’t be hard to come to.  What’s notable is that once that new deal is reached, Carolina will get their second buyout window soon after and Waddell didn’t rule out the possibility of using it but noted that they could make things work without going that route.  A player must make $4MM to be eligible to be bought out in this window and blueliner Jake Gardiner – who missed all of last season with back and hip issues – makes $4.05MM.  He has been cleared to return which does make him eligible to be bought out.  Once Lajoie’s deal is signed, the buyout window will open up three days later and lasts 48 hours.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Penguins winger Jason Zucker has recovered from the series of lower-body injuries that plagued him in the second half of last season, notes NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. It has been a tough go for the 30-year-old who has recorded just 47 points in 94 games since being acquired by Pittsburgh just before the 2020 trade deadline.  Next season will be a contract year for Zucker and unless he can get back to the form he had with Minnesota, he’ll be looking at a considerably cheaper deal next summer compared to his current $5.5MM AAV.
  • Blue Jackets prospect David Jiricek has been cleared to join the Czechs for the upcoming World Juniors, their hockey federation announced (Twitter link). The 18-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 late last month and wasn’t able to travel with the rest of the team to begin tournament preparations.  Jiricek, the sixth-overall pick last month, will be Czechia’s top defenseman in this event and a strong performance could help get him in the mix for a roster spot with Columbus for the upcoming season.

2022 Arbitration Tracker

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The dates for the upcoming arbitration hearings have been set, with the first one scheduled for July 27. Hearings will continue through August 11 this year, with that being the busiest day of the schedule. It is important to note that the CBA agreement in 2020 changed the rules for arbitration so that once a hearing begins, teams are no longer allowed to negotiate with the player in question.

The full schedule is:

July 27
Isac Lundestrom (Anaheim Ducks) – Settled: 2 years, $1.8MM AAV

July 29
Jesse Puljujarvi (Edmonton Oilers) – Settled: 1 year, $3.0MM

July 30
Kasperi Kapanen (Pittsburgh Penguins) – Settled: 2 years, $3.2MM AAV
Matthew Phillips (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 1 year, $750K AAV (two-way contract)

August 1
Mathieu Joseph (Ottawa Senators) – Settled: 3 years, $2.95MM AAV
Steven Lorentz (San Jose Sharks) – Settled: 2 years, $1.05MM AAV

August 2
Yakov Trenin (Nashville Predators) – Awarded: 2 years, $1.7MM AAV

August 3
Jesper Bratt (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 1 year, $5.45MM AAV

August 5
Andrew Mangiapane (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 3 years, $5.8MM AAV

August 6
Miles Wood (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 1 year, $3.2MM AAV

August 7
Kailer Yamamoto (Edmonton Oilers) – Settled: 2 years, $3.1MM AAV

August 8
Ethan Bear (Carolina Hurricanes) – Settled: 1 year, $2.2MM
Lawson Crouse (Arizona Coyotes) – Settled: 5 years, $4.3MM AAV
Zack MacEwen (Philadelphia Flyers) – Settled: 1 year, $925K

August 9
Maxime Lajoie (Carolina Hurricanes) – Settled: 1 year, $750K (two-way contract)

August 10
Keegan Kolesar (Vegas Golden Knights) – Settled: 3 years, $1.4MM AAV
Oliver Kylington (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 2 years, $2.5MM AAV

August 11
Mason Appleton (Winnipeg Jets) – Settled: 3 years, $2.167MM AAV
Morgan Geekie (Seattle Kraken) – Settled: 1 year, $1.4MM AAV
Tyce Thompson (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 2 years, $762.5K AAV (partial two-way)
Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers) – Settled: 8 years, $9.5MM AAV
Jake Walman (Detroit Red Wings) – Settled: 1 year, $1.05MM
Pavel Zacha (Boston Bruins) – Settled: 1 year, $3.5MM

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