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Nathan Beaulieu

Pittsburgh Penguins Activate Nathan Beaulieu

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The Pittsburgh Penguins don’t have Rickard Rakell for tonight’s matchup, but their other trade deadline acquisition is finally available. The team has activated Nathan Beaulieu off injured reserve and could potentially make his Penguins debut this evening.

After an exhausting triple overtime game one, the Penguins could get some fresh legs in the form of Beaulieu, who hasn’t played since March 4 when he was still with the Winnipeg Jets. The 29-year-old defenseman was acquired for nothing more than a conditional seventh-round pick at the deadline given the uncertainty that surrounded his injury at the time.

The conditions of that pick would have Winnipeg receive the seventh-round selection only if the Penguins win three rounds and Beaulieu plays in 50 percent of the games. That’s still certainly a tall task at this point, and means there’s no risk in putting Beaulieu into the lineup whenever he’s ready.

Of course, whether he can actually help is still up for debate. The left-shot defenseman was averaging fewer than 11 minutes over his 24 games with Winnipeg this season before the trade, and hasn’t played more than 40 games in a single season since 2018-19. Never much more than a third-pairing option, he can’t represent much more than that for the Penguins either.

Still, defensive depth is certainly important for the playoffs, and Penguins fans should know that as well as anyone. During the 2017 Stanley Cup run they dressed eight different defensemen–none of which were named Kris Letang–and iced a sort of mismatched group of journeymen and depth players. No one that year averaged even 22 minutes a night. You never know what will come about in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and having experienced options to insert into the lineup is never a bad thing.

Penguins Acquire Nathan Beaulieu

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The Penguins have added some low-cost defensive depth as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that they’ve acquired Nathan Beaulieu from the Jets.  In return, Winnipeg receives a conditional seventh-round draft pick.  CapFriendly provides the specifics of the condition – for the Jets to get the pick, Pittsburgh has to make it to the Stanley Cup Final with Beaulieu playing in at least half of their games.

It has been a tough year for the 29-year-old as Beaulieu has played in just 24 games this season while being scratched 21 times.  His role has been diminished when he has been in there as he’s averaging just under 11 minutes per game in those contests, nearly five minutes below his career average while picking up just four assists in that stretch.

On top of that, Beaulieu is currently on LTIR with an undisclosed injury with his placement coming back on March 9th.  That means that he’s out for the rest of the month at a minimum and potentially longer.  His $1.25MM AAV will slide into Pittsburgh’s current LTIR space with Jason Zucker still on there for the time being although he is expected to be activated in the coming weeks.  If Beaulieu does return between now and the end of the season, the Penguins would have to make some roster moves to get cap-compliant but if he’s only able to return for the playoffs, they won’t have to worry about the cap then and they’ll have themselves a veteran of over 400 career NHL games for next to no cost.

Cole Perfetti Moved To Injured Reserve

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The Winnipeg Jets announced three injury-related transactions today, including activating both Nathan Beaulieu and the recently claimed Adam Brooks from injured reserve. To make room on the roster, Cole Perfetti has been moved to IR after suffering an upper-body injury last week against the Seattle Kraken.

Getting Beaulieu back explains the demotion of Ville Heinola yesterday and suggests that the veteran defenseman will finally get to continue his season. Beaulieu hasn’t played since January 27 and has just 19 games on the year, between absences from injury and illness. In the second season of a two-year, $2.5MM deal signed in 2020, when he does return to the action he’ll be jumping aboard a Jets team that is still scuffling along, unable to string together any sort of winning streak.

Winnipeg lost on Saturday night to the Edmonton Oilers, snapping a short two-game winning streak from last week. They’ll now take on the Calgary Flames today–a game that won’t include Beaulieu just yet–and try to snap the red-hot Pacific Division leader’s nine-game winning streak. Brooks is making his Jets debut on a line beside Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois after being shipped all over the league this season through waivers.

That spot had belonged to Perfetti, who has quickly shown that he is already a full-time NHL option. The 20-year-old forward has seven points in 18 games this season after being the tenth-overall pick in 2020. It’s not clear yet how long Perfetti will be out, but he has to miss at least seven days from his last appearance–February 17.

Central Notes: Brodin, Jets, Johnson, Stillman, Husso

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The Wild announced (Twitter link) that they activated defenseman Jonas Brodin off injured reserve prior to their game tonight against the Rangers.  The 28-year-old has had a bit of trouble staying in the lineup as he had also missed time due to COVID protocol and an upper-body injury before sustaining this lower-body injury three weeks ago.  In between all of that, Brodin has put together a strong season, notching 16 points in 29 games while averaging 23:35 per night and blocking nearly two shots per contest.  With Brodin’s activation, Minnesota now has its top seven fully healthy.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • Jets defenseman Nathan Beaulieu has been ruled out for their two-game road trip due to a lower-body injury, reports Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun (Twitter link). Meanwhile, they’ll have to wait for at least one more game to get blueliner Josh Morrissey back from his stint in COVID protocol while defenseman Dylan DeMelo has resumed skating but also won’t be ready to suit up on Saturday in St. Louis.
  • Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson is still a month away from returning to the lineup, relays Scott Powers of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran is working his way back from artificial disk replacement surgery, the same procedure that Jack Eichel had after being traded to Vegas.  Meanwhile, Powers adds that blueliner Riley Stillman will be out for two to three weeks due to a shoulder injury sustained last week.
  • Although Blues goaltender Ville Husso has fared much better in his second NHL season and could be an intriguing trade option at the trade deadline, Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch feels that St. Louis would be better served by holding onto the pending UFA. Even though they may be hard-pressed to re-sign him for next season, Jordan Binnington’s recent struggles would make it advisable for them to hold onto the 26-year-old as an insurance policy even if it means they lose him for nothing this summer.  Husso has a 1.81 GAA with a .945 SV% in 14 games so far this season.

Snapshots: Ullmark, Beaulieu, Reaves, DeAngelo

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While the Sabres aren’t expected to get a contract extension in place with Linus Ullmark today, they don’t intend to move him by today’s trade deadline, reports John Wawrow of the Associated Press (Twitter link).  Instead, the team remains hopeful that they’ll be able to work out a new deal with the netminder before free agency opens up this summer.  Ullmark has had a pretty successful year with Buffalo despite all of their struggles, posting a 2.64 GAA along with a .917 SV% in 19 starts this season.  That has him positioned to land a nice increase on his current $2.6MM salary either from the Sabres or elsewhere this summer.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Jets have transferred Nathan Beaulieu to LTIR, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The defenseman had been ruled out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery earlier this month so it was a move that could have been done at any time.  The placement adds another $1.15MM to Winnipeg’s LTIR pool, giving them just under $4.8MM in full-season cap hit that can be brought in.  That said, that number could drop a bit if they recall Kristian Vesalainen back up from the taxi squad later today; that would push Winnipeg’s spending room to a little under $4MM.
  • Golden Knights winger Ryan Reaves won’t face any supplementary discipline for his hit on Coyotes defenseman Jordan Gross yesterday, reports David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The ruling appears to be that while there was definitely contact to the head, it was not the principal point of contact.
  • The Rangers aren’t expected to find a late trade partner for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, tweets Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The blueliner hasn’t played since clearing waivers and being dismissed from the team in early February.  With another year left on his deal with a $4.8MM AAV (and a $5.3MM salary), he’s pretty much a lock to be bought out this summer.

Nathan Beaulieu Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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It’s the end of the line for Nathan Beaulieu, who underwent shoulder surgery yesterday and will not play again this season. The surgery was done to repair a torn labrum and though head coach Paul Maurice did not give a timeline for his return, did say that Beaulieu is expected to make a full recovery.

Beaulieu had been playing with the injury this season but hadn’t suited up since exiting a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in early March. In all, his year will end with 25 games played and just a single assist. Fortunately for the 28-year-old defenseman, his contract extends through next season so he won’t have to try and find work coming off a major injury.

Though obviously losing Beaulieu isn’t ideal, being able to move his contract—which carries a $1.25MM cap hit—to long-term injured reserve does give the Jets a little more flexibility at the upcoming trade deadline. The team was already into their LTIR space created by Bryan Little, meaning Beaulieu’s number can just be added on top to give them more room for any additions.

Winnipeg Jets Extend Luca Sbisa

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Luca Sbisa has joined Nathan Beaulieu in opting to return to the Winnipeg Jets blue line next season. The Jets announced that they have re-signed Sbisa to a one-year, $800K contract. The veteran defenseman played in 44 games with Winnipeg in 2019-20.

Sbisa, 30, was nearly out of the NHL just two years ago, forced to take a PTO with the New York Islanders in order to land a contract for the 2018-19 season only to play in nine games with the team. Yet, he made somewhat of a comeback last year, skating in more than half of the Jets’ games and showing that he can still be a reliable stay-at-home option. The big, physical defenseman is a difficult match-up and can be a useful player even if he isn’t skating every night.

That very well could be the reality for Sbisa, too. Re-signing their current defensemen isn’t going to help a Winnipeg blue line that needs to improve. The team will almost certainly add at least one defenseman by way of free agency or trade and if that happens to be a left-shot defender, that could leave Sbisa and Beaulieu to either play on their off-side or compete for play time.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Nathan Beaulieu

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Nathan Beaulieu took a quick look around the free agent market and realized that his best bet was to stay in Winnipeg. The Jets have announced a two-year extension with the depth defenseman at a $1.25MM AAV. Beaulieu has spent the past season and a half with Winnipeg and will now stay under contract through the 2021-22 season.

Beaulieu, 27, signed a one-year “show me” deal with the Jets last off-season and has now been rewarded with two more seasons. He only played in 38 games and contributed just eight points, but has grown in his defensive awareness and physical play, as evidenced by a career-high in plus/minus and hits per game.

Beaulieu struggled with high expectations in his early days with the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, but has finally found a good fit with Winnipeg. However, the Jets have not shown that they are willing to put too much on Bealieu and will still likely add another defenseman or two this off-season.

Snapshots: Dubois, Jets, Sharks

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The Columbus Blue Jackets won’t be announcing a contract extension for Pierre-Luc Dubois anytime soon, according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. Portzline tweets that the two sides were willing to talk during the season, but will “probably” move those negotiations to the summer.

Dubois and the Blue Jackets have bigger fish to fry at the moment as they try to shock every preseason prognosticator by making the playoffs. The team has overcome a ton this season to remain in the Metropolitan Division race and Dubois’ development into a true star has been one of the biggest reasons why. Still just 21, the third-overall pick from 2016 has 17 goals and 42 points in 53 games this season and looks every part the franchise centerman that Jarmo Kekalainen saw in the draft. He will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, coming off his entry-level deal.

  • Though most of the talk coming out of the Winnipeg Jets’ dressing room today revolved around Dustin Byfuglien and his impending departure from the organization, the team also announced some pertinent injury news. Nathan Beaulieu has been activated from injured reserve, while Mathieu Perreault takes his place. Perreault is expected to be out for at least two weeks after being hit by Karson Kuhlman last week.
  • While Kevin Kurz of The Athletic writes today (subscription required) that San Jose Sharks defenseman Brendan Dillon “will almost certainly” be dealt before the trade deadline later this month, it is the more veteran subjects of his latest article that will raise some eyebrows. Kurz examines potential landing spots for franchise icons Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, if either of the two decide they want to get another shot at the Stanley Cup this spring. That’s not going to happen in San Jose, with the Sharks compiling a 22-27-4 record through their first 53 games and sitting 13th in the Western Conference.

Snapshots: Three Stars, QMJHL Trades, Jets

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The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, with Nathan MacKinnon taking home top spot. The Colorado Avalanche superstar had eight points in three games and has now almost caught Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in the NHL scoring race. MacKinnon has 25 goals and 64 points on the season, a pace that would see him easily eclipse his personal best of 99 points set last season.

In second place is another exceptional center in Mark Scheifele, who posted eight points of his own in three games. The Winnipeg Jets forward now has 20 goals and 48 points this season, while averaging close to 22 minutes a game. The third star went to Zach Werenski, who incredibly scored five of the eight goals that the Columbus Blue Jackets totaled last week. The 22-year old defenseman now has double digit goal totals in each of his first four seasons, and 13 this year in just 35 games.

  • With the World Juniors over, several CHL players that took part in the tournament will likely see their rights traded as teams load up for Memorial Cup runs. Nowhere is that more obvious than the QMJHL, where both Raphael Lavoie and Dawson Mercer were dealt today. The pair of Canadian gold medalists are on the move to Chicoutimi where they’ll join a Sangueneens team that is 27-7-4 on the season.
  • Andrew Copp has been officially activated from injured reserve by the Winnipeg Jets, with Nathan Beaulieu taking his place. Copp hasn’t played since the middle of December, but is an important depth forward for the Jets. In 34 games this season the 25-year old has 14 points, seeing more playing time and better linemates than ever before in his career.

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