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Snapshots: Korchinski, Lehkonen, Texier

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Chicago Blackhawks rookie Kevin Korchinski won an IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal for Canada last season, but is unlikely to get another chance at glory at this year’s edition of the tournament. As relayed by NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis, Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson says his “inclination would be for [Korchinski] to stay” in Chicago, rather than go to the tournament which begins in exactly one month and is set to take place in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Korchinski has, according to Davidson, “been playing really well,” making his fair share of mistakes as well as excellent plays. The former WHL star is currently scoring at a nine-goal, 27-point 82-game pace, although there is hope that those numbers will see an uptick as Korchinski gets more game experience under his belt in the world’s top league. Currently averaging 19:32 time on ice per game, which ranks third on the entire Blackhawks team, Korchinski is believed by many to be a potential top-pairing defenseman for a future contender in Chicago.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar issued an update on the status of injured forward Artturi Lehkonen, according to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. Bednar said that the Avalanche are lucky that Lehkonen’s injury didn’t end up worse, and added that the player is now out of his neck brace and making progress toward a return. No timeline on Lehkonen’s return was provided, though.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets forward Alexandre Texier, who missed the team’s last two games due to an illness, will return to the lineup for tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda. The 24-year-old has been solid for the Blue Jackets so far this season after a year spent in the Swiss National League, as he has four goals and seven points in 19 games.

Snapshots: Goligoski, Kuznetsov, Klingberg, Osipov

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Having already fulfilled the requirements of being on LTIR, defenseman for the Minnesota Wild, Alex Goligoski, has not yet made his return to the roster. However, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Goligoski has fully recovered from his lower-body injury, and is ready to get back to game action at any point.

Currently sitting at 31st in the league in GA/G with a 4.00 mark, the Wild could certainly use all the help they can get on the blue line. Much of the blame is associated with the poor play of the team’s netminders up to this point, but an improved defensive presence should shore up some of the issues.

Unfortunately, with extremely limited cap space, Goligoski’s $2MM salary will be a tough one for the team to fit into their salary cap table. With Goligoski getting back into the lineup, and a quarter of the season already behind us, Minnesota will have less than $10K in salary cap space to work with moving forward.

Other snapshots:

  • Washington Capitals forward, Evgeny Kuznetsov, will miss another game due to illness, according to Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network. This will be the second game in a row that Kuznetsov has missed for the team, severely limiting their center depth. In somewhat mild offensive output to start the season, Kuznetsov has scored three goals and five assists in 14 games.
  • Continuing to deal with an undisclosed injury, Mark Masters of TSN reports that there is no status update in regards to Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman, John Klingberg and that the defenseman will not play at all this week. Quickly becoming a swing-and-a-miss for Toronto on the free-agent market, Klingberg has five assists in 14 games for the Maple Leafs, coupled with a -7 rating.
  • After playing on a professional tryout contract for the Hershey Bears for his first three games of the AHL season, the Bears announced they have signed defenseman Dmitri Osipov to a one-year AHL contract for the 2023-24 season. Osipov is a veteran of seven years in the AHL, playing in 174 regular season games, scoring eight goals and 10 assists in total.

Snapshots: Ruzicka, Kuznetsov, Suzdalev

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After missing the last four games with a shoulder injury, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet is reporting that Calgary Flames’ forward, Adam Ruzicka, will return to game action tonight. As one of the top-performing members of the team in limited action, Ruzicka has two goals and two assists in seven games so far this season.

One of the more unheralded members of the Flames organization, Ruzicka was drafted 109th overall by Calgary in the 2017 NHL Draft and finally made his debut with the team during the 2020-21 regular season. In the best season of his career up to this point, Ruzicka played in 44 games last year, scoring six goals and 14 assists over the course of the year. He has also maintained solid possession numbers over the course of his career, evidenced by his 58.8% CF%.

Tonight, as the team takes on the Nashville Predators, Ruzicka will likely join A.J. Greer and Walker Duehr on the team’s fourth line, as well as the second power-play unit. In his absence, Calgary has gone 1-3-0, being outscored 15-11 over that small stretch.

Other snapshots:

  • Receiving the most time of any forward in the team’s recent win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals forward, Evgeny Kuznetsov was notably missing at the team’s practice this morning, according to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. Apparently, Kuznetsov is dealing with a minor illness and will remain questionable for the team’s game tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers. In 10 games played so far this year, Kuznetsov has one goal and four assists, all while averaging nearly 22 minutes of ice time per game.
  • Sticking with the Capitals, the team has announced it has loaned prospect, Alexander Suzdalev from the Hershey Bears to Mono IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan. Suzdalev was a third-round selection of Washington in the 2022 NHL Draft and has not suited up for the Bears in any games this season. Last year, playing for the Regina Pats of the WHL, Suzdalev scored 38 goals and 48 assists, benefitting tremendously from being on the same line as Connor Bedard.

West Snapshots: Spurgeon, Cronin, Zucker, Kahkonen

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At the beginning of the season, captain of the Minnesota Wild, Jared Spurgeon, was designated as ’week-to-week’ after suffering an upper-body injury in a preseason matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 5th. On October 25th, the team officially placed Spurgeon on the long-term injured reserve retroactive to the start of the regular season (October 12th), meaning Spurgeon would be out for 24 days and the team’s first 10 games.

Now that Spurgeon has satisfied his LTIR requirements, he is eligible to return to the team’s active roster for tomorrow night’s game against the New York Rangers. Unfortunately, Joe Smith of The Athletic is reporting that Spurgeon is still out, and recent callup, Daemon Hunt, will play in his stead.

Although it is a prudent move for any team not to rush back a key part of their team, getting Spurgeon back is becoming more and more imperative each game for Minnesota. Over the course of his career, Spurgeon has maintained a CF% (Corsi For %) above 50%, as well as an oiSV% (Team On-Ice Sv%) above 90%. For a team that is mightily struggling to keep the puck out of their own net, Spurgeon is an incredibly important piece for the Wild to get back into their lineup.

Other snapshots:

  • In a controversial disallowed goal during the Anaheim Ducks’ recent game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the new head coach of the Ducks, Greg Cronin, became very animated on the bench expressing his displeasure with the call by the referee. After the play was reviewed, the call on the ice stood, causing Cronin to use extremely colorful language toward the referee, earning him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as well as an ejection. Today, the NHL announced they have fined Cronin a total of $25K for the incident.
  • Out of the team’s lineup since their October 21st game against Anaheim, Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports that forward for the Arizona Coyotes, Jason Zucker should be expected back in the lineup on November 11th as the team takes on the Nashville Predators. Playing on a one-year contract this year, Zucker has put up two goals in his first five games as a Coyote.
  • Earlier today, Sheng Peng of NBC Sports reported that goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen is questionable for the San Jose Sharks matchup tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In that case, the team would have to recall a goaltender from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. If Kahkonen is unable to dress, it will make it a professional debut for either of the two goaltenders recalled from the Barracuda.

Atlantic Snapshots: McAvoy, Zub, Fischer, Harvey-Pinard, Brannstrom

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Last night, it was reported that Boston Bruins defenseman, Charlie McAvoy would appeal the suspension given to him by the league for an illegal check to the head of Florida Panthers defenseman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Originally, the league determined that McAvoy would be issued a four-game suspension, and there are a few updates on the appeal process.

Greg Wyshynski of ESPN reports that the NHL and McAvoy have yet to schedule the appeal even through the day today and that McAvoy would ultimately like to see the suspension dropped to only three games. Nevertheless, Wyshynski also notes that from the side of the NHL, they are a bit surprised at the appeal decision given the ’cut and dry’ nature of the hit.

McAvoy did not play in last night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs due to the suspension, as well as defensemen Matt Grzelcyk and Derek Forbort due to injuries, severely limiting the depth of the Bruins blue line. Up to this point in the season, McAvoy has played in nine games for Boston, scoring two goals and six assists while averaging nearly 24 minutes of ice time per night.

Other snapshots:

  • Ottawa Senators defenseman, Artem Zub, has missed the team’s last five games due to a concussion and is unfortunately set to miss more time. TSN1200 reports that Zub has experienced some form of a setback in his recovery, and will miss the next couple of games for the team. In his absence, Ottawa has a 1-4-0 record, falling to last place in the Atlantic Division, and second-to-last place in the entire Eastern Conference.
  • One of many new additions to the offensive core of the Detroit Red Wings, the team has announced that Christian Fischer is considered day-to-day, and may not play in tomorrow night’s game against the Bruins. Fischer has primarily been employed in a fourth-line role for the team after being non-tendered by the Arizona Coyotes last summer and has provided one assist through 11 games to start the year.
  • In another small bit of injury news, the Montreal Canadiens have announced that forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard is also considered day-to-day due to a lower-body injury. After an impressive debut last season putting up 20 points in 34 games, Harvey-Pinard only has four assists in 10 games this year, averaging around 13 and a half minutes of ice time per night.
  • Back to Ottawa, the team has received some positive news, as they shared that defenseman, Erik Brannstrom, has returned to practice after missing the last two games. As one of the main pieces coming over from the Vegas Golden Knights that sent Mark Stone the other way, Brannstrom has yet to score this season in only seven games played.

Evening Snapshots: Athanasiou, Bruins, Comrie

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One of the most notable missing pieces in the team’s win tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights was Chicago Blackhawks’ forward, Andreas Athanasiou, who was a healthy scratch. Signed to a two-year, $8.5 MM extension after last year’s season, Athanasiou has not gotten off to a strong start this year with Chicago (Tweet Link).

Last season, as the team’s regular season schedule came to a close, Athanasiou was tied for the team lead in goal-scoring with Taylor Raddysh, earning him an extension over the offseason. In seven games so far this year, Athanasiou only has three assists, which is still good for sixth on the team in point production but has not incorporated the goal-scoring production the team is accustomed to.

There is no doubt that the relatively high salary the Blackhawks gave him over the summer had to do with the team reaching the salary cap floor for the season, but the team should still be seeking more production out of his play. In any case, even on a rebuilding team in Chicago, Athanasiou will need to raise his level of play to earn a full-time spot in the Blackhawks lineup.

Other snapshots:

  • To comply with the salary cap, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reported that all the transactions made today by the Boston Bruins were ’paper’ transactions. For those that don’t know, ’paper’ transactions are simply callups and reassignments that qualify for salary cap compliance, but the players included likely will not see any minutes with their respective teams.
  • In tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils, the Buffalo Sabres announced that goaltender, Eric Comrie, will not return to the game after suffering a lower-body injury. It is unfortunate news for the Sabres after Comrie has had to start three of the last four games due to an injury from regular starting netminder, Devon Levi. If Comrie is expected to miss a significant amount of time, Buffalo’s third-string goaltender, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will likely see the majority of starts for the foreseeable future.

Snapshots: Matthews, Butcher, Mast

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In a rather lengthy interview with Mike Zeisberger of the NHL, franchise icon for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews, expresses his unwavering desire to stay in Toronto and is more than excited an extension was completed between the two sides. More than a year before he was originally set to become an unrestricted free agent, rumors were rampant suggesting Matthews may leave the Maple Leafs to sign with his hometown Arizona Coyotes or find an organization with less media pressure.

During the interview, when he was asked specifically about the rumors circulating about the next contract he would sign, Matthews said, “It was my mindset to come back all along. I felt I’ve been pretty clear about that. I really enjoy playing here, and I love the core guys I’ve been playing with going back to my early days here. And the way the staff treats us is amazing. I’ve kind of repeated these things, they’re all true, and it means a lot to me to be here. So, when I see stuff like some of the speculation this summer, I get a pretty good chuckle out of it because it’s just nonsense, to be honest with you“.

As many are well aware at this point, Matthews would sign a four-year, $53MM contract with the Maple Leafs, making him the highest-paid player in the NHL as soon as it starts. Although there was very little doubt that Toronto would regret re-investing in Matthews, he rewarded them early this season, scoring back-to-back hat tricks in the team’s first two games.

Other snapshots:

  • A little over a week before the start of training camp this autumn, new depth defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Will Butcher, sustained an injury that would keep him out of all on-ice activities for over a month. Today, Matt Vensel of Post-Gazette Sports is reporting that Butcher is back to practice in a non-contact jersey, and will likely be sent to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins very soon. Spending all of last season for the Texas Stars in the AHL, Butcher would score six goals and 37 assists in 65 games.
  • In smaller news, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal is reporting that the Providence Bruins, AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins, have sent defenseman Ryan Mast to their ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners. Mast is a recent sixth-round pick of the Bruins back in the 2021 NHL Draft, and recently wrapped up a career with the Sarnia Sting of the OHL, scoring eight goals and 22 assists in 50 games during his last season.

West Snapshots: Duclair, Tippett, Hintz

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Speaking with offseason acquisition, Anthony Duclair of the San Jose Sharks, Sharks beat writer, Curtis Pashelka, reports that the new forward may have some interest in signing an extension in San Jose. Duclair did indicate that there have been contract talks up to this point, as he looks to remain focused for the upcoming season.

Largely a salary dump addition by the Sharks this summer, Duclair is coming off a largely successful three-year run with the Florida Panthers. In 137 games in Sunrise since the start of the 2020-21 NHL season, Duclair has 43 goals and 56 assists, which amounts to the most points scored for any team he has played on throughout his career. Nevertheless, there is some injury concern along with him, as he was unable to play in the regular season last year until late February due to an Achilles injury.

Acquired at the start of free agency by the Sharks for forward Steven Lorentz and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick, Duclair should get plenty of opportunity in San Jose this year. Clearly in a rebuilding effort, Duclair is one of eight expiring contracts on the roster and should see an ample amount of time in the team’s top six. If Duclair remains healthy and continues to perform well, he is poised to be a probable mover at next year’s trade deadline if the two parties cannot come to a contract extension.

Other snapshots:

  • Before accepting the position as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers from 2019-22, Dave Tippett was working as a Senior Advisor for the upstart Seattle expansion franchise, before they had even been given a formal name. After taking a year away from the game, the Seattle Kraken announced that Tippett would rejoin the organization, this time as a Coaching Consultant. A head coach of nearly 1,300 games, Tippett will bring a wealth of experience to the coaching staff of the Kraken, who are hoping to return to the playoffs for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
  • Mike Heika, a Senior Staff Writer for the Dallas Stars, reports that forward Roope Hintz is to be considered day-to-day, with the Stars remaining cautious on his timeline. Dealing with an upper-body injury, Hintz was unable to practice with the team today. The organization has only played two preseason matchups up to this point, one against the Arizona Coyotes, and the other against the Minnesota Wild, with Hintz being scratched for both matchups.

Snapshots: MacDermid, Chinakhov, Penguins Hires

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29-year-old 220-game NHL veteran Kurtis MacDermid is known for bringing one thing to the NHL teams that employ him: physicality. The six-foot-five, 233-pound former Erie Otter has racked up 295 career penalty minutes and 162 career hits. For most of his career, MacDermid has played as a defenseman, contributing only very rarely to the offense. Now, though, it appears that might be changing.

According to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh, the Avalanche view MacDermid as a forward, not a defenseman, and discussed that sort of change at the end of last season. The change might suit MacDermid as he ages, as his lack of speed would be less likely to be exposed were he a winger rather than a defenseman potentially left to defend against aggressive rushing attackers. MacDermid is playing out the final season of a $987k AAV deal, meaning this position change could also have a financial implication as well, as if it allows him to get into the NHL lineup more regularly (he played in a little over half the Avalanche’s games last season) he could be in a better position hitting the open market.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Columbus Blue Jackets team reporter Jeff Svoboda reports that sniper Yegor Chinakhov is day to day with a back strain, which explains his absence from the ice at Blue Jackets training camp for the past few days. It’s an important camp for Chinakhov, 22, as he’s looking to carve out a spot for himself in new coach Pascal Vincent’s lineup. The Blue Jackets have a logjam at forward and quite a few players competing against Chinakhov for the same role, so the 2020 first-round pick will hope that he can get back on the ice quickly to make some progress in camp.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced the hires of hired Mackenzie Braid as Skating Coach and Jeff Murray as Assistant Skating Coach. Per the club, “In their new roles, Braid and Murray will build out the club’s skating development program and work with the player development department and coaching staffs in Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Wheeling to implement that program.” Braid has previous NHL experience with both Vancouver and Anaheim, while Jeff Murray was last seen as a player playing fourth-division German hockey for ERV Schweinfurt in 2019-20.

Snapshots: Chiarelli, Duda, Ponomarev, Sanheim

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Could long-time NHL executive Peter Chiarelli be on the move again?  Long-time Senators reporter Brent Wallace reported on his podcast recently (video link) that Chiarelli has moved to Ottawa and is likely to join the Sens in some capacity.  He actually started his career with Ottawa as their Director of Legal Relations before moving to Boston and later Edmonton as their GM.  Chiarelli has spent the last four seasons in St. Louis, the last two of which were as their Vice President of Hockey Operations.  Wallace notes that Chiarelli has ties to new owner Michael Andlauer whose purchase was formally approved on Thursday.  He has already made one front office hire in bringing back Cyril Leeder and it looks like more could soon be coming.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The NCAA will be re-examining its original denial of Coyotes prospect Artyom Duda’s request to play at the University of Maine this season, relays PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan. The 19-year-old saw time at the KHL, VHL, and MHL levels last year and with some of those being pro leagues, it stands to reason that this was the reason his initial request was denied.  Duda, a 2022 second-round pick by Arizona, could also play with Youngstown of the USHL this season as it’s believed that the Coyotes would rather not see the blueliner return to play in Russia.
  • Hurricanes prospect Vasili Ponomarev will be out for a little while, notes Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal (Twitter link). The 21-year-old is coming off a strong first season in North America as he picked up 24 goals and 22 assists in 64 games last season with AHL Chicago.  The injury isn’t believed to be overly serious but as someone who might have had a shot at pushing for a spot with Carolina in training camp, missing any time will make that objective harder to accomplish.
  • Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim revealed to reporters including Jeff Neiburg of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he suffered a fractured foot while playing for Canada at the Worlds in 2022. While he was able to participate in training camp, he felt that the injury prevented him from a proper summer of training which may have played a role in his struggles last season.  It was his desire to have a full proper offseason that led him to decline Canada’s request to take part in the tournament back in the spring.

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