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Atlantic Notes: Paul, Knies, Staios

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The Lightning will be without the services of center Nick Paul tonight in Columbus, head coach Jon Cooper told the team’s Gabby Shirley. The 29-year-old sustained an undisclosed injury against the Penguins on Tuesday and will be re-evaluated when the Bolts return home from their road trip tomorrow, Cooper said.

It’s a tough break for Paul, who’s on pace to have the best offensive season of his career by a country mile. The 6’4″ pivot is part of a Lightning top-six that’s roared to life, posting 13 points (5 G, 8 A) in 17 games. That’s a 0.76 point-per-game pace, shattering last year’s 0.56 career high.

Paul had recently moved to the wing, skating on the second line alongside Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli. Cam Atkinson could take that job after serving as a healthy scratch for the last three games, assuming the Bolts don’t want to make any other lineup changes, although he has just one assist in 11 games with a team-worst -7 rating.

Paul is now in his fourth season in the Bay after parts of seven years with the Senators. The Ontario native has emerged as a crucial middle-six weapon, posting 105 points in 200 games while averaging north of 16 minutes per game and winning 53.5% of his faceoffs.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies is still being evaluated after being pulled by concussion spotters from last night’s win over the Golden Knights but is “feeling okay today,” head coach Craig Berube told Mark Masters of TSN. Knies left the game in the second period after a hit to the head from Vegas defenseman Zach Whitecloud, which was initially called a major penalty but was rescinded entirely upon review. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready by Sunday’s game against Utah – if not, the Leafs are at risk of being down a seventh forward due to injury and would likely dress seven defensemen.
  • A 3-5-1 rut in November has the Senators below .500 yet again and at considerable risk of extending their playoff drought to eight years. Don’t expect general manager Steve Staios to make a blockbuster move to bail his club out, though, saying Wednesday that “each individual in the room needs to step up” in order to get Ottawa back on the right track (per Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch). “For us to figure out as a group why that’s our record is what we’re trying to unlock,” Staios said. “For most games, the team looks and feels not only like a competitive team but a playoff-looking team. We’ve proven against good teams.“

Flyers Recall Helge Grans Under Emergency Conditions

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The Flyers announced Monday that they’ve recalled defenseman Helge Grans from AHL Lehigh Valley under emergency conditions. The 22-year-old will make his NHL debut tonight against the Avalanche, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Grans will enter the lineup for Emil Andrae, who the team said won’t play after sustaining a mid-body injury against the Sabres on Saturday. Philadelphia moved goaltender Samuel Ersson to injured reserve to open a spot on the active roster.

Grans arrived in the Flyers organization last year as part of the three-team trade with the Kings and Blue Jackets that sent Ivan Provorov to Columbus. Drafted 35th overall by Los Angeles in 2020, the 6’3″, 205-lb righty already has loads of professional experience. He logged 69 games of Swedish Hockey League experience with Örebro HK before coming to North America in 2021, and he’s since recorded 11 goals, 33 assists, 44 points, 58 PIMs, and a -4 rating in 185 games for the Kings’ and Flyers’ affiliates in Ontario and Lehigh Valley.

While Grans once projected as a solid puck-moving defender with good size, his point totals in the minors suggest he’ll be more of a stay-at-home option if he manages to lock down an everyday NHL role. He’s struggled to make a significant impact on the scoresheet after a 24-point rookie season in 56 games with Ontario in 2021-22, posting just eight points (1 G, 7 A) in 56 games with Lehigh Valley last season.

Grans will debut on the right side of a pairing with Yegor Zamula, head coach John Tortorella said. Don’t expect them to log a ton of minutes, though, with Tortorella adding he plans to “play the s*** out of [Travis Sanheim] and [Rasmus Ristolainen]” as the Flyers look to win their fourth game in a row and push their record above .500 for the first time since their first game of the season (via Kevin Kurz of The Athletic).

For Andrae, it’s a tough break for the 22-year-old. He’s played well in fringe top-four minutes with Jamie Drysdale and Cameron York hitting injured reserve in recent weeks, posting three assists with a +1 rating in 10 appearances while averaging 18:27 per game. The undersized 5’9″ blue-liner has gotten involved physically with 13 blocks and 15 hits, and his possession play has been quite good. The Flyers have controlled 51.2% of shot attempts with Andrae on the ice at even strength compared to 42.2% without him.

Ersson, meanwhile, hits IR after re-aggravating a lower-body injury last week. He’s not expected back until Saturday’s game against the Blackhawks at the earliest, so today’s move is purely for roster flexibility purposes and doesn’t impact his timeline for a return.

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Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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There’s already been a bit of early-season trade action with a bevy of unexpected hot starts and disappointing runs. With every team now across the 10-game mark in their schedule, we’ll open the space to answer questions from our readers in the mailbag.

The last edition was divided into two parts. The first discussed a potential solution to the Oilers’ Darnell Nurse problem, expectations for the Maple Leafs, and challenges for the Rangers to stay atop the Metropolitan Division. The second covered the beginnings of a likely lengthy Connor Bedard/Matvei Michkov rivalry and the first player to land a $20MM AAV, among other topics.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.

Kings’ Tanner Jeannot Receives Three Game Suspension

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5:43 PM: The Department of Player Safety announced Jeannot has been suspended three games for the hit on Boeser last night.

10:30 AM: The NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that Kings winger Tanner Jeannot will have a hearing today for an illegal check to the head against Canucks star Brock Boeser. It’s not an in-person hearing, so his pending suspension will be five games or less.

The incident occurred midway through the first period of last night’s 4-2 road win for Vancouver. Immediately after Boeser completed a neutral-zone pass, Jeannot attempted to lay an open-ice hit on Boeser while crossing the other direction. He led with his shoulder, making contact with Boeser’s head and knocking him out of the game (video via Lachlan Irvine of Canucks Army). Officials assessed Jeannot a match penalty on the play, initiating an automatic league review for supplemental discipline.

Vancouver has yet to give Boeser an injury designation, so he remains uncertain for tomorrow’s game against the Oilers. Hearings that do not result in suspensions are rare, so the Kings are undoubtedly preparing to be without Jeannot tomorrow against the Blue Jackets and potentially for a couple of more games afterward. The heavy-hitting power forward has never been suspended in his 242-game NHL career, but he has been fined once before for kneeing Senators captain Brady Tkachuk in March 2022.

The 15 PIMs assessed to Jeannot last night gave him 36 on the season, the most in the league. Through his first 15 games as a King, the 27-year-old has struggled to produce offensively, with just a goal and an assist while averaging 10:28 per game. So far, it’s not the resurgence L.A. hoped for when they parted ways with a pair of draft picks to acquire him from the Lightning in June. He hasn’t been a legitimate top-nine player offensively since his rookie season when he potted 24 goals and 41 points in 81 games for the Predators in 2021-22.

Three years later, it’s become clear that his play that season was more of a flash in the pan than anything else. In 146 games since for the Preds, Bolts and Kings, he has just 14 goals and 34 points with a -18 rating. Upon completing the two-year, $5.33MM deal he signed with Tampa Bay in 2023, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Kraken Recall Ryan Winterton

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The Kraken announced today that they’ve recalled forward Ryan Winterton from AHL Coachella Valley. Seattle has an open roster spot and ample cap space with Vince Dunn on long-term injured reserve, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.

Winterton, 21, continues to push himself up the organizational depth chart. A third-round pick (67th overall) from the Kraken’s inaugural 2021 draft class, the right-shot center was recalled twice last season and got into nine games, failing to record a point while posting 10 shots, four blocks and 10 hits. He averaged 9:20 per game and skated almost exclusively on the right wing.

The lack of offensive production on the scoresheet at the NHL isn’t surprising for his limited minutes. It’s also not at all indicative of what the Ontario native has been able to do in the minors since kicking off his professional career last season. A product of the Ontario Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs and London Knights, Winterton tied for third on Coachella Valley last season with 22 goals in 58 games, adding 13 assists for 35 points with a +25 rating. He added seven goals and 12 points in 18 playoff games as Coachella Valley advanced to the Calder Cup Final and lost to Hershey for the second year in a row.

Winterton is off to a solid start in 2024-25, tying for second on Coachella Valley in scoring with five points (3 G, 2 A) through seven games. The 6’2″, 190-lb forward built up quite the postseason résumé while in the OHL, winning a championship with Hamilton in 2022 and leading the playoffs in scoring with the Knights in 2023 with 29 points in 21 games.

The Kraken already called up veteran John Hayden from Coachella Valley last week to serve as an extra forward with their added salary cap flexibility, but he’s been a healthy scratch in four straight since the summons. It does no good for the developing Winterton to sit in the press box, so expect him to bump someone out of the lineup and make his season debut tonight against the Avalanche. Seattle has iced the same 12 forwards for all 13 of their games this season, so it’ll be someone’s first healthy scratch. Intuition points to Tye Kartye, who has one goal and a -4 rating while averaging a team-low 10:32 per game.

Senators Reassign Leevi Meriläinen, Recall Cole Reinhardt

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The Senators announced Friday morning that they sent goaltender Leevi Meriläinen back to AHL Belleville and recalled winger Cole Reinhardt.

That indicates Linus Ullmark is ready to return from a muscle strain that’s kept him out of the lineup for nearly two weeks. He was widely anticipated to return against Utah on Tuesday but was ruled out on the day of the game, prompting Meriläinen’s recall a few hours before puck drop. Meriläinen didn’t play against Utah, instead backing up Anton Forsberg, who pitched a 31-save shutout.

Unsurprisingly, Meriläinen didn’t get to add to his two-game NHL résumé. The 22-year-old netminder was a third-round pick of the Sens in 2020 and made his major league debut in a brief call-up in the 2022-23 campaign, posting a .878 SV%, 4.23 GAA, and a 0-1-1 record. The 6’3″ Finn has fared decently well in the minors, where he has a career 2.82 GAA, .906 SV%, two shutouts, and a 15-10-1 record in 31 appearances with the B-Sens over the past three years. He also had a sparkling .926 SV% in 13 games for the ECHL’s Allen Americans last season.

Reinhardt has been ferried between leagues a couple of times this season, most recently being sent down on Tuesday to make room for Meriläinen on the active roster. He’s back up today, meaning Shane Pinto remains a game-time decision at best for tonight’s contest against the Golden Knights after sustaining an undisclosed injury in Utah, per Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.

The 24-year-old Reinhardt has yet to be rostered for a Sens game in 2024-25 despite the transactions, but that will change tonight. They have 13 other forwards on the active roster, but with David Perron on personal leave, Reinhardt will make his season debut against Vegas if Pinto can’t play. The 2020 sixth-rounder has one NHL appearance to his name, coming against the Predators on April 7, 2022. He recorded a shot on goal and two hits in 8:35 of ice time. He’s been off to a hot start in Belleville, posting two goals and three assists through his first three games of the season.

Nick Ritchie Signs In Slovakia

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Former NHL winger Nick Ritchie has found a place to play for 2024-25. Slovakia’s HC Nove Zamky announced on Facebook that he’d inked a one-year deal.

Ritchie, 28, last played in the NHL with the Coyotes and Flames in the 2022-23 season. He began the year in Arizona and was a decent depth scoring option, scoring nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 58 games. At the trade deadline, he was dealt to the Flames for his brother, Brett Ritchie, and finished the year with five points in 16 games for Calgary.

He wasn’t re-signed upon reaching unrestricted free agency. Ritchie had to settle for a professional tryout, inking a PTO to attend the Blues’ training camp in 2023 but was released and wasn’t offered a contract. That signaled the likely end of Ritchie’s NHL career unless he could dominate on an AHL contract or overseas.

The 2014 10th overall pick attempted to do the latter, signing with Finland’s Kärpät. It didn’t go to plan, though. He scored just once and posted a whopping 70 PIMs and a -7 rating in 10 games. They mutually terminated his contract, and he finished the year in Germany with the Iserlohn Roosters, where things didn’t go much better with two points and a -4 rating in eight appearances.

Unsigned for this year up to this point, Ritchie will now look to ply his trade in a slightly less competitive European professional circuit in Slovakia. He joins Nove Zamky’s roster as the only player with NHL experience besides defenseman Shawn Lalonde, who appeared in one game with the Blackhawks in the 2012-13 season.

Barring a significant resurgence overseas, Ritchie’s NHL stats will likely remain where they are until he retires. The 6’3″ left-winger made 481 appearances for the Ducks, Coyotes, Bruins, Maple Leafs, and Flames across eight seasons, scoring 84 goals and adding 102 assists for 186 points.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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Teams are in the process of getting their rosters set with some tough cuts to be made before the regular season officially gets underway.  With that in mind, it’s a good time to open up the mailbag.

Our last mailbag was split into two segments.  The first discussed the recent usage of deferred salary in contracts and if that’s a mechanism we should expect to see more often, RFA contract projections for Cole Perfetti and Lucas Raymond (coming in slightly below the actual amounts for both), if Anaheim can move two long-term veterans, and more.  Among the topics in the second was my annual prediction for a breakout player, discussing Calgary’s potentially tradable veterans, and what to expect from Connor Bedard’s sophomore season.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below.  The mailbag will run on the weekend.

Metropolitan Notes: Milano, Tsyplakov, Vesey

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Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery isn’t enthused with winger Sonny Milano’s performance thus far this preseason, calling his showing “just okay” (via NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti). Carbery added Milano has “the benefit of the doubt” as a veteran, but the 28-year-old’s standing in the lineup certainly seems to be on thinner ice.

Line rushes still indicate Milano has the inside track at a third-line left wing role alongside Hendrix Lapierre and Aliaksei Protas, though. Now entering his third season with the Caps, the former Blue Jackets first-rounder had a career-high 15 goals in 49 games last year but added only eight assists for 23 points. It also came on the back of an unsustainably high 30% shooting rate – he averaged just over one shot on goal per game, the lowest of his career.

Milano doesn’t offer a ton of upside outside of scoring chance generation, so if that continues to dip, he could find himself on the outside looking in sooner rather than later. He has two years left on his contract at a $1.9MM cap hit and is facing competition for top-nine duties from PTO invite Jakub Vrána and 2022 first-round pick Ivan Miroshnichenko, among others.

Elsewhere in the Metro:

  • Islanders winger Maxim Tsyplakov is back at practice Sunday after sustaining a lower-body injury Friday, NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner relays. Recent line rushes indicate the 26-year-old free agent signing out of Russia’s Spartak Moscow is nearly a lock to make the opening night roster, potentially on a new-look fourth line with Casey Cizikas and Kyle MacLean. Viewed as the top international free agent on the market, Tsyplakov had a career-best 31 goals and 47 points in 65 games for Spartak last season.
  • Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey sustained a lower-body injury in Sunday’s practice, head coach Peter Laviolette relayed (via the New York Post’s Mollie Walker). He’s being evaluated but doesn’t appear set to miss any significant time, he added. Vesey, 31, is entering the back half of a two-year, $1.6MM deal and had 13 goals and 26 points in 80 games for the Blueshirts last year.

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