Middleton was set to start the season in the AHL but an injury to Dalton Prout has opened up a roster spot for Middleton to be recalled. He had one assist in three NHL games last season and added 19 points (5G / 14A) in 57 AHL contests.
Pitlick was questionable for the opener due to a wrist injury that he suffered in the preseason. With Pitlick being cleared, Joel Farabee has been sent back to the AHL.
Pitlick recently joined Flyers practice in a non-contact capacity but his status for the season opener remains cloudy. If Pitlick is out, look for Carsen Twarnyski to make the team and start the year on the Flyers fourth-line.
Spurgeon’s $7.575M AAV cap-hit makes him the highest paid player in Minnesota Wild history (by AAV). Spurgeon is coming off of a career-year, posting 14 goals and 29 assists (43 points) in 82 games. In 2020 he will be heavily featured in the Minnesota top-4 and his career 7.2 SH% makes him a threat for for double-digit goals every year.
Since being picked No.20 in 2015, Eriksson Ek has not topped 16 points in his first two NHL seasons. However, once Mikko Koivu went down last year, Eriksson Ek had five goals and two assists in 22 games while averaging 15:23 TOI/gm—averaged 12:22 prior. Koivu will likely be eased back into action early in the season, giving Eriksson Ek an opportunity to get off to a hot start in 2020.
After finishing his Junior season at Clarkson University, Sturm turned pro and appeared in two NHL games with the Wild at the end of 2019. The 24-year-old led Clarkson with 45 points (14G / 31A) in 39 games. Sturm has NHL-size (6-foot-3, 207 lbs.) but with Eric Staal, Mikko Koivu, Joel Eriksson Ek and Victor Rask ahead of him on the depth chart, he is likely headed for the AHL to start the year.
Petersen spent the majority of last season in the AHL, where he went 13-22-1 with a 4.02 GAA and .896 SV% in 38 games. The 24-year-old actually posted much more impressive numbers with the Kings, where he was 5-4-1 with a 2.61 GAA and.924 SV%. Petersen will likely be Ontario’s (AHL) No.1 netminder to start 2020.
Aube-Kubel had 16 goals and 14 assists (30 points) in 54 AHL games and appeared in the first nine NHL games of his career with Philadelphia in 2019. The 23-year-old doesn’t have great size but can play a solid two-way game with some offensive flair for the bottom-6. He will likely start 2020 in the AHL but could be one of the Flyers first call-ups.
Hartman is a pending RFA, who split last year between the Predators and Flyers. Overall, he had 12 goals and 14 assists (26 points) in 83 games. Hartman should be an offensive upgrade in the Stars’ bottom-6.
Pitlick has one-year left on his three-year contract that carries a $1.0M cap-hit. During his second season with the Stars, Pitlick scored eight goals with four assists (12 points) in 47 games. He will replace Hartman in the Flyers’ bottom-6.
Basically Zuccarello still has some discomfort in his arm and they will allow him to take morning skates off so that he is able to remain in the lineup. Through the first two games of the series, Zuccarello has one goal on one shot.
Johansson will be held out for the second straight game with an illness, which means David Backes will remain in the lineup in Toronto. Johansson is day-to-day and questionable for Game 4.
Zuccarello made a surprise return to the Stars lineup on Tuesday but will be shutdown for the rest of the regular season to ensure that he is ready to go for the playoffs. Zuccarello has one goal and two assists in two games with Dallas so they can only hope he is 100 percent in the postseason.
