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Sidney Crosby’s Injury History

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without their captain for an undetermined amount of time after today’s concussion diagnosis.

This isn’t the first time that Sidney Crosby has missed time due to head injuries, though. Over the course of his twelve-year NHL career, Crosby has missed 168 games. The vast majority have been in the last seven years, where he has missed 129 games out of a possible 540.

Let’s take a look at Crosby’s history of major injuries:

2007-08 – missed 29 games with a high-ankle sprain – Crosby crashed feet-first into the boards during a mid-January game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played just seven games over the rest of the season, ending up with 53 games-played.

2010-11 – missed 41 games with a concussion – During the 2011 Winter Classic, Capitals forward David Steckel caught Crosby with a blind-side hit as the puck went passed the Penguins’ captain. Crosby returned to the lineup for the next game, but took an innocent-looking hit from Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman behind the net. For the second time in two games, Crosby left the game holding his head. He didn’t play again that season; it was an early end to one of the most dominant seasons in recent history, as Crosby had 66 points in 41 games. That included a 25-game point streak where he scored 51 points.

2011-12 – missed 60 games with concussion-related symptoms – Not only did Crosby miss the final half of the 2010-11 season, he missed the first 20 games of the following season. Many fans will remember Crosby’s legendary return to action, when he scored four points in a 5-0 win over the New York Islanders. Unfortunately, after eight games, an awkward hit from Bruins center David Krejci lead to Crosby being diagnosed with soft-tissue issues in addition to the return of his concussion symptoms. Crosby returned in mid-March and played the final 14 games of the season and participated in the Penguins’ six-game loss to rival Philadelphia. In 22 regular season games, Crosby had 37 points. He followed that up with eight points in six playoff games.

2012-13 – missed 13 games with a broken jaw – After a dominant lockout-shortened season, Crosby missed the end of the regular season and first game of the playoffs after he took a (then-teammate) Brooks Orpik shot to the face. He retuned early in the playoffs, scoring 15 points in 14 games as the Penguins were swept by the Bruins in the Eastern Final.

2016-17 – missed 6 games with a concussion – Crosby enjoyed three mostly-healthy seasons between 2013 and 2016. After winning the Stanley Cup and World Cup in four months, the injury bug struck again. Crosby suffered another concussion in an unspecified incident at Penguins practice. He missed the final pre-season game and the first six games of the regular season, before returning to his dominant form, posting 89 points in 75 games and winning the Art Ross to go along with nominations for the Hart and Lindsay awards.

Based on his history of interrupted comebacks, the Penguins need to be careful with Crosby’s return. The potential for a repeat championship is dwarfed by the future health of their superstar.

Ted Lindsay Finalists Released

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The NHL has revealed the three finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award: Brent Burns, Sidney Crosby, and Connor McDavid.

The award goes to the player judged to be the most outstanding player in the league. The biggest difference between the Hart and the Lindsay is who votes; the Hart is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) and the Lindsay is voted on by NHL players. It’s for this reason that players often seen the Lindsay as a more prestigious award to win, as it’s voted on by their peers.

Burns had a fantastic season, finishing ninth in NHL scoring. His 29 goals and 76 points were the highest by a defenseman, six more than Senators captain Erik Karlsson. Burns lead the Sharks in scoring by eight points (Joe Pavelski had 68), and was the most dangerous player on the ice for the Sharks on most nights. Going against Burns, however, is his 16-game goalless drought towards the end of the season. After scoring 27 goals in 59 games, Burns didn’t score between February 19 and March 28. However, that also illustrates the sheer dominance of Burns prior to the drought. Also, Karlsson had 82 points in 82 games in 2015-16 and failed to even be nominated for Lindsay or Hart. The last time a defenseman won the Award was 1974-75 when some guy named Bobby Orr won it.

Crosby is the only finalist who has won the award before, having won it three times in 2006-07, 2012-13, and 2013-14. Crosby had 44 goals and 89 points in 75 games this season. His 44 goals were good to win the Rocket Richard Trophy for the NHL’s leading goal scorer. Crosby scored 17 more points than his Penguins teammate Evgeni Malkin. Crosby is three-for-three when nominated for the Award.

However, the odds-on favorite is likely Oilers captain McDavid, who was the only 100-point scorer in the NHL this season. The 20-year-old McDavid scored 30 goals and 100 points in 82 games, winning the Art Ross trophy by 11 points over Crosby and Patrick Kane, both of whom had 89 points. While the other two finalists play for perennial contenders, McDavid was a huge part of the Oilers’ jump up the standings from 29th to 8th in the league.

The winner will be revealed at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on June 21.

Nail Yakupov And The Russian Option

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Earlier today it was announced that the rights of Nail Yakupov and Nikita Kucherov were dealt to reigning KHL Gagarin Cup Champions SKA St. Petersburg. While Kucherov sounds like the big name in the deal he—along with Marcus Johansson who went the other way—is under contract in the NHL and unable to return to Russia for several years. In actuality, the biggest name may be that of Yakupov who as of July 1st will not be under contract with any team in the NHL. Nail Yakupov

While St. Louis will still hold his rights as a restricted free agent (as long as he’s not selected by the Vegas Golden Knights or traded before then), there will certainly be an effort from St. Petersburg to entice him to return to Russia. Especially as SKA prepares to possibly lose Ilya Kovalchuk, Vadim Shipachyov and Evgeni Dadonov all in one summer to the NHL, the money waived in front of Yakupov will be substantial. When looking at his career up to this point, and the deal he would likely have to settle for in the NHL—should he even be tendered a contract at all—returning to Russia may be his best option.

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Twelve Players Deemed Exempt From Expansion Due To Injury

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The list of players that will be exempt from the expansion draft due to long-term injury was sent out today, with Craig Custance of ESPN providing it for us. These are players who will likely never play in the NHL again, and thus will be exempt and not require protection even if they hold no-movement clauses. The list is as follows:

Dave Bolland (Arizona)
Craig Cunningham (Arizona)
Chris Pronger (Arizona)
Cody McCormick (Buffalo)
David Clarkson (Columbus)
Johan Franzen (Detroit)
Joe Vitale (Detroit)
Ryane Clowe (New Jersey)
Mikhail Grabovski (New York Islanders)
Pascal Dupuis (Pittsburgh)
Nathan Horton (Toronto)
Stephane Robidas (Toronto)

While none of these players would have likely been taken, it does allow Toronto, Columbus and New Jersey to officially scratch one of their no-movement clauses off their list and with it the automatic protection. Interestingly, Joffrey Lupul does not appear on the list despite missing more than an entire year and having very little affiliation with the Toronto Maple Leafs at this point. Since the list was agreed upon with the NHLPA, perhaps he maintains that he has plans to play again.

In a similar case, Marc Savard also doesn’t appear on the list for the Devils. Though Savard’s deal comes off the books this year and he’s clearly done with hockey, a similar case could be made for several of the others on this list including Pronger, who is working for the Department of Player Safety and Cunningham who recently lost his leg due to medical complications. Savard is coaching minor hockey while he still struggles with concussion symptoms, years after last playing in the league.

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Josh Archibald, Oskar Sundqvist

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After learning earlier today that they would be without both Sidney Crosby and Conor Sheary due to concussions, the Pittsburgh Penguins have decided to call up Josh Archibald and Oskar Sundqvist from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Crosby and Sheary are both out indefinitely, though they will each be evaluated every day as they try to come back from their latest head injuries.

Archibald and Sundqvist leave a WBS Penguins team that was just eliminated by the Providence Bruins on Sunday in their first round playoff series, and would have likely come up anyway as “Black Aces”. They’ll now wait to see if they’re inserted into the lineup for Pittsburgh’s game 4 on Wednesday night. If they are, they at least both bring some NHL experience with them from this year. Archibald played in 10 games for the Penguins and scored three goals, while Sundqvist was held pointless in his 10 game stint.

While neither of the call-ups can replace Crosby or Sheary, they are skilled replacements that can fit into the bottom of a lineup. The Penguins will need more contributions from their unheralded youngsters this year, just as they did from Bryan Rust and Sheary himself last spring.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Goaltender Matej Machovsky

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The Detroit Red Wings have gotten into the European free agent act, inking Matej Machovsky to a one-year contract. The Czech goaltender returned home in 2013 after going undrafted out of the OHL. He also had attended Detroit development camp last summer. The entry-level deal is for the 2017-18 season, after which Machovsky will become a restricted free agent. No details were released by the team on the financials.

Spending the last four years in the Czech professional league, Machovsky has recorded .936, .916, .920, .925 save percentages and generally been one of the more dominating goaltenders. He was selected back in 2010 in the OHL import draft by the Guelph Storm, but was quickly traded to the Brampton Battalion where he would play three seasons. Considered a big netminder who wasn’t athletic enough, Machovsky went undrafted despite being ranked 11th among North American goaltenders in 2011, and 14th in 2012 (and even as high as third on a mid-term ranking).

His game has matured through the years, after spending time at development camps for Los Angeles and Ottawa in addition to Detroit. It will be interesting to see where he goes for the Red Wings, who still have Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek in the NHL and Jared Coreau in the AHL. Ridding themselves of Howard’s contract has been an option for the Red Wings, who seemed to be ready to trust Mrazek with the net last summer. It’s a little less clear now, after a down season from Mrazek and an overall struggle for the Red Wings as a team.

Snapshots: KHL, Surgeries, Bjork

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Several pieces of news out of the KHL today, including the signing of a three-year contract for Nikita Tryamkin with Yekaterinburg. The news that Tryamkin had left the Vancouver Canucks has been out for a while, but now we know how long the team will have to wait until they get a chance to bring him back to the NHL. The Canucks will hold his rights until 2021-22 season since they plan to qualify him this offseason, meaning that perhaps a reunion is possible after this three-year deal expires in 2020.

Viktor Antipin has officially terminated his deal, meaning he’s allowed to sign with the Buffalo Sabres (or anyone else) as soon as he wishes. Antipin’s teammate and former NHLer Alexander Semin will not be offered a new contract by Magnitogorsk, despite scoring 30 points this season. Semin could potentially return to the NHL should someone want to take a chance on the former 40-goal man, though at 33 his most effective years are likely behind him.

  • SKA St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow were involved in a trade, swapping the rights to Nail Yakupov and Nikita Kucherov for those of Marcus Johansson and David Musil. While Kucherov and Johansson are both under contract and thus unable to be wooed by the KHL, both Yakupov and Musil are restricted free agents this summer. They could theoretically leave for greener pastures, as neither have been able to make much of an impact at the NHL level recently (or ever, in Musil’s case).
  • The Minnesota Wild have announced that both Marco Scandella and Christian Folin have undergone surgery to repair hip and shoulder injuries respectively. Both are expected to be ready for training camp, though it obviously sets some of their offseason work back.
  • Joe Haggerty of CSNNE reports that NCAA prospect Anders Bjork has told the Bruins he’ll make a decision on turning pro after the World Championships. Bjork is currently playing with Team USA at the tournament, which starts on May 5th. The 20-year old fifth-round pick blew up at Notre Dame this year, and Boston has made it clear that they want him to turn pro this summer instead of returning for his senior season. If he were to return, he’d be just a few months away from free agency when he graduated with most of the league ready to put his name on a contract.

Sidney Crosby, Conor Sheary Diagnosed With Concussions

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After being hit in the face with Matt Niskanen’s stick last night—for which the Washington defender received a penalty and game misconduct, but no further discipline—Sidney Crosby has been diagnosed with a concussion and is out indefinitely. Crosby’s linemate Conor Sheary has also been diagnosed with a concussion, and both will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

Crosby has now suffered at least four concussions during his career, with several other head, jaw and neck injuries that have been related. His last one came in October of last year in practice, while his first (that we know of) happening in 2011 at the Winter Classic against these same Capitals. It was coming back too early from that first concussion that stole almost an entire year of his career, a lesson that should be remembered this time around.

Should the Penguins re-insert him during the playoffs, hopefully the risks are understood completely. Earlier this year, Aaron Ekblad was put back into the lineup for the Florida Panthers only to shut down his season after one game and a decision Tom Rowe blamed himself for. While that seemed to also have connections to the neck injury Ekblad suffered in the World Cup, it is a similar timeline for Crosby and one that should be considered. For a player who was just announced as a Hart finalist, his future, and not just the immediate opportunity the Penguins find themselves in, should be paramount.

Sheary is almost as big of a loss for the Penguins, though he’d been held in check for the playoffs so far. In just his second year, Sheary scored 53 points in 61 games and was a big part of Pittsburgh’s Stanley Cup run last season. The team will now have to rely even more on Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel to provide offense against the Capitals for the rest of the series, something that proved difficult last night against Braden Holtby and the Capitals stifling defense.

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Ben Smith To One-Year Deal

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Seconds after announcing their seven-year extension with Nikita Zaitsev, the Toronto Maple Leafs also revealed that they’ve signed forward Ben Smith to a one-year, $650K deal for next season. Smith was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Maple Leafs now have options when it comes to the expansion draft, as previously it looked like they would have had to expose Matt Martin along with Eric Fehr to fill the forward requirements. Since Smith played 40 games this season, he can be used as “fodder” to fill one of those two slots.

Smith will turn 29 this summer and has carved out an NHL existence throughout the years despite never being able to duplicate his 2013-14 season with the Blackhawks. Playing in 75 games that year, Smith scored 14 goals and 26 points while getting votes for the Lady Byng trophy. His success in the faceoff dot, combined with his perceived penalty kill acumen has earned him another contract though even the Maple Leafs rarely used him after his wrist injury this year.

In 40 games split between the Maple Leafs and Avalanche, he scored just four points and was one of the worst possession players in the league. It will be interesting to see if the new deal is a one-way contract, as the Maple Leafs likely will not have room for him on the NHL roster next season.

Nikita Zaitsev Signs Seven-Year Extension With Toronto Maple Leafs

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After being rumored for weeks, the Toronto Maple Leafs have officially announced a seven-year, $31.5MM extension for defenseman Nikita Zaitsev. The deal will see Zaitsev earn an equal $4.5MM per season through 2023-24, though $11MM of it comes in the form of signing bonuses. It also includes a limited no-trade clause which comes into effect in the summer of 2019, giving Zaitsev 10 teams that he can block trades to. Nikita Zaitsev

For the Maple Leafs, locking up Zaitsev was an immediate concern after his excellent rookie season. The KHL had threatened to hand him big money to return, and with the NHL’s decision to avoid the Olympics the possibility of him leaving had to be on the minds of Lou Lamoriello and company in the Maple Leafs front office. Zaitsev has made it clear from the beginning though that he wanted to stay in Toronto, and has now been rewarded with a huge deal.

The 25-year old transitioned exceptionally to the NHL, registering 36 points while leading the Maple Leafs in ice-time and playing in all 82 regular season games. A concussion sustained in the final regular season match held him out for part of the first round but he would return in game 3 and record at least 20 minutes in each of his four matches.

While seven years may seem like a few too many, it was likely needed to keep the annual salary down. The Maple Leafs were expected to keep any defenseman’s salary below that of Morgan Rielly, who last summer signed a six-year extension that sees him earn $5MM per season. Zaitsev will now slot in below that, but ahead of Jake Gardiner who has two years left at $4.05MM.

The Leafs now have six NHL defenders under contract for next season, but likely will try to upgrade that group instead of handing the bottom pairing to Alexey Marchenko and Martin Marincin. The team does have a few defensive prospects, but none of Rinat Valiev, Andrew Nielsen or Travis Dermott seem ready to take on a full-time role.

The team does have money to spend during the season, due to the expected LTIR statuses of Nathan Horton and Joffrey Lupul, but that won’t help them in the offseason. The team has to be cap-compliant as of the start of the year, and now has around $12-15MM (depending on where exactly the cap lands) to bring in a backup goaltender and come to terms on new deals with Zach Hyman and Connor Brown. After that, defense will be the first priority with players like Kevin Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner being possible (though unlikely) targets in free agency.

David Alter of The Athletic was first to provide the details of the contract. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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