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Metropolitan Notes: Hughes, Hart, Couturier, Pesce, Kochetkov

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The upper-body injury keeping New Jersey Devils star forward Jack Hughes out of the lineup is a right shoulder ailment, Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com reports. Hughes, who remains tied for the NHL’s points lead with 20, remains out on a week-to-week basis after crashing into the boards in the first period of Friday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues.

Notably, this is not an aggravation of the upper-body injury Hughes sustained during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Novozinsky adds. It’s great news for the Devils, who have relied heavily on their offense and power play to stay afloat this season. The 2019 first-overall pick is averaging over 20 minutes per game and has 15 assists in ten games, including nine power-play assists.

New Jersey is currently without Hughes and captain Nico Hischier due to separate upper-body injuries, meaning the team is down both of its top two centers. Dawson Mercer shifted to the middle, and Michael McLeod jumped up to center the second line in yesterday’s 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division today:

  • Injured Philadelphia Flyers cornerstones Sean Couturier and Carter Hart traveled with the team on their upcoming three-game California road swing, Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports reports. While not a guarantee, the door is open for the team’s first-line center and starting goaltender to return to the lineup sometime this week. The team listed both players as day-to-day on Friday with a lower-body and mid-body injury, respectively. Both players have missed the team’s last two games, a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and a 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
  • Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce has returned to practice for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury nearly three weeks ago, Walt Ruff of the team’s official site reports. Sporting a no-contact sweater, Pesce is almost two weeks into his recovery from surgery undergone on October 24. His return to the lineup is not imminent, but he does appear on track to return in the two-to-four-week window following the surgery as initially expected. Pesce, 28, had two points in five games this season and is a pending UFA.
  • Sticking with Carolina, 24-year-old netminder Pyotr Kochetkov is expected to rejoin the team from his loan to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch before tomorrow’s contest against Buffalo, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal relays. Starter Frederik Andersen is not expected to be available as he is dealing with an undisclosed medical issue, and veteran Jaroslav Halák is not eligible to suit up while on a professional tryout, which he signed with the team this morning. Kochetkov, who has a 0-3-0 record and .836 SV% with the Hurricanes this season, will likely back up Antti Raanta in tomorrow’s contest.

Atlantic Notes: Vasilevskiy, Cozens, Zub, McCabe

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Tampa Bay Lightning star netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy is a little ahead of schedule in his recovery from offseason back surgery, head coach Jon Cooper told the media Monday (via Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN).

The two-time Stanley Cup champion and 2019 Vezina Trophy winner skated with the team for the first time last week after undergoing a successful microdiscectomy to address a lumbar disc herniation on September 28. At the time, the Lightning announced they expected him to miss approximately the first two months of the regular season. That would mean a return around December 10. However, Cooper said today he’d be “disappointed if it’s early December” and expects Vasilevskiy to return to the fold closer to American Thanksgiving, a little over two weeks ahead of schedule.

Without Vasilevskiy, the Lightning have managed to stay in the playoff picture with a 5-3-3 record, good enough for third place in the Atlantic Division. That’s mainly due to the impressive relief play of backup Jonas Johansson, who’s started nine of the Lightning’s 11 games while posting a .916 SV%, 2.87 GAA and two shutouts. Overall, he’s stopped 3.5 goals above average behind a Lightning team that’s struggled defensively, controlling less than 43% of high-danger chances at even strength.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens is not practicing today as he remains sidelined with a suspected concussion, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports. Head coach Don Granato informed reporters that Cozens is trending in the right direction, however, and will likely rejoin the team for practice before the end of the week. Cozens, 22, has not skated with the team since leaving Friday’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers after fighting winger Garnet Hathaway with 1:56 left in regulation. The 2019 seventh-overall pick is off to a decent start, recording three goals and four assists for seven points in 11 games on the heels of a 31-goal campaign last season. The news doesn’t bode well for Cozens’ availability against the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow, meaning he could miss his second straight game after being absent for Saturday’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
  • Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith expects defenseman Artem Zub to return to the lineup Wednesday against Toronto after a six-game absence, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia relays. Zub, 28, sustained a concussion in the team’s October 18 win over the Washington Capitals. The shutdown defender projects to return to the lineup in a top-pairing role alongside Jake Sanderson, considerably boosting the depth of a defense now missing Erik Brännström and Thomas Chabot due to injuries. Zub had one goal, two assists, and a +3 rating through four games this season before sustaining the concussion.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe won’t return to the lineup tonight against Tampa Bay, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to reporters (via Mark Masters of TSN). Simon Benoit will make his Toronto debut after a recent recall from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Keefe said. Consequentially, Maxime Lajoie will serve as a scratch after playing just 4:54 in Toronto’s loss to Buffalo on Saturday. McCabe has missed the last four games with a groin injury sustained against Dallas on October 26, and the team has gone 0-2-2 in his absence.

Sabres Recall Matt Savoie, Place Brandon Biro On IR

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The Buffalo Sabres have recalled top prospect Matthew Savoie to the NHL and placed recent call-up Brandon Biro on injured reserve. Savoie is coming up from the AHL, after a conditioning stint to help nurse an upper-body injury. The reason for Biro’s assignment to IR hasn’t yet been disclosed.

The news of Savoie’s recall is exciting for Sabres fans who missed the rookie punch that Zach Benson brought to the lineup. Benson is also on IR with a lower-body injury that’s holding him out week-to-week. Savoie and Benson were linemates on the Winnipeg Ice last season and would be slated to be teammates again on the Wenatchee Wild if neither of them can hang onto an NHL roster spot. Benson has two points, both assists, through his first six NHL games.

Savoie has performed well with the Rochester Americans, playing in his first professional hockey games on this conditioning stint. He’s totaled five points and six penalty minutes through his first six games, ranking 10th on the Rochester Americans in terms of points per game so far this season. That’s an encouraging sign for the 19-year-old centerman, who seems to be adjusting well to the pro scene. Savoie alternated line rushes with Victor Olofsson at the team’s Monday practice, suggesting that he may get a chance to replicate his AHL success at the top level, if the team opts to healthy scratch Olofsson again.

And while all attention will surround Savoie, Sabres fans shouldn’t forget about Biro, who has scored his first two NHL goals in the two games he was provided this season. Biro did record a team-low CF% (Corsi-For Percentage) in his two games, although his low sample size makes that metric slightly less concerning. Either way, his value as an NHL talent will likely be tested whenever he’s able to return from injured reserve.

Injury Updates: Brown, McDonagh, Kastelic, Bear

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Oilers winger Connor Brown took the pregame today but play-by-play voice Jack Michaels relayed (Twitter link) that he wound up being a late scratch.  He’s officially listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.  Edmonton doesn’t have enough cap space to carry an extra forward so they played today’s game against Nashville short a player.  Accordingly, it makes them eligible for an emergency cap-exempt recall of a forward making $875K or less should Brown still be unable to play on Monday against Vancouver.

It’s worth mentioning that when Brown does suit up for his next game, he will receive a $3.25MM bonus as part of the contract he signed with Edmonton this summer, one that guaranteed him just the NHL minimum.  Any amount of that bonus that the Oilers can’t absorb on their books this season would be treated as a carryover penalty and would count against their 2024-25 cap charges.

Other injury news from around the hockey world:

  • Also a late scratch from the Edmonton-Nashville game today was defenseman Ryan McDonagh. The Predators announced (Twitter link) that the blueliner is dealing with a lower-body injury and that he’s listed as day-to-day.  The 34-year-old has played in ten games so far this season, picking up a pair of assists while averaging exactly 20 minutes a night, his lowest ATOI since his rookie year back in 2010-11.  Marc Del Gaizo made his NHL debut in McDonagh’s absence.
  • Senators center Mark Kastelic is dealing with an ankle sprain, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). Yesterday, head coach D.J. Smith suggested that the 24-year-old would miss a few games but now stated that Kastelic “won’t play any time soon”.  Kastelic was placed on IR yesterday, meaning he’ll be out for at least a week.  He has been held off the scoresheet in his first nine games this season.
  • Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston relays that free agent defenseman Ethan Bear appears to be on track from his recovery from shoulder surgery and should be ready to play next month. The 26-year-old was injured playing at the Worlds back in May which played a role in him being non-tendered by Vancouver a month later.  While a reunion with them could make sense, they’d need to find a way to open up cap space over the next few weeks for that to happen.

Dylan Cozens Out Day-To-Day

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Mike Harrington of Buffalo News Sports is reporting that Buffalo Sabres’ forward, Dylan Cozens, will not play tonight and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Although no other specifics were given, it is likely due to the fight Cozens engaged in against Philadelphia Flyers’ forward, Garnet Hathaway, at the end of the game last night.

Playing in the first year of a seven-year, $49.7MM extension signed with the organization last year, Cozens has gotten off to a solid offensive start for the Sabres. In 11 games played up to this point, Cozens has scored three goals and four assists, coupled with a solid 61.4 CF%.

His play on the defensive side of the puck has left a little to be desired to start the year, but Cozens has never been a particularly solid defensive option down the middle of the ice. However, even after an individually strong start to this season, Buffalo has not gotten off to the start they were expecting, and Cozens showed visible frustration in last night’s loss to the Flyers.

In their first 11 games, the Sabres are carrying a 5-6-0 record into tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, primarily due to some inconsistencies within the high-danger moments of the game. To start the year, Buffalo has only converted on 6.9% of their high-danger scoring chances, while their opponents have executed on those high-danger scoring chances at a rate of 13.8% of the time.

Flyers Recall Felix Sandstrom, Place Him On IR

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Less than a week ago, the Philadelphia Flyers had sent goaltender Felix Sandstrom to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for a conditioning stint. Normally, a team must recall a player on a conditioning loan within the next 14 days, but due to an upper-body injury suffered in last night’s game against the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Flyers have chosen to call up Sandstrom a bit earlier than expected.

This will now be the second goaltender in the last week who is set to miss some time within the Philadelphia organization, as it was reported that Carter Hart would miss a few days due to a mid-body injury. In the meantime, the Flyers are set to roll with a combination of Calvin Petersen and Samuel Ersson as their goaltending tandem.

Unfortunately for the team, at all levels of the organization, aside from Hart, the Flyers have been unable to get adequate goaltending across the board. In only two games played for the Phantoms over the conditioning stint, Sandstrom had a 0-0-1 record, with a .857 SV% and a 3.68 GAA. Primarily serving as a backup for Philadelphia last season, Sandstrom had a 3-12-3 record in 20 games played, posting a .880 SV% and a 3.72 GAA.

Out of training camp, the team opted to carry three goaltenders into the regular season, giving the primary backup position to Ersson. Much like Sandstrom’s subpar season last year, Ersson has gotten off to a similar start, holding a 1-2-1 record in four games, garnering a .815 SV% and a 3.90 GAA.

West Notes: Pavelski, Golden Knights, Killorn, Kahkonen

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On January 1st of this year, the Dallas Stars inked veteran forward, Joe Pavelski, to a one-year contract worth a total of $3.5MM. A notable decrease on the $7MM annually that Pavelski was earning in his first contract with Dallas, this new deal did include two performance bonuses worth a total of $1MM each.

Per CapFriendly, when Pavelski plays in his 10th game of the year, he will earn the first bonus, and he will earn the second bonus at 20 games played. Tonight, the Stars will take on the Vancouver Canucks, and if no lineup changes are made, Pavelski would be in line to secure the first $1MM performance bonus included in his contract.

Although typically a minor detail on most contracts, given that Dallas only has approximately $457K in cap space, this performance bonus earned by Pavelski will result in an overage penalty to the Stars, which will be applied to next year’s salary cap bottom line. Also, given his health and availability over the last three seasons with the Stars, the expectation is that Pavelski will make it to 20 games played, adding even more overage penalties to the Dallas organization next year.

Other notes:

  • Before tonight’s heavily anticipated Western Conference matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights, Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that forward William Carrier would be a game-time decision for Vegas, and that defenseman Zach Whitecloud will be out for the remainder of the weekend. Placed on LTIR at the beginning of the season, Whitecloud has been dealing with an upper-body injury suffered during this year’s preseason but has returned to practice with the team over the last couple of days.
  • Looking to make his debut with the Anaheim Ducks after signing a four-year, $25MM contract with the team this summer, Eric Stephens of The Athletic is reporting that Alex Killorn was seen practicing on a line with Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg, and will likely make his Ducks debut tomorrow night against the Golden Knights. In his absence, Anaheim has gotten off to a better start than most would have expected, climbing up in the standings thanks to a current five-game winning streak.
  • As hinted at in last night’s recall of goaltender Magnus Chrona, Sheng Peng of NBC Sports is reporting that San Jose Sharks’ netminder, Kaapo Kahkonen is out with an upper-body injury, and is considered day-to-day. Although Chrona is only in his first year with an NHL organization, San Jose could benefit from another option in the crease, as both of their regular goaltenders have failed to hold a SV% above .900 in the team’s first 10 games of the season.

Maple Leafs Place Timothy Liljegren On LTIR, Recall Max Lajoie And Simon Benoit

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The Maple Leafs are dealing with another injury on their back end as they announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Timothy Liljegren has been placed on LTIR with a high-ankle sprain, meaning he’ll miss at least the next 10 games and 24 days.  Replacing him on the roster will be blueliners Max Lajoie and Simon Benoit who have been recalled from AHL Toronto.

Liljegren was injured on Thursday night late in the first period against Boston after being tripped by Bruins winger Brad Marchand.  Following the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that the early prognosis was that it wasn’t a short-term injury for the 24-year-old; this placement certainly cements that.  Liljegren is averaging around 18 minutes a night on Toronto’s back end through the first ten games, good for fourth among Toronto’s blueliners.  It’s a contract year for Liljegren who will be a restricted free agent next summer and an extended absence certainly wouldn’t help on that front.

The Maple Leafs are also without blueliners Jake McCabe and Conor Timmins.  David Alter of The Hockey News mentions (Twitter link) that both rearguards skated before practice today but that Timmins – who is on LTIR himself – is still a long way away from returning to the lineup.

As for the recalls, Lajoie is in his first season with Toronto after signing with them in free agency this past summer.  The 25-year-old has seen NHL action in each of the last five years, totaling 70 regular season games and a pair of playoff contests.  This season, he has been held off the scoresheet in seven games with the Marlies but had 45 points in 70 games with AHL Chicago in 2022-23.

Benoit, meanwhile, was recalled three times back in October but didn’t play with the Maple Leafs.  Going back and forth to and from the minors has also limited him to just two games so far with the Marlies.  Last season, the 25-year-old had 10 points in 78 games with Anaheim while logging over 19 minutes a night.

Jack Hughes Suffers Upper-Body Injury

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November 5th: In more unfortunate news surrounding Hughes, the Devils announce that Hughes will be on a week-to-week recovery timeline, and he has not traveled with the team to Chicago.

November 4th: New Jersey Devils superstar forward Jack Hughes left last night’s eventual 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues with an upper-body injury, per team reporter Amanda Stein.

Midway through the first period, Hughes crashed into the boards at a significant velocity, and he was slow to get up with the impact appearing to largely be endured by his head and right shoulder. Hughes is still to be fully evaluated by the team, meaning the full extent of the injury he suffered is, at this moment, unknown.

Should Hughes miss any time, his absence would represent the biggest loss the Devils could possibly suffer from any one injury.

Hughes, 22, is the Devils’ most important player. He currently leads the entire NHL in scoring with 20 points in just 10 games, and he could even be considered an early contender for the Hart Trophy due to Connor McDavid’s injury and the Oilers’ general struggles.

He plays in the all-important first-line center role for the Devils, skating in between Timo Meier and Tyler Toffoli. In the case that Hughes does miss some time, the Devils’ depth chart at center would be dealt another blow.

Team captain and second-line center Nico Hischier did not dress for last night’s game due to injury, meaning any Hughes absence could come at a time when the team is also missing its second-best pivot.

The result of both players being absent at one time could be that crucial top-six center roles are trusted to players originally planned to be bottom-six pivots, such as Erik Haula or Michael McLeod.

Any extended Hughes absence, especially when combined with injuries to Hischier and Tomas Nosek, could have a ripple effect covering the entire Devils’ organization. Veteran Chris Tierney is already in the Devils’ NHL lineup now, and a Hughes injury could even prompt the team to recall another center from their AHL affiliate, the Uitca Comets, just in order to be able to dress four players at the position.

The Comets are currently led in scoring by Xavier Parent and Max Willman, two players who are far from established top-end AHL players. The ripple effect of the Hughes injury could make it so Utica is even more reliant on those two centers, which might not be ideal if their early-season success is not an indication of how they’ll be able to produce on an extended basis.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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.
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