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Archives for December 2019

Central Notes: Sissons, Laviolette, Shaw, Perreault

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The Nashville Predators lost another forward Friday as the team has placed forward Colton Sissons on injured reserve with a lower-body injury during the team’s 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to the Tennessean’s Paul Skrbina. By being placed on IR, Sissons cannot return for at least seven days, meaning he is expected to miss Wednesday’s Winter Classic in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl.

Sissons was injured during the first period Friday after teammate Nick Bonino tripped up Pittsbugh Zach Aston-Reese who fell on Sissons’ ankle. He was wearing a walking boot after the game to protect his ankle. The 26-year-old had seven goals and 13 points in 37 games so far this season.

The team recalled forward Yakov Trenin from the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, who is expected to fill in some depth for the Predators.

  • Sticking with the Predators, despite the team’s struggles in the standings (sixth place in the Central Division), The Athletic’s Adam Vingan writes that he doesn’t see an easy fix to fixing the fortunes of a team originally predicted to be among the top teams in the Western Conference. The scribe writes that firing coach Peter Laviolette isn’t a likely scenario as he remains in good standing with management and general manager David Poile doesn’t have a history of firing coaches. In fact, in nearly 40 years, Poile has only had five head coaches total.
  • Chicago Blackhawks fans that were hoping to see forward Andrew Shaw soon will be disappointed, but head coach Jeremy Colliton said that the rugged forward will not be returning to the team anytime soon, according to NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeliotis. Shaw, has been out since Nov. 30 with a concussion, and his status hasn’t improved much. The team is also without Drake Caggiula, also out with a concussion since Nov. 10. Caggiula, who is deemed closer by Colliton, however, will not join Chicago on their upcoming three-game roadtrip.
  • The Winnipeg Jets could be getting back one of their players shortly. The Athletic’s Murat Ates reports that forward Mathieu Perreault continues to wear a yellow non-contact jersey, but the 31-year-old hopes to get in a full practice in soon with the hopes of possibly returning to the lineup on Tuesday when the team faces Colorado. Perreault has been out since Dec. 15 with a concussion. He has six goals and 12 points in 33 games this season and would be a great addition to the team’s bottom-six.

Leafs’ Ilya Mikheyev Out At Least Three Months Following Wrist Laceration

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4:57 PM — CapFriendly reports that the Maple Leafs did not have cap space to recall both Kenny Agostino and Timothy Liljegren earlier today. In fact, the team was $558,816 short of getting both under the cap, which forced them to place Mikheyev on long-term injured reserve, giving Toronto an extra $925K to work with.

9:27 AM — Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ilya Mikheyev suffered a scary injury on Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils when the skate of Jesper Bratt sliced his right wrist. Mikheyev skated off the ice under his own power, but left a trail of blood in his wake. He was immediately transported to a local Newark hospital for treatment, where he still remains. While Mikheyev was stable by the end of the night, there was no immediate word on the extent of his injury.

That word has come down this morning from agent Dan Milstein, echoed by Toronto, and it is a worst-case scenario for the Leafs. Milstein revealed that Mikheyev not only suffered damage to the artery in his wrist, but also the tendons. He underwent surgery to repair both and is expected to make a full recovery. However, Milstein states that he will not be re-evaluated for 90 days, at which time the Maple Leafs will be able to reveal a more accurate timeline. The earliest that the talented winger can return would potentially be late March, but it is more likely that he is done for at least the regular season, if not longer.

Mikheyev, 25, is in his first season in the NHL after leaving the KHL behind to sign a one-year, entry-level contract with Toronto. At a price point of just $925K, Mikheyev had already proven to be a bargain addition for the Leafs, recording 23 points in his first 39 games. The team will have to find a way to replace the production of a player on pace for nearly 50 points on the year.

 

Rangers Brendan Lemieux Out Three To Four Weeks With Fractured Hand

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The New York Rangers announced they have lost bottom-six forward Brendan Lemieux for the next three to four weeks after he suffered a fractured hand during Friday’s 5-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Lemieux played 10:36 during Friday’s game, but only played three shifts during the third period, suggesting he was injured during that period. While Lemieux isn’t on the ice for his offensive prowess (five goals and 13 points in 35 games), he is a heavy hitter, who provides much needed grit to the team. Lemieux has 86 hits and 87 penalty minutes so far this season.

The team had already announced that Steven Fogarty has been recalled. The team could have considered younger players to fill Lemieux’s role, but Vitali Kravtsov has only returned from Russia two weeks ago and isn’t ready, while Lias Andersson is still under suspension for leaving the Hartford Wolf Pack due to unhappiness. That left the team choosing the best player, which Fogarty has been, having played well for Hartford recently.

 

Toronto’s Jake Muzzin Out Week-To-Week With Broken Foot

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The injury hits keep coming in Toronto. Already having announced Friday that Trevor Moore would be out indefinitely with a concussion and then announcing Saturday morning that Ilya Mikheyev is out for at least three months due to a wrist laceration, the Maple Leafs announced that defenseman Jake Muzzin is out week-to-week with a broken foot.

“Week to week at this point,” said head coach Sheldon Keefe. “They need a little more time to get more tests done to determine the full extent of it.”

Keefe told reporters that Muzzin suffered the injury during the first period of Friday’s overtime victory over the New Jersey Devils. However, Muzzin stayed in the game and played 20:59 during the game. Teammate Justin Holl (via Toronto Sun’s Terry Korshan) said that Muzzin told him during the game that he believed he had broken his toe.

The injury also explains the team’s roster moves earlier today. After the team announced Mikheyev’s injury, it recalled two players, including forward Kenny Agostino as well as defenseman Timothy Liljegren. Now that the team has revealed Muzzin’s injury, it helps explain Liljegren’s recall as he will help fill in on the blueline, although his NHL debut will have to wait as The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel reports that the team will use defenseman Martin Marincin to fill in for Muzzin.

Muzzin is second on the team in ATOI, averaging 21:21 and has three goals and 13 points in 38 games and a plus-eight with the Maple Leafs.

Latest On Rangers’ Chris Kreider

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The New York Rangers are suddenly getting impressive results from forward and potential trade chip Chris Kreider, who has been one of the team’s better players recently, which includes a nine-game stretch in which Kreider has posted five goals and five assists, giving the 28-year-old 11 goals and 23 points on the season so far through 37 games.

The recent hot streak should increase the forward’s trade value as he has become one of the top trade chips at the trade deadline with Taylor Hall already having been moved to Arizona. However, The Athletic’s Rick Carpieniello (subscription required) points out how uniquely talented the forward really is and how the Rangers will miss the top-six forward, especially with their young forward prospects struggling.

However, Carpiniello writes that while it would be extremely unlikely anyway that the team would offer Kreider a six or seven-year contract for $6.5-7MM per year. Kreider’s response when asked about whether he’s had any discussions with the Rangers wasn’t a positive one either. “I’m worried about Toronto tomorrow,” he said. “Not worth the energy, big dog.”

On a radio show, 630 CHED in Edmonton, Friday with Elliotte Friedman, the Sportsnet insider suggested that several teams are in play for Kreider, the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche are the two leading candidates that have shown interest in acquiring the forward.

“Boston does. I think Colorado does,” said Friedman. “I think those two teams really make a lot of sense. Now for Kreider, I’m sure there’s more. I don’t know if St. Louis would ever do it. To me that fits 100 percent with what they like, but I know Boston does too and I know that Colorado has dipped their toe in on Kreider a couple of times here and there.”

Boston makes sense as the Rangers and Bruins have made several trades with one another over the years. Back at the trade deadline in 2018, the Bruins acquired forward Rick Nash, while the Bruins also have unloaded the contract of Adam McQuaid and acquired Nick Holden in separate deals over the past three years. However, the Bruins, who really need help from their secondary lines after the trio of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, would be an impressive addition.

The Avalanche and Rangers don’t have as significant a history of trading with each other, although they did swap a pair of minor leaguers, including Ryan Graves for Chris Bigras back in 2018. However, Colorado has the young talent and significant draft picks to trade for a player like Kreider, who could make their already solid second line even more impressive as he could mix in with Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky and Joonas Donskoi.

2019 Year In Review: April

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2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is the month of April which featured plenty of activity when it came to the coaching carousel.

Quenneville To Panthers: Following a disappointing season, Florida decided to make a change behind the bench and fired head coach Bob Boughner.  However, while other teams that were making changes embarked on searches for a new bench boss, GM Dale Tallon turned to someone he was quite familiar with from their time in Chicago and quickly hired Joel Quenneville as their new bench boss.  He will earn $5.25MM per season for five years on the deal and with Mike Babcock now out of work, it’s believed that Quenneville is the highest-paid active coach in the league.  This only marked the beginning of what was a very aggressive offseason for the Panthers as they look to quickly get back to the postseason.

Draft Lottery Movement: It wasn’t that long ago where there was minimal movement in the annual Draft Lottery but that has changed in recent years and this one was no exception.  Colorado, who held the top odds of the first pick thanks to their Matt Duchene traded with Ottawa one season earlier, dropped out of the top three.  The Devils jumped up two spots to get the first selection while the Rangers moved up four spots to get the second pick.  The biggest move was for the third overall pick as the Blackhawks, who were originally slated to pick 12th, jumped up nine spots which was a big win for them even if they didn’t wind up with the top selection.

Yzerman Hired By Detroit: When then-Lightning GM Steve Yzerman suddenly resigned just before the start of training camp citing that he wanted to spend more time with his family, speculation became rampant that he’d eventually find his way to the Red Wings organization.  That is indeed what happened as Yzerman was hired as their new GM with Ken Holland transitioning to more of an advisory role (which ultimately didn’t last very long).  Yzerman spent his entire 22-year Hall of Fame career as a player with Detroit and then transitioned to the front office with them, spending four years as Vice President of Hockey Operations before taking over as GM with Tampa Bay in 2010.  Although the Red Wings struggled last season, they opted to not make a coaching change and instead handed Jeff Blashill a two-year extension.

Voynov Suspended: Russian defenseman Slava Voynov has been seeking re-entry into the NHL over the last couple of years after having his contract terminated following a domestic violence incident back in 2014.  One step towards accomplishing that objective was getting reinstated by the league.  They did so, but fired handed him a suspension for the entire 2019-20 season plus the postseason with a plan to officially make him eligible to sign as of July 1st, 2020; his rights are still held by Los Angeles.  The suspension was ultimately appealed by the NHLPA and was later reduced to half the season but he wound up signing in the KHL for this season and will once again seek an NHL deal next summer.

Interim Coaches Replaced: A pair of teams that made in-season coaching changes with interim replacements decided to go in different directions.  Willie Desjardins didn’t have a lot of success with Los Angeles and was replaced by Todd McLellan (who Edmonton let go earlier in the year).  Meanwhile, although Philadelphia had some success under Scott Gordon (54 points in 51 games), the Flyers opted to hire Alain Vigneault instead.  Unlike Desjardins though, Gordon remains with Philadelphia’s organization as he agreed to return to their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley for this season.  Those weren’t the only other coaching changes made either as the Sabres let go of Phil Housley after two seasons with him behind their bench.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Ekblad, Ryan, Bernier, Penguins

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The Panthers will be without their top defenseman through the weekend.  George Richards of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that Aaron Ekblad will miss at least the next two games with what is believed to be a shoulder injury.  The good news for Florida is that he shouldn’t be out much longer as Richards adds that he could be back at some point during their upcoming four-game road trip.  Ekblad is logging over 23 minutes per game for the third straight season while being on pace for a new career high in points.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • Senators winger Bobby Ryan has returned to Ottawa and has resumed skating, reports Postmedia’s Ken Warren. He has been away from the team since entering the NHL/NHLPA Assistance Program on November 20th.  When asked about when the veteran might return to the lineup, head coach D.J. Smith indicated that there’s no immediate timetable for his return and that they’ll provide an update when Ryan is closer to being ready to come back.
  • Red Wings goaltender Jonathan Bernier could be ready to return on Sunday, the team announced (Twitter link). He is dealing with a groin injury that caused him to miss last Sunday’s game but it doesn’t appear as if it will hold him out for long.  Once he’s cleared to return, Calvin Pickard will return to AHL Grand Rapids.
  • The Penguins are set to get some good news on the injury front as the team announced that they will activate winger Patric Hornqvist off IR in advance of tonight’s game against Nashville. The veteran had missed the past ten games due to a lower-body injury.  Winger Thomas Di Pauli has been returned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to make room on the roster.  Meanwhile, Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that forward Nick Bjugstad skated for the first time after sustaining a core muscle injury more than a month ago.  He’s still likely a few weeks away from returning though.

Jeff Skinner To Miss Three-To-Four Weeks

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Friday night was a tough one for the Sabres.  They struggled in a 3-0 loss to Boston and in the process, they lost one of their top offensive threats as the team announced that winger Jeff Skinner will miss the next three-to-four weeks due to an upper-body injury.  The injury occurred early in the third period in a collision with Boston winger David Pastrnak.

Skinner is only a year removed from scoring 40 goals although that production hasn’t quite carried over to this season.  He currently sits fifth in team scoring with 11 goals and eight assists through 39 contests which isn’t the point total they were hoping for when they signed him to an eight-year, $72MM deal back in June.

Nonetheless, it’s another blow to Buffalo’s forward group which has multiple players out already and has seen several others struggle this season.  GM Jason Botterill is known to be shopping multiple defensemen for help up front and while this injury could help a deal like that along, they’ve also lost some leverage with other teams in the process.

After a strong start to the season, Buffalo has won just one of their last six games and have dropped out of a playoff spot in the process with all of the teams battling with them for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic having games in hand on them.  Now they’ll be forced to try to get back in without one of their better offensive players for the next little while.

Minor Transactions: 12/28/19

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The NHL returned to work last night, with several strange results to kick off the unofficial second half of the season. The Maple Leafs beat the Devils in overtime on a goal in which they never touched the puck, the Sabres were shutout 3-0 in a game in which they outshot the Bruins, and the Wild, Blackhawks, and Ducks all pulled off convincing upsets. As more teams return to action today, it promises to be a busy stretch for roster changes, as evidenced by a multitude of moves early on. Follow along with all of the day’s transactions here:

  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled two and reassigned one, adding forward J.C. Beaudin and defenseman Christian Jaros and sending forward Logan Brown to AHL Belleville. Brown will surely be disappointed after expressing his frustration with his role in Ottawa earlier this season. At the same time, the young forward has not exactly dominated in his 23 games with the team this season, recording one goal and eight points.
  • After being sent down (in a paper transaction) yesterday, Mathieu Joseph is back with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team announced. With Carter Verhaeghe still sidelined, Joseph is needed in the Bolts lineup. He’ll need to make the most of the opportunity though, as his seven points so far this season have him off the pace of his 26-point rookie campaign.
  • Steven Fogarty has been called up by the New York Rangers, marking his first recall to the NHL this season. Fogarty played in ten games with the Rangers last year, but failed to record a point. However, his AHL numbers suggest that it’s only a matter of time before he gets that first point.
  • The New Jersey Devils have activated goaltender Louis Domingue from the injured reserve and assigned him to AHL Binghamton. With Gilles Senn currently backing up MacKenzie Blackwood, the Devils don’t need Domingue at the present time. His six appearances with New Jersey prior to his injury did little to convince the team that he is worthy of a permanent roster spot.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights announced that they have recalled winger Keegan Kolesar from Chicago of the AHL.  The 22-year-old had 20 goals in the minors last season but has been held without a tally through 18 games with the Wolves this season.
  • With the recent injuries to Ilya Mikheyev and Trevor Moore, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled winger Kenny Agostino and defenseman Timothy Liljegren from the AHL’s Marlies.  Agostino spent most of last season in the NHL and could find himself in a regular role with Toronto relatively quickly.  Mikheyev and Moore were placed on injured reserve to make room on the roster.
  • CapFriendly reports that the Anaheim Ducks have assigned forward Daniel Sprong to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. The 22-year-old forward was recalled a week ago and made his season debut for the Ducks, but finished with a minus-three in the game he played. He will return to the Gulls where he has seven goals and 18 points in 24 games.
  • CapFriendly reports the Boston Bruins have assigned defenseman Steven Kampfer to the Providence Bruins in the AHL. The blueliner was an emergency recall after an injury to defenseman Torey Krug. This could be a paper transaction with the team potentially recalling him officially before Sunday’s game against Buffalo.

Alex Ovechkin To Skip NHL All-Star Game

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One of the NHL’s very best will miss the league’s celebration of its top players yet again. Alex Ovechkin, voted as the captain of the Metropolitan Division team for the upcoming All-Star Weekend, told the media after the Washington Capitals’ game last night that he would skip the festivities to focus on resting up for the second half of the season. It should not come as much surprise that Ovechkin will be absent in St. Louis on January 24th and 25th, as he declined the invitation to participate in the All-Star Game last season in San Jose as well.

Ovechkin did not hesitate to provide his reasoning for again skipping the event:

Thanks, first of all, fans for voting me. It’s a hard decision, but I have to listen to my body. I have to get ready for the second half of the year. I have to be healthy and focus on different things. It’s a hard decision, obviously, being the captain and missing the All-Star Game, but I have to do [what is] best for me and for my team.

Ovechkin’s decision will impact more than just All-Star festivities, though. The Capitals superstar will also be suspended for one game for skipping the event, a league rule that does not allow for any exceptions other than injury. Ovechkin understood the repercussions of his decision, which will see him miss either the game before All-Star break, against the rival New York Islanders, or more likely the game after players return from break, versus the Montreal Canadiens.

You don’t want to miss the game, but the rules are the rules, I’m healthy, thank God, and I just made this decision because I have to be in good shape and I have to be ready and good in the playoffs. The most important thing is not the regular year, it’s the playoffs.

For the 34-year-old Ovechkin, who plays as hard as anyone in the league, the decision is completely reasonable. With that said, it is a shame that the NHL will again be missing one of it’s biggest names and most popular personalities at All-Star Weekend. The league can only hope that Ovechkin is the first and last player to do so this season.

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