The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve placed defenseman Kyle Burroughs on injured reserve while transferring blueliner Tucker Poolman to LTIR. Burroughs has had his first taste of extended NHL action this season, playing in 36 games while collecting five points and was injured last weekend against Anaheim. The move was made to open up the roster spot for yesterday’s recall of Phillip Di Giuseppe. As for Poolman, he will be eligible to return at any time if the placement is retroactive to his injury in late January but it temporarily adds his $2.5MM to their LTIR pool, enabling them to recall other players if there are more injuries in the near future.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- The Blackhawks are expected to get center Tyler Johnson back in the lineup on Thursday against Edmonton, notes Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). Johnson underwent artificial disk replacement surgery back in December, the same neck surgery Jack Eichel had. The veteran last played in late October and has a goal and two assists in eight games this season, his first with Chicago.
- The Canadiens are expected to hire Adam Nicholas in a player development role, reports Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. Nicholas has worked as a skills consultant with Toronto since 2019 and is the founder of a player development company called Stride Envy.
- Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins left today’s game with an upper-body injury with Sportsnet’s Mark Spector suggesting (via Twitter) that it looks like a shoulder issue. He took a hit from Florida’s Ryan Lomberg in the first period. Nugent-Hopkins only has seven goals in 45 games this season but still sits third on Edmonton in points thanks to his 30 assists.
Random, but…
I haven’t seen much of Sheshterkin, but man…every time I do, I see Vezinas in his future.
Not Vaz, but right there.
@forwhomjoshbelltolled – That made me go through the ranks and see who could be added to the Vassy + Shesterkin list. I’d add Markstrom, Saros, and, conditionally, Bob. WTF, you say?! Bob??? IF and ONLY IF he is getting back to his old self. Another year or so of this level of performance from him, and you’d have to let him in the “club”, so to speak. Maybe it’s just been an unusually long adjustment period to a new team for him. If this season has been just a “lightning-in-a-bottle” year, however, we’d have to uninvite him. This group seems to be head-and-shoulders above the rest, IMO.
Tristan Jarry waving his hand, too.
@forwhomjoshbelltolled – I think he’s getting there, but I’d have him just knocking on the door. He’s made great progress this year, especially with how discombobulated the Pens’ D can be at times. That said, I don’t see anybody else there with him (Demko would be a little behind him), so he’s approaching that “next level” we like to talk about.