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Max Pacioretty Suffers Setback; Brett Howden Avoids Serious Injury

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The Vegas Golden Knights have been ravaged by injury this season and now find themselves at risk of missing the playoffs entirely. One hope they had for the near future was Max Pacioretty, who appeared to be closing in on a return from his latest issue. Not anymore, as Pacioretty has suffered a setback according to head coach Peter DeBoer, who spoke with reporters including Jesse Granger of The Athletic.

Pacioretty, 33, left yesterday’s morning skate and will now not be available for the “near future” according to DeBoer. It’s been a brutal year for the veteran forward, who has appeared in just 29 games–though he has recorded 15 goals and 29 points in those contests.

The Golden Knights head coach also gave an update on Brett Howden, who was stretchered off last night. Howden is out of the hospital and was actually at the practice facility today, with DeBoer confirming nothing is broken.

While an injury is obviously never a good thing, Pacioretty’s absence may actually have something of a silver lining for the Golden Knights, who were going to be in a tough salary cap situation after Evgenii Dadonov’s trade was canceled. Pacioretty is currently only on regular injured reserve, meaning if he’s going to miss an extensive period of time, he could be moved to long-term injured reserve, essentially swapping places with someone like Alec Martinez.

If the Golden Knights were in a better position, one might wonder if this was just a case of resting a veteran player while providing some cap benefit. But even after last night’s win, Vegas is far from a lock for the postseason. In fact, the team currently sits outside of the playoff picture, one point behind Dallas despite having played four more games.

Morning Notes: Monahan, Maple Leafs, Gallagher

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Sean Monahan appears to be headed for the press box. The Calgary Flames center was skating as an extra at yesterday’s practice according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet and might end up a healthy scratch for tonight’s matchup against the Arizona Coyotes. Monahan, 27, had played in all 63 games this season but has seen his ice time continually drop, to the point where he was used for fewer than ten minutes earlier this week.

Under contract through the 2022-23 season and carrying a cap hit of $6.375MM, Monahan has basically seen his role with the Flames completely disappear. Whether an offseason trade (or buyout) takes him out of Calgary still remains to be seen, but unless something drastic changes down the stretch, it appears as though he is on the outside looking in following the additions of Tyler Toffoli, Calle Jarnkrok, and Ryan Carpenter.

  • Jake Muzzin was at Toronto Maple Leafs practice in a red no-contact jersey, but Ondrej Kase was nowhere to be found, after the forward suffered another head injury a few days ago. As Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star writes, Muzzin–who is also working his way back from a concussion–may end up out until Jack Campbell, dealing with a rib injury, is ready to return. That’s because of a tricky cap situation in Toronto, though the team has found creative ways around their obstacles in the past. With Rasmus Sandin now out and Travis Dermott traded to Vancouver, the Maple Leafs could certainly use Muzzin’s help, even after acquiring Mark Giordano at the deadline.
  • More bad news for the Montreal Canadiens, as Brendan Gallagher is out for a week with a lower-body injury. Like most Montreal players, this season has been a dreadful one for the 29-year-old Gallagher, who has just five goals and 14 points in 43 games. Those are both easily career-lows, and numbers that certainly aren’t good enough for a player carrying a $6.5MM cap hit. Gallagher is signed through 2026-27 and will hopefully bounce back in 2022-23.

Owen Sillinger Signs AHL Contract

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If you’re the Columbus Blue Jackets, why not take a chance on another player named Sillinger? The Cleveland Monsters, Columbus’ AHL affiliate, have signed undrafted college free agent Owen Sillinger to a professional tryout contract for the rest of this season and an AHL deal for 2022-23.

Sillinger, 24, recently finished his senior season at Bemidji State University, where he dominated with 17 goals and 47 points in 39 games. He also happens to be the older brother of Blue Jackets’ rookie phenom Cole Sillinger, and son of long-time NHL forward Mike Sillinger, who also spent time in the Columbus organization.

While Owen doesn’t have quite the same profile as Cole, he’s still a talented forward that will help the Monsters next season. He served as captain of Bemjidi State this season, playing with their other brother–Lukas Sillinger–another undrafted talent.

An AHL contract means he can’t be recalled to the Blue Jackets, but does at least bring him into the organization and gets them an even closer look at his skill. The team–or some other team–could potentially turn that contract into an entry-level deal if they feel he could contribute at the next level.

The Monsters have also signed Robbie Payne to another AHL contract for 2022-23. Payne has six goals and 11 points in 19 games for Cleveland this season.

Victor Rask Recalled From AHL

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One of the last trades to come through NHL Central Registry before Monday’s deadline was a curious one between the Minnesota Wild and Seattle Kraken. The Kraken would receive Victor Rask, while the Wild would essentially receive nothing in return, listing only future considerations. Minnesota was also retaining half of Rask’s contract, which made it seem more like trying to give the veteran forward a fresh start with another NHL franchise than anything else.

Then, Rask was quickly assigned to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, throwing some more confusion at the deal. Perhaps this was the plan all along though, as Rask has now been recalled to the Kraken.

While he may still serve as an extra forward to start, this is an opportunity that Rask shouldn’t overlook. The 29-year-old forward has completely fallen off the map when it comes to being an effective NHL forward and has just 23 goals since the start of the 2018-19 season.

What was once a burgeoning young career has turned into one that may have trouble finding a contract in the summer, when Rask becomes an unrestricted free agent. A chance with Seattle down the stretch could mean the difference between an NHL future and some other avenue of professional hockey in 2022-23.

Mark Borowiecki Out Week-To-Week

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Just as he was getting healthy again, another injury has sidelined Nashville Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki. The team announced that he won’t be in the lineup tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights and that he’s week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

Borowiecki returned to the lineup on March 21st against Anaheim after missing over two weeks with a lower-body injury. However, he suffered a second injury the following night against Los Angeles, limiting him to just eight shifts and 5:53 of ice time in that contest.

With Borowiecki out of the lineup, expect the hulking Ben Harpur to draw back into the lineup. He’s only gotten 18 NHL games this season, but he has some experience in the Nashville organization now and his size is an asset.

Now, Nashville hopes Borowiecki, a vocal presence in the locker room, can get healthy for the playoffs. ’Boro Cop’ has two assists in 44 games this season and signed an extension last month to remain with the team through 2022-23. The team is also dealing with injuries to Matt Benning and Dante Fabbro on defense as their depth on the back end thins at the worst possible time.

Tyler Bozak Out At Least A Month

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March 24: Bozak has officially been moved to injured reserve, the team announced today. The move created roster space for the team to recall defenseman Calle Rosen from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, giving them an extra defenseman on the roster while Torey Krug is out with injury. Rosen has two assists in six games with the Blues already this season.

March 16: The St. Louis Blues will be without center Tyler Bozak for at least four weeks after he suffered a lower-body injury. The veteran forward will be re-evaluated in a month, suggesting he could miss even more time.

Bozak, 35, hasn’t been very effective this season in his limited role, recording just three goals and 11 points in 47 games. While he was never expected to drive a ton of offense at this point in his career, the Blues are being absolutely caved in with him on the ice, allowing 23 goals against to just nine for at even strength. Those struggles mean that an injury–as tough as it is to hear–could actually be a positive thing for the team at this point, as a change at the bottom of the lineup may be long overdue.

If Bozak is out through the end of the regular season–about six weeks from now–it would actually give the team a tiny bit more cap flexibility, with his $750K hit going on long-term injured reserve. He could then come back for the playoffs when the cap doesn’t matter to bring his experience, leadership, and versatility to the room.

Whether it changes St. Louis’ deadline strategy isn’t really clear, though adding a right-handed center could be in order. The team has Robert Thomas for that when he’s healthy, but the rest of their regular centers (or even those players who regularly take draws) are lefties.

Snapshots: Drouin, Laughton, Lindenwood

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The Montreal Canadiens won’t have forward Jonathan Drouin in the lineup tonight, as he’s returned home due to a close COVID-19 contact, the team announced. Drouin’s battled through injury this year, missing around two months with a wrist injury, but has been fairly productive with 20 points in 34 games when in the lineup. It’s another tough break for Drouin, who’s put up points over the past few seasons but can’t stay in the lineup. Waiver claim Rem Pitlick could get an elevated role in the Montreal lineup while Drouin is out.

More from around hockey on this Thursday night:

  • Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton “didn’t get great news” during his latest doctors’ appointment, said head coach Mike Yeo today. The forward has been out with a concussion for roughly two weeks, and it’s looking increasingly likely that he won’t return this season. The team has shut him down for the time being as he focuses on his recovery. If it is the end of the year for him, he finished 2021-22 with 28 points in 54 games.
  • Division I college hockey is officially coming to the St. Louis area. Lindenwood University officially unveiled its program today, after more than a year of rumors surrounding the school. In its first season, the school will be coached by former St. Louis Blue Rick Zombo.

NHL General Managers Could Discuss Closing LTIR Playoff “Loophole”

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Next week holds in store an NHL general managers’ meeting in Manalapan, Florida, and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the agenda may include a discussion around altering the long-term injured reserve “loophole” used by teams to build legal, but non-salary-cap-compliant rosters for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

As it stands, teams are allowed to gain cap relief from players on injured reserve for the end of the regular season before the salary cap disappears for the playoffs, then bringing those players back once healthy for playoff runs. It theoretically allows teams to exceed the hard cap by several millions of dollars during the playoffs due to the salary cap not being in effect at the end of the regular season. Seravalli says at least one general manager has requested that this be included on the meeting’s agenda, with that GM believing “strongly that wasn’t the intended spirit of the CBA when it was written.” It’s a rule that’s been taken advantage of by multiple Stanley Cup-winning teams in the past, including the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021 with Nikita Kucherov and the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015 with Patrick Kane.

The anonymous general manager cited in the article doesn’t think a complex solution is required to fix this inequity, however. While they don’t advocate for overall financial roster limits, they put forth a proposal that the 20-man roster on the ice for each team during a playoff game can’t exceed the salary cap. This would provide a boost to essentially all playoff teams, considering that during the regular season, any healthy scratches or players on regular injured reserve count against the salary cap as well. It gives teams flexibility, allowing them to make roster decisions freely during the playoffs among healthy players within the constraint of a combined $81.5MM cap hit for the on-ice lineup.

However, as Seravalli notes, any modification to this rule requires negotiation with the NHLPA, as it constitutes a “material change” to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

While no surefire playoff team this season is taking advantage of this loophole in earnest, it was widely assumed the Vegas Golden Knights’ playoff lineup would benefit from this ability due to captain Mark Stone’s long-term back injury that’s expected to keep him out through the regular season. Now, with additional injuries continuing to pile up for the Knights, it’s feasible the team misses the playoffs entirely.

Matthew Peca Signs Two-Year Extension

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Late last night, CapFriendly reported that the St. Louis Blues signed Matthew Peca to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The deal comes with an NHL cap hit of $762.5K and will keep him in the organization through the 2023-24 season. The Springfield Thunderbirds, who Peca is currently playing for, have now officially announced the contract.

Peca, 28, is having a fantastic season for the Thunderbirds, scoring 20 goals and 51 points in 53 games so far. He’s added just five NHL contests and one point, meaning this is a lot more about organizational depth than making a real impact for the Blues moving forward.

Still, the contract represents some stability for the pending free agent forward and keeps their AHL affiliate happy with a star player in the system. Peca meanwhile is a perfect injury replacement, as he has actually scored 21 points in 83 career NHL games–not bad for someone who has averaged fewer than 11 minutes in those games.

Snapshots: IIHF, Boqvist, Hathaway

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The IIHF has referred two cases to their newly-created independent Ethics Board for review, to determine if the actions of an IIHF National Association or an individual associated with the IIHF could constitute an ethical conduct violation. The first case involves the Russian Ice Hockey Federation’s alleged instruction of KHL teams to take demonstrative actions in support of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The second is the involvement of IIHF Life President Rene Fasel with Russia and the KHL, along with public statements about the war. Currently, no disciplinary action has been brought. Earlier this year, the IIHF suspended the Russian and Belarusian teams from several international competitions.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated Adam Boqvist from injured reserve after he missed the last 11 games. The 21-year-old defenseman has had a strong debut in Columbus after a trade from the Chicago Blackhawks, scoring ten goals and 19 points in just 40 games.
  • Garnet Hathaway has a little less spending money this month, after earning a $2,000 diving/embellishment fine from the league today. The incident that caused the fine happened on a March 18 game against the Carolina Hurricanes, following a warning that Hathaway received earlier this year.

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