The beginning of the NHL season was full of big signings. This past week didn’t have any of that as instead, it was headlined by plenty of injuries.
Out For The Year: After having a breakout season that was still limited by injuries, hopes were high for Canadiens center Kirby Dach this year. However, his campaign came to an early end as he suffered a season-ending torn ACL and MCL last weekend against Chicago. He will undergo surgery once the swelling subsides. The 22-year-old had a career-best 38 points last season despite only playing in 58 games, a decent first impression after being acquired from the Blackhawks at the draft. He’ll have to wait a while to make his second impression now.
Extension Progress: Noah Hanifin’s willingness to sign an extension in Calgary (or perceived lack thereof) has been a key discussion point for several months now. At one point, it looked like he wasn’t interested, then he was, then he wasn’t again. Now, a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggests that Hanifin is indeed willing to work on a new deal and that some progress has been made on that front. The 26-year-old has been a reliable part of the back end for the Flames for the past five seasons (plus the first couple of weeks of this year) and is set to earn a considerable raise on his current $4.95MM AAV.
Four For Andersson: Still with Calgary, the first notable suspension of the 2023-24 campaign is in the books as Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson received a four-game ban for his elbow on Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine. The hit occurred in the dying seconds of Friday’s game while Laine is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Andersson and the NHLPA have decided to appeal the ruling. Unlike in some other leagues, players can’t play while they’re appealing so Andersson sat out the first game on Sunday against Detroit. The appeal will be heard by Commissioner Gary Bettman and given how long it typically takes for a hearing with him, it’s possible the appeal might wind up primarily being to try to mitigate some of the forfeited salary of nearly $95K. If the suspension stands, the last game he’ll have to sit out is the Heritage Classic (an outdoor game against Edmonton) next weekend.
More Injuries: Another player who will likely miss the Heritage Classic is Oilers center Connor McDavid. He left Saturday’s game against Winnipeg late in the third period with an upper-body injury. The good news for Edmonton is that he won’t be out for long (just one to two weeks) but with the Oilers struggling out of the gate this season with just a single win in their first five games, McDavid’s absence won’t help matters. Meanwhile, Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi will miss the next four to six weeks with a sprained MCL. The 24-year-old was a key part of the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade this summer but was injured in just his third game of the season.
Seattle Injuries: It has been a tough start to the season for the Kraken as they have just one win in their first six games. Things are going to get harder for them with a pair of longer-term injuries on the wings. First, Brandon Tanev will miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. The 31-year-old was coming off a career year with 35 points while chipping in with 190 hits and will be missed on their third line. Meanwhile, Andre Burakovsky will miss six to eight weeks with an upper-body injury. The 28-year-old was productive in limited action last season with 39 points in 49 games and was being counted on to be a big part of Seattle’s attack this year. Those plans will be on hold for now. Tanev has been placed on IR while Burakovsky will be heading there soon enough as well.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.