The Seattle Kraken, who have been bitten by the injury bug as of late, may be returning a few high-end players soon. Earlier today, team producer Scott Malone reported that forward Jared McCann and defenseman Vince Dunn had returned to practice in regular jerseys.
There’s no indication either will return to the Kraken’s game tomorrow against the Philadelphia Flyers, though it is encouraging. McCann has been limited to 11 games with Seattle this season, scoring five goals and three points, with his last contest coming on December 10th.
Still, Dunn only missed the Kraken’s game on Tuesday due to an upper-body injury, and he’s not on the team’s injured reserve, unlike McCann. If there’s any silver lining to what’s shaping up to be another disappointing season for the Kraken, is that Dunn has been healthy for much of the season. Over the last two years, he had played in less than 75% of Seattle’s games due to injury. He has scored five goals and 19 points in 34 games this season.
Other notes from the Pacific Division:
- In a positive update for the Anaheim Ducks, center Leo Carlsson’s lower-body injury from earlier in the week will only cost him one game. In an article this morning, Derek Lee of The Hockey News confirmed that Carlsson would return to the lineup tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. Aside from an external addition, there truly couldn’t be better news for the Ducks, who are tied for the lead in the Pacific Division after several difficult seasons. Carlsson is leading that effort, scoring 17 goals and 41 points in 34 games as Anaheim’s leading scorer.
- On the flip side of tonight’s matchup, netminder Darcy Kuemper will miss a fifth consecutive game for the Kings due to an upper-body injury. Fortunately, that absence shouldn’t last too much longer. Team reporter Zach Dooley shared earlier that Kuemper had returned to practice for the Kings, joining the team for their morning skate.
- Moving to the Western portion of Canada, host of Rink Wide: Vancouver, Jeff Paterson, reported earlier that Filip Chytil had returned to practice for the Vancouver Canucks in a non-contact jersey. Chytil has not played since mid-October due to what is believed to be another concussion in his nine-year career. Unfortunately, despite the positive update that Chytil has returned to the ice, there’s no timeline for his return.
- On the transaction side, the Vegas Golden Knights quietly reassigned defenseman Dylan Coghlan to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. The Golden Knights exit the holiday break on a three-game homestand, so they likely have little need for a depth defenseman, unlike they would on a road trip. Coghlan didn’t feature in any games throughout the duration of his recall.
Filip Chytil needs to retire for the sake of his health. He’s suffered way too many concussions while in the NHL.