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Pacific Notes: Vegas Injuries, Bahl, Gazizov

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The Vegas Golden Knights were without forward William Karlsson and defenseman Nicolas Hague at practice today (X Link). The former hasn’t been with the team since this past Sunday while Hague seemingly injured himself in last night’s preseason contests against the Los Angeles Kings.

One would reasonably assume Karlsson is dealing with an undisclosed injury given that Vegas held him out of Tuesday’s practice and the game yesterday evening. He did practice toward the start of training camp but may enter the 2024-25 regular season without factoring into a preseason game. Karlsson is coming off another solid season for the Golden Knights last year scoring 30 goals and 60 points in 70 games and will look to build on that total this year.

Hague shouldn’t be out too long with Jesse Granger of The Athletic reporting he was out for a maintenance day. This was thought to be the likely reason for his absence from practice today as Hague returned to play the rest of last night’s action after missing briefly at the start of the second period. Granger shared that head coach Bruce Cassidy expects Hague to return to practice tomorrow with the team.

Other Pacific notes:

  •  Head coach of the Calgary Flames, Ryan Huska, indicates defenseman Kevin Bahl could be making his preseason debut with the organization as reported by Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg. The 6’6″ defenseman is preparing to begin his first year with the Flames after being the only player acquired by the team in the trade that sent goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils. Steinberg shares that Bahl has been nursing a lower-body injury which has precluded him from skating with the team so far but gave no indication when the injury was suffered.
  • The AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, the San Diego Gulls, are bringing in a bit of forward depth announcing a one-year standard contract for Ruslan Gazizov. It will mark Gazizov’s first year in professional hockey after an impressive three-year run with the OHL’s London Knights. The young Russian forward finished third on the Knights in scoring last season with 36 goals and 81 points in 63 games including another seven goals and 14 points in 15 playoff contests.

East Notes: Zub, Ovechkin, Reilly, Hatakka

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Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub has suffered a lower-body injury shares Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen.

Zub has missed 42 games over the last two seasons, facing a long list of short-term but nagging injuries. That includes routine absences with lower-body injuries dating back to October of last year. He found his way to success last season regardless, recording a career-high 25 points in 69 games and spending time on the top unit of both special teams. He’s set to return to that role this year, though a precedent of injuries could force Ottawa to be cautious about how they transition him back. The Senators have five pre-season games remaining before their regular season kicks off on October 10th.

Other notes from around the Metro:

  • Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery shared with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti that Alex Ovechkin could play in multiple preseason games after returning from a minor injury. Carbery added that this is the next step in ramping Ovechkin up to speed, as he prepares for his 20th season in the NHL – the most experience of any active player. Ovechkin is chasing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record, currently sitting just 41 goals back. He’s played in three preseason games every season since 2021, a tradition he seems set to continue.
  • New York Islanders defender Mike Reilly has returned to the team’s practices after sitting out with illness, shares Ethan Sears of the New York Post. He’s preparing for his second season in New York after recording 24 points in 59 games with the Islanders last year. Reilly was one of the few consistent pieces on an Islanders blue-line plagued by injury, though he only averaged 17 minutes of ice time. The 2024-25 campaign will mark Reilly’s 10th NHL season. He’s managed 400 career games and 122 points, split across six franchises.
  • New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe shared that defender Santeri Hatakka is being evaluated for an injury, per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. Hatakka is in competition for New Jersey’s seventh-defender role, after spending the bulk of last season in the minor leagues. Hatakka scored 20 points in 48 AHL games in that stint. He was also recalled for 12 NHL games, though he only recorded two assists. Keefe did not provide any clarity on what Hatakka’s injury is or how long he’s expected to be out, though his absence could clear more room for Nick DeSimone and Johnathan Kovacevic in their quest for an NHL role.

Central Notes: Ferguson, Korchinski, Buchnevich

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The AHL’s Iowa Wild have inked goaltender Dylan Ferguson to a one-year deal, relays The Hockey News’ Dylan Loucks.

The 26-year-old joins the Wild organization after the Canucks released him from a professional tryout agreement on Sunday. He briefly provided his services in Vancouver’s camp as starter Thatcher Demko remains out with a lingering knee injury, but he became redundant after the Canucks landed free agent Kevin Lankinen on a one-year, $875K deal over the weekend.

Ferguson, a seventh-round pick of the Stars back in 2017, last saw NHL ice with the Senators in the 2022-23 season. He stopped 78 of 83 shots faced in two late-season starts for a .940 SV%, 2.52 GAA, and a 1-1-0 record.

The British Columbia native spent last season with Belarus’ Dinamo Minsk in the Kontinental Hockey League, recording a .904 SV% and 2.51 GAA in 23 games with a 9-9-0 record. The 2021 ECHL Kelly Cup champion with the Fort Wayne Komets now heads to Iowa, where he’ll compete with Minnesota prospect Samuel Hlavaj and Kyle McClellan to serve as veteran Troy Grosenick’s backup. All indications point toward the Wild carrying three goalies on their NHL roster to begin the season, meaning top prospect Jesper Wallstedt won’t be back in Iowa.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • Training camp line rushes indicate that Blackhawks defender Kevin Korchinski continues to trend toward starting the season in the AHL, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus points out. He’s been paired with depth defender Louis Crevier in recent scrimmages and “will have to do something spectacular over the next two weeks to earn an NHL job out of camp,” Lazerus said. It’s far from a new development – reports last month indicated this was the likely scenario for the 2022 seventh-overall pick. He managed just 15 points in 76 games with Chicago last season with a -36 rating, and a lengthy stint with the Rockford IceHogs to begin the season would allow him to once again dominate offensively.
  • Blues star Pavel Buchnevich is back on the ice at practice Tuesday, relays Lou Korac of The Hockey News and NHL.com. He’d sat out the past couple days after blocking a shot from Stars defenseman Mathew Dumba in Saturday’s 2-1 exhibition game loss. It’s an important training camp for the natural winger, who projects to start the season at center after signing a six-year, $48MM extension over the summer.

Morning Notes: Shesterkin, Ovechkin, Chychrun, Clifford

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Superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin spoke highly of the Rangers organization, but added that you never know what can happen, when asked about his looming contract year shares Mollie Walker of the New York Post. Talks around Shesterkin’s next deal will be the contract negotiations to watch this season, likely to be the deal that sets the bar for goalie salaries.

That’s an apt responsibility for Shesterkin, perhaps the best goalie in the NHL. He’s coming off yet another strong season, posting 36 wins and a .913 save percentage in 55 starts – a stat line that ranked second, eighth, and 10th among the league’s goalies respectively. Those are dazzling numbers, but actually marked a career-low year for the 28-year-old, who managed a higher save percentage in each of his previous four seasons. That includes his Vezina-winning 2021-22 campaign, when Shesterkin set the second-highest save percentage since 2000 – a .935 in 53 games, then only behind Tim Thomas’ 2010-11 campaign, though Linus Ullmark has since split the bunch.

Either way, the down year is much more a testament to Shesterkin’s greatness than a sign of decline. Even at his worst, he sits among the absolute best goalies in the league. The Rangers will have the dreaded task of paying for that value next summer. They may need to prepare for a deal north of $10MM annually – which would put a second eight-figure man on the Rangers roster, next to Artemi Panarin.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Washington Capitals returned forward Alex Ovechkin and defender Jakob Chychrun to the practice ice early this morning, looking to catch both players up after Ovechkin missed parts of training camp with a small injury, while Chychrun faced an illness shares NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. Both players could be headed for top-line roles this season, making their conditioning a top priority for the playoff-hopeful Capitals. Ovechkin in particular will be the focus of the hockey world this year, sitting just 42 goals back from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record. He’s hit that scoring mark on 13 different occasions, including as recent as the 2022-23 campaign. That record, and their role in Washington’s long-term success, will make Ovechkin and Chychrun two names to watch closely through the rest of the Capitals training camp.
  • Veteran bruiser Kyle Clifford has been designated as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, shares David Alter of The Hockey News. Clifford signed a minor-league deal with the Toronto Marlies last month, giving him room to join yet another Maple Leafs training camp. He’ll be working towards his 15th professional season when he returns from injury. Last season marked the first year of that career where Clifford didn’t earn NHL ice time, though he stayed true to form with 140 penalty minutes in 53 AHL games.

Avalanche Notes: Rantanen, Landeskog, Lehkonen, Annunen

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When asked about a potential contract extension, star Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen has shared that he plans to stay in Denver for the foreseeable future and that the business side of things will sort itself out, per Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports.

Rantanen is coming off yet another career year, posting 42 goals and 104 points – just one point shy of the career high he sent last season, though he played in two fewer games this year. He’s emerged as the clear 1B to Nathan MacKinnon’s 1A – giving Colorado one of the most formidable top lines in the league. Rantanen has climbed to 617 points in 570 career games – with 301 of those points coming in the last three seasons alone. He seems focused on repeating the dominant scoring this season, confident that a new deal with Avalanche will come to fruition when necessary.

Other notes out of the Mile High City:

  • Head coach Jared Bednar spoke with the media ahead of Colorado’s start to training camp and among the updates, shared that there’s no news on team captain Gabriel Landeskog per Deen. Bednar mentioned that Landeskog has made big strides but that the situation remains up in the air. He hasn’t played since June of 2022, supporting Colorado’s run to the 2022 Stanley Cup after a trio of injury-shortened seasons. He’s an incredibly effective scorer when he plays, scoring 30 goals and 59 points in 51 games in his most recent season. That’s the production that fans have come to expect from their captain, leading Landeskog to 571 points across 738 career games. There’s hope that he can return to the top flight soon, though it seems he’ll need to overcome more hurdles before he’s back in the NHL.
  • Winger Artturi Lehkonen isn’t expected to attend training camp as he continues recovering from a shoulder injury that required surgery in May, shares Meghan Angley of The DNVR.com. Lehkonen only appeared in 45 games last season, but still managed an admirable 16 goals and 34 points. He’s flashed strong scoring over the last three seasons, totaling 123 points in 183 games split between Montreal and Colorado. He’ll sit out of the team’s training camp, hoping to return to a solid lineup role once he’s healthy.
  • Bednar also shared high remarks for top goalie prospect Justus Annunen, sharing that he could eat into starter Alexandar Georgiev’s workload, shares Angley. Georgiev has played in 125 games over the last two seasons,  recording a modest 78 wins and .908 save percentage. Annunen split time between the NHL and AHL last season, posting an impressive .928 save percentage in the outings. He emerged as a top-end AHL starter in 2022-23, with 22 wins and a .916 save percentage in 41 appearances. It’s not clear how the Avalanche will platoon their netminders this year, but Annunen’s recent success could be too much for Colorado to ignore.

Senators Sign Dustin Tokarski To PTO

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The Ottawa Senators have signed goaltender Dustin Tokarski to a professional try-out agreement. The move continues Tokarski’s tour around the NHL, after a reunion with the Buffalo Sabres organization last season.

Tokarski has become a noted minor-leaguer, beginning his career with a fifth-round selection in the 2008 NHL Draft. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning, who promoted him to their pro ranks in the 2009-10 season. He managed a daunting 55 starts with the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals that year, but stood tall as a rookie, winning 27 games and posting a .915 save percentage. He’d hang onto Norfolk’s starting role over the next two years, even leading the team to the 2012 Calder Cup Championship with 32 wins and a .913 save percentage.

But for all of his achievements and accolades at the minor league level, Tokarski couldn’t break his way into the NHL. He played in just 10 NHL games through his first five pro seasons, not receiving his first full NHL season until 2014-15, when he spent the year backing up star Carey Price. Tokarski appeared in 17 NHL games that year, posting six wins and a .910 save percentage – but when Price went down with injury in the following year, it was Mike Condon and Ben Scrivens that got the call from Montreal. Tokarski returned to his role of AHL starter, continuing it through 2021 and even winning another Calder Cup Championship with the Charlotte Checkers in 2019.

He earned one more chance at a hardy NHL role in the 2021-22 season, as the Buffalo Sabres scrounged for goaltending support behind an aged Craig Anderson. Tokarski appeared in a career-high 29 games that season, recording 10 wins and a .899 save percentage. But, once again, he lost hold of the role in the following year, and has since spent the last two seasons back in the AHL.

Tokarski, 35, has put together a career to be proud of. He’s recorded 423 games and 14 seasons in the AHL, setting a career save percentage of .910. He’s won two AHL rings along the way – joining a 2008 WHL Championship and Memorial Cup, as well as a 2009 World Juniors Gold Medal, in his trophy cabinet. He’s stood tall in his limited NHL action too, with a career .902 through 80 games in the league, spread between five organizations. It’s hard to think that Tokarski will suddenly earn a prominent NHL role, but his PTO with the Senators will mark valuable goaltending leadership behind a revamped goaltending room.

Kyle Okposo Announces Retirement

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Longtime New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres winger Kyle Okposo has announced his retirement from the NHL in an open letter, released by agency CAA Hockey. In the letter, Okposo recounted his dreams of pursuing the NHL and the deep relationships he was able to form around the league. Okposo will be ending a decorated career, encompassing 17 NHL seasons, 1,051 games, and as of a few months ago, one Stanley Cup.

Okposo was originally selected seventh overall by the Islanders in the 2006 NHL Draft, after winning the 2006 USHL Clark Cup Championship with the Des Moines Buccaneers. He followed the draft with two productive years at the University of Minnesota, combining for 51 points in 58 games, before turning pro in the second-half of the 2007-08 season. Okposo’s production quickly translated to the AHL flight, and he earned his first NHL call-up after 35 games and 28 points in Bridgeport.

Once he was called up, Okposo didn’t look back – netting five points in his first nine NHL games, then more formally scoring 18 goals and 39 points in 65 games during his rookie season. He jumped up to New York’s second line and held his spot proudly, routinely challenging 20 goals and 50 points – peaking with a career-high 27 goals and 69 points in the 2013-14 season. Few wingers were as reliable as Okposo, and he carried that responsibility through a move to the Buffalo Sabres in 2016 – signing a seven-year deal in what was his only experience on the free agent market.

Okposo joined a Sabres team quickly approaching rock bottom. They did not once make the postseason during Okposo’s eight years with the club, but that didn’t dissuade him from latching on to his patented role in the lineup. Even through challenges with routine concussions, Okposo stood as a routine scorer, challenging 45 points every time he was able to play in a full season with the Sabres.

The consistent persistence earned Okposo the Sabres’ captaincy in 2022, succeeding Jack Eichel after his move to Vegas. Okposo wore the ’C’ for the next two seasons. But with the then-35-year-old quickly approaching his final skates, the Sabres made the difficult decision to trade their captain at the 2024 Trade Deadline, moving him to a team capable of running towards the Stanley Cup.

And thus, Okposo joined the red-hot Florida Panthers, with a fifth-round pick and the rights to defender Calle Sjalin headed back to Buffalo. Okposo filled the role of 13th-forward for Florida, only slotting into six regular season games and failing to record a point. But his energy proved invaluable in the postseason, where he appeared in 17 games and found a way to make a noticeable impact despite recording just two assists. The hard work paid off, and in his first postseason appearance since 2016 – Okposo won the Stanley Cup.

He’ll end his career on that high, but it’s hard to think his eager personality will stay away from the league for long. He hinted at that in his retirement announcement, sharing, “Thirty years of playing hockey was incredible… I believe the game is in a great place right now, but the possibilities are vast. I’m looking forward to continuing to contribute to the games as it reaches new heights.”

Sharks Sign Aaron Dell, Joey Keane To PTOs

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The San Jose Sharks are adding to their training camp on day two, signing defender Joey Keane and goaltender Aaron Dell to professional try-out agreements.

This deal gives Dell a chance for yet another reunion with the San Jose Sharks. His first NHL games came in San Jose, after working his way up their minor league depth charts as an undrafted free agent. He made his Sharks debut in 2016, serving as the backup to Martin Jones during his prime starting years. Dell flashed bright spots as a rookie, recording an 11-6-1 record and .931 save percentage. He continued to proudly fill San Jose’s backup role through the 2019-20 season but was never able to work into more than 33 games in one season, leading to a move to New Jersey in 2020.

Dell’s production took a major hit when he left San Jose. He’s played in just 23 games since then, recording a measly two wins and .887 save percentage. Not even a return to San Jose in 2022-23 could save Dell’s slide. Now 35, Dell has become a de facto minor leaguer but could make one more lunge toward the NHL lineup on this PTO, joining a Sharks team with shallow goaltending behind star prospect Yaroslav Askarov.

Keane hasn’t achieved the same NHL success, instead spending the majority of his North American career in the AHL. He recorded 83 points across 144 games, including supporting the 2022 Chicago Wolves to a Calder Cup Championship. That production was enough to earn Keane two spot starts in the Carolina Hurricanes lineup, though he wasn’t able to record a point in either outing. Keane has spent the last two seasons with the KHL’s Moscow Spartak, where he’s scored 35 points in 102 games.

Canucks To Start Camp Without Teddy Blueger, Cole McWard

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The Vancouver Canucks will begin training camp without forward Teddy Blueger and defenseman Cole McWard after both underwent minor, lower-body surgery – general manager Patrik Allvin shared with The Athletic’s Thomas Drance. The two will join forward Dakota Joshua and goaltender Thatcher Demko in working to recover from lower-body injuries before camp ends.

Blueger, 30, will stand as the biggest missing piece, having played 68 games with the Canucks last season. It was his first year in Vancouver and he used it to good effect, tying his career-high of 28 points while making the second-most appearances of any one season. The stout year succeeded a 2022-23 campaign to remember for Blueger. He started the year with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he spent the first five years of his career, but a Trade Deadline move landed Blueger on the Vegas Golden Knights. He’d proceed to slot into 24 games with Vegas, between the regular and post-seasons, serving a depth role as the team ran to the first Stanley Cup win of their young history. That was Blueger’s first chance to get his name etched on the Cup, having spent the years of  Pittsburgh’s back-to-back Cup wins in the minor leagues.

McWard, 23, is on the other end of his career, just completing his first season after joining Vancouver as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He’s been awarded six NHL games to this point, scoring one goal, though he spent the majority of this season with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. McWard managed 17 points in 57 games with the junior Canucks, ranking fourth among the team’s defenders in scoring.

The training camp absence will hinder both – as Blueger looks to fend off competition for his fourth-line role, and McWard looks to claim one of the open spots on Vancouver’s blue-line. The pair’s injuries could give a boost to players like Kiefer Sherwood and Noah Juulsen, or even open more room for Sammy Blais as he tries to vindicate a professional try-out agreement. All three will battle for quaint roles in the lineup, but could end up pivotal pieces as Vancouver eyes another berth into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Flames Sign Cole Schwindt And Ilya Solovyov

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The Calgary Flames have signed their last two pending RFAs ahead of training camp, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract with forward Cole Schwindt, and a two-year, hybrid contract with defenseman Ilya Solovyov. Schwindt will carry an $800K cap hit at the NHL level. Solovyov will earn a league-minimum $775K salary at the NHL level, while his deal will be two-way in year one and one-way in year two. Schwindt’s deal was first reported by Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960, while Solovyov’s contract was announced by agent Dan Milstein.

Schwindt has spent the last four seasons clawing his way up minor-league depth charts, beginning his career with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch in the shortened 2020-21 season. He scored two points in 10 games in his first year – production that paled in comparison to the 40 points he’d score in 72 games with the Charlotte Checkers in the following year. That hot scoring boosted Schwindt to Charlotte’s top line and ultimately earned him the first three games of his NHL career when the Florida Panthers faced injury. He failed to score in those appearances but flashed enough to be included in the infamous Matthew Tkachuk trade a few months later – joining Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, and a draft pick in being moved to the Calgary Flames.

That deal moved Schwindt to the Calgary Wranglers lineup, where he took some time to find his footing, scoring just 32 points in 70 games in 2022-23. He improved on that a bit this year, climbing back to 36 points in 66 games and once again earning NHL ice time – though he again failed to score through four outings.

Schwindt seems set to return to his role of top minor-leaguer next season, looking to continue to improve his scoring. If he does, the 23-year-old winger could be a favorite depth fill-in as Calgary pushes through the 2024-25 campaign with a much younger lineup than last season.

Solovyov has been in a similar spot to Schwindt, fighting up the minor-league lineup, though he’s spent the entirety of his three-year pro career in the Flames organization. He moved to the AHL in 2021-22, recording just eight points in 51 games as a rookie. Solovyov boosted that production to 18 points in 68 games in the following year. That seems to be more in line with his routine scoring, vindicated by his 15 points in 51 games this year, which was enough to earn Solovyov his first 10 NHL games in the middle of the year. He recorded three assists and four penalty minutes in those outings, looking fairly stout on a Flames defense in need of help.

While Schwindt will need to work his way up to the NHL fringe, Solovyov will jump straight into a competition for minutes with peers like Joel Hanley, Kevin Bahl, and Jake Bean. Each member of that trio carries more NHL experience than Solovyov, but his deal featuring a one-way year could be a strong indication of his lineup upside.

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