Cole Caufield Out For The Season With A Shoulder Injury
Jan 27: Caufield will undergo surgery on February 1 in Colorado, according to Eric Engels of Sportsnet.
Jan 21: The Canadiens have struggled offensively this season and scoring goals just got a lot harder as the team announced that winger Cole Caufield suffered a season-ending shoulder injury and will undergo surgery in the near future. There is no timeline for how long the recovery period will take with an update being expected after the medical procedures are completed.
Caufield played in Thursday’s loss to Florida and was a full participant in practice on Friday so the announcement comes as somewhat of a surprise. TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie notes (Twitter link) that the injury isn’t something that just happened but has instead been lingering for the past several weeks. The 22-year-old is tied for 11th in the league in goals this season with 26 while TSN noted earlier this week that he’s tied for eighth in the league in goals since Martin St. Louis took over behind the bench a little less than a year ago. Caufield has over 21% of Montreal’s goals this season with the team ranking 28th in the league in goals scored heading into Saturday’s action.
Caufield is set to become a restricted free agent this summer without salary arbitration eligibility. His case is one of some intrigue given how productive he has become under St. Louis while GM Kent Hughes indicated earlier this week that preliminary discussions are underway with a desire to lock him up on a long-term contract. However, with his first season being a short one having burned his first entry-level year after his college campaign, Caufield only has 123 career regular season contests under his belt which is considerably less than what most players that sign a long-term, big-money agreement after their first contract have.
In a corresponding roster move, the Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that forward Alex Belzile has been recalled from AHL Laval. The 31-year-old has 13 career games of NHL experience with Montreal over the last two seasons and has 13 goals and 12 assists in 29 games with the Rocket this season. Even with this recall, Montreal only has 11 healthy forwards on their active roster and they are expected to dress seven defensemen tonight against Toronto.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cam Talbot Suffers A Lower-Body Injury
It has been a tough season on the injury front for the Senators who have had several key players banged up at times. They lost another key piece on Wednesday night as the team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Cam Talbot sustained a lower-body injury against the Islanders. He exited the game in the second period and did not return.
Ottawa acquired the 35-year-old in an effort to build a quality tandem between the pipes with Anton Forsberg. However, things haven’t gone according to plan as the team entered play tonight a little below league average in goals allowed with both netminders taking a step back relative to their play from a year ago. Talbot had just a .903 SV% heading into Wednesday’s contest, the second-lowest of his career while Forsberg’s SV% has dipped 18 points from a year ago. Between that and a surprising lack of improvement offensively, the Sens are battling to avoid being last in the Atlantic Division.
Notably, it’s a contract year for Talbot who is set to hit the open market this summer. Suffering a second injury (he missed nine games with a rib issue earlier this season) on top of him struggling a bit more certainly isn’t helping his market as he looks to get a raise on his $3.67MM AAV. While it’s unknown how long he’ll be out at this point, an extended absence could take a potential trade deadline swap off the table as well.
It’s also worth mentioning that Mads Sogaard, Ottawa’s top goalie prospect with AHL Belleville, is injured at the moment and hasn’t played in the last week and a half. That means their recall options will be veteran Antoine Bibeau or Kevin Mandolese who has split the last two seasons between the AHL and ECHL and is still looking for his first NHL appearance despite three recalls already in 2022-23.
Avalanche And Sharks Complete Four-Player Trade
Ryan Merkley‘s trade request has been granted as the Sharks have traded the defenseman to the Avalanche along with winger Matt Nieto in exchange for winger Martin Kaut and defenseman/winger Jacob MacDonald.
Merkley was a first-round pick by San Jose back in 2018 (21st overall) and showed plenty of offensive upside during his junior career in the OHL where he had 269 points in 248 games in four seasons. However, that hasn’t really translated into much offensive success in the minors as he has just two career goals in the minors, neither of which came this season. Merkley made his NHL debut in 2021-22, getting into 39 games with the Sharks but he hasn’t had a chance to suit up at the top level this year which resulted in the trade request. He has 14 assists in 30 games with the Barracuda this season. He’s in the final year of his entry-level contract with a $863K cap hit and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Nieto, meanwhile, is no stranger to Colorado as he spent parts of four seasons with them between 2016-17 and 2019-20. During that stretch, he was a serviceable provider of depth scoring, notching 34 goals and 47 assists in 251 games. The 30-year-old is producing at a similar clip this season, tallying eight goals and seven assists in 45 games with the Sharks while logging a career-high 15:39 per game. He won’t see that type of ice time in his second go-round with the Avs but with them in need of reliable options in the bottom six, Nieto should still be called upon to play an important depth role. He’s also in the final year of his contract with a $850K cap hit and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.
Kaut was also a first-round pick in the 2018 draft, going 16th overall to the Avalanche. However, while he impressed in the minors as an 18-year-old and earned an NHL stint at 19, he hasn’t had much success at the top level. So far, he has played in just 47 career NHL contests, 27 of which have come this season where he has just a goal and two assists to his credit while averaging 9:08 per night. Kaut has also played in ten AHL games this season where he has five goals and three helpers and is currently in the minors having been sent down last week. The 23-year-old is also in the final year of his entry-level deal, one that carries an AAV of $863K. He should get an opportunity to see some regular minutes for San Jose down the stretch in the hopes of him developing into a regular in the bottom six down the road.
MacDonald came up as a defenseman but has logged a lot of action on the wing this season with Colorado searching for bottom-six options as they’ve dealt with injuries all year long. The 29-year-old has suited up 33 times so far in 2022-23, picking up a pair of assists along with 29 hits. He has made 74 appearances with the Avs over the last three seasons, comprising the bulk of his NHL action (aside from a two-game stint with Florida in 2018). MacDonald is in the first year of a two-year, two-way contract that pays the minimum salary in the NHL (a $762,500 AAV) and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024. He’s likely to play a similar depth role with the Sharks, filling in at both positions when necessary.
Cap space is limited for the Avalanche and it’s worth noting that they are adding a little less than $100K on their books with this swap. However, they get a more proven forward in Nieto that should bolster their bottom six and an interesting wild card in Merkley. If he’s able to develop into a regular defender down the road, this will be a nice pickup for GM Chris MacFarland. If it doesn’t pan out, all it will cost them is a couple of depth options so it’s a low-risk move that could carry a fair bit of upside as they look to hold onto a playoff spot in the tight Central Division.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Schultz, Bortuzzo, Kapanen
The Kraken have been without Justin Schultz for the last week and it appears they’ll be missing him a little longer as team reporter Bob Condor mentions that the defenseman is now listed as being out week to week. Schultz has done well in his first season with Seattle, notching 24 points in 42 games so far, already surpassing his point total from a year ago in 32 fewer contests. With the All-Star break upcoming, it appears the earliest he’ll be able to return is February 5th. For the time being, the team is keeping Schultz on the active roster. If they need to open up a roster spot, they’ll be able to place him on injured reserve retroactively to the date of injury which means he could be activated at any time.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo could return at some point on their current road trip, relays NHL.com’s Lou Korac (Twitter link). The veteran has missed the last two-and-a-half weeks with a lower-body injury sustained against Montreal. Bortuzzo doesn’t produce much offensively – he has just one point in 30 games this season – but is still a serviceable stay-at-home option on their third pairing. Louis has an open roster spot at the moment so whenever he is eligible to be activated, they won’t need to make room for him.
- Penguins winger Kasperi Kapanen returned to practice today in a non-contact jersey, notes Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He has been out for the last week with an undisclosed injury and while the 26-year-old declined to go into specifics, he did call it “something that I didn’t expect to turn into something bigger”. Kapanen had been scuffling a bit offensively before the injury, notching just a single goal in his last 19 games but he still has 17 points in 35 appearances this season despite logging less than 12 minutes a night.
Red Wings Notes: Zadina, Bertuzzi, Johansson
Filip Zadina’s return to the ice has had some ups and downs as the winger has dealt with various setbacks that have delayed his return. However, he told team reporter Jonathan Mills that at this point, all he’s waiting for is the sign-off from team doctors to return to the lineup with the hopes of getting in before next week’s All-Star break. Zadina has missed a bit more than ten weeks due to a lower-body injury, one that was initially supposed to sideline him for six to eight weeks. He has been limited to just nine games this season and is still looking for his first point which isn’t the type of bounce-back anyone was hoping for in the first year of his three-year bridge deal
More from Detroit:
- Winger Tyler Bertuzzi is also nearing a return as MLive’s Ansar Khan reports (Twitter link) that the veteran is expected to return on Thursday against Montreal. The 27-year-old suffered a lower-body injury back last Thursday and has missed the last two games. This season hasn’t gone anywhere near the way Bertuzzi had hoped as he has missed time with three separate injuries and has just a goal and four assists in 15 games. That’s hardly the type of production he was hoping for heading into the final year of his contract with his first crack at unrestricted free agency to follow.
- Prospect Anton Johansson has signed an upgraded contract, per an announcement from SHL Leksand. The 18-year-old defenseman was a fourth-round pick last summer (105th overall) and started the year at the junior level but has played in 13 games with Leksand at the top level. That playing time necessitated an adjusted contract but it still only runs through this season. However, it’s likely that Johansson will remain in the SHL for the foreseeable future which will be a good test development-wise.
Five Key Stories: 1/16/23 – 1/22/23
There was plenty of big news around the NHL over the past seven days including a big contract extension and a coaching change. Those are among the news that’s highlighted in our key stories.
Tocchet To Vancouver: After weeks, if not months of speculation, the long-expected coaching change in Vancouver happened with Rick Tocchet being hired to take the place of Bruce Boudreau. In addition, the Canucks hired long-time NHL blueliners Adam Foote (assistant coach) and Sergei Gonchar (development coach) while letting assistant Trent Cull go. This is the third head coaching role for Tocchet whose teams with Tampa Bay and Arizona played to a .475 points percentage over parts of six seasons. As for Boudreau, Vancouver played to a .549 points percentage over 103 games but the team had been struggling considerably this season and are 14 points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
More Canucks Changes? At a press conference early in the week, Canucks president Jim Rutherford indicated that “major surgery” on the roster will be needed for next season. Pending UFA center Bo Horvat appears likely to move in the coming weeks but clearly, he has more than that in mind. Moving pricey contracts is harder than ever so Vancouver’s management group will have their work cut out for them to do the shakeup that they’re seeking. One player that they’re hoping won’t be a part of those changes is rookie winger Andrei Kuzmenko as Rutherford stated that extension talks with the pending unrestricted free agent are underway. Kuzmenko has 41 points in 45 games this season and will be adding quite a few million per year to the $925K he’s getting on his entry-level deal over the coming months.
Seven For Boldy: With Minnesota’s cap situation getting even tighter next season as buyout costs for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter get higher, there was an expectation that they might have to do a bridge deal for young winger Matt Boldy. That wasn’t the case, however, as they inked the 21-year-old to a seven-year, $49MM extension that begins next season and runs through 2029-30. Boldy is in just his second NHL season but has been productive in his limited action with 29 goals and 42 assists in 92 career contests. Minnesota is banking on Boldy taking another step forward offensively and if he does, this could wind up being a bargain fairly quickly. They now have over $74MM in commitments to just 14 players for next season which won’t give GM Bill Guerin much flexibility with which to round out their roster.
Kane Returns: As the Oilers look to hold onto a playoff spot in the tight Western Conference, they welcomed back a key player as Evander Kane was activated off LTIR. Kane landed on there early in the season after having his wrist sliced by a skate and while he wound up being out for two months, he still returned well ahead of schedule. Kane has 13 points in 17 games so far this season and is already back on the top line alongside Connor McDavid. To create the cap space needed to activate Kane, Edmonton placed winger Kailer Yamamoto and defenseman Ryan Murray on LTIR. Yamamoto is expected to be out for a few weeks which buys them a little time but, barring further injuries, they will need to make some cap-clearing demotions once the winger returns.
Key Injuries: Unfortunately, Max Pacioretty’s return for the Hurricanes was short-lived. After working his way back from a torn Achilles that he sustained in the offseason, he suffered the same injury in just his fifth game of the year and will be out for the season. It’s hardly an ideal situation for the veteran as he’s eligible for free agency this summer while Carolina was certainly hoping to get more from a key offseason acquisition although they’ll be able to spend up to his $7MM AAV on a replacement. Meanwhile, the Canadiens have shut down winger Cole Caufield due to a shoulder injury that will require surgery in the coming days. The 22-year-old had 26 goals in 46 games this season, his final one before being eligible for restricted free agency in July.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Graves, Stanley, Gauthier
The Devils have yet to begin discussions regarding defenseman Ryan Graves, his agent Allain Roy confirmed to James Nichols of The Fourth Period. The 27-year-old is in the final season of a three-year, $9.5MM contract and has 16 points in 42 games for New Jersey so far this year despite seeing his playing time dip by nearly two minutes a night compared to 2021-22. He’s well-positioned to earn at least a small raise that could push him toward the $5MM mark on his next deal. At the moment, the Devils only have four regular blueliners signed for next season with Damon Severson joining Graves among the UFA-eligible defenders this summer. They already have nearly $19MM in commitments to the four they have so they might not want to keep both Graves and Severson in the fold for next season knowing those two could push the combined cost on their back end past the $30MM mark.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Jets defenseman Logan Stanley wasn’t in the lineup tonight against Philadelphia but associate coach Scott Arniel told Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link) that the blueliner could be ready to return on Tuesday. Stanley has been out of the lineup for a little more than six weeks with a lower-body injury. The 24-year-old has been limited to just seven games this season which is a hardly ideal platform year for someone eligible for salary arbitration for the first time this summer.
- The Rangers are optimistic that winger Julien Gauthier will be able to return Monday against Florida, notes Ethan Sears of the New York Post. The 25-year-old has missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury and is currently on injured reserve although a roster spot was created when Jonny Brodzinski was sent down after clearing waivers earlier today. Gauthier started the season with AHL Hartford but has six goals in 32 games with New York since being recalled despite averaging just 8:29 per night.
Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Olofsson, Dorion
The Red Wings recently presented a new extension offer to pending UFA center Dylan Larkin, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. However, it does not appear to have moved the needle much as Pagnotta notes that there remains a sizable gap to bridge in discussions. Larkin has made it clear that he wants to remain in Detroit and it seems likely that both sides are looking for a long-term agreement which means money would be the gap they’re trying to work through. After finishing just under a point per game last season, the 26-year-old is on a similar pace this season and his camp could point to Mathew Barzal’s extension that carries a $9.15MM AAV as a possible comparable in negotiations. If something can’t be worked out in the next six weeks leading up to the trade deadline, Larkin could become a trade candidate if they don’t want to run the risk of losing him for nothing this summer.
More from the Atlantic:
- While Sabres winger Victor Olofsson has opted for short-term contracts in each of his last two negotiations, he told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News that he hopes to remain with Buffalo long-term. The 27-year-old is in the first season of a two-year, $9.5MM deal and has 21 goals in 45 games so far this season, good for third on the team. Will that be enough to land the long-term commitment that he wants? He’ll be eligible for an extension on July 1st so he’ll have to wait a little while to potentially find out.
- There has been a belief that the Senators are shopping for help on the back end and NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis notes (Twitter link) that Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion is watching the Kings for the second time in four days. Los Angeles has four right-shot defenders on their roster plus promising prospect Jordan Spence in the minors so their surplus could certainly be of interest to the Sens. Notably, none of those blueliners are on expiring contracts so Dorion would be taking on a two-year commitment if he finds a trade he likes to improve their defense corps.
Jonny Brodzinski Clears Waivers
Jan 22: Brodzinski has cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Rangers are free to re-assign him to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.
Jan 21: The Rangers have been shuffling around their fourth line all season and it appears another change could be forthcoming as NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that they’ve placed winger Jonny Brodzinski on waivers.
This is the second time that the 29-year-old has been on the waiver wire this season having also been there at the end of training camp. Brodzinski cleared at that time and spent most of the first two months of the year with AHL Hartford where he picked up two goals and seven assists in 17 games. He was recalled in early December and has basically been up since then, seeing action in 16 games with the big club, notching a goal and an assist in a little over nine minutes of playing time per game. Having played in more than 10 games, he needs to clear waivers again before he can rejoin the Wolf Pack.
Brodzinski is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal worth the NHL minimum in both seasons, good for a cap hit of $762.5K. He has seen NHL action in each of the last seven years spanning 100 games along the way. New York didn’t need to waive him as they had an open roster spot already but if he passes through unclaimed on Sunday, it will allow them to send Brodzinski down or at least shuffle him back and forth a bit to bank some extra cap space heading into the trade deadline in early March.
East Notes: Bobrovsky, Kleven, Fasching, Monahan
The Panthers will be without goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for at least the next three games, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). However, the team is hopeful that he’ll be able to return soon after that. Bobrovsky suffered a lower-body injury early in Thursday’s victory over Montreal which was particularly noteworthy with Spencer Knight currently on injured reserve. However, his conditioning stint is likely to be short-lived as he could rejoin Florida on Monday in advance of their back-to-back set. If the Panthers are going to claw their way back into the playoff picture, they’ll need both of their regular netminders healthy and it appears they won’t have to wait much longer for that to be the case.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- Senators prospect Tyler Kleven is expected to turn pro after this season, mentions Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The defenseman was a second-round pick by Ottawa in 2020 (44th overall) and the team tried to get him to sign before this season but the 21-year-old wanted to stay for one more year at North Dakota. That year is going pretty well as Kleven has 11 points along with 52 penalty minutes in 21 games so far.
- Islanders winger Hudson Fasching is listed as day-to-day due to a lower-body injury, notes Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). The 27-year-old missed Thursday’s game and did not take part in the morning skate today. Despite the setback, it has been a successful season thus far for Fasching who has played in a career-high 19 games so far, notching three goals and two assists while logging over a dozen minutes a night.
- While the Canadiens lost a key forward in Cole Caufield today, they’re closer to getting another one back as TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie relays (Twitter link) that center Sean Monahan took part in the morning skate in a non-contact jersey. The 28-year-old has missed the last six weeks with a foot injury but had gotten off to a good start before that with 17 points in 25 games. A pending unrestricted free agent, Monahan is expected to be one of Montreal’s top trade chips heading into the March 3rd trade deadline.