Blackhawks Announce Several Injury Updates
The Chicago Blackhawks have shared that Nikita Zaitsev will be away from the team until early next week, at the earliest, as he’s taking time away for personal reasons. The team also placed defenseman Jarred Tinordi on injured reserve with an oblique injury. He and forward Andreas Athanasiou, who is dealing with a lower-body injury, are both considered week-to-week.
The Hawks have recalled Filip Roos to the NHL lineup in response to Zaitsev’s absence. Chicago is also without Taylor Hall, who has been day-to-day with a lower-body injury and returned to practice on Wednesday.
The quartet of Tinordi, Athanasiou, Zaitsev, and Hall have served as go-to lineup pieces for Chicago early on, with each player appearing in five or more games. Hall has played the most prominent role, averaging a little over 16 minutes of ice time and four points through eight games. Tinnordi and Zaitsev have operated as bottom-pairing defenders, with each player averaging roughly 14 minutes of ice time and scoring one point. Athanasiou has averaged the least ice time of the group, playing just under 13 minutes of ice time through 11 games and scoring four points. This is despite Athanasiou playing with the team’s middle-six in the games he’s appeared in, with half of his ice time being played alongside rookie Lukas Reichel.
Despite the long list of injuries, recalled defenseman Filip Roos is expected to slot in as the team’s seventh defenseman – playing behind AHL teammates Wyatt Kaiser and Isaak Phillips. He is the team’s only healthy extra player for Chicago’s Thursday night game against Tampa Bay, as Hall is expected to sit out of the match.
Injury Notes: Devils, Canadiens, Sabres
New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff shared that winger Timo Meier will be a game-time decision for the team’s Thursday night matchup, after sustaining an injury in the team’s recent win over the Winnipeg Jets. Ruff also added that Jack Hughes is progressing but isn’t ready for a return just yet.
These are tough updates to a Devils team that’s already suffering because of injuries. Meier is one of three healthy Devils forwards with 10 or more points through the team’s first 14 games. His absence would mark yet another blow to the team’s top six, which is currently missing Hughes and Nico Hischier. The Devils have taken a committee approach to replacing their top two centers, giving Michael McLeod, Dawson Mercer, and Erik Haula more ice time as a result. Haula has been the most productive of the trio, netting five goals and eight points in 13 games, while McLeod has managed six points in 14 games of his own. Mercer is the odd-man-out, with three goals serving as his only scoring this season.
Other injury notes:
- The Montreal Canadiens have shared that Rafaël Harvey-Pinard will miss the team’s Thursday night matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Habs will turn to Michael Pezzetta to fill in. The 25-year-old winger has two points in 12 NHL games this season.
- Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch has shared that he will be a “coach’s decision” for the team’s upcoming matchup against Winnipeg. The team’s head coach Don Granato responded by saying that whether to play Tuch or not will be a very easy decision, insinuating that the winger will return to action on Friday.
Columbus Expected To Recall Trey Fix-Wolansky
The Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to recall forward Trey Fix-Wolansky from the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Fix-Wolansky has recorded 16 points through 11 games with the Monsters, leading the team in both points and assists. He also ranks fifth in the AHL in points, despite being tied for the fewest games played of anyone in the top 10.
Fix-Wolansky has appeared in 15 NHL games over the course of the last two seasons, scoring two goals and one assist. It’s been a modest showing at the top level, despite Fix-Wolansky showing consistent scoring ability in the minors. In addition to his team-leading tallies this year, Fix-Wolansky also scored 71 points in 61 games last season, again good for the lead spot in Cleveland. In fact, Fix-Wolansky scored over 30 points more than Justin Richards, who ranked second.
The Blue Jackets bring Fix-Wolansky to the NHL lineup in response to centerman Jack Roslovic suffering an ankle injury that’s expected to hold him out for the next six weeks. Roslovic has appeared in 14 games this season, scoring six points and recording a -6. The 24-year-old Fix-Wolansky will become the fourth rookie in the Blue Jackets lineup, if he’s able to slot in, joining Adam Fantilli, Dmitri Voronkov, and David Jiricek. Columbus has gotten exciting play out of their rookie forwards so far, with Fantilli ranked second on the team in scoring with nine points in 16 games and Voronkov not far behind with seven points in 10 games. Jiricek hasn’t found the same early success, though, netting only three points in the 11 games that he’s played this year.
Carson Soucy Out Week-To-Week With Foot Injury
November 15th: The Vancouver Canucks have updated Soucy’s status and provided a clear timeline by now saying that the defenseman will miss the next six-to-eight weeks of action.
November 14th: Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet shared that defenseman Carson Soucy will undergo further evaluation on a foot injury that currently has him designated as week-to-week. Tocchet also shared that Tyler Meyers should be ready for the team’s Wednesday night matchup against the New York Islanders. The team also recalled Akito Hirose to the NHL lineup ahead of their Tuesday practice.
Soucy has been out of action since he left the team’s November 12th game early. He’s appeared in 13 games this season, netting two goals and five points, while averaging just under 17 minutes of ice time. He’s in his first season with the Canucks, after signing a three-year contract on July 1st that carries a $3.25MM cap hit.
Meyers’ return to the lineup will help fill in for the missing Soucy. The 33-year-old defenseman looked strong to start the season, netting six points in 15 games before his injury while operating on the team’s second pairing. If he can’t go, Akito Hirose will step back into the lineup after spending 11 games in the AHL. Hirose appeared in two Canucks games earlier in the season before being sent to the minors. He’s failed to score in either the NHL or AHL this year, although he did record two penalties and a +2 in his AHL appearances. Hirose is in his first full season as a professional, although the NCAA free agent he did appear in seven games with the Canucks last year as well – netting three assists. He’ll have a chance to record his first NHL goal or his first point of the year if he’s able to slot into the lineup.
Kraken Recall Andrew Poturalski, Send Shane Wright and Ryan Winterton Down
The Seattle Kraken have recalled forward Andrew Poturalski to the NHL lineup, while sending down the rookie duo of Shane Wright and Ryan Winterton. Both Wright and Winterton appeared in three games with Seattle this season, with both players going without a point and recording a -1.
Seattle will now look to Poturalski to provide a spark. The 29-year-old centerman currently has seven points through 10 games in the AHL. It’s a slight step down from the scoring pace he recorded last season when he tallied 42 points in 38 AHL games. He also added 12 points in 16 playoff games. Poturalski signed with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2016, following the end of the University of New Hampshire’s season. He’s an undrafted free agent who’s spent much of his career in the minors, although Carolina did provide him with four NHL games over his seven years with the club. He recorded two assists and a -4 in those games but is still looking for his first NHL goal. Poturalski was also briefly a part of the Ducks organization from 2019 to 2021, before returning to the Hurricanes depth charts and then signing with the Kraken last summer.
The Kraken are currently facing injuries to Jordan Eberle and Andre Burakovsky. Eberle is nearing a return to play, finally shedding his no-contact jersey at practice, but Burakovsky is still out long-term. The winger is expected to return in December, after sustaining an upper-body injury early in the season.
This move also rejoins Wright and Winterton with Coachella Valley, where both players have had success through the early season. Wright has recorded six points in seven AHL games, while Winterton has five points. This is Winterton’s first season of professional hockey, after playing in the OHL last season, while Wright appeared in 39 pro games between the NHL regular season, AHL regular season, and AHL playoffs last year.
Canucks Working On Extending Elias Pettersson
Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff released an interview with Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin that spoke to the team’s efforts to re-sign their star forward, Elias Pettersson. Specifically, Allvin said he’s been in touch with both Pat Brisson and Pettersson’s Swedish agent and that he hopes to get something done sooner rather than later.
A Pettersson extension is undoubtedly one of Allvin’s top priorities. The 25-year-old forward has been a pivotal piece of the Canucks’ early success, currently leading the league in scoring with a monstrous 25 points in 15 games. His 18 assists also rank top in the league, although he’s tied with co-star Quinn Hughes in that category.
This strong scoring continues the trend of Pettersson scoring more and more every season. He scored a career-high 102 points last season, the most scored by a Canuck since Daniel Sedin scored 104 in the 2010-11 season. Pettersson became the fourth Canuck to cross the century mark since 2000, joining the Sedin brothers and Markus Naslund.
But with high scoring comes an inevitably high price tag. Of the 11 players to score 100 or more points last season, Pettersson is one of three players to carry a cap hit under $8MM, alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jason Robertson. Pettersson also joins Robertson as the only two among the group without any movement protection in their contracts. Both of those variables are bound to be addressed in Pettersson’s next contract, which could reach upwards of eight figures. Any long-term deal would also carry Pettersson to his age 32 or 33 season, likely solidifying his place in Vancouver for the long term. If, and when, a new contract will come is yet to be seen, although it’s encouraging to see the two sides engaged in extension talks.
Canucks Recall Akito Hirose
The Vancouver Canucks have announced the recall of defenseman Akito Hirose to the NHL lineup. Hirose has appeared in 11 AHL games so far this season, going without a point while also accruing four penalty minutes and a +2. Hirose made his NHL debut with the Canucks last season, signing with the team after the conclusion of the Minnesota State University-Mankato season.
Hirose was one of three players from last year’s Mankato lineup to sign NHL contracts, joining Nashville’s Jake Livingston and Colorado’s Ondrej Pavel. All three players were undrafted free agents at the time of their signing and all three have since made their NHL debut. Hirose has played in the most NHL action of the bunch, with nine games under his belt. He also leads the group in scoring, with three points in those nine games topping the one point Livingston has scored through five games. Pavel has yet to score his first NHL point.
Hirose has already appeared in two games with Vancouver’s NHL lineup through the early season, going without any changes to his stat line. He also recorded a 39.39 CF% (Corsi-For Percentage) and 43.87 xGF% (expected-goals-for percentage) in the pair of games – both modest tallies that are certainly influenced by a small sample size, although both numbers are an improvement from the CF% and xGF% he recorded in his seven NHL games last season.
Carson Soucy was announced with injury on November 12th and the team has yet to provide an update on his status. Hirose will provide some depth to the Canucks’ blue-line while Soucy works his way back into the lineup.
Morning Notes: Oilers Coaching, Hurricanes, Rangers
Elliotte Friedman provided more insight into the Edmonton Oilers’ coaching decision in the most recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, explaining that team CEO Jeff Jackson had been a very big fan of Kris Knoblauch for a while. Friedman also added that the Oilers wanted to make this decision sooner rather than later, in an effort to get the team going for the mid-season, referencing teams like the 2019 St. Louis Blues.
This provides a little more clarity to a coaching decision that came suddenly, albeit not surprisingly. The Oilers are off to an abysmal start to the season, currently ranked second-to-last in the league with a 3-9-1 record. They sit one win ahead of the San Jose Sharks, who have gone 2-12-1 through their first 15 games. They’ll now lean on a rookie NHL head coach in Knoblauch, who most recently led the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack to a 35-26-11 record and a Round 2 playoff loss last season. Knoblauch won two OHL championships in seven years coaching in the league. The first came with a Kootenay Ice team led by Brayden McNabb, Matt Fraser, and Max Reinhart. The second came with the talented 2016-17 Erie Otters roster, which featured Alex Debrincat, Dylan Strome, Anthony Cirelli, and Warren Foegele. Knoblauch also coached Connor McDavid during his three years in juniors – a fact that Friedman said didn’t necessarily weigh into his new role in Edmonton, as the team were fans of Knoblauch separate from that connection.
With the confidence of leadership behind him, Knoblauch could be poised to do something special with an Oilers roster that many expected to shine this season.
More notes from around the league:
- The Carolina Hurricanes have assigned Vasiliy Ponomarev, Domenick Fensore, Griffin Mendel, and Ronan Seeley to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. Each player had been playing elsewhere to start the season, as Chicago officially opted to disconnect themselves from the Hurricanes earlier in the year. But the Wolves currently find them second-to-last in the AHL, repping a 2-6-1 record, and are now in need of reinforcements from their former NHL affiliate. The latter three assignees have started the early season in the ECHL and are earning a promotion with the move to Chicago.
- The New York Rangers have assigned Louis Domingue and Connor Mackey to the AHL lineup. Both players have bounced back and forth between the major and minor leagues, with both getting assigned to the minors on November 10th, recalled on the 11th, and now reassigned on the 13th.
Roman Čechmánek Passes Away at 52
Deník Sport has shared the passing of former Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Roman Čechmánek. The goaltender was 52 years old and had previously played 212 games in the NHL, after being drafted in the sixth round – 171st overall – in the 2000 NHL Draft. That was 34 spots before Henrik Lundqvist heard his name called by the New York Rangers.
Čechmánek was, interestingly, 29 years old when he was drafted. He also had seven years of professional hockey in Czcehia under his belt, helping to set him up for an immediate role in the NHL. Čechmánek made his NHL debut on October 17th after his draft day and would go on to play a dazzling 59 games with Philadelphia through his inaugural season – the 14th-most of any goalie that season. And Čechmánek was efficient in the performances, tallying a 35-15-6 record and .921 save percentage. While he was too old to be considered a rookie, he would have recorded the second-highest save percentage of any Flyers goalie in the modern era, only outperformed by Doug Favell‘s .931 set in the 1967-68 season. Čechmánek would go on to finish second in Vezina voting that season – his first in the NHL – losing out to Dominik Hašek for the award.
But he stayed consistent, recording a .921 save percentage again through 46 games in his sophomore season. His record also stayed green, with the then-30-year-old goalie going 24-13-6. And despite two tremendous years to start his career, it was Čechmánek’s third season in the league that would go down as his career best. Through 58 games, the netminder recorded a .925 save percentage and 33-15-10 record. He won the William M. Jennings award, provided to the goalie(s) that allowed the fewest goals against, but ranked seventh in Vezina voting in a year where Martin Brodeur, Marty Turco, and Ed Belfour topped the list.
Čechmánek would play one more NHL season after that, moving to the Los Angeles Kings and continuing to find success. But his NHL career drew to a close after one year in L.A., with the goaltender returning to Czechia and appearing in various European pro leagues before retiring in 2007-08. Interestingly, he recorded a career-high .948 save percentage in the 2006-07 season in Czechia’s top league. While he had a short NHL career, he was always someone to watch when he played. We at Pro Hockey Rumors extend our condolences to his family, friends and the Philadelphia/L.A. hockey community.
Snapshots: Darcy Kuemper, Carter Hart, Patrik Laine
Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery shared that Darcy Kuemper got banged up in the team’s last game. He will sit out of the team’s Friday game with an undisclosed injury. The Capitals recalled Hunter Shepard in response. He will serve as the backup behind Charlie Lindgren on Friday.
Kuemper has been in and out of the lineup to start the season, appearing in eight games with the Capitals. He’s managed a 3-3-2 record through that span, recording a .892 save percentage. That’s a step down from the .902 save percentage that he ended the 2022-23 season with – a mark he set en route to a 22-26-7 record in 57 games.
Charlie Lindgren has found himself with the best save percentage on the team, currently sitting with a .929 through the two games he’s appeared in, saving 65 of the 70 shots that he’s faced so far. Shepard also stepped in for one game, allowing four goals on 22 shots but nevertheless managing his first NHL win.
Other notes from around the league:
- Carter Hart will miss the Philadelphia Flyers’ Friday night game with illness. Samuel Ersson is set to start in his place. Ersson has recorded a .830 save percentage and 1-3-1 record through five games this season. Hart has tallied a .913 save percentage and 4-3-0 record in eight games.
- Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent shared that star winger Patrik Laine could return from his concussion at some point this weekend. The Jackets play on both Saturday and Sunday. Laine has managed two points and a -2 through four games this season.