East Notes: McAvoy, Hart, Andersen
The Boston Bruins are rolling to start the year despite a predicted slow start due to injuries to key players. Their 11-2-0 record is good enough for 22 points and first place in the Eastern Conference, and as if things haven’t been good enough, they’re about to get the final key piece of the puzzle back in their lineup. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy is set to make his season debut tomorrow against the Calgary Flames, marking his return from offseason shoulder surgery.
McAvoy, 24, has finished top 10 in Norris Trophy voting each of the past three seasons but has yet to receive his first nomination for the trophy. He’s coming off a 2021-22 campaign when he set career highs in goals (10), assists (46), points (56), plus-minus (+31), and average time on ice (24:38). The New York-born All-Star is set to resume his top-pairing role alongside Hampus Lindholm, who’s taken the reigns in McAvoy’s absence with 13 points in 13 games. The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter reported last week that McAvoy was ahead of schedule in his recovery, and was set to return earlier than his rough projection of December 1.
- Philadelphia Flyers youngster Carter Hart is ready to return to action in the crease tomorrow against the Columbus Blue Jackets after a one-game absence due to illness, notes Philly Hockey Now’s Sam Carchidi. Head coach John Tortorella didn’t go so far as to name Hart as the starter for tomorrow night, but it wouldn’t shock anyone if the netminder took the crease. The 24-year-old has yet to lose in regulation through eight starts in 2022-23.
- Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour today offered an update on goaltender Frederik Andersen, saying that “he tweaked something.” Brind’Amour added that he didn’t think Andersen’s undisclosed injury was serious but didn’t want to put Andersen in the net without full health. His injury necessitated the emergency recall of Pyotr Kochetkov yesterday.
Hockey Canada Names Coaching Staff For 2023 World Juniors
The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship is just around the corner, with Canada once again expected to dominate the tournament with what should be a roster full of future stars. Today, Hockey Canada announced their coaching staff for the championship, headlined by Dennis Williams as their head coach.
Hockey Canada also named Stéphane Julien, Brent Kisio, and Alan Letang as assistant coaches, and Kelly Guard as a goaltending consultant.
Williams sees a promotion from last year’s tournament, where he served as an assistant coach under Dave Cameron. The 43-year-old is a two-time WHL Western Conference Coach of the Year winner with the Everett Silvertips and also served as the head coach for Canada’s “Black” team at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in 2018. He was also an assistant coach at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky U18 tournament.
It’s been quite the coaching ride for Williams, who got his first coaching experience immediately after graduating from Bowling Green University as a graduate assistant in 2002-03. 20 seasons and five leagues later, he gets the call to lead the reigning gold medalists at the top junior tournament in hockey.
Combined success at the World Juniors and as a bench boss in the CHL can often quickly lead to NHL opportunities. It wouldn’t be surprising if Williams found himself on an NHL bench in 2023-24 if Canada can repeat as champions.
Julien, 48, is the head coach of the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix and has held the role for the past seven-and-a-half seasons. He was the head coach for Canada at this year’s edition of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which ended just two months ago. It’s his first time joining the coaching staff for the U20 team.
Kisio and Letang return to the Canadian bench at the U20 tournament as assistants, reprising the roles that they held in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Guard’s only previous national team experience came as the goaltending coach for Canada White at the 2021 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
Philadelphia Flyers Re-Assign Samuel Ersson
Nov 9: Ersson has been returned to the AHL, with Zamua recalled once again.
Nov 8: Philadelphia Flyers starting netminder Carter Hart will miss tonight’s game against the St. Louis Blues with an illness, reports The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. Backup Felix Sandstrom will get the start, with Samuel Ersson recalled from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms to be the backup.
In order to make room on the roster, the Flyers assigned defenseman Yegor Zamula to the Phantoms, but The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Olivia Reiner notes it’s a temporary stay. Head coach John Tortorella likes what he’s seen from Zamula so far, and he’ll be up on the active roster as soon as they have the space.
For the Flyers, it’s an immeasurable loss to their lineup, even if it’s just for a game. Hart has arguably been the league’s best goaltender to start the year, putting up All-Star numbers behind a Flyers team that’s in the bottom sect of the league analytically. He boasts a 6-0-2 record, a .946 save percentage, and a 1.97 goals-against average through eight starts.
Ersson impressed in training camp for Philadelphia, and he’s tracking a .908 save percentage through six games in Lehigh Valley. He remains the team’s third option in net ahead of veteran Troy Grosenick, who’s off to a rough start in the minors despite a longstanding track record of AHL success.
Evander Kane “Stable” After Wrist Injury
There was a scary scene in tonight’s game in Tampa between the Lightning and the Edmonton Oilers when forward Evander Kane left the game after suffering a skate laceration to the wrist. The Oilers announced later during the game that Kane is stable after the concerning cut and has been transported to a local hospital.
Kane was off to yet another strong start in Edmonton, notching five goals and eight assists for a point-per-game pace through 13 contests. He was also averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game for the second time in the past five years.
He suffered the injury after Lightning winger Pat Maroon inadvertently cut Kane’s wrist with his skate.
While there’s no timeline for the injury at this point, skate lacerations to any part of the body are generally not a short-term absence. Then-Toronto Maple Leafs winger Ilya Mikheyev missed 31 games with a similar injury in the 2019-20 season.
Minnesota Wild Place Brandon Duhaime On Injured Reserve
The Minnesota Wild have placed Brandon Duhaime on injured reserve, according to CapFriendly. Duhaime has missed the team’s last game with an upper-body injury and did not travel on their current road trip, meaning he’ll miss at least three more games.
Entering his second NHL season, Duhaime had scored twice and added an assist through his first 10 games in 2022-23. Averaging just 9:01 per game, Duhaime is reprising his fourth-line role and continues to provide a solid energy boost to the Wild.
Duhaime was injured in a November 1 win against the Montreal Canadiens. With his IR placement retroactive to that date, he is technically eligible to be activated at any time.
His IR placement allows the Wild to convert Adam Beckman‘s emergency recall into a spot on the NHL roster in earnest, as the Wild technically had 24 (out of 23 maximum) players on the active roster. Duhaime joins Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno on the team’s injured list.
Ottawa Senators To Retire Chris Neil’s Number
According to a team release during their game Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks, the Ottawa Senators are retiring forward Chris Neil‘s number 25 on February 17, 2023, in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Neil shattered expectations as a sixth-round pick, dressing in over 1,000 games – all with the Senators. His career totals of 112 goals, 138 assists, and 250 points aren’t really retired number material, but that was never the focal point of Neil’s game. His 2,522 career penalty minutes mark his enforcing playstyle, and only he and former New Jersey Devil Ken Daneyko have over 1,000 games played and 2,500 penalty minutes while spending their entire career with a single franchise.
Number 25 will join three other numbers in the Canadian Tire Centre rafters: original Senator Frank Finnigan‘s number 8, Daniel Alfredsson‘s number 11, and Chris Phillips‘ number 4.
Admittedly, it’s a rare occurrence to see an enforcer gifted with the honor of a retired number. Careers with Neil’s resume are usually destined for accolades such as an organizational Hall of Fame or ring of honor. But Neil’s bruising game was a hallmark of the team’s most successful stretch in franchise history throughout the 2000s, providing energy on and off the ice every night. He remains a notable off-ice presence in the Ottawa community since retiring in 2017.
General manager Pierre Dorion released a statement on Neil’s number retirement:
Chris was a team-first player, a physical presence who never backed down from a challenge. He earned his place every single day through hard work and dedication; he was the ultimate character player and wore the Senators sweater with as much or more pride than any other player in this team’s history.
Three Columbus Blue Jackets Injured, Brendan Gaunce Recalled
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced a flurry of injury updates today, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. Forward Jakub Voracek is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, Sean Kuraly is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and Patrik Laine is day-to-day with an illness. Forward Brendan Gaunce was also recalled from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, per a team release.
Voracek missed the second game of Columbus’ Global Series matchups in Finland last week with the injury. It’s a huge blow to their depth scoring if he’s out long-term, as he was tied for second in scoring on the team with six points in 11 games.
Kuraly sustained his upper-body injury in the second Global Series game, leaving in the second period after playing 8:09. He had two goals and two assists through 12 games and was tied for the worst +/- rating on the team (-8).
Laine’s illness is hopefully short-term, as he’s only been present for half of the Blue Jackets’ season thus far with an elbow injury. The Finnish winger has scored twice and is averaging nearly 20 minutes a game.
Gaunce ends up on the active roster as the only healthy extra. The AHL veteran was off to a hot start in Cleveland, registering 11 points through 10 games.
Jonathan Huberdeau Out Day-To-Day
As announced by the team Tuesday evening, Calgary Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau is sidelined day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
It’s unclear when Huberdeau suffered the injury. He played 16:14 last night against the New York Islanders, skating for the entire game. The 29-year-old left wing has just one assist in his last five games, and he has just six points in 11 games in his first season with the Flames. Last season, Huberdeau led the league in assists with 85 and finished fifth in Hart Trophy voting.
It’s also unclear what line shuffling head coach Darryl Sutter will do ahead of tonight’s game against New Jersey, but Adam Ruzicka will likely draw into the lineup in place of Huberdeau. The 23-year-old Slovak is the only extra forward on the roster and has one NHL appearance this season, coming last week against Seattle.
Any redemption game from Huberdeau will have to wait. The Flames, however, need a redemption game in a big way tonight, as they try to avoid dropping to .500 on the season against the Devils. The team is on a five-game losing streak after a 5-1-0 start to the campaign.
Vancouver Canucks Activate Brock Boeser
The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday afternoon that winger Brock Boeser has been activated from injured reserve. In a corresponding transaction, forward Sheldon Dries has been assigned to AHL Abbotsford.
Boeser has missed the team’s last six games with a hand injury. In that span, the team has gone 3-2-1, rebounding somewhat from an 0-4-2 start. Prior to his injury, Boeser tallied four assists in six games while averaging 16:39 of ice time per game. In his return to the lineup tonight against the Ottawa Senators, Boeser is expected to slot in on a line alongside Tanner Pearson and J.T. Miller.
Dries returns to the minors after playing four games in Boeser’s absence. The 28-year-old AHL veteran registered an assist in his season debut against Seattle on October 27, but failed to register a point in his following three appearances. He returns to Abbotsford as one of their top players, registering four points through his two appearances there this season. He’s coming off a 2021-22 campaign in the AHL where he registered 62 points in 54 games.
Latest On Mitchell Miller’s Contract
On Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported that defenseman Mitchell Miller currently remains under contract with the Boston Bruins and assigned to AHL Providence, as the team’s path to contractually walking away from him remains murky. Miller was convicted of assault in 2016 for bullying, harassing, and abusing Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, a Black classmate with developmental disabilities. The Bruins announced Sunday night that the team was parting ways with Miller after signing him to an entry-level contract earlier in the week.
Wyshynski outlined three options for the Bruins and Miller to legally part ways, although he won’t be playing in the NHL or AHL prior to his release. The first option is a buyout at the end of the season, which would result in a salary cap charge of $287,222 through 2027, or twice the remaining length of Miller’s entry-level contract. In this case, the Bruins would still owe Miller his contract money for the 2022-23 season, which would likely consist of his $95,000 signing bonus and $82,500 minor-league salary.
The second scenario is a settlement that allows Miller to become a free agent, worked on in conjunction with the NHLPA and Miller’s agent, Eustace King. Wyshynski notes a prospective settlement falls under NHLPA jurisdiction, despite Miller being assigned to the AHL and having no NHL experience.
The obvious last option is a traditional contract termination filed due to Miller’s past behavior, similar to the legal situation – not the backstory – between the San Jose Sharks and Evander Kane last season. Wyshynski notes that also similar to the Kane situation, the NHLPA is expected to file a grievance on behalf of Miller if the Bruins opted to terminate his contract. The NHLPA would also reportedly file a grievance if the Bruins opted to suspend Miller for the length of his contract without pay. In the case of Kane, he received a one-time payment of an undisclosed amount from the Sharks.
Wyshynski expects the legal action surrounding the situation to pick up later this week.