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Logan Stanley Out Four Weeks After Knee Surgery

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The Winnipeg Jets’ worst fears regarding their defensive core are coming to fruition.  There was some speculation yesterday that Logan Stanley may be out longer than day-to-day which is now confirmed to be accurate. Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reports Stanley will be out for the next four weeks due to knee surgery.

Stanley becomes the second Winnipeg defenseman to get surgery within the last week joining Ville Heinola who underwent surgery to remove an infection from his ankle. McIntyre gave a follow-up report indicating Stanley tweaked his meniscus during an off-ice warm-up routine.

The former-18th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft was hoping for a larger role with the Jets this year after being sparingly used over the last few seasons. He was often used as the team’s seventh defenseman since 2022 despite scoring one goal and 14 points in 58 games during the 2021-22 NHL season. Stanley has scored two goals and five points in 44 games from 2022 to 2024 while averaging 13:45 of ice time per night.

Standing at 6’7″ Stanley should be an effective shutdown defenseman carrying an uncommon reach with his stick. He’s managed a solid on-ice save percentage in all situations throughout his career at 91.7% but most of that can be attributed to his linemates and the goaltending behind him. He’s mustered a +17 rating over 139 regular season contests but Hockey Reference shows an E +/- of -5.7 indicating Stanley is not living up to his shutdown role when he is on the ice.

The injury news almost assures defensemen Dylan Coghlan and Haydn Fleury will make the Jets opening night roster out of training camp unless the team seeks help from outside the organization. Stanley should still be destined for a more regular role in Winnipeg this season upon his return as their defensive depth continues to be tested.

Bryan Little Announces Retirement

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Longtime center for the Atlanta Thrashers and Winnipeg Jets, Bryan Little, will retire on October 20th after signing a one-day contract with the Jets organization as the team announced. Little spent the first four years of his career with the Thrashers before spending the last nine in Winnipeg after the team relocated for the 2011-12 season.

Little was selected with the 12th overall pick of the 2006 NHL Draft by the Thrashers after a tremendous season with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. In his draft season and the year following, Little scored a whopping 83 goals and 216 points in 121 games and quickly became a top prospect for Atlanta. He finally debuted for the team in the 2007-08 season scoring six goals and 16 points in 48 games in his rookie campaign.

He quickly became the top center for the struggling Thrashers organization at a young age. He struggled to produce points similarly to his time in the OHL but Little still scored 62 goals and 133 points in 234 games to close out his tenure in Atlanta. The team failed to make the playoffs in each of Little’s four seasons despite making it the year before his debut and moved on from talented teammates Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa during his tenure.

Little became a stable presence for the new rendition of the Jets after the team struggled early on. The team failed to produce a winning record in its first three years back in Winnipeg, but Little stayed consistent with 54 goals and 142 points in 204 games while averaging a 49.0% success rate in the faceoff dot. The organization committed to Little down the middle with a five-year, $23.5MM contract in 2013.

The Jets became much more competitive starting in the 2014-15 season making the playoffs four out of Little’s last six seasons with the organization including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2018. He maintained his scoring pace down the stretch with 93 goals and 225 points in 350 games with another four goals and 12 points in 27 postseason contests. During this window, the organization signed Little to his second long-term deal by inking a six-year, $31.75MM contract.

Unfortunately Little would not see the end of this contract with the Jets organization. He sustained a concussion in a preseason game before the 2019-20 season but started the season on time. On November 5th against the New Jersey Devils, Little took a shot to his ear and missed the remainder of the season. He received surgery in February to repair a perforated eardrum but he had already played his last NHL contest.

Winnipeg finally traded Little’s contract to the Arizona Coyotes in 2022 after keeping him on LTIR for some time. The Coyotes continued to hold Little on LTIR as it became apparent he wouldn’t be able to suit up in the NHL again. Little’s contract finally ran its course this offseason technically making him a free agent for the first time.

Little will now retire with the only organization he has ever known. His 13-year career will end with 217 goals and 521 points in 843 contests between the Thrashers and Jets’ organizations. In a statement, Little said, “It’s a great honour that I can retire as a member of the Winnipeg Jets and end my playing career with the organization where I was drafted and played my entire NHL career. I had the privilege to play in Winnipeg and in front of the amazing fans for nine seasons, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to thank the Jets, their fans and the city of Winnipeg. It will truly be a full circle moment for my family and I to celebrate my retirement in the building where I have so many special memories“.

Snapshots: Nylander, Dell, Sourdif, Primeau

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Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander left tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens about mid-way through the first period and will not return according to a team announcement. The team said that the move was precautionary so there does not appear to be any long-term doubt about Nylander’s status for the rest of the preseason.

The incident in question happened just before eight minutes into the first period. The Maple Leafs were transitioning into the Canadiens’ zone and teammate Nicholas Robertson appeared to push Nylander down with his stick forcing Nylander into a Montreal defenseman’s leg head-first.

Nylander is entering the first year of an eight-year, $92MM extension signed with Toronto earlier this year. He’s expecting again to be an integral part of the Maple Leafs offense after scoring 40 goals and 98 points in 80 games during the 2023-24 NHL season. There haven’t been any further updates this evening but the organization should announce his long-term availability in the upcoming days.

Other snapshots:

  • Goaltender Aaron Dell is headed back to the San Jose Sharks organization only a few days after being released from his professional tryout agreement. The AHL affiliate of the Sharks, the San Jose Barracuda, announced they signed Dell to an AHL contract for the upcoming season. It will be the second time in three years that Dell has suited up for the Barracuda producing a 15-17-4 record in 38 games played for the team in the 2022-23 AHL season with a .898 save percentage.
  • According to Alex Baumgartner of Five Reasons Sports, Florida Panthers prospect Justin Sourdif will be out for the next couple of weeks with an upper-body injury. Despite making his NHL debut last year, Sourdif had an outside chance of cracking the opening night roster for the defending Stanley Cup champions. The team will hope for a bit more production at the NHL level before he becomes a full-time player with Sourdif scoring 12 goals and 38 points in 58 games last season for the Charlotte Checkers.
  • Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey reports the AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, are signing forward Mason Primeau on a one-year AHL contract. Primeau has spent the last four years split between the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights and the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates producing tepid results. He already has a strong connection to the Flyers organization with his uncle, Keith Primeau, who played in Philadelphia from 1999 to 2006.

Central Notes: Nashville’s Roster Spots, Lambert, Martinez

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Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean theorized a few names of who might take one of the last available spots on the Nashville Predators opening night roster. General manager of the organization, Barry Trotz, was quoted as saying, “Realistically, there’s probably three spots and guys are pressing for those three spots“.

Daugherty asserts in his article that the Predators have two open spots at the forward position and one open position on defense. Zach L’Heureux, Juuso Parssinen, Mark Jankowski, and Joakim Kemell strike as the most NHL-ready players at this stage of preseason and may be in the hunt for one of those last two spots on offense. The latter may be a year or two away despite his impressive shot with Trotz saying, “(Kemell’s) s a shooter. That’s what he does. But you’re also looking at the rest of his game. How is he without the puck?“.

There may be less competition on the blue line with Dante Fabbro the odds-on favorite to claim the sixth spot. One defenseman making Trotz’s job harder is Tanner Molendyk, the 24th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. Molendyk is a solid two-way defenseman impressing many at camp but he’s not eligible to play in the AHL until next season being 19 years old. He may get an extended look this preseason compared to his age comparables with Trotz saying, “Molendyk had a perfect camp last year and he’s having a perfect camp this year. I have to assess him and see if he’s better than some of the veteran players“.

Other Central notes:

  • Winnipeg Jets’ prospect Brad Lambert may be further from cracking the opening night roster than expected. Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun reported earlier today that Lambert was not skating with the top group. Head coach Scott Arniel added he might play in tomorrow night’s game against Minnesota but would not guarantee it. Lambert’s coming off of a dominant year with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose with 21 goals and 55 points in 64 games and it will be interesting to see what Winnipeg does with their second-line center if they send him back down to the AHL.
  • Veteran defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks, Alec Martinez, took a maintenance day today after feeling a bit ’banged up’ after last night’s preseason contest according to Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago. Martinez skated on the top-pairing with Seth Jones in the team’s loss to the Detroit Red Wings. He skated in just under 20 minutes while putting one shot on goal and blocking four.

John Gibson Has Appendectomy Surgery; To Miss Start Of Season

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The Anaheim Ducks announced netminder John Gibson will miss the start of the regular season after undergoing appendectomy surgery last night. The surgery is performed to remove the appendix and it will keep Gibson sidelined for the next three to six weeks.

The timing of the surgery concerning the NHL calendar indicates that Gibson was diagnosed with appendicitis within the last couple of days necessitating the surgery. Anaheim is set to take on the San Jose Sharks for their season opener just before the three-week mark. Gibson will miss between three and 12 games for the Ducks to start the season.

Gibson has started in 50 games or more in six out of the last eight seasons since becoming Anaheim’s undisputed starter in the 2016-17 season. He played to an all-star caliber level from 2015 to 2019 with a 103-69-28 record in 204 starts with a .922 save percentage. Gibson’s impressive play over those four years led Anaheim to sign him to an eight-year, $51.2MM contract which Gibson is still on today.

Unfortunately, Gibson’s performance has been strongly correlated to that of the Ducks organization as a whole with the organization not making the playoffs since the 2017-18 season. The Pittsburgh, PA native has accrued a dismal win percentage of 31.1% in 238 starts since the start of the 2019-20 season with a .900 SV% and 3.36 GAA. The ratio of his starts that have resulted in an .850 SV% or lower has also doubled over the last five years going from 11.4% from 2013-19 to 21.8% from 2020-2024.

Gibson will have a few more weeks until he starts the regular season meaning backup goaltender Lukas Dostal will take over between the pipes. He was marginally impressive during the 2023-24 season but was still one of the bright spots in the Ducks campaign. Dostal finished the 2023-24 season with fewer starts than Gibson (38) but secured a 14-23-3 record giving him a win percentage of 36.8%; slightly better than Anaheim’s win percentage of 32.9%.

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.

Winnipeg Dealing With More Injuries On The Blue Line

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It’s been nearly a week since Winnipeg Jets’ defenseman Ville Heinola’s season was put in question due to an infection in his surgically repaired ankle. It doesn’t appear there’s any room for optimism in Manitoba after today’s meeting between head coach Scott Arniel and the press.

Arniel indicated that Heinola underwent surgery to remove the infection from his ankle and the team would have a clearer picture of his recovery timeline shortly. The team’s bench boss also shared that defenseman Logan Stanley “tweaked” something in yesterday’s preseason contest against the Edmonton Oilers and he will need testing over the next few days. Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press reports there is worry within the Jets organization that Stanley will be out longer than day-to-day.

It would be a major three-month swing for Winnipeg’s blue line if Stanley can’t start the season on time. The team hoped Heinola and Stanley could fill valuable spots on the back end after losing Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon this offseason through a buyout and free agency, respectively. Now, it appears depth defensemen Dylan Coghlan and Haydn Fleury will carry more responsibility than expected to start the year.

This could create major challenges for a Jets organization that has largely relied on their defense to win games over the last two years. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Winnipeg’s offense has finished 21st and 15th in goals per game, respectively, and 21st and 17th in shots compared to the rest of the league. They’ve had much better results on the flip side by finishing 10th and 1st in goals against per game over that same span and finishing 10th and 11th in shots against.

If the Jets are put into a situation early in the year where Coghlan and Fleury are expected to maintain even bottom-pairing minutes these results shouldn’t be expected to last. Winnipeg does have the benefit of deploying Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes but a weak defense has impacted even his performance in the past.

The Jets may need to pivot relatively soon to one of the existing free-agent options to hold their blue line steady or pick up one of the inevitable blue liners to hit the waiver wire over the next few days. The team will have a clearer picture of what they’re dealing with over the next couple of days and it could impact their decision-making leading into the start of the regular season.

Atlantic Notes: Lysell, Lindholm, Jones, Ullmark

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Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery gave a rare public call-out today to one of the team’s young prospects. Scott McLaughlin of The Skate Pod shared a quote from Montgomery regarding forward Fabian Lysell saying, “he needs to do a little more than he’s done if he wants to make the Bruins“.

Lysell skated in 14:56 of the Bruins’ preseason loss on Sunday to the New York Rangers. The 21-year-old Swede played right wing for Boston on the team’s third line and didn’t find his name on the scoresheet as he failed to even put a shot on goal. The former 21st overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft is looking to crack the Bruins’ roster this season after totaling 110 regular season games for the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.

He’s been productive in the AHL with 29 goals and 87 points over two years in Providence. The major factor working against Lysell is that Boston is again one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference heading into the 2024-25 NHL season and the top-six of their forward core is largely set in stone. Lysell doesn’t have much flexibility to his game meaning the Bruins don’t have the confidence to plug him into the team’s bottom six.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • A few new members of the Bruins are nursing mild injuries with Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub reporting that forwards Elias Lindholm and Max Jones are both day-to-day this week and likely won’t play. Lindholm signed a long-term seven-year $54.25MM contract with Boston this summer and is expected to take over first-line minutes for the team down the middle with Pavel Zacha being moved to the wing. Jones joined the Bruins on a two-year, $2MM pact after being non-tendered by the Anaheim Ducks and is expected to be a physical player Boston can plug into their bottom six.
  • Former Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark is dealing with an ailment but he’s not expected to be out long-term. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reports the Ottawa Senators are being cautious with their new netminder but he is “going to be fine”. The Senators are eager for Ullmark to fill a major void on the roster this season as the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner posted a .924 SV% in 130 games for Boston from 2021-2024.

Thomas Bordeleau Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury

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The San Jose Sharks are dealing with some unfortunate news on the injury front as Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports forward Thomas Bordeleau is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. A few moments after the initial report Max Miller of The Hockey News shared that “it’ll be close” for Bordeleau to start the regular season on time.

It’s an unlucky occurrence for Bordeleau who was looking to register his first full season in the NHL this year with the Sharks. Bordeleau joined the organization as the 38th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft but has primarily suited up for their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

Bordeleau got off to a strong start with the Sharks after signing with the team at the end of his sophomore campaign at the University of Michigan in 2022. The youngster had five assists in eight games down the stretch with another three assists in two contests for the Barracuda. San Jose granted Bordeleau more playing time in the AHL for the 2022-23 regular season and he impressed with 22 goals and 41 points in 65 games as a 21-year-old.

His scoring pace increased in the AHL last year with 11 goals and 25 points in 35 games but his time with the Sharks wasn’t as lucrative on the scoresheet. Bordeleau scored six goals and 11 points in 27 games in San Jose while averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time per night. His -18 rating sat 11th on the team amongst forwards in limited action but his advanced metrics paint a much better picture.

He carried an E+/- of -5.3 throughout the regular season ranking fifth on the team for skaters with more than 20 games played according to Hockey Reference. His CorsiFor% of 48.3% also ranked towards the top of the roster which indicates Bordeleau could be an effective middle-six presence on a more competent roster.

The team will reassess Bordeleau in the upcoming weeks to determine if he can play in the opening night roster. He should still be an effective presence in San Jose’s middle- or bottom-six for most of this year with the bonus of having some extra scoring punch.

Metro Notes: Shesterkin, Rangers Injuries, Sandin

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After a report yesterday indicated New York Rangers’ all-star goaltender Igor Shesterkin wouldn’t negotiate an extension during the season it doesn’t appear the organization is too worried. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff said as much as he reported the Rangers’ front office was ’unfazed’ by the reported deadline and still has Shesterkin as their top priority.

Seravalli also shares that New York is expected to pay Shesterkin more than Carey Price’s AAV of $10.5MM which has been widely known up to this point. Price signed his current eight-year, $84MM contract in July of 2017. He had already won one Vezina Trophy along with five other top-10 finishes, had a .540 win percentage, a .920 save percentage, and a 2.40 goals-against average.

Shesterkin will have had half a decade less experience than Price by the time he signs his next deal although they will be of similar age. The Russian netminder holds a similar line of one Vezina Trophy with two other top-10 finishes, a .649 wpc%, .921 SV%, and a 2.43 GAA. Price may have the edge for overall production by the time he earned his big payday but given that the contract was signed over seven years ago, a $12MM asking price doesn’t appear too off base.

Other Metro notes:

  • Sticking at Madison Square Garden, Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports shares a few injuries to the Rangers’ lineup during preseason action. Stephenson reports defenseman Matthew Robertson is nursing a mild lower-body injury while fellow youngsters Talyn Boyko and Ryder Korczak have upper-body injuries. All three are expected to contribute to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack this season with Robertson and Korczak combining for 41 points last year. Being a goaltender, Boyko is much more of a fringe case to make the team as he may suit up for the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones for most of his starts.
  • The Washington Capitals are set to regain one of their more consistent defensemen from last season. Bailey Johnson of the Washington Post reports defenseman Rasmus Sandin’s visa issues have been resolved and he is headed to Washington, D.C. shortly. He will need some time to recalibrate after being stuck in Sweden for most of training camp but it will be a major boost to the Capitals’ blue line. Sandin has scored six goals and 38 points in 87 games while averaging over 21 minutes of ice time per game for Washington since the team acquired him from the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2022-23 NHL season.

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