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Injury Notes: Luongo, Dubinsky, Jost, McQuaid

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Not much has gone right for the Florida Panthers this season, but the team hopes that they may have good news on the horizon after goaltender Roberto Luongo was on the ice Sunday taking shots, according to NHL.com’s Jameson Olive. The team lost the oft-injured netminder during the second period of the season opener when teammate Frank Vatrano fell on him, forcing him out of the game with a lower-body injury.

The 39-year-old has fared well when healthy, but he hasn’t played more than 40 games since the 2015-16 season, which isn’t great considering the team is paying him $4.53MM per year for four more years. Head coach Bob Boughner was thrilled to see Luongo back on the ice, but has no intention of bringing him back until he is 110 percent healthy.

“He’s a huge part of this team. And you can see, no slight to anybody else, this team’s missed him,” Boughner said. “We’re a different team when he’s playing.”

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets also had good news as winger Brandon Dubinsky participated in Sunday’s morning skate, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required). Dubinsky has been out since Oct. 8 with a partially torn oblique muscle, but there remains no timetable for his return. The original diagnosis for Dubinsky’s injury was four to six weeks. He hasn’t been out three weeks yet, but the 32-year-old said that he’d be disappointed if he didn’t play on the team’s upcoming road trip, starting Thursday and going through Sunday. “I would say I’m ahead of schedule, but I don’t want to come back early and set myself back a few weeks,” Dubinsky said. The veteran had only played in two games before getting injured, but already had a goal and an assist.
  • The Colorado Avalanche may be without one of their top youngsters for a while as BSN’s Adrian Dater reported that the team will be without center Tyson Jost indefinitely. Jost, who suffered a head injury Friday in the third period against Ottawa, has a goal and an assist in 11 games so far this season. The 20-year-old scored 12 goals in his rookie season last year, but had worked his way higher up in the lineup this year.
  • Newsday’s Colin Stephenson reports that New York Rangers head coach David Quinn said that defenseman Adam McQuaid is day-to-day with a lower-body injury he sustained in the first period Thursday. He is not expected to play Sunday against Los Angeles, which could open up another chance for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who has only appeared in two games for the Rangers this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Namestnikov, Copley, Hagg, Sanheim

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The New York Rangers and new head coach David Quinn sent an early message to forward Vladislav Namestnikov Saturday when the team benched him in favor of veteran Cody McLeod for today’s game against Buffalo. While Quinn said the move was meant more to reward the play of McLeod, it’s obvious the team’s new coach is sending a message to Namestnikov, according to New York Post’s Larry Brooks.

The scribe believes this is Quinn’s message to the team to play physical “in your face” hockey and not doing that, is unacceptable. Namestnikov didn’t make that adjustment in his game against Nashville on Thursday and hasn’t played physically all preseason. Enter McLeod, the 34-year-old veteran.

“Cody had a good camp, he played well, and I think he will bring a little more pace and energy to the group,” Quinn said before the optional morning skate. “This will give him a chance to continue to build off his camp. Vladdy and I had a good conversation. He’s still fighting his way through it.”

  • The Athletic’s Chris Kuk, in a mailbag piece (subscription required) writes that while the Washington Capitals could have considered going after a backup goaltender in the waiver wire last week, the team’s No. 1 priority was going after a forward to replace the loss of Tom Wilson, who was suspended for 20 games. They did that when they claimed Dmitrij Jaskins. However, Kuk doesn’t believe the team would have gone after a goaltender anyway as they feel that starter Braden Holtby can take a bigger load early in the season as the team monitors the play of Pheonix Copley. If they feel at the trade deadline that Copley isn’t the answer, they can trade for one then.
  • While the Philadelphia Flyers have little to worry about when it comes to offense when it has two players capable of putting up 30 goals in James van Riemsdyk and Wayne Simmonds, the team does have to worry about its defense. Even with two of the top young defenders on their roster in Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov, the team really needs to develop second year players Robert Hagg and Travis Sanheim, according to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi. Both players had their ups and downs last year. The physical Hagg started the season strong, but struggled as the season wore on, while Sanheim was sent to the AHL early on in the season last year and came back much improved. If the two can show some consistency this year, the Flyers chances of a playoff run could be much improved.

Snapshots: Zuccarello, Rangers, Nylander

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After Derek Stepan, Dan Girardi, Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller were all let go by the Rangers, Mats Zuccarello remained as one of the only long-time veterans left on the team. Set to enter free agency after this season, the 31-year-old understands that this could be his final season in New York.

“I think everyone knows that this is where I want to be, and if we figure something out, that’s my main goal,’’ Zuccarello told Colin Stephenson of Newsday. “But at the same time, if they don’t want me, there’s no point in me staying here if they don’t want me. Then I have to go.

“At the end of the day, it’s not up to me. I’ve got one year left on my deal and I’m here to compete and play well, and trying to do my best for the team to win as long as I’m here.’’

The winger is entering the final year of his four-year, $18MM deal with the Rangers, and he finished last season with 53 points.

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NHL…

  • Rangers coach David Quinn said he isn’t worried about any of his team’s veterans, even if they may be skeptical of their future with the organization. “I really don’t,’’ he said (via Stephenson). “I just focus on coaching these guys the best I can and try and help them become better players. The contract situation’s really out of my control, and that’s how I look at it. It’s not my job.’’
  • We heard earlier this week that there hadn’t been any progress in the standoff between winger William Nylander and the Maple Leafs. However, Kristen Shilton of TSN tweets that general manager Kyle Dubas and agent Lewis Gross have talked over the past 24 hours. Shilton reiterates that teams have reached out to the Maple Leafs regarding a trade, but the front office has rebuffed the inquiries.
  • Every player placed on waivers yesterday – even surprise Ottawa Senators addition Zack Smith – ultimately cleared. 17 more players were placed on waivers today, and we kept track of them all right here.

Injury Notes: Red Wings, Bogosian, Beleskey, Peca

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The Detroit Red Wings’ defense could look much different to begin the season than many expected. With top pair defenseman Mike Green already shut down and confirmed to be out for at least the team’s opener due to a viral infection, coach Jeff Blashill revealed today that banged-up blue liners Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson, and Trevor Daley are all considered questionable to begin the season. As Ansar Khan of MLive.com points out, it could be a very young, inexperienced defensive corps to start the year in Detroit. Niklas Kronwall and Nick Jensen could be the only regulars healthy enough to play, joined perhaps by a veteran like Brian Lashoff or Dylan McIlrath. Outside of those options, rookies will likely make up the rest of the top six. 5’8″ Joe Hicketts, who got a brief look last season, leads the way, with 2016 first-rounder Dennis Cholowski, second-rounder the same year Filip Hronek, and Czech import Libor Sulak in the mix as well.

  • Injury news about Zach Bogosian usually isn’t good and unfortunately, this could be trending in that direction as well. Bogosian has been taking it easy in training camp, working his way back from major hip surgery, but the Athletic’s Joe Yerndon reports that he has still managed to get injured. According to head coach Phil Housley, Bogosian is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Even worse, Yerndon notes that it is a new injury, unrelated to his hip issues. Bogosian’s career has been marred by frequent injuries and an inability to bounce back quickly. The Sabres have to hope that this case is different, as Bogosian and Marco Scandella will be needed to lead a young defensive unit and groom top overall pick Rasmus Dahlin.
  • It didn’t take long for the New York Rangers to get clarification on Matt Beleskey’s status. After head coach David Quinn said yesterday that it was “too early to tell” the extent of Beleskey’s injury, suffered during a fight on Monday night, the Rangers released an update today. Beleskey will be out two to four weeks with a separated shoulder, the team determined. Since Beleskey was a likely training camp casualty anyway, the only change for the Rangers is that he cannot be placed on waiver while injured. Instead, he will be placed on the injured reserve with only a minor salary cap charge.
  • Montreal Canadiens’ free agent addition Matthew Peca is currently sidelined. The team revealed that he is dealing with a minor groin injury. No timeline has been established for his return. Peca’s NHL ability and role for the Habs is still unclear, so missing preseason action and potentially the start of the season is unfortunate. The former Tampa Bay Lightning prospect will have to hit the ground running upon his return.

Central Notes: Crawford, Morrow, Greenway, Granlund, Zadorov

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The Chicago Blackhawks are hoping that goaltender Corey Crawford returns to action sooner than later after admitting that he’s been dealing with concussion issues when he went down last season. Still experiencing difficulties with concussions, head coach Joel Quenneville said the goal is to have the veteran goaltender out on the ice during practice as long as he can manage it, according to the Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus.

“Good progress. Comparable over the last week and a half that when he’s on the ice, he’s better and he’s stronger and he’s feeling better. It’s all encouraging.”

The team desperately hopes that Crawford, upon return, will return to his elite form. He posted a 2.27 GAA and an impressive .929 save percentage in 28 games before going down. While it is unknown how much longer Crawford will be out, the Blackhawks are preparing to use Cam Ward as their primary starter if they have to.

  • With the loss of Toby Enstrom, who opted to leave the NHL after 11 years with the Winnipeg Jets, the Jets have an opening for a defenseman and that candidate is likely to be Joseph Morrow, according to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. Morrow, who the team acquired at the trade deadline a year ago. The blueliner didn’t get a lot of playing time when he arrived in Winnipeg as his ATOI dropped from 17:47 in Montreal to 14:30 with the Jets. However, he now has a chance to crack a spot in the top four as he did fare well in limited time next to Dustin Byfuglien. “Yeah, that’s a dream to play with Big Buff and be able to match that guy’s personality,” Morrow said. “I got to play with him a bit last year and we were pretty successful together.”
  • The Minnesota Wild and head coach Bruce Boudreau have added a couple wrinkles into the early stages of camp as rookie Jordan Greenway has been playing the center position, while Mikael Granlund has been quarterbacking the first-unit power play, according to Mike Russo of The Athletic (subscription required). Greenway, normally a winger, was used at center during his junior year at Boston University by David Quinn. Boudreau wanted to keep him there as he led a line along with Joel Eriksson Ek and Charlie Coyle, which was a big success in their first scrimmage. Granlund also showed that he could handle the pressure of running a power play on the left wall and looked impressive in that role. “I thought the best testament was all the other forwards want to play the right half wall the way he was feeding them up there,” Boudreau said. “He can make that play. He can even put the behind-the-back pass to Suts. Granny has probably been our most skilled player. I don’t think I’m dissing anybody by saying that. When he’s got the puck, he’s pretty special.”
  • Unlike last year when Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov came into camp overweight and out of shape, this year, the bruising 23-year-old did just the opposite, according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. He’s come into camp in good shape and has changed his diet to accommodate his conditioning. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound blueliner started in Jared Bednar’s doghouse for the early part of the season due to his conditioning, but slowly worked his way back into the rotation before finally settling in next to veteran Tyson Barrie and that hasn’t changed so far in training camp. Now, with the team much happier with his development, he has a chance to develop into a solid NHL defenseman.

Metropolitan Notes: Hayes, Zibanejad, Ho-Sang, Carlsson, Speers

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Many people took notice of the one-year deal that center Kevin Hayes signed this offseason as neither he nor the New York Rangers were able to agree upon a long-term contract. The 26-year-old scored a career-high 25 goals last season after posting 17 goals twice previously. With unrestricted free agency in front of him next offseason, many people wondered whether the rebuilding Rangers might opt to trade the center rather than risk losing him next season.

Hayes told MSG reporter John Giannone that he spoke to management and doesn’t feel worried about a trade.

“I had a great conversation with Dru (Chris Drury) and Gorts (GM Jeff Gorton) as soon as I signed my contract. I believe there’s no inclination of me being trade bait or me thinking that I’m going to be out of here. I did not sign a one-year deal to go to free agency. I love this organization, I love the city, what the city demands, the determination and hard work. This is where I want to be for my whole entire career. Obviously a long-term deal didn’t get done but I’m hopeful that come the right time, I think it’ll get done.”

  • The New York Rangers might have to worry about another center as Mika Zibanejad left practice early Sunday, according to The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello, after taking a hit to the head in a one-on-one drill from rookie defenseman Joey Keane. The bigger concern is Zibanejad’s history of concussions, including one last season. According to the New York Post’s Bree Cyrgalis, head coach David Quinn said Zibanejad is “fine,” and he just had the wind knocked out of him and might be eligible to play Monday night in Newark.
  • New York Islander fans were surprised when prospect Joshua Ho-Sang, who has said he’s turning the page on his past mistakes, missed training camp Saturday with what coach Barry Trotz said was a “personal day.” The Athletic’s Arthur Staple writes (subscription required) that neither Trotz or Ho-Sang elaborated on why he missed a key day of camp, Trotz’s first significant teaching day. “I don’t have any level of concern,” said Trotz.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have five defenseman guaranteed to be making their roster, but with the losses of Ian Cole and Jack Johnson this offseason, the team needs to find their sixth defenseman. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required) suggests that player might be Gabriel Carlsson, who has been highly touted since being taken in the first-round in 2015. However, back issues hampered him throughout his first full season in North America. Now after an offseason of conditioning on his back, the 6-foot-5 Carlsson may be ready to make the leap to Columbus.
  • The Athletic’s Corey Masisak reports that New Jersey Devils forward Blake Speers broke his nose yesterday when he took an elbow to the face yesterday. He is back at it again today, however, with a face shield. The 21-year-old scored 12 goals with the AHL’s Binghamton Devils and is looking to crack New Jersey’s lineup this year.

Metropolitan Notes: Murray, Couturier, Lundqvist, Merzlikins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have a lot invested in their goaltender of the present and future in Matt Murray. You would think replacing Marc-Andre Fleury might be a challenging procedure, but Murray’s .923 save percentage in 49 games proved that the youngster was ready for the full-time role, one of the reasons why it wasn’t as hard to let Fleury go. However, last year’s struggles already has several fans worried about Murray’s long-term success.

Murray struggled with both injuries as well as the death of his father during the 2017-18 season in which he still played in 49 games, but didn’t fare as well, posting a .907 save percentage as well as a 2.92 GAA. However, Murray as well as the team’s other backups, Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry, have worked hard with goaltending coach Mike Buckley, who challenged each one of them, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Buckley feels that Murray has put too much pressure on himself to replace Fleury and needs to accept that he’s the “guy” now.

“The next step for him is to take it all in and enjoy it. ‘Hey, I’m the guy now. I can accept that. I don’t have to be Marc-Andre Fleury, but I can be tighter with my teammates and really open up to them.’” Buckley said.

Buckley added that Murray has worked hard on his conditioning and hopefully should be able to avoid injury, although some injuries like concussions are just unavoidable.

“In terms of how he takes care of his body, he’s meticulous,” Buckley said. “The problem is the things that you can’t control. A concussion, for example. Someone coming down and landing on you the wrong way. There’s really very little you can do about that.”

  • Sam Carchidi of philly.com writes that Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall says that No. 1 center Sean Couturier will be “absolutely” 100 percent at the start of the season in October and is already ready to resume skating. Couturier, who was expected to miss four weeks on Aug. 22 with a lower-body injury, is coming off a career-best season in which he scored 31 goals and 76 points and was a key part to the Flyers’ late-season success on a line with Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny.
  • Shayna Goldman of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that this will be a challenging season for New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who is coming off two poor seasons and now finds himself in the middle of a rebuilding project. Lundqvist has endured a very physical workload over the course of his career and didn’t get significant rest last season from then-head coach Alain Vigneault. One thing is imperative. The 36-year-old needs rest, which will be a key for new head coach David Quinn. The problem is that the team lacks an adequate backup as the no longer have either Cam Talbot or Antti Raanta serving behind him. The team now has a number of prospects, including Alexandar Georgiev, Dustin Tokarski and Marek Mazanec. However, unless one of them can step up, none seem likely to provide Lundqvist the kind of rest that he needs.
  • With the possibility that the team could lose star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to another team when he hits free agency next season, the Columbus Blue Jackets are placing more emphasis on the future suddenly, according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required). While the team has their immediate goaltender of the future in their backup Joonas Korpisalo, the team is focusing their long-term hopes on Elvis Merzlikins, their third-round pick in 2014, who has been a dominant prospect for Lugano of the Swiss League. The 24-year-old has been one of the top goaltenders in the league, posting a .924 save percentage last year and is ready to come to North America next season.

Metropolitan Notes: Columbus’ Defense, Maatta, Butcher, Kreider

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With losses of both Jack Johnson and Ian Cole this offseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets will have some changes on their defense. Those changes could alter the entire defense, as head coach John Tortorella said recently in a Q&A with The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required). In fact, Tortorella said he will have to consider whether he’s ready to break up his two star defensemen in Seth Jones and Zach Werenski. At the moment, he’s not ready to do so.

“It certainly makes me think about it, and I have thought about it this summer,” Tortorella said. “I’m going to let it play out. Right now I’m going into the season with ‘Z’ and Jonesy together, and we’ll see what comes of that second pair.”

Jones had a breakout season a year ago, while Werenski had an off year, but dealt with a shoulder injury that hampered him all season. However, Tortorella hopes that others will fill in for the team’s offseason losses, including Markus Nutivaara and Ryan Murray.

“I think (Markus) Nutivaara has improved tremendously,” Tortorella said. “I think (Murray) looked different to me in the playoffs. He can’t even grow a beard yet, he’s just got this stuff all over his face, but he looked different to me. He had more of a game face than I’ve seen since I coached him. He was really good in the playoffs. Can he take those minutes? I know he wants to. I know he’s pissed at me that I don’t give him enough time at certain times, but hopefully, he stays healthy and plays with an attitude.”

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins look to be breaking up their top-four as well as the team promised to give top minutes to free-agent signee Jack Johnson, which will force the team to make some changes, according to Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Jason Mackey in a Penguins’ chat. While the team has no intention of breaking up their top defensive pair of Brian Dumoulin and Kris Letang. That means the likely second line will be Johnson and Justin Schultz, which will likely force Olli Maatta out of the top four. Maatta, who tied a career-high in 29 points last season, will likely be moved to the third pairing next to Jamie Oleksiak.
  • The Athletic’s Ryan Clark’s (subscription required) writes a Q&A interview with New Jersey Devils defenseman Will Butcher, the second-year defenseman has said he’s spent his offseason working on his shot. “My huge emphasis this summer has been on my shot from one-timers to just getting it off quicker,” Butcher said. “Just try to shoot the puck more. Look to shoot the puck more than pass.” The 23-year-old posted impressive numbers in his first year in the league, putting up five goals and 39 points last season. An impressive shot could improve his goal numbers in the future.
  •  When New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider returned from a two-month break when he was recovering from a blood clot, the 27-year-old had lost 15 pounds, which actually proved helpful to him, according to The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman (subscription required). In fact, Kreider played some of his best hockey upon his return, which could fit in well around head coach David Quinn’s new system. The scribe writes that Kreider found the perfect balance between his size, speed, strength and skill, which could carry over to this season, especially now that he’s out of Alain Vigneault’s system that focused only on his speed.

Metropolitan Notes: Letang, Hayes, Kinkaid

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The Pittsburgh Penguins still need to get the most out of their top defenseman Kris Letang if they intend to compete for their third Stanley Cup in four years. However, while Letang posted solid numbers, his presence as the team’s No. 1 blueliner has been left in doubt as the veteran has crossed over the age of 30 and after years of suffering multiple injuries. While in the past coach Mike Sullivan has made it clear that Letang plays better when he plays more minutes, the team more recently has stated that the 31-year-old would be better off taking less minutes with the team.

Letang, who averaged 26:57 in playing time two years ago, has seen his numbers drop slightly over the last two years. He still averaged 25:20 last season and that number may decrease again this year. In a mailbag series, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that his numbers are likely to be decreased in two different ways this year, although he does admit that the team is only guessing that his play will improve with less minutes. However, Letang will likely lose some playing time during even-strength play, but the veteran will likely be relieved of his penalty killing skills this season as he very likely could be replaced on that special teams unit by newly acquired free agent Jack Johnson. Mackey adds that if they need to cut his minutes even more, the team may allow Justin Schultz to replace him during some power play shifts as well.

  • When New York Rangers center Kevin Hayes signed only a one-year pact this offseason rather than a long-term deal, many felt that the Rangers might be forced to trade their 26-year-old. However, NHL.com’s Dan Rosen writes that Hayes has made it clear that he would prefer to stay with the Rangers for his entire career. “At the moment, [a one-year contract] was best for both sides,” Hayes said Friday. “We couldn’t really come to a long-term agreement and a one-year deal is what came out of it. I’m not treating it like I’ll be out of there in February or at the end of the year. Everyone keeps saying UFA at the end of the year, but that had nothing to do with the decision.” Hayes, who posted a career-high 25 goals last year, could put up even better numbers in new head coach David Quinn’s high-tempo offense which he believes fits his skills perfectly.
  • Abbey Mastracco of northjersey.com writes the New Jersey Devils will be counting on backup Keith Kinkaid more than ever this year as the team remains in the dark about the status of starter Cory Schneider while he recovers from hip surgery this offseason. With the veteran unlikely to be ready to start the season, Kinkaid must prove to the organization that he can handle everyday duties. He showed quite a bit of promise last year when he was asked to take over for Schneider and posted a career-high in games played (41) and wins (26). However more importantly, Kinkaid’s numbers improved over the course of the year. While he posted a .913 save percentage over the course of the season, he put up a .922 save percentage and 19 wins after the all-star break. “You always want to start off hot,” Kinkaid said. “I might not have had the prettiest numbers at the beginning of the season but that’s all that matters is wins, no matter how you do it. I just want to help my team every game.”

Poll: Who Will Be The First Coach Fired In 2018-19?

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Not a single NHL head coach was fired during the 2017-18 season, though several changes have been made since. Barry Trotz and Bill Peters resigned their positions in Washington and Carolina, and were each hired to replace the outgoing bench bosses in New York and Calgary. Those two were Doug Weight and Glen Gulutzan, who both failed to get their teams to the playoffs in year two of their coaching history (Weight replaced Jack Capuano partway through the 2016-17 season). Assistant coaches moved up the ladder in Washington and Carolina, while the NCAA ranks were mined for new openings for the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers. Jim Montgomery and David Quinn took over for Ken Hitchcock and Alain Vingeault respectively, bringing new ideas and fresh faces to the NHL coaching circuit.

It’s not new for coaches to be fired in the offseason, but seeing no one sent packing during the year is a very rare occurrence. It was the first time it had happened since 1966-67, meaning the likelihood of it happening again in 2018-19 seems very low. So then, who will be the first to feel the seat burning underneath him? The last time we asked a question like this the readers correctly guessed that Vingeault was on his way out, but also listed Claude Julien in Montreal, Jeff Blashill in Detroit and Rick Tocchet in Arizona as possibilities.

Who will be the first coach fired in 2018-19? Will it happen at all? Cast your vote below and make sure to explain why in the comment section.

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