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Penguins Notes: Rust, Nieto, Samorukov

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Post-Gazette Sports reporter Matt Vensel tweeted some updates this morning from Pittsburgh Penguins practice. Vensel said that Penguins forward Bryan Rust was not in attendance as he awaits results from an MRI yesterday. Rust suffered a lower-body injury recently and it is unclear what the injury is or how long he could be sidelined for. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters that Rust will not play tonight and is out day-to-day.

The Penguins have already lost fellow right-wing option Rickard Rakell and if Rust is ruled out long-term it will create a massive void in the Penguins top-6 as well as their penalty kill. Rust has been the Penguins’ most consistent winger this year with 16 points in 17 games on top of his inspired penalty killing.

If Rust is absent long-term the Penguins could find themselves in a big hole as they are in the middle of a tough stretch of games and take on the New York Rangers tonight.

In other Penguins notes:

  • Vensel also reported that Penguins forward Matt Nieto was in attendance at practice today which is typically a good sign for a player’s availability on a game day. This was confirmed by Sullivan who said that Nieto is available to play but will be a game-time decision. Nieto took a maintenance day yesterday and did not skate with the team. The 31-year-old has struggled to start the season with just a goal and an assist in his first 17 games of the season. He has been a piece of the Penguins fourth line that has provided the team with almost no offence this season but has been a very effective penalty killer when called upon. It’s fair to wonder if Nieto is dealing with a nagging issue as he has been unable to come close to replicating his play from last season when he had 12 goals and 12 assists in 81 games.
  • Vensel tweeted that freshly signed defenseman Dmitri Samorukov attended Penguins practice today and has been added to their active roster. The 24-year-old signed a one-year two-way contract yesterday that will pay him $775K at the NHL level for the 2023-24 season. Vensel followed up his original tweet by adding that Samorukov stayed after the Penguins practice for some extra work with the coaches which is generally an indication that he will not play tonight. Samorukov does have three games of NHL experience and has yet to score a point.

Metropolitan Notes: Kane, Hischier, Ristolainen

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ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported today on The Drop that unrestricted free agent forward Patrick Kane reportedly would like to make another run with the New York Rangers but at this point Rangers general manager Chris Drury has been apprehensive due to the team’s lack of cap space as well as the chemistry they’ve build under head coach Peter Laviolette.

Kane was unhappy with last season and his inability to be healthy due to his hip injury. According to Kaplan, Kane felt like he played most of the season on one leg and never had a chance to be an impact player.

Kaplan didn’t rule out the possibility of Kane returning to the Rangers but said that if he were to return it would be similar to last season when Kane essentially forced a trade to the Rangers. Obviously, this wouldn’t be a trade, but if Kane was willing to take a low salary, he could force the Rangers hand as the upside of signing the three-time cup winner might be too much for the Rangers to ignore.

In other Metropolitan notes:

  • New Jersey Devils reporter Amanda Stein tweeted that center Nico Hischier will travel with the club but will not dress in tomorrow night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. The 24-year-old returned to practice yesterday signalling that his return could come soon as he battles his way back from an upper-body injury he suffered on October 27th in a game against the Buffalo Sabres. The Devils have struggled with Hischier out of the lineup, going 4-5 in his absence. The 2017 first-overall pick struggled to start the year with just two goals in seven games but had a career year last year with 80 points in 81 games.
  • Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was in a regular jersey at practice today, indicating that he can take contact. Ristolainen’s return to a regular practice jersey signals that he is close to making his season debut for the Flyers as he has been on the shelf since suffering an undisclosed injury during training camp. When he is healthy enough to play, the Flyers will need to activate him off LTIR and make room available on their active roster which will likely mean a demotion for a player such as Louis Belpedio.

Metropolitan Notes: Joseph, Nedeljkovic, Ruff, Del Bel Belluz

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While it had been believed that defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph has been a frequent healthy scratch lately, it turns out that isn’t exactly the case.  Head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters including Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now that he’d have liked to reinsert the blueliner in their lineup tonight against Carolina but Joseph is dealing with a lower-body injury.  It’s an issue that he has been dealing with for a little while which helps explain why he hasn’t played over the last couple of weeks.  The 24-year-old has played in five games so far this season, picking up an assist while averaging a little over 13 minutes a night.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Still with the Penguins, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports (Twitter link) that Alex Nedeljkovic has been recalled from his LTIR conditioning stint. The 27-year-old is working his way back from a lower-body injury and stopped 17 of 19 shots in a victory on Friday night.  Nedeljkovic also scored an empty-netter in that game, making him the first goalie in AHL history to have scored two career goals.
  • While Lindy Ruff has done well behind the bench in New Jersey, he nearly didn’t get the opportunity to coach there. Ryan Novozinsky of The Star-Ledger notes that Ruff was not on GM Tom Fitzgerald’s original shortlist of eight candidates to take over the head coach position back in 2020 but one of Fitzgerald’s friends encouraged him to interview Ruff.  The Devils set a franchise record for points last season, helping earn him a multi-year contract extension last month.
  • The OHL rights to Blue Jackets prospect Luca Del Bel Belluz have been acquired by Saginaw, per a team release. The 20-year-old is in his first professional season with AHL Cleveland and has fared well in his limited action so far, collecting two goals and three assists in six games.  Saginaw is hosting the Memorial Cup this year and if Columbus decides that they want Del Bel Belluz to go back and get top-line minutes, they’ll be sending him to a team that’s loading up for what should be a long playoff run.

Evening Notes: Lehkonen, Xhekaj, Meier

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Peter Baugh of The Athletic is reporting that Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen’s upper-body injury is a neck injury. Previous reports had the 28-year-old dealing with an upper-body injury, but Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told Baugh the news today. The early reports come with no timetable for a potential return, or any specifics about how severe the ailment is. The Avalanche have put Lehkonen on LTIR which means the earliest he can return is December 5th against the Anaheim Ducks.

Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now is reporting that Lehkonen is currently in a neck brace after suffering a scary fall in a game last week against the Seattle Kraken, which is certainly not a great sign. Lehkonen’s mother has also flown to Colorado which indicates that he could need assistance over the upcoming weeks. Lehkonen is a player who plays a lot of important minutes for the Avalanche in all types of situations. He has three goals and five assists so far this season in 12 games.

In other evening notes:

  • The Montreal Canadiens have announced that defenseman Arber Xhekaj left tonight’s game after suffering an upper-body injury. The 22-year-old suffered the apparent injury after taking a huge hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev in the second period. Xhekaj appeared to be favoring his left shoulder as he left the ice, but the team has yet to comment on the nature of the injury. Xhekaj scored his first goal of the season earlier this week and has three points in 16 games for the Canadiens.
  • Star-Ledger reporter Ryan Novozinsky tweeted that New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters tonight that Devils forward Timo Meier will be out of the lineup on a short-term basis. What exactly that means remains to be seen but it is probably a safe bet that Meier won’t be in the lineup on Saturday night when the Devils are home to the New York Rangers. The 27-year-old is in his first full year with the Devils and has five goals and six assists in 14 games. He did not dress in tonight’s 5-2 Devils victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Penguins Loan John Ludvig And Alex Nedeljkovic To AHL

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they’ve loaned defenseman John Ludvig and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to their AHL affiliate the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The loan is for a conditioning stint so both players can get back up to game speed before they rejoin the NHL Penguins. Matt Vensel of Post-Gazette Sports is reporting that both players will be eligible to join the team on Sunday to play NHL games.

Ludvig and Nedeljkovic are both currently on long-term injured reserve and have already joined the Penguins in full practices before their AHL assignment. The Ludvig news is not surprising given that Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has stated before that Ludvig would have a conditioning assignment, but Nedeljkovic was a bit of a surprise. The Penguins may have opted to allow him more time given that third-string goaltender Magnus Hellberg has filled in admirably for Nedeljkovic. Hellberg has a .922 save percentage in three appearances with a 1-0-0 record.

Ludvig suffered a concussion in his NHL debut on October 24th against the Dallas Stars and hasn’t dressed in a game since. The 23-year-old was a waiver claim before the start of the season and is one of the few Penguins defensemen who offer a bit of sandpaper. The Penguins currently have seven defensemen on their NHL roster and have used Ludvig’s LTIR to call up Vinnie Hinostroza who has been very good on the team’s rejuvenated fourth line. 

The Penguins’ third defensive pairing has been a revolving door all season with Ryan Shea and Chad Ruhwedel currently occupying the final pair. Pierre-Olivier Joseph started the year on the left side, but hasn’t been able to hold down a spot and has struggled when he has been re-inserted into the lineup. The Penguins also have Ty Smith in the minors as well as Will Butcher who is injured. Ludvig will give the Penguins further roster options but could also complicate their current roster construction when he is recalled.

Afternoon Notes: Mantha, Grzelcyk, Avalanche

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NHL.com writer Tom Gulitti tweeted today that Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha suffered a ruptured ear drum when an Evgeny Kuznetsov shot bounced off a defender’s stick and hit Mantha in the ear. The injury happened November 8th in a game against the Florida Panthers and led to the 29-year-old being placed on the injured reserve.

Mantha reportedly lost hearing in that ear for six days and has only now started to get it back. He reported feeling dizziness initially, but according to Tarik El-Bashir, he should be well enough to play on Saturday when he is eligible to come off the IR.

Mantha has three goals and an assist in ten games this season with the Capitals and has been a healthy scratch at times as he hasn’t been able to find his game in Washington. He had two of his goals in the Panthers game when he suffered the injury but was knocked out of the game before he could complete the hat trick.

In other notes:

  • Boston Globe writer Conor Ryan is reporting that Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told the media today that he expects defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to be cleared to return to the Bruins lineup by this Saturday. The 29-year-old has been out of the lineup since October 30th when he suffered an upper-body injury in an overtime win against the Florida Panthers. Grzelcyk played just 3:29 in that game and left during the third period of the win. The native of Charlestown, Massachusetts has dressed in nine games this season and has a single assist but has looked off his game when in the lineup. His average ice time is down, as are many of his defensive numbers which could lead one to speculate if he was dealing with a nagging injury prior to sitting out these past few weeks.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have announced that they’ve essentially reversed yesterday’s roster moves. The Avalanche sent Sam Malinski and Caleb Jones to the Colorado Eagles yesterday and today decided to recall both players. No word yet on why Colorado opted to change course, but both players are back on the Avalanche’s NHL roster as of this morning. Jones has an assist in his one NHL game this year while Malinski is pointless in one game.

Capitals Notes: Fehervary, Oshie, Pacioretty, Edmundson

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Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post is reporting that Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary didn’t practice this morning and will not play in tomorrow night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery also told reporters that Fehervary is a maybe for Saturday night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Fehervary is currently on injured reserve and wouldn’t have been eligible to return tomorrow even if he was healthy enough to play but is eligible to play Saturday if he can. The 24-year-old has had a decent start to the year and has been very good on the Capitals’ penalty kill. While he has just two assists in 12 games, he has been much more effective at even strength this year despite starting most of his shifts in the defensive zone.

In other Capitals notes:

  • Bailey Johnson also reported that Capitals forward T.J. Oshie took a maintenance day today and did not practice with the team. Oshie has had a brutal start to the season with just one assist in 13 games thus far and it appears the Capitals are hoping that some rest can help kickstart some offense for the 36-year-old. Oshie has seen over three minutes of powerplay time per game this season which is about the same average time he saw last year, but even with the work on the first powerplay unit he has been unable to find the back of the net.
  • The NHL Network’s Tarik El-Bashir is reporting that Capitals forward Max Pacioretty skated on his own this morning before the team’s practice as he attempts to ramp back up to return to game action. The 34-year-old faces a long battle back after tearing his right Achilles for the second time this past January and there is no timetable for his potential return. Both the Capitals and Pacioretty appear to be very cautious in their approach to a return which makes sense given how difficult the past 15 months have been for the six-time 30-goal scorer.
  • Bailey Johnson tweeted that Capitals defenseman Joel Edmundson is getting closer to a return after he was a full participant in practice today. Edmundson is trying to work his way back from a hand injury and was dressed in a non-contact jersey during this morning’s practice. The 30-year-old has yet to make his debut in Washington after he was acquired in July for two draft picks. He injured his hand in preseason and required surgery which has ultimately delayed the start to his Capitals career. A return to action would be good news for Washington as they are currently without defensemen Fehervary and Trevor van Riemsdyk.

Injury Notes: Zub, Miller, Vasilevskiy

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TSN 1200 out of Ottawa is reporting that Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith told reporters this morning in Sweden that defenseman Artem Zub is day-to-day and didn’t practice with the team. The 28-year-old only just returned from an injury on November 9th in a loss against the Vancouver Canucks. He then dressed in the Senators victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday night.

Smith said that Zub was more sore today and that was why he didn’t practice. He also added that the team would wait and see how he is for practice on Wednesday as tomorrow is a day off for the group.

Zub has dressed in just six games so far this season for Ottawa and has been very productive in that time with two goals and two assists. The expectations for Zub this season were quite high after he signed a four-year $18.4MM extension last December to remain with the club. Normally a defensive specialist, Zub is almost halfway to last season’s point total of ten in just six games.

In other injury notes:

  • New Jersey Devils reporter Amanda Stein is reporting that defenseman Colin Miller was a full participant in team practice this morning after being on the IR since October 19th with an undisclosed injury. Miller has yet to make his debut with the Devils after being acquired on July 1st from the Dallas Stars for a 2025 fifth-round draft pick. Miller practiced on the fourth defensive pairing alongside extra forward Maxwell Willman. No timetable for Miller’s return has been released yet.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning tweeted this morning that star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has returned to practice with the team. The news sparked curiosity as to when the former Vezina Trophy winner might return to the lineup. The Lightning have been without Vasilevskiy for the entire first six weeks of the season but have kept their heads above water going 6-5-4 in their first 15 games. The Lightning currently sit tied for fifth in the Atlantic Division but are just two points out of a playoff spot with a lot of season left.

Edmonton Oilers Fire Jay Woodcroft, Hire Kris Knoblauch

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Despite a convincing victory last night, the Edmonton Oilers are making a surprising coaching move. They are expected to relieve head coach Jay Woodcroft of his duties, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, Hartford Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch will be named the next Oilers head coach.

The Oilers have now officially announced the moves, alongside one more change: Dave Manson is out as an assistant coach for the team, and legendary former Oilers blueliner Paul Coffey has been hired as an assistant coach in Manson’s place. Coffey was previously a senior advisor to the club.

A Zach Hyman hat trick lifted the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken last night, though the team still sits second to last in the NHL with a 3-9-1 record. In a Stanley Cup-or-bust season, The Oilers atrociously bad start to the season—highlighted by the team’s dispiriting loss to fellow basement-dwellers, the San Jose Sharks— has now cost Woodcroft his job.

Per the Edmonton Sun’s Terry Jones, this move will be the fifth head coaching change of the Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl partnership. Of all the coaches to man the bench for McDavid and Draisaitl, its Woodcroft who has arguably had the most success.

Woodcroft rose from Bakersfield Condors bench boss to the big job in Edmonton, and posted a .643 points percentage across 133 games. That’s the highest in Oilers history, above even the .616 mark posted by legendary coach Glen Sather.

Woodcroft took the Oilers to the Western Conference Final in 2022, where they would fall to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. He lost to the eventual champions once again in 2023, dropping a hard-fought battle with the Vegas Golden Knights.

But with their season on life support, the Oilers needed to make changes in order to resurrect their Stanley Cup hopes. With no cap space to make trades, the easiest path to major change in Edmonton was via a coaching change, and the Oilers have now taken that route.

This is an attractive job due to the presence of the best player in the world on their roster, but there are some issues here. After this season, Draisaitl will have just one year remaining on his contract. If the Oilers fall well short of the playoffs this season, Draisaitl could reasonably question whether he’ll be able to win a Stanley Cup in Edmonton should he commit what is likely to be the rest of his prime years to the franchise.

McDavid has an extra year on his contract, so there will naturally be questions regarding his future as well, though the hire of his former agent Jeff Jackson as the team’s CEO of hockey operations position makes it more likely he’ll eventually reach a deal on a contract extension.

Those questions are all for the offseason and beyond, though. The Oilers have a more immediate problem to wrestle with: how are they going to revive their playoff chances in a season where they were viewed by many as a true Stanley Cup contender? Now with Woodcroft out, it appears the Oilers believe the first step to answering that question is a coaching change.

The choice of the next Oilers coach appears to be at least somewhat McDavid-oriented. Knoblauch was McDavid’s coach in the OHL with the Erie Otters, and he won an OHL title with the team in 2016-17. A two-time championship-winning coach in the CHL, Knoblauch, 45, is in his fifth season as the bench boss of the Wolf Pack.

He led the team on a run to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs last season, upsetting the favored Providence Bruins along the way. He leaves Hartford this season with a 7-3-1 record.

The New York Post’s Mollie Walker reports that Wolf Pack assistant coach Steve Smith will take up head coaching duties in the immediate term, although the search for the team’s next head coach will “begin immediately.” Smith is actually a former Oilers coach himself, having served as an assistant on three separate coaching staffs from 2010 to 2014.

Knoblauch hasn’t been an NHL head coach before, save for a short stint during the pandemic when health-related absences put him behind the Rangers’ bench due to necessity. But despite his lack of NHL experience, he was viewed as a contender for the Rangers’ vacancy before they hired Peter Laviolette. Now, he gets his first shot behind an NHL bench with some former players on his roster and an immediate, pressing task ahead: save the Oilers season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Oilers Notes: Goaltending, Bourgault, Coaching

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Edmonton’s goaltending situation certainly hasn’t been good this season with Stuart Skinner and now-demoted Jack Campbell combining for a 4.10 GAA and a .862 SV%, a big reason why the Oilers are now tied with San Jose for last in the NHL.  Accordingly, there has been an expectation that a move will be made to shore up their netminders.  In a recent 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed that there were some in the league who thought Edmonton was nearing a deal to do just that on Wednesday.  Clearly, that hasn’t come to fruition (yet, at least) but it would appear as if GM Ken Holland is trying to get something done on that front.  But with the team in a money-in, money-out situation to stay cap-compliant, it’ll be easier said than done.

More from Edmonton:

  • Speaking today on TSN 690 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger indicated that prospect Xavier Bourgault is “a piece the Canadiens have coveted for a while”. The 21-year-old was the 22nd pick back in 2021 and is in his second season with AHL Bakersfield.  A strong scorer in junior, Bourgault had a decent rookie campaign with 34 points in 62 games last season while he has four in seven contests so far this year.  Montreal is one of the teams still carrying three goalies although Jake Allen might not work in their salary structure, extension talks have started with Samuel Montembeault, and Cayden Primeau isn’t the proven solution between the pipes that Edmonton should be looking for.
  • TSN’s Ryan Rishaug relayed earlier today (Twitter link) that nothing was imminent with regards to possible coaching change. Jay Woodcroft is only in his second full season with the team and even with the ugly start this season, his teams have played to a .640 point percentage.  Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski notes that a change, if one is made, would give them their fifth bench boss in eight years with a good chunk of the core there for all of those moves.  As a result, while making a move behind the bench might be the easiest lever to pull, recent history would suggest that it might not change a whole lot.

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