- The Florida Panthers will be without two forwards for miss Tuesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as captain Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett have been ruled out for the game by head coach Paul Maurice, the team announced via Twitter. The injuries are not expected to be long-term, as they are both likely to return this weekend. Barkov has 50 points in 49 games this season, while Bennett has 35 points in 56 games.
Panthers Rumors
Spencer Knight Enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program
According to a joint statement from the NHL and NHLPA Thursday, Florida Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight has entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program and will be unavailable to the Panthers for an indefinite period while he receives care.
The announcement comes after Knight was assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday, in a move most assumed was meant to purely clear salary cap space for Anthony Duclair’s return to the lineup.
Knight will continue to be paid while receiving treatment and will rejoin the Panthers when he’s cleared to return to on-ice competition by program administrators.
Knight, Florida’s 2019 first-round draft pick, is supplanting himself as a high-end tandem netminder despite being just 21 years old. In 21 appearances (19 starts) this season, Knight has a 9-8-3 record, a .901 save percentage, and a shutout. He’d appeared just four times since January 1, however, as a variety of injuries and illnesses had kept him out of the lineup.
Alex Lyon, who has a .887 save percentage in six NHL appearances this year, will back up starter Sergei Bobrovsky for the time being as the Panthers continue to chase a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
PHR extends our wishes to Knight that he gets the support he needs.
Florida Panthers Recall Grigori Denisenko, Zac Dalpe
The Florida Panthers have announced the recall of forwards Grigori Denisenko and Zac Dalpe from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. The move comes as the Panthers are dealing with injuries to key players, including captain Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett, who are both day-to-day with “lingering injury issues,” per head coach Paul Maurice.
Denisenko returns to the NHL after being sent to the minors two days ago. The 21-year-old Russian has appeared in 17 games for the Panthers this season, recording three assists. The Panthers’ first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Denisenko is known for his speed and skill, but his NHL opportunities have been limited, and he’s still searching for his first NHL goal.
Dalpe, 31, has scored 14 goals in 32 games for the Checkers this season and remains the team’s captain. A veteran of nearly 500 AHL games, Dalpe also has two goals and two assists in 11 appearances with Florida this season. He provides veteran depth in a fourth-line role for the Panthers after they lost Chris Tierney on waivers to the Montreal Canadiens yesterday.
In addition to the recalls, the Panthers will get a boost tonight in perhaps their biggest game of the year against the Buffalo Sabres, as the two teams remain in a tight Eastern Conference Wild Card race. As expected, Maurice confirmed Anthony Duclair will make his season debut after completing his recovery from an Achilles tear. The 27-year-old was a key contributor for the Panthers last season, recording 31 goals, 27 assists, and 58 points in 74 games.
To create the salary cap flexibility needed to activate Duclair and allow for the recalls, it’s expected that Givani Smith was placed on long-term injured reserve. The 24-year-old forward was hit in the face by a shot from teammate Radko Gudas during a game Monday. Smith has appeared in 22 games for the Panthers this season, recording a goal and three assists after he was acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings.
Montreal Canadiens Claim Chris Tierney
The Montreal Canadiens have added a little veteran presence off the waiver wire, claiming Chris Tierney from the Florida Panthers. Joey Anderson and Justin Kirkland, who were on waivers with him, both cleared.
Tierney, 28, has played nearly 600 games in his NHL career, even if those have rarely been as a leading man. The depth forward has three points in 13 games with Florida this season, after scoring six goals and 18 points in 2021-22 with the Ottawa Senators.
Florida was able to slip him through waivers at the beginning of the year, but now that teams like Montreal are dealing with so many injuries, he wasn’t making it back to the minor leagues this time.
The Canadiens updated several players today, indicating that Joel Armia is out day-to-day and Chris Wideman will be out week-to-week. The most intriguing update had to do with Kirby Dach, who won’t travel with the team due to what the team is calling “illness-like symptoms related to a lower-body injury.”
Dach hasn’t played in a week now, and there is no clear timeline for his return. Montreal’s claim of Tierney makes sense in that context, given how few healthy bodies the Canadiens have. Signed to a one-year, two-way contract, he’ll be a UFA in the summer.
Florida Panthers Reassign Spencer Knight, Grigori Denisenko
The Florida Panthers announced Wednesday that the team has reassigned goalie Spencer Knight and winger Grigori Denisenko to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Alex Lyon has been recalled to replace Knight’s spot on the roster.
While some eyebrows might raise at Knight getting demoted to the minors, this is purely a cap-related transaction. With winger Anthony Duclair expected to make his season debut Friday as he returns from an Achilles tear, the Panthers need to scratch and claw for every dime of cap space possible in order to take Duclair’s $3MM cap hit off long-term injured reserve.
Reassigning Knight, Denisenko, and Chris Tierney, who Florida waived hours ago, would free up an additional $2.6MM in space to bring their projected cap hit down to roughly $85.1MM. While over the $82.5MM Upper Limit, Patric Hornqvist’s $5.3MM cap hit remains on LTIR to keep them compliant.
While Knight will surely return after the Panthers’ cap situation is resolved, it’s not a guarantee Denisenko receives an immediate call-up. The 15th overall pick in 2018 has again been limited to a fourth-line role and has three assists in 17 games with Florida this year.
Lyon has made six appearances for the Panthers in 2022-23, recording a .887 save percentage and a 3-2-1 record.
Three Players Placed On Waivers
Three forwards have hit the waiver wire today. Toronto Maple Leafs winger Joey Anderson, Florida Panthers center Chris Tierney, and Anaheim Ducks winger Justin Kirkland are on today’s list, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
For the Maple Leafs, this is one more step in a long list of salary cap management moves this season. As the team looks to add one more small piece after acquiring Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues, every dollar of salary cap space matters. If Anderson clears waivers, they have the flexibility to shuttle him and his cap hit up and down to the AHL through the trade deadline.
Anderson has slowly moved up the Toronto depth chart over his three seasons there, and he’s played more NHL games this season than the last two combined. The 24-year-old has two goals and an assist in 14 games this year.
With Anthony Duclair nearing a return to action, the Panthers need to create some roster flexibility as well. Tierney had already cleared waivers once preseason, but after spending most of the past three months on the NHL roster, he’ll need to clear again in order for Florida to assign him to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Tierney, 28, is averaging under nine minutes of ice time this year and has three points in 13 games with Florida.
Kirkland landing on waivers today signifies he’s healthy again after sustaining an undisclosed injury in early January. The 26-year-old AHL mainstay made his NHL debut this season but has yet to register his first NHL point.
Sam Bennett Doing Much Better But Might Miss Saturday's Game
- While Panthers forward Sam Bennett is doing “much better” according to head coach Paul Maurice, team reporter Jameson Olive relays (Twitter link) that he still might not be ready to return for their next game on Saturday against Nashville. The 26-year-old left Tuesday’s game with an undisclosed injury and didn’t play in Thursday’s victory over Washington. Bennett has 14 goals and 21 assists in 56 games so far, good for sixth on Florida in scoring.
Snapshots: Blues, Schenn, Bally Sports
The St. Louis Blues had a resounding win last night over the Florida Panthers, but it came at a cost. Both forward Brandon Saad and defenseman Torey Krug left the game with injuries, and they could be without both tomorrow against the New Jersey Devils, says head coach Craig Berube.
Berube confirmed Saad, who’s dealing with an upper-body injury, will miss the game. Krug is questionable with a lower-body injury. Both players have already missed chunks of the season with injuries, contributing to the Blues’ mediocre record. Saad’s injury opens the door for veteran Josh Leivo, who has four goals and 13 points in 38 games, to step into a top-six role for the time being. Neither Saad nor Krug have a timeline for their injuries, although Krug’s is obviously a short-term absence.
- Despite other hot-commodity defensemen being scratched for asset protection, Vancouver Canucks defender Luke Schenn doesn’t expect the same treatment. Schenn told reporters that he “expects to be playing every night” ahead of the March 3 trade deadline, despite multiple teams having reported interest in the stay-at-home defenseman. The 33-year-old has 18 points and a +5 rating in 53 games this season.
- The NHL Board of Governors had an emergency meeting today to discuss the financial struggles of Bally Sports Network’s parent group, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. Diamond Sports, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, operates the Bally Sports umbrella of regional sports networks that broadcasts the home games of many U.S.-based teams. Today, they skipped a debt payment of $140MM as the organization nears bankruptcy. A potential sudden, unexpected lack of TV revenue is certainly a bit of financial concern for the league.
Anthony Duclair Nearing Return?
- Florida Panthers forward Anthony Duclair skated in a regular jersey during practice today, something Panthers coach Paul Maurice called a “big step” in his recovery from an Achilles injury. While Maurice did add that he doesn’t expect to see Duclair in action on the team’s current road trip, it does seem Duclair’s return from long-term injured reserve is nearing, which could present cap-related challenges for the Panthers and add an interesting wrinkle to the trade deadline.
Panthers Recall Grigori Denisenko
The Panthers have been carrying an open roster spot since the All-Star break and they now have elected to fill it, announcing (Twitter link) the recall of winger Grigori Denisenko from Charlotte of the AHL.
It is the third recall of the season for the 22-year-old who is viewed as one of the top prospects in the organization. After playing just once with Florida last season, Denisenko has suited up a dozen times for them so far in 2022-23, picking up three assists while logging 11:20 per night in what has largely been a bottom-six role.
Things have gone better for him offensively in the minors as he has nine goals and a dozen helpers in 37 games with the Checkers. However, that’s basically the same rate he produced at last year (18 points in 30 games) and considering he’s in his third season in North America, it’s also reasonable to infer that they were hoping for a bit more progress offensively from Denisenko.
With the recall, the Panthers now have two extra forwards on their active roster; Colin White was the healthy scratch against Colorado on Saturday. It wouldn’t make sense for Florida to recall Denisenko to then turn around and sit him so it stands to reason that someone that suited up against the Avs will be scratched for their next game on Monday against Minnesota.