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Dallas Forward Devin Shore Out With Lower-Body Injury

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The Dallas Stars are having a hard time staying healthy. The team is already without top-six forward Alexander Radulov and defensemen John Klingberg, Marc Methot and Connor Carrick, not to mention they have yet to see either Stephen Johns or Martin Hanzal hit the ice this season. That list has grown yet again, as forward Devin Shore is now expected to miss time as well due to a lower-body injury. Stars head coach Jim Montgomery told the media that Shore is expected to miss a minimum of seven to ten days.

Shore, 24, was off to a hot start this season. The University of Maine product is tied for fifth on the team in scoring behind five goals and six assists and has frequently been skating on the Stars’ top line. While Shore still has ample room to grow into a more offensively involved player, his 50-point pace was easily making 2018-19 look like his best season yet. The 2012 second-round pick has finished in the low thirties in back-to-back 82-game seasons to begin his NHL career. The question now is whether Shore will be able to bounce back quickly and get back to his current scoring clip or if an extended absence or slow return could send him back toward that 30-point projection.

While Shore is out, the Stars will have to call upon their depth once again. The team recently recalled Denis Gurianov from AHL Texas and will likely ask he, Mattias Janmark, Gemel Smith, and free agency addition Blake Comeau to take larger roles. This could be an opportunity for 2018 re-draft Adam Mascherin to make his NHL debut as well. Dallas is in the bottom third in the league in scoring as is and will have to find some suitable replacement for Shore’s production while he remains sidelined.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Jakob Chychrun To Six-Year Extension

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Young Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun is getting ready to make his season debut tonight against the Detroit Red Wings and when he hits the ice, he’ll do so with the confidence of a brand new contract. Chychrun has signed a six-year extension, as first reported by The Athletic’s Craig Morgan and later confirmed by the team. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds that the deal carries a $4.6MM cap hit, totaling $26.7MM over the six-year term.

The Coyotes’ willingness to commit this magnitude of years and dollars to a player that hasn’t played in an NHL game since April and has just 118 games under his belt speaks measures about what they see in him. Chychrun, 20, was the 16th overall pick in 2016, considered a steal by Arizona in the eyes of many. After a strong rookie campaign, Chychrun was limited to just 50 games last season by a nagging knee injury, the same ACL tear that has had him sidelined thus far in 2018-19. However, when healthy Chychrun has shown flashes of brilliance. A talented two-way defenseman, he has shown ample ability in all three zones with both a composed offensive game and gritty defensive game. Chychrun was able to earn over 20 minutes of ice time per game last year on a Coyotes team that featured established veteran defensemen like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers, and Niklas Hjalmarsson. If health is not a continuing issue, Chychrun projects to be a top-four if not top-pair defender for Arizona.

Moving forward, the Coyotes have clearly designated Chychrun and Ekman-Larsson as the future of their blue line. Both are signed through 2024-25 with their recently-signed extensions – Ekman-Larsson inked his new deal this summer – at cap hits that could end up being well below their respective market values. Goligoski, Demers, and Hjalmarsson are all signed for two more years as well, giving Arizona a solid group for some time, with the likes of Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Filip Westerlund still on the way. The future is bright for the Coyotes defensively and they hope a healthy Chychrun can lead the charge.

Minor Transactions: 11/13/18

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Another busy Tuesday night in the NHL as nine games are scheduled to take place, with the Minnesota Wild welcoming in the Stanley Cup champions, and the Nashville Predators battling the San Jose Sharks. It’s a busy night, but teams are already working to finalize their rosters and make small changes. We’ll be here to keep track of all of them.

  • Erik Cernak has been recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning, as Anton Stralman deals with an injury. Cernak, another one of the interesting prospects in the Lightning system, has seven points in nine games for the Syracuse Crunch this season. The talented defenseman combines both size and skill to get by, and could make his NHL debut this week if the team inserts him into the lineup.
  • Micheal Haley has been dealing with personal issues and entered the player assistance earlier this season but will now get a chance to get back on the ice. The Florida Panthers have assigned the veteran forward to the minor leagues on a conditioning loan, in order to get him back into game shape. Haley, 32, played 75 games for the Panthers last season, the most in any single season of his career. He recorded 212 penalty minutes in those 75 games, which easily led the league.
  • Pavel Zacha is back in the NHL, recalled by the New Jersey Devils after they placed Brian Boyle on injured reserve. Zacha had recently been sent down to the minor leagues to regain his confidence and scoring touch, which he seemed to do with five points in four games for the Binghamton Devils. The 21-year old forward is still without a point this season in the NHL, and will be a key part of any turnaround the Devils have in store this year.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Gustav Forsling from the minor leagues, while placing Marcus Kruger on injured reserve retroactive to November 9th. Forsling comes into a defense corps that is without Brandon Davidson for the time being as he deals with a leg injury, and one that has struggled recently to keep the puck out of their net. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Forsling is on his way up to join forces with new Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton, but it is still to be seen whether he can help the Blackhawks break their current eight-game losing streak.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have continued to send players back to the minors during homestands, today assigning A.J. Greer to the AHL. That’s the benefit of having an affiliate so close, something the Avalanche are now experiencing with the Colorado Eagles entering the AHL. Greer has played just a single game for the Avalanche this season.
  • Ben Gleason almost scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game this past weekend, but after it was tipped by a player in the slot he was forced to settle for just his first point. Now, after two games with the Dallas Stars, Gleason will need to wait for his next opportunity to score that elusive goal. He has been sent down to the Texas Stars.

Pacific Notes: Ducks, Quick, Chychrun

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The Anaheim Ducks have dealt with more than their fair share of injuries over the past year or so. The team is still far from healthy, but finally full strength is within sight, particularly among their battered forward corps. The likes of Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, and Patrick Eaves are healthy, and recent injuries like those to Jakob Silfverberg and Kalle Kossila have also run their course. Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase are on the mend and expected to be active sooner rather than later. Corey Perry (knee) and Carter Rowney (upper body) are still far from a return, but in terms of players the Ducks reasonably expected to be healthy, things are looking up. However, a full set of healthy forwards also brings with it some tough choices. While Anaheim has the flexibility to send the likes of Ben Street, Pontus Aberg, Sam Carrick, and Kiefer Sherwood – currently on the roster – to the AHL, they have to be concerned about whether there is enough ice time to go around for the more permanent pieces. Already, the team sent promising rookie Isac Lundestrom to the AHL today to bring up Kossila and fellow top prospects Sam Steel and Troy Terry are already down with the San Diego Gulls. As the team grows healthier, it it possible that they could explore returning rookie Max Comtois to his junior club, the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltiguers. While Comtois has already played in ten games this season and tolled the first year of his contract, he cannot be sent to the AHL and could be better served getting guaranteed top-six minutes at the junior level than fighting for ice time with the Ducks. Comtois is currently sidelined, buying Anaheim some time on the decision, but with conceivably an upwards of 20 forwards expecting to see action in the NHL this season, eliminating even just one option by sending Comtois back to junior would help the Ducks with their impending roster crunch.

  • The Los Angeles Kings took another hit in net today with the news that backup goaltender Jack Campbell will be out four to six weeks with a torn meniscus. The team is already without starter Jonathan Quick due to the same injury and are left to lean on veteran Peter Budaj and rookie Cal Petersen for the time being. Fortunately, GM Rob Blake did assure the media later on that Quick remains on track to return sometime around the end of the month, per beat writer Curtis Zupke. Quick underwent surgery on October 31st and was given a timeline of roughly a month to return. So long as his rehab continues to progress positively, Quick could potentially be ready to return by the Kings’ November 30th clash with the division rival Calgary Flames. Yet, even in that best-case scenario, Budaj and Petersen will still be on the hook for the nine games between now and then.
  • In more immediate injury news, The Athletic’s Craig Morgan reports that Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun is “probable” to make his season debut on Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings. Chychrun has been sidelined since late last season with a torn ACL in his right knee. The first-round pick was establishing himself as a reliable top-four defender prior to his injury and his return should come with an automatic starting spot, likely bumping Ilya Lyubushkin down to the minors and Jordan Oesterle from his starting slot.

Injury Notes: Kulikov, Pesce, Carrick, Arvidsson

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The Winnipeg Jets recalled top prospect Sami Niku this weekend as a replacement for the injured Dmitry Kulikov, and he might get a longer than expected opportunity in the NHL. Kulikov has been moved to injured reserve and is out for at least four weeks according to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. The veteran defenseman suffered an upper-body injury, and will now have to fight his way back on the roster in a month’s time.

Kulikov had appeared in just six games this season for the Jets, averaging fewer than 11 minutes per game. That’s a far cry from the expectations placed on him when he signed a three-year $13MM deal in the summer of 2017, one that has not aged well given the rest of the big contracts Winnipeg needs to give out. The team has plenty of cap space at the moment, but will need to hand out deals to Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Jacob Trouba and several other restricted free agents this summer.

  • Brett Pesce’s absence at Carolina Hurricanes practice may have set off some alarm bells given the recent speculation about the team’s interest in William Nylander, but Michael Smith of NHL.com reports the defenseman is working through a minor lower-body injury. Pesce won’t play tonight for the Hurricanes, but is listed as just day-to-day for now.
  • Meanwhile in Dallas, Stars’ defenseman Connor Carrick will miss at least three more weeks with his lower-body injury according to broadcaster Bruce LeVine. The Stars are without John Klingberg as well, leaving a lot of the puck-moving responsibility to young defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Julius Honka. Carrick has four points in nine games for the Stars since being acquired just prior to the beginning of the season. Importantly, that trade included a condition that would change the seventh round pick to a sixth round pick for Toronto if Carrick plays in 50 games. An injury like this puts that 50 game threshold very much in doubt.
  • Viktor Arvidsson had just returned from a stint on injured reserve, but is headed back to the shelf after leaving the Nashville Predators recent game against Dallas. Arvidsson has been placed on injured reserve once again, meaning he’ll miss at least a week with his upper-body injury.

Jack Campbell Out Four To Six Weeks, Cal Petersen Recalled

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The Los Angeles Kings just can’t catch a break. As they continue to deal with the absence of Jonathan Quick, they now have another goaltender hitting the shelf with a long-term injury. Jack Campbell has suffered a torn meniscus that requires surgery and will be out four to six weeks. In his place, rookie netminder Cal Petersen has been recalled while Matt Luff has been sent back to the Ontario Reign.

The fact that Campbell and Quick both suffered injuries to their meniscus is laughable, at least given the struggles of the Kings this season without a reliable presence in net. The team now turns to a duo of Petersen and Peter Budaj, who were supposed to be the AHL tandem this season. The younger Petersen is a top goaltending prospect in the league, but has just a single season of professional experience after leaving college early and signing with Los Angeles. That happened in the summer of 2017 after he snubbed the Buffalo Sabres, the team who drafted him 129th overall in 2013.

Petersen isn’t the biggest netminder in the league, but has an uncanny ability to read the play and react quickly to pucks in tight. He rode those skills to an outstanding college career at Notre Dame and ended up posting a .910 save percentage and 23-14-2 record in his first season in the AHL. That was good enough to get him named to the AHL All-Star game, though the Reign were not able to get past the first round of the playoffs. This season hasn’t been as kind to Petersen, but there is still plenty of ability to get excited about as a Kings fan.

Unfortunately, even an outstanding debut for Petersen may not be enough to turn around the season for Los Angeles, who sit dead last in the NHL with just 11 points on the season. That’s thanks to a 5-10-1 record and league-worst 33 goals scored on the year. Even with the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk the Kings just haven’t been able to score enough, something that will need to be addressed before they can really compete for the playoffs once again.

Minor Transactions: 11/12/18

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The NHL has just four games on the schedule for tonight, meaning teams will have plenty of opportunity to make changes to their rosters in preparation for the rest of the week. We’ll keep track of all those minor moves right here:

  • Aaron Ness has been sent back to the Hershey Bears, meaning Jonas Siegenthaler looks to have secured a spot with the Washington Capitals for the time being. With Brooks Orpik on long-term injured reserve, Siegenthaler was given his first opportunity at the NHL level and played just over 12 minutes. Ness meanwhile will return to the minor leagues where he has spent the majority of his career, and continue his role as a veteran leader on the Bears’ blue line.
  • The Calgary Flames have assigned Anthony Peluso to the Stockton Heat of the AHL, returning the 29-year old winger after just one game. Peluso has been up and down several times this year, and will likely continue to serve as an injury call-up for the rest of the season.
  • Nick Paul is on his way back to the AHL after the Ottawa Senators reassigned him today. Paul has played six games at both the AHL and NHL level this season, and looks poised to split the year between the two leagues. The 23-year old hasn’t been able to establish himself with the Senators as a full-time option, but does brings some size and physicality when needed.

Pavel Buchnevich Out Four To Six Weeks With Broken Thumb

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The New York Rangers are trying to use this season as a development year, giving young players lots of ice time to see what they can do. Unfortunately, one of those young players is going to lose a huge chunk of the season to injury, as the team announced Pavel Buchnevich will be out for four to six weeks after breaking his thumb this weekend.

Buchnevich, 23, is coming off an impressive season which showed he could be a key player for the Rangers going forward. With 14 goals and 43 points in 2017-18, he actually finished fourth on the team in scoring and set himself up for a pretty substantial raise at the end of his entry-level contract. That was dependent on him taking another step forward this season, but it looked like he had early on as Buchnevich already has nine points in 14 games. Unfortunately that 43 point total now seems in doubt given he’ll miss up to 18 games with this latest injury.

The Rangers are off to a better start than many expected, as their 8-7-2 record has them tied for third in the Metropolitan Division. That’s in part thanks to Buchnevich’s strong play to start the year, something they’ll have to find a replacement for now that he’s sidelined. An increased opportunity may present itself for some of the Rangers other prized young players like Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil, something they’ll have to take advantage of quickly if the team has any hope of competing for the playoffs this year.

Atlantic Notes: Rask, Miller, Joseph, Pageau

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It looks like the Boston Bruins may get back goaltender Tuukka Rask on Tuesday after he was granted a leave of absence on Thursday for personal reasons, according to NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin. The scribe writes that the team will talk to the veteran Monday with the hopes of his return immediately thereafter, but nothing is confirmed until then.

Rask has struggled all season before requesting a leave of absence as the veteran has a 3.05 GAA and a .901 save percentage in eight appearances, not the numbers that a player making $7MM. While the Bruins have kept Rask’s reason for the request silent, the hope is that a break may be able to help him re-focus on the season.

The Bruins have been fortunate to have signed Jaroslav Halak, who has been impressive and looks to have seized the starting job away from the struggling Rask. Halak has a 1.86 GAA and a .941 save percentage in 10 appearances. He stopped 40 of 41 shots in Saturday’s victory over Toronto and without Rask on hand, is expected to play back-to-back against Vegas today.

  • Benjamin also reports that Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said that defenseman Kevan Miller could return by the end of the team’s four-game road trip that starts on Wednesday. Miller hasn’t played in a game since Oct. 18 with an undisclosed injury.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning finds itself thrilled with the constant improvements of rookie forward Mathieu Joseph, who after going scoreless in 13 straight games, broke through to have scored four goals in the last four games, according to The Athletic’s Greg Auman (subscription required). The surprising thing is that after 13 scoreless games, the deep Lightning team continued to play him. “My thing with that is if you’re doing all the right things and you’re getting chances and chances and chances, eventually they’re going to go in,” head coach Jon Cooper said. “So there are probably plays he made that should have gone in the net but didn’t, and all of a sudden, plays that maybe don’t go in the net do. That’s just the way it works. He got rewarded tonight. I’m a big believer that if you keep putting yourself in the right position, good things are going to happen.”
  • The Ottawa Senators got a nice piece of news today as center Jean-Gabriel Pageau was seen taking the ice alongside defenseman Ben Harpur and forward Zack Smith, according to TSN’s Todd White. It was reported that Pageau, who suffered a torn Achilles on Sept. 13, would miss six months, however, Pageau has made remarkable progress. While skating is just one step on his way to a full recovery, it’s a good sign to see him back on the ice. Head coach Guy Boucher said that even the medical staff has been impressed by his recovery, although he’s still a long ways off.

Tomas Plekanec On Unconditional Waivers, Will Retire From NHL

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Sunday: Elliotte Friedman reports that Plekanec has cleared waivers.

Friday: Despite the Montreal Canadiens suffering several injuries to their forward group, the team announced today that they will place Tomas Plekanec on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a mutual contract termination. Plekanec hasn’t seen much ice time this season but is close to returning from his latest minor injury, but will not suit up again for the Canadiens.

At the press conference to discuss the move with the media, GM Marc Bergevin explained that this was a “hockey decision” to let Plekanec go. The 36-year old forward was near tears when talking about always wanting to retire in Montreal, but did note that he would look for opportunities in the Czech Republic for the next few years. It seems as though his NHL days are over. Plekanec spoke about how the team is in good hands with the young group in the dressing room, and how Bergevin did approach him with the idea of a trade at one point before making this decision.

Though there is still the formality of clearing waivers and then terminating the contract tomorrow, it seems like the end of the North American journey for Plekanec. Selected in the third round of the 2001 draft, he would make an impact at the AHL level right away and show that the rest of the league made a mistake in passing on him. By the time the league returned from lockout in 2005, he was a full-time player for the Canadiens and wouldn’t look back. Plekanec played in at least 77 games for 11 consecutive seasons (not counting the lockout-shortened 2012-13, in which he played 47 of 48) and was the picture of health and consistency for a team that went through plenty of change. Hitting a career-high of 70 points in 2009-10, Plekanec was a huge part of a Montreal team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Canadiens will not be on the hook for any of Plekanec’s cap hit, even though he signed his most recent contract over the age of 35. Because the deal was just for one season, the restrictions usually applied to 35+ deals—that is, a cap hit that remains with the team regardless of what happens to the player—do not apply. Only multi-year contracts are punished in this way, meaning the Canadiens are free and clear of anything to do with Plekanec’s contract.

In fact, the last year has been quite beneficial for the Canadiens when it comes to Plekanec. Last spring they traded the veteran center to their rival Toronto Maple Leafs for a package that included a second round pick, only to see him return to play his 1,000th game in Montreal this year. The Maple Leafs were knocked out of the first round anyway, and no other piece from the deal is still on either roster. The fact that he’s willing to step aside and allow the team to fill the roster with the next wave of Montreal forwards is just the latest in a long career filled with putting the Canadiens ahead of himself.

Known best for his trademark turtleneck and goatee, Plekanec will not go down alongside the very greats of the Montreal franchise. He was never part of a Stanley Cup run, and scored just 608 points in his 1,001 games. Still, he’ll be remembered as an efficient soldier by many fans and revered for his loyalty to the franchise to the very end.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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