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Austin Watson Out Week-To-Week

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In a bit of a knock to their depth, beat writer for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Chris Krenn reports that forward Austin Watson is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Watson originally came to the Lightning organization as an unrestricted free agent shortly before the start of the regular season after the team mutually parted ways with forward Josh Archibald.

Watson’s first season in Tampa Bay has been relatively quiet, as he has only managed to average a little under seven minutes of ice time a game, also having been regularly a healthy scratch. Suiting up in 26 games for the Lightning up to this point, Watson has scored two goals and one assist while also producing a total of 69 PIMs already.

At face value, the loss of Watson alone will not serve as a massive missing piece for Tampa Bay, but with Tanner Jeannot and Erik Cernak also out of the lineup, the top three leaders in hits for the team are now all out with injury. Serving as one of the more physical teams, especially in the Eastern Conference, the Lightning’s preferred style of play will be lost for the next few games. In the meantime, on the active roster, the new leader in hits for the team falls to Luke Glendening, who has thrown a total of 58 so far this season.

Metro Notes: Toffoli, Tippett, Chytil, Svechnikov

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In his press conference this afternoon, the General Manager of the New Jersey Devils, Tom Fitzgerald, spoke on the upcoming unrestricted free agency of forward Tyler Toffoli and his interest in extending Toffoli beyond this season (X Link). Fitzgerald mentioned that he has had multiple agents with Toffoli’s agent to gauge the interest in Toffoli returning to the Devils for the next several years.

Acquired from the Calgary Flames over the offseason, the trade for Toffoli will likely be one of the bigger win-win trades for both teams. With Yegor Sharangovich producing rather well in Calgary, Toffoli currently sits third on the Devils in points with 20 goals and 33 points in 45 games.

At 31 years of age, it is unlikely that Toffoli will command a long-term contract by any stretch, but with his production over the last couple of seasons, he may command anywhere from $6MM-$7MM on the open market. Having just over $67MM in commitments for next season, New Jersey will have around $20MM in cap space next summer, giving them an adequate amount of space to retain Toffoli under that dollar value. However, with Michael McLeod and Dawson Mercer also needing contracts after this season, the Devils may look to spend their money elsewhere.

Other Metro notes:

  • With several roster moves taking place today for the Philadelphia Flyers, the team also announced that they have placed forward Owen Tippett on injured reserve retroactive to January 21st. Unfortunately, with the Flyers’ last game before the All-Star break coming on January 27th, this means that Tippett will have to wait until February 6th to get back into a game. On a similar pace to last season, Tippett has scored 18 goals and 30 points in 46 games for Philadelphia so far this year.
  • Having been on the New York Rangers’ long-term injured reserve since November 28th, there is still no timeline for the return of Filip Chytil according to head coach Peter Laviolette (X Link). Hoping to build off his successful 2022-23 season under a new coach, Chytil has only managed 10 games before suffering an upper-body injury in early November, limiting his production to a total of six assists on the season.
  • In an undisclosed injury up to this point, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal is reporting that Carolina Hurricanes’ forward Andrei Svechnikov would miss the team’s game against the Boston Bruins. Already dealing with injuries earlier in the season, Svechnikov has returned at a scorching pace, scoring 11 goals and 30 points in 29 games. In later reporting, Lavalette noted that Svechnikov’s current injury is unrelated to his injury struggles earlier in the year.

Atlantic Notes: Reaves, Bertuzzi, Johnson, Rafferty, Cernak

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In preparation for the team’s high-profile game against the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow night, the lineup for the Toronto Maple Leafs will look a bit different. Jonas Siegel of The Athletic reports that the team has activated forward Ryan Reaves off of the injured reserve while designating forward Tyler Bertuzzi as a non-roster player as he prepares for the birth of a child.

With Bertuzzi not expected to miss a significant amount of time with the birth of his child, the lineup change will be short-lived. Suffice it to say, after having acquired both forwards in the offseason as unrestricted free agents, the Maple Leafs have not gotten a particularly good return on investment in either player.

Having been out for a little over a month with a lower-body injury, Reaves has scored one goal in 21 games for Toronto so far this year and still carries a team-worst -11 rating on the year after signing a three-year, $4.05MM contract with the Maple Leafs in July. Comparatively, as the highest-paid forward beyond the ’Big Four’ in Toronto, Bertuzzi has managed only six goals in 45 games played, on pace for his lowest-goal total in his career throughout a full season.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • Mike Harrington of Buffalo News Sports reports that Buffalo Sabres’ defenseman Erik Johnson will be out of the lineup both today and tomorrow. Although he would be eligible to return Saturday against the San Jose Sharks, Harrington points out that Johnson is only considered a possibility for that game, as the team may keep him out until after the All-Star break. Brought over in the offseason to shore up the right side of the team’s defense, Johnson has scored three goals for Buffalo this season while averaging the lowest total ice time of his career.
  • Prior to the team’s game tonight against the Dallas Stars, the Detroit Red Wings announced they had recalled defenseman Brogan Rafferty from their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. This being his third recall of the year, Rafferty has yet to play in a game for the Red Wings although he already has two goals and 15 points for the Griffins this season.
  • Not included in the team’s game tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers, Erik Cernak has returned to practice for the Tampa Bay Lightning (X Link). Cernak has been out of the lineup since January 11th with an upper-body injury but could make his return before the All-Star break. In 39 games for the Lightning this season, Cernak has managed to tally five assists while averaging a touch over 19 minutes of ice time a night.

Pacific Notes: Hill, Ferraro, Bjorkstrand, Kemp

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As alluded to this morning in the team’s reassignment of goaltender Jiri Patera to their AHL affiliate, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have removed Adin Hill from the injured reserve, and he is on track to dress in the team’s game tonight against the New York Islanders. Even though he will be back in the lineup, it is unclear if Hill will start in tonight’s contest, or if the Golden Knights will continue to utilize Logan Thompson.

Being one of the better success stories of last season, there were high expectations for Hill coming off an impressive run to the Stanley Cup last year. When he has been healthy, Hill has once again been one of the better netminders in the league, producing a 10-2-2 record in 15 games with a league-leading .933 SV% and 1.99 GAA to boot.

However, for the fourth time in his career and already the second time this season, Hill has missed a significant amount of time with injury, being one of the main drivers of Vegas’ fall in the standings. Since recovering from his current injury suffered on December 17th, the Golden Knights have only managed a 6-8-1 record, falling to eighth in the league standings.

Other Pacific notes:

  • After suffering an undisclosed injury in the team’s most recent game, Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group reports that San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro will not play tonight. Fortunately, subsequent reporting indicated that the injury to Ferraro was not as bad as expected, but the Sharks will likely be keeping him out through the All-Star break to fully recover.
  • Kate Shefte of Seattle Times Sports reported that Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand had missed the team’s practice today due to personal reasons. With a game tomorrow night against the Chicago Blackhawks, it is unclear if Bjorkstrand will be in the lineup or not. As the Kraken’s lone All-Star representative, Bjorkstrand is putting together quite the season, scoring 12 goals and 36 points in all 46 games for the team.
  • Having spent two weeks with the team since being recalled on January 9th, the Edmonton Oilers announced they have loaned defenseman Philip Kemp to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Making his NHL debut on January 13th, Kemp was unable to score his first NHL point after only managing two minutes of ice time. With Kemp now back in Bakersfield, the Oilers were able to comfortably place the new contract of Corey Perry onto their active roster.

Vegas Golden Knights Reassign Daniil Miromanov, Jiri Patera

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Before the team’s game tonight against the New York Islanders, the Vegas Golden Knights have loaned defenseman Daniil Miromanov to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights on a long-term injury conditioning loan, as well as reassigned goaltender Jiri Patera to the Silver Knights as well.

As an undrafted free agent, Miromanov came to the Vegas organization in 2022, signing away from HC Sochi of the Kontinental Hockey League. With plenty of high-profile injuries to their typical active roster, Miromanov is not necessarily a game-changing reinforcement to inject back into the lineup. Still, it will provide sufficient depth to the Golden Knights’ defensive core once he can fully return. Over both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 NHL seasons, Miromanov has played in a total of 25 games for Vegas, scoring two goals and seven points while averaging a little under 14 minutes of ice time per game.

The much more significant news in this team announcement is the reassignment of Patera, which likely spells the return of Adin Hill between the pipes. Largely serving in a backup role since Hill went down with injury once again in mid-December, Patera has been serviceable, producing a 1-3-0 record in five games played, carrying a .901 SV% and a 3.75 GAA. After having been out for over a month, it may take Hill a short while to get reacquainted with gameplay, but it will at the very least serve as a well-earned break to goaltender Logan Thompson, who has started in the majority of games in Hill’s absence.

In the first 10 games after Hill went down with an injury, the Golden Knights posted a disappointing 3-7-0 record, creating a sizeable gap between them and the first-place Vancouver Canucks in the Pacific Division. However, over the last five games, the team has begun to pick things up a tad, securing a 3-1-1 record, and outscoring their opponents by a margin of five over that stretch.

Tanner Pearson Returning To The Canadiens Lineup

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Montreal Canadiens forward Tanner Pearson is set to return to the lineup tonight when the Canadiens take on the Ottawa Senators. Pearson has been sidelined since December 9th with an upper-body injury but has been practicing with the team for a few days now.

The 31-year-old was acquired by the Canadiens last September along with a 2025 third-round pick in exchange for goaltender Casey DeSmith. He started the season slow with just four goals and four assists in his first 27 games before the injury sidelined him.

It’s been a tough few years for the 31-year-old as he was once a perennial 15-20 goal scorer but hasn’t topped 15 goals since the 2019-20 season when he had 21 goals with the Vancouver Canucks.

Pearson is in the final season of a three-year contract he signed with the Canucks back in April 2021 and could become a trade chip for the Canadiens if he can show that he is healthy and productive. He spent the first six years of his career with the Los Angeles Kings, winning a Stanley Cup in 2014. However, since 2018 he has been dealt on three separate occasions and could be looking at another move, or possibly two over the next six months.

Pearson is counting $3.25MM against the cap this year and could be one of the less expensive forwards on the market. His trade market could heat up if he can get any traction over the next four to six weeks.

Morning Notes: Laine, Werenski, Byram, Engvall

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Zach Werenski and Patrik Laine are expected to return on the five-game road trip the Columbus Blue Jackets begin on Tuesday. Laine has missed the team’s last 14 games with a broken collarbone, while Werenski has missed 10 games with an ankle injury.

The Blue Jackets went 3-4-3 without their pair of top talents, averaging just 2.7 goals-for and 4.1 goals-against. Werenski’s return will mark the most notable impact, as the 26-year-old defenseman still ranks third on the team in scoring – with one goal and 25 points in 34 games – despite missing 11 games on the season. Laine hasn’t been as productive, boasting six goals and nine points in 18 games, though he was on a hot streak before his injury – netting five points in his last six games. The duo have become pivotal to Columbus’ success, and frequent absentees from the lineup. Laine posted 22 goals and 52 points in 55 games last season, while Werenski was only able to appear in 13 games – and score eight points – as he missed most of the season with a torn labrum and separated shoulder. The Blue Jackets will hope both players can find a newfound bout of health upon their return, as they work to improve on a season that currently has them ranked in the league’s bottom five.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have activated defenseman Bowen Byram off on injured reserve. The 22-year-old defenseman has appeared in 39 of Colorado’s 47 games this season, netting 12 points split evenly. He’s managed the scoring while serving in a top-end role, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time – though it’s a step down from the nearly 22 minutes of ice time Byram averaged in 42 games last season. Caleb Jones and Sam Malinski will likely step out of the lineup to make space for Byram, though one of the two could still see ice time as the Avalanche have opted for seven defensemen recently.

  • Stefen Rosner of NHL.com is reporting that New York Islanders forward Pierre Engvall is feeling better and has returned to full contact at Islanders practice. The 27-year-old has been dealing with an upper-body injury and has not suited up for New York since a 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on January 15th. Engvall’s style of play should be well suited for new head coach Patrick Roy’s system as puck possession remains a strong suit for the former seventh-round pick. Engvall’s numbers are down a bit this season as has just five goals and nine assists in 41 games this season. His shooting percentage has plummeted to just 7.5% down from a career-high 13% last season. There is no timetable yet for Engvall to return to the Islanders lineup.

Nick Foligno Activated, Connor Murphy Placed On IR

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The Chicago Blackhawks have activated forward Nick Foligno off the injured reserve, and it is expected that he will dress tonight against the Vancouver Canucks. The 36-year-old is just a week removed from signing a two-year $9MM extension with the Blackhawks and has been out of action since January 5th when he stood up for Connor Bedard and fought Brandon Smith after he had hit Bedard and fractured his jaw.

Foligno is in his first season in Chicago after coming over in a trade last summer from the Boston Bruins. He has had an uneven offensive season with five multi-point games sandwiched between four stretches of four or more games without a point. Foligno is likely to find himself in Chicago’s top 6 as the team continues to deal with quite a few injury issues to their forward group. Foligno likely won’t duplicate some of his better offensive years from his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but he remains a respected leader and a dependable forward for Chicago.

With the move to activate Foligno, the Blackhawks also placed defenseman Connor Murphy on the injured reserve retroactive to January 16th. Murphy is currently sidelined with a lower-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for the past four games. The 30-year-old will be eligible to return to the lineup when he is healthy enough to do so and is expected to be back at some point during Chicago’s current four-game road trip. Murphy has dressed in 43 games this season and has two goals and six assists while sporting a -19.

Snapshots: Xhekaj, Vilardi, Lucius

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared on the 32 Thoughts podcast that the Philadelphia Flyers may have been one of the many teams to inquire about Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj. Xhekaj has generated a lot of interest around the league since making his NHL debut last season, largely because of the 148 penalty minutes he’s totaled in only 68 career games. He’s added 34 penalty minutes in 17 AHL games, embodying the old-school enforcer style that’s dwindled in recent years. Xhekaj already has five fights on the season – three in the NHL, including one against Ryan Reaves, and two in the AHL.

Xhekaj has added modest scoring on top of his hefty grit, netting 11 points in the minors this year and three points with Montreal. He’s carved out an impressive role in the NHL, despite going undrafted in his juniors years. Xhekaj signed his first NHL contract out of Montreal’s 2021 training camp, inking a three-year, $2.5MM entry-level contract. He spent the first year of this contract in the OHL, with the deal officially beginning last year. It’s unclear what Montreal might want in return for a defenseman currently in the minor leagues, but there’s no doubting why there’s interest in the 6’4″, 204lbs 22-year-old.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Gabriel Vilardi will be a game-time decision for the Winnipeg Jets’ Monday night matchup against the Boston Bruins, per head coach Rick Bowness. Vilardi has been in and out of the lineup in his first season with the Jets, appearing in just 26 of the team’s 44 games. But he’s made his presence felt when he can, managing 11 goals and 20 points. Vilardi appeared at Winnipeg’s Monday practice but was seen speaking with Bowness after practice. If he can’t go, the team will likely turn toward Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, who has five points through 24 games this season.
  • Winnipeg Jets prospect Chaz Lucius is slated to have season-ending surgery on his ankle. It’s yet another significant injury for the 20-year-old centerman, who has only managed 59 league games over the last three seasons. Lucius was on a hot streak in the minor leagues this year, managing 13 points in his 17 apperances. The Jets will hope for the best from the former 18th-overall selection as he sets his sights on next season.

Coyotes Troy Stecher Out Four-To-Six Weeks With Lower-Body Injury

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The Arizona Coyotes have announced that defenseman Troy Stecher is out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. Stecher has appeared in 42 of Arizona’s 44 games this season. He’s recorded five points, 20 penalty minutes, and a +7.

Stecher is in his second stint with the Arizona Coyotes, starting last season with the team but getting traded to the Calgary Flames ahead of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline. He re-signed in Arizona on July 1st, inking a one-year, $1.1MM contract. The Coyotes are one of five NHL teams that Stecher has played for, with his career headlined by four seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. Stecher has accumulated 482 career NHL games and 108 career points – an impressive mark for the undrafted defender who didn’t sign his first pro contract until his age-22 season – joining the AHL’s Utica Comets for four games in the 2016-17 season.

The Coyotes’ depth will be tested with Stecher set to miss significant time. The team is already facing injuries to Barrett Hayton, Travis Boyd, and Vladislav Kolyachonok – limiting their ability to ice an ideal lineup. The Yotes will have to turn to Juuso Valimaki, who has operated as the team’s seventh defenseman recently and has six points in 30 appearances this season. This injury likely also means an expanded role for Josh Brown and Michael Kesselring – a duo that’s operated as the team’s bottom pairing in recent outings.

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