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Sabres Notes: Tuch, Murray, Samuelsson, Greenway

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Sabres forward Alex Tuch will be activated off injured reserve and return to the lineup tonight against the Avalanche, head coach Don Granato said earlier Wednesday. Winger Brett Murray was assigned to AHL Rochester later in the day to create roster space to activate Tuch, per a team release.

Tuch’s return marks the end of a four-game absence due to a lower-body injury sustained on December 3 against the Predators. The Sabres promptly announced Tuch was expected out of the lineup for roughly one week, just long enough to be eligible for IR placement. It’s the winger’s second multi-game absence of the season after an upper-body injury sidelined him for three games in November. Before exiting the lineup, Tuch had two goals and four points in his last five games and has eight goals and 17 points in 22 games on the season.

The move also ends Murray’s first call-up of the 2023-24 season, which lasted just two days. He replaced the younger Isak Rosen in the lineup Monday in the team’s win against the Coyotes, recording a -1 rating and one shot on goal in 10:41 of ice time. The 25-year-old Murray, who stands at 6-foot-5 and nearly 230 pounds, has two goals and seven points in 12 games with AHL Rochester this season.

Elsewhere from around the Sabres today:

  • Also returning to the lineup tonight is defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, per Granato. No corresponding roster move is needed because Sameulsson remained on the active roster while sidelined with an undisclosed injury, which Granato described as general soreness earlier in the week. Samuelsson did not suit up Monday against the Coyotes, his fourth injury-related absence of the season after he missed three games with a lower-body injury in early November. The shutdown blueliner has three points in 25 games this season and is averaging 20:12 per game, nearly two minutes down from last season’s average – although that number is artificially low due to Samuelsson exiting games early with injuries this season on multiple occasions.
  • One player absent from tonight’s contest will be forward Jordan Greenway, missing his sixth straight game with an upper-body injury. He did travel with the team on their road trip, but as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports, he’s not expected to play, which would mean also missing games Friday in Vegas and Saturday in Arizona. He remains on injured reserve for the time being and hasn’t played since leaving the team’s December 2 contest against the Hurricanes prematurely. He’s played in two of Buffalo’s last ten games, missing a trio of contests in November for personal reasons. The 26-year-old has seven points in 21 games in his first full season as a Sabre.

Canadiens Recall Emil Heineman

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The Canadiens recalled high-end left-wing prospect Emil Heineman from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Wednesday, per a team announcement. To make room on the 23-man roster, winger Tanner Pearson, who is out six weeks with an upper-body injury, was moved to injured reserve.

If the 22-year-old Heineman draws into the lineup tonight against the Penguins, it would be his NHL debut. It’s not a guarantee, however, as the Canadiens have 13 healthy forwards on the active roster. Heineman would likely play a third- or fourth-line role in the event he enters the lineup, relegating either Joel Armia or Michael Pezzetta to the press box.

Heineman is already in his third NHL organization after the Panthers selected him 43rd overall in 2020. The Panthers moved on from him less than 12 months after the draft, dealing his signing rights and a 2022 second-round pick to the Flames in exchange for center Sam Bennett in April 2021. Less than a year after that, Calgary flipped his rights to the Canadiens as part of the package that got them Tyler Toffoli near the 2022 trade deadline. Heineman signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens within a few months of the second trade.

Montreal loaned him out to his Swedish Hockey League club, Leksands IF, for most of last season, where he fell short of his SHL career-highs with eight goals and 15 points in 35 games. After Leksand’s brief playoff run concluded, Heineman finished out the 2022-23 campaign with Laval, recording seven goals and two assists in 11 regular-season games. The strong start to his North American professional career made some believe he could crack Montreal’s roster out of camp this year, and although he was a late cut, Heineman was eventually assigned to Laval before opening-night rosters were due.

An injury suffered early this season sidelined Heineman for most of October and all of November, but he returned to the Rocket lineup this month and has three points and 11 shots on goal in five games post-injury. A speedy winger with a high-end shot, Heineman could bring a skill element missing from Montreal’s depth forward group with Kirby Dach, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Alex Newhook all sidelined with long-term injuries.

He is ranked as the third-best left-wing prospect in Montreal’s system behind 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky and 22-year-old American Sean Farrell by Dobber Prospects. At this stage, a long-term future in Montreal’s top six seems unlikely, but he certainly has the potential to churn out a lengthy career as a legitimate third-line scoring threat.

Vladislav Gavrikov Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury

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Kings blueliner Vladislav Gavrikov left Sunday’s game against the Rangers with a lower-body injury, just one night after he was on the wrong end of a knee-on-knee collision with Islanders captain Anders Lee. Today, the team announced that Gavrikov will not be in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Jets and is sidelined on a week-to-week basis.

Gavrikov, 28, has blossomed into a solid second-pairing defender since beginning his NHL career in 2019 with the Blue Jackets. A sixth-round pick of Columbus in 2015, Gavrikov played four seasons in his home country of Russia before joining the NHL ranks, including an Olympics appearance in 2018 and multiple World Championship appearances.

He cracked the Blue Jackets out of camp on his first try, going on to record 18 points and a +1 rating while averaging 18:59 per game through 69 contests during his rookie season. The pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign was a tough one for him, recording 12 points and a -13 rating in 55 games, but he broke out as a true top-four threat the following season with five goals, 33 points, and a respectable -3 rating on a Blue Jackets team that finished below the .500 mark while playing over 22 minutes a game.

Amidst a disappointing campaign for Columbus last season, the organization parted ways with Gavrikov near the trade deadline, dealing him to the Kings, along with netminder Joonas Korpisalo, for a package headlined by Los Angeles’ 2023 first-round draft pick. He’s been dynamite in Hollywood since the deal, and he’s posted some of the best possession numbers of any player in the league this season. Through 25 games, Gavrikov is playing nearly 20 minutes per game, has three goals and six assists, and boasts a 57.5% Corsi share at even strength. He also leads the NHL in Hockey Reference’s expected plus-minus metric with a +9.5 rating.

Needless to say, his services will be tough to replace for a Kings team whose .720 points percentage ranks fourth in the NHL and second in the Western Conference. 25-year-old Jacob Moverare, who has been recalled on numerous occasions this season but has yet to see game action with the Kings, will make his 2023-24 debut tonight in place of Gavrikov on their second pairing alongside Matt Roy. Moverare has five assists and a +1 rating through 16 games with AHL Ontario. He’s amassed 21 games of NHL experience with the Kings dating back to 2021, recording two assists and a +2 rating in 16:13 of average ice time.

The Kings do have cap space to make a corresponding recall from Ontario while winger Viktor Arvidsson remains on long-term injured reserve, but their 23-man roster is currently full. Given he’s expected to miss longer than seven days, expect the Kings to move Gavrikov to injured reserve in the near future to accommodate an extra defenseman on the active roster.

Jets Place Kyle Connor On IR, Recall Dominic Toninato

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The Winnipeg Jets have placed top-scoring forward Kyle Connor on injured reserve with a knee injury. It was recently reported that Connor would be out for six to eight weeks, with the winger slated to undergo an MRI to discover the extent of his injury. Winnipeg has used an emergency recall to bring Dominic Toninato up to the NHL roster in light of Connor’s move to IR.

Connor has been a major focal piece of Winnipeg’s early season, with the winger tied for fourth in goals with 17 in 26 games. He’s also managed 11 assists, bringing him up to a team-high 28 points. With the 27-year-old out for an extended period, the Jets will need to look towards players like Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers to carry additional weight. The team has also benefited from NHL sophomore Cole Perfetti, who currently has nine goals and 19 points in 27 games.

Toninato will serve as additional forward depth for the club, after scoring six points through his first nine AHL games this season. The 29-year-old centerman is in his fourth season with the Jets organization, serving as a go-to extra forward for the team. He appeared in one full season with the Jets in 2021-22, recording 14 points and 22 penalty minutes in 77 games. It was the first full season of Toninato’s career, after making his debut in the 2017-18 season. He’s also appeared in 64 games with Winnipeg’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, scoring 24 goals and 45 points with the club. Toninato was originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs and is appearing with his third NHL franchise in Winnipeg.

Islanders Recall Grant Hutton As Scott Mayfield Faces Injury

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The New York Islanders have brought defenseman Grant Hutton back to the NHL after sending him to the minors on December 11th. This recall comes in light of Scott Mayfield suffering an upper-body injury that will hold him out day-to-day.

Mayfield joins a list of Islanders defensemen facing injury, with the team already without top defenders Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech. The team recently acquired Robert Bortuzzo from the St. Louis Blues to provide depth to the back end. The new addition has appeared in two games with the Islanders, recording two penalty minutes and a -1.

Hutton rejoins the squad to again serve as the team’s seventh defenseman. The 28-year-old has only appeared in two NHL games this season. They were his first appearances in the league since he played 16 games in the 2021-22 season – his only other handful of NHL ice time. Hutton has one goal and four penalty minutes through his 18 combined NHL games.

The Islanders signed Hutton as an undrafted free agent following the conclusion of Miami University’s 2018-19 season. Hutton totaled 144 collegiate games over four seasons at Miami, scoring 71 points and recording 114 penalty minutes. He’s spent much of his professional career with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he’s played a total of 189 games and scored 67 career points. He’s also added 91 penalty minutes and a -12. These tallies include the five assists, 14 penalty minutes, and -5 that Hutton has recorded in 16 AHL games this season.

Hutton and Bortuzzo will serve as important depth pieces for the Islanders as they look to ride out all of the injuries to their blueline.

Victor Hedman Out Day-To-Day

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that star defenseman Victor Hedman will be out of the lineup day-to-day. The news came just minutes before the team is set to hit the ice to take on the Vancouver Canucks. Hedman was considered a game-time decision earlier in the day and will not dress this evening. Tampa Bay did not provide specifics on the ailment, simply calling it an upper-body injury at this time.

The Lightning have dealt with several injuries to key contributors this season and will now have to deal with one to their top defenseman. Hedman has been on a tear offensively in the first third of the season, registering five goals and 22 assists in 29 games. While those numbers are certainly impressive, context is important. 16 of Hedman’s 27 points have come on the power play as Hedman’s even-strength numbers have not been as strong this season when compared to previous years. Part of that could be that the Lightning aren’t icing as competitive of a team, but Hedman’s play does raise the question as to whether he has been dealing with an underlying issue.

With Hedman out of the lineup, Mikhail Sergachev will likely slide into his spot of the top defensive pairing as well as on the power play. His minutes will likely increase as could Carp, Ontario’s Calvin de Haan who will likely see a bump into the Lightning’s top 4.

If Hedman is out long-term, the Lightning may have a tough time replacing his minutes, which would not be good news for a team that is sitting outside of the playoff picture at the moment.

Kyle Connor Reportedly Out Long-Term

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After a knee-on-knee collision between Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets and Ryan Strome of the Anaheim Ducks, it was reported that Connor would get an MRI on his knee to view the extent of the injury. Although there is still some evaluation left to take place, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that an optimistic timeline for Connor will be around six to eight weeks.

During the play in question, Connor was coming into the slot early in the second period, attempting a backhand shot on Anaheim goaltender, John Gibson. After the shot was made, although both of his feet were planted, Strome’s right leg came into contact with Connor’s right leg, causing Connor to immediately drop to the ice in pain.

In a brief interaction with the media this morning, head coach of the Jets, Rick Bowness, relayed on the news that Connor would be returning to Winnipeg to be re-evaluated by team doctors at their facilities, and is guaranteed to be out of the lineup both today and tomorrow. At this point, the Jets have not given any official word about the severity of Connor’s injury, nor his eventual recovery timeline.

It is a tough blow for Winnipeg to lose their top goal-scorer for any length of the season, given that with 17 goals on the season already, Connor has accounted for 20% of all goals scored for the Jets this season. Over his last seven seasons, including this year, Connor has been one of if not the best offensive players for Winnipeg, scoring 224 goals and 447 points in 472 games.

Without any other player on the team reaching the double-digit goal total at this point in the season, the Jets will likely generate scoring by committee moving forward. However, although his goal-scoring is down this season, Mark Scheifele will be heavily relied upon in his absence to put the puck in the net.

If the timeline presented by McIntyre is accurate, Connor will miss between nine and 16 games, as the Jets will continue to battle for playoff positioning in the Central Division with the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. Fortunately for Winnipeg, only six of those games will be against opponents currently within the playoff picture, as they will have two games against the Chicago Blackhawks as well as another two games against the San Jose Sharks during that stretch.

Nevertheless, heading into the trade season, the injury to Connor may give the Jets more motivation to acquire more goal-scoring to inject into their lineup. Even with the fourth-highest goal-scorer in the NHL this season, the Jets are a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of offense, currently sitting at 14th in the league in GF/G.

Injury Notes: Joseph, Benning, Martin, Jones, Merzlikins

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Placing defenseman Dmitri Samorukov on waivers yesterday, after he cleared today, the Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and have subsequently activated Pierre-Olivier Joseph off of the injured reserve. Being placed on the injured reserve with an undisclosed injury dating back to November 18th, Joseph has not played in a game since the team’s route against the San Jose Sharks on November 4th.

Given that he is returning from injury, Joseph will likely slot into the Penguins’ bottom-pairing alongside John Ludvig. Although he is a much better internal option on the blue line compared to Samorukov, Joseph will not be a factor in improving the team’s current offensive struggles on the powerplay.

Last season, in what has been his best to date, Joseph scored five goals and 21 points on the back end, also carrying an impressive oiSV% of 91.5%. With a 3-4-3 record in the last 10 games, the Penguins currently find themselves six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and will need all hands on deck to get back into the playoff race.

Other injury notes:

  • The San Jose Sharks announced today they have placed defenseman Matt Benning on the injured reserve. Dealing with a lower-body injury, Benning has been out of the lineup since the team’s game against the New York Rangers on December 3rd. Already starting the season with limited depth as an organization, Benning joins a growing list of Sharks on the injured reserve, making him the sixth player overall currently.
  • Retroactive to December 2nd, the New York Islanders have placed depth forward Matt Martin on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury. This will now be the third time this season that Martin has been placed on the IR, having missed stretches in both October and November. In only 14 games played this season, Martin has one goal and two points, only maintaining approximately eight and a half minutes of ice time per game.
  • Already confirmed to be out of the lineup in tonight’s matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks’ defenseman, Seth Jones, received X-rays during the team’s game against the Washington Capitals on Sunday. Although there has been no official update on the status of Jones, team doctors indicated that he was only feeling a ’little sore’ and should be able to make it back to the lineup after the team’s road trip (X Link).
  • Although he is still on the team’s injured reserve due to an illness, Brian Hedger for the Columbus Dispatch reports that goaltender for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Elvis Merzlikins returned to practice with the team today. Largely the most competent goalie on the Blue Jackets this season, Merzlikins holds a 6-8-4 record in 19 starts, carrying a .910 SV% and a 3.10 GAA.

Calgary Flames Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Calgary Flames made several roster moves today, announcing that the team has recalled defenseman Nick DeSimone from their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, while subsequently sending down forward Matthew Coronato. On the injury front, the team also relayed that defenseman Chris Tanev is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and will not play in the team’s game tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights.

After placing fellow defenseman Jordan Oesterle on waivers towards the beginning of the season, DeSimone quickly became a stable presence on the blue line, scoring four points in eight games, and averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time per game. As the team regained salary cap flexibility due to the trade of Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames would recall Oesterle from the AHL, and send DeSimone back to the Wranglers on November 26th.

Much like DeSimone, Coronato has split time this season between the NHL and the AHL, only managing two points in 11 games when playing for Calgary. One of the team’s more notable up-and-coming prospects, Coronato is having quite the season with the Wranglers already, scoring eight goals and 18 points in only 14 games. Even though the team has re-entered the playoff conversation over the last couple of weeks, the Flames are still largely considered sellers heading into trade season, meaning Coronato may earn a full-time spot with the team if the forward core is thinned out.

In the context of the trade deadline picture, Tanev is thought to be one of the more sought-after defensemen on the market, primarily being linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Luckily, in terms of his trade value for the Flames, Tanev should only miss a game or two, meaning the return package in any deal shouldn’t be negatively impacted by the injury.

Atlantic Notes: Tuch, Samuelsson, McAvoy, Zacha, Lagesson

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Sabres head coach Don Granato informed reporters today that winger Alex Tuch won’t play tonight against the Coyotes as he remains out with a lower-body injury, although he could return for Wednesday’s game against the Avalanche (via Heather Engel of NHL.com). Tuch is on injured reserve and has missed the last three games with the injury, which he sustained on December 3 against the Predators. He is now eligible to come off injured reserve at any time after satisfying the minimum seven-day absence.

Tuch has dealt with two injury-related absences of at least three games this season, the other being an upper-body injury that sidelined him for three games in mid-November. When in the lineup, his production has lagged from last season’s 1.07 points-per-game pace, posting eight goals and 17 points with a -4 rating and 52.7% Corsi share at even strength in 22 games. The Sabres have gone 2-3-1 without Tuch in the lineup and 9-11-2 with him.

Buffalo could be without an additional regular tonight, as Granato also said defenseman Mattias Samuelsson is questionable against the Coyotes after leaving today’s practice early due to soreness. Samuelsson, who is in the first season of a seven-year, $30MM extension, missed three games with a lower-body injury in early November and was a game-time decision with an upper-body injury late last month after leaving a November 25 contest against the Devils prematurely. He’s once again leveraged heavy minutes for the Sabres, averaging over 20 minutes per game for a third consecutive season. He’s recorded a goal and two assists along with a -2 rating in 25 games, and his 49.6% even strength Corsi share is a career-high.

More from around the Atlantic Division:

  • Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy didn’t practice today and remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe. McAvoy missed Saturday’s win over the Coyotes after sustaining the injury in Thursday’s game against the Sabres. This is the second time he’s been held out of the lineup this season, the first being a four-game suspension in early November for a check to the head of Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. While McAvoy’s 0.81 points per game this season are the best of his career, he’s taken a step back defensively, posting a 51% Corsi share at even strength and a -4 rating, both career lows. Ryan also relays word from Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery that center Pavel Zacha remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and he, along with McAvoy, is questionable for Wednesday’s contest against his former team, the Devils. New Jersey’s sixth-overall pick in 2015, Zacha was sent to the Bruins in a one-for-one swap for Erik Haula in July 2022 and has since assumed a top-six role, posting 76 points in 108 games over the past two seasons while averaging 16:37 per game. Zacha took just eight shifts in Saturday’s game against the Coyotes before exiting.
  • Maple Leafs defenseman William Lagesson will be a game-time decision tonight against the Islanders due to illness but is likely to play, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to reporters (via David Alter of The Hockey News). It’s been a tidy season for Lagesson so far, who’s been a solid injury fill-in for players such as Mark Giordano, Timothy Liljegren and Jake McCabe, who have missed significant time this season on Toronto’s back end. Signed to provide a reliable call-up option with a handful of NHL games under his belt, Lagesson has logged one assist in 14 games this season, recording a -1 rating and 49.4% even-strength Corsi share while averaging 15 minutes per game. Across 74 games with the Maple Leafs, Oilers and Canadiens dating back to the 2019-20 season, the 27-year-old is still looking for his first NHL goal.

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