Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs Injuries, Swayman, Pitlick, Mersch
Injured Maple Leafs Connor Dewar, Jani Hakanpää, Calle Järnkrok, and John Tavares all skated during practice Monday, albeit in non-contact jerseys on a separate sheet of ice away from the main group (via TSN’s Mark Masters).
Dewar and Hakanpää are recovering from shoulder and knee injuries dating back to the end of last season, while Järnkrok and Tavares are dealing with lower-body injuries sustained during preseason. None of their availabilities for opening night have been confirmed, although especially in Dewar and Hakanpää’s case, the fact they’re skating means their absences shouldn’t stretch too far past the start of the regular season if they’re unable to go. Järnkrok and Tavares remain listed as day-to-day.
That could certainly throw a wrench into the Leafs’ opening night roster if neither Dewar nor Hakanpää will be out long enough to be eligible to land on long-term injured reserve. Toronto is $1.07MM over the salary cap with a full projected roster, per PuckPedia, but could easily become compliant by waiving defenseman Conor Timmins and assigning him to the minors. That doesn’t leave enough room to sign either Steven Lorentz or Max Pacioretty to league-minimum contracts off their PTOs, though.
Head coach Craig Berube said later Monday that he expects Järnkrok and Tavares to take part in the next practice, so their availability for the start of the season should be considered likely at worst (via The Hockey News’ David Alter).
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- There’s still no end in sight to the contract negotiation stalemate between the Bruins and restricted free agent netminder Jeremy Swayman. But when the end arrives, all signs still point to the goalie staying in Boston. Neither side has any interest in starting up preliminary trade talks for his signing rights, even amid an unusually difficult set of talks, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa relays. “Swayman wants to be a Bruin. The feeling is mutual,” he wrote.
- Still with Boston, veteran winger Tyler Pitlick will attend their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins’, training camp on a PTO, reports the New England Hockey Journal’s Mark Divver. It’s quite a steep fall down the hockey ladder for the 32-year-old who appeared in 34 games with the Rangers last season on a one-way deal before landing on waivers in February and spending the rest of the season with AHL Hartford. Pitlick, a bottom-six defensive presence for most of his 10-year, 420-game career, was limited to four points with the Rangers and seven points in 22 games with Hartford last year.
- Former Kings forward and longtime Sabres depth piece Michael Mersch announced his retirement Monday. The 31-year-old had spent the last four seasons with Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, serving as captain since 2021. A fourth-round pick of Los Angeles in 2011, Mersch posted 188 goals, 213 assists, and 401 points in 597 AHL games in parts of 11 seasons with the Kings’, Sabres’, and Stars’ affiliates. He played 17 NHL games, all with Los Angeles in the 2015-16 campaign, recording a goal and two assists.
Metropolitan Notes: Grzelcyk, Roslovic, Smith, Pesce
Matt Grzelcyk made a name for himself in the NHL while serving as Charlie McAvoy‘s usual defense partner with the Bruins. The 30-year-old had great success in that role until last season, when his offensive production dipped to 11 points in 63 games, and his possession numbers were below average since the 2018-19 campaign.
Now looking to rediscover himself with the Penguins after inking a one-year, $2.75MM deal as an unrestricted free agent, Grzelcyk may get a similar top-pairing opportunity to open the season alongside Kris Letang, writes the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh. The Massachusetts native has spent most of camp alongside the two-time Stanley Cup champ, who he called “such a great player.”
“I’m just trying to be a sponge around him,” Grzelcyk continued. “He has a ton of knowledge to give about the game and what he would expect from his partner. Just trying to learn here. And start to build chemistry.”
While cast as a stay-at-home partner for a more offensively well-rounded talent, Grzelcyk does have decent puck-moving skills in his own right. That was a common theme among the Penguins’ offseason additions, especially on defense, which also included former Islander Sebastian Aho.
There’s more from the Metropolitan Division:
- Another free-agent signing looking to get a crack in a top-line complementary role is Jack Roslovic, who’s settling in on the Hurricanes’ first line alongside Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, relays The Athletic’s Cory Lavalette. If it sticks, it would be quite the step up in responsibility for Roslovic, who’s been a middle-six fixture around the league for the past few seasons but has never held down a consistent top-line role. The 27-year-old signed a one-year, $2.75MM pact in Carolina in early July, and he’ll likely be used in different situations throughout the season as the Canes look to replace the offense lost by the departures of Jake Guentzel, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Stefan Noesen, and Teuvo Teräväinen.
- The Athletic’s Arthur Staple is optimistic about Reilly Smith‘s chances of clicking with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad as the Rangers’ top-line right wing. That’s been a revolving door for the past few years, with the aforementioned Roslovic getting a post-deadline crack at it last season. But Smith, 33, has a long history of success in complementary top-six roles – long enough to quell concerns about his underwhelming 13-goal, 40-point season with the Penguins last year, Staple opines.
- The Devils will kick off their regular season without top offseason addition Brett Pesce. The defender didn’t make the trip to Prague for New Jersey’s Global Series games against the Sabres, the team’s Amanda Stein confirms. Pesce, 29, skated Friday for the first time in camp but is still listed as week-to-week while recovering from a fibula fracture he sustained in April while with the Hurricanes. He had 13 points and a +10 rating in 70 games with Carolina last year and signed a six-year, $33MM deal to serve as the Devils’ No. 2 right-shot option on defense behind Dougie Hamilton in free agency.
Snapshots: Sharks, Johnson, Red Wings
The San Jose Sharks continue to miss defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Shakir Mukhamadulin, as well as goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, as all three recover from injury. Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka shared that, with only three skates remaining before San Jose’s season begins, it’s unlikely any of the trio are ready for opening day.
That’s a tremendous blow to the Sharks’ early roster, taking out not only longtime lineup-lock Vlasic and his rookie replacement Mukhamadulin, but also delaying Askarov’s debut after the team paid a pretty penny to acquire him via trade. San Jose sent top prospect David Edstrom, a first-round pick, and goaltender Magnus Chrona away to bring in Askarov, looking to strike while his iron is hot after two standout AHL seasons. Askarov is considered one of the – if not thee – top goalie prospects across the NHL, and requested a trade out of Nashville after the Preds signed Juuse Saros to a long-term deal. It was clear he was looking to land in a vacant role – something he achieved in bunches with a move to San Jose, who have iced 11 goalies over the last three seasons alone. Askarov will look to become the first to solidify a starting role among that bunch when he’s healthy enough to make his Sharks debut.
Other notes from around the league:
- Buffalo Sabres defenseman Ryan Johnson has suffered a lower-body injury, AHL head coach Mike Leone shared with Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald. Leone designated Johnson as day-to-day. Johnson is fighting to regain his role in the NHL, having been assigned to the minor leagues after playing in half of Buffalo’s games last season. He only managed seven assists in those 41 appearances, adding nine assists in 27 AHL games after his assignment. It was Johnson’s first season of pro hockey, and he’ll enter year two still searching for his first pro goal.
- Both Lucas Raymond (lower-body) and Erik Gustafsson (upper-body) are expected to return to the Detroit Red Wings’ preseason lineup on Monday after missing some of the team’s practices to recover from injury, shares Ansar Khan of MLive. Both players seem headed for confident lineup roles, but have only managed one appearance in the preseason. Gustafsson recorded a primary assist in the outing, while Raymond didn’t change his statline in just 12 minutes of ice time. Wings fans will get to see their star scoring-winger, and one of their few offensive-minded defenders, return soon.
Metropolitan Notes: Milano, Tsyplakov, Vesey
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery isn’t enthused with winger Sonny Milano‘s performance thus far this preseason, calling his showing “just okay” (via NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti). Carbery added Milano has “the benefit of the doubt” as a veteran, but the 28-year-old’s standing in the lineup certainly seems to be on thinner ice.
Line rushes still indicate Milano has the inside track at a third-line left wing role alongside Hendrix Lapierre and Aliaksei Protas, though. Now entering his third season with the Caps, the former Blue Jackets first-rounder had a career-high 15 goals in 49 games last year but added only eight assists for 23 points. It also came on the back of an unsustainably high 30% shooting rate – he averaged just over one shot on goal per game, the lowest of his career.
Milano doesn’t offer a ton of upside outside of scoring chance generation, so if that continues to dip, he could find himself on the outside looking in sooner rather than later. He has two years left on his contract at a $1.9MM cap hit and is facing competition for top-nine duties from PTO invite Jakub Vrána and 2022 first-round pick Ivan Miroshnichenko, among others.
Elsewhere in the Metro:
- Islanders winger Maxim Tsyplakov is back at practice Sunday after sustaining a lower-body injury Friday, NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner relays. Recent line rushes indicate the 26-year-old free agent signing out of Russia’s Spartak Moscow is nearly a lock to make the opening night roster, potentially on a new-look fourth line with Casey Cizikas and Kyle MacLean. Viewed as the top international free agent on the market, Tsyplakov had a career-best 31 goals and 47 points in 65 games for Spartak last season.
- Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey sustained a lower-body injury in Sunday’s practice, head coach Peter Laviolette relayed (via the New York Post’s Mollie Walker). He’s being evaluated but doesn’t appear set to miss any significant time, he added. Vesey, 31, is entering the back half of a two-year, $1.6MM deal and had 13 goals and 26 points in 80 games for the Blueshirts last year.
Pacific Notes: Pickard, Honzek, Räty
Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard left Saturday’s 5-4 win over the Kraken midway through the first period with an apparent upper-body injury, writes The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman. The 32-year-old did not return to the bench after the play, and he saw his head hit the post as he fell backward after colliding with Kraken forward Yanni Gourde and teammate Philip Kemp.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch said postgame that Pickard is undergoing further evaluation and should receive an update on his status Sunday afternoon. For now, though, Edmonton’s No. 2 goalie option behind Stuart Skinner is questionable for the start of the regular season next week.
Pickard found his way back into full-time NHL action last season for the first time since 2018-19 after Jack Campbell faltered early, leading the Oilers to waive him and promote Pickard from AHL Bakersfield. The nine-year veteran was above-average the rest of the way, posting a .909 SV% and 2.45 GAA in 20 starts and three relief appearances en route to a 12-7-1 record. He signed a two-year, $2MM extension on June 28 to avoid hitting unrestricted free agency and stay in Edmonton.
The Oilers are projected to open the season with $946K in cap space and an open roster spot, per PuckPedia. That gives them plenty of flexibility to roster a third goalie on their opening night roster if Pickard’s absence is short-term and he isn’t eligible for long-term injured reserve.
That third goalie could be 24-year-old Olivier Rodrigue. The 2018 second-round pick is coming off a strong season in Bakersfield, where he posted a .916 SV% in 37 games. 52-game NHL veteran Collin Delia is also an option, but the 30-year-old struggled mightily with a .872 SV% in 32 games for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose last year while in the Jets organization.
More from the Pacific Division:
- Flames 2023 first-round pick Samuel Honzek is getting a long leash in the preseason, playing in four exhibition contests thus far. After he posted a +1 rating in 16:20 of ice time Saturday against the Canucks, Calgary head coach Ryan Huska said Honzek is “going to make it really hard on us” to leave him off the opening night roster. The 19-year-old Slovak sniper will be turning pro this season regardless. After posting 31 points in 33 games with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants last year, his November birthday means he’s old enough for a full-time AHL assignment in 2024-25.
- In Vancouver, center prospect Aatu Räty is making a similarly strong impression. Acquired from the Islanders in the Bo Horvat swap in 2023, the 21-year-old pivot has looked promising in the preseason in a potential third-line role between Conor Garland and Nils Höglander, opines The Province’s Patrick Johnston. The 2021 second-round pick did have 52 points in 72 games for AHL Abbotsford last season, finishing fourth on the team in scoring. One factor working in his favor, as Johnston points out – he’s a right-shot center on a team without any others.
East Notes: Laine, Lindholm, Brink, Othmann
Canadiens fans are still waiting with bated breath for news about top offseason acquisition Patrik Laine. The winger left last night’s preseason loss to the Maple Leafs in the first period after he was on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee collision with Toronto AHL depth piece Cédric Paré, preventing him from skating off under his own power (via The Athletic’s Arpon Basu).
It certainly didn’t look good for Laine, whose left knee bent awkwardly during the hit and laid on the ice for several minutes before being helped off. Paré, who inked his first NHL deal with the Maple Leafs in July, isn’t yet facing supplemental discipline. He also wasn’t penalized on the play.
Laine was visibly angry while heading back to the Montreal room, an understandable reaction for a player who desperately needed a healthy season. The 26-year-old was limited to 18 games with the Blue Jackets last season with a collarbone fracture and a lengthy stint in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, recording six goals and three assists for nine points with a -10 rating. Montreal acquired the 2016 second-overall pick from Columbus last month, sending depth defenseman Jordan Harris the other way.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Bruins center Elias Lindholm is back practicing in a non-contact jersey today, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reports. He’s been day-to-day with an undisclosed injury since Tuesday and hasn’t played in any preseason action thus far. It’s a good sign the 29-year-old will be ready for opening night. He’s still on track to begin the season as Boston’s No. 1 center, anchoring a line between David Pastrňák and Pavel Zacha. He inked a seven-year, $54.25MM deal with the Bruins this summer after posting 44 points in 75 games for the Flames and Canucks last season.
- Bobby Brink is trending toward cracking the Flyers’ opening night roster for the second year in a row, writes The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz. Brink, 23, was solid in a middle-six role last year, posting 11 goals and 23 points in 57 games. But he spent some time in the minors as well, and his path to ice time in Philly this year became a bit murkier after 2023 seventh overall pick Matvei Michkov came over from Russia and signed his entry-level contract. He’ll still need to “earn his ice time,” Kurz writes, but Brink has drawn praise from head coach John Tortorella with his strong camp performance and will challenge for a third-line role at right wing after signing a two-year, $3MM deal this summer.
- Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann‘s chances of cracking the roster appear slim after he skated with a group of players mostly ticketed for the AHL on Sunday, relays The Athletic’s Arthur Staple. Othmann, 21, went pointless in three NHL games last season – his first in the majors. The 2021 first-round pick was great in his first pro showing with AHL Hartford last season, though, posting 49 points in 67 games and earning a spot in the league’s All-Star Game. He’ll get a few more NHL looks in 2024-25 even if he’s not up with the Rangers to start.
Injury Updates: Karlsson, Boldy, Hakanpaa
Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson won’t skate at all this weekend due to the upper-body injury that has kept him out of training camp so far, reports Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). That’s actually a step in the wrong direction as the veteran had been skating on his own earlier in the week. Head coach Mike Sullivan stated that the team will assess the plan for him early next week. At this point, it’s starting to look like the 34-year-old might not be available for the season opener which would be tough for them. While Karlsson wasn’t able to duplicate his 2022-23 season numbers with Pittsburgh last year, he still collected 56 points in 82 games while logging over 24 minutes a night which will be hard to replace, even on a short-term basis.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Wild winger Matt Boldy skated today for the first time since being injured last weekend, notes Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Head coach John Hynes indicated that he anticipates that the 23-year-old should be able to get several full practices in before the regular season gets underway. Boldy is coming off a career-best 69 points in 75 games last season and will be counted to play a similar role as Minnesota looks to get back to the playoffs in 2024-25.
- The Maple Leafs hope to have blueliner Jani Hakanpaa skate with the main group next week, relays Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Toronto agreed to terms with the 32-year-old on the opening day of free agency but concerns over the state of his knee resulted in the agreement being cut to one year and getting registered more than two months later. Thus far, Hakanpaa had been skating with the minor league group, bringing into question his availability for the start of the season. If he’s able to get in some practices with the main squad and perhaps a preseason game, he could be cleared for opening night.
Snapshots: Hall, Saad, Fasching
Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier today that Chicago Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall did not practice with the team as he was taking a maintenance day. Hall previously skated in 15:14 of Chicago’s loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday and earned a -2 rating with one shot on goal, four giveaways, and one takeaway.
Pope did not elaborate in the report whether Hall was dealing with any minor injuries or ailments from the game on Wednesday. The Blackhawks will surely be playing it safe concerning Hall’s training camp and preseason given his injury track record over the last two seasons.
The former MVP only suited up in 61 games for the Boston Bruins in the 2022-23 NHL season scoring 16 goals and 36 points. The 20-game loss from two years ago was nothing compared to last season as Hall only managed 10 games for the Blackhawks before losing the entire season to a knee injury requiring surgery. Chicago and Hall will be looking for a clean bill of health from the 2010 first-overall pick as the organization hopes to be more competitive this season.
Other snapshots:
- St. Louis Blues forward Brandon Saad may be unable to start the regular season on time as he and his wife are expecting their third child in the coming days. Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that if Saad doesn’t start the season on time the Blues will fill the temporary opening with prospect Zachary Bolduc (Subscription Article). St. Louis has been utilizing Bolduc in a top-six role early this preseason and it may give him an offensive jolt early in the season after only mustering five goals and nine points in 25 games for the Blues last season.
- The New York Islanders will be without depth forward Hudson Fasching for the next couple of days as Andrew Gross of Newsday reports he is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. This confirms Fasching will not be in the lineup for the Islanders tonight as they take on division-rival New Jersey Devils in a preseason contest. Fasching has only been in one preseason game up to this point tallying one assist in 14:30 of ice time in the Islanders’ loss against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
Pacific Notes: Doughty, Sharks Injuries, Flames Injuries
There’s been plenty of fallout in Los Angeles after the announcement that Kings’ defenseman Drew Doughty would be out for a few months after undergoing surgery to repair his fractured ankle. Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reported on plenty of it with the most important piece being that the Kings don’t have a timeline on Doughty’s return but it will not be a season-ending injury.
Los Angeles is going through a major change particularly on the right side of their defense with Doughty’s injury and defenseman Matt Roy leaving via unrestricted free agency to join the Washington Capitals. Bernstein shares that prospect Brandt Clarke is ‘ready’ to take on a top-four role with the Kings this season but he will have to earn it according to head coach Jim Hiller.
Clarke only has 25 NHL games up to this point in his career and will now take a major step forward in his development to helping out a hopeful playoff contender on the blue line. He’s coming off an impressive season with Los Angeles’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, scoring 10 goals and 46 points in 50 contests during the 2023-24 AHL season.
Other Pacific notes:
- The San Jose Sharks are dealing with a few minor injuries in training camp and their status is up in the air for the Sharks next preseason game against the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday. Curtis Pashelka of Bay Area News Group reports William Eklund, Mikael Granlund, and Matt Benning are all listed as day-to-day with various ailments. There is no concern at this point that any of the three are questionable for opening night but it will be worth monitoring heading into next week.
- Another team in the Pacific Division dealing with numerous minor injuries is the Calgary Flames. The team announced their injury designations earlier today with Jake Bean, Matthew Coronato, and Martin Pospisil all missing practice with lower-body injuries. Similarly to the Sharks, there shouldn’t be any long-term concerns for any of the players but their availability will be questionable tomorrow night as the Flames take on the Vancouver Canucks.
Drew Doughty Out Month-To-Month After Ankle Surgery
9/27: The Kings announced today that Doughty underwent surgery to repair his ankle fracture and will be out month-to-month. No further damage was found in the medical imaging.
9/26: Kings star defenseman Drew Doughty sustained a left ankle injury during Wednesday’s 3-2 preseason win over the Golden Knights, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports.
An “initial quick x-ray” showed a fracture in the ankle, Seravalli said, with additional imaging set to occur Thursday. Doughty left the contest early in the first period and did not return after falling awkwardly while colliding with Golden Knights winger Tanner Pearson, causing his left foot to jam into the boards.
There’s no timeline for Doughty’s return yet. If there’s no additional structural damage to his ankle on top of the fracture, his recovery window will likely be set in the six-to-10-week range, according to the Mount Sinai Health System.
That recovery period would delay Doughty’s 2024-25 regular season debut until early November, if not later. If so, he’d miss around the first 15 games of Los Angeles’ season, if not more.
It’s a tough break for the 34-year-old, who’s enjoyed a late-career resurgence over the past couple of seasons. The 2008 second-overall pick has rediscovered his two-way game after a significant decline in play around the pandemic, rebounding for back-to-back seasons above the 50-point plateau with good possession impacts. He played in all 82 games last year and scored 15 goals, the second-most of his 16-year NHL career, and finished 11th in Norris Trophy voting.
Doughty last missed significant time in the 2021-22 season. Knee and wrist injuries limited him to 37 games and kept him out of postseason play. They cut short one of his best campaigns – with 31 points, he was on pace for a career-high of 65 had he stayed healthy.
For the Kings, it’s a huge blow to a right defense that already lost second-pairing fixture Matt Roy to the Capitals in free agency last offseason. They do have a pair of promising right-shot youngsters, though, in Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence.
Spence, now 23, made his NHL debut in Doughty’s stead during his injury-plagued 2021-22 campaign. He averaged 19:45 per game down the stretch of the regular season, posting eight points in 24 contests.
Since then, he’s developed into a high-end third-pairing defender. He emerged as a full-time NHLer last season, finishing third among Kings defensemen in scoring with 24 points (2 G, 22 A) in 71 games with a +5 rating while averaging 14:26 per game. He was expected to take over Roy’s spot alongside Vladislav Gavrikov on the team’s second pair, but he might need to play spot duty on the top pair alongside Mikey Anderson with Doughty now set to miss time.
They have a higher-upside yet less experienced option in Clarke. The 21-year-old was selected eighth overall in the 2021 draft and his still working his way toward becoming a full-timer NHLer, a feat he was expected to accomplish this season. He’ll definitely do so now, as he and Spence now project to be the Kings’ top two right-shot defenders to begin the season. He was one of the AHL’s best defensemen last season, posting 46 points in 50 games with the Ontario Reign. He also had six points in 16 games of NHL duty for the Kings but was used sparingly, averaging only 13:39 per game.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.