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Sharks’ Jan Rutta Placed On IR, Matt Benning Activated

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Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now is reporting that San Jose Sharks defenseman Jan Rutta has been placed on the injured reserve while fellow defenseman Matt Benning has been activated off IR. Rutta left the second period of the Sharks game Wednesday night against the Seattle Kraken with an undisclosed injury and did not return. Very little is known about Rutta’s ailment at this time, but the 33-year-old did miss nearly a third of last season due to injury when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Rutta underwent core muscle surgery in the offseason before he was eventually dealt to the Sharks in August as part of the package that the Penguins put together to acquire reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson. In 19 games this season with the Sharks, Rutta has posted a single assist, 36 blocks, 10 hits and a -11 rating.

In Rutta’s absence there is the possibility that Marc-Edouard Vlasic might make his way back into the Sharks lineup. The four-time all-star hasn’t played since November 14th and has no points in 13 games this season.

There is also the possibility that Benning could take Rutta’s spot as he is now available after being activated off IR today. Benning has dressed in eight games this season for the Sharks and has registered seven hits and 18 blocks while posting a single assist.

Atlantic Notes: Timmins, Benson, Barkov

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TSN’s Mark Masters has tweeted that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins will play today, making his season debut for the team after he suffered a lower-body injury in a preseason game back on September 29th. Timmins could help fill some of the offensive void left by injured rearguard John Klingberg who was recently put on LTIR. Timmins offensive capabilities were on full display in the preseason when he notched six points in three games and he does have a very similar skillset to that of Klingberg, although the Maple Leafs will be hoping for a different result as Klingberg struggled early in his first season with Toronto.

Timmins benefited greatly from last year’s trade that saw him sent to the Maple Leafs by the Arizona Coyotes. In 25 games with Toronto, Timmins posted two goals and 12 assists while averaging 15 minutes of ice time per game. His puck management left a lot to be desired, but he did talk in the preseason about learning not to force plays with the puck and making better reads.

In other Atlantic Division notes:

  • The Buffalo News reporter Lance Lysowski tweeted today that Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson skated with the Sabres’ second power-play unit and looks as though he will plan in his tenth NHL game of the season today. Sportsnet later confirmed the news meaning that Benson will see the entry-level contract he signed for three seasons kick in immediately, and it can no longer slide or extend by a year. Benson is one of four players from the 2023 NHL entry draft who is playing in the NHL at the moment, and he has been productive thus far in nine games tallying a goal and four assists.
  • Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald tweeted that Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has confirmed that star center Aleksander Barkov will return to the lineup tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. Barkov injured his knee last week against the Anaheim Ducks and missed the Panthers last two games. He took his usual spot in the lineup during this morning’s practice centering a line alongside Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart. Barkov’s return will be a welcome sign for the Panthers as the 28-year-old has registered six goals and 11 assists in 16 games this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Raanta, Chytil, Rust

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The Hurricanes have managed to avoid a true injury crisis in the crease. After he left Wednesday’s game against the Oilers due to what the team labeled as “precautionary reasons,” netminder Antti Raanta is starting today’s contest against the Lightning and won’t miss any time, team reporter Walt Ruff relays.

While Raanta ended up recording the win against the Oilers, he was pulled from the game after the first period, where he allowed one goal on eight shots. Raanta missing any time would have created a significant bind for the Hurricanes, who also released veteran Jaroslav Halák from a PTO this week. Outside of Pyotr Kochetkov, who is serving as Raanta’s backup while starter Frederik Andersen is undergoing treatment for a blood clotting issue, the Hurricanes have only one goalie under NHL contract. That’s Quinnipiac grad and one-time national champion Yaniv Perets, who is in his first season of professional hockey after signing an entry-level deal with Carolina last summer. The highest level of hockey he’s played is second-tier minor hockey, playing with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals this year.

Other notes in the Metropolitan Division on this holiday weekend:

  • Rangers center Filip Chytil has taken a key step in his recovery from an assumed concussion, as head coach Peter Laviolette told the New York Post’s Larry Brooks today that the Czech center has returned skating on his own. Chytil, 24, has remained sidelined since November 2 with what’s being labeled an upper-body injury and remains on injured reserve. He had notched six assists in ten games before the injury, which has kept him out of the last seven games.
  • Penguins winger Bryan Rust will miss a second straight game with a lower-body injury tonight against the Sabres, head coach Mike Sullivan told Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but it’s likely to be his last absence related to the ailment. Dan Kingerski of National Hockey Now relayed that Rust was a full participant in this morning’s skate and is nearing a return to action. Rust underwent evaluation for a lower-body injury earlier this week, but testing revealed the injury was not serious and resulted in a day-to-day designation. Drew O’Connor, who has just one goal and four points in 18 games this season, has occupied Rust’s spot on the top line. Rust has excelled in the early going, notching 16 points through 17 games.

Maple Leafs Place John Klingberg On LTIR, Recall Alex Steeves

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed defenseman John Klingberg on long-term injured reserve and recalled forward Alex Steeves from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Klingberg’s LTIR assignment has been much anticipated, as the defender’s undisclosed injury grew from a small concern, to something that would hold him out of all action this week, to an LTIR designation.

Klingberg is in his first season with the Leafs, signing a one-year, $4.2MM contract with the team on July 1st. He’s performed modestly in his first 14 games with the club, netting five points, eight penalty minutes, and a -7.

Klingberg has moved around a lot in recent years, after spending the first eight years of his career with the Dallas Stars. He signed a one-year, $7MM contract with the Anaheim Ducks ahead of last season and appeared in 50 games with the club, netting 24 points and a -28. Anaheim didn’t stick out the contract, though, dealing him to the Minnesota Wild at last year’s Trade Deadline. Klingberg went on to play in 17 games and record nine points, in Minnesota – adding four points in four playoff games as well.

With the veteran defender on IR, Toronto brings up the Marlies’ leading scorer in Steeves. The 23-year-old forward has 18 points in 14 AHL games this season, a tally that ties him for third in the league in points. Steeves has played three NHL games in each of the last two seasons, totaling one point across the matchups.

Steeves provides depth for Calle Jarnkrok, who is slated to be a game-time decision for the team’s Friday matchup. Jarnkrok is dealing with a lower-body injury after taking an Auston Matthews shot to the leg.

Injury Updates: Zary, Martinez, Avalanche

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Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, according to a team announcement. He did not dress for the Flames’ loss to the Nashville Predators, though the day-to-day nature of the absence does leave a chance for him to return in time for the Flames’ contest tomorrow in Dallas.

The loss of Zary, 22, is a significant one for the Flames, as he’s quickly emerged as one of the team’s more gifted offensive players. In just nine games so far this season Zary has eight points, displaying a knack for finding his way onto the scoresheet. A 2020 first-round pick, Zary’s initial transition from WHL stardom to pro hockey was rocky, but after his 25-point AHL rookie season Zary scored 21 goals and 58 points there. He scored 10 points in just six AHL games so far this season, a performance that earned him his call-up to Calgary.

Some other injury updates from the Western Conference:

  • Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez missed yesterday’s overtime victory over the Dallas Stars due to a lower-body injury. Martinez’ vacated spot in the lineup next to Alex Pietrangelo was filled by Nicolas Hague, while Ben Hutton re-entered the lineup to fill Hague’s old role on the team’s bottom pairing next to Zach Whitecloud. Martinez is among Vegas’ most important defensemen, averaging nearly 20 minutes per night and over two minutes per night on the penalty kill.
  • Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told the media, including NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding, that forward Logan O’Connor has a lower-body injury and is out day-to-day. Additionally, forward Valeri Nichushkin left last night’s game to get stitches for his mouth but did end up returning to the contest. At the moment, O’Connor plays third-line minutes for the Avalanche on a line with Ross Colton and Miles Wood. Should he miss any time, physical spare forward Kurtis MacDermid could draw into the lineup, or they could place a player on injured reserve and recall a forward such as Ben Meyers. O’Connor, 27, has scored three goals and seven points in 17 games so far this season.

Kings Place Tobias Björnfot On IR, Recall Jacob Moverare

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The Los Angeles Kings moved defenseman Tobias Björnfot to injured reserve Wednesday night, according to CapFriendly. In a corresponding transaction, defenseman Jacob Moverare was once again recalled from AHL Ontario.

Björnfot, 22, had been playing in the minors with Ontario while on a conditioning stint, meaning he remained on the Kings’ 23-man roster for the time being despite suiting up for their AHL affiliate. The Swedish blueliner sustained an undisclosed injury on a hard hit from Kraken prospect Jacob Melanson in last night’s contest against Seattle’s affiliate, Coachella Valley, that required he be stretchered off the ice.

Moving Björnfot to IR keeps him out of action for a minimum of seven days. The Kings have not issued a timeline for his return to action.

Already in his fifth NHL season, the 2019 22nd overall pick has yet to truly establish himself as an everyday NHL player. He spent most of last season in the minors despite playing 70 contests with the Kings in 2021-22, and he’s appeared in just four total games this season – one in the NHL and three in the AHL.

While never drafted for his point-producing upside, his lack of production over the past few seasons is underwhelming for a first-round pick. He’s scored just once in 117 NHL games and had 12 points in 50 games with Ontario last season.

His possession numbers have failed to stand out, either. In his lone appearance this season, which came October 11 against the Avalanche, Björnfot controlled just 37.5% of Corsi events at even strength despite starting most of his shifts in the offensive zone. He logged just over 10 minutes of ice time and recorded one block.

Meanwhile, Moverare again finds himself on the Kings roster ahead of their next appearance, a Friday game against the Ducks. The 25-year-old has been recalled numerous times throughout this month to serve as an extra defenseman and injury insurance, although he’s yet to appear in an NHL game in 2023-24.

A fourth-round pick of the team in 2016, Moverare has four assists and a +2 rating in 14 contests with Ontario this season. He appeared in 21 NHL games with the Kings over the prior two seasons, recording two assists. He’s still looking for his first NHL goal.

Moverare will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer after completing a two-year, $1.525MM contract. He is owed a qualifying offer of $813,750.

Snapshots: Goligoski, Kuznetsov, Klingberg, Osipov

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Having already fulfilled the requirements of being on LTIR, defenseman for the Minnesota Wild, Alex Goligoski, has not yet made his return to the roster. However, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Goligoski has fully recovered from his lower-body injury, and is ready to get back to game action at any point.

Currently sitting at 31st in the league in GA/G with a 4.00 mark, the Wild could certainly use all the help they can get on the blue line. Much of the blame is associated with the poor play of the team’s netminders up to this point, but an improved defensive presence should shore up some of the issues.

Unfortunately, with extremely limited cap space, Goligoski’s $2MM salary will be a tough one for the team to fit into their salary cap table. With Goligoski getting back into the lineup, and a quarter of the season already behind us, Minnesota will have less than $10K in salary cap space to work with moving forward.

Other snapshots:

  • Washington Capitals forward, Evgeny Kuznetsov, will miss another game due to illness, according to Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network. This will be the second game in a row that Kuznetsov has missed for the team, severely limiting their center depth. In somewhat mild offensive output to start the season, Kuznetsov has scored three goals and five assists in 14 games.
  • Continuing to deal with an undisclosed injury, Mark Masters of TSN reports that there is no status update in regards to Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman, John Klingberg and that the defenseman will not play at all this week. Quickly becoming a swing-and-a-miss for Toronto on the free-agent market, Klingberg has five assists in 14 games for the Maple Leafs, coupled with a -7 rating.
  • After playing on a professional tryout contract for the Hershey Bears for his first three games of the AHL season, the Bears announced they have signed defenseman Dmitri Osipov to a one-year AHL contract for the 2023-24 season. Osipov is a veteran of seven years in the AHL, playing in 174 regular season games, scoring eight goals and 10 assists in total.

Kevin Labanc Out With Upper-Body Injury

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1:26 PM: Further reporting from Max Miller of The Hockey News suggests that Labanc is actually out with an upper-body injury as a result of the slew foot from Vancouver Canucks’s Nils Hoglander the other night.

12:49 PM: San Jose Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka is reporting that San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc will be a healthy scratch tonight meaning that the Sharks will dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen when they take on the Seattle Kraken. Labanc has struggled this year and has just two assists in the first 13 games of the season.

Labanc is in the final year of a four-year $18.9MM contract he signed in October 2020. At the time, the contract seemed like a gamble on a player who was 24 years old, but coming off a season in which he was -33. Now granted, Labanc was just a year removed from posting 56 points in 82 games in 2018-19, but his production had steeply declined in 2019-20 to the tune of just 14 goals and 19 assists in 70 games. The decline in offense didn’t stop the Sharks from offering the Brooklyn, New York native a lucrative extension, which Labanc promptly signed. Unfortunately for San Jose, Labanc’s 33-point season turned out to be a sign of things to come for his offensive ceiling going forward.

After another 33-point season in 2022-23, the Sharks were hopeful that Labanc could regain his 56-point form and become a trade chip at the trade deadline. However, given Labanc’s start to the season, it doesn’t appear that he will be in demand this season. Labanc was nearly waived earlier in the season, and it appeared that the Sharks would send him to the AHL to bury $1.15MM of his $4.725MM hit in the minors. The team reversed course and opted to keep him with the NHL club.

It will be interesting to see what the Sharks do with Labanc for the rest of the season, they could retain half his salary in a trade, but it would represent the final contract the Sharks could retain, and it would handcuff them for the rest of this season until Labanc’s contract expires. The Sharks have already retained salary on both Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns and would likely need to do the same to move on from any of their other veterans under contract.

Injury Notes: Barkov, Vasilevskiy, McDonagh

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Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic is reporting that Florida Panthers star center Aleksander Barkov will not dress tonight for the Panthers matchup with the Boston Bruins. It will be the second game in a row that the 28-year-old has missed after suffering a knee injury in Friday night’s win over the Anaheim Ducks. Knee injuries can be tricky, and it appears that the Panthers are opting to proceed cautiously with Barkov’s return to the line-up.

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice did tell Florida play-by-play broadcaster Doug Plagens that Barkov could return as early as Friday against the Winnipeg Jets. If he can return, Barkov and the Panthers will have dodged a major injury scare as the collision that sidelined Barkov could have been much worse. Barkov currently sits second on the Panthers in scoring with six goals and 11 assists in 16 games.

In other injury notes:

  • Tampa Bay Times writer Eduardo A. Encina is reporting that Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper told reporters today that there is a very good chance that star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will play on the team’s upcoming road trip. Vasilevskiy took part in Tampa Bay’s morning skate today but still is not ready to play. The Lighting will open their three-game road trip this Friday in Carolina and then get a few days off before they play a back-to-back in Colorado and then Arizona next Monday and Tuesday. Given that timeline, it is possible that the 2019 Vezina Trophy winner will make his season debut in the next week.
  • Nashville Predators reporter Michael Gallagher tweeted that Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh skated with Roman Josi at practice this morning and is expected to return to game action this evening against the Calgary Flames. McDonagh has been out of action with a lower-body injury since November 2nd, missing the Predators last seven games. While he doesn’t offer much offensively, Nashville’s goaltenders badly missed the veteran. McDonagh is still a terrific penalty killer and does a very good job limiting his opponent’s offensive opportunities. Nashville gave up 20 goals in a four-game losing streak in McDonagh’s absence but has rallied off two straight wins since. They currently sit sixth in the Central Division with a 7-10 record.

Penguins Notes: Rust, Nieto, Samorukov

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Post-Gazette Sports reporter Matt Vensel tweeted some updates this morning from Pittsburgh Penguins practice. Vensel said that Penguins forward Bryan Rust was not in attendance as he awaits results from an MRI yesterday. Rust suffered a lower-body injury recently and it is unclear what the injury is or how long he could be sidelined for. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters that Rust will not play tonight and is out day-to-day.

The Penguins have already lost fellow right-wing option Rickard Rakell and if Rust is ruled out long-term it will create a massive void in the Penguins top-6 as well as their penalty kill. Rust has been the Penguins’ most consistent winger this year with 16 points in 17 games on top of his inspired penalty killing.

If Rust is absent long-term the Penguins could find themselves in a big hole as they are in the middle of a tough stretch of games and take on the New York Rangers tonight.

In other Penguins notes:

  • Vensel also reported that Penguins forward Matt Nieto was in attendance at practice today which is typically a good sign for a player’s availability on a game day. This was confirmed by Sullivan who said that Nieto is available to play but will be a game-time decision. Nieto took a maintenance day yesterday and did not skate with the team. The 31-year-old has struggled to start the season with just a goal and an assist in his first 17 games of the season. He has been a piece of the Penguins fourth line that has provided the team with almost no offence this season but has been a very effective penalty killer when called upon. It’s fair to wonder if Nieto is dealing with a nagging issue as he has been unable to come close to replicating his play from last season when he had 12 goals and 12 assists in 81 games.
  • Vensel tweeted that freshly signed defenseman Dmitri Samorukov attended Penguins practice today and has been added to their active roster. The 24-year-old signed a one-year two-way contract yesterday that will pay him $775K at the NHL level for the 2023-24 season. Vensel followed up his original tweet by adding that Samorukov stayed after the Penguins practice for some extra work with the coaches which is generally an indication that he will not play tonight. Samorukov does have three games of NHL experience and has yet to score a point.

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