Injury Notes: Jensen, Sandin, Coleman, Hanley
As expected, the Washington Capitals will be holding out defenseman Nick Jensen for the final two games of the regular season according to Bailey Johnson of the Washington Post. In a positive development, however, Johnson also reports that Jensen was at the team facility today, indicating that the injury sustained last night is not as serious as previously expected.
Joining Jensen in the press box for the final two games will be defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who has been out since April 8th with an upper-body injury. With their eyes on the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Capitals will have to defeat the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers without two of their top-four defensemen.
Now that both Lucas Johansen and Dylan McIlrath are on the roster due to two separate emergency loans, one of them will have to draw into the lineup for the final two games of the regular season. Johansen has already suited up in six games for the Capitals earlier this season but may opt to go with McIlrath on the right side to keep some continuity within their defensive pairings.
Other injury notes:
- At the team’s skate this morning, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet reported that Calgary Flames defenseman Joel Hanley has returned to practice after missing the last five games due to an undisclosed injury. As expected, the Flames organization thinned out their defensive core at this year’s trade deadline, bringing in Hanley via waivers from the Dallas Stars to keep quality depth within their system. In 10 games since being claimed by Calgary, Hanley has scored one goal and two points in total, averaging 14:32 of ice time per night.
- Staying in Calgary, in the same report from Steinberg, he reported that forward Blake Coleman also returned to the ice for practice, but not as a full participant. Coleman has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, and may not be able to hit the 30-goal threshold for the first time in his career. Nevertheless, Coleman has had an impressive offensive season based on his previous years, scoring 29 goals and 52 points over 77 games for the Flames this season.
Atlantic Notes: Tkachuk, Ekman-Larsson, McMann
As the regular season comes to an end, many players on non-playoff teams are making decisions on whether or not to suit up for their country in this year’s IIHF World Championships. One of those players, Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators, is leaning toward playing for Team USA per multiple reports (X Link).
Since officially joining the Senators organization back in the 2018-19 NHL season, Tkachuk has not suited up in international play. However, he was the captain for Team USA in the 2018 World Junior Championships, scoring three goals and nine points in seven games, helping lead his team to a bronze medal finish.
If Tkachuk does join Team USA for this year’s rendition of the tournament, he will be attempting to bring the team closer to relevancy in the tournament. The United States has not been awarded a gold medal in the tournament since 1960, which is also the last time they have been awarded any medal higher than bronze.
Other Atlantic notes:
- In the team’s overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres this evening, the Florida Panthers received some negative news on their blue line. At the start of the second period, the team announced that defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson would not return to the game due to an upper-body injury after only managing 3:04 minutes of ice time. Since the Panthers only have one game remaining in the regular season, it is more than likely the organization will sit Ekman-Larsson out for that game to have him fully rested for the playoffs.
- In a similar fashion to Ekman-Larsson, the Toronto Maple Leafs have lost forward Bobby McMann for the remainder of their game tonight against the Detroit Red Wings (X Link). Suffering from a lower-body injury, McMann fell awkwardly in the Toronto defensive zone and very gingerly skated back to the Maple Leafs’ bench. Regardless of the severity, it may also be likely for Toronto to hold McMann out the final two games of the regular season so that he is at full capacity for the postseason.
West Notes: Dunn, McDavid, Girard
The Kraken shut down defenseman Vince Dunn for the season ahead of today’s 3-1 loss to the Stars, GM Ron Francis told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Their top blue-liner hasn’t played since sustaining an upper-body injury on April 3 against the Kings.
Dunn, 27, had barely played since the trade deadline, and his absence cost Seattle any small chance they had at making a late-season run to the playoffs. An upper-body injury sustained on a check from behind from Flames winger Martin Pospisil in early March knocked him out of action for nearly a month, and he played just one full game upon returning before taking an elbow to the head from Los Angeles winger Alex Laferriere.
While the team hasn’t confirmed, both plays involved head contact and could have resulted in concussions. As such, he’ll get an extended period of rest and will look to rejoin the team over the summer and be a full participant in training camp. His season ends after registering 46 points in 59 games, nearly last season’s exact point-per-game pace that helped him earn 11th place in Norris Trophy voting. He has three seasons remaining on his contract, which carries a $7.35MM cap hit.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference:
- The Oilers will again be without Connor McDavid tonight against the Canucks, per Sportsnet’s Jack Michaels. A regulation win without their captain would put Edmonton within one point of Vancouver for the Pacific Division title with three or fewer games remaining for both squads. McDavid has a lower-body injury that’s been nagging him for a while, he said earlier this week, although it was aggravated in his last appearance, an April 6 meeting with the Flames. Tonight will be his third straight absence, which further delays his chase for 100 assists. The 27-year-old had a whopping 24 points in his last 11 games before exiting the lineup.
- Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard left today’s game against the Jets with an upper-body injury and didn’t return, per the team. Head coach Jared Bednar said post-game that he’s entered concussion protocol. It’s a tough blow to a team already reeling from the 7-0 loss to Winnipeg, now primed to lose home-ice advantage in their upcoming first-round series. The 25-year-old Girard has yet again anchored their second pairing behind Cale Makar and Devon Toews, ranking third among Colorado d-men in average time on ice (19:39) and fourth in points per game (0.31). While his three goals and 15 assists in 58 contests have been underwhelming offensive production from the blue-liner, he’s cleaned up his possession game after a difficult couple of seasons. His 55.9 CF% and +7.5 expected rating are his highest since 2020-21.
Central Notes: Coyotes Relocation, Neighbours, Krug, Mrázek, Mišiak
Short of an official announcement from the league, the Coyotes are relocating to Salt Lake City next season and being sold to Smith Entertainment Group, the ownership of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, with the league as an intermediary. GM Bill Armstrong traveled to Edmonton yesterday to inform the team of the relocation while on their road trip, and players and staff are expected to travel to Utah sometime next week.
Over the next few days, when a sale announcement comes, it will become clear how complex this transaction will be. One rumored piece of the sale appears to be set in stone, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports. Current Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo will indeed retain the intellectual rights to the franchise as part of the sale. If he can get an arena built within five years and various other benchmarks are met, he’ll have first right of refusal for a Phoenix-area team and can trigger an expansion draft. In doing so, he’d need to return the $1B he’ll receive from the league for the franchise this offseason as an expansion fee.
Other tidbits out of the Central Division:
- Blues breakout winger Jake Neighbours has likely played his last game of the season, interim head coach Drew Bannister said Saturday (via NHL.com’s Lou Korac). The 22-year-old is dealing with an upper-body injury he sustained on April 6 against the Sharks. He’s missed the last three games and is on track to miss St. Louis’ final two after they were eliminated from playoff contention last night. It puts a bow on a good campaign for the 2020 first-round pick, who set career highs with 27 goals, 11 assists and 38 points in 77 games while creeping into top-six minutes (15:42 per game). While his nearly 19% shooting rate is likely unsustainable, he’s been steadily increasing his shot volume – averaging 1.88 per game this season compared to 1.23 last year. He’ll be eligible to sign an extension beginning July 1, with his entry-level contract set to expire in 2025. Bannister also said that defenseman Torey Krug won’t suit up in tomorrow’s game against the Kraken but could return for their final game of the season in Dallas on Wednesday. The left-shot offensive defenseman is day-to-day with an upper-body injury sustained on April 10 against the Blackhawks, already keeping him out of one game.
- A pair of European Blackhawks players found themselves in the news today, including starting goaltender Petr Mrázek. He told reporters today, including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, that he’ll join the Czech national team at the conclusion of the season in advance of this year’s World Championship in Prague and Ostrava. The 32-year-old has only suited up at the Worlds twice, once as a teenager in a backup role in 2012 and again as the starter in 2017, posting a .881 SV% and 2.47 GAA in four outings. It was quite a strong season for Mrázek in the Chicago crease, managing to stay healthy and start a career-high 51 games. He did so quite competently, recording a .906 SV% behind a leaky Blackhawks blue line that resulted in him accumulating 4.7 goals saved above average, his highest mark in eight years. He or Ducks up-and-comer Lukáš Dostál will likely occupy the starter’s crease for Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Additionally, 2023 second-round pick Martin Mišiak signed an ATO with AHL Rockford today and will make his North American professional debut. The Slovak winger spent the 2023-24 campaign with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League, racking up 23 goals and 47 points in 60 games with a -14 rating.
Pacific Notes: McDavid, Desharnais, Pietrangelo, Gibson, Stalock
Oilers superstar Connor McDavid will miss his second straight contest with a lower-body injury tonight when they take on the Coyotes, per Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 Edmonton. “I won’t go tonight. We will see about tomorrow. We are going day-by-day,” McDavid said.
Per Gregor, the lower-body ailment had been nagging McDavid for some time but was aggravated in last Saturday’s contest against the Flames, in which he played over 20 minutes and registered two assists. The Edmonton captain isn’t worried about it lingering for much longer, however, and his availability for the playoffs currently isn’t in question. His absence didn’t stop the Oilers from rattling off their seventh straight win on Wednesday in a 5-1 dismantling of the Golden Knights. He needs one more assist this season to reach 100 and would be the first player to do so since Wayne Gretzky in 1991.
Sticking with the Oilers, their front office has tabled contract talks with pending UFA defenseman Vincent Desharnais through the postseason, TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports. They’d been in discussions for the past while, per Rishaug, as Edmonton looks to keep around their breakout depth shutdown force. He’s late to the party for full-time NHL roles at age 27 but has become a regular this season with a goal, 10 assists, and a +5 rating in 73 contests while averaging 15:31 per game. He hasn’t been tasked with too much responsibility but has controlled possession well, logging a 54.7 xGF% at even strength. He’s nearing completion of a two-year, two-way contract and is almost certainly looking at a one-way deal next season, regardless of whether he stays in Edmonton.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- Golden Knights star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo hasn’t resumed skating as he deals with a lengthy illness and will likely be out for at least two more games, head coach Bruce Cassidy said (via The Athletic’s Jesse Granger). He’s yet to be cleared to practice by the team’s medical staff. Pietrangelo missed six games with an illness in late March and returned to the lineup against the Wild on the 30th but exited again after two appearances. He hasn’t been with the team in over a week, last skating in an April 2 contest against the Canucks. Vegas will continue to roll with Nicolas Hague playing his offside on their top pairing, with the newly-extended Noah Hanifin in his absence.
- The Ducks have reassigned netminder Alex Stalock to AHL San Diego. Starter John Gibson is set to return from an upper-body injury tonight against the Flames. The latter is expected to make his first start since March 30 against the Oilers, head coach Greg Cronin said. Gibson backed up Lukáš Dostál in two contests before sustaining the injury outside of game action, forcing Stalock’s recall last week. The 36-year-old farmhand didn’t play, with Dostál making five straight starts. Stalock’s been recalled on multiple instances this season but hasn’t seen any NHL ice, with either Dostál or Gibson leading the way in the other’s absence. He’s struggled heavily in the minors this season, posting a .889 SV% in 13 games. A pending UFA, Stalock could be heading toward retirement this summer.
Central Notes: Coyotes, Zuccarello, Gaudreau, Krug, Neighbours
A relocation to Salt Lake City for 2024-25 seems the overwhelmingly likely end to a years-long solution to the Coyotes’ long-term future in Arizona. Reporting yesterday indicated significant progress had been made between Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo, the NHL, and prospective Salt Lake owner Smith Entertainment Group on an agreement to sell the club. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also told PHNX Sports that a move to Utah had a “90 to 95 percent chance” of going through.
What’s less certain is a timeline. Speaking on “Insider Trading” on Thursday, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun said an official announcement coming immediately after the Coyotes’ season ends next week is “a little hopeful.” Out of the multiple reports that circulated yesterday, a few suggested the sale to SEG could be announced as soon as April 18. When the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg in 2011, the most recent instance of NHL relocation, the sale wasn’t made official until late May. However, LeBrun says that’s too far down a potential timeline. If the league hasn’t confirmed a move to Salt Lake before then, it’s likely not happening this offseason, and another season in Arizona at Tempe’s Mullett Arena is likely in store.
Other news and notes from the Central:
- Wild forwards Frédérick Gaudreau and Mats Zuccarello did not travel with the team on their West Coast road trip due to personal reasons and are both doubtful tomorrow against the Golden Knights, head coach John Hynes told Michael Russo of The Athletic. Considering there’s a possibility they may travel and join the team in Las Vegas tomorrow, it’s unlikely they’ll miss the entirety of Minnesota’s three-game road swing, their last of the season. Regardless of their availability, 2022 first-round pick Liam Öhgren will make his NHL debut, said Hynes, although it may impact where he plays in the lineup. He’s currently projected to occupy a third-line role at left wing alongside Marat Khusnutdinov and Vinni Lettieri. Gaudreau, 30, has struggled mightily in the first season of a five-year, $10.5MM extension, limited to five goals and 15 points in 65 games while posting a team-worst -21 rating. Meanwhile, Zuccarello is chugging along in his age-36 season, still sitting just south of point-per-game territory with 62 in 68 appearances.
- The Blues could be without defenseman Torey Krug and winger Jake Neighbours tomorrow against the Hurricanes due to upper-body injuries. Krug is listed as questionable, while Neighbours has already been ruled out, interim head coach Drew Bannister told Lou Korac of NHL.com and The Hockey News. The former has missed a couple of games recently, sitting out last weekend’s contest against the Sharks due to illness and missing a late-March contest against the Senators with a lower-body injury. He’s been hot lately when in the lineup, recording three points in his last three games. He’s got 39 in 77 appearances, tying last season for his worst points-per-game rate since 2015. It’s been a more successful campaign for the 22-year-old Neighbours, who’s broken out for 27 goals and 38 points in 77 games in his sophomore campaign.
Pacific Notes: Coleman, Honzek, Lipinski, McDavid, Carrick
The Calgary Flames will be without forward Blake Coleman, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). Coleman suffered the injury on a hard hit from San Jose Sharks defenseman Kyle Burroughs, though he finished out the game.
Coleman has found a new layer to his game on the struggling Flames roster, posting an impressive 29 goals, 23 assists, and 52 points in 77 games. Each of those represents a career-high for the 32-year-old, who hasn’t topped even 40 points in any of his seven seasons up to this point. He and winger Yegor Sharangovich—who’s posted 30 goals of his own—have been pivotal to the Flames this season, setting the pace for the team’s limited offense.
The Flames are well outside of a playoff spot, removing some of the stress of finding a fill-in for Coleman. Kevin Rooney is expected to slot into the lineup for the short term. Calgary has five games left in its season.
One player who won’t be filling in is 2023 first-round pick Samuel Hoznek, who is in Calgary after the end of his WHL season, though he’s nursing an injury that could hold him out, per Ryan Pike of Flames Nation (Twitter link). Calgary signed Honzek last summer, loaning him to the WHL’s Vancouver Giants for the season. He returns to the Calgary organization alongside WHL teammate Jaden Lipinski, who has signed an amateur try-out contract with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. Honzek will also close out the season with the Wranglers once he’s cleared to play.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- The Edmonton Oilers haven’t received any positive news about superstar Connor McDavid, who remains day-to-day and questionable for the team’s next game, per TSN’s Ryan Rishaug (Twitter link). McDavid will be poised to miss his second game with a lower-body injury. He’s been filled in for by Dylan Holloway, who was recalled ahead of the team’s Wednesday matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. Holloway scored his first NHL goal since February 13th in the spot start.
- The Oilers will also be without forward Sam Carrick, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury suffered during the team’s Wednesday night matchup, per NHL Network’s Tom Gazzola (Twitter link). Carrick, who moved to Edmonton alongside Adam Henrique at the Trade Deadline, has recorded four points and 12 penalty minutes in his first 12 games with the Oilers. He’ll likely be replaced by Connor Brown.
Atlantic Notes: Byram, Dahlin, Edmundson, Lyubushkin
The Buffalo Sabres will be without newcomer defenseman Bowen Byram on Thursday due to a personal matter (Twitter link). Byram also missed the team’s morning practice. He has so far played in 16 games with the Sabres, netting three goals and seven points. That’s a 0.438 point-per-game pace, a significant boost over the 0.363 scoring pace he managed prior to being traded, when he scored 20 points in 55 games with the Colorado Avalanche. His combined 27 points in 71 games mark a new career-high for Byram, topping his 24 points last season.
Buffalo will now be back to square one, trying to make up for a lack of defense depth now without Byram or Erik Johnson, who was also traded at the Trade Deadline. This likely opens the door for Kale Clague to step back into the lineup for Buffalo’s last three games. Clague has made two other appearances in the Sabres lineup this season, recording one assist and one penalty. He was a much more frequent lineup piece last season, playing in 33 games with Buffalo and recording four assists, but he lost his platoon role to rookie Ryan Johnson this year. Johnson, who has played in his first 41 NHL games this year, is currently assigned to the minor-leagues but could receive a call-up if Buffalo wants added depth to close out the season.
Other notes from around the league:
- Staying with the Sabres defense, star Rasmus Dahlin has shared that he is ready to take on the Sabres captaincy, if the opportunity presents itself, per Paul Hamilton of WGR550 (Twitter link). Buffalo recently traded two-year captain Kyle Okposo, leaving the role once again vacant. Dahlin is serving alongside Zemgus Girgensons as the team’s assistant captains, though Girgensons is on an expiring deal and faced trade rumors earlier in the season. That leaves Dahlin, who is signed through the 2031-32 season, as seemingly the last man up in Buffalo’s search for leadership. He could face competition from top centerman Tage Thompson, long-tenured veteran Jeff Skinner, or grizzled personality-piece Alex Tuch – though it’s hard to envision the Sabres not once again placing their trust in Dahlin, who this season became the first Sabres defender since Phil Housley to score 20 goals.
- Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Joel Edmundson has shared that he’s good to go, after missing the team’s last eight games with an undisclosed injury, shares TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). He will be joined in re-entering the lineup by Ilya Lyubushkin, who has missed Toronto’s last three games. Masters adds that Conor Timmins and Jake McCabe will step out of the lineup – with McCabe getting rested after an extended stint in the lineup.
Pacific Notes: Morin, Nesterenko, Turcotte
With his 2023-24 season coming to an end with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL, the Calgary Flames announced that Etienne Morin has been reassigned to the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Having yet to sign his entry-level contract with the Flames organization, Morin will play with the Wranglers for the remainder of the season on an amateur tryout agreement.
Morin originally came to the Flames organization by way of the 48th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. In his draft year, Morin was a very efficient defenseman for the Wildcats, scoring 21 goals and 72 points in 67 games while also achieving a +/- rating of 29.
While his year-on-year offensive production certainly took a dip in the 2023-24 season, Morin became even more effective as a physical player on the blue line. With the Wranglers having already clinched a playoff spot in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, Morin is set to receive valuable experience as the organization prepares for the postseason.
Other Pacific notes:
- After having spent five days with the Anaheim Ducks, Nikita Nesterenko is headed back down to the AHL as the organization announced they have reassigned back to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Nesterenko was able to make his season debut with the Ducks over this emergency recall, suiting up in three games while scoring one goal. Now returning to San Diego, the former sixth-round pick will look to build upon his 15-goal, 33-point campaign in the last few contests.
- Out of the lineup for the Los Angeles Kings for nearly a month, it appears that forward Alex Turcotte is close to returning for the club. In an update today, the Kings organization announced that Turcotte has been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, on a conditioning loan. Before going down with an undisclosed injury in March, Turcotte was not a heavily utilized player by Los Angeles, scoring one goal and four points in 20 games while only averaging 9:17 of ice time per night.
Red Wings Recall Zach Aston-Reese
The Red Wings announced that forward Zach Aston-Reese has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids on an emergency loan. He could replace Andrew Copp, who left yesterday’s loss to the Capitals with a suspected broken cheekbone, in the lineup tomorrow in a must-win game against the Penguins.
Copp sustained the injury on a high-sticking infraction from Capitals winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel that referees missed with less than six minutes remaining in the contest. He didn’t return to the game and could be out for Detroit’s four remaining regular season games if imaging confirms the break. The Red Wings are also without winger Michael Rasmussen (upper body, day-to-day), which would leave them with only 11 healthy forwards against Pittsburgh if neither he nor Copp can play, necessitating a forward recall from Grand Rapids today.
The Wings signed Copp to a five-year, $28.1MM deal in 2022, expecting him to slot in as their second-line center behind Dylan Larkin. He was coming off a career year and an electric finish, recording 18 points in 16 games with the Rangers after they picked him up from the Jets at the 2022 trade deadline. He’s been underwhelming offensively, though, scoring only nine goals in 82 games last season after four straight seasons of double-digit totals. While he’s put the puck in the net more this season with 13 markers, his overall production is down, limited to 33 points in 77 games. His 0.43 points per game are his lowest in five years, and he’s been a negative relative possession player in both of his campaigns in Detroit.
Aston-Reese will now play spot duty as the Red Wings fight to make the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Their chances of doing so tumbled nearly 25% after yesterday’s loss and now sit at 27.9%, per MoneyPuck. Detroit signed Aston-Reese for experienced organizational depth in early October after he was released from a PTO with the Hurricanes, but the 29-year-old has only played one NHL game this season. He’s spent most of the season in the minors for the first time since 2017-18, his first professional season. In 59 games with Grand Rapids, the versatile checking forward has 14 goals, 15 assists, 29 points, a +4 rating, and 51 PIMs.