Coyotes’ Travis Dermott Out For The Season With Injury
The Arizona Coyotes have announced that defenseman Travis Dermott will be sidelined for the rest of the season with an upper-body injury. Forward Nick Bjugstad is also facing an upper-body injury, carrying a day-to-day designation (Twitter link). The Coyotes have five games remaining in their season, including a Tuesday night matchup with the Seattle Kraken.
Dermott has been limited to just 50 games this season, with a month-long absence in November headlining an injury-plagued year. It’s been a disappointing start to Dermott’s time in Arizona after he signed a one-year deal with the team this summer. It was his first time signing a free-agent contract, with all of his previous deals coming with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dermott certainly found an improved role in the desert, averaging 17:17 in ice time that flirted with his career-high. But it didn’t lead to improved scoring, as he managed just two goals and seven points, matching the measly scoring he posted in 60 games last year. Dermott will be set to re-enter free agency this summer, with this injury likely not helping his bid for a new team if the Coyotes don’t re-sign him.
Rookie Maksymillian Szuber is expected to make his NHL debut in Dermott’s place. Szuber has recorded six goals and 24 points in 67 games as an AHL rookie, after spending the last three seasons in Germany’s DEL. He’ll become the first skater selected outside of 2022’s top two rounds to play in the NHL. Szuber moving into the lineup removes Arizona’s extra defender, though the team could recall an option like Victor Soderstrom or Vladislav Kolyachonok for added depth.
Blues’ Justin Faulk Week-To-Week, Likely Out For Season
An upper-body injury is expected to hold Justin Faulk out for an extended time, per Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Dispatch (Twitter link). DeFranks shares that head coach Drew Bannister designated Faulk as week-to-week, adding that he’s likely done for the year. The Blues have four games left in their season.
Faulk left the Blues’ Saturday game early, following a fight with San Jose Sharks forward Luke Kunin. He instigated the fight after a bad hit on teammate Jake Neighbours that also forced an early exit. Bannister designated Neighbours as day-to-day with a resulting upper-body injury on Tuesday, per NHL.com’s Lou Korac (Twitter link).
Faulk has again served as a top defender for the Blues, averaging nearly 22 minutes of ice time through 60 games this season. But he hasn’t been nearly as productive as usual, with just two goals and 30 points – a far cry from his 50 points last year. Injuries could be to blame, with Faulk missing significant time in December, January, and February with a nagging lower-body injury. He’ll now end his season having played in his fewest games since 2013, excluding the shortened 2020-21 season where he played in all 56 games.
Faulk’s absence will give Matthew Kessel and Tyler Tucker more lineup security, though they’ll each still compete with Marco Scandella. None of the three have reached 10 points yet, with Scandella’s eight points in 66 games leading the group. Meanwhile, rookies Zach Dean and Zachary Bolduc could hang onto a role with Neighbours out. St. Louis is currently five points back from a Wild Card, and one game in the hole, though they’re not yet mathematically eliminated.
West Notes: Demko, Dunn, McCann, Rantanen
The Vancouver Canucks welcomed starting goaltender Thatcher Demko back to practice on Tuesday and could return him to the lineup as soon as Saturday, head coach Rick Tocchet shares with TSN’s Farhan Lalji (Twitter link). Demko is currently on Vancouver’s long-term injured reserve with a knee injury. He hasn’t played since March 9th, missing Vancouver’s last 12 games.
While Tocchet added that the team wants to be careful in easing Demko back in, there’s no doubting they’re ecstatic to have him back in time for playoffs. Demko’s success has been a big part of the Canucks’ climb up the standings, with the 28-year-old posting 34 wins and a .917 save percentage across 49 appearances this season. He ranks third in the league in wins and fifth in save percentage, among starting goalies.
Demko’s strong performances this season have continued his ascension, with the three-year starter in a good position to receive Vezina Trophy votes for just the second time in his career – joining his seventh-place finish in 2022, after he posted 33 wins and a .915 save percentage in 64 games. But he’ll have bigger goals in mind, with Vancouver poised to make the playoffs for just the third time since 2014.
Other notes from around the league:
- Both Jared McCann and Vince Dunn will miss the Seattle Kraken’s Tuesday game against the Arizona Coyotes, per team reporter Alison Lukan (Twitter link). Head coach Dave Hakstol shared that both players remain day-to-day, with McCann facing a lower-body injury and Dunn nursing an upper-body injury. The pair have been highly impactful this year, each ranked in the top-three of scoring in Seattle, with McCann boasting a team-leading 60 points in 75 games while Dunn has 46 points in 59 games.
- Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has shared that forward Mikko Rantanen could return on Saturday, per Ryan Boulding of NHL.com (Twitter link). The star winger has been in concussion protocol after taking a heavy hit from Edmonton Oilers defesneman Mattias Ekholm on Friday. Rantanen eclipsed the 100-point mark for the second-straight seaosn this year, currently carrying 40 goals and 102 points through 77 games.
Devils’ Jack Hughes To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
The New Jersey Devils have announced that star centerman Jack Hughes will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery on April 10th (Twitter link). His season will come to a close after just 62 games, with Hughes scoring 27 goals and 74 points.
This news finally brings an end to what’s been an injury-riddled year for Hughes. He missed two weeks of action in November with a right shoulder injury and earned a spot on injured reserve for one month in January with another upper-body injury. And while Hughes has been consistently in the lineup since February 8th, he hasn’t seemed to be in full health – shying away from physicality and not taking a single faceoff since his last injury.
But even when hobbled, Hughes was still a dominant player for the Devils. He’s scored 29 points in 30 games since February 8th, while averaging 21:28 in ice time. That ranks Hughes second on the team in scoring in that span, behind Nico Hischier and tied with Timo Meier. It also ranks him in the top 30 in league scoring over the last two months.
New Jersey has gone 31-31 with Hughes in the lineup, compared to 6-10 in the games he’s missed, and 12-16 since his return from injured reserve. They’ll now have to finish the year off without him, though there’s not much left to fight for – with New Jersey sat five points, and five spots, away from an Eastern Conference Wild Card. Nolan Foote is expected to make his season debut in Hughes’ absence on Tuesday. Foote has missed a large portion of the season with an upper-body injury suffered during the preseason. He’ll be playing in his 20th career NHL game, and his first since March of 2023.
Devils Notes: Hughes, Marino, Foote
The New Jersey Devils will be without star forward Jack Hughes tonight, and potentially longer according to Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com. Officially, Hughes will be out tonight with an undisclosed injury, and head coach Travis Green alluded to the idea that Hughes could miss the remainder of New Jersey’s regular season.
It will be the second time in three seasons that Hughes will have his season significantly shortened by injury, as his last complete year came back in the 2020-21 NHL season, although he did compete in 78 games last year. If Hughes is indeed done for the remaining schedule, he will have finished with 27 goals and 74 points in 62 games, the second-highest points-per-game mark of his young career.
In a season to forget for the Devils organization, the team will only be able to finish with a maximum of 87 points, a 25-point drop off from just a season ago. With 16 games missed on the season, New Jersey has only been able to procure a 6-9-1 record without their top player this season, partially leading to their fall in the standings.
Other Devils notes:
- After having missed the last two games due to an undisclosed injury, it appears that defenseman John Marino could be returning tonight for the Devils (X Link). Much like Hughes and several other members of New Jersey’s roster, Marino has missed a handful of games across the season due to injuries. When healthy, Marino has been able to suit up in 71 games for the Devils up to this point, scoring four goals and 29 points overall while averaging 20:51 of ice time per night.
- Now that Hughes has officially been ruled out for tonight’s game, team reporter for the Devils, Amanda Stein, is reporting that forward Nolan Foote could be making his season debut with the club. Having recently been activated from Season Opening Injured Reserve on March 11th, Foote has only managed four games for the team’s AHL affiliate altogether this season, scoring three goals and four points in a small sample size.
Capitals Recall Lucas Johansen
The Capitals have recalled defenseman Lucas Johansen from AHL Hershey, GM Brian MacLellan announced today. His recall comes after Rasmus Sandin sustained an upper-body injury yesterday against the Senators – he’s now been ruled out for their upcoming two-game road trip, head coach Spencer Carbery said (via Tom Gulitti of NHL.com). Carbery added that Sandin isn’t guaranteed to return by the end of the regular season.
Johansen, 26, remains in the Caps organization eight years after they selected him in the first round of the 2016 draft. He’s spent nearly all that time in the minors, only skating in nine NHL games.
A career-high six of them came earlier this season when he recorded an assist and a +1 rating while blocking seven shots and averaging 14:16 per game. The younger brother of injured Flyers center Ryan Johansen is still looking for his first NHL goal, a chance he could get if he draws into the lineup down the stretch and plays for the first time since November.
Johansen’s possession metrics when given NHL minutes have been quite poor, however, and have prevented him from having any chance of sticking in the lineup. He’s logged a 35.4 CF% and a 32.3 xGF%, the worst of any Caps skater to suit up this season. Injuries have taken him out of a solid chunk of action with Hershey this year, too, but he’s managed 12 points and a sky-high +18 rating in just 22 games when healthy.
He could draw into the lineup tomorrow in an essentially do-or-die game against the Red Wings. Without Johansen, the Caps would only have two left-shot defenders in the lineup, so he could dress if Carbery doesn’t want to play Trevor van Riemsdyk or rookie Vincent Iorio on their off-side. Washington’s playoff odds would drop to just 10% with a regulation loss to Detroit tomorrow after sitting third in the Metropolitan Division not too long ago, per MoneyPuck.
Losing Sandin at such a crucial point in the season is a tough break for Washington, losers of seven of their last 10 games. He’s the only other Caps defender to average over 20 minutes per game outside of John Carlson this season and has 23 points in 68 games with a -13 rating.
Atlantic Notes: Edmundson, Pinto, Rasmussen
Maple Leafs defenseman Joel Edmundson won’t be available for their next two games, head coach Sheldon Keefe said (via David Alter of The Hockey News). However, Keefe didn’t rule out the possibility of Edmundson returning later this week, potentially Thursday at home against the Devils. The 30-year-old hasn’t played since sustaining an undisclosed injury against the Hurricanes on March 24, knocking him out for now at least eight games. He’d been solid otherwise for Toronto, controlling possession quality well with a 50.5 xGF% in tough shutdown minutes at even strength through seven games. The Manitoba native is still looking for his first point as a Leaf after they picked him up from the Capitals before the trade deadline.
Other updates out of the Atlantic Division:
- Senators center Shane Pinto will suit up for the United States at the 2024 World Championship if invited, he confirmed to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia and TSN. While it’s unlikely he’ll crack the roster for the U.S. national team at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off or the 2026 Winter Olympics, Garrioch relays Pinto would like to extend his season regardless and gain experience playing meaningful games after the regular season ends. Pinto has been excellent for Ottawa since serving a 41-game suspension for violating the NHL’s sports wagering rules, racking up eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points in 36 games. He’s averaging 17:41 per game, a career-high by a long shot, and has some of the best possession numbers on the team with a 53.3 CF% and a 60.1 xGF%. The United States last medal at the 2021 tournament, winning bronze, and has lost the bronze medal game in back-to-back years.
- Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen won’t be in the lineup tomorrow for a crucial game against the Capitals in a crucial game in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, head coach Derek Lalonde confirmed. The two-way winger will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old has done well before his four-year, $12.8MM extension kicks in next season, posting a career-high 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 75 games. He’s logging over 15 minutes per game for the second consecutive campaign, and while his possession numbers have dipped from last season, he’s receiving much more frequent deployment in the defensive zone.
Flames Recall Ilya Solovyov
The Flames have recalled defenseman Ilya Solovyov from AHL Calgary, per a team announcement. He comes up from the Wranglers after Oliver Kylington left Saturday’s loss to the Oilers late after colliding with teammate Nazem Kadri. Calgary has yet to give Kylington an official injury designation.
This is the 23-year-old Belarusian’s third career recall. The Flames brought him up for a four-day stint in late October and again for over two weeks in December. Both of those recalls were standard ones, while today’s comes under emergency conditions, according to CapFriendly.
The 2020 seventh-round pick has made six appearances across his two previous recalls. In that time, Solovyov captured his first two NHL points, both assists, and recorded a -3 rating with four PIMs, nine blocks, and eight hits. He did so in bottom-pairing minutes, averaging 14:59 per game.
Calgary has eight defensemen on the NHL roster, six of them healthy. Other than Kylington, Joel Hanley is day to day with an undisclosed injury. If Solovyov remains on the roster longer than necessary for the Flames to ice a minimum of six defenders, they’ll need to place him on their roster from his emergency loan.
Solovyov has put together a solid body of work since joining the Flames’ system in 2021, displaying his strengths as a confident outlet passer with a physical edge. He isn’t much of a factor in the offensive zone, but the 6’3″, 207-lb blue-liner has proven valuable in transition. He has 40 points and a +25 rating in 169 games with AHL Calgary and Stockton over the past three seasons, including 14 points and a +2 rating in 50 contests this season.
He’s in the final season of his three-year entry-level contract. He has arbitration rights if he reaches restricted free agency this summer, and he’s due a qualifying offer of $814K.
Injury Notes: Barabanov, Sandin, Kostin, Bryson
Winger Alexander Barabanov has reportedly played his last game with the San Jose Sharks, with a lower-body injury expected to end his season and the Sharks not likely to re-sign him this summer, per Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Web link). Barabanov suffered the injury from a blocked shot on March 26th and hasn’t played since, missing San Jose’s last five games.
This is an abrupt and quiet end to what was a quiet season for Barabanov. He played in 46 games, scoring just four goals and 13 points – the lowest scoring rate of his career. It’s a disappointing follow-up to what seemed to be Barabanov’s breakout season last year, when he managed a career-high 15 goals and 47 points in just 68 games. He’ll now set his eyes on free agency – the 30-year-old’s first chance to play outside of San Jose since he became a full-time NHL player in 2021. While he’ll certainly have to take a price cut from his current $2.5MM cap hit, Barabanov could be an intriguing pick-up for teams needing more depth down the wings.
Other notes from around the league:
- Washington Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin left the team’s Sunday matchup against the Ottawa Senators with an upper-body injury, following a hit at the end of the first period (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has moved into an integral role for the Capitals, averaging 21:34 in ice time over his last 10 games. Rookie Vincent Iorio is currently Washington’s seventh defenseman. He could be poised for a crucial role, with Washington currently two points back of an Eastern Conference Wild Card with just six games to go.
- The San Jose Sharks were without hot-streak winger Klim Kostin on Sunday due to illness, per Curtis Pashelka (Twitter link). Kostin has nine points through his first 14 games with the Sharks, averaging six more minutes of ice time than he did in 33 games with Detroit. The Sharks traded minor-league defenseman Radim Simek and a 2024 seventh-round pick for Kostin at the Deadline and have him signed through next season. He was replaced by undrafted rookie Collin Graf, getting his NHL debut just days after signing his first professional contract. Graf recorded one assist in the start.
- Jacob Bryson suffered an upper-body injury in the Buffalo Sabres’ Sunday afternoon game, leaving after just nine minutes of play (Twitter link). Bryson has played in just 31 games this season – the fewest of his career. He’s recorded one goal and eight points in those appearances, extended his streak to four consecutive seasons with just one goal on the year. Buffalo will have to decide between Kale Clague and rookie Ryan Johnson, who is currently in the AHL, if Bryson has to miss any time.
Metropolitan Notes: Lazar, Marino, Kuraly
The Devils will likely be without forward Curtis Lazar for the rest of the season after he sustained an upper-body injury in yesterday’s 4-3 win over the Senators, head coach Travis Green said (via James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now). Green confirmed that Lazar’s injury will make way for Shane Bowers to enter the lineup tonight against the Predators after being recalled from Utica earlier today.
Lazar will end his season with seven goals, 18 assists and 25 points in 71 games while averaging 12:23 per game with a +10 rating. His assists and points figures are both career-highs, adding some highlight to what’s transpired to be a journeyman career for the 2013 first-round pick. The 29-year-old was picked up from the Canucks at last year’s deadline and is in the second season of a three-year, $3MM deal signed with Vancouver in free agency in 2022. He did quite well at controlling possession quality in a shutdown role, maintaining a solid 51.1 xG%.
Elsewhere in the Metro:
- New Jersey will also be without defenseman John Marino against Nashville, as the team’s Amanda Stein relays he remains out with an upper-body injury. He sustained the injury while fighting Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller in a game-opening line brawl last Wednesday and already missed yesterday’s contest against the Sens. Injuries have sidelined Marino, the Devils’ top right-shot defender with Dougie Hamilton out long-term, for five of their last 12 games. The shutdown blue-liner has been better offensively but worse defensively than last year, notching 25 points in 71 games but logging an xG% south of 50 for only the second time in his career. He has three seasons remaining on his contract at a $4.4MM cap hit, with an eight-team no-trade list that kicks in this summer.
- The Blue Jackets have center Sean Kuraly back in the lineup today against the Hurricanes, per the team’s Jeff Svoboda. The news ends a few days of will-he-won’t-he from head coach Pascal Vincent and marks his first appearance since sustaining a lower-body injury against the Canadiens on March 12. Now in his third season in his native Ohio, Kuraly has nine goals and 17 points in 57 games this year while averaging 13:33 per game, down from the 15-plus minutes he’d averaged since arriving in Columbus in 2021.