Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Injury

Hurricanes’ Brett Pesce Undergoes Surgery, Out 2-4 Weeks

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

3:24 p.m.: Pesce underwent surgery yesterday to correct the lower-body injury, the team announced. The surgery carries a recovery timeline of two to four weeks, more in line with a week-to-week diagnosis and much less severe than what Brind’Amour alluded to earlier today.

12:46 p.m.: Carolina Hurricanes beat reporter Walt Ruff is reporting that head coach Rod Brind’Amour has told the media that defenseman Brett Pesce’s lower-body injury is worse than originally thought, and the 28-year-old could be out long term. Brind’Amour’s exact words, when asked by reporters, were that the injury was bad and could keep Pesce out way longer than week to week.

At this time, little is known about how long Pesce could be unable to play. He has already missed two games with the ailment, which Brind’Amour had hoped would only cause him to miss a couple of games. However, after being re-evaluated today, the prognosis for Pesce is not good.

What exactly is ailing Pesce is also unclear, but for the Hurricanes, it compounds the issues the team has dealt with in what has been a bad start to the season. Carolina has struggled defensively, and losing Pesce will certainly add to those woes. He and Brady Skjei have logged more minutes at even strength than any of the Hurricanes’ other defensive pairings and have been the most effective. The duo has been on for five even-strength goals scored and just two against this season.

The situation must be especially frustrating for Pesce, who is not only sidelined from playing but also missing time during a contract season. The native of Tarrytown, New York, is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and is in line to get a lucrative long-term deal next summer. How lucrative that contract will be remains to be seen, but Pesce was no doubt hoping to maximize his earnings with a solid year in Carolina, but now it appears he could miss a substantial portion of the season.

Metropolitan Notes: Williams, Mayfield, Ludvig, Nedeljkovic

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Hurricanes are inducting longtime winger Justin Williams into their club Hall of Fame this season, per a team announcement. Williams retired as a Hurricane after wrapping up a 19-year, 1,264-game career in 2020 and could be a longshot candidate for induction into the overall Hockey Hall of Fame down the road after winning three Stanley Cup championships.

The first of those three wins came as a Hurricane in 2006, which remains the franchise’s only championship to date. After exploding for a then-career-high 31 goals and 76 points in the regular season, Williams averaged over 21 minutes per game in the playoffs and logged 18 points in 25 games as the Hurricanes defeated the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final. He would go on to play a major role in the Los Angeles Kings’ two Stanley Cup wins in 2012 and 2014, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in the latter after scoring 25 points in 26 games and leading the team with a +13 rating. After a later stint with the Capitals, Williams returned to the Hurricanes in 2017 and helped the team’s young core of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and others make the postseason in 2019 after a decade-long drought. His 15 career points in Game 7s are the NHL all-time record, and he’s remained with the Hurricanes post-retirement in an advisory role to GM Don Waddell.

Other tidbits from Metropolitan Division teams today:

  • Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield is back skating after sustaining a foot injury earlier this month. However, head coach Lane Lambert told Newsday’s Andrew Gross today that he hasn’t joined the team at practice, and there remains no timetable for his return. Mayfield remains on the active roster, although he hasn’t played since logging 16:47, two shots, two hits, and four blocks in the team’s season opener against the Sabres on October 14. 22-year-old Samuel Bolduc has entered the lineup in Mayfield’s stead, although he remains without a point and has a -1 rating in shockingly limited usage, averaging just 8:49 per game. Mayfield, 31, is in the first season of a seven-year, $24.5MM contract extension signed last summer.
  • Penguins defenseman John Ludvig did indeed sustain a concussion in last night’s loss against the Stars and remains out of the lineup indefinitely, head coach Mike Sullivan told the Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh Wednesday. Ludvig, 23, had played just 5:29 in his NHL debut when he attempted to land an open-ice hit on Stars forward Radek Faksa, whose helmet collided with Ludvig’s jaw and caused him to fall to the ice. Pittsburgh claimed the young defenseman off waivers from the Panthers at the beginning of the season.
  • While he played the whole game, another Penguin sustained an injury yesterday – netminder Alex Nedeljkovic, who could not be a full participant in practice today thanks to an undisclosed injury. A summer free agent addition to serve as the backup to starter Tristan Jarry, Nedeljkovic made 30 saves on 34 shots last night, his first start since an October 14 win against the Flames. Overall, Nedeljkovic has fared well through two contests, posting a .914 SV% and 3.01 GAA after posting the worst numbers of his career last season with the Red Wings.

Canadiens’ David Savard Out Six To Eight Weeks

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Montreal Canadiens have announced that defenseman David Savard will miss the next six to eight weeks with a fractured hand. Savard suffered the injury attempting to block a Tage Thompson slapshot in Montreal’s Monday night win against the Buffalo Sabres. The Canadiens have used an emergency recall on Gustav Lindstrom in light of Savard’s injury.

This is a major blow for Montreal, who has faced a significant injury in three of their first five games of the season. Savard becomes the fifth Hab to be sidelined, joining Kirby Dach, Christian Dvorak, Chris Wideman, and Kaiden Guhle. These injuries have forced Montreal to take on a much different look than what they entered the season with, primarily on the blue line, where Justin Barron, Jordan Harris, and Lindstrom have been able to establish roles that weren’t previously there for them. Barron is taking particular advantage of the opportunity, netting two goals in three games through the early season, operating on Montreal’s top pair alongside Mike Matheson.

Savard’s long-term injury is another damper on the season. The 33-year-old has two points through Montreal’s five games this season; now in his third year with the club. Savard is signed through the 2024-25 season to a contract carrying an annual average value of $3.5MM. It’s the second-most expensive contract on Montreal’s blue line. Savard is a 740-game veteran of the NHL, playing his rookie season in 2011-12. Nearly 600 of those games came with the Columbus Blue Jackets, whom Savard spent a decade with, before joining the Tampa Bay Lightning for 14 games and a Stanley Cup run and then finding his way to Montreal. With Savard out of the lineup, the average age of Montreal’s defense drops to 23.9.

Penguins Rookie John Ludvig Leaves Game

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that defenseman John Ludvig will not return to tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars. The 23-year-old rookie left the game with an injury after laying a hit on Dallas forward Radek Faksa. The two men appeared to bump heads at high speed as Ludvig stepped up to complete a check. Faksa was able to bounce back up from the hit while Ludvig fell to the ice face-first and did not move.

The good news is that Ludvig was able to leave the ice under his own power, however, the Kamloops, British Columbia native didn’t look steady on his skates as he was escorted by teammates to the bench. It was a sad ending to what was a special night for Ludvig as tonight’s game was his NHL debut.

Ludvig spent three years in the AHL after being drafted in the third round of the 2019 NHL entry draft by the Florida Panthers. The Penguins claimed him off waivers prior to the start of the season and have kept him with the big club, although he had only practiced with the team prior to tonight. Today he was inserted into the lineup to replace healthy scratch Chad Ruhwedel.

The Penguins have offered no update on Ludvig’s condition yet and are saying that they will provide updates at a later time. The young defender had shown aggressiveness and physicality during his limited time on the ice, and it was something the Penguins desperately needed to add to their lineup. Hopefully, for both Ludvig and the Penguins he will be okay and able to get back into the lineup sooner than later.

Milan Lucic Out With Lower Body Injury

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Boston Globe reporter Kevin Paul Dupont tweeted today that Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic is out with a lower-body injury and will be re-evaluated tomorrow or Thursday. No word yet on the exact nature of the injury to the 35-year-old but he did miss Sunday night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks after taking the pre-game warmup. Lucic did one lap with the team and immediately went to the dressing room and did not return.

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told the media prior to Sunday’s game that one of their players was dealing with a day-to-day thing and was questionable for the Anaheim game. Given what has transpired this week it appears to have been Lucic.

Lucic took a slap shot in the foot in Saturday night’s 4-2 Bruins win against the Los Angeles Kings and missed some shifts shortly after. But there is no word yet on whether that is the cause of the additional testing later this week.

Lucic returned to the Bruins this summer signing a one-year $1MM (plus bonuses) deal after spending the last four seasons with the Calgary Flames. The native of Vancouver, British Columbia was brought in on a value deal in the hopes of being able to provide the Bruins with a net-front presence and some physicality. Although he is not the player he was when Boston traded him to Los Angeles in 2015, he has still been a productive NHLer, and big men are always in demand.

In Boston this season, Lucic is off to an uneven start with two assists in four games, while those offensive numbers are above his recent averages, his possession numbers and many of his underlying numbers aren’t great thus far.

Taylor Hall Suffers Setback, Out Week-To-Week

at CDT | by 1 Comment

10/24/23: According to Roumeliotis, the Blackhawks have officially placed Hall on injured reserve due to his shoulder injury. The placement is retroactive to October 21st.

10/23/23: After attempting to return from a shoulder injury suffered earlier in the month, Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall will now be on the shelf longer term. Head coach Luke Richardson told reporters today, including NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis, that Hall will be out for “a bit” after aggravating the injury and is listed as week-to-week.

Hall sustained the injury in an October 11 game against the Bruins after he was checked hard by Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo. Initially listed as week-to-week after exiting the lineup, Hall missed just one game before returning to the lineup a week ago Monday against the Maple Leafs. After seeing his ice time dip in the following two contests and playing just 12:39 against the Golden Knights on Saturday, it was determined Hall would need a longer recovery period.

The Blackhawks acquired the final two seasons of Hall’s four-year, $24MM contract from the Bruins this summer in a trade that gave the Bruins some much-needed salary cap relief. It also gave Chicago a skilled, veteran player drafted first overall many moons ago, making him an ideal linemate and mentor for 2023 first-overall selection Connor Bedard. While Bedard has been as good as can be expected so far this year, Hall has logged just two assists in five games while fighting the injury. The entire team has struggled to control possession, and Hall is no different, posting a Corsi share of 41.2% at even strength.

With Hall out of the lineup, Bedard is projected to get some new linemates. He’ll be flanked by seasoned veterans on both sides in Tyler Johnson and Nick Foligno, both of whom have three points in six contests this year. Johnson leads the team in goals with three in the early going.

Roster Notes: Drysdale, Pietrangelo, Kurashev, Bonino, Kochetkov

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Although no official announcement has come from the team, CapFriendly indicates that the Anaheim Ducks have placed defenseman Jamie Drysdale on injured reserve retroactively to October 15th. Drysdale has not played in the following three games for the organization, as he has put up two assists while carrying a +2 rating.

As expected, the Ducks are not getting off to a hot start to this season, carrying a 1-4-0 record into tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, there is still plenty to be excited about in Orange County, as the team was able to sign both Drysdale and Trevor Zegras to separate three-year contracts shortly before the start of the season, as well as seeing the second-overall selection of the 2023 NHL Draft, Leo Carlsson, score a goal in his first ever professional game.

Nevertheless, even without indicating any effort to compete for the playoffs this season, Drysdale’s presence will be missed on the blue line. Thin on depth throughout the defensive core at the top level of the organization, there is an argument to be made that Drysdale represents the best of what the Ducks have to offer on defense.

Other roster notes:

  • Having not played since the second game of the season for the Vegas Golden Knights, Jesse Granger of The Athletic is reporting that Alex Pietrangelo is back at practice with the team, skating in a non-contact jersey. In the two games he has played, Pietrangelo has put up one assist, averaging nearly 23 minutes a night. Remarkably, even without the presence of Pietrangelo in the lineup, the Golden Knights are one of only three teams who remain undefeated to start the season.
  • After taking the entire summer to rehab a shoulder injury sustained towards the end of last season, Chicago Blackhawks’ forward, Philipp Kurashev, suffered a wrist injury during training camp before the start of this season, keeping him out of the lineup up to this point. With a serious need for more secondary scoring in their lineup, Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports-Chicago is reporting that Kurashev is looking to make his debut for the team on Tuesday, as they take on the Boston Bruins for the second time this season.
  • Per a team announcement, depth forward for the New York Rangers, Nick Bonino, is considered day-to-day with an illness, and will not practice with the team today. In five games so far with the Rangers, Bonino has gone scoreless, primarily centering the fourth line between fellow teammates Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey.
  • After returning him to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL last night, CapFriendly is reporting that the Carolina Hurricanes have called goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov back up to the NHL. Suffice it to say, Kochetkov did not get off to the best start with the Hurricanes this season, allowing six goals on 28 shots in his only start against the Colorado Avalanche.

Blue Jackets Place Patrik Laine On IR, Recall Dmitri Voronkov

at CDT | by 2 Comments

According to a team release, the Blue Jackets have recalled forward Dmitri Voronkov from AHL Cleveland. To make room for Voronkov on the active roster, the team placed forward Patrik Laine on injured reserve with an upper-body injury retroactive to last Friday, sidelining him for the team’s next two games at the least.

Voronkov, 23, had a breakout pro season for the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan in 2022-23, potting 18 goals and 13 assists for 31 points in 54 games while playing a heavy, imposing style of game. He was expected to contend for a roster spot with the Blue Jackets out of training camp but ultimately did not make the cut and began the season on assignment to Cleveland, where he has just one assist through four games. A fourth-round pick of the Blue Jackets in 2019, Voronkov could make his NHL debut Tuesday against the Ducks.

As for Laine, this news is expected after taking a hard, late hit from Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson with just seconds left in Friday’s 3-1 win. Andersson, who has an appeal scheduled for today with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, was suspended four games for the hit. Laine will miss at least three games because of the play, also sitting out of Saturday’s overtime victory over the Wild. It’s a tough break for the 25-year-old, who remains day-to-day after recording two points through four contests, continuing to experiment playing at center after sticking on the wing for most of his 466-game NHL career.

After being acquired from the Jets in exchange for center Pierre-Luc Dubois early in the shortened 2020-21 season, Laine has been an effective goal-scorer for a struggling Columbus team but failed to stay healthy. Just over the last two seasons, Laine notched close to a point-per-game but missed a combined 53 games, keeping him from hitting the 30-goal plateau for the first time since 2018-19. He’s been on pace for well over 30 markers in each of the past two years (38 in 2021-22, 33 in 2022-23), signaling that he can still be the star sniper the Jets thought they were getting with the second-overall pick in 2016.

Hurricanes Notes: Svechnikov, Aho, Andersen

at CDT | by 1 Comment

While he wasn’t ready for the beginning of the regular season as once expected, Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov is still making positive strides in his recovery from a major knee injury sustained in March. Today, he shed the no-contact designation at Hurricanes practice for the first time, relays team editorial content producer and reporter Walt Ruff.

Svechnikov is still within the bounds of his initial six-to-nine-month recovery timeline, and while it’s disappointing he wasn’t ready to play on opening night, he hasn’t sustained any setbacks and is likely on track to make his season debut before the end of the month. Remarkably, scoring goals hasn’t been Carolina’s issue in Svechnikov’s absence. Instead, it’s been keeping them out – their 30 goals against in 2023-24 is the worst in the league by a significant margin. That’s far from what anyone expected after the Hurricanes, already revered as one of the better-structured teams in the league, added Dmitry Orlov to their blueline this summer and retained a goalie trio of Frederik Andersen, Pyotr Kochetkov and Antti Raanta that’s done well for them in recent campaigns.

Other notes from Carolina today:

  • The Hurricanes have had to play their last two outings without their two best point-producing forwards, as number-one center Sebastian Aho has joined Svechnikov on the injured list for the past three games. After notching a goal and two assists in his first three contests, Aho was a full participant in today’s practice, says Ruff, and the door is open for him to return to the lineup tomorrow against the Lightning. Teuvo Teräväinen has played fill-in duty on the team’s top line in Aho’s absence, centering Michael Bunting and Martin Necas. The 29-year-old has four goals in six games after a disappointing 2022-23 campaign.
  • Ruff also relays that the injured Andersen is indeed close to a return, making an appearance at today’s practice that followed the return of Kochetkov on loan to AHL Syracuse. Andersen was injured in a recent game against the Sharks after taking a puck to the face. The 34-year-old Dane has struggled in three appearances so far this year, but he’s still been the best out of the Canes’ netminders, leading the team with a .855 SV% and 4.15 GAA.

Devils Place Nosek On Injured Reserve, Recall Cal Foote

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The New Jersey Devils have placed forward Tomas Nosek on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Nosek has been out of action since October 13th and has only appeared in two games on the year, with a stat line limited to one shot and one hit. The Devils have also recalled defenseman Callan Foote.

Nosek signed a one-year, $1.0MM contract with New Jersey this summer. The Devils become the fourth NHL team that the 31-year-old Nosek has played for throughout his nine-year NHL career. He’s tallied an even 400 career games through those nine years, recording 101 points and 146 penalty minutes. Nosek has never been much of a scorer, with his career-high sitting at a mere 18 points – a mark he’s hit twice, including in 66 games with the Boston Bruins last season. But despite the low scoring, Nosek has become a consistent feature of NHL lineups, not playing an AHL game since the 2016-17 season. In fact, his last assignment to the AHL came in April of 2017, only two months before he would be selected in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and join the Vegas Golden Knights. It’s been a fruitful career for the undrafted Nosek, who was signed to an entry-level contract after the 2013-14 season, after tallying 44 points in 52 games for Pardubice of the Czechia Extraliga.

Cal Foote receives a call-up in the wake of Nosek’s IR assignment, giving him a chance to make his debut with the Devils. Foote started the season with the Utica Comets of the AHL, where he’s recorded two points in three games. Foote joined New Jersey this summer, signing a one-year, $850K contract with what’s become his third NHL club. He previously appeared with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators, serving as a focal piece of the Tanner Jeannot trade. Foote has played in 141 career NHL games, recording 19 points.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top