Injury Notes: Mayfield, MacLean, Fleury, Jeannot, Power
Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News is reporting that New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield is out with a lower-body injury. In a follow-up report, Ethan Sears of the New York Post reports that Mayfield will not travel with the team to their upcoming games against the Dallas Stars or Detroit Red Wings.
Slipping further and further back in the standings, New York’s schedule won’t get any easier as their next three games come against teams currently holding a playoff position. Without Mayfield, the Islanders will have to re-shuffle their defensive core, and may even break apart the solid duo of Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov. Signed to a seven-year, $24.5MM contract this past offseason, Mayfield has left a lot to be desired, with his CorsiFor% and On-Ice Save Percentage in all situations falling below his career averages.
To fill in the spot on the active roster left by Mayfield, the Islanders did recall forward Kyle MacLean but had to maneuver him in a specific way to stay compliant with the salary cap (X Link). As an infrequent member of the team’s bottom six this season, MacLean has suited up in a total of seven games for New York, managing one goal and 14 hits in total.
Other injury notes:
- Talking to the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Jon Cooper, this morning, Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports that defenseman Haydn Fleury is considered day-to-day, while the team will also have to wait for the return of forward Tanner Jeannot. Although Fleury has generally been regarded as a depth option at defense for the Lightning, their injuries this season have led him to nearly 16 minutes of ice time per night over 17 games, a minute higher than his career average.
- Out since February 10th with an undisclosed injury, Heather Engel of the NHL is reporting that Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power is close to a return, and may even be cleared to play tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. In the midst of a sophomore slump, Power is projected to finish short of his production last year without factoring in the missed games due to injury. Nevertheless, much of Power’s lack of production can be placed at the feet of his usual defensive partners Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton, both of whom have struggled immensely in their first season in Buffalo.
West Notes: Zaitsev, Athanasiou, Vlasic, O’Brien, Stecher, Kuzmenko
Blackhawks defenseman Nikita Zaitsev‘s knee injury sustained in January was more severe than previously assumed, head coach Luke Richardson said Saturday (via Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times). Zaitsev sustained a bone fracture along with his knee injury and, while he’s returned to off-ice workouts, won’t return until mid-March.
The 32-year-old sustained the injury in a Jan. 16 game against the Sharks and has been out of the lineup for over a month, missing Chicago’s last 14 games. The Moscow native had two goals, five assists, seven points, and a remarkable +2 rating on a bottom-feeder Blackhawks team in 26 games, although he averaged only 15:56 per contest.
Zaitsev will be a UFA this summer after completing his albatross seven-year, $31.5MM contract extension signed by then-Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello in 2017. He has yet to sniff the career-high of 36 points he set during his rookie season with Toronto in 2016, and he’s only once posted a positive expected rating in his eight-year NHL career. If he remains in the league past this season, it’ll likely be on a league-minimum deal.
Other updates from the Western Conference:
- Sticking with Chicago, forward Andreas Athanasiou continues to progress in his recovery from a lower-body injury as he practiced in a full-contact jersey for the first time Saturday, according to Pope. The 29-year-old has not played in over three months, missing 46 games. The speedy winger disappointed through the first month of the campaign, recording four assists in 11 games and logging one healthy scratch, averaging 12:45 per game. Chicago signed him to a two-year, $8.5MM extension last summer after he racked up 20 goals and 40 points for the second time in his career last season.
- Sharks veteran blue-liner Marc-Édouard Vlasic is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and could miss up to a week, head coach David Quinn said Saturday (via Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group). Vlasic sustained the injury in practice yesterday and will sit after playing in 14 straight games, his longest stretch of the season. It’s been a difficult campaign for the 36-year-old Sharks lifer, who was a frequent healthy scratch through November and December as his all-around game continues to decline. Once regarded as one of the top shutdown defenders in the league, Vlasic’s 41.3% Corsi share at even strength is second-worst among full-time Sharks defenders this year, only ahead of rookie Nikita Okhotyuk. He carries a $7MM cap hit through the 2025-26 season.
- The Coyotes will activate enforcer Liam O’Brien off injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s game against the Jets, head coach André Tourigny said (via Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports). The fourth-line winger missed the last five games with an upper-body injury and had been a healthy scratch twice in the prior three games. The 6-foot-1 29-year-old is in his third season in the desert, racking up eight points and 116 PIMs in 49 games this year. Defenseman Troy Stecher, who’s been out for over a month with a lower-body injury, will not be ready to go tomorrow but could return as soon as Tuesday against the Canadiens, Morgan added. Both players are on IR, but the Coyotes have two open roster spots, so no corresponding transactions are necessary to activate them over the next few days.
- Flames winger Andrei Kuzmenko will miss tonight’s Battle of Alberta with an illness, coach Ryan Huska said (via Eric Francis of Sportsnet). The middle-six scoring winger has been up-and-down since Calgary acquired him from the Canucks in the Elias Lindholm trade, notching three goals and one assist in eight games with a -2 rating. He hasn’t seen an uptick in ice time since moving across provincial lines, averaging 14:06 per game with Calgary compared to 14:21 with Vancouver. He’s signed through next season at a $5.5MM cap hit.
Avalanche Prospect Oskar Olausson To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
Avalanche forward prospect Oskar Olausson will undergo shoulder surgery on Monday that will sideline him for the rest of the 2023-24 season, the team announced Saturday. He is expected to return to the organization for the 2024-25 campaign.
Olausson, 21, was the 28th overall selection in the 2021 draft. He has no points in his two NHL appearances, one of which came this season on Dec. 5.
He’s taken a significant step forward in his development this season, posting 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points in 39 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He put up those same totals in 63 games last year.
Despite signing his entry-level contract the summer after his draft, it’s only kicked in this season because he was eligible twice for an entry-level slide. As such, he carries a cap hit of $863.3K and is headed for RFA status in 2026. He will not be placed on IR or LTIR because he was designated to the minors when the injury occurred.
Olausson is arguably still the Avs’ best forward prospect, although 2023 first-round pick Calum Ritchie submits a veritable challenge to that claim. A sniper by trade, Olausson will likely spend most of next season in the minors as well before making noise for an NHL roster spot.
The Eagles may be losing one of their best scorers, but they could be gaining an impact piece as soon as Sunday. Colorado waived depth forward Fredrik Olofsson on Saturday, and he’ll be assigned to the Eagles if he clears tomorrow.
Metropolitan Notes: Seeler, Walker, Konecny, Mayfield
The Flyers have a pair of fairly valuable defenders on expiring deals in Nick Seeler and Sean Walker. Despite being in a playoff position and ahead of schedule in their rebuild, the Flyers will likely ship at least one of them out to capitalize on their trade value ahead of the March 8 trade deadline. It’s trending toward Walker being the odd man out, as they’ve yet to formally engage in extension discussions with Walker’s agents, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports Saturday.
Pagnotta notes that the Flyers have talked to Seeler’s representation about an extension. The two defenders have formed one of the unlikeliest value pairings in the league this year, logging over 500 minutes together with a sparkling 56.5 expected goals percentage, per MoneyPuck. The 30-year-old, who’s found his way back into a full-time NHL role after going without a contract for the entire 2020-21 campaign, carries a $775K cap hit and will earn a multi-million dollar raise on his next deal, whether it’s with Philly or somewhere else.
Walker being the likelier one to move makes sense with the state of the trade market, however. He’s considerably more expensive with a $2.65MM cap hit, but he’s also a coveted right-shot defender with significantly more offensive upside than the shutdown-only Seeler. As such, he’ll fetch more value in return. Pagnotta says the Bruins may have interest if it becomes clear he’ll hit the trade market, where he would serve as a third-pairing anchor behind Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo.
Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:
- Flyers winger Travis Konecny is absent from Saturday’s game against the Rangers, and he’ll miss Sunday’s tilt against the Penguins as well, per Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period. Konecny is listed as day-to-day with a minor upper-body injury sustained during practice this week. The 26-year-old is not expected to miss significant time. In his eighth NHL season, Konecny leads Philadelphia in scoring with 27 goals and 54 points in 57 games.
- Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and is not in the lineup against the Lightning today, per the team. Mayfield did not appear to miss a shift in the Isles’ last game, a 4-0 loss to the Blues on Thursday. In the first season of a seven-year, $24.5MM contract, Mayfield has missed 16 total games to leg and upper-body injuries. He’s also struggled to produce, going without a goal in 41 games while recording five assists and a -7 rating. Reserve defender Sebastian Aho re-entered the Isles’ lineup in a third-pairing role today after serving as a healthy scratch for six of their past seven games.
Kings’ Mikey Anderson Out Week To Week
Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson will be out with an upper-body injury on a week-to-week basis, interim head coach Jim Hiller said Saturday (via Eric Stephens of The Athletic). Hiller also confirmed that winger Viktor Arvidsson, who landed on LTIR earlier Saturday with a lower-body injury, carries the same designation, confirming an earlier report from Kevin Weekes of ESPN.
Anderson, 24, sustained the injury in the third period of Thursday’s 4-1 loss to Nashville. He skated to the bench hunched over after being harassed for puck possession by Predators winger Luke Evangelista.
It’s a major loss for the Kings, who are now without half their top defense pairing on a semi-long-term basis. Anderson and Drew Doughty have played 878 minutes together this season, the second-most of any pairing in the league, with a respectable 52.1 expected goals percentage, per MoneyPuck. Only the Blues’ Nick Leddy and Colton Parayko have been paired together more frequently.
A fourth-round pick of the Kings in 2017, Anderson has surpassed all the benchmarks expected of him as a shutdown prospect. He’s averaged over 20 minutes per game in each of his four full NHL seasons and has one goal, 14 assists, 15 points, and a +14 rating in 55 games this year.
Individually, however, Anderson is having his worst two-way season since cementing himself in L.A.’s top four. While still adept at limiting quality against at even strength, he’s become more of an offensive damper this season and has an expected -1.9 rating as a result. His -3.1 relative Corsi-for percentage at even strength is also the worst of his career.
That said, his minutes are difficult to replace. Vladislav Gavrikov, who’s put up better possession metrics than Anderson during his first full season in Los Angeles while anchoring their second pairing with Matt Roy, will likely slide up alongside Doughty. 23-year-old Jordan Spence was recalled from AHL Ontario in a corresponding transaction with Arvidsson’s LTIR placement and will draw into the lineup tonight against Anaheim.
Devils Place Nathan Bastian On IR
Devils winger Nathan Bastian landed on IR Friday after he was on the receiving end of a hit from Rangers rookie Matt Rempe in last night’s contest, per the team. New Jersey recalled winger Brian Halonen from AHL Utica in a corresponding transaction.
Officials assessed Rempe a match penalty on the play, which occurred 2:25 into the game. He will not be subject to supplemental discipline. Bastian took only two shifts later in the contest and did not play at all in the third period.
The IR placement indicates Bastian will miss at least one week with his lower-body injury, ruling him out of the Devils’ next three games. The 26-year-old has appeared in 54 of 56 games for New Jersey, posting five goals, seven assists, and a -10 rating while averaging 10:09 per game. The 6-foot-4, 205-lb winger signed a two-year, $2.7MM deal to return to the Devils last summer after briefly hitting free agency and will be a UFA again in 2025.
The 25-year-old Halonen gets his first NHL recall after signing with New Jersey as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan Tech in 2022. In the back half of his entry-level deal, the Delano, Minnesota native has missed a good chunk of 2023-24 with injuries but has been Utica’s best goal-scorer when healthy, potting 13 markers in only 21 games.
Halonen is unlikely to dress for tomorrow’s game against Montreal while the Devils opt for a more veteran fourth-line complement of Tomáš Nosek and Chris Tierney to youngster Alexander Holtz. He’ll be available to the team as a 13th forward in case of an additional injury or unexpected scratches among their forward group.
Capitals Recall Hendrix Lapierre
The Capitals summoned 2020 first-round pick Hendrix Lapierre from AHL Hershey on Friday, per a team release. Washington must open a roster spot to execute this recall, meaning either Nic Dowd or T.J. Oshie has likely been placed on IR. Dowd has been out for the last three days with an upper-body injury, while Oshie sustained a non-contact lower-body injury against the Lightning yesterday and is still undergoing evaluation, head coach Spencer Carbery said. Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports that Dowd will be the one heading to IR, ruling him out of Washington’s next two games.
Lapierre, 22, skated in 25 games for the Capitals earlier this season, scoring twice and adding five assists with a -3 rating while averaging a paltry 9:34 per game. He’s been in Hershey for the last month, where he’s taken a leap forward in his development with 17 points in 21 on the AHL’s best team.
Viewed as a top prospect heading into the 2020 draft, serious injuries limited his draft stock and allowed him to slip out of the top 15. He’s rebounded nicely, averaging over a point-per-game in juniors after his draft and demonstrating linear growth with Hershey.
Lapierre is a projected scratch for tomorrow’s game against the Panthers, although he may slot into the lineup in a bottom-six role if the Capitals opt not to have another recent call-up, Pierrick Dubé, make his NHL debut.
The Gatineau, Québec, native remains waivers-exempt in the second season of his entry-level deal. He carries a cap hit of $863.3K and will be an RFA in 2025.
Golden Knights Recall Jakub Demek, Place Brett Howden On IR
The Golden Knights recalled forward Jakub Demek from AHL Henderson on Friday, per a team announcement. Forward Brett Howden was moved to IR in a corresponding transaction, per CapFriendly.
Howden, 25, was scratched for last night’s 7-3 loss to the Maple Leafs and is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. As a result of today’s IR placement, he has been ruled out of the first two games of Vegas’ upcoming road trip and is eligible to return on Feb. 29 in Boston.
The 20-year-old Demek has never been recalled in his professional career. Selected by Vegas in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, the Slovak winger could be in line to make his NHL debut against the Senators on Saturday.
He’s currently listed as a projected scratch on CapFriendly’s depth chart for Vegas, but an already banged-up forward core got injured further when Paul Cotter took a hard hit from Toronto rookie Matthew Knies last night. Cotter finished the game, however, meaning Demek’s recall may be precautionary in case any other Vegas forwards come down with the injury bug in the next 48 hours.
Selected out of HC Kosice in the Slovak Extraliga, Demek came to North America after being picked up by Vegas in the Entry Draft and spent the following two seasons with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and Kamloops Blazers, playing in back-to-back Memorial Cups. He didn’t quite crack the point-per-game mark at the junior level but hovered near it and remains on track to deliver the expected value for his draft billing.
Now in his first professional season, Demek has five goals and 13 points through 44 games with the Silver Knights, along with a -5 rating. Vegas would rather let the 6-foot-4, 210-lb forward continue working with development staff in Henderson. However, injuries to five regular forwards (William Carrier, Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel, Howden, and captain Mark Stone) have forced them to reach deep into their pool of minor-league players.
Demek is in the first season of his three-year, entry-level contract with a cap hit of $851,683. He remains waivers-exempt and will be an RFA in 2026.
Kings Activate Blake Lizotte, Place Viktor Arvidsson On IR
Top Los Angeles Kings winger Viktor Arvidsson has reportedly been placed on injured reserve, per the NHL media site. The Kings have also activated forward Blake Lizotte off of long-term injured reserve. Lizotte has been out since January 15th, missing the team’s last 14 games. He has nine points in the 34 games he’s been healthy for this season.
Arvidsson is falling out of the lineup after just four games back from a back injury that delayed his season debut until February 15th. He’s dealing with an undisclosed injury suffered in L.A.’s Thursday night win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. ESPN broadcaster Kevin Weekes shared that this new injury could hold Arvidsson out on a week-to-week basis, though that hasn’t been confirmed by new head coach Jim Hiller yet.
Arvidsson recorded two assists, two penalties, and a +1 in his four games back, though he’ll still be searching for his first goal of the season. At the rate that his injuries are coming in, this season could end up as the first time since the 2015-16 season that Arvidsson hasn’t scored at least 10 goals in a season. The Kings will certainly hope that isn’t the case, with Arvidsson ranked third in goals on the Kings between 2020 and 2023.
Lizotte is slated to fill Arvidsson’s role on the team’s third line, playing alongside Quinton Byfield and Pierre-Luc Dubois. He was placed on IR alongside Carl Grundstrom, who is currently ineligible to return until March 9th. Los Angeles will be forced to juggle their depth forwards until then, with Lizotte, Arthur Kaliyev, and Jaret Anderson-Dolan likely rotating between roles in the team’s bottom six.
Islanders Injury Notes: Bortuzzo, Fasching, Cizikas
New York Islanders defenseman Robert Bortuzzo has suffered a setback in his recovery from a high-ankle sprain that’s already forced him out of the team’s last 18 games. He is now out indefinitely, per general manager Lou Lamoriello. Bortuzzo was moved to long-term injured reserve earlier this week.
This news comes as a tough blow to not only Bortuzzo – who’s only played 15 games this season – but the Islanders defense, which acquired Bortuzzo in late November in an attempt to add depth in the face of injuries. It’s been a long season for the Islanders, who have seen six of the nine defenders currently on their roster, including Bortuzzo, miss games due to injury. They’re now back to a mostly healthy form, with Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock both returning from long-term absences.
Other New York Islanders notes:
- Lou Lamoriello also shared that the Islanders may send Hudson Fasching to the AHL on a brief conditioning stint before activating him off of injured reserve. Fasching has been out since January 25th with illness and, thanks to his place on long-term IR, won’t be eligible to return until February 29th at the earliest. The 28-year-old winger has eight points through 35 NHL games this season.
- Casey Cizikas will be evaluated when the Islanders return to New York for a hand injury suffered in the team’s Tuesday game against Pittsburgh. Cizikas sustained the injury while blocking a shot from Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson, and immediately left the game. Yesterday the team recalled Kyle MacLean to serve as depth if Cizikas can’t play on Thursday. Cizikas has 12 points, split evenly, through 44 games this season and recently returned from a lower-body injury that held him out for 10 games.