Jets Place Kyle Connor On IR, Recall Dominic Toninato
The Winnipeg Jets have placed top-scoring forward Kyle Connor on injured reserve with a knee injury. It was recently reported that Connor would be out for six to eight weeks, with the winger slated to undergo an MRI to discover the extent of his injury. Winnipeg has used an emergency recall to bring Dominic Toninato up to the NHL roster in light of Connor’s move to IR.
Connor has been a major focal piece of Winnipeg’s early season, with the winger tied for fourth in goals with 17 in 26 games. He’s also managed 11 assists, bringing him up to a team-high 28 points. With the 27-year-old out for an extended period, the Jets will need to look towards players like Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers to carry additional weight. The team has also benefited from NHL sophomore Cole Perfetti, who currently has nine goals and 19 points in 27 games.
Toninato will serve as additional forward depth for the club, after scoring six points through his first nine AHL games this season. The 29-year-old centerman is in his fourth season with the Jets organization, serving as a go-to extra forward for the team. He appeared in one full season with the Jets in 2021-22, recording 14 points and 22 penalty minutes in 77 games. It was the first full season of Toninato’s career, after making his debut in the 2017-18 season. He’s also appeared in 64 games with Winnipeg’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, scoring 24 goals and 45 points with the club. Toninato was originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs and is appearing with his third NHL franchise in Winnipeg.
Islanders Recall Grant Hutton As Scott Mayfield Faces Injury
The New York Islanders have brought defenseman Grant Hutton back to the NHL after sending him to the minors on December 11th. This recall comes in light of Scott Mayfield suffering an upper-body injury that will hold him out day-to-day.
Mayfield joins a list of Islanders defensemen facing injury, with the team already without top defenders Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech. The team recently acquired Robert Bortuzzo from the St. Louis Blues to provide depth to the back end. The new addition has appeared in two games with the Islanders, recording two penalty minutes and a -1.
Hutton rejoins the squad to again serve as the team’s seventh defenseman. The 28-year-old has only appeared in two NHL games this season. They were his first appearances in the league since he played 16 games in the 2021-22 season – his only other handful of NHL ice time. Hutton has one goal and four penalty minutes through his 18 combined NHL games.
The Islanders signed Hutton as an undrafted free agent following the conclusion of Miami University’s 2018-19 season. Hutton totaled 144 collegiate games over four seasons at Miami, scoring 71 points and recording 114 penalty minutes. He’s spent much of his professional career with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he’s played a total of 189 games and scored 67 career points. He’s also added 91 penalty minutes and a -12. These tallies include the five assists, 14 penalty minutes, and -5 that Hutton has recorded in 16 AHL games this season.
Hutton and Bortuzzo will serve as important depth pieces for the Islanders as they look to ride out all of the injuries to their blueline.
Victor Hedman Out Day-To-Day
The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that star defenseman Victor Hedman will be out of the lineup day-to-day. The news came just minutes before the team is set to hit the ice to take on the Vancouver Canucks. Hedman was considered a game-time decision earlier in the day and will not dress this evening. Tampa Bay did not provide specifics on the ailment, simply calling it an upper-body injury at this time.
The Lightning have dealt with several injuries to key contributors this season and will now have to deal with one to their top defenseman. Hedman has been on a tear offensively in the first third of the season, registering five goals and 22 assists in 29 games. While those numbers are certainly impressive, context is important. 16 of Hedman’s 27 points have come on the power play as Hedman’s even-strength numbers have not been as strong this season when compared to previous years. Part of that could be that the Lightning aren’t icing as competitive of a team, but Hedman’s play does raise the question as to whether he has been dealing with an underlying issue.
With Hedman out of the lineup, Mikhail Sergachev will likely slide into his spot of the top defensive pairing as well as on the power play. His minutes will likely increase as could Carp, Ontario’s Calvin de Haan who will likely see a bump into the Lightning’s top 4.
If Hedman is out long-term, the Lightning may have a tough time replacing his minutes, which would not be good news for a team that is sitting outside of the playoff picture at the moment.
Kyle Connor Reportedly Out Long-Term
After a knee-on-knee collision between Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets and Ryan Strome of the Anaheim Ducks, it was reported that Connor would get an MRI on his knee to view the extent of the injury. Although there is still some evaluation left to take place, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that an optimistic timeline for Connor will be around six to eight weeks.
During the play in question, Connor was coming into the slot early in the second period, attempting a backhand shot on Anaheim goaltender, John Gibson. After the shot was made, although both of his feet were planted, Strome’s right leg came into contact with Connor’s right leg, causing Connor to immediately drop to the ice in pain.
In a brief interaction with the media this morning, head coach of the Jets, Rick Bowness, relayed on the news that Connor would be returning to Winnipeg to be re-evaluated by team doctors at their facilities, and is guaranteed to be out of the lineup both today and tomorrow. At this point, the Jets have not given any official word about the severity of Connor’s injury, nor his eventual recovery timeline.
It is a tough blow for Winnipeg to lose their top goal-scorer for any length of the season, given that with 17 goals on the season already, Connor has accounted for 20% of all goals scored for the Jets this season. Over his last seven seasons, including this year, Connor has been one of if not the best offensive players for Winnipeg, scoring 224 goals and 447 points in 472 games.
Without any other player on the team reaching the double-digit goal total at this point in the season, the Jets will likely generate scoring by committee moving forward. However, although his goal-scoring is down this season, Mark Scheifele will be heavily relied upon in his absence to put the puck in the net.
If the timeline presented by McIntyre is accurate, Connor will miss between nine and 16 games, as the Jets will continue to battle for playoff positioning in the Central Division with the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. Fortunately for Winnipeg, only six of those games will be against opponents currently within the playoff picture, as they will have two games against the Chicago Blackhawks as well as another two games against the San Jose Sharks during that stretch.
Nevertheless, heading into the trade season, the injury to Connor may give the Jets more motivation to acquire more goal-scoring to inject into their lineup. Even with the fourth-highest goal-scorer in the NHL this season, the Jets are a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of offense, currently sitting at 14th in the league in GF/G.
Injury Notes: Joseph, Benning, Martin, Jones, Merzlikins
Placing defenseman Dmitri Samorukov on waivers yesterday, after he cleared today, the Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and have subsequently activated Pierre-Olivier Joseph off of the injured reserve. Being placed on the injured reserve with an undisclosed injury dating back to November 18th, Joseph has not played in a game since the team’s route against the San Jose Sharks on November 4th.
Given that he is returning from injury, Joseph will likely slot into the Penguins’ bottom-pairing alongside John Ludvig. Although he is a much better internal option on the blue line compared to Samorukov, Joseph will not be a factor in improving the team’s current offensive struggles on the powerplay.
Last season, in what has been his best to date, Joseph scored five goals and 21 points on the back end, also carrying an impressive oiSV% of 91.5%. With a 3-4-3 record in the last 10 games, the Penguins currently find themselves six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and will need all hands on deck to get back into the playoff race.
Other injury notes:
- The San Jose Sharks announced today they have placed defenseman Matt Benning on the injured reserve. Dealing with a lower-body injury, Benning has been out of the lineup since the team’s game against the New York Rangers on December 3rd. Already starting the season with limited depth as an organization, Benning joins a growing list of Sharks on the injured reserve, making him the sixth player overall currently.
- Retroactive to December 2nd, the New York Islanders have placed depth forward Matt Martin on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury. This will now be the third time this season that Martin has been placed on the IR, having missed stretches in both October and November. In only 14 games played this season, Martin has one goal and two points, only maintaining approximately eight and a half minutes of ice time per game.
- Already confirmed to be out of the lineup in tonight’s matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks’ defenseman, Seth Jones, received X-rays during the team’s game against the Washington Capitals on Sunday. Although there has been no official update on the status of Jones, team doctors indicated that he was only feeling a ‘little sore’ and should be able to make it back to the lineup after the team’s road trip (X Link).
- Although he is still on the team’s injured reserve due to an illness, Brian Hedger for the Columbus Dispatch reports that goaltender for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Elvis Merzlikins returned to practice with the team today. Largely the most competent goalie on the Blue Jackets this season, Merzlikins holds a 6-8-4 record in 19 starts, carrying a .910 SV% and a 3.10 GAA.
Calgary Flames Announce Several Roster Moves
The Calgary Flames made several roster moves today, announcing that the team has recalled defenseman Nick DeSimone from their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, while subsequently sending down forward Matthew Coronato. On the injury front, the team also relayed that defenseman Chris Tanev is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and will not play in the team’s game tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights.
After placing fellow defenseman Jordan Oesterle on waivers towards the beginning of the season, DeSimone quickly became a stable presence on the blue line, scoring four points in eight games, and averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time per game. As the team regained salary cap flexibility due to the trade of Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames would recall Oesterle from the AHL, and send DeSimone back to the Wranglers on November 26th.
Much like DeSimone, Coronato has split time this season between the NHL and the AHL, only managing two points in 11 games when playing for Calgary. One of the team’s more notable up-and-coming prospects, Coronato is having quite the season with the Wranglers already, scoring eight goals and 18 points in only 14 games. Even though the team has re-entered the playoff conversation over the last couple of weeks, the Flames are still largely considered sellers heading into trade season, meaning Coronato may earn a full-time spot with the team if the forward core is thinned out.
In the context of the trade deadline picture, Tanev is thought to be one of the more sought-after defensemen on the market, primarily being linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Luckily, in terms of his trade value for the Flames, Tanev should only miss a game or two, meaning the return package in any deal shouldn’t be negatively impacted by the injury.
Atlantic Notes: Tuch, Samuelsson, McAvoy, Zacha, Lagesson
Sabres head coach Don Granato informed reporters today that winger Alex Tuch won’t play tonight against the Coyotes as he remains out with a lower-body injury, although he could return for Wednesday’s game against the Avalanche (via Heather Engel of NHL.com). Tuch is on injured reserve and has missed the last three games with the injury, which he sustained on December 3 against the Predators. He is now eligible to come off injured reserve at any time after satisfying the minimum seven-day absence.
Tuch has dealt with two injury-related absences of at least three games this season, the other being an upper-body injury that sidelined him for three games in mid-November. When in the lineup, his production has lagged from last season’s 1.07 points-per-game pace, posting eight goals and 17 points with a -4 rating and 52.7% Corsi share at even strength in 22 games. The Sabres have gone 2-3-1 without Tuch in the lineup and 9-11-2 with him.
Buffalo could be without an additional regular tonight, as Granato also said defenseman Mattias Samuelsson is questionable against the Coyotes after leaving today’s practice early due to soreness. Samuelsson, who is in the first season of a seven-year, $30MM extension, missed three games with a lower-body injury in early November and was a game-time decision with an upper-body injury late last month after leaving a November 25 contest against the Devils prematurely. He’s once again leveraged heavy minutes for the Sabres, averaging over 20 minutes per game for a third consecutive season. He’s recorded a goal and two assists along with a -2 rating in 25 games, and his 49.6% even strength Corsi share is a career-high.
More from around the Atlantic Division:
- Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy didn’t practice today and remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe. McAvoy missed Saturday’s win over the Coyotes after sustaining the injury in Thursday’s game against the Sabres. This is the second time he’s been held out of the lineup this season, the first being a four-game suspension in early November for a check to the head of Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. While McAvoy’s 0.81 points per game this season are the best of his career, he’s taken a step back defensively, posting a 51% Corsi share at even strength and a -4 rating, both career lows. Ryan also relays word from Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery that center Pavel Zacha remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and he, along with McAvoy, is questionable for Wednesday’s contest against his former team, the Devils. New Jersey’s sixth-overall pick in 2015, Zacha was sent to the Bruins in a one-for-one swap for Erik Haula in July 2022 and has since assumed a top-six role, posting 76 points in 108 games over the past two seasons while averaging 16:37 per game. Zacha took just eight shifts in Saturday’s game against the Coyotes before exiting.
- Maple Leafs defenseman William Lagesson will be a game-time decision tonight against the Islanders due to illness but is likely to play, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to reporters (via David Alter of The Hockey News). It’s been a tidy season for Lagesson so far, who’s been a solid injury fill-in for players such as Mark Giordano, Timothy Liljegren and Jake McCabe, who have missed significant time this season on Toronto’s back end. Signed to provide a reliable call-up option with a handful of NHL games under his belt, Lagesson has logged one assist in 14 games this season, recording a -1 rating and 49.4% even-strength Corsi share while averaging 15 minutes per game. Across 74 games with the Maple Leafs, Oilers and Canadiens dating back to the 2019-20 season, the 27-year-old is still looking for his first NHL goal.
Red Wings Recall Three Forwards, Place Three On Injured Reserve
The Detroit Red Wings have recalled forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Jonatan Berggren, and Austin Czarnik on an emergency basis. The team also announced that they’ve assigned J.T. Compher (retroactive to 12/5), Dylan Larkin (retroactive to 12/7), and Klim Kostin (retroactive to 12/9) on injured reserve.
Larkin and Compher have operated as Detroit’s top two centers so far this season, scoring 25 and 19 points respectively in 24 games each. It’s been an especially exciting season for Compher – a University of Michigan alum in his first year with the Red Wings. Detroit represents the first organization that Compher has played for outside of the Colorado Avalanche, despite being originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres.
Larkin’s injury caught social media attention, as the top centerman was cross-checked in the head during a scrum in front of the net by Ottawa’s Mathieu Joseph. The 27-year-old Larkin is leading Detroit in scoring, scoring the same amount of points as winger Alex DeBrincat in two fewer games. It’s Larkin’s ninth NHL season, with the Michigan native totaling 608 career games and 462 career points over that span.
Among the wave of emergency relief is Zach Aston-Reese, who signed with Detroit in early October after originally signing a professional try-out with the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the season. Aston-Reese played in 77 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, scoring 10 goals and 14 points. Detroit becomes one of four organizations that the 29-year-old forward has played for in the last four seasons. He’s spent the start of this season in the minors, appearing in 20 games and recording seven points, 16 penalty minutes, and a -2.
Kraken Place Philipp Grubauer On Injured Reserve
The Kraken placed goaltender Philipp Grubauer on injured reserve Sunday, per a team announcement. Grubauer left last night’s overtime loss against the Lightning with a lower-body injury and did not return. In a corresponding transaction, netminder Chris Driedger was recalled from AHL Coachella Valley and defenseman Jaycob Megna was reinstated to the active roster from his conditioning stint.
Grubauer exited the contest late in the second period, suffering a likely groin injury as he slid across his crease to stop a shot from Lightning center Anthony Cirelli. He skated off the ice under his own power but needed assistance getting up. Backup netminder Joey Daccord entered the contest in relief.
This is not Grubauer’s first run-in with lower-body issues. He missed a combined 24 regular-season and playoff games in the 2019-20 campaign with lower-body injuries as a member of the Avalanche.
Outside of a strong postseason showing last year, Grubauer’s stint in Seattle has been below expectations. After providing solid backup play to Capitals starter Braden Holtby in the mid-2010s and then taking over as the starter for Colorado, Grubauer hit unrestricted free agency in 2021 and cashed in with the Kraken, signing a six-year, $35.4MM deal with trade protection to serve as the team’s starting netminder for the first era of their franchise.
His platform stats entering Seattle were strong. Coming off a 2020-21 campaign that saw him finish third in Vezina Trophy voting and boasting a .920 SV% in 214 career appearances, there was little reason to expect the contract to quickly turn into one of the worst values in the league. Unfortunately, since joining Seattle, Grubauer has been well below average, posting a 40-54-10 record, .890 SV% and 3.07 GAA behind a decent defense. The 32-year-old did post a .903 SV% in 14 games for the Kraken during last season’s run to Game 7 of the Second Round against the Stars, but even that fell well below the playoff stats he had set with the Avalanche over the preceding few years.
Kraken fans hoped that his postseason momentum could carry over into this season, especially with GM Ron Francis opting to stay the course in the crease and bring back Daccord as an internal option to serve as Grubauer’s full-time backup. Unfortunately, Grubauer has responded with his worst numbers yet, conceding 8.4 goals above average in just 17 starts, posting a .884 SV% and a 5-9-1 record in the process. Daccord hasn’t been much better, posting a 3-4-6 record and .894 SV%.
It will be Daccord’s crease for the time being with Grubauer sidelined, though. Without any clarity into the severity of Grubauer’s injury, it’s impossible to predict how long he could be out of the lineup – low-grade groin strains can be treated on a day-to-day basis, while a more severe groin injury would keep him out for months. He’ll miss at least seven days in order to be eligible for IR.
Driedger, who’s also disappointed since signing a three-year, $10.5MM pact with the Kraken in 2021, returns to the NHL roster and will look to make his season debut in the process. The 29-year-old missed most of last season after undergoing ACL surgery and was assigned to the minors upon his return to health, meaning he hasn’t appeared in an NHL contest since May 1, 2022. He started 24 games for the Kraken in their inaugural season, posting a 9-14-1 record, .899 SV% and 2.96 GAA.
Daccord beat out a healthy Driedger for the backup spot in training camp this year, leading Seattle to waive Driedger and assign him to Coachella Valley a few days before the start of the season. The Kraken recalled Driedger for a brief period in November while Grubauer was dealing with an undisclosed injury, but he did not play and was promptly returned to the AHL upon Grubauer’s return.
If Daccord continues to stumble after a hot start to the season, the Kraken hope Driedger’s strong play in the minors this year can again translate to NHL success. In 15 games for Coachella Valley, Driedger has a 2.20 GAA, .916 SV%, 9-5-1 record, and two shutouts.
Megna returns to Seattle after logging a goal and a +3 rating in two contests with Coachella Valley over the weekend. The Kraken assigned him to the minors on a conditioning loan last week after making him a healthy scratch in a remarkable 26 straight games to kick off the season.
Evening Injury Updates: Brodin, Larkin, Pearson
Last night, in the team’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild defenseman, Jonas Brodin, went down with an injury after a hit-from-behind from Evander Kane. In an update today, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Brodin will be out for a significant amount of time due to the hit.
In the short-term, the Wild will have veterans Alex Goligoski and recently-acquired Zach Bogosian to rely on in Brodin’s stead, but their defensive depth will ultimately be tested without one of their top defensemen in the lineup for the foreseeable future. Leading the team in ATOI, Brodin has scored one goal and nine points in 25 games, mostly impacting the game on the defensive side of the puck.
If Minnesota’s current depth is unable to properly fill in the hole on the left side of the defense in Brodin’s absence, the team may look to once again call up defenseman Daemon Hunt to Minnesota. Although he was unable to score a point during a five-game stretch in late October and early November, Hunt has scored one goal and eight points in 12 games for Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, so far this season.
Other injury updates:
- With a handful of minutes left in the first period of tonight’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators, Red Wings’ captain, Dylan Larkin, received a hit to the head from Ottawa forward, Mathieu Joseph, and laid motionless on the ice for some time. In an update from the team, Detroit announced that Larkin is still being attended to by the team medical staff, and would not return to action tonight. Suffering from multiple head injuries throughout his career, it would be a tough blow to the Red Wings if Larkin is set to miss significant time, as he leads the team in scoring with 11 goals and 25 points in 23 games.
- The Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Tanner Pearson would not return to the team’s game tonight due to an upper-body injury. Since coming over from the Vancouver Canucks in an offseason trade, Pearson has produced at a relatively tepid rate, scoring four goals and eight points in 26 games, which is still good for eighth on the team in scoring. Already with six players currently residing on the team’s injured reserve, the Canadiens may have to dig into their organizational depth even further if Pearson is set to miss significant time.