Afternoon Notes: Golden Knights, Puljujarvi, Meyers
Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy shared updates on the team’s long list of injuries, sharing that Daniil Miromanov is back on the ice, Keegan Kolesar is still out of the lineup with illness, and that starter Adin Hill has returned to skating on his own but isn’t quite ready to rejoin the team. Cassidy also shared that Shea Theodore is still a ways away from returning. The star defenseman is joined by Miromanov and Hill on injured reserve.
These injuries have underscored what’s been a battered Vegas lineup to start the year. The club currently has a top-six forward in William Karlsson, starter Adin Hill, and four different defensemen on IR. The only on the list to not yet make his season debut is NHL newcomer Miromanov, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury that’s held him out since the start of the year.
The amount of talent being held out of Vegas’ lineup is impressive. Karlsson ranks third on the team in scoring with 32 points in 38 games. Theodore still leads all Knights defenders in scoring, despite missing 18 games, with 18 points in 20 games. And Hill has returned to the impeccable goalie that made him an icon last postseason, boasting a .934 save percentage through 15 games this season. The Golden Knights will be in for a big boost when they’re able to get each of these players back, although how long that may take is still up in the air.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed Jesse Puljujarvi to a professional try-out agreement, extending his time in the Penguins organization. Puljujarvi is working his way back from double hip surgery and has been skating with the Pittsburgh lineup at practices. And while his return still seems to be a ways out, this move helps set him up for an AHL conditioning stint once he’s ready to go.
- The Colorado Avalanche have assigned Ben Meyers to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. This is likely in an effort to maintain the young forward’s waiver exemption status. Meyers has played in a collective 58 NHL games since joining the Avalanche in 2021-22 and will lose his exemption once he hits 60 games. The 25-year-old centerman has totaled six goals and no assists through those 58 games, adding 37 points in 49 AHL games.
Blues Place Justin Faulk On Injured Reserve, Recall Jakub Vrana
The St. Louis Blues have placed top defenseman Justin Faulk on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Faulk suffered the injury late in the last minute of the team’s December 29th matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. He has already missed one game with the injury and is now slated to be out for at least a week. St. Louis has also swapped depth forwards, recalling Jakub Vrana and sending Nikita Alexandrov to the minor leagues.
Faulk has once again served as St. Louis’ top defenseman this season, averaging nearly 22-and-a-half minutes each game. He’s tallied 17 points through 35 games in the role, on pace for 40 points in 82 games. That’s a step down from the marks Faulk has been able to reach in St. Louis, with the defenseman setting a career-high 50 points in 82 games last season. It was the first time that any Blues defender has hit the half-century mark since Alex Pietrangelo did it in 2019-20 – and Faulk becomes the first defenseman not named Pietrangelo to reach the feat since the legendary Chris Pronger in 2003-04.
With Faulk moved to IR, the Blues opt to reinforce their offense rather than their defense – a move that makes sense considering the team recalled Matthew Kessel midway through last week. The reinforcements come in the way of Jakub Vrana, who the Blues acquired via trade last season, sending Dylan McLaughlin and a seventh round pick to the Detroit Red Wings. The hope was that Vrana could rebound to the 50-point form he showed off in the 2019-20 season. And while his time in St. Louis has been marred by struggles and waiver placements, the 27-year-old winger has totaled 20 points in 39 games since joining the Blues organization. He will hope to find his groove under new head coach Drew Bannister, who Vrana has yet to play for: getting sent down prior to Craig Berube‘s dismissal from the team.
Injury Updates: Kakko, Zuccarello, Brodin, Foligno
New York Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko joined the team’s skate this morning in a red no-contact jersey, according to The Athletic’s Arthur Staple. This is believed to be the first instance of Kakko at Rangers practice since the forward suffered a leg injury in November.
While Kakko is likely still a decent way off from a full-on return to the Rangers, this is undeniably encouraging news. The 22-year-old’s injury has left the Rangers thinner at their right wing position compared to just about any other position on their roster, and despite his slow start to the year, Kakko had a career year last season with 18 goals and 40 points.
Some other injury updates from across the NHL:
- Minnesota Wild forward Mats Zuccarello continues to skate as he pursues a return to the ice, and The Athletic’s Joe Smith reports that Zuccarello could return before the Wild make their trip to Tampa to play the Lightning in the middle of January. Zuccarello has been out since December 16th and has 28 points in 28 games this season.
- Smith also relayed an update on defenseman Jonas Brodin, who has been out since December 8th due to injury. A key defensive defenseman for Minnesota, Brodin skated for the first time since his injury and could be inching closer to a full return. He’s averaging just under 24 minutes of ice time per game this season, including three minutes short-handed.
- Marcus Foligno was classified as a game-time decision for the Wild’s January 2nd contest due to a lingering undisclosed injury, but now The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that he’s considered out on a day-to-day timeline. Foligno, 32, is a respected defensive forward and the Wild benefit when he’s on the ice rather than off it, especially considering his $3.1MM cap hit is even more meaningful due to the Wild’s existing cap constraints.
Christian Dvorak Out For Season With Torn Pectoral Muscle
Canadiens forward Christian Dvorak will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season with a torn pectoral muscle, the team announced Thursday. The injury will require surgery, which Dvorak will undergo tomorrow.
It’s another long-term injury for a Canadiens team that’s no stranger to having players out of the lineup for long stretches of the season. After leading the league in man-games lost last year, Montreal lost young top-six forward Kirby Dach to a season-ending knee injury just two games into the campaign. They’ve also been without the services of defenseman Chris Wideman for the whole season up to this point with a back injury, and Jordan Harris, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Alex Newhook, and David Savard have all missed significant chunks of the campaign.
The Habs’ 16-16-5 record and sixth-place standing in the Atlantic Division is better than some expected, but Dvorak hasn’t been a major factor in their return to relevancy. The 27-year-old hasn’t been the bona fide second-line center the Canadiens expected to get when they acquired him from the Coyotes days before the 2021-22 season began. Dating back to his acquisition, he’s played in 145 games and notched 24 goals for the Canadiens, adding 44 assists for 68 points. That works out to a rather underwhelming points-per-game pace of 0.47.
Dvorak began this season on long-term injured reserve while he was still recovering from knee surgery that prematurely ended his 2022-23 campaign last March. After missing ten games, Dvorak returned to the lineup in early November, scoring just three times in the 25 games since. While he won nearly 60% of his draws during his stint in the lineup this year, a career-high, Dvorak’s ice time also dipped below the 16-minute average mark for the first time in five years.
Unfortunately, the writing is on the wall for his potential as an everyday top-six forward in the NHL. He last played on December 30, recording a -1 rating in a 4-1 loss to the Panthers. He missed the following two games with what the team termed an upper-body injury.
In Dvorak’s absence, the Canadiens have dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen, though don’t expect that to continue long-term. The Canadiens will need to recall a forward from AHL Laval to fill his spot in the top nine, or just wait for the returns of Harvey-Pinard and Tanner Pearson from their respective lower-body and upper-body injuries, which are both expected before the end of the month.
If they do look to Laval for help on offense in the short term, there are a handful of young candidates who could use a two- or three-week trial. 22-year-old Swedish winger Emil Heineman could get another bump to the NHL roster after being recalled for two weeks last month, playing his first two NHL games in the process. An injury cost him a solid chunk of the early portion of the season in Laval, although he does have two goals and six points in ten games there. 2021 fifth-round pick Joshua Roy remains tied for the team lead in goals with ten through 30 games, although the team seems content to keep the 20-year-old in the minors all season to adapt to the pro game despite his strong rookie showing on the scoresheet.
Even Dvorak’s overall two-way performance in his abbreviated 2023-24 showing was cause for concern. He spent most of his time in the lineup centering Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky on the team’s top line, and while his aforementioned faceoff skills were strong, the trio’s success at controlling play was not. Out of four Montreal forward lines with more than 100 minutes together this season, the Caufield-Dvorak-Slakovsky line’s expected goal share of 44.3% ranks dead last, per MoneyPuck. When Caufield and Slafkovsky have been centered by Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki this season, meanwhile, that trio has posted an expected goals share of 60.2% – quite a notable swing for swapping out just one player.
Dvorak has not yet been returned to long-term injured reserve, but expect him to end up on IR or LTIR in the near future if the Canadiens need roster and/or salary cap space. He remains under contract through the 2024-25 season at a cap hit of $4.45MM and carries an eight-team no-trade list that kicked in at the beginning of this season, per CapFriendly.
Ducks Place Troy Terry On IR, Activate Isac Lundestrom
Before their game tonight against Toronto, the Ducks announced (Twitter link) multiple injury news. Winger Troy Terry was placed on injured reserve, paving the way for center Isac Lundestrom to be activated from IR. Meanwhile, middleman Ryan Strome is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Terry missed Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury so it’s likely that the placement will be back-dated to that point, meaning that he could be activated as soon as this weekend, if healthy. The 26-year-old is off to a slower start by his standards, notching nine goals and 13 assists in 35 games; last season, he played in twice as many games while collecting 61 points. Still, Terry sits third on Anaheim in scoring and will be a noticeable absence for however long he’s out.
Lundestrom, meanwhile, will be making his season debut after recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. The 24-year-old was a first-round pick back in 2018 (23rd overall) and looked like he was on his way toward becoming a capable regular after putting up 29 points in 80 games back in 2021-22. However, he struggled offensively last season, collecting just four goals and ten helpers in 61 games. Lundestrom was supposed to miss at least six months from his injury sustained in early August so he is coming back a month ahead of schedule. Considering it’s a contract year and he’ll be owed a $1.8MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights, Lundestrom will be hoping for a big second half of the season.
As for Strome, he is also among Anaheim’s scoring leaders, ranking fourth on the team in total points. The 30-year-old leads the Ducks in assists with 17 and is on pace for his fifth straight season of at least 40 points or more. Benoit-Olivier Groulx will take his place in the lineup, making his first appearance in more than two weeks.
Wild Recall Daemon Hunt, Place Jared Spurgeon On IR
The Minnesota Wild have placed captain Jared Spurgeon on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. Spurgeon had only just returned from a lower-body injury that held him out for seven games in December, but now gets placed back on the shelf after three games back. Minnesota is turning to routine call-up Daemon Hunt to fill in while Spurgeon is out. Hunt has played in his first nine career NHL games this season, managing one assist as the only change to his stat line.
Spurgeon’s move to IR is almost poetically devastating for the Wild, who now have their top two forwards, top two defensemen, and their starting goalie on injured reserve – a status complete by Kirill Kaprizov and Spurgeon’s move to IR on Wednesday. The Wild has lost both of the games that they’ve played since losing Kaprizov and Filip Gustavsson in the same game, getting outscored six-to-three. Spurgeon, acting without Kaprizov, Gustavsson, and Jonas Brodin, played in 45 minutes over the last two games managing one assist, three shots, and an even 0 +/-.
This year marks Spurgeon’s 14th season in the NHL – an incredibly impressive mark for a former sixth round draft pick. Spurgeon has also served as the Wild’s captain since the retirement of legendary Wild leader Mikko Koivu in 2020. The 34-year-old defenseman has managed five points in 16 games this season, bringing his career totals up to 384 points in 867 NHL games. He’s played more than all but 10 players from the 2008 NHL Draft class, and could look to 11th among all players from the 2008 NHL Draft class.
Rangers Recall Brennan Othmann, Tyler Pitlick Week-To-Week With Injury
The New York Rangers have recalled top prospect Brennan Othmann from the AHL. Othmann currently ranks fourth on the Hartford Wolf Pack in scoring and eighth among all AHL rookies with nine goals and 23 points in 28 games. This is the first recall of Othmann’s career after going 16th-overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. He is one of two players from that round to be recalled on Wednesday, with the Los Angeles Kings recalling eighth-overall pick Brandt Clarke. Othmann be looking to become the 16th player from the 2021 First Round to make his NHL debut.
New York also shared that forward Tyler Pitlick is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. This could set up Othmann to make his NHL debut in New York’s Thursday night matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks. Pitlick has three points in 28 appearances this season.
The Rangers signed Othmann to a three-year, $4.1MM entry-level contract in 2021 that is effective from 2023-24 to 2025-26, with the Rangers receiving two entry level slides from Othmann staying in the OHL.
Othmann was traded midway through last year’s OHL season, moving from the Flint Firebirds to the Peterborough Petes. He would go on to serve as the team’s leading scorer through the postseason, netting 25 points in 23 games as Peterborough won the OHL championship and made it to the semifinal game of the 2023 Memorial Cup. Othmann was one of many NHL prospects on the championship-winning Petes lineup, joining Seattle’s Tucker Robertson, Vancouver’s Connor Lockhart, Philadelphia’s J.R. Avon, and New Jersey’s Chase Stillman.
Blackhawks Move Anthony Beauvillier To Injured Reserve
The Chicago Blackhawks have moved Anthony Beauvillier to injured reserve with a wrist injury. He joins a long list of injured Hawks, including Taylor Hall, Andreas Athanasiou, and Seth Jones. Chicago acquired Beauvillier via trade in late-November, sending a 2024 fifth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks. He has since played in 15 games with Chicago, scoring six points and recording a -3.
Beauvillier’s performances with the Hawks bring his season total up to 14 points in 37 games. That’s a pace of 31 points across 82 games, a step down from the career-high 40 points he recorded 82 games last season, splitting the year between the New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks. Beauvillier was a focal piece of the deal that sent Bo Horvat to the Islanders, with Vancouver also receiving Aatu Raty and a 2023 First Round pick. Vancouver then flipped the pick to the Detroit Red Wings for defenseman Filip Hronek.
The Blackhawks are experiencing a brutal losing skid, going 4-10-2 since the beginning of December. They’ve been outscored 62-to-33 in that stretch, with opponents averaging a staggering 33.5 shots each game. They’re experiencing the brunt of all of their missing scoring talent, with four of the team’s top 10 scorers currently inactive. It’s not all bad news, though, with generational rookie Connor Bedard looking plenty comfortable in his first year. Bedard has 15 goals and 33 points through his first 37 NHL games, on pace for 33 goals and 73 points. That’s a fantastic way to kick off an NHL career, and could be room for excitement form Hawks fans optimistic that Bedard’s scoring will only go up as top talents return from injury.
Islanders Place Robert Bortuzzo On IR, Recall Ken Appleby
The New York Islanders are facing a pair of injuries after Robert Bortuzzo and Semyon Varlamov left the team’s Tuesday night matchup early. Bortuzzo has been moved to injured reserve and the team has used an emergency recall on Ken Appleby, with Varlamov expected to miss time.
New York traded for Bortuzzo in early-December amid injuries to Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Scott Mayfield. And while Pulock and Pelech remain sidelined, Mayfield has returned, continuing the revolving door of injuries to Islanders defensemen. Bortuzzo is the only defender on the team to not record a point yet this year, with the only changes to his stat line being 19 penalty minutes and a -1 across 15 games with the Islanders and Blues.
As if matters couldn’t get worse for the battered Islanders’ back-end, they are now without their dazzling backup goaltender as well. Varlamov has been fantastic in his limited minutes this season, recording a .918 save percentage and 6-4-2 record across 14 appearances. Varlamov has recorded a save percentage above .910 in all four of his previous seasons with the Islanders. He’ll be replaced by Appleby, a nine-year veteran of the minor leagues. Appleby’s only prior NHL experience came in the 2017-18 season, when he appeared in three games with the New Jersey Devils, recording an 0-1 record and allowing three goals on 55 shots. He’s since served as a AHL depth option and ECHL starter, though he’s found his way into the backup role for the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers this season. Appleby has had a modest showing in the expanded role, setting a 5-5-0 record and .897 save percentage in 11 games.
Devils Recall Graeme Clarke, Timo Meier Out On Wednesday
The New Jersey Devils have recalled Graeme Clarke to the NHL roster and are expected to provide him his NHL debut on Wednesday night. This move comes in the wake of a new injury to Timo Meier, who says he is now dealing with a “mid-body” injury after previously missing seven games due to a lower-body injury. Meier isn’t expected to be out for long, per Devils’ head coach Lindy Ruff, though Meier will sit out of New Jersey’s Wednesday night game.
Meier has appeared in 28 games this year, netting nine goals and 15 points. He still ranks fifth on the team in goals scored despite his absences, though an extended time away from the team is certainly not what the Devils were hoping for when they signed Meier to an eight-year, $70.4MM contract extension this summer. The team also traded away seven assets to get Meier – as well as four depth players – in a blockbuster trade with the San Jose Sharks ahead of last year’s NHL Trade Deadline.
In Meier’s spot slots in Clarke, who has managed 11 goals and 21 points in 27 AHL games this season. His mark ranks second on the Utica Comets in scoring, behind undrafted forward Xavier Parent, who has 22 points. Clarke was drafted by the Devils in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft and will become the 10th player from that round to play an NHL game if he makes his debut on this recall.
Wednesday is a big day for the Clarke family, as Graeme’s brother Brandt Clarke has also been recalled by the Los Angeles Kings. Brandt has also been a top scorer this year, leading the AHL’s Ontario Reign in scoring with 32 points in 30 games. Brandt is one of the league’s top defense prospects.