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Kraken Place Jamie Oleksiak On IR, Send Joey Daccord To AHL

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It turns out that bringing goaltender Magnus Hellberg back today wasn’t Seattle’s only roster activity of the day.  Root Sports’ Scott Malone relays (Twitter link) that the Kraken have placed defenseman Jamie Oleksiak on injured reserve while also sending goaltender Joey Daccord back to AHL Coachella Valley as he is no longer listed on the team’s active roster.

Oleksiak suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday’s game against Nashville and it’s evidently one that will keep him out for at least a week due to the IR placement.  The 29-year-old was off to a nice start to his season with three goals and two assists in his first 14 games while logging 18:33 per night, good for third among Seattle’s blueliners.  Cale Fleury has been up with the team all season as the reserve defender but has been scratched for every game but now will get a chance to see some game action; he played in nine contests with the Kraken last season.  Seattle doesn’t have enough cap space to recall a seventh defender for now although Chris Driedger could easily be moved to LTIR to free up some short-term flexibility on that front.

As for Daccord, he has been up with the big club for the last few weeks with Philipp Grubauer on injured reserve although he only made one appearance during that time.  His demotion could mean that another team placed a claim on Hellberg which means that Seattle wouldn’t be able to loan him to the Firebirds.  Alternatively, management might feel that the 26-year-old is simply better served getting into some game action having been on the bench for the bulk of his time with the Kraken.

St. Louis Blues Place Robert Bortuzzo On Injured Reserve

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The St. Louis Blues, stuck in a losing spiral that has them dead last in the NHL, will have to pull themselves out of it without the help of Robert Bortuzzo. The veteran defenseman was placed on injured reserve today with an upper-body injury. Tyler Tucker was recalled from the AHL in his place.

Bortuzzo, 33, has barely seen the ice this season anyway, averaging just over 12 minutes in his 10 appearances. Even with an entire career spent on the third pairing that is the lowest ice time he’s seen, and the results haven’t been very good. With him out, the Blues will have to go in a different direction with that spot, perhaps even the youngster coming up from Springfield.

Tucker, 22, was a seventh-round pick of the Blues in 2018 and has moved his way up the organizational depth chart by being extremely hard to play against. The left-shot defenseman racked up 114 penalty minutes last season for the Thunderbirds and was a wrecking ball in the playoffs, helping the club to the Calder Cup Finals. In 11 games this season he’s turned up the offense with seven points, while still being strong in his own end.

Even earning a recall is a big deal for a seventh-round pick, but it seems like Tucker might actually get into the lineup if the Blues can’t find a way out of this losing streak. Why not try out something different, especially on the back end where the Blues have given up 43 goals in 11 games.

East Notes: McAvoy, Hart, Andersen

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The Boston Bruins are rolling to start the year despite a predicted slow start due to injuries to key players. Their 11-2-0 record is good enough for 22 points and first place in the Eastern Conference, and as if things haven’t been good enough, they’re about to get the final key piece of the puzzle back in their lineup. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy is set to make his season debut tomorrow against the Calgary Flames, marking his return from offseason shoulder surgery.

McAvoy, 24, has finished top 10 in Norris Trophy voting each of the past three seasons but has yet to receive his first nomination for the trophy. He’s coming off a 2021-22 campaign when he set career highs in goals (10), assists (46), points (56), plus-minus (+31), and average time on ice (24:38). The New York-born All-Star is set to resume his top-pairing role alongside Hampus Lindholm, who’s taken the reigns in McAvoy’s absence with 13 points in 13 games. The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter reported last week that McAvoy was ahead of schedule in his recovery, and was set to return earlier than his rough projection of December 1.

  • Philadelphia Flyers youngster Carter Hart is ready to return to action in the crease tomorrow against the Columbus Blue Jackets after a one-game absence due to illness, notes Philly Hockey Now’s Sam Carchidi. Head coach John Tortorella didn’t go so far as to name Hart as the starter for tomorrow night, but it wouldn’t shock anyone if the netminder took the crease. The 24-year-old has yet to lose in regulation through eight starts in 2022-23.
  • Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour today offered an update on goaltender Frederik Andersen, saying that “he tweaked something.” Brind’Amour added that he didn’t think Andersen’s undisclosed injury was serious but didn’t want to put Andersen in the net without full health. His injury necessitated the emergency recall of Pyotr Kochetkov yesterday.

St. Louis Blues Make Several Roster Moves

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The St. Louis Blues are one of the worst teams in the NHL right now, losers of eight straight and sitting with just six points on the year. As they prepare for tomorrow’s game against the San Jose Sharks, they’ve made several roster changes.

Logan Brown has been moved to injured reserve with an upper-body injury after taking a big hit and leaving last night’s game. There is no timeline yet to suggest how long he will be out but an IR placement means at least seven days. Jake Neighbours is also off the roster, this time assigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL.

Neighbours, 20, played a season-low 8:28 last night and once again failed to even record a shot on goal. The young forward has just one point on the season through 11 games, and seems to need some time in the minor leagues to get his offensive performance on the rails again.

In their places, the Blues have recalled Nikita Alexandrov and Josh Leivo from Springfield. The moves will give them a bit of a different look, though it’s unclear where exactly they will fit into the lineup.

Leivo, 29, has already played three games for the Blues this season, failing to record a point in limited ice time. The veteran forward has 217 NHL games under his belt and set a career-high with 14 goals and 24 points in 2018-19.

Alexandrov, on the other hand, would be making his NHL debut if he gets into the St. Louis lineup. The 22-year-old forward was a second-round pick in 2019 and had 30 points in 67 games for Springfield last season. This year he’s been a force, with eight in nine, and looks ready to be tested at the higher level.

Evander Kane “Stable” After Wrist Injury

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There was a scary scene in tonight’s game in Tampa between the Lightning and the Edmonton Oilers when forward Evander Kane left the game after suffering a skate laceration to the wrist. The Oilers announced later during the game that Kane is stable after the concerning cut and has been transported to a local hospital.

Kane was off to yet another strong start in Edmonton, notching five goals and eight assists for a point-per-game pace through 13 contests. He was also averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game for the second time in the past five years.

He suffered the injury after Lightning winger Pat Maroon inadvertently cut Kane’s wrist with his skate.

While there’s no timeline for the injury at this point, skate lacerations to any part of the body are generally not a short-term absence. Then-Toronto Maple Leafs winger Ilya Mikheyev missed 31 games with a similar injury in the 2019-20 season.

Minnesota Wild Place Brandon Duhaime On Injured Reserve

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The Minnesota Wild have placed Brandon Duhaime on injured reserve, according to CapFriendly. Duhaime has missed the team’s last game with an upper-body injury and did not travel on their current road trip, meaning he’ll miss at least three more games.

Entering his second NHL season, Duhaime had scored twice and added an assist through his first 10 games in 2022-23. Averaging just 9:01 per game, Duhaime is reprising his fourth-line role and continues to provide a solid energy boost to the Wild.

Duhaime was injured in a November 1 win against the Montreal Canadiens. With his IR placement retroactive to that date, he is technically eligible to be activated at any time.

His IR placement allows the Wild to convert Adam Beckman’s emergency recall into a spot on the NHL roster in earnest, as the Wild technically had 24 (out of 23 maximum) players on the active roster. Duhaime joins Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno on the team’s injured list.

Three Columbus Blue Jackets Injured, Brendan Gaunce Recalled

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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced a flurry of injury updates today, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. Forward Jakub Voracek is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, Sean Kuraly is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and Patrik Laine is day-to-day with an illness. Forward Brendan Gaunce was also recalled from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, per a team release.

Voracek missed the second game of Columbus’ Global Series matchups in Finland last week with the injury. It’s a huge blow to their depth scoring if he’s out long-term, as he was tied for second in scoring on the team with six points in 11 games.

Kuraly sustained his upper-body injury in the second Global Series game, leaving in the second period after playing 8:09. He had two goals and two assists through 12 games and was tied for the worst +/- rating on the team (-8).

Laine’s illness is hopefully short-term, as he’s only been present for half of the Blue Jackets’ season thus far with an elbow injury. The Finnish winger has scored twice and is averaging nearly 20 minutes a game.

Gaunce ends up on the active roster as the only healthy extra. The AHL veteran was off to a hot start in Cleveland, registering 11 points through 10 games.

Jonathan Huberdeau Out Day-To-Day

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As announced by the team Tuesday evening, Calgary Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau is sidelined day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

It’s unclear when Huberdeau suffered the injury. He played 16:14 last night against the New York Islanders, skating for the entire game. The 29-year-old left wing has just one assist in his last five games, and he has just six points in 11 games in his first season with the Flames. Last season, Huberdeau led the league in assists with 85 and finished fifth in Hart Trophy voting.

It’s also unclear what line shuffling head coach Darryl Sutter will do ahead of tonight’s game against New Jersey, but Adam Ruzicka will likely draw into the lineup in place of Huberdeau. The 23-year-old Slovak is the only extra forward on the roster and has one NHL appearance this season, coming last week against Seattle.

Any redemption game from Huberdeau will have to wait. The Flames, however, need a redemption game in a big way tonight, as they try to avoid dropping to .500 on the season against the Devils. The team is on a five-game losing streak after a 5-1-0 start to the campaign.

Conor Timmins Sent To AHL On Conditioning Stint

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After last playing on October 15, stepping right into an NHL game would have been a challenge for Arizona Coyotes defenseman Conor Timmins. Instead, he’ll get a chance to tune up his game in the minor leagues. The Coyotes have loaned Timmins to the Tucson Roadrunners on a conditioning stint, allowing him to get into some game action at the lower level before making his return.

Timmins, 24, has unfortunately dealt with injuries nearly since the moment he was selected 32nd overall by the Colorado Avalanche in 2017. After playing just 36 regular season games in his post-draft season because of an injured ankle, he missed the entire 2018-19 campaign due to concussion issues. Arriving in Arizona as part of the Darcy Kuemper trade, he blew out his knee six games into 2021-22 and was absent the rest of the season.

Now he has already missed nine games for the Coyotes this year and managed only six shifts in one of the two games he did suit up in. For a player that once had sky-high potential and expectations, it’s difficult to know what will become of Timmins. Still looking for his first NHL goal and having only played in 99 total games since the end of the 2017-18 season, it has been a hard road.

Hopefully, after this latest injury is resolved, he can become a regular in the Arizona lineup and put together a relatively healthy campaign. The conditioning loan to the minor leagues will be limited and he should be up after just a few outings.

Valeri Nichushkin Undergoes Ankle Surgery

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The Colorado Avalanche will be without some key players for the next little while, according to head coach Jared Bednar. As Peter Baugh of The Athletic tweets from Bednar’s media availability today, Valeri Nichushkin underwent ankle surgery and will be out a month, while Bowen Byram is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Samuel Girard, who is also missing, is listed as day-to-day.

Nichushkin, who was signed to an eight-year, $49MM extension this offseason, has turned into a legitimate star in the league over the last year. After some strong defensive results in his first two seasons with the Avalanche, his offense spiked in 2021-22 to tally 25 goals and 52 points in 62 games. Even more effective in the team’s Stanley Cup championship run, he came back this season further improved.

Through seven games, Nichushkin had seven goals and 12 points, while playing more than 20 minutes a game thanks to his excellent defensive contributions. Bednar could put him on the ice in basically any situation and without Gabriel Landeskog to start the year, he was the third musketeer with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Despite now missing four games, Nichushkin still sits fourth in Colorado scoring, only behind those two and Cale Makar. His seven goals are still tied for the team lead.

Now, the team has to move forward without the big Russian forward, for at least another month’s worth of games. Losing Byram as well who was logging nearly 21 minutes a night is another tough blow.

The 21-year-old defenseman seemed completely recovered from the concussion issues that plagued his early career, and was contributing in all situations for the Avalanche. Not only was Byram part of the three-defenseman powerplay that the team was using but he was even taking shifts on the penalty kill and had a shorthanded goal. Turning into a legitimate force, another stretch out of the lineup due to injury is poor timing for the young defenseman. Not only will he take some time to get back up to speed but this is Byram’s platform year, with restricted free agency scheduled for next summer. Missing games will hurt his negotiation, though he will not be arbitration eligible and thus doesn’t have a ton of leverage anyway.

The Avalanche are back in action Thursday evening against the Nashville Predators, the first of a three-game homestand.

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