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Ryan Ellis Not Expected To Play This Season

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There is a chance we never see Ryan Ellis on the ice at an NHL hockey game again. Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher met with the media today and explained to reporters including Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic that there is no timetable for Ellis’ return and that it would be a “bonus” if he played at all this season. Though he can’t say now, Fletcher explained that there is a possibility Ellis’ career is threatened by this injury, which he described as “multi-layered.”

Clarity on what Ellis’ injury actually is has been hard to come by, but Fletcher indicated today that it includes a torn psoas and issues with his hip and adductor muscle. He missed all but four games last season – the first four he had ever played outside of the Nashville Predators organization.

Acquired for Nolan Patrick (who also may not play this season) and Philippe Myers, Ellis was supposed to reshape the Flyers’ defense and give Ivan Provorov or Travis Sanheim a long-term partner. The 31-year-old is signed through the 2026-27 season and carries a $6.25MM cap hit, making him the second highest-paid defenseman on the Flyers roster.

It appears that contract will live on long-term injured reserve for a while.

Sean Couturier, meanwhile, hasn’t been ruled out for the entire season so far, though he is getting a second opinion this morning and has not been cleared to play at this point. Fletcher called it premature to speculate about his season-long outlook or even his career, despite this being his second back injury in 12 months.

Anaheim Ducks Issue Injury Updates On Sam Carrick, John Moore

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With the team releasing their training camp roster today, the Anaheim Ducks released injury updates on forward Sam Carrick and defenseman John Moore. Carrick underwent previously unreported left hip surgery to repair a torn labrum back in May, and he won’t be expected to rejoin the team until November. The Ducks also confirmed that Moore remains injured following his acquisition from the Boston Bruins in February when Moore was on injured reserve dealing with a concussion.

Carrick signed a multi-year extension this offseason after the minor-league veteran put up a solid, impressive performance in a fourth-line role for Anaheim this season. He had 11 goals and 19 points last season in 64 games, marking his first time eclipsing the ten-goal mark at the NHL level. In his absence, the Ducks will likely try out younger players in NHL roles such as Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Jacob Perreault.

Moore, 31, is in the final year of a five-year, $2.75MM cap hit contract that’s spent a solid amount of time buried in the AHL over the past few seasons. In fact, he’s played just 36 NHL games over the last three seasons combined, largely due to a combination of injuries and poor play. With Anaheim having strong organizational depth at defense and acquiring players like Colton White and Olli Juolevi (and Nathan Beaulieu on a PTO), there isn’t much of a spot for Moore within the organization when healthy anyways.

Injury Notes: Copp, Caamano, Ostapchuk

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The Detroit Red Wings will be without Andrew Copp for training camp, announcing today that the big free agent signing underwent abdominal surgery in the offseason. Copp is expected back the first week of the regular season, when he’ll start to try and live up to the five-year, $28.125MM contract he signed this offseason.

It’s a tough start for the Red Wings, who also confirmed some timelines on other previously-reported injuries. Jake Walman will be back at some point in November, while Robby Fabbri and Mark Pysyk are out until early 2023. Chase Pearson, who made his NHL debut last season with Detroit, is away from the team indefinitely due to personal matters.

  • It was back surgery for Nicholas Caamano, according to general manager Jim Nill, who told reporters including Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that the young forward will miss three months. Caamano, 24, played in 36 games for the Stars between 2019-2021 before spending all of last year in the minor leagues. Anton Khudobin has not yet been cleared for games but will be on the ice for training camp. The team signed Scott Wedgewood to a two-year deal this offseason after he played well down the stretch, suggesting that Khudobin is ticketed for the minor leagues once again.
  • Zack Ostapchuk, the 39th overall pick in 2021, is out a few weeks for the Ottawa Senators and will be sent back to junior after he’s healthy enough according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. That ends any possibility that he could make the team out of camp after his outstanding playoff run for the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. The 19-year-old is not yet eligible for the AHL and instead will go back and try to carry over that postseason success for an entire year.

Shane Pinto Activated From Injured Reserve

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After a brilliant end to the 2020-21 season and a strong training camp, it appeared as though Shane Pinto had set himself up to be a key contributor to the Ottawa Senators last year. He started things off by averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time through his first three games, and was set to have a strong rookie season. Then, unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder injury that would essentially end his year. He would end up on injured reserve for basically the entire thing, finishing with just one point in five games – two of which he lasted less than five minutes.

Now, finally, Pinto has been officially activated from injured reserve according to CapFriendly, and will try to give his rookie season another go. The 21-year-old center was selected 32nd overall in 2019 and dominated for two years at the University of North Dakota, before scoring seven points in 12 games in 2020-21 for the Senators.

Healthy and surrounded by improved talent, there’s a chance for Pinto to get right back to where he was a year ago. Interestingly, though, the second-line center position has been filled in his absence. Joshua Norris and Tim Stutzle now occupy those two spots, likely leaving Pinto in the third-line pivot role, likely beside Mathieu Joseph. Alex Formenton, who would be a top candidate for the other wing spot there is still unsigned, meaning it could go to someone like the recently-signed Tyler Motte for now, though training camp will determine that.

In any case, it is exciting time for Pinto and Senators fans as he takes another crack at becoming a full-time NHL player. His development is one of the things that could push the team over the edge and have them competing for the playoffs this season.

Timothy Liljegren, Pierre Engvall To Miss Start Of Training Camp

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Sep 21: Liljegren will be out a minimum of six weeks following hernia surgery earlier this week. Engvall suffered an ankle injury while training in Sweden and will be re-evaluated in the first week of October.

Sep 20: The Toronto Maple Leafs season isn’t getting off to a good start, as injury news has already started to trickle out. First, it was Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets reporting that Timothy Liljegren will miss training camp, with the team expected to address the situation with the media tomorrow. Next, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff tweeted that Pierre Engvall will also miss the start of camp, and is waiting for another evaluation.

No timeline is clear for either player but both appear to be out for the next little while at least.

The Liljegren news is especially troublesome for the Maple Leafs, who still don’t have a ton of depth on the right side of their defense. T.J. Brodie will likely play on that side again (despite being left-handed), and Justin Holl is still around to suit up. But beyond that, Liljegren was expected to be thrust into a bigger role this year, potentially even logging top-four minutes every night.

Now, some of those minutes may have to go to players like Jordie Benn or Victor Mete, who were signed in the offseason.

It will be interesting to see if this affects negotiations with unsigned RFA Rasmus Sandin, given there should be a bit of an opening in the lineup if Liljegren missed a considerable amount of time. Speculation for months has indicated that Sandin may be looking for a bigger role, something that didn’t seem possible once the team re-signed Mark Giordano to a two-year deal. Perhaps this is the opening he needs to work his way into more regular minutes.

Engvall’s absence, meanwhile, will create an interesting situation in camp for some of the younger players. Joey Anderson, Nicholas Robertson, Alex Steeves, and Nicholas Abruzzese all played NHL games last season but it wasn’t clear whether there would be room for them on this year’s squad, after the Maple Leafs signed Adam Gaudette, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Calle Jarnkrok as free agents.

The team also brought in Zach Aston-Reese on a PTO, something that might result in a contract should Engvall miss a good chunk of time.

Sean Couturier Out Week-To-Week, Potentially Season-Ending

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6:10 PM: Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the Flyers are “hoping” that Couturier’s back will heal in six to eight weeks. He also adds that if Couturier’s back doesn’t heal in that timeframe, surgery would be required, which would leave Couturier out for what Seravalli called a “significant period of time.”

5:00 pm: The Flyers have released an official statement on Couturier, confirming that he has an upper-body injury. His official status is week-to-week, although that shouldn’t discredit the reports of SanFilippo and Friedman.

3:55 pm: Philadelphia Flyers star center Sean Couturier has a herniated disk in his back that could keep him out for the entire 2022-23 season, reports Crossing Broad’s Anthony SanFilippo. It’s expected that Couturier will be out for at least several months.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the Flyers and Couturier are seeking out a second opinion to determine the exact nature of the injury. It’s unclear whether it’s the same issue that kept Couturier out for all but 29 games last season.

Couturier, now 29, has played just 74 games over the past two seasons after winning the Selke Trophy in 2020. The Flyers have certainly felt his absence, missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1993 and 1994. Given the state of the team now, especially without Couturier, it’ll be a third such season in 2022-23.

One of the league’s best defensive forwards, Couturier’s stock has risen astronomically over the past five seasons after a somewhat slow start to his career. Elevated in the lineup for the 2017-18 season, Couturier then enjoyed back-to-back 76-point seasons while playing over 20 minutes a game. Now the team’s uncontested no. 1 center with Claude Giroux gone from the team, he’s the heart and soul of the Flyers’ offense.

Significant back injuries in back-to-back seasons also don’t bode well for Couturier’s long-term future. If it’s another significant injury that requires him to miss the whole season, it becomes a question mark whether Couturier will be able to return to his previous level of play when healthy.

The Flyers have been busy adding forwards on the PTO market in the past few days, including Antoine Roussel and Artem Anisimov. Neither of them, even if they sign, would come even close to replacing Couturier’s crater-sized hole in the Flyers’ lineup. Kevin Hayes will have a huge role to play next season as the team’s likely first-line center for the foreseeable future after having 31 points in 48 games last season.

What might have been at least a mediocre season for the Flyers if everything went right now seems over before it even began. Without Couturier, it’s hard to imagine this edition of the Flyers finishing anywhere outside of the bottom-five teams in the league, if not bottom-three. It’ll be an incredibly challenging first season for new head coach John Tortorella, who’ll be tasked with reconfiguring the offense in Couturier’s absence.

Mark Stone Expected To Be Ready For Camp

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Everything appears to be going smoothly with Mark Stone’s injury rehab, as head coach Bruce Cassidy told Jesse Granger of The Athletic that the Vegas Golden Knights captain is expected to be on the ice for the first day of training camp. Stone underwent back surgery in May after missing large chunks of the 2021-22 season.

Cassidy did admit that Stone may be limited by the team’s medical staff, but that his star winger feels great.

One of the biggest reasons that the Golden Knights missed the playoffs last season was the absence of Stone, who ended up playing just 37 games. Among the best defensive forwards in the game, and a top-5 Selke finalist for three years running, his ailing back kept moving him in and out of the lineup until he was finally shut down.

In those 37 games, Stone still managed to score nine goals and 30 points but averaged his lowest ice time since his rookie season. If fully healthy, he should be back in contention for the Selke and back to the point-per-game production he showed through his first two years in Vegas.

Given that the Golden Knights are dealing with a major injury to goaltender Robin Lehner and have some other holes popping up around their roster, the play of their stars will be even more important. Stone, Jack Eichel, Alex Pietrangelo, and Shea Theodore will have to be excellent for the team to get back to the postseason.

Morning Notes: Waddell, Bloom, Lundqvist

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According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, it appears the Carolina Hurricanes and GM Don Waddell have re-upped on a new contract, though the specifics are not certain. Waddell’s previous contract had been set to expire on June 30th, and with that date coming and going and the Hurricanes busy offseason proceeding, it would seem clear that some sort of agreement had been reached. That train of thought appears confirmed now via LeBrun, who says the deal went without a team announcement. While the Boston Bruins announced their extension with GM Don Sweeney, who also had his last contract expire on June 30th, this quiet approach is not out of the ordinary and is part of a new trend, LeBrun says.

An extension with Waddell isn’t a surprise to most, given his strong relationship with the organization and of course the team’s recent success. Since being named the full-time GM in 2018, Waddell has overseen four consecutive trips to the playoffs in Carolina, as well as significant transactions like the hiring of Rod Brind’Amour as Head Coach, drafting the likes of Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis, acquiring and the subsequent recovery from losing Dougie Hamilton, and most recently the blockbuster acquisitions of Max Pacioretty and Brent Burns.

  • An injury update on Sabres forward prospect Josh Bloom, who was hurt in Thursday night’s prospect showcase game against the Montreal Canadiens. According to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, Bloom did not practice on Friday and his status for tonight’s contest with the New Jersey Devils is uncertain. While Bloom being sidelined for at least a day of practice and a showcase game is a clear negative, the possibility that he could be available and that his absence is being spoken about in the short-term is a positive, given how the injury played out on Thursday. Bloom had left the game after being hit along the boards, failing to return, now listed with a lower-body injury. The winger broke out for  the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit in 2021-22, contributing 61 points in 67 games.
  • The Athletic’s Arthur Staple had a chance to sit down with former New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist as he reflected on his transition from Hall of Fame goaltender to his new role away from the rink. Now, Lundqvist will serve in a forward-facing role, representing the Rangers in the community. Notably, Staple inquired about his transition from playing, which happened rather suddenly when a medical condition was revealed that would force the superstar into retirement. Lundqvist mentioned that the transition was a bit different for him because of the health condition, but it gave him plenty of time to reflect and leave him “in a good place mentally.” He added that leaving his playing days behind creates a hole that needed to be replaced, “[b]ut I also understand I’m not going to be able to feel the way I felt around the games, just my goal is to find new interests.”

Injury Updates: Keller, Turcotte, Perfetti

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While Coyotes forward Clayton Keller won’t be ready to play at the start of the preseason, he told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti that he expects to be ready for Arizona’s season opener on October 13th.  The 24-year-old was well on his way to a career year last season with 63 points in 65 games but at the end of March, he fractured his leg which ended his campaign prematurely.  The original timetable for a return after surgery was four-to-six months and it appears this recovery will be on the long end with Keller likely to have a reduced workload in their exhibition games if he’s able to get into the lineup at all.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Kings center Alex Turcotte is on the roster for their rookie tournament but AHL Ontario head coach Marco Sturm told reporters, including Andrew Knoll of the Los Angeles Daily News, that Turcotte has not been cleared to participate yet. The 21-year-old sustained two concussions last season, the second of which came in the playoffs.  Evidently, the symptoms from that one are still lingering which could have his ability for the start of training camp next week in question.
  • Jets forward Cole Perfetti has been cleared to participate in Winnipeg’s rookie tournament contests after dealing with multiple injuries last season, relays Postmedia’s Scott Billeck.  The 20-year-old got into 18 games with Winnipeg in his rookie year and acquitted himself well with seven points while averaging over 14 minutes per game.  Perfetti suffered a shoulder injury back in February and while rehabbing it, he re-aggravated a back injury that needed several months to heal.  He’ll use this event as a tune-up for training camp.

Examining The Recent History Of Montreal Canadiens Captains

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When any NHL team names a captain, it’s big news — but even more so when it’s the most storied franchise in the history of the sport. That’s what happened today when the Montreal Canadiens named Nick Suzuki the 31st captain in team history, the first captain of Asian descent in team history (and only the second ever in the NHL after Paul Kariya), and the youngest Canadiens captain in quite some time at 23 years old.

11 months to the day after signing an eight-year extension to stay a Hab well into his prime, Suzuki adds his name to a storied list that’s worth taking a look at. While doing so would be a nearly academic-length exercise if done all the way back to the beginning of the franchise, taking a look back at the leaders of the Canadiens in recent memory still helps offer some context for the type of echelon Suzuki joined today.

Perhaps the most universally beloved Habs captain in recent memory is Saku Koivu. Serving from 1999 to 2009, his nine-year shift as captain is the longest for a Canadien since Jean Beliveau held the role from 1961 to 1971. Despite some great memories, though, Koivu’s era was not defined by playoff success. The team failed to make it out of the second round despite three appearances in that timeframe (2002, 2004, 2008). In the regular season, the Koivu-captained Canadiens had a 324-290-44-62 record, good enough for a .535 points percentage.

Ironically enough, the Canadiens finally made it to the Conference Final in 2009-10 after Koivu’s departure for the Anaheim Ducks. In their first season without a captain in their entire franchise existence, the Habs went on a memorable Cinderella run as the eighth seed, bowing out to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games in the Eastern Conference Final.

Next up at the helm was Brian Gionta, the first American to serve at least a full season as captain in franchise history. Gionta, a free agent signing prior to the 2009-10 season, was the captain for 2010-11 through 2013-14. In 242 games as captain, Gionta scored 69 goals and 127 points, a step back from his previous production in New Jersey and during his first season in Montreal. The Canadiens did make it back to the Eastern Conference Final in the last season of his tenure, though, this time losing to the New York Rangers with Carey Price injured during the final series.

After another vacant season in 2014-15, another American took the helm: Max Pacioretty. The team’s 2007 first-round pick had come off back-to-back 60-point seasons and was even named to the US Olympic team in 2014, cementing himself as one of the top players in the game at the time. He continued that production in his first two seasons as captain, rattling off 30-goal and 35-goal seasons, before taking a serious step back in 2017-18. His goal total dipped to just 17 in 64 games and he had just 37 points total on the year. The team also made just one playoff appearance with Pacioretty as captain, where he had just one assist in six games.

It turned out to be a captain-for-captain swap the following offseason, as a summer 2018 deal sent Pacioretty to the young Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a package that included then-prospect Nick Suzuki. Four years later, Suzuki has cemented himself as the future of the franchise long-term with a captaincy and long-term extension in place.

In the bridge between Pacioretty and Suzuki, the now retired-due-to-injury Shea Weber served admirably in the meantime. His last act as captain will be remembered for years, leading the 16th-seeded Canadiens all the way through to the Stanley Cup Final in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season before bowing out to career-ending injury.

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