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Travis Hamonic Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Vancouver Canucks have officially activated Travis Hamonic from injured reserve, adding him back to the roster for the first time since partway through December.

Hamonic, 31, has played in just nine games this season between the injury and his earlier inability to travel with the team due to vaccination status. His last appearance was on December 8 against the Boston Bruins, meaning he has only barely even played for head coach Bruce Boudreau, who took over a few days earlier.

Signed to a two-year contract in the offseason that carries a cap hit of $3MM, Hamonic is going to be needed if the Canucks are going to make any kind of second-half noise in the Pacific Division. The physical stay-at-home defenseman is coming up on 700 games in his NHL career and at his best, he can be a stabilizing force on any blue line. The Canucks haven’t seen much of that best though, with Hamonic playing just 47 games total since the start of 2020-21.

Jaycob Megna Undergoes Surgery

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The San Jose Sharks have lost another defenseman to injury, as head coach Bob Boughner told reporters including Corey Masisak of The Athletic that Jaycob Megna underwent surgery to repair a displaced fracture in his foot. Megna will be out four to six weeks following the procedure.

The minor league veteran had actually taken on a ton of responsibility for the Sharks recently, playing 24:37 against the Carolina Hurricanes just before the All-Star break. That was a career-high at the NHL level, a career that includes only 62 appearances to this point. Megna, 29, has been a consistent presence in the AHL for years, stabilizing defense corps for the Norfolk Admirals, San Diego Gulls, Chicago Wolves, and San Jose Barracuda. He’s on a one-year, two-way contract this season that comes with a cap hit of just $750K.

With Erik Karlsson and Nikolai Knyzhov already on injured reserve, the Sharks’ defensive depth is certainly being tested. The team recalled Ryan Merkley from the AHL today, leaving just three other defensemen on NHL contracts in the minor leagues. Merkley is coming up with goaltender Zachary Sawchenko, who was also recalled.

There may be some good news on the horizon though. Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News tweets that Karlsson is a bit ahead of schedule for his return from forearm surgery, though it’s still unclear what exactly that means in terms of game action. When Karlsson had the procedure in late January, the team announced that he would be re-evaluated partway through March.

For Megna, this is brutal timing for a serious injury. Boughner explained that the veteran defenseman was trying to play through it and that it actually occurred when he blocked a shot against the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 22–before he logged those heavy minutes on the road trip. For a player that has ground through nearly 400 AHL games and was getting arguably the best opportunity of his career, it’s easy to understand why.

Injury Updates: MacKinnon, Sanderson, Devils

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The Colorado Avalanche will have Nathan MacKinnon back in the lineup tomorrow when they take on the Dallas Stars, according to head coach Jared Bednar. The superstar center was back with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen at practice today after missing the last four with a facial fracture. The team went 3-1 during that stretch but there are few players in the league more valuable than MacKinnon, who is in the midst of another outstanding season.

Through 31 games, the 26-year-old has 43 points despite only scoring nine goals of his own. A 6.6% shooting percentage is the culprit for that low goal total as MacKinnon is still generating huge amounts of offense whenever he’s on the ice. The idea of a Colorado team getting even more dangerous if the puck starts finding the back of the net more often for their top player is a scary thought for the rest of the Central Division. With Nazem Kadri, Rantanen, Landeskog, MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews all scoring at a point-per-game rate (or better), the high-flying Avalanche will play a home-and-home against the Stars over their next two games.

  • Team USA secured an impressive victory over Canada last night at the Beijing Olympics but it came at a cost. Jake Sanderson, who had to deal with several delays before joining his teammates because of COVID restrictions, suffered an injury that puts the rest of his tournament in question, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The medical staff is still evaluating the young Ottawa Senators prospect. Sanderson, 19, is already probably the best defenseman on the U.S. squad despite his young age and lack of pro experience and would be a tough loss for the team if he is ruled out.
  • The New Jersey Devils will be without Jesper Bratt and Janne Kuokkanen when they play tomorrow afternoon, as both are out with injury. Bratt is dealing with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day, while Kuokkanen is still out with the wrist injury that has kept him from playing the last two. Jack Hughes, out of the COVID protocol, will be back in the lineup after his impressive All-Star performance.

Atlantic Notes: Panthers, Stecher, Mittelstadt

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The Panthers will have some reinforcements up front for their first game after the All-Star break.  Team reporter Jameson Olive relays that wingers Patric Hornqvist and Maxim Mamin plus center Noel Acciari should all be ready to suit up on Wednesday against Carolina.  Hornqvist has been out for close to a month with an upper-body injury while Mamin has missed close to three weeks with an undisclosed injury.  As for Acciari, he hasn’t played with Florida all season due to a pectoral injury suffered back in the preseason that required surgery although he did get in a couple of games on a conditioning stint last week.  The Panthers only have one open roster spot at the moment so they will need to make a couple of moves to activate the trio of forwards off IR.

Elsewhere around the Atlantic:

  • The Red Wings should have defenseman Troy Stecher back in their lineup on Saturday against Philadelphia, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. The veteran has missed more than three months due to a wrist injury, a disappointing outcome in a year where he’s going to hit unrestricted free agency this summer.  His return will help offset the absences of Filip Hronek (COVID protocol) and Nick Leddy (upper-body injury) and if he’s able to play well over the next month, he could be an interesting trade candidate for Detroit heading into the trade deadline.
  • Sabres center Casey Mittelstadt has been cleared for contact as he works his way towards coming from his latest upper-body injury, reports Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.  Head coach Don Granato indicated that the 23-year-old can now be classified as being out day-to-day but that they will err on the side of caution since he has hardly played this season; Mittelstadt has played just seven times due to multiple injuries.

Kaapo Kakko Out Another Month With Upper-Body Injury

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The New York Rangers will be without young forward Kaapo Kakko for another month according to head coach Gerard Gallant, who spoke to reporters including Dan Rosen of NHL.com. He hasn’t played since January 21, missing the last several games before the break with the upper-body injury that’s keeping him out.

While he still hasn’t reached the level of offense that many expected from a second-overall pick, Kakko has been an excellent defensive presence for the Rangers this season. His average ice time is up to 16 minutes a night with outstanding possession numbers, and though he still isn’t a regular on the penalty kill, he’s at least seen some time shorthanded.

Unfortunately, he won’t get a chance to try and raise that offensive presence for a while. In 37 games he has 14 points, just seven shy of the 23 he had as a rookie. A month would take him out for another dozen games, after which he’d need to find his footing once again.

The team recalled Morgan Barron this morning but he may not be in the lineup for long. The 23-year-old has one point in nine games, playing fewer than ten minutes in five of his appearances, and could soon be replaced by Filip Chytil, who could return against the Boston Bruins when the Rangers come back from their long break next week.

Snapshots: Laine, Bozak, Giroux

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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Carson Meyer was supposed to make his NHL debut tonight, but it’ll have to wait for another day. Patrik Laine took warmups with the team and is playing for Columbus in tonight’s game against Buffalo, per team reporter Jeff Svoboda. Laine was dealing with an undisclosed issue in between games, but it turned out that he wouldn’t miss any time. That’s good for the team, as he’s already missed plenty this season. Through just 25 games, he’s still having a very good season in Columbus, posting 12 goals and 24 points. The pending restricted free agent is quietly producing at the highest rate of his NHL career.

More notes from around the league on this Thursday night:

  • Tyler Bozak isn’t a go tonight for the St. Louis Blues, per NHL.com’s Lou Korac. He wasn’t at morning skate, either, so it’s likely an undisclosed injury keeping Bozak out of the lineup. Returning to the Blues on a one-year deal this offseason, the veteran center has three goals and nine points in 37 games while taking on a fourth-line center role. Dakota Joshua will draw in against the New Jersey Devils.
  • Ahead of the trade deadline, rumours around Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux will continue to swirl. Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater reports that Flyers scouts are present at tonight’s game between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning, fuelling the fire that the Avalanche have interest in the prized forward. Giroux is in the final year of his contract and tied for the lead in points among Flyers with 36 points. His leadership and all-around acumen would become immediately invaluable to the Avalanche, presumably back as a winger in the top-six. It would give the already stacked Avalanche forward core options galore, potentially allowing head coach Jared Bednar to have Nathan MacKinnon and captain Gabriel Landeskog on separate lines.

Zack Kassian, Duncan Keith Out Multiple Weeks

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5:38 pm: The team also announced that they’ve moved forward Kyle Turris to injured reserve. He’s only played four games since the beginning of January but has been a healthy scratch for most of the time. The nature of his injury is unknown. To fill his roster spot, the team recalled defenseman Philip Broberg from the AHL.

2:41 pm: The Edmonton Oilers will be without Zack Kassian and Duncan Keith for the next several weeks, general manager Ken Holland announced today. Kassian is dealing with a broken jaw that will keep him out four to six weeks, while Keith is in concussion protocol, has upper-body soreness and could miss two to four weeks. The Oilers will recall Markus Niemelainen from Bakersfield to fill one of the roster spots.

Kassian, 31, left last night’s game after playing just 4:52 of ice time, though that wasn’t all that far off from what he had been receiving of late anyway. The veteran forward has just five goals and 14 points through 35 games and will now end up missing at least a month with this latest injury. In the second season of a four-year, $12.8MM contract signed in 2020, Kassian is actually the fifth-highest paid forward on the Oilers. That salary won’t result in much offense this season given this latest absence, especially if he falls closer to the six-week timeline and misses a good chunk of March.

Keith meanwhile might be a bigger loss, even though the 38-year-old is a shadow of the player that helped lead the Chicago Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup championships. The Oilers simply don’t have the defensive depth to lose a top-four option long-term, unless a younger player is able to take a step forward and take on a good chunk of responsibility.

Perhaps that will happen with new interim head coach Jay Woodcroft taking over and defensive coach Dave Manson coming along with him. Niemelainen will obviously be very familiar with both from their time in Bakersfield, though the 23-year-old has just seven games of experience at the NHL level.

Snapshots: Stone, Flyers, Canadiens

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The Vegas Golden Knights are coming up to a different deadline. When Jack Eichel is ready to return–not to mention Alec Martinez, who is also skating with the group–the team will have to clear a good amount of salary off the books to activate him from long-term injured reserve. Players like Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith have been bandied about as potential pieces that could be moved out, but Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff has heard a very different idea.

The belief is, and again, we’ll see how the Golden Knights play this in the coming days, is that [Mark] Stone is suffering from a degenerative back condition that may keep him out long term. Maybe until the playoffs? That’s the big question mark. And Stone, if his $9.5 million salary is moved to the long term injured reserve, that would open up enough space not just for the Vegas Golden Knights to activate Jack Eichel…

Stone has missed games this season on several different occasions as he deals with a back injury that won’t go away, but moving him to LTIR through the end of the season would certainly be a dramatic decision. It has obviously been done most recently with Nikita Kucherov, who missed an entire season only to be activated in the playoffs when the salary cap disappears, but the idea of losing Stone for the last 34 games wouldn’t be ideal for anyone. The Golden Knights aren’t even guaranteed the playoffs at this point despite being at the top of the Pacific Division. They sit just five points ahead of the fourth-place Calgary Flames that beat them 6-0 last night.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have made two additions to their analytics staff, hiring Kathryn Yates as a hockey analyst and Cole Anderson as lead data scientist. General manager Chuck Fletcher had recently promised to expand the analytics department, and these hires now take it to five full-time staff members. After a disappointing season, there will obviously be plenty of work for Fletcher and the rest of the staff to do this summer.
  • When Martin St. Louis was introduced as the next head coach of the Montreal Canadiens today, general manager Kent Hughes explained that it wouldn’t be the only change he makes. In fact, he told reporters including Arpon Basu of The Athletic that the coaching change is “the first of several.” Hughes has already said he’s open to anything, not just selling off rental pieces at the trade deadline. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period adds that the Canadiens have been getting lots of calls on players that still have some term left.

Anaheim Ducks Place Josh Manson On IR

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The Anaheim Ducks announced via a team release today that they’ve placed defenseman Josh Manson on injured reserve, with The Orange County Register’s Elliott Teaford reporting Manson is week-to-week with a finger injury. The team recalled defenseman Greg Pateryn from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls to take Manson’s spot on the active roster.

Manson has continued to play a top-four role with the Ducks in his eighth NHL season. After what was a rough season defensively for him last year, as it was with most of the team, his play has rebounded in 2021-22.

Many expected the big-bodied, aggressive defender to be a large trade chip at this year’s trade deadline, but with the Ducks continuing to remain in the playoff hunt well into February, Manson could remain in Anaheim for the rest of the season if the situation proves right. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent with a $4.1MM cap hit.

Playing in 43 of Anaheim’s 48 games this season, Manson has registered three goals and four assists for seven points while averaging 19:43 per game. In his absence, expect more usage for younger Ducks defensemen like Jamie Drysdale and Josh Mahura.

Pateryn will likely serve as an extra body during the length of his call-up. The team’s shuffled him up and down this season, but with Anaheim, he’s gotten into just eight games, averaging 13:53 a night.

Injury Notes: MacKinnon, Poolman, Dvorak, Sabres

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The Colorado Avalanche could have Nathan MacKinnon back on Sunday, according to head coach Jared Bednar. The injured forward skated for the first time today after suffering a facial fracture and concussion on January 26. He won’t play tonight when the Avalanche take on the Tampa Bay Lightning, but will hopefully be back before long.

The injury, which was sustained on a collision with Boston Bruins forward Taylor Hall, forced MacKinnon to miss the All-Star game where he was set to be captain of the Central Division. It’s not the first time he’s been out of the lineup this season either; the 26-year-old has played in just 31 of Colorado’s 44 games to this point, yet the team is 32-8-4 on the year.

  • Tucker Poolman has been moved to injured reserve as he continues to deal with an ailment that has kept him out since January 27. Unfortunately, Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters including Thomas Drance of The Athletic that the defenseman’s absence is related to “headaches and migraines.” There is no clear timetable for his return to this point, but with Quinn Hughes also missing due to COVID protocol, the team has activated Kyle Burroughs from injured reserve.
  • Christian Dvorak still isn’t ready to return to the Montreal Canadiens lineup and will miss tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils. Dvorak has been out since suffering an upper-body injury in a January 24 match against the Minnesota Wild, and despite being cleared yesterday, will not play this evening. It’s been a tough year for the 26-year-old, who has just seven goals and 16 points in 34 games for his new club.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have issued updates on all of their injured players, but the most important ones are Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who rejoin the team at practice today, and Casey Mittelstadt who is expected to be on the ice Wednesday. Mittelstadt consulted doctors recently with some complications from a surgery he had earlier this season–head coach Don Granato termed it as “some fluid” because of the recently increased intensity in rehab–but is now cleared to return to the main group.

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