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Injury

Joel Farabee Out Four Weeks With Upper-Body Injury

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The Philadelphia Flyers’ nightmare season continues, this time with an injury to Joel Farabee. The young forward had been placed on injured reserve and is expected to miss up to four weeks with an upper-body injury. Kevin Hayes has also been placed on injured reserve following his adductor procedure earlier this week. As replacements, the Flyers have recalled Wade Allison and Jackson Cates to the taxi squad.

Interim head coach Mike Yeo told reporters including Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer that something happened to Farabee last night, but didn’t get into the specifics of whether or not it is related to his previous injury. At any rate, he’ll be out for the next few weeks as the Flyers continue to spiral down the standings. The team has now lost ten straight and barely sit ahead of the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders, who have each played fewer games.

Farabee, 21, is one of the few bright spots in Philadelphia, even though his overall production still hasn’t been outstanding this season. The 2018 first-round pick has 11 goals and 18 points in 33 games, enough to put him fourth on the team in scoring so far. While there are many players on the roster who might not be with the team after this dreadful season, it seems unlikely that Farabee would lose his spot as a building block. The young forward signed a six-year, $30MM extension in September that will keep him under contract at a reasonable $5MM cap hit through the 2027-28 season.

In terms of replacements, Cates has played just seven games at the NHL level this season and 11 since signing out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth as an undrafted free agent last spring. Allison, a second-round pick from 2016, scored seven points in 14 games last season for the Flyers but has missed a huge chunk of this year with an ankle sprain. In seven games with Lehigh Valley, Allison had four points.

Stone, Hague Added To Protocol; Pacioretty Nearing Return

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The Vegas Golden Knights had a few absences and one notable addition to the morning skate today, as both Mark Stone and Nicolas Hague were missing due to COVID protocols. Neither will play tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic. Still, it wasn’t all bad news as Max Pacioretty was on the ice taking part and will travel with the team–and could even play–on their upcoming road trip. Vegas heads to Washington for a match on Monday, the first in a four-game road trip.

Losing Stone is obviously a huge blow, as the 29-year-old is arguably the team’s most important forward. Named captain just over a year ago, the two-way winger brings point-per-game production while being one of the most celebrated defensive players in the league. He’s finished in the top five for Selke Trophy voting in each of the last three seasons, including being a finalist in the shortened 2020-21 campaign. With seven goals and 26 points in 23 games this season he’s off to another strong start, even with the missed time due to injury.

Hague too is an important piece, though he was already out with an injury and hasn’t played since December. The 6’6″ defenseman has developed into a reliable option for the Golden Knights, averaging more than 18 minutes a night behind the team’s top options. In 32 games Hague has even collected 13 points, all of them coming at even-strength.

It’s Pacioretty’s appearance that will raise some eyebrows though, as the Golden Knights continue to approach a tricky cap situation. Jack Eichel is skating and scheduled to return to the lineup in another month or so, by which point the team will need some extra cap space to activate him. Pacioretty’s injury would have afforded them some additional time if he was still out when Eichel returned, but that obviously won’t be the case if he’s ready to play on the upcoming road trip. The 33-year-old winger scored 12 goals and 21 points in his first 16 games, but underwent wrist surgery in December. At that point he was ruled out indefinitely; now just three weeks later he appears on the brink of a return.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Buffalo Sabres Update Several Injuries

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Every week it seems like the Buffalo Sabres announce several new long-term injuries, and this week was no different. The team gave an updated injury report which now lists Kyle Okposo as week-to-week following a hit from Erik Brannstrom on Tuesday night. Head coach Don Granato told reporters including John Vogl of The Athletic that Okposo did not suffer a concussion on the play, but is out with “bumps and bruises.”

Unfortunately, the bad news didn’t end there. Colin Miller, who was still listed as week-to-week on the update, underwent surgery and will miss six weeks. The 29-year-old defenseman played just a few days ago and had been discussed as a strong trade deadline chip for the Sabres. Miller is a pending unrestricted free agent, right-handed, and has nearly 400 games of NHL experience. That made him an attractive option, but he’ll now have to work through rehab and get back to full strength if Buffalo really wants to cash in.

Meanwhile one of their own trade acquisitions, Malcolm Subban, also had surgery and is likely out for the rest of the season. The 28-year-old netminder was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks last month for nothing more than future considerations but will end with just four appearances for the team. Given Subban is also a pending unrestricted free agent, it’s a tough blow that could see him struggling to find an NHL contract in the summer. In those four games, he posted a .871 save percentage and now holds a .898 for his 86-game NHL career.

Vinnie Hinostroza, who has been a nice story for the Sabres this season with eight goals and 17 points in 36 games, will miss about three weeks with his lower-body injury. The Sabres have recalled Jack Quinn today, who appears to be ready for an extended look at the NHL level because of how many injuries the team is currently dealing with.

Dmitry Orlov Suspended Two Games

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The Department of Player Safety has handed out a two-game suspension to Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov for his knee-on-knee hit on Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers last night. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that while Ehlers is attempting to move around Orlov on this place, this is not a case where an exceptionally sharp or sudden movement by a player receiving a hit turns a potential full body check into a leg-on-leg contact. The two players are moving slowly enough that Orlov has time to recognize that Ehlers is changing position, and he responds to this by thrusting his arms and knee out wider to attempt to get a piece of Ehlers.

While this is a common response from defensemen, on this play the only contact Orlov is able to make is direct, forceful, knee-to-knee contact. If Orlov wants to initiate contact on this play, he must ensure that he is able to make more substantial upper-body contact, rather than having the force of the blow concentrated on his opponent’s knee. 

The fact that Ehlers suffered an injury on the play was taken into consideration. Jets head coach Dave Lowry already ruled the forward out for the rest of the team’s road trip and explained that he is undergoing further evaluation to determine the extent of the injury. Orlov was also not penalized by on-ice officials.

Though he does have a suspension on record, the league decided that Orlov does not have any relevant disciplinary history in this case as his previous ban was for boarding in 2014. Now, he’ll have a second suspension on the books, one that will be taken into account when determining punishment for any similar incidents. Orlov will miss games against the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators in the coming days.

Carey Price Suffers Setback, Restarts Injury Rehab

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Montreal Canadiens VP of hockey communications Chantal Machabee issued an update to reporters today, saying that goalie Carey Price suffered a setback and is “essentially starting from scratch in his rehab for his knee,” remaining out indefinitely.

Price underwent knee surgery in late July after the conclusion of the team’s ill-fated Stanley Cup Final run. He was originally supposed to be ready for the 2021-22 season, but also took a personal leave of absence from the team prior to the start of the season. He had begun to skate with the team intermittently after returning in November, but they never issued any timeline for a return.

It’s not a promising sign for Price’s future after previous injury troubles in his career. The 34-year-old netminder is signed through 2025-26 with a cap hit of $10.5MM.

The lack of Price in the picture gave the starting role to Jake Allen, who’s been just okay. It’s hard to fault him and his .901 save percentage with the state of the team in front of him, however, as they’ve scored just 76 goals through 36 games.

A bigger issue than Allen’s play has been the lack of a reliable backup, however. With Price unavailable, the team claimed Sam Montembeault off waivers from the Florida Panthers prior to the season. He’s struggled to be a reliable NHL goalie, posting just a 1-6-3 record and .895 save percentage.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Bogosian, Stars

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The NHL has released the Three Stars from last week, with Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins taking home top spot. The veteran winger has been outstanding again this season, registering 43 points in just 30 games. With his six goals last week he has hit 20+ for the ninth consecutive season and leaves just the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season as the only year he’s missed that threshold in a 12-year NHL career (he had 18 in 45 games). Now 33, Marchand has been over a point-per-game in each of the last six seasons and currently sits eighth all-time in Bruins history with 758 points.

Second and third place went to Marc-Andre Fleury and Nikita Kucherov respectively, two more players who will likely be in the Hall of Fame one day. The Chicago Blackhawks netminder went 3-0 with a .957 save percentage and continues to create plenty of speculation as a deadline candidate around the league. Kucherov meanwhile tallied seven points in three games, taking his total to 13 in eight appearances this season. The 28-year-old now has 560 points in 523 career games.

  • The Lightning will be without Zach Bogosian for the next two to three weeks with a lower-body injury according to Joe Smith of The Athletic, continuing what has been a brutal season for the veteran defenseman. Bogosian has played in just 23 games so far, coming out very few matches with a new injury. Certainly not the model of health throughout his career, Bogosian hasn’t played more than 65 games in a single season since he was a teenager with the Atlanta Thrashers.
  • The Dallas Stars have placed Tanner Kero and a support staff member in the COVID protocol, further reducing the number of available bodies they have. Luckily, Denis Gurianov, Braden Holtby, and two other staff members were removed today and can rejoin the club. With players moving in and out on a daily basis, Riley Damiani, Rhett Gardner, and Thomas Harley have been brought back up to the taxi squad from the AHL.

Injury Updates: Martinez, Murray, Wild, Oshie

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It appears that the Golden Knights will soon be getting a key defenseman back in their lineup.  In an interview with SinBin.Vegas (audio link), owner Bill Foley indicated that Alec Martinez was nearing a return had it not been for the veteran contracting COVID-19.  Martinez has been out since mid-November with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss at least ten days due to his protocol placement, meaning it’s not an asymptomatic case so he won’t return until the middle of next week at the earliest.  Martinez and his $5.25MM AAV are currently on LTIR and Vegas will likely need to transfer winger Max Pacioretty onto LTIR in order to activate the blueliner back onto the active roster.

Other injury news from around the league:

  • Avalanche defenseman Ryan Murray left Friday’s victory over Arizona with an upper-body injury, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The oft-injured 28-year-old has struggled with Colorado this season, averaging just over 14 minutes per game in 21 contests.  The expectation is that Kurtis MacDermid, who had been playing on the wing recently, will now go back to his natural position on the back end to take Murray’s place.
  • The Wild could get defenseman Jared Spurgeon and goaltender Cam Talbot back in the lineup for their upcoming home-and-home set against Chicago, suggests Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Those games are slated for Friday and Saturday of next week.  Spurgeon has missed the last three weeks with a lower-body injury while Talbot has missed nearly two weeks with a lower-body issue of his own.
  • The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that winger T.J. Oshie sustained an upper-body injury in today’s game against the Islanders. It has been a tough season for the veteran from a health perspective as he has already missed time due to three separate injuries while missing a game in COVID protocol.  In between all of those, the 35-year-old has been fairly productive with 13 points in 17 games.

Alex Stalock Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Stalock has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Friday: It’s not often a positive outcome when a player is put on waivers, but that’s exactly the case today. Alex Stalock has been placed on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers, meaning that he passed his physical and will attempt a comeback with the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Stalock had missed the entire first part of the season with a heart condition and it was not clear at all if his career would continue.

There is a chance of a claim, but it is very unlikely in this case as Stalock is not ready to play in the NHL. Any claiming team would have to keep him on the active roster, not really something that is possible for a netminder who hasn’t seen game action since August 2020.

In 2020-21, Stalock was listed out to start the year with an upper-body injury. Michael Russo of The Athletic reported last March that it was actually myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, that was keeping Stalock out. That diagnosis followed a bout with COVID-19, one that he tested positive for but did not experience any symptoms during. Waivers at that point were supposed to get him to the Minnesota taxi squad, but the Oilers claimed him as added goaltending depth not only last season but into the future. Stalock was only on the second season of an inexpensive three-year deal, one that he is currently still playing under.

After initially being ruled out for the entire 2021-22 season, Stalock’s return to Bakersfield will be the first step in his comeback attempt. Waivers are usually a demotion, but this time it’s a step in the right direction.

Snapshots: Canadiens, Staal, Brown

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The Montreal Canadiens are getting closer to naming a new general manager, as Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports they’ve narrowed their search to just three candidates. Engels believes that Daniel Briere and Mathieu Darche are two of those three, and notes that some of the other candidates interviewed could still land different positions with the organization.

Montreal has been without a GM since firing Marc Bergevin in November, but with Jeff Gorton in place as executive vice president of hockey operations, there was no rush to fill the position. Even the new hire isn’t expected to carry the same weight of responsibility that Bergevin did over the last decade and was always expected to be someone with less experience in NHL front offices. While Darche has been with the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2019, Briere has been serving as GM and president of the Maine Mariners of the ECHL the last several years.

  • While Eric Staal is focused on the Olympics with Team Canada, he spoke to Michael Russo of The Athletic and indicated that he would gladly drop that dream to sign in the NHL immediately, if a team offered him a contract. It isn’t likely that contract is going to come with the Minnesota Wild, even though Staal is currently with their AHL affiliate on a professional tryout. Staal currently sits at 1,293 regular season games played and could become just the 64th player in NHL history to break 1,300 should he sign for the stretch run this year.
  • Connor Brown played more than 19 minutes last night, scoring a goal and an assist in the Ottawa Senators win over the Calgary Flames. He did it all with a broken jaw, apparently, as head coach D.J. Smith told TSN radio today that the forward was hit with a puck in the warm-up that caused the injury. He’ll is considered out week-to-week now as he recovers. Brown has five goals and 19 points in 26 games this season.

Snapshots: Hertl, Allen, Byron

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The San Jose Sharks’ unexpected rise back to relevancy this season has answered a lot of questions, but the Tomas Hertl situation still hangs over the team’s heads. On TSN’s Insider Trading program today, Pierre LeBrun says he expects the Sharks to “circle back” with Hertl and give him an extension offer. The pending unrestricted free agent has 31 points in 37 games this season. The team’s lone 20-goal scorer so far is in the final year of a four-year, $22.5MM contract. In the case that Hertl doesn’t agree to an extension prior to the trade deadline, though, LeBrun notes the trade front is still an option. Hertl has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of three teams to which he’ll accept a trade. LeBrun believes the New York Rangers would be an option, a team that would obviously be heavily interested in some added forward depth.

Some other notes, this time out of Montreal:

  • After leaving last night’s loss against Boston, Canadiens goalie Jake Allen will be out of the lineup for at least a week, per coach Dominique Ducharme. It’s been a really tough season for Allen, who’s faced injuries and COVID that have limited him to 24 games. He’s Montreal’s undisputed starter, still posting a save percentage above .900 on the worst team in the league. The team has a compressed schedule in the near future, meaning Allen could miss three or four games before he’s ready to dress again.
  • Montreal could be getting a name back from injury soon, though, as forward Paul Byron, who hasn’t played all year due to offseason hip surgery, could be cleared from COVID protocol by the weekend and could join the team on the road. Byron had six points in 22 games last year during Montreal’s playoff run. He’s one of the bigger voices in the room for the Habs, and his leadership presence will be greatly appreciated during this tough season.

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