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Aleksander Barkov Undergoing Knee Surgery, Out Seven To Nine Months

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6:04 PM: The team released an update on Barkov, noting that he sustained injuries to his ACL and MCL.  The surgery has now been performed and carries a typical recovery time between seven and nine months.  The short end of that timeline would potentially give him a chance of returning in the second round of the playoffs while the long end would mean that he would miss the entire postseason as well.

10:39 AM: Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov needs surgery to repair the right knee injury he sustained in his first practice session of training camp yesterday, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports. There’s no timeline for his return, and there’s fear he could miss the entire season, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

There is a clear video of yesterday’s incident. Barkov had a low-speed collision with teammate Niko Mikkola, bending as if he were attempting a hip check, which caused Mikkola’s weight to come down on top of him. He landed awkwardly on his right leg under pressure and was unable to get up without assistance (via WPLG Local 10 News).

A gargantuan hole now exists on the Cats’ first line, a position Barkov has held ever since entering the league as an 18-year-old in 2013. The back-to-back Selke Trophy winner is smack-dab in the middle of his prime at age 30 and is widely regarded as the best two-way center in the game, and for good reason. He’s now rattled off five straight seasons above a point per game, averaging a 33-62–95 scoring line per 82 games since the 2020-21 campaign. He’s also logged a cumulative +92 rating during that time and has won 56.1% of his draws. He reached new heights on the possession front last year, logging a career-high 60.8% Corsi share at even strength.

While the Panthers’ forward depth has been the hallmark of their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, it’s already getting stretched thin. They’re now down two stars for at least the first few months of the season as Matthew Tkachuk recovers from offseason adductor surgery. Not having Barkov available down the middle also amplifies the impact of relatively minor injuries like Tomas Nosek’s. The natural pivot would have been in line to swallow up expanded bottom-six minutes normally, but he also underwent knee surgery recently and will miss multiple months.

This season’s new rules surrounding long-term injured reserve will now have a significant impact on the Panthers’ approach. If a player is not expected to miss the entire season, a team only unlocks the equivalent of last year’s league average salary – roughly $3.8MM in this case – in relief. That does not change based on the number of players on LTIR. If the Panthers were to make Barkov ineligible to play in the regular season or playoffs, though, they could unlock Barkov’s full $10MM cap hit worth of relief, assuming they optimize their capture correctly.

Florida already entered the season in a precarious position, projecting to exceed the cap by $4.5MM, per PuckPedia. While Barkov’s injury is a significant blow to their lineup, there’s now an easy out for them to achieve cap compliance by the time opening night rosters are due by ruling him ineligible to return this season, even giving them room to add a significant salary via trade to help shoulder his absence.

Until then, all eyes are on Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell to anchor Florida’s top two lines. Bennett has been a stellar second-line pivot for the Cats since his arrival in 2021, and although he’s fresh off signing an eight-year, $64MM extension, he’s never been tested in a top-line role. There’s an argument to be made that Lundell, the 12th overall pick of the 2020 draft, should see the greater increase in minutes. He’s filled in on the top line during short-term absences for Barkov in the past and has been a more effective per-minute producer than Bennett. The soon-to-be 24-year-old is also locked up long-term and had a career-high 45 points in 79 appearances last year, averaging 16:43 per game and winning 53% of his draws.

The Panthers have a few options to fill the domino effect and replace Lundell as the No. 3 center. Evan Rodrigues, frequently a top-six complementary winger, is a natural pivot and has taken over 2,500 draws in his 10-year career. He might be a better fit in the role compared to other potential flex-overs like Eetu Luostarinen, who the Cats would presumably like to keep with Lundell and sustain the chemistry they’ve built in consistent deployment together over the past few years.

There’s also now a clear opening for PTO invites, Noah Gregor and Tyler Motte to land NHL deals. Both now clearly slot in among the Panthers’ top 14 forwards with Barkov, Nosek, and Tkachuk all sidelined.

Image courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.

Maple Leafs’ Marshall Rifai Needs Wrist Surgery

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Maple Leafs depth defenseman Marshall Rifai will miss some significant time after sustaining a wrist injury in last night’s exhibition win over the Canadiens. Head coach Craig Berube told reporters today, including Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun, that he requires surgery with no specific return timeline.

Speculatively, it’s a right wrist issue for Rifai. He was held out for the second and third periods of the game and took a hard hit into the glass from Montreal forward Joshua Roy midway through the first (video via Michael Mazzei of The Leafs Nation).

Rifai only had a slim chance at breaking camp with Toronto, which has avoided any other notable injuries on defense, but that’s now gone. Their top six group is set in stone, which meant Rifai was in competition with more experienced names like Henry Thrun, Philippe Myers, and Dakota Mermis for a press-box role. All of those three are waiver-eligible, and at least one – likely two – will need to hit the wire with a surplus of NHL forwards on the Leafs’ roster. With them only expected to carry one extra blueliner, the odds were far from being in Rifai’s favor.

Nonetheless, he’s a depth talent the organization likes to have around. The 27-year-old was an undrafted free agent signed out of Harvard in 2022 and has been a frequent standout in training camp, although he only has two regular-season appearances to his name, coming back in 2023-24. He was recalled a handful of times last season but never got into game action. He’s beginning a two-year, league-minimum, one-way extension that he signed at the beginning of last season, so he’s at least in line for an NHL-caliber payday despite most of his playing action coming in the minors.

Since he’s signed to a one-way deal, the 6’2″ lefty is not SOIR/non-roster eligible. He’ll need to begin the year on regular injured reserve, meaning his $775K cap hit will count against the Leafs’ books unless he misses enough time (10 games/24 days) to be eligible for long-term injured reserve. After being cleared to play, he can then be placed on waivers and reassigned to AHL Toronto if he clears.

Canadiens’ David Reinbacher Suffers Broken Hand

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Top Canadiens defense prospect David Reinbacher sustained a broken metacarpal bone in his hand in last night’s exhibition loss to the Maple Leafs and will miss the next four weeks, according to a team announcement.

The 2023 No. 5 overall pick has now sustained a significant injury in back-to-back preseasons, both in games against Toronto. Last year, it was a left knee injury that ate up more than half his season. He didn’t make his debut for AHL Laval until February, with his injury essentially removing any chance he had of making his NHL debut.

The shorter return timeline this time around means it won’t be as developmentally disruptive for Reinbacher, but it does zero his chances of breaking camp with the club. The righty faced an uphill battle anyway with Alexandre Carrier and Noah Dobson ahead of him on the depth chart and Lane Hutson shifting to his offside on a pairing with Kaiden Guhle, but he’s looked strong in limited AHL action thus far and might have been worth a look. Instead, he’ll start the year on season-opening IR with a $0 cap hit since he didn’t appear in an NHL game last year until he’s cleared to play and can be reassigned to Laval – unless there’s an unexpected opening on the NHL roster in late October.

Reinbacher’s injury troubles mean he only has 21 AHL games to his name over the past two seasons. He’s got a 4-6–10 scoring line in them with a +11 rating, though, and he added six points in 13 Calder Cup Playoff games last season.

In the interim, the Canadiens will be down their only realistic right-shot recall option. They’re extremely thin organizationally on that side. Aside from Carrier and Dobson, career AHLer Nathan Clurman is the only healthy natural righty under contract.

Penguins’ Joel Blomqvist Out At Least Four Weeks

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Penguins goaltender Joel Blomqvist will be out “for a minimum” of four weeks as he deals with a lower-body injury, the team announced. As a player on a two-way contract who played less than 50 NHL games last year, he’s eligible for season-opening injured reserve with a prorated cap hit.

The injury bug continues to bite the Pens, who have already lost forwards Kevin Hayes and Rutger McGroarty for the beginning of the regular season. It’s especially tough news for Blomqvist, who was hoping to work his way into a potential three-goalie rotation on the NHL roster or force the club to expose either Tristan Jarry or Arturs Silovs to waivers in what stands as a wide-open crease in Pittsburgh. The 23-year-old has been viewed as the organization’s top goalie prospect for the last couple of years, but after making 15 NHL appearances last year, he’s no longer considered a prospect by most public rankings.

It’s unclear if Blomqvist sustained the injury in his lone preseason outing, which came back on Monday against the Canadiens. He went a perfect 11-for-11 before leaving the game as scheduled during the first TV timeout past the halfway point of regulation.

The injury greatly diminishes his hopes of sticking on the NHL roster when he’s ready to return. A roster spot wasn’t a given anyway – he’s still waiver-exempt, a status he could maintain through 2026-27 if he doesn’t play an additional 45 games by then. He also wasn’t particularly impressive in his first taste of big-league action last season. He made 12 starts and three relief appearances along the way as both Jarry and veteran backup Alex Nedeljkovic, now with San Jose, both struggled ahead of him. He logged a 4-9-1 record with a .885 SV% and 3.81 GAA. He allowed 4.7 goals above expected based on the shot quality he faced, according to MoneyPuck – the same amount Jarry allowed in more than twice as many appearances. Blomqvist’s -0.365 GSAx/60 was 11th-worst in the league among goalies with at least 15 appearances.

Nonetheless, the 6’2″ Finn has been one of the AHL’s more impressive young goalies since arriving in North America full-time in 2023. In 65 career minor-league appearances with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Blomqvist has a 2.38 GAA, .918 SV%, two shutouts, and a 33-21-10 record. He was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team and Second All-Star Team following the 2023-24 campaign.

There’s still ceiling in his game, but he’ll need to wait to show it as he enters the final season of his entry-level deal. The pending restricted free agent will carry a cap hit equal to the number of games he dressed for last season – not just the ones he played – divided by 82 and multiplied by his $866,667 cap hit.

Injury Notes: Dobson, Reinbacher, Guhle, Rifai, Anderson

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Things are not going well for the Montreal Canadiens’ defense in their preseason contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening. After failing to appear on the bench for the third period of tonight’s game, the Canadiens announced that recently acquired Noah Dobson will not return, without specifying any injuries.

Shortly after, Senior Editor of RG Media, Marco D’Amico, shared that defenseman David Reinbacher had also gone to the dressing room with an apparent injury. Each of these injuries comes on the heels of Sportsnet’s Eric Engels report from earlier, that defenseman Kaiden Guhle was held out of tonight’s contest for maintenance purposes.

In all fairness, there were no specific injuries alluded to in any of the updates, and teams are quicker to pull players in preseason due to precautionary reasons. Still, it is cause for some concern as Montreal ramps up for the 2025-26 campaign. Despite earning a playoff spot last season, the Canadiens learned there’s little wiggle room in postseason eligibility in the Atlantic Division. Fortunately, even if there are mild injury concerns to start the new season, the Canadiens only have two matchups against postseason teams from a year ago in October.

Additional injury notes:

  • On the flip side of tonight’s contest, the Maple Leafs are also dealing with injury concerns on their blue line. During the game, Toronto announced that Marshall Rifai was removed due to an upper-body injury. Unlike his opponent counterparts, it was unlikely that Rifai would have cracked the Maple Leafs’ opening night roster regardless of availability. The Beaconsfield, Quebec native spent all of last year with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, scoring three goals and 13 points in 67 contests.
  • Moving to another Original Six organization, any chance for the Chicago Blackhawks to gauge forward Joey Anderson’s potential for a depth role has passed. Earlier today, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio reported that Anderson underwent a procedure for a chronic issue, which will cost him the rest of the preseason. Despite playing in 18 games for the Blackhawks last year, Anderson had long odds of making Chicago’s opening night roster, spending much of last season as an assistant captain with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.

Afternoon Notes: LaFontaine, Luukkonen, Predators

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The New York Islanders have announced that prolific centerman Pat LaFontaine will be inducted into the team’s Hall-of-Fame. LaFontaine spent eight years with the Islanders beginning in 1983, when New York drafted him third overall. He also spent seven years with New York state’s other NHL clubs – six years with the Buffalo Sabres, and one year with the New York Rangers. LaFontaine ended his career with 1,013 points in 865 games – enough to earn an induction into the NHL Hall Of Fame in 2003, alongside Grant Fuhr.

The Islanders managed to land the 1983 third overall selection in the midst of four consecutive Stanley Cup wins, after trading Dave Cameron and Bob Lorimer to the Colorado Rockies in 1981. The move proved to be franchise-defining, awarding them a young superstar in LaFontaine to help replace aging vets like Butch Goring. LaFontaine did just that, contributing 25 points in his first 31 NHL games to help push New York to a Stanley Cup Final loss in 1984 – and then taking reigns for the organization when Mike Bossy retired in 1987. LaFontaine’s 105 points in 1989-90 made him just one of four Islanders to break the century mark. He left Long Island with 566 points in 530 games – good for ninth in all-time scoring for the franchise.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returned to the practice sheet after missing the start with a lower-body injury. He said he expects to be fully ready for the start of the season, and that his absence was due to a flare up with a minor injury late in the summer. His return will be great news for the Sabres, who seem set to roll out the 26-year-old as their starter for a third season. Luukkonen posted a stout .910 save percentage and 27-22-4 record in 54 games of the 2023-24 season; but fell to a .887 save percentage and 24-24-5 record last season. He’ll look to return to a positive record as he faces a similar workload this year.
  • Nashville Predators centerman Zachary L’Heureux is listed on the roster for a team scrimmage on Thursday, after missing the last few days with an injury. Defense prospects Tanner Molendyk and Cameron Reid also returned from injury ahead of the scrimmage. L’Heureux seems well set on earning a roster spot out of camp, while Molendyk will likely head to the AHL, and Reid would need a colossal performance to avoid a return to the OHL. The trio are three of Nashville’s top prospects – and should be exciting names to watch as they face off against organizational teammates in Thursday’s scrimmage.

Flyers’ Ethan Samson Out Long-Term, Three Out Day-To-Day

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The Philadelphia Flyers shared updates on four injured players on Thursday morning. Most notably, depth defenseman Ethan Samson is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks with an upper-body injury. Samson appeared to be outside of the NHL roster as training camp went on, but he was a standout during the team’s rookie showcase. His absence will alter Philadelphia’s plans for building their minor-league defense through the season’s first couple of months.

Samson was a pivotal piece of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season. He led the team’s defense in goals (12) and ranked second in points (24). Both were substantial improvements over the three goals and 12 points that Samson managed as an AHL rookie in 2023-24. He’s proven to be a diligent offensive-defenseman in the minor ranks, with an impressive bit of grit behind his downhill drive. He appears close to earning a spot on Philadelphia’s call-up sheet, though will now need to wait until at least mid-season to see that through.

The Flyers also announced that defenseman Oliver Bonk, and forwards Karsen Dorwart and Lane Pederson, are all day-to-day with upper-body injuries.

Bonk has carried a day-to-day designation for a full week now. He has been on and off of the ice since Philadelphia’s rookie camp, both donning a non-contact jersey and in a regular jersey. Bonk played through 69 games last season, as the London Knights blazed to an OHL and Memorial Cup championship. It seems the Flyers’ top defense prospect is still working his way back to 100 percent – a factor that could default him to the AHL when the season opens up.

While a part of Philadelphia’s injury updates, Dorwart did briefly return to the ice on Thursday after missing the last few days. He played through the first five games of his NHL career at the end of last season, after signing with the Flyers as an undrafted college free agent. He didn’t manage any scoring in those appearances. Even still, with a strong return from injury, Dorwart could still be a candidate for a depth role when the Flyers break camp. Pederson, who was injured in Philadelphia’s last preseason game, will more likely start in the AHL. He appeared in 18 games and scored 12 points with the Bakersfield Condors last season, before a separate injury ended his campaign early.

Injury Notes: Eller, Lucic, Zuccarello, Sturm

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Lars Eller told reporters today, including Bruce Garrioch of TSN, that he had abdominal surgery last July, from an ailment that had been lingering since last November. Despite the injury, the veteran center managed to skate in 80 regular season games between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, notching 22 points, subsequently earning a one-year, $1.25MM contract with the Ottawa Senators, his fifth NHL club.

As per Garrioch, there is yet to be a decision on when Eller will debut for the Sens, soon to add to his Danish-leading 1,116 career NHL regular season games, but it appears he is on the right track. 

Other injury updates from across the NHL:

  • St. Louis Blues Head Coach Jim Montgomery told reporters, including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, that Milan Lucic is day-to-day with a groin injury. The former star is vying to extend his career, having missed the 2024-25 season before being signed to a professional tryout from the Blues on August 19, the latest of several past notable players to sign such tryouts with the organization. Lucic was unable to skate today, and as mentioned by Montgomery, the ailment is unfortunate timing as he fights to earn a spot.
  • Michael Russo of The Athletic noted a pair of back injuries affecting the Minnesota Wild. 38-year-old star Mats Zuccarello remains sidelined, and per Russo, there is no further update at this time. Previously, it has been raised that surgery is a possibility. Meanwhile, Nico Sturm, who signed a two-year deal to return to the Wild, will be held out for 4-5 days preemptively, due to a back injury sustained in a team scrimmage.

Nicolas Hague Out Four To Six Weeks With Upper Body Injury

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Predators offseason acquisition Nicolas Hague won’t be available for around the first month of the regular season after sustaining an upper-body injury in Sunday’s preseason split-squad game against the Panthers. The team issued a four-to-six-week recovery timeline for him today, according to Max Herz of 102.5 The Game.

That creates an opening on the Preds’ top pair to begin an important season for the club, looking to shed off the rust from an incredibly disappointing 2024-25 campaign that saw them finish with the third-worst record in the league. Hague, acquired from the Golden Knights for a package including Colton Sissons and Jeremy Lauzon in June, had taken early reps alongside captain Roman Josi in camp. While both lefties, Josi played a good chunk of last year on his off side on a pairing with Brady Skjei.

When Hague returns the lineup, Nashville is banking on a breakthrough season from the 26-year-old. Acquired as an RFA, the Preds promptly signed him to a four-year extension with a $5.5MM cap hit. The 6’6″, 245-lb rearguard had been an impressively staunch depth presence throughout his first six NHL seasons with Vegas, managing a 20-63–83 scoring line with a +20 rating in 364 career appearances while averaging 110 blocks and 129 hits per 82 games. That output came in almost exclusively bottom-pairing duties behind a combination of Brayden McNabb, Alec Martinez, and Noah Hanifin on the left side of a stacked Vegas defense group, though. He’s averaged 17:33 per game for his career – including some significant penalty killing time. That number is likely to jump to the 20:00 range when his season gets underway.

For a Preds team looking to get off to a strong start, there are suddenly renewed concerns about their defensive depth. Hague being a big piece of the puzzle on the back end was a huge part of general manager Barry Trotz’s offseason strategy, allowing the club to move Skjei down to a more comfortable second-pairing role and spread the wealth in their top four. That’s still an option, but not a particularly appealing one. With Hague gone, that could mean forcing someone like Adam Wilsby into top-pairing minutes for a small stretch if they decide to keep Josi on the right side. Aside from Skjei, there aren’t any NHL-experienced options that have proven capable of shouldering top-pair minutes for any length of time.

Thus, his absence could provide a break for 2023 first-rounder Tanner Molendyk to break camp with the NHL club. The 20-year-old lefty was the 24th overall selection two years ago and will be transitioning to the pros this fall, whether in Nashville or AHL Milwaukee, after five years of major junior play. He split last season between WHL Saskatoon and Medicine Hat, continuing his strong offensive output with 47 points in 49 regular-season games and a 4-16–20 scoring line in 18 playoff contests as he guided the Tigers to a league championship.

Since Molendyk is two years post-draft, burning a year of his entry-level contract isn’t a concern – it’ll go into effect this season regardless of how much NHL action he sees. Unfortunately, the Preds haven’t gotten a look at him in preseason yet. He’s been dealing with a minor lower-body injury since the beginning of camp, although he did skate today for the first time, per Herz. He’ll have all the more motivation now to kick things into high gear with a clear path to his NHL debut on the line.

Drake Batherson Questionable For Start Of Season

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The Senators could be without top-nine winger Drake Batherson for their regular-season opener against the Lightning on Oct. 9 and potentially even longer. He’s out “at least” two weeks with a pulled muscle in his upper body, head coach Travis Green told reporters, including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.

Batherson sustained the injury in yesterday’s practice and left the session early, according to TSN’s Claire Hanna. There’s no video of the incident. At the very least, Batherson’s exhibition schedule comes to an end after one appearance. He suited up in the club’s first preseason game of the year against the Maple Leafs, recording two assists in a 4-3 loss while logging 18:01 of ice time last Sunday.

A short-term absence isn’t the end of the world, but it is a tough kickoff for the ever-consistent Batherson. He set a career-high mark in assists (42) and points (68) last year, his third straight campaign above the 60-point mark. He also hasn’t missed a game since an ankle injury swallowed up a good portion of his 2021-22 season, which was otherwise his most successful offensive campaign with a 0.96 points-per-game rate (44 in 46 GP).

An IR stint could be a possibility if his recovery pace makes the Sens believe he’s set to miss at least the first seven days of the regular season. That would allow them to kick the can down the road on their decision to waive fringe forwards like Arthur Kaliyev, Olle Lycksell, and Zack MacEwen, opening up an extra roster spot for one of them to stay (or even slot in the lineup in Batherson’s place) in the meantime.

Kaliyev, signed to a league-minimum deal in free agency after being non-tendered by the Rangers, could be an intriguing beneficiary. The skilled but inconsistent 24-year-old is two years removed from a 13-15–28 scoring line in 56 appearances for the Kings. He’s bounced between units in camp so far, but has gotten some reps higher up in the lineup and has remained with the obvious NHL-laden training group as camp progresses. However, he was relegated to 13th forward duties at practice today while Michael Amadio got a crack at Batherson’s projected top-nine role alongside Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto, according to Garrioch.

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