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West Notes: Golden Knights, Eichel, Rakell, Hakanpaa

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With all of the rumors swirling around the Vegas Golden Knights and Buffalo Sabres star Jack Eichel, the bold take right now may actually be the a deal is not imminent. There are quietly signs pointing in that direction as well. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that trade talks for the elite center did in fact heat up earlier this week, but have since cooled. Dreger notes that there is mounting pressure on the Sabres to make a move with Eichel’s camp threatening to file a grievance with the NHLPA in regards to his deferred neck surgery. GM Kevyn Adams is well aware of that threat, but won’t let it dictate how he handles what will likely be the biggest trade of his career as a hockey executive. While Dreger acknowledges that just one phone call could shift the status quo, all is quiet for the time being. On the Vegas side, The Athletic’s Jesse Granger responded to eager fans that the Sabres are not even scouting the Knights’ Friday night game. If the two sides are close on a deal that is expected to contain at least some current members of the Vegas roster given the cap implications for both teams, wouldn’t Buffalo be getting all the information they can before a pivotal trade? Sure, an Eichel trade could very well happen and maybe it does happen tonight or this weekend, but those doomscrolling their Twitter feeds awaiting deal at any moment may be disappointed – Eichel to the Knights is not done yet.

  • Another team interested in Eichel has been the Anaheim Ducks. While acquiring a player of his caliber is as far from a knee-jerk move as possible, the Ducks do have some added incentive today. The team announced that top forward Rickard Rakell has been placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed upper-body injury. The team did not provide any details on the severity of the injury or the expected length of Rakell’s absence, only stating that he was hurt in the team’s most recent game on Thursday. While Rakell has the appearance of a slow start with just four points in eight games, eighth in scoring for the Ducks, he has quietly led the team in goal-scoring with four tallies making up his only four points. Rakell is also leading all forward in ice time. The dangerous winger has finished no lower than second in team scoring in each of the past four years so his absence will certainly be felt. Vinni Lettieri, recalled to fill Rakell’s roster spot, is far from a suitable replacement. With division rival Vegas suddenly “close” on an Eichel deal, is the loss of Rakell the last straw for the Ducks to get them to jump back into the race and win the Eichel sweepstakes?
  • Another player sidelined out west is Dallas Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa. The big blue liner has entered the NHL’s COVID Protocol, the team has announced. He has been ruled out for Friday night at the very least with the team likely to update his status this weekend. A free agent addition brought in to add some grit to the back end in Dallas, Hakanpaa leads the team in hits and in limited ice time at that. As he continues to learn from veteran pair mate Andrej Sekera, Hakanpaa could continue to develop into a great shutdown option for the Stars. They hope to have him back on the ice soon.

Minnesota Wild Place Jordan Greenway On Injured Reserve

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The Minnesota Wild placed winger Jordan Greenway on injured reserve Friday afternoon, recalling Adam Beckman from the Iowa Wild in his place, per a team release.

Greenway suffered a lower-body injury during Thursday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken after taking a hit from Kraken captain Mark Giordano.

The Athletic’s Michael Russo expands on the nature of a recent injury bug that’s hit the Wild, stating defenseman Alex Goligoski is out one to two weeks with an upper-body injury while Dmitry Kulikov is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

If Beckman draws into the lineup, it will be his NHL debut. The 75th overall pick in 2019 has seen his stock rise sharply and now finds himself mentioned in a trio of skilled forward prospects in Minnesota’s system, along with Marco Rossi and Matthew Boldy. Beckman has three points in four AHL games this season.

Greenway’s had somewhat of a rough start to the season with just two assists in seven games. He was expected to be a major contributor in the team’s top-six forward group after scoring a career-high 32 points in 56 games last season.

Beckman could certainly get a look playing directly in Greenway’s spot with Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno, but head coach Dean Evason could also shuffle the team’s line combinations to put Beckman in less of a checking role.

Injury Notes: Penguins, Golden Knights, Avalanche, Wood

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The Pittsburgh Penguins received some extremely welcome news today, as head coach Mike Sullivan says centers Sidney Crosby and Jeff Carter are game-time decisions for tomorrow’s contest against the New Jersey Devils as they begin the journey to full health. That’s only 40% of the key contributors they have currently out of the lineup, however, as Kris Letang remains in COVID-19 protocol and Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust are on injured reserve. Still, seeing one of the best players in the world close to full health again and nearly ready to make his season debut is always promising news. The return of Carter shouldn’t be overlooked either, as the veteran forward had four points in four games before entering COVID-19 protocol.

More injury notes from around the league:

  • The Golden Knights, along with the Penguins, have been one of the most injury-affected teams in the NHL this season. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger issued updates on the health of many Golden Knights today, as the team has six regulars currently sitting out with injury. The most notable of those updates is Mark Stone, who is still out indefinitely but skated today for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury on October 15. However, it could potentially become seven regulars out of the lineup for tonight’s game as William Carrier suffered an injury Wednesday night against Dallas and is a game-time decision.
  • Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen is day-to-day with a lower-body injury per head coach Jared Bednar, but defenseman Devon Toews is expected to make his season debut during the next two games. Rantanen was scratched from Thursday night’s game against the Blues. Toews’ return will give Colorado a fully healthy defense core for the first time this season, as Samuel Girard is also ready to go.
  • Devils head coach Lindy Ruff gave an update today on forward Miles Wood, who he calls “the furthest away” from returning out of all the Devils’ injuries. Considering Jack Hughes was issued a five-week timeline today, that’s not promising news. Wood has not played this season after suffering a lower-body injury just prior to the start of the campaign.

Jack Hughes Out With Dislocated Shoulder

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Oct 29: The Devils have announced that after a re-evaluation, it has been determined that there were no unforeseen issues with his shoulder injury. His recovery will be evaluated again in five weeks. That means the Devils will be without their young center for quite some time, but it appears as though surgery is still not on the table.

Oct 21: Jack Hughes will be out indefinitely after suffering a dislocated shoulder, but that’s actually good news for the New Jersey Devils. The young forward will not require surgery and has begun to rehab the injury. Hughes will be re-evaluated next week, meaning he will still miss a good chunk of time, but there was fear that surgery could take away a huge chunk of the season. He has been moved to injured reserve for the time being, which comes with a minimum of seven days.

Hughes, 20, looked like a wholly different player in his first game of the season, scoring two goals and dominating play whenever he was on the ice. He suffered the shoulder injury in his second match, when Seattle Kraken defenseman Jeremy Lauzon sent him sprawling into the boards.

If he has avoided major injury it’s a huge win for the Devils, who are off to a 2-0 start as they try to show the rest of the Metropolitan Division that the playoffs are not out of the question. One of the youngest teams in the league, New Jersey has just three regulars–Tomas Tatar, P.K. Subban, and Jonathan Bernier–over the age of 30. The latter, Bernier, is also dealing with a lower-body injury and will not dress tonight. The team has recalled Nico Daws from the AHL to serve as backup tonight.

Mason McTavish Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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When the Anaheim Ducks decided to keep Mason McTavish for the start of the season, it came with the same caveat as any other freshly-drafted player out of the CHL. If they used him for ten games, he would burn the first year of his entry-level contract and become a restricted free agent sooner than if he was sent back to junior. They also couldn’t send him to the AHL, as he’s too young to be eligible for the minor league. That is of course, unless he’s coming off an injury, as he is now. McTavish has been loaned to the San Diego Gulls on a conditioning stint as he recovers from a lower-body injury, he is also no longer listed on the team’s injured reserve.

A normal conditioning loan can last up to 14 days and any games McTavish players in the AHL will not count toward that ten-game threshold for his entry-level contract. In this case, it’s a sly way to get him some additional professional experience while not clicking up his NHL game count. It’s also a good way to get him back on track after being injured earlier this month.

McTavish, the third-overall pick in this year’s draft, had two points in his first three games with the Ducks including his first NHL goal. The 6’1″ forward plays with a physical presence but also has enough skill to contribute at the top of the lineup. Just 18, he spent last season playing in Switzerland when the OHL didn’t hold a season and hasn’t actually suited up for his Peterborough Petes since the 2019-20 season. If he sticks at the NHL level this year, it will have been a very interesting road for McTavish, who has just that one season of CHL hockey under his belt–in which he scored 29 goals and 42 points. The year before that, he was still playing for the Pembroke Lumber Kings.

For at least a little while longer, the Ducks won’t have to make the decision on whether to send him back or not.

T.J. Oshie Out Week-To-Week

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The Washington Capitals have lost one of their most reliable forwards, as T.J. Oshie is now listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. As Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic tweets, Oshie blocked a shot against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night, which could have led to the injury though he did finish the game. El-Bashir adds that his sources have indicated that the veteran forward is in a walking boot and on crutches.

Losing Oshie for a chunk of the season would be a huge blow to the Capitals, who use the 34-year-old forward all over the lineup and in different situations. He has four goals and six points in his first seven games after securing his sixth career 20+ goal season in 2020-21. That 22-goal, 43-point campaign came in just 53 games, making it all the more impressive for a player that hasn’t seemed to lose a step as he enters his mid-thirties.

It’s also tough news for the team after they failed to secure the win against Detroit last night, losing in overtime after getting out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period. While the team hasn’t actually lost in regulation yet and technically sit at the top of the Metropolitan Division, they have now dropped three of their seven games in overtime. With the undefeated Carolina Hurricanes right behind them and other Metro teams starting to get healthy, losing Oshie for any length of time is obviously undesirable.

Los Angeles Kings Provide Injury Updates On Walker, Doughty

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The Los Angeles Kings provided updates on two of the team’s top defensemen today that Drew Doughty has suffered a right knee contusion and will not skate for the next six weeks, while Sean Walker suffered a torn ACL and MCL and is out for the season. The team is hopeful Doughty can return to the lineup in eight weeks.

Walker tore both ligaments on Monday and will undergo surgery at a later date. His season is over after six games.

It appeared as though the 26-year-old had taken a step forward this season, in terms of performance and responsibility. He had logged more than 20 minutes of ice time in each of the three games prior to Monday’s effort, including a whopping 25:09 against the Dallas Stars last week. In the second season of a four-year, $10.6MM deal, Walker will have to work back from serious knee surgery and try to be ready for next fall.

Doughty meanwhile is obviously one of the most important players on the Kings and was off to an incredible start through his first three games. With seven points in those contests, it was a devastating blow when he collided with Jani Hakanpaa partway through the game against the Stars.

Hakanpaa was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for kneeing, but did not receive any supplementary discipline.

Eight weeks from now would suggest Doughty could be ready to return by the team’s last game before the Christmas break, though that will obviously be dependant on how he recovers and reacts once he’s back on the ice. Either way, it is likely he’ll miss upwards of 20 games due to this injury, a huge chunk of the season for a team trying to make the playoffs.

The Kings recalled Kale Clague and Austin Strand today as they work to figure out the depth chart on defense moving forward.

Nikita Kucherov Out 8-10 Weeks

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The Tampa Bay Lightning made it to the playoffs without star forward Nikita Kucherov last season, and they’ll have to again operate without him for the next few months. The team has announced that Kucherov will be out approximately eight to ten weeks following a successful procedure yesterday on a lower-body injury. The team did not disclose the specific injury.

Kucherov proved he could perform at a high level in last season’s playoffs despite a long layoff, as he led all players with 32 points despite having missed the entire regular season. If Tampa wants to three-peat, he’ll have to pull off the same trick after going down three games into the year. Kucherov did have four points in those three games, but will now miss at least two months with another major injury.

The 28-year-old forward is without a doubt one of the most talented offensive players in the world, but his usual durability has been thrown out the window. From 2014-15 when he became a full-time member of the Lightning through 2019-20, he missed only a handful of games for the Lightning. It could very well be 2022 by the time he makes his return this season.

This case isn’t exactly like last season, where the Lightning were basically able to use Kucherov’s entire cap hit to add more talent for a playoff run, only to have him back when they needed him most. Since he is returning during the season and won’t spend the entire year on LTIR, they have to be careful with who replaces him on the roster. Still, given the team is already deep into LTIR relief with Brent Seabrook’s deal, moving Kucherov there does open some other options for a team that is extremely comfortable operating on the fringes of the salary cap rules.

Dean Kukan Out Eight Weeks With Broken Wrist

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have moved Dean Kukan to injured reserve after he suffered a wrist fracture in last night’s game against the Dallas Stars. Kukan is expected to miss eight weeks with the injury. In his place, the team has recalled Gavin Bayreuther from the AHL.

Kukan, 28, is in the second season of a two-year contract signed in 2020 that carries an average annual value of $1.65MM. The Swiss defensemen has been a part-time player for the Blue Jackets in each of the last several seasons, totaling 114 regular season games since coming to North America in 2015. This season he has appeared in two games, failing to record a point in nearly 30 minutes of total ice time.

While not a key player for Columbus, Kukan’s injury will certainly weaken the depth of the blue line as the team continues to try and compete in the difficult Metropolitan Division. Adam Boqvist is also dealing with a minor injury, necessitating the recall of Bayreuther who will be the eighth defenseman on the active roster.

The 27-year-old Bayreuther has just 28 games at the NHL level in his career but is a well-respected minor league veteran that can step into the lineup in a pinch. In five games with the Cleveland Monsters this season, he has three points. Interestingly enough, Bayreuther was actually given a two-game AHL suspension just today after a cross-checking incident over the weekend. That will not affect his NHL availability, but means he’ll have to sit out whenever he returns to the Monsters.

Morning Notes: Penguins, Toews, Blackhawks

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will still be without several top players as they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening. Sidney Crosby has been ruled out once again, despite joining the optional morning skate today. Jeff Carter remains asymptomatic and should join the group at the end of the week, but Kris Letang is experiencing symptoms, meaning he’ll be out a little longer. Vaccinated players must remain out for at least ten days if they have tested positive and are experiencing symptoms. Letang’s positive test result was confirmed yesterday, meaning he’s still out indefinitely.

Those absences–along with Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust, who are also dealing with injury–certainly haven’t slowed down the Penguins. Their early-season success shouldn’t really be much of a surprise, as Mike Sullivan has routinely found a way to win even with his best players on the sideline. Luckily, the Penguins are also in the midst of an eight-game homestand, and won’t have to hit the road until November 9 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

  • Devon Toews was cleared for controlled contact yesterday, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic, and the defenseman is on the ice today at the Colorado Avalanche morning skate. His return is not imminent, but it’s a good sign to see Toews back on the ice with the rest of the team, even at an optional skate. The Avalanche aren’t off to the start they hoped for at 2-3 and with Samuel Girard now expected to miss a little bit of time, they could certainly use Toews back in the lineup. The team will welcome the rival Vegas Golden Knights this evening who are going through a slow start of their own.
  • Caleb Jones and Wyatt Kalynuk, both currently on injured reserve, were on the ice before the Chicago Blackhawks started practice today, according to Tracey Myers of NHL.com. The young defensemen would certainly be a welcome sight for the Blackhawks, who have allowed 27 goals through six games and incredibly not held a lead for a single second this season. Neither player is expected to return in the coming days, with Jones not even eligible for activation until he’s missed ten games given his LTIR designation. Still, it’s good to see both on the road to recovery after unfortunate preseason injuries.

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