Casey Mittelstadt And Henri Jokiharju Out A Couple Of Weeks
Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato announced Friday morning that center Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Henri Jokiharju will both be sidelined for “a couple of weeks” with different injuries.
Mittelstadt left Thursday night’s 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury. It’s unclear as to when or on what play Mittelstadt sustained the injury. Jokiharju played the entirety of last night’s contest, logging 16:39 of ice time. He’s sidelined with a lower-body ailment.
Granato notes that Arttu Ruotsalainen and Will Butcher will likely draw into the lineup Saturday against Arizona in the place of Mittelstadt and Jokiharju. He also says the team wants “to get everybody in,” making it seem like additional call-ups from the AHL’s Rochester Americans are likely coming to bolster the roster.
It’s an extremely tough break for a Sabres team that got off to an unexpectedly strong start, albeit through just one game. They’ll now have to move forward without their number one center in addition to a top-pairing defenseman for multiple weeks.
If Granato’s “couple of weeks” prognosis holds true, Mittelstadt and Jokiharju could miss six games over the course of the next two weeks. The Sabres have a rather light schedule to begin the season but have a pair of tough matchups against the Boston Bruins on October 22 and the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning on October 25.
Emil Bemstrom To Miss 4-6 Weeks
The Columbus Blue Jackets start their season tonight, but they won’t have Emil Bemstrom on the ice for a while yet. The team announced that the young forward has been placed on injured reserve with a left oblique strain and is expected to miss four to six weeks. Bemstrom suffered the injury at practice on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old forward wasn’t expected to be a key player for the Blue Jackets early this season anyway, but his absence only weakens the depth of a team that already has a very uncertain offensive attack. There is without a doubt talent on the Columbus roster, but how it comes together for a full regular season remains to be seen.
Bemstrom, a fourth-round pick from 2017, saw his stock skyrocket in 2018-19 when he put up 23 goals and 35 points in 47 games as a rookie in the SHL, and when he arrived in North America things seemed right on track. In his first NHL season he scored ten goals and 20 points in 56 games, but managed just five points in 2020-21. With Cole Sillinger playing his way onto the team in training camp, there likely wasn’t room on the opening day lineup for Bemstrom anyway.
The question now becomes how he fights his way onto that lineup in the future. A six-week absence will certainly not help his case, though there will obviously be other injuries throughout the year. Interestingly, Bemstrom is still waiver-exempt, meaning that when he comes back he would not be limited to a minor league conditioning stint, but could get up to full speed with a longer stretch with the Cleveland Monsters.
Zach Bogosian Out 4-6 Weeks
The return of Zach Bogosian to Tampa Bay is off to a tough start. After the Lightning lost game one of this season to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Bogosian won’t get another chance to get on the ice for quite some time. The veteran defenseman is out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury, according to team reporter Bryan Burns. The team has recalled Andrej Sustr in his place.
It’s been a very interesting few years for Bogosian, who was a highly-paid member of the Buffalo Sabres as of February 2020. The Sabres decided to waive and then assign Bogosian to the minor leagues, which didn’t sit well with the veteran defenseman, so he decided not to report and forfeited the rest of his $6MM 2019-20 salary. Turned out it was quite the successful move, as after going through a contract termination, Bogosian signed on with the Lightning just in time to help them win the Stanley Cup.
Last season, he ended up with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a Cup-winning veteran that was supposed to bring playoff toughness, but failed to help that team slay their first-round demons. Why chase rings around the league when you can just stay in Tampa? That’s exactly what Bogosian did this offseason, signing a three-year deal with the Lightning with a full no-trade clause.
Now out more than a month, the Lightning will need to find an answer on their third pair that isn’t Bogosian. Cal Foote, the obvious choice, is still working his way back from his own injury and was wearing a red no-contact sweater at practice. So it’s Sustr for the time being, despite the 6’7″ behemoth last playing in the NHL during the 2018-19 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Injuries Delaying Roster Decisions For Islanders, Kraken
The NHL season is now underway and yet the well-documented roster crunches of the New York Islanders and Seattle Kraken have gone completely unnoticed even as the league’s 23-man roster deadline came and went. What happened? Well, it may seem counterintuitive, but both teams have been helped out by injuries and health-related absences. However, they aren’t out of the woods yet and may only be delaying the inevitable.
In New York, the Isles knew that they would receive salary cap and roster flexibility by placing defenseman Johnny Boychuk on Long-Term Injured Reserve, but veteran forward Matt Martin also landed on IR. While just one unexpected injury may not seem like a lot, it has had a massive impact on how the Islanders prepare for the start of the season. While the club was successfully able to pass pricier veterans Richard Panik and Thomas Hickey through waivers and on to AHL Bridgeport, they have not yet had to make the tough decision between any of their other more attractive fringe players. Once Martin returns, someone else has to go. Martin’s fourth line replacement Ross Johnston appears to be safe as the apparent next man up, but is at least in the mix. Serviceable veteran Leo Komarov is not expected to be in the Isles’ Opening Night lineup on Thursday, but has been a valuable depth player for years in New York and is even more attractive to other teams now that he is on an expiring contract. Young Kieffer Bellows, whose new contract was finally registered with the league, would also be very interesting to other teams and represents the Islanders’ best top-six substitute. There is no easy choice as all three are more likely than not to be claimed, which explains why GM Lou Lamoriello has reportedly been exploring the trade market.
Things are a little more dire in Seattle, where the league’s newest team would like to keep their Opening Night roster intact but stand little chance of doing so. Already the team has had to make some risky waiver placements, including Kole Lind and Cale Fleury, but have been lucky thus far. Dennis Cholowski‘s time on the wire could yield a different result, but even that loss would pale in comparison to what is coming down the line if the Kraken don’t make a move first. The lone holdover from the team’s recent mini-breakout of positive COVID-19 tests, veteran forward Calle Jarnkrok will be available sooner rather than later. Marcus Johansson, placed on injured reserve today, will likely be the next one back and Colin Blackwell is only expected to miss the first month of the season. Further down the road, the team will also need room for Yanni Gourde, who is expected back closer to December. That’s four valuable veterans forwards who all need spots on the Seattle roster, which already sits at 23 members with only one – Lind – that can safely be sent to the minors. On one hand, these early injuries allow the Kraken to take a look at some players who otherwise would not have made the roster, like waiver claim Alex Barre-Boulet for example. On the other hand, these “extra” players will eventually need to be waived, traded, or force the team to trade others instead. Lind and Barre-Boulet seem like easy cuts, but that is just two of four. Would Ryan Donato, who scored the first goal in franchise history on Tuesday, clear waivers? Would young grinder Nathan Bastian? Veteran center Riley Sheahan? The Kraken have a number of questions left to answer and their early injuries have only kicked the can down the road. The longer they wait, especially if the team is playing well, the less likely their fringe players are to clear waivers and the less likely that potential trade partners may be to make a deal rather than wait them out. GM Ron Francis and company have their work cut out for them.
While the preseason trade market remained quiet and there were no earth-shattering waiver claims, this is at least partially due to some unexpected injuries in New York and Seattle. At some point these situations will need to be resolved and, one way or another, players will wind up changing hands.
Marcus Johansson Out Indefinitely With Lower-Body Injury
The Seattle Kraken’s inaugural season hasn’t gotten off to the smoothest start. After a handful of players hit the COVID protocol only for most of them to be cleared just before the game last night, Marcus Johansson–one of the players to be cleared and play–has suffered a lower-body injury and will be out indefinitely. Johansson has been moved to injured reserve. The team has also swapped Kole Lind and Alexander True between the AHL and NHL rosters, with the former joining the Kraken for their journey to Nashville.
Johansson played more than 16 minutes last night, actually logging the sixth-most ice time among the team’s forwards. Now that he’s out, the team will have to reorganize their lines and find another option for the powerplay. The 31-year-old forward signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Kraken this offseason after a disappointing season with the Minnesota Wild, but has long been a reliable two-way option that can play up and down the lineup.
With Calle Jarnkrok still listed in the COVID protocol, Yanni Gourde still working his way back and Johansson now shelved with an injury, the team is already getting thin on capable NHL forwards. This is the difficult part about having only a partial minor league affiliate, as the Kraken only actually have five forwards (not including Lind) in the AHL to draw from, meaning a rash of injuries could put them in a very tough spot. For now, things can be handled with a few recalls, but if many more serious injuries happen look for the Kraken to make a waiver claim, trade, or free agent signing to add to the group. Alex Barre-Boulet, exactly that kind of addition, was not active for last night’s game but could make his Seattle debut in the coming days now that there is another open spot.
Ilya Mikheyev Out Eight Weeks With Broken Thumb
Oct 13: Mikheyev underwent successful surgery this morning, according to Keefe.
Oct 11: The Toronto Maple Leafs lost a key roster member at the very end of training camp, as Ilya Mikheyev went down with a hand injury in the final preseason game. Today, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Kristen Shilton of TSN that Mikheyev will require surgery for a broken thumb and is expected to miss a minimum of eight weeks. Keefe also explained that Auston Matthews, who is working his way back from wrist surgery, will not be available to the team this week.
It was a brutal blow for Mikheyev, who looked like he was going to get a chance to run on the team’s second line with John Tavares and William Nylander to open the season. After a trade request in the offseason because of a perceived lack of opportunity, it was a perfect spot for the pending UFA to rack up some point totals as a top-six forward. Instead, he’ll now be on the shelf once again, opening the door for someone else to take his spot full-time.
The Maple Leafs have plenty of forwards, but the left side was actually already their weakest position. Mikheyev’s injury means that Michael Bunting could slide into the top-six, or Alexander Kerfoot could move out of a center spot and play with the second unit. That’s all assuming a healthy lineup though, one that the Maple Leafs won’t see until Matthews returns at some point in the near future.
Austin Watson Out Four Weeks For Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith confirmed today that forward Austin Watson will be out of the lineup for four weeks. The veteran winger sustained an ankle injury during the preseason.
Things are turning sour quickly for the Senators, who’ll now be without both Watson and Colin White, as well as potentially Brady Tkachuk, for their season opener. They’ll play their first game of the 2021-22 season at home on Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Watson, largely brought into Ottawa for his grit and fighting ability, has been a remarkably consistent bottom-six player over the past few seasons. He made his impact felt during his first season in Ottawa last year, tallying three goals and 10 points in 34 games while adding on 40 penalty minutes.
Now 29 years old, the Ann Arbor, Michigan native spent eight years in the Nashville Predators organizations before moving to Ottawa prior to last season. He was a first-round pick of the Predators in 2010, drafted 18th overall. Watson has 39 goals and 87 points in 340 career games.
If Ottawa needs a physical presence while Watson is on the shelf, they could look to Scott Sabourin as an internal replacement. Largely a career AHLer, Sabourin got into 35 games with the Sens back in 2019-20 and could reprise his role as an enforcer again.
Alex Ovechkin Out Day-To-Day With Lower Body Injury
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Ovechkin left last night’s preseason game against the Philadelphia Flyers when he fell awkwardly after laying a hit on Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny.
Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic notes that Ovechkin was seen walking around the Capitals’ facility this morning without a brace, wrap, or limp.
The fact that Ovechkin is walking around without assistance so soon is extremely promising, especially when considering how dangerous the fall looked at first glance. While his day-to-day status still puts his availability for their home opener against the New York Rangers on Wednesday in doubt, a long-term absence now seems extremely unlikely at this point. Capitals forward Lars Eller had this to say on Ovechkin’s health:
I never seen [the Russian machine] break. And it gets repaired pretty quickly. It’s not broke for long.
If Ovechkin can’t play on opening night, the Capitals would be without their two best forwards. Center Nicklas Backstrom remains sidelined with a hip injury with no timetable for a return.
The 36-year-old Russian enters the 2021-22 campaign with 730 career goals, good enough for sixth all-time and just one goal behind Marcel Dionne, who holds fifth place. Ovechkin had led the league in scoring for seven out of the past nine seasons, only losing out on the Rocket Richard trophy in 2016-17 (Sidney Crosby) and 2020-21 (Auston Matthews).
Ducks, Flames Leading Candidates To Acquire Jack Eichel
Jack Eichel has been on the trade block for what seems like forever and has not been on the ice for the Buffalo Sabres this preseason as he continues to await neck surgery. Yet, his market is heating back up. As TSN’s Darren Dreger wrote earlier this week, the Sabres have been pushed by Eichel’s new agent, Pat Brisson, to share medical files with interested parties. The result has been more clarity as to Eichel’s serious suitors, which could finally lead to a trade.
Eichel’s desired surgical cure, which has been at the center of his ongoing feud with the Sabres, is a disc replacement surgery that has never been attempted on an NHL player. By sharing the specifics of Eichel’s injury, teams can gain more insight into the nature of Eichel’s condition and whether they would agree to his preferred route rather than the typical fusion procedure. As Pierre LeBrun reports for The Athletic, this has helped Kevyn Adams and the Sabres strengthen their trade pitch, as some of the unknowns of an Eichel deal have been cleared up. While LeBrun believes that there will still be a conditional aspect to any deal, Buffalo now finally has a chance to finally close a deal and closer to full value.
Among the teams that LeBrun feels have backed off of the Eichel pursuit are the Minnesota Wild and Philadelphia, and even the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings who seemed like top contenders at one point. However, LeBrun notes that the Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames have done their due diligence on Eichel’s condition and the ADR surgery and remain interested in the star center.
Though the cost for Eichel remains a mystery, especially with the suspected conditional component, there will still be a considerable price to pay. Anaheim offers a number of young roster forwards, as well as numerous talented prospects. Calgary offers more current star talent, some of whom would have to move for cap purposes, as well as some top prospects. Both teams would be able to make a strong pitch for Eichel and have good reason for doing so. The Flames may be one major piece away from jumping into Stanley Cup contention, while the Ducks have a budding young core and know that Eichel has expressed some desire to play on the west coast.
While LeBrun stops short of saying a trade is imminent, this is first time that concrete conversations have been had with a media source confirming that Eichel talks are occurring. Eichel needed surgery “like yesterday” per LeBrun and both he and the Sabres desperately need to move on, so for the good of all involved, including NHL fans, hopefully this situation will be resolved before too long.
Injury Notes: Reaves, Bennett, Guentzel
Despite suffering an injury on Wednesday night that forced him to be helped off the ice, New York Rangers free agent addition Ryan Reaves may not miss any regular season time. The grinder has not been practicing since the injury occurred, but head coach Gerard Gallant is optimistic that he could return by opening night. “I think it’s going to be close,” Gallant told Collin Stephenson on Newsday. “When we left the game, I said no, but… the last couple of days it’s going in the right direction… I can’t really say, but I think it’s going to be real close.” The Rangers prioritized adding grit and physicality this summer, adding Reaves, Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais, and Patrik Nemeth, so they hope to be able to roll out their full complement of toughness for Opening Night.
- Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett missed the team’s preseason match-up on Saturday night as he has been placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol, the team announced. Depending on the context of Bennett’s absence, the two-way forward could miss more than just one game. The Panthers certainly hope that the physical center is good to go for the start of the season; Bennett was an excellent addition to the Florida roster at the deadline last season, recording 15 points in ten games while averaging a career-high 18:04 time on ice. As the Cats look to compete in the Atlantic Division this year, every game matters and a healthy Bennett is a difference-maker.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins expect to have Jake Guentzel back sooner rather than later from COVID Protocol. Head coach Mike Sullivan told The Athletic’s Rob Rossi that Guentzel is asymptomatic and going through the steps of the protocol. Though he has missed a week of practice, Guentzel will jump right back into the lineup if he is healthy. The 27-year-old has scored at a point-per-game pace over the past three years and will be relied on even more with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin injured.