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Snapshots: Stecher, Rantanen, AHL Suspensions

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The Vancouver Canucks are sitting at 5-3 through the early part of the season thanks to the strong play of some of their young players, but are still fifth in what is shaping up to be an extremely tough Pacific Division. With the improved roster, one player that has lost some of his ice time is Troy Stecher. He was the topic of discussion on TSN radio today because of a “rumbling” that host Jason Brough had heard about potential trade talks. Insider Bob McKenzie gave his take on the situation:

The same little rumble that you’ve heard, I think everybody has kind of heard it and [are] trying to figure out how much significance to attach to it. But the reality is that if [Tyler] Myers and [Chris] Tanev are both going to be healthy and play ahead of him, then probably you’re right. Then he’s probably not going to love third-pair minutes, and maybe he’s an asset that’s more valuable than that, though not on the Canucks. 

McKenzie noted that if Stecher does become available there would likely be lots of teams interested, but was quick to explain how there might be an issue with how the Canucks would value him compared to what the offers may be. Through the first three years of his NHL career, Stecher has averaged close to 20 minutes a game for the Canucks, but has logged under 14 in six of eight games this season.

  • Colorado Avalanche fans will have to hold their collective breath for one more day as the team will not issue an update on Mikko Rantanen’s injury until Wednesday according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The star forward’s foot got caught on the ice last night and twisted his left leg awkwardly, taking him immediately out of the game. Rantanen was off to another blistering start to his season with 12 points in his first nine games (including one in the eight minutes he managed last night), and hopefully won’t be out long-term with this injury.
  • The AHL has suspended several players for incidents over the last few days. Michael McCarron has been given a two-game ban for interference and Givani Smith has been suspended one game for clipping, while A.J. Greer and Jarred Tinordi have been given six and three games respectively for what happened on Saturday. Greer left the penalty box to fight Tinordi after already participating in a fight, meaning he actually earned himself three game misconducts and 40 penalty minutes all at once.

Mats Zuccarello Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Minnesota Wild have activated Mats Zuccarello from injured reserve and expect him to be in the lineup tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. Unfortunately, they’ve also moved Joel Eriksson Ek to IR with a lower-body injury, retroactive to October 17th.

Zuccarello, the Wild’s big offseason signing, was off to a disappointing start even before he got injured, recording zero points in his first four games while playing fewer than 15 minutes a night (his lowest average since his rookie season). Six penalty minutes, terrible possession metrics and a -6 rating didn’t endure him to many Minnesota fans early, but hopefully now at full health he can get back to his previous ability.

There’s no questioning that Zuccarello can be an effective NHL player, but signing a 32-year old to a five-year, $30MM contract always seemed concerning for a team in Minnesota’s position. It was one of the final moves former GM Paul Fenton was allowed to make before he was fired and replaced by Bill Guerin, and didn’t seem to jive with his previous moves to make the roster younger.

Minnesota is off to a dreadful start at 2-6, but did at least win their most recent game against the Montreal Canadiens. The team desperately needs more scoring, something that hopefully Zuccarello can provide now that he’s back on the ice.

Boston Bruins Place Krejci On Injured Reserve, Recall Bjork

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The Boston Bruins have made a roster move as they prepare for action tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. David Krejci has been placed on injured reserve, while young forward Anders Bjork has been recalled and is taking the morning skate with the team. Krejci hasn’t played since October 14th when he suffered an upper-body injury against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Bruins lost in overtime to the Maple Leafs on Saturday night without Krejci, but will get a chance for their revenge tonight on home ice. The 33-year old’s presence is sorely missed however on the team’s second line, as Boston has received almost zero secondary scoring to date this year. In fact, outside of the top line of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, not a single Bruins player has more than two points this season and only four other forwards have scored a goal at all.

Krejci enjoyed an incredible bounce-back season in 2018-19 when he recorded 73 points in 81 games and needs to get back on the ice for the Bruins as soon as possible. Without him (and Karson Kuhlman, who also missed practice and is unlikely to play), Bjork will get another chance to show what he can do at the NHL level. He skated alongside Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner, a great opportunity for him to provide some jump and energy in his first game of the season.

Bjork, 23, had huge expectations coming out of Notre Dame in 2017 but hasn’t quite lived up to them to this point. In just 50 games at the NHL level he has 15 points, but his career so far has been marred by scratches both healthy and injured. In seven games for the Providence Bruins this season he has eight points, signaling that he may be ready to take that next step and be a force at the highest level.

Brian Dumoulin Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Pittsburgh Penguins’ injury woes continue, this time stretching out of the forward ranks and into the defense. Brian Dumoulin has been placed on injured reserve, joining Alex Galchenyuk (IR), Nick Bjugstad (IR), Bryan Rust (LTIR) and Evgeni Malkin (LTIR) as designated non-roster players. Dumoulin’s stint is retroactive to October 18th and will miss at least the next two games with a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, Zach Trotman, who had been on season-opening injured reserve, is heading to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on a conditioning assignment.

Both Bjugstad and Rust will travel with the team to Florida, though the latter cannot return for the first two games of the road trip due to his LTIR designation. Jared McCann was back at practice in full, at least giving the team some respite from this string of injuries.

Despite all the unhealthy bodies, the Penguins are still sitting in second place in the Metropolitan Division with a 6-3 record. The team plays their next three games on the road against the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars.

Dumoulin’s presence will be greatly missed, as he has turned into one of the most dependable players on the team. Averaging more than 21 minutes a night, his versatility helps whichever partner he’s skating with and helps drive play in the right direction.

Five Key Stories: 10/14/19 – 10/20/19

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While there was a consistent flow of trade rumors this week, no team pulled the trigger on a big move. That’s not to say there weren’t several additions, as well as subtractions, this week, as a big extension, a free agent signing, a suspension, an injury, and a coaching staff change are the stories of the week:

Hischier Extended Seven Years: The New Jersey Devils may be off to a surprisingly rough start to the season, but young centerpiece Nico Hischier remains a bright spot for the team. A timely source of good news for a disappointed fan base, the Devils announced a seven-year, $50.75MM extension. The new $7.25MM cap hit for the 2017 first overall pick is hardly an overpay so long as the talented center continues to develop. Especially in light of a increasingly higher salary cap ceiling, the new deal could be a bargain for New Jersey, particularly toward the end of the contract.

Panthers Add Boyle: Respected veteran forward Brian Boyle was a surprise omission from this summer’s list of free agent signings, but the Florida Panthers recognized a need in their bottom six and addressed it with a one-year deal for the two-way ace. Boyle actually enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career last year and has been a highly valuable hired gun late in his career. An affordable addition of experience and ability, Boyle could prove to be a key signing by Florida. The Philadelphia Flyers made a similar addition, signing Chris Stewart to a one-year deal.

Zykov Suspended 20 Games: Young Vegas Golden Knights forward Valentin Zykov will be out of the lineup for some time, as the NHL announced a 20-game suspension as a result of a failed drug test. Zykov reportedly violated the joint Performance Enhancing Substances Program and as a result will sit until late November. While the Golden Knights claim Zykov admitted to taking an illegal substance, the player continues to state that he is unaware of how he failed the drug test.

Hjarlmarsson Out Three Months: Niklas Hjalmarsson’s penchant for shot blocking has cost him, as the Arizona Coyotes defenseman will miss an anticipated three months with a cracked fibula in his left leg. One of the more dependable defensive blue liners in the NHL, Hjalmarsson’s loss is a major blow for the ‘Yotes. The injury has sparked trade rumors in the desert, as Arizona was already off to a shaky start before losing one of their top players. Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares was another big-name injury this week, out two weeks with a broken finger.

Fitzgerald Joins Devils’ Bench: Considered by many to be the most improved team in the league heading into this season, the New Jersey Devils have not gotten off to the start than most expected. Head coach John Hynes is on the hot seat and the organization wants a closer look at the situation in the locker room. Assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald will add assistant coach to his list of responsibilities for the time being, joining Hynes’ staff. It could be a sign of things to come for New Jersey if they don’t turn things around soon.

Injury Notes: Barkov, Little, Johnsson, Ladd, Simek, Paquette

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Florida Panthers fans were quite worried Saturday when star player Aleksander Barkov skated off the ice during his second shift and did not return for the rest of the game. The Panthers deemed the injury as an upper-body injury and head coach Joel Quenneville refused to comment on it. However, The Athletic’s George Richards (subscription required) reports that general manager Dale Tallon referred to the injury as “minor.”

How Barkov was injured is a different story, as it doesn’t look as if Barkov took a hit, but the 24-year-old was seen clutching his side after an icing call on his second shift. He still lined up for the face-off, but looked to be in obvious pain. The team flew back to home last night and have Sunday off, with a home match against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

  • The Winnipeg Jets are looking for some added punch to their lineup as TSN’s Brian Munz reports that center Bryan Little, who has been sidelined all season with a concussion, is expected to play Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers. The 31-year-old has served as the team’s second line center for quite some time. He scored 15 goals and 41 points last season.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs forward Andreas Johnsson was not at practice Sunday after blocking a Brandon Carlo shot Saturday and being forced out of the game and missing the third period, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton. X-rays on Johnsson’s leg came back negative, suggesting the injury isn’t too serious and the forward isn’t expected to be out for long. The 24-year-old winger has two goals and five points in nine games with the Leafs so far.
  • The return of Andrew Ladd could be coming soon as Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that the 33-year-old winger was skating in a regular practice jersey Sunday, after several practices in an orange non-contact jersey. Ladd is coming off a torn ACL and was limited to just 26 games last season. If healthy, Ladd could make some key contributions on the team’s bottom-six. He scored three goals and 11 points in those 26 appearances last year. Gross in a separate tweet, reports that both Jordan Eberle and Casey Cizikas, each on injured reserve with lower-body injuries, skated today, but separately from the rest of the team.
  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports that defenseman Radim Simek is expected to join the San Jose Sharks on their five-game road trip, but the blueliner said that he likely won’t play in any of those games due to his leg injury. He has been practicing so a return could come in the next few weeks, but his return to health has taken longer than the team expected.
  • NHL.com’s Bryan Burns reports that Tampa Bay Lighting forward Cedric Paquette is now considered to be day-to-day. The 26-year-old forward, out with an arm injury, hasn’t played a game this season yet, but could be close. Paquette scored a career-high 13 goals last season.

 

Metropolitan Notes: Hischier, Barzal, Murray

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Nico Hischier has been impressive in his first two years in the league since being drafted first-overall in 2017. However, while those numbers have been solid, they haven’t been exceptional either with a 20-goal rookie season the highlight of his career so far. That might make it look like the New Jersey Devils would have preferred to sign a bridge deal with their young prospect, which might give the team more flexibility in the short-term.

However, Chris Ryan of NJ.com writes that both sides made it clear to each other they both wanted a long-term deal, which is what he got in the end when Hischier signed a seven-year, $50.75MM contract on Friday. The 20-year-old made it quite clear that he wanted to stay in a Devils’ uniform and made it clear that signing an extension was a top priority.

“I felt really welcomed since day one here. I was really happy, was treated well,” Hischier said. “They give me the confidence a player needs. So I had no reason why I wouldn’t want to stay here. I was happy they felt the same way, so there wasn’t a lot of back and forth.”

Obviously, if Hischier continues to improve on his game, the $7.25MM AAV could end up being a bargain.

  • Speaking of Hischier’s contract, one person who took note of the deal was New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal, who has been watching numerous pending restricted free agents already sign long-term deals. Barzal, represented by CAA’s Pat Brisson, will be a restricted free agent this summer, but so far has not signed an extension yet. Barzal says that while he’s noted the RFA signings, he isn’t worried about his contract, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. “At this point, it’s really just between my agent and Lou [Lamoriello] right now,” Barzal said. “I don’t talk to Lou about contract stuff. If it happens in the next two months or if it happens in June, it doesn’t really matter to me. I’m just focused on the season right now. “It’s something that eventually is going to happen,” Barzal added. I’m pretty good at just kind of pushing that stuff aside and just worrying about what’s going on right now.” While Hischier walked out with a $7.25MM AAV, Barzal could be getting something even higher, with Gross suggesting he could command a comparable contract to the one that Colorado Avalanche’s Mikko Rantanen signed this summer (six years at $55.5MM, a $9.25MM AAV).
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets were without defenseman Ryan Murray Saturday and will remain day-to-day with an upper-body injury after being injured in Friday’s loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, according to the team. Murray left the game in the third period, playing only one shift and missing the final 17 minutes of the game. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports it’s not considered to be a serious injury. Dean Kukan came in to replace him in the lineup.

New York Islanders Place Jordan Eberle On Injured Reserve

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With no appearance by forward Jordan Eberle at the team’s morning skate, the New York Islanders decided to make a roster move to insure the team has enough depth by announcing they have placed the injured Eberle on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. The move is retroactive to Oct. 12 when he was initially injured, meaning he could be activated at any time. The team needed some extra depth after realizing that Leo Komarov was also expected to miss Saturday’s game.

Eberle, of course, will not play against the division-rival Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. The 29-year-old winger has yet to score in five games with the Islanders this season, but has three assists. While some were expecting that the streaky Eberle might be the odd man out with four key unrestricted free agents to deal with this summer, Eberle was one of the first to sign on the dotted line, agreeing to a five-year, $27.5MM deal.

With the move to IR, the Islanders have recalled 26-year-old Cole Bardreau, who is expected to make his NHL debut tonight. Bardreau has played in four games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and hasn’t registered a point. However, he put up seven goals and 12 games in 40 games last year with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. While the forward isn’t considered to be a scorer, he’s expected to provide some grit and excels at the penalty kill.

Pacific Notes: Oilers Cap Space, Bjornfot, Mangiapane

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The Edmonton Oilers have two major contracts already on their roster and a handful of reasonably well-paid players, leaving them little wiggle room this past summer when they tried to upgrade their roster. Instead, general manager Ken Holland spent much of the summer finding bargain-bin players and veterans to fill their ranks to stay under the cap.

Well, what about next year? What about the team going out and bringing Taylor Hall back into the fold?

The Athletic’s Jonathan Willis (subscription required) breaks down the Oilers’ future cap situation this coming summer where the team could have as much as $26MM available in cap space. However, that’s with 13 roster players still to sign, and if Hall costs the team approximately $11MM AAV, that would leave little room to fill out the rest of their roster, which includes a number of RFA’s such as Darnell Nurse and Matt Benning, who would likely command raises, suggesting that going after Hall is likely a pipedream. The scribe does add that the team could attempt to unload a contract like Kris Russell, whose $4MM AAV with one year remaining might be moveable.

Regardless, it looks like quite a longshot and that doesn’t even factor on whether Hall would want to return to the Oilers in the first place.

  • The Los Angeles Kings demoted 18-year-old Tobias Bjornfot Friday to the Onatrio Reign of the AHL, which The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman (subscription required) writes is a positive sign for the 2019 first-round pick. Bjornfot shocked quite a few people when the team opted to keep the Swede on the NHL roster. He played the first three games, picking up a minus-four plus/minus, but much of that can be attributed to the team’s lack of defense. However, general manager Rob Blake said that the initial talk during training camp was to return Bjornfot to his SHL team this season. With Bjornfot being instead sent to the AHL, it suggests the team still feels that the youngster might have a future in the NHL still this season.
  • Eric Francis of Sportsnet reports that forward Andrew Mangiapane did not join the Calgary Flames for their road trip against the Kings and Ducks this weekend. However, the scribe suggests that Mangiapane should be available to play at some point next week, possible early as Tuesday against the Washington Capitals. Mangiapane has been out with an undisclosed injury. The forward scored a goal in each of his last two games before taking injury.

Snapshots: Bruins, Clarke, Helm

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The Boston Bruins are set to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs this weekend in a rematch of their first round playoff series, but it appears both teams will be without a star center. Not only will the Maple Leafs be missing John Tavares from the lineup, but the Bruins will also be without David Krejci who will not travel with the team.

Krejci missed last night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning after suffering an upper-body injury earlier in the week. Joakim Nordstrom will also not play against the Maple Leafs, but Patrice Bergeron is expected to after missing practice with a lower-body injury. The Bruins may call someone up from the AHL before tomorrow night’s tilt.

  • New Jersey Devils prospect Graeme Clarke will undergo shoulder surgery and is expected to miss four months according to Kenny Walls of TSN. Clarke was picked in the 2019 third round and is an important piece of the Ottawa 67’s in the OHL. He was recently named to that league’s roster for the upcoming Canada-Russia series, which he will obviously miss.
  • The NHL has fined Detroit Red Wings forward Darren Helm $5,000 for his slash last night on Elias Lindholm. This was the maximum allowable fine under the CBA.

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