Injury Updates: Raanta, Compher, Subban, Guhle
The Coyotes will have goaltender Antti Raanta back on Saturday as he’s slated to make his first start in more than ten months, notes Craig Morgan of The Athletic (via Twitter). Raanta suffered a lower-body injury in his first preseason game and missed enough time that the team felt that a conditioning stint to start the season would be beneficial. Now that he’s healthy, Arizona will be carrying three goalies with the recently-extended Darcy Kuemper as well as recent waiver claim Eric Comrie on the roster. Keeping three goalies is rarely a viable strategy long-term so it will be interesting to see how long they opt to hold onto Comrie as an insurance policy given Raanta’s lengthy injury history.
Other injury news from around the league:
- J.T. Compher’s time out of the Avalanche lineup appears to be short-lived. Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the center is expected to return on Saturday after missing last night’s game due to a lower-body injury. The 24-year-old has a goal in two games so far this season. Colorado didn’t place him on IR so they won’t need to make a corresponding roster move for him to suit up.
- Although Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban was forced to leave Thursday’s game against Arizona after just one period due to a lower-body injury, head coach Gerard Gallant told reporters including Jesse Granger of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the netminder won’t miss much time. He’s officially listed as day-to-day. Gallant indicated that Vegas will recall a goalie from AHL Chicago so it appears that Subban will miss at least a game or two.
- Ducks defenseman Brendan Guhle is dealing with a lower-body injury, notes Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). He has been listed as day-to-day. Guhle is averaging a career-best 19:07 per game in the early going this season, good for fourth on the team amongst defensemen which is notable considering he spent most of last season at the AHL level.
Andy Greene Placed On Injured Reserve
The New Jersey Devils will have to operate without a captain for at least a few more days, as Andy Greene has been placed on injured reserve. Matt Tennyson has been recalled in Greene’s place, after starting the year with the Binghamton Devils of the AHL. Players are required to spend at least seven days on injured reserve, though Greene’s stint is retroactive to his last game on Wednesday.
Greene suffered an upper-body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers, missing the end of that game and yesterday’s tilt against the Edmonton Oilers. The Devils lost both, taking them to a disappointing 0-2-2 start in a season that they were expected to compete for a playoff spot. Those higher expectations came with the additions of players like P.K Subban, whose presence has given head coach John Hynes another workhorse defenseman to lean on. Even discounting the game against the Flyers, Greene had already been asked to play a little less than in recent years, failing to even receive 20 minutes of ice time in a game that went to overtime against the Winnipeg Jets.
The 36-year old may be taking on less responsibility, but he is still an extremely important part of the Devils and will be missed while he deals with this injury. The team needs desperately to secure a win to keep pace in the Metropolitan Division, but have the tough test of heading into Boston to face the Bruins tomorrow night. Greene will miss at least that game and Monday’s tilt against the Florida Panthers, though it is not clear exactly how long he will be out after that.
Tennyson, 29, signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Devils as soon as free agency opened this year and carries an NHL cap hit of just $700K. The veteran defenseman has played 124 games at the NHL level, but just four last season.
Noah Juulsen Cleared To Join Laval Rocket
It’s been a rough few seasons for Montreal Canadiens prospect Noah Juulsen, but hopefully things are starting get back on track. The team announced today that Juulsen has been medically cleared to return to action and will be joining the Laval Rocket of the AHL tonight in Milwaukee.
The 22-year old defenseman had been dealing with ongoing headaches this summer, after a vision-related injury kept him out for much of last season. Juulsen took two pucks to the face last November and ended up playing just 24 total games between the Canadiens and Rocket in 2018-19. Originally selected 26th overall in 2015, the young defender has looked promising whenever he gets on the ice, that just hasn’t ever lasted very long. Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Juulsen has only played in 78 games at any level.
His return to the ice comes at a good time for Montreal, who are struggling to find much consistency on defense. The team has obvious talent among their NHL group, but have now given up 20 goals in their first five games and gotten off to a 1-1-2 start. Even that sole win was in a shootout, meaning things could have easily looked even worse had it not been for some Carey Price heroics against the Toronto Maple Leafs. While there’s no telling what kind of impact Juulsen will have right away, he’ll certainly be in the mix for NHL minutes if he can prove he is healthy again.
Josh Anderson Placed On Injured Reserve
The Columbus Blue Jackets have made a roster move to give them another option up front for tonight’s game. Josh Anderson has been placed on injured reserve while Markus Hannikainen has been recalled. Anderson’s IR stint is retroactive to October 5th when he suffered an upper-body injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Blue Jackets take on the Anaheim Ducks tonight at home, then travel to Carolina to face the Hurricanes tomorrow night.
Even if the Blue Jackets hadn’t lost so many pieces in the offseason, Anderson would still be a huge part of their forward group. The 25-year old winger has developed into one of the league’s premiere power forwards, scoring 27 goals last season while recording more than 200 hits. Fast, heavy and fearless, Anderson routinely drives the puck towards the net and creates chances for himself and his line mates. His 22 even-strength goals actually ranked him 38th in the entire league, tied with names like Aleksander Barkov, Kyle Connor and Sean Monahan.
A player has to stay for seven days on injured reserve, meaning that Anderson should be eligible to return following tomorrow night’s matchup.
Hannikainen meanwhile was waived at the end of training camp and has already played two games with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. The 26-year old winger played 44 games for the Blue Jackets last season but was beat out by other, younger forwards this time around. With Anderson out he’ll serve as just the 13th forward tonight, but will continue to try and prove he belongs at the NHL level in practices.
Snapshots: Hall Of Fame, Point, Greene
The American Hockey League has announced their 2020 Hall of Fame class, which includes Robbie Ftorek, Denis Hamel, Darren Haydar and Fred Thurier. The induction ceremony is scheduled for January 27th. Thurier, one of the first real stars of the AHL, will be honored more than 20 years after he died at the age of 82. When he retired in 1952 he had the most points of any professional hockey player and then subsequently served as a linesman for nearly a decade.
More notes from around the league:
- Not only will Brayden Point be back on the ice tonight for the Tampa Bay Lightning, but he’ll be centering what should be one of the most talented lines in the NHL. According to Mark Masters of TSN, Point will skate between Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov on the team’s top line, a trio that totaled 318 points last season. That will be quite the task for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are trying to bounce back after losing consecutive games to the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues.
- The New Jersey Devils won’t have captain Andy Greene in the lineup as they try to bounce back against the Edmonotn Oilers tonight. Greene is being evaluated for an upper-body injury and has already been ruled out. The 36-year old defenseman has already been asked to do a little less this season, averaging fewer than 19 minutes a night through the first three games. If that number continued, it would be the lowest number Greene has averaged since 2008-09.
Jordan Martinook To Undergo Core Muscle Surgery
The Carolina Hurricanes will be without veteran leader Jordan Martinook for the next while, as the forward is scheduled for surgery on Friday. The procedure will repair a core muscle injury and comes with an estimated recovery timeline of six to eight weeks.
This is not the first time Martinook has been out with a core muscle injury. At the end of the Eastern Conference Finals in May, the then-26 year old Martinook had a similar surgery that was expected to keep him out four to six weeks. He obviously recovered in time for the season and played in Carolina’s first four games, recording a single point. His new injury explains why the team recalled Julien Gauthier yesterday.
Martinook isn’t a key offensive piece for the Hurricanes, recording just 15 goals and 25 points last season, but is a big part of the leadership group. Notably, he took young forward Andrei Svechnikov under his wing and helped him navigate the NHL after stepping into it at such a young age, and was named an alternate captain last month. His absence will be noticed, though the team does look strong enough this season to handle injuries like this.
Conor Sheary Out Week-To-Week
After further evaluation, the Buffalo Sabres have announced that Conor Sheary will actually be out on a week-to-week basis with an upper-body injury. Sheary was listed as day-to-day just yesterday, but it seems he’ll miss more time than originally expected. Even with Sheary out, head coach Ralph Krueger told reporters including Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News that the team will not likely recall a forward from the AHL, at least through the weekend.
Sheary, 27, was off to a hot start with the Sabres this season, scoring two goals and three points through his first three games despite averaging just over 11 minutes of ice time. He’d been playing lower in the lineup than last season, but that may have changed at some point given his early success. The Sabres have a 2-0-1 record on the year so far and look much improved over the squads that have finished at or near the bottom of the NHL standings the last several seasons.
It is a very important season for the undrafted Sheary, as he heads towards unrestricted free agency. If he can get back to the level he showed in Pittsburgh as a young player, scoring 23 goals and 53 points, he’d be in for a substantial raise over his current $3MM cap hit. If he struggles with injury and inconsistency again, it’s not clear what kind of a market there will be for the 27-year old.
Kalle Kossila Placed On Waivers, Gemel Smith Clears
The Toronto Maple Leafs have put Kalle Kossila on waivers today according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, indicating that the forward is ready to return from injury. Kossila will likely start the season with the Toronto Marlies should he clear, though there’s a chance the NHL club would want to see what he can do as well after signing him to a two-year contract earlier this summer.
Now 26, Kossila was an undrafted free agent signing out of St. Cloud State in 2016 after he dominated the college ranks to the tune of 54 points as a senior. The undersized forward actually didn’t take long to make an impact at the AHL level, but never got much of an opportunity with the Anaheim Ducks. Now in Toronto he could serve as some injury insurance but will most likely play a big role on the Marlies as they try to get back to the Calder Cup.
In addition, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Gemel Smith actually cleared waivers and has been assigned to the Syracuse Crunch, though his placement there wasn’t reported yesterday. Smith has played in three games for the Lightning this season, but with Brayden Point nearing a return the team can afford to move out a forward. Point was taking part in powerplay practice today and could potentially return on Thursday against the Maple Leafs.
Red Wings Place Four On Injured Reserve
The Detroit Red Wings will undergo a massive roster overhaul before their next game, which is just their third of the season. Ansar Khan of MLive.com was the first to report that Detroit has placed four players on injured reserve and recalled four others to replace them. Forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Frans Nielsen and defensemen Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley will all hit the shelf. In their stead, forwards Evgeny Svechnikov and Ryan Kuffner and defenseman Oliwer Kaski have been recalled from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins while recently-acquired defenseman Alex Biega will remain in Detroit rather than report to the minors.
The Red Wings will have a very different look when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, although not all that different. Athanasiou and Ericsson have yet to suit up for the team this season as they have both been fighting lingering injuries. In fact, Athanasiou’s IR placement is retroactive to September 20th, meaning he can be activated as soon as he is ready. Ericsson, Daley, and Nielsen will have to sit for at least seven days. Daley and Nielsen both left Detroit’s contest with the Dallas Stars on Sunday with injuries that apparently are more serious than originally thought.
However, this sudden rash of injuries does allow for the Red Wings to take a closer look at some of their depth players. Most notable is Biega, who was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks late last night, likely with these injuries in mind. The 31-year old defender played in 41 games for the Canucks last year, recording a career-high 16 points. Detroit has good depth on the back end in Grand Rapids, but Biega is the most experienced option and could work his way into a regular role with Detroit. Kaski is also an interesting figure on the blue line. The talented 24-year-old Finn was a near point-per-game scorer in the Liiga last season and may already be NHL-ready. Up front, Svechnikov is a name known by many, even though he missed all of last season with an injury. The 2015 first-rounder was once considered a surefire future Red Wing and he is out to prove he can still reach that expectation. Kuffner is looking to do the same; he got a taste of the NHL last season after wrapping up a dominant college career at Princeton University and wants to show that he is a player that belongs at the top level. So, while injuries to core players are never a positive, this could be an exciting time for Red Wings fans to witness a group of players who all want to win a regular spot in the Detroit lineup well past when their fallen teammates return to action.
Morning Notes: Three Stars, Leighton, Morrissey
The NHL has released their Three Stars for the first week of the season, and New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad leads the way. Zibanejad leads the NHL with eight points through his first two games, including a hat-trick on the weekend against the Ottawa Senators. The Rangers are off to a fast 2-0 start in a season that they hope will end in a playoff run for the young squad, and Zibanejad will be a huge part of that process.
Anthony Mantha and Auston Matthews take home the other two spots after scoring five goals each in their first week. Mantha did it in just two games, including a four-goal performance last night against the Dallas Stars. The 25-year old winger is looking to build off his career-high 25 goals a year ago, which he recorded in just 67 games. Matthews meanwhile continues his October dominance, scoring in each of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ first three contests. The 22-year old center now has 30 goals in 35 career games in the month of October.
- Michael Leighton has decided to hang up his pads after a long professional career, announcing his retirement through Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required). The veteran goaltender played for 21 different teams over an 18-year career, suiting up 111 times in the NHL regular season. Perhaps most notably though was his appearance for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 playoffs, where he started 13 games and recorded a .916 save percentage. The Flyers would lose in the Stanley Cup Final to the Chicago Blackhawks, with Patrick Kane scoring his classic Cup-winning goal in overtime of game six against Leighton.
- Josh Morrissey returned to practice for the Winnipeg Jets today, and his presence will be welcomed wholeheartedly whenever he’s able to suit up for a game. The Jets defense has been ravaged by everything from free agency, to injury and even potential retirement, leaving Morrissey as the most important blueliner on the team. The team is back in action tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, before returning home for a game on Thursday night.