Montreal Canadiens Facing Difficult Decision On Defense
The Montreal Canadiens are coming off another loss, this time at the hands of the New Jersey Devils who scored five goals in the first two periods. Montreal now sits fifth in the Atlantic Division with 26 points and a -3 goal differential. That’s not very impressive, but it does at least keep them in the playoff race as they await the return of their captain. Shea Weber is ahead of schedule and could be back on the ice before long, which while obviously good news also likely means the end of someone else’s tenure on the NHL roster. That’s what Eric Engels details in his latest for Sportsnet, breaking down the various options that the Canadiens have to make room for Weber.
The most startling of these options may be the idea that the Canadiens could waive Karl Alzner, less than 18 months after signing him to a five-year contract worth more than $23MM. The team has already sat the veteran defenseman in the press box for most of the season, getting him into just six games over their first 22. Importantly though, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet adds in his latest 31 Thoughts column that the Canadiens have been looking to trade a defenseman instead of risking them on waivers. In Alzner’s case it doesn’t seem like much of a risk given his high salary, but for some of the others—Jordie Benn, David Schlemko and Xavier Ouellet are mentioned as trade options in Engels’ piece—there would certainly be teams willing to take a shot.
Montreal is not in a place to be giving away assets for free, given their current balancing act on the line between competitiveness and concern. The team has played well this season to say in the mix and has some promising chemistry forming up front between Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin. Still, even with the emergence of Jesperi Kotkaniemi the team is lacking real impact prospects and could need to try and retool over the next few seasons.
So a trade, given the circumstances, seems the most beneficial option. Whether that will come to pass is still to be seen, especially given the fact that the rest of the league can see the situation that GM Marc Bergevin is in. Noah Juulsen‘s injury may buy him a bit more time, but at some point something will have to happen on the Montreal blue line. Defense-needy teams will be watching closely.
Vincent Trocheck Out Indefinitely Following Surgery
The Florida Panthers issued a statement today regarding the status of forward Vincent Trocheck, who required a stretcher to leave the ice surface after suffering a gruesome leg injury on Monday night. The forward and alternate captain will be out indefinitely following surgery to repair an ankle fracture. GM Dale Tallon expressed his belief that Trocheck will eventually be back.
Vinny is a tremendous competitor and leader for our club. It’s never easy to see a player and person like him suffer an injury like this, but we are confident that he will make a full recovery and be back on the ice with our team this season.
It is incredible news that Trocheck will make a return this season, given the optics of the injury. As he raced for a loose puck in the corner against the Ottawa Senators, his leg was caught underneath his body when tangling with Ryan Dzingel. The play was immediately blown dead while Trocheck was heard calling out in pain on the broadcast, and Senators players assisted trainers across the ice to help their fallen opponent.
The 25-year old center is a leader at both ends of the ice for the Panthers, and broke out last season with 31 goals and 75 points. He was off to another nice start this season with 14 points in his first 18 games, but will now likely miss a huge chunk of the year as he tries to come back. The Panthers have their eyes set on a playoff spot, but it will be even tougher to climb out of their early season hole without one of their star forwards. The team has recalled Denis Malgin to take Trocheck’s place on the roster, though he will certainly not fill his role entirely.
Panthers’ Vincent Trocheck Leaves Game On Stretcher
Tuesday: Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Trocheck is undergoing surgery on his leg today, giving a long-term timeline for his recovery. It is a huge blow for the Panthers as they try to climb their way out of the Eastern Conference basement.
Monday: In a scary incident on Monday night in Ottawa, Florida Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck was forced from the game with what appears to be a serious lower-body injury. Trocheck left the ice on a stretcher after a collision with Senators forward Ryan Dzingel along the end boards. The Panthers were quick to announce that Trocheck was being evaluated for his injury and would not return to the game.
The crash in question occurred late in the first period as Trocheck and Dzingel battled for the puck while skating toward the Panthers’ net (video). The duo got tied up and Trocheck’s right leg was trapped under him as he fell backwards. The twisting of the knee, paired with Trocheck’s visible pain, would seem to indicate ligament damage and Florida will have to hold out hope that it is a strain rather than a tear, especially of the ACL. Such an injury would keep Trocheck sidelined for a long period of time. The incident looked similar to the injury suffered by Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz earlier this season and Schultz was given a four month recovery timeline.
Trocheck, 25, has 14 points in 18 games to date, including an assist earlier in this game. After a career 75-point campaign last year, Trocheck has established himself as a top offensive asset for the Cats. Trocheck is especially key to the power play, which could suffer during his likely absence. The slick center is a mainstay in the top-six for Florida, who will have to ask others in the organization to step up if they hope to avoid the ill effects of the injury.
Patrice Bergeron Out For “Extended Period Of Time”
The Boston Bruins have been decimated by injuries this season, but their top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak has been good enough to help carry them through. Unfortunately, that trio will now be broken up. Kathryn Tappen of NBC Sports is reporting that Bergeron will be out an “extended period of time” with his upper-body injury. The team then announced that Bergeron has sustained a rib and sternoclavicular injury, and that he will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Even injuries to Charlie McAvoy and Zdeno Chara may not live up to the impact that this one will have on the Bruins, as Bergeron is a do-it-all superstar for the club. The 33-year old seems to have gotten even better with age, and had 26 points through his first 19 games. That put him on pace for the best offensive season of his career, something that will clearly be impossible now that he’s set to miss at least a month. It also seriously puts Boston’s playoff hopes in jeopardy, given the team is already trailing the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens in the Atlantic Division. It’s obviously not time to throw in the towel, but there certainly hasn’t been a lot of luck in Boston this season.
For those other Atlantic Division teams, this comes as a blessing. Bergeron and company have been an absolute matchup nightmare this season, seemingly scoring at will and allowing nothing from the opposition. Just recently we examined the ceiling for Pastrnak, but noted how he and Marchand had been broken up with Bergeron out of the lineup. Should that continue, the Bruins won’t have nearly the same advantage they were enjoying whenever their top unit was on the ice.
A four-time Selke Trophy winner as the league’s best defensive forward, Bergeron did deal with injury last season as well. These stints on the sideline are worrisome for a team that still has three more years invested in their top center, even though his salary dramatically decreases starting next season. If he’s on the ice, there’s no question that Bergeron is still one of the best players in the entire world. But he has to stay on the ice to be a positive for the team, and right now that looks doubtful for quite some time.
Steven Santini Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan
The New Jersey Devils should be getting back another young player soon, as according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com they today sent Steven Santini to the AHL on a conditioning loan as he works his way back from a broken jaw. Santini suffered the injury a month ago, and will need to get some game experience in before jumping back into the NHL fires.
The 23-year old defenseman has only played in a single game this season, and hasn’t quite caught on as a full-time member of the Devils. Playing in 36 games last season, Santini recorded 10 points but did not suit up in the playoffs for the club. That makes just 76 NHL games so far in his short career since being selected 42nd overall in 2013, and there is no clear spot waiting for him when he returns from the minor leagues.
Darren Helm Out Six To Eight Weeks
The Detroit Red Wings lost some of their forward depth today when GM Ken Holland told reporters including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that Darren Helm would be out six to eight weeks with a shoulder injury. Helm was injured early in the Red Wings Saturday night matchup with the New Jersey Devils, and will now miss up to two months.
Helm, 31, is a perfect example of how the Red Wings roster and salary structure has become bloated over the years leading to some lean performances in the win column. Never much of an offensive threat, but capable defensively, Helm was signed to a five-year $19.25MM contract in the summer of 2016 despite scoring just 13 goals and 26 points the previous year. Though he was a useful player, there was no reason to believe his offensive output would increase, and yet somehow he was inked to a long-term deal for substantial money that included a no-trade clause. The team meanwhile had just been wiped quickly out of the first round of the playoffs and looked like they were headed for some tough times.
This year, Helm had just six points in 20 games despite seeing time near the top of the lineup on a semi-regular basis. He is still generally regarded as a good defensive player and can contribute in several ways, but is far from necessary on a team looking to get younger and give more opportunity to the next wave of forwards. That may be the silver lining in this situation, though given their strong 8-2-0 record over the last few weeks head coach Jeff Blashill likely would change nothing if he had the choice.
Helm was an obvious choice for a player the Red Wings could try to trade to free up some cap space going forward, but with this major injury it will be hard for him to showcase himself for any deadline deal—something that would need his approval anyway. For now, the team will get a chance to evaluate another young player in his absence and see if they are ready to move on. Should they miss the playoffs this season, the team does have a window to void his no-trade clause in June, according to CapFriendly.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Matthews, Dube
The NHL has released their Three Stars of the week, and Cam Atkinson will take home the top spot this time around. The diminutive Columbus Blue Jackets forward scored five goals and eight points in three games and is now producing at more than a point-per-game pace for the season. The 29-year old Atkinson is trying to put his injury plagued 2017-18 season behind him and get back to the 35-goal scorer he showed capable of being the year prior.
Corey Crawford and Joe Pavelski arrive at second and third respectively, and it’s the former whose performance is so impressive given his long way back from injury over the last year. Crawford now sits with a .922 save percentage on the season and is one of the sole reasons the Blackhawks are still within striking distance of a playoff spot in the Central Division. A team that has already fired their legendary coach and replaced him with the youngest bench boss in the league, Chicago will need Crawford to continue his strong play if they’re to have any chance at a postseason berth this year.
- Auston Matthews was back on the ice with the Toronto Maple Leafs this morning, and he wasn’t wearing the red no-contact jersey. While the Maple Leafs have made no indication that Matthews will be back ahead of schedule, his presence with the team can only give them another morale boost as they try to reclaim the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Even without their young superstar—and his usual linemate William Nylander, who is still without a contract—the Maple Leafs sit at 14-6-0 on the year and have the second best goal differential in the entire NHL.
- The Calgary Flames have inserted rookie Dillon Dube into the lineup 15 times this season, but have given him more than 13 minutes of ice time in only three of those contests. Still with just two points on the season, Dube is looking for his first NHL goal and a way to establish himself as a bigger presence at both ends of the ice. That opportunity is tough to carve out when the team has such solid depth up front, something that head coach Bill Peters is aware of. Speaking to reporters including Kristen Anderson of Postmedia, Peters explained that the team will soon have to decide whether keeping Dube in the NHL only to play a few minutes a game is really the best for his development. Instead, the team could send him back to the AHL where he has still yet to play a full season.
Matt Cullen Out “Longer Term” With Lower-Body Injury
The Pittsburgh Penguins are struggling to stay relevant this season, finding themselves at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division and on a three-game losing streak. The seemingly perennial Stanley Cup contenders haven’t been able to contend for much of anything this year, and still face the prospect of a Sidney Crosby-less lineup taking on the Buffalo Sabres later tonight. Unfortunately for the club, another key veteran center will be out as well. Head coach Mike Sullivan announced that Matt Cullen will be out “longer term” today after the morning skate, citing a lower-body injury.
Cullen, 42, has played more this season than some had expected when he signed a one-year contract at the league minimum this summer. The veteran is a beloved member of the Pittsburgh dressing room going back to his consecutive Stanley Cup victories in 2016 and 2017, but looked like a depth signing that would be buried behind several other options down the middle. Instead, Cullen has played in 18 games this season and is averaging nearly 12 minutes a night. He even has four points in those 18 games, contributing more than anyone could have expected.
Unfortunately, those contributions haven’t helped the team in the standings as the Penguins now sit at 7-8-3 and are tied with the Florida Panthers for last place in the Eastern Conference. That record includes a 2-7-1 run in their last ten, a plummet to the bottom that has only been amplified by Crosby’s recent absence. Losing Cullen obviously won’t make the same impact, but it’s just another factor in the decision making process of GM Jim Rutherford, who has already entered the trade market by swapping Carl Hagelin for Tanner Pearson, and could very well make more moves to try and turn things around.
Minor Transactions: 11/19/18
Nine games grace the NHL stage tonight including some key matchups featuring some of the best teams in the league. Perhaps the best example of that is when the Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Nashville Predators in a battle of Stanley Cup contenders. As teams prepare for their big night, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- The Washington Capitals are expected to have Braden Holtby dressed once again as he returns from injury, and have sent Ilya Samsonov back down to the minor leagues. Taking his place on the roster is young defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who has played two games for the Capitals this season. Samsonov is one of the top goaltending prospects in the world, but will have to wait for his next opportunity before making his NHL debut.
- Micheal Haley is back with the Florida Panthers, as the team recalled him today along with Dryden Hunt. Denis Malgin and Maxim Mamin were reassigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds to make room. Haley, 32, spent the start of the season away from the team working with the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, but has now resumed his career and will try to inject some physicality and energy into the Panthers lineup.
- The Arizona Coyotes have returned three players to the AHL as they make room for other on the roster returning to health. CapFriendly reports that forward Mario Kempe and defensemen Dakota Mermis and Robbie Russo have all been reassigned to the Tuscon Roadrunners. Russo did not see any game action on his first recall of the season, while Mermis skated in just over eleven minutes in his one appearance and Kempe recorded a team-low 10:22 ATOI in four games. The trio don’t seem to have the trust of the coaching staff just yet and the Coyotes likely hope that they can stay healthy enough to avoid seeing any of the group for a while.
Ducks Place Hampus Lindholm On Injured Reserve
The Anaheim Ducks continue to deal with a rash of injuries, as top defenseman Hampus Lindholm has now joined the sidelined. CapFriendly reports that Lindholm has been placed on the injured reserve, a change also reflected on the team’s official roster albeit not yet announced by the Ducks.
There has been no word yet on the type or extent of the injury that Lindholm has suffered, but Ducks fans will hold out hope that it is relatively minor. The team is already without Cam Fowler, on IR with a facial fracture, and have yet to see Korbinian Holzer this season due to a wrist injury. On top of a depleted back end, the team is also missing quite a few names up front, including core forwards Corey Perry and Patrick Eaves. A Lindholm absence of any length hurts, but Anaheim can ill afford a long-term hiatus.
Lindholm, 25, not only leads all Ducks skaters in ice time, but his 25:29 ATOI is seventh-best in the whole league. Lindholm is also tied for third in scoring for Anaheim with ten points, among the top scoring defensemen in the Pacific Division. Without Lindholm and Fowler, the Ducks are sorely lacking their regular leadership and top sources of production on the blue line. Although they have yet to announce this transaction as well, the team’s roster shows that defensemen Jake Dotchin and Josh Mahura have been recalled and both could soon find their way into the starting lineup, with Luke Schenn clearing waivers and destined for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Dotchin played in 48 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, but has yet to make his Ducks debut, while first-year pro Mahura would be making his first NHL appearance. The two have performed well for San Diego this season, but face a tall task if asked to help make up for a long-term Lindholm absence in Anaheim.