Snapshots: Boeser, Kaprizov, Europe
The Vancouver Canucks have sent Brock Boeser back to Vancouver to see a specialist about his groin injury, and will not play tomorrow night against the Boston Bruins according to Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet. The move is precautionary in nature, but the Canucks cannot risk further injury to one of their star players after surprising the league with such a hot start. The team is currently on a six game road trip that will end in Boeser’s home state of Minnesota a week from today.
Vancouver is currently tied for the lead in the Pacific Division despite having played one more game than the San Jose Sharks, and will continue to try and ride a hot Elias Pettersson towards at least a wild card spot. Boeser is the obvious complement to Pettersson up front, but after a serious injury ended his 2017-18 season and already missing three games earlier this year with the groin issue, the team can’t afford to rush him back again. Even with their surprise performance through the first month of the season, GM Jim Benning and the entire organization has to worry about the future and how to get a healthy and productive Boeser back on the ice.
- It may have been just GM Paul Fenton that traveled to Russia to speak with prized prospect Kirill Kaprizov, but don’t think the entire Minnesota Wild organization wasn’t keeping close tabs on the meeting. According to Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required), Wild owner Craig Leipold wanted to accompany Fenton on the trip but thanks to an injured hip could only send a personal letter, written in Russian. Though the young forward is still under contract in the KHL until 2020, Fenton told Leipold that he thinks Kaprizov “would come right now if he could.” The Wild are still a long way from knowing for sure if they can pencil the dynamic forward into their 2020-21 lineup, but this meeting—and the letter—seem to have at least moved the conversation in the right direction.
- Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic caught up with Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly on TSN radio today, and was told that it is “inevitable” that there will eventually be NHL teams in Europe. The league has worked hard to expand their brand overseas in recent years, including the Global Series games that have seen NHL teams play regular season matches on foreign soil (or ice, as it were). The KHL has already expanded outside of Russia and into several other countries including China, Finland and Slovakia, meaning the NHL would have a fight on their hands if they wanted to put down roots in any of those markets.
Antti Raanta Placed On Injured Reserve
Coming into the season, one of the trendy dark horse picks for the Vezina Trophy was Antti Raanta. The Arizona Coyotes goaltender had put together an incredible second half in the 2017-18 season to finish with a .930 save percentage, and statistics were being thrown around comparing him to some of the game’s best. Sure, he hadn’t proven it over a long period of time, but what’s fun about predictions if you don’t go out on a ledge?
Even the most ardent Raanta supporters though knew that he needed to stay healthy in order to achieve that success, something that he hadn’t been able to accomplish since being traded to the desert. The 29-year old played just 47 games for Arizona last season, a number that was sure to increase if he could stay off the trainer’s table and on the ice. That hasn’t happened so far, as Raanta missed a game after being pulled in warm-up earlier this year and has now been placed on injured reserve as he deals with his latest minor injury. The move was made last night according to Craig Morgan of The Athletic, and is retroactive to November 6th. That means Raanta is ineligible to play until November 13th, missing at least three games.
Being held out for a few days isn’t the end of the world, especially because the Coyotes do have a capable backup goaltender in Darcy Kuemper. Arizona though expects to compete for the playoffs this season, and to do that need their star goaltender in net more often than not. No matter how well Kuemper does in relief, Raanta is the biggest key to the season for the Coyotes and will have to be monitored even more closely for the rest of the season. Hunter Miska was recalled from the minor leagues under emergency conditions, but could now be changed to a regular call-up given Raanta’s injury designation.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minor Transactions: 11/08/18
Another day, another full slate of NHL games. With nine contests on the schedule, teams all around the league will have some last minute tweaks and tough decisions. We’ll be there to keep track of all of them.
- The Minnesota Wild have recalled Matt Read from the minor leagues once again, as Eric Staal continues to deal with an illness. Read, 32, has split his time between Minnesota and the Iowa Wild this year, recording two points in seven games for the AHL affiliate. The veteran forward was signed for this exact reason, to serve as emergency depth in case of injury.
- A.J. Greer is on his way back up to the Colorado Avalanche, after just a few days in the minor leagues. Greer was sent down on November 3rd, but will earn another look at the NHL level after more success with the Colorado Eagles. Greer has ten points in nine games for the Eagles this season, and has started to finally turn the corner as an offensive contributor at the professional level.
- Boo Nieves has finally been activated off season-opening injured reserve, and will be assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack. Nieves hasn’t played yet this season, and before working his way into the NHL lineup will have to prove his health back in the minors. The 24-year old played 28 games for the Rangers last season, recording nine points.
Ondrej Palat Out Four Weeks With Lower-Body Injury
The Tampa Bay Lightning are off to a great start to the season, but will have to deal with the loss of a key forward for the next month. The team announced today that Ondrej Palat will be out for the next four weeks with a lower-body injury. Palat injured his foot when blocking a shot against the Vegas Golden Knights, and according to Joe Smith of The Athletic, is not expecting to have surgery.
Palat, 27, is in the second season of his long-term deal with the team, and so far hasn’t been able to provide quite the value they were expecting. After recording 52 points in 2016-17, last season was a down year due to injury limiting him to just 56 contests. Missing four weeks already this year threatens to make it a similar outcome, especially given that Palat is still searching for his first goal. The talented winger could be the team’s best defensive forward—a title that Brayden Point is pushing to claim—but could be limited to fewer than 15 goals in consecutive seasons depending on how the rest of the year turns out. Four weeks would keep Palat out for an additional 15 games, meaning the most he could possibly play this season is 61.
It’s a troubling trend for a player that is such an important part to the Tampa Bay attack, as Palat hasn’t played more than 75 games in a season since 2013-14. That was his first full-time chance in the NHL, and still stands as his career-high in goal scoring with 23. Though he’s been an excellent playoff contributor and provides flexibility by being a fit in multiple spots throughout the lineup, the team needs him on the ice more consistently if they want to really get any return value on his $5.3MM cap hit. Because of the unusual structure of his deal, he’s actually earning $6.855MM in salary this year.
Injury Updates: Palat, Hedman, Compher, Andrighetto, Bouwmeester
Lightning winger Ondrej Palat is not recovering well from the lower-body injury he sustained in late October. Accordingly, the team has decided to shut him down for a couple of weeks with the hope that some rest will help the issue, notes Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, he’s not expected to need surgery. The Czech winger has yet to score in nine games this season but has collected five assists.
Meanwhile, Smith adds that defenseman Victor Hedman won’t suit up on Thursday night but is nearing a return to the lineup. He has been out since sustaining an upper-body injury on October 26th and will be a welcome addition to the Lightning’s back end as their number one blueliner.
More injury notes from around the league:
- Although Avalanche center J.T. Compher is skating on his own, he is not progressing from a concussion he sustained in mid-October, head coach Jared Bednar told Ryan Goulding of the Denver Post. Accordingly, there is no timetable for his return. The 23-year-old was off to a strong start to his season before the injury, collecting three goals and an assist through his first five games. Meanwhile, Goulding adds that winger Sven Andrighetto has also resumed skating and could be available to play on their upcoming two-game road trip that begins on Friday.
- Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester was listed as a scratch on Tuesday but head coach Mike Yeo indicated to reporters, including Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that Bouwmeester is still dealing with hip soreness. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him sit for a few games to see if the rest helps with the pain. It has been a rough couple of seasons for the veteran on the injury front and hip troubles cost him the final 16 games of 2017-18. Louis has some defensive depth but given Bouwmeester’s situation, it’s unlikely they’ll want to deal from that anytime soon.
Snapshots: Bouchard, Raanta, Schmidt
The London Knights have announced their new leadership group for the 2018-19 season now that several key players have returned, and Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard has been given the captaincy once again. Bouchard played seven games for the Oilers before being sent back to junior for the rest of the year, and should immediately step into his role playing nearly 30 minutes a night for London. One of the most effective players in the OHL, Bouchard will also likely be a key member of the Canadian World Junior squad in the coming months.
Joining him with letters for the Knights are several other well known prospects, including Alex Formenton of the Ottawa Senators and Liam Foudy of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Formenton played nine games for the Senators this season and scored his first NHL goal, while Foudy was the 18th-overall pick in June after dominating the NHL Draft Combine. William Lochead and Cole Tymkin, both undrafted, will round out the group of alternates for the Knights this season.
- Antti Raanta will be out at least a few days with a lower-body injury for the Arizona Coyotes, meaning they were forced to recall Hunter Miska under emergency conditions. Craig Morgan of The Athletic adds that Raanta has subsequently been placed on IR and will be out until November 13th at the earliest. Miska will serve as the backup to Darcy Kuemper for tomorrow’s game in Philadelphia, but perhaps he will be forced into action before too long given the team has a back-to-back against Pittsburgh and Washington that are scheduled fewer than 24 hours apart.
- Though the Vegas Golden Knights will be without Erik Haula for at least a few games—and perhaps many more given the optics of last night’s injury—they welcomed back another familiar face to practice today. Nate Schmidt was back on the ice with the team, and can now take full part of practice as he waits out the last ten days of his PED suspension. November 18th is the first game action Schmidt is eligible for, when the Golden Knights head to Edmonton to take on Connor McDavid and the Oilers.
Vegas’ Erik Haula Leaves Game On Stretcher With Leg Injury
With Paul Stastny already sidelined with an injury, the Vegas Golden Knights were dealt a major blow tonight, with another center suffering what looks to be a serious injury. Erik Haula was stretchered off the ice in Toronto following a collision with Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau (video). Haula was immediately clutching his right leg and shouting in pain, with the optics and immediate reaction pointing toward a torn ACL. Haula is likely to miss a substantial period of time – perhaps the remainder of the season – if this is the case.
The incident occurred early in the third period on a rather innocuous play. As Haula was exiting the defensive zone, Marleau came in for a light hip check against the boards near the red line. As Haula fell awkwardly backward, his skate appeared to become jammed in the boards, twisting his knee as he fell. The pain was evident from his response and an injury of that magnitude in the knee area is almost certainly torn ligaments, likely the ACL. A stretcher was immediately brought out. While Haula was able to wave to the crowd, this was anything but a positive moment for the Golden Knights and their fans.
Haula, 27, has been a fixture in Vegas’ top-six so far this year and has seven points to his credit, third-best for the struggling club. Haula has also been very effective at the face-off dot and has the best possession numbers of any Knights forward. His injury and likely prolonged absence is no small matter. An ACL tear is generally a 6+ month recovery, putting Haula’s return this season in doubt if that is indeed the case. The Golden Knights await further clarification on the injury, but it’s not good news for a team who somehow need to turn things around this year, now down two top forwards.
Derek MacKenzie Undergoes Surgery, Out Indefinitely
The Florida Panthers announced today that veteran forward and former captain Derek MacKenzie has undergone successful shoulder surgery which will keep him out of the lineup indefinitely. The surgery had been planned since before the team left for their games in Finland, given the injury he suffered on opening night. MacKenzie is in the final year of his current contract, and played fewer than three minutes of ice time before coming out of the game earlier this year.
If this is the end for MacKenzie, who will turn 38 in June, it has been a successful run. After being selected in the fifth round in 1999 by the Atlanta Thrashers, it took him a decade to establish himself as a full-time NHL player. That came in 2010-11 with the Columbus Blue Jackets, when he played in 63 games and set a career-high with 23 points. The nine goals he scored that year were the closest he’d come to double digits, but he was valued nonetheless as a bottom-six player and emotional leader on both Columbus and then Florida.
Named captain of the Panthers in 2016 after Willie Mitchell retired, MacKenzie held the position for two seasons before relinquishing the “C” to Aleksander Barkov this summer. Though he was not scheduled to wear a letter this year, MacKenzie is still a huge part of the leadership group in Florida and his presence is notoriously missing on the ice. The former Calder Cup champion has 611 career regular season games under his belt in the NHL, but never was able to get his teams to even the second round of the playoffs. If he can get back on the ice before the season is over, the Panthers will clearly welcome him with open arms. If not, it’s been a career to be proud of and one that has stretched nearly two decades.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Vilardi, Matthews
The NHL has announced their Three Stars for the latest week of the regular season, giving the Calgary Flames something to finally celebrate. Though the Flames are still giving up goals at an unfortunate pace, their offense has exploded and has them in first place in the Pacific Division. That’s in big part due to Sean Monahan‘s eight-point week which has earned him first star honors. The young center now has 18 points in his first 15 games this season and is on pace to shatter his previous career-high of 64 points, set last year. With 146 goals already in his young career—Monahan turned 24 just a few weeks ago—he’s on track to be one of the best scorers to ever wear a Flames uniform. Jarome Iginla is clearly the leader with 525 regular season goals for Calgary, but Monahan already ranks 17th and could jump into the top-12 by season’s end.
Young stars was the theme of this week’s awards, as super rookie Elias Pettersson and underrated center Brayden Point took home second and third star. Pettersson is one of the most exciting players in the NHL right now, while Point continues to develop into the next great two-way center even in the shadows of other Tampa Bay stars like Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning have a huge contract negotiation coming with Point at the end of this year, when he enters restricted free agency for the first time. If his point output continues at its current pace—he’s on track for just under 100—they’ll be hard pressed to find room for him among all their other talented and well paid forwards without making a corresponding move.
- Though Los Angeles Kings fans may have felt a chill run through their body upon reading Bob McKenzie of TSN’s report that Gabe Vilardi suffered a setback in an off-ice training session, Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider was told that it’s nothing to really worry about. Viladri has a tight hip flexor, but should be back on the ice in a few days. That’s great news for a player who can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to injury, and has played just 48 OHL games since being selected 11th overall in 2017. The 19-year old forward is a dominant puck possessing force when healthy, but needs to get back on the ice full-time before he can really prove he’ll be a part of the turnaround in Los Angeles.
- Speaking of getting back on the ice, Auston Matthews skated today in Toronto with a team of coaches including Haley Wickenheiser as he works his way back from his latest shoulder injury. The Maple Leafs indicated that it would be a minimum of four weeks from October 29th before Matthews would be ready for game action, meaning he’s still several weeks away from the lineup. Still, with the Maple Leafs coming off a dominating 5-0 win on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, seeing their best player on the ice shooting pucks already has to be another morale boost as they try to keep pace with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division.
Viktor Arvidsson Placed On Injured Reserve
The Nashville Predators were missing a key player from practice today, when Viktor Arvidsson was nowhere to be seen. Adam Vignan of The Athletic reports that Arvidsson has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. It’s unclear exactly when Arvidsson sustained the injury, but he was unable to play last Thursday night for the Predators or their most recent game this past weekend, meaning the IR stint is retroactive from Tuesday, October 30th. That means Arvidsson could potentially play for the Predators on Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche, but that would make this transaction largely irrelevant. More likely, the Predators forward will miss at least another game with the injury.
Nashville is off to a league leading 11-3-0 start this season, and have already worked their way through some injuries to key players. If Arvidsson misses any extended length of time the team would be weakened, but they’ve shown such a deep and dominant group so far that their’s little doubt they could continue to win. Perhaps this is the worst time to lose a key forward though, given they’re about to start a five-game road trip that will include stops in Colorado and Dallas, two teams trying to catch them in the Central Divison.
Arvidsson meanwhile will press the pause button on a season that looks like it had a chance to eclipse even his excellent recent history. After two straight seasons with 61 points, the 5’9″ forward was off to a point-per-game pace through 12 contests and had already scored eight goals. If he misses much time a career-high might be out of the question, though he’ll likely be inserted right back into the top group upon his return.