Injury Notes: Blues, Coburn, Spurgeon, Carrier, Franson, Rutta, Jagr
Injury news seems to be a daily affair in St. Louis as the St. Louis Blues are dealing multiple injuries at once, especially after the team learned that defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is expected to miss the weekend after he was put on injured reserve Friday with an unspecified injury, according to Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Now, Chris Pinkert of NHL.com writes that the team has a new injury to worry about as the team’s fourth-line center, Kyle Brodziak, is likely to miss Saturday’s game and is day-to-day with an unknown injury.
“He’s a little dinged up, that’s why he didn’t practice yesterday. We were hoping he could come in and feel better today, but that wasn’t the case,” Blues head coach Mike Yeo said. “Hopefully he feels better tomorrow.”
Timmerman adds in a tweet that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is making progress, but his status for Sunday’s game (the first game he is eligible for against the Winnipeg Jets is unknown. The scribe points out, however, that since it’s the second game of a home-and-home against the Jets, it’s unlikely the team would carry just six defensemen for two straight games, which suggests the team is confident that Pietrangelo will likely play on Sunday. Another factor on defense was the status of veteran defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, whose status was questionable Friday after taking a shot off his right leg, which forced him to leave practice yesterday. Pinkert adds that he’s OK and is expected to play Saturday.
Other injury notes in the NHL:
- Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith tweets that defenseman Braydon Coburn is likely to return tonight against the Avalanche. Coburn has missed seven games and hasn’t played since Nov. 29 with a lower-body injury. The 32-year-old veteran has seven assists in 25 games this season.
- With Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon not playing in today’s matchup against the Oilers, The Athletic’s Michael Russo tweets that it’s likely that Spurgeon will return to the Wild for tomorrow’s matchup with the Blackhawks. He has missed nine games for Minnesota with a groin injury. The 28-year-old has three goals and 12 assists in 23 games this season.
- Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp tweets that winger William Carrier, who has missed nine straight games with an upper-body injury, continues to practice in a non-contact jersey, but a return could be coming soon. Carrier’s presence and toughness has been missed. He has one goal and one assist in 20 games.
- The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Hine tweets that Cody Franson and Jan Rutta could be back on the ice soon, possibly even tomorrow, according to coach Joel Quenneville. Franson has missed three games with an upper-body injury, while Rutta missed Thursday’s game against Winnipeg with an apparent head injury.
- Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson tweets that Jaromir Jagr is expected back into the lineup today after missing the past six games with a lower-body injury. He is expected to play on the team’s fourth line tonight.
Injury Updates: Canucks, Zibanejad, Capitals
Vancouver hasn’t had much luck with the injury bug as of late with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi, two-thirds of their top line, going down recently. The bad news continued Friday as the Canucks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Chris Tanev will be out two-to-three weeks as a result of a groin strain. That is undoubtedly a big blow to their back end as he logs nearly 21 minutes per game of ice time while playing a shutdown role. Alex Biega will likely draw into the lineup as his replacement but he hasn’t seen any action in more than three weeks.
Canucks head coach Travis Green also provided further updates on a couple of players. Center Brandon Sutter is still seven-to-ten days away from returning from his upper-body injury while blueliner Erik Gudbranson is the closest to returning; he has been out with an upper-body issue of his own since November 22nd.
Other injury notes from around the NHL:
- Mika Zibanejad’s return to the lineup will have to wait a little while longer. The Rangers have ruled him out of their next two games, reports NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman via Twitter. The plan is for the center to practice on Monday and then the team will re-evaluate his status from there. Zibanejad last played on November 26th and has been dealing with concussion-like symptoms since then but he still sits third in team scoring with 22 points in 24 games.
- Capitals winger T.J. Oshie took part in a partial practice today but will not suit up tomorrow night against Anaheim, reports Callie Caplan of the Washington Post. As a result, he’ll miss his sixth straight game. From the same report, defenseman Brooks Orpik is dealing with an upper-body issue. He’s set to be re-evaluated tomorrow but it seems likely that he will also miss Saturday’s contest. Washington doesn’t have enough salary cap space to call anyone up but they have one extra defender on their roster so they still should be able to ice a full lineup.
Ryan Callahan Out Indefinitely With Upper-Body Injury
Ryan Callahan played just 8:37 in last night’s game for the Tampa Bay Lightning after crashing into the boards hard, and today has been given a disappointing diagnosis. Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Callahan is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, and won’t even be evaluated again for at least three weeks.
Callahan was caught up with Coyotes’ defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the third period, and suffered an apparent shoulder or arm injury on the play. It’s a tough break for Callahan, who has seen his career derailed by injuries the past few seasons. Once the captain of the New York Rangers, Callahan was a perennial 20-goal scorer who reached a (since matched) career-high of 54 points in 2011-12.
Traded for Martin St. Louis, Callahan had a solid start with the Lightning but played just 18 games last year due to chronic hip issues. He’d worked hard to get back on the ice this year, but had just six points in 29 games playing fewer than 13 minutes a night. At $5.8MM, his cap hit is one of the worst in the league for a player of his production, and after this latest injury you have to start wondering about a potential long-term injury stint once again.
Snapshots: Mrazek, Mete, Nylander
Petr Mrazek has been in the news recently since we found out that the Edmonton Oilers had a passing interest in the Detroit Red Wings goaltender, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet now says it may have been more than just that. Friedman joined Sportsnet 960 radio out of Calgary this morning, and explained that one source told him it was even closer than he had originally thought.
I heard they were looking at Mrazek last week, and somebody told me after we mentioned it that it was a lot closer than I had kinda thought. I think they’d worked out that Detroit was going to keep about half the money, and they were trying to figure out the draft pick.
That would mesh with what we learned from Craig Custance of The Athletic recently, that a proposed asking price for Mrazek would be a second or third-round pick depending on whether Detroit was retaining salary. It might not matter anymore, as Edmonton seems to have cooled on Mrazek after watching him more closely and the team has just welcomed Cam Talbot back off injured reserve.
- Victor Mete is busy trying to make the Canadian World Junior team after spending the early portion of the season with the Montreal Canadiens, but may have an even bigger international tournament in his future. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Mete is very much on the radar of the Canadian Olympic team, but still has some hurdles if he ever were to be invited. The Canadiens could bring Mete back to the NHL squad after the World Junior tournament, and the CHL still doesn’t have an agreement with Hockey Canada on if it will lend players to the Olympic squad. Those decisions won’t be made until after the World Juniors are over, which end on January 5th.
- Speaking of World Junior decisions, the Buffalo Sabres still haven’t made a choice on Alexander Nylander according to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. Sabres GM Jason Botterill wants to see Nylander play more at the AHL level before making that decision, after an injury has taken away much of the young forward’s season so far. Nylander has been disappointing so far in his professional career, scoring just 32 points in 77 AHL games. The eighth-overall pick in 2016 has huge upside, but needs to get back on track this season.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Minnesota Wild
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will look at what teams are thankful for as the season nears the quarter point of completion. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We take a look at what’s gone well in the first month and what could improve as the season rolls on. So far we’ve covered the following teams: ANA, ARZ, BOS, BUF, CGY, CAR, CBJ, COL, DET, EDM, FLA, LAK, NSH, NJD, NYI, NYR, PHI, PIT, SJS, STL, TOR, VAN, VGK and WSH.
What are the Minnesota Wild most thankful for?
A deep prospect pool.
When the Wild approached the expansion draft last year, they were in trouble. They had too many assets that needed protection, and were destined to lose an excellent player. In order to sway the Vegas Golden Knights’ decision in a certain direction, they gave up prized prospect Alex Tuch. Though the team had drafted Tuch in the first round just a few years prior, his upside and potential impact wasn’t seen to be as high as some of their other prospects.
Well, six months later and Tuch is starring alongside Erik Haula (the other player lost in the expansion process) in Vegas, and the Wild are struggling to stay relevant in the playoff picture. Surely they’d like to have Tuch back, but luckily those other high-end prospects still remain.
Though the relationship with Kirill Kaprizov—or lack thereof—makes the Russian a complete wildcard, there are others who should have Minnesota fans excited for the next few years. Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin have both played roles in the NHL this season, while Jordan Greenway continues to dominate players even older than him in the college ranks. Ivan Lodnia was just signed after a blistering start in Erie, and the team has four picks in the top three rounds this upcoming draft.
Who are the Wild most thankful for?
General managers around the league must be hitting themselves over not pursuing Staal in the summer of 2016. Coming off a horrible season, in which he was traded from the team he’d been drafted by and captained for seven years, Minnesota happily scooped him up on July 1st. Much was said about how Staal might be on the way out of the game, until he immediately found success in Minnesota to the tune of 28 goals and 65 points.
The three-year, $10.5MM contract that he signed was just $1MM more in total than he’d earned in 2015-16 alone. Minnesota got a legitimate number one center, and borderline Hall of Fame candidate for the price of a third or fourth-line player. You can still hear Chuck Fletcher laughing to himself somewhere in St. Paul.
Staal has been everything for the club this year, leading the team in points with 26 through their first 30 games and coming through with one of the best possession seasons of his career. Playing nearly 19 minutes a night and hitting the ice in all circumstances, Staal’s contract is one of the best in the entire league. While now 33 years old, he’ll still be exceptionally valuable in the final year of his deal next season.
What would the Wild be even more thankful for?
Some “puck luck” for Mikko Koivu.
Despite still being an excellent possession player, used in all situations, Koivu can’t seem to get much going offensively this season. Coming off another one of his patented solid-if-not-spectacular seasons with 58 points, he only has 15 in his first 30 games and eight of those are on the powerplay. He’s now been held pointless in his last eight games despite being on the ice for more than 147 minutes, and hasn’t found the back of the net himself since October.
Amazingly, a lot of that has to do with pure bad luck. Koivu is carrying a pathetic 5.1% shooting percentage this season, far below his career average. Though he’s never been a sniper that carries a high percentage, he’s due for some luck going his way at some point. During his 21-game goalless streak he’s fired 58 shots on net without a single one trickling through.
He’s not only used for his offense, but a bounce here or there would be a big help for the Wild as they try to claw their way back into the playoff picture.
What should be on the Wild’s Holiday Wish List?
Another center.
When the Wild lost Haula and let Martin Hanzal walk in free agency, their center depth was tested. Though they brought in Matt Cullen, who has done a fine job for them so far, their unyielding ability to throw an effective center over the boards every single shift has left them. Charlie Coyle can play the position but the team likes him better on the wing, and Kunin isn’t quite ready for a full-time role.
There is the possibility that when Zach Parise eventually returns from injury they’ll move Coyle back to the middle, but an addition would be the best option. It’ll be tough, as the Wild are pressed right up against the cap thanks the the hefty cap hits of Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno, both who’ve been healthy scratches at times this year. That fact may force them to go with what they have right now, but it will be interesting to see if they find a way to get involved as the deadline approaches.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minor Transactions: 12/14/17
The Ottawa Senators got off the schneid last night, defeating the New York Rangers 3-2 for just their second regulation win in 14 games. Perhaps that can build them a little bit of momentum as they head into the NHL 100 Classic on Saturday night, outside against the Montreal Canadiens. As the Senators and the rest of the league prepares for an eventful weekend, we’ll keep track of all the minor movement right here. Check back throughout the day.
- The Minnesota Wild have recalled goaltender Steve Michalek for tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Devan Dubnyk is out with a lower-body injury suffered earlier this week, meaning Alex Stalock will get the start against his former (albeit for a short time) team. Dubnyk underwent an MRI, meaning more information should be released today on the extent of his injury.
- The Winnipeg Jets have moved Dustin Byfuglien to injured reserve, while recalling Julian Melchiori from the AHL. Melchiori played 18 games for the Jets last season, recording two points, but has been stuck in the minor leagues this year.
- Michael Leighton is on his way back to the Tucson Roadrunners, after being a salary cap call-up for the last few days. Both Antti Raanta and Scott Wedgewood are healthy, but the Arizona Coyotes flirt with the cap floor all season long and sometimes need to call up players just to make their roster acceptable.
- With Chris Tanev unavailable due to injury, the Vancouver Canucks have called up Ashton Sautner from the AHL. Sautner would be making his NHL debut should he get into a game, after spending the last two-plus years with Utica. The 23-year old has three points in 21 games this season.
Snapshots: Clifford, Blais, Tavares, Marchand
The Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Kings are about to get even stronger. The team has announced that veteran forward Kyle Clifford has been activated from the injured reserve. After missing all but the first three games of the 2017-18 season with an upper body injury, Clifford could return to the L.A. lineup as early as tonight’s match-up against the New Jersey Devils. The Kings had an open roster spot, meaning no corresponding moves were needed to activate Clifford and likely indicating that he is expected to go tonight. The two-way winger is a career King and thus a two-time Stanley Cup champ. L.A. will surely appreciate having his seven years of experience and familiarity back in the lineup.
- The St. Louis Blues, division leaders themselves, have returned Samuel Blais to the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. The timing of the move is curious, given that Jaden Schwartz was just recently sidelined for six weeks and the Blues could use his offensive instincts in the lineup. Blais has only three points in nine NHL games in his rookie season, but impressed the organization in the preseason and has 13 points in 11 AHL games. With a tough game against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight and a crucial home-and-home with the Winnipeg Jets coming up this weekend, perhaps coach Mike Yeo wanted to field a more veteran, two-way lineup, especially given the absences of Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester. However, the team could regret missing out on Blais’ offensive fire power if missing Schwartz is more apparent.
- The New York Islanders are still upset about the lack of league retribution handed out to the Bruins’ Brad Marchand for his high hit on Isles captain John Tavares on Saturday. En route to a 3-1 Boston win, the game did get physical and Marchand took offense to an earlier incident and undoubtedly charged at and hit Tavares. However, the five-minute major he was awarded was enough for the NHL Department of Player Safety, who announced they would not have a hearing with a familiar face in Marchand. That didn’t sit well with Islanders head coach Doug Weight, Greg Joyce of the New York Post writes. “I was probably a little surprised,” Weight said, explaining “Things are targeted, things happen spontaneously, but to me, the ones that are premeditated, it’s unfortunate when we only look at results. So if Johnny lies there and he is hurt, there’d probably be something done. I don’t know the logic in that.” For now, all the Islanders can do is be thankful that Tavares wasn’t hurt and be prepared to deliver some justice themselves when the Isles face the Bruins again in their first game of 2018.
Snapshots: Zalapski, Ducks, Matthews
The hockey world is in mourning today, as former NHL defenseman Zarley Zalapski has passed away at age 49. Zalapski was selected fourth-overall in 1986 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, making his debut in 1988 and recording a point in his very first game. He’d go on to play for the Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers before heading across the ocean to continue his playing career in various leagues around Europe.
Although his best NHL season came in 1992-93 when he scored 65 points for the Whalers, he may be best remembered as a member of the 1988 Canadian Olympic hockey team. Canada would come fourth at those Games, losing the tournament to the powerhouse Soviet Union that featured players like Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov, Viacheslav Fetisov and Vladimir Krutov. Zalapski was second among Canadian defenders with four points in the tournament. PHR sends our best wishes to his family and friends during this tough time.
- The Anaheim Ducks were dealt another blow when Corey Perry was ruled “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury suffered last night, just the latest in a long line of suffering by their best players. Ryan Kesler has yet to suit up this season, while Ryan Getzlaf, Sami Vatanen, Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, Ondrej Kase, Patrick Eaves and others have all missed substantial amounts of the season already. The Ducks are trying to scratch and claw their way back into the playoff picture, and will have to rely on newcomer Adam Henrique to provide some offense in Perry’s absence. Henrique has gotten off to a quick start since coming over from the New Jersey Devils, but will need to keep it going now that the team has lost their top offensive weapon.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without their top center again tonight, as Auston Matthews was missing again at today’s morning skate and is “day-to-day” with an upper-body injury. Matthews sustained the injury when he collided with teammate Morgan Rielly on Saturday night, and missed the team’s last game. Amazingly, in the five games the Maple Leafs have played this season without Matthews the team has a perfect 5-0 record. They’ll try to continue that as they head on a three-game road trip starting tonight in Philadelphia.
Minor Transactions: 12/12/17
The NHL has another full slate today with nine matchups around the league, including a prime tilt between the Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis Blues. Both teams are among the very best in the NHL, and should put on an impressive show.
In the meantime, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves teams make to get ready for tonight right here. Refresh the page throughout the day to stay up to date.
- The Blues will be without their captain for the matchup tonight, as they’ve placed Alex Pietrangelo on injured reserve. Pietrangelo has a lingering minor injury and is expected to get back into the lineup at some point later this week, but for now the team will turn to Jordan Schmaltz from the AHL. Schmaltz has 19 points in 24 games for the San Antonio Rampage this season, showing he’s too good for the minor league level. Colton Parayko and Joel Edmunsson will take on a big role in Pietrangelo’s absence.
- Matt Murray has been activated from injured reserve by the Pittsburgh Penguins, meaning Casey DeSmith is on his way back to the minor leagues. While Murray had been inching closer to a return, Tristan Jarry had been doing all he could to keep the Penguins afloat. Murray comes back to a team that is on a two-game losing streak, and finds themselves near the bottom of the clogged Metropolitan Division.
- Kasperi Kapanen has been recalled by the Toronto Maple Leafs, while Nikita Soshnikov heads to injured reserve. Soshnikov is out with a lower-body injury, though hasn’t played in a few weeks anyway. It’s unclear if Kapanen will get into the lineup for the Maple Leafs right away, but with Auston Matthews‘ availability still up in the air the team needed another extra forward.
- Tyler Bertuzzi is on his way back to the minor leagues after just a single game with the Detroit Red Wings. Bertuzzi saw just over nine minutes of ice time against St. Louis on Saturday night, but was dominated by the Blues’ deep lineup and ended the night a -3. The young forward will have to wait for another chance to impress, as Detroit struggles to find a lineup good enough to get them into the playoffs this season.
- Kevin Roy is back up with the Anaheim Ducks, after Corey Perry suffered an injury last night that will keep him out on a “week-to-week” basis. Perry had been on a four-game point streak heading into the game against Carolina, but will be the latest to miss a big chunk of games for the Ducks.
Injury Notes: Baertschi, Byfuglien, Ducks
The Vancouver Canucks were dealt another blow today when it was announced that Sven Baertschi will miss four to six weeks with a broken jaw. The young forward won’t need surgery, but it is still a huge chunk of the season to miss right as the Canucks are trying to prove they’re more than just a hot start.
The team is already without Bo Horvat for some time, and are still trying to get Brandon Sutter back into the lineup. While Brock Boeser does his best to keep the offense moving, other players will need to step up both at even-strength and on the powerplay.
- Another upstart Canadian Western Conference team will be without one of their most important defenders for the next few weeks. Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien is out “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury, with a post-Christmas return the hope at the moment. In his absence, Tucker Poolman will get back into the lineup and try to prove why he was so heralded coming out of the University of North Dakota. The Jets have seven games before the Christmas break, and ten left in the month of December.
- The Anaheim Ducks have perhaps faced more injury turmoil than any other team this year, but are starting to get health. As Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports, Ryan Getzlaf and Jakob Silfverberg are likely to return up front tonight. With Ryan Kesler also nearing a return, the Ducks should be feared in the wide open Pacific division.