Kris Versteeg To Undergo Hip Surgery, Out Month-To-Month
The Flames will be without winger Kris Versteeg for the foreseeable future. The team announced that he will undergo hip surgery on Monday with no definitive timetable for his return per GM Brad Treliving. He will be listed as month-to-month for the time being.
This is a notable blow to a Calgary attack that has been somewhat limited this season beyond the contributions of top liners Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. In particular, Versteeg was a useful piece on their power play with five of his eight points (in 22 games) coming with the man advantage. Last season, he had a career-high eight goals on the power play.
The 31-year-old was a success story in 2016, turning a PTO deal (with Edmonton) into a one-year contract and then earned himself a considerable raise for 2017-18, going from $950K to $1.75MM in salary (with a 10-team no-trade clause) on the heels of a 37-point season.
The Flames already have 14 healthy forwards on their roster excluding Versteeg so it’s unlikely that any further roster moves are required. They currently sit with a little over $3.4MM in cap space per CapFriendly and will be able to transfer the veteran winger to long-term injured reserve to open more room if they need to free up more space.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blackhawks Place Corey Crawford On IR
Seemingly out of nowhere, the Chicago Blackhawks have placed All-Star goaltender Corey Crawford on the injured reserve today, the team announced. The team has recalled J-F Berube from the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs and he and Anton Forsberg will man the Chicago net for as long as Crawford is out with his unidentified injury.
Crawford not only played all sixty minutes for the Blackhawks last night, but even put in some extra time in an overtime loss to the Dallas Stars. At no point was there any clear injury to Crawford, nor did he leave the ice for any span of time. Yet, the Chicago keeper is headed to the IR, putting his team in a tough spot for an indeterminate amount of time. While Crawford has easily been a top ten NHL goalie this season, single-handedly winning some games for the defense-deficient ‘Hawks while posting a truly impressive .930 save percentage. Now, he’ll be substituted for two new players to Chicago that have yet to impress. Forsberg, a piece of the Artemi Panarin–Brandon Saad deal, has struggled mightily as Crawford’s backup so far. He has just one win and a 3.67 GAA in five appearance. He’s now the impromptu starter, with Berube – who has been nothing more than pedestrian in the AHL – as the primary backup. Until more is known about Crawford’s condition, this is a scary situation for the Blackhawks, who now have an inexperienced and struggling duo behind an inconsistent defense.
Fortunately, Chicago is quite out of it just yet, despite some early season issues. Their 28 points puts them outside the Central Division’s top three spots, but well within the wild card mix. Even without Crawford, upcoming match-ups with Buffalo, Arizona, and Florida favor the Blackhawks and a quick return for Crawford from whatever ails him could mean little harm comes from this whole unexpected ordeal. A long-term injury is whole other discussion though…
Jared Spurgeon Out With Groin Injury
The Minnesota Wild have been one of several teams racked with injuries in 2017-18 and they can now add another major contributor to the list. The Star Tribune’s Sarah McLellan reports that defenseman Jared Spurgeon is expected to miss at least two weeks with a groin strain. Spurgeon has missed the past two games and is likely to land on injured reserve.
Spurgeon, who teammate Mathew Dumba calls “one of the most underrated guys in the NHL”, will be missed in Minnesota. As the long-time partner of Ryan Suter on the team’s top-pair, Spurgeon is counted on for major minutes and mistake-free hockey. Spurgeon is as solid as they come, and it is no surprise that the Wild’s first game adjusting to his absence was a 7-2 rout by the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. However, the team did bounce back with a win over the Vegas Golden Knights last night, with Dumba filling in beside Suter. That will most likely be the top pair moving forward until Spurgeon is back on his feet.
The extent of the Spurgeon injury also lends some explanation to the Wild’s recent claim of old friend Nate Prosser. Prosser has nearly 300 games with Minnesota under his belt, but bolted for St. Louis this summer hoping for greater opportunity. When that opportunity never presented itself, Prosser was happy to return home and the Wild were fortunate enough to bring a familiar name back into the fold when they needed him most. Prosser could play a key role on the Minnesota blue line over the next two weeks, as could recently-recalled Ryan Murphy and young Gustav Olofsson.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Nashville Predators
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 ANA, ARZ, BUF, CGY, CAR, CBJ, COL, DET, LAK, NYI, STL, TOR, WSH, and VGK.
Who are the Nashville Predators most thankful for?
David Poile.
Not only did Poile orchestrate trades for P.K. Subban and Ryan Johansen that resulted in a Stanley Cup Finals berth in their first full season with the team, but he has repeatedly locked up assets for reasonable contracts and once again used his trading skills to bring in a key player. Over the past two summers, the Predators had several high profile restricted free agents to sign. Johansen, Filip Forsberg, and Viktor Arvidsson were all without deals but are now locked in for at least five seasons together.
Poile was able to sign the trio to a combined $18.25MM cap hit because of previous deals he’d struck, most notably with Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm. That group is currently earning only a combined $10.25MM, despite each being regarded as potential top-pairing options.
He’s done it again this season, by bringing in Kyle Turris and immediately extending the center for another six seasons without any signing bonuses or trade protection. Turris has played just nine games since coming over from the Ottawa Senators but has fit in perfectly, recording seven points already. Poile has never been one to shy away from long contracts or big trades, and it’s paying off again in the standings this year.
What are the Predators most thankful for?
Improving health.
The end of last year’s playoffs must have been hard to watch for the Predators front office, as Johansen, Kevin Fiala and others went down to freak injuries just as they were approaching the Finals. That injury luck carried into the summer, when doctors told the Predators in September that Ellis could need another six months to rehab his surgically repaired knee. He’d hurt it in those Stanley Cup Finals, but played through pain in Game 6 anyway.
Ellis joined teammates on the ice today for their morning skate, the first time he’d attended a team practice since the surgery according to Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. While it isn’t at all a signal that he’s set to return early, just the fact that he’s “on track” is good news for Predators fans. A return from the 26-year old will be a huge addition for the team, as he is as important as any other defender to the club when fully healthy.
What would the Predators be even more thankful for?
Someone slowing down the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets.
No matter how well the Predators play, they still are in a division with two teams that look equally dangerous. The Blues and Jets have played just about as well as you could this season, and both sit above Nashville in the standings (not to mention the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks looming in the shadows). All three teams have some similarities, but the Predators will hope that their experience from last season will take them to the next level this year.
Winnipeg is especially green, but loaded with young talent throughout their roster. With a goaltender who is finally stopping the pucks on a regular basis, they look primed to wrench open their window of success a little early.
St. Louis has been arguably the best team in the NHL right from the start, armed with an incredibly deep forward group and a Norris candidate defenseman. Even with some struggles from Jake Allen recently, the team keeps winning and could be unstoppable if he can find his form once again. The 27-year old goaltender struggled early on last year as well, before going on a Vezina-caliber run through the second half and early playoffs. St. Louis doesn’t look like they’re going away anytime soon.
What should be on the Predators Holiday Wish List?
Another scoring winger.
Despite locking up their core long-term this summer, the Predators actually have a bit of cap space to play with as they head into the months leading up to the trade deadline. Though young forward Fiala has been solid on the powerplay and Turris has added another dimension down the middle, they still rely too heavily on their top three to handle the scoring load. One more forward capable of playing somewhere in the middle-six could push them over the edge.
After already dealing Samuel Girard, Vladislav Kamenev and a second-round pick to obtain Turris, it’s not clear if Poile wants to sacrifice more future assets for help this season. But if a big, scoring winger were to shake loose at the deadline, they’d surely have to take a look.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Cam Talbot Placed On Injured Reserve
Though he had been ruled “questionable” for Thursday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Edmonton Oilers have instead placed Cam Talbot on injured reserve and called up Nick Ellis to dress in the game. Talbot suffered what was supposed to be a minor injury in Tuesday’s game, but will now miss at least two as he must stay on IR for seven days from the injury. In fact, head coach Todd McLellan updated reporters including Chris Johnston of Sportsnet with a two-week timeline, adding that it “it could be longer.”
Laurent Brossoit will get the net in Talbot’s absence, and will continue to try and get his season back on track. The 24-year old has an .881 save percentage on the year, but can pin most of that on two bad outings against Carolina and St. Louis.
If Brossoit falters, inserting Ellis would be asking a lot. The 23-year old was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Providence College in 2016, and has played just 45 professional games in his career, all of them in the AHL. Even in the NCAA he has a relatively short history, as he served as a rarely-used backup to Calgary Flames goaltender Jon Gillies for two seasons. While definitely an interesting prospect, throwing him into the fire against the Maple Leafs or Flames would be a daunting task.
Mika Zibanejad Out With Concussion
The New York Rangers, fresh off a loss at the hands of the Florida Panthers have confirmed that Mika Zibanejad—who missed that game with an upper-body injury—has suffered a concussion and will not practice with the team. New York did add a center in Peter Holland earlier today, but it was expected that he’ll remain in Hartford for at least the time being.
Zibanejad was scratched from the Florida game just before it started, but according to head coach Alain Vigneault (via Matt Calamia of NHL.com) he suffered the concussion during last Friday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. Symptoms didn’t present themselves until Tuesday morning. It’s a huge loss for the Rangers, who already had depth issues at center ice after trading away Derek Stepan in the offseason. Zibanejad had taken over as the top option in the middle and led the team in scoring through 25 games.
If he’s out for an extended period of time, Holland or even Filip Chytil could potentially see time in the middle once again. Chytil did begin the year with the Rangers but has been playing in Hartford for some time. The first-round pick 12 points in 13 games for the AHL club, but is still a raw prospect at just 18 years of age.
Injury Notes: Berglund, Parise, McQuaid
The St. Louis Blues have officially activated Patrik Berglund from injured reserve, and intend to insert him into the lineup tonight when they play the Anaheim Ducks. Berglund has been out since June after injuring his shoulder and needing surgery. Originally slated to return at some point in December, the 29-year old center will get back into the lineup a little early.
Berglund joins what is already one of the deepest and most dangerous forward groups in the NHL, and gives them another big body down the middle that can contribute. A three-time 20-goal scorer, Berglund is coming off a 34-point season and looking to make an immediate impact. More importantly, he gives them another option in the middle where Brayden Schenn and Paul Stastny have already dominated.
- Zach Parise was back on the ice this morning for the first time since his surgery in October, and all things went well. Coming off microdiscectomy, there was some concern over his ability to return this season. Parise doesn’t seem to be worried about his future, telling Dan Myers of NHL.com he’s “very confident that everything is going to get back to normal and even better than it was.” The Minnesota Wild, struggling in Parise’s absence, could use him back as soon as possible.
- Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid also got back onto the ice for the first time since his own surgery, a procedure to fix a broken fibula suffered earlier this year. It’s not clear exactly when he’d be able to return, but he’ll have company when he does. All three of Brad Marchand, Ryan Spooner and David Backes are expected back in the lineup tonight for the Bruins when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning, each coming off injuries of their own.
Injuries Unending In Boston; Krejci, DeBrusk Join Sidelined
Boston Bruins beat writer Joe Haggerty could not have said it better: “You can’t make this stuff up”. The unbelievable rash of injuries continues in Boston, as center David Krejci and rookie winger Jake DeBrusk have been ruled out for Wednesday night’s match-up against the Atlantic-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
The sheer number of injuries suffered by the Bruins this season, especially among the forward corps, is hard to comprehend. 22 games into the 2017-18 campaign the only forward to have played every game are David Pastrnak and energy-liners-turned-top-nine-mainstays Riley Nash, Sean Kuraly, and Tim Schaller. While there is no word yet on the extent of DeBrusk’s injury, the young scorer has been one of the Bruins’ more dependable forwards with 12 points in 21 games, but of course he now joins the long list of casualties. Currently out of the lineup alongwith DeBrusk and Krejci, who had only just returned to action, are 2016-17 leading scorer Brad Marchand, veteran David Backes, power play catalyst Ryan Spooner, promising rookies Anders Bjork and Peter Cehlarik and, of course, defenseman Adam McQuaid as well. Spooner just recently re-injured the groin that had kept him out all but eight games on the season. In the same game, Cehlarik suffered a leg injury that should keep him out at least a month. Marchand and Bjork have been sidelined since November 13th and there has been no concrete information on when exactly either can be expected back. Backes has made a remarkably quick recovery from major surgery to cure his diverticulitis, but he too is not quite ready to return and there are doubts about how he will play once he is back. Other Bruins forward who have missed time already this season: Patrice Bergeron (5 games), Noel Acciari (13 games), and Matt Beleskey (2 games).
The defense has done a bit better though, with captain Zdeno Chara and talented youngsters Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo all suiting up for every game. Kevan Miller has missed only one game, while Torey Krug‘s four-game absence seems like nothing. A platoon of Paul Postma, Rob O’Gara and Matt Grzelcyk has performed well enough in the absence of McQuaid.
In total, the Bruins have missed a whopping 100 man-games already this season, far more than any other team in the league and heavily weighted toward their forwards. That makes it all the more impressive that the team is still sitting pretty in the Atlantic Division. In terms of points percentage, the B’s are third in the Atlantic and just behind the two-time Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins overall. Their 60 goals for may a bottom-five number in the NHL, but what would you expect from a two-way team missing most of its offensive talent? A recent winning streak showed that the Bruins and head coach Bruce Cassidy can get it done, even with a makeshift roster. There is no sign of when Boston will get back to full strength, if ever this season, but if they do it could be dangerous for the rest of the NHL.
Minor Transactions: 11/28/17
Like always, we’ll keep an eye on all the minor transactions around the league right here. Make sure to bookmark or refresh throughout the day to keep up with all the movement.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled goaltender Casey DeSmith from the AHL while starter Matt Murray deals with a lower-body injury. Tristan Jarry will take over the lion’s share of the workload while Murray is out, but DeSmith could be called on if he falters. The Penguins, who’ve struggled with goaltending issues all season so far are now putting their faith in two unproven rookies for the time being. Jarry and DeSmith have a combined four starts in the NHL.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Gabriel Carlsson from the AHL on an emergency basis, sending Markus Hannikainen down in his place. It’s not clear why Carlsson was needed with Scott Harrington already on the roster as an extra defender, but perhaps more than one injury was sustained last night against the Montreal Canadiens. Jack Johnson did play just 15:29, his lowest total of the season.
- Colorado will welcome Anton Lindholm back off injured reserve, but it’ll cost two of their other defensemen. The team has assigned both Chris Bigras and Andrei Mironov to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL, while bringing Duncan Siemans back up. Patrik Nemeth is still on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and doesn’t appear close to a return.
- The Los Angeles Kings have placed Andy Andreoff on injured reserve retroactive to November 25th. That’s the game in which Andreoff took a “Superman punch” from Kevin Bieksa, and was immediately knocked down. Bieksa is becoming infamous for that punch, as it also knocked out Radko Gudas earlier in the year. No corresponding move has been made yet by the Kings.
Opinions Differ On Injury Disclosures
Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock turned some heads last week when he made comments against the NHL’s injury reporting policies. Hitchcock’s comments were not controversial, however they were the first that anyone within the league had publicly taken a stance against a rather secretive way of doing business. The NHL does not require its teams to submit detailed injury reports like the National Football League does, for example. Instead, fans and opponents are left with the infamous “lower body” and “upper body” injuries which could be anything from a broken toe to a concussion and infinite other ailments in between. Yet, last week Hitchcock’s Stars came out and announced specific injuries: knee surgery for Marc Methot and a hand injury for Martin Hanzal. In addressing the media on his deviation from the norm, Hitchcock was blunt:
“I think we collectively hate playing the game. What I mean by that is we say upper body, then you go on the phone, and then you look up things or you go to the doctors, find out what part of the upper body… We try to make your work easier, quite frankly… Nobody thinks like that. Our feeling is just ‘tell them what the injury is and move it forward, and let’s stop the dance.'”
What Hitchcock alludes to is that secrecy surrounding injuries in the NHL is nothing more than a “game” at this point. The media and thus fans and opponents eventually find out the pertinent information and hiding behind vague “upper-body” and “lower-body” injuries is merely a hindrance on the flow of information.
So what do other coaches think? Since Hitchcock’s remarks, this has been a hot button topic for the league’s other bench bosses. Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock was asked on Saturday what his opinion was on the subject and agreed with Hitchcock on all but one specific injury: concussions. “I don’t like talking about head injuries,” Babcock qualified, “Then there are all these things about concussions and half the time it’s neck or something… I want the player and the right people to work that out.” Despite otherwise agreeing with Hitchcock, Babcock did add that the Leafs plan to stick with “upper-body” and “lower-body”, though he respects the right of all coaches to disclose injuries as they like.
Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice was less cordial about Hitchcock’s comments when he addressed them this morning, completely disagreeing:
“You’re not allowed to tell anybody what a doctor knows. They’ve got laws. People can get sued for letting that kind of information (out). I don’t really have the right to come out and tell you how a guy is feeling…I would think on average (that) somewhere between nine and 11 players, about half your hockey team, every single night, has something that they’re dealing with. Bone bruises, I had a guy playing with cracked ribs. I don’t want anybody to know that.”
Maurice seems to take the stance that not only is revealing a specific injury a violation of a player’s privacy, but it also can be detrimental to the team. The one point on which Maurice agreed with Hitchcock over Babcock was concussions, as Maurice feels that there is a “responsibility to show our league is handling them in a certain way.”
For media and fans, the clear choice is with Hitchcock, as complete information is always a benefit to the spectators. So long as coaches support vague injury reports though, it seems unlikely that the league will implement any blanked changes to injury disclosures.