Rangers’ Arthur Kaliyev Out For Season With Upper-Body Injury
March 18: Kaliyev will not play again this season, even if the Rangers make the playoffs, Walker reports today. The focus now turns toward whether he did enough in his brief stint in the New York lineup to earn a qualifying offer this summer.
March 13: Rangers winger Arthur Kaliyev has left the team’s road trip to undergo further evaluation and testing on an upper-body injury, the team told reporters Thursday (including Mollie Walker of the New York Post). He’ll miss at least the next two games but likely more after leaving Tuesday night’s loss to the Jets late in the third period.
The Blueshirts claimed Kaliyev off waivers from the Kings in January. While the 23-year-old hoped for a more regular role in New York after being buried on L.A.’s depth chart and missing the first few months of the season with a broken clavicle, that hasn’t happened. He played in 10 straight games to begin his Rangers tenure but has suited up just four times since the beginning of February, serving as a healthy scratch 11 times in that span.
Kaliyev didn’t suit up for L.A. before the waiver placement, although he did have a goal and an assist in five AHL games with the Ontario Reign on a conditioning stint. Since the coast-to-coast move, the Uzbekistan-born winger has 3-1–4 in 14 games with a plus-two rating while averaging a career-low 11:13 per game. The 6’2″, 210-lb forward has seven hits and average possession metrics (49.1 CF%, 46.1 xGF%) at even strength.
The 2019 second-rounder will lose most of the campaign due to injury. He signed a one-year, $825K deal with the Kings in training camp after spending the offseason as a restricted free agent amid a trade request, so his deal is up this summer. He’ll be an RFA again with arbitration rights, but given his minimal usage over the past six weeks, it’s unclear whether the Rangers plan on giving him a qualifying offer.
Now in his fifth NHL season, Kaliyev has 38-37–75 over 202 career games. That’s a respectable 15-15–30 average over 82 games, but he hasn’t developed the rest of his game enough to earn consistent top-nine deployment from a pair of organizations now.
Evening Notes: Svechnikov, Brodin, Capobianco
A new week rolling around has brought updates on injured and absent players to teams around the league. The most impactful news lands in Carolina, where the Hurricanes welcomed top-line winger Andrei Svechnikov back to the practice sheet after he missed the last three games with an upper-body injury. It was Svechnikov’s first multi-game absence of the season.
Svechnikov has built a tendency for long-term injuries. He’s only played more than 70 games in a single season twice in his seven-year NHL career – first in his rookie season, when he played in all 82 games, and then in the 2021-22 campaign, when he appeared in 78 games. The other five years of his career have been marred by injury, including a torn ACL that required an extended absence. Those missed games have held Svehcnikov back from reach top scoring totals, despite the fact that he tallied 72 goals and 176 points in 201 games between 2022 and 2024. That scoring pace would equate to 71 points across an 82-game season – a pace Svechnikov falls just shy of with his 43 points in 63 games this year. Still, his ability to stick in the lineup this year has been encouraging. Now back to full health once again, he’ll look to jump back up the scoring charts with 15 games left in Carolina’s season.
More notes from around the league:
- Top-pair Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin also returned to practice on Monday per Joe Smith of The Athletic. Smith adds that head coach John Hynes dubbed Brodin as day-to-day and out for Monday night’s game. The top shutdown defender has missed Minnesota’s last seven games with a lower-body injury, pulling him deeper into the well of absences this year. He’s now played in just 38 of the Wild’s 67 games on the year. Those routine absences have held Brodin to just 18 points on the season. That mark stands as the highest points-per-game average of Brodin’s career (.474), just narrowly beating out his previous career high set when he scored 27 points in 62 games last season (.435). But without a clean bill of health, Brodin hasn’t had a chance to relish in a newfound scoring gear. For yet another time this season, he’ll now be tasked with getting back to full speed so he can support Minnesota’s top defense pair with a tough streak coming up.
- The Dallas Stars have reassigned depth defenseman Kyle Capobianco after recalling him on Saturday to fill in for the ill Lian Bichsel. Capobianco served as Dallas’ seventh man in their Saturday night matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, while Brendan Smith filled Bichsel’s role. This was only Capobianco’s second call-up since joining the Dallas Stars organization this summer. He appeared in his only NHL game of the season on January 31st – and set no scoring, four penalty minutes, and a minus-two in 11:23 of ice time. He’s otherwise been a fixture of the AHL lineup, where he’s managed an impressive 35 points in 49 games. That mark leads the AHL Texas Stars’ blue-line in scoring, though it is slightly below the scoring pace that led Capobianco to 54 points in 69 games with the Manitoba Moose last season.
Blue Jackets Notes: Greaves, Merzļikins, Christiansen, Gudbranson
The Blue Jackets will start recently recalled netminder Jet Greaves in tonight’s key home game against the Devils, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. Starter Elvis Merzļikins remains away from the team on personal leave as his wife is expecting a child, the team’s Jeff Svoboda confirmed over the weekend.
The 23-year-old Graves sat on the bench for Saturday’s shutout loss to the Rangers while watching Daniil Tarasov surrender three goals on 20 shots. The youngster temporarily supplanted Tarasov as Columbus’ No. 2 option behind Merzļikins earlier this year, earning a performance-based recall while the struggling Tarasov was sent to AHL Cleveland for conditioning.
Things have gone much better for Tarasov since the reset, although he still hasn’t gotten much playing time behind Merzļikins as the Jackets aim to grab a wild-card spot. His .850 SV% against the Blueshirts was his worst in his seven appearances since returning to the NHL squad. Greaves, who actually leads Columbus netminders with a .906 SV% and 2.98 GAA in five starts, will get the call instead as the Jackets look to end a three-game skid. A win against New Jersey puts them back into playoff position, knocking the Rangers down to ninth place in the East.
Here’s more on the Jackets:
- As Svoboda relays from head coach Dean Evason, defenseman Jake Christiansen has been ruled out of tonight’s game and will miss his second straight contest with an upper-body injury. He remains day-to-day but practiced this morning, so he should be considered questionable to return Thursday against Florida. The 25-year-old has seen his minutes slashed recently, skating under 10 minutes on three occasions in nine games since the 4 Nations break. In his first season as an NHL full-timer, the 6’0″ lefty has 1-7–8 and a plus-eight rating in 65 games with underwhelming possession numbers and minimal special teams deployment.
- Fellow rearguard Erik Gudbranson remains close to a return from shoulder surgery but also remains sidelined tonight, Svoboda said. Evason said last week the 33-year-old is on the verge of playing for the first time since October. His and Christiansen’s looming returns should help shore up a Columbus defense that’s allowing 33.6 shots per game since March 1, the worst in the NHL.
Atlantic Notes: Kulich, Peterka, Norris, Jokiharju
Sabres forward Jiri Kulich has been placed in concussion protocol, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters today (video link). He left yesterday’s game against Vegas early after taking a hit. However, there’s some hope that it won’t be a long-term injury for the 20-year-old as Ruff wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Kulich could join the team at some point on their upcoming road trip. Kulich has done pretty well in his rookie NHL season, tallying 12 goals and seven assists through 49 games while logging a respectable 14:23 per night of ice time.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Ruff’s presser also provided updates on two other injured Sabres. JJ Peterka skated before practice today and accompanied the team on the trip; Ruff wouldn’t rule out the winger returning to the lineup on Monday. Peterka has missed the last two games due to a nagging injury, resulting in him slipping to third on the team in scoring with 51 points in 61 games. Meanwhile, recently acquired center Josh Norris had treatment today on his undisclosed injury and was expected to accompany the team on their road trip but he’s not believed to be as close to returning as Peterka. Norris has a goal and an assist in his first three outings in a Buffalo uniform.
- Things have gone relatively well for new Bruins defenseman Henri Jokiharju. After playing time was quite hard to come by in Buffalo, the 25-year-old is logging over 20 minutes a night through his first four outings with Boston. Accordingly, he told reporters including Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald that he’s open to starting discussions on a contract extension already. Jokiharju has a $3.1MM cap charge this season and will be slated to reach unrestricted free agency for the first time in July. But with just seven points in 46 games this season and his limited role before the trade, it seems unlikely that he’ll be able to command a similar price tag this summer.
Islanders Notes: Reilly, Pelech, Boqvist
Islanders defenseman Mike Reilly will return to the lineup Sunday vs. Florida after undergoing heart surgery in November, per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. The team activated him from injured reserve last week, but he’s remained out of action for the last four games as a healthy scratch.
Reilly will almost certainly have his minutes limited in his first NHL action since Nov. 1, when he sustained a concussion and entered protocol. Standard echocardiograms he underwent while he was out revealed an underlying heart condition. General manager Lou Lamoriello confirmed at the time that the procedure wouldn’t be career-ending but would cost him a significant chunk, if not all, of the 2024-25 campaign.
The 31-year-old is now available for the stretch run as the Isles look to overcome a six-point deficit in the standings and capture a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The lefty puck-mover went without a point and logged a plus-one rating in 11 games earlier this season, playing a regular role out of the gate. His role got muddied when the Isles picked up offensive-minded rearguards Adam Boqvist, Tony DeAngelo, and Scott Perunovich in the last few months with Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock each missing time with injuries, but he’ll now return to a third-pairing role alongside Scott Mayfield, per Rosner.
Here’s more on the Islanders:
- Reilly’s return comes as Adam Pelech exits the lineup due to a lower-body injury, head coach Patrick Roy told reporters (including Ethan Sears of the New York Post). The veteran shutdown man is day-to-day after he logged over 23 minutes against the Oilers on Thursday. Dobson, a righty, is moving to his offside to replace the lefty Pelech in the top four while Pulock jumps up from a third-pairing gig with Mayfield, according to Rosner.
- Boqvist, who missed the Edmonton game with an upper-body injury, is progressing toward a return but remained in a no-contact jersey at today’s practice, Rosner relays. He left Tuesday’s game against the Kings in the second period after being laid out in the neutral zone by Kevin Fiala. He has five points in 12 games since being claimed off waivers from the Panthers in January.
Utah’s Liam O’Brien Out At Least Four Weeks With Lower-Body Injury
The Utah Hockey Club has ruled out a popular depth forward for most of their remaining regular-season schedule. Head coach André Tourigny told reporters today (including Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune) that enforcer Liam O’Brien will miss at least four weeks with a lower-body injury.
The injury occurred in the third period of Thursday’s game in Seattle. O’Brien took an awkward hit from Kraken winger Tye Kartye and skated one shift before heading to the room. He didn’t play in the final 10 minutes of the game and missed his final two regular shifts with linemates Michael Carcone and Kevin Stenlund. Third-line winger Josh Doan double-shifted with the fourth line in O’Brien’s place.
After recording a career-high 14 points and league-leading 153 PIMs in 75 games for the Coyotes last season, Utah signed O’Brien to a three-year, $3MM extension in June. But after the club added Stenlund to their forward group and promoted Doan from the minors for much of 2024-25, he hasn’t seen nearly as consistent a role. He’s played more as of late, skating in a season-high seven straight contests before his injury against the Kraken, but has made just 27 appearances for the season after lengthy strings of healthy scratches early in the campaign. He has two assists, a plus-one rating, 50 PIMs, and 98 hits while averaging 9:12 per game when dressed.
As Fraser notes, Nick Bjugstad will replace O’Brien on the fourth line tonight against the Canucks. The 11-year veteran hasn’t played since sustaining an upper-body injury against the Devils on March 1. Utah activated him from injured reserve late last week but sat him as a scratch for the Seattle game. The Club trails Vancouver by four points for the final wild-card spot in the West, making tonight’s contest the most important of the season. A regulation win would boost their playoff odds from 20.1% to 28%, per MoneyPuck, while a regulation loss would tank their chances to just 11%.
Central Notes: O’Brien, Brodin, Hintz, Bichsel
Utah Hockey Club forward Liam O’Brien was injured in the third period of Friday night’s game against the Kraken. After a quick 17-second shift to test the injury, O’Brien left for the locker room and did not return. Following the game, Utah Head Coach André Tourigny didn’t provide an update on O’Brien and the extent of the injury isn’t known, per Brogan Houston of the Deseret News. The rough and tumble O’Brien was hit awkwardly into the boards by Seattle’s Tye Kartye, and the injury appears to be of the upper-body variety. O’Brien isn’t unfamiliar with laying hits of his own, as he the 30-year-old has registered 98 hits in 27 games this season and is coming off of back-to-back 200-plus hit seasons. He has been a fixture on Utah’s fourth line during the team’s recent jump up the standings. If O’Brien is to miss time, veteran Nick Bjugstad could slide back into the lineup after recently being activated from the IR.
More from the Central Division:
- In other injury news, Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin has skated three straight days as he seeks to return from a lower-body injury, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. The veteran of 841 career games, Brodin had been a key contributor for the Wild, aided by his plus-10 rating and 22:42 of ice time per game. Brodin, 31, left the Wild’s game against the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 28 and GM Bill Guerin announced soon after that Brodin would be sidelined on a week-to-week basis. The injury was believed to be caused by a shot block. Regardless of the cause, Brodin’s return to the lineup will no doubt support Minnesota’s efforts in solidifying their position in the playoff seedings. The team currently finds themselves in the first wildcard spot in the west, but has sputtered to a 4-5-1 record over their last 10 contests.
- The Stars are also getting a few key players back in the fold, as left winger Roope Hintz (face) and defender Lian Bichsel (illness) skated with the team today, per Stars reporter Mike Heika. The return of Hintz is an obvious boost to the lineup, as the 28-year-old is on his way to his fourth-straight 30-plus goal season. Hintz was injured when he took a puck to the face during a contest against the Oilers on March 8. In 59 contests this season, Hintz has 25 goals, 26 assists, and 51 points. Bichsel missed the Stars’ Friday night matchup against the Wild due to illness and was replaced in the lineup by veteran Brendan Smith. The 20-year-old Bichsel has looked the part of an NHL-ready player, posting five points and a plus-6 rating in his first 22 career contests. Bichsel was the organization’s first-round selection in the 2021 draft (18th overall). It remains to be seen if Hintz and/or Bichsel will be available for tomorrow’s matchup against the Ducks.
Blue Jackets’ Erik Gudbranson Expected To Return Soon
Veteran defenseman Erik Gudbranson has been out of the Columbus Blue Jackets lineup since their third game of the season. He sustained a shoulder injury on a collision with teammate Sean Monahan on October 15th, and required shoulder surgery one week later. But after nearly five months out of the lineup, Gudbranson could return as soon as early next week, head coach Dean Evason shared with Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.
This is fantastic news for the oft-injured Gudbranson. His career has been marred by routine long-term absences, dating back to his second year in the NHL in 2012-13 – when he was held to just 34 games between the NHL and AHL due to injury. Gudbranson has seemed to suffer a setback in nearly every season since then, including going through a stretch of playing just 254 games across four seasons between 2017 and 2021.
Gudbranson spurred his bad luck when he returned for the 2021-22 season. At the age of 30, he appeared in a career-high 78 games in a one-off season with the Calgary Flames. He joined the Blue Jackets on a four-year, $16MM contract in the following summer and carried his good health through a move to Ohio. Gudbranson appeared in 70 games of the 2022-23 season, then matched his career-high 78 appearances last year. Through the three seasons, he totaled 56 points in 226 total games – while missing just 20 games in total.
It was a promising stretch that helped Gudbranson plant his feet as one of Columbus’ most-utilized defensemen. He averaged 21:18 and 19:40 over his last two respective seasons with the Blue Jackets and appeared to be headed for another top-end role this year. But his lucky streak snapped this year. Columbus has just 17 games remaining in their season – and it will likely take Gudbranson at least a couple more to work his way back into the lineup. That will leave him pushing to appear in even 20 games this season, which would mark the fewest games he’s played in a single season in his 14-year NHL career.
But despite the bad news, Gudbranson still stands as a popular name on the Columbus blue-line. He’s recorded 39 points, 133 penalty minutes, and a minus-38 in 151 career games with the Blue Jackets, while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. Much of that playing time was split between menial roles next to depth defenders – like Jake Bean and Tim Berni – and top-end roles next to Blue Jackets superstar Zach Werenski.
Werenski is in the midst of a career year and stands as a favorite for the Norris Trophy and found a strong partner in mid-season acquisition Dante Fabbro. Columbus also has plenty of strength down their lineup, with hard-hitting veteran right-shot defender Ivan Provorov supporting rookie Denton Mateychuk on the second pair and veterans Jack Johnson and Damon Severson making up the third pair. That right-side depth could make it hard for Gudbranson to sneak back into the Blue Jackets lineup, even with the precedent of playing top minutes with the club. It won’t be low scoring that earns Gudbranson a hardy shot, with Provorov and Werenski recording 17 and 11 blocked shots over their last 10 games respectively.
How the Blue Jackets opt to return Gudbranson to the lineup could be telling as they attempt to hold onto their control of an Eastern Conference playoff spot. Veteran depth behind the lineup is a coveted asset for many playoff-bound teams, and the Blue Jackets could opt to lean into that by shelving the former third-overall draft pick Gudbranson until his services are called upon. Should they want to push him back into a spot, it will likely be Johnson taking a step back – leaving Evason with the challenge of juggling four right-shot defensemen.
Sabres Notes: Kozak, Peterka, Norris, Bernard-Docker, Tullio
Friday morning’s practice brought a wave of roster moves, injury updates, and lineup implications for the Buffalo Sabres. Most notably, the team has recalled depth winger Tyson Kozak from the minor leagues. Kozak has been back and forth between the minor leagues since the start of December, with his most recent call-up coming to an end on January 31st. He’s recorded two points, 11 penalty minutes, and 10 shots on net in seven games since returning to the minors.
Kozak received the first NHL recall of his career on December 5th. He didn’t manage any notable stat changes in his NHL debut, but did score his first NHL goal in his second career game. Buffalo rewarded Kozak with one more game, but returned him to the minors immediately after. He stayed buried through the start of the new year, before being called back up on January 9th for another eight NHL appearances. Kozak didn’t pot any scoring in those games – giving him just one goal in 11 NHL games on the season – though he did see his ice time climb from 7:23 at its lowest to 16:06 at its highest over the extent of the call-up. Another recall will give Kozak a chance to continue carving out a role in the Sabres lineup, while hopefully padding his scoring stats along the way. He has eight goals and 14 points in 31 AHL games this season.
Buffalo should have plenty of room to insert Kozak into the lineup, after top forwards JJ Peterka and Joshua Norris both missed Friday’s practice, per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Peterka missed Buffalo’s Wednesday matchup against the Detroit Red Wings due to a day-to-day, lower-body injury. He is expected to also miss Saturday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, but will travel with the team on their four-game road trip next week. Peterka has been one of Buffalo’s hottest players over the recent stretch, with a team-leading 10 points in his last nine games. He’s up to a career-high 51 points in 61 games this season.
Norris’ injury remains undisclosed. Head coach Lindy Ruff told Lysowski that Norris has been dealing with the injury for a little bit, and that he’s currently being evaluated by the Sabres’ medical staff. Norris has appeared in three games with Buffalo since joining the team at March 7th’s Trade Deadline. He has two points, split evenly, and 10 penalty minutes in those appearances. News of an injury will force Sabres fans to hold their breath thanks to Norris’ extensive injury history. He hasn’t played more than 66 games in a single season since his pro career began in 2019-20. He’s been impaired by shoulder injuries in every season since 2022. Those injuries have limited Norris in multiple seasons, including holding him out of all but eight games of the 2022-23 campaign. With that in mind, there has been no indication that Norris’ current, undisclosed injury is connected to his previous shoulder troubles.
While Norris was unavailable on Friday, the skate did mark fellow trade acquisition Jacob Bernard-Docker‘s first practice with the Sabres. Bernard-Docker was held off the ice for the last week while he tried to secure a work visa that would make him eligible to move from a Canadian team to an American team. He’s spent the season as the extra defender for the Ottawa Senators. He tallied four points in 25 games in the role. This season marks Bernard-Docker’s first full pro season with, so far, no AHL appearances – after bouncing between the major and minor rosters over the last three years. He’s totaled 20 points in 129 NHL Games, and 15 points in 101 AHL games over the course of his short career. The Sabres will likely utilize Bernard-Docker in the same depth role, though he could carve out a roster spot after fellow right-handed defenseman Henri Jokiharju was traded to the Boston Bruins.
In the final move of a busy day in Buffalo, the Sabres’ AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, also loaned middle-six winger Tyler Tullio to the Calgary Wranglers. Tullio – acquired in the trade that shipped Ryan McLeod to Buffalo and Matthew Savoie to Edmonton – hasn’t yet found his groove in the Americans lineup. He has just one goal, seven points, and 30 penalty minutes in 30 games played – far below the 21 points he scored in 54 games last year. With no sign of lineup progress in place, he’ll get a chance to carve out a role on a new minor-league squad. Tullio recorded 47 points in 117 games with the Bakersfield Condors over the last two seasons.
Jets’ Neal Pionk Out Week-To-Week
Jets defenseman Neal Pionk, who hasn’t practiced since Tuesday’s game against the Rangers, has been ruled out on a week-to-week basis with an undisclosed injury, head coach Scott Arniel told reporters this morning (including Murat Ates of The Athletic).
It’s unclear when Pionk sustained the injury. While his 16:18 of ice time against his former team was a season low, he never left the game and only intermittently missed shifts alongside usual defense partner Dylan Samberg. He’ll now miss a considerable portion of the stretch run while the Jets look to lock down the Western Conference regular-season title and pull ahead of the Capitals in the President’s Trophy race.
Pionk had yet to miss a game this season and hasn’t sat out of a contest since the 2021-22 campaign, when he missed a handful of games due to suspension, a concussion, and COVID-19. The 29-year-old righty has enjoyed a resurgent campaign on the Winnipeg blue line, posting 9-28–37 with a career-high +21 rating in 66 games while averaging north of 22 minutes of ice time per game.
Not only is Pionk’s point production at its highest since his career-best 45 points in his first season with the Jets in 2019-20, his normally underwhelming possession metrics have rebounded too. His expected rating of +1.4 is in the positives for the first time in his eight-year NHL career, and he’s also controlled at least 50% of shot attempts for just the second time. Historically a decent second-pairing puck-mover with power-play versatility, he’s now providing some positive value defensively. His 2.5 GA/60 at even strength remains the worst among a stout Winnipeg defense, though.
His strong campaign should earn him a decent chunk of change this summer. He’s set to test unrestricted free agency for the first time after completing the four-year, $23.50MM deal he signed with the Jets in 2021. AFP Analytics projects a six-year extension with a $6.95MM AAV should Winnipeg manage to keep him from going to market.
Pionk’s absence will mean increased minutes for deadline pickup Luke Schenn, who’s set to move into top-four usage alongside Samberg to form a shutdown pairing. Depth options Haydn Fleury and Colin Miller will be relied upon to help replace some of Pionk’s offense from the third pairing.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.