Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Injury

East Notes: Teräväinen, Oshie, Jeannot

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Hurricanes winger Teuvo Teräväinen didn’t travel with the team on their road trip and will be out for Saturday’s contest against the Maple Leafs, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said. He’s listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

The playmaking winger didn’t appear to sustain anything serious during his last showing, a win over the Panthers on Thursday. He logged a +1 rating and three shots on goal in the game, playing 16:01 – normal usage for the top-six fixture. A pending UFA nearing completion of his five-year, $27MM extension signed with the Canes in 2019, Teräväinen has reached the 20-goal plateau for the fourth time in his career and has 47 points in 66 games on the season, right around his career-average pace. He’s back on the upswing after a 2022-23 season where he struggled to produce, recording 12 goals and 25 assists for 37 points in 68 games. It was his worst scoring pace since the 2016-17 campaign, his first in Carolina.

With Teräväinen sidelined, Jesper Fast took line rushes in a first-line role alongside Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov and will likely occupy that role tonight with youngster Jack Drury also dealing with a lower-body injury. Fast, 32, has six goals and 17 points in 63 games this season and still carries solid value as a competent defensive winger.

Elsewhere out East:

  • Capitals veteran T.J. Oshie’s 1,000th game in the league may be on hold. The 37-year-old sustained an upper-body injury in practice on Saturday morning and will be a game-time decision tonight against the Canucks, head coach Spencer Carbery said (via Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post). The 2018 Stanley Cup champion has been plagued by injuries this season, missing 24 of Washington’s 65 games with lower and upper-body injuries. When in the lineup, they’ve dragged down his ability to contribute on the scoresheet. His 11 goals and 19 points in 41 games work out to 0.46 points per game, the lowest rate of his remarkably consistent 16-year career. Possession control has been an issue this season as well – his 46.4 CF% at even strength is also a career-low. Despite that, he’s still logging consistent top-six usage, averaging 16:33 per game.
  • The Lightning will again be without Tanner Jeannot as they exercise caution in his return from a lower-body injury that’s kept him out for most of the last two months, head coach Jon Cooper said (via Chris Krenn of the team’s official site). Indications pointed toward Jeannot returning from his absence earlier this week, but his return has now been delayed twice ahead of a rivalry matchup with the Panthers tonight. Cooper said they’re aiming for Jeannot to return at some point over their West Coast road trip, meaning there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready for Tuesday’s matchup in Vegas, either. Jeannot attempted to return from the injury, which he sustained early in January, during a Feb. 13 contest against the Bruins but played less than six minutes before sustaining an aggravation. When in the lineup, the 26-year-old has been limited to six goals and 12 points in 42 games with a -11 rating.

Maple Leafs Designate Calle Järnkrok As Week-To-Week

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Friday that forward Calle Järnkrok will be out week-to-week due to a hand injury. Winger Mitch Marner, who’s missed two games with a high ankle sprain, has also been ruled out for Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes (via Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun). It likely won’t be Marner’s last absence, either, as Keefe said he’ll need a bit to ramp up from the injury and won’t begin skating routinely until next week.

Järnkrok sustained the injury when he lost an edge and collided with the boards in last night’s 6-2 road drubbing of the Flyers. It’s unclear if this injury is related to the knuckle fracture that recently sidelined him for over a month. With 33 days remaining until the end of Toronto’s regular season schedule, there’s no guarantee Järnkrok will return before the postseason begins, especially if this hand injury is similar in severity to his previous one.

The 32-year-old is again giving the Leafs decent bang for their buck in a versatile top-nine role, posting above-average possession impacts with a 52.2 Corsi-for percentage at even strength and a career-high +10.2 expected rating. His actual +16 rating is third among Toronto forwards behind Marner and Auston Matthews. That’s helped offset a slight decrease in offensive production. He’s scored 10 goals and 21 points in 52 games, a slight decrease in pace from last year’s 20 goals and 39 points in 73 games, but he remains a decent plug-and-play option who can occupy all three forward positions and log significant minutes, averaging 15:15 per game.

With Järnkrok out, the team will likely give youngster Nicholas Robertson another shot in a top-nine role. The 22-year-old has eight goals and 19 points in 41 games this season while averaging 11:21 per contest, all career-highs, and didn’t look out of place on a strong third line with Bobby McMann and captain John Tavares during Järnkrok’s last extended absence. He’ll likely re-enter the lineup tomorrow for the first time since Feb. 29 against the Coyotes, after which he was briefly assigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies to create cap space and roster flexibility ahead of the trade deadline.

Jets’ Gabriel Vilardi Out Indefinitely With Enlarged Spleen

at CDT | by 13 Comments

Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi has an enlarged spleen and will be out indefinitely, shares head coach Rick Bowness after the team’s Friday practice. Vilardi has missed the team’s last seven games and will now miss at least five more, as the Jets take off on an extended road trip that Vilardi won’t join. Bowness added that this issue was recently discovered and that Vilardi is receiving treatment.

Vilardi has been limited to just 38 games this season, missing six weeks of play earlier in the season after suffering a sprained MCL and suffering scattered day-to-day injuries throughout the year. It’s been far from an ideal start to Vilardi’s time in Winnipeg, after joining the team alongside Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and a 2024 second-round pick in the deal that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings. It’s unfortunate to see injuries marring Vilardi’s season, which has been incredibly productive when he is healthy. The 24-year-old centerman has 16 goals and 30 points on the year, scoring at an 82-game pace of 35 goals and 65 points. It’s the highest scoring-pace of Vilardi’s career, continuing the strong pace he set last season when he totaled 23 goals and 41 points in 63 games.

Missing Vilardi has left a notable hole in the Jets’ top-six. And while extra ice time to Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton helped supplement that absence, the Jets were still in need of an extra spark – leading them to acquire the New Jersey Devils’ leading goal-scorer in Tyler Toffoli. Winnipeg sent a second and third round pick to New Jersey for Toffoli and, while he hasn’t scored a point in two games with the Jets, the 31-year-old veteran is clearly feeling comfortable, maintaining his high-volume shooting with nine shot attempts in his pair of games. The Jets will hope that comfortability turns into goals very quickly, as they’re now down Vilardi for the short term, at least.

Injury Notes: Marner, Eriksson Ek, MacDonald

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Missing the team’s most recent game against the Montreal Canadiens, concerns began to arise regarding the status of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner. However, in comforting news surrounding the star forward, it was revealed that Marner was only dealing with a mild ankle sprain, and would take a few more days to fully recover (Article Link).

Down the stretch, with Marner playing in nearly all of Toronto’s games this season, the Maple Leafs may opt to keep him out of the lineup for several games due to load management. Taking into account the recent downturn from the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto now holds a comfortable playoff position in the Atlantic Division by a margin of eight points.

The Maple Leafs could theoretically catch up to the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division race, but they would only be playing for home-ice advantage in the first round, as it is unrealistic to imagine the team catching up with the Florida Panthers. Keeping this in mind, it will be more important that all the star players on Toronto’s roster are fully healthy for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, which will inevitably influence the organizational decision-making over the next several weeks.

Other injury notes:

  • Before the team’s game tonight against the Anaheim Ducks, the Minnesota Wild announced that center Joel Eriksson Ek would miss the game due to a lower-body injury. It is a tough loss for Minnesota, as the team has willed their way back into the Western Conference playoff conversation. Eriksson Ek has been a focal point of that effort, scoring four goals and 15 points in his last 12 games for the Wild.
  • On a minor note, the San Jose Sharks announced that defenseman Jacob MacDonald would miss the team’s game tonight due to an illness. Recently recalled on March 9th after the Sharks’ trade deadline day moves, MacDonald has played in two games since that transaction. Over the season, on the whole, MacDonald has played in a total of 24 games, scoring six goals and seven points overall.

Western Notes: Scheifele, Vilardi, Dunn, Kovalenko

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Winnipeg Jets could be getting major reinforcements back soon, with the team hopeful that Mark Scheifele will return to the lineup on Friday, per Scott Billeck with the Winnipeg Sun. Billeck also shared that Gabriel Vilardi will remain out on Friday. Vilardi has been out since February 29th with an upper-body injury, missing the team’s last seven games. The extended absence has continued a season of injuries for Vilardi, who has now missed 27 games on the season.

Scheifele missed Winnipeg’s Wednesday night game with illness. He continues to lead the Jets in scoring, with 19 goals and 57 points in 58 games. The Jets simply haven’t been the same team without Scheifele, averaging a measly 1.57 goals-per-game in his absence compared to 3.22 goals-per-game with him in the lineup – leading Winnipeg to a 2-5-0 record without their top forward.

Scheifele’s importance to the Winnipeg roster can’t be understated, placing plenty of weight on his game-time decision ahead of Friday’s matchup. If he can’t go, the Jets will need to rely on one of David Gustafsson or Rasmus Kupari. Gustafsson has been Winnipeg’s de facto fill-in this year, with four points in 31 games, though Kupari’s role as a natural center could earn him a leg-up, even despite his sole assist through 27 games this season.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Seattle Kraken will be without defenseman Vince Dunn for the fourth straight game, per Scott Malone with Root Sports. Dunn has been Seattle’s top defender this year, averaging over 23 minutes of ice time for the second-straight season. Dunn has managed 11 goals and 45 points in 57 games on the season, scoring at nearly the exact same pace as he did last season, when he posted a career-high 14 goals and 64 points in 71 games. Without Dunn, Seattle has promoted top young defender Ryker Evans back into an NHL role. Evans has five assists in 19 games this season – the first games of his NHL career – though he’s still searching for his first career goal. Evans has also managed two goals and 15 points in 25 AHL games this year.
  • The Colorado Avalanche could be adding a major boost even after the Trade Deadline, with Russian forward Nikolai Kovalenko reportedly headed to America soon, per Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now, as well as a social media post from Kovalenko’s barber. The Avalanche drafted Kovalenko in the sixth-round of the 2018 NHL Draft, with the winger since emerging as a strong option for the KHL’s Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo. The 24-year-old scored 11 goals and 35 points in 42 KHL games this season, after posting a career-high 21 goals and 54 points in 56 games last season. He will look to carry that same scoring energy onto the high-offense Colorado lineup.

Afternoon Notes: Bennett, Rodrigues, Filppula, Seguin, Penguins

at CDT | by 8 Comments

The Florida Panthers’ forward depth will take a major hit on Thursday, as both Sam Bennett (undisclosed) and Evan Rodrigues (lower-body) are set to miss the bout with the Carolina Hurricanes. This will be Rodrigues’ second straight absence after being forced out of the team’s Saturday game early – needing help off the ice after blocking a shot off of his left ankle. Bennett was able to play in the team’s last game, scoring one goal on four shots and playing in his usual role.

The absence of Rodrigues and Bennett leaves a notable hole on Florida’s third line. The pair has been incredibly effective this season, with Rodrigues boasting 10 goals and 36 points in 65 games and Bennett touting 16 goals and 32 points in 54 games. They play in a modest role, averaging around 15 and 16 minutes of ice time respectively, but their ability to produce down the lineup has proven to be crucial to Florida’s success.

Jonah Gadjovich will return to the lineup in their absence, marking his first game since March 5th. The 25-year-old winger is in his third season as an NHL depth forward, scoring two goals and four points in 33 appearances this season. The pair of injuries will also give way to newcomer Kyle Okposo, who is filling Rodrigues’ spot as the third-line right-wing. Okposo failed to record a point in the 10 minutes he played in his Panthers debut, though he did have 12 goals and 22 points in 61 games with the Buffalo Sabres prior to being traded. The 17-year veteran Okposo brings fantastic experience to the Panthers lineup that will likely earn him a spot even after Bennett and Rodrigues return.

Other notes from around the league:

  • NHL veteran Valtteri Filppula’s time with Switzerland’s Genève-Servette HC is set to come to an end, with the team sharing that the two sides will part ways at the end of the season. Filppula, now 39, has been in Switzerland’s top league since he left the NHL in 2021-22. He’s since totaled 131 points in 145 games with Genève-Servette. Filppula previously played in 1,056 NHL games across a 16-year career with the Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, and New York Islanders.
  • Tyler Seguin is progressing back from a lower-body injury that’s held him out since February 22nd, per Brien Rea of Bally Sports SouthWest. Rea shares that head coach Pete DeBoer said “everything is on the table” as the Stars approach the end of their five-game homestand. Seguin has stayed effective despite injuries and age, scoring 20 goals and 45 points in 58 games this season. It’s his third consecutive season and 10th overall where he’s reached the 20-goal mark – an impressive feat for the 14-year pro.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins are facing troubles straight out of a 1990s sitcom, as a shipment of Jaromir Jagr bobbleheads meant to commemorate the winger’s jersey retirement was stolen in transit. The investigation is currently ongoing, and fans of tonight’s game will receive a voucher for the bobbleheads that can be redeemed at a later date. Penguins President of Business Operation Kevin Acklin told NHL.com, “We were shocked to be a victim of cargo theft… While this unfortunate incident adds to the legend of Jaromir Jagr, who will be in attendance as our guest at tonight’s game, we look forward to resolving this theft and delivering the prized Jagr bobbleheads to their rightful homes, with our fans.”

Injury Notes: Johansen, Eriksson Ek, Jeannot

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Ryan Johansen will remain part of the Flyers organization for the rest of the season after there were no takers on the trade or waiver market last week. The Avalanche dumped the underperforming center’s $4MM cap hit through 2025 on Philadephia in last week’s Sean Walker trade, although Flyers GM Daniel Brière has made it clear he doesn’t envision the 2010 fourth-overall pick ever actually dressing for a game in Philly.

That’s partly because Johansen, now on assignment to AHL Lehigh Valley, has been dealing with a nagging hip injury and is being evaluated by team doctors, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports. While he was never going to be an on-ice factor for the squad, this still carries a major implication. If he remains injured through this summer’s buyout period, the Flyers cannot execute one on the final year of his contract as many expect them to. That would leave Johansen on the Flyers’ books for all of next season, although they can reduce his cap hit to $2.85MM by leaving him buried in the minors with Lehigh Valley. If the Flyers did buy him out, his cap hit would be $1.33MM for both the Flyers and Predators in 2024-25 and 2025-26, saving each team a considerable amount of space next season.

Nashville is paying the other half of Johansen’s $8MM AAV deal. They retained half his salary when they traded him to Colorado last summer in exchange for the signing rights to Alex Galchenyuk. The Avs hoped Johansen, a five-time 60-point scorer, could recapture his previous form and be a competent second-line center behind Nathan MacKinnon, but the 31-year-old stumbled and managed only 13 goals and 23 points in 63 games with a -6 rating while averaging 13:19 per game, the lowest since his rookie season with the Blue Jackets in 2011-12.

Other injury notes from around the league on Thursday morning:

  • The Wild will be without top center Joel Eriksson Ek for Thursday’s game against the Ducks, but head coach John Hynes confirmed he won’t be absent for long as Minnesota battles to hang on in the Western Conference wild-card race (via Michael Russo of The Athletic). The 27-year-old sustained an undisclosed injury in the third period of Tuesday’s game against the Coyotes and did not return and is listed as day-to-day. Minnesota has not placed him on injured reserve, so he’s eligible to return at any time, but he’s still expected to miss a few games. In the third season of an eight-year, $42MM extension, Eriksson Ek is having a career year with 60 points and a +16 rating in 66 games while averaging 20:39 per game, second only to Kirill Kaprizov among Wild skaters.
  • Lightning winger Tanner Jeannot remains absent for tonight’s game against the Rangers, head coach Jon Cooper said (via Chris Krenn of the team’s official site). The 26-year-old has only played once since Jan. 6 as he deals with various injuries, and Cooper said Wednesday that he was likely to make his return to the lineup tonight. The team is being extremely cautious with his return, however, not wanting to risk another aggravation of the injury like his last attempted return. As such, he remains on injured reserve and won’t be activated ahead of tonight’s game.

Snapshots: Ho-Sang, Scheifele, Protas

at CDT | by 5 Comments

In a noteworthy ECHL transaction, the Florida Everblades announced today they had signed forward Joshua Ho-Sang to a contract. It will mark the first time since the 2021-22 season that Ho-Sang has suited up professionally in North America.

The former 28th overall selection of the 2014 NHL Draft by the New York Islanders, Ho-Sang was never able to put it all together at the NHL level. In 53 games with the New York Islanders, Ho-Sang was hardly used by the team, scoring seven goals and 24 points while averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time per night.

At the AHL level, Ho-Sang’s professional career has been a completely different story altogether. Playing for the Bridgeport Islanders, San Antonio Rampage, and the Toronto Marlies, Ho-Sang is a veteran of 225 AHL games over five years, scoring 46 goals and 158 points overall.

Other snapshots:

  • Before the puck dropped in the team’s game tonight against the Nashville Predators, the Winnipeg Jets announced that center Mark Scheifele would be absent from the game due to an illness. In Scheifele’s stead, utility forward Vladislav Namestnikov slid into the center role on the team’s top line. Since his return from injury on February 6th, Scheifele has been the heart and soul of the Jets’ offense, scoring five goals and 16 points in his last 17 games.
  • Turning to the east coast of the United States, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports forward Aliaksei Protas of the Washington Capitals will miss tonight’s game with a lower-body injury. Signing a shiny new five-year, $16.875MM extension with the team back in January, Protas has come into his own as a playmaker, tallying 23 assists in 62 games for Washington this season.

Tampa Bay Lightning Injury Updates

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Earlier this morning, beat writer for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Chris Krenn reported that forward Tanner Jeannot and defenseman Erik Cernak were trending towards playing tomorrow for the Lightning. Outside of defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, the return of Jeannot and Cernak will give Tampa Bay a completed lineup as they look to hold onto their spot in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.

Not only will the Lightning be expecting continued health from Jeannot, but they will also be expecting an improvement in his play. Acquired at last year’s trade deadline from the Nashville Predators for a package including a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, Jeannot has certainly not lived up to the lofty price that Tampa Bay had to pay.

Showing an ability to be a bruising forward with a legitimate capability to score goals during his time with the Predators, the Lightning have not received a similar version of that player. In now 62 games spent with Tampa Bay, Jeannot has only mustered a mediocre six goals and 12 points over his tenure.

Now confined to a fourth-line role in Florida, Jeannot will need to do much more than throw hits if the Lightning are planning on being successful in this year’s playoffs. There is an obvious need for physicality come playoff time, but depth scoring will become a tremendous necessity for Tampa Bay moving forward.

On the other side of the injury update, Cernak has been out since the team’s recent game against the Philadelphia Flyers with a lower-body injury. In 53 games for the Lightning this year, Cernak has scored one goal and nine points while averaging over 19 minutes of ice time a night.

Sean Kuraly Out Week-To-Week

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Absent from the team’s practice this morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets will not be expecting back Sean Kuraly any time soon. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that Kuraly is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

It is more of the same for Kuraly, who has seemingly dealt with multiple injuries during his tenure in Columbus. Since signing a four-year, $10MM contract with the Blue Jackets back in 2021, Kuraly has suited up in 205 games for Columbus, missing 11% of the time with injury.

When healthy, Kuraly has been good for double-digit totals in both goals and assists, which has provided the Blue Jackets with solid bottom-six scoring. Unfortunately, Columbus has not gotten the most out of their top six over the last two years, as the Blue Jackets have only averaged 2.89 goals per game over the last three years.

Even though Kuraly is rather mediocre in the faceoff dot, he does bring solid defensive awareness to the table, regularly collecting more takeaways than giveaways throughout his career. Furthermore, Kuraly is far and away the most physical player on Columbus’ roster, as he’s led the team in hits in each year he has suited up for the Blue Jackets.

With Kuraly now out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, it will be an opportunity for veteran forward Brendan Gaunce to receive more playing time at the NHL level. In nine games for the Blue Jackets already this season, Gaunce has scored one goal and three points overall, averaging over 10 minutes of ice time per night.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top