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Injury Notes: Hayes, Golden Knights, Carrier

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Center Kevin Hayes didn’t take warmups and isn’t playing for the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as originally reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. Head coach Alain Vigneault originally expected Hayes to play and he nor the team have yet to offer an update on Hayes’ absence. Max Willman was recalled from Lehigh Valley today under emergency conditions and is in the lineup for that game. Hayes has two points in two games this season after missing the team’s first 12 games while recovering from offseason core muscle surgery.

More injury notes from around the NHL:

  • The injury parade continues for the Vegas Golden Knights, as The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports defenseman Shea Theodore is unlikely to suit up for Thursday’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Theodore fell awkwardly during the Knights’ last game Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, a 4-2 loss. The team hasn’t moved Theodore to injured reserve, but he joins Alec Martinez on the list of Golden Knights defensemen absent from the lineup. However, Granger notes that Zach Whitecloud is “progressing quickly” and could potentially suit up for the Detroit game.
  • Per Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes, defenseman Alexandre Carrier could return to the team’s lineup Saturday versus the Montreal Canadiens. Carrier isn’t on injured reserve, but he’s been out of the lineup for the past week with an undisclosed injury. In 13 games this season, the 25-year-old has five points while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game.

Predators’ Mark Borowiecki To Face Player Safety Hearing

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3:34 p.m.: Per the Department of Player Safety, there will be no supplemental discipline assessed to Borowiecki. A Twitter statement relays that “after a hearing and a review of all available angles, [the Department has] determined that Borowiecki is braced for contact and does not extend or otherwise direct his knee into Jaskin in a way that merits further discipline.

10:58 a.m.: The Nashville Predators could be about to lose a veteran defenseman for some time, as the NHL Department of Player Safety has announced that they will have a hearing with Mark Borowiecki on Sunday. The league will review Borowiecki’s kneeing penalty from Saturday night, which forced the Arizona Coyotes’ Dmitrij Jaskin from the game.

As far as suspension hearings go, this should be as close to a prima facie case as they come. Borowiecki clearly targets Jaskin with a knee-to-knee hit as the forward slows up at the red line while carrying the puck in transition (video). The referees did not miss the blatant contact, awarding Borowiecki a five-minute major and game misconduct. The Coyotes took notice as well, with Antoine Roussel jumping in to fight Borowiecki, adding another five minutes to his count. It will be hard for Borowiecki to argue that the contact was purely incidental when everyone else on the ice saw it as purposeful.

If Player Safety takes into account whether the victim of the penalty was injured and the severity of the injury, as they typically do, that could result in an even longer absence for Borowiecki. There was no question that Jaskin was hurt on the play, as he had to be helped from the ice and did not return to the game, but the initial outlook of the injury is far worse than just that. PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan relays word from Arizona head coach Andre Tourigny that Jaskin is expected to be out “really long term” as a result of the kneeing infraction. He adds that Jaskin could miss the rest of the season.

Borowiecki has been suspended three times previously in his NHL career, but not since 2018 and never for boarding. Regardless, is very likely to add a fourth to his resume today and the only real question is the length.

Predators Recall Cole Smith, Assign Rocco Grimaldi To Milwaukee

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  • The Predators announced that they have recalled forward Cole Smith from AHL Milwaukee while sending winger Rocco Grimaldi down to the Admirals.  Smith made his NHL debut last season and has three goals and three assists in nine minor league contests this season.  As for Grimaldi, he cleared waivers on Friday after being held off the scoresheet in his five games with Nashville this season and will look to get back on track with Milwaukee.

Three Players Clear Waivers

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Nov 12: Comeau and Kero have both cleared waivers, according to Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News. They can now be assigned to the minor leagues. Grimaldi has also cleared for the Predators.

Nov 11: Chris Johnston of TSN reports that Blake Comeau and Tanner Kero of the Dallas Stars, and Rocco Grimaldi of the Nashville Predators have all been placed on waivers today.

Comeau is clearly the biggest surprise of the three, given his place with the Stars and history in the NHL. The veteran winger has been wearing an “A” as an alternate captain at times this year and has more than 900 games played at the NHL level. Many of those have come with the Stars, who he has been with since 2018, when he signed a three-year, $7.2MM deal with the club in free agency.

Now on a one-year, $1MM contract he signed in June, Comeau’s cap hit will be entirely buried in the minor leagues even though he is a 35+ player. The restrictions on those contracts were changed in the 2020 CBA Memorandum of Understanding, but even before that his one-year deal would have been able to come off the cap if they assign him to the minor leagues.

It’s been years since Comeau was forced to play in the AHL though and it seems as though he and Grimaldi could potentially get claimed, if a team needs an experienced forward. Grimaldi has been a regular for the past three years in Nashville and even scored ten goals in 40 games last season. Kero doesn’t have quite as much experience, but did suit up 39 times for the Stars.

Notably, this is a change for Dallas, who have seemed unable to drag themselves out of the bottom of the Western Conference standings. The team has lost another two games in a row, sit at 4-6-2 on the year, and have a -12 goal differential. The organization has some young players that could potentially inject some energy into the lineup, but Comeau’s placement on waivers still comes as something of a surprise.

Snapshots: Rask, Housley, Carrier

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TSN’s Chris Johnston notes on Thursday’s edition of Insider Trading that free agent goaltender Tuukka Rask is working his way back after offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum and could be ready to return to game action as soon as January. Johnston notes specifically that Rask could be an option for Team Finland at the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, potentially a huge boost to an already strong Finnish program. While Johnston reports that Rask’s main focus in his “mind and his heart” remains with the Boston Bruins, the door isn’t completely closed on other options, either. Regardless, it’s good to see one of the league’s best goalies of his generation working his way back to health for what could be his last chance at a championship.

More notes from around the league:

  • Arizona Coyotes assistant coach Phil Housley has entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol, per the team’s public relations department. He won’t travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. He’ll miss three games, including a back-to-back set against the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators this Friday and Saturday. Arizona’s next home game is a week from today against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and pending test results, Housley could be available to return then.
  • According to the team, Nashville Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier is out for Thursday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues with an upper-body injury. The Predators note that he’ll be evaluated further when the team returns home. Carrier blocked a shot that hit him up high during Wednesday night’s game against the Dallas Stars and did not return.

Cousins, Forsberg Moved To Injured Reserve

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The Nashville Predators have placed two forwards on injured reserve, giving the designation to both Nick Cousins and Filip Forsberg. The team has recalled Michael McCarron and Mathieu Olivier in their place. Both Cousins and Forsberg are listed as week-to-week with upper-body injuries.

Forsberg was injured earlier this month, but the team hadn’t moved him to injured reserve until now. His placement there will likely be retroactive to his last game played, which was back on November 2. Given he only has to miss seven days minimum, it means he will be able to come off IR whenever he is fully recovered. The Predators could use him, but Forsberg also doesn’t want to miss a good chunk of the season given he’s scheduled for unrestricted free agency at the end of the year. This platform year is likely the most important of his career–at least financially–as he’s still just 27 and could be looking at a huge contract on the open market.

Cousins meanwhile played in the team’s most recent game, but managed just over seven minutes of ice time. The 28-year-old forward has been a versatile player throughout his career, but has just one goal and three points through his first 12 games for Nashville this season. Two of those are even on the powerplay, meaning he’s been almost invisible at even-strength through the first month.

Predators fans likely won’t be too happy about the recalls, given the history of McCarron and Olivier. Neither one has shown any sort of offensive production, even struggling to score at the minor league level. In 75 NHL games, McCarron has just two goals and eight points, while Olivier has just three and six in 38 career contests. Cody Glass, one of the team’s top prospects and offseason acquisitions, remains in the minor leagues.

Forsberg's Agent: No Extension Talks Yet, Expect To Have Those Discussions During Regular Season

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  • J.P. Barry, the agent for Predators winger Filip Forsberg, confirmed to Adam Vingan of The Athletic (subscription link) that there still have been no discussions on a possible contract extension with the veteran in the final year of his deal. While Forsberg has indicated a willingness to merely play the year out and see what happens after the season, Barry added that he does expect to have those contract talks at some point during the regular season.  The 27-year-old is likely eyeing a raise on his current $6MM AAV but is currently out with an upper-body injury.

Injury Notes: O’Reilly, Wild, Schenn

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St. Louis Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly is likely to return to the lineup Sunday night when they take on the Anaheim Ducks, per Blues writer Chris Pinkert. The 30-year-old center missed the team’s last four games while in COVID-19 protocol. He’s likely to return to top-line duties between David Perron as well as Brandon Saad, who’s also missed time while in COVID-19 protocol this season. Prior to departing the lineup, O’Reilly had five points in five games while averaging 19:13 of ice time per game.

Other injury notes from around the league:

Filip Forsberg Listed As Week-To-Week

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  • The Predators have listed (Twitter link) winger Filip Forsberg as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The veteran suffered the injury in the third period of Tuesday’s game versus Calgary.  Forsberg is in the final year of his contract and is eligible for unrestricted free agency this coming summer so an extended absence certainly wouldn’t help his value.  The 27-year-old was off to a nice start before the injury with seven points in nine games to start his season.

Predators To Retire Pekka Rinne's Number

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  • The Nashville Predators will raise another banner to the rafters this season, this time honoring franchise icon Pekka Rinne. The goaltender will have his No. 35 retired on February 24, 2022. Rinne played his entire career in Nashville, appearing in 683 games and posting a 369-213-75 record over parts of 15 seasons. The 2018 Vezina Trophy winner, it’s hard to even imagine anyone else breaking some of the franchise records he holds. Juuse Saros, Rinne’s protege and current starter for the Predators, would need 520 more appearances to match his total–only 71 goaltenders in the history of the league have played 520 games.

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