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Johnny Boychuk Day-To-Day With Upper Body Injury

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Add Johnny Boychuk to the injury merry-go-round that is claiming important players from teams across the league. Boychuk was a late scratch tonight, as reported by Shannon Hogan, with an upper body injury. Cat Silverman of Fan Rag goes further, indicating that the injury could be “huge” should it be a long term injury. Silverman adds that Boychuk was not out during warmups.

More From Silverman:

The 32-year-old blue liner has been one of the team’s most consistent players since getting dealt from the Boston Bruins in the summer of 2014 – and if the team looks to deal away anyone on the blue line ahead of the impending expansion draft, they’ll need their corps as healthy as possible.

The Islanders have struggled this season and are currently tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the least amount of points in the Eastern Conference, though they have two games in hand.

Boychuk has 14 points (5-9) this season.

Islanders Notes: Beauvillier, Rentals, Duchene

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While many are familiar with the nine game rule for junior-aged NHL players, there is a second threshold that some teams believe is even more critical, the 40 game mark.  If a junior-aged player is on an active NHL roster for 40 games, they accrue one season towards unrestricted free agency.  The key here is that games played does not matter here – if they’re on the roster, even as a healthy scratch, it still counts.

The New York Islanders find themselves in this situation with rookie winger Anthony Beauvillier.  He has played just 26 games this year (being scratched the other 13) but their next game against the Panthers will mark number 40, thus giving him an accrued season of service time towards becoming an unrestricted free agent.  (Basically, instead of being UFA-eligible at age 27, Beauvillier will be eligible at age 26.)

Considering the situation the Islanders find themselves in when it comes to the standings (dead last out of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference) and some of the struggles from their veteran players, Brian Erni of Islanders Point Blank argues that they have completely misused Beauvillier.  In a season that looks like it is going to be a losing one, he suggests that the rookie should be seeing a lot more ice time and in the lineup on a regular basis.

The situation draws some parallels to Nino Niederreiter back in 2011-12.  He too was a junior aged player who struggled to find consistent playing time while struggling veteran players were in the lineup on a regular basis.  Eventually the Swiss winger went public with his frustration and wound up being dealt to the Wild that offseason as part of the Cal Clutterbuck trade.

There’s no indication that Beauvillier, who has four goals and five assists this season, is headed down the same path as Niederreiter but his lack of recent usage has been a bit surprising and frustrating for many.  With their second half of the season fast approaching, it certainly will be interesting to see if he gets a longer leash to work with.

Other Islander notes:

  • With the Islanders likely to sell at the deadline, Newsday’s Arthur Staple takes a look at some of the potential rental players in a reader mailbag. He mentions that while goaltender Thomas Greiss may be the most attractive option to other teams, he believes that New York would like to keep him around beyond this season which could take him off the market.  He adds that Dennis Seidenberg would be another candidate to move but that they wouldn’t likely get much in return.
  • Still from Staple, he suggests that of the two Colorado forwards believed to be on the market (center Matt Duchene and winger Gabriel Landeskog), the team has more interest in Duchene despite having a greater positional need on the wing. However, he’s quick to add that the price (which would likely include their first round pick – which is shaping up to be an early one – plus a one or two top youngsters) remains far too high for GM Garth Snow to consider.

Minor Transactions: 1/12/17

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Here is where we’ll keep tabs on today’s comings and goings with the minor leagues:

  • The Islanders announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled defenseman Scott Mayfield from AHL Bridgeport. He will take the place of Travis Hamonic on the active roster, who has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 7th.  Mayfield has played in three games with the Isles this season, picking up a goal and two assists.  He has spent the bulk of the season in the minors where he has three tallies and three helpers in 23 contests.
  • Nashville announced the recall of defenseman Alexandre Carrier from Milwaukee of the AHL. Carrier, a fourth round pick of the Predators back in 2015, has had a strong rookie season in the minor leagues, recording 22 points (4-18-22) in 35 games, earning himself a spot in the AHL All-Star Game.
  • With their bye week set to come to an end, the Coyotes announced that they have recalled center Laurent Dauphin and winger Brendan Perlini from their AHL affiliate in Tucson. Dauphin has spent the bulk of the season with Arizona, recording three points in 21 games while producing at a point-per-game clip in 11 minor league contests.  As for Perlini, he has suited up in 15 NHL games, scoring four goals and an assist while adding 19 points (14-5-19) in 17 games with the Roadrunners.
  • After just three games with AHL Hartford, the Rangers have recalled (Twitter link) winger Pavel Buchnevich.  The Russian rookie made an early impact this season, recording four goals and four assists in ten games before back spasms took him out of the lineup for nearly two months.  New York had sent Buchnevich down to get back into game shape and evidently they’re pleased with how performed; he had a goal and an assist in his three minor league contests.
  • Pittsburgh has assigned defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).  He did not get into any action with the Penguins after being recalled on January 6th.  Ruhwedel has suited up in five NHL games this season, recording a goal and and an assist.
  • The Ducks announced that they have assigned center Chris Wagner to AHL San Diego.  The 25 year old has three goals in 25 games with Anaheim this season and cleared waivers back in mid-November.  Recently, the team had experimented with playing him on the wing; that type of versatility may come in handy as he pushes to be the next player recalled from the Gulls.

New York Hockey Notes: Tortorella, Davidson, Isles, Buchnevich

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The Columbus Blue Jackets, fresh off their 16-game winning streak, are in the unusual position of being considered among the best teams in the NHL. They currently own the league’s best record at 27-6-4 and currently rank among the top teams in several statistical categories. With the Jackets taking an early lead at home against the New York Rangers tonight, it’s perhaps interesting to note how much of an impact two former Blue Shirts have had on the fortunes of Columbus this season, argues Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post.

Former Ranger net minder and television analyst John Davidson took over as President of the Blue Jackets back in 2012 and has overseen the acquisition of much of the current roster. One of his first moves was to bring in the team’s GM, Jarmo Kekalainen, with whom Davidson worked while both were in the Blues organization. Kekalainen and his staff are responsible for drafting Alexander Wennberg and Zach Werenski, among others, and have orchestrated trades for Brandon Saad and Seth Jones.

Perhaps the biggest move Davidson and the Jackets have made was hiring head coach John Tortorella, who spent parts of five seasons behind the bench in New York and who led the Rangers to the playoffs four times and a berth in the 2012 Eastern Conference Final. Tortorella has rebuilt his reputation as one of the league’s top coaches and according to Davidson, Torts has pushed the players and adds “the players are also allowed to not only play the game hard, play the game in the way it should be played, but also have fun doing it. And Torts has done all that stuff.”

It remains to be seen just how far the Jackets will go this season. They certainly look like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender at this point and as the second youngest team in the league, they should remain one of the league’s best for the foreseeable future. Much of the credit for their success is owed to two men who used to be members of one of their Metro division rivals.

Elsewhere in New York hockey:

  • Unlike Columbus, the New York Islanders have underachieved and unless they get things turned around, they’ll be in danger of missing the playoffs. Their struggles this season may also have a negative affect on star center John Tavares’ desire to remain with the Islanders beyond the term of his current contract. Tavares has one more season left on his deal and it would be a crushing blow if he were to leave the team after the 2017-18 campaign. However, while things appear bleak today, the team does have hope for the future as Arthur Staple of Newsday writes. Even though they aren’t quite NHL-ready, Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle are getting a thorough education playing for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL and will soon be ready to contribute for the big club. The talented youngsters are learning what it takes to be pros from former NHL defenseman and Sound Tigers head coach Brent Thompson and while there is still work to be done their skill is undeniable.
  • Pavel Buchnevich, who was assigned to Hartford on the AHL yesterday, appeared in the Wolf Pack’s game last night and tallied a power play goal in his first game action in nearly eight weeks. More importantly for Buchnevich and the Rangers, Buchnevich reported no pain after the game, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post. While the Wolf Pack return to the ice tonight but Buchnevich will not be joining them. Brooks reports that he won’t participate in back-to-back games but is expected to be in the lineup again for the third game of the weekend set, barring any complications of course.

 

NHL Teams With Prospects On Both USA and Canada

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The United States and Canada face off in the World Junior Championships gold medal game tonight. Each team is loaded with NHL draft picks, and it is inevitable that some teams have players from both teams. While these players may be part of the same organization, there is no love lost when the two countries play each other. Below are all the NHL teams who have prospects on both Canada and USA tonight:

Arizona Coyotes
F Dylan Strome (CAN) vs. F Clayton Keller (USA)

Boston Bruins
D Jeremy Lauzon (CAN) vs. D Ryan Lingren* and D Charlie McAvoy (USA)
*Lingren was a late scratch before the gold-medal game

Calgary Flames
F Dillon Dube (CAN) vs. G Tyler Parsons and D Adam Fox (USA)

Nashville Predators
D Dante Fabbro (CAN) vs. F Patrick Harper (USA)

New Jersey Devils
F Michael McLeod and F Blake Speers (CAN) vs. F Joey Anderson (USA)

New York Islanders
F Matthew Barzal (CAN) vs. F Kieffer Bellows (USA)

Ottawa Senators
D Thomas Chabot (CAN) vs. F Colin White (USA)

Philadelphia Flyers
G Carter Hart and D Phillipe Myers* (CAN) vs. F Tanner Laczynski (USA)
*Myers was injured in the CAN vs. USA preliminary game and was unable to play in the gold-medal game.

 

O’Reilly Returns To Lineup For Sabres

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The Buffalo Sabres will welcome center Ryan O’Reilly back to the lineup tonight with the team in Chicago to face the Blackhawks, according to Mike Harrington of  The Buffalo News. O’Reilly last played on December 23rd and has missed the last four games after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on December 27th. He was expected at the time to need 10 – 14 days to recover and it appears as if O’Reilly’s return comes slightly ahead of schedule.

O’Reilly currently ranks fourth on the Sabres in scoring with 17 points and his return couldn’t have come at a better time given the recent loss of Johan Larsson for the season. Head coach Dan Bylsma can use O’Reilly against the opposition’s top lines, thus freeing Jack Eichel to match-up against lesser competition.

Buffalo acquired O’Reilly from Colorado prior to the start of the 2015-16 season in a blockbuster deal that also brought forward Jamie McGinn to the Sabres. The Avalanche received Mikhail Grigorenko and defenseman Nikita Zadorov along with prospect J.T. Compher and a 2015 second-round pick in return. O’Reilly led the team in scoring last season with 60 points and posted the second 20-goal season of his seven-year career.

The Sabres went 2 – 2 – 0 in O’Reilly’s absence, sandwiching back-to-back, home-and-home losses to Boston with road wins over Detroit and the New York Rangers. They are tied for last in the Eastern Conference with the New York Islanders and trail the Bruins by eight points for the last guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic.

Minor Transactions: 1/5/17

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Here are today’s minor transactions around the hockey world:

  • Forward Jared McCann has been recalled by the Florida Panthers from their AHL affiliate in Springfield, the team announced this afternoon. McCann started the season with Florida and appeared in 17 games, tallying one goal and three points during that time before a reassignment to Springfield. In 15 AHL contests McCann registered four goals and six points.
  • The Avalanche announced via Twitter that they have assigned goaltender Jeremy Smith to San Antonio of the AHL. This suggests that Semyon Varlamov, who has been out since December 23rd with another groin injury, is nearing a return to action.  Smith didn’t see any game action with Colorado and has played just seven minor league games this season, going 1-4-0 with a 2.60 GAA and a .903 SV%.
  • Philadelphia placed defenseman Mark Alt on waivers according to TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 25 year old suffered an upper body injury late in training camp and had been out ever since.  He has one career NHL game under his belt, back in 2014-15 and recorded 19 points in 72 AHL contests last season.  As CSN Philly’s Tim Panaccio notes, it’s likely that the Flyers will recall center Roman Lyubimov from Lehigh Valley after Alt’s waiver period expires on Friday.
  • New Jersey announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled defenseman Seth Helgeson from their AHL affiliate in Albany. He’s an insurance policy for fellow blueliner Andy Greene who left Tuesday’s game against Carolina after being hit by a puck in the first period.  Helgeson has played in two games with New Jersey this season while recording two goals and three assists in 30 AHL contests.
  • The Rangers have recalled netminder Brandon Halverson from Hartford of the AHL, per a team release. Halverson is in his first pro season and has a 3-5-0 record with a 3.59 GAA and a .867 SV% in eight appearances with the Wolf Pack.
  • The Islanders announced via Twitter that they have summoned blueliner Adam Pelech from AHL Bridgeport. Pelech had been sent down late last week after being activated off injured reserve having recovered from an upper body injury.  In nine games with New York this season, he has a goal and two assists while logging 15:26 per night in ice time.
  • With the vacancy on the roster created by losing Matthew Nieto to Colorado on waivers, the Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled defenseman Tim Heed from San Jose of the AHL. The 25 year old Heed has yet to play in the NHL but has been one of the top offensive threats in the minors this year with nine goals and 21 assists in 27 games.

Snapshots: Tavares, D. Sedin, Erne

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The New York Islanders enjoyed a very successful 2015-16 campaign.

Seven months after winning their first playoff series since 1993, the Islanders couldn’t be further away from repeating last year’s feat. They’re fifteenth (out of 16) in the Eastern Conference and nine points out of the final wildcard spot. Nine points isn’t insurmountable, however, the Islanders are in the best division in hockey and would need a miracle to catch any of their playoff-bound division peers.

Matthew Coller of Hockey Prospectus took a look at what happened to one of the feel-good stories of last year’s playoffs (ESPN Insider link). He links their downfall to three items: allowing Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen to walk in free agency, signing Andrew Ladd to replace Okposo, and the poor goaltending of Jaroslav Halak.

The team’s leader and superstar John Tavares has struggled by his standards this season, with 27 points in 36 games. Coller suggests that could be because the loss of his longtime winger in Okposo. Anders Lee and Josh Bailey have been Tavares’ most common linemates this season, and while they’re both undoubtedly quality NHLers, neither are at the level of Okposo. Ladd has not been good as a replacement for Okposo’s offence (at similar salaries), and GM Garth Snow was unable to replace Nielsen, who was one of the most valuable players in their lineup.

That leads to Coller’s most important point about the Islanders future: getting an answer from Tavares. He’s set to be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in the summer of 2018, and is the key to the entire franchise. Should he be willing to sign long-term, then Snow “can start moving assets to acquire win-now players around Tavares.”

However, should Tavares express concern over the direction of the team and want to test free agency as a franchise center in his prime, then Coller believes the Islanders should trade him sooner rather than later. It’s hard to imagine the kind of haul that Snow could acquire for a player of Tavares calibre. A rebuild would be greatly boosted by the assets acquired for Tavares, which could include several big-time prospects who are close to contributing at the NHL level and high draft picks. Consider Tavares’ trade at the OHL level as a possible template, where the Oshawa received three players and six draft picks for the star forward.

Ultimately, the future of the Islanders comes down to whether or not Tavares wants to stay long-term and right the ship. If he stays, then the club will try to make moves to become a Stanley Cup contender; if he wants to move on, then it will be a full-on rebuild for the Islanders.

  • On Monday night, Vancouver Canucks left winger Daniel Sedin got his 600th career assist on a goal by Sven Baertschi. Sedin currently sits in sixth for assists among active players; the top five are Jaromir Jagr, Joe Thornton, Henrik Sedin, Jarome Iginla, and Sidney Crosby. Marian Hossa is three assists behind Daniel. Sedin’s 600 assists are good for 83rd all-time. He’s one point behind Hockey Hall of Famer Glenn Anderson and two behind Kirk Muller. Crosby is 77th all time, 16 points ahead of D. Sedin.
  • With the injuries piling up in Tampa Bay, three players have made their NHL debuts so far this season. Now, a fourth as Adam Erne will be suiting up for his first NHL game. Erne was the 33rd overall pick in 2013 and has 18 points in 31 games at the AHL level this year. Brian Boyle is out with a lower-body injury, and head coach Jon Cooper wasn’t optimistic about a possible return this week, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. However, injury-plagued Ryan Callahan is listed as probable for Tuesday night’s game against the Jets. Callahan told Smith that he’s ready to play his game after being out since November with a lower-body injury.

Snapshots: Pedan, Benn, Auvitu

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The Vancouver Canucks have decided that Andrey Pedan might have a better chance of realizing his potential if he actually plays. The team has sent him back to the AHL to join the Utica Comets. Pedan has spent multiple periods with the Canucks this season, but has yet to get into a single game. Like Frank Corrado in Toronto, he’ll go back to the AHL to get some game time in.

The 23-year old has had trouble with his defensive game since coming over from the Islanders organization, but is a physical presence and can chip in offensively when he’s playing well. He’s played 19 games this season for the Comets, registering three points and 30 penalty minutes.

  • Jamie Benn is listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury for the Dallas Stars, reports Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. The captain will hopefully be able to play in the team’s next game, which thankfully isn’t until Wednesday. Benn has 34 points in 38 games this season, though his 10 goals is a far cry from the 41 he put up a year ago.
  • The Devils have sent Yohann Auvitu to Albany to make room for their recent waiver claim, Reid Boucher. In welcoming back the former Devil, Auvitu will head back to the AHL after playing 24 games this season with the NHL club. The French-born defenseman has four points (two goals, two assists) in those 24 games this season.
  • Arizona, the other team who made a waiver claim today, has moved Ryan White to injured reserve to make room. White hasn’t played since December 21st due to a lower-body injury, and has five points in 30 games this season. Likely back soon, the team will have to make a move to accommodate him when he does return.

Snapshots: Blue Jackets Win 15th Straight, Jagr, Subban

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Not even the Minnesota Wild could defeat the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets. The Wild, winners of 12 straight heading into Saturday’s contest, lost 4-2 to Columbus. The Jackets ran their winning streak to 15 games. Yahoo’s Jen Neale called it  the “Unsustainabowl” as both teams went into the game with franchise record winning streaks. With the win, the Jackets now hold the second longest winning streak in NHL history while also wrapping up an undefeated December. Aaron Portzline reports that the Jackets tied the 1981-82 New York Islanders and the 2012-13 Pittsburgh Penguins with their 15th consecutive win.  The 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins hold the all-time record, winning 17 straight.  That team was coming off back to back Stanley Cup wins. Portzline writes that after yesterday’s triumph, several Blue Jackets players finally acknowledged that they want to usurp the NHL record. Portzline quoted Brandon Saad as saying:

“It’s pretty hard to fathom actually,” said wing Brandon Saad, a Pittsburgh native. “What a team that was and we all know what it (the streak) is at and we’re looking to take over. We’re continuing one game at a time and we have some tough tests coming, but this has been fun to be a part of.”

  • A member of that 92-93 Penguins squad continues to rack up accomplishments of his own. Jaromir Jagr tied Paul Coffey for fifth all time on the assist list when he set up Vincent Trocheck’s goal Saturday night. Jagr also scored his 756th goal in the Panthers’ 3-1 victory over Dallas. The accomplishments for the 44-year-old winger continue as in addition to moving up on the career assists list, Jagr is second all time in points (1,891) and third all time in goals.
  • After a report that P.K. Subban may have a herniated disc, the Tennessean’s Adam Vingan writes that the loss of Subban for an extended amount of time would be “problematic” for a team that hasn’t lived up to the preseason expectations of being a Stanley Cup contender. Vingan adds that the Predators’ defensive depth should be able to absorb such a loss.

 

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