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Anaheim Ducks Forward Max Jones Out Day-To-Day

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According to Anaheim Ducks assistant coach Mike Stothers and relayed by The Athletic’s Eric Stephens, forward Max Jones is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Jones, the team’s 24th overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft, played just two games last season before suffering a torn chest muscle and missing practically the entire campaign. While this lower-body injury has nothing to do with that chest injury, Stephens notes the team is exercising extra caution with Jones, and rightfully so.

With a career-high of just 12 points and having never played more than 59 games in a season, Jones hasn’t exhibited the offensive potential you’d hope for out of a first-round pick. High-end scoring was never Jones’ appeal, though. Rather, his 6′ 3″, 216-pound frame and willingness for physicality made him an attractive prospect for the Ducks at the time.

If he can manage to stay healthy, Jones is again expected to contend for a role in the team’s bottom six. With some added offensive depth over the offseason, Jones could get a chance to have a breakout season with some better linemates.

Top Blues Prospect Scott Perunovich Leaves Game With Injury

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Defenseman Scott Perunovich is one of the very best prospects the St. Louis Blues have in their system – if he stays healthy. Injuries have been a serious concern for him in the past, and they may be unfortunately continuing now. The Blues announced that Perunovich left tonight’s preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks with an upper-body injury and will not return.

Perunovich took a hit along the boards from Blackhawks forward Michal Teply, causing his arm/wrist area to make awkward contact with the glass.

St. Louis’ 45th overall pick in 2018, Perunovich missed the entire 2020-21 season with an injury after a spectacular junior season with the University of Minnesota Duluth. In 2019-20, he registered an assist per game and finished the year with 40 points in 34 games. Despite the missed season, Perunovich didn’t seem to miss a step in 2021-22, scoring 22 points in just 17 games with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds and registering six assists in his first 19 NHL games with the Blues. He now has just played those 36 games combined over the last two seasons, and the 24-year-old is losing precious development time.

Perunovich figured to challenge for a top-four role with the Blues this season, especially with veteran Marco Scandella on the injured list. Hopefully, Perunovich’s injury isn’t long-term and he’s able to rebound and get back to health before the regular season begins.

NHL Reportedly Notifying Teams Of “Sharp” Salary Cap Increase

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Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the NHL has been informing and preparing teams for a sharp salary cap increase over the next three seasons. If it holds true, it’s a landmark point financially in the league’s post-COVID operations and continued growth.

According to Friedman’s reporting, the salary cap will still increase its projected $1MM incremental climb in 2023-24, setting next year’s cap at $83.5MM. However, while original projections labelled a big salary cap jump coming in the 2025 offseason, later reporting, now fortified by Friedman’s report, signifies that a notable jump will likely come a year earlier. The 2024-25 salary cap will be reportedly set around the $87.5-$88MM mark, while the 2025-26 salary cap would be set around $92MM.

The roughly $4MM salary cap Upper Limit increase per season is much more in line with the league’s pre-COVID growth, if not more. The cap rose anywhere between $2MM and $4MM per season between 2015-16 and 2019-20, but now with two additional teams bringing in revenue, it makes sense that the figures would climb a bit more dramatically.

The sharper nature of the increase also looks a lot of recently signed long-term extensions look a lot smarter. Take Nathan MacKinnon’s eight-year extension, for example. While his $12.6MM cap hit will be worth roughly 15% of the team’s total cap space in 2023-24, that percentage will drop to around 13.7% in a $92MM-cap world for 2025-26. The percentage will only continue to decrease from that point onward.

Now, extend that $4MM-per-season growth over the life of MacKinnon’s contract. The salary cap would be $112MM in 2030-31, the final year of his deal, where the contract would be worth just 11.25% of the team’s total cap. That’s equivalent to a roughly $9.25MM cap hit in 2022-23.

Suffice it to say, it’s great news for both teams and players if the reported projections indeed hold true.

Evening Notes: PWHPA, Hischier, Hodgson

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There’s some exciting news coming on the women’s hockey front. In an interview with The Hockey News’ Ian Kennedy, Canadian National Team captain Marie Philip-Poulin confirmed that the current touring structure for PWHPA games will turn into a league for the 2023-24 season, bringing two professional women’s leagues back into the fold for the first time since the CWHL and NWHL were both active.

The PWHPA Dream Gap Tour is the main pool of talent that Canada and the United States select for their national teams. They’ve effectively been limited to playing exhibition games without a league structure governing competition, although that shouldn’t diminish the level of talent and competition on display. A league structure should bring more financial stability and a better plan for growing the women’s game in North America.

  • New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier left the team’s in-progress preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens at the first intermission. The team reports that Hischier’s absence is simply due to cramping and that he won’t return to the game for precautionary reasons. Hischier registered a shot on goal and played 6:24 in the first period, his preseason debut.
  • Philadelphia Hockey Now’s Sam Carchidi tabs winger Hayden Hodgson as a candidate to crack the Flyers’ roster out of camp this year. Hodgson made waves in the Flyers organization this season after a breakout year in AHL Lehigh Valley, earning an NHL contract near the end of the season and a six-game call-up, where he registered three points. Hodgson hadn’t even played in the AHL since 2017-18, spending every season since then entirely in the ECHL (and partly in Slovakia).

Training Camp Notes: Stone, Biakabutuka, Mangiapane

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Injury troubles plagued the Vegas Golden Knights last season, something they can ill-afford a repeat of in 2022-23. There’s some good news on that front regarding one of their star players, though, as right wing Mark Stone skated in a contact jersey today for the first time during training camp.

The Golden Knights will count on Stone to have a rebound year as their captain, especially with their offensive depth thinning. The 2021 Selke Trophy finalist and 2019 runner-up played in just 37 games due to injury last season, registering nine goals, 21 assists, and 30 points. Hopefully, the serious back injuries that plagued him last season don’t become a long-term issue for the 30-year-old.

  • Somewhat of a rarity these days, a player attending camp on an amateur tryout might do well enough to earn a contract within the organization. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes that the Red Wings have been impressed with defenseman Jérémie Biakabutuka, with head coach Derek Lalonde complimenting his skating and compete level. The 20-year-old is set to return to the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders next season but could receive an NHL entry-level contract from Detroit or receive an AHL offer from the Grand Rapids Griffins when his season is over.
  • Calgary Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane was a full participant in camp today after missing the first four days of group skates with what the team called a “minor lower-body injury.” He made his return to scrimmages skating on a line with newcomer Nazem Kadri, a role he’s likely to reprise in the regular season as well. Mangiapane is coming off a career-high 35 goals and 55 points.

Snapshots: Dumba, Barabanov, Harpur

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Generally, when thinking of the Minnesota Wild, the first name that comes to mind is Kirill Kaprizov. That’s fair, considering his superstar status, however the team’s defense core, which has been together for several years, is the foundational piece of the team’s current build. Those players include captain Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, and impending UFA Mathew Dumba. The seventh-overall pick in 2012, Dumba has spent parts of nine seasons in the NHL, all wearing a Wild uniform. But, for much of it, it’s been his name circulating in the rumor mills and that may continue to ring true this year.

The Athletic’s Michael Russo had a chance to talk with Dumba recently, who opened up about the possibility for being traded and his impending free agency, especially as it relates to Minnesota’s difficult salary cap situation. The defenseman made clear he wants to stay and is focused on being the best player and leader he can be, allowing it to work out as it does. Wild GM Bill Guerin, however, didn’t seem as optimistic, reiterating the organization’s difficult cap position, which “makes it hard to do certain things.” Guerin also mentioned that the Wild had not begun to engage Dumba on extension talks yet. Notably, the Wild are set to carry a $12.7MM cap charge against them this season, which increases to $14.7MM over the next two, thanks to their buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Though they technically might be able to afford Dumba, they will have to be smart with the use of their cap, and with the defenseman coming off of a $6MM AAV deal and a pipeline loaded with defensive talent, extending him may not necessarily make the most sense.

  • San Jose Sharks forward Alexander Barabanov is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Sharks coach David Quinn  told the media, including Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group. Though the injury is not specified, day-to-day status should mean the injury won’t have a lasting impact that would keep the 28-year-old from being ready for opening night. The forward, who had 39 points in 70 games last season, projects to be among a few key sources of offense this year for the Sharks. Not surprisingly given this news, Barabanov is not in the lineup for tonight’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Kings.
  • A scary scene earlier today as defenseman Ben Harpur, who is in camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets on a PTO, was injured in a scrap with Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jamie Devane. After the fight, Harpur appeared injured, but the nature and severity of the injury was unclear. One potentially positive update from Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is that Harpur was able to fly back to Columbus with the team after the game. Given the immediate aftermath, where Harpur laid still on the ice for several moments, seeing he was able to travel with the team is, for now, good news.

Vegas Golden Knights Need For Health Exacerbated By Salary Cap Crunch

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Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy said today that defenseman Alec Martinez missed today’s training camp sessions with an “upper-body tweak”, but he’s expected to return to practice tomorrow.

And while things like maintenance days usually aren’t big news, they are now for the Golden Knights, who will rely heavily on full health in 2022-23 after an injury-plagued 2021-22 season. Martinez himself missed a solid chunk of time last year, playing just 26 games and registering only eight points. A crucial part of their top four on defense, they’ll need Martinez at his best, especially if Nicolas Hague goes unsigned into the season.

With Vegas pressed tightly against the salary cap, even with Robin Lehner placed on long-term injured reserve, short-term injuries could become a cap management nuisance quite quickly. As they did last season, they’ll need to play a day-to-day game financially and have their players in AHL Henderson on speed dial.

As Hague remains unsigned, the team is especially thin on left defense. If Martinez gets hurt, the team’s next option to slot into the lineup is 23-year-old Zack Hayes, an undrafted free agent with only three games of NHL experience.

Golden Knights fans will be watching injury news like hawks as the preseason progresses. The team will begin their preseason schedule tomorrow against the Colorado Avalanche.

Evening Notes: O’Reilly, Columbus, Jones

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When the NHL’s free agency window opens next summer, few players project to be as valuable on the market as St. Louis Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly. The forward is entering the final year of a seven-year, $52.5MM deal and though he’ll be 32 years old when he hits free agency, he will in all likelihood find another fairly long-term deal somewhere near the $7.5MM AAV he currently holds. The impending free agency is also a driving force behind the Blues’ decision to extend young forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou with matching eight-year, $65MM contracts now, insuring against an O’Reilly departure. Perhaps not to worry though, as O’Reilly told the media, including NHL.com’s Lou Korac, that he would like to remain with the Blues going forward and that some form of dialogue has already started. Still, the former Selke winner cautioned that he feels “no real urgency” to get a deal done right now. O’Reilly admitted that when he was a younger player, there may have been a feeling of more urgency, but now he understands that he has other things he needs to focus on first with the start of the season, and understands that Blues GM Doug Armstrong has other things to focus on right now too.

  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic provided updates on a pair of important Columbus Blue Jackets centers. Team Captain Boone Jenner was absent from training camp today as head coach Brad Larsen attempts to manage his workload early in training camp as the veteran comes off an injury which forced him to miss the final 23 games of last season. Assuring Jenner stays fresh and healthy heading into the season will be important for Columbus, who will rely on him, among others, for important secondary scoring behind their pair of superstar wingers in Patrik Laine and Johnny Gaudreau. Also of note is Cole Sillinger, who is listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury after a collision on the first day of training camp.
  • Amid the teardown and rebuild of the Chicago Blackhawks, defenseman Seth Jones told Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times he has no regrets about signing his eight-year extension with the team last summer. He admitted seeing many of his teammates traded over the past few months was frustrating, but said he plans to look at the bigger picture and be patient, this year especially. Locked in for eight more seasons at a $9.5MM AAV, Jones figures to be one of the only Blackhawks not moved out in the rebuild, but the star blueliner will have the opportunity over the life of the contract to be part of the future structure as the team tries to rise to prominence once again.

Minor Transactions: 09/23/22

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We’re just one day away from the official start of the NHL’s preseason calendar, with a unique slate of games scheduled for tomorrow. In addition to the Boston Bruins paying a visit to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Arizona Coyotes and St. Louis Blues will face-off against one another from Wichita, Kansas in a neutral-site contest. Perhaps most interesting are the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, who seem to have pulled a page right out of the baseball playbook with the team’s playing a split-squad, day-night doubleheader including a 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm puck drop in Toronto. With all that action, there are several notes from around the league worth mentioning, primarily related to the opening of camp and the beginning of games, which we will keep track of here:

  • It appears the Arizona Coyotes have sent 2022 first-round pick Maveric Lamoureux back to juniors ahead of training camp (link). Given the defenseman’s age and raw skillset, as well as Arizona’s position in their rebuild, it wasn’t likely Lamoureux was going to make a major impact in camp and the team likely felt he was best served by heading back to the Drummondville Voltigeurs now rather than later.
  • Also sent back to juniors was Boston Bruins prospect Brett Harrison (link). A third-round pick in 2021, Harrison may have had the opportunity to raise eyes in training camp with Boston, however the forward projects to be a standout with the Oshawa Generals this season after tallying 61 points in 65 games last season. Oshawa kicks off its 2022-23 regular season in Barrie this Thursday.
  • A number of players have been officially activated off of injured-reserve today. Though many of these are not a surprise, some did come with question marks and in the wake of the recent injury updates around the league, particularly Sean Couturier of the Flyers, not everything can always be taken as a given. The Pittsburgh Penguins activated recently-signed forward Drake Caggiula (link). Moving out west, the Vancouver Canucks have activated forward Nils Hoglander and defenseman Tucker Poolman off of IR (link). In the desert, the Vegas Golden Knights activated forwards Brett Howden and Reilly Smith (link).

Snapshots: Hague, Pastrnak, Jets

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When Vegas Golden Knights training camp opens tomorrow morning, defenseman Nicolas Hague won’t be there as he awaits a new contract. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports that he isn’t expected to be on the ice with his teammates Thursday morning at City National Arena, the team’s practice facility.

Hague is one of the few remaining restricted free agents in the NHL, alongside Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin and Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson as the marquee names. Granger expertly notes that Hague missing camp is more detrimental than in previous seasons, as new head coach Bruce Cassidy will be installing a completely foreign defensive system from what the Knights have been used to in past seasons. Hague, the 34th overall pick in 2017, had 14 points in 52 games last season.

  • Speaking today during preseason media availability, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney says it’s a priority for him to get pending free agent winger David Pastrnak signed as soon as possible. Pastrnak, while he’s expressed a strong desire to stay in Boston, hasn’t shared the same urgency in negotiations in previous reporting. Pastrnak, who’s notched 40 or more goals in his last two full seasons, will be in line for a substantial raise, and it may behoove Sweeney to get a deal done before his value rises even further.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have made three scouting hires, including the first woman scout in team history, Sydney Daniels. Daniels joins the team as an NCAA scout, having previously served as the assistant coach for the women’s team at Harvard. The team also brought on Jari Kekalainen, brother of Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, as a European scout, and former Toronto Maple Leafs scout Tony Martino as a USHL scout.

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