Zack Smith Out Indefinitely With A Facial Fracture
While Senators center Matt Duchene had a strong showing in his first game back in Colorado following his trade last season, things didn’t go as well for the rest of the team. On top of losing the game, center Zack Smith sustained a broken bone in his face after being hit by a skate, notes Postmedia’s Ken Warren (Twitter link). There’s no timetable for how long he’ll miss but he has been sent home by the team for treatment, suggesting he’ll miss at least the next two games with the team on the road out West. Head coach Guy Boucher classified the injury as “serious”.
Smith, who cleared waivers at the end of the preseason, has gotten off to a solid start this season. Through nine games, he has two goals and three assists while leading all forwards in hits with 21. He also sits second to Duchene in faceoffs won and taken. That’s more of the output the team was expecting when they inked him to a four-year, $13MM extension back in January of 2017; that contract played a big role in him making it through waivers unclaimed.
It has been a rough season already for Ottawa when it comes to injuries. Center Jean-Gabriel Pageau tore his Achilles’ tendon back before training camp while veteran winger Marian Gaborik is dealing with a lingering back issue. Meanwhile, winger Brady Tkachuk, who had six points in his first four NHL games, is also on the shelf due to a torn ligament in his leg.
The Senators were only carrying the minimum 12 forwards on their active roster so there’s a very good chance they will be bringing someone else up before they take on Vegas on Sunday.
Minor Transactions: 10/25/18
Ten games grace the NHL stage tonight, including several East-West matchups between playoff contenders. As teams prepare for their games this weekend, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Christian Wolanin from the AHL to give them another defenseman for their upcoming road trip. The team will be without Mark Borowiecki for the first game as he sits out his one-game suspension, but are expected to have Cody Ceci back in the lineup. That means Wolanin may yet have to wait for his first game this season, but is at least earning an NHL paycheck for a few days.
- Jeremy Lauzon is the lucky defender that has been recalled by the Boston Bruins, this time under emergency conditions. The team moved Kevan Miller to injured reserve, and have several other defensemen banged up. Torey Krug did take part in the morning skate, but Charlie McAvoy and Urho Vaakanainen are not expected to play. It’s the first time Lauzon has ever been recalled to the NHL.
- Rocco Grimaldi has been recalled by the Nashville Predators after the team placed Dan Hamhuis on injured reserve. Grimaldi has 11 points in his first eight games for the Milwaukee Admirals, and has played the game of extra forward at the NHL level many times before. He’ll likely be sent back down soon, and find himself back with the team again later during the year.
- Rick Dhaliwal of Sportnet reports that Alex Biega has been called up by the Vancouver Canucks, noting that Guillaume Brisebois could also be on his way up to the team. Biega played 44 games for the Canucks last season but was forced to start at the minor league level this year, where he has two points in his first three games.
- The Calgary Flames have activated Travis Hamonic from injured reserve, and will re-insert him into the lineup after being out with a facial fracture suffered early in the season. To make room on the roster, Anthony Peluso has been sent back to the minor leagues. Juuso Valimaki, who is just one game away from burning a year of his entry-level contract, will sit tonight for the Flames.
- Christoffer Ehn has been sent back to the minor leagues by the Detroit Red Wings, making room for Mike Green‘s return to the lineup this week. Ehn was a surprise on the final roster out of camp, and played nine games with the Wings to start the season. The 22-year old forward recorded his first NHL point two weeks ago, but had seen his ice time diminished recently.
- Jake Bischoff has also been sent back to the AHL, and is still awaiting his NHL debut. It’s not the first time Bischoff has been called up without actually getting into a game, and it likely won’t be the last. The 24-year old defenseman scored 23 points in his first full season at the AHL level in 2017-18, and will look to do more damage for the Chicago Wolves this year.
Minor Transactions: 10/24/18
Just four games on the schedule for this Wednesday evening, but there are some prime matchups as Auston Matthews takes on Patrik Laine in Winnipeg and the hottest line in hockey welcomes the Tampa Bay Lightning to Colorado. As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves of the day right here.
- The Ottawa Senators have sent Paul Carey back to the minor leagues, a common refrain for the team this season. It looks like Ottawa will send everyone they can to the minors in the time between games, as they’re now sitting at just 21 players on the active roster. Cody Ceci is expected to return on Friday, but Mark Borowiecki could be facing suspension in the meantime. They’ll likely recall someone in the next day or so to help them on their upcoming road trip.
Mark Borowiecki To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
The Ottawa Senators could be without a key defenseman for a few games, after the league announced today that Mark Borowiecki will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety to determine a potential suspension. Borowiecki elbowed Boston Bruins defenseman Urho Vaakanainen in the face last night during an altercation in front of the net, but wasn’t penalized on the play. Vaakanainen suffered a concussion on the play.
Borowiecki is familiar with the DoPS from his two-game suspension in 2016 for boarding Tyler Toffoli of the Los Angeles Kings. That previous suspension will be taken into account, and given Vaakanainen suffered an injury another ban seems likely. The league is trying hard to take head shots out of the game, and though this incident wasn’t a full body check to the head, Borowiecki obviously targeted the young Bruins defenseman’s face as he came in to try and find a loose puck. While that decision was made in an instant, the league will take its time in determining any supplementary discipline.
The Senators play again on Friday and Sunday evenings, as they start a Western Conference road trip that takes them to Colorado, Vegas and Arizona. Luckily for the team, Cody Ceci is expected to be back in the lineup by the team’s next game, giving them back the player they depend on the most on defense.
Urho Vaakanainen Suffers Concussion
The Boston Bruins are in Ottawa tonight to face the Senators, and already have lost one of their young players to injury. Urho Vaakanainen has been ruled out of the game with a concussion, after taking an elbow from defenseman Mark Borowiecki in front of the net. Vaakanainen was coming in to try and shovel a loose puck into the net when Borowiecki extended his arm to try and keep him away from goaltender Craig Anderson.
Vaakanainen was playing in just the second NHL game of his career after being recalled on an emergency basis, but will likely be out for at least a few days now while he deals with the head injury. In the meantime, the Department of Player Safety is surely looking at the play and will decide tomorrow whether to have a hearing with Borowiecki for possible supplementary discipline.
The 19-year old Bruins defenseman was the 18th-overall pick in 2017, and is a very promising prospect that could make their blue line one of the most dangerous in the league over the next few years. Borowiecki meanwhile was recently involved in a questionable incident of his own, one in which he though Brendan Gallagher of the Montreal Canadiens should have faced some supplementary discipline. His public critique of the DoPS likely won’t buy him any favors.
Minor Transactions: 10/23/18
While we wait for all the action tonight around the NHL, PHR will be right here keeping track of all the day’s minor moves.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Christian Jaros as expected, given that Cody Ceci and Ben Harpur aren’t ready to suit up tonight. The team will welcome the Boston Bruins to town and try to make another statement this season by proving that they’re not the league’s doormat. The Senators are 4-2-1 this season and look much better than many expected, but will have to keep it up if they’re to make any real noise in the playoff race later in the year.
- The New Jersey Devils have moved Ben Lovejoy and Drew Stafford to injured reserve, while recalling Eric Gryba and John Quenneville from the minor leagues. The team is already dealing with several injuries, and will now have to rely on their minor league depth to keep them competitive. Quenneville especially needs to make an impact, as he’s managed to play in just 18 NHL games so far in his career and hasn’t recorded a point since the 2016-17 season.
- Nick Ritchie has been activated from his non-roster designation, and will be in the lineup for the Anaheim Ducks tonight. Ritchie was the second last RFA to sign this year, and eventually settled on a three-year $4.6MM deal. His presence is needed desperately as the Ducks look for a way to score while several key forwards remain on injured reserve.
- Sammy Blais has been sent down to the minor leagues by the St. Louis Blues, a surprising move after the young forward played in eight games to start the year. Blais hadn’t scored yet and had seen his ice time reduced significantly over the last few games, but with no corresponding move it’s unclear what the plan is for the Blues. Perhaps the team is just using the days between games as a cost-saving measure, or another player will be recalled before Thursday’s game.
- Brock Boeser is out with a sore groin and has been listed as day-to-day for the Vancouver Canucks, which means Darren Archibald is on his way up to the team to fill his spot. Archibald certainly can’t fill Boeser’s skates completely, but was relatively effective last season in the 27 games he played for the Canucks. The 28-year old forward has six points in eight games this season for Utica, and will try to continue that production at the NHL level if he’s inserted into the lineup.
- Filip Hronek will be assigned to the minor leagues soon, given Mike Green‘s imminent return for the Detroit Red Wings. Hronek has three points in six games this season but will have to continue his season in the AHL for now. The young defenseman is oozing with upside, but will wait for his next opportunity at the NHL while working on his penalty killing ability.
- Alex Formenton has been activated from injured reserve by the Ottawa Senators, indicating that his concussion symptoms have subsided and he’s ready to get back into game action. The speedy forward has been a pleasant surprise for the team this season, showing his willingness to engage physically while also leaning on his skating ability to create offense.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled Nicolas Roy, and could give him his first opportunity of the 2018-19 season. Roy has just a single NHL game under his belt since being selected 96th overall in 2015, but has become a dangerous two-way player at the minor league level. With five goals and seven points in his first six games this season and a 38-point rookie campaign in 2017-18, the 6’4″ forward already has shown more offensive touch than many expected when he was drafted.
Minor Transactions: 10/21/18
Another Saturday night in the NHL has gone by, and with it another chance for young players to impress their coaching staffs. Now a new day opens and we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves around the league.
- Nick Paul and Christian Jaros have been returned to the AHL by the Ottawa Senators, in another cost-cutting maneuver. The Senators aren’t back in game action until Tuesday night, at which point they’ll likely make following transactions to bring some players back up or activate them from the minor leagues. After Mark Stone‘s game winner last night, the Senators are flying high on early season success.
- Kevin Rooney has been sent to the minor leagues by the New Jersey Devils, likely meaning that Jesper Bratt is getting close to a return. The Devils don’t play again until Thursday, giving the young forward several more days to recover from the broken jaw he suffered just before the start of the season. If he can’t go, expect New Jersey to make a different move in the next few days.
- The San Jose Sharks announced they have assigned center Dylan Gambrell to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL and is expected to play for them today. Gambrell has been on a roller coaster getting called up and sent back done several times already this year. The 22-year-old hasn’t made an appearance for the Sharks yet this year and has only made two appearances all season for the Barracuda, although he has posted three goals and five points in those two appearances.
Central Notes: Makar, Dunn, Morrissey, Vesalainen
The Colorado Avalanche may be focused on the present, but their future looks bright as well. Not only do the Avalanche have the Ottawa Senators first-round pick this season, which could be a lottery pick despite the team’s success early on this year, the team likes what it sees from Cale Makar, the fourth-overall pick in 2017.
The 19-year-old, who is in his sophomore year at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, has been dominating so far in the early games of the season. UMass reports that Makar leads the NCAA already in points/game with 2.33 as he has three goals and seven points in three games. Makar, who had a good season last year, had just 21 points in 34 games last season, putting him way ahead of where he was a year ago. There continue to be rumors that he’ll sign with the Avalanche after this collegiate season.
- The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) answers questions in a mailbag session and points out that the St. Louis Blues intend to put more responsibilities on the shoulders of second-year defenseman Vince Dunn, who has struggled getting minutes early in the season and has been scratched twice. However, Rutherford writes that the Blues believe he’s been one of their most effective defenders and is likely to receive top-four minutes from now on. Evidently, Dunn suffered through back issues over the summer and wasn’t able to get into top shape before the season started. Now that he’s almost back to the shape he was in last year, Dunn is likely to see an uptick in minutes. He’s already expected to be paired on the top defensive line with Alex Pietrangelo.
- In a notebook, The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek (subscription required) writes that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey is developing nicely after being drafted as an offensive-only defenseman back in 2013. Since then, he’s developed into an excellent shutdown defender and with Jacob Trouba, combine as the team’s shutdown defensive line against other team’s top players. However, when veteran defenseman Dustin Byfuglien went down with an injury last week, Morrissey was given his job on the No. 1 powerplay and still maintains that job despite Byfuglien’s return. Byfuglien has moved to the No. 2 power play role.
- With the Winnipeg Jets sending 2017 first-round pick Kristian Vesalainen down to Manitoba of the AHL Friday, Moose head coach Pascal Vincent said that the goal is to give the 19-year-old lots of minutes, especially on the power play to get him more ready to eventually return to Winnpeg. “…we want to put him in a position to be successful so he is going to play a lot of minutes and on the power play and I think for his development that’s the right thing,” Vincent said (via Dave Minuk of illegalcurve.com).
Minor Transactions: 10/20/18
It’s a busy Saturday around the NHL with 13 games on tap so there is likely to be plenty of roster movement throughout the day. We’ll keep tabs on those moves here.
- Late last night, the Ducks announced that they had sent winger Troy Terry down to San Diego of the AHL and recalled winger Pontus Aberg to take his place on the roster. Terry had yet to record a point with Anaheim in six games so they’re hoping a trip to the minors will get him going. He’s off to a good start after posting three points on Friday night. Meanwhile, Aberg was claimed by the Ducks late in training camp but they re-waived him shortly thereafter. He has a goal and an assist in two games with the Gulls so far this season.
- With just six defensemen on their active roster, the Senators were expected to bring someone up in advance of tonight’s game against Montreal. They’ve now done so, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve summoned blueliner Christian Jaros from AHL Belleville. Jaros has already played in two games with the big club after making the team out of training camp, collecting an assist while averaging 10:32 per night.
- The New Jersey Devils also made a couple of moves late last night as well, as the team announced they have assigned forward John Quenneville to the Binghamton Devils of the AHL, while recalling forward Kevin Rooney. Quenneville, the team’s 2014 first-round pick, made the team out of training camp, but hasn’t recorded a point in four games. The team hopes to get his offense going in Binghamton. Rooney, the 25-year-old penalty-killing forward scored 14 goals with the Binghamton Devils last season and had two assists in five games this year.
- The Dallas Stars assigned forward Roope Hintz to the Texas Stars of the AHL, according to NHL.com’s Mark Stepneski. The 21-year-old had played five games with Dallas to start the season, but has failed to tally a point so far, especially Friday when he was given the opportunity to play on the team’s first line next to Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn with Alexander Radulov out. Hintz played a career-high 17:26 and only posted two shots, a hit and a block. “You get an opportunity like that, you got to be pressuring pucks, you got to be creating more turnovers,” said Dallas head coach Jim Montgomery (via SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks). “Didn’t see enough. It wasn’t a bad game.”
- With neither Charlie McAvoy or Kevan Miller having skated during the pre-game skate, the Boston Bruins announced they have recalled defenseman Urho Vaakanainen from the Providence Bruins of the AHL on an emergency loan. The 19-year-old is the team’s 2017 first-round pick and has two assists in six games in his first season in North America.
Minor Transactions: 10/19/18
The Pittsburgh Penguins showed the Toronto Maple Leafs what center depth was really about, and the Edmonton Oilers squeaked out their home opener in front of a rabid fan base. Last night was a good one in the NHL, and there are three more prime matchups for this evening. We’ll keep track of all the minor moves teams make to get ready for the weekend right here:
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Nick Paul from the AHL, as they get ready for their matchup tomorrow night. With Brady Tkachuk the latest to be put on injured reserve, the Senators were down to just 12 healthy forwards and needed to recall at least one more. The team actually still only has 21 players on the roster, and could make additional moves before taking on the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow.
- Kristian Vesalainen has been sent down by the Winnipeg Jets, meaning he could potentially see his contract slide once again. Vesalainen has played in five NHL games so far, meaning he’d need another five in order to burn the first season of his entry-level deal. If the Jets let him play in the minor leagues instead, they’ll save a year of cheap production.