Joseph Woll Out Week-To-Week With High Ankle Sprain
Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll is sidelined week-to-week with a high ankle sprain, per a team announcement Saturday morning. Woll sustained the injury in the third period of Thursday’s 4-3 win over the Senators after stopping 29 of 31 shots faced.
While this will be a longer-term absence, the Maple Leafs appear to have avoided the worst with Woll. The 25-year-old netminder could not put any weight on his left leg while leaving the ice and needed help getting to the locker room. The injury, which appeared to be initially sustained early in the third period, was aggravated on a rather innocuous-looking play with ten minutes left in regulation. Woll moved slightly across his crease to stop a sharp-angle backhand shot from Senators center Rourke Chartier and collapsed in pain after his left leg hit the post.
Unfortunately for Woll, this is not his first ankle injury – he missed significant AHL time in 2020-21 with a similar issue. He and the Leafs hope this won’t become a long-term issue as he slides into the role of Toronto’s starting netminder.
Woll, who’s signed to a bargain-bin contract carrying a $767K cap hit through 2025, has been excellent for the Leafs this season. Starting 13 of their 23 contests, he’s posted an 8-5-1 record, .916 SV% and 2.80 GAA. He’s had a handful of spectacular performances over the past few days, including making 38 saves on 39 shots in a shootout victory against the Panthers and 37 saves on 40 shots in a shootout victory against the Kraken late last month. Per MoneyPuck, Woll has stopped 7.4 goals above expected, which is good enough for 12th in the league.
While the Leafs didn’t issue a specific timeline for recovery, this should not be a months-long absence. A standard high-ankle sprain recovery timeline for athletes is in the four-to-six-week range.
That means it’s Ilya Samsonov‘s crease again in Toronto for the next month or so. After guiding the Leafs to their first playoff series win in nearly two decades, he’s struggled mightily in 2023-24. Through ten starts, Samsonov has a .878 SV% and 3.58 GAA – despite a decent record of 4-1-3, he hasn’t been nearly good enough after posting a career-high .919 SV% in 40 starts last season. He has not played since their 4-3 overtime loss to the Blackhawks on November 24 and was not dressed for Thursday’s game against the Senators, as he’s been sidelined with an illness since the beginning of the month.
The Leafs did not announce a corresponding roster move along with Woll’s injury, suggesting that Samsonov is healthy enough to at least dress for tonight’s game against the Predators. If he’s not fit enough to start, 33-year-old Martin Jones will make his first Maple Leafs start after clearing waivers during preseason. He stopped nine of ten shots faced in relief against Ottawa.
Jones, 33, signed a one-year pact with the Maple Leafs in August to provide competition for the backup role with Woll heading into camp. He’s struggled in brief AHL action this season, his first in a decade, posting a .870 SV% in five games. He’s posted a save percentage below the NHL average in five straight seasons, although he did start 42 games for the Kraken last season, his highest figure since the 2018-19 campaign.
While Toronto would prefer to keep him in the minors for development purposes, 22-year-old Dennis Hildeby has been excellent for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and is available for recall. The 2022 fourth-round pick has a 1.89 GAA, .925 SV% and two shutouts in his first full season in North America.
Central Notes: Barrie, Lehkonen, Fleury
Over the weekend, news got out that Predators defenseman Tyson Barrie and his camp had been given permission to seek a trade. Speaking recently with 102.5 The Game (video link), GM Barry Trotz expressed his frustration over the news being leaked and how Barrie himself handled being made a healthy scratch for the first time in his career last weekend. The 32-year-old has typically been one of the better offensive producers from the blueline in his career with ten straight seasons of at least 38 points. However, he has been held without a goal and has just ten assists in his first 23 games this season. Barrie is in the final year of his contract which carries a $4.5MM AAV and with his offensive struggles so far, it might not be a deal that’s easy to move. Meanwhile, in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun noted that the Preds aren’t particularly inclined to use their last salary retention slot to help facilitate a swap which will only complicate those attempts further.
More from the Central:
- Avalanche winger Artturi Lehkonen skated ahead of Colorado’s practice today, relays Corey Masisak of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been out for the last month due to a neck injury but was able to shed his neck brace late last month. There remains no timetable for his return but returning to the ice is at least a step in the right direction. Lehkonen had three goals and five assists in a dozen games before the injury.
- Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury remains undecided about his playing future beyond this season, notes John Shipley of the Pioneer Press. The 39-year-old is in his 20th NHL season and second with Minnesota but this one hasn’t gone as well as his first with the team. Fleury has played in ten games so far heading into tonight’s action, posting a 3.21 GAA with a .884 SV%. If those hold, it would be the lowest save percentage of his career and his highest GAA since the 2005-06 campaign. Fleury is in the final year of his contract, one that carries a $3.5MM cap charge.
Golden Knights Activate Isaiah Saville From SOIR, Assign Him To AHL
Golden Knights prospect goaltender Isaiah Saville was placed on season-opening IR back in September with an undisclosed injury. Now, it appears as if he has been cleared to return as Vegas has activated him and assigned him to their affiliate in Henderson, per the AHL’s transactions log.
The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Vegas back in 2019 (135th overall). Last season was his first full professional campaign after leaving the University of Nebraska-Omaha following his junior year; Saville signed in March 2022, immediately burning the first season of his three-year, entry-level deal. He is now in the final season of that agreement.
Saville spent most of last season at the ECHL level with Savannah, posting an impressive .920 SV% in 33 games with the Ghost Pirates. That helped him get into ten games with the Silver Knights as well where he had a 3.21 GAA with a .902 SV%. He spent some time with Vegas during the playoffs as a Black Ace as well.
With Jiri Patera currently up with the Golden Knights covering for the injured Adin Hill and prospect Jesper Vikman injured, there’s a spot on the Silver Knights’ roster for Saville to fill for the time being, giving him a good opportunity to make a case to secure a qualifying offer in June.
Predators Assign Liam Foudy And Spencer Stastney To AHL
After clearing waivers earlier today, the Predators wasted little time sending forward Liam Foudy to the minors. The team announced that both Foudy and defenseman Spencer Stastney were assigned to AHL Milwaukee. No subsequent recalls were announced.
Foudy was claimed off waivers from Columbus early in the season but was in and out of the lineup with Nashville. Between the two teams, he has played in 13 games so far, picking up three assists and seven shots on net in just under ten minutes a night of ice time.
The 23-year-old spent all of last season in the NHL with the Blue Jackets, getting into a career-high 62 contests. Now, he’ll head back to the minors where he should have a chance to play a much bigger role for the Admirals. Foudy’s last AHL stint was in the 2021-22 campaign when he had 19 points in 29 games with Cleveland.
As for Stastney, the 23-year-old has been up for a pair of stints with the Preds this season, spanning nine games in total where he has his first career goal while logging just over 16 minutes a night. He also has four points in ten games so far with the Admirals.
Nashville’s skater roster now stands at just a dozen healthy forwards and seven blueliners so they have a couple of open spots at their disposal. Considering they’re back in action on Saturday against Toronto, it wouldn’t be surprising to see at least one of those spots filled by then.
Minor Transactions: 12/08/23
It’s a busy day around the world of sports, hockey included. Not only are sports fans everywhere likely captivated by the free agency of baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, a process that is being diligently covered by our friends at MLB Trade Rumors, but there is also player movement activity across the many leagues of pro hockey to pay attention to. Trade rumors are flying around a few quality NHL defensemen, and the waiver wire is active as well. As always, we’ll keep track of notable player movement from minor and overseas leagues here.
- Former Philadelphia Flyer Jackson Cates, the brother of Flyers center Noah Cates, has been released from his tryout agreement with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. The 26-year-old University of Minnesota-Duluth product signed with the Flyers as a college free agent and ended up playing in 20 total games for the club across three seasons. He spent more time in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, including a 65-game slate with the team last year in which he managed 23 points. The Flyers elected not to re-sign Cates for 2023-24, resulting in him latching on with the Islanders on tryout agreements. After 12 games in Bridgeport Cates has only managed one point, though, and that point came all the way back on October 14th. Now he’ll likely have to look for opportunities elsewhere to continue his professional career.
- Former Moncton Wildcats captain Nicholas Welsh has transferred from Liiga’s JYP Jyväskylä to the Augsburg Panthers of the German DEL. The 26-year-old offensive defenseman is no stranger to the DEL. He played for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers from 2021 to 2023 before electing to sign in Liiga over the summer. His 22-game run with JYP did not go well, as he managed just three points in that span and saw his ice time decline sharply from the start of the year. He’s likely to find more success with Augsburg, who are in need of defensive reinforcements after an injury to veteran David Warsofsky. Welsh last played in North America in 2020-21, when he got into 17 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
- 28-year-old Adam Brodecki, a veteran of over 300 SHL games, has signed a short-term contract with the SHL’s Frölunda HC. Brodecki spent last season with Rytíři Kladno in the Czech Extraliga, scoring 20 points in 45 games, but lingered on the free agent market before signing a short-term deal with the Växjö Lakers, helping them as injury issues struck their forward corps. Now, Brodecki will get the chance to represent Frölunda as they are set to lose a few players to Sweden’s World Juniors squad.
- Former WHL star Jaedon Descheneau has signed a one-year deal with the DEL’s Berlin Polar Bears, according to a team announcement. The five-foot-eight former St. Louis Blues prospect heads to Germany for a second tour of duty there, as he also spent 2018-19 as a top offensive player for Düsseldorfer EG. Although began his pro career in North America, Descheneau left the AHL/ECHL circuit after just one season. He bounced from California to Switzerland, then to Germany, then Sweden, then to Finland, and now is headed back to Germany. Along the way Descheneau has generally been a productive offensive player, although he has struggled with injuries and inconsistency over the last two years. With Berlin currently sat at the top of the DEL table, they add a talented scorer in Descheneau.
- Former WHL champion Reece Harsch, a six-foot-four right-shot defenseman, has elected to leave the EIHL’s Fife Flyers in the midst of a second campaign there. The former Seattle Thunderbirds blueliner began his pro career in 2021-22, skating in five AHL games for the Abbotsford Canucks and seven ECHL games for the Toledo Walleye. The then-23-year-old would that summer depart for Scotland, where he would play in 50 games for the Flyers. Now, after 10 games this year with Fife, Harsch has decided to leave the club and potentially look elsewhere to continue his young professional career.
- 2022 Seattle Kraken fourth-round pick Tyson Jugnauth has decided to leave the University of Wisconsin Badgers, the number-six team in men’s college hockey, in order to join the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. The Winterhawks acquired Jugnauth’s WHL playing rights via trade earlier this week, trading four draft picks to be able to add the player. Jugnauth had seen his role decline as a sophomore after his 15-point freshman campaign, and for the team’s last game, he was listed as a seventh-defenseman. As an offensive player who prioritizes speed and puck-carrying ability, Jugnauth’s development would be best served by having stability in terms of role and who his defensive partner is. That’s not something he was finding at Wisconsin, so he’s elected to join the Winterhawks rather than remain with the Badgers.
West Notes: Suter, Athanasiou, Flames
Vancouver Canucks forward Pius Suter has not been in the team’s lineup since a November 12th victory over the Montreal Canadiens. That could soon change, as Rink Wide Vancouver’s Jeff Paterson reports that Suter was on the ice in a regular jersey for Canucks practice today, rather than a non-contact one.
Signed to strengthen the Canucks’ bottom-six center depth, Suter has been uneven in Vancouver. His offensive numbers are well below expectations, but with Suter as a regular face in their lineup the Canucks won far more often than they lost. The Canucks have fallen off a little bit, and have won just five of their last ten games. Perhaps the return of Suter, who scored 15 goals and 36 points in 2021-22, can help them return to their winning ways.
Some other notes from the NHL’s Western Conference:
- The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus relays word from Chicago Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson who says that forward Andreas Athanasiou is inching closer to a return and is close to returning to skating. Although a full return to the ice is still a long way off for Athanasiou, this is a positive development as the forward works his way back from a groin injury. The speedy 29-year-old last played on November 9th and scored 20 goals and 40 points last season.
- There appears to be a bit of a flu bug going around the Calgary Flames, as the team has announced that two forwards, Walker Duehr and A.J. Greer, did not skate today as a result of the flu. Greer played yesterday against Carolina while Duehr last played on December 5th, but this announcement puts into question each player’s availability for the Flames’ next game, which is tomorrow afternoon against the New Jersey Devils.
Atlantic Notes: Quinn, Dahlin, Bussi
Buffalo Hockey Beat’s Bill Hoppe reports that injured Sabres forward Jack Quinn was at Sabres practice today as a full participant, shedding his non-contact jersey for a full-contact one. This is extremely encouraging news for the Sabres, as Quinn has yet to play this season due to recovery from offseason surgery to repair a torn Achilles. Last month, Quinn returned to practice in full pads and now he’s back as a full participant, indicating that he’s on schedule (if not ahead of schedule) to return to the Sabres’ lineup sometime around January 1st.
The Sabres could surely use the services of Quinn, a 22-year-old 2020 top-ten draft pick. After a breakout season in his first year as a pro with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, Quinn had an impressive NHL rookie season in 2022-23. He scored 14 goals and 37 points in 75 games, a performance that earned him a spot on Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships. He scored seven points in 10 games at the tournament, including with two crucial goals in the quarterfinals and semifinals, to help Canada take home a gold medal. Now he appears to be nearing a return with his club team, potentially providing a spark to a Sabres squad that has disappointed so far this season.
Some other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Hoppe relays word from Sabres coach Don Granato who revealed that superstar defenseman Rasmus Dahlin could possibly play tomorrow when the Sabres host the Montreal Canadiens. Dahlin is currently day-to-day with an injury, and if he can return he’d instantly give the Sabres a massive boost. The 23-year-old 2018 first-overall pick has scored 21 points in 26 games this season and is widely considered to be one of the best defensemen in the NHL.
- The Boston Bruins have reassigned netminder Brandon Bussi to their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Bussi, 25, is the Bruins’ AHL starter but had been recalled to the NHL to back up Linus Ullmark for yesterday’s game against the Sabres, as expected backup Jeremy Swayman was sick. With Swayman expected to be ready to return to the lineup for the Bruins’ next game, Bussi’s services are no longer needed at the NHL level. He’ll resume his role as the number-one guy in Providence, which is a role he’s thus far excelled in as he made the AHL All-Rookie team last season with a .924 save percentage.
André Burakovsky Out Week-To-Week
Seattle Kraken forward André Burakovsky will be out on a week-to-week basis, head coach Dave Hakstol said today. (via the Seattle Times’ Kate Shefte) Hakstol added that Burakovsky’s current injury is entirely unrelated to the one that kept him out of the Kraken lineup from late October to early December.
Burakovsky appears to have suffered the injury in last night’s game, or at least aggravated it, as he only played a little over nine minutes of ice time, including just two shifts in the game’s third period.
Missing even more time would be unwelcome news for both Burakovsky and the Kraken, as their $5.5MM scoring forward has already missed multiple weeks due to an upper-body injury.
When healthy, Burakovsky is among the Kraken’s most deadly offensive threats.
But he has struggled with injuries throughout his NHL career and especially since signing in Seattle. He produced at a 65-point 82-game pace last season, his debut year with the Kraken, but only ended up playing in 49 games. He also missed the entirety of the Kraken’s playoff run, a trip to the postseason that yielded an upset victory over the Colorado Avalanche, Burakovsky’s former team.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion had returned to the lineup to play second-line minutes alongside Jared McCann and Alexander Wennberg, but now with this new injury that line will have to find a new player to fill Burakovsky’s role.
It’s especially poor news given the state of Seattle’s offense. They currently rank fourth-to-last in the NHL in goals scored per game with 2.59. Key producers from last season such as Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers and eight-time 20-goal scorer Jordan Eberle have seen their offensive numbers take a steep decline.
The Kraken are already desperate to dig out of the early hole they’ve dug into this season, and this new stroke of extremely poor injury luck will undoubtedly damage those efforts.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
New York Islanders Acquire Robert Bortuzzo
The New York Islanders have acquired defenseman Robert Bortuzzo from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 2024 seventh-round draft pick.
This news isn’t entirely surprising given the recent announcement that Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock has been placed on injured reserve. Pulock’s injury left the Islanders thin on the right side of their blueline, a significant problem for a team facing Stanley Cup contenders in its next two games. With Pulock out, the Islanders were likely to have to slot Grant Hutton into a regular role on their blueline.
While the six-foot-three Hutton has been a nice find for the Islanders as an undrafted free agent signing from a few years ago, he has just 18 games of NHL experience. While Hutton is deserving of admiration for how he has worked his way up from the college ranks to the NHL, he is not the kind of reliable veteran a coach would likely prefer to see filling in for Pulock.
Pulock plays a minutes-eating role with the Islanders, enduring tough matchups against opposing teams’ top forwards. He also plays a critical role on the team’s penalty kill, a unit that has struggled so far this season but ranked inside the league’s top 10 last year. Although Bortuzzo is far from the defenseman Pulock is, he is a clear upgrade over Hutton in a seventh-defenseman role.
Bortuzzo, an Octagon Hockey client, is a Stanley Cup champion and a veteran of over 500 NHL games. He’s played for the Blues for a decade and has generally occupied the seventh-defenseman role for the team.
He won’t offer much in the way of offensive value or puck-moving ability, but he brings above-average size standing six-foot-four, 216 pounds. Additionally, he’s an imposing physical presence and has racked up 491 career penalty minutes and over 1,000 career hits.
With this trade, the Islanders acquire a highly experienced defenseman at an affordable price, grabbing someone who can more reliably handle some of the minutes vacated by Pulock than Hutton likely could. This trade also gives the Islanders a better seventh defenseman for when Pulock does return, assuming the 29-year-old can re-enter the lineup after his mandated three-game absence.
The Islanders currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division with an 11-7-7 record. The Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals, and New Jersey Devils are all teams likely to make a serious push for playoff position as the season moves forward. For the Islanders to remain in a playoff spot in such a cutthroat division, the club could not afford to roll the dice on Hutton when a player with the experience of Bortuzzo was available.
General manager Lou Lamoriello has provided that necessary defensive reinforcement with this trade, and only expended a seventh-round pick to do so. While some fans may have preferred the team target a younger blueliner who plays a style more in line with the expectations of a modern NHL defenseman, (meaning someone who has some skating ability and the capability to contribute to the transition game) it’s hard to argue with the addition of such an experienced defenseman like Bortuzzo at such a cheap price. And that’s made especially true since Bortuzzo carries just a $950k cap hit in a league where cap space is often a team’s most valuable asset.
For St. Louis, this deal accomplishes a few things. Firstly, it provides an opportunity for Bortuzzo to get into games on a more regular basis than he’d done so far this season. He hasn’t played since November 18th and has dressed for just four games this year. As a pending unrestricted free agent, the more games Bortuzzo is a healthy scratch for the harder it will be for him to secure a suitable contract on the open market.
As a ten-year veteran who helped deliver the Blues their first Stanley Cup championship, it’s understandable that the franchise would want to first and foremost do right by Bortuzzo, especially if he wasn’t in head coach Craig Berube’s long-term plans.
Prior to this trade, the Blues had been carrying eight defensemen, and 23-year-old Tyler Tucker was more likely than Bortuzzo to draw into the lineup in case of injuries. Now, they’re left with a more conventional unit of seven defensemen on their active roster, a number that offers the team an additional spot for which an extra forward can now be called up to fill. Being able to do a favor to a well-liked veteran while also adding a draft pick in the process is a tidy bit of business for Blues GM Doug Armstrong.
While this trade was completed in less-than-ideal circumstances for the Islanders, it’s a deal that works on multiple levels for both involved clubs while also providing a significant opportunity to a respected veteran who is playing in a contract year.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
New York Islanders Place Ryan Pulock On Injured Reserve
The New York Islanders have placed defenseman Ryan Pulock on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, according to a team announcement.
The nature of Pulock’s injury, beyond the fact that it is a lower-body ailment, is not immediately clear. The 29-year-old blueliner played in yesterday’s 7-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, although his 16:28 time-on-ice was quite a bit lower than normal. Pulock typically plays 23 minutes per night and can play as many as 28, as he did during a November contest against the Ottawa Senators.
Due to this IR placement, Pulock will now need to miss at least the team’s next three games. That leaves the Islanders without one of their most important defensemen for games against some potential Stanley Cup contenders. The Islanders play the Los Angeles Kings tomorrow and then face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 11th. The Islanders are already missing stalwart defensive defenseman Adam Pelech, so this loss of Pulock costs the team another reliable, minutes-eating blueliner.
Paired with young Samuel Bolduc last night, Pulock occupied a crucial role inside the team’s top four at even strength and on the penalty kill.
Now, barring any external addition, it’s likely that team seventh defenseman Grant Hutton will draw into the lineup in place of Pulock. It’s extremely unlikely he plays the kind of role the team entrusts to Pulock, though. Instead, look for the team’s third pairing of recent waiver claim Mike Reilly and veteran Scott Mayfield to be leaned on more heavily by head coach Lane Lambert.
As one of the league’s lower-scoring teams, the Islanders rely on well-drilled defensive hockey and exceptional goaltending to grind out victories. That’s the formula that took the club to the playoffs last season and placed them in the Eastern Conference Finals for two consecutive years under former coach Barry Trotz.
Employing that defense-first strategy becomes quite a bit more challenging when both Pelech and Pulock are out of the lineup. It will be interesting to see what adjustments Lambert makes in order to give his squad the best chance to keep pace in what is a fiercely competitive Metropolitan division.