East Injury Notes: Lindgren, Lauko, Bastian
New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant gave an update on the status of defenseman Ryan Lindgren on Wednesday, stating he believes Lindgren’s return is at least two weeks away, but emphasized that he does not want to rush him back too soon. The New York Post’s Mollie Walker also speculated that the team is hopeful for Lindgren’s return before the playoffs start on April 17.
Lindgren has been sidelined with an upper-body injury for the most part since February 26, playing in one game on March 21 before exiting the lineup again. He’s missed 14 of the team’s past 15 games as a result. He’s been an important player again for the Rangers this season, recording 18 points in 58 games played, along with a +28 rating in a top-pairing role. Having already clinched a playoff spot and practically locked into a divisional playoff matchup with the New Jersey Devils, the team won’t rush his return back to the lineup.
- Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery told reporters Wednesday that forward Jakub Lauko is a possibility to play in tomorrow’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Lauko missed yesterday’s game with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. The 23-year-old Czech winger has four goals in 18 games for Boston this season.
- New Jersey Devils forward Nathan Bastian is again on the shelf, and NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky reports it’s the same upper-body injury that kept Bastian out for nearly two months earlier this season. Despite the setback, Bastian stated that he’s feeling better and hoping to return to the ice before the end of the season. It’s noted that Bastian wasn’t completely healthy when originally returning from the injury, explaining what some viewed as a dip in his play.
Robby Fabbri Shut Down For Remainder Of Season
Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde announced on Wednesday that forward Robby Fabbri is officially out for the rest of 2022-23 due to a lower-body injury.
In addition to the announcement about Fabbri, the Red Wings also announced that forward Taro Hirose has been reassigned to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Hirose, 26, made his season debut in last night’s 7-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing 7:57. He’s continued to be one of Grand Rapids’ best players this season, leading the team in scoring with 15 goals, 39 assists, and 54 points in 64 games.
Fabbri has been dealing with a lower-body injury since March 8, and Lalonde said Fabbri will require a four-to-six-week recovery period from this point forward. However, he is expected to fully recover in time for the 2023-24 NHL season.
It’s an unfortunate break for Fabbri, who’s no stranger to significant injuries. He missed the entirety of the 2017-18 season and most of the 2018-19 season with a torn ACL and upper-body injury, respectively. Fabbri also missed the end of 2021-22 with another ACL injury, and an MCL injury cost him the first few months of the 2022-23 campaign.
Fabbri, 27, still managed to produce when healthy this season, scoring seven goals and nine assists in 28 games. He was acquired by the team in a trade with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Akito Hirose
Mar. 29: The Canucks have officially signed Hirose to an entry-level contract, which will last one season. CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal confirms the contract is for this season, carrying an NHL salary of $855,000, a minors salary of $82,500, and a $95,000 signing bonus. As CapFriendly notes, because it’s a one-year contract signed late in the season, it has a pro-rated cap hit of roughly $2.11MM. Hirose will report directly to Vancouver.
Mar. 26: The Vancouver Canucks are expected to land their second NCAA free agent of the day: Minnesota State defenseman Akito Hirose.
CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal was first to indicate mutual interest between Hirose and Vancouver, while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman added that Hirose could join the Canucks this week. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta notes that Hirose’s expected signing with Vancouver “has been in the works” for a few weeks.
While it’s important to clarify that nothing as of yet is official and until an official contract announcement is made anything can happen, this reporting does hint at a widely-held expectation that Hirose will be signing with the Canucks.
The expected acquisition of Hirose comes just after the Canucks announced the signing of Max Sasson from Western Michigan University. With Hirose expected to join the team and Sasson plus former Northeastern University forward Aidan McDonough in the mix, these recent transactions indicate that targeting NCAA talent will be an organizational priority for this still relatively new Canucks front office.
The younger brother of Detroit Red Wings minor leaguer Taro Hirose, Akito has made a name for himself over the past few seasons. He was named BCHL defenseman of the year in 2019-20 and was his conference rookie of the year in 2020-21. Last season, he helped Minnesota State reach the NCAA National Championship game and his stellar defensive play helped contribute to netminder Dryden McKay‘s Hobey Baker Award win.
This season, Hirose has been a top-pairing, all-situations minutes-eater for Minnesota State. Paired with Jake Livingstone, a fellow coveted free agent, he led his program back to the NCAA tournament before they fell to St. Cloud State. He finishes his college career with a healthy 68 points in 104 games, and as Friedman notes could get his feet wet against NHL competition sooner rather than later.
Chicago Blackhawks Extend Brett Seney
The Chicago Blackhawks have signed forward Brett Seney to a one-year, two-way contract extension, per a team tweet Wednesday.
Seney’s two-way deal will pay him the league-minimum $775,000 at the NHL level. The team did not disclose his AHL salary.
Seney, 27, was acquired by the Blackhawks when free agency opened last July. He’s appeared in seven games for Chicago this season, recording one goal.
The 5-foot-9, 157-pound forward has played in 62 career NHL games, registering six goals and eight assists. He’s a much more seasoned veteran in the AHL, where he’s recorded 188 points in 241 games across six seasons. He sits second in scoring on the Rockford IceHogs this season with 48 points in 50 games.
Born in London, Ontario, Seney is a skilled puck handler who’s had back-to-back elite seasons in the minors after a rough COVID-laced 2020-21 season. While the rebuilding Blackhawks will likely give most of their roster spots to younger talent next season for development purposes, Seney could easily challenge for a roster spot and immediately become one of the more seasoned pros among Chicago’s forward core. He will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024 upon the expiration of his contract extension.
Boston Bruins Sign Trevor Kuntar To Entry-Level Contract
The Boston Bruins have signed forward Trevor Kuntar to a two-year, entry-level contract, the team announced on Wednesday. The contract begins in the 2023-24 season and carries a cap hit of $867,500.
Kuntar, 21, was drafted by the Bruins in the third round (89th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. He recently completed his junior season at Boston College, where he tallied 13 goals and 16 assists in 34 games.
Kuntar was a key contributor for Boston College this season, helping the Eagles reach the quarterfinals of the 2023 Hockey East men’s tournament as the eighth seed, forcing second-ranked Merrimack to double overtime before ultimately losing 1-0. He finished third on the team in scoring behind Philadelphia Flyers first-round pick Cutter Gauthier and Anaheim Ducks prospect Nikita Nesterenko, who’s already signed his entry-level contract and played NHL games after the conclusion of the Eagles’ season. Kuntar also won a Hockey East championship with Boston College during his freshman season in 2021.
The 6-foot, 196-pound forward is known for his scoring ability combined with his physical game, which makes him an effective net-front presence. He’s expected to add some needed depth to the Bruins’ weak prospect pool and could play NHL games before his contract expires in 2025, with Boston looking for cheap, young talent.
The team did not say whether Kuntar would sign an amateur tryout with Boston’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, and make his professional debut there before the end of the 2022-23 season.
Carolina Hurricanes Reassign Pyotr Kochetkov
The Carolina Hurricanes are returning to a Frederik Andersen–Antti Raanta tandem, with the latter coming back from his latest injury in the next few days. The team has reassigned Pyotr Kochetkov to the AHL today after some strong performances in recent weeks.
Kochetkov, 23, has played in 24 games for the Hurricanes this season, effectively making a three-way split of the Carolina playing time. Andersen has logged the most with 29, while veteran Raanta has appeared in 23 games. Among the three, the young Kotchetkov has the best save percentage at .909, and more complex metrics support his strong play.
That will make for some interesting decisions come playoff time, especially if Raanta struggles at all down the stretch. The 33-year-old has never been able to stay healthy for long, and has a .907 save percentage on the year. That has resulted in just two regulation losses because of how strong Carolina’s depth is at other positions, but it doesn’t lend itself to much confidence when the season is on the line.
There is still some inconsistency in Kochetkov’s game, but he showed again over the weekend that he can play at a high level. Facing 44 shots against the Toronto Maple Leafs (including a season-high 15 from Auston Matthews), the young netminder allowed just three goals to secure the win. With Andersen and Raanta both scheduled for unrestricted free agency in the summer, and Kochetkov already signed to a four-year, $8MM extension, his time is coming in Carolina.
Dallas Stars Sign Matthew Seminoff
The Dallas Stars have inked another prospect, signing Matthew Seminoff to a three-year entry-level contract that begins in 2023-24. The young forward currently plays for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL, where he will remain and participate in a Memorial Cup run as the host city.
Seminoff, 19, has 82 points for the Blazers this season, good enough for third on the team, 15 points behind fellow Stars prospect Logan Stankoven. The familiarity of the two will certainly benefit them as they enter professional hockey, though Seminoff has one more year of junior to play, given he won’t turn 20 until December.
He also has much lower expectations, given he was the 179th overall pick in 2022. Even earning an entry-level deal by this point is an impressive feat, and should bode well for his future in the Stars organization. The test will be whether he can keep up that production level once Stankoven leaves the WHL next season, now that Dallas has committed to him.
The Stars may have found a nice late-round steal to join their impressive group of young forwards if he can. With Wyatt Johnston leading the way as an NHL regular, plenty more talent could be on the way to Dallas.
Thomas Chabot Out “A Couple Weeks”
The Ottawa Senators may be without star defenseman Thomas Chabot for the rest of the season, after head coach DJ Smith told Claire Hanna of TSN that he’ll miss a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury. The Senators’ final game of the season is April 13, just over two weeks from now.
That is, of course, unless they pull off a miraculous run over the last eight games to secure a playoff position. Ottawa sits five points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins but has several other teams – the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres, and Washington Capitals – also chasing that final spot. They would need to play considerably better than the 3-6-1 record they have over their last ten and now would have to do it without their most reliable defenseman.
Chabot, 26, recorded the second double-digit goal season of his career this year, potting 11 while racking up 41 points in 68 games. The smooth-skating defenseman averaged close to 25 minutes a night, a number that is actually down from his last few years. That’s likely because of the improvements to his supporting cast, including the recent arrival of Jakob Chychrun, who, unfortunately, will also miss a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury.
In better news for the Senators, it appears Ridly Greig may not be out for the season after all. Smith told Hanna there is “not as much risk as we originally thought” and that Grieg is back skating. He has not been cleared yet, and if there is any risk at all, the Senators won’t rush back the young forward.
Adam Sykora Assigned To AHL
As European seasons end, AHL clubs are getting some talented reinforcements. Today, the Hartford Wolf Pack were assigned Adam Sykora by the New York Rangers after his playoff run in Slovakia ended a few days ago.
Sykora, 18, was the 63rd pick in 2022 and already appears to be well on his way to outperforming that draft position. With 21 points in 38 games for HK Nitra, he was the highest-scoring U20 player in the Extraliga (by quite a bit), and added four points in eight playoff games playing a significant role.
While his World Junior tournament didn’t result in much offensive production – Sykora scored just one goal in five games – it was a bit of a coming-out party for the talented young forward, who looked dangerous every time he touched the puck.
Even better, he continued to display the all-out energy that made him such an intriguing draft prospect. Sykora’s game has no lower gear, as he flies around the ice chasing the puck. That actually may have to be reined in a bit at the next level for the Rangers to get the most out of him, but his work ethic certainly won’t be questioned.
Signed to his three-year entry-level deal already, Sykora is in no danger of burning the first year. His contract will slide at least this season, and could again next year should he play outside the NHL.
Evening Notes: Senators, Toews, Hall
TSN Insider Chris Johnston is reporting that an interesting detail has emerged in the sale process for the Ottawa Senators. Johnston says that the Algonquins of Ontario are part of the First Nations group bidding on the Senators, and they currently have a land claim on the piece of property at LeBreton Flats that could be the future site of the next Ottawa Senators arena.
LeBreton Flats is the property in downtown Ottawa that has long been discussed as the most desirable spot to put the Senators next building. The land is currently run federally, meaning that should the First Nations group win the bidding for the Senators, some interesting opportunities could open up. Graham Robertson and the group he is partnered with met with Senators management today and remain in pursuit of the club in what is now the second phase of the sale process.
In other news around the NHL:
- Chris Johnston is also reporting that Jonathan Toews is attempting to make a comeback this season for the Chicago Blackhawks. Toews is an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and has hinted at retirement as he has dealt with several health issues the past few seasons. Toews has played just 46 games this season, but has been effective when in the lineup with 28 points. Should Toews be able to dress for Chicago it would be an uplifting story to end what has been an otherwise nightmarish season for both player and team. Chicago is mired in one of its worst seasons in decades as they begin what is sure to be a painful rebuild over the next few seasons. For Toews, he would get what is likely to be a final send off after an era of Chicago hockey that saw the captain raise the Stanley Cup on three separate occasions.
- An interesting conundrum is developing with the Boston Bruins as Taylor Hall is getting closer to returning from injury. Hall has already been skating with Boston for a few days and TSN Insider Darren Dreger has said that sources indicate he is close to a return. The issue is that the Bruins don’t have any cap space for Hall to get back into the lineup. Boston loaded up at the trade deadline with the additions of Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway and have precious little cap space left to facilitate Hall’s return to the ice. This is sure to be an something to keep an eye on these next few days, and it is something other teams will certainly take notice of as we are less than three weeks away from the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, a time in which Boston no longer must be salary cap compliant.