East Notes: Sabres Injuries, Stamkos, Steeves
The Buffalo Sabres issued updates on several key injuries this morning. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is still day-to-day with an upper-body injury and did not practice with the team this morning. A few moments later, the team announced that goaltender Eric Comrie is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Fortunately, Mike Harrington of TBN Sports shared a video of Alex Tuch practicing in a regular jersey this morning; he has been out of the lineup since their February 24th game against the Florida Panthers.
Going 4-5-1 in their last ten games, the Sabres are beginning to falter in the Eastern Conference playoff race. After their loss last night, they are now seven points behind the New York Islanders, the current holder of the final wild-card spot. With three games in hand, the Sabres are not out of it yet, but the injuries to the back end will not help their playoff aspirations. On the bright side of things, the potential return of Tuch gives Buffalo the ability to put another point-per-game player back into their lineup. In 57 games this year, Tuch has scored 28 goals and 34 assists, helping create a solid trio with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner.
Other notes:
- In an awkward collision into the boards with new Chicago Blackhawks forward Joey Anderson, Steven Stamkos left yesterday’s game with an apparent leg injury. After getting up, Stamkos appeared to be unable to put any pressure on his left leg, hobbling back to the bench. The Tampa Bay Lightning have given no official update as to the status of Stamkos, but the team did report that head coach Jon Cooper believes he will be “OK”, and they kept him out last night’s game as a precaution. With 16 games remaining in the regular season, the Lightning are battling with the Toronto Maple Leafs for home territory in the first round.
- In a press release this morning, the Maple Leafs announced that forward Alex Steeves has been recalled from their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, a day after he was demoted to the minors. In 55 games this season with the Marlies, Steeves has scored 17 goals and 28 assists. The Maple Leafs have employed him more sparingly throughout the year, playing in only three games with the NHL club, and averaging just under eight minutes of ice time.
Minor News and Notes: Griffith, Bruins, Puljujarvi
After a three-goal and four-point performance in the Bakersfield Condors 6-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday night, Seth Griffith became the 100th player to record 500 points in the American Hockey League. Over the past ten seasons, Griffith has quietly been one of the most productive and consistent forwards in the AHL, scoring 77 points during the 2015-16 season with the Providence Bruins, and scoring an even 80 points last year.
Aside from his dominance in the AHL, Griffith has only played in 80 total games at the NHL level, scoring eight goals and 11 assists. His last action in the NHL came last year, when he played one game with the Edmonton Oilers, getting just over five minutes of play. After being drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins, Griffith has cultivated a great career in the minors, cementing himself in the history books of the AHL.
Other notes:
- With a 3-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings yesterday afternoon, the Boston Bruins have officially clinched a playoff spot, becoming the first team this year to do so. Through 64 games this season, the Bruins are on pace for a 64-12-6 record, which would break the split record of wins (62) shared by the Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning, as well as the points record (132) set by the Montreal Canadiens. Continuing the most dominant season by any team in NHL history, the Bruins will now look to clinch their division, conference, and finally the President’s Trophy.
- Since being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers on February 28th, Jesse Puljujarvi finally made his Carolina Hurricanes’ debut during their 4-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights last night. Playing on a line with Stefan Noesen and Paul Stastny, Puljujarvi received just under 13 minutes of ice time, recording three shots on goal. As the Hurricanes continue to stave off the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers as the top team in the Metropolitan Division, expect Puljujarvi to continue to be slowly introduced into more important moments for Carolina.
Flyers Notes: Briere, Laperriere, Flahr
Earlier this morning, Interim General Manager Daniel Briere of the Philadelphia Flyers held a press conference introducing his new title to the media. Briere touched on many aspects of where he expects Flyers hockey to go. One of the more popular soundbites coming out of the press conference is that Briere believes the Flyers must enter a “rebuild that will be a multi-year process”. Jeff Marek of Sportsnet also noted that Briere doesn’t believe a fire sale is justifiable, as he believes there are still talented players on their current roster.
Since his retirement from the NHL after the 2014-15 season, Briere has been working in various capacities for Philadelphia since 2017. Briere was initially put in charge of the ECHL’s Maine Mariners, a team that was purchased by Comcast Spectacor, the same ownership group of the Flyers. After serving as General Manager for the Mariners, Briere was named a special assistant to the General Manager for the Flyers halfway through last season.
The Flyers are expected to go through a hiring process to determine who will oversee this team full-time, and although Briere may be the front-runner, there is no guarantee that he will be given the job. With a deep 2023 NHL Draft on the horizon, and the Flyers having some money coming off the books before free agency begins, it will be interesting to see how Briere handles putting the beginning touches on the Flyers’ rebuild.
Other notes from the press conference:
- Briere gave a lot of credit to former Flyer Ian Laperriere in his development of key prospects on Philadelphia’s AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Since being named the head coach before the 2021-22 AHL season, Laperriere has helped graduate several Flyers prospects such as Cameron York, Tyson Foerster, and Morgan Frost. With a lot of changes expected to come internally to the Flyers organization, Laperriere may be a popular name for promotion.
- Since taking a job with the Flyers during the 2018-19 season, Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr has seen many ups and downs in Philadelphia. Briere noted during his press conference that the expectation is that Flahr is expected to remain with the team for the foreseeable future. Since working his way up as a scout with the Florida Panthers and Anaheim Ducks, Flahr spent a few short seasons with the Ottawa Senators as their Director of Hockey Operations. Beginning in the 2009-10 season until his eventual move to Philadelphia, Flahr was the Assistant General Manager of the Minnesota Wild.
Rangers Reassign Jonny Brodzinski
The New York Rangers announced they have reassigned Jonny Brodzinski. He will be sent back down to the Hartford Wolf Pack following the Rangers 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres. Brodzinski was called up on March 7 on an emergency loan, but with 12 other healthy forwards available to participate against the Sabres, Brodzinski had to be returned to the minors.
Brodzinski did play two nights ago when the Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens in overtime. It was his 17th NHL game of the season and though he has just one goal and two points, he has been a top scorer for the Wolf Pack.
The 29-year-old forward has 12 goals and 30 points in 34 games at the AHL level while serving as the Wolf Pack’s captain. He has scored 224 career AHL points in 284 games while also suiting up for 101 NHL games in his career, scoring nine goals and 17 points in that time.
The Rangers made some big swings at the trade deadline adding Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane up front. It doesn’t leave much room for a scrappy veteran like Brodzinski, especially within the salary cap which is why he needed to be sent down as soon as the team had 12 healthy forwards.
Predators Recall Egor Afanasyev
The Nashville Predators have announced they have recalled Egor Afanasyev from the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. The Russian winger is playing in his second season with the Admirals and has 13 goals and 26 points in 55 games this season. He had 12 goals and 33 points in 74 games as an AHL rookie last season.
Afanasyev was a second-round pick of the Predators in the 2019 NHL Draft. He was playing for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL before being selected, and had 27 goals and 62 points in 58 games for them. He headed to Windsor to join the Spirfires in the OHL in 2019-20 where he piled up 31 goals and 67 points in 62 games as an 18 year old.
The 2020-21 season saw him bounce around different Russian leagues during Covid lockdowns which put a halt to the OHL. Afanasyev did score two goals and five points in seven World Junior games in the 2021 tournament.
The 6-foot-4 winger obviously brings a lot of size to the Predators lineup, but he also showed at the OHL, World Juniors and AHL that he has some scoring punch as well. Afanasyev is an interesting 22-year-old forward who is third on the Admirals in goals scored.
The Predators took a sellers approach at the trade deadline and shipped out Mikael Granlund, Tanner Jeannot and Nino Niederreiter. That opens the door for younger wingers to step into the lineup, and Afanasyev looks like he will be getting an audition and a chance to make his NHL debut tonight against the Los Angeles Kings.
East Notes: Hedman, Duclair, Puljujarvi
The Tampa Bay Lightning are getting a boost to their lineup tonight with the return of Victor Hedman, according to Dave Randorf, the team’s play-by-play commentator. Hedman missed the team’s past two games after crashing heavily into the boards against the Carolina Hurricanes last weekend. The 6-foot-7 defenseman is having a solid season with six goals and 42 points in 60 games, but it is a bit off his pace after he put up 85 points last season. Still, the team leans heavily on their star defender who is averaging 23:59 per night which leads the team.
The Lightning have not been playing their best hockey lately, so they will be happy to have Hedman back. The team is 1-4-2 in their past seven games and though they appear destined to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round once again, they will need to get back on track in a hurry if they want to gain home-ice advantage in that series. The Lightning are currently four points back of the Leafs in the standings.
- The Florida Panthers announced Anthony Duclair will be in the lineup tonight. Duclair missed last night’s overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks with an illness, but is good to go this evening as the Panthers host the Winnipeg Jets. The Panthers are scratching and clawing for every point as they sit four points back of the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. Duclair has been limited to just five games this season after suffering an achilles tendon injury in the offseason, and has added three points in those games.
- The Carolina Hurricanes finally get to welcome Jesse Puljujarvi to the lineup this evening. Nearly two weeks after being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers, the Finnish winger will play his first game in Carolina. He dealt with some visa issues that delayed his arrival, and then joined the team in Montreal just before they faced the Canadiens on Tuesday. The coaching staff elected to have him settle in and practice with the team for a few days before finally taking the ice on the fourth line tonight with Paul Stastny and Stefan Noesen.
West Notes: Fiala, Stars, Sharks
Los Angeles Kings winger Kevin Fiala is injured and listed as day-to-day according to Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider. Fiala will miss tonight’s contest when the Kings host the Nashville Predators. Fiala left the Kings game on Thursday night against the Colorado Avalanche after a knee-on-knee hit from Andrew Cogliano. Of course the Kings don’t want Fiala to miss any time, but the fact he is only listed as day-to-day is great news as the collision looked like it could possibly result in a much more serious injury.
Fiala is leading the Kings in scoring with 68 points this season. He has been terrific in Los Angeles after being acquired from the Wild for a first-round pick and Brock Faber in the offseason. The 26-year-old winger plays a great two-way game and has fit in on the team’s top line with Anze Kopitar and also fills in on a tremendous all-around trio with Phillip Danault and Viktor Arvidsson from time to time. It sounds like his absence will be short term and that is great news for Kings fans who were holding their breath since Thursday night.
- The Dallas Stars have provided a bit of an update on their injured players. Mike Heika of NHL.com reports Tyler Seguin is not skating today which means he is not close to returning to action. The veteran center left Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres after suffering a laceration above his knee from the skate of Jordan Greenway. Luke Glendening and Scott Wedgewood did skate today, meaning they are close to getting back into the lineup. Glendening has not played since February 17 and Wedgewood’s last game was February 18.
- Curtis Pashelka of Bay Area News Group reports San Jose Sharks defensemen Radim Simek and Jacob MacDonald are out week to week. Simek is dealing with concussion symptoms and MacDonald left Monday night’s game early after taking a high hit. There is no update on what the injury is, but the timeline sounds like the Sharks will be without a couple of depth defenders for the next few weeks. In better Sharks news, winger Jonah Gadjovich is getting closer to returning but is not quite ready. He has three goals and seven points in 35 games this season but hasn’t played since February 12 with an upper-body injury.
East Notes: Canadiens, Lazar, Steeves, Motte
Canadiens centers Kirby Dach and Jake Evans both skated before practice today, relays TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). Dach has been out for nearly a month with a lower-body injury, stalling the momentum on what had been a solid first year with Montreal as the 22-year-old has a career-high 35 points in 53 games this season. He is listed as out indefinitely. Evans, meanwhile, has missed almost two months with a lower-body injury of his own, one that is expected to keep him out for a couple more weeks. The 26-year-old has struggled prior to the injury, notching just 11 points in 43 games after putting up 29 in 73 contests last season.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- Devils forward Curtis Lazar has now been cleared to join the team, notes Ryan Novozinsky of the Newark Star-Ledger. The veteran was acquired from Vancouver at the trade deadline but had been waiting to get through work visa and immigration issues which have now been resolved. Lazar has joined up with New Jersey in Montreal but isn’t expected to be in the lineup just yet. The 28-year-old has five points and 124 hits in 45 games so far this season.
- A day after being recalled from the minors, the Maple Leafs have returned winger Alex Steeves to AHL Toronto, per the AHL’s transactions log. Steeves had been on an emergency recall but with John Tavares expected to play tonight, Toronto had to send one of the two players they brought up back to the Marlies. Steeves has 17 goals and 28 assists in 54 games so far this season in the minors, good for second on Toronto in scoring.
- Rangers winger Tyler Motte was listed as a game-time decision for today’s game against Buffalo but is expected to play, relays Mollie Walker of the New York Post (Twitter link). The 28-year-old suffered an upper-body injury earlier this month against his former team in Ottawa and has 10 points in 44 games this season. Motte’s return means that New York will have to return Jonny Brodzinski to AHL Hartford as the cap exemption permitting his recall will expire since the Rangers will once again have 12 healthy forwards.
West Notes: Coyotes, Oilers, Barbashev
It has been a long rebuilding process for the Coyotes as they’ve stripped their team down while adding many prospects and draft picks. Speaking with Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription link), GM Bill Armstrong indicated that they’re nearing the halfway point of their rebuild. Arizona has 47 draft picks over the next four drafts, 17 of which are in the first two rounds so there is definitely going to be a significant influx of young talent into the organization in the coming years. However, it appears at least a couple more years of being around the basement of the conference are on the horizon as it will take some time for their young talent to develop.
More from the West:
- The Oilers made a legitimate pitch to acquire winger Timo Meier before the trade deadline, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 32 Thoughts While it would be hard to see how Meier and his $10MM qualifying offer would fit into Edmonton’s salary structure, Friedman suggests their intention was simply to figure out the cap implications over the summer. Had it happened, there’s a strong possibility that Meier would have been back on the market this summer with Edmonton effectively treating him as a rental player. Meier, of course, ultimately went to New Jersey and has a goal in three games so far with his new team.
- While his acquisition largely flew under the radar with more prominent names being moved, forward Ivan Barbashev might wind up being the best deadline acquisition, posits SinBinVegas’ Jason Pothier. The Golden Knights parted with 2021 first-round pick Zach Dean to pick up the 27-year-old pending UFA and Barbashev has fit in quite well, notching five points in six games with his new team. More importantly, he has shown some early chemistry on the top line in the place of injured captain Mark Stone and if he’s able to hold down that spot on the depth chart, he should certainly be at least one of the most impactful pickups from the trade deadline activity.
Nick Bonino Suffers A Lacerated Kidney
Nick Bonino’s return to Pittsburgh has hit an abrupt pause. The team announced (Twitter link) today that the center suffered a lacerated kidney in Thursday’s overtime loss to the Islanders after being hit by a puck and is listed as being out week to week. Rob Rossi of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the veteran was released from the hospital today.
The 34-year-old was acquired from San Jose at the trade deadline from San Jose as part of a three-team deal that also involved Montreal. He was brought in to help their center situation with Teddy Blueger being traded to Vegas and Ryan Poehling landing on LTIR but wound up being injured in just his third game with the team. Adding in his time with the Sharks, Bonino has ten goals and nine assists in 62 games this season.
Following what wound up being a fairly busy trade deadline for Pittsburgh, cap space is at a premium for the Penguins as per CapFriendly, their cap space is limited to exclusively Poehling’s $750K LTIR placement. Bonino’s injury gave Pittsburgh just 11 forwards on their active roster, limiting them to recalling someone making the league minimum – Drake Caggiula and Alex Nylander were the only forwards at that price point – with Nylander getting the call yesterday. Pittsburgh could opt to shift Bonino and his $1.05MM cap charge (Montreal retained an additional $1.05MM as part of the swap) onto LTIR in the coming days, freeing up space for one more recall in the process.