Injury Notes: Demko, Raymond, Brown
The Vancouver Canucks haven’t had Thatcher Demko in net for an entire game since November. More than anything, his absence has been a considerable part of the organization’s collapse this season. Demko’s strong play likely shrouded some of the issues the team faced last year, and when he struggled at the beginning of this season, they were revealed.
His injury, which has kept him out since a game on December 1, went through several levels of severity as he dealt with setbacks. Demko is now, finally, expected to be back for the Canucks in the next few days, according to Sportsnet broadcaster Brendan Batchelor.
- According to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Lucas Raymond took part in his first practice today since getting injured earlier this month. The young forward wasn’t part of line rushes, so likely won’t return tomorrow, but he should be back soon to continue his sophomore season. Raymond has 15 goals and 33 points through 50 games, and will be coming back to a Detroit Red Wings group that is suddenly in the thick of a playoff race.
- While Jakob Chychrun was on the ice for Arizona Coyotes practice, Josh Brown wasn’t, according to Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports. The big defenseman is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He left Wednesday’s game after just five shifts.
Snapshots: Capitals, Marchand, Ferguson
Anything you can do, I can do better. After a report emerged earlier today that the Pittsburgh Penguins have shown interest in Jakob Chychrun, rival Washington Capitals have also now been linked to the Arizona Coyotes defenseman. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Capitals are hoping to “rebuild on the fly” and, after yesterday’s trade of Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway, now have the assets to pull it off if it gets that far.
The Penguins and Capitals are in similar situations, trying to contend as many times as possible while their franchise icons are still on the ice. Neither one is guaranteed to make the playoffs this season, meaning it will be quite the task to retool quickly enough to challenge for the Stanley Cup. In the meantime, the Capitals have recalled Aliaksei Protas from the minor leagues to fill the last vacated roster spot.
- Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand has been issued a fine for the dangerous trip of Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand. Marchand owes $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for the incident in last night’s game. The Bruins are lucky, as every time Marchand is the focus of the Department of Player Safety, it could end in a suspension given his long history of supplementary discipline.
- With the Belleville Senators dealing with several injuries to their goaltenders, they’ve acquired some extra depth. Dylan Ferguson is on his way over from the Toronto Marlies in exchange for future considerations in a minor league deal. The 24-year-old netminder, perhaps best known for his emergency appearance for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, when he was still playing in the WHL, has appeared just five times for the Marlies this year, posting an .888 save percentage.
Injury Notes: Maple Leafs, Flyers, Sillinger
The Toronto Maple Leafs have two injured players trending in opposite directions. TSN’s Mark Masters reports that defenseman Rasmus Sandin will miss his third straight game, while head coach Sheldon Keefe said today that goalie Matt Murray will rejoin practice tomorrow and travel on their upcoming five-game road trip.
Sandin is out with an upper-body injury but has not been placed on injured reserve. The 2018 first-round pick is having a strong season offensively, having stepped up to produce 20 points in 51 games while averaging a hair over 18 minutes per game. Murray has been out since the end of January with an ankle injury, his second long-term absence this season. While his questionable injury history has followed him to Toronto, he’s shown improved play when healthy, compiling an 11-5-2 record and a .911 save percentage in 19 appearances.
- The Philadelphia Flyers could be close to getting a fan favorite back in the lineup. Zack MacEwen, who’s been out since late January with a jaw injury sustained in a fight, was on the ice for morning skate today, says The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Olivia Reiner. MacEwen had nine points and 54 penalty minutes in 46 games this season. The news isn’t so positive on Travis Konecny, who head coach John Tortorella said is still being evaluated after leaving the team’s game against Calgary last Monday with an upper-body injury.
- Cole Sillinger took to the ice at practice for the Columbus Blue Jackets today, per team reporter Jeff Svoboda. An illness kept the sophomore center out of yesterday’s game with an illness. It’s been a tough second crack at the NHL for Sillinger, who has just eight points in 52 games this season.
Erik Cernak Suspended Two Games
4:00 pm: NHL Player Safety has suspended Cernak for two games as a result of his actions, as announced Friday afternoon. They cited his previous suspension, as well as Cernak’s deliberate shift of his elbow to target Okposo, as reasoning behind the suspension.
9:41 am: The NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak will have a hearing for elbowing Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo during last night’s game.
The incident occurred late in the third period (video link) when Cernak delivered a high elbow to Okposo’s head, spinning him around and knocking him to the ice as he attempted to gain the offensive zone. Okposo was slow to get up after the collision but rejoined the action. Officials did not assess a penalty to Cernak on the play. Buffalo would win the game a few moments later on an Ilya Lyubushkin shorthanded breakaway in overtime, defeating the Lightning 6-5.
Cernak has been suspended once before in his career, also for elbowing. NHL Player Safety handed out a two-game ban to Cernak in November 2019 after he elbowed Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, causing a concussion. With the incidents occurring more than 18 months apart, however, Cernak isn’t considered a repeat offender.
Cernak, 24, has seen his defensive metrics dip this season after multiple seasons of elite shutdown play. Offensively, he’s contributed a goal and 10 assists in 51 games, spending most of his time paired with Ian Cole. He’s locked into an eight-year, $41.6MM extension that kicks in next season.
Okposo, 33, is leading by example as the Sabres prime themselves to enter the playoff conversation for the first time in a decade. Largely in a fourth-line, shutdown role, Okposo has added seven goals and 14 assists in 49 games this season as he nears the 1,000-game plateau.
West Notes: Krug, Olofsson, Eller
St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug is set to return to the lineup against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, head coach Craig Berube told reporters today. It ends a brief absence stemming from a lower-body injury.
It’s been a bumpy road for Krug in 2022-23, who’s missed significant portions of the season. This is the fifth separate occasion he’s missed time with a lower-body injury, including a 13-game-long absence through December and January. Krug’s ice time has dipped below 20 minutes this season, and his -28 rating is tied for the worst on the team. He’ll return to his usual spot alongside Justin Faulk.
- After being sent down yesterday, the Dallas Stars have brought forward Fredrik Olofsson back up from the minors. The 26-year-old has been a frequent call-up as of late, and he’s recorded a goal and three assists in 15 games with Dallas on top of 14 points in 37 games with AHL Texas. Olofsson will draw back into the lineup tomorrow against the Vegas Golden Knights as Luke Glendening and Joel Kiviranta remain sidelined with injuries.
- The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun covered the Washington Capitals’ trade deadline plans in his latest piece and listed pending unrestricted free agent center Lars Eller as a potential fit for the Colorado Avalanche. Eller’s offense has taken a step back this season, recording just seven goals and 16 points in 58 games, but he’d be good depth insurance for an Avalanche team that’s thin at center. As Colorado begins to string wins together ahead of the trade deadline, they hope some depth additions combined with healthy stars propel them back into the “contending” category of teams.
Spencer Knight Enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program
According to a joint statement from the NHL and NHLPA Thursday, Florida Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight has entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program and will be unavailable to the Panthers for an indefinite period while he receives care.
The announcement comes after Knight was assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday, in a move most assumed was meant to purely clear salary cap space for Anthony Duclair‘s return to the lineup.
Knight will continue to be paid while receiving treatment and will rejoin the Panthers when he’s cleared to return to on-ice competition by program administrators.
Knight, Florida’s 2019 first-round draft pick, is supplanting himself as a high-end tandem netminder despite being just 21 years old. In 21 appearances (19 starts) this season, Knight has a 9-8-3 record, a .901 save percentage, and a shutout. He’d appeared just four times since January 1, however, as a variety of injuries and illnesses had kept him out of the lineup.
Alex Lyon, who has a .887 save percentage in six NHL appearances this year, will back up starter Sergei Bobrovsky for the time being as the Panthers continue to chase a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
PHR extends our wishes to Knight that he gets the support he needs.
Chris Driedger Clears Waivers
February 24: Driedger has cleared waivers, per NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston.
February 23: The Seattle Kraken have placed goaltender Chris Driedger on waivers, which could indicate he’s ready to return from the offseason surgery that has kept him out of game action all season. With two NHL goaltenders already in place, the Kraken will likely send Driedger to the minor leagues if he clears.
One of the original Kraken, selected in the 2021 expansion draft, Driedger, at that point, was coming off a breakout season with the Florida Panthers. After registering a .927 save percentage in 23 games with the Panthers, there was talk about Driedger all across the league as a potential available starter. The Kraken selected him and gave him a three-year, $10.5MM contract, only to sign Philipp Grubauer to a much bigger deal a few days later.
That made Driedger the backup by default, and things didn’t go well in his first year with Seattle. With an .899 save percentage in 27 appearances, he (along with Grubauer) was a big part of the team’s collapse in their first year.
After the season ended, Driedger went to play with Canada at the World Championships, where he suffered a serious knee injury. Surgery and a long rehab have followed, without any game action.
One interesting wrinkle in today’s waiver placement is that Driedger could have been loaned to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on a long-term injury conditioning stint, without worrying about waivers for the time being. By doing it this way, the team can not only keep him in the minor leagues for as long as they want, but also potentially entice another team to take him—and his $3.5MM cap hit—off their hands.
Driedger is signed through next season but it is hard to predict where his career will go from here. The Kraken still have Grubauer under contract long-term and probably don’t want to be rolling out that tandem again next season. It makes almost no sense for anyone to claim him, but if he does pass through, perhaps a team would be interested as a goaltender they can keep in the minor leagues.
Kasperi Kapanen, Kevin Gravel Placed On Waivers
1:00 pm: Kapanen has officially been placed on waivers, along with Nashville Predators defenseman Kevin Gravel, per NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston.
12:28 pm: The Pittsburgh Penguins will place forward Kasperi Kapanen on waivers today, according to head coach Mike Sullivan.
Kapanen, who was re-acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs before the 2020-21 season, has struggled to find his footing with the Penguins after a promising first year. In 43 games this season, the 26-year-old has recorded just seven goals and 13 assists, a steady drop-off from his production at the beginning of his Pittsburgh tenure.
The decision to waive Kapanen is made with the trade deadline in mind. The team is looking to clear some salary cap space to make a move, and burying Kapanen’s $3.2MM cap hit in the minors will take $1.125MM off his cap hit for the time being, the maximum buriable amount.
Kapanen has one year remaining on his contract after this season.
It’s highly doubtful Kapanen would be claimed on waivers, as the combination of his cap hit and term is undesirable for a player demoted to a fourth-line role this season. If he goes unclaimed, Kapanen could use some time with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to regain confidence.
Kapanen last played in the minors with the Toronto Marlies in 2017-18, recording 24 points in 28 games.
The Penguins’ name has been popping up more in trade rumors, as the team has quickly lost their small cushion on a wild card spot. Assigning Kapanen to the minors slightly adds to their $1.225MM projected deadline cap space, per CapFriendly.
Cole Perfetti Out Eight Weeks
Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness told reporters this morning that forward Cole Perfetti is expected to miss at least eight weeks due to an upper-body injury.
The young forward, who was drafted by the Jets 10th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, has had a strong rookie campaign, registering eight goals and 30 points in 51 games played. Bowness stressed that Perfetti’s injury isn’t related to the upper-body injury that cost him the last few months of last season. The news of his absence is significant for the Jets down the stretch, as Perfetti is developing into a core part of the team’s top-six forward group.
Perfetti was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and has missed the team’s last two games.
The eight-week timeline lines up nicely for Perfetti to return during the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs if his recovery doesn’t extend past what’s anticipated. The Jets are second in the Central Division but have lost six out of their last 10 games.
Perfetti’s injury won’t impact Winnipeg’s salary cap landscape much, considering he’s still on his sub-$1MM entry-level deal, but it does exacerbate the need for the Jets to upgrade at the forward position with months left to go in the season. They have been linked in recent weeks as an outside team to land San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier, and other depth targets like James van Riemsdyk and Ivan Barbashev could be an option to replace Perfetti’s top-six role at the deadline.
Latest On Patrick Kane
The Patrick Kane trade saga may be nearing its end, according to NHL insider Chris Johnston. In a tweet Friday afternoon, Johnston reported that a resolution to Kane’s situation is expected “in the next 24 hours or so,” well before the trade deadline on March 3.
As of now, Kane has reportedly not waived his no-movement clause to facilitate a deal, per Johnston.
Kane, who has spent his entire 16-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks, has been the subject of trade rumors in recent weeks as the lottery-bound team continues to rebuild. Yesterday, rumors re-emerged about the possibility of Kane ending up with the New York Rangers, even after the team already bolstered their top-six with the addition of Vladimir Tarasenko. Kane, 34, has recorded seven goals and 10 points in his last five games, quieting many doubts about his scoring ability in spite of a bad hip.
However, Kane’s no-movement clause gives him the power to control his destiny, and it’s still entirely possible all the speculation is for not.
Adding to the rumor mill today, NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis reported that Kane was not practicing with the team, taking a maintenance day. Such a vague term is bound to increase speculation about whether Kane is being held out for trade-related reasons, health reasons related to his publicized hip issues, or neither.
Another Blackhawks trade target, defenseman Jake McCabe, also did not practice with a non-COVID illness.