Jack Hughes Out Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury
Of all the breakout performances this season, the most impressive might be Jack Hughes. The New Jersey Devils star leads the league in even-strength goals with 29, and has 67 points through 50 games this season. Unfortunately, that performance will be put on hold for a while. Hughes is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Head coach Lindy Ruff did tell reporters, including Amanda Stein, that he believes it will be on the shorter end of week-to-week, but for now, he’ll be without his best offensive weapon.
The first-overall pick from 2019 showed that he could be a difference-maker last year when he posted 26 goals and 56 points in 49 games but has taken his play to a whole new level in 2022-23. With 35 total goals, he trails only Connor McDavid and David Pastrnak, and his 67 points put him ninth in league scoring.
One of the concerns about Hughes when he came into the league was his durability, given his slight frame and position. He has so far proven those concerns valid, missing a good chunk of last season and now hitting the sideline once again. While this injury doesn’t seem long-term, it is at least something to keep an eye on as his career continues. Talent-wise, there are only a handful of players in the league that can keep up with Hughes, but he needs to stay on the ice to be able to lead the Devils.
It comes at a particularly disappointing moment, given his recent play. Hughes has only been held scoreless three times in his last 30 games and is currently on a nine-game streak totaling 18 points. The Devils are also about to go on a four-game road trip after tonight’s match against the Seattle Kraken – one they’ll have likely have to complete without Hughes’ help.
Follow The NBA Trade Deadline At Hoops Rumors
Deadline day is finally here! NBA teams will have until today at 2:00 pm CT to finalize trade agreements, and our sister site Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors on Twitter) has all the latest news, rumors and transactions for each of the league’s 30 teams!
It has already been an extremely eventful trade season, due in large part to the Nets, who traded star guard Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks on Sunday and reached a blockbuster agreement late on Wednesday night to send Kevin Durant to the Suns.
The Lakers, Jazz, and Timberwolves have also agreed to a major three-team trade that will see Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley, and D’Angelo Russell end up in new homes, while Jakob Poeltl and Josh Hart are among the other notable players reportedly changing teams.
Even with all that action so far, there are still plenty of storylines to keep an eye on as Thursday’s deadline nears. Hoops Rumors has provided a trade primer to help follow along.
For the latest updates on the NBA trade deadline, check out Hoops Rumors today! Last season saw a total of 20 in-season trades — including 10 on deadline day alone — and this season could be just as action-packed! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @HoopsRumors.
Rasmus Andersson Involved In Car Accident
The Calgary Flames have announced that last night in Detroit, Rasmus Andersson was struck by a vehicle while riding a scooter on his way to dinner. He was taken to the hospital, and subsequently released. While listed as day-to-day, Andersson is “doing well” and will remain with the team on their current road trip. The Flames have recalled Dennis Gilbert from the AHL for the time being.
Andersson, 26, has quietly turned into arguably the most important player on the Flames, logging nearly 25 minutes a night in all situations. He sits fourth in team scoring with 34 points in 51 games, and does a little bit of everything for Calgary.
Losing him for any length of time will be for the Flames to handle, especially as they try to claw their way into the Pacific Division race. Just a few days ago, general manager Brad Treliving told NHL.com that he isn’t ready to commit to being a “buyer” at the deadline, and is still waiting for his team to prove they are worth spending future assets on this season.
For now, he will miss at least tonight’s game against the Red Wings. At least the team recently brought back Chris Tanev from injured reserve, and will have other defensemen who can step up in Andersson’s absence. Hopefully, he has avoided any serious injuries and will be able to return in short order.
When general manager Brad Treliving met with the media to discuss the situation, he ended any speculation by explaining that there was no alcohol involved, and that the team will take Andersson’s recovery very slowly.
Andre Burakovsky Placed On Injured Reserve; Justin Schultz Activated
After playing just a single shift on Tuesday, Seattle Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky has been moved to injured reserve. The team has activated Justin Schultz and recalled John Hayden to fill his roster spot.
Burakovsky, 28 (today!), is having an outstanding season in his first year with Seattle, scoring 39 points in 49 games so far. That had him on pace to break the career-high 61 points he set last year with Colorado, though this injury may now end that dream.
It’s unclear how long he will be out, but Burakovsky must miss at least a week with his placement on IR. Though the team did not confirm, it looked like a non-contact injury against the New York Islanders, which always draws a little more attention as a possible long-term issue. The team said yesterday that he is still being evaluated, but a quick move to injured reserve is not promising.
At least the team is getting Schultz back, who last played on January 17. The 32-year-old defenseman has averaged just over 18 minutes a night for the Kraken but does have 24 points in 42 games, already passing the total he had in a full season with Washington in 2021-22.
Schultz has been a strong puck-moving option in the NHL for years, and that hasn’t changed in Seattle, where he has recorded excellent possession numbers in their up-tempo style. Getting him back will at least help soften the blow of Burakovsky’s absence, though it certainly won’t make up for it.
Montreal Canadiens Recall Alex Belzile, Jesse Ylonen
The Montreal Canadiens have added two forwards under emergency conditions, recalling Alex Belzile and Jesse Ylonen. The move comes just as the group reforms to prepare for their game on Saturday, the first after a long break.
For both players, this is nothing new.
Belzile, 31, has suited up five times with the Canadiens this season, recording four assists in the process. While he’s still looking for his first NHL goal, there’s little doubt that the undrafted forward can hold his own offensively. Through 31 games for the Laval Rocket this year, he has 14 goals and 26 points, just another strong AHL season for the grizzled minor league veteran.
Ylonen, 23, is a bit of a different story. Selected 35th overall in 2018, he was expected to challenge rather quickly for an NHL roster spot. Injuries have hampered his development, and to this point, he has just 25 appearances with the Canadiens. Ten of those have been this year, but Ylonen has just two assists in those games, and Ylonen received fewer than ten minutes of ice time in his last appearance.
With the Canadiens out of it, the young forward will likely get a chance to show what he can do down the stretch. Whether he takes advantage of the opportunity remains to be seen, and the clock is ticking on his status as a “prospect.” Ylonen will turn 24 before next season begins and is a restricted free agent this summer. The time is now for him to make an impact if he is ever going to.
Morning Notes: Chytil, Meier, Maple Leafs
Things just got more difficult for the New York Rangers, argues Larry Brooks of the New York Post, who posits the Dylan Cozens contract will have a serious effect on negotiations with Filip Chytil this offseason. The 23-year-old Chytil has 32 points in 43 games this season and is currently on a five-game goal streak, bringing his total to a career-high 19 on the year.
With the Rangers looking destined for the playoffs and connected to just about every high-profile trade target, they’ll have to remember to leave enough room to extend their young breakout center. New contracts are also due for several others, including K’Andre Miller, who has flashed his own moments of superstar talent this season.
- Speaking of high-profile trade targets, San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier has been connected to the Rangers, and the club is listed in Matt Larkin’s deep dive today for Daily Faceoff as a potential destination. The piece looks at five landing spots and how Meier would fit in, both this season and on a potential extension. There will be endless speculation regarding the winger over the next few weeks as he enters deadline season with plenty of heat.
- Meier has also been tenuously linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are the focus of Chris Johnston’s latest for NorthStar Bets. The NHL insider details the Maple Leafs’ openings and assets, hinting they may make multiple moves this deadline to bolster different positions. Just as we wrote in our recent Trade Deadline Primer, though, Toronto’s pile of assets to choose from is looking rather small at the moment.
Pacific Notes: Flames, LaCombe, Oilers, Studnicka
With the Flames entering tonight’s action in a tie for the final Wild Card spot, GM Brad Treliving told NHL.com’s Aaron Vickers that he’s not prepared to commit to being a buyer just yet. While he acknowledged that adding another forward would be nice (a desire that goes back to training camp), he will wait to get a better sense of where things stand closer to the deadline before making that call. Treliving also acknowledged that he hasn’t received clarity on Oliver Kylington to know if the defenseman will be able to return this season from his personal leave. That answer will go a long way towards determining what the Flames can or can’t do with his $2.5MM AAV and will also help to shape their trade deadline planning.
More from the Pacific Division:
- With Ducks prospect Jackson LaCombe playing in his final college season, some wondered if the defenseman might opt to not sign with Anaheim and instead go to free agency in the summer. However, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 32 Thoughts column, that won’t be the case as the 22-year-old has indicated to the team that he will sign at the end of his season at Minnesota. LaCombe is averaging just shy of a point per game this season with 26 in 28 contests, helping him earn a nomination for the Hobey Baker Award.
- Oilers GM Ken Holland acknowledged to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, Mike Johnson, and Pierre LeBrun on the Got Yer Back podcast (audio link) that he’d like to add before next month’s deadline but isn’t sure if he’ll be able to do so. Once Kailer Yamamoto returns off LTIR, Edmonton will be trimming down its roster simply to stay cap-compliant so they’ll be in a dollar-in, dollar-out situation. However, with winger Jesse Puljujarvi and his $3MM AAV being on an expiring contract, he’s someone that could be moved as a salary offset to help facilitate a move.
- The Canucks have sent Jack Studnicka back to Vancouver and the forward won’t play on the rest of their road trip, relays Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre (Twitter link). The 23-year-old is dealing with a non-COVID illness that is slowly improving. Studnicka was acquired from Boston early this season and has four goals and two assists in 30 games with Vancouver so far.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Tampa Bay Lightning
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2022-23 season and beyond. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Current Cap Hit: $89,574,031 (over the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Nick Perbix (one year, $842.5K)
Potential Bonuses
Perbix: $82.5K
Perbix has already signed an extension so we’ll cover that later on. His bonuses are games-played based and typically require 80 games to max out. However, there are generally a few tiers for bonuses at this price point so he should receive some of this amount. With Tampa Bay into LTIR, whatever Perbix earns will come off their cap next season.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
F Rudolfs Balcers ($750K, RFA)
F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare ($1MM, UFA)
D Ian Cole ($3MM, UFA)
F Ross Colton ($1.25MM, RFA)
G Brian Elliott ($900K, UFA)
D Callan Foote ($850K, RFA)
F Alex Killorn ($4.45MM, UFA)
F Vladislav Namestnikov ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Corey Perry ($1MM, UFA)
Killorn’s future with Tampa Bay has seemingly been in question for a while now with the team having to cut from its veteran core each season. Those questions will only intensify now as it’s hard to see how they can afford to keep him. The 33-year-old has a chance at beating his career high in points (59, set last season) which would at least help him hit the open market on a high note. He should be able to get a small raise on a medium-term agreement. Namestnikov also appears to be unlikely to return as he hasn’t fit in during his second stint with the team. He’ll also be hard-pressed to match his current AAV unless he can turn things around down the stretch. Perry and Bellemare are low-cost veterans that Tampa Bay will either want to retain or bring in someone else to replace them at likely a slightly lower cap charge if possible. If they look elsewhere, they’d be in line for similar contracts to what they’re on now.
On the RFA side up front, Colton will be in line for a sizable raise. He potted 22 goals last season and has a chance at 20 this year. Notably, he’ll also have salary arbitration eligibility which could push his next contract past the $3MM range. He’s an important part of their bottom six but they might have to get creative to keep him around. Balcers was picked up off waivers earlier this season and he tested the UFA market last summer after being bought out. Another minimum-priced contract should be coming his way which could keep him around for another year in Tampa Bay.
On the back end, Cole is arguably having a better year than he did last season with Carolina, logging his highest ice time since 2018-19 in the process. Having played on one-year deals for the last two seasons now, he might have a shot at a multi-year agreement at a price tag that’s close to this one. Foote still hasn’t been able to quite lock down a full-time spot in the lineup which will hurt his case even with arbitration eligibility. He should be able to push past the $1MM mark but his next deal shouldn’t be much more than that, even if they decide to tack on a second season.
Elliott has put up numbers that are hovering near the league average this year which is a good return on one of the cheapest goalie contracts in the league. But he turns 38 in April and is going to be going year-to-year from here on out. On merit, he’s worthy of at least a small raise but if he wants to stay with the Lightning, it’ll have to be at this price point at most. With how their roster is structured, Tampa Bay simply can’t afford a more expensive backup netminder.
Signed Through 2023-24
D Zach Bogosian ($850K, UFA)
D Haydn Fleury ($762.5K, UFA)
F Brandon Hagel ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Pat Maroon ($1MM, UFA)
D Philippe Myers ($2.55MM in 2022-23, $1.4MM in 2023-24, UFA)
D Brent Seabrook ($6.875MM, UFA)
F Steven Stamkos ($8.5MM, UFA)
Stamkos isn’t really slowing down and has provided a lot of value on this contract as he continues to be a focal point of Tampa Bay’s attack. Accordingly, he has positioned himself for a raise on his next deal if he wants to go after top dollar. In that case, he could land an eight-digit AAV, especially with 2024 pegged as the summer for the Upper Limit to jump up by a fair-sized amount. But if he wants to stick around with the Lightning, this feels like a situation where he could accept a longer-term contract to help try to bring the cap hit down somewhat relative to market value. Such a deal would take him closer to age 40 which isn’t necessarily ideal but it would keep the price tag closer to where it is now which would allow them to keep the core around as long as possible.
The Lightning paid a sizable price to land Hagel thanks to what has quickly turned into one of the bigger bargains in the league. If he continues to score around his current pace, he could make a case to quadruple his current price tag. Even with a higher cap at that time, it might be tough for them to keep both Hagel and Stamkos around. As for Maroon, he’s a fourth liner at this point and will be 36 when he hits the open market. That will likely keep him around this price tag two years from now.
Let’s get Seabrook out of the way quickly. You might have forgotten that he’s here now instead of in Chicago but his situation hasn’t changed as his playing career has come to an end. He will remain on LTIR until this deal expires which means that Tampa Bay is going to have regular cap space for a few more years.
Myers came over during the summer in the Ryan McDonagh trade and while many expected him to be bought out to give Tampa Bay a cap credit, he was instead extended at this lower price. Their cap situation has Myers in the minors right now but if he can lock down a regular spot next season, he could be able to land a deal a bit closer to what he’s getting this year. Bogosian has had a limited role when healthy this season and is more of a depth defender at this point. A deal around what he’s getting now is where his market should fall. Fleury, meanwhile, has had a very limited role and until he can establish himself as a regular, his value is going to remain at or near the minimum salary.
Signed Through 2024-25
D Victor Hedman ($7.875MM, UFA)
D Nick Perbix ($1.125MM from 2023-24 through 2024-25, UFA)
Hedman has been Tampa Bay’s top defenseman for the better part of the last decade and hasn’t shown much in the way of signs of slowing down. At a time when top rearguards are landing more than $10MM when they’re eligible for free agency, he has been a nice bargain for the Lightning and should continue to be for the rest of the deal. When it’s up, his playing time should be starting to dip which could keep his AAV close to this one, especially if he re-signs. Perbix has been a pleasant surprise this season which earned him this low-cost extension not too long ago. It’s a low-risk proposition as if Myers or someone else passes Perbix on the depth chart, the deal can be buried in the minors without any lingering cap charge.
Teams Showing Interest In Nick Seeler
With the trade deadline now just a few weeks away, speculation has started to swirl about some of the prominent players that could be on the move in the coming days. But the deadline certainly isn’t just about top-end talent as playoff-bound teams are often looking to shore up their depth as well. One player that fits the depth designation is Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler and ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports that teams are showing interest in the blueliner.
The 29-year-old has been a regular most nights on the back end for Philadelphia as he has suited up in 49 games so far, the second-most of his career. Seeler has set career highs offensively with three goals and seven assists while recording 86 blocks and 79 hits while averaging a little over 14 minutes a night.
Those numbers don’t certainly stand out but there is a number that applies to Seeler that does – a cap hit of $775K, just $25K above the league minimum salary. Even for teams that are right against the Upper Limit of the salary cap, that’s the type of contract that most will be able to afford which should help drum up some interest.
Seeler has one year left on his deal after this one and with Yegor Zamula and Ronnie Attard currently in the minors, it would make some sense for the Flyers to open up a spot for one of those youngsters for the stretch run. If they can do so and pick up what would likely be a later-round draft pick, all the better. While James van Riemsdyk will likely draw the most attention in the coming weeks, Seeler will be a player to keep an eye on as well.
Boston Bruins Linked To Luke Schenn
No matter the scale, the Boston Bruins intend to add to a formidable group of defensemen. The Fourth Period reported today that Boston has “explored the price tag” on Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luke Schenn, and The Nation Network’s Nick Alberga called them a “leading contender” to acquire Schenn if the Canucks decide to trade him, along with the Calgary Flames.
While Schenn may not have the big-name aura of Jakob Chychrun or even Vladislav Gavrikov, it would be a more pragmatic acquisition for Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. The Bruins are at the tail end of their contention window, and acquiring Schenn would come with a lower acquisition cost. It allows them to fortify an already strong defense while maintaining some core pieces for the team’s future, such as Fabian Lysell.
Schenn’s contract also makes it a more palatable trade for Boston. The team currently has $3.25MM in trade deadline cap space, per CapFriendly, but that’s with Jake DeBrusk and his $4MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve. He’s expected to return before the deadline, so the Bruins’ cap flexibility is much closer to $0. Schenn is a pending unrestricted free agent with an $850,000 cap hit, which Boston could swallow easily with some minor roster transactions, especially if Vancouver retains some salary for the short duration of the contract.
On the ice, though, Schenn doesn’t move the needle much for Boston. His +8 rating is second among Canucks defensemen, only behind Quinn Hughes, but more advanced metrics aren’t as kind to Schenn’s individual defensive impact this season at even strength. Schenn likely slots as an extra skater for Boston unless he can wrangle a lineup spot away from Connor Clifton, who’s played more minutes this season with better impacts defensively.
Acquiring depth is never a bad thing, though. Bringing Schenn into the fold also brings his 800-plus games of NHL experience, and he provides a more experienced option to step into the playoff lineup should injuries occur. The team still has Anton Stralman available under contract, but he’s played just 11 games this season, split between the NHL and AHL.