Atlantic Notes: Bergeron, Motte, Bertuzzi
Load management is a term that has become more commonplace in the NBA in recent seasons but it’s not something that’s typically done with any sort of regularity in the NHL. However, that could be changing as Bruins center Patrice Bergeron acknowledged to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that the team has talked to him about the possibility of selectively resting him down the stretch. The 37-year-old is in the midst of another strong season and has 36 points in 45 games so far while anchoring their top line but at his age and the minutes he has logged over the years, a night off here and there might not be a bad idea. Of course, it certainly helps that Boston has a 13-point lead on Toronto in the Atlantic Division, giving them a sizable cushion that lessens any risk from attempting to give their top center some extra rest.
More from the Atlantic:
- Senators winger Tyler Motte’s recovery from a finger injury isn’t going as well as the team hoped, notes Postmedia’s Ken Warren. The 27-year-old suffered the injury just before the holiday break and will now be out until after the All-Star break and bye week. Motte was a late signee in the offseason, inking a one-year, $1.35MM deal with Ottawa but things haven’t gone accordingly to plan this season as he has been relatively quiet when he has been in the lineup with just three goals and six assists in 32 games.
- While the Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that winger Tyler Bertuzzi won’t be available tonight due to injury, it’s not expected to be a long-term issue, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan. It has been a year to forget so far for the 27-year-old who has been limited to just 15 appearances thus far after breaking both hands this season. Bertuzzi has just a goal and four assists when he has been in the lineup, hardly the type of year he was hoping for as he becomes eligible for unrestricted free agency for the first time this summer.
Tomas Nosek To Miss At Least Four Weeks
The Bruins will be without a key depth veteran for the next little while as the team announced that center Tomas Nosek suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left foot on Thursday night. He will miss at least the next four weeks due to the injury and will be re-evaluated at that time.
The 30-year-old is in his second season with Boston after signing a two-year, $3.5MM deal with them last summer. Nosek is one of their most-used penalty killers, ranking second to only Charlie Coyle in shorthanded ice time among forwards while he has won over 58% of his faceoffs, good for second on the team behind Patrice Bergeron. Offensively, he has chipped in with three goals and five assists in 42 games but his biggest contributions certainly come at the defensive end.
Notably, this injury dropped the Bruins down to 11 healthy forwards on their active roster so a recall from AHL Providence was expected. While not announced by the team yet, they have recalled forward Joona Koppanen, per the AHL’s transactions log. While they have next to no cap space, they do have plenty of flexibility in LTIR with Jake DeBrusk and his $4MM AAV on there while Nosek is eligible to be moved to LTIR as well considering how long he is set to miss and Koppanen’s recall will trim that space.
Islanders Recall Aatu Raty, Cal Clutterbuck Out Indefinitely
Islanders winger Cal Clutterbuck suffered an upper-body injury on Thursday against Buffalo that will keep him out indefinitely. The team has decided who will take his place on the roster, announcing (Twitter link) that center Aatu Raty has been recalled from AHL Bridgeport.
Raty is in his first full season in North America and has spent the bulk of the year so far in the minors, notching seven goals and eight assists in 27 games. The 20-year-old has gotten into seven games with New York as well, collecting a pair of goals while averaging 8:25 per game.
Notably, Raty was still 19 as of September 15th which means the nine-game threshold for junior-aged players still applies. Once he plays in his tenth NHL game this season, he will officially burn the first year of his entry-level contract. If he plays in fewer than that, he’ll still have three years left on his contract after this season. That’s something the team will certainly be keeping in mind with this move.
If Raty sticks around for a while on this recall and pushes past that threshold, the next one for them to consider would be 40 games on the active roster which would accrue him a season of eligibility for unrestricted free agency. However, they’re a long way from that point at the moment.
As for Clutterbuck, it has been a tough season for the 35-year-old who has battled an upper-body injury a couple of times already. He has suited up in 34 games for the Isles, picking up four goals and four assists while chipping in with 130 hits.
Florida Panthers Loan Spencer Knight To AHL
8:05 PM: According to CapFriendly, veteran forward Eric Staal was placed on injured reserve today, making room for the recall of Guzda. Staal lands on injured reserve after leaving yesterday’s game after a big reverse hit from Mike Matheson. Matheson earned a fine for the hit earlier today.
4:16 PM: It’s been a wild 24 hours for goaltending in South Florida, as Sergei Bobrovsky left last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens due to injury. Reigning Calder Cup champion Alex Lyon was forced into action, and he guided his team to a victory. Now, it seems there could be some more stability coming to the team’s equation in the crease.
The Panthers have announced that netminder Spencer Knight has been loaned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. The move has been made presumably with the intention of Knight staying in the American League for conditioning purposes. He’s working his way back from an injury that landed him on injured reserve ten days ago.
Knight has been solid this season even as the Panthers team around him has regressed. Through 19 games played, he has posted a .906 save percentage. He returns to the AHL level for the first time since last season, when he spent a total of eleven games in Charlotte. In his last tenure there he went 7-4 with a .905 save percentage.
With Bobrovsky’s health status still unclear, getting Knight back to full health will be crucial as the Panthers look to build momentum in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Along with Knight’s departure to the AHL comes the recall of netminder Mack Guzda to the Panthers’ roster. This recall is presumably of the emergency variety, as the Panthers currently don’t have room on their active roster for a third goalie.
Guzda, 22, is in the midst of his first professional season. He’s spent the entirety of this year in Charlotte, and has a 9-4-2 record and .908 save percentage in 16 games played for the Checkers. He’ll be expected to back up Lyon should Bobrovsky not be ready in time for Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild.
Minor Transactions: 01/20/23
It’s a slow night on the NHL calendar, with just two games set to be played. It’s the second half of a two-game series between the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition to that contest, the Colorado Avalanche are taking on the Vancouver Canucks. While those four clubs do battle, teams across the hockey world are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- TJ. Brennan, a two-time Eddie Shore Award winner as the AHL’s best defenseman, has signed a two-year extension with his current club HC Ajoie. This is relatively big news for the Swiss side, as Brennan is an extremely accomplished defenseman in European and minor leagues. He signed in Ajoie over the summer from the ICEHL’s Red Bull Salzburg, after a season where he was an ICEHL All-Star, champion, and leader in defensive scoring. Brennan, 33, has 27 points in 39 games this season.
- Former Ottawa Senator J.C. Beaudin has signed an extension to remain with his current club, Grizzlys Wolfsburg. Beaudin signed in Wolfsburg, a club in Germany’s DEL, this summer, his first signing away from North America in his professional career. The former Rouyn-Noranda Huskies star has 22 NHL games on his resume, and last played on this side of the Atlantic with the Laval Rocket last year. He scored 17 points in 41 games in Laval and has had real success in Wolfsburg, scoring 12 goals and 20 points in 30 games.
- Former Kitchener Ranger Matthew Greenfield has stolen the show for the EIHL’s Sheffield Steelers this season, posting a .927 save percentage over the course of 32 games. His red-hot form has now had a ripple effect on the careers of two other netminders, as seen by today’s announcement that the Steelers have released Oskar Ostlund and signed Hayden Lavigne. Ostlund had originally been signed from the DEL to a two-year contract with the intention of him playing a major role. But after what the team called a “freak injury” before the Steelers’ first game sidelined him, Ostlund’s spot as the team’s number-one has been seized by Greenfield. Now, Ostlund will be able to continue his professional career elsewhere.
- The ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets have released forward Neil Robinson. Robinson arrived in Fort Wayne from the Utah Grizzlies via trade in December. Robinson had fallen out of favor in Utah, having scored just five points in eleven games. He didn’t have much success in Fort Wayne, scoring just one assist in eleven games, and now will have to look elsewhere to continue his professional career.
- The ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings have released forward Brennan Blaszczak today. The 26-year-old had been in the midst of his first extended stint in the ECHL of his career, having spent the prior two seasons in the SPHL with the Pensacola Ice Flyers. Despite being above a point-per-game in the SPHL, Blaszczak couldn’t quite hang on with either the Wings or the Savannah Ghost Pirates, and is handed his release having scored three points in eight total ECHL games.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Max Pacioretty Suffers Torn Achilles
5:04 PM: The Hurricanes have now officially announced the news.
4:55 PM: It turns out Pacioretty’s MRI was done today, not on Monday as originally reported. In what is absolutely awful news for both Pacioretty and hockey fans everywhere, the MRI revealed, as reported by Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer, that Pacioretty tore his right Achilles tendon, just two weeks after returning to action. It’s the same injury he suffered in August, and although no firm timeline has been released by the team, it will in all likelihood knock him out for the rest of the season.
This news likely confirms that Pacioretty will eventually end up placed on long-term injured reserve. While Pacioretty’s health and recovery will undoubtedly be the Hurricanes’ first priority here, this development does impact their roster-building plans for the rest of the season. The additional cap space afforded by a Pacioretty LTIR placement could have a significant impact on the rest of the team’s season and the trade market as a whole.
For Pacioretty, the priority will be getting his health back in a good place. The 34-year-old forward has played some of the best hockey of his career in recent years, but he has been limited to only sporadic availability due to injuries. With this bit of news, it’s clear he now faces another long recovery on his road back to the ice.
12:47 PM: After just five games, Max Pacioretty is back on injured reserve. The Carolina Hurricanes moved the veteran winger after he suffered a non-contact injury last night to the same leg that underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon last summer.
The Hurricanes have not given a timeline for Pacioretty’s recovery, and according to Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer, won’t be making a determination until next week. They’ve moved his scheduled MRI to Monday.
It is brutal news for a player that worked so hard to come back, especially given how well he had fit into the Carolina lineup. Pacioretty had three goals in his first three games with the team, though was also held out for two games recently due to a lower-body injury.
If it is another torn Achilles, Pacioretty would be out for the rest of the season. Injuries have become something of a pattern for the 34-year-old in the back half of his career. A player once known for his durability and consistency, Pacioretty has now played just 44 games since the start of 2021-22.
Even worse, his contract will expire at the end of this season, making him an unrestricted free agent. If the injury is as serious as it seems, another months-long rehab will be a difficult pill to swallow, with no guarantee of a financial or competitive future.
For the Hurricanes, it could mean they suddenly have some extra cap flexibility to play with. Should Pacioretty head back to long-term injured reserve, the team could make any number of moves at the deadline. His entire $7MM salary could essentially be replaced if he is not going to return this season.
Jeff Petry, Tristan Jarry Activated From Injured Reserve
The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting both Jeff Petry and Tristan Jarry back, activating the pair from injured reserve today. To make cap and roster room for their return, Kris Letang has been moved to long-term injured reserve, Jan Rutta has been moved to regular injured reserve, and Dustin Tokarski and Taylor Fedun have been reassigned to the AHL.
It’s been more than a month since Petry appeared in a Penguins lineup, last playing on December 10 against the Buffalo Sabres. The 35-year-old defenseman had been seeing a ton of ice time for the club, averaging over 26 minutes in the five games previous to his injury. While that kind of usage may not immediately come into play, Petry’s return is an important one for the Penguins, who have struggled to get much consistent offense from their blueline this season.
Despite missing a month, Petry is still just one point behind Marcus Pettersson for second among Penguins defenders and sits ahead of Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Brian Dumoulin, and Rutta, who have all played at least 40 games. The veteran was practicing with the first powerplay unit today, as they await the return of Letang.
Jarry, meanwhile, hasn’t played since being pulled from the Winter Classic after just 15 minutes of action against the Boston Bruins. The 27-year-old netminder had been struggling for a few games before that outdoor action, and now hopefully will get his game back on track after spending the last few weeks on the sideline.
Through 25 appearances, Jarry has posted a .918 save percentage, almost exactly in line with last season’s performance that earned him some down-ballot Vezina consideration. Given his status as a pending unrestricted free agent, Jarry is essentially playing for his next contract and can’t be missing huge chunks of the season if he can help it.
Letang and Rutta have both been moved to injured reserve retroactively, meaning they can return much sooner. Letang’s LTIR stint is backdated to December 28, meaning his 24-day window is almost up. Rutta’s is backdated to January 14, meaning his seven-day minimum is also about to expire.
Snapshots: Karlsson, Muzzin, Matheson
Erik Karlsson wants to win. That’s what he told Pierre LeBrun and Ryan Rishaug on the Got Yer Back podcast, explaining that if a trade was brought to him that included joining a contender, he’d have to consider it.
Karlsson, through all of the trade rumors and speculation, has never indicated a desire to leave the San Jose Sharks organization, where he has settled down with his family. He holds a no-movement clause and can determine his fate, even if a team does step up with the massive asking price that has been rumored. After a four-point effort on Wednesday, Karlsson leads the league in assists and is on pace for 110 points.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t given any update on the status of injured defenseman Jake Muzzin, and Chris Johnston explained on TSN’s Insider Trading yesterday that there has been no movement toward a return to play. When he went down to a cervical spine injury, the team explained that he would be re-evaluated in February. Clarity on his status will be important, given the Maple Leafs’ cap situation. If Muzzin misses the rest of the year, they can continue to use his $5.625MM cap hit for a replacement.
- Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson has been fined $5,000 for his interference on Florida Panthers forward Eric Staal in last night’s game, which became a bit of a circus. Ninety penalty minutes were handed out between the two teams, though none of them were for directly tied to the incident in question. Matheson and Matthew Tkachuk would fight later in the game.
St. Louis Blues Reassign Nikita Alexandrov
The St. Louis Blues have made a couple of roster moves today, starting with the loan of Nikita Alexandrov to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. Room on the NHL roster was needed for Logan Brown, who has been activated from injured reserve.
The Blues are expected to get Torey Krug back relatively soon, as head coach Craig Berube told Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the injured defenseman is getting close to a return. The same goes for several other injured Blues players, meaning roster space is going to be hard to find.
Alexandrov, 22, has played in 16 games for the Blues this season, scoring four points. The second-round pick from 2019 has been strong for the Thunderbirds, scoring 11 goals in 22 games, and should eventually find himself back in the NHL.
Brown, 24, hasn’t played since December, and even when he does get into the lineup it’s only for a few shifts. In his nine appearances, he’s averaging just over nine minutes of ice time and has generated just five shots on goal. The dreams of the 6’6″ center becoming an impact player at the NHL level may be gone, but after watching Tage Thompson excel in Buffalo, Blues fans may want to give him a few more cracks.
Matthew DeFranks of the Post-Dispatch tweets that Brown was practicing as an extra today, but given that Vladimir Tarasenko isn’t expected to play tomorrow, those lines might be reconstructed.
Seeking Writers For Pro Hockey Rumors
Last year around this time, Pro Hockey Rumors put out a call for new writers. We were lucky enough to find two excellent candidates and grow the PHR family with the addition of Ethan Hetu and John Gilroy. Now, with the calendar turning to 2023, we’re looking to grow our staff again.
PHR is looking to hire part-time writers with strong evening and weekend availability. The position pays on an hourly basis.
Applicants must meet all of the following criteria:
- Exceptional knowledge of all 32 NHL teams, with no discernible bias.
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(Update: With recent developments for Vox Media and SB Nation affecting many hockey writers, we have re-opened the application process for another week.)