Evening Notes: Zetterlund, Boqvist, Lehkonen, 2024 All Star Game
The New Jersey Devils remarkable season is becoming more and more real each day. At first a nice story, then a “prove it,” then “what next,” the 19-4-1 Devils now sit among the NHL’s most elite teams this season with little evidence they’re slowing down. The team had another busy offseason, however the bulk of the talent on the roster isn’t much different than the same group that put up just 63 points last season. One of the several changes that has seemingly turned the tide in New Jersey is the development of some of their less-heralded prospects, including forwards Fabian Zetterlund and Jesper Boqvist.
As the Devils’ own Amanda Stein profiles, Devils head coach Lindy Ruff recently pulled both players aside and informed them that they should “get a place.” In other words, the two had been living in the team hotel in New Jersey without a permanent home, neither considered a firm part of the roster. However, a player being told to find a more permanent living situation implies that their spot on the roster is fairly safe. New Jersey had certainly hoped that both players could be a part of the long-term plan for them, however neither had really secured that status just yet. Now, 24 games into the season entering tonight, the Devils have found a winning recipe, and while it includes big names like Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, it’s also quite clearly been impacted as well by players like Boqvist and Zetterlund.
- The Colorado Avalanche have had to weather more than their fair share of injuries this year and much to their credit, the reigning Cup champions have been able to keep themselves in playoff position despite the injuries. However, the team was dealt another tough blow during tonight’s contest against the Boston Bruins with winger Artturi Lehkonen leaving the game with an undisclosed injury, says Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater. Acquired at last season’s trade deadline, Lehkonen has fit in well during his time in Colorado and is currently enjoying a phenomenal breakout season, tallying seven goals to go with 11 assists in 21 games coming into tonight.
- With the postponement of the 2024 World Cup of Hockey, the NHL will need to find a host for their All Star Game and of course, won’t have an issue finding interested parties. On this evening’s 32 Thoughts portion of Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that there is expected to be a good amount of interest in hosting from Canadian teams, with Toronto being one that is expected to make a bid. Friedman added that there are some who have wondered if the NHL would consider a rotation of 7-to-10 cities where players may want to travel to during the winter months (presumably the warm climates of the American south and the west coast), but as Friedman adds, that’s not of interest to the league. The last All Star Game to be held north of the border was Ottawa back in 2012, with Montreal in 2009 before it.
Injury Notes: Grant, Kyrou, Chytil
The Anaheim Ducks were able to get a point out of today’s shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild, but didn’t come out unharmed it seems. Veteran forward Derek Grant suffered a lower-body injury during the game and was ruled out for the remainder, said Anaheim. Grant, 32, is currently in his third stint as a member of the Ducks, but has seemed to really settle in, now in his third straight season without being moved.
The forward hit a career-high 29 points last season and has three points in 14 games to begin this season. While he might not be the impact scorer for Anaheim like Trevor Zegras is, his steady two-way game and veteran presence is one the Ducks surely don’t want to be without for too long. The Ducks were already without Grant for 10 games this season, missing most of the month of November.
- Per a team announcement, St. Louis Blues winger Jordan Kyrou will be out of the lineup tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a non-COVID related illness. Of course, this isn’t good news per se, however the reasoning being illness over a serious injury is a silver lining, as St. Louis cannot afford to be without their star forward for very long. Taking his place in the lineup is forward William Bitten, who was recalled from the AHL earlier today. Also in the lineup is forward Brayden Schenn, who has been battling a lingering injury. Interestingly, while this will be game number one in the NHL for Bitten, it also marks game number 800 in the league for Schenn.
- According to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, New York Rangers center Filip Chytil is not taking warmups this evening ahead of the team’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, as he’s dealing with a lower-body injury. It’s unclear how Chytil suffered the injury, but fortunately for the Rangers, it appears he’s considered just day-to-day. Chytil currently has 11 points in 19 games so far this season, one that’s quickly becoming a breakout affair for the 23-year-old.
Snapshots: Sabres, Boeser, Schedule
The Sabres could have defenseman Jacob Bryson back in the lineup tomorrow against San Jose, relays Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has missed the last couple of weeks with a lower-body injury sustained against St. Louis. Bryson is in his second full NHL campaign and has a goal and five assists in 20 games this season while averaging a little under 18 minutes a night.
Meanwhile, Lysowski also tweets that winger Vinnie Hinostroza left practice early today as he’s battling what’s believed to be a minor injury. The veteran missed Thursday’s game against Colorado with the injury as well. Hinostroza was a capable depth scorer last season with 13 goals in 62 games but is still looking for his first of the season. However, with eight assists in 15 games, Hinostroza is averaging the best assist-per-game rate of his eight-year career.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- It has been a bit of a tough season so far for Canucks winger Brock Boeser and there’s more tough news coming for him as head coach Bruce Boudreau confirmed to Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor (Twitter link) that winger Brock Boeser will be a healthy scratch tonight against Arizona. Boeser has just three goals so far through his first 18 games (although he does have 11 assists) and Boudreau is calling this decision “tough love”. It sounds like this is a short-term decision but Vancouver will certainly need more from Boeser if they want to get back into the playoff picture; they sit five points out of the last Wild Card heading into today’s action.
- Last month, the Predators had a pair of their games postponed due to a water main break in their arena. Today, the league announced the makeup dates for those contests. Nashville will host the Blue Jackets on January 17th while they will host the Avalanche on April 14th, one day after the regular season is set to conclude.
St. Louis Blues Recall William Bitten
The St. Louis Blues announced this afternoon that they’ve recalled forward William Bitten from the Springfield Thunderbirds, their AHL affiliate. No corresponding moves were announced, though Jake Neighbours‘ assignment to the AHL yesterday did open a spot on the roster. Bitten’s recall brings the Blues to a complete 23-man roster.
The 24-year-old Bitten has had a solid season thus far, tied for the team lead with eight goals for Springfield through 20 games after spending time in training camp with St. Louis earlier this year. This is not Bitten’s first season in the Blues organization, getting into 45 games with the Thunderbirds last year as well after a midseason trade. Should he play while recalled, it would mark his NHL debut.
A third-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2016, Bitten bounced around in his OHL career, spending time with the Plymouth Whalers, Flint Firebirds, and Hamilton Bulldogs. Just before he was set to make his professional debut, Montreal dealt him to the Minnesota Wild, where he spent parts of four seasons in the AHL before being dealt to St. Louis nearly a year ago.
Senators Recall Jacob Larsson
The Senators have brought up some extra defensive depth, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Jacob Larsson from Belleville of the AHL. Ottawa had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made.
The 25-year-old is in his first season with the Senators after coming over in free agency following his non-tender by Anaheim last summer. Larsson has played in three games with Ottawa so far this season during a recall last month, logging a little under 13 minutes per game while being held off the scoresheet. Meanwhile, he has suited up in 16 contests at the minor league level, picking up four assists.
The move comes on the heels of Artem Zub and Travis Hamonic both taking pucks up high last night against the Rangers, the former to the face and the latter to the throat. Zub has already been ruled out for tonight per Postmedia’s Ken Warren (Twitter link) and Nick Holden will return to the lineup in his place. Meanwhile, Larsson will suit up if Hamonic is unable to play tonight against San Jose.
East Notes: Atkinson, Lundell, Bardreau, Lysell
It appears as if the Flyers could soon have winger Cam Atkinson available as the winger indicated to reporters including NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman (Twitter link) that he has been medically cleared to return to the lineup. The 33-year-old has yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury and at this point, it appears that simply getting into game-level conditioning is what’s holding him back from making his season debut. Whenever he does return, Atkinson will be a welcome addition to a Philadelphia team that sits 30th in the NHL in goals scored so far this season as he finished second on the team in scoring in 2021-22 with 50 points in 73 games.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- The Panthers announced (Twitter link) that center Anton Lundell will not play tonight due to an upper-body injury. This means that once again, Florida will be forced to play short a player as they do not have enough cap space to call anyone up. While they’d become eligible for a cap-exempt recall after today’s game, Lundell’s absence appears to be a short-term one as he’s expected to play against Winnipeg on Tuesday. The sophomore middleman has 13 points in 24 games so far this season.
- Cole Bardreau’s latest stint with the Islanders didn’t last long as the team announced (Twitter link) that the winger has been returned to Bridgeport of the AHL. The 29-year-old did make his season debut last night, his first NHL action since the 2019-20 campaign. Bardreau, for now at least, returns to the minors where he has nine goals in 19 games with Bridgeport but with Cal Clutterbuck still not skating, it’s possible that Bardreau is brought up again in the coming days.
- With the World Juniors fast approaching, Sweden has approached the Bruins about winger Fabian Lysell, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 19-year-old is playing with AHL Providence this season and is off to a nice start to his first professional campaign as he sits third on the team with 14 points in 17 games. While some teams hesitate to loan their players from the NHL, it’d be a little surprising if Boston wasn’t amenable to loaning the 19-year-old for his final opportunity to play in that tournament.
Isac Lundestrom To Miss Six Weeks
It has been a tough season for Anaheim’s Isac Lundestrom and things just got a little worse for him as the team announced (Twitter link) that the center will miss the next six weeks due to a fractured finger. The injury was sustained during Thursday’s loss to Dallas.
The 23-year-old had a breakout year last season that saw him put up 29 points in 80 games after putting up just 15 over his first three NHL campaigns in limited action. That was enough for Anaheim to hand him a two-year bridge deal this summer, one that carries a cap hit of $1.8MM. However, Lundestrom has struggled through the first quarter of this season as he has just a goal and five assists through 24 games although he is among the team leaders in shorthanded ice time.
While Pavol Regenda is likely to take his place in the lineup for the time being as the only extra forward with the team on their current road trip, Lundestrom’s absence creates an opportunity for Mason McTavish to play down the middle more frequently for the time being. Anaheim has deployed the rookie on the wing at times this season as teams often do with young centers to ease them in but McTavish is anchoring the fourth line this afternoon against Minnesota.
Philippe Myers Clears Waivers
Saturday: Myers has cleared waivers, Friedman reports. He has been sent to the minors, creating enough cap space for Cirelli to be activated from LTIR.
Friday: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed defenseman Philippe Myers on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The team is expected to get Anthony Cirelli back soon, and will need cap space to activate him from long-term injured reserve.
It surprised many when the Lightning decided to keep Myers on the books this summer after acquiring him from the Nashville Predators in the Ryan McDonagh trade. A buyout would have actually given the team a cap credit of more than $616K, for the cost of a $633K penalty in 2023-24. Instead, they decided to not only keep his current deal in place but sign him to a one-year extension. Myers will make $1.4MM next season, after his current $2.55MM cap hit expires.
That kind of money likely means he clears waivers tomorrow, even if he has played okay this year. The Lightning are barely using him, but in his limited minutes, the 6’5″ defenseman does have three points and excellent possession numbers.
It very well may have been the emergence of another right-handed defenseman that could spell the end for Myers in Tampa Bay. Nick Perbix has gone from sixth-round afterthought to full-time NHL option in short order, racking up six points in 17 games so far this season. Those 17 NHL appearances match the total number of professional games he had played before this season, after signing out of St. Cloud State down the stretch. The 24-year-old is waiver-exempt and may still need to be bounced down at some point because of cap concerns, but looks like a piece to keep in Tampa Bay.
Sending Myers to the AHL would not clear his entire contract off the books. Only $1.125MM of the $2.55MM cap hit would be buried. If he is claimed, it would give them enough room to activate Cirelli without making an additional move.
Colorado Places Josh Manson On IR
The injury list continues to grow for the Avalanche as the team confirmed to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link) that defenseman Josh Manson has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Thursday. He has left the team to be re-evaluated and is listed as week-to-week.
The 31-year-old is in his first full year with the Avs after being acquired in a trade near the deadline from Anaheim last season. After being a top-four defender with Anaheim, Colorado has opted to use Manson in a bit of a lower role so far as he’s logging just shy of 17 minutes per game (a career low) through his first 21 contests. Despite that, he has chipped in with six points while averaging more than two hits per contest.
Andreas Englund, who was recalled from AHL Colorado yesterday, is taking Manson’s spot on the active roster.
The defending Stanley Cup champions have been hit hard by the injury bug this season. Gabriel Landeskog and Darren Helm are on LTIR while Valeri Nichushkin, Kurtis MacDermid, and Shane Bowers will join Manson on injured reserve. Meanwhile, Evan Rodrigues and Bowen Byram are also currently injured but remain on Colorado’s active roster. In spite of all the injuries, the Avalanche enter tonight’s game against Boston with 27 points in 21 games, good enough to place them third in the Central Division.
Lightning Activate Anthony Cirelli From LTIR
As expected, the Lightning will get a big boost to their lineup as head coach Jon Cooper confirmed to reporters including Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) that they will activate center Anthony Cirelli from LTIR and he will make his season debut tonight when they host Toronto.
The 25-year-old has missed all 23 games of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery back in June following their loss to Colorado in the Stanley Cup Final. He suffered an AC joint sprain at some point in the postseason. At the time, it was expected that he’d miss between four and six months; Cirelli will wind up missing a little more than five as a result of the procedure.
Cirelli signed an eight-year, $50MM extension back in July that will run from 2023-24 through 2030-31, meaning he will be a go-to two-way center for Tampa Bay for the long haul. Last season, he picked up 17 goals and 26 assists in 76 games for the Lightning, the third time in four years that he has picked up between 39 and 44 points. On top of that, he finished in the top five in Selke Trophy voting for the second time in three seasons; that award is given to the league’s best defensive forward. Cirelli logged over 18 minutes a game last season but is going to be eased back into the lineup as he’ll play on the third line tonight against the Maple Leafs.
To create the cap room that’s required to activate Cirelli, the team sent winger Cole Koepke to AHL Syracuse earlier today while they waived Philippe Myers on Friday. If Myers clears, Tampa Bay will be able to clear $1.125MM off their books which will give them just enough room to bring Cirelli onto the active roster. The Lightning will continue to be in LTIR as Brent Seabrook is on their books through next season with his playing days already having come to an end.