Five Key Stories: 11/15/21 – 11/21/21
The one-quarter mark of the season is fast approaching which should soon yield an increase in activity on the transactions front. In the meantime, here’s a look back at the top stories from the past seven days including several notable injuries around the league.
Veteran Retirements: A pair of veterans decided to officially call it a career. Long-time blueliner Dion Phaneuf announced his retirement at the age of 36. If you thought he had already retired, it would be understandable as he last played in 2019. Phaneuf’s playing days end with 1.048 games played, 494 points, and 1,345 penalty minutes across 14 seasons. He’ll remain on the books for the Kings through the end of next season with an AAV of just over $1MM due to his buyout in 2019. Meanwhile, winger Troy Brouwer also hung up his skates. He last played in 2020 with St. Louis and was unable to find a team for this season although his $1.5MM payment from Calgary in the last year of his buyout should serve as a nice consolation prize. Brouwer collected 363 points in 851 games over parts of 14 seasons.
Notable Injuries: Philadelphia didn’t have Ryan Ellis back for long. After the defenseman returned from his lower-body injury, he wound re-aggravating it and will now miss the next four to six weeks as a result. He was their most prominent offseason acquisition but Ellis has only been able to play in four games so far. Meanwhile, Sammy Blais’ season has come to an early end as he suffered a torn ACL in a collision with New Jersey’s P.K. Subban. Blais brought some physicality to the Rangers lineup as he had 37 hits in 14 games before the injury. He’ll become a restricted free agent this summer. Lastly, Lightning center Brayden Point is out indefinitely after being injured when tripped up on a breakaway in Saturday’s game (although he was able to finish the game). Tampa Bay is now without two of its offensive stars as Nikita Kucherov is also out for the next six weeks or so.
Bednar’s Sticking Around: It has been a quieter start to the year for the Avalanche as some early struggles coupled with injuries have had them hovering near the .500 mark. However, with head coach Jared Bednar in the final year of his contract, GM Joe Sakic decided to get rid of any lame-duck discussion by inking the bench boss to a two-year contract extension. Bednar is in his sixth season behind the bench in Colorado and is the second-winningest coach in Avalanche history. His clubs have also made the playoffs in four straight seasons heading into this one although they’ve yet to make it past the second round so far. It appears that Sakic believes that Bednar will be able to get them past that particular hurdle sooner than later.
More COVID Trouble: This past week was supposed to be an exciting one for the Islanders as they opened up UBS Arena after spending more than a month on the road to start the season. However, they’ve been the latest team to be hit with COVID as they have six skaters in COVID protocol – defensemen Adam Pelech and Andy Greene plus forwards Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Kieffer Bellows, and Ross Johnston. To make matters worse, they also learned that they’ll be without top blueliner Ryan Pulock for the next four-to-six weeks due to a lower-body injury.
Back To Junior: While Mason McTavish made Anaheim’s roster out of training camp and was playing a regular role in the lineup, the Ducks have decided that he’s better served going back to junior as they assigned him to Peterborough of the OHL. The 18-year-old was the third-overall pick this past summer and had two goals and an assist in nine games which averaging just over 13 minutes per contest. By going back to junior, he’ll still have three years remaining on his three-year, entry-level contract after the season and he won’t accrue a season of service time towards UFA eligibility.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Canadiens, Avalanche Injuries, Comeau
It has been a rocky start for the Canadiens this season who have managed just five victories in their first 20 games of the season just months after appearing in the Stanley Cup Final. Despite that, GM Marc Bergevin told Sportsnet’s Eric Engels that he isn’t interested in making a trade to simply try to shake things up:
If I make one move to make one change, unless everyone else picks it up, it’s not going to make a difference. It’s well known that just making trades to make trades—especially with our situation with the cap—it just makes no sense to make a lateral move just to make a lateral move. If you’d like to make a move, it’s to make a move to make your team better. Just making a move to make a move, I’m never going to do that just to say I made a trade and here we go.
Notwithstanding Bergevin’s contract situation, a complicating factor in any move he tries to make is Montreal’s salary cap situation. On the surface, they have plenty of room with Carey Price and Paul Byron joining Shea Weber on LTIR. However, only Weber is out for the season so when Price and Byron are activated, they will basically be in a spot where they’ll need to match or clear money to make a move. It’s a bit early in the year for those types of trades so don’t expect much on the trade from the Canadiens anytime soon.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon could return at some point on their five-game road trip that begins at the start of next month, notes NHL.com’s Rick Sadowski. He has missed the last two weeks with a lower-body injury but still sits fifth in team scoring with ten points in nine games. Meanwhile, Sadowski adds that goaltender Pavel Francouz faced shots for the first time at practice today as he tries to work his way back from a lower-body injury of his own that has kept him out for the whole season so far. The team hasn’t shown much confidence in current backup Jonas Johansson so getting Francouz back soon would give them a boost between the pipes.
- After clearing waivers earlier this month, Dallas winger Blake Comeau hasn’t made it to the AHL just yet. Instead, it turns out that he is dealing with a nagging injury, relays Mike Heika of the Stars team site (Twitter link). The plan is for the 35-year-old to be re-evaluated in three weeks. Comeau had a goal in six games before passing through waivers unclaimed while averaging just 11:28 per game.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Anaheim Ducks
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Anaheim Ducks.
What are the Ducks most thankful for?
The light at the end of the tunnel. It has been a few rough years for Anaheim as they haven’t even come close to a playoff spot in each of the last three years. However, those struggles have yielded some promising prospects, headlined by centers Trevor Zegras plus Mason McTavish and defenseman Jamie Drysdale. Those are three strong building blocks after not really being able to develop any in-house over the past few years. Are they ready to vault themselves back into consistent playoff contention yet? Probably not but there is certainly a roadmap to getting there with their promising young core.
Who are the Ducks most thankful for?
Since being held off the scoresheet in the opening game of the season, the 24-year-old has recorded at least a point in 16 straight contests. That’s impressive for anyone but especially for a player who had only reached 16 points in a single season once. Yes, it had been a particularly quiet first few seasons for him despite the fact that Terry lit up the scoresheet in college with Denver but all of a sudden, he has grabbed hold of a spot on the top line and gone with it. His dozen goals have helped propel the Ducks into the top five in goals scored, a mark that hardly anyone would have seen coming. Is this sustainable to the point where he can join the other top prospects as a piece to build around? That’s the big question from a long-term perspective but for now, Anaheim’s just enjoying the ride.
What would the Ducks be even more thankful for?
A return to form for Max Comtois in the second half. It has not been a fun season for the 22-year-old after he led Anaheim in scoring last season, earning himself a two-year deal at just over $2MM in the process. He’s not a pure power forward but brings enough physicality with some scoring touch to make him a key part of their attack.
But things haven’t gone well at all this season. Comtois has just one assist in 13 games, has been scratched, and is now out until probably January as he recovers from a broken hand. The first half has been a complete write-off but if they’re going to hang around the playoff mix, they’ll need him to be the impact player he was last season.
What should be on the Ducks’ Holiday Wish List?
Since ownership has already acknowledged that their GM search will likely go into the offseason, that chair isn’t getting permanently filled over the next few weeks. But the key item on interim GM Jeff Solomon’s wish list will be defensive stability.
In terms of the current roster, there is a need to add with both Simon Benoit and Josh Mahura both better suited for depth roles and right now, one of them is in the lineup on a regular basis when everyone’s healthy. Adding a veteran defender, particularly one that can play in the top four when injuries strike, would be a good addition for the Ducks.
But stability also extends beyond this season. Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson are both pending unrestricted free agents. Getting one or both of them signed would certainly go a long way towards giving them some more defensive certainty but finding the right price point to sway them away from the open market will cost a pretty penny. There’s also the potential that one or both are moved to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing.
It won’t be easy but Solomon needs to find a way to retain or replace those two veterans, especially since Anaheim’s prospect depth is largely littered with forwards beyond Drysdale; it is an area of need long-term. That’s a tall task for anyone let alone an interim GM but securing the future of their back end will go a long way towards securing their future as a team on the rise.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Victor Olofsson Activated From Injured Reserve
Ahead of Sunday’s road tilt against the New York Rangers, the Buffalo Sabres activated winger Victor Olofsson from injured reserve, per a team tweet.
Olofsson carried a day-to-day classification but has still been out of the lineup for the better part of the month. He’s missed the team’s last eight games with an undisclosed injury.
The 26-year-old Olofsson will be in the lineup Sunday and he enters as the team’s only player at or above a point per game. Prior to the injury, Olofsson had five goals and four assists for nine points in eight games, his best career pace.
He rejoins the active roster for a Sabres team that’s had an impressive start despite injuries to much of their young talent, including Casey Mittelstadt and Henri Jokiharju. They’ve gotten decent production throughout the lineup and good goaltending from a cost-effective tandem of Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski.
Olofsson is the team’s premier offensive talent after the departures of Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel, and he figures to be the team’s leading scorer this season if he can keep his pace. It’s a promising year for the Swede, who could be an important part of the team as they finally could begin to emerge from a lengthy rebuild.
Anthony Beauvillier Removed; Kieffer Bellows Added To COVID Protocol
According to New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello, forward Kieffer Bellows has entered the league’s COVID protocol. However, forward Anthony Beauvillier, who was placed on the list Saturday prior to their game against the Calgary Flames, has been deemed a false positive and is eligible to play in their Sunday night game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Islanders still have six players in COVID protocol, including Josh Bailey, who still remains quarantined in Florida where he originally tested positive.
Getting Beauvillier back into the fold is huge for this Islanders team, who dropped their first-ever game at UBS Arena 5-2 to Calgary. Beauvillier returns to the team’s top-six forward group and has three goals and four assists in 13 games this season. In his absence, Andy Andreoff rode shotgun on the second line with Brock Nelson and Oliver Wahlstrom.
Bellows was in the lineup against Calgary, playing first-line duties with Zach Parise and Mathew Barzal. Through five games this season, the 23-year-old Bellows has just one assist and has been limited to just 11:37 per game.
In addition to Bailey, the team remains without captain Anders Lee, Adam Pelech, Ross Johnston, and Andy Greene.
Brayden Point Out Indefinitely With Upper-Body Injury
4:21 pm: Just minutes into Sunday’s game, the Lightning have now announced that Point is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. It’s a tough pill to swallow for the defending champions, who are now without Point and Nikita Kucherov for the foreseeable future.
3:39 pm: Per the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina, Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point isn’t taking pregame warmups and will be absent for Tampa’s game Sunday against the Minnesota Wild.
Point collided with the boards during Saturday night’s game versus the New Jersey Devils after he was tripped on a breakaway. Referees awarded him a penalty shot on the play, which he was able to take, and he stayed in for the rest of the game.
Hopefully, that means Point won’t be missing too much time. The Lightning have yet to give Point an official injury designation.
Point has four points in his last five games, but he was held scoreless by New Jersey in a tough loss Saturday, registering a -3 rating. With seven goals and 13 points through 16 games, Point is averaging the most ice time per game of his career at 20 minutes a night.
The 25-year-old Point has led the Lightning in goals for both of their back-to-back Stanley Cup victories.
Sharks Still Uncertain Of How To Handle Impending Evander Kane Return
3:25 pm: The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz confirms that Kane was at the Sharks’ practice facility yesterday, but was not present at the same time as the rest of the team. It’s an interesting development, but Kurz still notes that the “next step for him remains unclear.”
10:36 am: Before the month of November is over, Evander Kane will be an active NHL player once more. The controversial star is set to return from a 21-game suspension in nine days, as the San Jose Sharks play game No. 22 on November 30. But will Kane actually be back with the team and in the lineup at that time?
The Sharks have had nearly two months to ponder this question, but seem no closer to making a decision on Kane’s future. Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News caught up with Sharks head coach Bob Boughner recently and received the same non-answer that he and GM Doug Wilson have continued to provide throughout the saga: “I don’t have any information… There are decisions that need to be made.”
Kane has been the center of attention in San Jose for over a year now, and surprisingly little of it is due to the actual cause of his suspension. Dating back to last year, Kane has filed for bankruptcy, been sued by his creditors, used the threat of a potential contract termination by the Sharks as a tool in his bankruptcy proceedings, faced allegations of betting on hockey and a full NHL investigation, as well as other unsavory allegations from his estranged wife, and battled rumors that many of his teammates were unhappy having him in the locker room. Yet, it was his use of a fake Coronavirus vaccination card to circumvent the NHL COVID Protocol that finally led to discipline.
Amidst all of the drama of the last year, Kane was also the Sharks leading scorer and set a personal career high in per-game production. After getting off to a solid 7-4-1 start without Kane this season, San Jose has lost four of their past five games as their offense has dried up. There is no question that the team could use Kane’s scoring ability, not to mention his physicality. The fact of the matter is that they also still owe him a considerable amount of money to provide this on-ice value for three more seasons beyond this year as well. The question that Wilson and Boughner must answer then is whether the off-ice concerns outweigh the on-ice benefits and, if so, what to do about it.
If the team believes that they can re-introduce Kane to the team without creating issues amongst both their locker room and their fan base, then the power forward may actually be back in the lineup come November 30. However, if Kane has simply become too polarizing, the Sharks will have to get creative in order to move him. Any potential trade interest, however unlikely, will be nowhere near market value for the talented scorer, but San Jose could jump at the first offer. They could also place Kane on waivers and see if anyone bites. Should Kane go unclaimed, he could be reassigned to the AHL and dealt with in the off-season similar to how the New York Rangers handled Anthony DeAngelo last year. However, as the Sharks and Barracuda share a building, it may not have the same impact. The Sharks could even just pay Kane to stay home, again kicking the can down the road. San Jose is in the unenviable position of both re-tooling and being strapped for cap space, so Wilson and company will do all they can to avoid an expensive buyout, which would be the last, worst case scenario option.
Whatever the decision on Kane, it needs to be made soon. The Sharks are on the clock to make a call that – one way or another – will have a substantial impact on their season and quite possibly the future of the organization.
Canada To Close Border To Unvaccinated Athletes
As Coronavirus concerns persist, the clock is ticking for unvaccinated NHLers to travel freely across the Canadian border. The Canadian Press reports that the country has decided to end its current leniency toward athletes and will enforce its national COVID protocol. Beginning January 15, unvaccinated athletes will not be permitted to cross the border.
The announcement of this policy change came on Friday, as Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendocino stated that the border will be closing to unvaccinated and partially vaccinated athletes in the new year. It was Mendocino who worked through the details of the current national interest exemption, which allows unvaccinated professional and amateur athletes to travel across the border under conditions, but they will now repeal that agreement with the NHL, as well as the MLB, NBA, and MLS. While the stated purpose of the change is to align with the next stage of Canada’s COVID battle by improving vaccination rates, the requirement applies to athletes of all nationalities.
Fortunately, this should have a negligible effect on the NHL overall. Commissioner Gary Bettman announced at the beginning of the season that only four players on NHL rosters were unvaccinated. That number may need updating given roster transactions, but this policy change will still be of no concern to more than 99% of players. While the league has never formally revealed the names of those initial four names, Detroit’s Tyler Bertuzzi and New Jersey’s Mackenzie Blackwood had been individually confirmed and, if still not fully vaccinated, would not be permitted to travel to Canada after January 15 and per NHL rules could be suspended by their teams for those absences. However, those are the few cases of concern out of hundreds of NHL players, making this change of little consequence to the league.
AHL Shuffle: 11/21/21
The NHL has typically lined up light Sunday schedules in the first half of the season, but the 2021-22 campaign has been different. The league is back at it today with seven games on the docket to follow up a dozen on Saturday. With some teams having to make changes on the fly for games today while others react to yesterday’s results or prepare for the week ahead, it could be a busy day for roster moves. Keep up with the shuffle right here:
Atlantic Division
- One of an elite group, former Seattle Kraken forward Alex Barre-Boulet is back up with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team announced. Barre-Boulet was re-claimed on waivers last month after suiting up for the Kraken in a pair of games earlier this season before hitting the wire again. Barre-Boulet has three points in seven games with Tampa so far this season, matching his total in 15 games last season.
- The Montreal Canadiens have returned goaltender Cayden Primeau to the AHL, which implies that either Jake Allen or Carey Price are nearing a return to action. Primeau, who was recalled after Allen’s injury, started two games for the Habs but lost both with eight goals allowed on 65 shots. He heads back to the Laval Rocket for more seasoning.
- Winger Joey Anderson is back up with the Toronto Maple Leafs, as tweeted by the team today. Anderson’s yet to suit up for the big club this season, but he’s tallied four goals and an assist in 11 AHL games with the Toronto Marlies in 2021-22.
Metropolitan Division
- With his conditioning stint complete, defenseman Libor Hajek has been recalled by the New York Rangers. The question remains whether the once-promising prospect is now ready to get back into the NHL lineup – or if he will even be afforded that opportunity. It seems more probable than not that the next time Hajek plays for a team other than the Rangers, it won’t be the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack but instead another organization.
- Just a day after sending him down to the Hershey Bears, Brett Leason is back up with the Washington Capitals today. In a corresponding move, the team re-assigned center Garrett Pilon to Hershey, per a team release. Leason, who has three points in 10 games, was sent down to make room for T.J. Oshie and Nic Dowd to come off injured reserve.
Central Division
- Per The Athletic’s Michael Russo, the Minnesota Wild have recalled top defense prospect Calen Addison to fill in for captain Jared Spurgeon who was injured in Saturday’s match-up with the Florida Panthers. Although the Wild will continue their sunshine state swing with a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening, Russo expects that Addison will arrive from AHL Iowa in time to suit up. Addison scored his first NHL goal earlier this season in a brief two-game recall.
- The Dallas Stars recalled forward Tanner Kero from Texas today, sending down Riley Tufte to complete the swap, per The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf. Kero’s got two assists in seven games with the big club this year, and he’ll now get a chance to add to those totals.
Pacific Division
- After a short stint at the top level, Daniil Miromanov is returning to the AHL. The Vegas Golden Knights have announced that the big, offensive defenseman has been reassigned to the Henderson Silver Knights, where he has seven points in 11 games this season. The former KHL standout has not looked out of place in three NHL games this year.
- The Anaheim Ducks recalled forwards Bo Groulx and Vinni Lettieri from the San Diego Gulls today, per a team release. Both have already spent time up in Anaheim this season, Groulx especially. The 21-year-old rookie has
Government Of Quebec Talks With NHL About Potential Nordiques Return
On this week’s edition of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts intermission segment, Jeff Marek reported “public musings” from Quebec premier Francois Legault about the revival of the Quebec Nordiques, who played their last NHL season in 1994-95 before relocating to Denver as the Colorado Avalanche.
It continues what’s been a long-running push to bring NHL hockey back to Quebec City, but at virtually every point, the NHL has remained uninterested. While it’s unknown if their stance as changed, Legault has said publicly this week that the Quebec government plans to meet with commissioner Gary Bettman.
It’s strong messaging from Legault, who Marek reports went on to say that the government of Quebec would be willing to invest their capital in a project that would see the Nordiques return to Quebec. Marek notes that this project would be a consortium — rather, not a single investor or group that would be financially responsible for funding the team.
In terms of recent history, it seems unprecedented that a provincial government would provide significant financial backing for a professional sports team.
Marek reports that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirms that he’s spoken over the phone with Legault, and while Daly admits dialogue may continue, he says “[the league] is obviously pleased with what we have right now.”
It’s worth noting that Quebec City does have a suitable venue in place. The Videotron Centre, which opened in September 2015, has a capacity of 18,259 for ice hockey. That’s greater capacity than highly regarded NHL arenas such as Madison Square Garden, the fresh-off-the-press UBS Arena, T-Mobile Arena, and TD Garden.