Morning Notes: Penguins, Toews, Blackhawks
The Pittsburgh Penguins will still be without several top players as they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening. Sidney Crosby has been ruled out once again, despite joining the optional morning skate today. Jeff Carter remains asymptomatic and should join the group at the end of the week, but Kris Letang is experiencing symptoms, meaning he’ll be out a little longer. Vaccinated players must remain out for at least ten days if they have tested positive and are experiencing symptoms. Letang’s positive test result was confirmed yesterday, meaning he’s still out indefinitely.
Those absences–along with Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust, who are also dealing with injury–certainly haven’t slowed down the Penguins. Their early-season success shouldn’t really be much of a surprise, as Mike Sullivan has routinely found a way to win even with his best players on the sideline. Luckily, the Penguins are also in the midst of an eight-game homestand, and won’t have to hit the road until November 9 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
- Devon Toews was cleared for controlled contact yesterday, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic, and the defenseman is on the ice today at the Colorado Avalanche morning skate. His return is not imminent, but it’s a good sign to see Toews back on the ice with the rest of the team, even at an optional skate. The Avalanche aren’t off to the start they hoped for at 2-3 and with Samuel Girard now expected to miss a little bit of time, they could certainly use Toews back in the lineup. The team will welcome the rival Vegas Golden Knights this evening who are going through a slow start of their own.
- Caleb Jones and Wyatt Kalynuk, both currently on injured reserve, were on the ice before the Chicago Blackhawks started practice today, according to Tracey Myers of NHL.com. The young defensemen would certainly be a welcome sight for the Blackhawks, who have allowed 27 goals through six games and incredibly not held a lead for a single second this season. Neither player is expected to return in the coming days, with Jones not even eligible for activation until he’s missed ten games given his LTIR designation. Still, it’s good to see both on the road to recovery after unfortunate preseason injuries.
AHL Shuffle: 10/26/21
Seven more games on the schedule around the NHL tonight, including the Seattle Kraken’s second home game. The team is expected to do something to honor the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans, who won the Stanley Cup by defeating the Montreal Canadiens, their opponent tonight more than 100 years later. As always, we’ll keep track of any minor moves made today right here.
Atlantic Division
- After just one day on the AHL roster, Oskar Steen and Jack Studnicka have been recalled by the Boston Bruins. This type of “paper transaction” can be done whenever the Bruins have an off day in order to accrue cap space throughout the season, since both players are still waiver-exempt.
Metropolitan Division
- Though the Pittsburgh Penguins announced Kasper Bjorkqvist‘s recall yesterday, it didn’t actually go through until today. The 2016 second-round pick is on the ice at an optional morning skate today, alongside Sidney Crosby and many other Penguins forwards. Bjorkqvist has yet to make his NHL debut and spent most of last season with KooKoo in Finland.
Central Division
- The Colorado Avalanche have recalled Jacob MacDonald from the AHL, suggesting that Samuel Girard won’t be available tonight. MacDonald is a worthy replacement though, who played in 33 games for the Avalanche last season and is a dominant force at the minor league level. Once again he’s off to a good start with the Colorado Eagles, scoring four points in his first four games.
- Reinforcements at every position are arriving to Arizona. The Coyotes have recalled Barrett Hayton, Cam Dineen, and Ivan Prosvetov after incurring several injuries on Monday night.
Pacific Division
- The Vancouver Canucks have recalled Justin Bailey from the Abbotsford Canucks, as Justin Dowling is moved to injured reserve. Bailey, 26, has played 68 games at the NHL level in his career, including three last season for the Canucks. He has just five goals and nine points in those matches.
- The Los Angeles Kings have made several changes to their roster. Veteran forward Brendan Lemieux has been activated to the roster, while sending three players down to the AHL. Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari, and Austin Strand have been reassigned to the Ontario Reign, providing quite a boost to the farm roster.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Coyotes Lose Carter Hutton To Injury
Expectations are low if not non-existent for the Arizona Coyotes this season. After starting 0-4-1 with a league-worst -17 goal differential, the only expectation for the ‘Yotes could be a last place finish. This should not come as surprise either; Arizona’s entire off-season was about off-loading talent, using their salary cap space, adding draft picks and prospects, and not committing to any long-term free agent deals. More than half of the current roster will be unrestricted free agents next summer as the team is fully committed to just to a rebuild but to a complete overhaul.
After dealing away both Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill and letting Antti Raanta walk, the Coyotes started fresh in net this season. While 25-year-old Czech import Karel Vejmelka has drawn the headlines after winning a roster spot and earning more time and better numbers thus far, it is veteran Carter Hutton who was tapped as the new starter albeit on a one-year deal. While the Yotes’ plan is clearly not to contend in any manner this season, if they don’t want to completely isolate their fan base then they need to at least stay competitive and Hutton gives them that chance – despite some abysmal numbers early on this season.
Well, Hutton may now be unavailable. Hutton suffered a lower-body injury on Monday night and was forced from the game after the first period, the team announced. No further update has been revealed, but any extended absence would be a tough blow for the Coyotes, even though it contributes to their primary goal of contending for a top pick this year. The Coyotes are giving up a lot of shots early this season and it is not an environment in which a young goalie is likely to thrive. Yet, behind Vejmelka would be either 23-year-old Josef Korenar, who struggled in ten games with the San Jose Sharks last season, and 22-year-old Ivan Prosvetov, who took his lumps in three games with the ‘Yotes last year. Things could get even uglier in the desert if Hutton is out long-term, so hopefully the injury is not serious.
The Coyotes also lost young defenseman Conor Timmins to injury in the same game, one of the few players on the roster that Arizona really wanted and needed to play a major role this season as a potential future top-four blue liner. Free agent addition Ryan Dzingel was also ruled out with an injury in the game. Things are not going well in Arizona right now.
Snapshots: Wilson, Three Stars, Cash
Last year, Colin Wilson opened up in a piece for The Players’ Tribune, explaining that he had been dealing with untreated obsessive-compulsive disorder throughout his career. He was trying to educate young players on the importance of mental health and the risks that a professional career brought him.
Today, Wilson released an addendum titled “Addiction” in which he fully admits his addiction to drugs, use of Ambien and cocaine, and hopes to spread increased awareness following the recent fentanyl-contributed death of former NHL forward Jimmy Hayes. Wilson’s new piece is a worthwhile–if difficult–read for all sports fans.
- The league has announced the Three Stars for last week, with Kyle Connor taking home top spot after racking up five goals and eight points in three games. The point total was the same for Connor McDavid, who was the week’s second star, while Ilya Sorokin posted an outstanding .971 save percentage with two shutouts to earn third place. Sorokin was the first Islanders’ goaltender to post shutouts in consecutive days as he held the fort while Semyon Varlamov recovered from injury.
- One of the greatest sled hockey players of all time has announced his retirement, as Steve Cash will end his playing days after 16 seasons in goal for the U.S. National Team. Cash has three Paralympic Winter Games gold medals (and a bronze), eight World Championship gold medals, and lost just 16 games in regulation during his more than 150 starts for Team USA.
AHL Shuffle: 10/25/21
Seven games grace the NHL schedule this evening, including the defending champs taking on the early season success story in Buffalo. With so many teams in action, there should be several transactions that will be covered here.
Atlantic Division
- The Boston Bruins have returned Oskar Steen and Jack Studnicka to the AHL, with two days off before playing later this week. The Bruins can save some cap space by sending their two young forwards down, both of whom are still waiver-exempt.
Metropolitan Division
- Nick Seeler is on his way back up from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, recalled by the Philadelphia Flyers who play Wednesday in Edmonton. Ryan Ellis is currently day-to-day and is a game-time decision, meaning the team needed some insurance for the Western Canada road trip.
- The New York Rangers have assigned Morgan Barron to the AHL, suggesting that one of their injured forwards is ready to return. The team is set to take on the Calgary Flames this evening, looking to continue their strong start.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Kasper Bjorkqvist, giving them an extra forward while Jeff Carter, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Bryan Rust remain out. The 24-year-old Bjorkqvist has yet to make his NHL debut and has just three goals in 15 career AHL contests.
Central Division
Pacific Division
- The Anaheim Ducks have returned Sonny Milano and Sam Carrick to the AHL, after almost a week with the big club. The Ducks are home from their road trip, meaning the San Diego Gulls are right around the corner if they need any further call-ups and can afford to keep players at the minor league level in between game days.
- One of the top prospects of the Vegas Golden Knights could be getting his first look at the NHL level. The team has announced that defenseman Kaedan Korczak has been recalled from the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. There has been no indication yet whether Korczak, the 41st overall pick in 2019, will suit up for the Knights on Monday, but the promising young blue liner will cherish his first recall either way.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Letang, Kane Among Latest COVID Absences As League Questions Testing Protocols
Oct 25: Letang’s positive test has now been confirmed, meaning he will be in the protocol indefinitely.
Oct 23: Is the Coronavirus and the COVID Protocol Absences List truly behind us? It hasn’t seemed that way early on this season with a vast number of players missing practice and games due to positive test results, including some of the league’s biggest stars. That list is now expanding with two major announcements already this morning.
The Pittsburgh Penguins began their game day by announcing that defenseman Kris Letang has tested positive for COVID and entered the league protocol. Head coach Mike Sullivan qualified his status by noting that Letang is not a confirmed positive, but while those additional tests proceed Letang will miss the team’s game tonight. While the Penguins will have Tristan Jarry back in action tonight, activated out of the COVID Protocol, Letang joins Jeff Carter on the list with both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin also still sidelined by injury. Amazingly, the injury-prone Letang has the longest active games streak for the Penguins, but that will now come to an end.
In Chicago, a tough start to the situation could get more dire. The team has announced that Patrick Kane, Ryan Carpenter, and Erik Gustafsson have all entered the COVID Protocol. For now, the team has only ruled the trio out of today’s practice and have not revealed the cause for their initial placement. However, the threat remains that they could miss games if they have tested positive.
With more and more positive tests continuing to pop up, there is growing frustration from players and team officials alike, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. With over 99% of the league vaccinated and the players testing positive being asymptomatic, these missed games feel meaningless to the players and teams involved. Seravalli’s report mentions Carter, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mark Scheifele, but now fellow stars Letang and Kane have entered the fray as well. The NHL is reportedly already reconsidering testing asymptomatic players and now more fuel has been added to the fire. Changes could be coming soon.
Morning Notes: Blackwood, Crosby, Maple Leafs
One of the interesting storylines to follow when it comes to potential Olympic participation was the goaltending competition for Team Canada. The long list had six names, including Carey Price, but it’s not at all clear who will actually be selected for the final roster. Mackenzie Blackwood was one of those listed, but his status was up in the air because to participate at the Olympics, a player needs to be fully vaccinated. To this point, Blackwood had declined the COVID-19 vaccination.
That has changed now, as Mike Morreale of NHL.com confirms Blackwood received his first shot at the end of last week and is on track to be fully vaccinated before the New Jersey Devils take their first road trip to Canada in early December. Blackwood will now be eligible to play for Team Canada as well, should he be one of the goaltenders selected.
- Sidney Crosby was back practicing with the main group after some more individual work today, as the Pittsburgh Penguins continue to roll without their captain. The veteran forward is inching toward a return, though it’s not clear yet if he’ll be ready for tomorrow’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jeff Carter and Kris Letang, who are in the COVID protocol, were both absent, while Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust skated before practice.
- After an embarrassing loss to the Penguins over the weekend, the Toronto Maple Leafs have overhauled their lines according to Mark Masters of TSN, splitting up Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner for the first time since the 2019-20 season. The team also had injured goaltender Petr Mrazek on the ice with the main group, as he works his way back from a groin injury. The Maple Leafs haven’t scored more than three goals in a single game yet this season, and have just 12 total in six games.
Max Pacioretty Moved To Long-Term Injured Reserve
The Vegas Golden Knights have opened up a little bit of cap flexibility, but it comes at the cost of a top forward. According to CapFriendly, Max Pacioretty has been moved to long-term injured reserve after originally being placed on normal injured reserve after suffering a lower-body fracture earlier this month.
That means Pacioretty will be out at least ten games and 24 days, but also adds an additional $7MM to the team’s long-term relief pool. Previously, the team Alex Tuch and Jake Bischoff on LTIR creating $5.47MM in relief, almost all of which had been used up. The Golden Knights wouldn’t have had enough space left to even recall a 23rd player, but now can operate freely with Pacioretty moved to LTIR, bringing up an extra player, or acquiring someone through trade.
Still, it guarantees that they’ll be without a top offensive option for the next little while. Pacioretty led all Golden Knights in goals last season with 24 and scored twice in his season debut this year. Vegas has had trouble scoring in his absence and were even shut out last night by the New York Islanders. The team now finds themselves last in the Pacific Division with a 1-4 record, certainly not what anyone expected.
Five Key Stories: 10/18/21 – 10/24/21
With it being so early in the season, teams are hesitant to make any moves as they get a feel for what they currently have on their rosters. With that in mind, some of the bigger news of the week has come from other fronts.
COVID Trouble: A handful of teams have had players enter COVID protocol in the early going this season. There were quite a few more this past week with Winnipeg forwards Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele, St. Louis winger Brandon Saad, Pittsburgh blueliner Kris Letang, and Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane among those missing time due to being in the protocol. While there have been suggestions that the league might tone down the testing, weeks like this could put those plans on hold fairly quickly.
Gourde Returns Early: When Seattle selected Yanni Gourde from Tampa Bay in expansion, the enthusiasm was tempered down when it was revealed that he’d miss four months due to shoulder surgery. Instead, he only missed four games as he was activated off IR which is well before even the most optimistic of timelines for recovery. Gourde isn’t getting eased into action either as he has logged more than 22 minutes per game in each of his two appearances so far.
Kane Suspension: Following a series of investigations by the NHL into Sharks winger Evander Kane, the league levied a 21-game suspension to the 30-year-old for an established violation of, and lack of compliance with, the NHL/NHLPA COVID-19 Protocol. The league didn’t identify what the exact violation was but there were reports earlier this month that he was being investigated for using a fake vaccination card. Also in the announcement from the league was a statement that allegations regarding domestic abuse could not be substantiated. Kane, who is not appealing the ban, is now ineligible to play until November 30th.
Heading Overseas: Veteran center Artem Anisimov was unable to catch on with another NHL team following being released from his PTO with Colorado so he has elected to go back to the KHL, inking a one-year deal with HC Lokomotiv. That’s the program that Anisimov started out going back to his junior-aged days and he last suited up there during the lockout in the 2012-13 season. If it’s the end for Anisimov in North America, he’ll wind up with 376 points in 771 career NHL contests, a pretty good return on a late second-round pick which is where the Rangers selected him back in 2006.
Hughes Injured: The strong start for Devils center Jack Hughes has been put on hold for a while with the announcement that the 20-year-old has suffered a disclosed shoulder and is out indefinitely. Hughes had three points in his first two games including an overtime winner but will not need surgery. It’s a contract year for the 2019 top pick so there is a lot on the line when he’s able to return as a long-term pact similar to the one Nico Hischier signed back in 2019 could be a possibility if he winds up not missing much time and has a productive 2021-22 campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Senators Acquire Dylan Gambrell
The Senators had been looking to add some forward depth even before Shane Pinto was placed on IR. They’ve now done so, acquiring center Dylan Gambrell from San Jose for a 2022 seventh-round pick. The selection going to the Sharks is actually their own seventh-rounder that was previously acquired in January for defenseman Christian Jaros. Both teams have announced the deal. Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion released the following statement on the move:
Dylan’s a player whose progress we’ve monitored since his collegiate career at the University of Denver. He’s a good-skating centre, a strong checker and a responsible penalty killer. We have a void at centre on account of some recent injuries and Dylan will help us with that need.
The 25-year-old has reached double digits in points in each of the last two seasons while also logging over 16 minutes per game in 49 contests with the Sharks last season. That helped earn him a one-year, $1.1MM contract from San Jose this offseason. However, he failed to earn a spot on the roster in training camp having been beaten by Jasper Weatherby for the spot on the fourth line he was expected to occupy and actually cleared waivers two weeks ago.
While Ottawa could have had him for free back then, they also didn’t have three regulars out with injuries as Pinto is joined by Colin White and Austin Watson on injured reserve. As a result, they’ve decided to part with a seventh-rounder to bring in someone with 110 career games under his belt, primarily in the checking role that Dorion alluded to trying to fill. It’s a low-cost pickup for the Sens and if Gambrell pans out, he’s controllable for two more years through restricted free agency where he will have arbitration rights.