Dylan Larkin Suspended One Game For Roughing
The NHL Department of Player Safety has announced a one-game suspension for Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin. The ruling comes after Larkin was given a match penalty during Thursday night’s game after a punch to the face of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Mathieu Joseph. As noted in the explanatory video, the rationale behind the suspension from the Department is as follows:
Larkin and Joseph raced for the loose puck, and Larkin cuts in front of Joseph to establish position. Joseph shoves Larkin, causing him to hit the boards and fall to the ice. Larkin then gets to his feet, finds Joseph, and swings wildly, punching the unsuspecting Joseph in the face with a gloved hand, with sufficient force to knock him to the ice. This is roughing. It is important to note that this is not a case of two players who willingly choose to engage in a mutual confrontation. Joseph has no warning that he is about to be punched, and Larkin gives him no time to brace for contact, defend himself, or choose to engage in the altercation. We understand that Larkin is frustrated on this play, but, as our Department has established in the past, players are not excused from punishment merely because they’re acting in response to the actions of another player. What causes this play to rise to the level of supplemental discipline is the retaliatory nature of the punch and the force with which it is delivered to an unsuspecting opponent.
Larkin has no previous history of suspension. He will miss Saturday’s contest against the Vancouver Canucks and will be eligible to return on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It’s also important to note that Larkin may have been held out of the game against Vancouver regardless, as he was an extremely limited participant in practice this morning due to a potential injury suffered on the controversial hit by Joseph. Larkin’s health will be evaluated today.
In Larkin’s absence, it’s likely that Robby Fabbri will shift to center on the top line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Lucas Raymond, who could make his NHL debut on Saturday, on his wings. Carter Rowney could slot into the lineup in a fourth-line role.
Colorado’s Valeri Nichushkin Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury
The Colorado Avalanche are being hit with the injury bug early this season, as The Athletic’s Peter Baugh reports that forward Valeri Nichushkin is sidelined week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
With the team already missing Devon Toews and Pavel Francouz from their lineup prior to the season’s start, the team’s forward core has now lost three members in the past three days. Captain Gabriel Landeskog is suspended for the next two games, Nathan MacKinnon‘s season debut is on hold as he remains on COVID protocol, and it’s now apparent the Avs have lost a third top-nine forward for the time being.
The 26-year-old Nichushkin has had somewhat of a career renaissance with Colorado after a rough start with the Dallas Stars, the team that drafted him 10th overall in 2013. He’s received Selke votes in back-to-back seasons, scoring 23 goals and 48 points in 120 games from 2019 to 2021 in an Avalanche uniform. Nichushkin had one assist in 15:03 of ice time on Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.
The team will now turn to Mikko Rantanen to carry the offensive load in the absence of MacKinnon and Landeskog. They’ll look towards forwards like Andre Burakovsky, Tyson Jost, and a pair or rookies in Alex Newhook and Sampo Ranta to increase production in depth roles to compensate for the loss of Nichushkin.
Los Angeles Kings Waive Christian Wolanin
The Los Angeles Kings have waived defenseman Christian Wolanin, per TSN’s Chris Johnston. In all likelihood, the roster move means that defenseman Olli Maatta is healthy and will be activated from injured reserve.
Wolanin, now 26, could certainly be a candidate to get picked up on the waiver wire considering the claim of Dennis Cholowski yesterday. Wolanin’s been fairly productive over a sparse four-season career in the NHL, posting five goals and 18 points in 61 career games. All but three of those games have been spent with the Ottawa Senators, but he was dealt to the Kings in March of 2021 in exchange for Michael Amadio.
While he is a left-shot defenseman, he could very well be claimed by the Buffalo Sabres as they deal with an injury to Henri Jokiharju. The Devils could also be a candidate to claim him as both Ty Smith and Damon Severson remain out with injury.
Wolanin makes the league minimum $750,000 on a two-way, one-year deal.
A solid two-way player, Wolanin is fully capable of serving full-time on an NHL roster if need be, more suitably as a seventh defenseman. He was a fourth-round draft pick of the Senators in 2015.
John Gibson Out With Lower-Body Injury, Will Miss Tonight’s Game
Goaltender John Gibson suffered a lower-body injury in Anaheim’s Wednesday night season-opening win against the Winnipeg Jets, head coach Dallas Eakins confirms. Backup netminder Anthony Stolarz will make his first start of the season Friday night against Minnesota while Lukas Dostal has been recalled to back him up, per the AHL’s transactions page. Eakins also notes that winger Troy Terry will be absent from the game against Minnesota as well, citing a non-COVID-related illness.
Gibson was easily Anaheim’s best player in an impressive 4-1 victory against Winnipeg earlier this week, making 33 saves on 34 shots (.971 save percentage). Now 28 years old, the netminder’s performance this season will be crucial in helping a young team take strides forward from last year’s 17-30-9 record. His health moving forward is paramount for the team’s success.
Stolarz draws into the full-time backup role this season, succeeding the retired Ryan Miller. Drafted in the second round by Philadelphia in 2012, this looks to be his first full-time NHL role. He’s been impressive in limited appearances for Ducks over the past two seasons, posting a 4-4-0 record and .929 save percentage in that time frame.
The absence of Terry can’t be understated either. The 24-year-old was fifth on the Ducks in scoring last season, notching seven goals and 20 points in 48 games. He remains one of the best two-way forwards on the team and could be primed for a breakout campaign this year. Per Eakins, Max Jones will draw in tonight in his place.
Without some core pieces tonight, the Ducks could be in tough to keep the good times rolling against a stout Minnesota Wild team playing in their first game of the season.
Dylan Larkin Will Have Department Of Player Safety Hearing
12:33 pm: Head coach Jeff Blashill reports that Larkin’s absence from most of practice was indeed due to the Joseph hit. Blashill notes that Larkin will “see some people today,” likely meaning the team will issue an update tonight or tomorrow.
10:50 am: Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin will have a Department of Player Safety hearing Friday for roughing the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Mathieu Joseph, the league announced.
The play originated with Joseph making a controversial hit on Larkin into the boards, which caused Larkin to fall. Larkin’s hearing generates from when he got back up from the fall, immediately punching an unsuspecting Joseph, who fell to the ice.
Referees assessed Joseph a roughing penalty on the play, while Larkin was assessed a match penalty and removed from the game. He finished the night with a goal and a +3 rating. It was an unexpectedly chaotic home opener for the Red Wings, who fell 7-6 to the Lightning in overtime after entering the last ten minutes of the third period with a 6-3 lead.
MLive.com’s Ansar Khan reports that Larkin made a brief appearance at the Red Wings’ practice this morning, but promptly left the ice. It’s unclear at this time whether this has to do with the timing of the hearing or if Larkin suffered any injury on the play.
AHL Shuffle: 10/15/21
An increasingly tight salary cap situation for many teams across the league has expectedly led to a lot of wheeling, dealing, and maneuvering early on this season, especially in the recalls and assignments department. We’ll keep track of all of today’s minor NHL to AHL and AHL to NHL roster moves right here.
Atlantic Division
- Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards reports the Panthers re-assigned Chase Priskie and Maxim Mamin to the Charlotte Checkers. Priskie was recalled Thursday prior to the team’s season opener against Pittsburgh but was a healthy scratch. Mamin had previously been listed as a non-roster player. Mamin last played in the NHL with the Panthers in 2018-19, playing seven games, but has played in the KHL ever since.
Metropolitan Division
- The Philadelphia Flyers are sending forward Jackson Cates back down to Lehigh Valley, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. Cates was recalled from the Phantoms Thursday to give the team roster flexibility as their two new waiver claims in Patrick Brown and Zack MacEwen were both unavailable. Yesterday’s other two recalls, Max Willman and Nick Seeler, remain with the team and will likely play in the team’s home opener against Vancouver Friday night.
- Per the team, the New Jersey Devils activated forward Tyce Thompson off injured reserve and have assigned him to the Utica Comets. The brother of Buffalo’s Tage Thompson, Tyce made his NHL debut last season, scoring one assist in seven games.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned 2020 first-round pick Yegor Chinakhov to the Cleveland Monsters. Likely to see another call-up at some point this season, Chinakhov will make his North American debut with Cleveland soon.
- Greg McKegg has been recalled by the New York Rangers after Ryan Strome‘s placement on the COVID protocol list. He’ll draw into the lineup Saturday against Montreal as the team has only 12 active forwards.
Central Division
- The Avalanche’s Jayson Megna has been sent down to the Colorado Eagles, notes The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. Megna drew into Colorado’s lineup on Wednesday against Chicago in the place of Nathan MacKinnon, who remains on COVID protocol. Megna could be recalled again soon, as Baugh reports it could just be a salary cap maneuver.
- Soon is apparently today, as Megna has rejoined the big club along with Stefan Matteau and Dylan Sikura, with the Avalanche sending Alex Newhook down to the Eagles. A peculiar transaction, you can expect more paper shuffling before the team’s game Saturday against the St. Louis Blues.
Pacific Division
- The Vegas Golden Knights assigned Peyton Krebs, Jonas Rondbjerg, and Jake Leschyshyn to the Henderson Silver Knights ahead of the team’s season opener tonight. All three played in Thursday night’s 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, and they’ll likely be recalled soon as the team continues to deal with injuries and absences in the bottom six.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Casey Mittelstadt And Henri Jokiharju Out A Couple Of Weeks
Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato announced Friday morning that center Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Henri Jokiharju will both be sidelined for “a couple of weeks” with different injuries.
Mittelstadt left Thursday night’s 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury. It’s unclear as to when or on what play Mittelstadt sustained the injury. Jokiharju played the entirety of last night’s contest, logging 16:39 of ice time. He’s sidelined with a lower-body ailment.
Granato notes that Arttu Ruotsalainen and Will Butcher will likely draw into the lineup Saturday against Arizona in the place of Mittelstadt and Jokiharju. He also says the team wants “to get everybody in,” making it seem like additional call-ups from the AHL’s Rochester Americans are likely coming to bolster the roster.
It’s an extremely tough break for a Sabres team that got off to an unexpectedly strong start, albeit through just one game. They’ll now have to move forward without their number one center in addition to a top-pairing defenseman for multiple weeks.
If Granato’s “couple of weeks” prognosis holds true, Mittelstadt and Jokiharju could miss six games over the course of the next two weeks. The Sabres have a rather light schedule to begin the season but have a pair of tough matchups against the Boston Bruins on October 22 and the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning on October 25.
Charlie McAvoy Signs Eight-Year Extension With Boston Bruins
Defenseman Charlie McAvoy has signed an eight-year extension with the Boston Bruins, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The deal carries a cap hit of $9.5MM, taking him through the 2029-30 season. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports the details of the contract:
2022-23: $6.0MM salary + $3.25MM signing bonus
2023-24: $7.75MM salary + $3.25MM signing bonus
2024-25: $8.5MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
2025-26: $8.5MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
2026-27: $6.0MM salary + $4.0MM signing bonus
2027-28: $3.75MM salary + $4.0MM signing bonus
2028-29: $4.5MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
2029-30: $4.5MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
The contract carries a full no-movement clause from 2025-26 to 2027-28, per Seravalli. The deal has a 10-team ‘yes’ trade list in 2028-29 and a 10-team ‘no’ trade list in 2029-30.
McAvoy was due to be a restricted free agent at the season’s end. He’s in the final season of a three-year, $14.7MM deal ($4.9MM cap hit) signed prior to the 2019-20 season.
This contract is the fourth big-money deal handed out to restricted free agent defensemen within the last few months, joining just Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen with an eight-year deal. McAvoy’s cap hit slots above Cale Makar‘s $9.0MM and just below Zach Werenski‘s $9.58MM, but he’s signed for more term than either of those players.
McAvoy has been a consistent top-flight two-way defenseman ever since his rookie season in 2017-18. While he’s yet to play a full 82-game season in his career, fighting injuries and the pandemic, he’s now finished top ten in Norris Trophy voting for two consecutive seasons. He’s scored between 28 and 32 points every season of his career, totalling 122 points in 235 contests. His ice time has steadily climbed from the 22:09 mark he logged in his rookie season, hitting 24:00 per night last season.
While McAvoy’s point totals may not come with the same ‘wow’ factor as a Makar or Quinn Hughes, he’s become arguably a top-ten defenseman in the league due to his off-the-charts hockey IQ and two-way acumen. His lower point rates than his peers also shouldn’t be taken to say that McAvoy isn’t an elite offensive play driver – he is, seeing 52.4% of his career zone starts in the offensive zone. He can log legitimate zone time in the defensive end too, excelling just as well there. Over his career, McAvoy’s controlled 54.4% of Corsi at even strength. A capable penalty killer as well, McAvoy remains one of the best all-around packages in the league. At just 23, the potential is still tantalizing.
Few will complain about having a franchise stalwart locked up for eight years, but this deal offers a certain level of cap security for the Bruins as well. Per CapFriendly, the team enters next year with $13.1MM in cap space with just Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk as notable players to re-sign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
College Hockey Round-Up: 10/14/21
In college athletics, with rankings adjusted on a weekly basis, the glow of a National Championship only lasts as long as you keep winning. The UMass Minutemen found that out the hard way, debuting at No. 1 for the first time in program history but just two weeks later now sitting at No. 9. The team was swept in their opening week series with Minnesota State, who has taken the crown after opening at No. 4. UMass then did not play this past week, losing more votes as they were unable to bounce back right away. The Minutemen still sit ahead of Hockey East rival Providence College, who sits at No. 10 despite an NCAA-best 3-0-0 record, but the pressure is now on for UMass to pick up some wins if they want to remain in the top ten.
Recent Results
While (now) No. 1 Minnesota State and No. 9 UMass was far and away the highlight of the first week of college hockey action, there were more than a few other notable match-ups. No. 2 St. Cloud State played the bully role against St. Thomas in their Division I debut, recording 12 goals in game one and a shut out in game two. The star-studded No. 3 Michigan Wolverine won handily against Bowling Green in their opener, behind five points apiece from Owen Power (BUF) and Brendan Brisson (VGK).
Last week, a number of top teams collided in what marked the opening series many programs. It was hard to beat a clash of early favorites, as Minnesota State and St. Cloud State split their weekend series but stayed atop the rankings. No. 4 Minnesota was able to take home two wins easily against Mercyhurst, but No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth had a statement weekend, sweeping No. 20 Bemidji State. No. 6 Boston College and No. 8 Quinnipiac played to a tie, but Quinnipiac picked up a win the next night against No. 18 Northeastern. The surprise of the weekend was a sweep by No. 16 Michigan Tech of Wisconsin by a combined score of 10-3, vaulting the Huskies up the rankings and knocking the Badgers out.
This weekend, all eyes will be on Duluth as the host Bulldogs bring in Minnesota State, Michigan, and Providence for a mini-tournament of top-ten teams. No. 7 North Dakota will be tested by Bemidji State after picking up two easy wins last weekend, while St. Cloud and Minnesota will square off in a battle of undefeated top-five teams. Huskies super-senior goalie David Hrenak (LAK) has started all four games for St. Cloud and has a .961 save percentage and 0.84 GAA, making him quite possibly the most impressive player thus far in the young season and a pro-ready prospect to watch.
An Update On Alaska
Only one team from Alaska is taking part in the 2021-22 season, as Anchorage folded their program this summer leaving only Fairbanks to compete. Luckily, that will revert back next season. Anchorage announced in August that they had raised enough money to meet their fundraising goal for reinstating the team. The Sea Wolves will be back in action next year and are already closing in on a new coach, revealing three finalists late last month.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the NHL’s newest club, the Seattle Kraken, had a hand in raising money for Anchorage’s return. In doing so, they have built a strong relationship with the school and fans in the state. Friedman speculates that an outdoor game in Alaska, similar to the Lake Tahoe event last season, could be on the NHL’s slate before too long with the Kraken likely to host.
COVID Still Kicking Around
Though the expectation is that the COVID-19 pandemic will be much better controlled at all levels of hockey this season, the reality is that it is still likely to cause some issues. It didn’t take long for the virus to rear its ugly head at the college level. This weekend’s series between UMass Lowell and LIU has been postponed due to a breakout in the Sharks locker room. The two-game set has been changed to single games in November and February.
While LIU certainly hopes to get healthy in time to avoid further delays, it is the River Hawks who could feel the brunt of this delay. Just outside the top 20 in the initial rankings, Lowell dropped one of its first two games against Arizona State and then was off last week, losing several votes in the process. Another week off won’t help them in the rankings, but the team hopes to be fresh and ready to face Michigan State and Hockey East rival Boston University in their next two series.
Snapshots: Konecny, Rieder, Flames
Travis Konecny struggled at time last season but is refocused and ready to resume his upward trajectory as a budding star for the Philadelphia Flyers. However, the 2015 first-round pick could have been in a very different spot to being the new campaign. Sportset’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Flyers received considerable interest in Konecny this off-season and “easily could have traded him”. However, the team felt their best option was instead to hold on to the young winger and hope that he gets back on track. Konecny’s 61 points in 66 games in 2019-20 had him looking like a future cornerstone player, so his regression to 34 points in 50 games last season caught many off guard. Philadelphia staying loyal to their promising forward could be the fuel he needs to bounce back this year.
- After failing to earn a contract on a PTO, something he has previously done on more than one occasion, veteran forward Tobias Rieder may finally be moving on from the NHL. After seven seasons and nearly 500 games with five different NHL teams, Rieder’s tryout with the Anaheim Ducks could mark the end of his career in North America. John Matisz of The Score reports that Rieder is expected to sign with the SHL’s Vaxjo Lakers. Although it is only a one-year deal for a 28-year-old player, Rieder will likely have to tear it up in Sweden to get yet another look in the NHL.
- The Calgary Flames have announced a plethora of hockey operations changes. The most notable move is a shift in coaching personnel with long-time assistant coach and former NHLer Martin Gelinas moving into a development coach role and fellow former assistant Ray Edwards taking on a front office position as Director of Player Development. The team has also added Derek Clancey as a pro scout and David Akerblom, Jason Taylor, and Trevor Hanson as area amateur scouts.