Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Philip Broberg Leaves Game With Leg Injury

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Blues defenseman Philip Broberg left tonight’s game against the Maple Leafs after sustaining an apparent right leg injury in the second period. The Blues informed reporters, including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, that he wouldn’t return to the contest.

At first glance, Broberg’s injury may lead to a long-term absence. The 23-year-old defender got tangled up in a collision along the boards with Toronto winger Mitch Marner, getting his right ankle area caught before falling awkwardly on the rest of the leg. He immediately clutched his knee in pain and remained on the ice for several minutes before skating off with assistance from St. Louis’ trainer. He didn’t put any weight on his injured leg while doing so.

It abruptly pauses what had been a promising start to the season for Broberg. The Blues acquired the 2019 eighth-overall pick from the Oilers via an offer sheet, plucking the restricted free agent away from Edmonton on a two-year, $9.16MM contract. The corresponding $4.58MM cap hit was certainly hefty for a player who spent most of 2023-24 in the minors, though, making only 12 regular-season NHL appearances with the Oilers with underwhelming numbers.

Viewed as a payment based on potential, it seems Broberg’s ceiling has arrived earlier than anticipated. The Swede has thrived in a top-four role for St. Louis with a season-ending injury to Torey Krug and another injury to Nick Leddy, creating ample opportunity on the left side. He had two goals and seven assists in 11 games entering tonight’s action, already setting a new career-high with nine points. That was tied with Jordan Kyrou for the team lead in scoring at the time of writing. He was averaging 20:25 per game and led the team with a +6 rating,

The possession numbers aren’t quite as glorifying for Broberg. The Blues controlled 47.6% of shot attempts with him on the ice at even strength compared to 49.9% without him. But still, he had been operating as their de facto No. 1 left-shot defender in Leddy’s absence, making him a massive loss for a team already without Mathieu Joseph, Kasperi Kapanen and Robert Thomas up front in addition to their injury issues on the blue line.

The Blues don’t play again until Tuesday against the Lightning, so they have a few days to evaluate Broberg’s injury, determine if surgery is necessary, and release a timeline. But it’s nearly a given he won’t be available next week, and although Leddy appears somewhat close to returning, his availability isn’t imminent. That means extra minutes for the 40-year-old Ryan Suter and potential top-four usage for depth offseason pickup Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Scott Perunovich is on hand as an extra defenseman and should be expected to play next week.

East Notes: Senators, Michkov, Rust

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Senators are .500 through their first 10 games, but that’s been enough to stay on the verge of a playoff position in an Atlantic Division that’s been mainly underwhelming to begin the season. Injuries have played a significant factor, with new starter Linus Ullmark missing a few games and other essential pieces, namely center Shane Pinto and right-shot defenseman Artem Zub, currently sidelined with significant but not ultra-long-term ailments.

Those latter two absences have led the Senators to consider adding more depth to those positions in particular, general manager Steve Staios told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen yesterday. That’s likely an action item for later in the season, though. Staios still wants to give some runway to their internal options to prove they can step up in relief. “I believe that leads to stability as well as confidence in the group,” he said.

So far, those internal options have done the job and likely lessened Staios’ urgency to make a move. Depth pivot Adam Gaudette has five goals in nine games as an injury fill-in after spending most of last season in the AHL, while 24-year-old Jacob Bernard-Docker has posted solid possession numbers (57.7 CF%, 50.0 xGF%) while relieving Zub on the back end.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • It’s been a bit of a rough stretch for current Calder Trophy frontrunner Matvei Michkov over the past couple of games. After going point-per-game through his first nine appearances and taking home NHL Rookie of the Month honors for October, he’s gone without a point in his past four and recorded a season-low 13:56 on Thursday against the Blues before posting a -3 rating in a shutout loss to the Bruins earlier today. That’s led to intermittent benchings from John Tortorella, something neither coach nor player views as a real cause for concern, writes Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. “I just wanted him to sit (on the bench), relax, think about what I said to him,” Tortorella said. “I think it was two or three rotations, we put him back out there. He may miss games, who knows? I don’t know what’s going to happen. But that’s part of the development of a 19-year-old kid.“
  • Penguins winger Bryan Rust skated today for the first time since landing on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 32-year-old has now missed a pair of games with the injury, which he sustained on Oct. 26 against the Canucks. He’ll be eligible to come off IR anytime but is still listed as week-to-week. He had three goals and an assist in eight appearances before exiting the lineup.

John Carlson’s Resurgence Driving Capitals’ Hot Start

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Capitals have been in no man’s land for the past few seasons. Their record has steadily regressed as Alex Ovechkin continues to chase Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record, a mark he’ll likely hit this season. In 2023, they missed the playoffs entirely for the first time in nine years, and they’ve yet to win a postseason series since lifting the Stanley Cup in 2018.

Washington got back into the playoff picture last season, but most viewed it as a mirage – and rightfully so. The team’s 40-31-11 record translated to 91 points, which would have kept them seven out of a berth in the Western Conference. They also squeaked in with an astonishing -37 goal differential, a bottom-five offense, and below-league-average 5-on-5 analytics and special teams. Put nicely, it was a fluke. Unsurprisingly, they were outscored 15-7 by the Rangers in the first round and exited without a win.

But entering Saturday’s games, the Caps had a 7-2-0 record and a .778 points percentage, tied with the Hurricanes for the best in the East. Last year’s sputtering offense has suddenly come alive, averaging 4.11 goals per game. At the time of writing, they’re set to improve that total after a six-goal effort in the first half of their game against the Blue Jackets.

Nearly every red flag from last season’s showing has been erased as they enter their second season with Spencer Carbery as head coach. They’ve been a legitimately dominant force at even strength. Heading into the weekend, the Caps’ 54.6 CF% at 5-on-5 was fourth in the league, as was their 55.4 SCF%. Their 55.3% share of high-danger chances at 5-on-5 was seventh.

Ovechkin (5 G, 5 A) and center Dylan Strome, who leads the club with 10 assists and 13 points, have the flashiest point totals. However, chugging along on the back end is John Carlson, who, despite turning 35 in a couple of months, is arguably having the best start of his career in terms of two-way play.

Carlson has remained a minute muncher in his twilight years. Last year, he led the league in average time on ice at 25:54 per game. Washington made a concerted effort to get him more help this offseason, swapping Nick Jensen for Jakob Chychrun and inking top-four fixture Matt Roy in free agency. Roy’s acquisition was mainly targeted to relieve Carlson’s workload as a much-improved No. 2 right-shot option, but he’s been out since the season opener with a lower-body injury.

That hasn’t affected Carlson in the slightest. He’s averaging a whopping 26:25 per game, still leading the league while posting the best possession metrics of his life. His newfound ability to control possession at even strength is arguably the most significant impetus behind Washington’s early-season success. The Caps control 57% of shot attempts at even strength with Carlson on the ice compared to 51.5% without him. The Capitals lifer has never had that much of an impact on Washington’s even-strength possession control in his 16-year career. He’s had a fair amount of seasons, especially early in his career, where he was a drain on their 5-on-5 possession play. Overall, his numbers have been about in line with the Capitals’ team averages.

He’s also turned back the clock offensively with a pair of goals and six assists for eight points in nine games. After continuing to hover near a point per game in the early days of the post-COVID era, he was limited to 0.66 points per game over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns. That’s led to him not receiving even any outside Norris Trophy consideration after finishing no lower than 12th in five straight years from 2018 to 2022. His +11 rating is also tied with the Golden Knights’ Brayden McNabb and the Lightning’s J.J. Moser for the league lead. Most of that point production has come at even strength, too, with only one each of those goals and assists coming on the power play.

At least so far, all those advanced numbers point to Carlson’s resurgence as sustainable, at least for this season. He also ranks fourth on the team in blocks (14), seventh in hits (14), and is tied with Chychrun for the team lead with seven takeaways.

His re-emergence as a top-flight defenseman also leads to a rarity for Washington – the last couple of years of a max-term extension being worth face value. Carlson is still locked in at $8MM against the cap through the 2025-26 season. It was a contract that gave Washington great value through the first couple of years but started to look dicey at the midway point, a commonality with long-term pacts. But his early-season showing suggests he’s still worth that money, if not more, in terms of market value.

While the Capitals’ roster has been rejuvenated with some newly drafted and developed talent, it’s still an excellent story for a member of the old guard to be a legitimate factor in the team’s on-ice success as the franchise turns the page. Carlson owns nearly every franchise record among defenders. He’s the only D-man to play over 1,000 career games in a Capitals uniform, and he also owns team records for career goals (153), assists (529), points (682), and shots (2,375) among defenders.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Snapshots: Ersson, Becher, Tokarski

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson suffered an injury in the first period of today’s game against Boston and did not return.  Following the game, the team clarified (Twitter link) that the netminder sustained a lower-body injury.  It has been a tough year between the pipes for the Flyers who came into this game with a combined save percentage of just .863 (including empty-netters allowed), the lowest in the Eastern Conference.  However, Ersson has had a reasonable start to his year, putting up a 2.72 GAA with a .897 SV% heading into today’s action.  Aleksei Kolosov came on in relief while Ivan Fedotov, who has struggled mightily in his limited NHL action so far, is also on the active roster should Ersson miss any more time.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Red Wings prospect Ondrej Becher has signed an ATO agreement with AHL Grand Rapids, per a team release. Detroit took the 20-year-old in the third round of the draft back in June following a dominant showing with WHL Prince George that saw him score 32 goals and 64 assists in 58 games last season, good for 13th in league scoring.  While he remains eligible to spend an overage year at the junior level, it appears the Red Wings would prefer to see how he fares in the pros first but the tryout agreement suggests that they’re open to the idea of sending him back to junior if things don’t go well.
  • With the Hurricanes needing Spencer Martin due to Fredrik Andersen’s injury, their AHL affiliate in Chicago has made a move, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve signed veteran goalie Dustin Tokarski to a PTO agreement. The 35-year-old was in Ottawa’s training camp on a tryout but wasn’t signed.  He spent last season with AHL Rochester, posting a 3.32 GAA and a .890 SV% in 24 games and is a veteran of more than 400 appearances at that level over 14 seasons along with 80 NHL contests.  The PTO agreement can last for up to 25 games.

West Notes: Joshua, Seguin, Montour

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Canucks forward Dakota Joshua participated in a full practice on Friday as he gets closer to returning from testicular cancer, relays Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.  The 28-year-old went from a depth player earlier in his career to a key part of Vancouver’s bottom-six forward group while setting career highs in goals (18), assists (14), points (32), and hits (235) in 63 games last season.  That helped him earn a four-year, $13MM extension back in June to avoid free agency.  Despite being LTIR-eligible, Vancouver never moved Joshua there so they won’t have to worry about having to get cap-compliant when he’s able to return which should happen sometime over the next few days.  With Nils Aman on waivers today, it appears they’re getting ready to open up the spot for Joshua to return.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Stars center Tyler Seguin was scratched from the second and final Global Series game today; the team announced (Twitter link) that he’s listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The 32-year-old is off to a good start to his season, notching five goals and four assists in seven games.  However, this is already the second time he has missed time to a lower-body issue after missing three games last month as well which could be cause for concern if it’s a problem that might linger for Seguin.
  • After missing Thursday’s game in Toronto for the birth of his second child, Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour has returned to the team and will play tonight versus Ottawa, notes team broadcaster Piper Shaw (Twitter link). The 30-year-old is in his first season with Seattle after signing a seven-year, $50MM contract on the opening day of free agency.  He has fared quite well with his new team so far, picking up four goals and five assists in his first ten games while recording a hat-trick on Tuesday against Montreal.  Since Montour was never removed from the active roster, no corresponding move is necessary for him to return.

Rangers Activate Jimmy Vesey Off LTIR, Assign Matt Rempe To AHL

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Rangers will welcome back Jimmy Vesey to their lineup tomorrow against the Islanders after he spent the first few weeks of the season on LTIR.  In a corresponding move, the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Matt Rempe has been re-assigned to AHL Hartford.

Vesey was injured partway through training camp, sustaining a lower-body injury that has kept him out of all ten games the Rangers have played so far.  With the 31-year-old basically being a full participant in practice for the past week, it comes as no surprise that he was activated as soon as he was eligible.

Vesey was a solid depth scorer for New York last season, notching 13 goals and 13 assists in 80 games despite averaging just 12:23 per game, a career low.  He’s playing in the second and final season of a two-year, $1.6MM contract, a deal that has proven to be a team-friendly one thus far.

His return means that Rempe’s second stint with the Rangers this season was rather short-lived.  New York sent him to Hartford last week, recalling him just four days later after a pair of outings with the Wolf Pack.  The 22-year-old has played in just three games this season with New York and has been held off the scoresheet while averaging just 5:26 per game.  Given that he’s waiver-exempt, it makes sense for him to go to Hartford and play more of a regular role with them for the time being.

Golden Knights Recall Akira Schmid

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Vegas hasn’t had particularly strong goaltending in the early going this season with starter Adin Hill struggling, in particular.  Now, they’ve added a third netminder to their roster as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Akira Schmid from AHL Henderson.

The Golden Knights acquired the 24-year-old from New Jersey at the draft along with winger Alexander Holtz in exchange for center Paul Cotter and a 2025 third-round pick.  Schmid was then non-tendered by Vegas to avoid giving him arbitration eligibility but he quickly signed a two-year, $1.75MM contract to stick around with his new team.

Schmid made quite an impact with New Jersey in 2022-23, playing to a 2.13 GAA and a .922 SV% in 18 games, even seeing some action in the playoffs.  However, he didn’t have anywhere near the level of success last season, posting a 3.15 GAA with a .895 SV% in 19 outings and was eventually assigned to the minors when Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen were acquired at the trade deadline.

While it originally looked like Schmid might be the backup to Hill when he was acquired, Vegas went out and signed Ilya Samsonov in free agency which put an end to any thought of that.  Instead, the Golden Knights utilized his waiver exemption to get him to the Silver Knights.  However, he has struggled with them in the early going this season, putting up a 3.56 GAA and a SV% of just .885 in his first six outings.  Notably, Schmid is eight NHL appearances away from being waiver-eligible.  SinBin.Vegas notes (Twitter link) that Samsonov is not on the ice for practice today which is what led to Schmid’s promotion.

Vegas had an open spot on its active roster so no corresponding move needed to be made to add Schmid.

Blue Jackets Open To Taking On An Expensive Contract

at CDT | by 9 Comments

Back in August when the Blue Jackets moved Patrik Laine to Montreal, Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell acknowledged that teams were already making inquiries about their willingness to take on an expensive contract.  At the time, he cautioned that while they had ample cap space, they weren’t necessarily willing to use it right away to absorb a big-ticket deal.

It appears they’re more open to doing so now.  Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (video link) that Waddell has let teams know that he’s willing to take on a big contract alongside some additional assets.  That shouldn’t necessarily be construed as them looking to add short-term help to build off a surprising 5-4-1 start as speculatively, the assets they’d be acquiring with the contract would be the priority.

However, it appears they have a limit on how long of a contract they’re willing to take on.  At this point, Seravalli notes that the inquiries thus far have been about their willingness to add a longer-term term deal in the three-to-five-year range.  Generally speaking, those types of cap dumps have been either expiring deals or ones with only one year remaining.  For now, at least, it appears adding someone signed for that long isn’t in their plans.

With a long list of injuries to start the season, the Blue Jackets were able to open the season above the $65MM Lower Limit of the salary cap with them needing to carry more than 23 players.  However, despite that, they’re projected to finish the year less than $2MM above that mark, per PuckPedia.  As some of their injured players return and their replacements are sent down, they’ll dip closer to the minimum.  If they do wind up selling before the trade deadline, they could conceivably drop below that amount as things stand.

With that in mind, it certainly makes sense for Waddell to be exploring the options that are out there in terms of taking on an unwanted contract in a move that would likely upgrade their current roster and give them extra assets for the future.  But for now, it appears their preference is to add the type of expensive short-term contract that other teams aren’t willing to pay to move off of just yet.

Islanders Place Mathew Barzal On LTIR, Announce Several Roster Moves

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Islanders had some injuries in last night’s victory over Buffalo and it has necessitated some roster moves.  The team announced (Twitter link) that blueliners Grant Hutton and Samuel Bolduc were recalled from AHL Bridgeport.  To make room on the roster and to keep the team cap-compliant, Adam Pelech was placed on injured reserve while Mathew Barzal was placed on LTIR.  Meanwhile, blueliners Mike Reilly and Alexander Romanov are listed as day-to-day with upper-body injuries.

Barzal recently sustained an upper-body injury that caused him to leave the team’s current road trip for more evaluation.  That testing has revealed that he’ll miss the next four to six weeks, making him LTIR-eligible as he’ll clearly miss the next ten games and 24 days.  Last year, the 27-year-old recorded his first 80-point season since his rookie campaign but he hasn’t been able to maintain that level of production in the early going this season, notching just two goals and three assists in his first ten outings.  Nonetheless, his absence will still be a significant one for a team that’s already one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NHL through the first month of the season.

Pelech, meanwhile, was injured versus the Sabres and will carry the same timeline as Barzal for his upper-body injury.  With Barzal and his $9.15MM AAV landing on LTIR, there’s no need for them to move Pelech there at this time despite being eligible as they’ll have ample spending room using Barzal’s money.  It’s now the third straight year that the 30-year-old will miss significant time due to injury, hardly the ideal spot for one of New York’s most important blueliners.  Pelech is averaging over 20 minutes per game in the early going, a mark he has reached in each of the last five seasons.  He has four assists, 12 blocks, and 17 hits in 11 outings so far.

As for the recalls, Hutton is in the third and final season of a one-way deal that pays $775K per season.  Despite the NHL salary, he has spent the bulk of this deal in the minors, suiting up just twice with the big club over the past two years.  This season, the 29-year-old has two assists in nine AHL contests.  Bolduc, on the other hand, is more familiar to the coaching staff as he played in 34 games with New York last season but still went unclaimed on waivers last month.  He’s making $800K this season on a one-way deal and has five points in his first nine AHL games of the season.

Reilly was also injured against Buffalo and was in enough distress that a stretcher was brought out.  While he was able to exit the ice with some help without the stretcher, he obviously didn’t return to the game.  Romanov was also banged up in that one but was able to return.  With the recalls, New York now has six healthy defenders on the roster which suggests they’re hopeful that either Reilly or Romanov will be able to return in short order.

Metropolitan Notes: Miller, Islanders Injuries, Brindley

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With a big-ticket contract already given to Alexis Lafreniere and a hefty extension expected at some point for Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers are set to face a cap crunch next summer with several other players in need of pricey new deals as well.  Arthur Staple of The Athletic recently provided (subscription link) an overview of the situation while suggesting a creative way to potentially solve it by moving pending RFA defenseman K’Andre Miller.  The 24-year-old will be owed a $4.646MM qualifying offer in the summer but could conceivably push past $6MM on a longer-term deal.  With a couple of years of club control remaining, New York would undoubtedly have considerable interest in his services, allowing them to help alleviate that crunch while still getting a strong return in a trade.  Of course, losing him would be a big blow to their back end so it’s safe to say that’s not their preferred route at this point.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Islanders picked up the win in Buffalo on Friday night but it came as a price as Ethan Sears of the New York Post relays that defensemen Mike Reilly and Adam Pelech both left the game with injuries while Alexander Romanov, who just came back from injury, was also banged up. Reilly hit his head on the ice in the second period while Pelech was seen holding his jaw after the game.  The Isles only have seven blueliners on the active roster so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them recall someone from AHL Bridgeport, especially since they have a bit of short-term cap flexibility with Anthony Duclair on LTIR.
  • Blue Jackets forward Gavin Brindley has been skating as he continues his recovery from a broken finger sustained in the preseason, notes Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers (Twitter link). The 20-year-old made his NHL debut late last season after a dominant year at the University of Michigan that saw him put up 53 points in 40 games in his sophomore season.  However, despite that output in college and their injuries up front, it appears Columbus plans to have Brindley start in the AHL with Cleveland once he’s cleared to return.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top