NHL Snapshots: MacDonald, Haula, Marchessault, Bennett
The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that defenseman Andrew MacDonald will miss four to six weeks with a lower body injury. According to NHL.com’s Bill Meltzer, MacDonald stepped into a path of a slap shot from Edmonton’s Milan Lucic during a penalty killing shift of Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. It hit his knee and MacDonald suffered a deep bone bruise, according to CSN’s Tim Panaccio.
Despite the injury, MacDonald stayed in the game. In fact, after taking the hit and going down, he still forced himself to get up and help clear the puck. The 31-year-old blueliner had a dominant performance against the Oilers, as he recorded three shots on goal, six blocked shots and played the second-most minutes on the team at 22:03.
No corresponding moves have been made, although its possible the Flyers will promote defenseman Samuel Morin, who made the team out of training camp, but was a healthy scratch for four games before he was sent down to Lehigh Valley. In five games with the AHL team, he has put up a goal, three assists, 10 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +3.
- While the Vegas Golden Knights await the injury status of goaltender Malcolm Subban, Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp tweets out that Erik Haula, who was put on injured reserve eight days ago, practiced with the team today and told Carp he is ready to return to the team, but wouldn’t say when. David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweets that Jon Marchessault, who was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 15, also says he is ready to return to the Golden Knights lineup and said he expects to be activated for Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks after practicing today. The team may reverse their transactions from last week and send Vadim Shipachyov and Alex Tuch back to the AHL. Both Shipachyov and Tuch tallied no points and neither had any shots on goal in Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Shipachyov received only 10:22 of ice time, while Tuch had 8:49.
- Kent Wilson of The Athletic (subscription required) answers mailbag questions about Calgary Flames center Sam Bennett, who has zero points after eight games. Wilson writes the lack of offense would be acceptable if he was impacting the game in other ways, but that isn’t the case. Bennett, whose first full season showed a lot of promise two years ago when he finished with 18 goals and 18 assists, took a step down last year when he only had 13 goals and 13 assists. Now his numbers look even more bleak. Wilson suggests the team move the 2014 fourth-overall pick to the wing in hopes of helping the 21-year-old’s success and promoting Mark Jankowski, who is tearing up the AHL right now with five goals and four assists in six games.
Sanheim's Play Still Up And Down
- Kurt Rohrbeck of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that for the second straight game, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim is getting minutes equal to that of a top-four defenseman. Rohrbeck writes that Sanheim’s performance was a mixed bag. Sanheim, who sat out as a healthy scratch often in the first few games of the season, often struggled in the defensive zone, as the scribe points to a moment in the first period in which he allowed Edmonton’s Brad Malone to steal the puck from him and almost score. However, the scribe writes the 21-year-old made up for those rookie mistakes by showing quite a bit of offensive skill, getting off two legitimate shots that could have been scoring chances.
Weal, Leier Listed As Day-To-Day
- Flyers forward Jordan Weal missed his second straight game today due to an upper-body injury. GM Ron Hextall told reporters, including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) that he is listed as day-to-day. Weal is off to a strong start in his first full NHL season with a goal and three assists through six games. Also listed as day-to-day is winger Taylor Leier who is dealing with an upper-body issue of his own.
Philadelphia Flyers Recall Matt Read
Matt Read is back with the Philadelphia Flyers after his short stint in the minor leagues, as the team recalled him from Lehigh Valley today. Read had cleared waivers just before the start of the season, after finding himself on the outside looking in on a roster that decided to go young this year.
Since debuting in 2011, Read has played 418 games for the Flyers but has generally been met with ire from the fanbase. The 31-year old forward has 186 points during that time, but never was really able to fulfill the potential he showed in a 24-goal rookie campaign. Despite ample powerplay time, Read’s numbers slowly decreased to where he only scored 19 points last season in 63 games. His four-year, $14.5MM extension signed in the fall of 2013 comes to an end this season.
Hopefully for Flyers fans, the fact that he’s in a contract year will provide Read with a little more tenacity as he looks to secure his NHL future. In five games in the minor leagues he scored just one point, but he’ll look to improve on that if given the chance with the Flyers. The team is currently carrying 14 forwards.
Metropolitan Notes: Tavares, Voracek, Bowey
If the New York Islanders’ waiting game with John Tavares didn’t have any more drama, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that the critical deadline in the team’s quest to get state approval for a state-of-the-art arena at Belmont Park is a more than four months away, which will likely come near the NHL trade deadline. Tavares, who has made it clear that he wants to wait for certainty of a long-term home in New York, might not have an answer when he must make a decision.
In fact, Brooks writes that no one he has talked to has any idea if an answer will come before the deadline, let alone before free agency begins on July 1. The approval process has multiple bidders and may need more time than normal estimates. Regardless, owners and even Tavares would probably be more than willing to wait until July 1 to wait for the state’s decision. However, Brooks writes that it’s the trade deadline that will cause the real problem. With likely no idea of whether they will get the state’s approval before the trade deadline, it’s quite possible the Islanders will have to make a decision whether to hope for the best and wait it out with Tavares (with the possibility of losing him for nothing) or trade him before the trade deadline, which could present quite a haul if Tavares plays well this year.
Brooks writes the team might be able to get quality assets from teams that Tavares might be willing to sign with, such as the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs or the Tampa Bay Lightning.
- Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Philadelphia Flyers wing Jakub Voracek is starting to take his game to a new level this year. After what many referred to as a poor preseason, the 28-year-old veteran has played great and while he hasn’t scored a goal, he has put up nine assists in five games so far and is emphasizing unselfish play. Voracek, always a solid playmaker, had 20 goals and 41 assists last year.
- Troy Machir of NBC Sports writes that Madison Bowey NHL debut isn’t going to be a memorable one for the rookie defenseman after the team lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 8-2. Called up to replaced the injured Matt Niskanen who is likely to be out until early November with an upper body injury, Bowey struggled, making several miscues in his 14:55 of ice time. He finished with a plus/minus of -3 and, according to Machir, didn’t look ready for the big-league club.
Morin Breakdown Suggests He's Not Ready
- The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor breaks down (subscription required), why Philadelphia Flyers rookie Samuel Morin was sent down to Lehigh Valley. Many people were upset that Morin was sent down, because they feel he is NHL-ready now. The scribe breaks down some of the criteria of whether he belongs in the NHL, pointing out that he is physically ready for the NHL at 6-foot-6, 202 pounds and he has had success in the AHL so far with two solid seasons there. He then looks whether Morin showed off enough skill in training camp to deserve a spot before finally analyzing whether he is better than another defenseman on the roster, which is where O’Connor points out the problem. He writes that while Morin is right there, he didn’t prove to be better than the other two rookies in Robert Hagg and Travis Sanheim and is not ready to beat out veterans like Radko Gudas or Andrew MacDonald.
Philadelphia Flyers Send Samuel Morin To AHL
The Philadelphia Flyers have decided that it’s not quite time for Samuel Morin in the NHL. The team loaned the young defenseman to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms today in a move that will allow him to get back into game action. In the first four games of the Flyers’ season, Morin has been a healthy scratch.
Morin made his NHL debut last season, playing in just a single game in March. He showed then what Flyers’ fans had hoped to see, and flashed that same impressive potential in the preseason again this year. The 6’6″ defender has immense upside, able to shut down attackers and provide capable outlet passes. Still, he’ll have to put his head down and keep working in the AHL until his chance comes.
The Flyers are already icing three young defensemen, as Ivan Provorov (20), Travis Sanheim (21) and Robert Hagg (22) all suited up in their most recent game. While Brandon Manning will likely work his way back in at some point, the team clearly didn’t want to add another rookie to the mix. Morin, apparently the odd man out, could be the first call-up should the Flyers face an injury at some point.
With the move, the team is down to 22 players on the roster meaning they could make a corresponding move before Saturday night’s matchup with the Washington Capitals. It even technically could be Morin, as the Phantoms play once before the weekend (Friday versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton). Perhaps they just wanted to get him into a game and keep his legs fresh.
Snapshots: Matheson, Harpur, Three Stars
Michael Matheson might not be the definition of a household name, but the Florida Panthers clearly understand what he can bring to the table. The team inked him to an eight-year extension yesterday, which was officially announced earlier today. Panthers’ GM Dale Tallon was complimentary of the young defenseman, and how he went about the negotiating process.
He’s going to skate, carry the puck and log a lot of minutes for us for a long time. The fact that he wanted to be a Panther for life, for us, was really impressive.
Matheson is an elite skater, but hasn’t yet take the next step to being an offensive force for the Panthers. They’ll hope he can find that next level after registering 17 points last season. The 23-year old will see his eight-year, $39MM contract ($4.88MM AAV) kick in next year.
- Ottawa Senators defenseman Ben Harpur has been placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. The Senators have nine defensemen on the roster after the call-up of Thomas Chabot, but both Erik Karlsson and Johnny Oduya are still not locks to get back into the lineup. The team may have to go with seven defensemen anyway in their next game, as they look to rebound from consecutive shootout losses to open the season.
- The NHL released its first “Three Stars of the Week” for the 2017-18 season, and who else but Alex Ovechkin could be number one. Ovechkin scored an incredible seven goals in his first two games, almost as a direct response to all those who doubted his place on the Capitals going forward. After so much was written about how the Capitals may have to break up their core in order to win, Ovechkin came storming out of the gate and helped the club to two wins to start the season. Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, and Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds were the second and third stars respectively.
Anaheim Ducks Trade Dustin Tokarski To Philadelphia Flyers
The Anaheim Ducks have made a minor trade, sending goaltender Dustin Tokarski to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for future considerations. Tokarski will report directly to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, while the Phantoms have traded Leland Irving back to the San Diego Gulls (Anaheim’s affiliate).
Tokarski was once a promising goaltending prospect, but has fallen on tough times in recent seasons and had dropped down the Anaheim depth chart. He’ll look to get his career back on track in Philadelphia, though at 28 it’s hard to see him ever becoming an impact starter in the league.
Selected in the fifth round of the 2008 draft by Tampa Bay, Tokarski immediately put up an extremely impressive final year of junior hockey before jumping to the professional ranks in 2009. Impressing once again for Tampa’s AHL affiliate, he would get a chance to debut in the NHL that season. That scorching progression would slow in the coming years, as Tokarski has only played in 34 games at the NHL level for his career.
Perhaps in the most well-known moment of his career, Tokarski suited up for the Montreal Canadiens in the 2014 playoffs when Carey Price went out with an injury in the Eastern Conference finals. After backup Peter Budaj faltered in relief the team went to Tokarski and he actually put up a solid performance even in an ultimately losing effort. Since that .916 save percentage in a short playoff run, he hasn’t been quite the same goaltender, struggling even at the AHL level. Last year, he recorded an .898 mark in 27 games with the Gulls.
Irving on the other hand is a former first-round pick who has bounced around all over the world. Since being selected by the Calgary Flames in 2006, Irving has played in the WHL, ECHL, AHL, NHL, KHL and Finnish Liiga, never sticking for too long in one spot. Though he has always shown some impressive reflexes and skill, he’s never been consistent enough to warrant a real look at the highest level. In 13 career NHL games (the last of which came in 2013) Irving has a .902 save percentage.
Sanheim Likely To Stay
- Sam Cardichi of Philly.com writes that Philadelphia Flyers’ Travis Sanheim will likely stick with the Flyers for the time being after a bounce-back game against the Anaheim Ducks. Unfortunately, that means that 22-year-old defenseman Samuel Morin will likely be sent down to Lehigh Valley soon, despite a strong preseason and receiving three healthy scratches in the team’s first three games.