Ducks Receiving Strong Interest In Adam Henrique
Now less than two months before the trade deadline, teams are starting to get a sense of what might be out there on the trade front. Early indications are that it’ll likely to be a relatively thin center trade market on the trade front. Between that and his strong track record, the Ducks are receiving a lot of trade interest in middleman Adam Henrique, reports ESPN’s Kevin Weekes (Twitter link).
The 33-year-old has been a consistent second-line center for the past decade, reaching the 20-goal mark six times, the most recent of which was last season. He’s on pace to come close to that this year with 12 goals and 14 assists in 44 games; his 26 points rank fourth on Anaheim.
Of course, Henrique is also known for his two-way play as he has been a dependable matchup center and penalty killer for most of his career, a trend that has continued this season. He’s averaging nearly three minutes a night shorthanded and is over the 50% mark at the faceoff dot for the sixth straight year.
With an ability to play up and down the lineup, it comes as little surprise that the interest in Henrique has been strong. He’d slot in nicely on the third line on several contenders and could fit on the second line on a team that’s a bit more balanced while also giving a big boost on the penalty killing side. Players with the ability to do that are often coveted for the stretch run.
However, it must be noted that Henrique is on the pricey side from a salary cap perspective as his cap hit checks in at $5.825MM, an amount that matches his salary this season. While Anaheim can hold back half of that to help facilitate a trade, that would only pay down the pro-rated cap charge to $2.9125MM, an amount that would be difficult for some cap-strapped teams to take on. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Ducks get asked to take a player back to help offset the rest of the cost or to try to get a third team involved to hold back another chunk of Henrique’s contract. Either way, expect his name to be in the rumor mill for the foreseeable future as he’s a strong bet to be moved by the March 8th deadline.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Injury Notes: Jarry, Cozens, Timmins
Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry left their game last night against the Anaheim Ducks after being bumped in the back of the head by Adam Henrique and then having his mask dislodged. This was just the beginning for Jarry as he was then struck in his unprotected face by a Ryan Strome shot. NHL officials quickly signalled to the Penguins bench and Jarry was rushed off the ice and did not return.
Up to that point, Jarry had been solid for the Penguins making 21 consecutive stops to preserve a 1-0 Penguins lead late into the second period. With Jarry sidelined, the Penguins’ turned to their third-string netminder Magnus Hellberg who made 11 straight saves to maintain the rare two-goalie shutout.
No updates have been given yet on Jarry, but Yohe did report that he was present in the Penguins’ dressing room after the game, which is certainly an encouraging sign. Jarry has struggled to start the year after signing a massive five-year contract extension this summer that was heavily criticized for being too long and too expensive. The Penguins are already without backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic until later this month and can ill afford to lose Jarry for any length of time.
In other injury notes:
- Times Herald Reporter Bill Hoppe is reporting that Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens is back at practice today sporting a full-face shield as he makes his return to the ice after missing two games with an upper-body injury. No specifics have been given about Cozens injury but given that he is sporting face protection and a large bandage on his nose, it would appear to be an injury to that region. Cozens was engaged in a fight with Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway back on November 3rd, a game the Sabres lost 5-1, and acknowledged that this incident was the cause of the ailment. Cozens has three goals and four assists in 11 games thus far this season.
- David Alter of The Hockey News is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins is unlikely to get back into the lineup for at least a couple of weeks. Alter spoke with Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe after Timmins practiced with the team this morning, Keefe told the reporter that Timmins will travel with the team to Sweden next week but is unlikely to play. However, the plan is to have him ramp up in practice and he could re-join the lineup after they return from the extended road trip. Timmins has been on LTIR since the beginning of the season after suffering a lower-body injury and has yet to play a game.
Anaheim Ducks Activate Adam Henrique from IR
The Anaheim Ducks announced today that they have activated centre Adam Henrique from the IR. Henrique has been sidelined with a sprained MCL since February 21. He has been effective this season for the lowly Ducks scoring 19 goals and 14 assists in 57 games.
The 33-year-old appeared on a lot of trade bait boards prior to the NHL’s trade deadline but was effectively removed from it when he went down to injury. He will likely remain a trade target for a lot of teams this summer as he enters the final year of his contract with Anaheim. Henrique is set to count $5.825MM against the cap and has a modified no trade clause. With the Ducks in the middle of a long rebuild Henrique would likely welcome a move to a contender.
It’s been a long road for Anaheim, they haven’t made the playoffs since they lost in the first round in 2018 and are currently in the running for the first overall pick, with the chance to draft Connor Bedard. Anaheim is tied for last place in the league with the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets. The Ducks do have some intriguing young pieces in place and some solid veterans that can be moved for additional draft capital and prospects. Henrique is likely to be at the top of the list of pieces the Ducks would like to move.
Ducks Notes: Henrique, Stolarz, Nesterenko
Ducks center Adam Henrique was originally designated as out week-to-week but Eric Stephens of The Athletic clarifies (Twitter link) that the actual timeline for him to recover from his sprained MCL is five-to-six weeks. Accordingly, it’s possible that the 33-year-old is able to return late in the season. Henrique has 19 goals and 14 assists in 57 games in 2022-23 and Stephens notes that there was some legitimate interest in him at the trade deadline although the injury certainly cooled that off. He’ll be featured in plenty of trade speculation again next season when he’ll be in the final year of his contract, one that carries an AAV of $5.825MM.
More from Anaheim:
- Goaltender Anthony Stolarz was initially listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury but Stephens reports (subscription link) that the veteran is actually out for the rest of the season. That took away any chance that the Ducks had of moving him before yesterday’s trade deadline. Stolarz will hit the market this summer coming off what was a disappointing year that saw him put up a 3.73 GAA with a .897 SV% in 19 games. Lukas Dostal, the presumptive backup next season to John Gibson, should get an opportunity for more regular playing time down the stretch.
- While new prospect Nikita Nesterenko has one more year of college eligibility remaining, don’t expect him to use it. Speaking on a team podcast following the trade deadline (audio link), GM Pat Verbeek indicated that the plan is to sign the 21-year-old to an ATO agreement to allow him to play in the minors after his season at Boston College comes to an end and will work on an NHL contract from there. Nesterenko is eligible to opt for free agency this summer since it has been four years since he was drafted. He has 30 points in 33 games with Boston College this season.
Anaheim Ducks Activate Troy Terry
The Anaheim Ducks have swapped some forwards, activating Troy Terry from injured reserve and moving Adam Henrique to take his place. Justin Kirkland, who cleared waivers earlier today, has also been loaned to the AHL.
Terry, 25, played just three shifts in his first game back after the All-Star break before going down to injury, meaning he hasn’t finished a full NHL game yet in February. The talented forward can now return to continue another strong season, with 42 points in 51 games.
More concerning for the Ducks is the status of Henrique, who has been ruled out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. He was one of Anaheim’s trade chips heading into the deadline, as even with another year on his contract, his experience and versatility was drawing interest from several clubs.
Now, with some uncertainty around his health, it’s hard for contenders to jump into a Henrique if he costs a prime asset. The 33-year-old carries a cap hit of $5.825MM through 2023-24, and isn’t producing at quite the same rate as last season. Still, with 19 goals in 57 games, a decade of experience at center, and strong two-way tendencies, perhaps someone will welcome the risk at an injury-reduced price.
Injured on Tuesday, he technically could be activated to play in the Ducks’ final game before the deadline if he is healthy enough to get back on the ice.
Injury Updates: Klingberg, Henrique, Blackwood, Ekman-Larsson, Armia, Mantha
The Anaheim Ducks have announced that defenseman John Klingberg is out with a lower-body injury. There was no word on whether his status was considered day-to-day or something longer, though the team noted that Nathan Beaulieu would be drawing into the lineup in Klingberg’s place. While this development won’t have any impact on the Ducks’ long-gone playoff hopes, it could have an impact on the trade deadline. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes that this is not an instance of a team holding a player out of the lineup for trade-related reasons, as we have seen teams do with other blueliners such as Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov.
While Klingberg, 30, has had a nightmarish season in Anaheim (22 points in 48 games, down in scoring pace from 47 in 74 last season) he’s still a well-regarded offensive defenseman. Just last summer he earned a $7MM one-year deal, and it’s likely that there would be teams interested in acquiring him at the deadline. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta links Klingberg with the Edmonton Oilers’ search for defensive help at the deadline, and it’s likely that there would be more than just Edmonton looking to add him to their team. Assuming that’s the case, interested teams will likely want to monitor his health status closely due to this news. In addition to Klingberg, the Ducks also announced that Adam Henrique would be leaving the game with an injury, which could be another injury development with trade deadline implications.
- New Jersey Devils netminder Mackenzie Blackwood is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, reports NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Starter Vitek Vanecek will retain the lion’s share of Devils starts in Blackwood’s absence. Blackwood will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer and will hope to get this injury behind him and improve on his current .900 save percentage in order to put himself in the best position possible for summer contract negotiations.
- The Vancouver Canucks have announced that defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been placed on injured reserve. It was previously reported that Ekman-Larsson would miss several weeks with an ankle injury, and now the Canucks have made that reality official on their roster, as they’ve placed Ekman-Larsson on the injured list. With him out, the Canucks are turning to Riley Stillman and Christian Wolanin on the left side of their defense, and will now have an extra spot on the 23-man roster to work with.
- The Montreal Canadiens have announced that forward Joel Armia has left tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils. He left the bench relatively early in the first period, and at the moment it’s unclear the exact nature of what knocked him out of the game. Armia has had a difficult season, with just eleven points in 31 games. He’s had games where he’s looked quite good, but those games have been met with far longer stretches where he’s faded into the background of games. With the Canadiens already ravaged by injuries, they’ll have to hope that this new injury is a relatively minor one.
- The Washington Capitals have announced that forward Anthony Mantha has an upper-body injury, and will not return to tonight’s game. It’s been a rough season for Mantha and a difficult adjustment in Washington overall. Mantha has scored nine goals and 24 points in 53 games this season and is being outscored by two of the team’s bargain-bin veteran signings, Erik Gustafsson and Marcus Johansson. Hopefully, this injury proves to be just a minor setback so Matha can quickly return to the ice and work towards ending his season on the right foot.
Anaheim Ducks Reassign Pavol Regenda
December 5: After nearly a month-long call-up, Regenda is headed back down to the minors. The Slovak product played in nine games during the call-up, registering a goal, a -1 rating, and 10:42 of ice time per game.
November 9: The Anaheim Ducks have brought winger Pavol Regenda back up from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on an emergency basis, according to CapFriendly. The move comes ahead of the Ducks’ home game tonight against the Minnesota Wild.
The transaction was necessitated by forward Adam Henrique‘s late scratch from the lineup today. He’ll be away from the team on a short-term personal leave as he and his wife await the birth of their first baby. With Derek Grant also out of the lineup with an upper-body injury on a day-to-day basis, the team was down to 11 available forwards on the active roster.
Regenda, 22, was an undrafted free agent signing this summer who impressed and made the Ducks out of training camp. In his first five games with the team, he registered two assists prior to being sent down to the Gulls last week.
Over the past week in the AHL, he showed just why he made the team out of camp, registering two goals and two assists in four games. With a strong performance on this emergency recall, he could convince the Ducks to have him stay in the NHL full-time. His waiver-exempt status muddies that likelihood somewhat, though, as every other candidate for the Ducks to send down to San Diego would require waivers.
Injury Notes: Stars, Ducks, Golden Knights, Devils
Dallas Stars digital manager Kyle Shohara reports from team practice that defenseman John Klingberg and center Radek Faksa took the ice today after missing time with an upper-body injury and non-COVID-related illness, respectively. Klingberg missed the team’s last game, a 5-1 win against the New Jersey Devils, while Faksa missed that game and the night prior against the Philadelphia Flyers. Both would be huge returns to the Stars lineup, especially Klingberg. With the Swedish defenseman reportedly requesting a trade out of Dallas, every game (and every good play) matters for Dallas to recoup as much value as possible if a trade occurs.
A busy night in the NHL yields more injury news:
- The Anaheim Ducks get two key contributors back tonight versus Montreal, activating center Adam Henrique from injured reserve and defenseman Josh Manson from COVID-19 protocol. Both return to prominent roles in the lineup, with Henrique’s 16 points in 24 games likely to help boost a stagnating Ducks offense as of late. To make room on the active roster, the team reassigned defensemen Jacob Larsson and Greg Pateryn to the taxi squad and Brendan Guhle to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.
- Two gigantic contributors are returning to the Vegas Golden Knights lineup, as wingers Max Pacioretty and Reilly Smith make their returns tonight, per the Las Vegas Sun’s Justin Emerson. Pacioretty’s rarely been healthy this year, but when he has, he’s scored at a torrid pace, netting 12 goals and 21 points in 16 games. Smith, coming off COVID protocol, has a respectable 29 points in 41 games.
- The New Jersey Devils got some good news with defenseman Ty Smith coming off injured reserve today, but he’s been replaced on the list by center Michael McLeod. Despite Smith’s strong rookie campaign last season, he’s having a serious sophomore slump with poor defensive numbers and just 10 points in 33 games to show for it. Hopefully, a reset can help jumpstart an improvement in play for the 21-year-old. The Devils will miss McLeod and his 11 points and 41 games in a depth role.
Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Henrique, Pitlick, Oilers, Brisebois
The Golden Knights could be down several key regulars for tomorrow game against Los Angeles. Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that wingers Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone along with goaltender Robin Lehner all missed practice today due to what’s being termed as bumps and bruises and are all listed as game-time decisions for tomorrow. Pacioretty sits second on Vegas in goals despite missing more than half the season while Stone joins Pacioretty in being the only Golden Knights averaging more than a point per game so far. Lehner missed last Tuesday’s contest with an undisclosed issue so his injury has lingered for a little bit. Vegas will, however, have defenceman Nicolas Hague back after missing last Tuesday’s game.
More from the Pacific Division:
- While the Ducks were hoping at one point that Adam Henrique could return before the holiday break, the center hasn’t yet resumed skating, relays Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). The veteran suffered a lower-body injury three weeks ago, derailing what had been a strong start to his season with 16 points in 24 games.
- It was almost a full group of players for the Flames at practice today as all of their players that were in COVID protocol have returned. However, Sportsnet’s Eric Francis notes that winger Tyler Pitlick cleared protocol but is dealing with an undisclosed injury that kept him off the ice today. The 30-year-old has two assists in 21 games in his first season with Calgary after being acquired from Seattle following their expansion draft.
- The Oilers could be getting some help on the injury front soon as Postmedia’s Jim Matheson mentions that goaltender Mike Smith is likely to go on their upcoming three-game road trip. The 40-year-old has missed more than two months with a lower-body injury and would be a welcome addition to a goalie group that has had some ups and downs in the first two months of the season. Meanwhile, defenseman Duncan Keith is expected to practice and could return on Wednesday against St. Louis. He has missed a little more than a month due to a back injury.
- The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Guillaume Brisebois has been placed on injured reserve. The placement is effective as of today which means he’ll miss at least the next 10 days. The 24-year-old made his NHL season debut back on December 16th but also has suited up in six games for AHL Abbotsford.
West Notes: Canucks, Coyotes Injuries, Ducks
Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini and interim GM Stan Smyl held a press conference today following the sweeping changes that were made late Sunday. Aquilini told reporters, including Thomas Drance of The Athletic (Twitter link) that there is no timeline to try to find a replacement and that they will conduct “a thorough and exhaustive search” to find the right candidate. It’s a similar line to what Chicago and Anaheim have used following their vacancies being created and it would suggest that Vancouver may wait until the offseason when they’re able to speak to candidates currently employed with other teams.
Meanwhile, earlier today, Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reported (Twitter link) that former Montreal GM Marc Bergevin is someone the Canucks are very interested in. When asked about that, Aquilini acknowledged (via Drance) that he hasn’t approached Bergevin about whether or not he’d be interested in the position.
More from the Western Conference:
- The Coyotes should be getting some help on the injury front soon. PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports (Twitter link) that centers Nick Schmaltz (upper body) and Jay Beagle (lower body) could return from their respective injuries this weekend while center Johan Larsson (lower body) is a couple of weeks away after being re-injured on Friday. Meanwhile, goaltender Carter Hutton has cleared COVID protocol but isn’t yet fully recovered from his ankle injury; with Karel Vejmelka and Scott Wedgewood providing decent goaltending in his absence, they’re in a spot where they can afford to be cautious in bringing him back.
- Ducks centers Adam Henrique and Ryan Getzlaf could rejoin the team at some point on their five-game road trip, relays Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register. The veterans are having strong bounce-back seasons; Henrique is only five points shy of his total from 2020-21 while Getzlaf has already surpassed his total from last season and sits second in team scoring. Both are dealing with lower-body injuries.