Pacific Notes: Vlasic, Kuemper, Hill, Vegas
With the Sharks missing the playoffs the last couple of years, it’s fair to wonder if some of the veterans may be hoping for a change of scenery. Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic was among those asked about that today and he told reporters, including Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, that he has no intention of going anywhere:
I’m here to the end. I’ve signed here for 20 years; I’m going to be here for 20 years. I would’ve signed somewhere else if I didn’t want to be here. I want to win in San Jose.
20 years isn’t an exaggeration either. The 34-year-old just wrapped up his 15th NHL season and still has five years left on his deal with a $7MM AAV. Between that and a no-move clause that Vlasic acknowledged today he didn’t even know he had until recently, it’s safe to say he’ll be in a Sharks uniform for a while yet.
More from the Pacific Division:
- Coyotes goaltenders Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill will be Canada’s tandem for the upcoming World Championships, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link). This will be Kuemper’s second time at the Worlds after playing in the 2018 event while Hill will be playing at the international level for the first time. It’s worth noting that Hill is a pending restricted free agent and several players have declined offers from their respective countries as a result of the nearing expiration of their contract.
- While meeting with the media to discuss the purchase of his expansion Indoor Football League franchise, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley told the media, including SinBin.Vegas (Twitter link) that a pair of veterans have concerning injuries. Defenseman Alec Martinez has been dealing with a lingering lower-body issue that he was finally unable to play through while winger Max Pacioretty’s upper-body injury is worse than the team initially thought. Martinez missed Monday’s game while Pacioretty has been out for a week with Vegas having to dress just 15 skaters on Monday due to salary cap constraints.
- Having played that game shorthanded, the Golden Knights have now been granted cap-exempt recalls. Their farm team in Henderson announced (Twitter link) that forward Dylan Sikura and defenseman Brayden Pachal have been recalled, suggesting they’ll be in the lineup for Vegas on Wednesday in San Jose. Sikura has been held off the scoresheet in five games this season while if Pachal plays, it will be his NHL debut.
Overseas Notes: Skelleftea, Khokhlachev, Langhamer
After falling in the SHL semifinals, Swedish powerhouse Skelleftea AIK is already moving forward with their plans for next season. The team has announced a list of players who will not be returning in 2021-22 and it includes some notable NHL names. Edmonton Oilers’ defenseman Philip Broberg, Detroit Red Wings’ forward Jonatan Berggren, and Carolina Hurricanes’ defenseman Roland McKeown are all among those who will not return to Skelleftea next year and all are expected to instead be in the NHL. Broberg, 19, has in fact already made the jump, as he was recalled by the Oilers earlier this week. The 2019 No. 8 overall pick has been in Skelleftea on loan for two years since being drafted, but the big two-way defenseman is ready for the next step in his career. Berggren appears to be prepared to make that leap as well. Detroit’s 2018 second-round pick was Skelleftea’s leading scorer this season, recording 45 points in 49 games. The 20-year-old skilled play-maker is one of a number of promising Red Wings prospects, but Berggren’s dominance at the pro level this year should give him a leg up in training camp battles. McKeown is the outlier of the group; the 25-year-old blue liner made his European debut this season on loan from the Hurricanes. The former top prospect out of the OHL had faded from relevance among the Hurricanes’ deep defensive group and wished to stay in Sweden this year rather than play yet again in the AHL. While McKeown may join Carolina as a depth option in the playoffs now that his SHL season is over, his days with the organization are numbered. Slated for Group 6 unrestricted free agency this summer, McKeown may not be back with Skelleftea but he certainly won’t be staying in Raleigh either. He will have other options on the open market to find a more clear path to NHL opportunity.
- Another prominent name in Europe who won’t be returning to his current team is Boston Bruins center Alexander Khokhlachev. The 27-year-old center was a key cog for Gagarin Cup champions Avangard Omsk this season, recording 34 points in 59 games as a top-six forward, but the team has nonetheless announced that Khokhlachev has decided to leave the club. This could very well mean that Khokhlachev is finally eyeing a return to North America after five years away, and the timing of the move is key. The Bruins’ rights to Khokhlachev finally expire on June 30th. While it’s not impossible that Khokhlachev could give the Bruins another shot under his old AHL head coach Bruce Cassidy, there are certainly better opportunities for an NHL role elsewhere if he instead waits to become a free agent this summer.
- One player who isn’t rushing back to his NHL rights holder is goaltender Marek Langhamer. Despite the possibility that the Arizona Coyotes could have some more opportunity in net next season with Antti Raanta headed for free agency, Adin Hill expected to be exposed in the Expansion Draft, and Darcy Kuemper still a hot name on the rumor mill, Langhamer won’t be involved. Even after two strong seasons in the KHL, Langhamer has decided to stay in Europe, signing a one-year-deal with the Liiga’s Illves. It’s unclear if Langhamer is averse to re-joining the ‘Yotes or just the NHL overall, but regardless he will see his rights expire on June 30th of next season and can then return to North America as a free agent if he chooses.
East Notes: Zibanejad, Islanders, Devils, Voracek, Marchand
The New York Rangers have been trending upwards as they look forward to the upcoming season. However, one troubling aspect of training camp is the fact that their team leader and MVP Mika Zibanejad has missed the entirety of training camp with no explanation for his absence (standard league policy).
However, The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello (subscription required) writes that Zibanejad did skate Saturday before the team’s practice, suggesting he might be close to returning to the team. Head coach David Quinn said that Zibanejad has “had a couple of good days.”
The 27-year-old center had a breakout season last year, scoring 41 goals in 57 games and will be looked upon to lead the team once again.
- The New York Islanders and general manager Lou Lamoriello signed Mathew Barzal to a three-year deal early Saturday, but there was hope that the two sides could agree to a six-year pact instead, according to The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required). The two sides were discussing a deal similar to the six-year, $9.25MM contract that Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen signed last year, but the Islanders could not make that work. The hope was the team could unload the contracts of Leo Komarov and/or Thomas Hickey to free up the necessary cap room, but no team was willing to take either contract.
- The New Jersey Devils could be looking the trade route to fill its backup goaltending spot on the roster after veteran Corey Crawford announced his retirement. The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required) writes that they might be looking towards the Arizona Coyotes, who have quite a bit of goaltending depth, including Adin Hill, who Arizona would have to pass through waivers to get on the taxi squad. That could give New Jersey a chance to trade for Antti Raanta, who is in the last year of his contract and is earning $4.25MM.
- Philadelphia Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault is completely focused on a long playoff run this season and has sent a message to veteran Jakub Voracek, who was moved off the first-team power play in practice and was told to step up, according to Philadelphia Enquirer’s Marcus Hayes. Voracek scored just 12 goals during the regular season, but especially struggled during the Flyers’ seven-game playoff series against the New York Islanders in which he had just one point. “I talked to Jake about this. I challenged him about this season. There’s a man who’s been in the league for a long time,” Vigneault said. “Basically, he’s won two playoff rounds.” Other young players are ready to take bigger roles on the team, including Oskar Lindblom, Nolan Patrick and Joel Farabee, which could put even more pressure on Voracek.
- Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, who is coming off sports hernia surgery, left practice early Sunday, according to Boston Globe’s Matt Porter. The 32-year-old was given a four-month recovery window in September, but Marchand returned early from that prognosis. While there is no word on why he left practice early, head coach Bruce Cassidy said he was getting treatment and doesn’t believe the injury is serious. He is a game-time decision for Monday’s scrimmage.
Trade Rumors: Kuemper, Laine, Penguins
There are many factors that have contributed to Darcy Kuemper being one of the most talked-about names on the rumor mill over the last couple of months. The first and most important is simply that the Arizona Coyotes must shed salary this off-season. The team is arguably in the worst salary cap situation of any NHL club, lacking any room to maneuver under the cap ceiling but with several restricted free agents and superstar trade acquisition Taylor Hall in need of new contracts. One area where they can trim the fat is in net, where Kuemper and Antti Raanta combine for $8.75MM against the cap and Adin Hill is also signed to a one-way contract and will need to clear waivers this season. Of the three, not only does Kuemper carry the highest cap hit, he is also undoubtedly the most valuable on the trade market. The 30-year-old was one of the best goalies in the NHL this season and is signed for two more years at a bargain relative to his performance. While this is seemingly a perfect storm of reasons why Kuemper should be dealt, new GM Bill Armstrong won’t let him go that easy. AZ Sports’ Craig Morgan reports that after Armstrong was hired last week, the asking price for Kuemper went up. An offer must now surpass the value of just one first-round pick in order to pry the talented netminder out of Arizona. If they are not satisfied, the Coyotes will not trade Kuemper. Although his trade value is depleted after a pair of injury-plagued seasons, the team could get nearly as much cap savings from moving Raanta, whose contract expires after this season. While Kuemper is the morename, don’t be surprised to see Raanta move instead barring a top-notch offer.
- Patrik Laine is another one of the hot names on the rumor mill right now, with reports that the Winnipeg Jets are “serious” about moving the young scoring forward. However, Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe doused those flames somewhat by stating that the Jets’ priority is still to re-sign Laine. It would be difficult for the team to get fair value for Laine and although they have more pressing needs than winger elsewhere on the roster, they could very well be better off holding on to the 22-year-old. A restricted free agent after next season, Laine will command a substantial salary that Winnipeg may find difficult to afford. Yet, Wiebe believes that current trade talks may be overblown so long as the two sides are still amenable to an extension, believing a trade to be more likely next summer – if a deal cannot be reached – rather than pulling the trigger early this off-season. Unless the Jets get exactly what they ask for in exchange for Laine, they have time before they need to get too serious about a trade.
- The most active team on the trade market so far has been the Pittsburgh Penguins, but things may begin to slow down for GM Jim Rutherford and his club. In a radio interview on Friday, Rutherford stated that his recent acquisition of defensemen Michael Matheson is not a precursor to another major trade regarding his top defensemen. Although there is a considerable logjam on the left side of the Pittsburgh blue line, top-four lefties Brian Dumoulin and Marcus Pettersson will not be traded. Matheson is expected to play on the left side of the team’s third pair, forcing Jack Johnson and Juuso Riikola to compete for a starting job on their off-side with righty Chad Ruhwedel. Matheson’s acquisition has also squashed the Penguins’ interest in free agent defenseman Chris Tanev and others, as Rutherford added that he does not anticipate adding to his defense corps on the open market.
Adin Hill Signs With Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes have reached an agreement with one of their organizational goalies, signing Adin Hill to a one-year, one-way contract. The financial details were not released by the team, but Pierre Lebrun of The Athletic quickly reported the contract is worth $800K. Hill was scheduled to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, but will now kick the free agency can down the road a year.
Hill, 24, appeared to be the goalie of the future at one point for the Coyotes when they used the 76th overall pick in 2015 to select him out of the WHL. As the team moved to Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper, both All-Star options, Hill has been somewhat pushed onto the back burner, but he still represents an interesting option for the Coyotes.
In fact, with Raanta entering his final season under contract and Kuemper down to just two years left on his deal, there has been near-constant rumors swirling that the Coyotes will look to move one of them this offseason. That would save money for a team in turmoil, while also providing Hill with an opportunity to show what he can do at the NHL level once again.
Every time he’s been asked, he’s responded to this point. In 30 NHL appearances, Hill has a .907 save percentage but showed he had taken a step forward this season when he posted a .918 in 13 games while the team dealt with injuries to their regular starters. He played his best hockey at the minor league level as well, posting a 15-5 record in 20 games with the Tucson Roadrunners.
As with any goaltending signing these days, the upcoming expansion draft also may play a role. The Coyotes can only protect one goaltender from selection in the 2021 Seattle Kraken draft, but also need to leave at least one that is signed through 2021-22 unprotected. Kuemper is the only goaltender who currently fills that requirement, while Hill may be the better option to protect anyway if they believe he can be a long-term option in the NHL.
At $800K, he certainly represents an inexpensive option if they do move one of their two other goaltenders this offseason.
West Notes: Tarasenko, Canucks UFAs, Coyotes Black Aces
Many may have forgotten already, but when the NHL 24-team tournament hits the ice later this summer, the St. Louis Blues would be doing everything it can to defend their Stanley Cup title and try to win a second straight. That might have been somewhat more challenging for the Blues who played much of the season without star scorer Vladimir Tarasenko who underwent shoulder surgery on Oct. 29.
While he was close to coming back before the NHL season was suspended from COVID-19, there was no guarantee how ready Tarasenko would be for the upcoming playoffs. However, with the delay of the playoffs due to the pandemic, Tarasenko should be more than ready to help the Blues this summer, according to head coach Craig Berube on The Athletic’s We Went Blues podcast with Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required).
“He’s good,” said Berube. “Before we stopped, he was ready to come back the next week and play, so, he did a great job of getting himself back. He did a great job with his rehab, along with the training staff, and he kept himself in great shape. He actually came back in better shape than he came to camp (in September) … He’s been on the ice and doing things right now, so he’s ready to go.”
A healthy Tarasenko would be a huge boost to the team’s playoff chances. The team was faring quite well without him though as they have the second-best record in the league and sit at the top of the Western Conference with a 42-29-10 record. The 28-year-old Tarasenko appeared in just 10 games before being injured, posting three goals and 10 points. He was given a five month timetable, which should make him more than prepared to take on a major role whenever play resumes.
- TSN’s Rick Dhaliwal writes that if the Vancouver Canucks want to sign all of their top three unrestricted free agents in Jacob Markstrom, Tyler Toffoli and Chris Tanev, the team will likely have to make some roster moves and send off some of their more expensive contracts (with sweeteners) to free up some cap space. The team is currently right up against the cap and with no other major contracts freeing up in the offseason, the team will have to move someone out. One option would be to find a trade partner for forward Loui Eriksson, who still has two more years at $6MM AAV. A compliance buyout is a possibility that could solve that problem if they become available, but otherwise the Canucks would have to find a taker willing to move some of its cap room to take on Eriksson, who scored just six goals and 13 points in 49 games last season.
- Craig Morgan, formerly of The Athletic, reports a list of the Arizona Coyotes’ players who will be attending training camp as Black Aces. It was recently reported that the team will be bringing in their 2019 first-round pick Victor Soderstrom to serve as a Black Ace. He will be joined by forwards Brayden Burke, Hudson Fasching, Michael Chaput, defenseman Aaron Ness, Kyle Capobianco, Jordan Gross and goaltenders Adin Hill and Ivan Prosvetov.
Minor Transactions: 01/19/20
Following last night’s results, each of the top five teams in the Pacific Division are within one point of each other, top to bottom. The Vancouver Canucks stand alone in first place with 58 points, but with each of the following four teams sitting at 57. It is the first time since 1978 that the top five teams in an NHL division have all been separated by such a small margin after January 1. Of course, not all point totals are created equal; Vancouver and Edmonton have played just 49 games, while Calgary has 50 games played and Vegas and Arizona have 51. As such, the teams’ point percentages differ more than their total points, especially in the case of the Canucks versus the Knights and Coyotes. Nonetheless, it is still a tight division, and one that has been on the rise this season to now occupy both Western Conference wild card spots. The Central Division’s top three – St. Louis, Colorado, and Dallas – may all have better records than any team in the Pacific, but the rest of their division has been overtaken. The 57/58-point range at this point in the year is nothing to criticize either. There are currently eleven teams with 57 or 58 points, all of whom are in playoff positions or just outside. So while the likes of Washington, Boston, and St. Louis might make the high fifties look light, it is actually a great pace for a playoff hopeful. With such a tight postseason picture right now in both conferences, though specifically the Pacific Division, every game counts and every little move made impacts those games. Keep an eye on all of today’s transactions here, as you never know what minor move could shift a season:
- Many of “today’s” minor transactions occurred late last night, as 17 different teams are entering their bye week and many shuffled their young players to minors once their final game came to an end. The Ottawa Senators are one such example. The team reassigned young forwards Drake Batherson, Filip Chlapik, and Rudolfs Balcers to AHL Belleville following last night’s win.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs were in a similar boat, sending Adam Brooks and Tim Liljegren back to the AHL’s Marlies following last night’s game, which was also Liljegren’s NHL debut. Brooks has played in seven games with the Maple Leafs so far in his rookie season.
- The Arizona Coyotes also head on bye, and have demoted goalie Adin Hill, defenseman Kyle Capobianco, and forward Michael Chaput to the Tuscon Roadrunners. Hill has played a key role of late for the ‘Yotes, but the team hopes to have Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta at full strength on the other side of this time off.
- The St. Louis Blues made just one minor move before hitting their bye, assigning young defenseman Niko Mikkola to the San Antonio Rampage. Mikkola has looked good on the ice if not on the score sheet in five games with the Blues this season.
- Also making just a single demotion before the bye were the Dallas Stars, who sent forward Joel Kiviranta to AHL Texas. Kiviranta is still looking for his first NHL point after seeing limited ice time in seven NHL games and will benefit from an increased role in the minors for a while.
- Other bye week moves being reported by CapFriendly include the Los Angeles Kings sending forwards Matt Luff and Jaret Anderson-Dolan to the Ontario Reign, the San Jose Sharks shifting Joachim Blichfeld, Joel Kellman, and Antti Suomela to the AHL Barracuda locker room, and the Montreal Canadiens reassigning veteran Dale Weise to the Laval Rocket.
- This morning, the Buffalo Sabres announced their own flurry of moves, reassigning forwards Rasmus Asplund and Scott Wilson and defenseman Lawrence Pilut to the AHL’s Rochester Americans. While Pilut and Wilson have seen limited action, Asplund’s demotion is a bit surprising. Of every player sent down so far for their team’s bye week, none have played as many NHL games this season as Asplund’s 28. Yet, apparently the Sabres do not feel that he has earned the week off.
- The Chicago Blackhawks announced they have assigned forward Dylan Sikura to the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL. The 24-year-old had a more successful run with Chicago this year as he scored his first NHL goal and three points in nine games. He’ll continue to work on his game in Rockford where he has nine goals and 16 points in 22 games.
- The New Jersey Devils announced they have assigned three players to their AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Devils, including goaltender Cory Schneider and forwards Michael McLeod and Jesper Boqvist. It will be Boqvist’s first trip to the AHL as he made the New Jersey squad directly out of Sweden.
- The Edmonton Oilers announced they are sending injured defenseman Matt Benning to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL on a conditioning stint. The 25-year-old blueliner has been out with a head injury since Dec. 1. The team has been extra cautious with Benning as its his second head injury this season. With the Oilers off until Jan. 29, Benning’s best chance of getting game experience is with the Condors, who have four games coming up this week. Benning has appeared in just 24 games this season, averaging just 13:42 of ice time.
Darcy Kuemper Out Week-To-Week
4:08pm: Craig Morgan of The Athletic reports that Kuemper’s injury may keep him out until the All-Star break at the end of January.
1:30pm: The Arizona Coyotes have relied on their incredible goaltending this season to get them to first place in the Pacific Division, but they’ll have to show they can do more than just keep the puck out of their own net now. Darcy Kuemper, one of the Vezina Trophy favorites at this point, has suffered a lower-body injury and will be out on a week-to-week basis.
Kuemper, 29, trails only Ben Bishop among starting goaltenders with a .929 save percentage this season, one that dropped dramatically when he allowed seven goals on 32 shots last night. The Coyotes ended up losing the game 8-5, exactly the opposite of the type of score head coach Rick Tocchet has been chasing this season.
In his place the Coyotes have recalled Adin Hill from the minor leagues, but the starting job will now go back to Antti Raanta. Acquired from the New York Rangers in the summer of 2017, Raanta was brought to Arizona to be the starter. After an incredible debut season with the Coyotes, last year was lost almost completely to injury and Kuemper ended up staking his claim to the job.
Even with only 13 games played this season, Raanta has still been quite impressive. His own .919 save percentage is nothing to scoff at and he clearly has the ability to keep the Coyotes in the division title race. That said, Raanta hasn’t been able to stay healthy and will now be tested on a regular basis.
Minor Transactions: 10/5/19
The first Saturday in the regular season is a busy one with a total of 26 teams in action. Accordingly, there figures to be plenty of roster movement throughout the day. We’ll keep tabs on those moves here as well as other minor moves around the hockey world.
- The Blackhawks announced (Twitter link) that they have activated center John Quenneville off season-opening IR and assigned him to AHL Rockford. Chicago acquired the 2014 first-round pick from New Jersey back in June for John Hayden with the hopes that a change of scenery could help him take the next step in his development. The Chicago Blackhawks also announced they have returned defenseman Dennis Gilbert to the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL in a corresponding roster move. The 22-year-old defenseman was brought on the trip to Prague for the Global Series games and he played in Friday’s game against the Flyers. While he didn’t score any points in 14:57 of playing time, he did have four hits, a block and two shots on goal.
- As the injuries continue to pile up in Dallas, the Stars have recalled defenseman Joel Hanley and winger Joel L’Esperance, per a team release. Hanley got into 16 games with Dallas last season but was held off the scoresheet in all of them while L’Esperance had the top point-per-game rate with Texas while contributing a pair of goals in 18 NHL contests a year ago.
- While the Oilers were open to giving Anton Burdasov some AHL games to basically extend his tryout, the Russian winger had other ideas. SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL announced that they’ve signed the 28-year-old to a one-year contract. Burdasov had 19 goals and 114 PIMS last season with Salavat Yulaev and another good year could get him back on the NHL radar next summer.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced they have recalled goaltender Antti Raanta from the Tucson Roadrunners. The team’s starting netminder was allowed to go on a conditioning stint before the season started as the team has confidence in backup Darcy Kuemper, but have already decided that one AHL start was all that Raanta needed. He could get the call tonight against the Boston Bruins. Raanta has dealt with several injuries in the past two years and has missed quite a bit of time, but the team is hoping for an injury-free season this year. The Coyotes also returned goalie Adin Hill to Tucson to offset the Raanta move.
- The San Jose Sharks announced they have placed defenseman Jacob Middleton on long-term injured reserve with an undisclosed injury after leaving Friday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period. In a corresponding move, the Sharks have recalled defenseman Trevor Carrick from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL to replace him. The 24-year-old defenseman, who signed with the Sharks during the offseason, has only four games of NHL experience after playing the last five years with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL.
- The Anaheim Ducks announced they have recalled forward Isac Lundestrom from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. The team’s first-round pick from 2018 played 15 games last season, picking up two assists as the team burned the first year of his entry-level contract already. He dealt with injuries however, and only appeared in 12 games with the Gulls last season.
Injury Notes: Larsson, Prout, Raanta
The Edmonton Oilers have internal options to replace top defender Adam Larsson, who unfortunately suffered a major injury – a fractured fibula – in the very first game of the year. The team has recalled promising prospect Evan Bouchard and could also turn to another prospect in Caleb Jones or veteran Brandon Manning, who both remain with AHL Bakersfield. However, none of those three will be a seamless fit as Larsson’s stand-in and Edmonton will feel his absence even if the rest of their defense corps steps up. Facing a six-to-eight week prognosis, the Oilers may need to look elsewhere if they want to avoid a rocky start through the first two months of the season. TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the team is not necessarily looking for a trade already, but is not opposed to going outside the organization to try to replace Larsson. McKenzie opines that a similar defender, one who can log major minutes and play a shutdown role, is not exactly available though. The one name McKenzie mentions as an affordable acquisition is recently-waived veteran Thomas Hickey of the New York Islanders, but McKenzie doubts that Hickey could adequately fill the role left by Larsson and feels his three-year contract is not worth the gamble. It seems the team is most likely going to work with their current group for the time being, with Kris Russell the most likely candidate to move up to the first pair, and will wait to see if an addition is truly needed. Of course, if the Oilers decide to truly try to replace a player of Larsson’s ability via trade, Jesse Puljujarvi remains the organization’s biggest trade chip.
- Ahead of the San Jose Sharks’ season opener, it seemed that the final blue line spot was a decision between rookie Mario Ferraro and veteran Dalton Prout. However, both defenders ended up playing as Erik Karlsson missed the game for the birth of his child. The decision won’t be very difficult moving forward though. After missing the team’s morning skate, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz has confirmed that Prout is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury suffered in the opener. There is no timeline for his return, meaning Ferraro could have plenty of time to assert himself as a regular member on the San Jose blue line. Additionally, the team has recalled defenseman Jacob Middleton to add some more depth on the back end.
- It looked like Antti Raanta would be healthy to begin the season for the Arizona Coyotes, but the team opted not to rush him back, likely in light of how Darcy Kuemper played in his stead last season. Raanta began the season on a conditioning stint with AHL Tuscon, but it was unclear if he would actually see action or simply treat the experience like an extended training camp. Wonder no more, as beat writer Alexander Kinkopf reports that Raanta will actually get the call for the Roadrunners in their season opener tonight. Kinkopf relays word from Arizona head coach Rick Tocchet, who says that Raanta wanted to “sharpen his game” with live action before returning to regular NHL duty and he will get that opportunity tonight. It remains unclear how long the Coyotes expect to be without Raanta as he’s on a conditioning stint, but with the recently-extended Kuemper and recently-claimed Eric Comrie in the mix, with a serviceable third-string in Adin Hill around as well, the team may be looking to make a trade from their goalie depth upon Raanta’s return.