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Aleksander Barkov

Afternoon Notes: Bellemare, Barkov, Gaudreau, Soderblom

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As they navigate a cap crunch that has seen key pieces of their core stripped away one by one over time, the Tampa Bay Lightning have had to get more and more creative filling out their lineup. The organization has used a mix of young players in their system developed to their liking and affordable veterans with a winning pedigree to round things out. One of those players is 37-year-old Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who the team signed to a two-year deal back in 2021.

Recently, Bellemare has been away from the team on a personal leave of absence, the root of which is unknown. Earlier today, Tampa Bay Times reporter Eduardo Encina spoke with Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, who confirmed that Bellemare will join the team on their upcoming road trip, which will travel through Buffalo, Boston, and Philadelphia. It’s unclear if Bellemare, who last played on Monday, is expected to play on this trip. Although the veteran hasn’t been out very long, it’s possible due to the leave that he may not have been able to continue skating regularly and could need an extra couple days to be ready.

  • Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov will miss the team’s next two games due to illness, says Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards. The nature of Barkov’s illness is unknown, but apparently is serious enough that not only can Barkov not play in tomorrow’s game in Edmonton and Tuesday’s in Calgary, but the forward is not traveling with the Panthers for the Alberta leg of the road trip. After Tuesday, Florida will head out to Vancouver for a Thursday evening matchup with the Canucks, a game which Barkov has not been ruled out for. Barkov missed yesterday’s game against the St. Louis Blues with this same illness.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau did not practice today due to an unknown illness, says Jeff Svoboda of BlueJackets.com. Per Svoboda, Columbus head coach Brad Larsen said he’ll know more tomorrow about Gaudreau’s availability for tomorrow night’s game. Gaudreau has not missed any games thus far with the illness. While the team is struggling this year, the first-year Jacket has not, posting 20 points in 20 games to date.
  • Detroit Red Wings forward Elmer Soderblom is still not practicing, reports Michigan Live’s Ansar Khan. At last report on November 21st, Soderblom was still listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, though head coach Derek Lalonde then said Soderblom’s return could take “some time.” The rookie has two points, both goals, in 13 games this season, but has not played since November 8th due to the injury.

Snapshots: Mayfield, Rodrigues, Barkov

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Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has been one of the better bargains in the league in recent seasons.  A bit of a late bloomer, he opted to take a five-year deal with a cap hit of just $1.45MM, giving him some much-desired stability in the process.  Since then, the 30-year-old has become an important part of their top four, logging nearly 20 minutes a night in a shutdown role.  A pending UFA, Mayfield is now well-positioned to potentially more than double that price tag on his next deal and he made it clear to Newsday’s Andrew Gross that his desire is to remain with New York.  The Isles already have over $73MM in commitments for next season per CapFriendly with a handful of roster spots to fill so they should have enough cap room to keep him in the fold unless GM Lou Lamoriello decides to shake things up next summer.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues is officially listed as week to week but is expected to miss two to four weeks due to the lower-body injury sustained on Wednesday against Vancouver, relays Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The timeline won’t allow Colorado to transfer him onto LTIR to add to their pool unless the team learns that he will be out for the longer end of that timeline.  Rodrigues has been a useful addition this season as he has notched six goals and three assists through his first 18 games while spending some time both on the wing and down the middle.
  • Panthers center Aleksander Barkov is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game against St. Louis due to an illness, notes Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). Florida remains in a situation where they can only afford to carry the minimum number of players on their roster so if the captain isn’t able to play, they will once again have to dress only 17 skaters tonight.

Atlantic Notes: Lightning, Senators Sale, Barkov

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The Lightning transferred defenseman Cal Foote to injured reserve today, notes Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider (Twitter link).  He has missed the last three games since suffering an upper-body injury on a hit from Capitals winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel last week, one that earned him a three-game suspension.  The placement might be a short-term one, however, as the 23-year-old is skating in a non-contact sweater which suggests he might be close to returning.  Tampa Bay has the option to back-date the placement to last week in which case they’d be able to activate Foote as soon as Monday.

What the placement does is give the Lightning an open roster spot, one that Erlendsson suggests could be used to activate blueliner Zach Bogosian tomorrow.  The 32-year-old has yet to play this season since undergoing shoulder surgery back in July and would be a welcome addition to their third pairing if he is indeed given the green light to suit up in that one.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • Add another suitor to the list of groups interested in purchasing the Senators as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Angelo Paletta and his family have expressed interest in the franchise. Paletta looked to bring another team to Southern Ontario back in 2018 while also looking to purchase the Coyotes one year later.
  • While the Panthers had to play short a player last night due to a lack of cap space, that won’t be the case for their game against Calgary on Saturday. Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) that he is optimistic that center Aleksander Barkov will return for that contest after missing yesterday’s game against Dallas due to an undisclosed injury.  Since they played with only 17 skaters for that one, they’re now allowed to make an emergency cap-exempt recall from AHL Charlotte but Maurice indicated that they don’t plan to do so at this time.

2022 Selke Trophy Finalists Announced

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The NHL has announced the finalists for yet another of its end-of-year awards, the Frank J. Selke Trophy. Always a hotly-contested and highly-debated award, the Selke Trophy is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association on the basis of “the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.”

This year’s finalists are Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, Elias Lindholm of the Calgary Flames, and Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins.

Barkov took home the award last season after previous top-five finishes and is one of the best two-way players in the league. His offensive numbers took another step forward this season, while his defensive play stayed quite high. Paired at times with rookie Anton Lundell on the penalty kill (a player who might find himself on the Selke ballot eventually), Barkov averaged more than two minutes of short-handed time a night for the Panthers, and was once again one of the most dominant faceoff men in the NHL. His 56.9% win percentage in the dot was the best of his career and continued a five-year trend of improvement in that area.

Lindholm, meanwhile, is a Selke finalist for the first time after anchoring the best even-strength line in the NHL this season. When he was on the ice alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, the Flames were nearly unstoppable, scoring more than twice as often as the opponents. The trio finished 1-2-3 in +/- rating, with Lindholm dragging his career number back into the black with a +61. While his linemates have a lot of impact on that overall success, the 27-year-old came into his own as a shutdown center, and also logged more short-handed ice time than any other Flames forward.

It always comes back to Bergeron though, who is now a Selke finalist for the 11th season in a row. Now 36, some would have expected his game to take a step backward at some point, but that wasn’t this season. The Bruins captain had one of the (if not the) best defensive seasons of his career, completely smothering the opponent whenever he was on the ice. Winning more than 60% of his draws for the fifth time in his career, dominating possession even more than in previous years, and actually setting a career-high with 78 hits, Bergeron will be tough to beat again this season.

With four Selke wins in the past, Bergeron has a chance to pass Bob Gainey and become the all-time leader with five trophies should he take it home this year. Barkov could become just the tenth player to win more than one.

2022 King Clancy Trophy Nominees Announced

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The NHL has announced the 31 nominees for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually presented to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.

Each team submits one nominee. This year’s are:

Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Getzlaf

Arizona Coyotes: Andrew Ladd

Boston Bruins: Nick Foligno

Buffalo Sabres: Jeff Skinner

Calgary Flames: Mikael Backlund

Carolina Hurricanes: Jordan Staal

Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Murphy

Colorado Avalanche: Nazem Kadri

Columbus Blue Jackets: Jack Roslovic

Dallas Stars: Jason Robertson

Detroit Red Wings: Alex Nedeljkovic

Edmonton Oilers: Darnell Nurse

Florida Panthers: Aleksander Barkov

Los Angeles Kings: Cal Petersen

Minnesota Wild: Matt Dumba

Montreal Canadiens: Jake Allen

Nashville Predators: Luke Kunin

New Jersey Devils: P.K. Subban

New York Islanders: Anders Lee

New York Rangers: Chris Kreider

Ottawa Senators: Nick Holden

Philadelphia Flyers: Scott Laughton

Pittsburgh Penguins: Bryan Rust

San Jose Sharks: Matt Nieto

Seattle Kraken: Jaden Schwartz

St. Louis Blues: Ryan O’Reilly

Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman

Toronto Maple Leafs: Wayne Simmonds

Vancouver Canucks: Bo Horvat

Vegas Golden Knights: Max Pacioretty

Washington Capitals: Garnet Hathaway

Winnipeg Jets: Josh Morrissey

Snapshots: Three Stars, Price, O’Ree

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The NHL has released its Three Stars for last week, led once again by Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oiles. McDavid added five goals and eight points to his totals, and cracked a few important thresholds. For the third time in his career, he has broken the 40-goal mark, while he once again has more than 100 points, the fifth time in seven seasons. McDavid leads the league in scoring with 105 points so far.

Second and third went to Aleksander Barkov and Semyon Varlamov respectively, after their own outstanding weeks. The Florida Panthers captain scored five goals in four games and is closing in on his previous career-high. Barkov needs just three more goals to crack that mark of 35. Varlamov meanwhile just continues to get it done, posting a 3-0 record and .952 save percentage last week. The 33-year-old netminder doesn’t have a good record, but still carries a .919 on the season.

  • The Montreal Canadiens don’t have a ton left to play for in terms of the standings but there may be a nice surprise for fans in the coming days. Carey Price was a full participant at practice and Eric Engels of Sportsnet suggests that the star goaltender could potentially make his debut in the next few games. Next Monday at home against the Winnipeg Jets seems a likely possibility for Price to make his season debut after a very tumultuous year, though there is no indication yet from the team when he’ll be back in the crease. Brendan Gallagher was also in a regular jersey at practice, and while he admitted he needs to speak to the medical staff for clearance, expects to play tomorrow.
  • The three finalists for the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award have been named today, as one of Noel Acton, Ryan Francis, and Meridith Lang will take home the trophy this season. The award is given to the individual who, through the sport of hockey, has positively impacted his or her community, culture, or society. Even though just one will win, all three should be celebrated for their impact and community work. You can read more about the finalists here.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Barkov, Bordeleau

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The NHL has released the Three Stars for last week, with Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko leading the way. Demko went 4-0 with a .962 save percentage under new head coach Bruce Boudreau, allowing just five goals on 133 shots. The old adage of “show me a good coach, I’ll show you a good goalie” may be coming true here for the new bench boss, but Vancouver fans certainly aren’t complaining about the wins that are coming because of Demko’s strong play.

Second and third place have gone to Sebastian Aho and Devon Toews, respectively, after their own outstanding weeks. The Carolina Hurricanes star had five goals and seven points in three games, continuing a streak of multi-point games that has now reached five. Aho is up to 15 goals and 32 points on the season and looks poised to finish above a point-per-game for the third time in his career. Toews meanwhile continues to fly under the radar in terms of nationwide recognition, as he stars–yes, stars–for the Colorado Avalanche. The 27-year-old defenseman is averaging almost 25 minutes a night this season (including 29:14 in his last game) and now has 20 points in 16 games. That actually puts him first among defensemen in points/game, even ahead of partner Cale Makar. It also has Toews 10th among all defensemen in scoring despite playing so many fewer games than the leaders (Adam Fox, who leads all defensemen, has played 11 more games than Toews).

  • It’s bad news for Aleksander Barkov, as he heads back to injured reserve after just one game back. That’s the move to clear room for Jonas Johansson, claimed today off waivers, but it’s a tough blow for the Atlantic-leading Florida Panthers. After losing last night to the Colorado Avalanche with Barkov out of the lineup, the Panthers are now tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs with two games in hand for the division crown. Unfortunately, Barkov will now have to miss at least seven days from his last game, meaning he won’t be available tomorrow night either. It’s not clear how long he’ll be out this time.
  • It was announced over the weekend that Thomas Bordeleau won’t be competing for the U.S. at the upcoming World Junior tournament, and Eric Leblanc of RDS reports that it’s because the young forward tested positive for COVID-19. It’s a devastating outcome for the San Jose Sharks prospect, who missed last year’s tournament as well because his roommate–John Beecher–received a false positive just before the event began. Bordeleau is off to another great season with the University of Michigan, scoring 19 points in his first 18 games. This was his last chance at the World Juniors, as he’ll turn 20 in early January.

Injury Updates: Stastny, Dobson, Barkov, Beagle

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The Jets are hoping to have center Paul Stastny back in the lineup on Friday against Minnesota, relays Postmedia’s Scott Billeck.  The veteran has been out for a little more than two weeks due to a lower-body injury which put a strong start to his season on hold; Stastny has four goals and four assists in 11 games in the early going while logging over 18 minutes a game.  Winnipeg is set to begin a road back-to-back set so it’s possible that Stastny only suits up for one of those contests if they want to ere on the side of caution.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • The COVID situation for the Islanders is bad enough at the moment but they got some bad news on the injury front as well as blueliner Noah Dobson is dealing with a lower-body injury, mentions Mollie Walker of the New York Post. It has been a disappointing start for the 21-year-old who has been quiet offensively with just four assists in 14 games while being on the fringes of the top four on their back end.  Dobson is a pending restricted free agent and any extended absence – there’s no timeline for a return just yet – would certainly hurt his chances of a long-term deal this summer.
  • The Panthers will be without top center Aleksander Barkov for at least another two weeks, notes David Wilson of the Miami Herald. Barkov was able to avoid needing surgery following an injury on a collision with Scott Mayfield last week and at the time, interim head coach Andrew Brunette was only able to provide a week-to-week timeline.
  • Coyotes center Jay Beagle has been ruled out for the rest of the week at a minimum due to a lower-body injury, per Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). The team is awaiting further test results to know how long he’ll be out for.  The 36-year-old has played in 19 games so far this season and hasn’t recorded a point yet but has won nearly 60% of his faceoffs.

Aleksander Barkov Will Not Need Surgery, Out Week-To-Week

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When Aleksander Barkov collided with Scott Mayfield last night, leaving him sprawled out on the ice with obvious pain on his face, Florida Panthers fans held their breath. The captain was taken from the game and many feared the worst, but it appears as though there is some good news.

Barkov will not require surgery, according to head coach Andrew Brunette, who spoke with reporters including George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. He will still be out on a week-to-week basis, but Brunette called it a “best-case scenario.”

It’s certainly not ideal to have your captain on the shelf for weeks, but the fact that Barkov won’t go under the knife is a huge win for the Panthers. The team looks like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender through the early part of the season and showed their explosive offense off again last night, potting six goals against the usually-stingy Islanders.

In fact, the Panthers lead the entire league in goals for with 62 through their first 16 games and still have a two-point lead on the Toronto Maple Leafs for first place in the Atlantic Division.

They also have several players with experience at the center ice position, including Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, and Joe Thornton, the latter of which was skating in the third-line pivot spot at practice today as he recovers from his own injury.

Aleksander Barkov Out For Saturday’s Game With Lower-Body Injury

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Per the Florida Panthers public relations team, center Aleksander Barkov is out for Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes with a lower-body injury. His status is day-to-day.

Forward Ryan Lomberg will enter the lineup in his place, according to Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards. Their game against the Hurricanes is a battle of the league’s current titans, as the Hurricanes (9-0-0) attempt to remain undefeated while Florida (9-0-1) enters the game without a regulation loss.

23-year-old Eetu Luostarinen, who has three goals through seven games this season, could center the top line between Carter Verhaeghe and Anthony Duclair in Barkov’s absence.

The Panthers continue to stretch their center depth thin with injuries this season, as Sam Bennett, Joe Thornton, and Noel Acciari are all on injured reserve. A strong start from rookie Anton Lundell is helping to soften the blow, and the team has also shifted offseason acquisition Sam Reinhart back to center from the wing to compensate for the slew of injuries.

Barkov has been undeniably spectacular as the Panthers continue to bank points early in the season. Fresh off receiving an eight-year, $80MM extension, he’s tallied 12 points in 10 games while playing over 22 minutes per game.

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