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Alexander Romanov

Snapshots: Hurricanes, Boeser, Drouin, Perron, Paul, Romanov

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Already without Frederik Andersen long-term, the Hurricanes won’t have fellow goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov for the time being as he’s now in concussion protocol, meaning their current tandem is Spencer Martin and Yaniv Perets.  To that end, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that Carolina is looking into what options might exist on the trade market.  Andersen is out for at least two more months while Kochetkov’s timeline is less certain.  The Hurricanes are almost right at the salary cap limit per PuckPedia while they do have nearly $2.4MM in LTIR room if needed.  With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising if Carolina was looking into players on lower-cost deals to try to give them a small upgrade between the pipes in the short term.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Barring any issues arising from today’s practice, Canucks winger Brock Boeser could return to the lineup on Tuesday in Boston, mentions Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. The 27-year-old has missed nearly three weeks due to a concussion, putting a strong start to his season on pause.  In his contract year, Boeser has six goals and five assists in a dozen outings so far.
  • Avalanche winger Jonathan Drouin has been limited to just five games this season after missing more than a month due to an upper-body injury. Now, the team announced (Twitter link) that he’s dealing with another upper-body injury, one that kept him out of the lineup against Tampa Bay.  Drouin has been productive when in the lineup as he has two goals and two helpers in his limited appearances so far.
  • Senators winger David Perron was a late scratch for tonight’s game against Calgary due to an upper-body injury, relays TSN’s Claire Hanna (Twitter link). The veteran returned to Ottawa’s lineup a little over a week ago after taking time away when his newborn daughter needed to undergo surgery.  It has been a rough go on the ice for Perron’s first season with the Sens as he has been held without a point for his first nine games of the season.
  • Lightning forward Nick Paul will miss at least this week with the undisclosed injury that has held him out for nearly a week now, notes Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider (Twitter link). The 29-year-old had gotten off to a nice start offensively before the injury, notching five goals and eight assists in 17 games while seeing time at both center and the wing.
  • Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov just returned to the lineup after recovering from a nagging injury but was a late scratch tonight. However, it wasn’t a recurrence of the injury as the team announced (Twitter link) that the 24-year-old was scratched due to being sick and is listed as day-to-day.  Romanov has two assists, 27 blocks, and 31 hits in 11 games so far this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Chytil, Romanov, Devils, Jarvis

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It appears to be good news on the injury front for Rangers center Filip Chytil.  After being held back from their road trip amid concerns of a possible concussion, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan relays that the 25-year-old has been cleared to join the team and will catch up with them in Calgary.  However, that shouldn’t be viewed as Chytil being cleared to play as he’s still listed as day-to-day.  Chytil is off to a good start this season for New York, notching four goals and five assists in 15 contests despite averaging just 13:40 of playing time per game, his lowest ATOI since his rookie season.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Islanders announced (Twitter link) that blueliner Alexander Romanov was cleared to return for tonight’s game against Calgary. Originally diagnosed as out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, the 24-year-old has only played once in the last three weeks, sitting for more than two after trying to return early.  He’s a welcome addition to a back end that’s also missing Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly.  Romanov has two assists in eight games so far this season with a career-high ATOI of 21:37.
  • Devils winger Timo Meier (back spasms) and defenseman Brett Pesce (maintenance day) didn’t take part in practice today, relays James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. However, both players aren’t expected to miss any time.  Meanwhile, winger Nathan Bastian returned to practice despite being moved to injured reserve yesterday.  He has missed close to three weeks due to a fractured jaw but while he’s now back on the ice, he’s not quite ready to return to the lineup just yet.
  • While Hurricanes winger Seth Jarvis skated today in a non-contact jersey, he is listed as doubtful for Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia, relays team reporter Walt Ruff (Twitter link). The 22-year-old is dealing with an upper-body injury and was moved to injured reserve retroactive to last week, meaning he can be activated as soon as he gets the green light to return.  Jarvis is off to a solid start to his season with four goals and seven assists in 13 games before sustaining the injury.

Mike Reilly Out Indefinitely After Heart Surgery, Other Islanders Updates

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Cory Wright of the New York Islanders issued several injury updates this afternoon including one unfortunate update for a member of the Islanders’ defense. The organization announced that defenseman Mike Reilly has fully recovered from his concussion suffered on November 1st but underwent a procedure on his heart that will keep him off the ice indefinitely.

There shouldn’t be any long-term concerns for Reilly’s health after fully recovering from the surgery according to a few quotes from New York’s general manager and president of hockey operations, Lou Lamoriello. Lamoriello said, “It was picked up through the different echocardiograms that you do for different reasons that you go through with any post-concussion situation. It’s probably a blessing in disguise of what transpired. They detected this, something that you’re sometimes born with, but never knew. [His quality of life will be] 100% and he will be able to play once this procedure is done. It takes quite a bit of time. It could be several months before he’s back, because of the type of procedure“.

Because of the uncertainty of the recovery process, it’ll likely be some time before the Islanders issue any formal updates on Reilly’s status. Considering Lamoriello mentioned it could take several months, there’s every likelihood Reilly won’t return until next season.

The puck-moving Chicago native has played in 70 games for New York since being claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers last year. He’s been a steady offensive performer over that stretch with six goals and 24 points, averaging 17:01 a night in an Islanders’ sweater.

The team also issued updates on Alexander Romanov, Anthony Duclair, Mathew Barzal, and Adam Pelech in the announcement. Romanov, the closest to returning, is still considered day-to-day and will be a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s contest against the Calgary Flames.

On the longer-term end, neither Duclair, Barzal, or Pelech have resumed skating, but the team hopes Duclair will soon. He’s been out with a lower-body injury since October 19th and was originally given a four—to six-week recovery timeline.

Barzal and Pelech haven’t been out as long as Duclair. The two were injured in back-to-back games in the first week of November and still haven’t been cleared by the team’s medical staff.

Metro Notes: Karlsson, Flyers, Romanov

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In a hard-hitting piece for The Athletic, Josh Yohe highlights internal frustrations within the Pittsburgh Penguins regarding Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson. Yohe unabashedly describes Karlsson’s poor defensive play, and the Swede’s public praise of his own game is drawing discontentment from the Penguins’ coaching staff.

Karlsson’s offensive play throughout his career has typically masked most of his defensive drawbacks, but they’re becoming too consistent to overcome. The three-time Norris Trophy winner normally produces a positive Expected +/-, thanks to the number of goals he creates, but this season is only one of three that has him in the red of that category.

His 87.3% on-ice save percentage at 5-on-5 is nearly two points lower than his previous career-worst suffered in back-to-back years with the Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks in 2017-2019. Karlsson’s defensive play at this point in the regular season has him headed toward a reality of only being trusted with powerplay minutes, which is a major disappointment for a defenseman $10MM for the next three years.

Other Metro notes:

  • There haven’t been many trade rumblings outside Rasmus Ristolainen for a 29th-ranked Philadelphia Flyers team. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period added two more names to that list this afternoon — Scott Laughton and Nicolas Deslauriers. Both players have relatively low cap hits at $3MM and $1.75MM, respectively, but have another year on their deals after this season. Pagnotta argues that with two out of three retention slots available, the Flyers could get creative with salary retention to maximize any return offers.
  • Defenseman Alexander Romanov has missed seven of the last eight games for the New York Islanders with an upper-body injury. Ethan Sears of the New York Post reported Romanov took part in the team’s practice today albeit in a non-contact jersey. It’s an encouraging sign for Romanov who recently skated in 24 minutes of the team’s game against the Buffalo Sabres in a winning effort. It’s unclear if Romanov reaggravated his injury in that game or if simply wasn’t healthy enough to return originally.

Injury Updates: Canucks, Brossoit, Romanov

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The Canucks will be without winger Brock Boeser tonight against Edmonton as he’s still being evaluated for the upper-body injury he sustained on Thursday, shares Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor (Twitter link).  After a breakout performance last season that saw him score 40 goals and 33 assists in 81 games, the 27-year-old is off to a nice start offensively this year with six goals and five assists in his first dozen games.  It’s a contract year for Boeser so he’ll certainly be hoping to avoid any long-term absence.

Meanwhile, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin shared some updates on a few other players to Batchelor and other reporters.  The team is hopeful that forward Dakota Joshua will make his season debut at some point on their current home stand as he continues to work his way back from testicular cancer.  Goaltender Thatcher Demko still has no timeline to make his season debut as his knee injury continues to keep him out of the lineup.  Lastly, prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki (a speculative recall candidate following the Daniel Sprong trade), tweaked something and won’t be available for AHL Abbotsford tonight which takes him out of the potential recall equation for the time being.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson told reporters including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) that there is now no timeline for when goaltender Laurent Brossoit will make his debut. Brossoit is dealing with a meniscus injury, one that he was supposed to be back from weeks ago.  Richardson likens the injury to Demko’s situation in Vancouver in that it’s going to be difficult to pinpoint a potential return time for him.  Brossoit signed a two-year, $6.6MM contract with Chicago in July after a strong season as the backup in Winnipeg.
  • While Islanders blueliner Alexander Romanov isn’t expected to play tonight, he will accompany the team on their upcoming Western Canada road trip, relays Ethan Sears of the New York Post (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has missed the last week with an upper-body injury but did skate today.  With the Isles already down Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly, they’ll certainly be looking forward to getting Romanov back sooner than later.  He’s logging over 21 minutes a night and has a pair of assists in eight games so far this season.

Metro Notes: Flyers, Romanov, Reilly, Hayes, Thompson

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As hinted earlier, the Philadelphia Flyers will be a little thin in the crease tonight. The organization announced that Aleksei Kolosov will not dress tonight due to a lower-body injury and Ivan Fedotov will make his fourth start of the season.

With Samuel Ersson still on the shelf with a lower-body injury, the Flyers needed to find a backup netminder for their contest tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The role will be filled by Kyle Konin whom the team has signed to an amateur tryout agreement for tonight’s game.

Konin hasn’t played competitively in quite some time and there’s no expectation he’ll play this evening. He last suited up in 2019-20 for the Grand Valley State Lakers playing in five games split between the university’s DII and DIII club teams. Konin also served as an emergency backup netminder for the Lightning and the St. Louis Blues although he did not play.

Other Metro notes:

  • The New York Islanders will still be light on the blue line with Andrew Gross of Newsday reporting defensemen Alexander Romanov and Mike Reilly won’t re-enter the lineup tonight. Both blue-liners haven’t played since the team’s November 1st game against the Buffalo Sabres as they’re both nursing injuries. Tonight marks the third game without the pair and the Islanders have surrendered eight total games in the two games without Romanov and Reilly.
  • The play-by-play voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Josh Getzoff, reports Kevin Hayes is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. This confirms Hayes won’t be in the lineup tonight as the Penguins take on the Carolina Hurricanes and should make him questionable for tomorrow’s contest against the Washington Capitals. Hayes’ absence won’t dramatically affect the Penguins’ lineup as he’s only averaging 9:27 of ice time in his first year with Pittsburgh.
  • We’re only a few weeks away from full rosters being announced for the 4 Nations Face-Off and one of the bigger topics of conversation has surrounded Team Canada’s goaltenders. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported earlier that Capitals’ netminder Logan Thompson has put himself on Team Canada’s radar with his solid start to the season. Thompson hasn’t recorded a loss yet this season after six starts and has managed a .903 save percentage. Should he find a spot on Team Canada’s roster, it’ll be Thompson’s first international play since the 2022 IIHF World Championships.

New York Islanders Reassign Samuel Bolduc

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According to a team announcement, New York Islanders’ defensive prospect Samuel Bolduc is headed back to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders after only one game in the NHL. The former 57th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft had the opportunity for more playing time in New York with injuries to Alexander Romanov and Mike Reilly. Still, he was unable to capture a consistent spot in the lineup.

Bolduc was largely invisible in the team’s loss against the New York Rangers last night. He skated in 5:56 of the action but was kept off the stat sheet entirely aside from producing a -1 rating. The demotion to the AHL seemed inevitable, as was evident in head coach Patrick Roy’s comments after the game. Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News captured the quote of Roy saying, “It’s sad. Those things happen, but Sam [Bolduc] needs to be better if he wants to play in the NHL. He’s got to understand [that] and step up. He’s a good hockey player. He’s got all the tools. Now, he just needs to figure it out. But he needs to be better if he wants to play for us“.

The young defenseman now finds himself in a difficult position. He’s been solid offensively throughout his tenure in the AHL with 20 goals and 62 points in 151 games over the last five seasons. Unfortunately, he has still not taken adequate steps in the right direction with his play on the defensive side of the puck prohibiting him from becoming a full-time member of the Islanders. The clock is ticking on his time as a top prospect in New York’s system and he has yet to inspire much confidence in the organization’s coaching staff.

The move also suggests the Islanders’ are more willing to play down a man on defense than give Bolduc any meaningful playing time. Stefen Rosner reported earlier that Romanov and Rielly are still considered day-to-day meaning they may only have five tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Still, there is some hope Romanov can return tomorrow giving New York some confidence they’ll be able to deploy a complete blue line.

Islanders’ Mike Reilly, Alexander Romanov Out With Injury

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The New York Islanders have designated both Mike Reilly (upper-body) and Alexander Romanov (upper-body) as day-to-day with injury per NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner. Both players will miss the Islanders’ bout with the Rangers on Sunday.

New York’s defense will be cut in half for their rivalry matchup, with Adam Pelech also sitting out with an upper-body injury. That news doesn’t bode well for an Islanders team currently leaning on their ability to suppress chances. The team ranks eighth in the NHL with an average of 2.91 goals against per game, while starter Ilya Sorokin boasts the third-highest save percentage (.928) of any goalie with five or more starts. Unfortunately, the Rangers rank higher in both categories – with the lowest goals-against average of any team (2.20) and Igor Shesterkin boasting the second-highest save percentage (.931) among starters.

Dennis Cholowski stepped into the lineup to relieve Pelech, so far scoring one goal – his first NHL goal since 2020 – in three appearances. With two more pillars falling, the Islanders are expected to slot Samuel Bolduc and Grant Hutton back into the lineup. Both started the season with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, with Bolduc sitting on one goal and five points and Hutton recording two assists through the team’s first nine games. The duo were also both features of New York’s revolving door on defense last season. Bolduc appeared in 34 games and scored six points in the year’s second half, while Hutton slotted into just two NHL games and failed to score.

With New York’s entire left-side now missing, the left-shot Bolduc should prove the better fill-in while Hutton may be forced to take shifts on his off-side. The Islanders have sheltered Cholowski in his trio of starts while boosting the ice time of Scott Mayfield and Reilly, before the latter left with injury. Bolduc and Hutton should help to soften that burden on New York’s star defenders, though the team will certainly be eager for the return of more reliable options in Reilly and Romanov.

Islanders Place Mathew Barzal On LTIR, Announce Several Roster Moves

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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

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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.

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