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Andrei Vasilevskiy

Atlantic Notes: Vasilevskiy, Cozens, Zub, McCabe

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Tampa Bay Lightning star netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy is a little ahead of schedule in his recovery from offseason back surgery, head coach Jon Cooper told the media Monday (via Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN).

The two-time Stanley Cup champion and 2019 Vezina Trophy winner skated with the team for the first time last week after undergoing a successful microdiscectomy to address a lumbar disc herniation on September 28. At the time, the Lightning announced they expected him to miss approximately the first two months of the regular season. That would mean a return around December 10. However, Cooper said today he’d be “disappointed if it’s early December” and expects Vasilevskiy to return to the fold closer to American Thanksgiving, a little over two weeks ahead of schedule.

Without Vasilevskiy, the Lightning have managed to stay in the playoff picture with a 5-3-3 record, good enough for third place in the Atlantic Division. That’s mainly due to the impressive relief play of backup Jonas Johansson, who’s started nine of the Lightning’s 11 games while posting a .916 SV%, 2.87 GAA and two shutouts. Overall, he’s stopped 3.5 goals above average behind a Lightning team that’s struggled defensively, controlling less than 43% of high-danger chances at even strength.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens is not practicing today as he remains sidelined with a suspected concussion, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports. Head coach Don Granato informed reporters that Cozens is trending in the right direction, however, and will likely rejoin the team for practice before the end of the week. Cozens, 22, has not skated with the team since leaving Friday’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers after fighting winger Garnet Hathaway with 1:56 left in regulation. The 2019 seventh-overall pick is off to a decent start, recording three goals and four assists for seven points in 11 games on the heels of a 31-goal campaign last season. The news doesn’t bode well for Cozens’ availability against the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow, meaning he could miss his second straight game after being absent for Saturday’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
  • Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith expects defenseman Artem Zub to return to the lineup Wednesday against Toronto after a six-game absence, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia relays. Zub, 28, sustained a concussion in the team’s October 18 win over the Washington Capitals. The shutdown defender projects to return to the lineup in a top-pairing role alongside Jake Sanderson, considerably boosting the depth of a defense now missing Erik Brännström and Thomas Chabot due to injuries. Zub had one goal, two assists, and a +3 rating through four games this season before sustaining the concussion.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe won’t return to the lineup tonight against Tampa Bay, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to reporters (via Mark Masters of TSN). Simon Benoit will make his Toronto debut after a recent recall from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Keefe said. Consequentially, Maxime Lajoie will serve as a scratch after playing just 4:54 in Toronto’s loss to Buffalo on Saturday. McCabe has missed the last four games with a groin injury sustained against Dallas on October 26, and the team has gone 0-2-2 in his absence.

Atlantic Notes: Vasilevskiy, Motte, Cooley

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Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy skated briefly with the team for the first time as he works his way back from back surgery, relays Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times.  The netminder joined the team with about ten minutes left in practice but head coach Jon Cooper was quick to point out that this isn’t a sign that his recovery is ahead of schedule.  At the time of the surgery back in late September, Vasilevskiy was expected to miss eight to ten weeks so he’s still at least a month away from returning.  While many expected Tampa Bay to make a move to shore things up between the pipes, Jonas Johansson has fared rather well in the early going this season, notching a 2.56 GAA and a .925 SV% along with two shutouts in his first seven starts.  If he can keep that up a bit longer, they might be able to get away without adding another goalie after all.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Also from Ackert’s column, winger Tyler Motte took part in his second straight practice as he works his way back from an upper-body injury sustained in the season opener. The 28-year-old was a late signing after Josh Archibald decided not to play this season despite inking a two-year deal with the Lightning back in July.  Motte is hoping to accompany the club on their upcoming road trip that begins on Thursday in Columbus so it appears he could be back in the lineup in the near future.
  • Following their victory over Colorado today, the Sabres announced (Twitter link) that they have returned goaltender Devin Cooley to AHL Rochester. The 26-year-old was brought up yesterday with Eric Comrie going on IR yesterday and Devon Levi not yet ready to return.  As Levi remains on the active roster, Buffalo can send Cooley down.  They’re off until Wednesday so if Levi still isn’t available then, expect Cooley to be recalled at that time.

Lightning Place Andrei Vasilevskiy On LTIR, Recall Waltteri Merelä

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The Tampa Bay Lightning officially placed goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy on LTIR today as he recovers from back surgery, per CapFriendly. In a corresponding move, the team also brought forward Waltteri Merelä back up from AHL Syracuse, and he could make his NHL debut in a few hours against the Nashville Predators. Merelä was sent down temporarily yesterday to help the Lightning optimize their LTIR capture before opening-night rosters were due, which they did to the tune of $2.

Vasilevskiy underwent surgery late last month and was given an eight-to-ten-week timeline for recovery. That puts him well within the bounds of LTIR, which requires a player to miss at least ten games and 24 days. That means Vasilevskiy won’t return until next month at the absolute earliest, although an early December return is much more likely. The all-world netminder started 60 games for the Lightning last season, going 34-22-4 with a .915 save percentage and 2.65 goals-against average. Those were, unbelievably, his worst numbers since becoming the Lightning’s starter in 2016. Since the Lightning did not make any waiver claims over the past few days, Vasilevskiy’s absence leaves 28-year-old Jonas Johansson, with just 35 NHL appearances under his belt, as their starter for the next two months.

The Lightning signed Merelä, 25, to a one-year, two-way contract worth $870K this summer. Undrafted, the 6-foot-2 right wing has enjoyed back-to-back strong seasons with Liiga’s Tappara and made one appearance for Finland at the 2023 World Championship, scoring a goal. After a strong camp, Merelä was not technically on the team’s opening-night roster but was expected to suit up in today’s game regardless. The pending restricted free agent does not require waivers to go to AHL Syracuse, where he could find himself later on in the season if he can’t hold onto a roster spot.

With Vasilevskiy on LTIR and Merelä recalled the Lightning have $8.55MM remaining in their LTIR salary pool, per CapFriendly. While that’s a lot of flexibility, they won’t be able to take advantage of it for any significant amount of time. The Lightning will need to shed $950K in salary to activate Vasilevskiy when healthy.

Andrei Vasilevskiy Out Two Months After Back Surgery

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ESPN’s Kevin Weekes has reported that Tampa Bay Lightning superstar goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy underwent successful back surgery, and is expected to be out of commission on an eight-to-ten-week timeline. The Lightning confirmed the news, with GM Julien BriseBois stating that Vasilevskiy is expected to miss “the first two months of the regular season.”

Vasilevskiy hasn’t been a regular participant in Lightning camp in recent days, with head coach Jon Cooper previously telling reporters that Vasilevskiy was out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

This is obviously a major blow to the Lightning, who have come to rely on the brilliant goaltending provided by Vasilevskiy in order to remain among the top teams in a highly competitive Atlantic Division.

While this development is something of a surprise, it doesn’t come completely out of nowhere.

Vasilevskiy has in the past commented on how his high workload has impacted his body, which is something to be expected given the number of deep playoff runs the Lightning have made in recent seasons, led by Vasilevskiy in the crease on a nightly basis. The hope here will be that Vasilevskiy can make a full recovery before the new year, and get back to playing like one of the league’s best netminders.

The 2018-19 Vezina Trophy winner’s injury thrusts new backup Jonas Johansson into an unfortunate spotlight. It’ll be up to him to keep the Lightning competitive in the Atlantic for the first two months of the regular season, which is something of a tall task for a player with a career .887 save percentage in the NHL.

That being said, Johansson’s more recent form does provide reason for optimism. He posted a .932 save percentage playing in parts of three NHL games last season, and had a .920 save percentage in the AHL.  But with only 35 total games of NHL experience, a massive test is coming up for the 28-year-old.

Behind Johansson on the depth chart is Hugo Alnefelt, who has just 20 minutes of NHL experience, and Matt Tomkins, a player who represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing but has never skated in an NHL game.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Injury Notes: Vasilevskiy, Luff, Hunt, van Riemsdyk

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are without all-world netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy as the preseason schedule begins. Head coach Jon Cooper informed reporters today, including Diandra Loux of The Hockey News, that the 2021 Conn Smythe winner is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

“He’s wrestling with some things right now, physically,” Cooper said. “It’s early in training camp, so we don’t need to rush anything along with him. When he’s ready to go, he’ll be out there.” Vasilevskiy missing any time would certainly throw a wrench into Tampa Bay’s season, although it thankfully appears that won’t be the case. With salary cap constraints in full force, the team has quite thin goaltending depth and is opting to go with unproven Jonas Johansson as Vasilevskiy’s full-time backup, meaning his workload is in line to be as high as ever. Vasilevskiy didn’t miss any time last season due to injury, but he certainly didn’t look himself in the team’s first-round playoff loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was the worst playoff performance of his career save for 2019’s upset loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, posting a .875 save percentage and conceding 5.4 goals above average over the course of six games.

Elsewhere in injury notes from around the league with preseason games underway this afternoon:

  • Detroit Red Wings depth forward Matt Luff left today’s intrasquad scrimmage with a right arm injury after crashing into the boards, reports The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan. The 26-year-old right wing didn’t crack Detroit’s roster out of camp last season but was recalled after a few weeks, getting into a handful of games before sustaining a wrist injury that sidelined him for 32 games. The undrafted free agent has largely been a fringe player throughout the course of his career, often splitting time between the majors and the minors, and this season is expected to be no different. He was extremely productive in the AHL with Grand Rapids last season when healthy, recording eight goals, 17 assists and 25 points in 28 games. Set to be a restricted free agent this summer, Detroit did not issue him a qualifying offer but re-signed him before free agency opened on July 1 anyway to a league-minimum two-way deal carrying a $450K guarantee.
  • Minnesota Wild defense prospect Daemon Hunt left today’s clash against the Colorado Avalanche and has not returned with a prospective upper-body injury. As The Athletic’s Peter Baugh notes, Hunt hit the ice after an accidental collision behind the net with Avalanche forward Tanner Kero. The 65th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Hunt is a promising two-way defense prospect entering his second pro season with AHL Iowa. The 21-year-old recorded two goals, nine assists, 11 points, and a +2 rating in 59 contests with Iowa last season after captaining the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors from 2020 to 2022.
  • Washington Capitals head coach told reporters, including Monumental Sports Network’s Matt Weyrich, that he’s “concerned” about the status of defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. The veteran right-shot defender left today’s preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres and did not return after a shot from Sabres forward Jordan Greenway struck him in the right wrist area. Van Riemsdyk will undergo further testing tomorrow to determine the severity of the injury and a potential recovery timeline. The 32-year-old is entering the first season of a three-year, $9MM extension he signed last March and is expected to start the season on the team’s third pairing alongside offseason trade acquisition Joel Edmundson.

Winnipeg Jets To Be Patient With Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele

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Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele have been in trade rumors all summer long. And Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe says that training camp isn’t putting any pressure on the Winnipeg Jets to find a deal. Wiebe says that the Jets don’t want to make a rash decision regarding their top center and goaltender, especially following the trading of Pierre-Luc Dubois, Scheifele’s former number-two, to the Los Angeles Kings.

Instead, Wiebe expects both Scheifele and Hellebuyck to attend training camp, where reporters and fans should be able to get a much better sense of what path forward the players may prefer. The team remains open to both trades and possible contract extensions, although the price of either option would be steep. How the Jets handle Hellebuyck and Scheifele’s situation will be very interesting to follow, as it could be a strong indicator of the team’s goals over the next few years.

There’s no denying the impact that Hellebuyck or Scheifele makes on a day-to-day basis. Hellebuyck ranks second in wins over the last five seasons, behind only Andrei Vasilevskiy, and his .916 save percentage ranks sixth among all goalies with 150 or more games played in that span. He won the Vezina Trophy only four seasons ago and finished third in Vezina voting this year, marking the fourth time he’s finished in the top five.

And while Hellebuyck has been a stone wall in net, Scheifele has been the team’s goal-scorer. He netted 42 goals in 81 games last season, his first time breaking the 40-goal mark. He’s reached 272 career goals, all coming with the Jets, placing him just 56 goals behind Ilya Kovalchuk’s franchise goal-scoring record. Scheifele also ranks second in all-time franchise scoring, with 645 career points. While the Jets have tended to spread around their ice time, Scheifele continues to operate confidently as the team’s top-line center.

The Winnipeg Jets aren’t necessarily up against the cap but keeping around a Vezina-caliber starter and 40-goal-scoring top-line center beyond this season will undoubtedly come at a rich price. For a team with a lot of questions looming, decisions around Hellebuyck and Scheifele will be telling.

Afternoon Notes: Hellebuyck, Bear, Thompson

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Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote today that Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck is looking for a contract with an average annual value around $9.5MM. LeBrun says that teams looking to trade for the 30-year-old are aware of what Hellebuyck’s camp are seeking in contract negotiations. If Hellebuyck were to get that salary it would put him in the same pay bracket as Tampa Bay Lighting goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Hellebuyck was the 2020 Vezina award winner for top goaltender and has a long track record of putting up elite numbers. However, he has had a handful of poor seasons and with teams having just seen the Vegas Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup with Adin Hill between the pipes, there might be a hesitancy to pay a premium in a trade and an expensive cap hit for a goalie who is on the wrong side of 30. You can’t fault Hellebuyck for asking for the moon as he is nominated once again for the Vezina award after a terrific season in Winnipeg posting a 37-25-2 record with a .920 save percentage and a 2.49 goals against average.

In other afternoon notes:

  • Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV tweeted today that it appears the Vancouver Canucks have had discussions with defenseman Ethan Bear’s representatives about several contract possibilities. The tweet comes on the heels of a conversation with Bear’s agent Jason Davidson who said that they’ve discussed several options, but a one-year deal may be the way to go for the 25-year-old. It’s an interesting idea from Bear’s camp given that the defender is out until December after undergoing shoulder surgery this week. Bear is a year away from unrestricted free agency and the allure of picking his long term destination may be worth the roll of the dice.
  • Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweeted today that Bruce Cassidy told reporters that goaltender Logan Thompson is skating and should be 100% by training camp. Thompson started the year as Vegas’ number one goaltender but suffered a lower body injury in February and did not play again. When healthy the 26-year-old posted good numbers going 21-13-3 with a .915 save percentage and 2.65 goals against average. If Thompson is ready to go it could give Vegas leverage in their contract negotiations with pending free agent netminder Adin Hill. Thompson would be a solid fallback option should Hill elect to test the market and move on.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Moore, Briere

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The NHL released its Three Stars of the week ending April 2 and it shows a trio of league superstars who are gearing up for the postseason. Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was named the first star of the week. He started three games for the Lightning, winning them all, getting shutouts in two of those games and allowing just one goal in those three starts. Vasilevskiy shut out the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders while stopping 99 out of the 100 shots he faced in the past seven days.

Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers was the second star of the week. He helped the Oilers win all four of their games by scoring five goals and eight points as the Oilers officially clinched a playoff spot. His best game of the week came on Saturday night against the Anaheim Ducks when he scored a hat trick in a 6-0 victory for the Oilers.

The league’s third star of the week was Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak. He continued his hot pace that has lasted all season, just like his team. The Bruins won three of their four games last week with Pastrnak scoring five goals and six points in those four games. He now has 56 goals and 103 points on the season and has played a big role in the Bruins already reaching 60 wins and clinching the President’s Trophy as the team with the best regular season record.

  • Per Mark Divver of NHL.com, Detroit Red Wings prospect Cooper Moore found a new place to play next season. The defenseman has played the past three seasons at North Dakota, but will be heading to Quinnipiac next season as a senior. The 22 year old was a fifth-round pick of the Red Wings in 2019 and scored 13 points in 31 games at North Dakota last season.
  • Mercyhurst forward Carson Briere has been released from the team, per Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News. Briere was caught on video pushing a wheelchair down a flight of stairs last month. He just finished his third season of college hockey, scoring five goals and 13 points in 30 games, but will not be back for a fourth season at Mercyhurst.

Morning Notes: NHLPA Poll, Quick, Canadiens

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The NHLPA Player Poll has become a yearly fixture, giving fans an insight into what players have to say in popular public debates. This year’s edition dropped this morning with mostly expected results.

Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy was voted by a wide margin as the goalie players would want in net with one game on the line for the second straight season, while the Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar was voted best defenseman in the league by a landslide. Connor McDavid won “most impactful forward in a must-win game,” no doubt buoyed by last year’s electric playoff performance. Other winners were Patrick Kane for best stick-handler, Leon Draisaitl for best passer, Sidney Crosby for most complete player, Brad Marchand for least enjoy playing against (but want on your team), Joe Pavelski for most effective net-front player, and Aleksander Barkov for most underrated. Marie-Philip Poulin was also voted as the women’s hockey player that NHL players would most like to play alongside, past or present, and the Bell Centre was voted as having the best ice in the NHL for the fifth time.

In off-ice results, Las Vegas was voted the best road city to have an off day, Marc-Andre Fleury was voted best locker room presence, and Auston Matthews was voted as having the best shoe game.

More notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • Now a Vegas Golden Knight, Stanley Cup-winning netminder Jonathan Quick continues to move up the all-time ranks. With last night’s road win against the Vancouver Canucks, Quick moved into sole possession of second place on the all-time wins list for American-born goaltenders, trailing only Ryan Miller. Quick now sits just 16 wins back of tying the all-time record with 375 wins under his belt.
  • In some rare positive injury news for the Montreal Canadiens this season, Jake Evans has returned to practice in a full-contact jersey, while Jesse Ylonen has returned to practice after missing the team’s last game with an illness, per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Ylonen hasn’t looked out of place in his first extended NHL look this season, recording five goals and 12 points in 29 games. Evans is nearing a return after missing over two months with a lower-body injury.

NHL Announces 2023 All-Star Player Assignments

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The 2023 NHL All-Star Skills competition will take place tomorrow night, and today the league announced the full lineup of participants. Players from around the league will get to show off their unique abilities in several events, with each individual winner taking home $30,000.

Fastest Skater

Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Chandler Stephenson, Vegas Golden Knights
Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes

Breakaway Challenge

Roberto Luongo, Celebrity goaltender
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals*
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins*
David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers

*Ovechkin and Crosby are listed as “teaming up”

Tendy Tandem

Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers
Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders
Logan Thompson, Vegas Golden Knights
Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

Splash Shot

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
Adam Fox, New York Rangers
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers

Accuracy Shooting

Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
Kevin Hayes, Philadelphia Flyers
Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
Nazem Kadri, Calgary Flames
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Brock Nelson, New York Islanders
Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers
Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues

Pitch ’n Puck

Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus Blue Jackets
Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes
Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars
Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens

Hardest Shot

Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
Seth Jones, Chicago Blackhawks
Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks

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