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Afternoon News: Capitals, Howden, Maple Leafs

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Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic wrote a piece today that highlighted the nine forwards he believes would fit what the Washington Capitals are looking for this offseason. El-Bashir begins the piece by shining a light on the salary cap crunch that will leave the Capitals with around $5MM in cap space this summer. That leaves Washington with precious little space to work with, however El-Bashir quickly points out that Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha are both trade options that are finding their names on a lot of trade boards.

El-Bashir feels that Washington won’t target players over 30 given their age and Washington’s precarious cap situation. He lists Tyler Bertuzzi, Connor Brown, Andreas Athanasiou, Ivan Barbashev, Michael Bunting, J.T. Compher, Max Domi, Pierre Engvall, and Evan Rodrigues as the likely targets for Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan. Washington has an extensive group of forwards signed to contracts for next season but have a glaring hole on the right wing. Given the cost and the need I would likely put current Capitals forward Connor Brown near the top of the list. Brown was acquired from the Ottawa Senators for a second round pick last summer but only dressed in four games before suffering a season ending ACL injury in his right knee.

In other afternoon notes:

  • Jesse Granger of The Athletic is reporting that Brett Howden of the Vegas Golden Knights was on the ice for the team’s morning skate ahead of their game 4 matchup against the Dallas Stars. Granger reported yesterday that the 25-year-old center had tweaked a lower body injury in game 2 and tried to play through it but couldn’t. Howden missed game 3 and given that he’s seen a lot of time in Vegas’ top-6 as of late, his return would be a welcome boost if he can dress tonight. Howden had a pedestrian regular season with 13 points in 54 games, however in these playoffs he has three goals and three assists in 14 games. Vegas has a chance to sweep Dallas this evening.
  • Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star wrote an opinion piece today about why former Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving checks so many of the boxes that Brendan Shanahan and the Toronto Maple Leafs would be looking to tick. McGran highlights Treliving’s experience in Calgary working in a collaborative environment with former president of hockey ops Brian Burke. Toronto’s future general manager would be tied to Shanahan as well as the board of MLSE, it is a job that is different from some other NHL clubs, however Treliving has worked within a similar structure. McGran also cites Treliving’s penchant for having the guts to make bold moves, Treliving spent last summer overhauling the Calgary Flames out of necessity by trading Matthew Tkachuk to Florida for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar as well as signing Nazem Kadri as a free agent.

Washington Capitals Reassign Henrik Borgstrom

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April 13: Borgstrom has been returned to the AHL after making his season debut and seeing just eight minutes of ice time.

April 11: The Washington Capitals have recalled forward Henrik Borgstrom from the AHL’s Hershey Bears, the team announced Tuesday.

Borgstrom joins the Capitals due to a rash of injuries as their season draws to a disappointing close. T.J. Oshie, Nic Dowd, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Anthony Mantha will stay out of the lineup tonight against the Boston Bruins, per head coach Peter Laviolette. Alex Ovechkin will also sit out of the lineup, not traveling with the team due to an upper-body injury. He remains day-to-day.

With just a few days left on the 2022-23 regular season calendar, this is Borgstrom’s first recall since clearing waivers at the beginning of the year. The 25-year-old signed a one-year deal with Washington in free agency after the Chicago Blackhawks did not issue him a qualifying offer.

He’s recorded 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 54 games with Hershey this season, disappointing production for the 2016 23rd overall pick. The 6-foot-3, 199-pound forward had seven points in 52 games as a full-time Blackhawk last year.

Borgstrom’s offensive production has trailed off since leaving the University of Denver in 2018, where he recorded 52 points in 40 games during his sophomore campaign. He’s managed just over 100 NHL games since then, failing to make any notable impact.

Metropolitan Notes: Laviolette, Ovechkin, Mantha, Attard

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Once the regular season ends next week, don’t expect an immediate decision on Peter Laviolette’s future in Washington.  In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun noted that the belief is that the Capitals will take their time to fully assess the situation while also allowing the veteran bench boss to have some time to ponder his future.  The 58-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Caps and his contract is set to expire so he’ll need to decide if he wants to stick around or see what might be available with another team.  While this season has been a tough one, Washington still has a .588 points percentage during Laviolette’s tenure.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Still with the Capitals, winger Alex Ovechkin is listed as a game-time decision due to an upper-body injury, relays NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 37-year-old already has reached the 40-goal mark for the 13th time in his career to help him lead the team in scoring with 74 points in 72 games.  Meanwhile, winger Anthony Mantha will miss his second straight contest due to a lower-body injury that also kept him out of Thursday’s game in Montreal.
  • Philadelphia has returned defenseman Ronnie Attard to Lehigh Valley of the AHL, notes Bill Meltzer of the Flyers’ team site. The 24-year-old played in two games in his recall, his only one of the season.  It will be his last promotion as Meltzer adds that Attard will not be brought back up in the final week.  Attard has 30 points in 64 games with the Phantoms and will look to help them lock down a playoff spot in the coming days.

East Notes: Killorn, Mantha, Siegenthaler

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Despite stars such as Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Ryan O’Reilly set to hit free agency, the leading scorer among pending unrestricted free agent forwards is actually a less heralded name: Alex Killorn. The 33-year-old longtime Tampa Bay Lightning forward has had a career-best year, scoring 61 points through 78 games. An exceptional net-front presence, Killorn could be a fit for quite a few teams looking to add some scoring punch in the offseason.

According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN on the latest Insider Trading segment, while the Lightning are going to try to find a way to keep Killorn, he’s “likely headed to market.” LeBrun points to the significant pay raises for Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak, and Anthony Cirelli that are set to kick in next season as a major contributor to what is a likely Killorn departure, and references Ondrej Palat’s free agency last summer as a comparable for Killorn’s current situation. While his age may keep him from the type of long-term deal Palat signed, Killorn’s strong performance this season makes him among the most attractive forwards set to hit the market in a few months.

Some other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha will not play tonight against the Montreal Canadiens due to a lower-body injury, the team announced. Mantha played in the Capitals’ last game, which was Sunday against the New York Rangers. While he could still come back before the end of the season, this injury could mark the conclusion of what has been a supremely disappointing campaign for Mantha, who has scored just 11 goals and 27 points in 67 games. Of note with this injury is that the Capitals will only dress 17 skaters for their game tonight, allowing them to access emergency call-ups per the NHL’s rules.
  • Jonas Siegenthaler will not play in tonight’s New Jersey Devils game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to team reporter Amanda Stein. In his place, veteran defenseman Brendan Smith will draw into the lineup. It’s unknown whether this absence is injury related, as Siegenthaler played in the Devils’ last game on Tuesday, but it’s worth noting that Siegenthaler’s play has dipped a bit from the stellar form he displayed earlier in the season, so perhaps this is head coach Lindy Ruff’s way of giving his talented defenseman a means of achieving a “reset” before the playoffs.

Injury Updates: Gaudreau, Mantha, Brodin

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While the season, on the whole, hasn’t gone well for the Columbus Blue Jackets, their big free agent signee from last summer, Johnny Gaudreau, has been as advertised, with 15 goals and 37 assists for 52 points in 55 games.

Johnny Hockey has missed the past two games for Columbus, a 4-1 win over Dallas and a 3-2 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes, but is set to return as the Jackets host the Minnesota Wild, according to Bailey Johnson of the Columbus Dispatch. He will add a boost to a team that has four wins in its past 10.

A few other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • Anthony Mantha of the Washington Capitals has been placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. Mantha carries a cap hit of 5.7MM through next season, and has struggled with nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points in 54 games. After scoring 49 goals from 2017-19, he has scored just 33 since the beginning of his current four-year contract.
  • Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin is also headed to injured reserve with a lower-body injury, according to the Wild’s PR account. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported Brodin sustained the injury Feb. 6 against Arizona, and had played six games since. The Wild can ill afford to lose a player of impact such as Brodin, as Minnesota looks to make a deep playoff run.

Injury Updates: Blues, Meier, Mantha, Nosek

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The St. Louis Blues have subtracted some big names from their roster in recent weeks, including first-line winger Vladimir Tarasenko and team captain Ryan O’Reilly. While pending unrestricted free agent Ivan Barbashev could be next on his way out, the Blues are also lined up to get some players back into their lineup as well. Blues head coach Craig Berube told the media (including NHL.com’s Lou Korac) that both Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich are likely to return in time for tomorrow’s game against the Vancouver Canucks.

While the playoffs aren’t really in the picture for the Blues any longer, getting both Saad and Buchnevich back should help the team play competitive hockey down the stretch. Buchnevich is arguably the Blues’ best player, with 43 points in 42 games alongside great two-way play. While Saad isn’t as impactful as Buchnevich, he has 15 goals to his name this season and contributes on special teams. Getting them back up and running again will be a major help to Berube as he looks to spark something in what remains of this disappointing Blues season.

Some other injury updates from across the NHL:

  • Top trade candidate Timo Meier is questionable for tomorrow’s San Jose Sharks vs. Nashville Predators contest due to an upper-body injury, relays The Athletic’s Corey Masisiak. This is a situation to monitor for fans across the NHL, as Meier is one of the most sought-after players currently available on the trade market. The Swiss winger has scored 52 points in 57 games and one has to hope that any injury Meier is dealing with proves to be just a minor setback.
  • We have an update on Anthony Mantha, who left last night’s Washington Capitals game with an injury. Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette says, via The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir, that Mantha’s status is officially considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It’s been an extremely difficult season for Mantha, who hasn’t scored nearly as well as he’d likely have expected to. The 28-year-old has 24 points in 54 games this season, and will look to get back into the lineup so he can finish this season on a productive note.
  •  Although Boston Bruins fourth-line center Tomas Nosek has been out of the lineup since a mid-January contest against the New York Rangers with a foot fracture, he could be nearing a return. Per The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa, Nosek is practicing again with the Bruins. The 30-year-old undrafted player is a well-regarded two-way bottom-sixer, and his return should bolster the Bruins’ penalty kill as he’s their top shorthanded forward by ice time when healthy.

Injury Updates: Klingberg, Henrique, Blackwood, Ekman-Larsson, Armia, Mantha

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced that defenseman John Klingberg is out with a lower-body injury. There was no word on whether his status was considered day-to-day or something longer, though the team noted that Nathan Beaulieu would be drawing into the lineup in Klingberg’s place. While this development won’t have any impact on the Ducks’ long-gone playoff hopes, it could have an impact on the trade deadline. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes that this is not an instance of a team holding a player out of the lineup for trade-related reasons, as we have seen teams do with other blueliners such as Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov.

While Klingberg, 30, has had a nightmarish season in Anaheim (22 points in 48 games, down in scoring pace from 47 in 74 last season) he’s still a well-regarded offensive defenseman. Just last summer he earned a $7MM one-year deal, and it’s likely that there would be teams interested in acquiring him at the deadline. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta links Klingberg with the Edmonton Oilers’ search for defensive help at the deadline, and it’s likely that there would be more than just Edmonton looking to add him to their team. Assuming that’s the case, interested teams will likely want to monitor his health status closely due to this news. In addition to Klingberg, the Ducks also announced that Adam Henrique would be leaving the game with an injury, which could be another injury development with trade deadline implications.

  • New Jersey Devils netminder Mackenzie Blackwood is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, reports NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Starter Vitek Vanecek will retain the lion’s share of Devils starts in Blackwood’s absence. Blackwood will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer and will hope to get this injury behind him and improve on his current .900 save percentage in order to put himself in the best position possible for summer contract negotiations.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have announced that defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been placed on injured reserve. It was previously reported that Ekman-Larsson would miss several weeks with an ankle injury, and now the Canucks have made that reality official on their roster, as they’ve placed Ekman-Larsson on the injured list. With him out, the Canucks are turning to Riley Stillman and Christian Wolanin on the left side of their defense, and will now have an extra spot on the 23-man roster to work with.
  • The Montreal Canadiens have announced that forward Joel Armia has left tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils. He left the bench relatively early in the first period, and at the moment it’s unclear the exact nature of what knocked him out of the game. Armia has had a difficult season, with just eleven points in 31 games. He’s had games where he’s looked quite good, but those games have been met with far longer stretches where he’s faded into the background of games. With the Canadiens already ravaged by injuries, they’ll have to hope that this new injury is a relatively minor one.
  • The Washington Capitals have announced that forward Anthony Mantha has an upper-body injury, and will not return to tonight’s game. It’s been a rough season for Mantha and a difficult adjustment in Washington overall. Mantha has scored nine goals and 24 points in 53 games this season and is being outscored by two of the team’s bargain-bin veteran signings, Erik Gustafsson and Marcus Johansson. Hopefully, this injury proves to be just a minor setback so Matha can quickly return to the ice and work towards ending his season on the right foot.

Snapshots: Archibald, Reimer, Mantha

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Josh Archibald has not played a single game at any level this season but is in Edmonton skating after dealing with myocarditis. Mark Spector of Sportsnet sent out a string of tweets today updating the depth forward’s status, including confirming that Archibald is still unvaccinated.

Because of how difficult that makes it for him to play with the Oilers or go on a conditioning loan to the Bakersfield Condors due to cross-border travel, Spector expects Archibald to be traded to a U.S.-based team at some point and suggests his time as an Oiler is effectively over. The 29-year-old forward is a pending unrestricted free agent in the second season of a two-year contract that carries a $1.5MM cap hit. He scored seven goals and 13 points in 52 games last season.

  • James Reimer is considered out week-to-week according to head coach Bob Boughner, who spoke with Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Reimer’s injury further explains why the San Jose Sharks traded for–and subsequently recalled from the AHL–Alex Stalock. Adin Hill is still out with an injury, though Boughner explained that the goaltender “felt good” this morning. Losing Reimer is a pretty hefty blow to the Sharks’ fortunes, as the veteran netminder was having a nice bounce-back season and has a .916 save percentage in 34 appearances.
  • Peter Laviolette wouldn’t confirm whether the Washington Capitals would have Anthony Mantha back in the lineup tonight, but he has been activated from injured reserve. Should he play, it would be his first game since leaving a match against the Florida Panthers on November 4 and just his 11th of the season. The 6’5″ forward had six points in his first ten games before going down and could be a trade deadline-like addition for the scuffling Capitals.

Snapshots: Capitals, Penguins, King

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Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan gave a variety of updates in a midseason presser today, recapped in this article by The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell. First and most concerning is the health status of winger Carl Hagelin, who was hit in the eye with a stick during yesterday’s practice. MacLellan called the injury “serious,” and Hagelin has had surgery within the past day. MacLellan says the examination went in a positive direction, but that the next steps for Hagelin are “still to be determined.” However, it’s possible that winger Anthony Mantha could return to the lineup this week in Hagelin’s absence. Mantha had six points in 10 games this season before going down with a shoulder injury.

More notes on this Wednesday evening:

  • As the Pittsburgh Penguins embark on a tough schedule ahead with a long string of games against playoff teams, they could be getting two reinforcements back in the lineup. Head coach Mike Sullivan says center Teddy Blueger is now taking full-contact practices but will need a few practices more before he’s ready to return the lineup. Winger Jason Zucker “isn’t as close” as Blueger, but will likely return to practice soon. Blueger has been out since late January with a broken jaw, while Zucker has been out with an upper-body injury since around the same time.
  • Newly-named Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson called interim head coach Derek King “definitely a viable candidate” to be the team’s next permanent head coach today. While Blackhawks fans may be frustrated that their management crew won’t see fresh faces, the rebuilding team has kept up a .500 points percentage under King, an impressive feat considering a weak roster and some tough injuries. It would be King’s first NHL head coaching role.

Anthony Mantha Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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When Anthony Mantha left last night’s game with an upper-body injury it wasn’t clear exactly what the issue was. Today, the Washington Capitals have announced that Mantha underwent shoulder surgery and is out indefinitely. The team has moved him to injured reserve and recalled Aliaksei Protas from the AHL.

It’s a huge blow for a team that is already operating without Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie, each dealing with their own serious injuries. Mantha played just over seven minutes before departing in his final game, but before that had been averaging close to 15 minutes a night for the Capitals. The big winger has six points in ten games.

While the Capitals have been able to rely on Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov to lead the way offensively so far, the club now has four overtime losses through ten games and have a busy period of the schedule coming up. The team plays five games in seven days between November 11-17 with only one of them coming at home. If the two Russian forces slip even a bit, the team will be hard-pressed to find much offense with the rest of the healthy group.

With that in mind, head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters including JJ Regan of NBC Sports Washington that rookie Hendrix Lapierre will be back in for tomorrow’s game. Lapierre has played in five games so far this season and will burn the first year of his entry-level deal if he plays in five more. Lapierre has just one goal in five games but possesses offensive upside that some of the other depth options do not.

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