Injury Notes: Wild, Penguins, Zub
A mixed bag of news is coming out of Minnesota Wild practice this morning. The Star Tribune’s Sarah McLellan reports Joel Eriksson Ek is absent from practice, although injured forwards Brandon Duhaime and Marcus Foligno are skating.
Eriksson Ek has been invaluable to Minnesota, even more so on both sides of the puck this year. He’s on pace for a career year offensively, recording 27 points through 35 contests (tied for third on the team). Duhaime has been very limited this year, playing in just 14 games due to two separate upper-body injuries. On the other hand, Foligno has been out with an undisclosed injury since December 22.
- Injuries continue to hamper Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang this season, who’s already recovered from the second stroke of his NHL career. Head coach Mike Sullivan said today that Letang will not play tonight against the New Jersey Devils with an undisclosed injury and is day-to-day. Additionally, there are no updates for defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, who remains out with an upper-body injury. Forward Ryan Poehling will also be a game-time decision after missing the last 10 days.
- Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub could return to the lineup tomorrow against Detroit, according to TSN 1200. Zub has been out the last 27 days with a jaw injury, and Dillon Heatherington was returned to AHL Belleville today to make room on the roster for his return.
Ottawa Senators Extend Artem Zub
The Ottawa Senators have handed a nice Christmas gift to defenseman Artem Zub, signing him to a four-year extension. The deal is worth a total of $18.4MM ($4.6MM AAV) and will keep him in the organization through the 2026-27 season. Zub will hold a 10-team no-trade clause, and make the following:
- 2023-24: $4.0MM
- 2024-25: $4.8MM
- 2025-26: $4.8MM
- 2026-27: $4.8MM
Senators general manager Pierre Dorion released a statement on the deal:
Artem’s transition to North American hockey has been remarkable. He has worked hard to establish himself as an excellent NHL player and a strong defender. He consistently helps make us a better defensive team while he’s on the ice. We’re pleased to reach agreement with him on an extension of this length.
Zub, 27, came to the Senators in 2020, and has been arguably the most important defender on the team since the moment he arrived. While Thomas Chabot controls play and logs the biggest minutes, it is Zub that seems to make everything work. With him in the lineup, the team is so much better defensively, and he has chipped in a little bit of offense at the same time.
Last season he set a high-water mark of 22 points in 81 games, and was one of only three regulars to post a positive +/-. This year has been marred by two different injury issues, limiting him to just 14 games so far. In those, he is averaging more than 22 minutes and has four points.
It won’t get the headlines that some other extensions do, but locking up Zub is a very important step for the Senators. Given they are in the process of a sale, adding contracts to the books can sometimes be a tricky thing to pull off. Keeping Zub away from unrestricted free agency should only help the team as they attempt to turn the corner on their rebuild.