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Injury Updates: Subban, Streit, Tatar, Bishop, Benn, Brouwer, Getzlaf

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Nashville blueliner P.K. Subban took a step forward in his recovery from an upper body injury (that is believed to be a herniated disc) as he took part in their optional morning skate today, reports Adam Vingan of The Tennessean.  However, GM David Poile acknowledged earlier this week that his return will be closer to three weeks instead of the two that the team was hoping for.  He was placed on IR on January 1st so Poile’s comments would suggest he’s still likely another 10 or so days away from returning.

Subban has been out of the lineup since December 15th and the Preds have won just five of their 12 games in his absence.  Through 29 games this season, the 27 year old has seven goals and 10 assists but also has a team-worst -11 plus/minus rating.  If healthy by then, Subban will be Nashville’s lone representative at the All-Star Game.

Other injury news from around the league:

  • Flyers defender Mark Streit is hopeful that he can return from a sprained left shoulder on Saturday, notes CSN Philly’s Tom Dougherty. Streit has missed the last 12 games heading into tonight and is currently on long-term injury reserve.  When he’s fully healthy and ready to play, Philadelphia will have to make a roster move to get back under the cap before they can activate him back onto their active roster.  Prior to the injury, the 39 year old was off to a strong start with 16 points in 31 games.  For comparison, he had just 23 points in 62 contests last year.
  • While he will remain in the lineup, Detroit left winger Tomas Tatar is dealing with lingering shoulder issues and told reporters, including Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News (Twitter link), that he will likely require surgery at the end of the season. Tatar has underperformed this year (this issue likely has something to do with it) with nine goals and 10 assists through 41 games but still sits tied for fourth overall in team scoring with rookie Anthony Mantha.
  • Tampa Bay will be getting their starting goaltender back earlier than expected as Ben Bishop has been activated off injured reserve and will start tonight against the Sabres, reports Bryan Burns on the Lightning’s team website. Bishop has missed the last nine games with a lower body injury and the team has struggled without him, winning just three of those contests with Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes while they’ve also dropped out of a playoff spot in his absence.
  • Stars captain Jamie Benn expects to return to the lineup tonight against the Red Wings, he told Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge (Twitter link). He has missed the last four games with a foot injury and has 34 points (10-24-34) in 38 games this season.  Mike Heika of the Dallas News adds that Benn is expected to play on the top line alongside Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza.
  • Calgary right winger Troy Brouwer has been given the green light from doctors to return to the lineup tomorrow against New Jersey, notes Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson (Twitter link). Brouwer has been out since breaking his finger on December 23rd.  Through 36 games this year, the 31 year old has 17 points (8-9-17).
  • Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf is expected to return tonight against Colorado, reports Kyle Shohara on Anaheim’s team website.  He has missed the last four games after sustaining a lower body injury on January 1st.  He’s expected to reprise his role on a line alongside Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell.  The 31 year old has had no issues putting up assists this year as he leads the team with 25 but on the flip side, he has scored just five times through 38 games.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Sixth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?

Here are the results of our redraft so far:

1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
23rd Overall: Kris Russell (New Jersey Devils)
24th Overall: Darren Helm (St. Louis Blues)
25th Overall: Cody Franson (Edmonton Oilers)

Now we move forward to the 26th pick, which was held by the Calgary Flames.

To recap how this works:

  • We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
  • The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.

Back in 2005, the Flames took defenseman Matt Pelech from the Sarnia Sting. Since being drafted, Pelech played a total of 13 games in the NHL, tallying four points (1-3). Of those 13 games, Pelech spent five with the Flames and the other eight with San Jose. During the 2013-14 season, Pelech spent time in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies after playing for both San Jose and its AHL affiliate Worcester. A season later, Pelech recorded 39 games with the Rochester Americans. Last season, Pelech appeared in 49 games for the Schwenningen Wild Wings in the DEL (Germany) and has played the current season with Graz EC in the Austrian league.

With the 26th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Flames select?  Cast your vote below! Mobile users, you can vote here!

 

 

5 Key Stories: 12/19/16 – 12/24/16

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The holiday roster freeze ensured that trades would not dominate the week’s headlines. Instead, injuries to key players would again be the theme. Here are five key stories from the week ending on Christmas Eve.

Ben Bishop Out For 3 – 4 Weeks

The Tampa Bay Lightning will have to manage without starting goaltender Ben Bishop for the next 3 – 4 weeks. Bishop injured his right leg in Tampa’s 4 – 1 win over Detroit and is set to miss the next nine games as a result. The 30-year-old netminder is slated to become a free agent next summer and is in the midst of a mediocre platform campaign with a GAA of 2.79 and a Save % of 0.907.

Detroit Will Be Without Jimmy Howard For 4 – 6 Weeks

Bishop’s counterpart Tuesday night, Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard, was also injured and is expected to miss anywhere from 4 – 6 weeks with a MCL sprain. Howard has adapted quite well to a reserve role with the Wings and has posted a GAA of 1.96 and a Save % of 0.934 through 17 appearances this season. His absence leaves the Red Wings with the inexperienced Jared Coreau as Petr Mrazek’s backup between the pipes.

Tyler Pitlick To Miss Rest Of Season

Six years after being selected in the second-round by the Edmonton Oilers, Tyler Pitlick appeared to finally find his footing as NHL regular. The 6-foot, 202-pound forward had chipped in eight goals and 11 points in 31 games while playing mostly fourth-line minutes for the Oilers. Unfortunately, what was shaping up as a breakout season for Pitlick is now over, with the 25-year-old winger set to miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL last Monday.

Longtime NHL Center David Legwand Retires From NHL

David Legwand will forever be remembered as the answer to a trivia question: Who was the first ever draft pick of the Nashville Predators franchise? Legwand was the second overall selection in the 1998 draft and after spending the first 14+ seasons with the Predators, the pivot was traded to Detroit at the 2014 trade deadline. He would wrap up his 17-year career spending a season each with Ottawa and Buffalo. He retires after nearly 1,200 regular season and postseason games.

Doan Reaches 400-Goal, 1,500 Game Plateau

Shane Doan became just the 17th NHL player to reach the 1,500 game mark when he suited up Friday night in the Arizona Coyotes 4 – 1 loss to Toronto Friday night. Doan, who has spent his entire 21-year career as a member of the Coyotes franchise, also tallied his 400th NHL goal in the contest.

Ben Bishop Out 3-4 Weeks With Lower-Body Injury

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Following our report that Ben Bishop had left the Tampa Bay game last night with an apparent right leg injury, the Lightning have announced that he’ll be out for three to four weeks with a lower-body injury. The team had already recalled Kristers Gudlevskis from Syracuse to replace him.

Even taking the optimistic timeline of three weeks means Bishop will be unavailable for the team’s next nine games, placing an even heavier burden on Andrei Vasilevskiy. The young netminder has already made 12 starts this year, well on his way to break his career high of 21 set last season. Though Bishop was still technically the starter, the three-year extension that Vasilevskiy signed this summer indicated that the team is ready to hand him the reins.

For Bishop, this is just another hit to his upcoming free agency that was already being affected with his play. Last year’s Vezina runner-up was having the worst season of his career, carrying a mediocre .909 save percentage into Wednesday. While he’s likely to bounce back somewhat, being on the wrong side of 30, enduring injury and seeing a downward trend in performance are three pretty big red flags.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Lightning do over this stretch, as it contains two back-to-back situations. Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times wouldn’t be surprised to see Adam Wilcox get a chance in one of those games, as the 24-year old is dominating at the AHL level.

Snapshots: Gudlevskis, Luongo, Rule Book

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After Ben Bishop suffered a lower-body injury in last night’s game, the Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Kristers Gudlevksis from the Syracuse Crunch.

If the name Gudlevskis sounds familiar, it’s likely because of his performance for Latvia at the 2014 Olympics. In their 2-1 quarter-final loss against Canada, Gudlevskis made 55 saves on 57 shots.

So far this season, Gudlevskis has struggled in the AHL, with just a 5-4-2 record and an 0.884 SV%. However, with Bishop expected to be gone sometime this year or this summer, an NHL callup is a chance for Gudlevskis to show he has what it takes to back up Andrei Vasilevskiy going forward.

  • Jaromir Jagr wasn’t the only Florida Panthers player to hit a milestone last night. Roberto Luongo tied legendary goaltender Terry Sawchuk for fifth all-time in wins. Both have 477 wins, with Luongo doing it in 22 less games. Luongo needs eight more wins to pass Curtis Joseph for fourth, and 105 wins to pass Patrick Roy for second. Martin Brodeur is safely first with 691 wins, which is 140 more than Roy.
  • Over at OilersNation.com, TSN’s Jason Gregor writes that the NHL needs to once again call the rule book. While it was strictly enforced after the 2005 lockout, obstruction is no longer being called properly in the NHL. Gregor argues that players like Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, and Johnny Gaudreau are being prevented from demonstrating their elite skill because of the constant hooking and slashing that isn’t called. Whether it was Gaudreau missing weeks with a broken finger from being slashed 21 times in a single game (no penalties) or McDavid being denied penalty shot after penalty shot when he’s whacked and hooked on breakaways (most recently on Monday when Alex Pietrangelo denied McDavid a shot on a breakaway by slashing his hands several times, again no penalty), there is a systematic failure on the NHL’s part to protect its stars from fouls. Gregor wonders why no GMs or players have spoken up about this, and hypothesizes that they’re either scared of being “deemed whiners” or scared of commissioner Gary Bettman. Former referee Kerry Fraser told Gregor that the current officials need to “be a little more vigilant,” in a rare comment about fellow officials.

Cory Schneider, Ben Bishop Struggling

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It’s been a tough first few months for all three of Team USA’s World Cup goaltenders.

Jonathan Quick hurt his groin in the first period of the Kings’ season opener and isn’t expected to be back until February at the earliest. Cory Schneider has performed well below his career averages. Ben Bishop has also struggled, and is now hurt as well.

When the New Jersey Devils traded for superstar forward Taylor Hall in June, it gave them a second superstar on the roster. Many believed that the combination of Hall’s scoring and Schneider’s goaltending would bring the Devils back to the playoffs for the first time since their 2012 Stanley Cup Finals appearance. It’s not worked out so far, with Hall missing eight games and Schneider’s play falling off.

This is Schneider’s fourth season in New Jersey and third as starter. In the two previous seasons, he has a 0.925 SV% and a 2.21 GAA. Both numbers demonstrate Schneider is a top-flight starter in the NHL. Schneider and the Devils started off decently, with a 0.941 SV% and a team record of 4-2-2 in October. Schneider had a 0.893 SV% in November, and has fallen even further in December to 0.881.

It’s not clear what’s happened to Schneider. The Devils did move their second-best defenseman in Adam Larsson to acquire Hall, but based on his career numbers Schneider should be much better than 28th in league SV%.

The Devils are part of the Metropolitan Division, which is the best in the NHL this season. They’re already 10 points out of a playoff spot, and unless Schneider picks up his play and starts stealing games, the Devils will be out of the playoffs once again.

Over the past three seasons with the Lightning, Bishop has averaged a 0.922 SV% and a 2.20 GAA. He’s been a Vezina finalist twice in those three years. Bishop racked up 77 wins over 186 games in those three seasons. This year, however, his record has fallen to 9-10-2. Andrei Vasilevskiy has much superior numbers in nearly every category compared to Bishop this season. Bishop has a 0.906 SV% and a 2.82 GAA in the final year of his contract, while Vasilevskiy has a winning record to go with his 0.921 SV% and a 2.49 GAA.

Bishop left Tuesday night’s game versus the Red Wings, and his status is not known. Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes that Bishop could be out anywhere from two days to two months. His injury may only be fast-forwarding to the inevitable handing-off of the starters job to Vasilevskiy. With Bishop’s contract up after this season and Vasilevskiy signed for another three seasons after this one, the Lightning appear to have shown their plan. Not to mention, only one can be protected from the expansion draft. That will be Vasilevskiy.

With Bishop hurt again, Smith wondered if his trade value would be affected. Smith quoted TSN’s Craig Button, a former GM, who said that it wouldn’t be an issue “so long as teams are satisfied that it’s not long term.”

The Stars would definitely be interested in acquiring a new starter, but there are other options like Marc-Andre Fleury. The Lightning need Bishop to return as soon as he can and be the dependable starter of years past. That gets the Lightning more wins and better potential trade value, while improving Bishop’s chances at a big contract in free agency.

Goalie Notes: Bishop, Johnson, Varlamov

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It has been an interesting few months for Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop.  After nearly being dealt to Calgary in the offseason, he has found himself seeing less ice time as a result of the team wanting to play youngster Andrei Vasilevskiy more often.  Now, he finds himself off to his worst start since becoming a full-time NHL player, hardly the ideal situation for a pending unrestricted free agent.

While his free agency situation and uncertainty of where he’ll be next year (since it’s unlikely to be in Tampa Bay) are admittedly on his mind, he told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that it hasn’t been a distraction:

“You know (the contract uncertainty) is there. But it’s not like I’m sitting at home thinking about it. You just think about the next game, want to play well to get out of this funk. That’s way more on my mind than anything else.”

In 20 games this season, the 30 year old has posted a 9-10-1 record with a 2.87 GAA and a .905 SV%.  For comparison, he allowed just 2.06 goals per game last year, the best mark in the league while finishing second in the Vezina Trophy balloting.

Given the current market when it comes to trading starter-quality goalies, it doesn’t seem likely that Bishop will be dealt by the trade deadline and GM Steve Yzerman recently reiterated that Tampa’s current tandem could remain intact for the rest of the season.  That type of uncertainty is far from ideal heading into a free agent season but if Bishop can turn his year around, not only would he help cement himself as the top UFA goaltending option in July but also help push the Lightning back towards a playoff position.

More goalie news and notes:

  • Chad Johnson’s road to signing with Calgary Flames started in a rather unique way, writes USA Today’s Kevin Allen. It just so happened that the first day that teams could talk with pending UFAs was  Johnson’s wedding day so while Johnson was tying the knot, his agent, Steven Kotlowitz, was trying to tie up a new home for his client (while also making an appearance at the wedding).  The Flames were among those teams who expressed an early interest and it didn’t take long for the two sides to work out a one year, $1.7MM deal.  Although Johnson began the year as the backup to Brian Elliott (whose late June acquisition put an end to the Bishop-to-Calgary talks), he has taken over as the undisputed starter and told Allen that part of the allure with the Flames was that there was no incumbent starter and that there would be an open battle for the spot.  So far, the contract has panned out quite nicely for both sides.
  • Avalanche netminder Semyon Varlamov skated briefly today as he recovers from a groin injury, reports Terry Frei of the Denver Post. Head coach Jared Bednar is calling it a day by day situation but presumably, he’ll need at least a couple of days of facing shots in practice before he’s ready to return.  Calvin Pickard should continue to get the starts in Varlamov’s absence.

Jonathan Quick Out Until Mid-February, Kings Not Willing To Overpay For Goaltender

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12:45pm: Lombardi is now telling Elliott that he misspoke today and though the worst case is still March, he actually expects Quick back in mid-February. While this lines up closer to what Sutter said on Monday, it still is a long-time for Quick to be sidelined.

11:45pm: The continuing saga of Jonathan Quick got another chapter today, as Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi told Helene Elliott of the LA Times that he’d be out until March. This comes after head coach Darryl Sutter said just two days ago that it’d be a month before the next step was even revealed.

Lombardi also told Elliott that he’s “not willing to throw the kitchen sink” at his goaltending situation, meaning that he doesn’t want to part with important assets to fix it. The team has been riding Peter Budaj this season to mixed success, as the 34-year old started hot but has struggled recently. Last night Budaj allowed four goals on 22 shots, marking four out of five games where he’s recorded a save percentage under .900. Jeff Zatkoff, brought in this offseason to be the backup, has struggled with injury and ineffectiveness himself, carrying an .882 save percentage through Wednesday.

The Kings, 14-12-2, are sitting fifth in the Pacific Division just outside a wild card spot but are in danger of slipping further and further should they not fix their goaltending situation. If Budaj can get back to the level he started the season at, perhaps the team would not need to find a solution outside the organization.

While there are talented options on the trade market – namely, Ben Bishop and Jimmy Howard – the Kings would have to take on a large amount of salary or give up substantial assets to get them. Though the team has a good amount of cap space currently due to Quick’s designation on LTIR, the team would be left unable to make any additional moves at the deadline for a playoff run, or in trouble should Quick make a return any earlier than expected.

A lesser option – like Ondrej Pavelec or Jonathan Bernier – comes with substantial risks as well and may not be any more effective than the Budaj-Zatkoff duo in the long run. For the Kings, it’s likely a game of trying to improve the team in front of them than spending assets for an answer in net.

Atlantic Division Snapshots: Yzerman, Beleskey, Bjugstad, Bibeau

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The Tampa Bay Lightning entered the 2016-17 campaign as a popular pick to emerge from the Eastern Conference to compete for the Stanley Cup championship. While it’s still relatively early, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is concerned with the team’s inconsistent play, though as Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes, that concern is tempered by calm.

Entering tonight’s home contest against Washington, the Lightning boast a record of just 13 – 11 – 1 through their first 25 games and currently reside in fourth place in the Atlantic, seven points behind first place Montreal. If the postseason was to start today, Tampa would be on the outside looking in, one point behind the Capitals for the final wild card spot though Washington has played three fewer games. Despite their standing and the fact the team has lost four in a row, Yzerman is not interested in making a move simply to “shake things up.”

“If there’s an opportunity to make us a better team, I’m certainly willing to explore it. But I like our team. I like the character of our players. We’re very careful of the type of person we bring in and which players we move out. That isn’t going to change.”

The trouble of late, according to Yzerman, has been the team’s lackluster play in their own zone. As Smith notes, Tampa Bay has given up 19 goals over the last four games; a figure which could have been higher if not for the quality play of the team’s net minders.

It’s easy to understand Yzerman’s hesitation to try to solve the team’s problems via the trade market. At this point so few teams have the available salary cap space necessary to make more than minor deals.

If they do decide a deal is in order either at or near the trade deadline, the Lightning do have an appealing asset to market in goaltender Ben Bishop. Bishop, who has been a Vezina Trophy finalist twice in the last three seasons, is in the final year of his contract. With Andrei Vasilevskiy inking a three-year contract extension over the summer and presumably the team’s future starter, the Lightning could move Bishop to address other areas of need.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Matt Beleskey of the Boston Bruins was knocked out of this afternoon’s game against Buffalo after absorbing a heavy hit from Sabres blue liner Taylor Fedun, writes Joe Haggerty of CSNNE. Beleskey suffered the lower-body injury late in the first period and his return was ruled out by the team soon thereafter. The gritty forward was a big-ticket free agent signing in the summer of 2015, inking a five-year, $19MM pact with Boston. This season he has struggled, scoring just two goals in 23 games for the Bruins.
  • Struggling to find their way on the ice and having already relieved head coach Gerard Gallant of his duties, the Florida Panthers, under new bench boss Tom Rowe continue to tinker with the lineup in an effort to find some consistency. With Nick Bjugstad returning recently from injury, the team tried lining him up on the right side, instead of at his customary pivot position, to try to ease him back into the lineup. But after five games – and zero points for the 6-foot-6 center – Bjugstad is moving back to the middle, where Rowe feels he will be “more comfortable,” as Harvey Fialkov writes. Currently two points behind Washington for the second wild card slot in the East, Florida needs to improve their play if they want to qualify for the postseason for the second consecutive campaign and a return to normal production from Bjugstad would be a big help in that regard.
  • Finally, with starting net minder Frederik Andersen battling an undisclosed illness and unable to practice yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Antoine Bibeau from the AHL on an emergency basis, according to Mike Augello (Twitter link). Elliotte Friedman adds that while Andersen is still expected to play, the team wanted certainty just in case, and with the Leafs in Vancouver to play the Canucks tonight, Toronto acted early as a precaution. Bibeau has yet to make his NHL debut and it appears unlikely he will do so tonight. While he has no big league experience, the 22-year-old goalie has appeared in 87 contests over the last three seasons with the Marlies.

John-Michael Liles Out Indefinitely With A Concussion

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The Boston Bruins tweeted that John-Michael Liles has been diagnosed with a concussion, and as such, will be out indefinitely due to league concussion protocol. Boston also issued a release on its’ website.

Initially reported as an upper body injury, Liles was hurt when he tripped over Ben Bishop’s goalie stick and went head first into the boards. He needed assistance from teammates to leave the ice and didn’t return to the game. Video of the incident is available via NBC Sports.

Liles has five assists in 22 games this season.

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