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Boone Jenner

Injury Notes: Hartman, Verhaeghe, Jenner

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Ryan Hartman’s performance in the 2023-24 season is of massive importance for both the Minnesota Wild and Hartman himself. The 29-year-old American forward is on an expiring $1.7MM cap hit, and is coming off of an uneven campaign. Due to his affordable cap hit and the Wild’s relative lack of center options, Hartman has at times been thrust into a first-line center role for the Wild, something he may have to do once again this season.

The Athletic’s Joe Smith reports that Hartman, who is still working his way back from an upper-body injury, was on the ice today at Wild camp but still isn’t facing the rigors of contact drills. After playing in all 82 games during 2021-22, Hartman only managed 59 in 2022-23. Hartman’s health is going to be something to monitor for Wild fans hoping to see their club get off to a fast start, as if he’s healthy he has in the past been an impactful, productive top-six player.

Some other injury updates:

  • CapFriendly relays word that Florida Panthers sniper Carter Verhaeghe is out day-to-day with muscle tightness, and is “expected to be fine for start of season.” After scoring 42 goals and 73 points last season Verhaeghe cemented his place as one of the Panthers’ most important players. The Panthers are looking to make the playoffs in an Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference that figures to be fiercely competitive, so the team will have to hope that their leading goal scorer will be back to 100% by opening night in October.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner left practice yesterday due to an injury, but according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, returned to the ice today. That’s important news for Columbus, who is likely to rely on Jenner heavily not only as their most experienced center, but also as a crucial leader and potential mentor to number-three pick Adam Fantilli. Fantilli began training camp centering Alexandre Texier and Patrick Laine. Playing as a top-six center is one of the most difficult jobs in the NHL, especially for a rookie, so it will be crucial that Jenner remains healthy in order to help manage the pressure that ends up placed on Fantilli’s shoulders.

Metro Injury Notes: Devils, Romanov, Blue Jackets

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Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar will both be available for tomorrow’s game for the New Jersey Devils according to Amanda Stein, the team’s lead reporter. Furthermore, she adds that forward Michael McLeod will not be available yet, but head coach Lindy Ruff is hoping he will practice with the team soon.

Haula has not played for the Devils since their April 6th win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but will now be available for New Jersey come playoff time. Since being acquired from the Boston Bruins this past offseason, Haula has chipped in nicely for the Devils, scoring 12 goals and 27 assists so far this year. That is a pretty typical year for Haula, as he has become one of the most dependable players in the NHL over the course of his decade-long career.

Lazar, who was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks at the trade deadline, has only managed three games in New Jersey, getting injured on their March 18th game against the Florida Panthers. Being out for almost a month, it is unclear whether or not Lazar will be a part of the Devils’ regular playoff lineup. In 48 games so far this year, a majority of which in Vancouver, Lazar has three goals and two assists.

Similar to Haula, McLeod has been out of the Devils’ lineup for a little under a week. The young forward is continuing to progress throughout his short career, setting a new career-high in points this year with 26. Originally drafted 12th overall by New Jersey in the 2016 NHL Draft, McLeod has yet to break out into the league in accordance with his draft selection. Although he is not a world-breaker when it comes to scoring, he has become one of the Devils’ most physical forwards, throwing over 120 hits the last two seasons.

Other injury notes from the Metro Division:

  • In the first year of a 3-year, $7.5MM contract signed with the New York Islanders this past summer, Alexander Romanov has been out of the lineup since the team’s game on April 1st. The Islanders are still battling for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and they may be getting Romanov sooner rather than later. Andrew Gross of Newsday is reporting that Romanov has recently begun skating on his own again. Being one of the better low-key defensemen in the NHL, Romanov has 129 blocked shots and 198 hits for the Islanders this season.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that none of the currently injured Columbus Blue Jackets players will return for the regular season. This includes such players as Boone Jenner, Patrik Laine, and Elvis Merzlikins. Because of the Blue Jackets’ placement in the standings, it is understandable that they would not want to rush any player back from an injury. From Columbus’ perspective, this season is lost, and it will be better for them to have everyone healthy and rested for the start of the 2023-24 season.

Injury Updates: McLeod, Kulikov, Jenner, Vlasic, Larkin

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The Oilers welcomed back one of their centers before their game tonight against Colorado, announcing (Twitter link) that Ryan McLeod was activated off LTIR.  The 23-year-old missed four weeks with an upper-body injury and was retroactively shuffled to LTIR over the weekend.  McLeod has put up nearly identical numbers compared to his rookie season, notching 11 goals and 11 assists in 55 games heading into tonight’s action although he got to those numbers in 16 fewer contests than a year ago.

Other injury news around the NHL:

  • Prior to their game tonight against Chicago, the Penguins announced that they activated defenseman Dmitry Kulikov off LTIR. The 32-year-old was brought in from Anaheim at the trade deadline but suffered a lower-body injury in just his fourth game with his new team.  Kulikov has 16 points, 107 blocks, and 93 hits in 65 games this season and suited up on the third pairing.
  • The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that center Boone Jenner is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He took the pregame warmup but was a late scratch.  Jenner has had a nice season, notching 26 goals, the second-highest total of his career while winning nearly 55% of his faceoffs.  While it would be easy to say Columbus should shut him down for their final two games after tonight, their AHL affiliate is currently one point out of a playoff spot and keeping Jenner out would result in Cleveland losing another player to recall, hurting their postseason chances.
  • Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic did not accompany the team on their season-ending road trip, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, meaning his campaign has come to an early end. The 36-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in their home finale against Edmonton over the weekend.  Vlasic saw his playing time increase by more than two minutes per game this season to 17:28 but with a $7MM AAV for three more years after this one, San Jose still didn’t get a great return on this contract this season.
  • The Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that center Dylan Larkin is dealing with a lower-body injury, keeping him out of the lineup tonight against Carolina. The captain is averaging a point per game for the first time, collecting 32 goals and 47 assists in 79 games.  His absence created the emergency conditions to bring up Danny O’Regan earlier today although they opted to play seven defensemen instead.

Nominees Announced For 2023 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

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The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association has voted on the award since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2023.

Past winners of the award include Carey Price (2022), Oskar Lindblom (2021), Bobby Ryan (2020), Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), and Jaromir Jagr (2016).

Below are the nominees from each team:

Anaheim Ducks – Jakob Silfverberg

Arizona Coyotes – Clayton Keller

Boston Bruins – Nick Foligno

Buffalo Sabres – Craig Anderson

Calgary Flames – Mikael Backlund

Carolina Hurricanes – Jordan Martinook

Chicago Blackhawks – Alex Stalock

Colorado Avalanche – Andrew Cogliano

Columbus Blue Jackets – Boone Jenner

Dallas Stars – Jamie Benn

Detroit Red Wings – Robby Fabbri

Edmonton Oilers – Derek Ryan

Florida Panthers – Patric Hornqvist

Los Angeles Kings – Pheonix Copley

Minnesota Wild – Mason Shaw

Montreal Canadiens – Alex Belzile

Nashville Predators – Cody Glass

New Jersey Devils – Dougie Hamilton

New York Islanders – Zach Parise

New York Rangers – Jimmy Vesey

Ottawa Senators – Derick Brassard

Philadelphia Flyers – Nick Seeler

Pittsburgh Penguins – Kris Letang

San Jose Sharks – Nikolai Knyzhov

Seattle Kraken – Brandon Tanev

St. Louis Blues – Sammy Blais

Tampa Bay Lightning – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Toronto Maple Leafs – Mark Giordano

Vancouver Canucks – Brock Boeser

Vegas Golden Knights – Phil Kessel

Washington Capitals – John Carlson

Winnipeg Jets – Sam Gagner

Snapshots: Demko, Islanders, Sabres

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The Vancouver Canucks are a big step closer to getting a notable piece back into their lineup. Patrick Johnston of The Province reported Tuesday that injured goalie Thatcher Demko returned to practice for the first time since he was injured making a save against the Florida Panthers on December 1, 2022.

While Demko’s long-term standing in the Canucks organization remains unknown, his return could provide benefits. If Vancouver does opt to keep their once-named “goalie of the future” after a horrid start to 2022-23, a return to the ice makes a return to form a possibility for Demko, which should come with added confidence. Even if a trade is in the cards, a hot streak between now and the deadline for Demko would likely boost his trade value, giving Vancouver more assets to work with as they retool for future seasons. Hopefully, for Demko and the Canucks, he can make his 3-10-2 start to the season a distant memory.

  • The New York Islanders have a distinct pattern of trading away first-round picks, and they did so again by dealing their top-12-protected 2023 pick to Vancouver in the Bo Horvat trade. It’s such a distinct pattern that Islanders fans have been wondering if the team can still trade their 2024 first-round pick, despite its potential transfer to the Canucks if New York ends up with a top-12 pick this season. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports clarification from the NHL that says yes, they can. If their 2024 first-round pick is transferred to the Canucks after being traded in a second deal, though, the pick in the second trade would automatically slide to 2025. It’s something other general managers will keep in mind at this deadline if the Islanders deal their 2024 pick in an attempt to load up even more.
  • Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams could look to reward his team’s strong performance this season with a trade deadline move, NHL Network’s Steve Konroyd and Mike Johnson said this morning. They called out the Columbus Blue Jackets as a potential trade partner, with names like Boone Jenner and Vladislav Gavrikov available. However, they stopped short of saying any discussions between the two parties actually occurred. With Gavrikov’s asking price rumored to be a first-round pick, however, it may be too early in Buffalo’s ascent to competitiveness for Adams to make such a major splash.

Blue Jackets Activate Three, Assign Marcus Bjork To AHL

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The Blue Jackets have made a series of roster moves in advance of tonight’s game against Detroit.  The team announced that center Boone Jenner, winger Eric Robinson, and goaltender Daniil Tarasov have been all activated off injured reserve.  To make room on the roster, defenseman Marcus Bjork was sent to AHL Cleveland.  Meanwhile, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo is unavailable tonight due to personal reasons.

While several veterans have struggled for Columbus this season, Jenner was one of the exceptions.  Prior to fracturing his thumb last month, the 29-year-old had 11 goals and 11 assists in 30 games, a 30-goal and 30-assist pace over a full season.  Additionally, Jenner is logging over 20 minutes a night and is winning 55.9% of his faceoffs, a career-high.  In his absence, the Blue Jackets won less than 40% of their draws.  Sophomore middleman Cole Sillinger will come out of the lineup to make room for Jenner in the lineup.

As for Robinson, he had missed the last five games due to an upper-body injury sustained earlier this month.  After setting benchmarks offensively in 2021-22 with 10 goals and 17 assists, the 27-year-old has struggled on that side of the ice this season with just three goals and seven helpers in 38 games so far despite his playing time hovering near 14 minutes a night for the second year in a row.  Blueliner Gavin Bayruether will be a healthy scratch to open up a spot for Robinson to return as Columbus will go back to a standard alignment of a dozen forwards and six defensemen.

Tarasov, meanwhile, was injured in practice two weeks ago, causing him to miss the last seven games and delaying their decision on whether or not to carry three goaltenders a little longer.  The 23-year-old has a .907 SV% in a dozen appearances with the Blue Jackets with his save percentage being just a single point lower than Korpisalo’s.

There haven’t been many bright spots for Columbus this year but Bjork has been one of them.  After signing an entry-level deal back in May, the 25-year-old started the season in the minors before being brought up in November and scored in his NHL debut.  Bjork has played in 26 games with the Blue Jackets this season, collecting 11 points while logging just over 19 minutes a game.  However, having sat out the last game and the fact that he’s waiver-exempt, they’ve decided that he will be the one to lose his roster spot for the time being.

Columbus Blue Jackets Assign Greaves, Fix-Wolansky To AHL

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have made a couple of roster moves, sending Jet Greaves and Trey Fix-Wolansky to the AHL. That suggests Elvis Merzlikins is ready to return, and either Boone Jenner or Eric Robinson – who both took part in practice today – will also be in the lineup tomorrow night.

Fix-Wolansky, 23, has played just four games with the Blue Jackets this season, spending most of the year with the Cleveland Monsters. The undersized forward has been outstanding there, to the tune of 34 points in 26 games, but can’t seem to bring that production to the NHL. A seventh-round pick in 2018, even playing games at the highest level is beating the odds, but the Blue Jackets will keep hoping that he can contribute on a more regular basis in the future.

Greaves, meanwhile, still hasn’t appeared in the NHL and is really only an emergency backup at this point. The 21-year-old has recorded an .885 save percentage in 15 appearances for the Monsters this year and has a long way to go before he is seeing meaningful playing time in the NHL.

Getting Jenner back would be the most impactful for the Blue Jackets, who have been without their captain since December 17. The 29-year-old has 11 goals and 22 points this season through 30 games, though like so many other Columbus players, has been outscored heavily at even-strength. Jenner is averaging more than 20 minutes a night for the struggling club, which has dropped to last in the NHL standings.

Boone Jenner To Undergo Surgery

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The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to see key players head to the shelf, this time announcing surgery for Boone Jenner. The veteran forward will undergo a procedure tomorrow to repair a fractured thumb and is out for approximately four weeks.

Jenner has been moved to injured reserve and in his place, the Blue Jackets have recalled Joshua Dunne from the minor leagues.

It’s another brutal injury for a Blue Jackets team that can’t seem to escape them this season, as Jenner will join Jakub Voracek, Jake Bean, Joonas Korpisalo, Justin Danforth, Nick Blankenburg, Adam Boqvist, and Zach Werenski on injured reserve. The 29-year-old captain was the club’s second-highest scorer on the year, playing mostly alongside prized free agent signing Johnny Gaudreau on the top line. With 22 points in 30 games he was on pace to set a new career-high, but will now have his season disrupted by a month-long absence.

While it is another frustrating injury for Columbus fans to deal with, there is at least one thing to get excited about. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that young prospect Kent Johnson is expected to center Gaudreau and Patrik Laine while Jenner is out. That will, at the very least, provide some highlight-reel moments even if expecting Johnson to step into a first-line center role is a little too much at this point in his career. The 20-year-old has 14 points in 27 games but at times looks slightly outmatched physically at the NHL level.

Dunne, meanwhile, will get another opportunity in the NHL after spending all of last season in the minor leagues. The undrafted forward played six games for the Blue Jackets in 2020-21, and is still looking for his first NHL point. Through 24 games with the Cleveland Monsters, the 6’4″ Dunne has 11 points this season.

Evening Notes: O’Reilly, Columbus, Jones

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When the NHL’s free agency window opens next summer, few players project to be as valuable on the market as St. Louis Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly. The forward is entering the final year of a seven-year, $52.5MM deal and though he’ll be 32 years old when he hits free agency, he will in all likelihood find another fairly long-term deal somewhere near the $7.5MM AAV he currently holds. The impending free agency is also a driving force behind the Blues’ decision to extend young forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou with matching eight-year, $65MM contracts now, insuring against an O’Reilly departure. Perhaps not to worry though, as O’Reilly told the media, including NHL.com’s Lou Korac, that he would like to remain with the Blues going forward and that some form of dialogue has already started. Still, the former Selke winner cautioned that he feels “no real urgency” to get a deal done right now. O’Reilly admitted that when he was a younger player, there may have been a feeling of more urgency, but now he understands that he has other things he needs to focus on first with the start of the season, and understands that Blues GM Doug Armstrong has other things to focus on right now too.

  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic provided updates on a pair of important Columbus Blue Jackets centers. Team Captain Boone Jenner was absent from training camp today as head coach Brad Larsen attempts to manage his workload early in training camp as the veteran comes off an injury which forced him to miss the final 23 games of last season. Assuring Jenner stays fresh and healthy heading into the season will be important for Columbus, who will rely on him, among others, for important secondary scoring behind their pair of superstar wingers in Patrik Laine and Johnny Gaudreau. Also of note is Cole Sillinger, who is listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury after a collision on the first day of training camp.
  • Amid the teardown and rebuild of the Chicago Blackhawks, defenseman Seth Jones told Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times he has no regrets about signing his eight-year extension with the team last summer. He admitted seeing many of his teammates traded over the past few months was frustrating, but said he plans to look at the bigger picture and be patient, this year especially. Locked in for eight more seasons at a $9.5MM AAV, Jones figures to be one of the only Blackhawks not moved out in the rebuild, but the star blueliner will have the opportunity over the life of the contract to be part of the future structure as the team tries to rise to prominence once again.

Snapshots: Penguins, Vikman, Jenner

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With nine defensemen on their roster, it would appear at first glance that the Penguins might be a team to watch for on the trade front.  Team president Brian Burke acknowledged to Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now that there are some teams calling to inquire about their blueliners although, for the time being, there aren’t any active trade discussions.  Prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph is now waiver-eligible and likely wouldn’t sneak through and while Ty Smith is exempt from hitting the waiver wire, they didn’t acquire him from New Jersey for John Marino simply to play him in the minors.  While there’s nothing on the front-burner now, there’s a good reason to think that Pittsburgh could be moving a defenseman at some point over the next month.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • While Golden Knights prospect Jesper Vikman is eligible to turn pro and play in their minor league system this season, it’s expected that he’ll be returned to WHL Vancouver, notes Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province. The 20-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Vegas back in 2020 and had a decent start to his major junior career with a 3.05 GAA and a .903 SV% in 35 games with the Giants.  While the Golden Knights might benefit from a bit of extra depth in their farm system with some of the uncertainty that they have between the pipes, sending him back would likely be best for his development.
  • Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that he has fully recovered from the back injury that cost him the final 23 games of last season. Jenner has missed time with back trouble in three different seasons now but all three have been in different areas.  The 29-year-old had 44 points in 59 games last season while logging over 20 minutes per night for the first time in his career and he will undoubtedly be a welcome return for a Columbus team that is looking to turn their fortunes around quickly following the addition of Johnny Gaudreau this summer.

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