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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.

Metropolitan Notes: Jenner, Werenski, Connauton, Konecny, Clutterbuck

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Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner will not require surgery for the back injury that kept him out for the final seven weeks of the season, relays Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link).  He’s expected to be able to have a full summer of training and be ready for training camp in the fall.  The 28-year-old had a strong year offensively, notching 23 goals and 21 assists in just 59 games, the highest per-game rates of his career.  While his current contract is expiring this summer, Jenner signed a four-year extension last July at the same $3.75MM price tag.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Still with Columbus, Portzline reports in a separate tweet that defenseman Zach Werenski underwent surgery this week to repair a broken nose. The procedure may keep him out of playing for the United States at the upcoming World Championships.  Werenski led all Blue Jackets blueliners in scoring this season with 11 goals and 37 assists in 68 games; his assist and point totals were both career bests.
  • Flyers defenseman Kevin Connauton told reporters, including Sam Carchidi of Philadelphia Hockey Now (Twitter link) that surgery won’t be needed on his knee injury that kept him out towards the end of the year. The 32-year-old played in 39 games this season between Florida and Philadelphia and is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • Flyers winger Travis Konecny has declined an invitation to play for Canada at the upcoming World Championships, notes Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 25-year-old came one assist shy of reaching his career high in assists with 36 this season but also had his lowest goals per game rate since his rookie campaign.
  • Islanders winger Cal Clutterbuck is expected to be ready to return next season, mentions Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). The 34-year-old has been out since just before the trade deadline with a shoulder injury, one that ruled out any chance of him being traded.  Instead, New York signed him to a two-year extension, one that cuts his cap hit in half from 3.5MM to $1.75MM.

Injury Notes: Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Blue Jackets

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The Toronto Maple Leafs, while still remaining competitive with a tough schedule, have faced significant injury setbacks over the past few weeks. A mass of updates came today during a press conference with head coach Sheldon Keefe, where he revealed that forward Michael Bunting will miss the final two games of the regular season, defenseman Rasmus Sandin is likely to return for the team’s finale on Friday versus the Boston Bruins, and forward Ondrej Kase remains day-to-day with no timeline to return.

As the Maple Leafs prepare for a likely impending First Round matchup with the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, this is mostly positive news. The language surrounding Bunting’s injury wasn’t initially positive after he fell awkwardly during an April 23 game against Florida, but his prognosis has improved since then and it looks like a possibility that he could be ready for the beginning of the series. Sandin has missed over a month with a knee injury, while Kase has missed the same duration with a concussion.

  • There are some more updates on various players on a Stanley Cup contender, as the Colorado Avalanche deal with some injury issues of their own. Head coach Jared Bednar spoke to reporters today, saying that defenseman Devon Toews will return to the lineup tonight after dealing with an undisclosed injury, forward Mikko Rantanen is working toward a return on Thursday against the Nashville Predators, and captain Gabriel Landeskog won’t return until the postseason. Toews has missed just around a week and a half, but his absence cannot be understated, as he continues to be one of the most underrated defensemen in the league with 57 points in just 64 games this year (while averaging over 25 minutes per game). Meanwhile, the Colorado captain has been out since early March with a leg injury.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that both captain Boone Jenner and Sean Kuraly will miss the short remainder of the season with respective injuries. Kuraly, in his first season with Columbus, suffered a foot injury last Sunday and will miss the remaining three games. Jenner will have missed the last month and a half of the season with a back injury.

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