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Brett Pesce

Snapshots: Blues, Varlamov, Hurricanes, Tortorella

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The St. Louis Blues added their third player on the COVID-19 protocol list Saturday when leading scorer David Perron found himself on the list, but so far there are no concerns about cancelling practice or postponing games, according to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (subscription required).

“There is always concern when Players or Club staff test positive for COVID-19,” Daly wrote in an email. “The level of concern is always a function of the precise circumstances involved. “At the current time, there is no consideration being given to postponing games.”

The Blues held an optional skate Saturday with many veterans taking a maintenance day off, but flew to Denver after the practice to get ready for their playoff game Monday.

  • Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov will practice again on Monday before a decision is made regarding his status for Game 2. Varlamov missed Game 1 due to a lower-body injury, although head coach Barry Trotz said he was taken out of the lineup due to precautionary reasons. The coach said he had to make a decision Saturday night and chose to take Varlamov totally out of the lineup. Cory Schneider served as the backup to Ilya Sorokin, who led New York to a overtime victory Sunday.
  • Raleigh News & Observer’s Chip Alexander reports that several injured players were back on the ice Sunday for practice, including Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce and Cedric Paquette. Slavin was considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury and sat out the regular season finale. Pesce also sat out the regular season finale with an undisclosed injury. Paquette, on the other hand, had missed the last six games of the season with an undisclosed injury. Carolina faces off against Nashville on Monday.
  • The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required) writes that former Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella, who split with the Blue Jackets more than a week ago, tried to step down from his head coaching position last season. One main reason the veteran coach decided to come back for one final season as coach was due to the urging of Nick Foligno. The captain sat down with the coach and convinced him to give the veteran core one more chance.

Central Notes: Seguin, Bishop, Pesce, Blackhawks

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When Ben Bishop (knee injury) and Tyler Seguin (hip injury) were both ruled out with long-term injuries, the initial hope for the Stars was that they would be able to be back at some point in March.  While it doesn’t look like that will be the case, it doesn’t appear as if they’ll be gone much longer than that.  GM Jim Nill told Mike Heika of the Stars’ team site (Twitter link) that both players have started skating lightly and are about four-to-six weeks from returning.  Dallas could certainly use the veterans as they sit sixth in the Central in point percentage (they’re last in points but have several games in hand on every team).  Seguin’s absence, in particular, has been tough with the Stars scuffling offensively but it appears they’ll be waiting a bit longer for their top center and long-term starting goaltender.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • The Department of Player Safety doesn’t typically issue discipline within hours of an incident occurring but that’s what happened to Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce as the league quickly announced a fine of $5K for a tripping incident on Detroit forward Robby Fabbri in the second period of Thursday’s game. It is the first time in Pesce’s career that he has received some sort of supplemental discipline from the league.
  • The Blackhawks are working towards purchasing their AHL affiliate from the City of Rockford, reports Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The current operating group opened the request for proposal process earlier this week with the NHL club being expected to be the successful bidder.  While their current affiliation agreement is in place through next season, this would all but cement Rockford as the home of Chicago’s top minor league club for years to come.

Canadiens Acquire Negotiating Rights To UFA Joel Edmundson

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The Montreal Canadiens had a free agent target in mind for this off-season, but rather than wait until October 9th they have decided to pull the trigger now. The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that they have traded impending unrestricted free agent defenseman Joel Edmundson to the Canadiens. The return for Carolina is a 2020 fifth-round pick.

The Canadiens now have nearly a month to negotiate exclusively with Edmundson on a new contract. A relatively young UFA at 27, Edmundson would be a great addition for the Habs. Edmundson showed this season that he is more than just his 6’4”, 215-lb. frame, posting both a career high 20 points and showing he is reliable defender with a career-best 55% defensive zone starts. Edmundson was less a rugged stay-at-home defender and more of a refined, two-way contributor for Carolina and the Canadiens hope that he can continue to grow in that role. Edmundson has also shown back in his days with the St. Louis Blues that he is capable of playing big minutes, which would provide even more value to Montreal moving forward. Given the lack of high-end talent on the Montreal blue line behind aging Shea Weber and 2021 free agent Jeff Petry, Edmundson could land a long-term deal with the Canadiens to lead a new generation of defenders, such as Victor Mete and Alexander Romanov.

On the other side, the Hurricanes have to be happy with landing a decent pick (No. 140 overall) for a player they seemed unlikely to re-sign anyhow. Edmundson was acquired by Carolina just last summer as part of a package from the St. Louis for Justin Faulk. While Edmundson was a valuable member of a very good ‘Canes team this year, prospect Dominik Bokk was always seen as the true prize in the return for Faulk. Edmundson was on an expiring contract and was joining the deepest defense core in the league, making him a likely rental candidate. The Hurricanes’ impressive blue line depth only improved this season as well, as the team acquired Brady Skjei and saw flashes of brilliance from young Haydn Fleury, who will join Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Jake Gardiner as the likely starters next year.

Metropolitan Notes: Werenski, Murray, Carlson, Kuznetsov, Hamilton

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The Columbus Blue Jackets suffered a tough loss Friday when they blew a three-goal lead to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final four minutes of the game only to see themselves fall in overtime, giving Toronto a chance to force a Game 5. Many point to the defensive injuries to Zach Werenski, who missed the final nine minutes of the game, as well as the missing Ryan Murray. However, Blue Jackets’ head coach John Tortorella announced today that both Werenski and Murray are expected to play in today’s matchup, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton.

The 23-year-old Werenski was expected to be a major loss to the team, trying to stave off the offensive power of Toronto. He suffered an upper-body injury during the third period and underwent and MRI Saturday. That test must have come back positive as the blueliner is expected to return to the ice. He has averaged 26:42 of ice time for Columbus and should provide a major obstacle for Toronto. Murray was scratched for Game 4, but is also expected to return to the ice. Goaltender Jonas Korpisalo is expected to start in net.

  • The Washington Capitals were without John Carlson when the team took the ice Sunday against the Boston Bruins. The team’s top defenseman has yet to make an appearance in any of the team’s round-robin games with an undisclosed injury, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.  There is no word on whether he will be available for Game 1 of the team’s first-round matchup. Carlson was a dominating force, posting 75 points in 69 games during the regular season and is a key piece to the team’s long-term success in the playoffs. Head coach Todd Reirden also noted that forward Evgeny Kuznetsov has returned to his usual place in the lineup after being benched in the third period, according to The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir. The center only played in three shifts in the third period due to his inconsistent play.
  • NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reported that Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said that it’s too early to tell whether defenseman Dougie Hamilton will be ready to go for Game 1 of the playoffs this week due to an undisclosed injury. However, Brind’Amour did say that if Hamilton is ready to go, he will play. Unfortunately, the coach did say that defenseman Brett Pesce, out with a shoulder injury, is not expected to play in this next series.

Hurricanes Notes: Hamilton, Drury, Necas, Pesce

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Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton was expected to be a key addition to Carolina’s lineup for the postseason.  However, he has missed the last several practices and it seems that he’ll be out for a little while longer.  Sara Civian of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the injury is not a recurrence of his broken leg that shelved his season prematurely and that the estimated recovery period is weeks instead of months.  That would shelve him for their upcoming series against the Rangers at a minimum plus likely the first round if they make it that far.  His absence should allow Sami Vatanen, a trade deadline acquisition that has yet to make his debut with the team, to potentially debut on their top pairing.

More from Carolina:

  • Prospect Jack Drury is expected to leave Harvard and play in Vaxjo of the SHL next season, reports Johan Svensson of SportExpressen. The 20-year-old had a stellar season with Harvard and still has two years of college eligibility left.  However, with the pandemic expected to cancel sports there until January at the earliest, their season is in some jeopardy so if Drury wants a guaranteed chance at playing, turning pro is the only way to go.  While he could sign with Carolina, the start of the 2020-21 AHL season is going to be delayed as well so going to Sweden will ensure that he’ll be suiting up in September.  Svensson adds that several SHL teams were vying for Drury’s services.
  • Center Martin Necas did not participate in practice today, notes Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. As is the new standard, there is no further information available than that.  The 21-year-old had been skating with the team earlier in the week.
  • While defenseman Brett Pesce will not be available for their series against New York, he was included on Carolina’s playoff-eligible roster, Alexander relays (Twitter link).  Pesce suffered a shoulder injury just before the trade deadline which helped prompt the Hurricanes to acquire both Vatanen and Brady Skjei at the trade deadline.

Camp Notes: Stamkos, Pateryn, Polak, Hurricanes, Trotman

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Lightning center Steven Stamkos sustained a new lower-body injury during training for the NHL’s return and will not be a full participant at their upcoming training camp GM Julien BriseBois told reporters including Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link).  However, he is expected to be ready to go when their seeding games get underway.  Smith relays in a separate tweet that the beneficiary of this will be winger Alex Barre-Boulet who has now been added to their camp roster.  The 23-year-old has yet to play at the NHL but has been quite productive with AHL Syracuse as he has 124 points in 134 games over his first two pro seasons after signing as an undrafted free agent.

More training camp notes from around the league:

  • Wild defenseman Greg Pateryn will not be at their training camp as the team announced (Twitter link) that he is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. It has been a tough year for the veteran on the injury front as a core muscle injury cost him 43 games earlier in the season.  As a result, he has suited up just 20 times in 2019-20 and barring a quick recovery or a long playoff run, that might be it for him.
  • Stars defenseman Roman Polak is not on their training camp roster, relays Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). This comes as little surprise after the blueliner voiced his concern about returning for the postseason at the time his deal for next year with HC Vitkovice of the Czech Extraliga was announced.  The vacancy opened up a spot for Dallas to invite Thomas Harley, their 2019 first-round pick, to camp although it seems unlikely that he’ll suit up.
  • The Hurricanes have added to their coaching staff in advance of camp getting underway, announcing the hiring of Peter Harrold as a skills coach. The 37-year-old played parts of nine seasons in the NHL with Los Angeles and New Jersey from 2006-07 through 2014-15 before calling it a career in 2016.
  • Still with Carolina, GM Don Waddell told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer (Twitter link) that a decision has yet to be made regarding Brett Pesce’s availability. The blueliner is working his way back from shoulder surgery after being injured late in the season and is still probably a month away from skating at a minimum.  If he’s not among the list of players on their roster when they travel to Toronto, he will not be eligible to play until next season so the Hurricanes will have to decide whether or not to carry a player on their roster who won’t be available for a couple of rounds at least.
  • Penguins defenseman Zach Trotman will not be on their roster, GM Jim Rutherford told reporters, including Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link). The 29-year-old played in nine games with Pittsburgh this season and was expected to be among their reserve options for the postseason.  No details were provided regarding whether his absence is injury-related or if he opted out of returning.

Snapshots: Hurricanes’ Roster Decisions, Avalanche’s Rantanen

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The Carolina Hurricanes are going to be deeper and healthier than they’ve been all season for the Stanley Cup Qualifier matchup with the New York Rangers, assuming the NHL reboot kicks off on time. In particular, the Canes should be well-positioned to defend the goal. Coach Rod Brind’Amour, however, isn’t sure which particular bodies he’ll position in front of the net, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com. Petr Mrazek will most likely be in goal, but Brind’Amour needs eyes-on before he can set the lineups. Per Rosen, Brind’Amour said of starting Mrazek, “He may be in rough shape. I don’t know until I get to see them and see what they’re like.” 

  • The Hurricanes will also get the benefit of a beefed-up defensive unit. Dougie Hamilton was expected to be out for the year, prompting the acquisitions of Brady Skjei and Sami Vatanen. Thanks to the extended layoff, Hamilton will have the chance to play alongside his replacements. Rosen notes that Brett Pesce, who was also out for the season, is also expected to be ready for camp. Carolina has upwards of nine viable blueliners to deploy across three lines, per Rosen. Vatanen has yet to appear with the Hurricanes, and given their depth, it may be late to break him into the rotation. That said, the entire process will be an exercise in on-ice chemistry in fast-forward, so roster decisions could very well come down to who looks game-ready when the time comes. As our own Brian La Rose wrote recently, “When you add them to a back end that also features veterans Jaccob Slavin, Joel Edmundson, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Jake Gardiner, you get a very deep back end. “
  • Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche took to the ice today with teammates for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury on February 17th against the Tampa Bay Lightning, per NHL.com. Rantanen, 23, was well on his way to another 30-goal season when he was placed on IR. The Finish winger ended the year with 19 goals and 22 assists across 42 games. The Avalanche will return to the ice via a round-robin tournament to determine playoff seeding with other Western Conference stalwarts the St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, and Dallas Stars.

Brett Pesce Will Not Return This Season

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If the Carolina Hurricanes happen to make it to the playoffs, they’ll have to do it without one of their best defensemen. Brett Pesce has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs following shoulder surgery. His recovery timeline has been set at four to six months, though he is expected to be ready for the start of the 2020-21 season.

Pesce, 25, was arguably the Hurricanes second-most important defenseman behind Jaccob Slavin after Dougie Hamilton was also ruled out due to injury. The defensive specialist logged nearly 22 minutes a night for Carolina, anchoring the right side at both even-strength and on the penalty kill. His absence will be a huge loss for the team down the stretch, especially with the team chasing to climb back into the playoff picture.

Fortunately, the Hurricanes may have known this was a possibility at the trade deadline, given the injury happened on February 22nd. The team acquired both Brady Skjei and Sami Vatanen, though the latter has also not been cleared to play and actually suffered a setback in his own recovery today.

Pesce’s return for next season will certainly be welcomed, though there may have to be changes in Carolina over the summer. With Skjei now in town, the team has five different defensemen all set to earn at least $4MM.

East Notes: Bogosian, Chabot, Brassard, Lightning, Red Wings

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After clearing unconditional waivers Saturday, the market for defenseman Zach Bogosian has become quite intense as teams are looking to pick up a veteran blueliner on the cheap with the trade deadline prices for rentals being extremely high at moment. In fact, three teams are currently the frontrunners for the veteran’s services, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, including the Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes.

Carolina was already rumored to be looking for help on their blueline, but with the injury to Brett Pesce Saturday night in Toronto as well as the injury to Dougie Hamilton, the team is pushing even harder to add some depth. Pittsburgh is another candidate as they wait for the returns of Brian Dumoulin and John Marino. Arizona is a new candidate after the injury to Jakob Chychrun to an injury that looks to be serious.

Bogosian might serve as a band-aid for these teams, even though he has appeared in just 19 games this season.

  • The Ottawa Senators could breathe easier today when they learned that defenseman Thomas Chabot, who left Saturday night’s game with a lower-body injury, suffered just a minor injury, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Apparently the injury is just a bruise. The 23-year-old tried to test his knee during a TV timeout Saturday, but could not go on it. While Chabot’s offensive numbers have been down this season, five goals and 33 points in 62 games, the blueliner has logged a career-high in minutes at 25:43.
  • Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that New York Islanders forward Derick Brassard skated Sunday for the first time since suffering a samll fracture to his cheek after taking a puck to his head on Wednesday in Colorado. He is considered day-to-day, but has cleared concussion protocol, although he said that he is still dealing with some nausea. “I had a broken jaw so I had a plate [inserted],” Brassard said of a previous injury. “I got hit just above it. I’m lucky a little bit. When I was down, I thought my ear had split in half because of the pressure.”
  • With injuries to defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak, the Tampa Bay Lightning, who already have been active before the trade deadline, could be looking to add to their defensive core, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required). Tampa Bay already moved a first-round pick and top prospect Nolan Foote to New Jersey for forward Blake Coleman. However, since there is no word yet on the severity of Cernak’s injury, it’s possible that general manager Julien BriseBois could add even more as he’s “always on the lookout for an opportunity to improve.”
  • MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that the Detroit Red Wings are holding out defenseman Mike Green and forward Andreas Athanasiou from Sunday’s game against Calgary. According to the Red Wings, they have both been scratched due to “asset management,” meaning both players are likely candidates to be traded by Monday.

Carolina Hurricanes Will Make Additions In Net

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4:43 p.m. — As expected, the Carolina Hurricanes announced they have recalled Forsberg and Nedeljkovic from Charlotte.

11:11 a.m. — Last night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs was nothing short of a once-in-a-lifetime event for the Carolina Hurricanes. The contest could not have gotten off to a worse start, with starter James Reimer being forced out of the game just six minutes in to the first period following a collision in net. Petr Mrazek entered the game in relief, but allowed a goal late in the period to give the Leafs a 1-0 lead. Things were looking up in the second frame following three Hurricanes goals, but then Mrazek was injured just over halfway through the period. This forced the team to turn to an emergency backup, 42-year-old Zamboni driver David Ayres, an employee of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment who had not played in a competitive game for more than five years. Yet, Ayres got the job done, allowing only two goals in nearly half a game (with some help from the team allowing just ten shots) to lead the Hurricanes to a 6-3 win.

While this was of course a tremendous story, the reality now sets in that the Hurricanes are now down both of their NHL goaltenders without any timeline yet as to when they may return to action. The timing of this is poor, seeing as tomorrow is the final day to make a trade this season and there is no time to wait for an official word on Mrazek or Reimer. The team is also in the thick of the Eastern Conference wild card race and can’t afford to take a chance in goal and miss out on potential points.

For now, TSN’s Pierre LeBurn reports that the team plans to recall both Anton Forsberg and Alex Nedeljkovic from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers today. Fortunately, both netminders have seen plenty of ice time this season, spitting appearances 50/50, and have performed relatively well. If asked to take on some NHL starts, either one could fair well enough. Forsberg is a veteran of 45 NHL games, while Nedeljkovic has fared well in his two NHL appearances and was arguably the best goalie in the AHL last season.

However, if there is any suspicion that both Mrazek and Reimer could be out long term, it seems unlikely that Carolina would be comfortable fighting for a playoff spot and entering the postseason with only Forsberg and Nedeljkovic. For that reason, LeBrun adds that a number of teams have already reached out to the Hurricanes about moving a goalie and it seems likely that the team could make a move. In fact, the team was kicking the tires on adding another goalie even before these injuries, so many conversations have already been had. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that the teams main focus is on Chicago Blackhawks’ keepers Robin Lehner and Corey Crawford, both impending free agents, while other rental options could include veterans Jimmy Howard, Craig Anderson, or Ryan Miller or available backups like Aaron Dell or Louis Domingue.

One way or another, the names in net are about to change for Carolina. Perhaps it will only be short-term while their current duo heal up or maybe it could be a major long-term addition for the rest of the season and a hopeful playoff run. With the team also needing a replacement on the blue line given the injuries to Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce and also rumored to be in on several big-name forwards, including the Rangers’ Chris Kreider, the next 27 hours should be very busy for the Hurricanes.

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