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Calvin de Haan

Blackhawks’ Brent Seabrook Will Try To Play In Qualifying Round, Postseason

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No one thought much about it when veteran Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook was declared out for the season in late December. The Blackhawks were not looking like a playoff team at the time and the aged and battered Seabrook was not going to be the difference between a postseason spot or not. Seabrook proceeded to have three separate surgeries – his right shoulder and each hip – and was expected to be ready to begin the 2020-21 season.

However, the extended pause in the league season due to COVID-19 has changed everything for the Blackhawks and Seabrook. Chicago was the final team in the Western Conference to qualify for the league’s expanded postseason and will have a chance to win a playoff spot in a “knockout round” match-up with the Edmonton Oilers later this summer. Meanwhile, Seabrook has had ample down time to rehab his injuries and has now resumed skating, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic. Powers rights that the next step would be for Seabrook to be cleared for contact, after which he could potentially join the Blackhawks for training camp, set to begin later this month.

Of course, actually being selected as one of the defensemen to play for Chicago in the qualifying round and beyond is a whole other issue entirely for the 35-year-old Seabrook. The veteran has not looked like himself for several years now and his four points in 32 games and career-low ice time this season implies that cracking the starting lineup may be an uphill battle even if Seabrook is completely healthy. With Calvin de Haan, similarly ruled out for the season but recently cleared to return, joining top-six regulars Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Adam Boqvist, Olli Maatta and Slater Koekkoek, Chicago’s starting defense may already be set. This also doesn’t include AHL depth options and the possibility that top defense prospect Ian Mitchell could also be in the mix.

Nevertheless, Seabrook will still work toward being cleared for action and could play an important locker room role and serve as valued depth at the very least for Chicago. The team will need all the help they can get to upset Edmonton and a tuned-up and refreshed Seabrook is just as likely as anyone to be that potential surprise x-factor in the qualifying round series, made even more surprising by the previous expectation that his season was over.

Blackhawks Notes: Mitchell, Dach, De Haan, Crawford

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Sooner or later, Ian Mitchell will join the Chicago Blackhawks. Whether he’ll suit up for the Stanley Cup Qualifier against the Edmonton Oilers remains to be seen. Until coronavirus ended the college season, Mitchell had banked 32 points in his junior year with the University of Denver, and his availability for the tail end of the NHL season was largely going to be dictated by how far of a run Denver could make in their own playoffs. Though the details of the proposed return-to-play plan between the NHL and NHLPA aren’t finalized, it’s assumed that players in Mitchell’s situation – those who have signed their entry-level deals but haven’t debuted – won’t be allowed to join their clubs for the playoff, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Regardless, Mitchell isn’t likely to join the defensive rotation this season, not with Duncan Keith and Adam Boqvist, Calvin de Haan and Connor Murphy, and Olli Maatta and Slater Koekkoek likely making up the top three line pairings, writes The Athletic’s Scott Powers If Mitchell isn’t able to sign with the Blackhawks this season, that probably suits Chicago just fine, as they could gain an extra year of cost control for Mitchell. If he is allowed to sign, not only might Chicago burn a year of Mitchell’s entry-level deal, but it’d also align his first year of restricted free agency with Boqvist and Kirby Dach. The Hawks know all too well how difficult it can be to build a contender when a team’s best young players become expensive at the same time.

  • Speaking of Dach, the Blackhawks’ rookie center isn’t quite as gung-ho to return to the ice as NHL players are “supposed” to be, but that shouldn’t be a knock on the young center’s character, writes The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus. On the contrary, Dach displayed remarkable self-awareness and maturity in his comments about returning to play: “As a young guy in my first year, I feel like I’ve got a lot of potential to grow and learn in this league, and to become the player I want to be. I know I’m a few steps away from that. At the same time, this could be a health risk for many young guys’ careers. We’re high-intensity athletes, where our hearts and lungs are pumping extremely fast, and (COVID-19) could be damaging to us, even past our careers. That’s something you’ve got to take into consideration when you go back.” Dach, 19, showed enough in his first season to excite the Chicago faithful, scoring 23 points in 14:16 ATOI. Despite his concerns, Dach plans on joining his teammates for their Stanley Cup Qualifier against the Edmonton Oilers, which, if nothing else, will provide Dach an early brush with playoff-adjacent hockey. 
  • Calvin de Haan, meanwhile, is back on the ice as of today, per Carter Baum of NHL.com. In his first season with the Blackhawks, the former Islanders and Hurricanes blueliner appeared in 29 games before right shoulder surgery knocked him out for the year – or so we thought. When healthy, de Haan was a penalty killer for Chicago, and he’ll likely slot back into the second pair or defenseman with Connor Murphy if he’s fully back up to speed. Baum provides this quote from Coach Jeremy Colliton: “Obviously we’ve got to get him on the ice and go through camp and hopefully everything continues to progress as far as his health.” 
  • The Blackhawks have an uphill climb ahead of them if they hope to survive the Stanley Cup Qualifier. Taking on the star-studded Edmonton Oilers on their home ice (without fans) presents a challenge for the Hawks, but it’s still a better deal than they were likely to get had the season finished on time. Chicago wasn’t likely to scratch their way back into the playoff hunt, but now youngsters like Dach, Boqvist, and Alex DeBrincat can garner some experience playing games of consequence against some of the best players in the game. The Blackhawks have the experience to upset Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers, but to do so will likely require goaltender Corey Crawford to quickly get on top of his game, per Tracey Myers of NHL.com. After trading Robin Lehner to the Golden Knights, Chicago has no viable Plan B should the 35-year-old Crawford struggle to hit his stride. Not to pile on in the stakes department, but Crawford is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Snapshots: Blackhawks, Larmi, Poulin, Boychuk

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While many teams will be getting players back for when the play-in round gets underway, the Blackhawks may still be down a few players for their series against Edmonton.  Speaking with reporters yesterday, including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago, GM Stan Bowman indicated that blueliners Calvin de Haan and Adam Boqvist plus winger Drake Caggiula will all be ready to play.  However, winger Andrew Shaw (concussion), center Zack Smith (back), and defenseman Brent Seabrook (shoulder, hips) may not be ready.  Smith and Seabrook are recovering from their respective surgeries but are likely to be out for a while yet.  As for Shaw, he last played in late November and Bowman didn’t have an update on his status.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Penguins goaltending prospect Emil Larmi has been recalled to join the team in Pittsburgh as they continue preparations for their play-in series against Montreal, reports Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The rookie posted identical 3.55 GAA’s with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (nine games) and ECHL Wheeling (11 games) this season.  While it’s expected that there will be a cap on the number of skaters that teams can carry when play resumes, there may not be one for goaltenders.  With that in mind, it appears that Pittsburgh will carry at least four as Casey DeSmith is a safe bet to be brought up as well.
  • Still with Pittsburgh, Louis Jean of TVA Sports reports (Twitter link) that prospect Samuel Poulin will be among their recalls as well. The Penguins took the 19-year-old 21st overall last June and he is coming off of a dominant season in the QMJHL.  After picking up 76 points in 67 games last season, he had 77 points in just 46 contests this year with Sherbrooke.  Poulin has already signed his entry-level deal.
  • Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk told Newsday’s Andrew Gross that his eye is close to being fully recovered. Boychuk was cut by the skate blade of Montreal winger Artturi Lehkonen in early March which required 90 stitches and plastic surgery to repair.  While Boychuk’s ice time decreased again this season for the fifth straight year, he was still a regular fixture on their third pairing and should play a similar role for them in their play-in series against Florida.  Although the Islanders have opened up their practice facility, Boychuk will remain in his native Edmonton and skate there for the time being.

Five Key Stories: 12/23/19 – 12/29/19

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With the holiday week having come and gone as well as an NHL roster freeze, hockey news slows down quite a bit, yet there was plenty of news despite the three-game respite last week. Here are the five biggest stories of the past week:

World Junior Championships Get Underway: Perhaps even bigger than the NHL is the IIHF World Junior Championships that started on Dec. 26 and continues to be ongoing. The leagues top propsects or soon-to-be prospects find themselves competing in Ostrava and Trinec in the Czech Republic. All NHL teams have at least one representative at the tournament with several teams possessing a host of prospects. The Los Angeles Kings have nine prospects representing their organization, while the Arizona Coyotes have seven. Five teams have just one prospect at the tournament.

John McCarthy Retiring Due To Health Concerns: He only appeared in 88 career NHL games, but San Jose Sharks forward and a long-time minor league player for them, John McCarthy, announced his retirement due to health concerns. While he played in 18 games for the Barracuda this year, his season and career came to a halt after suffering an Ischemic stroke earlier this month. While he has made a complete recovery, those health concerns have ended his playing career. He was drafted by the Sharks back in 2006 and played for the Sharks’ organization his entire career and the Barracudas’ captain immediately took a coaching role with the team.

Brent Seabrook, Calvin De Haan Out For The Season: Just before play was supposed to resume after the Christmas hiatus, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that they are losing one-third of their defense. Two of their defensemen, Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan, will miss the season due to surgeries. Seabrook is expected to have surgery on both his hips, while de Haan will have shoulder surgery. De Haan has been a consistent part of the team’s defense, leading the team in hits and blocked shots. Seabrook has similar strengths, but has seen his playing time cut and has even been scratched three times so far this season. Regardless, these are tough losses for a franchise hoping to get back into the playoffs.

Alex Ovechkin To Skip NHL All-Star Game: For the second time in as many years, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has announced that he will be skipping the NHL All-Star Game. Ovechkin was voted in as Metropolitan Division captain, but he told media Friday that he will skip the all-star festivities to rest up for the second half of the season. Of course, Ovechkin will be suspended one game for skipping the league event. He must miss either the game before the all-star break or the game after. The team faces the rival New York Islanders, suggesting that Ovechkin will likely opt to miss the game after the break against the Montreal Canadiens.

Multiple Toronto Maple Leafs Players Injured: The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered three injuries upon their return from break. The team first revealed that forward Trevor Moore would be out indefinitely due to a concussion. Moore had been out with a shoulder injury and had only appeared in one game before getting injured once again. The team then lost winger Ilya Mikheyev who suffered a lacerated wrist after New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt ran sliced it with his skate. He is expected to miss a minimum of three months as he heals from the injury. Only hours after that, the Maple Leafs announced that defenseman Jake Muzzin would be considered week-to-week after suffering a fractured foot in that same game against the Devils. With all those injuries, it should make the team’s challenging of working their way up the Atlantic Division standings just a bit more difficult.

Brent Seabrook, Calvin De Haan Out For The Season

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Friday: In an update, the Blackhawks announced that both Seabrook and de Haan have undergone successful surgery. The recovery timeline for de Haan will be four to five months, while Seabrook’s will be revealed after he undergoes additional surgeries on his hips.

Thursday: The status quo in Chicago will shift dramatically when the team returns to action. The Blackhawks have announced that two of their starting defensemen will miss the remainder of the season due to injury. Both Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. Seabrook will also have surgery on both hips. The duo have been placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve.

This singular announcement means that one-third of the Blackhawks’ starting blue line is now out of action for the rest of the year. Seabrook and de Haan are not exactly offensive dynamos, combining for just ten points so far this year. However, their defensive presence will be missed. De Haan leads the team in both hits and blocked shots, and Seabrook is among the the best on the team in both categories as well. The pair also chew up considerable minutes, with each averaging nearly 20 minutes per game this season. While Chicago is not without hope on the back end, with Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Olli Maatta, sand Erik Gustafsson still present on a deep unit, but these losses will nevertheless still be felt.

Also on the sidelines for Chicago is Brandon Saad, announced as missing the next three weeks with a right ankle injury. Saad, while underwhelming so far this season, is still the Blackhawks’ second-leading goal-scorer and fifth in points on the team. With the Blackhawks already in the basement of the Central Division and now missing Saad for several weeks and Seabrook and de Haan for the rest of the year, today’s announcement will more or less mark the end of Chicago’s season, barring an unexpected boost in the absence of their established veterans.

Injury Notes: Kupari, Mantha, Blackhawks

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Los Angeles Kings fans hoping to get a glimpse of the future at the World Juniors won’t get to see one of their top prospects play for Finland anymore. Rasmus Kupari has left the team after suffering an injury in the opener. John Hoven reports that Kupari suffered a serious knee injury and will likely be out “months.”

Not only is that terrible news for the Finnish team who are already missing Anton Lundell, but Kupari’s absence will adversely affect the Ontario Reign as well. In his first season in North America, Kupari has six goals and eight points in 27 games for the Reign. The 19-year old forward was selected 20th overall in 2018.

  • Anthony Mantha will be out for at least four weeks with his upper-body injury, which has to do with his ribs, not his head. The Detroit Red Wings forward was injured when he got into an altercation with Jake Muzzin against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and now will have to wait at least a month to continue his strong season.
  • If you were wondering whether Brent Seabrook would ever really make it back to the Chicago Blackhawks blueline after being ruled out for the rest of this year, Jeremy Colliton has your answer. The head coach told reporters today including Scott Powers of The Athletic that he expects both Calvin de Haan and Seabrook to be ready for training camp in 2020. The Blackhawks icon is having several surgeries and will have a long road back to the NHL.

Calvin De Haan Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Chicago Blackhawks have lost another defenseman to injury, placing Calvin de Haan on injured reserve today. The designation is retroactive to December 10th, when de Haan left a game against the Vegas Golden Knights with a shoulder injury. The team has not provided a timeline yet for his recovery.

Already without Duncan Keith, the Blackhawks had been relying heavily on de Haan to anchor a defense that can’t seem to keep the puck out of their net this season. In fact, he’d averaged more than 25 minutes of ice time over the three games prior to facing the Golden Knights, which now stand as the three highest-usage games of his season.

The 28-year old had surgery on the same shoulder in May of this year while he was still part of the Carolina Hurricanes organization. That kept him out of training camp and the preseason, though he made his debut just a few games into the regular season and has been a staple in the lineup ever since.

Losing de Haan for any length of time hurts, but the Blackhawks were already facing quite the uphill battle in their quest for the postseason. After rebuilding the defense corps and bringing in some new faces up front (and in net), there were high hopes for Chicago under head coach Jeremy Colliton. A combination of injuries and poor play have dashed those hopes so far, as the Blackhawks currently sit in last place in the Central Division with a 12-13-6 record and -14 goal differential.

Hurricanes, Sabres Shopping Defensemen

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The Carolina Hurricanes were seeking a top-nine forward when they traded away long-time defenseman Justin Faulk this summer. However, the best return they could find was a prospect forward, Dominik Bokk, and another established defenseman in Joel Edmundson from the St. Louis Blues. Now, the Hurricanes are more or less back in the same situation, trying to deal from their blue line depth for help up front. Even after moving Faulk and Calvin de Haan in the off-season, the additions of Edmundson, Jake Gardiner, and Gustav Forsling has created yet another logjam on defense. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Carolina is calling around to other teams and shopping veteran Trevor van Riemsdyk, as well as 23-year-old Haydn Fleury, who is no longer waiver-exempt, in hopes of landing a scoring forward in return.

However, they aren’t alone. LeBrun’s colleague Darren Dreger reports that the Buffalo Sabres are also making calls to dangle defenders in anticipation of their team getting healthy. Dreger states that Zach Bogosian and Marco Scandella will make their returns “right around the corner”, but first Buffalo will need to clear space. The red-hot Sabres likely want to avoid a major shake-up, such as moving the now-content Rasmus Ristolainen, but also likely aren’t keen to move recent additions like Brandon Montour and Colin Miller. The team can demote Lawrence Pilut and even Henri Jokiharju, but will still need to make room on the blue line. Dreger states that Buffalo is hoping to land both a top-six and bottom-six forward, so trading away a John Gilmour won’t get the job done. Bogosian, Scandella, and Jake McCabe seem like the most likely to be dealt at this point.

So who could take advantage of a market flush with capable defenders? Top contenders like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, and San Jose Sharks are all struggling defensively this season and have the depth of forwards to swing a deal. The Minnesota Wild are known to be open to moving several forward and could pursue a defenseman that they see as a long-term fit. The same could be said for other struggling teams, especially those with intriguing impending free agents, such as the Los Angeles Kings (Tyler Toffoli) and New York Rangers (Chris Kreider). The Hurricanes’ and Sabres’ competition to make a deal may even lower the acquisition costs for any interested teams. The trade market appears to be heating up early this season and the odds of a deal – or several – before the holiday trade freeze are high.

Injury Updates: Sheary, Steel, Sorensen, De Haan

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The Sabres could be without winger Conor Sheary for their next game on Wednesday as the team announced (Twitter link) that he is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.  The 27-year-old is off to a strong start for Buffalo this season with three points in as many games despite averaging just over 11 minutes a night in playing time.  Center Evan Rodrigues, a healthy scratch for the first three games despite getting a $2MM award in arbitration, is pegged to take Sheary’s spot in the lineup.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • The Ducks have transferred center Sam Steel to injured reserve, reports Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register. The rookie was banged up near the end of the preseason with what is being called a mid-body injury and while he suited up in their opening game, he wasn’t able to make it all the way through it and has not played since.  The placement can be back-dated to October 4th meaning that he could be activated on Friday if he’s cleared to return.
  • While the Sharks are getting Evander Kane back from suspension tonight, they’ll be without another winger as Marcus Sorensen is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. He suffered the injury partway through San Jose’s game on Saturday.  Pashelka also notes that defensemen Tim Heed (upper body) and Jacob Middleton (upper body), Dalton Prout (upper body), and Radim Simek (knee) all remain unavailable which is certainly testing their depth on the back end in the early going.
  • Chicago defenseman Calvin de Haan appears to be getting closer to making his season debut. Head coach Jeremy Colliton told Chris Kuc of the Blackhawks’ team site (Twitter link) is now close to returning but they will give him a couple of days off to assess how his groin injury heals.  The veteran was acquired in the summer from Carolina but after recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, he sustained this groin issue shortly after returning to practice.

Training Camp Notes: Byfuglien, Dach, Perry

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The Winnipeg Jets today announced that Dustin Byfuglien has been granted a leave of absence from the team and will not be participating at the start of training camp. Head coach Paul Maurice and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff both explained that it is not injury related and that it is “nothing sinister.” There is no timetable for his return, but hopefully he can get whatever it is sorted out quickly.

More notes from around training camp:

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have given an update on the status of top prospect Kirby Dach after he was removed from a game during the prospect tournament recently. Dach is in the concussion protocol and will not be in the Blackhawks lineup when they start their exhibition schedule. Philipp Kurashev, who left the same game (along with two others), will not practice today with left knee and shoulder contusions. Calvin de Haan, who is still recovering from shoulder surgery, also now has a groin strain and is expected to be out for another two to three weeks.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have officially announced that Zach Bogosian, Matt Hunwick, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Lawrence Pilut will not take part in training camp due to injury. These had been previously reported, but it is still disappointing for a player like Pilut who has a chance to make a big impact on the NHL club this season.
  • Nolan Patrick wasn’t on the ice when the Philadelphia Flyers opened camp, sidelined with an upper-body injury according to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. After missing much of his draft season with various injuries, Patrick has battled minor ailments through each of his first two NHL seasons but still managed to play in 145 games. Still waiting for his breakout, missing camp would be a frustrating outcome for the 20-year old forward.
  • Though all the questions were about Julis Honka’s trade request, the Dallas Stars also announced that Corey Perry has a small fracture in his foot and will be reevaluated in two weeks according to Sean Shapiro of The Athletic. That isn’t a good start for Perry in Dallas where he’s trying to revitalize his career following a buyout from the Anaheim Ducks.

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