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Injury Updates: Flyers, Barabanov, Maple Leafs, Murray

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Don’t expect the Flyers to get many – if any – reinforcements from their injured list over the final few games.  Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays (Twitter link) that the only player that might be able to return is defenseman Nick Seeler with interim head coach Mike Yeo admitting that even that “might be a bit of a long shot”.  This means the season has come to an end for wingers Cam Atkinson and Patrick Brown, defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen, Kevin Connauton, and Cam York, as well as goaltender Carter Hart.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Sharks winger Alexander Barabanov is listed as probable for tonight’s game against Chicago, notes Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has missed the last four games with an undisclosed injury.  Barabanov has been one of the bright spots for San Jose this season, notching 37 points in 65 games, a very nice return on a $1MM AAV.  He’s eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer and will be looking at a sizable raise on his next contract.
  • The Maple Leafs could have defenseman Jake Muzzin back in the lineup tomorrow against Washington, reports Sportsnet’s Luke Fox (Twitter link). The veteran has been held out of the last few games after struggling a bit after returning from a concussion.  Meanwhile, Fox adds that blueliner Rasmus Sandin is expected to start practicing with the team as he works his way back from a knee injury that landed him on LTIR last month.  Toronto has enough cap flexibility to activate him if he’s able to get into a game before the end of the season but if not, he should be ready for the playoffs.
  • Senators goaltender Matt Murray is hoping to get into a game or two by the end of the season but it doesn’t seem likely to happen, mentions Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The netminder has been out for the last six weeks with a neck injury and is a speculative candidate to play for Canada at next month’s World Championships.  An appearance or two in the final week for Ottawa would go a long way towards demonstrating that he’ll be able to play in that tournament.

Injury Notes: MacEachern, Bruins, Flyers

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The regular season is over for Mackenzie MacEachern, but fortunately his Blues are planning to play well beyond then. The team announced today that MacEachern has been placed on the Long-Term Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury. The LTIR placement requires that MacEachern sit for ten games and the Blues have just eight games left on the regular season slate. The 27-year-old forward did his best to stay off the shelf; after missing the past three games, MacEachern was back at practice today but was forced to leave early, reports Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The cap-strapped Blues had little choice but to add MacEachern to the LTIR and recall forward Dakota Joshua from AHL Springfield on an emergency basis. The swap actually adds the superior player to the roster, as Joshua has more games played, average time on ice, goals, points, plus/minus and more with the Blues this season.

  • It took injuries to David Pastrnak, Hampus Lindholm, Matt Grzelcyk, Brandon Carlo, and Linus Ullmark to send the Boston Bruins into their first three-game losing streak of the season, the final team in the NHL to fall in three straight this year. As the team looks to right the ship on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they’re hoping that improved health could help. Grzelcyk was back in the lineup on Thursday night and defense partner could be the next to return, reports beat writer Eric Russo. Carlo was back at practice on Friday and there is optimism that he can return tomorrow from an undisclosed injury. Ullmark, who left Thursday’s game after the first period, did not practice and could be dealing with a concussion, but for now is considered day-to-day. Pastrnak and Lindholm skated by themselves on Friday and there is still no timetable for their return. While there is something to be said for being bit by the injury bug before the postseason, especially for a Boston team that has been decimated in the playoffs in recent years, this rough patch is potentially costing the Bruins their shot at divisional playoff berth as opposed to a wild card spot.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers had no update on injured defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen today, as it is looking increasingly likely that his season is over. Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays that head coach Mike Yeo does not expect Ristolainen to return “any time soon” from an upper-body injury. There was also no update on Cam York, who is out with a lower-body injury and considered day-to-day. There is slightly more optimism surrounding Cam Atkinson, who is also out with a lower-body ailment. Atkinson won’t play on Saturday at Buffalo, but could suit up on Sunday for the second game of the home-and-home with the Sabres.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Philadelphia Flyers

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In the spirit of the holiday season, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Philadelphia Flyers.

What are the Flyers thankful for?

Their new coach.

It’s hard to gauge time with all the postponements, but the Flyers have only played eight games since firing Alain Vigneault on December 6. Since then, however, the Flyers have either gotten lucky or turned a corner, going 5-2-2 under interim coach Mike Yeo so far. The two regulation losses were their first two games under Yeo, a 7-5 loss to Colorado on December 6 and a 3-0 loss to New Jersey on December 8. Since then, they’ve yet to lose in regulation and have won by multiple goals in two of their five wins.

The defensive bleeding is starting to improve, albeit slowly. Philadelphia hasn’t allowed more than three goals since that Colorado loss.

Better goaltending this season will help the Flyers in the long run, and under Yeo, it looks like the team is starting to turn a corner in front of Carter Hart and Martin Jones. If Ryan Ellis can stay healthy later in the season, he’ll be a big help as well.

Who are the Flyers thankful for?

Cam Atkinson.

Not much was made of the Atkinson-for-Jakub Voracek swap this summer. It was a trade of ageing wingers who’d underperformed in recent years, and it allowed the Flyers to gain some salary cap flexibility for future moves. That trade’s paid dividends for both teams, though, especially the Flyers. Atkinson holds the team lead with 12 goals in 31 games and has the best +/- rating on the team by far (+13).

He’s on a 32-goal pace, which would be the third-highest total of his career. COVID hit right after his career-high 41-goal campaign in 2018-19, but he’s now already hit his 12-goal mark in 2019-20 and is only three goals shy of his 2020-21 mark. The +/- mark is especially impressive for a team that’s had the defensive struggles of Philadelphia. That +13 rating is already tied for the second-best in his career. It may be a stretch to say it’s a career season for Atkinson given the 41-goal mark, but it’s certainly one of his best.

What would the Flyers be even more thankful for?

Health and more production from Sean Couturier.

Philadelphia’s defensive struggles this year were exacerbated by a somewhat unexpected lack of scoring. Couturier’s still been as trustworthy as ever defensively, but after signing an eight-year, $62MM extension this offseason, he’s got just six goals and 17 points through 29 games. It’s not awful by any stretch, but he’s been hovering around a point-per-game for the past few seasons and the dip is somewhat concerning.

It won’t be happening anytime soon, though. Couturier was injured recently and team announced he’s now out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

What should be on the Flyers’ Holiday Wish list?

A Rasmus Ristolainen deal at the trade deadline.

Philadelphia, barring a miracle, is extremely unlikely to make the playoffs. They are tied for ninth in the conference with the Bruins, but Boston has four games in hand on them. With other teams behind Philadelphia looking to make runs as well, it doesn’t seem like they’ll be able to pull away from the pack by the trade deadline.

The Flyers paid a pretty penny to acquire Ristolainen from Buffalo this offseason, but it just hasn’t worked out. He’s still struggled mightily in his own end, and he has just eight points in 29 games this year. The team needs cap space and assets, and shipping out Ristolainen in the last year of his deal would allow them to at least recoup some assets for the ill-advised acquisition.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Vrana, Voracek, Augustana

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Hockey is back as the preseason enters its second day. While teams continue to announce roster moves and training camp cuts, there’s a variety of news and notes from around the league and sport that have come through the wire. The most notable takes us to the Detroit Red Wings, where head coach Jeff Blashill reports that forward Jakub Vrana will see a specialist on Monday for a shoulder injury suffered this week. After yesterday’s report from Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen that Vrana would be reevaluated later, this is a quick turnaround from such an uncertain timeline. Any absence would be a huge blow to Detroit, for whom Vrana scored at a point-per-game pace last season.

Some other news from around the hockey world:

  • The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline notes the discrepancy in the role that Jakub Voracek will carry during his second tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Voracek’s last season in Columbus came in 2010-11 at the age of 21, playing 10 seasons and 727 games in Philadelphia after a trade. Dealt back to Columbus this offseason in exchange for Cam Atkinson, Voracek now returns as the oldest player on the Columbus roster. He’ll be tasked with being a strong voice in terms of leadership to help gel a rebuilding squad. It’s something that Voracek says he’s “ready to fill” due to his experience in Philadelphia.
  • After announcing a move to create a Division I hockey program back in June, South Dakota’s Augustana University will announce the program officially on October 5. Including the groundbreaking of the team’s new arena, the event will mark history for hockey in South Dakota. It continues a recent tradition of lesser-known schools breaking into the Division I scene.

Flyers, Blue Jackets Swap Jakub Voracek, Cam Atkinson

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The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired another big-ticket player acquiring  Cam Atkinson from the Columbus Blue Jackets. In return, the Flyers will send Jakub Voracek back to the Blue Jackets. Atkinson joins Ryan Ellis and Rasmus Ristolainen as the other big names coming into Philadelphia this offseason, really changing the landscape of the Flyers roster. Neither team has retained any salary in the deal.

Atkinson, 32, has four years left on his current contract and carries a $5.875MM cap hit. After scoring 41 goals in the 2018-19 season, Atkinson’s numbers have come down significantly over the last two seasons, but is still one of the most dynamic players on the Blue Jackets roster. After trading Seth Jones, this next move perhaps signals that the Blue Jackets are going to tear out all of the older players on the team and start a rebuild.

Of course, Voracek doesn’t fit into that narrative, as he is 31 and actually comes with an even higher cap hit. The Flyers were clear that Voracek was on the table when they left him exposed to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft, as his $8.25MM cap hit limits what they can do with the rest of the roster. Voracek’s deal will expire at the end of the 2023-24 season, and could perhaps even be flipped by the Blue Jackets to make his contract more palatable. Despite his big cap number, the veteran forward doesn’t have any trade protection.

Voracek actually started his NHL career in Columbus, playing three years for the club before going to the Flyers in 2011. He has been a consistent offensive performer through the years, but has never been a big goal-scoring threat. This season, he registered just nine goals, but still had 43 points in 53 games. For the Flyers, it’s mostly just about shaking up a core that had hit a plateau and no longer looked like true contenders. Adding Atkinson gives the team a different look, while also saving the team a little bit of cap space.

In fact, Philadelphia now has a little over $12.4MM in cap space for this summer, with new contracts for RFAs Carter Hart and Travis Sanheim to come. The team actually could still be in the market for some free agent additions, though they’ll have to be careful with how they spend their money. Both captain Claude Giroux and top forward Sean Couturier are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents next summer. If they intend to re-sign them—which certainly doesn’t seem guaranteed after the huge changes recently—handing out any other big-money deals will be tough to work around.

2021 King Clancy Trophy Nominees Announced

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The NHL has announced the 31 nominees for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually presented to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Matt Dumba of the Minnesota Wild.

Each team submits one nominee. This year’s are:

Anaheim: Cam Fowler

Arizona: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Boston: Charlie Coyle

Buffalo: Jack Eichel

Calgary: Mikael Backlund

Carolina: Jordan Staal

Chicago: Connor Murphy

Colorado: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Columbus: Cam Atkinson

Dallas: Esa Lindell

Detroit: Dylan Larkin

Edmonton: Kyle Turris

Florida: Sergei Bobrovsky

Los Angeles: Trevor Moore

Minnesota: Mats Zuccarello

Montreal: Jonathan Drouin

Nashville: Pekka Rinne

New Jersey: P.K. Subban

NY Islanders: Anders Lee

NY Rangers: Chris Kreider

Ottawa: Thomas Chabot

Philadelphia: Scott Laughton

Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby

San Jose: Kurtis Gabriel

St. Louis: Ryan O’Reilly

Tampa Bay: Alex Killorn

Toronto: John Tavares

Vancouver: Tyler Motte

Vegas: Marc-Andre Fleury

Washington: Garnet Hathaway

Winnipeg: Blake Wheeler

2020 King Clancy Trophy Nominees Announced

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The NHL has announced the 31 nominees for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually presented to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Jason Zucker of the Minnesota Wild.

Each team submits one nominee. This year’s are:

Anaheim: Cam Fowler

Arizona: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Boston: Patrice Bergeron

Buffalo: Jack Eichel

Calgary: Travis Hamonic

Carolina: Jordan Staal

Chicago: Jonathan Toews

Colorado: Gabriel Landeskog

Columbus: Cam Atkinson

Dallas: Tyler Seguin

Detroit: Justin Abdelkader

Edmonton: Leon Draisaitl

Florida: Sergei Bobrovsky

Los Angeles: Trevor Lewis

Minnesota: Matt Dumba

Montreal: Carey Price

Nashville: Pekka Rinne

New Jersey: P.K. Subban

NY Islanders: Matt Martin

NY Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist

Ottawa: Brady Tkachuk

Philadelphia: Kevin Hayes

Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby

San Jose: Evander Kane

St. Louis: Ryan O’Reilly

Tampa Bay: Alex Killorn

Toronto: Mitch Marner

Vancouver: Alexander Edler

Vegas: Marc-Andre Fleury

Washington: Garnet Hathaway

Winnipeg: Blake Wheeler

Minor Transactions: 02/16/20

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The Colorado Avalanche’s opportunity to take over first place in the Central Division came up short Saturday night at the Air Force Academy in Colorado at the Coors Light Stadium Series outdoor matchup. The Los Angeles Kings got a hat trick from Tyler Toffoli, who likely raised his trade stock, and helped the Kings knock off the Avalanche, 3-1. Instead of moving into first, Colorado fell behind the Dallas Stars Saturday, who came back from a 3-0 deficit to the Montreal Canadiens to win in overtime, to move into second place. To make matters worse, both St. Louis and Dallas play Sunday, while Colorado has the day off, giving both teams a chance to extend their lead on the Avalanche. As the playoff race intensifies, teams will continue to make roster moves to strengthen their teams. Check back to see the roster moves throughout the day.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Wednesday that forward Cam Atkinson would miss the next two to three weeks with a high ankle sprain. Now the team has placed Atkinson on injured reserve, retroactive to Feb. 8. The team will replace him on the roster with forward Kole Sherwood. The 23-year-old has appeared in three games with Columbus so far this season with no points, but has only averaged 6:38 of ATOI, as he tries to earn the trust of head coach John Tortorella.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights announced they have assigned forward Nicolas Roy to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL after being recalled on Saturday with Jonathan Marchessault questionable. However, Roy was not needed as Machessault did play, so the team returned him. Roy has six points in 19 games with Vegas this season.
  • Speaking of players who got assigned Saturday, the Winnipeg Jets announced they have recalled forward Andrei Chibisov from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL after sending him down the previous day. Chibisov is still looking to make his NHL debut. The 26-year-old, signed out of the KHL last June, has seven goals and 24 points in 48 games with the Moose. It’s expected that Chibisov will make his debut Sunday.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs announced they have brought up two young prospects in forward Egor Korshkov and Mason Marchment from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. The 6-foot-4 Korshkov, the team’s 31st pick in 2016, finally came over from Russia this summer and has fared well in the AHL, scoring 14 goals in 35 games, could make his NHL debut if he gets into a game. Marchment has appeared in three games for the Maple Leafs, but has been on a tear since the team returned him to the AHL on Jan. 14. He has eight goals in the past five games with the Marlies. With the recall of two players, CapFriendly reports that Toronto placed Andreas Johnsson on long-term injured reserve. Johnsson was deemed to be out for the next eight weeks on Friday with a knee injury.
  • The Ottawa Senators announced they have recalled defenseman Andreas Englund from the Belleville Senators of the AHL. Englund has been up and down all season. The 24-year-old has two assists in 12 games for Ottawa, but is actually scoreless in 22 games with Belleville.
  • After acquiring Andy Greene in a trade from the New Jersey Devils, the New York Islanders have sent Sebastian Aho back to the minor leagues. Greene will join the Islanders on the road in Arizona where they face the Coyotes tomorrow.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have recalled Hunter Miska, just a few days after signing him to an NHL contract. Miska will likely serve as backup for Pavel Francouz after Philipp Grubauer was injured last night.

Cam Atkinson Out 2-3 Weeks With Sprained Ankle

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4:30pm: The Blue Jackets have recalled Liam Foudy once again under emergency conditions. Foudy made his NHL debut on Monday night but had to be returned to the OHL following the game. He is still not a long-term option, but could play Thursday for the Blue Jackets.

10:42am: The Columbus Blue Jackets have lost another key player for the next little while, announcing today that Cam Atkinson will be out for two to three weeks with a sprained ankle. Atkinson already missed a dozen games earlier in the season with a high-ankle sprain. Though he hasn’t been officially put on injured reserve, when he does he’ll join a group that already includes Seth Jones, Brandon Dubinsky, Alexander Wennberg, Ryan Murray, Josh Anderson, Alexandre Texier and Dean Kukan (though some are approaching a return). The team has also been without Joonas Korpisalo since the end of December, though he never made it onto IR.

Even with the never ending injuries, the Blue Jackets remain one of the hottest teams in the NHL. An overtime loss to the Lightning on Monday made them 7-1-2 in their last ten games, a period in which they’ve only allowed 15 goals against. That stingy defensive strategy will hopefully get them through the next few weeks, though Jones’ will be out much longer than that.

In a such a tumultuous season, one can bet that John Tortorella will be getting plenty of votes for the Jack Adams trophy should the Blue Jackets end up in the playoff picture. To do it, he’ll need Atkinson back and healthy as soon as possible.

Blue Jackets Notes: Recent Surge, Bjorkstrand, Wennberg

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No team in the NHL is hotter than the Columbus Blue Jackets in the new year. Columbus is 8-2-0 in their past ten games, which includes three shutouts and a pair of wins against the Boston Bruins. The team has now crept their way into the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, jumping ahead of the likes of Philadelphia, Carolina, and Toronto. Even more impressive is that the Blue Jackets have made this run while missing many of their best players: starting goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, top scorer Cam Atkinson and fellow forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand, Josh Anderson, and Alexandre Texier, and defensemen Ryan Murray and Dean Kukan. With those players on their way back to health – Atkinson made his return on Thursday – one would think that Columbus has a chance to not only sustain their success, but possibly even improve upon it.

Yet, the question then becomes whether the team can really buy in to this season after the events of 2018-19. Last year, the Blue Jackets went all in, trading away Anthony Duclair, two top forward prospects, a first-round pick, two second-round picks, and three additional picks to load up with rentals Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Adam McQuaid, and Keith Kinkaid. The team also opted not to move their own impending free agents in Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. Although Columbus stunned the Tampa Bay Lightning with a first-round sweep, the first playoff series win in franchise history, they fell in the second round and lost each of those six free agents in the off-season. If the Blue Jackets are again in a position only to battle for a wild card spot down the stretch, can the team risk another season of lost prospects and draft capital? Only time will tell how long the team can continue this dominant stretch and what position they may be in by late next month, but another active trade deadline would be a difficult hit to the team’s pipeline.

  • Columbus’ best bet may be to depend on their internal options to get healthy and play to the best of their abilities. The team announced a step in the right direction today, as Bjorkstrand has been activated from the injured reserve and will return to action for the first time since December 22. Bjorkstrand is actually returning earlier than his expected four-to-six week timeline, healing quickly from broken ribs. Bjorkstrand was on pace for a career year prior to his injury, with 23 points in his first 36 games. The 24-year-old winger was embracing his increased responsibility and Columbus has to hope that he can continue to excel in his elevated role the rest of the year. With Bjorkstrand back, Kevin Stenlund is the odd man out, reassigned to the AHL.
  • If the Blue Jackets are to lean on their existing roster this season for a playoff run, another intriguing situation will be the trade status of Alexander Wennberg. Wennberg has been on the trade block since early last season and in the minds of many hockey pundits remains a player that Columbus would like to move. The young center has not lived up to the long-term extension the team signed him to back in 2017, which carries a $4.9MM cap hit for three more years beyond this season. However, as opposed to last season when Wennberg recorded only 25 points and was scratched a handful of games, Wennberg too has embraced his increased role in the wake of free agent departures and injuries this year. The 25-year-old has played in all but one game for the Blue Jackets, recording 20 points. This puts him on pace for 34 points on the year, a sharp uptick from last season. It also makes him a top-six scoring forward for the team so far this year. Can Columbus afford to move out a player in such an important role this year for only salary cap purposes when they are trying to make it back to the postseason?

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