East Notes: McAvoy, Hart, Andersen
The Boston Bruins are rolling to start the year despite a predicted slow start due to injuries to key players. Their 11-2-0 record is good enough for 22 points and first place in the Eastern Conference, and as if things haven’t been good enough, they’re about to get the final key piece of the puzzle back in their lineup. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy is set to make his season debut tomorrow against the Calgary Flames, marking his return from offseason shoulder surgery.
McAvoy, 24, has finished top 10 in Norris Trophy voting each of the past three seasons but has yet to receive his first nomination for the trophy. He’s coming off a 2021-22 campaign when he set career highs in goals (10), assists (46), points (56), plus-minus (+31), and average time on ice (24:38). The New York-born All-Star is set to resume his top-pairing role alongside Hampus Lindholm, who’s taken the reigns in McAvoy’s absence with 13 points in 13 games. The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter reported last week that McAvoy was ahead of schedule in his recovery, and was set to return earlier than his rough projection of December 1.
- Philadelphia Flyers youngster Carter Hart is ready to return to action in the crease tomorrow against the Columbus Blue Jackets after a one-game absence due to illness, notes Philly Hockey Now’s Sam Carchidi. Head coach John Tortorella didn’t go so far as to name Hart as the starter for tomorrow night, but it wouldn’t shock anyone if the netminder took the crease. The 24-year-old has yet to lose in regulation through eight starts in 2022-23.
- Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour today offered an update on goaltender Frederik Andersen, saying that “he tweaked something.” Brind’Amour added that he didn’t think Andersen’s undisclosed injury was serious but didn’t want to put Andersen in the net without full health. His injury necessitated the emergency recall of Pyotr Kochetkov yesterday.
Charlie McAvoy “Ahead Of Schedule” In Recovery
After receiving an arthroscopic shoulder procedure in early June, Boston Bruins All-Star defenseman Charlie McAvoy is ahead of schedule in his recovery, writes The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter.
Originally set to return around the first of December, it’s now seeming the Bruins could reach full health sooner rather than later. McAvoy was cleared for contact today for the first time this season, taking full practice with the team.
Head coach Jim Montgomery cautions that McAvoy’s return isn’t imminent, however, and he won’t be returning a month earlier than anticipated like his fellow All-Star, Brad Marchand. Montgomery said he remains hopeful McAvoy’s return will come before the Thanksgiving break, but also confirmed he won’t play on this week’s three-game road trip.
The Bruins will likely take their time reacclimating McAvoy to the lineup. As he missed all of training camp and the preseason, the 24-year-old still needs to adapt to Montgomery’s new system, which has the team chugging along with an 8-1-0 record to begin the year.
While Hampus Lindholm has been spectacular in McAvoy’s absence, the Bruins still remain without a top-10 defenseman in the league in their lineup. Coming off a career-high 56 points last season, McAvoy is poised to take another step forward this season, adding a terrifying element to a Bruins team that’s already exceeding expectations in their “Last Dance”-esque season.
More Injury Updates: McAvoy, Clutterbuck, Devils, Coyotes
It became apparent over the offseason that injuries were going to be a serious issue for the Boston Bruins this year, at least at the beginning of the season. While there have been positive developments on some, the same can’t be said for All-Star-caliber defenseman Charlie McAvoy. According to The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter, there’s no updated timeline on McAvoy’s return, meaning he’s still expected to rejoin the team around Thanksgiving. He is doing some shooting practice, Porter notes, but he’s yet to take any slapshots in practice.
McAvoy had an arthroscopic procedure on his left shoulder back in late May/early June. He could miss around 20 games if the timeline holds true.
- The New York Islanders announced today that forward Cal Clutterbuck has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to September 26. He’s eligible to be activated at any time, and he’s been classified as day-to-day by the team as he deals with soreness. Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said today he doesn’t anticipate Clutterbuck being out for a significant period of time, and he’s been skating on his own.
- Some unfortunate news for New Jersey Devils fans: captain Nico Hischier has been placed on injured reserve, along with forward Tyce Thompson, after the former left a preseason game against the Canadiens on September 26 with what was classified as “cramping” at the time. His status is now week-to-week with a hamstring injury. Additionally, the team has moved goalie Jonathan Bernier to long-term injured reserve as he continues to recover from a hip procedure last year that ended his season prematurely.
- We have some clarity on why the Arizona Coyotes put in a waiver claim for Connor Ingram today after claiming another goalie just days prior. Jonas Johansson, who the team claimed off waivers from the Avalanche on September 30, has been moved to injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. As expected, defenseman Jakob Chychrun is also on injured reserve as he’s still recovering from an ankle injury suffered at the end of last season.
Award Notes: Jim Gregory Award Finalists, All-Rookie Team, All-Star Teams
While there were five awards handed out on Tuesday, there is still one more to be announced. That one is the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. It’s voted on by all 32 NHL GMs as well as some NHL executives at the end of the second round. Not surprisingly, all three of the finalists, who were named during the NHL Awards show, were among the four to help lead their teams to the conference finals including Julien BriseBois of the Lightning, Chris Drury of the Rangers, and Joe Sakic of the Avalanche. Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello won the award a year ago. The winner for this won’t be announced until partway through the first round of the draft next month in Montreal.
More news from awards night:
- Following the televised portion of the awards, the league announced its All-Rookie team. Boston’s Jeremy Swayman was the goaltender, Nashville’s Alexandre Carrier and Detroit’s Moritz Seider were the defensemen, while Toronto’s Michael Bunting, Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras, and Detroit’s Lucas Raymond comprised the forward group. Seider was the only unanimous choice from the group.
- The NHL also announced its two All-Star teams. Igor Shesterkin (Rangers) was the goalie on the first team and was joined by Roman Josi (Predators), Cale Makar (Avalanche), Johnny Gaudreau (Flames), and Maple Leafs teammates Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Matthews, Gaudreau, and Shesterkin are on the top team for the first time while it was the second nod for the other three.
- The second All-Star team had a pair of Flames in goaltender Jacob Markstrom and winger Matthew Tkachuk. They were joined by defensemen Charlie McAvoy (Bruins) and Victor Hedman (Lightning), winger Jonathan Huberdeau (Panthers), and center Connor McDavid (Oilers).
Three Bruins Defensemen Undergo Surgery
A trio of Boston Bruins defensemen underwent significant surgeries today, with two of them expected to miss the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign, per the team. Most notably, Charlie McAvoy had a left shoulder arthroscopic stabilization procedure that’s set to sideline him for six months, meaning he won’t make his season debut until early December. Additionally, Matt Grzelcyk will miss five months after a right shoulder open stabilization procedure and Mike Reilly will miss three months after a right ankle tendon repair and removal of bone fragments.
They all join forward Brad Marchand, who’s also expected to be out until late November, on the injured list for the B’s.
Having Marchand and McAvoy out of the lineup, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Patrice Bergeron‘s NHL future, will be incredibly tough to navigate for this Bruins squad. Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak will be relied on very heavily for the first weeks of the season to keep the team from imploding.
However, if there’s good out of any of this for Bruins fans, it’s salary considerations. With Grzelcyk, Marchand, and McAvoy potential candidates for long-term injured reserve out of the gate, the team could have upwards of $15MM set aside on LTIR. This would give the team ample time into the season to figure out their salary picture, rather than just being constrained by the offseason. Prior to the injuries, the Bruins had just $4MM in cap space without Bergeron on the roster. The team had no real flexibility in free agency, but that might change if they can play their cards right.
It’s still a gutting loss, though, to have a top-ten defenseman in the league out of the lineup. Trade Deadline acquisition Hampus Lindholm will need to live up to his extension immediately, and that’s a lot of pressure for an also injury-prone defenseman. Head coach Bruce Cassidy will open the 2022-23 season undoubtedly facing the rockiest road he’s had so far as coach of this team. The team’s goal will be desperation mode until their stars are back, hopefully not falling too far back of the strong Atlantic Division pack.
Charlie McAvoy, Brendan Smith Earn Fines
The NHL Department of Player Safety has handed out a pair of fines today, sanctioning defensemen Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins and Brendan Smith of the Carolina Hurricanes for violations committed during yesterday’s series-ending contest. Both were fined the maximum allowable amount under the CBA.
McAvoy’s $5,000 fine came for tripping, in an incident where he tripped Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei. The incident came at 6:10 of the third period. The Bruins were pressing into Carolina’s end of the ice, looking to create a scoring chance when their possession of the puck ended and Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast cleared the puck down the ice. McAvoy, who was hovering around the area that Fast occupied, knocked Fast down and then went and committed this tripping infraction on Skjei.
Smith’s fine, a $2,000 cost to the player, is for elbowing Bruins’ forward David Pastrnak. Pastrnak retrieved a puck in the corner and curled it around the net, and after the puck had already left Pastrnak’s stick Smith went to engage Pastrnak in a body check. Smith left his feet on the check, his elbow rising to the point of hitting Pastrnak in the head, hence the fine for elbowing. The fine occurred at 1:18 in the third period of yesterday’s game.
Charlie McAvoy Reportedly Clears COVID Protocol, Available For Game 5
In a surprise twist, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports that Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy is at PNC Arena in Raleigh, likely meaning he’s cleared NHL COVID protocol and could play in tonight’s Game 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Kaplan did not go so far as to say that McAvoy would play, however, he will take warmups.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds that he understands McAvoy can play if he’s five days out from the onset of virus symptoms, assuming a negative test and medical clearance. Assuming that McAvoy’s symptom onset was last Thursday, he could be cleared to play. However, that assumes McAvoy would’ve first felt symptoms the day prior to Game 3, which he played.
Obviously, if McAvoy can play, it would be a huge boost for the Bruins. They already have all the momentum in the series after winning twice at home to tie the best-of-seven First Round matchup at two games apiece. McAvoy had two assists in Games 1-3 while averaging over 25 minutes per game.
With a re-inforced defense and the strong play of Jeremy Swayman, it seems like the Bruins could end up snatching victory from the jaws of defeat after a pair of blowouts in Games 1 and 2.
Charlie McAvoy Enters COVID Protocol, Will Miss Game Four
In what could ultimately decide the result of their first round series, the Boston Bruins have announced that star defenseman Charlie McAvoy has been placed in the NHL COVID-19 Protocol and will not be available for Sunday’s Game Four match-up with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The news comes as an unforeseen, last-minute change, as head coach Bruce Cassidy told the media no more than an hour earlier that he expected no changes to the lineup in Game Four from Friday’s Game Three. McAvoy’s absence is very much a change in the lineup and one that the Bruins may not be able to withstand. As the Bruins look to even the series at two games apiece, they are now without their entire top pairing, as McAvoy joins Hampus Lindholm on the shelf. The defense pairs will shift upward accordingly, with Matt Grzelcyk and Brandon Carlo playing on the top pair, Game Three hero Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton playing on the second pair, and Josh Brown drawing in to the lineup alongside Mike Reilly on the third pair. It is a much different looking group without McAvoy and Lindholm and they will have their work cut out for them against a high-energy Hurricanes team.
The Bruins have to hope that they can somehow eek out a win in Game Four or at the very least can get McAvoy back for Game Five. Cassidy also stated that Lindholm too could return for Game Five. However, down 3-1 going back to Raleigh will not be ideal even at full strength. McAvoy averaged nearly 25 minutes of ice time per game this season and has been over 25 through three playoff games. That ice time alone will be extremely difficult to make up, but McAvoy also led all Boston defensemen in points, hits, and blocked shots. His absence cannot be understated – the Bruins will need all the luck they can get on Sunday.
Boston Bruins Extend Hampus Lindholm
After acquiring Hampus Lindholm from the Anaheim Ducks yesterday, the Bruins have signed the defensemen to a max extension today (link). As first reported by TSN’s Chris Johnston last night, the extension is for eight years and carries an average annual value of $6.5MM. Here is the complete breakdown:
2022-23: $5.25MM + $2MM signing bonus
2023-24: $6MM + $2MM signing bonus
2024-25: $6MM + $2MM signing bonus
2025-26: $6MM + $2MM signing bonus
2026-27: $6.35MM
2027-28: $4.8MM
2028-29: $4.8MM
2029-30: $4.8MM
The contract also includes trade protection in the form of a full No-Movement Clause in the first five years and a partial No-Trade Clause that includes a 15-team No-Trade list in the final three seasons.
Lindholm was acquired earlier yesterday, along with minor league defenseman Kodie Curran, in exchange for defensemen John Moore and Urho Vaakanainen, a first-round draft pick, and two second-round draft picks. The Bruins had been linked to just about every high-profile left-handed defenseman leading up to this trade deadline and now they have not only acquired their man, but have signed him for eight more years too.
The Ducks had been trying hard to extend Lindholm leading up until this trade, however talks did not progress, seemingly over Lindholm’s desire for an eight-year contract, and Anaheim’s reluctance to go to that length. Lindhom, 28, so far has five goals and 17 assists in 61 games this season and is regarded as a premiere shutdown defenseman.
In adding Lindholm, the Bruins solve arguably the biggest hole in their organization by giving star defenseman Charlie McAvoy a dependable pair mate for the long haul in a proven top pair left-handed defenseman. Since McAvoy first began to break out in Boston, he has been limited by a lack of ability and consistency on the left side. While his experience with future Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara was invaluable, the aging star’s lack of mobility limited McAvoy. Since Chara departed, McAvoy has played with the likes of Matt Grzelcyk, Mike Reilly, Derek Forbort, Jeremy Lauzon, and others, all good but limited players. With Lindholm in the fold, McAvoy will finally have someone to take the pressure off and allow him to engage more on offense, something the Bruins need from their blue line. McAvoy also signed a max extension this year, so Boston hopes that their top pair is now locked in through the 2029-30 season.
Atlantic Notes: Kucherov, McAvoy, Hagg
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov is coming off long-term injured reserve and is making his 2022 debut tonight against Calgary, according to head coach Jon Cooper. Kucherov hasn’t played since the third game of the 2021-22 season, and he’s been out with a lower-body injury ever since. He’ll likely slot back into his home on the top line alongside Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point. Save for Ross Colton, who’s currently in COVID protocol, the Lightning have a fully healthy forward group for the first time since October.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy is out for tonight’s game against Minnesota with a lower-body injury, although he notes it’s not a long-term ailment. It goes without saying that McAvoy is the rock for Boston’s blue line, scoring 20 points in 28 games and averaging 24:22 per game. In his place, 31-year-old John Moore likely slides into the lineup for just the fifth time this season.
- The Buffalo Sabres have been without defenseman Robert Hagg since mid-December, but he could be close to returning. The Athletic’s John Vogl reports that he took part in practice with his teammates today, his first time doing so since suffering a lower-body injury on December 14. Acquired from Philadelphia this offseason, Hagg has five points in 25 games.