Senators Notes: MacArthur, Goaltending, Harpur, Lazar
As he continues to try to recover from a concussion, Senators left winger Clarke MacArthur is set to undergo a neuro-psych exam that will be a significant factor in determining when he returns to the lineup, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. The difference between this test and a typical baseline concussion test is that MacArthur will also be evaluated in on-ice drills to determine his readiness to graduate towards more rigorous rehab.
MacArthur has been skating with the Senators and as of late has moved onto most of the regular practice drills aside from those that require significant physical contact. As a result, he’s targeting a return to the lineup sometime in January, assuming he passes this test without any issues.
The 31 year old has yet to play this season after being concussed on a hit from defenseman Patrick Sieloff in an intrasquad game back in training camp. Going back to last year, he saw action in just four games because of recurring concussion symptoms.
Other news from Ottawa:
- While goaltending Craig Anderson has typically been pretty quick to rejoin the team after taking his leaves of absence to be with his cancer-stricken wife, it doesn’t sound like that will be the case this time around. Via Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun (Twitter link), head coach Guy Boucher noted that he expects that Mike Condon and Andrew Hammond will be the goalie tandem for a while. Condon has been a strong addition for the Sens since being acquired from Pittsburgh, posting a 2.38 GAA and a .920 SV% in nine games so far.
- The team announced via Twitter that they have recalled defenseman Ben Harpur from their AHL affiliate in Binghamton. The 21 year old has played in 20 games in the minors this season, recording three assists and 30 penalty minutes. He has five games of NHL experience under his belt from last season with Ottawa.
- Center/right winger Curtis Lazar skated on the fourth line at practice between Chris Kelly and Chris Neil, Garrioch notes in a separate tweet. Over the weekend, it was reported that he was targeting Wednesday as a return date from a concussion and it appears he’s on track to meet that goal.
Ottawa Senators Send Down Robinson, Varone
After a weekend that saw the Ottawa Senators outscored 9-2 and lose two games on the west coast, the team has sent both Buddy Robinson and Philip Varone back to the AHL. Both players will head to Binghamton for their Wednesday night matchup against the St. John’s IceCaps.
Robinson and Varone have combined for just eight games for the Senators this season, with neither registering a single point. With 47 games, Varone is the more experienced NHLer but both are not expected to be much more than 13th forwards or injury replacements for their careers. They’ll head back to the AHL where each is having a productive season, and wait for another chance at a big league job.
After Bobby Ryan returned this weekend, Curtis Lazar is expected to be back with the team for Wednesday night against the San Jose Sharks. The team is also expecting Clarke MacArthur‘s return to the ice at some point this season, as the forward was cleared for contact just a few days ago. Both Lazar and MacArthur are coming off concussions, though for the latter it has been a consistent problem. At one point, it looked like MacArthur wouldn’t be able to return to the NHL after suffering his latest head injury in training camp, but through hard work he’s positioned himself for a mid-season return on a team vying for a playoff spot.
Snapshots: Bruins, Lightning, Senators
News and notes from around the NHL this morning:
- The Boston Bruins have called up two players from the AHL Providence Bruins this morning—forwards Noel Acciari and Danton Heinen—and sent down forward Anton Blidh, reports Mark Divver of the Providence Journal. Acciari has struggled so far with the big club, but was placed on IR after suffering a lower body injury. His demotion may have been a conditioning stint for the young forward to regain his legs before re-joining the Bruins. Heinen, however, had been sent down after failing to register a point with Boston this year. He turned it around in the AHL and racked up 13p (7G, 6A) in 13 games. Heinen skated with David Krejci and David Backes on the second line this morning while Acciari was on the fourth line with Dominic Moore and Tim Schaller.
- Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will start tonight for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Pittsburgh Penguins, reports Bryan Burns of Tampabaylightning.com. This will be Vasilevskiy’s 11th start this season, and the Russian netminder has made the most of his opportunities. His 2.27 GAA and .929 SV% are significantly better than starter Ben Bishop‘s numbers, and Vasilevskiy could supplant Bishop in the starting role if things remain the same. More likely, however, is that the Lightning will platoon Bishop and Vasilevskiy until they find a trading partner for Bishop, who is a UFA at season’s end.
- The Ottawa Senators are hoping that injured forward Curtis Lazar returns Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks. Lazar suffered a concussion last Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins when Penguins forward Brian Dumoulin hit Lazar from behind. Lazar is skating with the Senators and the Ottawa Citizen’s Ken Warren expects him back in time for the Sens’ tilt with the Sharks. Lazar will have to work hard to overcome his early season slump, however, as he has failed to register a point so far this season.
Injury Updates: Staal, Jets, Lazar, Bennett, Neal
The Carolina Hurricanes got some bad news on the injury front as Jordan Staal’s skating session on Monday did not go as well as expected and as a result, he is not expected to accompany the team on their West Coast trip, reports Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer.
Staal has been out of the lineup since November 27th because of a concussion. He’s in his fifth season with the Hurricanes and has nine points (5-4-9) through 21 games so far this season. In the meantime, Teuvo Teravainen will continue to fill Staal’s role as the second line center having shifted over from the left wing.
Still with Carolina, forward Elias Lindholm, who has missed the last two games with a lower body injury, practiced with a non-contact jersey today. Although he likely won’t be ready for their next game, he is expected to play at some point on the road trip.
Other injury news from around the league:
- In a series of four tweets, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun provided updates on several injured Winnipeg Jets. Leading scorer Mark Scheifele (lower body) won’t play tonight against Detroit but skated today and is progressing well. Defenseman Tyler Myers skated for the first time today since suffering a lower body injury nearly four weeks ago but their remains no timetable for his return. Center Nic Petan, who has seven points in 13 games since being recalled, is out for another couple of weeks for his lower body issue. As for right winger Joel Armia (knee), he’s expected to return sometime in mid-to-late December while center Shawn Matthias (lower body) will be out a little longer as his tentative return date is closer to early January.
- Senators forward Curtis Lazar is out indefinitely with an upper body injury suffered last night against the Penguins, notes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. The team announced via Twitter that Phil Varone has been recalled from their AHL affiliate in Binghamton to take his place. (Also recalled was goalie Andrew Hammond as Craig Anderson is taking another leave of absence.) Varone has 13 points in 18 minor league games this season and led all forwards in the league in preseason scoring. TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (Twitter link) that the injury isn’t believed to be too serious.
- The Devils announced (via Twitter) that they have activated right winger Beau Bennett off of injured reserve. He has missed the last three games due to a right leg laceration. To make room for him on the roster, the team assigned center John Quenneville back to Albany of the AHL.
- Predators left winger James Neal skated with teammates for the first time since suffering an upper body injury on November 25th against Winnipeg, writes Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. Evidently, everything checked out well as Vingan tweets that the team has activated him off of IR and that he is expected to play tonight against Colorado.
How Will The Expansion Draft Impact Canadian Teams?
Continuing our look at different expansion draft angles, CBC’s Amy Cleveland examines how the draft will affect the seven teams in Canada. Laying out the rules for the draft, Cleveland looks further and prognosticates who she sees as “potentially protected” versus those players who would be “intriguing” in being exposed. She further writes that all seven Canadian teams will be able to protect the bulk of their important players. The Flames sit prettiest without any non-movement clauses in contracts while the Leafs and Senators have only one player with an NMC (Nathan Horton, and Dion Phaneuf respectively).
Below are Cleveland’s picks for each team. Going to CBC’s page with the story includes in depth reasoning behind each of Cleveland’s choices.
Calgary Flames
NMC protected players: None.
Potentially protected:
- Forwards Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Troy Brouwer, Michael Frolik, Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferland
- Defencemen Dougie Hamilton, T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano
- Goalie Chad Johnson
Intriguing exposed:
- Matt Stajan (F), Lance Bouma (F), Brett Kulak (D)
Edmonton Oilers
NMC protected players: Milan Lucic (F), Andrej Sekera (D), Cam Talbot (G)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards: Lucic, Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Patrick Maroon, Tyler Pitlick, Zack Kassian
- Defencemen: Sekera, Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson
- Goalie: Talbot
Intriguing exposed:
- Benoit Pouliot (F), Mark Letestu (F)
Montreal Canadiens
NMC protected players: Carey Price (G), Jeff Petry (D)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Alexander Radulov, Max Pacioretty, Paul Byron, Andrew Shaw, Phillip Danault
- Defencemen Petry, Shea Weber, Nathan Beaulieu
- Goalie: Price
Intriguing exposed:
- Tomas Plekanec (F), Jacob De la Rose (F- RFA), Alexei Emelin (D), Greg Pateryn (D)
Ottawa Senators
NMC protected players: Dion Phaneuf (D)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards: Kyle Turris, Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Ryan Dzingel, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Curtis Lazar
- Defencemen: Phaneuf, Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci
- Goalie: Craig Anderson
Intriguing exposed:
- Bobby Ryan (F), Marc Methot (D)
Toronto Maple Leafs
NMC protected players: Nathan Horton (F)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, Matt Martin, Connor Brown
- Defencemen Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, Connor Carrick
- Goalie Frederik Andersen
Vancouver Canucks
NMC protected players: Loui Eriksson (F), Daniel Sedin (F), Henrik Sedin (F)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards: Eriksson, Sedin twins, Brandon Sutter, Bo Horvat, Markus Granlund, Jannik Hansen
- Defencemen Alexander Edler, Christopher Tanev, Erik Gudbranson
- Goalie Jacob Markstrom
Intriguing exposed:
- Sven Baertschi (F), Derek Dorsett (F), Luca Sbisa (D)
Winnipeg Jets
NMC protected players: Dustin Byfuglien (D), Toby Enstrom (D)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards: Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Adam Lowry
- Defencemen: Byfuglien, Enstrom, Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba
- Goalie Connor Hellebuyck
Intriguing exposed:
- Mathieu Perreault (F), Marko Dano (F), Mark Stuart (D)
Bobby Ryan Out With Broken Finger
The Senators will be without the services of Bobby Ryan, one of their top offensive threats at least for tonight’s game against Florida due to a broken finger, according to the team’s official Twitter account. The team also described the likelihood of Mike Hoffman suiting up tonight as “less than likely,” suggesting it’s probable that two of the Sens best forwards will be out of the lineup tonight.
Curtis Lazar, who was recalled from Binghamton of the AHL this morning, will be in the lineup.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun adds that this is the third broken finger over the last three years for Ryan.
Ryan has struggled at the outset of the 2016-17 campaign, scoring just three goals and recording six points in 17 games to date. The native of Cherry Hill, New Jersey and former second overall draft choice in 2005 – selected only after Sidney Crosby – tallied four straight 30-goal campaigns from 2008-09 through 2011-12 while a member of the Anaheim Ducks. Since being acquired by the Senators in a blockbuster deal which saw Jakob Silfverberg, Stefan Noesen and a first-round pick going to Anaheim, Ryan has failed to to reach the 30-goal mark. His best season came last year with a scoring line of 22G – 34A – 56Pts.
One of the reasons the Senators traded for Derick Brassard was to give Ryan a skilled, left-handed pivot who could more easily get the puck to the right-handed right wing on the rush. The two have failed to click as hoped and were recently moved to different lines in an attempt to jump start the offense.
Hoffman, like Ryan, is off to a slow start with just three goals and seven points in 16 games. He is considered day-to-day with a lower-body-injury. Hoffman inked a massive four-year contract extension worth a total of $20.75MM this summer on the heels of a 29-goal, 59-point performance in 2015-16.
The Senators currently rank 27th in the NHL in goals scored and losing Ryan for what could be a lengthy period won’t help matters. Lazar has been considered one of Ottawa’s better prospects and the hope is he is ready to contribute some offense.
Senators Notes: Chabot, Lazar
Ottawa Senators rookie defenseman Thomas Chabot will be staying with the Ottawa Senators for the time being. Chabot made the Senators after a solid pre-season, but has only appeared in one game this season where he went -2 in seven minutes in a 7-4 win against the Arizona Coyotes.
Chabot still has one year of junior eligibility left, but Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch quoted GM Pierre Dorion as saying a decision doesn’t need to be made right now. Dorion believes being around the NHL club isn’t hurting Chabot’s development.
The Senators handling of Chabot appears to be similar to the St. Louis Blues handling of Alex Pietrangelo. Also a first round pick, Pietrangelo played 8 games in 2008-09 before being returned to junior in mid-November, then played 9 games in the first half of 2009-10 before being loaned to Canada at the World Junior Championships and subsequently sent back to the OHL. Pietrangelo played his first full NHL season in 2010-11 and had 43 points. If Chabot ends up even close to the player that Pietrangelo is, then the Senators will be very happy.
Meanwhile, another Senators first round pick remains in Binghamton with no timetable for his return. Curtis Lazar was assigned to Binghamton at the end of training camp after battling mono through the summer. Lazar has spent two seasons with the Senators, scoring 15 and 20 points respectively. While the totals are not what a team would like from a first round pick, Lazar is a smart two-way player who should develop into a good middle-six forward who can score reliably. Lazar scored 169 points in 199 games with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings.