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Devon Toews

Central Notes: Jones, Toews, Brown

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While there has been plenty of speculation as to when Chicago will trade winger Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, there hasn’t been much trade chatter when it comes to Seth Jones.  The Blackhawks are clearly in a rebuilding mode so having a $9.5MM defenseman on a long-term deal runs counter to that approach.  However, as Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports, it’s unlikely that the team will even try to move the 28-year-old this season or even next year.  With the salary cap situation for many contenders being tight, it’s unlikely they’d be able to accommodate such a contract and even if they were, being able to yield top value would be difficult.  Instead, Jones will be counted on to be the top defender for Chicago and should average more than 25 minutes a night for the fifth straight season.

More from the Central:

  • While Devon Toews isn’t in tonight’s lineup, he won’t be out much longer than that as Peter Baugh of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) it’s a short-term injury for the blueliner; Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar hasn’t officially ruled the 28-year-old out for Saturday’s contest yet. Toews is off to another good start to his season with three assists in four games while logging over 21 minutes per game, a number that’s artificially low after being injured early in Wednesday’s overtime loss to Winnipeg.
  • The Blues should get some help on the injury front soon as Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes (Twitter link) that center Logan Brown is close to returning to the lineup. He has been out with an upper-body injury for a little under three weeks so he has yet to play this season.  The 24-year-old picked up 11 points in 39 games for St. Louis last season in limited action while giving them some size at the bottom of the lineup.  Brown remains on the active roster despite being out this long and accordingly, they won’t have to clear a roster spot once he’s cleared to return.

Snapshots: Zub, Toews, Megna

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While he might soak up more of the headlines, Alex DeBrincat isn’t the only Ottawa Senator on playing expiring contract. Defenseman Artem Zub, a fan favorite in Ottawa, is a pending unrestricted free agent, and most believe that he is sure to get a sizeable raise on his current $2.5MM cap hit. Zub, 27, is in his third season in the NHL and is now playing top-pairing minutes next to franchise defenseman Thomas Chabot. Zub has gotten off to a hot start this year with two points in three games, and is sure to want to put the best platform season forward as he readies for a potential trip to the unrestricted free agent market.

According to TSN’s Chris Johnston on tonight’s Insider Trading program, he may get to the market, and if he does, he’s unlikely to stick around long. Johnston reports that there haven’t been substantive extension talks between the Senators and Zub, and if Zub does indeed hit the open market he “won’t be an easy player” for the Senators to keep. It’s expected that there will be leaguewide interest in acquiring Zub’s services should he hit the open market, so if the Senators wish to keep their budding star it might be best for them to hammer out an extension sooner rather than later.

For some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar issued an update today on defenseman Devon Toews. As relayed by the Denver Gazette’s Kyle Fredrickson, Bednar says Toews is being evaluated for an injury and his status for tomorrow’s game against the Seattle Kraken is unknown. The Avalanche recently found out that they’d be without captain Gabriel Landeskog for quite a while, so they have to be hoping that whatever Toews is dealing with won’t keep him out for long.
  • In other Avalanche news, the team announced today that forward Jayson Megna had been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. As The Athletic’s Peter Baugh detailed, Megna was only sent down for cap purposes and his recall was expected. The Avalanche are one of the many teams trying to manage with extremely limited cap space, so paper transactions such as this are likely to become more common as the season wears on.

Final Notes: Kucherov, Toews, Point

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The Tampa Bay Lightning were able to respond with a strong effort in game three last night to pull closer in their series against the Colorado Avalanche, but it wasn’t without a cost. Nikita Kucherov and several others left the game at various points with injuries, though it seems they may have escaped without too much issue. Today, head coach Jon Cooper explained to reporters including Joe Smith of The Athletic that though it is not yet certain, he expects Kucherov to play in game four.

Here are a couple of other notes from the Stanley Cup Final:

  • Devon Toews, whose cross-check was the reason Kucherov left the game in the first place, is not expected to receive any supplementary discipline from the league. Smith notes that the league felt the play was properly penalized by the on-ice officials, who gave Toews a two-minute minor. It was not the only borderline play in the game but since the Department of Player Safety has not yet issued any hearings, it’s safe to say that there aren’t any suspensions expected from last night.
  • Brayden Point, who missed game three and was replaced by Riley Nash, is doubtful for game four. The 26-year-old forward played in both of the first two games of the series but is still dealing with the injury that took him out of round one against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Point recorded just one shot through those first two games and was a shadow of the dominant player he can be at full strength.

Injury Notes: Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Blue Jackets

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The Toronto Maple Leafs, while still remaining competitive with a tough schedule, have faced significant injury setbacks over the past few weeks. A mass of updates came today during a press conference with head coach Sheldon Keefe, where he revealed that forward Michael Bunting will miss the final two games of the regular season, defenseman Rasmus Sandin is likely to return for the team’s finale on Friday versus the Boston Bruins, and forward Ondrej Kase remains day-to-day with no timeline to return.

As the Maple Leafs prepare for a likely impending First Round matchup with the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, this is mostly positive news. The language surrounding Bunting’s injury wasn’t initially positive after he fell awkwardly during an April 23 game against Florida, but his prognosis has improved since then and it looks like a possibility that he could be ready for the beginning of the series. Sandin has missed over a month with a knee injury, while Kase has missed the same duration with a concussion.

  • There are some more updates on various players on a Stanley Cup contender, as the Colorado Avalanche deal with some injury issues of their own. Head coach Jared Bednar spoke to reporters today, saying that defenseman Devon Toews will return to the lineup tonight after dealing with an undisclosed injury, forward Mikko Rantanen is working toward a return on Thursday against the Nashville Predators, and captain Gabriel Landeskog won’t return until the postseason. Toews has missed just around a week and a half, but his absence cannot be understated, as he continues to be one of the most underrated defensemen in the league with 57 points in just 64 games this year (while averaging over 25 minutes per game). Meanwhile, the Colorado captain has been out since early March with a leg injury.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that both captain Boone Jenner and Sean Kuraly will miss the short remainder of the season with respective injuries. Kuraly, in his first season with Columbus, suffered a foot injury last Sunday and will miss the remaining three games. Jenner will have missed the last month and a half of the season with a back injury.

Central Notes: Byram, Toews, Wild

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Back in January, Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram contemplated not returning this season or even hanging up his skates altogether, relays Mike Chambers of The Denver Post.  He had recently returned to Colorado’s lineup before his concussion symptoms returned and had to shut things down at that time.  The progress that the 20-year-old made in his recovery nudged him towards trying to come back this season which he did last week and he has gotten into six games since then.  Byram’s playing time since then has been a bit limited relative to his early-season usage which is certainly understandable both in terms of allowing him to ease back into things plus Colorado’s top seed in the Western Conference.  He could be an interesting wild card for the Avs heading into the postseason as he certainly has given their third pairing a lift.

More from the Central:

  • Still with Colorado, defenseman Devon Toews won’t suit up tonight and won’t accompany the team on their upcoming three-game road trip, notes Peter Baugh of The Athletic (Twitter link). The good news for the Avalanche is that head coach Jared Bednar indicated that the injury isn’t cause for concern which means he should be good to go for the playoffs, if not a game or two before then.  The 28-year-old is logging more than 25 minutes a game on the back end this season, second to only Cale Makar for Colorado.
  • Michael Russo of The Athletic outlines (subscription link) the tough decision the Wild are facing this summer.  Their cap situation gets a lot worse with the increased dead cap charges on the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts and it appears they’ll be facing a situation where either winger Kevin Fiala or defenseman Mathew Dumba get traded.  Minnesota wasn’t able to agree to a long-term deal with Fiala last summer and wound up taking him to salary arbitration.  He has one year of RFA eligibility remaining and with 73 points in 75 games, he’ll be eyeing a big raise on his $5.1MM price tag while making it very difficult to justify moving him.  Dumba is signed through next season at $6MM and would certainly have a strong trade market if they opted to move him to keep Fiala in the fold.

Barzal, Toews, Marchand Placed In COVID Protocol

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Just when the New York Islanders thought they were out of the woods, another huge COVID-related blow is struck. Head coach Barry Trotz announced that Mathew Barzal will not play tonight for the Islanders after being placed in the COVID protocol.

Not to be outdone is the Colorado Avalanche, who have faced their own COVID issues this season. Devon Toews, who was recently named third star of the week after an outstanding set of performances is also in the protocol. The Avalanche have recalled top prospect Justin Barron from the Colorado Eagles to replace Toews on the roster.

The Boston Bruins have their own issues as Brad Marchand has been placed in the protocol as well. Unfortunately, Marchand was present at morning skate today, as his test results must have come back afterward. The Bruins notably played the Flames on Saturday, just before Calgary’s season was halted due to a serious outbreak.

With no offense meant to Ryan Lomberg or Craig Smith, who were put in the protocol this morning, the absences of Marchand, Barzal, and Toews are much more important to their respective teams. The Islanders have been desperately trying to climb out of an early-season hole dug by injury, illness, and scheduling. Without Barzal they’ll take on the reeling Detroit Red Wings, a team that has lost three in a row but is still ten points ahead of them in the standings (having played five more games). The star center was on a six-game point streak and now has 17 in 23 games this season.

Toews meanwhile has been playing at an elite level this season, racking up 20 points in 16 games so far while logging nearly 25 minutes a night for the Avalanche. Colorado has won four straight thanks to his help and find themselves skyrocketing up the Central Division standings. In fact, the Avalanche are now tied with the Calgary Flames for the best goal differential in the Western Conference at +25 and are within a single point of second place in the Central.

You might think after Toews, Cale Makar, Samuel Girard, and Bowen Byram that the Avalanche don’t have any more mobile, high-ceiling defenders in the system, but you’d be wrong. Barron, the 25th overall pick in 2020, has nine points in 14 games for the Eagles this season and will now get a chance to show what he can do in the NHL. The 20-year-old represents another wave of exciting talent for the Avalanche, though his debut wasn’t expected this soon.

Marchand is off to another outstanding start this season with 11 goals and 27 points, as he seemingly continues to improve despite entering his mid-thirties. The 33-year-old forward is arguably the most important forward on the Bruins roster, given he leads the team in scoring, plays the most minutes and continues to get under the skin of opponents. The Bruins are set to play the Golden Knights this evening, but will now be missing two important wingers.

For Barzal, Marchand, and Toews, if they have tested positive for coronavirus and are experiencing any symptoms, they’ll be held out a minimum of ten days.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Barkov, Bordeleau

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The NHL has released the Three Stars for last week, with Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko leading the way. Demko went 4-0 with a .962 save percentage under new head coach Bruce Boudreau, allowing just five goals on 133 shots. The old adage of “show me a good coach, I’ll show you a good goalie” may be coming true here for the new bench boss, but Vancouver fans certainly aren’t complaining about the wins that are coming because of Demko’s strong play.

Second and third place have gone to Sebastian Aho and Devon Toews, respectively, after their own outstanding weeks. The Carolina Hurricanes star had five goals and seven points in three games, continuing a streak of multi-point games that has now reached five. Aho is up to 15 goals and 32 points on the season and looks poised to finish above a point-per-game for the third time in his career. Toews meanwhile continues to fly under the radar in terms of nationwide recognition, as he stars–yes, stars–for the Colorado Avalanche. The 27-year-old defenseman is averaging almost 25 minutes a night this season (including 29:14 in his last game) and now has 20 points in 16 games. That actually puts him first among defensemen in points/game, even ahead of partner Cale Makar. It also has Toews 10th among all defensemen in scoring despite playing so many fewer games than the leaders (Adam Fox, who leads all defensemen, has played 11 more games than Toews).

  • It’s bad news for Aleksander Barkov, as he heads back to injured reserve after just one game back. That’s the move to clear room for Jonas Johansson, claimed today off waivers, but it’s a tough blow for the Atlantic-leading Florida Panthers. After losing last night to the Colorado Avalanche with Barkov out of the lineup, the Panthers are now tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs with two games in hand for the division crown. Unfortunately, Barkov will now have to miss at least seven days from his last game, meaning he won’t be available tomorrow night either. It’s not clear how long he’ll be out this time.
  • It was announced over the weekend that Thomas Bordeleau won’t be competing for the U.S. at the upcoming World Junior tournament, and Eric Leblanc of RDS reports that it’s because the young forward tested positive for COVID-19. It’s a devastating outcome for the San Jose Sharks prospect, who missed last year’s tournament as well because his roommate–John Beecher–received a false positive just before the event began. Bordeleau is off to another great season with the University of Michigan, scoring 19 points in his first 18 games. This was his last chance at the World Juniors, as he’ll turn 20 in early January.

Snapshots: Islanders, Norlinder, Fix-Wolansky

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The New York Islanders were dealt a tough hand to start the season with a 13-game road trip, but things aren’t exactly looking up with the news that defenseman Ryan Pulock will miss the next four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. The Islanders sit with a 5-6-2 record, and while it’s certainly recoverable, especially considering their track record, they find themselves in an extremely competitive division with seven teams ahead of them. With a defense core that’s looked troubling at times, the team could look to get outside help via the form of a trade. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple says that while the team could put faith into their staff in AHL Bridgeport to help bridge the gap until Pulock’s return, there’s a variety of trade targets they could examine. While D-men who have experience playing on the right side aren’t usually available for trade, he lists Seattle’s Vince Dunn as a potential option who could still prove to pay dividends on the power play once Pulock returns, a role that hasn’t been filled properly since the departure of Devon Toews.

More from around the NHL:

  • Montreal Canadiens prospect Mattias Norlinder is set to make his NHL debut on Thursday. The defenseman is healthy after a preseason injury sidelined him up until the last week, where he spent three games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket on a conditioning stint. The 64th overall pick in 2019 is expected to play on the second pairing alongside veteran David Savard, who’ll give him what should be a reliable defensive partner to open his NHL career.
  • It’s another prospect returning to the lineup as Columbus’ Trey Fix-Wolansky is making his season debut for AHL Cleveland tonight after an eight-month absence. The Hockey Writers’ Mark Scheig notes that the forward had ACL surgery in March. Fix-Wolansky wasn’t picked until the seventh round in 2018, likely due to his 5′ 8″ height, but proceeded to light up the WHL the following season with the Edmonton Oil Kings, scoring 37 goals and 102 points in just 65 games. After having an impressive first professional go-around with Cleveland last year as well, look for Fix-Wolansky to get an NHL look sooner rather than later.

Injury Updates: Malkin, Toews, Forsberg, Ellis

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The injury and COVID-riddled Penguins have been without center Evgeni Malkin all season as he works his way back from offseason knee surgery.  Speaking with Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, GM Ron Hextall indicated that the 35-year-old has been skating basically daily and is on track in his recovery.  However, despite that promising news, the team is unable to provide an update on how much longer Malkin will be out of the lineup.  The original announcement was that he’d miss the first two months of the season at a minimum so an updated timeline may still be a couple of weeks away.

Other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • Devon Toews could be making his return to Colorado’s lineup soon as Niki Ardebili of the Avalanche’s team site notes that the hope is that the blueliner will be activated and make his season debut on Saturday against Columbus. Toews averaged just shy of 25 minutes a game last season for the Avs and would be a timely addition to their back end with Cale Makar now on IR.
  • The Predators have listed (Twitter link) winger Filip Forsberg as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The veteran suffered the injury in the third period of Tuesday’s game versus Calgary.  Forsberg is in the final year of his contract and is eligible for unrestricted free agency this coming summer so an extended absence certainly wouldn’t help his value.  The 27-year-old was off to a nice start before the injury with seven points in nine games to start his season.
  • Flyers defenseman Ryan Ellis has been ruled out of their next two games, relays Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Originally hoped to not miss any time, this will be the sixth and seventh games that the 30-year-old has missed as a result of his lower-body injury.

Injury Notes: Penguins, Golden Knights, Avalanche, Wood

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The Pittsburgh Penguins received some extremely welcome news today, as head coach Mike Sullivan says centers Sidney Crosby and Jeff Carter are game-time decisions for tomorrow’s contest against the New Jersey Devils as they begin the journey to full health. That’s only 40% of the key contributors they have currently out of the lineup, however, as Kris Letang remains in COVID-19 protocol and Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust are on injured reserve. Still, seeing one of the best players in the world close to full health again and nearly ready to make his season debut is always promising news. The return of Carter shouldn’t be overlooked either, as the veteran forward had four points in four games before entering COVID-19 protocol.

More injury notes from around the league:

  • The Golden Knights, along with the Penguins, have been one of the most injury-affected teams in the NHL this season. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger issued updates on the health of many Golden Knights today, as the team has six regulars currently sitting out with injury. The most notable of those updates is Mark Stone, who is still out indefinitely but skated today for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury on October 15. However, it could potentially become seven regulars out of the lineup for tonight’s game as William Carrier suffered an injury Wednesday night against Dallas and is a game-time decision.
  • Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen is day-to-day with a lower-body injury per head coach Jared Bednar, but defenseman Devon Toews is expected to make his season debut during the next two games. Rantanen was scratched from Thursday night’s game against the Blues. Toews’ return will give Colorado a fully healthy defense core for the first time this season, as Samuel Girard is also ready to go.
  • Devils head coach Lindy Ruff gave an update today on forward Miles Wood, who he calls “the furthest away” from returning out of all the Devils’ injuries. Considering Jack Hughes was issued a five-week timeline today, that’s not promising news. Wood has not played this season after suffering a lower-body injury just prior to the start of the campaign.

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