Injury Notes: Penguins, Hart, Schenn
The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently locked in a battle against the Florida Panthers for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot, and they sit just one point behind Florida with a game in hand at the time of writing. They’ve kept themselves in the race despite facing some major injury losses, although it now seems that reinforcements could be on the horizon.
Today, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told the media, including the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh, that four significant injured Penguins all skated today and could return before the conclusion of the regular season. Those four Penguins are Dmitry Kulikov, Marcus Pettersson, Jan Rutta, and Nick Bonino. The additions of Kulikov, Pettersson, and Rutta back into the lineup in particular could help Pittsburgh as goaltender Tristan Jarry struggled in the month of March, and adding three significant contributors back to the defense in front of him could help Jarry return to form in time for some crucial late-season games or even the first round of the playoffs, should they make it.
Some other injury notes:
- Philadelphia Flyers netminder Carter Hart has been out since his March 25th shutout over the Detroit Red Wings, but don’t expect Hart’s absence to extend for the rest of the season. Flyers head coach John Tortorella was asked if Hart’s injury would be season-ending, and he responded with a definitive “no,” per The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. While Hart’s absence has given the team the opportunity to take an extra look at Felix Sandstrom, getting Hart back into the crease before the end of the season would allow him to put some finishing touches on what has been an impressive season.
- St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn had a bit of an injury scare during today’s game against the Boston Bruins, but seems to have moved past it. As covered by The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, Schenn took a skate to the hand, and then left to the locker room with a team athletic trainer to repair some damage caused by what may have been a high stick. Schenn did return to the ice, though, and managed to notch an assist on teammate Jordan Kyrou‘s goal despite a cut finger and having stitches on his face, per Rutherford. It seems what has hurt Schenn this game won’t keep him out of any future contests, but given his importance to the Blues as a whole (he has 21 goals and 59 points this season) his status may be worth monitoring.
Penguins Injury Notes: Petry, Rust, DeSmith
Rob Rossi of The Athletic is reporting that injured Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry is back skating. He has not practiced with the team but took to the ice after yesterdays practice in Colorado. The Penguins defense has been decimated by injuries in recent days as Petry, Jan Rutta, Dmitry Kulikov and Marcus Pettersson are all sidelined with various ailments. Things have become so dire for the Penguins that even potential call-ups Ty Smith and Xavier Ouellet are hurt as well.
The timing of these injuries could not be worse for Pittsburgh, they are in a dogfight with the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have been forced to dive deep into their AHL lineup to find replacements for their injured rearguards and are now using the Taylor Fedun to fill out their roster. Fedun played Monday night against the Ottawa Senators and was fine in a sheltered role, but should the Penguins defense ever get healthy he would likely be the 12th defenseman.
Petry has not had a great first season in Pittsburgh, he has been in and out of the lineup with various injuries throughout the season. When he has played, he has largely been okay, but with a cap hit of $6.25MM the Penguins can’t afford for him to be just okay. The Michigan native has 26 points in 52 games and has been a valuable part of Marcus Pettersson’s development this season, but he has had trouble at times matching the foot speed of the young forwards on some of Pittsburgh’s Eastern Conference rivals.
In other Penguins injury news:
- Bryan Rust left yesterday’s Penguins practice in disgust after taking a Jason Zucker shot off his right hand. Rust returned a short time later and no update was provided on the incident. Pittsburgh will not practice today, which means we likely won’t have any updates until their game this evening with the Colorado Avalanche. Rob Rossi did tweet that Rust’s return to the ice for practice appeared to be a good sign. It has been a difficult season for the 30-year-old forward, he has 38 points in 69 games which is well off his near point a game pace from the three previous seasons. He has appeared visibly frustrated in recent weeks, the most obvious instance being in Monday’s game against Ottawa when his failure to clear the zone on a Senators powerplay led to the game winning goal.
- Rob Rossi of The Athletic is also reporting that Casey DeSmith did not participate in Penguins practice yesterday. While he was not injured, he was apparently forced back to the team’s hotel with an illness. Not much else is known, but it could create another interesting development for the Penguins as they have a back-to-back tonight in Colorado and then in Dallas tomorrow against the Stars. DeSmith stood on his head earlier this season with a 41 save win against the Avalanche and would have presumably started tonight or tomorrow’s game. Should he remain sick it could force the Penguins to use Jarry in both games, which is something they may be hesitant to do given Jarry’s play lately. The Surrey native has struggled in recent weeks having been pulled in four of his previous 11 starts, this has cratered his save percentage which now sits at just .907 for the season. Not ideal for a goaltender who is just over three months away from unrestricted free agency.
Pittsburgh Penguins Place Dmitry Kulikov On Long-Term Injured Reserve
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that defenseman Dmitry Kulikov has been placed on long-term injured reserve retroactive to March 12th. The move comes after Kulikov was knocked out of Sunday’s contest against the New York Rangers with a lower-body injury.
At the time, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told the media that Kulikov would be out on a week-to-week basis, and now the team has effectively confirmed that timeline by placing him on the long-term injured reserve list.
The veteran defenseman’s injury comes at an unfortunate time for Pittsburgh, as the team is looking to build some momentum and secure their spot in the playoffs. Kulikov was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks before the trade deadline and has played largely in a bottom-pairing role alongside offseason acquisition Jan Rutta.
While Kulikov averaged over 20 minutes of ice time in Southern California, he’s played a more limited role in Pittsburgh. As a Penguin, he’s averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time per game, but is logging nearly two of those minutes on the penalty kill.
While he’s a defenseman who is typically at his best when he goes unnoticed on the ice, the experience and stability he would bring to the Penguins’ bottom-pairing and penalty kill is valuable. In his place, Sullivan paired Pierre-Olivier Joseph next to Rutta, and Joseph struggled in over 17 minutes of ice time in the team’s loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
Seeing as starting netminder Tristan Jarry has struggled immensely in recent games, it’s a difficult time for the team to lose such an experienced veteran defenseman like Kulikov.
While Pittsburgh eventually clinching a playoff spot seems like the likeliest outcome at the moment, (they have 78 points and two games in hand on the New York Islanders, who sit two points behind them in the second Wild Card Spot) losing Kulikov will certainly make things a little more difficult.
Metropolitan Notes: Svechnikov, Flyers, Kulikov
The Carolina Hurricanes announced some tough injury news with regards to Andrei Svechnikov. The Russian winger is ruled out indefinitely with a knee injury. The 22-year-old winger is one of the Hurricanes best players, having scored 23 goals and 55 points in 64 games this season. The Hurricanes are currently tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division with the New Jersey Devils.
It sounds like Svechnikov’s injury could be a long-term one. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported the team is worried it could be a torn ACL which would rule Svechnikov out for the season. The player and the team are seeking out a second opinion and hoping for a more positive outcome. With Max Pacioretty already out for the season with an achilles injury, the Hurricanes are already missing a star winger. Losing Svechnikov as well would put a lot of pressure on the rest of their roster to find consistent playoff scoring.
- Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic reports Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart is sick and will miss tonight’s game against the Vegan Golden Knights. Backup Felix Sandstrom will start in Hart’s absence, which fortunately sounds like a short term one. O’Connor also mentioned Sean Couturier is skating in a non-contact jersey. Couturier has missed the entire season following back surgery and appears to be inching closer to full health. Head Coach John Tortorella said he would rather the star center just focus on being ready for next year’s training camp but if Couturier is cleared to play they will have a discussion about his future.
- Michelle Crechiolo of Pens Inside Scoop reports the Pittsburgh Penguins will be without one of their trade deadline acquisitions when they take on the Montreal Canadiens tonight. Dmitry Kulikov left Sunday’s game against the New York Rangers with a lower-body injury and did not join the team at practice this morning. Head Coach Mike Sullivan said after practice that Kulikov is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Dmitry Kulikov Expected To Make Pittsburgh Penguins Debut Tomorrow
Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall spent much of the week leading up to the trade deadline rebuilding a struggling bottom-six. However, lost in the shuffle was the acquisition of defenseman Dmitry Kulikov in exchange for Brock McGinn and a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Kulikov has spent most of this season playing over 20 minutes a night in Anaheim’s top-two, but Seth Rorabaugh of TribLive is reporting that Kulikov will shuffle into a spot in the Penguins lineup that is much more suitable to his skillset.
Kulikov spent much of the Penguins practice on Monday paired with Jan Rutta, supplanting P.O. Joseph on the third pairing. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan praised Kulikov’s size and strength, as well as his ability on the penalty kill.
Kulikov’s acquisition likely means less time on the penalty kill for fellow defenseman Brian Dumoulin. Dumoulin is creeping up on playing a career high in shorthanded minutes and has seen his game fall off considerably this season. Although he has been better in recent weeks, easing Dumoulin’s workload could be a positive development for the pending unrestricted free agent, and the Penguins playoff aspirations.
Kulikov doesn’t offer much offensively with just 15 points in 61 games, but is defensively conscience and should bring an awareness that has been lacking for the Penguins throughout this season.
Pittsburgh Penguins To Acquire Dmitry Kulikov
The Pittsburgh Penguins are going to acquire Dmitry Kulikov from the Anaheim Ducks. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the two teams are putting the final pieces in place to complete the deal.
Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports the return for Anaheim will be a third-round pick and a player. Jeff Marek of Sportsnet added that the Ducks will be retaining a portion of Kulikov’s salary. LeBrun reports that the player heading back to Anaheim will be Brock McGinn.
Kulikov will add some depth to the Penguins defense, and has three goals and 15 points in 61 games this season. He is a pending unrestricted free agent at season’s end and has a cap hit of $2.25MM. The 32-year-old defender is a veteran of 866 NHL games, giving the Pens some valuable experience to round out their blue line.
McGinn is a gritty winger who is in the second season of a four-year contract that has a cap hit of $2.75MM. He passed through waivers earlier this week and was assigned to the AHL. The 29-year-old winger scored ten goals and 16 points in 60 games for the Penguins this season.
This trade will open up some cap flexibility for the Penguins moving forward. Kulikov’s deal expires at season’s end, but the Pens get out from the final two years of McGinn’s contract, giving them an extra $2.25MM to spend in the coming years.
Deadline Notes: Trade Bait, Oilers, Bjork
After a whirlwind start to the trade deadline, TSN has released a new and improved trade bait list leading up to the last day of action. Shortly thereafter, number seven on the list, Max Domi, appears headed to the Dallas Stars. Pending unrestricted free agents on the list include James van Riemsdyk, Dmitry Kulikov, and John Klingberg, among others. Notably, there are a couple of Vancouver Canucks still on the board, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser, both with term remaining on their contract.
Although many contending teams have already improved, these players could still provide reasonable depth for a playoff pursuit. Because the activity leading up to the deadline has been hectic, many might think that tomorrow’s activity will not live up to recent years’ official deadline day. However, with the ensuing arms race seemingly across the entirety of the league, teams could still look to push themselves even further over the edge.
Other notes:
- After adding Mattias Ekholm and Nick Bjugstad, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic reports the Oilers appear finished with their deadline activity. Adding a bonafide top-four defenseman, as well as making their bottom six harder to play against, the Oilers addressed two large needs this trade deadline. Already employing the sport’s most dynamic duo in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, this looks to be the group the Oilers will take into the playoffs. After losing to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final last year, the door is wide open in the west for the Oilers to go to their first Stanley Cup Final since the 2005-06 season.
- Earlier today, disgruntled forward Anders Bjork was traded by the Buffalo Sabres to the Chicago Blackhawks for future considerations. As the future came to pass, both teams announced that forward Carson Gicewicz will be sent from the Rockford IceHogs to the Rochester Americans, thus completing the trade. In his second full season in the AHL, Gicewicz has scored six points in 43 games this year.
Anaheim Ducks To Scratch John Klingberg, Dmitry Kulikov
With less than 48 hours until the NHL trade deadline, the Anaheim Ducks are bubble-wrapping their best assets. The team will not dress John Klingberg or Dmitry Kulikov tonight, but Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports that a deal does not appear imminent.
Klingberg, 30, was expected to be one of the deadline’s darlings this year, after signing a one-year, $7MM contract with the Ducks expressly to flip him to a contender. Unfortunately, things have been disastrous this season for Klingberg on an Anaheim team trying to get the best draft lottery position possible.
Through 47 games, the veteran defenseman had just 20 points and was pulling the puck out of his own net on a regular basis. Luckily, for the Ducks at least, he recorded four points in his last three games, and looked a bit more like the elite puck-mover he was as a young player for the Dallas Stars.
Perhaps they can turn that recent showcase into something good, as they almost certainly will retain half his contract to get the best asset possible.
On the other hand, Kulikov already comes at a reduced price after signing a two-year contract with the Minnesota Wild in 2021 that carries a cap hit of just $2.25MM. At this point in his career, the 32-year-old is a more traditional stay-at-home defenseman, though there were early years with the Florida Panthers when he ran a powerplay.
He has 15 points in 61 games but is the epitome of “deadline depth,” given his 866 games of experience, physical play, and relatively low cost.
Trade Deadline Notes: Bertuzzi, Kulikov, Korpisalo
While this season hasn’t entirely gone to plan for Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi, as a pending unrestricted free agent he was expected to be a top player on the forward market this trade deadline season. Now, with Detroit well within the playoff hunt, it seems trade conversations regarding Bertuzzi have halted. On the 32 Thoughts segment of last night’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that there is a growing belief that as long as the Red Wings remain in the hunt for a playoff spot, Bertuzzi is “not available” for trade.
Bertuzzi’s season thus far has not been entirely impressive (he’s struggled to stay healthy and has scored 12 points in 24 games) but it was just one year ago that he scored 30 goals and 62 points in just 68 games for Detroit. If interested clubs believe that the Bertuzzi of last season is a more accurate reflection of his talent than what he has put forth this year, it is no surprise that he would garner trade interest. Forwards who can score while also playing with an edge to their game are highly coveted, so it stands to reason that Detroit could expect a solid return package if Bertuzzi were dealt. But since the Red Wings currently have a chance to stop their playoff drought from stretching to seven seasons in length, it seems they’d prefer to keep their homegrown winger.
Some other notes on the upcoming trade deadline:
- Calls inquiring on the trade availability of Anaheim Ducks defenseman Dmitry Kulikov are poised to increase sharply as the market for Columbus Blue Jackets blueliner Vladislav Gavrikov tightens. Marek noted on 32 Thoughts to “expect attention” to be paid to Kulikov by teams who miss out on Gavrikov. Kulikov, 32, is a steady left-shot defenseman who plays a solid defensive game and is currently the Ducks’ leader in penalty-killing ice time. He’s on an expiring $2.25MM AAV deal, and one would expect that the Ducks, with over $60MM in projected deadline cap space per CapFriendly, would have no issue retaining salary to make a deal work.
- Another name expected to generate interest around the trade deadline is that of Blue Jackets netminder Joonas Korpisalo. The pending unrestricted free agent’s box score numbers in 26 games this year are solid (.913 save percentage) and his underlying numbers are similarly good, if not better. On 32 Thoughts, Marek said to expect teams in need of goaltending help to target the one-time NHL All-Star Game selection.
Anaheim Ducks Acquire Dmitry Kulikov
According to an NHL.com report, the Minnesota Wild dealt defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to the Anaheim Ducks today in exchange for future considerations.
Kulikov, a veteran of 13 NHL seasons and 805 NHL games, brings some much-needed veteran stability to the Anaheim defense corps. In 2021-22, Kulikov had his best season in quite some time, notching more than 20 points for the first time in 10 years and also staying healthy, playing in 80 games. Injuries have been a consistent issue for Kulikov throughout his time in the league.
Averaging 18:12 per game, Kulikov played a bottom-pair but still an important role for the Wild last season. Along with his health, he’s maintained his calling card as a quality defensive defenseman. With the Ducks having some serious question marks at left defense behind Cam Fowler, Kulikov immediately helps fortify a growing team and could provide a solid defensive partner for Jamie Drysdale.
It’s a good trade for the Wild, too, even though they’re losing him for nothing. Minnesota may have managed the salary cap better than most expected considering the massive Zach Parise/Ryan Suter buyout cap hits they face, but they still had a logjam on the blueline with multiple prospects getting closer to NHL readiness. With Calen Addison poised to make the jump to the NHL full-time next season, the Wild simply had one too many NHL defensemen. Considering Alex Goligoski just received an extension and Jonathon Merrill won’t be ready to start the season, Kulikov was the logical trade choice.