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Erik Cernak

Injury Updates: Stolarz, Durzi, Cernak

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Toronto Maple Leafs starting netminder Anthony Stolarz has been out with an upper-body injury for a little over a week, and at the moment it’s unclear at what point he’ll be fit to return to the ice. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told the media today, including the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan, that Stolarz’s injury was “worse than we thought” and that at this point he does not have a timeline for Stolarz’s return to the ice.

While Berube did go on to add that “maybe tomorrow” Stolarz will be back on the ice, it doesn’t sound as though anything related to his recovery is set in stone. The Maple Leafs could certainly use a healthy Stolarz back on the ice and playing at his best. The team currently sits 27th in the NHL with a 9-9-2 record and averages the second-highest goals-against per game. Stolarz has an .884 save percentage in 13 games this season, but performed much better last year with a .926 save percentage in 34 games.

More injury updates from around the league:

  • The Utah Mammoth are set to get one of their better defensemen back from injury. Cole Bagley of KSL Sports relayed word from head coach Andre Tourigny that injured blueliner Sean Durzi is now considered out on a day-to-day timeline and is nearing a return to the ice. Durzi returned to practice in a regular jersey today, having missed all of the Mammoth’s games since their Oct. 11 contest against the Nashville Predators. Injuries also limited Durzi significantly in 2024-25, as he got into just 30 games. The year before that, he was highly effective, scoring a career-high 41 points in 76 games.
  • When Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak stepped onto the ice for practice this morning, most observers assumed he’d be fit to play in the team’s game tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. That didn’t come to fruition though, as his injury kept him from taking on the Oilers tonight, meaning he’ll miss a second game with an undisclosed ailment. Cernak has been Tampa Bay’s No. 4 defenseman in terms of ice time this season, averaging 19:05 time-on-ice per game including 2:48 on average on the penalty kill, second-highest on the team.

Lightning’s Erik Cernak Out On Tuesday

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without defenseman Erik Cernak in Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. Cernak joins Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, and Maxwell Crozier on the list of injured Lightning defenseman.

With Cernak’s absence, Tampa Bay will now be without two of their top four defenders as they go up against a Devils squad that ranks 14th in the NHL in goals. As is usual, Cernak has been the lowest-scoring of Tampa Bay’s top-four, with only three assists in 18 games this season. He does, however, lead the Lightning in both blocked shots (40) and hits (39). No other Bolt has blocked more than 13 shots.

Cernak’s impact may come away from the scoresheet, but his absence will nonetheless leave a major hole for Tampa Bay to fill. Declan Carlile will step back into the lineup for the first time this season in place of Cernak. He will operate behind rookie Charle-Édouard D’Astous, who himself will grow into a top-four role.

Carlile leads the Syracuse Crunch’s blue-line in scoring with 10 points in 15 games this season. He scored one goal in four NHL games over the last two seasons. D’Astous has posted five points in his first 11 NHL games, making him Tampa’s highest-scoring, healthy defender. The Lightning will need to lean on both rookies, with major holes at even-strength and on special teams.

Atlantic Notes: Cernak, Stolarz, Brown, DiPietro

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will once again be without defenseman Erik Cernak, who was announced as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury short before puck-drop, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. He has missed Tampa Bay’s last three games since suffering an undisclosed injury on January 16th. Cernak left that game after just one shift but didn’t seem to suffer a clear injury.

Cernak has returned to the Lightning’s top four this season. The 27-year-old has scored 10 assists and averaged 18:15 in ice time through 41 games, putting him on pace to narrowly pass his career-high of 18 points set during the shortened 2020-21 campaign. He has been replaced in the lineup by rookie Maxwell Crozier, who’s still searching for his first point of the season after three NHL games. Crozier has also scored nine points in 22 AHL games this year. Cernak’s absence will likely return Crozier to the team’s second pair next to Ryan McDonagh, while Darren Raddysh’s role on the top pair will go unchallenged for at least one more game.

Tampa Bay visits Chicago on Friday, and Detroit on Saturday. Cernak will be at risk of missing both outings.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz is ahead of schedule in his recovery from his knee injury, relays David Alter of The Hockey News.  He has missed nearly six weeks due to the injury but head coach Craig Berube believes the goalie won’t be out for much longer.  Before getting hurt, Stolarz was off to a very strong start to his season, putting up a 2.15 GAA with a .927 SV% in his first 17 starts; that save percentage still leads the league among qualifying netminders.
  • The Bruins announced that forward Patrick Brown and goaltender Michael DiPietro were assigned to AHL Providence. Both players were brought up earlier this week to cover injuries.  Brown has done well in the minors with 25 points in 37 games but has made just two appearances with Boston so far.  As for DiPietro, he has a stellar 1.95 GAA and a .930 SV% in 22 AHL outings but with Jeremy Swayman expected to return Saturday, his stint with the big club was short-lived.

Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Maxwell Crozier, Erik Černák Questionable

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Jan. 18th: According to a team announcement, Tampa Bay has reassigned Crozier to AHL Syracuse. The transaction indicates Černák will be available for tomorrow night’s contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his only game with the Lightning this season, Crozier went scoreless in 14:25 of yesterday’s win against the Detroit Red Wings adding three blocked shots and four hits.

Jan. 17th: The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled defenseman Maxwell Crozier from the AHL Syracuse Crunch. The move could be an indication that Erik Cernak could be forced to sit out. Cernak left Tampa Bay’s Thursday win over Anahaim after just one shift. His injury has been left undisclosed, though he was designated as out day-to-day per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times.

Tampa Bay drafted Crozier in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He followed his draft selection with four years at Providence College, before turning pro with the Crunch at the end of the 2022-23 season. He’s primarily been a top-four defender in the AHL ever since, though Crozier did accumulate the first 13 games of his NHL career through various recalls last season. He managed two assists in those appearances. Crozier has served as one of Syracuse’s alternate captains this season and has nine points in 22 games. He’s scored eight of those points in his last eight games, putting him on a well-timed hot streak as he now heads to the NHL.

Cernak’s injury will open up upwards of 20 minutes on Tampa Bay’s defense. Darren Raddysh should be the primary beneficiary of those minutes, propping up his top-pair role next to Victor Hedman even more, while Nicklaus Perbix will return to his role in Tampa Bay’s top-four. Both Raddysh and Perbix have outscored Cernak this season, respectively netting 16 and 11 points to Cernak’s 10.

Atlantic Notes: Lyon, Motte, Cernak, Ekblad

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The Detroit Red Wings should get one player back this weekend while losing another for the foreseeable future. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reported earlier that goaltender Alex Lyon will likely start tomorrow’s contest against the Dallas Stars. She later reported that forward Tyler Motte has been ruled out until next Thursday due to an upper-body injury.

Lyon, who’s had multiple injuries this season, hasn’t played since Detroit’s overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on January 7th due to an upper-body injury. He’s still managed a similarly solid season as last year with the Red Wings when healthy managing an 8-5-0 record in 14 starts with a .902 save percentage and 2.71 goals-against average.

Similarly sidelined with an upper-body injury, Motte is now guaranteed to fall short of tying his 69 games played from a season ago. He’s been much of what Detroit should have expected of him this year, scoring two goals and two assists in 28 games, managing a -10 rating, and being a core part of one of the worst penalty kills in NHL history.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without one of their best defensive defensemen tonight. Gabby Shirley of FanDuel Sports Network Florida reports that Erik Černák was made unavailable for tonight’s contest against the Red Wings but added the prognosis is better than expected so he shouldn’t be on the shelf for too long. Maxwell Crozier will replace Cernak tonight, joining Ryan McDonagh on the second defensive pairing. Crozier will play in his first game with Tampa Bay this season after tallying two assists in 13 contests last year.
  • A few hours southeast in Sunrise, FL, the Florida Panthers announced Aaron Ekblad would miss his fifth straight game this evening. However, it appears his return is on the horizon with head coach Paul Maurice saying, “I think we’re pretty confident he’ll be able to play on the road trip.“

East Notes: Lightning, Smith, Tokarski, Lazar

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The Lightning lost a pair of key players during today’s game against Vancouver.  Center Anthony Cirelli left with an injury in the first period while defenseman Erik Cernak only played one shift in the third period.  Speaking with reporters postgame including FanDuel Sports Network Florida’s Gabby Shirley (Twitter link), head coach Jon Cooper didn’t have an update on either player but added that they’ll know more on each of them on Monday.  Cirelli was averaging a point per game through his first 24 appearances heading into today’s action while Cernak had seven assists in his 24 outings.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • A day after sending Riley Stillman to the minors, the Hurricanes have found his replacement for the time being. The team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Ty Smith from AHL Chicago.  The 24-year-old has been up multiple times with Carolina this season but has yet to play and will likely continue to serve in the seventh defenseman role while he’s on the roster.  Smith has three goals and four assists in seven games with the Wolves so far.
  • Still with the Hurricanes, they assigned goaltender Dustin Tokarski to Chicago, per the AHL’s transactions log. As has frequently been the case this season, this is merely a move to bank a bit of cap space and delay Tokarski’s waiver clock.  He’ll almost certainly be recalled before Tuesday’s game against San Jose.
  • While there has been some speculation that Devils center Curtis Lazar won’t return this season, that’s not believed to be the case, relays NJ Advance Media’s Gabriel Trevino (Twitter link). The veteran underwent left knee surgery at the end of October but no firm timeline was given for his return.  That said, GM Tom Fitzgerald mentioned recently that acquiring a fourth-line center was on his priority list before the trade deadline in March so even if the team still believes Lazar could return, it seems as if they intend to operate as if he won’t so that way, they’re still covered.

List Of Players Getting Trade Protection On July 1st

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In the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHLPA, the league players can procure three types of No-Move Clauses in their contracts. The only stipulations to these clauses are that the player in question must be 27 years of age or older and must have accrued seven years of service time at the NHL level. The three types of No-Move Clauses are as follows: No Movement Clause (NMC), No Trade Clause (NTC), and Modified NMC or NTC.

Per the current CBA, an NMC means that a player cannot be waived, assigned to minors, or traded without their consent, and they also must be protected in the event of an Expansion Draft. An NTC is straightforward — giving the player protection from being traded without their approval. Lastly, a modified NMC or NTC sets an arbitrary number of teams and a time frame when a player can use this protection. In just over a week, an assortment of players will receive trade protection on their current contracts, and CapFriendly has broken it down.

 

No Movement Clauses
D Charlie McAvoy (Boston)
F Sebastian Aho (Carolina)
D Devon Toews (Colorado)
F Roope Hintz (Dallas)
D Gustav Forsling (Florida)
F Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota)
F Joel Eriksson Ek (Minnesota)
F Jesper Bratt (New Jersey)
F Timo Meier (New Jersey)
G Ilya Sorokin (NY Islanders)
F Pierre-Luc Dubois (Washington)

No Trade Clauses
F Ross Colton (Colorado)
D Nick Seeler (Philadelphia)
D Vince Dunn (Seattle)
F Clayton Keller (Utah)
D Erik Cernak (Tampa Bay)
D Mikhail Sergachev (Tampa Bay)

Modified No Trade Clauses
F Jordan Greenway (Buffalo) – eight-team no-trade list
F Tage Thompson (Buffal0) – five-team no-trade list
D Rasmus Andersson (Calgary) – six-team no-trade list
D Samuel Girard (Colorado) – nine-team no-trade list
F Miles Wood (Colorado) – six-team no-trade list
F Alex DeBrincat (Detroit) – 16-team no-trade list
F Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles) – 10-team no-trade list
F Nico Hischier (New Jersey) – 10-team no-trade list
D John Marino (New Jersey) – eight-team no-trade list
D Jonas Siegenthaler (New Jersey) – 10-team no-trade list
F Mathew Barzal (NY Islanders) – 22-team no-trade list
D Thomas Chabot (Ottawa) – 10-team no-trade list
F Tanner Jeannot (Tampa Bay) – 16-team no-trade list
F Kyle Connor (Winnipeg) – 10-team no-trade list

Evening Notes: Cernak, Sandin, Walker

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The Lightning were without defenseman Erik Černák in tonight’s match against the Islanders after he missed a team meeting, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. He’s been healthy scratched as a result, as is common practice. His absence paved the way for Haydn Fleury, who’s missed six games with a lower-body injury, to return to the lineup in a second-pairing role alongside trade deadline pickup Mathew Dumba. Černák, 26, has remained solidly in a top-four role and has been leaned on heavily this season in the absence of Mikhail Sergachev, who’s been limited to 34 games with multiple significant injuries. In the first season of an eight-year, $41.6MM extension signed back in July 2022, the Slovak blue-liner has 11 points and is averaging 19:21 per game through 60 appearances. It’s been a down season defensively for the normally steady shutdown man, posting a career-worst 47.1 CF% at even strength and a -4.7 expected rating.

More updates as we head into the weekend:

  • Another Eastern Conference wild-card hopeful is short a defenseman tonight. The Capitals didn’t have Rasmus Sandin available against the Bruins tonight due to a lower-body injury, per the team. As a result, 21-year-old Vincent Iorio made his season debut after being recalled from AHL Hershey on Wednesday. Sandin, 24, had a difficult stretch to begin the season but has improved as the campaign progresses, now up to 20 assists and 23 points in 64 games while averaging over 21 minutes a night. While his possession numbers have been rather pedestrian, and he won’t reach last year’s career-high 35 points, this is his first season in an everyday top-four role, and some growing pains were to be expected. Washington inked the 2018 first-round pick of the Maple Leafs to a five-year, $23MM extension earlier this month.
  • Avalanche blue-liner Sean Walker sustained an upper-body injury in tonight’s comeback win over the Predators, head coach Jared Bednar told reporters postgame (via Ryan Boulding of NHL.com). The 29-year-old came over from the Flyers via trade earlier this month, with Ryan Johansen and a first-round pick heading the other way. He’s been promising through nine games in Colorado, scoring three goals and adding an assist while continuing to control possession quality well at even strength. Expected to anchor the Avs’ third pairing in the postseason behind Cale Makar and Samuel Girard, an extended absence while he grows chemistry with his new teammates isn’t ideal. It’s unclear how long Colorado expects him out of the lineup, if at all.

Tampa Bay Lightning Injury Updates

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Earlier this morning, beat writer for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Chris Krenn reported that forward Tanner Jeannot and defenseman Erik Cernak were trending towards playing tomorrow for the Lightning. Outside of defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, the return of Jeannot and Cernak will give Tampa Bay a completed lineup as they look to hold onto their spot in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.

Not only will the Lightning be expecting continued health from Jeannot, but they will also be expecting an improvement in his play. Acquired at last year’s trade deadline from the Nashville Predators for a package including a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, Jeannot has certainly not lived up to the lofty price that Tampa Bay had to pay.

Showing an ability to be a bruising forward with a legitimate capability to score goals during his time with the Predators, the Lightning have not received a similar version of that player. In now 62 games spent with Tampa Bay, Jeannot has only mustered a mediocre six goals and 12 points over his tenure.

Now confined to a fourth-line role in Florida, Jeannot will need to do much more than throw hits if the Lightning are planning on being successful in this year’s playoffs. There is an obvious need for physicality come playoff time, but depth scoring will become a tremendous necessity for Tampa Bay moving forward.

On the other side of the injury update, Cernak has been out since the team’s recent game against the Philadelphia Flyers with a lower-body injury. In 53 games for the Lightning this year, Cernak has scored one goal and nine points while averaging over 19 minutes of ice time a night.

Mikhail Sergachev And Erik Cernak Will Play Tonight

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Tampa Bay Lightning beat writer Chris Krenn is reporting that Lightning defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak will dress tonight when the team takes on the New York Rangers. Both players have been out for extended periods of time as the Lightning have dealt with injuries to key contributors throughout the first half of the season.

Cernak has been out since January 11th with an upper-body injury and has missed seven games. He was knocked out of action after taking a hit from New Jersey Devils’ forward Nathan Bastian in what was the third instance of Cernak being knocked out of action due to a hit in less than a year. Cernak was also injured after a Josh Anderson hit knocked him out of action for three games back on December 31st. Most famously, Cernak was hit in last year’s NHL playoffs by then Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting, the hit knocked Cernak out of the playoffs and earned Bunting a three-game suspension.

This year Cernak has five assists in 39 games and is averaging just over 19 minutes a game in ice-time.

Sergachev has been out of the Lightning lineup since December 21st, a period of 17 games. The 25-year-old has been activated off the long-term injured reserve and will dress tonight. The former ninth overall pick in 2016 has two goals and 17 assists in 33 games this year while he has averaged almost 23 minutes of ice time per game. He was struggling before his injury after posting career-best numbers last year.

There is a possibility that Tampa Bay will elect to pair Sergachev and Cernak together on the Lightning’s second defensive pairing as the duo have practiced together in recent days.

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