Artturi Lehkonen Returning To Colorado Avalanche Lineup
After suffering a concussion on December 3rd, Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen is expected back in the lineup for this afternoon’s contest on the road in St. Louis against the Blues, says Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Lehkonen was never placed on IR with the injury, missing three games and seven days total. At last report on Thursday, the veteran had been placed in concussion protocol. According to Durando, Lehkonen will skate on the top line this afternoon alongside Mikko Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin.
Colorado’s injury woes this season have been well reported, the consistent and significant injuries sending the reigning Stanley Cup Champions into a fight for a playoff position even at the one-third mark of the season. After losing Nichushkin for over a month, the team then found out they’d be without perennial Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon for four weeks, only compounding the issue. Beyond just their stars, which also includes Gabriel Landeskog, who has yet to play this season, Colorado has lost a number of secondary and depth options for small and large portions of the season.
Lehkonen has been one of the bright spots for the Avalanche so far this season, recording seven goals and 11 assists through 22 games, well on his way to a career-year. The team will need him to keep that scoring pace up in order to do their best to navigate other injuries, like MacKinnon’s, but it’s not yet known what sort of lingering effect, if any, will come with the concussion.
Staying on the injury front, Durando adds that Darren Helm and Evan Rodrigues are not yet ready to return to the lineup. Helm, who has yet to play this season, has been close to returning and was even a possibility to play this weekend, but will clearly need to wait a little bit longer to make his season debut. Rodrigues hasn’t played since suffering a lower-body injury against the Vancouver Canucks back on November 23rd, but had been a bright spot amid the injuries, with nine points in his first 18 games for Colorado.
Snapshots: Mayfield, Rodrigues, Barkov
Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has been one of the better bargains in the league in recent seasons. A bit of a late bloomer, he opted to take a five-year deal with a cap hit of just $1.45MM, giving him some much-desired stability in the process. Since then, the 30-year-old has become an important part of their top four, logging nearly 20 minutes a night in a shutdown role. A pending UFA, Mayfield is now well-positioned to potentially more than double that price tag on his next deal and he made it clear to Newsday’s Andrew Gross that his desire is to remain with New York. The Isles already have over $73MM in commitments for next season per CapFriendly with a handful of roster spots to fill so they should have enough cap room to keep him in the fold unless GM Lou Lamoriello decides to shake things up next summer.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues is officially listed as week to week but is expected to miss two to four weeks due to the lower-body injury sustained on Wednesday against Vancouver, relays Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The timeline won’t allow Colorado to transfer him onto LTIR to add to their pool unless the team learns that he will be out for the longer end of that timeline. Rodrigues has been a useful addition this season as he has notched six goals and three assists through his first 18 games while spending some time both on the wing and down the middle.
- Panthers center Aleksander Barkov is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game against St. Louis due to an illness, notes Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). Florida remains in a situation where they can only afford to carry the minimum number of players on their roster so if the captain isn’t able to play, they will once again have to dress only 17 skaters tonight.
Central Notes: Wild, Rossi, Rodrigues
Minnesota has slowly shaken things up a bit in recent days with them waiving and losing Tyson Jost while adding Ryan Reaves in a trade yesterday. However, when speaking with reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link), GM Bill Guerin acknowledged that he’s also on the lookout for scoring help although, at this time, the hope is that they can get more production from their current group.
Last season, the Wild ranked fifth in the NHL in goals with 310, or 3.78 per game. While a lot of the roster is back from last year, the goal output hasn’t been as they are currently 25th in that regard with 55 in 19 games, or 2.89 per contest. Thus far, they’ve been able to hang around the playoff race in the West due to a stingy defense that has also allowed just 55 goals so an offensive improvement from some of their veterans would certainly go a long way. At the moment, Minnesota has just under $3.7MM in cap space to spend now, per CapFriendly, a number that jumps to $12.4MM on deadline day. Accordingly, patience from Guerin makes a lot of sense here as by waiting, he’ll be able to afford a more impactful upgrade if he can’t get the improvement from within that he’s seeking.
More from the Central:
- Also from Russo’s tweet, Guerin acknowledged that they’re in the process of determining if Marco Rossi should be sent down to the minors for a temporary stint. Things haven’t gone well for the 21-year-old center this season as he has just one assist in 16 games thus far. Rossi had a strong rookie campaign with AHL Iowa last year that saw him put up 53 points in 63 games which helped him earn a full-time spot on the roster but after being scratched the last two games and Reaves being added to the roster, going back to the minors for now might be the best move even if it is a step back.
- The news appears to be pretty good for Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues. Head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Peter Baugh of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the 29-year-old has a lower-body “tweak” but is feeling okay. Rodrigues won’t accompany the team to Nashville for Friday’s game but it looks like he might not be out for too long. He’s off to a nice start in his first season with Colorado with six goals and three assists in 18 games so far.
Morning Notes: Thanksgiving Standings, Sabres Injuries, Rodrigues
A very happy Thanksgiving to all of our U.S. readers! Thanksgiving, in any country, is a date with great significance for many of the same reasons: a chance to reflect and be thankful. However, in the hockey world, Thanksgiving in the U.S. brings another note of significance: playoffs. Sure, it’s early, most teams playing somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 games, but history dictates that teams in the playoffs today are likely to be there after 82 games, and teams that are not, probably won’t be playing after their 82 are finished. In fact, Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards tweets that roughly 76% of teams in a playoff position on Thanksgiving keep it. So, it begs the question: which teams on the outside looking in today will make the playoffs? And who might lose their spot?
In the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings hold playoff positions in their respective divisions, with the New York Rangers holding the first Wild Card spot and the Tampa Bay Lightning tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second spot. In the West, the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, Seattle Kraken, and Los Angeles Kings hold playoff positions in their respective divisions, with the Calgary Flames holding the first Wild Card spot, followed by a four-way tie for second place between the St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, and Nashville Predators. Will the standings hold? Nick Alberga of The Leafs Nation points out, 12 of the 16 teams in playoff position this time last year ultimately clinched a berth.
- The Buffalo Sabres should get a pair of wingers back shortly, says Bill Hoppe of the Buffalo Hockey Beat. Per Sabres head coach Don Granato, Rasmus Asplund, who’s listed as day-to-day may have been able to play last night, but given his physical style of play, it was better to let him continue to rest. Captain Kyle Okposo, who has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, skated on his own Wednesday and is expected to join the team on Friday for their morning skate. After losing eight straight, the Sabres have now won two in a row. Getting their full lineup back on the ice should, hopefully, help them continue on this winning path.
- Colorado Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues left last night’s game early with what appeared to be a lower-body injury and was ultimately ruled out for the rest of the game. From Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar says Rodrigues will be further evaluated today. One of the newest members of the Avalanche, Rodrigues has fit in with Colorado nicely since coming over in free agency this summer, registering six goals and three assists in 18 games so far.
Avalanche Notes: Waivers, Newhook, Helm
Saying the Colorado Avalanche have had a flurry of waiver-wire activity over the past couple of days surely wouldn’t make them unique; that would make them about a dime-a-dozen amongst other NHL clubs. However, their situation has created some buzz, and now we’re getting some clarity on it as well that not all teams necessarily provide. For one, as reported by Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater, former top prospects Shane Bowers and Martin Kaut, who were both placed on waivers yesterday, cleared and have been assigned to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. Given the sheer number of players being placed on waivers this weekend, it’s not shocking that this pair would clear, especially given their lack of NHL success, however it was interesting to see the two placed on waivers given their former status as prospects and their still relatively young age (both are 23).
Turning to today’s waiver players, we noted earlier in today’s Waivers tracker that the Avalanche have put forwards Anton Blidh and Mikhail Maltsev on waivers. When head coach Jared Bednar met with the media, including Dater, earlier today, he shed some light on why that decision was made, indicating the two players were placed on waivers for “cap flexibility” purposes. That itself is not particularly surprising, considering that’s likely the reason for many waiver placements around the league right now, but Bednar did continue, saying that he felt Maltsev was “too quiet” in camp. The coach also added, without naming any specific names, “there’s a lot of guys that can ‘play hockey.’ But we’re trying to win.”
- For the most part, training camp is used as a time to decide who makes the roster, and for those who have already secured a spot, it may be about deciding where they play and what role(s) they occupy. That was set to be the case this camp for Avalanche center Alex Newhook, who appeared to be in line for the open second-line center job that was left vacant by Nazem Kadri who signed with the Calgary Flames. However, the team also inked veteran center Evan Rodrigues to a one-year, $2MM contract his offseason, giving Newhook formidable competition for the role. With camp in the rear-view and a focus on the regular season ahead, it seems as though the Avalanche have not made a concrete decision on who will occupy what role. Instead, Bednar told the media, including Dater, that he will give Newhook a real, everyday chance to win the job over “a couple of months.” The decision to essentially not make one, appears to make sense. Operating this way will not only to allow Colorado to evaluate team chemistry and see how Newhook’s development continues, but also to see where Rodrigues stands, who broke out with 43 points in 82 games last year.
- On the injury front, Bednar said veteran forward Darren Helm likely won’t be able to play until “some time” early in the season. Helm, who played through an abdominal injury during Colorado’s Stanley Cup run last spring, is still recovering. A lack of a concrete timetable at this juncture is a bit concerning, however an early season return is nonetheless encouraging.
Colorado Avalanche Sign Evan Rodrigues
It appears as though patience has paid off for Evan Rodrigues, who suddenly finds himself in an excellent situation. The free agent forward has signed a one-year, $2MM contract with the Colorado Avalanche, joining the reigning Stanley Cup champions just a few weeks before the season begins.
The Avalanche were one of the deepest forward groups in the lineup by the time the playoffs rolled around, but have watched the likes of Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, Nico Sturm, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel all depart in free agency. While the team is driven by an outstanding group of defensemen and a handful of star forwards, it was that depth that made them so difficult to play against, as they iced four lines that could compete.
Rodrigues, 29, comes in at a relative discount after scoring 43 points last season and can help lengthen out that lineup again this season. The versatile forward can play center or wing, and while he likely can’t replace the offense that Kadri brought, he does enter a situation that may see him continue his breakout.
Last season the undrafted forward scored 19 goals while playing in all 82 games for the first time in his career, and while he did play a good chunk of his even-strength minutes with Sidney Crosby, that’s actually not where his production came from. In fact, Rodrigues didn’t score a single goal during the 318 5v5 minutes he played alongside the Penguins’ captain, instead doing much better with the likes of Kasperi Kapanen and Danton Heinen.
If he can continue to play that type of strong secondary scoring presence while a little further down the Colorado lineup, the Avalanche will continue to have that impressive depth that took them so far. It should be noted, however, that Rodrigues’ previous career-high was nine goals and 29 points – likely why teams weren’t willing to offer him a long-term contract this summer.
Latest On Zach Aston-Reese, Evan Rodrigues
The calendar has now turned to September, only turning up the heat on both free agents looking for contracts and teams looking to fill roster holes ahead of training camp. A marginal salary cap increase over the past few seasons has made late-offseason moves tougher to make work, though, and it’s becoming more and more common to see situations get resolved at the last minute due to a lack of other options.
Two players who could be in that boat are a pair of former Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Zach Aston-Reese and Evan Rodrigues. Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski reported today that sources tell him both Aston-Reese and Rodrigues have interest and multiple offers from NHL teams but are “holding out for better situations.” Kingerski named both the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks specifically as teams that have kicked tires on Rodrigues, which had been previously reported. He noted that Aston-Reese had interest from two or three NHL teams, but that the bottom-six utility player is looking for more offensive opportunities on his next team.
Kingerski also mentioned to a lesser degree, that veteran center Brian Boyle has an interest in returning to Pittsburgh, although there isn’t much space for him on the organizational depth chart.
Whichever team does sign Aston-Reese will be getting one of the most valuable bottom-six threats (if not the most valuable) still on the market. His career-high of 17 points may not jump off the page, but he’s made a name for himself as one of the top defensive players, at least analytically speaking, in recent years. The 28-year-old product of Staten Island was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks at this year’s trade deadline in the Rickard Rakell trade and had four points in 17 games during his brief stint as a Duck.
An obvious fit for Aston-Reese would be the Winnipeg Jets, who still have some cap space to burn after signing Sam Gagner earlier this week. The Jets have some weak bottom-six depth that would allow Aston-Reese to see some more offensive looks, and his services could help solidify a historically defensively inept team.
Latest On Evan Rodrigues
The free agent market is still filled with legitimate NHL talent, even as the calendar turns to September and players start arriving to begin group workouts. Training camp is starting soon, and some talent is still waiting to find out where they will be skating this season.
One of those players is Evan Rodrigues, who broke out by playing with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, scoring 19 goals and 43 points in 82 games. Those numbers would usually be more than enough for a player to land a healthy contract in the first few days of free agency but Rodrigues remains unsigned as August comes to a close.
While his name has been connected to several clubs over the last few weeks, including the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks, there are a number of teams in the mix. According to his agent Darren Ferris, who spoke with ESPN, “a good seven or eight” teams are having discussions with Rodrigues’ camp. Ferris went on to explain that while there appear to be a few good fits for his client, teams are dealing with difficult cap restraints and trying to move money out.
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN suggests a reunion with the Penguins could be one of those fits, but after re-signing the likes of Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Bryan Rust, and Kasperi Kapanen (not to mention acquiring Jeff Petry) there isn’t much money left in Pittsburgh.
Rodrigues, 29, had never scored more than nine goals in a season previously, but still did show flashes of offensive upside in his early career with the Buffalo Sabres. The undrafted forward became a star at Boston University and is at least good enough to secure a deal somewhere in the NHL.
How expensive and for how long that deal will be remains to be seen but with dwindling cap space around the league, the forward may be better off taking a one-year deal in a good situation and trying again next summer.
Pacific Notes: Weegar, Flames, Stone
The Calgary Flames quickly signed newcomer Jonathan Huberdeau to an extension after acquiring him from the Florida Panthers, and will now try to do the same with MacKenzie Weegar, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
Weegar met with Flames general manager Brad Treliving last week and both sides apparently have had good discussions about a long-term extension. Calgary, says Pagnotta, hopes to have something done by training camp or at the very latest, the start of the regular season.
- On the same NHL Network appearance, Pagnotta also noted that the Flames are still looking to add another free agent forward, mentioning Evan Rodrigues and Sonny Milano in particular. Rodrigues had 19 goals and 43 points in 82 games last season, while Milano racked up 14 goals and 34 points in 66 games.
- When Jackie Spiegel’s latest piece came out for NHL.com, examining the health of Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel, one line caught the attention of many fans. It read that Mark Stone would miss training camp as he continues to recover from back surgery in May. Golden Knights insider Gary Lawless tried to clarify, noting that just because the team has indicated that Stone would be ready for the start of the regular season, it doesn’t necessarily mean he will be missing training camp. A return to full health for Stone would be a huge boost for Vegas, after he was limited to just 37 games last season.
Snapshots: Flames, Ryan, McKeown
The Calgary Flames have had an offseason for the ages, going from the lows of losing both Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk to the highs of adding Jonathan Huberdeau (and extending him), Mackenzie Weegar, and Nazem Kadri. It’s been evident from these moves that despite his early summer predicament GM Brad Treliving had no plans on putting the brakes on the Flames’ Stanley Cup hopes, and it seems that the Flames are still attempting to improve their competitive chances, even this late into August.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his 32 Thoughts Podcast that he believes that the Flames are “going to add another forward,” and names free agent Evan Rodrigues as a specific name to watch. Rodrigues, whose free agency we profiled last month, is coming off of a strong platform season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The versatile 29-year-old forward scored 19 goals and 43 points last season and could be a fit in Calgary on the team’s third line, especially if they don’t view top prospect Jakob Pelletier as being ready for immediate top-nine duty.
Now, for some other notes from across the world of hockey:
- The Canadian National Women’s team won gold at the 2021 IIHF World Championships, and at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and today Hockey Canada announced that they’re retaining the coach who helped that happen. Per the announcement, coach Troy Ryan has signed an extension to remain the team’s coach through the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. Ryan’s time as the team’s bench boss has been largely successful, making this decision an easy one for all parties involved.
- Today the Philadelphia Flyers announced the hire of Ian McKeown to the newly created position of Vice President, Athlete Performance and Wellness. The Flyers state that in this new role, McKeown will “establish and oversee a comprehensive and coordinated health and wellness program for all players within the Flyers organization.” The health of Flyers players has been one of the numerous issues plaguing the team in recent years, so adding a new face in order to specifically address that issue is a good start for Philadelphia. The Flyers are desperate to return to contention after two difficult seasons, and a renewed focus on player health and wellness can do nothing but help them in that pursuit.