Injury Notes: Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Blue Jackets
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.
Gabriel Landeskog To Undergo Surgery, Samuel Girard To Miss A Month
While the Avalanche had some good news today when they extended Pavel Francouz, they also got some bad news as they will be without two key players for the next little while. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Gabriel Landeskog is set to undergo knee surgery on Monday. There is no firm timetable for his return but Colorado hopes to have him back for the stretch run which would take any thought of putting him on LTIR for the rest of the regular season to open up cap space off the table.
This isn’t a newly-suffered injury for Landeskog as he played in nearly 19 minutes on Thursday against Carolina before receiving a misconduct penalty in the dying seconds of regulation. Instead, head coach Jared Bednar indicated that this is an issue that has been nagging him for a little bit and they’ve decided to get it fixed before the playoffs. The knee problem hasn’t really held Landeskog back, however, as he has 30 goals and 29 assists in 51 games this season, good for fifth in team scoring.
Meanwhile, Peter Baugh of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that blueliner Samuel Girard will miss the next four weeks with a lower-body injury. While that makes him LTIR-eligible as well, that’s a recovery timeline that would easily have him back by the end of the season so Colorado, who doesn’t have a lot of cap space to work with at the upcoming trade deadline, won’t get much help on that front either.
Girard’s numbers are down slightly this season although he has still managed to pick up 27 points in 56 games while logging nearly 22 minutes a night. Kurtis MacDermid took Girard’s place in the lineup on Thursday and with the Avs having seven other blueliners on the active roster, they shouldn’t need to recall anyone from AHL Colorado to take his place on the roster. Such a move will likely need to be made for Landeskog, however, unless they decide to shift MacDermid to the wing and put Jack Johnson back in on defense. Either way, lineup changes are coming in advance of their game tomorrow against Calgary.
Meanwhile, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post relays that blueliner Bowen Byram participated in his first full practice today in more than two months. He has been dealing with post-concussion symptoms so the Avs will undoubtedly be cautious when it comes to working the 20-year-old back into the lineup but if he’s able to return soon, he’d certainly help absorb the blow of Girard’s absence.
Gabriel Landeskog Enters COVID Protocol
The Colorado Avalanche will be without their captain tonight, as Gabriel Landeskog has tested positive for coronavirus and entered the league’s COVID protocols. Landeskog’s test was confirmed today, according to head coach Jared Bednar, meaning he’ll miss at least five days. The forward is asymptomatic at this point.
Colorado takes on the Seattle Kraken this evening after their thrilling comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. The Avalanche are now 21-8-2 on the season despite starting the year 4-5-1. In fact, they are showing just why many considered them a Stanley Cup contender before the season began, routinely running up big goal numbers against every opponent. The Avalanche have scored at least four goals in 10 of their last 12 games, including 20 in their last four.
Without Landeskog, that becomes a little harder to maintain. The 29-year-old forward has been outstanding this season, scoring 14 goals and 35 points through 26 appearances. It wouldn’t be the first time he has scored at a point-per-game pace, but it’s easily the best offensive pace of his career to this point, one that already spans more than 700 games. For now, that number won’t grow any as he watches his teammates from a hotel room, isolating as he waits to test out of the protocol.
Peter Baugh of The Athletic notes that Jack Johnson and Valeri Nichushkin were both in regular sweaters at morning skate. Landeskog is currently the only Colorado player in the protocol.
Injury Notes: Shesterkin, Landeskog, Kadri
There’s some good news for the New York Rangers coming soon. NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that although goalie Igor Shesterkin won’t dress tonight, he’s “making progress” after taking the ice at practice this morning. Shesterkin was classified as day-to-day after a scary-looking lower-body injury last week forced him out of the lineup and onto injured reserve. He had an impeccable .937 save percentage through 18 games this year, and should certainly still be considered a candidate for the Vezina Trophy at this point in time. Backup Alexandar Georgiev has risen to the occasion after a tough start, though, posting a save percentage above .920 in three straight Rangers wins with Shesterkin absent.
More injury notes, both from Denver:
- Injuries continue to hold back the Avalanche in 2021-22, as head coach Jared Bednar said today that captain Gabriel Landeskog will miss roughly two weeks with a lower-body injury. All of their top trio of him, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen has missed time this season. Landeskog was a main focal point of Colorado’s offense, netting 27 points through 22 games this year. Andre Burakovsky will slot in his place alongside MacKinnon and Rantanen for the time being.
- After missing Friday’s game with a lower-body injury, Nazem Kadri will be out again tonight but will likely be back Tuesday, according to Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater. Kadri has been the glue of this team throughout their injury troubles this year, scoring 23 assists and 34 points through just 22 games. Mikhail Maltsev, who was recalled today, will get into the lineup with Kadri’s absence.
Colorado’s Valeri Nichushkin Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury
The Colorado Avalanche are being hit with the injury bug early this season, as The Athletic’s Peter Baugh reports that forward Valeri Nichushkin is sidelined week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
With the team already missing Devon Toews and Pavel Francouz from their lineup prior to the season’s start, the team’s forward core has now lost three members in the past three days. Captain Gabriel Landeskog is suspended for the next two games, Nathan MacKinnon‘s season debut is on hold as he remains on COVID protocol, and it’s now apparent the Avs have lost a third top-nine forward for the time being.
The 26-year-old Nichushkin has had somewhat of a career renaissance with Colorado after a rough start with the Dallas Stars, the team that drafted him 10th overall in 2013. He’s received Selke votes in back-to-back seasons, scoring 23 goals and 48 points in 120 games from 2019 to 2021 in an Avalanche uniform. Nichushkin had one assist in 15:03 of ice time on Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.
The team will now turn to Mikko Rantanen to carry the offensive load in the absence of MacKinnon and Landeskog. They’ll look towards forwards like Andre Burakovsky, Tyson Jost, and a pair or rookies in Alex Newhook and Sampo Ranta to increase production in depth roles to compensate for the loss of Nichushkin.
Gabriel Landeskog Suspended Two Games
The Department of Player Safety has handed out the first suspension of the regular season, banning Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche for the next two games. Landeskog delivered a hard check to Chicago Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach in last night’s game. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note that Landeskog is in control of this play. Dach is on one knee facing the wall, and is defenseless in this situation. Sliding along the ice with limited ability to evade or brace for contact. Landeskog has enough time to recognize the situation his opponent is in and rather than avoiding contact or minimizing the force of the hit, chooses to drive the vulnerable Dach into the wall with considerable force. It is the combination of the defenseless position Dach is in, the player’s dangerous distance from the boards at the time of contact, and the speed and force of the hit that caused this hit to rise to the level of supplementary discipline.
Notably, Dach did not suffer a serious injury on the play but Landeskog does have three suspensions on his record already. Though he is no longer considered a repeat offender in terms of salary forfeiture, those suspensions are taken into account when deciding suspension length.
The team was already without Nathan MacKinnon last night, who is still in the COVID protocol after a positive test result. They now may be without both for Saturday night’s match against the St. Louis Blues. Landeskog will also miss next Tuesday’s match against the Washington Capitals.
Gabriel Landeskog To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
Just two days into the season and the Department of Player Safety has some work to do. Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will have a hearing for his hit on Chicago Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach last night.
Partway through the third period, Landeskog delivered a hard check while Dach was already down on one knee, driving him into the boards with quite a bit of force. He received a two-minute boarding penalty for the play, while also taking a roughing penalty for the scrum that occurred with Tyler Johnson immediately afterward.
Dach escaped major injury, which will help Landeskog’s case with the DoPS, but this isn’t the first time he’s been given supplementary discipline. In fact, he has been suspended on several different occasions in the past, for both dangerous hits and cross-checking in particular. Though he won’t be considered a repeat offender in terms of salary forfeiture, the league will include his entire discipline history in deciding how to punish him in this instance.
Gabriel Landeskog Signs Eight-Year Extension
Just before the deadline for eight-year contracts, the Colorado Avalanche and Gabriel Landeskog have reached a deal for the max term. The captain will be staying with the only organization he’s ever known. The two sides have agreed to an eight-year contract worth a total of $56MM. Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets that the first four years come with a full no-movement clause, while the final four will be a modified no-trade clause.
At times over the past few weeks, it seemed like Landeskog might actually reach the free agent market. The Avalanche were in a tight salary cap situation with a superstar defenseman to sign and a Vezina finalist on an expiring deal. Once the team worked out a massive RFA contract with Cale Makar though, things could progress with their captain.
In the end, it will be less than a $1.5MM per year raise for the 28-year old forward. Landeskog was coming off a seven-year, $39MM deal signed in 2013, which carried a $5.57MM cap hit. On this new deal, he eclipses Nathan MacKinnon‘s $6.3MM cap hit but still comes far short of Mikko Rantanen‘s $9.25MM as the team’s highest-paid forward. It’s much less than he likely could have received on the open market on a per-year basis, but the eighth season was something that only Colorado could offer. Landeskog now has contract security through his age-36 season and could very well play his entire career for the Avalanche.
On September 4, 2012, nearly a decade ago, Landeskog was named captain of the Avalanche. At the time, he was the youngest player ever to be given that honor in the NHL. He had just finished a Calder Trophy-winning rookie campaign, which included 22 goals and 52 points, and was given the “C” by veteran Milan Hejduk. Years later, Landeskog has been one of the most consistent players in team history and sits eighth all-time in points–including the days when the franchise was in Quebec. With this new deal, he’ll surely pass another few names on that list.
Landeskog is now tied for the 57th highest cap hit in the NHL, alongside young stars and veterans alike. The reasonable $7MM cap hit—especially when combined with the money that Makar left on the table—leaves room for the Avalanche to potentially bring back starting goaltender Philipp Grubauer in free agency as well. Colorado now sits with just over $12.3MM in cap space, though that includes a roster of just 16 players.
With less than 24 hours before free agency begins, any teams preparing an offer for Landeskog will have to turn their attention elsewhere. He ranked first on our Top 50 UFA list, but we predicted he would return to the Colorado Avalanche even if a deal wasn’t done before tonight’s eight-year threshold. Dougie Hamilton now assumes that top spot, while other forwards could draw a little more interest from teams looking to make a splash.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Latest On Gabriel Landeskog’s Pending Free Agency
The Colorado Avalanche are getting closer and closer to unrestricted free agency without any resolution to their two biggest UFA negotiations. While most assumed captain Gabriel Landeskog would be re-signed without issue, things haven’t progressed as quickly as the veteran forward was hoping. In fact, Landeskog expressed some frustration when speaking with Peter Baugh of The Athletic:
I can’t help but be honest with you that I’m a little bit disappointed that it’s gotten this far and it’s had to come to this point.
We’ll see what happens. I’m still hopeful that we can agree on something and come to terms, but if it was up to me, I would have liked it to be done eight months ago, 10 months ago.
It’s difficult to imagine Landeskog in any sweater other than Colorado’s, given he has been a fixture there for so long. Selected second overall in 2011, the Swedish forward immediately jumped into the NHL to win the Calder Trophy with 52 points in 82 games. By the start of year two, he was made the then-youngest captain in NHL history. It’s been his team ever since, even as other supremely talented players have come and gone, even as Nathan MacKinnon assumed the mantle as the best player on the team; it was still Landeskog who wore the “C”.
Last night, Darren Dreger of TSN reported that Landeskog and the Avalanche are “not even close” in their negotiations, which raises some eyebrows given how close free agency is. In just two weeks teams will be able to call up Landeskog and offer him a huge long-term contract. The market for his services will be large, as it’s not often a player that combines first-line offensive production with physicality and leadership hits the market at the age of 28. With 52 points in 54 games this season, he recorded his eighth season of at least 20 goals.
There is still time for the Avalanche to work things out with their captain, but given the fact that they also need to sign Vezina finalist Philipp Grubauer and restricted free agent Cale Makar, there might not be enough money to go around. The team currently has more than $25MM in cap space, but that will shrink considerably after a deal is completed with Makar and the Avalanche still have MacKinnon’s free agency to think about. The 25-year-old center will hit the open market after the 2022-23 season, likely deserving to be paid among the highest earners in the entire NHL. Signing Landeskog and Grubauer to long-term deals would certainly complicate things going forward, but watching your captain walk out the door in the prime of his career is certainly not an optimal scenario.
Snapshots: Landeskog, Menell, DeAngelo
The Colorado Avalanche have several key free agents to sign this offseason, including captain Gabriel Landeskog. While it has been expected for some time that Landeskog would return to Colorado one way or another, it doesn’t mean teams aren’t preparing for the alternative. Lou Korac of NHL.com reports that the St. Louis Blues will apply a “full pitch effort” should Landeskog reach unrestricted free agency, suggesting that he would move onto a line with Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron.
Landeskog, 28, is coming off another outstanding season with 52 points in 54 games, and will be a highly sought-after commodity should he hit the open market. It’s not often you have a chance to add a still-young-enough star offensive player that adds physicality and leadership for nothing but money through free agency, meaning the Blues certainly wouldn’t be the only team going hard after Landeskog if the Avalanche failed to lock him up.
- The Minnesota Wild are working to try and bring Brennan Menell back to North America, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. The 24-year-old remains on the team’s reserve list after playing in the KHL this season, where he finished second in scoring among defensemen with 38 points in 47 games. The last time Mennell was on this side of the ocean, he scored 47 points in 57 games with the Iowa Wild and received his first NHL opportunity, suiting up five times with Minnesota. An undrafted free agent signing, the Wild will continue to hold his exclusive NHL rights through his 27th birthday.
- The New York Rangers are still expected to buy out defenseman Tony DeAngelo, but Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes that they will not do so until after the expansion draft. DeAngelo currently fills an exposure requirement for the draft, though so does Anthony Bitetto even if the team exercised the buyout now. The first window to buy out a player is open until July 27, meaning there is no rush for the Rangers at this point.