Snapshots: Three Stars, Comrie, McCabe
The NHL released its Three Stars of last week, with David Pastrnak taking the top spot. The Boston Bruins superstar has scored seven goals in the last three games and now has 32 in 40 games this season. Quite the platform year for the pending free agent, who will need a massive contract from the Bruins to stay in town. It’s also a great showcase for his All-Star participation, which isn’t certain given he’s in the fan vote.
Second and third place went to Jack Hughes and Rasmus Dahlin, two of the most impressive young players (and first-overall picks) in the league. Hughes, 21, leads the league in even-strength goals with 21 and has already matched the career-high he set last season with 26 overall. Five of those came last week as he continues to lead the New Jersey Devils into contender status in the Metropolitan Division. Because of the attention that Tage Thompson is getting as an emerging superstar, Dahlin’s season for the Buffalo Sabres may actually be going a little bit under the radar. The 22-year-old now has 44 points in 36 games, putting him in real contention for the Norris Trophy, given how important he is to the Sabres every night. His 1.22 points-per-game rate trails only Erik Karlsson among NHL defenders this season.
- Speaking of Buffalo, there’s a bit of a roster crunch happening for the Sabres, as they try to figure out the goaltending situation. Eric Comrie‘s conditioning stint is over and he told reporters including Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News that he is healthy and ready to play. As of right now, Comrie remains on injured reserve and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who has played so well in his absence, is still on the roster as an emergency call-up. That won’t be allowed to continue, and the Sabres will have to make a decision one way or another. Send Luukkonen down, put Comrie (or Craig Anderson) on waivers to send him down, or carry three goaltenders on the active roster.
- When discussing potential defense targets for the Edmonton Oilers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts podcast touched on Jake McCabe of the Chicago Blackhawks. Friedman believes that Edmonton is on McCabe’s no-trade list, which could be the end of any speculation that he could be acquired at the deadline. McCabe holds a seven-team NTC, carries a $4MM cap hit and is signed through the 2024-25 season.
Chicago Blackhawks Activate Jake McCabe
The Chicago Blackhawks are getting some veteran depth back on the blueline, activating Jake McCabe from injured reserve today. Recovered from cervical spine surgery that took place earlier this offseason, he’s expected to be in the lineup for the team tonight when they take on the Detroit Red Wings.
McCabe, 29, is one of the key pieces brought in during a 2021 offseason that ended up being too little, too late for the Blackhawks. The team struggled out of the gate, was embroiled in controversy, and quickly turned things over to general manager Kyle Davidson, who promptly started a full rebuild. The four-year, $16MM deal that Stan Bowman handed to McCabe doesn’t seem very practical now, though he is at least still young enough to remain an attractive trade candidate.
That is, of course, if he’s fully recovered from the back surgery, which remains to be seen. The long-time Buffalo Sabres defenseman is known for his physical, all-out style, blocking shots and punishing attacking players with equal frequency. Last season for the Blackhawks he led the team in hits and was behind only Calvin de Haan in blocks, while also putting up a very solid 22 points, only trailing Seth Jones in offense from the defense.
If McCabe can get back to a strong level of play, it’s easy to wonder if he’ll be shipped off like the rest of the valuable chips in Chicago. He does hold a seven-team no-trade clause and has a back-loaded contract, but minute-munching defensemen like him are always in demand at trade deadline time.
Injury Updates: McCabe, Jones, Hagg, Sundqvist, Dubois
Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe has been cleared for contact after undergoing cervical spine surgery in the offseason, reports NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis. However, he’ll still need time to get into game conditioning and at this point, it seems unlikely that he’ll be ready to play during their three-game road trip to start the season. However, a return for their first home game on October 21st appears to be a realistic possibility. While Chicago certainly isn’t planning on contending this season, getting a veteran back that’s capable of playing 20 minutes a night can only help. Meanwhile, Roumeliotis adds (Twitter link) that blueliner Caleb Jones is also unlikely to play in Wednesday’s opener but should play later on in the trip.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Red Wings defenseman Robert Hagg had a rough start to his Detroit career, taking a puck to the head that has kept him out of preseason action so far. However, he told reporters including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that he has been cleared to play although he won’t play in tonight’s preseason finale. Hagg signed a one-year deal after fellow offseason acquisition Mark Pysyk underwent Achilles surgery but might have to settle for starting as an extra defender to start with no exhibition action under his belt.
- Still with Detroit, center Oskar Sundqvist is expected to be ready for Friday’s season-opener against Montreal, relays Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News (Twitter link). He has been battling an undisclosed injury throughout training camp and has yet to see any preseason action. The 28-year-old was acquired from St. Louis near the trade deadline last season and did relatively well in his first stint with the Red Wings, collecting four goals and four assists in 18 games down the stretch.
- Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois exited yesterday’s game after the first period but the injury is not believed to be a serious one, notes Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. Head coach Rick Bowness indicated that the 24-year-old had a minor lower-body issue that flared up so they pulled him out as a precaution. Despite leaving early, Dubois had his first two goals of the preseason on Friday and should be ready to return for their season opener on Friday.
Jake McCabe Undergoes Surgery
Sep 23: When training camp started this week and McCabe was on the ice, it was a surprising sight given how recently the team announced he had surgery. Turns out, McCabe actually had that surgery six weeks ago, so he is already halfway through his recovery according to Tracey Myers of NHL.com.
Sep 13: The Chicago Blackhawks will not have Jake McCabe in the lineup when the season begins, as he recently underwent cervical spine surgery and will be out for 10-12 weeks. McCabe is entering the second season of a four-year, $16MM contract he signed in 2021. Prospect Jalen Luypen will also be out for 14-18 weeks after suffering a rotator cuff injury.
It’s a tough blow for a player that has dealt with injury throughout his career, including a knee issue that took almost all of 2020-21 and limited his play early last season. McCabe eventually would suit up 75 times for the Blackhawks, setting a career-high with 22 points while averaging more than 20 minutes a night.
Now, with a timeline that could potentially take him out until December, McCabe will be fighting another uphill battle. Still just 28 years old, there’s plenty of time for him to recover and get back to being a capable NHL defenseman, but where he fits into Chicago’s future isn’t clear. The team is in a tank phase as they move through a rebuild, and will soon want to give their younger options a chance to show what they can do at the NHL level. That isn’t right away — as shown by the Jack Johnson signing — but it’s hard to see McCabe being a regular contributor by the time the team is ready to compete again.
For now, it is just another long rehab for McCabe to go through. To this point in his nine-year NHL career, he has yet to play in more than 77 games during a single season.
Latest On Chicago Blackhawks Rebuild
After several stunning trades that saw Alex DeBrincat, Brandon Hagel, and Kirby Dach shipped out, decisions to leave Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik unqualified, and recent comments from top players suggesting frustration at the Chicago Blackhawks’ long rebuild plan, it’s tough sledding for fans of the team right now. The front office is actively trying to lose next season to secure a better draft position, which has led to plenty of speculation about the future of franchise icons Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
But there are other veterans on the roster, ones that aren’t so far along in their careers or entrenched in the Blackhawks’ history. What about Connor Murphy and Jake McCabe, two defensemen both still on the good side of 30 and capable enough to help almost any team in the league in a certain role?
They won’t be moved, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic, who answered mailbag questions today on all sorts of Blackhawks-related topics. The two veteran defensemen are both expected to stay with the club for the next few years, partly due to their hefty contracts but also because the team wants some capable NHL veterans in place to insulate their young prospects.
McCabe, 28, signed a four-year, $16MM contract with Chicago last summer that includes a seven-team no-trade clause. His $4MM cap hit is easily the largest of his career, and would be a tough contract to extract much surplus value from at this point. Asked to do too much last season, he ended up logging more than 20 minutes a night for the first time since 2017, and was outscored heavily at even-strength. Impressively though, even while receiving absolutely brutal deployment (McCabe rarely started a shift in the offensive zone), he actually did set a career-high in points with 22.
Part of the reason he played so much is because of Murphy’s up-and-down season, which saw him play just 57 games. Now 29, the 6’4″ defenseman is only just now starting the four-year, $17.6MM contract extension that he signed last August, one that includes a ten-team no-trade clause.
Murphy has never played more than 78 games in a single season and now carries a $4.4MM cap hit through 2025-26, making it difficult to trade him even if the Blackhawks wanted to. One thing to note about his deal, however, is that the salary drops to $3.65MM in the final season, and $1MM of that is due in signing bonuses. If there is a time to move him, it might end up being in the summer of 2025 when there is very little actual money owed.
That’s a long time from now though, meaning Murphy and McCabe appear to be stuck with a team that is trying to lose as many games as possible. That’s a tough situation for any veteran to play in, meaning they are still names to keep an eye on as the Chicago rebuild progresses.
Islanders, Blackhawks Announce More COVID Placements
The New York Islanders will not have Barry Trotz behind the bench when the team takes on the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, as the head coach has been placed in the COVID protocol. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there as Ryan Pulock has also found his way to the protocol today despite being injured.
Pulock hasn’t played since the middle of November as he deals with a lower-body injury, but now won’t even be able to get on the ice to rehab for the next little while. The loss of the 27-year-old defenseman has been one of the biggest problems for the Islanders this season. After receiving Norris Trophy votes and Olympic consideration, Pulock has played in just 12 games so far.
The COVID announcements don’t end there. The Chicago Blackhawks have placed Jake McCabe and head athletic trainer Mike Gapski in the protocol, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. Jakub Galvas has been recalled from the taxi squad to take McCabe’s place and could be making his NHL debut should he get into the lineup tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Galvas, 22, is in his first year of North American hockey after several years in Czechia and Finland. Through 20 games with the Rockford IceHogs, the fifth-round pick has six points but has shown enough to earn this recall to the NHL squad. While perhaps not a full-time solution at this point, filling in for a few days while McCabe goes through his isolation period shouldn’t be an issue.
Sabres’ Jake McCabe To Test The Market
Injury could not have come at a worse time for Jake McCabe. The Buffalo Sabres defenseman had been nothing but dependable in his first five full NHL seasons, establishing himself as a solid two-way defenseman capable of shut-down defense with his checking and shot-blocking as well as transitioning the puck up the ice and contributing modest offense. Entering a contract year at just 27 years old, McCabe looked primed to play a critical role again for the Sabres and then was likely to be a highly sought-after trade deadline target. That all was supposed to conclude with a considerable raise and long-term contract in free agency, from Buffalo or elsewhere.
Instead, McCabe suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus in his right knee in February, just 13 games into the season. In that small sample size, McCabe posted a Corsi For rating that held as the best possession mark on the Sabres this season. He was also on pace for a career high in hits per game. Everything was going according to plan and just like that his season was over. Not only that, but the timeline for recovery was considered six-to-eight months and history has shown that ACL injuries can take even longer to heal for hockey players. McCabe’s season was over and now the following season was in doubt. At best, McCabe will not be healthy until a month after the free agent market opens. At worst, he may not be ready to play through the first month of the season or longer.
This has completely changed the outlook of McCabe’s impending free agency. The hopes of a long-term deal are likely shattered and it will be far harder to make a case for a pay raise. In fact, many had speculated that perhaps McCabe would simply re-sign in Buffalo, the team that knows the most about his current recovery and whose lineup it would be the easiest to transition into post-injury. However, it doesn’t seem like that will be the case. Buffalo Hockey Beat’s Bill Hoppe reports that McCabe will in fact test the market when free agency opens on July 28. Hoppe writes that the Sabres have been in contact with McCabe, but haven’t prioritized an extension with the career Sabre, despite his leadership role in the locker room as well as the recent losses of Rasmus Ristolainen and William Borgen from the back end. GM Kevyn Adams stated that McCabe will enter the market on his own accord though. He noted that the Sabres would welcome McCabe back if he wants to return at a fair price, but that the defenseman is “going to see what’s out there”.
McCabe’s market will certainly be an interesting one. While there are many good defensemen available, there are few great options. McCabe may have to settle for a one-year “show me” deal given his injury, but if a team believes in his ability and instead sees the injury as a way to sign the blue liner at a bargain price, perhaps he could still wind up with a multi-year deal. The Boston Bruins are one club that have been previously linked to McCabe, but there will be no shortage of teams that kick the tires on the defenseman now that it is confirmed that he is interested in testing the waters.
Jake McCabe Out Six To Eight Months
Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger expressed serious worry yesterday when speaking about Jake McCabe‘s injury and now we know why. The veteran defenseman suffered injuries to the ACL, MCL, and meniscus in his right knee and has been given a recovery timeline of six to eight months. McCabe was injured in a game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. His season is over.
McCabe, 27, has emerged as one of the more reliable options on the entire Sabres roster over the last few seasons and was off to arguably the best start of his NHL career. Playing over 19 minutes a night, the left-show defenseman had just three points in 13 games but posted strong possession numbers as he routinely shut down opponents and moved the puck out of the zone. He will be sorely missed in the Buffalo lineup as they attempt to drag themselves out of the bottom of the East Division standings.
Not only does this end McCabe’s season, but there’s a chance it could mean an end to his career with the Sabres as well. The alternate captain is an unrestricted free agent this summer and would need a new deal if he’s to return to Buffalo in 2021-22. Given that an eight-month timeline puts the start of next season in jeopardy, it’s hard to know exactly where his market will be. The timing couldn’t be worse for a player looking to cash in with a multi-year contract.
Sabres Prepared That Jake McCabe May Miss Rest Of Season
The Buffalo Sabres were fearful after defenseman Jake McCabe left Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury. McCabe left the game against New Jersey midway through the third period after trying to hit Nico Hischier against the boards, but instead, his right leg buckled and he clutched his knee after going down. Head coach Ralph Krueger said Sunday that McCabe has left the team to return home and is expected to get an MRI today with results expected Monday. However, he doesn’t believe the injury looks good at all. Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington adds the team is preparing that he will be out for the season.
“I’ll be honest with you,” said Krueger. “Not very optimistic about the diagnosis that will come out of this. The lower-body injury is serious.”
If McCabe misses significant time, as expected, that would be a big blow to a team that has struggled to put together an effective defensive lineup and will miss their alternate captain and his defensive presence on the ice. While not an offensive player (one goal, three points in 13 games), he does make up for it on defense. He has averaged 19:11 of ATOI and has 22 hits and 15 blocked shots this season, while playing all over the lineup.
The team has been without Rasmus Ristolainen, who could miss extended time after a suffering through a significant case of COVID-19. Defenseman William Borgen is out day-to-day and the team has had to depend others to step up their game, including Colin Miller, Matt Irwin and now will have to depend more on Henri Jokiharju and Brandon Davidson to get by with McCabe likely to be out of the lineup for some time.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/16/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. While the league is still waiting for a report from the Kings here are today’s results for the other 30 teams:
Buffalo – Casey Mittelstadt
Colorado – Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog, Hunter Miska
Los Angeles – TBA
Minnesota – Jonas Brodin, Brad Hunt, Victor Rask, Carson Soucy, Cam Talbot
New Jersey – Nico Hischier, Dmitry Kulikov, Travis Zajac
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Morgan Frost, Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek
Vegas – Tomas Nosek
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: Dylan Cozens, Buffalo Sabres; Curtis Lazar, Buffalo Sabres; Jake McCabe, Buffalo Sabres; Brandon Montour, Buffalo Sabres; Rasmus Ristolainen, Buffalo Sabres; Nikita Gusev, New Jersey Devils
The Sabres had several players come off again today, though Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News confirmed this morning that Montour and McCabe shouldn’t have been included on yesterday’s list either. Both of those two practiced yesterday as well. The Sabres are back in action tonight against the Islanders after suffering a 3-1 loss in their first game in more than two weeks last night.
With no new additions today, the list of names has been dramatically reduced from a week ago.