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Jake Walman

Atlantic Notes: Quinn, Greig, Kastelic, Walman

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Still working his way back from an Achilles tear suffered in late June of this past summer, Jack Quinn is making significant progress in returning from injury. There still is no firm timetable for his return, but Mike Harrington of Buffalo News Sports confirmed Quinn was practicing in full pads before the team’s practice today.

The recovery timeline for Achilles tears is anywhere between five and six months, meaning Quinn could reasonably return by next week, or even towards the end of the calendar year. Nevertheless, the fact that he is practicing is positive news for the Buffalo Sabres, who could certainly use his skill back in the everyday lineup.

In 75 games played last year, Quinn scored 14 goals and 23 assists, finishing eight on the team in scoring, and 12th in Calder Trophy voting. Quinn likely could have scored quite a bit more last season, but he was limited in his usage by head coach Don Granato, only averaging around 14 minutes of ice time per game.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • The Ottawa Senators could be getting some reinforcements back into their forward core, as Bruce Garrioch of TSN reports Ridly Greig and Mark Kastelic were seen practicing today on their own. Both players have been on the injured reserve since November 2nd, and both have been considered week-to-week. Of the two, Greig has been one of the most impressive young forwards on the team, scoring two goals and five assists in nine games.
  • In the Detroit Red Wings loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in their second game of the Global Series in Sweden, defenseman Jake Walman would leave the game with an injury, and his status was unknown up until now. Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside reports that Detroit plans on using seven defensemen tomorrow night against the New Jersey Devils, meaning Walman will not miss any time due to the injury.

Red Wings Healthy Scratch Jeff Petry

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It’s been a strange 14 months for Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jeff Petry. The 35-year-old defenseman was traded in July 2022 by the Montreal Canadiens to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a package that included defenseman Mike Matheson and forward Ryan Poehling. Petry spent one uneven season with the Penguins only to be traded back to Montreal 13 months later in a salary dump as part of the Erik Karlsson trade. Petry was then flipped to the Red Wings for a fourth-round draft pick and Gustav Lindstrom.

Now, just two games into his time with Detroit, Petry already finds himself a healthy scratch as per the Red Wings X account. Petry was in the press box during the Red Wings 4-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight as Detroit dressed six defensemen and 12 forwards for the game.

The Red Wings traded very little to acquire Petry, but it is difficult to understand the logic of the move given how many other NHL veterans are currently signed to play on Detroit’s blue line. The Red Wings made several moves this summer to acquire veteran defensemen with Petry coming into the organization along with Justin Holl and Shayne Gostisbehere.

Petry was a bit of a wild card as he hasn’t been overly effective since the 2020-21 season when he was with the Canadiens and has been shuffled through multiple organizations in that time. Last year in Pittsburgh he wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t particularly good either, which prompted the Penguins to make the Karlsson move to replace Petry and add more power to their offense.

In his first two games in Detroit, Petry has really struggled posting no points and a -2 while averaging 16:44 of ice time. A dramatic decline from the 22:14 he has averaged throughout his career. While his ice time is down substantially, his play hasn’t warranted additional ice time as he has found himself on the wrong side of puck possession more often than not in the first two games.

How Detroit handles their defense going forward could make for interesting theatre. Moritz Seider and Jake Walman aren’t coming out of the lineup for Petry and given their play as of late it seems unlikely that Olli Maatta or Gostisbehere are coming out of the lineup either. The likeliest candidate is Holl, but like Petry, he was just brought in this summer, and it wouldn’t be a great look to scratch him after a handful of games.

Detroit has alternated using six or seven defensemen this season and may continue to do so with the logjam in their defensive core. However, constantly sitting newly acquired veterans is often frowned upon and could lead to some bitter feelings among veterans.

Hockey Canada Releases Initial 2023 World Championship Roster

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Hockey Canada has released the initial complement of 20 players that will represent their country at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships next week in Finland.

It’s a more experienced roster than their American counterparts released, at least in terms of current NHL caliber. In net, they’re likely the most well-set team in the tournament, with projected rookie sensation Devon Levi sharing the crease with Montreal Canadien Sam Montembeault, who had a strong season in a tandem role with Jake Allen.

While 2023 presumptive first-overall selection Connor Bedard won’t join the team, likely to avoid risking injuries prier to his rookie season in the NHL, projected second-overall pick Adam Fantilli will. After capturing the Hobey Baker award in what’s likely his only season at the University of Michigan, Fantilli will join seasoned NHL veterans such as Milan Lucic, Scott Laughton, and Tyler Toffoli as Canada goes for gold at the Worlds.

Their defense is highlighted by MacKenzie Weegar. Although he had a tough season in Calgary, he’s not far removed from being a top 20 defender in the world and should make a significant impact at the tournament. Youngsters Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Justin Barron will also get a chance to shine for the Canadians.

The full 20-player roster is as follows:

F Cody Glass
F Jack McBain
F Milan Lucic
F Peyton Krebs
F Scott Laughton
F Jack Quinn
F Jake Neighbours
F Lawson Crouse
F Tyler Toffoli
F Sammy Blais
F Joe Veleno
F Adam Fantilli

D Pierre-Olivier Joseph
D Justin Barron
D MacKenzie Weegar
D Tyler Myers
D Ethan Bear
D Jake Walman

G Devon Levi
G Sam Montembeault

Detroit Red Wings Extend Jake Walman

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After finding a new home with the Detroit Red Wings, Jake Walman is cashing in. The defenseman has signed a three-year contract extension worth $10.2MM ($3.4MM AAV) to keep Walman in Detroit through the 2025-26 season.

Walman, 27, was a pending unrestricted free agent but has fit so perfectly in Detroit since arriving, an extension always seemed the most likely scenario. Acquired from the St. Louis Blues as part of the Nick Leddy deal last year, he has emerged as a legitimate top-four option for the Red Wings, mostly skating next to Moritz Seider at even strength. The two complement each other well and Walman’s playing time has surged, including a 23-minute outing against the Ottawa Senators last night.

While a spot on the top pair may not be his forever—the Red Wings do have some serious defense prospects on their way—Walman has proven to be a reliable member of a team that is on the rise. Even after two recent losses, Detroit is still 7-3 in its last ten games and has climbed within a few points of the final wildcard spot. If not this year, they will soon be back in the playoffs, and Walman is going to be around for the ride.

That makes two players that the team has extended this month, following Olli Maatta’s two-year deal on February 16. There could be more coming. The Red Wings have just 12 players signed to one-way contracts for 2023-24, with a long list of pending UFAs. With very few long-term deals on the books, general manager Steve Yzerman can still shape this roster accordingly, and reward players like Walman who have found success in bigger roles this season.

Injury Notes: Murray, Bowers, Red Wings, Capitals, Kravtsov

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When the Toronto Maple Leafs elected to overhaul their goaltending group this offseason, the biggest question aside from rebound performances from Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov, would be health. Thus far, the team has seemingly received a positive answer when it comes to performance from both goaltenders, but health has been an issue. Murray found himself on LTIR with an abductor injury after just one game and last weekend, Samsonov found himself on IR with a knee injury suffered on a Brad Marchand penalty shot. After the emergency signing of AHL netminder Keith Petruzzelli, the team has relied on Erik Kallgren to shoulder the load while waiting for one of Murray or Samsonov to return.

Earlier today, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe provided a brief update on Murray when he spoke with the media, including The Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan. Per Keefe, Murray is doing well physically and has even been cleared to play. However, Keefe says, Murray is not quite ready to return, with the organization’s performance team waiting to see a few more things before they believe he can return to game action. Although Murray’s return can’t come soon enough for Toronto, assuring the netminder is 100% ready for game action is key. Even if he’s completely healthy, as he appears to be, Murray has been out of game action for a month, a considerable amount of that time spent not receiving the daily work and repetition necessary to be a competitive NHL goaltender. Had Murray been rushed, Toronto might find itself with a healthy Murray, but not the one they need.

  • It’s been a long road for forward Shane Bowers between being a first-round pick in 2017 and his NHL debut on Thursday night, and unfortunately, he’ll have to wait a while longer to play in NHL game number two. The 23-year-old suffered an upper-body injury after just 1:46 of time-on-ice Thursday and is now out long-term. According to Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now, who spoke to Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar, Bowers is expected to miss six weeks. The injury is surely a tough break for Bowers both physically and mentally, however after several years of sub-par performance that interrupted his development, he had been off to a strong start in 2022-23, recording six points in ten AHL games. That performance, combined with his once-high prospect status is something the Avalanche will surely keep in mind as he works his way back.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have had themselves an up-and-down start to the season, currently holding a record of 7-4-3. While many had high hopes for the team after a busy offseason, their record through 14 games may be better than it seems given the team’s difficult injury issues early on. In fact, some of those injury woes may be resolving themselves shortly, says Michigan Live’s Answer Kahn. As Kahn writes, rookie forward Elmer Soderblom, who missed Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers, is still considered day-to-day. Defenseman Jake Walman, who had shoulder surgery this offseason, is expected to return to the lineup and make his season debut at some point during Detroit’s four game road trip, which begins tonight in Los Angeles against the Kings and concludes a week from tonight against the Blue Jackets in Columbus. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, forward Tyler Bertuzzi, who suffered a broken hand just two games into the season, is expected to return Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
  • Despite placing him on IR just yesterday, Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov skated at optional practice this morning and will be joining the team on its upcoming road trip, says NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. Washington’s road trip begins tomorrow in Tampa Bay against the Lightning and concludes Thursday at the St. Louis Blues. Orlov, who was injured last Saturday, is eligible to come off of IR as soon as tomorrow, as the placement was back-dated to the injury, however it’s unclear what Washington’s plan is exactly. The team had placed Orlov on IR in order to make room for fellow defenseman John Carlson, who the team activated yesterday. Should they wish to activate Orlov, a corresponding roster move would be necessary. Not joining the Capitals on their trip is forward T.J. Oshie, who is on IR dealing with a lower-body injury.
  • New York Rangers forward Vitali Kravtsov will not play tonight when the Rangers take on the Predators in Nashville. The forward is dealing with a stomach bug, reports Mollie Walker of the New York Post. Kravtsov, 22, has just one point in six games so far in his return to North America.

Detroit Red Wings Issue Injury Updates

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The Detroit Red Wings have issued an official update on Filip Zadina’s timeline, after suffering a lower-body injury a few days ago. The young forward will miss six to eight weeks, pausing what had already been a disappointing start to the season. Head coach Derek Lalonde also announced that Tyler Bertuzzi and Jake Walman will be out another seven to ten days, while Oskar Sundqvist is listed as day-to-day but should play on Thursday.

Zadina, 22, had gone completely scoreless through nine games before suffering the injury, recording just 12 shots on goal. That has been a common theme in his young career, which has resulted in just 25 goals and 61 points through 169 games. Selected sixth overall in 2018 there was so much more expected of the Czech forward, especially when he put up 16 goals as a teenage rookie in the AHL. But scoring has been inconsistent for him in the NHL and now he’ll miss the better part of two months when the team is finally competitive.

If there is a silver lining for Zadina, it’s that he already signed a three-year, $5.475MM contract this summer that locked him in through 2024-25. The Red Wings have enough cap space this year that it doesn’t really matter if he underperforms that $1.825MM cap hit but that won’t always be the case. With Bertuzzi, Dylan Larkin and others scheduled for unrestricted free agency and in need of big extensions, the money in Detroit will be counted a little more closely moving forward.

Hopefully, this time off can give him a bit of a reset and he’ll come back in a better place, but there will be other players stepping up in his absence. It’s not clear what kind of role will be left for him on his return, especially given how little he was playing before the injury happened.

Injury Updates: Grzelcyk, Walman, Wahlstrom

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With several key injuries already, the Bruins aren’t the healthiest team heading into the regular season.  However, there is good news on one of those fronts as Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Matt Grzelcyk will not begin the year on LTIR.  He underwent shoulder surgery in early June that was supposed to carry a minimum recovery time of five months.  With the minimum LTIR placement time only being 21 days, the expectation was that he’d be a safe bet to go on there to give Boston a little bit of short-term wiggle room on the cap.  The fact that he isn’t going there suggests that Grzelcyk will be ready ahead of schedule.  The 28-year-old is coming off a career year offensively with 24 points in 73 games and certainly will be a welcome addition when he’s cleared to play.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman skated today at practice and told reporters, including MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link) that he is ahead of schedule as he works his way back from offseason shoulder surgery and expects to be back before the original return date of mid-November. The 26-year-old was acquired from St. Louis just before the trade deadline last season and saw his ice time increase considerably from just under 12 minutes a night with the Blues to over 17 minutes per contest with Detroit.
  • Islanders winger Oliver Wahlstrom missed the last three preseason games due to an upper-body issue, notes Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (Twitter link). Despite that, it appears as if he’ll be available to suit up in Thursday’s opener.  Wahlstrom’s sophomore year was an underwhelming one as he managed just 13 goals and 11 assists in 73 games last season and he’ll certainly be looking for a stronger showing heading into a contract year.

Injury Notes: Copp, Caamano, Ostapchuk

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The Detroit Red Wings will be without Andrew Copp for training camp, announcing today that the big free agent signing underwent abdominal surgery in the offseason. Copp is expected back the first week of the regular season, when he’ll start to try and live up to the five-year, $28.125MM contract he signed this offseason.

It’s a tough start for the Red Wings, who also confirmed some timelines on other previously-reported injuries. Jake Walman will be back at some point in November, while Robby Fabbri and Mark Pysyk are out until early 2023. Chase Pearson, who made his NHL debut last season with Detroit, is away from the team indefinitely due to personal matters.

  • It was back surgery for Nicholas Caamano, according to general manager Jim Nill, who told reporters including Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that the young forward will miss three months. Caamano, 24, played in 36 games for the Stars between 2019-2021 before spending all of last year in the minor leagues. Anton Khudobin has not yet been cleared for games but will be on the ice for training camp. The team signed Scott Wedgewood to a two-year deal this offseason after he played well down the stretch, suggesting that Khudobin is ticketed for the minor leagues once again.
  • Zack Ostapchuk, the 39th overall pick in 2021, is out a few weeks for the Ottawa Senators and will be sent back to junior after he’s healthy enough according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. That ends any possibility that he could make the team out of camp after his outstanding playoff run for the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. The 19-year-old is not yet eligible for the AHL and instead will go back and try to carry over that postseason success for an entire year.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Jake Walman

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Aug 11: The Red Wings have officially announced the contract, confirming the term and salary.

Aug 10: The arbitration period is over for the 2022 offseason. Jake Walman, who was the final hearing scheduled, has settled his case with the Detroit Red Wings after exchanging figures yesterday. The two sides have agreed to a one-year, one-way, $1.05MM contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Walman had filed for $1.75MM, while the Red Wings had filed for a two-way, $775K contract.

It’s now prove-it time for Walman, who was part of the return for Nick Leddy at the trade deadline and has just 76 games under his belt at the NHL level. The 26-year-old suited up 19 times for the Red Wings down the stretch and recorded four points, seeing more ice time than he had ever received in St. Louis.

Whether that opportunity continues remains to be seen, after the Red Wings added several defensemen this offseason, including Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta, Mark Pysyk, and Steven Kampfer. That’s not even mentioning the young prospects who will soon be pushing for playing time, meaning Walman will have to deliver if he wants to stay in the lineup.

A third-round pick of the Blues in 2014, he notably received time on both the powerplay and penalty kill after arriving in Detroit. As that kind of do-it-all depth option, he could find a nice home on the Red Wings moving forward. This deal will take him right to unrestricted free agency next summer though, meaning he’s playing for his future from the moment training camp starts.

After resolving their arbitration case, the Red Wings will receive a short buyout window later this week.

Detroit Red Wings, Jake Walman File Arbitration Figures

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With their hearing set for Thursday, the Detroit Red Wings and Jake Walman have filed arbitration figures. The team is looking for a two-way deal that would pay Walman $775K in the NHL and $225K in the AHL, while Walman has filed for $1.7MM, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Remember, there is almost always a significant gap between the two asks. Unlike some other sports, the neutral arbitrator does not need to pick one side or the other in the hearing, and can instead award a salary somewhere between the two. So far, only Yakov Trenin has seen his arbitration process reach a hearing. The Predators forward received a deal worth $1.7MM, between the team filing of $1.35MM and his own of $2.4.

Unlike in Trenin’s case, when the Predators chose a two-year award, the Red Wings only have the option for a one-year contract with Walman, as he is now 26 and just a year away from unrestricted free agency. He also doesn’t have much of an arbitration case, having played just 76 games in the NHL.

Still, if it gets to a hearing, the two sides will have to stop negotiating. A change in the CBA from 2020 made it so that once a hearing begins, the player is no longer able to agree to another deal. The clock is ticking for Walman and the Red Wings if they want to get a multi-year deal done.

This is the final arbitration case to be heard this summer.

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