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Injury Notes: Crouse, Heiskanen, Labanc, Zucker

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It’s bad news for Lawson Crouse and the Arizona Coyotes, as Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports that the forward suffered a broken bone in his hand when blocking a shot last night. Crouse, 24, was having the best season of his career, setting career highs in goals (20) and points (34) through 65 games. The big winger is also a restricted free agent at the end of the year, meaning every goal he scores meant a bigger ask through the arbitration process, if not extended before then.

Morgan adds that Crouse is expected to undergo further evaluation this week, but could miss the rest of the season. Here are some more injury notes from around the league:

  • Miro Heiskanen will be back for the Dallas Stars tonight, head coach Rick Bowness told reporters including Saad Yousuf of The Athletic. He won’t carry his normal load, playing just 15-17 minutes with “situational” partners, as he returns from a bout with mononucleosis. The 22-year-old defenseman normally plays close to 25 minutes, but hasn’t suited up since March 2, and will be eased back into the lineup. It’s certainly good timing for the Stars, who have gone 5-5 in their last ten and risk losing their place in the Western Conference playoff chase if they can’t get back in the win column.
  • San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc could be in the lineup as soon as this weekend, according to Corey Masisak of The Athletic, but the forward will consult with the doctor who performed his recent surgery before being completely cleared for action. Labanc went under the knife in December to repair a dislocated shoulder and has played just 21 games so far this season.
  • Jason Zucker has been cleared for contact and re-joined the Pittsburgh Penguins group in a regular sweater today. Head coach Mike Sullivan called it a “significant step in the process” for the veteran forward, who has played just one game since the middle of December and just 31 total this season. Notably, the Penguins were 13-2-1 in the last 16 games Zucker played before going down to injury and will certainly look like an even deeper forward group when he’s back at full-strength.

East Notes: Penguins, Tuch, Rangers, Murray

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Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith has turned his season around over the past six weeks, posting a 2.18 GAA along with a .933 SV% in six appearances.  In doing so, Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that the netminder has done enough for the team to focus on other upgrades at the trade deadline, especially with the list of affordable veteran upgrades being relatively short.  Pittsburgh is currently well into LTIR with winger Jason Zucker set to be back before the end of the season – he resumed skating today, per Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review – so they’re not really able to use his freed-up space at the deadline.  With limited resources, GM Ron Hextall may be better off trying to upgrade a regular depth spot in the lineup over DeSmith, a player who shouldn’t see much (if any) playing time when the playoffs roll around.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • Sabres winger Alex Tuch left today’s game against Los Angeles after crashing into the post. Fortunately, following the game, head coach Don Granato told reporters, including Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link) that the post-game testing was “as positive as it can be”.  Tuch has certainly impressed after being acquired from Vegas and has collected seven goals and 16 assists in 25 games with Buffalo this season.
  • While the Rangers have been perceived as a team that has some quality trade assets, Newsday’s Colin Stephenson questions how many of those can realistically be moved. The situation between Russia and Ukraine raises questions about whether or not a team will be able to get Vitali Kravtsov out of Russia if they were to trade for him while some of their younger roster players that could move in the right trade – such as goalie Alexandar Georgiev and even forward Filip Chytil – have been inconsistent.  Even with those questions, GM Chris Drury still has ample prospect capital to deal from over the next couple of weeks if he wants to add some players to help New York for the playoffs.
  • The Senators have placed goaltender Matt Murray on injured reserve, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). He had a tough outing against Arizona on Saturday, allowing all eight goals but played the full game.  Anton Forsberg will take over as Ottawa’s starter for the time being while Filip Gustavsson was brought up from AHL Belleville earlier today.  Forsberg has been speculated as a possible trade candidate but if Murray is out for an extended period of time, that could change.

Snapshots: Capitals, Penguins, King

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Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan gave a variety of updates in a midseason presser today, recapped in this article by The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell. First and most concerning is the health status of winger Carl Hagelin, who was hit in the eye with a stick during yesterday’s practice. MacLellan called the injury “serious,” and Hagelin has had surgery within the past day. MacLellan says the examination went in a positive direction, but that the next steps for Hagelin are “still to be determined.” However, it’s possible that winger Anthony Mantha could return to the lineup this week in Hagelin’s absence. Mantha had six points in 10 games this season before going down with a shoulder injury.

More notes on this Wednesday evening:

  • As the Pittsburgh Penguins embark on a tough schedule ahead with a long string of games against playoff teams, they could be getting two reinforcements back in the lineup. Head coach Mike Sullivan says center Teddy Blueger is now taking full-contact practices but will need a few practices more before he’s ready to return the lineup. Winger Jason Zucker “isn’t as close” as Blueger, but will likely return to practice soon. Blueger has been out since late January with a broken jaw, while Zucker has been out with an upper-body injury since around the same time.
  • Newly-named Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson called interim head coach Derek King “definitely a viable candidate” to be the team’s next permanent head coach today. While Blackhawks fans may be frustrated that their management crew won’t see fresh faces, the rebuilding team has kept up a .500 points percentage under King, an impressive feat considering a weak roster and some tough injuries. It would be King’s first NHL head coaching role.

Jason Zucker Undergoes Surgery

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The Pittsburgh Penguins lost Teddy Blueger to surgery yesterday and now they’ve announced another forward will be out long-term. Jason Zucker underwent successful core muscle surgery today at the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia.

Zucker, who had played just one game since December 19, is listed out week-to-week at this time, but the Penguins say that they will have a more accurate timeframe for his recovery in the coming days.

It’s another blow that the red-hot Penguins will need to sidestep as they continue their march up the Metropolitan Division standings, but one that isn’t exactly as devastating as it would have been in Zucker’s early career. In Pittsburgh, he hasn’t really ever been healthy or productive, save for the short stretch after being acquired in 2020, before the original COVID shutdown. In the two seasons since, Zucker has recorded just 31 points in 69 games. Just 13 of those have coming in 2021-22, meaning this isn’t really a key offensive player being pulled from the lineup.

Still, with Zucker earning $5.5MM against the cap, there was hope he would still find the level that made him a 33-goal scorer in 2017-18 with the Minnesota Wild and help the Penguins over the hump. He’s now on long-term injured reserve which opens up some cap space until he returns, but Pittsburgh certainly isn’t getting the kind of production they hoped for when they traded Calen Addison and a first-round pick (and Alex Galchenyuk) to the Wild.

It will be interesting to see what the timeline for Zucker is in the coming days, and when exactly he is expected back in the lineup. Core muscle surgeries are notorious for having negative effects on performance well after a player has been medically cleared to return, meaning the Penguins could probably use that $5.5MM more effectively as the trade deadline approaches should Zucker face a months-long recovery.

Injury Notes: Zucker, Allison, Raffl, DeMelo

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According to CapFriendly, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Jason Zucker back on long-term injured reserve after returning from injury for just one game. He played last Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights, so the team placed him retroactive to January 17th. He’ll now have to miss another 10 games and 24 days, of which he’s already missed two and five, respectively. Zucker had been on LTIR for almost a month already after suffering a lower-body injury. He is once again week-to-week. Zucker is again struggling during his second full season in Pittsburgh, posting just 13 points in 31 games.

More injury news from around the league on this Sunday:

  • Philadelphia Flyers forward Wade Allison suffered an MCL sprain during yesterday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, per head coach Mike Yeo. Allison, one of Philadelphia’s better forward prospects, had already suffered an ACL tear that kept him out at the beginning of the 2020-21 season. Yeo notes, that he believes this MCL injury is on a different knee. It was Allison’s first game of the season for the Flyers after posting four points in seven games with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He’s listed as week-to-week.
  • Dallas Stars head coach Rick Bowness says forward Michael Raffl is out between 10 days and two weeks with a lower-body injury. Raffl’s seen a lot of ice time this year, his first in Dallas, in a checking role alongside Radek Faksa and Luke Glendening, posting nine points in 37 games. Dallas will need to call up a forward to replace him, likely Rhett Gardner or Riley Tufte.
  • Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo sustained an upper-body injury during yesterday’s loss against Boston, per team play-by-play man Dennis Beyak. DeMelo has just four points through 36 games but has still been above the norm defensively. There’s no current timeline for his return.

East Notes: Brannstrom, DeBrusk, Zucker, Bryson

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While Ottawa finds themselves well out of the playoff picture again, Postmedia’s Ken Warren posits that there are still a few players with a lot to play for down the stretch.  One of those is defenseman Erik Brannstrom.  The centerpiece of the Mark Stone trade, the 22-year-old has struggled considerably in Ottawa and has spent most of this season in the minors.  Warren suggests that Jake Sanderson is likely to join the Senators following his college season which could push Brannstrom further down the depth chart to the point where the 15th pick in 2017 could soon be trying to showcase himself for other teams.  Brannstrom is in his final season of waiver exemption and will be a restricted free agent this summer and if he’s made available, he could be an intriguing trade chip for GM Pierre Dorion.

More from around the East:

  • With Boston off to a hot start to 2022 and nothing happening in terms of Jake DeBrusk’s trade request, head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters including Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe that he’s not sure if the request still stands at this point. The 25-year-old has just five goals and five assists in 30 points this season and a change of scenery certainly couldn’t hurt at this point.  However, with his performance not exactly boosting his value, Dupont argues that DeBrusk may be better off realizing that his best situation might be his current one, especially with the Bruins on a run at the moment.
  • Penguins winger Jason Zucker is listed as a game-time decision for their game on Monday in Vegas, notes Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 30-year-old has missed nearly a month due to a lower-body injury that he was trying to play through before being shut down.  He was off to a tough start before the injury with just four goals and seven assists in 30 games but he’s an intriguing addition to a Pittsburgh attack that is getting pretty close to being fully healthy.
  • Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson will miss at least the next two games due to his upper-body injury, relays Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). The 24-year-old sophomore has logged close to 20 minutes a game on Buffalo’s back end this season while collecting seven assists and 34 blocks in 32 games.

Penguins Notes: Malkin, COVID, Recalls

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The day has come for Evgeni Malkin, who will make his season debut for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. The star center has been out all season rehabbing his knee after offseason surgery but now returns to a Pittsburgh lineup that won ten straight before falling to the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

With 48 games left in the regular season, Malkin will have a chance to climb a little further up the all-time points list. He currently sits 63rd with 1,104, just behind Patrick Kane’s 1,119. Both those names could jump over several impressive names, including former teammate Marian Hossa who is 57th with 1,134. Given Malkin recently said that he wants to play several more seasons, there’s no telling how high he’ll climb before eventually hanging up his skates.

  • Unfortunately, Malkin’s return won’t be the only story of the day for the Penguins. Danton Heinen and Zach Aston-Reese have both tested positive for coronavirus and have entered the league’s COVID protocol. They are out for tonight’s game. Head coach Mike Sullivan explained that Heinen is experiencing symptoms, but Aston-Reese is not. The latter could test out of the protocol after five days, while Heinen will need his symptoms to resolve (and provide a negative test after a minimum of five days) before rejoining his teammates.
  • The interesting part for the Penguins is how they’ll make the financials fit, as they actually don’t have the cap space to activate Malkin from long-term injured reserve without sending someone else down. With Heinen, Aston-Reese, and Casey DeSmith all on the COVID protocol, they’ll first have to get cap compliant before using emergency recalls to fill out a lineup.
  • Moving Jason Zucker to LTIR could solve the issue for now but he too is close to a return. Zucker skated with the club today in a non-contact jersey, but Sullivan explained that his status hasn’t changed and is not ready to return just yet. Given Zucker hasn’t played since December 19, his stint on LTIR could be backdated to allow the Penguins to activate him whenever ready.

Snapshots: Jets, Zucker, Sourdif

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The Winnipeg Jets have had their next home game postponed and then are headed out for a four-game road trip, but when they return they’ll be coming back to an empty rink. The province of Manitoba has instituted a 250-person limit on attendance and the Jets responded by announcing that there will be no fans permitted at Canada Life Centre until at least January 11.

That would affect at least two games, January 8 and 10 against the Seattle Kraken and Minnesota Wild. Just as Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic suggested about the Montreal Canadiens, the Jets could potentially petition the NHL to allow them to reschedule those home games for later in the season, trying to avoid lost revenue.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have given Jason Zucker maintenance days throughout the season, so when he was absent from today’s practice it didn’t seem out of place. But when practice ended, head coach Mike Sullivan explained to reporters including Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Zucker will be out on a week-to-week basis with a nagging lower-body injury. That’s a disappointing result, given the team is also dealing with several COVID-related absences right now, but Zucker hasn’t been very effective even when he is in the lineup. With just four goals and 11 points in 30 games, he’s off to a disappointing start to the season. Perhaps some time getting fully healthy will allow him to produce more regularly down the stretch.
  • Justin Sourdif was skating as the extra forward today at Team Canada World Junior practice, and Mark Masters of TSN suggests that it might be because of a hit he threw in yesterday’s game that could result in a suspension. Sourdif, a Florida Panthers third-round pick, was given a two-minute minor for the hit in Canada’s 6-3 win over Czechia.

Pittsburgh Penguins Content With Tristan Jarry As Starter

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Heading into the off-season, the Pittsburgh Penguins seemed destined to bring in a new goaltender. GM Ron Hextall more than hinted at his desire to add an established veteran to the mix alongside young Tristan Jarry, whose play suffered this past season. Yet, the status quo remains in the Pittsburgh net with Jarry and injury-prone backup Casey DeSmith. 

The root of this unexpected lack of change at the goalie position lies in the salary cap. Even with the departures of Jared McCann and Brandon Tanev, the Penguins are still right up against the upper limit. To this point, high-priced trade chips Jason Zucker, Marcus Pettersson, and Mike Matheson have yet to move, which leaves the team with little wiggle room in the free agent market. With what small space they had, the team opted to replace Tanev and McCann with Brock McGinn and Danton Heinen rather than address the goaltender position.

If and when the team is able to clear some space, perhaps adding a goalie will return to the forefront of their off-season objectives. The free agent market has largely been left bare, but the team could target a trade option such as Dallas’ Ben Bishop or Anton Khudobin, while Joonas Korpisalo, Alexandar Georgiev, and Malcolm Subban are other options believed to be available.

However, the team appears to no longer feel that they absolutely must add a goaltender before next season. Speaking with NHL.com’s Wes Crosby, Hextall stated that he believes Jarry is “going to bounce back” to starter quality for the Penguins this season. The 26-year-old did post a .921 save percentage and 2.43 GAA just a year ago, but those numbers fell to .909 and 2.75 this season. Most jarring was Jarry’s poor performance in the playoffs, in which he looked totally outmatched. Yet, Hextall – a former goalie himself – is confident that Jarry can return to form even without competition from a veteran addition. It seems he trusts DeSmith, who should be recovered from off-season surgery in time for the new campaign, as the backup again as well. This newfound confidence could be a product of the lacking talent available elsewhere or perhaps even some optimism for highly-regarded college free agent addition Filip Lindberg. Whatever the reason, the front office has changed their tune and Penguins fans have to hope that it all works out for the team as their championship window begins to close.

Offseason Checklist: Pittsburgh Penguins

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The offseason has arrived for all but a few teams.  It’s now time to examine what those clubs need to accomplish over the coming months.  It’s going to be a busy summer. What is on deck for the Pittsburgh Penguins?

The Pittsburgh Penguins finished first in what was arguably the best division in the NHL this season. The East boasted the likes of the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, and even the New York Rangers, the best team not to make the playoffs. Yet, Pittsburgh finished with 77 points for the fifth-best record in the league despite stiff competition. It seemed like Sidney Crosby and company were primed for another deep playoff run this season. Instead, it all came crashing down quickly in a first-round loss to the Islanders in which Pittsburgh could not counter New York’s smothering approach. The Penguins’ weaknesses were exposed in the postseason and must be addressed in the offseason, but the team currently lacks the flexibility to do much of anything.

Shed Salary

The Penguins cannot start adding until they do some subtracting. Pittsburgh is currently pegged to have just $3.2MM in salary cap space heading into the off-season, a projection that includes just 19 contracts. Forget improving the roster, Pittsburgh needs to create cap space just to preserve their current roster, as key restricted free agents Teddy Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese require new contract and the team will likely try to re-sign impending UFA defenseman Cody Ceci as well. Those three alone will cost well more than $3.2MM.

The Penguins could actually receive some help from the Expansion Draft – if they are lucky. Pittsburgh is likely to expose both forward Jason Zucker and defenseman Marcus Pettersson in expansion; the pair are talented players, but underperformed in 2020-21, especially relative to their substantial contracts. Either player would be a loss for the team, but the added cap space would more than make up for the departure.

If the Seattle Kraken instead grab Aston-Reese, Blueger, or Jeff Carter, the Penguins will be in trouble. Even if the pick is Zucker or Pettersson, new GM Ron Hextall will still likely work the phones in an effort to move some salary. Again, Zucker and Pettersson are both good players and the Penguins will not just give them away, but they could be had for a bargain price this summer as Pittsburgh is desperate to shed salary.

Add a Goaltender

What will the Penguins do if they can open up cap space? Hextall, a former goalie himself, has already hinted that adding a veteran netminder is a priority for Pittsburgh this offseason. It is difficult to look at the team’s postseason collapse and not attribute much of the blame to starter Tristan Jarry. The young keeper followed up a stellar 2019-20 season with a decent regular season this year, but he struggled greatly in the postseason and kept the Penguins out of several games. Backup Casey DeSmith actually outplayed Jarry this season, albeit in lesser games, but he himself is also streaky. More importantly, DeSmith is injury-prone and is not a reliable understudy to Jarry. The Penguins need a reliable veteran presence to push their young starter.

Of course, the popular prediction is going to be old friend Marc-Andre Fleury. The Vegas Golden Knights are also looking to shed salary and who better than Fleury, coming off an incredible season, to return to Pittsburgh to stabilize the net before he rides off into the sunset, retiring as Penguin. It all sounds great, but Pittsburgh taking on Fleury’s $7MM salary is an impossibility and Vegas retaining considerable salary, if any, is unlikely. A return for Fleury is probably not going to happen, but the shared history means it can’t be ruled out compeltely.

More reasonable targets include free agents  Frederik Andersen, Jonathan Bernier, James Reimer, Antti Raanta, Jaroslav Halak or Devan Dubnyk. Even a young UFA like Linus Ullmark or Chris Driedger could see Pittsburgh as a good opportunity to win a starting role and prove they can be a top option. If the Penguins are lucky, the market may actually drive down the salary requirements if there are a number of goalies interested in a great situation to win games and have an open competition in net. While free agency seems like the more viable route, trade options will be numerous and the Expansion Draft could shake up the market. Anton Khudobin stands out as an ideal trade candidate.

Improve the Bottom Six

Another area where Hextall and company have been open about their desire to improve is in their forward corps. The Penguins have no problem scoring, but their two-way play up front was a major concern this season. For Pittsburgh to take a step forward and return to postseason success, they must become harder to play against. That starts with getting better defensive play and physical engagement from their forwards. Hextall has harped on the Penguins needing to be more physical and has talked about adding size and grit this off-season, but it’s more than that. Pittsburgh was poor on the penalty kill this season, did not block shorts (particularly at forward) and their issues at the face-off dot continued through the regular season and into the playoffs. In nearly all facets of defensive play, the Penguins must improve.

With that said, retaining the likes of Blueger and Aston-Reese through expansion, getting a full season of Carter, and getting a healthy season from Brandon Tanev is already a great start to improved bottom-six play. The roster does not need a complete overhaul to improve team defense. That doesn’t mean that they can’t add another impact player though. Mark Jankowski, Evan Rodrigues, and Colton Sceviour were not the answer this season and all three are on their way out of town. The Penguins need to use what little cap space they may have left after re-signing their key free agents and adding a goalie to add another veteran difference-maker to round out the bottom-six.

Decide the Future of Malkin and Letang

What is to become of the Penguins’ long-time core? Crosby is still as good as ever and still signed for several years, but Malkin and Letang are entering the final years of their current contracts. Malkin is coming off a down year by his standards and will spend all summer rehabbing from an injury. Letang continues to show signs of slow but steady decline and is not playing up to his $7.25MM price tag. Yet, both players are still major contributors to the team and franchise icons. The new administration has vowed to stick with them, but for how long? Do they enter the season on expiring contracts and deal with the repercussions? Do they sign them to extensions this summer despite the concerns? Do they trade one? Both? There are major questions that need answering about the veteran stars. The front office does not want to hurt themselves in the short-term by moving on too soon from either one, but they also don’t want to hamstring themselves long-term by throwing out new contracts that aren’t necessarily warranted. It’s a difficult decision and one that will weigh on the team this summer.

 

 

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