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Penguins Injury Notes: Petry, Bonino, Poehling

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For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost the services of defenseman Jeff Petry. The 35-year-old played just three shifts in the first period before he exited the game after taking an elbow from Tyler Motte. Petry also exited Tuesday nights 6-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens with an apparent injury. Petry’s injury luck in the last two games has forced the Penguins defense to play shorthanded in back-to-back games, leaning heavily on Kris Letang who himself has dealt with a series of health issues this season.

If Petry is out for any length of time it would be likely that recent healthy scratch Chad Ruhwedel would draw back into the Penguins lineup. The Penguins do have Mark Friedman and Ty Smith stashed in the minors but would need to move Nick Bonino onto LTIR to call up either player. Ty Smith was quite good in limited NHL action earlier this season, however the young defenseman is still week-to-week with a facial fracture.

In other Penguins injury news:

  • Seth Rorabaugh is reporting that Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told tonight’s MSG broadcast that Pittsburgh expects center Nick Bonino to be back by the playoffs. Bonino was re-acquired on trade deadline day by the Penguins to center their fourth line but was only able to dress in a handful of games after spending most of the season with the San Jose Sharks. Jeff Carter has taken Bonino’s spot on the fourth line in recent games but has struggled mightily going -4 in just 8:28 of ice time on Tuesday against Montreal.
  • Ryan Poehling did return to action tonight after missing over a month with a lingering upper body injury. The young forward saw duty on the fourth line next to Jeff Carter and Josh Archibald. Poehling’s return could create an interesting situation on the Penguins fourth line should Jeff Carter continue to struggle. Poehling was centering the unit earlier in the season prior to the injury and showed good chemistry with Drew O’Connor and Danton Heinen.

East Notes: Penguins, Kravtsov, Cassels, Puistola

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There should be some good news on the horizon for the Penguins on the injury front.  As relayed by the team’s Twitter account, GM Ron Hextall indicated that the hope is that center Teddy Blueger will be ready to be activated from LTIR on Saturday, the first day he’s able to come off.  What initially started as a day-to-day injury back in training camp has now cost the 28-year-old the better part of a month of action as he has yet to play this season.  His pending return will be a welcome one as Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette adds (Twitter link) that middleman Jeff Carter is missing his second straight game tonight due to a lower-body injury; if that issue lingers, Blueger would likely slide right into his spot in the lineup.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • Going to the AHL has been a point of contention for Rangers winger Vitali Kravtsov in the past. However, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that he should give some consideration to doing so if New York approaches him about a conditioning stint once he’s cleared to return from his current upper-body injury.  This season has seen multiple stops and starts already which is hardly ideal for a young player that’s trying to get reacclimated to playing in North America.  A conditioning stint – which can last for up to two weeks and would not require waivers – would give him a chance to ease into a few games which would be preferable for New York but the 22-year-old would have to agree to go down there.
  • After inking Cory Conacher to an AHL tryout deal earlier this week, the Senators made another AHL signing today, announcing that they’ve inked forward Cole Cassels to a one-year, minor league contract. The 27-year-old has spent time in Vancouver, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and Columbus but has yet to secure an NHL opportunity.  Cassels started the season in Sweden’s second division but now will have a chance to play a lot closer to home.
  • Hurricanes prospect Patrik Puistola has signed a one-year extension with Jukurit through the 2023-24 season, the Finnish team announced. The 21-year-old was a third-rounder back in 2019 (77th overall) and is off to a nice start to his season with nine points in 17 games.  Notably, Carolina only has until June 1st to sign Puistola to an NHL deal and the fact he is already signed in Finland now for next year probably won’t help his chances of landing an entry-level contract.

Snapshots: Zegras, Carter, Benning

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The NHL Department of Player Safety today fined Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras $1,500 for slashing San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Benning during last night’s game. Zegras was assessed a minor penalty for slashing on the play.

It’s the second fine issued today after New York Islanders forward Casey Cizikas escaped with a fine instead of a suspension stemming from his collision with Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock. Thankfully, Benning was not injured on this play. The Ducks will be ecstatic that no further discipline was awarded to Zegras, who’s second on the struggling team with eight points in 10 games.

Metro Notes: Bernier, Carter, York

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The New Jersey Devils have rocketed to the top of the Metropolitan Division standings to start the season, largely in part due to the team’s suffocating possession game. Goaltending has remained a concern for the team to start the year, but they could get a potential third option back somewhat soon. Head coach Lindy Ruff noted to reporters today, including Devils reporter and content creator Amanda Stein, that Jonathan Bernier is “progressing” from a hip injury suffered over 10 months ago.

Ruff said the team will make a decision on when Bernier is ready to play again and when to get him into some games. The 34-year-old netminder played just 10 games last season after signing a two-year contract. With Mackenzie Blackwood posting a concerning .871 save percentage to start the year, a resurgence from Bernier could have him force his way back into an NHL tandem job. For now, he remains on long-term injured reserve as he works toward what would be an impressive comeback.

  • Pittsburgh Penguins center Jeff Carter is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury suffered Saturday against Seattle, according to head coach Mike Sullivan. Carter did not practice today and it’s doubtful he’ll suit up for the team tomorrow at home against Boston. Drew O’Connor, who the Penguins recalled from the AHL today, served as Carter’s fill-in at the third-line center position today during practice between Danton Heinen and Kasperi Kapanen. Carter was in the midst of a strong start to the season, recording two goals and four assists for six points in nine games.
  • Top Philadelphia Flyers defense prospect Cam York, currently in the AHL, suffered a lower-body injury yesterday when Lehigh Valley took on the Hershey Bears, according to Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr. The 21-year-old is listed as day-to-day. After failing to crack the team out of camp despite playing 30 games with Philadelphia last season, York has four points in seven games with Lehigh Valley and a -2 rating to start the year.

East Notes: Maple Leafs, Rangers, Penguins Injuries, Stevenson

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When Toronto lost of a pair of depth defensemen to injuries earlier this week (one of them a long-term injury), the team started calling around the league to inquire about of some of the veterans currently on PTOs, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports in the latest Insider Trading segment.  The Maple Leafs could sign one of those players on a tryout elsewhere as teams rarely stand in the way of someone getting a guaranteed contract but their search for extra depth could also have them monitoring the waiver wire over the next couple of weeks.  The re-signing of Rasmus Sandin will help but with Jake Muzzin and Timothy Liljegren already out on top of Wednesday’s two injuries, Toronto could certainly still use some depth on the back end.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • It is believed that the Rangers have reached out to the representatives for winger Alexis Lafreniere and defenseman K’Andre Miller in the hopes of beginning discussions on contract extensions, notes Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Both players will be finishing their entry-level deals this season and with New York’s cap situation, they may have to work out short-term bridge agreements with both of them.  Lafreniere had 19 goals and 31 points in 79 games last season while Miller had 20 points in 2021-22 while logging over 20 minutes a night for the second straight year.
  • The Penguins are listing centers Jeff Carter and Teddy Blueger as day-to-day, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Carter suffered an upper-body injury in an intrasquad scrimmage last weekend while Blueger was injured in a scrimmage on Tuesday.  Meanwhile, prospect forward John Gruden and veteran blueliner Taylor Fedun are also listed as day-to-day with undisclosed ailments.
  • The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Clay Stevenson underwent surgery to repair an injury on his right hand. The procedure carries a recovery time of four-to-six weeks.  The 23-year-old will begin his professional career this season after spending the 2021-22 campaign with Dartmouth where he posted a .922 SV% in 23 games.

Metropolitan Notes: Rangers Cuts, Goodrow, Carter

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The Rangers have made their first training camp cuts, announcing (Twitter link) that the following players were sent back to their respective junior teams:

F Sam Alfano (Erie, OHL)
F Maxim Barbashev (Moncton, QMJHL)
F Jayden Grubbe (Red Deer, QHL)
F Bryce McConnell-Barker (Soo, OHL)

Barbashev, Grubbe, and McConnell-Barker are all unsigned prospects and will look to have big seasons at the junior level to help them try to earn an entry-level deal; Grubbe has until June 1st to sign if the Rangers want to retain his rights.  Alfano, meanwhile, was in camp on an ATO and has been released.  With two of the three CHL leagues already starting their regular seasons, other teams may soon be following suit with some of their junior players.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Still with the Rangers, forward Barclay Goodrow is expected to join the team at practice tomorrow, relays Arthur Staple of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran is working his way back from an ankle injury and has been skating away from the team, including today, in an effort to make sure the injury has fully healed before participating in team exercises.  Goodrow is coming off a career year that saw him put up 33 points in 79 games last season, his first with New York.
  • The Penguins announced (Twitter link) that center Jeff Carter left today’s scrimmage early and is being evaluated for an upper-body injury. The 37-year-old had a strong performance last season with 45 points in 76 games while posting his best point-per-game rate since 2017-18 and losing him for any extended period would certainly be an early blow for Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Jeff Carter

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed Jeff Carter to a two-year contract extension, avoiding unrestricted free agency this summer. The deal will carry an average annual value of $3.125MM and includes a full no-movement clause. Carter is in the final season of an 11-year, $58MM deal that was signed back with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 and currently carries a cap hit of just over $5.27MM, half of which is retained by the Los Angeles Kings.

That means this new deal actually increases the cap hit for the Penguins, but with Carter’s performance since he arrived in Pittsburgh, it is deserved. The 37-year-old has been excellent in his short time there, scoring 21 goals and 37 points in 50 games. He’s also continued to be the versatile forward he has been since 2005, able to line up at center or the wing, engage physically or play a skilled role on the powerplay. Carter has now played 1,130 games during his long, successful career, and broke the 400-goal mark earlier this season.

Ron Hextall, who has been linked to Carter in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia over the years, released a statement on the extension:

Jeff’s experience and versatility have made him a valuable addition to our team. In addition to his on-ice contributions, his team-first attitude has made him a leader inside our locker room and we are happy to have him under contract for two more years.

Just this month Carter told reporters that he hoped to play a few more years, not ready to hang up his skates just yet. He’ll now be in Pittsburgh for the next few years at least, helping Sidney Crosby and company try to take home another Stanley Cup.

It’s an interesting move for the Penguins and one that seems to signal that any thought of a rebuild will have to wait. The team is still in win-now mode after a brilliant recent stretch and is ready to commit to this core group. Signing a 37-year-old to an extension partway through the season isn’t a very common occurrence, but for the Penguins, they obviously wanted to avoid any chance of losing Carter in the offseason.

Still, the faith they are showing in him comes with some risk. Carter is in his 17th season in the NHL and though he is currently still an effective option, that doesn’t necessarily mean he will be in 2024. The management group in Pittsburgh must know that Crosby and Evgeni Malkin–a free agent himself this summer–only really have a few years left of being among the best players in the world though, meaning they have a limited chance to surround them with talent. By 2024, the window may already be closed, meaning a slight overpayment for a declining forward won’t be the end of the world.

Malkin’s future stands out as the next item on the docket for Hextall and the rest of the Penguins front office, but he’s certainly not alone. Kris Letang and Bryan Rust are also pending unrestricted free agents, along with several other depth players. With Carter locked up the team knows it has a middle-six center option to slot in behind Crosby, but there are a lot of other uncertain pieces in Pittsburgh right now.

Bob McKenzie of TSN was first to break the news. 

Snapshots: Staal, Carter, Reichel

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It wasn’t so long ago that Eric Staal was scoring 42 goals during the 2017-18 season for the Minnesota Wild. A 22-goal and a 19-goal campaign followed, but then 2020-21 was a mess. He started with the Buffalo Sabres before ending up with the Montreal Canadiens, struggling in both cities.

Now, as he prepares to represent Canada at the Olympics instead of playing in the NHL, Staal is expected to sign an AHL professional tryout contract with the Iowa Wild, according to Ken Campbell of Hockey Unfiltered. Staal hasn’t been officially named to the roster yet, but without any professional games to his name this season he’ll need some sort of competitive action to prove he’s ready.

  • Speaking of Canadian Olympians getting closer to the end of their playing days, Jeff Carter recently turned 37 and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. When Josh Yohe of The Athletic asked him about whether or not tomorrow’s Pittsburgh Penguins game would be the last time Carter plays in Los Angeles, the veteran forward suggested he is still hoping to play a few more years. Carter is having another strong year for the Penguins with 11 goals and 20 points in 29 games, and certainly appears as though there is more for him to give over the next few seasons. Now going on more than 1,100 games at the NHL level, the veteran forward will be an interesting case to follow this offseason should he hit the open market.
  • On the other end of the spectrum is Lukas Reichel, who was recalled to the Chicago Blackhawks taxi squad today. Interim head coach Derek King confirmed to reporters including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago that Reichel’s NHL debut will come tomorrow night and it certainly seems like he’ll be a legitimate part of the gameplan. The 20-year-old forward was practicing with Patrick Kane and Dylan Strome today, but King did caution that “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” in terms of developing prospects, and that he’ll likely be sent back down after a few games. Reichel has 20 points in 20 games in Rockford and was the 17th overall pick in 2020.

Metropolitan Notes: Penguins, Georgiev, Hofmann, Kotkaniemi

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The Penguins received some good and bad news on the COVID front today.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Evan Rodrigues has been removed from protocols but center Jeff Carter has been placed in COVID protocol.  Rodrigues is in the middle of a career year for Pittsburgh with 23 points in 30 games while seeing regular minutes on the top line so he’ll be a welcome return.  Meanwhile, it’s the second time this season that Carter has been placed in COVID protocol.  The veteran is having a nice year in a top-six role, notching 17 points in 27 games so far.  Pittsburgh currently has eight players in COVID protocol.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • While Rangers goaltender Alexandar Georgiev isn’t thrilled about his current lack of playing time, Arthur Staple of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that the team is unlikely to trade the netminder in advance of the March 21st trade deadline. With Igor Shesterkin’s injury history and the fact that Keith Kinkaid is their next best option, Georgiev may very well be more valuable to New York as an insurance policy than as a trade chip.  Accordingly, a move in the offseason when their cap situation gets trickier and more replacements are available seems like a better time for the netminder to be moved.
  • Blue Jackets winger Gregory Hofmann has taken a leave of absence for personal reasons, notes Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has seven points in 24 games in his first NHL season after his rights were acquired from Carolina last season.  His wife is expecting the birth of their first child soon so there is no firm date yet for his return.
  • While there was plenty of speculation at the time that Jesperi Kotkaniemi signed his one-year, $6.1MM offer sheet with Carolina that the framework of a longer-term extension was also discussed, GM Don Waddell told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that there have been no discussions on that front as of yet. The 21-year-old is eligible to sign an extension as of Saturday but is off to a quieter start than he and the Hurricanes were hoping for as he has 14 points in 30 games this season while playing just 12:15 per game.  As a result, finding a price tag that both sides are comfortable with for a long-term contract may be difficult at this point.  Carolina will need to tender a $6.1MM qualifying offer this summer if no extension is reached by then.

Pittsburgh Penguins Activate Bryan Rust Off Injured Reserve

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The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to slowly work their way back towards full health, activating right wing Bryan Rust from injured reserve today per a team release.

Rust was placed on injured reserve on October 16 after playing in just two games. He’ll undoubtedly return to the team’s top line, which currently consists of Jake Guentzel and Jeff Carter as captain Sidney Crosby remains in COVID-19 protocol.

It’s been a rocky start to the season for Pittsburgh, who have dealt with injuries to every single one of their core players this season. Evgeni Malkin has yet to play, Crosby’s played in just one game, Carter’s played only six, Kris Letang has played five, and Guentzel has missed one game out of a possible nine.

They’ve been buoyed early by a resurgent start from goaltender Tristan Jarry, who’s managed a .930 save percentage in seven games this season.

Dominik Simon, who’s averaged just 10:40 per game this season despite scoring four points in eight games, is a likely candidate to sit in the press box to make room for Rust in the lineup.

Rust returns to full health aiming to score 20 goals for the third straight season as he enters the final season of a four-year deal paying him $3.5MM per season. He’s set to earn a sharp raise on that deal, regardless of his home next season.

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