Central Notes: Wild, Avalanche, Korchinski
The Minnesota Wild have shared that Jared Spurgeon (lower-body) and Joel Eriksson Ek (broken nose) will both miss the team’s Tuesday night matchup against St. Louis. Forward Marcus Johansson is also questionable with an undisclosed injury, shares Michael Russo of The Athletic. Johansson was absent from the team’s Tuesday morning practice, while both Spurgeon and Eriksson Ek also missed the team’s Sunday game.
Injury news hasn’t favored Minnesota through the early going. The absentees – Spurgeon and Eriksson Ek – stand as two of the most-utilized Wild skaters, each playing over 19 minutes of ice time in the team’s season debut. Eriksson Ek recorded an assist and three shots in the outing, while Spurgeon’s only recorded stat was a pair of shots. The duo are both pillars of Minnesota’s lineup, and they left big shoes to fill when they went down with injuries. The Wild responded by moving Zach Bogosian and Marco Rossi into bigger roles on Sunday, though that outing resulted in an overtime loss to Winnipeg.
Minnesota now not only has to find fill-ins for a pair of top-liners, but could also need a replacement for Johansson’s spot on line-three. Johansson has recorded two points in three games through the early going – one of just five Wild with multiple points so far. It’ll be extra forward Travis Boyd who steps in, should Johansson be downgraded to out.
Other notes from the Midwest:
- The Colorado Avalanche also have a pair of injury updates, announcing that defender Devon Toews (lower-body) is hopeful for the team’s Wednesday game, while forward Jonathan Drouin (upper-body) has been ruled out, per Corey Masisak of The Denver Post. Drouin seemed to suffer an injury in Colorado’s season opener last Wednesday, and has missed both games Colorado has played since. No specifics of his injury have been revealed. Toews also missed Colorado’s most recent game. The specifics of his injury are also unclear, especially with no clear indication of when the injury occurred. Oliver Kylington filled Toews’ role on the top-pair in his’ absence, and stands to continue garnering more minutes should the star sit out once again.
- Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Kevin Korchinski scored a flashy, coast-to-coast goal in the AHL Rockford IceHogs’ season debut, leading to conversations about when Korchinski may be ready to return to the NHL. He played in 76 games on a deprived Blackhawks blue-line last season, but posted a less-than-inspiring 15 points and -39. That prompted Chicago to assign him to the minors to start this season, with Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson telling Scott Powers of The Athletic that the team hopes it’ll boost Korchinski’s confidence. Davidson acknowledged that the team may have asked too much of the rookie last season, and that building up his confidence will be top priority in the AHL. He told Powers, “You just want him to get that confidence back that he had in junior, and that’s going to take time, especially at the pro level.” IceHogs head coach Anders Sorensen agreed with Davidson, adding that he’s encouraging Korchinski to drive the puck downhill and challenge opposing forwards more. The 20-year-old defender certainly showed that ability with his inaugural AHL goal, and could be on a quick route back to the NHL roster once he gains the confidence to do that routinely.
Wild Announce Roster Moves With Joel Eriksson Ek, Jared Spurgeon Out
3:30 PM : Minnesota has issued an injury update, adding that team captain Jared Spurgeon will also miss Sunday’s game with a lower-body injury. He’s been designated as day-to-day. Spurgeon has recorded one assist, four hits, and six blocks through the first two games, while averaging 19:35 in ice time.
3:00 PM : The Minnesota Wild will be without Joel Eriksson Ek in their Sunday matchup against the Winnipeg Jets, as the centerman bears through a head injury, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The team specified that the injury is a broken nose. Eriksson Ek left Minnesota’s Saturday matchup midway through the second period after taking an elbow to the face from Seattle defender Adam Larsson.
Minnesota has utilized an emergency recall on forward Travis Boyd, and sent goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to the minor leagues, in response to Eriksson Ek’s absence.
Eriksson Ek has served in a pivotal role for Minnesota in the early going, recording 20 minutes of ice time and a goal in the team’s season opener, and adding just shy of 12 minutes of ice time before leaving on Saturday. He’s been the Wild’s clear top centerman, deployed alongside the team’s leading scorer Matt Boldy. That’ll be a tough role for Minnesota to fill for even one game, though top youngster Marco Rossi could be in a prime position to step up. He’s recorded two assists on the season while operating in the middle-six, and seems to have added a strong layer to his game this summer. Rossi will compete with Ryan Hartman for the ice time opened by Eriksson Ek.
Meanwhile, Boyd will look for space in the bottom-six after recording two points in the AHL Iowa Wild’s season opener. He scored eight points in 16 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season but had his season in December by a torn pectoral muscle. Boyd had managed a pair of strong seasons with Arizona in 2021-22 and 2022-23, scoring 35 and 34 points respectively. This recall will provide his first chance to work back to that stout scoring since going down with injury.
Morning Notes: Eriksson Ek, Roy, Aston-Reese
Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek didn’t travel with the team to Winnipeg for tonight’s game against the Jets after he suffered an apparent injury in last night’s game against the Seattle Kraken (as per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman). Eriksson Ek was left bloodied after a second-period hit from Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson caught him on the nose. Larsson’s elbow appeared to catch the 27-year-old up high, forcing him to leave the game for the remainder of the second period.
Eriksson Ek attempted to return to the game in the third period and took one shift while wearing a bubble shield on his helmet. He left after one shift and didn’t return or get on the team’s flight after the game. Minnesota head coach John Hynes did not provide a post-game update.
In other morning notes:
- Newly acquired Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Roy left the game last night during his Capitals debut (as per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News). The 29-year-old played his last shift about three minutes into the second period and didn’t appear to suffer any obvious injury. He ended the night playing just 8:39 and Washington announced he would not return near the end of the second period. Roy signed a six-year $34.5MM with the Capitals on July 1st and was expected to be a regular in the team’s top four. He missed just one game over the past two seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Kings.
- Columbus Blue Jackets forward Zach Aston-Reese left last night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche with an upper-body injury (as per Blue Jackets reporter Jeff Svoboda). The 30-year-old appeared to suffer the injury when he was hit up high during his first shift of the night. Aston-Reese was acquired off waivers last week from the Vegas Golden Knights and started the season on the Blue Jackets’ fourth line. The eight-year NHL veteran was hoping to secure an NHL role once again this season after spending almost all of last season in the AHL. Aston-Reese played just three games last year in the NHL with Detroit and remains a strong defensive forward, but brings very little in the way of offense. If he can’t play on Tuesday when Columbus takes on Florida, Dylan Gambrell will likely take his spot.
List Of Players Getting Trade Protection On July 1st
In the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHLPA, the league players can procure three types of No-Move Clauses in their contracts. The only stipulations to these clauses are that the player in question must be 27 years of age or older and must have accrued seven years of service time at the NHL level. The three types of No-Move Clauses are as follows: No Movement Clause (NMC), No Trade Clause (NTC), and Modified NMC or NTC.
Per the current CBA, an NMC means that a player cannot be waived, assigned to minors, or traded without their consent, and they also must be protected in the event of an Expansion Draft. An NTC is straightforward — giving the player protection from being traded without their approval. Lastly, a modified NMC or NTC sets an arbitrary number of teams and a time frame when a player can use this protection. In just over a week, an assortment of players will receive trade protection on their current contracts, and CapFriendly has broken it down.
No Movement Clauses
D Charlie McAvoy (Boston)
F Sebastian Aho (Carolina)
D Devon Toews (Colorado)
F Roope Hintz (Dallas)
D Gustav Forsling (Florida)
F Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota)
F Joel Eriksson Ek (Minnesota)
F Jesper Bratt (New Jersey)
F Timo Meier (New Jersey)
G Ilya Sorokin (NY Islanders)
F Pierre-Luc Dubois (Washington)
No Trade Clauses
F Ross Colton (Colorado)
D Nick Seeler (Philadelphia)
D Vince Dunn (Seattle)
F Clayton Keller (Utah)
D Erik Cernak (Tampa Bay)
D Mikhail Sergachev (Tampa Bay)
Modified No Trade Clauses
F Jordan Greenway (Buffalo) – eight-team no-trade list
F Tage Thompson (Buffal0) – five-team no-trade list
D Rasmus Andersson (Calgary) – six-team no-trade list
D Samuel Girard (Colorado) – nine-team no-trade list
F Miles Wood (Colorado) – six-team no-trade list
F Alex DeBrincat (Detroit) – 16-team no-trade list
F Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles) – 10-team no-trade list
F Nico Hischier (New Jersey) – 10-team no-trade list
D John Marino (New Jersey) – eight-team no-trade list
D Jonas Siegenthaler (New Jersey) – 10-team no-trade list
F Mathew Barzal (NY Islanders) – 22-team no-trade list
D Thomas Chabot (Ottawa) – 10-team no-trade list
F Tanner Jeannot (Tampa Bay) – 16-team no-trade list
F Kyle Connor (Winnipeg) – 10-team no-trade list
Snapshots: Eriksson Ek, Brodin, Matthews, Joshua
Now in do-or-die territory to qualify for the 2023-24 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Minnesota Wild will receive some reinforcements to their lineup tonight. Sarah McLellan of Star Tribune Sports reports that forward Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin will return to the active roster tonight.
Eriksson Ek has missed the last five games for the Wild, who lost two big games to the St. Louis Blues in his absence. As the team’s top center, Eriksson Ek has scored 29 goals and 60 points for Minnesota this year over 66 games played.
Brodin on the other hand, has only missed the last two games for the Wild but has had significant injury concerns throughout this season. Even though he’s only managed to suit up in 51 contests, Brodin still sits second on Minnesota’s blue line with 23:37 ATOI and has scored seven goals and 23 points overall.
Other snapshots:
- One player who may not be in the lineup for the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight is forward Auston Matthews, who is now designated as a game-time decision due to an illness (X Link). Even though Toronto is destined for a third-place finish in the Atlantic Division, it would be a tough blow not to have Matthews in the lineup, as he is still attempting to score 60 goals on the season for the second time in his career.
- In tonight’s potential Western Conference Final preview, the Vancouver Canucks will see the return of a key player, as Dakota Joshua will return to the lineup (X Link). It will be Joshua’s first game back since February 13th, as the Michigan native suffered an upper-body injury in the team’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Evening Notes: Hronek, Eriksson Ek, St. Ivany
There’s always something to look forward to for the Vancouver Canucks, who now have full focus on extending defenseman Filip Hronek after extending star forward Elias Pettersson. This deal should cost the Canucks a pretty penny as well, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggesting in an appearance on CHEK’s Donnie and Dhali (video link) a cap hit within the range of $7.5MM.
Hronek has become a crucial piece of Vancouver’s lineup since joining the team at last season’s Trade Deadline. He’s not only boosted his own impact but made the players around him better as well – serving as the perfect partner for star defenseman Quinn Hughes. Both Hronek and Hughes have recorded a career-high in scoring this season, with 45 and 77 points respectively. The duo is playing upwards of 24 minutes each game – representing the only Canucks pairing averaging more than even 19 minutes of ice time. Hughes is signed through the 2026-27 season, carrying a $7.85MM cap hit. Vancouver will lock up their top defensive pairing for the future if – and hopefully when – they’re able to sign Hronek to a comparable deal.
Other notes from around the league:
- Minnesota Wild centerman Joel Eriksson Ek won’t join the team for the final two games of their California road trip, getting held back by a lower-body injury per The Athletic’s Michael Russo (Twitter Link). Russo adds that Minnesota is holding Eriksson Ek out a bit longer, in an effort to be cautious with his injury. The 27-year-old centerman has missed Minnesota’s last two games. His next chance to return will be on March 23rd when the Wild host the St. Louis Blues. Eriksson Ek’s absence should continue to benefit Marco Rossi’s ice time, after the Austrian played a career-high 20:44 in the team’s last game.
- Jack St. Ivany has been reassigned to the AHL, jumping back-and-forth between the NHL and AHL lineups on a few call-ups since Sunday. (Twitter Link). St. Ivany will hope to receive his NHL debut on his next recall, after serving as an NHL healthy scratch for the first time on Saturday. St. Ivany, 24, has four goals, 12 points, and 30 penalty minutes in 52 AHL games this season – though he hasn’t scored a point since a two-goal performance on February 14th.
West Injury Notes: Martinez, Eriksson Ek, Bjugstad
Alec Martinez is finally back on the ice for practice for the Vegas Golden Knights a short while after being placed on the team’s injured reserve (X Link). Given that he was not in a non-contact jersey this afternoon, it is reasonable to assume that Martinez should be back in the lineup for the Golden Knights soon.
Once Martinez officially returns to the lineup for Vegas, the team will have a really good problem to have. After acquiring Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames on March 7th, the Golden Knights have put themselves in a position to place Martinez on the team’s bottom-pairing comfortably.
Unfortunately, this return likely spells the end of consistent playing time for either Nicolas Hague or Zach Whitecloud. Unless the team opts to run with seven defensemen, either Hague or Whitecloud will serve as a healthy scratch as the Golden Knights look to hang on to the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Other injury notes:
- After missing the team’s game against the Anaheim Ducks with a lower-body injury, it appears that Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek may not join the team on their upcoming road trip to California. Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that Eriksson Ek is still considered day-to-day, and the team was waiting to see how he responded to the next couple of days of practice.
- Earlier this evening, when the Arizona Coyotes matched up against the New Jersey Devils, Nick Bjugstad left the game after having only accrued 7:24 of ice time and did not return (X Link). It will be a tough blow to a Coyotes lineup if Bjugstad is unable to play for the foreseeable future, as he has recently been a focal point of their lineup. In the last 12 games, Bjugstad has scored seven goals and 10 points in total, averaging just over 17 minutes of ice time per night.
Injury Notes: Marner, Eriksson Ek, MacDonald
Missing the team’s most recent game against the Montreal Canadiens, concerns began to arise regarding the status of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner. However, in comforting news surrounding the star forward, it was revealed that Marner was only dealing with a mild ankle sprain, and would take a few more days to fully recover (Article Link).
Down the stretch, with Marner playing in nearly all of Toronto’s games this season, the Maple Leafs may opt to keep him out of the lineup for several games due to load management. Taking into account the recent downturn from the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto now holds a comfortable playoff position in the Atlantic Division by a margin of eight points.
The Maple Leafs could theoretically catch up to the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division race, but they would only be playing for home-ice advantage in the first round, as it is unrealistic to imagine the team catching up with the Florida Panthers. Keeping this in mind, it will be more important that all the star players on Toronto’s roster are fully healthy for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, which will inevitably influence the organizational decision-making over the next several weeks.
Other injury notes:
- Before the team’s game tonight against the Anaheim Ducks, the Minnesota Wild announced that center Joel Eriksson Ek would miss the game due to a lower-body injury. It is a tough loss for Minnesota, as the team has willed their way back into the Western Conference playoff conversation. Eriksson Ek has been a focal point of that effort, scoring four goals and 15 points in his last 12 games for the Wild.
- On a minor note, the San Jose Sharks announced that defenseman Jacob MacDonald would miss the team’s game tonight due to an illness. Recently recalled on March 9th after the Sharks’ trade deadline day moves, MacDonald has played in two games since that transaction. Over the season, on the whole, MacDonald has played in a total of 24 games, scoring six goals and seven points overall.
Injury Notes: Johansen, Eriksson Ek, Jeannot
Ryan Johansen will remain part of the Flyers organization for the rest of the season after there were no takers on the trade or waiver market last week. The Avalanche dumped the underperforming center’s $4MM cap hit through 2025 on Philadephia in last week’s Sean Walker trade, although Flyers GM Daniel Brière has made it clear he doesn’t envision the 2010 fourth-overall pick ever actually dressing for a game in Philly.
That’s partly because Johansen, now on assignment to AHL Lehigh Valley, has been dealing with a nagging hip injury and is being evaluated by team doctors, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports. While he was never going to be an on-ice factor for the squad, this still carries a major implication. If he remains injured through this summer’s buyout period, the Flyers cannot execute one on the final year of his contract as many expect them to. That would leave Johansen on the Flyers’ books for all of next season, although they can reduce his cap hit to $2.85MM by leaving him buried in the minors with Lehigh Valley. If the Flyers did buy him out, his cap hit would be $1.33MM for both the Flyers and Predators in 2024-25 and 2025-26, saving each team a considerable amount of space next season.
Nashville is paying the other half of Johansen’s $8MM AAV deal. They retained half his salary when they traded him to Colorado last summer in exchange for the signing rights to Alex Galchenyuk. The Avs hoped Johansen, a five-time 60-point scorer, could recapture his previous form and be a competent second-line center behind Nathan MacKinnon, but the 31-year-old stumbled and managed only 13 goals and 23 points in 63 games with a -6 rating while averaging 13:19 per game, the lowest since his rookie season with the Blue Jackets in 2011-12.
Other injury notes from around the league on Thursday morning:
- The Wild will be without top center Joel Eriksson Ek for Thursday’s game against the Ducks, but head coach John Hynes confirmed he won’t be absent for long as Minnesota battles to hang on in the Western Conference wild-card race (via Michael Russo of The Athletic). The 27-year-old sustained an undisclosed injury in the third period of Tuesday’s game against the Coyotes and did not return and is listed as day-to-day. Minnesota has not placed him on injured reserve, so he’s eligible to return at any time, but he’s still expected to miss a few games. In the third season of an eight-year, $42MM extension, Eriksson Ek is having a career year with 60 points and a +16 rating in 66 games while averaging 20:39 per game, second only to Kirill Kaprizov among Wild skaters.
- Lightning winger Tanner Jeannot remains absent for tonight’s game against the Rangers, head coach Jon Cooper said (via Chris Krenn of the team’s official site). The 26-year-old has only played once since Jan. 6 as he deals with various injuries, and Cooper said Wednesday that he was likely to make his return to the lineup tonight. The team is being extremely cautious with his return, however, not wanting to risk another aggravation of the injury like his last attempted return. As such, he remains on injured reserve and won’t be activated ahead of tonight’s game.
Joel Eriksson Ek Underwent Surgery, Will Be Ready For Camp
Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek played just one shift in his team’s first-round exit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, sidelined by a lower-body injury sustained during the tail end of the regular season. Speaking during the team’s season-ending media availability today, Eriksson Ek told reporters, including The Athletic’s Joe Smith, that he sustained a broken fibula that “didn’t hold up” during his attempted return in Game 3.
The Wild center had surgery to repair the break and plans to be ready for training camp next season.
Eriksson Ek, the team’s strongest all-around center, was a critical absence in the Wild lineup as they failed to get much offense generated against the Dallas Stars. He notched a career-high 38 assists and 61 points in 2022-23.
Perennially in the Selke conversation, Eriksson Ek’s presence down the middle is a must-have for Minnesota to continue success with a cap-strapped roster next season. The Wild are expecting a breakout campaign from young Marco Rossi next year but need the leadership of Eriksson Ek to maintain playoff positioning.
Eriksson Ek joins pending restricted free agent Mason Shaw as Wild centers sidelined with long-term injuries over the offseason.