Central Notes: Greenway, Girard, Ehlers
After making his return to the lineup on Tuesday, Wild winger Jordan Greenway was scratched for a second straight game last night against Seattle. Head coach Dean Evason told reporters including Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press that Greenway has suffered a setback that will keep him out of the lineup a little longer. Greenway started the year injured, then was reinjured in his season debut last month, and now is banged up once more. Fortunately, Evason clarified that this setback isn’t as serious as last time and he is skating at least. There’s no timeline yet for when he might be able to return.
More from the Central:
- The Avalanche hope that blueliner Samuel Girard can resume skating today as he works his way back from a lower-body injury sustained earlier this week, relays Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has had a bit more limited usage than he has been accustomed to this season as his ATOI is down more than two and a half minutes from last year although he’s still logging over 19 minutes a night. With Bowen Byram also out of the lineup, the depth on Colorado’s back end is getting tested.
- While the Jets were hoping to have winger Nikolaj Ehlers back by now, he hasn’t started skating yet. Head coach Rick Bowness told Postmedia’s Paul Friesen that the 26-year-old hasn’t suffered a setback in his recovery but rather that it’s simply an abundance of caution from the medical staff. Ehlers has been one of Winnipeg’s top offensive performers over the last several years and his return would be a welcome addition to a team that sits 25th in the NHL in goals scored so far this season. However, it appears as if that return is still a little while away.
Snapshots: Wild, Voracek, Carlson, Klok
Minnesota could soon get a key winger back as Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune relays (Twitter link) that the team is optimistic that Jordan Greenway will play in at least half of their upcoming back-to-back next week which begins on Thursday. The 25-year-old missed the start of the season due to an upper-body injury and in his first game back, suffered another upper-body issue on his third shift of the game. Last year, he had 27 points in 62 games for the Wild while chipping in with 155 hits and would be a welcome addition to a team that is banged up when it comes to their forward situation.
To that end, the Wild will recall a pair of forwards before heading out on the road as Ryan Hartman and Brandon Duhaime aren’t expected to make the trip. With Minnesota currently banking cap space, it’s in their best interest to delay formalizing those recalls for at least a couple more days.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- It has been a rough start to the season for the Blue Jackets and things aren’t getting any better as the team announced (Twitter link) that they were without winger Jakub Voracek for the second half of their back-to-back set against Colorado due to an upper-body injury. The veteran is off to a bit of a quiet start this season with just a goal and five assists through his first 11 games. Voracek is being listed as day-to-day.
- Capitals blueliner John Carlson has returned to practice, notes Samantha Pell of the Washington Post (Twitter link). However, while he took part in the full game day skate, he’s not eligible to be activated off injured reserve until Monday but it appears he won’t be out much longer than the minimum time required.
- After having his contract terminated by the Coyotes last month, defenseman Lukas Klok has found his next home as Rogle of the SHL announced that they’ve signed him to a contract for the rest of the season. The 27-year-old signed with Arizona after a strong showing in the KHL but after four games in the minors, he decided that he was better off going back overseas. Klok has quickly become a bit of a journeyman as this will be the sixth different league and country that he has played in since 2018.
Minnesota Wild Re-Assign Steven Fogarty
With the Minnesota Wild off until Tuesday, the team has returned Steven Fogarty to the minor league. The move will save some additional cap space and salary, while also suggesting they could be getting healthy bodies back soon. Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets that Jordan Greenway is expected back in time for the game against the Los Angeles Kings but also notes that two forwards could be recalled if Marcus Foligno and Brandon Duhaime are still unavailable.
Fogarty, 29, was up on an emergency recall and played two games for the team, seeing limited ice time in both. The minor league veteran failed to record a shot on goal and registered three hits. That’s about what is expected of him at this point, given his rare appearances in the NHL. Since turning pro in 2016, he has just 32 games at the highest level and has recorded three points.
Greenway, who started the year on injured reserve, returned for just six shifts in late October before ending up on the shelf once again. The 6’6″ forward is a key part of the Minnesota forward group but needs to find a way to stay on the ice. Last season he had ten goals and 27 points in 62 games but was part of one of the best defensive lines in the NHL, alongside Foligno and Joel Eriksson Ek.
After the team was blown out of the building by the Seattle Kraken last night, they certainly could use a bit of that added defensive identity back in the lineup.
Minnesota Places Jordan Greenway On IR, Activates Jon Merrill
It’s good news and bad news on the injury front for the Wild. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated defenseman Jon Merrill off injured reserve which is the good news. However, the bad news is that winger Jordan Greenway has been placed on IR to make room for Merrill’s return.
Merrill suffered an arm injury while playing for the United States at the World Championship, undergoing surgery soon after. He missed the entire preseason and while he was cleared for contact a little more than a week ago, Minnesota was cautious in bringing him back. The 30-year-old had a career year last season, notching 20 points in 69 games while logging over 17 minutes per night which helped him earn a three-year extension back in January.
As for Greenway, his return to the lineup was short-lived. He was activated off IR back on Thursday but lasted just six shifts before suffering an upper-body injury that evidently will keep him out for at least the next week. The 25-year-old is an important secondary scorer for the Wild that contributes plenty of hits as well but he’ll be waiting a little while before he gets a shot at his second game of the season; Michael Russo of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that the team is still waiting to get an idea of how much time Greenway will miss.
Minnesota Wild Loan Vladislav Firstov To KHL; Recall Mason Shaw
Jordan Greenway‘s return to the Minnesota Wild lineup lasted just six shifts. The bruising forward managed to land four hits during that time, but after leaving with an upper-body injury he was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. Head coach Dean Evason told reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic after the game that Greenway would be evaluated today and won’t play tomorrow afternoon in Boston.
With that news, it makes sense that Mason Shaw is back in the AHL transaction portal and on his way back to the NHL level. Shaw had only been sent down a few days ago when it was clear that Greenway would be returning. More importantly, perhaps, is that the portal also includes Vladislav Firstov, who has been reassigned by the team to Torpedo Nizhny Novogrod of the KHL.
Firstov, 21, was a second-round pick of the Wild in 2019 and signed his entry-level contract in March. The young Russian forward hadn’t played in his home country for years, coming over to spend his draft year in the USHL and then the last three seasons at the University of Connecticut. After just one game with the Iowa Wild this season, he’s apparently on his way back overseas to continue his development in the KHL.
Notably, he remains under contract with the Wild, so this isn’t a long-term plan. But the team will lose at least a bit of control over his deployment and development this season as he plays in Russia. In eight games down the stretch with Iowa last season he managed just two assists, meaning he’ll have to wait even longer for his first professional goal in North America.
Minnesota Wild Activate Jordan Greenway
8:22 PM: Greenway’s current return effort could end up short-lived. The Athletic’s Joe Smith reported that Greenway will not return to tonight’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. Greenway apparently suffered an upper-body injury during play. We will have more information on the nature of this injury as it becomes available.
5:05 PM:When the Minnesota Wild sent forward Mason Shaw back to the AHL yesterday, it was a sign that injured forward Jordan Greenway was nearing a return to the active roster. Today, his return was made official. The Wild have announced that Greenway has been activated off of injured reserve, and he is expected to make his season debut in just a few hours when the Wild take on the Vancouver Canucks.
Greenway, 25, has missed the first few Wild contests recovering from the shoulder surgeries he underwent this summer. The Wild are still looking for their first victory of the season, and the return of Greenway could help them get back into the win column. Last season, Greenway was one third of the team’s “GREEF” line, skating with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno. Together on that line, each of the three players enjoyed extremely successful seasons on both ends of the ice.
While it might take some time for Greenway to return to playing as he did last season, he could represent an immediate improvement to the team’s defensive fortunes if his old line is reunited. The Wild’s ability to keep pucks out of their net has been under great scrutiny in the early days of this season, so getting a true shutdown line back on the ice could go a long way towards righting the ship on that front.
If nothing else, though, the Wild are sure to be happy to have Greenway, ever energetic and hard-working, back on the ice.
Minnesota Wild Reassign Mason Shaw To AHL
The Minnesota Wild announced Wednesday via Twitter that the team has reassigned forward Mason Shaw to the AHL’s Iowa Wild.
With forward Jordan Greenway now ready to go after missing the team’s first three games of the season with an injury, the team had no use for a second extra forward on the active roster. Greenway missed training camp and the beginning of the season as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery.
Shaw is the captain of the Iowa Wild, but he’s also poised to be at the top of Minnesota’s call-up list throughout the season. The 23-year-old does now require waivers, but as he passed through less than 30 days ago, he can be shuttled up and down at will for the time being. He played one game during his call-up, skating just 5:46 in Minnesota’s 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
Top prospect Marco Rossi is set to reenter the lineup now after getting minuscule looks in his first two games of the season, and he could get a shot on a more offensively inclined line between Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy. Connor Dewar will likely be the team’s 13th forward, for the time being, making room for Greenway to return to his checking line role with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno.
Central Notes: Blackhawks, Wild Injuries, Jets
There will be teams that need to clear salary before the regular season gets underway next month. There aren’t many squads that have enough room to take on a contract but the Blackhawks have made it known that they are open to discussing such a move, relays Ben Pope of the Chicago-Sun Times. While Chicago clearly isn’t looking to win now, their impetus for doing such a move would be to pick up some other future assets along with the contract of the veteran player they’d be acquiring. Per CapFriendly, the team has roughly $7.5MM in cap room right now and while they’ll want to leave some wiggle room for injury recalls, they certainly will have enough flexibility left to make this type of trade.
More from the Central where St. Louis and Arizona will play the first-ever NHL game in Kansas tonight:
- The bad news for the Wild is that they’ll be without both defenseman Jon Merrill and winger Jordan Greenway when the regular season gets underway. However, as Michael Russo of The Athletic notes (subscription link), both players are expected back within the first five to ten games of the season. Merrill was injured in the opening game at the World Championship back in the spring while Greenway underwent offseason shoulder surgery with Russo noting that he recently had another procedure done as well. Neither player will be out long enough to be LTIR-eligible but Minnesota has enough cap space to not need the LTIR relief anyway.
- The Jets appear likely to carry eight defensemen on their roster to start the season, suggests Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press. With their six returning regulars from 2021-22, that leaves a couple of roster spots open. Ville Heinola and Dylan Samberg would appear to be the favorites for the final two slots but only if they’re going to be in the top six. That could have newcomer Kyle Capobianco and younger Leon Gawanke (who is now waiver-eligible) on the outside looking in, making them a pair of possible claim candidates in the coming weeks.
Central Notes: Dumba, Greenway, Francouz, Beagle
The availability for Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba heading into the playoffs appears to be uncertain. Michael Russo of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that head coach Dean Evason is calling the blueliner a “wildcard” in terms of his potential readiness for their opening game against St. Louis. In particular, Dumba hasn’t been shooting the puck well. He’d be a big loss for them if he can’t start in the postseason with the 27-year-old logging over 23 minutes a game this season.
Meanwhile, the news is better for winger Jordan Greenway. While he has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game in Nashville, Evason indicated that Greenway is ahead of Dumba in his recovery which suggests he may be able to return to the Wild’s lineup next week. The 25-year-old has 23 points in 59 games this season.
More from the Central:
- Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz left Friday’s game against Edmonton early after being hit in the head with a puck on the bench, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. There’s no word on how long the 31-year-old might be out for but any absence would be significant as Francouz has impressed this season with a 2.52 GAA and .918 SV% in 20 games. Justus Annunen has been recalled from AHL Colorado in a corresponding move.
- Coyotes center Jay Beagle is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, reports PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan (Twitter link). The 36-year-old was injured early in Wednesday’s game against Chicago and has been limited to just 33 appearances this season. While he has been able to win faceoffs at a high level (57.1% this season), Beagle has just two points and has struggled, leading to some questions about his NHL future. To that end, Beagle told Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic earlier this week that he has yet to decide whether to pursue a contract for next season in free agency or to hang up his skates.
Central Notes: Leddy, Wild, Meyers
There was good news and bad news today for the St. Louis Blues. The good news was the team clinched a playoff spot with a 6-5 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild. The bad news was defenseman Nick Leddy taking a high stick near his eye, causing him to leave the game. The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford spoke to Blues’ Head Coach Craig Berube, who said that the incident had blurred Leddy’s vision and he is not expected to play tomorrow against the Nashville Predators.
With the Blues clinching today, the need to have Leddy in the lineup is not so pressing, however the team paid a hefty price to acquire the defenseman, who is rich with playoff experience, to use down the stretch and in the playoffs. Berube did not appear to be overly concerned about this injury, however any time an injury involving a player’s vision comes into question, it can be scary, not only for their playing career, but their life away from the rink too.
- The Athletic’s Michael Russo provided several updates on the Minnesota Wild, per Head Coach Dean Evason. Most notably, Tyson Jost, who took a big hit from Pavel Buchnevich earlier today, will not play tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks for precautionary reasons. Evason also notes that defenseman Jon Merrill is still out of the lineup going forward, having not played since March 31st with an upper-body injury. In more positive news for the Wild, Evason says that forward Jordan Greenway has started skating and star defenseman Mathew Dumba is getting closer to return as well.
- The Colorado Avalanche announced that forward Ben Meyers will make his NHL debut tonight as the Avalanche take on the Carolina Hurricanes at home. Colorado signed the undrafted college free agent earlier this week after his season at the University of Minnesota had come to an end at the hands of Minnesota State. A finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, Meyers figures to provide solid scoring depth for a deep, talented Avalanche team as they head into the playoffs. Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said he plans to have Meyers center Andrew Cogliano and Logan O’Connor in tonight’s game.