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Injury Notes: Eichel, Pietrangelo, Bruins, COVID

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Jack Eichel is leaving Buffalo… to get a second opinion on his injury. The Sabres superstar has been dealing with a lingering upper-body injury this season, which was aggravated on Sunday according to The Athletic’s John Vogl. Eichel returned to Buffalo while his team took on the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and now as they head home, Eichel is leaving to see a specialist. It is still unknown what exactly is bothering Eichel and there have been contrasting reports as to its severity. While head coach Ralph Krueger stated that Eichel may miss only a week, other sources claim that the injury could be much more severe. Seeking a second opinion is certainly not an indication that this is an ailment that only requires a week of rest. Fortunately (?), the Sabres’ season is already lost and they have no reason to bypass proper treatment and rehab for Eichel in order to rush him back to action. While the All-Star center surely would like to return and improve upon a dismal season by his standards, there should be no pressure from the team. Perhaps only Krueger, the optimistic voice on Eichel’s injury, stands to gain from his quick return, as the head coach’s seat is very hot.

  • Alex Pietrangelo has also left his team, abandoning the Golden Knights’ road trip in order to return to Las Vegas, head coach Peter DeBoer tells NHL.com’s Danny Webster. Pietrangelo is out “for the foreseeable future” due to an upper-body injury. Pietrangelo left the Knights’ Saturday tilt with the San Jose Sharks after blocking a shot and did not suit up on Monday. While the team has not disclosed the specific injury that their big off-season addition suffered, it is believed to be related to his left hand or wrist. DeBoer stated that he does not think that Pietrangelo will be out “long, long-term” but did say that there is not timetable for his return.
  • The Boston Bruins have suffered through consistent injuries all season long and there is still a lack of concrete information on their extended absences. GM Don Sweeney spoke to the media and attempted to provide some insight, but had few details to offer. Forward Ondrej Kase, acquired at the 2020 trade deadline, has been out since the Bruins’ second game of the season after suffering his third head injury in a calendar year. He has resumed skating and is “eager to play”, but there is still no timetable for his return as they work him back cautiously from another concussion. Kase was expected to provide secondary scoring for the Bruins this season, which has again been a struggle for the team, and they will likely have to make a call on adding a forward at the trade deadline before they get to see much of Kase back in action. Sweeney also addressed the status of another injury-prone player, Kevan Miller. Miller missed all of last season with a fractured kneecap and recently suffered a “setback from a volume standpoint”, likely overworking his surgically-repaired knee. An absence from Miller, even just due to rest, is not unexpected but Sweeney stated that he too has not timeframe for a return. Jeremy Lauzon, who suffered a broken hand late last month, was given more of a ascertainable timeline to return, but according to Sweeney he appears to be on track to return later in his four-to-six-week window. Lauzon has already missed over two weeks following surgery, but he reportedly will still not be re-evaluated for another four weeks. As for Brandon Carlo, whose recent head injury was well-publicized, Sweeney offered no update other than to say he is feeling better, but not skating.
  • The NHL has done a tremendous job of working their COVID Protocol Related Absences list down to just a handful of names over the past week or so. The league finally appears to have a handle on the virus, just in time for many players to soon start receiving vaccines. However, Coronavirus continues to rear its ugly head in other corners of the hockey world. On Wednesday night, an AHL game between the Binghamton Devils and Lehigh Valley Phantoms was suspended after the first period due to COVID-19 protocols affecting the Devils, NHL.com’s Mike Morreale reports. At the college level, the ECAC announced that Clarkson University, ranked second in the conference and 14th nationally, will be forced to end their season due to COVID. Not only will Clarkson miss out on both the ECAC and NCAA Tournaments, but the ECAC is now left with just three teams playing two games to determine a conference champ, with their Ivy League members also not competing this season. Clarkson becomes the second program, after Merrimack College, forced to end their season prematurely due to COVID.

East Notes: Mittelstadt, Trouba, Miller

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It has been a tough first few professional seasons for Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt.  A productive forward in his lone college campaign, the 22-year-old hasn’t been able to have much success offensively since turning pro.  However, he has spent most of his eight games with Buffalo on the wing this season instead of his natural center position with head coach Ralph Krueger telling Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that he’s pleased with Mittelstadt’s progress so far.  Krueger went as far as stating that Mittelstadt “looks to be crystalizing into more of a winger than a centerman”, something that may wind up being best for him down the road.  While he was drafted to play down the middle, Jack Eichel and Dylan Cozens are their one-two punch for the future and with Mittelstadt being waiver-eligible next season, Buffalo needs to find a permanent spot for him in their lineup before too long.  If that’s the wing, that’s a better outcome than him languishing down the middle.

Elsewhere in the East Division:

  • The Rangers activated defenseman Jacob Trouba off injured reserve, USA Today’s Vincent Z. Mercogliano was among those to note (Twitter link). The blueliner had missed the last eight games due to a thumb injury and actually came back quicker than expected.  Initially given a four-to-six-week recovery timeline, Trouba missed only three weeks of action.  New York will be expecting more from him offensively though as he has just three assists (and no goals) in 14 games heading into tonight’s contest.  To make room for Trouba on the roster, Artemi Panarin was designated as a non-roster player as his leave of absence continues.
  • Boston defenseman Kevan Miller is expected to resume skating sometime this coming week, relays Eric Russo of the Bruins’ team website. Miller was placed on IR midway through last month as his surgically-repaired knee was acting up but it appears that rest was all that was needed.  The 33-year-old has played in 15 games this season and is averaging 18:39 per game but given the recurrence of pain in that knee, the team may be better off giving him a smaller workload when he is able to return.

East Notes: Crosby, Ristolainen, Bruins

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Tonight is a milestone game for Penguins center Sidney Crosby as he plays in his 1,000th career NHL contest, all in a Pittsburgh uniform.  However, with the team struggling, some have speculated as to whether or not the 33-year-old would be better off or happier with a trade.  Speaking with reporters including NHL.com’s Wes Crosby, the captain tried to downplay that, reiterating his desire to stay with the that drafted him first overall in 2005:

Nothing’s changed. [The rumors are] definitely kind of a new subject that I’ve had to deal with and hear about a little bit. But I love playing here. This is where I’d love to play for the rest of my career. So I can’t really control what’s said or rumors or things like that, but that’s just kind of how I approach it.

Crosby is off to a bit of a slower start by his standards having averaged over a point per game in all of his first 15 NHL seasons but still sits second in scoring on the Penguins this season with six goals and seven assists in 15 games.

Elsewhere in the East Division:

  • While Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is off the CPRA list, he’s not expected to join the team on their current road trip and remains out indefinitely, Lance Lysowski and Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News report. The 26-year-old had a particularly rough case of the virus and head coach Ralph Krueger indicated that it will be a “long process” for the blueliner to return to the lineup.  Ristolainen was off to a strong start to his year with six points in ten games while logging over 23 minutes per night but it appears that he will be out for a while yet.
  • The Bruins will be without center David Krejci and defenseman Kevan Miller for their outdoor game at Lake Tahoe tomorrow, notes Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette (Twitter link). Krejci is dealing with a lower-body injury sustained on Thursday versus New Jersey while Miller’s absence is believed to be more for rest as he works his way back from missing all of last year.  Jack Studnicka and Urho Vaakanainen were both recalled to Boston’s taxi squad yesterday.

Injury Notes: Patrick, Dallas, Colorado, Marchand

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The Philadelphia Flyers had a welcome face join them for the first on-ice session of training camp today. Nolan Patrick, who hasn’t played an NHL game since April of 2019, was present and taking part in practice. In fact, he’s even cleared for contact and says he’s feeling better every day as he recovers from the migraine issues that kept him off the ice for so long.

Patrick, the second overall pick from 2017, is still just 22 and could be a big part of the Flyers lineup this season should his health hold. Without any leverage in negotiations, he accepted a one-year contract at his qualifying offer salary of $874,125. Even if he never becomes the top-line center they hoped for, Philadelphia can still certainly use a bargain in the middle-six.

  • The Dallas Stars were without two postseason standouts as camp opened, announcing that Anton Khudobin is still dealing with some immigration issues and Joe Pavelski is listed as day-to-day pending further examination results on an undisclosed injury. Remember, with such a short training camp this year every day is even more important, meaning there may be some extra rust to shake off for Dallas early on.
  • Speaking of missing important time, five Colorado Avalanche players were deemed “unfit to play” today and head coach Jared Bednar wasn’t sure when they would be back. Gabriel Landeskog, Brandon Saad, Erik Johnson, Philipp Grubauer, and Keaton Middelton (AHL contract) were all held out, though the exact reasoning was not given. The first four are obviously extremely important to the Colorado lineup, so hopefully they can get back on the ice before long.
  • While David Pastrnak wasn’t on the ice and will still miss the first part of the regular season, the Boston Bruins had Brad Marchand out there in his familiar place next to Patrice Bergeron. Marchand is coming back from sports hernia surgery in September and explained today that he had been dealing with the injury for the last two and a half years. The veteran forward also spoke about Kevan Miller’s return to the ice with the Bruins, calling him an “animal” and saying that he hasn’t missed a beat. Miller last played an NHL game in April of 2019 and has had multiple major surgeries in the interim. He signed a new one-year, bonus-laden deal with the Bruins in October.

Atlantic Notes: Montour, Miller, Andersen

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The Sabres paid a steep price to acquire Brandon Montour from Anaheim last February with young defenseman Brendan Guhle and a first-round pick going the other way.  He was expected to be a core part of their back end but has struggled the point where he was considered a possible candidate to not be tendered a qualifying offer back in October.  The two sides eventually settled on a one-year, $3.875MM contract, walking him to unrestricted free agency next summer.

Part of the reason for his struggles may have been the fact that he often played his off-side.  Accordingly, with Buffalo’s back end remaining intact for the upcoming season, he has spent a lot of his extended offseason training with a focus on playing that off-side, notes Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.  Montour will need a strong season to have a chance of commanding his current salary on the open market next offseason, one that will likely be as tough to navigate as this one so there is definitely plenty at stake as he tries to re-establish himself as a core defenseman for the Sabres.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller is expected to be ready to suit up on opening night, whenever that day comes, relays Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran missed all of last season due to recurring knee injuries and wound up re-signing for a guaranteed $1MM plus another $250K roster bonus and $750K in games played in playoff bonuses.  While he’s a right-shot defender, he could be called upon to help cover the departures on the left side of Torey Krug (St. Louis) and Zdeno Chara (still unsigned).
  • TSN’s Travis Yost profiles the tricky decision that the Maple Leafs will soon face regarding goaltender Frederik Andersen, a pending unrestricted free agent. With so much of their money tied up in their top forwards, they’re not in a position to be able to afford a high-priced goaltender but before last season, he had put up some strong numbers.  Now 31, Andersen will be looking to show that his dip (which included a career-low .909 SV%) was an outlier and not a sign of things to come.

Bruins’ Kevan Miller Expected To Start 2020-21 Healthy

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It has been a rough couple of years for Kevan Miller. The Boston Bruins defenseman missed the entire 2019-20 season with a fractured kneecap, an injury that incurred setback after setback. The season prior, 2018-19, was when the kneecap injury initially occurred, causing Miller to miss the team’s regular season finale and all 24 postseason games as they reached Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Final. It was his fourth different injury of the season, as he was able to play in just 39 games. In that limited action, Miller’s play reflected someone who was never quite at 100% and paled in comparison to his previous seasons.

Miller can only hope that 2020-21 will be different and that obviously starts with his health. He tells Ty Anderson of The Sports Hub that things are trending in the right direction:

I’m doing really well. Knee is feeling great, body is feeling great. Obviously, had a lot of time to get things in order. I’m making really good progress. I’ve been skating two to three times a week. I’ve been training. I’m really, super excited to have the opportunity to play again. If we were playing right now, I wouldn’t be cleared. But come puck-drop, I definitely will be. I have no doubt in my mind I will be 100 percent by then.

If there is any reason to believe Miller’s hopeful statement, it’s because the Bruins did. Boston rushed to re-sign Miller on the first day of unrestricted free agency, despite not having seen him play since April 2019. They also didn’t just hand him a minimum-salary “show me” deal, either. Miller signed a one-year deal with incentives, yes, but it includes a $1MM base salary and a $250K roster bonus for spending just one day on the active roster. That’s essentially $1.25MM guaranteed with a maximum of $2MM with bonuses.

Boston’s other moves this off-season also reflect some faith in Miller’s comeback. Even after losing Torey Krug, the Bruins have refrained from adding to their defense corps. To this point, they have not even re-signed Zdeno Chara. On paper, this leaves the Bruins very thin on the blue line. Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, and Matt Grzelcyk are returning regulars who will play top-four roles, but the other starting jobs appeared to be up for grabs between another oft-injured veteran in John Moore and promising but unproven prospects Jeremy Lauzon, Connor Clifton, and Jakub Zboril. The team also has veteran Steven Kampfer, first-round prospect Urho Vaakanainen, and high profile college signing Jack Ahcan slated for AHL Providence. The group has some depth, but isn’t exactly loaded with the talent and experience that one would expect from a contender.

A healthy Miller would help with that. Although he has played almost exclusively in the NHL since 2013-14, Miller has just two seasons with 68+ games played, the most recent in 2017-18. Yet, in each of those seasons he averaged over 19 minutes of ice time per game, recorded nearly 20 points, logged over 150 hits and 100 blocked shots, played a key role on the penalty kill, and produced strong plus/minus and possession numbers. Granted, it has been a while since Miller has played a complete season, but his career numbers indicate that at full health he has the ceiling of a top-four shutdown defenseman, a possible Chara replacement even.

However, the caveat to any Miller excitement is that health is never guaranteed, even if he does begin the season at full strength. Miller’s resume reads like a list of all possible hockey injuries, and then some. He’s lost an even 200 regular season games to injury in his career, with ailments including the standard upper-body and lower-body injuries, concussions, and sickness but also multiple injuries to his shoulders and hands as well as a bruised larynx. Miller’s kneecap will be of most concern in the coming season, but the aggressive defenseman has shown a propensity for injury and cannot be trusted for a season-long role even if the knee holds up. A healthy Miller to begin the season is good news for the Bruins, but his presence and peak performance cannot be relied upon.

Boston Bruins Re-Sign Kevan Miller

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Sunday: CapFriendly has clarified how the bonus structure works for Miller this season, including a never-before-seen bonus. As previously reported, Miller’s one-year contract carries a $1MM base salary, but he can earn up to $2MM with bonuses. One of those bonuses is a “roster bonus”. As Miller spent the entirety of the 2019-20 season on the injured reserve, he will retain that label heading into the new season. However, if Miller is finally deemed healthy enough to be activated from the IR and is not assigned to the AHL, he will gain a $250K bonus for spending just one day on the NHL roster. This bonus acts as a signings bonus rather than a performance bonus, meaning when/if Miller is added to the Bruins’ roster, his cap hit will automatically be $1.25MM rather than $1MM. As for his remaining bonuses, they are all tied to games played. Miller can make another $250K for playing in 10 games, $125K for 20 games, $100K for 30 games, and $75K for 40 games.

Friday: No games in 2019-20? No problem. Boston has brought back career Bruin and fan-favorite defenseman Kevan Miller, who missed the entirety of this past season due to injury. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that it is an incentive-laden one-year deal for Miller, who must prove that he is healthy enough to be a contributor once again. If he is able to return to form, Miller can earn up to $2MM including bonuses. If not, he can fall back on a $1MM base salary.

When healthy, Miller has been a solid defensive player throughout his NHL career. An aggressive player who hits hard and often, blocks shots, and has never posted a minus season, Miller can be relied upon in his own end in all situations. Miller has also flashed some modest offense from time to time and has 20-point potential if he were to play a full season.

Of course, the problem is that Miller hardly ever plays a full season. His physical style has led to a number of lingering injuries and even when he is feeling healthy he tends to get hurt by putting himself in harm’s way by blocking shots or starting fights. Overall, Miller has endured a laundry list of ailments, including the broken knee cap that kept him out for over a year. If the Bruins can bring Miller back slowly, perhaps starting him in the minors to begin the year, and can limit his play time when possible, maybe they can keep him healthy and have his effective defense ready for the postseason.

Steven Kampfer Opts Out Of Postseason

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Slipping through the cracks of a refreshingly busy weekend for NHL roster news of many varieties was the announcement that Boston Bruins defenseman Steven Kampfer has joined the list of those players who have opted out of participation in the upcoming postseason. Kampfer took to Twitter to state that he has made the difficult decision not to return to the Bruins for their upcoming postseason run. The veteran revealed that his wife and son suffer from a congenital heart defect that can be complicated by the effects of COVID-19. For that reason, he made a decision that no one can fault him for to put his family’s health and safety first.

Kampfer, 31, is a veteran of 211 NHL games, including ten this season with Boston. While he had not played a major role this season with the Bruins, the team valued his presence last season as they dealt with consistent injury issues on the back end. Kampfer was one of a dozen defensemen to suit up for the Bruins in the 2018-19 season, playing in 35 regular season games as well as three playoff games. His experience and intelligent puck-moving came in handy in tough spots for the Bruins last year and the team rewarded him with a two-year extension last summer. They undoubtedly would like to have him this postseason in case the going gets tough again. Instead, they will have to make do without him for now and hopefully welcome him back next season.

However, the Bruins are in good shape on the blue line, especially given the time off to enter the playoffs fully  healthy for the first time in several years. While the team will be missing Kampfer and Kevan Miller, out all season due to injury, Boston’s training camp roster features ten defensemen with NHL experience. This includes their regular top five of Charlie McAvoy, Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Brandon Carlo, and Matt Grzelcyk, a trio of dependable options to fill out the starting lineup in John Moore, Jeremy Lauzon, and Connor Clifton, and top prospects Urho Vaakanainen and Jakub Zboril. 

Kevan Miller Not Considering Retirement

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Kevan Miller is a free agent at the end of the season, but despite being out due to injury since April of 2019, the 32-year-old defender isn’t ready to pack it in, per Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com.

Miller, currently employed by the Boston Bruins, went under the knife for the fourth time with the most recent procedure on his kneecap. With all that he’s been through, a return to the ice would be a remarkable story. Signed originally by the Bruins six years ago as an undrafted free agent, Miller made a role for himself in Boston – when healthy. The Bruins missed Miller’s presence in the Stanley Cup Final last year, writes Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports, and if he’s able to get himself back on the ice, he could be helpful to a team again.

Still, given the financial implications of the pandemic and Miller’s long history of knee troubles, it would be surprising to see Miller drum up much interest in free agency. That said, there’s absolutely a team out there that should be willing to give him a look – especially at the price point that he’s likely to command. Step one, however, will be for Miller to finish his rehab and get back to life as usual.

Miller had to fight his way onto an NHL team, and that kind of grit extended onto the ice where he’s succeeded as a physical, bruising defender. But that’s the kind of player he is, writes The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa. The intensity is a double-edged sword, helping Miller fight to make himself a role on the ice, while playing a role in the injuries that have kept him from it. Shinzawa provided a quote from Miller, commenting on his style of play: “I don’t have another identity, to be honest with you, especially on the ice. That’s who I am. Who I am on the ice is who I am off the ice. Maybe a little softer off the ice. That’s my bread and butter. I don’t think I’m going to go out there and score 50 goals.”

Nominees Announced For 2020 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

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The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The award has been voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2019.

Past winners of the award include Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), Jaromir Jagr (2016), Devan Dubnyk (2015), Dominic Moore (2014) and Josh Harding (2013).

Below are the nominees from each team:

Anaheim Ducks – Ryan Miller

Arizona Coyotes – Conor Garland

Boston Bruins – Kevan Miller

Buffalo Sabres – Curtis Lazar

Calgary Flames – Mark Giordano

Carolina Hurricanes – James Reimer

Chicago Blackhawks – Corey Crawford

Colorado Avalanche – Ryan Graves

Columbus Blue Jackets – Nathan Gerbe

Dallas Stars – Stephen Johns

Detroit Red Wings – Robby Fabbri

Edmonton Oilers – Connor McDavid

Florida Panthers – Noel Acciari

Los Angeles Kings – Jonathan Quick

Minnesota Wild – Alex Stalock

Montreal Canadiens – Shea Weber

Nashville Predators – Jarred Tinordi

New Jersey Devils – Travis Zajac

New York Islanders – Thomas Hickey

New York Rangers – Henrik Lundqvist

Ottawa Senators – Bobby Ryan

Philadelphia Flyers – Oskar Lindblom

Pittsburgh Penguins – Evgeni Malkin

San Jose Sharks – Joe Thornton

St. Louis Blues – Jay Bouwmeester

Toronto Maple Leafs – Zach Hyman

Vancouver Canucks – Jacob Markstrom

Vegas Golden Knights – Shea Theodore

Washington Capitals – Michal Kempny

Winnipeg Jets – Mark Letestu

Three finalists and the winner will be named at a later date.

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