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Injury Notes: Stamkos, Borowiecki, Kinkaid

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Steven Stamkos was again skating with teammates this morning, as he inches his way back to the lineup. While there is a good chance the Tampa Bay Lightning captain will return to the ice this season he might not be as effective right away. That’s what Zach Parise told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times a few weeks ago, speaking from experience. Parise had the same surgery on his knee in November of 2010, and though he returned later that year as well, didn’t feel right until the following Christmas.

I’d say it took probably a year and a half to get back to feeling back to normal. That’s what my therapist said, six months to heal, a year you feel better. But to get back to that level for me, I feel like it was almost the following Christmas.

So Stamkos, who may get a chance to help his team in a playoff race—the Lightning are just four points out with 17 games left to play—likely won’t be the elite offensive presence he’s proven to be over the past eight years. Fear not Lightning fans, though Parise says he didn’t feel right until Christmas, he still scored 30 goals and 69 points the year following surgery. It wasn’t all bad.

Nashville Searching For Top-Six Forward, Hesitant At Asking Prices

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The Nashville Predators are currently in the first wildcard spot in the Western Conference, but are by no means guaranteed a playoff position at this point. With 64 points the team can take solace in the fact that it has played only 58 games so far, fewer than most of its contemporaries. As the trade deadline approaches, what should they add to help them down the stretch run?

Well, GM David Poile joined 1025 The Game and said (via Brooks Bratten of NHL.com) ideally they’d add a top-six forward but have worries that it would cost a top-four defenseman. The team isn’t interested in that, after using Seth Jones to acquire Ryan Johansen last season. Poile did say “never say never,” but it would seem they want to stay away from dealing from their blueline this season. The GM says that much of the league is frozen right now, not sure if they should be buyers or sellers this season due to all the close races.

For the Predators, adding a top-six talent would be a huge boost to a squad that has had trouble scoring goals at times this season. While captain Mike Fisher is having an excellent season, relying on him as an offensive producer isn’t an ideal situation. As Adam Vignan of the Tennessean put it in his latest column, the team’s wingers have been “unsteady” this season. Craig Smith especially, who was coming off three straight 20-goal seasons has just nine markers in 56 games to go along with seven assists. While Victor Arvidsson has broken out, the team needs more players like him to give them some high-end skill on their top lines.

Who they could get is an issue though, as the available rentals aren’t guaranteed to perform any better than the in-house options they have. Kevin Fiala, a former 11th overall pick, scored in his first game back up with the big club and could be important down the stretch. So too could James Neal, who after a slow start has five points in his last three games and looks rejuvenated. Yes, the team still has a glut of excellent defenders at the NHL level, but Vignan notes on Twitter that they don’t have quite the pipeline that they used to.

Snapshots: Ratelle, Crouse, Fiala

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs will reveal some new additions to their Legends Row tonight as part of Hockey Day In Canada, the New York Rangers have also announced that they will raise Jean Ratelle’s #19 to the rafters next season. The Rangers great is 37th all-time in points in the NHL and spent his best years in New York, scoring 109 points in 1971-72.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985 and recently was honored among the NHL’s Top 100 list. It’ll be hard to watch for Boston fans, as some still likely consider him a Bruins legend as well. Ratelle played six seasons at the end of his career for the black and yellow, including five straight 25+ goal seasons from 1975-80. He also spent four seasons as an assistant coach there after his retirement.

  • According to Sarah McLellan of AZCentral Sports, the Arizona Coyotes will move Lawson Crouse to injured reserve prior to their game tonight. Crouse has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. The 19-year old Crouse has stuck around all season in Arizona despite not getting that much ice time. After coming over from the Florida Panthers in the deal that saw Arizona take on Dave Bolland’s contract, Crouse has just eight points in 49 games this season.
  • McLellan also reports that Brad Richardson skated Saturday, and is getting closer to a return. Richardson broke two bones in his leg back in November, and after undergoing surgery has continued to rehab through the season. It looks like he will make it back before the end of the season, though the team would be wrong to rush him as they are already well back of the playoff race.
  • The Nashville Predators have brought Kevin Fiala back up from the AHL, where he has 19 points in 22 games. After making short appearances in the NHL the past two seasons, the former 11th-overall pick will try to make an impact this time around. The Swiss-born Fiala is still just 20-years old and has all the tools to make an impact at the NHL level at some point.

Predators Notes: Fiala, Ellis, Expansion

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Predators left winger Kevin Fiala got the news he was looking for at the start of the season after making the team out of training camp and even starting on the first line.  It wasn’t long though before he started to drop down the depth chart and after collecting two points in ten games, he was sent back to the minors in November.

After a strong stint with their AHL affiliate (eight points in seven games), he was brought back to the NHL late last month and he is faring much better this time around.  He has three goals and an assist in seven games since rejoining the team and as Adam Vingan of The Tennessean writes, Fiala believes that his time in the minors has given him the confidence that was lacking earlier on in the year.

He certainly has earned the confidence of head coach Peter Laviolette as in five of his last six games, the 20 year old first rounder (11th overall in 2014) has played more minutes than his season average, including over 15 minutes in four of those contests.

When Fiala was recalled, the Preds were dealing with several injuries up front but now only Colton Sissons and Miikka Salomaki are on IR (and Salomaki, who has been out since mid-October, could be activated in time for tonight’s game against St. Louis).  Fiala has managed to stay in the lineup as those players returned and should stay in if Salomaki is indeed activated later today.  It’s still too early to suggest he has earned a full-time spot but with his recent play, he should have a longer leash this time around compared to the start of the season.

[Related: Predators Depth Chart]

More from Nashville:

  • Defenseman Ryan Ellis (along with Sissons) both participated in Monday’s practice and the 25 year old blueliner isn’t ruling out being ready to go against the Blues as well, writes Brooks Bratten of Nashville’s team website. Ellis was paired with Roman Josi at practice while Sissons took line rushes on the fourth line alongside Austin Watson and Calle Jarnkrok.
  • The play of winger Viktor Arvidsson could be creating some challenges for GM David Poile when it comes to the expansion draft. As Vingan notes in a reader mailbag, the Predators are likely to protect eight skaters instead of the standard seven forwards and three defensemen.  That would allow them to protect their top four blueliners but only four forwards.  Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, and James Neal would figure to have three of those spots sewn up which leaves one slot for one of Arvidsson, Jarnkrok, Colin Wilson, or Craig Smith.  Vingan suggests that even if they aren’t able to protect Arvidsson, they’d look to make a trade with Las Vegas, sending them a draft pick or some form of consideration to ensure that they don’t select him in June’s draft.

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