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Kevin Labanc

West Notes: Labanc, Jets, Weegar

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Sharks winger Kevin Labanc has fully recovered from the shoulder woes that plagued him last season and he will be ready for training camp later this month, notes Corey Masisak of The Athletic (Twitter link).  He originally suffered the injury back in December and while it looked like he might be able to return late in the year, that didn’t wind up happening.  The 26-year-old had just three goals and three assists in 21 games before the injury, leading to some speculation that he could have been a buyout candidate for San Jose this summer although they obviously didn’t go that route.  With two years left on his contract that carries a $4.725MM AAV, the Sharks will be counting on a bounce-back year from their second-highest-paid winger.

More from around the Western Conference:

  • With both Ville Heinola and Dylan Samberg potentially being ready for full-time NHL duty, Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun suggests that one of Dylan DeMelo or Brenden Dillon could be a possible trade candidate for Winnipeg over the coming weeks. The Jets are one of the few teams that still has ample cap space at their disposal – more than $5.5MM, per CapFriendly – providing them with an opportunity to still add to their forward group.  DeMelo and Dillon are on affordable contracts ($3MM and $3.9MM, respectively) so swapping one for a forward of note could create a spot for one of those youngsters and give them a boost up front, a win-win situation for them.
  • While the Flames and Jonathan Huberdeau quickly reached an agreement on an extension after their summer trade with Florida, the same hasn’t happened yet with the other Calgary newcomer in MacKenzie Weegar. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the two sides are indeed quietly talking about a new deal.  The 28-year-old is coming off a career year that saw him put up 44 points in 80 games while logging over 23 minutes per night, numbers that will give him a chance at doubling his current $3.25MM AAV on his next contract.

Pacific Notes: DiPietro, Morehouse, Labanc

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While he works to help facilitate a trade for his client Michael DiPietro, Quartexx’s Darren Ferris voiced some frustration to Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province about how the Canucks have handled the young goaltender so far:

There are occasions where they’ve dropped the ball on his development. The truth of the matter is that the bulk is more on the organization that (sic) it is on the player in this instance. Hopefully, we can get him in the right position.

The 23-year-old basically had a lost season in 2020-21 as his presence on Vancouver’s taxi squad for most of the year limited him to just four games played, hardly ideal for development.  Last season, he lost playing time to Spencer Martin (who’s now Thatcher Demko’s backup) while the Canucks brought in Collin Delia to partner up with Arturs Silovs with AHL Abbotsford next season, making DiPietro the odd man out.  He accepted his qualifying offer earlier this month that will pay $840K in the NHL and $70K in the minors.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • The Sharks are expected to announce the hiring of Chris Morehouse as their new Director of Amateur Scouting next week, reports Corey Masisak of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 35-year-old has spent the last nine years in various scouting roles and had been with the Rangers for the last two seasons as their North American Director of Scouting where he would have likely crossed paths with Mike Grier, now the GM in San Jose.
  • Still with San Jose, Grier told reporters, including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, that he gave no consideration to the idea of buying out winger Kevin Labanc when the second buyout window opened up recently. The 26-year-old has two years remaining on his contract which carries a $4.725MM AAV.  Over the first two years of that deal, Labanc has just 15 goals in 76 games and was limited to just 21 games last season due to a shoulder injury.  A buyout would have freed up nearly $4MM in extra cap room this summer and next but instead, he’ll look to rebound under new head coach David Quinn.

Injury Updates: Labanc, Flyers, Muzzin, Terry

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Not long ago, it looked like the Sharks would soon be welcoming winger Kevin Labanc back to the lineup for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury back in December.  However, as Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News notes, the team is now considering shutting the 26-year-old down for the rest of the season.  Labanc visited the surgeon who performed the surgery on Thursday and got the green light but with San Jose out of the playoff picture, they may err on the side of caution and avoid any possible risk of him reaggravating the injury.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler will miss some time due to a lower-body injury, relays Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been a depth defender this season, getting into 43 games with Philadelphia, averaging a little over 13 minutes per night.  Meanwhile, Reiner adds that winger Zack MacEwen was injured on Saturday in his fight with Toronto’s Wayne Simmonds and was also unavailable for their game against the Rangers tonight.  It’s only the third game that MacEwen has missed this season.
  • Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin is expected to return at some point on this road trip but it won’t be tomorrow in Tampa Bay, notes Sportsnet’s Luke Fox (Twitter link). He has missed the last six weeks due to a concussion and is currently on LTIR.  The veteran has had a quiet year offensively with just a dozen points in 41 games but still logs 21 minutes a night and will solidify Toronto’s top four heading into the playoffs.
  • Ducks winger Troy Terry will miss tonight’s game against Edmonton due to the facial injuries sustained on Friday against Arizona, reports Eric Stephens of The Athletic. He’s expected to be re-evaluated later today with a determination of how much more time he might miss to be made at that time.  The 24-year-old has had a breakout year, recording more points (57) than he had in his first 129 career games over parts of four seasons (48).

Injury Notes: Crouse, Heiskanen, Labanc, Zucker

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It’s bad news for Lawson Crouse and the Arizona Coyotes, as Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports that the forward suffered a broken bone in his hand when blocking a shot last night. Crouse, 24, was having the best season of his career, setting career highs in goals (20) and points (34) through 65 games. The big winger is also a restricted free agent at the end of the year, meaning every goal he scores meant a bigger ask through the arbitration process, if not extended before then.

Morgan adds that Crouse is expected to undergo further evaluation this week, but could miss the rest of the season. Here are some more injury notes from around the league:

  • Miro Heiskanen will be back for the Dallas Stars tonight, head coach Rick Bowness told reporters including Saad Yousuf of The Athletic. He won’t carry his normal load, playing just 15-17 minutes with “situational” partners, as he returns from a bout with mononucleosis. The 22-year-old defenseman normally plays close to 25 minutes, but hasn’t suited up since March 2, and will be eased back into the lineup. It’s certainly good timing for the Stars, who have gone 5-5 in their last ten and risk losing their place in the Western Conference playoff chase if they can’t get back in the win column.
  • San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc could be in the lineup as soon as this weekend, according to Corey Masisak of The Athletic, but the forward will consult with the doctor who performed his recent surgery before being completely cleared for action. Labanc went under the knife in December to repair a dislocated shoulder and has played just 21 games so far this season.
  • Jason Zucker has been cleared for contact and re-joined the Pittsburgh Penguins group in a regular sweater today. Head coach Mike Sullivan called it a “significant step in the process” for the veteran forward, who has played just one game since the middle of December and just 31 total this season. Notably, the Penguins were 13-2-1 in the last 16 games Zucker played before going down to injury and will certainly look like an even deeper forward group when he’s back at full-strength.

West Notes: Blackhawks, Lehkonen, Labanc, Highmore

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The Blackhawks welcomed one center back tonight but found themselves without another.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Tyler Johnson has been cleared from concussion protocol and activated off IR while Kirby Dach was a late scratch with a non-COVID illness.  It has been a tough first season in Chicago for Johnson after coming over from Tampa Bay as injuries have limited him to just 14 games where he has just a goal and two assists while averaging a career low in ice time at just 12:41 per night.  As for Dach, he has also had a quiet year offensively, notching 23 points in 63 games despite being a fixture in their top six.

Elsewhere around the Western Conference:

  • The wait is over when it comes to Artturi Lehkonen making his Colorado debut as the team announced (Twitter link) that the winger’s immigration has been approved, paving the way for him to suit up against Calgary on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was brought in at the trade deadline in exchange for prospect defenseman Justin Barron and a 2024 second-round pick and he’s expected to play a key role on the third line for the Avalanche down the stretch.  Lehkonen has 16 goals and 13 assists in 58 games this season.
  • The Sharks could get winger Kevin Labanc back at some point next week, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 26-year-old has been out since undergoing shoulder surgery back in mid-November.  It had been a disappointing season for Labanc prior to the injury as he had just three goals and three assists in 21 games and with San Jose ten points out of a playoff spot heading into Monday’s games, his return will be more about trying to rediscover his offensive form over helping a late playoff push.
  • Matthew Highmore’s upper-body injury will keep him out of Vancouver’s lineup on a week-to-week basis, relays Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650 (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has 10 points in 39 games this season.  The Canucks recalled William Lockwood on an emergency basis last week to take Highmore’s spot but if they wanted to bring another player up for extra depth, they’d have to use one of their four post-deadline regular recalls.

Kevin Labanc To Undergo Surgery

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The San Jose Sharks have been without Kevin Labanc since he left last week’s game against the Dallas Stars in the first period, and it appears as though they will be without him for a considerable amount of time moving forward. Sharks’ head coach Bob Boughner told reporters including Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News that Labanc will undergo surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder.

The 26-year-old forward has been a disappointment for much of this season, registering just three goals and six points in 21 games so far. His minutes have been slashed and Boughner even made him a healthy scratch recently, telling the media that Labanc “needs to be better.” He does, if he’s going to live up to the $4.725MM cap hit that he carries, but it won’t be now as a shoulder surgery like this is usually comes with a months-long recovery timeline.

In just the second season of a four-year, $18.9MM contract he signed in 2020, Labanc hasn’t come close to the 17-goal, 56-point season he registered in 2018-19. Last year he potted just 12 goals in 55 games, not exactly the development the Sharks were expecting when they locked him up long-term. Now with this injury, 2021-22 looks like it will be an extremely disappointing season as well, not exactly the ideal situation when the contract is back-loaded, and will see his salary jump to $5.875MM for next year.

San Jose obviously does have an in-house replacement for Labanc in Evander Kane, though it still seems as though he won’t be putting on a Sharks jersey anytime soon.

Ryan Hartman Avoids Suspension, Earns Fine

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The Department of Player Safety has decided that Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman’s slew foot on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ross Colton did not rise to the level of a suspension, issuing a $4,250 fine instead. The fine is the maximum allowable under the CBA, based on Hartman’s current salary.

The incident, which occurred late in the first period on Sunday night and resulted in a tripping penalty for Hartman. He then received an additional five-minute major for fighting when Zach Bogosian engaged him almost immediately after he exited the penalty box. Colton avoided a serious injury on the play and ended up seeing nearly 16 minutes of ice time in the game.

Slew-footing has become something of a trend in the NHL this season, with several different players earning fines or suspensions for incidents similar to the one that happened in Tampa Bay. Just last week, Kevin Labanc received a one-game suspension for nearly the same thing, with the league including the explanation that “what causes this play to rise to the level of supplemental discipline is the speed the players are traveling and their proximity to the boards.” Perhaps in the Hartman case, they did not feel it included those same factors.

Kevin Labanc Suspended One Game

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The Department of Player Safety has decided to issue a one-game suspension to San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc for his slew foot on St. Louis Blues forward Tyler Bozak last night. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that there are many occasions during the course of a game where players use either their legs or stick and upper body to restrain or impede opponents, or to gain leverage during a puck battle. In the vast majority of these circumstances, these plays can be adequately punished by in-game penalties.

What causes this play to rise to the level of supplemental discipline is the speed the players are traveling, and their proximity to the boards. 

The league notes that Labanc has not been fined or suspended in the past, which would have been taken into account when determining the length of this suspension. So too would an injury to Bozak, but the Blues forward was fortunate to not suffer a serious injury on the play.

Bozak did note how upset he was about the play, calling it “dangerous” and noting that he was lucky to not suffer an injury in that situation. Labanc insisted that he did not purposely deliver the slew foot, telling reporters he was just trying to battle hard.

Kevin Labanc To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety has some work to do today, as Kevin Labanc of the San Jose Sharks will have a hearing to determine supplementary discipline for his slew foot of Tyler Bozak last night.

Labanc received a two-minute minor for tripping on the play, which happened partway through the first period. Bozak appeared to escape serious injury.

Slew-footing has been a point of note with fans around the league this season, with P.K. Subban at the center of several incidents that resulted in injury. While Subban has only received fines to this point, a hearing suggests that Labanc will receive at least a one-game suspension.

For his part, the Sharks forward told Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group that it was not intentional and he was “just trying to battle hard.”

San Jose Sharks Remove Seven Players From COVID Protocol

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As suggested by the team’s AHL assignments this morning, the San Jose Sharks have removed seven players from the COVID protocol. Kevin Labanc, Erik Karlsson, Timo Meier, Jacob Middleton, Matthew Nieto, Radim Simek, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic have all been removed from the protocol and added back to the active roster. Head coach Bob Boughner, head trainer Ray Tufts and equipment manager Mike Aldrich have also all been removed from the protocol.

Sasha Chmelevski, Joel Kellman, Artemi Kniazev, John Leonard, Ryan Merkley, Jaycob Megna, and Nicolas Meloche have all been assigned to the AHL. Nicholas Merkley, who had also been recalled with this group, remains with San Jose for the time being.

It’s obviously a huge moment for the Sharks, as they receive a good portion of their regular lineup back in time for tomorrow’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. The team is sitting at 7-5-1 on the season and is still well within striking range of the division playoff spots. Getting back key options like Labanc, Karlsson and Meier will only help them as they try to chase down the teams ahead of them.

Activating the group from the protocol is also a good sign that the team has this outbreak behind them, or at least contained. The activated players were actually able to skate in recent days, though they would not have been able to join the team in Canada given their recent positive tests. They’ll now be able to join the group in Denver, nearly two weeks after originally entering the protocol.

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