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Nominees Announced For 2022 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 2022.

Past winners of the award include Oskar Lindblom (2021), Bobby Ryan (2020), 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 Getzlaf

Arizona Coyotes – Andrew Ladd

Boston Bruins – Jake DeBrusk

Buffalo Sabres – Kyle Okposo

Calgary Flames – Chris Tanev

Carolina Hurricanes – Antti Raanta

Chicago Blackhawks – Dylan Strome

Colorado Avalanche – Jack Johnson

Columbus Blue Jackets – Justin Danforth

Dallas Stars – Tyler Seguin

Edmonton Oilers – Kris Russell

Florida Panthers – Anthony Duclair

Los Angeles Kings – Blake Lizotte

Minnesota Wild – Jared Spurgeon

Montreal Canadiens – Carey Price

Nashville Predators – Mark Borowiecki

New Jersey Devils – Nico Hischier

New York Islanders – Zdeno Chara

New York Rangers – Chris Kreider

Ottawa Senators – Anton Forsberg

Philadelphia Flyers – Kevin Hayes

Pittsburgh Penguins – Brian Boyle

St. Louis Blues – Vladimir Tarasenko

Seattle Kraken – Jaden Schwartz

Tampa Bay Lightning – Alex Killorn

Toronto Maple Leafs – Ondrej Kase

Vancouver Canucks – Luke Schenn

Vegas Golden Knights – Jack Eichel

Winnipeg Jets – Josh Morrissey

Washington Capitals – Nicklas Backstrom

Buffalo Sabres Announce Numerous Roster Moves

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Everything is happening all at once in Buffalo. The team has been waiting to re-activate several injured players for more than a week now, yet at the same time they have been waiting all day for COVID-19 test results after multiple initial positives earlier. Just ahead of their game tonight against the Arizona Coyotes, the team has now announced it all in a flurry of moves that will re-shape the roster, at least for the time being.

Though less anticipated, the COVID Protocol absences are unfortunately the bigger part of the Sabres’ roster news. The team has placed defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and forwards Victor Olofsson and Rasmus Asplund in the protocol. Assistant coach Matt Ellis was also named as one of five additional members of Buffalo’s traveling party who will be sidelined due to COVID. These three players in particular are obviously a major loss for the Sabres. Dahlin, the 2018 No. 1 overall pick, has taken that next step in his development this season and has been Buffalo’s best player. He leads the team with 28 points and 23:51 average time on ice and ranks in the top five in goals, hits, blocked shots, and takeaways. No loss could impact the Sabres’ more. With that said, Olofsson and Asplund are also major absences. The former is having a down year, but still in the top five in scoring and plays a critical role on the power play. The latter has already surpassed his career marks in games played and points and is one of the better possession players on the team. For the Sabres’ sake, hopefully the trio are only out short-term as they play such meaningful roles and the club is already missing a laundry list of players due to injury.

That list has shrunk today though. With no options left in net following Michael Houser landing on COVID Protocol yesterday, Aaron Dell suspended and waived, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Malcolm Subban on injured reserve, the Sabres finally activated Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski just in time for their game. Anderson had been out since early November with an upper-body injury but has been working his way back in recent weeks, while Tokarski has been out since early December. Anderson was playing very well prior to his injury, especially for someone who was set to retire this past  off-season, so the Sabres will be hoping he can return to form. They also have regained the services of veteran forward Kyle Okposo, who’s having a resurgent season. Okposo has missed the past week, but is still fourth in scoring with 23 points in 37 games. The team can certainly use that offense with Olofsson and Asplund sidelined.

Additionally, Buffalo has also recalled defenseman Casey Fitzgerald from the taxi squad. Fitzgerald has played in four NHL games this year, with one point on the scoreboard, but has nine points in 27 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

Injury Updates: Kakko, Lightning, Okposo, Murray

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The upper-body injury that landed Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko on injured reserve is one that has been lingering for a little while and could keep him out for a while, reports Mollie Walker of the New York Post.  It has been a disappointing third season for the 2019 second-overall selection who has managed just 14 points in 37 games although the fact he was playing through this could at least play a small role in his sluggish start.  Head coach Gerard Gallant indicated that the 20-year-old is currently listed as out week-to-week.

Other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • The Lightning will be without defensemen Zach Bogosian and Erik Cernak for the next three games, relays Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). Bogosian is dealing with a lower-body injury while Cernak’s hasn’t been disclosed yet.  Both blueliners will be re-evaluated after that stretch which suggests they’ll be out at least a little longer beyond that point.
  • Sabres winger Kyle Okposo has resumed skating but is not with the team on their road trip which begins tonight in Ottawa, notes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The veteran is working his way back from an upper-body injury and has actually been one of Buffalo’s better offensive players this season as he ranks fourth in team scoring with 23 points in 37 games.
  • Avalanche defenseman Ryan Murray skated in a non-contact jersey on Monday and is getting close to returning to the lineup, mentions Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The veteran has missed five straight games with an upper-body injury and his return would be a welcome one with there being no timetable for Bowen Byram’s return.

Buffalo Sabres Update Several Injuries

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Every week it seems like the Buffalo Sabres announce several new long-term injuries, and this week was no different. The team gave an updated injury report which now lists Kyle Okposo as week-to-week following a hit from Erik Brannstrom on Tuesday night. Head coach Don Granato told reporters including John Vogl of The Athletic that Okposo did not suffer a concussion on the play, but is out with “bumps and bruises.”

Unfortunately, the bad news didn’t end there. Colin Miller, who was still listed as week-to-week on the update, underwent surgery and will miss six weeks. The 29-year-old defenseman played just a few days ago and had been discussed as a strong trade deadline chip for the Sabres. Miller is a pending unrestricted free agent, right-handed, and has nearly 400 games of NHL experience. That made him an attractive option, but he’ll now have to work through rehab and get back to full strength if Buffalo really wants to cash in.

Meanwhile one of their own trade acquisitions, Malcolm Subban, also had surgery and is likely out for the rest of the season. The 28-year-old netminder was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks last month for nothing more than future considerations but will end with just four appearances for the team. Given Subban is also a pending unrestricted free agent, it’s a tough blow that could see him struggling to find an NHL contract in the summer. In those four games, he posted a .871 save percentage and now holds a .898 for his 86-game NHL career.

Vinnie Hinostroza, who has been a nice story for the Sabres this season with eight goals and 17 points in 36 games, will miss about three weeks with his lower-body injury. The Sabres have recalled Jack Quinn today, who appears to be ready for an extended look at the NHL level because of how many injuries the team is currently dealing with.

Kyle Okposo, Casey Fitzgerald Enter COVID Protocol

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Despite being on the ice to start Buffalo Sabres practice, Kyle Okposo has now entered the COVID protocol. He will not be alone, however, as Casey Fitzgerald will also enter the protocol.

It’s terrible timing for Okposo, who has rejuvenated his career this season playing under Don Granato. The 33-year-old forward has 21 points in 33 games, a total that has already surpassed his numbers from each of the last two seasons. In fact, Okposo hasn’t cracked the 30-point mark in a season since 2017-18, something he should easily do by the end of the year.

For now, if he tested positive he’ll be out for at least the next several days meaning in all likelihood he’ll miss Thursday’s match against the San Jose Sharks.

Kyle Okposo Out For The Season

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It has been a tough season for the Sabres, particularly veteran winger Kyle Okposo.  His season has now come to a premature end with the team announcing that Okposo has undergone surgery to repair a broken bone in his cheek and will miss the remainder of the season as a result.  The injury was sustained on Thursday after a dump-in attempt hit him in the cheek.

The 33-year-old has steadily seen his offensive output drop since joining Buffalo as an unrestricted free agent back in 2016, a trend that continued this season.  Okposo posted just two goals and 11 assists in 35 games, career lows in any of his thirteen full-time NHL seasons which is hardly the type of return they are expecting for someone carrying a $6MM AAV.  That deal still has two years remaining on it and a front-loaded, signing bonus-heavy structure that makes buying it out cap prohibitive.

Even so, it’s an avenue that GM Kevyn Adams may be wise to consider this summer.  Per CapFriendly, it would yield a $5MM cap charge in 2021-22 which only frees up $1MM on the cap but it’s possible that those savings could still allow them to bring in a better player for next season.  From there, the penalty wouldn’t be as steep with a $3MM charge in 2022-23 before dropping to $1MM for 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Meanwhile, Steven Fogarty was recalled from the taxi squad to take Okposo’s spot on the active roster.  The 27-year-old is in his first season with Buffalo and has a goal and two assists in eight games so far.  In a corresponding move, goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was promoted to the taxi squad.

Injury Notes: Moore, Raanta, Hjalmarsson, Okposo

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Bruins defenseman John Moore last suited up on February 26th and it appears that will be the last game he plays for a while.  Head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed to reporters, including Matt Porter of the Boston Globe (Twitter link), that Moore recently underwent surgery.  The nature of the injury nor the timeline for a return were specified.  It’s the latest in what has been a series of frustrations since he inked a five-year, $13.75MM contract back in the 2018 offseason.  Since then, Moore has held a limited role in the lineup, spending time as a healthy scratch.

With how much time he has missed and now the news that he has had surgery, the Bruins are eligible to transfer Moore to LTIR.  It’s a move that they don’t need to make for now as they’ve had ample cap space to recall a short-term replacement but if it happened to be a season-ending injury, it would give GM Don Sweeney a bit more flexibility heading into next month’s trade deadline.  For now though, Moore is one of four Boston blueliners currently on IR, joining Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Lauzon, and Kevan Miller.

Other injury news from around the league:

  • Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta is injured once again, reports Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has had a hard time staying in the lineup in recent years, a trend that has continued this season.  A pending UFA, Raanta has been speculated as a possible trade chip at the trade deadline but missing any time due to injury doesn’t help his value.  Ivan Prosvetov is up from the taxi squad to serve as Adin Hill’s backup for tonight’s game.
  • Also from Morgan’s note, defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson is out due to an upper-body issue. The injury was sustained in Monday’s loss to Colorado and there is no word on how long he will miss. The team announced (via Twitter) that both Raanta and Hjalmarsson were placed on injured reserve.
  • Sabres winger Kyle Okposo isn’t expected to join the team for the remainder of their current road trip, relays John Vogl of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran is dealing with an upper-body injury and interim head coach Don Granato indicated that the hope is that Okposo will be able to return next week. It has been another tough year for the 32-year-old who has scored just once in 24 games this season.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 1/24/21

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It appears as though there will be daily movement this season between the active roster and taxi squad. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of shuffle news each day.

  • The Dallas Stars announced they have recalled forward Tanner Kero from their taxi squad after placing forward Joel Kiviranta on injured reserve. The 28-year-old Kero hasn’t made an NHL appearance since the 2017-18 season, but could get onto the ice depending on the injury status of Jamie Benn, who is a game-time decision. Kiviranta, who was listed as day-to-day Saturday after getting injured in practice, will have to sit out at least three games.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled forwards Givani Smith and Taro Hirose from the taxi squad. Smith has been up and down between the NHL and taxi squad, while Hirose was recalled three days ago to the taxi squad from the AHL. Both are expected to make their season debuts on Sunday. Detroit also have re-assigned forward Riley Barber to the taxi squad. UPDATE: The Red Wings have reversed course, announcing they have sent Hirose and Smith back to the taxi squad after their game with Chicago ended.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have loaned defenseman Derrick Pouliot from the taxi squad to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL. The team also announced some salary cap moves, sending forward Connor Bunnaman and Samuel Morin to their taxi squad.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced they have swapped young players as the team has sent forward Dylan Cozens to the taxi squad and recalled Casey Mittelstadt, who is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Cozens scored his first career NHL goal Friday, but head coach Ralph Krueger made it clear before the season that he intends to ease his young players into the lineup. The team has also activated forward Kyle Okposo from injured reserve. He has missed the team’s first five games with a lower-body injury.
  • Las Vegas Review Journal’s David Schoen reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have activated defenseman Nicolas Hague off the taxi squad and moved center Cody Glass to the taxi squad, a similar move from two games ago as the team continues to balance their salary cap with rotating between five and six defensemen.
  • The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reports that with two forwards (Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov), a defenseman (Dmitry Orlov) and a goaltender (Ilya Samsonov) out due to COVID-19 restrictions, the team was able to recall two players, including forwards Brian Pinho and Connor McMichael (as well as goaltender Craig Anderson), via the emergency recall exception rule and not count against their cap. McMichael is the most interesting of the two as the 2019 first-round pick will make his NHL debut Sunday.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have assigned forward Jesper Boqvist to the taxi squad and they have recalled forward Nicholas Merkley, who is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Boqvist has appeared in four games for New Jersey, failing to register a point. Merkley, acquired from Arizona in the Taylor Hall trade last season, had a goal and an assist in four games last year with the Devils.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets already placed Brandon Dubinsky on LTIR earlier today, but the team also made a few other moves to get under the salary cap, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. The scribe writes that both Alexandre Texier and Liam Foudy have been assigned to the taxi squad, but as paper moves to maximize their LTIR pool. The team has also recalled Emil Bemstrom and Stefan Matteau from the taxi squad.
  • The New York Rangers announced they have recalled forward Colin Blackwell from their taxi squad and is likely to make his Rangers’ debut. The 27-year-old signed with the Rangers as a free agent after posting three goals and 10 points in 27 games for the Nashville Predators last season.
  • The Calgary Flames made their standard game-day transaction, recalling Derek Ryan and Oliver Kylington from the taxi squad. Ryan has appeared in three games with no points, while Kylington has yet to make an appearance for Calgary this year.
  • The Minnesota Wild announced they have recalled goaltender Andrew Hammond from their taxi squad with the status of Cam Talbot being day-to-day. In order to keep three goaltenders on the roster, the team has assigned netminder Hunter Jones from Iowa of the AHL to the taxi squad. Hammond has not made an appearance yet for the Wild.
  • With the Bruins off, CapFriendly reports that Boston has shuffled forwards Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic plus defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to their taxi squad, continuing their near-daily movement.  Steven Kampfer was reassigned to AHL Providence from the taxi squad to create room for Vaakanainen’s placement.
  • Avalanche defenseman Conor Timmins was in the lineup for their game today against Anaheim, meaning that he has been recalled from the taxi squad.  The 22-year-old has played in four games so far with Colorado this season, logging a little under 13 minutes per game.
  • Pierre Engvall and Jason Spezza were both in the lineup for the Maple Leafs against Calgary today, meaning they were promoted from the taxi squad.  To get back into cap compliance, Travis Boyd was sent to the taxi squad.
  • After scoring in his Canadiens debut on Saturday, Montreal has returned Corey Perry to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The veteran will likely be recalled in time for their next game against Calgary on Thursday.
  • The Ottawa Senators have returned winger Micheal Haley to their taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  He was recalled for Saturday’s game against Winnipeg and played 7:39 while getting into a fight.

East Notes: Kase, Reinhart, Varlamov, Frost

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The Boston Bruins will be without one of their top wingers as head coach Bruce Cassidy said that Ondrej Kase is doubtful for Monday’s game against the New York Islanders with an upper-body injury, according to Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty.

Kase took a high hit against the boards from New Jersey’s Miles Wood during the second period of Saturday’s game. Already with a history of concussions, the forward skated off the ice on his own, but was holding his face.

On a positive note, winger Craig Smith, out with a lower-body injury, is likely to be available on Monday. Smith did make his debut on Saturday, playing 17:07 of ice time and should find himself on the second line. Jake Debrusk is expected to move over to the right side and fill in on the team’s first line as well.

  • The Sabres were missing a pair of wingers in practice Sunday as Sam Reinhart was not at practice and remains questionable after suffering a lower-body injury Friday in a collision against the boards, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. Reinhart was skating uncomfortably after going down awkwardly, but still played 21:25. The forward was moved to the top line during the game, giving that line better opportunities. The team was also missing Kyle Okposo, who hasn’t played a game yet this season and remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
  • While no update on the severity of the injury, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple reports that the injury that New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov suffered during warmups is a jaw issue, not a neck issue. The netminder took a shot that went underneath his mask and forced him to leave the ice. Rookie Ilya Sorokin got the start instead with veteran Cory Schneider serving as the backup.
  • With their lines developing chemistry, Philadelphia Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault said he’s not interested in rotating the lines after the injury to Sean Couturier. Therefore Morgan Frost, who was expected to step in for the Selke winner, will take over for Couturier and take over top-line centering duties and will play with Travis Konecny and Oskar Lindblom, according to Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. “I think Morgan deserves this opportunity to play with TK and Oskar,” Vigneault said. “What went into our decision, also, was that the other lines are building some chemistry. … Instead of shuffling everything (he made just one move). Morgan is considered to be a skilled offensive player. I might as well put him in that role. With TK and Oskar, he’s playing with two pretty good players.”

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Buffalo Sabres

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It’s Thanksgiving this week in the United States and the holiday season is right around the corner. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this year comes with a bit of a change. Normally teams would have an idea of where their season was heading, coming up on the one-quarter mark with mountains of statistics to analyze. Instead, in this unprecedented year, the season hasn’t even begun. We’ll still take a look at what each group is excited about and what they could hope for once the calendar turns to 2021.

What are the Sabres most thankful for?

A deep forward group.

No longer are the Sabres putting all their hopes on youngsters. The team is suddenly loaded with established players who have proven themselves. To go with Jack Eichel, the team has added a number of key additions to go with solid playmakers as the team now boasts Eichel, Taylor Hall, Eric Staal, Sam Reinhart, Jeff Skinner, Victor Olofsson and a number of other players who can thrive in bottom-six roles like Kyle Okposo, Cody Eakins, Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt, etc. The depth at forward is a major improvement for a team that needs to score and this team should have that quality of depth that should be able to give Buffalo a chance to earn their first playoff appearance in nine years.

Who are the Sabres most thankful for?

Taylor Hall.

With the pandemic flattening out the salary cap for the foreseeable future, there weren’t too many long-term offers for Hall, the top free agent of the 2020 free agent class. Instead, Hall looked for a short-term deal from a team with extra cap room and surprised quite a few people when he picked the Sabres, due to the chance to play next to Eichel for the year.

The addition of Hall, totally enhances the team’s top-nine as he immediately will slot into the top line next to Eichel and will finally get a chance to play next to an elite center, something he hasn’t had in quite a number of years. The hope is that Hall can find his game from two years ago when he was the Hart Trophy winner with the New Jersey Devils, leading them single-handedly into the playoffs. If he can do that for the Sabres, Buffalo should have a legitimate chance to break their nine-year drought and Hall will establish himself again as the top free agent for 2021 in hopes of landing that big-term deal.

What would the Sabres be even more thankful for?

A return to form of Jeff Skinner.

After posting a 40-goal season in 2018-19 and signing a eight-year, $72MM deal, things never panned out after that for Skinner, who struggled mightily with just 14 goals and 23 points in 59 games last season. The forward was a disaster and found himself spending quite a bit of time on the third line trying to find his game. With seven years at $9MM AAV, the Sabres have to hope that Skinner will be able to bounce back and become that fixture on the second line that they were hoping for. The talent is there to surround the goal-scoring forward, but the team needs for him to execute, otherwise the team will be stuck with a player and a contract that they don’t want.

What should be on the Sabres’ Holiday Wish List?

The Sabres may be in need of help in goal. The Sabres have a solid offense and defense, but their goaltending could be what’s holding them back. The team can hope that Linus Ullmark is ready to take the starting load this season. He did produce impressive numbers with a .915 save percentage in 34 appearances, but is he the answer in net? Unfortunately, top goaltending prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, might not be ready for another couple of years, meaning the team may need to find a way to bring in a more proven goaltender that can handle big minutes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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