Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

MacKenzie Blackwood

Devils Notes: Wood, Bastian, Blackwood, Foote

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Before the New Jersey Devils play against the Florida Panthers tonight, the lead reporter of the team, Amanda Stein, gave some important updates from the team’s practice earlier this morning. As the Devils begin a weekend back-to-back against the Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, Stein reports that forwards Miles Wood and Nathan Bastian have not made the trip to Florida with the team.

Wood, one of the many upcoming free agents on the Devils’ roster, will miss his second straight game. After only playing three games during the 2021-22 season, Wood has again become a steady depth player for the Devils this year. Playing in his seventh season in New Jersey, Wood has reached the double-digit goal mark five times, with a career-high 19 goals coming during the 2017-18 season.

Much like Wood, Bastian has not played in the last few games for the Devils, having missed since the March 12th game against the Carolina Hurricanes. After being selected by the Seattle Kraken during their expansion draft, Bastian found his way back to New Jersey last year after a mid-season waiver claim. In his first full year back with the Devils, Bastian has also provided some depth scoring for the team, putting up six goals and six assists in 39 games played so far this year.

Other notes:

  • Although he’s been one of the more injury-plagued goalies the last several years, Stein also mentioned that goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was practicing with the team this morning. Having not played since the team’s game against the Winnipeg Jets on February 19th, Blackwood will still be out of the lineup tonight, however; it is good news to see him back out practicing with the team. In 17 games played this year, Blackwood has a record of 8-5, with a .900 SV% and a 3.04 GAA.
  • Lastly, Stein mentions that forward Nolan Foote was also seen practicing with the team before their game in Sunrise. Drafted 27th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, Foote has yet to crack the Devils’ lineup in a meaningful way. Playing only 16 games over the last three seasons, Nolan has scored a collective four goals and two assists for New Jersey. As he has played most of his games in the AHL, he has a career mark of 39 goals and 40 assists in 128 games played in hockey’s highest minor league system.

New Jersey Devils Place Mackenzie Blackwood On IR

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, retroactive to Feb. 21, by the New Jersey Devils, the team announced on Twitter. 

Blackwood’s injury comes just a day after Devils fans were celebrating the Timo Meier trade with the San Jose Sharks. Blackwood has been no stranger to the injured list in recent seasons, and has played just 17 games this season with a 3.04 GAA and .900 save percentage.

The Devils have received strong play in the crease this season from Vitek Vanecek, who has shined with a 2.37 GAA and .913 save percentage with 25 wins in 38 games played this season.

Rookie goaltender Akira Schmid also recorded a 23-save shutout for his first NHL win on Saturday in a 7-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

The future of Blackwood in New Jersey was an unclear situation that is made even muddier by the announcement Monday he is headed to the IR yet again. With the Devils’ focus turning toward being ready for the postseason, if Blackwood is unable to suit up for the stretch run, he may be left out of New Jersey’s future plans.

Blackwood is set to be a restricted free agent this summer, and with his status being almost an annual uncertainty, he very well may find himself without a qualifying offer and on the open market this offseason.

Injury Notes: Tuch, Lindgren, Blackwood

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Buffalo Sabres have placed Alex Tuch on injured reserve, according to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. There has been no official announcement from the team as of yet, but one is expected on Sunday morning before the Sabres face the Washington Capitals in an afternoon contest. Tuch did not play late in the Sabres most recent game on Friday night against the Florida Panthers, but stayed on the bench for the final seven minutes without touching the ice. He was listed as a game-time decision heading into that contest after crashing hard into the boards Thursday night in the team’s previous game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Sabres are pushing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011. They are currently one point back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final playoff spot, and are tied with the Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals. Tuch has played a big role in the team’s success this season with 28 goals and 62 points in 57 games. His absence, which will be at least seven days if he is placed on injured reserve, will leave a big hole in the Sabres lineup.

  • New York Rangers defenceman Ryan Lindgren left the team’s afternoon game early today after a questionable hit by T.J. Oshie of the Washington Capitals. Oshie was not penalized for his hit, but contact appeared to be from behind as Lindgren fell awkwardly into the boards. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported after the game that Lindgren had his left arm in a sling. There was no further update from the team.
  • New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood has been out of the lineup since Tuesday when he reportedly tweaked something at practice. The team has been rather quiet about his absence since, but Ryan Novozinsky of NJ Post reports head coach Lindy Ruff says that a timeline on Blackwood’s recovery will be coming soon. Akira Schmid has been called up to fill in and gets the start tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Snapshots: Ovechkin, Konecny, Schmid

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Alex Ovechkin is expected back in the Washington Capitals lineup later this week. Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports that the Capitals star will return to the Washington area on Wednesday and could make his return to the lineup as soon as Thursday night. The Russian sniper has been away from the team since February 12th, dealing with the death of his father, Mikhail.

The team has told Ovechkin to take the time he needs before returning to the lineup, but Kaplan reports that he will likely return either Thursday or Saturday. The Capitals host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday before taking on the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon. Ovechkin has continued his torrid goal-scoring pace this season with 32 goals and 54 points in 54 games played. He will look to boost the Capitals playoff chances upon his return as they sit just outside the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

  • Travis Konecny will miss tonight’s Philadelphia Flyers contest against the Edmonton Oilers. Flyers beat reporter Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports Konecny has an upper-body injury and will be assessed by medical staff when the team returns home. The Flyers wrap up a four-game western road trip tonight and will be looking to tighten things up defensively after allowing 15 goals in the previous three games. They will miss Konecny’s presence as he is the team’s leading scorer with 54 points this season.
  • The New Jersey Devils have called up goaltender Akira Schmid from the AHL’s Utica Comets as per a team release. Devils reporter Amanda Stein added Mackenzie Blackwood tweaked something in practice this morning, so Schmid will serve as Vitek Vanecek’s backup when the Devils face the Montreal Canadiens tonight.

Injury Updates: Klingberg, Henrique, Blackwood, Ekman-Larsson, Armia, Mantha

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Anaheim Ducks have announced that defenseman John Klingberg is out with a lower-body injury. There was no word on whether his status was considered day-to-day or something longer, though the team noted that Nathan Beaulieu would be drawing into the lineup in Klingberg’s place. While this development won’t have any impact on the Ducks’ long-gone playoff hopes, it could have an impact on the trade deadline. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes that this is not an instance of a team holding a player out of the lineup for trade-related reasons, as we have seen teams do with other blueliners such as Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov.

While Klingberg, 30, has had a nightmarish season in Anaheim (22 points in 48 games, down in scoring pace from 47 in 74 last season) he’s still a well-regarded offensive defenseman. Just last summer he earned a $7MM one-year deal, and it’s likely that there would be teams interested in acquiring him at the deadline. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta links Klingberg with the Edmonton Oilers’ search for defensive help at the deadline, and it’s likely that there would be more than just Edmonton looking to add him to their team. Assuming that’s the case, interested teams will likely want to monitor his health status closely due to this news. In addition to Klingberg, the Ducks also announced that Adam Henrique would be leaving the game with an injury, which could be another injury development with trade deadline implications.

  • New Jersey Devils netminder Mackenzie Blackwood is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, reports NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Starter Vitek Vanecek will retain the lion’s share of Devils starts in Blackwood’s absence. Blackwood will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer and will hope to get this injury behind him and improve on his current .900 save percentage in order to put himself in the best position possible for summer contract negotiations.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have announced that defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been placed on injured reserve. It was previously reported that Ekman-Larsson would miss several weeks with an ankle injury, and now the Canucks have made that reality official on their roster, as they’ve placed Ekman-Larsson on the injured list. With him out, the Canucks are turning to Riley Stillman and Christian Wolanin on the left side of their defense, and will now have an extra spot on the 23-man roster to work with.
  • The Montreal Canadiens have announced that forward Joel Armia has left tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils. He left the bench relatively early in the first period, and at the moment it’s unclear the exact nature of what knocked him out of the game. Armia has had a difficult season, with just eleven points in 31 games. He’s had games where he’s looked quite good, but those games have been met with far longer stretches where he’s faded into the background of games. With the Canadiens already ravaged by injuries, they’ll have to hope that this new injury is a relatively minor one.
  • The Washington Capitals have announced that forward Anthony Mantha has an upper-body injury, and will not return to tonight’s game. It’s been a rough season for Mantha and a difficult adjustment in Washington overall. Mantha has scored nine goals and 24 points in 53 games this season and is being outscored by two of the team’s bargain-bin veteran signings, Erik Gustafsson and Marcus Johansson. Hopefully, this injury proves to be just a minor setback so Matha can quickly return to the ice and work towards ending his season on the right foot.

Mackenzie Blackwood Recalled From Conditioning Stint

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

12:30pm: The Devils have indeed loaned Schmid to the AHL, sending him back to Utica.

9:50am: The New Jersey Devils will have three goaltenders at practice today, as Mackenzie Blackwood has been recalled from his conditioning stint and will rejoin the group. Despite the return, he is still listed on injured reserve for the time being.

Blackwood, 26, recorded an .891 save percentage in two appearances for the Utica Comets, winning one and losing the other. The big netminder is working his way back from a knee injury that kept him out since the beginning of November and his return will put the Devils in a bit of a pickle. While Akira Schmid is only up on an emergency loan and can be assigned back to the minor leagues without issue, he also has been excellent for the team this year. Through eight appearances, Schmid has a .932 save percentage and has only allowed more than two goals once.

For a team that has its eyes set on contending for the Stanley Cup after a brilliant start to the year, swapping out Schmid for Blackwood is a scary thought, even if the team says it has confidence in the former. Blackwood hasn’t been good (or healthy) for quite some time, posting an .897 save percentage since the start of the 2020-21 season. Hopefully, he can get back on the track that made him one of Canada’s top up-and-coming goaltenders a few years ago, but that is anything but guaranteed at this point.

The Devils can’t afford to have him playing at a poor level, especially when they have Schmid waiting in the wings. A trade rumor target for a while now, it remains to be seen whether Blackwood has a future in New Jersey past this season. He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the year and is owed a $3.36MM qualifying offer.

Mackenzie Blackwood Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After rehabbing a knee injury for the last month, Mackenzie Blackwood is ready to get back on the ice and into game action. He’ll do it first at the minor league level, where the New Jersey Devils have loaned him on a conditioning assignment. This allows Blackwood to play a handful of games before coming off long-term injured reserve.

The 26-year-old Blackwood has struggled both to stay healthy and perform at the NHL level in recent years, with an .880 save percentage through seven appearances this season. The team’s primary goaltending spot has been firmly handed over to Vitek Vanecek, who sits 12-2-2 on the year with a .912. The most interesting part will be whether Blackwood can retake the backup spot at all, given the other young netminders in the Devils’ system.

Akira Schmid has looked calm and efficient in his six appearances, posting a .940 and going 5-1. The 22-year-old appears to be playing at a higher level than he did as a rookie last season, when he was forced to play NHL games in his first year as a professional due to all the injuries in New Jersey. The 21-year-old Nico Daws, who actually saw 25 games last year with the Devils, is also grinding away in the minor leagues waiting for another opportunity.

With the team’s newfound contender status, they can’t wait around for Blackwood to regain his form. As a pending arbitration-eligible RFA due a $3.36MM qualifying offer, there’s a real chance that this is his last year with the team. If that’s the case, and his performance doesn’t improve, a longer stint in the minor leagues may eventually be in order. Blackwood would have to clear waivers to do it, but it is no longer rebuild time in New Jersey; the team will have to make some tough decisions to push for the Stanley Cup.

Devils Place Mackenzie Blackwood On IR, Recall Nico Daws

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

November 13: 24 hours later, the Devils have reassigned Daws back to Utica. The move suggests Vanecek is now healthy and ready to go.

November 12: The Devils have made a pair of roster moves in advance of today’s game against Arizona, announcing (Twitter link) that goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood has been placed on injured reserve while netminder Nico Daws has been brought up from AHL Utica.

Blackwood landing on IR is no surprise as he has already been out for more than a week with an MCL sprain.  Technically, his placement was backdated to November 3rd which means he could theoretically be activated at any time.  That said, his expected timeframe for recovery is three to six weeks.

New Jersey needed a roster spot freed up as Vitek Vanecek was injured in Thursday’s victory over Ottawa and will not dress against the Coyotes (but is listed as day-to-day) so Daws will come up to serve as Akira Schmid’s backup for this one.  Daws played in 25 games with the Devils last season, posting a respectable 3.11 GAA along with a .893 SV% on a team that battled goalie injuries all season long.  This year, he has platooned with Schmid with Utica and has a 2.41 GAA and a .908 SV% in five appearances so far.

The Devils have enough cap space left using Jonathan Bernier’s LTIR placement to fit in Daws’ contract.  However, if they have anyone else go down with an injury, they will likely either have to push Blackwood or winger Ondrej Palat to LTIR to be able to afford to bring someone else up from the Comets.

New Jersey Devils Provide Injury Updates

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s not great news for New Jersey Devils fans, even if the team is doing well at the moment. Mackenzie Blackwood will be out for three to six weeks with the MCL sprain he recently suffered and, according to team reporter Amanda Stein, Ondrej Palat will miss eight to ten weeks following groin surgery.

While head coach Lindy Ruff did joke that Palat would disagree with that timeline, it’s still a long period to be without your top free agent signing. Palat was supposed to come in and show the Devils how to play like champions and will now miss more than two months with a serious injury. The 31-year-old signed a five-year, $30MM contract with the Devils and makes a whopping $8.25MM this season. He scored three goals before going down.

Luckily the Devils are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, on a six-game winning streak and now 9-1 in their last ten. After a shaky start they have been getting outstanding goaltending, something that will now have to continue with Vitek Vanecek carrying the load. Akira Schmid is up as well to fill in for the absent Blackwood, but Devils fans won’t want to go down that road again.

Because of injuries, New Jersey was forced to ice seven different netminders last season, with Nico Daws actually tying Blackwood for the most appearances. With so much turnover no one was able to perform very well and the team had an .886 save percentage overall. It is vital that Vanecek, who has a .940 over his last five starts (all wins), stays healthy for the next stretch or things could quickly derail for the Metropolitan-leading club.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Blackwood, Ristolainen

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with three Western Conference superstars making the cut. Jason Robertson is on top after scoring four goals and eight points in three games. After missing training camp, Robertson has picked up right where he left off last season and now has eight goals and 18 points in 12 games.

Second and third went to Nathan MacKinnon and Erik Karlsson, who each had their own impressive weeks. The Colorado Avalanche center had seven assists in the two games overseas, both wins in Finland, to become the league’s all-time scoring leader in games played outside of North America. Karlsson meanwhile had four goals and eight points in three games including a hat trick and has already matched his goal total from last year (ten) in just 14 games.

  • Mackenzie Blackwood has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain, and will meet with doctors tomorrow for further evaluation according to New Jersey Devils team reporter Amanda Stein. Blackwood left a game against the Edmonton Oilers on November 3, leaving the Devils with Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid as their tandem for the time being.
  • After being scratched on the weekend, some wondered whether Rasmus Ristolainen was still dealing with the effects of his previous injury. Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella told reporters including Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer that Ristolainen’s injury isn’t the issue and that “everything about his game needs to be better” when he gets back into the lineup.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top