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Mats Zuccarello

Jared Spurgeon, Mats Zuccarello Out With Core Muscle Injuries

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Every year, veteran players on playoff teams end up having to go under the knife at the end of the season. The Minnesota Wild are no different, as both Jared Spurgeon and Mats Zuccarello will face recovery timelines of six weeks after core muscle surgery. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Spurgeon has already undergone the procedure, while Zuccarello is scheduled for it. The latter also dealt with a fracture in his leg which will not require surgery.

For Spurgeon, the injury goes back to before the January 1 Winter Classic according to Russo. That means he played at least 50 games while dealing with it, including six playoff matches against the St. Louis Blues. It’s easy to understand that he was dealing with something (or perhaps several things), as the team captain’s ice time dropped dramatically in the postseason. Spurgeon averaged just over 20 minutes, and actually didn’t even reach that threshold in three of the six games. Still, he finished the regular season with a strong 40 points in 65 matches.

Zuccarello meanwhile had the best offensive season of his career, putting up 79 points in 70 games. He did have four points in six playoff games as well, but the Wild were outscored 6-5 while he was on the ice, a huge change from the regular season (Minnesota outscored their opponent 77-54 with him at even-strength) and a big reason why they were eventually eliminated.

A six-week timeline certainly isn’t the end of the world, given how far away the 2022-23 season is, but core muscle surgeries are notorious for impacting performance long after the player is cleared to hit the ice. Hopefully, for the Wild’s sake at least, both players will be at full strength when the season kicks off and ready to challenge for the playoffs once again.

Playoff Injury Notes: Penguins, Wild, Nurse

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced, per Head Coach Mike Sullivan, that forward Jason Zucker and goaltender Tristan Jarry have been updated as day-to-day, though they are not expected to play in at least the next couple of games (link). Having the two players come back into the lineup would be a major step for Pittsburgh, with Zucker increasing their forward and scoring depth, a crucial key to playoff success, and Jarry of course being their number one goaltender. Though it appears neither will be able to go for the Penguins in Game 1 or 2 in New York against the Rangers, they could look to Game 3 at home on Saturday night as a return for the pair.

Zucker has dealt with his share of injuries this season, ultimately playing in just 41 of the Penguins 82 games this season, recording 17 points in the process. The veteran forward had been playing down the stretch for Pittsburgh, but was injured early in Tuesday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers and has not played since. Jarry had been having a stellar season in net for the Penguins, posting a 2.42 goals-against average and .919 save-percentage, however he was declared week-to-week on April 16th after last playing April 14th against the New York Islanders, a game in which he did play the full 60 minutes.

  • The Minnesota Wild could be due to get a couple of key pieces in the lineup in time for their playoff series against the St. Louis Blues. As The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports, both Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Foligno practiced this morning for the Wild (link). Zuccarello has done well to stay healthy for a majority of this season, however he has not played since April 22nd after suffering a lower-body injury.  Foligno on the other hand was only injured on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche, the Wild’s final game of the season. As encouraging as the news is, the Wild have not confirmed whether either player will be available for Game 1 on Monday night. Having both players in the lineup is crucial for the Wild, as both earned career-highs in points this season, with Zuccarello ranking third on the team in points and Foligno considered one of the better two-way players in the sport.
  • According to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, Edmonton Oiler’s defenseman Darnell Nurse was on the ice practicing this morning (link). The star defenseman had been injured in the Oilers April 22nd game against the Colorado Avalanche and has not played since. This news is definitely encouraging for Edmonton, but according to Derek Van Diest of Postmedia, Nurse was still non-committal about whether or not he’d play in Game 1 Monday night (link). While much of the attention in Edmonton goes to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and for good reason, Nurse is an essential component for the Oilers, logging 25 minutes per night on the backend, contributing shutdown defense to go along with quality offensive production.

Central Notes: Zuccarello, Borowiecki, Matteau, Reichel

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Wild winger Mats Zuccarello was a late scratch for their game in Ottawa tonight with what the team revealed (Twitter link) was an upper-body injury.  Michael Russo of The Athletic adds (via Twitter) that the injury is not believed to be too serious.  The 34-year-old is well on his way to a career year with 52 points in just 41 games, good for second on the team in scoring behind Kirill Kaprizov.

More from the Central:

  • The Predators announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Mark Borowiecki is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury and didn’t play tonight against Florida. The veteran – who recently signed a contract extension – has played in 41 games this season, recording just two assists but has 137 hits and a league-high 103 penalty minutes.
  • The Avalanche activated winger Stefan Matteau and assigned him to AHL Colorado, per a team release. The 27-year-old was recalled to the Avs back in October but suffered a lower-body injury in his first game and has been out since then.  Matteau’s assignment clears another $750K off Colorado’s books, a small bit of savings towards their trade deadline spending.
  • While Lukas Reichel is currently up with the Blackhawks, they’re expected to send the rookie down before their next game on Friday, relays Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The 19-year-old has certainly held his own in his first four NHL contests but if Chicago can limit him to nine or fewer NHL appearances this season, he won’t burn the first year of his entry-level contract and it appears that the team is preferring to give him a few short stints rather than one extended stretch to get to that threshold.

Snapshots: Paquette, Zuccarello, Canadiens Quarantine

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The Montreal Canadiens are absolutely ravaged at the moment by injuries and COVID, and bad turned to worse today when forward Cedric Paquette didn’t finish Saturday’s game against the Florida Panthers due to a neck injury, per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Montreal dressed just 11 forwards and five defensemen for that game, a 5-2 loss. They had just three players dressed with a cap hit greater than $1MM, with the majority of their lineup filled out by rookies and AHL call-ups. Paquette played a third-line role, centering Lukas Vejdemo and Alex Belzile. Paquette’s only played in 18 games this season, missing some time due to injury and suspension, but he only has one assist while averaging 9:11 per game. More injury news is certainly concerning for the 28-year-old Paquette, who signed a one-year deal with Montreal this offseason.

More notes from around the league on the first day of 2022:

  • With the Minnesota Wild missing captain Jared Spurgeon from tonight’s Winter Classic due to a lower-body injury, The Athletic’s Michael Russo tweets that right wing Mats Zuccarello will serve as the third alternate captain for the outdoor spectacle. Matt Dumba and Marcus Foligno are healthy and will serve as the other two alternates, as per usual. Zuccarello fought back from an early-season injury to have one of the most productive starts of his career, posting 24 points through 24 games. The Norwegian winger will likely reprise his role on the team’s top line, playing alongside Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman.
  • The Canadiens aren’t playing again until January 12th at the earliest as their entire upcoming four-game homestand is postponed. The team won’t complain due to the aforementioned excessive amount of lineup absences, but now, head coach Dominique Ducharme says that a five-day quarantine for the entire team upon their return to Montreal is possible and will be discussed. While it won’t affect their playing schedule, it could give a chance for players to stay healthy and help their lineup get back to having experienced NHLers in the mix.

Injury Notes: Zuccarello, Joseph, Kase

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Minnesota Wild right wing Mats Zuccarello was absent from Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with an upper-body injury. While the Wild were able to take the game with a 4-2 win, Zuccarello’s great performance so far this season (16 points in 16 games) means they’ll want him back as soon as possible. Head coach Dean Evason said after the game that Zuccarello’s got a “nasty injury” on his bottom hand. Zuccarello will try to practice during the Wild’s optional skate tomorrow, but Evason offers no guarantees.

More injury news from around the league:

  • Mathieu Joseph of the Tampa Bay Lightning sustained an injury and did not return to today’s game against Minnesota. Joseph had been playing in the team’s top six along with Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli and had seven points in 19 games. It’s a tough blow to a team that’s already missing Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point up front. It’s unknown if Joseph will miss how much, if any, time.
  • Ondrej Kase isn’t returning for the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, but head coach Sheldon Keefe assures that his absence is more precautionary in nature. An upper-body injury to Kase is concerning considering his concussion history, but Keefe said today “There’s no clarity on that right now. But that has not been designated as the case.” Kase’s been working out on his own without practicing with the team.

Central Notes: Strome, Byram, Zuccarello

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It wasn’t all that long ago that Blackhawks center Dylan Strome was viewed as a potential centerpiece player when he was drafted third overall by Arizona back in 2015.  Even as recently as 2019-20 when he had a good season with Chicago, he still looked like a part of a longer-term core in Chicago.  But since then, he has struggled mightily and it doesn’t appear as if other teams around the league believe he could rebound as Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that they haven’t been able to get a team to meet their asking price of a mid-round draft pick for Strome’s services.  The 24-year-old has just a goal and two assists this season in 12 games while being a frequent healthy scratch.  His AAV of $3MM is problematic while a $3.6MM qualifying offer looms large as well.  If a mid-round pick isn’t feasible, it appears that interim GM Kyle Davidson will need to consider some retention to try to find a new place for Strome to play.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • The Avalanche will be welcoming back defenseman Bowen Byram tonight, notes Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now. The sophomore was off to a strong start to his season with eight points in 11 games while logging nearly 20 minutes a game before suffering an upper-body injury a little over two weeks ago.  Despite being IR-eligible, Byram has remained on Colorado’s active roster so no move to free up a roster spot will be needed.
  • While Wild winger Mats Zuccarello left Friday’s victory over Winnipeg after taking a slash in the hand, head coach Dean Evason told reporters including Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press that his absence was precautionary and that he could have returned if needed. However, Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune relays (Twitter link) that the veteran was absent from practice today which could call into question his availability for Sunday’s game versus Tampa Bay.

Injury Notes: O’Reilly, Wild, Schenn

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St. Louis Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly is likely to return to the lineup Sunday night when they take on the Anaheim Ducks, per Blues writer Chris Pinkert. The 30-year-old center missed the team’s last four games while in COVID-19 protocol. He’s likely to return to top-line duties between David Perron as well as Brandon Saad, who’s also missed time while in COVID-19 protocol this season. Prior to departing the lineup, O’Reilly had five points in five games while averaging 19:13 of ice time per game.

Other injury notes from around the league:

Rem Pitlick, Mats Zuccarello Placed In COVID Protocol

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The Minnesota Wild have placed Rem Pitlick and Mats Zuccarello in the league’s COVID-19 protocol, after reports surfaced yesterday suggesting that testing had brought back positive results. The team has recalled Connor Dewar, Kyle Rau and Jon Lizotte from the Iowa Wild to reinforce the NHL lineup.

Minnesota did not indicate whether either Pitlick or Zuccarello have tested positive for coronavirus, and it is important to remember that inclusion in the protocol does not mean that a player has. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol.

The Wild canceled practice yesterday with the test results pending, and now will appear to be without the services of two forwards for tonight’s game against the Seattle Kraken. Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets that the pair will continue to test over the next two days to try and confirm a positive result.

Zuccarello in particular is an extremely important piece for Minnesota, who has averaged more than 18 minutes a night this season and has seven points in six games. The 34-year-old continues to be one of the more effective playmakers in the league, and is coming off a season with 35 points in 42 games.

Pitlick meanwhile made his Wild debut on Tuesday, registering an assist in just over nine minutes of action. The 24-year-old was claimed off waivers earlier this month from the Nashville Predators and has shown a strong goal-scoring ability in the minor leagues. A former Minnesota Golden Gopher, he looks like a nice addition for the Wild early on.

Minnesota Will Allow Mats Zuccarello To Play In Olympic Qualifiers

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Wild winger Mats Zuccarello has been granted permission from the team to suit up for Norway at the Olympic qualifying tournament this summer, the veteran confirmed to VG’s Oystein Jarlsbo and Helge Mikalsen.  It will be his first time suiting up for the national team since 2017.

The 33-year-old is coming off of one of his better seasons statistically, in terms of per-game numbers as he put up 11 goals and 24 assists in 42 games; his 0.83 points per game average tied the highest of his career.  Not surprisingly, he’ll immediately become Norway’s top offensive threat in the tournament.  This will be his second time playing in the Olympic qualifiers with his first attempt coming four years ago where he led the Norwegians in scoring with five points in three games.

There are three sets of Olympic qualifying tournaments being held this summer with the winner from each earning the final three spots.  Norway will host a group with South Korea, Slovenia, and Denmark.  Slovakia will host the group with Austria, Belarus, and Poland, while Latvia hosts France, Italy, and Hungary.  There are a handful of NHL players from those countries and those teams will need to decide soon whether or not they will be allowing them to participate like Minnesota has done with Zuccarello.

Wild Notes: Dumba, Parise, First Round Picks

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Although the Minnesota Wild played well in their seven-game first round series against the Vegas Golden Knights, losing with dignity to one of the best teams in the NHL this season, their loss has already fired the rumor mill back up, reports Sarah MacLellan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. At the center of the speculation yet again is defenseman Matt Dumba. Despite another strong season for the 26-year-old blue liner, capped off by a postseason in which he tied for the team lead in points, there is still speculation over Dumba’s future in Minnesota stemming from the impending NHL Expansion Draft. The Wild can only protect three defensemen and seven forwards or instead eight skaters total from selection by the Seattle Kraken. With Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin all carrying No-Movement Clauses, the trio all must be protected. The only way that the team can use the 7-3 format and also protect Dumba would be fore one those three to waive their NMC and allow themselves to be exposed. Otherwise, the Wild will have to protect eight skaters, but with Zach Parise and Mats Zuccarello also with No-Movement Clauses, this would mean Minnesota would have to leave multiple promising young forwards exposed in order to make room for Dumba, including at least one of Joel Eriksson Ek or Jordan Greenway. One thing that is certain is that Minnesota will not let Dumba be taken for free by future Western Conference rival Seattle. If the team cannot convince a veteran to waive their NMC and decide the 7-3 protection scheme is their best choice, Dumba will be traded before the Expansion Draft – hence the abundant speculation. Dumba has stated many times that he would like to remain with the Wild, so the organization is obviously doing all they can to make it work.

  • Another player who would like to stay in Minnesota is Parise. The 36-year-old is coming off of a down year and was even benched for the first three games of the Wild’s first round series. However, he impressed in the remainder of the series once activated. Parise can still play at a high level, but not commensurate to his $7.5MM+ cap hit over four more years. The Wild have tried to move the contract in the past and may do so again this summer, but Parise hopes they don’t. He told Dane Mizutani of TwinCities.com that he “[doesn’t] want to play anywhere else” but for his hometown team. As Mizutani points out, he shouldn’t be too worried given his albatross of a contract. Ironically though, one way that Parise could prove his loyalty to the club would be to waive his NMC for the Expansion Draft, allowing Minnesota to protect all of Dumba, Eriksson Ek, and Greenway in an 8-skater format. There is no way that Seattle would touch Parise’s contract, so it could be a win-win for both sides.
  • While the Wild are certainly not looking forward to the Expansion Draft – even if Dumba, Eriksson Ek, and Greenway are safe, the team will still lose a good player like Carson Soucy or Marcus Foligno – they are definitely excited for the NHL Entry Draft. With the Pittsburgh Penguins opting to send their 2021 first-round pick rather than their 2020 for last year’s Jason Zucker trade, the Wild will now have two picks in the top 32 this year. Not only that, but they will have two picks very close together as well. Minnesota’s own pick is locked in at No. 22 overall, but if the Tampa Bay Lightning advance to the next round, Pittsburgh’s pick will be No. 25, allowing the Wild to control the board with two picks out of four selections. They could also look to package the two picks to potentially move up into the top half of the first round. With a pipeline that is already well-stocked, Minnesota has put themselves in position to stay competitive for a long time with a strong roster and deep system after adding two first-rounders this year, as well as all of their own picks and another Pittsburgh pick in the third round.

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