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Nick Foligno

Bruins Notes: Krejci, Orlov, Foligno

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The Boston Bruins season ended abruptly earlier this week. Their record regular season saw them win 65 games and set an NHL record, and they jumped out to a 3-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers before losing three straight and being eliminated in overtime of Game 7. You can expect players to need some time to decompress after such a shocking series loss, and David Krejci is one who will need to take some time to think about his future, according to Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com.

The 37-year-old center returned to the NHL after spending one season in Czechia and scored 16 goals and 56 points in 70 games for the Bruins. Benjamin reports that the veteran is already close to making a decision on next season but wants to ensure he takes the proper time before making an announcement. It should not be long before we hear from the pending free agent, but there are only two options as he will either return to the Bruins or retire.

  • Matt Porter of the Boston Globe reports Dmitry Orlov also is considering his options for next season already. The 31-year-old defenseman played his entire NHL career with the Washington Capitals before being dealt to the Bruins at the trade deadline. He fit in extremely well in Boston, but Porter suggests Orlov is looking to return to Washington next season when he becomes a free agent in July.
  • One player who sounds more ready to stay in Boston is veteran forward Nick Foligno. He just wrapped up the final year of his two-year contract with the Bruins but Porter reports Foligno is interested in returning. The 35-year-old winger feels he still has a lot left to offer and is a big part of the team. He would have to take a significant pay cut after earning $3.8MM the past two seasons and scoring twn goals and 26 points in 60 games, but he can still contribute in a fourth line role.

East Injury Notes: Jeannot, McLeod, Foligno

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Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said today that forward Tanner Jeannot is progressing quicker than expected in his recovery from a leg injury and could suit up sometime during their First Round series. He listed Jeannot’s status as day-to-day and confirmed he will not play in Game 1 against Toronto tomorrow, although he did practice this morning.

Jeannot missed the last three games of the regular season after sustaining the injury in an April 6 game against the New York Islanders. The 25-year-old has struggled offensively with Tampa since he was acquired for a massive haul ahead of the trade deadline, recording a goal and three assists in 20 games. The Lightning are hoping Jeannot’s aggressive style of play can make more of an impact in the postseason when he returns to playing health.

  • New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod is available for Game 1 against the New York Rangers tomorrow, head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed. McLeod missed the Devils’ 81st game of the season with an undisclosed injury and was scratched for their final game. The 25-year-old, who had 26 points in 80 games this season, is expected to make his playoff debut Tuesday.
  • While the availability of some other Boston Bruins players is uncertain, head coach Jim Montgomery said there’s a “strong possibility” Nick Foligno returns to the lineup tonight after a months-long absence. Foligno missed the last 22 regular-season games with a lower-body injury, but his return from long-term injured reserve gives the Bruins an additional 62 games of playoff experience to inject into their lineup. He notched one assist in seven playoff games with Boston last year.

Atlantic Injury Updates: Bruins, Bennett, Sanderson

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After a report yesterday signaling that Boston Bruins star center David Krejci would be shut down for the remainder of the regular season, head coach Jim Montgomery announces that he will be ready for Game 1 of the NHL playoffs. This is good news for the Bruins, as Krejci is one of their best playoff performers in franchise history.

Montgomery also made time for several other injury updates, noting that Vezina candidate Linus Ullmark would not make the trip with the team as they head to Montreal for their final game of the season. Nothing is imminent on that front, as Ullmark snagged the win against the Washington Capitals last night, but Montgomery notes that the team is trying to be precautionary with their goalie.

For their depth players, primarily about injured defenseman Derek Forbort and forward Nick Foligno, the Bruins head coach says they are both, “checking boxes”. It’s unclear whether either will be ready for the Bruins’ first-round playoff matchup. With the depth Boston added to their blue line at the trade deadline, it’s also unclear whether Forbort would play for the Bruins in the playoffs regardless. Foligno would be a much more lethal addition, rebounding from a disastrous 2021-22 season, scoring 10 goals and 16 assists for the Bruins this year.

For this year’s playoffs, the Bruins will have a home-ice advantage throughout the entirety. Although the Eastern Conference wild-card race has not been entirely settled yet, they will play the Florida Panthers, New York Islanders, or the Pittsburgh Penguins for their opening-round matchup.

Other injury updates from the Atlantic Division:

  • Jameson Olive, the Senior Digital Content Manager for the Panthers, relays on a message from head coach Paul Maurice, announcing that forward Sam Bennett will not play in Florida’s final regular season game. Although the Panthers clinched a spot in the playoffs last night, they don’t know if they will be playing the Bruins or the winner of the Metropolitan division. The team has played well in Bennett’s absence, as the forward has not played since their March 20th win against the Detroit Red Wings. Bennett has had a similar year to his last, scoring 16 goals and 24 assists for the Panthers this season.
  • Spending last summer rehabbing from an injury, Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson is looking to get a proper summer of training under his belt. In doing so, Bruce Garrioch of TSN is reporting that Sanderson has declined to play for Team USA in the upcoming World Championship. In 76 games for the Senators during his rookie season, the young defenseman has scored four goals and 27 assists. If they weren’t quite ready for it this season, the Senators are fully prepared to make a run to the playoffs next year. After the addition of Jakob Chychrun at this year’s trade deadline, they will have a lethal blue line if Sanderson can continue progressing this summer.

Nominees Announced For 2023 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 Professional Hockey Writers’ Association has voted on the award since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2023.

Past winners of the award include Carey Price (2022), Oskar Lindblom (2021), Bobby Ryan (2020), Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), and Jaromir Jagr (2016).

Below are the nominees from each team:

Anaheim Ducks – Jakob Silfverberg

Arizona Coyotes – Clayton Keller

Boston Bruins – Nick Foligno

Buffalo Sabres – Craig Anderson

Calgary Flames – Mikael Backlund

Carolina Hurricanes – Jordan Martinook

Chicago Blackhawks – Alex Stalock

Colorado Avalanche – Andrew Cogliano

Columbus Blue Jackets – Boone Jenner

Dallas Stars – Jamie Benn

Detroit Red Wings – Robby Fabbri

Edmonton Oilers – Derek Ryan

Florida Panthers – Patric Hornqvist

Los Angeles Kings – Pheonix Copley

Minnesota Wild – Mason Shaw

Montreal Canadiens – Alex Belzile

Nashville Predators – Cody Glass

New Jersey Devils – Dougie Hamilton

New York Islanders – Zach Parise

New York Rangers – Jimmy Vesey

Ottawa Senators – Derick Brassard

Philadelphia Flyers – Nick Seeler

Pittsburgh Penguins – Kris Letang

San Jose Sharks – Nikolai Knyzhov

Seattle Kraken – Brandon Tanev

St. Louis Blues – Sammy Blais

Tampa Bay Lightning – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Toronto Maple Leafs – Mark Giordano

Vancouver Canucks – Brock Boeser

Vegas Golden Knights – Phil Kessel

Washington Capitals – John Carlson

Winnipeg Jets – Sam Gagner

Bruins Activate Taylor Hall From LTIR, Place Two Players On LTIR

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The Bruins will be welcoming back a key forward tonight against New Jersey as the team announced that winger Taylor Hall has been activated from LTIR.  To create the cap space to do so, Boston transferred winger Nick Foligno and defenseman Derek Forbort on LTIR while assigning center Oskar Steen to AHL Providence.

Hall has been out for more than a month with a lower-body injury.  The injury occurred just days before the trade deadline; his LTIR placement created the cap space for them to go add Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit to further deepen their roster.  Hall isn’t the Hart Trophy-winning player he once was but the 31-year-old has been a capable secondary scorer for the Bruins this season, picking up 16 goals and 20 assists in 58 games.

The placements of Foligno and Forbort on LTIR shouldn’t be any cause for concern.  The team remains hopeful that Foligno will be available at some point in the first round while Forbort had been ruled out for the rest of the season nearly three weeks ago and could be back at some point in the postseason.  Neither player has suffered a setback and these moves were strictly for cap purposes.  There is no cap in the playoffs so when Foligno and Forbort are able to return, they will be eligible to play.

As for Steen, he has been shuffled to and from the minors quite a bit recently; this is his third demotion in the last two weeks.  The 25-year-old has played in three games with the big club this season, picking up a goal.  Steen has spent most of the year with Providence, tallying 14 goals and 17 assists in 63 contests and is likely to be one of the first recall options should someone else get injured in the coming days.

Atlantic Notes: Harvey-Pinard, Armia, Acciari, Foligno

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Canadiens rookie winger Rafael Harvey-Pinard leads all NHL rookies in goals since being recalled a little over two months ago which is something that should definitely help this summer in restricted free agency.  However, it will be a new agency representing him as Quartexx announced (Twitter link) that the 24-year-old is now one of their clients.  He had previously been represented by CEM Hockey.  Harvey-Pinard has 14 goals and five assists in 32 games since being recalled and is already tied for fourth on Montreal in goals.  Even though he’s just finishing his entry-level contract, he will be eligible for salary arbitration this summer.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Canadiens winger Joel Armia participated in practice today with a regular jersey, relays TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has missed more than a month with an upper respiratory infection.  It has been a tough year for Armia who has been limited to just 37 games this season and has just seven points but it appears he’ll have a chance to at least get into a few more contests before their 2022-23 campaign comes to an end.
  • While Maple Leafs forward Noel Acciari returned to practice today, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link) that Acciari won’t play this weekend. The veteran missed Wednesday’s game against Florida with an undisclosed injury but Keefe clarified that it is a neck/whiplash injury.  The 31-year-old has three goals and 57 hits in 17 games since being acquired from St. Louis back in mid-February.
  • There is some optimism that Bruins winger Nick Foligno should be ready to return for the playoffs, notes Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The 35-year-old has missed the last month due to a lower-body injury and is currently on injured reserve but not LTIR.  Foligno has had a bit of a bounce-back campaign, notching 10 goals and 16 assists in 60 games after recording just two goals and 11 helpers in 64 contests in 2021-22.

Bruins Injury Notes: Marchand, Hall, Foligno

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The Boston Bruins have been active in the days leading up to the trade deadline. They have already acquired defenseman Dmitry Orlov and winger Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals as well as Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings. The reinforcements may be needed as a few players are injured, but the team did get some good news when it comes to one of their best forwards.

Brad Marchand left Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres with an injury. According to Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic, the star two-way winger avoided serious injury and will be available for tomorrow night’s game. Marchand has 53 points in 53 games this season, so this news is a sigh of relief for the team at the top of the NHL standings.

  • The news was not all good for the Bruins. Matt Porter of the Boston Globe reports Taylor Hall is going to need a second opinion to diagnose his knee injury. A timeline for his return is not available but Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports it could be in the four week range.
  • Seravalli also mentions the injury to Nick Foligno could be long term. In fact, the winger may miss the rest of the regular season. It is not ideal to have players missing long stretches of time with injuries, but if Foligno is out until the playoffs, the Bruins can place him on LTIR and free up $3.8MM in cap space to use before today’s trade deadline.

Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno Placed On Injured Reserve

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It’s not all roses for the Boston Bruins today. After acquiring Tyler Bertuzzi and signing David Pastrnak to a long-term extension, the team has announced some injury news. Taylor Hall has been placed on long-term injured reserve, and Nick Foligno on regular injured reserve. With the extra roster spot, Jakub Lauko has been recalled.

Hall’s placement on LTIR explains how the team was able to fit Bertuzzi under the cap, but also means the winger will miss at least ten games with the lower-body injury he suffered a few days ago.

Darren Dreger of TSN reported earlier today that he is getting a second opinion, though it seems he’ll be out for a while either way.

Hall hadn’t scored in his last five games and has been rather pedestrian this season compared to his previous lofty performances, though with so much talent in Boston, it’s hard to really stand out. His 16 goals and 36 points in 58 games represent a solid secondary contributor, one that will now effectively be replaced by Bertuzzi in the lineup.

Foligno, 35, has slowed down tremendously from his fast start, with only 13 points coming since the beginning of December (38 games). The veteran forward is still capable defensively and can fill in up the lineup in a pinch, but is more of a depth player for the Bruins at this point in his career. Even before the injury, he had averaged less than 13 minutes in his ten previous games.

The Bruins can afford some injuries, but these are still things to monitor as the postseason approaches. Boston is built to win the Stanley Cup this season and has poured assets into the trade deadline to chase it.

2022 King Clancy Trophy Nominees Announced

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The NHL has announced the 31 nominees for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually presented to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.

Each team submits one nominee. This year’s are:

Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Getzlaf

Arizona Coyotes: Andrew Ladd

Boston Bruins: Nick Foligno

Buffalo Sabres: Jeff Skinner

Calgary Flames: Mikael Backlund

Carolina Hurricanes: Jordan Staal

Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Murphy

Colorado Avalanche: Nazem Kadri

Columbus Blue Jackets: Jack Roslovic

Dallas Stars: Jason Robertson

Detroit Red Wings: Alex Nedeljkovic

Edmonton Oilers: Darnell Nurse

Florida Panthers: Aleksander Barkov

Los Angeles Kings: Cal Petersen

Minnesota Wild: Matt Dumba

Montreal Canadiens: Jake Allen

Nashville Predators: Luke Kunin

New Jersey Devils: P.K. Subban

New York Islanders: Anders Lee

New York Rangers: Chris Kreider

Ottawa Senators: Nick Holden

Philadelphia Flyers: Scott Laughton

Pittsburgh Penguins: Bryan Rust

San Jose Sharks: Matt Nieto

Seattle Kraken: Jaden Schwartz

St. Louis Blues: Ryan O’Reilly

Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman

Toronto Maple Leafs: Wayne Simmonds

Vancouver Canucks: Bo Horvat

Vegas Golden Knights: Max Pacioretty

Washington Capitals: Garnet Hathaway

Winnipeg Jets: Josh Morrissey

Atlantic Notes: Kuzmenko, Boucher, Bruins, Allen

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Free agent winger Andrei Kuzmenko appears to have narrowed his list of teams he’s considering signing with for next season and the Senators are on that list, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link).  Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion indicated recently they were interested in the 25-year-old who sits second in KHL scoring this season with 20 goals and 33 assists in 45 games.  Kuzmenko is expected to wait until after the season to sign, ensuring he’ll be capped at a one-year, entry-level pact while allowing him to be eligible for unrestricted free agency in the 2023 offseason.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • Still with Ottawa, Dorion mentioned in an appearance on 630 CHED (audio link) that winger Tyler Boucher won’t be playing right away with OHL Ottawa. The Senators recently signed the 2021 first-round pick, ending his college eligibility but he is dealing with a lingering injury that will take a week or two to recover.
  • The Bruins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Derek Forbort has cleared COVID protocol, missing only the minimum five days. His return will be a welcome one with John Moore being injured against Montreal on Wednesday and Matt Grzelcyk recently entering COVID protocol himself.  Meanwhile, forward Trent Frederic isn’t ready to return yet from his upper-body injury while winger Nick Foligno has resumed skating as he works his way back from his lower-body issue.
  • The Canadiens announced that goaltender Jake Allen has returned to Montreal to undergo further evaluation on an upper-body injury sustained on Wednesday in Boston. Allen was placed on injured reserve yesterday and will miss at least a week while the team won’t return back home until January 27th when their 10-game road trip (due to scheduling changes) comes to an end.

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