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Nicolas Hague

West Notes: Demko, Stone, Hague, Hartman

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Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko has taken another important step back in his recovery from a popliteus muscle injury.  Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province reports that the netminder worked on the ice today with goalie coach Marko Torenius before practice today; it’s believed this is his first day back on the ice after working out on his own over the last few weeks.  Demko has yet to play this season due to the injury, one that took him out early in the first round of the playoffs back in the spring.  That resulted in Vancouver signing Kevin Lankinen early in training camp, a move that has worked out well as he has posted a 2.29 GAA with a .920 SV% in his first six starts.

More from the West:

  • Golden Knights winger Mark Stone missed practice today for personal reasons, the team announced (Twitter link). The 32-year-old is off to quite the start to his season, leading the league in scoring with five goals and 14 assists in 11 games.  Stone has dealt with lingering back issues for the past several years but fortunately for Vegas, this absence isn’t injury-related.  It’s unclear if he will be available for their next game Saturday versus Utah as his wife is ready to give birth to their second child.
  • Still with Vegas, the team also noted (Twitter link) that defenseman Nicolas Hague was back at practice today. He has been dealing with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for three straight games but he wasn’t moved to injured reserve.  The 25-year-old was off to a slow start before the injury, notching one goal, 11 blocks, and nine hits in eight games so far.
  • With the Wild back at home for the first time in nearly three weeks, they will indeed welcome Ryan Hartman back to the lineup tonight against Tampa Bay, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo (Twitter link). That was the expected outcome after Liam Ohgren was returned to the minors yesterday.  Hartman missed the last five games with an upper-body injury after scoring twice in his first four outings.

West Notes: Jiricek, Kesselring, Hague

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The St. Louis Blues have reassigned defenseman Adam Jiricek to the Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Bulldogs (news release). Jiricek was the 16th overall pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft and will bring a wealth of experience to the Bulldogs, having already accumulated 31 games of professional experience in his native Czechia.

The younger brother of Columbus defenseman David Jiricek has played quite a bit internationally in the last few seasons, including appearances in the U17 World Hockey Challenge, U18 World Hockey Championships, Hlinka-Gretzky Cup & World Junior Hockey Championships.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • Utah Hockey Club defenseman Michael Kesselring is out with an illness and will be a game-time decision tomorrow night (as per Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune). Kesselring logged almost 23 minutes in ice time last night in a loss against the San Jose Sharks but woke up and was sick with a fever today. The 24-year-old has seen a huge increase in ice time this season, averaging over 20 minutes a night in the absence of top-four defensemen John Marino and Sean Durzi. Kesselring has filled in admirably, posting two goals and three assists in 10 games this season.
  • Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague has been officially ruled out for tomorrow night’s game against the Los Angeles Kings (as per Sin Bin Vegas). The 25-year-old skated by himself as he ramped up his efforts to get back into the lineup. Hague last played on October 25th and will miss his third consecutive game with a lower-body injury. Kaedan Korczak will likely continue to fill in for Hague on the Golden Knights backend. Korczak has dressed in three games this season, posting a single assist while averaging over 16 minutes of ice time per game.

Evening Notes: Vesey, Hague, Joseph

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Mollie Walker of New York Post Sports reports that New York Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey has been upgraded from a non-contact jersey and skated in a regular one today at Rangers practice. The 31-year-old sustained a lower-body injury during the preseason and has yet to dress in a regular game after playing 80 games last season and 81 the year before.

The Boston, Massachusetts native only resumed skating last Thursday and could play at some point this week if he progresses. New York has been using a revolving group of forwards in Vesey’s absence and re-called Matt Rempe yesterday from Hartford to presumably fill in until Vesey is ready to return.

In other evening notes:

  • Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague remains day to day with a lower-body injury (as per Jesse Granger of The Athletic). The 25-year-old was injured in the second period of Friday night’s 6-4 win over the Ottawa Senators after scoring his first goal of the season earlier in the game. Kaedan Korczak replaced Hague on Saturday against San Jose, and it appears as though Hague will miss tonight’s game against Calgary. Hague has a single point on the season in eight games and has struggled to start the year as his possession numbers have been abysmal with a 37.8 CF% at even strength (as per Hockey Reference).
  • St. Louis Blues forward Mathieu Joseph will be returning to St. Louis to be evaluated after he suffered a lower-body injury in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Montreal (as per Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post Dispatch). Joseph will reportedly miss the remainder of the Blues road trip which sees them in Ottawa tomorrow night and Philadelphia on Thursday. Joseph has had a decent start in his first season with St. Louis posting two goals and two assists in nine games while being one of the team’s top penalty-killing options.

Pacific Notes: Vegas Injuries, Bahl, Gazizov

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The Vegas Golden Knights were without forward William Karlsson and defenseman Nicolas Hague at practice today (X Link). The former hasn’t been with the team since this past Sunday while Hague seemingly injured himself in last night’s preseason contests against the Los Angeles Kings.

One would reasonably assume Karlsson is dealing with an undisclosed injury given that Vegas held him out of Tuesday’s practice and the game yesterday evening. He did practice toward the start of training camp but may enter the 2024-25 regular season without factoring into a preseason game. Karlsson is coming off another solid season for the Golden Knights last year scoring 30 goals and 60 points in 70 games and will look to build on that total this year.

Hague shouldn’t be out too long with Jesse Granger of The Athletic reporting he was out for a maintenance day. This was thought to be the likely reason for his absence from practice today as Hague returned to play the rest of last night’s action after missing briefly at the start of the second period. Granger shared that head coach Bruce Cassidy expects Hague to return to practice tomorrow with the team.

Other Pacific notes:

  •  Head coach of the Calgary Flames, Ryan Huska, indicates defenseman Kevin Bahl could be making his preseason debut with the organization as reported by Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg. The 6’6″ defenseman is preparing to begin his first year with the Flames after being the only player acquired by the team in the trade that sent goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils. Steinberg shares that Bahl has been nursing a lower-body injury which has precluded him from skating with the team so far but gave no indication when the injury was suffered.
  • The AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, the San Diego Gulls, are bringing in a bit of forward depth announcing a one-year standard contract for Ruslan Gazizov. It will mark Gazizov’s first year in professional hockey after an impressive three-year run with the OHL’s London Knights. The young Russian forward finished third on the Knights in scoring last season with 36 goals and 81 points in 63 games including another seven goals and 14 points in 15 playoff contests.

Golden Knights Notes: Marchessault, Hague, Lehner

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The Vegas Golden Knights met with the media today to discuss their season and the future of the franchise. One player whose future is unclear is Jonathan Marchessault, a player who has been with the organization since the beginning in 2017. According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, Marchessault told the media that he and Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon met earlier in the day with both sides saying that they have a mutual interest in working out an extension to keep the 33-year-old in Vegas.

The Conn Smythe Trophy winner from last year’s Stanley Cup run is one of just five players remaining from Vegas’ inaugural 2017-18 season and he is the Golden Knights all-time point leader with 417 points in seven seasons with the team. While both sides have mutual interest in an extension, the Golden Knights are pushed right up against the salary cap and have several key free agents including Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, Alec Martinez, and Anthony Mantha.

In other Golden Knights notes:

  • Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague reportedly has a lower-body injury that will not require surgery (according to SinBin Vegas). Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon told the media that the 25-year-old should be healthy and available for the start of next season. Hague suffered the injury in game 1 against the Dallas Stars and did not play for the rest of the series. Hague took his physicality to another level this season, dishing out 153 hits in just 73 games. The Kitchener, Ontario native doesn’t put up much in the way of offence and struggled down the stretch going scoreless in the final 20 games.
  • SinBin Vegas also reported that Kelly McCrimmon offered an update on the status of goaltender Robin Lehner. McCrimmon told reporters that if Lehner can’t play next season he will remain on the long-term injured reserve. McCrimmon went on to add that it might very well be the case that Lehner can’t play and the news isn’t overly surprising given that Lehner missed the last two seasons and hasn’t played since April 2022 after undergoing hip surgery. Lehner has one year left on his contract with a cap hit of $5MM and if he remains on LTIR it would allow Vegas to exceed the cap by that amount.

West Notes: Toffoli, Brossoit, Hague, Kiviranta

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The Jets don’t have a ton of pending unrestricted free agents, but enough to lead to some significant depth turnover after failing to win a playoff series for the third year in a row. Two players who could opt not to re-sign and test the open market are veteran winger Tyler Toffoli and backup netminder Laurent Brossoit, Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press posit.

Brossoit’s return to the Jets last summer for his second stint with the club was a surprise. The 31-year-old’s stock was at an all-time high after posting a .927 SV% in 11 games down the stretch for the Golden Knights after returning from injury, and he was serviceable in eight playoff appearances as Vegas won the Stanley Cup. Some believed he would be able to land a role as a tandem netminder and eclipse his previous career-high of 24 appearances, but he instead opted to return to a familiar role backing up Connor Hellebuyck on a one-year, $1.75MM deal.

It worked out as well as it possibly could for Brossoit, who was excellent with a .927 SV% and three shutouts in 22 starts and one relief appearance. Back-to-back strong seasons after a rather roller-coaster career now have him fully primed to look for more starts on the UFA market in a couple of months.

Toffoli, meanwhile, was underwhelming after the Jets paid a second and third-round pick to acquire him at 50% salary retention from the Devils at the trade deadline. He posted seven goals and 11 points in 18 games down the stretch in the regular season but saw his ice time dip in the postseason, averaging only 14:05 per game against the Avs while scoring twice with a -2 rating in the five-game loss.

Elsewhere out West:

  • The Golden Knights won’t get defenseman Nicolas Hague back for Game 7 against the Stars tomorrow, head coach Bruce Cassidy said (via The Athletic’s Jesse Granger). The bottom-pairing fixture sustained a lower-body injury in Game 1 and hasn’t yet returned to practice. Hague, 25, also missed eight games with a lower-body injury early in the season. He finished the regular season with two goals, 10 assists, 12 points and a -5 rating in 73 games while averaging 18:33 per contest.
  • Avalanche depth winger Joel Kiviranta is working his way back to full health while Colorado awaits the winner of tomorrow’s Dallas/Vegas game. He returned to practice yesterday for the first time since sustaining an undisclosed injury in Game 3 against Winnipeg, Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal reports. He had one assist before exiting their first-round win, averaging 10:14 per game with a +2 rating.

West Notes: DeSmith, Namestnikov, Kiviranta, Hague

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Casey DeSmith isn’t on the game roster for Canucks in today’s Game 4 against the Predators, forcing Vancouver to turn to third-string Arturs Silovs for his first playoff start with Thatcher Demko already hurt. It doesn’t appear the Canucks expect DeSmith out for long, however, as he was only termed day-to-day with a lower-body injury. There was further evidence to the fact shortly after the game started, as The Athletic’s Thomas Drance reports DeSmith was still the Canucks’ designated emergency backup for today’s game.

The 32-year-old would only be eligible to play if Silovs and backup Nikita Tolopilo suffered in-game injuries. Otherwise, holding DeSmith out of game action points to his absence as being more precautionary than anything else, hoping to avoid aggravating whatever he’s dealing with. Assumedly, he’ll be back in action for elimination games later in the series after putting up a .911 SV% in two postseason games thus far.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference:

  • Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov left today’s Game 4 loss to the Avalanche after a Nate Schmidt slapshot hit him in the side of the head in the middle of the third period. He remained on the ice for nearly a minute and was able to skate off with the assistance of trainers, not requiring a stretcher. He’s still been transported to a Denver hospital for evaluation, reports Guerilla Sports’ Jesse Montano. Winnipeg head coach Rick Bowness had no update on Namestnikov’s health postgame other than confirming he was taken to a hospital. The 31-year-old had a goal and a -2 rating in the first three games of the series, which the Jets now trail 3-1.
  • The Avalanche were without winger Joel Kiviranta in today’s win, paving the way for 24-year-old Nikolai Kovalenko to make his NHL debut after being recalled from the AHL less than an hour prior to puck drop. Speaking with reporters postgame, Avs head coach Jared Bednar confirmed Kiviranta’s absence was injury-related, calling him day-to-day with a lower-body issue (via NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding). The 28-year-old had worked his way into a third-line role, a domino effect due to Jonathan Drouin being out for the series. He started the season on a PTO and subsequent AHL contract but inked a major-league deal with Colorado in November. He has one assist and a +2 rating in three games against the Jets this postseason.
  • The Golden Knights expect to be without defenseman Nicolas Hague again in tomorrow’s Game 4 against the Stars, head coach Bruce Cassidy said (via the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Danny Webster). He sustained a lower-body injury in the third period of Vegas’ Game 1 win and has yet to return to practice. The 25-year-old’s third-pairing duties have been assumed by veteran Alec Martinez, who began the postseason on the outside looking in after the Golden Knights’ trade deadline acquisition of Noah Hanifin pushed him down the depth chart. Hague made 73 appearances in the regular season, accumulating two goals and 12 points.

Evening Notes: Russian Showcase, Hague, Karlsson, Raymond

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Due to regulations that have been put in place by the National Hockey League, a limited number of teams have been able to travel to Russia in an attempt to scout upcoming overseas talent for the 2024 NHL Draft. However, it appears a solution has been developed, as Kevin Weekes of ESPN reports that a Russian showcase will take place from June 18th to 23rd.

Being the most high-profile Russian prospect available at this year’s draft, it is unlikely that forward Ivan Demidov will usurp Macklin Celebrini as the top player in this year’s class due to the showcase. However, after Celebrini, there is no singular player who is a surefire pick for second overall, meaning Demidov could use this showcase to his advantage.

Of the other Russian prospects projected to go in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft, Anton Silayev and Igor Chernyshov could also use the showcase to their advantage. However, even though he is projected as the second-best international skater, it is hard to imagine a scenario where Silayev is selected any higher than the third defensemen off the board.

Other notes:

  • Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague has been ruled out of tonight’s third game against Dallas and remains listed as day-to-day notes Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.  He missed the second game of the series due to a lower-body injury which will cost him now at least a second contest.  The 25-year-old led all Vegas blueliners in hits this season with 155 while chipping in with a dozen points in 73 games. Alec Martinez played in place of Hague last game and should do so again.
  • Staying in Vegas, even though he was not on the ice for the team’s practice this morning, forward William Karlsson is expected to suit up for the Golden Knights tonight reports Jesse Granger of The Athletic. After another quality regular season in Vegas, Karlsson has been able to suit up in the first two games of the series but has failed to find the scoresheet so far. Nevertheless, with Karlsson confirmed in the lineup, the third line of Karlsson, Tomas Hertl, and Anthony Mantha still represents one of the premier third lines in this year’s playoffs.
  • Joining many of his teammates and coaches for this summer’s 2024 IIHF World Championship, Chris Johnston of TSN reports that Detroit Red Wings’ forward Lucas Raymond will join Team Sweden for the international tournament. Raymond represents one of the best offensive options for Team Sweden after experiencing a breakout year during the 2023-24 campaign. In 82 games, Raymond scored 31 goals and 72 points, leading all Red Wings in scoring.

Snapshots: Hague, Lomberg, Sharks

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The Golden Knights will be without defenseman Nicolas Hague as they attempt to take a 2-0 series lead over the Stars tonight. Head coach Bruce Cassidy said the 25-year-old is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Hague hasn’t been ruled out past tonight’s game. He logged 15:41 in the Game 1 win, leaving the game midway through the third period after a brief tangle with Stars winger Evgenii Dadonov along the half-wall (video link). The 2017 second-round pick remains a mainstay on the Vegas blue line, making 73 regular-season appearances with two goals and 12 points in 2023-24. Averaging 18:33 per game, he posted a career-worst -5 rating and 46.7 CF% at even strength.

Missing Hague is far from the end of the world for Vegas, who had three-time Stanley Cup champion Alec Martinez sitting as a healthy scratch for Game 1. He’ll enter in place of Hague on a third pairing alongside Zach Whitecloud after posting 17 points in 55 games in the regular season.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Sticking with postseason action, the Panthers may get enforcer Ryan Lomberg back for Game 3 against the Lightning tomorrow, head coach Paul Maurice said. He sat out Game 2’s overtime win with an illness after logging 6:32 of ice time in Game 1. Steven Lorentz entered the lineup in his place, recording two shots on goal and four hits in similarly minimal usage. If Lomberg cannot go, Kyle Okposo will draw in for his first postseason game since 2016, with Sam Bennett already ruled out. Lomberg averaged only 9:32 per game during 75 regular-season appearances, scoring five goals and seven points with a -1 rating and 80 PIMs. The 5’9″ pot-stirrer will be a UFA this summer after completing a two-year deal worth $1.6MM.
  • While the Sharks fired head coach David Quinn earlier today with one year left on his contract, they didn’t move on from any of his assistants. They’re staying with the team pending a new hire, but GM Mike Grier told San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng that they’ve been granted permission to pursue other opportunities while the search for Quinn’s replacement progresses. One assistant, Ryan Warsofsky, has drawn considerable interest for head coaching roles in the past and could be an outside candidate to land one of the many other vacancies on the coaching market this summer.

Golden Knights Activate Nicolas Hague From Injured Reserve

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As the team begins to take warm-ups in their Sunday night matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Vegas Golden Knights announce that defenseman Nicolas Hague has been activated off of the team’s injured reserve, and will play in tonight’s game.

Hague had been sidelined with a lower-body injury since the team’s October 30th game against the Montreal Canadiens. Although not a member of the original Golden Knights team that managed to make the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season in the league, Hague was the fourth-ever draft pick of Vegas, being selected 34th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft.

As one of the more unheralded members of the Golden Knight’s blue line, over the last three years, Hague has regularly averaged more than 18 minutes of ice time per night, as well as receiving regular minutes on Vegas’ penalty kill units.

Last season, in what has been the best of his career to date, Hague played in 81 games for the Golden Knights, scoring 17 points in total, while blocking 133 shots and throwing 117 assists. He also carried an above-average Corsi For % of 46.8%, and an On-Ice Save Percentage of 91.7%.

Getting off to one of the hottest starts in the league, the Golden Knights have cooled off a bit in Hague’s absence, going 4-3-1 in their last eight games, after starting off the season 9-0-1. With Hague back in the lineup, Vegas will now have added confidence in their ability to keep the puck out of their net.

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