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Nikolai Knyzhov

West Notes: Kurashev, Kolesar, Johnsson, Knyzhov

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Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that forward Reese Johnson will be replacing Philipp Kurashev in the lineup tonight. Johnson will suit up in his first game since the team’s February 19th win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In his report, Pope mentions that Kurashev may be headed toward concussion protocol, but are waiting until the team returns to Chicago to make a better determination. In 70 games played for the struggling Blackhawks so far this season, Kurashev has scored nine goals and 16 assists. Although these may seem like tepid numbers from a forward, he has passed his total production from last season, which must be a welcomed sign from the rebuilding Chicago team.

Other notes:

  • After being out since March 11th, the head of the Vegas Golden Knights, Bruce Cassidy, reports that Keegan Kolesar will be back in the lineup for tonight’s game. Although Kolesar does not usually generate a lot of offensive chances for the Golden Knights, the forward has thrown 240 hits so far this year, good for seventh overall throughout the entire league. As the Golden Knights are making their final push to return to the playoffs, Kolesar’s ability to throw the body is a valuable asset to employ come playoff time.
  • Since being acquired from the New Jersey Devils at the trade deadline, forward Andreas Johnsson has not been able to find his footing in the Bay Area just yet. Tallying just three assists in 13 games for the Sharks, Johnsson has been out since the team’s March 20th game with an injury. Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka passes on a note from head coach David Quinn that the new forward will likely be out for some time, with no update on when he will return to the lineup.
  • Continuing on with the Sharks, the team has announced that defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov has been sent down to their AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda. Spending most of this year on the team’s long-term injured reserve, Knyzhov has suited up in nine games for San Jose, scoring only one goal from the back end.

 

San Jose Sharks Recall Nick Cicek, Nikolai Knyzhov

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The San Jose Sharks recalled defensemen Nick Cicek and Nikolai Knyzhov from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda on Sunday, per a team tweet.

As The Athletic’s Corey Masisak notes, the recalls give San Jose some extra defensemen on the roster as they embark on a three-game road swing. Defenseman Radim Simek also left yesterday’s 8-3 loss to Washington, and his status is still unknown.

For Knyzhov, it’s a chance to get into his first NHL games since his breakout campaign in 2020-21. After just three previous games of NHL experience, Knyzhov appeared in all 56 games during the COVID-shortened campaign, scoring 10 points and mostly played alongside Erik Karlsson.

He’s played just 12 games of hockey since then, all coming this year with the Barracuda. A groin injury cost him the entire 2021-22 campaign, and an offseason Achilles injury kept him out through the end of January 2023. He hadn’t recorded a point with the Barracuda, but the defensive-minded Knyzhov will still get a chance to show that he can still play a role in the NHL.

Cicek, 22, has four assists in 16 games with the Sharks this season. Signed this past offseason after an impressive performance on an AHL deal last year, Cicek has slid up to the seventh or eighth spot on the organization’s defense depth chart.

San Jose Sharks Activate, Re-Assign Nikolai Knyzhov

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The San Jose Sharks have announced that defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov has been activated from his long-term injury conditioning loan, and re-assigned to the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

This return is a long time coming for Knyzhov, 24, who has been recovering from an Achilles injury for over a year. Before his conditioning stint began in January, Knyzhov had last played competitive hockey in May 2021, when he skated in over 21 minutes of a Sharks 6-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Before his injury, Knyzhov had steadily developed for the Sharks, going from a depth defenseman in 2019-20 to a candidate for top-four ice time in 2020-21. He’d taken a bit of a wild road to that point, with stops in the WHL, his native Russia, and the NAHL.

Now, Knyzhov has worked his way back to full health and has re-entered the Sharks’ defensive picture. He’s largely skated in a top-four role during his three-game conditioning stint with the Barracuda and will head back there to in all likelihood play a major role for the squad.

The Sharks currently carry seven defenseman, five of whom either have significant NHL experience or have been leaned on by coach David Quinn. It’s possible that Knyzhov unseats Scott Harrington or Jacob MacDonald for a role in the NHL lineup, although he’ll likely need to spend some time in the AHL getting back up to speed first.

West Notes: Leddy, Dach, Knyzhov, White

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The Blues will be without defenseman Nick Leddy tonight against Montreal due to an upper-body injury, relays Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).  The 31-year-old is in his first full season with St. Louis after being acquired back at the trade deadline from Detroit last year.  While Leddy isn’t putting up the points that he did earlier in his career, he has been a steady presence in the top four, logging more than 21 minutes a night while contributing 11 assists in 39 games.  Head coach Craig Berube indicated that this injury is one that has been lingering for a while for Leddy and that he’s not sure how long the blueliner will be out.  Leddy joins a rapidly growing injured list for the Blues that also includes Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Torey Krug, among others.

More from the West:

  • Blackhawks prospect Colton Dach is on the move as Seattle of the WHL announced that they’ve acquired the 20-year-old from Kelowna for two players and three draft picks. The center was injured while playing for Canada at the World Juniors but is expected to recover well before the playoffs begin in March.  Dach has already signed his entry-level deal with Chicago and will be able to play in the minors next season making this a pure rental on the part of the Thunderbirds.  Dach has 17 points in 14 games so far this season.
  • Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov appears to be well ahead of schedule as he works his way back from Achilles surgery, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Knyzhov has yet to play in nearly 20 months due to a variety of injuries with this latest one coming in August and carrying a six-month recovery timeline.  The 24-year-old was a regular on San Jose’s blueline when he last played in 2020-21 and while he’ll undoubtedly need some time in the minors to get back up to speed, he has been participating in full practices which suggests that game action could be coming sooner than later.
  • Stars prospect Gavin White is on the move in the OHL as Peterborough announced that they’ve acquired the blueliner as part of a multi-player swap. The 20-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Dallas last year (112th overall) and was quite productive for Hamilton before this move, averaging a point per game in 22 contests.  White, who hasn’t signed yet with Dallas, is eligible to play in the minors next season but could also return for his overage year in junior.

Injury Notes: Allison, Bowers, Knyzhov

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A trio of roster transactions involving injured players were made tonight, starting with the Philadelphia Flyers. According to CapFriendly, the team has moved forward Wade Allison to injured reserve, signifying he’ll miss at least five more days with a lower-body injury.

Allison was placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 12 and will miss at least the team’s upcoming three-game road trip against Columbus, Boston, and Montreal. The 25-year-old left Saturday’s game against Ottawa after laying a hit on Senators defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, and The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor reported yesterday that Allison won’t miss too much time. Through 14 games this season, Allison has contributed three goals and an assist.

  • The Colorado Avalanche have moved forward Shane Bowers to injured reserve, according to CapFriendly, freeing up a roster spot for any potential call-ups. On Saturday, Bowers was given a six-week timeline by head coach Jared Bednar after sustaining an upper-body injury 1:46 into his NHL career. The team did not have any extra roster spots for healthy players, with all non-dressed players out with injuries.
  • The San Jose Sharks have also moved defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov to long-term injured reserve. Knyzhov, 24, has not played hockey since suiting up for all 56 games of the shortened 2020-21 season. A groin injury kept him out for the entirety of 2021-22, and an Achilles injury is expected to keep him out until mid-February.

Nikolai Knyzhov Undergoes Surgery, Out For Six Months

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Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov has had nothing but bad luck on the injury front lately.  He missed all of last season due to a core muscle injury and now the start of 2022-23 will be delayed as well as the team announced that the blueliner tore his right Achilles tendon in offseason training and underwent surgery on Wednesday.  The procedure carries an estimated recovery time of six months.

Back in 2020-21, the 24-year-old established himself as a full-timer on San Jose’s back end as he played in all 56 games, picking up 10 points while logging a little under 17 minutes of playing time.  Those numbers aren’t eye-popping by any stretch but for a team that was tight to the salary cap, having a regular player under contract for less than $800K was ideal from a cap management perspective.

The Sharks signed Knyzhov to a one-year, $850K one-way deal back in April with the hopes that he’d be able to reclaim his spot on the third pairing.  Clearly, that won’t be the case now as he’ll be out for at least the first half of the season and probably longer.  San Jose will be able to put Knyzhov on LTIR which will give them a little bit of extra cap flexibility, especially with the team already carrying some extra depth in goal, up front, and on the back end,

San Jose Sharks Re-Sign Nikolai Knyzhov

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The San Jose Sharks announced today that the team has re-signed defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov to a one-year contract. PuckPedia reports the deal is one-way in nature, with a cap hit of $850,000 ($750,000 salary, $100,000 signing bonus).

Knyzhov, 24, was a pending restricted free agent. If his name doesn’t sound familiar, it would be because Knyzhov has been out of the lineup for the entire 2021-22 season with a lower-body injury sustained during training camp. However, this contract suggests that the team expects him to make a recovery for next year.

Knyzhov broke into the league as a regular in 2020-21, playing in all of the team’s 56 games that year, oftentimes finding a role in the team’s top-four alongside Erik Karlsson. He recorded two goals and eight assists for 10 points and finished the year with a -9 rating. He played his first 3 NHL games the season prior, earning a call-up from the AHL’s Barracuda in his first North American professional season.

The undrafted defenseman was in the final season of his three-year entry-level deal that carried a cap hit of $796,667. He’ll likely return next season to fill out the team’s left defense, forming a group with Mario Ferraro and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Injury Updates: Knyzhov, Wild, Anderson

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When Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov was expected to miss eight to ten weeks after undergoing surgery for a lower-body injury, it appears he’s well behind schedule in his recovery.  The early point of that timeline would have had him returning now but Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News mentions that the blueliner is still very early in the rehab stage and doesn’t appear to be close to returning.  Knyzhov very quietly played in all 56 games for San Jose last season, collecting 10 points while logging nearly 17 minutes a night on the back end.  This slow recovery will make it tough for them to rely on his return in the second half which means the team may need to look to the trade market to try to add some low-cost depth.

Other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • While a firm diagnosis on Joel Eriksson Ek’s injury isn’t yet known, Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribute notes that the Wild center was spotted postgame in a sling which suggests he’ll be out for a little while at least. That would be a big blow to Minnesota’s attack with the 24-year-old on pace for career highs offensively as he currently has 11 goals and nine assists in 30 games.  Minnesota should have winger Jordan Greenway back for their next game on Monday after he missed yesterday’s contest due to a lower-body injury.
  • Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson is making progress as he works his way back from his upper-body injury with GM Kevyn Adams expressing optimism that he’d be back this season, relays Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. Harrington notes that the injury is believed to be a head or neck issue which would help explain the uncertain timeline; he started off as day-to-day before being re-classified as month-to-month.  Anderson was off to a nice start before the injury, posting a 2.50 GAA with .921 SV% in his first six starts.

Nikolai Knyzhov To Undergo Surgery

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One of the interesting new members of the San Jose Sharks last season was Nikolai Knyzhov, who played in all 56 games and recorded ten points. The 23-year-old defenseman was set to build on that rookie campaign, but will have to wait a few months. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports that Knyzhov will have surgery on October 22 and faces an eight- to ten-week recovery timeline thereafter. Originally trying to rehab his lower-body injury, the decision was made that surgery is now the best option.

Just 23, Knyzhov was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019 out of Russia. He had only really played in the MHL and VHL to that point, but the Sharks obviously saw his mix of size–6’2″ 218-lbs–and exceptional skating ability as a potential NHL combination. After one year spent mostly in the AHL, he was a regular in the lineup last season and proved he could be a key contributor to the Sharks.

Without him, the team still has plenty of options on the back end, though not many of them have the same mix of youth and potential. Brent Burns logged a game-high 27:26 for the team last night, with Radim Simek playing fewer than 12 minutes. Given how little the team has been using Marc-Edouard Vlasic, it appears as though the heavy load will fall on Burns, Mario Ferraro, and Erik Karlsson.

Snapshots: Olympics, Eichel, Cirelli, Knyzhov

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While the Olympics are still a few months away, each participating country will have to submit their long list of eligible players on October 15th, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link).  That list could contain 50 or more players per country with some having more than others.  The full squads will be announced at some point in January with the exact date to be determined.  At this point, the NHL and NHLPA are discussing whether to do it all in one day or spread it out to add some more buzz.  There will be an extended break in the schedule this season to accommodate both the All-Star Game and the Olympics with most teams only having a small handful of games in February as a result.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • While it will ultimately cost him some money in the end, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News argues that Sabres center Jack Eichel should ultimately go ahead with the surgery he prefers. He would be suspended, would have to pay for it out of pocket, and wouldn’t be paid while suspended but the risk is lessened since Buffalo almost certainly wouldn’t terminate his contract with how high the asking price in a trade remains.  The artificial disc replacement carries a quicker recovery time and as soon as he’s able to show that he’s healthy, it might help the trade process along which is what he ultimately wants.
  • Lightning center Anthony Cirelli left Thursday’s exhibition game early due to a lower-body injury and will be out at least one week, relays Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 24-year-old is coming off a quiet year offensively that saw him put up 22 points in 50 games last season.
  • The Sharks are hoping that defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov will be able to start skating next week but his availability for the start of the season is in question, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 23-year-old had sports hernia surgery over the summer after playing through it last season.  Knyzhov still managed to play in all 56 games in 2020-21, picking up 10 points while averaging 16:45 per contest.

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