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Oskar Sundqvist

Minnesota Wild Acquire Oskar Sundqvist

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The Minnesota Wild have acquired forward Oskar Sundqvist from the Detroit Red Wings, in exchange for a 2023 fourth-round pick.

Sundqvist will add some depth to the Wild’s bottom six, and replaces Jordan Greenway in the lineup. Greenway was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres just minutes before the Wild acquired Sundqvist.

Sundqvist is a defensive-minded center who has scored seven goals and 21 points for the Red Wings this season. He helped the St. Louis Blues win a Stanley Cup in 2019 as a fourth-line center. The Swedish forward scored four goals and nine points in 25 playoff games that spring.

The 28-year-old is in the final year of a four-year contract that pays him $2.75MM per season. At 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds he adds size, defensive ability and a bit of scoring to the bottom of the Wild’s lineup.

Shayna Goldman of The Athletic was first to report the deal, while TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the return to Detroit would be a draft pick, with Joe Smith of The Athletic clarifying that it would be a fourth-rounder. 

Detroit Red Wings Issue Injury Updates

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The Detroit Red Wings have issued an official update on Filip Zadina’s timeline, after suffering a lower-body injury a few days ago. The young forward will miss six to eight weeks, pausing what had already been a disappointing start to the season. Head coach Derek Lalonde also announced that Tyler Bertuzzi and Jake Walman will be out another seven to ten days, while Oskar Sundqvist is listed as day-to-day but should play on Thursday.

Zadina, 22, had gone completely scoreless through nine games before suffering the injury, recording just 12 shots on goal. That has been a common theme in his young career, which has resulted in just 25 goals and 61 points through 169 games. Selected sixth overall in 2018 there was so much more expected of the Czech forward, especially when he put up 16 goals as a teenage rookie in the AHL. But scoring has been inconsistent for him in the NHL and now he’ll miss the better part of two months when the team is finally competitive.

If there is a silver lining for Zadina, it’s that he already signed a three-year, $5.475MM contract this summer that locked him in through 2024-25. The Red Wings have enough cap space this year that it doesn’t really matter if he underperforms that $1.825MM cap hit but that won’t always be the case. With Bertuzzi, Dylan Larkin and others scheduled for unrestricted free agency and in need of big extensions, the money in Detroit will be counted a little more closely moving forward.

Hopefully, this time off can give him a bit of a reset and he’ll come back in a better place, but there will be other players stepping up in his absence. It’s not clear what kind of role will be left for him on his return, especially given how little he was playing before the injury happened.

Injury Updates: McCabe, Jones, Hagg, Sundqvist, Dubois

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Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe has been cleared for contact after undergoing cervical spine surgery in the offseason, reports NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis.  However, he’ll still need time to get into game conditioning and at this point, it seems unlikely that he’ll be ready to play during their three-game road trip to start the season.  However, a return for their first home game on October 21st appears to be a realistic possibility.  While Chicago certainly isn’t planning on contending this season, getting a veteran back that’s capable of playing 20 minutes a night can only help.  Meanwhile, Roumeliotis adds (Twitter link) that blueliner Caleb Jones is also unlikely to play in Wednesday’s opener but should play later on in the trip.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Red Wings defenseman Robert Hagg had a rough start to his Detroit career, taking a puck to the head that has kept him out of preseason action so far. However, he told reporters including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that he has been cleared to play although he won’t play in tonight’s preseason finale.  Hagg signed a one-year deal after fellow offseason acquisition Mark Pysyk underwent Achilles surgery but might have to settle for starting as an extra defender to start with no exhibition action under his belt.
  • Still with Detroit, center Oskar Sundqvist is expected to be ready for Friday’s season-opener against Montreal, relays Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News (Twitter link). He has been battling an undisclosed injury throughout training camp and has yet to see any preseason action.  The 28-year-old was acquired from St. Louis near the trade deadline last season and did relatively well in his first stint with the Red Wings, collecting four goals and four assists in 18 games down the stretch.
  • Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois exited yesterday’s game after the first period but the injury is not believed to be a serious one, notes Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. Head coach Rick Bowness indicated that the 24-year-old had a minor lower-body issue that flared up so they pulled him out as a precaution.  Despite leaving early, Dubois had his first two goals of the preseason on Friday and should be ready to return for their season opener on Friday.

Injury Notes: Byron, Keller, Red Wings

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While injuries limited Montreal Canadiens forward Paul Byron to just 27 games played last season, many hoped that a summer of rest and recovery would allow the two-time 20-goal scorer to return to the ice for the Canadiens’ 2022-23 campaign. Now, though, it seems those hopes may have been a bit too optimistic. As reported by The Athletic’s Marc Antoine Godin, (subscription link) Byron is currently dealing with “ongoing problems” in his left hip, problems that not only have kept him from skating but have also “started to cloud” Byron’s playing future. Per Godin, Byron underwent surgery in order to fix chronic hip pain, and despite his rehab going well for much of this summer he reached an additional step of the process that he “didn’t respond well” to, resulting in a major setback in his road to recovery.

According to the report, Byron is still dealing with “lingering inflammation” in his hip, and it’s gotten to a point where it could affect the rest of his career. Canadiens GM Kent Hughes told The Athletic that if Byron’s health fails to improve, he will be placed on long-term injured reserve. In the immediate term, what this means for the Canadiens is they will gain additional breathing room under the cap, and Byron will join Carey Price on the team’s LTIR list. In the long term, what this means for Byron is that he may not be able to play again if this condition fails to improve. While this is definitely an unwelcome development for Byron, he can look back at his time in Montreal with great pride, as he became a useful scoring winger and one of the better waiver claims in recent NHL history.

Now, for some other injury updates from across the NHL:

  • Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller was in the midst of a breakout campaign in 2021-22 before his season abruptly ended when he underwent surgery to repair a broken leg. Now, though, Keller looks ready to pick up where he left off. Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong said (via Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports) that Keller is expected to play his first preseason game tomorrow and has been practicing with the team as well. The Coyotes aren’t expected to be a contender this season, but if they want to play meaningful hockey for as long as possible getting Keller back to full speed should be a top priority.
  • The Detroit Red Wings also issued an injury update today, theirs regarding forwards Andrew Copp and Oskar Sundqvist. As reported by Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said today that he expects Copp to be ready for the start of the regular season, and is “optimistic” that Sundqvist will be ready then as well. Copp has been practicing with the team, while Sundqvist has been injured since the beginning of camp.

Injury Updates: White, Sundqvist, Jokiharju, De Haan

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Senators center Colin White will return to the lineup tonight against Montreal, relays Ian Mendes of The Athletic (Twitter link).  The 25-year-old suffered a dislocated shoulder at the end of training camp and has yet to play this season as a result.  Now three seasons removed from his 41-point campaign in 2018-19, White will likely spend time at both center and the wing as Ottawa looks to find what his ideal role for next season and beyond will be.

More injury news from around the NHL:

  • Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist suffered a lower-body injury in last night’s game against Buffalo, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes. The good news for St. Louis is that head coach Craig Berube indicated that the injury isn’t related to the hip or knee that he had recent surgery done on.  Sundqvist has 15 points in 35 games this season – the highest point per game average of his career – and is set to be re-evaluated later today.
  • After missing last night’s game against St. Louis, Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s contest in Colorado, reports Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). The 22-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in Wednesday’s loss in Montreal.  The good news for Buffalo is that Jokiharju – who is logging more than 21 minutes a night – should be able to return early next week.
  • Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan missed last night’s game due to a right groin strain, the team announced (Twitter link). The veteran is in the final year of his contract and is a strong candidate to be moved between now and next month’s trade deadline as someone that can provide some shot blocking and physicality.

COVID Notes: Sundqvist, Flames, Protocol, World Juniors

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The Blues have placed center Oskar Sundqvist in COVID protocol, per a team release.  It has been a tough year for the 27-year-old who missed 14 games at the beginning of the season due to a knee injury and Sundqvist has struggled to produce when he is in the lineup, collecting just a goal and three assists in 16 games.  St. Louis had been carrying an extra forward on their active roster so they won’t necessarily have to bring anyone up from AHL Springfield to cover for Sundqvist’s absence which will last for at least the next ten days.

Other COVID news from around the hockey world:

  • The Flames announced (Twitter link) that they did not have any positive tests among their players or staff yesterday. That’s certainly notable considering that they have 19 players and 13 staff in COVID protocol at the moment and this is the first day since Sunday that they didn’t have a single positive test among their group.  Calgary has had their games postponed through the holiday break although it wouldn’t be surprising if another game or two get postponed after it to allow some of their players to have a chance at being ready to return after serving their quarantine period.
  • The NHL and NHLPA jointly announced a return of the enhanced COVID protocols through at least January 7th. Among the highlights are daily testing, a reduction of in-person meetings, and dining restrictions.  The full document can be found here.
  • As a result of the recent increase in positive tests, Hockey Canada announced that the first four days of World Junior pre-tournament games have been cancelled. Originally, each country was supposed to play in at least two exhibition contests but that won’t happen now.  There remains a possibility for pre-tournament contests to be held on December 23rd and 24th.

Kyle Clifford Placed On Waivers

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Nov 16: Clifford has cleared waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He can now be assigned to the AHL.

Nov 15: The St. Louis Blues have placed Kyle Clifford on waivers, according to Jeff Marek of Sportsnet. With Scott Perunovich’s recall, the team needed to clear more than $900K in cap space if they wanted to activate Oskar Sundqvist from injured reserve. Clifford, who makes $1MM this season, could be loaned to the minor leagues should he clear waivers, completely burying his cap hit.

Clifford, 30, has only played two games for the Blues this season, spending nearly two weeks in the COVID protocol. The fourth-line forward did register a point in one of those two matches, but has very limited offensive upside. That, added to the fact that he makes more than league minimum, makes him an unlikely claim candidate, though perhaps a team believes he can add some extra toughness to their bottom-six. There’s certainly a case for the experience factor, as Clifford has played in more than 700 NHL games and won the Stanley Cup twice with the Los Angeles Kings.

Sundqvist is a much more useful player though, and given Perunovich’s incredible start in the minor leagues, it was hard to justify keeping him down any longer. Making room for the young defenseman could potentially cost them Clifford, but with the team on a three-game losing streak and falling behind in the Central Division race, something needed to be changed.

Injury Updates: Sundqvist, Pederson, Bogosian

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Blues center Oskar Sundqvist skated on the fourth line on practice on Friday but still isn’t cleared to play yet, head coach Craig Berube told reporters including Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  That said, the fact he skated in a regular role suggests he’s nearing a return from the torn ACL he suffered back in March which would be a nice addition to their bottom six.  That said, there is another factor in when he can be activated; until Ville Husso can return which would allow current backup Joel Hofer to be sent to the minors, St. Louis doesn’t have the cap room to activate Sundqvist from LTIR.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Sharks winger Lane Pederson is expected to miss a week or two, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). He was injured on a hit from Winnipeg’s Logan Stanley on Thursday night.  Pederson hasn’t recorded a point in 11 games so far this season while being used primarily on the fourth line.  With San Jose getting seven players back from COVID protocol yesterday – resulting in seven AHL demotions – they’ll at least have enough healthy forwards on the roster to cover for Pederson’s expected absence.
  • The Lightning will have blueliner Zach Bogosian back in the lineup tonight as he returns from a foot injury, notes Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). His second stint with Tampa Bay got off to a rough start as he suffered the injury in the season-opener.  Bogosian will take the place of Erik Cernak who is dealing with an upper-body issue.

Several More Players Placed On LTIR

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Today, several teams around the league will place additional players on long-term injured reserve. The complicated calculations that are done to maximize LTIR relief and accruable cap space are different on the last day of training camp and the first day of the season, meaning in some cases it benefited a team to wait until today.

The players that receive the designation today will be out for a minimum of ten games and 24 days, meaning they are not available for their teams through the rest of October. Several prominent names are among them:

F Nicklas Backstrom (WSH)
F Andrew Shaw (CHI)
D Wyatt Kalynuk (CHI)
F Oskar Sundqvist (STL)
F Evgeni Malkin (PIT)

These designations have opened up some additional cap room, leading to recalls by each team. The Washington Capitals brought Connor McMichael and Beck Malenstyn up, the Chicago Blackhawks brought Mackenzie Entwistle and Philipp Kurashev back up, the St. Louis Blues recalled Klim Kostin and the Pittsburgh Penguins recalled Anthony Angello and Drew O’Connor (and signed Brian Boyle).

Other candidates, including Vegas Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber, New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk, Vancouver Canucks forwards Micheal Ferland and Brandon Sutter, and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ilya Mikheyev will likely be placed on LTIR at some point in the coming days. We will update this list as teams make those moves official.

Blues’ Oskar Sundqvist Out For Season With Torn ACL

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No sooner after it reported that Oskar Sundqvist would be sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury, the St. Louis Blues put that “indefinitely” in more certain terms. The team has announced that Sundqvist is out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. Sundqvist will undergo surgery when the teams returns to St. Louis from their current road trip. The Blues hope that Sundqvist will be ready for 2021-22 training camp and will re-evaluate the injury at that time.

The injury occurred early in the Blues’ Friday night game against the San Jose Sharks. Sundqvist appeared to collide with teammate Kyle Clifford and went down in visible pain. He had to be helped off the ice by Ryan O’Reilly and Sammy Blais, placing no pressure on his left leg. Sundqvist did not return to the game, missing the second and third periods entirely. Despite what seemed to be a serious injury, the Blues did not make any snap judgements, merely stating that Sundqvist would be sidelined for the time being while they awaited the results of an MRI. That MRI apparently took place on the road, revealing a torn ACL.

The ACL injury is a difficult one to overcome in hockey. The knee ligament plays a crucial part in the mechanics of skating. A torn ACL takes a while to heal from surgery regardless, but to get back to skating strength is whole other level of timely recovery, rehab, and re-strengthening. The injury always ends a season and, depending on the severity, usually takes at least six months prior to a return and then often a period of time to re-adjust to game speed. The outlook for Sundqvist, as noted by the team, is a return for training camp at the very earliest. A sixth-month period from the date of surgery will line up with late September. The Blues know too well that all recovery periods for ACL injuries are merely speculation and that the return to full strength is not an easy, straightforward path; the team has seen both Robby Fabbri and Carl Gunnarsson suffer ACL tears in recent years that ended their seasons and impacted their play upon return.

In Sundqvist, St. Louis loses a reliable bottom-six forward who has gained ice time and special teams responsibility in each of his four years with the club. A member of the 2019 Stanley Cup-winning roster, Sundqvist provided nine points in 25 games and top-six minutes en route to a title. He was on a similar scoring pace early this season with nine points through 28 games and has recorded 31 and 23 points respectively in each of the past two seasons. Sundqvist’s absence leaves a hole at third-line center for the Blues and his penalty kill ability and physical style will be missed as well. Sundqvist joins a laundry list of injuries for St. Louis; he’s their third season-ending injury behind Gunnarsson and Alex Steen (unofficially retired), while defenseman Colton Parayko and forwards Ivan Barbashev, Jacob de La Rose, Erik Foley, Mackenzie MacEachern, and Robert Thomas are also on Injured Reserve and Zach Sanford and Scott Perunovich are otherwise sidelined as well. With the injuries mounting up, suddenly the Los Angeles Kings biting at the Blues’ heels in the West Division look like a real threat to steal the final playoff spot.

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