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Patrik Laine

East Notes: Laine, Jarry, Zub

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Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine has skated over the past couple of days as he works his way back from an upper-body injury, notes Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link).  The 25-year-old got off to a quiet start to his year with a goal and an assist in his first four games while also making the adjustment to playing down the middle on a regular basis.  Head coach Pascal Vincent noted that Laine responded well after today’s skate which could be a sign that he could be back sooner than later.  When that happens, Hedger notes that the team hasn’t decided if they will move Adam Fantilli back to the wing or if they’ll leave him in his natural center role and put Laine back in his natural wing position.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • It appears as if the Penguins will avoid being without their starting goalie for long. Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relays that Tristan Jarry is currently listed as day-to-day after leaving yesterday’s game early against Anaheim.  As of yet, it’s worth noting that Pittsburgh hasn’t brought up one of their other AHL goaltenders, a sign that Jarry could be available to at least dress as the backup against Los Angeles.  The 28-year-old has a 2.51 GAA and a .907 SV% in nine starts so far this season.
  • Earlier today, Senators head coach D.J. Smith expressed optimism that defenseman Artem Zub would be back tonight against Toronto, he wound up being scratched for the seventh straight game, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). It’s the seventh straight game he has missed with a concussion.  With Ottawa also missing Thomas Chabot and Erik Brannstrom at the moment, getting Zub back will be a critical addition but they’ll have to wait a little longer for that to happen.

Blue Jackets Place Patrik Laine On IR, Recall Dmitri Voronkov

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According to a team release, the Blue Jackets have recalled forward Dmitri Voronkov from AHL Cleveland. To make room for Voronkov on the active roster, the team placed forward Patrik Laine on injured reserve with an upper-body injury retroactive to last Friday, sidelining him for the team’s next two games at the least.

Voronkov, 23, had a breakout pro season for the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan in 2022-23, potting 18 goals and 13 assists for 31 points in 54 games while playing a heavy, imposing style of game. He was expected to contend for a roster spot with the Blue Jackets out of training camp but ultimately did not make the cut and began the season on assignment to Cleveland, where he has just one assist through four games. A fourth-round pick of the Blue Jackets in 2019, Voronkov could make his NHL debut Tuesday against the Ducks.

As for Laine, this news is expected after taking a hard, late hit from Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson with just seconds left in Friday’s 3-1 win. Andersson, who has an appeal scheduled for today with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, was suspended four games for the hit. Laine will miss at least three games because of the play, also sitting out of Saturday’s overtime victory over the Wild. It’s a tough break for the 25-year-old, who remains day-to-day after recording two points through four contests, continuing to experiment playing at center after sticking on the wing for most of his 466-game NHL career.

After being acquired from the Jets in exchange for center Pierre-Luc Dubois early in the shortened 2020-21 season, Laine has been an effective goal-scorer for a struggling Columbus team but failed to stay healthy. Just over the last two seasons, Laine notched close to a point-per-game but missed a combined 53 games, keeping him from hitting the 30-goal plateau for the first time since 2018-19. He’s been on pace for well over 30 markers in each of the past two years (38 in 2021-22, 33 in 2022-23), signaling that he can still be the star sniper the Jets thought they were getting with the second-overall pick in 2016.

Rasmus Andersson Suspended Four Games, Flames Will Appeal

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6:12 p.m.: Andersson has been suspended four games as a result of the play, NHL Player Safety confirms. Andersson will be eligible to return on November 1 against the Stars. Charging was the official designation on the play. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis later reported the Flames are planning to appeal the suspension, although a significant reduction in length is unlikely to happen in time based on past precedent.

10:19 a.m.: Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson delivered an elbow to the head of Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine in the dying seconds of last night’s contest, earning himself a major penalty in the process.  The clip of the play can be viewed here.  It has also earned him a discussion with the league as the Department of Player Safety announced (Twitter link) that he’ll have a hearing today.  Aaron Portzline of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that it’s a phone hearing which means the maximum suspension would be for five games.

Laine did not travel with the Blue Jackets following the game for their game today against Minnesota, the team announced (Twitter link).  He is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.  Laine has changed positions this season and has lined up as a center in the early going.  Not surprisingly, he has struggled a bit at the faceoff dot, winning just 41% of his draws while he has a goal and an assist in four games so far this season.

As for Andersson, he has once again logged heavy minutes for Calgary in the early going, averaging just shy of 24 minutes per game while chipping in with three points in their first five contests.  The Flames are one of just two teams that aren’t in action tonight with their next contest coming tomorrow against Detroit.  That means while the hearing will take place today, it’s possible that any supplemental discipline may be announced on Sunday.

East Notes: Palmieri, Laine, Matheson

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The New York Islanders may not have forward Kyle Palmieri available to them to begin the season, head coach Lane Lambert told reporters today (link via Ethan Sears of the New York Post). Palmieri has yet to practice with the team during training camp, and this certainly seems like a more significant injury issue than what the Islanders called “maintenance” almost a week ago.

Palmieri has been skating on his own throughout camp but has not come close to appearing in a preseason contest. It does seem unlikely that Palmieri’s absence will stretch into something significantly long-term, but missing the season opener would mean at least a three-week absence from the original undisclosed injury, which is certainly nothing to brush off. It will be a significant hole for the Islanders to fill if he does miss time, given the 32-year-old winger is again ticketed for a top-six role, likely alongside Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson. Palmieri was limited to 55 games last season due to injury, but he did manage to increase his production pace after a poor 2021-22 campaign, recording 16 goals and 33 points.

More updates from around the Eastern Conference tonight:

  • Even after the departure of Mike Babcock and Brad Larsen behind the Columbus Blue Jackets bench, the Patrik Laine at center experiment hasn’t ended yet. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that Laine has taken line rushes at center during each of the past two Blue Jackets practices and today was centering the team’s top line between Johnny Gaudreau and Kirill Marchenko. Shifting Laine to center full-time would certainly take the load off rookie Adam Fantilli, who could start the season in a more sheltered third-line role down the middle. It would also relieve the responsibilities of captain Boone Jenner, who was forced into averaging over 20 minutes per game last season thanks to the team’s thin depth down the middle. Laine did play a few games at center last season before an arm injury ended his campaign in late March.
  • Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson was a late scratch for tonight’s preseason tilt against the Ottawa Senators, and Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports the circumstances surrounding said scratch are still unknown. If it’s injury-related, Habs fans can hope it’s only precautionary for their de facto number-one defenseman. If the team has any hopes of making noise with their young core in a suffocatingly tight Atlantic Division, Matheson’s play will be a huge part of it. The 29-year-old notched a career-high 34 points last season despite playing in just 48 games and still managed a +7 rating on a bottom-feeding team.

East Notes: Devils, Laine, Lomberg

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The Devils haven’t ruled out the possibility of adding another goaltender this summer, reports Ryan Novozinsky of the Newark Star-Ledger.  At the moment, youngster Akira Schmid appears set to be the playing partner for Vitek Vanecek but as Schmid is just 23 and is waiver-exempt, the organization could opt to send him back to the AHL where he’d get more game action.  Such a move wouldn’t necessarily be made following the acquisition of a new starter either; there are some veterans still out there that could hold down a number two role at least for a little while next season, a list headlined by Martin Jones and Jaroslav Halak.  Adding one of those netminders may not be the most appealing on paper but would allow Schmid to see more regular action with Utica which might be the better long-term play from a development perspective.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • Late last season, the Blue Jackets experimented with lining up Patrik Laine at center, a move that was short-lived as he suffered a season-ending triceps strain later that week. However, he told NHL.com’s Craig Merz that he’s open to moving down the middle once again next season.  Columbus has added Adam Fantilli and Dmitry Voronkov this summer while youngsters Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson are also young centers.  But if they want to ease those players in on the wing, moving Laine to center for at least a little while next season could be a reasonable approach to take.
  • Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg missed nearly a month of the playoffs due to a broken thumb, eventually returning to the lineup before the injury had healed. The 28-year-old told David Wilson of the Miami Herald that the thumb has now fully recovered, meaning he’ll be ready to go for training camp.  Lomberg had career highs in goals (12), points (20), and hits (145) last season and is poised to be an important part of Florida’s bottom six next season.

Free Agent Focus: Columbus Blue Jackets

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Marcus Björk – Björk had a nice, albeit abbreviated rookie season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 25-year-old Swede split the year between Columbus and the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. In 33 NHL games Björk tallied three goals and eight assists, while in the AHL he put up seven goals and eight assists in 44 games. Björk earned a lot of praise from the Columbus coaching staff and at one point was being dubbed a player who could have a long NHL career, this was before his game fell off during the middle of the season. He was demoted for a few months before being recalled towards the end of the year to re-join Columbus. While his play trailed off, one might wonder if it was tied to fatigue as Björk had never played more than 52 games in a season prior to this year. Columbus will likely lock up Björk for a season or two to take a long look at a player who could become a hidden gem for the Blue Jackets should he be able to build on his small success from this past year.

RW Mathieu Olivier – Olivier has never topped 19 points since turning pro back in 2018-2019. His career high came in the AHL when he put up 10 goals and nine assists in 58 games for the Milwaukee Admirals in the pandemic shortened 2019-2020 season. This past season the 26-year-old played a career high 66 NHL games for the Blue Jackets putting up 81 PIM, as well as five goals and 10 assists. Olivier offers sandpaper and is always willing to battle and stick up for his teammates, however he will never put up much in the way of offence. But given his status as one of Columbus’ most pressing RFA cases, it is a real indication of the lack of NHL talent that the Blue Jackets have on their NHL roster at this time. Olivier will likely be re-signed to a one year/two-way contract for around the league minimum.

Other RFAs: Tim Berni, Joshua Dunne, Carson Meyer, Trey Fix-Wolansky, Jacob Christiansen

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Gavin Bayreuther – Bayreuther is the Blue Jackets top unrestricted free agent heading into this offseason and was famously taken by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft two years ago only to be left unsigned. Bayreuther then became a free agent and quickly signed back with the Blue Jackets where he has played the past few seasons. The New Hampshire native toiled in the AHL with the Texas Stars for four seasons before finally getting a chance in the NHL with the Blue Jackets in the 2021-22 season. The 29-year-old spent most of this past season with Columbus where he put up two goals and 12 assists in 51 games.

Bayreuther has never put up much in the way of offense in his career as he has just 28 career points in 122 career games, he is the epitome of a tweener. He is too good for the AHL however he is likely not a strong enough player to sustain success in the NHL. He will likely be given the opportunity to sign a two-way contract this summer with a decent downside guarantee at the AHL level and the chance to split time between the AHL and the NHL.

F Lane Pederson – The Blue Jackets claimed Pederson off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks this past January. The Saskatoon native spent 27 games in the NHL this season split between to the two clubs and put up three goals and three assists. Much like Bayreuther, Pederson is also a tweener. He’s been a very good offensive player in the AHL the past few seasons as he has put up nearly a point a game since 2018-19. But this offensive success just simply hasn’t carried over the NHL as Pederson has just four goals and seven assists in 71 NHL games.

Pederson will get a two-way contract with a good AHL salary and will likely make for a good 13th or 14th forward next season.

G Michael Hutchinson – Hutchinson is the definition of a journeyman. He has played 153 NHL games spread over ten seasons posting a .902 career save percentage. Early in his career the 33-year-old looked as though he would be a solid NHL backup as posted a .914 save percentage in 38 games going 21-10-5 for the Winnipeg Jets in 2014-15. However, by 2017 Hutchinson found himself back in the AHL and struggled to find consistent NHL work, dressing in just 54 NHL games over the past six seasons. Given his age and recent track record it is realistic to guess that Hutchinson will find work as a teams third string goaltender that can take the bulk of the AHL starts and fill in at the NHL level should an injury occur.

Other UFAs: Joona Luoto, Justin Richards, Jon Gillies

Projected Cap Space

Columbus has ample cap room to fill out their roster as they currently have just under $17MM in space and 21 players signed for next season. However, filling out their roster simply won’t be good enough given how thin the team is on NHL talent. The club has committed big money to Patrik Laine, Johnny Gaudreau and Zach Werenski but haven’t been able to insulate them with much in the way of offensive talent. They have some terrific young players and will need to be careful to leave room for their future contracts, however the Blue Jackets need to do a better job of providing depth scoring so they don’t rely so heavily on their top line scorers. Columbus has been largely unsuccessful in unrestricted free agency making it interesting to see how they will play the market when it opens in July.

 

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Snapshots: Laine, Jagr, Perreault

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Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine is heading to the World Championships per a team release. The tournament is taking place in Riga, Latvia and Tampere, Finland which is Laine’s hometown. The tournament begins May 12 and gold medals will be handed out on May 28. Laine has represented his country in the past, but not since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. He last played at the World Championships in 2016 where he scored seven goals and 12 points in 10 games.

Laine is available due to Columbus finishing the regular season near the bottom of the NHL standings. The 25-year-old sniper scored 22 goals and 52 points in 55 games this season, but the Blue Jackets ended up in 31st with 59 points in the standings. Laine dealt with a number of injuries this season, including an elbow injury that caused him to miss a couple of weeks in October, an ankle injury that knocked him out for another couple weeks in November and an arm injury that caused him to miss the final three weeks of the regular season. A trip to the World Championships in his hometown is a nice way to end a bumpy season that was filled with nagging injuries and many losses.

  • Another player who will be playing again in his hometown is veteran winger Jaromir Jagr. Derek O’Brien of IIHF.com reports Jagr will return to Kladno’s lineup next season, during such time he will turn 52 years old. The veteran superstar last played in the NHL in 2017-18, but has been playing in Czech Extraliga ever since where he scored 14 points in 26 games. Jagr scored 766 goals and 1921 points in his NHL career.
  • Per Chris Peters of FloHockey reports Gabe Perreault has broken an impressive USA Hockey record. The 17-year-old forward is playing at the World Under-18 Hockey Championships for USA and had a five point effort against Norway today. In the process, he broke the single-season points record by a U.S. National Team Development Player. Perreault now has 121 points on the season. The previous record of 117 was held by Auston Matthews. Will Smith, another draft eligible forward on the team this season has 113 points. The only others to ever score 100 points for the program are Jack Hughes, Clayton Keller and Cole Caufield.

Metro Injury Notes: Devils, Romanov, Blue Jackets

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Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar will both be available for tomorrow’s game for the New Jersey Devils according to Amanda Stein, the team’s lead reporter. Furthermore, she adds that forward Michael McLeod will not be available yet, but head coach Lindy Ruff is hoping he will practice with the team soon.

Haula has not played for the Devils since their April 6th win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but will now be available for New Jersey come playoff time. Since being acquired from the Boston Bruins this past offseason, Haula has chipped in nicely for the Devils, scoring 12 goals and 27 assists so far this year. That is a pretty typical year for Haula, as he has become one of the most dependable players in the NHL over the course of his decade-long career.

Lazar, who was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks at the trade deadline, has only managed three games in New Jersey, getting injured on their March 18th game against the Florida Panthers. Being out for almost a month, it is unclear whether or not Lazar will be a part of the Devils’ regular playoff lineup. In 48 games so far this year, a majority of which in Vancouver, Lazar has three goals and two assists.

Similar to Haula, McLeod has been out of the Devils’ lineup for a little under a week. The young forward is continuing to progress throughout his short career, setting a new career-high in points this year with 26. Originally drafted 12th overall by New Jersey in the 2016 NHL Draft, McLeod has yet to break out into the league in accordance with his draft selection. Although he is not a world-breaker when it comes to scoring, he has become one of the Devils’ most physical forwards, throwing over 120 hits the last two seasons.

Other injury notes from the Metro Division:

  • In the first year of a 3-year, $7.5MM contract signed with the New York Islanders this past summer, Alexander Romanov has been out of the lineup since the team’s game on April 1st. The Islanders are still battling for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and they may be getting Romanov sooner rather than later. Andrew Gross of Newsday is reporting that Romanov has recently begun skating on his own again. Being one of the better low-key defensemen in the NHL, Romanov has 129 blocked shots and 198 hits for the Islanders this season.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that none of the currently injured Columbus Blue Jackets players will return for the regular season. This includes such players as Boone Jenner, Patrik Laine, and Elvis Merzlikins. Because of the Blue Jackets’ placement in the standings, it is understandable that they would not want to rush any player back from an injury. From Columbus’ perspective, this season is lost, and it will be better for them to have everyone healthy and rested for the start of the 2023-24 season.

Columbus To Receive Los Angeles Kings 2023 First Rounder

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When the Los Angeles Kings clinched a playoff birth last night it guaranteed that the Columbus Blue Jackets would receive their first-round pick in the 2023 NHL entry draft.

Columbus originally acquired a conditional first round pick from the Kings at the trade deadline as part of a package for goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.

The condition on the traded pick was that if Los Angeles did not qualify for the 2023 playoffs, Columbus would have instead received a 2023 second round pick and a 2024 second round pick. Columbus will likely have the extra pick land somewhere late in the first round, but should be pleased with their slotting in what is expected to be a deep draft.

This trade could ultimately turn out to be a win for both teams. Columbus is trying to rebuild around Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine and the first-round pick should help them fill out the depth around their two offensive stars. Los Angeles on the other hand have emerged from their rebuild as a potential juggernaut in the Western Conference. They still boast a few remaining stars from their two cup winning teams and have done a nice job building around them.

This season the Kings were receiving some of the worst goaltending in the league until the trade with Columbus for Joonas Korpisalo. Korpisalo has gone 5-2-1 in eight games with a 1.75 goals against average and a .936 save percentage in what has been a career year for the 28-year-old. This recent stretch of success couldn’t have come at a better time for the Finnish goaltender, he is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and with very few options available on the open market, Korpisalo could be in line for a hefty payday.

Patrik Laine Out 2-4 Weeks With Triceps Strain

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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine is expected to miss two to four weeks due to a triceps strain suffered in practice Thursday, according to the team. The 24-year-old Finnish forward has been one of the team’s best players this season when healthy, recording 52 points in 55 games.

Head coach Brad Larsen told reporters Friday that Laine sustained the injury taking a shot during the last drill of yesterday’s practice.

It’s an unfortunate break for Laine, who had four assists in his last two games after an unexpected move to center. The natural winger had looked comfortable in the middle of the ice, also recording a +3 rating, but struggled in the faceoff circle.

The potentially season-ending triceps strain adds to an already injury-littered campaign for Laine. He’s missed a combined 12 games due to a sprained elbow and sprained ankle sustained earlier in the season.

Laine has found his stride in Columbus over the past two seasons, recording 48 goals and 108 points in 111 games since 2021 without much team success. He’s quickly cemented himself in Columbus’ long-term plans and should be an important offensive piece alongside a growing young pool of impressive forwards.

With Laine out of the fold, Emil Bemstrom is likely to draw back into the lineup for tonight’s matchup against the New York Islanders.

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