Three Columbus Blue Jackets Injured, Brendan Gaunce Recalled
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced a flurry of injury updates today, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. Forward Jakub Voracek is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, Sean Kuraly is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and Patrik Laine is day-to-day with an illness. Forward Brendan Gaunce was also recalled from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, per a team release.
Voracek missed the second game of Columbus’ Global Series matchups in Finland last week with the injury. It’s a huge blow to their depth scoring if he’s out long-term, as he was tied for second in scoring on the team with six points in 11 games.
Kuraly sustained his upper-body injury in the second Global Series game, leaving in the second period after playing 8:09. He had two goals and two assists through 12 games and was tied for the worst +/- rating on the team (-8).
Laine’s illness is hopefully short-term, as he’s only been present for half of the Blue Jackets’ season thus far with an elbow injury. The Finnish winger has scored twice and is averaging nearly 20 minutes a game.
Gaunce ends up on the active roster as the only healthy extra. The AHL veteran was off to a hot start in Cleveland, registering 11 points through 10 games.
Justin Danforth To Undergo Surgery
The Columbus Blue Jackets have officially activated Patrik Laine, but buried in the press release is some less positive news. Justin Danforth is headed for surgery next Monday to repair a torn labrum. He is expected to make a full recovery in six months, meaning he’ll be out for most of the season, if not all of it.
Danforth, 29, was a great story of perseverance, working his way up through the ECHL, European leagues, and the AHL before making his NHL debut last season at the age of 28. He even scored ten goals and 14 points in 45 games and earned himself a full-time spot with the team this year. He was off to a good start too, with two goals and three points in his first five games, before being injured early in his sixth.
Now, facing a recovery period of six months, his career is in jeopardy once again. The undersized forward did sign a two-year, one-way contract this summer, but there’s no telling what his game will be like when he comes back from this long absence. Hopefully, he can go right back to the mix of in-your-face energy and skill that he had brought to this point, offering positional and playstyle versatility.
Layoffs this long can quickly turn into opportunities for other players though and with so many talented young forwards in the Blue Jackets system, there’s no guarantee that Danforth returns to an open spot. All he can do now is work on his rehab and try to come back with the same level of play that he left with.
Patrik Laine Set To Return For Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are now 3-4 on the year, after an impressive victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday. They will now start a two-game homestand starting with the Arizona Coyotes this evening and received some great news this morning. Patrik Laine is ready to get back into the starting lineup, skating with Boone Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau at this morning’s skate.
Laine, 24, was injured in the first game, less than eight minutes into his season. He had already scored, something that will happen quite a few more times this year, especially if he’s hitting the ice across from Gaudreau on a regular basis. The enigmatic winger has settled into his own in Columbus, scoring 56 points in 56 games last season and signing a four-year, $34.8MM deal to stick around.
The Metropolitan Division is wide open to start the year, with just three points separating first from seventh. Getting Laine back this quickly is a huge boost for a Columbus team that expects to contend for a playoff spot after spending so much money in the offseason. Not only was Laine extended and Gaudreau brought in, but Erik Gudbranson was given a four-year deal, Adam Boqvist was signed to a bridge contract, and Andrew Peeke was handed an extension.
If they can get rolling with their Finnish sniper back in the mix, it’ll be an even more exciting fight in the east.
Latest On Patrik Laine
The Columbus Blue Jackets got some tough news last week when star winger Patrik Laine sustained an elbow sprain in the team’s season opener and had to be moved to injured reserve immediately. Fortunately, though, it seems his three-to-four-week recovery timeline is still right on schedule, if not a bit ahead. The Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger reported today that Laine skated on his own in full gear for the past two days at the team’s practice facility. Hedger also noted the Finnish star is confident he’ll be ready to play by the first week of November when the Blue Jackets travel to Finland to play a set of games against the Colorado Avalanche.
That’s obviously a huge deal for Laine personally, but also the league, as Laine is the most marketable hometown player who’ll skate in the back-to-back set of games in Tampere. Laine hails directly from Tampere, and while his Avalanche counterpart in Mikko Rantanen may have more publicity overall, there’s nothing like getting to see one of your town’s best-ever hockey products play an NHL game on home soil.
A quick return from Laine is also crucial for Columbus’ playoff hopes. While Johnny Gaudreau has held up his end of the bargain, recording four points in his first four games as a Blue Jacket, their lack of quality offensive depth has been exposed by Laine’s injury. Minor-league and European league journeyman Justin Danforth was the team’s first option to replace Laine on the top line, which is obviously a less-than-ideal situation.
Patrik Laine Placed On Injured Reserve
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that forward Patrik Laine has been placed on injured reserve due to an injury he suffered in last night’s season-opening contest against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Per the team, the injury Laine suffered is an elbow sprain and he is expected to miss three to four weeks as a result.
The Blue Jackets called up top prospect Kent Johnson earlier today, so perhaps he will get the first chance to fill Laine’s role as the right winger on the team’s first line alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Boone Jenner. Johnson is widely considered to be more of a playmaker than a sniper, so if coach Brad Larsen prefers a player more stylistically similar to Laine on that line, he could opt to bump preseason standout Yegor Chinakhov into that role.
The Blue Jackets aren’t expected to be among the NHL’s elite teams this season, but after an aggressive summer that saw them add Gaudreau and Erik Gudbranson as free agents, it’s likely that the team has designs on at least being in the mix for a playoff spot late in the season. To get there, the Blue Jackets will need to avoid falling behind in the standings in this early part of the year, a task now made even more difficult due to this Laine injury.
That being said, though, the Blue Jackets are certainly a team with enviable scoring depth. With talented youngsters such as Johnson, Chinakhov, and Kirill Marchenko, the Blue Jackets will have options to choose from as they ponder how to best compensate for Laine’s absence.
Evening Notes: Price, Laine, Panik, Oilers Injuries
When Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was announced at tonight’s home opener, the standing ovation he received from the crowd was about the least surprising bit of news this evening. Price, who is one of, if not the best goaltender of his generation, has been a staple in the Canadiens lineup since his debut in 2007-08. His recent injury woes have forced him to take a step back from the game in order to try to return to full health not only on the ice, but off of it. Whether he is able to come back and play in the NHL again remains to be seen, but for now Montreal will have to proceed with Price on the sidelines.
Recently, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu had a chance to speak with Price about his health and where he stands right now. Unfortunately, the update was far from ideal. As Price said, “[a]gain, my knee still isn’t doing great. Like, I’m still not walking up a set of stairs pain-free yet. I still don’t feel like my knee’s in a place where I’m going to be able to play hockey.” Price’s own words seem to indicate that for now, the focus isn’t necessarily on hockey, but a quality of life at the moment. Price added that he’s also focusing on being able to do things in the future such as skate and play sports with his children (recall Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom discussing similar issues a couple of months ago). Interestingly, Price said those are things he wants to do “when I’m, you know, officially done,” language Basu points to as perhaps significant given the line between Price being ‘officially done’ and where he is now is a very thin one.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets announced forward Patrik Laine left tonight’s game at the Carolina Hurricanes with an upper-body injury and will not return. The forward appeared to be in some discomfort after being sandwiched along the boards by Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce. Laine had already contributed a goal in tonight’s contest prior to leaving, the only Blue Jackets tally at the time of writing.
- According to CapFriendly, the New York Islanders have loaned forward Richard Panik to Lausanne HC of Switzerland’s National League. Panik, 31, had been with the Islanders organization since he was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings in the deal that sent Nick Leddy to Detroit in the summer of 2021. Outside of a brief four game stretch on Long Island, the team had buried Panik and his $2.75MM salary in the AHL last season, which he otherwise split between the Bridgeport Islanders and Chicago Wolves. While on loan, Panik’s buried cap hit of $250,000 (Detroit retained $1.375MM in the deal, $1.125MM is buried) will continue to count against the Islanders cap. By going to Lausanne, the veteran forward should have a chance at more consistent minutes far closer to home and should give the Islanders more opportunities to get younger players into the Bridgeport lineup.
- The Edmonton Oilers will be without forwards Kailer Yamamoto and Warren Foegele for tonight’s opening night matchup against the Vancouver Canucks. It’s unclear what injuries either player is suffering from. However, because Edmonton began the season with just 21 players on its roster for cap compliance purposes, they will only be able to dress 17 skaters – all that are left on the roster after Yamamoto and Foegele. Sportsnet’s Bob Stauffer was the first to report.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Patrik Laine
The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed Patrik Laine to a four-year contract worth a total of $34.8MM. The $8.7MM average annual value will make him the team’s second highest-paid forward, coming in a little behind Johnny Gaudreau and just ahead of Jakub Voracek. Though he qualified for it, Laine had decided not to file for salary arbitration this year. His $7.5MM qualifying offer was set to expire today but the two sides have come to an agreement on a longer deal. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports the full contract details:
- 2022-23: $7.5MM
- 2023-24: $9.1MM + 10-team NTC
- 2024-25: $9.1MM + 10-team NTC
- 2025-26: $9.1MM + 10-team NTC
Laine, 24, has already completed six seasons in the NHL, meaning a deal of this length buys out three years of unrestricted free agency. Had he instead decided to accept the qualifying offer or go to arbitration, he could have reached the open market as a 25-year-old. With that in mind, a deal like this actually may seem like something of a bargain for the Blue Jackets, given the outstanding goal-scoring ability of the Finnish forward.
Since entering the league in 2016-17, Laine sits 14th in the league with 176 goals just behind Nikita Kucherov and former Winnipeg Jets teammate Kyle Connor. His career-high of 44 was set in just his sophomore year, before a little bit of inconsistency slipped into his game. Now firmly established in Columbus after a trade last year, he was outstanding this season for the Blue Jackets, scoring 26 goals and 56 points in 56 games including seven game-winners.
The upside for the 6’5″ winger was always tremendous but the circumstances of this free agent period have Blue Jackets fans even more excited for what might be on the horizon. After general manager Jarmo Kekalainen secured one of the league’s best playmakers in Gaudreau, the idea of the pair hitting the ice together should be a frightening thought for opponents and goaltenders alike. With young talents like Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson already making an impact before they even turn 20, the Blue Jackets forward group should be as dangerous as anyone over the next several years.
Still, this is a cap league and one that is still dealing with the fallout from the previous shutdowns. The cap ceiling increased only barely this season and the Blue Jackets will now be forced to make a move to get back under it. At the moment, the team projects to be about $2.35MM over the cap, with Emil Bemstrom still to sign. There are some ways they could drop that amount but recent reports already have the team trying to cut a much bigger chunk of salary before the start of the year.
At any rate, getting Laine signed is a huge win for the Blue Jackets, and a deal like this actually doesn’t present much risk. While there is a chance he doesn’t quite live up to a cap hit that high, a four-year deal means that he will be just 28 at its expiry, likely still in his prime as an NHL talent. Laine will be able to sign another massive deal at that point but the Blue Jackets are not yet at risk of having an anchor contract on the books as he enters his thirties.
Nearly everyone on the roster will see their contracts expire by the time Laine is ready for another deal, including recent free agent signing Erik Gudbranson, who is also signed through 2025-26. If the team needs to make a mega-offer for their Finnish star at that point, they will likely have the flexibility to do so.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Latest On Patrik Laine
The Blue Jackets have had a huge offseason so far, with the signings of Johnny Gaudreau and Erik Gudbranson drawing particular attention. Now that free agency has settled, the focus in Columbus has shifted to the situation with restricted free agent winger Patrik Laine. The 24-year-old forward is two years away from unrestricted free agency and has the option to file for arbitration, take two (likely expensive) arbitration awards, and then hit free agency in 2024.
Columbus has a history of talented forwards leaving in free agency (Artemi Panarin sticks out as a recent example) so it makes sense that the Columbus market would be watching the Laine situation intensely with the hope that history doesn’t repeat itself. In this case, Blue Jackets fans have reason to exhale. Laine and his representatives, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, will not be filing for arbitration before the 5 pm deadline today.
That’s major news, as it’s a confirmation that both the Blue Jackets and Laine are earnestly committed to finding a contract solution that keeps Laine in Columbus long-term. Laine has played 101 games as a Blue Jacket and has an impressive 36 goals and 77 points, including 26 goals and 56 points in just 56 games in 2021-22. Laine has one of the best shots in hockey and has terrorized goaltenders ever since he made his debut as a rookie in Winnipeg.
Before the arrival of Gaudreau, Laine was one of the few stars on the Blue Jackets’ roster, perhaps the only other elite talent on the team besides defenseman Zach Werenski. With Gaudreau in the fold now, though, Laine has the opportunity to join an exciting team in Columbus that has the potential to be the most offensively gifted lineup in team history. Portzline states that negotiations between Laine’s agent, Andy Scott, and the team remain “amicable,” and it seems that Laine does have an interest in being part of that high-potential future in Columbus.
Nothing is a guarantee in the NHL, and negotiations can always go sideways. But avoiding arbitration is an important first step towards getting Laine locked-up long-term in Columbus. The deal he gets isn’t likely to rise higher than the $9.75MM AAV Gaudreau is earning, but a modest raise from Laine’s current $7.5MM cap hit would not be unreasonable.
The Blue Jackets don’t actually have a ton of cap room to get a Laine extension done, oddly enough, as CapFriendly projects the team to have $2.3MM in current cap space, which definitely would make any Laine extension a very tight squeeze. Columbus may need to move a contract in order to have enough room to get Laine’s deal done, and the contracts of Gustav Nyquist and Jakub Voracek could be their best options to move in order to get that space. With that being said, though, in today’s cap-strapped world, clearing space is as difficult and pricey as it’s ever been.
Snapshots: Zadorov, Rodrigues, Laine, Canucks
On top of Johnny Gaudreau opting to get the open market, defenseman Nikita Zadorov will also be doing so, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link). The 27-year-old had a career-high 22 points last season but also averaged a career-low in ice time at 16:55 per game. A veteran of over NHL games 500 games between the regular season and playoffs, Zadorov is a well-known commodity around the league and will have interest from teams looking to shore up the left side of their back end in free agency.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Pending UFA forward Evan Rodrigues has changed representation to Darren Ferris of Quartexx, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). After bouncing around the previous two seasons, the 28-year-old had a breakout year in 2021-22, collecting 43 points in 82 games with Pittsburgh while spending plenty of time in their top six. After being on one-year deals the past three years, Rodrigues should be able to secure a multi-year commitment this time around.
- While Patrik Laine is a year away from being eligible to test unrestricted free agency, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen told reporters including Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch that there is mutual interest in getting a long-term extension done with the winger. Laine is coming off his first career point per game season, notching 26 goals and 30 assists in 56 games and received his $7.5MM qualifying offer. He’s eligible to file for arbitration if an agreement can’t be worked out in the coming days.
- Canucks president Jim Rutherford told CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal (Twitter link) that the team will not be looking to re-sign pending UFA forwards Alex Chiasson, Brad Richardson, and Brandon Sutter right away but could circle back at some point this summer. Chiasson had 13 goals in 67 games last season, a decent return on a league minimum deal while Richardson won over 58% of his faceoffs in 2021-22. Sutter, meanwhile, missed all of last season with long COVID symptoms and there’s no word yet on whether or not he’ll be able to play in 2022-23.
Metropolitan Notes: Laine, Husso, Brunette
While the Winnipeg Jets have a situation on their hands with Pierre-Luc Dubois and his reported desire to test free agency in two years, the Columbus Blue Jackets aren’t facing a similar issue with the main player they received in the Dubois trade: Patrik Laine. According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Laine’s camp and the Blue Jackets “communicate every few days” in “amicable” negotiations focused on finding a long-term deal for Laine. (subscription link) While Portzline does note that the negotiations aren’t “anywhere close,” and that negotiations “may take a while,” there is a desire from both parties to get a long-term extension done regardless of where the exact negotiations might be at this point in time.
For the Blue Jackets, their desire to extend Laine is entirely understandable. When he was healthy, Laine was a dynamic offensive force the type of scorer the Blue Jackets haven’t had in their lineup since Artemi Panarin‘s two-year stay in Columbus. Laine had 26 goals and 56 points in 56 games in 2021-22 and showed the kind of elite scoring ability that got him drafted second overall in 2016. Perhaps most importantly, Laine produced at a point-per-game rate without having an elite center to rely on, highlighting his abilities as a play-driving winger and helping dispel the notion that he is simply a streaky, perimeter-shooting passenger winger. The Blue Jackets clearly believe they have a player to build around in the 24-year-old Laine and getting him inked to any sort of remotely reasonable long-term extension would be a major win for Jarmo Kekalainen’s front office.
Now, for some other notes regarding Metropolitan Division teams:
- The New Jersey Devils hold the number-two pick at next week’s draft, but that’s not where they’re devoting all of their offseason focus. The team’s biggest need this summer is to add to their goaltending, and one could make the argument that it was the single biggest factor that kept the team from playing meaningful games last spring. Many have speculated that the Devils would go after this summer’s biggest names in net, such as Darcy Kuemper, Jack Campbell, or even John Gibson, and we now know a more specific name the Devils could be targeting. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes in his latest 32 Thoughts blog that the Devils are “expected to be in” the conversation for pending free agent goaltender Ville Husso. Friedman notes that the Devils’ goalie coach, Dave Rogalski, knows Husso well from his time in a similar role for the AHL’s old San Antonio Rampage, and that connection could be the Devils’ key to landing the 27-year-old goaltender, who impressed enough in 2021-22 to earn a third-place Vezina Trophy vote.
- One area of less pressing need for New Jersey is behind the bench, where they have veteran coach Lindy Ruff set to enter his third season as the Devils’ head coach. Per Friedman, the Devils are believed to be “among the teams interested in” former Florida Panthers head coach and Jack Adams Award finalist Andrew Brunette in an assistant coaching role for next season. One assistant on the Devils’ staff, Alain Nasreddine, was recently named to Peter DeBoer’s Dallas Stars staff, leaving a vacancy that could be filled by Brunette. Ruff, 62, has a combined 46-76-16 record coaching in New Jersey. If he enters 2021-22 on the hot seat, the Devils adding Brunette to their coaching staff could be seen as GM Tom Fitzgerald preparing for an eventual succession plan in order to secure the next coach for his young, ascending Devils squad.