Afternoon Notes: Schedule, Stone, Sabres, Team Canada Captains, Hershey Bears
More hockey? You’d be hard-pressed to find a fan who wouldn’t want it. Earlier this week, there had been some discussions about the NHL potentially expanding the season back to an 84 game schedule for the first time since the 1993-94 campaign. Last night on Hockey Night in Canada’s 32 Thoughts segment, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman expanded on those rumors with an idea of what that schedule might look like, and how the league could get there.
In effect, the schedule would be expanded an additional two games to promote intra-division rivalries, such as the one between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers or the one between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders, both of which have seen their head-to-head matchups drop off in recent years. As Friedman details, the schedule would consist of four games against each of the other teams within the division, three games each against each team in the opposing division, and two against each team in the opposite conference. To balance things out, each team’s slate of preseasons games could be cut down. It doesn’t appear that any change is imminent, however Friedman adds that there is a willingness to discuss the change between the league and the NHLPA, however there hasn’t been much dialogue on the subject recently.
- Things didn’t look good for Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone last night when he went down in obvious pain during the third period of the team’s game against the New York Islanders. The winger struggled to get off the ice with the assistance of his teammates, but surprisingly was able to come back and join them in the final moments of the game. Unsurprisingly, after the game, Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy was asked about the status of his star forward, telling The Athletic’s Jesse Granger that the hope is Stone’s injury is “just a stinger,” but he wouldn’t know much more until today. Cassidy added that Stone was not 100% when he rejoined the team late in the game. So far, no additional information has come out about Stone’s status. Vegas next plays at home on Monday against the Sabres.
- Yesterday, the Buffalo Sabres were able to get forward Kyle Okposo back from injury and Jeff Skinner back from suspension, but were without defensemen Owen Power, Jacob Bryson, and Ilya Lyubushkin. The team didn’t have much information on Power or Bryson, and the same holds true today, however according to The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington, Ilya Lyubushkin is set to return tomorrow against Vegas. Noticeably absent from the ice this morning were defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson, but as Harrington adds, both were absent simply for rest purposes.
- With the World Junior Championship just eight days away, Hockey Canada announced its leadership group for this year’s World Juniors team. Captaining the group will be Seattle Kraken forward and fourth-overall pick in 2022, Shane Wright. Assisting him will be Arizona Coyotes forward Dylan Guenther, Dallas Stars draft pick and current Kamloops Blazers forward Logan Stankoven, Anaheim Ducks draft pick and Quebec Remparts forward Nathan Gaucher, as well as Chicago Blackhawks draft pick and Mississauga Steelheads defenseman Ethan Del Mastro. Canada will kick things off against Czechia on December 26th.
- Many don’t necessarily think about when an NHL team chooses to recall a player from their affiliate, it could set off a chain reaction of needs within their system, and that’s just what happened with the Washington Capitals and their goaltenders. When Darcy Kuemper went down a couple of weeks ago, the team recalled Hunter Shepard, which Hershey was able to cope with by recalling Clay Stevenson from the ECHL. No problem. But, when Washington also recalled Zachary Fucale yesterday in the wake of Shepard’s upper-body injury, Hershey was forced to sign an emergency back-up to a PTO for their game last night. Today, the Bears were able to smooth things out in net prior to their game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this afternoon, bringing up netminder Tyler Wall from the South Carolina Stingrays, Hershey and Washington’s ECHL affiliate. In a corresponding move, defenseman Martin Has has been sent to South Carolina. While this is a relatively minor move, it does give context for the transactions NHL teams make that sometimes seem to be done just for the sake of doing them.
Injury Notes: Zadina, Byram, Hornqvist, Chytil, Dahlin
After a major offseason overhaul rivaled only by the Ottawa Senators, expectations have been big for the Detroit Red Wings this season, however the team has gotten itself off to an up-and-down start. Sitting at 5-3-2 coming into today, the team would be faced with one of its tougher tasks of the young season this afternoon: a showdown with the New York Islanders, who were on a five-game winning streak. Detroit answered the call, shutting out the Islanders 3-0. That win appears to have come at a price, however. Forward Filip Zadina went down late in the third period after appearing to block a Ryan Pulock shot.
After the game, Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde, provided an update to the media, including Michigan Live’s Ansar Kahn. According to Lalonde, Zadina’s injury “doesn’t look good” and Detroit may not see the winger for a while, adding that the team would know more tomorrow. Soon to be 23-years-old, Zadina has yet to become the player Detroit hoped he would be when he was drafted sixth-overall in 2018, and has zero points through his first nine games this year, including today. But, with Detroit missing more than its fair share of forwards, including Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Oskar Sundqvist, and Robby Fabbri, losing Zadina for any period of time will surely be felt.
- For those who watched today’s NHL Global Series contest in Tampere, Finland between the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets, noticeably absent from Colorado’s blueline was Bowen Byram. The defenseman was replaced in the lineup by Jacob MacDonald, who was playing in just his fourth game of the season. Thus far, there is no word on the severity of Byram’s injury, however The Athletic’s Peter Baugh reports that it’s a lower-body injury. While no injury is good news, for Byram, who has dealt with a number of concussion-related issues in his past, having the injury apparently be unrelated to that is somewhat of a relief. The former fourth-overall pick is off to a strong start to the season, scoring two goals to go with three assists in 10 games to date.
- Florida Panthers winger Patric Hornqvist, who suffered an upper-body injury early in Thursday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, is considered day-to-day, head coach Paul Maurice told the media, including Bally Sports’ Katie Engleson. The veteran has just one goal through 11 games to start the season, but with Florida missing several key pieces from last year’s team, they will need a quick recovery from Hornqvist and renewed production to help supplement their offense going forward.
- New York Rangers center Filip Chytil expects to play in the team’s game tomorrow afternoon against the Red Wings. While Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant did not confirm that Chytil would be in the lineup, the forward did tell USA Today Sports’ Vince Mercogliano that he feels 100%. Still, Gallant is hopeful he can play Sunday. Chytil, who hasn’t played since October 23rd, was believed to be dealing with a concussion, said Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The 23-year-old had three points in six games prior to the injury.
- Per Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato confirmed that defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will miss tonight’s game in Tampa Bay against the Lightning with an upper-body injury. Granato declined to go into specifics on the injury but, Harrington says, it likely occurred during Friday night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, when Dahlin was involved in a scuffle with Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Thankfully for Buffalo, Dahlin is listed as day-to-day, but his injury is yet another in a long line of defensemen going down in the Buffalo organization this season, whether that be at the NHL or AHL level. Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who has missed the last four games with injury, draws back in tonight in place of Dahlin.
Snapshots: Samuelsson, Bear, Wright
Buffalo Sabres fans held their breath last night when freshly extended defenseman Mattias Samuelsson went down with an injury in their game against Vancouver. Now, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that Samuelsson avoided a long-term injury but is still set to miss at least “a few weeks,” joining Henri Jokiharju on the list of injured Sabres top-four defensemen.
An exact timeline won’t be had on Samuelsson until the team returns to Buffalo, head coach Don Granato said today, and the injury will force some depth defenders to shine in order for Buffalo to keep up its strong start. Lawrence Pilut will make his season debut in the team’s next game after two seasons overseas, and free-agent acquisition Ilya Lyubushkin will be tasked with replacing Samuelsson as the defensive anchor on the top pairing alongside the red-hot Rasmus Dahlin.
- It’s no secret the Canucks are in trouble, winless so far to start the year. With injuries and general positional depth weakness hampering their defense, the team has been looking to add, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that the team has checked in on defenseman Ethan Bear as a potential trade acquisition. Bear, the 25-year-old right-shot defenseman, has been thrust down the depth chart in Carolina and has yet to appear in a game this season. The Hurricanes were shopping him prior to the season’s start, and the Canucks have more than enough room thanks to LTIR to accommodate his $2.2MM cap hit. He still has some upside and could provide some better matchups once Quinn Hughes returns to the lineup.
- Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala ponders whether the Seattle Kraken may opt to send Shane Wright back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs after an unimpactful start to the season. Wright hasn’t received many opportunities, he has shown smooth skating and pace, but Bukala points out that Wright’s had some positional issues defensively and may need a bit more development before being able to execute his playstyle properly at the NHL level.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Gurianov, Kessel
The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin taking the top spot. While he was good through the first few years of his career, Dahlin has really taken another step under Sabres head coach Don Granato. Last season he set career highs with 13 goals and 53 points, and he’s off to an incredible start this year with five goals and eight points in five games. Dahlin became the first defenseman in NHL history to score in the first four games of a season and then broke his own record by scoring again on Saturday night.
Brady Tkachuk and MacKenzie Blackwood take home the second and third spots, after having their own impressive weeks. Blackwood’s was especially impressive because of the poor start that the New Jersey Devils goaltenders got off to. In three starts, Blackwood posted a .932 save percentage and silenced some of the chatter over the future of head coach Lindy Ruff. Tkachuk, meanwhile, had seven points in three games, recording at least two in each contest.
- Denis Gurianov figures to be a healthy scratch when the Dallas Stars take on Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators tonight, as his inconsistencies have once again pushed him out of the lineup. Head coach Peter DeBoer spoke with Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News, explaining that Gurianov is “not a young player anymore” and will be held to the consistency standard that other veterans are expected to maintain. The 25-year-old Gurianov doesn’t have a point through his first five contests.
- Vegas Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel will tie the NHL consecutive games streak tonight, when he takes on his old club the Toronto Maple Leafs. The veteran forward will play his 989th straight game, matching the record set by Keith Yandle. The last time Kessel missed a game was his first year with the Maple Leafs, back in 2009-10. He is also just 43 points away from 1,000 for his career.
Buffalo Sabres Name Kyle Okposo Captain
The Buffalo Sabres made their 2022-23 leadership group official Sunday afternoon, naming longtime Sabres forward Kyle Okposo the 20th captain in Sabres history. Forward Zemgus Girgensons and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will serve as Buffalo’s alternate captains for the upcoming season. The team went without a captain last season after trading the injured Jack Eichel, their previous captain, instead electing to have Okposo and Girgensons serve as full-time alternates, and Dahlin an alternate at times later in the season.
Sabres’ GM Kevyn Adams, had the following to say about Okposo:
“It’s impossible to overstate what Kyle has meant to this group – he is patient, he is a lifelong learner, he is levelheaded, and most of all, he is proud to be a Buffalo Sabre. When times get difficult, Kyle knows when to speak up, and when he does, the team takes it to heart. Kyle and his family have made Buffalo their home and want to see our organization succeed, both on and off ice. I am proud that Kyle will represent our organization with class.”
After many years of on-ice struggles, the Sabres appeared to begin the turn-around last season, beginning to win consistently in the second half. The leadership group of Okposo and Girgensons provides the right influence to a predominantly young, and talented, Sabres roster. On the Sabres organization and the roster he’s about to lead, the newest Buffalo captain had this to say:
“I’m just happy to be a part of it. I’m happy to be somebody that the guys in this organization and the guys that play on the team can look up to and try and continue to move this culture forward. I’m just so proud of where we’re at from a team standpoint. It’s not a guarantee that the results follow a good culture, but it’s a hell of a good start. That’s what I’m definitely most proud of over the last year.”
The captaincy comes in the final year of a seven-year deal Okposo signed during the 2016 offseason, bringing him upstate from the New York Islanders and Long Island to western New York and the Sabres. Things weren’t always as exciting and hopeful as they are now for Buffalo or Okposo. As the team struggled year after year, Okposo dealt with injuries and struggles to produce the way the Sabres, and his $6MM cap hit, had expected. Things did turn around for both in 2021-22 though, the Sabres seeming to turn things around and Okposo rebounding with a strong 21 goal, 24 assist performance over 74 games.
What the future holds for both sides is unclear, but naming Okposo captain while the team has plenty of building blocks around him would appear to show their commitment to the veteran moving forward, evidenced all the more by Adams’ words. To Okposo’s point, culture isn’t the be-all-end-all, but it’s a strong start, and considering what the franchise has been through since its last postseason berth in 2011, building a strong culture will be paramount to their future success.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson To Play In World Championship
After a disappointing season in Vancouver, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is set to head overseas for a few weeks. The team announced today he’ll join Team Sweden for the upcoming 2022 IIHF World Championship.
Ekman-Larsson had a near career-low season, although his lows were previously set in shortened seasons. While he did improve defensively from his last few years in Arizona, he had just five goals and 29 points on the year, the only time he hasn’t hit 30+ points when playing 50+ games.
The veteran defenseman will look to reset this offseason, as the Canucks are still on the hook for his retained-salary $7.26MM cap hit through 2027.
Ekman-Larsson joins fellow NHLers Rasmus Dahlin, Erik Gustafsson, and Adam Larsson on the blueline. Other NHLers slated to join team Sweden are Rasmus Asplund, Emil Bemstrom, and Magnus Hellberg.
The tournament will run from May 13 to May 29.
East Notes: Chara, Hamilton, Dahlin, Brassard
The Islanders are starting to receive trade interest in veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara, Pierre LeBrun reports in the latest TSN Insider Trading segment. While the 44-year-old is no longer the top pairing player he was for a lot of his time in Boston, some contending teams could use him as a shutdown and penalty kill player in a limited role. He carries a $750K AAV although there are bonuses of up to another $750K in the existing deal but those could roll over and be applied on next year’s cap with the bonus cushion. While Chara doesn’t have any trade protection, LeBrun adds that GM Lou Lamoriello will go to the veteran to see if he indeed wants to move. He has seven assists in 42 games this season while still averaging over 18 minutes a game.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- New Jersey is set to get blueliner Dougie Hamilton back on Thursday, notes NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. The veteran has missed the last 17 games due to a broken jaw although he still sits second in scoring by Devils defenders with 20 points in 30 games. New Jersey is currently carrying a full roster and will need to make a move in order to free up a spot to activate Hamilton from IR.
- The Sabres should have defenseman Rasmus Dahlin back in the lineup on Wednesday in Montreal after he missed Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The 21-year-old is on pace to surpass his career highs offensively from back in his rookie season as he already has 33 points in 49 games this season while logging just shy of 24 minutes a game.
- The Flyers have transferred center Derick Brassard to injured reserve, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The placement was not backdated so it appears the veteran – who has battled hip injuries all season long – will miss at least another week. Brassard played in one game two weeks ago after coming back from hip trouble and clearly, the injury hasn’t fully healed yet. When healthy, he has been productive with 11 points in 20 games.
Sabres Place Zemgus Girgensons On IR; Activate Dahlin, Olofsson From Protocol
The Buffalo Sabres activated defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and forward Victor Olofsson from COVID protocol ahead of tonight’s game against Colorado after erroneous COVID tests held them out of their last game on Saturday. The team also placed center Zemgus Girgensons on injured reserve retroactive to January 28th with an undisclosed injury.
Girgensons, the longest-tenured Sabre, missed the entirety of the 2020-21 campaign with a hamstring injury suffered during training camp. Back and healthy for this year, he’s brought his extremely solid defensive game to the team’s bottom six.
He’s been in and out of the lineup the past few weeks, though, missing time earlier in the month with another unknown injury and some time in December while on COVID protocol. The Latvian centerman has seven goals and 12 points in 34 games.
Getting Dahlin and Olofsson back in the fold is a large factor for the Sabres and head coach Don Granato. Dahlin, the 2018 first-overall pick, is playing some of the best hockey of his career right now and has 28 points through 42 games. Olofsson is a valuable depth piece who can put pucks in the net and is an important piece with Tage Thompson already out of the lineup.
2022 NHL All-Star Game Rosters Revealed
Jan 26: After Batherson was injured last night, the league has announced that Brady Tkachuk will replace him and be the Senators’ representative.
Jan 13: During a live reveal on ESPN’s SportsCenter program in the United States, the National Hockey League unveiled their four divisional rosters for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Eight skaters and two goalies were announced for each team, leaving one skater spot open for each division. That last spot will once again be decided by a fan vote, who they can select by voting at NHL.com/LastMenIn.
The head coaches of each team were announced earlier, decided by the teams in first place (by points percentage) in their division on New Years Day. Florida’s Andrew Brunette heads the Atlantic Division, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour will coach the Metropolitan Division, Colorado’s Jared Bednar is the bench boss for the Central Division, and Vegas’ Peter DeBoer will serve as the Pacific Division’s coach.
Below are the full rosters for each division.
Atlantic Division
F Auston Matthews “C” (Toronto Maple Leafs)
F Drake Batherson (Ottawa Senators)
F Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
F Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers)
F Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings)
F Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens)
D Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres)
D Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning)
G Jack Campbell (Toronto Maple Leafs)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Metropolitan Division
F Alex Ovechkin “C” (Washington Capitals)
F Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Claude Giroux (Philadelphia Flyers)
F Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils)
F Chris Kreider (New York Rangers)
D Adam Fox (New York Rangers)
D Adam Pelech (New York Islanders)
D Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets)
G Frederik Andersen (Carolina Hurricanes)
G Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Central Division
F Nathan MacKinnon “C” (Colorado Avalanche)
F Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets)
F Alex DeBrincat (Chicago Blackhawks)
F Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild)
F Clayton Keller (Arizona Coyotes)
F Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis Blues)
F Joe Pavelski (Dallas Stars)
D Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)
G Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators)
G Cam Talbot (Minnesota Wild)
Pacific Division
F Connor McDavid “C” (Edmonton Oilers)
F Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers)
F Jordan Eberle (Seattle Kraken)
F Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames)
F Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings)
F Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks)
F Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights)
D Alex Pietrangelo (Vegas Golden Knights)
G Thatcher Demko (Vancouver Canucks)
G John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks)
Buffalo Sabres Sign Rasmus Dahlin
The Buffalo Sabres have agreed to terms with star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin on a three-year contract that will carry an average annual value of $6MM. The young defenseman was a restricted free agent but was listed on the Sabres’ training camp roster yesterday, suggesting a deal was coming soon. CapFriendly has the full breakdown:
- 2021-22: $3.0MM salary + $2.0MM signing bonus
- 2022-23: $5.8MM salary
- 2023-24: $7.2MM salary
Dahlin, 21, certainly hasn’t been a disappointment since being selected first overall in 2018, but he also hasn’t been the franchise-changing savior that many Sabres fans were hoping for. The young defenseman stepped directly into the NHL and showed his offensive chops, recording 44 points in his rookie season and finishing third in the Calder Race, but has been dragged down–whether by his teammates or his own inconsistent defensive play–in his own end.
There’s no doubt that Dahlin is one of the most dynamic puck-movers in the NHL, but even that offensive output dropped this season as the Sabres collapsed into a league bottom-feeder once again. A contract like this, which ties Dahlin for the 30th highest cap hit among defensemen this season, certainly doesn’t leave room for a ton of surplus value unless he really gets back to the player he showed early on.
With no Rasmus Ristolainen in the fold now, Dahlin should take on even more responsibility for the Sabres. He heads into this season leading a defense corps that is made up almost entirely of pieces acquired through trade, some of them just cap dumps, and may have another difficult season as he waits for the help of Owen Power, the team’s latest top pick. When he gets him, which by all accounts should be at the end of the upcoming season, Dahlin and the 2021 first-overall pick should form a dynamic duo for the Sabres to build around, each logging big minutes on the left side.
Even though this contract may actually be a bit on the expensive side–Zach Werenski, with comparable if not better numbers, signed a similar bridge deal that was worth just $15MM over three years in 2019–it’s not really an issue for the Sabres who are fighting just to get to the cap floor. The team can certainly afford to pay Dahlin a little bit more to keep him in the fold while they go through another rebuild.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images