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Roberto Luongo

Injury Notes: Luongo, Dubinsky, Jost, McQuaid

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Not much has gone right for the Florida Panthers this season, but the team hopes that they may have good news on the horizon after goaltender Roberto Luongo was on the ice Sunday taking shots, according to NHL.com’s Jameson Olive. The team lost the oft-injured netminder during the second period of the season opener when teammate Frank Vatrano fell on him, forcing him out of the game with a lower-body injury.

The 39-year-old has fared well when healthy, but he hasn’t played more than 40 games since the 2015-16 season, which isn’t great considering the team is paying him $4.53MM per year for four more years. Head coach Bob Boughner was thrilled to see Luongo back on the ice, but has no intention of bringing him back until he is 110 percent healthy.

“He’s a huge part of this team. And you can see, no slight to anybody else, this team’s missed him,” Boughner said. “We’re a different team when he’s playing.”

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets also had good news as winger Brandon Dubinsky participated in Sunday’s morning skate, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required). Dubinsky has been out since Oct. 8 with a partially torn oblique muscle, but there remains no timetable for his return. The original diagnosis for Dubinsky’s injury was four to six weeks. He hasn’t been out three weeks yet, but the 32-year-old said that he’d be disappointed if he didn’t play on the team’s upcoming road trip, starting Thursday and going through Sunday. “I would say I’m ahead of schedule, but I don’t want to come back early and set myself back a few weeks,” Dubinsky said. The veteran had only played in two games before getting injured, but already had a goal and an assist.
  • The Colorado Avalanche may be without one of their top youngsters for a while as BSN’s Adrian Dater reported that the team will be without center Tyson Jost indefinitely. Jost, who suffered a head injury Friday in the third period against Ottawa, has a goal and an assist in 11 games so far this season. The 20-year-old scored 12 goals in his rookie season last year, but had worked his way higher up in the lineup this year.
  • Newsday’s Colin Stephenson reports that New York Rangers head coach David Quinn said that defenseman Adam McQuaid is day-to-day with a lower-body injury he sustained in the first period Thursday. He is not expected to play Sunday against Los Angeles, which could open up another chance for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who has only appeared in two games for the Rangers this season.

Injury Notes: Schwartz, DeKeyser, Luongo, Eriksson Ek, Engelland

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The St. Louis Blues will be without Jaden Schwartz for a few more days as Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, writes that the winger will be out Saturday vs. Chicago due to a lower-body injury when he took a shot off his foot/leg last Saturday vs. Calgary. Head coach Mike Yeo also doubts he will be available for Sunday’s game against Anaheim.

“He’s out for tonight, looking like he’s doubtful to questionable for tomorrow,” Yeo said. “I don’t know that there’s gonna be a big improvement there (overnight). But certainly the report that we got, there’s nothing to be concerned about long-term here.”

The only positive about being without Schwartz is it will give Yeo more of an opportunity to offer more minutes to their three top prospects with Sammy Blais likely getting the bulk of Schwartz’ minutes, including power play time. However, Yeo also said he intends to mix up lines as well against Chicago to get more playing time for both Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.

  • The Detroit Red Wings’ defense continues to fall more and more apart as Danny DeKeyser exited Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury and is not expected to return, leaving the team with just five defensemen, according to Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. While there is no word on the severity of DeKeyser’s injury, MLive’s Ansar Khan updates other defensive injuries, including that Dennis Cholowski is possible for their game Monday against Montreal, while Jonathan Ericsson is doubtful for Monday. Meanwhile, Trevor Daley is out Monday.
  • George Richards of The Athletic (subscription required) spoke to Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo for the first time since the goaltender suffered a lower-body injury in the season opener. The veteran netminder said that he expects to be out for the back end of the 2-4 weeks that he was listed out for as he hasn’t begun to skate yet. “I’m still trying to get comfortable walking,” Luongo said. “I’m working hard to be back as soon as I can. I have done enough sitting around the past couple of years. I want to be on the ice with the boys.
  • The Athletic’s Michael Russo writes that the Minnesota Wild will be without center Joel Eriksson Ek for at least a week as he suffered an upper-body injury recently. The 21-year-old has been critical for the team’s third line even though he still hasn’t registered a point in three games. The team intends to move center Eric Fehr onto the third line, but general manager Paul Fenton and head coach Bruce Boudreau will both speak after today’s game in regards to a potential callup.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have listed defenseman Deryk Engelland as day-to-day after he was forced to leave in the second period of Saturday’s game against Philadelphia, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. He’ll be re-evaluated when the team returns to Las Vegas. The 36-year-old has made a name for himself with a career-year last year, who has made Las Vegas his home since he played for the ECHL Las Vegas Wranglers back in the 2004-05 season.

Florida Panthers Place Roberto Luongo On Injured Reserve

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Monday: George Richards of The Athletic reports that Luongo will be out two to four weeks with an MCL strain.

Sunday: After Florida Panthers’ star goalie Roberto Luongo was injured and helped off the ice last night and the team quickly recalled Michael Hutchinson from the AHL this morning, this outcome is far from a surprise. The Panthers have placed Luongo on the injured reserve, according to CapFriendly. Seeing as the injury was suffered last night, the IR placement won’t be retroactive and Luongo won’t be eligible to return to action for a week, if he is even ready at that point.

Luongo’s injury, although not yet confirmed by the team, appeared to be a lower-body injury caused by his own teammate, Frank Vatrano, falling on his leg during a scrum in front of the net. Luongo missed 26 games with a lower-body injury last season and 19 games in 2016-17 as well. The injury prone keeper, also 39 years old, has taken a fair amount of time to recover from injuries in the past and this time may not be any different.

Fortunately, the Panthers do have James Reimer ready to take over. The split-time starter made 43 and 44 starts in each of the past two seasons respectively and, while he had struggles last year, put up strong numbers in 2016-17. Hutchinson is also as solid as No. 3 goalies come, with 102 games of NHL experience and outstanding numbers in the AHL. Hutchison was signed this off-season specifically to safeguard against Luongo’s frequent injuries. Florida also has incentive to give young Samuel Montembeault some action at some point this season, perhaps even while Luongo is out. The injury is obviously a tough way for the Panthers to start the season, but they have the pieces to pick up the slack.

Minor Transactions: 10/08/18

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For fans north of the border today is a day of thanks and may not be used to keep track of all the NHL movement. They’ll be able to catch up right here. As always, we’ll follow all the minor moves around the league.

Panthers Notes: MacKenzie, MacDonald, Montembeault

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Florida Panthers veteran forward Derek MacKenzie recently relinquished his captaincy to young centerpiece forward Aleksander Barkov, the reason for which has now become more clear. MacKenzie revealed to The Athletic’s George Richards recently that 2018-19 will be his final NHL season. The 37-year-old is in the final year of of two-year extension signed with the Panthers back in 2016 and his fifth year overall with the organization. MacKenzie is entering his sixteenth and final season, having worked his way up from a young, part-time player with the Atlanta Thrashers to a dependable fourth-liner with the Columbus Blue Jackets to a locker room leader and botto-six mainstay with Florida. However, it’s this hard-working style that has finally caught up to the respected veteran, as he tells Richards “the way I have had to play over the past 18 years — the pace I have to go — it has become tougher and tougher over the years.” MacKenzie’s usage and production has maintained relatively consistent in Florida, but he could be in for a drop-off this year, playing in a deep, young, and fast Panthers forward corps. MacKenzie recognizes that his years of wear and tear have caught up with him and that this season will be the last gasps of a hard-nosed career. However, it likely won’t be the end of his time with Florida, as MacKenzie adds that “I love this team, love this organization. I would like to try and stay involved and try and pick up where I left off.” MacKenzie may not be out on the ice for the Cats moving forward, but rest assured the former captain will still be present in the organization.

  • When the Panthers take the ice tonight in their opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning, it will mark the NHL debut for defenseman Jacob MacDonald, per Richards. Who? MacDonald, 25, is a largely unheralded prospect who has somehow worked his way into Florida’s starting lineup to begin the year. The team signed MacDonald to a two-year, two-way contract this off-season after three seasons in the minor leagues. The Cornell University graduate hasn’t even been exclusively in the AHL these past three years; he played most of the 2015-16 season in the ECHL and then split time between the two leagues in 2016-17. Only last year did he play his first full AHL season, skating in 75 games with the Binghamton Devils and leading the team with 55 points. He came into camp as unlikely candidate for the Panthers’ roster, but with injuries to Bogdan Kiselevich and Josh Brown and a nagging issue for MacKenzie Weegar, MacDonald has gotten the call. That is not to say that he hasn’t earned his spot though; experienced options like Ian McCoshen and Julian Melchiori were reassigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds while MacDonald remained in camp. The puck-moving defenseman will line up on the Panthers’ third pair with Alex Petrovic tonight and, if he sticks, could be one of the more inspiring stories of this season. For more, check out Erin Brown’s article for The Athletic.
  • Florida has one of the more concrete goalie tandems in the league with Roberto Luongo and James Reimer. They even went out and added a solid third option in Michael Hutchinson this summer. However, those three keepers are 39, 30, and 28 years old respectively with birthdays on the way this season. Behind this group, the Panthers actually are one of the more shallow teams in terms of organizational goalie depth in the league, with just young AHL backstop Samuel Montembeault, a third-round pick in 2015, and Bowling Green State University starter Ryan Bednard, a seventh-rounder the same year. For that reason, don’t be surprised to see Montembeault squeeze in some NHL appearances this season as well. The Springfield Thunderbirds goalie struggled in his first pro season last year, but was a competent keeper in the QMJHL and, more importantly, is the closest thing that the Panthers have to an heir apparent regardless of his performance. Luongo is signed for four more years, but it is doubtful that he plays out the entirety of the contract and could retire as early as this summer, and Hutchinson is an impending unrestricted free agent. A future exists where Florida enters the off-season with just Reimer and Montembeault under contract. The youngster has to be ready to embrace his role as the organization’s only standout young goalie and the team has to prepare him for the possibility of an increased role sooner rather than later.

Atlantic Notes: Pacioretty, Luongo, Boedker

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If Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty is being genuine about wanting to stay in Montreal for the rest of his career, the team has a lot of thinking to do whether the 29-year-old winger is worth a long-term deal. Sure, he had posted five straight 30-goal seasons (if you don’t include the strike-shortened 2012-13 year), but after a 16-goal campaign last season and the fact that he’ll be 30 when he starts his new contract, there are a lot of variables that the Canadiens need to consider after the team handed goaltender Carey Price an eight-year, $84MM extension a year ago that’s already starting to look questionable and it hasn’t even started yet.

One obvious way for things to work out perfectly would be if Pacioretty can rebound and put up another banner season. Another 30-goal performance would undoubtedly make the 2017-18 season look like a fluke and would make it a whole lot easier to sign him to a new contract, according to Montreal Gazette’s Pat Hickey. However, the scribe also points out that he must improve on his mental game as well as Pacioretty has a tendency to be streaky and get down on himself when he’s not producing. It’s likely, if the veteran captain can’t make that adjustment, he’ll be heading out of town just like Andrei Markov, Alexander Radulov and P.K. Subban did in past years.

  • NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley writes that veteran goaltender Roberto Luongo is focusing more on his health this year after two injury-plagued campaigns that has kept him out of 89 games. The 39-year-old goaltender, who will turn 40 during the season, still has four years remaining on the 12-year, $64MM deal he signed with Vancouver in 2009. He has spent more than 90 minutes a day of extra time with goaltending coach Robb Tallas, focusing on his surgically repaired hip from 2016 and the groin tear he sustained last season. “Back in the day, I used to show up half an hour before I went on the ice and just throw the gear on, but these are the things I need to do be ready, to be loose and make sure everything is working properly,” Luongo said. “The main thing is I understand what I need to do as far as preparation to be where I need to be to be healthy. After my hip surgery, once I started feeling good, I kind of neglected it. You think you are back to normal, but you are not. You always have to keep on it to make sure you keep it strong and loose.” While he’s missed quite a bit of time, Luongo’s numbers haven’t suffered as he posted a .929 save percentage and three shutouts in 35 appearances.
  • Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Ottawa Senators are considering using newly acquired winger Mikkel Boedker as a first-line option alongside Mark Stone and Matt Duchene next season. Boedker, who was acquired as part of the Mike Hoffman trade with the San Jose Sharks, has posted up-and down numbers the last several years, including a 10-goal season in 2016-17 and then 15-goal season a year ago. The scribe writes that putting Boedker on the first line will be a dangerous combination as Boedker isn’t a great two-way player and historically is a player that thrives on the power play, but rarely during even strength.

Snapshots: Luongo, Johansson, Spurgeon

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Although his salary is set to be cut in half for next season and the fact that he recently turned 39, Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo has no intention of retiring, he told reporters, including Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ team website.  While the netminder still has four years on his contract left after this one, it’s highly unlikely he plays for all of those considering that the combined salary for those seasons is $7MM; for comparison, he made nearly $27MM the past four years.  Not surprisingly, this is a contract that is still subject to salary cap recapture if he happens to retire before his contract finishes.  Luongo is coming off an injury-riddled season but played quite well when he was in the lineup, posting a .929 SV%, his best mark since 2003-04.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Although he has been cleared to participate in a full practice, it appears that Devils center Marcus Johansson is slated to be a scratch for their playoff opener on Thursday night, reports Abbey Mastracco of The Record. The 27-year-old has been out of the lineup since suffering his second concussion of the season back on January 23rd.  While his production had dipped prior to the injury, his return to full health should be a boost for New Jersey as they get set to take on Tampa Bay.
  • While the Wild will be without blueliner Ryan Suter for their postseason run, they are getting closer to getting a key defender back in the lineup. John Shipley of the Pioneer Press notes that Jared Spurgeon made it through a full practice for the second straight day but head coach Bruce Boudreau is calling him a game-time decision for Wednesday’s game against Winnipeg.  Spurgeon tore his hamstring back on March 13th and was initially diagnosed to be out for a minimum of a month so it appears he is right on schedule.  If Spurgeon can’t play in Game One, Shipley suggests that Ryan Murphy will make his postseason debut instead.

Early Notes: Tavares, Stamkos, Luongo

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In a story that won’t go away until a decision is made, John Tavares spoke again about how this season has gone for the New York Islanders and where his future might reside. Arthur Staple of The Athletic (subscription required) navigates the non-answers and explains how the decision truly doesn’t seem to have been made just yet.

Tavares is having an excellent season with 83 points through 80 games, but none of it will matter as the Islanders are set to miss the playoffs once again. While the superstar center has always said no one factor will decide whether or not he stays in New York, the future and direction of the club has always been important.

  • Steven Stamkos is still not at practice for the Tampa Bay Lightning, which makes it unlikely that he’ll play tomorrow night against the Buffalo Sabres. That’s the final home game of the regular season for the Lightning, but the crowds won’t have to wait long to welcome their team back on the ice. Though Tampa Bay is fighting with Boston for seeding in the Atlantic, both teams will have home ice advantage in the first round with the lower seed facing Toronto next week. The Lightning will have to hope Stamkos can go in Game 1, or else face tough competition without their captain.
  • Roberto Luongo will become just the third goaltender in the history of the NHL to play in 1,000 games when he takes on the Boston Bruins tonight, joining Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy in the exclusive club. Amazingly, Luongo has remained one of the best goaltenders in the league this season even at the age of 39. With a .929 save percentage, Luongo sits third among goaltenders who have started at least 30 games, and had he not been injured could be in the Vezina conversation—one that has never ended with him taking home the hardware.

Minor Transactions: 3/24/18

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As many team continue their quest to either clinching or closing in on a playoff spot, the NHL has a full slate of 12 games scheduled with many impact games upcoming. Teams like the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues and the Florida Panthers all need victories to continue their playoff drives. The Vegas Golden Knights are also a win away from clinching their first-ever playoff spot today. Throw in multiple injuries and teams will be making many moves today to keep their rosters loaded for their playoff runs.

  • The Florida Panthers recalled goaltender Harri Sateri from the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL this morning, according to FoxSports’s Steve Goldstein. With starter Roberto Luongo banged up with a minor lower-body injury, the team will turn to backup James Reimer. Sateri, who has served as the team’s emergency backup on multiple occasions this year has played in nine games with the Panthers, putting up a 2.92 GAA and a .911 save percentage.
  • The Colorado Avalanche announced they have recalled goaltender Spencer Martin from the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL as veteran Jonathan Bernier is unable to play with an infection from a cut. While having been recalled several times this season, Martin has not appeared in a game for Colorado, who are fighting to clinch a playoff spot. The 22-year-old goalie has a 3.02 GAA and a .895 save percentage in 32 games for San Antonio.
  • The Vancouver Canucks announced they have recalled defenseman Ashton Sautner from the Utica Comets of the AHL under emergency conditions today. The move was made after veteran defenseman Chris Tanev left Friday’s game in the third period with an undisclosed injury. This is the second time the 23-year-old Sautner has been recalled by Vancouver, but he has still not made his NHL debut yet. In 59 games, the blueliner has three goals and nine assists on the season. Sportsnet’s Rich Dhaliwal tweets that Sautner scored the game-winning overtime goal for Utica last night and could play his first NHL game in Dallas Sunday.
  • CapFriendly reported that the San Jose Sharks have assigned defenseman Tim Heed to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL after being recalled Friday. He has been bouncing up and down for much of the season.
  • CapFriendly also reported that the Buffalo Sabres have recalled winger Justin Bailey from the Rochester Americans of the AHL on an emergency loan. Bailey has had some success in Buffalo, picking up three goals in 12 games.

James Reimer Out Weeks With Lower Body Injury

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When the Florida Panthers recalled first-year goalie Samuel Montembeault yesterday to join fellow rookie keeper Harri Sateri, it was only a matter of time before the news came out about what injury had forced starter James Reimer to join the Panthers’ other dinged up veteran, Roberto Luongo, on the sidelines. That announcement came today, as head coach Bob Boughner told the media that Reimer will be out “a few weeks” with a pulled groin.

It’s more bad luck and tough timing for Florida, who will now have a hard time staying relevant in the Eastern Conference behind two goalies with a combined three games of NHL experience. The Cats are already 11 points outside of a wild card spot and, despite being fourth in points percentage in the Atlantic, are even farther behind for a divisional berth. Health in net has been no small factor, as both Luongo – out with a lower body injury of his own since December – and Reimer have missed time this season. In fact, the duo have only both been healthy for 21 of Florida’s 46 games. However, this will be the first time that both could be out for an extended period of time. Boughner did state today that he hopes Luongo back in practice next week, but stopped short of predicting his return to game action.

In the meantime, the bulk of the net action will fall to Sateri, beginning with the start tonight against the Metropolitan-leading Washington Capitals. Sateri, 28, isn’t your typical rookie. The Finnish journeyman returned to North America on a two-way deal with Florida following three seasons in the KHL. Prior to that, Sateri played four seasons with the AHL’s Worcester Sharks after being selected by San Jose in the fourth round in 2008 out of the Finnish Liiga. Montembeault, on the other hand, is a true rookie; the 21-year-old is in his first season out of the QMJHL after being selected by the Panthers in the third round in 2015.

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